Sitting up, throwing a ball, walking simple, right? Not to the children that Patty Ringholz works with as a pediatric physical therapist. Ringholz, a licensed physical therapist (LPT) at Fisher-Titus Medical Center, faces the challenge each day of helping children with disabilities to reach those developmental milestones. She must teach youngsters whose muscles don't function normally how to move, roll over, crawl, walk and generally just use all of their muscles to the best of their ability.

More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smokers have a higher risk for stroke, many types of cancer and coronary heart disease. Cigarette smoking also is associated with a 10-fold increase in the risk of dying from chronic obstructive lung disease.

Huron County Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Cardwell heard testimony from about five witnesses in a trial Friday over allegations two Norwalk Middle School students threatened another student. "Both defendants testified," chief probation officer Phil Charville said.

HIGHWAY PATROL Michael J. Immon, 26, of 722 Spangler St., Willard, was charged with failure to maintain assured clear distance Thursday after he hit the rear of the stopped vehicle driven by Timothy R. Grose, 34, of 403 Park St., Willard, at the intersection of Ohio 103 and West Ohio 61. Grose and his passenger, Jodie A. Tarleton, 20, of 403 Park St., Willard, reported possible injuries, but weren't transported.

Recently a story made the headlines about a dog that was used at the Cleveland Clinic by a neurosurgeon to demonstrate a piece of equipment to a group of salespeople. The large mixed breed dog suffered from a deliberately induced brain aneurysm. It was later destroyed because of the damage caused by the aneurysm. Did you ever wonder how animals for such testing are obtained? Many times it is from "Free To Good Home" ads in the newspaper. Now I am in no way saying that the dog in this situation was obtained in this manner or that the Cleveland Clinic employs such practices to get animals for their testing lab. However, many of the animals used for testing are obtained by people who respond to such ads. These people are called "Bunchers." These people gather free pets until they have enough for a trip to a Class B Dealer who is licensed by the USDA to sell animals from "random sources" for research. The Buncher may only get $25 a head for former pets, while a dealer can get between $100 to $450 per pet. The Class B dealer probably already has a contract with certain facilities, and will transport them to other areas within a state, even out of state.

Television shows such as Sesame Street are great for teaching language skills to young children. For example, the Muppet character 'Elmo' makes learning fun by acting like a young child and asking basic questions that children may have themselves. At some point, though, parents need to offer more challenging learning tools to ensure their children are reading at an age-appropriate level. The educational experts at Franklin Electronic Publishers have a new language learning tool which they say puts the "fun" in fundamentals. The Talking Spanish-English Dictionary is a handheld language teaching device designed for beginners that can help improve their reading, writing and understanding of Spanish or English. Inside this pocket-sized handheld device is instant access to more than 10,000 vocabulary words. And, they will be able to hear these words pronounced at the touch of a key. Other features include a verb conjugation and pronunciation guide, five games (hangman, gender tutor, jumble, word train and flash cards) and a flip cover to protect the screen and keypad. The device requires four AAA batteries, which are not included.

South Central FFA GREENWICH Soil teams from this group competed recently at districts. The rural judging team examined soil pits for drainage, erosion, depth of soil and soil slope. Once the information from the pits were tallied, the members evaluated the soil for farming and conservation practices. The rural judging team consisted of Scott Chandler, Kevin Poth, Maggie Bacon, Kenneth Claggett, Abby Hord, Chris Morgan, Frank Gannett, Jay Schwanger, Emily Krikke, and Joe Pennell. They placed second in Districts and Abby Hord, Joe Pennell, Jay Schwanger and Chris Morgan moved on to the State Soils Career Development Event. The team placed 38th in the state. The urban judging team consisted of Olivia Miller, Stephanie Spoerr, Robert Gannett, Jared Chandler, Ryan Collier, Tyler Stephens, Josh Kirk, Garrett Verburg, and Lance Isaac. They placed seventh at districts.

We are very pleased to announce that the restrictions on the use of the various USDA program Web sites have been lifted. However, this does not mean that our problems are over. The restrictions were lifted due to the fact that the limited access of the Web, by the entire country, has not provided any answers to what is causing the issues. For this reason we can again schedule appointments throughout the day, not just the morning hours. If we have scheduled you an appointment but find we are having trouble accessing the Web sites that day we will try to contact you and reschedule your appointment before you make the trip to the office. If you want to be sure we are up and running, feel free to give us a call before you come in for your appointment. Here are some agri-business notes from the Huron and Erie County Farm Service Agency:

"Why I Am a Sinner" I am a sinner. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be humble or dramatic. Just stating a fact. But how did I get to be this way? First of all, I come by it naturally. It runs in my family. My parents were two of the finest people I've ever known. But, as every child eventually discovers, "nobody's perfect." Mom could be quite critical; Dad was often impatient. They had a few fights that were downright scary. Several of my relatives had problems misusing alcohol or drugs and at least one cousin spent time in prison.