New territory charted for extending adequate broadband

Members of SADD spearhead water bottle donation to Benton Harbor

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

When members of

the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) chapter at New Buffalo High School hear about a problem within their community, they want to do something about it.

So, when the students kept hearing about the ongoing Benton Harbor water crisis, where residents continue to experience elevated levels of lead in their municipality supplied drinking water, their growing concern spurred them to action.

“We definitely knew it was a big problem and we just kept hearing about it and hearing about it - and finally, we decided, maybe we should actually do something about it,” Georgia Arvanitis, who’s been part of the group for a long time, said. Members decided to get the whole school involved. They jumpstarted a competition between advisory classes (which are determined by where a group of students end up each school day, like a homeroom). The advisory class that brought in the most water will get a pizza party sponsored by SADD and high school principal Wayne Butler.

Nicole Bowen, the high school’s health teacher who also serves as advisor of SADD, said for about two and a half weeks, the entire school – from freshmen to seniors – brought in 24-ounce bottles of water. The bottles were transported in the school’s van to the Boys

and Girls Club of Benton Harbor, where they will be distributed to the families when the children’s parents pick them up from or drop them off at the center. “So, we kind of threw this together a little last minute because we wanted to get water out to them before Thanksgiving,” Arvanitis said. Students were more than happy to help with the effort. “When it was shared, we kind of jumped on right way as quickly as possible while everyone was really wanting to help,” Bowen said. Arvanitis said that members also engage in activities that point

Students, along with teacher fellow students in the

Nicole Bowen (far left), right direction. stand by the water bottles “We do a lot

of things geared towards students making good decisions, like talking about things like drunk driving around dances, and community works things - anything you can do to make the community a little bit better,” she said. Bowen said that the group plans to focus on doing good works within the school such as decorating the teachers’ classroom doors for the holidays to promote school spirit and to get everyone in the mood for the upcoming holiday season. SADD will also be sponsoring its annual talent show at the high school before Christmas break. Bowen said that the group may be combining with the student senate for some activities, since there’s an overlap in student involvement with both groups. Currently, there are around 10 to 15 students in SADD.

New territory charted for extending adequate broadband

BY STAN MADDUX

Afree do it yourself internet speed test is viewed as a major breakthrough in extending adequate broadband quicker to and, in some cases, work or learn from home. She said adequate speed considered 25 megabytes or more are marked on the map with green dots. underserved Indiana residents.

Close to 20,000 tests have been run on computers and devices since the speed test was made available to the public on the Indiana Farm Bureau website in late May.

The LaPorte County Office of Economic and Community Development Executive Director Tony Rodriguez said the game changer is the speed test reveals the provider at each location.

Rodriguez said that allows communities wanting to expand access to higher speeds to go directly to providers they know have the capability instead of searching for companies they hope can meet their needs.

Another advantage is knowing exactly where an upgrade is needed instead of just a general area.

“That’s the nut Indiana Farm Bureau cracked,” he said.

According to INFB, the speed test was developed by GEO Partners, LLC.

The software company out of Burnsville, Minnesota, is also working on gathering internet speed data in five others states, including Kentucky, INFB said.

Marissa Mikel, an Indiana Farm Bureau regional manager for six counties including Lake, Porter and LaPorte, said the results are confirming suspicions that need for higher internet speeds is greatest in the rural areas.

“It definitely proves what we’ve been hearing,” she said.

The results are shown in color coded dots on a map of the state posted on the Indiana Farm Bureau website.

Mikel said a red dot marks an area with less than 10 megabytes of speed, which isn’t enough to run a business INFB President Randy Kron said the data will help the state invest where adequate service is actually needed and develop infrastructure that doesn’t overlap. In LaPorte County, the map revealed tests were conducted at 291 locations, with the highest speeds provided at just six locations by Automated Data Systems and DataCamp. Most customers with adequate speed in La Porte County are served by Comcast Cable Communications, Frontier Communications and Surf Air Wireless.

Mikel said testing will be available for an indefinite period, but communities can start using the results now to seek federal and state grants to help offset a provider’s cost of extending adequate service.

She said the data should help secure funding by confirming exactly where the greatest needs exist, she said.

The data will also be presented by Indiana Farm Bureau to the state legislature to try and leverage more broadband extension dollars when the governing body meets in January for its 2022 session.

Mikel said she’s pleased with the response, so far, but hopes more people take the test to further nail down precisely where adequate service is lacking.

She said the test will also ensure money for broadband extension projects goes strictly to companies that deliver adequate service, not providers that might not be able to live up to their promises.

The test is available at www.infb. org/speedtest.

Singers to present ‘A Christmas Menagerie’

Mark your calendars and celebrate the holiday season with the Harbor Country Singers (HCS) at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at Real Life Community Church, 12 E. Michigan Street in Three Oaks. The concert will feature a program of choral Christmas music and dance. Donations are welcome, and the program will be streamed on the School of American Music’s Facebook Live feed. Visit SAM’s Facebook event page, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/172748403280590/ events, for details.

This year’s concert showcases the music of John Rutter, an English composer and conductor who’s known for the many Christmas carols he’s composed or arranged. “You’ll hear familiar melodies like ‘I Saw Three Ships,’” said Pat Putnam, HCS producer, “as well as beautifully arranged carols you may not have heard before.”

Directed by HCS Founder Cindy Dryden, the concert will combine vocals, piano, and dancers in “A Christmas Menagerie,” which has been designed to evoke the childlike wonder of Christmas.

“I’m excited to invite a variety of local talent to add dimension and color to this year’s program,” said Dryden. “Our own accompanist, master pianist Maggie Martin, will share her unique, golden renditions of Christmas melodies, and dancers from Imagine Worship, a local liturgical dance company, will bring their graceful movements to the timeless ‘Still, Still, Still.’ By concert’s end, everyone will be a vital part of our musical menagerie.”

The concert is free, but donations are accepted, and reservations are requested. For more information, to make a donation, and to reserve a spot, please visit the events page of the School of American Music’s website, schoolofamericanmusic.com. All current Covid protocols will be observed.

Established in 2016, the Harbor Country Singers is an independent community chorus supported by the School of American Music (SAM) and a grant from the Pokagon Fund. Founded and directed by Cindy Dryden, HCS rehearses and performs in Harbor Country for holidays and other community events.

The School of American Music provides education, performance, and audience opportunities in music and the related arts in the Southwest Michigan area. Currently engaged in raising money for The Future Fund, SAM aims to establish an endowment to guarantee its financial future. Every dollar donated to the Fund is matched by the Michiana Arts Foundation. SAM is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all contributions are taxdeductible. Donations can be made on SAM’s website. —

SPORTS

From the Bleachers

COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

Having a football, hockey,

basketball and two baseball teams is one of the perks of being a Chicago sports fan. In the fall and winter, the Bears, Blackhawks, and Bulls are competing and in the spring and summer, the Sox and Cubs are playing. When I was a young man, our teams didn’t win many championships, but since 1985, Chicago’s teams have been the last ones standing twelvek times. While the Cubs floundered this year, they reached the playoffs in five of the six previous seasons. The White Sox have participated in the post season the last two years and seemed poised to keep that streak going for quite a while. The Bears have made twelve playoff appearances since winning the Super Bowl in 1986 and may have finally found their elite quarterback in Justin Fields. The Blackhawks have been Stanley Cup champions three time since 2010. Finally, the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls won six championships in the 1990’s

Although it doesn’t always seem like it, Chicago’s teams have brought their fans plenty of joy, so instead of being sad that the Bears lost a heartbreaker to the Baltimore Colts, let’s focus our attention and joy on the Bulls. They beat the Knicks tonight ( Sunday ) 109-103 to run their record to twelve wins and five losses. After four straight seasons of sub .500 play and missing the playoffs, the Bulls are back and they’re back with a vengeance. They’re playing better than they have since the Jordan years, and they’re not just playing winning basketball. The Bulls are playing exciting, team oriented ball, and they’re playing it better than practically anyone thought they would. They went on an extended west coast trip and won three out of five. The only team that beat them handily was the Golden State Warriors.

Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have done a fantastic job of putting together this team. They hired Billy Donovan to coach and he appears to be the perfect fit. Next they began to improve the roster and boy, did they improve their roster. Ball and LaVine form a terrific backcourt. Green and DeRozan are dynamic forwards and Vucevic is a great center. The three reserve guards are Caruso, Dosunmu, and White, all spark plugs, and the reserve forwards are Jones, Bradley, and Brown. Most of these players can play multiple positions, which makes them even harder to defend. The team is so good that they won six out of the last eight without Vucevic, who tested positive for Covid, but should return shortly and without the injured Patrick Williams, who is gone for the season due to an injury in the fifth game. Make no mistake, the Bulls will contend for championships for the next few years, and watching them will be both fun and exciting.

Let us not forget the quickly rising interest in professional women’s sports. Chicago is. extremely well represented by the Chicago Sky, the women’s basketball team won the championship this year and the Red Stars came in second in the Women’s soccer league. These ladies are playing at a very high level and are a lot of fun to watch.

Former Bulls coach Phil Jackson said “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team”.

Refuse hate. Talk to you next week. Peace, love, and happiness.