In his role as Justice of the Peace in Jackson County, Joe Charter will be based in Central Point, handling traffic court and municipal code violations throughout the county, with the exception of Medford and Ashland.

Grandma Boom, aka, Janai Mestrovich, has led an interesting life.

She appeared on “Let’s Make a Deal” with her son, and made the host double over in laughter at her fart noises. She was unanimously elected Miss Hospitality of Kansas by Miss USA contestants in 1969. She won a watermelon spitting contest in Yoncalla in 2009, beating out “logger types.” Her father, Major Jan Mestrovich, was an investigator for the post-WWII Oppenheimer security clearance hearing.

“Everything was confidential, top secret; all he would ever say was, ‘I really felt for the guy.’”

She has been the Christmas Fairy for decades. She moved from Drain — where she home-schooled her two kids — to Ashland 12 years ago. In Drain, she would arrive at the Community Center as the Christmas Fairy on the fire engine with sirens blaring. She has won awards for portraying the Freedom Fairy at the Ashland July 4th parade. Her grandson called her “Boom” when Janai used drums in play with him to make a “boom.” She legally changed her name to Janai, meaning “one who loves people,” based on the Ingrid Bergman character in the film “Inn of the Sixth Happiness.”

“I’m proud to be 74, it’s an amazing age; I’m more alive. I’m committed to generating joy,” she says. She wrote her autobiography, “The Grandma Boom Chronicles, More Alive at 65” nearly 10 years ago.

“One of my goals is to be more alive the older I am,” she says.

While having all this fun, she has pioneered emotional learning lessons for kids.

“I just can’t stay away from children. I feel this huge, deep, profound responsibility with my vision, my mission, my purpose, my passion. They don’t pay me to do this stuff, I just do it.”

She received her master’s degree in family and child development from Kansas State University. Her last year courses there were mostly practicums, so she created her own childhood learning programs. She received a vision when she was 13 where, “I saw children, and the voice said, ‘this is your path,’” she says.

She gets small grants and donations to write and self-publish Superkid Power books, but she hopes for a major benefactor. Her “Superkid Power Guidebook” is some 200 pages, containing 52 learning concepts. She has been educating preschoolers and kindergarteners through third-graders for the past 47 years.

She believes that our mind, body and emotions all work together. She has kids draw an “X” on a simplified body drawing, indicating where their stress or tension is located. Often children can’t control their emotions. She teaches them that they have a choice of what to do with their emotions.

“When you know … where your stress starts, you have a choice of what you can do with it: you can breathe through it, you can talk about it, you can dance it out. You can use your emotions in a good way, (then) they’re not using you,” she says.

She has them sing the “Calming Song” or march while chanting: “Breathe, Think and Make a Good Choice.” This process turns stressed kids into “Superkids.” Janai is the executive director of Superkid Power, Inc., a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)3 organization (superkidpower.org).

Grandma Boom teaches experiential learning which helps kids move their emotional energy in healthy ways.

“Every session involves art work where kids see what’s inside them and put it outside.”

She uses simple visuals, like a paper plate for an “inner steering wheel.” She gives out stickers so that kids can identify where they feel tension in their body. They then practice deep “belly button” breathing into the area and release tense knots. She calls the stickers “control buttons.” When kids switch to their “calm cars,” they drive around the room in control instead of like “crazy cars.” She uses what she calls “3-dimensional learning.” For example, she uses a heart-shaped slinky that kids use to introduce themselves to each other and make friends.

She has given away some 9,000 canvas recycling bags to kids in the Ashland and Talent elementary schools, preschools, Boys & Girls Clubs, and at the Family Nurturing Center. They are used in school food programs for kids to take food home. Kids can personally design and decorate their bags with fabric markers.

“I want to be the best … that I can in generating joy and bringing love and compassion and forgiveness,” she says. She daily sets her intentions. As the Freedom Fairy, she visualizes joy emanating out from every wing flap along the parade route. At 74, she’s not yet ready to flap into the sunset.