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HAZE Temp: 54 °F Wind: W at 4 mph Friday, January 31, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 5, 2003 Packing Christmas trees into a trailer Saturday in east Medford are, from left, William Olson, Angela Nuss and Elizabeth Spencer. They picked up trees and donations for the Civil Air Patrol�s cadet program. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Competition cuts tree donations Civil Air Patrol cadets make less for their programs than in previous years By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune What began as a day of fund-raising excitement ended with a bit of a letdown for some local teens. For Elizabeth Spencer, organizing teams to disperse and collect Christmas trees and donations is a fun day with the Civil Air Patrol cadets. "Everybody gets together and hangs out," said the 17-year-old North Medford High School senior, as she began planning at 8:30 a.m. Spencer, cadet second lieutenant and commander, helped organize drivers, cell phone numbers and maps for tree pick-up in east Medford on Saturday, in a scene resembling a military mobilization. But youthful enthusiasm waned as the CAP cadets collected one-third of last year’s proceeds. The day brought in about $500, not the $1,500 they hoped to raise. The Civil Air Patrol is the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, and Medford’s CAP cadet program, for ages 12 to 18, has 35 members. The cadets were among many nonprofit agencies patrolling streets with pick-up trucks and trailers looking for discarded Christmas trees on curbs this weekend. Rogue Valley groups such as Boy Scouts, CAP cadets and the Moose Lodge donate the trees to Biomass One in White City, where wood waste is used to make electricity and mulch, or to Ashland parks for mulch. Donated money collected from residents for the service is used for youth programs, or in the case of the Moose Lodge, is given to Dogs for the Deaf, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and SMART read program. For the CAP cadets, the trees go to Biomass and the cadets will go to an aerospace camp in Seattle this spring. "It’s a great way to help our community out and maybe get a few bucks in the process," said David Meador, 16, who is working on his pilot’s license through a scholarship from CAP. The cadets put out fliers with envelopes a week before, and suggested residents leave $5 to $10 for pick-up. But as the morning got under way, Elizabeth said she was a little disappointed. "We picked up six trees, one donation," she said after her group had driven around neighborhoods near Lone Pine and Springbrook roads. She returned to the truck shaking her head after knocking on a door to request a donation. "He said, ‘It’s not our tree, someone must have dropped it in the driveway,’ " she said. Squadron Commander Major Henry "Buzz" Florip said that as the day progressed, groups picking up trees discovered that residents who had phoned in to request tree pick up had already been visited by another organization. At some addresses there were pine needles on the curbside, so they knew a tree had been there recently. "We have confusion between multiple groups picking up trees," he said. In addition, he estimated that only a third of the trees picked up had accompanying donations. Florip said they have other fund-raisers through the year, such as a golf tournament and a raffle, but they’ll have to come up with even more ideas. "We’ll have to go to other alternative sources to finance the projects," he said. He said the next step is to try to resolve the competition issue through the Scout Council and possibly the city of Medford. But he wasn’t throwing in the towel. "We try to stay positive," he said. "While it isn’t all peaches and cream, it’s still a matter of groups benefiting, so you have to look at it that way." He said the money still helps the cadets pay for space camp. "We don’t begrudge it. It’s $500 that we didn’t have. We’ll take it." Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S