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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 8, 2005 Lights for Life alive in Talent Annual event draws small but loyal crowd on a wintry evening By Alan Panebaker Ashland Daily Tidings A Talent family sings Christmas carols with the Talent City Council after the lighting of the Lights for Life Tree Wednesday evening. Left to right, Kids Ashleigh Marble (10), Makynzie Marble (7), Tania Parker (7), Tiffany Parker (10) and Cody Marble (6) stand in front of Patrick and Kerrie Rucker. Robert Petetit | For the Tidings A small crowd gathered outside the Talent City Hall on Wednesday evening as Ashland Community Hospital Development Director Pat Flannery plugged in the bulbs for this year’s Lights for Life tree. “When we first started, the tree was so small I could decorate it myself without even climbing a ladder,” Flannery said. Now, 10 years later, the tree stands about 15 feet tall and is fully clad in red, green and yellow lights. One of three Lights for Life trees in Ashland and Talent, the lights on the Talent perennial are representative of donations local residents have made to the Ashland Community Hospital Foundation. With a little over $30,000 already raised toward the foundation’s goal of $55,000, Flannery is hopeful that his Christmas wish of a Philips Brilliance CT scanner (a piece of advanced imaging equipment) will come true for the hospital. With fewer than 10 people standing in the cold, wet weather to watch the tree lighting, Kerrie and Patrick Rucker brought out their children and friends’ kids for the traditional tree-lighting ceremony. “We’ve been doing it for 16 years — ever since I was a kid,” Kerrie Rucker said. “’Course, we always went to the one in Medford. This is our first year in Talent.” As the Rucker children sang “Jingle Bells” with the assistance of some city council members, Flannery and Talent Mayor Marian Telerski recounted stories about previous trees. It appears the Lights for Life trees see vandalism nearly every year — as with people ripping down the lights in Ashland — and the old Talent tree had to be replaced when it was knocked over in 1992. However, this doesn’t stop people from donating a light to loved ones who have passed, new babies and inspirational influences. “The idea is to reflect on the wonder of the season,” Mayor Telerski said in her pre-lighting speech. To donate money for a light on the Talent Lights for Life tree, call the Ashland Community Hospital foundation at 488-7414 or stop by Talent City Hall. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams