Connect with us

Delaware

Following a long history of Olympic success, UD’s Figure Skating community in mourning

Published

on

Following a long history of Olympic success, UD’s Figure Skating community in mourning


Those involved with the University of Delaware’s High Performance Figure Skating Center have celebrated many triumphs, including in the U.S. Nationals and Olympics.

On Thursday they endured the opposite extreme, mourning the deaths of one coach and two young skaters in a plane crash Wednesday night.

“With a heavy heart, we struggle to express the impact of this tragedy on our Blue Hen community,” UD athletic director Chrissi Rawak shared in a social-media message.

Advertisement

Coach Alexandr Kirsanov and young skaters Angela Yang and Sean Kay died when the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

Rawak paid tribute to Kirsanov, saying his “passion and commitment touched many lives, leaving a permanent mark on our campus.”

What was originally known as UD’s Ice Skating Science Development Center opened in 1987 when Ron Ludington, who had coached numerous national- and Olympic-level skaters, moved over from the Skating Club of Wilmington.

Though not operated by the university, the UD skating center is located at the school’s Fred Rust and Gold ice arenas located south of campus with other athletic facilities at the David M. Nelson Athletic Complex.

Advertisement

Ludington retired in 2010 but maintained some involvement and died in 2020 at age 85. But the skating program has continued to thrive, with many of Ludington’s skaters becoming coaches at UD.

Among UD-based skaters who excelled at the highest levels were the 1992 Olympic pairs duo of Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval and 2006 world champion Kimmie Meissner. Three-time national champion and two-time Olympian Johnny Weir also got his start at UD.

The skating center was also a destination for those from other countries with high-level figure skaters, especially Russia.

Advertisement

One of them, Oleg Ovsyannikov, sat in front of an international media throng in 1998 and said “I want to say thank you to all the people at the University of Delaware.” Around his neck was the silver medal he had just earned in ice dancing at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, with partner Anjelika Krylova.

Tara Lipinski, who had periodically trained at UD, soon after became the youngest figure-skating Olympic gold medalist when she won the women’s singles at age 15.

More than 30 figure skaters with ties to Delaware rinks competed in the Winter Olympics for the U.S. from 1972 through 2006, including eight at the 1984 Games and six in 1988.

That history has long made UD a draw for figure skaters with high aspirations. Emmanuel Savary, a long-time UD skater, placed 13th at the recent U.S. Championships in men’s singles.

“They get excited and see the possibility that maybe they can be there someday, that it’s a reality,” UD coach Pam Gregory told DelawareOnline/The News Journal before the 2018 Olympics.

Advertisement

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Delaware

Meet the public school leader named Delaware’s 2025 Principal of the Year

Published

on

Meet the public school leader named Delaware’s 2025 Principal of the Year


play

Anthony Gray-Bolden thought he was hosting a state official at Cab Calloway School of the Arts on Monday morning. The dean reportedly expected a school assembly to kick off the day with students, faculty and staff.

He did not anticipate a statewide honor.

Advertisement

The leader in Red Clay Consolidated School District has been named 2025 Delaware Principal of the Year, an honor from the Delaware Association of School Administrators. A surprise assembly announced as much to the magnet school’s head, around 8 a.m.

In a public school district serving some 15,000 students, and a state serving thousands more, Gray-Bolden was recognized for “exceptional leadership and dedication to excellence in education,” according to Red Clay officials.

The dean brings about 24 years of experience in education to the halls of Cab, an arts-oriented magnet school in Wilmington, now in his fourth year. The musician and vocalist at heart is also an alumnus of such a program – the Girard Academic Music Program, a performing arts magnet school in Philadelphia.

Gray-Bolden has a dynamic résumé from there, according to Cab. He attended West Chester University on an athletic scholarship to play basketball while earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Later, he earned a special education certificate, a master’s in education, an educational leadership certification and more. He just started working toward a doctorate in education at Delaware State, too.

Advertisement

The dean has taught special education, served as dean of students and rose to leadership roles like assistant principal and principal. At Cab, his vision is “normalizing opportunities for creators as entrepreneurs and elevating the existing programming,” the school writes online, with an eye for students making a global impact.

He does love puzzles. When he’s not at school, not in a surprise assembly, Gray-Bolden loves hanging out with his wife and three sons, deep-sea fishing, playing the piano, singing and nursing a budding interest in bird watching.

The 2025 Delaware Principal of the Year is a busy guy.

Advertisement

Got a story? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.



Source link

Continue Reading

Delaware

Delaware nonprofits detail impact federal funding freeze would mean to providing services

Published

on

Delaware nonprofits detail impact federal funding freeze would mean to providing services


play

The impacts of the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze on Delaware nonprofits and recipients of their services, if allowed to happen, became a little clearer in a survey released by the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement.

Results from the survey released on Thursday found there would be reductions in vital services for things such as health, housing, food and education. One center said more than 2,000 older adults who rely on food through a Nutrition Services program would no longer receive those meals.

Advertisement

“This entire situation is unprecedented,” Sheila Bravo, the alliance’s president and CEO, told Delaware Online/The News Journal. “This is the first time there ever has been a threat to this degree of federal funding being cut or eliminated altogether for nonprofits.”

Last month, Trump signed an order freezing federal grants to states and cities. Trump’s order was stopped on Jan. 31 when a federal judge in Rhode Island agreed with a coalition of state attorneys general – including Delaware’s – who had filed a lawsuit asking U.S. District Judge John McConnell to pause the freezing of the funds.

The coalition returned to McConnell earlier this month, saying Trump’s administration was not complying with his court order to unfreeze federal funds needed for critical programs and services.

Advertisement

By withholding the nearly $3 trillion that had already been approved by Congress, the coalition said many states could face cash shortfalls, making it difficult to administer basic programs such as funding for health care and food for children.

‘They are worried’

The Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement’s survey appears to be the first attempt to this extent to quantify and share how a funding freeze would impact Delaware nonprofits broadly.

The survey found that Delaware nonprofits, which serve more than 500,000 people, could face immediate and significant consequences should attempts to freeze, reduce or eliminate federal funding. Nearly 90% of respondents told the alliance that any halting on grants and loans “is extremely concerning to their operations.”

“Several executive orders directly impact the work of nonprofits, and (the alliance) has been inundated with questions and concerns from nonprofits across the state,” Bravo said. “To put it bluntly, they are worried.”

Advertisement

“(The alliance) wanted to attempt to quantify the very real risk that these federal actions could have on Delaware organizations,” she said. “Federal funding is essential for them to continue offering services to residents. We are sharing the information, along with the examples of services some nonprofits would be forced to discontinue, to help the public more fully understand the impact these federal actions can have on services they rely on.”

The survey, consisting of more than 300 completed responses, found that more than 80% said freezing federal funding would have a notable fiscal impact, with 62% saying the effects would be immediate.

Of the organizations that said they would take a fiscal hit if the federal funds were halted, the Delaware alliance said 44% provided dollar amounts totaling $229 million in direct federal funding and federal pass-through funds from the state, county or a municipality that would be frozen. Most of these funds, $211 million, would be lost this budget year.

Respondents also shared examples of the impact that the funding issues could have on the residents they serve, including:

  • Reduced access to vital services for health, housing, food, security, education and arts and culture
  • Mental health and trauma experienced by those who are losing access to services
  • Fear and harassment of immigrants, whether documented or undocumented
  • Loss of housing and learning
  • Inability to get a job

At least two organizations named in the alliance’s release provided specific examples of how their operations would be impacted.

The Modern Maturity Center, a Dover center that serves seniors in Kent County, said they would not be able to provide adult day care services, caregiver resource services or senior employment opportunities; the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would have to be discontinued; and more than 2,000 seniors who rely on food through the Nutrition Services program would no longer receive those meals.

Advertisement

Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, which for more than 45 years has provided resources to help prevent child abuse and neglect, said they would likely lay off workers, scrap a possible partnership with state agencies on infant early childhood mental health consultations and cease community programs building protective factors for at-risk families.

The alliance said it has partnered with Delaware Community Foundation, United Way of Delaware and Philanthropy Delaware to provide resources to nonprofits and residents impacted by this federal action and other executive orders.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Delaware

Delaware County Black Caucus celebrates Black History Month with all-day festival

Published

on

Delaware County Black Caucus celebrates Black History Month with all-day festival


Poets, spoken word artists, reggae, jazz and R&B musicians, 15 vendors, entrepreneurs — even a traditional Yoruba Egungun ceremony — were part of the Delaware County Black Caucus’ Black History Month Festival and Bazaar.

Held Saturday at the studios of Nu Millennium Media & Productions in Collingdale, the all-day festival was part celebration and part community builder. Organizers plan to make it an annual event.

“We’re here to celebrate Black folk, Black culture, community and businesses in Delaware County,” Maleata Ragin, event co-chair of the Delaware County Black Caucus, said. “A lot of things happen in Philly but there’s never anything big in Delco so we wanted to do something for people in the county so they can go a few minutes away from home and connect with people in their community.”

Maleata Ragin; state Sen. Anthony H. Williams, D-8; Darlene Hill, right; and her 2-year-old granddaughter, Lyric, enjoy the Delaware County Black Caucus’ Black History Month Bazaar. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)

Darlene Hill, caucus treasurer, explained that they hope the event grows to the size of the Philadelphia Odunde festival.

Advertisement

Ragin agreed that the intent is to expand and have the festival and bazaar grow each year.

Both she and Rashid Duggan, owner of Nu Millennium studios, spoke about the importance of having people spend time with each other.

“We wanted to provide a day where people can really come out, be together and celebrate from all walks of life, all races, all colors. You don’t have to be Black to be here,” Ragin said.

Duggan added, “We don’t have a big conscious Afro-centric community out here in Delaware County as opposed to Philadelphia and other areas. We really need to insert that into the mix.”

At center, Ifalana Tami Williams pours libations as part of a traditional Yoruba Egungun ceremony. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY - DAILY TIMES)
At center, Ifalana Tami Williams pours libations as part of a traditional Yoruba Egungun ceremony. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)

He hoped the day provided good vibes and good energy for all who attended.

“We can come together,” Duggan said. “We’re not alone. We have each other.”

Advertisement

One of the highlights of the day was a traditional Yoruba Egugun ceremony opening the festival.

“No matter where you’re from, you have an ancestor,” Ragin said. “You have a mother, a grandmother, great-grandmother. Just remember to celebrate the people who came before us. That’s a really big thing when it comes to Black culture: celebrating the folks who came before us.”

Ifalana Tami Williams of the Ile Igoke Yoruba Temple of Spiritual Growth and Cultural Center in Wilmington, Del., poured libations at the start of the ceremony, in which audience members were invited to recall those loved ones who had passed.

Williams, who is also owner of the natural health and wellness boutique Karite Naturals in the Springfield Mall, explained that the Egungun is the masquerade representing the ancestors.

“We bring them out,” she said. “We come out and we will sing the traditional Yoruba songs … It’s actually a very spiritual event, normally done in West Africa.”

Advertisement

Williams shared the significance of the ceremony.

“To know that you have ancestors,” she said. “People are gone from the physical world but they’re with you in spirit and that you still need to honor them, you still need to elevate them. They’re with you every day.”

Whether a song on the radio that reminds you of someone or a smell or another sign, the ancestors let you know of their presence, she said.

“The ancestors let us know that they are with us,” Williams said. “They never leave. They are always with you.”

She shared why she wanted to be a part of Saturday’s event.

Advertisement

“Our ancestors sacrificed so much for us and the lives that we have today,” Williams said. “If we don’t share their stories and tell our kids and our kids’ kids who they are, they’re forgotten … There’s a lot going on in the country right now and we’re being forgotten. We have to remember if we don’t remember our ancestors, who’s going to?

Another part of the day included the vendor market featuring Black entrepreneurs.

Dr. Naomi C. Pereira-Lane, owner of Changing Lanes Learning Center, holds two of the books she has written. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY - DAILY TIMES)
Dr. Naomi C. Pereira-Lane, owner of Changing Lanes Learning Center, holds two of the books she has written. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)

Dr. Naomi Pereira-Lane, owner of Changing Lanes Learning Center in Collingdale, was featuring books she had authored, including one co-written with her son, Justin.

“It’s about a car who takes a journey but it’s paralleled to kids who come to me who are transformed,” she said of “J.T. Hopper.”

She also featured a journal of her life experiences, including surviving through the pandemic and a nearby explosion.

Her learning center, catered to 3- to 5-year-old’s, has been open for 15 years and features reading, math and STEM.

Advertisement

“I am all-inclusive,” Pereira-Lane said. “I look at how a child comes to me and how we set goals as a family to get them to where they need to be and that we can persevere no matter what the circumstances are.”

Nearby, Shari Williams, aka “the Goddess of Drones,” was at the festival to try to build a drone soccer league in Delaware County.

Shari Williams, the Goddess of Drones, is trying to establish a drone soccer league in Delaware County. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY - DAILY TIMES)
Shari Williams, the Goddess of Drones, is trying to establish a drone soccer league in Delaware County. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)

“Drone soccer is a STEM and aviation program that allows our youth to build a drone, program a drone, fly a drone and then compete with the drone through drone soccer tournaments,” she said.

She explained that kids can start flying them at 12 years old and the programs go up to the collegiate level, as they compete regionally and nationally.

Williams is putting together summer programs and also does career days as well drone piloting programs to pass the FAA exam.

A founding member of the Delaware County Black Caucus, state Sen. Anthony H. Williams, D-8, of Philadelphia and Delaware counties, was pleased to see the engaged involvement of youth.

Advertisement

“To see that it has grown with a younger generation, that they’ve matured and have their own vision, that’s exciting,” he said, noting that the festival and bazaar’s realization was a personal and county accomplishment.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending