“Your Medical Equipment Library” (YMEL) Press Release  

“One of our communities best kept secrets is stepping out of the shadows to claim a new beginning as “Your Medical Equipment Library” (YMEL). Saturday September 19^th, YMEL began its new schedule at The American Legion Post #164 at 16733 103^rd Ave S. Yelm from 9:00 to 11:00 am. Utilizing curbside interaction for client registration and service YMEL is doing its part to maintain safe distancing and the use of face coverings.  

The mission of the Library is to meet your needs; on one end it provides a place where you can donate no longer needed medical equipment; on the other end that donated equipment is made available to those who can make use of it without cost, who in turn, can return it when they no longer need it. Talk about a Win-Win situation. It’s the best recycling program ever! 

We are dedicated to being a 100% volunteer driven agency. Now that the groundwork is set and YMEL is registered as a nonprofit corporation with the State of Washington, the most important part needed is you. To live up to YMEL’s mission and to fulfill its name your time and energy is needed to make this “Your” Medical Equipment Library. 

Much is yet to be done while building the organization. Currently folks are needed in many capacities; be it providing direction as a member of the Board, volunteering your pro bono web design services so that we can launch the website or spending a few hours on occasion cleaning & inspecting equipment to make sure it is ready to be used or perhaps staffing the actual library days. Each job is important and plays a vital role in providing services to our community. They all make a difference. If you or a family member has made use of our services in the past or can see the value that Your Medical Equipment Library can add to our community please make contact and join in to do your part as a volunteer. You can call and request a volunteer application at our message phone line at (360) 955-1498 or by email to our help desk, info@ymel.org.   

We welcome inquiries regarding available equipment on hand or potential donation items. We are not able to accept prescription medications or medical equipment that can only be distributed via prescription (such as oxygen concentrators or CPAP machines). There are other equipment items that we are not able to process through this program due to space and staff limitations.

** LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL NEWS **

+ 5 takeaways from the first presidential debate

+ Fact-Checking Trump and Biden’s First Presidential Debate

+ PSE Contest Seeks to Boost Small Local Businesses Through ‘Makeover’ Contest

+ Lawmakers propose tighter rules for new airplanes amid Boeing 737 Max trouble

+ JOLT News: Judge recounts challenges in the courtroom during pandemic

+ November may be the darkest month Americans have seen in a long time

+ QAnon leaders look to rebrand after tech crack downs

+ The men behind QAnon – Experts and researchers said the key to “Q” is hiding in plain sight.

+ Disney to layoff 28,000 employees as coronavirus slams its theme park business

+ American hero Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger on Leadership in Lincoln Project ad

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

White House Pressured CDC to Produce Data Backing Trump’s Push to Reopen Schools

Conspiracy theorists less likely to follow COVID-19 safety measures, study finds

Pandemic forces a reckoning for restaurants coping with capacity limits and new consumer habits

Pine-Sol Joins EPA’s List of 32 Coronavirus Cleaners

Dr. Fauci says to take vitamin D if you’re deficient — here’s how to know

** TRUMP **

America’s CEOs say Trump failed on coronavirus — and they’re backing Biden

Biden finally tells Trump what we’ve all been dying to say for four years: ‘Will you shut up, man?’

Donald Trump sidesteps call to condemn white supremacists — and the Proud Boys were ‘extremely excited’ about it

Trump tax records show duplicity. That’s devastating for his campaign

Ethics experts see national security concern in Trump’s debt

Trump Paying Ivanka “Consultant Fees” Is Tax Fraud, Says Watergate Prosecutor

The Atlantic: In private, Trump says all evangelical preachers are ‘hustlers’

The Trump administration’s top intelligence official said Tuesday that he has declassified Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 election even though he acknowledged it might not be true.

Yelm Community hosting a pop-up donor center!

October 1 & 2, 2020
Yelm Community Center
301 2nd Street SE
Yelm WA 98597

Bloodworks Northwest is providing an opportunity for the local community to donate blood at a pop-up center.

Donating blood is an essential and encouraged activity critical to sustaining community healthcare, especially during emergencies. This one hour donation appointment is a safe and essential action to support local hospitals and patients. The drives are being conducted in accordance with social distancing guidelines. No walk-ins, guests, or people under age 16 are permitted on site.

Bloodworks is testing all blood donors for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. This test will increase inventory of Convalescent Plasma (CCP) which is used to treat critically ill COVID patients at local hospitals.

Make an appointment online or give Bloodworks NW a call at 800-398-7888 (Sponsor code 517B). Read more

** LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL NEWS **

+ Smoke again in forecast for Western Washington this week from California fires

+ There’s a chance of record-breaking heat in the Olympia area this week

+ Thurston County leasing, renovating space to chip away at COVID-19 jury trial backlog

+ Amid COVID and Wildfires, Farmworkers Have Been Pushed to the Brink

+ Retired Vanpool Vans Available to Community Organizations including Yelm

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

CDC Director Overheard Saying Everything Trump’s COVID Adviser Says “Is False”

COVID-19 was twice as contagious as experts thought when pandemic started, study says

How can you safely have a Thanksgiving meal? CDC has tips for families during COVID-19

** TRUMP **

How much did past presidents pay in federal taxes? A lot more than Trump, data show – Former President Barack Obama paid more than 2,000 times what Trump reportedly paid in federal income taxes during their respective first years in office.

Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized after threatening self-harm: report

** LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL NEWS **

+ Thurston County ends week with 74 COVID-19 cases, a six-week high

+ Tips for spotting ways scammers use the election season for their fraud schemes

+ Wearing a mask but not covering your nose? You’re doing it all wrong

+ My 5-year-old asked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ‘Have you ever made a mistake?’ Here’s her answer. – The Washington Post

+ Trump’s Forest Service Issues Plan to Open Largest U.S. National Forest to Logging

+ Why Latinos will jump-start the economy

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

CDC forecasts 20,000 more coronavirus deaths by mid-October

U.S. has ‘long way to go’ before herd immunity with less than 10% showing coronavirus antibodies

“Long-Concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses and Years of Tax Avoidance”

“A New York Rimes Exclusive”

“The Times obtained Donald Trump’s tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.

“Donald J. Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750.

“He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.

“As the president wages a re-election campaign that polls say he is in danger of losing, his finances are under stress, beset by losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed. Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million,” By Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire, The New York Times. Read more

+ 18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records

+ An Editor’s Note on the Trump Tax Investigation

• Editor’s note: I am a big fan of watching our nation honor artists who have contributed to American culture every December by the President and following at the Kennedy Center Honors.
• The only 3 years a President missed the Kennedy Center Honors were President Carter in 1979 during the Iran hostage crisis, George H. W. Bush in 1989 during the Malta Summit, and Bill Clinton in 1994 en-route to a conference.
• When I read the story title below, I could relate, as the Trumps have not participated in any Kennedy Center Honors ceremonies since taking office, which is sad.
• The following story struck me as to what we have missed:

“There is no art in this White House.“

“There is no literature or poetry in this White House. No music.
No Kennedy Center award celebrations.
There are no pets in this White House.
No man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat.
No kid’s science fairs.
No times when this president takes off the blue suit-red tie uniform and becomes human, except when he puts on his white shirt- khaki pants uniform and hides on the golf course.

There are no images of the first family enjoying themselves together in a relaxing moment –anywhere.
No moments like Obamas on the beach in Hawaii, or Bushes fishing in Kennebunkport, no Reagans on horseback, no Kennedys playing touch football on the Cape.
I was thinking of the summer when George H couldn’t catch a fish and all the grandkids made signs and counted the fish-less days. And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB, you got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.
Where did that country go?

“Where did all the fun and joy and expressions of love and happiness go?” by The Daily Kos. Read more of this story.

• Editor’s note: Though I did not know Namaste well, whenever we conversed, she always had a warm smile and uplifting presence. She contributed greatly to the fabric of life in the Yelm area. Blessings to her wonderful husband Dan, who I know well, and beloved daughter Nayomi.

In Memory of Doris Kanz (known as Namaste)
by Dee Carson, Executive Director Emerita, NWAA

“One of the heartbreaking impacts of Covid-19 is the loss of the life-enriching connection between artists. As challenges remain and cancellations continue, Northwest Art Alliance is committed to helping where it can to keep that connection alive. It is in that role and with profound sadness that we say goodbye to Doris Kanz, whom most of us knew as Namaste.    

“In the fall of 2018, Spectrum notified the community about a challenge Namaste was facing. In 2014, she had been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She underwent successful treatment and found herself in remission. In late summer of 2018, however, on her way to the Boise show, Namaste experienced shortness of breath and promptly went to the ER. It was then she learned that the cancer was back, had metastasized and she was now in Stage 4. She canceled the balance of her show schedule for the year and set her sights on the battle ahead.  

“Namaste was warm and approachable, with an infectious positivity. It was with that indomitable spirit that she met the challenge. She was born in Germany, grew up in Sweden and lived in Europe and Jamaica before making her way to Washington state in the mid-90s with her daughter Nayomi, then 6 years old. In Washington, she met her partner of 22 years, Dan. She loved the ocean, camping in Olympic National Park and enjoying the beauty of the natural world around her. Her creative gifts were equally diverse. She began her artistic career in the areas of photography and fashion design. After a return to Germany from Jamaica, she crafted ceramics as well as beautifully complex candles in a traditional German style and built a successful business with the Christmas fairs in Europe as her principal market. Here in Washington, she was encouraged by Dan’s mom to try quilting, where she earned recognition for her artistry. After that, she tried her hand at silk painting, where she once again succeeded. It was with felting, however, that she found her passion. As a third generation felter, we suspect it was simply in her genes. She has produced beautifully original works of wearable art to the delight of patrons in the Northwest and Southwest ever since. “

“Namaste, Doris. You are cherished and will be remembered, by Dee Carson, Executive Director Emerita, Northwest Art Alliance, NWAA. 

Read the full tribute.

** LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL NEWS **

+ Partial In-Person Instruction to Begin October For Yelm, Rainier Students

+ The sky has cleared, but can we see ahead? Climate change action is needed now

+ JOLT News: Intercity Transit donating its surplus vans to local nonprofits, including Yelm

+ Jolt News: Homeless site, Panattoni on Port of Olympia agenda Monday

+ ‘I Feel Sorry for Americans’: A Baffled World Watches the U.S.

+ Justice Ginsburg becomes the first woman and first Jewish person to lie in state at U.S. Capitol

+ How Facebook impacts discourse and democracy – “Facebook is a crime scene”

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

Sea-Tac Airport, airlines consider rapid COVID-19 testing to help get travelers back in the air

Face masks could be giving people Covid-19 immunity, researchers suggest

Trump’s coronavirus remarks weigh on minds of senior voters

Trump Is Escalating His Coronavirus Lies

As pandemic winter looms, leaders in Europe and Canada issue stark warnings

The pandemic pushes hundreds of millions of people toward starvation and poverty

We’ve reached 200,000 deaths. Our response has gotten even worse than it was at 100,000.

** LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL NEWS **

Gov. Jay Inslee: New standards for airports in Washington

State Parks department announces free admission days for 2021

West Coast Wildfires Underscore Ominous Global Trend: Forests Are Dying

State Parks department announces free admission days for 2021

UW Huskies football is back: Pac-12 reportedly sets Nov. 6 start date

Thurston parents vent, express gratitude for ‘slow reopening’ of schools

PSE Opens First of Several Public Charging Stations in Lacey

Officials: Washington being targeted by phishing campaign

Biking Beyond self-guided bike tour in Olympia to Tenino, Yelm

JOLT News: Thurston Health Department Officer’s Newest Letter to the Community

Jolt News: Dispute Resolution Center Seeking Volunteers

Most Americans balk at Republicans’ Supreme Court scheme

Federal Agencies Tapped Protesters’ Phones in Portland

SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts faces ‘nightmare scenario’: election challenges likely, Supreme Court fight

NBC: Wray: FBI has not seen any kind of coordinated national voter fraud in a major election by mail

Judge Denies U.S. Government Bid to Dismiss Andrew McCabe Suit

Putin’s Troll Farm Busted Running Sprawling Network of Facebook Pages

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

Colleges Reopening Fueled 3,000 COVID Cases a Day, Researchers Say

Young adults have surpassed older Americans for most COVID-19 infections, study says

US parents delaying preschool and kindergarten amid pandemic

United to offer Hawaii-bound passengers 15-minute coronavirus tests, a blueprint for flights abroad

** TRUMP NEWS YESTERDAY**

‘Honor her wish’: Trump is jeered as he pays his respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Supreme Court

An Open Letter to America: “The current President has demonstrated he is not equal to the enormous responsibilities of his office; he cannot rise to meet challenges large or small.”…”Only FDR and Abraham Lincoln came into office facing more monumental crises than the next president.”

​Mary Trump Sues President Trump and Family, Claiming Fraud

Trump Is Losing Farmer Support in Climate Crisis. Will They Swing the Election?

Bolton lawyers seek to question Trump officials over book

Former NSC official: White House politicized handling of Bolton book

Trump’s Vaccine Czar Refuses to Divest From Company Developing COVID Vaccine

Ex-intelligence chief Dan Coats: Congress must create election commission so democracy can survive 2020

Why the Fascists Don’t Want Us to Grieve [for 200,000+ COVID-19 deaths] – “Trump knows the full expression of our collective grief would be the end of his presidency.“

50+ Progressive Writers and Activists Pen Open Letter Urging Vote for Biden

CIA mission shifts from protecting America to protecting Trump’s fragile ego

Trump’s Nasty Nicknames Spread Like a Virus – Jim Cramer’s slur against Nancy Pelosi shows how invective sticks in the human mind, even among people who know better, or should.

YouTube video: Unholy alliance: Trump, evangelicals and QAnon