Legal Advice Blog: Legal Advice, Case Insights, & Local Law Information

Bullying is a serious and widespread problem in American schools. It affects the school performance, emotional well-being, mental health, and social development of school children throughout the United States. Tonja R. Nansel et. al., Cross-national Consistency in the Relationship Between Bullying Behaviors and Psychosocial Adjustment, 158 Archive of Pediatric and Adolescent Med. 730, 733-35 (2004). Studies have shown that students with disabilities are subject to increased bullying that is often directed at the disability. In a case of first impression, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals in T.K., S.K., individually and on behalf of L.K., v. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, affirmed the decision of a United States District Court, which ordered the New York City Department of Education to pay for a disabled student’s private education because it failed to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). L.K., was a third grade 9-year-old girl suffered from a learning disability.  As such, she was placed in a Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) classroom, which involved teaching students who are learning disabled alongside those who are not.  Her Individualized Education Program (IEP) required a 1:1 special education itinerant teacher (SEIT), and speech, physical and occupational therapy.  During the school year, L.K. suffered from multiple incidents of repeated bullying by classmates such as: pinching, pushing, tripping, stomping on her toes and teasing, laughing at her and refusing to have contact with her.  Over the course of the school year, L.K. became increasingly unhappy, withdrawn and, as L.K.’s father described, “emotionally unavailable to learn” due to classmates’ bullying. L.K. came home crying and complained to her parents on an almost daily basis about being bullied by other students.  L.K.’s tardiness and absenteeism was becoming a major disruption to her ability to learn.  It reached a point that L.K. brought dolls to school for support on a more frequent basis due to the bullying and ostracism by others. According to L.K.’s SEITs, L.K. internalized negative comments by peers, and expressed her sadness, frustration, anxiety and discomfort with her being bullied.  Often times, L.K and her SEIT would count the days to the end of the school year.  Accordingly, L.K.’s SEITs believed that the bullying adversely affected L.K.’s academics and her social and emotional well-being.  Also, several doctors observed that many students constantly ignored L.K., and found that the minimal interactions L.K. did have with her classmates were mostly negative.  They found that L.K. seemed anxious, sad and frustrated as her head was often down.  She was not volunteering in class, as she had done before the bullying had started, and she needed more prompting from an aide. Moreover, medical experts observed that the teachers neither intervened nor delivered consequences to students. Hence, a private physician who knew L.K. for several years assessed her and recommended a different, more supportive educational environment than her current classroom. L.K.’s parents sent letters to the school’s principal and tried to speak with her about the issue. The principal acknowledged receiving the letters and admitted having knowing about an incident of bullying; however, she could not recall what, if anything, she did to investigate it.  Not satisfied with the school’s district’s response, L.K.’s parents applied for L.K.’s admission to the Summit School, a private school that specializes in providing educational services for children with learning and emotional challenges.  L.K. was accepted and her parents made a deposit.  In the meantime, public school representatives met with L.K.’s parents to discuss a behavior intervention plan (BIP) for L.K. that would create strategies for her behavioral difficulties that interfered with learning.  During this meeting, the parents requested copies of any incident reports regarding harassment of L.K., but none were provided. The school officials rejected L.K.’s parents’ attempt to discuss the bullying. The principal refused to discuss classmates’ bullying with L.K.’s parents, and did not identify any alternative time to discuss it.  The IEP team met to develop L.K.’s IEP and during this meeting, school officials again refused to discuss the bullying. The parents objected generally to L.K.’s same type of placement, and specifically to placement with the same students who were bullying her. No other placement was offered and L.K.’s parents were not aware of any option other than the same class L.K. attended. The parents rejected the IEP and placed L.K. at the Summit School the next school year.  L.K.’s parents filed an administrative complaint demanding that the school district pay for L.K.’s private school tuition.  After exhausting all administrative remedies, L.K. and her parents brought the case before Judge Jack B. Weinstien, Senior United States District Judge. The central question raised by this case was whether school personnel was deliberately indifferent to, or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent bullying that substantially restricted a child with learning disabilities in her educational opportunities in violation of the IDEA.  After completing an exhaustive analysis of: First Amendment cases, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act and IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Due Process cases under Section 1983 and various similar cases decided by the 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court held that when responding to bullying incidents, which may affect the opportunities of a special education student to obtain an appropriate education, a school must take prompt and appropriate action. It must investigate if the harassment is reported to have occurred. If harassment is found to have occurred, the school must take appropriate steps to prevent it in the future.  Having applied L.K.’s facts to this rule, the U.S. 2nd Court of Appeals, affirmed the District Court’s finding that the school district did not take appropriate steps to prevent L.K. from being bullied, and therefore, affirmed the District Court’s ruling that the school district must pay for L.K.’s private tuition. Gary Mayerson, the attorney who represented the L.K. and her parents throughout all stages of the litigation, hailed the result in T.K. as a landmark civil rights decision that will go far to address the nation’s bullying problem: “The Second Circuit’s courageous decision affirming Judge Weinstein’s Judgment stands for the proposition that every student has the right to attend school free from physical or psychological abuse and every parent has the right to expect that when they communicate concerns about bullying, those concerns will be timely addressed and acted upon.”

As the development of technology progresses, so does the probability of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is bullying that occurs over any type of electronic device. Some include computers, cell phones and tablets, as well as communication tools such as social media sites, text messages and web chats. Cyberbullying can effect someone of any age, but the majority of this type of bullying is ranging from ages 10-20. Cyberbullying can cause many different reactions that are harmful for young kids. Kids who are bullied this way are more likely to skip school, receive poor grades, have terrible self-esteem, and sometimes even feel as though they should harm themselves. According to the 2013-2014 school crime supplement (National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics) 7 percent of students in grades 6-12 experienced some type of cyberbullying over one technology platform or another. Another study by Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey states that 15 percent of high school students were cyberbullied in the last year. The number of children being bullied over the internet is only growing and the cases are becoming more extreme. As adults there are several things that can done to make sure that we are doing everything we can to bring those percentages down. To prevent cyberbullying, adults should be aware of the sites that kids are visiting and interacting on. Adults should also try to understand how the social media sites work, so that if you think your child is being bullied you can find out exactly what is happening. Encourage your kids to tell you if they know someone is being cyberbullied - to let you know so you can help. Most importantly, educate children on how dangerous words can be. Cyberbullying is just as harmful as regular physical bullying, and one post or wrong wording could end up ruining someone else’s self-esteem or mentally harm them. Overall, cyberbullying should not be overlooked. I personally don’t believe that it will ever be completely gone, but we can decrease the percentages by being proactive and being supportive of the victims.

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday that is celebrated across the globe every year on March 17. St. Patrick’s Day was established to honor the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, and was first celebrated in America in 1737. The holiday was originally celebrated with religious feast, but today the holiday is celebrated with a lot of green, parades, parties, green beer and Irish foods. Everyone has their St. Patty’s Day traditions. In honor of the famous and fun holiday, the Bordas & Bordas attorneys and staff have collaborated to share their favorite thing about St. Patrick’s Day! Jamie Bordas: My favorite thing about St. Patrick's Day has always been having a beer or two and celebrating with friends. When I was a student at Notre Dame, as you might imagine, there were some pretty big parties and I've tried to keep it that way since then. Linda Bordas: On St . Patrick's Day I always think of all of the wonderful lawyers we have from Notre Dame...my son, Jamie Bordas, Chris Regan, Geoff Brown, Laura Pollard, Maggie Tague and Bryan Pasciak. All trained by "The Irish.” So lucky to have them! Geoff Brown: My favorite thing about St. Patrick’s Day is that it reminds me that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish kick off their 2016 season in less than seven months. GO IRISH! Chris Regan: I’ve never been to Ireland, so in 2016, I’ve decided to plan a trip there with my family. If Trump becomes President, maybe I’ll stay there. Zak Zatezalo: A couple of my favorite things about St. Patrick’s Day is our family tradition of going to Mehlman’s for their corned beef and cabbage.  It’s excellent and they only offer it on St. Patrick’s Day.  Green beer for March Madness is another plus. Tyler Smith: My favorite part of St. Patrick’s Day is memories of my Uncle Red Rodio, who dyed his hair and beard green, wore suspenders and shorts, played a wash board (with an amplifier) and acted the fool, bringing love, joy and happiness to all those around him. Bryan Pasciak: Celebrating and spending time with friends and family. Maggie Tague: My favorite thing about St. Patrick’s Day this year is that not only is it the start of March Madness, but one of my favorite teams plays: the Miami Hurricanes! GO CANES! BEAT BUFFALO! Laura Pollard: When I was growing up, St. Patrick’s Day was always a big holiday for my family. We would go to the parade in Detroit, where my great uncle was even the Grand Marshal one year, and then everyone would meet for food and drinks at the restaurants and bars in the Corktown area of the city. As an adult, I have enjoyed spending several St. Patrick’s Days in Chicago, watching the river be dyed green and celebrating with thousands of other people, who are often wearing amusing green outfits. Jeremy McGraw: St. Patrick’s Day 2003 was the day that I found out that I got into law school.  They probably would have kicked me back out if they saw the celebration we had that night!  St. Patrick’s Day parties with my fraternity brothers were the best.  Go TKE! Jodi Cunningham: My favorite thing about St. Patrick’s Day is that everything is green; and green is my favorite color! Linda Scaggs: I have absolutely no St. Patrick’s Day memories.  Never gave it much thought.  BORING childhood! Corey Pietranton: St. Patrick’s Day falls at such a great time of the year for me.  It’s a few days after my birthday and a few days before spring begins. It’s a time when the sun seems to shine more brightly and life seems to be more optimistic after winter.  Quite often, St. Patrick’s Day falls during the WVSSAC Boys Basketball Tournament in Charleston, W. Va.  I will be there once again this St. Patrick’s Day to cheer on Wheeling Central in their quest for another state title.  Let’s Go Knights! Jeanne Dedo: Being born Irish and living in Pittsburgh, Penn. was the best gift I was ever given. We went to the parade and had big block parties. Irish wakes are also a sight to behold, now that was a true celebration of an Irish person’s life.  Hearing the Irish music in the house when I was young made me love rock and country.  Also the Irish folk tale of the Little People playing tricks on everyone was awesome to see and hear, yes I believe in the Little People.  Oh the good old days!!!  I LOVE BEING IRISH!!! On St. Patty’s Day everyone is Irish. Rock out your St. Patrick’s Day people, rock it out!!! Susan Wilson: Growing up as a child, my grandfather (who is Scottish) always wanted his many grandchildren to wear orange on St. Patrick’s Day.  As a young child, I did not know why I couldn’t wear green like everyone else.  As it happens, many years later, a relative did a family tree only to find I may have some Irish history after all.  I just think it’s a fun holiday and I like to join in with the fun of the Luck of the Irish. Alena McAllister: St. Patrick’s Day reminds me of trips to Ireland with my family. I like to look through all the photos we took and remember how beautiful it is there. Marilyn Bell: I remember growing up, if you didn’t wear green to school on St. Patrick’s day you got pinched! Becky Murphy: Being that my last name is MURPHY, I am truly a fan of St. Patrick’s Day. I do celebrate my Ireland heritage and am very PROUD of my IRISH background. My Great Uncle, Vince Coyne from Bridgeport, Ohio, traveled to Ireland every year.   I remember my dad telling us that Uncle Vince was vacationing in Ireland again.  Every year I asked him if I could go with him on just one trip.  I was pretty young at the time.  I’m sure he didn’t want a kid traveling with him.  One of these days, I will plan a trip to Ireland, preferably during St. Patrick’s Day.  Enjoy and Erin Go Bragh!!! Here is my wish for each and every one of you who reads this blog! May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. Irish Blessings to you ALL, whatever your heritage! Ellie Wallace: St. Patrick’s Day to me has always denoted the coming of spring, my favorite time of year.  Even more symbolic of this time of year is the Irish color of green.  And, of course, I can’t resist adding that as a true beer lover, I have always enjoyed tipping a few “green” ones to celebrate the day. Ryan McQuaid: Guinness is life. Crystal Shaver: St. Patrick’s Day is my daughter’s birthday. Sherry Sharpsky: I’m Irish, so it’s only right that I love to celebrate my heritage. Sally Blon: There is an Irish saying, “There are only two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were.” On St. Patrick’s Day, this is particularly true. So get your green on and go have some green beer, don your green clothes, and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day whether you’re Irish or not. Erin Dodd: St. Patrick’s Day is, of course, one of my favorite holidays.  Why?  Well, not only is it my birthday, it was my grandmother’s birthday, too.  This always made it  extra special feeling like the world was celebrating with us.  And when my son was a child, he asked me if that made us part Leprechaun.  That makes this an unforgettable day! Amy Wilson: You’ve got to sport green that day and consume, at least, a pint of your favorite choice of beer—green of course! Missy McAbee: My favorite thing about St. Patrick’s Day is how it helps me remember my mother’s birthday, which is March 18.  Not that I would ever forget my own mom’s birthday, it is just a nice little reminder!!! Krystal Clark: While I personally have never been a big celebrator of St. Patrick’s Day I do like the happy cheery spirit that comes with the holiday.  I enjoy seeing all the folks who dress up in green or wear their fun costumes as I have seen over the years to include green silly hats and green sparkly tutus. I have also heard people really like the green beer as well.  There seems to be so much spirit and happiness that folks carry during this holiday. It really is nice to see and be around even if you are not big on celebrating this holiday. Tricia Pennell: Personally, for the past 17 years on this particular day, I have never found happiness in the holiday.  I dread this day yearly.  Unfortunately, this is the day my mom passed away suddenly. However, a friend recently explained to me that instead of being down and sad on this day, I should embrace the day and celebrate my mom, her life, her accomplishments and everything she meant to me.  I have decided to try this and hope I find joy and happiness on St. Patrick’s Day from here on out. Sheila Cottrell: I think what I like about St. Patrick’s Day is that it’s not a serious holiday….it’s all about having fun with friends and family. Jenn Mohney: I personally love this Irish holiday. For years, while living in Cleveland, I attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade that took place downtown. The roads were just full of so many different people and even more colors of green. I think it is a fun way to spend time with friends and celebrate the history of a heritage, even if you’re not Irish! Thank you for reading and have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day 2016!

In this day and age, living in a small community presents an area some of us find ourselves unfamiliar with – including myself. Especially if you’re a divorced, middle-aged mother of two sons.  Finding a significant other is not an easy adventure. So where do you begin?  The grocery stores? The malls? Sporting events? Bars or clubs?  None of these areas seemed like promising places to me.  For starters, most men I’ve run across at any of these locations were married, someone I already knew or who were just not appealing to me.  And when you live in a smaller community, it’s a very limited field. Everyone knows everyone and the people you do know are married, involved or simply unavailable in one way or another. The dating scene is not what it used to be when I was growing up.  But then again, not much is the same.  We now have social media and within that lies the “online dating” sites.  When these became the rage, there were always laughs among friends and family.  But, with not many other options to choose from, I figured why not!  I did some research and with some common sense, I developed my set of rules and boundaries for my own safety. There are dozens upon dozens of sites out there for anything from friendships, hook-ups, casual dating, to long-term relationships.   The worst part is, you aren’t really sure what you’re getting into until you get on one of the sites for a little while.  But here are the basics on how it works. You join the site (many are free with limited access to certain areas on their sites), give yourself a profile photo and write a short essay about why you would be the ultimate catch for someone.  It’s kind of like “selling yourself”-- like a car dealer would do to sell a vehicle!  Once you post your information and fill out the site’s personality trait questionnaire, the site starts giving you people who may be your match and then you start getting contacted by everyone and their brother.  It’s like a free for all!  And I quickly came to the conclusion that most men did not read my profile, but rather just looked through my pictures.  Most of the guys’ profiles I looked through had the basic essay that every woman wants to hear and what they are looking for in a man.  Rarely, did I run across a profile that actually seemed genuine and potentially worthwhile. The sites provide a sort of chat area for you to contact and be contacted through, so you do this little dance of questioning each other for a while.  Getting to know each other with questions through “text” was a very easy way to start weeding through who is of interest.  Most men, at least for me, would eventually show some true colors just in things they wrote.  If things seemed to be going decently, then I would eventually exchange a phone number.  At this point, I would talk on the phone numerous times. This usually told me a lot about the person.  Were they shy? Did they get offended easily? Did they provoked easily? Did they seem like a doormat? Etc., etc., etc.  If this step went well, a face-to-face was next in order.  This is where the real test came. Did they truly look like their picture? Oh boy could I tell some stories!!!!  I guess I just never understood why anyone would falsify that area of their profile if they truly had any intention of personally meeting someone. When I agreed to meet someone in person, I always chose a place that was full of people and familiar to me.  I drove myself and met them at the location.  Because let me tell you, from personal experience, there are some “different” people out there for those who may be naïve and oblivious.  I ran across some…for lack of a better word…weirdos.  But if the man seemed semi-normal, was someone I had things in common with and he struck my interest somewhat, I would agree to a second date.  After the second date, again, if things were moving along smoothly, a third date would come.  Unfortunately, I had this third date rule in place.  If I did not feel any type of connection or true interest with the gentleman, then I was done.  I wouldn’t waste any more of his time or mine. So, needless to say after many months on a few different sites, I was more than discouraged.  I mean seriously! Come on!  There’s not one guy out there with whom I could get past a third date? What was wrong with me?  Was I being too critical?  Too harsh?  Too picky?  What was my problem?  But reluctantly, with the encouragement of a co-worker (who I will not identify, but you know who you are – LOL), I joined a site I had not heard about.  I truly did not have any hopes or expectations of meeting “the one.”  I had only been on the site for about a week when I was contacted by this man.  His profile seemed genuine, not like the basic ones.  He had one picture of himself, not many with his shirt off puffing up his muscles.  He simply said that he enjoyed reading my profile and then proceeded with commenting on things my profile contained.  This was huge!  He ACTUALLY read through my story.  I thought, “Hum.  Ok.  This guy might be worth something.  He’s a good looking guy.  He likes the country and being outdoors.  He loves sports.  He has sons.  He has a respectable job.  Why not?”  So, we went through the tedious nonsense of texting, talking and then meeting for a date.   Needless to say….he was more than I expected and more importantly, we’ve made it past my third date rule! For all of you middle-aged, single parents out there in our community, don’t give up!  The online dating may not be for you because I never thought it was for me.  But I’m very happy that I found the person I did and if it hadn’t been for that particular site, I might still be single.

Those poor One Percenters. Sure the wealthiest one percent of Americans own 40 percent of the country’s wealth, have multiple homes, cars, planes, yachts, even the newly minted legal defense of “affluenza” to exonerate them from killing people. But they have never been able to enjoy the benefits of social welfare organizations like Doctors Without Borders, the Humane Society or the Wounded Warriors Project. Until now that is. To combat this gross inequality that has been perpetrated upon these poor souls, the One Percenters have formed special social welfare groups and petitioned the government for non-profit status.  The poster child for such groups is Crossroads GPS, spawned by none other than Karl Rove himself. Crossroads GPS has spent every dollar it has collected, approximately $330 million, not on helping those in need, but on politics that benefit the uber-rich, either by funding its own campaigns to smear candidates or organizations who have the audacity to stick up for ordinary Americans or to fund other front groups who employ similar hatchet-job tactics. Now, thanks to a five-years-in-the-making ruling from the Internal Revenue Service that declared Crossroads GPS a nonprofit social welfare group, the injustice that has long befallen the One Percent shall be no more.  No longer shall Crossroads GPS be required to pay taxes on the hundreds of millions it collects to influence or outright buy elections for the benefit of the one percent (non-profit social welfare groups are tax exempt). No longer shall it be required to disclose its billionaire donors’ names, which inform ordinary Americans exactly who is behind the effort to destroy the very ideals (of liberty, justice and equality for all) upon which this country was founded (non-profit social welfare groups are donor disclosure exempt). Thanks to the IRS, the One Percenters can now bribe, err make “political contributions,” in total secrecy and remain completely insulated from those pesky repercussions that sometimes come from trying hard to undermine democracy.  Now all the CEO has to do is give that money to Crossroads GPS, who can funnel it to that candidate with total impunity. It would take the average American about three minutes to understand that groups like Crossroads GPS are just about the furthest thing from social welfare one could ever imagine.  It’s not providing support to wounded soldiers, abandoned children or abused animals.  On the contrary, Crossroads is nothing but a political group whose money goes entirely to people and organizations that work to actively undermine, or outright abolish, all kinds of social welfare. But these people want to hide in the shadows while doing it, and the IRS has just served them up an invisibility cloak on a silver platter. Of course, the groundwork was laid for this sort of thing by the U.S. Supreme Court’s democracy-killing Citizens United decision, which licensed the purchase of elections by Corporate America and has opened the floodgates in the current election, which has never seen this much money flow into a presidential campaign this early from so few donors ( $176 million from just 158 One Percenters). Political organizations should never receive the sort of benefits that are provided to groups that serve society by delivering food and shelter to folks ravaged by natural disasters or who work to provide clean water to poor communities or mentor foster children. I am sick to death of living in a country torn apart by runaway inequality.  We desperately need someone who is willing to fight against the rigged economic system, political corruption and the public/private revolving door. This election season there is exactly one presidential candidate who is speaking out about the absurdities and inequities of campaign financing, who has made ending this sort of thing one of the centerpieces of his campaign. His name is Bernie Sanders, and seeing decisions like Crossroads surely has me paying very close attention to his campaign.

I’ve had a lot of people ask what Barley and Guinness have been up to over the past few months. It’s funny how if I don’t write a blog for the boys people text, e-mail or call me to see how they are doing. Both the boys are great and have been very busy outside this winter and are now getting their spring fever on. The mud they drag in from the 10 acres they get to roam on, is unreal. Muddy paw prints everywhere (inside and out). Speaking of which, I better call my pals from Panhandle to get the carpets cleaned. Over the winter, we added a sunroom onto our home and put a doggy door in for the boys. I can’t tell you how much they love this door, in and out, in and out all day long.  Recently, I was down with a funky virus that led to an upper respiratory infection, so I was home most of the week and the boys took care of me. Of course I took care of them when it came to opening the door to let them out every time they saw a squirrel, deer or any other creature outside.  Barley is our hunter and Guinness is the pointer, these brothers make a great team, except for when they bring their prize to me and show me what they’ve caught. They can stay out as long as they like because we have an underground electric fence that keeps them in our yard. So, no worries Bordas Dog Nation, the boys are doing fine and enjoying the nice weather. They are happy to hear that everyone enjoys seeing them at the office and misses them when they are too busy to have me blog for them. They would also like to remind you to adopt an animal from your local shelter if you are look for a furever friend. Adopt, don’t shop. Bark on, Bordas Dog Nation, bark on!

On Wednesday evening, I attended the Marshall County FFA Ham, Bacon and Egg Sale at John Marshall High School. For the second consecutive year, I was able to purchase the Reserve Grand Champion Bacon, which I then donated back to the FFA Scholarship Fund.  This marked the fifth FFA event I have attended over the past two years, and with each event I am even more impressed with the young men and women I have had the pleasure of meeting. Let me take a minute to give you some insight into why I am so impressed with the FFA.  Shortly after I entered the school building and began looking over the 100-plus items up for auction, I was approached by John Horner.  John had the Reserve Grand Champion Bacon that I had purchased at last year’s event.  He greeted me with “Hello, Mr. Artimez.  I appreciate your coming.  I’m John Horner; you bought my bacon last year.  I just wanted to say thanks again.”  He looked me straight in the eye, firmly shook my hand, and walked away.  Next came Jack “JJ” Cain, the son of the principal at Cameron High School.  “Hello, Mr. Artimez.  Thanks for coming.  I have the Reserve Grand Champion Ham this year.  Hope you can bid on it.”  Another firm handshake. I walked from the display area and into the auditorium where the auction was going to take place.  After I sat down, I was approached by several other FFA members, most of whom called me by name.  Each of them thanked me for being there, told me of the items they had up for auction, and asked if they could get anything for me while we waited for the auction to begin.  One by one, the young men and women walked proudly across the stage, holding the items they had up for auction.  Local businesses and their owners, all eager to support the FFA, snatched up item after item.  Senate candidate Lisa Zukoff purchased the Grand Champion Ham.  Missy Knight of Knight’s Farm Supply bought several items, as did Carl Boso from Boso & Son Towing; John Hart of J&R Excavating and Mike Merinar, President of the Marshall County Farm Bureau.  The Reserve Grand Champion Bacon I purchased was the work of Hunter Aston, whose father owns the Pleasant Valley Store.  Hunter shook my hand and expressed his sincere gratitude, as did his father and grandfather as well. The FFA is in the business of preparing our young men and women for life in the real world.  Modern farming is a business, and FFA is preparing its students to run a business.  They maintain very detailed logs about their particular projects.  They maintain notebooks that include a journal of their daily activities, itemized income and expense reports, a detailed business plan and profit/loss statements for each project.  Students from the Cameron FFA have set state records for the number of awards received, and several students recently achieved national recognition for their work. Beyond that, kids who participate in the FFA are quite obviously taught the right values:  respect, courtesy, hard work.  In a society where we too often see our young people with their pants hanging halfway down their rear ends, hats on sideways with their heads buried in their cellphones, it is encouraging to know that in Marshall County, some of our children are still being taught about professionalism and respect.  Kudos to John Lockhart, Hattie DeBolt and all of the children, parents, businesses and individuals that support the FFA.

When I was a young girl (many, many years ago), I took piano lessons from a woman in St. Albans. I had not been taking lessons for very long  before she told my parents they might as well not waste their money, I was never going to be able to play the piano. I believe we always had a piano in our home.  My dad played by ear as did his sister, my Aunt Mary.  I wanted to play!  I sat down at the piano often, picking things out and really wanting to be able to play. So I decided I would learn how to play on my own.  My technique was terrible, my fingering horrible, my timing not too hot, but I kept it up.   I used a song I knew to see what the 4/4 or 3/4 notations I saw meant.  I realized it meant that between the bars, you should have four beats.  But sometimes I would look at the music and there were more than four notes in between the bars.  What was that all about?  I don’t remember how I figured it out, but I finally realized that a dot on a note meant hold it longer.  Little “flags” meant the note was played faster - the more flags, the faster you got off that note!  Now I know about whole, half, quarter, eighth notes, sixteenth and even 32 nd notes, but the first hymns I learned to play mostly had quarter notes or I could play it because I knew the  song and wasn’t worrying about how long I should hold the note. I was learning to play using a hymnal (of course). The first song I attempted to play was “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.”  Trust me on this - it didn’t sound like the song we sang at church.  So I was playing the correct notes, but something was wrong.  So then I saw these little things by the 4/4 time.  They were flats!  I was to hit the black note to the left of the note when I saw those.  Of course, my first song was in four flats.  Now I had to figure which notes I was supposed to flat.  I just played the melody line until it sounded right.  Later I learned that the flat was placed on the note in the key signature you were to flat. Next problem was I wanted to play with both hands – soprano and alto with my right hand and tenor and bass with my left, but all four at the same time!  Remember, I didn’t really read music.  I sat there playing with my right hand until I got the hang of that.  Then I tried with my left hand.  To this day, I have trouble playing just the left hand.  It seems my left hand was dependent on my right hand and I feel very awkward playing just the tenor and bass. I just branched out from there.  I would pick a hymn and pick it out with my right hand and then add the left hand.  I didn’t know one key from another, but I had the flats down pretty well.  Then I tried a song with a sharp.  Playing a sharp meant moving my finger UP to the black note, not down like a flat.  For years the most sharps I would play was two. I began playing for a little mission church in Nitro, W. Va.  They had no one at all, so I was literally better than nothing, although marginally!  Frankly, I was terrible!  Probably as many wrong notes as right ones, but eventually I got better. I practiced at home, always out of a hymnal.  To this day that is mostly what I play.  I could only play one sharp for a long time and then graduated to two.  But three sharps???  No way!!!  But I figured something out!  I could play the same notes, but play four flats instead of three sharps.  I was onto something!   I figured four flats and three sharps equal seven, so I tried it with four sharps and three flats and two sharps and five flats!  And now, I don’t care how many sharps a hymn has, I can do it in flats and no one is any wiser. When Clayton and I moved to St. Clairsville, we went to Thoburn United Methodist Church and I was interested in the organ.  They let me practice on it some and I listened to my friends, Carol Poston and Joyce Crouch to hear how they played the organ.  It is a totally different touch.  On the piano you can pick up your fingers and play.  On the organ you slide from note to note to make the sound even.  If you are reading this and you play organ, please excuse the incorrect descriptions of organ playing.  I didn’t take organ lessons either! So when Clayton’s office closed down and we needed additional income, I actually took a job as organist at a Lutheran church in Benwood.  I didn’t realize that a liturgical church service was very different from a Baptist church service, but the pastors and members there were very gracious and encouraging to me.  So I played there for several years and got some experience. I now play for First Baptist Church of Wheeling.  I feel I have a good sense of worship and play hymns well (most of the time). I don’t try to play “over my ability” and the church is very kind when I mess up. I had a strong desire to play the piano and the determination not to let it beat me.  Some would call that a hard-headed West Virginian.  They would be right.  But I love to play and am glad I stuck with it and learned.  I don’t claim to be a “pianist”.  I claim to be a woman who loves to play and loves the hymns I play every Sunday.  I don’t even care what key they are in now.

With spring just around the corner, thoughts of road trips and vacations have muddled my mind. One of my favorite vacation destination for years has been Niagara Falls.  The first time I visited Niagara Falls was in 1957 on the New York side.  I was 5 years old.  Though the falls were a miraculous sight to see, the thing that stands out in my memory is The Niagara Falls Museum.  I have been unable to find the exact location of the building in Niagara Falls, New York but I remember it was in a large older building with many steps up to the front door.  There were quite a lot of historical items about Niagara Falls, many Native American artifacts, skeletal remains of a mastodon and then within a room that had an eerie atmosphere were several glass display cases.  I walked up to one and gazed closely into the glass.  There it was, in all its creepy glory, bony human remains with arms folded across its chest, wrapped in what looked like dirty gauze.  A real live mummy!  I was mesmerized.  The sight was awful and yet fascinating and I think I stood there for as long as I could before my family pulled me away to the next section.  The memory of that sight stayed with me for many years and perhaps contributed to my fantasies of becoming an archeologist.  Which, by now, we know did not come to fruition. Recently, I went online to try to locate a picture of the building where the museum was located in the 1950s in New York.  Though I was unable to find anything about the building, what I did discover was so interesting that it prompted me to write a blog to share it. In the 1820s, Thomas Barnett built a museum by the Horseshoe Falls in Ontario, Canada.  Apparently the first museum was located at the base of the Horseshoe Falls, but then was relocated across the street from the falls.  Barnett was a collector of taxidermy and this is where he displayed his collection.  Barnett’s son also made several trips to Egypt where he purchased several mummies to add to the museum collection from a family who robbed a tomb filled with mummies in Luxor.  Stealing and selling mummies was a lucrative business in 1800 Egypt. In 1888, the museum had to relocate when the Niagara Parks Commission took possession of its location to develop the Queen Victoria Park.  Having no other suitable venue in Canada it relocated to the American side of the Falls.  I was unable to nail down the exact date when this happened but I know that it remained in New York until at least 1957, the year that my family was there.  Ironically, eventually the owners of the museum had to find yet another location when the U.S. Parks Authority assumed possession of the land on which the museum was located.  It then returned to the Canadian side and relocated in the building on Ferry Street in Ontario where the museum remains today.  However, it is not the same museum. In 1999, most of the Egyptian artifacts, including the mummies, were sold to the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.  This is where the story gets interesting.  (Finally, huh!)  The museum had a team of medical experts at the Emory University examine the mummies and with the aid of CT scans, X-rays, skull measurements and radio-carbon dating tests discovered that one of the mummies, specifically the one whose arms were folded high across its chest, was the remains of Pharaoh Ramesses I, founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt’s 19 th Dynasty.  After identification, the remains were then returned to Egypt in 2003 and are now on display at the Luxor Museum.  What a thrill it is to know that one of the mummies that I was so enthralled with so long ago may have been Pharaoh Ramesses I! Does anyone else have any memories to share about visiting The Niagara Falls Museum at Niagara Falls, New York during the 1950’s?  I would love to hear the stories.

Last year, I wrote to you about what it’s been like celebrating my birthday every year with the world on St. Patrick’s Day.There are many pros and cons, but it’s generally been a good day for all. Not only has the St. Patrick’s Day holiday been an extra special holiday for me and my family, in my younger days, I used to think the world was celebrating along with me because everyone was so happy and shouting --“Erin Go Bragh!”  After all, it was my very own cheer.  I did realize a few years later that my birthday being on St. Patrick’s Day did not necessarily entitle me to ownership of the holiday. Aside from the St. Patrick’s Day theme being my birthday signature, at some point in my teen years I became curious about astrology and horoscopes as many young people do.  I found that being a Pisces over the years and many of the stereotypical characteristics associated with the sign seemed to apply. We are compassionate, accepting, devoted and imaginative people.  We tend to be oversensitive and bit dreamy.  Admittedly, we sometimes need others to help keep us from dreaming too big. We will help others and be loyal, but we tend to want to fix others situations which many times can take a toll on the Pisces. We tend to be creative people and often try too hard to use that creativity to inspire others to fix their issues. Our surroundings tend to influence our moods.  What this means, is because we are made up with such compassionate feelings, we often take on the pressures of the world and it’s occurrences which ultimately can lead to emotional distress many times because how we feel about the matters, our desire to fix and this can be a very detrimental attribute. We are known to be very intuitive and a Pisces will always trust their gut feeling. So, this Pisces will make a prediction.  My gut feeling tells me you all will have the Luck of the Irish and a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day in 2016!!!

It’s funny how you meet people throughout your life. Some stay and some go, and some become your friends. I deal with all of the court clerks in the tri-state area and know each and every person by name. There are four counties that I have really good relationships with the girls. One weekend, the clerks from the Ohio County Circuit Clerk's Office in West Virginia and I went up to Seven Springs, Penn. for an extended weekend. It was a blast! We laughed to the point of tears, we talked about how we all met, we danced to a local band that was performing, we played games and laughed some more. Of course, we ate.  We had been trying to get together for a few years for an all girls weekend trip and we finally had a weekend that worked out for everyone. It was amazing and so much fun. I can’t thank them enough for the great time. I can’t wait until the next time we head out on a girls weekend. I’m truly blessed to have these ladies in my life. I am looking forward to picking a weekend for the next trip! The Springs are waiting for all of us! Special thanks to Freda, Janine, Tammy, BJ, Tracy and Janessa for making the weekend so much fun. Rock on people, rock on!

Do you need a DAYCATION? Well, I have the place for you.  You can travel to “Fallingwater,” located on Route 381, in Mill Run, Penn., and tour the home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner, Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. There are several amazing things about the home that was designed in 1935 and built in 1937.  The Kaufmanns ORIGINALLY requested Mr. Wright build the home to face the waterfall on the property.  But Wright went the extra mile and built the home to rise above the waterfall - thus the name “FALLINGWATER.” The Kaufmann Family used Fallingwater as their weekend home from 1937 thru 1963.  In 1963, Edgar J. Kaufmann, Jr. entrusted the contents and grounds to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.  This home is the only major Frank Lloyd Wright work to come into the public domain with its setting, original furnishings and artwork intact.  Fallingwater was opened to the public in 1964. The concept that a home can be built over a waterfall and survive is quite remarkable.  Granted, Mr. Wright, of course, thought about the dampness and compensated for it.  The home was constructed of sandstone quarried on the property and was built by local craftsmen.  The stone serves to separate reinforced concrete “trays” dramatically cantilevered over the stream.  A guest and service wing was added in 1939 and it is located behind Fallingwater. You can visit www.fallingwater.org for additional details or you can call 724-329-8501 to schedule a visit.  The visit usually takes at least two hours on site.  Expect considerable walking because there are more than 100 steps.  If you require special assistance, just call ahead.  Good advice is to purchase your tickets at least two weeks in advance.  There is plenty of parking and then a short walk to the holding area.  In this area, there is a museum store with merchandise related to art, nature and architecture and a café with seasonal soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods. There are bathroom facilities as well. The Winter Hours are:  the first two weekends in March, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. --weather permitting.  They are even open on Easter Sunday from 1 – 4 p.m. The days and hours of operation are Mid-March through Thanksgiving weekend (from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.), but they are closed on Wednesdays.  Fallingwater is closed in January and February, and on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Fallingwater is located close to Ohio Pyle as well, which includes restaurants, shops and the Youghiogheny River. Have fun on your DAYCATION!!!