Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Final signup set for Toys For Tots There will be a final opportunity for parents who need assistance with providing Christmas toys for their children this year. The last U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys For Tots sign up will be Saturday, Nov. 23, 1-5 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 428 Kilbourne St. Pre-registration is required. People who are signed up elsewhere for Christmas toys may not sign up with Toys For Tots as well. Parents/guardians must bring picture ID, income and residency verification, proof of expenses (utility bill in their name), children’s medical card(s) or other proof of guardianship. If they do not have children’s medical cards (Careworks, WIC or Wellcare). For information, contact Jim Griffin, 419-483-1752.
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Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47. Southeast wind 8 to 11 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. South wind 9 to 11 mph. Thursday: A chance of showers, mainly after 11 a.m. Cloudy, with a high near 49. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Thursday night: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 42. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Friday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 50. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Friday night: A chance of showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Saturday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 26. Sunday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 36. Monday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 37.
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Signs of life amid misery Filipinos find ways to cope in afterrmath of typhoon TODD PITMAN, Associated Press
T A C L O B A N , Philippines — They found the hoop in the ruins of their obliterated neighborhood. They propped up the backboard with broken wood beams and rusty nails scavenged from vast mounds of storm-blasted homes. A crowd gathered around. And on one of the few stretches of road here that wasn’t overflowing with debris, they played basketball. I didn’t know what to think at first when I stumbled upon six teenagers shooting hoops over the weekend in a wrecked neighborhood of Tacloban, a city that Typhoon Haiyan reduced to rubble, bodies and uprooted trees when it slammed into the
Typhoon Haiyan survivors play basketball Sunday in a destroyed neighborhood in Tacloban, Philippines. They found the hoop in the ruins of their obliterated neighborhood. They propped up the backboard with broken wood beams and rusty nails scavenged from vast mounds of storm-blasted homes. A crowd gathered around. And on one of the few stretches of road here that wasn’t overflowing with debris, they played basketball. David Guttenfelder | AP
Philippines Nov. 8. As a foreign correspondent working in the middle of a horrendous disaster zone, I didn’t expect to see people having a good time — or asking me to play ball. I was even more stunned when I learned
that the basketball goal was one of the first things this neighborhood rebuilt. It took a moment for me to realize that it made all the sense in the world. The kids wanted to play so they can take their minds off what happened,
said Elanie Saranillo, one of the spectators. “And we want to watch so we, too, can forget.” Saranillo, 22, now lives in a church after her own home was leveled by the storm. Countless families lost loved ones to the
The island gods look down
typhoon, which killed more than 4,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of survivors have endured unimaginable suffering: hunger, thirst, makeshift shelter, little if any medical care, and a desperate, dayslong wait for aid to arrive.
Iran deal closer GEORGE JAHN Associated Press
Photo by Becky Brooks
The gods from “Once On This Island” look down from their thrones above the island people. Left to right are, in front, Mother Earth, Jalicia Ruttino; Papa Ge, Austin Curliss; Agwe, Brandon Hayward; and in back is Erzulie, MacKenzie Grant. The students were preparing for their dress rehearsal Monday night for this week’s play at Bellevue Elementary School. The Bellevue High School Drama production involved 24 cast members on stage and will be presented Friday and Saturday, at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students.
Ohio court upholds firing in school Bible case COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A public school district was legally justified in firing a science instructor who refused to remove religious materials from his classroom, a divided Ohio Supreme Court said Tuesday in a ruling that stopped short of addressing issues the case raised about the teaching of creationism and intelligent design. With three justices dissenting,
the court ruled the Mount Vernon district had grounds to fire John Freshwater in 2011 for insubordination for keeping religious books and a poster of a praying president. “Freshwater is fully entitled to an ardent faith in Jesus Christ and to interpret Biblical passages according to his faith. But he was not entitled to ignore direct, law-
ful edicts of his superiors while in the workplace,” Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor wrote in the lead opinion, which affirmed lower court rulings. Freshwater’s Virginia-based attorney, Rita Dunaway, said she was disappointed but couldn’t comment further because she hadn’t talked with Freshwater about the decision or possible next steps.
School staff in training On Monday, Bellevue City Schools staff engaged in Vertical Collaboration and Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports Training. Staff also learned more about differentiation for the next generation of digital assessments which will replace the Ohio Achievement Tests.
Contributed photo
GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press VIENNA — Since the start of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, Iran has asserted it has a right to enrich uranium — and the United States has disagreed. Both have refused to budge over nearly a decade of negotiations. Until now. Iran has suddenly gone public with a significant concession just days ahead of a new round of talks with six world powers later this week in Geneva. It still insists that it has a right to the program, but it now says that the six no longer need to publicly acknowledge its claim, opening a way to sidestep the dispute and focus on more practical steps both sides can agree on. It is the latest sign of Iran’s new pragmatic approach to the nuclear issue. Tehran is unlikely to ever completely stop enrichment. But by dropping a demand that makes no practical difference, it can move on to its most pressing concern; an easing of sanctions crippling its economy. Less than two months ago, President Hassan Rouhani conditioned any agreement on recognition by the United States and its allies of such a right. But with both sides hoping to seal a deal at meetings that start Wednesday, Tehran tweaked its message Sunday. Tehran’s right of enrichment remains “nonnegotiable,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency. “But (we) see no necessity for its recognition as a right.” Despite previous signs that Iran is ready to compromise under the moderate Rouhani, such a major shift is a surprise.