| Arts Council of Rockland to hand out grants worth $33,600
Rockland County-based organizations will receive $33,600 in Community Arts Grants at a breakfast ceremony Jan. 17. The money, part of the 2008 Decentralization Re-grant Program of the state Council on the Arts, will be given out at the Arts Council of Rockland in Spring Valley. Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern, added $4,000 of member-item funding from the state budget to bring the local grant total to $33,600. The 19 grants will be given to 15 organizations. The council had applications from 27 organizations. The applications were reviewed by a panel of professional artists and community leaders, who awarded the grants based on the organization's ability to deliver quality programs to artistically underserved groups.
North Shore religion briefs
The Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign will collect donations in special green kettles until Dec. 24 at the Stop & Shops in Peabody, Beverly (Elliott Street) and Danvers (Liberty Tree Mall). The Citizens Bank Foundation will once again match donations up to $250,000 collected in green kettles across the state. The Massachusetts Salvation Army Web site is www.salvationarmy-ma.org.
The food drive for Salem Mission is collecting donations at First Church in Salem, Unitarian, 316 Essex St. A wish list of items includes cereal, canned fruit, pasta and sauce, canned stew, vegetables and beans, boxed meals (like Hamburger Helper), tuna, rice, and instant potatoes. Baby food and formula and personal care items are also needed. Volunteers to serve dinner from 4:45 to 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 26, Feb.
Strong constitutions
In these bleak days of the OPECalypse, one big pickup sounded like too much heavy metal for me. Imagine two. Before I explain, though, I have a quick, vaguely relevant question: If the giant multinational oil companies are really just passing along their cost of crude oil to us hapless consumers, how come they're getting so much richer than we are? You don't think they're padding our portion of the bill, do you? Me, neither. .
TMQ: High school offense works
From Hero to Zero to Romo: Sure you just gave up your body on a dramatic dive for a touchdown, but Drew Bledsoe, what have you done for us lately? With 3:56 remaining in the second quarter and the Cowboys at the Jersey/A goal line, Bledsoe scrambled, dove and took hammer-hard hits as he scored the touchdown that pulled the home team to within 12-7. The crowd cheered. Just five snaps later, with 1:38 left in the second quarter, Dallas was again at the Jersey/A goal line and Bledsoe threw an interception. The crowd booed, and Bledsoe was yanked from the game. Dallas fans roared their approval as Tony Romo entered -- except he threw an interception on his first snap. Romo ended up tossing three interceptions in the second half, one when Dallas was yet again at the Giants' goal line. So both Dallas quarterbacks ended the game in the doghouse, and TMQ thinks bad coaching is the explanation.
Young cancer survivor beats the odds
Just before she started the big test, 8-year-old Sarah Grant walked over to her parents for a last-minute pep talk and kiss. She was nervous, she whispered in her mom's ear. There were so many cameras and people watching her. But back on the blue mats, Grant showed no signs of anxiety as she sailed through karate stances, forms and rounds of gentle sparring while her friends cheered her on. Grant earned a black belt in Shotokan-style karate Saturday and proved again that she, a recent cancer survivor, was a fighter. "I look at her now and she's a normal kid," said her mom, Wendy. "It's hard for us to look back and say, 'We were actually there, once.'" Shotokan promotes strength, breathing, and mind and body control. The children in Grant's class do not break bricks or engage in full-contact fighting.
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