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We have a house that overlooks the coast and one day my husband called from our balacony "Oh, No!" From where we looked we were sure there was a beached dead Seal or Sea Lion on "our beach". Luckily, when we got down to it we could tell it was a wonderful large piece of driftwood that looked exactly like a Seal or Sea Lion. Not long after it was gone; swept to some other beach by the sea. We use to have a ladder that went from our property to the beach. One night a storm turned it to shreds. An outcropping on our beach regularly gets buried or becomes a 15 foot high rock. These are the changes that fascinate me.

How do you become a Coaster or part of the Coast Watch? I would love to participate. Could someone email me at edie@together-for-children.org. Thanks.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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Thank you for a very rich conversation this morning. The women shared their personal stories in a thoughtful, emotional, inteligent manner. I thank them for being so candid. I thought Emily did a wonderful job of being sensitive, especially when she had to interrupt and cut-off the woman who was telling about giving her child up for adoption.

I feel abortion should not be a political issue. I am the director of a parenting program and feel very strongly that families need to have the right to choose whether or not to welcome a baby into their lives. Babies need to be wanted and to be loved. The job of being a parent is too difficult to have any kind of resentment towards a child componding it. I am also a Republican and will vote for McLain and Peylin, however, I get angry at the Republican party for making abortion an issue. As one of your guests said it is so much more than political; it is economical, emotional, practical and societal. If children aren't loved and given good homes they can easily become a burden to society and children should never be a burden to anyone. Another one said she was on both sides of the issue politically. I too, value life and feel there is nothing more precious than a child (I have four children and 7 grandchildren) at the same time strongly believe it is so important for people to be able to choose for themselves. I am also a Christian and do not feel abortion goes against my religious beliefs. We are to manifest love and sometimes aborting an unwanted child is the best way to do that.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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One of the areas that has not been addressed is the cost of health care to businesses. I am the director of a small not-for-profit. If I were to have health insurance for my employees it would cost me $10,000 a year for each employee. Multiply this by 5 employees it comes to $50,000. Our budget is just over $100,000. We can not afford to offer insurance. In many agencies, if an employee works more than 18.5 hours a week the agency must purchase insurance for them. Consequently, there are many people hired for only 18 hours, with no opportunity to work more for the same agency, even if they are needed. As a result, people are employed less, earn less money and are unable to purchase their own insurance. In addition, when hospitals and doctors deduct costs from a patients bill they are only bringing the cost down to a realistic level. Inflating medical costs is the issue. The State Rep. is absolutely right in saying cost is the issue that needs to be addressed.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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I am the director of a parenting program in Central Oregon and want to commend your interest in encouraging fathers to be involved in raising their children. It is the hardest and most important job anyone can take on and it was wonderful hearing the dads on the program affirming this.

We often have dads that are the main care giver of their children attending our weekly parent/child groups and they add a wonderful ingredient to our program. During the school year, parents attend weekly with their child and spend an hour playing with their child in age appropriate activities planned by trained early childhood educators. During the second hour the children are in a Children's program with the early childhood staff and the parents separate to spend time with a trained parent educator. I would love to pass on information to anyone interested in doing a similar program. Our web site is www.Together-For-Children.org where they can find information about our program. Or, I can be reached at edie@together-for-children.org. I would also like to hear from any of the dads involved in an all dads program as we are hoping to add this to our offerings in the near future. Thank you for recognizing the important contributions dads make in raising their children

posted 5 years ago
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