Estero third baseman Will Anderson, right, celebrates with pitcher Matt Pearce, center, and catcher Anthony Prohaska after defeating Mariner 10-0 in four innings to claim the District 4A-11 championship at Terry Park in Fort Myers on Friday night. / TODD STUBING/news-press.com
Chris Blethen, of Euless, Texas, with his horse Big Momma. Blethen is riding from Dallas to New York City to raise awareness about children?s cancer, and actually rescued Big Momma during the journey. / Josh Arntz/The Herald
PARIS (Dow Jones)–The International Monetary Fund’s Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard said there are reasons to be worried about the U.S. deficit as the government has no credible plan to cut the deficit, newspaper Le Monde …
Im hanging out with my friends and my family. In my dreams, Im not in this chair, LeGrand says.
But on a Monday morning inside his familys living room, hes in his motorized wheelchair. Speaking to a small group of reporters, the Rutgers football player opened a public window on his life since the Oct. 16 play that changed everything. With an awe-inspiring mix of courage, humor and grace, LeGrand spoke about his dreams.
And thats where the true measure of this remarkable young man emerges. He spoke not of the dreams of his football-playing past, but of the ones for his wide-open future. His life is not about what he has lost, but whats still out there for him. He dreams of whats ahead a college degree, a career as a sportscaster, a self-described normal life in which he will walk again rather than lamenting what was left behind.
I dream. Then I wake up, he says. But its not a sad moment.
Its simply a moment when reality hits. His brain remembers where his body is.
Then I go back to work.
LeGrands story has been inspiring people since that October game against Army, when that awful collision on a special teams play left him motionless on the Meadowlands turf. With every remarkable improvement he makes, he reminds us of the power of the human spirit. He has sensation throughout his body now, aware when someone is touching him because he feels the pressure of their hands, the pads of his fingers coming alive as well. Hes had movement in his pectoral and biceps muscles, spasms he believes are forerunners to full recovery. He shrugs his shoulders often, leans his body forward and back, and maneuvers his wheelchair by blowing into a tube.
His road to recovery is defined by one word believe or as it has come to be spelled in honor of his initials, bELieve. Small wooden carvings with the word sit on the shelves of a corner curio, and a metal sign hangs above the entrance to his ground-floor bedroom. The Rutgers community embraced the ideal behind that word, forming teams of believers who continue to raise money to support LeGrand. The sporting nation followed suit, joining LeGrands journey in waves, sending messages of hope, support and belief.
And here, as he talked inside the stately South Jersey home of his aunt and uncle, where LeGrand and his mom, Karen, have been living since his release from the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, its so obvious why.
There is a reason why this happened. I was picked for this to happen to. I believe God put me through this because he knows I can fight through this, LeGrand says. I believe this happened for a reason and Im going to find my path through this whole thing.
Whatever higher power you believe in, be it the divine decisions of God or the unknown twists of fate, they chose the right person to face this challenge. That is what LeGrand believes. That is what he wants you to know about him.
I feel his thing right now is to be an inspiration, Karen LeGrand says. For a lot of people that are in a similar situation as him, but arent quite as positive, or are down on themselves, if you look at him, a 20-year-old kid, in the prime of his life he was actually living his dream. Just like that, [snap] its over. But hes still up, he still smiles, he still laughs.
He knows that maybe playing football wasnt something he was supposed to do. He knows, lsquo;Maybe I was supposed to do something bigger than that.
Next on LeGrands agenda is his degree, with a final in his blacks in economics class scheduled for today. Working this semester through his computer, he intends to take two classes this summer, one online and another on campus. Then its on to a full course load for his senior year, when he hopes for more regular visits to College Avenue, maybe even a stop at the famous Rutgers grease trucks.
Fat Betty deluxe, no marinara sauce, with ketchup, he says, a spreading smile quickly morphing into a laugh. Its a cheeseburger, mozzarella sticks, grilled chicken, French fries and ketchup.
This is LeGrands new normal. He wants it to be as close to his old one as possible. He maintains his signature braids with a visit from the hairdresser every three weeks. He maintains a closet full of Rutgers football wear, a trait shared by the entire family. He has fun with his younger cousins, speeding through hallways to chase them down.
He wakes in the morning, has help getting washed and dressed, and heads to physical therapy. Twice a week, its nearby in Ocean County, and once a week back up in West Orange at Kessler, each session lasting about two hours. At home, he gets stretched out with help from his mom; his aunt and uncle, Cheryl and Ariel Curet; his girlfriend, Rheanne Sleiman (a Rutgers senior and four-year soccer player); or his sister, Nicole, who visits often. He might pick a DVD from the large cardboard box in his room, controlling the TV remote from his chair.
He studies, then gets ready for bed.
And there, he dreams. There is one constant vision, the one Rutgers coach Greg Schiano often has shared. In it, LeGrand waits at the mouth of the tunnel in Rutgers Stadium, his swarming teammates amassed behind him, the charge onto the field about to begin. LeGrand walks out first.
That is motivation to me every day, he says. I cant wait till I can lead that team out of the tunnel again.
I believe it will happen. Dont you?
E-mail: sullivan@northjersey.com
Ringgold, GA (PRWEB) April 26, 2011
School administrators, teachers, parents, and other interested individuals are in for a new revealing read as author Dr. Sylvester Carrington releases, through Xlibris, A Principal’s Personal Journey.
Designed to catch the attention of the general public, parents, politicians, superintendents, boards of education, school leaders, and other leaders concerned with the management of time by building level school administrators, A Principal’s Personal Journey, written by this Barbadian native, shows the public the specifics and actual tasks that were a part of his day, every day, for an entire year. It is not a book of lists or daily agendas; rather, it is a daily outline of each specific task, planned or unscheduled, that happened each day for one year, presented in a lighthearted but accurate format by the minute. In addition, the book provides details as to how each case was handled by the administrator.
Whether observing instruction; investigating a brawl on the school bus; or looking into a third grade pregnancy rumor; or dealing with a case in which a group of students used a drinking straw and a piece of spaghetti to demonstrate male and female organs; or handling a complaint from white parents that a black teacher gave their son the obituaries from the local paper to learn about black people; or being personally chastised for chasing a student; or witnessing a parent being arrested in the building by a police officer; or looking into a situation in which a parent asked a student if he had a penis; or dealing with a first grade student that had a habit of hitting his teacher, calling her the b word, among other names, on a regular basis, A Principal’s Personal Journey captures some of the strange and bizarre events that happened in the author’s school. It is a detailed accounting of the serious, the professional, and sometimes hilarious and personal experiences of the author, including conversations and stories on discipline, decision-making, and leadership.
The book is a factual account of the author’s day-to-day leadership experiences for an entire year, chronicling those behaviors and events that impeded or facilitated teaching and learning in his inner-city elementary school during a recent year. It is a must-read for everyone with an interest, questions, or concerns into the day-to-day happenings that dictate how public school leaders spend their time.
This book will be featured at the 2011 BookExpo America in New York City, NY on May 26-28, 2011. For more information on this book, log on to http://www.APrincipalsPersonalJourney.com
About the Author
Sylvester Carrington is a native of the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados where he received his primary, secondary, and two years of college education at Erdiston Teachers’ College. He began teaching in 1968 just after graduating from high school, and has been a teacher ever since then. He has been a teacher and administrator on all levels of private and public education in his native land, the United States Virgin Islands, Tennessee, and Georgia. In 1973, he enrolled in West Indies College in Jamaica to complete his undergraduate degree in secondary education with an emphasis in Biology, and has taught science for a number of years after his graduation in 1976. He has earned graduate degrees from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, Michigan State University, and a doctorate from Loma Linda University in California. He has been a principal, assistant principal, science supervisor, and adjunct professor. Presently, he is the assistant principal at Loftis Middle School in Hixson, Tennessee. Dr. Carrington lives in North Georgia with his wife Hortense with whom he has three grown sons. He also has one adorable grandson, Max.
A Principal’s Personal Journey * by Sylvester Carrington, EdD
Reflections on a year in the life of an inner city school administrator, with daily stories, experiences and conversations on discipline, decision-making, survival and leadership
Publication Date: March 24, 2011
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 396 pages; 978-1-4500-9514-3
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 396 pages; 978-1-4500-9515-0
eBook; 978-1-4500-9516-7
Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7879. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7879.
For more information on self-publishing or marketing with Xlibris, visit http://www.Xlibris.com. To receive a free publishing guide, please call (888) 795-4274.
###
The regions modeling and simulation executives have an assignment: Figure out what needs to be done to save the industry and its thousands of talented employees in Hampton Roads.
The assignment came from Sen. Mark Warner, the former telecom executive and the founding booster of Sim Citys rise around Joint Forces Command in northern Suffolk.
JFCOM, of course, will soon be no more, along with several hundred contractor positions. Thats an enormous loss to Hampton Roads. But so is the effect its dismantling may have on an industry attracted by the commands gravity.
It took a long time to build up this, Warner said at a meeting at Old Dominion Universitys Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center. It can disappear real quick.
Warner is worried that as many as 2,000 high-tech workers may decamp for other cities in 2011 unless the industry reorients itself and its dependence on the Department of Defense. Hes not alone.
At the Hampton Roads Partnership, for example, figuring out a Plan B has been Plan A for years now. As part of its Innovate Hampton Roads initiative, the organization is pushing the idea of regional high-tech clusters built around robotics, biotechnology, offshore wind, and modeling and simulation, among others.
The partnership has been working on this for years. Now, a thousand deadlines loom.
The good people are going to find jobs, said Thomas Mastaglio, CEO of Mymic, a Portsmouth-based company. Were doing well. Were growing. Were growing in DC hellip; Hampton Roads? Youre going to suffer, because Im losing people every week. Theyre resigning because we dont know whats next. We dont see the opportunity.
All the more reason, Warner and others said, for the contractors to work together to figure this out. Instead of pulling back and moving employees, devote the next few months to figuring out the future in an industry that can no longer rely on Defense spending to pay the bills.
Thats a tall order for companies used to competing with one another rather than cooperating. As a sign of how difficult that will be, Warner asked the assembled executives how his office could help, a question met with silence.
He gave them until Monday to answer.
Heres excellent news for Bill and Ted fans: The script for a threequel is finally finished.
Alex Winter — who played Bill S. Preston Esq. in the first two movies, Bill amp; Teds Excellent Adventure and Bill amp; Teds Bogus Journey, opposite Keanu Reeves Ted Theodore Logan — tweeted the news Sunday.
Just got the script. And now to read…, Winter wrote.
The first Bill amp; Ted flick hit screens in 1989 and centered on two teen slackers who travel through time in a phone booth to ace their high school history project. The sequel was released in 1991.
In a recent interview, Reeves said the third installments story arc might fit into the overall franchise.
When we last got together, part of it was that Bill and Ted were supposed to have written the song that saved the world, and it hasnt happened, he said. So theyve now become kind of possessed by trying to do that. Then theres an element of time and they have to go back.
Winter first confirmed another movie was in the works last year.
We have finally hit upon an idea that we think is pretty great, he said at the time.
George Ellinger, owner of Ellinger Logging in Alamogordo, wants to dispel misconceptions that there is no logging being done in the Lincoln National Forest.
In March, US Rep. Steve Pearce introduced his bill, HB 1202, to restart jobs in the timber industry by providing for the protection of the Mexican spotted owl in sanctuaries.
In an e-mail to the Daily News, Pearces press secretary Eric Layer stated HB 1202 has been introduced, but hasnt come to a vote on the House floor.
Ellinger has been logging for 35 years in the Otero County area and hauls 650 truckloads of logs from Lincoln National Forest thinning projects each year. That equals about 80,000 pounds of logs per truckload and 4,000 feet on every truck.
Currently, Ellinger can only cut trees between sunrise and 10 am He can only retrieve or skid out the fallen trees until 1 pm because of the dry conditions in the forest and surrounding area.
The Lincoln National Forest has implemented fire restrictions because of the lack of rainfall. The forest requires all equipment being used on the Lincoln to have spark resistors. Loggers must also have fire extinguishers readily available.
Ellinger said he logs about 3 million board feet per year.
Theres a misconception that theres no logging going on in the Lincoln, he said. I am doing 650-log truckloads a year through Cloudcroft. Pearce came down and did a big talk with everybody, but hes not talking to anybody who knows anything. I actually
GREENE COUNTY, NY, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Visit the Great Northern Catskills of Greene County, NY, for an action-packed adventure for the whole family. Offering fun attractions, unique events and new experiences all complemented by a backdrop of lush forests and mountains, the Catskills are the perfect family vacation destination, just two hours from metro NYC.
For an outdoor adventure, explore the Catskills natural attractions, summer events and festivals and area amusements. Hike, bike, golf, swim, zip, ride and enjoy the great outdoors at Catskill Mountain resorts. Play a round on the Rip Van Winkle Golf Trail, go boating on the historic Hudson rover or spend a day at Zoom Flume Water Park. For an adrenaline rush, visit the Windham Adventure Park, the Hunter Mountain Sky Ride or experience the thrill of the New York Zipline Adventure Tour at Hunter Mountain.
In the Great Northern Catskills, families can discover the enduring legacies of Rip Van Winkle and Thomas Colefounder of the Hudson River School of Art. Together you can watch a movie at an authentic drive-in theater or follow in the footsteps of Americas first great landscape painters on the Hudson River School Art Trail. However you spend your time here, there is no shortage of things to do.
Enjoy a relaxing vacation sure to please every member of your family at our Catskill Family Resorts offering all accommodations, meals, and on premises entertainment and activities at reasonable rates for families of all ages. On-site activities can range from ceramic classes to horseback riding, swimming pools, championship golf or mini-golf courses, and night clubs, in addition to games, performances, dancing and entertainment. Many resorts have social directors with planned daily activities.
Greene County Tourism and 13 of its premier Catskill area attractions are now offering a free Greene Card, good for discounts and special buy one, get one free offers at Catskill mountain attractions throughout 2011. Participating attractions include Catskill golf courses, Zoom Flume Water Park, New York Zipline Adventure Tours, and more.
This card offers value to families, couples or solo travelers looking to repeat their Great Northern Catskill adventure experience. Sign up for your Greene Card at www.greatnortherncatskills.com/greene-card
About Greene County:
Greene County is located in the Great Northern Catskill Mountains and the verdant Hudson River Valley. The region is home to five of the 10 highest Catskill Peaks and the Catskill State Park. Greene County is renowned as the home of Thomas Coles Hudson River School and the inspiration for Washington Irvings literary legend, Rip Van Winkle, and was named in honor of American Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. This 286,000 acre wilderness offers abundant year-round outdoor recreation and unique cultural events. Learn more about winter events and skiing vacation packages at www.greatnortherncatskills.com
CONTACT:
Emily McGuire
Emily@Inphorminc.com
(518) 523-9258
Lake Placid, NY
SOURCE Greene County Tourism
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On Dancing with the Stars, Chris Jericho may not be able to live up to the title of the song he danced to this week: Dont Stop Believing. The Journey anthem, which offers eternal hope, may not apply to the WWE star this week.
This wrestler had held lots of promise in weeks prior to this one on Dancing with the Stars, but Chris Jerichos efforts just did not pay off as he took on the tango with pro partner Cheryl Burke. Without doubt, their version of the national dance of Argentina was not their best effort, not by far.
In fact, it was so off mark that Bruno Tonioli remarked that the performance was nothing less than cold and uneventful. Though that comment was brutal, it was a version of this sentiment that was felt by Carrie Ann and Len Goodman, too, both of whom seemed to indicate this could be the end of the line for this couple. Their low score of 22–the lowest of the evening–is another sign that this pair will not be there when Dancing with the Stars airs next week.
With that being said, do you think Chris Jericho will be voted off? Did you like his tango done with partner Cheryl Burke? Do you think his WWE fans will pull him through to one more round on the popular ABC reality show that shows off the artistry of ballroom performing? Thoughts? Thanks.