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News Update - August 8, 2022

The weekly news update featuring Smokey Bear

To all North Pole City Elves, those in Santa's Village, in the Lower 48 and all around the world, this is your weekly update for the week of August 8, 2022. I'm your host Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and I'm your co-host, Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone, Let's go to press.

Sponsor

For the week of August 8, 2022 your sponsor will be is Ollie’s Ornaments located at 927 Pine Tree Lane. This week’s special take 50% off selected ornaments and decoration designs. That’s Ollie’s Ornaments, your one stop shop for Holiday decorations.

Santa's Village Update

Santa has asked the reindeer stables, engineers, and flight command to schedule some repair time for the old training sleigh as he noticed it pulling very hard to the right during this weeks tests and reindeer training when we got over 500 ft above the ground. "This is not normal," said Santa, "there is something a bit off with the aerodynamics, I think. This needs to be fixed before our next flight." During the training flights this week, every time Santa would circle the team back around to the right to come back over North Pole City, the sleigh would take a sudden deep dip; almost to the point of Santa falling out of the sleigh. This definitely needs to be looked into.

Department of Elfland Security

Edward Hinklemyer released a memo today to the chemists and engineers asking them to start testing the fuel reserves for the package satellites. This is a bit early for this project this year, but last year they did find some issues and had to scurry to make some corrections. "We will be running a close schedule this year," said Edward, "so, we need to check everything, and then check it again, just to make sure all is going to be fine during the deliveries."

TAOLF.com Updates

The Division of WWW/PR has asked for a couple of weeks to get caught up on designs and posts on the website as they are getting new computers in the offices. Most of those who work there have been working extremely hard this year, and Santa has said that it is fine for them to take a few weeks to get settled back into the groove with their new systems. Please stay tuned for new updates on TAOLF.com once their new computers and network is back up and running again.

NPC Weather Update

If you have any outdoor work to do, it will be best to do it later in the week. This week will be in the upper 40's with rain expected through Wednesday. The remainder of the week will be partly cloudy.

WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio

WELF-NPC Radio was planning on taking our remote broadcast station out to city center this week to report on the reindeer testing, but yet again the system blew up and even caught on fire this time when we flipped the switch to record. Our staff is going to have to start over again from scratch on this device as this time it was completely damaged and cannot be repaired. Hopefully the new unit will be able to handle the broadcasts.

This Week in Elf History

Smokey Bear and his Wildfire Prevention campaign turns 78 on the 9th. It is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history. It has educated generations of Americans about their role in preventing wildfires.

Smokey is a black bear weighing over 300 pounds. He is always seen in his favorite clothes -his personalized ranger hat, blue jeans and a belt and generally has a shovel in hand. He is often heard reciting his favorite saying: “Only you can prevent wildfires.” This saying has changed over the years; he used to say, “Only you can prevent forest fires!" and before that when he first appeared, he would always say, " Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires."

His goal has always been to get your help to keep his home, and those of his friends, from being destroyed by wildfires, but how exactly did Smokey Bear become associated with wildfire prevention?

It was back in the spring of 1942 that Japanese submarines surfaced near the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and fired shells that exploded on an oil field which was very close to the Los Padres National Forest. The fear that these explosions in the forests of the Pacific Coast would ignite numerous raging wildfires was terrifying.

It was decided that if people could be urged to be more careful, perhaps some fires could be prevented. To rally this cause, the Forest Service organized the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention (CFFP) program with the help of the War Advertising Council and the Association of State Foresters. They created posters and slogans, including "Forest Fires Aid the Enemy," and "Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon."

Walt Disney's motion picture, "Bambi" came out then too and Disney allowed the CFFP to use the film’s characters on a 1944 poster. However, Disney only loaned the characters to them for one year. They would need to find an animal symbol that would belong to them, and nothing seemed more fitting than the bear.

On August 9, 1944, the creation of Smokey Bear was authorized by the Forest Service. His first poster by artist Albert Staehle depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire. Smokey Bear soon became popular and began to attract commercial interest. An Act of Congress passed which removed Smokey from the public domain and placed him under the control of the Secretary of Agriculture. The Act provided for the use of collected royalties and fees for continued wildfire prevention education.

But wasn't there a real life Smokey Bear? Yes.

One spring day in 1950, in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, a major wildfire sweeping along the ground between the trees, driven by a strong wind was discovered. After the fire was contained, it was found that a little bear cub had not fared well. He had taken refuge in a tree that became completely charred, and he had badly burned paws and hind legs.

The crew removed the cub from the tree, and a rancher among the crew agreed to take him home to care for him. A New Mexico Department of Game and Fish ranger heard about the cub when he returned to the fire camp and drove to the rancher’s home to help get the cub on a plane to Santa Fe, where his burns were treated and bandaged.

Soon, the United Press and Associated Press broadcast his story nationwide, and many people wrote and called, asking about the cub’s recovery. The state game warden wrote to the chief of the Forest Service, offering to present the cub to the agency as long as the cub would be dedicated to a conservation and wildfire prevention publicity program. The cub was soon on his way to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., becoming the living symbol of Smokey Bear. He remained at the zoo until his death in 1976, when he was returned to his home to be buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico.

Smokey receives so many letters, he even has had to have his own zip code. You can write Smokey Bear a letter at:
Smokey Bear; Washington, D.C. 20252.

North Pole City Commerce

The Annual Summer Sale sponsored by the North Pole City Commerce Association in North Pole City continues this week through Wednesday. Be sure you are getting your special flyer stamped as you visit the businesses. Don't forget to drop off your completed flyer to the NPC Commerce office. When you do, you will get a prize from the commerce association - a 2022 ornament for your tree. Take your completed flyer to get your ornament by August 10th.

North Pole City Council

The next NPC council meeting is scheduled for Thursday August 11 at 6 pm. If you plan to attend, be there by 6 pm as doors close at meeting start time and you do not want to interrupt the meeting with a late entrance. The topic for this council meeting is the review and discussion on the replacement of the boiler for the "Iron Reindeer" steam engine. As you are aware, there were some issues with the engine this past week and the engineers are to the point where they feel that the boiler should be replaced since it has been patched and repaired several times over the last few hundred years.

NPC Sports League

This Saturday the NPC Sports League will be participating in the Community Garage Sale. They will be getting rid of the equipment and props from Reindeer Games that are no longer played. Did you have a favorite that got eliminated this year? Come and pick up some equipment at the garage sale and play it at home with family and friends.

Community Events

This week in community events, we begin with Tues. Aug. 9th which is a day for all those who love to read. It is National Book Lovers Day! The Division of History and Research encourages you to find your favorite reading place, a good book (whether it be fiction or non-fiction) and read the day away. They will be bringing out some of the old archive books and some special archived letters to Santa to put on display for your viewing pleasure on Tuesday. Take a moment and visit their office in the library all day on Tuesday for a peek at those precious items usually kept in the archives.

Then on Wednesday the 10th to celebrate National S'mores Day, the NPC Hotel will be hosting a S'mores Bar. Stop by an try your hand at a new creation or an original s'more.

And on Saturday join in on the Community Garage Sale for National Garage Sale Day! Looking to get rid of a few things or pick up a few? The NPC Community Garage Sale will be from 8 am to 5 pm, so put out your items and check out what your neighbors have for sale.

Elf Birthdays

WELF-NPC would like to wish a very happy 600th birth to Rachael "Sweet Tooth" Leighton. Rachael has worked in Mrs. Claus' kitchen since she was tugging on her mother's apron. Rachael specializes in making all of the vanilla and chocolate puddings that you all enjoy from the cafeteria. We would like to wish you many more happy years.


This is Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone with the reminder: Not all who wander are lost. Some are just looking for garage sales..

Have a good evening, and be sure to tune in next week for another WELF-NPC North Pole Radio News Update.

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Friday Night Mysteries Friday Night Mysteries
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News Update - August 8, 2022


Show Pages

WELF-NPC News Updates WELF-NPC News
Find out more about the weekly WELF-NPC news show / podcast with Walter "Mistletoe" Livingstone and Becky "Marshmallow" Livingstone.
Morning Show with Corby Snow Morning Show with Corby Snow
Tune in each morning to the Morning Show with Corby Snow. The show will begin promptly at 9 a.m. with the ringing of the workshop bells, the reciting of the Craftsman Workers Oath, and the Going to Work March.
Matinee Theater Matinee Theater
You can now listen to rebroadcasts of the Matinee Theater from the 1940's every Sunday at 2 p.m. on WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio.
The Birds Eye Open House The Birds Eye Open House
The Birds Eye Open House was hosted by Dinah Shore and will be rebroadcasted on WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio with a different show each week.
The Charles Dickens Hour The Charles Dickens Hour
The Charles Dickens Hour is made up of many different old radio shows that had something related to Charles Dickens. Each week WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio will feature a different show on the station.
Little Orphan Annie Little Orphan Annie
Part of the WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio's Kids Saturday Morning Show block, we will be rebroadcasting shows from the Little Orphan Annie Show.
Christmas on the Moon Christmas on the Moon
There can be no Christmas without Santa Claus, so when our hero finds out that he has been kidnapped and taken to the moon there is no time to spare.
The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger
Who Was That Masked Man? The Lone Ranger is one of the iconic characters in American folklore, and he got his start on Mutual, airing from 1933 through 1954.
Standard School Broadcast Standard School Broadcast
The Standard School Broadcast began airing in 1928 under the sponsorship of Standard Oil of California, making it one of the earliest educational radio programs.
Superman Radio Show Superman Radio Show
From 1939 right up into the atomic 1950's, Superman was on call in Metropolis. Now Superman is broadcasted on WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio every Saturday morning.
Dick Tracy Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy came from the comic strips to the radio in this great serial. He still fights bizarre villains and the 15 minute shows are filled with cliff-hangers. Tune In.
Howdy Doody Time Howdy Doody Time
What time is it, kids? Take your seat in the Peanut Gallery, It's Howdy Doody Time! Rebroadcasted on WELF-NPC North Pole City Radio every Saturday morning.
Land of the Lost Land of the Lost
The Land of the Lost is a children's deep-sea adventure program about two children who travel in that wonderful kingdom at the bottom of the sea. Lead by Red Lantern, the wisest fish in the sea, Billy and Isabel discover lost objects on the ocean floor.
Flash Gordon Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon first appeared on the comic pages in 1934, following the success of Buck Rogers. Flash soon made the move to radio before the classic film serial starring Buster Crabbe.
Jungle Jim Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim was a long-running jungle adventure show, feet planted firmly in the footsteps of Tarzan, but with the hardware and politics of the modern great white hunter.
Mark Trail Mark Trail
When Mark Trail made his way to the radio from the Sunday Funnies, he picked up a greater sense of adventure, but he still had time to teach kids about life in the Great Outdoors.
Comic Weekly Man Comic Weekly Man
Based on what is published in the weekly paper, The Comic Weekly Man entertains us with a dramatized reading of the Sunday comics, complete with sound effects and music. Young and old alike would follow along with the print copy in hand.
Christmas Mystery Christmas Mystery
Grab yourself a warm cup of cocoa and curl up by the fire. Tune into WELF-NPC on Friday nights for another episode of Christmas Mystery
Christmas Crime Christmas Crime
Crime still happens during the Holidays and Joe Friday, Johnny Dollar, Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, Richard Diamond, and Paladin will make sure that the grinches don't steal Christmas, St Nick, furs, or a statue of Baby Jesus.
Christmas Detectives Christmas Detectives
Crime does not stop for Christmas, luckily the gumshoes are here with holiday gumdrops.
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes
One of Santa's and Mrs. Claus' favorite Old Time Radio show is Sherlock Holmes. The game is afoot! as radio listeners get wrapped up in the twists and turns of their favorite consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Untold History Revealed Untold History Revealed
No, this is not Christmas related, but Santa and the elves love history and this podcast is surely history related.
Suspense Suspense
Billed as Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills, Suspense offers the of the best of Old Time Radio. The series is the premier mystery-horror radio show with top name talent.
It's a Fibber Christmas It's a Fibber Christmas
Join the resident at 79 Wistful Vista for this jolly collection of Fibber McGee and Molly Christmas shows.
Classical Music Hour Classical Music Hour
The North Pole City Elves love all kinds of music, and classical music is one of their favorites. This hour is dedicated to classical music.
Rock Music Hour Rock Music Hour
The elves that work deep in the mountains mining all of the coal for Santa love rock music. This show is dedicated to them and all of their hard work.
Christmas Music Hour Christmas Music Hour
The Christmas Music Hour is one solid hour dedicated to Christmas Music.
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