April 10, 2007
Tueday PM

A phone call from family in Ketchikan brought the news that Jim Elkins had passed. Our condolences to his family, and his friends, for he had many.

I first met Jim Elkins at a tele-conference that I was testifing at, the subject was "taxing alcohol" to help pay for prevention education in our schools. Needless to say, I was a "babe in the woods," going up against Mr. Elkins and Robin Taylor, but my heart felt words and real information made an impact on Jim, for later on he told me, "you and I are on separate teams but we could agree to respect each other and can work pretty good together." He was right, there was times we butted heads about alcohol "pushers" "over-serving" "bar hours" and the "alcohol tax" using it to help pay for the damage alcohol was doing to our town and our youth. We worked on committees together, and came to respect each other for caring about people.

Last Summer, when more money was cut from the alcohol treatment budget, Patty Fay Hickox and I ask Jim to lunch at the hospital cafertia to talk to him about this issue. He listened to us, and said he had been on the foundation that started KAR House and he would do all he could to help us keep the doors open. He gave us both instructions as to what we needed to do as well. We both wished him luck on his election. Well, that didn't happen, God had other plans for him, he was given more time to with his family, friends and the town he loved. He will be missed, "a believer in people and the things they could accomplish" Thanks Jim for your caring and kind heart and for the respect we shared as "we agreed to disagree."

Anita Hall
Sheridan, Oregon


Received April 10, 2007 - Published April 10, 2007

About: "Former Alaskan resident of 39 years, Substance Abuse counselor 9 years and prevention specialist for 3. Lived most of our years in logging camps throughout Southeast, husband Jim, float plane pilot for 37 years. Currently both of us are retired, living on a small piece of land near the river in Oregon."

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