Inside the Newsroom @ Chelsea, Dexter

The official blog for The Chelsea Standard and Dexter Leader


Friday, January 22, 2010

Launching 'Take Care' series


I'm proud to announce that a long pondered idea is finally coming to fruition. "Take Care" will be an ongoing series of columns about my experience with a number of health and fitness related areas, starting with chiropractic thanks to Dr. Bill and Jennifer Simpson of Simpson Family Chiropractic.

Photo caption: Dr. Bill's x-rays tell a disturbing story of my skeletal health. Read next week's Dexter Leader and Chelsea Standard for a more thorough initial look at what's going on inside of me.

I attended the grand opening of the Simpson's Dexter practice last month. Dr. Bill gave a tour and talked about what he does and what the equipment in his office is for. It was very intriguing to listen to him talk about some of the problems chiropractic care can address.

Many of you have probably seen me in person over the three or so years that I've been the Dexter, and to a lesser extent, Chelsea reporter. Let's be honest -- I'm fat, or at least I was much moreso during the autumn of 2008, when I started exercising regularly and eating much healthier. The hardwork has taken my physicality to a place at which I would use words like "overweight" or "flabby" to describe myself now, which is good progress.

Even now my health isn't 100 percent -- nowhere near it. I won't get into my health history here, because I'll be doing that in future updates and articles in the print editions of The Dexter Leader and Chelsea Standard. I do want to say that improving your health does not happen over night.

Let's repeat that together: repairing health does not happen over night. It takes years to put on weight, atrophy muscle, become inflexible and misalign bones and joints. Please follow this blog and read my print articles as we talk about the process of improving these areas. It has been worth the effort, as I feel completely different from how I felt 14 or 15 months ago.

There's still quite a ways to go. Thank you for reading. Hopefully you will watch my journey and take something away from it. We'll talk about my first evaluation, my first adjustment and my musculo-skeletal health in next week's papers.


Shameless plug

My band, Delirious Love, and I will be performing from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at the Quarter Bistro in Ann Arbor Saturday. The Bistro is located at 300 S. Maple Road. The show is free, but I encourage anyone attending to patronize this restaurant. They have been very generous to our band.
Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Help for Haiti

Like many Americans, I was unaware of the devastation –– both physical and emotional –– an earthquake can do until I saw it first-hand on television last week.
During the CBS Nightly News telecast on Friday, I watched as anchor Katie Couric toured the ravaged parts of Haiti, visiting with injured children and families, victims of the 7.0 earthquake near the capital of Port-Au-Prince on Jan. 12.
I remember watching a little boy with a broken arm scream out “Why!” over and over again while he was holding Couric’s hand as medics tried to reset the bone.
It was one of the most powerful images of suffering I had seen on television in a long time.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 3 million people, a third of Haiti's population, may need immediate emergency assistance. In the face of such need, the Red Cross already has run out of medical supplies. More are on the way, but no one knows when they will arrive, or how many they will be too late to save.
In response to this devastating natural disaster, President Barack Obama has ordered a Marine Expeditionary Unit, consisting of about 1,100 U.S. Marines, to provide humanitarian assistance and security as attempts to bring in outside aid increase.
However, each of us should not simply take solace in the fact that some of our men and women in uniform are being deployed to provide relief –– we should all join the rescue effort. Each able American should find a way to help bring relief to a nation that is facing a dire situation that will only worsen without significant and immediate aid.
I encourage all of our readers to take up this cause and the Haitian recovery effort in some way, whether it is a direct donation or volunteering to help collect funds for a charity. Together, we can help make a difference for a nation where thousands of parents have been separated from their children. Some may never be reunited, and others will be physically and emotionally scarred for life.
As Americans, we must step up and help those who cannot help themselves. I have included a list of charities that are actively sending aid to the citizens of Haiti.

American Red Cross

www.redcross.org
You can make an automatic $10 donation to the Red Cross by texting "HAITI" to 90999. The money will be charged directly to your cell phone bill.

Catholic Relief Services
www.crs.org.

Doctors Without Borders
www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

UMCOR
Donations can be made online through the UMCOR Web site. Visit http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/, and click on the “Haiti Emergency” icon in the top right corner.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Want to partner with us?

In these difficult economic times, many groups are hurting for funds. Thanks to state-wide budget cuts, public school systems across Michigan are in trouble. Many programs that we’ve learned to take for granted over the years – athletics, band, etc. – are under a heavy budget crunch.

So why not partner with The Chelsea Standard and Dexter Leader – and help your organization raise needed cash?

We are offering $10 for every new one-year subscription to The Chelsea Standard or Dexter Leader that your group sells. That means $100 for only 10 orders; $500 for 50 orders; and $1,000 for 100 orders! There is no limit to our partnership. Sell 500 orders and we will give your organization $5,000.

We understand how difficult it is to raise money with the same old fund-raisers year after year. After all, families can only use so much wrapping paper and candles. The Saline reporter is the gift that lasts. This is why our fund-raising opportunity has such great value.

The Chelsea Standard and Dexter Leader is delivered directly to the homes of our customers 52 times a year, with fresh content and local news and information that is important to the people that live and work and attend the schools in your community. We offer award-winning news coverage, including the areas best and most comprehensive sports sections. In addition, we offer discount coupons, entertainment news, classifieds and more, making a yearly subscription to The Saline reporter a fantastic value.

A one-year subscription to the Chelsea Standard or Dexter Leader is only $35. (A new subscriber is anyone who has not taken the newspaper in the past 90 days).

All you need to do is sell the order, fill out a provided form, collect payment and turn in the orders to us once a month. That’s all there is to it. We will cut your organization a check!

All we need to set up your group as an official partner is the following information:

A contact name and number from your organization
A W-9 form for payment purposes
A logo (in PDF format) for use in the printed materials, which we will supply your group for your sales effort.
It’s that simple.
To set your organization up as an official partner, please contact Bob Riddell at 734-246-0757 or e-mail briddell@heritage.com.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

A New Year, a new day

The New Year’s holiday certainly calls for celebration. It’s a time filled with happiness and hope, as we anticipate a new beginning. It’s also a time for planning and prioritizing our personal and professional as-pirations.
This week, many of us will make lists and set goals to better ourselves, and the lives of our families.
But let’s face it, there’s a big difference between wishes and reality.
I began planning for the New Year a month ago. I informed my girlfriend that this year was the year I will go to the gym and start working out more after work. Sure I say that every year, but I feel energized and ready to go this year. It’s not for a lack of trying in the past. I even bought a Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii to try and motivate myself to workout in the comfort of my living room –– that lasted all of a week.
I also attempted to participate in the “Flat Belly Diet” a few months ago. That attempt lasted two days. Again, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I just couldn’t get myself to drink a gallon of something called “sassy wa-ter” everyday for three days. In hindsight, I think I could drink a cup of gutter water and it would taste better than this “sassy water.”
But, I am not deterred. After looking at a few recent pictures taken over the holidays, that’s enough incentive to start doing something, even if it’s just learning how to eat better. Since moving to Michigan almost three years ago, I have gained about 13 pounds. I guess all that pizza and “on the go” meals have finally caught up to me.
I can just hear my mom: “You need to eat better.” Eating three square meals a day is not always the easiest task when you are on deadline.
For me, resolutions can be put into two categories, “should do,” or “will do.” For instance, I “should” make an effort to study for the GRE so I can apply to graduate school this year. However, I “will” find time to finish unpacking the boxes that currently fill the living room of my new apartment.
In order to make my weight loss resolution a reality, it must be moved from the “should do” column into the “will do” column. Like most of you, a lot of times my resolutions end up in the “should do” column, where they stay until I dust them off for the following year and the cycle repeats itself.
“Should do” resolutions rarely inspire us, but instead cause anxiety and dread. “Should do” resolutions are usually less likely to become a reality.
A “will do” resolution, however, is something we believe is possible.
If I have time, resources and drive to exercise this year, I could shed 10 pounds by 2011. Believing that I will achieve my goal is the first step to a successful resolution.
In order to prepare for this year’s resolution, I found an apartment that has a built-in gym down the hall from me. If I pay for it with my rent, I should use it. I also started reading articles in “Men’s Health” magazine to inspire me. I have also spent more time in the grocery store looking at the nutrition information on food products versus throwing something in my cart because it looks good.
I’m confident that I will approach 2010 with an open mind. And for those who have also decided to make weight loss their goal for the new year, you can follow my progress online via periodic entries in our new online blog, “Inside the Newsroom at Chelsea and Dexter,” at http://chelseanewsroom.blogspot.com/
We will also soon be posting a link to the blog directly from our Web site at www.heritage.com. In addition to my weekly posts, Chelsea resident and Heritage staff writer Lisa Allmendinger will also contribute as well as our staff writer, Sean Dalton.
I encourage readers to check out our blog and leave us a comment or two. For all my fellow readers who are committed to a resolution this year, good luck!

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