IAT NEWSLETTER

April 2003

Calendar of Events | Environmental News | For Sale | Fundraisers

Letter from the President | Letters | Newsletter News | Organization Information

Poetry | Quote of the Month | Websites of Interest

Happy Spring!

This issue of the IAT newsletter is dedicated to the Peterson and Rocha families, and to those serving in the armed forces around the world.


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"IT'S ABOUT TIME WE BEGIN IT,
TO TURN THE WORLD AROUND . . . "


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ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
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Co-Founder/Former President - Marcelle Orswell (notmartha2@yahoo.com)
Co-Founder and Secretary -- Theresa Shea (
Tree1A@aol.com)
Co-Founder/Webpage Designer-Sandy Clark
(tybrenn@attbi.com)
Co-Presidents -- Ann Schnitz (aerie01@sprynet.com) and
Mary Ledford (
eagleshorses@yahoo.com)
Web Site -- --
http://home.attbi.com/~tybrenn/iat/

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
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This month's letter is from Mary -- some of you may not know that there is a
connection between this tragic story and our JD family...Laci Peterson was
the cousin, by marriage, of one of our friends -- our hearts go out to her
and her family in this time of great dispair.

Ann
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Dear Friends,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Easter! (and Happy Passover too! -- AS) As we celebrate this holiday, we can be thankful that our prisoners have returned home safely and pray they will heal quickly from their ordeal. I hope too, that the remaining troops will be able to leave Baghdad soon as we end this dreadful war.

Now here at home, as you all know, last Christmas Eve began an awful ordeal for the Rocha and Peterson families as the search for Laci began. Everyone had high hopes that the outcome would be a happy one and that Laci would return home to begin her life as a new mother. Tragically, that will not happen, as our worst fears were realized. What is even more tragic is that her own husband has now been arrested and charged with the double murder. How could this happen? It makes no sense.

I would urge all of you to keep both families in your hearts and in your prayers as the months ahead will be very trying for both.

I didn't know Laci, but if I had, I'm sure I'd be quoting one of John's songs: "The gift you are ...the gift of you." God bless you Laci.

Peace my friends-Mary

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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To know someone here and there
who thinks and feels with us,
and who, though distant,
is close to us in spirit,
this makes the earth for us
an inhabited garden.

Goethe

From Kathy Lill (
denver@southwind.net)

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FUNDRAISER
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The deadline for submissions is now over; please stay tuned for information on how to order this special cyberbook when it is complete.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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(Will those of you who have had events in the recent past please send us your reviews for the next newsletter?  Thanks -- AS)

April 26, 2003 Jim Curry Earth Day Concert with Pete Huttlinger, Chris Nole, Richie Garcia and Alan Deremo, at The Grove in Upland, April 26th. For information - contact Anne Curry at
jbcurryiam@msn.com and check out Jim's website at www.jimcurrymusic.com

April 26, 2003  Heart of Ohio Windstar Connection presents What One Can Do Earth Day Concert:  A Tribute to John Denver; Mark Cormican, Cottonwood Stone and the John Denver Memorial Peace Cloth,  7 p.m., First Unitarian Church 536 Linton St., Cincinnati OH Donation $4 at the door - under 16 free; Proceeds benefit The Windstar Foundation.  For more information, contact Mev Wilson,
macaddict@fuse.net

April 26, 2003 Picnic In The Park, San Gabriel Park, Georgetown, TX with the Country Road Singers. The music will probably begin around 1:00 p.m. For more information, contact JoLynn Long at jdspirit@cox-internet.com

May 2-4, 2003 PA Friends of JD Retreat / Lebanon, PA Gretna Glen Camp, 87 Old Mine Road $50 payment to Patricia Liddic / 533 Lexington Road / Lancaster, PA 17603 by March 5, 2003. For more information, please write to Pat at
liddic@lancnews.infi.net.

May 3, 2003 near Waukesha, WI / "Wisconsin Friends of JD" Spring Highway Cleanup / helpers needed! meet 10:30am /Kettle Moraine Golf Club - 4299 Highway 67 (Dousman, WI) Group "Field Trip" afterward to Nature Center. Carolyn Churchill <The_Family_Churchill@msn.com> 847-356-0074

May 3-4, 2003 Claremont Spring Folk Festival, Claremont, CA May 3 - 1:00pm Jim Curry and Timberline / 3:00pm John Denver Sing-Along Tickets $10 presale or $12 at the door. http://www.claremontfolkfest.org doug.thomson2@gte.net

May 10, 2003 Charlie Zahm, Chris Westfall and Tad Marks present an evening of folk music at the Salem United Church of Christ, Doylestown, PA. Starts at 7:30, tickets are $10, children under 12 free. For more info, check out the web site:
www.geocities.com/aneagleflight/doylestown.html?1026912790440 or email pahough@aol.com

June 7, 2003  Colorado Friends of John Denver Highway Cleanup.  Please contact Evelyn Pinney at
evepin@colorado.net for more information.


REMINDER::: The John Denver Memorial Peace Cloth is available for all JD-related events. Please email
peaceclothinfo@yahoogroups.com for more information, or see our website at www.johndenverpeacecloth.com

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LETTERS
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EARTH DAY
Talk about Earth Day, every day, talk about land and sea, talk about you and me, talk about Earth Day...everyday -- JD

From Sandy Clark (
tybrenn@attbi.com):

Wal-Mart called all the elementary schools in our town offering a $500 grant if they had a project planned for Earth Day. A quick decision was made by some members of our parent group to secure the grant (1st school with a plan got the grant). For Earth Day, we will plant about a 200 foot stretch of land with evergreen trees as a natural barrier for the children's playground. If there is any money left over after purchasing the trees, we
will purchase and plant some shade plants to spruce up the front of the 100 year old school. We will also be spreading mulch and having a general school grounds clean-up.

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From Joan Kurtz (
rangerfan@hotmail.com):

Every year, in my college library, we watch caterpillars turn to chrysalide sto butterflies. We then set them free by the forsythia bushes outside. Though this is normally done in public and elementary school libraries, I guess I'm still a kid at heart. Usually the female students get more excited than the guys. I also hang posters and promote Earth Day in general.

Joan Kurtz, MLS
Katharine Gibbs School
Melville, LI, NY

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OTHERS

From Betty Keutzer (
keutzer@tds.net):

Dear IAT,

Knowing that we are all engulfed in the Operation Iraqi Freedom, I am finding that the only way I can deal with all the concern for myself, all American citizens and military, the leaders of our world, and those military soldiers and families, and the countries involved in this great catastrophe, especially those who have already given up their lives for the price of peace is to use and invite all concerned others to reach out in prayer.

As I was reading the Parade section of this past Sunday's newspaper I came across this special prayer that I now have copied and send to you.

"A Prayer For The World" by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly.
So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color.
Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness.
So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbors.
And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven.  Amen.

Sincerely,
Betty Keutzer

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From Carol Sullivan (
BlossomFound@aol.com):

"Spirituality, Faith, and John Denver"

The Hopi Indians are a tribe of some 12,000 in northeastern Arizona. According to tribal leaders, many among them combine the Hopi tradition with a strong Catholic faith.

The Hopi have the belief that if a person has a good heart, their soul will come back after death in the form of water.  As the Hopi peoples' homeland is the dry desert, any form of moisture is very precious.  Injured American Prisoner of War Jessica Lynch of West Virginia was recently rescued from an Iraqi hospital. On April 5, word reached the Hopi Indians that Jessica's roommate, Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa was not so fortunate. A member of the Hopi tribe, Lori, a mother of two young children, had been killed in the war with Iraq.

A light snow began to fall on the Hopi Indian Reservation as the Hopis were notified of Lori's death. Many Hopi believe that the snow was a comforting sign from God telling them that Lori's spirit had returned. John Denver's plane crashed in Monterey, California on October 12, 19997, just as the first snows of the season gently began to fall on his adopted and beloved homeland of Colorado.

I believe that John's spirit came to rest in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado which he so adored. Perhaps it is there, in the paradise of mountain and columbine, he waits for the spirits of those he loved while on the earth to join him.

Carol Sullivan; Founder: The Blossom Foundation for Children & The Environment,
www.blossomfoundation.ORG

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From Debra Chilton (wilco@paclink.com):

For anyone who is on the list from the Pacific Northwest, we are starting a group and will have our first planning meeting on April 27th in Portland, Oregon. Please contact either myself, Debra Chilton or Diane Charmley for more information. Thanks, Debra

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WEBSITES OF INTEREST
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Dear Friends,

I have created a tribute page for the victims of the war in Iraq. A special version of the song I wrote in memory of John Denver is available at this URL. I hope the words and music bring you solace as they have brought the same to me on many occasions.

http://www.frankdelamarre.com/takethemhome

Peace,
Frank DeLaMarre

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FOR SALE
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Peace Cloth Items!


D
on't forget to check out www.johndenverpeacecloth.com (Peace Cloth Store) for exclusive John Denver items.  All proceeds benefit The John Denver Memorial Peace Cloth.  Also -- if you shop online, please visit our virtual mall:  www.johndenverpeacecloth.onecause.com -- every sale at a store in the mall returns a donation to the Cloth.
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Wildlife Creations extends heartfelt prayers to those facing uncertainty in this time of war, to the innocent children, and those going in harms way. May God watch over them and guide us to finding peace.

If you're looking for something special for a special someone,come check out what Wildlife Creations (
http://www.goecities.com/wldlifecreation) has to offer!! We have many items relating to John Denver and other items that would make fantastic gifts for people you know and love! Or gift someone who is hard to buy for, something that they will talk about for years! From keychains, snowglobes, t-shirts, potpourri jars and more!!! We're sure you'll find something! And remember, whenever you purchase from Wildlife Creations, you're not only giving a gift to someone you know, but to the Windstar Foundantion and also the National Wildlife Federation, in John's memory, for wolf education as all proceeds are given to them. Wildlife Creations is now offering a feature product. Checkout the website for the current featured product! For more information, you can email us at wldlifecreation@wildmail.com.

Watch for furthur news about a contest being sponsored by Wildlife Creations. It could be your chance to win a free membership to Windstar!

Peace and God Bless,
Diana and Susan

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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
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WASHINGTON April 11

The House on Thursday night endorsed oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, setting up a likely confrontation with the Senate as Congress struggles to produce a comprehensive energy policy.

An attempt to strip a House energy bill of a provision that would allow development of the refuge's oil was turned back by a 228-197 vote. Drilling opponents argued more oil could be saved with higher auto fuel economy requirements than the refuge could produce.

Earlier, the House rejected a proposal to require a 5 percent reduction in fuel used by motor vehicles, including SUVs and pickup trucks, within seven years.

With the pro-drilling vote, the House put itself into conflict with the Senate, which last month rejected drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by a vote of 52-48.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20030411_28.html
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Get involved with Earth Day Network's "Water for Life" campaign!

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Earth Day 2003:

Earth Day is coming soon and we want to hear about your Earth Day events. Register your events now at http://www.earthday.net/signup/event.asp or email them to ciobotaru@earthday.net.

The theme for Earth Day 2003 is "Water for Life." For ways to celebrate "Water for Life" on Earth Day, visit
http://www.earthday.net/goals/water/earthday.asp

"What's in Your Water?" Monitor your local watershed!: Using the Earth Day Network "Water for Life" toolkit, learn about your community's water health and how to improve it. Resources for educators, communities and students are available at www.earthday.net/goals/water/water_test.asp. The "What's In Your Water?" Educator's Guide is available online and in PDF format at
http://www.earthday.net/goals/clean_water.stm. For more  information on the "Water for Life" toolkit, email olaughlin@earthday.net.

"The World's Ten Thirstiest Children" Campaign: Children will tell their stories from water-stressed places around the world, raising the profile of water health issues worldwide and equip communities  with the tools to address water issues locally and globally. Email charlotte@earthday.net and find out how you can bring these stories to your community, and learn how to help.

Starbucks and Earth Day Network:

Starbucks is committed to environmental leadership and sharing information with its employees. Starbucks activities and offerings include Earth Day participation, support of EDN, composting with recycled coffee grounds, discounts for the use of commuter mugs and others. In company-operated stores, the cup sleeve will be customized with EDN's logo, URL and the environmental message: Who Say's You Can't Change the World? This is the first year a message of this type has held such a prominent position in stores.

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Voting and the Environment:

The environment surrounds everyone, in the cities, suburbs, and rural areas of the USA. EDN is launching a multi-year campaign expand the movement to include a broader set of community-based health and development issues. Participate, help educate and register one million new voters between Earth Day 2003 and the 2004 elections- and ask your candidates to commit to policies that protect communities and ecosystems. Stay tuned to the Earth Day Network website, you'll be able to register to vote- using our online system, within two  weeks! For questions regarding this exciting new initiative, contact  thames@earthday.net.

Looking for other ways to get involved?

Visit http://www.earthday.net/goals/water/action.asp to make "Water for Life" a priority on Earth Day and every day!

Thank you for your help and ideas! The Earth Day Network 2-year "Water for Life" campaign has been made possible by you, one of our network members that hail from around the world. We appreciate your continued participation, and hope that you will keep sending your ideas and input to olaughlin@earthday.net.

Working together, who says we can't change the world?

Earth Day Network
1616 P Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036 USA
T +1.202.518.0044
F +1.202.518.8794

www.earthday.net
earthday@earthday.net

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POETRY
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None this month

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NEWSLETTER NEWS
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If you would like to submit articles, news items, stories, poetry, or any other pertinent information to IT'S ABOUT TIME, please e-mail any of the IAT staff.  The submission deadline for the next edition is May 19, 2003. Please be sure to include any contact information so that members can e-mail or snail-mail for further details.

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The content of this newsletter is entirely at the discretion of the "It's About Time" staff.   Contributions, as always, are welcomed, although inclusion is not guaranteed.  All contributed material may be subject to editing for content and length.

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". . . IT'S ABOUT TIME WE START TO LIVE IT,
THE FAMILY OF MAN,
IT'S ABOUT TIME
AND IT'S ABOUT CHANGES . . .
AND IT'S ABOUT TIME."


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