Category Archives: Freedom

     Some criminals in Bradley County are getting a so-called "get out of jail free" card this week.
     It is called Amnesty or Freedom Week.
     Starting Monday, if you have an outstanding misdemeanor warrant, you have the chance to turn yourself in without going to jail, you just have to pay a little on a cash bond.
     County leaders will then let you make payments on the rest of the amount.
     According to the misdemeanor probation office, in just a three hour span Monday, about two dozen people turned themselves in, and more than five thousand dollars was collected.
     Kimberly Cheek, with the misdemeanor probation office in Bradley County, says, "This is like a freedom bill. This is a bill that's paid, it's a duty, it's a debt that you owe. Come in and pay it."
     There are about 1,500 outstanding warrants in Bradley County.
     Amnesty or Freedom week ends on Friday.

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Freedom Week In Bradley County

MORGANTON --

Freedom and Patton were clearly the class of South Mountain 2A/3A Conference wrestling this season, and the Patriots added the 2011-12 SMAC tournament championship to their resume after slipping past the rival Panthers 170-162 on Saturday at Patton.

Patton and Chase (third place; 144 points) tied with four conference champions apiece, while Freedom picked up big points by getting 11 wrestlers into either the consolation finals or championship round. The Pats ended the day with two individual champions and five runners up.

The 132-pound class featured a huge rematch from the last conference contest where Freedom won over Patton, as best friends Josh Moses of Freedom and Hunter Riles of Patton went into sudden death before Moses came out on top 6-4. Moses gained wrestler of the match for his performances.

Freedom’s other weight-class winner came via the quickest pin of the title round, as heavyweight Richlon Freeman downed Chase's Richard Sharek in 19 seconds. Patriots Logan Miller (126), Jacob Honeycutt (145), John Chaney (160), Brian Mayfield (170) and Robbie Goodchild (182) each placed second, while Dalton McGalliard (120) and Keith Hicks (138) took third.

“I am extremely proud of my team for winning the regular season and conference tournament,” said Freedom coach Jon Smith. “Getting 11 of our guys into the final four places in the 14 weight classes was enough to get us over the hump.”

Patton’s titles came from Jeremy Guinn (113), Tyler Buff (170), Cory Ross (182) and Ethan Page (195). Guinn scored an 11-0 major decision, while Buff and Ross each won by pin. Page picked up a hard-fought 7-5 decision. Riles and Chandler Laws (220) finished second, and Panther teammates Cody Patton (106) and Austin Stewart (160) were each third.

“The competition was excellent,” Panthers coach Mark Crisp said, “and I am very proud of my team and the way they performed throughout the day.”

Freedom’s season continues on into the 3A dual-team state playoffs on Tuesday versus Charlotte Catholic. The site is still to be determined. Both teams await word on qualifiers for the 3A West Regional on Feb. 17-18 at Freedom.

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Freedom claims SMAC wrestling tourney title

FREEDOM - The top spot in the Eastern Valley Conference girls basketball standings was at stake Friday night when co-leaders Fox Valley Lutheran and Freedom met.

Knowing what was on line, the Foxes and Irish were focused on making it tough on each other, and did they ever.

Both defenses swarmed as the teams combined for just 25 field goals and 36 turnovers. It wasn’t a beauty, but in the end Freedom was OK with what it looked like.

The Irish, behind 18 points from Nichole Van Den Eng, took sole possession of first place in the EVC with a hard-fought 42-37 win.

Afterwards, Freedom coach Mike VanderLoop was pleased with his players’ effort.

“In this type of setting, outstanding,” VanderLoop said. “The girls laid it on the line against a very good team and we’re fortunate to get a win.”

Freedom was fortunate, based on its offensive play. Freedom was just 10-of-43 from the floor (23.3 percent) and committed 16 turnovers.

FVL continually made things tough for the Irish, who didn’t even get a field goal from leading scorer Erin Higgins, who made eight free throws. Higgins and the rest of her teammates, for the most part, struggled scoring inside as FVL was not shy about playing physical.

However, Van Den Eng figured things out. The junior entered the game averaging four points per game and only once this season had she scored even 10 points.

She picked a perfect time to have her best game of her career and VanderLoop knew she had it in her.

“Nichole stepped up,” VanderLoop said. “She scored some big baskets for us. We know Nichole is a solid offensive player, because she shows it on occasions.”

Van Den Eng said she was just trying to her best.

“The matchups are always different,” Van Den Eng said. “I just try to always do my best, do what I can on offense and defense. Tonight they were just falling and I was open.”

Freedom trailed only once in the game, 3-1, after a Katie Doell 3-pointer. However, the Irish could never put away FVL.

Freedom led 21-14 in the third quarter and looked poised to run away from FVL. Notwithstanding, the Foxes stayed close and trailed 26-21 with a quarter to play.

In the fourth, FVL scored the first five points – all from sophomore Grace Schultz – as the game was tied at 26-all. Freedom didn’t flinch, though, as it showed a champion’s resolve.

Freedom scored the next seven points, five coming from Van Den Eng, to open a 33-26 lead and then held on as Schultz scored 13 points in the quarter.

Van Den Eng said part of the reason Freedom won this game was a little payback from the teams’ first meeting this season in which FVL won 50-34.

“There was a lot of emotion going into this game,” Van Den Eng said. “I think everybody wanted it that much more because of what did happen at FVL last time.”

Another key was Freedom’s defense, which limited FVL to 15-of-39 shooting (38.5 percent) and forced 20 turnovers. Furthermore, FVL was only 5-of-19 at the free throw line. Van Den Eng knew the defense had to be strong.

“We always focus on our defense first, because with good defense things will happen on offense for us,” Van Den Eng said.

While the win was big, it doesn’t clinch anything for the Irish. Freedom still has five conference games left, including road games at Xavier (third place in the EVC) and Berlin (fourth place in the EVC).

“We just have to play every game like we have been,” Ven Den Eng said. “The past is the past; just keep working forward and finish strong.”

Freedom has won the last three EVC titles, so VanderLoop knows what it takes down the stretch to win a conference title. Nonetheless, he’s not satisfied.

Freedom entered the game having not reached 40 points in its previous three games and the reason it topped 40 Friday was FVL fouling at the end of the game. Freedom made just 10 baskets, but was 20-for-31 at the free throw line.

“I think we’re getting better each game,” VanderLoop said. “There’s a couple things we have to work on. We’ve been frustrated with our offense the last few games.”

Notes: Freedom is 74-6 in the EVC in the last five-plus seasons. … Freedom is 0-3 when opponents score 50-plus points. … Freedom has won 37 straight conference games at home. Last loss came to Ripon, Dec. 15, 2007. … Schultz’s 16 points were a career high, besting a 10-point performance earlier this season. … FVL plays Monday against Winnebago Lutheran, while Freedom plays at Little Chute on Thursday. Game ball: Van Den Eng, who picked the perfect time to have her best game. Numbers game: 15 Points Freedom outscored FVL at the free throw line (20-5).

FREEDOM 42, FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN 37
Fox Valley Lutheran…5 8 8 16- 37
Freedom………… ….10 7 9 16- 42
Fox Valley Lutheran (11-4, 9-2)
Katie Doell 8, Abby Radue 4, Taylor Hammer 3, Erin Riley 4, Grace Schultz 16, Morgan Dorchester 2. 3-PT: 2 (Doell 2). FG: 15-39. FT: 5-19. Turnovers: 20. F: 21 Fouled out: Abby Huntington.
Freedom (13-3, 10-1)
Nichole Van Den Eng 18, Erin Higgins 8, Kim Runge 11, Jessia Runge 2, Maddy Albers

Continued here:
Freedom tops FVL, takes hold of EVC

Freedom High School posted a school record 147.2 team score at the AAA Cedar Run District gymnastics meet Feb. 1 at Patriot High School. The Eagles topped runner-up Battlefield by more than five points to claim the team title.

Broad Run placed third with 127 points, followed by host Patriot (126.85) and an Osbourn team that features just one gymnast. Freedom - coached by Laura Wrighte - and Battlefield (141.6) advance as teams to the Northwest Region meet Feb. 11 at Stafford High School.

Arianna Robinson led the Eagles charge - winning three of four individual events on her way to the all-around title with a score of 38.725. Robinson set a school record on the vault with a 9.925.

Below is a look at all the Freedom gymnasts who qualified as individuals for the regional meet.

Vault
Evelyn Soon - 8.8 in 8th
Shannon Landry - 8.85 in 7th
Alexis Chaet and Alli Gibbs - 9.0 in 3rd
Arianna Robinson - 1st and a new school record 9.925

Bars
Evelyn Soon - 7.8 in 8th
Alexis Chaet - 8.275 in 6th
Shannon Landry - 8.725 in 3rd
Alli Gibbs - 8.775 in 2nd
Arianna Robinson - 9.525 in 1st

Beam
Alexis Chaet - 8.8 in 6th
Shannon Landry - 9.325 in 4th
Alli Gibbs - 9.55 in 2nd
Arianna Robinson - 9.625 in 1st

Floor
Alexis Chaet - 9.025 in 8th
Alli Gibbs - 9.5 in 4th
Shannon Landry and Arianna Robinson - 9.65 in 2nd

All Around
Alexis Chaet - 35.1 in 5th
Shannon Landry - 36.55 in 4th
Alli Gibbs - 36.825 in 3rd
Arianna Robinson - 38.725 in 1st

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Freedom gymnasts set school record, win Cedar Run title

For at least the fourth time in its young history, the San Diego-based littoral combat ship Freedom has developed a serious mechanical or structural problem, the latest which caused the vessel to experience minor flooding while it was operating off Southern California.

The 378-foot monohull Freedom "suffered a failure of the port shaft mechanical seal" on Wednesday night, said Lt. Jan Shultis, a spokeswoman for the Navy in San Diego. "Some water went into the ship's bilge. Freedom returned to port unassisted."

Shultis said engineers are evaluating what happened to Freedom's propulsion system, which is composed of engines and water jets. The high-speed vessel was undergoing sea trials offshore when the incident occurred.

Freedom is the first vessel in a new class of warship that was developed by an industry group led by Lockheed Martin. The LCS was designed to rapidly perform a wide variety of missions in shallow waters throughout the world. The ship was commissioned in November 2008 and has suffered a string of problems that have raised questions in Congress about the vessel's design, construction and cost.

In May 2010, Freedom developed problems with a water jet that had to be repaired at General Dynamics-NASSCO in San Diego. In September 2010, one of Freedom's gas turbines broke down, requiring the ship to cut short offshore operations. The engine had to be replaced. Then in February 2011 Freedom developed a 6.5-inch crack in its hull during sea trials. The vessel took on some water, but returned to port safely. The severity of Wednesday's propulsion has yet to be made clear.

Lt. Shultis said that Freedom -- which cost at least $537 million -- is the lead vessel in a newly-designed fleet of ships, so early problems are not unusual.

The Navy also is building a second type of LCS, known as the Independence class. The lead ship -- the largely aluminum trimaran Independence -- has suffered "aggressive corrosion" in its propulsion system. news of the problem, and those suffered by Freedom, led Congressman Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, to write to the Navy last summer and say, "I strongly urge the Navy to immediately conduct a formal review of the entire LCS program, provide an assessment of the technical design flaws of the current fleet and determine the best way forward to include the possibility of rebidding this contract so that the program can be put back on a fiscally responsible path to procurement."

Navy officials said it had the problems under control, and that the vessels would enter service in a timely manner. The first 16 LCS vessels will be stationed in San Diego.

Navy unveils plans for 16 littorals in San Diego

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Warship Freedom again breaks down at sea

Walking past the scorer's table after the game Thursday night, Freedom High School senior guard Joe Lococo overheard some astonishing numbers.

"I heard we shot 10-for-36," he said. "If you hear that stat, you say 'No way, we're not going to win,' but this team finds ways to win and that is what's special about this team."

Despite struggling from the field, the Patriots maintained their lead in the Lehigh Valley Conference East Division by beating Easton 40-29 in a gritty game at Easton Area Middle School.

Freedom improved to 16-2 overall and 10-2 in the LVC as the Red Rovers dropped to 15-5 and 8-4. Liberty, which hosts Bethlehem Catholic tonight, is in the thick of the race as well at 13-6 and 8-3.

"We try not to talk about that," Freedom coach Joe Stellato said. "We try to focus one game at a time, and I stay true to that in talking about every game as a championship game.

"We didn't really talk about playoffs or anything, just one game -- us against Easton."

Just as Freedom struggled shooting, so did Easton.

The Red Rovers, who got their first points of the night with 34 seconds left in the first quarter, shot 13 of 48 from the field and were shut out over the final four-plus minutes.

Down since the start, Easton took its first lead at 29-28 when senior guard Noel Hightower made 1 of 2 free throw attempts with 4:05 remaining. Freedom regained the lead on a pair of makes from the line by Lococo, who scored a game-high 17 points, with 2:51 left.

While shutting out Easton at the defensive end, the Patriots scored the game's final 12 points from the foul line, making all but two attempts. Lococo was 8-for-8, junior center Derike Chiclana (nine points) was 2 of 4 and senior guard Jarrod Dilts was 2-for-2.

"We played great defense," Lococo said. "They didn't score after they took the lead. Winning this game the way we did is a huge confidence boost."

Not only did Stellato emphasize stout defense before tipoff, the coach stressed the importance of winning the game on the boards.

Freedom, led by Chiclana's game-high nine, won the rebounding battle 36-20.

"They pounded the boards," Easton coach Jim Hutnik said. "There were a lot of loose balls they got in situations where we didn't come up with the ball during a crucial time."

The Rovers, who had their seven-game win streak snapped, stayed within striking distance at halftime, 20-14.

DeVante Queen's layup with three seconds left in the third quarter for Easton made it a two possession game at 25-20. Queen, who scored eight points, then tied the score at 28-28 on a layup with 4:49 remaining, forcing Freedom to call a timeout.

Momentum appeared to be favoring Easton when Hightower made the second of two free throw attempts less than a minute later for the lead, but it proved not to be the case.

"We talked about rebounding the basketball and we did that; we talked about defense and we did that," Stellato said. "Our kids are such competitors and they hate to lose. They haven't lost a lot and they hate that feeling so something kicks in with them. I can't take that credit.

"We beat a good basketball team tonight. I'm proud of our kids."

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Freedom High School boys basketball team beats Easton Area High School

CINCINNATI (USA TODAY) — It opened to great fanfare and promise in 2004. Now, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, whose exhibits focus on the story of the American struggle for freedom, especially that of African Americans, is in deep financial trouble that could force it to shut down.

Located where African Americans crossed the Ohio River into freedom, the center has cut expenses severely but faces a $1.5 million shortfall in its 2012 budget, said Freedom Center board Co-chairman John Pepper and other center leaders.

Pepper, chairman of the board of Walt Disney; the Rev. Damon Lynch, Pepper's Freedom Center co-chairman; and Kim Robinson, the center's president and chief executive, discussed the threat of the center closing by the end of 2012.

"We were not crying wolf," Pepper said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

The Freedom Center's budget has been cut from $12.5 million in 2004 to $4.6 million in 2011, and its workforce from 120 to 34 full-time employees, Robinson said. "We are scratching and clawing," he said.

By its nature as an institution that examines the enslavement of Africans in North America, the Freedom Center has struggled to fight the label that it's a black-only museum, Lynch said.

The Freedom Center, by its leadership's admission, failed to market its mission clearly enough and appeal to all audiences. "We need to become more engaging to bring families and young people through our door," Pepper said.

Pepper is the Freedom Center's primary fundraiser and benefactor. He and his wife, Francie, have contributed more than $15 million since 1999, he said.

In 2010, the center expanded its original mission of telling the stories of abolitionists from the Underground Railroad? a network of secret routes used by African-American slaves to escape to free states and Canada ? by adding a permanent exhibit, Invisible: Slavery Today, that examines contemporary slavery, human trafficking and its abolitionists.

The exhibit, which looks at practices that ensnare up to 17 million people globally, has won the center new supporters, among them scholar James Stewart of Macalester College in St. Paul.

"These exhibits are precious materials," said Stewart, the founder of Historians against Slavery, a group dedicated to resurrecting the abolitionist spirit on college campuses and promoting discussion of social-justice issues.

The recession and deep cuts in government funding for museums nationally have made fundraising both essential and difficult. The center received almost $20 million in public money from the city of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, the state of Ohio and the federal government from 2004 through 2011. That number is likely to level off at about $250,000 in federal money this year, with no city, county or state funds expected in the immediate future, Pepper said.

Public funding for U.S. museums dropped to an average of 17% of total museum revenue in 2010, down from 24% in 2008, according to a survey released in December by the American Association of Museums.

"It's very common," Dewey Blanton, director of strategic communication for the association. "Public donations are down, too, in this economy."

Heavy investment of government money has made the Freedom Center a popular target of local anti-tax groups, primarily the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), led by Cincinnati attorney Christopher Finney.

"My position and COAST's position is we want (the Freedom Center) to survive and thrive and be a nice addition to the city ? without tax dollars," he said.

Paid attendance has leveled off to about 113,000 in each of the past three years, according to Freedom Center records. Though the center has had no problem attracting big-name visitors ? its list of International Freedom Conductor Award winners includes Rosa Parks, former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush and Desmond Tutu? it has had trouble gaining support in its hometown. A third of the center's 1.135 million visitors in its first seven years came from metropolitan Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, Freedom Center records show.

The center has begun to answer complaints of being aloof by Cincinnati NAACP chapter President Christopher Smitherman and others by reaching out to the city's black community and partnering with programs that assist children from low-income families and at-risk mothers.

The center "has to ride the edge of a razor," said state Sen. Bill Seitz, a suburban Cincinnati Republican, who would like to see offerings expanded to include, for example, the struggle for freedom in World War II. "If it widens its appeal to draw a broader audience, then some African Americans aren't happy. And it's a victim in the larger white community, which can see it as a black museum and not go."

Several revenue-generating options have been discussed, including tenants for the building, which the Underground Railroad Freedom Center owns outright, a potential naming-rights deal, opening a full-scale restaurant to utilize its liquor license and further investment in social programs.

To Lynch, a Cincinnati native and pastor for 41 years of New Jerusalem Baptist Church, one of the city's most influential black congregations, the Freedom Center's survival is personal. "Not on my watch," he said. "We will do whatever it takes now to be here 100 years from now."

Copyright 2012 USA TODAY

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Underground Railroad Freedom Center battling tough times

President Abraham Lincoln rode a train that passed through New Freedom while on his way to give his famous address in Gettysburg, said Diane Folger.

"There's a lot of history in New Freedom, and that's what we're trying to get out, the value that New Freedom had back in that time when the train was running on Northern Central railroad," said Folger, a borough resident.

The borough's history will be on display in The Heritage Museum of New Freedom.

The museum's grand opening is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 22 Railroad Ave. in the borough.

The museum was developed by the 35-member New Freedom Heritage, which works to preserve the borough's history, as well as the borough's cultural character, said Folger,

New Freedom Heritage Vice President Brenda Putnam straightens a historic baseball uniform in the historical society's Heritage Museum of New Freedom. The museum is hosting a grand opening 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. (Bill Kalina Photo)

the Heritage president.

The grand opening will include a book signing from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. with Bob Ketenheim, author of "Around New Freedom."

At 1 p.m., a Benjamin Franklin impersonator will present "Ben Franklin from Beginning to End."

The museum will be open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month, Folger said. There is no entrance fee, she said.

The museum features the "Free Family Quilt" donated by Kathleen Craig, a Virginia resident who is a descendent of the Free family who founded New Freedom in 1873, Folger said.

Artifacts: Museum artifacts include old photographs, railroad items, old high school memorabilia and yearbooks and sports items, including trophies, uniforms and pictures of teams, she said.

There are products and equipment on display from past businesses, including American Insulator, Charles G. Summers Jr. Cannery and sewing factories, Folger said.

Established in 2005, New Freedom Heritage has been working on museum plans since 2008, the year the group acquired a building for it. The facility was renovated and prepared to house museum items, she said.

Over the past two years, the group collected and received donated items from borough residents and the local government, Folger said.

"We're excited to have this opening, to have our history on display," she said.

Jeff Halapin, the borough's mayor, said he had a chance to go through the museum and is impressed by what he saw.

"(The New Freedom Heritage has) done a fantastic job," he said. "It's just the best and I'm glad they finally got it open. I hope that people from outside the borough will come and see this museum."

--Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438.

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New Freedom museum opens Saturday

A man looks at a copy of the final edition of the News of the World newspaper in Waltham Cross, southern England, in July last year. REUTERS/Ian Nicholson/Pool

Newspaper freedom could be curtailed if parliament were allowed to pass new laws to police the industry, the head of the Press Complaints Commission said on Tuesday, calling for an improved form of self regulation.

David Hunt, a former government minister, made an impassioned defence of the freedom of the press when he appeared before the Leveson inquiry launched as a result of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Hunt, appointed last October to head a body derided as "toothless" for its response to the hacking scandal set out his plans to strengthen the PCC.

It should be given the power to fine newspapers who breached a new set of standards, Hunt said. Each publication should name a senior individual to take personal responsibility for ensuring compliance with PCC rules under a new contractual arrangement.

"I sense there is a willingness to accept a fresh start and a new body," Hunt said, saying that Northern & Shell, publisher of the Daily Express and Daily Star tabloids, had indicated it was willing to sign up.

The publisher does not participate in the PCC after a series of disputes.

Inquiry head Brian Leveson asked Hunt if he believed that parliament might rein in the press if given the power to create a new statutory regulator.

"Yes and they have told me so, many of them, in both houses," said Hunt, a former MP who now sits in the upper House of Lords.

"The liberty of the press is the birthright of a Briton," Hunt said, quoting 18th century English radical John Wilkes.

Hunt, who replaced Peta Buscombe who resigned during the outcry over phone hacking last year, said that he felt the PCC had never been given the tools to do an adequate job.

"The PCC has been unfairly criticised for failing to exercise powers it never had in the first place," he said.

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Complaints boss urges UK press freedom

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Marcia G. Yerman: 'Chimes of Freedom' Celebrates the Power of Music and Activism