STARs on ice: Sportsplex program helps special skaters shine ...

Photo by Sue Suchyta

Skating instructor Melissa Ksiazek (right) introduces 9-year-old Brooke McNally to ice skating Jan. 16 during the Taylor Sportsplex Skating Therapy with Adaptive Recreation or STAR program. Brooke is a third-grader at Anderson Elementary School in Trenton.

By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR ? When it comes to helping skaters shine, the STAR program at the Sportsplex is in a class by itself.

Skating Therapy with Adaptive Recreation, STAR, is a learn-to-skate program for special needs children based on a therapeutic skating program developed by the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program. Certified skating instructors with background and knowledge of special needs children help physically and developmentally challenged children develop skating skills for fun and exercise while taking their limitations into consideration.

Jennifer Campau, director of developmental skating, has taught skating for 20 years and served as a skating director at the Sportsplex for 10 years. She has wanted to establish a skating program for special needs children since her days teaching at Blair Moody Elementary School in Taylor, where she worked with special needs children.

While the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program, of which the Therapeutic program is a part, was established in 1968, the program makes its debut at Taylor Sportsplex this year.

?It was? my New Year?s resolution last year to get this program started,? Campau said. ?We?re really excited. We?re hoping that this is a program that can be offered to all the students in the Downriver area that have special needs.?

Children can join the sessions at any time and the $55 cost will be pro-rated. Held on Mondays from 5:20 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., the first session runs through Feb. 20, and the second session runs from March 26 to April 30 at the Taylor Sportsplex, at 13333 Telegraph Rd.

Campau said they are starting out small, with four children, to make sure they are doing things right for the children the first time the class is offered. They eventually hope to have 50 students.

?We want the kids to be in a nice social environment without too much anxiety,? Campau said. ?We?re using nice small classes so there?s a lot more one-on-one instruction, so that we can be physically there to handle them and help them and guide them and reassure them.?

As the program grows they will add stabilized metal walkers and harnesses and other equipment that will help children with disabilities, Campau said.

Parents fill out a form that describes a child?s diagnostics, anxiety level and trigger points so instructors can make skaters as comfortable on the ice as possible.

?We want this to be an enjoyable time and we know that even (for) kids without disabilities skating is scary,? Campau said.

Campau worked with special needs children as a teacher at Blair Moody Elementary School before working full time as a skating instructor and program director.

Her colleague, skating instructor Gail Sombati, who has taught special needs skaters and who has a son with autism, is excited that the program has begun.

Sombati said that as a teacher, she finds it rewarding to see a big smile spread across a special needs child?s face when they first start to enjoy skating.

?I teach figure skating as my job; that?s what I do ? teach,? Sombati said. ?And just to be able to have? children with special needs and abilities? step on the ice and smile? it?s something that? people (with non-disabled children) take for granted.?

Children start off-ice initially to show learn basic skills like standing with skates on, ice safety and balance. The children also wear protective helmets.

Once on the ice, she said the instructors stay with each child and try to get down to the children?s level ? sometimes on their knees ? to look right at them and talk to them about things they like. She said they try to relate the lesson to their favorite subjects, like a storybook or cartoon character.

?A lot of special needs kids are fixated on certain topics, like for example, Thomas the Train,? Sombati said. ?To know their special interests and triggers helps, and we have a list of those.?

Skating instructor Melissa Ksiazek agreed that while imagination and patience are important ingredients to help ensure that first-time skaters are enjoying themselves, they also make safety a priority.

While the skating classes are 20 minutes long, she said they can reduce the time or let the children take breaks to meet their individual needs, adding that skating moves more muscles than most special needs children are used to using.

Finding ways for his son to use more muscles and to become more physically active is the goal of Allen Park resident Kirk Douglas, whose 12-year old son Ryan has Down syndrome and is in a program for cognitively impaired students at Arno Elementary School in Allen Park.

?He?s got a lot of loose joints and things and it helps to tone them and it makes his health better,? Douglas said. ?It gets (him) more active, which he needs, because if he had his way he would just watch TV all day.?

Both Ryan Douglas and 9-year-old Brooke McNally, who also has Down syndrome, have participated in therapeutic horseback riding programs in the past for exercise. Brooke also has enjoyed stretching her muscles during ballet classes.

The daughter of Trenton resident Jean McNally, Brooke is a third grader at Anderson Elementary School in Trenton.

McNally said her daughter is usually open to new challenges, and is willing to try activities that her older brother and sister do.

?We encourage her to do a lot of things,? McNally said. ?I treat her just like I do my other two. So she?s special but she can do it all. Hopefully she?ll like this.?

Campau said she also hopes the STAR skaters will enjoy themselves.

?We want to make this a fun, enjoyable time for them so that they? want to come back.?

For more information call (734) 374-8900 or go to www.taylorsportsplex.com.

Source: http://downriversundaytimes.com/2012/02/04/stars-on-ice-sportsplex-program-helps-special-skaters-shine/

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Source: http://www.gooblogs.net/index.php/2012/02/02/good-results-with-real-estate-investing-and-day-trading-securities-can-be-found-with-on-line-courses/

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Anti-gay group wants JC Penney to dump Ellen

By Joshua L. Weinstein , TheWrap.com

LOS ANGELES -- One Million Moms -- a project of the American Family Association -- is very angry at JC Penney.

No, not because it sells sweater vests (heck, Rick Santorum is a fan of those), but because the Texas-based department store has hired Ellen DeGeneres as a spokeswoman.

And DeGeneres is -- cue the scary music -- gay, and open about it.

"Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the million (or so) moms write on their website. "DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there."

One Million Moms is asking people to call JC Penney to complain.

With this campaign, One Million Moms, which claims to be "the most powerful tool you have to stand against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity the entertainment media is throwing at your children," is going after one of the country's most-beloved television hosts.

The moms want JC Penney "to replace Ellen DeGeneres as their new spokesperson immediately and remain neutral in the culture war."

Fat chance, says the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"A vast majority of Americans today support Ellen as well as their LGBT friends and family members," Herndon Graddick, a GLAAD spokesman said in a written statement. "Selecting an out performer who has inspired and entertained millions, is not only a smart business practice, but a reflection of how LGBT Americans today are an integral and valued part of the fabric of our culture."

DeGeneres' daytime talk show has more viewers than the American Family Association has moms. Between Jan. 16 and Jan. 22, "Ellen" averaged 3.38 million viewers -- or 2.38 million more people than the AFA has moms.

American Family Association did not return a request for comment.

Got an opinion? Discussion the issue over on Facebook.

Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10301486-group-wants-jc-penney-to-dump-ellen-degeneres-because-shes-gay

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Video: No-Fly list doubles in past year

>>> welcome back the nbc news has confirmed the size of the government's no fly list has doubled in the that's year. it's jumped from 10,000 neen or suspected terrorists to around 20,000. those people are banned from flying to or within the united states . the reason being explained for this huge increase, the government lowered the standard for putting people on the list following the failed christmas 2009 bombing. joining me now eileen sullivan who first broke this story. thank you for joining me.

>> thank you for having me.

>> let's talk about this criteria that increased the number of people on the no fly list. what's changed?

>> a lot has changed. used to be you had to be a threat and now the bar has been lowered. if you're considered operationally capable meaning you been to a terrorist training camp . now these days you can be on the no fly list.

>> is there competence in the accuracy of this list. we have heard of awkward situations in year past, children's names listed on there and a couple of lawmakers. how accurate is this list especially when you look at the new number of names on there?

>> the government says it's very accurate. they attribute that to the government taking over the system for checking the names against the watch list . used to be the airlines would check it against the no fly list. now that the government does it, they say it's a lot more reliable.

>> as i understand it in the reco reporting, 3% of those are americans. the aclu has sued on behalf of americans on the list. how does that relate to the number of increase or the number of names on there?

>> no one will tell you from the government whether you're on or off the list. you can petition to, if you feel you're being stopped unfairly at airport security , you can petition the didn't of homeland security and they will review your case. you'll never know unless you try to fly and it might not be clear.

>> thank you for the information and your breaking story on all of this. i know when people see the number increase they want to know why. thank you so much.

>> thank you.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/46240823/

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Source: http://www.itecodeclaration.org/4-points-lawyers-should-look-at-before-investing-in-seo-offerings/

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Christie's 2011 art sales hit record (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Christie's shrugged off the euro zone crisis and slowing economic growth in 2011 to post record revenues, selling art worth 3.6 billion pounds, or nine percent more than in 2010.

In dollar terms the total of $5.7 billion was not a record but was 14 percent higher than 2010, as wealthy and super-wealthy collectors snapped up rare works as status symbols, objects of desire and alternative investments.

The results were published on Tuesday, a week ahead of a key set of sales in London that will again test the appetite of an increasingly international clientele during tough economic times.

"As we approach the sales over the next fortnight in London, we are optimistic about the market in 2012," said Christie's CEO Steven Murphy.

Auctioneers were hit hard by the financial crisis in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008.

Christie's, the world's largest auctioneer, saw its global art sales drop to 2.1 billion pounds in 2009 from 3.1 billion two years early.

But prices recovered more quickly than many had predicted, spurred in particular by interest from mainland China, and Christie's sales leapt more than 50 percent to 3.3 billion pounds in 2010.

In its 2011 results, the London-based auction house said private sales away from the buzz and publicity of the salerooms jumped 44 percent last year to 502 million pounds.

Its online auction business continued to grow, with Christie's LIVE accounting for 29 percent of all bids, while new clients, seen as a key to future growth, represented 12 percent of the value of global sales.

By category, post-war and contemporary art was the largest with sales of 736 million pounds (up 22 percent) followed by Asian art at 553 million (up 13 percent).

The highest price of the year at Christie's was for Roy Lichtenstein's "I Can See the Whole Room!...and There's Nobody in it!" (1961) on November 8 in New York which fetched $43 million (27 million pounds), an auction record for the artist.

Art experts are divided over the strength of the art market.

In a recent survey, analytical group ArtTactic's confidence indicator for the U.S. and European contemporary art market stood at 51, suggesting a roughly even split between negative and positive sentiment.

The report also said an increasing number of experts saw the contemporary art market as more risky than six months ago, citing the rise of speculative buyers motivated mainly by profit.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/stage_nm/us_christies_auctions

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Fukushima pets in no-go zone face harsh winter (Reuters)

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) ? Dogs and cats that were abandoned in the Fukushima exclusion zone after last year's nuclear crisis have had to survive high radiation and a lack of food, and they are now struggling with the region's freezing winter weather.

"If left alone, tens of them will die everyday. Unlike well-fed animals that can keep themselves warm with their own body fat, starving ones will just shrivel up and die," said Yasunori Hoso, who runs a shelter for about 350 dogs and cats rescued from the 20-km evacuation zone around the crippled nuclear plant.

The government let animal welfare groups enter the evacuation zone temporarily in December to rescue surviving pets before the severe winter weather set in, but Hoso said there were still many more dogs and cats left in the area.

"If we cannot go in to take them out, I hope the government will at least let us go there and leave food for them," he said.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami on March 11 triggered the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years and forced residents around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to flee, with many of them having to leave behind their pets.

More than 150,000 people from Fukushima prefecture still cannot return to their homes, with nearly half of them from the exclusion zone.

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Toru Akama, an engineer working at the Fukushima nuclear plant, asked Hoso to look after his 14 dogs when an entry ban was imposed on his town.

"I was really happy for my dogs. They are part of my family. There was no way I could abandon them," Akama said.

Hoso said he aims to carry on until the last dog in his shelter is returned to its owner or finds a new home.

"When dogs are returned, many owners are really grateful and a limited few are not so grateful. But when it comes to dogs, all of them, without exception, become really ecstatic when they get reunited with their owners," Hoso said.

"That is what keeps me going, what makes me determined that I have to push ahead until the last one goes back to its owner."

(Reporting by Issei Kato and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/lf_nm_life/us_japan_nuclear_pets

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