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Tornado Watch for parts of Middle Georgia wgxa.tv
SHINNSTON — The Tygarts Valley Middle School varsity girls defeated Lincoln, 20-18, on Thursday.
Sarah Defibaugh had 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs. Kailen Yokum, Emily Smith, Briella Arbogast and Alyssa Swecker had two points each.
Aundrea Rockwell had eight points for Lincoln.
Tygarts Valley will play Robert L. Bland on Wednesday in the Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School tourney.
One of the biggest question marks surrounding the 2022 St. Louis Cardinals is how they will handle their middle infield. 2021 ushered in Tommy Edman’s first full season at second base, and the club overcame the struggles of Paul DeJong and streaky Edmundo Sosa at the shortstop position. But how will the club utilize their talent at second base and short stop in the New Year?
Going into the 2021 season, the Cardinals rolled the dice and allowed fan favorite Kolten Wong to sign with the Brewers, dawning a new era in the Cardinals middle infield. Edman, who replaced him at second base, showed no regression defensively, taking the 2021 Gold Glove award. While it may seem obvious that Edman would remain the club’s everyday second baseman, there are two questions that may prompt some creativity from manager Oli Marmol’s lineup construction.
The first surrounds the shortstop position. After an All-Star appearance in 2019 where he clubbed over 30 home runs and doubles respectively, DeJong has followed that up with two disappointing seasons at the plate. DeJong defenders can point to a pandemic shortened 2020 and injury riddled 2021 as to blame, but it is fair to question the front office’s confidence in a player who has not produced the last two seasons.
DeJong face internal competition in 2021 though, as Edmundo Sosa took the added playing time to turn in some solid splits (.262/.338/.402) while providing a spark to the bottom of the lineup down the stretch. Having Sosa as safety net provides a bit of optimism for the shortstop position, but it would be surprising if both DeJong and Sosa don’t have short leashes with the up and coming talent St. Louis has in the minors.
Which brings me to my next point. Where does top prospect Nolan Gorman fits into the equation? Gorman boasts a bat loaded with potential and will likely make the Opening Day roster or debut very early in the season. After acquiring Nolan Arenado last offseason, Gorman spent the 2021 season as a second baseman, making him an immediate option for the Cardinals at second or DH this coming season.
The Cardinals should be eager to get him into the lineup, as he boasts left-handed power that the club has been missing in recent years. But with Arenado holding down third and Edman currently at second, as well as the DH being a likely destination for Juan Yepez, the club will need to be intentional about getting Gorman at bats.
The most likely scenario for the 2022 Cardinals is DeJong and Sosa splitting time at shortstop and Edman back at second to begin the year. While this may be frustrating to fans, it seems like the safest bet based on how the club has been operating.
By the time late summer rolls around though, it seems very likely that the Cardinals best, and maybe even everyday lineup, will see Edman shift over to shortstop and Gorman slide in at second base. While it may seem odd to move the position of a Gold Glover, the value of Gorman’s bat at second base is far too promising to stifle if he is as good as advertised.
This may make one of Edmundo Sosa or Paul DeJong expendable by midseason. With how Brendan Donovan broke out in 2021, you may even see him knock one of these guys off the roster before a trade could even occur.
The best case scenario for St. Louis is a bounce back season from DeJong and continued development from their other infielders, but the club has many different pieces they can tinker with depending on how the season goes. There is a world where this patience with roster construction pays huge dividends for the club, but you may also see a frustrating summer of rotating pieces until some of them click.
While there is still a chance the club could acquire a shortstop before the season begins, it appears much more likely that we will see another season of musical chairs down the middle.
ORANGE — Bobbie Miller started her career more than a half-century ago, when bell bottoms were all the rage and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” topped the charts.
A lot has changed in the world since then, but some things haven’t: kids themselves, Miller said, and Miller’s unwavering dedication to helping them, her colleagues attest.
“Times and the world have changed, but kids remain the same. They face the same issues, the same problems,” Miller said.
A school counselor known as the “heart and soul” of Amity Middle School Orange, Miller is retiring in her 52nd year after a career that began in 1970 as a teacher at West Haven High School.
“Her impact on the community is immeasurable,” said longtime colleague Sarah Sharkey, a seventh-grade reading teacher at Amity Middle School. “Bobbie has a unique ability to understand middle school students and also to gain their trust as a confidant. Bobbie is truly the heart and soul of the building.”
Hailed as an “extraordinary” leader, mentor, counselor, colleague, advocate and friend, Miller graduated from West Haven High School in 1966 and became a history teacher there four years later. She was there for five years before a shift in the grade system sent her to that city’s Bailey Middle School for another six years.
Although she adored teaching, Miller realized after 11 years, “the most satisfaction I got was when students came to talk about family, friends.”
Miller went back to school and became a guidance counselor, now called a school counselor, and after working at a vocational school in New Haven for five years was hired at Amity 36 years ago.
She has counseled thousands, including generations of some families.
“It’s been a privilege to work with so many families. It’s been a passion, a life’s passion,” Miller said. “Sometimes there are challenging days, but I can honestly say from the beginning to now, I love my job. … I really don’t want to retire. I could keep on going.” She is retiring for personal reasons.
While some perceive that middle-school age to be most difficult, Miller is one of those who loves that challenging stage because, she said, it’s a pivotal time in development.
“I found I could have the most effect on them personally,” she said, as they still are forming values and, “they’re still able to do preventative work.”
Despite the changes in technology and society, the issues for the age group remain the same, she said: they’re searching for themselves, they are facing peer relationships, they’re developing values, undergoing personal growth.
And above all, developing coping skills to carry them through whatever challenges life brings.
“Developing coping skills was necessary in the ’70s and its necessary today. … Who would have thought with this pandemic it’s the coping skills that are the key,” Miller said. “The world has changed, but learning how to cope with the world hasn’t changed. Same process with different challenges.”
Parent Erika Higgins sang Miller’s praises for helping her son deal with difficulties transitioning from elementary school to seventh grade last year during the pandemic.
“She made a world of difference in his experience,” Higgins said. “She listens and has a caring way about her. She’s also a problem solver and takes initiative. ... She has been nothing but wonderful to myself and my son.”
Miller has an uncanny way of gaining the trust of students, parents and colleagues and it starts with this: “If someone wants to say something confidential, I say, ‘It’s in the vault,”’ Miller said, meaning locked up, never to be shared with another.
“A lot of trust comes from students and families knowing there’s no judgment. The more trust you have, the more work you can do with students. They listen if they trust you,” Miller said. “Once they know you, they come in and share on their own — that is the prize.”
It’s important to show respect for the kids, as well, she said.
“Trust and respect go hand in hand,” she said.
Miller said one has to “prove yourself” to gain trust, and colleagues said she does that time and again.
“For me the biggest honor for me is to have someone’s trust,” Miller said.
Longtime Amity Middle School Orange colleague Jennifer Bshara, a reading consultant, said parents and colleagues could go to “the vault” — Miller’s office — as well. What was said there, stayed there.
“Her counseling was so far reaching. She was always willing to lend an ear. We all knew we could go to the vault,” Bshara said. Miller’s retirement is “a loss.”
She said while Miller is “sensitive and compassionate,” she also has an “unparalleled sense of humor” and can be a prankster.
Amity Middle School Orange Principal Kathy Burke said that while she was happy that Miller will have more time with her family, her retirement will leave a “huge void.”
“Bobbie’s ability to build strong, trusting relationships with students, parents and colleagues have contributed to her success as a school counselor,” Burke said. “She has been an invaluable resource helping countless students and families navigate middle school.”
Miller said being a teacher in those early years helped her as a counselor “because I can see all sides” of the classroom “dynamic.”
Miller said when she came to work at Amity 36 years ago, she thought, “Maybe I’ll work 15 more years.” But after those 15 years she kept saying, “I’ll keep working one more year because I love it.”
Miller’s last day of school was Thursday and there were lots of tears in the days leading up to it.
“From the bottom of my heart I know that our building will never face a greater loss,” Sharkey said.
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Record-high temperatures blanket middle of US over Christmas The Independent
Ricardo Ruiz, 36, of Clearlake was taken into custody on Thursday evening in Brea.
He was arrested on felony charges of contacting a minor to commit a felony, arranging to meet with a minor for a lewd purpose and meeting with a minor for a lewd purpose, said Lt. Tony Barbosa of Brea Police Department.
Ruiz did not, however, actually meet a minor. Rather, he had been chatting online with an adult posing as a young teenage girl as part of a sting operation conducted by a private group called CC Unit.
Ruiz set up a meeting with the decoy and was in Brea to meet her when he was taken into custody.
Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent Matt Bullard confirmed to Lake County News that Ruiz is a district employee.
Bullard said Ruiz has been the Terrace Middle School physical education teacher since August.
CC Unit’s founder, who identified himself as “Ghost” to protect his anonymity and future operations, said his group never makes first contact with an individual.
He said Ruiz contacted the decoy through a messenger app on the night of Nov. 22 and over the course of their interactions arranged to meet her this week, over the winter break.
During their ongoing chats, Ruiz said he was 27 years old and “said a bunch of graphic stuff” of a sexual nature, Ghost said.
Ghost said he confronted Ruiz when he showed up for the planned meeting at a Target store in a shopping center in Brea on Thursday.
Barbosa said Brea Police Department was not working with CC Unit, but was notified that it was doing a recording of a sting operation at the Gateway Shopping Center.
Ghost explained that he livestreamed himself confronting Ruiz at the store. He said his group didn’t call police, adding he believed it was a livestream viewer who called them.
Officers took Ruiz into custody in the shopping center parking lot, Barbosa said.
Late Friday afternoon, Bullard sent out a letter to parents about the situation, explaining that the Brea Police Department had notified the district of Ruiz’s arrest.
“The District’s primary concern is the safety of our students, employees, and greater school community. As such, we will fully participate with all law enforcement investigations. Unfortunately, in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, we are unable to provide any additional information,” Bullard wrote.
“LUSD has been in contact with law enforcement and its legal counsel and will immediately implement a local investigation into the conduct and behavior of the teacher in question. This investigation will be partnered with immediate steps that will ensure the safety of our student body and school community,” Bullard’s letter continued.
Ruiz was immediately placed on leave status and will not be at Terrace Middle School when students return on Monday, Jan. 3, Bullard said.
Bullard asked parents to report any incidents or concerns involving Ruiz to the district office.
Ruiz, who was booked into the Theo Lacy Facility jail complex in Orange County following his arrest, was released from custody just before 5 p.m. Friday, online jail records showed.
CC Unit’s operations have resulted in one other arrest in Brea, Barbosa confirmed.
Separately, Ghost said their stings, which began in 2018, have led to numerous arrests and some convictions in other parts of the state.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
District Letter Re_ TMS Teacher by LakeCoNews on Scribd
