JOHNSTOWN An application for notice of incorporation forming Friends and Family of Bishop McCort was shipped off to Harrisburg late last week, as Catholics in the area take another step toward coming to grips with what allegedly happened at one of their most sacred institutions the place where they send their children to be educated.

Still reeling from the revelation two months ago of alleged sexual abuse by a Franciscan friar employed at Bishop McCort Catholic High School, parents, alumni and financial supporters of the school were shocked when principal and longtime school employee Ken Salem was placed on leave with pay.

The response has been swift and harsh.

The hope is that a formal organization will help the group, now several hundred strong and growing, get a response as they demand answers to why Salem was placed on leave and seek information about the makeup of the board of directors.

Who is in charge at Bishop McCort High School? As far as we know, no one else has been suspended, said Tim Burns.

Burns, an Ebensburg lawyer and McCort graduate, is co-organizer of the friends group, which formed Monday, three days after Salems suspension.

After hitting a wall with his questions, Burns said he was more optimistic in recent days after speaking to Kathleen Gallagher, the Pittsburgh attorney representing Bishop McCort.

Im not saying its in bad hands, Im not saying its in good hands, Burns said of the school.I know a very good leader was put on leave.

Late Friday, Gallagher forwarded a copy of the schools bylaws to Burns.

As many as 50 former students at Bishop McCort have contacted lawyers alleging they were sexually molested by Brother Stephen Baker, a friar who worked at schools in Minnesota and Michigan before relocating to John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio, in the mid-1980s.

Read more:
McCort faces tough questions amid scandal

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Last year, Matthew Knoebel spent his days in a sixth-grade class at Corpus Christi Catholic School. He transferred to Penndale Middle School for seventh grade before being diagnosed with AML Leukemia in October.

Normally, the annual Corpus Christi CYO March Madness Tournament partners with the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches to raise money for the battle against cancer.

In its eleventh year, the community overwhelmingly decided to shift proceeds to benefit Matt and his family, helping to offset steep medical costs and other expenses while the family focuses on battling the cancer.

Were happy to highlight one of our own neighbors, Linda Saba, a CYO board member, said. Its great to focus on helping a family that belongs to our parish.

This year, 178 fifth-through eighth-graders signed up to play in the weekend-long event that began Friday, March 8 at 5:15 p.m. All day Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. the 22 teams played each other to determine who plays for the championship on Sunday. Teammates are selected at random to keep things fair.

Each year scanning the schools year book, youll see that many of the kids list March Madness as their favorite memory, Saba said.

Corpus Christi alumni also come back to coach the teams. Ninth-and tenth-graders coach the fifth-and sixth-grade teams, while eleventh-and twelfth-graders coach the seventh-and eighth-grade teams.

In the seventh-and eighth-grade category, members of the Notre Dame girls team had class with Knoebel last year.

I really think this money will help him a lot, Kara Fichetti, a seventh grader at Corpus Christi said.

See original here:
Corpus Christis March Madness benefits one of its own battling Leukemia

TWIN FALLS First comes the residency.

But after Brooke Jardine completes that final step of her medical training, she plans to head somewhere rural hopefully, in Idaho.

Jardine, a 2003 Twin Falls High School alumna and hopeful future pediatrician, is finishing up her last year of medical school through the University of Washington School of Medicine. Shes there through a 41-year-old partnership among UW and five states Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) that among other purposes, is meant to train students to become physicians in rural and underserved areas.

Its been going really well, she said.

Two other 2003 TFHS alumni Jake Smith and MaryAlice Lopez will graduate from the UW program with Jardine this June.

Jardine said the program is unique because students spend time in Seattle, but also have five other states to choose from for clinical rotations.

WWAMI gives students experience with urban medicine, university-based medicine and small-town care, she said.

Dr. Mary Barinaga, Idaho WWAMIs assistant dean for regional affairs, said physicians arent distributed evenly between rural and urban areas.

Were trying to get some doctors to go into more rural areas, she said.

It worked for Barinaga. After graduating from the program, she spent 12 years practicing medicine in a small town in north Idaho.

Read more from the original source:
Twin Falls Grads Prepare to Become Rural Doctors

Dr. Trout also designed some of the earliest heart-lung machines and, in 1963, performed one of the earliest dual valve replacements using artificial heart valves, his family said.

In the 1960s, he traveled with a nursing team, demonstrating the new techniques at international conferences on open-heart surgery.

Born in Marietta, Ohio, and raised in Columbus, he was the son of Horatio and Lorella Crouse Trout.

Dr. Trout's father, a vocational-ed teacher, instilled in him an interest in tools and gadgets, and a thirst for knowledge about how things worked.

He became a woodworker, amateur plumber, electrician, carpenter, and painter, and took these skills with him to Ohio Wesleyan University and later into the operating room. He graduated in 1945 and earned a medical degree from Hahnemann University in 1947.

After medical school, he completed postgraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and received a master of science degree in surgery in 1949.

On May 28, 1949, the day after two weeks of finals, he married Anne Hockenberry. The two had met at Hahnemann, where she did social work.

Dr. Trout served in the Navy Reserve from 1942 to 1949. During the Korean War, he was called to active duty as a lieutenant junior grade, serving as a medical officer and participating in the landing at Inchon. He was honorably discharged as a lieutenant senior grade in 1954.

He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, American Theater, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Korean Campaign (3 stars) United Nations Medal.

The publishing house McGraw-Hill asked Dr. Trout to write a book on open-heart surgery. In 1959, The Practical Evaluation of Surgical Heart Disease was published.

Read the original post:
Robert Gates Trout, 90, a pioneer in open-heart surgery

VIENNA - Local alumni of Marshall University raised money for scholarships and honored three people during a dinner Thursday evening at Grand Pointe Conference Center.

Honored for their contributions to Marshall, the community and country were Daniel "Buddy" James, Dan Kimsey and R.V. "Buddy" Graham.

Dale C. Lowther of Williamstown, an honorary alumnus and member of the Marshall University Board of Governors, spoke at the fundraiser.

Photo by Jeff Baughan Former Parkersburg High School football coach Buddy James, right, Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp, center, and Marshall University Athletics Director Mike Hamrick, left, talk before Thursday's alumni dinner at Grand Pointe Conference Center in Vienna.

Marshall University Alumni of the Mid-Ohio Valley Thundering Bison Club played host to the 2013 scholarship fundraising dinner with the hopes to exceed the seven $1,000 scholarships given from money received at last year's benefit, said alumni president Laurie Martin.

The exact amount of money raised by Thursday's dinner was not immediately known, but Martin said officials know it exceeded what the group made last year. Attendance for the fourth annual dinner was the largest ever at 265 people, she said.

Martin said the main goal for the evening was to raise money in an effort to get area high school students interested in attending the university.

"We would like to exceed our goal this year from last year," she said. "To date our group has raised $26,000 in funds for scholarships."

Martin said it is important to the organization to have alumni and honorees return to every event.

Keynote speaker was Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp, who spoke about raising endowment funding for medical students. He discussed the importance of helping students who pursue the medical field graduate with as little debt as possible.

View post:
Marshall alumni hold fundraiser locally

Upcoming Events

My Plate for a Healthy Weight, nutrition fair, Thursday, March 7, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., SMMC Caf, 1 Medical Center Drive, second floor, Biddeford. Free. Sample healthy snacks, meet master gardeners who will be giving tips about growing your own vegetables, and participate in activities designed to help you learn about portion sizes and nutritious foods.

Belle Marsh, a dancer and certified body therapist, speaks Thursday, March 7, 6-7:30 p.m., Southern Maine Chronic Pain Support Group, hospitality room at The Pines, Ocean Park. Call Ernie Merritt at 284-2958 for more information.

Business after Hours, Thursday, March 7, 5-7 p.m., Party Plus and Taylor Rental, 6 Commercial St., Biddeford, sponsored by Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce. Free to chamber members; non-members invited for $10 per person. Business After Hours includes appetizers, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. RSVP to Estella@BiddefordSacoChamber.org or call 282-1567 for more information.

Saco Bay Gardening Club, Thursday, March 7, 6 p.m., Dyer Library, 371 Main St., Saco. Guest speaker is Kristen Perry, talking about the McLaughlin Gardens in South Paris, which were begun in 1936. For more information, see http://www.sacobaygardenclub.com.

Kinderkonzert, with Portland Symphony Orchestra, Friday, March 8, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m., Dyer Library/Saco Museum, 371 Main St., Saco. Concert will focus on the four seasons. For tickets call 773-6128 ext. 308 or email education@portlandsymphony.org.

1-2-3 Grow With Me, parent-child workshop-playgroup, Fridays, March 8, 15 and 22, 10 a.m., McArthur Public Library, 270 Main St., Biddeford. For kids ages 1-3 and caregivers. Each program features free play, art activity, circle time and great resources for parents. To register, call 284-4181.

Opening reception for RSU 23 Student Art Show, Friday, March 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Dyer Library/Saco Museum, 371 Main St., Saco. Works by students in Saco, Dayton and Old Orchard Beach schools. Biennial event is held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month runs through April 20.

Family movie night, Friday, March 8, 6:30 p.m., Libby Memorial Library, 27 Staples St., Old Orchard Beach. Call 934-4351 for more information.

Your Brain on Art, art exhibit opening reception, Friday, March 8, 5-8 p.m., Engine, 265 Main St., Biddeford. Show features works by artists suffering from brain injury and trauma. Show runs through April 6. For more information, call 229-3560 or email director@feedtheengine.org.

Read the original:
Sun Chronicle calendar – 3/7

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- The wife of billionaire real estate mogul Sam Zell is giving $50 million to support the University of Michigan's acclaimed graduate writing program. The donation, to be announced Thursday, is believed to be by far the largest ever gift to such a program, and comes at a time when most major gifts to higher education are supporting science, not the humanities.

Helen Zell, who earned her English degree at Michigan in 1964, has been supporting the Michigan program with smaller gifts totaling more than $10 million over more than a decade. Five long bookshelves, nearly covering an entire wall of her Chicago apartment, are filled with books written by the graduate program's faculty and alumni, she said, and she looks forward to adding more. Graduates include writers Elizabeth Kostova, Hanna Pylvainen and Jesymn Ward.

In a telephone interview, Zell described the new donation as an investment in some of the world's promising young poets and novelists, to ensure the books they have inside them get written, shared with the world, and allowed to work the unique magic of human self-reflection that literature offers.

"What I've watched happen with the introduction of the Internet and media and blogging, I almost feel like this part of our education is under siege," Zell said. "The ability of fiction to develop creativity, to analyze the human psyche, help you understand people its' critical. It's as important as vitamins or anything else. To me, it's the core of the intellectual health of human beings."

The gift the third-largest ever to the university comes from the Zell Family Foundation, where Helen Zell is executive director, and is in her name. Her husband, who endured a contentious tenure as chairman of media conglomerate Tribune Co., which he took private but then led into bankruptcy, is also a Michigan alumnus who has made substantial gifts to the university.

For aspiring writers, a spot in Michigan's graduate program is already akin to winning the lottery. Just 22 of roughly 1,000 applicants annually are accepted. Nationally, MFA students are among the most indebted, often borrowing six figures to pay for school then struggling to pay repay their loans. But Michigan covers tuition and offers a $22,000 stipend for students while they take classes their first year, then pays them for teaching during their second.

Most unusually for the field, all students receive a third, postgraduate year of support, including health insurance, to focus on their work. The bonus year, already funded by Zell, has been dubbed on campus a "Zellowship."

"Writers should be at their desk, not at Starbucks serving coffee," she said.

Kostova, whose debut novel "The Historian" rose quickly to No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list, and Ward, whose 2011 novel "Salvage the Bones" won the National Book Award, are among the program's better-known graduates. Pylvainen , whose first novel "We Sinners" won a Whiting Writers' Award last year, said the book might never have been written without the third-year fellowship.

There are no plans to expand the program, which Zell said might dilute its quality. Rather, the gift will essentially underwrite it in perpetuity, while offering flexibility for new projects.

Originally posted here:
Unusual $50 million gift for writing at Michigan

3/6/2013 2:10:00 PM

The gift comes in the form of a bequest through Upstates Medical Alumni Foundation. August died Aug. 14, 2011.

We are grateful for the living legacy Dr. August has created that will ultimately improve the health of children in this region and support the next generation of physicians in New York, Upstate Medical University President David R. Smith, M.D. said in a news release. His generosity is a testament to the support of our alumni.

The contribution will be used to establish the Stanley A. August, M.D., Endowed Professorship in Pediatrics, and two scholarships: The Nathan and Ada August Memorial Award and the Stanley A. August, M.D., Memorial Award.Details of the professorship and scholarships are still to be worked out, Upstate says.

Thomas Welch, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and medical director of Upstate Golisano Childrens Hospital, said the gift from August, while supporting Upstate clinical education mission, represents the final contribution to the Childrens Hospital capital campaign.

Contact Carbonaro at mcarbonaro@cnybj.com

New York is angling to be chosen as the site for a federal pilot program to test the cost effectiveness of including Greek yogurt in school meal programs.

The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities received a $500,000 donation from PepsiCo, Inc. on Wednesday.

OSWEGO SUNY Oswego plans to roll out a community incubator initiative next month to engage business, government, education, human services, and nonprofits to foster innovation and economic development.

Link:
Upstate Medical University receives $1.54 million bequest from alumnus