Local Boy Scouts Help Ready New Ramona Library

/

Boy Scout Scotty Barber and his fellow Scouts are working hard to make sure Old Glory is flying in front of the new Ramona Library when it opens next month.

Scotty’s Eagle Scout project is to install the flagpole in front of the new Main Street library. The nearly 21,000 square-foot community center is almost ready to welcome patrons, with a ribbon cutting scheduled for Feb. 15.

 With that deadline approaching, Scotty and other Scouts from Ramona Troop 130 devoted Saturday to constructing the flagpole’s base. They dug into the ground, shaped a form for the foundation and reinforced it, then poured and finished the concrete. The Scouts plan to return Saturday, Jan. 15, to set the flagpole.

Quick Thinking HHSA Employees Protect Child From Harm

/

Quick action by Human Service Specialist Veasna Ngan, left, and Protective Social Worker Brian Piepenbrink ensured the safe return of a child from Washington whose parents were fleeing authorities there and were suspected of abusing him.

On November 2nd, Veasna Ngan, a Human Service Specialist from the Central Region Cal Works General Task Group, was processing a referral for Food Stamps for a family who had just relocated to San Diego from Washington State. The family consisted of two parents and their 18 month old son. Like many families who come to the FRC for assistance, this family was in need of housing support and food stamps. After the HOT team assisted the family with temporary shelter, Ngan began processing their application for food stamps.

Following protocol, Ngan first called Washington State to ensure that the family was not receiving other government assistance. In doing so, he came across information that the couple’s child was registered in as a missing child. Because the Cal Works General Task Group and Child Welfare Services (CWS) are located together, Ngan was able to immediately contact CWS Supervisor Jaime Pineda for assistance. Upon further research, CWS learned that the Washington  Juvenile Court had issued a pick up and detain order for the child due to abuse and neglect; however, the parents had fled with him and CWS in Washington had lost contact with the family.

Thanks to the quick thinking by Ngan and collaboration with Protective Service Worker Brian Piepenbrink, the child was located and taken into protective custody within 24 hours. He was safely returned to Washington after spending the night at Polinsky Children’s Center. The child welfare worker in Washington was relieved to see the child and said “You don’t know how worried I’ve been about this little guy and how relieved I am to know that he’s okay.”

Computer and Technology Training for Older Adults

/

Don’t let those technology gifts you received from well-meaning younger relatives stay in boxes this year:  pull them out, plug them in and tune in to a computer class or other technology training programs available for older adults.  Once you become familiar with some of these products, you’ll see how they can make your life easier and more enjoyable. 

The new Technology & Aging Coalition of San Diego County can help you learn where to go for classes. The web site – www.AgeTechSD.org -- provides a listing of many technology education options that are available. There is also a list of computer clubs for older adults.

If you know of other great learning opportunities that you would like added to the list, be sure to let us know and we’ll include those on the list.

The goal of the Technology & Aging Coalition is to encourage older adults to explore the many technology products and services available to them. The group was formed after the County’s Aging Summit on Technology last June and is working to increase technology education as well as work with technology developers to create products with the older adult in mind.

The coalition’s steering committee includes representatives from the County’s Health & Human Services Agency, the San Diego Futures Foundation, San Diego Continuing Education, AARP, Access to Independence and Aldea Communications, a consulting business on technology products for older adults.

For more information about the Technology & Aging Coalition of San Diego County and to see listings of classes and computer clubs, visit www.AgeTechSD.org, and look under “Resources.”

Sunny and Cher – and So Many Others – Capture the Hearts of Animal Services

/

It had been a busy week, and San Diego County Animal Control Lt. Kalani Hudson was just hours from her weekend on Nov. 19 when a puppy whose ears had been sliced off arrived at the Central Shelter.

A woman had found the Labrador-Sheppard mix by a Dumpster in Mission Valley. Only about 4 weeks old, the pup’s wounds were raw and painful, his stomach bloated from parasites, Hudson said.

But when offered food, he wolfed it with such gusto he hardly flinched as shelter staff inspected his gaping sores.

“No matter how many years you’ve done this job…this was just one of those that gets to you,” said Hudson. She headed into her weekend troubled by the dog’s suffering and the knowledge that someone had hurt him intentionally.

The story of “Sunny,” who was later joined by earless sister “Cher,” has captivated the public and the media. Both dogs have recovered well, and hundreds of people have applied to adopt them.

But Hudson and other DAS employees have a more complicated way of looking at it. While they are celebrating the dogs’ bright outlook – for which they deserve credit – their daily mission to treat and find homes for thousands of equally dear animals, with their own unique stories, remains a challenge.

Still, Hudson said she was deeply moved by the dogs whose ears were probably cut off with a pair of scissors or a serrated knife, possibly in Tijuana. She said when she first met Cher at the Central Shelter on Dec. 7, she assumed Sunny had returned for a visit from his foster home.

“I turned around and said, ‘Sunny’s here,’” Hudson recalled.

She said she was “dumbfounded” when she learned it was a second dog, with the same awful injuries.

A Good Samaritan found Cher on the streets of Tijuana and took her to a veterinarian. After Cher’s wounds were treated, a veterinary assistant brought the puppy from Mexico to the County shelter.

Sunny and Cher appear to be from the same litter, and someone may have cut off their ears to try to pass them off for sale as pit bulls, Hudson said.

 By coincidence, on the same day, on different sides of the border, the siblings underwent surgery to help their wounds heal correctly, Hudson said.

The “Spirit Fund” paid for Sunny’s procedure, DAS Medical Operations Manager David Johnson said.

Built solely on private donations, including many from County employees, the Spirit Fund helps about four to six animals a month who can benefit from specialized veterinary care, Johnson said.

Johnson and Hudson both watched on Dec. 14 as Sunny and Cher reunited at the Central Shelter. About a dozen local media outlets were there too.

Sunny, the bigger puppy , growled at first and tackled his sister. But the good-natured Cher trotted after her brother, unfazed. Soon, both were tugging at colorful doggie toys, seemingly playing to the cameras.

Johnson said it’s no surprise so many people have applied to take the dogs home.

“The animals with a unique or sad story, they’re almost guaranteed a home,” he said. “But I have right now hundreds of dogs and cats with just as unique stories.”

Hudson agreed.

“Some of the most heart-wrenching, or some of the sweetest or saddest stories never make it to the news,” she said.