authors list | date_download timestamp[s] | date_modify null | date_publish timestamp[s] | description stringlengths 1 5.93k ⌀ | filename stringlengths 33 1.45k | image_url stringlengths 23 353 | language stringclasses 21
values | localpath null | title stringlengths 2 200 ⌀ | title_page null | title_rss null | source_domain stringlengths 6 40 | maintext stringlengths 68 80.7k ⌀ | url stringlengths 20 1.44k | fasttext_language stringclasses 1
value | date_publish_final timestamp[s] | path stringlengths 76 110 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:20 | null | null | B.C. has some of the finest scenery in the world and some of the best public campsites to make these natural wonders accessible. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2F388038542.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/BlackNewsMedia-CLR.png?t=12345? | en | null | Letter: Changes needed to B.C. campsite system | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Dear Sir:
B.C. has some of the finest scenery in the world and some of the best public campsites to make these natural wonders accessible. These great campsites were built and paid for by BC taxpayers and they provide a great vacation getaway at a reasonable price for B.C. families. Regrettably over the last few years the B.C. government has cut funding to BC Parks causing park infrastructure to become strained. Park staff are overworked while at the same time there is ever increasing demand for camping spots from both B.C. residents and out-of-province visitors. It is against this backdrop that BC Parks introduced a reservation system a few years back in an attempt to make access to camping easier and more equitable.
Unfortunately that system has failed miserably. For key provincial parks prime reserved spots are gone within days. It turns out that tour companies are scooping up these spots and then reselling them to out-of-province RV renters and campers at highly inflated prices. B.C. residents are not only being priced out of the real estate market but also out of the camping market. The difference is that these parks are a public good paid for by B.C. residents and this is simply unacceptable. Tour companies should not be able to reserve these spots in bulk. There are plenty of private camping companies that can meet the needs of tour companies and help stimulate the B.C. economy at the same time.
The B.C. government needs to fix this problem. A simple solution to start with would be that whoever books a campsite needs to be the person who uses the campsite. It is also relatively simple to restrict the number of spots that can be sold to a single IP address. Of course we want to welcome visitors to our beautiful province but not at the expense of B.C. residents and not for the unreasonable profit of opportunistic tour companies.
Freddy Marks, BC Green Party,
Harrison Hot Springs | http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/letters/388038542.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/c9fa8058bfcd411508b57ef0c05edef684bfab8885fd40afdb2299e198f60940.json |
[
"Jackie Lieuwen"
] | 2016-08-26T13:15:00 | null | null | The northwest women’s dragon boating team launched its boat with enthusiastic shouts at its first competition in Nanaimo early this month. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F389076291.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/62532terraceDSCN0226.paddle.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Regional team launches boat in first competition | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | The Northwest Wave Riders enthusiastically embraced the challenge at its first competition in Nanaimo early this month. The team formed in May this year and includes paddlers from Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat and Smithers.
The regional women’s dragon boating team launched its boat with enthusiastic shouts at its first competition in Nanaimo earlier this month.
Placing 14th out of 40 competitive women’s teams, the Northwest Wave Riders has 25 women from Smithers, Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert, and stood out at the competition for their breadth and commitment.
Pam Bibby, one of the paddlers from Terrace, said a lot of competitors in Nanaimo were amazed that the regional team dynamics worked, with players from different communities across the north traveling large distances to paddle and practice.
“They were quite amazed that we could have a team like that, that would come from all those different communities and take the time and make the commitment to practice together and stuff,” Bibby said.
The team was also noticed for their shouts and cheers.
“Our crew tends to be quite noisy when we race,” said Bibby. “We do a lot of shouting encouragement to each other and stuff like that… We came off one race and the team that was paddling next to us said ‘Are you guys always that noisy when you paddle?’” she laughed.
Shouting encouragement helps motivate and focus the team, but it’s also a gust of life in another way.
“When you are paddling really hard, just yelling helps to make you breathe,” Bibby said, “because sometimes you forget and hold your breath.”
This was the first competition for the Wave Riders, a team that formed in May this year with a core of 15 Senior Games’ paddlers and a handful of others in the north who were itching to compete.
“We really came together as a team [at the competition],” Bibby said, noting that with a group of experienced riders it was not hard to gel.
“Lots of times dragon boaters are used to hopping into different boats and paddling with different people, because that’s the nature of what happens at regattas and fun events,” she added. “Everybody just adapts as needed.”
Still, the team had to find their race pace (how fast they stroke) and figure out their starts (the pattern of short quick strokes they use to lift the boat on top of the water).
But the team coach, Terri Taylor from Kitimat, provided strong leadership to organize the team, which practiced several times throughout May and June as they steered for the Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival on July 8 to 10.
Bibby said the boats had to battle undercurrents from the harbour tide which made for an added challenge. They also faced quickly shifting weather patterns.
“We paddled in pouring rain, and wind and everything,” Bibby said.
But boaters enjoyed the challenge and made the best of it, and the atmosphere was fun and upbeat, she concluded.
There are two upcoming dragon boating events in Terrace: For those who want to dip a paddle and try out the sport, there are two free sessions at Furlong Bay at 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m next Sunday, Aug. 7. The annual Lakelse Dragon Boat Regatta will take place Sept. 10. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/389076291.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/6b7a976590be1ea111dc3e9d2abbcb68bbd6096bd248fba77da3c71a3ef2c525.json |
[
"Rod Link"
] | 2016-08-27T22:51:43 | null | null | Building a new hospital in Terrace, B.C. is the health authority's top priority, so why won't the province move ahead with the planning? | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fopinion%2F391505451.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/76915terraceP1010002millsmemorialsignweb.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Editorial: Gov't resistance to hospital plan a mystery | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | AN investigation is now underway into the death of man after he came into contact with Terrace RCMP.
ONE OF the inescapable facts about governments is that they are always building something someplace.
Regardless of the political party in power or general state of the economy there is always something happening as improvements or additions to public infrastructure are required.
Witness the current addition to Northwest Regional Airport or the construction to start to replace the level rail crossing on Hwy16 west of here with an overpass, both of which are being financed by a combination of federal and provincial dollars.
Sometimes things go wrong. Classrooms and a lift for disabled students were added to Kiti Ksan school on the southside at the beginning of the last decade just several years before the school was closed because of declining student population.
Still, you get the sense there is some order and thought into how public monies are spent. So it’s a mystery so far as to why the provincial government isn’t moving ahead with a detailed business case to replace Mills Memorial Hospital.
It’s the acknowledged number one priority on the Northern Health Authority’s major capital projects list so even though hospital planning and construction is a years-long enterprise, it is puzzling why they do not are to at least get a better sense of what’s involved.
It’s almost as if the province has washed its hands for new health care facilities in the entire northern half of the province for the time being. | http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/391505451.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/08db2bb9a6979acabe91e684b3caf4756c95a619689817b42546f38040fdfd7a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:54 | null | null | Cyclists will be riding roadside along Highway 113 during The Terrace Gran Fondo between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F389245301.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/39721terraceIMG_5564.race.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Motorists warned to take caution on Highway 113 Sunday | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Cyclists will be riding roadside along Highway 113 during The Terrace Gran Fondo between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7.
Motorists traveling between Terrace and Lava Lake this Sunday are asked to drive cautiously on Highway 113 as there will be several cyclists sharing the road in north and southbound lanes.
The riders will be participating in The Terrace Gran Fondo and will cover up to 160km between NWCC and the picnic site on Lava Lake.
The event will begin at 10:00 am at NWCC and close at approximately 4:30 pm.
Caution signs will be posted along the route. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/389245301.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/3bf5e5737fc5e5d69fcd403ae4d42f889404c983d705c0b95f2c22316d01cdb2.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:11:34 | null | null | 1,800 new spaces in 30 communities to start construction this fall, minister Stephanie Cadieux says | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Flifestyles%2F381686451.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/36574BCLN2007daycarewikimedia7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Child care spaces funded for 30 BC communities | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Daycare spaces are in short supply in some areas of B.C. and costs are high.
More than 1,800 new child care spaces should be under construction by this fall, with the latest round of financing from the B.C. government.
New or expanded facilities in 30 communities have been selected from funding applications received in January, said Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux. The $11.3 million budget for this year is the third phase of a child care expansion project funded by the ministry.
The province's goal is to have construction underway by September.
"It will vary somewhat from provider to provider, depending on whether they are building a facility from the ground up with this money, or whether they are adding to an existing facility," Cadieux said.
Projects in the Lower Mainland include six sites in Surrey, two each in Abbotsford, Langley and Coquitlam and one each in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Burnaby, Delta and Squamish.
On Vancouver Island, funding goes to three projects in Duncan and one each in Nanaimo, Victoria, Comox, Port Hardy and Tofino.
In the B.C. Interior, three projects are approved for Kelowna, two in Penticton, and one each in Naramata, Castlegar, Cranbrook, Enderby, Princeton, Houston, Kamloops, Merritt, Vanderhoof and Dawson Creek.
For a full list of facilities and number of spaces, see backgrounder here.
The ministry has posted a new child care map on its website to help parents locate facilities here.
The province provides child care subsidies to qualified low-income parents, and covers about 15 per cent of daycare operating costs. But the cost of land and operations drives the price of child care up to $1,400 per month or more in urban areas. Cadieux said the province is working with municipalities to review regulations.
"We're looking at the restrictions we put on child care providers in terms of outdoor space, in terms of sun access," she said. "We want to make sure that child care is safe and that we have quality, but we also want to make sure that we're not creating a situation that is unreasonable." | http://www.terracestandard.com/lifestyles/381686451.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/bf0b76c36e33d95b427a9cf08e1d2a6fadb3cc97ea64b58be10b6a2ecfeea25e.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:26 | null | null | Gold mine near Prince Rupert shut down last summer for permit violations, owners charged for failing to report spill | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fbusiness%2F390008831.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/31694BCLN2007minebanksislandgold7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Banks Island miners face 18 pollution charges | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Two men and a mining company in receivership have been charged with 18 pollution infractions related to their shut-down gold mine on an island near Prince Rupert.
Benjamin Mossman and Dirk Meckert are scheduled to appear in Prince Rupert provincial court Sept. 7. Also charged is Banks Island Gold Ltd., which went into receivership after being shut down last year for provincial permit violations.
The Yellow Giant mine was ordered shut down by the Ministry of Environment in July 2015 after a tailings spill was reported on a tip. There is one charge of failing to report a spill of a polluting substance, and the other 17 charges are for failing to comply with permits.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice raised the issue in the legislature this spring, after receiving a letter from the Gitxaala First Nation referring to two separate tailings spills. Rice said the ministry did not inspect the operation for 15 months, until receiving a complaint.
NDP mining critic Norm Macdonald told the legislature a worker at the mine "became fed up, put his job on the line, sent the ministry and me a tip and pictures that documented what was going on there."
Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said the mine was shut down when the situation was brought to its attention. The mine's 90 employees lost their jobs.
The province has a $420,000 security bond from the mining company, to provide ongoing monitoring. In March the mines ministry and Banks Island Gold removed explosives from the mine site and in May ministry technical staff assessed the hazardous materials on site.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service, which recommended the charges, would not comment on the current condition of the Banks Island site, because it is evidence for the prosecution. | http://www.terracestandard.com/business/390008831.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/4dae4279e0856ef71738e300d5afad7882907c8e9accc5e6e3075cc9136fab51.json |
[
"Canadian Press"
] | 2016-08-31T00:53:17 | null | null | Two sides avert job action that has loomed for months | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fnews%2F391803281.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/18051BCLN2007Canada_Post_TruckWikimediaCommons.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Canada Post, postal union reach tentative deals | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have reached tentative agreements, averting the prospect of a labour dispute that has loomed over the talks for months.
In a statement, Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk says the agreements were reached "voluntarily," but provides no other details about the deals themselves.
The issue of differences in paycheques for rural mail carriers — most of whom are women — and urban letter carriers had been at the forefront of protracted contract talks between the two sides.
The negotiations were extended twice since the weekend, when a deadline expired on a 72-hour job action notice issued last Thursday by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
The two sides were in talks nearly around the clock at the request of a special mediator appointed Friday by Mihychuk.
Canada Post described the tentative agreements as short-term. It said they are for two years and that four-year contracts were typically negotiated in the past.
"The agreements will avert a work disruption, bringing much-needed certainty in the postal system for our employees and customers," said Canada Post in a statement. "Canadians can now use the postal system with confidence."
The tentative agreements, however, still must be ratified by the members.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is Canada Post's largest union, representing more than 50,000 postal workers
The Canadian Press | http://www.terracestandard.com/news/391803281.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/befbff5e5f869f5b6273d8b473d04131603fbe263716f7154bb942a9d498354f.json |
[
"Jackie Lieuwen"
] | 2016-08-26T13:14:57 | null | null | The Terrace B.C. Adult Hockey League has cracked down on the rules and it is drawing out more skilled play, says its president. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F389303581.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/BlackNewsMedia-CLR.png?t=12345? | en | null | Rule crackdown elevating hockey skill | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | The men’s rec hockey league started cracking down on the rules two years ago and its president, Steve Smyth, said it is drawing out more skill on the ice and making play more even.
“Some of the teams can beat any of the other teams, and it is because of skill rather than the physical aspects of the game,” said Smyth.
The popular league, also known as the Terrace Adult Hockey League, has eight rec teams and six oldtimers (age 35+). It includes players of all skill levels, from minor hockey graduates to recreational players to players who have competed at the junior level.
Smyth said the rule crack down was partly because of that mixed-level dynamic and was driven by an aim to “restore more of the recreational aspect of the league.”
The main shift was with referees ramping up the penalties for players slamming each other into the boards. Under the CARHA rules which the league follows, any physical contact into the boards is a four-minute penalty.
“For the first year there was a bit of dissatisfaction with that, because we haven’t really called it before,” said Smyth. “But those are the rules. Now we are consistently calling that and the play has adjusted itself accordingly.”
Goaltender interference was another focus. Referees have made a point to call it right away when players knock into a goalie, before the teammates start shoving each other around the net.
“When the referee called goaltender interference by the rule book, and called it immediately, it tended to eliminate the jockeying back and forth afterwards,” Smyth said.
Smyth says it has taken a while for players to adjust to the crackdown, but they are seeing the benefits of the shift now.
It makes for faster and smoother games, and better competition as teams battle based on skill rather than physicality.
The crackdown was prompted two seasons ago in 2014 by league executives and team representatives due to concerns about things getting carried away, Smyth said.
“It’s really the players in the league that drive where the league goes, and they wanted to see a crackdown [on the rules], he said.
They also wanted to be more strict about the yapping and chatter and verbal abuse of referees and players.
The league has made good strides with that and Smyth said there were very few incidents this last season.
“Its a long road to eliminate that from recreational hockey. Everybody seems to think they have the right to question the calls… it’s a bit of a challenge, but the players have responded to the challenge,” he said.
Teams will hit the ice in mid-September, and one of the rec teams is shifting into the oldtimers’ ranks, opening up more spots and hopefully cutting down the waiting list of players, Smyth said.
Last year the league started the season with 15 players on the waiting list, down to four by the end of the season.
“We had a great year, we had a fabulous playoff and all the teams were very close,” Smyth said, noting that most of the playoff games went to overtime. “Teams were very evenly matched. The games were played on the ice and not in the penalty box. It was fast and it was exciting and we actually had fans out other than just wives and moms,” he laughed.
Players can register online and any interested officials can contact Dave Scott at 250-635-3716 or Steve Smyth at 250-638-1143. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/389303581.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/3cf503cacb906204a727f77865d9b95e766b34f64648d4fc546257dc063933c3.json |
[
"Cecile Favron"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:04 | null | null | Terrace, B.C. raised over $83,800 at the annual Relay for Life in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fbusiness%2F381318071.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/44855terraceRelayforLife20160528_0029.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Relay for Life draws dedicated supporters | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Cancer survivor Elaine Barton (left) holds a Canadian Cancer Society survivors sign as she marches at the national Relay for Life at Skeena Middle School May 28.
Cancer survivors gathered at Skeena Middle School track over the weekend to raise money for the annual Relay for Life fundraiser to fight against cancer.
Participants included friends and family who came out to cheer on survivors or walk the track themselves.
Over $83,800 was raised in support of the Canadian Cancer Society at the May 28 event.
Though the turnout was noticeably lower this year, donations coordinator Amanda Berry says that means those who did attend showed extra dedication.
“This year is a little shy of where we were at last year, but we had less participants than we did last year,” Berry explained.
“Our average participant actually raised more funds per person and that's something that we really want them to be proud of.”
The donations will support cancer research and prevention initiatives as well as support programs for those battling the disease.
Last year, over 70 people from the Terrace area used the Canadian Cancer Society's Kordyban Lodge for those undergoing cancer treatment in Prince George.
This was the 17th year that the Relay for Life was held in Terrace. | http://www.terracestandard.com/business/381318071.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/1fe7ec009eb395769c6549791495ab8e2e7599f2240cc261d0d938c906216e3d.json |
[
"Canadian Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:57 | null | null | Game that gets users out in real life with smartphones had required Canadians to find workarounds before Sunday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fentertainment%2F387179451.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/29783BCLN2007pokemongo.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Pokemon Go officially launches in Canada, virtual reality game crashes app's servers | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Prospective Pokemon trainers can officially download the mobile gaming sensation Pokemon Go in Canada as of Sunday afternoon.
The augmented-reality game launched in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan earlier this month.
But before Sunday, Canadians had to find workarounds to play the game north of the 49th parallel.
The game sends players into the real world to search for the mythical digital pocket monsters known as Pokemon, who appear onscreen when users hold up their smartphones in various locations at various times of the day.
RELATED:
Pokemon Go prompts Vancouver Police warning
Canadian gamers embrace Pokemon Go
On Sunday afternoon, it was announced on the app's Twitter page that the game is available for download in Canada on Android and iOS devices.
But the app's servers overloaded in the hour after the announcement, and wannabe players had to wait a little longer before they could register an account.
The Canadian Press | http://www.terracestandard.com/entertainment/387179451.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/18c1cd6ed6d542ec00b1a55a961348c7052b9a9c25f25cbca222f579ef4a6831.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:10:40 | null | null | Totem symbolizes Coast Salish tradition of respectful listening, with little effect on ill-tempered debate in Victoria | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Flifestyles%2F379233101.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/77020BCLN2007talkingstick7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Talking stick tradition comes to B.C. legislature [with video] | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Aboriginal elders brought a Coast Salish talking stick into the B.C. legislature this week, in a solemn ceremony that had little lasting effect on the heckling and interruptions of political debate in Victoria.
A replica of the totem pole on the grounds of Government House, the ornate stick represents the right to speak and receive a respectful hearing in aboriginal tradition. It was carved by Songhees artist James Delorme and presented to former Lieutenant Governor Steven Point in 2011 at a ceremony to mark the official naming of the Salish Sea.
Current Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon was on hand May 11 to present the stick to B.C. legislature Speaker Linda Reid, with a ceremonial prayer in the SENCOTEN language by elders Elmer George and Mary Anne Thomas.
"We present it to everybody this House but also to everybody that may come through these doors in the future," said Chief Ron Sam of the Songhees Nation.
Reid said in a statement the talking stick will remain in the legislature until the next election in May 2017.
After the ceremony, Reid continued her struggle to maintain order in the rancourous debate of question period, which has declined more frequently into shouting matches as the next election approaches. | http://www.terracestandard.com/lifestyles/379233101.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/fbe44debb2f5f620a84892b1339722a3d566c66c3b4f653b113dbbdb26fa563e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:37 | null | null | My friend Reuben was restless, always moving, like a prairie breeze... That restless prairie breeze was now forever stilled. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2F390089941.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/83010terracerifle.2.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Life cut short by a shot from a rifle | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Letter writer reflects on a friend who died at the hands of a rifle.
My friend Reuben was restless, always moving, like a prairie breeze.
The first time I laid eyes on him he was hurrying diagonally across Grand Avenue in Castor, Alberta, toward the Crest Theatre.
It was a summer evening and I was standing in front of the theatre doors waiting for them to open.
Reuben was friendly and talkative, and we struck up a conversation. I can’t remember where he had come from, but he lived with his father, brother, and grandmother.
At one point, Reuben and his brother lived with their grandmother (they called her “granny”) in an apartment above one of the old stores on Grand Avenue.
Granny – tobacco chewing, skirts to the floor – tried to discipline Reuben, to get him to do his chores and to spend time at home, but he had his own agenda, and it didn’t have much room in it for restraints.
One thing that could hold Reuben’s attention for a time was television, and because his family, like many others, didn’t have a TV set, he would spend time in the furniture store watching one of theirs.
Another place you might find him would be with the group of men who congregated at Leo’s Café to talk and drink coffee.
Sometimes at our house he would sit by the comic book box and read, or, in response to my mother’s request, he would sing Hank Locklin’s “Geisha Girl.”
I stayed at Reuben’s place one time, on a farm which had no electricity.
During the night Reuben decided to get up and light the kerosene lantern. For some reason, I had the matches, and I didn’t want to give them to Reuben.
In anger he went into the closet and brought out his dad’s lever-action rifle. I knew the rifle was loaded because Reuben had shown it to me earlier. Reuben levelled that rifle at me and in angry tears told me to give him the matches.
Looking into the bore of that rifle, the only problem I had was to force my shaking hands to do what I willed to do. I have sometimes wondered what Reuben would have done had I refused.
Reuben’s life was hard. I don’t know what had happened to his mother, but he didn’t have that moulding influence, that love, which he should have had.
His father could be downright mean, as I saw for myself one day when Reuben and I were playing at the sandpit near the auction mart.
Reuben was supposed to be somewhere else – probably at home – and because he had disobeyed, his dad lashed him with a thick rope. There was nothing I could do to help my friend.
My family moved away to another town, and although I did see Reuben again after that, I finally lost touch with him.
He wrote me once to let me know how he was doing.
I also heard that he had had an accident while running farm equipment and had badly damaged one of his thumbs. Though he received medical care for the injury, he never took proper care of the thumb, and he lost it.
One day I received a letter, and in it was an obituary column. It was Reuben’s.
It gave the customary brief details of his life and death, but it was only later through friends that I learned more of how he had died.
He had gotten involved with a woman whose boyfriend was in jail. When the man got out, he confronted the woman with a rifle.
Reuben stepped between them and was shot. I don’t know if it was accidental or deliberate, but for Reuben it didn’t matter.
I think back to the incident at his place and how in his anger and frustration he resorted to threatening me with a loaded rifle, and how, in the end, bitterly ironic, it was from a rifle shot that he died.
That restless prairie breeze was now forever stilled.
Ken Anderson is a lawyer with a practice in Terrace, B.C. | http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/letters/390089941.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/8c0304ac9cfd8a5a73bdb91ecbfd267af14b5c007c537313631388380c238ca2.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:08:52 | null | null | Designer of Kicking Horse and Jumbo resorts gets approval to proceed with $175 million project east of Prince George | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fbusiness%2F390477731.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/66407BCLN2007Oberti-Oberto7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | B.C. approves Valemount glacier resort plan | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | The B.C. government has approved a master development plan for a new year-round ski resort in the Cariboo Mountains west of Valemount.
Valemount Glacier Destination Resort is a $175 million project led by Oberto Oberti, who designed the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden and the controversial Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal west of Invermere.
The Valemount plan includes lifts and gondolas that would carry skiers and sight-seers to the summits of Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Mount Arthur Meighen. Its vertical drop of 2,050 metres would be higher than Whistler-Blackcomb and the largest in North America.
"There are very few places in the world, and none in North America, where you go and ride a lift to the very top and the glacier is below you," said Jill Bodkin, a director of the company.
Valemount is a remote community of about 1,000 residents near the Alberta border east of Prince George. The region is west of Jasper National Park, which attracts visitors from around the world.
On the project's website, Oberti says people will travel to Switzerland for this kind of mountain resort experience, so a three-hour drive from Prince George isn't an obstacle to success.
Valemount Mayor Jeanette Townsend called the master plan approval "exciting news." She said the community attracts visitors who stay there to avoid the expensive accommodation in Jasper and the resort will take it to the next level.
Chief Nathan Matthew of the Simpcw First Nation said his community has been involved since the beginning, and he sees the project as an important economic development for the northern part of Simpcw's traditional territory. | http://www.terracestandard.com/business/390477731.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/ac610ea6170503330033e0298854d3f69db2ca55c85487300fc44b1781312822.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T02:53:18 | null | null | The crash involved three pickup trucks and a cube van about 15 km south of the Hwy 37/Hwy 16 intersection in Terrace, closing the highway. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fnews%2F391820791.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/BlackNewsMedia-CLR.png?t=12345? | en | null | Terrace RCMP continue to investigate fatal four vehicle crash on Hwy 37 South | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Police continue to be at the scene of a four vehicle crash that killed one and sent four others to hospital around 1:30 p.m., today Aug. 30, on Hwy 37 South at Williams Creek bridge.
The crash, which involved three pickup trucks and a cube van, happened about 15 km south of the Hwy 37/Hwy 16 intersection in Terrace and closed the highway in both directions.
A 59-year-old man, the sole occupant of one vehicle, died following the collision at Williams Creek Bridge, said Terrace RCMP Sgt. Mike Robinson.
It's believed two vehicles were travelling in each direction with one directly behind the other, said Robinson, adding that the road was wet.
It's not known exactly what happened but after the collision, all the vehicles were on the bridge.
Two people were able to get out of their own vehicles but two more had to be extricated.
“Several civilians assisted initially and Thornhill and Terrace fire departments as well as Kitimat and Terrace ambulances helped extract two people and treat all involved,” said Robinson.
Northwest Traffic Services, also known as the highway patrol, is investigating with the assistance of Terrace RCMP officers and a collision analyst, added Robinson.
As for how the accident happened or any more specific details, Robinson didn't say.
“No comment except we are actively trying to determine the cause,” he said.
Drivers can avoid the accident scene and continue on their way by taking the detour on Old Lakelse Lake Road.
DriveBC estimated that the road will re-open between 9 p,m. and midnight and the website will have updates.
Anyone with information about the crash or who may have witnessed it, is asked to call Terrace RCMP at 250-638-7400. | http://www.terracestandard.com/news/391820791.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/56cf9b9eddd07a3b1676a4630dbe65e0d152ede7218ce947ffd919bb3980c9d8.json |
[
"Brian Taylor",
"Peter Howe"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:08 | null | null | Brian Taylor and Peter Howe take a look at the latest in the franchise with Star Trek: Beyond | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fentertainment%2F388601451.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/63884vernonbonesandspockforweb.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | REEL REVIEWS: Trekkie membership not required | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise are three years into their five-year mission to explore the galaxy. When an alien distress call leads them through a nebula, they discover a new enemy in the lizard-like form of Krall (Idris Elba). Surprised by Krall’s formidable technology, the Enterprise is forced to crash land on a hostile planet. The crew will have to work together, battling an army while trying to find a way off the planet.
We say, “Being a fan helps, but Beyond is still a fine film.”
TAYLOR: Not “fine” like a glass of wine, but fine like hair. Meaning that Star Trek: Beyond falls prey to two of the biggest problems in Hollywood today: it caters to a closed community and subscribes to an opinion that a film’s climax should be a prolonged action scene. Not that Trekkers are standoffish, quite the opposite really, like the members of the Federation themselves, they are peaceful, welcoming folk.
Also, it is not the case that the characters in the Star Trek universe are averse to kicking ass. I would prefer that life was more like Star Trek, not less. But this film is about fighting and killing and as such, I feel it tries too hard to be modern entertainment rather than Star Trek. It seems every movie I’ve seen so far this summer is two-part formula piece: set up interesting characters in interesting places and then have them destroy as much as possible.
HOWE: I will agree with you, there is a lot of killing. What happened to setting the phasers to stun like the good ol’ days? But I guess they have to step it up a little and make it a little more hard-core as that is the world of movie entertainment that we live in, especially when it is up against the biggest space franchise of them all.
When the new Star Trek came out a good few years back I was really very impressed with it, the second from a couple of years ago was even better I thought, this one I’m afraid felt like it was a carbon copy of that movie but with just a different bad guy.
TAYLOR: I am a fan, but I’m also a jaded movie reviewer. My wife, who is a self-admitted Trekker, enjoyed it more than I. She said she got goosebumps all over when the Enterprise crashed. I did not, but I still more or less enjoyed myself. The effects were excellent, the acting acceptable, the story was at times unbelievable, even for Star Trek, but apart from being quite like every other summer blockbuster, Beyond has characters we like to like. At least, I do. I only wish these new films went in a direction less dependent upon action.
HOWE: The Enterprise being destroyed and blown to pieces was pretty spectacular. However, isn’t the ship’s name jinxed, isn’t it now three for three movies that it has been destroyed?
— Taylor gives Star Trek: Beyond 3 reptilian traits out of 5.
— Howe gives it 3 Vulcan necklaces out of 5.
– Brian Taylor and Peter Howe are film reviewers based in Vernon. Their column, Reel Reviews, appears in The Morning Star every Friday. | http://www.terracestandard.com/entertainment/388601451.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/37a2c6b54749bd8f59d5fdf75c42eca507b60f8d4d72060ec571271be5624d6e.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:14:14 | null | 2014-02-04T00:00:00 | Guns intercepted at Pacific region border crossings up 116 per cent compared to this time last year | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fnews%2F391214101.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/12413BCLN2007Gunsabb-HuntingtonCBSA2014-2.4.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | U.S. border gun seizures double | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Guns seized from visitors entering Canada at the Huntington-Abbotsford border crossing, 2014.
Canadian Border Services Agency has seen a 116 per cent increase in the number of firearms seized in the Pacific Region in the first half of 2016.
With a 10 per cent increase also recorded in the Prairie region, the CBSA is working with U.S. officials on a firearms awareness campaign to remind Americans about restrictions on bringing guns into Canada.
"Attempting to smuggle firearms across the border can result in immediate forfeiture, hefty fines and even significant jail time," said Kim Scoville, CBSA's regional director general for the Prairie region.
Visitors entering the border inspection line should declare any firearms at their first opportunity. Border services officers will take possession of the weapon if it is declared, but the visitor has the option of shipping it back under CBSA supervision or surrendering it without prosecution.
The RCMP has procedures for visitors bringing firearms into Canada | http://www.terracestandard.com/news/391214101.html | en | 2014-02-04T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/58c392d4bea53d83ff6d08a289d4f8cce15cf8751971c4f398f5af78767bde63.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:38 | null | null | World champion black belts were among the athletes who came to Riverboat Days to compete the Black Belt Battles July 29. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F389802991.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/39405terraceBBB2016-Devaney.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Champion black belts battle in Terrace, B.C. | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | World Champion black belt Julio Carlos lands a superman punch against Prince George black belt and crowd favourite Cole Tibbett.
World Champion black belt Julio Carlos from New York won the middle weight division.
Maxine Bujold, former world champion from Quebec, won the light weight division.
Chelsea Stone from Saskatchewan won ladies.
Above two photos by Angie Healey. Doing a demonstration in the red light is Atlantis Taekwondo senior fighters Andre Favron and Jared Dumont. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/389802991.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/b4c4adc8bbca49d797d2cf2cf18b4c65920074c4fe221d7d5a2774818e25d349.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:52 | null | null | Athletes from across northern B.C. competed in the sports blitz of Riverboat Days in Terrace during the last week and a half. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F389648301.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/73330terracesoccerDSC_0852.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Sports rush at Riverboat Days | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | In the U12 soccer final, Hazelton, left, faced Kitwanga, right, at the Thornhill Primary field.
Soccer results:
In the men's division, Smithers won first place, Terrace second, and Kitsegas Providers got third.
In women's, Terrace won first, Kitwanga second.
In masters, Kitwanga was first place winner, Greenville won second.
U12 winner was Kitwanga.
U8 winner was Kitwanga.
Slo-pitch photo: Cam takes to bat for the Blacksocks in the semi-final slo-pitch game against the Reapers. At the Riverboat Days tournament, Prestige won first, Grim Reapers second, and Blacksocks third.
Motocross photos: Reagan Sieg (turquoise suit) and Kyle Demelo (black, yellow and red suit) compete in the Freestyle Motocross Madness event July 30. The event, part of Riverboat Days, took place at the Skeena Mall parking lot.
The horseshoe competition on Sunday, July 31, drew a small handful of people to the pits behind Heritage Park. First place winner was J.P. Bourgoin, second place went to Joe Ciatoli from Prince Rupert and third was Bob Price. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/389648301.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/f600586e0fd2e58bbf850feb9a27635ec9dcbafe2e6f8bd0b704e4907557a611.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:12:30 | null | null | Premier Christy Clark isn't going into next year's election with a promise to jack up Canada's only significant carbon tax | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fopinion%2F391051701.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/42735BCLN2007ClarkPolakNissanLeaf7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | BC VIEWS: B.C. fails to save the planet | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Premier Christy Clark and Environment Minister Mary Polak plug in an electric car at an announcement of the government's latest climate change plan in Richmond Aug. 19.
A B.C. Liberal operative was out with the online spin hours before Premier Christy Clark confirmed the much-leaked news in a Friday afternoon announcement at an obscure location in Richmond.
The, er, freeze is continuing for B.C.’s ground-breaking, world-saving carbon tax, which hasn’t changed since before Clark was elected in 2013.
The spin was Olympic-themed, with a picture labeled to show B.C. as a swimmer far out in the lead in the pool, to symbolize that it’s the other provinces that need to catch up in the race to save the planet.
Clark has been saying that for years, and there is merit to it. Even without a tax on “process emissions” such as from cement kilns, B.C.’s carbon tax encourages imports of non-taxed cement from the U.S. and China.
Alberta business professor Andrew Leach, who advised the Stephen Harper and then Rachel Notley governments on greenhouse gas policies, summed up the problem this way.
“Until the rest of the world has policies that impose similar cost, you’re not actually reducing emissions to the extent you think,” Leach said. “You’re just displacing the emissions and the economic activity to other jurisdictions.”
Alberta is moving to join B.C. with a modest carbon tax, but the NDP government plans to spend the proceeds rather than return them in income tax as B.C. has done. And Washington state and most of the rest of the world have no carbon tax as such, so their businesses benefit from B.C.’s “climate leadership.”
B.C.’s foreign-funded eco-radical community was, needless to say, appalled. The Pembina Institute’s Matt Horne and career protesters Tzeporah Berman and Merran Smith were named to the premier’s advisory committee last year, along with business, academic and aboriginal representatives.
They concluded that increases to B.C.’s broad-based tax on carbon fuels should resume its upward march in 2018.
Other committee members, including the mayors of Surrey, Comox and Burns Lake, were not heard from. Public discussion on this issue is now reduced to a staged conflict between those who demand a holy war on deadly carbon dioxide “pollution,” and those who don’t care if their grandchildren perish in a hell-fire of fossil fuel use.
We’ve just come off another El Nino year, like the hot year of 1998. Regular readers will recall the last time I discussed this topic was this spring, where I questioned the premier’s dire warnings of another horrendous forest fire season.
What followed has been one of the slowest forest fire seasons in the last decade, although dry conditions have finally emerged this month. Climate predictions, like next week’s weather forecast, are less than consistent.
I am regularly sent messages calling me a “climate change denier,” the nonsense term that continues to be used by federal Environment Minister Catharine McKenna among many others. I know of no one who denies that climate is always changing, at times dramatically.
If you wish to believe that paying an extra seven cents a litre for gasoline in B.C. is helping to slow the very gradual increase in temperatures we’re seeing in the northern hemisphere, you are free to do so.
You may even be persuaded to take a government subsidy and buy an expensive, short-range electric car. Me, I’m off to Prince Rupert and Revelstoke pretty soon, so I’ll stick with my little four-cylinder gas sipper for now.
Hydro-powered B.C. represents a small fraction of the less than two per cent Canada contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. We’re not the problem, and no, the world is not looking to us for guidance.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca Twitter: @tomfletcherbc | http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/391051701.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/93966fdf294d8b72dae2a35568aa6993e1b3ccbdda87b6f7821f94b8f0c2bf37.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:11:27 | null | null | Few BC Parks bookings going to commercial operators, solution is more campsite spaces, Environment Minister Mary Polak says | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Flifestyles%2F385640471.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/18489BCLN2007CampingBarriereLakeJasonKoppwiki7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Provincial campsite rush mostly B.C. residents | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Solitude in the wilderness is still available in B.C., between holiday weekends when demand peaks at B.C.'s most popular parks.
Foreign visitors and those on package tours are a small fraction of the demand for B.C. Parks campgrounds around the province, but B.C. resident campers are still using a few tricks to get spaces for high-demand parks.
Some have protested the use of online reservations by motorhome tour operators who sell them as part of a package for tourists.
"Our provincial campsites are not products to be sold, they belong to the people of B.C.," Green Party leader Andrew Weaver said this week.
Environment Minister Mary Polak told Black Press numbers are being tracked for the current year, and the proportions haven't changed much. In 2015, fewer than one per cent of reservable B.C. Parks spaces were booked by tour operators, who also use private camping facilities.
Three quarters of reservations are from within B.C. The second highest share is from Alberta at 14 per cent, the U.S. accounts for 3.6 per cent, the rest of Canada 2.8 per cent, and all European countries combined are 6.6 per cent of the total.
The BC Parks system has 10,700 camping spaces in total, and 5,600 are reservable, to manage demand for the most popular spots.
First-come, first-served sites are kept out of the reservation system in some popular locations to accommodate travellers who drop in along the road. For high-demand periods like the recent Canada Day weekend, savvy campers work the reservation system.
At Golden Ears Provincial Park, one group booked for two weeks as soon as the 90-day eligibility window opened, then dropped the first week, giving them the coveted Canada Day weekend dates before they were generally available.
"Every year we look to change things to keep people from cheating, and every year they find new ways," Polak said. "Really the only answer is going to be finding a way to expand the number of sites that we have available."
It's shaping up as a record year for the Discover Camping reservation service, with 92,000 bookings so far this year.
B.C. Parks has added four new sites for this summer. Reservations can be made for Garibaldi Provincial Park in the Whistler area, Ruckle Provincial Park on Saltspring Island, Okanagan Falls Provincial Park, Inland Lake Provincial Park near Powell River and Dry Gulch Provincial Park near Radium Hot Springs. | http://www.terracestandard.com/lifestyles/385640471.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/4cf1b6990e7698cc56ed6cde0ec6c65a3465fe645450641eb3a47a498938ca58.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:16 | null | null | Geoscience BC starts its largest ever aerial survey to detect magnetic materials via local disturbances in Earth's magnetic field | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fbusiness%2F389342261.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/87465BCLN2007Geoscienceplanes7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Aerial mineral survey gets underway | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Three Cessna Super Caravan planes outfitted with sensitive magnetometers are flying out of the Burns Lake and Smithers airports to conduct the Search Phase II survey.
The largest geophysical survey ever conducted in B.C. is underway in the west-central region, creating a three-dimensional map image indicating mineral and water resources far underground.
The Search Phase II project is being conducted with aircraft flying out of Burns Lake and Smithers airports. It will run through September and results are to be made public in 2017, adding to two previous surveys to map an area about the size of Nova Scotia.
Geoscience BC received $5 million from the provincial government for the Search Phase II project, to complete an aerial magnetic survey of a 24,000-square kilometre area between Fort Fraser and Smithers, north of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park.
The aerial surveys use a magnetometer to record local disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field caused by magnetic minerals in the upper regions of the crust.
After 10 years and 135 projects, the non-profit Geoscience BC has produced new earth science data for about half of the province's area. | http://www.terracestandard.com/business/389342261.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/960b9e3e3739248b2689c1225f236e386e2fd4d31fdfba830ed08ae2839fbd5f.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:06:50 | null | null | Terrace's Local Action Team for youth mental health brought out various agencies to teach people about the resources available here | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fcommunity%2F388901611.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/78125terraceInderpreet.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Youth wellness event a success | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | The grand prize winner at a mental-health focused event, Rayham Davies, poses for a photo with organizers Inderpreet Sandhu, Joyce Bradley, and Heather Good of the Terrace Local Action Team.
An event aimed at connecting youth with mental health and substance use resources in the community was a huge success, say organizers.
Called the Youth Art Collaborative, the awareness event held at George Little Park on July 17 featured various booths set up by mental health professionals and a display of artworks submitted by children in elementary, middle and high school.
The drawings, collages, poems or short stories told of the artists’ own struggles with mental health and how they overcame those difficulties.
“The atmosphere was so calming and people connected and got a lot of information about community resources, which was the purpose of the event,” said event lead Inderpreet Sandhu, part of the Terrace Local Action Team (LAT).
The team – a volunteer collaborative between police, schools, social agencies and mental health workers in the area – aims to fill in the gaps in mental health care for children and families in Terrace.
Sandhu said that participants came away from the event feeling better connected to mental health wellness resources and noted they now know “the faces of the service providers too.”
The event is part of a broader initiative by the Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Collaborative (CYMHSU) which has organized 63 other Local Action Teams in the province working to address children’s mental wellness. | http://www.terracestandard.com/community/388901611.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/177a26b41113f65148c252040874dcef6dae0bce56f27b345f0cfa8f5505b032.json |
[
"Jackie Lieuwen"
] | 2016-08-26T13:14:31 | null | null | Terrace speedway racer shocked and thrilled to win two medals in Penticton recently, his first out-of-town races. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F391090291.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/95661terraceimage6-goddard.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | New zeal for speedway sparked by win | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Terrace’s Jesse Goddard with his trophy win at the speedway in Penticton last month. He won one race and came second in another race.
Drawn to his first out-of-town races by the challenge of new competition, one Terrace speedway racer says he was shocked and thrilled to win two medals in Penticton recently.
“When the race finished, I didn’t even know I was in second place," said Jesse Goddard about the main race for the B Hornets Class (aka bombers) in Penticton.
"I went back into the pits and all of a sudden the flag guy ran over and said I got second place," he said, adding that there were 17 other cars so the track was pretty chaotic.
"I was just focusing on racing, I wasn’t really focusing on winning.”
The Gordie Mannes Memorial races were on July 30-31, and Goddard said it did not start out very good.
“I couldn’t get any traction in the corners, and I was sliding all over the track,” he said, adding that he finished last in that trophy dash.
“It was more of a learning race for me… I had to change a few things on my car.”
Past experience told him the issue was tire pressure, so he tweaked the pressure a bit on either side on his 1995 Honda Civic before taking it into the 10-lap heat race where he won first.
“I think I started in fourth or fifth place. I started in the back. It took me about three laps to get into first place,” he said.
“I kept moving up, I kept passing every one. My car was sticking to the track so good I didn’t have to move around. I got faster and faster every lap. I was just so happy my tires weren’t sliding any more.”
In the main race, Goddard raced against 17 other cars and he said it was chaos with so many cars burning around the track at the same time. He finished second and his best time was 17.629 seconds.
The second day, July 31, Goddard raced again, but had a lot of car troubles, and finished fifth of 16 racers.
Having grown up in Terrace, Goddard has been speedway racing for close to six years.
“I went out with my grandma and my dad [to Terrace speedway races]. She goes every race day, she won’t miss a day. I always enjoyed it and always said when I was older I wanted to do it.”
Six years ago, Goddard bought a 1997 Chevy Cavalier already set up for racing for $500.
He raced with that car until 2013, when he was involved in a bad crash.
"I got hit really bad in Terrace. I got thrown out to the side, rolled it,” he said.
Goddard pulled a lot of muscles in his back and neck, having forgotten his neck brace, and took a year off racing to recover.
After that, he bought his Honda Civic and hit the track again.
“I just like the rush of it,” he said about why he races.
“It’s a great little hobby. I’ve always been into cars all my life. I like going fast too.”
Goddard has been in the stands in Penticton numerous times with his uncle and cousins who live in Kelowna, but this year was his first time in the pits.
“This would be a fun track, there’s way more cars and it looks way more competitive. I always thought it would be fun to try something new... It was a huge new challenge really.”
He will race again in Penticton in the Eve of Destruction race August 28, and then will join Terrace speedway racers for Demo Day on September 11. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/391090291.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/401eec8dc99f217bc0cfe176238eaeec8ed04dbbdbb98b09e0216114fb2f2bf1.json |
[
"Canadian Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:13:50 | null | null | Notice means delivery could be cancelled as early as Monday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fnews%2F391302051.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/68221BCLN200782072cranbrookdailyCPweb.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Postal union issues strike notice after it says Canada Post refused special mediator | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | The union representing most workers at Canada Post has issued a 72-hour notice of job action as it tries to bargain a collective agreement with the Crown corporation.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says the notice spells out what actions it is planning, but stops short of a full-blown walkout.
CUPW national president Mike Palecek says Canada Post forced the labour disruption by refusing to accept a request from the federal labour minister to continue negotiations with the help of a special mediator.
But a spokesman for the agency says that's not the case.
The union's strike mandate was set to expire at midnight.
The two sides have been in negotiations for more than nine months but are far apart on key issues including pay equity for rural carriers and proposed changes to the Canada Post pension plan.
The Canadian Press | http://www.terracestandard.com/news/391302051.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/bbc04f6019bcc82d7d5074f7ef4064c2a7f5d9433e3a5c82ba84fb5aee6c8b7c.json |
[
"Rod Link"
] | 2016-08-26T13:12:13 | null | null | As shopping lists go, the one that the Terrace B.C. Chamber of Commerce presented to the city regarding the downtown core was extensive. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fopinion%2F390087991.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/BlackNewsMedia-CLR.png?t=12345? | en | null | Editorial: A glimmer of a plan for the downtown | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | AS shopping lists go, the one from the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce presented to the city regarding the downtown core, specifically Lakelse Ave., was extensive.
Do something about the weeds. Increase garbage collection and general tidiness. Paint lines so people know where and how to park.
For the 4600 Block of Lakelse itself, the call was to do something about the canopy which is decidedly dated and to repair or replace the brick sidewalks.
So in looking at the list it is actually in two parts – ongoing maintenance and tidiness efforts so as to keep on top of the things as they are now but, and this is where it gets expensive, what amounts to a complete re-do of the 4600 Block.
City staffers carefully point out that when it comes to the canopy, erected in 1983, the city covered 25 per cent of the cost with the 4600 Block merchants of the day contributing the rest and then taking responsibility for any canopy upkeep.
It’s the city’s way of saying that any replacement would have to involve a financial contribution from merchants. As well, replacement sidewalk bricks are no longer available.
Adding to this, the city is saying the street portion of the 4600 Block needs rebuilding.
So there is the glimmer of what might be a plan. A combined merchant-city rebuild of the 4600 Block. Stay tuned. | http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/390087991.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/6e8d13fe05e2f3ac29753953b823ee93d51a8be72aa511da099272e25666de60.json |
[
"Canadian Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:37 | null | null | Beats for the summer heat include new tunes from Danish singer Mo, Flume and Zara Larsson | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fentertainment%2F381168051.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/85086BCLN2007e_POP-Next-Big-Thing20160527T0900.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | VIDEO: Summer songs to add to your playlist | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Picking that right summertime playlist can make or break your party. And with record labels flooding us with options, there's plenty to choose from. But which songs will be the unforgettable anthems to the season?
This week we're taking a look at few tracks that could dominate beach and barbeque playlists over the coming months.
Finding you beats for the summer heat, this is the Next Big Thing.
Danish singer Mo already knows what it feels like to be a part of a big hit. She lent her voice to the verses of last year's summer smash "Lean On," from duo Major Lazer and DJ Snake.
And while that track didn't exactly make her a household name - it was a solid start to her mainstream pop music career. Check out the promising sound of "Final Song." You can hear "Final Song" on streaming music services.
Pairing an Australian producer with a Canadian vocalist is proving to be a potent mix for chart success. It all comes down to Flume – the Sydney music-maker who has already snuck onto the Billboard Hot 100 with "Never Be Like You."
The song features Toronto-based singer Kai who melds her smooth voice with a pounding hip-hop beat. The end result is captivating and almost certain to be one that won't go away any time soon. You can hear "Never be Like You." It's available to stream.
Summer looks particularly good for Zara Larsson. The 18-year-old Swedish singer has risen from international obscurity to global stardom in a matter of months. For that she can thank the success of "Never Forget You," a duet with MNEK which has been one of the surprise hits of 2016. That could open the doors for "Lush Life."
The track was a big hit in Scandinavia this time last year, but fizzled when it was released in North America. But another go at it could help "Lush Life" find a second wind, with its carefree dance vibes that evoke early Rihanna. You can check out the video for "Lush Life" on YouTube. And those are some music picks to fuel your summer. | http://www.terracestandard.com/entertainment/381168051.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/a98bba3a3509779b11574a4f865d615eaff921743827c38c5f534aa8e44ea93f.json |
[
"Canadian Press"
] | 2016-08-28T22:52:55 | null | null | Talks continue, with rotating overtime ban set to begin Monday if no agreement by midnight Sunday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fnews%2F391545211.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/68221BCLN200782072cranbrookdailyCPweb.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Postal workers union give details of job action if no deal is reached Sunday | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | OTTAWA – Contract talks continue between Canada Post and its largest union, but neither side is hinting as to whether any progress has been made.
A federally appointed mediator has been meeting with the two sides since Friday to try to reach a deal.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says if there is no deal by midnight, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refusing to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
CUPW served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
A CUPW news release says the initial job action will cause little disruption to Canada Post customers and that its members will still be delivering mail every day.
The Canadian Press | http://www.terracestandard.com/news/391545211.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/8e13311d302529456df8b42604b017d64440ceb761754a135cea1c79a81cda4d.json |
[
"Tom Fletcher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:11:41 | null | null | Collector plates will be available next year for modified as well as stock cars made between 1958 and 1974 | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Flifestyles%2F389536851.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/25111BCLN2007Chevrolet_Camaro1969-wikim7web.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Collector program expanding to 'muscle cars' | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Modified versions of the 1969 Camaro SS and other popular vehicles will soon be eligible for B.C. collector plates, allowing occasional use for parades and car shows.
The B.C. government is expanding its collector vehicle licence system to include eligible modified cars made between 1958 and 1974, to capture the popular "muscle car" era of the 1960s.
The ICBC collector plate program gives car enthusiasts a lower-cost licence plate that allows occasional use for parades and classic car shows. ICBC plans to take applications starting in 2017 for eligible modified vehicles up to 1974, and replica cars resembling North American production cars from 1942 and earlier.
With strict rules that the cars must be in "collectible condition," changes will take in modified popular cars from the Dodge Duster to the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, as well as replicas of the popular Ford "deuce coupe" from the 1930s.
Premier Christy Clark announced a break for older cars this spring, allowing vehicles from 1940 or earlier and their replicas to run without fenders or mud flaps when the highway is dry and paved.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone said the collector car industry is significant for B.C., with registered collector vehicles having doubled to 26,000 in the past 10 years.
"We want to see this specialty vehicle program remain viable, preserve vehicle history and evolve with the times," Stone said. "That's why we are opening up the opportunity to owners of specialty cars within the 'muscle car' era."
Currently, the standard collector plate is available to cars 25 years or older, as well as discontinued or limited production vehicles 15 years or older. It requires a stock engine with no performance enhancements, no rust, dents or "significant wear and tear" of the interior.
Modified vehicles from 1958 or older are currently eligible for collector plates, if they retain the shell of the original body but have parts replaced or modified in the chassis, engine, suspension, steering or brakes.
Owners have to apply for a collector or modified collector plate, with purchase and parts bills, photos and inspection reports.
Applications for collector and modified collector programs are available on ICBC's website, www.icbc.com, and can be dropped off at Autoplan brokers. | http://www.terracestandard.com/lifestyles/389536851.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/3f99db13b5a9de3746b89af16b994fe33b855001c499efd983ac81aba006230a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:46 | null | null | Speedway racers put on a fast, exciting show as they sped around the Terrace track during the Riverboat Days races on Saturday, July 30. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fsports%2F389873161.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/71093terracespeedway.fagan688_n.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | Speedway rush during Riverboat Days | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | Speedway racers put on a fast, exciting show as they raced around the Terrace track during the Riverboat Days races on Saturday, July 30.
The Terrace Speedway races were delayed by sweep crews for half an hour, after Richard Meyer blew an oil line in his Legends car and left oil around the track during the hot lapping. Meyer had been involved in a crash on his way back to Terrace after racing in Alberta, so did a last minute engine swap on Friday night before the races. In that swap, the oil line was not hooked up correctly, explained local speedway racer Paul Flemming in an email.
Time ins saw Phil Hustad setting the record for the night in his #2 Legend car, finishing in 19.09 seconds in his class. In the street stock class, Kris Sweet got the fast time, with 19.55 seconds in his #51 Ford F150 pickup. Gord Tuckerman set the fast time in the bomber class, finishing in 21.11 seconds in his #16 Sunfire.
The “B Bomber Class” had some exciting racing. In the B Bomber Heat, Rick Reinert lead the first 12 laps in his #53 Ford Mustang, but was pressured by #152 Pontiac Sunfire of Nathan Archer. But Archer’s car had faulty breaks and eventually he ran into and spun Reinert out of the lead, earning himself a black flag. This bumped the #86 Ford Mustang of Simon Weston into the lead and the win, followed by #04 Chev Cavalier of Paul Fleming and then Reinert recovered to finish third.
In the main race, Archer’s car was a scratch due to brakes. The #114 Honda Civic driven by John Symes recovered from a fuel issue in the heat to dominate the main and take the win. Reinert ran a strong race, showing he still has potential but finished in third, passed near the end of the race by the rookie Simon Weston in his #86 Mustang, who finished in second.
The “A Bomber Class” had eight cars competing in some tight, close racing. The #152 Pontiac Sunfire of Aiden Archer (one of our under 16 racers this year) retired part way through the race with brake issues, which was the only retirement of the night for the bomber cars. In the heat, the #66 Honda Civic driven by Kat Finnie started the race strong, but was passed by the #669 Ford Mustang of Lance Albert out of Prince Rupert. Lance led for a while but was eventually passed by the #16 Pontiac Sunfire of Gord Tuckerman. Gord ran strong but was passed on the final lap by the #60 Toyota Celica of Trevor Reinert. Final results were Reinert in first, Tuckerman in second and Albert in third.
The main race was a good battle. At lap seven, Albert and Trevor Reinert had a tangle and spun down the back straight away bringing out a red flag and putting them to the back, where they had to make their way through the field. Tuckerman took an early lead and never relinquished it for the rest of the race. Final results were Tuckerman in first, Trevor Reinert in second and Albert in third.
It was a hard night of racing in the “Street Stock Class,” with six vehicles putting on a show and some good attrition during the night. Sharon Fagan’s #48 Chev Camaro was finally fixed up to return to racing this year. In the heat race, she took an early and commanding lead. At the midpoint of the race, the #51 Ford F150 of Kris Sweet finally managed to catch and pass Fagan but then suffered a computer issue causing Sweet to bring out a red flag and hit the pits. This bunched up the field for the restart, but while the cars were waiting to get going again, #3 Chev of Derek Floer stalled and could not get restarted sending him to the pits for the night. After the restart, Fagan took the lead again, but was challenged by #3 Buick Regal of Trevor Dugaro and #44 Datsun 510 of Lance Albert. Albert tried to make an outside pass in turn two and got too far out, clipping a tire on the wall and causing his right rear axle to rip out of the car, which flipped him onto his roof. This brought out a red flag and our sweep crew and Tow Truck Pronto Towing to clean up the mess. Only four cars were left battling the last couple of laps, and in the end, Fagan took her first win of the year, #182 Chev Nova of Kynan Finnie took second and Dugaro took third.
The main race only had four cars start, and Fagan only managed to complete one lap before her car lost power and retired to the pits. The rest of the race was uneventful with Sweet taking first, Dugaro second, and Finnie third.
In the Legend class, four cars battled it out. The #76 car of Howie O’Brien took the early lead followed by #2 of Phil Hustad. Hustad managed to work his way around O’Brien on lap seven, but then O’Brien made a mistake in turn two and spun his car. The #00 car of Chris Fagan tried to avoid O’Brien’s stopped car but clipped it, ripping the rear axle out of his car and ending his night. After restarting the race, Hustad led to the checkered flag but there was a close battle for second between #76 O’Brien and #34 of Richard Meyer. O’Brien edged ahead to take second and Meyer took third.
There were three cars in the main event. The first half of the race had another good battle between Meyer and O’Brien, with Meyer in a narrow lead. But Hustad hunted both of the leaders down and took the lead, which he held onto to take the win. Meyer took second and O’Brien took third.
The next speedway races are on Saturday, August 13.
- Story contributed by Paul Flemming, with minor edits by The Terrace Standard. | http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/389873161.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/25cf4cd6a01163c2e1c072a194e33a90d43d5ee3ec146e1afe7e893e0e1b6a62.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:18 | null | null | John Horgan tells Terrace city council a new hospital will benefit region | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terracestandard.com%2Fnews%2F391284101.html.json | http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/46709terraceP1010044johnhorgan2.jpg?t=12345? | en | null | NDP leader backs call for a new Mills Memorial Hospital | null | null | www.terracestandard.com | PROVINCIAL NDP opposition leader John Horgan is offering his assistance in helping convince the provincial government to replace the aging and inadequate Mills Memorial Hospital.
Meeting with Terrace city council Aug. 18, Horgan offered it the use of his office space as an operations base when it travels to Victoria next month for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention.
That’s also when local governments lobby provincial cabinet ministers on specific issues and a new Mills is on the council’s ‘to do’ list.
“And I have a nice suite,” said Horgan.
To date the province has financed what’s called a concept plan for a new Mills, completed in 2014, but has stopped short of moving to the next stage, a far more detailed business plan outlining the physical size of a new structure, services it would contain and associated costs in preparation for financing and construction approval.
Terrace mayor Carol Leclerc told Horgan a new Mills is the top priority on the Northern Health Authority’s capital projects list.
And she noted the province has denied an offer by the North West Regional Hospital District, which spans the region and which provides 40 per cent of the money for capital projects, to pay for the business plan.
Still, Leclerc told Horgan, “we’re going to remain optimistic.”
Horgan said he viewed a new Mills as not simply a project that would put people to work within the community.
A new Mills, he said, is needed public infrastructure to serve the region and attract growth.
For the province not to listen to local officials is “not consistent with giving [the region] the tools it needs,” he said.
“I have the greatest confidence in the Northern Health Authority which is one of the best run health authorities,” Horgan added of the agency which has been developing the plan for a new Mills.
Speaking afterward, Horgan said he would not interfere with any strategy of the council or of the North West Hospital District in pursuing the province.
But he was dismayed at the letter sent by provincial health minister Terry Lake in turning down the hospital’s offer of paying for a business study for a new Mills in advance of the province committing construction money.
The province, said Horgan, “is looking for excuses not to deliver services in the region.”
Lake’s letter, he added, appears to be “short-sighted and wrong-headed.”
“It’s for the benefit of the region and that clearly seems to have been lost on Mr. Lake,” said Horgan.
Board members of the North West Hospital District are also headed to Victoria next month to also press the case for a new Mills. | http://www.terracestandard.com/news/391284101.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.terracestandard.com/bc10e42e8eca026a4a9c413607f8592efe33a807aa3e689462c79536aef8ad41.json |
[
"Craig Anderson"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:25 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Fpressandjournal.com%2F113-news%2Fsend-news-to-us%2F113-fill-send-us-your-news.json | http://pressandjournal.com/113-news/send-news-to-us/113-fill-send-us-your-news | pl | null | Send Us Your News | null | null | pressandjournal.com | null | http://pressandjournal.com/113-news/send-news-to-us/113-fill-send-us-your-news | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | pressandjournal.com/641bb51a1b65c563b3b0a38a7d85799e8df80d2c2e8c846e9e553fd16a2f1cf4.json |
[
"Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-31T12:51:30 | null | 2016-08-30T12:19:32 | Shovann Staton-Backus of Women Four Wellness, is the guest this week on Take 10 On Tuesdays with The Tennessee Tribune. Social Media Director Jason Luntz and Staton-Backus discusses her company's focus on mind, body, spirit, and health. | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fvideo%2Ftake-10%2Ftake-10-tuesdays-featuring-shovann-staton-backus%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/maxresdefault-7.jpg | en | null | Shovann Staton-Backus | null | null | tntribune.com | Shovann Staton-Backus of Women Four Wellness, is the guest this week on Take 10 On Tuesdays with The Tennessee Tribune. Social Media Director Jason Luntz and Staton-Backus discusses her company’s focus on mind, body, spirit, and health.
Known as The Stiletto Chef, one of her main focuses is on meal preparation and delivery, allowing her customers to live a healthier life style.
You can learn more by visiting: http://www.women-four-wellness.webnode.com.
Every Tuesday the Tennessee Tribune takes the time out to interview citizens of the Metro-Nashville area who are doing important things in their field. | http://tntribune.com/video/take-10/take-10-tuesdays-featuring-shovann-staton-backus/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/4aad5f1d512b2395cec2f18f7d14ff7333580475a611eec1cc2de0e93814816e.json |
[
"Scott Wallace"
] | 2016-08-30T16:51:03 | null | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fsports%2Fmetro-sports%2Fupcoming-gdfl-championship-one-ages%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1918051_165942448513_5769593_n.jpg | en | null | Upcoming GDFL Championship, One for The Ages | null | null | tntribune.com | Two best teams fight for minor league supremacy.
No matter what the weather report will be in Tulsa on September 3rd, the Gridiron Developmental Football League will forecast “Thunder-Storms”. The final two undefeated teams the Oklahoma Thunder and the Nashville Storm will be on stage to see who is the best team in 2016. The clash is a year in the making.
Both teams were picked to meet in New Orleans for the championship. The Thunder fell to the Crescent City Kings in the semi-final with Nashville defeating the Kings for their sixth national championship. This season, Marvel City was favored to upend the Storm but fell to the Georgia Crush in the quarterfinals.
“For some reason we have been underdogs all season,” said Storm head coach Charles Hunter. “First the Columbus Fire was going to beat us. Then Marvel City was going to beat us. The target has been on us for years. We had a great offseason camp and some rookies have really stepped in to help. We scored more last year but we have a more balanced attack. This by far will be our toughest opponent for many years. On film they are scary. I hope we are up to the challenge.”
Both teams ran through the regular season without much resistance. The Thunder led the league in offense scoring at a 43.8 a game. The Storm was the second highest scoring team at 34.5 points per game. On defense, Nashville recorded five regular season shutouts and gave up a total of 22 points. Oklahoma has been stingy as well on the defensive side of the ball. Their 67 points against have come mostly late in the game when the outcome is not in question.
Both teams have superstars at the skill positions. Oklahoma’s massive offensive line has opened holes for running back Kenny Sessions and protected quarterback Brandon Noohi. Noohi has enjoyed throwing the ball to Prentiss Elliott (Oklahoma State University) and Richard Sheppard (Louisiana State University). Thunder head coach Jeff Bigger’s team is primed and ready for the clash. He realizes how huge the stage is.
“We have a lot of respect for Nashville,” said Biggers. “They’re well coached, talented, and have not only one of the best offensive units in the league, but a very strong defense also. They run the ball well and we stop the run. This [The GDFL Championship Game] will be a great game for our fans.”
The Storm boasts the GDFL’s top running back in Keon Bohannon (1646 yards). Bohannon along with Anthony Martin have made a formidable one-two punch. Opponents haven’t been able to key on the run because quarterbacks George Murray (University of Cincinnati), Jason Hankins and Torrian Hall have a plethora of receivers to throw to. Chris Dansby leads the team with nine touchdowns. Minor League Hall of Famers Mario Merriwether and Jeremie “Bird” Whittaker have both suffered through injuries this season. Their absence has opened opportunities up for veteran Stevie Hendricks and rookies Rayvion Wade and Arcavius McMurray.
This will be the first time the two storied franchises will meet. Batten down the hatches, because the forecast for this game will be interesting. | http://tntribune.com/sports/metro-sports/upcoming-gdfl-championship-one-ages/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/114f2d85caeda16d76c811654fdef292892cc0b7852305f67d00c935a0bb1b55.json |
[
"Clint Confehr"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:45 | null | 2016-08-26T03:24:53 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fcommunity%2Fcollege-crib-celebrates-50-years%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/College-Crib-owners-8226.jpg | en | null | College Crib Celebrates 50 Years | null | null | tntribune.com | NASHVILLE, TN — The College Crib, a Jefferson Street store serving Greeks at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, has been celebrating 50 years of service for months. Sept. 15 is its birthday.
Blue banners are on display and plans are in place for the anniversary of when Hortense Price, now Jones, and her husband, Earl Price, became retailers.
“It was my idea all along, with my late husband,” Hortense said, recalling years with her son, T.O. Price, and husband, Fred Jones.
The men spoke of the future.
“As far as growth for the next 50 years,” T.O. said, “we look for it to be more vibrant for North Nashville as far as the business and the students in the community.”
Fred added, “We have witnessed tremendous change in the students and the entire clientele over the years.”
Celebration plans grew tremendously. Few venues hold all Crib patrons, friends, associates and luminaries, so a private celebration is set. College Crib Community Scholarship Fund beneficiaries will be announced in the Cal Turner Family Center for Student Education. The family is giving back to the community that’s overcome challenges, including events the Prices faced 47-48 years ago.
Earl owned and operated Price’s Dinner Club. He sold it to the state to expand Tennessee State University. Earl and Hortense then bought what’s remembered by long-time Nashvillians as The Spat restaurant and lounge.
Hortense remembers renovating it into a clothing store.
Retail business is hard and the Crib faced extraordinary challenges a year after opening; a great time to sell clothes to students making Civil Rights history throughout the South.
However, Interstate 40 construction started in 1967 toward the Meharry community neighborhood. African American resistance lost to the highway department which resumed construction in 1968. It took a year to finish. Housing values dropped over 30 percent, Hortense said. The Joneses paid a premium for The Spat. Had they known, the College Crib wouldn’t be where it is today.
Still, the location is good to sell Greek clothing and merchandise bearing colors, letters, and traditions. With her artistic skills, Hortense became a silk screener, seamstress and designer.
Students “made it into a Greek store,” Hortense said. “We gave them that service.”
The store’s reputation grew. Students from Alabama A&M, and HBCUs in Kentucky started coming to the Crib. Now, it’s known across the Internet.
In the store’s 10th year, Earl Price died. T.O. Price has been at the store “from the beginning,” and Hortense persevered. On Valentine’s Day 1987, she met Fred Jones at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill. They’ve been married nearly 30 years.
“I couldn’t do without him,” Hortense says of Fred. She and her first husband had three sons, T.O., Earl Jr., and Elmer Marlow Price.
Well-known customers include: the late Hortense Canady, a civil rights leader elected to Lansing’s school board and a former national Delta Sigma Theta president; Bishop Joseph Walker, pastor of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship; Earl Graves, founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine; Penny Hardaway, retired 6’-7” NBA point guard; the late Steve McNair, Price Plaza tenant; many of McNair’s fellow Titans; attorney Joseph “Judge Joe” Brown, former criminal court judge and TV show arbiter; Rickey Smiley, comedian, TV host, actor and radio personality known for prank calls; the late trial attorney Johnny Cochran; TSU presidents past and present; and MTSU’s current president.
Some of them and others — including the Crib’s major vendors, insurance agent, CPA, financial advisors, banker, attorney, friends, Greek association representatives, ministers, and business leaders — are invited to the Sept. 24 program. | http://tntribune.com/community/college-crib-celebrates-50-years/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/f7708850d31249d1b7fdd8bb2bf0538c45df439d907bd0fb699efbf44aa5fb28.json |
[
"Jarius Sowell"
] | 2016-08-30T16:51:08 | null | 2016-08-30T16:43:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Flifestyle%2Fentertainment%2Fsouthside-with-you-film%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-30-at-11.36.24-AM.png | en | null | Southside with You: Film Review | null | null | tntribune.com | Who would ever think of making a movie just about Barack (Parker Sawyers) and Michelle Obama’s (Tika Sumpter) first date? Richard Tanne would, that’s who, and he makes an impressive directorial debut with this inspirational biopic chronicling a very eventful day in the lives of the future President and First Lady.
The story unfolds in Chicago during the summer of 1989 when Michelle was already employed as an attorney and living back home with her parents (Vanessa Bell Calloway and Phillip Edwad Van Lear). Barack had just finished his first year at Harvard law school and had landed an internship as her assistant at her prestigious, white-shoe firm.
Apparently, he was so instantly smitten with Michelle that he could barely contain himself. So, she had to politely remind him of the the office’s strict rule against fraternizing among associates. Nevertheless, when she refused to consider a romantic rendezvous, he pitched her on the idea of attending a business meeting with him.
Once Michelle grudgingly agrees, Barack arrives late, yet is too cocky to be embarrassed about either his tardiness or the gaping hole in the floor of his rusty jalopy. What the skeptical object of his affection doesn’t know is that he has added a picnic, a museum and a movie to their planned itinerary.
Again, Michelle balks, but consents only after reminding her self-assured suitor that “This is not a date.” Nevertheless, the smooth-talking chain smoker presses on with his own agenda, with the Art Institute of Chicago being their first port-of-call. And while perusing paintings by the legendary Ernie Barnes, Barack began broaching personal subjects.
The two continued to get to know each other over sandwiches in the park, with the discussion touching on everything from family to faith to blackness to the meaning of life. So, Michelle had a decent measure of the man by the time they headed to the South Side rec center where Barack had once worked as a community organizer.
The icing on the cake proves to be an inspirational speech that’s nothing short of presidential which he delivers there to the discouraged denizens of the crumbling ‘hood. Michelle’s floodgates finally open, undoubtedly helped along by one woman’s (Deanna Reed Foster) approval of her as the first sister she’s ever seen Barack with. Next thing you know, the two lovebirds head to the theater to see Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, before capping off the evening with a little canoodling while sharing an ice cream cone.
Southside with You is a syrupy soap opera readily recommended for ardent Obama admirers. The predictable love story has a tendency to telegraph its punches, since its familiar plotline sticks to what’s already public knowledge. Overall, this plausible account of the blossoming of love between Barack and Michelle serves up a pleasant, if sanitized version of their romantic launch en route to an historic rendezvous with destiny! | http://tntribune.com/lifestyle/entertainment/southside-with-you-film/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/3ed0a468be8488caf9d5c3899577a799448fa01d24855b3d7b6254cd90ad9b6c.json |
[
"Scott Wallace"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:12 | null | 2016-08-25T16:23:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fsports%2Fmetro-sports%2Fstorm-slip-past-crush-repeat-conference-champions%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/002.jpg | en | null | Storm Slip Past Crush, Repeat as Conference Champions | null | null | tntribune.com | WHITES CREEK, Tenn.- The Nashville Storm’s 2016 season has been a rollercoaster ride. This past Saturday, the ride was extremely rainy but they managed to hold off a determined Georgia Crush team 6-2 to move on to their second consecutive Gridiron Developmental Football League championship game.
The victory gave the Storm their second consecutive Xtreme Conference championship and was a team record 22nd straight victory. The game was a microcosm of the season. A torrential downpour before the game started made conditions extremely difficult. On the opening kickoff, Storm defensive back Chris Perkins broke free for what looked like a sure touchdown but fumbled.
Like all season, the Storm defense took over and made it tough for the Crush the entire game. The Storm offense moved the ball to the red zone on five different occasions. After a scoreless first half, defensive back Randall Smith stepped in front of a pass for an interception. He returned it deep inside Crush territory. The drive stalled and Storm kicker Tim Brecht tried a 27-yard field goal that was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Storm quarterback Jason Hankins hit wide receiver Jeremie Whittaker on a 52 yard pass and catch to the Crush three-yard line. On the next play, Storm leading rusher Keon Bohannon fumbled. The defense once again stopped the Crush, but a roughing the punter penalty nullified them getting the ball in good field position.
After that, Perkins almost redeemed himself when he stepped in front of a third down pass attempt but it slipped through his hands. But Perkins, who scored twice last week, got another chance on the next play. He took the ensuing punt 56 yards for a touchdown. Key blocks were made by Mychal Hendricks and Fred Sparkman. The extra point attempt was picked off and ran back for a two-point conversion.
“After he (Perkins) fumbled the kickoff, I told him he would win the game for us,” said Hendricks. “I kept thinking it would be either Bay Bay (Smith) or him. Our defense rose to the occasion. It was ugly but we will take it. The Crush played us tough. They are a great team.”
For the second consecutive year, the Storm will have to defeat the host team for the championship. Last season they defeated the Crescent City Kings 29-22 in New Orleans. This time they will travel to Tulsa to take on the Oklahoma Thunder.
“I was upset after fumbling the kickoff,” said Perkins. “I appreciate my teammates and coaches sticking with me. I only had to make one move to get in the end zone. Everybody was blocking their tails off. We will have our hands full for the championship game. We have dealt with adversity all year. We thought we were going to meet the Thunder last year. This will be our toughest game by far all season.” | http://tntribune.com/sports/metro-sports/storm-slip-past-crush-repeat-conference-champions/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/94e9ddceab8bd8ebd31b39057f64eaac6f2084d100977ad25a5f18d695609460.json |
[
"Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:26 | null | 2016-08-23T03:06:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fvideo%2Ftake-10%2Ftake-10-tuesdays-featuring-shatona-kilgore-groves%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-24-at-9.58.30-PM.png | en | null | Take 10 On Tuesdays Featuring Shatona Kilgore Groves | null | null | tntribune.com | Shatona Kilgore Groves of Crown Events, is the guest this week on Take 10 with The Tennessee Tribune. Kilgore Groves discusses her upcoming Nashville Blogging & Social Media Conference. with Tribune Social Media Director Jason Luntz. The event is a social media and blogging forum available to help both small businesses and bloggers grow their online presence. The Fisk Graduate also discusses how a lack of diversity in the online space in Nashville led her to create the conference.
You can learn more by visiting: http://www.bookcrownevents.com.
Every Tuesday the Tennessee Tribune takes the time out to interview citizens of the Metro-Nashville area who are doing important things in their field.
To learn about all the interesting people in Nashville, TN please visit: http://www.tntribune.com. | http://tntribune.com/video/take-10/take-10-tuesdays-featuring-shatona-kilgore-groves/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/c5af632742d70ae8d297856ffebec43204db58dcdf4e8036cc4cec5e434c8543.json |
[
"Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:44 | null | 2016-08-23T16:05:36 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fcommunity%2Fwilhoit-inauguration-aug-31%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/White.jpg | en | null | Wilhoit Inauguration Aug. 31 | null | null | tntribune.com | NASHVILLE, TN — Davidson County Property Assessor-elect Vivian Wilhoite is to be sworn into office next Wednesday afternoon in the Howard Office Building.
Her 3 p.m. ceremony marks the beginning of the first term for the first African American holding that county-wide elected office. Wilhoite was elected without opposition on Aug. 4.
The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be in the Sonny West Conference Center at 700 2nd Ave., South. A reception immediately follows the event.
Wilhoite is no stranger to public office. She is a former Metro Councilwoman from Antioch.
She succeeds two-term incumbent George Rooker, who’s been an employee of the assessor’s office for almost four decades.
Wilhoite won the Democratic Party’s nomination over Rooker 56-43-percent with about 8,000 votes between their individual counts.
All across Tennessee, county property assessors determine the fair market value of real estate and personal property so the tax burden is fairly and equitably distributed among all county residents. The amount of taxes paid is determined by a tax rate applied to a property’s assessed value. Assessors do not set taxes. The tax rate is set by a county commission, or a city council. | http://tntribune.com/community/wilhoit-inauguration-aug-31/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/0e425c708890a4cb2e9378e3e6e17f9b4bcdaffb8a03582adf3ca2afe70ea259.json |
[
"Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T16:50:57 | null | 2016-08-30T16:28:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Flifestyle%2Ffood%2Ffarm-burger-pioneering-grass-fed-burger-restaurant-open-first-tennessee-location-nashville-september-1st%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/unnamed-3.jpg | en | null | Farm Burger-the Pioneering Grass-fed Burger Restaurant-to Open First Tennessee Location In Nashville On September 1st | null | null | tntribune.com | For Immediate Release — Farm Burger, the 100% grass-fed and locally sourced burger joint, will open its first Nashville location on Thursday, September 1st within Hill Center Sylvan Heights mixed-use development, 4013 Charlotte Avenue at 40th Street. A few miles from downtown, the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner daily, 11:30am-10pm Sunday-Thursday and 11:30am-11pm Friday-Saturday.
Farm Burger was founded in Decatur, Georgia, in 2010 by organic farmer and rancher Jason Mann and restaurateur George Frangos. Farm Burger’s philosophy is rooted in providing guests with the highest quality produce and pasture-raised meats at accessible prices in a family-friendly environment. Farm Burger achieves this by developing dynamic producer relationships that provide value, respect, and sustainability across the supply chain.
The restaurant’s chef-driven menu features award-winning burgers made from a custom blend of 100% grass-fed beef that’s dry-aged, ground fresh, and cooked to order. Dishes also include burgers made from antibiotic-free chicken, pasture-raised pork, and veggies, plus seasonal salads, hand-cut French fries and diverse daily specials. The beverage program features milkshakes, floats, and a curated and changing list of local craft beers and small production wines.
“We’re looking forward to becoming a neighbor in Nashville’s Sylvan Heights,” said Farm Burger’s Cofounder George Frangos. “It’s an honor to be welcomed by such a vibrant community and city that shares our passion for good, local food.”
Farm Burger Nashville’s menu will feature ingredients sourced from numerous local producers, including Tennessee Grass Fed Farm (for pasture-raised pork), Johnson’s Honey Farm (for honey), Hatcher Family Dairy (for dairy), Old Spencer Mill (for grits), and Pied Piper (for ice cream). The beer list will feature local breweries including Jackalope Brewing Company, Little Harpeth Brewing, Fat Bottom Brewing, and more.
Farm Burger employs green and sustainable design practices—relaxed and simple with a modern, rural aesthetic. The 3000-square-foot Nashville restaurant, located on the building’s corner, features large garage doors opening to a covered patio overlooking Charlotte Avenue at 40th Street.
This will be Farm Burger’s ninth location nationwide, with other restaurants in Georgia (Decatur, Buckhead, Dunwoody), North Carolina (Asheville and South Asheville), California (Berkeley and Marin), and Alabama (Huntsville). Farm Burger is also in the process of opening in Birmingham, AL. The restaurants have been featured in bon appetit, Southern Living, on CNN, and many more, and Farm Burger was named among Food & Wine’s picks for “Best Burgers in the U.S.” | http://tntribune.com/lifestyle/food/farm-burger-pioneering-grass-fed-burger-restaurant-open-first-tennessee-location-nashville-september-1st/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/f6402b3e6c9f9ca17b56e3ef3ba965ba1c916acda92b933ad45f82a0875c77b7.json |
[
"Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T16:51:06 | null | 2016-08-30T14:51:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Flifestyle%2Fentertainment%2Ffilm-review%2Fskiptrace-film-review%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Skiptrace-Jackie-Chan-Johnny-Knoxville-e1468861986506.jpg | en | null | Skiptrace: Film Review | null | null | tntribune.com | Jackie Chan made dozens of martial arts movies in his native Hong Kong prior to finding phenomenal success stateside in 1998 co-starring with Chris Tucker in the buddy-comedy Rush Hour. Their pairing as unlikely-partners proved so popular that they returned to the well to shoot a couple of sequels in Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3. And Jackie further milked the familiar formula in outings opposite Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights.
Despite being perhaps a little long-in-the-tooth to still be doing such stunt-driven adventures, the sixty-something matinee idol is back with Skiptrace, a slight variation on the theme co-starring Johnny Knoxville. Knoxville is known for Jackass, the TV and film franchise in which he and a coterie of deranged confederates perform an array of death-defying feats.
Here, he reprises some of his greatest hits, like rolling down the street in a barrel. The same can be said of Chan, as so many of the picture’s chase and fight sequences have a feeling of deja vu about them. Nevertheless, a treat is in store for the uninitiated, especially youngsters who’ve never seen either of these leads ply his trade before.
In Skiptrace, Jackie plays Hong Kong detective Benny Chan, and Johnny co-stars as Connor Watts, an American gambler on the run from a Russian casino owner (Charlie Rawes) he fleeced to the tune of a million dollars. At the point of departure, Benny’s partner Yung (Eric Tsang) is murdered by a mysterious mobster known as The Matador, and he makes it his mission to bring the creep to justice.
Meanwhile, half a world away, Johnny just happens to witness the kidnapping of Yung’s daughter Samantha (Bingbing Fan). So, that makes him invaluable to Benny when the two subsequently cross paths, as much as the detective dislikes the idea of cooperating with a slippery con man.
Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2), Skiptrace overall is a globe-trotting affair which unfolds at a dizzying pace in the course of visiting a variety of ports-of-call all across the planet. The multi-layered whodunit eventually builds to a big showdown at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal back in Hong Kong, where the case is very satisfactorily resolved.
Though he’s certainly no Chris Tucker, Johnny Knoxville does prove a decent enough accomplice for Jackie Chan’s endearing combination of antics and acrobatics.
Good (2 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, suggestive content, profanity, drug use and brief nudity
Running time: 107 minutes
Distributor: Saban Films
To see a trailer for Skiptrace, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=EWUjtb0i7dg | http://tntribune.com/lifestyle/entertainment/film-review/skiptrace-film-review/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/b4e8f8c7736af56f7bfb7edde77fc507876d5bb783cb7fa8102d9f716d908350.json |
[
"Janice Malone"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:50 | null | 2016-08-25T13:12:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Flifestyle%2Fentertainment%2Fevents%2Fstar-studded-night-nmaams-black-music-honors-event%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Music-Honors-Jam-Lewis-3-3.jpg | en | null | A Star-Studded Night at NMAAM’S ‘Black Music Honors’ Event | null | null | tntribune.com | Nashville was ‘red carpet ready’ last Thursday night for the first annual Celebrate the Soul: Black Music Honors event, which took place at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. This very special night honored some of the legendary African American artists and organizations that have influenced and made significant contributions to American culture. The star-studded event will benefit The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and was produced by Central City Productions.
The two-hour event was taped live for national television airing. Local TV News Channel 5 will air the show on September 4th with networks ASPIRE and BOUNCE networks airing later next month and October. The festivities were hosted by actor and former ‘The Cosby Show’ son Malcolm Jamaal Warner, and Grammy Award winning singer/recording artist Ledisi.
Since the night was also Malcolm’s 46th birthday, the capacity crowd lovingly sang happy birthday for the still young TV star. “Music has allowed me to develop an avenue of expression that my soul needs, which is why being part of something like Black Music Honors is a phenomenal opportunity. I am excited to participate and serve in this esteemed role,” Warner stated before the event.
The six acclaimed honorees and foundational music label featured were: Pastor Shirley Caesar, hip-hop pioneerBig Daddy Kane, pop singer legend Dionne Warwick, renown music producers Jim ‘Jam’ Harris and Terry Lewis, music legend executive Clarence Avant and Memphis-based Stax Records. Earlier in the week producers Jam and Lewis were guests with students at the Pearl Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School, where the kids engaged with the dynamic duo in a question and answer session.“I enjoyed meeting all the talented students,” Jimmy Jam posted to his Twitter page afterwards.
The Music Honors night was filled with some of the best music performers in R&B, pop, gospel music. Performers included: The Temptations Review, Kool Moe Dee, Eddie Levert, The SOS Band, Chubb Rock, Ann Nesby, Cherelle, and young recording star Andra Day. Nashville’s own gospel music legend Dr. Bobby Jones was also present. Each performer paid musical homage to the honorees and their music contributions to the world. For more information click: www.NMAAM.org | http://tntribune.com/lifestyle/entertainment/events/star-studded-night-nmaams-black-music-honors-event/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/3bde50cf7ab46410558fd859f37fe493cfd6f1db586b4ff703113c8f17f0166b.json |
[
"Scott Wallace"
] | 2016-08-26T22:48:11 | null | 2016-08-26T22:03:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Funcategorized%2Fupcoming-gdfl-championship-one-ages%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1918051_165942448513_5769593_n-280x300.jpg | en | null | Upcoming GDFL Championship, One for The Ages | null | null | tntribune.com | Two best teams fight for minor league supremacy.
No matter what the weather report will be in Tulsa on September 3rd, the Gridiron Developmental Football League will forecast “Thunder-Storms”. The final two undefeated teams the Oklahoma Thunder and the Nashville Storm will be on stage to see who is the best team in 2016. The clash is a year in the making.
Both teams were picked to meet in New Orleans for the championship. The Thunder fell to the Crescent City Kings in the semi-final with Nashville defeating the Kings for their sixth national championship. This season, Marvel City was favored to upend the Storm but fell to the Georgia Crush in the quarterfinals.
“For some reason we have been underdogs all season,” said Storm head coach Charles Hunter. “First the Columbus Fire was going to beat us. Then Marvel City was going to beat us. The target has been on us for years. We had a great offseason camp and some rookies have really stepped in to help. We scored more last year but we have a more balanced attack. This by far will be our toughest opponent for many years. On film they are scary. I hope we are up to the challenge.”
Both teams ran through the regular season without much resistance. The Thunder led the league in offense scoring at a 43.8 a game. The Storm was the second highest scoring team at 34.5 points per game. On defense, Nashville recorded five regular season shutouts and gave up a total of 22 points. Oklahoma has been stingy as well on the defensive side of the ball. Their 67 points against have come mostly late in the game when the outcome is not in question.
Both teams have superstars at the skill positions. Oklahoma’s massive offensive line has opened holes for running back Kenny Sessions and protected quarterback Brandon Noohi. Noohi has enjoyed throwing the ball to Prentiss Elliott (Oklahoma State University) and Richard Sheppard (Louisiana State University). Thunder head coach Jeff Bigger’s team is primed and ready for the clash. He realizes how huge the stage is.
“We have a lot of respect for Nashville,” said Biggers. “They’re well coached, talented, and have not only one of the best offensive units in the league, but a very strong defense also. They run the ball well and we stop the run. This [The GDFL Championship Game] will be a great game for our fans.”
The Storm boasts the GDFL’s top running back in Keon Bohannon (1646 yards). Bohannon along with Anthony Martin have made a formidable one-two punch. Opponents haven’t been able to key on the run because quarterbacks George Murray (University of Cincinnati), Jason Hankins and Torrian Hall have a plethora of receivers to throw to. Chris Dansby leads the team with nine touchdowns. Minor League Hall of Famers Mario Merriwether and Jeremie “Bird” Whittaker have both suffered through injuries this season. Their absence has opened opportunities up for veteran Stevie Hendricks and rookies Rayvion Wade and Arcavius McMurray.
This will be the first time the two storied franchises will meet. Batten down the hatches, because the forecast for this game will be interesting. | http://tntribune.com/uncategorized/upcoming-gdfl-championship-one-ages/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/a85ecb2f85c058289a1dc88b28c0d02307cab8c4e10bb0f26558a1819345af5a.json |
[
"Janice Malone"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:58 | null | 2016-08-25T13:16:12 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Flifestyle%2Fentertainment%2Fhavfaith-movie-premieres-weekend%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Hav-Faith-Movie-pix.jpg | en | null | “HavFaith” the Movie Premieres this Weekend! | null | null | tntribune.com | “What you meant for bad God turned it around for good.” That Old Testament classic scripture is the foundation for the upcoming new film “HavFaith.” Nashville film maker and director Howard Bell (“Keyed: film) has taken a modern day approach to the classic story of the biblical character Joseph and his many troubles and later triumph. “The script deals with some of the major points of story of Bible’s Joseph but it also has a host of characters that surround the story to make it a little bit more interesting and more modern as well too,” says director Howard Bell, who also wrote the script. “I’ve always wanted to do a faith based film but I wanted to do one that had more realism about it. You see a lot of faith base films and to me, they are kind of cookie cutter. They’re not very believable to me. Most are just not connecting with me or a certain type of audience. But that’s not the case with HavFaith. Almost anyone will be able to relate to the various issues this film deals with,” adds Bell.
The film stars Terron Brooks (The Temptations), Gary Sturgis (Daddys Little Girls), Santiago Cirilo (The Walking Dead), Akintunde Warnock, Latoya Gardner, Shante King, and Brooklyn Tankard. The film maker really needs for the public to come out to see the movie during its first weekend opening. So Nashville, if you want to support this local film maker, grab your popcorn and turn out in heavy numbers this weekend. The movie will premier August 26th at the Regal Hollywood 27 in Nashville, that will feature a Red Carpet event, followed by Q & A with the cast. Also, the cast will be appearing at Fox’s BBQ in Clarksville, TN on August 27th. For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/havfaithmovie/ | http://tntribune.com/lifestyle/entertainment/havfaith-movie-premieres-weekend/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/2cd127658862507bc0c2d495abb7ba23c9c4513c70cb96116954dbe9d407b8dd.json |
[
"Reginald Stuart"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:56 | null | 2016-08-26T04:11:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fcommunity%2Fnational%2Fjournalist-curry-dies-69%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/georgecurry_bpw14_fallen_web120.jpg | en | null | Journalist Curry Dies at 69 | null | null | tntribune.com | “He (Curry) started early giving back,” said journalist Dwight Lewis, a reporter and columnist for The Nashville Tennessean for 40 years until his retirement in 2011. Lewis was a long time colleague of Curry. Lewis said he and Curry met while both were in college and toying with journalism. Lewis, who played baseball at Tennessee A & I State College, now Tennessee State University, wrote for The Meter, the campus paper. Curry, quarterback for
the Knoxville College football team, was editor of the college paper. They met at a summer journalism camp in Atlanta held by then Clark College, Lewis said. Both became newspaper reporters upon graduation, Lewis recalled, seeing one another at various journalism gatherings in subsequent years.
Before completing his studies at Knoxville, Curry would expand his abilities through summer history scholarships at Yale and Harvard Universities, according to his biography. “George kept going until the end,” said Lewis, reflecting upon Curry’s work and achievements. “He was like Alex Haley,” Lewis said. “Both had a hard time saying no to people,” said Lewis who came to know Haley after Haley’s book “Roots,” drew the author international acclaim.
Lewis said he remembers the day after Alex (Haley) died, Lamar Alexander (not yet elected to the U.S. Senate), who had befriended Haley over the years, said “We used him up. I thought about the same thing with George (Curry),” said Lewis. I guess he was just one of those people who had a hard time saying no to people. He (Curry) wanted to give everything he had,” Lewis said of Curry.
Indeed a look at Curry’s career showed he was among the generation of people who did their best to make good on the news business paths carved by the pioneer generation of black journalists that preceded him, people like the late Robert Churchwell, William A. Reed Jr. and Leonard Thomlinson.
Curry, one time editor of The Aurora, the college’s student paper, and quarterback of its college football team, was being hailed for his achievements as a noted newspaper journalist, magazine and news service editor, civil rights advocate, mentor of aspiring journalists and author. After completing his studies in 1970 at Knoxville College, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama public high school graduate, was one of the first Blacks hired as a full-time reporter for Sports Illustrated magazine. In 1977, he left SI for the St. Louis Post Dispatch where he worked until 1983. During that time Curry, a history major in college, authored his first book, “America’s Most Famous Black Coach,” a biography of legendary college football coach Jake Gaither. He also started, in 1977, the Saint Louis Minority Journalism Workshop, one of several such programs he would launch or work with in subsequent years around the nation, including New York City and Washington, D.C. In 1983, Curry was stolen by the Chicago Tribune for which he worked for a decade as a Washington Correspondent then New York bureau chief. Those assignments put him on travel around the world and also covering the 1988 national presidential election contests in which the Rev. Jesse Jackson, then based on Chicago, made a serious bid for the Democratic nomination.
From the Tribune, Curry leaped into the magazine world as editor-in-chief of Emerge Magazine, a relatively new national monthly founded by the late Wilmer Ames, the Time Magazine editor who founded Emerge as a serious news alternative to Ebony magazine. Curry had freelanced for Ames and the two developed a good working relationship making Curry an easy choice when Ames opted to step down. “He was a good editor, a different kind of editor,” said veteran Washington editor Flo Purnell, the first person Curry hired to work with him on Emerge. Purnell had been a copy editor for USA Today. Curry wanted her to be managing editor of a national magazine with a circulation of more than 100,000 Purnell remembered. “George could pull in the broad view,” Purnell recalled this week in a telephone interview. “I knew how to think and plan ahead,” Purnell recalled.
Curry and Purnell crafted issues month after month that grabbed attention. They included cover pictures mocking President Reagan’s choice of attorney Clarence Thomas for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, ostensibly replacing the late justice Thurgood Marshall. The stories were accompanied by biting reporting on Thomas. Curry would lead coverage of ‘cyber hate,’ working with the Southern Poverty Law Center to produce one of the first national stories about hate online. The magazine continued work on civil rights murders in the South and did detailed reporting of backers of the Federalists Society, the low profile conservative political action organization. Winning widespread acclaim for their courageous work, Curry and his small team of editors, fact checkers and freelance writers and photographers often worked late nights and many weekends to produce the magazine.
One of its major high points was publication, in May, 1995, of “Kemba’s Nightmare,” a 10,000 word opus about a college freshman who become involved with a drug dealer only to be indicted and convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 24 1⁄2 years in federal prison with no chance of parole, despite being a first time, non-violent offender. The Emerge story, written by this reporter, spurred a movement in the legal community and Congress to roll back the federal laws that had resulted in thousands of minor, non-violent offenders being sentenced to years in federal prison. Under heavy lobbying from lawmakers, prison rights groups and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, then
President Bill Clinton commuted the sentence of the one-time college student, Kemba Smith, to time served — six and one half years. “He took a gamble on me, having me as the poster child on an issue,” Smith said in a telephone interview this week after hearing of Curry’s death. “He wanted to highlight an issue,” said Smith. “It wasn’t just about me.” Smith, who is a member of the state corrections board in Virginia, credits Curry’s decision to publish a story about her with creating a “movement” that continues today about prison sentencing. As for her: “His making a decision changed my life,” Smith said. “It has helped me define my purpose.”
While running the magazine and championing such issues as the emerging campaign against mandatory minimum sentences, Curry made time to volunteer as a member of the board of trustees of Knoxville College. It had taken a turn for the worse in terms of enrollment and income. By the time he became the chairman of the university’s board, the institution was nearly broke.
Curry was as surprised as the magazine’s readers when owner Robert Johnson, founder of BET Television, decided in 2003 to sell the magazine to two entrepreneurs who wanted to take the magazine in an Ebony magazine director. Within months Curry, his crew and his journalism were gone. A few years later the magazine, having won some 40 national magazine awards, was gone too.
Curry was able to continue spreading the hard news to America as editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service, of which Tennessee Tribune
Publisher Rosetta Miller Perry is a member. Her newspaper regularly published Curry’s syndicated column on issues of importance to the general public, especially issues that are affecting people of color negatively.
“Jason Luntz, social media director, who worked directly with Tennessee students under George’s direction is devastated,” said Perry of the loss of Curry. | http://tntribune.com/community/national/journalist-curry-dies-69/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/40d4028ff382c34d86e2c15ce61d97cb49edf09712c59588f9a0c1b714861c9a.json |
[
"Thomas Sheffield"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:18 | null | 2016-08-25T13:27:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Feducation%2Fis-education-out-of-reach%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/children.png | en | null | Is Education Out of Reach? | null | null | tntribune.com | “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” This was on a bumper sticker my father had on his 1967 Buick LeSabre. This statement reminds us it is more expensive to be reactive rather than to be pro-active. Education is sustainable and as radio host Joe Madison says, “Education is the new currency for the 21st century.” Studies show among millennials ages 25-32, the median annual earnings for full time working college degree holder is $17,500 greater than for those with high school diplomas only. This stat proves how important a higher education is. Tennessee currently ranks 43rd in the nation in the share of residents who have completed college.
The issue used to be whether or not you could get into school. Now the issue is whether you can afford to stay in and graduate. If you are a non-traditional student (age 25 and older), there are not many grants, financial aid or scholarships available. A 2014 report showed 40 percent of all college and graduate students were over the age of 25. The non-traditional students are now forced to take out loans for an education that may not produce the desired job once they finish. Unfortunately, the cost of a college degree may now be considered the new mortgage for the 21st century.
Student Loan Hero reported more than 43 million Americans have student loan debt now totaling $1.26 trillion. Over 11 percent are showing they are delinquent on their loans. These are people that are not even able to afford the education after they graduated. Many college grads are forced to work jobs making $15 per hour or less in positions not in their field. The average affordable rent at minimum wage is $631 per month. This means one would have to work 61 hours at minimum wage to afford to rent 1 bedroom home.
What fields should one study to ensure a job is waiting once you graduate? The challenge is to think differently. Majors in engineering and computer science fields have and will give graduates a better return on the education investment. We should therefore encourage our children to study fields in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Green jobs are also being created across all economic sectors. According to SimplyHired.com, the average annual salaries range from solar installer at $31,000, to Environmental architect of $71,000. Geoscientists and environmental scientists can earn up to $81,000 per year. Environmental engineers can earn more than $100,000 per year. This field is expected to increase by 25 percent through 2016. Senior urban planners, environmental specialist, renewable energy managers and chief sustainability officers are other top paying jobs that will be needed for quite some time. The key is to think about the future and to be pro-active with the education needed to survive in the 21st century.
Please feel free to contact me thomsustainableconsulting@gmail.com. Or you can follow me on Twitter @tcsheff. I have also created a new face book page WordsactionChange Initiative. Please share and follow. #wordsactionchange | http://tntribune.com/education/is-education-out-of-reach/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/3f2e687768b0e519add0bc1ccc9358068dd2eecbdbf5130c593f7556aa50b81c.json |
[
"Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:40 | null | 2016-08-23T15:52:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fcommunity%2Fnew-sculpture-commemorates-tennessees-role-ratifying-american-womens-right-vote%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Suffragists-w_-model-9673.jpg | en | null | New Sculpture Commemorates Tennessee’s Role in Ratifying American Women’s Right to Vote | null | null | tntribune.com | NASHVILLE, TN — Tennessee’s pivotal role in the ratification of the 19th Amendment will be celebrated on Women’s Equality Day.
That’s Friday, Aug. 26, when a monument to the suffragists will be unveiled during ceremonies from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Nashville’s Centennial Park near The Parthenon.
The event will be live-streamed beginning at 11 a.m. CDT for those who can’t attend and want to watch the program. See address below.
Renowned Nashville artist Alan LeQuire cast the bronze sculpture featuring five important women involved in the final ratification battle in Nashville in August 1920. The art was commissioned by Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument, Inc., and will be prominently displayed in Centennial Park. The five suffragists, who are in heroic scale are: Anne Dallas Dudley of Nashville; Abby Crawford Milton of Chattanooga; J. Frankie Pierce of Nashville; Sue Shelton White of Jackson; and Carrie Chapman Catt, national suffrage leader who came to Tennessee to direct the pro-suffrage forces from the Hermitage Hotel.
The program will include Mayors Megan Barry of Nashville, Kim McMillan of Clarksville, Madeline Rogero of Knoxville, and Jim Strickland of Memphis. Three Tennessee Trailblazers whose political careers were made possible by the suffragists’ victory will also be honored: the late state Rep. Lois DeBerry, the first woman to be elected Speaker Pro Tempore and the longest serving member of the Tennessee House at the time of her death in 2013; the late Hon. Jane G. Eskind, the first woman elected statewide in 1980 which was 60 years after the 19th Amendment’s ratification; and Rep. Beth Halteman Harwell, the first woman to be elected Speaker of the state House of Representatives.
For more information, go to www.tnsuffragemonument.org.
https://livestream.com/tndv- television/tnwomansuffrage | http://tntribune.com/community/new-sculpture-commemorates-tennessees-role-ratifying-american-womens-right-vote/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/b962790acddb4d24e957ddd19d36a5c8a8dbfd121d03e71c0b80c66f93499117.json |
[
"Rodney Beard"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:29 | null | 2016-08-25T13:20:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftntribune.com%2Fpolitics%2Feditorial%2Fhrc-woman-just-like-obama-black%2F.json | http://tntribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hillary-clinton-barack-obama-291bd571-bf1a-43f8-ae01-d97a8234a7fa.jpg | en | null | It’s All Because HRC is a Woman, Just Like Obama is Black! | null | null | tntribune.com | President Barak Obama was attacked brutally. The Republican establishment decided on the night of his inauguration they were going to sabotage his presidency and stand against everything he wanted to do and they did just that! Some of it worked and most of it failed, as theirs became the most “do-nothing Congress” in the history of American politics. Their hate for a man because of the color of his skin backfired and the country is suffering for those efforts until this day. America will probably continue to do so, unless we the people cleanse the House and Senate by VOTING all of the cancer out.
Secretary Hillary Clinton is being subjected to some of the very same tactics only because she is a female at an “all boys” party, so to speak. Despite the fact that she has been a champion for so many who could not fight the system, a mother to many disadvantaged children, and other mothers for many decades, an amazing Senator, and a vociferous commanding voice as Secretary of State. However, at the hands of crooked and very nasty Republicans, she is being vilified, disrespected, falsely accused, lied about regarding her health, and investigated over and over again. Why? Emails!! They had to let Benghazi go.
To make my point, I “googled” crimes that her opponent could be charged with and the obvious is glaringly apparent. He gets away with crime all the time but the media is letting the man slide. Here’s the link:
http://www.pajiba.com/politics/a-complete-list-of-all-the-times-donald-trump-has-broken-the-law.php
— Donald Trump possibly committed a felony by inciting Vladimir Putin and the Russian government to hack an American citizen and release personal emails.
— He has been sued over 3,500 times in his career, including 70 times since he kicked off his campaign.
— Stated that he would hack into the private communications of political opponents (and the Presidency would give him that power).
— Donald Trump has a long history of not honoring contracts with construction companies
— Donald Trump has knowingly and intentionally defrauded Trump University students, fleecing them out of thousands of dollars
— He violated federal law by claiming proceeds from various Trump products would go to charity, although there is no evidence that Trump ever donated the money to charity
— He violated IRS rules by using $12,000 from his charity organization to purchase a Tim Tebow helmet
— He violated election laws by emailing foreign officials to solicit political contributions
— His employees violated a U.S. trade embargo by pursuing commercial activities in Cuba when it was illegal to do so
— He’s run afoul of election laws by using campaign contributions to pay $6 million to his own businesses
— He violated Wisconsin election laws by talking with voters as they stood in line to vote
— He violated New York state education laws for operating a for-profit investment school without the required license
— He’s violated copyright law for using copyrighted images without permission
— Trump broke New York state law by lobbying to prevent an Indian casino from opening in the Catskills
— His vow to use torture on suspected terrorists would violate the Geneva conventions. He would be committing war crimes.
— He violated immigration laws by misrepresenting his company on work-visa applications
On top of all of this, he will not release his tax returns, as has been the case for presidential candidates since “Tricky Dick Nixon,” another crook, released his returns. As we all know, he was yet another known crook. He won’t do it because he can only borrow money from anyone other than the Russian Mafia. He seems to be owned and operated by Putin, who seems to adore Trump over our own Commander and Chief, as do his cohorts and close allies.
“Hillary Clinton has been investigated and scrutinized for decades. She’s endured years of hate. It’s all because she is a threat to the “boys club” who are in all out terror management mode, with the first African American and now with the first woman who will be the next President of the United States of America. Period.
Enough is enough. We must VOTE the cancer out and deport them to Russia! | http://tntribune.com/politics/editorial/hrc-woman-just-like-obama-black/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | tntribune.com/e6b19cc38afdd498cfa1b3781d360a07660d6b98d019121b848dafba4f692c19.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:57 | null | 2016-08-29T13:56:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2Feducation%2F5717%2Faltus-public-schools-weekly-calendar-of-events-aug-29-sept-3.json | http://altustimes.com/news/education/5717/altus-public-schools-weekly-calendar-of-events-aug-29-sept-3 | en | null | Altus Public Schools weekly calendar of events Aug. 29-Sept. 3 | null | null | altustimes.com | Monday
5 p.m. Lady Bulldog softball at Mangum vs. Granite
6:30 p.m. Lady Bulldog softball at Mangum vs. Mangum
Tuesday
4:30 p.m. Lady Bulldog softball vs. Elk City
4:30 p.m. Junior High softball vs. Lawton Central
6 p.m. Altus Elementary School parent orientation
Also: All school production audition
Wednesday
Thursday
All Day: Altus Air Force STEM Fair at Altus High School
5 p.m. Lady Bulldog softball vs. Duncan
5 p.m. 9th Grade football vs. Vernon
Friday
2 p.m. Early Childhood Center kindergarten parent activity
2:15 p.m. Fall kick off assembly at AHS
4:30 p.m. JV softball at Olustee
7 p.m. Bulldog football vs. Vernon
Saturday
8:15 a.m. AHS and AJH cross-country at Duncan
1 p.m. AHS softball at Ardmore | http://altustimes.com/news/education/5717/altus-public-schools-weekly-calendar-of-events-aug-29-sept-3 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/78ef67f8606bfd315667822f12d54ac9ce6eb39cc63f23715d297acbbd022471.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:51 | null | 2016-08-29T18:53:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-baseball%2F5732%2Fbroncs-baseball-turns-it-around-in-weekend-wins.json | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball/5732/broncs-baseball-turns-it-around-in-weekend-wins | en | null | Broncs baseball turns it around in weekend wins | null | null | altustimes.com | The Blair Broncs baseball time had a tough time getting their first win of the season dropping several in a row before they picked up the elusive first win. But now, in a matter of just one week, they have gotten it turned around and headed in the right direction.
The Broncs played Saturday at home against Olustee in Duke.
Their first game of the afternoon was against the Olustee Eagles in what would turn out to be a tough battle between the two teams.
The Eagles and the Broncs both put on a show with their pitching and defense and it was not until the top of the third inning that either of the teams would put points on the scoreboard.
After a single from Olustee’s nine hole hitter, lead off hitter Jonathan Marez walked. That brought up Issack Ramirez who laid down a squeeze bunt to plate Olustee’s first run. Patrick Garcia continued the trend by singling to left and driving in Marez to put the Eagles up 2-0.
The runs did not sit too well with the Broncs and so in the bottom of the fourth, they took advantage of a Brayden Gray lead off double to left field. Gray advanced to third on a Saige Knight hit, and scored on a Brooks Cross ground ball to a deep shortstop to cut Olustee’s lead to 2-1.
Olustee answered back with another run of their own in the top of the sixth inning.
Caleb Reyes led off the inning with a free base after being hit by a pitch before stealing second and then scoring on an error by Gray to put the Eagles up 3-1 on the Broncs.
Down but not out, Blair battled back and plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gray and Knight were both walked to begin the inning before a Cross single loaded the bases. Keeton Christian drove in Gray with a single and Skyler Scott drove in Knight to tie the game at three apiece.
Olustee could not generate any offense in the top of the seventh and it would be their undoing.
Kaden Hans walked with one out and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Gray cocked back and smashed a 1-2 pitch into the left-center field gap for a double, scoring Hans and winning the game for the Broncs.
“Olustee is good,” said Head Coach B.J. Armstrong. “We really had to fight to win this one. They always pitch the ball well so it is hard to generate runs. I was proud of the guys for finding a way to win, rather than finding a way to lose.”
“Sophomore Baylor Downing really gave us a lift on the mound,” he said. “He came in and threw five innings, only giving up one run and not allowing Olustee to get anything going.”
Brayden Gray led all hitters with one RBI-run-batted-in, and was 2-for-3 on the day. Brooks Cross was 1-for-3 with two RBI’s.
Kaden Hans pitched two and one-thirds innings while allowing two runs and striking out one. Baylor Downing pitched four and two-thirds innings striking out five and allowing zero runs for the win.
Game 2: Broncs destroy the Tigers.
The Broncs played some of their better baseball of the season in their 11-3 win over the Tigers on Saturday.
Duke could not produce in the top of the first giving the Broncs their first chance and it was an opportunity the Broncs would take full advantage of.
Payson Ramirez got on first due to an error by Duke’s first baseman. Kaden Hans was up next and sent a ball into left field for a single.
Both Ramirez and Hans advanced a base thanks to a wild pitch by Duke’s pitcher before Brayden Gray drove in Ramirez with a long fly ball to center field that was caught on a great diving catch by the Duke player.
But their inning would end in disappointment after a costly base running mistake allowed Duke to get the remaining outs and end the inning with the Broncs up 1-0.
Blair really got things going in the third inning, however.
Ramirez struck out to begin the inning and Hans walked before Gray popped up to the short stop. Saige Knight followed with a single and Brooks Cross walked to load the bases.
Keeton Christian came through with a run scoring single and Skyler Scott was walked, allowing another run to score. Nicco Castillo was hit by a pitch allowing yet another run and putting the Broncs up 4-0.
Baylor downing stepped up to the plate and ripped one over the center fielders head to clear the bases and put the Broncs up 8-0 at the end of the inning.
Duke finally managed to plate a run in the top of the fourth after Gray—who had been dominant on the mound—was forced to leave the game with a neck injury and was replaced by Skyler Scott. An error by first baseman Nicco Castillo allowed Duke to get their lead off batter on base.
The next three batters were walked which allowed Duke to plate their first run of the game. Following the score, a Duke batter doubled to left field pushing through two more runs, but it was all the Broncs would allow from that point forward.
Blair scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth before Tyler Tutten came in to relieve Scott and get the final three outs of the game as the run-rule was activated.
“We took advantage of some of their mistakes. We had some tough luck with Gray having to leave the mound, but Tyler (Tutten) came in and threw the ball well,” said Armstrong. “We hit the ball better, so hopefully we are turning this thing around. We will find out this week as we play in the Labor Day Tournament at Hydro. The tournament is loaded with good teams.”
Payson Ramirez was 1-for-3 with three RBI’s and Saige Knight was 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Brayden Gray pitched two and two-thirds innings with four strikeouts while Skyler Scott pitched two-thirds innings with one strikeout and one earned run and Tyler Tutten pitched one and two-thirds innings with zero earned runs.
Blair will take on Edmond Sante Fe South at Hydro beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday in the Hydro Labor Day Tournament.
The Broncs are now 5-3 on the season.
By Ryan Lewis wlewis@civitasmedia.com
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076.
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076. | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball/5732/broncs-baseball-turns-it-around-in-weekend-wins | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/72699640d3281531c574d308f08cea4bdfdc68f84ad9c20cd390775484cd8eab.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:09 | null | 2016-08-25T13:41:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-softball%2F5690%2Fthe-struggles-continue-for-the-lady-bulldogs.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_LB-RGB.jpg | en | null | The struggles continue for the Lady Bulldogs | null | null | altustimes.com | The Lady Bulldogs softball team’s struggle continued, dropping Tuesday night’s contest against the Elk City Lady Big Elks for their fourth loss in five games.
It was a game riddled with errors that prompted Head Coach Joey Stengel to pull Kymbree McKee in the first inning. McKee left the game with two-thirds innings pitched, five runs scored against her with only one earned and two walks.
Alana Lopez served as her replacement, but could not hit her stride, tossing out 101 pitches in four and one-third innings worth of work, striking out two but walking four and allowing eight hits and four earned runs.
The Lady Big Elks dominated nearly the entire game, setting themselves up in a good position to win in the early going with at six-run first inning.
The Lady Bulldogs answered back with three of their own but it would be the only runs they would plate for the remainder of the game.
The Lady Elks on the other hand had an insatiable appetite, plating one run in the second inning, four in the third, one in the fourth and their final four runs in the fifth.
They refused to slow down and show mercy, content only with a powerful showing in which they destroyed their opponent by a large margin.
Craigin Steed led all Lady Bulldog batters with a one hit in two tries with two RBIs — runs-batted-in. Sydney Simmons led in the other run of the Bulldog’s three with one hit on two tries, one run scored and one RBI.
Little else worked out in the Lady Bulldogs favor, but ace Kymbree McKee knows that the season is still young and the Lady Bulldogs are still getting used to a new system with a lot of new parts. McKee and her teammates are not quite ready to throw in the towel just yet.
“It’s a new year, new team and a new coach. We lost four seniors, but we were lucky enough to replace them with four more and the leadership of our seniors has really brought everyone close as a team,” McKee said. “Their motto ‘All for one, one for all’ really identifies with this team. We also lost Coach Stacie Terbush, who we all miss, but gained an enthusiastic coach in Joey. He’s pushing us really hard, learning who we are, and striving to make us better as a team. We’ve come a long ways in a short amount of time, and the team is really looking forward to a great finish.”
The recent struggles have not upset this group of girls. In fact, they have grown because of them.
They have learned a great deal about themselves and each girl they go to battle with and they believe that in the end, they will achieve whatever they put their minds to. Losing is just part of the process.
They also said they have learned more because of the losses and they all have faith in themselves and their teammates to get this team turned around and headed in the right direction.
The Lady Bulldogs will get a short break before traveling to Mangum on Monday to take on the Mangum Lady Tigers and the Granite Panthers.
The Lady Bulldogs infield prepares to field a Lady Big Elks’ hit. The Lady Bulldogs now drop to 4-7 on the season. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_LB-RGB.jpg The Lady Bulldogs infield prepares to field a Lady Big Elks’ hit. The Lady Bulldogs now drop to 4-7 on the season. Ryan Lewis | Altus Times
Altus has dropped four of the last five games
By Ryan Lewis wlewis@civitasmedia.com
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076.
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076. | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-softball/5690/the-struggles-continue-for-the-lady-bulldogs | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/833a7cdb1566951d3de23c2a07b767041ac39c63b8a9616703603e964f899942.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:08 | null | 2016-08-25T13:42:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Ffeatures%2Fcommunity%2F5707%2Fgreat-plains-stampederodeo-preparations-areunderway-for-thursday.json | http://altustimes.com/features/community/5707/great-plains-stampederodeo-preparations-areunderway-for-thursday | en | null | Great Plains StampedeRodeo preparations areunderway for Thursday | null | null | altustimes.com | This weekend, Thursday through Saturday, marks the 39th Annual Great Plains Stampede Rodeo. It has been a local tradition enjoyed by the entire community.
If bull riding, saddle bronc riding and barrel racing aren’t enough to draw a crowd, there are events scheduled every night of Western Heritage Week to cater to everyone in the community.
Rodeo events start Thursday with a quick cattle drive from the rodeo arena down Veterans Drive to Altus Air Force Base and back to kick off Military Night to honor the military members of the community. A ticket will not only buy a view of some of the best bull and bronc riders in the nation, but also a delicious barbecue dinner fit for a cowhand.
The Byron Berline Bluegrass Band is performing at the annual Giddy-Up Gala and barbecue dinner at the Jackson County Expo Center at 5:30 p.m. Friday before the Great Plains Stampede Rodeo. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students. For more information call the Chamber at 580-482-0210.
Friday night is Family Night. It’s the perfect night to bring the kids out for the Elementary School Tug-of-War. Students from Altus and the surrounding communities are encouraged to attend and participate in the games. Rivers and Altus Elementary will be two of the schools involved in the competition. The winning team will receive a cash prize going directly to benefit the represented school.
Other prizes include four bicycles and a case of Dr. Depper donated by Dr Pepper Bottling Co. Inc. in Vernon, Texas and Oklahoma state House Rep. Charles Ortega (R-Altus).
A parade 11 a.m Saturday down Main Street in Altus will be the beginning of the end for this year’s rodeo. First, second, and third place cash prizes will be given in the horse and float categories, and all parade participants will finish off their trot with hot dogs and hamburgers.
Saturday night, the Great Plains Stampede Rodeo is Tough Enough to Wear Pink in support of breast cancer research. Wear pink Saturday night and get a dollar off admission.
Along with the final nights rodeo events, this year’s Rodeo Queen and Princess will be crowned.
“With great weather predicted for this weekend and national finalists coming in for each event, there’s no better reason to come out and enjoy the rodeo,” said Chris Cary, spokesman for the Great Plains Stampede Rodeo.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $5 for children, $8 for adults, and $12 for box seats. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $10 for both children and adults or $15 for box seats.
See any Rodeo Queen or Princess candidate for advanced purchases.
For more information about the parade, contact Grace Shaver at 580-480-2281. For more information on rodeo events, please contact Cary at 580-471-8832.
By Katrina Goforth Altus Times Staff
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221 ext. 2077.
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221 ext. 2077. | http://altustimes.com/features/community/5707/great-plains-stampederodeo-preparations-areunderway-for-thursday | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/e910d76b71bad43431fc319a3771d2d56f4c96ea9a55b4607f271040e18bd3c3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:47:04 | null | 2015-04-27T23:02:47 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Funcategorized%2F1%2Fhello-world.json | http://altustimes.com/uncategorized/1/hello-world | en | null | Hello world! | null | null | altustimes.com | Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! | http://altustimes.com/uncategorized/1/hello-world | en | 2015-04-27T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/24df83c21ff7aaa222431c734f791c09450602b51a51e6569536e9a61591e46b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:56:16 | null | 2016-08-25T13:41:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Flocal-politics%2F5695%2Fdehtan-takes-democratic-runoff.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Primary-6054-RenfroDehtanResults-rgb.jpg | en | null | Dehtan takes Democratic runoff | null | null | altustimes.com | Jackson County voters cast their ballots Tuesday in the Democratic Runoff Primary for District No. 3 County Commissioner. Democratic candidates Buddy Dehtan and David Renfro awaited their results Tuesday evening at the Jackson County Courthouse.
Buddy Dehtan won the election with 92 votes, while David Renfro brought in 64 votes. Though voter turnout was sparse, the two candidates were neck and neck until the final votes were tallied.
“There’s a lot of work that needs done on our roadways, especially out in rural areas,” said Dehtan, a mechanic for Jackson County and former farmer, rancher and road-crew worker. “I know we’ve got a tight budget to work with, but I hope to see progress on our streets and roads.”
Dehtan is thinking long term in county government with the rural areas close to his heart. He says that he will run again, no matter the outcome of the upcoming election in November.
The owner of his own construction business for 25 years, David Renfro, put in an applaudable effort to further his campaign with management in mind.
“There’s nothing major we can do without an increase in the budget,” Renfro said. “And until that increase comes, all we can do is continue with public service.”
For more information about upcoming elections and to register to vote, visit the Jackson County Election Board or visit elections.ok.gov.
Renfro http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Primary-6049-David-Renfro-mug-rgb.jpg Renfro Dehtan http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Primary-6051-Buddy-Dehtan-mug-rgb.jpg Dehtan Buddy Dehtan checks ballot totals as they come in from the polls. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Primary-6053-Dehtan-ballot-rgb.jpg Buddy Dehtan checks ballot totals as they come in from the polls. Katrina Goforth | Altus Times David Renfro and Buddy Dehtan wait for the primary runoff results at the board of elections. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Primary-6054-RenfroDehtanResults-rgb.jpg David Renfro and Buddy Dehtan wait for the primary runoff results at the board of elections. Katrina Goforth | Altus Times
By Katrina Goforth kgoforth@civitasmedia.com
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221, ext. 2077.
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221, ext. 2077. | http://altustimes.com/news/politics/local-politics/5695/dehtan-takes-democratic-runoff | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/16621d13153e81a0e170593463edde3da189c6d3f36c7845daaa7baa76b049fc.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:40 | null | 2016-08-23T19:10:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-football%2F5680%2Fbirdow-ready-for-next-chapter.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Birdow-RGB.jpg | en | null | Birdow ready for next chapter | null | null | altustimes.com | The six-foot, one-inch frame of the bruising Bulldog fullback and Offensive Player of the Year Taven Birdow, carried much more than just a football across the goal line during the third quarter of Altus’ 31-28 win over the Collinsville Cardinals last December.
During the second of his three rushing touchdowns in the game, he carried three Collinsville players who fought and struggled but just could not bring him to the turf.
He also carried years of preparation for that kind of moment, his junior year spent at the world-renowned IMG Academy playing with the best footballers in the nation.
Most of all he carried within him the refusal to be denied.
Birdow was a huge piece of the Bulldogs team and a key reason they were able to claim their first state championship since 1971.
After a stellar sophomore season, he left Oklahoma for IMG Academy in Florida. His junior year was spent learning how to be the absolute best football player he could be. After all, he stepped onto the field with the most elite players in high school football everyday during practice.
But his willingness to come home stemmed from his desire to play his senior year of high school football as a Bulldog and also to bring a championship trophy back to Altus High School.
He did not disappoint either, faking defenders and stiff-arming would-be tacklers to the tune of 2,472 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground, an impressive number and one of the best rushing totals in the State of Oklahoma.
His 317-yard day against Del City broke his own AHS record, and his 4,705 yards for his high school career broke the career record at the high school as well.
Needless to say, Birdow has been impressive to watch.
When he runs he puts his body on the line, and should somebody step in front of him, he will not hesitate to put the opponent’s body on the line as well. He is solid and when he crashes into defenders, he leaves each person flat on his back. A reminder to just get out of the way next time he has the ball.
He has had a tremendous high school career doing it.
Now he leaves everything behind. Awards, accomplishments and all, he has his sights set on the next chapter.
“It was an honor to receive those awards, but I have kind of put that in the past,” Birdow said. “I’m sure I’ll love to reminisce on it when I’m older, but I can’t be worried about high school now.”
Birdow moves on to play football as a fullback for the Air Force, choosing that over Army, Navy, Southern Mississippi, Tulsa, and Richmond.
Plenty of people wanted his talent, but few were worthy enough in Birdow’s eyes.
Now a dream is coming true for him.
“I‘m really looking forward to experiencing college football,” Birdow said. “I have watched it since I was little and I have dreamed of doing it. My dad played at Oklahoma State so I guess I was naturally drawn to football. Once I first put on a helmet I knew I loved the sport and a lot of things came natural. A lot of it I had to work really hard for. Now it’s just a part of my daily routine and I don’t think to much about it.”
In the Air Force, Birdow will focus on football and systems engineering — his major, and although he is quick to put his past accomplishments behind him, he does not mind giving them a fleeting thought.
“I had a lot of memories at AHS but the 2015 football season as a whole was so memorable,” Birdow said. “It was storybook. Definitely something I’ll never forget. It was a dreamlike experience but I know we all worked hard enough for it and we deserved it. The whole game was a blur until the field goal. I remember everything after that like it was yesterday.”
And so Birdow leaves.
With him go the legs that could stop in an instant and change course to make a defender miss and the shoulders that would lower and bulldoze anybody standing in his way.
But what remains at Altus are the memories he helped create each exciting Friday night game when he would help carry this team to victory, his legs pumping until he crossed the goal line.
He may be soaring as a Falcon now, but he will always be a Bulldog.
Taven Birdow will play for the Air Force Falcons as a fullback. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Birdow-RGB.jpg Taven Birdow will play for the Air Force Falcons as a fullback. Courtesy photo
By Ryan Lewis wlewis@civitasmedia.com
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076.
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076. | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-football/5680/birdow-ready-for-next-chapter | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/53be584a15fb7583e6e75223e4f5166fef02dbc50803bf354defbbf6d4553df6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:37 | null | 2016-08-25T13:41:28 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-baseball%2F5696%2Ftigers-drop-four-straight-to-fall-to-4-4-on-the-season.json | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball/5696/tigers-drop-four-straight-to-fall-to-4-4-on-the-season | en | null | Tigers drop four straight to fall to 4-4 on the season | null | null | altustimes.com | When the season first began for the Duke Tigers baseball team, hopes and expectations were soaring among the Duke community.
Just four games into the season, they found themselves with a solid 4-0 record and two no-hitters against Big Pasture.
They fought to put themselves in a great position in the young season with solid hitting and pitching and showed no signs of slowing down.
But then something happened to their magical season and things started to go very wrong for the Tigers.
After outscoring their opponents an incredible 39-10 in the first four games, they have now been outscored 24-13 in four consecutive losses.
There is a lot of baseball still left to be played, but one has to wonder what happened to tame the ferocious Tigers that started the season off on a tear.
Their downward spiral began on Aug. 18, in an 8-3 loss against the Chattanooga Warriors.
It was a game that saw the Tigers need five innings to get their three runs on the board and a game in which four Tiger errors derailed any hope they might have had in rallying for a win.
They used three pitchers in the game with each going two innings.
Orin McGee had a rough outing, allowing two hits, walking three and giving up two earned runs.
Dawson Brooks’ two innings were similar to McGee’s as he allowed one hit, one run and walked three.
Hayden Brown pitched a solid two innings allowing only one hit and zero runs while striking out two.
Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
On Saturday the Tigers battled the Geronimo Bluejays in a back-and-forth contest in which the Bluejays outlasted the Tigers 12-10 in seven innings.
Duke did its part early, jumping ahead by a score of 4-0 in the first inning before the bats fell flat until the fifth.
The Bluejays rallied back scoring one in the first, one in the third, and three in the fouth to take a 5-4 lead over the Tigers.
But the Tigers put four of their own across the plate in the fifth to retake the lead by a score of 8-5.
The Bluejays fought back mightily and drove in three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game up at 8.
The Tigers were able to put up two more runs in the top of the seventh to take a 10-8 lead, but the lead was short lived as the Bluejays scored four and took down the Tigers 12-10.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, there was still a belief amongst the team that things could be turned around and quickly.
They traveled to Fletcher on Monday for a doubleheader, knowing that this was their chance to get it together.
They played well with McGee getting the nod at pitcher and going four and two-thirds innings, allowing only one run and striking out five.
But it still was not enough as the Fletcher Wildcats were able to take advantage of a late hit and score what was the game winning point.
Having now dropped three straight, the Tigers were starting to feel a little panicked and rightfully so.
They would not be able to overcome the Wildcats in the second game of their doubleheader and they headed back to Duke on a four-game skid.
The season is still young. There is still plenty that the Tigers can do to get back to the team they were just four games ago.
During this four-game losing streak, they have allowed errors and poor decisions to put a blemish on their once perfect record.
Now they regroup and try to figure out how to plug the hole in their sinking ship.
They take on the Indiahoma Warriors next in a doubleheader, still fighting to get back to where they started.
By Ryan Lewis wlewis@civitasmedia.com
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076.
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076. | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball/5696/tigers-drop-four-straight-to-fall-to-4-4-on-the-season | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/faee050439177bdf7cea6844fc8b806e07005650a06a1c2058e83231faf4da74.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:55 | null | 2016-08-29T13:58:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fcolumns%2F5724%2Fgive-credit-to-the-man-in-the-arena.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_dorman-RGB.jpg | en | null | Give credit to the man in the arena | null | null | altustimes.com | “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
This is an excerpt from the speech “Citizenship In A Republic” delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on April 23, 1910 by President Teddy Roosevelt, commonly referred to as the Arena Speech. I believe it goes to the heart of the work done by Oklahomans for Health with their efforts regarding two petitions to change Oklahoma laws.
Their first proposal would alter the initiative process to make it easier to submit ballot questions initiated by the people. The Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office concluded their count of that petition last week and it fell short of making the ballot by about 6,000 signatures.
Many were disappointed by this outcome, but I am proud of the effort achieved by the volunteers. No volunteer-driven petition has achieved making the ballot in our state’s history, but this did not dissuade their dedication. The fact this group came so close speaks volumes to their commitment to see improvements in our system of government by the people. The Oklahomans who spent many hours and quite a bit of personal money to collect signatures are to be applauded for their work to implement a change in the law to allow more input by the general public.
The second petition, the use of marijuana as a medical treatment under the care of a doctor, was trending significantly more on signatures. The reason it was ahead was that not all volunteers were circulating both petitions and the other was an issue not impacting people directly. The count officially began on the second petition last week and the outcome should be determined soon.
No matter the conclusion, I am thankful for the thousands of supporters who signed the petitions to allow Oklahomans the chance to vote on these issues. I am also proud of the hundreds of signature gatherers who worked to see these changes made to our system of government. I applaud those who are willing, as President Teddy Roosevelt said, to climb into the arena to champion an effort. If we had more fighting the good fight, the outcomes we expect of our government would be significantly better.
http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_dorman-RGB.jpg
Joe Dorman served House District 65 as a State Representative for 12 years and was the 2014 Democratic nominee for Governor of Oklahoma. He currently is a board member for Oklahomans for Health. Reach him at P.O. Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082.
Joe Dorman served House District 65 as a State Representative for 12 years and was the 2014 Democratic nominee for Governor of Oklahoma. He currently is a board member for Oklahomans for Health. Reach him at P.O. Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082. | http://altustimes.com/opinion/columns/5724/give-credit-to-the-man-in-the-arena | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/8344e223cdbe8cf2e989ba75e8fafb227712372f816d5f9c5953b667f0661bf2.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:51 | null | 2016-08-29T13:59:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Funcategorized%2F5731%2Fsafety-top-priority-after-four-fatal-collisions.json | http://altustimes.com/uncategorized/5731/safety-top-priority-after-four-fatal-collisions | en | null | Safety top priority after four fatal collisions | null | null | altustimes.com | With another summer coming to a close, Oklahoma drivers are taking every chance they can to get in one last weekend vacation. But after a string of fatal collisons throughout the state over the weekend, safety is a top priority.
The first of four fatal weekend collisions occured Friday evening around 7:30 on Interstate 40 westbound in Yukon, Oklahoma in Canadian County.
Though the cause of the collision and the details are still under investigation, a 2015 Lexus GX460 driven by Nhut Hong Nguyen, 58, of Oklahoma City was involved in a vehicular accident involving four pedestrians: Kaylee Renee Hamilton, 23, of Fort Cobb, OK, David Paul Vallerand, 43, of Okarche, OK, Dexter Emmanuel Pierce, 37, of El Reno, OK, and Logan Allen Castleberry, 25, of Geary, OK.
Hamilton and Vallerand were pronounced at the scene by emergency medical services and transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Oklahoma City.
Pierce was treated for minor injuries and released, while Castleberry was transported to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City with internal injuries to the trunk and leg injuries. He has been listed in stable condition.
The driver, Nguyen, was transported to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City with unknown injuries. His condition is still unknown at this time.
Around 8:00 Friday evening, August 26, three miles west of Bokchito Road in the Albany Community near Durant, OK, Bryan County, Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to a collision on state highway 70E.
A 1995 Dodge Pickup driven by William Minyard, 20, of Bennington, Oklahoma travelling eastbound on state highway 70E struck a 2015 Peterbilt semi carrying an over-sized load travelling westbound on sh70E.
Minyard hit the over-sized load while passing the semi driven by Oscar Martinez, 38, of Monterrey, Mexico. He was transported to Brown’s Funeral Home in Durant, OK after being pronounced dead at the scene due to massive injuries.
Responders found the odor of alcohol on Minyard. The cause of the collision is still under investigation.
Sunday, August 28, at approximately 5:00 a.m., Sean Hayward, 24, of Grove, OK, was travelling in a 1998 Chevrolet pickup southbound on county road North 630 north of Grove, OK in Delaware County when he lost control of his vehicle and made impact with a tree.
Hayward was speeding and not using a seatbelt at the time. The vehicle’s airbags did not deploy. Responders detected the odor of alcohol at the scene.
Hayward was pronounced at the scene from massive injuries that he sustained during the collision. He had been pinned from approximately 4:48 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. when responders came to the scene. He was transported to Nichols Funeral Home in Grove, Oklahoma.
Sunday, August 28, around 8:00 a.m., eight miles south of Davis, OK in Murray County, a 1996 Chevrolet Camaro 2D driven by a juvenile male, 15, of Dickson, OK was travelling southbound on US77 at a high rate of speed, failed to negotiate a turn, crossed the center line, and overcorrected to the right.
The vehicle entered into a broad-slide and completed two full turns before landing on its wheels. The driver was ejected approximately 139 feet from the vehicle.
He was pronounced dead at the scene from head and internal trunk injuries and transported to Harvey-Douglas Funeral Home in Ardmore, OK.
The driver was not using a seatbelt, and the vehicle’s airbags did not deploy.
Law enforcement officers will be watching over Labor Day weekend for drivers not adhering to traffic laws and speed limits in order to prevent more accidents like these from occurring.
By Katrina Goforth
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221, ext. 2077
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221, ext. 2077 | http://altustimes.com/uncategorized/5731/safety-top-priority-after-four-fatal-collisions | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/caa701741268cfede61cf2ca849e37259ddedd33ea637464f594d822ff17030d.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:50 | null | 2016-08-29T13:57:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-baseball%2F5719%2Fblair-broncs-takeout-erick-bearcats.json | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball/5719/blair-broncs-takeout-erick-bearcats | en | null | Blair Broncs takeout Erick Bearcats | null | null | altustimes.com | The Blair Broncs got their second and third wins of the season on Thursday when the Erick Bearcats came to town looking to take both games against the Broncs’ in their doubleheader.
The first game started off slowly for the Broncs and at times it appeared as if they would not be able to beat the Bearcats on their own field.
That was until the fourth inning happened.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning off a Bronc error, the Bronc’s bats came to life allowing them to plate seven runs in the fourth inning alone.
Kaden Hans led off the rally with a walk, which was followed by a Saige Knight single. Skylar Scott stepped up to the plate with one mission and that was to advance the base runners by any means necessary. His chosen method was by laying down a sacrifice bunt, but he was able to turn on the jets and beat the throw to first, loading the bases for the Broncs.
Tyler Tutten and Baylor Downing were both hit by pitches, scoring Hans and Knight and reloading the bases.
Then Keaton Christian took a swing and smashed the ball down the left field line to clear the bases, earn a double for himself, and put the Broncs up 5-2. Payson Ramirez and Brayden Gray were both able to get on base before a Brooks Cross hit drove in Christian.
Hans’ second opportunity to bat in the inning was a strong single to right field, scoring Ramirez and putting the Broncs up 7-2 before the Bearcats were finally able to stop the bleeding.
The Bearcats scored a run of their own in the top of the fifth inning, but the Broncs added four more runs to their total in the bottom of the fifth to activate the run rule and beat the Bearcats 11-3.
“Got off to a slow start in the game and it was in doubt for a while,” said Broncs Coach B.J. Armstrong. “We caught some breaks at the beginning of the fourth, then our bats finally got going and we played well from then on out.”
Saige Knight picked up the win, pitching five innings and only giving up one run while striking out three.
Payson Ramirez was 4-for-5 with one RBI — run-batted in, Brooks Cross was 2-for-4, and Keaton Christian was 1-for-4 with three RBI’s.
Game 2: Erick never had a chance
The Broncs had no trouble putting away the Bearcats in the second game of their doubleheader as they needed only three innings and one pitcher to do so.
Tyler Tutten pitched all three innings for the Broncs, allowing only two hits and striking out one.
After putting away three Bearcats quickly to begin the game, the Broncs took control by scoring seven in the bottom of the first.
Payson Ramirez got it started with a single which was followed by a Kaden Hans single and a Brayden Gray single. Saige Knight drove in the first run of the game with a ground out to the shortstop before Brooks Cross plated another with a single to left field.
Keaton Christian drove in the third run of the game with a single to left field and Skyler Scott beat out an infield hit to put one more across for the Broncs.
The Broncs kept making contact, eventually driving the score up to 7-0 by the time the second inning was set to begin.
The Broncs scored four more in the bottom of the second inning and held the Bearcats in the top of the third to activate the run-rule and win the game 11-0.
“This is how we can play,” Armstrong said. “We should be putting games away early with out bats and we did that today. Hopefully this will continue.”
Payson Ramirez led all batters again, going 2-for-3 with two RBI’s while Kaden Hans was 1-for-1 with three RBI’s, Brayden Gray was 1-for-2 with one RBI, Brooks Cross was 1-for-2 with one RBI, and Keaton Christian was 1-for-2 with one RBI.
The Broncs will take on Olustee and Duke at Blair on Saturday.
By Ryan Lewis wlewis@civitasmedia.com
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076.
Reach Ryan Lewis at 580-482-1221, ext. 2076. | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball/5719/blair-broncs-takeout-erick-bearcats | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/8076048df3b49519bc24ff7c9023aef688d3b814e403ea147c28e06095ae43b4.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:49 | null | 2016-08-29T13:56:53 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2Feducation%2F5718%2Fschool-menus-for-the-week-of-aug-29-sept-2.json | http://altustimes.com/news/education/5718/school-menus-for-the-week-of-aug-29-sept-2 | en | null | School menus for the week of Aug. 29-Sept. 2 | null | null | altustimes.com | null | http://altustimes.com/news/education/5718/school-menus-for-the-week-of-aug-29-sept-2 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/066a71bae967475e8610a6fe87d79f532a333422e71f379ce062a6e9141ee481.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:47 | null | 2016-08-29T13:58:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2F5727%2Fnap-toolto-offsetfarm-loss.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Josefy-Carl-w-hat-mug-RGB-2.jpg | en | null | NAP toolto offsetfarm loss | null | null | altustimes.com | As many of you are aware, Farm Service Agency offers protection for non-insurable crops through NAP — Non-insured disaster Assistance Program. NAP has been and is a very good management tool to offset possible losses of production or grazing for a minimal cost. For most producers, the cost is only $250 per crop up to a maximum of $750 per producer — $1,875 maximum for multicounty producers. However, beginning farmers and ranchers, limited resource producers, or traditionally underserved — including women — can obtain NAP basic coverage without having to pay the NAP fee. Buy-up coverage up to 65 percent coverage is also available for an additional premium — except for crops intended for grazing.
There are several requirements to consider when considering NAP coverage for your operation.
* First, the coverage must be purchased by the sales closing date for each crop (see list below).
* Second, report any acres of the covered crop within 15 calendar days after planting or the final acreage reporting date for the crop.
* Third, report any mechanically harvested production from the previous year by the acreage reporting date for the current year. The best practice is to submit a production report immediately after harvest has ended or, for hay, the last cutting has occurred. The fourth and possibly most important requirement for maintaining eligibility for NAP coverage is to timely file a notice of loss (form CCC-576). A notice of loss must be provided by the earlier of:
* 15 calendar days after the date of the damaging weather or disaster occurrence or date damage to the specific crop acreage is apparent to the producer
* 15 calendar days after the normal harvest date.
A notice of loss should be filed as soon as possible — within 15 calendar days — after the producer discovers a loss has occurred. For small grains and grass pastures intended for grazing, a loss could be determined by the producer after determining there was a reduction in grazing or available forage, poor stand, late emergence from dormancy, supplemental feeding started earlier than normal, etc. Failure to file a notice of loss will render a producer ineligible for NAP benefits if a loss occurs.
Upcoming deadlines:
Aug. 31 – deadline to purchase NAP loss coverage for 2017 small grains, mixed forages, Alfalfa, cool season grasses, and other fall non-insurable crops.
Sept. 30 – NAP sales closing date for grapes and barley, rye, triticale intended for grain.
Nov. 15 – final date to report all grass acreage (for hay or grazing).
Nov. 30 – NAP sales closing date for grass/mixed forage hay and pecans.
Jan. 15 – final date to report all small grain acreage.
March 15 – NAP sales closing date for 2017 warm season grasses and spring/summer crops
For more information about FSA programs or eligibility for benefits including NAP, please contact the Jackson County FSA office at 580-482-4312, ext. 2. Be safe and have a great week.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 866-632-9992 for toll-free customer service, 800-877-8339 for local or federal relay and 866-377-8642 for relay voice users.
FSA News Carl Josefy http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Josefy-Carl-w-hat-mug-RGB-2.jpg FSA News Carl Josefy
Reach Carl Josefy at carl.josefy@ok.usda.gov or 580-482-4312.
Reach Carl Josefy at carl.josefy@ok.usda.gov or 580-482-4312. | http://altustimes.com/news/5727/nap-toolto-offsetfarm-loss | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/e408938cf3b8645e87ef15f22642ec31bcc4e198b5d8e6b29747347979d11351.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:37 | null | 2016-08-25T13:41:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Ffeatures%2Fcommunity%2F5698%2Fmuseum-to-host-samuel-clemens.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Mark-Twain-RGB.jpg | en | null | Museum to host Samuel Clemens | null | null | altustimes.com | At 7 p.m. Sept. 6, at the Museum of the Western Prairie, storyteller James Doores of Amarillo, Texas is scheduled to bring the renowned author Mark Twain to life in his extraordinary one-man show, “the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain.”
Doores has portrayed Mark Twain – dressed in a white linen suit – for more than 40 years, and his reviewers say he is very believable as he transports his audience back in time with Twain’s observations of American culture and idiosyncrasies.
This program is free and open to the public. Contact the Museum of the Western Prairie, 1100 Memorial Drive in Altus for more information at 580-482-1044 or muswestpr@okhistory.org or www.okhistory.org/westernprairie.
James Doores of Amarillo, Texas slated to bring the renowned author Mark Twain to life in his extraordinary one-man show, “the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain” at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Mark-Twain-RGB.jpg James Doores of Amarillo, Texas slated to bring the renowned author Mark Twain to life in his extraordinary one-man show, “the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain” at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus. Courtesy photo
‘The wit and wisdom of Mark Twain’ slated | http://altustimes.com/features/community/5698/museum-to-host-samuel-clemens | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/32204059a8da5d72324936b0743ed023e2da986882395bfe686618d692d19940.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:32 | null | 2016-08-25T13:42:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2F5703%2Fpets-of-the-week-seek-homes-7.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Dog4-Betty-RGB.jpg | en | null | Pets of the week seek homes | null | null | altustimes.com | Many awesome critters to choose from. We have some really unique dogs this week. We see very few St. Bernards. This girl is a sweetheart. The Catahoula Cur is so pretty and the others are priceless. They all need homes, which one will you take? You can see them at the Animal Control Facility or online at www.altusok.gov/animals.
Hours are changing, so call Animal Control at 580-481-2285 or 580-482-8945 evenings.
The Altus Times teams with Southwest Oklahoma Animal Network, a public animal rescue organization, to produce this article.
To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Dog1-Rojo-RGB.jpg To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. Courtesy photos To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Dog2-catah-RGB.jpg To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. Courtesy photos To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Dog3-Tiny-RGB.jpg To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. Courtesy photos To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Dog4-Betty-RGB.jpg To make a difference in the lives of these animals, visit the Animal Control Facility or go online at www.altusok.gov/animals. Courtesy photos | http://altustimes.com/news/5703/pets-of-the-week-seek-homes-7 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/20a6c145b89b506e30272549745124275b70f95f4e20cfa338165dc0031e0225.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:49 | null | 2016-08-29T13:57:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Ffeatures%2Fcommunity%2F5722%2Fcommunity-calendar-22.json | http://altustimes.com/features/community/5722/community-calendar-22 | en | null | Community calendar | null | null | altustimes.com | The Awana program at Southside Baptist Church, 1100 Asa Lee St., has resumed for the school year and will continue 6 p.m. Wednesdays for children in kindergarten through fourth-grade. Children will be involved in Bible study, scripture memory and recreation. Snacks will also be served. Awana, “Approved Workmen are Not Ashamed,” which comes from the Bible verse found in 2 Timothy 2:15, provides a non-denominational organization that partners in ministry with local churches. For more information contact the church 580-482-4762 or southsidebaptist@cableone.net.
The Oklahoma Blood Institute or OBI will be hosting a much needed blood drive 8 a.m. to 3 p.m Sept. 1 in the large conference room at Jackson County Memorial Hospital, 1200 E. Pecan St. in Altus. Appointments to participate in the blood drive can be made by calling 877-340-8777 or visiting www.obi.org. Walk-ins are also welcome.
Motorists on U.S. 62 will likely experience delays beginning Sept. 6 due to planned construction on the bridge over the Salt Fork of the Red River supporting the eastbound section in Jackson County. The span is about six-tenths of a mile east of the junction with SH-6. Officials plan to divert eastbound traffic to the westbound side, reducing all traffic to one lane in each direction. For safety, speed limits are expected to be 40 mph and loads will be restricted to 10-feet wide. The construction is expected to last about 270 days or roughly mid-June, according to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
The Southern Kiowa Chamber’s 7th Annual Fall Festival and Car Show is slated 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 in downtown Snyder. There will be five train rides, carnival rides, live main stage entertainment, a car show, a Ninja obstacle course, 5K Walk and Run, Cornhole competition and booth vendors. For more information call Ashley Ervin at 580-471-4965 or Brent Ervin at 580-301-0196, or visit Facebook: Southern Kiowa Chamber Oklahoma.
Turn in unused or expired medication for safe disposal 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, 600 S. Main St. in Altus. For more information visit www.dea.gov. | http://altustimes.com/features/community/5722/community-calendar-22 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/07d443e2ca2d503ab229e526570215d89440d75b71fbaad7b33e7df2607bb605.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:55 | null | 2016-08-29T13:58:14 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2F5725%2Fjackson-county-fair-2016-sept-7-10.json | http://altustimes.com/news/5725/jackson-county-fair-2016-sept-7-10 | en | null | Jackson County Fair 2016 Sept. 7-10 | null | null | altustimes.com | Calendar of Events:
Wednesday, Sept. 7
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Entry of open class, 4-H and FFA non-livestock exhibits at Expo Center
6:15 p.m. Judging of exhibits
Thursday, Sept. 8
Noon-4 p.m. Commercial exhibit set-up
4 p.m. Fair opens to the public
3-5 p.m. Enter poultry, rabbits and guinea pigs
4 p.m. Judging of all booths — sponsored by Stockmans Bank
5:30 p.m. Judging of poultry, rabbits and guinea pigs (showmanship rabbits only)
7 p.m. Open Junior and Senior Youth Farmhand Olympics
9 p.m. Expo Center closes
Friday, Sept. 9
8:30 a.m. Fair opens to the public
9-11:30 a.m. Children’s tour and games
4 p.m. Crops judging
5:30 p.m. Turtle races-sponsored by the Rotary Club, frog jumping contest Friday only to follow immediately after the turtle race.
6 p.m. Livestock skill-a-thon
6:30 p.m. 8th Annual Weiner (Dachshund) Dog Race — Sponsored by KEYB Radio
7:30 p.m. Military Farmhand Olympics
9 p.m. Expo Center closes
Saturday, Sept. 10
8:30 a.m. Fair opens to the public
8:30 a.m-noon Check in all livestock (sheep, goats, swine, cattle)
11 a.m. Tractor pedal pull contest –sponsored by Farm Bureau
9:30 a.m. Rockin’ rabbit agility demonstration
9:30 a.m.-1:30 OSU insect display
10 a.m. Beautiful baby contest — sponsored by KWHW Radio
Noon-1 p.m. Off the wall dance — sponsored by Leah Wall
1-2:30 p.m. SWTC and Jackson County 4-H robotics demonstration
2:30 p.m. Kiss the pig
2:30-4 p.m. Sheep, swine and goat show
Beef show — The beef show will start 30 minutes after the goat show, please be ready
5 p.m. Turtle races — sponsored by the Rotary Club
6 p.m. Release of exhibits
9 p.m. Jackson County Fair 2016 comes to a close
10 p.m. Expo Center is locked
All fair vouchers must be redeemed at First National Bank by Oct. 3. No vouchers will be paid after this date – no exceptions. Vouchers can be picked up during the fair or at the extension office at 580-482-0823 – no vouchers will be mailed.
Stop by and visit:
Sheriff’s department display — Friday during children’s tour
Appearance by Air Evac on children’s day only if available
Food Truck 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday only
Firetruck
Ambulance
Petting zoo
Lions Club
OBI blood drive 10 a.m-2 p.m. Saturday only
Special appearances by Miss Altus and Miss Altus Outstanding Teen
To see complete fair tab go to www.oces.okstate.edu/jackson. | http://altustimes.com/news/5725/jackson-county-fair-2016-sept-7-10 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/d4c5a9a78332ea8be42b67fec48c14402db01a28e81015d7faf59c649a05a58d.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:59 | null | 2016-08-29T13:57:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Ftop-stories%2F5721%2Fnew-construction-equals-new-jobs.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_ChickenExpressRGB.jpg | en | null | New construction equals new jobs | null | null | altustimes.com | On South Main Street this week, drivers may have noticed large mounds of dirt and broken concrete surrounding bulldozers and other construction vehicles between Whataburger and The Plaza Restaurant.
M and B Construction of Altus has been working long hours to break ground on the site of what will be Chicken Express, a fast-food restaurant established in 1988 with locations in Benbrook and Mineral Wells, Texas. Customers can expect chicken for delivery when the franchise opens.
First contracted at the beginning of the summer, M and B Construction began demolition Monday morning and finished tearing out the parking lot across from Red River Federal Credit Union on Tuesday.
Construction officially began Wednesday.
Though not set in stone, according to Raymond Moody of M and B Construction, the projected date for completed construction on the new Chicken Express structure is set for December 2016.
With the addition of Chicken Express to Altus’ lineup of restaurants comes the addition of job opportunities within the community.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jackson County has an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent. A number that may decrease with the addition of new businesses like Chicken Express throughout the community in the following months.
Construction begins for new Chicken Express restaurant. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_ChickenExpressRGB.jpg Construction begins for new Chicken Express restaurant. Katrina Goforth | Altus Times
By Katrina Goforth kgoforth@civitasmedia.com
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221, ext. 2207.
Reach Katrina Goforth at 580-482-1221, ext. 2207. | http://altustimes.com/top-stories/5721/new-construction-equals-new-jobs | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/b863a191f084985fd9bfc4e09a6a21ec3f7a2757439868673ec8aff899bc785d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:03 | null | 2016-08-23T19:10:32 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-cross-country%2F5682%2F5682.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BethGarrison-RGB.jpeg | en | null | Altus Times | null | null | altustimes.com | The Altus High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams traveled to Elk City on Saturday to compete in their first meet of the year. Bethany Garrison, in the lead, placed fifth overall for the girls while Ryan Oden led the way for the boys. Full results were not available at press time.
The Altus High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams traveled to Elk City on Saturday to compete in their first meet of the year. Bethany Garrison, in the lead, placed fifth overall for the girls while Ryan Oden led the way for the boys. Full results were not available at press time. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BethGarrison-RGB.jpeg The Altus High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams traveled to Elk City on Saturday to compete in their first meet of the year. Bethany Garrison, in the lead, placed fifth overall for the girls while Ryan Oden led the way for the boys. Full results were not available at press time. Courtesy photo | Robert Garrison | http://altustimes.com/sports/high-school-cross-country/5682/5682 | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/4d6061014efa804aa90df67afbecece0f900c2b6a509d75fc5e20bab16816890.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:53:39 | null | 2016-08-25T13:42:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fnews%2F5706%2Frodeo-events-patrons-may-see.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_CowboySunset-RGB.jpg | en | null | Rodeo events patrons may see | null | null | altustimes.com | According to Great Plains Stampede Rodeo official information, some of the events patrons will see are traditional Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or PRCA approved competitions.
Bull Riding
Bull riding is the most recognized and popular of all the rodeo events. It is also the most dangerous. As with bareback riding, and saddle bronc, bull riders ride with one hand and cannot touch themselves or their bull with the free hand. Doing so results in a no score. Scoring is the same as in the other roughstock events. Two judges give one to 25 points for the cowboy’s performance and one to 25 points for the animals performance. The maximum is 100 points and is considered to be a perfect ride.
Barrel Racing
Barrel Racing is a timed rodeo event where the fastest time is what matters most. Cowgirls compete in the arena against each other and the clock. Barrel racing is about cooperation between horse and rider. For the barrel racing event, the arena is cleared and three barrels are set up at different marked locations. The riders then enter the arena at full speed quickly rounding each barrel in a cloverleaf pattern and then exiting where they entered. A stopwatch or time is used registering down to a hundredth of a second. For each barrel they knock over, a five second penalty is assessed to their total time. As a general rule, 13 to 14 seconds is a winning time.
Saddle Bronc Riding
Saddle bronc riding is a roughstock event, so the scoring and rules are the same as with bull riding. A good score in saddle bronc riding is in the high eighties. Cowboys are judged on control, spur motion and timing. Saddle broncs are judged on their bucking ability. Saddle bronc saddles are lightweight and have no saddle horn. Along with the bronc saddle the cowboys use a long thick rein, known as a hack rein, attached to a halter on the horse’s head. In contrast to bareback and bull riding, saddle bronc riding relies less on strength and more on timing, finesse and skill.
Bareback Riding
Bareback riding is a rough and explosive rodeo event that maintains the rules and scoring of the other roughstock events. It is the most physically demanding of all the rodeo events and the first event to compete at most rodeos. Cowboys ride rough horses without the benefit of saddle or rein. They ride bareback on the horse and use a leather rigging which looks like a heavy piece of leather with a suitcase handle. The cowboys spur the horse from shoulder to rigging in a frantic style trying to make a qualified ride of eight seconds. Once the ride is completed, pick up men swoop in to ‘pick up’ the rider and set him safely on the ground. Cowboys are judged on their control and spurring technique, and the horses are judged on their power, speed and agility. A good score is in the mid-eighties.
Team Roping
This is the only team event in rodeo. Team roping is a timed event that relies on the cooperation and skill of the cowboys and their horses. The two cowboys involved in team roping have unique goals. The first, known as the header, does just what the name implies and rope the head of the cattle. The other cowboy, known as the heeler, ropes the heels or legs. As with the other timed events, the team ropers start from the box. The header is the first out trying to rope the head as quickly as possible without breaking the barrier. Once the catch is made the header dallies and turns the steer left. This opens the way for the heeler to work his magic and rope the legs. The clock is stopped when there is no slack in both ropes and the cowboys’ horses face each other. If the barrier is broken, a 10 second penalty is added to the time. Also, if the heeler manages to catch only one leg, then a five second penalty is added. In addition to these penalties there are only three legal catches that the header can make. These are both horns, one horn and the head of the neck.
Tie Down Calf Roping
Tie down ropers compete against each other and the clock for the prize money. Like the steer wrestlers and team ropers, tie-down ropers start in the box. The calf is release and the cowboy must rope it as quickly as possible. As soon as a catch is made, the cowboy dismounts, sprints to the calf and tosses it on its side. This is called flanking. With a small rope known as a pigging string, usually held in the cowboy’s teeth, any three of the calf’s legs are tied securely. Time stops when the cowboy throws up his hands. After the tie, the roper remounts his horse, puts slack in his rope and waits six seconds for the calf to struggle free. If it does, the cowboy receives no time and is disqualified from the round. If the calf remains tied, the cowboy receives his time.
Steer Dogging
Steer wrestling is the quickest of the rodeo events. It is a timed event, and cowboys compete against each other and the clock. Cowboy’s start out in the box just like tie-down and team ropers. As soon as the cowboy nods his head the steer is released, and he charges after it on his horse. The steer wrestler catches up to the steer as quickly as possible, and then leans over, jumps off of his horse and grabs the steer by its head. He then plants his feet and tosses the steer onto its side, thereby stopping the clock. A winning time is usually between three to four seconds.
http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_CowboyHatGloves-RGB.jpg http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_CowboySunset-RGB.jpg | http://altustimes.com/news/5706/rodeo-events-patrons-may-see | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/288c630dc95a9455850d34e798dad988dd57940bad6589db864a0cebb4abb8e1.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:53 | null | 2016-08-29T13:58:59 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Ffeatures%2Fcommunity%2F5730%2Fcannas-bring-color-to-southwest-oklahoma.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Tangelo-President-RGB.jpg | en | null | Cannas bring color to Southwest Oklahoma | null | null | altustimes.com | CARNEGIE — Six of one, two million of the other.
Sure that’s not how the phrase goes about two ways of considering the same thing. However, the Horn Canna Farm originated and continues to operate in southwest Oklahoma because they don’t take the same path as others.
The story of Horn Canna Farm Inc. dates to the 1920s when Dustin Snow’s Great Grandma Frances Horn received six canna bulbs from her aunt in Arkansas. Before long the cannas had claimed a large portion of the family’s vegetable garden. That’s when Snow’s Great Grandpa John Horn started taking cannas on his daily vegetable routes to surrounding communities in 1928. Even during tough times, his canna sales grew and became a significant source of income for the family.
An endeavor that started with six canna bulbs decades ago remains a family business four generations deep that now produces about two million bulbs annually.
They have shipped bulbs to not only other states, but to several countries including, Dubai, Greece, Italy and Thailand.
When John and Frances Horn’s son Neil was only 15 years old, he traded his parents a Jersey calf for the rights to the canna business. Instead of raising peanuts or cotton, or going the direction of wheat and cattle, Neil believed he could make a go of it with a tropical plant in Caddo County.
Today Dustin and wife Nikki Snow grow about 70 acres of cannas.
“We’ve talked about what in the world led his great grandpa to peddle them and then what made Dustin Snow’s grandfather come along and go,’ I could make a business out of this’’ Nikki said. “What in the world possessed that man to think he could make a crop out of this tropical plant? It was his forward thinking and creativity.”
Her husband fully agrees.
“He was a creative person,” Snow said. “He really enjoyed creating equipment that would make this work, both the harvest equipment and the washing apparatus. He believed in these plants. He married my grandmother two days before he was shipped off to World War II. So he always told people that he took care of her to take care of his cannas.”
That love of cannas within the family was passed from Neil and Louise Horn to their daughter Jolene Horn Snow and husband Butch. They took entrepreneurial spirit of her parents — and grandparents — and added many improvements, streamlining the harvesting process and traveling outside their home state for sales. Dustin and Nikki joined the business in 1994, adding computers to help with ordering and shipments. Jolene and Butch retired from the daily operations of the farm in 2008. A couple of years later drought would set in and would remain more on than off until 2015. The business persevered.
“Our market focus is changing to a higher end market and less to high volume, low profit,” Dustin Snow said. “One thing that hasn’t changed going back to my great grandfather is the commitment to quality.”
Other states, other nations
Horn Canna Farm has spanned time and the globe.
A few years back Nikki Snow was contacted on behalf of a man in Bangkok, Thailand.
“He was building an exquisite resort in Bangkok and he wanted his guests to be able to look out of their cabana and see rows and rows and rows of cannas. His idea was to have this rainbow of color out in this field.”
The man’s sister, who lived in New York, visited the Horn Canna Farm to see the cannas for herself. Her brother had 25,275 canna bulbs shipped to Thailand.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry or ODAFF plays a role in facilitating and certifying Horn’s cannas so they may be shipped to other states, and perhaps more importantly, to other countries. Many of those shipments must be accompanied with a State or Federal Phytosanitary Certificate, issued from the Consumer Protections Services or CPS division of ODAFF.
There are other growers of cannas in Oklahoma, but Jeanetta Cooper, who works with Plant Protection and Certification Programs in CPS, says Horn Cannas is the largest in the state. Through the years, Cooper said ODAFF has issued phytosanitary certificates to this particular farm for shipment to Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and Puerto Rico.
Plus, phytosanitary certificates have been issued for export to Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dubai, Greece, Italy, Lativa, the Netherlands, South Africa, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
For example, in order to ship rhizomes, a stem, to Canada, the Federal Phytosanitary Certificate must state that the plant material was grown in an area that is found free of soybean cyst nematode and Columbia root-knot nematode, based on negative results of an official survey.
“Each fall, we take soil samples from all the growing fields, Oklahoma State University does the testing for nematodes and sends me the findings,” Cooper said. “Then I am able to certify each shipment as found free from those regulated pests. We routinely inspect the rhizomes once harvested for any storage pests. We also certify the plant material is shipped free of soil and produced in an area free from Japanese beetle based on negative trapping.”
In living color
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, visitors from across Oklahoma pull off a county road onto the gravel driveway of Horn Canna Farm to marvel at the vibrant canvas of red, yellow, pink and orange cannas and stop by the office to ask questions. However, visitors can drive by the farm and take a look at the cannas during office hours, weeknights and weekends, Nikki Snow said. “September is peak season and the best time to view the field at its best,” she added.
Dustin Snow said planting begins about April 1 while harvest starts on or soon after Oct. 1 and lasts about six weeks.
The cannas are loaded are taken to the barn and washed.
“After they are all washed the first time, then we wash them again and that’s when we sort for size and we trim out any other plant material by hand with knives,” Snow said. “They are sorted by size and ready for shipment at that time. We have a couple of different sizes that we sell depending on the customer. Most of our products are three to five eye bulbs. Each eye makes a plant.”
Processing of the bulbs will continue until about Feb. 1.
Snow not only grew up around this process, but has been a full-time employee for 22 years. That doesn’t mean that he is any less amazed by the beauty of the crops than he was as a child.
“There are some moments of the year where you just look out and say, ‘Wow,’ especially when the weather starts to cool and they are fully grown,” Snow said. “The prettiest time of the year to me is the first blooms of the season and then right before harvest. We’re impressed with the beauty of the crop.”
With that statement, Nikki Snow added, “And thankful.”
Her husband gently nodded his head and said, “Yes, yes, thankful.”
Today Dustin and wife Nikki Snow grow about 70 acres of cannas near Carnegie. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Cannas-020-RGB.jpg Today Dustin and wife Nikki Snow grow about 70 acres of cannas near Carnegie. Courtesy photo Horn Canna Farm Inc. in Southwest Oklahoma dates to the 1920s. http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Tangelo-President-RGB.jpg Horn Canna Farm Inc. in Southwest Oklahoma dates to the 1920s. Courtesy photo
By Jeanetta Cooper Consumer Protection Services
Reach Jeanetta Cooper at 405-522-5971.
Reach Jeanetta Cooper at 405-522-5971. | http://altustimes.com/features/community/5730/cannas-bring-color-to-southwest-oklahoma | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/5d1b7e9e8ed22ccede7514abe73dcce11ee4360d81246f7f9ab64ae439410cff.json |
[
"Matthew Louallen"
] | 2016-08-28T04:47:59 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fspecial-sections%2F5688%2Feedition-2016-jackson-county-fair.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cover-2-1006x1024.jpg | en | null | eEdition: 2016 Jackson County Fair | null | null | altustimes.com | null | http://altustimes.com/special-sections/5688/eedition-2016-jackson-county-fair | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/a2ecb920c7bf92e77996e392aab7352684a3b34082f1f357373faf05227331a6.json |
[
"Jayla Wallingford"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:09 | null | 2016-08-23T23:59:23 | null | http%3A%2F%2Faltustimes.com%2Fspecial-sections%2F5630%2Fgreat-plains-stampede-rodeo-2016.json | http://altustimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cover-1-1024x996.jpg | en | null | Great Plains Stampede Rodeo 2016 | null | null | altustimes.com | null | http://altustimes.com/special-sections/5630/great-plains-stampede-rodeo-2016 | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | altustimes.com/fa4dbed90c7712ceb45e6c8da39bdfff4cffb46e5bc84110175532a53e09e0db.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:54 | null | null | By: Lori Bledsoe The Alpine Sun Alpine Boulevard streetscape construction began approximately two weeks ago, but the closures on the boulevard seem to be just in time for school opening for the new term. Currently construction is just in front of Alpine Elementary, at the new crosswalk, but as the sidewalks are instal | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Farticle%2Fcounty-works-close-sidewalk-gap-blvd.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | The County works to close sidewalk gap on Blvd. | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | By: Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
Alpine Boulevard streetscape construction began approximately two weeks ago, but the closures on the boulevard seem to be just in time for school opening for the new term. Currently construction is just in front of Alpine Elementary, at the new crosswalk, but as the sidewalks are installed, workers will continually move up Alpine Boulevard until the sidewalk project is complete.
The construction work will consist of:
• Construction of missing streescape improvemetns.
• Curb and Gutter
• Sidewalks and pedestrian ramps
• Storm drain
improvements
• Driveways and retaining walls
• Pedestrian Bridges
• The work will take place on Alpine Blvd., from Tavern Rd., heading east the South Grade Rd.
The community will be impacted by temporary “No Parking” signs that will be posted 48 hours before construction activities start. Vehicles parked in violation of the signs will be towed.
There will lane closures, detours and restricted access between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The anticipated construction schedule will continue through December of 2016, with a Monday through Friday work schedule. The contractor who is working on this project is Tri-Group Construction and Development. For questions one may contact Gus Assi (858-583-1850) The County of San Diego Resident Engineer is Ian Nguyen (858-232-1068). | http://www.thealpinesun.com/article/county-works-close-sidewalk-gap-blvd | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/1de3409554dd0be62e938768d2ced460162e19bf683923f0bec9f0bf120a0fe1.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:02:42 | null | null | By: Albert H. Fulcher Editor, The East County Californiasn For The Alpine Sun They are startling facts. Nearly 9,000 people experience homelessness in the county any night with 48 percent having no shelter. Fifty percent of homeless women and children are fleeing domestic violence. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Farticle%2Fhomelessness-condition-affects-nearly-9000-san-diego-county.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | Homelessness, a condition that affects nearly 9,000 in San Diego County | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | By: Albert H. Fulcher
Editor, The East County Californiasn
For The Alpine Sun
They are startling facts. Nearly 9,000 people experience homelessness in the county any night with 48 percent having no shelter. Fifty percent of homeless women and children are fleeing domestic violence. These are statistics that the YWCA San Diego County fights against every day, with every program it offers.
YWCA San Diego County Marketing & Development Director Gavon Morris said that the most common misconception about the homeless is around the subject of mental illness. In San Diego County the number of individuals in poverty is huge and the federal poverty threshold is very low.
“How can anyone in San Diego County live on that?” he said. “I believe there are a lot of individuals in the county that are just a little bit away from homelessness. Becoming homeless doesn’t take that much. And you have so many homeless people that want to change that around. But in a lot of ways, their hands are tied. Many times they are a larger family having to share a unit just to make ends meet. So someone dealing with some psychotic symptoms, speed, alcoholics—that is not always the case at all.”
Morris said the most important piece to the YWCA is the ability to serve as a resource for individuals in need and though there are many differences of opinions in those populations. That is why it has focused programs like domestic violence. Fifty percent of women that are homeless attribute the cause of their homelessness to domestic violence.
“For us, the need is constant and there are not necessarily enough resources to do what we want to do,” he said. “So we have to focus on the people in our programs and strengthen those supportive services to get them what they need.”
The YWCA serves the homeless population and victims of domestic violence through three major programs.
Passages is for single homeless women. It is a 12 month program with transitional housing and supportive services. It provides financial literacy training, counseling, legal services and other needed elements with the focus on getting them back to work or improving their income in some capacity.
Cortez Hill Family Center is a 90 day interim shelter. There are 45 units where families are placed. The process is that they work through this program as a cohesive family. Many of these individuals come directly off the street, some are working, but it is the same goal, said Morris. Get them working and get them in stable housing. “Which is a challenge living in San Diego County. There are obvious additional barriers to that,” he said. Cortez Hill served nearly 600 people last year and just under 400 of those are children. The majority of people ranged between the ages of 30 and 65.
Becky’s House Domestic Violence Program has three transitional housing communities with all YWCA supportive services. There is a 24 hour Domestic Violence Hotline where they can get emergency shelter. Launched in the last year, the Rapid Re-Housing Program works with homeless individuals coming from the Domestic Violence Program or Cortez Hill to get them into housing as soon as possible. YWCA provides security deposit, assistance with rent and matches them with different landlords. With its community partners, it helps them get in faster. It also offers its services once they are in their new place to help them keep on track. YWCA also provides legal services in the community and with a Mobile Legal Clinic.
“But there is more that we need to do as a community for our agencies and other agencies alike,” said Morris. “We have some great funders that believe in contributing to our program but the more individuals in the community that come and support us, the better we can strengthen the programs. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is cash donations. In order to make our programs effective, that’s what it is going to take. I am proud of us, as an agency, in the way we run our operations. The majority of all our fundraising goes directly to program services. That is impressive, and it is also a concern for many people. It is really coming forward, pitching in to whatever agency is meaningful to them.”
Morris said YWCA is staff intensive with all of the services it provides. With case management crucial, he said they are the lead advocate for the client or family. Each client has an individual plans depending on their situation. Councilors, residential specialists, legal services are all necessary to keep the programs running effectively.
“The majority of individuals (staff) I have worked directly with them, their passion is pretty amazing,” he said. “We have individuals that have been here over 15 years and their commitment to the client’s success is everything.”
Morris admitted that the YWCA is not the most competitive in payroll and that those individuals are there because they are passionate and want those individuals to succeed. “That is one of the most important elements. There are so many factors going into each individual’s circumstances you really have to have that human element and being able to work with them individually,” he said.
“We have this internal saying, ‘trauma informed,’ because any homeless individual, the majority of them have gone through some trauma in one way or another. Our staff has that capacity to focus on, ‘What has this individual been through and what are their potential barriers to get them success?’ That passion and empathy for those individuals is huge.”
YWCA has about a $5 million budget, half comes from government grants and the other half comes from private donors.
Morris said San Diego County has a really strong social services network so a lot of the local agencies work collaboratively so that clients that are in need get to the right place. So it might refer an individual to a particular program that suits their needs. “That, for sure, is advantageous for the individuals on the street,” he said.
There are many that are referred to YWCA from other agencies and it gets many individuals through its collaboration with law enforcement. A Domestic Violence High Risk team meets with the District Attorney’s office, so all players come the table and review the most lethal cases and get them to the proper resources.
“There are different collaborations like that, that are really effective. It shows us what we have in the community, what has changed to meet other needs,” he said.
A major event coming up on Tuesday, Oct. 11, is the Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Fundraising Walk from 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the MLK Promenade at 4th Avenue & K Street in San Diego. There is also a VIP party afterwards. This fundraiser is to raise awareness and help end domestic violence and raises funds for Becky’s House.
“That is a fun way for individuals to get involved,” said Morris. “There are volunteer opportunities, sponsorships, and cash contributions. The whole idea behind it if you walk in somebody’s shoes, what would that be like? It a kind of lighthearted way to talk about domestic violence, so we literally have men walking a mile in heels. It’s a lot of fun.”
For more information about the YWCA, its programs and it upcoming fundraiser visit www.ywcasandiego.org or call (619) 239-0355.
24 Hour Domestic Violence Hotline: (619) 234-3164 | http://www.thealpinesun.com/article/homelessness-condition-affects-nearly-9000-san-diego-county | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/08018dbed18189883479e21918725197b45e6fc7e78d0c5f8c45c7fc2ac12bb4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:12 | null | null | Primary Residential Mortgage to host Chamber mixer Celebrate 12 years of great business on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. in Alpine! Chris Wiley of Primary Residential Mortgage is hosting the Alpine Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce Monthly Mixer, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at the business at 2124 Arnold Way in Alpine. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Fevent%2Fprimary-residential-mortgage-host-chamber-mixer.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | Primary Residential Mortgage to host Chamber mixer | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | Primary Residential Mortgage to host Chamber mixer
Celebrate 12 years of great business on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. in Alpine!
Chris Wiley of Primary Residential Mortgage is hosting the Alpine Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce Monthly Mixer, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at the business at 2124 Arnold Way in Alpine.
The free anniversary celebration is open to the public. Wiley encouraged people to come enjoy refreshments, great conversation and a ribbon cutting.
“It’s been fun,” he said about doing business in Alpine. “We look forward to another 12 years. The Chamber has been with us since the beginning. We’ve been together since the first step.”
To make your reservation, e-mail kimberlyb@alpinechamber.sdcoxmail.com. | http://www.thealpinesun.com/event/primary-residential-mortgage-host-chamber-mixer | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/b68648dc55836288584c6c346c3a849019f2ee24f63becf49db50ab4c2f79cfc.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:34 | null | null | ALFA BOOK STORE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 16 THRU AUGUST 20 Coming Events: All Paperback Mysteries on sale for 50cents Stephen King Books are half price. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Fevent%2Falfa-book-store-news-week-august-16-thru-august-20.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | ALFA BOOK STORE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 16 THRU AUGUST 20 | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | ALFA BOOK STORE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 16 THRU AUGUST 20
Coming Events:
All Paperback Mysteries on sale for 50cents
Stephen King Books are half price.
Books of Interest:
Recently, the book store acquired a large collection of the late Tim LaHaye’s novels including books from the popular “Left Behind Series”. There are several books on “Exploring the Bible Prophecy” and “The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary”.
There are a number of audio CDs including “The Lord of the Rings”. Other audio books available include James Rollin’s “The Judas Strain” and Janet Evonivich’s “The Chase”
Several of David Baldacci’s more recent novels including “The Apartment”, “The Last Mile”, “The Escape”, “Memory Man”, “Conviction” and “Guilt” are located in the new book section.
Mary Kay Andrews “Beach Town” is a story of a struggling movie location scout. Her last location ended in disaster but now she is given another chance. She has to find the perfect undiscovered beach town in Florida for a big budget movie.
Visit the book store located at the entrance to the library. The store is open Tuesday from 10am to 7:30pm and Wednesday thru Saturday from 10am to 4:30pm. | http://www.thealpinesun.com/event/alfa-book-store-news-week-august-16-thru-august-20 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/2a2ddf4153d7a1af8705526c6723192e98cd2ab1b588f7936be8b25cac7f8514.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:03:06 | null | null | * WalMart * Staples * Office Depot * Target | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Fpoll%2Fwhere-do-you-do-all-your-school-shopping.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | Where do you do all your school shopping? | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | Previous Poll Results
Where do you do all your school shopping? see results
Are you ready for the Back to School Rush? see results
What is your favorie parade in East County see results
How do you beat the heat? see results
What is your favorite mode of vacation travel? see results
What is your favorite local Parade? see results
What is your favorite Summer dessert? see results
Do you walk Alpine Boulevard regularly for exercise? see results
What are your summertime plans? see results | http://www.thealpinesun.com/poll/where-do-you-do-all-your-school-shopping | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/0b19172451155e69b0ea767e01c195d9d73fa061eff429909c3a11cf3d5faa1b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:03:32 | null | null | JULIAN SENIORS ON A SCENIC SEDONA & GRAND CANYON RAILWAY ADVENTURE – SEPTEMBER 28-30 Matt Kraemer, owner and physical therapist at Alpine Physical Therapy, is once again planning his annual trip for local senior citizens. Matt generously donates his time in Alpine and Julian where he holds weekly fitness classes. His upcoming | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Fevent%2Fjulian-seniors-scenic-sedona-grand-canyon-railway-adventure-%25E2%2580%2593-september-28-30.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | JULIAN SENIORS ON A SCENIC SEDONA & GRAND CANYON RAILWAY ADVENTURE - SEPTEMBER 28-30 | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | JULIAN SENIORS ON A SCENIC SEDONA & GRAND CANYON RAILWAY ADVENTURE – SEPTEMBER 28-30
Matt Kraemer, owner and physical therapist at Alpine Physical Therapy, is once again planning his annual trip for local senior citizens. Matt generously donates his time in Alpine and Julian where he holds weekly fitness classes. His upcoming tour is now open to the public to join in the fun. David and Linda Holt will be escorting this exciting tour as well as Matt.
The highlights on Day 1 will be wine tasting and lunch at a winery on the Valley Verde Wine Trail, a guided bus tour of beautiful Red-Rock Country of Sedona with time to browse the unique boutiques and galleries, and a two-night stay at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams, Arizona, the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon”. This hotel which was designed to resemble a century old train depot and is located just a block from downtown Williams and historic Route 66.
The highlights of Day 2 will be a scenic journey on the Grand Canyon Railway in a historical passenger car en route to the Canyon, lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge, a Registered National Historical Landmark with great views, then a guided bus tour of the South Rim with an interpretive narration about the history of the Canyon, the people, and animals that live there. Of course, stops will be included for you to enjoy the magnificent vistas and wonders of this popular national park.
You’ll start Day 3 with breakfast and then board your bus to the final destination of historic, picturesque Prescott, Arizona. In this mile-high town, nestled in the largest Ponderosa pine forests in the world surrounded by the beautiful Bradshaw Mountains, you’ll have free time on your own to browse in the shops, relax in the tree-lined courthouse square, or just enjoy lunch at your choice of the many restaurants including any in famous Whiskey Row. Then you’ll bid adieu to Arizona with fond memories of the magnificent scenery and good times with new friends as we head to the Phoenix airport for the short flight back to San Diego.
There are only a few spots left, so call Holt Travel today to reserve your spot with just a $100 per person nonrefundable deposit. The tour price is $1,199 per person for double occupancy and includes all transportation including roundtrip airport bus transportation from the Alpine Community Center, round trip airfare, 2 nights’ hotel, six (6) meals, one wine tasting and lunch at the winery, admission to all attractions, all gratuities, and a 24-hour tour director. Call Holt Travel & Tours at 619-445-9193 or email info@HoltTravel.com for more info. | http://www.thealpinesun.com/event/julian-seniors-scenic-sedona-grand-canyon-railway-adventure-%E2%80%93-september-28-30 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/03bbeadaf4eea31dbe5c817781b8d88766c2b6baa99c04ccbd2efc82a3e377a0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:01:48 | null | null | Museum Open House Aug 27 – 28 | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealpinesun.com%2Fevent%2Fmuseum-open-house-aug-27-%25E2%2580%2593-28.json | http://www.thealpinesun.com/sites/default/files/alpine_favicon.png | en | null | Museum Open House Aug 27 - 28 | null | null | www.thealpinesun.com | Museum Open House Aug 27 – 28
The final opportunity to see the Civil War Memorabilia exhibit at the Alpine Historical Society’s John DeWitt Museum is August 27 – 28. Mark your calendars now for this summer’s final open house weekend. The exhibit is made possible by a generous loan of artifacts from the Grady Grammer collection, but this exhibit must close on Sunday, August 28. The open house is from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on the last weekend of August at the museum’s historic Adam Beaty House, located at 2116 Tavern Road in Alpine. During your visit you can also learn about the beekeeper, John Harbison, and explore the Dr. Sophronia Nichols house where you will learn about pioneer families and schools in early Alpine. | http://www.thealpinesun.com/event/museum-open-house-aug-27-%E2%80%93-28 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.thealpinesun.com/cdb7447d51f92f316991896f20408eef6aadb8a621a792172c4791831a44a7cf.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:43 | null | 2016-08-26T13:40:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fbest-show%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Best-of-Show-Lottie-Morgan-bw-150x150.jpg | en | null | Best of Show | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | Lottie Sue Morgan of Ronceverte won Best of Show at the State Fair on her gardenia. In addition, she was awarded blue ribbons on her shamrock, cactus, cinnamon rolls and candy. She received red ribbons on her salt rising bread, sourdough bread, bird’s nest fern flower and begonia flower. | http://mountainmessenger.com/best-show/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/b6d116e6ad7ce5e355fece99af59841f102adb3f89740f5ec14e6c8f4fcc884b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:00 | null | 2016-08-22T10:35:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Friver-city-construction-donates-bucket-truck-new-river-ctc%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | River City Construction donates bucket truck to New River CTC | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | River City Construction, Inc., has donated a 2001 bucket truck to the New River Community and Technical College Foundation for use in the Electric Distribution Engineering Technology (line service) program and CDL certification.
“When the college’s previous truck fell victim to mechanical problems and became inoperable, Walter Manning, vice president of River City Construction, committed to the donation and arranged delivery of the vehicle,” said Interim Executive Director of the New River CTC Foundation Michael Green. “The generosity of companies like River City allows New River CTC to continue to offer accessible, affordable, quality education and workforce programs in southern West Virginia.”
For information on programs at New River CTC, call 866-349-3739.
River City Construction has provided power line construction and maintenance since 1975. The company has locations in Washington, N.C., and Round Hill, Va.
New River Community and Technical College serves nine counties in southeastern West Virginia from the Greenbrier Valley Campus (Lewisburg), Mercer County Campus (Princeton), Nicholas County Campus (Summersville), and Raleigh County Campus (Beaver/Beckley). | http://mountainmessenger.com/river-city-construction-donates-bucket-truck-new-river-ctc/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/0485e7189711f0eb24e1a33cac1fa2e39e53050d742daa7f67e87fac21e173ff.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:52 | null | 2016-08-26T13:41:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fchurch-bulletin-august-27-2016%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | Church Bulletin: August 27, 2016 | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | Interfaith Fellowship meeting
The Lewisburg Interfaith Fellowship, an inclusive spiritual community, will meet Saturday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m. at their new location at the St. James Episcopal Church, lower level, off Court Street. The group meets to share their spiritual practices and experiences for a greater understanding and acceptance of each other, and to celebrate their diversity. This week’s presentation will be “A Journey of Faith and Hope” presented by Mike from Michigan, a member of Alcoholic’s Anonymous.
New River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
service Sunday, Aug. 28, will begin at 11 a.m. Visitors are welcome. The fellowship is located at 911 South Kanawha Street, Beckley.
Lewisburg United Methodist Church
It’s time for the Annual Mission Team Golf Tournament – Wednesday, Aug. 31 at the Lewisburg Elks Country Club at 1:30 p.m. Shotgun start. We need teams, players, hole sponsors and volunteers. It takes a lot of people to have a good tournament. Donation for a hole will be $100, and it will be $250 for a team of four golfers. All profits will go to Greenbrier County Flood Relief. To sign up for a team or to sponsor a hole, call the church office at 304-645-2727.
Celebrate Recovery at Rhema
If you struggle with a hurt habit or hang up or any similar controlling problem or issue and would like to sort through your issues with like others in a Christ-centered environment you are welcome to attend our weekly meeting. Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered 12-step meeting that incorporates the 12 steps and the 8 Beatitudes in the Bible and scripture and prayer to assist people with the healing process. Unlike most secular programs the issues people present are varied and not necessarily the same problem or struggle, so no one is excluded. Our meetings are on Thursday nights: 6 to 6:30 p.m. is the meet and greet; 6:30 to 7:30 is the open meeting; and 7:30 to 8:30 is gender specific small groups. The meetings take place at the Rhema Christian Church on Davis Stuart Road in Fairlea. We hope you check us out as many of our participants have grown tremendously in their faith and healed from a lot of their past hurt and pain.
Griffith Creek Baptist Church
invites you to their Awana program each Wednesday night 6:30-8:30 p.m. September through May for children 3-18 years of age. Food, fun and classes for everyone. Adult Bible Study 6:45 p.m. – ? Bus route in Alderson; for times and locations call the church at 304-445-2653 or Pastor Audie Sorg at 304-445-2243. The church is located three miles out of Alderson. | http://mountainmessenger.com/church-bulletin-august-27-2016/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/c7613203f71ef4aa3cc72f20e728c6096b81b702b0eea51eb8b0f42acd25f23c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:19 | null | 2016-08-22T10:37:16 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fgreenbrier-east-volleyball%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Maggie-Thompson-150x150.jpg | en | null | Greenbrier East Volleyball | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | Maggie Thompson hits a volleyball toward the hands of Haley McClure during practice at the Greenbrier East gym on Tuesday. Head coach Matt Sauvage has 14 girls on the team, the majority of them freshmen and sophomores. (Photo credit Mark Robinson) | http://mountainmessenger.com/greenbrier-east-volleyball/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/554f703555f81dedd68f011b8c59258086606ed38886296edc64a62ca6705d46.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:48 | null | 2016-08-26T13:38:01 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fgenevieve-p-mccormick%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | Genevieve P. McCormick | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | Lewisburg-Genevieve P. McCormick, 90, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016, in her Lewisburg home with her daughter, Kristina at her side.
Genevieve was born Oct. 11, 1925, in Troy, IL, population 800. She was one of four siblings.
She married Robert W. McCormick in 1946. They had five children: Michael, Robert, Kristina, Richard and Alicia. She and her family lived in South America and England. Genevieve loved baking, cooking, gardening and travel, but she cherished most having her family visit and stay in her home.
She is survived by four children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She loved and was loved by each one.
We will love and miss her always. She was a kind, loving, generous person for over 90 years.
A family memorial celebration will be held at a later date.
Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home in Lewisburg is in charge of arrangements. Please send online condolences by visiting www.WallaceandWallaceFH.com. | http://mountainmessenger.com/genevieve-p-mccormick/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/8c3c727f6dd29abc5660c72045d90bd33f64ce87a014c72bec03bd5c3f89d8c3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:48:50 | null | 2016-08-22T10:35:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fnew-orleans-saints-training-camp-quotes%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | New Orleans Saints training camp quotes | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | By Cam Huffman
The New Orleans Saints wrapped up three weeks of training camp at The Greenbrier Sports Performance Center with one final practice on Wednesday morning. They’ll head to Houston Texas for joint practices with the Houston Texans on Thursday and Friday, before a pre-season game against the Texans Saturday evening. The Saints will then return to Metairie, Louisiana, to continue preparations for the 2016 season.
Below are comments from Saints players and coaches before leaving The Greenbrier Wednesday afternoon.
Offensive lineman Zach Strief
On his thoughts about Training Camp at The Greenbrier:
“I can’t fathom that anyone is in a better situation. The facilities are incredible. Everything is close. The food is good. The weather is perfect. I can’t imagine being in a better place or a place that’s better for getting a team ready.
On perception that training at a resort makes a team soft:
“We’ve had very hard camps where we went 7-9 – in Jackson, Mississippi. How do you explain that? At the end of the day, we have to play better. We have to run the ball. We have to have a better turnover ratio. In the years we’ve done that, we win. Other years we haven’t. I don’t know if a hot camp makes you hold onto the football, protect it more or run better. I don’t buy that. Everyone wants an easy answer. The reality is we weren’t good enough the last two years to win more than seven games.
Head coach Sean Payton
On the Saints third year of Training Camp at The Greenbrier:
“We had a great environment. The weather was cooperative. We had one day we were delayed 15 minutes (because of rain), but we got a lot of good work done. We had a lot of competitive drills.
“This facility is very conducive to getting your team ready to play. It allows the players to have that focus, and it eliminates a lot of the distractions. Even on their off days, these guys are together getting treatment, watching tape or eating together. I like to see that.
On if he wants to return to The Greenbrier for future Training Camps:
“This has been outstanding. Yes. You guys have seen it now for the third year in a row. I think it gives you a real secluded environment for a period of time. We’ve tried to split it and still have that Training Camp at home for our fans there, but in today’s game it gives you all the things you’re looking for from a teaching standpoint. I still look at camp as getting away and having a chance to put a key around a shoelace. So I like that about it. The people here have been great, starting with (The Greenbrier owner) Jim (Justice) and his staff. They’ve been amazing.
Running back C.J. Spiller
On Training Camp at The Greenbrier:
“I love it here. The people are great. The weather’s great. They treat us first class. I’ve enjoyed the last three years I’ve been here.” | http://mountainmessenger.com/new-orleans-saints-training-camp-quotes/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/aeb0a030661e51441ac8a6be36d7d7102179abd6842b0a81e017f9d1d3d8aa9f.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:45 | null | 2016-08-26T13:41:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Floudermilk%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | Loudermilk | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | The family of the late William Thomas and Eva Hayes Loudermilk of Clintonville, invite all family, neighbors and friends to their annual family reunion on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m. at the Asbury Community Building, Asbury. Please bring a covered dish, a dessert, a chair and join us for family fellowship. For information, please call Karla at 304-667-8177. | http://mountainmessenger.com/loudermilk/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/f13153e79ecdbd2597f51f0aec15116c64f5c623d33b08c1fe8674545d46f605.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:45 | null | 2016-08-22T10:36:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Feast-boys-girls-soccer-teams-scrimmage-nicholas%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | East boys and girls soccer teams scrimmage at Nicholas | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | By Mark Robinson
The Greenbrier East boys soccer team travelled to Summersville Tuesday for a scrimmage against Nicholas County High School. The scrimmage was cancelled after 32 minutes because of repeated lightning delays, but in that time frame East scored two goals, Nicholas scored zero. Jodice Shanklin and Sam Snyder scored for the Spartans. Head coach Lucas Lemine noted that East controlled the ball for 61 percent of the time played, and successfully completed 124 passes.
Looking toward upcoming practices, coach Lemine said, “We struggle with the simple stuff. Communication and playing the ball to feet. We get caught up in trying to use speed rather than skill. So we are going to work heavily in the upcoming practices on slowing kids down, playing to feet, and communication.”
The Lady Spartans soccer team outscored Nicholas County 8-0. Mallory Baker and Carley Midkiff each scored two goals, Fiona Beery, Kate Perkins and Alexis McKee each had one goal, and Nicholas County scored a goal into its own net, to make 8 total. Head coach Courtney Hudnall noted, “I had upper classmen and freshmen both scoring.”
Looking at the practices before the season begins, Hudnall stated “We will be working on talking, moving into space, and crossing and finishing. It’s still important that we are staying conditioned and fit and that we continue to learn to read each other on the field. Our strengths are that the upper classmen lead the freshmen. They have done such a great job getting the freshmen on board with our style of play.”
According to coach Hudnall, the defense did a good job of keeping the ball away from the goal, but there were a handfull of saves made by the goalies. East has three goalies playing this year, all ninth graders: Mallory Alderson, Kelly Hanson, and Robin White. | http://mountainmessenger.com/east-boys-girls-soccer-teams-scrimmage-nicholas/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/ff5625f9a4ea1e5a563b4ad32f0706d1b575355817ed2ce72d2e10703801817d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:16 | null | 2016-08-22T10:36:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fgolf-news-east-golf-team-plays-match-elks-club%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | Golf News East golf team plays match at Elk’s Club | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | The GEHS Golf Team played against Summers County and Greenbrier West for 18 holes at the Par 70 Lewisburg Elk’s Club on Monday, Aug. 15.
The GEHS scores were Jacobey Gore-71 (Medalist), Gavin Ray – 72, Colin Wiley – 78, Cody Shaffer – 91, Dwain Sheppard – 91, Jared Whitt – 92, Joshua White – 93, Sam Jewell – 94, Berkley Adwell – 95, Steele Hall – 101, Jensen Brown – 107, Ryan Nuckoles – 115, Kara Vaughan – 126 and Logan Sims – 132.
Philip Zambos and Norris Beard had to withdraw due to illness. Carrington McCray, Brett Napier, Savanna Soucier, and Trinity Corby were all out of town.
Greenbrier West had Thomas Vestal – 83 and Alex Ayers had to leave early to go to work before completion of play.
Summers County players and scores were Jamison Hamm – 79, Ashton Bennett – 85, Nathan Wykle – 90 and Sam Wykle – 96. | http://mountainmessenger.com/golf-news-east-golf-team-plays-match-elks-club/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/ed1dd747d66e74b99a905dbef7b9e38af417f52a3516a3639541e39ecf0c48f2.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:55 | null | 2016-08-26T13:38:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fbishop-visit-church-incarnation%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/MM.png | en | null | Bishop to visit Church of the Incarnation | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | On Sunday, Aug. 28, the Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, bishop of West Virginia, will make his annual visitation at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Ronceverte.
Klusmeyer, who was consecrated as the VII Bishop of West Virginia in October 2001, is the spiritual leader of all the Episcopal Church congregations throughout the Mountain State. He and his wife, Marsha, will be at the Ronceverte church for the 9 a.m. service.
Klusmeyer will be the celebrant at Holy Communion and preach, assisted by the Rev. Elizabeth Walker, priest-in-charge of Greenbrier Episcopal Ministries, which includes the Church of the Incarnation. Everyone is invited to come and worship and to meet the Klusmeyers at this annual visitation.
The Church of the Incarnation is located in Ronceverte on U.S. 219 South, on the left before one crosses the bridge leading out of town. It is the white frame church flying the flags of the United States and the Episcopal Church. For more information regarding this special Sunday’s service, or about the Church of the Incarnation, call 304-536-3320 or contact Walker at 304-661-2024. All are welcome. | http://mountainmessenger.com/bishop-visit-church-incarnation/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/f4a2cf23080af3f9c518e7fbda6e8a667a203242deeb0f3119f3a8e1db96bd64.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:48:22 | null | 2016-08-22T10:37:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Fsaints-lose-patriots-pre-season-game-return-white-sulphur-springs%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/saints_0474-2-150x150.jpg | en | null | Saints lose to Patriots in pre-season game; return to White Sulphur Springs | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | Story and Photos by Mark Robinson
The New Orleans Saints, after practicing for two weeks at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, traveled to Boston to play an Aug. 11 game against the New England Patriots. The Patriots won the game, 34-22, primarily because the Saints threw the ball away twice, and lost four fumbles. As is usual in opening pre-season games, the starting offenses played just one or two series before taking a seat. Then the second-stringers and others play, to demonstrate why they should be on the team when the regular season begins in early September.
The running game produced just 78 yards on 30 attempts, a dismal 2.6 yards per carry that will need to improve before the season begins. Several backs are competing for roster spots and playing time.
Quarterback Drew Brees threw just one pass, a nice-looking completion for 37 yards. Luke McCown and Garrett Grayson filled in admirably, though McCown had an awful fumble to give up a touchdown late in the game. The Saints passed for 291 yards in the game.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did not play, because he attended a funeral. He has been suspended for the first four games of the season because of the Deflategate issue from the 2014 season’s AFC Championship Game.
The Saints returned to West Virginia Friday, Aug. 12, where they were scheduled to hold several practices before flying to Houston mid-week for practices and a game with the Houston Texans.
The Saints’ time in White Sulphur Springs has been productive, and the facilities are top-notch, but no announcement has been made about signing a contract to return next year. Until that contract is signed, nothing is for certain. The Saints time in West Virginia is a great boost to the local economy, as they bring with them not only a host of players and coaches and support staff, but also a large number of fans and other camp followers. And for some people, there is no excitement that quite matches the thrill of seeing professional football players walking downtown, or in Wal-mart. | http://mountainmessenger.com/saints-lose-patriots-pre-season-game-return-white-sulphur-springs/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/a713f5e8b1c6d14188893c3401873e97d67ddb21cff04844d78ded64adca3aac.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:50 | null | 2016-08-26T13:40:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmountainmessenger.com%2Flocal-artist-wins-top-honors-bath-county-art-show%2F.json | http://mountainmessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Rose-Dobbins-150x150.jpg | en | null | Local artist wins top honors at Bath County Art Show | null | null | mountainmessenger.com | Local artist Rose Dobbins has won top honors for best animal or bird painting at the Bath County Art Show. The painting that garnered the award, a pastel of a Brittany spaniel, was a demonstration that she completed while painting in the window at the WV Fine Artisans Gallery, in Lewisburg, during July’s First Friday celebration.
In addition to the Bill and Prudence Fields Award, Dobbins also won third place for her pastel painting, “The Dolly Sods.” Although pastels are her medium of choice, Dobbins also works in acrylics, watercolor and oils. She is currently offering classes in acrylics and pastels at the WV Fine Artisans Gallery.
Dobbins is a member of Greenbrier Artists, a signature member of the West Virginia Watercolor Society, and a juried member of Tamarack. She is also one of a group of artisans that recently opened the WV Fine Artisans Gallery located Lewisburg at 951 W. Washington Street. | http://mountainmessenger.com/local-artist-wins-top-honors-bath-county-art-show/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | mountainmessenger.com/8ba4da897f24158c6e3ad99443e2e41f9c5c4b1095b2933aef6ddc927a07e349.json |
[
"Allison Geyer"
] | 2016-08-26T13:03:21 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | Behind every startup there’s a story. Here are five inspiring entrepreneurs who are quietly shaping Madison. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fcover-story%2Ffive-entrepreneurs-quietly-shaping-the-madison-tech-scene%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40459/download/Cover-Ehlers-Kelly-TEASER-crLauraZastrow-08252016.jpg?cb=c66c218a97ea867119505286c8a7cb77 | en | null | Behind every startup, there’s a story | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Laura Zastrow
Jon Hardin — The reclusive genius
By any measure, Jon Hardin is the portrait of millennial entrepreneurial success. His name is on the door of one of Madison’s oldest and most successful tech companies. And he made the UW-Madison Alumni Association’s Forward Under 40 list when he was just 25 years old.
But the 29-year-old president and CEO of Hardin Design & Development tends to shy away from the spotlight. And when he gets home from work, you won’t catch him near a computer.
He lives in a gorgeous house on eight acres in Verona, which he owns free and clear. His garage, which he remodeled all by himself, is filled with luxury vehicles — Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes. He loves fine dining and wine so much that he hand-built his very own cellar, with room to store more than 800 bottles. He’s addicted to home improvement projects, harvesting timber from his property to build things like an outdoor fire pit with seating for up to 40 friends. Life is good in the Hardin household.
“People joke that I’m kind of a recluse,” Hardin says. “I’m not someone who’s going to 10 networking events a week. I’d rather be out working on my land.”
Madison’s tech and startup scene has exploded in the last decade, with local innovators and industry groups continually pushing it to become the entrepreneurial epicenter for the entire Midwest. Many of the local success stories have since become household names — Epic Systems and its various spinoffs, EatStreet and the ever-growing stable of local food tech companies, PerBlue, Raven Software and the array of other gaming companies. But while some startup stories have garnered attention and grabbed headlines, other innovators tend to fly more under the radar.
Hardin says he’s “not really wired to seek out publicity” — a personality type that makes him unique among CEOs.
“Jon is definitely an enigmatic figure in the tech community,” says co-founder Scott Resnick, who serves as the public face of Hardin Design & Development. “I get to go do fun outreach and sell the Hardin brand, and Jon’s back at HQ doing programming — and that’s what he does very well.”
Hardin’s close friends like to joke that he’s always one stroke shy of perfection — he scored 35 out of 36 on the ACT; he got one B in college. But he’s earned a reputation for hard work and intellect through his record of solving some of the toughest software engineering problems brought forth by his clients.
“Folks may not see that side of Hardin, but he’s the engine that drives the company,” Resnick says.
Since the company’s humble beginnings in a dorm room on the second floor of UW-Madison’s Chadbourne Hall, Hardin Design & Development’s business has grown considerably. What started as two college kids trolling Craigslist for freelance web development gigs has evolved to a fully fledged boutique software development firm with offices in Madison, Chicago and Dallas and an extensive list of clients, both domestic and international.
These days, Hardin Design & Development has as an average of 30 different projects in the pipeline at any given time. They range considerably in size and scope — the smallest can be knocked out by a single developer in three days, and the largest can take a team of five developers up to four years to build.
One such project, which Hardin describes as the “crown jewel” of the company’s portfolio, is called Visual Manager, a commercial real estate management and business intelligence platform that the company developed at the request of a client, Fischer & Company. It’s now being used by FedEx, IBM and a host of other big companies. The technology is a complex marriage of data storage and analytics, which allows users to take information from disparate sources and gain insight on things like competitor locations, market characteristics and demographic trends.
The Visual Manager project was a massive undertaking — not to mention a huge get for the small company — but both Hardin and Resnick speak modestly about landing the deal, crediting the intersecting relationships they’ve built over the years and the stellar reputation the firm has established.
“At the end of the day, it all goes back to talent,” Resnick says. “And Jon is one of the best developers, if not the best developer, I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”
Hardin is hardly the only hard-working entrepreneur to escape notice. The city is filled with people quietly pursuing innovative ideas and shaping Madison’s future. But, like Hardin, they all have a story to tell.
× Expand Laura Zastrow
Winnie Karanja — The inspirer
Winnie Karanja has a vivid memory of what it felt like to be the only girl — and the only African American — in her web design class at McFarland High School.
“I remember thinking, ‘This isn’t okay,’” says Karanja, who immigrated to the Madison area from Kenya with her parents and sister in 1999. “There’s such a benefit to having diversity in the tech field.”
Women and minorities are notoriously underrepresented in the tech industry, both in Madison and across the nation. Karanja’s desire to shift those demographics and encourage girls and students of color to break into the field led her to create Maydm, an educational nonprofit that teaches kids a range of entry-level tech industry skills. Karanja founded the initiative in November 2015, and in the first teaching sessions held from April through June of this year, she’s reached more than 80 students. Of those, 40% were girls, and 76% were students of color — statistics that are “very unlike the tech field,” Karanja says. She’s still analyzing demographic data for sessions held in July and August.
“Technology is made for everybody, but it’s not made by everybody,” Karanja says. Maydm, which is a play off the phrase “made by them,” aims to get students comfortable with the idea that they, too, can code the next big app or build the next iPhone.
Karanja is young — she’s under 30, but she declines to reveal her exact age, out of concerns that people in the industry won’t take her seriously. A self-taught coder and a graduate of the London School of Economics and Politics with a bachelor’s in education and a master’s in developmental economics, Karanja says her background gives her a “unique and intersectional worldview” that has helped define Maydm’s platform. As a teacher, she sees technology-focused education as an essential tool to propel girls and students of color into higher-earning jobs. And as a developmental economist, she knows that good jobs are among the most important factors for reducing poverty, hunger and housing insecurity among vulnerable populations.
“The average tech job in Wisconsin [pays] $70,000 per year,” Karanja says. “That’s where we want our students to be.”
Maydm targets youth from third to 12th grade, offering single-day and weekend training sessions as well as a flagship, semester-long course that officially launches this fall with the new school year. The program is fee-based, but Maydm partners with sponsor organizations to provide scholarships for low-income students. Students learn technical skills, including programming and working with open-source electronic hardware, as well as soft skills like communication, teamwork, leadership and resume-writing. Students develop a portfolio showcasing the skills they learned from Maydm, which they can use as a reference when looking for a job. Partners from local tech companies, like Bendyworks and Zendesk, serve as mentors, giving students an insider’s look at how the industry works.
Surveys given to Maydm participants before and after the course show that the curriculum has a big impact on the way students think about themselves and technology. Karanja believes Maydm will eventually become known as a “top talent pipeline” that connects bright young workers from diverse backgrounds to job opportunities at local tech companies. In the future, she plans to form an alumni network to make sure program graduates remain connected as they begin their professional lives.
“If Wisconsin is moving to become a tech hub,” Karanja says, “it should not be an afterthought to bring in girls and students of color.”
× Expand Laura Zastrow
Fred Willis — The playmaker
Former Wisconsin Badgers football player Fred Willis can pinpoint the exact moment he realized that his heart wasn’t in the game.
He was in the locker room with his teammates before the 2011 Big 10 conference home opener against Nebraska — a huge game versus a brand-new rival — and the players were swept up in an impassioned pep talk by one of the coaches.
“[The coach] was so pumped up, and everybody was so geeked,” Willis recalls. “He looks around and starts yelling, ‘Everybody’s been waiting for a moment like this all their lives, right?’”
The players roared their agreement, but the question gave Willis, then a freshman wide receiver, pause. Unlike his teammates, many of whom had been training since elementary school, he hadn’t been waiting his whole life for that moment — in fact, he had only been playing football for a few years when college recruiters started calling.
“Literally everybody was like, ‘Hell yes!’” Willis remembers. “And I was there just thinking, ‘Maybe I’m in the wrong place.’”
Willis hung up his jersey in August 2012 — a move that cost him a full-ride scholarship to UW-Madison. Struggling to pay for school and unsure what career path to pursue, he eventually dropped out, entering what he calls his “free-fall” phase. He dabbled in graphic design, videography, studied financial planning and eventually decided to teach himself computer programming.
Willis, whose decision to quit football stemmed in part from a desire to have more control over his time, saw web development as a good opportunity for him to earn a living while working independently and being his own boss.
“I needed something that fit into my schedule, but I didn’t have $19,000 to spend on a three-month [coding program],” says Willis, who then enrolled in a part-time web developer course that was offered online. Within a month, he had mastered the basics of Ruby on Rails, a widely used full-stack language, and built his first website, a simple blog.
“It wasn’t hard for me to pick up at all,” says Willis, noting that he’s always been a bit of a natural with computers and technology and that there are a number of other “techies” in his family. “I didn’t learn everything, but I went straight for the core.”
In June, Willis, now 23, launched his business, Hacknvest, which combines his specialties: web development and financial investing. He builds software for his “strategic partners” in exchange for a percentage of their business, then he turns around and invests the capital to generate even more income. So far, he’s built relationships with local businesses like the Soap Opera and Dane Buy Local, as well as a number of financial companies and nonprofits.
“I don’t really have clients [so much as] I try to build relationships with other business entities,” Willis says.
Inspired by Warren Buffett, Willis’ investing skills are also self-taught. And he’s incorporated his tech skills into his strategy, building a “web scraping” program that harvests information on undervalued stocks, which he then considers when diversifying his portfolio. Eventually, his goal is to bring in five figures of business each month. He’s not quite there yet, but he says persistence, networking and continually learning new skills will help him land that “big breadwinner.”
Though he’s found success as a programmer and enjoys being an entrepreneur, Willis says it isn’t just the work that he’s passionate about — it’s more about the freedom to make his own schedule and be his own boss that his independent venture allows.
“I like the idea of having time and money,” Willis says. “It’s important for me to have a balance of both.”
× Expand Laura Zastrow
Kelly Ehlers — The socialite
As president of a company that specializes in social media, Kelly Ehlers doesn’t exactly intend to fly under the radar. But her highly specialized niche business is rare in the world of marketing and advertising agencies.
“It was a real gamble focusing on social in the beginning,” says Ehlers, recalling the countless times potential clients said they could just have the intern do it. She always responded by asking, “Would you give your intern a microphone and let them be on the 6 o’clock news?”
“That’s what it’s like if they’ve got the keys to your social media,” she says. “[Companies] are just now catching on to it.”
Ehlers founded her agency, Ideas that Evoke, in 2009, in the midst of the recession and a time of massive upheaval in technology, media and communication. Ehlers was also pregnant with her first child, and her husband had just lost his job. “My husband and I decided to sort of put all our chips on the table,” she says.
At that point in the late 2000s, the concept of social media as an e-commerce and communication tool was only just beginning to take shape. Blogging emerged as a platform for brands and influencers, Facebook for businesses became available and widely used, and Twitter was beginning its meteoric rise as a direct marketing and communication device. Technology like Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope and Facebook Live weren’t even in the picture yet.
Especially in those early years, companies didn’t quite understand the nascent technology — let alone how to harness its potential. But Ehlers, who was working at a traditional advertising agency at the time, took notice that some of the big, international brands were starting to “dip their toes in the water” of social media. She was fascinated — and hooked.
“It was kind of opportunistic,” she says. “I thought, ‘Let’s just see where this goes.’”
At first, it took a lot of convincing on Ehlers’ part even to get companies to consider adding a line item in their budget for social media. Businesses understood things like print advertising, radio spots and billboards, but social media was an intangible — up until the point that it started proving its worth.
“We can target messages exactly to [a demographic] and turn that lead into a sale,” Ehlers says. And when clients see results, “it’s magical to them.”
Over the last seven years, Ehlers has transformed her one-woman agency into a bustling company with more than 30 employees. She hired her first employee four years ago, but the majority of the company’s growth happened in the past year and a half. She specializes in the beauty, lifestyle and luxury market, representing a number of international clients, including Elizabeth Arden and Proctor & Gamble. In 2015, Ideas that Evoke was named one of the best entrepreneurial companies in the nation by Entrepreneur magazine. This year, it landed a spot on Inc. Magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the nation. It grew 1,000% in the last three years.
Here in Madison, Ehlers is partnering with Mary Burke to launch a new initiative called “Building Brave,” a nonpolitical organization that launches this fall. The first event is set for September, but Ehlers can’t release many details, other than saying it will encourage people to step out of their comfort zones.
“It’s all about lifestyle, wellness and professional development,” Ehlers says. “We’re bringing these things to other women, which is something I’m really passionate about.”
× Expand Laura Zastrow
Ted Gurman — The guru
Ted Gurman isn’t your typical tech entrepreneur. He spends more time on a yoga mat than he does in front of a computer screen.
“There’s absolutely nothing technical about anything I’ve ever done in my whole life,” he says with a laugh. But the lack of a technical background didn’t stop him from founding BlueTree Network, a health care information technology consulting firm that specializes in Epic software.
Getting into consulting is a common next step for former Epic employees like Gurman, 36, who was a project manager for the health care software giant from 2006 to 2010. But Gurman, who founded BlueTree with fellow Epic graduate Reggie Luedtke, wanted to build something that was different from the traditional consulting firm. Established in 2012, the company has grown to employ nearly 250 people and has offices in Madison, Denver and New York City. About 180 employees work remotely at client sites.
“It’s very common in the consulting world for folks to feel like they’re on an island, like they’re part of a company, but only by name,” says Gurman. “Once they’re done onboarding, done with their background check and done getting their insurance in place, they never hear from the company again.”
Not so at BlueTree, where employees are affectionately known as “Blue Leaves.” The company’s philosophy is rooted in the idea of wellness, community-building and development — both professional and personal. From the start, Gurman made it his mission to make his holistic approach to health and mindfulness a central pillar of the company — he gave himself the title of “Minister of Happiness.”
“We find that when someone becomes a Blue Leaf, they want to continue working for us,” Gurman says. “It feels like a family.”
The company has an advocacy program that matches new hires with mentors who are dedicated to help facilitate their “personal and professional happiness” at BlueTree, and the company’s structure is not hierarchical. Every employee gets a FitBit and is encouraged to participate in company-wide fitness challenges. Standing desks are available to anybody who wants one. There’s a BlueTree “Give Committee,” funded by a donation from the company’s annual budget and made up of volunteers who meet monthly to decide what kind of philanthropy or volunteer work they’d like to pursue. BlueTree holds volunteering events in the Madison community every two months, and it coordinates with the New York and Denver offices as well. And like many startups, BlueTree offers unlimited vacation — and Gurman makes sure people know that it’s acceptable (and expected) that employees take full advantage of the perk.
“I think there’s a generational shift where millennials have different expectations for their work environment. There’s no longer this broad perspective that work is supposed to be unpleasant,” he says. “The way I see it, you only live once. Why would you want anything less?” | http://isthmus.com/news/cover-story/five-entrepreneurs-quietly-shaping-the-madison-tech-scene/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/71b1a449351a624ea3d0c6964912957c6f3412453776da514875467746af6044.json |
[
"Dylan Brogan"
] | 2016-08-30T22:46:17 | null | 2016-08-30T16:48:46 | Busse’s Markway Tavern has deep ties to Madison’s north side. It’s being sold to the team behind the Tip Top Tavern this fall, who plan on preserving the neighborhood charm that has kept the bar open for more than 80 years. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fmaintaining-the-vibe%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40533/download/Food-Busses-Markway-Tavern-crDylanBrogan-09012016.jpg?cb=26f0cb8bd58e375624c49e9d748a84f1 | en | null | Maintaining the vibe | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Dylan Brogan News-BussesMarkwayTavern-08-30-2016 The quirky north-side tavern will get a freshen-up, not a full scale remodel.
The team behind the Tip Top Tavern is buying Busse’s Markway Tavern. The north-side pub, 2005 N. Sherman Ave., dates to the Prohibition era and is the “quintessential neighborhood bar,” says Ben Altschul, proprietor of the Tip Top.
“It’s almost like a time capsule in there. We aren’t looking to disconnect with the history; quite the opposite,” says Altschul. “It already has a connection with the neighborhood, and we will simply try to strengthen that.”
Altschul contacted Busse’s current owner, Mark Deadman, in June about purchasing the establishment. The bar has been on the market for several years but Deadman was in no hurry to sell.
“I called Mark up, and he said, ‘Well I’ll tell ya, I don’t need to sell it,’” recalls Altschul. “I told him, ‘That’s marvelous because I don’t need to buy it.’ He then said, ‘It sounds like we have something to talk about.’ We got along right away.”
Deadman has owned Busse’s Markway Tavern since 1996, a year before he ran unsuccessfully for Common Council. He says he bought the tavern to escape the trappings of his former career in corporate America.
“For a few years now, I’ve been seeking [a new owner] who appreciates the culture of the east side of Madison and the north side in particular. Someone who respects the patrons who have created the atmosphere at Busse’s,” says Deadman, who considered it his neighborhood bar before he bought it. “We have children of customers who were regulars at Busse’s 50 years ago.”
The bar was originally called Bob’s Midway Tavern because it was the halfway point for farmers traveling from Westport to downtown Madison. Bob’s was changed to Busse’s after Fred Busse bought the bar after World War II.
Deadman changed the name to Busse’s Markway Tavern to — forgive the pun — leave his mark on the place.
The building dates back to the early 1910s, when it likely functioned as a country grocery store as well as a tavern. Deadman says he can track every owner of the bar back to the early 1930s.
Lisa Lauren, who will serve as the new general manager, says the plan is to feature such cocktails as Manhattans and vermouth-heavy martinis that suit the historic setting. Other than removing the gambling machines, the new team doesn’t plan to change the look and feel of Busse’s very much. They will meet individually with the bar’s longtime staff to discuss staying on after the transition. Donna Berres, a relative of the original Busse, has tended bar at the tavern for close to 30 years.
“We not trying to go in and change anyone’s routine, customers or patrons,” says Lauren.
The final sale of the bar will go through after a new liquor license is obtained from the city. It could be up and running under new management by November.
“I look forward to [Altschul’s] staff and creativity,” says Deadman. “I know they will do some really nice things that will make it even better.” | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/maintaining-the-vibe/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/49572d9ff70f2795f9e8ae3339973ea5644f69c2e83f76737fa8d32400281210.json |
[
"Aaron R. Conklin"
] | 2016-08-26T12:47:13 | null | 2016-08-25T16:45:00 | The independent game developers just released a PlayStation 4 port of the PC racing game “Absolute Drift.” | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fscreens%2Fgames%2Fdrifting-right-along%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40503/download/Games-Absolute-Drift-08262016.jpg?cb=dc67998b2091515d5412229b961a6e6c | en | null | Madison game developer Flippfly turns to porting to grow its business | null | null | isthmus.com | For a small, independent game developer, staying in business can sometimes feel like trying to control a car that’s careening around a curve at top speed, where one wrong shift could spell catastrophe.
Aaron San Filippo probably appreciates the metaphor. As the lead programmer of Flippfly, the Madison-based game development studio he co-owns with his graphic designer brother, Forrest, he’s been behind that wheel since the siblings quit their full-time gigs to develop games full time in 2012.
Over the past two weeks, the curves have been smooth: Flippfly just released an enhanced PlayStation 4 port of Absolute Drift, a PC racing game developed by the one-man Canadian shop Funselektor Labs in 2015. Absolute Drift: Zen Edition is a top-down racer in which players have to navigate curve-tastic courses by mastering the art of — what else? — drifting.
“We were looking to grow and make our company sustainable,” explains San Filippo, who also manages the Madison Indies group that meets periodically at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building. “And this project fell into our laps. Our previous game was an action-racing game, so it fit our portfolio.”
Flippfly’s best known for Race the Sun, a gorgeous and addictive 2013 app that puts you in the cockpit of a solar-powered starship, speeding through the obstacles of a minimalist landscape until an untimely crash (or the sun setting) spoils your run. Since debuting in the App Store, the game’s been successfully ported to almost every imaginable gaming platform. (Except Android phones — and San Filippo recently hired a full-time programmer to help make that a reality, as well as work on other projects.)
While Race the Sun has been, as San Filippo puts it, ”paying the bills for the last three years,” Flippfly’s left turn into the porting business is a common tactic used by game developers to shore up their work portfolios, make key industry connections and keep the money flowing. Madison’s Human Head Studios, for instance, has made ports a regular piece of its project stable over the company’s two-plus decade history.
“Porting is one of those types of jobs where it makes sense to outsource,” says San Filippo. “It’s one of the few areas in game development where you can do it all and make a profit. The rest is volatile and risky.”
Flippfly added a host of new features to the port of Absolute Drift, including a set of five night-themed tracks, event challenges for each of the game’s tracks and drift lines that challenge the player to complete a perfect drift.
But porting the game wasn’t a complete drive in the drift-free park. Sony’s certification process for the PlayStation Store is sometimes fraught with unexpected obstacles for developers — in this case, a minor mistake in the game’s final build created a problem, resulting in the PlayStation 4 release date slipping to this week. Learning how the process works has been invaluable, says San Filippo, and has come with added benefits. Buyers who surf to the PlayStation Store to buy Absolute Drift: Zen Edition will see it listed as a Flippfly game, not a FunSelektor game. Flippfly’s handling the port’s PR and marketing as well as the technical support.
“Ideally, we’d like to be spending our time working on our own games,” says San Filippo. “If one of our games didn’t do so well, we’d like to have port work like this in our back pocket.”
Flippfly’s next game is an iOS game called Hexarden, a hexagon-based puzzle/gardening game that San Filippo’s hoping to have ready for release sometime next year. During its development, he engaged in a little work-swapping with friend and fellow game Joel McDonald, the man who gave us the zen-like app Prune. San Filippo has greater skill at code optimization, while McDonald, who left Madison for the west coast earlier this year, is better at game design.
“We’ve honed in on our core mechanic,” says San Filippo of Hexarden. “In the end though, the marketplace is competitive enough right now that we feel that we need to execute a really quality product if we want to survive long term.”
Absolute Drift: Zen Edition is available on the PlayStation Store and on Steam for $11.99 | http://isthmus.com/screens/games/drifting-right-along/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/473acdb4b8f0018e8bb557abfdd057fe51dbe554463d1efed1baba3f80b81c25.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:08:47 | null | 2016-08-19T14:52:00 | Enter to win a trip for two to Nashville for the Packer vs Tennessee game on November 13th, 2016 by taking a "selfie" with a Miller Lite in front of the Lite Packer Flyaway sign at any of the participating locations. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Flite-packer-flyaway-details%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40196/download/640X480%20isthmus%20web%20header%20LITE%20PACKER%20FLYAWAY.jpg?cb=d071494c711b2c5f51671cee93250973 | en | null | Lite Packer Flyaway Contest Details | null | null | isthmus.com | Enter to win a trip for two to Nashville for the Packer vs Tennessee game on November 13th, 2016 by taking a "selfie" with a Miller Lite in front of the Lite Packer Flyaway sign at any of the participating locations listed below. The November 12-14th Grand Prize ($3,000 value) includes:
Upper level end zone Packer tickets
2 night hotel accomodations
Round trip air from Milwaukee
ESPN Prize Pack
Packer jersey for winner
Airport transportation
Enter at any of these locations: | http://isthmus.com/lite-packer-flyaway-details/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/6ce5d2ef3e238337cdfb657d66bb4d673ee6778a924c0f1b6db13fd242a62894.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:08:36 | null | 2016-08-24T11:56:53 | Win Tickets to Blind Pilot at Majestic on September 11 at 8 pm. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fall-events%2Fcontests%2Fwin-tickets-to-blind-pilot-at-majestic%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40442/download/Blind-Pilot-Press-Photo.jpg?cb=8a7c1b1029f76c8a427786e315566658 | en | null | Win Tickets to Blind Pilot - September 11 at Majestic | null | null | isthmus.com | null | http://isthmus.com/all-events/contests/win-tickets-to-blind-pilot-at-majestic/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/8d692fdd4fd33e73310418541d2edd8cd0004ea003ce04b42cec4fe369947eb5.json |
[
"Jon Lyons",
"Alan Talaga"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:34 | null | 2016-08-18T05:00:00 | The system works for those who are part of a high-profile documentary. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Fcartoons%2Foff-the-square-08-18-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40351/download/OTS-marketing-a-murderer-teaser-08182016.jpg?cb=0892615dcd835f75db412dadc4d426ea | en | null | Off the Square: Making a Murderer, cont. | null | null | isthmus.com | ISTHMUS is © 2016 Red Card Media, Inc. | All rights reserved. | Madison, Wisconsin | USA | http://isthmus.com/opinion/cartoons/off-the-square-08-18-2016/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/74147676ba1dde77afbe49b454630e0ae5e105122f006b8355b4ff28f9cf613e.json |
[
"James Kreul"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:10 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Todd Solondz taps into the humor of dysfunctional relationships with mixed results in “Weiner-Dog,” four stories linked by a dachshund. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fscreens%2Fmovies%2Fwiener-dog-links-four-stories-with-dachshund%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40494/download/Screens-WienerDog-08252016.jpg?cb=b7a2638b4f1bfeac899012dac28ae2cb | en | null | More bark than bite | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Remi (Keaton Nigel Cooke) is a cancer survivor with a close connection to his dachshund.
When Wiener-Dog shows its teeth, director Todd Solondz taps into the humor of emotional abuse and dysfunctional relationships with a sustained growl.
The film is made up of four episodes — linked across the country by a dachshund. Unfortunately, two of the episodes have more bark than bite.
Wiener-Dog shares the bill on Aug. 27 at the UW Cinematheque with the unrelated documentary Weiner (about that sly dog, former Rep. Anthony Weiner).
Dina (Julie Delpy) can’t communicate with her young cancer survivor son (Keaton Nigel Cooke) without causing collateral damage, and she’s as mesmerizing as a traffic accident. “Death is a good thing?” he asks, moments after she describes his dog being put to sleep. “It feels good, like forgetting everything,” she explains with a smile, ignoring the fact that the boy has fought off death — and can’t forget his dead dog.
The boy’s dog is not dead, however. She’s saved by vet assistant Dawn Wiener (Greta Gerwig), who takes her on a road trip with former classmate and crush Brandon (Kieran Culkin). Young Dawn (nicknamed Wiener-Dog) was the central character in Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995). Fans should not expect many rewarding connections, nor expect much from the segment, which is long on setup and short on payoff.
The remaining two segments feature reserved but memorable performances from Danny DeVito and Ellen Burstyn. DeVito impresses as screenwriting professor Dave Schmerz, but the segment revisits worn tropes about academia and moviemaking. Burstyn dominates her scenes as Nana, despite barely moving and wearing large sunglasses, as she receives a long-overdue visit from her granddaughter. These last scenes match Dina’s in their dramatic range and impact, but they are far more concise.
Solondz often seems tone deaf in terms of identity politics (itself a target of satire in one scene). Dawn meets a mariachi band straight out of a Speedy Gonzales cartoon. Jewish names become a running gag in the nexus of academia and entertainment surrounding Schmerz. Some moments satirize those who see the world through stereotypes. Some don’t.
Despite some uninspired staging, Ed Lachman’s cinematography gives Solondz’s dark vision a crisp, vibrant energy with stylized green hues and magical slow motion.
And I have to give Solondz credit for one shot as audacious as anything in his cult classics, Happiness and Storytelling. It is worth sharing with a crowd. | http://isthmus.com/screens/movies/wiener-dog-links-four-stories-with-dachshund/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/f2fe0882ff5934de82a755eca075a8c7509aa7b43ba92fd0410316576318396f.json |
[
"Bill Lueders"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:18 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Mass shootings have become frighteningly common in the U.S. So you can be forgiven for wondering if, in the face of such peril, you’d save the day or poop your pants. The Madison police have been giving tutorials for how to survive the unthinkable. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fsnapshot%2Fmass-shooting-response-tutorial%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40476/download/Snapshot-CRASE-crBillLueders-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Preparing for the unthinkable | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Bill Lueders Madison police officer Matt Magolan leads a tutorial on how to survive a mass shooting.
First of all, take a few deep breaths. Seriously.
When you suddenly hear gunfire, or explosions, or screaming, your physiology will be affected. Your heart rate and blood pressure will spike. You’ll probably start trembling. You may even freeze.
“These things are normal,” Matt Magolan assures. They are typical responses to a “critical incident” like a mass shooting. But fortunately, there are “stress response tools” you can deploy. Like autogenic breathing.
Inhale deeply through your nose. Hold it for several seconds. Expel the air forcefully through your mouth. Repeat. This will help you regain control, to save your own life and perhaps others.
It is a Thursday evening in August. Magolan, a Madison police officer, is in a large classroom at the Madison Police Training Center on Femrite Drive. There are about two dozen people present, including a few media reps. This is the first such tutorial offered to the general public, although Magolan and other officers have previously put it on for dozens of groups, including employees at shopping malls, hotels and, sigh, day care centers.
The training is called Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events. It’s based in part on a model adopted by the FBI. A former teacher, Magolan has been giving these presentations for about six years. The training, to be offered again on Nov. 10 or for groups on request, is for what he calls “the unthinkable.”
“We need to train for the realities of life, not what we wish the world to be,” he says in an interview. Magolan is proud that at least one person on the scene when shots were fired during a confrontation at East Towne last December had gone through his training and reportedly felt more “empowered,” less afraid. Another person who was there, a few feet from the shooter, is attending the tutorial tonight.
Magolan’s more than two-hour talk is part rundown of notorious mass shootings, part statistics on such events, and part what his audience clearly most wants to hear — advice on how to be, if not a hero, then at least a survivor.
“You can choose to not be a helpless victim,” Magolan advises.
How exactly?
First, know that there are three stages of disaster response: denial, deliberation, decisive action. The first is the most dangerous. How likely is it, really, that someone is setting off firecrackers in an office building?
“Don’t deny,” Magolan instructs. “Go immediately to deliberate action.”
This has its own trinity: avoid, deny, defend. The first is self-explanatory: Get out if you can. Do not play dead, hide or hope if you have other options.
Deny means to deny access. Lock the door. Barricade access points. Remain quiet.
Defend means to fight back. Part of it is mental. Turn your fear to anger. Know this is someone who wants to kill you. Commit yourself to not letting that happen. Go into “warrior mindset.”
Attack the shooter’s vision, wind and limbs. Don’t punch. Bring down your fist as though it were a hammer. Again and again. Try to gouge out his eyes or stab at them with a Sharpie. “Anything that can cause injury and dysfunction, you can use it.”
Grab the top of the shooter’s gun to keep it from rotating or recycling to discharge more bullets. Yes, this will burn your hand if the gun has been fired. But, Magolan says, “I’ll take a burn to the hand over a bullet to the brain any day of the week.” He shows an audience member onstage how to grab a semiautomatic pistol or assault rifle while still being able to pummel the possessor.
In response to the inevitable audience query about concealed carry, Magolan notes this is a legal right and that people who violate posted signs against carrying weapons face a mere trespassing fine. But he says simply taking a hunter safety course is not adequate training for a shootout. And he makes it pretty clear that if you’ve just killed the shooter and are holding a gun as police arrive, you’ll likely end up being added to the body count. Heads nod.
It’s a grim tutorial. But some audience members seem as though they can hardly wait. One man says if he hears shots, he’ll head in that direction. “I’m drawn to it, because I’m one of those guys.” He also says he may poop his pants.
We’ll see. Better yet, let’s hope we don’t have to.
Average number of people killed in active-shooter events: 3
Common active-shooter personality trait: Injustice collector
Percentage of shooters who are male: 96
Percentage who act alone: 98
Most common active-shooter setting: Workplace (about 45%)
Percentage of times intended victims stop attack: 18
Source: Madison Police Department | http://isthmus.com/news/snapshot/mass-shooting-response-tutorial/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/9d439e49e92c08f4e4af781619e9b1772c2bbbd8a67083dfc4c5771ec966dce1.json |
[
"Michael Cummins",
"Frank Henry",
"Cicero Benn",
"Kathleen Rust",
"Richard Charnin"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:45 | null | 2016-08-22T14:05:00 | A Donald Trump ally has gotten a lot of press claiming that the GOP rigged as many as five elections in Wisconsin. But an examination of the analysis finds there’s no smoking gun. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Fmadland%2Fclaims-that-the-gop-stole-wisconsin-elections-have-no-merit%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40390/download/Madland-Election-Rigging-crDMM-08222016.jpg?cb=b6dba742a2e5b922695391108487f867 | en | null | An utter load of crap | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand David Michael Miller
On Aug. 16, a reputable political news website published a piece by Roger Stone, one of Donald Trump’s longtime confidantes. In it, Stone reinforced Trump’s recent assertion that the upcoming presidential election might be “rigged.”
Stone called out Wisconsin, specifically, as a hotbed for fixed elections. “There are strong indications that Scott Walker and the Reince Priebus machine rigged as many as five elections.”
The evidence of this? “Mathematician and voting statistic expert Richard Charnin has produced a compelling study by comparing polling to actual results and exit polls to make a compelling case for voting machine manipulation in the Badger state.”
Wisconsin media pounced on this immediately, reporting the sensational allegation as a news story in itself. Gov. Walker was even asked about Stone’s accusation. (He laughed it off.)
But there was little examination of the “compelling study” that Stone cited as evidence.
Among vote-fixing conspiracy buffs, Richard Charnin is revered as a genius. His work is rife with impenetrable equations and links to massive spreadsheets.
Charnin and his followers allege that “vote flipping” is the most common election-fixing technique. Supposedly, operatives hack into vulnerable electronic voting systems and exchange the vote totals of one candidate for another.
For the sake of efficiency and stealth, these operatives flip as few reporting units (precincts, wards, etc.) as possible, just enough to give their favored candidate a plausible but convincing overall victory. The more voters in a reporting unit, the more profitable a flip in its results will be for the favored candidate.
Charnin claims to have proved that this method was employed in the 2014 Wisconsin gubernatorial election through “cumulative vote share analysis.”
At first glance, his analysis is pretty convincing. Charnin sorted each Wisconsin county by reporting unit, ascending from units with the fewest number of voters to those with the most. He then showed that a number of counties, especially large Democratic leaning-ones, had a pro-Republican favorability in the reporting units with the largest number of voters, relative to the bulk of reporting units in the county. "This is counterintuitive,” writes Charnin in his blog. “Strong turnout always favors the Democrats...larger wards are generally in Democratic strongholds.
“The counties that look the most suspicious by the upward slope of Walker shares in large units and wards are Ashland, Brown, Kenosha, Dane, Eau Claire, Jefferson, Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Winnebago, Waukesha."
Charnin has called his Wisconsin cumulative vote share analysis “the smoking gun.”
When discussing Wisconsin’s election reporting units, Charnin seems to use the terms “ward,” “precinct” and “unit” interchangeably, or at least carelessly. His apparent lack of understanding of how reporting units work in Wisconsin is at the root of his erroneous conclusion.
Under Wisconsin law, municipalities with 35,000 or more inhabitants must report their election results by ward. So a city like Madison is divided up into as many reporting units as it has wards. Some of these Democratic-stronghold wards are indeed fairly large.
But municipalities with fewer than 35,000 inhabitants (towns, villages and smaller cities) are allowed to combine multiple wards into a single reporting unit, subject to some districting restraints. One reporting unit in the village of Cottage Grove combined 10 wards in 2014. This practice means that, on average, suburban and rural reporting units are actually larger than their single-ward urban counterparts.
As a matter of fact, in 2014, in Dane County’s 17 largest reporting units were located outside of Madison. Brown County’s 19 largest reporting units were located outside of Green Bay.
Given what we know about the urban/rural political divide in Wisconsin, it’s no wonder Republicans’ cumulative vote shares grew as Charnin added increasingly larger reporting units to his county analyses.
In a second major component of his study, Charnin compares raw data from exit poll surveys with final election results. Because more Wisconsinites told exit pollsters that they voted Democrat, claims Charnin, the Democrats should have won these elections.
Unlike the pre-election polls we see from organizations like Pew, Rasmussen and Marquette Law School, raw exit poll surveys are a methodological mess. Exit pollsters — who literally stand at polling place exits, flagging people down — do not have the wherewithal to make sure that their surveys are filled out by a representative cross-section of voters. For example, “younger voters are more likely to agree to participate in an exit poll,” according to Joe Lenski, the lead researcher for Edison Research, America’s premier exit polling organization.
The raw results of exit poll surveys are adjusted after election day to correct for selection biases. As Lenski explains, “if the group of voters who refuse to respond to an exit poll differ from those who do participate...that would introduce a source of error that is impossible to calculate based upon the information that we have before the polls close.” Once these biases are accounted for, exit polls yield valuable demographic information.
Reached by email, Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, offered this verdict: “Exit polls are valuable for understanding who voted for whom but are subject to a variety of issues that make them unreliable estimates of the vote results.”
I have, in the past, been made to feel naïve for rejecting the conspiracy mindset. Only a sucker would fail to recognize that we exist in a Matrix-like rendition of reality, where shadowy overlords control pretty much everything.
It is becoming clear to me that the self-styled skeptics who peddle this mindset are the credulous ones.
Yes, far-fetched allegations sometimes prove true. (For a brief time, Watergate was dismissed as a “conspiracy theory.”) But time and time again, much more often than not, the conspiracy mongers’ fervent alarms are exposed as a perverse form of wishful thinking. Carl Sagan said that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” But when it comes to election systems rigging in America, I’m looking for just a bit of solid evidence. If such evidence ever presents itself, the most fervent alarm will be raised by me. | http://isthmus.com/opinion/madland/claims-that-the-gop-stole-wisconsin-elections-have-no-merit/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/9e4c68424c83b20bb9fd2cd2c6dfb164b353362250eb5a0346e17f06dc214005.json |
[
"Tom Whitcomb"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:46 | null | 2016-08-18T05:00:00 | “Weird Al” looks back at his lengthy, colorful career in advance of his Aug. 21 appearance at Overture. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fmusic%2Fweird-al-yankovic%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40356/download/Music-WeirdAl-08182016.jpg?cb=3e51f819df572f2f27a271730ec52f5b | en | null | What’s your story, “Weird Al” Yankovic? | null | null | isthmus.com | Since the late 1970s, “Weird Al” Yankovic has been in a league of his own. The pop parodist has been witness to countless shifts in musical trends, from Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga (who he says told him getting the Weird Al treatment was a “rite of passage”), and has deftly skewered them all, selling millions of records across the globe.
But with his whopping 14-album deal with Volcano Records now complete (“I had the option of signing this record contract or keeping my day job, working for minimum wage in a mailroom,” he says), Yankovic is free to focus on his own projects, which include his current day job as bandleader on IFC’s Comedy Bang! Bang!
Isthmus caught up with “Weird Al” in advance of his Aug. 21 show at the Overture Center to take a closer look at the lengthy, colorful career of a true music and comedy legend.
Oct. 23, 1959
Alfred Matthew Yankovic is born in Downey, California.
“I grew up in the Compton-adjacent city of Lynwood. I went to the same high school as [Death Row Records’] Suge Knight.”
1966
Al takes his first accordion lesson after a door-to-door salesman visits his parents.
“The choice was between guitar lessons and accordion lessons, and, of course, my parents — being the visionaries that they were — went with the accordion, because they wanted me to be extremely popular in high school.”
1979
Just before his senior year at Cal Poly, Al records “My Bologna,” which becomes his first professionally released parody.
“I didn’t have the money for a professional recording facility, so I recorded it in the bathroom across the hall from my college campus radio station. I remember how giddy I was when I got a postcard from Dr. Demento saying that “My Bologna” had been No. 1 on his Funny Five countdown for two weeks in a row. I actually thought, ‘Man... my life’s never going to get any better than this!’”
1983
Al’s self-titled debut album is released.
“This album is kind of painful for me to listen to, but I suppose I just have to allow it to be a product of its time and resist the George Lucas impulse to completely re-record it just because I actually know what I’m doing now.”
1984
“Weird Al” Yankovic in 3-D is released, with “Eat It.”
“‘Eat It’ basically changed my life. Within 24 hours of that video going into heavy rotation on MTV, I became a celebrity. It was literally overnight fame. I couldn’t go anywhere in public without people staring and pointing at the ‘Eat It’ guy. That was the power of MTV back in the day.”
1989
Comedy film UHF is released in theaters.
“UHF went on to become a beloved cult classic, but it was an unmitigated box office bomb. The whole experience was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster because the movie had tested extremely well and everybody was treating me like I was going to be Orion Pictures’ next big movie star. After its dismal opening weekend, nobody at Orion even wanted to establish eye contact with me.”
1996
Bad Hair Day is released, including “Amish Paradise.”
“Bad Hair Day is still my highest-selling album to date (over 2 million copies) because of “Amish Paradise,” and also because of the fact that it came out in an era when people were still actually buying albums. Plus, Amish people buy tons of CDs, right?”
2006
Straight Outta Lynwood is released, including “White & Nerdy,” his biggest-selling single to date.
“I lucked out by releasing “White & Nerdy” at the crest of the wave of nerd empowerment. 2006 was the tipping point when all of a sudden people decided it was actually cool to be a nerd. I guarantee you, nobody was trying to establish their “nerd cred” when I was in high school!”
2014
Mandatory Fun — including single “Word Crimes” — is released and becomes his first No. 1 album in the U.S. (and the first comedy album to top the charts since 1963).
“I had been under contract to my record label for 32 years, [and] Mandatory Fun was the last album on my 14-album record deal. I thought it was a really strong album, but I didn’t think I had a standout single. I figured I would release it anyway and quietly fulfill my contractual obligations. Instead, to my amazement, the album made history.”
2016
Al joins IFC’s Comedy Bang! Bang! as bandleader.
“Comedy Bang! Bang! is one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and Scott Aukerman is an old friend of mine, so when he offered me the bandleader gig, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s a real thrill for me every single day on set, because I get a chance to do music, improv and sketch comedy with some of the absolute funniest people in the world.”
Aug. 21, 2016
Al performs at Overture Hall in Madison.
“My whole life has been building up to this. Let’s face it, it’s all downhill after the Madison gig.” | http://isthmus.com/music/weird-al-yankovic/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/2448cca7aaba44b9323515470864122eb744f8d709b77af079d5f53ccd837c86.json |
[
"Jay Rath"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:55 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | For decades, ridership on Madison Metro has been steadily growing. But over the past 12 months, ridership is down 8%. Is the drop a temporary blip or the start of a troubling trend? | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fmadison-metro-bus-ridership-is-down%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40470/download/News-Bus-Ridership-crDMM-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Off the bus | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand David Michael Miller Ridership on Madison Metro has been growing for decades but is down 8% this year. Is it a new trend or a sporadic dip?
We’re riding the bus less often this year.
In the 12 months ending May 31, total Metro Transit ridership was down 8.8% according to a summary recently shared with the Madison Transit and Parking Commission. Weekend ridership on routes with hourly service dropped far more, between 20% and 30%, according to a July report by the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MATB).
It’s too early to say whether it’s part of a larger trend or just a momentary blip, but Madison Metro officials are certainly taking notice.
“It’s definitely a concern,” says Bill Schaefer, MATB transportation planning manager. On the other hand, he notes, “We’ve had ridership increasing 4% or 5% a year until recently, and that was not a sustainable metric.”
While ridership on Metro has been growing for decades, there have been sporadic spurts and dips.
Metro officials suggest a few reasons for this year’s drop. One could be all the new, massive housing developments, increasing population density on the isthmus. More people with business in the downtown area can simply walk.
“Between employees and students, campus makes up about half of all ridership,” Schaefer points out. “Any impact, any reduction in the number of students taking the bus — that obviously has an impact. So, all those high-rises going up close to campus, with students moving closer, that could be a small piece of it.”
Another possible explanation for the drop is positive. Recent mild winters allow people to bike earlier in the spring and later in the fall, “which is a good thing,” adds Schaefer. “As long as they use an alternative mode, we’re happy.”
However, there’s also evidence that good weather may not be the culprit. “Some of our drops, to be very candid, are also happening when we compare one warm-weather month to another warm-weather month,” says Chuck Kamp, Metro’s general manager.
So far there’s only anecdotal evidence, but numbers will come soon. Local bike travel has been studied since late autumn, as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Household Travel Survey. Its collection of supplementary Madison-area data is funded by the city and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Results will be available in the fall of 2017.
The real cause of the ridership drop may be something more prosaic: gas prices. They’ve dropped significantly since 2014. The way fuel prices affect public transit isn’t simple. Looking at transit across the country, “For bus systems our size, the ridership is down about 5%,” says Kamp.
Meanwhile, “In big cities, where you have more buses and more trains, ridership is still up,” he says. The calculus that prompts people to ride transit varies by location.
In the largest cities, where driving and parking are always a hassle, fewer people reach for their car keys when gas prices drop. Convenience and reliability trump fuel costs. If you live where buses or trains come frequently, why bother with the car?
“What is a reality in our world of transit business is, the more service you provide, the more your ridership begins to be resilient to gas price increases or other factors,” says Kamp. But in smaller cities, “when gas goes from $3.50 a gallon to $2 a gallon, we have a little more difficulty holding onto our ridership than New York City or Chicago.”
Less extensive weekend service may explain the 20% to 30% decline on those days. “I think part of it has to do with the reduction in service levels going back now five or 10 years,” says Schaefer. “When your budget’s tight and you’re looking where you allocate service, weekdays tend to get priorities.”
Some major corridors, such as East Washington Avenue, have weekend buses only once an hour. “It’s just not enough,” says Schaefer. “It’s not frequent enough for people who have a choice to take the bus for those trips. People say, ‘Okay, well I’m just going to find another option now.’ It’s just not convenient.”
Mick Rusch, Metro Transit marketing and customer service manager, says there’s not much Metro can do about it.
“We don’t have any immediate plans to add more frequent trips on weekends,” says Rusch. “We are still studying this issue to get a clearer picture of what exactly is happening, and [what] might be needed to improve ridership during this time.”
Metro is limited in what it can do because there aren’t many funding options. The city is cash-strapped. Fare increases are unpopular and hurt those who rely on the system the most. And in the 2011 budget, the Legislature dissolved a recently formed Dane County regional transit authority that would have allowed a half-cent sales tax to fund a larger, more comprehensive Metro system. These factors force Metro to focus on maintaining the status quo, rather than expansion.
“In 2015, we had 39 buses at or past replacement age,” says Rusch. “This is approximately 18% of our total fleet.”
Adds Kamp: “I think we’re really at the situation — to borrow a Yogi Berra quote — ‘If you can’t grow you can’t grow.’”
Not only does Metro need more buses, it also needs more space to park them. The city has purchased land on Nekoosa Trail where a $35 million bus garage could go, but it doesn’t have the money to construct it. Metro officials were disappointed to learn the city again missed out on its application for a $17.5 million grant to help pay for the garage, which would hold 50 to 70 buses.
Kamp looks far into the future and sees Metro Transit providing service to a much larger area, with far greater speed.
“Our area is growing,” he says. “Epic is in Verona. Many of its new employees live in Madison.” Ridership on Epic Route 75 is up 20%. “That route is up so high because it’s accelerated express service. I see our ability to grow and to have a bus rapid-transit system one day that will almost double our capacity, that would improve travel times — but our ability to do that is contingent on creating a regional transportation authority.”
For transit purposes, Madison and its surrounding communities, together, have to be counted as a far-reaching single entity, Kamp argues.
“My message to our leaders, including at the state level, who don’t necessarily have an ear tuned into us at the moment, is, ‘You need to remember Madison is more like the Twin Cities or Chicago than it is like Appleton or Green Bay.’” | http://isthmus.com/news/news/madison-metro-bus-ridership-is-down/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/764624ff55d5b6277039e9cadc1864910e680f3e9726b15e9620385116b16313.json |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.