Jason Volk – don’t go to math jail.

Amber Johnson – Aaron- my ability to not have to study. Madi and Kenzie – The ability to pick on my brothers! Hannah Hayden – I, along with the rest of the alto 2s, leave you the alto 2 section all for yourself. Courtney Ford – I leave you my inappropriate jokes and humor.

Tanner Miller – I leave my good looks and extremely awesome personality to all you guys out there. Keep it classy and treat the ladies right.

Caroline Freese – I will the haunted house in Stone’s room to Joe Krapfl and Drew Jensen if he comes back. I also will the watermelon tradition to Diana Dovenspike.

Kayla Beener – Rae Corrigan-I give you my running personality and the Little Dog Syndrome.

Conner Hoyt – Nothing because I don’t know them.

Chris Henry – I will Trey Kuehl my brown hair to finally cure his horrible disease of gingeritis. I also will Lincoln McMurray my iPod.

Brennan Powers – Future co-ed dance team-my moves like Jagger; Future football and track team-BK, we own it; Jensen Bishop-My mom’s breakfast.

Morgan Covell – Lexxy Holland – I leave you my plush horses. Why because they are horses, duh. Love you girl.  Lilly Holland – I give you my Justin Beiber poster because I wanna see what you do to it. Lee – All our inside jokes about Colton Thompson – we love you, Colton.

Tyler Krpan – Joe Kotz – my stunning ways with the ladies. Tommy Goodale – my power and master of the tomahawk chop to continue the Indian spirit.

Kale Render – I will Andy Arndt a blankie. –from anonymous. I will Lauren Wood a plunger, from your loving brother Private Wood.

Maddy Hosey – Denver Hosey my social grace of a saint. To Wheefy, I will my favorite yamika. To Alexus Wools, I will my title of favorite Corner Sundry employee. To Johnny Green, I will Reg.

Marissa Nieuwenhuis – To Aubri Westlake, I give my pocket. So I can keep you there forever.

Alexis Bunting – I will the basketball team my patience for Coach Hanson and to keep up the team bonding.

Jake Lord – Andy Arndt, Tyler Nicholson, Jordan Schultz and Joe Gorsche, BK Club and my ability to complain about every single workout. Blake Dowson – my track spikes. Chloe – Joe McGinnis.

Daren Chambers – Colton Weldon you have to carry on all my cowboy traditions.

Megan Churchill – To Karsyn Flannery I give you permission to remain antisocial and eat lunch in my mother’s office.

Kyle Coghlan – I will Jared Cortum a new brother. Nicole, my chores. Reggie, basketball team.

Kyle Loy – To my little sister, I leave my ability to get along with any teacher. High school’s much better that way. Lee Overton – I leave my work ethic because talent is nothing without hard work.

Brett Johnson – To my freshmen buddies from marching band, I had a great time and I hope they will make a few friends in marching band like I did.

Hannah Darr – To Brook Croat, I will my crown. I will Chloe Crain stucco, I leave my singing abilities to Diana Dovenspike and my sister to Liz Reams. To Nate Sams, I leave you all my millions, and Christian Hayden I will you a new person to write songs about.

Don Dowson III – I will Zach Schrader my powers of not getting caught.

Jacy Bartling – To Chloe Crain I will my horse and buggie to get to school. To Tyler Nicholson – I will by math skills. To Lexi Tolly – I will the cafeteria.

Nick Petersen – To the junior class I leave my case of senioritis (after I have graduated I am still using it).

Kayleigh Chapman – Don’t mess up your high school years. They are fun and you can see yourself grow up during the years. Enjoy it while you can.

Kelsey Yazell – I leave the patience to deal with the incoming underclassmen and the luck of graduating on time.

Brianna Ward – Enjoy high school while you can because when it’s your time to shine as a senior you won’t want it to ever end.

Alyssa Bohlender – To Lynndon Wells, I will to you my ability to hurdle and to find a new bus partner.

Kim Bougher – Maddie Butler – my supreme responsibility. Rea Corrigan – my guessing skills.

Morgan Leach – I will Lincoln McMurry the ability to find someone who gives as awesome of high fives as we do!

Kaitlin Moews – I will Alex Lindsley my sister, Becca Moews. I will Ellen Keyser my skills and passion for theater. I will Christian Hayden and Luke Hastie – Mallory Keeney as someone else to make fun of.

Sara Pirtle – One of my unused razors to Tyler Nicholson and Barry Brumm.

Crystal Meador – I will Emily Powers my Kool-aid drinking abilities.

Julia Rivas – Angela, I leave you my seat right next to Mr. Adams. He may be creepy but sit next to him anyways.

Ben Brennan -To Ben Swain, to keep up the legacy of the Benis.

Nick Smith – I will the ability to eat bananas to Joe Krapfl. Center Field Jordan Shultz; solo in coed – James McConnell; Formal Friday leader-Dan Rozga; ability to talk to girls-Casey Krapfl; strong safety-Matt Mitchell.

Zitxw Lor – Will – Football team captain-Cole Button; Basketball team captain – Zach Bales; Saying get pooped on – Dan Mazurets; Class president – Ruvim Nochvay; Track Captain – Mitch Neesson. EVERYTHING TO MITCH NEESSON. Testament-People love trolls do it a lot trust me.

Natividad Hirsch – To Gabbie Morgan my good decision-making skills and my Coe College sweater since I’m going to St. Ambrose. Carl Hirsch – my sparkling personality. Kevin Larson – my sparking personality since Carl won’t accept it.

Becca Webb – I will good food for the kids that don’t bring their lunch and think school food is gross. Also, an awesome Spanish orals partner for Mallory, because I have to leave.

Jay Smith – I will my creativeness to my sister; I will my table manners to Blake Beard; and Trey Kuehl and Blake Dowson can split my height.

Isabella Walles – To Chase Walles – stay out of trouble and don’t run your mouth too much.

Ellyn Cory – Sunglasses to Kristina Quijano to disguise her starring problem. A great season to the volleyball girls.

Sam Weinman – The game we play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in soccer.

Drew Peeler – I would like to will the wet wonderland we call home in the winter months to Jonah Hatten and Joe Kotz. And my left shoe string to Joe Staudacher.

Hunter Belzer – To Zach Schrader I will the ability to be sneaky.

Morgan Struebing – I will Anya and Ricarda the tennis team – keep it up girls.

Madi McGlumphry – High School flies by so fast, take advantage of every opportunity.

Carrie Victor – I will Noe Garcia my ability to get to class on time.

Don Dawson III – I will Zach Schrader my powers of not getting caught.

Camren Ripperger – I will the way I talk to Tyler Nicholson because I believe he is the only one that will keep the spirit alive. Ex: So bomb, tearing it up, shreading, Bid daddy, Boss Hog.

Amber Hoffman – To Ashley Hoffman I give you the nickname “Hot body Hoffman.”

Katie Mort – Kieran – the car she’s a beast keep her that way. Ember Gray – my attitude not that you need it but it’s yours. Ashley Meaux – my personality learn it, live it and love it. Liz Reams – everything I own take it and watch over Kieran.

Paul Schlenker – To Mitch Neessen I will my shoes. To Wheefy my superior ping pong skills.

Emma King – I will Zach Heater folder responsibility for the rhythm section.

Nicole Norman – Courtney Ford – keep your head up high girl you are the strongest person I have ever met and you care about everyone. You are my best friend and I will miss you so much. Enjoy your senior year. P.S. 1^st Timothy 4:12.

Darcy Baker – Mr. Garrels – my trig notes cheer to use with all classes. Mr. Bertsch – a place on his wall to hang the poster from Chloe + 1. Aubri Westlake – an awesome cheer season. Emily Coffey – the ability to drive to cheer practice without me.

Jen Deckard – Sarah Goering – I leave my teapot, please treat it well. Genevieve Rosenbalm – I leave my copy of “Titanic.” Justin Cross – Whatever chocolate has been collected in my orchestra cubbie have at it.

Amy Williams – I’m leaving my fuzzy green handcuffs to Aubrey Sullivan. J To Sarah Goering I’m leaving you my teapot. Please take good care of it.

Lauren Engley – I give the “joy” of running the 3000 at every track meet to the younger distance girls. And good luck to the trombone section.

Aaron Meckley – To Austi I will the rights to Disc Club. To Brody the power to be awkward in every situation – oh wait. To Mike Wadle I will you my wizard powers for you are no longer my apprentice but you are now a wizard. And mustard packets to all with a 10 black corner for Jane.

Marissa Ramos – I will the position of orchestra president to Jonah Hatten.

Natalie Swaim – Alex Williams my younger brother Ben. Brook Croat – My skills in hand shadow puppets and my lit book. Emily Beltz – a puppy. Andrea Colton – Elmer’s love for Ella. Liz Reams – clothes I won’t have room for in college.

Kayla Halterman – I give Erin my ability to socialize. McKenna Pierce my patience to deal with the girls swim team.

Dani Leih – I will Diana the incline bench press and Coltyn Hunter Michelle locker decorating tradition.

Alex McGinnis -To my Ballin’ Girls my amazing dance moves because someone has to take my place as head dancer. And to Chloe Crain I leave my brother Joe because everyone knows you have the hots for him.

Cheyenne Hunt – To my brother my ability to not crash into poles in the parking lot.

Peter Anderson – I will Evan my soul because he wasn’t born with one. I will Lukas G. the tennis team.

Cortney Onstot – I will Tyler Nicholson my math skills. I will Lincoln McMurry and Dan Rozga my little brother, take good care of him.

Mackenzie Steveson – To the “to be seniors” I will leadership and responsibility the teachers are good examples to students but it’s you they are all really watching.

Taylor Brandt – To the debate squad my pimp hat.

Ely Ladd – I leave my liver to John Cassidy and my luscious hair and dance skills to Brooke Maroon.

Joel Cortum – Rozga-my voice in the student section with our voices put together you should be able to still make kids cry. Jared – Common sense.

Article source: http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/articleid/527679/newspaperid/3981/Seniors_leave_their_legacies_to_underclassmen.aspx

But the return to the New Jersey city is one Dana White has wanted to make for some time.

As the UFC president recently said, the city was one of the first to open its arms to the Zuffa-owned UFC more than a decade ago, and White credits one person for that: Donald Trump.

UFC on FX 4 takes place June 22 at the new Revel Atlantic City with a Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida lightweight headliner. While the resort’s 5,000-seat arena is on the smaller end of modern-day UFC venues, that wasn’t always the case.

When Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the struggling fight promotion in early 2001 and instilled White as the company’s president, few venues wanted anything to do with the UFC. But there was an unexpected exception, and he welcomed the UFC to the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort for Zuffa’s first two UFC events.

“It’s actually kind of fun for me (to return to Atlantic City),” White said. “I’m happy about that because that’s where we started. When we first bought this company, no venues would even take us. Donald Trump was the first guy to say, ‘We’ll do the fights here.’

“Donald Trump gave us our first shot over at [his arena], and then when we left and went to a bigger arena at the Meadowlands, he was one of the first guys there in his seat. He watched the whole card.”

White, of course, had a reason to put Trump on his list of sworn enemies. The real-estate tycoon and current reality-TV star was involved in Affliction Entertainment’s short-lived MMA-promotion business. But as UFC and Affliction executives lobbed insults at each other prior to the 2008 “Affliction: Banned” event, Trump remained above the fray and was largely complimentary of the UFC and White.

The UFC boss said their relationship always has been strong. That was evident this past year when the UFC and FOX announced a landmark seven-year broadcasting deal.

“When we did this FOX deal, ‘The New York Times’ did a big write-up on the FOX deal,” White said. “Donald Trump sent me that paper and said, ‘Congratulations Dana. You’ve come so far. We’re so happy for you guys.’

“You don’t ever hear me say anything bad about Donald Trump, even when he was part of the Affliction thing. I never said anything.”

For more on UFC on FX 4, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Donald Trump)

Article source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/28587/ufc-president-dana-white-credits-donald-trump-for-return-to-atlantic-city.mma

In some children, [Callous-Unemotional] traits manifest in obvious ways. Paul Frick, a psychologist at the University of New Orleans who has studied risk factors for psychopathy in children for two decades, described one boy who used a knife to cut off the tail of the family cat bit by bit, over a period of weeks. The boy was proud of the serial amputations, which his parents initially failed to notice. “When we talked about it, he was very straightforward,” Frick recalls. “He said: ‘I want to be a scientist, and I was experimenting. I wanted to see how the cat would react.’” [NYT]

Many experts believe that psychopathy is a hardwired developmental disorder, like autism. Alike in hardwiredness, of course, not symptoms. People with autism have trouble reading other minds and sifting sensory information. Whereas, psychopaths can make very astute guesses about what other people are thinking and feeling, and they have no compunction about using these insights to prey on others because they lack empathy.

Psychologists have attempted to cure psychopaths before, only to realize that so-called anti-psychopathy training makes better psychopaths. Trying to teach adult psychopaths about empathy just makes them better manipulators.

Kahn writes about a new generation of psychologists who are focused on early intervention with budding psychopaths. One researcher runs a summer program for callous unemotional kids. The results sound decidedly discouraging:

With short-cropped iron gray hair and an earnest, slightly distracted manner, Waschbusch came across as surprisingly cheerful — though he was also vigilant. While leading me down the school’s main hallway, he warily scanned each classroom door we passed, as if to confirm that no child was about to burst out of it. The study had a ratio of one counselor for every two children. But the kids, Waschbusch said, quickly figured out that it was possible to subvert order with episodes of mass misbehavior. One child came up with code words to be yelled out at key moments: the signal for all the kids to run away simultaneously. [NYT]

Even when the kids seem to be behaving better, there’s always the pervasive and well-founded fear that they are simply getting better at feigning normalcy.

The story captures the existential horror facing the parents and doctors of budding psychopaths. Every “solution” is probably going to make the problem worse, but inaction is unthinkable.

Article source: http://inthesetimes.com/duly-noted/entry/13205/camp_psychopath/

Im Gegensatz zu den USA habe man in Deutschland außerdem immer auf den hohen Stellenwert der Fertigungsindustrie vertraut.

Mit Kopfschütteln registriert er, dass das renommierten Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), eine private Hochschule mit Sitz in Cambridge, MA/USA, das Konzept seines Studiengangs Master of Engineering in Manufacturing aufgrund der engen Zusammenarbeit mit der Industrie als innovativ bezeichnet. Hopmann: “In Deutschland ist dieses Konzept schon lange erfolgreich dank der Kooperation von Forschungseinrichtungen und Industrieunternehmen.”

Dennoch ruhe man sich nicht auf den Erfolgen der Vergangenheit aus, sondern treibe die Innovationsfähigkeit weiter voran – sowohl in den Produktionsprozessen als auch im Kunststoffbereich. So forschen im Exzellenzcluster “Integrative Produktionstechnik für Hochlohnländer” an der RWTH Aachen insgesamt 25 Professoren mit ihren Mitarbeitern aus den Bereichen Maschinenbau, Materialwissenschaften, Mathematik, Betriebswirtschaftslehre und Psychologie gemeinsam in interdisziplinären Teams an Lösungen, die das produzierende Gewerbe in Hochlohnländern langfristig konkurrenzfähig erhalten.

Auch das IKV ist daran beteiligt. Laut Hopmann handelt es sich um den einzigen Exzellenzcluster in Deutschland, der sich mit der Kunststoffverarbeitung befasst.

Einen ausführlichen Bericht lesen Sie in der aktuellen K-ZEITUNG, Ausgabe 9.

Article source: http://www.k-zeitung.de/home/branche/news-detail/news/6/1336371900leichtbau-treibt-innovationen-voran/

US golf expert Brian Murphy says Tiger Woods is an old fogey in the company of young talents Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy.

• Fowler beats McIlroy, Points for first title
• McIlroy number one again despite defeat
• Molinari saunters to Open de Espana win
• Phatlum wins LPGA Brasil Cup
• More golf blogs from the USA
• Bet on Golf

There comes a time in any field when the game changes, when you wake up and realise, “It’s my time, baby”, or alternately, “Holy smokes, when did I get so old and out of touch? And why does my back ache?”

I imagine there was a time in the 1960s when Bill Halley and the Comets tried to play a reunion gig, but word got out there was a new folk singer named Bob Dylan carving up Greenwich Village and ticket sales for the Comets dried up. Or a time when the aging Beach Boys of the 1990s tried to play a summer festival and gazed longingly at the gigantic crowd across the way for these young whippersnappers from Seattle called Nirvana. Grunge? Huh?

All of which is one way of saying: Tiger Woods missed the cut at Quail Hollow, and by Sunday the winner was a 23-year-old dressed like a Creamsicle, with a skater’s flat-brimmed cap and facial hair to resemble the Wooderson character from “Dazed and Confused.” Oh, and one of the players he beat in the play-off was also 23 and now is the No. 1 player in the world.

In other words, if it’s too loud, you’re too old.

Rickie Fowler didn’t just win the prestigious Wells Fargo Championship in a play-off win over Rory McIlroy (and D.A. Points, so incongruous to the overarching narrative that he needs to be in parentheses.) He seized it with the alacrity of youth, making ferocious golf swings born of fast-twitch muscles in their prime. He arrived at his first US PGA Tour win in his 67th start so undeniably, by roasting a drive on the play-off hole and a heat-seeking wedge to four feet for birdie, it was as if the first 66 starts were mere prelude to what may be.

That it was McIlroy as his foil, just one month short of next month’s U.S. Open, where the Ulsterman defends his Major title, was perfect. Their combined age of 46 is just four years older than Phil Mickelson will be at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the national open. Their torsos create lumbar-creaking torque, their bellies are as flat as the Oklahoma State plains where Fowler played his college golf (hence the Cowboy orange on Sundays) and their youthful auras scream more Justin Bieber and Bryce Harper than Backstreet Boys and Derek Jeter.

On the current cable TV hit “Mad Men,” protagonist Don Draper and his advertising partner Roger Sterling are Madison Avenue mainstays trying to navigate 1966 while the world changes around them – new racial climates, the rise of women in the workplace and the influx of youth into their offices. In the golf analogy, think of Tiger like Draper, trying to keep in control of a world he once owned, while at the same time unable to deny the very shifting landscape in front of him.

When Tiger Woods won Bay Hill, many of us thought he was back. But the only thing his last two starts have proved is that he isn’t back at all. His tie-44th at the Masters, his personal playground, was shocking. Add in a missed cut at Quail Hollow, in which his control of the golf ball was again lost in a swirl of swing thoughts and changes still not natural, even almost two years into his work with Sean Foley, and you lend credence to the increasingly rational thought that Tiger’s era is over. Sure, he will play well on occasion, and even contend at Majors – he’s that good – but the world has changed, just as it has for every generation in history.

And now here come Fowler and McIlroy, introducing a rivalry the golf world would come to love: two agreeable personalities, two mouth-watering golf swings, two prodigious drivers of the golf ball. Fowler averaged 306 yards off the tee at Quail Hollow (13th in the field) and hit 79 percent of greens in regulation (5th in the field). There’s not a whole lot he can’t do. The only question on Fowler was how he could handle Sundays, and after erasing Webb Simpson’s three-stroke lead and shooting 69 in the final round, plus a play-off birdie, questions have been answered.

There may be no greater example of how Fowler and the recently crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson have come to change golf than their 2011 breakout hit video “Oh Oh Oh” by the Golf Boys. Suffice to say, it’s not something joy-averse Tiger would ever think to do.

Last year, when the hilarious video hit YouTube (now up to 4.7 million hits), none of the four involved – including Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane – could win a tournament. I wondered if the golf gods had created a “Golf Boys Curse,” the premise being not to ever take golf lightly.

Now, the golf gods are showing total and unabashed love for the Golf Boys. In addition to a green jacket and Mahan’s two wins in 2012, Fowler’s arrival portends so many good things for the game and its fan base, a player who is fun and easy to watch, and not afraid to get his ‘N Sync dance moves on. The only missing champion in the group is Golf Boys creator Ben Crane, who was greenside for Bubba’s Augusta triumph, then greenside again for Fowler’s big win. I’m starting to think of Crane as “America’s Guest” when it comes to other people winning tournaments.

More important, the enduring image from Quail Hollow was the sight of McIlroy and Fowler engaging in a soul shake on the practice green before the play-off. “How much fun is this?” asked Fowler, as if he was ready for many, many years of fun ahead.

Scorecard of the week

70-68-66-70 – 14-under 274, Rory McIlroy, tie-1st, lost in play-off, Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow, Charlotte, N.C.

McIlroy and Luke Donald have been trading the Official World Golf Ranking No. 1 spot like two kids alternating with a new toy.

“My turn!”

“No, my turn!”

I have the feeling this is the turn where McIlroy takes his toy and goes home with it, never to bring it back to Donald’s house.

If there’s one problem with Rory McIlroy’s game, it’s that we don’t get to see enough of it. Quail Hollow was only McIlroy’s fifth US PGA Tour start of 2012. By contrast, Phil Mickelson has played 10 events, Bubba Watson nine.

So, Donald – who has seven starts – was able to pass McIlroy twice for world No. 1 simply because McIlroy was sitting on the sidelines, on the Tiger Woods “I’ll Play When I’m Darn Ready” game plan. I get that Tiger used to do it when he was intergalactically famous, the better to make his brand more valuable. But with McIlroy at 23? I’ve got a fever, and the only thing that’ll cure it is more Rory on the golf course.

At any rate, he deserves the top spot back after his fourth top-three finish in five starts. That’s how good he’s been. Unfortunately, his only non-top three finish happened to be at his most important start, the Masters, where he and Tiger slummed to a tie-44th. Hmmm.

He’s merely the possessor of the finest golf swing on earth right now. The prodigious results he got with his 3-wood off the tees at Quail Hollow were startling, routinely over 300 yards and on a string. He hit a 354-yard drive on the 15th hole, when the next closest drive was J.B. Holmes’ 329-yard shot, lending credence to McIlroy’s claim that he prefers warm weather – odd, considering McIlroy’s homeland of Northern Ireland annually trades with Seattle the mantel for “Drizzly, Gray, Cold Capital of the World.”

Yes, his birdie try in regulation for the win could have been a better putt, and yes, his wedge into 18 on the play-off hole lacked Fowler’s gunslinger mentality, but McIlroy continues to be a revelation. He even bantered good-naturedly with Fowler on the 18th green during the play-off, making sure he’s going to maintain his social graces even under duress. I’ve often wondered if he needs to be more of a bloodsucker, but if being Rory means still smiling and keeping that golf swing, then let Rory be Rory.

Good to have you back, Ulsterman. Now, stay a while, would you?

Mulligan of the week

This column has been cruelly short of D.A. Points tributes.

Here’s a guy who broke through like few others in recent golf history, making his first victory a) at Pebble Beach, and b) with Bill Murray as his amateur partner. Points went from total obscurity to “the guy who won at Pebble Beach with Bill Murray,” which is nice work if you can get it.

Most thought that would be the last we’d hear of Points, given it’d been 128 starts before his first win, and he didn’t log a top-10 the rest of 2011. But two top-10 finishes early this year in Honolulu and Torrey Pines showed something, and Points found himself on the 72nd tee at Quail Hollow with a one-shot lead over Fowler and McIlroy.

Now, for purposes of this Mulligan of the Week, we will conveniently avoid the fact that a Points triumph would have been a storyline buzz kill, a golf development that did not play into our romantic notion of a Fowler arrival or another McIlroy moment. Let’s face it: Points was the 35-year-old guy with the two 23-year-olds, the uncool guy at the party. Never mind that Points is apparently a super nice gent who was even kind enough to gently correct US PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell before the play-off, noting that McIlroy had, in fact, finished first and should draw a number before he did.

But with a chance for a huge win to validate Pebble Beach, Points drove his golf ball into the right rough. He had 173 in, and had 8-iron in his hand, but as Nick Faldo noted on CBS, just did everything too fast – his setup, his process and his swing, leaking the tee shot into the right bunker. There was no way he could make par. His bogey earned him a ticket to the three-man play-off at 14-under.

So, for the sake of D.A. Points, let’s go back out to that right rough, let him pull 8-iron, take several breaths, visualize the shot, picture the green in regulation and … give that man a mulligan!

Where do we go from here?

It’s big-time stuff, golf fans: The Players Championship, the “fifth Major,” as it were, and 44 of the top 50 players in the world are in attendance.

Bubba Watson, in a bold move, announced he’ll skip TPC Sawgrass to be with his wife and newly adopted son. But Tiger and Phil and Rory and Rickie will be there, in a slew of first-name recognition.

I wonder if Fowler and McIlroy will cruise into the players’ locker room, blasting the latest hip-hop on their iPhone earbuds, while Mickelson and Woods apply Bengay to aching joints. Generations, after all, go about their business in different ways.

Brian Murphy / Yahoo

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/09052012/58/murphy-law-rickie-rory-lead-way.html

We brought a long list of common foot problems to Dr. Leonard Vekkos, a podiatrist who has been practicing since 1984. He treats patients at Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, among other local hospitals.

Q. Why do toenails seem to thicken as we get older?

A. As we age, several factors can contribute to changes in nails. The most common issue is the development of a fungus infection called onychomycosis. People need to realize that fungus is present in everybody’s environment. Aging may also result in decreased circulation to the toenails, and diabetes or other medical conditions put people in an immuno-compromised state which makes them more susceptible to these infections.

Q. For the treatment of fungus, what treatments are available?

A. The thickness caused by fungus can cause skin infections that can lead to serious problems. In general, many fungal infections can be treated by debridement (trimming and cleaning) in order to relieve discomfort.

There are prescription topicals such as Penlac and prescription oral medications, such as Lamisil. Both have advantages and disadvantages. … With topical medication, there are no side effects, but the disadvantage is that it requires nail debridement on an almost daily basis. Additionally, patients are unable to utilize any nail polish. With the oral medications, it requires liver function tests prior to starting treatment. … But the advantage is that a patient can continue using nail polish. It also works on a systemic basis, so that the fungus is addressed from the inside out. …There is no cure for fungus infections.

Q. Can flats be as harmful as stiletto heels?

A. Obviously high heels can cause issues over a long period of time … because the gait is affected, causing issues in the front part of the foot with the toes. … On the other side of the spectrum, wearing of flats or nonsupportive shoes such as flip-flops can also result in heel pain, arch pain, leg and back issues. …. Everything is related to the type of foot that you have. That’s why it’s important if there are any problems to see a podiatrist for an evaluation.

Q. Do you see a lot of problems with unsanitized instruments from pedicures?

This is actually a very important issue that we as a podiatry community have been dealing with in our educational blogs. In my own experience, I have had my fair share of women who have pedicures suddenly developed changes in the nails that are consistent with a fungus infection. There may be instances in which certain pedicurists are not properly cleaning and sanitizing their instruments between clients. They don’t necessarily have to be sterilized as much as cleaned properly and placed into a sanitizing solution.

Q. What is the best way to treat a blister?

A. Blisters are a result of friction and end up becoming filled with a fluid. In general, the fluid from the blister needs to be removed in order to reduce pain and pressure. … The hole in the blister should be large enough so as to not allow fluid to reaccumulate. The roof of the blister will then be covered with a topical salve or antibiotic ointment and a Band-Aid. … After several days, the roof of the blister will become loose and can be removed. I am a big believer in utilizing vitamin E oil once the blister has come off to allow for proper healing.

Q. Are ugly feet an inevitable part of aging, like gray hair or wrinkles?

A. Obviously, our feet are not immune to the changes that occur with time. … Addressing these issues depends on the symptoms and how much it impacts quality of life. I am not a believer in performing cosmetic foot surgery because of the potential complications. … But if cosmetic issues such as bunions and hammertoes become painful, then addressing them through some sort of correction would be appropriate. It is important that people take care of their feet on a daily basis. Such simple things as cleaning between the toes, seeing a foot specialist when pain begins, … these are all important aspects of keeping your feet healthy throughout life.

Q. What is the one thing you wish people would do to take care of their feet?

A. Pay attention to them. But because they’re at the end of our body, no one thinks about them … until they hurt.

brubin@tribune.com

Article source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-x-0509-expert-vekkos-20120509,0,252869.story

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“Beauty is pain.”
I’ve heard the saying a thousand times before; it’s often uttered to me before a pair of hell-bent tweezers come at my eyebrows, when I come home to discover my feet bloodied and scraped from a pair of heels, when I squeeze myself into a too-tight dress.
It’s an adage used to justify an entire beauty and fashion industry set on making you “better,” which essentially translates into doing whatever it takes to alter your body from its natural state.
It comes in many shapes and forms — hair removal, plastic surgery, bleaching, dyeing, nipping and tucking — all in an effort to be the prettiest we can be. Most women are guilty of taking part in some way or another. We dye away the gray hairs, wear makeup, pluck, shave, and wax the hair off our bodies and try desperately to lose weight or pump up our boobs. And honestly, most of these procedures are damn painful. Getting your legs waxed, eyebrows plucked, wearing Spanx or suffering through high heels generally hurts like a bitch.
So why do we women (for the most part) do it? Why do we paint our faces and deck ourselves out in clothes we can’t breathe in and shoes we can’t walk in? It’s all a part of some grander scheme to live up to our expectation as the fairer sex. It’s something that, most unfairly, men never have to suffer through to be considered attractive or desirable.
As far as women have come in the last 100 years, our views toward dressing and beautification haven’t moved forward in leaps and bounds. Women are still generally expected to be made up and done up at all times; no lumps, bumps or unsightly hairs should be visible to the general populace. Women still have to live up to certain strict standards of beauty on order to be considered “proper.”
We spend thousands of dollars every year on a spectrum of beauty products that are marketed to us as being absolutely essential to being as beautiful as possible, and it’s hard not to fall into the trap; perfectly airbrushed models with perfectly windblown hair, unblemished skin, long lashes and full lips stare back at me, beckoning me to buy some product that promises to make me as “irresistible” as the woman is on paper. Basically we are being told that how we look naturally isn’t good enough. Advertisements tell us we need to shill out our money to make ourselves more pleasing to others. The problem is that women of all shapes and sizes tend to internalize these sentiments.
As much as I have a problem with the beauty industry and the way it brainwashes consumers though false advertising, I can’t say I don’t buy into it. I refuse to leave my house without my face properly painted and powdered; I’m super insecure about my skin and I’m constantly looking for some miracle cure to make my face soft and un-splotchy. My friends always tell my I’m crazy, and that I’m unnecessarily paranoid about the state of my face, but I don’t hear them. I obsess over making sure my naturally thick, Armenian eyebrows are perfectly shaped and groomed (a process I have despised ever since I was 13). I go through the intense pain of having all the hair on my body ripped off with wax (again, being Armenian and naturally more hirsute makes the pain that much more acute). And for years I’ve dealt with issues of weight because I’ve been told over and over again that being overweight is inherently unattractive, and that I should never be happy with the way I look, until I fit into the physical mold that is deemed acceptable by others around me.
I’m not going to go so far as to say that I think using beauty products is a sign that you’ve been totally brainwashed by the corporations or that it makes you vapid and shallow and self-obsessed; all I can do is suggest we take a less critical look at ourselves in our natural state. If women learn to embrace their bodies without all the hassle of body modification, then won’t we all be a little happier? If we could wake up and see ourselves in the mirror, with all our blemishes and stray hairs, and try to stifle that immediate reflex that forces us to reach for the straightening iron and concealer? It’s not that there’s anything wrong with wanting to look good with the help of makeup or clothes. There are just certain extremes that women are pushed to when it comes to looking their best that I think can be dangerous; plastic surgery and other more permanent forms of body modification are lengths that no one should feel so pressured to suffer through.
I say, if beauty is pain, then we’re doing something wrong. Beauty is not forcing yourself to change your body for someone else — it’s about looking at yourself and learning to like what you see. But hey, if putting on some eyeliner or foundation makes you feel good, then there’s nothing wrong with that either.

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Article source: http://www.newuniversity.org/2012/05/features/one-size-fits-all-beauty-doesnt-always-have-to-hurt/

US golf expert Brian Murphy says Tiger Woods is an old fogey in the company of young talents Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy.

• Fowler beats McIlroy, Points for first title
• McIlroy number one again despite defeat
• Molinari saunters to Open de Espana win
• Phatlum wins LPGA Brasil Cup
• More golf blogs from the USA
• Bet on Golf

There comes a time in any field when the game changes, when you wake up and realise, “It’s my time, baby”, or alternately, “Holy smokes, when did I get so old and out of touch? And why does my back ache?”

I imagine there was a time in the 1960s when Bill Halley and the Comets tried to play a reunion gig, but word got out there was a new folk singer named Bob Dylan carving up Greenwich Village and ticket sales for the Comets dried up. Or a time when the aging Beach Boys of the 1990s tried to play a summer festival and gazed longingly at the gigantic crowd across the way for these young whippersnappers from Seattle called Nirvana. Grunge? Huh?

All of which is one way of saying: Tiger Woods missed the cut at Quail Hollow, and by Sunday the winner was a 23-year-old dressed like a Creamsicle, with a skater’s flat-brimmed cap and facial hair to resemble the Wooderson character from “Dazed and Confused.” Oh, and one of the players he beat in the play-off was also 23 and now is the No. 1 player in the world.

In other words, if it’s too loud, you’re too old.

Rickie Fowler didn’t just win the prestigious Wells Fargo Championship in a play-off win over Rory McIlroy (and D.A. Points, so incongruous to the overarching narrative that he needs to be in parentheses.) He seized it with the alacrity of youth, making ferocious golf swings born of fast-twitch muscles in their prime. He arrived at his first US PGA Tour win in his 67th start so undeniably, by roasting a drive on the play-off hole and a heat-seeking wedge to four feet for birdie, it was as if the first 66 starts were mere prelude to what may be.

That it was McIlroy as his foil, just one month short of next month’s U.S. Open, where the Ulsterman defends his Major title, was perfect. Their combined age of 46 is just four years older than Phil Mickelson will be at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the national open. Their torsos create lumbar-creaking torque, their bellies are as flat as the Oklahoma State plains where Fowler played his college golf (hence the Cowboy orange on Sundays) and their youthful auras scream more Justin Bieber and Bryce Harper than Backstreet Boys and Derek Jeter.

On the current cable TV hit “Mad Men,” protagonist Don Draper and his advertising partner Roger Sterling are Madison Avenue mainstays trying to navigate 1966 while the world changes around them – new racial climates, the rise of women in the workplace and the influx of youth into their offices. In the golf analogy, think of Tiger like Draper, trying to keep in control of a world he once owned, while at the same time unable to deny the very shifting landscape in front of him.

When Tiger Woods won Bay Hill, many of us thought he was back. But the only thing his last two starts have proved is that he isn’t back at all. His tie-44th at the Masters, his personal playground, was shocking. Add in a missed cut at Quail Hollow, in which his control of the golf ball was again lost in a swirl of swing thoughts and changes still not natural, even almost two years into his work with Sean Foley, and you lend credence to the increasingly rational thought that Tiger’s era is over. Sure, he will play well on occasion, and even contend at Majors – he’s that good – but the world has changed, just as it has for every generation in history.

And now here come Fowler and McIlroy, introducing a rivalry the golf world would come to love: two agreeable personalities, two mouth-watering golf swings, two prodigious drivers of the golf ball. Fowler averaged 306 yards off the tee at Quail Hollow (13th in the field) and hit 79 percent of greens in regulation (5th in the field). There’s not a whole lot he can’t do. The only question on Fowler was how he could handle Sundays, and after erasing Webb Simpson’s three-stroke lead and shooting 69 in the final round, plus a play-off birdie, questions have been answered.

There may be no greater example of how Fowler and the recently crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson have come to change golf than their 2011 breakout hit video “Oh Oh Oh” by the Golf Boys. Suffice to say, it’s not something joy-averse Tiger would ever think to do.

Last year, when the hilarious video hit YouTube (now up to 4.7 million hits), none of the four involved – including Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane – could win a tournament. I wondered if the golf gods had created a “Golf Boys Curse,” the premise being not to ever take golf lightly.

Now, the golf gods are showing total and unabashed love for the Golf Boys. In addition to a green jacket and Mahan’s two wins in 2012, Fowler’s arrival portends so many good things for the game and its fan base, a player who is fun and easy to watch, and not afraid to get his ‘N Sync dance moves on. The only missing champion in the group is Golf Boys creator Ben Crane, who was greenside for Bubba’s Augusta triumph, then greenside again for Fowler’s big win. I’m starting to think of Crane as “America’s Guest” when it comes to other people winning tournaments.

More important, the enduring image from Quail Hollow was the sight of McIlroy and Fowler engaging in a soul shake on the practice green before the play-off. “How much fun is this?” asked Fowler, as if he was ready for many, many years of fun ahead.

Scorecard of the week

70-68-66-70 – 14-under 274, Rory McIlroy, tie-1st, lost in play-off, Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow, Charlotte, N.C.

McIlroy and Luke Donald have been trading the Official World Golf Ranking No. 1 spot like two kids alternating with a new toy.

“My turn!”

“No, my turn!”

I have the feeling this is the turn where McIlroy takes his toy and goes home with it, never to bring it back to Donald’s house.

If there’s one problem with Rory McIlroy’s game, it’s that we don’t get to see enough of it. Quail Hollow was only McIlroy’s fifth US PGA Tour start of 2012. By contrast, Phil Mickelson has played 10 events, Bubba Watson nine.

So, Donald – who has seven starts – was able to pass McIlroy twice for world No. 1 simply because McIlroy was sitting on the sidelines, on the Tiger Woods “I’ll Play When I’m Darn Ready” game plan. I get that Tiger used to do it when he was intergalactically famous, the better to make his brand more valuable. But with McIlroy at 23? I’ve got a fever, and the only thing that’ll cure it is more Rory on the golf course.

At any rate, he deserves the top spot back after his fourth top-three finish in five starts. That’s how good he’s been. Unfortunately, his only non-top three finish happened to be at his most important start, the Masters, where he and Tiger slummed to a tie-44th. Hmmm.

He’s merely the possessor of the finest golf swing on earth right now. The prodigious results he got with his 3-wood off the tees at Quail Hollow were startling, routinely over 300 yards and on a string. He hit a 354-yard drive on the 15th hole, when the next closest drive was J.B. Holmes’ 329-yard shot, lending credence to McIlroy’s claim that he prefers warm weather – odd, considering McIlroy’s homeland of Northern Ireland annually trades with Seattle the mantel for “Drizzly, Gray, Cold Capital of the World.”

Yes, his birdie try in regulation for the win could have been a better putt, and yes, his wedge into 18 on the play-off hole lacked Fowler’s gunslinger mentality, but McIlroy continues to be a revelation. He even bantered good-naturedly with Fowler on the 18th green during the play-off, making sure he’s going to maintain his social graces even under duress. I’ve often wondered if he needs to be more of a bloodsucker, but if being Rory means still smiling and keeping that golf swing, then let Rory be Rory.

Good to have you back, Ulsterman. Now, stay a while, would you?

Mulligan of the week

This column has been cruelly short of D.A. Points tributes.

Here’s a guy who broke through like few others in recent golf history, making his first victory a) at Pebble Beach, and b) with Bill Murray as his amateur partner. Points went from total obscurity to “the guy who won at Pebble Beach with Bill Murray,” which is nice work if you can get it.

Most thought that would be the last we’d hear of Points, given it’d been 128 starts before his first win, and he didn’t log a top-10 the rest of 2011. But two top-10 finishes early this year in Honolulu and Torrey Pines showed something, and Points found himself on the 72nd tee at Quail Hollow with a one-shot lead over Fowler and McIlroy.

Now, for purposes of this Mulligan of the Week, we will conveniently avoid the fact that a Points triumph would have been a storyline buzz kill, a golf development that did not play into our romantic notion of a Fowler arrival or another McIlroy moment. Let’s face it: Points was the 35-year-old guy with the two 23-year-olds, the uncool guy at the party. Never mind that Points is apparently a super nice gent who was even kind enough to gently correct US PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell before the play-off, noting that McIlroy had, in fact, finished first and should draw a number before he did.

But with a chance for a huge win to validate Pebble Beach, Points drove his golf ball into the right rough. He had 173 in, and had 8-iron in his hand, but as Nick Faldo noted on CBS, just did everything too fast – his setup, his process and his swing, leaking the tee shot into the right bunker. There was no way he could make par. His bogey earned him a ticket to the three-man play-off at 14-under.

So, for the sake of D.A. Points, let’s go back out to that right rough, let him pull 8-iron, take several breaths, visualize the shot, picture the green in regulation and … give that man a mulligan!

Where do we go from here?

It’s big-time stuff, golf fans: The Players Championship, the “fifth Major,” as it were, and 44 of the top 50 players in the world are in attendance.

Bubba Watson, in a bold move, announced he’ll skip TPC Sawgrass to be with his wife and newly adopted son. But Tiger and Phil and Rory and Rickie will be there, in a slew of first-name recognition.

I wonder if Fowler and McIlroy will cruise into the players’ locker room, blasting the latest hip-hop on their iPhone earbuds, while Mickelson and Woods apply Bengay to aching joints. Generations, after all, go about their business in different ways.

Brian Murphy / Yahoo

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08052012/58/murphy-law-rickie-robbie-lead-way.html

Tiger Woods is an old fogey in the company of young talents Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy

• Fowler beats McIlroy, Points for first title
• McIlroy number one again despite defeat
• Molinari saunters to Open de Espana win
• Phatlum wins LPGA Brasil Cup
• More golf blogs from the USA
• Bet on Golf

There comes a time in any field when the game changes, when you wake up and realise, “It’s my time, baby”, or alternately, “Holy smokes, when did I get so old and out of touch? And why does my back ache?”

I imagine there was a time in the 1960s when Bill Halley and the Comets tried to play a reunion gig, but word got out there was a new folk singer named Bob Dylan carving up Greenwich Village and ticket sales for the Comets dried up. Or a time when the aging Beach Boys of the 1990s tried to play a summer festival and gazed longingly at the gigantic crowd across the way for these young whippersnappers from Seattle called Nirvana. Grunge? Huh?

All of which is one way of saying: Tiger Woods missed the cut at Quail Hollow, and by Sunday the winner was a 23-year-old dressed like a Creamsicle, with a skater’s flat-brimmed cap and facial hair to resemble the Wooderson character from “Dazed and Confused.” Oh, and one of the players he beat in the play-off was also 23 and now is the No. 1 player in the world.

In other words, if it’s too loud, you’re too old.

Rickie Fowler didn’t just win the prestigious Wells Fargo Championship in a play-off win over Rory McIlroy (and D.A. Points, so incongruous to the overarching narrative that he needs to be in parentheses.) He seized it with the alacrity of youth, making ferocious golf swings born of fast-twitch muscles in their prime. He arrived at his first US PGA Tour win in his 67th start so undeniably, by roasting a drive on the play-off hole and a heat-seeking wedge to four feet for birdie, it was as if the first 66 starts were mere prelude to what may be.

That it was McIlroy as his foil, just one month short of next month’s U.S. Open, where the Ulsterman defends his Major title, was perfect. Their combined age of 46 is just four years older than Phil Mickelson will be at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the national open. Their torsos create lumbar-creaking torque, their bellies are as flat as the Oklahoma State plains where Fowler played his college golf (hence the Cowboy orange on Sundays) and their youthful auras scream more Justin Bieber and Bryce Harper than Backstreet Boys and Derek Jeter.

On the current cable TV hit “Mad Men,” protagonist Don Draper and his advertising partner Roger Sterling are Madison Avenue mainstays trying to navigate 1966 while the world changes around them – new racial climates, the rise of women in the workplace and the influx of youth into their offices. In the golf analogy, think of Tiger like Draper, trying to keep in control of a world he once owned, while at the same time unable to deny the very shifting landscape in front of him.

When Tiger Woods won Bay Hill, many of us thought he was back. But the only thing his last two starts have proved is that he isn’t back at all. His tie-44th at the Masters, his personal playground, was shocking. Add in a missed cut at Quail Hollow, in which his control of the golf ball was again lost in a swirl of swing thoughts and changes still not natural, even almost two years into his work with Sean Foley, and you lend credence to the increasingly rational thought that Tiger’s era is over. Sure, he will play well on occasion, and even contend at Majors – he’s that good – but the world has changed, just as it has for every generation in history.

And now here come Fowler and McIlroy, introducing a rivalry the golf world would come to love: two agreeable personalities, two mouth-watering golf swings, two prodigious drivers of the golf ball. Fowler averaged 306 yards off the tee at Quail Hollow (13th in the field) and hit 79 percent of greens in regulation (5th in the field). There’s not a whole lot he can’t do. The only question on Fowler was how he could handle Sundays, and after erasing Webb Simpson’s three-stroke lead and shooting 69 in the final round, plus a play-off birdie, questions have been answered.

There may be no greater example of how Fowler and the recently crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson have come to change golf than their 2011 breakout hit video “Oh Oh Oh” by the Golf Boys. Suffice to say, it’s not something joy-averse Tiger would ever think to do.

Last year, when the hilarious video hit YouTube (now up to 4.7 million hits), none of the four involved – including Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane – could win a tournament. I wondered if the golf gods had created a “Golf Boys Curse,” the premise being not to ever take golf lightly.

Now, the golf gods are showing total and unabashed love for the Golf Boys. In addition to a green jacket and Mahan’s two wins in 2012, Fowler’s arrival portends so many good things for the game and its fan base, a player who is fun and easy to watch, and not afraid to get his ‘N Sync dance moves on. The only missing champion in the group is Golf Boys creator Ben Crane, who was greenside for Bubba’s Augusta triumph, then greenside again for Fowler’s big win. I’m starting to think of Crane as “America’s Guest” when it comes to other people winning tournaments.

More important, the enduring image from Quail Hollow was the sight of McIlroy and Fowler engaging in a soul shake on the practice green before the play-off. “How much fun is this?” asked Fowler, as if he was ready for many, many years of fun ahead.

Scorecard of the week

70-68-66-70 – 14-under 274, Rory McIlroy, tie-1st, lost in play-off, Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow, Charlotte, N.C.

McIlroy and Luke Donald have been trading the Official World Golf Ranking No. 1 spot like two kids alternating with a new toy.

“My turn!”

“No, my turn!”

I have the feeling this is the turn where McIlroy takes his toy and goes home with it, never to bring it back to Donald’s house.

If there’s one problem with Rory McIlroy’s game, it’s that we don’t get to see enough of it. Quail Hollow was only McIlroy’s fifth US PGA Tour start of 2012. By contrast, Phil Mickelson has played 10 events, Bubba Watson nine.

So, Donald – who has seven starts – was able to pass McIlroy twice for world No. 1 simply because McIlroy was sitting on the sidelines, on the Tiger Woods “I’ll Play When I’m Darn Ready” game plan. I get that Tiger used to do it when he was intergalactically famous, the better to make his brand more valuable. But with McIlroy at 23? I’ve got a fever, and the only thing that’ll cure it is more Rory on the golf course.

At any rate, he deserves the top spot back after his fourth top-three finish in five starts. That’s how good he’s been. Unfortunately, his only non-top three finish happened to be at his most important start, the Masters, where he and Tiger slummed to a tie-44th. Hmmm.

He’s merely the possessor of the finest golf swing on earth right now. The prodigious results he got with his 3-wood off the tees at Quail Hollow were startling, routinely over 300 yards and on a string. He hit a 354-yard drive on the 15th hole, when the next closest drive was J.B. Holmes’ 329-yard shot, lending credence to McIlroy’s claim that he prefers warm weather – odd, considering McIlroy’s homeland of Northern Ireland annually trades with Seattle the mantel for “Drizzly, Gray, Cold Capital of the World.”

Yes, his birdie try in regulation for the win could have been a better putt, and yes, his wedge into 18 on the play-off hole lacked Fowler’s gunslinger mentality, but McIlroy continues to be a revelation. He even bantered good-naturedly with Fowler on the 18th green during the play-off, making sure he’s going to maintain his social graces even under duress. I’ve often wondered if he needs to be more of a bloodsucker, but if being Rory means still smiling and keeping that golf swing, then let Rory be Rory.

Good to have you back, Ulsterman. Now, stay a while, would you?

Mulligan of the week

This column has been cruelly short of D.A. Points tributes.

Here’s a guy who broke through like few others in recent golf history, making his first victory a) at Pebble Beach, and b) with Bill Murray as his amateur partner. Points went from total obscurity to “the guy who won at Pebble Beach with Bill Murray,” which is nice work if you can get it.

Most thought that would be the last we’d hear of Points, given it’d been 128 starts before his first win, and he didn’t log a top-10 the rest of 2011. But two top-10 finishes early this year in Honolulu and Torrey Pines showed something, and Points found himself on the 72nd tee at Quail Hollow with a one-shot lead over Fowler and McIlroy.

Now, for purposes of this Mulligan of the Week, we will conveniently avoid the fact that a Points triumph would have been a storyline buzz kill, a golf development that did not play into our romantic notion of a Fowler arrival or another McIlroy moment. Let’s face it: Points was the 35-year-old guy with the two 23-year-olds, the uncool guy at the party. Never mind that Points is apparently a super nice gent who was even kind enough to gently correct US PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell before the play-off, noting that McIlroy had, in fact, finished first and should draw a number before he did.

But with a chance for a huge win to validate Pebble Beach, Points drove his golf ball into the right rough. He had 173 in, and had 8-iron in his hand, but as Nick Faldo noted on CBS, just did everything too fast – his setup, his process and his swing, leaking the tee shot into the right bunker. There was no way he could make par. His bogey earned him a ticket to the three-man play-off at 14-under.

So, for the sake of D.A. Points, let’s go back out to that right rough, let him pull 8-iron, take several breaths, visualize the shot, picture the green in regulation and … give that man a mulligan!

Where do we go from here?

It’s big-time stuff, golf fans: The Players Championship, the “fifth Major,” as it were, and 44 of the top 50 players in the world are in attendance.

Bubba Watson, in a bold move, announced he’ll skip TPC Sawgrass to be with his wife and newly adopted son. But Tiger and Phil and Rory and Rickie will be there, in a slew of first-name recognition.

I wonder if Fowler and McIlroy will cruise into the players’ locker room, blasting the latest hip-hop on their iPhone earbuds, while Mickelson and Woods apply Bengay to aching joints. Generations, after all, go about their business in different ways.

Brian Murphy / Yahoo

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08052012/58/murphy-law-rickie-robbie-lead-way.html

I imagine there was a time in the 1960s when Bill Halley and the Comets tried to play a reunion gig, but word got out there was a new folk singer named Bob Dylan carving up Greenwich Village and ticket sales for the Comets dried up. Or a time when the aging Beach Boys of the 1990s tried to play a summer festival and gazed longingly at the gigantic crowd across the way for these young whippersnappers from Seattle called Nirvana. Grunge? Huh?

All of which is one way of saying: Tiger Woods missed the cut at Quail Hollow, and by Sunday the winner was a 23-year-old dressed like a Creamsicle, with a skater’s flat-brimmed cap and facial hair to resemble the Wooderson character from “Dazed and Confused.” Oh, and one of the players he beat in the playoff was also 23 and now is the No. 1 player in the world.

In other words, if it’s too loud, you’re too old.

Rickie Fowler didn’t just win the prestigious Wells Fargo Championship in a playoff win over Rory McIlroy (and D.A. Points, so incongruous to the overarching narrative that he needs to be in parentheses.) He seized it with the alacrity of youth, making ferocious golf swings born of fast-twitch muscles in their prime. He arrived at his first PGA Tour win in his 67th start so undeniably, by roasting a drive on the playoff hole and a heat-seeking wedge to four feet for birdie, it was as if the first 66 starts were mere prelude to what may be.

That it was McIlroy as his foil, just one month short of next month’s U.S. Open, where the Ulsterman defends his major title, was perfect. Their combined age of 46 is just four years older than Phil Mickelson will be at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the national open. Their torsos create lumbar-creaking torque, their bellies are as flat as the Oklahoma State plains where Fowler played his college golf (hence the Cowboy orange on Sundays) and their youthful auras scream more Justin Bieber and Bryce Harper than Backstreet Boys and Derek Jeter.

On the current cable TV hit “Mad Men,” protagonist Don Draper and his advertising partner Roger Sterling are Madison Avenue mainstays trying to navigate 1966 while the world changes around them – new racial climates, the rise of women in the workplace and the influx of youth into their offices. In the golf analogy, think of Tiger like Draper, trying to keep in control of a world he once owned, while at the same time unable to deny the very shifting landscape in front of him.

When Tiger Woods won Bay Hill, many of us thought he was back. But the only thing his last two starts have proved is that he isn’t back at all. His tie-44th at the Masters, his personal playground, was shocking. Add in a missed cut at Quail Hollow, in which his control of the golf ball was again lost in a swirl of swing thoughts and changes still not natural, even almost two years into his work with Sean Foley, and you lend credence to the increasingly rational thought that Tiger’s era is over. Sure, he will play well on occasion, and even contend at majors – he’s that good – but the world has changed, just as it has for every generation in history.

And now here come Fowler and McIlroy, introducing a rivalry the golf world would come to love: two agreeable personalities, two mouth-watering golf swings, two prodigious drivers of the golf ball. Fowler averaged 306 yards off the tee at Quail Hollow (13th in the field) and hit 79 percent of greens in regulation (5th in the field). There’s not a whole lot he can’t do. The only question on Fowler was how he could handle Sundays, and after erasing Webb Simpson’s three-stroke lead and shooting 69 in the final round, plus a playoff birdie, questions have been answered.

[Related: Rickie Fowler is finally a winner on the PGA tour]

There may be no greater example of how Fowler and the recently crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson have come to change golf than their 2011 breakout hit video “Oh Oh Oh” by the Golf Boys. Suffice to say, it’s not something joy-averse Tiger would ever think to do.

Last year, when the hilarious video hit YouTube (now up to 4.7 million hits), none of the four involved – including Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane – could win a tournament. I wondered if the golf gods had created a “Golf Boys Curse,” the premise being not to ever take golf lightly.

Now, the golf gods are showing total and unabashed love for the Golf Boys. In addition to a green jacket and Mahan’s two wins in 2012, Fowler’s arrival portends so many good things for the game and its fan base, a player who is fun and easy to watch, and not afraid to get his ‘N Sync dance moves on. The only missing champion in the group is Golf Boys creator Ben Crane, who was greenside for Bubba’s Augusta triumph, then greenside again for Fowler’s big win. I’m starting to think of Crane as “America’s Guest” when it comes to other people winning tournaments.

More important, the enduring image from Quail Hollow was the sight of McIlroy and Fowler engaging in a soul shake on the practice green before the playoff. “How much fun is this?” asked Fowler, as if he was ready for many, many years of fun ahead.

Scorecard of the week

70-68-66-70 – 14-under 274, Rory McIlroy, tie-1st, lost in playoff, Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow, Charlotte, N.C.

McIlroy and Luke Donald have been trading the Official World Golf Ranking No. 1 spot like two kids alternating with a new toy.

“My turn!”

“No, myturn!”

I have the feeling this is the turn where McIlroy takes his toy and goes home with it, never to bring it back to Donald’s house.

If there’s one problem with Rory McIlroy’s game, it’s that we don’t get to see enough of it. Quail Hollow was only McIlroy’s fifth PGA Tour start of 2012. By contrast, Phil Mickelson has played 10 events, Bubba Watson nine.

So, Donald – who has seven starts – was able to pass McIlroy twice for world No. 1 simply because McIlroy was sitting on the sidelines, on the Tiger Woods “I’ll Play When I’m Darn Ready” game plan. I get that Tiger used to do it when he was intergalactically famous, the better to make his brand more valuable. But with McIlroy at 23? I’ve got a fever, and the only thing that’ll cure it is more Rory on the golf course.

At any rate, he deserves the top spot back after his fourth top-three finish in five starts. That’s how good he’s been. Unfortunately, his only non-top three finish happened to be at his most important start, the Masters, where he and Tiger slummed to a tie-44th. Hmmm.

He’s merely the possessor of the finest golf swing on earth right now. The prodigious results he got with his 3-wood off the tees at Quail Hollow were startling, routinely over 300 yards and on a string. He hit a 354-yard drive on the 15th hole, when the next closest drive was J.B. Holmes’ 329-yard shot, lending credence to McIlroy’s claim that he prefers warm weather – odd, considering McIlroy’s homeland of Northern Ireland annually trades with Seattle the mantel for “Drizzly, Gray, Cold Capital of the World.”

Yes, his birdie try in regulation for the win could have been a better putt, and yes, his wedge into 18 on the playoff hole lacked Fowler’s gunslinger mentality, but McIlroy continues to be a revelation. He even bantered good-naturedly with Fowler on the 18th green during the playoff, making sure he’s going to maintain his social graces even under duress. I’ve often wondered if he needs to be more of a bloodsucker, but if being Rory means still smiling and keeping that golf swing, then let Rory be Rory.

Good to have you back, Ulsterman. Now, stay a while, would you?

Broadcast moment of the week

“Note the similarity of the follow through … that’s the 3-year-old body just getting tugged along by the swinging of the club and the arms … Rory McIlroy has never lost the naturalness of the golf swing.” – Peter Kostis, CBS, analyzing split-screen footage of 23-year-old McIlroy and 3-year-old McIlroy.

What a ploy by McIlroy. Not only does he win fans with his golf game, he’s sure to have swooning female fans after unveiling the “Too-Cute-To-Be-Real” video of himself as a wee lad swinging a golf club in his parents’ living room.
And what a swing!

[Related: Rory McIlroy had a picture-perfect swing at the age of 3 | Video: 377-yard drive ]

We’ve all seen Tiger Woods’ cute-kid stuff, including the putting contest on the “Michael Douglas Show” in front of Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart, of all people. And yes, it’s quality cute-kid stuff. But what sets apart McIlroy’s cute-kid video is the eerie connection between his 2012 golf swing and his 1992 golf swing. How can a kid of 3 swing it like that, and never lose that move? There’s a scene in “The Natural” where Roy Hobbs goes to a county fair and strikes out “The Whammer,” while the carnival voice in the background says, “He’s a natural, I’m tellin’ ya …”

That video McIlroy unveiled? He’s a natural, I’m tellin’ ya …”

Mulligan of the week

This column has been cruelly short of D.A. Points tributes.

Here’s a guy who broke through like few others in recent golf history, making his first victory a) at Pebble Beach, and b) with Bill Murray as his amateur partner. Points went from total obscurity to “the guy who won at Pebble Beach with Bill Murray,” which is nice work if you can get it.

Most thought that would be the last we’d hear of Points, given it’d been 128 starts before his first win, and he didn’t log a top-10 the rest of 2011. But two top-10 finishes early this year in Honolulu and Torrey Pines showed something, and Points found himself on the 72nd tee at Quail Hollow with a one-shot lead over Fowler and McIlroy.

Now, for purposes of this Mulligan of the Week, we will conveniently avoid the fact that a Points triumph would have been a storyline buzz kill, a golf development that did not play into our romantic notion of a Fowler arrival or another McIlroy moment. Let’s face it: Points was the 35-year-old guy with the two 23-year-olds, the uncool guy at the party. Never mind that Points is apparently a super nice gent who was even kind enough to gently correct PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell before the playoff, noting that McIlroy had, in fact, finished first and should draw a number before he did.

But with a chance for a huge win to validate Pebble Beach, Points drove his golf ball into the right rough. He had 173 in, and had 8-iron in his hand, but as Nick Faldo noted on CBS, just did everything too fast – his setup, his process and his swing, leaking the tee shot into the right bunker. There was no way he could make par. His bogey earned him a ticket to the three-man playoff at 14-under.

So, for the sake of D.A. Points, let’s go back out to that right rough, let him pull 8-iron, take several breaths, visualize the shot, picture the green in regulation and … give that man a mulligan!

Where do we go from here?

It’s big-time stuff, golf fans: The Players Championship, the “fifth major,” as it were, and 44 of the top 50 players in the world are in attendance.

Bubba Watson, in a bold move, announced he’ll skip TPC Sawgrass to be with his wife and newly adopted son. But Tiger and Phil and Rory and Rickie will be there, in a slew of first-name recognition.

I wonder if Fowler and McIlroy will cruise into the players’ locker room, blasting the latest hip-hop on their iPhone earbuds, while Mickelson and Woods apply Bengay to aching joints. Generations, after all, go about their business in different ways.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – It’s hard to see why four-time winner D. Wayne Lukas bothered to put a 50-1 shot named Optimizer into the Kentucky Derby.

“It’s the one race where I’m always more than willing to roll the dice,” Lukas said, with classic understatement.

We once joked Lukas would enter an emu, if he found one big enough to put a saddle on, just to be in the Derby. That was more than a decade ago. Not much has changed for him since.

“You’ve got a full field of 20 horses and they’ll all be nervous. None of them have run a mile and a quarter before, let alone in front of 140,000, a large number of whom will be screaming drunks,” he added. “It stirs the imagination.”

But that’s about all it stirs anymore. Lukas’ last Derby win was in 1999 with Charismatic. He’s entered nine horses since and finished in the money just once. Optimizer, the bay colt that Lukas will send to the post Saturday, is only slightly better – one win and four top-3 finishes in nine lifetime starts.

That’s the funny thing about Lukas and the Derby. Even though his legacy in Louisville was secured long ago, he simply can’t imagine the race going on without him.

Three trainers who learned most of what they know about racing from working in Lukas’ barns – Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin and Mike Maker – will be opposing him on Saturday.

Only six-time winner Ben Jones has more trophies and only H.J. “Derby Dick” Thompson has as many. None of that is coincidence. When Lukas broke in, fans of the thoroughbred game believed in magic, but he relied on cold-blooded science. They were used to folksy, but he was corporate, running cookie-cutter operations in dozens of barns from coast to coast. While every other trainer focused on quality, Lukas overwhelmed the sport by force-feeding it quantity.

Since his first Derby try in 1981, Lukas has saddled more entries, 44 coming into this race, and has had more finish out of the money (35) than Thompson had starters (24), and more than three times as many as Jones (11). He entered five horses in the 1996 race and won with Grindstone. He no longer pulls the deepest-pocketed owners and rarely gets any client’s best horse. Still, one more win on the first Saturday in May would make Lukas, four months of his 77th birthday, the oldest winning trainer ever.

“You don’t have enough guys with gray hair saddling horses this time around,” the Hall of Famer joked standing in the paddock at Churchill Downs the day before the Derby.

He was saddling a mare named Absinthe Minded for The La Troienne. She would go on to finish fourth, extending Lukas’ winless streak in graded stakes races to a mind-numbing 0-for-114. If you think any of this worries him, you do not know D. Wayne. In a sharp navy suit, set off by a pink tie and pocket square, he works his latest connections with a practiced smoothness honed over decades.

“Somebody’s been very good to you,” he told a client. “It shows. A reporter reminded Lukas, a one-time high school basketball coach, of something Jack Nicklaus said about wanting to leave his sport before he became “a ceremonial golfer.”

“I’ve got a win left in me,” Lukas said, “in fact, more than one. Competing at this is different. It’s not just a young man’s game. I don’t get nervous watching them run, never have. I don’t shout. I’m more … analytical. I’m looking to see, ‘Is that the stride we wanted? Are the feet positioned the way we worked on?’

“I’m learning as much as I ever did. From the bad as well as the good,” Lukas said, acknowledging the lean times of late. “I still get a kick out of watching my former assistants work. There are things I pick up from them.”

He has saved the best for last.

“And,” Lukas said, with a smile, “I got a new guy.”

That would be Optimizer’s owner, Brad Kelley, the somewhat-reclusive billionaire who just purchased the legendary Calumet Farm, home to two Triple Crown champions, eight Derby winners and both Ben Jones and two-time-winning trainer Jimmy Jones. Once the gold-standard for the thoroughbred industry, Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said anybody who loves the sport “is dreaming of seeing those fields filled with mares and foals again … and maybe seeing those devil’s red and blue silks on the track again.”

A rumor swept across Churchill Downs late Friday afternoon that those fabled silks would be pulled out of storage and draped across Optimizer in time for Saturday’s run. If so, Lukas was willing to take any edge he could get.

“It’s not like the heyday, the 1950s and ’60s, where seven or eight horses came to the post for the Derby and Calumet Farm won most of them,” he said. “But this is still one game where a little bit of luck goes a long way.”

___

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and follow him at Twitter.com/JimLitke.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Article source: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/18151255/column-lukas-more-than-willing-to-roll-the-dice

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Day after day, a tall, shy woman weaves her way unnoticed through the earnest and learned campus swirl of Brown University. She enters the hush of a library, then promptly vanishes from sight.

Down goes Marie Malchodi, 48, who attended but never graduated from Brown, down to the library’s subterranean warrens, where she works as a “book conservation technician.” She sweeps her long dark hair into a bun, pierces it with a paint brush, and starts her day, caring for ancient books and ephemera that are sensitive to the touch.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Malchodi opened yet another leather-bound book, one of more than 300,000 rare volumes in the hold of the John Hay Library. With surgical precision, she turned the pages of a medical text once owned by Solomon Drowne, Class of ’73 (1773, that is.). And there, in the back, she found a piece of paper depicting the baptism of Jesus. It was signed:

“P. Revere Sculpt.”

Ye gods! Had Marie Malchodi, of Cranston, R.I., book conservation technician, just made contact with Paul Revere, of Boston, silversmith? Revere, who knew of the fiery need to share vital information, would have appreciated Ms. Malchodi’s galloping reaction, which was:

“I have to show this to somebody.”

Ms. Malchodi is more spiritually attuned to books than her Orwellian job title might suggest. She came to Brown as an undergraduate in the early 1980s, but life wound up demanding her study. Soon she was working in a College Hill bookstore rather than reading in a college library, and making cabinets rather than writing papers about her beloved Romantics.

One day she saw an advertisement for a bookbinding and conservation job at the university. She has been here ever since — though mostly underground — inspecting old books, submitting to their long-ago stories and vanishing to where now is then and then is now.

In the ensuing 20 years, gray has come to her hair and a husband and twin girls have come to her life, yet wasn’t it all just yesterday? When Wordsworth thrilled her heart? When Wordsworth lived?

A year ago, Ms. Malchodi was assigned to check the condition of thousands of rare books about to be shipped to an off-campus annex. In a basement room made smaller and louder by the air ducts looming from the ceiling, she tended to her task, sitting on a stool set beside a collection of dusty, rolled-up maps, all needing to be vacuumed, and all with titles like “Madeira and Mamore Railway Plan of the Rio Madeira at San Antonio.”

The job sometimes took longer than necessary, because of that tendency of hers to get lost in things: illustrations in children’s books, brittle newspaper clippings, and, especially, handwritten notes from the long dead. She feels the rush of intimacy as the distance in time collapses.

Now here, on a small cart, were another 177 books, all from the collection of Drowne, a physician and polymath who distinguished himself during the American Revolution. “Watts’s Logick.” “Kalm’s Travels.” “Plague and Yellow Fever.”

Next up: an 1811 edition of “The Modern Practice of Physic,” by Dr. Robert Thomas, a champion of purgatives as a cure for disease. Ms. Malchodi examined the red leather cover, the gold tooling on the spine. Then she pulled out that piece of paper.

The engraving, titled “Buried With Him By Baptism,” shows John the Baptist raising Jesus from the River Jordan under a blazing sun, while people in vaguely Colonial attire watch from shore. And in the lower right corner appears the name of an American Revolution icon.

Who knows how long this papery wisp lay hidden in the musty stacks at the century-old Hay Library? In the section reserved for the history of science. Near a microscope and a skull. Across from a copy of Darwin’s monograph on the “sub-class Cirripedia” (Barnacles, that is.).

What Ms. Malchodi knew was that she had to sound the alarm. With some hesitancy — “because I don’t want to bother her” — she approached the raised desk of Rachel Lapkin, a library materials conservator who was immersed in stabilizing the leather of an 18th century Chinese dictionary.

Ms. Lapkin, who actually enjoys her colleague’s enthusiasm, studied the print and found it fascinating, even bizarre. “I think we should look into that,” she said.

The basement brain trust decided that the print must be shown to Richard Noble, the rare books cataloger, whose office takes some doing to reach. So, with the discovery safely inside Dr. Thomas’s celebration of purgatives, Ms. Malchodi began her journey through an underground labyrinth, carrying the volume as a deacon might carry the Bible.

Out of her basement work space and past some lockers. Past discarded wooden catalog cabinets. Down some steps to the subbasement. Past some metal book shelves and a “Do Not Remove” sign. Down more steps and through the tunnel that crosses beneath College Street. Up to Mr. Noble’s office, in Cataloging and Acquisitions. Carefully carrying that Revere — if it was a Revere.

And Mr. Noble had stepped away for lunch.

An hour or so later, Ms. Malchodi returned. “She said, ‘I found this,’ and presented it to me with a big smile,” Mr. Noble recalled. “She let me discover what was inside. She let me have that much fun.”

Mr. Noble’s first reaction was to say that the engraving was just crude enough to be a Revere. Then he held the engraving up to the light as a test. It had the faintly ribbed look of paper produced from the slurry pulp made of rags, signaling that it was mostly likely handmade paper from the 18th century.

Yes. A Revere.

This could very well mean that the patriot — who had nurtured the seeds of rebellion with his engraving of the Boston Massacre of 1770 — had cut the scene into a flat copper plate; filled the grooves with ink, perhaps by pressing it in with the palm of his hand; wiped away the excess with circular sweeps of a small cloth; and used a hand-operated press to produce the engraving.

“That was a nice moment,” Mr. Noble said.

It turned out that Ms. Malchodi had uncovered only the fifth known copy of this particular engraving, which is “a bit of a curiosity in Revere’s work,” according to Lauren Hewes, the curator of graphic arts at the American Antiquarian Society, in Worcester, Mass. She said that while Revere carefully documented his prosperous and prolific career as an artisan, he made no mention of this piece, and so the exact date of the engraving is unclear.

“It sits outside of what we think of when we think of Paul Revere,” she said. “It wasn’t all patriotic topics — he did a lot more than that.”

How the engraving came to be in the possession of Solomon Drowne is still being researched; his descendants have some theories. And its monetary worth is probably only a few thousand dollars, but that is hardly what matters.

“It’s really a great moment,” Ms. Hewes said. “That moment of discovery.”

Ms. Malchodi made her discovery on a Thursday. On that Friday, she was back at work beneath the verdant Brown campus. Inspecting old books, vacuuming old maps, opening herself to time’s collapse.

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Article source: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/stumbling-across-a-rarity-even-for-the-rare-book-room-634287/

Tired of being normal? Are
you a middle-age woman suffering from “sagging, dragging and nagging”?
Have you heard any of these pitches either from websites or billboards
featuring happy, smooth-faced grandmothers? Then you’ve likely heard a
pitch generally targeted at menopausal women for “Bioidentical Hormone
Replacement Therapy” or BHRT—a process that advertises an “all-natural”
substitute to current manufactured hormone pharmaceuticals. If you’ve
also read that this treatment is safer and more effective than hormone
drugs manufactured and regulated by the Food Drug Administration,
you’ve heard a pitch that may be violating federal law.

Currently,
the FDA does not recognize BHRT as valid marketing and has, in the
past, had to crack down on companies that advertised the treatment as
being safer and more effective than FDA-approved hormone drugs, as well
as suggesting such drugs could help with ailments likes Alzheimer’s
disease and heart problems.

“Sellers
of compounded ‘bioidentical’ hormones often claim that their products
are identical to hormones made by the body and these products are
without the risks of drugs approved by FDA for hormone therapy,” writes
FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao via e-mail. She adds the FDA can’t verify
the safety or effectiveness of the drugs, and companies that have made
such claims in the past have been in violation of federal law.

Utah
companies aren’t sweating it too much, however, because the FDA is
limited in how much it can regulate these cure-all compounds. The FDA
gives a wide berth to “compound” pharmaceuticals—prescriptions
customized by pharmacists, often to remove ingredients known to cause
allergic reactions or to lower the ratio of chemical ingredients. Now,
BHRT companies have latched onto this protection to make compound
hormone products that use structures found in organic materials, like
plants, that are biologically identical to hormones found in humans, and
market them as natural products that are safer than clinically tested,
FDA-approved hormone drugs. Such drugs, whether synthetic and
FDA-tested, or BHRT, have found a market in menopausal women
experiencing difficult changes in personality and hot flashes, among
other symptoms.

For
Michele Curtis, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the
University of Texas and the lead author of the American College of
Obstetrics Gynecology’s 2005 statement against misleading BHRT
claims, the therapy does replicate hormones, but doing it through
“natural” materials is no guarantee of being safer.

“It’s
true there is an estrogenic structure that you can find in a plant, but
that doesn’t mean a pharmacist went out back into a field, picked a
bunch of soybeans and boiled them down and that’s what they’re using,
for god’s sake,” Curtis says. “There’s a [BHRT] made from horse urine,
but I’m not sure how much more natural you want to get than that.”

For
Utah consumers, however, it’s hard to draw a clear line on what BHRT
can and can’t do. The FDA warned seven pharmacies in 2008 to stop making
misleading claims about BHRT but has not taken any other actions since
then. While the FDA has culled research from organizations like the
Women’s Health Initiative and the American College of Obstetrics
Gynecology and formulated educational materials separating myth from
fact about BHRT claims, companies still advertise BHRT and claim the
superiority of the product.

In a quick search of companies offering the treatment in Utah, City Weekly found
multiple companies making misleading claims. The Gateway Laser Center,
located in downtown Salt Lake City, claims on its website that:
“[Bioidentical hormones] are safer,

with
fewer side effects.” The website even goes on to implore consumers to
seek only BHRT: “Unfortunately, many of the hormones regularly
prescribed are not identical to those found in the human body. Instead,
patients should insist on prescriptions for biologically identical
hormones only.” Gateway Laser Center did not a return a comment for this
story.

Enlighten
Laser in Bountiful offers BHRT, which its website says is “essential for
muscle tone, skin smoothness, hair texture and sex drive,” adding that
“it may also help deter osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and heart
disease”—exactly the claims the FDA has previously warned are illegal.
Enlighten has also posted billboards along the freeway asking passersby
if they are “tired of being normal.” Enlighten Laser did not return a
comment for this story.

One
bioidentical-hormone provider who did comment for the story was Marcia
Scoville of the All for Women Health Care clinic in Salt Lake City.
Scoville’s website claims that BHRT is safer and more effective than
FDAapproved hormone drugs. As a former nurse who has been offering the
treatment for the past decade and takes it herself, Scoville says she’s
seen the results.

“Women
need to have the option of using hormone-replacement therapy. It
depends on how profound the changes of menopause affect their lives,”
Scoville says. “Some people breeze through it—I never meet these people.
Other people, they turn into someone they don’t like.”

Scoville
says customized BHRT doses are a big part of her practice, and says
that other clinics offer doses of bioidentical hormones that are usually
10 to 100 times stronger than the doses she offers clients. She also
points out a study by Kent Holtorf, a doctor in California who did a
literature survey and found BHRT having less risk of breast cancer in
female subjects compared to FDAapproved hormone drugs.

The
Holtorf study, however, does not employ randomized trials to
corroborate its findings. Curtis at the University of Texas says the
academic consensus in the research overwhelmingly weighs against claims
that BHRT is safer than FDA-approved hormone therapies, and the reason
why is not so technical—it’s simply that FDA-approved manufactured drugs
are regulated, so the doses are always consistent.

“Because
compounding involves getting basic ingredients and putting them
together, it’s like cooking,” Curtis says. “You’re going to have
variations from batch to batch—you just can’t help it.” She also says
that FDA-approved drugs come with package inserts, which are
instructions going over all possible risks and complications from taking
the drugs that have been discovered through thousands of hours of
research.

She also
points out that while competent pharmacists could compound BHRT very
successfully, what consumers don’t realize is that there’s no way to
guarantee the pharmacist will consistently mix the drugs better than
FDA-approved hormone therapies. As for why the FDA has not had success
in regulating bioidenticals well, Curtis says they do operate in a gray
area of regulations. She also says that in Utah, they probably also
enjoy protections from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has doggedly
protected nutritional supplements from federal regulations.

“Senator Hatch is very effective in keeping the FDA out of that arena,” Curtis says. “That’s well recognized.”

Twitter: @EricSPeterson

Article source: http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-77-15853-bioidentical-hoax.html

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, except for skin cancers. One in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. About 39,510 women will die from it this year.

The good news is death rates from breast cancer have been declining since 1990, believed to be the result of earlier detection through increased screening and awareness, as well as improved treatment. At this time, there are more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Matthew Phillips, owner of Matthew Phillips Aveda Concept Salon on LaSalle Road and Per Se Aveda Salon and Spa at Blue Back Square, is a man who wants to envision a future with a cure for breast cancer. For the past 11 years, he and a dedicated group of volunteers have done their part to try and make that cure a reality.  

On Sunday, May 6, Phillips will be holding his 12^th Annual Cut-A-Thon at his LaSalle Road location to benefit breast cancer research programs at the Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital. This year’s event will be dedicated to the memory of Ruth Ann Lobo, a champion for breast cancer research and the co-author of the book “The Home Team,” written with her daughter UConn basketball star Rebecca Lobo. After battling breast cancer for sixteen years, Ruth Ann passed away in July of 2011.

Phillips was inspired to hold his first cut-a-thon after attending a yearly meeting of The Salon Association, an international organization of owners and stylists.

“Our organization is always giving back, whether it is building homes through Habitat for Humanity or going to hospitals and helping people,” states Phillips.

After coming home from one of the meetings 12 years ago, he was cutting the hair of one of his loyal customers, Dr. Andrew Salner, chief of the Department of Radiation and Oncology at Hartford Hospital and director of the hospital’s Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center. He approached the doctor about the idea of a hair cutting fundraiser. Through the year, with the doctor’s blessing, Phillips has managed to grow the fundraiser, turning it into an event that nearly 250 people attend.

Phillips now looks forward to it annually, on the Sunday before Mother’s Day.

Despite all of the hard work that goes into planning the event, Phillips is full of bouncy energy and shows no sign of fatigue. “This event makes me feel great. It’s a very happy day because we have a lot going on all the time, all day. We are the perfect vehicle for doing this because, in this business, we deal with so many women.”

Dr. Salner has nothing but praise for Phillips’ commitment to breast cancer research, noting that Phillips starts planning the next year’s event a couple of weeks after the last one has ended. “The cut-a-thon is one way that Matthew and Shari (Matthew’s wife and co-owner of Per Se salon) give back to the community and allow the community to give back as well.”

Salner goes on to mention how important funding is to breast cancer research, increasing awareness and providing programs, such as Hartford Hospital’s mobile program that brings mammograms to those who have no medical insurance. “Supporting this event really pays dividends. Not only do you help one person but you can help thousands. I can’t thank Matthew and Shari enough for what they do.”

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., nearly a dozen hair stylists volunteers from Aveda salons all over the region will be cutting hair inside the salon and outside in front on the sidewalk. Phillips assures that they are all award-winning stylists.

“They know what they are doing and they want to help year after year because they have been touched by cancer.” For $25, a customer can receive a haircut – but no blow dry. They must be prepared to leave the salon with a wet head.

That’s a small price to pay for donating money to the worthy cause and Phillips proudly notes that every penny raised that day will be donated to the Hartford Hospital. In addition to the haircuts, there will be music and refreshments, a raffle and a plentiful silent auction to offer, among many things, restaurant gift certificates, original oil paintings, a Red Sox player signed baseball, a basketball signed by the women’s UConn Huskies, theater tickets, jewelry and wines. In addition, everyone attending goes home with a goody bag of Aveda products.

Phillips expects, as in previous years, that local news personalities will trickle in and out of the salon all day.

Customers can just walk in to the salon the day of the fundraiser. There is no need to pre-register. Raffle tickets are being sold now for various smaller items like dinners and theater tickets. Phillips encourages his customers to invest in the tickets which sell for $ and are sold in bunches of fives. “I tell my clients this is all for research. You are a woman … you might have a daughter, granddaughter. The dollar you spend may be the dollar that helps.”

While he speaks mainly of the women that the funds will benefit, Phillips knows firsthand that breast cancer touches everyone. “I even have guys who come to my salon and they have had breast cancer. It more rare but it does affect men too.”

This year he is trying a new fundraising tactic: the virtual haircut. People may log on to his website and “buy” a haircut for a donation of $25. If it is successful, he says that he might have it up and running all year long.

As usual, Dr. Salner will be attending the event. “It’s an opportunity to give back and really see tangible results as well as support a local person in the community. It’s a win-win situation.”

Matthew Phillips Salon is located at 68 LaSalle Road. The cut-a-thon will be held inside and outside of the salon on the front sidewalk. A pink tent will be set up outside so inclement weather will not be an issue. For more information call: 860-523-5261.

Article source: http://westhartford.patch.com/articles/hair-cuts-for-a-good-cause

Down goes Marie Malchodi, 48, who attended but never graduated from Brown, down to the library’s subterranean warrens, where she works as a “book conservation technician.” She sweeps her long dark hair into a bun, pierces it with a paint brush and starts her day, caring for ancient books and ephemera that are sensitive to the touch.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Malchodi opened yet another leather-bound book, one of more than 300,000 rare volumes in the hold of the John Hay Library. With surgical precision, she turned the pages of a medical text once owned by Solomon Drowne, Class of ’73 (1773, that is). And there, in the back, she found a piece of paper depicting the baptism of Jesus. It was signed:

“P. Revere Sculp”

Ye gods! Had Marie Malchodi, of Cranston, R.I., book conservation technician, just made contact with Paul Revere, of Boston, silversmith? Revere, who knew of the fiery need to share vital information, would have appreciated Ms. Malchodi’s galloping reaction, which was:

“I have to show this to somebody.”

Ms. Malchodi is more spiritually attuned to books than her Orwellian job title might suggest. She came to Brown as an undergraduate in the early 1980s, but life wound up demanding her study. Soon she was working in a College Hill bookstore rather than reading in a college library, and making cabinets rather than writing papers about her beloved Romantics.

One day she saw an advertisement for a bookbinding and conservation job at the university. She has been here ever since — though mostly underground — inspecting old books, submitting to their long-ago stories and vanishing to where now is then and then is now.

In the ensuing 20 years, gray has come to her hair and a husband and twin girls have come to her life, yet wasn’t it all just yesterday? When Wordsworth thrilled her heart? When Wordsworth lived?

A year ago, Ms. Malchodi was assigned to check the condition of thousands of rare books about to be shipped to an off-campus annex. In a basement room made smaller and louder by the air ducts looming from the ceiling, she tended to her task, sitting on a stool set beside a collection of dusty, rolled-up maps, all needing to be vacuumed, and all with titles like “Madeira and Mamore Railway Plan of the Rio Madeira at San Antonio.”

The job sometimes took longer than necessary because of that tendency of hers to get lost in things: illustrations in children’s books, brittle newspaper clippings and, especially, handwritten notes from the long dead. She feels the rush of intimacy as the distance in time collapses.

Now here, on a small cart, were 177 more books, all from the collection of Drowne, a doctor and polymath who distinguished himself during the American Revolution. “Watts’s Logick.” “Kalm’s Travels.” “Plague and Yellow Fever.”

Next up: an 1811 edition of “The Modern Practice of Physic,” by Dr. Robert Thomas, a champion of purgatives as a cure for disease. Ms. Malchodi examined the red leather cover, the gold tooling on the spine. Then she pulled out that piece of paper.

The engraving, titled “Buried With Him By Baptism,” shows John the Baptist raising Jesus from the River Jordan under a blazing sun, while people in vaguely Colonial attire watch from shore. And in the lower right corner appears the name of a Revolutionary icon.

Who knows how long this papery wisp lay hidden in the musty stacks at the century-old Hay Library? In the section reserved for the history of science. Near a microscope and a skull. Across from a copy of Darwin’s monograph on the “subclass Cirripedia” (barnacles, that is).

What Ms. Malchodi knew was that she had to sound the alarm. With some hesitancy — “because I don’t want to bother her” — she approached the raised desk of Rachel Lapkin, a library materials conservator who was immersed in stabilizing the leather of an 18th-century Chinese dictionary.

Ms. Lapkin, who actually enjoys her colleague’s enthusiasm, studied the print and found it fascinating, even bizarre. “I think we should look into that,” she said.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/us/at-brown-university-stumbling-across-a-rarity-in-the-rare-book-room.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Down goes Marie Malchodi, 48, who attended but never graduated from Brown, down to the library’s subterranean warrens, where she works as a “book conservation technician.” She sweeps her long dark hair into a bun, pierces it with a paint brush and starts her day, caring for ancient books and ephemera that are sensitive to the touch.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Malchodi opened yet another leather-bound book, one of more than 300,000 rare volumes in the hold of the John Hay Library. With surgical precision, she turned the pages of a medical text once owned by Solomon Drowne, Class of ’73 (1773, that is). And there, in the back, she found a piece of paper depicting the baptism of Jesus. It was signed:

“P. Revere Sculp”

Ye gods! Had Marie Malchodi, of Cranston, R.I., book conservation technician, just made contact with Paul Revere, of Boston, silversmith? Revere, who knew of the fiery need to share vital information, would have appreciated Ms. Malchodi’s galloping reaction, which was:

“I have to show this to somebody.”

Ms. Malchodi is more spiritually attuned to books than her Orwellian job title might suggest. She came to Brown as an undergraduate in the early 1980s, but life wound up demanding her study. Soon she was working in a College Hill bookstore rather than reading in a college library, and making cabinets rather than writing papers about her beloved Romantics.

One day she saw an advertisement for a bookbinding and conservation job at the university. She has been here ever since — though mostly underground — inspecting old books, submitting to their long-ago stories and vanishing to where now is then and then is now.

In the ensuing 20 years, gray has come to her hair and a husband and twin girls have come to her life, yet wasn’t it all just yesterday? When Wordsworth thrilled her heart? When Wordsworth lived?

A year ago, Ms. Malchodi was assigned to check the condition of thousands of rare books about to be shipped to an off-campus annex. In a basement room made smaller and louder by the air ducts looming from the ceiling, she tended to her task, sitting on a stool set beside a collection of dusty, rolled-up maps, all needing to be vacuumed, and all with titles like “Madeira and Mamore Railway Plan of the Rio Madeira at San Antonio.”

The job sometimes took longer than necessary because of that tendency of hers to get lost in things: illustrations in children’s books, brittle newspaper clippings and, especially, handwritten notes from the long dead. She feels the rush of intimacy as the distance in time collapses.

Now here, on a small cart, were 177 more books, all from the collection of Drowne, a doctor and polymath who distinguished himself during the American Revolution. “Watts’s Logick.” “Kalm’s Travels.” “Plague and Yellow Fever.”

Next up: an 1811 edition of “The Modern Practice of Physic,” by Dr. Robert Thomas, a champion of purgatives as a cure for disease. Ms. Malchodi examined the red leather cover, the gold tooling on the spine. Then she pulled out that piece of paper.

The engraving, titled “Buried With Him By Baptism,” shows John the Baptist raising Jesus from the River Jordan under a blazing sun, while people in vaguely Colonial attire watch from shore. And in the lower right corner appears the name of a Revolutionary icon.

Who knows how long this papery wisp lay hidden in the musty stacks at the century-old Hay Library? In the section reserved for the history of science. Near a microscope and a skull. Across from a copy of Darwin’s monograph on the “subclass Cirripedia” (barnacles, that is).

What Ms. Malchodi knew was that she had to sound the alarm. With some hesitancy — “because I don’t want to bother her” — she approached the raised desk of Rachel Lapkin, a library materials conservator who was immersed in stabilizing the leather of an 18th-century Chinese dictionary.

Ms. Lapkin, who actually enjoys her colleague’s enthusiasm, studied the print and found it fascinating, even bizarre. “I think we should look into that,” she said.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/us/at-brown-university-stumbling-across-a-rarity-in-the-rare-book-room.html

A few weeks ago, Ms. Malchodi opened yet another leather-bound book, one of more than 300,000 rare volumes in the hold of the John Hay Library. With surgical precision, she turned the pages of a medical text once owned by Solomon Drowne, Class of ’73 (1773, that is.). And there, in the back, she found a piece of paper depicting the baptism of Jesus. It was signed:

“P. Revere Sculpt.”

Ye gods! Had Marie Malchodi, of Cranston, R.I., book conservation technician, just made contact with Paul Revere, of Boston, silversmith? Revere, who knew of the fiery need to share vital information, would have appreciated Ms. Malchodi’s galloping reaction, which was:

“I have to show this to somebody.”

Ms. Malchodi is more spiritually attuned to books than her Orwellian job title might suggest. She came to Brown as an undergraduate in the early 1980s, but life wound up demanding her study. Soon she was working in a College Hill bookstore rather than reading in a college library, and making cabinets rather than writing papers about her beloved Romantics.

One day she saw an advertisement for a bookbinding and conservation job at the university. She has been here ever since — though mostly underground — inspecting old books, submitting to their long-ago stories and vanishing to where now is then and then is now.

In the ensuing 20 years, gray has come to her hair and a husband and twin girls have come to her life, yet wasn’t it all just yesterday? When Wordsworth thrilled her heart? When Wordsworth lived?

A year ago, Ms. Malchodi was assigned to check the condition of thousands of rare books about to be shipped to an off-campus annex. In a basement room made smaller and louder by the air ducts looming from the ceiling, she tended to her task, sitting on a stool set beside a collection of dusty, rolled-up maps, all needing to be vacuumed, and all with titles like “Madeira and Mamore Railway Plan of the Rio Madeira at San Antonio.”

The job sometimes took longer than necessary, because of that tendency of hers to get lost in things: illustrations in children’s books, brittle newspaper clippings, and, especially, handwritten notes from the long dead. She feels the rush of intimacy as the distance in time collapses.

Now here, on a small cart, were another 177 books, all from the collection of Drowne, a physician and polymath who distinguished himself during the American Revolution. “Watts’s Logick.” “Kalm’s Travels.” “Plague and Yellow Fever.”

Next up: an 1811 edition of “The Modern Practice of Physic,” by Dr. Robert Thomas, a champion of purgatives as a cure for disease. Ms. Malchodi examined the red leather cover, the gold tooling on the spine. Then she pulled out that piece of paper.

The engraving, titled “Buried With Him By Baptism,” shows John the Baptist raising Jesus from the River Jordan under a blazing sun, while people in vaguely Colonial attire watch from shore. And in the lower right corner appears the name of an American Revolution icon.

Who knows how long this papery wisp lay hidden in the musty stacks at the century-old Hay Library? In the section reserved for the history of science. Near a microscope and a skull. Across from a copy of Darwin’s monograph on the “sub-class Cirripedia” (Barnacles, that is.).

What Ms. Malchodi knew was that she had to sound the alarm. With some hesitancy — “because I don’t want to bother her” — she approached the raised desk of Rachel Lapkin, a library materials conservator who was immersed in stabilizing the leather of an 18th century Chinese dictionary.

Ms. Lapkin, who actually enjoys her colleague’s enthusiasm, studied the print and found it fascinating, even bizarre. “I think we should look into that,” she said.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/us/at-brown-university-stumbling-across-a-rarity-in-the-rare-book-room.html

Tired of being normal? Are
you a middle-age woman suffering from “sagging, dragging and nagging”?
Have you heard any of these pitches either from websites or billboards
featuring happy, smooth-faced grandmothers? Then you’ve likely heard a
pitch generally targeted at menopausal women for “Bioidentical Hormone
Replacement Therapy” or BHRT—a process that advertises an “all-natural”
substitute to current manufactured hormone pharmaceuticals. If you’ve
also read that this treatment is safer and more effective than hormone
drugs manufactured and regulated by the Food Drug Administration,
you’ve heard a pitch that may be violating federal law.

Currently,
the FDA does not recognize BHRT as valid marketing and has, in the
past, had to crack down on companies that advertised the treatment as
being safer and more effective than FDA-approved hormone drugs, as well
as suggesting such drugs could help with ailments likes Alzheimer’s
disease and heart problems.

“Sellers
of compounded ‘bioidentical’ hormones often claim that their products
are identical to hormones made by the body and these products are
without the risks of drugs approved by FDA for hormone therapy,” writes
FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao via e-mail. She adds the FDA can’t verify
the safety or effectiveness of the drugs, and companies that have made
such claims in the past have been in violation of federal law.

Utah
companies aren’t sweating it too much, however, because the FDA is
limited in how much it can regulate these cure-all compounds. The FDA
gives a wide berth to “compound” pharmaceuticals—prescriptions
customized by pharmacists, often to remove ingredients known to cause
allergic reactions or to lower the ratio of chemical ingredients. Now,
BHRT companies have latched onto this protection to make compound
hormone products that use structures found in organic materials, like
plants, that are biologically identical to hormones found in humans, and
market them as natural products that are safer than clinically tested,
FDA-approved hormone drugs. Such drugs, whether synthetic and
FDA-tested, or BHRT, have found a market in menopausal women
experiencing difficult changes in personality and hot flashes, among
other symptoms.

For
Michele Curtis, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the
University of Texas and the lead author of the American College of
Obstetrics Gynecology’s 2005 statement against misleading BHRT
claims, the therapy does replicate hormones, but doing it through
“natural” materials is no guarantee of being safer.

“It’s
true there is an estrogenic structure that you can find in a plant, but
that doesn’t mean a pharmacist went out back into a field, picked a
bunch of soybeans and boiled them down and that’s what they’re using,
for god’s sake,” Curtis says. “There’s a [BHRT] made from horse urine,
but I’m not sure how much more natural you want to get than that.”

For
Utah consumers, however, it’s hard to draw a clear line on what BHRT
can and can’t do. The FDA warned seven pharmacies in 2008 to stop making
misleading claims about BHRT but has not taken any other actions since
then. While the FDA has culled research from organizations like the
Women’s Health Initiative and the American College of Obstetrics
Gynecology and formulated educational materials separating myth from
fact about BHRT claims, companies still advertise BHRT and claim the
superiority of the product.

In a quick search of companies offering the treatment in Utah, City Weekly found
multiple companies making misleading claims. The Gateway Laser Center,
located in downtown Salt Lake City, claims on its website that:
“[Bioidentical hormones] are safer,

with
fewer side effects.” The website even goes on to implore consumers to
seek only BHRT: “Unfortunately, many of the hormones regularly
prescribed are not identical to those found in the human body. Instead,
patients should insist on prescriptions for biologically identical
hormones only.” Gateway Laser Center did not a return a comment for this
story.

Enlighten
Laser in Bountiful offers BHRT, which its website says is “essential for
muscle tone, skin smoothness, hair texture and sex drive,” adding that
“it may also help deter osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and heart
disease”—exactly the claims the FDA has previously warned are illegal.
Enlighten has also posted billboards along the freeway asking passersby
if they are “tired of being normal.” Enlighten Laser did not return a
comment for this story.

One
bioidentical-hormone provider who did comment for the story was Marcia
Scoville of the All for Women Health Care clinic in Salt Lake City.
Scoville’s website claims that BHRT is safer and more effective than
FDAapproved hormone drugs. As a former nurse who has been offering the
treatment for the past decade and takes it herself, Scoville says she’s
seen the results.

“Women
need to have the option of using hormone-replacement therapy. It
depends on how profound the changes of menopause affect their lives,”
Scoville says. “Some people breeze through it—I never meet these people.
Other people, they turn into someone they don’t like.”

Scoville
says customized BHRT doses are a big part of her practice, and says
that other clinics offer doses of bioidentical hormones that are usually
10 to 100 times stronger than the doses she offers clients. She also
points out a study by Kent Holtorf, a doctor in California who did a
literature survey and found BHRT having less risk of breast cancer in
female subjects compared to FDAapproved hormone drugs.

The
Holtorf study, however, does not employ randomized trials to
corroborate its findings. Curtis at the University of Texas says the
academic consensus in the research overwhelmingly weighs against claims
that BHRT is safer than FDA-approved hormone therapies, and the reason
why is not so technical—it’s simply that FDA-approved manufactured drugs
are regulated, so the doses are always consistent.

“Because
compounding involves getting basic ingredients and putting them
together, it’s like cooking,” Curtis says. “You’re going to have
variations from batch to batch—you just can’t help it.” She also says
that FDA-approved drugs come with package inserts, which are
instructions going over all possible risks and complications from taking
the drugs that have been discovered through thousands of hours of
research.

She also
points out that while competent pharmacists could compound BHRT very
successfully, what consumers don’t realize is that there’s no way to
guarantee the pharmacist will consistently mix the drugs better than
FDA-approved hormone therapies. As for why the FDA has not had success
in regulating bioidenticals well, Curtis says they do operate in a gray
area of regulations. She also says that in Utah, they probably also
enjoy protections from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has doggedly
protected nutritional supplements from federal regulations.

“Senator Hatch is very effective in keeping the FDA out of that arena,” Curtis says. “That’s well recognized.”

Twitter: @EricSPeterson

Article source: http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-77-15853-bioidentical-hoax.html

Details

Céline and Julie Go Boating
Directed by Jacques Rivette
New Yorker Films
Film Forum, May 4 through 10

Marnie
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
IFC Center, May 4 through 6
MOMI, May 12

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“The first idea was to bring together Juliet and Dominique, who were already friends,” Rivette said in a 1974 Film Comment interview on the project’s origin, referring to Juliet Berto (a Godard regular from 1967 to 1968 who also performed in Rivette’s 13-hour Out 1) playing magician Céline and Dominique Labourier as carrot-topped librarian Julie. A mix of literary and cinema homage though ultimately sui generis, Céline and Julie, playing for a week in a new 35mm print at Film Forum, begins with the latter reading a book on magic on a Montmartre park bench, her deep study of spells interrupted by boa-draped Céline, who busily rushes past, like Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit. Immediately intrigued, Julie follows her, a chase reminiscent of Scottie’s obsessive pursuit of Madeleine in Vertigo. After some more sexually charged hiding and seeking, Céline moves in with Julie, and each begins to play a recurring role in a bizarre melodrama that takes place inside a mysterious suburban château. This saga unfolds in another time/space dimension and features Bulle Ogier (a frequent performer in Rivette’s films) and Marie-France Pisier as two women vying for the attention of a widowed man (Barbet Schroeder, Céline and Julie‘s producer).

Popping brightly hued lozenges into their mouths, our heroines, back at home, review what happened in that spooky manor, becoming, like us, spectators of their own otherworldly escapades. Just as the line demarcating reality (which here is always slightly askew) from fantasy is dissolved, so, too, do identities become porous. Céline and Julie each enact the same role in the haunted house, playing a nurse to the widower’s frail daughter; back in the “real” world, each has a turn “performing” as the other. The playfulness of Rivette’s sublime female-buddy picture, recalling the fun of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, would inform Susan Seidelman’s Desperately Seeking Susan 11 years later. But its greatest descendant is David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, another film about two women erotically attached, a house with a secret, and transformation.

Multiple transformations—all by the same character—take place in Hitchcock’s supremely perverse Marnie (1964), screening this weekend at the IFC Center as part of its tribute to the Master of Suspense, and on May 12 as one of the titles in MOMI’s Fashion in Film Festival: If Looks Could Kill, which kicks off this Friday. The director’s second (and final) film with Tippi Hedren—the last of Hitchcock’s blondes—Marnie is the story of a sexually dysfunctional, compulsive thief who changes hair colors and aliases after she has cleaned the safes at the various companies that employ her. She’s nabbed by Sean Connery’s Mark Rutland, scion of a Philadelphia publishing house who reads Sexual Aberrations of the Criminal Female in his spare time; rather than turn Marnie over to the police, he blackmails her by marrying her, trying to cure a sickness that both makes her terrified of the color red and recoil from any man’s touch.

Marnie epitomizes the link between clothing and criminal deviancy highlighted in the MOMI series, which also includes Desire, Leave Her to Heaven, and American Gigolo. To dress Hedren and Diane Baker, who plays Mark’s bratty sister-in-law, Lil, Hitchcock turned to legendary costume designer Edith Head, who worked with the director on 11 films—and whose ensembles greatly advance Marnie‘s narrative, as the damaged title character shucks one secretarial-pool persona after another, eventually outfitted as a high-society hostess.

As our larcenist switches identities, from accounting-firm typist Marion Holland back to her real self (Margaret “Marnie” Edgar, later to assume the name of “Mary Taylor” at Rutland’s company), she trades the herringbone getup we see only from behind in the opening scene for a series of muted beige and slate skirt-suits (very similar to the gray outfits worn by Kim Novak in Vertigo, another Hitchcock-Head collaboration). But this punctilious office worker isn’t the only sicko: Modish, vulpine Lil, who’s hot for her brother-in-law (and, as their first encounter hints, maybe even for Marnie), lounges around the Rutland estate in a chocolate-brown pullover and snug-fitting trousers. Once installed as Mark’s missus, frigid Marnie’s outfits reveal her new socioeconomic status, though her clothes are often virginal white, such as the gown she wears at a swank gathering at the mansion or the starchy, heavy robe buttoned up to her larynx that she wears to bed. Late in the film, both women, taking part in a hunt on the vast Rutland grounds, wear matching equestrian outfits—severe, fetishistic attire that Marnie still has on as the source of her trauma is revealed. She might be cured of her pathologies, but, sporting shiny black leather riding boots, she’ll never be “normal.”

Article source: http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-02/film/transformations-and-costume-changes-in-c-line-and-julie-go-boating-and-marnie/

Winter clothing clearance

The Christ Church Thrift Shoppe is holding a winter clothing clearance sale. All winter clothing will be sold at half-price or $5 per bag, which the shop will provide, in order to make room for spring and summer items. The new shop is located at 6 Lothrop St., adjacent to Christ Church at 149 Court St., and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In addition to affordable clothing the shop also carries household goods, jewelry, art and small furniture. Donations are also welcome during regular shop hours. Clothing must be clean, in good or better condition and in season.

Avon Walk

Belly Dance for a Cure will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at the Plymouth Elks Lodge. Tickets are $15. There will be live belly dance performances and a silent auction. All proceeds go to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. For information call Lisa Butler at 774-454-7533.

ARC of Greater Plymouth

The ARC of Greater Plymouth will hold its 10th anniversary dinner and a silent auction from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston. Music will be provided by the Jay Knox Band. Dinner tickets are $65. Dinner choice is balsamic and garlic marinated tenderloin steak tips or Atlantic salmon with a citrus beurre blanc. Raffle tickets are $100. The grand prize is $10,000. Only 300 tickets are to be sold. Your participation helps ensure the success of this event and provides funding for activities through the family support and respite programs, which benefit individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, in the Greater Plymouth area. Consolation prizes are $1,000, $500 and $250, to be drawn May 5 at Indian Pond. Winner need not be present. To purchase raffle or dinner tickets, contact Ann Marie annmh@thearcofgp.org or call 508-732-9292, ext. 0. Major credit cards accepted.

Kingston Lions Club

The Kingston Lions Club spring flea market will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 6, at the Kingsbury Square Park and Ride Lot, at the junction of Route 3A and 53, Kingston (Exit 10 off Route 3). Vendors are wanted. New and used items, clothes, toys, books, tools, furniture, electronics, antiques, handcrafts and anything in good taste may be sold at the flea market. Spaces are available on a first come, first serve basis. For more information about a space, call Kelly Smith at 781-588-3403. All proceeds go directly to the Kingston Lions Club to aid those in need, both locally and throughout the world.

Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer

Make Mother’s Day special this year by treating the important women in your life to desserts while helping the fight against breast cancer. During the week leading up to Mother’s Day, May 7-13, more than 250 restaurants, bakeries, cafés, chocolate and ice cream shops throughout Massachusetts will participate in Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer, including Alden Park Restaurant, British Beer Company (Plymouth and Cedarville locations) and Rye Tavern in Plymouth.

 From May 7 through 13, these Plymouth establishments will create a unique dessert to include on the menu. Desserts start at $3 and proceeds will benefit breast cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Bakes for Breast Cancer Inc., a newly formed nonprofit breast cancer organization dedicated to making a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer was started in 2000 by Carol Brownman Sneider, in memory of her mother, Eva Brownman, who lost her battle with breast cancer. Since its inception the event has raised nearly $600,000 for breast cancer research and care at Dana-Farber.

For more information, a list of participating establishments, or to learn more about how to become involved in Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer, visit www.bostonbakesforbreastcancer.org, follow Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer on Facebook, or Twitter, @Boston_Bakes. Dessert lovers may also visit www.bostonbakesforbreastcancer.org/shop to have a sweet treat delivered.

Habitat annual celebration

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth will hold its annual celebration at 7 p.m. Friday, May 11, at the Pinehills Golf Club. Tickets are $50 per person. All are welcome to attend. The sponsor for the evening is NorthEast Community Bank, and theme of this year’s event is art, wine and jazz, featuring an art auction, wine tasting and live music. As with last year’s event, all of the artwork was created by local artists with items found in Habitat’s ReStore in Carver. The ReStore sells merchandise at 50-90 percent off retail value. The wine tasting is courtesy of Long Ridge Wine Spirits. Four Guys in Tuxes: The Quintet is the musical entertainment for the evening. The men have also donated their talent as an auction item, auctioning off their services for a wedding or other function to the highest bidder.

The evening includes food from area restaurants and caterers, raffles and silent and live auctions with Plymouth County Treasurer Tom O’Brien as the auctioneer. Join Habitat in celebrating 15 years of building simple, affordable homes in conjunction with deserving families. Tickets are available at the following places: Habitat office, 72 N. Main St., Carver, 508-866-4188; Engel Volkers Real Estate, 29 Main St., Plymouth, 508-747-7755, www.plymouth.evusa.com; Long Ridge Wine Spirits, 8 Purchase St., Pinehills, Plymouth, 508-209-9463; Alden Park Restaurant, Colony Place, Plymouth, 508-830-6777, www.aldenparkrestaurant.com; and on Habitat’s website, www.hfhplymouth.org.

Stamp Out Hunger

Plymouth and Kingston letter carriers will collect food donations Saturday, May 12, to provide assistance to those in need who are struggling with hunger each and every day. Leave a bag of nonperishable food May 12 where your letter carrier normally delivers your mail. Your letter carrier will then pick up and deliver the food to a local food bank. Examples of nonperishable items include canned soup; canned meats and fish; canned vegetables, fruits and juices; boxed goods such as cereal; and pasta and rice. For more information about the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office or visit either www.helpstampouthunger.com or www.facebook.com/StampOutHunger and follow the drive at www.twitter.com/StampOutHunger.

Haymakers for Hope

Mike Connolly of Plymouth is participating in the May 17 Haymakers for Hope Rock ‘n Rumble at the House of Blues in Boston. Haymakers for Hope is a nonprofit organization that raises money for cancer research through organizing charity boxing events. Haymakers for Hope encourages everyday people (most of which have never put on a pair of boxing gloves) to step in the ring and box an equally matched opponent for three rounds. Each participant is provided with a no-cost, four-month training program with one of the many sponsored gyms in the Boston and Greater Boston area. Each participant is also responsible for their own fundraising efforts. Not only are these rookie pugilists getting in shape, but they’re raising money for cancer research. Haymakers’ first event last year at the Park Plaza Castle raised more than $190,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Twenty-six participants from Boston will compete in boxing matches throughout the night to help raise money for cancer research. All event proceeds benefit pediatric and adult cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. General admission tickets are $75 (standing room only), VIP packages are available for $150 and box seating and sponsorship packages begin at $500. Visit http://haymakersforhope.org for more information or to purchase tickets.

Chrissy’s Charity bazaar

Chrissy’s Charity’s May bazaar will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at St. Mary’s parish center in North Plymouth. There will be more than 25 white elephant tables and at least two food tables. Special prayer bracelets ($7 each) will be featured. Choose from more than 23 different designs. Each bracelet is blessed and packaged in a gift box. There are now bracelets for different professions, including nurses, doctors, policemen, firemen, expectant moms, teachers, mothers of children and infants, hospital workers and more. Donations of white elephant items and food table items are still needed as well as any kind of jewelry. This year there will be five tables of very low price items, which make nice gifts. If you have questions, call Jane at 508-746-6095 or Brenda at 781-585-8954. Drop off donations from 8 a.m. to noon May 17 and 18.

Lynch’s Lucky Leprechauns

Lynch’s Lucky Leprechauns is a local team that will participate in the Relay for Life to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The team is holding a golf fundraiser at 9 a.m. May 20 at Squirrel Run Golf Course in Plymouth. Registration is at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start at 9. The price is $75 per golfer, which includes 18 holes of golf, a cart, a cookout and prizes. For details, call Beth Lynch, team captain, at 508-746-2040.

United Parish of Carver

The United Parish of Carver will host its 12th annual golf tournament fundraiser at noon Sunday, May 20, at the Squirrel Run Country Club in Plymouth. The cost is $70 per person and includes green fees, meal and prizes. This is a scramble format with shotgun tee off at noon. To register or for details, call the church office at 508-866-4493.

Fund ‘Fore’ the Needy

St. Bonaventure Church’s Fund “Fore” the Needy golf classic will be held Thursday, May 24, at the Waverly Oaks Golf Club in Plymouth. Shotgun start is at 11:30 a.m. Cost for 18 holes is $150 per golfer or $600 for a foursome. For dinner only, $35. For more information, call Jim Ambrose at 508-209-0160 or Noreen Morrissey at 508-224-3636, ext. 125. There will be a social hour, putting contest, helicopter ball drop, dinner, silent auction, raffles and more.

Bike Trek info night

The American Lung Association will present the 28th annual Autumn Escape Bike Trek this fall along Cape Cod, riding from Plymouth to Provincetown. Serious Cycles, of Plymouth, is hosting “Bikes and Bites,” an information night, so trekkers and potential trekkers can learn all they need to know to prepare for the trek. Bikes and Bites will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at Serious Cycles, at 265 State Road, Plymouth. Free beer and snacks will be provided as an American Lung Association staff member discusses the Autumn Escape Bike Trek and answers any questions participants may have.

Serious Cycles is offering a 10 percent discount off all bicycle accessories for info night attendees, as well as a free gift. For more than 17 years, Serious Cycles has been serving the cycling needs of all types of riders in the Plymouth and South Shore area. Visit www.seriouscycle.com to peruse the vast inventory of bikes and cycling accessories. There is no cost to attend Bikes and Bites, but registration is encouraged by May 18. Contact Elise Kerrigan at ekerrigan@lungne.org or 401-533-5174 to RVSP or for more information. 

The trek is a three-day ride (two-day option available) starting Friday, Sept. 28, in Plymouth and finishing Sunday, Sept. 30, in Provincetown, rain or shine. Cyclists of all levels are invited to participate in this at-your-own-pace trek through the picturesque Cape Cod coast. To find out more about the Autumn Escape Bike Trek visit biketreknewengland.org.?

Parade fundraising dinner

Plymouth Lodge A.F. A.M. will once again do its part to help July 4 Plymouth Inc. raise the money needed for the Fourth of July Parade, by hosting the second annual Fourth of July fundraising dinner at the lodge, Saturday, May 26. Tickets are $30 and should be purchased in advance. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner is at 7 and the silent auction will follow dinner. Dinner will be an Italian buffet provided by Plymouth’s finest restaurants. Mike Landers of Nightlife Music Co. will provide music and DJ services, and Vic Moulton will emcee. There will also be a silent auction and door prize.

Last year’s dinner raised $3,000 for the parade. Many restaurants, which weren’t financially able to donate to the parade, were more than happy to donate a signature dish. To purchase tickets to this year’s dinner, contact Douglas O’Roak, the event chairman, at 508-614-0209 or e-mail d_oroak@yahoo.com. The lodge is located at 116 South Meadow Road in Plymouth. Volunteers are needed to help greet guests, clear tables, serve food, and man the silent auction tables. Contact O’Roak if you are available to help.

Joe Bethune motorcycle run

Motorcycle riders from throughout Massachusetts will gather in Plymouth at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 9, to ride in memory of Naval Petty Officer (and Moose member) Joe Bethune, of Plymouth. Up to 80 motorcycles, riders, and support vehicles are expected to participate. This event is sponsored by the Plymouth Moose Lodge, and by the Massachusetts Moose on Bikes, a unit of Moose International. The motorcycle run will leave the Plymouth Moose Lodge, at 601 State Road, Plymouth, at 10 a.m., returning later in the afternoon. Dinner and dancing will begin at 7 p.m. The rock band Shattered will provide the music. There will be raffles, a 50/50 drawing and door prizes. Admission is $20 per person. The fee will go to the Joe Bethune Scholarship Fund for Plymouth South High School students. Riders and their passengers must be registered before the bike run. T-shirts will be sold at the door for $5 each to riders and passengers, $10 to all others. Breakfast will be served during registration from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Call 508-224-2276 or visit www.plymouthmooselodge.org for details.

Beautiful Lengths program

The Relay for Life of Greater Plymouth is looking for people with hair of at least 8 inches and willing to contribute their long locks to help cancer patients. The hair will be cut in June at this community fundraiser to fight cancer. This effort is part of the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that provides real wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. To donate hair for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, volunteers must follow these requirements: donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long; wavy of curly hair is fine (you may straighten to measure); hair should be freshly washed and completely dry without any styling products; hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes but cannot be bleached, permanently colored or chemically treated; and hair may not be more than 5 percent gray. Students from the Cosmetology Department at Plymouth South High School will cut hair and prepare it for this national effort.

As Pantene Beautiful Lengths wigs are created, they are distributed for free through select American Cancer Society wig banks across the country. Women facing cancer can find out about the availability of a Pantene Beautiful Lengths wig by calling the American Cancer Society at 877-227-1596. ACS can also help callers with a number of resources providing educational and emotional support.

The Relay for Life of Greater Plymouth will be held June 22 and 23, at Plymouth South High School. Last year, more than 700 walkers and 125 cancer survivors participated in this important fundraiser to stop cancer. The event covers the towns of Plymouth, Carver, Kingston, Plympton and Pembroke. For details about the Relay for Life, contact either event co-chair, Pam Smith at pam@creativepear.net or 508-317-1310, or Lisa Jensen at Lmjensen2762@aol.com or 781-831-4937, or go to the local website at www.relayforlife.org/gtrplymouthma.

Pennies for Hunger

American Pennies for Hunger Inc. is an all-volunteer nonprofit foundation collecting pennies to provide food for the hungry throughout eastern Massachusetts. Cans are placed in locations throughout towns, in homes, schools, businesses or anywhere that people gather. Volunteers collect change from the cans when filled. Penny drives are also held in school, retail stores and camps. All coins are welcome. Visit americanpenniesforhunger.org or email info@americanpenniesforhunger.org for details or write to American Pennies for Hunger Inc., P.O. Box 6272, Plymouth, MA 02362.

Groups

Cape Cod Christian Women’s Connection

Cape Cod Christian Women’s Connection will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at the Canal Club, 100 Trowbridge Road, Bourne. The feature will be William “Billy” Bishop, president/CEO and director of outreach services for the nonprofit group, Homeless Not Hopeless. He will speak about an organization formed by and for the homeless. Music feature will be the singing duo, “A Father and Son,” Jalon and Dennis Fonseca from East Sandwich. The inspirational speaker, Lori Proctor, from Hatchville, will share “Filling the Inner Void.” To make your reservations, call Marla at 508-563-7709 or email ccwomensconnection@gmail.com.

Cape Cod Christian Women’s Connection usually meets at the Canal Club in Bourne (behind the Trowbridge Tavern and the Quality Inn Hotel, 100 Trowbridge Road). The purpose of the club is to provide an atmosphere of fellowship among women. Cape Cod Women’s Connection is affiliated with Stonecroft Ministries, a nonprofit, nondenominational organization based in Kansas City. Call Marla at 508-563-7709, or visit ccwomensconnection@gmail.com for details.

Plymouth Garden Club

The Plymouth Garden Club will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the Chiltonville Church, 6 River St., Plymouth. The program will be “Seasonal Dahlias, Cultivating, Care, Dividing and Storing,” presented by designer, lecturer and writer Donna Lane. Artistic design: a petite design. Horticulture: judging of daffodils and jonquils. Label your horticulture.

Visitors are welcome to the meeting for a $3 fee. If interested in becoming a member or for more information about the Garden Club, visit www.Plymouthgardenclub.org or call Mary Almeida at 508-746-9696 or email her at: mala97@ Comcast.net. The club meetings are usually the second Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. at the Chiltonville Church, 6 River St., Plymouth.

The Garden Therapy Group will next be held in May at the Golden Living Center. Date to be announced. The group will be visiting the Golden Living Nursing Home at 1 p.m. April 30 to assist the residents with making centerpieces.

The annual plant sale is scheduled for Saturday, May 19. Drop-off is from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, May 18, at the Chiltonville Church. Start planting seeds of perennials and vegetables now for the sale. Alex Pollard-Kapell is available if you need assistance with digging up plants from your yard before the sale.

Evening Garden Club

The Evening Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, at the John Alden Club, 16 Minuteman Lane, Plymouth. The program will be “Cool and Hard to Find Bulbs,” presented by Russell Stafford of Odessey Bulbs. Plants will be available for purchase. Visitors are welcome for a $5 fee.

The club usually meets at 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at the John Alden Club, 16 Minuteman Lane, Plymouth. If interested in becoming a member or for more information about the Evening Garden Club, visit www.EveningGardenclub.org or contact Jeanne Burnell at 508-747-1975.

Drum and Bugle Corps

The Standish Guards Drum and Bugle Corps will host its annual open house event from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at the VFW Post 1822, at 22 Seven Hills Road. There will be performances, instrument try-outs, refreshments and more. The event is free and open to the public. The Standish Guards Drum and Bugle Corps is a nonprofit, all-age marching arts program open to anyone regardless of age or experience. The Corps has a low cost practice fee, plays fun yet challenging songs and will perform eight to 12 times per year.

Standish Guards Percussion Ensemble took the silver medal with a season high score of 86 at the Bugler’s Hall of Fame Championship competition in Bridgeport, Conn., in April. Andy Shaw placed seventh in the most difficult event of the day, the soprano competition. The Standish Guards will be traveling to Annapolis, Md., this year for the Drum Corps Associates Championships Competition. New members are needed in brass, percussion and color guard sections. For more information, contact Director Dennis O’Neill at 781-217-5730 or email standishguards@yahoo.com.

New Plimoth Gard

In the 1600s in Plymouth every man was a soldier. Would you like to relive that experience and to demonstrate to residents and visitors what a 17th century militia was like? The New Plimoth Gard will demonstrate early Colonial military arts at special events, parades and historical celebrations, in Plymouth and beyond. With the approaching 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ landing, there will many opportunities for demonstrations and reenactments. No military or reenactor experience necessary. Learn about the weapons, armor and clothing worn by the early English settlers. The aim is to demonstrate early 17th century military practices with historical accuracy. For more information, email Steve Mattern at newplimothgard@gmail.com or visit www.newplimothgard.org.

Plymouth Woman’s Club

The Plymouth Woman’s Club meetings are now held at the Westwood Village community clubhouse, Willowbend Boulevard (off Route 80), in West Plymouth. Lunch is served at noon and business meeting begins at 1 p.m., followed by a program or guest speaker.

The Plymouth Woman’s Club usually meets once a month. All women living in Plymouth and surrounding towns interested in community service and female camaraderie are welcome to join. For more information contact Sylvia Dovner, president, at 617-778-8190 or email sdov@comcast.net.

The Plymouth Woman’s Club is planning a tribute to all women living in Plymouth and surrounding towns. Each month the club will accept nominations for the Woman of the Month Award. Deadline will be on or before the 15th of every month from now until September 2012. Monthly winners will be notified and automatically entered as finalists for the Woman of the Year Award, which will be presented to the chosen finalist at the Centennial Celebration in October 2012. Nominees should be extraordinary women who have greatly, for whatever reason, impacted the life of the nominee. Those making nominations should describe in 500 words or less what makes the nominee extraordinary and worthy of the award. Correspondence should be sent to the Plymouth Woman’s Club, P.O. Box 1508, Plymouth, MA 02362 or via email to plymouthwomansclub100@gmail.com.

Plymouth Loyal Order of Moose

The Plymouth Moose Lodge held its annual officer elections April 12. The following men, all of Plymouth, were elected: Victor Garrard (governor), Matt Thomas (junior governor), Charles Dubois (three-year trustee), Ralph Whitman (two-year trustee) and Steve Wall (prelate). Returning officers are Paul Stuart (treasurer), Steve Wilson (one-year trustee), Ray Manning (junior past governor) and Fran Kuhn (administrator). Outgoing officers Bob Donovan, Fred Sanford, Ken Fountain and Phil Karoblis were thanked for their service.

The Loyal Order of Moose, Plymouth Lodge #2485, meets the second and fourth Thursday of every month, to complete business, to determine what events to hold and what charities to sponsor. It is a fraternal service organization of men and women dedicated to caring for the young and old, bringing communities closer together and celebrating life. The lodge is at 601 State Road in Manomet. The Plymouth Moose Lodge #2485, founded in 1997, has over 560 members, and the Women of the Moose Plymouth Chapter #2218 has over 250 members. For information visit www.plymouthmooselodge.org or call the lodge at 508-224-2276.

Women of the Moose

The Plymouth Women of the Moose held its annual officer elections March 15 during the general meeting held at 601 State Road in Plymouth. The following women (all from Plymouth) were elected that evening: Sue Ellen Lincoln, senior regent; Stacey Carroll, junior regent; Cate DeCoste, secretary/treasurer; Bernadette McDonnell, recorder; Cheryl Frost, chaplain.

 The Women of the Moose meet the first and third Thursday of every month, to determine what events to hold and charities to sponsor. In the past, the Women of the Moose have held diaper collection drives, food collections for local food pantries, clothing drives, and they have raised money to battle cancer and diabetes.

The Women of the Moose Plymouth Chapter #2218, founded in 2001, has more than 250 members. The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization of men and women dedicated to caring for the young and old, bringing communities closer together and celebrating life. To find out more about the Moose fraternity, call the Plymouth Moose Lodge at 508-224-2276 or visit www.plymouthmooselodge.org.

Manomet Mystery Riders

The Manomet Mystery Riders, a family-oriented motorcycle club, meets Sundays and Thursdays (weather permitting) for rides to mystery locations. Runs originate from Gellar’s, Route 3A in Manomet, at noon Sundays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. The first Wednesday of the month, the group holds a meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the John Alden Sportsman’s Club, off Beaver Dam Road in Manomet. Visit manometmysteryriders.com for information or call the Ride Hotline at 508-224-5267.

Plymouth Fragment Society

The Plymouth Fragment Society helps Plymouth residents in need get back on their feet. To contact the society, to join or make a donation, send mail to P.O. Box 6386, Plymouth, MA 02362. The board of the Plymouth Fragment Society meets the first Tuesday of every month to review applications from Plymouth residents. The Society now has a website at plymouthfragmentsociety.org. You can request an application for financial aid by either sending mail to the address above or going online to the new site.

Ancient Order of Hibernians

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization founded in the United States to promote, foster and preserve the: culture, language, music, literature and history of the Irish people. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Once initiated as a Brother Hibernian you will be a part of the Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity that is the cornerstone of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. John J. Todd is the president of the Plymouth Division. The website is www.aohplymouth.com and the meeting location is 44 Main St., Plymouth.

 Black and White Club

The Black and White Club was established in 1885 to foster interest in art and crafts. Over the decades, the nonprofit club has supported artists and explored various art forms. Many celebrated artists have shared their crafts including basketry, knitting, rug hooking, gardening, and oil, charcoal and watercolors. Call 508-747-6003, ext. 15, for information.

Cape Cod Mayflower Decorative Artists

The Cape Cod Mayflower Decorative Artists is a local chapter of the International Society of Decorative Painters. Meetings and workshops are held the third Saturday of the month at the Little Red Schoolhouse, located at the corner of Long Pond and Herring Pond roads, Exit 2 off Route 3, in Plymouth. Visit www.decorativepainters.org for more information or call Claire Bartlett, president, at 508-866-6916, or email her at cbartlett@mobilisltd.com.

Cape Cod Glass Club

The club is open to new members and membership is not limited to Cape Cod residents. For information call Joan Marsh at 508-385-6341 or Betsy Hewlett at 508-362-6875.

Cedarville Steering Committee

The Cedarville Steering Committee meets the second Wednesday of the month. Meetings are open to the public to discuss issues and concerns of the residents of Cedarville and South Plymouth. For further information call Keven Joyce, chairman, at 508-209-0257, or email keven35jeep@aol.com.

Civil Air Patrol

The Plymouth Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol meets 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays at the Plymouth Municipal Airport located at 222 South Meadow Road, Plymouth. Meetings are open to all interested individuals and membership is open to all adults and younger persons ages 12-18. The Civil Air Patrol’s missions are to promote aerospace education, provide emergency services to the community including search and rescue, and to develop leadership qualities in the nation’s youth. For more information, call Squadron commander Maj. Robert Yeager at 508-888-5970 or access the website at www.plymouthcap.org.

Civil Air Patrol was conceived in the late 1930s by legendary New Jersey aviation advocate Gill Robb Wilson, who foresaw aviation’s role in war and general aviation’s potential to supplement America’s military operations. With the help of New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the new Civil Air Patrol was established on Dec. 1, 1941, just days before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Air Force was created as an independent armed service in 1947, and CAP was designated as its official civilian auxiliary the following year.

Cranberry Shores Chorus

Cranberry Shores Chorus, a women’s a cappella ensemble with members from Plymouth to Harwich, has rehearsals at the Federated Church of Hyannis, 320 Main St., Hyannis. Reading music not required (learning media provided). This is a wonderful opportunity to experience a cappella singing with no obligation and no cost. Call Dee at 508-778-0109 for more information, or go to www.cranberryshores.org.

Cribbage Club

Trying to organize a new ACC (American Cribbage Congress) Grass Roots Cribbage Club in the Plymouth area. If interested, call David Bowen at 508-224-2051 or email david92366@yahoo.com. You can also visit www.cribbage.org for details.

EAA Chapter 1450

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1450/Young Eagles meets the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Plymouth Municipal Airport, 246 South Meadow Road, C-9. All are welcome to join and become part of the sport of aviation. The chapter is dedicated to promoting education and providing recreational activities with an emphasis on Young Eagles (age 8-18) programs. For information, call Dick or Donna at 508-995-9272, Young Eagles coordinator Steve at 508-866-9345 or visit the EAA home page, www.eaa.org or the Young Eagles website, www.youngeagles.org. For a free copy of the newsletter, email ehloring@hotmail.com.

Elks Club

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Plymouth Lodge #1476, meets at 52 Long Pond Road. Arthur Powers Jr. is the ruler and the secretary is Joseph Scott. Call 508-746-9876 for information.

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest is a volunteer group organized to promote and conserve the natural, cultural and historic resources of Myles Standish State Forest. The Friends are dedicated to restoring and maintaining the forest and its trails for sustainable recreation, to educating themselves and others about the forest, and to promoting a healthy habitat for native plants and wildlife. Every citizen is encouraged to enjoy the forest in a manor consistent with protecting and preserving this rare and endangered ecosystem. Join friends of Myles Standish State Forest and help the forest we all love. For the latest news and scheduled events visit www.friendsmssf.com.

GATRA Consumer Advisory Committee

The GATRA Consumer Advisory Committee meets at 10 a.m. the third Wednesday of the month at the Plymouth Council on Aging in Cordage Park (10 Cordage Park Circle) in Plymouth. If you have concerns, comments or would like to be involved, you are welcome to attend. GATRA pictures are taken for those who are 60 or older or disabled, to use the Dial-A-Ride and the MBTA. If you are unable to make picture day, call the COA at 508-830-4230 to make other arrangements.

Genesis Amateur Radio Society

Genesis Amateur Radio Society is an amateur radio organization based out of the Plymouth area with meetings the last Monday of each month. Amateur radio classes are offered to anyone interested in getting into the hobby. For details visit www.genesisars.org or leave a voicemail for Joe Reynolds or Chris Johnson at 508-296-3622 or call 774-222-2542 or email education.registration@genesisars.org.

Kiwanis Club of Plymouth

The Kiwanis Club meets every Monday (excluding holidays) at 6:15 p.m. at Ernie’s Restaurant, 330 Court St., North Plymouth. Send email to: contact@plymouthkiwanis.org. It is the Kiwanis mission to change the world, one child and one community at a time. For information, mail to P.O. Box 3351, Plymouth, MA 02361, or visit www.plymouthkiwanis.org or call 508-746-3444 for directions.

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, 81 Stage Point Road, Manomet. Call Marianna Mele at 508-224-6521, or email mmele@Manomet.org for information or visit the site www.manomet.org for information about the center.

New Beginnings

Plymouth New Beginnings is a nonprofit, nonsectarian support organization for single, divorced, separated and widowed men and women. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. every Tuesday at the Plymouth United Methodist Church, 29 Carver Road, Plymouth. Call Elaine Hammond at 508-273-7031 for information.

Old Colony Young Marines

The Old Colony Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building and leadership, as well as, a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Young Marines is the focal point for the U.S. Marine Corps League Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts.

 The Old Colony Young Marines unit credo is “Discipline, Leadership, and Teamwork.” The unit has been very active in many veterans and community events including Cape Cod Cares for the Troops, the Nathan Hale Foundation, the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall, Toys for Tots, the Brockton VA hospital and local food pantries. Young Marines have the opportunity to learn many skills such as land navigation, close order drill, field survival skills, and first aid. They have been on encampments at Camp Edwards and the USS Salem, taken Blackhawk helicopter rides, gone to firing ranges, and visited Washington, D.C., to honor veterans and study American history. Check out the website at www.oldcolonyyoungmarines.com or call Staff Sergeants Covell (508-833-4409) or Stowe (508-888-8962) for more information.

Order of the Eastern Star

The Plymouth chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star meets at 7:45 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Plymouth Masonic Lodge, 116 South Meadow Road. Eastern Star is a charitable organization for women with a Masonic affiliation and Master Masons. Contact Doris Rowell, chapter secretary, at 508-224-3411 or visit www.oesplymouth.org for information.

Order of Rainbow for Girls

The Plymouth Assembly #86 International Order of Rainbow for Girls, open to girls aged 11 to 20 years, meets at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at the Plymouth Masonic Lodge, 116 South Meadow Road. There is also a pledge group open to girls aged 9 to 11. For information, call Carol Machado at 508-746-9418, or email plymassembly86@aol.com.

Plymouth Aero Club

The Plymouth Aero Club meets in the town hangar at Plymouth Municipal Airport, South Meadow Road, at 6:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of February, March, April, May, June, September and October. The club promotes aviation safety and education. Newcomers are welcome to join the pre-meeting dinners at $12 per person, or just attend to hear the speakers at 8 p.m. Reserve a place for dinner by calling Sue McManus in advance, 508-888-8425. For information or to request applications contact the Plymouth Aero Club, Plymouth Municipal Airport, 246 South Meadow Road, Plymouth, MA 02360, or send email to pymaeroclub@hotmail.com.

Plymouth Beach for All Coalition

The Plymouth Beach for All Coalition is a citizen activist group of Plymouth residents. Its mission is to promote a healthy balance of fair public access and reasonable wildlife protection on Plymouth Long Beach for all of Earth’s creatures. For more information, email PlymouthBeachForAll@gmail.com or write to Plymouth Beach for All Coalition, PO Box 1704, Plymouth, MA 02362, or call Belinda Brewster, PBAC, 508-732-9900.

Plymouth Cordage Historical Society

The Plymouth Cordage Historical Society was formed to collect, preserve and disseminate the historical record and artifacts of the Plymouth Cordage Company, once the largest rope-making company in the world, and of North Plymouth, the community which grew up around it. Besides regular meetings and presentations, the Society maintains a small museum of artifacts located at Cordage Park. It is open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and is accessed through the tower entrance of the main building. For further information, call Ellen Remlinger or Bill Rudolph at 508-746-7707. The Society usually meets the second Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the museum, except during the summer.

PCDL

The Plymouth County Democratic League’s regular meeting schedule is the fourth Monday of each month. For more information, visit the PDTC website at www.plymouthdemocrats.org or call PDTC Chairman Bill Keohan at 508-789-5012.

Plymouth Digital Photographers Club

The Plymouth Digital Photography Club is open to anyone who loves photography, regardless of age or ability. The year-old photo club has 470 members and is growing. There are no fees for any of the events, which take place all over the Plymouth area and beyond on a weekly basis. Get details, locations and signup information online at www.meetup.com/PlymouthPhotographers/. Or email Amy Davies at amydav@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Plymouth Hadassah

The Plymouth Area Chapter of Hadassah invites all women to learn about this volunteer women’s Jewish organization that touches so many lives, in both Israel and America. The group offers a wide variety of education, social and advocacy programs. For information, contact Myra at 508-965-8810 or email Hadassah.Plymouth@comcast.net.

Plymouth Lions Club

Elimination of blindness throughout the world is the mission of Lions Clubs International. To learn how your participation can benefit the community, join the local Plymouth Lions Club. For additional information, contact Chip Anderson, membership chairman, at 508-746-8777 or chip@powderhornpress.com. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. every Thursday at Mamma Mia’s Restaurant, 122 Water St., Plymouth. All proceeds from fundraising projects support the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund, Perkins School for the Blind and local needs. The Lions’ motto, “We serve,” is symbolized in the community by local fundraising activity like the Lions Radio Days (WATD), Lions golf tournament, car wash, holiday raffle, pancake breakfast and many other efforts supporting Lions charities.

Plymouth Medical Reserve Corps

The Town of Plymouth’s Medical Reserve Corps is community-based and functions as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources. If interested, call Heidie Hogan at 508-747-5050, email plymouthmrc@msn.com or go to www.medicalreservecorps.gov for more information.

Plymouth No Place for Hate committee

The Plymouth No Place for Hate committee generally meets the second Thursday of each month in Town Hall, 11 Lincoln St., at 6:30 p.m. The committee of volunteers appointed by the Board of Selectmen addresses issues of prejudice in Plymouth. The committee appreciates community and business support. Call the Plymouth Board of Selectmen at 508-747-1620, ext. 100, or send email to plymouthNPFH@gis.net for information. The group’s website is www.plymouthnoplaceforhate.org.

Plymouth Rock Stamp Club

The Plymouth Rock Stamp Club, for both experienced and inexperienced collectors, usually meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., Plymouth, upstairs in the boardroom. Visitors are welcome. Call Deb Brock at 781-585-3324 or Dina Furlong at 781-582-1827 for information.

Plymouth Women of the Moose

Plymouth Women of the Moose, Chapter #2218, is part of the Plymouth Lodge, Loyal Order of Moose and is located at 601 State Road in Plymouth. Women of the Moose is a unit of Moose International, with more than 400,000 women throughout North America, and more than 200 members in Plymouth. Members in Plymouth completed numerous community service activities throughout the last year including knitting/crocheting baby hats for Jordan’s “A Gift for Every Baby” program; crocheting an afghan to raffle off and donate proceeds to Cranberry Hospice; “Spring Clean your Closet” Clothing Drive for Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless and for the disabled veterans. The group bases its foundation on hope, charity and faith. For information about the Loyal Order of Moose and the Women of the Moose in Plymouth, call 508-224-2276 or visit the website at www.plymouthmooselodge.org.

Pug owners

The South of Boston Pug Meetup Group is a group of pug owners who meet once a month to exchange information and allow pugs to play together. For information and/or directions, email Sharon at pugpeople@gmail.com or call 508-866-2429.

REAM

The Retired Educators Association of Massachusetts, established in 1948, is an organization for retired teachers, nurses and support staff. A chapter encompassing all towns and cities in Plymouth County meets twice each year in Halifax. Call Patricia at 781-585-5434 (evenings only) with questions.

Rotary Club

The Rotary Club of Plymouth was chartered in 1940 and today, with more than 100 dedicated members, practices the Rotary International motto: “Service Above Self.” Members participate in the club’s annual auction on PACTV over three days each spring. All proceeds support scholarships for local high school graduates, as well as funding important community projects for the Boys Girls Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Jordan Hospital, Plymouth Public Library, local historical societies and many other local programs. The Rotary Club meets every Monday at 12:15 p.m. at the John Carver Inn on Summer Street in Plymouth. For more information or to join Rotary, contact Club President Tom Small at 508-746-2800 or go to www.plymouthrotary.com.

Simes House Foundation

The Simes House Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit corporation created to engage in restoring, preserving, maintaining and operating the Simes House and its grounds, located at 29 Manomet Point Road, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town of Plymouth.

Southeastern Mass. Mineral Club

The Southeastern Massachusetts Mineral Club, a nonprofit organization, meets the second Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the South Shore Natural Science Center at 48 Jacobs Lane in Norwell.

South Coastal Chapter Order of DeMolay

South Coastal Chapter Order of DeMolay meets twice a month at the Daniel Webster Lodge, 420 Furnace St., Marshfield. DeMolay is an international service organization for young men age 12-21. For information visit the site www.mademolay.org or call Carol Machado at 508-746-9418.

South Shore Genealogy

The South Shore Genealogical Society is open to all South Shore residents. For information, call Lorraine Roberts at 781-871-4356.

South Shore Singles

South Shore Singles is a club for those ages 45 and up. For information, call 781-331-0021 or visit www.southshoresingles.org.

Sunrise Rotary Club

The Plymouth Rotary Sunrise Club meets every Monday morning at 7 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 103 Long Pond Road (at Exit 5) in Plymouth for breakfast meetings. The club is very involved with the community, donating both time and money to groups of various kinds. Call Lisa Braun at 508-272-9642 if you have any questions.

Toastmasters

South Shore Soliloquy: The South Shore Soliloquy Toastmasters club meets each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Kingston library and provides the opportunity for members to master public speaking and learn leadership skills in a friendly, supportive, club environment. Guests are always welcome and do not need to preregister to attend. Visit soliloquy.freetoasthost.com or call president, Greg Milewski at 781-934-2053 or email him at gregkicks@aol.com for information.

Middleborough: The Middleboro chapter of Toastmasters is open to anyone over the age of 18 who would like to improve their communication skills. New meeting and time: At the office of Cirelli Foods, 30 Commerce Blvd., Middleborough, every second and fourth Wednesday, 7-8:30 p.m. Call 508-946-8986 or 508-583-2579 for information.

Women’s support

Domestic violence support groups for women are held in Plymouth, Tuesday and Thursday mornings and evenings. Other groups are available. Call South Shore Women’s Resource Center, 508-746-2664 for information. There are also specialized older women services available, including group support.

Reunions

PHS Class of 1960

The Plymouth High School Class of 1960 will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at Ernie’s Restaurant, at 330 Court St., Plymouth.

SLHS Class of 1962

The Silver Lake High School Class of 1962 is planning its 50th class reunion, to be held June 2 at Monponsett Inn in Halifax. A notice has been sent to classmates and attendance information will also be mailed. Anyone interested in the event is asked to get in touch with the reunion committee. Call John Shea at 781-293-6691 or Dana Hirst at 978-470-1631 or email jsheama@aol.com or DanaHirst@aol.com for details.

PCHS Class of 1967

The Plymouth Carver Class of 1967 will hold its 45th reunion Aug. 10-12. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, there will be a casual dress cocktail party at the South Meadow Village Club House, on Ward Street, off South Meadow Road in Carver. Take along your own refreshments and snacks. Alcohol is allowed. This event is free.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, the class is invited to a tour of the new Plymouth North High School, which has been recently built on the grounds of PCHS on Obery Street in Plymouth. This event is free.

From 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, there will be a New England Clambake at Southers Marsh Country Club, owned by classmate Will Stearns, on Federal Furnace Road in Plymouth. There is a choice of lobster or steak, which should be chosen and sent with your registration for the event. Cost of the clambake is $50 per person. Entertainment that night will be an open mike. There are many talented classmates out there, who have found their talents, or blossomed in their skills since high school. The class would like to hear from you.

Throughout the reunion there will be a silent auction and raffles, proceeds to benefit the Class of 1967 scholarships for the 50th reunion year. If you have something you can donate for the raffle, email PCHS1967@hotmail.com. If you would like to contribute to the scholarship fund now, send your check to PCHS Class of 1967, P.O. Box 185, Carver, MA 02330.

Sunday, Aug. 12, there will be golf at Southers Marsh Country Club on Federal Furnace Road in Plymouth.

Registration, payment and meal choices are due July 20, 2012. All activities are casual. Rooms are reserved at the Comfort Inn, 155 Samoset St., Plymouth (508-746-2800). Mention the Class of PCHS 1967 to receive the discounted rate. Also, rooms are reserved at Pilgrim Sands Motel, Warren Avenue, Plymouth (508-746-8066). Mention the Class of 1967 and receive a 10 percent discount. Room reservations are suggested by May 1, as this is Plymouth’s busy tourist season. Members of the class can register at Classreport.org and learn important information about the reunion and class members. Registration forms and more information can be received by emailing PCHS1967@hotmail.com.

PCHS Class of 1982

The Plymouth-Carver Class of 1982 will hold its 30-year reunion from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at Plimoth Plantation. For more information, send email to pchsclassof1982@gmail.com or find the class page on Facebook.

SLHS Class of 1977

The Silver Lake High School Class of 1977 will celebrate its 35th class reunion from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Monponsett Inn in Halifax. For information visit the SLRHS Class of 1977 Facebook page or email silverlake1977@yahoo.com.

Services

First Time Homebuyer Seminar

The Plymouth Redevelopment Authority, sponsored by Citizens Bank, will hold a First Time Homebuyer Seminar May 3, 10 and 17, at Plymouth Town Hall, 11 Lincoln St., Plymouth. Participants will receive the confidence and tools to pursue their goal of homeownership. By attending this workshop you will qualify and become certified for MassHousing First Time Homebuyer Loan Program including lower rates and down payment. This certification opens the doors for income eligible participants to apply for mortgage programs that have lower interest rates and other lender enhancements.

The workshop consists of three evenings, from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursdays, May 3, 10 and 17. A mortgage banker, real estate broker, home inspector and lawyer will assist in presenting materials that will provide participants with up to date information on the homebuying process. Space is limited. The class fee is $40 per household. All participants will receive a free credit report and may choose to be prequalified by the sponsor, Citizens Bank. To preregister or if you have questions, call 508-747-1620, ext. 147, or visit the site www.plymouthredevelopment.org.

Hazardous waste collections

South Shore Recycling Cooperative member towns will host household hazardous waste collections this spring. Residents may attend their own town’s event at no charge.

Collections are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 pm. as follows.

May 5: Duxbury Middle School, Saint George Street, with Kingston

May 19: Hingham, Plymouth River School, 200 High St.

June 2: Plymouth DPW, 169 Camelot Drive

June 16: Scituate Highway Dept., Capt. Pierce Road, with Cohasset

Residents of those towns and of member towns Abington, Middleboro, Norwell, Rockland and Whitman may attend other member towns’ collections at their own town’s expense. To do so, request and bring a signed authorization form from your town’s Health or Public Works Department. Some towns may limit subsidized quantities to 15 gallons or 30 pounds. Visitors from any town without permission may attend for a fee of $43 per 15 gallons or 30 pounds of waste. Commercial generators may call ahead to 781-879-4435 to arrange disposal and payment.

Take oil based paint, stains, solvents, gasoline, automotive fluids, pesticides, photography and pool chemicals, acids, bases, and poisons in secure, labeled containers. Do not take industrial, pathological and medical waste, radioactive materials, pressurized gas cylinders or explosives. Oil based paint, propane tanks, motor oil, antifreeze, auto and rechargeable batteries, and fluorescent lamps are collected regularly by some towns and some retailers. Residents should use those services if available. Go to ssrcoop.info for details.

Latex paint and driveway sealer are messy, but not hazardous. If not recyclable as described below, dry with absorbent material and dispose with trash (keep lid off). Usable leftover latex paint will be collected and recycled into new paint products at locations near HHW events by The Paint Exchange LLC of North Scituate. These pilot collections are made possible by a grant provided by MassDEP. For locations, and to see if your paint qualifies for recycling, go to ssrcoop.info/, click on “latex paint,” or call 781-329-8318.

Residents who turn in a toxic mercury thermometer, thermostat or other mercury item may swap it for a digital thermometer. Sponsored by Covanta at SEMASS. PSC Environmental will conduct the collections. For more information and directions, call the South Shore Recycling Cooperative at 781-329-8318, or go to ssrcoop.info.

Latex paint collections

Latex paint (as opposed to oil based, or “alkyd” paint, and stain) is messy but not hazardous. Until recently, residents were advised to absorb the liquid with cat litter to keep it from dripping out of the trash truck, then dispose of it with household trash. (Paint should never be poured down any drain, unless you want an excuse to call your plumber.) This year, usable latex paint has a chance for a second “life.” Thanks to a grant from the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection in 2011, the South Shore Recycling Cooperative is partnering with The Paint Exchange LLC of Scituate on a pilot paint recycling program. Last year 1,000 gallons of good paint was diverted from the incinerator at 12 collections. This has saved member towns thousands in disposal costs. Five collection events have been scheduled this spring at which usable latex interior paint will be collected for recycling.

“Usable” paint is interior latex paint in the original container with label, one gallon size or greater (no quarts, please). There is a limit of 15 gallons per household. Before taking it in, dust off and pop the lid. Check that the following have not occurred: mold or mildew growth, a foul odor (putrification), solidification or skinning (if the paint is solid or overly thick it cannot be recycled) or curdling (semi-solid lumps of paint). If any of these things have occurred, stir in some kitty litter, leave the lid off, put it in a bag and dispose with your trash. If your paint passes muster, The Paint Exchange (TPE) will accept it from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the following locations. TPE also accepts usable paint at its Scituate storefront for a charge of $2/can. Visit the website www.RecycleReuseRepaint.com, or call 781-545-1272 for more information.

May 12: Kingston Highway Garage, 32 Evergreen St.

May 19: Hingham Transfer Station, Sam Ryder Road (off Hobart Street)

June 16: Scituate Transfer Station, 280 Driftway

TPE strains, batches, processes and repackages high quality, beautifully colored “reColor” paints. The product is available for sale at well below the cost of “virgin” paint at the Welch Company in Scituate, and at Boston Building Resources. ReColor paint is on the walls at Abington High School and the Nathaniel Morton School in Plymouth (and in the SSRCdirector’s living room). Residents of member towns Abington, Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Kingston, Middleboro, Norwell, Plymouth, Rockland, Scituate, Weymouth and Whitman are urged to make the choice to recycle their good quality interior latex paint, and keep the cycle going by using reColor paint. Visit ssrcoop.info for more information.

Donation café now open

The All are Welcome Community Kitchen and Bakery is open for breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays. This weekly meal is open to the general public. All Are Welcome is a donation café, where all meals are available on a “pay-as-you-can” basis. Guests can donate all, a portion or nothing towards the suggested amounts posted on the menu board. Those who are unable to make a contribution are invited to donate their time, either at the kitchen or around the community. Each week guests can choose from a selection of breakfast specials, hot cereal, fresh fruits and scratch-baked breads and muffins. The café is located inside the Church of Our Savior parish hall at 60 Union St., Middleborough. For more information call All Are Welcome at 508-443-0243 or visit the website at www.allarewelcome.us. This program is sponsored by the Church of Our Savior, Episcopal.

National Megan’s Law Helpline

The National Megan’s Law Helpline, 888-ASK-PFML (888-275-7365), is available to provide support to communities on issues related to accessing sex offender registration information; responsible use of information; sexual abuse prevention resources; and accessing crime victim support services. Parents for Megan’s Law (PFML) staff provide assistance to the community in accessing their state sex offender registries and prevention specialists provide support to parents and community members to assist in their sexual abuse prevention education strategies. Certified rape crisis counselors are available to support all victims of violent crime and to provide geographically appropriate referrals.

The Sex Offender Registration Tips Program provides the public an opportunity to report registrants who are failing to comply with registration requirements, employment or supervision restrictions or who are in positions of trust where they can access children. Tips can be provided via the Helpline or website at www.parentsformeganslaw.org. This program is not intended to be used to report police emergencies. Dial 911 or contact your local law enforcement agency directly for emergencies. Agency deputized staff work collaboratively with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to facilitate the appropriate follow-up action.

Project Bread food source hotline

Call 800-645-8333 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 am. to 2 p.m. Saturday for the Project Bread hotline. Counselors refer callers to emergency food resources in their community as well as provide them with information about school meals, summer food sites for kids, elder meals programs, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

WIC

WIC (Women, Infants and Children) is a nutrition program that provides health education, healthy food and other services free of charge to Massachusetts families who qualify. Its goal is to keep pregnant and breast-feeding women and kids under 5 healthy by providing nutrition consultations and vouchers to buy healthy food. The Plymouth WIC is located at 123-1 Camelot Drive. Call 508-747-4933 for information. There are also area offices in Middleboro 508-946-0632, Wareham 508-295-0056, Rockland 781-878-0669 and a new office in Marshfield 781-834-8980.

Pet adoption

The Plymouth animal shelter, located on Route 3A in Cedarville next to the fire station, has a variety of dogs and cats in need of homes. The shelter offers adoptions seven days a week by appointment. You can see photos of animals currently up for adoption and information on the website petfinder.com. Call 508-888-1186 for information.

Spay Waggin’ at Petco

The Animal Rescue League of Boston is expanding its Spay Waggin’ services to southeastern Massachusetts. The Spay Waggin’ provides subsidized spay and neuter services to pet owners in financial need and makes monthly scheduled stops throughout the South Shore and Cape Cod to perform surgeries on an appointment-only basis.

The Spay Waggin’ was made possible by the Grace and Elliot Marks Endowment Fund. The bequest limited low cost pet spay/neuter services to only Cape Cod. The ARL of Boston worked with the Attorney General and the Barnstable Probate Court to expand the use of the endowment fund in order to purchase a new vehicle and provide services in Southeastern Massachusetts as well as on the Cape. The Spay Waggin’ team is led by Martha Smith, DVM, Director of Veterinary Medical Services of the ARL of Boston.

Spay Waggin’ services include: physical exam, spay (females) or neuter (males), rabies vaccine, distemper vaccine, flea and ear mite treatment (if necessary) and nail trim. Cats should be between 2 months and 5 years of age, and dogs should be between 2 months and 5 years of age and not weighing more than 60 pounds. The price is $100 per cat and $200 per dog. For additional information or to make an appointment, call the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s Spay Waggin’ at 877-590-SPAY or visit www.arlboston.org/sw. Appointments must be prepaid at the time of scheduling with MasterCard or Visa credit, debit or prepaid card.

Women’s center

The South Shore Women’s Center provides comprehensive domestic-violence intervention and prevention. Groups for children and women are offered in Plymouth, Hingham, Kingston and Middleboro. Call 781-582-0078.

Proper flag disposal

Take your flag to a town transfer station or to the Veterans office at town hall for disposal. The Veterans of Foreign Wars will assure that proper procedure is followed. For information, call 508-830-4160 or email mfarrell@townhall.plymouth.ma.us.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment. WDCS has an office at 7 Nelson St., Plymouth, 888-MYWHALE (888-699-4253) or 508-746-2522. Visit www.whales.org for information.

Food pantry at Zion

The food pantry of the Zion Lutheran Church, 384 Court St., is now open the second and last Saturday of the month for nonperishable food. The hours are from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Food distribution

The Little Red Schoolhouse on Herring Pond Road in Cedarville will be now be open from 4 to 6 p.m. the first and third Thursdays as well as from 10 a.m. to noon the second and last Saturdays of the month for food distribution and donations for the Greater Plymouth Food Warehouse. Call Jean Johnson for additional information, at 508-397-2322.

Veterans

Memorial Day parade

The Memorial Day parade in Plymouth will start promptly at 9:30 a.m. Monday, May 28, at Shirley Square. Participants are to start formation directly on North Street at 9 a.m. There will be free parking only until noon. The parade marshal will be Dale Whitbeck and emcee will be Roxanne Whitbeck. Participating this year will be honored guests, the Royal Canadian Legionnaires of Georgetown, Ontario. The guest speakers will be the Gutowski family.

The parade will proceed north on Route 3A and stop at the Korean/Vietnam Memorial on the lawn of the Courthouse. After a wreath laying ceremony, the parade will proceed to Memorial Hall for a wreath laying ceremony at the World War II Memorial, then proceed onto Route 44, stopping in the Vinehills/Oak Grove cemetery for a wreath ceremony. The parade will go down Summer Street and towards the Town Brook Bridge World War I Memorial for a wreath ceremony, then onto the Training green for a wreath ceremony. In case of inclement weather, the ceremonies will take place in Memorial Hall at 10:30 a.m. Call the Veterans’ Services office at 508-747-1620, ext. 173, if you have any questions.

American Legion Post 40

Sunday, June 17: Post 40 will hold a Father’s Day family fishing derby at Little West Pond by Post 40, at 199 Federal Furnace Road. Take a kid fishing and support the Post, from 6 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 17, rain or shine. The charge is $5 for age 16 and under and $10 for over 16. Support the Ladies Auxiliary with a $6 hot breakfast served that day. Lunch will also be available. Tons of high quality fishing equipment will be awarded as prizes. Sponsors include Dicks Sporting Goods, Entergy Nuclear, NStar Electric, Kallio Cranberry, Southers Marsh Golf, Griffith Cranberry, Decas Cranberry, Kapell Cranberry and MassWildlife. To make a donation or for more information on the derby, call Dan at 774-454-8287.

Construction is underway on the new Plymouth American Legion Post 40 building. American Legion meetings are held at VFW Post as follows: American Legion general meeting at 8 p.m. the first Thursday of the month; A.L. Auxiliary meeting at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of the month; A.L. Riders meeting at 7:30 p.m. the third Thursday of the month; A.L. Color Guard at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Thursday of the month. Check www.alpost40.org or call 508-746-0009 for details. The American Legion Post 40 is proud to share its museum room located at Memorial Hall in downtown Plymouth. If a group (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, schools, etc.) would like to explore and view the room, call Past Commander Charlie Vroom at 508-326-9249. The room is full of artifacts as far back as the Civil War and before. Donations are most welcomed and appreciated.

VFW Post 1822 Ladies Auxiliary

Congratulations to the new VFW Post 1822 Ladies Auxiliary 2012-2013 officers. They take over after the state convention in Mansfield. New officers are as follows: Susanne Best, president; Toni Schofield, senior vice president; Fay Rossi, junior vice president; Mary Bell, chaplain; Vicky Weidner, treasurer; Melissa Pratt, secretary; Louise Knight, patriotic instructor; Cathy Pratt, conductress; Barbara Malone, guard; Mildred Tompkins, trustee, three years; Cindy Legge, trustree, two years; Fay Rossi, trustee, one year.

Plymouth Memorial VFW Post 1822 Ladies Auxiliary meets at the post headquarters, 22 Seven Hills Road, the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. The membership fee is $25 to join, then $20 a year. The Auxiliary gives flags to schools, nursing homes, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops. The auxiliary consists of wives, sisters, mothers, aunts or daughters of servicemen who serve overseas. The Post and Auxiliary provide upkeep for memorials and hold ceremonies honoring veterans on remembrance and patriotic days and parades. Members send boxes to servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq, do volunteer work in medical centers, donate clothes to homeless veterans, send cards to veterans at Walter Reed hospitals and Brockton V.A. and help hospitalized and deployed veterans keep in touch with families through Operation Uplink cell phones. In the community, members also help with Boy Scouts, the Children’s Christmas Fund and many other projects. The Ladies Auxiliary goes to the Brockton VA Hospital at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month.

Employment assistance

Attention, veterans: If you are unemployed or underemployed, contact Mike Kelley, your local veterans employment representative, stationed at the Plymouth Career Center, 36 Cordage Park Circle, Suite 200, Plymouth (www.plymouthcareercenter.org). He will provide you with personalized job search assistance, a veterans networking group and access to his “Vet Net Plymouth” Group on LinkedIn. The Career Center provides a multitude of workshops staffed by job search professionals. Kelley works for the state of Massachusetts, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and currently services unemployed vets in Plymouth, Carver, Middleborough, Plympton, Halifax, Kingston, Duxbury, Pembroke, Marshfield, Hanover, Rockland, Norwell and Scituate. Call him at 508-732-5309 to schedule an appointment. “Veteran helping veterans” is what he is all about.

Veterans Center

Attention, veterans: If you own a business or if you are a prospective business owner, get firsthand assistance with your business, business plan, funding sources etc., through the Southeastern Massachusetts Veterans Center for Business and Entrepreneurship, based at the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce at 134 Court St. in Plymouth. The phone number is 508-830-1620. For more information visit the link www.plymouthareabusinesscenter.com/southeastern_ma_veterans_center_for_business_entrepreneurship.

Plymouth Veterans Council

The Plymouth Veterans Council usually meets the first Sunday of the month at noon at Plymouth Memorial Hall, 83 Court St. The council is made up of the American Legion Post 40, VFW Post 1822, DAV Chapter 72, Paralyzed Veterans of New England, Sea Bees Island. The Council works closely with the Plymouth Veterans Agent on all issues pertaining to veterans, veterans’ memorials and parades in Plymouth. All veterans are welcomed at these meetings.

Veterans Services in Plymouth

Veterans Services in Plymouth helps to care for and assist low income Plymouth veterans, unemployed veterans, homeless veterans, and spouses of veterans in obtaining financial assistance for food, shelter, clothing, fuel, and medical care from all sources available under both federal and Massachusetts General Laws to which they are entitled. Spouses of deceased veterans are provided with the same benefits as if the veteran were still living. Veterans may receive assistance in filing Veterans Administration (VA) compensation claims, VA pension claims, MA state annuities, tax abatements and enrolling in the VA health care system. Family members are assisted in filing for benefits from both the state and federal government that they are entitled to.

Veterans Services assists in obtaining military records, medical records, discharge papers, awards, grave markers, and tax abatements. There are two trained SHINE counselors to assist veterans in the complicated process of understanding the Medicare system to help them choose the best options in medical coverage, drug prescription plans, and how long-term care works. Services are also provided in assisting the elderly in applying for the Medicare buy-in program, MassHealth, low-income subsidy and Prescription Advantage. Veterans may obtain assistance that specific to elderly veterans such as adult daycare and home health care working through VA social workers and Old Colony Elderly Services.

The division continues to assist all veterans regardless of income with assistance in obtaining wheelchairs, power chairs, ramps, adjustable beds, and anything else that is a quality of life issue for veterans through a network of veterans agents around the state. It also assists all veterans and family members regardless of income on other avenues of approach that may be available to them like Social Security or Department of Labor programs. Plymouth serves all veterans and their families the best it can regardless of income. For additional information or to schedule an appointment call 508-747-1620, ext. 173 or 172. The office is in Plymouth Town Hall, 11 Lincoln St., and hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday.

DAV Chapter 72

The Disabled American Veterans Chapter #72 meets at 10 a.m. the third Saturday of the month at Memorial Hall, 83 Court St., Plymouth. All disabled veterans and their close relatives (men can now join the auxiliary) are welcome to attend. The DAV room at Memorial Hall in Plymouth is also open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. If you have any questions in regard to your eligibility for benefits, there is a service officer available to answer your questions or you are welcome to just stop by and say hello. Contact Chapter Commander Larry Rooney at 508-746-4541 or Erich Scharath, treasurer, at 508-746-7497.

The DAV Auxiliary is open to membership for male or female relatives of a disabled American veteran injured in time of war or a conflict (grandparents, parents, spouses, brothers and sisters, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, widows and their children or children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of an Auxiliary member as well as a DAV member). The work of the Auxiliary is to encourage legislation for the veterans, volunteer at the VA hospitals and soldiers’ homes, help the families of a disabled or deceased veteran, and see that the veterans get the benefits promised them as well as decent medical care. If you are eligible to join the Auxiliary and would like to help meet these goals, attend the meeting or call 508-746-7497 for an application for the Auxiliary or for a contact person for the DAV. The DAV is open for veterans disabled in time of war or conflict.

Plymouth VFW Post 1822

Plymouth VFW Memorial Post 1822 is a National Community Service award winning post. Post 1822 meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at the VFW Post 1822, 22 Seven Hills Road, Plymouth, at 8 p.m., followed by a collation directly after the meeting. Eligible veterans and transfers are encouraged to apply for membership. The men’s auxiliary meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. and the executive board meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. The function hall is available for rental for any special occasion. Call Denise Bratti for details at 508-746-8961 or email VFWPost1822@comcast.net.

The post welcomes Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard service members, deploying to eligible overseas deployments, to consider using the hall for pre or post deployment gatherings at no charge. All such requests should be sent to the Board of Directors for approval. Look for information about activities on the site www.plymouthVFW1822.org. These activities include function hall events and other fun social gatherings that allow the members and auxiliaries of VFW Post 1822 to provide support to our valued veterans and the community at large.

Some of the work the Post does includes sponsorship of the Boy Scouts of America, children’s sports, CARE packages and cell phones for service men and women overseas. The Post’s Honor Guard may be available for special events and/or ceremonies. Contact the Post Commander with requests.

Nathan Hale Foundation

The Nathan Hale Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501c3 organization, located at 6 Main Street Extension, in Plymouth, 508-747-2003. Its focus is to assist troops and their families who face personal, professional and financial hardships. Its Troops in Transit program assists with transporting local veterans, free, to and from the V.A. hospitals in the area. The Nathan Hale Veterans Outreach Centers provide free services to veterans, active duty military and their families throughout the entire year. This year, with the implementation of their newest program, a food pantry, the Nathan Hale Veterans Outreach Centers were able to provide military families with a little extra help around the holidays. The centers offer free transportation services to VA hospitals, a food pantry, mental health counseling, a resource center, case management services and Hale to the Arts, a therapeutic arts program.

The Nathan Hale Veterans Outreach Centers have locations in Plymouth and at 25 Wareham St., Middleborough, and have been serving Plymouth County’s veterans for more than five years. The 501c3, nonprofit organization receives both private funding and funding from the state of Massachusetts, and is the only Veterans Outreach Center in Middleborough that is approved by the state. For more information on how to become involved in the programs, or to make a tax-deductible donation, call 508-747-2003 or 508-923-0900 or visit www.thenathanhaleveteransoutreachcenterplymouthma.com.

Hale to the Arts

The Nathan Hale Foundation offers a new arts program for veterans, including classes in painting and photography along with yoga, karate and massage therapy. Art and photography classes are offered Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. Other classes will be offered on an ongoing basis. Classes and materials are free for veterans. The Foundation welcomes volunteers to assist with this program. The Nathan Hale Foundation is located at 6 Main Street Extension, in Plymouth. Call 508-747-2003 for more information.

Submit war hero photos

The people of the state of Massachusetts suffered among the greatest number of losses in the Vietnam War, sacrificing 1,336 servicemen and servicewomen in combat. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s mission to honor these heroes continues with the National Call for Photos, a movement to collect photos of the more than 58,000 service members inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (“The Wall”) in Washington, DC. When collected, all photos will be displayed for generations to come at The Education Center at The Wall, a place on our National Mall where our military heroes’ stories and sacrifice will never be forgotten. VVMF urges the citizens of Massachusetts to assist the National Call for Photos by submitting photographs of fallen service-members and generously supporting the Education Center, ensuring that the sacrifices of our military heroes are never forgotten. Generous support from volunteers, fellow service members, family, and friends is still needed in order to gather the remaining 841 photos necessary to honor our heroes from Massachusetts for display at The Education Center. For details, visit www.vvmf.org or www.buildthecenter.org or call 866-990-WALL.

Navy Seabee veterans

Navy Seabee Veterans of America Island X-7 of Plymouth is seeking active duty, reserve, retired or Seabees who left the military after a short tour. Island X-7 Plymouth meets the first Monday of each month at 8 p.m. at VFW Post 1822, Seven Hills Road, Plymouth. For more information, contact Ron Flockton at 781-789-4425 or papafrog3@verizon.net or Robert Graser at 774-454-4309 or oldmcb10seabee@yahoo.com.

Send books to troops

If you know a Plymouth resident who is currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces overseas, the local organization, Got Books, will be happy to send them a care package full of books. Got Books is looking for servicemen and women from Plymouth and the surrounding area to receive books. Packages will be sent to local service members with plenty of books to enjoy and to share with friends in their unit.

Got Books founder and former Marine Bob Ticehurst began the program as a means of giving back to the local community and the military that he once served. “Being able to give these books to men and women who are fighting for us is so gratifying. We want to do anything we can to make their time overseas more enjoyable,” he said.

This program provides local troops with engaging and high-quality books to read while serving in the military. Got Books will handpick the books, ensuring that every one will be appropriate and pleasing to its recipient. The books will typically be small paperbacks which are lighter and easier to carry. Got Books sorts, selects, and ships all book packages so there is no cost incurred by other involved parties.

To submit the name and address of a Plymouth resident overseas, visit www.GotBooks.com/troops. To donate books or find out more about Got Books visit www.GotBooks.com or call 978-396-6026.

Sons of American Revolution

The Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution announced the opening of the Plymouth Chapter, the eighth member society of the MASSAR. William E. Battles III, USMC, president of the Massachusetts Society, will serve as the chapter’s first president. The Plymouth Chapter, known as the “the Blue Water Patriots” Chapter of the Massachusetts Sons of the American Revolution, is dedicated to the memory of the founding of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps in 1775 and will showcase the many contributions made during the American Revolution. The Chapter will form a Color Guard featuring both a Navy and Marine Corps Unit and a Militia Unit. The units, dressed in authentic Revolutionary War uniforms, will organize commemorative and wreath-laying ceremonies for Revolutionary Patriots. The Color Guard will also participate in civic and patriotic observances and present programs in elementary schools on the history of the flag and the units they represent. The chapter welcomes members, 18 years or older, who can prove lineal descendant of an ancestor who rendered active service in the cause of American independence as well as “associate members” who wish to participate in the chapter without qualifying by lineage. Anyone interested in the chapter’s activities and/or American history is welcome. Visit www.massar.org for details.

Operation Comfort Warriors

The American Legion family is calling on all Americans to help purchase comfort items for troops recovering in U.S. military hospitals and warrior transition units around the world through its Operation Comfort Warriors campaign. “The government does a good job of providing the essentials,” American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein said. “Through Operation Comfort Warriors we have been able to provide items that usually don’t appear in the budget, such as personal sweatsuits, iPods, DVDs, phone calling cards and other comfort items. The American Legion family is challenging its members, friends and, in fact, all people, to give to those who have already given us so much. These gifts provide welcome distractions to the tediousness that often accompanies prolonged hospital stays.” Donors can make online contributions by visiting www.legion.org/ocw or by sending a check to Operation Comfort Warriors, PO Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206. Administrative and promotional costs for Operation Comfort Warriors are paid by The American Legion, allowing 100 percent of the donations to be spent directly on the troops. With a current membership of 2.6-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

VetsFirst

United Spinal Association’s online veterans help center, Ask VetsFirst (www.VetsFirst.org), is an interactive gateway to information on a host of subjects of interest to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. VetsFirst.org also includes a listing of VetsFirst’s national veterans service officers, an online library with “Knowledge Books,” fact sheets and self-help guides, such as the “Active Duty Personnel Pre-separation Guide” and the “Self-help Guide for Veterans with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders.” VetsFirst has always provided direct representation to individual veterans and their families; legal representation in federal court appeals of claims denied by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), legislative advocacy before Congress and advocacy for the entire veteran population through broad-impact class action lawsuits.

United Spinal (www.UnitedSpinal.org) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 by paralyzed veterans and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Americans with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, ALS and post polio. It has played a significant role in writing the Americans with Disabilities Act, made important contributions to the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Air Carrier Access Act. Membership is free and is open to all individuals with spinal cord disorders. VetsFirst, a program of United Spinal Association, is the embodiment of United Spinal’s veterans service program.

Support Our Troops

SupportOurTroops.Org, CFC#31529, offers simple ways for folks to thank and show support to American troops serving all over the world. It is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical civilian organization, welcoming civilians, active-duty families, and veterans as members. Donations at SupportOurTroops.org help do wonderful things for the troops and their families. The group also produces state-issuance of Support Our Troops license plates in 25 states to date, with more underway. Support Our Troops is a nationwide 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with chapters in 37 states to date. It also operates the Find-A-Group Program, a major service program linking everyone up by providing a consolidated, editable, searchable Web list of all charities and organizations doing anything that benefits the active duty troops or their families. Visit www.supportourtroops.org for details.

U.S. Army Reserve Drill Sergeant program

The 1st Battalion 304th Regiment is seeking highly motivated and highly qualified individuals with prior military service (any branch) and actively drilling Reserve and National Guard soldiers for the U.S. Army Reserve Drill Sergeant program.

The Battalion headquarters, located in Londonderry, N.H., consists of five Basic Training companies and a Headquarters Company in three New England states: Londonderry, N.H.; Bangor and Saco, Maine; and Fort Devens (Mass.).

Drill sergeants, upon graduation from school, receive enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, pro-pay and additional pay of approximately $50 per drill month and $200 during annual training. In addition, per order of the U.S. Army Reserve Commanding General, drill sergeants are not to be cross-leveled and deployed overseas.

If you are/were an E-4 or higher, are in good physical condition, have no permanent profile, a GT score of 100 or higher, and have no disciplinary actions in the last five years, you qualify.

Drill sergeants work alongside and learn from the most elite non-commissioned officers in the U.S. Army. They train, teach, mentor and evaluate today’s war fighters.

For information, call MSG Jane Belanger, unit administrator, at 603-537-8026; or SFC Marc Bergeron, PAC supervisor, at 603-537-8025.

Volunteers

Hometown Cleanup Day

The Network of Open Space Friends has organized a spring Hometown Cleanup Day for May 19 (rain date May 20). Everyone in Plymouth can help. Join one of the many groups that will clean up in several locations around town or form your own group and clean up your neighborhood or favorite place. Call Patrick Farah at Town Hall, at 508-747-1620, ext. 204, and let him know where you will clean. He will provide purple bags for trash to be picked up by the DPW after the cleanup weekend. Another way to help is to take one trash bag and walk your neighborhood for 10 minutes and pick up litter. Visit www.networkofopenspacefriends.org for more information.

Fiber Festival

The third annual Fiber Festival of New England will take place Nov. 3 and 4 at Eastern States Exposition’s (ESE) Mallary Complex in West Springfield. The festival brings together crafters who knit, crochet and weave with vendors and fiber enthusiasts for a unique shopping and crafting experience. Fiber animals such as llamas, alpacas, sheep, rabbits and goats will also be on hand. Shopping opportunities abound at more than 200 booths with finished products from hats, scarves, sweaters, coats and capes to freshly spun yarn for knitting, crocheting and craft projects. New England exhibitors will showcase products including clothing, quilts, blankets, rugs, looms, spinning wheels and more. Visitors may participate in various workshops as well as watch interesting and informative demonstrations. A Fiber Fashion Show, displaying accessories and outfits made of fiber, will take place Saturday at 1:45 p.m. The event is co-produced by ESE and the New England Sheep and Wool Growers Association. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children under 12. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Enthusiasts interested in volunteering for one or both days of the event or those who have a special skill to offer are welcome. For more information visit www.FiberFestival.org or call 413-205-5011.

Fresh Air families

The Fresh Air Fund’s South of Boston Regional Committee is preparing for summer 2012 and the arrival of New York City children. To ensure that this year’s program is a success, the Fresh Air Fund is seeking volunteer host families so visiting inner-city children can enjoy new experiences and lasting friendships. Each summer, nearly 4,000 New York City children, ages 6 to 18, enjoy vacations of up to two weeks in suburban, rural and small town communities across 13 northeastern states and Canada. Local Fresh Air Fund volunteers recruit and interview host families, check references and coordinate group program activities in their communities. For more information on how you can join your local Fresh Air volunteer team, call LaShika Walker at 800-367-0003 or the Fresh Air Fund at 800-367-0003. You can also learn more about the volunteer host family program at www.freshair.org.

Foster parents

The Home for Little Wanderers has an urgent need for foster parents in the Plymouth area. The Home’s Intensive Foster Care Program is seeking individuals and families to partner with in providing safe havens for children in foster care who have a history of multiple placements and require attention for emotional, behavioral, educational, and developmental issues. IFC aims to prevent institutionalization and to shorten the hospital or residential placement stays of children and teens with special needs.

 The Home for Little Wanderers is the nation’s oldest and one of New England’s largest, nonprofit child and family service agencies. The mission of The Home for Little Wanderers is to ensure the healthy behavioral, emotional, social and educational development and physical well-being of children and families living in at-risk circumstances through a series of integrated programs that include early childhood services, special education, therapeutic residential treatment, adoption, intensive foster care, clinical and family support in homes, schools, hospitals and clinics, and college and independent living preparation for youth who have aged out of state care. To learn more about The Home for Little Wanderers’ Intensive Foster Care Program, upcoming information sessions and the criteria for becoming a foster parent, contact Lina Fox at 617-264-5323 or visit www.thehome.org/fostercare.

Cranberry Hospice volunteer training

Cranberry Hospice, a nonprofit organization that has provided support for people with a life-limiting illness for nearly 30 years, is recruiting for volunteers to work with patients and their families. The Cranberry Hospice team and families rely on the dedication and commitment of volunteers to provide the extra care and open hearts that they bring with them on each visit and every phone call.

Cranberry Hospice volunteers: Hospice volunteers provide companionship and support to patients and their families, provide vigil visits at the time of death, and help with daily activities such as running errands and providing local transportation. Clerical and fundraising volunteers are needed as well.

Cranberry Hospice veteran volunteers: Cranberry Hospice is seeking veterans who are interested in volunteering to support a new Veterans Program, placing a veteran volunteer with a veteran patient.

Cranberry Hospice “Fragile Footprints” volunteers: The Pediatric Palliative Care Program “Fragile Footprints” is in need of volunteers. Fragile Footprints is sponsored by Jordan Hospital and Cranberry Hospice, and provides services to medically fragile children and their families.

Trainings take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Cranberry Hospice, 36 Cordage Park Circle in Plymouth. For more information and to register, call Cranberry Hospice volunteer coordinator, Karen Foster, at 508-830-2762.

Allegiance Hospice

Allegiance Hospice is looking for volunteers to visit patients under hospice care in nursing homes in the South Shore area. Volunteers are formally trained and are a valued part of the interdisciplinary team in serving patients at end of life. If interested call Karen Spangler at 800-792-5808, ext. 2608, or email kspangler@allegiancehospice.com.

Beacon Hospice

Beacon Hospice provides quality end-of-life care to local terminally ill patients out of its South shore office and relies on volunteers to ensure the delivery of extraordinary care to these patients. Volunteers can provide much needed support to patients and their families in a number of ways including visiting with patients on an ongoing basis, sitting vigils, organizing craft projects and working in their Beacon Hospice office. For more information, interested volunteers should contact John DaSilva, volunteer coordinator, at 508-747-7222. Beacon Hospice is Medicare-certified, MA state licensed, and CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Program) accredited for hospice services.

Medical Reserve Corps

The Town of Plymouth’s Medical Reserve Corps is community-based and functions as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources. If interested, call Heidie Hogan at 508-747-5050, email plymouthmrc@msn.com or go to www.medicalreservecorps.gov for more information.

Bulletin board listings can be emailed to ocm@wickedlocal.com, faxed to 508-591-6601, mailed to or dropped off at Old Colony Memorial, 182 Standish Ave., Plymouth, MA 02360. All announcements are subject to editing and published on a space-available basis.

Article source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/town_info/calendars/x1700673541/BULLETIN-BOARD-May-2