Past Published Articles

Tomorrow about a hundred or so West Georgia College   alumni will honor a journalism teacher, a former school paper advisor, a   Newsweek magazine editor, and a brilliant teacher. Joe Cumming, my Mass Com­munications teacher, is retiring after years of teaching the magic of the written word to thousands of amateur college students who dreamt of that writing gig that would turn them into profession­als and cast them into the lime ­light for all the world to read. Joe is not a straight-laced man in a suit and tie, throwing large words at you and overwhelming you with Ivy League language. He has a shock of white hair, wire-rimmed glasses, robust cheeks and a clown’s hapless smile that grins at nostalgia of the days of the penny press and "Citizen   Kane." It’s hard to believe that the school will no longer have a Joe Cumming. After four years of watching him scrupulously and diligently help me capture the flavor and not only learn but grasp the idea of journalism ...

MESERVES OWNERS, Loretta and Chris Meserves, seated, are Joined by shop manager, Photo by Dona Inmon Michelle Knaack, center, in their unique salon which gives you an image of a new look. Salon shows tomorrow’s look today By Tern Persico ~ Staff Writer ORANGE PARK — “I wish I could see it first” used to be what many people uttered under their breath as their hair stylist snipped away at their sacred locks of hair. Now with New Imaging Systems, a computer interactive video dis­play system offered through New Imaging Industries, hair salon pa­trons can see themselves as a fiery redhead, sultry blonde or a bold brunette. The system, which has been on the market three years, is offered locally at Meserves International Salon, 5124 Blanding Blvd, the only Florida salon to offer the ser­vice. Meserves, owned by the hus­band and wife team of Chris and Loretta Meserve, bought the sys­tem f...

Tern Persico Record Staff Reporter Yulee resident Ronald Wayne Clark, 22, convicted for first-degree premeditated murder Nov. 2, was sentenced to death Dec. 13 at the Nassau County Courthouse. Judge Henry Adams granted the death penalty for the first time in his 11 years as a judge on the Fourth Circuit Court. Clark was convicted on the murder charge for the October 1989 murder of transient Charles McElroy Carter, 37. A jury found Clark shot Carter twice, once in the chest and once in the face with a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun. Prosecuters said Clark shot Carter S after driving with two friends to an   abandoned area on County Road 108   by the McQueen Swamp Hunting Club following a night of drinking. Teti­mony showed that Clark shot Carter in the chest, reloaded the gun, leaned over him and shot him again in the head. The two friends, Brian Corbitt and David Hatch, who were present at the   shooting were not charged with par­ticipating in the murde...

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University of West Georgia College (at the time was called West Georgia College)

In August 1997 my Jack Russell Terrier/Yelow Lab/Pug mix showed up in my driveway as if to say, "I'm home." I already had a dog and cat and really couldn't afford another pet but my friend talked me into keeping him and I'm so glad I did. Because he was already acting like a guard dog defending the neighborhood I named him Ripley after the Sigourney Weaver character in "Alien" and he has lived up to every bit of it. He's seen me through divorce, adoption, chronic illnesses, financial losses, pregnancy, deaths, severe depression, and numerous other obstacles in my life and is always there to get me off the couch and get me moving even when every bone in my body and my entire spirit screams "No!" He's almost died twice and is on a special diet and medication for a liver condition but in August he will be 14 and I will have had him 13 years. Those years I wouldn't trade for the world and I always joke that if he was a guy I'...

From:  "Mike Street" <mike@associatedcontent.com> To:  <wordtrix@hotmail.com> Subject:  Congratulations, You Have Won the 2006 People's Media Award from Associated Content Date:  Tue, 30 Jan 2007 14:44:05 -0500 Congratulations  , Terri Rimmer , you and you content on AC have just won the “ Local Attraction ” Award in our 2006 People’s Media Awards.  Michael E. Street Director of Community Development 116 W 23 rd  St, Suite 500 New York , NY 10011 Office: 646.375.2316 AIM: streetism AssociatedContent.com  | The People's Media Company

http://www.rd.com/advice/pets/amazing-life-stories-mans-best-friend-edition/ (Once you click on the link, it's the second story). It was for a contest and could only be so many words; otherwise I would have written so much more. Ripley later passed away in 2012.

On Sept. 9 after nine years of being in several food therapy programs off and on with no success, my birth daughter McKenna cleared her first major hurdle since being born with food aversion. The first 45 minutes were spent with just she and the therapist from Cook Children's Hospital and then they called the adoptive mom Vicki in so she could see McKenna eat four pieces of cereal and drink some tea. "I cried," wrote Vicki. "So happy." They had been trying a different liquid daily at home '" apple juice, Capri Sun, chocolate milk, flat Sprite; anything McKenna wanted to try plus different broths. She still likes Chicken Noodle best. Vicki writes that McKenna might have somewhat have gotten over her fear of swallowing and hopefully she is on the right track now. "She wanted some Goldfish for dinner and I already packed her lunch for tomorrow with the cereal that she actually swallowed. It's Gerber Graduates Puffed Strawberry/Apple Ce...

They enter as potential dropouts, sent by the court to shape up. And 75 percent of them leave as high school graduates. The Nassau Halfway House, opened in 1975, is a combination halfway house/school in Fernandina Beach, FL that provides boys ages 14 to 18 a 90-day stay to learn skills, get educated, and make friends. Approximately 20 students attend the school, wear uniforms, and are taught by two teachers. The House is part of the Nassau County School system which provides funds to educate the boys who come from all over Florida. They learn to build things like rockers and pirate's chests and they learn computer skills while also getting educated about current events. Nassau House teachers are employed by the Nassau County School System and work with the teenagers as grades seven through 12 are represented in one classroom. Shirley Parker, former superintendent and principal of the school in 1990, said the teens emerge as new people by the time they leave. When she wa...

When I was nine or ten I remember going to my stepsisters' grandma's house with my stepsisters and my sister a lot and playing this game we only knew as "Tinicula." My stepsisters introduced my sister and I to it and who knows who introduced it to them but we would venture into the backyard where there was tons of bamboo sticks to choose from and, pulling apart a couple of long ones we would commence to play this jump rope game which I only recently found out originates from the Philippines and not Africa like we though and is actually an entire folk dance. You lay two bamboo rods down with one person holding two ends and the other the remaining ones. The third person jumps in and out of the canes as the other two people rap the rods twice on the surface, then bringing the bamboo together while the jumper jumps on the outside of the sticks now, careful not to get their ankles slammed. When you do, it hurts like crazy because you're playing this game barefoot. ...

Shawntae Chavez had just started high school and was getting ready to play in her first  volleyball game when she died from a deadly game. The game is called The Choking Game but it's also known as Space Monkey, The Pass Out Game, Breath Play or Choke Out and it's one that teens play to get a quick high without using drugs. They hold their breath, choke each other, or squeeze themselves till right before they pass out. More and more they are trying it alone as Shawntae did, using belts, bike chains, ropes; etc and then when the grip of whatever is stopping the blood flow to the brain is released it sends the blood rushing to the brain which produces a high, this euphoria they feel is from the bursting of brain cells and those brain cells are irreplaceable. However, if the person passes out, which takes approximately 13 seconds before whatever is used to stop the blood flow to the brain is released it could result in death from strangulation, which takes approximately 4-7 minu...

I've been a fan of Robin Williams since I was 12 when I first saw him on t.v. and his comedy helped me with my depression. And it has ever since. In 1982 I saw him in "The World According to Garp" with my fellow juvenile home residents at a fancy mall. The fact that I was in the kind of place I was living at the time and seeing the movie around the same time frame helped get me out of my depression. I kept up with him through the years and loved watching his comedy acts on t.v., always wanting to see him live on tour. I also love his charitable works and his sensitivity as well as his genuine personality. Then in 1988 my then-boyfriend and I went to see "Good Morning Vietnam" and it became one of my favorites of Robin's. Since then I've seen that movie a few more times and just last night it was on again and I had to leave it on. In the summer of 1989 I saw Robin, five-time Golden Globe winner, in "Dead Poet's Society" and once a...

Yesterday, March 6th my 14-year-old cat died who I had had since he was two. He would've been 15 in April. After a two-year medical condition he spent all weekend sick and when I carried him into the sunlight for his last trip to the vet to be put to sleep I talked to him and reminded him of how he loved to lay in the sun. The vet told me what I already knew - Chaplin was dying. Rewind to March 1993. I was given a furry condolence gift after my cat I'd had for five years, Kimba disappeared, never to be found much to my efforts. A co-worker of mine said she had another feline for me, a Tonkenese/Siamese male named Sidney who I renamed Chaplin as in Charlie Chaplin. He was long, black and white, had a tuxedo look and turned out to be quite the clown. He had been living with some other cats but didn't get along with them. My co-worker told me, "He likes beer and salsa but don't give him any!" I remember the night I brought him home and he was so hyper...

The past five weeks I have had the privilege of participating in a grief workshop that was offered through a non-profit organization. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. I was also able to have a little memorial service for my late boyfriend during the last class which was tonight. I never got to attend his memorial service (long story). There were 11 people who signed up for the workshop but only five of us showed and sadly two dropped out in the middle. During the first class the teacher had us list kinds of losses like death, friendships, money, jobs, pets, love, laughter; etc. We all told our stories which were varied yet the same in that we had all experienced all kinds of profound loss and hadn't been able to move forward. For some of us it was way too soon to move forward; for others we didn't know. We all agreed to confidentiality and formed a little bond among our small group as we discussed our losses and feelings, something some of our families a...