“The Spy at Harriton High (Linux Today)” plus 2 more |
- The Spy at Harriton High (Linux Today)
- Superlative adjectives (Jonesboro Sun)
- Growing home schooling UPDATED WITH VIDEO (The Sandusky Register)
| The Spy at Harriton High (Linux Today) Posted: 24 Feb 2010 07:21 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Superlative adjectives (Jonesboro Sun) Posted: 24 Feb 2010 08:23 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in a 7-part series highlighting the individuals who will be honored at The Triumph of the Human Spirit banquet Monday. For more information on the event, visit www.neacfoundation .org or call 934-5214. By Karin Hill JONESBORO — Gentle. Humble. Volunteer. Incredible strength. Good listener. A blessing. Those are just some of the words used to describe Lora Mason, a wife and mother of three. And it is the character those words describe that has driven her to put the needs of others first, despite facing enormous adversity. "Ask anyone who knows Lora Mason, and they will tell you what an amazing person she is," friend Kelly Emerson said. "It is hard to express. Her spirit just reaches out to you and offers comfort, understanding and this incredible strength, and she shares all of this so generously with everyone." Mason, 42, grew up in Cherry Valley and has lived in Jonesboro for many years. Devoted to her family, her primary focus is raising and homeschooling her three daughters. She also spends much of her time volunteering with the Foundation of Arts and working as the director of children's ministries at her church, Calvary Chapel. Mason began in the ministry 17 years ago when her oldest daughter was a baby. The children's program was new, and Mason stepped in to keep it going when the former director left the area. The ministry grew over the years. And along the way, the Masons welcomed two more daughters. Then the troubles began. Seven years ago, Mason was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called neuroendocrine tumors that had metastasized to her liver. The treatment was to remove the primary tumor, followed by three chemotherapy treatments over four years. "Those treatments did some good, but they weren't as successful as what the doctors thought was needed because the cancer was throughout the liver," she said. "So the doctors began to recommend a liver transplant, which I was very against at the beginning and had a hard time accepting." The cancer had a significant impact on her life, even though she didn't let many people in on it. "A lot of people would see me and think I wouldn't even look sick, but people who knew me for a long time knew that I was because I dropped a lot of weight real quick and didn't put it back on," she said. "I was pretty much in constant pain. My breathing became shallow because the tumor sat on the liver right under the diaphragm. ... Some of the physical activities, if they were more strenuous I just couldn't do them." She had to learn not to laugh, as that produced some of the worst pain. About six years ago Mason volunteered to sew costumes for The Nutcracker Ballet. "Lora was quite a find, willing to do anything whether it was to clean up the work space, organize volunteers, assign dressing rooms, design and make head pieces, label bags and, of course, sew," Emerson said. "If I had a job, Lora was there with helpful hands, a willing heart and a sympathetic ear. God had sent me a Nutcracker angel all rolled up in one very special person." Emerson said she did not realize the first few years that her friend was seriously ill. "She very rarely mentioned it, and I never heard her complain," she said. "Even though her health at times made it impossible for her to lift herself out of bed, she never left anything unfinished or even late. She just worked harder." Over the years Mason took on more and more responsibilities for the Nutcracker, sometimes spending many hours each week in preparation for the show. All the while, the cancer lingered. On Feb. 18, 2009, Mason experienced a personal tragedy that would save her life. Amanda Cerrato, a young woman who used to be in the youth ministry at church, suffered serious injuries in a car accident. Cerrato had previously decided to be an organ donor, and when she passed away two days later, her mother, Debbie Nolen, prayed about the situation and determined that Mason was the person who should receive the liver. Beat the odds with donated liver Doctors told them the odds of the liver being compatible with Mason's body were slim, but they were surprised to find that Mason and Cerrato shared the same blood type, and it was a good match. There were other similarities that struck a chord with Mason, although they were insignificant to the transplant. At the time, both women were the same height and weight, and they even shared the same maiden name — Hodges — but they were not related in any way. To Mason, it was just another connection, a sign that God's hand was at work in the situation. The transplant was a success, and a total of seven people benefited from major organs donated by Cerrato's family. Mason still struggles with the grief of the life that was lost, and she continues to endure some physical pain, but she has made it through the first post-transplant year without significant problems. She does not have the energy she expected, but the cancer is gone. She is learning, slowly, what she can and cannot do, and she stays as busy as ever. She has become a major proponent of organ donation and encourages people to consider that as an option. "It can give someone a very awesome gift," she said. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Growing home schooling UPDATED WITH VIDEO (The Sandusky Register) Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:47 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. " February 19, 2010 News from the public employee front Ed Lasky As cities and states face increasing prospects of bankruptcy, who is looking out for the public good ? Not teachers' unions - the bedrock of the Democratic party and a major beneficiary of the so-called stimulus bill that channeled hundreds of billions of dollars to cities and states so they could meet their payroll and pension obligations. The newly -elected Republican governor of New Jersey owns up to the problem and wants to meet it head on. Governor Chris Christie: This is what a leader does. He looks at the problem and deals with it head on. He does not look away from the problem or pass the buck. The buck (and that is a taxpayer buck) stops at his desk.
This is not just a problem in New Jersey. The problem of sky-high salary and pension and health benefits flowing to members of public unions is an albatross around taxpayers' necks. But Governor Christie is not alone in being strong enough to want to stop the massive bleeding of the budget. There is this Reaganesque tale: A school superintendent in Rhode Island is trying to fix an abysmally bad school system. Her plan calls for teachers at a local high school to work 25 minutes longer per day, each lunch with students once in a while, and help with tutoring. The teachers' union has refused to accept these apparently onerous demands. The teachers at the high school make $70,000-$78,000, as compared to a median income in the town of $22,000. ... The school superintendent has responded to the union's stubbornness by firing every teacher and administrator at the school. But wait! It gets better! From an email from someone who seems to know the district: Teacher salaries at the high school average $72-78k. Apparently 50% of the students at the school are failing all of their classes, and the graduation rate is also under 50%. In an effort to turn the school around, the superintendent requested some changes be made whereby the school day would be slightly extended, teachers would perform some extra tutoring, etc. Here is my nominee for Education Secretary : that superintendent who gave us all an education in that one act. Reagan solidified his image as a strong leader very early in his Presidency (1981). His reputation did not hinge on any actions involving the Soviet Union ("Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall" was years in the future). Instead, the Air Traffic Controllers Union (PATCO) broke the law and went on strike, imperiling our nation's aviation system. After fair warning, Reagan fired them. He dealt with the problem by using supervisors and other replacements. The previous controllers were never to be hired again. Reagan was a leader. There is potential here for new governors and politicians running for public office. There is a revolt brewing out there - in case one hasn't noticed. The people are sick of taxes and bloated budgets. The people are increasingly learning about the rotten deals that their politicians have signed with public employee unions. They know that their childrens' futures and their own retirements are being threatened by the obligation to pay these gold-plated pension and health benefits. They want them broken and then fixed. I think the Rhode Island teachers' behavior was shameful. Aren't they public servants? Don't they supposedly serve the public? My son's junior high school requires all students to take an absurd course called "Common Good" that supposedly teaches them how to develop a devotion to the community. Maybe the Rhode Island teachers need to take this remedial course. They have some time on their hands now. " Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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