HOME-SCHOOLERS TALK A GOOD GAM

By Sandra J. Pennecke

Correspondent

KEMPSVILLE

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The best of the best from across the country gathered at Regent University the week of June 7 to do what they do best - talk.

Five hundred home-schooled high school students from 38 states came to town to take part in the National Championship Speech and Debate Tournament. They competed in the event sponsored by the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association.

According to league President Mike Larimer, this was the 13th national championship. Four of Larimer's children participate in debate and speech, and two did well enough to come to the nationals from New Mexico.

"There are leagues for public and private schools, and this league was created to give home-schoolers the same opportunity," Larimer said.

The five-day event has 10 speech categories, including persuasive speech, humorous and thematic interpretation, and extemporaneous and impromptu speaking. There are two styles of debate: team policy and Lincoln-Douglas.

Renee Jordan of the Little Creek area served as tournament coordinator, which involved organizing details relating to the participating 14- through 18-year-old home-schoolers, their parents, community volunteer judges and more.

"We use community judges, which is unique, and that enables the students to learn to communicate in a conversational way to a broad spectrum of audience members," Jordan said.

Her 17-year-old daughter, Rachel, has been involved in the league for the past four years. A graduating senior, Rachel said the skills she's learned from this extracurricular activity will carry with her throughout her life.

Rachel focused on the oratory and persuasive speeches because she likes to choose her topic.

"I spoke about organ donation," Rachel said, recalling a family friend who died at age 11 after waiting for an organ transplant.

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Jordan stressed that the social aspect of the activity is also a benefit to the home-school community. That's one thing that Conor McBride of Chesapeake likes about the league.

"I've made long-lasting friendships," said Conor, 16. "I've met friends from California and Massachusetts. It's a great opportunity for social interaction."

Daniel Sileo of Courthouse Estates hadn't planned to join the league and was pleasantly surprised when he made it to the national competition. Daniel, 17, gave extemporaneous speeches on the Walmart lawsuits, Somali pirates and iPad competitors.

Conor advanced to the semifinals and was well prepared with a bin packed full of several months' worth of information printed from the Internet on every topic imaginable.

"We try to have a working knowledge of everything prior to the event," Conor said. "Speech and debate is so beneficial. It's not dry or boring - it's exciting."

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Rachel summed up perhaps the biggest lesson learned by the participants, one that can't be found in textbooks or online.

"I've learned to handle both victory and defeat in a graceful and loving way."

Sandra J. Pennecke,

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Home tour a ride in the park f

Home tour a ride in the park for pro racer Tuft

by Al Campbell

VANCOUVER, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Canada's up-and-coming cyclist got a close-up look and lesson on what it takes to be among the world's best riders when Pro Tour regular Svien Tuft won the Tour de White Rock's "maximum collision" Replica watches race Saturday in advance of the road race final.

Racing on a one-kilometer square road course in the Vancouver suburb city on the Canada-U.S. border, the 33-year-old Tuft who resides in nearby Langley completed the 60-kilometer circuit in 1:08:24, 22 seconds ahead of runner-up Jamie Sparling. Christian Meier, who races with Tuft for the Garmin-Transition team in Europe, was third, 26 seconds back.

National champion Tuft who finished seventh in the time trials at the 2008 Bejiing Olympic Games, the highest ever finish by a Canadian, lapped most of the field in White Rock, using the race as a tune-up before he returns to Europe at the end of the month.

During the peak of the race when he was more than a half lap ahead of the field, Tuft, the 2007 US Open champion, demonstrated his consistency by posting a string of consecutive laps each within one-tenth of a second of each other.

"I just came out here to give it everything and it's that kind of course. It's really difficult. There were times on the backstretch where you are wondering 'how many time can I do this?' It was a great night," he said.

For Tuft who has pulled off such feats as cycling from Vancouver to Alaska and back, a round-trip journey of nearly 6,000 kilometers, as well as competing in the 3,485 kilometer Giro d' Italia in May, the 60 kilometer White Rock race was a relative ride in the park.

"On a difficult course like this it's one where you commit 100 per cent and you get a gap and you can drive it. When you get that initial bit it hurts so bad, but you have to be willing to put 100 per cent in. And once you snap it, once you crack the group, then it's over. You have to settle in a rhythm that you are capable of holding. I mean it's tough because that back stretch is hard and you just have to every time just stay concentrated, stay focused and just keep on top of that gear or else you crack.

"It's very concentrated this effort in this hour. I will never say it is easy but there are days when you feel like that in the Giro (in Italy) for six hours. So mentally it just kind of prepares you to handle a lot more."

With John Tolkamp in attendance for the race, the president of the Canadian Cycling Association said events such as the Tour de White Rock and last week's Tour de Delta in nearby Ladner, the two races that make up "BC Superweek", provided a valuable opportunity for amateur racers to gauge their ability against the pros.

Most the riders in the three-day tour, which involves the hilltop, maximum collision and the road race stages, are amateurs with a handful of professionals competing for a 15,000 Canadian dollar prize purse.

"This type of a race actually sits more on the development side of things. We have some phenomenal pros out here tonight Replica watches but it's really the local amateurs, the amateur teams that come out. These types of races give them the chance to race against the pros," he said.

"It is also a great way for the up-and-coming talent to get identified. A lot of guys who have done well here, or women who have done well here have gone on
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Mother Nature takes bite out o

By Pam Sohn

Weather may have carved a notch in Tennessee's pumpkin crop this year, but it didn't hurt pumpkin sizes, according to local growers.

"This year we had to spray extra (to preserve the crop) because of so much rain, but we've got some great-size pumpkins," said Judy Cooper, daughter of Maw Hughes of Hughes Farm on Flat Top Mountain between Soddy-Daisy and Dunlap, Tenn.

Lisa Roberson, with R&R Kuntry Pumpkin Center in Pikeville, Tenn., said the late, heavy rains took about half of her crop -- rotting the would-be jack-o'-lanterns in the field -- but didn't affect the sizes of those left.

"We've got jack-o'-lantern sizes up to 60 pounds and prize winners in the 80- to 100-pound size," she said.

Tom Womack, spokesman for Chanel Cambon the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, said Tennessee ranked 12th in the nation for growing pumpkins in 2007, the most recent census year.

During that year, there were 454 farms growing pumpkins nationally, 266 of them in Tennessee. The Tennessee farms harvested pumpkins from 2,385 acres, but those numbers were down from 2002 when 332 farms harvested 3,742 acres of pumpkins, Mr. Womack said.

Pumpkin census counts are taken every five years, he said.

Hamilton County Extension Agent Tom Stebbins said pumpkin growing in Tennessee still contributes about $5 million replica gucci to the state's economy each year.

"Each acre produces 800 to 1,200 pumpkins," Mr. Stebbins said.

The pumpkins, used as much for autumn decoration as for food, also help feed Tennessee's growing agri-entertainment and agri-tourism businesses.

This year, officials with Rock City's Enchanted MAiZE purchased 400 Jack B Little Pumpkins for pumpkin painting at the maze and 130 pumpkins for the Rock City park, spokeswoman Meagan Jolley said.

Tennessee Department of Agriculture marketing specialist Rob Beets said Tennessee pumpkin numbers are down, in part, because farmers in recent years had trouble with stem rot and other diseases.

"And there was a lot of competition, so growers were not getting good return on their crop," he said.

Ms. Cooper planted 12 acres of pumpkins on her Soddy-Daisy farm this year, compared with 30 to 40 acres in previous years. She grew pumpkins this year mostly just for the regional stands, she said.

PICK THE RIGHT PUMPKIN

Size and shape have no bearing on how long a pumpkin will last but other things will.

Look for:

* Stems that are still green and firmly attached.

* Firm and unwithered pumpkins with no soft spots. A touch of green or warts are fine.

Source: Tennessee Department of Agriculture

GROWERS

* R&R Kuntry Pumpkin Center

Lisa Roberson

Pikeville, Tenn.

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423-447-6352

* Hughes Farms

Judy Cooper

Jones Gap Road,

Soddy-Daisy

423-3
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Mother leads tributes to Scott

The mother of a Scottish woman who died in a crash in New York has paid tribute to her "brilliant girl".

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Aileen McKay-Dalton, who was originally from Callander in Stirlingshire, died in a crash in Brooklyn, New York, on July 8.

The 40-year-old was living in New York after moving from the UK.

The mother-of-three was riding her Vespa scooter when she was involved in the collision.

Her mother Marion McKay, 81, from Callander, said: "She was a brilliant girl for bringing people together.

"She was like a flash of brilliant light. She had extraordinary energy and a capacity to make people laugh, even in sad situations.

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"There has been an extraordinary outpouring of grief in Brooklyn, where she lived."

McKay-Dalton's body was brought back to Scotland yesterday.

Her mother said she hoped she would be buried next to her father in a plot of land in Port of Monteith, Stirlingshire.

Earlier this month her husband, Michael Dalton, told the New York Daily News website: "She was everything. It's just so horrible."

A Facebook page has also been set up to pay tribute to McKay- Dalton, who attended McLaren High School in Callander.

Kate Via wrote on the tribute site: "I only knew her in my two years at McLaren High School and she was always energetic, friendly, and spirited.

"I was thrilled to hear she had moved to New York as I knew that city would fit her style ... I am tremendously saddened to hear of her passing.

"My heart goes out to Mike, the kids, her Scottish family and her family here in the US."

Elizabeth Davison wrote: "Aileen was one in a million. It's hard to believe that it's 20 years since I first met this crazy, wonderful, funny, glorious woman one night at Imperial College. And even harder to believe that she has gone.

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"Aileen showed me some fun times over the years - many, many, many happy memories.

"I loved her and will miss her dreadfully. Our crazy girl became a wonderful wife and amazing mother. She will live on through her children."

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BACH Cantatas, Vol. 13 No. 61(

BACH Cantatas, Vol. 13: No. 61(1,5,6); No. 62(1,3,5,6); No. 36(1,3,5,6); No. 70(2,4,5,6); No. 132(2,4,5,6); No. 147(2,4,5,6) * John Eliot Gardiner (cond); 1Joanne Lunn, 2Brigitte Geller (sop); 3William Towers, 4Michael Chance (ct); 5Jan Kobow (ten); 6Dietrich Henschel (bs); Monteverdi Ch; English Baroque Soloists (period instruments) * SOLI DEI GLORIA SDG 162 (2 CDs: 134:22 *)

Advent marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical year, but it signaled the beginning of the end of John Eliot Gardiner's year-long Bach Cantata Pilgrimage. These discs document the last European performances before Gardiner brought his fellow travelers to the New World to wrap up their epic adventure with Christmas and New Year's concerts in New York. Advent is also the season of joyful anticipation: Christmas is coming! Three Advent cantatas on disc 1, BWV 61, 62, and 36, all built around the same advent chorale, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, but all so different, are yet another demonstration of Bach's Sweaters Clothing inexhaustible imagination. Gardiner admirably captures the spirit of the season, with his chorus at its usual best Replica Balenciaga Handbags and fine contributions from his soloists. Worthy of special mention is Joanne Lunn's tranquil aria in Cantata 36, which can best be described as enchanting. I should probably mention an anomalous drop in volume for the bass recitative of Cantata 61 that renders it virtually inaudible at a normal listening level. Don't boost the gain unless you keep your hand on the dial.

The second cantata on disc 2, BWV 132, has no opening chorus, giving rise to speculation that the score is incomplete. It is sandwiched by two favorites, each of which opens with a rousing chorale fantasia. Cantata 70 may be the highlight of the album, full to the brim with vitality and enthusiasm. Soprano Brigitte Geller's aria displays what is becoming a rare commodity these days, a lovely, finely controlled vibrato. In Cantata 147, however, bass Dietrich Henschel, whose other solos sounded so dynamic, seems merely strident. The whole cantata is unfortunately disappointing, feeling strangely out of sync-until the familiar strains of "Jesus bleibet meine Freude" (Jesu, Joy of My Desiring) fill the air, and one can't help feeling that, after all is said and done, something is right with the world.

Prior to embarking on his pilgrimage-and before Archiv dumped the recording project into his lap-Gardiner and that label issued a dozen CDs in anticipation of the venture, even creating a "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" logo for the set. Unlike the SDG recordings, Archiv's were made under studio conditions. Girard Perregaux Replica Watches They are still around and serve the purpose of filling the gaps that will be left in the catalog when Soli Deo Gloria's edition is completed. However, there is a considerable overlap, including four of the six cantatas in this release. Gardiner's earlier No. 147, coupled with Cantata 140, has been my default recommendation for newcomers to Bach cantatas, and is to be preferred over the newer one, but there's little to choose between Archiv's Nos. 61, 62, and 36 and SDG's, which also offers a superb Cantata 70, not to mention "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." George Chien

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Baby whale sighting

A baby humpback whale has been reported swimming in New Zealand waters for the first time. The calf, estimated to be two days Cheap Nike Shox Sneakers old and four metres long, was spotted by Conservation Department staff and volunteers on Sunday in the Replica Bag Wholesale Tory Channel. DOC marine ecologist Nadine Bott said humpback whales were currently migrating from Antarctic waters to South Pacific breeding grounds, and the calf had been spotted with its mother.

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To be born so early, while the whales were still travelling along New Zealand's east coast, indicated that it had been born prematurely.

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Blair fears nukes race

TONY Blair is warning of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if Iran is left free to build atom bombs.

The former PM says he has learned that Egypt and Saudi Arabia will make their Best Tous Shoes Online own nuclear LED downlights weapons if Tehran has them.

They fear Iran's extra clout would allow it to export its extreme brand of radical Islamism.

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Mr Blair, Mid-East peace envoy for the UN, EU, America and Russia, has given private warnings to the region's politicians.

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