Press Banner

A Neighborhood’s DogA poem by Patty Morelli Miss Betty was once the new pup on the block.She’d sit on my porch where neighbor children would flock.“Can we play with Betty? Here, Betty, come!”Round dark eyes dancing, black fur, bright red tongue.School, winter, summer … time passing, half-flown.Warm days or wet days, they’d stop by my home.“We’re going for a walk, can Miss Betty go?”Then they’d leave with tail-wagging Betty in tow.Time passed, as soft-brown eyes watched from the gate,Old friends drove by, waving, late for a date.“Hey, Betty, good girl!” as they roared on their way.Miss Betty, head low, found a soft place to lay.Then one day, with time, there back came her old friends.With children of children to visit weekends.“Hey, kids. Meet Betty. Hey, girl, how’ve you been?”Tail wagging, tongue licking, oh! A puppy again!

Parker Saige Clifton was born to Faith Estell Clifton of Boulder Creek at 9:01 a.m. Sept. 1, 2010, at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. She weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces.

Last weekend, something remarkable happened. Debra Collins, a 58-year-old woman from Felton, was found in Fall Creek after spending six nights, shivering and weak, sheltered under a fallen tree. Collins’ discovery by Joachim Deguara and his 7-year-old son, Dylan, was the result of a fairly remarkable chain of events that could only happen in a small town where neighbors care about each other.

EDITOR,

In California we are grateful for rain, but if we have to drive during an El Nino downpour, we may not be so pleased with the high intensity of water brought by the storm system. Menacing heavy rains and winds create driving conditions that can increase the opportunities for accidents to occur.