Community Corner 11 Good News Stories: May The Force Be With You; Who Saved Christmas? Kelsie Whitmore is Sportswoman of the Year; Long Island man provides a “beacon of light”; police encounter llama drama. Reply
Anthony Ciaravino looks like he’s sitting in an arcade instead of his barbershop in Rocky Point, New York. “A lot of people drive by and wonder what this is,” Ciarvino told Patch, explaining how he gained a reputation as “the Star Wars barber.” (Peggy Spellman Hoey/Patch)
ACROSS AMERICA — If you happen to be looking for a haircut and find yourself in Rocky Point, New York, be prepared to do a double-take at Anthony’s Star Wars Barber Shop.
Longtime owner Anthony Ciaravino has made sure the Force will always be with his customers and, well, anybody else who ventures by. They’re greeted by a child-size stand-up Darth Vader action figure with the Sith Lord’s signature red lightsaber drawn at oncoming traffic, flanked by two stormtroopers. And that’s just the beginning of a motif that will make a true “Star Wars” fan utter the words of Chirrut, the Rogue One: “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.” The inside is a toy museum specializing in action figures from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. John Candy movies often play in the background. There’s a pinball machine and a foosball table. On the back wall, between two barber chairs and in front of old-school round mirrors, is a giant display of action figures in a battle scene from “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.”
What’s up with all the memorabilia? A lot more than fandom, Ciaravino told Patch’s Peggy Spellman Hoey. “It takes them back to the ’80s for those that remember,” Anthony said. “If you see a father and a son playing a game of foosball, and they’re not on their phone for five minutes, it just makes you feel good. They are spending some quality time making great memories.” » By Peggy Spellman Hoey for Miller Place-Rocky Point Patch
Sportswoman Of The Year Temecula, California, native Kelsie Whitmore was named Sportswoman of the Year by USA Baseball. Whitmore made history this past spring by becoming the first female to play baseball in a league affiliated with Major League Baseball, making her professional debut with the Staten Island FerryHawks on April 21 and following it with 39 appearances in her rookie season in the Atlantic League. She made her seventh career appearance for the Women’s National Team this past summer. Whitmore, who is aiming for the highest level possible in professional baseball, said she is using the off season to focus on herself, both a player and a person. “My same goal hasn’t stopped,” she said. » By Ashley Ludwig for Temecula Patch (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) ‘A Beacon Of Light’ When Russia invaded Ukraine, Tom Kropp immediately booked a ticket to Poland so he could see firsthand how he could help. “I said, ‘Let me find out what the need is,’ ” Kropp, a resident of Lindenhurst, New York, told Patch’s Maureen Mullarkey. His wife is from Ukraine, and he has visited the eastern European country 25 times since 2001 to help with charitable causes. “I felt like I was part of a solution,” he said “I was able to bring a beacon of light from America to these people. It gave them a little more hope. To say, hold on, that we were behind you.” » By Maureen Mullarkey for Lindenhurst Patch
(Photo courtesy of Tom Kropp) Furniture A Key To Getting Off Streets If you are living on the street, odds are you don’t have a proper kitchen table or couch. For people in Danbury, Connecticut, who are transitioning from cardboard mattresses to indoor plumbing, that’s a not-frequently-discussed speed bump on their path. Multiple organizations are ready to help with finding both employment and housing, few help them get settled into their new apartments. That’s where the non-profit Danbury Off the Streets steps in. These are the brass tacks people, the ones who physically lift the homeless from curbside to crash-pad, who pay that game-changing security deposit, who stock that first larder with bagels for that new toaster. “We saw the same people at the shelter year after year,” Joe Simons, the director of the nonprofit, told Patch’s Rich Kirby, “and this was a way we were able to make a permanent change in their lives.” » By Rich Kirby for Danbury Patch (Photo courtesy of Joe Simons) ‘Stick Together For Liam’ Liam Doxsee, an 8-year-old from Coal Valley, Illinois, born with severe combined immunodeficiency, will receive a much-needed surgery after insurance initially refused to pay for the $104,000 procedure. The condition has left him unable to fight off infection; lymphedema in his right leg left him vulnerable to sepsis and cellulitis and kept him in the pediatric care unit, isolated and lonely, his mother wrote on a GoFundMe page that had raised just over $87,500 at midday Friday. Something else happened: After media coverage, Liam’s insurance company agreed to pay for the surgery, freeing some of the donated money for ongoing medical expenses. “This has been a hard 8 years, but Liam is absolutely incredible,” his mother wrote on the crowdfunding page. “No matter how much debt, traveling, illnesses we will always stick together for Liam.” He’s scheduled for surgery Jan. 25 at Cleveland Clinic. » By Anna Schier for Across Illinois Patch
11 Good News Stories: May The Force Be With You; Who Saved Christmas?
