Fed up with faxes …

“It’s an outrage and we need to clamp down.”

With those fighting words, DR. DAWN KEITH of BAYSHORE CHIROPRACTIC declared war against the dozens of junk faxes that flood her office every week.

JULIE MARTINDALE, Keith’s secretary, did some investigating. “She’s awesome,” said Keith. “She got tired of wading through spam faxes that disrupt our business, waste our paper supply and interfere with our ability to receive medical records, so she did the research and found out what we can do to put a stop to them.”

In the good news, bad news department, she learned that Oregon Senator Gordon Smith introduced S.714, Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 on April 6, which passed and was supposed to become the law on July 1, but it has been stalled with objections. Details are at www.govtrack.us; click on “Search Bills.” Meanwhile, keep the pressure on the FCC by using a facsimile telephone handset and calling 1-888-382-1222. You may use your home, business and cell phone. If there is a violation within 31 days after registering, contact www.donotcall.gov and file your complaint electronically.

Businesses may contact the FCC SPAM regulations line at 1-888-225-5322, enter 0 for Operator, ask the Operator to annotate in their database the business name and provide examples of companies’ names, subject of facsimile and any telephone numbers. At this time, again stress the need for expeditious passage of S.714.

Contacting the Do Not Call Registry may not immediately stop the spamming, but repeated efforts will cause a slow down.

Another interesting link is www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/spam. If you have trouble accessing the above website addresses, try to manually type it in the address line.

Lights are still on …

Some of the people who came to Oak Harbor after being wiped out by Hurricane Katrina have gone back to Louisiana and Mississippi.

“It’s home to them,” said BARBARA JOHNSON, Executive Director, Island County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In all, over 50 evacuees have been seen at the Island County Chapter of the Red Cross. Some of them are children who had been sent here to stay with family and go to school, and some are families and individuals who need to relocate as they have no home or job to return to. Most of the people who came here knew someone here; being military is not a factor for everyone.

Johnson spoke highly of CYNTHIA MONREAN who became Disaster Manager and took care of virtually all casework for survivors and training of volunteers. Over 100 people came forward to become volunteers. Monrean is typical of the volunteers who worked non-stop in September and October to get people settled.

Any evacuees in the area need to call the office at 257-2096.

“This disaster relief is still active and we anticipate we will be done with this in the next several weeks in Island County,” said Monrean.

One more thing about volunteers. You must complete specific classes to be able to help in a local emergency and even more training is required to qualify to help in the next national disaster. A call to 360-257-2096 will get you what you need.

Car dreams …

For years, BETTY TEWS dreamed of owning a Mercedes 240 SL. Her vision was quite specific. Nothing else would do.

Then one day as she drove past SLOWIK MOTORS, a classic ‘87 Mercedes 560 spoke to her, and Betty fell in love with the silver gray road machine.

Don’t call her fickle. It is every woman’s right to grab a good deal when she sees one.

“It has 80,000 miles on it,” she said over the phone, adding with a hint of smugness, “and it’s a hardtop/softtop.”

Her husband GLENN will be permitted to drive it should their Cadillac Brougham, Chevy pick-up and Plymouth van all mysteriously go down at the same time.

Where’s the 560 these days? “It’s all warm and toasty in the garage,” Betty purred, with a hint of a giggle. That woman knows how to shop.

Christmas presence …

Remarkable things happen when we open our hearts to strangers. If you could invite anyone you wish into your home at Christmas, would it be a head of state, a homeless kid, a forgotten elderly neighbor? Let me know so I can include your comments in a future column.

Meanwhile, call me with your news at 675-6611 and don’t forget to refill the gas grill’s propane tank. It’s a Whidbey Island tradition to finish cooking Thanksgiving dinner on the deck in the dark, or perhaps you are new to the area. See you on Nov. 23!