January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times

Page The Wilbraham-Hampden TIMES
January 17, 013
SpOTLIgHT
on Minnechaug Interns
(Editor’s note: The TIMES spotlights the intern program at Minnechaug
Regional High School. This is the next in a series on interns in the Career Education
Program at Minnechaug advised by coordinator Paula Talmadge.)
Working hand in hand
Senior Eilish Garvey has always
been interested in human
anatomy and how the body
works. She has also known
she wanted to pursue a career in which
she helps people. Occupational Therapy
includes both of Eilish’s passions.
Nova Care’s Karen Pettengill offered
Eilish an internship experience that
has been most rewarding.
Eilish has especially enjoyed
building relationships with the patients
as she watches them progress
through therapy and finally return to
everyday activities and to work. Eilish
is Karen’s first high school intern.
Karen is most impressed with
TIMES photo submitted
Mentor Karen Pettengill and Eilish Garvey at Nova Care Rehabilitation
in Springfield.
her intern’s initiative, promptness
and reliability. Karen says Eilish has
been a good observer of occupational
therapy treatments and an able assistant
for many office tasks she has
learned. Eilish appreciates the valuable
knowledge, skills and experiences
that Karen and other professionals
shared with her that she will take with
her as she pursues her career.
For more information about the
Minnechaug Regional High School
Career Internship Program, and how
your work site can host an intern,
contact Paula Talmadge, School-to-
Career Coordinator at 413-9011 ext.
3832 or ptalmadge@hwrsd.org.
‘Letterboxing’ leaves no negative
impact on the environment
By Marty Damon
Wilbraham Hiking Club
Walking in his garden in Oklahoma,
my grandfather loved to spin me tales of
pixies who were just waiting to pop out
from behind a leaf. I’ve rekindled a little
of that sense of hidden treasures with my
discovery of the pastime of “letterboxing”.
If you are a biker, a hiker, or someone
who is just looking for an excuse to be
outdoors, letterboxing is for you.
Begun in the 1800s, the first letterboxes
were notes left for hikers on the
moors in England. The practice spread
across the world, landing eventually in
the United States, and now encompassing
all 50 states.
Basically, someone will plant a box
and then post clues to it, for example on
web sites such as atlasquest.com. The
letterboxer’s task is to follow the clues,
and, out of the sight of onlookers, find the
box.
The weather-proof, and often camouflaged,
box will contain a notebook and
rubber stamp. Making sure there are no
“muggles” (the term for non-letterboxers)
to see, the finder will print in his own
notebook with the box’s stamp as proof
of having found the site in addition to using
his personal stamp in the box’s notebook.
It’s fun to take a moment and read
the notes and admire the stamps of other
finders.
Then, again making sure you are
keeping the location secret, back the box
goes into its hiding place, one of the goals
of letterboxing being to leave no negative
impact on the environment in which it
was found.
Did you know that there are well
over 150 letterboxing sites within a 15mile
radius of Wilbraham? This can be a
challenging hobby, depending upon the
difficulty of clues and terrain. It can also
be a fun way to get the family out for a
walk in the fresh air. Happy hunting!
Springfield Forum to present lecture on children
SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield
Public Forum continues its 77th season on
Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Springfield Symphony
Hall with author Paul Tough.
The author of “Whatever It Takes,
Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem
and America”, Tough now tackles our
culture’s belief that intelligence, endlessly
measured by test scores, is the sole indicator
of value in our education system. In
his new book, “How Children Succeed:
Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of
Character”, he ushers in a tidal change in
thinking and argues that non-cognitive skills
- character, curiosity, optimism, and selfcontrol
- are better indicators of success.
All Public Forum events are held at
Springfield Symphony Hall are free to the
public with no tickets required. For more
information about the Forums or additional
educational programs, visit www.
springfieldpublicforum.org.
Novelist Kyle Darcy to speak
at Hampden Library
HAMPDEN - The Hampden Public
Library will host the second program for
their winter “Meet the Author Series” on
Saturday, Jan. 26 at noon at the Hampden
Public Library, 625 Main St. Kyle Darcy,
author of “Under Current Conditions”
will discuss his novel and the actual
events that were the basis for his debut
book. The program is free and open to
the public.
Based entirely on actual events, Kyle
Darcy shakes up and serves a cocktail of
subterfuge, kidnapping, FBI stings, and
murder. Main character, Martin Quinn
grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland
amidst one of the bloodiest sectarian conflicts
in modern history. He credited this
violent environment for the development
of a sound instinctive intuition.
Living in the United States for 10
years, subsequently lulled him into a false
sense of security. Boston plays host to the
beginning of this story in 1999. Events
spread throughout New England, culminating
in 2009 with a precedent-setting
international murder trial.
For the reader, the impact on characters’
lives is staggering and unbelievable.
Unfortunately for those involved, the
events were real. Readers who love Dennis
Lehane, Pete Hamill or Elmore Leonard
this program is for you, says Librarian
Taking in the bottles…
TIMES photo submitted
Diane Regnier.
The “meet the Author Series” is sponsored
by the Hampden Cultural Council.
“The Hampden Public Library continues
to encourage lifelong learning by
welcoming all people to the library and
offering equal access to information, entertainment
and knowledge through materials,
programs and technology,” said
Regnier.
TIMES photo submitted
Did you
lose this
hat?
No doubt a
father lost this
Irish tweed cap
next to Santa Claus
at the Wilbraham
Christmas Tree
Lighting ceremony
Dec. 2 in Crane Park.
If this is your hat
call Don Flannery
at 596-9982 to
retrieve it.
TIMES staff photo by Charles F. Bennett
Scouts from Troop 359 collected bottles and cans left over from the
holidays at their Bottle Drive at St. Cecilia’s parking lot Jan 5. (Front
row from left) Cameron Mawaka, Matt Wietsma, Tim Scully. (Top
row) Scout leaders Jack Mawaka, Scoutmaster Ken Lynch, Steve Mc-
Govern and Mike Scully.