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Just before Christmas 2007, a 24-year-old Prunedale native died in Iraq. Pfc. George Howell’s convoy was passing near Riyadh, in the northern part of the country, when a bomb exploded under his truck, killing him and injuring four other soldiers.
Howell left behind a wife and two children, and just before he died, he learned that a third child was on the way.
His story isn’t unusual - more than 4,000 soldiers have died over the Iraq War’s five years. But when Soledad resident Steve Williams read about Howell in the newspaper, it made an impact.
“I saw the picture of the wife and the children, and it just hit home,” Williams said.
Williams, 42, is a husband, father, soldier and veteran who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005.
He now plays guitar in a band called Joshuas Shadow and saw an opportunity: His band could organize a local benefit concert to raise money for Kristen and her children.
“This whole band, they’re all a bunch of patriots,” Williams said. “Their parents served, they’ve got family members that have served - they’re very supportive. When I brought it up, they jumped on it.”
As band manager and public relations representative for Joshuas Shadow, Troy Symonds has taken on the role of event organizer. He’s still looking for an outdoor venue, but he knows what activities he wants to make available.
“We’re going to have music and go all day, as long as we can,” Symonds said. “We’re going to have a car show, maybe a bike show. It’s going to be a family-oriented thing. We’ll get some bounce houses for the kids, maybe some vendors (from Salinas farmers markets), some arts and crafts. Then we’re going to have a barbecue.”
After expenses, Symonds said, “everything we get goes to the family.”

thecalifornian.com

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sports.aol.com

That is just the way it was this week off Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. It was a mite windy at midweek, the water still too muddy but clearing. The walleye didn’t care.
“The fish are stacked in here thick,” said Jerry “Meatpole” Meyers Sr., skipper of the Water Witch. He reflected on the spotty catching as well. “It’s been so dirty. But it’s getting better every day.” All the rain and snow of last winter, Meyers added, have added 18 inches to two feet to the lake level - a good thing.
Ron Lamont, a Wing Wings Marina skipper like Meyers, was taking a busman’s holiday from his Sun Chaser to accompany Meyers’ crew. “I think we’re at least two weeks behind,” he said. He added that he would not be surprised if the normal spring transition to familiar spinner-type rigs with nightcrawlers does not occur later than normal, perhaps mid-May.
Lamont added that he never has seen so much debris in the lake, from whole, 60-foot trees to railroad ties. So beware and keep a sharp lookout when piloting around the western basin.
The walleye are running very nice, from three to four pounds on up, with nine and 10-pounders not uncommon, at least for now. The bigger fish no doubt will wander off in search of food later. So far, it is not “fish-a-minute” action, like it can and likely soon will be.
Then the fish may be so eager you won’t have to bother with minnows. Dan Tucker, skipper of Erie Sport, was trying the no-minnow jigging on Meyers’ boat this week with less than write-home success. We called him the conservationist.
One slight disappointment was watching the herring gulls occasionally descend upon and peck to death some spawned-out female walleye. The fish could be seen wallowing on the surface, exhausted from their egg-dropping efforts.

toledoblade.com

Candace Parker has been the Next Big Thing since eighth grade. That’s when she was featured in a Chicago Tribune spread about a youth sensation expected to take the prep scene by storm.
It was the same when she was ending her career at Naperville (Ill.) High with two state titles and two USA Today Player of the Year awards. The anticipation turned to her collegiate influence at Tennessee. After all, she was the girl who beat the boys in a high school dunk contest.
Here we go again for a player mentioned by many experts as perhaps the best ever among collegians.
“She’s one of the best (ever) at any level,” says her current coach, Tennessee’s Pat Summitt.
The fourth-year junior, after missing her freshman season because of knee problems, is about to wrap up her Tennessee career by seeking a second consecutive NCAA title. The No. 1 seed Lady Volunteers open Sunday against No. 16 Oral Roberts in West Lafayette, Ind.
Then it will be on to the WNBA, with the Los Angeles Sparks expected to make her the No. 1 pick in the April 9 draft, and the Olympics, where she will likely be a key player on the USA team that will be a gold medal contender in August.
Throw in graduation in May and time spent with her fiance, Shelden Williams of the Sacramento Kings, and that’s a hectic schedule. Parker handles it with aplomb.
“That’s kind of how I try to operate,” says Parker, who will be 22 next month. Last year, she was the Final Four MVP and won numerous Player of the Year awards. “I try to worry about the day in front of you. If you start to get too many things in your head, you’ll go crazy.”
That means Parker’s priority is the NCAA Tournament, which concludes with the Final Four on April 6 and 8 in Tampa.

azcentral.com

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In high school, Dixon, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound, speedy point guard, led Marshall to the 2006 Virginia AAA state semifinals. Yet he struggled to catch the eye of college recruiters.
"The little guy [Dixon] could play, but because of his size, nobody offered him a D-I scholarship," said Red Jenkins, who coached both Metress and Harvard Coach Tommy Amaker at Fairfax’s W.T. Woodson High School in the mid-1980s. "I even talked to Tommy Amaker about [Dixon], when Tommy was at Michigan."
"Dip’s got a great eye for talent," said Dixon’s high school coach, Kevin Weeren. "He was really the only one who was interested in Daniel."
Dixon and four other talented Northern Virginia products similarly overlooked by Division I recruiters will lead Augusta State (27-6) into the NCAA Division II championship today against Winona State (37-1) in Springfield, Mass.
Augusta State of Georgia, ranked 10th in the Division II coaches’ poll, will look to end No. 3 Winona State’s 31-game winning streak; the Minnesota power has set the NCAA Division II single-season record for wins. Winona State won the 2006 Division II title and lost in last year’s championship game.
Augusta State is led by Georgia product Tyrekus Bowman (19.6 points per game), but “four of our top eight players are kids from Northern Virginia,” Metress said.
Dixon (Marshall), Steve Smith (Edison), Demetrius Howard (Gar-Field) and Caleb Brown (Forest Park) account for 30 percent of the Jaguars’ offense. Tye Beal (Wakefield) is redshirting this season.

washingtonpost.com

March 10, 2008 - Ron (Josh Cooke) has prepared a semi-elaborate scheme to ask his 2-month long girlfriend, Melinda (Sara Foster), to marry him at a fancy restaurant. Even though the plan goes terribly wrong, Melanie still says “yes” and plans for their wedding are announced at a party with their friends and family. The only one who is unhappy with this engagement is Todd (Warren Christie), Ron’s future brother-in law. Having waited three years to take over the family business, Todd isn’t about to let Ron take it from him. In an attempt to sabotage Ron’s relationship with Melinda, Todd throws him the biggest and baddest bachelor party in beautiful sun-drenched Miami. As Todd plans to catch Ron cheating on his soon-to-be-wife, Ron’s friends (Harland Williams, Greg Pitts and Danny Jacobs) see this as their opportunity to go wild and crazy.
Bachelor Party 2 is not a follow-up to the raunchy Tom Hanks classic from the 80’s, but rather a “re-envisioning” of the story to appeal to modern audiences (this according to the bonus material). This begs the question: Why, nearly 25 years later, do we need a new take on bachelor parties? Regardless of the reason/s, this is still one really bad film. In an attempt to up the ante, there is more nudity, sex, and dirty dialogue than its predecessor to help – we guess – make it more tempting somehow. No matter how much enjoyment you get out of watching sexy naked women running around, it’s all very pointless. The highlight of the film (if you could call it that) is undoubtedly a fight that takes place inside of a strip club. It’s the battle between boobs and dudes in a sequence that will surely have you guys out there entertained.

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HUNTSVILLE - Jo Beth Williams scored 22 points in her final regular-season game at Eagle Gym to lead Huntsville to a 73-48 victory Friday night.
The Lady Eagles began the game on an 8-0 run and never relinquished the lead. With the win, Huntsville (26-2, 14-0) completed another perfect run in 4A-1 conference play. The Lady Eagles are 28-0 in conference play over the past two seasons.
Williams finished the first half with 10 points thanks to eight in the second quarter. Then she exploded for 12 points in the third quarter as the Lady Eagles shot 62 percent from the floor in the third.
“Williams had a good night and when we get her the ball, she’s going to have a good night,” Huntsville coach Charles Berry said. “She can go inside and she can go outside. She’s a complete player.”
Williams led four Lady Eagles in double figures. Morgan Myrick scored 12 points and Johnna Tenberge and Nicole Gurley finished with 11 points apiece.
Greenland’s leading scorer, sophomore Hanna Qedan, had to deal with foul trouble for most of the game. But Greenland (18-8, 9-5) coach Jeannie Qualls said she was pleased with how the rest of her team performed, with Brandi Bohannan leading the way with 15 points and Brooke Anderson scoring 12 points.
“Other girls stepped up for us tonight,” Qualls said. “Brandi Bohannan stepped up and our two little guards played well on defense. It’s just hard to stop as many weapons as they have.”
Huntsville’s girls play at Shiloh Christian on Monday before beginning play in the 4A-1 District Tournament next Friday. The Lady Pirates begin play in the district tournament Wednesday.
Huntsville 38, Greenland 30
BOYS - Evan Robinson and Kaleb Houston scored 14 points apiece as Huntsville clinched the outright conference championship with a 38-30 win.
Each player provided the offensive spark in each half. Houston poured in three 3-pointers to lead the way in the first half while Robinson wore out the Pirates on the block in the second half to the tune of 10 points.
Greenland (12-13, 6-8) found offense in the second half and trailed by just six late in the fourth. But Huntsville (22-6, 12-2) limited the Pirates to just four points in the first half, which proved to be too big of a hole.
Greenland plays in the 4A-1 District Tournament on Tuesday while Huntsville doesn’t play until next Friday.
HUNTSVILLE 73, GREENLAND 48
Greenland (18-8, 9-5): Bohannan 15, B. Anderson 12, Qedan 9, Mathias 3, Fraley 3, P. Anderson 2, Snider 2, Alaniz 1, Kulhawek 1.
Huntsville (26-2, 14-0): Williams 22, Myrick 12, Tenberge 11, Gurley 11, Robinson 9, Johnson 4, Goodwin 4.
HUNTSVILLE 38, GREENLAND 30
Greenland (12-13, 6-8): Foster 12, Arnold 5, Boone 5, Simpson 5, Riggles 2, Wolfe 1.
Huntsville (22-6, 12-2): Robinson 14, Houston 14, Whorton 4, Gabbard 4, Embry 2.
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nwaonline.net