ACROSS AMERICA — Roxanne Prado, of Homewood, Illinois, is finding her best and baddest self in the full-contact, elbows-in sport of roller derby, which has helped female athletes shatter the glass ceilings of the sports world as far back as the 1930s.
Roller derby has a salty reputation to begin with, and Prado wasn’t sure what to expect when she laced her skates for the first time, but the scene she finds herself in takes everything in a perhaps unexpected direction. Prado rolls with the Chicago Knockouts, a throwback to mid-century bank track roller derby, perform classic and theatrical roller derby.
The result is a kaleidoscope of zombies, superheroes and more wildly imaginative characters, but Prado told Patch’s Jeff Arnold there’s a lot more to it for her.
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“I think that roller derby might have a certain image associated to it,” she said. “But really for me, when I watch a derby, I’m seeing not just this entertainment aspect of it, but I’m also seeing women that are strong, women that are working together.” » A Patch Exclusive by Jeff Arnold for Homewood-Flossmoor Patch
‘Music Can Change Lives’
If roller derby doesn’t entertain you, pull up a beach chair at Fort Myers Beach and listen to Derick Nangle, a 26-year-old music therapy major at Florida Gulf Coast University, as he plays his 1929 sousaphone or, occasionally, a trombone. “I play anything — pop, jazz, rock and roll,” he told Patch’s Tiffany Razzano. “I just want to make people smile.” Yes, he takes requests. John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is popular with the crowd. He likes to get them on their feet. Cue “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers and “Boogie Shoes” by KC and the Sunshine Band. He knows quite a bit about the power of music. He carried a tumor the size of a golf ball around in his brain for most of his life, and discovered music therapy during surgery to remove it. “Music can change lives,” he said. » A Patch Exclusive by Tiffany Razzano for Fort Myers Patch
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‘People Look For Places Like This’
One of the oldest sit-down restaurants in the Midwest, Merichka’s Food in Joliet, Illinois, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this week. It’s a milestone accomplishment for the family restaurant that began in the 1930s when the founder began selling poorboy garlic butterie sandwiches from her front porch. A new generation of customers are enthralled with the nostalgic feel, as well as the menu for what has evolved into a steakhouse. “People love the nostalgia fact. It’s great. We’re extremely proud that we’re still around, and hopefully for many years to come,” co-manager Zdralevich III told Patch’s John Ferak. “I think a lot of people look for places like this.” » A Patch Exclusive by John Ferak for Joliet Patch
Bicycle Routes Run Through Ballet
Four self-described “ballet dads” from Temecula, California, plan to pedal from San Francisco to Malibu this fall in the California Coast Bike Tour to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. They were strangers when their daughters had dance class together, but discovered their common interests and built lasting friendships. “We bonded over countless hours and years our girls spent in ballet training, rehearsals and ballet performances,” David Lu told Patch’s Ashley Ludwig. “As fathers, we came to appreciate the beauty of ballet and the confidence, discipline, creativity and teamwork that developed in our daughters through dance.” They found a similar groove in cycling. It’s clear, Lorenzo Villafranco, that “we dads [have] embarked on a new, fulfilling journey to help millions of Americans battle arthritis.” » A Patch Exclusive by Ashley Ludwig for Temecula Patch
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‘Volunteering Is My Oxygen’
Over the past 25 years, Rockville Centre, New York, resident Susan Keller has logged nearly 29,000 volunteer hours at a local hospital, but says the question of who benefits most may not be the patients, who range from stroke victims to babies in the NICU. “Volunteering is my oxygen,” she told Patch’s Jerry Barmash. It has helped her overcome shyness, and her visits with patients are the most exhilarating hours of the day. “It’s just such a powerful thing,” she said. » A Patch Exclusive by Jerry Barmash for Rockville Centre Patch
The Birth Of A Bakery
Black Market Bakers in Edgewater, Maryland, has a good thing going. It’s as clear as the line of people outside waiting to buy the creative pastries that were featured on a TV baking show. Co-founder Steve O’Leary started baking bread early in the pandemic and his mother delivered the products, leading to the “Black Market” name. A food truck came next, and eventually, after Peacock’s “Baking It” show, the brick-and-mortar shop that employs 35 people. Now, a second location is opening. It’s no wonder. Rick Woodhouse, a regular customer, told Patch’s Jacob Baumgart that he and his wife come in once a week to stock up on bread and pastries. “This reminds me of the neighborhood bakeries in Europe,” he said. » A Patch Exclusive by Jacob Baumgart for Annapolis Patch
‘We Not Me’
Women who were seniors on the 2002 Concord High School girls basketball team remain a tight-knit group two decades later. Five of them met recently at the funeral of a teammate who had died and decided to set up the We Above Me scholarship in her memory and the memory of another teammate who had died in the last few years, Patch’s Tony Schinella reported. The teammates are starting small, with a single $500 scholarship for a girl who plays at least one sport and defines the “we not me” spirit of teamwork. Among other criteria, the scholarship recipient should plan to focus on a human services-related field, as the women the scholarship honors did. » A Patch Exclusive by Tony Schinella for Concord Patch
Still A Fixer
For many years, Victoria Vaughan, 32, helped her clients “fix their lives” through her job as a social worker. In a career switch, she’s still fixing things, but as a diesel technician — she graduated from a year-long training program at Universal Technical Institute’s Bloomfield, New Jersey, campus in the abrupt career switch. “I absolutely love it,” Vaughn told Patch’s Eric Kiefer. “It gives me a chance to take something apart, find what happened and how to make it better. That ties into what I used to love to do as social worker – get down to the nitty-gritty and build something back up, so it’s good as new again.” She’s also following in her dad’s footsteps. » A Patch Exclusive by Eric Kiefer for Bloomfield Patch
The Power Of Art With An AI Assist
A nursing facility in New York’s Hudson Valley is using artificial intelligence to help people with cognitive impairments and other medical needs express themselves through art. To create, all they have to do is describe an image, and it appears on the computer screen, ready for editing. “It’s opening up doors; it’s a new world for them,” Ashley Scala, the community life manager at the Andrus on Hudson care facility, told Patch’s Michael Woyton. “It’s amazing to witness how this program is not only providing an outlet for their creativity but also bringing blacked memories and sparking conversations.” » A Patch Exclusive by Michael Woyton for Rivertowns Patch
An Electrifying Dream
Bay Shore, New York, native Quentin Owusu-Adjei Thomson moved to Hollywood, California, to pursue an electrifying dream in 2022. Now, the 24-year-old actor is another step closer to snagging an audition for the DC Comics superhero film, “Static Shock,” produced by Michael B. Jordan. He put together his own concept trailer, “Quentin Thompson is STATIC SHOCK: Help An Underdog Get Into DCEI Film.” The last year has had “ups and downs,” Thompson told Patch’s Maureen Mullarkey. “Sometimes it feels like, it’s not paying off. But at the same time, I look at people who are supporting me and just makes it so much more rewarding. And it makes it feel like I’ve already succeeded.” » A Patch Exclusive by Maureen Mullarkey for Bay Shore Patch
A Different ‘Yes To The Dress’
Having a fancy dress is taken for granted by some high school students, but for many others, it’s not going to happen without some help. In one California school, that’s coming from the high school girls soccer team, whose members collected more than 100 prom dresses and a handful of men’s suits were collected for students who otherwise couldn’t afford prom. The cost: A canned food item. Organizer Marcia Lipp, a JV soccer coach at Murrieta Mesa High School, told Patch’s Ashley Ludwig that she made a social media post to give away a couple of dresses, and the effort mushroomed with offers for more dresses, enough for a “Say ‘Yes’ to the Dress” prom shopping event. » A Patch Exclusive by Ashley Ludwig for Murrieta Patch
Seeing The ‘Invisible Kids’
Minnesota educator Jerry Sparby has been keeping his promise to a teen who shot and killed two of his classmates for more than 20 years. “Try to make sure other people don’t do what I did,” the teen had implored. Sparby has done that in a variety of ways since, starting with counseling kids who had either shot someone or wanted to. The thing they all had in common? They all felt “invisible” and friendless. “It was the same profile time after time,” Sparby told Patch’s Beth Dalbey. His focusis getting at the root of the causes of gun violence with a program and app called HuddLUp that uses hundreds of games to help kids and their families learn to get along and have fun again. Greg Spanier, a fourth-grade teacher at an elementary school in Cold Spring, Minnesota, where the two high school students were shot and killed 23 years ago, believes HuddLUp has the potential canned antibullying curriculums didn’t to change the culture. “It’s fun. It’s truly fun,” he said. “When people laugh together, take time every day to laugh and have fun, how can you argue that is not good for mental health? Smiling, laughing is taking care of someone’s mental health at some level.” » A Patch Exclusive by Beth Dalbey for Minneapolis Patch
A Taylor Swift Twofer
Patch’s Lauren Traut has a couple of stories about kids in the Chicago area who were given highly prized tickets to Taylor Swift’s June concert, thanks to Project Fire Buddies, a volunteer-led effort by the Oak Forest and surrounding fire departments to bring joy to kids battling critical illnesses. The Fire Buddies had to pull out all the stops to make it happen. “We look at every child, every fire buddy, like they’re our own family,” said Kurt DeGroot, Fire Buddies CEO, said. “All of us on the team, try to put ourselves in their shoes.” » A Patch Exclusive by Lauren Traut for Manhattan Patch
About 25 miles away in Oak Forest, twin sisters with a rare genetic disease that causes the deterioration of cells in the brain and spinal cord also have tickets to see the megastar. “It’s grueling to watch things slip away from the girls,” said Mandy Ronaldson, their mother. Of the generosity of Fire Buddies, “it’s huge,” she said. » A Patch Exclusive by Lauren Traut for Oak Forest Patch
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