Frisbie Memorial Hospital Nurse Honored For Efforts

ROCHESTER—

Nurses at Frisbie Memorial Hospital are being honored with “The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.” The award, presented in collaboration with The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) is part of the DAISY Foundation's program to recognize the extraordinary efforts that most nurses perform every single day.

Frisbie Memorial announced on January 19, December’s DAISY Award recipient is Intensive Care Units’, Dawn Vinciguerra, RN, who was nominated by Jo-Ann Brewster, RN, also from the ICU.

Brewster explains, “I'm always impressed with all the nurses on the ICU team; they are so intelligent and compassionate about their work. But one nurse in my opinion deserves recognition: Dawn Vinciguerra. When I started working in the ICU, I immediately saw a woman who deservingly had the respect of medical staff and her co-workers. She is, in my mind, the ‘go-to’ person. Vinciguerra always makes herself available to answer questions, to help with procedures, and to take on some of the most challenging patient assignments—all with a smile on her face.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon autoimmune disease. The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

Every other month, staff nominates a nurse. The DAISY Award Committee then selects the finalist from those nominated. During a brief ceremony attended by senior management, nurse managers and department staff, the honoree receives a certificate commending him or her for being an "Extraordinary Nurse.” It reads: "In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people." Frisbie Memorial is proud to honor Vinciguerra for her super-human efforts.

Photo Caption: Pictured is DAISY Award recipient Dawn Vinciguerra (left) and nominator, Jo-Ann Brewster. (Courtesy Photo)

City of Dover Thanks Local Business Owners

DOVER—

The Department of Planning and Community Development wishes to thank local business owners in the City for their compliance with its sign ordinance. This recognition comes after staff held the first “illegal sign sweep of 2012.” The sweep occurred between January 11 and 13. In total, 21 signs were confiscated.

Director of Planning and Community Development, Christopher Parker, announced the clean up of illegal and un-permitted temporary advertising signs throughout the City of Dover on January 3, as part of a winter cleanup around the community. Illegal and un-permitted signs included those on utility poles or in the right of way.

The removal of illegal signs was warranted because the placement of these temporary signs in public rights-of-way and medians of streets, on utility poles and attached to trees is not permitted by Dover’s sign ordinance—potentially causing safety hazards for traveling motorists—and create “a visual blight that is unsightly for residents.” According to town officials, these signs detract from legitimate business signs that have gone through the proper permitting process.

“I am very pleased with our results,” Parker said. “We collected 21 signs, compared to this time last year, when we collected twenty-four. When you consider that the last sweep was over six months ago, it appears that our education and outreach campaign has continued to succeed.”

Furthermore, Assistant City Planner, Timothy Corwin, who along with Parker conducted the sweep, explains that none of the signs collected were from local Dover-based business. The signs collected advertised tree removal, firewood and hot tub sales provided by businesses outside of the community.

“It’s very rewarding to work in a community whose citizens and businesses value such a high quality of life. I’m looking forward to helping Dover maintain that quality of life by reducing clutter with future sign sweeps,” Corwin said.

Business owners who have placed these signs were advised to remove the illegal signs in advance of this clean-up effort. Any sign that was confiscated will be held for 30 days before they are recycled or destroyed, unless the owner claims the sign after paying a reclamation fee. Repeat offenders may be subject to prosecution and additional fines.

This was the fourth sweep conducted by the Planning Department since the summer of 2011. Staff have been monitoring signs and holding the sweeps every few months. At the same time, efforts have been made to reach out to businesses to explain the regulations and safety concerns associated with the placement of signs within the right of way.

For more information please call the Planning Department, at 603-516-6008.

“Red Tails” Heavy on Action, Heart

By Chip Schrader

Staff Columnist, Movie Reviewer

“Red Tails” opens with a quote from the United States Army, stating intellectual inferiority and lack of courage as their reason for not employing African Americans for officer assignments.

Following this quote is the first real shot of the film. The camera follows a fleet of German and American bombers flying over Europe. The fighter planes, piloted by Caucasian men, are attempting to protect bombers but quickly abandon them to chase after the glory of shooting down a Nazi plane. In the aftermath of their desertion, the film witnesses the cockpits and cargo areas of the bombers being shot up. Men fall, bleeding, and bombers plummet in pieces, unable to finish their mission.

Following this scene is a rather dull mission, carried out by the African American Airmen of World War II—now known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the aforementioned pilots even explains, “They say war is hell, I’d say this is boring as hell.” Shortly into running a routine fly though, they encounter a Nazi with full infantry—this proves an introduction for the audience to the unused talent of the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII.

The cast of the film includes a Terence Howard-portrayed Colonel. Beneath his pipe smoking Colonel, are WWII airmen “Easy,” “Winky,” “Junior,” “Neon” and “Joker.” As the first part of the film focuses primarily upon dogfights and air-to-ground combat, it takes a decent portion of the film to understand which character is which. Understandably, though, the cinematic depiction of an entire military division, as well as a story of several different heroes is a tall order in which to fully develop both characters and plot.

Beyond the difficulties of cramming so much into one film—an effort that even it’s direct—a somewhat well-known man named George Lucas—the film showcases action sequences that are at the cutting edge of action cinematography. Films like “Top Gun” and “Iron Eagle” have successfully conveyed the pulse-pounding suspense and speed of a full on midair dogfight, but “Red Tails,” with the help of digital technology, shows the great depths of fighting in midair—weaving between dozens of various competing bombers. When a plane loses altitude, you can see it from angles never before captured onscreen.

The acting is solidly done for the part. However, the passion Terence Howard needs to convey to his officers doesn’t quite ring true. He isn’t quite as believable a Colonel as he should be. For that matter, many of the commanding officers seem to be softer spoken rather than driven, and elements such as the captain’s drinking problem aren’t as well developed as they should have been. He is just seen with liquor in just one or two scenes, but the film is almost devoid of any real conflict regarding his alcoholism. Which further helps to propagate the question of whether or not Lucas spent more time on visuals than on plot-content.

All criticism aside, though, these characters remain with you long after the film ends. The story is a terrific history lesson of what our nation has overcome when it comes to racial barriers. It does a lot to highlight the bravery and prejudice that highlighted the work of these men during World War II.

Bottom line: “Red Tails” is a solid movie and, save for a little language, it is a rare opportunity for a father and son movie outing. The acting is a bit soft in spots but the imagery is breathtaking. The characters are people that the audience will care and root for, even though it takes over half of the movie to get to know them. There are no real standout performances, but there are many quotable lines throughout the film. Most importantly, each character gets a scene or two to make his definitive mark.

In the end, viewers will walk away wanting at least another half an hour with such a quietly charismatic cast. 3 out of 5 stars.