,
KENT CITY – Kent City High School’s new football coach Jason Vogel doesn’t have a whole lot of time to prepare for the upcoming season.
After all, Vogel was hired to coach the Eagles earlier this summer. The position opened when Bill Crane, who has been named the Kent City High School and Middle School principal, stepped down to focus on those responsibilities.
The good news is that Vogel’s experience should enable the Eagles to enjoy a smooth transition. Vogel has been coaching football since he was a high school player himself at Sparta, and he has spent the past seven years coaching White Pigeon’s varsity team.
“Coach Crane set some things up for the summer, and we are using what he did,” said Vogel, who also has been named Kent City’s Dean of Students. “I had a chance to meet with the kids last week, and we have had pretty good turnout, so we are off to a good start.
“Some of this, it’s going to be learning on the fly. But I’m the third coach in the past three years, so the kids are used to it.”
Vogel is a 1997 Sparta graduate, and he started coaching rocket football when he was in school. He later returned to Sparta to serve as an assistant coach, then made stops in Grant and Hartford before landing the position at White Pigeon.
Vogel coached White Pigeon to consecutive playoff appearances in 2008 in 2009. The Chiefs were eliminated in the opening round in 2008 and round two the following season.
“I’m excited about coming up here because I’m from this area,” said Vogel, who was a three-year athlete at Sparta. “Kent City has great facilities and great people.
“We will play a tough schedule this year, but we think we can do well. Hopefully, this is the year we will make the playoffs again.”
Kent City’s staff will include Jake Warrens, who will serve as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. Warrens coached with Vogel last year at White Pigeon, and before that, he was the Mount Union quarterbacks coach for three years.
Bob Boyd, who was Kent City’s head coach from 2007-2010, has returned to serve as the co-special teams coordinator, and he will share that position with Jeff Amlotte. Amlotte is back for his second season with the Eagles. In addition, Andy Crane is back for his second season as offensive consultant.
Kent City will open the season Aug. 24 versus Ravenna. The Eagles are coming off 3-6 seasons in each of the past three years.
Source: highschoolsports.mlive.com
Essex County Executive welcomes Miami Dolphins Tight End, Anthony Fasano to Verona Park - NJ.com
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. welcomed Miami Dolphins Tight End and Verona native Anthony Fasano to Essex County Verona Park on Saturday, July 14, for the professional athlete’s 4th Annual Anthony Fasano Bocce Bash. This is the first time the charity event has been held in Essex County Verona Park and was made possible after Fasano organized a volunteer campaign to modernize the park’s facilities with four new bocce courts.
“In Essex County, Anthony has been a star on and off the field. When he’s not catching touchdowns, he’s giving back to the community by supporting programs for children with autism and bringing food and necessary supplies to needy families. He’s a role model for the community,” DiVincenzo said. “We are proud to have partnered with Anthony to replace two existing bocce courts with four new ones, which allowed Anthony to bring his tournament to Verona Park. It’s a great addition that the public will enjoy,” he added. The County Executive noted that he will name the bocce courts in Essex County Verona Park in Fasano’s honor because of his considerable donation to expand and modernize the facility.
“I want to thank my family, friends, contractors and others who donated their time, hard work and supplies to build the four new bocce courts and Joe D and his team for partnering with us so we could bring my bocce tournament home to Verona Park where it belongs,” Fasano said. “In addition to the great sense of pride for my family and friends involved in this project, the bocce courts serve as a symbol for the great things that are possible through community volunteerism. It’s been a wonderful experience working with everyone to get this done, and I plan on returning every summer to host my Bocce Bash right here,” he added.
For the past three years, Fasano hosted the Annual Bocce Bash in Montville, because the park there has four bocce courts and can accommodate the tournament. Earlier this year, Fasano and his representative Pat Capra, approached the County Executive with the idea to replace the two existing bocce courts with four new ones. Doubling the number of bocce courts in Essex County Verona Park enabled Fasano to relocate his tournament to Verona Park.
Essex County crews performed the construction work to remove the old bocce courts and grade the site and, when construction was completed, installed new park benches, bleacher seating and new landscaping. A team of volunteer contractors, family members and friends constructed the new bocce courts over the course of about two weeks in early July, completing in time for the bocce tournament. Fasano thanked the County Executive for helping the project move forward as well as the following contractors and friends: Carl Lombardi Construction, Kaslander Lumber, Yard Work Landscaping, Gary Mercadante, G Lombardi Pavers, Nevolis Contractor, Bo Battista, Pat Capra, Brett D’Alessandro, Coleen D’Alessandro, JR D’Alessandro, Greg D’Alessandro Sr., Greg D’Alessandro Jr., Ray DeCarlo, Jerry DeLuca, Steve DiGeronimo, Ken Dinolfo, Michael Fasano, Phil Ladato, Carl Lombardi, Bobby Lombardi, Richie Lombardi, Rich Mattesky, Ryan Mattesky, Gary Mercadante, Bill Montick, Drew Nevolis, Adrian O’Connell and Mark Panecki.
Proceeds from the Bocce Bash help support holiday food and toy drives for families in need. The Anthony Fasano Foundation also runs an annual golf outing that raises money and awareness for REED Academy, a school for children and young adults ages 3 to 21 with autism. During the last three years, Fasano also has partnered with DiVincenzo, Feed Our Children and several local non-profit social service agencies to distribute food and personal care items to families in need.
Source: www.nj.com
Lockyer seeks divorce from former Supervisor Nadia Lockyer - San Jose Mercury News
Ending the marriage of a Democratic power couple after a sordid public breakup, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer has filed for divorce from former Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer, who had an affair and has struggled with a drug abuse problem in recent months.
The divorce papers, filed Friday in Alameda County Superior Court, cite "irreconcilable differences" between the 71-year-old California political institution and his 41-year-old wife.
Tom Dresslar, Bill Lockyer's spokesman, said Monday afternoon that "Bill's desire is to above all resolve the matter in a way that serves'' the best interests of the couple's 9-year-old son Diego.
"Beyond that, he wants to the extent possible for this to be handled as privately and as amicably as possible," Dresslar said.
Shortly after the court filing, Nadia Lockyer, was injured in a solo car accident.
At about 5:10 p.m. Friday, she was talking on her cell phone when she veered off the road while driving in her Hayward Hills neighborhood, hitting a light pole and a tree, Hayward Police Sgt. Eric Krimm said Monday.
Krimm said her car's air bag deployed, but she suffered some facial cuts and complained of pain in her arm and was taken to a hospital by ambulance; she was not seriously injured.
Alcohol wasn't a factor in the crash, Krimm said, and Lockyer was alone in the car when it happened. Police aren't sure how fast she was driving but Krimm said she made an "unsafe
turning movement" before the crash. She wasn't cited or arrested.Neither Nadia Lockyer nor Bruce Jobson, Bill Lockyer's attorney, immediately responded to emails and phone calls Monday seeking comment about the divorce filing.
When she resigned in late April, Nadia Lockyer told this newspaper she was determined to fix her crumbling marriage.
"We're married. There's no talk of changing that, " she said. "We're committed to our son."
Trouble between the Lockyers surfaced in February after Nadia Lockyer told police that the lover she had met in a chemical-dependency program had attacked her in a Newark hotel room. But the state Justice Department investigated and in April declined to charge him with any crime. For weeks, the tempestuous affair between Nadia Lockyer and Stephen Chikhani -- a 35-year-old convicted felon from San Jose -- unravelled in the media through a series of text messages, secret recordings and rumors of a sex tape.
Nadia Lockyer resigned her seat on the board of supervisors in late April, months after the Chikhani incident brought her affair and her drug addiction into the public eye.
The Lockyers had wed in 2003, in what one veteran political operative at the time had called "a match made in political heaven."
By the time Bill Lockyer met Nadia Maria Davis about a decade ago, he was a Democratic political giant serving as California's attorney general after 25 years in the Legislature. Twice married earlier in life, he'd long been a bachelor.
Her father had been a renowned immigrant-rights lawyer, and she had cut her political teeth in Orange County by working on campaigns and winning a four-year term on the Santa Ana Unified School District board. When they met, she was four years younger than Bill Lockyer's daughter from one of his previous marriages.
The Lockyers, who have shared a home in the Hayward hills, became a prominent Democratic "power couple" from whom many local candidates sought blessings and support. Bill Lockyer transferred about $1.5 million from his campaign committee to his wife's 2010 campaign for supervisor, allowing her to swamp her rivals in a blizzard of direct mail and advertising.
In an extended interview with this newspaper to announce her resignation, Nadia Lockyer declared her commitment to focus on her recovery from addiction and her family. She thanked her husband for "his incredible patience and love and understanding despite the things I shared about past hurts and losses.
"I'll never feel I can do it enough,'' she said.
Staff Writer Julia Prodis Sulek contributed to this report. Josh Richman covers politics. Follow him at Twitter.com/josh_richman. Read the Political Blotter at IBAbuzz.com/politics.
Source: www.mercurynews.com
16th century prep school gutted by fire - Daily Telegraph
The school has already finished for holidays but it is thought some 25 pupils may have been staying there at the time.
The area was evacuated and nobody was injured.
Deputy headteacher Chris Townsend said: "We have already broken up for the summer. "
Firefighters battled the inferno for nearly five hours but were hampered in their efforts by a lack of water despite years of planning targeted at a 'worst case scenario' blaze at the school building.
Major building works took place for the 400th anniversary celebrations in 1964, when the Queen Mother laid the foundation stone for the then new Music School.
A full-scale training exercise just over 18 months ago saw 45 firefighters and nine appliances descend on the school to practice a pre-organised routine.
At the time fire bosses said the exercise - which took a year and a half to organise - had gone off without a hitch.
Deputy headteacher Chris Townsend said at the time: "This kind of exercise is crucial to make sure we understand our procedures and the fire service understand our building.
"School House is the biggest and oldest building making it the most difficult to evacuate and to tackle a fire within it if one were to ever break out.
"At any one time there could be 60 students sleeping in there and by doing this we are giving them the best chance of survival in the result of a fire."
Today the boarding school confirmed that none of its pupils had been staying there at the time of the blaze but that 25 students from Stafford House International Summer School were in residence when the fire began and had been evacuated safely.
No one has been reported injured.
Firefighters eventually contained the blaze just before midnight after being forced to pump water from a lake half a mile away due to problems with a lack of water supply.
Crews remained at the scene this morning damping down hot spots as structural engineers were called in to begin to assess the damage caused by the huge blaze.
Ray Skinner, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Divisional Officer, said: "We have been hampered throughout this incident by a poor water supply.
"We are using the high volume pump to get water from a lake around half a mile away.
"Crews will be here throughout the night working to contain the fire and this will supply the many gallons of water they will need.
"Firefighters have been working extremely hard in difficult conditions.
"On arrival crews were faced with a large and well established fire which has spread inside the building which is now completely alight.
"We now have the fire contained but crews will remain here throughout the night continuing to contain the fire and make sure that it does not spread to the nearby house.
"There is still a great deal of work for us to do here."
A full investigation has been launched to uncover the cause of the fire.
The Princess Royal opened the new Lord Riche Hall in 1989. Girls were taken into the Sixth Form in 1970, and into the whole school in 1993.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Felsted School damaged by fire - BBC News
Fire crews arrived to find the roof of the boarding block ablaze
A public school in Essex has been badly damaged by a fire tackled by more than 40 firefighters.
The fire started in the roof and first floor of a girls' boarding house at Felsted School, near Great Dunmow, on Sunday evening and rapidly spread.
The fire service said it had to battle a poor water supply and it was "simply too dangerous" to send crews inside. No-one was injured.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way.
Fire engines had to leave the site and bring water back on tanks carried on the vehicles, and pump water from a lake.
'Extremely hard'The school term had ended but about 25 students and staff from a summer school were on site and managed to leave the building before crews arrived.
The fire was contained by 23:40 BST and the operation scaled back at 03:00 BST, when the building was still smouldering.
Speaking on Sunday night, Divisional Officer Ray Skinner said firefighters worked "extremely hard" in difficult conditions, with the fire well alight and spreading when they arrived at 19:00 BST.
They were "hampered throughout" by a poor water supply, with the lake situated half a mile away, he added.
Deputy head Chris Townsend thanked Essex fire service for their "prompt action" at Follyfield House.
"The damage will be assessed over the coming days and parents, pupils and staff will be kept informed of any subsequent arrangements before the start of term," he added.
"We intend to ensure that school will be open as usual in September."
The school has day and boarding boys and girls, aged four to 18.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Peter Kent And Diana McQueen Tour Oilsands Monitoring Sites - huffingtonpost.ca
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - The federal and Alberta environment ministers have been given a first-hand look at expanded environmental oilsands monitoring that is intended to answer the industry's detractors in Canada and abroad.
"It gives some of our critics abroad tangible scientific evidence of the responsible way the oilsands are being developed," said federal minister Peter Kent, who toured the region Monday with his provincial colleague Diana McQueen.
The ministers got an in-the-field view of improvements being made upon the recommendation of an independent scientific panel that found major flaws in how changes in the region's ecosystem were being tracked. The upgrades will take a number of years to be fully operational and will cost an estimated $50 million annually.
But work has already started. Federal and provincial scientific staff in the region have already doubled. New equipment is in the field.
Million-dollar sensors will use lasers to give more accurate assessments of what's in the air — both gases and particles. The lasers will also enable researchers to measure greenhouse gas emissions much more accurately.
Sonar-equipped power boats are drawing three-dimensional maps of the Athabasca River and are taking precise measurements of stream flow. That will help create a much clearer picture of how much contamination in the river comes from natural riverbank erosion and how much from industry.
Both Environment Canada and the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association, a monitoring agency funded largely by industry, have opened new facilities in Fort McMurray.
Water monitoring sites have increased to 40 from 21. Seventeen new air monitoring sites are to be brought in — 10 over the next five years — and will stretch as far east as Manitoba and as far north as the Northwest Territories.
For the first time this spring, scientists were on oilsands-region rivers every day to measure contaminants in runoff.
"The biggest challenge is scale," said Fred Wrona, Environment Canada's senior scientific adviser.
Not only do trailer-sized monitoring stations loaded with carefully calibrated gear need to be transported to remote spots in the bush, provincial and federal researchers have had to get together to ensure they were taking the same measurements in the same way.
"The type of information we needed, we needed to have a much more integrated and co-ordinated approach," said Wrona.
He acknowledged that it'll be tough to establish an environmental baseline for the area, given more than a decade's worth of intensive development. But he said an idea of what's ecologically normal can be constructed by using old monitoring data and information from environmentally similar sites that remain relatively untouched.
Crucial decisions on how improved monitoring will be governed remain unanswered, especially on how independent any agency will remain from government.
"I've said it (will be) arm's length, and independent and credible, with peer review," said McQueen. "We agree on that. It's how do we roll that out?"
McQueen is currently reviewing recommendations on how that program should be governed. She said those suggestions as well as her response will be released over the coming weeks.
"I prefer an external, arm's-length (governance), so that we do have the independence," McQueen said. "It's very important for us in Alberta and nationally, but also internationally, that the credibility piece is there."
Kent promised the data would be publicly available.
"There will be absolute transparency," he said. "We will seek peer review on a regular basis."
Kent and McQueen announced a radically revamped oilsands monitoring plan in February. Criticism from scientists and others that the provincial government was doing a poor job of overseeing environmental changes caused by oilsands development has been affecting the province's attempts to increase its energy exports.
Ultimately, the three-year plan aims to increase the number of monitoring sites by more than 50 per cent. The new approach includes looking for hazardous chemicals ignored under the old plan.
Eventually, monitors are also to examine biodiversity, animal toxicity, plant health and habitat disruption.
Both Kent and McQueen said they have broad support from industry on funding the monitoring program, although final arrangements are still being discussed. This year's efforts are being funded by government.
Who pays for what is expected to be finalized by the end of the summer, said McQueen.
Jennifer Grant of the Pembina Institute welcomed the progress made on improving oilsands monitoring.
"Seeing tangible, on-the-ground improvements is positive and we look forward to similar progress implementing an independent governance system with enhanced inclusivity and a sustainable, long-term funding model."
But she cautioned that governments still need to establish environmental limits for the region, as well as complete a land-use plan.
Related on HuffPost:
Source: www.huffingtonpost.ca
Getting carried away? It’s the only way for Lauren - The Sun
The Only Way Is Essex star — wearing sky-high platform stilettos — avoided getting her heels dirty as the burly man came to her rescue.
But she had to cover her modesty with the help of her large clutch bag.
Despite being carried the star obviously had an exhausting day as she tweeted today: “Going stay in my bed all day!! #chilledSunday.”
Later she posted a photo of the occasion saying: “@LaurenGoodger being carried around by a member of security at the Duke of Essex Polo, yesterday!”
Lauren, 25, tottered along at the Duke of Essex Polo event in Epping with TOWIE co-star Georgina Dorsett.
Tom Cleverley’s lover looked striking in a black mini dress with net skirt, while Lauren opted for a dotty peplum-style frock.
Nancy Dell’Olio wasn’t so lucky in getting a helping hand over the slippery pathways as she nearly came a cropper in her knee-high suede boots.
But the nimble former Strictly Come Dancing star, in snakeskin tight trousers and matching bag, managed to keep her footing.
And Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace turned heads in a clingy turquoise frock.
But the day wasn’t all fun as former Atomic Kitten star Liz McClarnon appeared to be having a blazing row with her partner.
And Elen Rives looked far from her glamorous self in a ruched peach dress which did little to flatter her figure.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
Suffolk/Essex: Population growth above national average according to Census figures - East Anglian Daily Times
The 2011 Census form was filled out by households on the 27th of March. The results of which was published today.
Monday, July 16, 2012
1:32 PM
THE population of Suffolk has grown by nearly 9 percent in ten years - higher than the national average.
The results of the Census published today shows the extent of the growth in England and Wales.
Between the last two Census surveys, the population of England and Wales surged by seven percent - the biggest growth seen in any period since records began.
In Suffolk the growth is 8.7 percent bringing the overall population to 728,200.
In north Essex the growth is 7.2 percent.
Every district in Suffolk and north Essex has seen an surge in resident numbers, except Tendring which witnessed a fall of 0.6 percent.
Nationally there were 56.1 million people living in England and Wales when the 2011 Census was carried out. This means the population had increased by 3.7 million since 2001, when 52.4 million people were counted.
The survey reveals an ageing population, with one in six people in England and Wales aged 65 or over last year.
Some 430,000 were aged 90 or over, compared with only 13,000 when the Census was carried out 100 years earlier, in 1911.
Source: www.eadt.co.uk
Sign in to leave your comment
2 comments
I bet the population of the EU has dropped at the same time
Add your comment | Report this comment
Brenden Ward
Monday, July 16, 2012
Hardly surprising is it, immigration is ridiculous in this country and this county seems to have more than it's fair share. I'm all for asylum if it's legitimate and immigration if it adds to the country's economy, but come one come all is the way things seem to be run.
Add your comment | Report this comment
geezer76
Monday, July 16, 2012