Elk Accident

*submitted by Art Messinger

Mark was driving 65 mph this morning when a herd of seven elk ran out from over a big hill and they ran right into him. These are some pictures of the accident this morning. He was driving from Show Low to Payson at 6:45 am. All seven elk were killed and two of them were lodged underneath the front of the car when Mark skidded into the side of the mountain and into a ditch. They were his cushions! Two elk came up over his hood and smashed into his window and the other three went flying over the car and into the highway. They had to shut the road down so they could get the elk out of the way. It looked like a war zone. There was one male, four females and two calves. The pictures are very sad to see. The front and side airbags were deployed and except for a few minor burns and cuts, Mark walked away from this without any injuries. A man that worked for the Forest Service said that he has never, ever, seen anyone kill seven elk with one vehicle and walk away from it. He told me that Mark holds the record. After the accident, Mark said that some of the local hunters came out with trucks and ATV’s & even a tractor with a scoop on it, and they took away all the elk. At least they are getting some good elk steaks to feed their families. What was funny was that the Fish & Game people showed up at the scene and gave Mark “elk permits” because they said that the elk were his! But, of course, he had no way to transport them back home, so they were given to the other people.

The elk incident in the AZ Republic last week described the wrong location. The paper said this accident occurred between Payson and Star Valley. It actually happened between sharp creek bridge and Colcord ADOT yard, underpasses here but no fencing…

Jaden receives his mission call

Jaden Turley (Jim, Jerry, Oliver) has received his mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He will be going to the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo East Mission. He will report to the Missionary Training Center on December 16, 2009.

We couldn't be more excited for you Jaden! Congratulations!!!

A thought for the blog

Last Week when I was scanning the frozen food section in the grocery store, a little tear-streaked face came running towards me. I scatted down on the floor and held out my arms catching the little traveler and asked, "Are you lost?" The dark little head nodded. "Let's go find your mom." I said. I took his grubby little hand and headed for the front of the store, when a voice came from behind us calling the little fellow's name. We stopped and turned around. There was a dad coming swiftly towards us holding out his arms. I let go of my new friend's hand and he rushed to his father, who promptly picked him up, held him close and spoke reassuringly to him that all was well. The little guy hung tightly to his dad's neck as we visited for just a moment, then we each went on our way. I've thought about that incident all week. How many times do we become lost, not intentionally, but still lost? Do we have someone to help us find our Father?
We are family. Thanks for your messages of love, achievement and and sorrow. They help keep me from getting lost. I am strengthened by your inspirational experiences through this family blog that Marcy so beautifully puts together. Through your messages I hear our Father call each of our names.
Love to you all. Kaye Hardy Rominger (Oliver)

Baby Girl

Elizabeth May Miller was born in Phoenix, AZ on August 12 to Scott and Emily. (Shara Dawn, Kaye, Oliver). She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. I don't have any pictures yet. She is a cute little pot-licker as Papa and Aunt Bobbie would say.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

A move

Jonathan (Kaye, Oliver) and Nichole moved to Tulsa OK in August. Jonathan is working as a mechanic for a Chrysler dealership and Nicole is working in the medical field. They love the country, especially the hunting and fishing. Attached is a picture entering Keystone Park where Jonathan says there is great fishing.

Bible Bee Contestants

Yesterday was the big day for my kids. We registered for the Bible Bee back in April and the contest finally happened yesterday. The woman running the contest at the church in Phoenix said she had 98 kids registered and then 62 said they were actually coming. However, only about 40 really showed up. My kids and the kids we talked to all said that it was really hard. The material they were given to study was 450 Bible verses/passages. Some passages were 9 verses long! They were also given about 300 general knowledge questions. That's a lot of material to learn! Then they took a 200 question written test and had two oral rounds where they were asked 4 multiple choice questions and asked to recite 4 Bible verse/passages. There were kids there who were better prepared than my two and they said they couldn't answer a lot of the memory work. It's very difficult to just pull a verse and reference out of your head! All in all, we were very proud of all the kids and their families who made the commitment and followed through on it. We'll find out the results this week.
I'll keep you posted!
Linda Gomez (Gilbert, Marie)