Christmas gift needs greater this year
Christmas donations are down and applications for assistance are up over last year, according to area social services workers.

Currituck County Social Services Director Kathlyn Romm said so far they have received close to 400 applications for assistance. "We probably have 125 children (not) sponsored, but we're taking applications every day," she said. "There is still a month before Christmas. We have probably had more than 200 children sponsored (this year) - Currituck people are great." Romm said that in past years, the county's Operation Santa Claus has not had to turn anyone away and she hopes they won't have to this year.

"We do coordinate with other schools and churches to make sure we're not giving to the same families. It's a whole community effort," she said. "Last year we helped 377 children, not including foster children. We've already exceeded that in applications this year with a month left to go."  Romm said those who ask for help usually just ask for what they need. "They are asking for basics that their children need, like clothes, shoes and educational toys," she said. "Our sponsors have been affected by the economy, too, so there won't be a lot of big-ticket items. They will do what they can to help fill the basic needs."

Romm said that despite the economic recession, she feels positive about what has been done so far. "I don't know if there is slowdown yet - usually cash and gift card donations start rolling in around Thanksgiving," she said. "I think we're doing well with people calling in to sponsor - churches, civic groups, schools, individuals, realty companies and our staff here sponsors children, as well."  "I believe every child will get something," she said.  Romm said that many times there will also be extra toys around Christmas. "We will get an overflow of Toys for Tots towards Christmas, but we never know how much we'll get," she said. "We let people come in and pick items that are age appropriate for their child."

To donate toys or cash and gift cards to children in Currituck County, call 232-3083.

 Dare Home Health and Hospice and Twiford Funeral Homes will present the Eighth Annual Community Memorial Service on Sunday, December 13 at the Roanoke Island Festival Park Art Gallery from 3:30pm to 5:00 p.m.

The program will include tips for self-care and healthy grieving, grief support resources available in our community, poetry reading, music and a calling of the names ceremony to help those in attendance experience a heightened sense of connection to the persons they are remembering, as well as light refreshments and time to connect with others in attendance.

According to Ellie Ward, Nursing Director of Dare Home Health and Hospice, ``This service provides a sense of community as we remember loved ones and friends who have gone before. We find strength and hope together.''

For the past two years, attendees have collectively created stepping stones in memory of those they have loved and lost. Julie Moy at the Kill Devil Hills Gallery takes what the attendees create and turns it into a stepping stone which is then donated to the Kill Devil Hills Arboretum.
Susan Ruiz-Evans has had the two stepping stones engraved and placed in the butterfly garden at the Arboretum for family members who might want to go visit them.

No registration or RSVP is necessary to attend and everyone is welcome. For more information about the Community Memorial Service or to find out more about the hospice.

 Duck Woods Country Club on Friday, December 11, at 11:30 AM. This is the LWV Annual Christmas Luncheon and Silent Auction. The Rising Waves will sing again this year. The members of the group are Nancy Bryne, Pat Haresch, Joan Liston, Penny Adams-Manolas and Brynn Waite. Please send your reservation in as soon as possible. A final count is needed by Friday, December 4th. Call Carole Burchett's (261-6380) or Audrey Esposito's (261-8052).

 

December 3
Free Admission with donation
Musical Performances
Holiday Bazaar
Champagne Raffle
Santa Photos, 6:30-9 p.m.

December 4
Free Admission with donation (see info at top)
Musical Performances
Holiday Bazaar
Champagne Raffle
Outer Banks Shopping Extravaganza

3rd Annual Holiday Illumination Celebration, Currituck Heritage Park, Saturday December 12
Come to the Whalehead Club, beginning at 3:00 pm for complimentary tours of the house museum festively decorated as the Knights would have done back in the 1920s. Gather on the North Lawn at 4:30 pm for free hot chocolate and seasonal carols sung by the Currituck County High School Choral Ensemble, while Currituck Heritage Park's giant cedar tree and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse are simultaneously illuminated for the holidays!

Treat yourself to an old-fashioned horse and carriage ride through the park with Carolina Carriages, starting at 2:00 pm.
3rd Annual Holiday Illumination Celebration  at Currituck Heritage Park Saturday December 12, 2009 . www.whaleheadclub.org. Currituck Heritage Park is located just past MP 11 on Rt. 12 North in Corolla, NC

From Kaiser Health News.Nov 30, 2009
Pay attention: The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" -- better known as the Senate health care overhaul bill - is chock full of interesting but little publicized provisions affecting consumers. Sure, the bill is mainly a blueprint for overhauling the insurance system. But look closely and you'll see a variety of items that would affect people from the cradle to old age - from breast pump use to retiree health benefits. It's a congressional tradition, adding pet interests that otherwise might not pass to a big bill that at least will be put up for a vote.
Yes, there's plenty of time to change the bill. But political analysts say a final overhaul bill would more likely look like this measure than the version already approved by the House because Senate Democrats barely could agree on sending it to the floor for debate. In short, there's not much political room for major changes. Here are some examples of what lies in this 2,074-page bill:

Currituck Animal Shelter receives Perfect Inspection Score. 
A recent inspection by North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Division, State Inspector Joe Blomquist of the Currituck County Animal Shelter, which is operated by the Animal Lovers Assistance League,  resulted in a perfect score!  Although the shelter lacks certain  areas and rooms now required by the state of more recently constructed shelters, the inspection evaluated the conditions as they exist within the limitations of the current facility. 
 
Areas that are evaluated are the: Structure; Primary Enclosures; Sanitation; Husbandry (includes adequate feed/water, food storage, personnel and ratio of personnel to animals, and animals' appearance); Records; Transportation of Animals; Veterinary Care.  Also checked were utilization of recent protocols and procedures that are now required and have been implemented statewide.  Members of the staff have attended these classes that have been held in various parts of the state.  Vulcan Materials made a very generous donation of gravel that is now required to meet state standards.  Being able to meet the new higher standards required by the state reflects very favorably on the dedicated efforts of the shelter staff to provide the best care possible for the animals at the shelter, and donations by numerous people and businesses.  The  Currituck Animal Shelter Staff  receivec a small Thanksgiving gift from the Animal Lovers Assistance League: (L-R) Sarah Capps; Shelter Manager Laura Marquette; Becky Beasley; Tim Puchett; Scott Bailey; and Barbara Martin

The number of doses available is limited. H1N1 vaccinations will be available for the following target groups:

• Pregnant women,
• People who live with or care for infants younger than six months of age,
• Health care and emergency personnel,
• Anyone from six months through 24 years of age, and
• Anyone from 25 through 64 years of age with certain chronic medical conditions or a weakened immune system.

 There is no cost for the H1N1 flu vaccine at this time.
The H1N1 vaccine is made just like seasonal flu vaccines. The H1N1 vaccines undergo the same rigorous FDA manufacturing oversight, product quality testing and lot release procedures that apply to all seasonal influenza vaccines.  Some area healthcare providers are also providing H1N1 vaccinations in limited quantities. People wishing more information should contact their healthcare providers, call DCDPH at 475-5003, or visit http://www.darenc.com/Announce/H1N1/index.htm  or www.flu.nc.gov.