YOUR LEGACY: MEMOIR WRITING

FREE WRITING WORKSHOP

YOUR LEGACY: MEMOIR WRITING

Lancaster Community Library

Saturday, June 9, 2018

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Everyone has a story, something to tell their children and their descendants. How many times have you said, “I wish I would have asked mom and dad about their experiences growing up.” Well, don’t repeat that mistake. Learn about memoir writing at a free workshop conducted by two authors experienced in the craft of writing memoirs. Gwen Keane, an accomplished author raised in the Northern Neck, has written about life here and growing up in and around Kilmarnock in the 1950s and 1960s. David Cariens recently published memoir-writing textbook. His own memoir is due out later this year. Join them on Saturday, June 9^th for a two-hour introduction to memoir writing.

SCHOOL SECURITY: GETTING IT RIGHT

As part of my research on school shootings, several years ago I spent nearly an hour discussing campus security with the Chief of University Police, State University of New York—Oneonta (SUNY—Oneonta). What I learned was impressive. If every school in this country had a well thought out and run security plan like the one at Oneonta, our school grounds would be far, far safer places.

The campus security at SUNY-Oneonta is a police department; therefore its officers carry weapons. The Regional Police Academy is tied to the campus police department. The academy runs a wide variety of specialized law enforcement courses, trains new officers, and trains officers to be instructors.

SUNY-Oneonta campus has had an emergency plan in place since 1994, but since the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the school has tightened and improved campus security. The chief began by telling me that it is against the law to bring a weapon of any kind on a school campus in New York. That law covers both state and private schools. Indeed, every state university in New York is required to have an emergency plan in place, and the Oneonta and Binghamton campuses are the first to meet the state’s standard for security. Highlights of the SUNY—Oneonta plan include:

ü  The ability to lockdown every building on campus (with the exception of the gym) with four strokes on the computer keyboard. There is a radio system in all buildings for emergency use.

ü  Blue prints of all campus buildings are on hand in police headquarters in case of an emergency.

ü  A Behavioral Assessment Team that meets every week to discuss student problems and activities. The group is made up of the campus Chief of Police, the Director of Counseling, the Director of Residence Life, the Associate Vice President for Judicial Affairs, the Vice President of Student Development, and the Health Center Director.

ü  The Chief of Police has the power to act immediately and to take whatever action he deems necessary if an individual is thought to be a danger to himself or herself or others.

ü  A campus-wide siren for notification that there is an emergency on campus.

ü  The school has the ability to notify all students, staff, and faculty of an emergency through NY ALERT—a cell phone/email/text messaging system. All New York State University campuses will have this system within the near future.

ü  SUNY—Oneonta will soon have in place a video and card access system for all campus buildings.

ü  SUNY—Oneonta has bought and installed a sophisticated key system for all buildings. The keys cannot be duplicated.

ü  The school gives its officers extensive training through a variety of courses including Active Shooter Course and Patrol Officers Course.

ü  SUNY—Oneonta has hired a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator.

ü  The school is linked to major criminal data bases in Albany.

ü  The school regularly reviews its crime prevention security analysis for all campus buildings.

ü  The University Police Department has an ambulance on hand, on campus.

ü  It is a state law that university police departments on state affiliated schools must have a Memorandum of Understanding with the state police on immediate emergency response responsibilities and actions. SUNY-Oneonta has such a memorandum and maintains close ties with the New York State Police and the city of Oneonta Police Department.

ü  Students are given a full security briefing as part of their campus orientation.

Each staff and faculty member has at her or his desk a bright orange Crisis Management folder for immediate and easy reference. The folder contains phone numbers and contacts. The subjects covered are:

a)    Emergency Responses—Shelter in Place, Notification, and Building Evacuation.

b)   Reporting an Emergency on Campus—Bomb Threat, Fire, Accident or Medical Emergency.

c)    Threats of Physical Harm from a Person or Persons—Threats by Email, Text Message, Phone, or Note—Threatening or Aggressive Behavior, and Policies and Procedures.

d)   Student Emergencies—Disturbed or Disturbing Emotional Behavior, Serious Illness or Injury, Threatening or Irrational Behavior, Crime in Progress or has been Committed, and Sexual Assault.

(To be continued)

FREE WORKSHOP: GETTING PUBLISHED IN A MAGAZINE

Event date June 2, 2018

Writers Guild of Virginia, Lancaster Community Library

Have you ever thought about sharing your knowledge, skill, or passion with others? Do you like to write? If you answered yes to either question, join us for the free workshop “Writing for $$: Five Steps to Getting Published in Magazines” at the Lancaster Community Library in Kilmarnock on June 2 from 11:00 a.m-12:30 p.m. Author and freelance writer Ann Eichenmuller, winner of two Boating Writers International Awards and a regular contributor to Motorhome, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, All at Sea, and Chesapeake Style, will go over how to find your audience, approach editors, and pitch your ideas so you can turn your experiences into a lucrative second career.  The workshop is sponsored by The Writers Guild of Virginia.

OPEN MIC--KILMARNOCK, VIRGINIA

Poets, playwrights, and writers of all kinds are urged to participate in the an open mic afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. on May 19 at the Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock, Virginia.

Bring a piece of original work to share or come by to listen and enjoy the creative genius of friends and neighbors. Sponsored by the Writers Guild of Virginia, the Open Mic is free and open to all.

Thinking about writing a memoir or a story? Here is your chance to meet, talk and listen to local authors.

RESPONDING TO KKK RECRUITING

A few weeks ago the Westmoreland News, here on the Northern Neck of Virginia, ran a front-page story (complete with full KKK poster and contact information) about the Klan’s attempt to recruit members in this area. A friend and member of the NAACP asked me if I would draft a response. Below is that response:

An Open Letter to the Citizens of the Northern Neck

The April 25^th article in the Westmoreland News on Ku Klux Klan (KKK) recruitment in the Northern Neck was an abomination. Racism and anti-Semitism have no place here. The vile words of the KKK flyer do not represent the views and feelings our citizens.

People of all races and religions have fought and given their lives to protect America values. The founding fathers spelled out those values out eloquently in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among those rights are the rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Citizens of the Northern Neck—black, white, Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim—need to denounce the unconscionable, despicable, and hate-mongering words of the KKK.

The NAACP calls on elected officials everywhere in the Northern Neck, as well as all citizens, to speak out and unequivocally reject racism, bigotry, lies, and anti-Semitism. We need to join hands, unite and send the White Knights packing.

Citizens everywhere need to speak out in public forums and churches against racism. We are all God’s children; an attack on one group is an attack on us all.

To paraphrase German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller’s description of Nazi brutality:

            First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because

            I was not a socialist;

            Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out

            because I was not a trade unionist;

            Then they came for the gypsies, and I did not speak out because I

            was not a gypsy;

            Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was

            not a Jew;

            Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out.

OPEN MIC--KILMARNOCK, VIRGINIA

Poets, playwrights, and writers of all kinds are urged to participate in the an open mic afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. on May 19 at the Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock, Virginia.

Bring a piece of original work to share or come by to listen and enjoy the creative genius of friends and neighbors. Sponsored by the Writers Guild of Virginia, the Open Mic is free and open to all.