J.D. “Doc” Watson has seen the extreme impoverishment of Haiti firsthand.
And that was before the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12.
“I see the pictures on the news … and having just been there, I can picture all of this,” said Watson, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Meeker.
Watson traveled to Haiti the first two weeks in September as part of On Target Ministry, an international education ministry. He was moved then by what he saw.
“It is just abject poverty,” Watson said. “It’s hard to describe. You can loosely compare it to a ghetto. There’s trash everywhere. Street vendors are all over the place trying to sell things, just trying to exist on whatever they can. Even here, people in poverty are not in poverty, quite frankly, compared to that in Haiti.”
Even driving can be a take-your-life-in-your-own-hands experience in Haiti, Watson said.
“There are no traffic laws; it’s a free-for-all,” the Meeker pastor said. “It’s very entertaining if you have a driver who knows how to drive in it, and our driver did. But he got us where we needed to go.”
Watson said living conditions in Haiti were unimaginable, even before the earthquake.
“And now this,” Watson said. “This exponentially magnifies the living conditions. These people are so poor … how can they rebuild?
The staggering death toll from the earthquake ranges from an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 people, many crushed from collapsing buildings.
“So many of the buildings there are concrete block or poured concrete, and when the earthquake hit, they would just shatter,” Watson said. “They don’t have any building codes there. Having been in construction … you just can’t believe how those things are built. They would just disintegrate.”
While other countries around the world are coming to the aid of Haiti, even Watson wonders if it will be enough.
“We’re going to come to their aid, as far as this country … but it makes you wonder how they can recover from something like this,” Watson said.
Still, Haitians are resilient.
“As for the people over there, they’re as tough as nails,” Watson said. “It’s a hard life. In comparison, we’re pretty soft. I saw one guy who sits in a field all day hammering rocks for the mineral deposits that might be in them.
“Sadly, American welfare and many missionary organizations have created an entitlement mentality in much of the population,” Watson added. “But overall it is tough life there for everyone, except the corrupt government.”
Watson is scheduled to return to Haiti in May, but is considering making a trip sooner than that — in March — with the head of On Target Ministry.
“I just read where he’s talking about making a trip down there to hand carry donations he’s been receiving,” Watson said. “I’m thinking about going with him.
“He’s going to hand carry (relief supplies),” Watson added. “That’s the only way. That’s the real problem, you don’t know where it’s going. There’s just no way of knowing. People in the States do not realize the corruption there. The entire country is built on corruption. You can’t be sure that what you send there will actually get where you want it to. The only way to be sure is to hand carry it.”
The facility where the Bible institute group met — the Walls International Guest House — in the capital of Port-au-Prince is in ruins.
“It’s in the heart of the city, but it was almost totally destroyed,” Watson said. “We are in the process of trying to find another facility for our next session of classes in May.”
Watson has tried to contact the translator he used when he visited Haiti, but without success.
“I e-mailed him, but I have not heard back,” Watson said. “I just found out that all 18 of the students at the Haiti Bible Institute are accounted for, and by God’s wondrous grace, everyone is OK. Some have lost their houses, but they are still with us.”
Along with the stories of death and desperation coming from Haiti, there are stories of providence. Watson told about one of the Haitian Bible students who is a pastor and runs an orphanage.
“He had a husband and wife team come in, and from what I understand at least one of them is a doctor, and they arrived an hour before that thing hit,” Watson said. “So they were already in country and were able to help.”
• • • • •
Anthony Mazzola, president of the Meeker Lions Club, said, “If anyone locally wants to contribute to Haiti, and know their donation will actually get to Haiti for relief, we will take contributions and forward them to Lions Club International or they can donate directly (to the Lions Club International Foundation disaster relief fund). They can contact me or Joy Allen.”
Checks can be sent to LCIF, 300 W. 22nd St., Oak Brook, IL 60523. Attention: Donor Services. To make a credit card donation, using MasterCard, Visa or American Express, call LCIF at (630) 571-5466, ext. 517 or 581. Or donate online at www.lcif.org/donate. Select Disaster and include “LCIF Haiti Earthquake Relief” in the comments section.
• • • • •
Initial steps are being taken to evaluate the level of interest in starting a community garden or greenhouse in Rangely.
“We are just in the very first baby steps of getting the information out the community and desiring to get their input and support for the community garden,” said Phyllis Henley. “It will be a community effort. We are looking for a leader to take on the project as well.”
If interested in participating or learning more information about a community garden in Rangely, contact Henley at phyllishenley@earthlink .net, Peter Brixius at [email protected], John Boyd at john.boyd @cncc.edu, Peggy Rector at [email protected] or Ann Brady at [email protected].
For more information about community gardens, visit www.communitygarden.org, www.growinggardens .org (Colorado community gardens) or www.dug.org (Denver Urban Gardens).
• • • • •
Karla Watson and her son Rob, who have K&R’s DJ and Karaoke Services, will sponsor a dance, which will include a dance contest, Feb. 13 in the clubhouse at the Meeker Golf Course. A fund will be set up so a portion of the proceeds from the dance will go toward helping with the medical expenses of Chris Holthus, Mike Blagg’s son, who has lymphoma.
Chris, who will turn 39 on Feb. 1, is receiving hospice care at his home in Denver.
For more information about the dance, call 756-5285, 756-6355 or 878-5285.
• • • • •
Dale Frisby of Meeker, former county assessor, was chairman of the Rio Blanco County Board of County Commissioners when the oil shale trust fund, involving Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties, was first established.
“We all had to agree on the amount for each county,” said Fribsy, who, during a meeting in Rifle, succeeded in lobbying for Rio Blanco County to receive a bigger slice of the financial pie.
“I argued for an additional 10 percent for Rio Blanco County,” said Frisby, who served on the county commission from 1977 to 1981. “The deal was we all had to agree on it, or nobody got anything.”
Frisby was replaced on the commission by Allan Jones, when he decided not to seek re-election.
“I backed Allan, because I had had enough,” Frisby said. “(Allan) took my place as county commissioner. When they got the (oil shale) money, they set it up (the County Capital Improvement Trust Fund).”
Through the years, interest earned on the County Capital Improvement Trust Fund has been allocated to local municipalities and special districts to help fund projects, typically involving matching funds.
• • • • •
Lee Vickers was around in the early days of Colorado Northwestern Community College, back when it was called Rangely College.
“I went there in 1962, when the college opened,” said Vickers, who is now retired and living in Arizona. He and his wife Deanna have been married for 43 years.
Vickers was a busy man back in those early days of Rangely College.
“I was teaching psychology, English, physical education, coached the basketball and baseball teams and was also the athletics director,” he said during a recent phone interview. “At a small college like Rangely that was just starting out, all the faculty and staff were engaged in a number of activities.”
Vickers, who went on to become a college president for 30 years, remains grateful for the opportunity he received at what was then Rangely College.
“Dr. (William) Medesy was the first president. He provided me with an excellent opportunity,” Vickers said. “I’m grateful for that. It was a very exciting time for the college and for those of us who had the privilege to work there.”
Vickers, who retired in 2008 from Dickinson State University in North Dakota, looks back fondly on his time in Rangely.
“It was a very rewarding experience,” he said.
• • • • •
To Wendy Gutierrez of Wendll’s Wondrous Things and Cuppa Joe in Meeker, welcome to the club.
Wendy turned 50 Wednesday.
Jeff Burkhead is editor of the Herald Times. You may e-mail him at [email protected].
