Lorraine Kelly – Now this Saturday will mark seven years since Madeleine McCann went missing while on a holiday in Portugal and from that moment her parents, Kate and Gerry, have campaigned tirelessly for their daughter's safe return. First let's remind ourselves of their story.
This is the final photograph of Madeleine. Hours later she disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal while her parents and their friends ate at a nearby restaurant. Her mum and dad began a desperate search for Madeleine with appeals across Europe and a visit to the Pope in Rome. Three months later they were faced with yet more turmoil when they were named as official suspects. There were dozens of reported sightings of Madeleine but a year after her disappearance the Portuguese Inquiry was officially shelved. Kate and Gerry were eventually cleared in July 2008. Employing private investigators and raising money through charity events, their search for Madeleine has never stopped. In 2011 they appealed directly to Prime Minister, David Cameron and within 24 hours he announced funding for a Police Investigative Review Team. In the last six months the investigation has taken a positive turn. Last month new evidence came to light prompting over 500 calls from the public. A potential suspect seen wearing a burgundy top has been linked to the investigation.
LK – Well Gerry and Kate McCann join me now. Thank you for coming in. I can't believe that it's seven years. What's the latest, what do we know, what's the latest in the investigation?
Gerry McCann – Well I think, er, the progress with, er, the Met Investigative Review has been, er, really quite impressive and, erm, one of the things we were asking for was for all of the information to be reviewed. We've had updates on Crimewatch and fresh appeals and literally, erm, the senior detectives told us that hundreds of people have come forward and what they've identified now is that there have been a whole series of crimes against young children, British families in the Algarve, er, by people breaking into the apartments and, er, you know they're potentially linked. Erm and that's really important information obviously, so we'd really like to thank all those people who came forward. We know that for the families that could be really difficult, err for children who have been traumatised, and many of these cases are going back years so we would really like to thank them but, it's really building up a picture of what was going on in and around Praia da Luz, erm, and immediately proceeding and after Madeleine being taken so we're really encouraged by it.
LK – But we're seven years on, you know we're seven years on and you're talking about people coming forward and very, very tough circumstances and that's hard for you to imagine that anything like that may have happened to your wee girl, that's the thing. It's kind of, it's a difficult one isn't it.
LK – So, so very hard.
GM – I think, I mean for me the key thing is even though it's seven years on there is lots and lots of things that still need investigated and lines of enquiry that need followed and I suppose, while we know that there's lines of enquiries that haven't been bottomed out then we just want to get on with it and get it done and you know it doesn't matter so much how long it takes, we've just got to get it done.
LK – Where do you two get your strength though, to keep going because it is remarkable.
GM – I get mine from Kate obviously.
LK – Do you both, do you get it from one another?
KM – I think from each other, from our children, from our family and friends, you know.
GM – And the support… We've had unbelievable support, erm, not just those who are close to us but public support's been amazing.
KM – And that's ongoing you know, which as you say, seven years down the line is quite incredible.
LK – Because, when you think about it, this time seven years ago you were on holiday. It was a normal family holiday, and is it tough to remember a time before Madeleine was taken, is it difficult to, to remember those days you know when things were so very different?
KM – I think the hard thing though and maybe people will think its seven years down the line I guess you… and we have adapted, but still weeks and months rolling by is still incredibly significant for us. So whether Madeleine had been found, you know, after a week, after six months, you know, whether it's you know seven years and one week, that is better than ten years or whatever so it's really significant. So for us we want the progress that's been made by the Met to continue I guess on the ground in Portugal. You know, I guess in truth we'd like them to work as a.., you know, together as a joint….
LK – That would have been good if that had happened from the start.
KM – You know we want, ideally a joint investigation team so the work can be streamlined, Bureaucracy is reduced and, er, progress can be made much quicker because time rolling on for us is still painful and living in a limbo of not knowing is horrible for all our family.
LK – Because she is still very, very much part of your life. She's very much part of the twins' life. You know they, presumably they talk about their big sister and you, you know you all talk about her and you, you keep her there as part of your family.
GM – Yeah, no, completely. Erm, er, I think it does get harder as time goes on but very much so, you know, surrounded by photographs, they know that we're here today and they usually know that the police are investigating, erm, so we keep them as informed as we can.
LK – And also you two do an awful lot of work as well, a lot of running. A lot of running and a lot of fundraising for missing people and does that help you in some way, is that a positive thing for you to do?
KM – Oh it is. I mean I'm sure everybody can understand whenever something terrible happens you want to believe that some good can come out of it, and I believe obviously since Madeleine was taken, you know, the.., the charities work, erm, and all other families who have missing children.., there has been some benefit because of the publicity and the awareness and if we can help in some way with that, that has to be some good that's come out it.
GM - Yeah, you've got to, I think, try and channel it and we've had a huge amount of publicity around Madeleine and trying to channel that into effective change and obviously there's the revamped child rescue alert which Kate's been involved with promoting, erm, and other things, obviously throughout Europe and trying to get a more.., a more homogenous response to child abduction across the European Union, particularly when the.., we've got open borders. It's really important that there's cooperation between police forces and it's a bit like coming back to what we're trying to facilitate at the minute between the Met and the Portuguese police. Normally you only get cooperation for very serious crimes, drug trafficking things but child abduction is a serious crime and, erm, we really want that those types of strategies that would be used to counter terrorism and drug trafficking etcetera are put in for human trafficking and other crimes against children.
LK – Do you think there will ever be a time where you just think to yourselves "Do you know what, we've done enough, we can't do anymore and, and give up?" Do you think that would ever happen?
KM – Oh no, and I don't think any parents would really, because if we haven't found Madeleine or we haven't found what's happened then we haven't done enough, there's still work to be done. I mean obviously our workload has been reduced or changed, you know, hugely since the, er, the Met came on board, and that's certainly made our lives a lot easier and great progress has been made to date.
LK – That's good. Thank you both. Thank you both very much indeed.
LK – I wish you all the very best, I really do and I know that Saturday.., Saturday will be tough for you, Saturday will be tough. Thank you.


text:
The Betsie Current Newspaper | If You Build It, They Will Come
You are here: Home / Blog / Print Editions / 2015 / If You Build It, They Will Come
2015, Featured Stories, News, Print Editions, Skateboarding, Sports
Skatepark breaks ground next month in Frankfort
Jeff Hessler began lobbying way back in 1976 for a skatepark in Frankfort. The now 53-year-old co-owner of Betsie Bay Furniture has skated these streets since he was 14 years old.
"I've been skating since the polyurethane wheel came out," he says.
Nearly 40 years later, he and his 14-year-old daughter Annie may soon get their wish.
A fund drive to raise money for a skatepark at Market Square Park—across M-22 from Frankfort Elementary School—has attracted $11,000 from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Additionally, an anonymous donor has promised to cover the remaining cost of the estimated $125,000 needed. After a couple years of planning and fundraising, the park is scheduled to break ground in July, confirmed by Frankfort superintendent Josh Mills.
Longboards are popular with the millennial generation. Photo courtesy of Jeff Hessler.
"This is kind of a dream come true," says Hessler, who claims that, in his day, he won skateboard competitions in Frankfort, Onekama, and Traverse City.
But Hessler's recent push for a skatepark is more inspired by his daughter and her friends, who love to skate around town on longboards—three- to five-foot boards with larger wheels that are capable of greater speeds than a traditional skateboard. Longboards are especially popular with the millennial generation.
Annie Hessler and her friends, Helen Erginkara and Reagan Fombro, all 14, say they skate in the streets, on sidewalks, in alleys, or at the beach turnaround late in the evening, when fewer cars are present. However, they would prefer to have a skatepark that could also be used by any non-motorized wheels, such as trick bikes and rollerblades.
"It would be nice to have a place to go," Fombro says. "The cars don't always stop for us, and sometimes they get really mad at us. This would be a nice area for kids to play."
Scoping Out Skateparks
Jeff Hessler took the girls to visit existing skateparks in Michigan so they could determine what kind of park would be suitable for Frankfort. They were particularly impressed by a skatepark in Belding, near Grand Rapids, and how friendly it was for longboarding. The Belding skatepark was designed by the Evergreen Skateparks company, based in Portland, Oregon. Evergreen will reportedly break ground on the Frankfort skatepark in July.
"Skating is an excellent activity for kids of any age," Hessler says. "Kids in skateparks are in great shape. With health issues looming for today's youth in this country, skating offers amazing health impacts."
Skatepark concept by Evergreen Skateparks. Groundbreaking is planned for July. Image courtesy of Jeff Hessler.
Download the complete skatepark design here (Adobe PDF).
Plus, Hessler says, parents can sleep more easily at night knowing that their kids aren't skateboarding in the streets.
"This isn't a sport that requires a lot of money to participate," Hessler points out. "Skateparks are free. You just buy the board, and we always recommend a helmet and pads. It's not like with skiing or golf—you don't need to come from big-income families."
Beachnut Surf Shop—located on the east side of Frankfort's Main Street—has also been involved in coordinating plans, doing groundwork, and fundraising for the new skatepark.
"We've sent staff with Jeff to skateparks around the state to gather ideas," says Nancy Bordine, co-owner of Beachnut Surf Shop. "We've had two different fundraisers, put on by kids who are excited about the skatepark. We had one event where we did a skate clinic, conducted by Annie Hessler and others, that raised a few hundred dollars."
Additionally, Bordine says, Beachnut Surf Shop has increased its line of equipment, including pads for knees and elbows, high-end socks that are built specifically for skateboarding, as well as a new line of downhill boards.
"Frankfort kids come into the store every day and beeline for the skateboard section," she says. "They pick up the boards and 'ooh' and 'ahh' over them. They're excited."
She adds that it's not just kids, though—there are a lot of people with a surprisingly wide range of ages who enjoy skateboarding, especially when Frankfort's population surges in the summer.
And although it is notable that there is currently a skatepark in Beulah, constructed more than a decade ago, Bordine has heard from customers that it's "just not enough."
"The park we're working to bring to Frankfort would be somewhere between what Beulah has and what Traverse City has," Bordine says of the future park's size and style.
The dimensions of the skatepark coming to Market Square Park will be determined on June 6 during a meeting with Evergreen. Hessler envisions a 2,500- to 3,000-square-foot concrete park with a pedestrian path around its perimeter. The park will feature smooth, fast ramps with coping steel at the top that allows boards to slide on it. The vertical ramps will be less steep than some parks, says Hessler, so it won't be dangerous. He wants to add lights so that kids can skate at night and to prevent random passersby from accidentally stumbling onto the ramp.
"Skateboarding is a fun thing to do, and the park would help keep kids out of the street," Bordine says. "It's a sport where kids encourage each other doing tricks and such. It's a healthy, socializing opportunity."
Market Square Park is already a destination for kids of all ages who are on break from school in the summer—it features a picnic area, playground equipment, tennis courts, and a basketball court that is also lit at night. Drive by on any cool summer evening and you're sure to see a half dozen people using it, but Hessler hopes the addition of a skatepark will add a new dimension. City superintendent Mills agrees.
"The primary benefit that we hope a skatepark may bring to the community is to provide our youth a safe place to congregate that will promote and benefit mental and physical well-being," he says. "The Frankfort community provides many wonderful amenities, and the addition of a skatepark should prove to be beneficial in many aspects to the overall health of the community."
Moreover, the skatepark should not compete with events that go on in Market Square Park like the Port City Art & Crafts Fair on July 18 or the 39th annual Frankfort Art Fair on August 14 and15, because art booths are set up around the perimeter of the park.
An added benefit, Annie Hessler and her friends point out, is that the skatepark could make Frankfort a hotspot destination for area teenagers. Towns up and down the west coast of Michigan cater to beachgoing or boating tourists, shoppers, diners, wine- and beer-drinkers, but too seldom offer activities for action-starved 14-year-olds. Annie Hessler estimates that dozens of Frankfort High School students skateboard and that the skatepark would also draw kids from Beulah, Empire, Manistee, and beyond.
"This is a $2.5 billion industry in this country, and it's only going up and up," Jeff Hessler offers. "I think we're ready for a skatepark in Frankfort."
To watch a video of skate action at an Evergreen skatepark, visit EvergreenSkateparks.com online. Stay tuned to FrankfortMich.com for a posting of when a public meeting on the skatepark will be scheduled.
Short Skating Videos
Betsie Bay Furniture website.
Betsie Bay Facebook page.
Evergreen Skateparks website.
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
Beach Nut Surf Shop website.
June 4, 2015 /1 Comment/by Jacob Wheeler
http://betsiecurrent.com/wp-content/uploads/frankfort-skatepark-girl-on-wall.jpg 1000 1000 Jacob Wheeler http://betsiecurrent.com/wp-content/uploads/betsie-current-text-banner-2014.png Jacob Wheeler2015-06-04 14:08:562015-06-15 10:42:19If You Build It, They Will Come
MIchael Delp says:
The benefits of this skatepark will be amazing. Not only will it bring in economic growth, it will also make an investment in kids. This is just one way to tell adolescents they matter in the larger schemes of an adult world. I hope it succeeds.
Timothy Young: Passion for Fair Trade Trail Runner Series: 6-Mile Out-and-Back with Kids
Warning: Unknown: open(D:\Temp\php\session\\sess_74i46p3fn8s0m3bqhl7taf1tm5, O_RDWR) failed: No such file or directory (2) in Unknown on line 0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The sophomore slump is perhaps one of the most dreaded moments in any artist or band's career. When a debut achieves any measure of success or recognition, there arise certain expectations on the part of the audience (and the record label) to repeat or even surpass that success. In 1994, Eric Powell had many a promise to keep after the previous year's release of Wisdom placed 16volt on the map of the industrial underground. Wrought with mechanical rhythms and synthesized atmospheres topped off by caustic guitars and Powell's acerbic voice, Wisdom was among the surge of industrialized rock albums of the time, ushering in what has now come to be known as coldwave. With that album's "Motorskill" making waves on the dance floor, influenced in equal parts by Ministry and Skinny Puppy, it was the release of 1994's Skin on Re-constriction Records that would truly set the tone for 16volt's future. Now remastered and rereleased by Metropolis Records, Skin is made available once again to the masses; just remember your gasmasks.
Right from the onset of the opening title track, Skin is immediately a much more hard-hitting and straightforward affair than Wisdom. Whereas songs on Wisdom were allowed to move at a leisurely pace to allow listeners to breathe in the noxious fumes of 16volt's industrial wasteland, Skin is a far more urgent outing. The fumes have been inhaled, the lungs collapse, and the machine is breaking down around you to bury you in rusted steel and rubble. A stark atmosphere and slow tempo underscores Powell's vocal venom, seething with unrestrained and un-effected aggression as a pummeling assault of organic drums and growling guitars dominates the chorus. Before you know it, the song is concluded, leading into the sinister, repeating sound of a broken doll's laughter that introduces us to the pulsating bass and factory-like loops of "Perfectly Fake." Metallic squeals of guitar harmonics resonate above slithering samples to create the ambiance of a decrepit machine in its death throes, while Powell signs in contrasting tones from guttural verses to soft choruses that belie the venom of his lyrics. Similarly, "Slow Wreck" moves with hollow atmosphere hovering beneath mechanical guitar riffs and atonal feedback howls, all the while the drums march precise and sparse. Along with instrumentals like "Skin Graft," "Bottle Rockets," and "Flick" with their loops of percussive power and random, noisy synthetic environments, Skin is pure unadulterated machine rock at its finest.
"Uplift" with its attack of forceful drum loops and guitars that seem to cough and hack as if gasping for air, and "Built to Last" with its scathing vocals and aggressive beats and riffs are perhaps the best examples of Skin's speed and power, while "Downtime II" revisits the slow breaks and creeping subtlety of the original version, removing much of the distortion for a greater clarity in the sonic habitat and especially in the vocals. Included on this rerelease is a dynamic pair of remixes to augment the full breadth of Skin's musical range. "Dead Skin," featured as a hidden track on the original Re-constriction release and finally revealed as its own standalone track, takes the brute force of the original song and takes it into more ambient territory with sustained synth pads and Powell's vocals taking on a raspier, whispery quality. Hate Dept.'s remix of "Stitched," originally released on the Remix Wars: Strike 3 release from 21st Circuitry, is also included, transforming the song into a much heavier and monotonic barrage of acidic guitars and thundering percussion.
Skin was no sophomore slump for 16volt. On the contrary, after 18 years, Skin is just as freshly vitriolic and caustically aggressive as it was in 1994; a milestone for the industrial rock scene. In short, Metropolis Records' release of Skin is a welcome addition to the 16volt discography and a reminder to the industrial underground what coldwave is meant to sound like.


Review: 2012-06-08, pretty and balanced fight between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall but it is not enough to get three stars. Demetrious Johnson (14-2-1) entered as the No.2 flyweight in the world while Ian McCall (11-2-1) entered as the No.3. Johnson vs McCall 2, flyweight title eliminator, is the main event of UFC on FX 3; their first fight ended in a draw (March 3, 2012). Rate the video!


text:
Nature Regina: Watch Them Grow, Part One
You can grow more than just plants in a garden. Just take a look at Nature Regina where volunteering for the organization's Native Plant Garden has led to new members, new activities, and a whole lot of enthusiasm.
Elaine Ehman is the current president of Nature Regina, but she got her start pulling weeds in the garden. "I can't identify plants, but I wanted to help," Elaine says. "I hung around people who knew what they were doing and learned from them. I'm surprised at the number of plants I can now identify." She's begun using native plants in her own garden and encourages other people to volunteer. "You're welcome. There's a space for everyone in the garden." Elaine then took one of the bird identification classes offered by the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas project. "I'm really a novice birder, but in Nature Regina I'm surrounded by people who know them," she says.
Nature Regina first started holding meetings in 1933 as the Regina Natural History Society with their first public meeting in March of that year and their first nature hikes in May. Many things have changed over the years, but Nature Regina has never stopped fostering a greater appreciation for nature through field trips, education programs, and environmental advocacy.
Nature Regina maintains the Native Plant Garden located at the southeast entrance of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. What is in flower changes from week to week, but it is always busy with butterflies, bees, and insects. Volunteers provided the original seeds and cuttings, and the plants spent their first winter in Wascana Centre's greenhouse before being planted out in the spring. It takes a lot of work to maintain a garden, and it had stagnated for a few years until Gail Fennell moved to Regina from Edmonton and began organizing volunteer activities in the garden. "She's a changemaker," Shannon Chernick says. "She has a five-year vision for the garden, and she keeps everybody informed by sending out a weekly email with photographs to let us know what's flowering and what insects have been spotted. There's a real sense of community."
Nature Regina produced a calendar with members' photos to celebrate the garden's 25th anniversary last year, and it proved so popular that they are producing another calendar this year with photos of outdoor favorites.
Nature Regina owns a half section of land near Lumsden in the Qu'Appelle Valley. The Hidden Valley property was obtained for $1 from the CPR in 1945. It's retained as a wildlife sanctuary and members maintain the trails and try to keep invasive species out. They also gather seeds here for the native plant garden. It's open to the public and they encourage people to use it.
As president, Elaine hoped that Nature Regina could expand its membership. "I joined when I retired, and I noticed that there were a lot of other older members," Elaine said. A talk at one of Nature Saskatchewan's annual meetings led Elaine to investigate the possibility of a grant from Nature Canada designed to create public engagement. It's a small grant of $8,000, but Nature Regina has put it to good use. Nature Canada conducted an audit of Nature Regina's activities and organized webinars to guide association members through the engagement process. Of the 8 recommendations, 2 stood out. The association needed to create core teams for main functions and it needed to define its constituency.
Daralyn Sheffield, Ingrid Alesich, and Jim Elliott were responsible for the website, newsletter, and Facebook, but they were working independently. Their goal was to increase their impact by working together as a team. They started using Mail Chimp for the newsletter and redesigned the website. "It was incredible," Elaine says. "Way above what I expected. The biggest excitement was the look of it, but we could also do so much more. We could track activity, know who would be coming to an event, and obtain email contacts." The communications team's efforts were really put to the test when Nature Regina started posting weekly family activities. They came through with flying colours.
Fine-tuning how the association functioned led Nature Regina to add more online features. Donations are now accepted on Canada Helps and you can sign up for the weekly newsletter or become a member directly from their website.
With a strong team structure in place, it was time for Nature Regina to consider its constituency. They'd been attending volunteer fairs to interest university students, but it wasn't producing the desired results. "We got speakers for our meetings, but we didn't get the engagement we were looking for," Elaine says. They decided to try a new approach and hired Shannon Chernick, a Native Plant Garden volunteer who just happened to have a degree in education and work experience as a youth engagement coordinator. Success? Oh, yes! Stay tuned for Part Two of our article about Nature Regina.
Photo credits: Nature Regina Facebook page
See also: Nature Regina: Watch Them Grow, Part Two
Labels: Communication, Communities, Gardens, Nature, Regina, Volunteers, Youth
EcoSask News, September 29, 2020
Nature Regina: Watch Them Grow, Part Two
SaskOutdoors is for Everyone
EcoSask News, September 8, 2020