Monday, May 17, 2010

“Cops, kids and fingerprints” plus 3 more

“Cops, kids and fingerprints” plus 3 more

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Cops, kids and fingerprints

Posted: 17 May 2010 02:10 AM PDT

Changing course: Indian Education helps kids graduate

Posted: 16 May 2010 10:29 PM PDT

The odds of graduating from high school were stacked against Melody Staebner.

Her abusive stepfather taunted her, telling her she was worthless. She fell into the "wrong crowd" and often skipped school.

"One day, I just got sick of it," she said of the day she moved out of her home. "I wanted to prove him wrong. I thought, 'I want to be somebody.' "

Now, at 33, she's a "somebody" to 500 Fargo and West Fargo American Indian students who stand in similar shoes, trying to prove society – and a statistic – wrong.

In Fargo and nationwide, American Indians on average are more likely to drop out of school than receive their high school diploma. With high rates of truancy and mobility, low graduation rates are status quo.

Staebner is working tirelessly to change that.

As the Fargo School District's Indian Education coordinator, she oversees a program that supports both Fargo and West Fargo's American Indian students.

"We're just an extra service to keep kids on track and encourage a positive outlook on school and education," she said.

Ten monthly clubs bring in American Indian speakers, traditional games and crafts. It not only promotes students' culture but may help keep them in school.

"I think it helps a person be a full person to know their roots," Staebner said. "It gives them more self-identity."

The program also pairs 60 students with tutors who help with everything from homework to applying for college scholarships to planning their futures.

"If they don't feel that connection (at school), they won't stick around," she said.

In North Dakota, 55 percent of American Indian students graduated in 2009, according to state data. In Fargo, about 50 percent or fewer graduate.

In the class of 2007, 16 of Fargo's 29 American Indian students dropped out, and 13 graduated.

It's difficult, Staebner said, to pinpoint exactly why graduation rates are so much lower for American Indians than other groups.

For some students, it's the effects of mobility as families trek between reservations and the metro area or even just across Fargo to different schools.

For others, they've simply fallen too far behind.

For Shanae Cote, it was depression and an inability to concentrate at school that almost caused her to drop out of West Fargo High School last year.

Getting C's and D's, the 18-year-old had seen three sisters drop out of school.

"I was so close," she said. "Then I just realized there's no point in dropping out. Suddenly, this year, I realized I am smart and I can do it. I wanted a better life."

Working with a tutor from the Indian Education program not only helped the senior catch up in classes – she made the A honor roll – it motivated her to make it to graduation.

"It feels like someone is there for you," said Cote, who plans to study massage therapy after she graduates this month. "It's been a hard few years. Graduating – it's exciting."

This year, there are more students like Cote beating the odds.

Graduation rates among American Indian students in Fargo and West Fargo are up – a hopeful trend Staebner and her staff say is a reflection of the program's success.

"Our numbers may be small, but even without our program, the numbers would be smaller," she said of graduation rates.

On Friday, a graduation picnic will honor this month's graduates. Five of eight Fargo American Indian seniors will receive diplomas while seven of 10 West Fargo students will graduate.

Ricky McGrady will be one of them.

The senior credits his parents and friends for pushing him to do well in school. Being on West Fargo's baseball team has also held him accountable for keeping up his grades.

"If the parents don't care, chances are the kids don't care," said the 18-year-old, who plans to enter the U.S. Air Force next fall.

He said that especially when he lived in rural New Town, N.D., school wasn't valued among his American Indian peers.

"It wasn't cool to do homework," he said.

Reversing that mind-set, he said, and having parents push teens to succeed could help tackle American Indian dropout rates.

Cote added that schools need to better reach out to American Indian students to ensure they feel valued at school, especially because they aren't respected by all school staff, she said.

Both teens credit the Indian Education program for filling in some of the gaps.

In Staebner's seven years leading the program, it's grown slightly in resources and staff – three people, including her. However, now its future is in limbo.

A grant ending next year could end one of the positions, and if that happens, Staebner said she'll have to cut back on services, impacting the students she helps.

"We are spread pretty thin," she said. "Hopefully the district will get on board."

"We're trying to show them right now this is the impact our program has on individual successes," she added about the students they work with. "We may be their only hope."

Readers can reach Forum reporter Kelly Smith at (701) 241-5515

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Flyers rout Canadiens in East finals opener

Posted: 16 May 2010 08:05 PM PDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—The Philadelphia Flyers are about to find out what it's like to play from in front. It's been a while since the NHL's comeback kids have been the ones being chased.

Fresh off a stirring Game 7 win over the Boston Bruins that capped a rally from three games down, the Flyers scored early against Jaroslav Halak(notes) and the Montreal Canadiens and rolled to a 6-0 win in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night.

Michael Leighton(notes) was strong in a slow-starting first period for the Flyers and finished with 28 saves in his first NHL playoff shutout. James van Riemsdyk(notes), Danny Briere(notes) and Simon Gagne(notes) scored in a span of 9:23 in the second to turn it into a rout.

"It makes it a little bit easier when we score that many," Leighton said. "In the second period, we played really well. We got a few goals and that kind of calmed me down and I think it calmed the team down. It took a lot of pressure off us."

There would be no comeback necessary for the surging Flyers, who rebounded from a 3-0 series hole against the Bruins and a three-goal deficit in Game 7 in Boston on Friday night. Philadelphia has won five straight overall and is 5-1 in the playoffs in front of its orange-clad crowd.

Game 2 of the NHL's first final four matchup between a No. 7 and No. 8 seed will be Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

"We know they're going to come back a lot better, a lot stronger in the next game," Briere said. "The goal was to keep home-ice advantage—win the two games. We're just halfway there."

Halak was easily outplayed by Leighton, unbeaten since replacing the injured Brian Boucher(notes) in Game 5 of Philadelphia's win over Boston.

Montreal is been adept at coming from behind, too, in these playoffs. The Canadiens erased a 3-1 series deficit in the first round, and were down 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in the second.

"We have to analyze the game, no doubt," Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. "The special teams play needs to be better. It was our overall game that made us successful the first and second round and we didn't compete the way we needed to win."

The seventh-seeded Flyers were stunned to have home-ice advantage for the first time since the second round in 2004, and quickly made the most of it. Philadelphia also took a 1-0 lead in the opening round against New Jersey before finishing that series in five games.

"It's more fun playing with the lead—winning games," Briere said, "but you have to deal with whatever is in front of you. The goal was to start with a win."

Defenseman Braydon Coburn(notes) scored his first NHL playoff goal during a first-period power play, van Riemsdyk pushed the lead to 2-0 just 30 seconds into the middle frame, and Briere and Gagne—on another power play—beat Halak 5:30 apart to finish the spurt.

Scott Hartnell(notes) and Claude Giroux(notes) added third-period goals against Carey Price(notes).

Leighton will take a shutout streak of 105 minutes, 50 seconds into Game 2. Not bad for a guy who sat out because of an ankle injury from March 16 until May 10.

He has allowed only four goals on 98 shots in four games since taking over for Boucher, who is likely out for the postseason with a knee injury.

Halak, the biggest factor in the eighth-seeded Canadiens' upsets of top-seeded Washington and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh, was gone 9:53 into the second after facing only 14 shots. He entered this series with an NHL-best .933 save percentage in the playoffs.

"That's the last guy you pin it on," Canadiens forward Scott Gomez(notes) said. "We're here because of him."

The Canadiens endured chants of "USA! USA!" and heard mocking recitals of the familiar "Ole, Ole, Ole" song that often resonates at home.

The Flyers insisted there would be no emotional or physical carry-over from their stunning win over Boston on Friday, and then they proved it.

Philadelphia had only one day off after eliminating Boston. Instead of looking weary after becoming the third NHL team to win a series it trailed 3-0, the Flyers were revved up.

The Canadiens helped the cause by taking a series of uncharacteristic undisciplined penalties—three of which directly led to goals.

"We had confidence, but we started out slow," Flyers captain Mike Richards(notes) said. "As the game went on, I thought we got better. Our power play was clicking and that ultimately got us the victory."

Coburn started the scoring when he put in a rebound of Ville Leino's(notes) shot that bounced around in front of Halak while Gomez served a roughing penalty.

"We didn't come out as well as we wanted to," Briere said. "Michael was ready right from the start. If it wasn't for him, it could've been a different story."

The tide turned in the second period when Giroux cleanly won an offensive zone faceoff from Gomez, and nudged the puck toward Halak. Van Riemsdyk took two whacks at it and knocked it in.

Just a second after Maxim Lapierre's(notes) penalty ended, Briere slapped a shot from the top of the right circle for his team-best eighth of the playoffs. Gagne, who has five goals and six points in five games since returning from a toe injury, made it 4-0 during another power play and ended Halak's night.

"It definitely leaves a bitter taste in your mouth," Price said. "When you have to come back from a performance like that, it definitely motivates you."

NOTES: It was Coburn's first goal in 60 games, dating to Dec. 21 against Florida. … Montreal has won three of the previous five playoffs series against Philadelphia. … Price was 0-1 with a 3.44 GAA in three previous playoff appearances this year. He hadn't played since Game 1 of the second round against Pittsburgh.

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Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Carly’s Kids’ Day scheduled for May 22

Posted: 16 May 2010 11:28 PM PDT
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