Nazi death camp survivor will sign books in Williams

auschwitz_arrivee-2WILLIAMS — On September 1, 1939, the German army entered Poland after a false flag at a German radio station. In four days they took Bendzin; the hometown of 12-year-old Dora Szpringer. The Germans burned down a synagogue with about 200 Jews inside. While most Jews in the town were killed, the entire family of Dora Szpringer survived the war.

Now Doris Martin will be here in Williams August 9th to sign copies of her book, Kiss Every Step—the story of that survival.

The book signing is being arranged by Cosette Riggs who is arranging a radio interview. “This is going to be a great opportunity and maybe the last for any of you that want to, to meet a survivor of the Prison camps,” Cossette said. “Our children should be told what happened to these millions of people and we should never forget. ”

Doris will conduct a radio interview on Tuesday, August 9 at 11:30 on KZBX 92.1 FM. She will sign copies of her book at the Wild West Junction dining hall at 1 p.m.

Local artist gets mentions in national magazines

640-LookbookWILLIAMS — Local bear artist Brenda Carter is getting attention by national industry magazines. In January of this year, she received recognition for Miss Penelope in teddy bear & friends magazine. This month she is mentioned with others in Bear Beautiful magazine.

Brenda grew up in England during WWII amid air raids and bombs dropping. Many a day was spent in the basement of their home during a raid and amazingly the damage to her home consisted mainly of windows blown in and ceilings falling down while other homes on the street were destroyed.

Over fifty-years ago, she immigrated to the USA. Meeting her husband many years later. He served with the Sheriff’s Office in California for 26 years. After his passing she moved to Williams and opened a gift shop called Autumn Buffalo for about 12 years.

When she retired, she started a hobby of making dollhouses and furniture. Later her friend Lorrie a well known sculptor of art dolls (LorelieBlu Studio) taught her how to sculpt fantasy dolls.

Brenda started a Facebook page called Teddy Bears and Fantasy Dolls and quickly gathered many followers. The past couple years she started to think about how much her little teddy bear from the war gave her comfort which she still has and decided to start creating Teddy Bears for others to collect and make their own memories. This is when she moved into making Teddy Bears and became a Banner member of Artist Bears International where she posts her work for sale.

Weather good for weekend events until Saturday

soar

Photo – City of Flagstaff web site.

FLAGSTAFF, WILLIAMS – The National Weather Service long-range forecast shows mostly clear skies with cool temperatures for the heavenly viewing at the Glassburn Natural area across from the laundry and Rod’s Steak House on Railroad avenue. Everyone is welcome to come and take a peek through the telescopes set up by the Coconino Astronomical Society. The viewing starts at 7:30 and will end around 9:30.

Saturday there is a 10% chance of showers, but that is after 11 pm. Plenty of time to take the Art Walk sponsored by The Gallery in the Grand Canyon Hotel in downtown Williams. The walk along route 66 will begin at 6 pm and end at 9. Contact Kris or Tom Williams 928-635-3006 for more information.

The riders of the Queencreek Junior Rodeo might find it a bit wet on Sunday with a 20% chance of showers, but Saturday should be fine for the two day event. Saturday and Sunday the gates open at 8 am at the Bob Dean Rodeo grounds across the street from the Old Trails hardware store on Rodeo Road. The Queencreek Junior Rodeo Association is dedicated to providing a family environment in which children can obtain and develop basic rodeo skills. For more information contact Kelly Martin 928-899-2943 or visit www.qcjra.org

The chance of rain in Flagstaff on Sunday is 10% higher. The big event in Flagstaff, however, is their 12th annual Soar into Spring Kite Festival on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public from 11 am to 3 pm. The event is held at Foxglenn Park, 4200 Butler Avenue in Flagstaff. Most events are free, but there is a $3 wristband for certain rides, laser tag and other events.

There is always Marvelous Marv’s Private Grand Canyon Tour and the Bearizona Wildlife drive through park.

The forests are still open so hiking is available, but NO SMOKING is allowed in the forest due to dry conditions. In fact no smoking is technically allowed (except inside vehicles) at the Buckskinner park reservoir which is still open for fishing.

Also do not forget Sunday is Mother’s day. There are plenty of presents right here in Williams to get her. The Briar Patch provides flowers and gifts and the Route 66 Boutique just opened next door. Treats and Treasures has an assortment of candies and gifts, including coins for coin collectors, and features homemade ice cream. The Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe, which just received an award from the Arizona Highways, will be open Sunday for breakfast and lunch. Pine Country and Rod’s Steak House will be open for Mother’s Day and on the east end of town is Twisters and Goldie’s Route 66 Diner.

Gosnell movie gets amazing funding via Indeggo.

UPDATED: 4/30/14, 9:28

640px-GOSNELL_FB_Cover_plainDonald Sterling is now a household name. He is the Clippers owner who allegedly made distasteful racist remarks and is well-known for his donations to Democratic candidates and causes. His remarks, released by TMZ, have received massive media coverage. He was recently barred, apparently, from the NBA.

Kermit Gosnell is probably not a name known except to a select few. He was an abortion doctor in Philadelphia who delivered live babies and killed them by severing their spinal cord with scissors. He called the process “snipping.” He is not the only one at his clinic that conducted this process. It is alleged that sometimes his nursing staff and even administrative staff would conduct the snipping. It is unknown how many babies he snipped because he destroyed many of the records. He was only accused and convicted of a few of the murders and is now serving several life sentences.

The story of the Gosnell trial is not the trial itself, but the lack of coverage of the trial. CNN has become known as the missing plane network and all media outlets have donated various amounts of time to the Donald Sterling story. The benches reserved for the media at the Gosnell trial, however, were virtually empty. PBS and Associated Press did cover the trial and did a good report on the trial.

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Empty seats reserved for the media at the Gosnell trial in Philadelphia.

Spike Lee is also a household name. He is a movie producer who has produced some pretty good movies—including Malcom X—and made millions. His campaign on KICKSTARTER is making headlines for raising over $1.4M of $1.25M requested for his new movie which is apparently a thriller about vampires. There are no details about the movie on the site because it is a thriller. This so-called “crowdfunding” campaign has been covered by the various mainstream media agencies.

Phelim Mcaleer is not a household name either. He is a documentary producer who has three titles to date. His conservative documentaries are the ire of the “progressive” movement. Especially Not Evil Just Wrong which is an anti-global warming movie. It screened across the nation, but did not receive the press of other award winning documentary makers who support the progressive agenda.

The media also did not cover the amazing crowdfunding for Mcaleer’s latest effort through Indegogo. The movie Gosnell and is the story of the abortion doctor aforementioned. The campaign started on March 28 and has raised over $1.5M of the $2.1M sought. The movie is breaking records for funding through the web site.

The movie is being made for television so it is questionable what networks would run a film contrary to the present agenda.
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The Kiss of Life

by Rocco Morabito

thompson-67This 1967 award-winning photo entitled “Kiss of Life” shows two power linemen, Randall Champion and J. D. Thompson, at the top of a utility pole. They had been performing routine maintenance when Champion brushed one of the high voltage lines at the very top. These are the lines that can be heard “singing” with electricity. Over 4000 volts entered Champion’s body and instantly stopped his heart (an electric chair uses about 2000 volts).

His safety harness prevented a fall, and Thompson, who had been ascending below him, quickly reached him and performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He was unable to perform CPR given the circumstances, but continued breathing into Champion’s lungs until he felt a slight pulse, then unbuckled his harness and descended with him on his shoulder.

Thompson and another worker administered CPR on the ground, and Champion was moderately revived by the time paramedics arrived. Champion survived and lived until 2002, when he died of heart failure at the age of 64. Thompson is still living.


Rocco Morabito (November 2, 1920 – April 5, 2009) was an American photographer who spent the majority of his career at the Jacksonville Journal.

Morabito won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography for “The Kiss of Life”, a Jacksonville Journal photo that showed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation between two workers on a utility pole. Randall G. Champion was unconscious and hanging upside down after contacting a high voltage line; fellow lineman J.D. Thompson revived him while strapped to the pole by the waist. Champion survived and lived until 2002, when he died of heart failure at the age of 64; Thompson is still living. The photograph was published in newspapers around the world.

He served in World War II in the Army Air Forces as a ball-turret gunner on a B-17. He returned after the war and worked for the Journal for 42 years, 33 of them as a photographer, until retiring in 1982. He died on April 5, 2009 while in hospice care.—WikiPedia

SEE ALSO: The Kiss of Life, 40 years later, 10 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photos And Their Stories

Man-in-undies sculpture causes a stir at all-girls college

bildeWELLESLEY, MASS. — A remarkably lifelike sculpture of a man sleepwalking in nothing but his underpants has made some Wellesley College students a bit uncomfortable, but the president of the prestigious women’s school says that’s all part of the intellectual process.

The sculpture, titled “Sleepwalker,” is of a man in an eyes-closed, zombie-like trance. It’s part of an exhibit by Tony Matelli at the college’s Davis Museum. It was placed at a busy area of campus Monday, a few days before the exhibit’s official opening, and prompted an online student petition to have it removed.

The sculpture is a “source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault,” says the petition, which had nearly 300 signtures Wednesday.

Read more at Detroit Free Press

Brain function ‘boosted for days after reading a novel’

classic-novelsBeing pulled into the world of a gripping novel can trigger actual, measurable changes in the brain that linger for at least five days after reading, scientists have said.

The new research, carried out at Emory University in the US, found that reading a good book may cause heightened connectivity in the brain and neurological changes that persist in a similar way to muscle memory.

The changes were registered in the left temporal cortex, an area of the brain associated with receptivity for language, as well as the the primary sensory motor region of the brain.

Neurons of this region have been associated with tricking the mind into thinking it is doing something it is not, a phenomenon known as grounded cognition – for example, just thinking about running, can activate the neurons associated with the physical act of running.

Read more at The Independent

SEE ALSO: Lost At E Minor, 100 best novels
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