| 62 years on the farm, and staying put
The Wrights may own this Cecil County farm, but nobody knows its rolling 744 acres like Whitlock, a retired farmhand who's lived on the land 62 years. Now his deep roots and steady presence in their lives have inspired an unusual act of loyalty.
Not long ago, the state of Maryland agreed to buy Grove Farm for $14.3 million. The Wrights are delighted that the undulating fields, sloping woods and marshes, all bookended by a Chesapeake Bay tidal creek and the Sassafras River, will be preserved as a wildlife management area open to the public.
Best of all, they say, Joe Whitlock will get to stay in his one-story house with its big black Kodiak wood stove hunched by the kitchen table.
If the sale is finalized at the end of February as planned, the Wrights will leave their two houses, one dating to 1820, and empty the timeworn barns.
Now global warming is even affecting The Rooney Bin
The debate about the validity and cause of global warming continues, but rumors of global cooling were circulating during last week's big chill in Northeast Florida and blizzards in the northern half of the U.S. Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, has heated the controversy among climate experts about whether greenhouse gasses produced by humans are causing temperatures to rise or if it's just the Earth's natural cycle. A friend of mine said her hot flashes were so bad that she was afraid Gore would blame the warming trend on her. Last week's chill may be an indication a mini ice age has begun. Scientific opinions voiced at the 2006 National Hurricane Conference included that of storm prognosticator William Gray, who was quoted as saying that blaming humans for global warming is "so much foolishness." He also believes the Earth has experienced a natural pattern of warming and cooling, and that it likely will cool off again within the next 20 years.
Dengue cases go up to 11
The city, with its numerous slums, was virtually waiting for an epidemic to break out. Residents of Old Panchkula were particularly worried about their fate and the inadequacy with which the Health Department had been dealing with pools of stagnant water right under their noses. Fuming was carried out a fortnight back by the department. Since then, we have not had any visit by Health Department teams. The condition in the market is particularly bad because we are here practically all day and cannot escape mosquito bite, said a resident. The Chief Medical Officer, General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, Dr G.P. Saluja, said they had sent 15 samples to the PGI for testing. Of these, we have been told that nine have tested positive for dengue. Three are negative and the report of three others is awaited, he stated.
'08 Resolutions: Look To Election, Iraq, Economy
But Democrats are more cautious, with Obama and Edwards ripping Clinton for labeling Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. The next president also could pick several Supreme Court justices, swinging the majority on divisive issue for decades to come. Can Old Bull Still Run? The stock market enters 2008 with the same big question that dogged it in 2007: How far will the credit mess go? Besides real estate stocks, the worst-performing industry groups of '07 included department stores, discount chains and apparel retailers. That raises questions about the confidence of U.S. consumers. Stocks still posted moderate gains for the year despite the subprime mess, not to mention record oil prices, a slowdown in corporate profits and hints of a recession.
Chandler LB picks Washington
Chandler High linebacker Kurt Mangum gave Washington a commitment Wednesday night to play football. Hell sign Feb. 6, giving the Wolves four players headed to the Pac-10. The others are tight end/wide receiver Dion Jordan (Oregon), defensive back Harold Bernard (Stanford) and defensive back Marc Anthony (California). Mangum, who played his first two years in Michigan and his junior year at Chandler Hamilton, was also recruited by Colorado State, coach Jim Ewan said. .
A slice of green in the burbs
CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Ohio--The first brown highway sign said I could exit Interstate Highway 77 at Rockside Road and there Id find a park.
That hardly seemed possible. I was no more than 10 minutes outside Clevelands Hopkins International Airport with the citys skyline in the rearview mirror. I was driving through a land filled with office plazas, industrial parks and hotels that specialize in uniformity. It was a land of gas-station clusters, franchise food drive-ins and a class of strip mall even Starbucks might ignore.
Yet, in such a setting, caffeine might be the only answer. Or a park. I decided to believe the sign and see if I could slip into something more bucolic.
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Church services on Ski Slopes
Tahoe Resort Ministries sponsors interdenominational church services at the following ski areas beginning on Sunday, Dec. 16. The services will be held each week through Easter Sunday, March 23 and will last 15 to 20 minutes. All Are Welcome.
Squaw Valley - 2 p.m. at the top of Links/East Broadway
Alpine Meadows - 2 p.m. at the top of Roundhouse
Northstar at Tahoe - 2 p.m. at the top of Vista Express
Homewood - 2 p.m. at the top of Madden
Diamond Peak - 2 p.m. at the top of Madden
Mt. Rose - 2 p.m. at the top of Lakeview
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