Corinne Elliott
Journalist/Multimedia Storyteller
The Full Story:
"Local Teacher Faces Charges"
DILLSBURG, Pa -- Former, Northern High School teacher faces criminal charges after letting ninth-grade students pierce herself and another student.
Charges against 37 year-old, Amy Beard include: one count of endangering the welfare of children, one count of corruption of minors, and two counts of body piercing minors.
According to police records, discussions of piercings went on for weeks with a student prior to the incident taking place.
According to police files, Beard told students in previous conversations that she once had her ear cartilage pierced, but it closed up.
On Tuesday, April 16, with fifteen minutes left during Beard's eighth-period class, she told the class, "OK, let's go," police recorded.
Records then indicated Beard led students to a project room located next to her classroom. With a student piercing kit, Beard was pierced three times in her left cartilage. Then another student got on top of a table to have her naval pierced by the same student that did Beard's piercings.
According to police records, "When everyone was in the project room, certain students had kept the door shut and watched out for any students or teachers that would be coming."
It was then reported that Beard told the students, "What just happen(ed) here does not leave the room."
In exchange for the piercings Beard awarded the student $20 along with a handmade necklace.
According to an email sent out by Northern York School District Superintendent, Eric Eshbach wrote, “The administration was made aware of the April 16 piercing incident just moments after its occurrence. We immediately began an investigation and during that investigation the teacher was not permitted to return to the classroom.”
On May 16, the School Board officially accepted the resignation of the family and consumer science teacher. According to the district website, Beard was a teacher at Northern School District for 13 years.
On Monday, Beard waived her right to a preliminary hearing, according to Honorable Judge Richard Thomas.
Beard’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 19, at York County Court.
"Chili Contest Winner Takes All"
Judges were also required to vote for chili based on: good chili flavor, texture of the meat, consistency, blend of spices, aroma and color.
Based on all these hurdles to over-come, Gramm took home gold for his green chili. Since 2002, Gramm has been a member for the ICS and has been to over 150 chili cook-offs.
“After 11 years of competition., it finally happened! After getting back in the van after the cook-off, tears of joy ran down my cheek,” said Gramm.
Winning $1,500, and a gold medal presented to him by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, Gramm was given the opportunity to compete in the Worlds Championship Cook-Off located in Palm Springs, Ca.
Gramm said, “I'm going to the world championship chili cook-off to compete against the best in the world in "verde" chili, and yes, it’s a big deal.”
According to Gramm, the Smoke on the Water Chili Cook-Off attracted more than 100 chili cooks. Gramm said, “This was a very hard cook-off to win. There were lots of heavy hitting competition. These people knew what they were doing, and they knew what to give the judges.”
Coming from humble beginnings, cooking chili has always been a part of Gramm’s life. “Whatever the occasion may be, I'd always have a pot of my chili, and everyone loved it. It would be gone in no time at all, and people were scraping the pot,” said Gramm.
Since winning the Smoke on the Water Chili Cook-Off competition, Gramm has been loading up the “chili van” to compete in more chili cook-offs. With more competitions to come, Gramm in hopes to get trailer trash’s red chili into the world competition at Palm Springs, Ca.
Gramm said, “After the whole year is over I will probably have done 15 chili cook-offs and traveled over 10,000 miles just to cook chili. The friends I've made along the way in different states and regions are now considered chili family, and a big family it has become. Nothing will ever take it away from me.”
"Local Writes Book on Discovered Artist"
Ivan I. Garikow, the unknown, but classically trained Russian artist from 1918 to 1982, left behind a vividly untouched legacy of emotionally-stirring works of art, and a story to inspire.
Educator and writer, Steven Nesbit re-explores what Garikow has left behind in his new biography, Hudojnik: The Life and Art of Ivan. I Garikow, released on May 16.
From his humble origins in Russia, to his voyage and livelihood made in the City of Brotherly Love; Garikow not only has his art to share, but an incredible story in the pursuit of the American Dream.
According to the growing website and collaborative efforts to preserve Garikow’s work by Nesbit and Mr. McDermott at www.garikow.com, the biography is described as, “A war story, a love story, a detective story, but most importantly, a story about a man and his art. This biography captures not only his stormy and tumultuous life in Europe and America, but also heralds Garikow's unyielding faith, indomitable courage, undaunted optimism and the love for his art.”
Little did Steven Nesbit know that he would be the writer to Garikow’s story after a brief encounter with the artist in the late 1970s at his home in Philadelphia, Pa.
Nesbit’s story starts with the friendship of Garikow’s son, Arnold Garikow. Through a series of self-described, “uncanny events,” led Nesbit to pursue a project that would help his friend’s father achieve recognition and success after Ivan’s untimely death at the age of 64.
“In preserving a legacy, an awareness of his existence must first be established,” wrote Nesbit in the preface of his biography. Upon the original efforts of McDermott’s own personal collection of Garikow and his original website design, Nesbit was able to combine forces with McDermott to raise awareness of the unknown artist. Since then, more paintings of Garikow’s work have been discovered and preserved.
For the next five years, Nesbit continued to push further for the Garikow project. Unable to persuade a publisher to take a chance on the biography of Ivan, Nesbit decided to self-publish.
Nesbit writes, “I decided to self-publish. Not so much because of publisher rejection, but because I believe the Garikow collection is important for art’s sake.”
Garikow’s art was just as unique as his story was to tell. Born in 1918, from the small town in the Russian Empire, he was one of the last classically-trained artists to attend the original Repin Academy from 1937 to 1944. After his completion, forces from the Nazi Army invaded Russia and Garikow became a soldier for the Soviet army. He was then captured by Hitler’s army and forced to survive in a prisoner of war camp for the next four years of his life.
Garikow eventually was freed by the United States and was placed near Salzburg, Austria. There, Garikow flourished in his art work and became locally recognized. He eventually left Salzburg to pursue the American Dream in 1951. There he made a home for himself in Philadelphia.
According to Nesbit, Garikow has painted approximately 250 paintings in his lifetime. Nesbit writes, “Garikow devoted his entire existence to the one craft at which he was proficient, painting.”
In regards to Nesbit’s biography, Tom Zeit, former editor-in-chief of The Artist’s Magazine wrote, “Good command of facts and information here, and it's all presented with a strong tone of authority. The sense of history inherent in the piece helps a lot in capturing the reader. Your narrative voice is easy to read and projects a certain wisdom and reassurance."
In addition to the story, Nesbit also includes Garikow’s artwork and analysis from an academic stand-point. “I didn’t write this biography to sell books; I wrote this book to preserve the legacy of Ivan Garikow, and to help Mr. McDermott sell the collection so it can be on display in a museum or an art gallery somewhere so art enthusiasts can appreciate The Garikow Collection,” said Nesbit.
To purchase Hudojnik: The Life and Art of Ivan I. Garikow, visit the website www.garikow.com or visit www.amazon.com.