Editorial

There Is Goodness Afoot

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It’s sometimes hard to hear the good things happening around us, what with all the stories about continued gun violence, invasions of immigrants, hacking of voting places, media disparagement, name calling, and worries about health care, to name a few. It’s good, then, to reflect on some of the good that regular citizens do that make this country great. #1–According to CBS News, as thousands of people gathered to mourn the 11 Jewish souls murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue, Wasi Mohamed, the executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh announced that the Muslim community had raised over $100,000 to pay for funeral and medical expenses of the victims. He also offered the protection of the Muslim community at Jewish services- literally offering to stand outside the synagogues—as well as to escort anyone there and back or even to a grocery store if they were scared. #2–The many national and local organizations and individuals who step up to donate money, but most especially time, whenever there is a disaster or crisis like hurricanes, tornados, fires, and shootings, should be noted. #3–We recognize those many random acts of kindness like police buying boots for a barefoot homeless man, getting a lost wallet/phone returned intact, meals for the homeless supported and served by many, many organizations, dry cleaners that clean an outfit for unemployed job interviewers, paying for the meal of the person behind you at McDonald’s (or wherever), standing up to bullies, helping to build/repair homes for veterans or the elderly, inviting lonely people into your circle, offering a kind word or gesture, showing respect for others in word and deed.

Schools/Sports

SHS Teacher Heads for Antarctica!

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Suffield High School is sending one of its own to Antarctica. SHS Alumnus (1994) and current freshman science teacher Justin Kaput was selected as a 2018 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow by National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. Mr. Kaput was selected from a national pool in an extremely competitive application process. When teachers and students were asked what they thought separated Mr. Kaput from his fellow applicants, a common theme emerged: passion for teaching science, love for the planet we live on, and dedication to teaching the importance of preserving our world to future generations. On December 6th Mr. Kaput’s journey will begin when he sets sail from the southern tip of South America.

Organizations

Observer Owls Perch in Tree for SGC Gala

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Observer Managing Editor Ann Kannen and her daughter Kelly Manning prepared a Christmas tree for the Suffield Garden Club’s Christmas Tree Gala at the Senior Center, December 1-15 (see Page 35), but it spent a few days brightening the newspaper’s office. The pages on the wall in this mid-November photo are that month’s issue. (The office seldom looks this neat.)

Suffield’s Pride

Jack Patterson, Suffield’s Pride

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When Jack Patterson was shagging flies for his First Church team in the Suffield Little League, his dream was like that of young boys everywhere – to be a baseball player when he grew up. Fast forward to June 2018 and Jack’s dream is coming true as he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 32nd round of the MLB draft. While he still has a long way to go before playing in the Major League, Jack has already beaten the odds. According to NCAA statistics for the year 2016/17, only 7% or 34,198 of the 486,567 playing high school baseball play it in college. Of that 34,198, just over 2% or 735 are drafted by professional teams.

While it was a dream, it didn’t really occur to Jack that he could play baseball for a living until late in his college career.