by Judy Bushy
We love the beauty of creation all around Happy Camp and our Klamath Neighbors. Sometimes we think that Happy Camp is the best possible place in the world to live. It really shocked us when Dan’s retina specialist down in the city said that he’d never live there. Well, my first thought was that I’d hate to live in the city, even though I grew up in Minneapolis, MN, not a small town at all. But no place is perfect, or perfect for everyone.

It has been mentioned by various voices of the community that Happy Camp has problems. These problems are also found in other places, larger places, with much more in terms of resources than the little town of Happy Camp can offer to solve them.We have a much more important resource, our Klamath Neighbors who can accomplish great things when they work together! While we have only a handful of “homeless” people and families, we also have no homeless shelters or Gospel Missions that offer a bed for the night or a good meal to the hungry. While we have persons with mental health issues, we have inadequate mental health services to provide them with aid, at least within 75 miles and a two hour drive.

A number of years ago burglary increased to about one a night. A Neighborhood Watch was formed, and that eliminated 98% of the problem all along the River, within the first month. When the patrolling and communications were discontinued, however the problems have risen again. We have some people with alcohol and other drug problems who need to finance their addictions and use crime to do so. We greatly appreciate all of the law enforcement agencies in our community, but they aren’t always in our community and the opportunistic element who wants to evade detection when they rob homes or steal gas, knows when they aren’t available.

The Neighborhood Watch is working with law enforcement and the community volunteers to curtail the crime and get help for the perpetrators. They would appreciate your suggestions at the next meeting, March 7th, 2016 at the Karuk Housing Conference Room, and most of all your volunteer time and effort!

Thank you to Crystal Clear Photos for Photo of Homecoming King Jesse Venezuela Jr. and Queen Angelica Garrison
By Judy Bushy January 29, 2016
Happy Camp High celebrated Homecoming and the Royalty was crowned. Lucus Jones came home from college to crown Jesse Venezuela Jr. Homecoming King. Sydney Snider crowned Angelica Garrison Homecoming Queen. It was great to see all the prince and princesses and smiles on the Royal Court!! Then on to the work of playing Basketball!!!

If you have Facebook on your computer, you probably enjoyed seeing the photos of our young gentlemen and ladies getting ready for the Happy Camp High School semi-formal Winter Dance last week. They all looked so lovely!

Last week, they dressed up quite differently, but with fun!! It was time for Basketball Homecoming! They dressed up for Dr Suess Day, Patriotic Day, ghost day and plaid Day It was only a four day week, with Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday giving them a day off school on MOnday.

The prince and princess for classes are; Angelica Garrison and Silas Yakamoto, Azalea Hale and Shaye McCartney, Miranda Rasmussen and Jesse Valenzuela, and Mariah Mattson and Jordan McCartney. Friday was the big day when Basketball was actually be played and the coronation of the Homecoming King and Queen! It is great how wonderfully our community supports the youth and so many come out to the High school gymnasium by 5 o’clock for the game against Butte Valley game on Friday evening.

by Judy Bushy January 2016
The busy Holiday season was fun! Thanksgiving, Hanukkah,and all the many celebrations of Christmas has given way to New Year! Good Day, and Happy New Year! Our hope and prayers that this year will be a good year for all our friends and Neighbors along the Klamath River and for all!! Although we are glad to see some sorrows and problems of the past year are over, now we are looking forward to the bright future that 2016 could be. “Life is filled with wonderful surprises,” says a little lighthouse picture over my desk, and especially at this time of changing the year, it is good to recall that.

My favorite way to look at the new year is as a blank page, of a book to be written. journaling is fun for me, and helps me with reminders of things to write about, or things I would otherwise forget. When Ohlunds Office Supply used to have a journal with dated pages, I always knew that page would be wasted if it wasn’t written on, and that helped to keep up with the daily writings!! A bank notebook doesn’t work as well.

Happy Camp became “Happy Camp” 165 years ago this year! That’s a good reason to celebrate, as many towns formed by gold prospectors left as the gold rumors of other places drew them to bigger strikes. Happy Camp endured as a fishing paradise even though it made it into one book of California Ghost Towns!! It didn’t become a ghost town completely, and then logging became the chief industry. Timber supported the schools and the infrastructure of our town. While the timber industry moved on when the last mill closed in 1995, we haven’t altogether disappeared and Happy Camp is still on the map.

Happy Camp Chamber of Commerce has been endeavoring to keep Happy Camp on the map for the past thirty years as of July. Can’t wait to see what will be happening in the coming year!! Jedi gave some Chamber members a training in Mount Shasta on using Google to put businesses “on the map!!”

The Mini-Acorn Grant received by the Karuk Tribe for the Happy Camp Walk/Jogging obstacle Course is an exciting plan on the horizon. The weather didn’t cooperate, although we enjoyed the precipitation!! and the Big Boy Toy Competition to clear out the brush on the site at the River Park had to be postponed. Look at it as a blessing, you can still volunteer and get involved. and you can get forms for your team to sign up from Debbie Bickford,
Annie Jones or Jamie Smith. You can fulfill lots of those New Years’ resolutions, help out and volunteer to help make the Obstacle Course ready for your fitness program

This years Bigfoot Jamboree will be the 50th! What an exciting time to have a golden anniversary. Help out the Happy Camp Coordinating Council with your suggestions, backed up by your volunteer time and efforts!! Give Linda Zink or Abigail Yeager and the rest of the Happy Camp Coordinating Council a helping hand and look forward to a great time.

Please let me know the plans and activities that you’ll be having this year so that I can let the readership and community know about it. Thanks so much!! Looking forward to a great new 2016 for the whole community!!

by Judy Bushy Dec 29, 2015
Cody Sindle and Iris decorated the Elementary School Multipurpose Room,, and Amber, Iris, and John from the Anglers/Klamath River Resort served up delicious turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, rolls, sweet potatoes and veggies! It was all delicious! If one had any space left after that great meal, there were pies and cookies and desserts of numerous flavors to top off the meal.

Nadine McElyea, Executive Director of the Happy Camp Family Resource Center, has also been busy and had the help of many busy volunteers. There was a story time from Mrs. Claus and many other activities in the past weeks.The Happy Camp Family Resource Center extended a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has made donations toward the Holiday Dinners and to the Giving Tree. The Giving Tree has served almost 100 children this year! We have a wonderful community which has been very generous and helped ensure that kids have a good Christmas. They’ve also had some wonderful cash donations toward that project and food for our dinners.

Only a very few days are left until the old year, 2015, with all its problems and what some say is the darkest year, more than any other recent year. There is certainly no doubt that this old world has seen a great deal of troubles,sorrows, war, beheading Christians! You’d think we’d have improved our actions in over two thousand years since Christmas began. Even at home the lack of respect for human life seems to have been the major issue, although it reared its ugly head in many different aspects, from tiny babies, to gunning down other people, and all sorts of ways to end life. I haven’t heard as of yet whether there will be New Year’s Eve Prayer to see in the new year, in a more hopeful direction. But I’m sure that is on the minds and intentions of many, and would be a good use of the time next weekend.

With the New Year, other than the election news, the other most talked about topic seems to be New Year’s Resolutions! The most common resolutions are to lose weight (probably inspired by the Thanksgiving Dinner and cookies from recent celebrations) and stop smoking or drinking. or cut down. Some make resolutions to learn something new, get out of debt, get organized or just to volunteer or to do something which will help others. Others are to get regular exercise which is an immense help to good health!

If your resolution is to get regular exercise to be healthier, you will soon have a wonderful opportunity. The Mini Acorn Grant that has been received is intended to make an Obstacle Course at the River Park. What a fun way to get exercise! There will be a track and many ways for the students at the nearby Elementary School as well as the High School Track and other sporting students out there for a run or other forms of exercise. Eventually there are plans for volleyball and other fun active games!

At this time, what first needs to be done is to clear the brush and berry-vines so that the topography of the space can be seen and a plan can be drafted for further development. In order to do this, there will be a competition. Each team will have a “big boy toy” of their choice to clear the brush, and a team of workers to pile and do the handwork as well. There are safety guidelines as it is important that this be done safely, and to keep it fun! The first tentative work day for the teams was planned for Saturday unless postponed due to the torrents of rain coming, so you need to get your team together right away and get ready to conquer the jungle down there. Debbie gave me a packet of information on the coming construction clearing and you can get forms for your team to sign up from her, Debbie Bickford at 6433786 or Jamie Smith 605-5288.. ‘

You can fulfill lots of resolutions, help out and volunteer to help make the Obstacle Course ready for YOUR fitness program. What fun it will be to have a wonderful place all ready to do all sorts of things to improve fitness and get in shape right at the River Park!!