Portland Metro Area Child Care News

Most people think of February 2^nd as Groundhog Day, but not at the Oregon Zoo.  Here, it’s Hedge Hog Day, and Chriki the Hedgehog, whose name means “blessed” in Swahili, will be making our weather prediction at 10:30 a.m. at the Zoo’s Entry Plaza.  Will Chriki see its shadow this year, or will we have six more weeks of arctic blasts?

Metro Council President, David Bragdon says, “The groundhog is a relative newcomer to the prognosticating game,” and, “Historically, the hedgehog was used in this centuries-old European tradition, but immigrants to North America discovered that there were no hedgehogs in their new homeland.  They substituted the groundhog, but being purists, we’re going back to the original creature.”  Bragdon will be overseeing the festivities for Hedgehog Day.

The use of hedgehogs to predict the weather dates back thousands of years when the Romans believed that if the hedgehog looked out of his den and saw his shadow, there would be a clear moon and six more weeks of winter.  The most amazing thing about the similarities between the Romans watching the hedgehog and Americans watching Punxsutawney Phil is that both celebrations were on the same exact day, February 2^nd.

Groundhog Day actually originated in the 1700’s by the people who settled Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, believed in the legend of Candlemans Day.  If the sun shone on Candlemans Day, so far the snow will swirl in May,” or so the legend goes.  Candlemans Day fell in the middle of Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.  Clergymen would bless candles to be placed in everyone’s windows.

The earliest recorded reference to Groundhog Day in America is displayed at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, and is dated February 4^th, 1841.  It explains that German settlers believe that if the Groundhog peeps out of his winter home and sees his shadow, he naps for six more weeks, but if it’s cloudy, he stays up.

Originally, the Germans were watching a badger for its shadow, but in Pennsylvania, it was replaced by the Groundhog.  In 1886, a newspaper editor named Clymer Freas printed in The Punxsutawney Spirit, “Today is Groundhog Day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow.”

Then, the groundhog was given the name “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary”.  Suddenly, Punxsutawney was named the “Weather Capital of the World.”

On his first appearance, there was no shadow, which meant there would be an early spring.  The next year, the tradition of going to Gobbler’s Knob began.

Today, Punxsutawney is still a fairly small town of under ten thousand people, but on February 2^nd every year, thousands flock to Gobbler’s Knob to see the famous groundhog predict the coming of spring.

In 1993, a movie starring Bill Murray called ‘Groundhog Day’ created an even bigger buzz for the annual ritual visit to Gobbler’s Knob.  Suddenly thousands of people became tens of thousands of people.

Just how often does Punxsutawney Phil get it right?  According to http://www.groundhog.org/about/ he gets it right 100 percent of the time and is 120 years old.  In reality, the guessing groundhog only gets it right 39% of the time.  Since the first official trip to Gobbler’s Knob, he’s seen his shadow 97 times, no shadow 15 times, and there is no record for 9 years of the festivities.

February 2^nd, 2009 marks the 123^rd trip to Gobbler’s Knob for Punxsutawney Phil’s official prognostication.  Among the festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania will be fireworks, fun, and the official prediction at about 7:25 a.m. Eastern Time.

Most Oregonians won’t be awake when the groundhog shows himself, which will be at about 4:25 our time, but every morning news show will be doing a report on the famous fur ball, then you can head off to the Oregon Zoo   http://www.oregonzoo.org/ to see what Chriki predicts.  Want another opinion?  Canada’s groundhog, Wiarton Willie will be making his prediction from Ontario, Canada as well.

Whether you trust a groundhog, a hedgehog, a badger, or a meteorologist to predict the weather, February 2^nd is a great opportunity to teach your kiddos a little about traditions, how they start, how they’re passed down, and why we celebrate February 2^nd, Groundhog-Hedgehog-Badger day.

Many families depend on state subsidized child care assistance to work in the state of Oregon.  Without this, thousands of families will not be able to pay for child care, and would then loose their jobs.  Think about it, with the unemployment rate as high as it is, why would we purposely make it worse?

In 2005, assistance was provided through 13,826 providers to over 21,300 children in 10,700 families per month. Approximately 78 percent of the children were served in family home settings, meaning Registered and Certified In-Home Child Care Providers. 

Imagine over ten thousand families suddenly loosing their jobs causing over ten thousand Registered and Certified Child Care Providers to go out of business and join the unemployed population.

This is what Governor Ted Kulongoski is proposing in his budget.  We all know that funding is short everywhere, and cuts have to happen somewhere, but our economy would be mortally wounded if the ERDC (Employment Related Daycare Program) is cut.  Other programs that are on the table for huge cuts are TANF(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ) , and the JOBS program.

Picture a single mother struggling to pay for daycare, rent, and bills.  Without EDRC, she would have to come up with hundreds of extra dollars per month to keep even one child in daycare.  Imagine if she has three.  It would be impossible for her to come up with the extra money, and without a job, she couldn’t pay rent or bills, and her family would become homeless.  There are literally thousands of families in this situation right now, less than one paycheck away from homelessness.

Now picture this.  Tens of thousands of people loose their jobs over the next few weeks because they can no longer pay for daycare.  Suddenly, the already struggling food banks are empty, and children play in the local homeless camps because shelters are full.  It sounds like the scene from a “Save the Children” commercial shot in a third-world country, but the reality is that without this subsidy, scenes like this would pop up all over the state.

People won’t be able to afford to work who have children.  Literacy would plummet while crime skyrockets.  Businesses would go under.  More people would loose their homes.  Services would no longer be available.

Even if you can afford to pay for daycare on your own, what if the daycare your child goes to relies on that subsidy to stay full?  Daycares are already closing at an alarming rate.  What do you do if it happens to yours?  Hundreds of daycare centers and Registered In-home Providers depend on this as their income.  That would add to the amount of people loosing their livelihoods and homes.

What can you do?  Stand up; make some noise, shout it from the rooftops that the Governor’s proposed budget cannot go through as it stands without doing irreversible damage to our already faltering economy.  This is bigger than just cutting some daycare assistance money.

How do you make some noise?  A meeting will be held at Becky Goodman’s home.  Becky is a Certified Childcare Provider in Gresham who has offered to invite you into her home to find out more about what how you can help.  The meeting will be Friday, January 16^th 2009 at 6 p.m. at Amazing Minds Learning Center by Goodman Family Childcare LLC 1241 SE 212^th Ave, Gresham, OR 97030, (503)665-0825.

For more information, go to AFSCME Local 132 Child Care Providers Together’s website at www.oregonccpt.com, or contact Faye at 503-370-2522, 800-521-5954 X30, or shoot her an email at faye@oregonafscme.com.

You don’t have to be a provider to come to this meeting.  If you or anyone you know receives ERDC, TANF, or is in the JOBS program, these changes will affect you immediately.

The cost of health insurance in 2008 was phenomenal, and it’s expected to go up in 2009 with coverage going down.  What is a family supposed to do when it’s hard enough to make ends meet?  Help has arrived.

 The Oregon Prescription Drug Program is now available to all Oregonians.  Many people who use this coverage state that it saved them more than their private health insurance coverage would.  The best part is that it’s free.  Yes, you read that right, the Oregon Prescription Drug Program is free to all Oregonians, and there are no age or income restrictions.  Parents, Providers, the rich, the poor, and everyone in between can benefit from this program.

Under this program, all prescription drugs are eligible for the discount, but you can save up to 60% on generics, and you can look up drug prices before going to your pharmacy.

There is no paperwork or testing required.  Either call 1-800-913-4146 or go to www.opdp.org in the web.  Registration for your entire family only takes a minute, and you won’t be turned down.  Just give the information for each family member, and your card(s) will be in the mail and in your hands in roughly one week.

With the cost of everything around us going up, it’s comforting to know that the medications you and your family may need to survive can be purchased without breaking the bank.  Don’t waste any time, call or go online and get your cards today, and stop paying astronomical prices for life saving medications.