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For years, Oglebay Institute has held summer auditions for their Parcel Players of area youth ages 12-18. This is such a positive thing that they have done for our youth.  Not only does it give the teens a chance to experience the many aspects of theatre, whether it be a direct acting role or behind the scenes in a technical support capacity, but it brings so many together from all different backgrounds.  These kids get to know each other and do something that they all have a profound interest in while learning at the same time. As I’ve proudly discussed before, my daughter, Aleigha, is quite appreciative of the theatre and began auditioning and acting last fall.  She has subsequently participated in several theatrical roles since and this summer would be no exception for this little gal. At 7 p.m., July 15-18 at the Towngate Theatre, Aleigha and many other area teens will present an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales:  “Telling Wilde Tales” in five short plays. You can catch another show at 7 p.m., Aug. 5-8, a comical presentation of “Fools,” in a 19th century Russian Territory, about a teacher who falls in love with his pupil. Come on out and support the teens.  Tickets are only $8 and would be a great way to spend a summer evening. AND THANK YOU, Oglebay Institute, for doing such a wonderful thing to help our kids grow in a positive way. Good luck to the kids and hope to see you there.

My daughter, Allie, LOVES BIRTHDAYS. She just turned six, but has already taken great pains to plan for her birthday parties months in advance.  Some of her ideas have been good; others have required a gentle re-direction from her mother and I (one year she wanted a Disney Princess “Brave” themed party at Cabela’s).  This year, the two of them came up with a great idea that really made Allie happy.  While Allie’s party ended up being a luau themed pool party, Allie took the opportunity to collect donations for the Marshall County Animal Shelter. One of the few things that Allie loves as much as birthdays is animals.  The idea of collecting toys, food, treats and cleaning supplies for the animals at the shelter really made Allie happy.  Rather than receiving toys/gifts from her friends, she asked them all to bring items and materials to donate to the animal shelter.  She even made a poster board about the animal shelter to tell everyone why she thought it was important to donate.  Allie was thrilled about the amount of items that she collected and could not wait to take them to the shelter.  I hate to brag, but it does make me proud to know that Allie enjoyed giving those donated items to the people and animals at the shelter.  Allie’s smile was enormous as we dropped the donations and got even bigger when one of the staff members on duty suggested that Allie should come and volunteer at the shelter once she got older.  Knowing Allie, I am sure that she will! The Marshall County Animal Rescue League is a great organization that runs a quality shelter in Moundsville.  You can visit the website at www.mcwvanimalshelter.com to learn all about the organization, see some of the pets that are up for adoption and learn more about how you can help care for these animals.  Included in this blog are a few pictures of animals that have been up for adoptions.  You can also read about fundraisers and events used to promote and raise funds for the Marshall County Animal Rescue League. There is also a “ Kitty Cam” that allows you to live stream video from the cat sun room. Bordas & Bordas, PLLC, and Jim and Linda Bordas in particular, have been long time supporters of the shelter.  As you can see from the number of animal related blogs, which we have run on our website, our firm is full of animal lovers.  The Marshall County Animal Shelter is located at 37 Animal Shelter Drive, Moundsville, WV 26041.  You can contact the shelter at 304-845-9770.  Allie and I encourage anyone who is interested in getting a pet to check out the shelter and the available animals!

Now that it has officially ended, I think I can safely say that this past June has been the rainiest I can ever remember in my 41 years here in the Ohio Valley. I can hardly recall a day over this past month where our plans weren’t derailed because of rain.  Between a freezing May and this past June, I’m still ready for summer, but as a person with an interest in gardening, I couldn’t be happier. So far this year, our “garden” is absolutely thriving without us having to be out there watering every day, as we typically have to this time of year. My wife and I have been into gardening for at least a decade at this point, and I have found the experience to be both very cathartic and very enriching.  It takes effort, no doubt, to get plants to produce as hoped, but I find the rewards far outweigh the work.  Gardening has given me a much deeper appreciation for biology, nature and, especially, gastronomy.  It’s also been an enjoyable and educational activity to do with our kids. When we lived in Glen Dale, we were fortunate to have a nice, sizeable piece of flat property in which to garden.  Not acreage or anything like that, but a big enough area to grow a pretty productive garden that provided enough produce to eat right off the vine and can and store for use during the winter. However, we moved to Wheeling a couple years ago and were not so fortunate in our new home when it came to flat land to plant a garden. But we weren’t about to simply abandon the prospect of fresh produce, we could just walk outside, pick and eat, so we knew we had to come up with an alternative, since we no longer had the luxury of open, flat space, and that’s when I discovered container gardening.  I had always believed that one needed a pretty decent amount of space, particularly vertical space, to successfully grow food, to give the roots a chance to dig deep and spread out.  But since we started growing in containers, I’ve been consistently impressed at the amount of produce we’ve been able to get out of our plants in a much smaller space. Although we’ve had pretty good success overall using a variety of different sizes and types of containers, we stumbled upon something called the Garden Patch Grow Box a couple years ago that has proven really tough to beat.  These Grow Boxes have allowed us to keep gardening at just about the same rate as when we had a plot of land, and they make gardening about as easy as one could hope.  With these boxes we haven’t really missed a beat growing full-size tomatoes, peppers, cukes, onions, herbs, beans, squash and a whole variety of other vegetables.  The beauty of the Grow Box is that it is self-watering.  The Box contains a reservoir at its base that you simply fill with water every so often, so the plants always have a readily available supply of water to feed as much as they need.  Granted, come August, we’re out there filling the Boxes with the tomato and other heavy-feeding plants just about every day, but we’re confident that the water is getting used by the plant roots and not simply evaporating away in the baking summer sun. We’ve set up a number of these Grow Boxes on our deck, and we’ve actually been able to grow about the same amount of food in about a quarter of the space we were previously using when we grew directly in the dirt.  The Grow Boxes come with a fertilizer strip to use when you first get started, which is nice if you’re new to gardening, but the strip is just basic 10-10-10 fertilizer, and we’ve simply been using good top soil and compost the past couple seasons and haven’t noticed any drop-off in production without the fertilizer strip.  We installed a rain barrel, attached to the downspout on our deck as well, which has already paid for itself in terms of reducing our municipal water usage. For anyone thinking about getting into gardening, I have found that containers are actually a very good way to start.  Not only can you better control the conditions for optimal growth, but I’ve also found that having your plants very close to, if not inside, your house makes it much easier to remain diligent in watering, controlling insects, and staving off plant disease to give yourself the best chance for success.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about horticulture these past couple years, it’s that containers definitely aren’t just for house plants.  For anyone who’s considering container gardening, below are some helpful links to get started.  Happy Gardening! http://containergardening.about.com/ http://extension.illinois.edu/containergardening/ http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/container-gardening

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." There were 56 men from each of the original 13 colonies who risked their reputations, fortunes, and their lives when boldly and publicly declaring their support for liberty and freedom by signing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As he signed his name, Benjamin Franklin professed, "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately!" Linked below are short biographies of all 56 signers of the Declaration. Delaware • George Read • Caesar Rodney • Thomas McKean Pennsylvania • George Clymer • Benjamin Franklin • Robert Morris • John Morton • Benjamin Rush • George Ross • James Smith • James Wilson • George Taylor Massachusetts • John Adams • Samuel Adams • John Hancock • Robert Treat Paine • Elbridge Gerry New Hampshire • Josiah Bartlett • William Whipple • Matthew Thornton Rhode Island • Stephen Hopkins • William Ellery New York • Lewis Morris • Philip Livingston • Francis Lewis • William Floyd Georgia • Button Gwinnett • Lyman Hall • George Walton Virginia • Richard Henry Lee • Francis Lightfoot Lee • Carter Braxton • Benjamin Harrison • Thomas Jefferson • George Wythe • Thomas Nelson, Jr. North Carolina • William Hooper • John Penn • Joseph Hewes South Carolina • Edward Rutledge • Arthur Middleton • Thomas Lynch, Jr. • Thomas Heyward, Jr. New Jersey • Abraham Clark • John Hart • Francis Hopkinson • Richard Stockton • John Witherspoon Connecticut • Samuel Huntington • Roger Sherman • William Williams • Oliver Wolcott Maryland • Charles Carroll • Samuel Chase • Thomas Stone • William Paca According to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989): ·      The average age of a signer was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at 70. The youngest was Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina at 27. ·      Nine of the signers were immigrants - one was an orphan. ·      Twenty-two of the signers were lawyers!  Eighteen were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers, four were doctors and nine were judges - Stephen Hopkins had been governor of Rhode Island. ·      John Witherspoon was the only active clergyman to attend. Almost all were Protestants. Charles Carroll of Maryland was the lone Roman Catholic. ·      Seventeen signers fought in the American Revolution, five signers were captured by the British: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Arthur Middleton, George Walton and Richard Stockton.  Abraham Clark’s two sons were also captured.  Francis Lewis's home was destroyed and his wife taken prisoner. Thomas McKean wrote John Adams that he was "hunted like a fox by the enemy - compelled to remove my family five times in a few months."   John Hart's farm and mills were destroyed, and he died while fleeing capture. ·      Fifteen of the signers participated in their states' constitutional conventions, and six - Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Franklin, George Clymer, James Wilson, and George Reed - signed the U.S. Constitution. ·      After the Revolution, 13 signers went on to become governors. Eighteen served in their state legislatures. Sixteen became state and federal judges. Seven became members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Six became U.S. Senators. James Wilson and Samuel Chase became Supreme Court justices. Jefferson, Adams, and Elbridge Gerry each became vice president. Adams and Jefferson later became president. ·      Five signers played major roles in the establishment of colleges and universities: Franklin and the University of Pennsylvania; Jefferson and the University of Virginia; Benjamin Rush and Dickinson College; Lewis Morris and New York University; and George Walton and the University of Georgia. ·      Adams, Jefferson, and Carroll were the longest surviving signers. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence! Carroll was the last signer to die in 1832 at the age of 95. It is estimated that there are over 1,473,900 active personnel and 1,458,500 reserve personnel in the US armed forces. Freedom is not free!  Please pray for our brave soldiers over this holiday weekend – a military that represents our incredibly diverse culture.   Always remember…United We Stand Divided We Fall! Happy 4 th of July!  God Bless the United States of America! Sources: Robert Lincoln, Lives of the Presidents of the United States, with Biographical Notices of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (Brattleboro Typographical Company, 1839); John and Katherine Bakeless, Signers of the Declaration (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969); Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989).

Every summer I run 5Ks. Every winter I swear I am going to stay on the treadmill and work out. That never happens. So every April, I am busting it out at the track or the walking trail in St. Clairsville getting ready for the summer’s 5Ks. As I am sweating and having an internal dialog about what a stupid decision I made for not getting on the treadmill all winter long, I am thinking about all the good causes I can support. Some of the highlights for this year are: The RunWalkRoll 5K is being held on July 18. This race benefits the Free Wheelchair Mission. This is such a good cause. Helping others to become mobile is such a great thing. Can you imagine not being able to leave your house and all of a sudden you can? This is an amazing organization. Give if you can. I ran this race last year and the run is a little challenging, but fun. Also, Bordas & Bordas is a sponsor. The K-9 Classic is being held on August 15 and benefits the Belmont County Animal Rescue League. I love my pets and wouldn’t dream of missing this one. So many dogs and cats need good homes. If I can support the League to keep animals from being euthanized, I am all for it. All animal shelters accept donations. Check your local shelter’s website to see what items they need. The Butterfly 5K Run/Walk will be held on September 12 at Salt Fork State Park. It is held to fund research for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). This terribly debilitating disorder affects one out of every 20,000 live births. It raises blister-like lesions on the skin simply by the friction caused by clothing, or any other kind of trauma. This disorder does not discriminate. Every racial and ethnic group throughout the world, both male and female, is afflicted equally. There are many more 5Ks over the summer that I would like to run in. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I can’t participate in them all. A few other races I do intend to run in are Glow 4 Goal on August 22 and Awesome Autism 5K on September 5. Please check this list and enter a few. If you haven’t trained, don’t worry about it, you can enter as a walker. The best part of entering these 5Ks is helping out some very worthy causes. For those of you that enter any of these races, other than the Glow 4 Goal, which is held at night, I’ll be wearing my blue Bordas & Bordas shirt. So if you see me, come say hi, and please donate if you can’t participate.

I was a 4-H member for years and although I grew up in the country, I never took a livestock project while being a 4-H member. Years later, as my own children became involved in 4-H, I was a little surprised when my middle child, Stefanie, announced that she wanted to take a market hog for her project. We lived on a farm and certainly had the space to raise one, but did we have the knowledge? Not really, but we dove into the market hog project with a lot of enthusiasm. I sent my kids with their grandpa and they came back with four market hogs. We would send our best two to the Marshall County Fair, although at the time we really had no idea what “best” meant. Because the kids had decided to take market hogs, we joined the Marshall County Livestock Club. The club is made up of a group of parents and the kids who take livestock to the fair to be exhibited and sold. Over the years, my kids became more knowledgeable about their animals, and we finished from worst to first and everywhere in between. Being a member of the club and taking a livestock project to the fair taught my kids valuable life lessons they will never forget, such as money management, being responsible for the health and well-being of a living animal, the significance of record-keeping, the importance of friendship, the thrill of competition and many other things. This is truly a family project as everyone gets involved with all aspects of the project from feeding the animal to cleaning pens and grooming the animal. I can honestly say I’ve shaved a pig….and a goat! The Marshall County Livestock Club proudly awards annual scholarships to its members who have completed their freshman year of college. In 2013, my son, Cole, was the recipient of a $3,000 scholarship, along with five other club members; they are a very generous group of people. The scholarship is funded by donations raised on the night of the auction, the re-sale of auction animals and through fundraisers throughout the year. The club truly believes in having children further their education and rewarding them if they have earned it. Raising livestock is not cheap or easy; it’s a lot of hard, dirty, time-consuming work. However, throughout it all, we always knew we could count on any member of the Marshall County Livestock Club for help or advice. I’m pretty sure that the 12 years we were involved in the club and “lived” at the fair for a week in our camper will be some of the best memories my kids have of their childhood—I know they are some of my best memories.

Not too long ago, I wrote a blog about being a transracial family and now I write to you about MY FEELINGS on the recent killings at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., where 21-year-old, Dylann Roof shot nine black church members to death. These are not numbers or statistics. These were God’s creations - real human beings with real families who were gathering to worship God. But because Dylann Roof decided he didn’t like the color of their skin, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Hon. Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr., Rev. Sharonda Singleton and Myra Thompson lost their lives. What does it take for people to understand that we are all equal?  And why can’t we put an end to this? Please do your part to create peace in your community. Please stand up and be proactive. Show your children and your children’s children that color means nothing; it’s the person that matters, our souls that count. I realize that a true racist is not worthy of even speaking to about this subject, but I also know that those who aren’t racists can take a stand and together, we can let them know racist behavior is not acceptable. Shame on them! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I have such a hard time watching and listening to these senseless acts of violence. But I will say this loud and clear… Dylann Roof, you are a COWARD. I don’t know why, but it seems we are always hearing something in the media about bullying, teens taking their lives, or a shooting because of the person’s skin color.  It needs to stop. Yes, this makes my blood boil. When it comes to anything like bullying and hate crimes, I have a voice and with that voice if I can help one person, it’s all worth it.

I attended my first ever pro golf tournament recently in beautiful Dublin, Ohio. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus and this is where Jack Nicklaus—one of the greatest pro golfers ever—designed a very challenging golf course.  Mr. Nicklaus is from and went to school in Columbus.  He acquired this property 40 years ago and in 1974 the Muirfield Village Golf Club opened. The first golf tournament was held in 1976—Roger Maltbie won the $40,000 purse.  Since then, Jack Nicklaus won twice, Tiger Woods five times, Greg Norman twice and others like Watson, Irwin and Azinger all came to the Memorial and took home the trophy.   Each year there is an honoree named for their contribution to the game of golf.  This year’s honoree was Sir Nick Faldo, Jr.  The honoree is chosen by members of the Captain’s Club—one member being a past president of the United States.  One of my favorite players named honoree in 2001 was Payne Stewart, two years after his tragic death. The Memorial benefits the community in many, many wonderful ways.  The list is extensive.  A longtime benefactor in honor of The Memorial’s continued support of it for many years, Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus), in 2006, hosted a ceremony dedicating its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as the Memorial Tournament NICU.  The finest care is provided here for the smallest of the small. The grounds of the golf course are beautiful, but surprisingly not all that flat.  The pedometer clocked more than seven miles of walking as we zigzagged through about half the holes on the course.  Tom, Ryan, Sam and I followed several players including Jordan Spieth, Phil Michelson, Dustin Johnson and, of course, Tiger Woods.  Tiger was having a pretty rough day on Saturday—the absolute worst of his career.  We were in the throng following Tiger and saw him on the eighth hole drive into one sand trap only to hit the ball over the green into another sand trap.  On the 15th hole, he hit into the trap again, pitched out and 3-putted for another double bogey.  Finally, on the 18th hole (a Par 4 and one that is considered extremely challenging), while we watched Tiger press through this debacle—it could only be termed this—he ended up with a quad, but the crowd continued to be encouraging and only wanted to see from Tiger the kind of play that was, at one time, considered absolutely remarkable.  Before it was over though, my thought was, “Oh, my.”  The hushed crowd was just shocked.  I certainly hope he will get back into winning contention. Long ago, Payne Stewart was my favorite pro golfer.  I often dressed my son, Ryan, when he was a baby similar to what Payne wore on the course.  My new favorite is Jordan Spieth, who is ranked in the top five and only 21 years old.  We followed Jordan for several holes, but before he even teed off on Saturday, we had a ‘sort of’ close encounter with him.  We were walking on the paved trail between the golf course on one side and houses on the other side (which were protected by a wrought iron fence) when all of sudden, someone right in front of us (in a bright orange shirt) came up to the fence from the other side and proceeded to climb over, jumped down, made eye contact, smiled, said, “Hello” and continued to run onto the course.  My husband and I recognized him at the same time on his downward journey on this side of the fence.  Tom spoke to him.  But wow, you know, a seemingly nice young man, friendly, agile and didn’t appear to have a care in the world—but so immensely talented.  I am looking forward to watching him throughout his career. A few things that I gleaned from being in Dublin this past weekend is that Dublin has some of the most beautiful homes with landscaping that is extraordinary.  I love the landscaping.  It is nice to see that McDonalds, Wendy’s and even gas stations must have to adhere to a building code that includes a certain type building (façade) and this wonderful landscaping.  The town is quaint and picturesque.  I would recommend stopping by The Dublin Village Tavern. I did not know, or had since forgotten, that Jack Nicklaus is from Columbus and the name of the golf course, the Muirfield Village Golf Club, came from Jack Nicklaus’ first British Open win at Muirfield, Scotland in 1966.  The Memorial is at times considered the fifth major and the golf course is ranked in the top 20 in the country. The Pro Golf Association is very big into philanthropy and is considered the most charitable of all the pro sports associations.  It would surprise me if Mr. Nicklaus is not at the top of that list. I recommend this golf tournament to even the most casual golf fan.   I definitely want to return to The Memorial next year.

In early 1215, civil war erupted in England. A large group of barons rebelled against King John because of his high taxes and other abuses.  The rebels captured London and forced the king to flee.  John yielded, and on June 19, he signed what came to be known as the “Magna Carta.” In the short run, the Magna Carta was a complete failure.  It was meant as a peace treaty to end the rebellion.  Within a few months, however, John and his loyalists repudiated the charter and war broke out all over again.  That could have been the end of the Magna Carta, but John died the next year and his son, Henry III, confirmed the charter as a way to secure his throne.  It was confirmed again by later kings and queens, and soon became an established part of English law. You may be wondering, what does any of this have to do with me?  Why should I care about an 800-year-old charter signed by people I’ve never heard of in a country I’ve never actually been to? That’s a fair question.  The answer is that the Magna Carta is the source of many of the civil liberties we hold dear in America today.  For example, the Magna Carta gives us the earliest expression of the right to a jury trial (no freedman could face imprisonment or loss of liberty “but by lawful judgment of his Peers or by the Law of the land.”)  There is also a guarantee of equal access to justice (“we will sell to no man, and we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.”)  These time-honored principles were enshrined in our own founding documents, including the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  In fact, the Magna Carta is so connected to our history that one of the surviving copies of the charter was loaned to us as part of our bicentennial celebration. These rights, of course, did not come without a cost.  Throughout the centuries, brave men and women have suffered and died to preserve them.  Especially as these same rights come under attack, both now and in the coming election cycle, we should remember that they are cherished by us because they were purchased with the blood of those who defended the cause of freedom. Let’s join with our English friends in celebrating 800 years of civil liberty!

Recently, my dad had triple bypass surgery. That scare got me thinking about my own eating habits and what I was prepared to do to escape bypass surgery in my own future now that the hereditary factor is staring me in the face. While researching various dietary methods of staving off heart disease, it was brought to my attention that exercise alone will not prevent heart disease if, like me, you eat your weight in cow and chicken every year, and let’s not even discuss bacon, which is the meat candy of the gods!  I exercise and do it a lot because I love to eat. I figured if I lived by calories in/calories out, I was all set. After all, if I’m burning the calories I consume every day, all is good, right? Unfortunately, it’s wrong. What you eat has everything to do with whether you will develop heart disease or not. While I am burning calories, the saturated fat I consume is already on the way to doing damage to my arteries.  So what do I do? Well, for starters, let’s be real. I have no intention of giving up every food that I love. However, I am willing to eat them less often. I am eating more whole foods and less meat. I have also instituted a “free pass” day. On this day I will have whatever I want, which must include cheese.  I am willing to be a quasi vegan six days a week in order to enjoy meat and dairy on the seventh. With the Fourth of July growing near, I know my free pass day will be then. I will not be denied my mom’s potato salad or the loaded cheeseburger that has my name on it. During my research, I found this article particularly helpful. It tells you everything you need to know about fighting heart disease. I am doing well in most of the areas. I don’t smoke or drink. I exercise at least an hour per day and I am trying to stay away from the evil foods, especially the ones with trans fat in them. It is so hard, though. Fast food fries are hard to say no to! Even though I’m not a fan of going to the doctor, I do it anyway twice a year to keep my blood pressure and weight in check. Being proactive about my health has to be a priority, and everything in moderation is now my mantra. Although I’m not happy with the new lifestyle change, at least not yet, I know I’ll feel better about it over time and won’t have to worry so much about my arteries clogging. After all, eating well 297 days out of 365 is a pretty good compromise.  While I can never see myself saying, “I can’t wait to eat a bowl of lentil soup,” I’ll eat it anyway while dreaming of the extra cheesy pizza I plan on having on my free pass day.  I can live with that.

The Bordas & Bordas law firm recently presented checks to the 15 high school seniors who were nominated by their teachers, friends and peers for the Anti-Bullying Award. This is the second year that we’ve recognized those students attending the 15 local high schools in Ohio and Marshall Counties in West Virginia and in Belmont County, Ohio.  The award is based on a number of criteria. The recipients treat everyone equally; respect differences in others; stand up for those who are targeted by others or who are discriminated against; and speak out against injustice. In meeting with many of the award recipients here in our Wheeling office this week and after providing each winner with a $500 check, we also presented each of them with four Pirates tickets, which will enable them and their friends or family to go see a game in the Bordas & Bordas suite at PNC Park. While talking to the kids and their parents, I became keenly aware that in many cases the young men and women who are the recipients of this award are also leaders in the classroom and in sports.  The winners were not quite those I had hoped the award would go to, but in reflection, it makes sense.  It has always seemed to me that in order to combat bullying, for the most part, the people who are able to most successfully become involved in putting a stop to the abuse are leaders.  They are leaders through academics and through sports.  It makes sense because in many cases, these leaders are some of the most popular kids in school themselves, and they are able to influence other students to do the right thing.  Certainly, if you’ve got an athlete who also happens to be a fairly tough athlete and self-confident individual, he or she might not be afraid to stand up in the face of bullies for fear of being attacked and hurt or abused either physically or mentally themselves. In making the presentation to the students, I told them of my background growing up in very tough and very poor neighborhoods, and being the oldest of nine children, and often times having to stand up physically for my brothers, sisters and other children in the neighborhood.  That continued in high school where I was thankfully able to do the same thing. After marriage and before my wife, Linda, and I had children, we had discussed this issue as far back as the early 1970s.  It was about the time that Linda and I had our two children that we decided that they would be taught from the very beginning not only to respect all people and to refrain from any bullying, but to put upon them the responsibility of defending the abused, the ostracized and the lonely.  We also made it a point to insist that our children sit with the child that was left alone by themselves in the cafeteria, to be inclusive in their friendships, and to be that person that would have the courage to stop the abuse and bullying of others.  Fortunately, my kids came from a position of means as they were both athletes and they had leadership qualities.  As far as I know, they did exactly what Linda and I had told them to do.  I’ve not only seen this first-hand, but I’ve also been told this by a number of adults and children in our community. All that was well and good and worked for my family and the people whose lives were involved, but the problem was that the world, after my children left high school some 15-plus years ago, became a meaner place.  And certainly with the advent of Facebook and other easily accessible outlets that have the ability to impact hundreds if not thousands of people, the problem of bullying became even worse.  Surely, most of us have seen the newspaper articles dealing with people who’ve actually committed suicide because of being bullied by their classmates.  It was because of my background and the stories that I had read and seen and having recognized how cruel people can be at times that Linda and I decided to do what we could to promote kindness and anti-bullying in the three counties in which we feel we have the strongest connections – Ohio County, Marshall County, and Belmont County.  It was after we made that decision that we talked to our partners at the Bordas & Bordas law firm and there was an agreement reached that we would do this “be nice, anti-bullying, fighting for justice campaign.” As mentioned above, I just had the experience of meeting many of the students who were nominated and received our award, along with their parents.  They truly are the type of people that should have been nominated and chosen for the award.  The thing that I would like to see happen, though, is that the leadership would filter down to the average student and the average athlete or the non-athlete, so that they could be recognized for their kindness, their good acts and the positions they take on bullying.  I would hope in the very near future that the message would go out and we would have a mixture of award recipients.  Part of the problem is that we are getting the nominations for the anti-bullying campaign mostly from teachers and principals.  Although that is who we thought would most likely nominate the award winners, the intent was not to limit the nominations to that certain class of people.  I would therefore encourage anyone in the community who knows of a high school student that routinely shows acts of kindness and courage with respect to preventing bullying and so forth to call our office and provide us with their name and school and information about that child and the reasons why you believe that this person should receive the award.  Our telephone number is 304-242-8410. All award winners will receive a $500 check from my law firm, as well as another token of our appreciation for their recognition.

Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, located at 640 Old Fairmont Pike, Wheeling, W.Va., is having a Blood Drive sponsored by the local Knights of Columbus #12195. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 20, 2015 at the church. You can call the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 or Tom Knight, Grand Knight of the local Knights of Columbus, at 304-281-6640 to schedule an appointment. Help them reach their goal of 40 pints. Please note you must be 17 years of age to donate blood. With parental consent, 16-year-olds can make a donation. It is a great way for an individual to help save a life.  The Red Cross is always looking for blood donations. This is an easy one since it is going to be held on a Saturday in June. So go ahead and do it – you or a family member may need a life-saving blood transfusion in the future. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING BLOOD TO SAVE A LIFE! THINK ABOUT IT . . . GO AHEAD, CALL TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT RIGHT NOW!