An Eagle Scoutâs project that placed a memorial in Monumentâs town cemetery has stirred debate. Courtesy MRFF
A memorial installed Oct. 3 at town-owned Monument Cemetery as part of an Eagle Scoutâs project drew criticism from local residents, who asked the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) to seek its removal.
Since MRFF urged the town by letter last month to remove the memorial or the religious language and imagery that refers to a specific religion â Christianity â Americans United for Separation of Church and State has joined the campaign.
The monument, funded largely by donations through the VFW Foundation, was made possible through efforts of Boy Scout Michael Carlson, aided by other Scouts and leaders of Boy Scout Troop 8 of St. Matthias Episcopal Church, according to
Jenni Schumann with her Paul Harris Fellowship certificate. Picture by David Bleazard
The Clitheroe Rotary President s hard work was rewarded by her fellow Rotary members this week when she was presented with the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship award immediately after Monday morning’s shift.
Presenting the award, fellow Rotarian Bill Honeywell praised Jenni not only for her exhausting work schedule, but for the inspired way in which she has kept the club’s meetings going via Zoom, visited far-flung clubs across the globe, and even persuaded NASA astronaut Mike Foreman to be the Club’s speaker at a recent meeting!
Thursday marks a solemn anniversary for the space community. On Jan. 28, 1986, seven astronauts were killed when the Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after launch.
The crew of the Challenger in a 1986 photo. Front L-R: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ronald E. McNair. Rear: Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik.
NASA/AP Photo
Among those on board was New Hampshire high school teacher Christa McAuliffe, who had been chosen by NASA to be the first teacher in space. She was going to work on the crew as a payload specialist. The other six crew members were payload specialist Gregory Jarvis, mission specialist Judith A. Resnik, mission commander Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission specialist Ronald E. McNair, pilot Mike J. Smith and mission specialist Ellison S. Onizuka.
Wondering how to settle an election? Ping-Pong balls will do the trick.
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Mike Foreman, the mayor of Friendswood, and Julie Masters, the mayor of Dickinson, settle a runoff tie for mayor by pulling a Ping-Pong ball from a top hat.Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News
But it doesn t stop at voting. While we ve dealt with plenty of lawmakers challenging the validity of the 2020 presidential election over the last few months, here in Texas we can choose our public officials in a much easier way: with ping pong balls.
Dickinson, a suburb about 30 miles southeast of Houston with a population of a little over 21,000, decided to settle a tie between mayoral candidates Sean Skipworth and Jennifer Lawrence with a random draw of ping-pong balls, each signed by one of the candidates from a top hat.
Texas City Settles Mayorâs Race by Pulling Ping-Pong Balls From a Top Hat
The random drawing came after a December runoff ended with 1,010 votes each for the two candidates running for mayor of Dickinson, a Houston suburb.
Mike Foreman, the mayor of Friendswood, Texas, and Julie Masters, the mayor of Dickinson, Texas, settling a tie vote for mayor in Dickinson with a random drawing.Credit.Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News, via Associated Press
Published Jan. 10, 2021Updated Jan. 11, 2021
There were no lawsuits, no cries of election fraud and certainly no angry mobs storming the seat of government. Instead, a tie between two candidates running for mayor of a Houston suburb was settled after their names were drawn from a top hat.