| Delayed Benefits Frustrate Veterans
In his last years, World War II veteran Seymour D. Lewis would stand at the door of his home in Savannah, Ga., waiting for a letter that never arrived. The family of the former Army private, who lost the hearing in his right ear to a grenade explosion in basic training in 1944, spent years wrestling with the federal bureaucracy for his disability benefits, at one point waiting more than a year just to be told to fill out more forms. .
Town braces for minister's wife's murder trial
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- People in the small western Tennessee town of Selmer have been waiting for more than a year to find out why a quiet, unassuming preacher's wife might have killed her husband. On Monday, the process that could produce answers begins with the opening of jury selection for the first-degree murder trial of Mary Winkler. Her husband, Matthew Winkler, the popular 31-year-old minister at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, was found dead on March 22, 2006, in the bedroom of the church parsonage by members of his congregation. Authorities said he had been struck by a single blast from a 12-gauge shotgun as he lay in bed. His wife was arrested a day later in Orange Beach, Alabama, some 340 miles away, with her three young daughters.
Teenagers drinking a lot more
As they do every year, seniors at Palm Harbor University High School will celebrate their May 21 graduation at Storm Surge, an all-night graduation party. The event - paid for by parents, community members and local businesses - is scheduled for 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Clearwater and is, as always, alcohol- and drug-free. And Storm Surge 2007 is just one of several events that some Pinellas County high schools hold for students at graduation. Operation PAR, the nonprofit drug abuse prevention and treatment agency, is making $1,000 grants to five local schools to host alcohol-free graduation events: Palm Harbor University High, East Lake High, Countryside High, Tarpon Springs High and St. Petersburg High. The support comes as school district officials prepare to distribute a study that shows that underage binge drinking is a major concern for local teens in Pinellas County.
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost Interview, Hot Fuzz
MoviesOnline sat down with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at the Los Angeles press day to promote their new film, Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz is the action-packed new comedy from the makers of the hit movie Shaun of the Dead. With the same razor-sharp combination of humor and attention to detail they used to breathe new life into the undead, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have set their sights on Action Movies for their next uniquely funny vision. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is the finest cop London has to offer, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing -- the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford. Once there, he is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager police officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost).
It was all Gogo at fab 60s club
But it was not your regular history page, it was actually 30 years ago and the subject in question was the Club A'Gogo. The story was that a couple of local music fans were hoping to reopen the famous venue and the story went on: "Remember when... Jimi Hendrix literally tried to bring the house down with his guitar as he smashed it into the roof above the stage one night?" (Didn't I mention that just the other week?) "Remember when... the first chords from that first great supergroup Cream burst on an astonished music world right in the heart of Newcastle? .
Parents have access to student records online
Report cards don't always make it home. Assessment scores aren't always easy to understand. But soon, Washington County parents will have Internet access to their children's grades and test scores, said Robert C. Brown, Washington County Public Schools coordinator for the office of testing and accountability. The information will be available for parents at the start of the upcoming school year, and parents will receive information on registering for the online accounts during the first week of school. Teachers, administrators and central office staff have been able to access student information. The accounts through Performance Matters were available for students at E.
Granite Status: Ray Buckley still the front-runner
DESPITE THE infamous YouTube.com posting that caused Rep. Paul Hodes to withdraw his support, Ray Buckley remains the favorite for state Democratic Party chairman. But controversy continues. Former Manchester GOP chair Joe Kelly Levasseur yesterday posted "Ray Buckley II" on YouTube. It contains some of the same footage as the first Buckley video but focuses on "the politics of personal destruction." And as you'll read below, there was an incident at the House GOP caucus at the State House yesterday. Levesseur's more-than-six-minute follow-up shows Buckley on his former local cable television show. He criticizes former state Sen. Andy Martel and refers to "scandal after scandal," calls former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley "a very strange guy," and talks about Executive Councilor "Old Ray" Wieczorek and his "half-witted" assistant, former House Speaker Marshall Cobleigh.
Insuring smooth transition
Fifteen years ago, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.'s products had become as stale as week-old Communion bread. The Fort Wayne-based insurance company had gotten "very behind and antiquated" in the coverage it was offering, President James Blum said. Blum, who was named president in 1995, modernized the insurer of churches and related ministries. In recent years, the company has added policies that include coverage for terrorism, sexual misconduct, broadcast communications and overseas missions trips. The executive also moved Brotherhood Mutual away from homeowners' insurance, an area that accounted for only 5 percent of the company's income before it was discontinued in 2005. "We can't be all things to all people and do it well," he said. Blum, who will retire at the end of the month, sat down recently with The Journal Gazette to talk about how Brotherhood Mutual has evolved during his 40 years with the company.
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