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Musicians volunteer at Rock Block Party benefit
By Rex Rutkoski
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Justin Ryan assures there was no need for arm twisting.
After the lead-singer and lyricist for Further Down explained the reason for this weekend's "Rock Block Party" at Boyce Park, Plum, he had no shortage of bands volunteering to take part.
"They immediately said 'Put us on. There was no arm twisting, no egos.' There is a kind of band community in the Valley. It is kind of our own little community looking to help someone out if we can," Ryan, an Allegheny Township resident, says. (His full name is Justin Ryan Olbeter.)
Such sentiment is appreciated, says Debbie Hedeen of New Kensington who, with husband Mark Hedeen, is spearheading the eight-band benefit Sunday for The Justin Martinez Medical Fund.
There also will be children's activities, a Harley Davidson benefit ride and biker showcase, raffles and door prizes. Activities will take place indoors and outdoors.
Martinez is a 17-year-old West Deer native.
When he was 15, he passed out while playing paintball with friends and was diagnosed with a congenital lung disease known as primary pulmonary hypertension.
He likes to hunt, fish and play sports. His condition has suspended most of these activities. Martinez ineeds a double lung transplant.
The family needs to raise a substantial amount of money to have Justin's name placed on the organ-recipient list, Debbie Hedeen says. "Justin and his parents, Jerry and Annie, are remarkable people," she adds. "The family does not complain, but rather is looking forward to the day that Justin will have a norma,l healthy life."
Providing hope has been one of the traditional roles of music and the arts, Ryan says. "We like to inspire people," he adds. The band includes three brothers: guitarist Ed, drummer Chris and keyboardist Andy Pazul and bassist Brad Kunz. All are from Springdale.
"Artists in general, whether they are musicians or painters or poets, thrive on the fact their work means something to somebody, that someone can gain meaning from what they create," Ryan says. "If they can help improve the quality of someone's life, change the way they look at things, change someone's perspective, that's part of their job. What really makes it worthwhile is the concert this weekend is having a direct influence on someone's quality of life."
Besides, the Rock Block Party is going to be fun, he says.
"I am very confident this will be a really good show. People should definitely check it out. Some of the betters acts around the area will be there," Ryan says.
It is a diverse style of music that should appeal to different demographics, he says.
Debbie Hedeen: "I cannot praise Further Down and all the bands playing. They are so generous and sweet and so happy to do it. We're trying to make it like an old-fashioned block party. The bands are not in competition. They all are just delighted to share their time and talent with us."
Hedeen promises a "great Chinese auction" that will include a dining room table and chairs. "I'm blown away by the generosity of the businesses helping, too. There is a huge group of people volunteering."
The afternoon will begin at 1 p.m. with Tuika's Polynesian Island Magic dancers.
Hedeen says she is optimistic about the benefit, and would like to see it grow to an annual event to help pediatric-transplant funds.
It's about being part of a community and knowing a family is in need, she says. "If any of us had a sick child who needed an operation of this magnitude, and needed to raise this kind of money, we should be able to definitely hope people would be there for us," she says. "We are all in this together. We are all connected and one big human family."
If you go
What: Rock Block Party Benefit.
When: 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Boyce Park Ski Lodge, Plum.
Admission: $10, ages 13 to 21; $20, ages 21 and older; free, ages 12 and younger. Prices include soda pop and, for those with valid photo IDs, beer. Food is to be available for purchase at family-friendly prices.
Details: 724-339-3911; donations can be mailed to: the Justin Martinez Medical Fund, North Districts Community Credit Union, 5321 Route 8, Gibsonia, PA 15044.
Rex Rutkoski can be reached at rrutkoski@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4664.
FEN-PHEN TRIAL RESET FOR JUNE
By MEGAN MIDDLETON, Staff Writer
02/07/2006 - The "fen-phen" case that ended in a mistrial last week in Anderson County has been reset to for June, officials said.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 6, Tina Teetz, court coordinator in Anderson County, said.
District Court Judge James Parsons presided over last week's trial in which Palestine resident, Beverly "Kim" Tilmon, was the plaintiff and Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company, was the defendant.
Mrs. Tilmon alleged that she suffered injuries related to taking the diet drug Pondimin for several months, according to court documents and opening statements.
A mistrial was declared on the second day of the trial, the day after opening arguments.
Jim Hankins, a local Palestine attorney for Mrs. Tilmon, said by phone on Jan. 31, the day of the mistrial, that the plaintiff's counsel moved for a mistrial because Wyeth's lawyers on Jan. 30, "made, we think, inflammatory, misleading comments about the evidence."
"We really wanted to proceed with the trial," Hankins said previously. "We worked real hard to get here, but we were afraid, and the judge obviously agreed, because of the inflammatory nature and the misleading nature of the comments that they would probably unduly prejudice the jury."
Doug Petkus, Wyeth's spokesman in Madison, N.J., which is the corporate headquarters for the company, said via phone last week that, "Wyeth respectfully disagrees with the decision of the court to mistry this case. The statements made by counsel during opening statements were truthful, accurate and ethical. Ms. Tilmon was referred to two physicians by her lawyers after her other doctors found that she did not have the lung disease she claimed."
Megan Middleton covers Gregg and Anderson counties. She can be reached at 903.596.6287. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
Wyeth wins a fen-phen lawsuit in Texas
Wyeth won a jury verdict over its withdrawn diet drug Pondimin, defeating a Texas lawsuit by a woman who said the fen-phen combination damaged her heart valves. Wyeth has operations in the Philadelphia area. Jurors in state court in Beaumont, Texas, rejected Gail Roork's contention and her request for as much as $1 million from Wyeth to cover future medical expenses. Roork, 72, had said she took fen-phen for about a year. Wyeth, Madison, N.J., has set aside more than $21 billion to resolve lawsuits over fen-phen, which paired the company's Pondimin or Redux medicines with the generic phentermine.
About those appetite pills ... Are they good for you?
July 2, 2006 - SO YOU are overweight. Have you been on a diet? Statistics say you probably have. Why did your last diet fail?
Nutritionist Donovan Grant notes that being overweight is a serious problem that is increasing in Jamaica.
Overweight is also associated with some very serious health consequences and disorders including diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis, to name a few.
To be at the best weight for your body type is not only a matter of appearance, it is also a matter of good health and economics.
It may be easy for you to restart your weight loss programme, but you are tired of the diets that make you so hungry, miserable and sugar-starving crazy.
Maybe you are thinking about using one of the diet drugs. If you are, think before you do.
There are many diet drugs on the market and many have side effects or even cause life-threatening conditions. There have been recent reports of vascular damage in patients taking Fen-phen, for example, for over one year.
Other side effects include stroke and hypertension which have also been reported. Also, there are some types of slimming pills which will suppress your appetite and make you feel full throughout the day.
However, these diet drugs can cause infertility if sufficient body mass is lost to decrease or stop menstruation.
There is also some speculation on the negative effects of these drugs on the kidneys. The kidneys are responsible for removing the diet drugs from the body after they have been absorbed from the intestinal tract.
The other question to be answered is: Is it going to be possible to suppress your appetite for the rest of your life? If your appetite comes back, so will your weight. You would have wasted your time and money. Can you afford it?
What is it about weight loss that makes us so hungry?
In order to lose weight, one must cut calories and run a caloric deficit. This happens naturally in most cases when we are sick. The appetite cuts, we eat less and the body is forced to take some food from the body. Hence, weight loss usually takes place.
On a regular weight loss programme, calories from food are usually reduced. However, better results can be obtained by doing calorie-burning (not muscle-building) exercises.
In order to lose one pound per week, one would have to run a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day. And to lose weight, one would have to force the body to eat some of the food you have in storage (your extra weight).
However, in most cases, the body is totally against doing this, so we get great resistance in the form of hunger, tummyaches and headaches.
It is natural that on a weight loss programme, you are going to feel hungry at times, especially in the first week. However, there are some simple and natural ways to reduce your appetite, while you do your weight loss programme:
Periodically squeeze a half lime in a glass of water and drink. Add a tip of salt in the lime water if it makes your body acidic.
Eat a number of very small meals over time, compared to fewer larger meals spaced further apart.
Put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water and drink.
Drink one glass of green juice (vegetable-based) in the morning and one glass of non-green juice (e.g. carrots) in the evening. This will nourish the body while we do our weight loss programme. You will feel less hungry if the body is properly nourished.
Try to be busy and engage yourself in as many activities as possible.
Most of all, be determined. You will succeed.
Information provided by Eden Gardens-based nutritionist Donovan Grant. Email: Donovang2000@yahoo.com
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