CuriouslyAbsent
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May 19, 2013
O NOES U DIN'T! How dare you come in here all factual n stuff! We can't have you crushing tinfoil hats and derailing crazy trains....
Medical emergency eyed in Va. parade crash
by DEBRA McCOWN,Associated Press
May 19, 2013 | 171 views | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend | print
People attend to a victim who was hit by a car during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Republican-American, Bill O'Brien)
People attend to a victim who was hit by a car during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Republican-American, Bill O'Brien)
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DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) — Witnesses described a frantic scene and close calls after an elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a small Virginia mountain town's parade. Investigators were looking into whether the motorist had suffered a medical emergency before the accident. About 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial, but no fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals. Their conditions weren't immediately available. Another 12 to 15 victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance and the rest were treated at the scene, where some paramedics and other first-responders were participating in the parade. It happened around 2:10 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol. Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley didn't release the driver's name or age but said he was participating in the parade and he had traversed the Appalachian Trail in the past. Several witnesses described him as an elderly man. Nunley said the man's 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the parade and the driver might have suffered an unspecified medical problem when his car accelerated to about 25 mph and struck the crowd on a two-lane bridge along the town's main road. The driver was among those taken to hospitals. "It is under investigation and charges may be placed," Nunley said. Rudolph "Chip" Cenci, 64, of Minoa, N.Y., told The News-Item newspaper in Shamokin, Pa., that he heard people yelling "get out of the way" and turned around to find the car was about to hit him. He jumped onto the hood and held onto the gap at the base of the windshield near the wipers. He said the driver had a blank stare on his face. "I bet you that man never realized someone was on his hood," Cenci said. Cenci said he had a bump on his knee but was otherwise OK. He added that his wife, Susan, 63, narrowly missed being hit. Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath. "Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up," she said. Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped. "There's no single heroes. We're talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in," he said. Nunley cited quick action by police, firefighters, paramedics and hikers to tend to the victims, including a volunteer firefighter who dove into the car to turn off the ignition. The firefighter, whose name wasn't released, suffered minor injuries. Mayor Jack McCrady had encouraged people to attend the festival on Sunday, its final day. "In 27 years of this, we've never had anything of this magnitude, and is it our job to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said. McCrady said a donation fund was being set up to assist the injured, some of whom don't have medical insurance. "We want to make sure they don't suffer any greater loss than they already have," he said.
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Moore awarded for going the‘Extra Mile’
May 19, 2013 | 231 views | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Chrystal Moore
Chrystal Moore
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Chrystal Chattam Moore was recently awarded Gordon Hospital’s Extra Mile Award, created by members of the hospital’s Employee Engagement Committee in an effort to recognize employees who go above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis. The award is given monthly to deserving employees selected by the hospital’s directors. “Chrystal is an outstanding nurse, who I am proud to have on this team,” says Kari da Costa, director of the hospital’s Medical/Surgical Unit. “She daily portrays the mission of this facility and incorporates the practice of going the extra mile in everything she does.” Moore, RN, has been employed by Gordon Hospital for one year. She is a 1995 graduate of Calhoun High School and earned a degree in respiratory therapy from Southwestern Georgia Technical College in 2001. She earned her nursing degree in 2011 from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “I truly appreciate this award,” Moore says. “It is an honor to come back home and be chosen for the Extra Mile Award by leadership.” Moore resides in Gordon County with her husband, Aaron, and daughters, Malya, 4, and Brooklyn, 1. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family.
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GCA, Coble students entertain at Morning Pointe
May 19, 2013 | 147 views | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Georgia Cumberland Academy students who performed at Morning Pointe.
Georgia Cumberland Academy students who performed at Morning Pointe.
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Students from Coble Elementary who performed at Morning Pointe.
Students from Coble Elementary who performed at Morning Pointe.
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Students of all ages recently brought sounds of music to the seniors at Morning Pointe of Calhoun. Georgia Cumberland Academy students and Coble Elementary Students, grades 1-4 both made special trips to the assisted living community to share songs and spend time with the residents. The Coble Elementary Students have even adopted “grandparents” at Morning Pointe of Calhoun and also brought them pictures they had made with bible verses.
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Probe into Conn. train crash giving way to cleanup
by JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN,Associated Press
May 19, 2013 | 144 views | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Metro-North Railroad officials tour the scene of the train derailment, Saturday, May 18, 2013 in Bridgeport, Conn. Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries. (AP Photo/Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham)
Metro-North Railroad officials tour the scene of the train derailment, Saturday, May 18, 2013 in Bridgeport, Conn. Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries. (AP Photo/Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham)
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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Investigators will look closely at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the commuter train derailment and collision outside New York City that left dozens injured, as the focus begins to shift toward cleanup and rebuilding ahead of challenging times for travelers and commuters along the Northeast Corridor. A member of the National Transportation and Safety Board said Saturday that a fractured section of rail is of substantial interest to investigators and a portion of the track will be sent to a lab for analysis. Officials also said Saturday the incident was not the result of foul play. It's not clear if the accident caused the fracture or if the rail was broken before the crash, the NTSB's Earl Weener said. He emphasized the investigation was in its early stages and said he won't speculate on the cause of the derailment. Data recorders on board are expected to provide the speed of the Metro-North trains at the time of the crash and other information, he said. Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after a Metro-North train heading east from New York City derailed and was hit by a train heading west from New Haven. Most have been discharged. Officials earlier described devastating damage and said it was fortunate no one was killed. "I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who visited several patients in the hospital. The crash damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast. The crash also caused Amtrak to suspend service between New York and Boston. Blumenthal called the damage "absolutely staggering," Attention is slowly shifting to the cleanup, restoration — and the upcoming work week. Metro-North said train service will remain suspended between South Norwalk and New Haven until further notice. Railroad officials said rebuilding the two tracks and restoring train service "will take well into next week." NTSB investigators arrived Saturday and are expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They'll look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things. When the NTSB concludes the on-site phase of its investigation, Metro-North will begin to remove the damaged rail cars and remaining debris. The process requires specialized, heavy equipment that was expected to be in place Sunday, officials said. Only after the damaged train cars have been removed can Metro-North begin the work of rebuilding the damaged tracks and overhead wires. "It is a significant undertaking that could take days to complete," MTA said in a statement. The NTSB has allowed Metro-North to begin removing some of the track and wire from the scene. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said commuters should make plans for alternative travel through the area and urged them to consult the state Department of Transportation website for information. Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said the disruption caused by the crash could cost the region's economy millions of dollars. About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, transit and Bridgeport officials said. Passengers described a chaotic, terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies. A spokeswoman for St. Vincent Medical Center said late Saturday that 46 people from the crash were treated there, with six of them admitted. All were in stable condition, she said. A Bridgeport Hospital spokesman said 26 people from the crash were treated there, with three of them admitted. One was in critical condition and two were in stable condition, he said. The other 23 were released. The MTA operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines — the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven — run northward from New York City's Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut. The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said. ___ Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Conn., Susan Haigh in Fairfield, Conn., and Verena Dobnik in New York City contributed to this report.
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