Frog Pond Farms Intruduces Cambridge Lions to Draft Horse Rescue

“At Frog Pond Farms we work to save draft horses from neglect or abuse,” said Lisa Gordon, the founder of the draft horse rescue organization. “We network with other people who rescue saddle horses. Since 2002 we have rescued over one hundred sixty horses.”  (Pictured Right:  Lisa and Bethany Gordon with Lion Tim McKim)

Gordon and her daughter Bethany told members of the Cambridge Lions Club of the organization’s efforts to rehabilitate horses that have suffered from maltreatment. “When we get a horse we have to treat them for their physical wounds,” Lisa said. “We also have to treat them for their emotional wounds.”

“It may take months to rehabilitate the horses mentally because they may have been beaten. We worked with one horse for ten months and wondered if it would ever be able to leave our farm. It would shy away from people because it thought that every person might be going to beat it.”

“We kept working with the horse until we were able to turn it into the perfect family horse. We had to show it that not everyone was going to abuse it.”

“We rely on other people to report cases of neglect or abuse,” said Lisa Gordon. “We often get horses that are in need of major medical care. Sometimes they have been so neglected that they are nothing more than skin draped over bones.”

“We have a veterinarian and a farrier examine the horses to see what medical care they need and to see what hoof care they need. We then evaluate the horse’s personality and temperament. When they have settled in and are healthier we give them a riding evaluation.”

“We go to sale barns and auctions where the horses may be sold for slaughter,” said Bethany Gordon. “We find out about them from people who are neighbors who see these animals being neglected.”

“We also take in horses from people who have been responsible owners but can no longer afford to take care of their horses. Sometimes people go through a divorce or a job loss and it changes their ability to provide for their horse. ”

“When the horses are healthy enough we put them up for adoption to people who will take care of them,” said Bethany Gordon. “We have an extensive application that is fifteen pages long.”

“Some people get upset with the length of the application. It’s not an easy process. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back a second time to rescue a horse.”

“We will check with the (adoptive family’s) veterinarian and farrier to see if they take care of their horses,” said Bethany Gordon. “We do follow up checks every six months. We check the horse’s weight and check on their vaccinations.”

“Part of the application gives us permission from the family to go onto their property at any time to check on the horses. After five years we give them full ownership.”

“We would love to have people who can’t afford a horse of their own to come out and volunteer at our farm on Larrick Ridge Road,” said Lisa Gordon. “Kids can come out and help groom the horses. The horses need to get to know other people and to know that not everyone is going to abuse them.”

Frog Pond Farms will be joining the Guernsey County Humane Society and Pound Partners for a ‘Paws, Claws, and Hooves’ fund raising event on April 17 at Theo’s Restaurant. The event will include a silent and a live auction.

Frog Pond Farms is an Ohio not-for-profit organization. For more information visit the web site at www.frogpondfarmdrafts.com or call the Gordons at 740.255.0853.

Cases of neglect or abuse of horses should be reported to the local humane society or to the area law enforcement agencies.

Secret Santa's Elves Visit the Cambridge Lions

A couple of Santa Claus’s helpers visited the Cambridge Lions Club to tell about the Secret Santa program. Dave and Marilyn White told the club members about how they make the program work in Guernsey County.  (Pictured Left:  Dave and Marilyn White with Lion Tim McKim)

“I have a sweatshirt with a picture of Santa that says, ‘I believe’,” said Mrs. White. “If I even think it, I know something will happen.”

“We had a call from a family that needed a wheel chair for one of the family members. They wanted that instead of toys for Christmas. I thought about how we could fulfill that Christmas wish.”

“I didn’t know how we were going to do that. Then Dave called saying that he didn’t know if we could use it, but someone wanted to donate a wheel chair and wondered if we could use it. That family got a wheel chair.”

“It’s the generosity of this community that makes the Secret Santa program work,” said Mrs. White. “Without the support of the people we would have some children who may not have anything for Christmas.”

 “It’s truly a community effort,” said Dave White. “I would ‘guesstimate’ that we have three hundred to four hundred people that help deliver the gifts. Every one of the fourteen fire departments in the county helps by giving their time to help deliver the gifts.”

“Local stores have been great, especially the drug stores. They give us discounts on the toys we buy for the children.  Wal-Mart gave us a grant. We get donations from people and organizations.”

“We have volunteers who help wrap presents,” said Mrs. White. “We have a truck driver in his twenties and a woman in her nineties who help wrap them.”

“We have several women who are homebound who make what we call bingo bags, little bags that can be attached to a wheel chair that we give to people in nursing homes. They can put pencils and other things in them when they use their wheel chairs. We visit all seven nursing homes in the county.”

“When we started the Secret Santa program years ago we had thirty-some families in need that requested assistance with gifts for their children,” said Mrs. White. “In recent years we have coordinated our efforts with other agencies that also give them gifts.”

“With the economy the way it is this year we still have five hundred thirty six names of children who are not being served by other agencies. We will continue taking names until Christmas Eve.”

“When we get a call from a parent we ask for the children’s ages. We then select gifts for them. We then divide the gifts up into routes to follow when we deliver the gifts. We separate them into those that go out into the county and those that go in town, said Mrs. White.

“When it’s time to deliver the gifts we start at about 5:30 and we won’t get done until sometime between 12:00 and 1:30 Christmas morning.”

“We have done this for a number of years so we are looking for someone to take over coordinating the Secret Santa program. We will be glad to train someone in how we organize it.”

To donate to the Secret Santa program or to volunteer your time in helping wrap gifts, call the Whites at 740.439.0934 or 740.260.6685.

Cambridge Lions Learn About Recyling Eyeglasses

Donating your old eyeglasses may help other people improve their vision. The Cambridge Lions Club collects used eyeglasses and sends them to Columbus for recycling. Optometry students at The Ohio State University sort the eyeglasses.  (Photo right:  Lion Tom Davey with Lagedyk, Braun, and Huston)

Three OSU optometry students visited the Lions Club to explain how used eyeglasses are used to help those who otherwise might not be able to improve their vision. “We will take lenses, frames, and hard eyeglass cases,” said Amanda Huston. “Even damaged frames can be recycled for their metal content.”

"We are members of SVOSH (Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity),” Huston said. “Beth (Braun), Nikki (Lagendyk), and I will be going on a mission trip to serve those who otherwise may not have access to eye care. Last summer OSU students went to Peru.”

“We have a machine at Ohio State that lets us analyze the prescriptions of donated eyeglasses,” Huston said. “We label them and put them in boxes. The students on the mission trip took them along and gave them to people who needed them.”

“Last year the students saw two thousand two hundred patients in four days,” said Lagendyk. “In the area where they went forty-four percent of the people live below the poverty level. Ninety-three percent are illiterate. There is only one doctor for every twelve thousand people.”

“The local Lions Club in Lima, Peru, set up the site, informed the people and provided transportation,” Lagendyk said. “They also made arrangements for places for our students to stay and served as interpreters.”

“The students set up almost an assembly line process to be able to see all of the people in the four days,” said Braun. “One student would do the eye exam; another would put drops in the patients’ eyes to dilate them. Another would use the retina scope to see if there were any peripheral damage to the eyes or if there were problems with detached retinas.”

“The results of the eye exams would tell the students what recycled eyeglasses to dispense or what medications to give. If they didn’t have the exact prescription on hand they would give out glasses with the closest match.”

“They also gave sunglasses to all of the people,” Braun said. “A lot of the vision problems come from overexposure to the sun.”

“They did not have an ophthalmologist with them so they made lists of people who may need operations on their eyes for later follow-up visits.”

“World-wide there are between four and four and a half million people who are functionally blind,” said Huston. “The number one reason is cataracts. Here in the U.S. we have no problem getting cataract surgery. In other countries people are not so fortunate.”

“Age related problems from diabetes and macular degeneration are the second leading cause of blindness.”

“Glaucoma is third. It is treatable with medication. It needs long term treatment. This is a problem where medical care is limited.”

VOSH International is a non-sectarian, non-governmental organization dedicated to the elimination of preventable blindness by the year 2020. VOSH provides eye care and vision services for those below the poverty level who have limited access to vision care.

Each year VOSH chapters set up eighty to ninety missions serving over one hundred thousand people. There are thirty-five regional chapters and twenty-five student chapters in the U.S., Canada, India, Africa, Central and South America, and the Netherlands.

For more information about VOSH visit the web site at http://www.vosh.org. For information about the OSU College of Optometry visit http://optometry.osu.edu.

Lower your sodium to increase your life

“Too much sodium (salt) in your diet may affect your health,” said Cindy Bond-Zielinski to the Cambridge Lions Club. “It can affect people with heart disease or contribute to high blood pressure.” (Pictured left:  Cindy Bond-Zielinski and Lion Tim McKim)

Bond-Zielinski is an extension educator with The Ohio State University Extension Office located at the county fairgrounds and serving a multi-county area.

“High blood pressure can also be a contributing factor in strokes,” Bond-Zielinski said. “You should check with your doctor to see if your blood pressure is affected by too much sodium. Sometimes little changes in your diet can have a big effect on lowering your blood pressure.”

“Cutting out one teaspoon of salt in your daily diet can help,” Bond-Zielinski said. “It’s not just the salt you add at the table or when you are cooking. It’s also the added salt in processed foods.”

“If you read the labels on the foods you buy, you may see a lot of sodium has been added. You can cut down on the amount of sodium if you make healthy choices. Processed soup can have a lot of sodium.”

“Prepackaged foods can have sodium added,” Bond-Zielinski said. “Vegetables are good for you, but canned vegetables may have a lot of sodium, and that’s not so good. Preparing fresh vegetables can be better for your blood pressure.”

“You can’t change certain things in your life,” Bond-Zielinski said. “You can’t change your inherited genetic factors that make some people more sensitive to the effects of sodium.”

“You can’t change your age, and aging can add to your risk of high blood pressure. You can’t change whether you are male or female. Males may have a higher risk of heart disease.”

“You can reduce your risk of high blood pressure by making some small changes in your diet,” Bond-Zielinski said. “We don’t always eat high sodium content foods every day. We usually get a variety.”

“You don’t have to give up these foods entirely. You just need to read the labels and reduce the amount of sodium you eat. You need to make healthy choices on a regular basis.”

“Processed meats like salami, baloney, hot dogs, and bacon are high in sodium. Preparing meat with other seasonings rather than with salt can help reduce your daily sodium intake.”

“That’s the key,” Bond-Zielinski said. “It’s how you prepare the food you eat that can make a difference. You can add other spices and seasonings rather than reaching for the salt.”

“You can season beef with marjoram, onion, pepper, sage and thyme. You can use oregano, paprika, rosemary, and other seasonings on chicken. You can use dill, dry mustard, curry powder and pepper on fish.”

“You don’t have to cook with a lot of salt. When you have a sandwich add a little lettuce and a slice of tomato instead of reaching for the salt shaker. You can add other herbs to enhance the flavor.”

“The recommended daily allowances shown on the food labels are for a serving size and based on the average person. An average person is five feet seven inches tall and weighs one hundred fifty pounds. You need to adjust for your own height and weight.”

“The average person consumes too much sodium. We advocate reducing the amount of sodium in you diet by making healthy choices on a regular basis.”