rimblr.com

Barring any future problems from high winds and hail, Gillespie County’s 2008 peach harvest should be a good one — and could be even better with a little help from rain clouds that have been scarce in recent weeks over the Fredericksburg-Stonewall area.
Underway for the past week or so, roadside market and pick-your-own sales of this year’s fruit crop are off to a promising start, say local producers, who these days are harvesting the season’s earliest cling peach varieties.
As a result, peach-lovers here have been sinking their teeth into Springold, Bicentennial, Regal and June Gold varieties which, together with the forthcoming semi-clings and subsequent freestone varieties, annually make Gillespie County the premier peach-producing county in Texas.
Leading up to the 2008 harvest, the county had received what most observers felt was a sufficient number of “chilling hours” during the dormant months before light late-spring freeze conditions nipped a small percentage of the county’s crop.
At present, the supply of Gillespie-grown peaches is “a little light,” said Jamey Vogel of Stonewall, vice president of the Hill Country Fruit Council, partly because of a typical seasonal gap in fruit varieties and partly due to this spring’s mild freeze.
So far, drier-than-normal weather conditions have produced slightly smaller fruit which, he said, is not “a big deal” because there are other factors in play that help to make up the difference in flavoring.
As producer Gary Marburger of Fredericksburg explained it, the cloudless skies which have prevailed so far this spring over Gillespie County have not been all bad because sunnier days tend to promote a higher sugar content in fruit.
“Everybody’s talking about how good the taste is this year,” Vogel said, explaining that, because fruit is so far slightly smaller in size, the concentration of sugar in each peach is greater than with larger peaches.

fredericksburgstandard.com

“We really needed it,” said Mrs. Moody, a mother of four. “A lot of parks got new equipment, and we were just left behind.”
“It would have come up on our to-do list at some point in time, but it’s a matter of available dollars,” Mr. Kroma said.
Mr. Kroma pointed out how earlier this decade the city helped raise the more than $250,000 needed to install handicapped-accessible playground equipment at Walbridge Park.
Fluor received $16,340 in matching funds for the Close Park project from playground manufacturer GameTime. It also solicited labor and service donations from more than a half-dozen area businesses and organizations. The firm is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

toledoblade.com

There were kids wearing the same outfit, others who’s necks were stretched out, and in Ester Olvera’s photo for the yearbook, her face was placed on someone else’s body.
"At first I thought it was 10 students, then 40, by 10 o’ clock it was approaching 100," said Lori Oglesbee, yearbook coordinator.
Now school officials believe nearly 600 McKinney High School students had their pictures altered. The changes were made by a national photography company who is now scrambling to fix the problem, and so are students.
The yearbook staff will spend the weekend replacing the tainted photos before shipping it off again. Going image by image to get it right.
"I was pretty excited to see the book come out, because I’ve been working on it. When it came out, and a big thing like that, it kind of wrecked the whole thing," said Thor Lund, student.
This is second year in a row the high school’s had yearbook problems. Last year, school officials say the same company accidentally destroyed the pictures and they had to be retaken, but this mistake, they believe, goes too far.
"Ethically we would never edit a photograph, if it was not appropriate, we would not use it, we would have the student retake," said Oglesbee.
Now the company has agreed to re-print the books, and foot the $85,000 cost.

wfaa.com

State schools, too, are reporting a tough admissions season, with acceptance rates down at the University of Texas and the University of North Carolina, among others.
On the positive side for some students this season, schools are having a hard time predicting their all-important “yields” — the percentage of students admitted who will actually attend. And high-school counselors are hoping that ambiguity will result in more acceptances for students who are on waiting lists — a strategy schools use to reach enrollment targets.
“On the counseling side, this is our most promising and realistic hope for wait-list activity,” says Bari Norman, director of Expert Admissions LLC in Miami. For the past couple of years, many elite schools have anticipated drawing from their waiting lists but ended up taking few or no applicants because of higher-than-expected yields.
Two factors are driving the unpredictability in this year’s college-admissions process. First, both Harvard and Princeton universities eliminated their early-applicant programs this year. That means students who otherwise would have secured a spot at one of these schools in the fall also applied to other schools. Second, moves by highly selective schools to increase financial aid for middle- to upper-income students put the high tuition bills within reach of more families.
“With the change at Harvard and Princeton and all the moves made on the financial aid side, we just feel completely unable to predict what the yield will be,” says Jeff Brenzel, dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale University. “We’re guessing the yield will fall some because more top students have applied to top schools.” For the past couple of years, Yale’s overall yield has ranged from 70% to 71%.
Yields are important to colleges because they are closely monitored by competing schools, potential donors and applicants as an indication of the college’s appeal. In recent years, they have become tougher to forecast because of the growing population of high-school students and a rise in applications per student. College counselors say many students today apply at 10 to 12 schools, with some applying to as many as 20.

online.wsj.com

America is a nation of fresh starts. Our tendency toward change shapes our lives and identities, and now it’s beginning to seep into the staunchest of all institutions: religion.
A wide-reaching study on religious trends released last month found that 44 percent of Americans have converted to a new religion or left their faith altogether. Every major religious group, including Protestants, Catholics and the unaffiliated, is both losing and gaining followers, making constant movement the trademark of American religious life today.
Jacob Danmar (near right) is embracing Judaism. Here, he sits shoulder to shoulder with fellow worshipers as they celebrate the four-day festival of Purim at Aurora’s Temple B’Nai Israel.
(Craig Watson/Staff Photographer)
The study, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, is based on interviews with more than 35,000 American adults, making it one of the largest studies of its kind.
Dr. Martin Forward, the executive director of the Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action at Aurora University, said the study results reflect American individualism.
“People don’t need to be, at the end of their life, what they were at the beginning,” he said. “The American expectation of making religious choices is more prevalent now than it was a generation ago.”
People change their religion for a numbe r of reasons, Forward said, such as wanting more roles for women in their church or finding their church to be too liberal. However, he said that an increase in conversions might have a cost.
“When you settle into a religion, there’s a certain sense of security,” he said. “This factor of choice may trivialize that a bit.”
Forward emphasized, though, that most people are searching for faith for very good reasons.
“People go for their own hopes and experiences, rather than what society bears upon them,” he said.

suburbanchicagonews.com

Posted to the web 19 March 2008
What could be described as a grain planted in Lagos in 2004 may well be growing into an Oak tree as the launching train of Bank PHB’s National Scholars Scheme moved to Government Secondary School, Gwammaja, Kano yesterday.
Under the scheme, the bank builds and equips a library in at least one public secondary school, selected by the state government and awards scholarships to 20 indigent students in the school.
Launched with a pilot project of 100 indigent students in five public schools in Lagos, in 2004, the scheme has now gone truly national with 13 libraries in nine states. But even these are only the beginning. Bank PHB’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Miss Angela Ege said 24 states have been approached so far and the aim is to reach every state of the federation.
The national launching took off at the Junior Secondary School Garki, Abuja on March 4, followed by Government Secondary School, Unguwar Sarki, Kaduna two days later. Osadenis High School, Asaba, Delta State and Urban Girls’ Secondary School, Enugu had their days last week, before yesterday’s event in Kano. Yet to come are similar launchings in Bauchi, Katsina, Sokoto and Minna, which will run from March 26 to April 4.
At the Abuja launch, which also covered Junior Secondary School, Gosa, Lugbe, Bank PHB’s Managing Director, Mr. Francis Atuche said the overall aim of the National Scholars scheme, which is the bank’s flagship corporate social responsibility initiative; was to provide a platform for positive inspiration and learning environment for secondary school students.
Atuche, who was represented by an Executive Director, Alhaji Kuru Ahmed, said "one of the greatest challenges facing us today is the state of our public schools."
With government’s inability to address all the needs of the people, due to a combination of dwindling resources and complexities in the need patterns of growing populations, Atuche said, "there is a compelling need for businesses to play supportive roles to contribute to the society from which it engages in profitable business."

allafrica.com

Town will likely acquire former Westmar Middle
County waiting on written word from Board of Public Works before signing building over to Westernport
CUMBERLAND — It’s clear some Westernport officials have no problem coming up with nicknames.
And while they don’t yet know what the former Westmar Middle School building might be called in the future, they want the town to have first dibs at naming rights.
Westernport Mayor Don “Tom” Smith and Water Commissioner Tom “Tuck” Martin told the Allegany County commissioners on Thursday they don’t have a detailed plan on how to use the former Westmar Middle School building.
But the town definitely wants to acquire the building from the county. The property transfer, generally supported by the county commissioners, can’t happen until the state Board of Public Works notifies the county in writing it has forgiven a debt of $45,169 from water boilers. The same Feb. 3 approval authorized the transfer of the building from the Allegany County Board of Education to county government.
County Commissioner Jim Stakem invited Westernport officials to the work session to ensure the town’s desire to acquire the building and to begin discussing details of the transfer.
“I’ve talked quietly to a lot of people, and there have been very, very few negative replies,” Smith said. “They’re all behind it. We see a great future” for the building.
Smith said the building, complete with gymnasium, theater and cafeteria, could become an all-purpose community center. The idea has the support of local businesses and churches, he said.
The space also could be used to allow Westernport athletes space to play. Smith said local children, from prekindergarten through high school, are forced to travel out of town to participate in indoor sports.
“You’ve expressed interest for several years,” said Commissioner Dale Lewis. “As far as I’m concerned, you can have the building. I admire you for taking it over.”
Martin questioned whether the county would implement any restrictions on how the building could be used. County Attorney Bill Rudd said that wouldn’t be likely but that the state Board of Public Works could apply some restrictions.
Rudd also mentioned that “there may or may not be environmental issues” state and local officials must consider, including how much, if any, asbestos remains in the building.
Rudd said he’s “almost certain” there is asbestos and that any transfer agreement between the county and Westernport would include anyone from holding the county liable for such issues.
Rudd also said that should the town consider selling the building, officials must agree on how much, if any, of the profit should return to the county.
Insurance is another issue. Rudd suggested the town use the building as soon as possible once the transfer is complete. Insurance for an empty building is much higher, he said.
Smith said details haven’t been finalized and officials “can’t get people thinking positive” about the building because there hasn’t been a guarantee the town would get the building — but Commissioner Bob Hutcheson told the town to start making plans.
“I say you can pretty much go forward with that,” Hutcheson said.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.

times-news.com

Because of the birth of his first child Saturday morning, Eastern High School wrestling coach Patrick Coomes wasn’t at the Frankfort Convention Center Saturday night to see junior Justin Davis win a state title.
But Davis still had ample advice.
Eastern assistant coach Vernon Jackson, who took Coomes’ place in Davis’ corner, is no stranger to state titles. Jackson won the 112-pound title at Eastern in 1993 and is back at his alma mater after coaching at Ballard last year.
“He’s worked with Justin all year,” Coomes said. “He did a great job.”
Davis, who finished fourth in the state as a sophomore, beat LaRue County’s Matt Miller 12-7 on Saturday to capture the title at 135 pounds.
Jackson likes what he sees in Davis.
“He’s picked up a lot of stuff for just being a second-year wrestler,” Jackson said. “His speed and strength and technique are unbelievable.”
Doss senior Derek Nickel was understandably upset after losing in Friday’s quarterfinals of the 215-pound class, but he had a smile on his face Saturday night.
Nickel, the 2007 state champion at 215, was among those cheering on Pleasure Ridge Park’s Dakoda Choate. The junior beat Anderson County’s Sammy Isaac for the 152 title.
Nickle and Choate are best friends.
“We didn’t really talk about (Nickel losing), but I took something from it,” Choate said after his victory. “It hurt me seeing my best friend lose like that in his senior year. I wanted as bad as anybody to see Derek repeat this year.”
Union County won its second consecutive state title and did it with depth. The Braves qualified wrestlers in all but one of the 14 weight classes, and 10 of them finished among the top eight.
Union County had two state champions — seniors Jarvis Elam (103) and Mitch Ervin (160).
Baseball coaches liststate’s top 50 players
The Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association has released a list of the state’s top 50 players, and it includes 11 from the Louisville area.
Eight of the Louisville-area players are seniors — Fern Creek’s Daniel Bracken, Shelby County’s Jordan Burk, Manual’s Nick Consigli, Pleasure Ridge Park’s Zack Cox and Zach Osborne, Male’s Mike Estes, Eastern’s Kiley Jones and Seneca’s Austin Messersmith.
Juniors Chris Berry of Trinity, Jarred Clarkson of Shelby County and Tyler Dunaway of Eastern also were selected.
Kentucky’s regular season will open March 24.
Hoops schedule changes
The Fern Creek at Doss doubleheader that was snowed out last week has been rescheduled for tomorrow. The girls’ game will start at 6 p.m., the boys’ game at 7:30.
Manual has added a home doubleheader with Montgomery County for Friday night. The girls’ game will start at 6 p.m., the boys’ game at 7:30.
Friday’s Trinity-DeSales game has been moved to Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
Soccer: From Assumption, Brynn Gerstle (Notre Dame), Stephanie Gildehaus (Morehead State), Jennifer Jones (Louisville), Abbey Schuhmann (Bellarmine) and Chloe Toohey (Centre).
Field hockey: From Assumption, Jennifer McGill (Ohio), Lauren Noe (Saint Louis) and Lauren Schmeing (Louisville); from Ballard, Amanda Seeley (Miami, Ohio) and Anna Miller (Robert Morris); from Kentucky Country Day, Christena Burell (Miami, Ohio).
Cross country: From Assumption, Adrienne Curtis (Southern Indiana).
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046.

courier-journal.com