&t;FONT SIZE=&uot;-1&uot;&t;A&lt/FONT&gtnn Otis arranges the books the children have returned on the carts at the Sibley Media Center.

Tuesday, October 09, 2001

Ann Otis arranges the books the children have returned on the carts at the Sibley Media Center.

It’s not hard work, but it’s necessary work in order to keep the media center running smoothly and so children can find the books they need in the correct places.

&uot;The media center couldn’t function without volunteers,&uot; said Kathi Wilder of the media center staff.

&uot;She’s wonderful,&uot; Wilder said of her 95-year-old volunteer. &uot;The kids love her too.&uot;

This is Otis’ first year of volunteering at Sibley; previously she volunteered in the media center at Hawthorne Elementary for seven years.

When she and her husband, George, moved to a condominium near Sibley Elementary this summer, she found she didn’t have to give up what she loved. Sibley also needed her as a volunteer.

Just as she did at Hawthorne, Otis walks to the school. She walks a couple of miles each day. &uot;I’ve been lucky,&uot; she admits.

Otis said she has no real plans to retire from volunteering. &uot;I have to do something. I can’t just sit around and do nothing,&uot; she said. &uot;Besides, I like children.&uot;

If she didn’t volunteer at the school, Otis would still be &uot;doing.&uot; She loves to garden, and still keeps a plot at a friend’s home in the country.

She knits 150 mittens per year for the Salvation Army, which are distributed to children throughout the county who need them.

Otis also bowls every Monday as part of the &uot;Old Kids League.&uot; That’s something she and George began when he retired. &uot;I’m the oldest one there,&uot; she said proudly.

The Otises have been married for 72 years.