South Bay Musician's Mission to Help Others

Jefferson Award Winner: George Garcia Gange

SAN JOSE (CBS 5)
You'll rarely find George Garcia Gange without a 14-stringed Filipino folk instrument in his arms. Dubbed the "Music Man With a Mission," he makes music to make others feel good, from veterans in Palo Alto, to seniors in nursing homes.

"Like my wife says and my parents, who have the same passion, I like to help people who cannot pay me back," George explains.

George, a retired U.S. Navy air traffic controller, founded his musical group in 1998 with other Filipino American veterans. They're called the Fil-Am Vets Rondalla. The group wanted to share with the Filipino community the rondalla introduced by Spain that's become part of the Filipino folk tradition.

"I would like them to know their roots and that we have a culture we can be proud of," George says.

"You feel at home," adds Ray Tanjoco, who works in Hospice and Palliative Care at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration. "It's like you're back in the Philippines again, you get that nostalgic feeling."

Ray says he's seen George perform for free at events ranging from Filipino American festivals to community fundraisers.

"I don't know if he loves the music, loves the instrument or want to help others," Ray says.

All of the above, says George. In the last decade, his rondalla team has raised money for a number of causes, including tens of thousands of dollars for the USO and its equivalent in the Philippines, victims of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and last year's flood and mudslide in the Philippines.

"If a small group of people that I'm leading can do it, I hope much bigger organizations and individuals can follow my lead," George says.

George is also known for helping hundreds of people in San Jose who can't come to the Philippine Consulate General's Office in San Francisco because of failing health or transportation problems. He arranges a South Bay meeting so officers like Vice Consul Leah Rodriguez can help Filipino American seniors with legal matters like passport applications.

Leah explains, "He's a selfless individual. He's very patient and it's very easy to work with him."

George is happy to help: "When I see the self-confidence, the self-esteem goes up when I help those people, I feel good inside."

So for sharing rondalla music and fundraising for disaster victims worldwide, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to George Garcia Gange.

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Dog leads master -- a Pine County investigator -- straight to unconscious man

Pine City, Minn. -- A Pine City dog may not have the energy of a puppy anymore, but she mustered up enough of her skills to lead her master straight to an unconscious man.  Police believe the act saved the man's life.

On Monday evening, Brett Grinde took his 15-year-old dog, Effie, out for their usual walk.  But within a couple minutes, Effie started pulling on the leash -- she was insisting on a different route.

"She basically started pulling to the right and 99 percent we go left," Grinde said from his Pine City home on Tuesday.

Effie then took off running -- causing Grinde to follow behind.  Eventually, the 15-year-old German shorthair dog came to an abrupt stop in the driveway of a neighbor.

"So I'm running, and I cut the corner of the driveway and I look, and she's standing by an older gentleman that's laying face down," Grinde said.

Effie started licking the man's face and then turned to her master -- who just happens to be a long-time investigator with the Pine County Sheriff's Department.

"Twenty-eight years as a police officer, you know how to do the first response, the CPR, the abcs," Grinde said.

Grinde was able to clear the 94-year-old man's airway.  Within seconds, that man started to groan and regain consciousness.  All the while, Effie the dog just watched.

"She laid down on his other side and then came and nudged me on the elbows and just kind of stood over him," Grinde said.

On Tuesday night, the man remained in serious condition at North Memorial Medical Center.  Police believe he went out for the mail or to take out the garbage, slipped on the ice and may have been outside for hours.  His family asked we not release his name.

But relatives did call Brett to thank him for what he did.  Brett's response?  Thank my dog.

"I never thought in a million years something like this would happen, but it was meant to be.  It was in God's hands and somebody turned her that way," he said.

Effie, by the way, also got a few bonus treats on Monday.  Brett said she's also likely due for a pork chop or plate of spaghetti -- which she loves.

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New bird species found in rainforests of Borneo

By Doreen Walton  - Science reporter, BBC News 

A new species of bird has been spotted in the rainforests of Borneo.

Leeds University biologist Richard Webster first glimpsed the bird from a canopy walkway 35m above ground.

The spectacled flowerpecker, a small, wren-sized, grey bird, was feeding on some flowering mistletoe in a tree. On one sighting it was heard singing.

The bird has white markings around its eyes, belly and breast. It has not yet been given a scientific name because so little is known about it.

Dr David Edwards, a tropical ecologist at the University of Leeds, identified the bird as a new species from photographs.

"It's like a dream come true," he said. "I've spent all these years, decades, watching birds and all you want to do really is discover a new species to science.

"All that tropical field work has paid off, all the mosquitoes, the leeches, the rainstorms and the mud have been worthwhile."

The team caught sight of the birds several times in the days following its first appearance.

They were working in the Danum Valley Conservation Area in Sabah, Malaysia, last summer.

"The discovery of a new bird species in the heart of Borneo underlines the incredible diversity of this remarkable area," said Adam Tomasek, leader of WWF's Heart of Borneo initiative.

The findings are published in Oriental Bird Club's journal BirdingASIA.

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Gorham Man Delivers 10,000th Meals On Wheels

Nathan Acker, 88, Has No Intention Of Slowing Down

WESTBROOK, Maine -- A milestone Wednesday for a Meals on Wheels Volunteer from Gorham.Nathan Acker, 88, has been delivering meals from Prides Corner Congregational Church in Westbrook for 23 years.Every Wednesday he loads up 14 meals and hits the road.Wednesday was special because after all of those years, he delivered his 10,000th meal.Acker has no intentions of slowing down and said the people on the other end of the meals mean a lot to him."I like being with people. This isn't the only thing I do. I volunteer at nursing homes. I run a bridge game at one of the nursing homes. We have a program at our church. I say the only reason I got the job was that I was the only one who would do it," said Acker.Acker is a World War II veteran and a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He said he never retired because the company he worked for went bankrupt.

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Just Back From: Gobi Desert, Mongolia

Jim Wiltens, Redwood City, CA

I went because: I wanted to circumnavigate the Gurvansaikhan National Park on camel while searching for dinosaur bones.

Don't miss: The Khongoryn Els, the highest sand dunes in the Gobi Desert and possibly the home of the mystical Mongolian death worm that hides beneath the sands.

Don't bother: With an exact itinerary. Flights, buses, cars are all at the mercy of the elements and breakdowns. Give yourself time cushions to make connections.

Coolest souvenir: Bought camels for the expedition. I still own one that is being kept by a herder in Dalanzagaad.

Worth a splurge: A night at the Five Camels Lodge resort on the outskirts of the Gurvansaikhan Park.

I wish I'd packed: More gifts to show appreciation for the incredible hospitality of the Mongolian nomads who took us into their gers (homes).

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