April 20, 2020 The Latest: German soccer wouldn’t harm healthcare workers Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The president of the German soccer federation says resuming league play will not mean taking resources away from healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic. Associated Press Fritz Keller writes in Kicker magazine “we guarantee that resuming play … will not cause a burden for the healthcare system.”He adds that “there will be no use by sportspeople of testing capacity which would be missed elsewhere.”No top league games have been played since March 11.The German league has been more bullish than other major European competitions about the chances of resuming in May or June with widespread coronavirus tests for players. That push is partly driven by fears that several clubs face financial collapse without TV and sponsorship money.German state and local officials could potentially veto games in their areas. Keller says unified rules for soccer around the country would help clubs “quickly and without bureaucracy.” ___Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been using some of his spare time in lockdown to teach British kids how to speak Spanish.The Argentina international has been signed up by the BBC as part of its home-schooling initiative while educational establishments are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.Aguero is teaching kids how to count in Spanish. His lessons became available on a day kids in Britain would have usually returned to school after the Easter holidays.Aguero says “it’s a tough time for children at the moment, and also for parents trying to keep them focused on their education from home.” Aguero hasn’t played a competitive match since March 8 because soccer is shut down in England and across most of the world during the outbreak.___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports,Tampa Bay Lightning advance to face Dallas Stars in Stanley Cup finals, beating New York Islanders 2-1 in OT in Game 6
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Defense outshines offense again in Saturday scrimmage
Coming off a disappointing effort in Wednesday morning’s early-a.m. practice, the University of Wisconsin football team bounced back with a solid weekend of practice.Wednesday’s full-pads practice included several scuffles between players and the general enthusiasm seemed lacking. But the Badgers came back with a cleaner, more physical session on Friday, despite donning just helmets and shorts.On Saturday afternoon, the team was rewarded with its second outdoor practice of the spring session, donning full gear and getting to scrimmage for the last hour or so of the workout.The weekend was not quarterback John Stocco’s best, as the senior was up and down, still trying to get in sync with his new receiving corps. In Friday’s workout, Stocco seemed to be especially out of rhythm, throwing interceptions to defensive back Shane Carter, who continues to have an outstanding spring, and linebacker Jonathan Casillas. Stocco also badly overthrew a fade route before taking five to re-tape his right ankle, after which he improved. Saturday was more of the same, as Stocco threw three more interceptions. Safety Roderick Rogers was the recipient of two of the INTs, while sophomore cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu picked up a horrendous prayer that Stocco threw up in the direction of wide receiver Paul Hubbard.”I think as we look on the film … there’s also a little bit to do with [Stocco] getting used to where those routes are actually being run and getting used to the receivers so they’re consistent,” UW head coach Bret Bielema said. “That was one of the things that really jumped out early on when [offensive coordinator] Paul [Chryst] came here was to get the No. 1 receivers working with the No. 1 quarterback as much as they can so that they can get the timing.”Stocco did have some shining moments, connecting on a 30-yard bomb with a diving Marcus Randle El.The defense again dominated the scrimmage, with the defensive backs looking particularly impressive, knocking down many passes and grabbing four interceptions.”I saw that today especially out of [sophomore Allen] Langford,” Bielema said of the defense’s level of anticipation in practice. “I like the way those guys react to the football.”Mark Zalewski had an outstanding practice, prompting one reporter to remark that he already looks like the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Bielema also praised Zalewski’s play, while adding that it is likely that linebacker Elijah Hodge will begin seeing more and more time at middle linebacker, as he is groomed to be the backup at that position.”Zalewski’s a pretty good football player. I don’t know how much we’ll need to scrimmage him all the time, so that will give Hodge more and more reps,” Bielema said. “[Hodge] is a guy that instinctively is a guy that you want at the ‘mike’ position. I feel better at that position because now you feel like you have a quality two-deep.”Running back Dywon Rowan also had another solid day, breaking several runs for 10-plus yards and exhibiting a nasty stiff-arm, as the senior continued to build upon a good spring.
Florida State blows out Badgers in bowl game
Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema trudges off the field after being stomped by Florida State 42-13 in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla.[/media-credit]ORLANDO, Fla. — Dec. 27 was a chance for Wisconsin to right the ship, end the season on a four-game win streak and add a so-called “signature win” to a season’s r?sum? lacking in that department. It was a chance for the Badgers to forget about the 19-point collapse in Michigan, the home blowout to Penn State, the four-game Big Ten losing streak and the last-second loss at Michigan State.But, unfortunately for the Badgers, their performance against Florida State in the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl reminded them of the latter group of woes, the game proving to be a microcosm of the 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten) season that was.It was a virtual home game for the Seminoles (9-4, 5-3 ACC), and they gave their virtual home crowd much to cheer about, as they dismantled Wisconsin 42-13 in front of 52,692 fans packed into Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, most of whom were dressed in garnet and gold, performing the coveted “Tomahawk Chop” after every positive Florida State play.“This was definitely a home game for them,” said UW senior cornerback and team MVP Allen Langford. “This is Florida, and we wanted to use that as motivation, but obviously it didn’t work.”The Badgers outplayed the Seminoles in the first half, out-gaining and out-possessing them during that span but went into halftime down 14-3. After a scoreless first quarter, the ‘Noles drew first blood by means of their defense. Junior quarterback Dustin Sherer tried a quick lateral to running back P.J. Hill, but the ball was batted just behind the line of scrimmage by Neefy Moffett, recovered by linebacker Derek Nicholson and taken 75 yards the other way. After the game, Sherer admitted to missing a wide open Garrett Graham down the middle of the field that could have led to a touchdown.“I kind of thought that it was down the line, something we could challenge,” Sherer said. “I thought they lined up a certain way, they didn’t have enough guys over there, but they kind of shifted the line and had a guy coming off the edge and I threw the ball right into him. I hit [Garrett], and it’s just a whole different ball game.“That’s on me, and I guess it’s something that you learn from,” he added.The Wisconsin defense kept the Seminoles’ offense off the scoreboard for nearly the entire first half. Up 7-3, the Seminoles got the ball on the Wisconsin 47-yard line. It took quarterback Christian Ponder and Co. only 33 of the 40 seconds remaining in the half to get the ball in the end zone. After a 26-yard third-down completion to wide receiver Louis Givens, Ponder lobbed his next pass over the head of UW cornerback Niles Brinkley, where Greg Carr and his massive 6-foot-6 frame snagged it for the one-handed touchdown grab.“That was definitely a huge momentum swing, but on defense, we’ve got to do our job,” Langford said. “We’ve got to read our keys and make plays. Our coaches put us in position to make those plays, and we didn’t come up with them.”Philip Welch converted his second field goal in as many opportunities to begin the third quarter, but the Badger defense lost its first-half luster at about the same time. On the ensuing drive, it seemed as if safety Jay Valai came up with a Florida State fumble on the FSU 20-yard line. But the replay showed wide receiver Bert Reed’s knee was down, and the Seminoles retained the ball and marched the distance, capped off by a 6-yard Antone Smith touchdown scamper. It would be the first of four unanswered Florida State second-half touchdowns.“I thought that was going to be a huge momentum [swing for us]; I didn’t think that was going to get overturned,” Sherer said of Valai’s near fumble recovery. “We were looking at a 14-6 ball game on the 20-yard line, but we were never able to recover from it, and we weren’t able to get off the field on third down.”Third down — on both sides of the ball — was an issue for the Badgers all night. They converted only 2-for-10 in that situation, while Florida State was 10-of-17.“Any time you’re in third down [on defense], you want to get off the field,” said UW head coach Bret Bielema, whose bowl record fell to 1-2 with the loss. “Hats off to their defense; they were successful several times on third down, and that was a huge factor in the game.”Hill finished with 140 yards on only 15 carries, but Wisconsin’s inability to convert yards into points once again proved to be the difference.“We ran the ball all over them,” Sherer said. “We played Wisconsin football, we just did enough stuff to shoot ourselves in the foot and that’s kind of the way it went all year.”Florida State punter Graham Gano was named the game’s MVP. Gano’s first three punts were all downed inside the Wisconsin 3-yard line.In the end, it was squandered opportunities and the failure to finish drives that led to the Badgers’ demise, things they’ll have to fix in order to be more competitive next season.“It was difficult, and the only true problem that can happen is if we don’t take our guys that are returning and learn from this,” Bielema said. “Not only today’s experiences, but things that we experienced throughout the entire course of the season.“Unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to send out a good group of [17] seniors on a positive [note].”
Trojans hope to rebound after rare loss
The USC men’s water polo team will make its long anticipated return to the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Saturday with a doubleheader against No. 11 Princeton and Whittier College.Brick wall · Even though USC let up a season-high nine goals versus UCLA, USC senior goalie James Clark has averaged just 5.0 goals against. – Daily Trojan file photoThe Trojans are coming off a loss to UCLA in the NorCal Tournament, their first in 42 games. Their 9-8 defeat pushed them down to the No. 2 ranking nationally.“It was one of those games where things just didn’t go our way,” head coach Jovan Vavic said. “Our effort was there all the way down until the wire.”The game against Princeton, one of the better schools historically in water polo, will be the Trojans’ first chance to start a new winning streak. Their loss to UCLA ended their impressive 41-game streak, the longest in the nation and just 5 short of the USC record.Vavic, for the record, seems proud of the way his team is currently handling a rare defeat.“We’ve had a couple of good days of practice and team meetings, and I’m encouraged by the way the team has handled it,” Vavic said.One issue for the Trojans in that defeat, and all season really, has been the up-and-down health of freshman Jon Walters, one of the newcomers who was expected to become a key contributor for the five-time champions this fall.“Walters has been injured since the beginning of the season,” Vavic said. “He only played five minutes (against UCLA).”Luckily, with Vavic’s expert touch, the Trojans have been turning this severe negative into a positive.“Not having him is giving other guys an opportunity to step up and play,” Vavic said. “We’re getting to try out some other players that we otherwise wouldn’t.”Those newcomers off the bench, and the team in general, certainly will enjoy returning home following a grueling three weekends that saw the Trojans play 11 games on the road, including multiple games against ranked opponents.Following the Princeton match, the Trojans will take a quick break before returning to the pool and playing the Whittier Poets. That game will mark the second time this season that the Trojans have gone up against the Poets. The two met earlier in the month at the Inland Empire Classic, and USC dominated whistle to whistle, winning 21-4 to improve their record to 3-0 all-time against Whittier.The Trojans will enter this game at the unusually “low” rank of second nationally. USC had held the top mark in the nation since November 2011 before this week, and will be looking to regain the top spot as soon as possible. Vavic, for one, is hoping that the loss can recenter his team.“Time will tell and I certainly hope it will increase their focus … make them more hungry,” Vavic said.Vavic’s son, standout senior Nikola Vavic enters this weekend second on the USC all-time scoring list, just 16 goals away from taking over the top spot, which is currently held by Jurai Zatovic, who compiled 220 goals in his four seasons for the Trojans.Following this weekend’s matchups, the Trojans will wait a week before hosting UC Irvine on Oct. 5, their last tune-up before heading to the Anteaters’ home pool for the SoCal Tournament. Follow us on Twitter @dailytrojan
FSB takes control of ‘in administration’ Black Type
Sports betting technology supplier FSB has issued a corporate statement on the website of white label sportsbook Black Type (BlackType.bet), confirming that the racing specialist bookmaker has entered administration and will ‘wind down all business affairs’.Black Type management’s decision has forced FSB to take control of the sportsbook to protect all customer funds and honour all open wagers.“We want to assure you that this will not impact the account that you hold on the BlackType.bet website or app,” read FSB’s statement. “Your funds are safe and any unsettled bets or pending withdrawals will continue to be honoured by FSB as they always have been.”As the white-label supplier of Black Type’s UK sportsbook licence, FSB informs customers that the bookmaker operated as a ‘marketing partner promoting its wagering services’.“The terms and conditions on the BlackType.bet website make it clear that you are gambling with FSB and that FSB is the merchant of record for all deposits and withdrawals,” it added.“What this news means for you as a customer using the BlackType branded website and mobile apps is that you will not be affected in any way. Your standing remains unaffected and you can continue to use your account as normal.”The Black Type brand was founded by the enterprise team of Dave Gowers (CEO) and Craig Nicholson (COO) in 2016, launching the UK’s first racing specific sportsbook on the FSB platform.Seeking to cater for ‘underserved’ UK pro racing punters, Black Type management emphasised that the bookmaker would ‘never restrict winning accounts’.Gowers and Nicholson would depart the business in 2018, with former Totesport executive Keith Oliver taking leadership of Black Type new Chief Executive.It has been reported that the increased regulatory pressures on the betting sector pushed Black Type management into administration. FSB teams up with Cricket.com to launch predictions game June 18, 2020 Share Related Articles StumbleUpon Mark Wilson: How FSB is meeting the recreational cricket punter’s demands August 20, 2020 Share Submit FSB selects Glenn Elliott as new COO August 12, 2020
Students get a closer look at pottery process
AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MoreAddThisAlpena — Students at Alpena’s All Saints Catholic School got a special demonstration on Thursday and Friday.Ceramicist Sam Machulis brought in his tools to show the children the power of pottery! He also showcased some of his work and talked about how pottery played a critical roll in history. Students all the way from kindergarten to the eighth grade got to marvel in the creations. They really enjoyed the animal creations he was able to make out of clay.“It was really cool,” said Student Cecelia Weaver, “When he showed all of the animals and he made this huge bull, we got to see all of his other creations like the huge vase he made with all of the designs on it.”Well, it was cool when he made the trunk, he would just put it on the spinning wheel, and he just kept going up with it, and then he made the ears and eyes,” said Student Caden DeCaire. “It was pretty cool.”Machulis has been practicing pottery for over 40 years. He’s crafted as a teacher, professional, and just out of pure passion for this unique hobby. He’s always happy to show children the power and fun parts of the craft.“Kids asked me about that, you know, well do you do this for a living, a job?” said Machulis. “I do it out of love, not because I’m going to get rich, it’s just always stuck with me, so their is not a ton of us running around.” AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MoreAddThis Tags: All Saints Catholic School, Alpena Catholic Schools, Ceramicists, Ceramics, Live Demonstration, PotteryContinue ReadingPrevious Salvation Army Grateful for Additional Donations From the CommunityNext World AIDS Day: Health Department Raises Awareness on HIV and AIDS
Travelers Championship daily fantasy golf picks, sleepers, fades, strategy
After one of the most popular weeks for PGA DFS contests, the Travelers Championship provides an excellent opportunity to target elite golfers who underperformed at the U.S. Open. This week’s GPPs will collect spillover entries from less experienced daily fantasy golf players that started or just resumed playing during last week’s major.Recency bias has a stronger impact on newer players. The optimal way to leverage this is by targeting premier golfers who flopped and burnt those who bought in on them at the U.S. Open, as the best long-term players are always the likeliest to bounce back with the most authority. Continuing to make his way back from a wrist injury, Justin Thomas missed the cut last week. Thomas was a popular option as one of the lower-priced elite golfers at the U.S. Open, but he ended up burning lineups that included him. Since his return, Thomas has missed two of three cuts. I expect this to scare off DFS players who may sense that something could still be wrong with his wrist. Instead of guessing about the status of his injury, however, I would rather leverage his low ownership. Thomas is one of the premier golfers on tour, and the bad recent results may simply be explained by him knocking off some rust. As far as I am concerned, Thomas will be fully himself this week, and I expect him to be less coveted than similarly priced golfers like Jason Day and Paul Casey. On top of low ownership, Thomas is being discounted due to the recent missed cuts. Leverage the recent injury and last week’s missed cut for a double discount on both ownership and price.Tony Finau has endured a very uncharacteristic slump recently with missed cuts in his past two tournaments and fishes of T60th or worse in three of the five tournaments before that. I might be more concerned if not for a solo second-play finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a T5th at the Masters smack dab in the middle of the bad results. Finau is most likely just fine and has proven incredibly consistent outside of this minislump. His price has been heavily discounted, and yet I expect him to receive much lower ownership than he normally does this week. While many expect TPC River Highlands to favor shorter hitters, which certainly doesn’t describe Finau, he has never finished worse than 25th at this event. In fact, Bubba Watson, another golfer who is generally thought of more for his distance than finesse, has won here twice. With many DFS players recently having soured on Finau and looking to pay up for several studs above his price level, he may fly completely under the radar. Rarely do you get the opportunity to roster such an electrifying golfer at such low ownership.Aaron White graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics. He has played DFS professionally for several years and has won featured NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and golf GPPs on both FanDuel and DraftKings. MORE ROTOQL: Lineup Builder | Travelers Championship betting advice*If you are interested in taking your DFS golf lineup building strategy to the next level, you should consider using a lineup optimizer, and RotoQL offers the best optimizer available in the industry.Travelers Championship picks and PGA DFS strategyTarget GolfersJordan Spieth didn’t miss the cut last week, but he completely disappeared down the stretch after a relatively promising first couple of days. It seemed Spieth was finally turning his season around with three straight top-10 finishes coming into the U.S. Open, but he couldn’t keep his momentum and certainly didn’t help out anybody who rostered him at a premium. What Spieth continues to possess, though, despite his struggles over the past two seasons, is a level of talent that is arguably unmatched. The recent top-10 finishes show that regardless of last week’s disappointment, Spieth is finding his stride once again. I expect Spieth to be far overlooked compared to the likes of other top options Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay, which may be a mistake. Spieth is of similar caliber and priced cheaper, and what you sacrifice in form I believe you more than make up for in leverage. It doesn’t hurt that Spieth won here in 2017 either. Buy in before Spieth finally gets all aspects of his game clicking.
Peck area residents ask Sumner Commissioners for more Sheriff patrol
Close Forgot password? Please put in your email: Send me my password! Close message Login This blog post All blog posts Subscribe to this blog post’s comments through… RSS Feed Subscribe via email Subscribe Subscribe to this blog’s comments through… RSS Feed Subscribe via email Subscribe Follow the discussion Comments (25) Logging you in… Close Login to IntenseDebate Or create an account Username or Email: Password: Forgot login? Cancel Login Close WordPress.com Username or Email: Password: Lost your password? Cancel Login Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout Logged in as Admin Options Disable comments for this page Save Settings Sort by: Date Rating Last Activity Loading comments… You are about to flag this comment as being inappropriate. Please explain why you are flagging this comment in the text box below and submit your report. The blog admin will be notified. Thank you for your input. +4 Vote up Vote down Jim · 399 weeks ago MULVANE should patrol the area just ask them to annex it all in for you. We in the southern part of the county are suffering just as much as you in the northern part. We have just as much traffic from hayseeds to the north coming down south to gamble. We have more than our share of drunk drivers also. And now with Oklahoma opening up the new weigh station at the state line we have an unbelieveable amount of truck traffic now deterring on state highway 177 to by pass both weigh stations and blasting through South Haven. Report Reply 0 replies · active 399 weeks ago -1 Vote up Vote down Grandma · 399 weeks ago Dont kid yourself there is money to get from the commissioners even if the budget is already set. They need to get off the pot and pony up the money to protect the citizens that put them in that seat. Report Reply 3 replies · active 399 weeks ago +24 Vote up Vote down Rural Resident · 399 weeks ago Welcome to living in the country. If you want police protection just minutes away from your house you should have stayed in the city. We here in the country have known for years that we are on our own. Keep a couple of loaded guns in your house, or move back into the city. Report Reply 0 replies · active 399 weeks ago -7 Vote up Vote down duane · 399 weeks ago If they did patrol and if they did catch someone would they file a report on it? Or just go catch an release? The number of crimes committed and between the Sheriff’s not bothering to investigate and the DA not wanting to prosecute, it’s almost why bother. Report Reply 0 replies · active 399 weeks ago -7 Vote up Vote down duane · 399 weeks ago If they did patrol and if they did catch someone would they file a report on it? Or just go catch an release? The number of crimes committed and between the Sheriff’s not bothering to investigate and the DA not wanting to prosecute Report Reply 0 replies · active 399 weeks ago +13 Vote up Vote down scooter · 399 weeks ago The northeast part of the county get’s the lions share of the attention from the Sheriff Office’s attention. The people in the northeast part of the county need to petetion the Mulvane City Council, as they are ultimately the source of your frustrations. They are the one’s who placed the problem in your back yard. They do no service for that area, when they annexed that land they left out the housing additions so that they would not have to provide service’s such as law enforcement. They too recieve 1% of the of the gaming proceeds from the casino therefore they can afford to provide services better than the county as they have other area’s of the county to serve, not just the northeast section. Report Reply 1 reply · active 399 weeks ago +12 Vote up Vote down Jim · 399 weeks ago I agree, it is the Mulvane city that is benifiting from the revenues, also the casio could give grant money to the county to supplement their budget. Also the Sedgwick sherrifs department can patrol their southern borders more. Report Reply 3 replies · active 399 weeks ago -1 Vote up Vote down Pain Free · 399 weeks ago Once again some people wish to open their mouths before being fully informed about the Sheriff’s Office! I invite you to visit the link to the Sheriff’s Office statistics release information page http://www.sumnersheriff.net/statistics.html. If this does not satisfy your *****ing about the Sheriff’s Office then I would contact Sheriff Chambers for a sit down or ask if you can ride along for an eveing with a Deputy and witness for yourself what goes on in Sumner County! Oh, FYI while your jumping up and down throwing a fit about Law Enforcement protection maybe you should start screaming at the City’s of Caldwell and Conway Springs who have little or NO officers except the Police Chief for protection. Once the sun goes down guess who has the responsibility for those area’s too? Report Reply 0 replies · active 399 weeks ago -6 Vote up Vote down Done · 399 weeks ago Thank you Commissioner Warner for speaking out for us at the meeting. At least one of you is on our side. Report Reply 1 reply · active 399 weeks ago -3 Vote up Vote down Red · 399 weeks ago So what happen at the commissioners meeting Tuesday? Or did anyone go to learn like Done said to do above. I agree with Grandma to. Report Reply 0 replies · active 399 weeks ago 12Next » Post a new comment Enter text right here! 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Tweet this comment Cancel Submit Comment Subscribe to None Replies All new comments by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — A group of Peck area homeowners will be at the Sumner County Commissioners meeting Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to ask for more law enforcement patrol in the northeast corner of the county.Shawn Hanson, a trustee for the London Township, said a recent rash of burglaries, increased casino traffic, and a larger number of drunk drivers using country roads to avoid patrol officers have caused many residents to seek more protection for the area where the Kansas Star Casino was built.Although two recently noted burglaries in the area — one involving an assault of a Sheriff deputy and one resulting in a shooting inside a garage of a homeowner — are not considered casino related, Hanson said he knows of at least four break-ins on Meridian Road in northeast Sumner County this month that may have been. Currently, there are two deputies patrolling Sumner County at one time, Hanson said. The group is asking for a third patrol person on duty. He said that would probably require four additional deputies to work in alternate shifts.“Sumner County has changed dramatically in the past two years especially in the northeast portion of the county,” Hanson said. “I’m not saying it is completely casino related. But we do have more issues than we had a few years ago.”The Kansas Star Casino was built off the Kansas Turnpike Exit 19 ramp and opened in December, 2011. With the expansion of the casino this month, Hanson fears that crimes will become worse.“We are kind of caught in the middle,” Hanson said. “There’s Wichita and Sedgwick County to the north and Wellington to the south. We don’t seem to have adequate protection in between those areas.”Increased crime concerns was a major source of contention for northeast county area residents when the Kansas State Lottery Commission was choosing a casino location. Hanson said those concerns are coming to fruitation.Sumner County Commissioners approved to allocate $2.19 million to the 2013 Sheriff Department budget in August of 2012 up from $1.87 million in 2012. It was 1.94 million in 2011.Yet, Sumner County Sheriff Captain Mike Yoder said there continues to be two deputies that usually patrol at night. That’s quite a large area to patrol since the county has 1,184.78 square miles.Statistically, according to Sumner County Department activity report, as of Oct. 31 of 2012 there have been 35 felony thefts and 82 misdemeanor thefts. In 2011, there were 44 felony thefts and 56 misdemeanor thefts. With two months to go it’s hard to determine any noticeable trends.“You have to be careful about using statistics like this because sometimes statistics lie,” Yoder said. “Sometimes the deputies are so busy they fail to report various calls.”Georgia Hendry, who lives two miles west of U.S. 81 west of the casino, said she has been wanting more deputy patrol for years.“We seem to always be on the short end of the stick up here,” Hendry said. “I felt that way in 1956 when we moved here. Nothing has changed.”Hendry said if a crime is committed and the patrol deputies are say in Caldwell, that’s a 48 mile trip to get to the north end of the county. A lot can happen while a deputy is traveling that distance to get from one end of the county to the other.Last week there was a community meeting at the Peck Community Center with a sheriff deputy. Sheriff Darren Chambers was unable to go because he was in training. Hanson said there were about 100 people there.“If we can get a quarter of those at the meeting on Tuesday I’d be satisfied,” Hanson said. “There is a lot of concern in this area.”Neighbors have talked about forming a neighborhood watch group. Still, there are some limitations.Hanson said many of the older neighborhood residents are moving and younger people, unfamiliar to the area, are moving in.“When you have both of them working during the day at the same time, it makes it difficult for a effective lookout,” Hanson said.Whatever the commissioners decide today it won’t take into effect until 2014. The 2013 budget is set.But Hanson hopes with increased revenue coming from the casino that Sumner County can spare a few dollars for extra Sheriff patrol in the future.
Rising to the Surface
Red Bank restaurant begins rebuilding By Michele J. Kuhn RED BANK – After a bit of hell and a lot of high water, Kelly Ryan expects Boondocks to be back in operation in May.Ryan is determined to reopen her popular seasonal riverside restaurant on May 14 and she – and others – are working to ensure that happens.A fundraiser is in the works for Thursday, April 11, at the Oyster Point Hotel, the only other Red Bank business to have to close for a period of time from damage inflicted by Super Storm Sandy’s devastating tidal surge. The event will celebrate the hotel’s recent reopening and raise the funds – $30,000 – Ryan needs to renovate, refurbish and totally re-equip her business.Her rebuilding process is just beginning.Kelly Ryan, the owner of Boondocks Fishery, is looking to reopen her storm-ravaged restaurant in May,“They finally got into my building [on Monday, Feb. 18] and they ripped down all the walls and floors. Now the whole building is gutted. We are getting heaters in there to dry out and in a couple of weeks, we’ll go back in there and put the walls up, the tile up, put everything back up, get new equipment. I’m shooting for May 14 to reopen, no matter what,” she said.Boondocks was already closed for the season when Sandy smashed into New Jersey on Oct. 29 and sent a 5-foot wall of water into the dockside restaurant, rendering all its contents unsalvageable.Prior to the storm, Ryan moved refrigeration equipment to the top of the hill behind the restaurant and stored the rest – fryers, stove, grill and the like – in a garage at Irwin Marine, which is her landlord. She felt she was safe storing the equipment there because during the 1992 storm “they only got an inch of water in the garage.” The walk-in storage box was left at the restaurant “because who would have ever expected 5 feet of water there? It was just crazy,” she said.The day after the storm, Ryan, a Highlands resident, first walked to Sea Bright to check on Donavan’s Reef because she knew that borough had taken a severe hit from the storm. Donavan’s was destroyed.“When I saw the devastation there, I knew we had to get to Boondocks,” she said. Ryan then went to Red Bank to check on her waterfront restaurant.“When I got to the top of the hill, I was, like, the building’s there! Everything is fine,” she said. “Then I couldn’t get into the building because it had separated from the dock and I couldn’t get in the doors.“Then I realized there was all this water shooting out of one of the windows. The hot water heater and all the piping under the building had broken and all this water was just everywhere,” she said.Ryan’s boyfriend was able to climb into a window and shut off the water.“Then we saw what happened. We went into the garages and everything there was tossed around like little buoys. Things were everywhere. There was gasoline, oil, grease and mud … There were boats in there too,” she said. “It was disgusting.“At the time, you just go into overdrive. You don’t know what to do,” she said with emotion.The next day the people at Irwin Marine had a Dumpster available. Helpful friends and staff members threw everything that had been part of the Boondocks operation into the trash.Ryan then turned her attention to the devastation at Sea Bright where she pitched in with the Sea Bright Rising effort.After helping others in Sea Bright for a while, Ilene Winters of Sea Bright Rising told Ryan she needed to begin thinking about herself. Winters helped her get an effort to restore Boondocks off the ground on a website called Indiegogo. Her fundraising webpage can be found at www.indiegogo.com/boondocks. So far, the page has generated about $6,800 in donations, she said.When members of the Navesink Business Group learned of her plight and fundraising efforts, they decided they could assist and the April 11 event, which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oyster Point Hotel, was created.Tickets for the event will be $50 and organizers are hoping to get 350 to 400 people to attend. There will be a cash bar and food supplied by members of Red Bank Flavour, an alliance of Red Bank restaurants. Donations will be accepted at the event, said Robert Lowe, founder of Navesink Business Group.Ryan “has always donated her services to others and she has done a lot for Sea Bright Rising,” Lowe said. “We felt we needed to help her.”Though she is grateful for the help, Ryan said she was having a little trouble getting used to accepting an assist from others.“It’s overwhelming,” she said. “I guess because I’m the one always trying to do everything for everybody, now I’m awkward because people are trying to do things for me and I don’t know how to react to it.”Ryan expects Boondocks to remain much the same for its upcoming fifth season as it was pre-storm except she hopes to be able to put more of an emphasis on her lunch business and maybe offer delivery to area offices and homes.Meanwhile, Ryan appeared Monday, Feb. 18, on WCBS TV. She made lobster mac and cheese during a 4 ½-minute segment on CBS 2 This Morning’s “2 In The Kitchen” featured at 6:45 a.m. and had a “really fun time.”
Govt to review Constitution Reform Report
Some one month after the Constitution Reform Report was handed over to Government, talks are yet to commence. However, President David Granger has stated that this will soon change as Cabinet is expected to start full discussions on the recommendations made.The report was handed over to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on April 30 by Convener and Chairman of the Constitutional Reform Steering Committee (CRSC), Attorney Nigel Hughes. The Committee was established last August by Government.Speaking on his weekly televised programme – The Public Interest – on Friday, the Head of State noted that Constitution reform is part of the agenda of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Administration.“Nigel Hughes has already presented a preliminary report and we will be proceeding with discussing that report more fully,” he declared.As part of the reform process, Government had touted major changes to the governance structure, including separate elections to elect a President and National Assembly members; the capping of presidential powers; and changes to the composition of service commissions, among others.Government had promised that they will have consultations with civil society and the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) before making any Constitutional reforms; something, which the Guyanese Leader said on Friday that his Administration is committed to. He pointed out that widespread consultation with all stakeholders is needed before any such reforms is undertaken.“If it involves ‘taming’ the powers of the Executive, then so be it but let the people speak and don’t let us try to tell the people what to think. Let us find out what they need,” he posited.According to the President, in light of the many controversies that surrounded Constitution reforms over the last 40 years, it is imperative to go to the people and find out what they think.“We need to have consultations and we need to listen to them. Some people seemed to have jump to conclusions and they have their own ideas about the form that reforms should take. My view is that the people know best and it’s better to consult them,” the Head of State remarked.He went on to say that consultations will span the lengthen and breath of the country so that there is consensus about what Guyanese need in the their Constitution.“I don’t want a boardroom constitutional reform, I want a public discussion. I want people in their communities to meet and express their views. I don’t want a group of people sitting in a room saying what must be done,” he stated.Constitutional reform has been a very hot campaign issue. In its elections manifesto, the APNU/AFC coalition touted a number of constitutional reforms including presidential powers, sexual orientation and the electoral system.“The Constitution, in its current form, does not serve the best interest of Guyana or its people. Within three months of taking up office, APNU/AFC will appoint a commission to amend the Constitution with the full participation of the people. The new Constitution will put the necessary checks and balances in place to consolidate our ethos of liberal democracy. Freedom of speech, reduction of the power of the President and the Bill of Rights will be enshrined in the document,” read an excerpt from the manifesto.Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had also declared during an elections campaign over a year ago in Vreed-en-Hoop that too much power is concentrated on one person’s hands.Meanwhile, the Constitutional Reform Steering Committee will be responsible for effecting the changes to the Constitution when Government finalises its decision.The Committee which comprises of former Director of Transparency International and Attorney Gino Persaud, Professor Harold Lutchman, former Magsitrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond, and is chaired by Attorney and AFC Executive Member Nigel Hughes was established by the subcommittee on Parliamentary Affairs reportedly without consultation from the parliamentary Opposition.General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee had explained at the time last year that his party was not invited to field any representative to the Committee, while noting that at the moment, the Party has no interest in those matters as it is focused on preparing for Parliament.Rohee said that the Party views the persons appointed as “APNU/AFC hacks” and “residents of Office of the President”.“None of those persons are independent. They are all hacks and employees of the Office of the President in some shape or form. You do not have to even guess about which road they will venture down as it clear what their mandate is,” he stated.Moreover, he maintained that the PPP was proud of its accomplishments as far as constitutional reforms piloted back in the 2000s were concerned.