Posted: 14 Apr 2010 09:10 AM PDT

To nominate an Unsung Hero for their community service and for terms and conditions go to: www.unsungheroes.org.nz

Sally Holbrook savours the quiet moments in the evening when she has completed her jobs for the day. Spare time is rare, and she hasn't had a holiday in 18 years.

Since moving to Tauranga in 1991, the 52 year-old has spent nearly every waking minute working with disabled children.

Mrs Holbrook struggles to list the non-profit organisations she has held positions with - Tauranga Special Olympics, IHC, Girl Guides, Puppet Vision Charitable Trust and others have all benefited from her leadership.

When her second daughter, Wendy, was born was a brain defect, Mrs Holbrook found special-needs children were kept separate from their community, often locked in institutions.

Through her tireless work with IHC and Special Olympics she has ensured her daughter, now 22, and other disabled youngsters can participate fully in their community.

"I had one daughter who was talented and another at the other end of the spectrum. We had to ask what [Wendy] could do ... and sports gave her a sense of purpose," she said.

After busy weeks volunteering and working part-time as a legal executive, she spent every Saturday and Sunday coaching basketball and indoor bowls.

Her most rewarding moment came last year when five out of six of her B-grade bowling teams won medals at the National Special Olympics in Palmerston North.

"When I saw their smiles of satisfaction it made it all worthwhile."

Her daughter Stacey says that at the beginning of every week, Mrs Holbrook writes down exhaustive lists of everything she wants to achieve.

"It ends up being three A4 pages. There are days when I think, 'how the hell do you do all this?"'

Her mother says she might consider a rest when she reaches "60, or maybe 65".

She says the families of adults with special needs have often died or moved to a different city, leaving them without proper support systems.

"If I'm not there to [support] them, who will be? If I can keep busy helping people all my life I know I will have made the most of it."

By Isaac Davison | Email Isaac

The Unsung Community Heroes series is run annually in the The Herald and on nzherald.co.nz in partnership with P&O Cruises. We invited nominations from readers to recognise people who selflessly work to make a difference in their local communities.

Some will be selected to feature in the paper and on nzherald.co.nz. Five will be chosen to join a P&O winter cruise.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Perfect storm grips Canucks - Canada.com

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 10:40 PM PDT

If you've followed the Vancouver Canucks long enough, you're dimly aware anything can and will happen in the playoffs and, before the series with the L.A. Kings started, the faithful could certainly envision a series of circumstances which would spell disaster for their heroes.

For example, they could foresee that Roberto Luongo, who's struggled since late January, might not be the super-goalie of popular imagination.

And the penalty kill, which has been an issue for most of the season, would be an issue.

And the Sedins, who were so splendid during the regular season, would struggle in their new role as superstars and Henrik, in particular, would have problems playing up to his Art Ross-level.

No, Canucks' fans might not admit it but they knew any one of these storylines might materialize in their opening round series with the Angelenos and, if things were really going bad, they might have to worry about a couple of them rearing their ugly heads.

But what they couldn't see, what they couldn't fathom in even their worst moments of paranoia, was all four taking place and taking place to such a degree that the Canucks started to look overmatched.

OK, following Monday night's 5-3 defeat, the Canucks are only down 2-1 and a win on Wednesday night will calm the panic in the streets. But as things now stand – with Luongo in an inexplicable funk; with a joke penalty kill; and with the Sedins missing in action – the Canucks can't possibly win this series.

And given everything we've seen from this team this season, that's the most shocking development of all.

Monday night at The Staples Centre, the L.A. Kings recorded a 5-3 win in Game 3 but it wasn't the score or even the series lead which should be of concern to Canucks' fans. It's the unthinkable developments, most of which concern their best players, which have started to take over the series.

Let's start with Luongo. Not only has he been the second-best goalie thus far, he hasn't been particularly close to Jonathan Quick.

Monday night it was four goals on 16 shots and the fourth one, off the stick of noted sniper Brad Richardson was illogically weak.

Luongo got the hook soon thereafter and the Canucks staged something of a comeback.

But in the playoffs, you can't make a living coming back from 4-1 deficits and there's been something dispiriting about Luongo's play.

This raises the question, should Andrew Raycroft start Game 4? He won't, of course, but the mere fact you can ask that question without sounding like a complete idiot tells you all you need to know about the Canucks' goaltending.

Luongo's struggles were most visible on the penalty kill where the Kings are now a surreal seven-for-12 on the series.

As was the case in Game 2, the Canucks got off to a terrific start in Game 3, scoring the first goal and outshooting the Kings 9-2 over the first 10 minutes. Then Christian Ehrhoff took a needless slashing penalty and 31 seconds later, the remarkable Drew Doughty tied the game.

And, as was the case in Game 2, the Canucks completely lost their way.

Now, those are exactly the moments when they're best players have to step up and re-establish momentum but the twins for the second straight game, couldn't do it. Oh, the call on Daniel's non-goal will make for some talk-show fodder today, particularly because it's now clear the NHL wants the Kings to win. But the lasting impression formed from this game wasn't the Canucks getting robbed or the bounces going against them.

It was Michal Handzus checking Henrik to a standstill. It was the Canucks' blueline struggling to contain the Kings' big-body forwards. It was Luongo failing to provide the big save, or any save come to think of it. It was the penalty kill which looks completely lost.

Mostly it was a Canucks' team that looked dazed, confused and more than a little unsure of itself. Wednesday night now becomes the ultimate litmus test for this team. That challenge would daunting enough at the best of times. Under these circumstances, it's just downright scary.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Donnie Wahlberg Gets a Boss Role on 'Rizzoli & Isles' - Inside TV (blog)

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 05:39 PM PDT

Donnie Wahlberg's acting arc has been a positive one, moving from killers and thugs to detectives and heroes. His latest arc will take place on TNT's upcoming police series, 'Rizzoli & Isles.'

The series stars 'Law & Order's' Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander of 'NCIS' in a drama that revolves around the friendship between Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli (Harmon) and her medical examiner friend Maura Isles (Alexander).

According to a report at EW's Ausiello Files, Wahlberg has booked a two-episode arc on the show as Sgt. Joey Grant, Rizzoli's boss who also happens to be her childhood friend. "Their relationship is equal parts attraction and loathing," a TNT source told Ausiello.

The series, which also stars Lorraine Bracco as Harmon's mother, is set to premiere in July.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Heroes Series

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

“Unsung Heroes: Dedication to disabled leaves tireless ... - New Zealand Herald” plus 2 more

“Unsung Heroes: Dedication to disabled leaves tireless ... - New Zealand Herald” plus 2 more

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Feedjit

Popular Posts