Category Archives: News of our Congregants
Amazon.com: The New Diaspora: The Changing Landscape of American Jewish Fiction (9780814340554): Avinoam J. Patt, Mark Shechner, Victoria
From Marjorie Feldman: the book has been released…With My painting on the cover.
GOODBYE, FROM MARK AND ANN GROBOSKY
To the Congregation of Aitz Chaim
As many of you know, Mark and I have recently relocated to Fayetteville, N.C.
Our 6 years in Great Falls has been wonderful, but now it is time to move on and be closer to family on the East coast. Mark has accepted a position at Fayetteville Technical Community College as an instructor and Dept. Head of the Paralegal program at the school.
From the beginning, meeting all of you and being part of the Jewish community was one of the best parts of living in Great Falls. We will certainly miss your friendship and our participation in functions and services at Aitz Chiam. You have welcomed us into your community and lives, and you have opened your homes to us with your hospitality. You will always be near and dear to us. We would welcome hearing from you from time to time if you care to share any news with us.
I’m hoping to join and/or participate in the local Synagogue. We will be fortunate, indeed, if we find another group of people who will be as inviting into their community as you have been.
With our very best wishes to all of you.
Ann and Mark Grobosky
Anngrobosky725@gmail.com
WELCOME NIMBUS
On Sunday, June 29, Bruce breslauer left with his guide dog Glendale to go to California to retire her and train with a successor dog. Although she is otherwise very healthy, Glendale, who is 9-1/2 years old, has cataracts which are just beginning to be visible to the naked eye. So far, they have not affected her guide work in any way. Although they could technically be surgically removed and thus prolong her working life as a guide dog, Bruce has opted to retire her while she is still at the top of her game, and get a successor dog. He wants Glendale to enjoy a few good years of healthy retirement with the family who raised her as a puppy. She already knows and loves them and they her, so it will be good for all of them all around. Besides living a dog’s life, Glendale also has a promising future as a therapy dog in hospitals and nursing homes, for which she will be very well suited. She will be greatly missed.
Bruce is now in San Rafael, near San Francisco, in training for two weeks with a successor dog, a male yellow lab named Nimbus, who is about eighteen months old. They are getting to know each other, sorting out who is the alpha dog, learning current guide dog training methods, and beginning the bonding process which will only get stronger as their working life develops. There are five others in his training class, four of whom are receiving guide dogs for the first time. Through donations, the school pays for the students’ air fare to and from campus, and provides dormitory housing and meals for them while they are there. Training a guide dog costs somewhere around $54,000.00, and something like sixty percent of them don’t make it through the program. Called “career change” dogs, they sometimes go on to be another type of service or therapy dog, or they may become someone’s wonderful pet. There is no shortage of people who would love to have a career change dog or a retired guide dog in their lives.
Every day the students are expected to study and review several hours of information regarding what-if scenarios and how-to procedures, so that they can use the techniques they are learning in real life situations as they arise. During training, the dog-person team is exposed to many situations that might be encountered in everyday life, such as coping with city traffic; taking busses or other forms of mass transit; crossing busy intersections or those with blended curbs or unusual configurations; walking safely down sidewalkless country roads; navigating stairs and escalators; finding entrance and exit doors; maneuvering through obstacle courses, crowded streets, or shopping malls; going to restaurants or through cafeteria lines while carrying a tray of food and drink; going to grocery stores; finding elevators; finding and activating pedestrian walk signal buttons; learning how to navigate college campuses, office buildings, conference rooms, or medical facilities; going through airport security and boarding airplanes. There are several times during training where the dog will be called upon to maneuver their blind or visually impaired partner out of the way of a silent car coming suddenly and unexpectedly toward them. One of the most fun outings toward the end of training is a trip to Muir Woods, full of wonderful sights, sounds, and smells. In addition to all this, the dog is learning to depend on his new partner for feeding, watering, and relieving, the person is learning to trust and follow their dog and to depend on the dog to follow directions and make intelligent decisions, and they are each learning to trust each other and to communicate with each other.
Toward the end of the training, the emphasis changes from focusing on more generalized life experiences to customizing and fine-tuning the training to the specific environment to which the team will be returning. The point of the training is not necessarily to cover every conceivable situation a dog-person team might face, but to teach them skills and techniques they can use in whatever situation they find themselves to optimize their safety, efficiency, and confidence as a good working team. building the partnership into a well-oiled machine can take several months, often with a few bumps in the road along the way, and in some ways resembles building a marriage. A successful team will continue fine-tuning their relationship throughout the working life of the team.
At the end of two intense weeks of training, Bruce and the others will go through a graduation ceremony, which is open to the public, during which the families who raised the dogs from puppyhood will formally turn the dogs over to their new partners. Then they have the opportunity to receive a new potential guide dog puppy to start the whole thing all over again. The graduation experience is often a time for laughter and tears for both students and puppy raisers alike.
For more information, please visit http://www.guidedogs.com
Boy Scouts save Scoutmaster and Aitz Chaim congregant on Belt Creek
Kristen Cates, kcates@greatfallstribune.com 3:38 a.m. MDT July 5, 2014
Aaron Weissman can tell you from personal experience the best people to have around when you break your tibia and fibia is a group of Boy Scouts.
“My kids are awesome,” he said.
On Sunday, as Weissman was floating down Belt Creek through the Sluice Boxes Canyon with four boys and three adults affiliated with Boy Scout Troop 26 Great Falls, a sudden decision of his to cling to a raft in rough waters after the boys got to the shore caused his right leg to get pinched in between boulders. The decision resulted in a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg, about 3 miles upstream from the Sluice Boxes boat launch, which required a lengthy emergency response to the scene.
Before emergency crews arrived, the group of Scouts — two of which have earned Eagle Scout ranking — had Weissman’s leg splinted and wrapped.
Scouts Jake Smith, Jack Dresel, Wyatt Tanner and Daniel Stone all helped with the process with assistance from Pack 26 Cubmaster Brandon Carpenter, Dean Tanner and Eric Christian, adults on the trip.
“I’m so proud of these boys — so proud,” Weissman said. “Thank God it was me that got hurt and not one of the boys.”
Weissman said the trip was well-planned and followed Boy Scout protocol with the trip being registered with the local office and proper safety measures under consideration. It happened after the Scouts spent two months learning CPR and other safety training. It was the group’s first time floating that area of Belt Creek.
“Everything was done by the book,” Weissman said. “We knew the area and we knew what we were getting into.”
But just past the canyon, the group ran into some rapids. Weissman said he and one of the boys and two adults were in the main raft while the others had moved to the extra raft they were carrying for safety reasons. The boat spun and moved to the side of the creek and everyone was ejected. Weissman said while the boys got safely to the shore, he decided to keep a hold of the boat as it was filling with water. He thinks his right leg was jammed between two large boulders, where he said the combination of the stream and the raft caused his lower right leg to snap, approximately an inch below his knee. It was just before 4 p.m.
“I did find out I keep calm in an emergency,” Weissman said.
Weissman called out to Bob Keith, who had been maneuvering the second boat and was fishing, that he was injured and learned Keith was farther down stream. He had to float downstream using his arms and one working leg and told Keith he needed to splint his legs to which Keith responded he couldn’t find anything to use as a splint.
That’s when the Scouts got to work. Daniel, 11, started scouring the shores for something to use as a splint.
“Once he told me he broke his leg I ran to where a big tree was fallen over and I grabbed a couple of straight sticks,” Daniel said.
Meanwhile Wyatt, 14, scanned the area hoping to find rope to stabilize the splint.
“I took straps off the boat while Daniel was getting the sticks,” he said.
The other two helped gather materials and Weissman — though in serious pain — still tried to turn his injury into a teaching moment.
“My first thought was, ‘boys, you need to watch this splinting process,'” Weissman said.
The boys kept his leg in the water, splinted and covered with life jackets for protection, while others called for help. They were about three miles upstream from any access point along the creek. Weissman said originally Mercy Flight was called out, but there wasn’t an easy place for crews to land. Belt Ambulance Service responded and Dean Tanner said the crew had to run in three miles up the Sluice Boxes trail with a backboard to get to Weissman. The crew arrived around 5:30 p.m.
The ambulance crew determined they couldn’t take Weissman back down on the trail, so they strapped him to Keith’s boat and floated him back out before taking him via ambulance to Benefis Health System.
“It turns out, I have a high tolerance for pain,” said Weissman, who will be in a brace and a wheelchair for the next month.
The boys said only after Weissman was loaded up in the ambulance did they begin to process what they’d seen and done.
“My immediate reaction is ‘I’m not going to the Water Park this week,'” Daniel said. “I think we responded better than we could have.”
“It was unexpected; it escalated quickly,” Wyatt said.
Jack, 14, and Jake, 13, said they were both in shock, but were eager to help as the events unfolded.
“I thought he’d be OK,” Jack said. “Aaron’s a pretty tough guy.”
The boys attribute their response to the motto they live by as Boy Scouts: “Be prepared.”
“There’s an ideal in Boy Scouts. It’s not ‘no risks’ it’s ‘know risks,'” Weissman said. “A huge part of Scouting is teaching these boys to manage risks.”
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Cates at 791-1463 or kcates@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @GFTrib_KCates.
GUIDE DOG RECEIVES THE PURPLE PAW AWARD
To read the article in the Great Falls Tribune, go to
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201404120500/NEWS01/304120018
To watch a video, go to
http://www.greatfallstribune.com//videonetwork/3462573858001/Guide-dog-wins-Purple-Paw-award
SCOUT SHABBAT 2014
The Montana Council 2014 Scout Shabbat will be held at 9am on June 21, 2014 at the Montana Council Camporee in Townsend, MT in the 4-H building. Service will be led by Aaron Weissman and Stephen Boyd, and is open to all attendees at the Camporee.
Aaron Weissman
Scoutmaster, Troop 1026, Great Falls, MT
Vice President for Program, Montana Council
Boy Scouts of America
MAZAL TOV! IT’S A GIRL!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Submitted by Elliott Magalnick
Our first grandaughter, third grandchild, born on 3.14,2014; 7 #; no name yet.
Grandpa Elliott
NEWS
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe, who has been at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco since 2006, will be departing this summer to become senior rabbi at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester in Chappaque, N.Y.
Submitted by Helen Cherry
THE BAR MITZVAH IS ALMOST HERE
Friends and Family;
I would like to first apologize for sending a group email, but there is a lot to do before the Bar Mitzvah this coming Saturday! We are looking so very forward to seeing all of you. Wendy and I wanted to send out a brief note summarizing all the activities we are planning between now and Sunday. I know that all of you won’t be coming to all of the events, but we did want to get something out confirming times and logistics!
• Max’s Bar Mitzvah service will be on the morning of Saturday, December 28 at 10am in the Panorama Room upstairs at the Great Falls International Airport. Please park in the short-term parking lot, you will receive a parking validation token that will allow you to leave the lot free of charge. Lunch will follow in the same room.
• Max’s Bar Mitzvah project is a food drive for the Food Bank/East Middle School Food Pantry. If you like, please bring items of canned or boxed food to donate to the lunch.
In addition to the Bar Mitzvah itself, we are organizing and hosting several other get-togethers:
• There will be a short kabbalat shabbat service in the meeting room at the La Quinta Inn on Friday, December 27 at 4:30pm. There will be very limited seating in that room, but please feel free to come if you like.
• At 6pm on Friday, December 27 we will be hosting a dinner at Maple Garden Restaurant, 5401 9th Ave S. The dinner will be a chinese buffet, with plenty of vegetarian options.
• On the evening of December 28, there will be a dinner in honor of Max’s accomplishment at the Hilton Garden Inn, 2520 14th Street SW at 6pm.
• Sunday, December 29 will a fun day of skiing and other activities in the Little Belt Mountains! There are a number of recreational activities in the Little Belt Mountains. In addition to downhill skiing at Showdown, there are snowshoeing and cross country skiing opportunities. There is also a wonderful hot springs in the town of White Sulphur Springs.
After the Showdown lifts close at 4pm, we will be hosting a pizza party in the T-bar at Showdown. We hope you will join us then!
For those of you who want to ski, I have arranged for group rates at Showdown. You can let me know if you want to ski as late as Saturday evening, but I will need your payment by then. The options are as follows:
Group Lift Tickets
Adult All Area (13-69) $34
Jr All Area (6-12) $20
Sr All Area (70+) $25
Beginner Lift Only $20
5 & under Free
Magic Carpet Only Free
Group Rental
Skis, Boots and Poles, Full Day $18
Snowboard and Boots, Full Day $30
Group Lessons
Learn to Ski $30 or Learn to Snowboard $40
2 Hour Group Lesson $10
Daily at 10:30 or 1:30 (Skiers 7+, and Snowboarders 11+)
The “Learn to Ski or Snowboard” package includes a lesson, beginner chair lift ticket and your rentals. It is designed for first-timers.
We are so thrilled that you will be joining us to help mark and celebrate Max’s simcha!
B”Shalom,
Aaron and Wendy
The Aitz Chaim Ram's Horn 