Bulk Spice Order

I am doing a bulk spice order. I will need to have your order and money collected by March 22nd. The spices will be ready for pick up about 2 weeks after that(if not sooner). I will have order forms at church, starting this Sunday. If you would like one emailed to you then shoot me an email and I would be happy to send one to you. autumnprince@hotmail.com

Food Storage classes.

My Mom just had an enrichment class on food storage and said they talked about a lady named Wendy Dewitt. Her blog is www.everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com
She is from the Phoenix/Mesa area, and for a while she was traveling all over to teach classes at no cost. She has a system that is very easy, to get started and follow. I am starting it and it just seems logical. And she has some very good ideas/knowledge. She has videos on youtube as well. I haven't sat through all of them, but I believe there is 7-9 of them. Anyway, I just emailed her with a question and she said that there is a 3 class series on BYU Living Essentials (Is this the same as BYU TV?). And the first class is tomorrow(Monday) night at 7pm. The 2nd class is March 30th and the 3rd hasn't been scheduled yet.
But she has some very good informationa and thought you may emjoy tuning in.

Homemade Fudge!!!!

One of my best friends has started to sell her amazing homemade fudge. The recipe has been in her family for a long time! She will even decorate the package for a special event at no extra charge. Check out her blog here

2/21 ToysRUs Thomas Play Date

For all you moms who have boys who love Thomas the Train, this is the event for you!

Car Seat Check and Fun activities

They are having a car seat safety inspection on Saturday Feb. 14, @ Safeway parking lot (Silverbell, & Twin Peaks) from 11:00am til 3:00pm

They are having jumping castles and other things for the kids and parents.

ENJOY!

Nursery Musical Instruments

We are looking for toilet paper rolls, pringles cans, beans, rice, wooden blocks, sand paper, and pvc pipe end caps (1inch). If you have any of these items and would be willing to donate them, we would greatly appreciate it! The Activity Day girls are making them for their activity next week.
Thank you Thank you!!!!

Lunch Bunch 2-11-09

Due to the chilly and rainy weather, lunch bunch scheduled for tomorrow (2-11-09) will be at the church. Hope to see you all there.

Our Meeting With The Mayor

Today, Kati and I had our meeting with the mayor. I was happy to see that they really had listened to us and had worked at rewording the ordinance in accordance to suggestions we had made. They added the word "unattended" to the Unattended Child In Motor Vehicle Ordinance. They had somehow managed to leave out that word in the original. They also removed the words "in the motor vehicle" for the portion that stated "without supervision by another person in the motor vehicle who is at least 14". So, now you can still be " supervising" if you are within sight or sound of the vehicle. Yeah, we no longer have to stand in fear of dropping the books in the return slot or returning the cart to the cart return!

We didn't get it reduced to an infraction but they did add a clause that for a 1st violation, the person could have the opportunity to complete a diversion program, a 24 hour parenting class. After successful completion, the 1st class misdemeanor would be dismissed. They also removed the mandatory fine of $1,000. The judge could fine the person anywhere from $0-2,500 depending on the severity. The fine would have to cover the cost of the class which would range from $250-$450, so you technically could still be hit with a $500 fine.

With the rewording, I do not stand in fear of breaking this ordinance. With the rewording, children will be protected from being left unattended in a vehicle which was the original goal and the innocent, law abiding parents will be protected as well!

I'm grateful that I live in a community where the Mayor and Town Council truly listen to their citizens. The mayor even gave us his cell phone # and told us we could contact him at any time with any other concerns we might have concerning our town. We have an amazing mayor who truly loves the people and the town that he serves.

This has also gotten me interested in serving on a citizen advisory committee for the town. I'm looking in to the committee for the police. I really think there needs to be a voice of concern for parents of young children. I feel that had there been a parent on the committee, the wording of the ordinance would have been changed before it ever got passed.

I also think I will try to keep my shopping to Marana. Tucson passed an identical ordinance to the original one that Marana passed. For all those moms in Tucson, be careful when you go to return the shopping cart! I hope that Tucson follows the example of Marana and changes their poorly written ordinance as well!

Garden

We are about to start our garden for the spring/summer. I was wondering if anyone else is going to do the same & if so what you are going to plant so that we have opportunities to trade different types of produce.
I was going to do bell peppers, tomatoes and maybe cantaloupe with a few herbs.

Free prenatal vitamins

You might have seen this in the Bashas add this week...

Bashas is offering free prenatal vitamins to expecting moms. You just need to bring a prescription for prenatals from your doctor and show it to someone at the pharmacy.

Key Points of the Marana Unattended Child Ordinance

My husband, Ivan Ashcraft, wrote up the following after seeing the bias opinion poll on 104.1's website and listening to Jon Justice's Morning Show today. I quote from his email to Jon Justice.

"Jon,

I just want to make sure that you address the key points in Marana's new unattended child ordinance.

• Age limits
• in Marana it is illegal to leave child under 10
• California law specifies under 6
• Marana: supervising person must be
• over 14, and
  
• in the car
• California: supervising person must be
• 12 or over
• in the supervision area
• Level of the crime
• Marana: First class Misdemeanor
• California: Infraction
• Fine
• Marana: $1000 dollars
• California: $100 dollars
• Tucson: $1000 dollars or a 24 hour class

The council member suggested that it is either a $1000 fine or have a catastrophe. I think she meant have a catastrophe and $1000 fine. For example the lady that had her car stolen with her baby from her driveway, upon recovery of the vehicle and her baby would have been slapped with a mandatory $1000 fine and a First Class Misdemeanor (permanent on record). What a way to make a terrible situation worse. Based on you previous opinion, you trust the officer would do what you think would be right. In actuality he would do what he wants regulated only by what is written in the law. He would never call John Justice and get his opinion. Therefore it is imperative that the law be written to avoid poor interpretation. If a person thought the officer was in the wrong, it would cost the person and the public thousands of dollars to address the issue in court.

This law is not a tool to educate and increase the public safety. It is a tool for punishing uneducated citizens.

Your opinion poll on the 104.1 homepage is a loaded question making it completely biased having no value. An effective poll would include the following questions:

If a city ordinance was passed to protect children from being left in a car:

• What should be the age limit for a child left in the car?
• What is the appropriate age limit for the person supervising?
• What should be the level of the offense?
• citation
• first class misdemeanor (permanent on record and may impact future employment possibilities)
  
• What should be the level of the fine?
• Should the judge be at liberty to reduce the fine for an minor offense?
  
• Should there be an option for the first offense to be wiped from the record and the fine waved by taking a class (for which the subject would pay)?

One more note. Wouldn't a law concerning general neglect of a child address this subject? Do we not already have such laws in place? If we don't, we have a lot more to worry about than issuing misdemeanors to a parent for leaving a 9 year old in a air-conditioned car while standing outside of the car to talk with a neighbor. (Again you say that's ridiculous, and again I say that is what the law, as written, specifies as an offense and you are not the officer making the decision.)

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Ivan Ashcraft"

Meeting With The Mayor

Kati and I have a scheduled meeting with Mayor Honea on Monday. We are in favor of an ordinance similar to California's Kaitlyn's Law. Click here to view Kaitlyn's law. If our town's ordinance had wording similar to this law, I would not personally worry about being in violation of this ordinance.

A violation is an infraction and not a 1st class misdemeanor and carries a punishable fine of one hundred dollars and not $1,000. It also has better age limits and uses the word supervision verses the wording "another person in the motor vehicle who is at least 14 years of age . If you are outside the vehicle, you are supervising! Returning the shopping card, the library books, pulling out a stroller before removing a child from the vehicle, etc. would not be in violation of this.

Their law also states "When the vehicle's engine is running or the vehicle's keys are in the ignition, or both." That is much better wording than "the key to the motor vehicle is located
in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle."
We also love that California uses 70% of the proceeds from fines to develop and implement community education programs on the issue of leaving children unattended in a vehicle.

We are in 100% agreement that following part of Marana's ordinance should remain as stated:

Section 11-8-2 Protection of children by town

A. Any peace officer is authorized to use whatever force is reasonable and necessary

to remove any child from a motor vehicle whenever it appears that the

child’s life or health is endangered by extreme temperatures, lack of ventilation

or any other condition existing within the motor vehicle.

{00012044.DOC / 3} - 2 - JF 2/3/09

B. No peace officer shall be liable for damages to property caused by the use of

reasonable force to remove a child from a motor vehicle as described in this

section.

I have shown or forwarded several mothers and grandmother's Kaitlyn's law. All agree that an ordinance worded similar to Kaitlyn's law would be preferable. If you have any suggestion, comments, or concerns that you would like us to bring up with the mayor, please call Stephanie at 407-6364.

This is what Marana passed:

Section 11-8-1 Prohibited conduct

“It is unlawful to leave a child who is under ten years of age in a motor vehicle

without supervision by another person in the motor vehicle who is at least 14

years of age if either of the following applies:

A. The conditions tend to present a risk to the child’s health, safety or welfare; or

B. The motor vehicle engine is running or the key to the motor vehicle is located

in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle.

Section 11-8-2 Protection of children by town

A. Any peace officer is authorized to use whatever force is reasonable and necessary

to remove any child from a motor vehicle whenever it appears that the

child’s life or health is endangered by extreme temperatures, lack of ventilation

or any other condition existing within the motor vehicle.

{00012044.DOC / 3} - 2 - JF 2/3/09

B. No peace officer shall be liable for damages to property caused by the use of

reasonable force to remove a child from a motor vehicle as described in this

section.

Section 11-8-3 Violation; penalty

A. A violation of this chapter is a class 1 misdemeanor.

B. A person convicted of violating this chapter shall be fined not less than

$1,000. The magistrate may not grant probation in lieu of or otherwise suspend

the imposition of the minimum fine prescribed by this paragraph

News Coverage

Kati Carbonneau and the ordinance passed in Marana were the top story on the 6 p.m. KVOA evening news cast. Click here to watch the news segment.

Stephanie Ashcraft will be on KGUN9's 10 p.m. and KOLD13's 10 p.m. evening news cast.

We would personally like to thank these news stations for helping us vocalize our concerns with the wording of this ordinance. We would also like to publicly thank Mayor Ed Honea. He called to today to apologize for the mix-up with Kati's speaker card. He also would like to meet with Kati and I along with other parents to talk about ammending the wording to this ordinance. Yeah! If you would like to be part of this meeting next week, please call Stephanie at 407-6364.

Marana Plays The Anti-Family Advocate

I've had a night to think and sleep on this. I'm pretty upset by the wording of this ordinance that passed last night. Marana prides itself for being an "attractive community dedicated to maintaining a friendly environment where people can work, shop, live and play". I have been a long time supporter of the town of Marana, its' mayor, and most of its' council. This is a breaking straw. The things that drew us to Marana were its' family friendly activities, communities, and schools.

I consider myself a law abiding citizen. I drive the speed limit. I pay my taxes. I try to contribute to my neighborhood and community. As worded, I personally could have been in violation of this ordinance 8 times yesterday.

First violation, I shuffled my kids to get in the car to go to school. I had to run back into the house to encourage the last child who hadn't made it out the door. The other 3 kids (all under the age of 10) were buckled in their seats. But I left them in a car without a person 14 years or older.

Second, I drove down the street to get pick up a neighbor's child to take to school. The kids were "freezing", so I left the car running in her driveway to get the heat going as I ran to the door to get the child. I was out of the car for a maximum of 2 minutes with the car in sight. Yet as written, I technically would have been in violation of this ordinance.

After driving home, I parked in my driveway, opened my garage door, jumped out of the car to grab the stroller to load my 2 year old for my morning walk. I was within sight of the vehicle at all times, but technically I would be breaking the law. Knowing my 2 year old who DARTS and DASHES, I knew she was safer being buckled in her seat while I grabbed the stroller. Technically, this would have been my 3rd violation.

Our church was having a clothing exchange/ clothing drive. I buckled my 2 year old in the car and loaded the 2 large bags from my garage into the van. I didn't have a 14 year old in the car at the time. This technically would have been violation #4!

I volunteered to take a friend's clothes to the church for her, so she wouldn't have to load all 5 young children that she had at her home that day into her car to do this herself. I pulled up to her home, opened the back of my van and loaded the bags she had placed in her driveway, and knocked on the door to let her know that I had gotten it loaded. The windows of my car were open and I did have the keys in my hand and not in the car, but there still was not a 14 year old in the car, so technically this would have been another violation.

I get to the church and park close to the door. I decide that Emma is safer buckled into her car seat watching a cartoon while I unload the car than running wild in the parking lot. So, I unload all the bags by making trips back and forth from the van just dropping the bags inside the churches glass doors. She is in my sight at all times. And even though my car is not running, I am on my 6th violation because I left the keys in the passenger compartment. As soon as the last bag was unloaded, I unbuckled Emma and took her inside with me to transport all the bags where they were needed.

As I was going to leave, I buckled Emma in the car. Someone we knew drove into the parking lot. Her door was open and she was in my sight the entire time. We visited for a few minutes in the parking lot. This would have been my 7th violation because there was not a 14 year old in the car at the same time. I personally feel she was safer buckled in her seat than running around the parking lot or into the street where she could have been hit by a moving vehicle. Guess what? Starting March 5th, we will be required to have all of our children under age 14 technically outside the car vehicle if we are talking to other parents in the school parking lot. Remember it's a 1st class misdemeanor and carries a MANDATORY minimum $1000 fine!
Marana, the friendly community, becomes the instant cold community because none of us can afford to do this anymore.

I drive into my blink and you miss it driveway. I grab my mail from the mail box, and then proceed to remove Emma from the car. Had I unloaded her first, she would have dashed into the road while I grabbed the mail. I know her. I am her mother. My two year old has this fixation with dashing into the road or parking lot. I can not put her down without it endangering her safety. But according to the Town Council of Marana, this would have been my 8th violation. I'm just grateful that I didn't have library books that needed dropped off in the drop box by the library door. That could have been a 9th violation!

I need to write a note on my defense that had it been hot outside I would have taken her inside the house or church first. Any decent mother would have done that, but because there is no temperature clause or distance clause I still would be violating this ordinance.

This new ordinance makes my physically sick. I may not be the best mother on the planet, but my children's safety is always of up most concern to me. If this ordinance is not repealed, I worry about parents who will become more negligent with their children as a result. It would be tempting to just leave all 4 of my children at home by themselves to drive the 2 miles to drop off the library books than to chance the $1000 MANDATORY FINE and the 1st CLASS Misdemeanor that accompanies having the kids in the car. Maybe I'll just have my special needs 5 year old return all the books. For those of you who know my 5 year old, this could be scary!

My other concern is that a child will be killed or ran over in a parking lot at a school or business because moms who are trying to abide by all the laws and ordinances of this great land are required by law now to put their children's lives in jeopardy. I pray that a life is not lost before we can resend this new ordinance.

Please email the media and members of the Marana Town Council with your personal views on this new ordinance. They may not listen to the one, but if they get 100 emails on this issue, they will have to stop and take notice.

Here are all the addresses to copy and paste into your email. These are all the email addresses for each member of the council including the mayor and for every news agency in Tucson.

ehonea@marana.com, HERB@KAIFARMS.COM, rclanagan@marana.com, pcomerford@marana.com, cmcgorray@marana.com, jpost@marana.com, rziegler@marana.com, justice@1041thetruth.com, "Jenny Anchondo" , "Ronquillo, Karla" , news@tucsoncitizen.com, newstips@kvoa.com, news@fox11az.com, lmarble@explorernews.com, emeltzer@azstarnet.com, kgun9news@kgun9.com

Kati Carbonneau's Words To The Marana Town Council

Kati did an amazing job addressing the Marana Town Council this evening. Unfortunately they chose to not readdress this awfully written ordinance and let it pass anyway.

"Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion about the proposed ordinance.

I do not believe that it is right to spell out every step that one person is allowed or not allowed to take, however there are some guidelines that we should follow, and do. Everyday I make decisions concerning the welfare of my children, and many times I disagree with how other people take care of their children. It is not however up to me to tell them what to do. If a child is in danger or their health is at risk I understand that it may be necessary to involve an officer of the law. At that point it would be to their disgression of how to handle the circumstance.

If we look at the ordinance, beginning with Section one:

Let's say that it is 115 degrees outside so I start the car to cool it down. I put my children in their seats and then walk around the car to get in. I have left a child without someone 14 yrs old in the car and the car is running. There is no question that at that moment I have broken the law how it is written. It is black and white, the motor vehicle engine is running and my children are alone.

The officer HAS to write me a ticket and give me the class 1 misdemeanor. Anyone would agree that the punishment does not fit the crime in this situation.

Even if I am just returning my empty grocery cart to a stall, running back inside my house for my purse or phone, talking to a neighbor outside of my car, or returning a movie to the drop off slot...if my car is running I am at fault, and again the punishment does not fit the crime.

Section A does not say how far away I can be, it does not say I have to be in line of sight, nor does it say how long is too long to be away.

With 3 children under 4 and another on the way, I know I cannot take my children into my home all at the same time. Someone has to be last to get out, and they usually fall asleep on the way home from going into town, there are too many situations that could happen where I could be fined according to this law, and yet I do not feel I am putting my children in any danger.

I've already mention parts of section 3 when talking about fines, but as I said before I feel the penalties are too steep. I do not feel it is right to have a MANDATORY MINIMUM and if there needs to be a fine, then it should match the degree of danger of the situation. Should I be scared to call for help when my children accidently get locked in the car while I am standing at the door (with the car running or not!)? Will I be fined for trying to get help?

I know I am not the only one who feels this way. There are a few other's in the audience that I have spoken with, that have the same concerns that I do.

Whatever we decide to change or pass, I would hope that the council would not pass this ordinance as it stands and not burden parents with strict penalties from laws that open themselves to loose interpretations."

This is what Marana passed:

Section 11-8-1 Prohibited conduct

“It is unlawful to leave a child who is under ten years of age in a motor vehicle

without supervision by another person in the motor vehicle who is at least 14

years of age if either of the following applies:

A. The conditions tend to present a risk to the child’s health, safety or welfare; or

B. The motor vehicle engine is running or the key to the motor vehicle is located

in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle.

Section 11-8-2 Protection of children by town

A. Any peace officer is authorized to use whatever force is reasonable and necessary

to remove any child from a motor vehicle whenever it appears that the

child’s life or health is endangered by extreme temperatures, lack of ventilation

or any other condition existing within the motor vehicle.

{00012044.DOC / 3} - 2 - JF 2/3/09

B. No peace officer shall be liable for damages to property caused by the use of

reasonable force to remove a child from a motor vehicle as described in this

section.

Section 11-8-3 Violation; penalty

A. A violation of this chapter is a class 1 misdemeanor.

B. A person convicted of violating this chapter shall be fined not less than

$1,000. The magistrate may not grant probation in lieu of or otherwise suspend

the imposition of the minimum fine prescribed by this paragraph

I had the following underlined section in what I was going to say, but cut it out because I knew I only had three minutes...

I would hope it would never happen, but technically, if I am pumping gas at the gas station (my car is turned off) and my children are in the car, for all I know, an officer could decide it was too hot that day for them and I could be fined, because no one older than 14 is in the car.

Like I said before, I don't think they should tell me every step to take or not to take, but I also think the law in this case is too broad for such a steep penalty.

In reading the Cover sheet for this ordinance it seemed as if someone felt that because there is a law about animals being left in a car, than there should be one about the safety of children too. I think we have enough laws that can be interpreted to cover the safety of children, regardless of where they are at that we really don't need another one spelling out the car as the specific danger.

When reading on in section two of the ordinance I would agree that any peace officer should not feel they cannot save someone's life without being sued for damages to a vehicle. I would not oppose an ordinance covering that topic alone.

Go here...http://www.tucsonaz.gov/agdocs/20080923/sept23-08-523.pdf

to see a general idea of what the city of Tucson passed just this last September. It seems almost word for word what we passed, but notice you can take 24hrs of classes to educate you on the topic and then you don't have a fine.

An Awful Ordinance Passed in Marana Tonight

I was saddened tonight as I stood in the chamber of the town of Marana and watched our town council pass a new ordinance that prohibits leaving a child, 10 years old or younger, in a vehicle without another person, 14 or over, being in the car with them. It also covers a child left with keys in the vehicle or one with the engine running. As this ordinance is written it applies from parking lots to driveways. Tucson passed a similar ordinance in September with an added clause stating that if it's your first offense, you can take a class without being charged the fine.

Say you drop off a movie in a drop box. Or you drop the library books in the drop box outside the library door and you leave the kids in the car. Say you buckle in your kids and then return your shopping cart to the closest cart return. Say you turn on the air conditioner to cool down the car, buckle in all your kids and walk around your car without a 14 year old inside. This offense, starting March 5th, is now a 1st class misdemeanor. Offenders will face a MANDATORY minimum fine of $1,000!

A dear friend and neighbor, Kati Carbonneau, got there early enough to get a speaker card on the issue. They passed it without even giving her a chance to speak on the matter. She and I had to flag the mayor to bring to his attention that they had skipped her. They finally let her speak, but would not reopen the issue for further discussion by the council. To read Kati's words to the town council, click here!

So, dear friends, you who are parents of children under the age of 10, we are all now HANDICAPPED. We physically are forced to break this ordinance the way it is written every time we step out of the vehicle. If this is the case, the city of Tucson and town of Marana need to resend these ordinances as written or provide the physical amenities that every parent would need to comply to this law. This would include drive-up drop boxes at every major goverment and commercial establishment. Every school would need to have drop off and pickup area so parents would not be required to leave the vehicle. After all, they passed these ordinances. Now, they need to provide ways that every parent can physically abide by these ordinances.

We are starting a petition of register voters in Marana to resend the ordinance as it is written currently. If you are interested in signing this petition, please leave a comment with email address or call me at 407-6364.