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Post 24 holds Civil Servants for

Palo Verde Valley Times
&
meet-and-greet Santa 2016 /B1
Quartzsite Times with Santa /A5

Palo Verde
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Todays high: 70 Details on A3

Valley Times
50 CENTS serving blythe,california & Quartzsite, ArizonA Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Fleming turns the big 1-0-4

Blythe resident celebrates another year around the sun and reflects on
her move to California 84 years ago
By Cathyleen Rice
Times Reporter
Fours years older than the city of Blythe, Lena
Mae Fleming turned 104 on Dec. 9.
Born in 1912 in Texarkana, Arkansas, Fleming
was later relocated to Oklahoma, as a baby and
grew up with a host of siblings.
Completing school up until the 8th grade, Fleming
began working early to help her mother and saving
the money she earned, with hopes of one day, leav-
ing the Southwest
The first job I ever had was working as a sec-
retary at a funeral parlor in Guthrie, Oklahoma,
Fleming said.
Now residing at the Blythe Nursing Care Center,
Fleming reflected back on her 104 years of life and
some of the happy moments shes encountered.
Just five days after her 20th birthday, Flemings
best friend asked her if she wanted to go to Califor-
nia.
I told her YEAH! I want to go, Fleming ex-
claimed. The weather got too bad in Oklahoma for
me, and I always wanted to leave.
Certain that life couldnt just be about working
long hours for little pay and returning to live under
her mothers roof, Fleming believes the day she told
her friend she was ready to leave, was the day she
finally became liberated.
See Fleming/A2
Having a profound effect on the lives of those whom she
meets, one of the nurses even went as far as to naming her
child after Fleming. Here, Lena Fleming holds little Lena.
Photo courtesy of Marcella Garnica

Creating a Blythe
Spark of Love area CHP
this holiday season to host
Riverside County firefighters (below) from regional firehouses
Station 44 of Ripley, Station 45 from the Mesas airbase, and
Blythes resident Station 43 combined their efforts this past
Coffee
Sunday to deliver a successful toy drive for local kids in need as
part of their annual Spark of Love campaign. The firefighters with a Cop
spent the afternoon filling 32-gallon bags worth of toys for
children of low income families, ranging in ages from 6-months
old to 17 years of age. The resident Veterans of Foreign War
Dec. 22 event
(VFW) Post 2987 served as the hosting site that saw plenty of
smiles and Christmas cheer for participating kids. Riverside
at Starbucks will
County firefighters go from table to table filling bags up
(right) for identified low-income kids in need of presents this
include a holiday
Christmas season at the resident VFW Post 2987 headquarters
To read more about the Spark of Love campaign, see page
toy drive
A4. By Uriel Avendano
Times Editor
Photos by Uriel Avendano/Palo Verde Valley Times With California 56th
District Assembly Mem-
ber Eduardo Garcia
scheduled to be in at-
tendance, Blythe locals
will have an opportunity
to meet with and talk to
their areas California
Highway Patrol (CHP)
officers in an effort to fur-
ther boost community un-
derstanding.
The initiative, which is
a part of a national initia-
tive supported by the U.S.
Department of Justice,
hopes to highlight the
importance of communi-
cation and fostering good
relationships between
neighborhoods and law
enforcement officials.
We hope community
members will welcome
the opportunity to ask
questions, bring concerns
forward, or simply get to
See coffee/A2

Chuckawalla inmates gift Blythe On behalf of the

Chuckawalla
Valley State
Food Pantry with donation Prison Veterans
Group inmates,
prison representatives
Veterans Group inmates pledge support and came through the
Blythe Emergency
give carts full of canned goods and more Food Pantry with
food donations
By Uriel Avendano (The inmates) had heard that from the prisoners.
Times Editor the pantry was broken into earlier Pictured, left to
in the year, so they wanted to do- right: Julia Black,
Chuckawalla Valley State Pris- nate a little bit we started kinda Pat Hollingsworth,
ons Veterans Group inmates late, but hopefully by next year itll Rosa Saldano, Loyd
banded together earlier this be that much better, said Julia Hollingsworth, and
month and agreed to stockpile Black, the self-help group sponsor Kenny Kalian.
commissary food to donate toward for the donating CVSP inmates.
the resident Blythe Emergency Some of them said that, with the Photo by Uriel Avendano/
Food Pantry on Dec. 19. See donation/A2 Palo Verde Valley Times