Blog roll for burn victims

Earlier in November, I put a message on this blog about a lady in Sandpoint whose house had burned down. This all happened about the time that the Extreme Home Makeover was taking up a lot of ink in the local newspaper. The lady, Jodi Greve, had worked for the local Chamber of Commerce and, more recently, was employed by a forest management firm here in Sandpoint.

The fire was devastating to her because of the obvious loss of home but also because she had little or no insurance. After the tragedy, she and her children moved to a house east of Sandpoint as a temporary measure. On New Year's Eve she and her fiancee were married. They were beginning anew and were looking forward to finding a home where their family could start over.

Saturday morning they set out on such a mission with one of their children, driving to a home about 12 miles north of Sandpoint to check it out as a possibility. When the owner/realtor (this is unclear to me) flipped a switch in the house, the structure blew up, severely burning all four people. They were later flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where they're undergoing treatment for varying degrees of burns.

Jodi was first listed as critical. Last night, according to news reports, she was upgraded to serious. No word has been reported on the unidentified owner/realtor, who is a 51-year-old woman. Whatever the case, it's more than tragic when lightning strikes twice on one family---in this case, in the form of devastating fires.

I mention Jodi by name, only because I know her and know that she's a hard-working contributor to our community who's met with more than her share of bad luck. I do not know her new husband, nor their 6-year-old son, nor the other individual. I have heard her name, but will not use it until I'm certain that the information is correct.

What I do know for certain is that these people need help, and they're going to need extensive amounts of financial support because of their injuries and because they have no home. Again, I cannot estimate the needs to the fourth victim, but I can only imagine.

Yesterday, I listened to a sermon about the fourth king who never made it to see Jesus Christ, but along his lifelong pursuit of Christ, he gave away precious stones which he had intended to give to God's son. The stones went to people he met along the way who were in severe need, so when his life came to an end, he regretted that he had nothing left to give. Henceforth, came the word from God that "whatever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto me."

Here's a case where a few precious stones added to a few other precious stones, added to---you get the picture, could do wonders for some brethren and sisters in need. One time a few years ago, our former mayor and I spearheaded a local drive to help the refugees in Kosovo. By encouraging nickels, dimes and dollars, in one week's time, we raised $18,000 to send from the Sandpoint community to the Red Cross for Kosovo victims.

I'm crazy enough and so empathetic with these people's needs that I'd like to encourage a similar grass roots movement through the blog rolls from folks around the nation and world. From what I know, a fund for Jodi Greve from her first tragedy still exists at Panhandle Bank in Sandpoint.

If checks were addressed to Jodi Greve Burn Fund, Panhandle State Bank, P.O. Box 967, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 USA, they will surely make it to that account. As more news comes forth about donation details, I'll post it on this blog. So, check back today and tomorrow for updated information at the bottom of this posting.

If all readers of Slightdetour would pass along this blog address to lots of other folks in your address book, encourage them to read it, to donate and to pass the word to yet others, we could collectively made a dent in the needs for this family and for the lady who showed them the house.

It sorta goes along with the old hymn they used to sing in our church, "If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be." I'm sure that these people could use a little sunshine in their lives, right now. Let's see what we can all do to provide them both sunshine and much-needed financial help.

Thanks for whatever you can do.

Update: Not a lot of news today except that everyone's condition has been upgraded. I was told yesterday that Jodi's husband and son could be released from Harborview by week's end. Jodi will probably spend much longer; she has an additional injury sustained while being thrust to the ground by the blast. Jodi has medical insurance through her employer, but Cody and their son do not.

The house owner's name is Kathy Ginter. She's also in Harborview, and the local paper says a fund has been established for her at Sandpoint's Wells Fargo bank. The Panhandle State Bank fund (at all bank branches) is called the "Likkel-Greve Family Fund."