Posted by: angiepalmer | May 15, 2008

Don’t forget our veterans

The following article was written for the Alamogordo Daily News (to be published by them on their new blog):

Air Force Sergeants’ Association (AFSA) visits the veterans in Alamogordo every third Saturday of the month.  It is part of their efforts to show respect to those who have served and sacrificed for our nation.  Volunteers from AFSA visit over 30 veterans in Betty Dare Good Samaritan Center, Aristocrat Assisted Living Center and Casa Arena Blanca in Alamogordo.  Some of them will even go as far as to Truth or Consequences to visit the veterans in New Mexico Veterans Home, where over 120 veterans are staying there.  As far as I know, many of them do not have family members who will visit them regularly.  Some also live away from their own home towns.  Support and companionship are very much needed.

 

It is a commendable effort by AFSA, but unfortunately not many people seem to think that community service or paying respect to the veterans is on their priority list.  With over 800 members in the Holloman AFB chapter of AFSA, only an average of 5 to 10 people have been showing up in the veterans’ visit.  This is barely 1% of the membership.  Holloman and Alamogordo, is this the best we can do?  Can we not spare just a couple of hours every month for our veterans? 

 

The next visit will be this Saturday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m. starting from Betty Dare Good Samaritan Center on 3101 N. Florida Avenue.  The members are encouraged to bring their family members and pets.  The more people there are, the merrier.  It is a great opportunity to teach the children about respecting the veterans and the elderly.  It is also a community service that will bring joy to many veterans. 

Hope to see you all there.

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 15, 2008

Ceremony to Activate 7th Fighter Squadron on Holloman AFB

The following press release is from Holloman AFB:
 
The 7th Fighter Squadron will be the first to receive the F-22A Raptor upon its arrival in early June.

The squadron was originally activated January 16, 1941, at Selfridge Field, Michigan, as the 7th Fighter Pursuit Squadron, 49th Pursuit Group. During World War II, the 7th had 10 members earn Ace status, as each destroyed five enemy aircraft in aerial combat. By the end of the war, the “Screamin’ Demons” had achieved 177 aerial kills. The 7th’s history included missions in the Pacific in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War. In 1992, its new mission involved training pilots of the F-117 Nighthawk. The squadron was inactivated in 2006 after 66 years of continuous service.

Time: 9:08 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 
Date: Friday, May 16
Location: Heritage Park, Holloman Air Force Base

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND THE ACTIVATION CEREMONY, please RSVP by calling the Public Affairs Office at (575) 572-5406 before 4 p.m., Thursday, May 15. Media personnel attending the event must be cleared BEFORE entering base. 

 

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 14, 2008

Celebrating Asian Pacific Heritage Month on Holloman AFB

The Asian Pacific American Heritage Committee on Holloman AFB is organizing a luncheon to celebrate the Asian Pacific Heritage Month on 22 May 2008.  There will be performances such as Taekwondo, Island Pacific Dancers and door prizes. 

The Medal of Honor Recipient and Korean War Veteran Cpl. Hiroshi H. Miyamura and his wife Terry will also be in attendance.

Date & Time: 22 May 2008, 11:30am - 1:00pm

Location: Desert Sands Ballroom (E-Club)

Meal Cost & Choices:  $7.90 Member / $9.90 Non-member; Huli Huli Chicken or Beef Adobo

RSVP: 1st Sgt of your respective squadron by 12:00noon, 16 May 2008

For more information, please contact the POC of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Committee, MSgt Washington of 49th MMS, (575) 572-5056.

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[Filmed by Keith Palmer; Edited & produced by Angie Palmer.]

Desert Basin Toastmasters Club has set up a Speakers’ Bureau in Alamogordo with the mission of allowing local organizations to easily locate relevant speakers for their meetings, classes, or events as well as to provide its members with opportunities for public speaking experience outside the club.

For more details, see what Carolyn Peeler and Sharon Weaver say in the interview.
 

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 8, 2008

Super awesome location for photo shoot in New Mexico

A super awesome location for photo shoot…where will that be?  Where else but White Sands?!

I was working with a local photographer called Diana Hay last week.  She is a military spouse who graduated from NMSU-A with an associate degree in art and graphic design and currently lives on Holloman AFB.  I met her at the White Sands International Film Festival and decided to try out her work.

     

I have posted a few samples here and you can take a look at the quality of her work yourself.  I have worked with quite a few professional photographers before and her work is one of the best so far.  She comes up with different creative ideas for the photo shoot and is a personable photographer to work with.  She ranked 9th at the Venice International Photo Contest in 2007, under the fashion photography-color category…definitely an up and coming photographer in the United States.

No job is too small for her and she is probably one of the best in town if you want to do some family portraits or fashion photography. Contact her at http://www.myspace.com/dvhphotography

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 7, 2008

Teenage Pregnancy: Does it concern you?

The following article was written for the Alamogordo Daily News (to be published by them on their new blog):

One day you live alone, the next day you realize you are not anymore.  Teenage girls who become pregnant find that their lives suddenly change.  In Alamogordo, we have a handful of teen mothers.  Some like it and some regret what they did and wonder what they should do next.  Either way, chances are most of them are half prepared, if at all, to become a responsible and financially independent parent. 

More than 14 million girls aged 15 to 19 years of age gave birth each year between 1995 and 2000 in the world.  According to World Health Organization, United States remains as the developed country with the highest rate of adolescent childbearing.  It is as low as 4 births per 1,000 adolescents in Japan to as high as 58 in the United States.  Despite the decline in teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States, the country still has much work to do to further reduce the teenage pregnancy rate. 

The data from Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health, indicates that New Mexico is among one of the states that has the highest teenage birthrates in 2000.  All these statistics are not very optimistic for parents who are living in New Mexico or the United States.  So how is Alamogordo doing?  Updated, accurate statistics are not readily available, but with the figures released by New Mexico GRADS, Alamogordo has 67 teenage births (age 14 to 19) in 2005 and the figure seems to be increasing.

Teenage pregnancy is not just a personal choice or issue; it is a social and health concern.  Various research, including the one did by National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy indicates that teen mothers are less likely to complete high school and less likely to attend college.  Children of teen mothers tend to have lower cognitive development, worse academic outcomes, higher rates of behavioral problems and they themselves will be very likely to become teen mothers again.  Young people, aged 15 to 24, represent 25% of the sexually active population but account for about half of all new cases of STD.  Adolescents aged 15 to 19 are more likely than matured mothers to die in childbirth. 

If you think you will not be affected by teenage pregnancy because you do not have any children, think twice.  Teen childbearing cost taxpayers $9.1 billion in 2004.

With all the data I have quoted here, I hope the community is more convinced that it is a social problem that we all should be concerned about.

There are many factors that are known to increase the chances of teens engaging in risky sexual behavior, ranging from media exposure, parenting style, peer influence to the attitudes and values of the teens themselves.  Some are hard to change and some can be modified through interventions and education.  I can write pages and pages about how the community can influence teens in Alamogordo or New Mexico in general, but this is not the intent of this article.  What I want to do is to instigate some renewed interest in the children around us. 

You probably recall the sex scandal in Alamogordo High School last month.  Some people may say “blame the coach.”  Yes, for sure he is one of them to blame, but he may not be the only one.  Did the school district that hired the coach do a thorough background and reference check?  Did the parents provide appropriate guidance for the teen and notice if something has gone wrong?  Did the teen herself know how serious the consequences of casual sex can be? 

Who knows if these people are to blame or there may be some other.  It is not the time to play the blame game, however.  It happened, we learn from the incident and we move on. 

For parents, social workers, schools, caregivers, volunteers in youth organizations and anyone who are in constant contact with children: Spend more time with the children, get involved in their activities, listen to what they have to say and detect any irregularities in their behavior or activities.  A research conducted by the Council of Economic Advisors shows that those adolescents who did not eat dinner with a parent five or more days a week had dramatically higher rates of smoking, drinking, marijuana use and initiation of sexual activity.  As you can see, sometimes it is just as simple as having dinner with your children every day.  

Teenage pregnancy is not just a topic for pep talk.  It is a topic that we need to think seriously about and to act on quickly.  It is a social and health concern for all of us.

 

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 6, 2008

More people are not necessarily better for car wash

There is a new car wash facility next to Desert Sun Motors in Alamogordo.  It looks professional and labor-intensive, so I decided to give it a try. 

The car went through a car wash machine similar to the one at Lowes grocery store.  After that, a staff drove the car to an open area where there were four staff and one supervisor attending to my car.  I drove my car to to El Paso before and it was dusty and dirty for sure.  I thought four big guys would be able to make my car sparkling clean. 

They were walking around with a squirt bottle of cleaning liquid and cloth.  I was waiting near the front of my car when I saw that each of them missed a big dusty and buggy spot.  I am talking about an arm-length spot.  Nobody could have missed it.  There were four of them.  I asked the supervisor and pointed at that spot, “will they clean it?”  He quickly directed one of the staff there to clean it. 

It was still not cleaned.  I asked a second time.  Finally, it was cleaned much better.  At least, the spot was not visible anymore from a distance.

Here comes the best part.  I was talking on the phone with my husband while waiting for them to finish cleaning it.  The supervisor walked over to me and asked, “do you have a second set of key?”  Who would carry a second set of car key around?  One of the staff locked the door with my keys in it.  Great, I couldn’t go anywhere without my car and house keys.

They sent a manager to try to unlock the door with a set of slim jim. 

My car was not cleaned after the car wash, plus I had to stand in the wind and sun for another 25 minutes waiting for the manager to arrive and unlock the door so I could leave.

I thought more staff will be better at a car wash.  I guess too many cooks spoil the soup.

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 5, 2008

Desert Sun Motors Team Challenge (golf tournament)

[Filmed (first part filmed by Digital Solutions), edited & produced by Angie Palmer.]

The third Desert Sun Motors Team Challenge was held at the downtown golf course in Alamogordo on Saturday and Sunday.  Golf lovers teamed up to play some serious golf to win some cash.  Check out the video to see some action. :)

   

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Posted by: angiepalmer | May 4, 2008

Toastmasters District Speech Contest Results

Toastmasters District Speech Contests were held at Radisson Suite Hotel El Paso Airport last Friday and Saturday.  Experienced speakers from around New Mexico and El Paso County competed in the Table Topics Contest (speech without prior preparation) and International Speech Contest. 

My husband and I are the official photographers for the speech contests and conference.  I will be uploading a few hundred photos taken at the event on this website soon.  I have also posted photos of other Toastmasters events there.  If you are interested in finding out more about this organization, the photos will give you a very good idea of what we do. 

The results of the speech contests are as follow:

Table Topics Contest

1st place winner - Tom Forrest Broadley, La Tierra Toastmasters, Santa Fe

2nd place winner - John Freisinger, Toastmasters at TVC, Albuquerque

3rd place winner - Rick Buchanan, Albuquerque Toastmasters, Albuquerque

International Speech Contest

1st place winner - John Freisinger, Toastmasters at TVC, Albuquerque

2nd place winner - Carol Ringgold, Oh Pinon Toastmasters, Santa Fe

3rd place winner - Taylor Ranch Toastmasters, Albuquerque

 

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[Filmed by Digital Solutions. Edited by Angie Palmer.]

The Holloman Officers’ Spouses’ Club (HOSC) Scholarship Reception was held at the Heritage Center on Holloman AFB this evening.  HOSC raised $12,000 for their scholarship fund this year, thanks to the proceeds of the sale from the Holloman thrift store.  Kathy Harrigian, Col. Harrigian’s wife and HOSC Honorary President, was also in attendance.

One $1,000 scholarship, four $2,000 scholarship and one $3,000 scholarhip were awarded to the military dependents and military spouse.  The scholarship recipients are as follow:

$1,000 scholarship: Katlyn Hamer

$2,000 scholarship:Nicole Cox, Rachel Weber, Alyssa Keller & Christopher Schreyer

$3,000 scholarship: Angie Palmer

 

     

 

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