COLLIERVILLE WEEKLY I Thursday, February 13, 2014
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Good health in heart month Simple scan for arterial blockage may save lives, identify problems. Page 11
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Your photos and stories melted our hearts. Happy Valentine’s Day from your dedicated Weekly team. Pages 4-5
Collierville Weekly Germantown
Manuel allays teacher fears
Educators can stay at current schools By Jennifer Pignolet pignolet@commercialappeal.com 901-529-2372
Jason R. Terrell/The Commercial Appeal
Krista and Josh Robinson met while in college at the University of Memphis, but it was a tragic fall for Krista during a cheerleading practice that ultimately brought them together. The couple, now married for five years, are co-owners of PT Squared Physical Therapy on the square in Collierville.
Love Story
Determined love Near-fatal accident turns into true love for Collierville couple
By Kim Odom Special to The Weekly
L
ove at first sight? Maybe not, but theirs is a heartfelt journey that takes two young college students on a path where two hearts fall and grow as one. Josh Robinson met his wife, Krista Parks Robinson, through mutual friends during their college days at the University of Memphis. Josh, 33, recalls he didn’t think too much of Krista at the time. “I think it was because she stole some of the attention away from me,” he said. “She was very funny and an outgoing person and so was I.” Krista, 31, recalls that it wasn’t that
she didn’t like Josh — it was that she didn’t really notice him at first. Hanging out in the same crowd, Josh says a bell rang off inside his head one day. “I realized that Krista was the female version of me,” he said. “We had the same likes, dislikes, sense of humor, values and dreams.” From there, a friendship began to blossom. “At that point we were only friends, nothing more, nothing less,” Josh said. It wasn’t long before the college friends lost touch mainly, he says, because their friends tried to force a romantic relationship between the two. It was a relationship that neither one
Couple win $500 Gould’s card All love stories submitted to The Weekly were reviewed (many tearfully so) by a panel of editors who selected the story of how Josh and Krista Robinson met and fell in love to be today’s featured Valentine’s Day story. Thanks to our friends at Gould’s Day Spa & Salon, our featured “Love Story” couple will receive a $500 gift card.
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Poplar Pike Playhouse
Inside the Edition
Rehearsals begin for ‘Hairspray’ Special to The Weekly
Rehearsals for “Hairspray” are teaching performers at Poplar Pike Playhouse a lot about the 1960s. Germantown High School students are learning about the decade’s distinct style and sound, as well as the struggle for civil rights. “Hairspray reminds me that all my ancestors had to earn and fight for everything they got in life,” said India Ratliff, who plays Motormouth Maybelle in the PPP production that opens Feb. 20. “Knowing what they sacrificed for me, it makes doing this show that much more special.”
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When Tracy Turnblad isn’t fawning over Link or dancing her way through detention, she’s side-byside with Baltimore’s African-American community in an effort to integrate the popular dance program The Corny Collins Show. “I think the story in ‘Hairspray’ is a more condensed version of what the civil rights movement was like in the 1960s,” said Dale Claybrone, who plays Duane. “When I’m on stage I feel as though I’m re-enacting history.” Parts of this musical are based on real events. John Waters wrote and directed the original 1988 “Hairspray” movie star-
Embrace your body Today Don’t wait on weight loss to dress for success. Add a few form-flattering pieces to your everyday wardrobe. GOOD HEALTH, 10 Germantown High junior India Ratliff says she takes pride in her role of “Motormouth Maybelle” for Poplar Pike Playhouse’s production of “Hairspray,” which runs Feb. 20 through March 8.
ring Ricki Lake. He said The Corny Collins Show was “entirely based on his memories and exaggerations of ‘The Buddy Deane Show,’” a popular Baltimore dance show in the early 1960s. Similar to the story in “Hairspray,” “The Buddy Deane Show” only featured white dancers. The exception was a monthly episode with all
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black dancers. Hairspray opens at the Poplar Pike Playhouse on Feb. 20 and runs through March 8. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 901-755-7775 or online at ppp.org. The Poplar Pike Playhouse is the theater complex located on the campus of Germantown High School.
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The question was simple, yet symbolic. “So it’s safe to say, we are Germantown Municipal Schools?” seventh-grade science teacher Carlos Saulsberry asked his former boss. “Yes, you are,” the municipal district’s superintendent and former principal Jason Manuel responded. “You have a place there. And money, benefits; none of that should be a concern.” The answer brought applause and a few cheers from the crowd of teachers who have long wondered what will happen to them when their school transitions to the new municipal district. Only weeks after becoming superintendent, Manuel returned to his old stomping grounds at Houston Middle School on Wednesday to address questions from teachers and to present them with letters of intent. The teachers have until the end of the month to return the forms stating whether they want to stay in the building and join the new district or stay with Shelby County Schools in a different building next year. Those who wish to remain in their schools can automatically transition into the municipal district without losing tenure, benefits, sick days or salaries. Many of the teachers returned the letters at the end of the meeting. “This is a fabulous school, and you don’t want to leave a
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Taking it to the mat Collierville High wins Division 1 region title; Christian Brothers will send nine region champs to D2 state. SPORTS, 14
My Life/My Job Germantown restaurateur opens Royal Panda eatery in Cordova. BUSINESS, 7 The Commercial Appeal © Copyright 2014
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