Make Ornaments for AZ Tree Going to DC!

APACHE-SITGREAVES NATIONAL FORESTS, Ariz.— For the first time ever, the spectacular Christmas tree for our nation’s Capitol Building will come from Arizona!

A team of Forest Service workers and the head of the Capitol grounds helped choose the big tree from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in the White Mountains area. The winner is an 85-foot-tall blue spruce, and officials say they need Arizona kids to make the ornaments for it right away! And these aren’t just any ordinary ornaments—they need to be huge, dazzling ones to show off the creative side of our state.

Didja ever pick your family’s Christmas tree? Well, the foresters of Apache-Sitgreaves had to pick from thousands of trees. The tree had to be at least 60 feet tall with a straight trunk, have a nice, conical shape all the way around, have nice color, and be near a road so harvesting equipment could reach it.

For the past year-and-a-half, District Forest Ranger Rick Davalos has held the title, “Christmas Tree Coordinator.” He and his team of people from businesses and other agencies are guiding the project, which runs mostly on private donations and sponsorships.

“We asked our employees and got about 45 candidate trees,” Davalos explains. “Then we had some of our foresters go out and narrow it to the 10 best trees.” In July, Ted Bechtol, superintendent of the U.S. Capitol grounds, came from Washington, D.C., to make the final choice.

“He narrowed it down to the final four trees very quickly, but had a little bit of a hard time (after that),” Davalos recalls. Three of the trees were magnificent blue spruces, and the fourth was an Englemann spruce. The superintendent chose the right one. “It’s beautiful. It’s the one I would have picked. It is the best tree,” Davalos says.

The 85-foot blue spruce is about a century old. A tree-harvesting ceremony will take place at the site on Nov. 7. If everything goes well, about 500 people, including Gov. Jan Brewer, will be there. Once cut, the tree will tour cities and communities all over Arizona before heading to the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C.

But the Capitol Christmas Tree needs your help! “We need Arizonans to make the ornaments. We (want) schools and youth groups—the young kids of this state—to make these ornaments,” Davalos encourages. The ornaments need to be big (9 inches to a foot), sturdy enough to survive a long truck ride, and able to withstand exposure to rain, snow and wind. Send your ornament to the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest office by Oct. 5. For more details, visit www.capitolchristmastree2009.org.

‘Lion of the Senate’ Ted Kennedy Dies

“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die,” were the wise words of Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy died of brain cancer Aug. 25 at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., at the age of 77. He was the brother of President John F. Kennedy.

At his memorial service, a lot of politicians came to say goodbye—Barak Obama, George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter and our very own senator John McCain. Edward Kennedy was a Democratic, but even Republicans supported him.

“Teddy” Kennedy had a grand history. He graduated from Harvard University and law school. A member of the famous Kennedy clan, he won a special election in 1962 that allowed him to fill the seat formerly held by his brother, John F. Kennedy, who had become president in 1961.

Elected to the U.S. Senate nine times, Teddy Kennedy was a powerful represtantive for Massachusetts for nearly five decades! He worked hard to address education and health care issues. And he spent his life trying to help the less fortunate.

If you would like to share your memories of Teddy Kennedy or express your sympathies to the Kennedy family, please visit the Web site, www.tedkennedy.org.