sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to International Raccoon Appreciation Day!
International Raccoon Appreciation Day (IRAD) is a day meant to celebrate all animals, specifically raccoons, that, while being an important part of their ecosystem, are misunderstood and considered “pests” or “nuisance animals” to local peoples. This could include raccoons and coyotes in rural parts of the United States or elephants in farming communities of Africa.
What is the Goal of International Raccoon Appreciation Day?
IRAD is meant to spread knowledge and open the minds of people to the value of all animals. It’s goal is to prevent the destruction of habitat and diversity through education in an enjoyable manner.
How did International Raccoon Appreciation Day Start?
IRAD was started in 2002 as Raccoon Appreciation Day by a young girl in California. It was meant at first to show that not everyone so despised raccoons, as evidenced by the plethora of raccoon items available and the many people who misguidedly tried to keep them as pets. As the word spread mainly to the girl’s relatives in various world countries, the name was changed to International Raccoon Appreciation Day the following year.
SU News
JB To Appeal 9-Game ACC Ban Monday (espn; Katz)
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will appeal his nine-game ACC suspension Monday in Indianapolis and will use the NCAA's penalties against SMU counterpart Larry Brown as part of his case, a source told ESPN.
Boeheim will appear in front of the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee in Indianapolis, the source said. A decision on the appeal is likely due before the season.
the NCAA suspended Brown for the first nine games of this season, but he can coach in SMU's American Athletic Conference contests because they don't start until late December. The NCAA said Brown was not initially truthful after first learning of a potential violation at SMU before correcting a response, a charge that was not leveled against Boeheim when the NCAA suspended him for eight conference games in March.
Boeheim's suspension stems from an eight-year investigation into the program. His penalty falls under the failure-to-monitor charge.
Boeheim also is expected to mount a case that Syracuse tried to create an atmosphere of compliance, the source said.
Syracuse self-imposed a one-year postseason ban for the 2015 tournaments. SMU was handed a 2016 postseason ban.
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Watch and Listen as Matthew Moyer Plays Bach on the Violin (PS; Waters)
Syracuse University basketball recruit Matthew Moyer isn't your average 6-foot-8 forward. He's also an accomplished violinist.
Moyer, a native of Columbus, Ohio, is a senior at South Kent (Conn.) Prep School this year. He committed to Syracuse a little over a year ago.
ESPN.com currently has Moyer ranked No. 54 in the 2016 class.
Bleacher Report put together a video that combines Moyer's basketball skills with his musical talents.
Watch and listen as Moyer plays Bach's Contrapunctus 1 on the violin.
Other
Matt Driscoll on I-81 Future: "I'll Be Making the Final Decision" (PS; Weaver)
When it comes to the future of Interstate 81, the highway starts and begins with Matt Driscoll.
"I'll be making the final decision," said Driscoll, Syracuse's former mayor and now the head of New York's Department of Transportation. He quickly noted that decision "will be a recommendation" that will go onto the Federal Highway Administration for final approval.
Still, Driscoll will have great power in shaping the future of I-81 in Syracuse, a massive rebuilding project that could top $1 billion in spending.
He said he plans to consult often with area officials and leaders. Protecting local jobs and properties are on his priority list. So is listening to residents and community activists with ideas and concerns about the impending project.
But one of Driscoll's top goals is to use the reshaping of I-81 to breathe new economic life into Syracuse and the region, he told a crowd of about 100 people today at the Sky Armory in Syracuse.
Matt Driscoll on Interstate 81New York State DOT commissioner Matt Driscoll and project manager Mark Frechette gave an update on the Interstate 81 project at the Sky Armory as part of Capital for the Day.
"I think it's bigger than a highway," Driscoll said in his first public comments about the major construction project looming over Syracuse and Central New York. "It's really an opportunity to redefine ourselves for the next 100 years."
Consider this: A new exit ramp could spur new investment in neighborhoods now blighted with poverty.
"Where we direct traffic to get on or off, we can ignite economic opportunity," Driscoll said. "That's very important to me."
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13-Year-Old Girl Wins SUV, Then Stuns Everyone (PS; Eisenstadt)
At 8:20 p.m. last Thursday, 13-year-old Erin Byrnes won a
car worth nearly $70,000.
By 8:21 p.m., she had given it away.
Without a thought to what she and her family of eight could do with the money or the completely loaded, brand-new Chevrolet Tahoe, Byrnes marched up to the stage at Drumlins in Syracuse, took her winning raffle ticket, and handed it right to Joseph's House, a nonprofit home for mothers and their children, said her mother, Jeanie Byrnes.
That was the girl's plan from the start. And all along, the grown-ups smiled and said, "That's nice, dear," the way they do when something is both kind-hearted and unlikely.
Byrnes, an eighth-grader at West Genesee Middle School, took $200 she raised collecting cans and bottles this summer and bought 60 tickets for the annual Joseph's House car raffle. That's 60 tickets out of 26,000.
The raffle and gala are a major fundraiser for the Syracuse home that offers mothers and pregnant women a place where they can live, raise their children and get parenting help. The goal of the home is to prevent abortions by giving women and children a safe place to live.
Because Erin wasn't technically old enough to win the prize (you have to be 18), she wrote her last name down on the tickets. Her parents agreed that the choice about what to do with the winnings was Erin's.
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