Dont forget
Community
50 CENTS serving blythe,california & Quartzsite, ArizonA
Lighting
the way to
Christmas
Appleby
Elementary
hosts annual
light festival
By Cathyleen Rice
Times Reporter
On Friday night, Ap-
pleby Elementary cel-
ebrated its annual light
festival.
Making it a night to re-
member, the faculty and
staff at Appleby setup ta-
bles for ornament, gifts/
Santa visited Appleby Elementary all the way from the North Pole, to take photos with students who were nice all year long.
A warm donation, worth a smile
Local woman sews quilts, gives them to homeless
By Cathyleen Rice
Times Reporter
It was about five or
six years ago, when Stan
Duncan walked in his
living room, with a gift
wrapped sewing ma-
chine, to surprise the
love of his life.
Suffering from severe
hypoglycemia, Deborah
Duncan was unable to
drive and had to stay
home, which in some
cases could be a bit bor-
ing.
Not allowing the
countless days confined
inside four walls defeat
her purpose in life, Dun-
can decided to make the
best out of her situation.
Palo Verde Valley Times
&
gift bag, pine cone and
sugar cookie decorating.
At each station, stu-
dents were able to take
part in arts and crafts,
making timeless pieces
theyll be able to cherish
for the rest of their lives.
Although inside events
kept children busy for
most of the night, as the
clock struck 6 p.m., first-
graders were assembled
outside to put on a show.
Performing classic
Christmas favorites,
Appleby choir and even
participants of the Palo
Verde College Choir, en-
chanted audience mem-
When I unwrapped
the sewing machine,
my husband said, Here,
you like to sew, Duncan
said.
I told him, No, I am
embroidery. I dont like
to sew.
However, after taking
a few lessons and letting
her dislike for sewing fly
out the window, Duncan
began a home economics
skill that would keep her
happy and bring smiles
to others faces.
Sometime after I fin-
ished taking lessons,
the quilting bug bit me,
Duncan said.
Turning her home into
a quilting bees nest,
Duncan began hand
Quartzsite Times
Palo Verde
Valley Times
The Camargos enjoyed a night of fun at Applebys light festival, decorating sugar cookies
with lots of sprinkles and heavy frosting.
bers, as they sipped hot
cocoa, enjoyed popcorn
and hot dogs at the mini
concert.
However, as the hours
rolled and the evening
turned into a silent
night, students raced to
the habitat while parents
followed closely behind.
Developing a acre
crafting quilts and pil-
lowcases with a variety
of themes for every holi-
day and distributed as
gifts.
Biannually donating
40 quilts to the Loma
Linda Hospital cancer
ward in Ontario, Dun-
can said the only thing
she gets out of quilting,
is seeing the smiles and
watching the faces of
children light up.
Now venturing out
into the streets of Blythe,
Duncan hopes to fight
the cold out of the bones
of the homeless.
I decided I wanted to
give back this year to the
homeless, Duncan said.
See Quilts/A2 Deborah Duncan poses for a photo with one of her quilts.
Calendar/A4
Photos by Cathyleen Rice/Palo Verde Valley Times
schoolyard habitat that
represents different el-
evations of the Sonoran
Desert, the teachers
and students of Appleby
worked hard to complete
this project six years ago.
With Christmas lights
illuminating the path
around the desert habi-
tat and even the home of
Photo by Cathyleen Rice/Palo Verde Valley Times
Todays high: XXX Details on A3
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Jimbo the tortoise, fam-
ily and friends gathered
as they oohed and ahhed
at the different displays.
Using recess, PE time
and weekends to create
the habitat, cottonwood
trees, desert lavender
and incesia trees creat-
ed the joy and the aroma
See Festival/A2
down with the Times to
portance of the event
I learned about at the
about Christmas
tree safety/B4
Read more on PVVT.com
Blythes
warming
center
hours
criticized
By Uriel Avendano
Times Editor
As of Dec. 1, Riverside
County has opened its
community designated
Warm Centers for resi-
dents in need of a place to
stay during the cold win-
ter hours. For Blythe,
the Blythe Community
Center, located at 445
N. Broadway, currently
serves as the citys only
county-approved refuge
from the bitter cold
between the hours of 10
a.m. and 4 p.m.
Right now, I pass
by and its 61 (degrees)
according to the tem-
perature on the street
whos going to come? No-
body, said community
center volunteer Sharon
Essary at 10:30 a.m. on
Nov. 5. It doesnt make
sense () Even up there
in Coachella Its not
any warmer or colder
(there) than it is here,
you know? But same
hours.
According to a River-
side County Department
of Public Health press re-
lease, the warming cen-
See hours/A2
City to host
homeless
outreach
event Thurs.
By Uriel Avendano
Times Editor
In conjunction with
Riverside County and re-
gional nonprofit organi-
zations support, the city
of Blythe will be host to
a Homeless Outreach
event on Dec. 8, from 10
a.m. to noon, to be held
at the Joe Wine Recre-
ation Center parking lot.
The event was the re-
sult of a combined-arms
meeting which took
place on Nov. 9 at City
Hall.
Spearheading the ef-
fort since October, City
of Blythe councilmem-
ber Dale Reynolds sat
get his take on the im-
and its potential impact
on Blythes greater tran-
sient and homeless pop-
ulation.
Q: In your own
words, could you re-
iterate why this event
is so important in ad-
dressing the long-term
transient problem in
the City of Blythe?
Reynolds: Well, it
started off as something
See Homeless/A2