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March
2003 Newsletter
Special
Teen Donates Prize Money
Friends
of Red Hill Valley recently received a significant cash
donation. And while we regularly receive generous donations
of various amounts of money, we rarely announce them in
this newsletter. This donation and its giver, however, seemed
a little different.
This sizable donation was made to Friends by 13-year-old
Alycia Gallagher, of Hamilton. She won $100 in the Hamilton
Public Library/Hamilton Spectator's Power of the Pen writing
contest for her 1st place poem, entitled The Valley. She
then turned around and endorsed her prize money, a cheque
for $100, to Friends of Red Hill Valley.
Alycia admitted that the idea to donate the money originally
came from her dad. But she quickly agreed, saying she thought
it was a "super idea," and confesses that she
is "pretty proud of what [she] did.
Friends of Red Hill are proud of her too. Her poem, while
chilling, is factual, heartfelt, and full of sights and
sounds, evoking images and memories of the valley. It shows
all too well the devastation that is possible if we do not
continue to intercede on behalf of the valley and all its
inhabitants, be they animal, vegetable or mineral.
Alycia's interest in writing, especially poetry, has been
fostered by her teachers at Viscount Montgomery school.
Her interest in the valley has been lifelong - hiking with
her family and friends; playing baseball, and something
she calls 'flour wars'; and she tells an interesting story
about an encounter with a valley gopher.
She thinks she might like to work in the government one
day, and suggests that she "wants to be known for something,"
and she doesn't mean paving valleys or cutting down trees.
She stated vehemently, "If I become mayor, there'll
be a lot of changes."
Alycia Gallagher's desire to change the political climate
is truly admirable, and her generous donation speaks volumes
about her commitment to the environment, and specifically
to the Red Hill Valley.
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The
Valley
I
can hear the tractors rumbling,
Their throbbing in my ears
My eyes are open wide
As I am seized with fear
They're
tearing apart the valley
The forest and the stream
I feel numbed with shock
As if I'm in a dream
The
black pavement with white lines
Is now underneath my feet
Instead of the lush green grass
That always smelt so sweet
by
Alycia Gallagher
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