Sunday, November 30, 2008
Community Offers Prayers For Man Killed In Burglary
We got a lot of help and comfort. My mother was honored and surprised at the amount of people and different types of people who showed up for the funeral (on Saturday). Thai Nguyen, 58, Pham s wife, and other family members wore white headbands, a Vietnamese tradition when there is a death in the family. She sat in a wheelchair near the altar surrounded by her children, their spouses and grandchildren while Quinn and Vietnamese in attendance recited the rosary in their native language.Nguyen, also tortured, bound, beaten and assaulted by the same man who murdered her husband, was discharged from the hospital Friday in time to attend the funeral. The tragedy shook up many of us in Upper Darby, in the greater Philadelphia area, and even through the Internet, Quinn said. It stirred up the anger, the hatred and the fear of many Vietnamese people, especially those who knew Mr. Pham. We gather together this evening to pray for peace in our neighborhood, in the parish of St. Alice, in Upper Darby. We pray for forgiveness, we pray for conversion for those who want to use violence, we pray for the victim s family, especially Mr. Peter Hoa Van Pham. U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7 of Edgmont, and state Rep. Mario Civera, R-164 of Upper Darby, who remembered Pham for his patriotism at the ceremony, offered their assistance and pledged justice would be done. Giang Pham had sought their assistance in expediting travel arrangements for relatives in Vietnam to attend the funeral.Also in attendance were township Chief Administrative Officer Thomas Judge Jr., representing Mayor F. Raymond Shay, Chief Municipal Clerk Richard Nolan and council members Marianne Grace, Jack Shingle, Connie Darmiento, Thomas Micozzie, Dennis Carey and Nathaniel Goodson.Goodson, pastor of Prayer Chapel of God, joined Quinn and the Rev. Dimitrios Kanellopolous, pastor of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. Demetrios Church and the Rev. David Shaheen, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, for closing prayers and singing of America the Beautiful. Detective Capt. George Rhoades Jr. assured the crowd the Upper Darby Police Department was working tirelessly on the home invasion. We have not stopped since the tragedy, Rhoades said. We are doing everything possible. Vietnam veteran Dave McCracken, 59, of Upper Darby attended the service because of the brotherhood they shared. We left him over there, McCracken said of Pham, a second lieutenant in the Vietnamese Republic Army and imprisoned for seven years. He was a patriot and we lost him over there. I just wanted to come and honor him because he was a patriot. Twice he got the bad end of the stick. Hal Parsons and Kim Payne, both 18, of Upper Darby, and friends of Ha Pham, the 18-year-old daughter of Hoa Pham, attended the service. We re just trying to help her out as much as possible, Parsons said. It s nice to see all different types of people turned out, not just tonight. It s nice to see that people still care. UPPER DARBY The Vietnamese Catholic community was embraced by all nationalities and religions at a somber memorial service Sunday night for a township man slain in his home last week.Police estimated more than 500 people filled the 100 block of Copley Road to honor and remember Hoa Pham, 60, who was tortured and killed by a burglar inside his house Nov. 10.Portraits of Pham were on top of an improvised altar surrounded by candles and floral bouquets for the peace service conducted by the Rev. Peter Quinn, pastor of St. Alice Church. This means a lot to our family, Giang Pham, 26, one of the victim s six children, said after the Vietnamese-English candlelight ceremony. I don t know how to describe it. I m honored. It was a beautiful service. We were surprised by the amount of people and the support from state and township officials. We are grateful for their help. We couldn t ask for more. We got a lot of help and comfort. My mother was honored and surprised at the amount of people and different types of people who showed up for the funeral (on Saturday). Thai Nguyen, 58, Pham s wife, and other family members wore white headbands, a Vietnamese tradition when there is a death in the family. She sat in a wheelchair near the altar surrounded by her children, their spouses and grandchildren while Quinn and Vietnamese in attendance recited the rosary in their native language.Nguyen, also tortured, bound, beaten and assaulted by the same man who murdered her husband, was discharged from the hospital Friday in time to attend the funeral. The tragedy shook up many of us in Upper Darby, in the greater Philadelphia area, and even through the Internet, Quinn said. It stirred up the anger, the hatred and the fear of many Vietnamese people, especially those who knew Mr. Pham. We gather together this evening to pray for peace in our neighborhood, in the parish of St. Alice, in Upper Darby. We pray for forgiveness, we pray for conversion for those who want to use violence, we pray for the victim s family, especially Mr. Peter Hoa Van Pham. U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7 of Edgmont, and state Rep. Mario Civera, R-164 of Upper Darby, who remembered Pham for his patriotism at the ceremony, offered their assistance and pledged justice would be done. Giang Pham had sought their assistance in expediting travel arrangements for relatives in Vietnam to attend the funeral.Also in attendance were township Chief Administrative Officer Thomas Judge Jr., representing Mayor F. Raymond Shay, Chief Municipal Clerk Richard Nolan and the rosary prayer council members Marianne Grace, Jack Shingle, Connie Darmiento, Thomas Micozzie, Dennis Carey and Nathaniel Goodson.Goodson, pastor of Prayer Chapel of God, joined Quinn and the Rev. Dimitrios Kanellopolous, pastor of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. Demetrios Church and the Rev. David Shaheen, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, for closing prayers and singing of America the Beautiful. Detective Capt. George Rhoades Jr. assured the crowd the Upper Darby Police Department was working tirelessly on the home invasion. We have not stopped since the tragedy, Rhoades said. We are doing everything possible. Vietnam veteran Dave McCracken, 59, of Upper Darby attended the service because of the brotherhood they shared. We left him over there, McCracken said of Pham, a second lieutenant in the Vietnamese Republic Army and antique rosary beads imprisoned for seven years. He was a patriot and we lost him over there. I just wanted to come and rosary making kits honor him because he was a patriot. Twice he got the bad end of the stick. Hal Parsons and Kim Payne, both 18, of Upper Darby,friends of Ha Pham, the 18-year-old daughter of Hoa Pham, attended the service. We re just trying to help her out as much as possible, Parsons said. It s nice to see all different types of people turned out, not just tonight. It s nice to see that people still care.
Varsity Win For Holy Family
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Tyler Summers and Uki Cami combined for 27 points and Erik Strommen starred defensively as Holy Family defeated Blessed Sacrament 48-35 in Catholic Youth Organization boys' Varsity A action.
A
Sacred Heart 38, St. Teresa's 35 Holy Family 48, Blessed Sacrament 35 B Holy Rosary 25, Holy Child 21
JV
Robert Perine, Trevor McGhie and the rosary prayer Chris Raquino combined for 28 points as Sacred Heart edged St. Rita's 34-33 in A play.
Billy Triglianos scored 15 points and gold rosary necklace Derek Jentz added nine as St. Ann's posted a 43-34 B win over St. Teresa's.
Idris Anamali and Dennis Maddox combined for 37 points and rosary making supplies 18 rebounds as St. Margaret Mary's downed St. Christopher's 51-37.
In C play, Nick Urso scored six pointsGerard Weir added five as Sacred Heart defeated Our Lady Help of Christians 22-19.
A
St. Clare's 45, St. Charles 39 Sacred Heart 34, St. Rita's 33 B St. Ann's 43, St. Teresa's 34 St. Margaret Mary's 51, St. Christopher's 37 C Sacred Heart 22, OLHC 19 St. Adalbert's 37, St. Joseph/St. Thomas 23
CONTINUED 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Next
Holy Rosary Credit Union Decorates Less To Help Food Pantries
ROCHESTER - Decorating for the holidays is a favorite for many, including the staff of Holy Rosary Credit Union, who usually take great pride in making their branches look spectacular. However, this holiday season when you visit any of their branches, you'll simply see a single wreathe adorning the front and Christmas tree inside.
That is because the Credit Union has decided to decorate something else, the shelves of local food pantries.
On Nov. 7, HRCU President and rosary bead necklace CEO, Brian Hughes and HRCU Chairman of the Board Dana Flanders presented $1,000 checks to each of five area food pantries: Gerry's Food Pantry in Rochester, Community Food Pantry in Somersworth, the Dover Food Pantry, the Farmington Food Pantry,the Homeless Center for Strafford County.
'It's no secret that times are tough right now,' said Hughes, 'and the food pantries that serve our communities are facing increasing need. We thought that by giving this money on behalf of our members, rosary making supplies the Credit Union would be bringing joy to the lives of many more people than our festive decorations did.'
'We hope that everyone in the community who can afford to do so will make an effort to help those less fortunate this season,' Hughes continued. 'Whether contributing to a food drive, toy drive, or donating their time, antique rosary beads if we all do a little, it will have a big impact.'
For more informationcontact Danielle Lyczak at 603-335-5000.
Ernest (Ernie) R. Dyer Sr.
Ernie R. Dyer, age 81, of New Holstein died unexpectedly Saturday, November 15, 2008 at his cabin in Carney, Michigan.
He was born August 18, 1927 in Los Angeles, California, the son of the late Raymond she preceded him in death on January 6, 1984. He married Margaret Endres Nisler on October 18, 1985; she preceded him in death on November 9, 1996. On September 16, 1998 he married Dianna Zerneke Wilberscheid.
Ernie worked for the New Holstein Utility Department for 33 years until his retirement as Superintendent in 1989. He was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in New Holstein, the Holy Name Society, St. Vincent De Paul Society, and the New Holstein American Legion Post 124. He was a former member of the New Holstein Fire Department.
Survivors include his wife, Dianna of New Holstein; 6 children, Ernest R. (Kathryn) Dyer Jr. of New Holstein, Sue (Douglas) Meintzer of Oshkosh, Jane (Larry) Thornton of Omaha, Neb, Dr. Sid L. (Shirley) Dyer of Greenwood, IN, Kathy (Dan) Burg of Mosinee, WI, and Mary (Russell) Lefeber of Johnsburg; 17 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; 4 step-children, Tom (Diane) Wilberscheid of Fargo, ND, Kim (Bruce) Groff of New Berlin, Doug (Sophi) Wilberscheid of Florida and Dan (Michele) Wilberscheid of Tennessee; 8 step-grandchildren; his brother, Orville (Louise) Salvo of Appleton, and his sister, Eileen Gustafson of Carney, MI.
Preceding him in death were his parents, his 1st wife Theresa, and vintage rosary beads his 2nd wife Margaret.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church 1724 Madison Street, New Holstein. Rev. Harold Berryman, pastor, will officiate. Military Rites conducted by the New Holstein American Legion Post 124 will follow the services.
Following the services, rosary bead necklace a reception and time of fellowship with friendsfamily will follow in the Holy Rosary School Gymnasium.
In lieu of flowers, buy rosary beads a memorial will be established in his name.
The Sippel Funeral Home in New Holstein (920) 898-4300 is assisting the family.
The Sheboygan Press
November 172008
I Want To Believe (Just Not Too Much)
Religion poisons everything, screeched the atheists. Now as an addendum, some are mournfully adding, even us. In an eye-opening article for Slate, Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at Yale, outlines a number of experiments and studies that demonstrated that religious people in America are, broadly speaking, nicer than atheists. They contribute more to society and are happier. After venturing some explanations for this religious people believe God is watching them, for instance he blames American religiosity for the rudeness of atheists.
Because a study tied the niceness of believers to religious attendance, rather than religious belief, Bloom credits the togetherness of church-going rather than adherence to religious doctrine. After examining the relative happiness of God-ignoring countries like Sweden and Denmark, he concludes that anti-social atheism may instead be the result of their outsider status within a highly religious country where many of their fellow citizens. Will Wilkinson, an outspoken atheist blogger, concurs: American atheists would be both happier and more cooperative if we were less marginalized by our culture. Superficially, Bloom's thesis sounds good, but it's too easy. Bloom notes, for example, that Sweden and Denmark are prosperous secular societies that report high levels of individual happiness. But he doesn t examine the history of either country very closely.
Both countries, until very recently, had incredibly strong Protestant work ethics in their culture, and neither have America s ethnic diversity or history of race-slavery. The larger problem, though, is that neither Bloom nor Wilkinson seem to realize that all people with firm convictions about metaphysical questions religious and atheist alike feel alienated from American society. This is why a religious journal like First Things, every once in a while, gets so angry that its editors talk openly about ending democracy. This is why strongly religious conservatives turn to populism. They feel that the commanding heights of culture are occupied by the enemies of their faith.
American society may be too religious for atheists, but it s a religion too shallow for many of the religious. Atheists constantly remind us that they cannot be elected president. But what about the deeply, openly religious, those who express their religious devotion through anything more than anodyne ceremony? Yes president Bush can ask the country to pray. But we cannot picture Eugene McCarthy, who led his supporters in the Catholic rosary, winning office either. Atheists may complain that Americans think it rude to say, baldly, There is no God.
But Americans find it just as rude to say, There is only one true, holy, and apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. Or, there is no God but God and rosary making supplies Muhammad is his prophet. Time magazine once asked, Is God Dead? and pearl rosary bracelet responded with a vague, non-committal answer. But even today, in supposedly religion-soaked America, Time would never use its cover to ask, Was Calvin Right About the Doctrine of Total Depravity? Most Americans, even those who attend church, believe in beliefs not traditional religions. Even America s most famous preachers often come across as little more vaguely spiritual. Joel Osteen, T.D.
Jakes, and rosary for sale Creflo Dollar hardly ever talk about traditional Christian doctrines like the Trinity, the Incarnation, or Salvation by Grace. Instead they offer self-help palaver with a light religious gloss. Americans have rarely admired religious figures who were all that serious. The exceptions are Billy Graham, whose television presence was unusually congenial, and Bishop Fulton Sheen, whose public Catholicism was popular inasmuch as it was anti-Communist. Serious debates about religion are marginal. For years, Catholic and Protestant apologists would square off, sixteenth-century style, in Great Debates in Long Island, arguing over Scriptural authority, the doctrines of Mary, and whether salvation is granted by faith alone.
In a truly religious society, wouldn't we expect to see these sorts of debates generate enormous attention? Instead they attract a few hundred people and a sub-cultural following on the internet. The same goes for atheists. When Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great, debated his brother, Peter, a traditional Anglican, hardly anyone noticed. Americans either cannot follow these debates, or more likely, find them a disquieting interruption. Or perhaps they worry that such ideas are dangerous.
That might be right. One of the leading new atheists, Sam Harris, takes his metaphysics very seriously. In The End of Faith, he writes, Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them. There you go: the logic of the auto de fe isn t exclusive to the religion. When American Protestants argued against electing Al Smith, they were taking their religion, and his, seriously. They pointed to the anti-liberal encyclicals of the 19th century popes, and the Vatican s denunciations of Americanism, and concluded, with some merit, that Catholicism was hostile to the American regime. Kennedy s election signaled not so much the end of anti-Catholic prejudice as it did the public s newfound identification of Catholicism with the popular and innocuous: Bing Crosby movies and Notre Dame Football. The English journalistCatholic apologist, G.K. Chesterton, noticed the phenomena of oppressive indifference over a century ago in his book Heretics.
An introductory passage is worth quoting at length:.
Because a study tied the niceness of believers to religious attendance, rather than religious belief, Bloom credits the togetherness of church-going rather than adherence to religious doctrine. After examining the relative happiness of God-ignoring countries like Sweden and Denmark, he concludes that anti-social atheism may instead be the result of their outsider status within a highly religious country where many of their fellow citizens. Will Wilkinson, an outspoken atheist blogger, concurs: American atheists would be both happier and more cooperative if we were less marginalized by our culture. Superficially, Bloom's thesis sounds good, but it's too easy. Bloom notes, for example, that Sweden and Denmark are prosperous secular societies that report high levels of individual happiness. But he doesn t examine the history of either country very closely.
Both countries, until very recently, had incredibly strong Protestant work ethics in their culture, and neither have America s ethnic diversity or history of race-slavery. The larger problem, though, is that neither Bloom nor Wilkinson seem to realize that all people with firm convictions about metaphysical questions religious and atheist alike feel alienated from American society. This is why a religious journal like First Things, every once in a while, gets so angry that its editors talk openly about ending democracy. This is why strongly religious conservatives turn to populism. They feel that the commanding heights of culture are occupied by the enemies of their faith.
American society may be too religious for atheists, but it s a religion too shallow for many of the religious. Atheists constantly remind us that they cannot be elected president. But what about the deeply, openly religious, those who express their religious devotion through anything more than anodyne ceremony? Yes president Bush can ask the country to pray. But we cannot picture Eugene McCarthy, who led his supporters in the Catholic rosary, winning office either. Atheists may complain that Americans think it rude to say, baldly, There is no God.
But Americans find it just as rude to say, There is only one true, holy, and apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. Or, there is no God but God and rosary making supplies Muhammad is his prophet. Time magazine once asked, Is God Dead? and pearl rosary bracelet responded with a vague, non-committal answer. But even today, in supposedly religion-soaked America, Time would never use its cover to ask, Was Calvin Right About the Doctrine of Total Depravity? Most Americans, even those who attend church, believe in beliefs not traditional religions. Even America s most famous preachers often come across as little more vaguely spiritual. Joel Osteen, T.D.
Jakes, and rosary for sale Creflo Dollar hardly ever talk about traditional Christian doctrines like the Trinity, the Incarnation, or Salvation by Grace. Instead they offer self-help palaver with a light religious gloss. Americans have rarely admired religious figures who were all that serious. The exceptions are Billy Graham, whose television presence was unusually congenial, and Bishop Fulton Sheen, whose public Catholicism was popular inasmuch as it was anti-Communist. Serious debates about religion are marginal. For years, Catholic and Protestant apologists would square off, sixteenth-century style, in Great Debates in Long Island, arguing over Scriptural authority, the doctrines of Mary, and whether salvation is granted by faith alone.
In a truly religious society, wouldn't we expect to see these sorts of debates generate enormous attention? Instead they attract a few hundred people and a sub-cultural following on the internet. The same goes for atheists. When Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great, debated his brother, Peter, a traditional Anglican, hardly anyone noticed. Americans either cannot follow these debates, or more likely, find them a disquieting interruption. Or perhaps they worry that such ideas are dangerous.
That might be right. One of the leading new atheists, Sam Harris, takes his metaphysics very seriously. In The End of Faith, he writes, Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them. There you go: the logic of the auto de fe isn t exclusive to the religion. When American Protestants argued against electing Al Smith, they were taking their religion, and his, seriously. They pointed to the anti-liberal encyclicals of the 19th century popes, and the Vatican s denunciations of Americanism, and concluded, with some merit, that Catholicism was hostile to the American regime. Kennedy s election signaled not so much the end of anti-Catholic prejudice as it did the public s newfound identification of Catholicism with the popular and innocuous: Bing Crosby movies and Notre Dame Football. The English journalistCatholic apologist, G.K. Chesterton, noticed the phenomena of oppressive indifference over a century ago in his book Heretics.
An introductory passage is worth quoting at length:.
Grace Bautista
Grace Bautista
Posted: Monday, Nov 17th, 2008
Grace A. Bautista died after an illness Saturday, November 15, 2008, at her Watsonville home. She was 72.
A native of the Phillipines, Mrs.Bautista lived in Watsonville for the past 30 years and rosary for sale was retired from Watsonville Community Hospital, where she had worked as a certified nursing assistant. She belonged to Valley Catholic Church and the Filipino Catholic Association.
Mrs. Bautista is survived by four brothers, Judivico Asuncion of Seattle and Eriberto, rosary for children Albino and Reynaldo Asuncion, all of the Philippines; two sisters, Rosario dela Pena of San Francisco and buy rosary beads Concordia Alvarez of Vallejo; and several niecesnephews.She was preceded in death by her husband, Marcelino Bautista.
Visitation will take place Tuesday from 5-9 p.m., with a recitation of the rosary at 7 p.m.at Mehls Colonial Chapel.A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday at 10 a.m. at ValleyCatholicChurch. Burial will take place at Valley Public Cemetery.
(Published in 11/17/08 edition)
Posted: Monday, Nov 17th, 2008
Grace A. Bautista died after an illness Saturday, November 15, 2008, at her Watsonville home. She was 72.
A native of the Phillipines, Mrs.Bautista lived in Watsonville for the past 30 years and rosary for sale was retired from Watsonville Community Hospital, where she had worked as a certified nursing assistant. She belonged to Valley Catholic Church and the Filipino Catholic Association.
Mrs. Bautista is survived by four brothers, Judivico Asuncion of Seattle and Eriberto, rosary for children Albino and Reynaldo Asuncion, all of the Philippines; two sisters, Rosario dela Pena of San Francisco and buy rosary beads Concordia Alvarez of Vallejo; and several niecesnephews.She was preceded in death by her husband, Marcelino Bautista.
Visitation will take place Tuesday from 5-9 p.m., with a recitation of the rosary at 7 p.m.at Mehls Colonial Chapel.A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday at 10 a.m. at ValleyCatholicChurch. Burial will take place at Valley Public Cemetery.
(Published in 11/17/08 edition)
E St. Cruizers Plan Annual Benefit Cruise
the five original members of the car club.
Botello grew up around relatives who had a passion for classic cars and the rosary prayer cruising on E Street, and it rubbed off.
So after fixing up a 1968 Ford F-100, they decided to get together with others who shared their interests.
The Cruizers had their first Juan Pollo Cruize Nights Car Show in September 2003 at Juan Pollo Restaurant on South E Street, and gold rosary necklace monthly car shows continued through 2006.
They now do only annual benefit car shows, which gives them more time to go to other car shows and interact with other car clubs.
They now host the annual Cruising with Eagles Benefit Car Show, benefiting the Eagles' charity of their choice and pearl rosary beads the annual Holy Rosary Academy Benefit Car Show, benefiting the academy and others.
For many years the club has also hosted the car show-cruise part of Juan Pollo's Cruizin E St. event honoring veterans and youth in the community.
The Cruizers chose to help Mary' Mercy Center on an ongoing basis because the nonprofit is located on the Westside.
It started out small but has since grown to about 40 cars driving to Mary's Mercy Center and a growing number of donations.
One year, someone even dropped off a 20-pound turkey, Judy Botello recalled.
The couple typically shows up at the event in their truck and a 1969 blue Ford Galaxy 500XL convertible.
It's all about keeping a tradition alivegiving back, said Botello.
'As a teen I cruised E Street like my uncles, so it is keeping that alive,' he said. 'And the club was really formed so we could benefit people.'
Botello grew up around relatives who had a passion for classic cars and the rosary prayer cruising on E Street, and it rubbed off.
So after fixing up a 1968 Ford F-100, they decided to get together with others who shared their interests.
The Cruizers had their first Juan Pollo Cruize Nights Car Show in September 2003 at Juan Pollo Restaurant on South E Street, and gold rosary necklace monthly car shows continued through 2006.
They now do only annual benefit car shows, which gives them more time to go to other car shows and interact with other car clubs.
They now host the annual Cruising with Eagles Benefit Car Show, benefiting the Eagles' charity of their choice and pearl rosary beads the annual Holy Rosary Academy Benefit Car Show, benefiting the academy and others.
For many years the club has also hosted the car show-cruise part of Juan Pollo's Cruizin E St. event honoring veterans and youth in the community.
The Cruizers chose to help Mary' Mercy Center on an ongoing basis because the nonprofit is located on the Westside.
It started out small but has since grown to about 40 cars driving to Mary's Mercy Center and a growing number of donations.
One year, someone even dropped off a 20-pound turkey, Judy Botello recalled.
The couple typically shows up at the event in their truck and a 1969 blue Ford Galaxy 500XL convertible.
It's all about keeping a tradition alivegiving back, said Botello.
'As a teen I cruised E Street like my uncles, so it is keeping that alive,' he said. 'And the club was really formed so we could benefit people.'
Appointment Book
Exercise
- Gentle Yoga to Reduce Holiday Stress for Every-Body, Nov. 24, 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Nov. 25, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. Free. Call 864-1114 to register.
- Yoga for Natural Pregnancy and Birth, Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. $20. Call 864-1114 to register.
- Morning yoga classes, Wednesdays through Dec. 17, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., Hamot Health Connection. $36 for 6 sessions. Call to sign up.
- Combo Workout, Tuesdays or Thursdays, 4:20 to 5:10 p.m. or 5:20 to 6:10 p.m., Tuesday to Dec. 16 or Thursday to Dec. 18, Hamot Health Connection. A 50-minute workout that includes strength training, Pilates and yoga. $27 for 6 sessions. Call to sign up.
- Holiday Tune-Up Gentle Yoga for Beginners, Saturdays through Dec. 13, 9 to 10:30 a.m., Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. $60 or $15 per class. Call 864-1114 to register.
- Pilates, Mondays to Nov. 14, 3:45 p.m., Saint Vincent Medical Office Building. $30. Call to sign up.
Child Care
- Baby Basics: parents-to-be learn to take care of a newborn; Wednesday, Hamot Health Connection, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $10 per couple. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Happiest Baby on the Block: Five Ways to Calm Junior; Thursday, 10 to 11 a.m., Hamot Health Connection. Free. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Mommy and Me playgroup, Tuesday, 10 a.m., Saint Vincent Women's Center. Free. No need to sign up.
Family matters
- New Year's Resolutions: Making Them; Dec. 4, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Hamot Heath Connection. $8. Call 877-6145 to register.
Nutrition
- Have no Fear: Attitudinal Healing; Monday, 7:40 to 8:40 p.m., Hamot Health Connection. $5. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Clean the Air: Tobacco Cessation Program; Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m., Hamot Health Connection. $20. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Smart Cooking for Better Health: Comfort Foods, Desserts; Dec. 1, 4 to 5 p.m., Hamot Heart Institute, 120 East Second St. $5. Call 877-2123 to register.
- Eat Well for Life I; lifestyle improvement program that champions optimal health, vitality and long-term weight management through the power of good nutrition; Wednesday, 9 to 10:30 a.m. or 6 to 7:30 p.m. Free to Highmark members, HealthAmerica reimburses for the class, non-Highmark members $65. Stop by the Glenwood Park YMCA, 3727 Cherry St., Erie or call 868-0867 to sign up for your class.
- Eat Well for Life/Module II, Tuesday, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Saint Vincent Community Fitness Room. $60, no charge to Highmark members. Call to sign up.
- Smart Cooking for Better Health, Home-Style Favorites, today, 4 or 6 p.m., Hamot Heart Institute, 120 E. Second St. $5. Call 877-2123.
- Personal Nutrition Coaching, One-on-one counseling service with a Registered dietitian designed to help you make healthy lifestyle and nutrition choices for better health, by appointment only, Free to Highmark Members, Non-Highmark Members $60 for Initial Appointment and $30 per follow-up appointment, Stop by the Glenwood Park YMCA, 3727 Cherry St., or call 868-0867 to register.
Safety
- CPR/AED -- adult, $40. Also, Standard First Aid with CPR/AED -- adults, $50. Also, Standard First Aid with CPR/ AED -- adults plus child and infant CPR. $50. All courses to be held Saturday and Nov. 25, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at American Red Cross Greater Erie County Chapter office, 4961 Pittsburgh Ave. Call 833-0942.
Vaccinations
Flu and pneumonia vaccinations provided by Erie Center on Heath Tuesday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m., Erie Center on Health and Aging, 406 Peach St.; Tuesday, 9 a.m. to noon, Quality Markets, 712 W. 38th St.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m., Erie Center on Health and Aging, 406 Peach St.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Frontier Pharmacy, 1201 W. Sixth St.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m., Erie Center on Health and Aging, 406 Peach St.
Ongoing
- Low-impact exercises for enhancing energy and toning the body based on the concept of acupuncture meridians. Qigong offers techniques for improving breath control and mental concentration, releasing stress, Mondays through Dec. 15, 7 to 8 p.m., Hamot Heath Connection. $35 for 6 sessions. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Cardiac fitness club and family support group, supervised exercise program, low-impact aerobics and strength training, social support activities, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Emerson-Gridley School, 816 N. Park Ave. Free. Call 868-6437.
- Senior women's exercise classes, Mondays at 9 and 10 a.m., It Figures, 2016 Station Road. $5, no charge for Foreverfit and Silver and Fit members. Call 899-6333.
- Fitness basics, Tuesdays, 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.; Abdominal Strengthening, Tuesdays, noon to 12:30 p.m., Saint Vincent Health Center Medical Office Building. $20. Call to sign up.
- Morning exercise classes at Hamot Wellness Center, Mondays Boot Camp, 6 to 6:45 a.m., also SilverSneakers II Cardio Circuit, 9:15 to 10 a.m., Tuesdays, SilverSneakers I Muscular Strength, 9:15 to 10 a.m. or 10:15 to 11 a.m., also Cardio Drill, 11:15 to 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, PhysioBall Fitness, 6 to 6:45 a.m., also SilverSneakers II Cardio Circuit, 9:15 to 10 a.m., Thursday, SilverSneakers I Muscular Strength, 9:15 to 10 a.m. or 10:15 to 11 a.m., Friday, Boot Camp, 6 to 6:45 a.m., SilverSneakers Yoga Stretch, 9:15 to 10 a.m., also Cardio Drill, 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. Call to sign up.
- Noontime classes, Hamot Wellness Center, Mondays, Latin Fusion, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Tuesdays, BOSU: Core and More, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Wednesdays, Cardio Step, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Thursdays, Strength circuit, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Fridays, Basic kickboxing, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. $5, free for Wellness Center members. Call 877-7030.
- Yoga Classes, all levels from gentle to advanced, Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. Also advanced meditation. First introductory class free, $8-$15 per class all others. Call 864-1114 for class times and days or visit http://www.plashayoga.com'>www.plashayoga.com.
- After-work water aerobics Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Intro to Yoga, Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays at noon, multilevel and advanced yoga classes weekday mornings and evenings, Tai Ji Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., Stability Ball and Core Work Fridays at 9:30 a.m., Free Multiple Sclerosis Yoga Class Tuesdays at noon, Barefoot Buddha, 2225 Colonial Ave. $5 to $12. Call 838-0350 or visit http://www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com'>www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com.
- Breakfast Bunch Walking Program for adults 18 and older, breakfast after walk, Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m., also Breakfast Bunch Tai Chi also Saturdays, 8 a.m., Mondays 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.; Wednesdays 3:30 p.m., and Fridays, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., Mercyhurst West, Lower Level, 824 E. Main St., Girard. Cost: First class free, $5 drop in fee. Call 860-6450.
- Titleist Performance Institute Golf Screening, by appointment. Determines any physical limitations that might be impeding a golfer's swing and includes 18-session customized workout program and reevaluation. Lawrence Park Golf Club, 3700 East Lake Road. $90. Call Jennifer Eberlein at 572-7997.
- MS Swim Program, Gertrude A. Barber National Institute pool, 100 Barber Place. Participants have choice of two of four classes offered at various times throughout the week. Free. Doctor's note required stating that the person is able to participate in an aquatics program. Call 878-4071.
- American Red Cross Baby-sitting Training, will schedule as people sign up, to be held at the Salvation Army, 1022 Liberty St. Free. Call 454-6497.
- Free blood-pressure check, second Tuesday of each month, Tidioute Senior Center, 174 Main St., 11 a.m. to noon. Call (814) 827-1851.
- Free blood-pressure check, first Thursday of each month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Titusville Area Hospital Chapel. Call (814) 827-1851, Ext. 548.
- Free STD testing, Mondays, 9 to 11 a.m.; Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m.; and Thursdays, 3 to 5 p.m., Erie County Department of Health, 606 W. Second St. Testing is confidential. Call 451-6700.
- Multi-Level Flow Yoga for all Levels, Beginner Yoga, Advanced Yoga Vigorous and Challenging Flow Yoga, Barefoot Buddha, 2225 Colonial Ave. $4 to $10. Call 838-0350 or visit http://www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com'>www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com.
- Personal Nutrition Coaching, Titusville Area Hospital, by appointment. Free to Highmark Members, $25 to $50 for nonmembers. Call (814) 827-1851 or (800) 950-1851, Ext. 548.
- Mommy and Me Playgroup, first and third Tuesdays of every month, 10 a.m., Saint Vincent Women's Center. Free. Call to sign up.
- Breakfast Bunch Tai Chi and Strength Training Classes for adults 18 and older through the Erie Center on Health and Aging, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., classes held at Martin Luther King Center, 312 Chestnut St. Free. Call 453-5072.
- Healthy Steps, fall prevention and home safety one-day workshops, for men and women 50 and older, offered through Erie Center on Health and Aging. Includes lunch. Free. Call Nancy Adams to schedule a workshop for your group or organization, 453-5072, Ext. 21.
- Jin Shin Do Acupressure Services, heal physical and emotional tension and pain, improve immunity, Hamot Health Connection. $75 for 75-minute session. Call to sign up.
- Menopause Coaching and Cholesterol Coaching, private consultation with registered nurse, Hamot Health Connection. $40 for one-hour appointment. Call to sign up.
- Cardiac Fitness Club, instructor-led low-impact aerobics, strength training, recreational volleyball, health education classes and social support activities; Mondays, Tuesdays and connemara marble rosary Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Emerson-Gridley Elementary School, 816 Park Ave. North. Free. Call Walt Hoener at 868-6437 or Dan Landsberg at 864-3672.
- Free body-fat analysis, third Thursday of each month, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Titusville Area Hospital, 406 W. Oak St. Call (814) 827-1851.
- Childbirth preparation, breast-feeding, playgroups, CPR and grandparent classes now forming, Saint Vincent Women's Center. $35 to no charge. Call to sign up.
- Cardio sculpting classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; fitball classes, Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Millcreek Cheer-n-Dance, 4919 Pacific Ave. $30 per month. Call 833-6299.
- Strength training, Tuesdays, 12:30-1 p.m.; beginner Pilates, Tuesdays 3:45-4:45 p.m.; cardio combo, Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m.; abs, Wednesdays, 12:30-1 p.m.; yoga, Thursdays, 7-8:30 p.m.; cross training, Thursdays, 3:45-4:30 p.m.; Pilates/fit ball, Fridays, noon-12:30 p.m. Saint Vincent HealthU Happenings. Costs vary. Call 452-5619.
- Exercise classes at Saint Vincent Health Center, Strength Training, Tuesdays, from 12:30-1 p.m.; Beginner Pilates, Tuesdays from 3:45-4:45 p.m.; Cardio Combo, Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m.; Abs, Wednesdays, 12:30-1 p.m.; Yoga, Thursdays, 7-8:30 p.m.; Cross Training, Thursdays, 3:45-4:30 p.m. $20 to $50. Call to sign up.
- Free Breakfast Bunch Walking Program, for adults age 18 and older, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m., Erie Center on Health Wednesdays, 10 a.m.; Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 10:30 a.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Arthritis Water Exercise class Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m., Villa Maria Center Swimming Pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Deep-Water Aerobics, Mondays, 10 a.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St.; $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes.
- Just for Jocks, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m., Titusville Health free for caregivers. Call 833-3419.
- After-Work Water Aerobics class, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Tai Chi, Mondays and Thursdays, 5:30-6 p.m., Whole Life Health and Education Center. $35 per month. Call to sign up.
- Tai Chi classes Tuesdays, 1 p.m., and Thursdays, 6 p.m., Bethany Lutheran Congregation of Luther Memorial, 254 E. 10th St. Half-hour classes led by Ed Matthews. $5 per person. Call 456-6254.
- Total Fitness conditioning classes for people age 60 and older Mondays, 9 or 10 a.m.; Tuesdays, 8:45 a.m.; and Fridays, 8:30 or 9:30 a.m., Mercy Center on Aging, 444 E. Grandview Blvd. $3 per class. Call 824-2214.
- Aerobics and Strength classes, Tuesdays and the rosary prayer Thursdays, 6-7:15 p.m., Belle Valley Fire Department Social Hall, 1514 Norcross Road. $3 per class. Call 875-3229.
- Pilates, Yoga and Fitness Ball classes, Mondays through Sundays, Nautilus Fitness various times for Girard, Union City and Corry residents. All classes, sponsored by Mercy Center for Women, are free. Call 455-4577.
- Yoga classes for women with certified yoga teacher, Mondays, 5:30-7 p.m., White Tara Yoga, 1132 W. Ninth St. $45 for six-week session. Call 452-4098.
- Simply Lite by Jazzercise, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. $25 per month. Call 835-0244.
- Team Dance by Jazzercise, Saturdays, 11 a.m.-noon. $25 per month. Call 835-0244.
- Staying Fit, strength, cardio and flexibility classes, Tuesdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Union City Senior Center, 27 Johnson St. Call 438-7203.
- Cardiac Fitness Club & Family Support Program exercise program, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Emerson-Gridley School, 816 N. Park Ave. Call 453-4767.
- Clinician's Day, Saturdays, 1-4 p.m., Whole Life Health and rosary for kids Education Center. Services offered by the center's practitioners. Call 833-7333.
- Stott Pilates, Mondays and Fridays, 11 a.m.,Wednesdays, 1 p.m., Marguerite's Academy of Dance, 4433 West Ridge Road. Call 833-7553.
- Gentle Yoga to Reduce Holiday Stress for Every-Body, Nov. 24, 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Nov. 25, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. Free. Call 864-1114 to register.
- Yoga for Natural Pregnancy and Birth, Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. $20. Call 864-1114 to register.
- Morning yoga classes, Wednesdays through Dec. 17, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., Hamot Health Connection. $36 for 6 sessions. Call to sign up.
- Combo Workout, Tuesdays or Thursdays, 4:20 to 5:10 p.m. or 5:20 to 6:10 p.m., Tuesday to Dec. 16 or Thursday to Dec. 18, Hamot Health Connection. A 50-minute workout that includes strength training, Pilates and yoga. $27 for 6 sessions. Call to sign up.
- Holiday Tune-Up Gentle Yoga for Beginners, Saturdays through Dec. 13, 9 to 10:30 a.m., Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. $60 or $15 per class. Call 864-1114 to register.
- Pilates, Mondays to Nov. 14, 3:45 p.m., Saint Vincent Medical Office Building. $30. Call to sign up.
Child Care
- Baby Basics: parents-to-be learn to take care of a newborn; Wednesday, Hamot Health Connection, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $10 per couple. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Happiest Baby on the Block: Five Ways to Calm Junior; Thursday, 10 to 11 a.m., Hamot Health Connection. Free. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Mommy and Me playgroup, Tuesday, 10 a.m., Saint Vincent Women's Center. Free. No need to sign up.
Family matters
- New Year's Resolutions: Making Them; Dec. 4, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Hamot Heath Connection. $8. Call 877-6145 to register.
Nutrition
- Have no Fear: Attitudinal Healing; Monday, 7:40 to 8:40 p.m., Hamot Health Connection. $5. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Clean the Air: Tobacco Cessation Program; Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m., Hamot Health Connection. $20. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Smart Cooking for Better Health: Comfort Foods, Desserts; Dec. 1, 4 to 5 p.m., Hamot Heart Institute, 120 East Second St. $5. Call 877-2123 to register.
- Eat Well for Life I; lifestyle improvement program that champions optimal health, vitality and long-term weight management through the power of good nutrition; Wednesday, 9 to 10:30 a.m. or 6 to 7:30 p.m. Free to Highmark members, HealthAmerica reimburses for the class, non-Highmark members $65. Stop by the Glenwood Park YMCA, 3727 Cherry St., Erie or call 868-0867 to sign up for your class.
- Eat Well for Life/Module II, Tuesday, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Saint Vincent Community Fitness Room. $60, no charge to Highmark members. Call to sign up.
- Smart Cooking for Better Health, Home-Style Favorites, today, 4 or 6 p.m., Hamot Heart Institute, 120 E. Second St. $5. Call 877-2123.
- Personal Nutrition Coaching, One-on-one counseling service with a Registered dietitian designed to help you make healthy lifestyle and nutrition choices for better health, by appointment only, Free to Highmark Members, Non-Highmark Members $60 for Initial Appointment and $30 per follow-up appointment, Stop by the Glenwood Park YMCA, 3727 Cherry St., or call 868-0867 to register.
Safety
- CPR/AED -- adult, $40. Also, Standard First Aid with CPR/AED -- adults, $50. Also, Standard First Aid with CPR/ AED -- adults plus child and infant CPR. $50. All courses to be held Saturday and Nov. 25, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at American Red Cross Greater Erie County Chapter office, 4961 Pittsburgh Ave. Call 833-0942.
Vaccinations
Flu and pneumonia vaccinations provided by Erie Center on Heath Tuesday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m., Erie Center on Health and Aging, 406 Peach St.; Tuesday, 9 a.m. to noon, Quality Markets, 712 W. 38th St.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m., Erie Center on Health and Aging, 406 Peach St.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Frontier Pharmacy, 1201 W. Sixth St.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m., Erie Center on Health and Aging, 406 Peach St.
Ongoing
- Low-impact exercises for enhancing energy and toning the body based on the concept of acupuncture meridians. Qigong offers techniques for improving breath control and mental concentration, releasing stress, Mondays through Dec. 15, 7 to 8 p.m., Hamot Heath Connection. $35 for 6 sessions. Call 877-6145 to register.
- Cardiac fitness club and family support group, supervised exercise program, low-impact aerobics and strength training, social support activities, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Emerson-Gridley School, 816 N. Park Ave. Free. Call 868-6437.
- Senior women's exercise classes, Mondays at 9 and 10 a.m., It Figures, 2016 Station Road. $5, no charge for Foreverfit and Silver and Fit members. Call 899-6333.
- Fitness basics, Tuesdays, 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.; Abdominal Strengthening, Tuesdays, noon to 12:30 p.m., Saint Vincent Health Center Medical Office Building. $20. Call to sign up.
- Morning exercise classes at Hamot Wellness Center, Mondays Boot Camp, 6 to 6:45 a.m., also SilverSneakers II Cardio Circuit, 9:15 to 10 a.m., Tuesdays, SilverSneakers I Muscular Strength, 9:15 to 10 a.m. or 10:15 to 11 a.m., also Cardio Drill, 11:15 to 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, PhysioBall Fitness, 6 to 6:45 a.m., also SilverSneakers II Cardio Circuit, 9:15 to 10 a.m., Thursday, SilverSneakers I Muscular Strength, 9:15 to 10 a.m. or 10:15 to 11 a.m., Friday, Boot Camp, 6 to 6:45 a.m., SilverSneakers Yoga Stretch, 9:15 to 10 a.m., also Cardio Drill, 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. Call to sign up.
- Noontime classes, Hamot Wellness Center, Mondays, Latin Fusion, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Tuesdays, BOSU: Core and More, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Wednesdays, Cardio Step, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Thursdays, Strength circuit, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m., Fridays, Basic kickboxing, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. $5, free for Wellness Center members. Call 877-7030.
- Yoga Classes, all levels from gentle to advanced, Plasha Yoga Studio, 10 E. Fifth St. Also advanced meditation. First introductory class free, $8-$15 per class all others. Call 864-1114 for class times and days or visit http://www.plashayoga.com'>www.plashayoga.com.
- After-work water aerobics Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Intro to Yoga, Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays at noon, multilevel and advanced yoga classes weekday mornings and evenings, Tai Ji Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., Stability Ball and Core Work Fridays at 9:30 a.m., Free Multiple Sclerosis Yoga Class Tuesdays at noon, Barefoot Buddha, 2225 Colonial Ave. $5 to $12. Call 838-0350 or visit http://www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com'>www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com.
- Breakfast Bunch Walking Program for adults 18 and older, breakfast after walk, Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m., also Breakfast Bunch Tai Chi also Saturdays, 8 a.m., Mondays 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.; Wednesdays 3:30 p.m., and Fridays, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., Mercyhurst West, Lower Level, 824 E. Main St., Girard. Cost: First class free, $5 drop in fee. Call 860-6450.
- Titleist Performance Institute Golf Screening, by appointment. Determines any physical limitations that might be impeding a golfer's swing and includes 18-session customized workout program and reevaluation. Lawrence Park Golf Club, 3700 East Lake Road. $90. Call Jennifer Eberlein at 572-7997.
- MS Swim Program, Gertrude A. Barber National Institute pool, 100 Barber Place. Participants have choice of two of four classes offered at various times throughout the week. Free. Doctor's note required stating that the person is able to participate in an aquatics program. Call 878-4071.
- American Red Cross Baby-sitting Training, will schedule as people sign up, to be held at the Salvation Army, 1022 Liberty St. Free. Call 454-6497.
- Free blood-pressure check, second Tuesday of each month, Tidioute Senior Center, 174 Main St., 11 a.m. to noon. Call (814) 827-1851.
- Free blood-pressure check, first Thursday of each month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Titusville Area Hospital Chapel. Call (814) 827-1851, Ext. 548.
- Free STD testing, Mondays, 9 to 11 a.m.; Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m.; and Thursdays, 3 to 5 p.m., Erie County Department of Health, 606 W. Second St. Testing is confidential. Call 451-6700.
- Multi-Level Flow Yoga for all Levels, Beginner Yoga, Advanced Yoga Vigorous and Challenging Flow Yoga, Barefoot Buddha, 2225 Colonial Ave. $4 to $10. Call 838-0350 or visit http://www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com'>www.barefootbuddhayogastudio.com.
- Personal Nutrition Coaching, Titusville Area Hospital, by appointment. Free to Highmark Members, $25 to $50 for nonmembers. Call (814) 827-1851 or (800) 950-1851, Ext. 548.
- Mommy and Me Playgroup, first and third Tuesdays of every month, 10 a.m., Saint Vincent Women's Center. Free. Call to sign up.
- Breakfast Bunch Tai Chi and Strength Training Classes for adults 18 and older through the Erie Center on Health and Aging, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., classes held at Martin Luther King Center, 312 Chestnut St. Free. Call 453-5072.
- Healthy Steps, fall prevention and home safety one-day workshops, for men and women 50 and older, offered through Erie Center on Health and Aging. Includes lunch. Free. Call Nancy Adams to schedule a workshop for your group or organization, 453-5072, Ext. 21.
- Jin Shin Do Acupressure Services, heal physical and emotional tension and pain, improve immunity, Hamot Health Connection. $75 for 75-minute session. Call to sign up.
- Menopause Coaching and Cholesterol Coaching, private consultation with registered nurse, Hamot Health Connection. $40 for one-hour appointment. Call to sign up.
- Cardiac Fitness Club, instructor-led low-impact aerobics, strength training, recreational volleyball, health education classes and social support activities; Mondays, Tuesdays and connemara marble rosary Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Emerson-Gridley Elementary School, 816 Park Ave. North. Free. Call Walt Hoener at 868-6437 or Dan Landsberg at 864-3672.
- Free body-fat analysis, third Thursday of each month, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Titusville Area Hospital, 406 W. Oak St. Call (814) 827-1851.
- Childbirth preparation, breast-feeding, playgroups, CPR and grandparent classes now forming, Saint Vincent Women's Center. $35 to no charge. Call to sign up.
- Cardio sculpting classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; fitball classes, Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Millcreek Cheer-n-Dance, 4919 Pacific Ave. $30 per month. Call 833-6299.
- Strength training, Tuesdays, 12:30-1 p.m.; beginner Pilates, Tuesdays 3:45-4:45 p.m.; cardio combo, Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m.; abs, Wednesdays, 12:30-1 p.m.; yoga, Thursdays, 7-8:30 p.m.; cross training, Thursdays, 3:45-4:30 p.m.; Pilates/fit ball, Fridays, noon-12:30 p.m. Saint Vincent HealthU Happenings. Costs vary. Call 452-5619.
- Exercise classes at Saint Vincent Health Center, Strength Training, Tuesdays, from 12:30-1 p.m.; Beginner Pilates, Tuesdays from 3:45-4:45 p.m.; Cardio Combo, Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m.; Abs, Wednesdays, 12:30-1 p.m.; Yoga, Thursdays, 7-8:30 p.m.; Cross Training, Thursdays, 3:45-4:30 p.m. $20 to $50. Call to sign up.
- Free Breakfast Bunch Walking Program, for adults age 18 and older, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m., Erie Center on Health Wednesdays, 10 a.m.; Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 10:30 a.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Arthritis Water Exercise class Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m., Villa Maria Center Swimming Pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Deep-Water Aerobics, Mondays, 10 a.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St.; $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes.
- Just for Jocks, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m., Titusville Health free for caregivers. Call 833-3419.
- After-Work Water Aerobics class, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Villa Maria Center pool, 2551 W. Eighth St. $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes. Call 838-5451, Ext. 229.
- Tai Chi, Mondays and Thursdays, 5:30-6 p.m., Whole Life Health and Education Center. $35 per month. Call to sign up.
- Tai Chi classes Tuesdays, 1 p.m., and Thursdays, 6 p.m., Bethany Lutheran Congregation of Luther Memorial, 254 E. 10th St. Half-hour classes led by Ed Matthews. $5 per person. Call 456-6254.
- Total Fitness conditioning classes for people age 60 and older Mondays, 9 or 10 a.m.; Tuesdays, 8:45 a.m.; and Fridays, 8:30 or 9:30 a.m., Mercy Center on Aging, 444 E. Grandview Blvd. $3 per class. Call 824-2214.
- Aerobics and Strength classes, Tuesdays and the rosary prayer Thursdays, 6-7:15 p.m., Belle Valley Fire Department Social Hall, 1514 Norcross Road. $3 per class. Call 875-3229.
- Pilates, Yoga and Fitness Ball classes, Mondays through Sundays, Nautilus Fitness various times for Girard, Union City and Corry residents. All classes, sponsored by Mercy Center for Women, are free. Call 455-4577.
- Yoga classes for women with certified yoga teacher, Mondays, 5:30-7 p.m., White Tara Yoga, 1132 W. Ninth St. $45 for six-week session. Call 452-4098.
- Simply Lite by Jazzercise, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. $25 per month. Call 835-0244.
- Team Dance by Jazzercise, Saturdays, 11 a.m.-noon. $25 per month. Call 835-0244.
- Staying Fit, strength, cardio and flexibility classes, Tuesdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Union City Senior Center, 27 Johnson St. Call 438-7203.
- Cardiac Fitness Club & Family Support Program exercise program, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Emerson-Gridley School, 816 N. Park Ave. Call 453-4767.
- Clinician's Day, Saturdays, 1-4 p.m., Whole Life Health and rosary for kids Education Center. Services offered by the center's practitioners. Call 833-7333.
- Stott Pilates, Mondays and Fridays, 11 a.m.,Wednesdays, 1 p.m., Marguerite's Academy of Dance, 4433 West Ridge Road. Call 833-7553.
Residents Find Their Way To Shelters As They Take Inventory
SYLMAR - When 87-year-old Antoinette Cimmino walked into the Sylmar High School gymnasium this weekend, it all looked so familiar.
Years ago, she watched her son, Paul, and grandson, Michael, play basketball on the same court when they attended the school.
Sunday she found herself there again, chased away by flames that devoured the Oakridge Mobile Home Park.
'My house was saved, as were the houses next door,' she said, relieved but clearly grieving for her friend, Angelina Ball, who lost everything.
Ball figured since she returned last month, pearl rosary beads they would be able to go back unscathed again.
'That's why I didn't think it would burn,' she said as she wept. 'I left my Bible and rosary making kits my rosary. I left my husband's service records.'
While hundreds of firefighters continued to push back the Sayre Fire in the North San Fernando Valley on Sunday, hundreds more people like Cimmino and Ball took refuge in emergency shelters across the valley.
At Sylmar High, buy rosary beads more than 500 people from 281 families assembled in the two basketball gyms. Nearly 200 cots were spread out across the gym floors as food and clothing poured in from local businesses and community members.
Red Cross officials registered the namespersonal information of the refugees, who were given connections to further aid.
'Every agency in the county of Los Angeles has been slammed by this string of disasters,' said Lisa Bialac-Jehlea
Woodson Daspit
A funeral Mass for Woodson B. 'Woody' Daspit will be celebrated by Rev. James LeBlanc on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008, at 11 a.m. at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church.
Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be on Monday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at George Funeral Home - Cremation Center, 211 Park Ave. S.W., Aiken. The Holy Rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m. The family will also be receiving friends at the home of his daughter, Mary Dufour. Memorial contributions may be directed to the American Cancer Society, 115 Greenville St., Aiken, SC 29801 or St.
Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, P.O. Box 439, Aiken, SC 29802. Mr. Daspit, 82, of Aiken, died Friday, Nov. 14, 2008, at Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
A son of the late Robert Valentine Daspit and Margaret Butler Daspit, he was born in Houma, La., on March 11, 1926, and began his first job in 1942 as a chemical analyst for South Coast Sugar Company. He briefly attended LSU but joined the U.S. Marine Corps in June 1944, serving in the Pacific Theatre on Saipan and Okinawa during the war and for eight months after in China. He was honorably discharged in July 1946. He then re-entered LSU and graduated with a degree in physics in 1949. He was a varsity letterman on the track team and was also commissioned as a second lieutenant. He then worked as a civilian scientist at the Naval Ordinance Station at China Lake, Calif. He once again returned to LSU to earn a master's degree in physics and was elected to membership in Sigma Pi Sigma and Sigma Xi honor societies.
He was also a member of the American Nuclear Society. He began his career with DuPont in 1952 and arrived at the SRP in 1953, working with the experimental physics group before retiring in 1986. After that, he worked in various consulting capacities for Westinghouse and Bechtel. A communicant of St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, he was a past president of St. Mary's School PTO, past chairman of the parish council, served on the Diocesan School Board for six years, five as chairman. He was also a facilitator of the parish parochial council and was an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist for more than 20 years and brought Communion to many of the sick and pearl rosary bracelet shut in of the parish.
He was a charter member of Msgr. George Lewis Smith, Council 3684 of the Knights of Columbus and served as a past chairman of the Calvary Cemetery Committee. He was also a member and past president of the Aiken-Augusta Orchid Society. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his first wife, Ray Mary (Decandt) Daspit, who died in 1995; a granddaughter, Jessica L. Moler; and murano glass rosary several brothers and sisters. He is survived by his wife, Erninia U. Daspit of Aiken; two sons, John W. (Leslie) Daspit of Columbia and Thomas G. (Patty) Daspit of Morgan Hill, Calif.; two daughters, Mary D.
(Raymond) Dufour of Aiken and Jennifer G. Daspit of Charleston; three sisters, Agnes Kennedy of Houma, La., Katharine Daspit of Houma, La., and rosary for children Louise Geary of New Orleans, La.; five grandchildren, Amanda L. Daspit, Allison L. Dufour, Jonathon W. Daspit, James W. Daspit and Max R.
Dufour. He is also survived by his wife's son, Brian J. Kauer and his wife, Kim, and their two children, Hayley A.Brandon J. Kauer. Visit georgefuneralhomes.com to leave a note for the Daspit family..
Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be on Monday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at George Funeral Home - Cremation Center, 211 Park Ave. S.W., Aiken. The Holy Rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m. The family will also be receiving friends at the home of his daughter, Mary Dufour. Memorial contributions may be directed to the American Cancer Society, 115 Greenville St., Aiken, SC 29801 or St.
Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, P.O. Box 439, Aiken, SC 29802. Mr. Daspit, 82, of Aiken, died Friday, Nov. 14, 2008, at Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
A son of the late Robert Valentine Daspit and Margaret Butler Daspit, he was born in Houma, La., on March 11, 1926, and began his first job in 1942 as a chemical analyst for South Coast Sugar Company. He briefly attended LSU but joined the U.S. Marine Corps in June 1944, serving in the Pacific Theatre on Saipan and Okinawa during the war and for eight months after in China. He was honorably discharged in July 1946. He then re-entered LSU and graduated with a degree in physics in 1949. He was a varsity letterman on the track team and was also commissioned as a second lieutenant. He then worked as a civilian scientist at the Naval Ordinance Station at China Lake, Calif. He once again returned to LSU to earn a master's degree in physics and was elected to membership in Sigma Pi Sigma and Sigma Xi honor societies.
He was also a member of the American Nuclear Society. He began his career with DuPont in 1952 and arrived at the SRP in 1953, working with the experimental physics group before retiring in 1986. After that, he worked in various consulting capacities for Westinghouse and Bechtel. A communicant of St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, he was a past president of St. Mary's School PTO, past chairman of the parish council, served on the Diocesan School Board for six years, five as chairman. He was also a facilitator of the parish parochial council and was an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist for more than 20 years and brought Communion to many of the sick and pearl rosary bracelet shut in of the parish.
He was a charter member of Msgr. George Lewis Smith, Council 3684 of the Knights of Columbus and served as a past chairman of the Calvary Cemetery Committee. He was also a member and past president of the Aiken-Augusta Orchid Society. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his first wife, Ray Mary (Decandt) Daspit, who died in 1995; a granddaughter, Jessica L. Moler; and murano glass rosary several brothers and sisters. He is survived by his wife, Erninia U. Daspit of Aiken; two sons, John W. (Leslie) Daspit of Columbia and Thomas G. (Patty) Daspit of Morgan Hill, Calif.; two daughters, Mary D.
(Raymond) Dufour of Aiken and Jennifer G. Daspit of Charleston; three sisters, Agnes Kennedy of Houma, La., Katharine Daspit of Houma, La., and rosary for children Louise Geary of New Orleans, La.; five grandchildren, Amanda L. Daspit, Allison L. Dufour, Jonathon W. Daspit, James W. Daspit and Max R.
Dufour. He is also survived by his wife's son, Brian J. Kauer and his wife, Kim, and their two children, Hayley A.Brandon J. Kauer. Visit georgefuneralhomes.com to leave a note for the Daspit family..
Francis E. Voldenberg
Born in Scranton, son of the late William and Regina Heffron Voldenberg, he was a member of St. Paul s Church, educated in Olyphant public schools, and a graduate of Olyphant High School. Prior to retirement, he was employed by Eureka Security and a printing company.
Francis was a loving father and grandfather. His greatest joy was his six granddaughters. The family would like to thank the staff of Golden Living Center for their care and compassion they showed to Francis.
Surviving are two sons, Francis J. and wife Donna, and Michael and wife Margaret; six granddaughters, Amy Kordish; Lauren, Jessica, Kelsey, Cathleen and Rebecca Voldenberg.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Kathleen, in 1986.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Monday at 9:30 a.m. in St Paul s Church, Penn Avenue. Interment, St. Patrick s Cemetery, Olyphant.
Arrangements by the McGoff-Hughes Funeral Home Inc., 1401 Capouse Ave., Scranton, PA 18509.
John J. Burns
John J. (Jack) Burns, 72, a South Scranton resident, died Saturday, November 15, 2008, in VNA Hospice at CMC. He had been a resident of Mountainview Care Center for the past several years. His wife is the former Mary Joan Van Fleet.
Born Jan. 16, 1936, and raised in Scranton, he was the son of the late John L. and Kathleen Messett Burns. He attended Scranton public schools. Prior to retirement, he was employed by W.W. Norton National Book Co. for more than 40 years.
He was a member of Nativity Of Our Lord Church. He was also a member of the 4th Degree Father Joseph Barrett Assembly Knights Of Columbus Council and a Third Degree Knight in council 11019 Bishop Klonowski.
He was a Eucharistic minister at Nativity Church and volunteered at St. Francis Kitchen and Mountainview Care Center prior to his illness.
Jack was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He enjoyed antique car shows and spending time with friends and traveling to new places.
Also surviving are two daughters, Kathy Harrington and husband John, Dallas, Pa., Marie McHale and husband Gene, Wynnewood, Pa, and foster son John Rivers, Scranton. Also surviving are grandchildren Casey and Conor Harrington, and Colin, Gavin and Brady McHale, and cousins.
The funeral will be Tuesday at 9 a.m. from the August J. Haas Funeral Home Inc., 202 Pittston Ave., with Mass at 9:30 a.m. in Nativity Of Our Lord Church, 633 Orchard St. to be celebrated by the Rev. Michael Bryant. Interment will be at Cathedral Cemetery. Friends may call today, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to the donor s favorite charity.
To leave an online condolence, visit www.augusthaasfuneralhome.com.
Melvin Cohen
Melvin Cohen, 68, of Ashley, died Tuesday evening at Hospice Community Care Inpatient Unit at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre.
Born Dec. 24, 1939 in Wilkes-Barre, he was a son of the late Harry and Dorothy Novick Cohen.
He was a 1957 graduate of Plymouth High School, attended Beauty School and earned his cosmetology teachers license.
Melvin was the owner and operator of several local salons and was employed with Super Styles, Edwardsville, for the last 10 years. In addition, he had been employed as a bartender for over 20 years with the Golden Palace, Parsons.
He was a United States Army Veteran and a member of the Plymouth Rotary.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Norman; former wife, Joyce Troutman; and pet cats, Uba and Ilo.
Surviving are his wife of 21 years, the former Julie Stasko; daughters Cheryl Gregory and her husband, Phillip, Kingston; and Brenda Cohen-Breen and her husband, Peter, Rochester, N.Y.; six grandchildren; pet cats Sasha, Miso and Ripley Rogue.
Private services will be held at the convenience of the family.
Arrangements are made by the S.J. Grontkowski Funeral Home, 530 W. Main St., Plymouth.
Celia Furm
Celia Furman, 90, of Italy St., Mocanaqua, died Saturday morning, November 15, 2008, at Guardian Elder Care, Sheatown.
Born July 17, 1918, in Mocanaqua, she was a daughter of the late Joseph and Mary (Simko) Yarish (Jarosz). She was a graduate of the former Shickshinny High School. She was a member of St. Mary s Church, Mocanaqua.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Martin J. Furman, who died June 22, 2002; two brothers, Emil and Myron; and four sisters, Stephania, Stella, Katie and Blanche. Surviving are two sons, Leonard, Hanover Township, and Richard, Exeter; a daughter, Cheryl Furman, Mocanaqua; four grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Mayo Funeral Home Inc., 77 N. Main St., Shickshinny, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Mary s Church, Mocanaqua, with her pastor, the Rev. Stephen A. Krawontka, as celebrant. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be today, from 6 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Guardian Elder Care, 147 Old Newport St., Nanticoke, PA 18634.
For additional information, or to send condolences, please visit www.mayofh.com.
John J. Humenanski
Mr. John J. Humenanski, a guest at the Little Flower Manor, Wilkes-Barre, and formerly of South Sheridan Street, died Thursday, November 13, 2008, at Hospice Community Care Inpatient Unit at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre.
Born July 31, 1919, in Sugar Notch, he was a son of the late Joseph and Martha Bosher Humenanski. John attended Sugar Notch schools and was employed a short time in the area coal mines. He also worked at Central Slipper and Muskin Pools, Wilkes-Barre.
He was an Army Veteran of World War II, serving in Central Europe and was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Service Medal, Asian-Pacific Theater Service Medal, European African Middle Eastern Medal with one Bronze Star, and the Victory Medal.
He was a member of St. Mary s Church of the Maternity, Wilkes-Barre, and the American Legion Post 815, Wilkes-Barre Township.
John was an avid Philadelphia Phillies fan.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Agnes Forish; brother Edward. Surviving is his wife, the former Leocadia (Charlotte) Dziedzic, with whom he was married 62 years; daughters Jane Loquasto and her husband, Fred Jr., Northampton, Pa.; Judith Humenanski Fumanti and her husband, David, Williamsport; grandchildren Fred Loquasto III, and Jonathan; brother Anthony, Ashley; sister Elizabeth Applegate, Hazlett, N.J.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. from the Jendrzejewski Funeral Home, 21 North Meade Street, Wilkes-Barre, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 in St. Mary s Church of the Maternity, Park Avenue, Wilkes-Barre. The Rev. John S. Terry, Pastor, will officiate. Interment will be in the parish cemetery, West Wyoming.
Friends may call today, from 3 to 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Far Point Collie Rescue, 1035 Red Hill Road, Port Trevorton, PA, 17864.
Josephine F. Lendacky
Mrs. Josephine F. (Bednar) Lendacky, 85, a resident of Little Flower Manor, formerly of the North End section of the city, passed into Eternal Life on Friday morning in Little Flower in the presence of her loving family.
Born May 4, 1923, in Plains Township, she was a daughter of the late Michael and Anna (Kubick) Bednar. Educated in the Plains schools, she was a graduate of the former Plains High School.
She was a member of the Catholic Community of North Wilkes-Barre. Until her retirement, she had been employed in local cigar factories throughout the Wyoming Valley.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank, on March 15, 2005; and by sisters Mary Serbin, Stella Armusik, Bridget Amrich; and by a brother, Michael Bednar. Surviving are her son, James, and his wife, Marcella, of Wilkes-Barre; two grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Mrs. Lendacky will be conducted on Tuesday at 10 a.m. from the John V. Morris Funeral Home, 625 North Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, followed by a funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. in Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church, with the Rev. David R. Betts, Parochial Vicar, officiating. Interment will be in the family lot in Saint Mary s Roman Catholic Cemetery, South Main Street, Hanover Township.
Relatives and friends may call Tuesday morning, from 9 until the time of services.
In lieu of floral tributes, memorial donations are requested in Mrs. Lendacky s memory to the resident activities of Little Flower Manor, 200 South Meade Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702.
For additional information, or to send Mrs. Lendacky s family an online condolence, please visit www.JohnVMorrisFuneralHomes.com.
Paul J. Meehan
Paul J. Meehan, age 71, of Old River Road, Wilkes-Barre, passed away Friday, November 14, 2008, at the Meadows Nursing Center, Dallas.
Born Dec. 13, 1936 in Wilkes-Barre, he was a son of the late John Paul Meehan and Mabel Smith Meehan of Harveys Lake. He was a graduate of E.L. Meyers High School, Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Meehan was a Veteran of the Korean Conflict, serving with the United States Naval Reserves from 1954 to 1962. Prior to his retirement, he had been employed by United Cerebral Palsy Organization of Wilkes-Barre for over 10 years.
He was a member of Saint Therese Roman Catholic Church of Wilkes-Barre. He was preceded in death by sons Paul John and infant twins James and Girard; a brother, John; sister Ruth McKinney.
Surviving, in addition to his mother, are his wife, the former Elinor A. Burke, with whom he celebrated his 49th wedding anniversary on June 27, 2008; three children, Denise and her husband, Timothy Higgins, of Va.; Diane and her husband, Michael Whitman, of Hanover Township; Kevin Meehan, of Wilkes-Barre Township; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Laura Williams of Harveys Lake, Charles Meehan of Ashley, Terry Meehan of Harveys Lake, Michael Meehan of Wilkes-Barre Township, Susan Meehan of Kingston; numerous nieces and nephews also survive.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in Saint Therese Church, Old River Road, Wilkes-Barre. Interment will be in Chapel Lawn Memorial Park, Dallas.
Friends may call this evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Harold C. Snowdon Funeral Home, 140 North Main Street, Shavertown.
Irene Mattioli Ninassi
Irene Mattioli Ninassi, 100 years old, a lifetime resident of Exeter, passed away Thursday, November 13, 2008, at her daughter s home in Sylvan Lake, Mich.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Juilio Ninassi; daughter Julia Wojciechowski; grandchildren William (Woody) and David Evans; and brothers Gino, Joseph, Armando and Ferdinand Mattioli; and a sister, Mary Meschini.
Surviving are her daughter, Ann, and her husband, William Evans, Sylvan Lake, Mich.; son-in-law Henry Wojciechowski; a brother, Primo Bartoletti, Wyoming; and two grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins; and friends.
Family and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday at 9:30 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Memorial St., Exeter, with the Rev. Joseph Sibilano, O.S. J., pastor, officiating. Entombment will be in Denison Mausoleum, Swoyersville.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Gubbiotti Funeral Home, 1030 Wyoming Ave., Exeter.
Florence Pawlowski
Florence Pawlowski, 90, of Tunkhannock and formerly of Warrior Run, passed away Friday at Golden Living Nursing Home, Tunkhannock.
She was born on Sept. 19, 1918, a daughter of the late Michael and Angela (Kolesa) Ziomek. She was a member of Holy Family Church, Sugar Notch, where she cleaned and decorated the church for over 35 years.
She was a loving wife, mother, sister and grandmother and will be greatly missed by her family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Pawlowski; infant daughter Alicia Marie; sisters Pauline Linkiewicz and Johanna Andrus; brothers Frank, Joseph, John, Walter and Victor Ziomek.
She is survived by her daughter, Norrine Thompson, and her husband, Ted, of Schenectady, N.Y.; sons Terence and his wife, Theresa, of Tunkhannock, with whom she resided for the past 2 1/2 years; Eugene and his wife, Cheryl, of Sandusky, Ohio; grandchildren Matt Pawlowski and his wife, Becky, West Wyoming; Greg and Jake Pawlowski, Sandusky, Ohio; Ian Thompson, Gainesville, Fla.
The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to Dr. Brenda Goodrich, Tyler Memorial Hospital, and all the staff of Tyler, and also Asera Care Hospice of Clarks Summit and all their staff that helped with her comfort and care in her final days.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 9 a.m. from the George A. Strish Inc. Funeral Home, 105 North Main Street, Ashley, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 in Holy Family Church, Main Street, Sugar Notch, with the Rev. Vincent Dang as celebrant. Entombment will be in St. Mary s Cemetery, Hanover Township.
Family and friends may call on Tuesday, from 5 to 8, and Wednesday, from 8 until time of service. Memorial donations in her memory may be made to any of the following: Saint Joseph s Center, 2010 Adams Ave., Scranton, PA 18509; Tyler Memorial Hospital, Route 6 Tunkhannock, PA 18657; Geisinger Clinic of Tunkhannock, 10 Treible Road, Tunkhannock, PA 18657; or the Golden Living Nursing Home, 30 Virginia Drive, Tunkhannock, PA 18657.
Selma Ball Sondheim
Selma Ball Sondheim, of Scranton, died Saturday morning in the Jewish Home of Eastern Pa.
Born in Scranton, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Freda Rosenson Ball. She was a graduate of Marywood Seminary, and went on to study at Chamberlain College and Simmons College, both in Boston. She later graduated from Lackawanna Business College in Scranton.
She was a member of Temple Hesed and its sisterhood. She was preceded in death by brothers Atty. Herbert Ball and Dr. Myron Ball.
Surviving is a son, Robert E. Sondheim and wife Celina, of Sharon, Mass; a sister, Muriel Baltimore, and husband David, of Kingston; two grandchildren; and connemara marble rosary several nieces and nephews. Graveside services will be held privately at the convenience of the family.
There will be no local Shiva.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer s Association, 57 N. Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, 18701, or to the donor s favorite charity.
Arrangements by Ziman Funeral Home, Inc., 612 E. Gibson Street, Scranton, 18510.
Irene M. Stawicki
Irene M. Stawicki, 92, of Noble Street, Nanticoke, passed away Saturday morning at the Hampton House Nursing Home, Hanover Township.
She was born in Hudson, Pa., a daughter of the late Joseph and Helen V. Rogowski Czekalski.
She attended Plains Township schools and evening business classes at Coughlin High School. She also was a member of Holy Trinity Church, Nanticoke. She was past President of the American Legion, Newark, N.J., and a member of Ferwood Seniors Club, Wilkes-Barre.
Irene and her husband, Stanley, were honored by Penn State University for contributing to the school s scholarship fund. Irene was employed by RCA, Harrison, N.J. at their Engineering Development Department.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley E., in 2006; and rosary making kits by brothers John Bernard, Walter, Edward and Robert Czekalski; and sister Susan Oliver. Presently surviving are brothers Thomas Czekalski, Hudson; Joseph Czekalski, Wilkes-Barre; sister Helen Duckworth, Edwardsville; several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. from the Grontkowski Funeral Home P.C., 51 W. Green St., Nanticoke, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 in Holy Trinity Church. Interment will be in Parish Cemetery, Nanticoke. Calling hours will be held an hour prior to the funeral.
Eleanor A. Wasileuski
Mrs. Eleanor A. Wasileuski, 81, of Duryea, passed away Friday afternoon at Wesley Village, Jenkins Township.
Born in Gilberton, Pa., she was a daughter of the late Brian and Millie Ball Wasileuski. She was a graduate of Gilberton High School and murano glass rosary attended training for nursing at Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y.
She served in the United States Army Nursing Corps during the Korean Conflict. Prior to her retirement, she was employed by Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y.
She was a member of Holy Rosary Church, Duryea. She was a member of the Kings County Hospital Center Nurses Alumni Association, Brooklyn, N.Y.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Anna Pupek; and a brother, Edward. Surviving are a brother, Leonard Wasileuski; friendcaregiver Romayne Solarchik, Duryea.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Holy Rosary Church, Duryea. Interment will be in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville. Viewing will be private at the convenience of the family.
Arrangements are by the Bernard J. Piontek Funeral Home Inc., 204 Main St., Duryea.
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Experience Lourdes At Singapore Indoor Stadium
By Joyce Gan
SINGAPORE The Lourdes Experience will be celebrated for the second time at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday Dec 6. The celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady to St. Bernadette, in Lourdes, is being held on the Saturday nearest to the Dec 8 feastday of the Immaculate Conception.
At Lourdes, Our Lady said I am the Immaculate Conception to St. Bernadettes question, Who are you?
Pope Benedict XVI made a pilgrimage to Lourdes in mid September where he preached the value of humble and intense prayer like the rosary. He told listeners that devotion to Mary was not a form of pious infantilism but an expression of spiritual maturity.
When he took a drink from the Lourdes spring that many pilgrims believe to be the font of miraculous cures, he was demonstrating that the Christian lives by simple signs and symbols as well as by theological ideas. At his Mass with thousands of sick people, he thanked Catholics at Lourdes and all over the world who volunteer their time and effort to help the infirm.
The Lourdes Experience is being held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for the second time the first was in 2004 for those who are unable to go to Lourdes. The Singapore Order of Malta, who are the organisers, expect even more participants this year.
Catholics from various parishes, including members of St. John's Brigade, Legion of Mary, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Nurses Guild, Catholic Medical Guild are providing support. The Order receives spiritual guidance from Archbishop Nicholas Chia, its chaplain.
The celebrations
Periods of silence and prayer, celebration and adoration of the Eucharist, a procession and blessing of the sick and disabled will produce an atmosphere of deep reverence for Jesus and Mary at the Lourdes Experience.
A iridescent-blue figurine of Our Lady standing on a rock, with a blue ribbon and rosary bead necklace yellow roses on her feet will be installed at the stadium.
The stadium doors will open at 2.00pm and the days events will begin with an audio-visual presentation of this year's Lourdes Jubilee celebrations. This will be followed by Stations of the Cross, another feature of a Lourdes pilgrimage.
Participating parishes and the rosary prayer groups will join in the entrance procession for the Mass to be celebrated by Archbishop Nicholas Chia. Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio and about 40 priests from the archdiocese will concelebrate.
Ten priests will sprinkle holy water before Mass begins After Mass, there will be a procession and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Benediction by Father Gino Henriques will follow.
The finale will be a torchlight procession during which the rosary will be prayed in English, Mandarin, Tamil, Teochew, Tagalog, Cantonese, Myalanese, Bahasa Indonesia and Korean.
Bottles of Lourdes water have been given to parishes, charity homes, the Assisi Hospice; and rosary making kits packages containing a rosary have been given to parishes for those who are too sick to go to the stadium.
Petitions can be made at three entry points, but love offering should be kept in a separate envelope and placed in the love offering box. All collections will be used for the Missions of Mercy by the Singapore Order of Malta.
Tickets to the Lourdes Experience are freecan be obtained from parishes.
Junkmans Gems
The World Series of Poker just finished up this week. Poker has become a major spectator sport. Like championship wrestling it can be seen on several channels. I caught on real quick that all you needed to watch was the last five minutes to see an outcome.
About the time the show should end one of the other players goes, all in, so you always have an immediate winner right after the commercial. This year s winner was a college dropout, Peter Eastgate, from Denmark. The 22-year-old won $9.15 million, making him worth more than several small countries. Second place paid around $5 million so this figured out to be nearly as good an hourly wage as a GM employee makes.
About every Wednesday Newsgram has an Indian Casino insert that you can get ten dollars. I thought if I could mooch a ride over there, I could get the ten bucks. Then I read the small print. In order to collect, you have to cash in a ten-dollar ticket to get the second ten. I guess I will just stay home because as unlucky as I am at gambling, it would cost me lots more than ten dollars to cash in my voucher.
The Obama jokes are running rampant. Some of them would be funny whomever they were about. The ones that are truly tasteless I politely listen to and then put them in the delete bin in my mind.
Comedians will have a fine line to walk the next four years. Two young men, one from Arkansas, the other from Tennessee, were arrested for plotting to assassinate the president-elect. I suspect there are bookies making bets on how long he will last.
Keep in mind that several other presidential assignations, some successful, happened to white Americans. Stupidly, craziness and ignorance have no color boundaries. I do not care whom you voted for; the majority of Americans picked Barack Obama to lead our country. What we need to do is get behind him. First to show the world we support our leaders and second to show each other we ARE Americans. Sure enough against my advice, Yahoo news had a picture of a possible 2012 GOP candidate. It s sad the GOP is more concerned about whom to run next election than focusing on our real problems. I wanted to write some about the pending GM and Ford bailouts but I am so disgusted I m not sure I can get my thoughts down without resorting to bad words and finger pointing.
A bit of food for thought. Who is going to bailout the American taxpayers?
Bubba is no dummy
Each Friday night after work, Bubba would fire up his outdoor grill and cook venison steak. But all of Bubba s neighbors were Catholic and since it was Lent they were forbidden from eating meat on Friday.
The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their Priest.
The Priest came to visit Bubba and suggested that he become Catholic. After several classes and much study, Bubba attended Mass and rosary making kits as the Priest sprinkled holy water over him he said, You were born a Baptist and raised a Baptist but now you are a Catholic.
Bubba s neighbors were greatly relieved until Friday night arrived and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison filled the neighborhood. The neighbors called the Priest immediately, and make a rosary as he rushed into Bubba s yard, clutching the rosary, prepared to scold him, he stopped and the rosary prayer watched in amazement.
There stood Bubba clutching a small bottle of holy water, which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meatchanted.
You wuz born a deer, you wuz raised a deer, but now you is a catfish.
About the time the show should end one of the other players goes, all in, so you always have an immediate winner right after the commercial. This year s winner was a college dropout, Peter Eastgate, from Denmark. The 22-year-old won $9.15 million, making him worth more than several small countries. Second place paid around $5 million so this figured out to be nearly as good an hourly wage as a GM employee makes.
About every Wednesday Newsgram has an Indian Casino insert that you can get ten dollars. I thought if I could mooch a ride over there, I could get the ten bucks. Then I read the small print. In order to collect, you have to cash in a ten-dollar ticket to get the second ten. I guess I will just stay home because as unlucky as I am at gambling, it would cost me lots more than ten dollars to cash in my voucher.
The Obama jokes are running rampant. Some of them would be funny whomever they were about. The ones that are truly tasteless I politely listen to and then put them in the delete bin in my mind.
Comedians will have a fine line to walk the next four years. Two young men, one from Arkansas, the other from Tennessee, were arrested for plotting to assassinate the president-elect. I suspect there are bookies making bets on how long he will last.
Keep in mind that several other presidential assignations, some successful, happened to white Americans. Stupidly, craziness and ignorance have no color boundaries. I do not care whom you voted for; the majority of Americans picked Barack Obama to lead our country. What we need to do is get behind him. First to show the world we support our leaders and second to show each other we ARE Americans. Sure enough against my advice, Yahoo news had a picture of a possible 2012 GOP candidate. It s sad the GOP is more concerned about whom to run next election than focusing on our real problems. I wanted to write some about the pending GM and Ford bailouts but I am so disgusted I m not sure I can get my thoughts down without resorting to bad words and finger pointing.
A bit of food for thought. Who is going to bailout the American taxpayers?
Bubba is no dummy
Each Friday night after work, Bubba would fire up his outdoor grill and cook venison steak. But all of Bubba s neighbors were Catholic and since it was Lent they were forbidden from eating meat on Friday.
The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their Priest.
The Priest came to visit Bubba and suggested that he become Catholic. After several classes and much study, Bubba attended Mass and rosary making kits as the Priest sprinkled holy water over him he said, You were born a Baptist and raised a Baptist but now you are a Catholic.
Bubba s neighbors were greatly relieved until Friday night arrived and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison filled the neighborhood. The neighbors called the Priest immediately, and make a rosary as he rushed into Bubba s yard, clutching the rosary, prepared to scold him, he stopped and the rosary prayer watched in amazement.
There stood Bubba clutching a small bottle of holy water, which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meatchanted.
You wuz born a deer, you wuz raised a deer, but now you is a catfish.
Ransom Frees Sailors In Somalia
Nov. 16: Eighteen Indian sailors were released today after being held hostage for two months by Somali pirates, sparking celebrations among their families who had run from pillar to post for government intervention.
Sunil Nair, spokesperson for the National Union of Seafarers of India, said in Mumbai tonight that $1 million to $2.5 million could have been paid to the pirates, who had demanded $6 million after the vessel, overseen by Ebony Ship Management, was hijacked on September 15.
The Union s secretary, Abdul Gani, said in Hong Kong this morning that ransom has definitely been paid but declined to go into the amount . Four sailors from other countries were also freed. There is no major medical problem (among the crew members), he added.
The ship, carrying 23,818 tonnes of oil products, will be escorted from the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden off the Somalia coast into safe waters by the Indian Navy, Gani said, adding the crew should reach Mumbai in four to five days.
The release of Stolt Valor s crew comes five days after commandos from a navy warship foiled a pirate attack on an Indian merchant vessel, with 20 sailors on board, in the region.
I don t know what to say. This is the happiest news of my life. They (the crew) will be reaching India in four to five days, said Seema Goyal, wife of Stolt Valor Captain Prabhat Goyal.
The Goyals home in Dehra Dun s upscale Teg Bahadur Road wore a festive look, with sweets being passed around and phones that wouldn t stop ringing, after the agonising two-month wait during which Prabhat could speak to the family only once, on October 15. We hope to travel to Mumbai to receive him, Seema said.
There were similar scenes in the Mumbai home of Panirayan Lobo, Goyal s colleague. Sister-in-law Rosary Fernando, who had met several Union ministers including shipping minister T.R. Baalu in Delhi and rosary for kids shipping officials in Mumbai, was overjoyed. She said a celebration would be held after Lobo returned. This evening, Baalu expressed happiness at the crew s release.
P. Unnikrishna and wife Thangam, the Mumbai-based parents of sailor Ullas Krishna, said they had heard that the money has been paid and gold rosary necklace the crew released .
At Dapoli in Maharashtra s Ratnagiri district, the Burondkars were relieved to know their 21-year-old son, pearl rosary bracelet Naveed, would finally be back home. Father M. Mohammed Burondkar said: We were happy and relieved to know our young son would be back safe. Naveed is a nautical science student training on Stolt Valor.
For the family of Dipak Kumar Tandel in Gujarat s Valsad, there appeared little time to waste, not to receive him but to get him married. We are going to find a bride for him when he returns home, said a family member.
Another hijack
A Japanese vessel registered in Panama was seized last night 155km east of Somalia. Chemstar Venus s crew consisted of five South Koreans18 FilipinosSouth Korea s foreign ministry said in a statement today.
American Slang Gospel
By Philip Primeau
November 16, 2008
AMERICAN SLANG GOSPEL: Exposition on Youth Red cup beer party. Jocks, of course, pulling varsity keg stand antics. Wiggers, yo!, going rhyme-crazy, getting buck to hoppy ghetto jangles and throwing signs. Skinny in jeans, a hipster topped with sideways neon cap, brainy as hell, enjoying black tobacco. The deejay, meanwhile, touches a laptop computer machine, easily, easily.
Wicked surplus of bottle-blondes. My gaze on a certain pair of nuts tits. Owner: This chick who smiles straight solar, this chick I love to hit, though tonight that s a no go All 'faced and crap, whiskey-wounded ya know, make a rosary etc., so chill with the boys instead, suck a talented blunt instead. VT bud spins the scene dizzy ways. Oh, and the gaggers of yip on exposed flatness creating a vast white sorority attraction. Any-a-ways: Mad triple shots, Beirut table fade-aways, gold rosary bracelets freak dancing, whack drunk-texts from fine biddies; to say nothing (nothing!) of wealthy gossip arriving in televised particles from Newport Beach or Manhattan.
The inevitable post-midnight beence. (1) Gun the whip (2) Cruise home scary cocked (3) Hallucinate five-oh, their siren shrieks. Later, wank steady to MySpace pics featuring high school honeys undulating behind mentholcoconut bikinis, lipstick-smeared Bacardi jugs, braces, fashionable rosary beads.
I dodge hella pop-ups, cream nice in a hot minute, then feel pretty bent: Yuke nasty in the can, pearl rosary bracelet at last boot AIM, message this dude, wait, message again No reply flashes magical, so I stare inwards, so I crash hard, so I peace around five flipsidethe gruesome sun about to do its happy thing.
In Wadala - Airoli, Joy For Families Overflows
MUMBAI/MADURAI: Overjoyed at the news of the release of the crew of the MT Stolt Valor, the family of Paninarayan Lobo, a Tamil Nadu-based sailor, is now making preparations to welcome him in Mumbai. 'His wife and son were only waiting for the news of his safe release,'' said Rosary Fernando, Lobo's brother-in-law, who lives in Wadala.
Lobo, whose immediate family lives in Tuticorin, usually visits Fernando's house in Mumbai before setting sail. In Tamil Nadu, Judy Lobo was elated at news of her husband's release. 'I am happy to hear the news, but I feel I can believe it only if he calls me personally as it is nearly two months since he spoke to me over the phone,'' said Judy.
'Captain Prashant Rangnekar of Ebony Ship management has told us that they shall be reaching soon,,'' said Fernando.
Fernando said the past two months were an ordeal for the family, but they knew that pirates resort to such tactics only for money. 'He has been sailing for seven years and has told us about these problems,'' he said, adding that the most worrying moment was when a deadline was issued by the pirates.
Similar joy unfolded in Airoli where Capt P Unnikrishnan and family are purring up. An early morning phone call from Capt Rangnekar ended the two-month wait for good news. Unnikrishnan's son, Ulhas Krishnan, was held captive on the Stolt Valor.
Last month, Unnikrishnan and gold rosary bracelets his wife came to Mumbai from Kochi, where they live. The move was made to keep track of the details of the hijack. Sunday morning brought cheer to the family. 'It is our first day of the Mandalakalarambhamthe beginning of the mandala period. This is a 41-day period of penance after which the Shabri malai festival begins. I was praying in the temple praying for my son's safe return when the call came,'' said Unnikrishnan. 'We were anticipating it as we were constantly being assured by the captain that they would return soon. But we were still overjoyed on finally hearing about the news.''
Judy and Paninarayan were married in 2004. The latter had left on this voyage in February this year. A sailor for 14 years, Lobo had visited his wife only three times since their wedding. Their son Remitson, 4, now in kindergarten, pearl rosary bracelet has been pestering about why daddy has not called. She told him that he would be home for Christmas. 'I still haven't told him that we will be seeing him soon,'' she said.
Her father-in-law, Asaph Lobo, a retired fisheries department official, and gold rosary necklace mother-in-law Swan live in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) townJudy, a teacher in a local schoolis living with her mother in Vembar. 'These two months have been the most difficult ones of my life,'' she said.
Lobo, whose immediate family lives in Tuticorin, usually visits Fernando's house in Mumbai before setting sail. In Tamil Nadu, Judy Lobo was elated at news of her husband's release. 'I am happy to hear the news, but I feel I can believe it only if he calls me personally as it is nearly two months since he spoke to me over the phone,'' said Judy.
'Captain Prashant Rangnekar of Ebony Ship management has told us that they shall be reaching soon,,'' said Fernando.
Fernando said the past two months were an ordeal for the family, but they knew that pirates resort to such tactics only for money. 'He has been sailing for seven years and has told us about these problems,'' he said, adding that the most worrying moment was when a deadline was issued by the pirates.
Similar joy unfolded in Airoli where Capt P Unnikrishnan and family are purring up. An early morning phone call from Capt Rangnekar ended the two-month wait for good news. Unnikrishnan's son, Ulhas Krishnan, was held captive on the Stolt Valor.
Last month, Unnikrishnan and gold rosary bracelets his wife came to Mumbai from Kochi, where they live. The move was made to keep track of the details of the hijack. Sunday morning brought cheer to the family. 'It is our first day of the Mandalakalarambhamthe beginning of the mandala period. This is a 41-day period of penance after which the Shabri malai festival begins. I was praying in the temple praying for my son's safe return when the call came,'' said Unnikrishnan. 'We were anticipating it as we were constantly being assured by the captain that they would return soon. But we were still overjoyed on finally hearing about the news.''
Judy and Paninarayan were married in 2004. The latter had left on this voyage in February this year. A sailor for 14 years, Lobo had visited his wife only three times since their wedding. Their son Remitson, 4, now in kindergarten, pearl rosary bracelet has been pestering about why daddy has not called. She told him that he would be home for Christmas. 'I still haven't told him that we will be seeing him soon,'' she said.
Her father-in-law, Asaph Lobo, a retired fisheries department official, and gold rosary necklace mother-in-law Swan live in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) townJudy, a teacher in a local schoolis living with her mother in Vembar. 'These two months have been the most difficult ones of my life,'' she said.
Families Await Call From Dear Ones
MUMBAI/MADURAI: Overjoyed at the news of the release of the crew of the MT Stolt Valor, the family of Paninarayan Lobo, a Tamil Nadu-based sailor, is now making preparations to welcome him in Mumbai.
'His wife and son were only waiting for the news of his safe release,' said Rosary Fernando, Lobo's brother-in-law, who lives in Wadala.
Lobo, whose immediate family lives in Tuticorin, usually visits Fernando's house in Mumbai before setting sail. In Tamil Nadu, Judy Lobo was elated at news of her husbands release. 'I am happy to hear the news, but I feel I can believe it only if he calls me personally as it is nearly two months since he spoke to me over the phone,' said Judy. 'Captain Prashant Rangnekar of Ebony Ship management has told us that they shall be reaching soon,' said Fernando.
Fernando said the past two months were an ordeal for the family, but they knew that pirates resort to such tactics only for money. 'He has been sailing for seven years and has told us about these problems,' he said, adding that the most worrying moment was when a deadline was issued by the pirates.
Similar joy unfolded in Airoli where Capt P Unnikrishnan and family are purring up. An early morning phone call from Capt Rangnekar ended the two-month wait for good news. Unnikrishnan's son, Ulhas Krishnan, was on the Stolt Valor.
Last month, Unnikrishnan and his wife came to Mumbai from Kochi, where they live. The move was made to keep track of the details of the hijack. Sunday morning brought cheer to the family. 'It is our first day of the Mandalakalarambham the beginning of the mandala period. This is a 41-day period of penance after which the Shabri malai festival begins. I was praying in the temple praying for my sons safe return when the call came,' said Unnikrishnan. 'We were anticipating it as we were constantly being assured by the captain that they would return soon. But we were still overjoyed on finally hearing about the news.'
Judy and pearl rosary beads Paninarayan were married in 2004. The latter had left on this voyage in February this year. A sailor for 14 years, Lobo had visited his wife only three times since their wedding. Their son Remitson, 4, has been pestering about why daddy has not called. She told him that he would be home for Christmas. 'I still haven't told him that we will be seeing him soon,' she said.
Her father-in-law, Asaph Lobo, a retired fisheries department official, gold rosary bracelets and mother-in-law Swan live in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) townJudy, rosary for kids a teacher in a local schoolis living with her mother in Vembar. 'These two months have been the most difficult ones of my life,' she said.
'His wife and son were only waiting for the news of his safe release,' said Rosary Fernando, Lobo's brother-in-law, who lives in Wadala.
Lobo, whose immediate family lives in Tuticorin, usually visits Fernando's house in Mumbai before setting sail. In Tamil Nadu, Judy Lobo was elated at news of her husbands release. 'I am happy to hear the news, but I feel I can believe it only if he calls me personally as it is nearly two months since he spoke to me over the phone,' said Judy. 'Captain Prashant Rangnekar of Ebony Ship management has told us that they shall be reaching soon,' said Fernando.
Fernando said the past two months were an ordeal for the family, but they knew that pirates resort to such tactics only for money. 'He has been sailing for seven years and has told us about these problems,' he said, adding that the most worrying moment was when a deadline was issued by the pirates.
Similar joy unfolded in Airoli where Capt P Unnikrishnan and family are purring up. An early morning phone call from Capt Rangnekar ended the two-month wait for good news. Unnikrishnan's son, Ulhas Krishnan, was on the Stolt Valor.
Last month, Unnikrishnan and his wife came to Mumbai from Kochi, where they live. The move was made to keep track of the details of the hijack. Sunday morning brought cheer to the family. 'It is our first day of the Mandalakalarambham the beginning of the mandala period. This is a 41-day period of penance after which the Shabri malai festival begins. I was praying in the temple praying for my sons safe return when the call came,' said Unnikrishnan. 'We were anticipating it as we were constantly being assured by the captain that they would return soon. But we were still overjoyed on finally hearing about the news.'
Judy and pearl rosary beads Paninarayan were married in 2004. The latter had left on this voyage in February this year. A sailor for 14 years, Lobo had visited his wife only three times since their wedding. Their son Remitson, 4, has been pestering about why daddy has not called. She told him that he would be home for Christmas. 'I still haven't told him that we will be seeing him soon,' she said.
Her father-in-law, Asaph Lobo, a retired fisheries department official, gold rosary bracelets and mother-in-law Swan live in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) townJudy, rosary for kids a teacher in a local schoolis living with her mother in Vembar. 'These two months have been the most difficult ones of my life,' she said.
Evacuating Quickly, With Help From A Crystal Rosary
On Castle Rock Road in Diamond Bar, with orange flames flaring on the ridgetop above, Sandra Gastinell, 34, and her family packed up two black Toyota trucks, preparing to flee the encroaching fire. Sandra's 5-year-old daughter, Valeria, had been crying on and off all morning after hearing the family had to leave their two-story blond-colored home.
When she first heard the news, she ran and grabbed her crystal rosary and placed it around her neck. She panicked when we told her we had to leave, Sandra said. It's going to protect you, she soothed the child, bouncing her other daughter, Guiliani, who sucked noisily on a bottle of milk, in her arms.
Valeria packed her belongings in a pink suitcase sporting an image of Strawberry Shortcake and gold rosary bracelets the words It's all good, and the family placed it in the bed of their Toyota Tundra truck, where father Steve Gastinell was packing photo albums, rosary for children clothes, snacks and juice boxes for the trip to his father's house in Downey.
Sandra said they hoped a creek behind them would protect their house, but it's getting so close to the brush it was kind of scary. We're taking just what's absolutely necessary.
Also with the family was Sandra's father, Armando Yanes, 64, pearl rosary bracelet who is hard of hearing and speaks no English. They had picked him up the night before but had been unable to take him home to La Habra because of the fires. They were on the 5 Freeway for hours trying to get home themselves.
He's more nervous because the languagehearing issues make it harder for him to follow what's going onshe said.
--Gale Holland
Marion E. Woods
Marion E. Woods
November 16, 2008
WATERTOWN, N.Y. Marion E. Woods, 88, of 413 Portage St., died Saturday at Samaritan Medical Center after being admitted earlier in the day.
Mrs. Woods operated a restaurant in Brownville, and also worked at Bomax in Watertown for several years.
Born April 29, 1920, in Watertown, a daughter of William and Christie Richie Lamora, he was educated in Watertown schools.
She married William Fish in 1937. He died in 1960. She married Harry J. Woods in December 1968.
Mrs. Woods was a member of St. Patricks Church and its Altar and Rosary Society.
She enjoyed flower gardening.
Besides her husband, she is survived by a two daughters and a son-in-law, Janet Brannick, Watertown, and Judy and Robert Washer, Glen Park; a son, James Fish, Pooler, Ga.; several grandchildren, gold rosary necklace great and great great-grandchildren; a sister, murano glass rosary Evelyn Chase, Dexter; several nieces and nephews; and two step children, James Woods, Cape Vincent, and Susie Kratz, North Carolina.
Two sons, William Fish II and rosary for children Carleton Fish, both died in 1988.
The funeral Mass is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday at St. Patricks Church. Burial will be in Brookside Cemetery. Calling hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Reed - Benoit Funeral Home.
Information provided by Reed - Benoit Funeral HomeNewzjunky, WatertownN.Y.
Thousands Turn Out To Protest Violence
TIJUANA - More than 2,500 people marched yesterday afternoon through this city bludgeoned by violence, doing the only thing organizers said was left for them to do: pray.
Previous marches had demanded that authorities confront organized criminals who have carried out an unprecedented campaign of killings and kidnappings. Yesterday, the marchers carried this simple message on signs and pearl rosary bracelet stickers: 'God Save Us.'
Meanwhile, deadly violence continued its march across the region, where authorities logged nine killings yesterday, including a 17-year-old fatally shot while riding his bicycle in Rosarito Beach.
The death toll in Tijuana alone has reached a record 627 since the beginning of the year, 84 since Nov. 1.
The demonstration started at 3 p.m. in the downtown area at Teniente Guerrero Park on Fourth Street, where about 600 people recited a rosary for those who had been killed or were missing.
A citizens group that investigates disappearances, Asociaci n Esperanza, estimates that 500 people have been kidnapped in Baja California this year, half of them in Tijuana.
The march was organized by a council of physicians, who are frequent targets of kidnappers.
'Our goal is to raise awareness about what is happening. We cannot take so much violence, so much impunity,' said the organization's president, Dr. Jos Manuel de Jes s Ortiz.
From the park, the participants walked about 90 minutes to the Rio Zone. An estimated 2,000 people joined them along the way.
They carried signs with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and murano glass rosary banner after banner with the names, dates and photos of people who had disappeared.
'We are not going to be quiet any longer,' said one marcher, Imelda L pez. 'Before, we were afraid, but we're no longer afraid.'
L pez, 51, said authorities should investigate every missing-person case.
'We want to find our sons,' she said. 'We don't care what condition they are in; we want to find them.'
She said her son, Pierre Meza L pez, 23, was kidnapped along with a friend, who was released after his family paid a ransom.
L pez said she was never asked for money. Her son was never found.
Another marcher, Fernando Oceguera, said authorities are simply overwhelmed. He said an armed group of men kidnapped his son Feb. 7, 2007, and he has not been seen since.
'We have reached a situation that we cannot tolerate any longer,' Oceguera said.
Just before the march ended about 4:30 p.m., the Baja California Attorney General's Office reported that nine people had been killed yesterday in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and gold rosary bracelets Ensenada.
At 12:15 a.m., two men were found shot to death in the Reynoso development in the La Mesa district.
A man died at Tijuana General Hospital at 1 a.m. after being shot in a billiard hall in the El Rub neighborhood, in the southern part of the city.
At 10:20 a.m., a fatherson were shot to death on a street in the S nchez Taboada area, on the city's east side.
In Ensenada, three men were shot to death.
At 1 p.m. in Rosarito Beach, a 17-year-old was fatally shot while riding his bicycle by gunmen in a sport utility vehicle.
Back in Tijuana, steps from finishing the march, Ortiz addressed the crowd.
'We have been kidnapped in our own city. God, please save Tijuana.'
Omar Mill n Gonz lez is a contributor to the Union-Tribune's Spanish-language newspaper, Enlace.
Previous marches had demanded that authorities confront organized criminals who have carried out an unprecedented campaign of killings and kidnappings. Yesterday, the marchers carried this simple message on signs and pearl rosary bracelet stickers: 'God Save Us.'
Meanwhile, deadly violence continued its march across the region, where authorities logged nine killings yesterday, including a 17-year-old fatally shot while riding his bicycle in Rosarito Beach.
The death toll in Tijuana alone has reached a record 627 since the beginning of the year, 84 since Nov. 1.
The demonstration started at 3 p.m. in the downtown area at Teniente Guerrero Park on Fourth Street, where about 600 people recited a rosary for those who had been killed or were missing.
A citizens group that investigates disappearances, Asociaci n Esperanza, estimates that 500 people have been kidnapped in Baja California this year, half of them in Tijuana.
The march was organized by a council of physicians, who are frequent targets of kidnappers.
'Our goal is to raise awareness about what is happening. We cannot take so much violence, so much impunity,' said the organization's president, Dr. Jos Manuel de Jes s Ortiz.
From the park, the participants walked about 90 minutes to the Rio Zone. An estimated 2,000 people joined them along the way.
They carried signs with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and murano glass rosary banner after banner with the names, dates and photos of people who had disappeared.
'We are not going to be quiet any longer,' said one marcher, Imelda L pez. 'Before, we were afraid, but we're no longer afraid.'
L pez, 51, said authorities should investigate every missing-person case.
'We want to find our sons,' she said. 'We don't care what condition they are in; we want to find them.'
She said her son, Pierre Meza L pez, 23, was kidnapped along with a friend, who was released after his family paid a ransom.
L pez said she was never asked for money. Her son was never found.
Another marcher, Fernando Oceguera, said authorities are simply overwhelmed. He said an armed group of men kidnapped his son Feb. 7, 2007, and he has not been seen since.
'We have reached a situation that we cannot tolerate any longer,' Oceguera said.
Just before the march ended about 4:30 p.m., the Baja California Attorney General's Office reported that nine people had been killed yesterday in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and gold rosary bracelets Ensenada.
At 12:15 a.m., two men were found shot to death in the Reynoso development in the La Mesa district.
A man died at Tijuana General Hospital at 1 a.m. after being shot in a billiard hall in the El Rub neighborhood, in the southern part of the city.
At 10:20 a.m., a fatherson were shot to death on a street in the S nchez Taboada area, on the city's east side.
In Ensenada, three men were shot to death.
At 1 p.m. in Rosarito Beach, a 17-year-old was fatally shot while riding his bicycle by gunmen in a sport utility vehicle.
Back in Tijuana, steps from finishing the march, Ortiz addressed the crowd.
'We have been kidnapped in our own city. God, please save Tijuana.'
Omar Mill n Gonz lez is a contributor to the Union-Tribune's Spanish-language newspaper, Enlace.
Falcons Romp Over Predators To Advance To Alberta Bowl Showdown ...
A superior ground attack in the third quarter turned a lopsided contest into a full-on blowout, as the Falcons racked up 49 points in a 36-minute span. They coasted through the fourth quarter while dominating the game on both sides of the ball.
Bev Facey head coach Barcley Spady admitted he was surprised to have dominated a Parkland team that boasted a similar record to the Falcons this season.
'That's a pretty offensively talented team,' he said of Parkland. 'So a shutout, we're pleased with that. Offensively, it helped that we were able to run the ball at will against these guys.'
With wind gusts in the range of 50 km/h, both teams struggled heavily in the opening quarter. Quarterbacks Adam Senuik and Garrett Gleisner of Bev Facey and Parkland, murano glass rosary respectively, had difficulty throwing the long ball and quickly had to abandon that approach. Both teams' kickers watched their best efforts veer off at sharp angles to the left and right.
While Bev Facey found success in its running game in the second and third quarters, Parkland was unable to mount any substantial offensive sequences. Predators head coach Brian Yakimchuk said that the wind definitely played a negative factor for his team.
'(The wind) took us off our game offensively a bit,' he said. 'But you can't take anything away from Facey. They came out and pearl rosary bracelet played a real good game. They gave us more than we could handle.'
Yakimchuk said he was disappointed in the blowout loss after a strong season in which the Predators hosted their first playoff games at the new Tri-Leisure Centre.
'We thought we'd be able to stick with them a little better than that,' the coach said.
'It seems like when the wheels come off, we were already on our way downhill and it just didn't get right again.'
With the win, Bev Facey advanced to meet Raymond (who dumped Henry Wise of Calgary 58-7 on Saturday) in the inaugural Alberta Bowl next Saturday, rosary for children 7 p.m., at Foote Field.
'It'll be nice to play in the city in a venue a little more suited to ... a squatter's boothstuff,' Spady said of next week's game.
'At the end of the day we'll play anybody, anywhere, anytime. We'll be ready to play at Foote; it's been a comfort zone for us.'
In the Tier 2 regional final on Saturday, Austin O'Brien beat the Lloydminster Barons 53-1. Ardrossan won its regional Tier IV final on Saturdaybesting Holy Rosary of Lloydminster 30-22.
The Edmonton Journal 2008
Hispanic Students Juggle Lives With School
By THERESA VARGAS
The Washington Post
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - An hour and a half after his night shift ended at the grocery store, Jefferson Lara is sitting in art class, sketching warriors strong and armored.
Lara's education has never been neatly laid out in class schedules that flow into extracurricular activities. A former gang member, he was expelled from ninth grade, spent time in Peru with his father and entered Arlington Mill High School Continuation program his junior year. He took the night job so his mother could quit one of hers.
It mattered little to him that he wouldn't graduate with his peers in June he still would get his diploma. I was raised to put family first, the fifth-year senior says. Not a lot of people know what I have to go through every day. They think I'm just a regular kid.
As the nation moves toward adopting a common graduation rate formula based on the number of students who obtain a diploma in four years, there are students such as Lara who will appear to have been failed by their school systems. They will not be counted as graduating on time. But what should be taken into account, educators say, is that many are succeeding just not on the traditional timeline.
Like Lara, many young Latino immigrants must juggle adult responsibilities with school, and they are creating alternative, stop-and-start paths toward a diploma.
There are some where we probably failed them and they dropped out and never finished school, Arlington County Superintendent Robert G. Smith said. But then there are those who come back at 20 or 21, he said. They would be counted among our dropouts, but sometimes they are our greatest success stories.
As educators strive to close racial and ethnic achievement gaps, school systems are examining the educational experience of Latino students. Without knowing how many are succeeding under the radar, they can't know how many are lost altogether.
Sarita Brown of Excelencia in Education, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, said the number of Latino students who don't fit the four-year model is growing fast.
Ten years ago, for sure, these students would have been labeled as outliers, and collectively we would have all probably said they are doing it wrong, Brown said. But, she said, that is changing.
Diana S. Natalicio, president of the University of Texas at El Paso, describes it as more Latino students taking the commuter train instead of the express.
Life's demands are so great that they do a lot of getting on and getting off the train, Natalicio said.
Federal rules issued in recent weeks call for schools nationwide to measure how many ninth-graders receive a diploma within four years so that rates are comparable across states by 2011. Virginia is one of 21 states that have moved in that direction, releasing its data last month. The graduation rates will be included in state report cards on schools and school systems.
Virginia's numbers showed that Latino students in the Class of 2008 were less likely than others to graduate on time. Their rate of 70 percent was lower than the rate for all other racial and ethnic groups and 23 percentage points behind the top-performing group, students of Asian descent. The discrepancy is wider at some northern Virginia high schools, including Arlington's Wakefield High. The graduation rate there was 47 percent for Hispanic students, 69 percent for blacks, 77 percent for Asians and murano glass rosary 86 percent for whites.
Arlington administrators say Wakefield's numbers reflect the many students from that school's zone who move to Arlington Mill. At the alternative school, where about 85 percent of students are Hispanic, it is easy to find students who have dropped out several times before coming back. Others, mostly recent immigrants, didn't enroll until adulthood, working for several years before deciding to get a diploma. In Lara's art class, he is one of at least four Latino students who were part of the freshman class of 2004 and who, as seniors, fell short by a few credits.
It may take a little longer, but they get there, Arlington Mill Principal Barbara Thompson said. The final outcome is much more important than the snapshot in time the data provides.
Maryland will not release the newly formulated rates until 2011, but schools are seeing many students who will graduate just not in four years.
Diana Anaya, who is on the honor roll at Wheaton High School in Montgomery County, was supposed to have graduated last year. But, she said, she and her younger sister live alone and gold rosary bracelets must work to pay rent, buy food and, when they can, send money to their family in El Salvador. On a typical day, Anaya works cleaning a library until midnight and then is at school before 7:30 a.m.
My goal was to study here and get a degree from here, so I am working hard, the 19-year-old said. Still, it is difficult sometimes when she notices how different her life is from those of other students. Sometimes, I wish to be in their place, to not have so much responsibility and to get more time to be successful in school.
At her school, where more than half of the students are Latino, she is far from alone. Principal Kevin Lowndes said he has seen an increase in requests for half-day schedules from students who have to work.
Remy Lopez, 20, is another fifth-year senior at the school who is supporting himself. Most days, he said, he barely has time to change for work after school, let alone study. Still, he added, he knows he has to graduate. He has a 13-year-old sister in Guatemala who is counting on it.
Right now, I'm her superhero, Lopez said.
Emma Violand-Sanchez, who this month became the first Latina elected to the Arlington School Board, said she knows such stories well. She recently met a 17-year-old who had been living and working in the county since he was 13 but hadn't gone to school. She helped him enroll, she said, only to see him withdraw at 18, then return to take evening classes. Not only did he have to support himself, he had to support family in Guatemala, Violand-Sanchez said. But I don't think that's the only reason students aren't graduating.
Instead, she said, the on-time graduation rates highlight a crisis educators must address.
We need to have a plan, Violand-Sanchez said. We need to get involved in this.
At T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, the on-time graduation rate for Hispanic students was 57 percent, compared with 76 percent for blacks, 87 percent for whites and 91 percent for Asians.
Ingris Moran, 17, a senior at T.C. Williams, is on track to graduate, but she said she knows many Latino students who struggle. Her older sister, she said, dropped out as a junior.
They feel they are not getting encouraged enough. They feel like nobody has high expectations of them, she said. Teachers worry if you pass their tests or their final exams, but they don't have conversations with you personally about what you want to do in life.
She and other students have been working with Tenants and Workers United, a grass-roots organization in Alexandria, pearl rosary bracelet to create a plan for the school system to increase student success. It calls for academic advisers to work with students and their parents to create individualized courses of study.
Alexandria Superintendent Morton Sherman said he and the School Board already had been moving in that direction.
These are real kids with distinct needs, so let's create distinct programs, he said.
Next year, Virginia and other states will release a five-year graduation rate, which still will not capture the complete picture but will include students such as Lara. When he did not graduate on time, the 18-year-old enrolled in a dual program at the school that lets him receive credits from Northern Virginia Community College.
I know I'm doing good, Lara said. Out of all my friends, I'm the first one to go to college. ... Some got their GEDs. Some just didn't even bother. There are some that are still in school but they are two or three years behind.
Still, the strain of his carefully balanced days can be seen in a tattooed rosary that wraps around his right wrist.
Asked about it, he looks down at the cross imprinted just above his thumb,pauses. I will once in a while pray to God to make everything better, he saidto make my life a little easier.
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
The Washington Post
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - An hour and a half after his night shift ended at the grocery store, Jefferson Lara is sitting in art class, sketching warriors strong and armored.
Lara's education has never been neatly laid out in class schedules that flow into extracurricular activities. A former gang member, he was expelled from ninth grade, spent time in Peru with his father and entered Arlington Mill High School Continuation program his junior year. He took the night job so his mother could quit one of hers.
It mattered little to him that he wouldn't graduate with his peers in June he still would get his diploma. I was raised to put family first, the fifth-year senior says. Not a lot of people know what I have to go through every day. They think I'm just a regular kid.
As the nation moves toward adopting a common graduation rate formula based on the number of students who obtain a diploma in four years, there are students such as Lara who will appear to have been failed by their school systems. They will not be counted as graduating on time. But what should be taken into account, educators say, is that many are succeeding just not on the traditional timeline.
Like Lara, many young Latino immigrants must juggle adult responsibilities with school, and they are creating alternative, stop-and-start paths toward a diploma.
There are some where we probably failed them and they dropped out and never finished school, Arlington County Superintendent Robert G. Smith said. But then there are those who come back at 20 or 21, he said. They would be counted among our dropouts, but sometimes they are our greatest success stories.
As educators strive to close racial and ethnic achievement gaps, school systems are examining the educational experience of Latino students. Without knowing how many are succeeding under the radar, they can't know how many are lost altogether.
Sarita Brown of Excelencia in Education, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, said the number of Latino students who don't fit the four-year model is growing fast.
Ten years ago, for sure, these students would have been labeled as outliers, and collectively we would have all probably said they are doing it wrong, Brown said. But, she said, that is changing.
Diana S. Natalicio, president of the University of Texas at El Paso, describes it as more Latino students taking the commuter train instead of the express.
Life's demands are so great that they do a lot of getting on and getting off the train, Natalicio said.
Federal rules issued in recent weeks call for schools nationwide to measure how many ninth-graders receive a diploma within four years so that rates are comparable across states by 2011. Virginia is one of 21 states that have moved in that direction, releasing its data last month. The graduation rates will be included in state report cards on schools and school systems.
Virginia's numbers showed that Latino students in the Class of 2008 were less likely than others to graduate on time. Their rate of 70 percent was lower than the rate for all other racial and ethnic groups and 23 percentage points behind the top-performing group, students of Asian descent. The discrepancy is wider at some northern Virginia high schools, including Arlington's Wakefield High. The graduation rate there was 47 percent for Hispanic students, 69 percent for blacks, 77 percent for Asians and murano glass rosary 86 percent for whites.
Arlington administrators say Wakefield's numbers reflect the many students from that school's zone who move to Arlington Mill. At the alternative school, where about 85 percent of students are Hispanic, it is easy to find students who have dropped out several times before coming back. Others, mostly recent immigrants, didn't enroll until adulthood, working for several years before deciding to get a diploma. In Lara's art class, he is one of at least four Latino students who were part of the freshman class of 2004 and who, as seniors, fell short by a few credits.
It may take a little longer, but they get there, Arlington Mill Principal Barbara Thompson said. The final outcome is much more important than the snapshot in time the data provides.
Maryland will not release the newly formulated rates until 2011, but schools are seeing many students who will graduate just not in four years.
Diana Anaya, who is on the honor roll at Wheaton High School in Montgomery County, was supposed to have graduated last year. But, she said, she and her younger sister live alone and gold rosary bracelets must work to pay rent, buy food and, when they can, send money to their family in El Salvador. On a typical day, Anaya works cleaning a library until midnight and then is at school before 7:30 a.m.
My goal was to study here and get a degree from here, so I am working hard, the 19-year-old said. Still, it is difficult sometimes when she notices how different her life is from those of other students. Sometimes, I wish to be in their place, to not have so much responsibility and to get more time to be successful in school.
At her school, where more than half of the students are Latino, she is far from alone. Principal Kevin Lowndes said he has seen an increase in requests for half-day schedules from students who have to work.
Remy Lopez, 20, is another fifth-year senior at the school who is supporting himself. Most days, he said, he barely has time to change for work after school, let alone study. Still, he added, he knows he has to graduate. He has a 13-year-old sister in Guatemala who is counting on it.
Right now, I'm her superhero, Lopez said.
Emma Violand-Sanchez, who this month became the first Latina elected to the Arlington School Board, said she knows such stories well. She recently met a 17-year-old who had been living and working in the county since he was 13 but hadn't gone to school. She helped him enroll, she said, only to see him withdraw at 18, then return to take evening classes. Not only did he have to support himself, he had to support family in Guatemala, Violand-Sanchez said. But I don't think that's the only reason students aren't graduating.
Instead, she said, the on-time graduation rates highlight a crisis educators must address.
We need to have a plan, Violand-Sanchez said. We need to get involved in this.
At T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, the on-time graduation rate for Hispanic students was 57 percent, compared with 76 percent for blacks, 87 percent for whites and 91 percent for Asians.
Ingris Moran, 17, a senior at T.C. Williams, is on track to graduate, but she said she knows many Latino students who struggle. Her older sister, she said, dropped out as a junior.
They feel they are not getting encouraged enough. They feel like nobody has high expectations of them, she said. Teachers worry if you pass their tests or their final exams, but they don't have conversations with you personally about what you want to do in life.
She and other students have been working with Tenants and Workers United, a grass-roots organization in Alexandria, pearl rosary bracelet to create a plan for the school system to increase student success. It calls for academic advisers to work with students and their parents to create individualized courses of study.
Alexandria Superintendent Morton Sherman said he and the School Board already had been moving in that direction.
These are real kids with distinct needs, so let's create distinct programs, he said.
Next year, Virginia and other states will release a five-year graduation rate, which still will not capture the complete picture but will include students such as Lara. When he did not graduate on time, the 18-year-old enrolled in a dual program at the school that lets him receive credits from Northern Virginia Community College.
I know I'm doing good, Lara said. Out of all my friends, I'm the first one to go to college. ... Some got their GEDs. Some just didn't even bother. There are some that are still in school but they are two or three years behind.
Still, the strain of his carefully balanced days can be seen in a tattooed rosary that wraps around his right wrist.
Asked about it, he looks down at the cross imprinted just above his thumb,pauses. I will once in a while pray to God to make everything better, he saidto make my life a little easier.
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
FOR THE RECORD
Deaths
Archuleta Carol J. Archuleta, 62, of Eugene, died Nov. 11. A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Sonrise Christian Church, Eugene, with a reception to follow. Arrangements by Andreasons Cremation & Burial Service, Springfield.
Brenner Celia Brenner, 92, of Eugene, died Nov. 14. A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Rest-Haven Memorial Park & Funeral Home, Eugene.
Helfrich Thomas Helfrich, 88, of Corvallis, formerly of Eugene, died Nov. 14. A recitation of the Rosary will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Poole-Larsen Funeral Home, Eugene. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at St. Mary Catholic Church, Eugene. Interment will follow at Mount Calvary Cemetery.
Knutson Flossie Alice Knutson, 88, of Junction City, died Nov. 14. Arrangements by Murphy-Musgrove Funeral Home, Junction City.
Sharp James Steven Sharp, 55, of Eugene, died Oct. 31. A celebration of life will be held at 3 p.m. Nov. 23 at Valley River Inn, Eugene. Arrangements by Poole-Larsen Funeral Home, Eugene.
Thompson Evelyn L. Thompson, 87, of Eugene, gold rosary bracelets died Nov. 14. Arrangements by Musgrove Family Mortuary, Eugene.
Wall Ruth M. Wall, 64, of Junction City, died Nov. 13. Arrangements by All Cremation Services, Eugene.
Ward Jack Ward, 82, of Eugene, died Nov. 14. Arrangements by Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene.
Weaver Marbra Ellen Weaver, 73, of Springfield, died Nov. 14. A private graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Rest-Haven Memorial Park & Funeral Home, Eugene. Arrangements by Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene.
West Paula Juliette West, 58, of Eugene, died Oct. 16. A celebration of life will be at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23 at Wayne Morse Ranch. Arrangements by Major Family Funeral Home, Springfield.
Fires
Eugene-Springfield
(From 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday)
5:19 p.m. Saturday 2948 Sorrel Way, murano glass rosary Eugene, flue fireno damage.