Basic HTML Version
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Exceptional women
15
3.EW0413
By JIM HART
Sandy Post
The trial of accused child killer
Donald Cockrell, which was set to be-
gin today, April 4, has been post-
poned until Jan. 7, 2013, said Clacka-
mas County Deputy District Attorney
Christine Landers.
The reason for the delay is that Cock-
rell’s attorney, Jenny
Cooke of Portland, was
granted more time to
prepare a defense for
Cockrell, who pleaded
not guilty to three
counts of aggravated
murder, three counts of
murder, five counts of
first-degree criminal
mistreatment and five
counts of using a con-
trolled substance. There
were 17 other counts
that already have been
dismissed.
Cockrell, 30, and his
fiancee at the time of the
incident, Michelle Smith,
27, were arrested Jan.
10, 2010, after authori-
ties were called to her
parents’ home at 22050
Cottontail Lane, southeast of Sandy,
where the two were living on one level
with five children — three were hers
and two were his. Her parents were liv-
ing on a separate level.
Sheriff ’s deputies were called to the
residence at the reported death of one of
his children, 3-year-old Alexis M. Pound-
er.
Deputies who investigated the inci-
dent allege that one or both adults beat
and starved the toddler until she died.
An autopsy performed by Dr. Larry
Lewman of the Oregon State Medical
Examiner’s Office revealed the little girl
died of “physical and nutritional child
abuse.”
Cockrell’s other child showed similar
signs of abuse, Landers told The Post
soon after the arrest. All four children
were taken into protective custody, ac-
cording to a sheriff’s detective.
Smith pleaded guilty last year to one
count of aggravated murder, three
counts of murder by abuse and four
counts of criminal mistreatment. She
will be sentenced to 30 years behind
bars without parole if she cooperates by
testifying against Cockrell.
“Part of (Smith’s) deal is her testimo-
ny at (Cockrell’s) trial,” Landers said.
“Sentencing (for Smith) would typically
take place after (Cockrell’s) trial.”
Barrel of Pennies
Sandy Actors Theatre raises curtain
Friday for April performances
Page A3
INSIDE TODAY
Weather ............................................... A2
Obituaries ............................................ A4
Education............................................. A5
Opinion ................................................ A6
Business .............................................. A9
.................. B5
CONTACT US
Advertising......................... 503-810-0932
Classified........................... 503-620-7355
Delivery.............................. 503-665-2181
News.................................. 503-668-5548
Email ....................... news@sandypost.com
Website.............................. sandypost.com
Spring into action
Check out these indoor and outdoor projects
By JIM HART
Sandy Post
Officials and staff mem-
bers of the city of Sandy
want to annex about 130
acres to the city, but the de-
cision must be made by reg-
istered voters.
The proposal, which will be
on the May 15 primary ballot, is
to attach the expansive and di-
verse Sandy River Park to the
city without enclosing it in the
city’s urban growth boundary.
The parkland, which in-
cludes eight parcels of land at
the end of Marcy Street, is ad-
jacent to the current city limits
on the south and west, accord-
ing to Planning Director Tracy
Brown.
The park is currently in the
unincorporated county and is
zoned “timber,” Brown said.
The city will take its largest
city park under its wing and as-
sign “parks and open space”
zoning, a new zone that be-
comes effective today, April 4,
for Sandy River Park and fu-
ture city parks.
Councilor Jeremy Pietzold
requested annexation of the
park since the park links the
city and the river with the
same name, said Parks Direc-
tor Nancy Enabnit. The rest of
the city councilors agreed and
voted in favor at a recent meet-
ing.
If a simple majority of voters
affirm the annexation request,
the land outside the UGB could
become the jurisdiction of the
city. All that’s required after
the balloting is a vote of confir-
mation by the council and a
change of the city’s Compre-
hensive Plan and its zoning
map.
If the park becomes part of
the city, the Sandy Police De-
partment would assume re-
sponsibility for law enforce-
Adding 130 acres to
the city will be on
the May 15 ballot
Voters: Should the city expand?
SMITH
See EXPAND / Page A11
Trial set to begin three
years after Sandy man’s
daughter, Alexis M.
Pounder, 3, died
Accused
child killer’s
trial delayed
until 2013
I
n honor of Timberline Lodge’s
75th anniversary, the Sandy
Post is featuring stories about
the lodge throughout 2012.
This second story highlights
Franklin Delano Roosevelt coming
through town for the lodge dedica-
tion in 1937. It was a whirlwind vis-
it but left lasting memories for lo-
cals.
Ray Gifford remembers Sept. 28,
1937, well.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
had dedicated Timberline Lodge
and was riding back to Portland in a
black ‘37 Ford con-
vertible with the top
down as Gifford and
his Sandy Grade
School classmates
watched from the
corner of Proctor
and Strauss.
“It’s a day I shall
never forget,” says
Gifford, now 80.
After dedicating
the Bonneville Dam, the president,
first lady and their entourage of 90
made their way to Timberline,
where they were greeted by an as-
sembly of 1,200 people.
In one of Timberline’s commemo-
rative 75th anniversary videos, a
speaker calls the day a “monumen-
tal event for a monumental effort.”
Roosevelt’s speech was cut down
to eight minutes because he was
running late from Bonneville Dam,
and emphasized the importance of
natural resources in tough times.
After his speech, Roosevelt and
his wife, Eleanor, had lunch with
the entourage, then took a 45-min-
ute nap in the presidential suite be-
fore driving back to Portland to stay
in a hotel.
U.S. Forest Service rangers who
offer tours of Timberline say the
Roosevelts never actually stayed at
Timberline, much to the chagrin of
the employees.
Still, the whirlwind visit left last-
ing impressions for residents along
the Mount Hood corridor.
In his book “80 Years in the Same
Neighborhood,” Phil Jonsrud, who
died March 25 at age 93, recalled
how he was unable to make the
dedication but caught a glimpse of
the president in Sandy.
“I couldn’t get off work that day
to attend the ceremonies as my
boss was a Republican, and no fan
of the president,” Jonsrud wrote.
Jonsrud was, however, enlisted to
block traffic in Sandy at Beers
Street so no one could enter Proctor
Boulevard where the cavalcade of
dignitaries passed through in the
late afternoon on the way to Port-
land.
“It was only a glimpse as the en-
tourage sped through town at over
50 miles per hour,” Jonsrud wrote.
“I did get a glimpse of the president.
He was wearing a heavy overcoat
with the collar turned down.
“We had no wave from the great
man, who was undoubtedly fa-
tigued and beginning to think about
the before-dinner martinis he
would have when he got back to the
train.”
Roosevelt passing through town
is one of many memories Gifford
has recorded in his own book filled
with 80 dividers. Each divider rep-
resents a year of his life, and some
of his entries are four or five pages
long.
“I’ve tried to resurrect every-
thing I can remember,” he says.
Gifford, who graduated third in
his class in 1949, still attends annual
high school reunions with about 30
of his remaining classmates in
Gresham. He also serves as a Sandy
High School alumni committee
member.
“It’s unbelievable where we are
today,” Gifford says. I can remem-
ber when Sandy wasn’t much like it
is now.”
Timberline Lodge is at 27500 E.
Timberl ine Road, Timberl ine
Lodge.
For more information about the
lodge, including its heritage time-
line, visit timberlinelodge.com.
COCKRELL
See CHILD / Page A11
PHOTO COURTESY OF TIMBERLINE LODGE
Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Timberline Lodge in 1937 as a testament to the workers on the rolls of the Works Progress Administration. After the dedication, he passed
through Sandy en route to Portland. Residents such as Ray Gifford still remember that September day 75 years ago.
A presidential dedication
STORY BY
LISA K. ANDERSON
Q
Remembering the day FDR came up to Timberline Lodge
Things to know
In collaboration with the Inter-
national Skiing History Associa-
tion and U.S. Ski and Snowboard
Hall of Fame, Timberline Lodge
will celebrate Ski Heritage Week
April 8-15 with a schedule full of
activities at multiple ski resorts
in Oregon and Washington. For
more information, visit the Ski-
ing Heritage Week 2012 tab of
skihall.com.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A lone fisherman enjoys the serenity of the northern end of Sandy River
Park, at the confluence of Cedar Creek and the Sandy River. Registered
voters will decide May 15 if the 130-acre park will be annexed to the
city.
SERVING SANDY, BORING AND THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGES • ONLINE AT SANDYPOST.COM • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012 •
50 CENTS
S
ANDY
P
OST
Grand success
Sandy delivers two grand slams
in 23-0 rout of St. Helens
SPORTS, Page B1
Ray Gifford’s
first-grade
class stood on
the corner of
Proctor and
Strauss as
FDR passed
through town
in 1937. His
teacher was
Miss Larson,
center. Gifford
is pictured to
her right; his
eye was
swollen from a
bee sting.
PHOTO COURTESY
OF RAY GIFFORD
ROOSEVELT
E
STACADA
N
EWS
Rangers rally for win
Estacada baseball earns walk off victory
against Grant Union in home opener
See SPORTS, Page 6
Live theater
Sandy Actors Theatre presents
“Barrell Full of Pennies”
See Page 3
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012 • ONLINE AT ESTACADANEWS.COM • SERVING ESTACADA SINCE 1904 •
50 CENTS
By JEFF SPIEGEL
Estacada News
Estacada Mayor Becky Ar-
nold has filed a report with
the Clackamas County Sher-
iff’s Office, claiming threaten-
ing remarks were made
against her during a City
Council meeting on March 26.
Estacada resident Dora Mor-
gan, the woman accused of mak-
ing those threats, says her
words were misinterpreted.
Morgan’s presence at the
meeting was the result of state-
ments made by Arnold in the
March 21 edition of the Estacada
News.
In the story, “Community now
has to vote on renewal,” Arnold
accuses the supporters of urban
renewal Measure 3-391 of going
door to door with “non-truths.”
As a supporter of Measure
3-391, Morgan was outraged at
what she claims was a false ac-
cusation itself, saying that all of
the materials they went door to
door with came straight from
City Hall.
After signing the speaking list
under her own name, Morgan
introduced herself as a speaker
from the group that calls them-
selves the “Clackistani Allied
Forces.”
After explaining why she was
speaking in front of the council,
Morgan proceeded to say, “On
behalf of the Clackistani Allied
Forces, we will accept your res-
ignation. Lay down your arms ...
and walk away or face the dire
consequences at the hands of
the mainstream voters this fall,
who just beat your measure by
77 percent.”
The call for resignation drew
laughter from Arnold.
Morgan ended her presenta-
tion by saying, “Unlike you,
mayor, I’ll be a lady and walk
away.”
For Arnold, the feeling of be-
ing threatened is nothing new
around Morgan, who ran
against Arnold for mayor in
2010.
“When I beat her in 2010, I
Dora Morgan’s
behavior
documented by the
sheriff’s office
Mayor confronted at City Council meeting
By JEFF SPIEGEL
Estacada News
Mark and Corrine Noah face
felony accusations of manufac-
turing and distributing mari-
juana after police discovered
an astonishing underground
grow operation
at their home in
Eagle C eek.
During the raid
on
the Noahs ’
home, police dis-
covered secret le-
ver s ,
swi ng i ng
bookshelves, an
underground bun-
ker and marijuana
valued at $216,000.
The investiga-
tion was under th
supe vision of the
Clackamas County
Interagency Task
Force and culmi-
nated on Jan. 20
with the serving of
a search warrant
t o
the No hs ’
house on the 31000
block of Southe st Jackknife Road
in Eagle Creek.
Once inside, the task force offi-
cers seized 72 marijuana plants
and a firearm. One marijuana
plant produces an average of 1
pound of marijuana, which sells
for an average of $3,000.
The arrests and investigation
flew under the radar while the
task force officers exhausted
ll
potential leads to others who may
have been involved.
“Take the example of if we
found someone in possession of
meth,” said Lt. James Rhodes of
the Clackamas County Sheriff ’s
Office. “That may lead to the deal-
er, which may lead to the supplier,
which may lead to the lab.
“In this case, the arrest was
made, and we didn’t send it out
because we wanted to protect our
leads. By now, enough time has
passed, and we didn’t have any in-
formation to protect because of
the time that passed.”
Mark, 65, was arrested on Jan.
20, while Corrine, 55, was arrested
at a later date, and both are out on
bail.
The task force investigation led
it to a bunker that was hidden be-
neath the garage. To access the
bunker, a secret lever needed to
be tripped, freeing a short book-
case to be swung away from the
wall.
Once the bunker was revealed,
a small ladder led from the garage
down into the bunker, which had
cement floors and cinder block
walls. The bunker had two rooms
that were partitioned off, com-
plete with grow lights, a plumbing
network and a ventilation system.
The rooms also had large enough
ceilings to fit most adults stand-
ing up.
“What is remarkable about it is
the degree of effort and amount of
work that went into manufactur-
ing an entire underground grow-
ing operation just to hide, just to
conceal, an illegal marijuana
grow,” Lt. Rhodes said.
KOIN Local 6, news partner of the
Pamplin Media Group, contributed to
this article.
Underground marijuana bunker
found during bust in Eagle Creek
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CLACKAMAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
The 72 marijuana plants found Mark and Corrine Noah’s house in Eagle Creek were valued at $216,000.
Q
Pot valued
at $216,000
found in
hidden space
See MAYOR / Page 9
Book Nook will no longer
accept donations from the
Estacada Public Library
Foundation
turns page
on donated
books
By JEFF SPIEGEL
Estacada News
When members of the Estacada Public
Library Board of Trustees voted March
22 to continue donating books to the
B ok Nook, they had n idea their v te
wouldn’t matter.
Just two days later, Book Nook Manager
Linda Arnett sent an email to City Manager
Bill Elliot, Library Director Anna Stavinoha
and a handful of other people informing
them that the Book Nook would no longer
would accept donations from the l brary.
Discarded books
Every so often, Stavinoha goes through
library records and identifies which items
haven’t been checked out in the past two or
three years. Aside from some special cir-
cumstances, these items are generally do-
nated to the Book Nook.
dies, scary movies a docum
t
‘A Little More Time’
by Joseph Triska
Teeny Tiny Film Festival attracts quite a crowd
Once a secret lever is tripped, the book case that has been pulled away from the
wall reveals the entrance into the underground bunker.
“Unlike you, mayor, I’ll be
a lady and walk away.”
— Dora Morgan, during Estacada City
Council meeting
See LIBRARY / Page 9
STAFF PHOTO BY JEFF SPIEGEL
The Book Nook is operated by the Estacada Public
Library Foundation and is located at 155 S.W.
Third Ave.
MARK NOAH
CORRINE NOAH
d
,
e
e
’
e
u
c
e
r
o
c
INSIDE TODAY
Weather ............................................... A2
Obituaries ............................................ A4
Sports.................................................. A6
Opinion ................................................ A8
Cops .................................................... A5
Community ........................................... A9
CONTACT US
Advertising......................... 503-810-0932
Classified........................... 503-620-7355
Delivery.............................. 503-665-2181
News.................................. 503-668-5548
Email ....................... news@sandypost.com
Website.............................. sandypost.com
Pet doptions
These pets are waiting for
someone to take them home
See Page 12
By Calvin Hall
The Outlook
A series of major trans-
portation projects meant to
improve traffic flow from In-
terstate 84 into Troutdale
and its industrial properties
to the north recently got a
boost in funding, bringing
the long-planned project
closer to reality.
Sen. Laurie Monnes Ander-
son, D-Gresham, and Reps.
Matt Wand, R-Troutdale, and
Patrick Sheehan, R-Clackamas,
helped secure an extra $3 mil-
lion to $4 million from the state
for the $37.9 million project, an-
other phase of the upgrades at
the Troutdale interchange that
began in 2009.
Besides the construction
jobs, supporters say the project
will help relieve the heavy traf-
fic congestion at exit 17, the pri-
mary access from I-84 to Trout-
dale that draws up to 17,000
vehicles a day and serves two
truck stops along South Front-
age Road.
Supporters say it also will
make it easier for trucks and
cars to get to the 700-acre
Troutdale Reynolds Industrial
Property (TRIP), which cur-
rently houses FedEx Ground,
and open up another 235 acres
at the site for development.
Wand said the traffic im-
provements will spur develop-
ment and job creation at the
TRIP property, which is the
largest undeveloped industrial
property in the state.
“In the future, this is where
East County residents will
work every day if we do it
right,” Wand said.
Including the extra $3 million
to $4 million, the state, the city
of Troutdale, the Port of Port-
land and the federal govern-
ment have set aside almost $29
million to fund the project.
The biggest cost is an $18
million to $22 million proposal
to turn Northwest Marine
Drive — a southbound two-lane
road going underneath I-84 and
connecting with South Front-
age Road — into a two-way,
five-lane road, complete with
bike lanes and streetlights.
To go west to the TRIP prop-
erty, trucks and cars currently
have to loop around I-84 at
Northwest Graham Road and
then turn back onto westbound
Frontage Road, passing four
signals.
Troutdale Mayor Jim Kight
said the expanded Northwest
Marine Drive under I-84 will
make it easier for vehicles to
get to the TRIP property.
Area transportation project gets $3 million boost
See BOOST / Page 3
S
ixteen-year-old Caitlin Morri-
son spends her Thursday eve-
nings at Oliver Elementary
School, thoughtfully packing
bags with a proportionate number of
proteins, sides
and snacks to en-
sure the offering
is sufficient for
recipients to curb
hunger over the
coming weekend.
On Friday af-
ternoons, those
bags go to 20 low-income students
who depend on schools’ free and re-
duced lunches and after-school pro-
grams that provide dinner.
Without the bag of food for the
weekend, those students may not eat
again until school breakfast Monday
morning.
“I don’t want to think about any-
body going hungry, but especially a
kid not having food on a long week-
end,” said Morrison, a Franklin High
School sophomore. “Kids are put in
these situations where they can’t do
anything about it. It makes you feel
worse about them being in that situa-
tion.”
Morrison, moved by a story she
read about a Beaverton church filling
backpacks with food to give to kids,
started her own iteration of the proj-
ect, the Rosewood Backpack Project.
The name is inaccurate — it just
kind of stuck, Morrison said—but the
purpose is clear: Before each week-
end, 20 first- through fifth-graders
take home a paper bag filled with
healthy food for their families to eat
through the weekend.
While she’s looking for more orga-
nizations to sustain and expand the
project, Morrison has organized a
unique opportunity for schools to fill a
gap in their support for poor students,
said Oliver Elementary Principal Ben
Egbers.
“A number of our students come
here for breakfast and lunch and stay
and participate in our after-school
program, which includes a snack and
dinner,” Egbers said. “So when it
comes to the weekend, th re are a lot
of weekends where food isn’t being
provided.”
Rosewood
Morrison’s father, Thompson, sug-
gested she reach out to the Rockwood-
area schools; he serves on the board of
directors for the Rosewood Initiative,
an effort to revive the community in a
high-poverty, high-crime area of West
Gresham and East Portland.
Oliver and Parklane elementary
schools serve high-poverty popula-
tions. Nearly 83 percent of Oliver’s
students are on free and reduced
lunches — the highest percentage in
the Centennial School District’s ele-
mentary schools, Egbers said.
The schools’ SUN Community
Schools (Schools Uniting Neighbor-
hoods) AmeriCorps members worked
with Morrison to recruit do ations
from churches with food pantries.
For a little more than a month now,
10 students each at Oliver and
Parklane, identified by counselors as
high-need, every weekend have taken
Story by
Sara Hottman
Photos by
Jim Clark
Caitlin Morrison loads up a bag of food that will go to a child at Oliver Elementary School.
Caitlin Morrison didn’t start
the Rosewood Backpack Project
for a school project, for a résumé
builder, or because she had to;
she started it because she could.
“High school students don’t
usually do much volunteer stuff
besides what’s required in school
or something,” said Morrison, a
sophomore at Frankl in High
School.
“I wanted to get more involved
in the community. ... I read about
this project and thought, I could
probably pull that off.”
Once her project came to frui-
tion, it was a success, feeding the
families of 20 low-income elemen-
tary school students each week-
end and rallying the Rosewood
community behind her.
“The idea of kids helping kids
— we can make a difference,” she
said.
To get involved in the Rosewood
Backpack Project, email Caitlin.
Camp.Morrison@gmail .com or
call her at 503-754-2308.
The project can take cash dona-
tions (fresh produce for the bags
costs $25 weekly, and peanut but-
ter costs $50 every other week),
one-time food donations, or week-
ly cash or food sponsorships are
accepted.
Morrison wants to make a difference
STAFF PHOTO BY JIM CLARK
Caitlin Morrison, a sophomore, started
Rosewood Backpack Project, which is
benefiting 20 families at super low-
income schools.
Project feeds 20
families, but needs
donations to keep going
See FOOD / Page 3
Enough food for
the weekend?
Q
High school student started a
project to make sure kids didn’t
go hungry between school meals
Here is some of the food that Caitlin Morrison is packing to give to
students at Oliver Elementary School. She started the Rosewood
Backpack Project to help low-income children.
Are you and your neighborhood, school, church,
business or social organization planning an Eas-
ter egg hunt this year? Then let The Outlook
know about it.
Each year, The Outlook runs a listing of all local
Easter egg hunts. To be added to the list, you can
drop off the information at 1190 N.E. Division St.,
Gresham; fax it to 503-665-2187; or email chall@
theoutlookonline.com. Remember to include all
the relevant information: location, date and time
and contact information.
The deadline is March 28.
Share your Easter egg hunting events
East County cities look
for way to collaborate
Cities
seek
unified
voice
By Calvin Hall
The Outlook
A proposal is coming to fruition
to bring together city leaders from
throughout Multnomah County to
work on mutual issues and speak
with a unified voice.
F irview Mayor Mike Weatherby,
wh has pushe for the creation of a
Multnomah County Coordinating
Committee for more than a year, said
Wednesday that most Multnomah
County mayors have agreed to join the
committee, which is
planning its first meet-
ing.
Inspired by similar
committees in Wash-
ington and Clackamas
counties, Weatherby
said the Multnomah
County Coordinating
Committee would al-
low officials to formal-
ly meet and work as a
bloc to push for countywide inte ests.
For example, the committee could
compete for Metro Regional Govern-
ment transportation dollars, or sup-
port each
ther on major transporta-
tion projects.
“It opens the door for all sorts of
p ssibilities on what we can accom-
plish,” Weatherby said. “It’s a place
where everyone sits down and has a
conversation.”
As now planned, the committee will
involve
e mayors of Gresham, Fair-
vi w, Troutdale, Wood Village and
Maywood Park, as well as each city’s
councilors. Representatives from
Multnomah County, the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation, TriMet
and the Port of Portla d als
ould
participate.
Meetings would be open to the pub-
lic. Fairview has offered to host the
meetings and handle the clerical work.
Portland city officials have been in-
vited to join but have not made a defi-
nite commitment, Weatherby said.
No votes will be taken. Instead, offi-
cials will work toward consensus.
Now the next step is to schedule the
committee’s first meeting,
hich
Weatherby acknowledges may be dif-
ficult given the complex schedules of
city officials, most of whom are unpaid
volunteers.
“I’m hoping April. It may be as long
as May,” Weatherby said. “It’s just a
matter of when we can get it done.”
Weatherby also is pushing for the
reestablishment of a Four-City Leader-
ship group, where mayors and city
councilors from the East County cities
would meet to talk about local and re-
gional issues. The invitation also is
open for Damascus to join, he said.
Weatherby said a four-city group
met before, but ceased a few years ago,
See CITIES / Page 2
WEATHERBY
Kings of the Court
Scots look for repeat title
— See Page 6
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By NEIL ZAWICKI
Pamplin Media Group
P
ushing a swing happily
at Meinig Park in San-
dy, Rebecca Loprinzi
watches two other chil-
dren run about and climb in the
mix of light and shade amid the
fresh bright green of late
spring. The children, including
the one in the swing, are her
adopted kids, and she’s had
each since the day they were
born. Perhaps as valuable is the
fact that Loprinzi has four
grown sons. She says she didn’t expect to be
caring for children at this stage in her life, but
that she knows she was called to do it.
“I would say they came from God because I
had three dreams about each of them before
they came to me,” she says. “And then what
happened was my dreams manifested in real
life.”
Loprinzi is executive director of Rita’s
Place, a nonprofit center dedicated to helping
women who come from negative, unsafe or
unhealthy circumstances. In 1993 Loprinzi
took over the center, founded in 1981 by Sister
Mary Bertoli, and moved it to its current loca-
tion just east of Sandy. It was through her
work directing the center that she met the
woman whose children she would adopt.
“She had come here as a refugee from the
(Vietnam) war and needed our help,” Loprinzi
said. The dreams she mentioned each gave
way to the woman asking her to take her chil-
dren.
“And how can you say no?” Loprinzi said of
the requests. “I want to be on my dying bed,
not saying, ‘I wonder if I should have...’ We
have an opportunity to be kind in this world,
and when an opportunity is presented to us, I
think it’s a great chance to be able to receive
that gift, to be kind and loving.”
Not only did Loprinzi accept the children
as her own, but she helped deliver one,
Charan, now 3, in her living room.
“I also cut John’s umbilical cord,” she added,
referring to her second adopted child, now
7-1/2. Her first, Rebecca, is now 10. All three are
home schooled, and all three play the violin.
“I always say it takes a village to raise our
children, and you know you have to practice
what you preach,” she says. “It makes our so-
ciety a better place, and that way our children
will grow to be healthy instead of in pain.”
While she initially felt uneasy about what
she believes is a calling to take the kids in,
she has come to understand it as a gift.
“The world came to me instead of me going
to the world,” she says. “I traveled a lot, and
there’s nothing like the love of a child.”
As her children repeatedly run up to her
laughing and then off to the playground, Lo-
prinzi takes more stock in the power of the
dreams she says led her to the three kids.
“Otherwise I may not have known that was
the gift being given to me,” she says. “The
world came to me, and I feel so blessed.”
Giving the world
back: one woman’s
exceptional calling
Rebecca
Loprinzi, a
mother of
four grown
men, says
adopting
Rebecca, 10,
Charan, 3,
and John, 7,
was a gift
from God.
PHOTO by
NEIL ZAWICKI