Chilly with sunshine and patchy clouds

37/26Page C8

Dolores Ann Dunlap, 82See page A4

Annie’s Mailbox..........................C8Obituary......................................A4City/Region........................... .....A2Classified................................C3-6Crossword.......................................C7Forum ..................................... A6Law enforcement.......................A4Lotteries.....................................B4Sports.....................................B1-4

INDEX ONlINE DaIly brIEfINg ObITUary

On heraldandnews.com: For breaking news updates, go to heraldandnews.com

Vol. No. 23,812

Boys Town a Christmas memory for H&N director

H&N Circulation Director Bill Shannon spent part of his youth in Boys Town and sang in its choir. Since 1917, Boys Town has been a haven of support for at-risk children and their families. See page A2.

KBREC finishes a year of celebrating a century

Looking at the next 100 years, KBREC Director Willie Riggs hopes things will continue the way they have for the last cen-tury: much of the same. See page A8.

Merry Christmas

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By TRISTAN HIEGLERH&N Staff Reporter

Douglas Provost greets everyone who walks past with a smile and a “Merry Christmas.”

While many trot past without giving him a sec-ond glance, some stop to drop bills and coins into the Salvation Army bell-ringer’s donation bucket.

That simple act bright-ens the 47-year-old Klam-ath Falls resident’s day, as well as the days of those who donate.

“Most people don’t give, but the one’s who do are happy,” Provost said.

This year, he was posted at the Klamath Falls Fred Meyer. Provost said he’s worked as a seasonal bell-ringer for the past five or six years, ever since he moved to the area.

“I get to be with people, I get to speak to people. I get to get people to smile, not everybody, but a lot of people smile, a lot of people laugh,” he said.

The Klamath Falls Salvation Army Service Center hired 15 people this year as part-time bell-ringers. The job pays only minimum wage and the ringers stand in front of local businesses from the afternoon to early evening, rain or shine.

Need is greatDebi Leighton, coordina-

tor of the Service Center, said the seasonal posi-tions run from the day before Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. The dona-tions collected go toward supporting the Salvation

Army’s local operations.The money also is put

toward the creation of Christmas boxes, which include two chickens and other food items. Approxi-mately 600 boxes are handed out every year.

“Need is probably the greatest part of getting a Christmas box,” Leighton said.

It’s a need bell-ringer Tammy Ambrozy can sym-pathize with. The 37-year-old Klamath Falls resident is currently living with her parents as she recov-ers from tough economic times.

“I like the fact that I help the homeless people or the people who don’t have enough money to feed their families. I’ve been through that myself, I know what it feels like,” Ambrozy said.

Ringing in holiday cheerDonations go toward local operations of Salvation Army

By LEE JUILLERATH&N Regional Editor

It was 13 months ago when Tulelake’s Miles Scott, then only 5 years old, captured the hearts of millions on a day when San Francisco transformed itself into Gotham City so the young leu-kemia survivor could tag along beside Batman as Batkid. The memories of that day,

and how it came about, will be recounted in “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World,” a documentary film scheduled for its world premiere next month in Park City, Utah. “Our hope is it encapsulates that day and lets that spirit continue,” said director Dana Nachman of the 82-minute film, which is in its final production phase in advance of its screening at the Slamedance Film Festival

that runs Jan. 23 to 29 in Park City. “The film has been such a gift to make,” said Nachman, who has won three Emmy awards. “Each person involved in Miles’ big day is more inspiring than the last. When you meet them, you can’t help but want to go out and do something fun, zany and bold.”

‘batkid’ film set to premiereTulelake boy captures heart, spirit of San Francisco

Photo courtesy of Make-A-Wish Foundation/Paul Sakuma

A documentary film scheduled for its world premiere next month, will recount memories from November 2013, when Tulelake’s Miles Scott was granted his wish to be Batkid for a day.See BATKID, page A3

H&N photo by Tristan Hiegler

Douglas Provost has been working as a Salvation Army bell-ringer for the past several holiday seasons. He said he gets donations by engaging everyone he sees and staying positive.

‘I get to be with people, I get to speak to people. I get to get people to smile,

not everybody, but a lot of people smile; a lot of people laugh.’

— Douglas Provost, Salvation Army bell-ringer

See CHEER, page A3

Washington Post News Service

WASHINGTON — Fewer Ameri-cans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the job market is making prog-ress as the year ends.

Jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 280,000 in the week ended Dec. 20, the fewest since early November, from 289,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed Wednesday in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 290,000. No states estimated data and there was nothing unusual in the report, a spokesman said as the figures were released.

Rising demand is encouraging businesses to hold the line on dis-missals and take on more workers. Better job prospects and cheaper fuel costs signal consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, will pro-vide another boost to the expansion this quarter following growth from July through September that was the strongest in more than a decade.

“This is hinting at ongoing improvement in the labor market,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, a U.S. strat-egist at TD Securities USA in New York, who correctly projected the drop in claims. The lack of dismissals “allows hiring to better translate into a decline in the unemployment rate.”

Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from claims of 275,000 to 300,000. The previous week’s figure was unre-vised.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, declined to 290,250 last week from 298,750.

Fewest Americans in seven weeks file for benefits

Jobless claims fall in sign of strong labor market

See JOBS, page A3