Ready for their Closup: Skyliners in Sync at Debut Pep Rally for 09 Season

 


WPCNR RINKSIDE. November 3, 2008: The Skyliners , Westchester, New York and Connecticut synchronized skating team, representing the New York Figure Skating Club and the Windy Hill Skating Club of Greenwich introduced their four skating teams for the 2009 season Saturday at the Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink in Greenwich before an enthusiastic crowd of parents, alumnae and friends and saw the season’s new programs. All parents and friends of the team (though understandably biased) were impressed with the the finesse, poise and teamwork demonstrated by the Preliminary, Juvenile, Novice and Junior teams after a summer and two months of practices,  by the young ladies.



 


Ready for Our Close-Up, Mr. DeMille: The Skyliner Junior Team, bejeweled and bedazzling in their spiral bloc,  as the Preliminary Sychronized Skating Team — synchro competitors of the future-  look on . The Junior team, 14 to 19 years old, skated their new long program, their powerful, eloquent interpretation of Sunset Boulevard Saturday afternoon: The Juniors, Gold Medal Winners at the Zagreb, Croatia Snowflake Competion this spring have been chosen by United States Figure Skating to represent the U.S.A. at the Spring Cup Competition in Milan, Italy in February.




Those precocious Preliminaries, showing determination and grace skated to a medley from Annie, and impressed all with their sureness on their blades and irrepressible enthusiasm in their first big skate in front of a big crowd. The Preliminary Team features Kelsey Biolo, Paris Cipollone, Madison DeBlasi, Nathalie Felton, Ariel Goldman, Kathryn Goodfriend, Heidi Jacobson, Catherine Kapica, Catherine Keating, Stephanie Logue, Ira Pulling, Ayane Sato, Maggie Toal and Michelle Woo.



The Skyliner  Juvenile Team, the “Juvies,” Skating to “Legally Blonde The Musical “performing a flawless splice. The Juveniles are: Stevie-Lynn Angiolillo, Alex Arroyo, Olivia Barbulescu, Hannah Bloch, Brielle Bonetti, Nicole Brenner, Tatiana Fischer, Haley Goodman, Julia Kaston, Ksenia Kudinova, Jillian Longo, Sarah McCarrick, Starr Ortiz, Olivia Pilling, Julia Rauch, Hallie RothSinger, Ariana Sirabian, Sydney Wetmore, Rebecca Wright, and Jordyn Young.



The Skyliners Novice Team Peforming “Peter Pan.” Novice Team members are Brooke Abbott, Jordana Adler, Stevie-Lynn Angiolillo, Hannah Bloch, Alexandria Boering, Mairead Brock, Sennett Cooke, Peyton Delgorio, Amanda Flink, Tatiana Fischer, Julie Goodfriend, Caroline Lee, Micaela Manteo, Jenn Marshall, Nikki Metzger, Olivia Pilling, Julia Rauch, Jenny Schwartzman, Amelia Strauss, and Rebecca Wright.



Skating their Way Into Your Hearts: The Skyliner Juniors. They are:  Meghan Barr, Nicole Battaglia, Jackie Bayer, Alexandra Boisselle, Esther Brot, Stephanie Damascus, Katharina Devitofranceschi, Kristin Garfinkel, Marlena Holter, Caitlin Lombardi, Lindsey Marshall, Audrey McQuade, Ashley Mulhern, Hideko Nara, Angelina Santore, Paige Shepperly, Ashley Snow, Lauren Snow, Rachel Terry and Alexis VanAuken



Photo Ops for Parents.


The Skyliners founded in 2001  by White Plains  athletic apparal magnate, Larry Rosen, owner of The Athlete’s Foot in The Galleria, feature  75 young ladies from 6 to 19 years of age from the tri-state area on their four teams. Their Junior Team won the Eastern regional Championship in 2007.  One of the great features of the synchronized skating experience is how the young skaters starting out look up to the older girls and role-modeling comes naturally. Every Preliminary, Juvie and Novice aspires to get as good as the skaters on the older team and the ethic of  improving skills through practice and dedication becomes a way of life on and off the ice. 


The Skyliners feature beginning classes in synchronized skating skills  (ages 4 to 9) at the Dorothy Hamill Rink. If you are interested, visit the Skyliners website at www.skylinerssynchro.com



Juniors performing their Spread Eagle Block as Novice Team looks on.


 



Novice Team peforming a pinwheel.



Juniors Performing the  circle-within-a-moving circle.


 


Select Skyliner teams will compete around the USA for the eighth straight season  competing in the Plymouth (Massachussetts)  Thanksgiving Classic, The Terry Connors Competition in Stamford, Connecticut (Dec. 7), The Cape Cod Classic (December 13), Colonial Classic in Lowell, Massachussetts (January 9); the Junior World Qualifer in Fond-du-Lac Wisconsin (January 9); The USFS Synchronized Skating Eastern Regionals in Morristown, New Jersey, January 29; the Connecticut Classic in Hamden Connecticut, February 15; The Nationals (if they qualify) in Portland Maine March 3rd; and the Milan Spring Cub, Febfuray 11 th through 16.




The Novice Line.



The Juvies in a blockbuster of a block Skating to Legally Blonde



 


 

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Election Day From a Poll Worker’s Point of View. What They Do and How they Do it

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2008. By Renee Marks Cohen. November 3, 2008: At 5:45 a.m. on Election Day, as a volunteer poll watcher, I was making certain that all the voting machines were ready at Eastview School. Four different districts were going to vote in one room. Unfortunately, one machine showed ballots for Primary Day, and the line of voters for that district got longer and longer while we waited for a remedy. People had to get to work.


 


Was everything going to go downhill from then on? Calls to the city clerk brought a repairman, who fixed the machine. I wrote out an excuse for lateness for a Yonkers school employee who had waited to vote. At first the detailed lists showing which address corresponds to which district were missing, but they soon arrived, along with a short list. I stood at the door of the room with an election inspector, and we quickly told voters which of the sign-in tables to approach. Many brought postcards with an assigned district number, but often the district number was incorrect.


 


Later it was clear that the special pressure-sensitive paper for listing the voters would run out. School personnel at Eastview, present for staff development programs, let the election inspectors copy the form and the sample ballot, and they let us use the school phones for election-related emergency calls. The building superintendent checked in to see if he was needed. He had helped before the polls officially opened.


 


Voting was steady and heavy; I was thrilled to be a part of the election and really had to push myself to leave for a late-morning break. Many voters who had handicaps came to vote; some had helpers along. Many voters brought their children. The school building’s evening superintendent checked in late in the afternoon.


 


Even the city clerk visited, and I asked her about the next technological step up from the lever-operated mechanical machines. She said that the next change would not come to White Plains “in her lifetime.” Still, large numbers of people were voting efficiently.


 


Early in the evening, I made some calls to remind voters there was still time to vote. But almost all had voted already. I went home from the call center to finish packing for an early-morning business trip—to Florida. Now I’m wondering how many baby boys about nine months from now, in Florida, will be named “Chad,” and, more important, what kinds of reforms we will see: Election Day a true national holiday; uniform ballots with a saturation of sample ballots to study preelection; more voter education; same-day registration? I’m also wondering who our president will be.


 

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Women and Addiction Author Speaks at Crowne Plaza

WPCNR VITAL SIGNS.  From Hazelden Women’s Recovery Center. November 3, 2008: More than 100 women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction from your area are expected to attend Hazelden’s annual Women Healing® conference on November 8 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown White Plains. Speaking at the event is Brenda Iliff, clinical director of the Hazelden Women’s Recovery Center. Brenda will offer attendees valuable advice from her new book, A Woman’s Guide to Recovery.


 


 


In her book, Iliff draws on more than 20 years of clinical experience in the addiction treatment field to teach women about:


§       The basics of addiction, and how to get started in recovery


§       How addiction and recovery are different for women


§       What self-care means – physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually


§       How recovery affects relationships, including those with children


§       Why does relapse happen?  The myths and warning signs, and tips for preventing relapse


§       Practical tips for getting and staying in recovery


§       How the promises of recovery can transform a woman’s life




Brenda’s book provides much needed hope to women who want to begin helping themselves, one step at a time. The book is currently available through book retailers and Hazelden’s Web site (www.hazelden.org), and will be available at the conference as well.


I’d like to invite you to speak with Brenda about the unique issues women face with addiction. She is available for interviews prior to the conference and on-site the day of the event, and at your request I’d be happy to send you a copy of her book. If you have questions or would like more information I can be reached at [email protected] or 952-346-6103.


Best regards,


Jill Braun


On behalf of Hazelden


952-346-6103




Key Facts about Women and Addiction


Most recent data on women and addiction/treatment specifically include:


§       In 2006, 7.4 million women aged 18 or older needed treatment for a substance abuse disorder involving alcohol or illicit drugs, but only 822,000 (11.2 percent) received treatment, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.



§       The reasons for not receiving substance use treatment among the women with an unmet treatment need were as follows: 36.1 percent were not ready to stop using alcohol or illicit drugs, 34.4 percent could not cover their treatment costs because of no or inadequate health insurance coverage, and 28.9 percent did not seek substance use treatment because of social stigma. (2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health)



(Note: The 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health has recently been published, but does not address new data per the above regarding women specifically.)


The disease of addiction and receiving treatment are unique for women because:


§       Women start using alcohol and drugs for different reasons than men.


§       Women metabolize alcohol and drugs different than men, enabling them to become addicted more quickly and experience more progressive and destructive physical health effects from using.


§       Women experience co-occurring mental health disorders differently than men including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress syndrome, which need to be addressed in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.


§       There are often barriers for women to seek and receive treatment for addiction including childcare and family needs, stigma and shame and financial concerns.




Conference Details:


Hazelden Women Healing Conference


November 7-8, 2008 (Day 1 for professionals, Day 2 for women in recovery)


Crowne Plaza Hotel – Downtown White Plains


66 Hale Avenue


White Plains, NY 10601


Cost: $75 pre-registration online by Nov. 3, or, $95 at the door


For more information visit http://www.hazelden.org/web/public/womenhealing.page or call 888-257-7810, ext. 4429.

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Make a Call for the Man Who Makes the Calls

WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By Bull Allen. November 2, 2008: One of the thousands who are running the New York City Marathon today will not be running.  He’ll be walking all 26 miles in support of a little known condition that he has recently found he suffers from: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.



Jack Lim behind the Plate Sectional Championship, June 2007.


All the fastpitch coaches and players know him. He’s Jack Lim, the most good-natured, serious and conscientious umpire you’d ever want doing your game. He is past President of the Hudson Valley Chapter of the New York State Softball Officials Organization and has been a fixture behind the plate and in the field the last decade in softball around the county.



The Man Behind the Mask: Jack Lim,  the umpire who embodies “sportsmanship,” holding plaque, awarding Hudson Valley Umpires Sportsmanship Award to White Plains’s Sandra Mastrangelo in June, 2008, as White Plains Coach, Ted O’Donnell looks on.


 



Jack wrote me and many he knows about his disease. He writes that he has decided to walk the marathon, “to bring some awareness to the lung disease known as Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and to raise some funds for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. My goal is to complete the marathon before it gets too dark.”


Jack explains that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, IPF, “is a slowly progressive lung disease that literally robs you of breath. There is no known cause and there is no cure.”


There is no cure.


“The disease,” Jack writes, “generally occurs in individuals between the ages of 50 and 70 affecting about 250,000 persons annually in the United States. My primary doctor told me that I am the only patient whom he has come across in his 15-year medical practice with IPF. I am so lucky to have this honor. It is what it is. I got a medical all-clear for this past softball season and 2009 is looking good so far.”


How does he handle this spectre. Like he handles beef from coaches over his calls:


“I try to take a positive attitude about life but don’t get over confident with anything I do. I sometimes have a great game, not perfect, behind the plate and then the next day, I am questioning myself over a call that I made on the bases. That’s life but it is still fun. Be well, and take care…see you in the spring. Play ball.”


All in the fastpitch softball community and the players who play know Jack. His games are always a pleasure. He never shows anyone up  and is a hawk on every call and play, no matter what the score. He shows tremendous energy in covering his position in the field, and his calls are emphatic without over-emphasis. He always has a smile and a quip. But when he yells “Play Ball!” he is all business. His strike zone is consistent, and in his games they move along and the game is the thing. He is so good at what he does that fans come away talking not about his strike zone or his calls, but what a great game it was. There is such respect for his judgment he rarely gets arguments.


He is a model official who officiates to promote the greatest game and make it a better game


When I started out umpiring two years ago and in the first year lamented a couple of games I had, Jack put things in perspective for me: “I’ve been umpiring for 7 years and I’ve never called a perfect game yet.”


That’s the kind of person Jack is. He has a way that puts you at ease and makes you feel good about yourself with a new resolve.


Like the game of ball itself, it’s not the last play, the last pitch, the last at bat, it’s your next play, next pitch, next at bat that counts!


It is a game Plato would have loved because you’re always moving along on the dialectic.


If you would like to support Jack on his run today, you sponsor him by donating to


“Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation” and sending your donation to


Ms. Lindsay N. Thiemkey


Pulmonary Fibrosis  Foundation


1332 North Halstead Street


Suite 201


Chicago, Illinois  60622



Jack, the Man in Blue, in his trademark crouch behind the plate in the Sectional Championship.

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