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By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
"It's really the first Spring Training where I feel like I'm in the mix, competing for a [roster] spot," the Angels' outfielder said. "The last couple of years I could see what was happening. Coming into camp this year, it's a little more exciting."
With Gary Matthews Jr. in New York, at least one and possibly two Halos outfield roles are available, depending on how many pitchers the team carries into the season.
Evans, infielder Brandon Wood and catcher Bobby Wilson -- teammates in recent years at Triple-A Salt Lake -- are out of Minor League options, meaning the Angels must have them on the 25-man Opening Day roster or risk losing them to another club.
Evans, a 28-year-old Georgian acquired in a 2006 deal with the Cardinals for Jeff Weaver, was 2-for-7 with the Angels in 2009 as a September callup.
After lining out and grounding out in two at-bats on Wednesday against the Reds while playing center field, Evans is 3-for-12 (.250) this spring.
"He has the ability to play in the Major Leagues," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We have some talented guys who are competing for jobs, and it will probably come down to the end of Spring Training to see where it goes."
With his size (6-foot-3, 205 pounds), grace and athleticism in the outfield and his powerful stroke, Evans has drawn comparisons to Dale Murphy, the Braves star whose humility made him one of the game's most popular players.
When he's locked in, Evans has been known to launch baseballs. He went deep 26 times last season in Salt Lake while driving in 90 runs, career bests in both departments. He batted .291 with a .520 slugging percentage.
"Fortunately, I was able to stay healthy in a very important season," Evans said. "I pretty much missed 2008 [with shoulder injuries]. I might have come back too soon and re-injured it.
"It feels good to come into camp healthy and able to do some things I wasn't able to do in 2008."
Evans has the range to play center and the arm to handle right. He also has speed, having stolen 28 bases last season in 33 attempts.
"Right now, my ideal situation is that I want to play here," he said. "I like the staff, everything about the organization. It is exactly where I want to be. I'm competing for a spot here. I want nothing more than to be in this clubhouse."
Having played alongside Reggie Willits and seen the superb spring of Michael Ryan, another outfielder playing his way into the picture, Evans knows it won't be easy nailing down a spot.
Evans also knows there figure to be a number of clubs intrigued by an athlete who can hit, run and field the way he can.
"No need to worry about it," Evans said. "This is a tough club to make. It's just part of it. Reggie and I have joked around this spring. Every time he does something, he looks at me. We're having fun with it.
"If anything, it makes us both better. We're competing but we're also supporting each other. That takes some of the pressure off. We're such different players, we really have different roles."
Willits' skills are those of a leadoff man. He works counts, bunts, goes the other way, steals bases. Like Evans, he can play all three outfield roles.
"I just want to stay healthy and keep working," Evans said. "Things always have a way of working themselves out."
How much longer Lehmon Colbert and Ben Smith are college teammates is an unknown, but if their union ends in the next few days, it will come in a city that sits between their hometowns.
And it's fitting that friends and family are closer for this curtain call and get one more chance to watch them play. Jacksonville basketball fans have seen one of the program's best duos lift the Dolphins since their arrival, when Jacksonville wasn't on overly attractive program.
"It's changed so much," said Smith, the all-conference senior point guard from Dublin. "Now, it's almost expected for us to win. There's a lot more enthusiasm and excitement about basketball on campus."
The Dolphins went from 16-13 in Hugh Durham's final season as their head coach to 1-26 in Cliff Warren's first season. But Colbert saw promise.
"The games they lost, they were basically in every game," he said. "I felt like I could come in and make up that difference."
The two had known each other courtesy of AAU play with the Smyrna Stars, but that was for less than a year. Still, they kept in contact during the recruiting process.
Colbert committed first, and that eventually swayed Smith.
"I loved playing with him," Colbert said. "I needed a partner in crime, so I kind of pushed him a little bit."
What was Colbert like back then?
"He was much more skinny," Smith said with a laugh. "He played more on the wing. He ran the floor, caught a lot of lobs. He's put on at least 20 pounds."
Indeed, the transition from GHSA Region 4-AA to college basketball had to be dealt with.
"I had to bulk up," Colbert said. "I was the biggest person on my team in high school. It was a lot faster, and I had to get a lot stronger.
Colbert also looked at Kennesaw State, Wichita State and Northeastern. Kennesaw State was closer to home but was just starting the process of going from Division II to Division I, so Colbert would have no chance at any postseason. At Jacksonville, Colbert got to play in last season's NIT, thanks to winning the A-Sun's regular-season championship.
That's a pleasant change from the debut of Colbert and Smith at Jacksonville as the Dolphins lost to Savannah State. And they entered that Christmas break at 4-6, with the wins coming over St. Leo, Division II Florida Tech, South Carolina State and Coastal Carolina.
Smith picked Jacksonville over Tulsa. Amazingly, he wasn't highly recruited, although Georgia came in late but talked about automatically redshirting. Both Smith and Colbert saw the facts: Jacksonville was a one-win team a years earlier with youth, walk-ons and stopgap players. A good freshman would get serious minutes immediately, but Smith actually had a crisis of confidence as a freshman.
"I think everyone thinks that your freshman year," he said. "The ups and downs from playing well to not playing and going to class, I was like, 'This may be too much.' But I got through it, and we got through it as a team."
The Dolphins rallied from their scary start, won seven of eight late and finished 15-14.
Colbert averaged 11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds on 28.7 minutes as a freshman, and he has a career average of 12 points and six rebounds while playing 28 minutes per game.
Smith enters the tournament as Jacksonville's all-time leader in games played, minutes played, steals and made free throws, and he is second in assists (six behind the leader) and 3-point field goals.
Together, they have scored 3,287 points, comprising the top scoring duo in Jacksonville history in reversing the Dolphins' fortunes.
Macon has been good to Smith as a senior basketball player. He scored 28 points to lead Dublin past Thomasville 96-84 in the AA title game at the Macon Coliseum on, yes, March 4 back in 2006, one day short of four years before the conference tournament opener.
After he was smothered by teammates on the court, he ran tearfully to the front row to hug his parents.
"I can remember my state championship game like it was yesterday," Smith said. "It is crazy that our (conference) tournament is in Macon our senior year. Hopefully, it won't end there, and we can have the same result we had in high school in college."
The city has been good to both in college. Smith and Colbert are 3-1 at Mercer, winning 76-64 on Feb. 20. Regardless of their fate this week, Smith and Colbert leave Jacksonville on the opposite end of the spectrum they found it.
The Dolphins have had four straight winning seasons, the second-longest such streak in program history. They are the first four-year seniors to depart Jacksonville without going through a losing season.
Warren is already the fourth-winningest head coach in program history, and Jacksonville is two victories away from a 20-win season.
Jacksonville is 69-52 with Colbert and Smith in uniform, and the Dolphins definitely will have support tonight when they battle North Florida.
But they know the clock is ticking.
"Since I've met Ben, he's been that type of player," Colbert said. "He takes the big shots; he makes the big shots.
"I know he's going to find me when I'm open. Four years later, I'm still playing with him. I love it."
Carrying a Torch for Recycling
by: Heather O'Neill
@ Moving Traffic, Inc.
March 1, 2010
Any fan of the Olympics has had the fantasy of being a part of it. Crystal Hardy made it happen, not by training but through recycling.
Hardy, 20, was chosen by Coca-Cola's Positive Living initiative to be one of 20 young people selected as official Olympic Torchbearers, thanks to her work in the green arena.
After seeing an announcement that applications were being accepted for the program, Hardy reached out to her former Girl Scouts leader and asked for a recommendation. Within three days, the forms were signed sealed and delivered and within a month Hardy got the call she was waiting for; she had been accepted.
Hardy, now a student at Georgia Southern University, co-founded Laurens County Green Teens as a high school student. The program encourages every middle and high school in the county to collect PET 1 bottles, which were then donated to a local business that recycled them into carpeting. The school programs, headed up by two student leaders from each school, earned money on a pound-per-pound basis to help fund school programs. The group also went from school to school, educating students on the importance of recycling, which items Laurens County, GA collected and how and where to recycle each item.
When Hardy wasn't talking recycling, she was volunteering. Hardy, who grew up in Dublin, GA, organized the Playground for W.I.N.G.S. Project, dedicated to building a playground at a local women's shelter. Crystal obtained all materials and managed 150 volunteers.
Off to Calgary
Coca-Cola was impressed enough to offer her a spot as one of several Torchbearers who would carry the flame through Calgary. Hardy was overjoyed.
"I received a phone call one morning and they told me it was Coca-Cola [calling] and as soon as they said that I knew what it had to be because I won," she said, her voice as excited as if it happened yesterday. "I couldn't think of any other reason why they'd be calling. It was so exciting."
After being chosen, Hardy was sent a list of the other winners as well as several packages of gifts and information. In January Hardy and Peggy Green, the Girl Scouts leader from Laurens County who nominated Hardy, were whisked off to Canada compliments of Coca-Cola. Hardy's mother and a friend also joined them.
Pumping Iron to Carry the Flame
Hardy arrived a day before her big run, which wasn't actually that big. At only 300 meters, no training was involved for Hardy. She did, however, pump some iron to prepare for the big day, which happened on January 18th.
"I had to make sure I could lift the torch and just make sure I didn't pass out," she said with a laugh. "I exercise anyway on a daily basis anyway, but I did have to lift some weights. The torch weighed about four pounds but I don't have much upper body strength so I did have to make sure I could hold it for that amount of time. But it was fine. And I switched hands so that I could wave at everyone."
Hardy says the excited started to build as soon as she was dropped off at the point where she would collect the flame from the previous runner. Wearing her official Torchbearer uniform and holding a torch, passersby soon realized that they were in the presence of someone special.
"There were a few people at my point when I arrived but then people started gathering around, taking pictures, asking me where I was from and how I got chosen and what this meant to me," she said. "When the time came for me to run, a police officer came and pulled me into the middle of the road and he turned on the gas canister on my torch, pointed out where the [television] cameras were and reminded me that I had to run in the middle of the road and to enjoy myself and take my time. And that was it."
Partying Like It Was 2010
Once the run was over, Hardy celebrated along with the rest of Calgary at the city's celebration, which coincided with the torch leaving the city.
"I actually still had my uniform on and was holding my torch so I stood around for about an hour taking pictures with a lot of the citizens of Calgary just because they were so excited and elated," she said. "I don't know how to describe it. It was like everyone was unified just to see the torch and when they found out that was one of the torches that had been run that day, everyone wanted to take pictures and ask questions about how I got chosen and how it felt.
"It was a spirit of unity among everyone that ran as well as all of the residents of Calgary," she continued. "The [final Calgary] torch came through down the middle of the road. There was snow on the ground and everyone was standing back on the sidewalks. When the last person came through with the torch they ran it into the middle of the crowd. There was music playing, they sang [the Canadian] National Anthem. There were lots of little venues there and places to play games. It was just a gathering to celebrate the honor and privilege of having the flame coming through the city."
Her friend and mentor, Peggy Green, thinks that Hardy very much deserved the honor.
"She deserved to participate in the Olympic Torch run due to her many accomplishments, including earning her Girl Scout Gold Award, planning and building a playground at a local women shelter and starting a countywide recycling program that not only recycles but also pays money to the local schools for the bottles turned in," Green said. "She also worked with young students, tutoring them, at the local Communities in Schools. These are but a few of her biggest accomplishments. She did all of these before the age of nineteen. Crystal also received the highest monetary award from Coke as a scholarship. She is part of the recycle team at Georgia Southern University, and is a member Oxfam International."
A Fan Is Born
Being part of the longest torch relay in history--the torch traveled nearly 28,000 miles, zig zagging through Canada in the hands of 12,000 Torchbearers--has made Hardy a serious Olympic fan.
"[Before the run] I wasn't as big of a fan as I am now," she said. "I guess you can say that I am a much bigger fan now and I feel so much more connected to it than ever before and I hope that everyone who knows my story feels more connected to it as well."
With the Olympic run behind her, the flame is not out on Hardy's sustainability efforts. She is currently volunteering with the Environmental Sustainability Office on campus and directing her attention on promoting recycling after football games. She is also part of a team that has made Georgia Southern University the first university in the state to exclusively use compact florescent light bulbs.
With a double major in American Sign Language Interpretation and Math, Hardy doesn't see herself working professionally in the green arena but knows it will remain a passion.
"I will continue in my sustainability efforts just because sustainability should be something everybody does on a daily basis," she said. "It shouldn't be something that you even have to think about. And hopefully I have a bigger role to play in it as far as educating others."
If you haven't made it to a Jacksonville University basketball game this season, put it on your to-do list this week because a player the likes of Ben Smith must be appreciated by being there.
The senior point guard might be only 5-foot-10, but he is, in fact, Big Ben.
I've covered or watched JU hoops for 28 years. I can count on one hand the players whose game, character and presence are so special, the total package literally uplifts a program.
Let me put this in a context most people will understand: Ben Smith is in a league with the school's most famous Smith, Otis (now the Orlando Magic general manager), for overall impact. Not necessarily as an NBA prospect, but for his ability to ensure that a team maxes out its talent.
It'd just be wrong for Ben Smith's last two home games at Veterans Memorial Arena — Thursday against Campbell and Saturday against East Tennessee State — to pass by without acknowledging the biggest difference-maker in a generation of JU basketball.
No disrespect to any of Ben's teammates, especially fellow senior Lehmon Colbert, also instrumental in resurrecting a previously stagnant program. But if there's one player that illustrates why the Dolphins are relevant under fifth-year coach Cliff Warren, it's the smallest guy on the floor.
Smith is third on JU's all-time scoring list (1,842 points), a nice statistic. But these numbers truly demonstrate what Big Ben means to the Dolphins: he's been on the floor for 4,238 of a possible 4,805 minutes. Plus, JU's Atlantic Sun Conference record is 51-21 during his four years as a starter, compared to 28-48 in four years before his arrival.
Warren recruited Smith out of Dublin (Ga.) High because his skill and work ethic captivated him, including a 96-84 Class AA state title win over Thomasville. The JU coach watched Smith account for 16 consecutive points (scoring or passing) in a second-half surge.
"Ben's will to win that game was evident," Warren said. "I said to myself, 'We have to get this guy.' "
What JU got is a player of more substance than style. He sets a strong example on and off the court, thanks in no small part to his upbringing from parents Curtis and Brenda Smith.
"I wish I could take credit for something Ben has done," Warren said. "Everything was instilled in Dublin [Ga.]."
Ben's mother nurtured most of his spiritual side at William Grove Baptist Church. His father, who played one year of college basketball and works in the Dublin recreation department, served as Ben's basketball coach until junior high. That produced a gym rat who never strayed from his value system.
"Toughness, hard work, doing whatever it takes, those are the things my Dad taught me," Smith said. "He said, 'Son, you're little, and when you're little in basketball, you got to be special.' He wouldn't allow me to get complacent."
There's not enough column space to fully explain Smith's value to JU, which can clinch a share of a second consecutive A-Sun title by beating co-leader Campbell on Thursday.
All spectators will be allowed into the Campbell game for free. If you go, there's a good chance you'll come away feeling Ben Smith is worth any price of admission.
Dublin's Quintez Smith continues to rack up postseason honors
January 26, 2:43 AM
Black College Sports Examiner
Gregory Smith
At the rate Quintez Smith is going, he may not find enough space in Dublin, Georgia for all of his awards and postseason honors.
The latest?
The cornerback for Shaw University was named to the D2Football.com All-America Team, which honors NCAA Division II players. Smith made first team and was the only player from an HBCU to do so.
Smith was also honored by the 100% Wrong Club, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization that has been honoring athletes from historically black colleges and universities since 1934. The group will honor its selections during its celebration weekend Feb. 5-6.
Among Smith's other accomplishments, he played in three all-star games -- the HBCU Bowl, East Coast Bowl and the Cactus Bowl.
He was named to the SBN Black College All-America Team, as well as the BASN HBCU All-America Team, both of which honor black college athletes from Division I and II HBCUs. He also earned inclusion on the American Football Coaches Association 1st Team All-America squad.
Smith set one Division II record and tied two more this season. He set the single-game record for most return yards after interceptions with 194 against Elizabeth City State. He tied the record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a game with three against Fayetteville State. He also matched the most interceptions returned for scores in a season with four.
Three cities, three teams, three jersey numbers.
That's the tally of Erik Walden's two years in the NFL.
@Adam email@example.com, blueraiders.com, NFL
The former MTSU standout defensive end/linebacker just finished his second NFL season with the Miami Dolphins.The nomadic Walden hopes south Florida is his home, at least for a while. "You always hope you don't have to move around, but it happens quite often in this league," Walden said. "I hope I don't have to do that much more. I want to find a place that I can call home."
Walden has had to adjust at the next level. After setting single-season and career records in sacks as an MTSU defensive end from 2004-07, Walden switched to outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme after being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round — becoming the first Blue Raider drafted since Tyrone Calico in 2003.
Walden was cut by the Cowboys before the 2008 regular season and claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs. He played nine games with the Chiefs before being released and playing the final six games of the 2008 season with the Dolphins. He played 11 games with the Dolphins in 2009.
Walden has taken his numerous NFL moves in stride. "You're never ready to move like that, but I'm glad it happened early in my career," Walden said. "It's going to probably happen anyway. You're going to have to change teams, but it would hurt worse later in my career if I've been somewhere for a long time. "If it's going to happen, better that it happen now than later. Hopefully, I can find a home, though."
Walden, a Dublin, Ga. native, said he has not tried to grow roots anywhere until his NFL status gains a better footing. He has spent the last two years living in various apartments and hotels as temporary homes, including a mere three-month stay in Kansas City.
"I didn't really want to buy anything since I didn't know where I was going to be, but that's just part of it," Walden said. "At first, (changing teams) bothered me. But when I thought about it, I decided that I was not going to let an incident like that affect me. I just had to keep on working hard, and that's what I am doing."
In all three of his NFL stops, Walden, a 6-foot-2, 250-pounder, has spent most of his time on special teams, where he rarely played at MTSU. But MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said Walden must make his mark there.
"Each NFL team is so different, and there's always someone there to replace you," Stockstill said. "Early in his career, Erik has got to be a warrior on special teams. He can run and he's been in there for special teams and some situational things on defense. He's got to do things on special teams. If he keeps his nose clean and works hard, he's got a chance."
Walden was listed as a third-string outside linebacker behind Joey Porter and Charlie Anderson this past season.
Walden said his ultimate goal is to start on defense in the NFL, but he's willing to cut his teeth on special teams.
"This year and last year, I mostly did special teams," Walden said. "But I'm an athlete, so I should be able to adjust to that. That's my job right now, so I'm going to work really hard at it."
Walden recorded 10 special teams tackles with the Chiefs, second-most on the team, and five more with the Dolphins in the 2008 season. In 2009, he had eight tackles in 11 games with Miami. He was declared injured or inactive in five games.
The Dolphins' season ended a week ago with a 7-9 record. Walden said he hopes to return to Miami next season.
"It's a year-to-year thing in this league, and I know that," Walden said. "I'm looking forward to having a long NFL career, but all I can do is work hard. I can't worry about what I can't control, so I'm not going to worry. I will just keep working, but I feel pretty good about things so far."
Hometown:Dublin, Ga.
Position: OLB
MTSU career (2004-07)
MTSU single-season and career leader in sacks
Two-time All-Sun Belt first team selection
Only MTSU player ever to lead in sacks three seasons
NFL career
April 2008: Drafted by Cowboys in 6th Rd.
Aug. 2008: Claimed by Chiefs off waivers
2008 season: Played 9 games with Chiefs
Nov. 2008: Claimed off waivers by Dolphins
2008 season: Played 6 games with Dolphins
2009 season: Played 11 games with Dolphins
Shaw University cornerback Quintez Smith, the CIAA's Defensive Player of the Year, was named First Team All-America by both the American Football Coaches Association and Daktronics, Inc. Wednesday.
The senior out of Dublin, Georgia is the first Shaw player named to the AFCA's All-America squad. The AFCA squad has been selected by college football coaches since 1945.
Smith received the highest number of votes among cornerbacks in the Daktronics selection, which is made by sports information directors of NCAA Division II members. This is the 17th year for the poll.
The honors are piling up for Shaw. In addition to being named the CIAA's defensive player of the year and the dual all-America selections, he was named to the East Coast Bowl and the HBCU Bowl, which will pit players from the CIAA and MEAC against players from the SIAC and SWAC Dec. 19 in Montgomery, Alabama.
During the 2009 season, Smith tied a Division II record when he intercepted and returned four passes for touchdowns. He finished the year tied for first in Division II with nine picks. He accumulated 302 return yards, made 49 tackles and recovered two fumbles for scores as well, leading Shaw to a record of 8-2 (5-2 in CIAA).
In the first week of the season, against Elizabeth City State, he set a new Division II single-game record with 194 interception return yards and set the single-game mark of three interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Smith, the AA Defensive Player of the Year, led the Dublin Irish (14-1) to the state championship game and the school's first victory in the Georgia Dome.
The Specialists
UFC 104 Fighter Profile: Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
Oct 22, 2009 - 10:14:05 AM
By: Sam Berkenbile, MMATorch Contributor
Name: Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
Professional MMA Record: 7-2
Biography: Anthony Kewoa Johnson was born March 6, 1984 in Dublin Georgia (age 25). "Rumble" is a welterweight training out of Cung Le's USH Fight Team in San Jose, California. Johnson is a collegiate wrester who likes to keep the fight standing to utilize his incredible speed and power. Also notable is Johnson's size, as he is 6'2". Johnson has claimed to weigh as much as 190 pounds come fight time.
Johnson broke onto the scene in 2007 at UFC Fight Night: Stout vs Fisher, putting Chad Reiner to sleep in just thirteen seconds. This was only Johnson's fourth fight, which he took on less than one weeks notice. The impressive knockout was America's first view of the explosive young striker. Unfortunately for Johnson, like many other young fighters who have an utterly dominating performance, he was matched against a very talented veteran fighter. Rumble lost to Rich Clementi at UFC 76 via rear naked choke. He would then bounce back in great fashion by knocking out TUF season six runner up Tommy Speer in just under a minute.
Rumble would lose his next fight in controversial fashion after Kevin Burns repeatedly poked Johnson in the eye with an open jab. After Burns landed the third eye poke, Johnson fell to thr ground writhing in pain. Unfortunately for some reason the NSAC still lets Steve Mazzagatti referee fights, so the fight was called a TKO for Burns. Johnson would get his rematch with Burns thought, KOing him thirty seconds into the third with a head kick. Rumble also added a little padding to his wallet by winning fight of the night honors
Johnson's last fight was against Luigi Fioravanti, whom he TKO'd at the end of the first round. Thus far, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has showed to be one of the most exciting up and comers in the UFC. Rumble is slated to face crafty Judoka, Yoshiyuka "Zenko" Yoshida at UFC 104. Rumble is looking to truly make his mark, as he has been quoted saying he wants to fight top ten competition.
On May 9, Edward Whitehead turned 102. As one of eighteen children of Dave and Hattie Whitehead, Whitehead was born in Dublin, Georgia in 1907.
The Arbor Day Foundation honored Whitehead on April 24, 2009 with its first Arbor Foundation Centennial Award at the Dauch Scout Center in Detroit, Michigan. "I've enjoyed every bit of it. It seems like I have been collecting awards since before most of you were born," said Whitehead.
The Whitehead family moved to Albion, Michigan, where he joined the Boy Scouts at the age of fifteen in 1922. As a scout, Edward earned many badges, including the Silver Beaver, the highest honor a boy scout can receive.
Whitehead remained active in scouting as a scoutmaster, cub master and adviser after he moved to Detroit, where he lives today. He still is somewhat active as he works in the scout shop of a scout center and occasionally at a day camp. The former truck driver credits his longevity to a good diet and plenty of rest. He estimates he has worked with more than three thousand scouts. "There are a lot of lessons you can learn. You learn about honesty, about doing good works, about helping others," Whitehead said.
References: Freep.com, (Joe Rosseter, Free Press, CNET News.com, photo @ Freep.com
It's a rare treat in any sport to meet your heroes.
Yet there he was, Leh Keen, on the same infield with NASCAR stars such as Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Rolex GT Grand-Am series was racing at Daytona Motor Speedway prior to the Coke Zero 400,
Keen, who lives on James Island and tunes cars at GSC Motorsports in West Ashley when he's not racing, let it slip last week who he admires most.
Thanks to NASCAR, he said, "Now I've met and co-driven with some of my idols, Wolf Henzler and Jorg Bergmeister."
Oh. Wolf and Jorg. Not Dale and Jeff.
To be honest, the answer makes a lot of sense in light of Keen's racing class and make of car. He drives a $200,000 450-hp Porsche GT3 Cup car that reaches speeds of 180 miles an hour, racing primarily on road courses but occasionally on oval tracks as at Daytona. Henzler and Bergmeister are hand-picked Porsche test drivers, who routinely put the carmaker's new models through their paces.
Keen, who turned 26 on Wednesday, is young enough to be slightly in awe of the Porsche driving professionals. He's no NASCAR-phobe, either. The license plate on his personal car, a BMW M3, is SHK&BKE, referring to the "Shake and Bake" nickname of the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly characters in the stock-car racing comedy film, "Talladega Nights."
While youthful in age, Keen is a mature racer. And after a half-dozen mildly impressive years on the top road course circuit, he has hit the big time so far in 2009.
Splitting time behind the wheel with German teammate Dirk Werner, the Dublin, Ga., native has won four races this year and sits atop the point standings even after a fifth place finish on Sunday in Birmingham, Ala.
Keen is nonchalant about the victory string, which includes wins at Millville, N.J.; Watkins Glen, N.Y.; Lexington, Ohio; and on July 4 at Daytona.
"In this kind of racing, it's so competitive. Everything has to line up just right. When it's bad, it gets worse. When it goes good, it only gets better," he said. The engineer has been really good, Keen said. "He makes all the calls, tweaks the suspension the right way. Now we have so much momentum."
Keen races for Farnbacher Loles, a Georgia based team. Interestingly, he used to compete for the Charleston-based Autometrics team, partnering with driver Cory Friedman. In 2006, the team finished third in the Grand-Am series. This is Keen's second year with Franlochler Loles.
A typical Gran-Am race has 20 or so cars including such models as Chevy Corvette, Mazda RX8, Pontiac GXP and Ferrari 430. Most races are 200 to 250 miles, or two to three hours in length. The series this year has stops in Atlanta, California and Florida among other places as well as an upcoming race in Montreal. NASCAR owns the Grand-Am series. The Speed Channel broadcasts all the races and typically repeats them throughout the week.
Along with capturing the series title, Keen's biggest goal is to win the longest race in the series, the grueling Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona held every spring. He finished eighth this year. Besides the race's prestige, the 24 Hours was the first race he attended, traveling to Florida as an 11-year-old with his father McGrath Keen.
Like many drivers, Keen got the racing bug from his father, who drove sprint cars as a hobby in the Atlanta area.
The driver, whose full name is Lehman McGrath Keen III,
said he likes road course racing and would like to keep competing in the Grand-Am series at least for the foreseeable future.
Keen has lived in the Charleston area for four years. He thought at one time about attending the College of Charleston.
"I've always liked Charleston," he said. It's never going to get too big. It has a lot of history. "I'm here to stay," he said.
Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Coastal Oceanography
From GHER
The coastal oceanography course is divided in two sections. A first section addresses the specificities of the coastal ocean from a hydrodynamic point of view. The second section addresses data analysis techniques in oceanography, with a special emphasis in the coastal ocean. The materials will be uploaded after the end of each section.
The image and captions point to the slides shown so far during the lessons:
Basic concepts Waves Estuaries Ocean Instrumentation
Lesson Fronts
Access to the RACE database
The slides shown during the RACE introduction are here
- For accessing the RACE database
- pgAdmin
- Instructions to install VPN
- Extraction of CTD data
- SeaBird Data Processing
- Configuration file for Sea-Bird SBE19.CON
- Instructions these instructions to transform the binary data into ascii data, and to import the data into ODV.
- Data visualisation/analysis
- Ocean Data View (needs a login, but it is free of charge)
Currents in Calvi Bay
- RACE query example file [1]
- Stations with currents data in the Calvi Bay:
- Extract all current data (speed and direction) from the RACE database (see figures above)
- Transform speed and direction into North-South and East-West currents.
- Study the main currents in the Bay of Calvi:
- Import the average currents for each location into ODV
- Draw in a map the average currents at each of the locations
- Calculate histograms of current direction at each location and compare with the currents in the map
Temperature and salinity variability in Calvi Bay
CTD data taken during 2014 and 2015 at the submarine Canyon (depth ~100m) and data taken at the Stareso 40m depth station will be analysed
Data for Tete de Canyon here
Data for Stareso 40m here
Explanations for handling the Stareso data at 40 m here
- Install the Seabird software (Windows only)
- Follow these instructions to transform the binary data into ascii data, and to import the data into ODV.
- Study variability of temperature and salinity in Calvi Bay: how do these variables change with time? and with depth? Are there any extreme events? ...
- Vertical sections (time/depth)
- T/S diagrams
- Individual profiles
- ...
Air-sea fluxes
- A brief explanation about the calculation of air-sea fluxes
- Data for 2014.
Reference books and websites
- Introduction to the Physical and Biological Oceanography of Shelf Seas. 2012. J.H. Simpson and J. Sharpless. Cambridge. 448pp
- Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography. 2001. W.J. Emery and R.E. Thomson. Elsevier Science Inc. 400 pp.
- Shelf and coastal oceanography. Online course
The Coastal Oceanography course will be assessed in two parts: an exam about a theoretical aspect in coastal oceanography, and an exam about data analysis in coastal oceanography.

subset: commoncrawl


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This July is likely to go down as one of the warmest and sunniest on record, according to Met Office data.
Figures from the 1st to the 28th of the month show the mean temperature across the UK was 16.3C (61.3F), which is 1.2C above the long-term average.
If the month concludes in the same trend, it would finish as the joint 8th warmest July since records started in 1910.
However, the average would still fall well short of the record-breaking 17.8C (64F) set in 2006.
The Met Office said the 210 sunshine hours recorded so far are "well above" the average expected for the whole month.
July already ranks as the joint 10th sunniest on record, but meteorologists expect it to climb higher once the remaining days are included.
However, it is unlikely to trouble the record of 256 hours of sunshine set in 1955.
It has also been a relatively dry month, with below-average rainfall.
The UK has seen about 2.3in (59mm) fall in July so far, which is around three- quarters of the average expected for a whole month.
The Met Office added: "You'd normally expect about 90% at this stage."
The month currently ranks as the 29th driest July on record - but forecasters are warning that rain could be on the way this weekend.
Dan Williams, of the Met Office, said: "We are moving into slightly more unsettled conditions and temperatures aren't quite as warm.
"We have had a long run when we were seeing temperatures in the 20s and perhaps into the 30s. We are now looking at the early 20s.
"We are expecting rain in places over the next few days - it won't be quite as warm and dry as it has been."
He added that there was potential for heavy rain in the South West and Midlands on Saturday.
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Anesthesiology Providers: Electronic Claim Alert
Due to an internal systems issue, some Medicare Crossover claims for Anesthesia services are being delayed. Electronic claims received on or after Oct. 8, 2011, are impacted and currently in a "pend" status. We are currently working on resolving this issue and expect to begin releasing these claims shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.


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This person scares me. Wanda is an adventurer, an explorer, a diaper-clad warrior with a death-wish. She likes to climb to the highest level of the playground equipment and run full speed towards the one open edge, stopping inches from the 20-foot drop, a triumphant belly laugh escaping her lips.
She frequently yells, "GO!" before taking off on a sprint towards vehicular manslaughter-induced death or a dive down the stairs. At least I can't say I wasn't warned. I hear, "GO!" and I make a run for it.
"GO!" can also indicate that she's about to throw her binky from the moving stroller or the sippy cup from the high chair. In Wanda's little toddler world, "GO!" simply means that big things are going to transpire and the world had better get ready.
Another word she loves is "ow-side." The outside world is her favorite place to be, whether it's raining, snowing or that strange elusive orb is shining in the Seattle sky. She learned to say "Ow-side" before she learned to say "NO!" and before she'd ever been allowed to spend time out there. Now it's hard to keep her in. She can often be seen running down our long driveway in her footie jammas or bare feet, cackling. When I bring her back in, she spends a few minutes joyfully picking the gravel from between her toes.
She definitely has a passion for nature and physical activity and I honestly love that about her. She's my first child that shows real promise of being active and fit and I want to encourage it as much as possible. Magoo loves anything with a screen and Laylee would be happy to eat, sleep and breath books. She can sit in one position longer than a 400-pound man in a body cast. Give her a book and she's good.
Wanda loves books too, although at 19 months she isn't reading yet, a great disappointment to both her parents. We care deeply about literacy in this family so we keep reading to her but we can't carry her like this forever.
I was really excited by a panel at the Mom Congress conference about Physical Education and recess. It's got me looking for ways to get my kids up and moving and it's been nice to come home and see that Wanda already has the desire built in. Now it's my job to cultivate it, to go "ow-side" as much as possible, to run around the playground structure ready to catch her when she falls.
It's so easy to lead my kids towards passive activities, movies, computers and video games because they make my life simpler and then I wonder why I can't get them to go outside and play. First I need to model active behavior and then I need to encourage them any time they show a glimmer of interest in getting active. It may complicate my life now but I know it will pay off big time in the end with happier, healthier kids and a happier, healthier mom.
Becoming a fan of Daring Young Mom or follow the progress of her debut novel on Facebook


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Car Deals
Convertible Deals: July 2013
Putting down the top this summer might be a little easier than you thought. That's due to our list of convertible deals, which includes the best incentives and special offers on some of today's top drop-tops.
Audi A5 Cabriolet
The Audi A5 Cabriolet is a 4-seat soft-top convertible with a 220-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder. In July, it's available with a rare special offer as Audi clears out inventory to make room for the 2014 model year. Through the end of the month, shoppers looking to lease an A5 Cabriolet can do so with payments starting at $489 per month for 36 months after $4,483 down at lease signing. That makes the A5 Cabriolet only $60 per month more than the Coupe -- and with so much nice weather still ahead, it sounds like an easy decision to us.
The BMW Z4 is a sporty 2-seat roadster with a folding hardtop. In July, it's offered with both lease and finance deals. For shoppers interested in financing the Z4, BMW is offering interest rates as low as 3.05 percent for up to 36 months. Drivers who would prefer to lease can get deals starting at $429 per month for 36 months on the Z4 sDrive28i after $3,654 due at signing, or $489 per month on the more powerful Z4 sDrive35i with a similar down payment. Topping the Z4 range is the muscular 335-hp sDrive35is, which starts at $579 per month with $4,304 due at signing.
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a retro-styled 4-seater with available coupe or convertible body styles. In July, both models are good deals as Chevrolet clears out 2013 inventory before the 2014 model starts arriving. Through the end of the month, drivers interested in a Camaro Convertible can get interest rates as low as 0 percent for up to 36 months plus up to $500 cash back. For buyers paying in full, the Camaro is available with up to $1,500 cash back throughout July.
Find a Chevrolet Camaro for sale
FIAT 500c Cabrio
The FIAT 500 is a subcompact car with an available convertible body style. Unlike most convertibles, the drop-top FIAT 500 -- officially called the FIAT 500c Cabrio -- has a retractable soft-top and roof pillars that remain in place, even when the top is down. In July, FIAT is offering several incentives on the 500c Cabrio. For qualified shoppers looking to finance, the 500c Cabrio is available with 0 percent interest for up to 36 months. And for buyers who would rather pay cash, FIAT is offering up to $500 cash back. While that may sound like a small figure, it can go a long way toward buying a 500c Cabrio, which starts at just over $20,000 with shipping.
Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet
The unusual Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet is a drop-top version of Nissan's popular Murano crossover. In July, it's offered with incentives for shoppers interested in financing, paying with cash or leasing. For finance buyers, Nissan is offering 0 percent interest for up to 36 months. Those looking to pay with cash can take up to $1,250 cash back. And for lease shoppers, the Murano CrossCabriolet is offered with a $469 monthly payment for 39 months after $2,999 due at lease signing.
What it means to you: Our list of convertible deals includes incentives on some of the best and most popular new models.


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Home > Care & Treatment > Foot Care & Surgery
For more information or for help finding a physician, call our Access Line at 877-CAPECOD or email us today.
Choose a podiatrist as the most qualified doctor to care for your feet. The podiatrists at Cape Cod Healthcare draw on their extensive training and experience to diagnose and treat foot and ankle problems and perform surgery.
Your feet are essential to your health and mobility. Our experts help relieve pain and restore function for a variety of injuries and conditions. We collaborate with specialists from multiple disciplines, such as wound healing, to provide you with customized care for:
Treatment options vary widely, depending on the nature of the condition. Custom orthotics may relieve foot pain; medications can be used to treat certain skin disorders.
When surgery is required, many procedures benefit from technological advancements, such as endoscopic techniques for plantar fasciitis or neuromas. Procedures that use an endoscope—a thin lighted tube with a small video camera—require smaller incisions and result in a faster recovery. Traditional surgery is also an effective technique for many conditions.
Reliable information is available from the American Podiatric Medical Association.
1 Trowbridge Place
Bourne, MA 02532
27 Park Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
100 Ter Heun Drive
Falmouth, MA 02540
View More
© 2018 Cape Cod Healthcare Inc.


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Stampede Finish Regular Season With 4-2 Win Over Omaha
SIOUX FALLS, SD -- The Sioux Falls Stampede finished the 2012-13 regular season with a win against the team they had the most trouble against as they squeezed a 4-2 win over the Omaha Lancers Saturday night at the Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 4,668 fans. It marked the fourth sellout of the season for the Herd.
The team from Nebraska came into the night carrying a 5-2-0 record against their bordering rivals, the only team in the USHL with a winning record against the Herd.
"It was a little extra motivation for the guys," said head coach Cary Eades. "We wanted to continue the good mojo heading into the playoffs, especially against Omaha."
Four different players hit the scoreboard for the Herd, while netminder David Jacobson had a solid performance in goal with 22 shots stopped in 24 Lancer attempts. The Stampede finished the regular season with a franchise best record of 45-17-2. They also set a franchise record for most points in a season with 92.
Victor Bjorking and Tony Calderone scored within 14 seconds of each other not even two minutes into the game to propel the Herd to an early 2-0 cliff over the Lancers. Bjorkung kicked off the lamp-lightning at 1:43 with an absolute monster of a shot from the left side just a few feet outside the blue line, the defenseman's seventh goal the season. The tally was followed not long after by a swift Calderone wrist shot while the audience was finishing celebrating the first goal. Sioux Falls appeared to have a third goal at 9:15 by Conner Valesano, but it was waived off due to high-sticking after a small conference of referees.
The second period featured more offensive pressure from the Lancers, as two Omaha goals bookended a lone Herd score. Omaha's Tyler Hines cut the margin in half at 4:24 to make it 3-2 Sioux Falls, but Dakota Joshua's first goal as a member of the Herd provided a response 1:40 later. However, persistence paid off for the Lancers and Ryan Tait brought it right back to a one-goal hole with 4:25 left before the final intermission.
Things remained at a tense 3-2 standstill until Todd Skirving clinched the contest with a clutch score on a nice 2-on-1 break with Kyle Schempp with just 2:14 remaining on the clock.
"Schempp put a nice saucer pass right on my tape," said Skirving. "It gave me a wide open net and I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot."
Sioux Falls will now wait for the results Sunday night to see if they'll be facing the Lincoln Stars or the Waterloo Black Hawks at home Tuesday night. Lincoln leads Waterloo by one point for third place, but the Black Hawks play Sunday at Indiana in their final game of the season. If Waterloo wins, they would finish third and the Stampede would play Lincoln. If they lose, the Herd will face the Hawks in the first round.
"Whoever we get, it's going to be a real good team," said Eades.
Regardless of the Herd face, Game 1 will be at the Sioux Falls Arena 7:05 pm Tuesday night with Game 2 to come Wednesday night at the same time. Be sure to visit www.sfstampede.com Sunday night for the complete first round playoff schedule.
Courtesy: Sioux Falls Stampede


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Fort Hays State University > Online Learners > Virtual College > Admission to the Virtual College > Graduate
Virtual CollegeHammond Hall 201600 Park Street
Hays, KS 67601
Phone: 785-628-4291
Toll Free: 800-628-FHSU
Fax: 785-628-4037Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Request Information
Earn a master's degree without it mastering your life.
Fort Hays State Virtual College is the flexible, affordable way for
busy professionals to earn their master's degrees. We offer many master degree programs through the Virtual College graduate program.
Admission to these programs is administered by the Graduate School of Fort Hays State University. Visit the Graduate School Web site, call 785-628-4236 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for more information about admission requirements and procedures.
Learn Because You Want To.You don't have to be seeking a degree to take graduate level
courses through Fort Hays State Virtual College, but you do need to
apply for admission and send your undergraduate transcripts. For more
complete information, contact the Graduate School at 785-628-4236 or email email@example.com before you register for classes.


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Best deal for the money as compared to OEM.
World's Largest Aftermarket Motorcycle Parts and Accessories Superstore!
Input the part number and quantity to add a part directly to your cart.
J&P Cycles Part Number: 223-120
Checking availability...
With over 750 years of experience combined, our tech staff has the answers!
5 out of 5 stars (based on 18 reviews)
5 stars (14)
4 stars (3)
3 stars (1)
2 stars (0)
1 star (0)
0 stars (0)
Best deal for the money as compared to OEM.
Im very happy with this product.Delivery was very fast and i had it on my bike in no time at all..
Very happy, directions could be better, but not that hard to install. Love the look .
Good quality product, should have rubber backing where it touches the fender though.
Easy install and fit, plus looks awesome on the VT150.!
Very happy with the look of this product. Installed it onto a Honda 2005 Shadow Aero. Instructions were written and could have used some pictures but this product is not that difficult to install. Highly recommend following the instructions.
As usual, great service by J&P Cycles and great price! Craftsmanship is on this Cobra sissybar is exceptional and I love that it's "made in America"!!
Great product!!
Great fit
This thing is perfect for [the] passenger. Just the right height.
my wife loves it but now she want's a new seat
fits good looks great
Great product looks like it came with the bike easy to install my grandson helped put it on, not to mention that my wife loves it and now feels safe thanks
Looks good, But is not the best enginered, back rest brackets don,t mount flush to the spacers..Screwes are the only thing ataching the sissy bar to the mounting brackets. Most others I've seen have a welded bracket also.
Easy to install; Looks great; Happy wife
I was really impressed with the quality and overall ruggedness of this product. The old lady won't be falling off, unfortunately. haha
Extremely simple to install, looks beautiful, and very sturdy!
Perfect for my 2009 V Star 950. Keeps the crusier look on it !
This product will fit your Motorcycle
This product does not fit your Motorcycle.


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Homestead Stitches
This fun, fresh Canadian shop, surrounded by the lush forest and spring-fed waters of North Bay, Ontario, embraces traditional styles. It is a dream come true for owners Allan and Annie Boomhour.
Surprise Inside [1]
The 1898 storefront exterior only hints at the quilters' treasure trove that lies within the former jewelry store. Although small in space, its character compensates, Annie says.
Meet the Staff [3]
From left: Allan Boomhour (co-owner), Annie Boomhour (co-owner), Barbara Belanger, Margaret Tomkins, Kathryn Boomhour, and Ara Linda Houle.
Touches from the Past [5]
The shop's built-in cherry cabinets have scrollwork trim, etched-glass globes hang from light fixtures, and original tin ceilings hover over countless quilted samples.
Every Nook and Cranny [7]
Rather than dismantling the original jewelry store fixtures, the Boomhours opted to retrofit them to accommodate fabric bolts and small samples.
Color and Creativity [9]
Homestead Stitches is known for its color sensibility and creative kits for nearly every quilted sample. The kit resembling a child's diaper contains all you need for a baby quilt. In other instances, wall hanging kits are tucked in jars and the pieces for a summer strip quilt fills a slushy cup.
Small Space, Big Effect [11]
Vignettes of wool and cotton samples and patterns make a big statement in a small space.
Reflect on Inspiration [13]
Glass domes that formerly reflected light on faceted jewelry now glimmer above quilting treasures. "I'd define our fabric as warm and country," Annie says. "A lot of our customers have cottages and want that woodsy, cozy feeling."
For more information on Homestead Stitches, visit www.homesteadstitches.com [14].


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May 27th SSL Certificates
Google is making an update to its Chrome browser that will render your site as 'not secure' if you don't have https enabled. We are proud to announce that all of our hosted accounts can get free SSL certificates for their domains hosted with us via our control panels.Please submit a ticket if you have any questions regarding this or any other ... Leia mais... »
Sep 26th Coinbase & Bitcoin
Sean here, I just wanted to announce that coinbase has given us a method in which we can now accept bitcoin! Totally excited for this opportunity and if you're interested, please check them out here! It has been a long time coming. I truly think that this currency might be the thing the world will need when currencies come crashing down with ... Leia mais... »


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New Old Skool : The Roland GAIA SH-01 Synth
Roland GAIA SH-01: Synthesizer
With its massive sound, hands-on ease and affordable price, the GAIA SH-01 is a high-performance value synth with old school charm. The triple stacked engine puts potent virtual analogue synthesis at your fingertips, yet the control panel is fun, friendly, and inviting, so even first-timers can create great sounds.
The signal flow is simple to grasp, with logically arranged knobs, sliders, and buttons. Hands-on control and fat sounds make this little powerhouse a joy for music students, songwriters, session players, and live performers of all styles and ability levels.
Triple-fat virtual analogue
Sink your teeth into the new triple stacked virtual analogue engine, comprising three complete synths for incredibly thick, powerful sound. Unleash the beef of three oscillators which drive a trio of multimode, resonant filters, multi-shape LFOs, and amplifiers, plus nine envelope generators. It's like having three synthesizers in one! With 64 polyphonic voices onboard, the GAIA SH-01 makes it possible to play massive sounds without experiencing note drop out.
Stackable effects
From the silkiest reverb to the grittiest growl, the SH-01's instantly selectable multi-effects will catapult your sounds into another dimension. You can layer up to five simultaneous effects for dozens of variations. The onboard effects include reverb, distortion, fuzz, bit crash, flanger, phaser, pitch shifter, low boost, and delay with panning and tempo sync. Dedicated control knobs are provided for tweaking the effects in real time.
Portable power
At less than 10 pounds (approx. 4 kg / 9 lbs), the GAIA SH-01 is lightweight, compact, and great for musicians on the go. However, the 37-note keyboard is full-size, so performers can play naturally and comfortably. The synth can be powered via AC or batteries* for the ultimate in portable convenience. A battery-life indicator on the front panel ensures that you won't lose power unexpectedly. When used in conjunction with a battery-powered amp such as Roland's CUBE Street, MOBILE CUBE, BA-330 or KC-110, the GAIA SH-01 can be played and heard anywhere!
Instant control
The front panel puts every control directly under your fingertips. There are no hidden menus you can just play. And move the knobs and sliders, or wave your hands over the invisible D Beam for dramatic effects. The logically designed front panel shows the signal path from left to right. It helps beginners understand synthesis, while experienced players will love the instant gratification of hands-on control during performance.
Phrase Recorder and arpeggiator
Hold a note or chord and let the arpeggiator create musical magic automatically for you. The tempo can be set via tap tempo. In addition, the onboard Phrase Recorder lets you record what you play on the keyboard as well as the movements of the knobs and sliders. The controller data can also be played back independently to complement the notes you play in real time.
USB and EXT IN
Connect directly to a computer (Mac or PC) with one simple USB cable, and stream audio directly to the software of your choice. The SH-01's USB ports can also be used to transmit and receive MIDI data, and to store your patches and phrases (recorded with the Phrase Recorder) to a USB memory stick. For integrating with external devices, the SH-01's EXT input lets you connect external audio sources such as an MP3-player and play along with your favourite songs or backing tracks, making it great for practice and live performance. Manipulate the incoming audio with three Center Cancel modes, which let you eliminate pre-recorded vocals, guitars, or bass.
Related Products
Roland GAIA SH-01 Synthesizer
The Roland GAIA Synth has a huge palette of sounds to choose from. With its triple stacked virtual analogue engine which comprises of three synths with 64 note polyphony gives the user access to an incredible array of sounds to choose from. Add in the fact the unit has three oscillators, resonant filters, LFO's, envelope generators and amplifiers you know…
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Pre-writing Prompt: All organisms depend on other organisms for survival. Do you agree or disagree with idea? Give examples to support your opinion.
Allow students 5 minutes to respond to prompt.
Call on volunteers to share responses with an aim of getting to the concept of different organisms have different functions: producers, consumers, decomposers, scavengers and that there are different processes going on between organisms: competition, predation, cooperation and symbiotic relationships.
Be sure to discuss what animals get from plants for their survival (food: fruits, leaves, flowers, roots and shelter: build nests with plant material or often in a tree, sometimes insects lay eggs on/in a plant and their young develop there etc., oxygen: produced by plants via photosynthesis).
Pollination is important because flowering plants can ONLY reproduce with a little help from their friends, the pollinators. When a honeybee flies to a flower looking for nectar, pollen from the blossom sticks to the fuzzy hairs on their body. When it visits the next flower, the pollen rubs off, pollinating the flower. If it were not for honeybees performing pollination, many fruit trees would not produce fruit.
Ask students to name some pollinators. Write on the board different groups of pollintaors: moths, bats, butterflies, bees, beetles, flies hummingbirds. Discuss their flower preferences (see chart at bottom of page on http://www.kidsgardening.com/growingideas/projects/jan03/pg1.html). Discuss how the animal is looking to get food, while the the flower's job is to attract the pollinator. Ask students if plants and animals want to help each other. NO, but it works out well that they do. Let's explore exactly what happens.
1) Arrange the students in a circle, and give each student the same colored mini-Post-it, with numbers that represent half the number of students in the class. For example, if you have 30 students, you will have two sets of Post-its numbered 1-15 (so you will have two students with #1, two students with #2 etc.). You will also need a ball, which represents the pollinator. In each scenario (round) the ball must always get a post-it (pollen) from each student, (flower).
2) Round One: Explain that the ball represents a pollinator, let's say a honey bee. Each student represents a flower (in this first scenario, all flowers are of the same species (or type)). The ball will start in the circle with no post-its, the first student who gets the ball will put his/her post-it on the ball and not get one (since the bee has just left the hive and gone to the first flower). If he/she gets the ball again they can take a post-it, but the important part, at first, is to get your pollen out there. In order to get pollinated, you must catch the ball, take off a Post-It (with a different # from your own/different pollen), put your Post-It on the ball and pass the ball on. The goal is to be as fast and efficient as possible because the honeybee needs to get back to the hive and you want to ensure the survival of all the flowers in the field. Set a stopwatch for 30 seconds and begin passing the ball and exchanging numbers. The only number a student cannot take is the same number she/he already has. When the timer goes off, explain that students who did not get a differnent number were not fertilized, and therefore cannot reproduce (at least at this point)--plants that don't reproduce disappear. Discuss ease or difficulty of pollinating the flowers and the dependence on the pollinator.
3) Round Two: Nature is complicated. Not all flowers are the same (there are many different species or types in a habitat) and most flowers can't pollinate themselves; the pollen must come from another flower of the same species. Each student now gets one of three different colored Post-its to represent different types of flowers in a field (for example, if you have 30 students, 10 get pink, 10 get yellow, 10 get blue). In order to pollinate, the flower must exchange a Post-it on the "honeybee" that is the same color (i.e. from the same type of flower). If they catch the ball and it has the same color Post-it, they can exchange Post-its, then pass it on. If the color on the ball and the color the person has are different, the ball must be passed on (since the types of flower types don't match) with the hopes they will get it again with a matching color. (*The ball should start with no Post-its (no pollen) , students should put on a post-it even if they can't take one)
4) Round Three: Now use two balls (i.e. two pollinators) and pass out white post-its to replace some of to the colored post-its (for example in a class of 30 you could have 6 white post-its, 8 blue post-its, 8 yellow post-its and 8 blue post-its)--one ball represents a bat and the other a honey bee. The bat can only pollinate a night blooming white flower, such as from a Saguaro catcus, (so only the students with white post-its). The honey-bee ball can still pollinate the other day blooming flowers (so the students with the colored post-its). This round is to show that not only does the right type of pollen have to be transferred by the pollinator to the flower, but that in addition, not all flowers can be pollinated by all pollinators (some pollinators pollinate during the day and some pollinate at night).
5) If time permits, hand out attached Pollinators sheet and bring in flowers. Ask students to match flowers to possible pollinators to review and assess understanding that different flowers require different pollinators, hence animals and plants have evolved differently.
1) Handout a drawing of a simple flower to glue into science notebooks (see attachment and web link below for flower diagrams).
2) Explain that we have just explored how pollination happens out in nature, now we will look at how pollination works within a plant.
3) Hand out one flower per student and walk them through the parts from the outside to the inside discussing the name of each structure, and its function. Students can make a structure/function chart in their notebooks or write the function under each structure name on their labeled flower.
Flower Structure (part) and Function (job)
stamen--male parts of the flower (these include the anther and filament)
filament (supports the anther)
anther--produces pollen, which contains male sex cells, the sperm
petals-(usually colorful) and attracts pollinators
sepals--protects developing flower bud
pistil--female parts of the plant (these include the stigma, style and ovary (ovules are contained within the ovary)
stigma-sticky top of pistil that receives the pollen grains
style (the passage way for the pollen to move from stigma to ovary)
ovary-deep in bottom base of pistil, this becomes the fruit. The ovary contains the ovule, which hold the female sex cells, the eggs
ovule- where the seeds develop
4) Understanding the structure and function of a simple flower helps students appreciate the effort it takes for plant reproduction to happen. Explain that not ALL pollination relies on other organisms, some tiny, plain flowers rely on an abiotic factor: the wind.
5) Explain that seed dispersal is another way that plants survive since young plants have a better chance of survival with more space and light than would be provided by the parent plant.
6) Watch FOSS video, How Seeds Get Here...and There, a video on seed dispersal (**My 4/5 grade class laughed a lot at the level of production, but the message is very clear)
1) Ask groups of 3, each with a different colored pencil or marker, to draw an answer to the following questions:
a) (Should have been learned in an earlier lesson) Show 3 examples of how animals depend on plants for survival (Possible answers: food: fruits, leaves, flowers, roots and shelter: build nests with plant material or often in a tree, sometimes insects lay eggs on/in a plant and their young develop there etc., oxygen: produced by plants via photosynthesis).
b) (Some of this will need to have been learned in an earlier lesson) Show three examples of how plants depend on animals for survival (Possible answers: pollination, seed dispersal (should have been talked about in a separate lesson), some plants like the venus fly trap get nutrients from animals they "eat", some animals sometimes feed on more dominant plant species, which can give other less dominant species a chance).
Tell students that you want to see equal amounts of all three colors.
2) Give Science Notebook No. 5 (Foss Binder pg. 233) as homework or independent follow-up
Ask students to return to the original prompt to re-read and add any new information based on today's lesson. Individuals may volunteer to read their responses.


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May 18 is a critical election for Owen County. With the loss of tobacco contracts and tobacco buyout funds ending with the terms of the leaders we elect, the economy and lifestyle of Owen County is changing. The question is, changing to what?
Times are tough. Times have always been tough. That's never changed. For generations we get politicians time and time again telling us how they are going to make things better for us. But when you look at Kentucky's statistics, it makes you want to pull your hair out. We are bottom of the list in America for education, health care, and wealth.
With elections just around the corner, I would like for everyone to think about the significance of every single vote and its impact on the future of our county, state and country. Today, more than ever before, we are pressed to look beyond "party loyalty," the "good ole boy" system, retaliation, or complacency, when voting. Whether local, state or federal, the consequences are often the same – a bad political landscape with poor policy making.
Thursday, May 6, is the National Day of Prayer. Bro. Franklin Graham is asking every Christ follower to assemble somewhere to pray.
I'll be at the flagpole at the (Owen County) Courthouse. See you at the pole.
Dr. Joy Arnold-Morse
I have recently become involved in a very unpleasant situation at Owen County schools.
There have been events in the last two weeks that have hopefully opened the eyes of those in charge and with any luck by the time this letter prints, (Mark Cleveland) will have been removed from his position as superintendent of Owen County schools.
Have you ever read the Constitution of the United States? Sure, we all learned about it in school and probably memorized the preamble. You may have a basic understanding of the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, but when was the last time you really read the Constitution and gave any thought to its meaning? I would imagine that our children know more about the Constitution than most adults do. We have simply forgotten why it was written and what it represents.
Leadership of Owen County was held on April 7 and the topic was health care.
Our day began at the Owen County Extension office and the first place we went to visit was the New Horizon Specialty Clinic.
If you have not seen or heard of the local event that took place April 23, it was a charity event entitled Scream the Cure.
This charity concert with hard core bands (metal) raised money for our local chapter of Relay for Life.
Bands from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio came to Owen County free of charge and performed from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. to help raise money for cancer patients all across the U.S.
Copyright © 2018
The Owenton News-Herald is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Owen County and Owenton, KY, and the surrounding area.


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Former Indiana surgeon nabbed in Italy gets 7 years in prison
A former Indiana surgeon arrested on a snowy Italian mountainside after five years on the run was handed a stiff prison term Friday for billing insurers and patients for procedures he didn't perform, with the federal judge saying he used patients like an ATM machine.
Mark Weinberger was given a seven-year prison term, nearly double the recommendation under federal sentencing guidelines. U.S. District Judge Philip Simon said the more severe sentence was necessary because Weinberger -- who disappeared just before he was charged -- left a web of lawsuits, 401(k) problems for his 40 employees and health issues for patients at his nose and sinus clinic.
"The fallout from this is enormous," the judge said, noting that hundreds of patients couldn't access their medical records after Weinberger fled while vacationing in Greece.
"I am very certain he knew at the time his world was collapsing around him," Simon said. "Instead of addressing this collapsing, he fled from it."
Simon also said Weinberger ran his medical office like a "factory," saying he moved patients through in volume so he could earn more than $30 million in the three years before he fled.
The judge sentenced Weinberger nearly 18 months after rejecting a plea deal that called for a four-year prison sentence, saying he wasn't confident it took into account the magnitude of the crimes.
Weinberger pleaded guilty in July to 22 counts of health care fraud under a plea deal that called for no more than of 10 years in prison. However, normal recommended sentencing guidelines called for between three and four years in prison.
Weinberger's attorney initially asked that his client be sentenced to time served, but he changed his request during Friday's hearing to a four-year sentence. He said Weinberger had been a model inmate, volunteered as a cook and tutor for other inmates trying to earn their GEDs. He also started an inmate yoga program at the Chicago prison where he's being held and is running an anger management program.
Weinberger, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and his hair in a bun in the back -- a sharp contrast to the shaved head at an earlier hearing in April 2011 -- rocked in his chair with his hands to his mouth when Simon handed down the sentence. The shackles around Weinberger's feet clanked against his chair sporadically throughout the hearing.
He apologized earlier during Friday's hearing, saying he had no explanation.
"I'm sorry. I lied. I stole. I betrayed a sacred trust. I have no excuse. There is no excuse. I am sorry," Weinberger said.
He said he let many people down, listing his family, colleagues, employees, friends and patients, saying he wished he could make it up to them.
"The best I can do is spend every minute trying to redeem myself," he said. "Is redemption possible? I don't know. But please, your honor, let me try."
Several of his victims said they were satisfied with the sentence.
"It was all right," said Bill Boyer, of Gary, who won a $300,000 medical malpractice judgment against Weinberger but hasn't received any money because the case is being appealed. "I would have preferred 10, but I'll take seven."
Peggy Hood of Valparaiso, the sister of Phyllis Barnes, a patient Weinberger treated for sinus problems but didn't diagnose the advanced throat cancer that killed her, said she was pleased with the judge's decision.
"No sentence would be long enough to satisfy me or the rest of her family. But it turned out better than we hoped," she said.
Weinberger has already spent nearly three years behind bars. He was arrested in December 2009 arrest in Italy on a snowy mountainside where authorities said he had been living in a tent. He stabbed himself in the neck while being taken into custody and spent time recovering in a hospital before being returned to the U.S.
His attorney, Visvaldis Kupsis, said the sentence was fair. Kupsis' had argued the case as one of simple theft that had been blown up by the press.
"The judge took a lot of things into consideration. I was hoping he was going to give him less time. But I understand the logic behind it," he said.
Kupsis said Weinberger was "not displeased" by the sentence.
"He was hoping he was going to get less. But he was not displeased," he said.


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At a recent appearance in Nashville before an audience of 100 clients, friends and employees at the Country Music Hall of Fame, David Waddell of Waddell & Associates Inc. gave his company's annual state of the union address.
He did the same Thursday, Feb. 28, in Memphis for a crowd of 300 at the FedEx Institute of Technology.
By his own admission, the financial planning firm of Waddell & Associates is "stronger than it's ever been, and we've always been strong."
The company, begun by his father in 1986 and taken over by Waddell in 2002, builds its business around three components: customized financial planning, providing investment management services on a discretionary basis and a process of dynamic communication to keep clients informed and involved.
And throughout it all, Waddell promotes a consistency in clients' relationships and in the way assets are managed. To that end, the personal assets of Waddell, his employees and the business – a total of $30 million – are managed right alongside and in the same investment models as the $700 million total assets the firm manages.
Waddell attributes much of the company's success, as he trumpeted in Nashville, to his team, saying "we have CPAs, CFPs and lawyers on staff, so we bring a lot of artillery to the table to do personal financial planning work."
He makes a point to mention recent additions to personnel, including new chief operating officer Dawn Rapoport and the Nashville office managing director Corey Napier.
"We've made significant investments in talent in the company and we really have all-stars at every position, so I've never felt better about the condition of the firm," Waddell said.
An initial investment with Waddell & Associates is $500,000, and 85 percent of the business is with individuals, those who tend to be semi-affluent to affluent. Waddell's objective is to get to know these clients and learn what their ultimate goals are, whether it's to send their children to college or leave a healthy estate behind.
For Waddell and his team, it's about being honest and clear and letting that potential client know up front if goals are attainable and, if not, how to restructure and augment the goals and investments to make that client happy and comfortable.
"We provide the clarity around these objectives that people just can't come to on their own because often they're working on a sense of feel instead of a sense of math," he said. "I want to be known as the most authentic and honest purveyor of the trade, and sometimes that means telling people what they don't want to hear."
The good news from Waddell is that he is optimistic about the way the economy is heading, noting three factors in particular: housing recovery, increased domestic energy production and that the nation's manufacturing is on the rebound.
"I think 2012 will be seen as kind of a mid-cycle slowdown for the economy and we should accelerate out of it," he said. "People are starting to come out of their shells a little bit in the economy and that's a sign that we've entered the second half of the recovery."
Waddell was born in Atlanta and moved with his family from Georgia to Connecticut to Pennsylvania and Florida before coming back to his parents' home of Memphis during high school where he attended Memphis University School.
After college at University of the South where he received a Bachelor of Arts in economics, Waddell had stints in New Jersey working for NFL Films and Charles Schwab & Co. where he took a position in Phoenix for $14,500 a year and lived in an apartment with no air conditioning to learn the business of financial trading.
After a promotion and move later to San Francisco, he eventually received an MBA in finance and investments from F.W. Olin School at Babson College in Boston and moved back to Memphis where he's made a home with wife, Stacie, who works in the marketing end of the firm, and two children – Easton, 10, and Saylor, 6.
Waddell is proud of the community and works closely with Leadership Academy (now New Memphis Institute), the Economic Club of Memphis, the board of the Memphis Botanic Garden and the Greater Memphis Chamber chairman's council.
Memphis, he said, is "gathering momentum" and what he'd like to see for Memphis is "a thriving entrepreneurial class."
Waddell has a saying he and his team adhere to: Performance is not an outcome, it is a discipline.
"Really what I want to accomplish over time is to be extremely consistent in my level of effort and be super focused on the things where I feel like I can make a contribution," he said. "Every once in a while we'll have a monster year of returns, but that's not a moment to pat yourself on the back and take a victory lap because you've got to wake up the next day and do the exact same thing again."
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by The Daily News Publishing Co. Inc. - All Rights Reserved


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I have a 2012 Monk 135 x 42. This board seems to do it all for me at 190 lbs, so I will be selling off some more gear.Caesar wrote:Screamer 3G 9m, Screamer 3G 10m LTDC Johnson wrote:how many of you monk riders out there are also flying epic screamers?
I guess now we are not only Monk pimps, but also Epic Monk pimps...
I have an EPIC Screamer 10 LTD (the only Epic kite the I currently have. My other kites are Best and OR).


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WASHINGTON - The Obama administration says it has "high confidence" that Syria's government carried out a chemical weapons attack last week outside Damascus, killing 1,429 people.
The U.S. chemical weapons assessment says Syrian President Bashar Assad's government used an unidentified nerve agent in the attack.
The report cites human and satellite intelligence that it says backs up publicly available videos and other evidence.
The unclassified report says at least 426 children died.
The report says the "high confidence" assessment is the strongest position that U.S. intelligence agencies can take short of confirmation.
It dismisses the Assad government's contention that rebels were responsible.
The U.S. says additional intelligence remains classified but is being provided to allies and Congress.


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The best way to stay up to date with everything that's new in IMMA is to follow us on facebook or on twitter where we post daily updates. We have an instagram account where we post pictures from the galleries, grounds and events.
You can also follow our IMMA Blog where we post occasional longer pieces from the Curator's Voice or the Artists' Voice.
You can find programme information from Exhibitions, Collection, Education and Talks and Lectures in the dropdown sections on the far left.
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First Competition Day at 2014 WEG in the Books
First Competition Day at 2014 WEG in the Books
Aug 25, 2014
(Andrea Fappani (USA) and Custom Cash Advance are in the lead after the first individual reining qualifier: Photo: Dirk Caremans/FEI)
The Alltech Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Equestrian Games (WEG) kicked off today in Normandy, France, as dressage, para-dressage, and reining riders took to their respective arenas.
Reining: Team USA Takes the Lead on First Competition Day
The reining team competition and first individual qualifying round took place today in the Parc des Expositions in Caen. Piet Metsdagh (BEL) riding RS Spat Man O War was first in the arena. The pair closed their run with a score of 216.5, which remained unbeaten until 12 horses later, when Andrea Fappani (USA) closed his pattern with a 224.
Riding Custom Cash Advance, an 8-year-old Quarter Horse stallion by Custom Crome and out of Cash In Roan, owned by Silver Spurs Equine, Fappani thrilled the crowd and his score held until the end of the first part of the individual competition.
"This horse has been shown very successfully in the past by other professionals but I've only competed with him twice before coming to the games and today I tried to do my best," said Fappani, a native Italian who now represents the United States. "I was careful in the spots I wasn't confident about. I had tried to qualify for team USA in 2010 and didn't make it by one point. I was pretty disappointed at the time so I am thrilled to be here today."
The second pair combination for Team USA, Jordan Larson and HF Mobster (Colonels Smoking Gun x Dun Its Black Gold), owned by Heritage Farms, closed their pattern with a 221. "I'm pretty happy with our run today," Larson, who has been showing this horse since 2011, commented.
Team USA is currently leading on a score of 445. Fappani and his mount lead the first individual qualifier rankings and Larson lies in third place.
After 41 horse-and-rider combinations had performed, Ann Poels-Fonck representing Belgium aboard Nic Ricochet (Ricochet Rooster x Minnie Nic), scored the second highest mark of the day, 222.5.
"I'm really happy with my score and my horse's performance today," she said. "This was not the horse I was supposed to ride here originally. Last week I was lucky enough to have its owner, Manuel Bonzano of Italy, offer to let me ride it. It has been successfully shown by Manuel in non-pro competitions in the past and was wonderful for me today. I must admit the crowd was also fantastic!"
The total score for Team Belgium, including Poels and Mestadgh's performances, is 439. This puts them in second place behind Team USA.
Team Germany are third with 436.5 points thanks to Ludwig Grisha's performance aboard Ruf Tuf Juice (Little Ruf Peppy x Smart Like Juice). Riding the horse owned by Fabien Strebel, Grisha earned a score of 218.5 and is also tied for third place in the individual standings with Australian Martin Larcombe who rode Wimpys Cute Tune (Wimpys Little Step x Gwyneth), owned by XCS Ranch LLC.
Team Australia closed with a total of 435 thanks to the performance of Shaun Saunders who slid Sparkin Tinsel (Tinsel Nic x Setting Off Sparks), owned by Corinna Schumacher, to a score of 217.
The detailed team and individual results after today's competition are available online.
The second part of the team reining competition, which features 16 nations, and the first individual qualifier will take place tomorrow at 8:45 local time.
Dressage: Germany Takes the Early Lead
Germany's Kristina Sprehe and Desperados FRH finished at the top of the leaderboard after Day 1 of the dressage team championship.
Photo: Dirk Caremans/FEI
Germany holds the advantage over the defending team champions from The Netherlands after the first day of dressage. It could have been a daunting task for competition pathfinder Fabienne Lutkemeier (GER) who was first into the arena at Stade D'Ornano in Caen early this morning. But the 24-year-old from Paderborn showed great strength of character when posting a score of 73.586, and when German teammate Kristine Sprehe added the best mark of the day (78.814%) the the country that took bronze in 2010 confirmed their sense of purpose.
"I woke up at 5 o'clock this morning, it's a terrible time to start (the dressage test) but I had to be first in this competition!" said Lutkemeier with a laugh after making her 8:00 a.m. appearance. "I was very delighted with the trot tour but there was a mistake in the flying changes and I'm disappointed about that. I know we can do better. I wanted to ride fresh but controlled, but I decided to take a calculated risk and I believe it paid off."
Sprehe reflected, "I felt very confident today, and Desperados was wonderful to ride. Normally he can be a bit nervous in the first competition at an event, but today he was fantastic. The piaffe could be better, but I wasn't brave enough this morning. The stadium doesn't impress him too much so he was really relaxed."
With only two riders from each team in action today, it is still all to play for in the team championship when the action resumes tomorrow morning. The Dutch lie second following a lovely performance from Hans Peter Minderhoud and Glock's Johnson who posted 74.357 after Deiderick van Silfhout rose to the challenge to score 73.414 with Arlando NH. Van Silfhout only got his team call-up when Danielle Heijkoop's Kingsley Siro was withdrawn last Thursday, but the 26-year-old rider showed exactly why he was on the reserve list.
Minderhoud has every reason to be pleased—he competed in one of the heaviest downpours that beset the competition programme today and spent a lot of his warm-up time sheltering from the rain before deciding that he just had to go out there and get a soaking. He said the footing in the arena "was not slippy, but a bit sticky" and that his horse, Glock's Johnson "felt it a little at the beginning of the test and was not so expressive, but then he went forward as usual after that and went quite well." Asked what he hoped his score might be today, he replied, "I was looking for a score a bit better than Kristina's (Sprehe)! I was hoping to get a little higher but there were a few small things. Overall I am quite happy even though this was not our best test of the season."
With Edward Gal and Glock's Voice, and Adelinde Cornelissen with Jerich Parzival yet to come, the Dutch will be hoping to pull ahead of their German rivals by tomorrow evening.
Great Britain holds third spot thanks to Carl Hester's mark of 74.186 with Nip Tuck. Gareth Hughes was the first Briton into the arena, scoring 69.714 with DV Stenkjers Nadonna, but Hester really raised the British game with his relatively inexperienced ride who charmed the ground jury for individual third place.
"I'm delighted," Hester said. "We're in the hunt with The Netherlands and Germany and this was a personal best for my horse. He's 10 years of age and he's only just stepping up there. I'm very excited about the competition tomorrow and for the rest of the week. For both my owner and myself it's very exciting."
Nip Tuck was not an expensive purchase, so his presence at a world championship is all the more exceptional. "He cost me 1,000 Euros," Hester said, "so to me, that he's doing this—that's like my gold medal to be honest. I know he did his absolute best in there for me and did everything I asked."
With the multiple record-breaking partnership of Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, and Michael Eilberg with the handsome mare Half Moon Delphi still to come it seems the British could rally strongly tomorrow.
It will be German star Isabell Werth who gets the second half of the team competition off to a start in the morning, and if she can persuade her mare, Bella Rose, to shimmer and sparkle, her country's position will be further reinforced. And, Germany also has the super-talented partnership of Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill NRW to rely on as anchors. The battle for supremacy will be played out in full as the day progresses, and it promises to be a thriller to the very end.
Two Americans rode today, and both are currently sitting within the top 20: Adrienne Lyle and Peggy Thomas' Oldenburg gelding Wizard scored a 72.000 to sit in seventh place, while Tina Konyot is sitting in 17th place with her own Danish Warmblood stallion Calecto V on a score of 69.643.
Tomorrow, there are another 50 riders who also have their hopes and dreams, and some of them will be trying very hard to better the German rider's result.
Full team and individual results are available online.
Team Test Kicks Off Para-Dressage
The para-dressage team competition kicked off today with athletes from as far afield as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel and the United States at La Prairie racecourse.
Hannelore Brenner (GER), defending world champion and double gold medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, earned the top Grade III score of 72.474% on Women Of The World, despite heavy rain. European champion Sanne Voets (NED) on Vedet PB N.O.P. was next in line on 72.053% ahead of Denmark's Annika Lykke Risum with Aros A Fenris in third on a mark of 69.868%.
"I'm really happy to be here with my horse," Brenner said. "It's our eighth championship and every year she is so wonderful. "She is nearly 19 years old and she was really fantastic. There are some things we can do better but I am happy with the ride. I want to ride the best I can with my horse but I know there are some really good horses, so we will see how we can do."
With less than one percentage point separating Brenner and Voets, it is clear that the competition for the individual title in Grade III will be close.
Voets said of her first ride at the games, "I think we had a very nice test today with a lot of control. I started a little safe because this is a very important test for our team result. Our main goal here is to medal so we're on track for Rio 2016. During the test he was there with me, so I started to take a few more risks. I think every step was a little bit better and that was the goal for today."
Today's competition saw a return to the arena for Risum, just seven months after giving birth to a baby boy. The three-time world silver and paralympic bronze medallist said, "It was okay but a little bit weak. I think the horse was a little bit tired and maybe I was as well. We had no big mistakes, so that was overall a good test but I could have pushed him a little bit more forward. It's really good to be back, but it's a big challenge as well as I've only been preparing for this event for four months, so with that in mind I am really pleased."
The morning's Grade III competition also saw some younger athletes take to the international stage to represent their countries for the first time, including Canada's Roberta Sheffield and Australia's Elizabeth Sobecki and Chelsea Higgins.
Great Britain's Lee Pearson riding Zion took today's Grade Ib in Round 1 of the para-dressage team competition with an impressive 77.960%.
Photo: Dirk Caremans/FEI
A field of 25 riders took to the arena for Grade Ib, including all three London 2012 medallists, competing against each other for the first time since the games in Greenwich Park.
The competition marked a clear return to form for Great Britain's Lee Pearson riding Zion, who took the win with an impressive 77.960% ahead of Austria's individual freestyle London 2012 gold medallist Pepo Puch on Fine Feeling S with 76.520%. Italy's Silvia Veratti on Woikoski Double U were third on 72.000%. London's other gold medallist, Australia's Joann Formosa, winner of the FEI's Against All Odds 2013 award, finished in seventh place on Worldwide PB with 71.200%.
Today's victory for Pearson, his first major international competition since London, was sweet, he said: "(Zion) went into the arena and he was a bit tense, but I was still really pleased with him and the trot work was phenomenal. He's a brilliant horse to train. He's so laid back and he learns very quickly, I'm very excited about his future career.
"It's an honor to be on the selected squad and put back on the team. I'm still looking forward to the individual test as it has more trot work and from what friends and family have told me his trot today was keeping me above Pepo (Puch). I'm really pleased for the team as well. Days like today you wish it was a medal day."
Puch was equally happy about his performance, particularly given the wet conditions. "I am really happy, especially as my horse doesn't like rain," he said. "Normally when it rains she goes back in the stable. It is very nice of her to do this, especially in this rain and with the water on the floor it is not easy to hold the horse in line."
Third placed Veratti was thrilled with her result: "I didn't expect that. I expected a worse position, and I'm staying positive," she said.
This afternoon also saw the debut of the youngest competitor in the para-dressage competition, Sydney Collier (USA), who is just 16 years old. "It was an incredible experience to be riding with such amazing riders and for my first time my horse was super well behaved," she said.
Day two of para-dressage will see athletes in Grades Ia, II, and IV take to the arena for Round 1 of the team competition, before Team Round 2 and individual competitions on Aug. 28 to decide the team medals in Normandy.
The individual Grade Ib results and individual Grade III results after today's competition are available online.


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Universities across the nation have offered courses on hip-hop culture for several years, but the University of Arizona has decided to take its program further, adding the subject as as a concentration in its Africana Studies minor program.
The decision, announced in December, is part of a trend to give serious academic study to the subject.
And the new curriculum is bound to be a hit with Arizona students, said Alain-Philippe Durand, interim director of the Tucson school's Africana Studies Program. The university has offered hip-hop courses since 2004.
Last spring, a class on hip-hop cinema at the university filled up in a matter of hours with students emailing the teacher in an attempt to add the course.
"Rap and hip-hop in general has become super-popular around the world," Durand said. "The main reason for that is that it affects every single discipline and aspects of society."