Stories

Ohman wins Kennedy Award
Posted by Therese Bottomly, The Oregonian April 07, 2009 13:01PM
Randy L. RasmussenJack Ohman, The Oregonian's political cartoonist since 1983

The Oregonian's political cartoonist, Jack Ohman, has won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for editorial cartoons published in 2008 reflecting the lives and strife of disadvantaged people throughout the world.

Ohman learned about the award in a personal call from Ethel Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy's widow, who told him, "You honor Bobby's name" in describing the work that won the award.

Here is how the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial foundation describes the award:

"Known as the "Poor People's Pulitzers" ... these award recipients have brought to light issues spanning from child abuse and juvenile crime to discriminatory banking practices and prejudice against AIDS victims.

"Established in December of 1968 by a group of reporters covering Robert Kennedy's presidential election, the award program has far exceeded the expectations of its founders. Led by a committee of six independent journalists, the Awards are judged by more than fifty journalists each year. It has become the largest program of its kind and one of few in which the winners are determined solely by their peers." The memorial foundation engages in social justice advocacy and sponsors awards for books, journalism and other media."

Hugo family talks about two-year-old tornado victim

Here is a link to the video http://www.kare11.com/video/player.aspx?aid=72199&bw=

The things that could be salvaged from the home of Jerry and Christy Prindle, barely fit in a pick-up truck. But friends and neighbors searched nonetheless for insurance papers, stuffed animals and family photos. What they found mattered little compared to who was lost.

"Nathaniel was a wonderful little boy with a very big heart, a very big smile," said Todd Nelson, an uncle of the two-year-old son of Jerry and Christy.

Nathaniel was found by neighbors late Sunday afternoon, after the tornado blew him out of his home and into a pond beyond his backyard.

Neighbors attempted CPR, but Nathaniel could not be saved. His parents and four-year-old sister Annika were also blown from the house and found amid the debris in the backyard and are now recovering from their injuries.

Nathaniel's sister, four-year old Annika is in critical condition at Gillette Children's Hospital. Jerry Prindle is also in the hospital at Regions and is in fair condition. Christy Prindle was treated and released from the hospital.

For next-door neighbor Marcel Linders it's now all a matter of perspective. "It's just a pile of junk," he says about his leveled two-story home. "We lost our house, we lost our stuff, but they lost a child."

Linders, his step-daughter Rachel Baldwin and her boyfriend all survived without serious injuries when Linders' home collapsed into the basement. "I'm still amazed that not one of us was hurt," he said. "It seemed like everything collapsed right around us and there was just enough space for us to sit underneath without everything collapsing on top of us."

All afternoon neighbors faced the Prindles' home and quietly paid respects. "My heart goes out to them," said Sylvia McPeak, who lives across the small pond.

On Monday afternoon neighbors found the Prindles' dog wandering in the neighborhood. He'd been missing since being blown out of the house.

"He needs to change his name from Toby to lucky, because he really is," said neighbor Jennifer Johnson who sat with Toby on the near the end of the Prindles' driveway.

Like the clean up, the healing is only beginning on the Prindle's street. Neighbors are doing what they can, while knowing it can never be enough.

By Boyd Huppert, KARE 11 News

Michael R. Muellerleile, M.D.
Practicing in Cedar Rapids since 2003

DEGREES:
B.S., University of Notre Dame
M.D., University of Minnesota Medical School

TRAINING:
Internal Medicine Residency: University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic
Cardiology Fellowship: University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic

BOARD CERTIFIED IN:
Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Diseases

AWARDS/ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Fellow, American College of Cardiology (F.A.C.C.)
AHA Minnesota Affiliate Fellowship Research Award
Central Society Clinical Cardiovascular Research Award finalist
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
University of Notre Dame, Dean's list
Member, Linn County, Iowa and American Medical Associations

SPECIAL INTEREST AND SKILL AREAS IN CARDIOLOGY:
Congestive Heart Failure
Preventive Cardiology
Echocardiography

PERSONAL INTERESTS:
Dr. Muellerleile enjoys golf, travel, skiing, and spending time with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children Andrew and Hannah.

“The opportunity to serve my patients and the excellent relationship I have with them is my greatest reward and incentive.”

When a priest came to Ted Brausen and asked him if he could "fix up" the 110-year-old St. Joseph Church in Lino Lakes, Brausen bristled. "I pump gas for a living. And that place was condemned."

Four years and a whole lot of sweat and dedication later, Brausen's all-volunteer crew of rehabbers is putting the finishing touches on the reinvigorated Catholic church.

And just in time. After all, Les and Mary Trombley are planning to hold their wedding anniversary celebration today at St. Joseph, 50 years after they got hitched there.

"Our little church is gonna be the envy of every church in the state," said Mary Trombley, a lifelong member, expressing her delight with the restoration. "It has been beautiful. They have done the most fantastic job."

The city was on the brink of officially condemning the building, the second-oldest in Anoka County, in the fall of 2003, when parishioner Brausen and others rallied a crew to take on the project.

St. Joseph's moved services into newer buildings nearly 40 years ago and the old church was unoccupied. Where weddings and funerals were once held, church staff stored lawn-mowing equipment. Wild animals took shelter in the broken-down rock pile.

"It was pretty trashed," said Brausen, who runs several local gas stations. "There wasn't a love shown to it that should've been."

The Rev. Mark Underdahl said the newly renovated church will have two core purposes: a venue for special ceremonies and a standing testament to parish history. However, members of St. Joseph's are hoping to occasionally celebrate weekly Mass under the new roof.

Terry Meyer, who also helped manage the project with his wife, Jan, said the historic church, with a capacity of about 150, can oftentimes provide a greater sense of intimacy.

"The (current) church seats about 1,300 to 1,400. So if you have a small wedding, it seems like nobody is there," Meyer said.

Workers reinstalled the pews, which are more than 100 years old, just last week. The pews are refurbished, but some scratches and marks were left to preserve their personality.

Breathing new life into the church has come with its share of disappointments. While tearing out acoustic tiles, workers exposed a large ceiling mural above the altar, adorned with doves and cherubs. Damage to the mural, though, was so severe it could not be preserved.

"It's kind of a shame they did that," Meyer said of the acoustic tiles over the mural. "It was a great piece of artwork."

Brausen estimated the transformation cost about $150,000. Getting new artwork will add another $60,000 to the price tag. When the project is complete, he expects the cost will reach $220,000.

Paying for the restoration has been a

challenge, Brausen said, but parishioners, area residents and businesses have found ways to support the project.
"When we get low on money, all of a sudden we get a check," he said.

For the Meyers, Brausen and others who contributed to the project's success, the past four years have been an emotional and spiritual journey.

"There's a higher power that just kind of made things turn out right," Brausen said.

Mary and Les Trombley, now in their mid-70s, have seen their parish change a great deal over the years - the addition of a school and two new church buildings. As the doors to the historic church reopen, today marks not only another milestone in their marriage, but the preservation of their parish's history for future generations, Les Trombley said.

His bride, Mary, said her relationship with the church is inseparable: "The only way I'm gonna leave it is when I'm buried in the cemetery right next to the old church, so they can wheel me right out."

C.J.: Secrets to happiness? Dan Buettner will share some answers
By C.J., Star Tribune

Last update: January 9, 2008 - 9:33 PM

World explorer Dan Buettner is scheduled to discuss "Unlocking the Secrets to Happiness" on two segments of ABC's "20/20" on Friday.

Would one of those secrets have anything to do with, say, dating a supermodel?

After a long pause, and with disgust in her voice, PR woman Bonnie Harris waxed humorlessly: "No comment." Isn't that what you say, I thought, when the question is unpredictable?

"I'm not sure what you're going to put in print," Harris said. Oh, probably something about a PR woman for Buettner thinking nobody knows that since 2002 he has dated Cheryl Tiegs, who looks like she could be the source of a whole lot of happiness, even for a laid-back-yoga-loving-bicycling kind of guy.

Harris' unpleasant reaction raised suspicions that there was trouble in Super-Modeldom. "It's not about who's dating whom," she said. "It's about the work he's been doing for National Geographic. For the last few years he's been visiting places around the world that they call 'blue zones.' Those places have to do with the longest-lived areas in the world, including Sardinia, Okinawa, Loma Linda [Calif.], Costa Rica. One of the things that contributes to longevity is contentment. And so this special includes some of the findings that Dan has uncovered in some of his visits around the world in terms of contentment and happiness."

Buettner also has a book called "Blue Zones" scheduled for release in March.

Apparently Harris is unacquainted with my accomplishments in smart-alecky.

Yet alarmed, I started snooping around to find out whether Dan and Cheryl were still together, knowing they would hear about it. They have such good energy together that I wish them only the best, which isn't necessarily marriage!

Buettner e-mailed Wednesday that they had just returned from a "crushingly romantic" vacation. As to my question, Buettner wrote this: "Does dating a supermodel contribute to happiness? Duh."