THE OBSERVER -- THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014 -- PAGE 9A

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PAGE 8A -- THE OBSERVER -- THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014

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Vail native Eunice McCollough, now a resident of Eventide, is all smilesas she enjoys the caroling festivities last Thursday night. McColloughand all the residents received carnations during the event, as DenisonHyVee once again donated over 600 flowers for the activities.

Dale Crane, a former Vail resi-dent who now resides at the ReedHouse, enjoys a visit with AnnetteBoeck of Denison during the car-oling festivities last Thursday night. Over 70 carolers participatedat one or more of the four loca-tions visited, including several lo-cal �celebrities� as well as sev-eral Job Corps students and staffmembers. The visitors sang a rep-ertoire of 11 Christmas songs ateach location. Emily Sailer ofSchleswig was a featured soloiston �O Holy Night.�

Luetjes share love,structure with kidsthrough fostering

FOSTER PARENTINGContinued from page 1ones will overcome a lot. With the helpof the church, our small community andour support system, they have come along way.�

They try to give the children experi-ences they might never otherwise be ableto enjoy. For example, they spent 46days last summer camping out despitewelcoming 12 different children intotheir home for respite care.

Last weekend, they enjoyed a tripto Santa�s Castle in Storm Lake, and the�little kids� will be able to have the op-portunity to be involved in school andchurch activities as they grow older.

Foster parenting can be scary, theyadd, but they say they have received�tremendous support� over the yearsfrom the kids� grandparents -- Normaand the late Wendell Luetje and Paul andKay Aschinger.

Jay says they have met a lot ofpeople through their fostering experi-ences who support each other throughtheir common bond. For example, theymet a train engineer from the Ogden/Boone area at one meeting and now threeor four times a week, their new friendgives a toot on his train horn as he passesby their acreage.

The Luetjes started the paperworkfor the adoption process back in Julyand, although the move became officialshortly after National Adoption Day,they decided to stay local instead of trav-eling to one of the 400 events held allover the country.

�It just happened to come up atabout the same time,� Cat says, notingthat each case is different as to the amountof time it takes to complete.

In the spring, the Luetjes are plan-ning to have their new children baptizedand to host an open house at their acre-age for friends in their church, their schooland the community.

�It will be a good chance to wel-come them into the family,� Cat says.

Anyone who would like more infor-mation about how to get involved in fos-ter parenting can call Lutheran Servicesin Iowa, 263-9341, or the Department ofHuman Services, 712-792-4391.

Watch for Part 2 next Thursday!

Getting in theholiday spirit...

Elise Cameron (left)and Laine Miller, fresh-men members of the Ar-We-Va Rockers, arecaught in action duringthe dance team�sChristmas routine per-formed during the boys�halftime Saturday, De-cember 13.

Basketball actionwill resume after theChristmas break with ahome doubleheader vs.CAM on Friday, January2.

The Rockers will beperforming during theboys� halftimes of mosthome games for the re-mainder of the seasonand will present theirannual spring show inMarch.

Photo byLanice Kock

Senator-electErnst receives

committeeassignments

Iowa Senator-elect Joni Ernst has an-nounced that she has been assigned tofour Senate committees of importanceto Iowans, beginning in the 114th Con-gress: Armed Services; Agriculture, Nu-trition and Forestry; Homeland Securityand Governmental Affairs; and SmallBusiness and Entrepreneurship.

Of the assignments, Ernst said, �Iam honored to serve on these four com-mittees which impact Iowans� everydaylives. Ensuring Iowans� voices are heardin Washington is my top priority andthese committees focus on areas of criti-cal importance to our state includingstrengthening our agricultural industryand growing our economy, advocating forIowa small businesses, holding the gov-ernment accountable to act effectivelyand efficiently, and ensuring the UnitedStates remains safe and secure.

�Agriculture is our lifeblood in Iowa.I am eager to join Senator Grassley onthe Agriculture Committee to continuefighting for the interests and values ofIowa farmers and businesses in Wash-ington.

�In addition, as a soldier and veteranI will work tirelessly on the Armed Ser-vices Committee to ensure the safety andsecurity of the American people, as wellas prioritize the wellbeing and opera-tions of those in uniform.�

Senator-elect Joni Ernst will take theOath of Office on January 6, 2015.