TRENTONIAN.COM: Ben Franklin Project Blog

Thunder get four home runs, top Harrisburg

norris — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:13:46 +0000

By JAY DUNN
Staff Writer
TRENTON — Thunder manager Tony Franklin knows what holiday we’re celebrating today.
“It’s not December,” he said last night after his team defeated Harrisburg, 6-4. “But I’m happy about Christmas.”
Ho, ho, ho.
The Thunder got four homers, none from players who have ever been accused of being power hitters. And he got a brilliant relief effort from lefty Wilkins Arias, who entered the game with none out in the seventh and the potential tying run at third — and managed to leave it stranded there.
“We just got bonuses all night,” Franklin said, with a little bit of amazement on his face.
As big as the homers were, Arias’ pitching might have been bigger.
The visitors had opened the seventh with a single and triple (a single misplayed into a triple by an overly aggressive outfielder) and had closed the gap to 5-4. Arias came on in relief of starter D.J. Mitchell and promptly fanned Michael Martinez and pinch hitter Adam Fox before getting Danny Espinosa on an infield grounder.
“I wasn’t looking for the strike out. I just wanted to get those guys out, no matter how,” Arias said through interpreter Jose Gil.
“The strike outs were a bonus,” Franklin said. “I was just hoping he could get batters out. If they scored the run, we were still tied.”
With 6,458 fans looking forward to a postgame fireworks show, the Thunder batters put on their own pyrotechnical display.
Gil, who has feasted on left-handed pitching lately, started it with a two-run shot in the second inning that might have left a dent on an advertising sign. He hit off southpaw Aaron Thompson, who had the dubious distinction of becoming the Eastern League’s first 10-game loser.
“During all my career I’ve hit good against left-handers,” Gil said.
An inning later Austin Romine produced a two-run blast that snapped a 2-2 tie. He picked a different advertising sign, but otherwise his clout was similar to Gil’s.
Before the night was over, Daniel Brewer and Luis Nunez each authored solo homers.
That was enough margin for Tim Norton, who pitched the last two innings for the save.
Then it was time for more fireworks.

Rollins, Howard help Phils demolish Bucs

norris — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 02:53:07 +0000

By RYAN LAWRENCE
Journal Register News Service

PITTSBURGH – The Phillies were noticeably quiet Friday night – and not just at the plate.

Following their second straight loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and their eighth shutout of the season, the Phillies quietly showered, dressed and exited the visiting clubhouse. A week that began with losing both Chase Utley and Placido Polanco to injuries wasn’t getting any better as the holiday weekend began.

“Sometimes you have to give the others guy credit,” shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the only hitter talking after the game said. “But to get shut out that many times, you have to start looking at yourself.”

Rollins apparently got tired of looking at himself in the mirror. After three straight losses where the offense let the starting pitching down, the leadoff hitter led the charge in a 12-4 win at PNC Park last night.

Rollins was a triple away from the cycle. He went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, three RBIs and three runs scored.

Rollins reached base in each of his first two at-bats – in the first and third innings – when the Phillies bounced Pirates starter Paul Maholm from the game with seven runs.

The seven runs the Phils scored in the first three innings Saturday surpassed their output in the previous three games, when they scored a total of five runs.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and helped the Phillies avoid heading into this afternoon trying to avoid what could have been a disastrous four-game sweep to the lowly Pirates. After finishing the series today, the Phils return home for three straight against the National League East leading Atlanta Braves.

The third-place Phils remain five games back of the Braves.

After being blanked over nine innings Friday – and for 13 straight innings dating back to Thursday in Cincinnati – the Phils were on the scoreboard after five pitches from Maholm Saturday. Rollins ripped a single to left and Victorino followed with a triple to right-center.

Ryan Howard added a single to center two batters later to collect his first RBI in a week and put the Phils up 2-0.

They wouldn’t need much more, but tacked on 10 more runs anyway.

Rollins again ignited the offense, beginning a five-run third inning with a walk. He was the first of eight straight batters to reach off Maholm in the inning.

Howard collected two more RBIs in the inning, with his second single in as many at-bats, while understudies-turned-starters Wilson Valdez (single), Cody Ransom (single), and Dane Sardinha (double) all chipped in, too.

As if the 7-1 lead after three innings wasn’t enough, the Phils scored at least one run in each of the next four frames, too, highlighted by home runs from Rollins and Francisco. Francisco’s solo shot to left in the sixth inning was his first of the season.

While the offense has been M.I.A. often in the last two months and throughout the week with both Utley and Polanco gone, the starting pitching hasn’t been an issue on the current road trip. Kyle Kendrick continued that trend Saturday.

Kendrick collected the first complete game of his career. With a dozen runs of support, Kendrick coasted to his fifth win of the season.

He held the Pirates to four runs – two on solo home runs – on 10 hits in nine innings. Saturday marked the sixth time this season Kendrick has pitched seven or more innings and allowed three or fewer runs.

Kendrick is 3-1 with a 3.88 ERA in his last eight games, dating back to May 22.

In the starting rotation’s last turn, they have a 3.58 ERA. But Kendrick’s was the only win in that turn, no thanks to an offense than only first showed up Saturday night at PNC Park.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS: Linotype, afternoon deadlines & no Twitter

Andria Carter — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:40:27 +0000

By PAUL MICKLE
Staff Writer
Today’s up-to-the-minute journalism reminds news veterans of the days of America’s afternoon newspapers, like Philadelphia’s Evening Bulletin, which put out four editions between noon and 6 p.m.
In the paper’s heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, stories in the first edition were updated with new information through the afternoon, just as articles today are continually revised in online versions of this and other newspapers.
The last press run came after the 4 p.m. closing of the stock market, and the Bulletin prided itself on getting the day’s stock closings into a final edition that would be distributed in time to be on dinner tables that evening.
In the days before the Internet, young people sometimes need to be reminded, readers had to rely on the printed word on paper. That required an army of reporters and typesetters to quickly revise stories with the tools and skills of the day — starting with hot lead.
My namesake father was a typesetter, or linotype operator, at the Bulletin for more than 30 years. On the occasion we kids saw him at work, he’d be sitting at a giant machine with a keyboard next to an ingot of lead melting into a vat of silvery, scalding liquid we were told not to touch.
Put on paper by old-fashioned typewriters, the news or advertising copy would be sent on air tubes from the reporters on the fourth floor to the composing room on the third — along with typeface and size instructions from editors and advertising reps.

The linotype machine would spit out the lines of type in reverse on metal “slugs’’ that were so hot they had to be wrapped in some paper before they could be carried over to the nearby compositor.
The compositor would put the slug into the correct position among the slugs already in place on a page “galley’’ that weighed hundreds of pounds and had to be read backwards.
The pages themselves and the inserts were printed out on a handpress and run over to proof readers to check. Today’s computers have spell check and even can help with grammar and usage, of course. But the Bulletin proof readers recognized context, when words spelled correct were mistakenly used and bad writing.
Putting out a newspaper in those days was more labor intensive than what is required of today’s journalist and the few compositors still working for newspapers, which have been produced photographically with “cold type’’ for decades now.
In Dad’s day, all the slugs of reverse type arranged correctly would be locked in place and the page would be rolled on a sturdy table on wheels to where workers would make from it a kind of plastic mold of the page called a plate.
The plates, which could be read, were sent to the basement press room, where they were used to make a metal version formed into a C so it would fit on the round rollers of the press.
Today, for better or worse, a reporter or editor can do the work of the typesetters, compositors, proof readers, plate makers and pressmen — and do it several times a day.
Like in the days of the evening newspaper, these days the reporter writes a few paragraphs for the online edition of the newspaper seconds after finding out the news. As more information comes out, online stories are updated.
And now the story also must be “tweeted,’’ a new verb meaning put up on a website newspapers use to attract readers to the paper’s cyber editions with the click of an icon.
In addition, because few expect newspapers to be printed on increasingly costly paper for many more years, reporters are being encouraged to put their stories on Facebook and other such websites, which could end up being key news conveyors in the near future.
Another new feature of the newspaper of the future is video in online editions. All reporters at The Trentonian, for instance, now carry around hand-held, high-defination cameras to make videos they must edit themselves before posting on line.
By the late 1960s, it was clear that linotype machines and hot type were soon going to be a thing of the past. The photographic systems that replaced the hot metal arrived just as the evening television news was taking people away from reading the afternoon paper at the dinner table.
These days, television news is losing viewers at the same rate newspapers were losing readers in the 1970s and 1980s. The Bulletin had a circulation of 761,000 in 1947, when it was the largest evening newspaper in the nation.
When it folded in 1982, three years after converting to a morning paper in response to the circulation decline caused by the evening television news, the Bulletin had a circulation of more than 400,000, which still has my Dad wondering how a paper with that many readers could go under.
The answer lies in the history of the written word: Gutenberg’s moveable type press in 1440 put thousands of so-called scribes out of work in Europe’s many religious monasteries, which produced most of the books of the day and received big money for them from those few who could afford to buy.
Gutenberg’s press and the improvements in it that followed made it so newspapers, by the early 1800s, could be produced on a mass scale and sold to the masses for a penny.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the new technology of television was taking readers away from evening newspapers and by the 1990s it was becoming clear that the Internet would make it possible to produce a newspaper without paper — or an army of workers using cumbersome and expensive technology.
It’s strictly hindsight, of course, but the answer to why The Bulletin went under is clear enough now, Dad: No newspaper can take the kind of circulation losses seen at the Bulletin back then and at the newspapers of today going under because more people than ever are turning to new technologies to get the news.
Today, the challenge for people in the news business is recognizing which new technology will catch on and make its competitors go the way of the eight-track audio tape.
Paul Mickle, city editor of The Trentonian, worked as a messenger and production clerk for the Philadelphia Bulletin as a teenager and college student.

K-Rod gets KOed

norris — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:03:41 +0000

By JOSH NORRIS

Staff Writer

WASHINGTON – Adam Dunn hit a tie-breaking double off the top of the center field wall, and Ivan Rodriguez slapped an offering from closer Francisco Rodriguez into right field to give the Nationals a 6-5 walk-off win against the Mets yesterday at Nationals Park.

The dramatics overshadowed what was easily the least impressive start from Washington wunderkind Stephen Strasburg, who allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out five. As was the case in his last start, the Nationals offense failed to score for their budding ace.

Still, the late fireworks off of Rodriguez were the story.

Had Dunn’s ball flown a few inches further, there would have been no need for Rodriguez’s single.

With the bases loaded and Washington trailing by a pair, 5-3, Dunn drove the Mets’ closer’s pitch to deep center field, where it bounced off the top of the wall. Once he hit second, Dunn protested, believing he had just hit a walk-off grand slam. A quick review by the umpires proved the original call correct.

Rodriguez then intentionally passed Josh Willingham before letting up the game-winner to Rodriguez.

Trenton Atelier Pete Abrams says ‘Let’s just do something’

jkulkin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:50:07 +0000

By JOE D’AQUILA
Staff Writer
TRENTON – Critics of Pete Abrams and the mission he’s chosen for himself have called the man a nut, a flake, and much worse. They say he’s exactly the wrong guy to be leading anything, let alone a revitalization effort in a town badly in need of one.
But whether they, or he himself, likes it or not, Abrams, through the sheer force of his personality, has found himself leading a small army of artists into the occupation of a long-abandoned warehouse in this much-neglected city.
“Let’s just do something,” said Abrams of his efforts during a recent interview. “I’m not saying I have the best idea. But I have an idea and I have a willingness to put my boots on the ground and get other people to put their boots on the ground and do something. If you want to get your boots here, there’s the door.”
This interview took place in a rusty, dirty, decaying warehouse, where visitors had to sign waivers just to go inside. The building is a former manufacturing site from the Roebling Company on Clark Street. It’s one in the complex the Manex Company was going to turn into a movie studio. It’s sat vacant for decades.
The building is currently owned by the Mercer County Improvement Authority. Since it’s owned by the county, and Abrams is a Mercer County resident, he reckons that he logically is part owner of the building, and he and some of his friends have moved in.
Some officials haven’t agreed with his logic and he’s occasionally had to deal with cops giving him a hard time.
But for the past year, Abrams and his troops have been cleaning up and fixing up a space they don’t own, and have no apparent legal right to occupy, all in the hopes of reclaiming an unused space and creating a home for a burgeoning arts scene.
Atelier, from the French, mean’s an artist’s studio or workroom, and the “Trenton Atelier” is exactly what Abrams wants the building to become.
An artist himself, the warehouse to Atelier project is perfect for Abrams, who turns found objects into sculpture and furniture.
“My idea is to have people performing,” he said. “My idea is to have people produce art, display art. I just feel it’s a win-win.”
Abrams was interviewed a couple weeks ago, during the second annual conceptual tour of the building, an event that coincided with the successful arts festival Art All Night.
“It’s just like art all night,” Abrams said of his plans. “But I’m greedy. I’m saying ‘no. No. I’m not satisfied with one night a year.’”
He envisions an artists’ playground where those working in any medium can play, explore and produce art whenever they want.
And while he’s been unconventional in his approach, he said he does have others working behind the scene through more traditional means to try and make his vision a reality.
Currently, he’s also operating out of a more legitimately held space on Allen Street, but said he and his partners are running out of space there.
Still though, he says the Atelier mission isn’t even about any specific building. If their squatters’ rights were taken away tomorrow, he said they’d simply move on to something else.
But the larger point is to find a home for a community, that wants to make a home in a city that could use a little more vision, and a few more sets of boots on the ground.
“It’s just to say, let’s do something with this,” Abrams said. “Anything.”

Rose leads at Aronimink

norris — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:46:44 +0000

By NEIL GEOGHEGAN
Staff Writer

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose is doing and saying all of the right things.

The 29-year-old Londoner is on the cusp of notching the second PGA Tour victory of his up-and-down career heading into the final round of the AT&T National, which wraps up today at Aronimink Golf Club. His game sure appears rock solid and his mental approach is realistic and healthy. The only hurdle, it seems, is overcoming his past.

At 10-under-par 200, Rose holds a commanding 4-stroke lead through 54 holes following another impressive round on the challenging greens of Aronimink. His 3-under 67 on Saturday was tied for the second lowest effort of the day, he is now one of just two players in the field to have three rounds in the 60s, and nobody in golf is on a roll quite like Rose. He’s held at least a share of the lead in seven of his last 11 rounds.

The problem is that Rose has been here before, and the end results have been disappointing.

“I felt a couple times I’ve been unlucky, that I felt like I’ve gone out and done a good job, and it just hasn’t happened,” Rose acknowledged. “But again, a couple times I haven’t been ready if I’m honest. I think that’s true, too.”
His 1-shot lead midway through this tournament marked the eighth time in Rose’s career that he held at least a share of the 36-hole lead. But the fact that he has just one career victory – at this year’s Memorial Tournament – is an indication that Rose has had trouble closing the deal.

“At the end of the day, it’s a game, it’s a golf course,” Rose said. “If you can break it down to that simple level, it makes the game easier. Obviously we play to win, but the challenge of winning is keeping it down to only the things you can control and doing it better than everybody else.”

Rose has been in this exact position five previous times and is 0-for-5. And one of those misses came last Sunday when Rose held a 3-stroke lead through 54 holes of the Travelers Championship near Hartford, Conn., but fell all the way to ninth place after a sloppy 75.

“That’s why a golf tournament is 72 holes,” Rose said. “The lead really doesn’t mean much until you close it out.

“I just know that (today) I have a great opportunity once again, but I’m more excited about the opportunity of putting into play the lessons I’ve learned in Hartford than actually going out and winning the golf tournament.

“I think the attitude at the moment is not how many golf tournaments can I win but how good can I get, and whether that means winning once this year only or whether that means winning five times this year, I don’t know.”
With birdies at Nos. 1, 5 and 13, Rose extended his lead to three and became the first player in the field to reach 10-under. He promptly stumbled for the only time on Saturday at the par-3 14th to end a streak of 32 bogey-free holes dating back to the first round.

“I thought the key moment of the day actually was a bogey I made on 14,” Rose said. “I probably hit the wrong club there and I was in a wicked lie, long left. I tried to actually play safe to get it on the green, couldn’t even hit the green and then got even a worse lie. I managed to chop it to 4 feet and made the putt. That was probably the only little bit of emotion I showed all day with a fist pump.”

But Rose bounced back with another lengthy birdie at the difficult 17th, this time from about 17 feet, to get back to 10-under at a time when just about everybody was faltering on U.S. Open-type conditions.
There were also more and a few important par saves, but none was bigger than at the par-5 9th, where he overcame an errant drive and a near sideways second shot by getting up and down from about 94 yards, sinking a 7-foot putt.

And now, just 18 solid holes stand between Rose from his second victory in a month. Now he needs to learn from the lessons of the past.
“I think it’s just about not brushing stuff under the carpet, facing up to what did I do well, what did I do badly (and) how can I do something better going forward,” Rose explained.

“It’s just taking the time to do it, to get over the disappointment and thinking, okay, how can I learn. It’s not rocket science. I’m not like asking myself Einstein-type questions, it’s just maybe putting aside ten minutes to go through it and think, okay, what can I learn, how can I do better and how can I play it.

“That to me is the exciting thing about tomorrow is can I play what I’ve learned.”

Super Saturday: Serena wins Wimbledon; World Cup down to four; Wade and LeBron mull futures

norris — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:33:02 +0000

WIMBLEDON, England — With a 6-3, 6-2 dusting of Vera Zvonareva yesterday, Serena Williams captured her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th overall Grand Slam singles crown. That total makes her leader among active and moves her into a tie for sixth place with Billie Jean King. Williams was so dominant, in fact, that she did not drop a set during the two-week tournament, held at the All England Club.

Her win over Zvonareva took just 67 minutes. She said she prepared for the match by watching the popular television show “Desperate Housewives.”

WORLD CUP: Germany stuns Argentina

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Miroslav Klose scored twice — bringing his total to 14 for the Cup — as Germany sent heavily favored, including superstar Lionel Messi and coach Diego Maradona, packing from the tournament yesterday with a 4-0 win. Klose’s goals tie him with Gerd Mueller for the German World Cup record.

Thomas Mueller’s late tap-in goal put the icing on the cake for Germany, which will meet Spain in the semifinals on Thursday.

Spain edges Paraguay

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – David Villa’s shot with 7 minutes left banked off the right post, then dribbled over the goal line to give Spain all the scoring it needed to oust Paraguay and move on to the semifinals, where it will meet Germany on Thursday.

Pedro Rodriguez’s shot banked off the crossbar but rebounded directly to Villa, who stutter-stepped before depositing the ball past Paraguay’s keeper.

NBA: Cavaliers stress home cooking to LeBron

CLEVELAND – In their latest pitch to keep basketball’s biggest star in their grasp, the Cleveland Cavaliers stressed the comforts and familiarities of playing in front of the same crowds that have adored him since he made his debut seven seasons ago.

“We had a very good meeting with LeBron and his group,” Cavs general manager Chris Grant told reporters yesterday. “We had fun and it was very interactive. We know LeBron well. I would characterize it as positive.”

Fans stood outside IMG Headquarters, where the meeting was held, holding signs imploring their hometown hero to re-up with the Cavaliers. They also threw powder in the air, as James does before every game.

Wade will make his decision next week

CHICAGO — Dwyane Wade, one of the premier targets in a star-studded class of free agents, will decide on a new address next week, he told reporters yesterday.

“I’ve got a decision to make, and I’ve got a weekend to think about it,” Wade told Chicago’s NBC-Channel 5 outside a downtown hotel. “Hopefully, at the beginning of next week sometime, I’ll make that decision.”

Wade, who is joined by LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Amar’e Stoudemire in the free-agent pool, has met with the Bulls, Knicks and Nets thus far.

Shelter pit bull walks straight into a new family

jkulkin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:27:08 +0000

By JOE D’AQUILA
Staff Writer
TRENTON – For the past few years, a group of state workers has volunteered their time during their lunch breaks to come and walk the dogs at the Trenton Animal Shelter.
The Trentonian is located a block or so over from the shelter, so we often see the workers out strolling with the pups.
A few weeks ago, Trentonian photographer Jackie Schear spotted one of the workers, not only walking one of the dogs, but rolling around on the ground with a 1-year-old female pit bull mix named Lilo. The scene was just too adorable to resist and she snapped off a few shots.
The picture of Lilo and the volunteer ran the next day in the paper as what we call a standalone — just the photo and a brief caption. The caption mentioned that Lilo was up for adoption.
A day later, Lilo had a new family.
“I fell instantly in love with her,” said Christina Olaff of Florence, who knew she wanted Lilo as part of her family soon after seeing the picture.
“We used to have a dog that looked just like her, so it brought back memories,” Olaff said.
Interviewed about a week after the adoption, and Olaff said things were going smoothly.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said. “She fits right in with the family. It’s like she’s been here since she was a pup.”
Lilo’s lookalike was Christina’s sister’s dog. The family had come to love the pet when they were taking care of it.
The Olaff’s have two children, Hannah, 8, and Ryan, 4, but Lilo being a pit bull breed was never an issue.
“A dog is just like a kid,” said Christina’s husband Dennis Olaff.
“You have to pay attention to it, that’s all. And you take care of it and show it the right way.
He said he wasn’t concerned about the new dog around the kids, and felt dog’s are only products of their training.
“You put the time in, and the dog’s going to listen,” he said. “You just have to show it love. That’s all you have to do.”
Sarah Ritchie, President of Shelter Animal Project, a nonprofit that supports the Trenton Animal Shelter, agreed with the Olaff’s assessment of the breed.
Trenton sees its fair share of bully breeds, and because of hesitancy on the part of potential adoptive families, they tend to get adopted out at a slower rate, leaving the shelter, at any given time, almost always filled with a predomination of pits.
Ritchie has a pit bull, and a lab, and she believes one is not any more predisposed to bite than the other. She said certain myths about pit bulls, like the idea that they have “locking jaws” that won’t let go, are simply untrue, but said that because of their strength, when they do bite, they tend to do more damage.
Her organization, along with running the dog walking volunteers, also administers the adoption program, where pets are taken each Sunday to the PetSmart in Fairless Hills, Pa.
She said some people are reluctant to bring home pit bulls, but they’ve had a fairly successful record of finding them homes because of their extensive temperament testing of the dogs before they’re adopted out. In the end though, she said it’s important for both the dog and the new owner to feel comfortable with one another.

As a side note: Since being interviewed for this article, Sarah Ritchie has signed on to be a “citizen journalist” working with The Trentonian. She came in for a session in our Media Lab (www.trentonian.com/medialab), where she learned how to set up a blog. The blog she created, The Shelter Animal Project, provides her organization with another means for disbursing information regarding pet adoptions, donation drives and other events, and it’s now included as part of our blog center www.trentonian.com/blogs

Also, for more on pit bull issues, check out editor Joey Kulkin’s package of stories HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

Poem: ‘My Military Hero’

Andria Carter — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:17:33 +0000

My Military Hero
By Amanda Marie Richter
Sixth Grade

I have two, how can that be?
My dad and mom support the land and the free
My dad had 22 years of active duty you see
And enjoyed every second being all that he could be
He was a logistician for the Army State side
And kept up with the changes by a land slide
His selfless service to this great nation
Put him in harms way without jubilation
Our family was sad and missed him really bad
But duty called and the Iraqis were glad
My dad trained the Iraqi Army to be self-sufficient
While all along being so efficient
He makes me as proud as a child could see
It makes me want to be all that I can be
Now my mom, she’s really cool
I don’t know how she does it with all of us in school
She works full time for the VA and part time for Uncle Sam
And still manages to give us 100%, yes ma’am
She works as a reservist in a Major position
And takes care of all soldiers regardless of imposition
Mom’s not been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan
And we sure hope it is not in the plan
God is looking over my family and me
And the home of the brave for eternity
Mom and Dad are my heroes forever more
From the outside in, right to the core

Hamilton tween inspired by family’s military service

Andria Carter — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:06:20 +0000

By SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN
Staff Writer
HAMILTON — Amanda Marie Richter, a 12-year-old township resident, knows firsthand the sacrifice that U.S. military families make so that Americans can enjoy their freedom and celebrate the country’s independence.

When Amanda Marie was in first grade, her father, Staff Sgt. Paul Richter of the U.S. National Guard, received the call of duty to deploy to Iraq with the HHC 42nd Division Support Command.

That was back in 2004, and Paul Richter, 43, ended up serving most of 2005 in Saddam Hussein’s rugged hometown of Tikrit. Amanda Marie said the hardest part was the thought that her father may “get hurt” during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Richters at home in Hamilton — Amanda Marie and her three siblings and mom — had to pull together while the father was abroad in harm’s way. After completing his tour of duty, Paul Richter returned home and was greeted by has family and Macon Drive neighbors with a huge “welcome home” celebration, complete with a large banner that read “Daddy you’re our HERO.”

“When I came home, I was amazed,” Paul Richter said. “I don’t really consider myself as a hero. It’s something I signed up for.” Paul Richter retired in October 2009 after serving 22 years with the National Guard. But the Richter family could still be asked to continue with its sacrifice to make days like today — American Independence Day — possible.

“We’re a unique military family,” said the mother, Maj. PattyAnn Richter, 43, a reserve officer of the U.S. National Guard and full-time employee of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “All the kids recognize what we do.”

Being a reserve officer, PattyAnn Richter could very well be asked to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. “She’s just waiting for me to retire so I don’t have a chance for deployment,” PattyAnn Richter said of Amanda Marie.

Growing up in a military family, having a mother and father who serve the country, Amanda Marie earlier this year wrote a poetic essay to articulate what her parents mean to her.

She ended up writing the poem “My Military Hero” — a narrative so gripping that it won first place in the Armed Services YMCA National Award essay contest for sixth-graders.
The Armed Services YMCA said it received hundreds of submissions nationwide in this year’s essay competition. “I didn’t think I was going to win,” Amanda Marie said . “I was surprised. As I said, I didn’t know I was gonna win.”

In May, National Military Appreciation Month, Amanda Marie accepted her award during a luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The award came with a $500 U.S. savings bond.

“I just wanted to write about my parents, because they do so much for me,” Amanda Marie said. “My dad served in Iraq so he can protect our country, so that makes me proud. And my mom, she helps the veterans.”

Amanda Marie is the youngest child in the military family of four children, National Guard parents, plus a 6-month-old pooch, Bella. Amanda Marie’s brother, Paulie, 17, said he’s going to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming an Army man. And one of her sisters, Amanda Lynn, 19, said she wants to serve the country, too.

“I didn’t think my sister wanted to join, but my brother has been saying for a few years he wanted to join,” Amanda Marie said. “It makes me proud, because if my brother and sister have children one day, maybe their children will want to go and spread the tradition.”

Paul Richter said he was the first member of his family to join the military. “I could always remember my father say, ‘Join the military. It will make you a man.’ That was something that clicked in my head,” Paul Richter said. “I think it gives you life experience and things that the private sector is looking for — your duty, your dedication. That’s what people are looking for nowadays.”

Retired from service, Paul Richter now works as a security official. His wife, PattyAnn, has been with the National Guard for 19 years and counting.

June 14 was Flag Day, and the Richters and other National Guard families spent that day with Gov. Chris Christie in Trenton to honor the occasion.

Amanda Marie attends the Villa Victoria private Catholic school in Ewing. Her award-winning essay tugs on the heartstrings as she expresses in writing how “Mom and Dad are my heroes forever more/ From the outside in, right to the core.”

But in person, Amanda Marie reveals herself as shy and humble to a fault. She didn’t want to talk on camera about her prestigious honor of winning the first-place Armed Services YMCA National Award for essay writing, but Amanda Marie for the past nine years has been performing in front of large crowds as a member of the Hamilton-based Talk of the Town Dance Studio.

“She is amazing,” PattyAnn Richter said of her essay award-winning daughter. “This kid really is amazing.”

Go to www.trentonian.com to watch a video of the Richter family speaking about Amanda Marie’s award-winning poem about her military parents as well as the family talking about the big “welcome home” celebration the neighborhood hosted for Staff Sgt. Paul Richter when he returned to Hamilton after serving most of 2005 in Iraq.