Council Bluffs, IA Girl - Ashley Hite Receives New York Honors

This special interest story features my niece Ashley Hite who has "Down Syndrome".

Ashley's face is to be featured on New York Times Square Video, September 28, 2008.

An 11 year old girl named Ashley entered the Special Olympics in April 2008 held at Iowa Western Community College. Before the race, she was promised Taco Bell by her father Roger Hite and uncle Roy Phillips. As she ran along the track destined for a first-place finish, she noticed her uncle who snapped a photograph, and turned towards him and giggled. It was this photograph that propelled Ashley into the big time.

The photograph was one of 200 selected out of 2500 to be displayed in Times Square during New York's Buddy Walk, a fundraiser for the National Down’s Syndrome Society.

Ashley shares her excitement with such big smiles. The family hopes to be there on Ashley's big day, but they can't afford the trip and are trying to raise money for expenses. Like all dads, Roger wants to give his daughter everything. "I want her to have a good, normal life. She will. She'll learn and adapt and everything. She'll be alright."

Heidi Hite is one mom who's always 100 percent behind her daughter. "Ashley also looks at life from a different perspective than say we do. She doesn't take anything for granted."While no parent can forget their child's birth, for Ashley's parents, that day was especially challenging. “It was an eye-opener,” says father Roger Hite. “It was difficult being that young and finding out your daughter had Down’s syndrome."

The Hite family is trying to raise enough for the trip. If you're interested in helping, they've set up a fund in Ashley Hite's name at People's Bank in Council Bluffs, IA. Any extra money raised will be used for our local Buddy Walk in October.

You're welcome to read more about the story at WOWT Channel 6 News. http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/27338809.html

You Tube Video Trailers Inspire Reading

Do "You Tube Video Trailers" inspire children to read a book?

by Dawn Phillips

Yes, today's children live in the world of technology advancements such as; gaming systems visual effects, the Internet, I-Pods, cell-phones and Digital T.V..

Technological advancements are wonderful, but Teachers and Parents are challenged to discover new ways to inspire their children to read.

The Book Market Industry has started to take notice of this concern. "You Tube" has been considered one of the best technological advancements on-line to reach millions of viewers.
It's a simple process to load video trailers of your book on-line at no cost. Sure! Expect to invest hours of your time to format the layout, decide on pages, music or sound effects, and whether or not to read the highlights of the story or provide the words. If it's done right, you could expect the child to be amazed and eager to read the book.

Of course, you should still be concerned about how the child accesses "You Tube". It requires parental control. Not all of the "You Tube Video Trailers" are kid friendly. There should be some careful planning of the location.

Recommendations for the ideal location of your "You Tube Video Trailer"; own website, jacket flap, library and teacher connections, and kid protected location on "You Tube".

Coming Soon! "You Tube Video Trailers" for R & D Children's Books. I'll be happy to make the announcement once the book project is completed. This will become an additional service provided to those of interest at a later date.

The Flood is Coming! The Flood is Coming! So, Where's Noah's Arc?

Evacuate your homes this weekend! The message was loud and clear to those families of Gulfport, Illinois. As the Mississippi River continues to rise so does the stress of anticipation.
How would you feel, if you had to leave behind your home of 50 years with only a suitcase, medicine bag and purse. Not to mention coping with the separation of another family, your pet.

Can you imagine the anxiety of a younger child under these conditions?
They’re searching for someone to validate everything being seen and heard. Why? What’s happening? They’re also questioning why they have to leave behind their bed and toys.

How would you explain this to a child? A flood is coming! What? Maybe, if you tell the child how a lot of rainy days and nights have poured into the Mississippi River causing it to over fill like over filling a cup.

A child thinks you can make it stop. If only this could be true. Gulfport was protected by a cement brick levee. The levee was suppose to be able to withstand a 100 year old flood.


While residing in temporary homes or hotel rooms, the heartbreaking news came to those 200 families, on June 17th at 5:00 a.m.. Families gasped in disbelief, as they watched their homes disappear beneath the river water on TV. The levee wasn’t designed to protect the town of a flood of this magnitude. It’s unbearable to imagine everything they’ve worked so hard to obtain being washed away down river and all the memories you can’t replace. They wipe away their tears, only to feel isolated and helpless to the situation.

A child thinks you’re able to clean up any mess. Unfortunately, this is not the case. For the majority of these families it means starting over. It’s a matter of weeks before the water will recede. Meanwhile, they all rely on the love and caring support of their friends and relatives to provide the necessities such as food, clothing, and household items to get them back on their feet again.

My heart goes out to every one who has been affected by the Flood of 2008.

By Dawn Phillips
Word Count 370