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From : Lila Hayes
Sent : Apr 17, 2006
Subject : OFRG update

 Old Fire Recovery Group Email Newsletter

 
Information compiled by
Lila Hayes, Coordinator
Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax
 
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Index
 1. Interest in another OFRG Meeting???
 2. Death of Bob Fine
 3. Our trip to NO
 
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In The News
 1. Building homes On shaky ground, April 16, 2006, SB Sun
 2. Being prepared for disaster, April 16, 2006, SB Sun
 3. San Francisco shakes it up for centennial, April 2, 2006, The Associated Press
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On The Web
1. "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country" New USGS Earthquake Preparedness Handbook
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1. Interest in another OFRG Meeting???
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A couple of members have brought it to my attention that they'd like to have another get together, perhaps with a little information thrown in. Some people have found themselves just moving in and then receiving code compliance "fix-it tickets" and there might be a couple of issues there that could be addressed meeting style.
 
If you have a topic that you would like addressed, please reply and we'll work on finding someone to speak to us.
 
Also, would you like to have it at the same time we've had our previous meetings (Sunday afternoon)? Remember, I'm driving from San Diego, so I'm personally limited to weekends. We'll also have to find a venue.
 
I look forward to hearing feedback for this potential event.
 
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2. Death of Bob Fine
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We would like to note the death of Bob Fine. He (when health allowed) and his wife Carol came to our meetings regularly. They had just moved into their new house at the time of their death. He will be sorely missed.
 
A nice article was published in the Sun
http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_3691757
 
Please see his obituary HERE
http://www.legacy.com/PE/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=17322930
 
SAN BERNARDINO FINE, BOB 69, A great-grandson of an original Mormon founder of San Bernardino, Bushrod Wilson, passed away to join his parents on April 5, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Carol; 2 sons, Robert Ray Fine, Jr. and Charles Ray Fine; step-daughters, Christina Goldsberry and Kathleen McCormick; sister and her husband, Lois and Creighton Depew; grandchildren, John and Jordan Fine, Joseph Guisti, Eden and Rebecca Goldsberry, Tyler and Andrew Fine; great-granddaughter, Caitlin Fine, as well as many wonderful friends. Bob retired from General Telephone and Keough Communications. His passion was working with his many tools in his garage, a "Jack of all trades", repairing and building what was necessary. His love was to bring life back to the old mechanical music machines that he would locate and bring home to his garage. He then faced the challenge of restoring the mechanical parts and refinishing the beautiful wooden cases. He would then bring them into the house and listen to the magical music rolls play lively tunes such as heard from merry go rounds. His family was always his first concern and love. Graveside services will be Monday, April 10, 2006 at 2:00PM, Mt. View Cemetery, 570 E. Highland Ave., San Bernardino. In lieu of flowers the family suggest donations be made in Bob's name to charity of choice. BOBBITT MEMORIAL CHAPEL Send condolences at: www.bobbittchapel.com
Published in the Press-Enterprise on 4/8/2006.
 
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3. Our Trip to New Orleans
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After Hurricane Katrina the fire group held a couple of conference calls to discuss how we might be able to help. We decided that the problem was so big there was no way to help everyone so maybe we should find a group or small town and impart what information we could to that group.
 
After some time and research (you can see a list of groups I found at http://www.disastersurvivornetwork.com/3_other_survivors/othersurvivors.htm) in December I found a couple of ad-hock community groups which started forming via Yahoo. I joined the group and threw in my 2 cents when I thought it was appropriate and shared our website and Community Partner's "From Chaos to Community" with them. In the process I gained a bit of comradry with some of the survivors. I found them very responsive as they tried to follow the book and setup a structure and rebuild their lives.
 
Community Partners was able to draw some money from a grant to send a team of 4 people (including me) to New Orleans so we could talk face to face. Here is how Paul Vandeventer explained the trip.
On April 7-9, a small group of disaster survivors from Southern California will come to New Orleans to talk about and exchange know-how with other survivors regarding post-disaster recovery and rebuilding.  Three of the visitors come from communities that experienced extensive fire disaster damage and themselves survived in various ways (Lila Hayes's mother's house and childhood home was extensively damaged in 2003 and Lila served as coordinator for the Old Fire Recovery Group while helping her mother through the recovery process; Ursula Hyman's house was the only one left standing on the entire block in the wildfire-destroyed foothill neighborhood of Altadena, California in 1993 and Ursula served as volunteer president of the Eaton Canyon Recovery Alliance; Dave Stuart lives in and works extensively in a leadership role with his survivor-neighbors in Lake Arrowhead through the organization Rebuilding Mountain Hearts and Lives).
As the fourth member of the party, my work at Community Partners through our 2003 Fire Recovery Initiative has been in serving as convener and facilitator across several alliances.  All of us have played leadership or support roles in organizing local recovery and rebuilding alliances. While the flood disaster and its consequences (particularly the scale and some of the insurance issues) differ in significant ways from a fire disaster, the survivor and rebuilding experience is similar in crucial ways.  Each one of this group contributed in some way to the contents of From Chaos to Community: A Guide to Helping Friends and Neighbors Recover and Rebuild After a Major Disaster, available with the companion booklet Fire Stories at:
 
The booklets distill the experience of Southern California disaster survivors in building durable and effective post-disaster, long-term recovery and rebuilding alliances in their neighborhoods.
 
I also mentioned that your newspaper had published an op-ed piece by one of our visitors, Ursula Hyman, a few months ago.  I've attached the web reference for it here.
 
I think we were able to show the leaders in the communities a small ray of hope that they will eventually move past the disaster and gave them some information to help them to that point. It was a great trip and I hope we can go back for a follow up to see how our groups are progressing.
 
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In The News
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1. Building homes
On shaky ground
Andrew Silva, SB Sun Staff Writer
April 16, 2006  
 
As the earliest monkeys scampered across Africa some 30 million years ago, the great North American plate, riding on currents of viscous rock deep inside the Earth, ground up against its neighbor to the west, the Pacific plate.
As the continent-sized masses of rock crunched together in a tectonic shoving match, an 800-mile-long line was born where they slip and snap and rumble past each other.
 
 
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2. Being prepared for disaster
Andrew Silva, SB Sun Staff Writer
April 16, 2006
 
No Californian alive today will have seen anything like it.

Those who've been to New Orleans may have a feel for it, though.
 
 
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3. San Francisco shakes it up for centennial
Roger Petterson
Sunday, April 2, 2006
By Roger Petterson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
It's always a good time to visit San Francisco, and now you can enjoy the modern city while gaining an appreciation for its history as it holds a variety of observances for the centennial of the devastating 1906 earthquake.
 
Look around and get acquainted with the city at Only in San Francisco -- onlysf.sfvisitor.org -- a guide to places to stay, eat and shop, and to things to do, ranging from touring Haight Ashbury to hooking up with tour guides who will take you through Chinatown or out to Alcatraz.
 
 
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On The Web
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1. Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country
Southern California Spring 2006 Edition
 
Download an online version or request hard copies at:
 
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Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax