| Language threatened by bad grammar, poor spelling, profanity and ...
For years, retired English teacher Merle Kimmel has been in the back of my mind as I put pen to paper. She called the first time to inform me gently that I had used a non-word, "heighth." I never made that mistake again. "The correct word is 'height,'" she explained, "and I'm not surprised you used the wrong one. So many people do."
Fortunately, Kimmel, who was chafed by chalk dust in Louisville, Ohio, schools for 30 years, does not suffer fools gladly. Especially those who write for a living.
There were two other calls to correct my English and grammar. And she remembers sending a basic grammar book to someone else in the newsroom. Don't get me wrong, hers is not a mean-spirited upbraiding. Kimmel just loves the language as do her fellow English teachers still in the trenches.
23 FEMA trailers sit empty on Loyola land in north Kenner
About a week after the deadline imposed by Kenner, 23 trailers still sit on Loyola University land in north Kenner, waiting to be removed by a federal contractor. "We are actively pursuing someone to deactivate that site," Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ronnie Simpson said. The Kenner City Council approved Loyola's request in December 2005 to put up to 50 trailers on three acres of its land at Williams and Joe Yenni boulevards to house faculty and staff. At the time, Kenner officials assuaged a couple of wary neighbors by setting a one-year deadline to remove the 43 trailers. All the trailers were empty by Dec. 31, said Tommy Screen, Loyola's assistant to the president for government relations. FEMA did move out some trailers around October, after people vacated them, he said.
Chicago Receives Accessible America Award
In March of 2006 the National Organization on Disability announced its finalists for the Accessibly America Awards. The announcement of the winners came on Thursday. Coming in first place was Berkeley, CA and our fair city came in second. Receiving a $10,000 award from Wal-Mart, our city was recognized for incorporating and continuing to promote the assimilation of the disabled into community life. One remarkable aspect of the city of Chicago coming in second is that this award seems like it would be tailored to smaller communities. Past winners include Cambridge, MA, Pasadena, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Irvine, CA and Venice, FL, which aren't tiny by any means, but in no way compare to the size of Chicago. Close knit communities have historically had more success in implementing innovative plans that target specific groups of people.
Boost for swimming sessions for disabled
NEW swimming sessions for people with disabilities have been officially launched at Mildenhall Swimming Pool. Big Splash sessions, run by disability charity Optua, were given a boost as county councillor Roger Pendleton presented a new poolside wheelchair, bought from his locality budget. Similar sessions are run by Optua at pools across Suffolk and are attended by around 100 people with disabilities every week. The sessions run at Mildenhall Swimming Pool every Thursday from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. Andy Killin, leisure facilities manager at Forest Heath District Council said: "We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with Optua in helping to make our facilities more accessible and are pleased that the Big Splash sessions have come to Mildenhall pool." People aged 16 and over can take part if they have a disability or are recovering from an illness or injury which has affected their mobility.
Federal program helps buy a home
By Lela Garlingtongarlington@yourappeal.com
January 21, 2007 Sondra Loveless-South, who uses a wheelchair, thought her dream home was just that, a dream. After she lost her full-time job several years ago, home ownership seemed hopeless. .
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