“Court of Honor” held by Troop 52 Boy Scouts
Troop 52 will present various merit badges and advances in rank to the boys at Assembly of God Church in the Meadows in Happy Camp.
See photos and details on Children’s and Youth Page……
Are You a Teenager that Drinks?
by Donald O’Reilly
Are You a Teenager that Drinks?
It’s a great feeling when you tip the bottle back and let the liquid fly. The people that you couldn’t get are now having a staring contest with you from across the room. Even the people you could get with are looking even better. Time’s flying and you could care less about what’s going on with the world. Troubles are gone and every drink you take is another mile away from reality.
Almost all the teens today are drinking before they get into high school. They’re ruining their lives before they even begin. I almost got sucked into the world of alcoholism. Then, somehow, I clawed my way out of it. Now I hope I’m an example to the little kids to stay clean in high school instead of drinking and partying all the time. It may be fun while they’re doing it but not in the end. I have compared my life and grades to my freshman year and I like the outcome of who I am now, to what I was then. I realize how immature I was acting, and how much of a fool I made out of myself.
Various websites show that more than 40% of adolescents who drink are going to be alcoholics. They may have the choice now to drink, but in 5 years it will be a habit they can’t stop. Some students may be fortunate enough to snap out of this nasty cycle. Fortunately, I was one of the smarter ones and stopped drinking little by little.
My grades for the beginning of my freshman year were D, A-, D, A-, A-, A+ and B. then at the end of my freshman year, when I started drinking, my grades were D, C, F, F, B-, C+, and B. What an effect drinking made on my grades! These are not the grades I would like the college I am planning on going to see.
Most adolescents start drinking because of an older sibling that does it and they think it’s cool. So when you see someone under the age of 14 drinking, you can thank their household. In public, no one likes a drunken person. They just laugh at them because they’re making themselves seem stupider than they really are. Sooner or later they’re going to be known by everyone as a raging alcoholic who can’t handle their liquor and has abusive problems when they have been drinking. They will get into a car wreck and seriously injure themselves, or die, and either of those outcomes is not good.
Everyone thinks that drinking isn’t so bad when they’re young. They don’t look at their role models and see how much drinking has screwed up their lives. Most of the drinkers’ now a days have at least one parent that is an alcoholic so when they drink they don’t think there is anything wrong with it, till they don’t have a job, a life, and are not happy with what they’re doing in this world.
Drinking is a disease and you might be able to cure it, if you get help soon enough. So contact your local AA advisors and get in a class before the disease kills you!
Donald O’Reilly
Volunteers Fix Christmas Eve Dinner
by Judy Bushy
Years ago, Muriel (Mooch) Ward remembered her mother’s tradition of inviting anyone who might be alone on Thanksgiving or Christmas to join her family for dinner. Mooch picked up the tradition because she had a friendly way of reaching out to people, but soon the dinner outgrew their dining room. That is when the Happy Camp Holiday Dinner began. Food and funds are volunteered, volunteers roast turkey, make dressing, and bake pies enough to feed a small army, and everyone who doesn’t have friends of family to be with for the holiday dinner, is welcome.
This year’s Christmas eve dinner was held at the cafeteria of the Happy Camp Elementary School. Just walking in was a pleasure to get a whiff of pies and turkeys and all kinds of good food preparations.
There was music for the event also, Todd Gilbert led in singing Christmas in Happy Camp for which the words were written by Mrs. Schneider’s fifth grade class is 2006.
It goes, “Crystal clear, sparkling sky, Chimney smoke, swirling high, Frosted mountains, stretching wide, tumbling creeks, trees beside. Snowflakes fall, snowballs fly, Sledding down steep mountainsides, Gather round the silver tipped tree, drinking hot cocoa, sipping out tea, Singing carols in unison, Santa comes in on a fire engine, with a ho ho ho and gifts galore. He gave his boots three good stamps, “Merry Christmas to all in Happy Camp?”
Happy Camp Holiday Joy in Lights
by Judy Bushy
Holiday Happiness in Lights are popping up all over, both on homes and businesses in our community.
Happy Camp is showing bright happy Christmas lights! Next to the lights of Parry’s Market, you can see the outline of the world’s largest dreamcatcher, complete with weaving spider in red.
Jesse Tree Celebrates Christmas in Happy Camp
by Judy Bushy
Jesse Tree has been celebrated at the Happy Camp Christian Fellowship.This may not look like the traditional Christmas tree to you, and indeed, it is lacking the greens with sparkling lights, shiny tinsel and bright baubles. It is however, traditional in another way.
Margaret Bernhard shared an ornament with an ark on it and read Scripture that tells how Noah’s family was saved from flood, just like Jesus came to save those who believe in Him from destruction. Susan Neal hung an ornament. Vickie Simmons hung a burning bush on the Jesse Tree and read scriptures which told how God spoke through the bush, just as Jesus came to speak to us for God. Deleana read a scripture on “Son of Righteousness” as she hung an ornament on the tree and Pastor Kirk Eadie read four more scriptures.
Two weeks worth of ornaments have been hung on the tree and the rest will each be placed on the Jessie Tree on Sunday December 23rd.
Family
by Alexis
As a Happy Camp High School student, I am here to tell you about Family. I haven’t’ really been into my family, until I reached the age of 14. I finally realized if I don’t talk to my family that I would regret it.
I was never into my family when I was in my childhood. I lived far away from my family at one point in time. In that time I felt like there was a big hole in me and I never could find out what it was. One day I was sitting on the front of the house. I received a phone call and it was my mom. She said that she was coming to get me and she missed me and couldn’t wait to see me. She finally got her act together and realized I was what she wanted to help her through what she was going through. She showed up and I got my stuff and came home. Ever since I have tried so hard to keep up with my family, but some times there are too much, emotionally and physically.
My family has so much to share with me if I sit down and just listen five minutes. I feel it changes my life. These are some things I learned from my family stories, pictures, baskets, dresses, regalia, recipes movies and many more. I drifted away and mom tried to get me to go here and there with her to see family and stuff like that, but I would just stay home. I felt like the only thinks I needed was me, myself and I, but I found out the hard way, losing family I never had a chance to sit down and talk to. I lost a lot of history, and things I will never be able to recover.
People don’t realize that our elders are the most important people to our communities. These precious people hold and know many things. When I look around I see how kids act toward their elders. They may have been born in the 50’s or the 60’s but if it wasn’t for them telling us to do thing or that, just think of what the world would be like today! If we can just sit down to hear our elders out, I bet that we would have a better understanding of one another. Our elders know how to help us or teach us. If we just gave them the respect they need they won’t be so hurt or torn. We need to give our elders more respect and more love.
Sometimes some people don’t have a mom or a dad, brother or sister, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have family. Maybe you live with your auntie or uncle or grandparents, but you still have family. We all need to sit down and talk more to the people that are close to us.