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Each day LT Profits Sports seeks an overlay side that has a better chance of cashing than its spread, offering long term value. Here is their Side Value Play for Wednesday.
Although the road team is in last place in the National League Central while the playoff hopeful home team is in third place, the cellar dwellers can complete a sweep Wednesday night when Kyle Lohse and those Milwaukee Brewers (22-37, 13-17 away) pay a visit to fellow right-hander Charlie Morton and the Pittsburgh Pirates (31-27, 15-11 home) for the final game of a three-game series from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA at 7:05 ET in a game available on ROOT.
The posted money line at Pinnacle Sports has Milwaukee as a road underdog for this contest at current odds of +128.
Will Brewers Bust out the Brooms?
The Pirates made the playoffs as wild cards each of the last two years to end a long post-season drought, but they are now looking to win their first division title since 1992 and they put themselves in a nice position after a slow start by getting to a season-high six games over .500 last week. However they have hit the skids somewhat by losing the first two games of this series to the last place Brewers.
Milwaukee had the worst record in the Major Leagues five days ago, but the Brew Crew have begun to turn things around by being the winning MLB picks in four of the last five games and they have now passed on that dubious distinction of the league's worst record on to the Philadelphia Phillies, albeit by just one-half game.
Back-to-Back Winning Series
And not only are the Brewers in a position to complete their first sweep of the season, but they are already assured of winning back-to-back series for the first time this year as they won two out of three game in Minnesota this past weekend before continuing their winning ways here in the Steel City the last two nights. This streak began Friday in Minnesota with tonight's starting pitcher Lohse on the mound.
Unfortunately, Kyle continued his rough season as he was charged with five earned runs on eight hits in six innings, marking the third straight start that he has allowed at least that many earned runs and leaving him at 3-6 with an ugly 6.59 ERA and 1.38 WHIP for the season. Believe it or not though, the news is not entirely bad for Lohse.
That is because Lohse has actually posted a career high strikeout rate this season at 7.24 per nine innings while keeping his walks down like he always does at 1.98 per nine, and although his 4.00 xFIP is nothing special, it is still more than 2½ runs less than his ERA, leaving room for positive regression. The biggest problem for Lohse has been the home run ball with 14 allowed in 68.1 innings, but that may not be as much an issue vs. a Pittsburgh team 20th in the majors in homers.
Lohse may also benefit from facing a struggling Pirates' lineup that has scored a total of four runs in the last three games and is batting a mere .208 vs. right-handed pitchers in the last five contests.
Pirates Heading in Wrong Direction
That lack of production is a key reason why the Pirates have lost three of their last four games, leaving them 6½.games behind the division leading St. Louis Cardinals. Furthermore, tonight's starter Morton may need all the run support he can get, and he may have used up that quota in his last start in Atlanta Friday when he was charged with four runs on seven hits plus three walks in five innings but yet got the win as Pittsburgh ultimately prevailed 10-8.
That improved Morton to 3-0 in his three starts this season since returning from hip surgery, but it was his worst effort of the three and he did not fare well the last time he faced these Brewers last season, allowing five earned runs on eight hits plus two walks in six innings right here at home in PNC Park.
That leaves Morton 2-6 with a bloated 4.63 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 11 career starts vs. Milwaukee.
Barking Dogs
Finally, the Brewers are now a wallet-filling 4-0 in their last four games as underdogs, with all four of those upsets coming on the road. Also, despite his record, the Brewers are 5-2 in Lohse's last seven starts vs. teams with winning records.
Given the directions that these teams have been heading in over the last five days or so, look for the Brewers' underdog pattern to continue and for Milwaukee to complete the sweep with a third straight road upset in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
MLB Pick: Brewers +128


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final cleanup and planting for the 3rd and Park Garden in preparation for the garden walk will be the 27 th at 9:00 am. Anyone who could help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
DeeAnne and Dave Helm. . 513- 403-4519
I'll be there with "gloves" on and shivel in hand. Thanks for organizing. See you Saturday


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Glock has been, and I sure will continue to be, a perennial favorite handgun to run and customize for competitions. The Glock format has also become a favorite for customization with no other tool than a punch. One of the most popular upgrades is to switch barrels to increase accuracy and add the ability to shoot non-jacketed bullets for practice.
There is a huge variety of aftermarket barrels available for the Glock formats including Wilson, Lone Wolf, KKM, and ZEV, notable with KKM and ZEV being the most revered replacement barrels within the 3Gun crowd.
The first thing to get out of the way in this review is that swapping barrels on a Glock is something your average Glock owner could do in a pitch black room. Disassemble the Glock as you would for cleaning, by clearing the gun, dry firing, pull down on the slide releases, remove the slide, pull out the spring and the barrel drops out. Drop in the new upgraded KKM barrel and reassemble – Done!
While working on a comprehensive Glock parts upgrade article for Grandview media, I ended up with a pretty tricked out Glock 19 that I have beat on enough to carry as my daily CCW pistol. The gun features a Deus Ex Machina trigger, PWS billet slide, Trijicon sights, KKM barrel, and Vickers slide & mag release all riding on a limited edition tan frame. After 1000s of rounds the upgraded G19 has proven to be just as reliable as a factory G19, but with some improved features and accuracy. Notably the KKM barrel, PWS slide and DEM trigger really have improved accuracy…with the right premium ammo. This brings me to the point on whether you should upgrade your factory Glock barrel.
Aftermarket "Match grade" barrels such as ZEV and KKM have a tighter dimensional fit than the Glock barrels which in turn delivers a tighter lockup than the stock barrel. The chamber itself is also a little tighter and is button rifled vs. Glock's normal hex rifling. The latter two features deliver improved accuracy with the right ammo (is there an echo in here), however there is a trade off.
From a dependability level, the KKM barrels are still very reliable and function perfectly within factory spec rounds, however I noted with the 9mm barrel used in this build that the KKM barrel would not feed some of my 9mm "turds' (sloppy reloads) where the stock barrel chews through them just fine.
The button rifling also delivers a trade off. The primary reason Hex rifling was developed was to deliver consistent performance and reliability across a huge variety of ammo, however that all around rifling flexibility does not produce the best accuracy with tight tolerance ammo.
The higher precision button rifling allows shooters to practice with inexpensive cast bullets, where the stock Hex rifling begins to clog/lead up and is therefore not recommended by Glock. Personally I have never seen great groups from cast bullet with my KKM or ZEV barrels. These match grade barrels like premium jacketed bullets made or reloaded to a high level of craftsmanship. Generally I have found that the not-especially-cheap premium 147gr XTP bullets are what my ZEV and KKM barrels really like and perform best with. With those premium rounds the button rifling deliver the improved accuracy you were hoping for.
Another reason for the performance difference with different ammo is that the Glock Factory barrel uses roughly a 1:10 twist rate compared to a very slow 1:16 and 1:20 twist rates of aftermarket barrels. KKMs twist rate is a very slow 1:20 which means that light and very cheap non-concentric rounds are likely to shoot very badly with the KKM barrels.
Cast and inexpensive low tolerance jacketed bullets actually delivered worse groups for me than the stock barrel, but you can at least practice with them. On the other hand, high quality jacketed 147gr bullets, such as those from Hornady and Sierra delivered the best groups I have ever seen out of any Glock. Think of the KKM barrel as a high end sports car. Sure you can go fast running E85, but the engine is designed for premium fuel and delivers big rewards when fed high test fuel. Feed the KKM barrel with great ammo and you get outstanding groups.
Feed these top and barrels low grade ammo and they will likely deliver accuracy which is far worse than you stock Glock barrel. So, with the right ammo the KKM and ZEV barrels can do their job, with cheap ammo and reloads you will be disappointed.
At a recent range session I was working through some precision slow firing drills and was appalled at the groups I was seeing even at the 7-yard range with my KKM barrel and very inexpensive steel cased MaxxTech 9mm ammo (hey don't judge, it was really cheap). It appeared that the ammo may have actually been keyholing. Super crappy ammo indeed – I will never buy this stuff again.
Generally with my stock barrel can deliver a single ragged hole from a full magazine of any ammo regardless of quality, but my KKM barrel was printing a 3″+ group. Pushing out to the 25-yard range with cheap MaxxTech ammo and the KKM barrel I would easily fail a standard police qualification test. I slipped in a magazine full of Hornady 147gr XTP rounds and I was rewarded with a index finger sized 7-yard ragged hole and an unsupported 4″ A-Zone 25-yard group – there is the accuracy I was looking for.
I reached into my range pack and pulled out my stock Glock 19 barrel, did the barrel swap, and feed it the same diet of cheap MaxxTech ammo for the first magazine and XTP rounds on the second magazine. The results were stunning. The factory barrel shot a good 1″ ragged hole with the junk ammo and a marginally smaller hole with the premium ammo—that is the magic of the faster twist hex rifling of the factory Glock barrel leveling out everything. The Match Grade Glock barrels are definitely pickier and demand high quality match grade ammo even for practice if you expect to get any advantage out of them. This is just one example and experiment—I have proven this fact over and over to myself that the factory Glock hex rifled barrel is actually pretty freaking awesome with all types of ammo.
The KKM barrel is designed to offer the shooter running premium ammo or premium reloads, the best accuracy one can hope for in a Glock format. Yes, with the right ammo (there it is again), your Glock can consistently deliver 1″-ish 25-yard groups off a rest with a KKM or ZEV barrel. I freaking love my KKM and ZEV barrels and highly recommend them, but don't feed then cheap ammo.
Would I run a KKM barrel in a defensive pistol? Long ago I said no, but that has changed assuming financially you commit to actually practicing with your CCW carry rounds. So there you have it, if you can swing shooting top of the line ammo all the time or suffer through poor groups with cheap ammo to occasionally reward yourself with tiny little groups the KKM and ZEV barrels are for you. If you plan on shooting whatever is the least expensive, don't bother with the upgrade; you would be kidding yourself that the upgrade with deliver better accuracy.
KKM Precision
All KKM barrels are made using certified 416R gun-barrel quality stainless steel bar stock. Barrels are heat treated and vacuum tempered to 42 RC. All KKM barrels are CNC machined to obtain superior dimensional tolerances over stock. The advanced proprietary button rifling process allows KKM barrels to offer greater accuracy over stock barrels. KKM's Glock barrels come with fully supported SAAMI spec match chambers for shooting factory or reloaded ammunition as well as lead or jacketed bullets. Unless noted all barrels are drop-in fit.
Available in Matte Silver or Black Nitride.
Glock Barrels starting at $165.
ZEV Technologies
Zev Technologies Match Grade drop-in Glock replacement barrels feature extremely tight tolerances and are manufactured with pre-hardened chromium stainless steel (416R) that was originally designed for use in Match Grade rifle barrels. This material provides high tensile strength and toughness to withstand typical chamber pressures while still being highly corrosion resistant. ZEV Match Grade barrel bores are some of the most precise in the industry. Every barrel is double honed (rough and finish) until a minimum surface finish of 16 RA is reached. During this process the barrels are held to a final dimension of +/- 0.003″ for consistency and accuracy. The barrels are cut rifled and 100% inspected for groove dimensions and broach finish.
Available in Raw Stainless Steel, Burnt Bronze, and Black DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon).
Glock Barrels a $285 and below.


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A Concert and Exhibition by children from P5/6 of Baird Memorial Primary School will be held at Condorrat Church on Wednesday, 28 May at 7 pm. Tickets are free but limited – for further information please contact Mrs Ann Kenny tel:01236 732377. The Exhibition can be viewed in The Church Halls from Thursday 29 May to Saturday 31 May from 10 am – 4 pm each day. Admission is free.
Monthly Archives: May 2014
Condorrat's Refurbished Sanctuary
One of the members at Condorrat Parish Church has sent us some photos of the newly-refurbished sanctuary. I think you'll agree that the new worship space looks stunning!
Something Fishy in Abronhill
There's something fishy going on at J.A.F.A. Church on Sunday 25th May!
People remember Jonah for being in the belly of a great fish for three days, but what tends to be forgotten is that he didn't trust God to carry through on his idea, so Jonah disobeyed him, went in the opposite direction and caused chaos!
He found a ship which took him to Spain but in the middle of the sea a great storm brewed up, causing panic and confusion among the sailors. Jonah was thrown overboard which is where he found himself in the belly of a whale, and was spat out three days later – obviously he wasn't palatable to the whale! He then decided it was best to obey God, spoke his word to the people of Nineveh and then went into a sulk. Come along and join us at Abronhill Parish Church on the afternoon of 25th May to find out more!
Activities for this month's J.A.F.A. Church include making a CD rom fish, blowing fish shapes across the room, making tissue paper fish, paper plate fish with Jonah in the belly of the whale, and fishing Jonah out of the whale's belly using magnets. Our meal is on the fishy theme too with fish fingers and chips. Hope you can come along and join in the fun!
Christian Aid Week 11-17 May 2014
This year's Christian Aid Week TV advert tells the story of Wayisaba and her three brothers and sisters, Chance, Stive, and Clemence. They were separated from their parents when rebels attacked their village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were reunited a year later by Christian Aid partner CBCA, the Central African Baptist Community.
Theirs is just one story; real people helped by other real people, such as you and me. You can donate at www.caweek.org and you can read more about Wayisaba's story here.
1st Cumbernauld Boys' Brigade
The 1st Cumbernauld Boys' Brigade Company, attached to Cumbernauld Old Parish Church, will be holding their annual display this Thursday 15th May at 7pm in the Forge Centre, Balloch. Please come along and show your support for the officers, leaders and boys as they show what they can do – and help the company fund-raise for Christian Aid Week at the refreshments stall at the interval. See you there!


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SPRINGFIELD --- Democrats in the Senate sent Gov. Pat Quinn a new map of the state's congressional boundaries for the next decade, a plan which carves up suburban districts to help Chicago incumbents and threatens to overturn Republican election gains made last year.
Voting along party lines, the Senate approved the map on a 34-25 vote. The state's congressional districts must be redrawn every decade to conform to population shifts revealed in the federal Census.
Republican senators chafed at the outlines of the new map, which extend districts held by Chicago Democrats well out into the GOP leaning suburbs. DuPage County, which has been divided up into three districts, would be split up into six districts, including one that goes eastward, all the way through Wrigley Field and to the Lakefront. Another goes eastward to U.S. Cellular Field.


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2016 Scholarship Holders
Justin Power, Australian Football League
Justin Power started officiating 10 years ago, as a 13 year-old, after a school mate told him about the "pocket money and fitness benefits".
After Power admitted to himself that he "wasn't going to make it as a player", becoming an AFL umpire would help him stay involved in the sport he loved.
The Perth-based official's first breakthrough was making the 2010 junior talent squad, which was followed by a rise into the Western Australian Football League.
He made his WAFL debut in 2013, where Power umpired the last three games of the season.
"My career highlight to date would have to be my debut WAFL match, umpiring Subiaco against Swan Districts, which was a great experience," Power said.
For Power, who umpired 17 out of 23 WAFL fixtures last season, as well as the Colts Grand Final, he has set himself the short-term goal of umpiring every WAFL game in 2016.
"I would like to umpire every WAFL game this year, after doing almost three-quarters of the games last season, as well as umpiring in the WAFL finals series," he said.
As a National Officiating Scholarship recipient in 2016, Power wants to utilise the program to strive towards achieving this goal, along with his long-term ambition of making the AFL Panel.
"The NOS program will provide me with a vehicle to help me achieve consistency towards my overall performances," Power said.
"My NOS mentor and current AFL umpire Simon Meredith, who has umpired three AFL Grand Finals, will also help me achieve my goals. I admire the way he goes about his umpiring, particularly after coming back from great adversity during his officiating career."
Power, who works as a commercial accountant in his day-to-day job, believes his AFL officiating helps in his work, especially the "decision making skills".
The 23 year-old said his dad is his "greatest supporter" and still attends every game Power umpires, as he continues his rise through the AFL umpiring ranks.
Luke Richardson, Australian Football League
Born in England, Luke Richardson moved to Australia at age eight in 2002, before quickly becoming acquainted with AFL.
Richardson played AFL for six seasons from the under-10s in Melbourne, before deciding in 2007 to become an umpire at the age of 13.
"I started umpiring to get a bit of cash, after being asked by my cousin and it allowed me to keep up fitness," Richardson said.
But the rise through the AFL umpiring ranks hasn't been a smooth side for the 22 year-old, with Richardson breaking his leg in 2013 after trialling for the Victorian Football League, and he feared for the worst.
"I thought it could be it, but I was eager to get back out there and umpire, so I still want along to training," he said.
Through hard work and determination, Richardson made it back and achieved his career highlights to date of refereeing the under-16s Metro championships on the Gold Coast in 2014, and the North East Australian Football League championships in Sydney one year later.
As a branch manager of a solar pool heating company, the ambitious 22 year-old said he wants to umpire both a VFL reserves and TAC under-18s cup grand final this year, before umpiring a senior VFL grand final in the "next two to three years."
"I often draw on my communication skills that I use with my customers and transfer these onto the field to help achieving my umpiring goals," Richardson said.
Through his year in the National Officiating Scholarship program in 2016, Richardson wants to improve his mental strength to "back his ability" on the field and learn from his mentor Brett Rosebury, who has amassed 300 AFL appearances.
"Brett Rosebury is an idol for me – we both live in Melbourne, and I respect his consistency, calmness and communication and I just want to take everything in to move to the next level.
Richardson believes he was chosen in the NOS program "for a reason", and it will certainly help him on his officiating journey as he strives towards being a field umpire for an AFL game.
Mitchell Scott, Australian Football League
Mitch Scott's officiating journey starting after his former AFL coach suggested running a boundary line for another grade.
Scott also saw it as a way to "make money" and after getting a "taste" for umpiring, he joined the Central Australia Football League Umpires Association in Alice Springs in 2006.
He decided to stop playing AFL in 2009 at age 15 to focus on umpiring, and moved to Adelaide two years later for university.
It was here where his officiating took off and in 2012, Scott got onto the South Australian National Football League academy panel.
After two years of umpiring the under-18's SANFL and under-16s national competitions, he joined the high-performance senior panel in 2014.
"My career highlight to date came after making the high-performance panel and I made my SANFL men's debut as a field umpire in the penultimate round of the 2014 season," Scott said.
Now as a 2016 National Officiating Scholarship holder, the 22 year-old wants to add to his total of eight SANFL matches, as a field umpire, and consolidate a regular spot in the competition.
"Last year I did six SANFL matches, so this year I would like to do more than half of the 18 fixtures, which I think is realistic, but consistency is the key," he said.
"The NOS program represents an amazing opportunity to utilise the best minds in officiating and take things away from our meetings with each of the specialists."
Scott, whose day-to-day job is an accountant, believes his officiating provides him with a "healthy balance to his life due to the distinct separation between the two roles".
Through the assistance of his NOS mentor, two-time AFL grand final umpire Matt Nicholls, Scott will continue to work towards his long-term ambition of landing one of 32 spots on the AFL panel.
Nicholas McGinness, Australian Football League
Nic McGinness played junior footy in Canberra, before deciding to move into officiating in 2009.
He progressed through umpiring junior matches to move into the senior ranks, making his debut in the North East Australian Football League in 2012.
In the same year, McGinness umpired at the Under-16s Nationals with fellow National Officiating Scholarship holder Mitch Scott.
The 19 year-old's career highlight to date was being the Emergency Umpire for the NEAFL Grand Final in 2015.
"This was a great achievement for where I'm at as an AFL umpire, particularly as I've got time on my side," McGinness said.
In addition to his involvement in the NOS program in 2016, McGinness wants to achieve his short-term goal of being on the field to umpire this season's NEAFL Grand Final, given he was "close last year".
"The NOS program also allows us to meet other sporting officials and as a group of officials, we can learn from our shared experiences in officiating," he said.
"The skills that I will learn in this program will hold me in good stead for the future and hopefully help me achieve my long-term goal for making the AFL panel."
McGinness is also looking forward to working with his NOS mentor and ex-scholarship official Nick Foot, who has been on the AFL panel for the past five seasons, and shares a similar background to the 19 year-old.
In an interesting twist, Nic's younger brother Ben, 17, is currently in the Greater Western Sydney Under-18s Academy, and if they both make it to AFL level one day, McGinness said this "could present a unique situation".
David Taylor, Cricket
For David Taylor, Cricket has always been a major part of his life after being a former captain of Sydney first grade Cricket side Penrith, where he played 15 seasons with the club.
The 41 year-old, who hails from Dubbo, said he was approached by the Umpires boss during his last couple of seasons and he was presented with two choices.
"It was either continue playing, go into coaching or become an umpire, so another bouncing a few ideas around I decided to go into umpiring as I thought it might allow me to have better control over my own destiny," Taylor said.
After deciding to turn his cricket focus to umpiring for the 2009/10 season, Taylor started officiating at second grade level, before moving up to first grade the following season, which he has officiated the last five years.
As a National Officiating Scholarship recipient for 2016, Taylor wants to use the "extraordinary support network" to help him works towards his short-term goal of making the Cricket Australia Project Panel.
"The NOS program will help me gain an awareness of my self-ability and repair any limitations I may have," he said.
"The program therefore offers me an edge, and it gives me the opportunity to fix my weaknesses."
Taylor is also looking forward to drawing on the help of his NOS mentor, physio Tony Larven, who is someone he "trusts working with".
The 41 year-old said his Cricket umpiring idols are Simon Taufel, Richard Kettleborough and Rod Tucker, for their "calmness, control and sound decision-making".
Taylor is hoping to draw on their attributes, along with the NOS support network, to help achieve his long-term ambition of making the Cricket Australia National Panel, followed by the International Cricket Council Panel.
Donavan Koch, Cricket
For Donovan Koch, his officiating journey stems from South Africa to Australia, via England.
Born in South Africa, Koch played club cricket in England, as their one overseas player from 1995-2010, and broke into first-class cricket in Cape Town for four seasons from 1999.
Koch moved to the United Kingdom in 2003, where he focused on club cricket in England and got married in the same year.
But in 2010, at 34, Koch decided he wasn't enjoying playing as much so he decided to hang up the boots, but took up umpiring in England to "stay in the game".
Through some valuable advice from fellow player Richard Kettleborough, who last year won the International Cricket Council's umpire of the year award, Koch's umpiring career took off particularly after the England Cricket Board found out he played in South Africa.
"I was quickly put on an umpiring pathway and fast-tracked by the ECB, which helped me get a leg up on the competition," Koch said.
But in September 2012, he moved to Brisbane after his wife Samantha got a job, and although current ICC umpires Marais Erasmus and Bruce Oxenford forwarded Koch's credentials to Queensland cricket, things didn't quite go to plan right away.
"I was given a sixth grade assignment in my first match umpiring match in Australia. I knew it was going to be slow but I thought 'oh no what have I done'," the 39 year-old said.
But through hard work and dedication, Koch swiftly moved up the Queensland umpiring ranks and after winning the first grade award in 2013/2014, he achieved his career highlight to date in January 2016 by umpiring two India v Western Australia warm-up matches.
After being awarded a National Officiating Scholarship, Koch wants to claim one of six spots in the Cricket Australia development panel by the start of next season and he feels he can certainly learn from fellow officials.
"The NOS program is an amazing opportunity as we're all different and I want to get as much out of it as possible, particularly in regards to nutrition," Koch said.
The 39 year-old, who works as a supervisor for a baggage handling business as his day-to-day job, is looking forward to working with his NOS mentor and Queensland state cricket director, Rod Dunbar, as he strives towards his long-term goal of snaring a place on the Cricket Australia elite panel.
Simon Lightbody, Cricket
For Simon Lightbody, becoming a cricket umpire was a way to stay involved in the sport after playing for many years.
Lightbody started umpiring at the end of the 2005/06 season, and in January 2009 officiated at the Under-17s National Championships in Perth where he came into contact with Cricket Australia high-performance observers.
Identified as having some potential, it was suggested to the Canberra-based umpire that he "test" himself in a tougher environment, and that Sydney might be the way forward.
"After a couple of games in Sydney during the 2011/12 season, I started driving to Sydney full-time at the start of the 2012/13 season to officiate in the Sydney Grade Competition and that move has certainly brought officiating rewards," Lightbody said.
"It was then I came into contact with Darren Goodger, now the Executive Officer of the New South Wales Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association.
"Darren has had an enormous positive impact on my career and his candour, honesty and assistance with my development and improvement has been huge."
In his day-to-day job of owning and operating a travel agency, the 50 year-old, lists managing staff as a skill he believes transcends onto the cricket field in managing and dealing with players.
Lightbody's officiating career highlight to date was umpiring the four-day Under-19s International between Australia and England in April 2015 at the WACA in Perth, in a match played under "test-match conditions".
As a National Officiating Scholarship holder in 2016, Lightbody said he wants to use the program and draw on the experiences of his highly-distinguished mentor Simon Taufel to progress to the next level, as well as learning from officials in other sports for anything he can adapt to his craft, and by immersing himself fully in the NOS program.
Currently one of five members of Cricket Australia's Development Panel, Lightbody's next step would be to gain selection in the 12 person Cricket Australia National Panel that officiate Australia's domestic First Class fixtures.
"I have known Simon Taufel for a few years and I feel his brutal honesty will enable me to continue to improve as an umpire."
Lightbody said he has nothing but the utmost of respect for Taufel, who won an amazing five consecutive International Cricket Council Umpire of the Year awards between 2004 and 2008, particularly for his "composure, presence, teamwork and decision making".
A self-confessed cricket lover, Lightbody said his long-term goal is to umpire at the highest level that his skills will allow.
Jonathan Barreiro, Football
A self-confessed football fan, Jonny Barreiro started playing football at age six, encouraged by his Uruguayan father who was the "reason he got into football".
As a 14 year-old, Barreiro decided to get involved in officiating after teammates told him "it was a good way of earning cash".
Barreiro "got serious" with his refereeing at 18, after stopping playing one year earlier, and he was quickly put into a talent identification program.
"It all happened pretty quickly and the breakthrough came in the 2009/2010 season, when I made it to referee at the National Youth League level," Barreiro said.
After three seasons as an assistant referee from the 2011/2012 season, Barreiro made a "risky" decision in April 2015 to become a centre referee as he "enjoyed it more".
"The risk made off though and I soon made the fourth officials A-League panel, which is the reserve referees," the 26 year-old said.
Barreiro's career highlight to date then came on January 9th 2016 when he made his A-League centre referee debut in Sydney FC's 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets at ANZ Stadium.
"I found out on the Monday before the game – I thought it was a stitch up at first as it's usually rare for fourth officials to get chosen as the referee, but I was excited to take the opportunity," he said.
After gaining a National Officiating Scholarship in 2016, Barreiro wants to use his year in the program to get the most out of the specialists and continue to learn from his mentor, and ex-NOS scholarship recipient, Jarred Gillett.
"I want to use this year in the NOS program to gain an edge on my refereeing competitors, bump up my professionalism and continue to learn from Jarred and fellow A-League referee, Chris Beath – as I look up to both of them," Barreiro said.
Barreiro, who also works as a lawyer, has set himself the short-term goal of making the A-League refereeing panel in the next two years, with his long-term ambition of reaching FIFA badge referee status.
Lara Lee, Football
Football is in Lara Lee's blood, with the Brisbane-based official playing for 14 years until a knee injury meant it was time for something new if she was to stay involved in the sport.
As a qualified teacher, Lee then started officiating to gain "an extra qualification" and after being asked by her friend, eventually she decided to get involved four years later at age 21 in 2009.
Through hard work and determination, Lee made her W-League debut as a centre referee in the 2011/2012 season and the 27 year-old's career highlight to date was refereeing an entertaining clash between Melbourne City and Canberra United in November, 2015.
The highly motivated official has set herself a variety of short-term and long-term goals to continue her growth as a football referee.
"This year my goal is to make the top four officials in the W-League and I think I could be close to achieving this, and long-term I want to gain a FIFA badge," Lee said.
As a National Officiating Scholarship holder in 2016, Lee believes the extraordinary support in the program can help her achieve these goals.
"I want to use my year in the NOS Program as a stepping stone to gain that one percent edge on my competitors," she said.
"In particular, through the help of the nutritionist and psychologist, this will improve my match fitness and mental toughness to help with the difficult matches."
Lee said she is looking forward to working with her mentor Jacqui Melksham, who refereed the 2011 FIFA World Cup quarter-final between Brazil and United States in Germany.
Along with gaining valuable insights from Melksham, a female official who has made it at football's highest level, Lee paid tribute to assistance she has gained from current A-League referees Chris Beath and Jarred Gillett, the latter an ex-NOS scholarship holder.
As Lee continues her rise up the football officiating ranks, she will continue to draw on her pre-match routine where she tells herself to "trust yourself and that you've worked hard to get to where you're at".
Jeremy Coleman, Hockey
Hockey runs deep in Jeremy Coleman's blood with his whole family involved in the game and brother and sister, both former Victorian state players.
Coleman started playing Hockey from his "early years" and starting umpiring when he was 12, but kept playing until under-17s in 2012.
The Melbourne-based official's career then started to take off and he umpired under-21s at 17, before moving up to the Australian Hockey League open men's in 2014.
"I have umpired the AHL for the past two seasons, along with the Victorian Premier League for five years, and gained my international badge in October, 2015 in Malaysia," Coleman said.
In his high-pressure day-to-day job as a pilot, the 20 year-old regularly transfers these skills in officiating hockey.
"As I pilot I deal with stressful situations and I certainly draw on these while umpiring hockey," he said.
Through gaining a National Officiating Scholarship in 2016, Coleman wants to incorporate the nutritional and psychological benefits into his hockey umpiring.
"The nutritional and psychological skills aren't discussed much in normal officiating and I'm also looking forward to learning the high-performance aspect from being in the NOS program," Coleman said.
Coleman also believes he can learn from his NOS mentor, ex-AHL umpire Mick McLean, another Melbourne local, to achieve his short-term goal of making the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) panel by this season.
If the ambitious 20 year-old can achieve this goal, he wants to umpire at the World Cup and Olympics within the next five years.
Ben Watts, Rugby League
As a former rugby league player for Brisbane-based Aspley and a former cricketer for Sandgate Redcliffe, Ben Watts headed down the officiating path in 2008.
It wasn't until the 2010 season though, when Watts "realised his potential" and made the decision to focus his energy on rugby league refereeing.
"Former NRL referee Eddie Ward came and saw me, and I had to choose between continuing playing or refereeing, so I chose refereeing," Watts said.
Watts regularly draws on experiences from his day-to-day job as a police officer, each time he runs out as a referee.
"Refereeing sometimes feels like a step down and an escape from my job in a way, but my experiences as a police officer always help on the field," he said.
Watts said his career highlight to date was refereeing the FOGS Colts under-20s grand final in 2015 at the cauldron of Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium in his first "big one" as a referee.
After gaining a National Officiating Scholarship for 2016, Watts made his Intrust Super Cup refereeing debut in the round one clash between Mackay Cutters and Central Queensland Capras, and now has his sights set on a long-term ambition of becoming an NRL referee.
"I was extremely proud to make my Intrust Super Cup debut so early on in 2016 and enjoyed every minute," said Watts, who became the 60th Queensland Cup referee after his debut in Mackay.
"From here, I want to break into the Holden Cup (under-20's) squad and eventually referee in the NRL."
As a police officer, Watts said he has taken solace from former star NRL referee Bill Harrigan, who "showed the balance between being a cop and referee can be achieved through sacrifices and dedication".
The Brisbane-based referee is also looking forward to working with his NOS mentor Ashley Klein, who has amassed over 130 NRL appearances as well as 150 in the English Super League.
As his rise continues, Watts will continue to draw on his personal mantra of "speak to people how you want to be spoken to and, as a result, you'll maintain the respect from players and other officials".
Karra-Lee Nolan, Rugby League
For Karra-Lee Nolan, getting involved in rugby league officiating was a way of getting some "extra pocket money at first".
With Nolan's father being a rugby league referee, along with her two brothers playing, officiating footy became a logical decision for the Shellharbour-based official.
After refereeing for two years, Nolan was "tapped on the shoulder" in 2013 and placed in the Country Rugby League development squad.
While admitting she didn't have her best game at the junior representative carnival that same year, Nolan said it provided her with a real "eye opener".
"And then the following year, in 2014, I came back to be ranked first and I was given the opportunity to referee the County Championships Grand Final," Nolan said.
Nolan rates her National Officiating Scholarship mentor and former National Rugby League referee Steve Clark, who refereed over 300 NRL matches, as "an idol and influential in her development".
"It was an amazing experience to have Steve Clark watch me refereeing the Country Championships Grand Final in 2014 and the following year, I made the National Rugby League referee academy, which led to great development opportunities," she said.
The 22 year-old said being the first female to referee a Group 7 first grade men's game in Wollongong in 2015, along with refereeing the National under-15s schoolboys final in June last year, as her career highlights to date.
As a NOS recipient in 2016, Nolan wants to continue refereeing consistently at the New South Wales junior representative levels, including at the Harold Matthews Cup competition after debuting there as a referee this season.
"Through the NOS program, I want to improve my maturity and understanding as a referee, which will continue to make me become a better official," Nolan said.
Currently in her final year at university, studying to become a PDHPE teacher, Nolan is striving towards achieving her long-term refereeing goals of making the NSW Grade squad, on her way to being in the full-time NRL squad.
Nicholas Pelgrave, Rugby League
Resilience is a word which best describes Nick Pelgrave's rise as a rugby league referee.
After playing league as a halfback for 13 years, a shoulder injury while he was training with the FOGS Colts Grade team in 2009, ultimately forced Pelgrave to hang up the boots.
Two years earlier, Pelgrave decided to do a rugby league referee course after his coach, Darcy Roberts said "you are one of those big mouth players that like to lend assistance to officials, so maybe you should become a referee".
As a result of his injury, Pelgrave was either going to miss 12 months of footy or decide to accelerate his refereeing, and after Roberts said "you can make a career out of refereeing", that was enough to make his decision.
Three years later in 2012, Pelgrave fought his way back to FOGS Colts level, this time as a referee, and one year later he refereed the Grand Final.
But in 2014, disaster struck twice for Pelgrave as missed five months after requiring shoulder surgery and then in his comeback game, he tore his hamstring and the 24 year-old thought he simply "couldn't take a trick".
Pelgrave though is a determined person and through hard work and dedication, he returned for the last round of the 2014 season, before making his Instrust Super Cup debut as referee for Burleigh Bears v Sunshine Coast in March 2015, which is his career highlight to date.
"It was amazing to make my Instrust Super Cup debut, especially given my setbacks, but funnily enough I was actually meant to debut the week before, but Cyclone Nathan meant the game got cancelled," Pelgrave said.
A remarkably resilient individual, Pelgrave went on the referee 16 out of 24 Instrust Super Cup matches in 2015, along with refereeing the final round Holden Cup under-20s clash between Brisbane Broncos v Melbourne Storm at the iconic Suncorp Stadium.
"As a National Officiating Scholarship holder in 2016, I want to replicate my feats from last season and want to ensure I don't suffer from any second year syndrome," he said.
Pelgrave is currently training with the Queensland referees academy, where he is exposed to former National Rugby League officials, including Steve Clark and Eddie Ward.
And 24 year-old Pelgrave believes this experience, in addition to the valuable insights he can take from the NOS program and his "similarly resilient" mentor, NRL referee Matt Cecchin, will help him work towards his long-term ambition of a securing a full-time NRL contract.
Todd Smith, Rugby League
As a self-confessed "footy lover", Todd Smith decided to get involved in rugby league officiating in 2005 as a 14 year-old after having an interest in refereeing.
While Smith continued playing league for a couple more seasons himself, he decided at the end of the 2007 season that he "wasn't going to make it as a player", so he focused on refereeing.
After finishing school in 2008, Smith made the Junior Representative squad the following year, which allowed the Manly-based official to referee Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball junior competitions.
"I was in the Junior Representative squad into 2013 and in that year, I refereed the Under-16s Australia Nationals Final and Harold Matthews Grand Final, which are both still career highlights for me to this day," Smith said.
After graduating from the Junior Representative squad, Smith secured his place in the NSW Grade squad, during the middle of the 2013 season, where allowed him to referee the Sydney Shield, Ron Massey, NSW and Holden Cups.
In 2015, the 24 year-old ran the touchline for the Holden Cup and he also secured a job as an NRL Game Development Officer, after working for the New South Wales RL for four years.
Smith, who wants to secure his spot in the Holden Cup referee squad in the next few seasons, said he is excited about being a National Officiating Scholarship recipient this year.
"The NOS program presents a unique situation where I'm able to learn from other officials this year, which can help me refereeing," he said.
As part of the NSW Grade squad, Smith was able to train and liaise with the current top NRL referee Gerard Sutton in 2015 and he believes this experience, along with the invaluable insights he can draw from his NOS mentor Steve Clark, will help his progress as a referee.
"I have essentially modelled my refereeing style on Steve Clark, particularly the way he dealt with players during his career and the motto of being 'hard but fair'," Smith said.
Smith admitted that Clark, who refereed over 300 NRL matches, is "the best referee he has ever seen" and if he can successfully implement the former NRL referee's traits, he will be well on his way in achieving his long-term goal of making the full-time NRL referee squad.
Andrew Cox, Rugby Union
As a current player and captain of Parramatta in Sydney's Shute Shield competition, Andrew Cox's officiating journey has been different than most.
The 28 year-old, who is Parramatta's second most capped skipper in first grade history, was approached by Australian Rugby Union referee Dan Cheever to see if he was interested in refereeing.
"It all happened pretty quickly and they were interested in turning ex-players into referees with an opportunity to be 'fast tracked'. So far I am proud of my officiating achievements to date," Cox said.
Cox, currently a dual player and referee, started his officiating in Sydney fourth grade in 2015 and refereed the third grade Grand Final between Eastwood and Eastern Suburbs in the same year, which is one of his career officiating highlights to date.
"I am appreciative of the opportunities given to me, and the ARU's flexibility to allow me to keep playing, whilst continuing to support me in my refereeing pursuits," he said.
In addition to being an assistant referee for the IRB World Sevens hosted by Sydney in February 2016, Cox was also part of a National Rugby camp in Brisbane, which included the ARU National Panel referees.
Cox said he wants to use his year in the National Officiating Scholarship program as a "stepping stone" to achieving his short-term goal of focusing on refereeing and continuing to progress his officiating skills.
"The NOS program will provide me with a stepping stone towards a professional refereeing environment, which will help me consolidate my skills from last year and work towards refereeing at the higher levels," Cox said.
The 28 year-old, who also works as a rehab counsellor in his day-to-day job, is looking forward to learning from his NOS mentor this year, former IRB Panel referee Matt Goddard.
Cox said he wants to use all the resources in the NOS program in 2016 to continue his "transformation from player to official" as he strives towards his goal of securing a place on the National Rugby Panel.
Brett Cronan, Rugby Union
For Brett Cronan, it was his father who has always been heavily involved in his rugby union career, acting as the coach and manager of Brett's side from a young age.
Cronan continued to play rugby while at high school and while he continued to enjoy playing, he admitted he wasn't a "great player".
The 22 year-old was given an opportunity in year 10 through the refereeing director at Brisbane's Nudgee College and two years later, he gained a school refereeing scholarship, which was only given to 12 officials across Queensland.
After reaching a hefty 121 kilograms in his first year out of school in 2011, Cronan conceded "the writing was on the wall" if he was going to make it as a referee.
"This was the turning point in my officiating where my coaches pushed me to be fitter and this paid off in 2013 where the opportunities really started to come," Cronan said.
After gaining valuable insights in 2014 from his referee coach Geoff Pegg, and assistance from Super Rugby assistant referee Damien Mitchelmore, Cronan achieved his career highlight to date.
"I was given a chance to referee an 'opportunity game' between Sunnybank and GPS on April 25th 2015 in Queensland Premier rugby as a centre referee, and to have Scott Young as a referee coach saying that I had potential, was amazing," Cronan said.
Now, as a 2016 National Officiating Scholarship holder, Cronan wants to gain advice in regards to the mental side of refereeing, in particular the difference between being an "an authoritative figure versus showing the players empathy".
"Through the NOS program I want to get to the next step of refereeing the National Rugby Championship this year, and then being touchline for Super Rugby in 2017," he said.
Cronan believes through the help of his NOS mentor Greg Hinton and his dealings with idol Andrew Cole, the 22 year-old can achieve his long-term goal of becoming a Super Rugby referee.
Charles Hartson, Rugby Union
Charles Hartson's officiating journey started during high-school at Waverly College, who were encouraging "rugby players to become officials".
The 26 year-old completed the officiating course during year 11 at school in 2006 and after he finished his rugby playing days the following year, Hartson started to focus on refereeing.
Based in Sydney, Harston then joined the New South Wales Rugby Referees Association in 2008 and he has since achieved various highlights in his officiating career.
"One of my career highlights so far would have to be my debut match as a referee at Shute Shield level in the match between Penrith and West Harbour in April 2015," Hartson said.
Hartson, who was also a referee at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Samoa in September 2015, is looking forward to his year in the National Officiating Scholarship program.
"The amazing resources involved in the NOS program will help improve my performance, in particular being able to gain a good connection with my mentor, and former International and Super Rugby referee, Ian Smith," he said.
Working as a biomedical engineering in his day-to-day job, the 26 year-old said he wants to keep "challenging himself" as he strives towards securing his short and long term goals in rugby refereeing.
"This season I aim to perform consistently in every opportunity and have the knowledge that I have done everything within my ability off the field to allow this to occur," Hartson said.
"In my job as a biomedical engineer, I enjoy the challenge of pushing myself to achieve excellence and I think this transcends into rugby officiating, which I'm sure other sports' officials can relate to."
Hartson is hoping to draw on valuable insights from his NOS mentor, Smith, along with the entire NOS support network, to assist him in achieving his ambitions in high-performance officiating.
Jacqui McNamara, Swimming
With 20 years of swimming officiating experience, Jacqui McNamara first decided to get involved in 1996 when her kids joined the local swimming club.
McNamara's first national meet came in 2001, where she was timekeeper for star Australian swimmers including Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett and it was there where swimming officiating "got into her blood".
From there, McNamara officiated at a range of state and regional swimming meets until gaining status as a state swimming referee in 2006.
The Western Australia-based official then claimed the top honour in Australia in 2012 after becoming a national pool swimming referee.
"The next step for me is becoming a FINA referee which I want to achieve by the end of 2016, particularly after being awarded a National Officiating Scholarship," McNamara said.
"If I made it to FINA referee status, I would be very excited as it comes with amazing selection opportunities, such as the Olympics and World Championships."
One of the 51 year-old's career highlights to date was at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast where she was side by side with American superstar Michael Phelps and she said "it was pretty incredible but I had to very quickly separate my fan and referee hat".
As a NOS holder in 2016, McNamara wants to utilise every component of the program, including the assistance of her mentor and former FINA official Jan Fathers, as she works towards her long-term goal of officiating at the 2020 Olympics.
"Jan is a role model for me particularly the way she handles herself, and always shares advice with me about how I can improve as a referee," she said.
McNamara, who works with special needs children in her day to day job, believes her work skills help in refereeing, particularly being "patient and showing understanding".Despite being a rising swimming official, McNamara said she never learned to swim after growing up in the small New Zealand town of Kurow, made famous by Rugby icon Richie McCaw.
Kate Reynolds, Swimming
For Kate Reynolds, her officiating journey started in the United States of America and crossed the globe to Australia, via the United Kingdom.
Born in the south-west English county of Dorset, Reynolds moved to Chicago in 1994 for 14 years, before temporarily returning home, and then settling in Australia in 2010.
Her officiating career started as a "Bull Pen" Volunteer, also known as Marshalling, after getting "bored" of waiting around at meets for her kids to complete their races.
After that, there was no looking back. Reynolds worked her way through the various pool deck duties to complete the YMCA and USA swimming referee accreditations in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
In 2008, Reynolds and her family then relocated back to the UK and naturally she continued her officiating career.
Anticipating a long-term commitment in the UK, Reynolds began her re-accreditation as a British Swimming Referee and passed the theoretical exams in 2010.
However, she never got the chance to complete the practical exam as Reynolds once again relocated, this time to Australia.
After the move to Perth in 2010, Reynolds took a break from officiating, but missed it so much that she signed up for 2011/2012 swimming season and once again went through the assessments to get her Australian accreditation.
It was during this season where Reynolds became involved in Open Water Officiating and was "hooked" immediately.
"I love being out on the water and creating an environment for the athletes to excel," Reynolds said.
Reynolds has been the Chief Referee at the Open Water Swimming 2014 State Championships, and referee at the 2015 & 2016 Australian Age and Open, and the OWS Championships.
A National Officiating Scholarship holder for 2016, the Perth-based official has set herself the short-term goal of making the FINA list, as an Open Water Official.
"Making the FINA list allows me access to international level experience and I would be ecstatic to make it, as it's something I am working very hard towards," she said.
"The NOS program will give me the tools and expertise to learn how to manage the soft skills of officiating, helping me to strengthen my confidence and improve certain areas, to get to the next level of my officiating career."
Reynolds is also looking forward to drawing on the experiences of her NOS mentor and former FINA official Jan Fathers, as she works towards her long-term personal goal of officiating at the 2024 Olympics as an Open Water Swimming Official.
Ben Carter, Tennis
After an "enjoyable experience", Carter signed up as with Tennis Officials New South Wales and has rarely looked back.
Carter quickly progressed through the tennis officiating ranks after taking up chair umpiring in 2010, and in 2013, he gained an International Tennis Federation white badge certification in Bangkok, Thailand.
Along with various overseas ventures to officiate at ITF futures events in Europe in the years since, Carter said his career highlights to date include officiating at his first overseas grand slam at the US Open in 2015.
"Officiating at the US Open was overwhelming but an amazing experience, this along with chairing the boys singles final at the Australian Open in 2014 and main draw matches the following year, would be my career highlights so far," Carter said.
In his day-to-day job as a PDHPE teacher, Carter believes some of the skills certainly overlap with tennis officiating, particularly being "disciplined and flexible".
In the short-term, Carter said he wants to get to the next level and gain an ITF bronze badge, but he does have some limitations given his teaching job.
"Bronze badge is where I want to be, I had aspirations to go further in the past, but teaching is going well at the moment," he said.
Through gaining a National Officiating Scholarship in 2016, Carter wants to "take things from all the best officials" to achieve his goal of an ITF bronze badge, as well as continuing to "see more of the world through officiating and hopefully umpiring at all four grand slams".
Carter's NOS mentor Donna Kelso, who has achieved everything in tennis as both a chair umpire and now an ITF supervisor, is certainly a person who he looks up to as an "idol" and can help guide him in the years to come.
Bjorn Wettstein, Tennis
Bjorn Wettstein's tennis officiating career spans over 30 years, with his first tournament in Zurich after being asked by a friend to "give it a go".
The Switzerland-born official moved up the officiating ranks during the 1990s, where he started as a linesman, before becoming both a chief and chair umpire.
After securing an International Tennis Federation White Badge in Turkey in 2000, this was followed four years late when Wettstein got his ITF Silver Badge Chief accreditation, in the same year he was a linesman at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
The 50 year-old went on to umpire eight consecutive Wimbledon main-draws, as a line umpire from 2007-2014, during which he moved to Australia in 2009.
Working as a Business Consultant in Banking IT, Wettstein viewed Tennis as a "hobby for 8-10 weeks a year", until May 2015 when he was made redundant and is now pursuing officiating on a full-time basis.
"It is currently a transition period for me and I have to juggle commitments," Wettstein said.
In his 30 years of officiating, Wettstein has various career highlights and said "tennis has always been a part of his life".
"Umpiring seven Australian Open Singles Finals has been amazing, plus being in the chair for a Wheelchair Quad Final, and the 2015 Junior Girls Singles Final, which is a highlight for me as a chair umpire," he said.
The vastly-experienced official has also been a line umpire for three Wimbledon Singles Finals from 2012-2014, and a chief umpire, in charge of all the line umpires, for the past seven consecutive Sydney Internationals.
Wettstein believes the National Officiating Scholarship program should help him achieve his short-term goal of securing an ITF Bronze Badge as a chair umpire this year.
"The NOS program allows us to learn from other officials and I think that will help improve my handling of difficult situations on court, which in turn will help me move to the next level," Wettstein said.
Wettstein was also draw on the similar experiences of his NOS mentor Donna Kelso, who has achieved essentially all the accolades in tennis officiating, as he continues to improve himself as an "all-round" tennis official.


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by James
This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied in whole or in part without the permission of the author. The posting of this story on any web site must be with the author's prior knowledge and permission.
This story is based loosely on events in the lives of the members of the group *Nsync. What is depicted in the story came from the imagination of the author. The author has never met any of the members of *Nsync or to his knowledge have not met any angels or had any personal dealings with God.
This story is offered for your enjoyment this holiday season. With the chaos of today's world I'm offering this little story as a beacon of hope. May this holiday season be a happy one and the coming new year a safe one.
Over the Hump
Diane heard the front door slam close. "I'm home," Lance shouted. "Where is everyone?"
"In the kitchen, honey," Diane called out.
Lance bound into the kitchen with a big grin on his face. "What's for supper? I'm starved."
"Meatloaf," Diane said as she slapped her son's hand lifting up the lid of a pan. Diane studied the person standing before her. "Who are you? And what have you done with my son?"
Lance laughed, "It's still me. Mama, I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the ass since I got back."
"What happen today that brought about this change?"
Lance sat down at the counter as his mom continued to prepare supper. "Part of it is do to your call to Pastor Ted. If he hadn't made me go with him today I wouldn't have met Mikey."
"Who is Mikey?"
"He's a boy with an angel named Ethan."
Diane arched an eyebrow.
"Mama, today I met someone who problems makes my problems look so insignificant."
"What kind of problems?"
Lance's expression turned serious. "Mikey is an eight year old boy who lost his mother when he was four. His father is an alcoholic and started to beat on him not long after his wife died. He beat his own son so bad that when the police arrived everyone thought he was dead."
"My Lord! How is the boy now?"
"He's doing better. He still has a problem trusting adults."
"Then I take it somehow you have gained his trust."
Lance nodded.
"Are you going to continue working with the boy?" Diane asked.
"I'd like to."
"Just be careful, baby. That boy is starting to trust you. Don't do anything that can ruin that trust."
"I know, mama."
"When are you going to see the boy again?" Diane asked.
"Tomorrow afternoon after Sunday dinner," Lance replied.
"Jamie, is there any chance you could bring Mikey to dinner? I'd like to meet the boy."
"I'll ask the home supervisor tomorrow. I think he would like to get away from that place for a while." . . . "Is there anything I can do?"
"Why don't you set the table," Diane suggested.
Diane was sorting through the mail when she heard a car drive up. Looking out she smiled at the young man behind the wheel. The driver got out and as he approached, Diane held out her arms. "Joshua, honey, I didn't expect to see you."
"Diane, it's good to see you," Josh said as they hugged. "I came to see Lance. I figured he'd have to talk to me if I was here."
"Come on in," Diane said as they entered the front door. "He went up to change. He should be down soon."
As Diane closed the front door heavy footsteps could be heard bounding down the stairs. "Mama, have you seen my keys?"
Searching his pockets Lance didn't see Josh standing at the bottom of the stairs. Hoping to get Lance's attention Josh said, "Hey, Scoop."
Lance looked up shocked at first to see Josh. A smile quickly spread across his face as he leaped for Josh. "Josh! Oh man it's so good to see you." Pulling his friend into a hug.
This was not what Josh had expected. Hugging Lance back he noticed Diane's amused expression.
"Hey, man, how long can you stay?" Lance asked with excitement.
"I just drove up for the day," Josh said.
"Oh, man!" Lance stomped his foot. "Can't you stay longer?"
"Sure, I don't have anything planed till Friday."
"Great!" "Mama, I still need my keys. Have you seen them?"
"I think you left them on the kitchen counter," Diane said while shaking her head.
"Thanks," Lance said as he dashed of to retrieve his keys.
"What happened?" Josh asked still in shock at his friend's high-spirited mood.
Diane laughed, "You didn't expect that kind of change, did you?"
"The last two week when we called he wouldn't talk to any of us because he was depressed. . . What has changed?"
Lance returned before Diane could answer. "I found them." Lance held up his keys.
"Do you have plans?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, I just need to pick up a friend," Lance said. "Come on, I'd like you to meet him."
Josh rode with Lance to pick up his friend. Lance wouldn't tell him where they were going or who they were going to meet. When Josh brought up the subject of the space flight he was surprised that Lance talked to him about it and his feelings of not being able to go into space.
As Lance pulled into a large drive Josh noticed a large sigh, `County Home.' Getting out of the car Josh asked, "You meeting your friend here?"
Lance smiled, "He lives here."
A blond headed boy came running up to Lance and jump into his arms. Lance gave the boy a hug before putting him down. "I was waiting for you," Mikey said.
"I noticed," Lance chuckled.
Mikey noticed the man standing near them and he hid behind Lance. Peaking around Lance Mikey tugged on Lance's sleeve. As Lance bent down Mikey whispered, "Who's that?"
"He's a friend of mine," Lance whispered back. "You should already know who he is."
"He looks a little like JC."
"He does? . . . . Maybe that's because he is JC." Lance pulled Mikey from behind him and started to make introductions. "Mikey, I'd like you to meet a close friend of mine, Josh."
Mikey turned and looked up at Lance with a puzzled look. "JC is his stage name, his first name is Joshua, Josh for short." Mikey nodded that he understood.
"Josh, this is my friend Mikey."
As Josh steeped closer he noticed the kid tense up. Dropping down on one knee, putting them at the same height. "Hey, Mikey, glad to meet ya."
Mikey nervously held out his hand to Josh, "It, it's nice to meet you, sir."
Lance had his hands on the boy's shoulders and could feel the tension in his muscles. As Mikey reached out to shake Josh's hand he could feel the boy trembling. Lance gave Mikey's shoulders a soft squeeze, letting Mikey know he was safe.
"What's with this sir stuff? Just call me Josh."
"Okay, Josh."
Patting Mikey's shoulder Lance said, "Come on. Let's go sign you out."
After signing Mikey out the three of them climbed into Lance's car. Mikey buckled himself into the back seat.
"What are we going to do?" Josh asked.
"We're going to the mall," Lance said as they pulled onto the street. "We'll do a little shopping, have lunch, and take in a movie."
As they were riding Lance and Josh heard whispering coming from the back seat. Looking in his rearview mirror Lance could see Mikey whispering to the empty seat next to him. Josh gave Lance a questioning look as he glanced back at the whispering boy.
"Okay, Mikey," Lance chuckled. "What's Ethan's verdict?"
Mikey giggled, "He said Josh is a good person and that I can trust him."
"That's good," Lance said with a big grin.
"Who's Ethan?" Josh asked.
"Mikey's guardian angel," Lance laughed. "You my friend just got the seal of approval from one of god's own."
Josh turned around and looked at Mikey then the space next to him. Josh was about to say something when he noticed the seat move slightly. "Your angel is sitting next to you?"
"Mikey looked at the seat next to him then shook his head. "Not any more. Ethan just left."
The rest of the morning the three of them walked the mall, going into shops browsing and talking. Josh bought himself a couple outfits along with some basic stuff, underwear and the like. He hadn't planned on staying over and need a change of clothes. Lance also found a couple shirts he liked and after trying them on bought them. Mikey stayed quiet through most of the shopping holding Lance's hand most of the time. When Lance went into the dressing room to try on the shirts he moved close to Josh. Looking down at the boy Josh tried to reassure the boy, "He won't be long." Mikey looked up with a weary smile. Josh held out his hand and Mikey latched on to it.
When Lance came out of the dressing room he saw Josh and Mikey waiting for him a smile spread across his face when he saw Mikey holding Josh's hand. Something caught Lance's eye across the aisle. He was looking through the rack of boy's shirts when he pulled out three he thought would look good on Mikey. Holding a red shirt up to Mikey Lance and Josh pondered the look.
"I'm not sure," Josh said. "Try it on and see."
Mikey was given the shirts to try on but he hesitated about going into the dressing room. "You going to need help?" Lance asked.
Even though he was a little embarrassed Mikey nodded.
Mikey turned his back to Lance as he removed his shirt. Lance stifled a gasp as he saw the scars across Mikey's back. Lance sat on the bench as his legs gave out on him. Mikey turned to take one of the shirts from Lance when he saw Lance's expression and a tear slide down his cheek.
"What's wrong?" Mikey asked as he wiped away the tear.
"I'm, I'm sorry," Lance stammered. "I never thought. . . ."
Mikey through his arms around Lance's neck and gave him a big hug. "It's all right. They don't hurt any more."
"How could a father ever do something like that to his own son," Lance said as he hugged Mikey to him.
"Ethan said the marks are my badge of courage. And in time they will go away."
Letting Mickey go Lance looked at the boy. "You are the bravest person I know. And you should be proud of your badge."
Lance ended up buying Mikey three shirts and a couple pair of jeans. At first Mikey started to protest when he realized all that Lance was going to buy him. He feared they would be taken from him at the home. Understanding the problem Lance suggested that Mikey could leave the clothes at Lance's home and he would have them when he came to visit.
After dropping their packages off at the car they made their way to the food court for lunch. Mickey was told he could order anything he wanted. He spent ten minutes looking what each of the kiosk had to offer.
"Do you know what you want?" Lance asked Mikey.
Mikey nodded.
Lance handed Mikey a ten-dollar bill. "You can go buy what you want. But remember we are going to a movie after we eat, so save room for popcorn and candy."
Mikey ran over to the Pizza Station and ordered a slice of pizza and a drink. Balancing his food on a tray he made his way back to the table. Mikey held out his hand with the change to Lance. "Here is your change."
"Just put it into your pocket," Lance said as Josh arrived with their food.
After lunch they walked around the mall for another hour before heading to the cineplex. "What are we going to see?" Josh asked.
Lance looked over the listings. "There's Santa Clause 2, Sweet Home Alabama, The Tuxedo, The Banger Sisters, Ghost Ship, 8 Mile, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Lance paused for a second trying to figure something out. "Didn't Joey's movie come out last spring?"
"Yeah in April in New York and L.A. It was a slow starter until it hit the mainstream theaters this summer," Josh related. "It is still going strong and it looks like it may be the biggest comedy/drama money grosser for 2002."
"I've got to see it," Lance said excitedly.
Josh silently indicated toward Mikey.
Lance sighed, "But I guess Santa Clause 2 would be a better choice."
Mikey looked at the sign above the ticket booth. "Jamie, what time do we have to be at your house for supper?"
Lance thought, "My dad has a late meeting today so supper will be around six."
"If you really want to see Santa Clause 2 we could see it after My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Santa Clause gets out at five fifteen. Won't that give us time to get to your house?" Mikey asked.
Lance looked at Mikey then Josh as a big grin spread across his face.
As Lance pulled into the driveway he noticed his dad's car in the driveway. Glancing at the clock he knew they were not late. Grabbing the bags from the trunk the three of them made their way into the house. "Are we late?" Lance called out.
"No, you have plenty of time," Diane Bass said as she and Jim came to meet the boys.
"Josh, it's good to see you again," Jim said as he greeted Josh.
Shaking Jim's hand Josh said, "It's good to see you too."
Lance stood behind Mikey with his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Mom, Dad, this is Mikey."
Diane smiled down at the boy. "We're glad you could come to our home. I hope you boys are hungry?"
"Mikey, welcome to our home," Jim said. "Jamie has been talking about you for the last week, I'm glad to finally meet you."
"Thank you, sir and ma'am. It sure smells good."
"You boys go wash up," Diane directed. "Supper will be ready soon."
"Okay Mom. This way Mikey," Lance said.
"Jamie, can I talk to you please," Diane asked.
Lance looked from Mikey to Josh. "Come on Mikey, I'll show you the way," Josh said.
"You've been here before?" Mikey asked as they climbed the stairs.
"Sure, lots of times," Josh explained. "While on tour if we played near by we would stop by for a home cooked meal."
"Son, Pastor Ted, wants you to call him right away," Diane said.
"Okay, do you have the number?"
"It's on the pad by the phone," Diane said as she returned to the kitchen.
As everyone gathered at the kitchen table Lance joined them.
"Is everything all right?" Diane asked her son.
"No," Lance looked from Mikey to his parents. "There was a fire at the county home this afternoon."
"Oh, my! Was anyone hurt?" Diane asked.
"No. Everyone got out okay. There was an electrical fire in the kitchen. They were able to get it under control quickly but there was a lot of damage. There is no power in the building and the kitchen is a total loss."
"Thank god everyone is safe," Jim said.
"Pastor Ted is helping the home find places for the residents. Since Mikey was already signed out to me he wanted to know if I'd want to look after Mikey for a while."
Lance gave a queried look to his parents.
"I think you already know our answer," Diane said.
Lance smiled, "I was about to volunteer before he asked the question." Looking to Mikey Lance asked, "It's up to you. Would you like to live here for a while?"
"How long will I be staying?" Mikey asked.
"Until they can get the home repaired. It will be until after the first of the year."
"And I will be staying with you?" Mikey asked Lance.
"Of course with me," Lance said.
Mikey looked between Lance and his parents. "I'll try not to be any trouble. I'd like to stay."
"Then it's decided," Jim said. "Mikey is joining the family."
Lance cringed at his dad's statement. "Dad it's not going to be that easy. Because of the fire Mikey will be allowed to stay for a while. Tomorrow I'll be meeting with Ted so I could start filling out the paperwork."
"What kind of paperwork?" Diane asked.
"To become a foster home. They are not just going to give Mickey to me with out some kind of background check and a visit to a judge."
Mikey was quiet during supper, he finished everything on his plate and helped clear the table. He wanted to help Diane but she shooed him out of the kitchen. Mickey found the others sitting in the living room, while Lance surfed through the programs on TV.
"Jamie, please pick something," Jim begged.
Josh was looking over the TV Guide when he suggested, "Try Showtime, Mikey might find the movie interesting."
Lance turned to Showtime then let out a groan. On the TV a red paper airplane was soaring through the air, it was the opening for, On the Line. Josh was laughing at Lance's distress.
Mikey didn't understand why Lance was acting the way he was. Mikey's eyes got big as he saw who was on the TV screen. "Th, th, that's you," Mikey said pointing at the TV. Looking at Lance he said, "You're a movie star, too? Cool!"
Mikey seemed to enjoy the movie. He got excited when he recognized Joey from the movie they had seen that afternoon.
Midway through the movie Diane joined everyone. Instead of watching the movie she enjoyed watching Mickey's animated reactions to the movie. He laughed through most of it and near the end when Kevin found his girl, Mikey buried his face in Lance's arm when the two kissed for the first time. "Oh, icky! Girl coodies."
"I'll give you coodies," Lance said as he tickled Mickey.
Lance got a "behave yourself" look from his mom so he quickly settled down. At the end of the movie there was the behind the scenes thing with Lance and Joey and two strange makeup guys. Mikey found the ending really funny but it took him a minute to figure out who the two guys were. Looking from Josh to Lance Mikey asked, "Are they really like that?"
They both broke up laughing. "Yeah, sometimes," Josh howled.
"Joshua!" Diane scolded.
"No Mikey, they both can be crazy at times, but they are not like that," Lance explained. "They came to the set one day and wanted to get into the movie. There were no parts for them so they came up with the idea. An hour later we shot their idea and it was very funny so we put it at the end of the movie."
"Cool!" Mikey said as he stifled a yawn.
"Looks like someone is getting tired," Diane observed.
"Come on sport, let's get you ready for bed," Lance said.
Mikey nodded as he got up.
"Josh is in the guest room," Diane said. "Why don't you set Mikey up in Stacy's old room."
Lance took Mikey upstairs to get him ready for bed. As Mikey took a quick shower Lance went to find him something to wear to bed. Of all the clothes they bought today no one thought of buying any underwear. Mikey came out of the bathroom wrapped in a big towel. Standing in front of Lance, Lance helped Mikey to finish drying off. "We need to do some more shopping tomorrow," Lance said as he finished drying Mikey's hair. "Do you sleep in pajamas?"
"No. Just my underwear."
"Well we will need to pick you up some tomorrow. For now you can put your underpants back on and you can wear on of my undershirts to sleep in."
Mikey put on the shirt and got the giggles. The shirt was way too big for him and it came down to his knees. "It will do for tonight," Lance said as he pulled back the covers so Mikey could climb in. Tucking the boy in Lance sat on the bed smiling down at the yawning boy. "Do you want me to leave the door open?"
Mikey nodded.
"Now if you need anything my room is next door and Josh is right across the hall."
"Okey," Mikey yawned again. Holding out his arms, indicating he wanted a hug. Lance leaned close and gave the boy a hug.
"Thank you for wanting me," Mikey softly said.
Lance gave the boy a kiss on the ear and tucked him back into bed. Turning off the bedside light Lance sat there watching Mikey drift off to sleep. With a sigh he got off the bed and quietly made his way to the door. Pulling the door close only part way he turned to find his mother watching him.
"He's got you hooked doesn't he?" Diane asked her son.
"What do you mean?"
"Jamie, you need to seriously think about this. This boy is not a puppy you've brought home."
"I know."
"Just take this slow. And remember your father and I will stand behind you in whatever decision you make."
"Thanks, mom," Lance gave her a kiss goodnight before going to his own room.
Mikey woke up in a strange bed and in a strange room. He was not fully awake and he started to panic. There was a flash of lightening and a loud rumble followed. Mikey shot out of bed and ran into the hall. He was frightened as he looked up and down the hall. Spotting an open door he looked in and saw Lance sleeping in the bed. Mikey was standing next to Lance's bed when the next flash of lightening came, he jumped and let out a yelp.
Lance was awakened by a noise. Opening his eyes he saw the boy. "Mikey, what's wrong?"
"I, I woke up," the boy said nervously.
Lifting up the covers Lance said, "Come on, climb in."
Mikey jumped into the bed and Lance's waiting arms. Pulling the boy close Lance asked, "This better?" Mikey nodded as he snuggled into Lance's chest. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I woke up and couldn't remember where I was. The bed was different and the room smelled different."
"What do you mean smelled different?"
"It smelled like a girl."
Lance laughed, "I think we can do something about that." Pulling the boy closer he added, "Let's try to get some sleep."
Tilting his head up Mikey said, "Goodnight, Jamie, I love you."
Giving Mikey a kiss on the top of his head Lance said, "Goodnight, Mikey." `I love you too,' Lance thought.
Diane was up as usual before anybody else was even stirring. As she passed the open door she looked in on Mikey. Pushing the door open further she found the bed empty. With growing concern she checked the other open door. With a growing smile and a sigh she gazed into Lance's bedroom and the two sleeping young men. Mikey was sleeping in her son's arms laying half on top of Lance.
The smell of breakfast woke Lance from his slumber. The tingle in his left arm reminded him someone was still sleeping with him. Glancing down he smiled the sleeping angel in his arms. With his free hand Lance reached over and brushed the boys hair out of his eyes.
Lance's touch brought Mikey awake. Mikey stretched and yawned as he became fully awake.
"Good morning," Lance said.
"Morning, do we have to get up?" Mikey asked with a dopy smile.
"If we want breakfast we need to get going," Lance pointed out.
Mikey sniffed the air, "I smell bacon."
The rest of the day was filled with activity. Lance asked his mom about possibly removing the girly things from Mikey's room. Diane agreed as long as Mikey and Lance boxed everything up and took it to the attic.
Lance got a call from Pastor Ted and went to meet with him and the director of the home. Mikey, Diane and Josh went shopping. When asked about what clothes he had at the home Diane decided what was needed and went on a shopping spree. Several hours later they returned home loaded with bags. Josh help Mikey put his new things away and together they stripped the bedding off the bed and put on the new ones Josh had bought him. Gone were the frilly girly bedspread and curtains and replaced with more masculine colors.
Lance returned later that afternoon bone weary but happy. Tons of paperwork was all filled out and Lance was given temporary custody of Mikey.
Josh returned to Orlando after a four-day visit. It didn't take long for Mikey to fit into the Bass household. Mikey's tutor continued to work with him and he continued to see Dr. Billings, the child psychiatrist. Mikey's trust in adults grew quickly. He helped Diane with chores around the house and became Jim's shadow when he came home from work. Their love for Mikey grew daily. And as Mikey's trust grew with Diane and Jim his dependents on Lance diminished.
As Mikey's healing continued so did Lance's. He got his hands back into FreeLance and spent hours on the phone talking with Chris, Joey and Justin. Lance was looking forward to the coming holidays and he wanted to make Mikey's Christmas special.
Everything was going smoothly until Thanksgiving day. . . .
The family had gathered at the Bass home for Thanksgiving dinner. The men were in the living room gathered around the TV watching the pre-game show while Diane and Stacy were putting the finishing touches on the Thanksgiving meal.
Mikey wondered into the kitchen and climbed up onto a stool and sighed.
Diane smiled, "What's wrong baby?"
"Nothing," Mikey said as he rested his chin on the counter. "I'm just bored."
Stacy chuckled, "Don't you like football?"
"I like football. But the pre-game shows are really boring. All they do is talk and talk."
"I know what you mean. I have never understood what my husband, brother our father see in a pre-game show."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Mikey asked.
Diane looked around the kitchen before spotting the tray. "You could finish setting the dining room table." Indicating the tray of glasses and silverware.
"Okey," Mikey said as he jumped down picking up the tray.
"You going to need any help?" Stacy asked.
"Nope, I can do this."
In the living room the pre-game show had just went into commercial when they heard Diane shout, "Mikey, watch out!" Then came the sound of breaking glass.
Lance jumped and ran into the kitchen. His mother had just taken a tray from Mikey's hands. "What happened?" Lance asked.
Mikey stood saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. . I'm sorry," as he backed into the corner. Tears started to flow when he saw all the adults looking at him. "Please, don't punish me. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."
Lance knew how Mikey had been punished by his father. Lance knelt in front of Mikey and softly said, "It's all right buddy. No one is going to punish you." Lance reached out for the boy and noticed him flinch at his touch. "Mikey, look at me please." Mikey slowly looked at Lance. "It was an accident. You are not going to be punished for an accident."
With tears still flowing Mikey said. "I'm sorry."
Pulling the boy to him Lance said, "I know you are, son. No one is going to hurt you again. We have more glasses so one more broken glass won't matter."
Mikey started to calm down in Lance's embrace. Tilting his head so he could see Lance's face Mikey asked, "One more glass?"
Lance stifled a laugh, "Yes, one more glass. Mikey, everyone here as broken a glass at one time or another. My dad and Ford hold the record for breaking glasses. I'm amazed Stacy even married him, he's such a klutz."
"Thanks a lot," Ford shot back. Stacy gave her husband an elbow in the side.
"When I'm bad I get punished."
Lance sighed, "First you were not bad. You had an accident, that's all. You will never be punished for an accident. Second, in this house no one will ever hit you. And thirdly, if you are bad you will be sent to your room. After everyone has calmed down then we will discuss what your punishment will be. Do you understand?"
Mikey nodded as he buried his face in Lance's shoulder.
"Giving Mikey a pat on the back Lance said, "Come on, buddy, let's finish setting the table so we can have Thanksgiving dinner."
Feedback is always welcome.


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buy it now or visit pattern website
Both versions of the shawl (sportweight and DK) are 50" wide by 28" deep after blocking.
You will need 394 yards of Main Colour, and 262 yards of Contrast Colour for the sportweight version. For the DK version you will need 360 yards of main colour and 241 yards of Contrast Colour.
Blocked gauge for the sportwight version is 22 stitches and 36 rows per 4 inches/10cm.
Blocked gauge for the DK version is 20 stitches and 28 rows per 4 inches/10m.
The stripes are knitted in a feather and fan stitch. I love the undulations this creates!
Truly is part of the A Time To Knit collection, available in print or ebook versions. See the book page for details.
Technical editor: Karen Butler
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Anna Bruen awarded Homecoming Scholarship
The Fairfield Iowa Rotary Club has awarded a unique $6000 scholarship to MUM Graduate Anna Bruen in honor of her decision to return to her home town of Fairfield to make it her long term home. The Fairfield Ledger published an extensive article on the award (and...read more
JoyceAnn Gardner
This is the first post created due to someone using our "Submit your update" page: JoyceAnn Gardner, who graduated with an M.A. In Visual Arts in January of 1997 mentions her website here: www.JoyceAnnGardner.com, the fact that she gives Nature-related Art Workshops...read more
Troy Van Beek Solar Installation Wins Award
A solar energy installation done by a company founded by alumnus Troy Van Beek was recently recognized as "solar project of the year" by Solar Builder magazine as a result of reader voting and was featured on the cover of the November/December 2016 issue. In addition,...read more
Troy Van Beek and Steve Langerud attend Leadership Iowa
Troy Van Beek (MUM BS in Sustainable Living 2010) founder and CEO of Ideal Energy in Fairfield, Iowa is a participant in the 2016-2017 Leadership Iowa program. He is one of 40 top leaders from around the state of Iowa selected for Leadership Iowa. Steve Langerud,...read more


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The Piasentina stone "born" in Friuli. The quarry area is a narrow strip of the Giulian Alps located near Cividale.
In this area, Julia Marmi owns three quarries, with an available excavation area of 1,500,000 m3, all as permitted within the guidelines of the FVG region.
The stone blocks are quarried as large boulders, whose extraction is achieved by excavation. The cutting of the blocks is performed with diamond wire (a steel cable interspersed with diamond beads) or with the cutting chains (a chain with diamond crusted teeth).
The restoration of the quarry is a continuous activity which coincides with the excavation process. In the locality of Clastra, between the municipalities of San Pietro al Natisone and St. Leonard, the area has been restored with grasses and planted chestnut, apple, pear, plum trees. This plantation structure is typical of the ancient cultivation in the valleys of the Natisone. In the fenced area (60 hectares) a flock sheep are allowed to graze free.
Each year the Julia Marbles hosts a regional civil protection event and all from the surrounding communities are invited for, a day in the forests of the quarry, where you can pick mushrooms and chestnuts, benefiting from the prepared comfort foods and wines prepared by volunteers.
The exploration and revitalization of these places can be even more original: While hosting some events of Mittelfest (festival of drama, music, dance, poetry, visual arts and puppets of central Europe), the quarry became Tarpezzo an open air theater.
Julia Marmi presents RITORNO-RETURN, the new project of wall and floor coverings in Piasentina Stone, developed in collaboration with the studio of Tideo design, specialized in the production of decorative surfaces.
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"The Piasentina stone derives from finger like boulders interspersed with clay soil. Its cultivation is achieved by extraction through the use of excavators and in better quarry locations with diamond crusted sawing chains. "
PIASENTINA STONE OF JULIA MARMI AT THE SALONE 2018 - MILANOFima Carlo Frattini chose the Piasentina Stone of Julia Marmi to cover the floor of the stand. Quality and elegance of a natural product. Salone del Mobile 2018 / HALL…
PRESS 2017 - ABOUT USAmong the many international articles that in 2017 talk about us and our Piasentina Stone, we point out: Stone Ideas - https://www.stone-ideas.com/58672/ritorno-by-julia-marmi-micro-decoration-in-piasentina-stone/ ; Il Corriere Web - https://tutto-arredamento.blogspot.it/2017/07/julia-marmi-top-di-cucina-in-pietra.html; Il Giornale…
JULIA MARMI AT CERSAIE 2017This year's double appointment at Cersaie in Bologna for the historic Friulian company Julia Marmi and its unique Pietra Piasentina, that will be present with its own stand, designed by…