HOUSTON (AP) — Seeking to comfort grieving families and shaken survivors, President Donald Trump spent more than an hour privately Thursday with some of those impacted by a Texas mass school shooting that killed 10 and wounded more than a dozen on May 18.
The latest spasm of violence in a year marred by assaults on the nation’s schools, the shooting at Santa Fe High School was the latest to test the president’s role as national comforter-in-chief. Trump met with more than two dozen people affected by the shooting, and did not publicly share his message for the grieving families and local leaders during a meeting at a Coast Guard base outside Houston.
Pamela Stanich — whose 17-year-old son, Jared Black, was among the eight students killed — was one of the parents who met with Trump, presenting him with a family statement and a copy of her son’s eulogy.
Trump “met with us privately and showed sincerity, compassion, and concern on making our schools safer across the nation,” she wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting. “He spent time talking to the survivors and asking on what happened and what would have made a difference. Changes are coming for the good. Thank you Mr. Trump.”
Rhonda Hart, whose 14-year-old daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed at the school, told The Associated Press that Trump repeatedly used the word ‘wacky’ to describe the shooter and the trench coat he wore. She said she told Trump, “Maybe if everyone had access to mental health care, we wouldn’t be in the situation.”
Hart, an Army veteran, said she also suggested employing veterans as sentinels in schools. She said Trump responded, “And arm them?” She replied, “No,” but said Trump “kept mentioning” arming classroom teachers. “It was like talking to a toddler,” Hart said.
Reporters were not permitted to witness the meeting.
President Donald Trump talks with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, after arriving at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Thursday, May 31, 2018, in Houston. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
While the president was in Texas, Trump’s school safety commission met outside Washington, part of the president’s chosen solution to combat the rising tide of bloodshed after his brief flirtation with tougher gun laws after February’s mass killing at a high school in Parkland, Florida went nowhere.
A White House spokesman said Trump was “moved” by the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which left eight students and two substitute teachers dead. A student faces capital murder charges in the attack.
“These events are very tragic, whenever they happen. And you know, the president wants to extend his condolences and talk about the issue of school safety,” spokesman Raj Shah told Fox News Channel.
Also Thursday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whom Trump put in charge of the school safety commission, announced a $1 million grant to the Santa Fe school district to help with post-shooting recovery efforts.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, both Republicans, greeted Trump after Air Force One landed at a Houston military base. Abbott joined Trump for the short ride in the presidential limousine to a Coast Guard hangar where the meeting took place.
Trump then headed to a fundraiser at a luxury hotel in downtown Houston, the first of his two big-dollar events in Texas on Thursday. A White House official did not immediately respond to requests for details about how much money was to be raised, and who was benefiting, from the fundraising events.
After 17 teachers and students were killed during a February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Trump said he would work to improve school safety, but has not called for new gun control legislation. He created the commission to review ways to make schools safer.
Trump briefly strayed from gun-rights dogma after the Parkland shooting, but quickly backpedaled. Abbott, a Republican and a staunch gun-rights supporter, has called for schools to have more armed personnel and said they should put greater focus on spotting student mental health problems. He’s proposed a few small restrictions on guns since the shooting.
Investigators say Greek-American student Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, carried out the attack with a shotgun and pistol that belonged to his father. Classes at Santa Fe High School resumed Tuesday for the first time since the shooting.
As the Parkland students became vocal advocates for gun control, embracing their public positions as few school survivors had before, Trump quickly became a focal point for their anger. In Trump’s visit to Florida after the shooting, aides kept him clear of the school, which could have been the site of protests, and he instead met with a few victims at a local hospital and paid tribute to first responders at the nearby sheriff’s office.
There has yet to be a similar outcry for restrictions on firearms from the students and survivors in deep-red Texas.
Displaying empathy does not come naturally to Trump, who has been criticized for appearing unfeeling in times of tragedy, including when he sharply criticized a mayor in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of a deadly hurricane and fought with a Gold Star military family.
But Trump has at times displayed a softer side. On Wednesday, he returned a hug from an 8-year-old boy with muscular dystrophy who attended a White House event where he signed legislation to give patients the right to try experimental treatments.
Before Thursday, Trump was most recently in the Lone Star State on May 4 to attend the annual National Rifle Association convention. He pledged in his address that NRA members’ Second Amendment rights “will never, ever be under siege as long as I am your president.”
He also touted the administration’s “aggressive strategy on community safety” and mentioned armed guards, armed teachers, mental health and metal detectors, but did not mention assault rifles like the one used in Florida.
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By JONATHAN LEMIRE , Associated Press
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington, Claire Galofaro in Louisville, Kentucky, and Emily Schmall in Fort Worth, Texas, contributed to this report.
CYPRESS, CA – Greek-American Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks and her company Earth Friendly Products® support American Cancer Society with “Go Green for Pink” Campaign.
Follows the press release:
“Significant progress is being made in the fight against cancer, which has seen a 26 percent decrease in the death rate from 1991 to 2015. Despite this progress, 609,640 Americans are expected to die of cancer in 2018, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
“To support cancer research and to provide programs and services for those experiencing a cancer diagnosis, Earth Friendly Products®, the maker of ECOS environmentally friendly cleaners, today announced a year-long partnership with ACS.
“A longtime supporter of ACS and its Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks, Earth Friendly Products® has committed $100,000 to ACS and created the ‘Go Green for Pink’ campaign. From September 1 through October 31, 2018, Earth Friendly Products® will contribute $1 to ACS breast cancer programs and research for every 100-ounce or larger bottle of ECOS laundry detergent sold.
Van Vlahakis, founder of (Photo: Courtesy of Mike Manatos)
“‘We’re so thrilled to expand our partnership with the American Cancer Society this year,’ says Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, president and CEO of Earth Friendly Products. ‘Fighting to protect our health and the health of our planet has been the core of our mission for 50 years. We’ve all been affected by cancer in women in one way or another, whether it’s a mother, sister, or friend. I lost my own mother to breast cancer several years ago, and I want to do everything I can to help improve women’s health and well-being, including my health and the health of my daughter.’
“‘Earth Friendly Products has been a great supporter of ACS and the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks for the past several years. They’ve raised thousands of dollars with the participation of employees from their four facilities across the U.S. The company’s focus on people and the environment is a nice fit, and we value their support,’ says Jane Barnes, director of regional corporate relations for the American Cancer Society. ‘ACS has played a critical role in many breast cancer breakthroughs, and funds raised by Earth Friendly Products will help us to continue funding critical research and provide services for women experiencing a breast cancer diagnosis.’
“In addition to its new $100,000 commitment, Earth Friendly Products® is also supporting ACS Hope Lodge locations across the U.S. by providing ECOS laundry detergents and cleaners to the facilities. ACS Hope Lodge communities provide cancer patients and their caregivers a free place to stay when their best hope for effective treatment requires traveling away from home. The lodges provide nurturing, home-like environments and offer cancer resources and information.
“‘We believe it’s so important to use safer, plant-powered cleaners, especially in facilities where healing is the focus,” says Vlahakis-Hanks. “We want patients to have the best possible environment for healing during their stay at Hope Lodge, and we’re honored to donate our products to help make this possible.’
ECOS products can be purchased at selected retailers nationwide and at ecos.com. Donations can be made directly to the American Cancer Society at cancer.org/donate.”
Family owned and operated since 1967, Earth Friendly Products® is the maker of ECOS Laundry Detergent and over 200 other environmentally friendly products that are safer for people, pets and the planet. Made with plant-powered ingredients, ECOS cleaners are thoughtfully sourced, pH balanced, readily biodegradable, easily recyclable, and never tested on animals. Over 100 ECOS products have received the coveted U.S. EPA Safer Choice certification, which means that every ingredient is the safest in its class and that the product has proven superior performance. ECOS, Baby ECOS, ECOS for Pets! and ECOS Pro cleaners are available at major club and grocery retailers and natural foods stores throughout the U.S., in over 60 countries and online at ecos.com and babyecos.com.
YORKVILLE, Canada – A Greek-Canadian CEO of a Toronto-based startup was shot to death in upscale Yorkville.
Matthew Staikos, 37, was found dead by emergency personnel responding to reports of gunshots at Bay St. and Yorkville Ave. on May 28, the Toronto Sun reported.
Toronto police received a call at around 11:30 p.m., after witnesses reported a shooting and a person lying on the sidewalk at the intersection of Bay St. and Yorkville Ave, according to The Star.
He’s the son of Nick Staikos, a Belleville-based home builder and developer, the Toronto Sun said. “Staikos was a graduate of the mechanical and computer engineering program at the University of Toronto. His Facebook page says he is the CEO of the Internet messaging site Vleepo.”
“Our family is mourning the sudden loss of our beloved Matthew,” the family said in a written statement. “We ask that you respect the privacy of our family as we cope with this tragedy.”
On Twitter, Staikos described himself as a tech junkie, entrepreneur, investor and traveller. According to his LinkedIn account, Staikos has been CEO of Vleepo Inc. since May 2015, with a software team based out of Greece.
Vleepo is described on its website as a “new messaging platform that is redefining what group chat should be.”
According to a bio on ellines.com, Staikos was born in 1980 and graduated from the Mechanical and Computer Engineering School of the University of Toronto. As an undergraduate, he and his brother George founded Torch Mobile in 2003, with subsidiaries in Beijing.
Six years later Torch Mobile was acquired by BlackBerry parent company Research in Motion, where Staikos became the technical director of web technologies for Blackberry, according to his LinkedIn. He left in July 2013.
“I never thought he’d leave us so quickly, so unjustly … I read and reread the news in Canadian media and I don’t want to accept that this wonderful man and friend will no longer be among us,” Greek Ambassador to Canada Dimitris Azemopoulos wrote in a Facebook post, the Star said.
“Sometimes it is impossible to express the anguish of our soul. One of these times is also for me tonight writing these lines for my friend Matthew,” he added.
The suspect is described as black, 5-foot-10 with a medium build. He fled the area in a vehicle described as a silver or grey four-door Mercedes.
Police said the suspect approached Staikos from behind and shot him dead, reportedly in the head, and left him lying there, where he died, The National Post said.
News reports indicated that witnesses heard between three and five shots, one of which went across the street — across two sidewalks and four lanes of traffic — before shattering the glass door of the furrier Herman Sellers Gough, and lodging in the wall near the desk where the staff sits.
BERWYN, Pa. – Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, today announced that its President and CEO Chris Pappas appeared on CNBC’s “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” television program on May 17, 2018.
On the segment, Mr. Pappas discussed Trinseo’s first quarter 2018 financial results, strong business fundamentals, and plans for a balanced use of cash returning value to shareholders while investing in its specialty-oriented products in the business.
Trinseo (NYSE: TSE) is a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber. We are focused on delivering innovative and sustainable solutions to help our customers create products that touch lives every day — products that are intrinsic to how we live our lives — across a wide range of end-markets, including automotive, consumer electronics, appliances, medical devices, lighting, electrical, carpet, paper and board, building and construction, and tires. Trinseo had approximately $4.4 billion in net sales in 2017, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees. For more information visit www.trinseo.com.
NEW YORK – The 4th Annual Loukoumi Dance Party and Make A Difference Awards will be held on Friday, June 15 at Mulino’s at Lake Isle Country Club, 600 White Plains Road in Eastchester, NY. The Very Rev. Nicholas Anctil, presiding priest of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New Rochelle, NY will be honored with the Loukoumi Foundation Inspiration Award at the event.
Loukoumi Make A Difference Awards will be presented to:
Anne Hutchinson School Student Council; George’s Angels (Eileen and Gary Franklin); The Greek American Institute; The Greenvale School; The Smile of A Child Project (presented to the Colombos, Pappas, and Tsiamtsiouris families); St. Stephen/St. Edward School in Orange County; St. Clare School on Staten Island; and
Katia Barker, Karl Kilb, Austin Lawless, Elaina Poulos, Daniel Rentel, and Will Tinson.
The winner of the Dream Day Contest will also be announced live at the event. The contest gives kids the opportunity to spend a day in their dream day careers.
The Loukoumi Make A Difference Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization formed with the consent of the New York State Department of Education to teach children to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others. Loukoumi, a fluffy little lamb, is the main character from the Loukoumi book series that wants to make the world a better place. The Loukoumi Make A Difference Foundation seeks to teach children to follow Loukoumi’s lead and to make a positive difference. More information on the Foundation is available online: www.LoukoumiFoundation.org.
The Make A Difference Day with Loukoumi Program is the recipient of Tegna’s 2017 Make A Difference Day All-Star Award and recently the Loukoumi Foundation received the Point of Light Award.
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Karthik Nemmani didn’t win his regional spelling bee. He didn’t even win his county spelling bee. But he was still good enough to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Throwing everything he had into his one shot at glory, 14-year-old Karthik outlasted better-known spellers on Thursday night and became the champion after a dramatically abrupt end to the competition, when 12-year-old Naysa Modi misspelled the word “Bewusstseinslage” in the first championship round.
Karthik had to spell two words correctly to seal the title, which he did with ease, and the lanky, soft-spoken Texan stepped back and smiled as he was showered with confetti. His winning word was “koinonia,” which means Christian fellowship or communion.
Karthik is from McKinney, Texas, and Naysa lives in Frisco, Texas — both suburbs of Dallas — and Naysa topped Karthik at their county bee.
“She’s a really, really good speller. She deserved the trophy as much as I did,” Karthik said. “I got lucky.”
He said there were eight or nine words during the prime-time finals he didn’t know — a rare admission for a national champion.
In the past, losing at the county level would have made Karthik ineligible for nationals, but he got in through a wild-card program that was instituted this year. The wild cards pushed the total number of spellers in the bee to 515 — there had never been more than 300 in the past — and forced Scripps to add a third day of competition. Four of the 16 prime-time finalists were wild cards.
All three top finishers were from the Dallas area. The third-place finisher, 11-year-old Abhijay Kodali, came in second to Naysa at their regional bee, one of just a few that sends multiple spellers to nationals. Dallas has long been one of the most competitive regions in the country, and the lack of opportunity for spellers as talented as Karthik is what led Scripps to create the wild-card program in the first place.
Abhijay’s older sister, Ananya Kodali, was one of those blue-chip Dallas spellers who never made it to nationals — she lost twice at regionals to a speller who ended up finishing fifth on the Scripps stage.
Karthik is the 14th consecutive Indian-American champion, and 19 of the past 23 winners have had Indian heritage. In addition to the trophy, he gets more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.
He showed his aptitude for spelling early, arranging block letters to form the word “horse” at age three, said his father, Krishna Nemmani. But his path to glory was uneven. The family had to move to the Dallas area just so Karthik could attend a school that participated in the Scripps program — and then he ran up against some of the nation’s best spellers at the county level.
Karthik’s cousin, Sri Nemmali, also competed in this year’s bee and marveled at Karthik’s discipline and study habits.
“He deserves it. He would have beaten me, definitely,” Sri said. “That’s one speller I know who’s better than I am.”
Naysa, a crowd favorite and four-time Scripps participant who does taekwondo and performs stand-up comedy, will have to regroup after a bitter defeat and try again next year. She’ll be 13 and in eighth grade, which is the final school year that spellers are eligible. She first competed in the bee as a cherubic 9-year-old.
After her defeat, she was swarmed by dozens of current and former spellers who wished her well, smiling throughout.
“She was just as graceful as she could be,” bee program manager Corrie Loeffler said.
Naysa’s close friend, Jashun Paluru of West Lafayette, Indiana, finished fourth, spelling with flair and spending most of his time in between words chatting animatedly with Naysa.
Karthik, for his part, took no extra satisfaction in vanquishing a familiar foe.
“I wouldn’t say it was revenge,” he said. “We weren’t against each other. We were against the dictionary.”
NORWALK, CT (from The Hour, published on May 9) – Kostas Christoforides, 85, husband of Koula Christoforides of Norwalk, passed away Monday, May 7, 2018 after a long battle with Parkinson’s, with his wife by his side. Born on January 23rd, 1932 in Spelia, Greece, he was the son of Christoforos and Despina Sarvanidou Christoforides. Kostas immigrated to the United States in 1968 where he became a lifelong resident of Norwalk. He worked at Otis and Hick, and as a Baker for Pepperidge Farm for over 30 years. Kostas was a very generous and carefree spirit that truly loved his family. He enjoyed visiting with friends at the Greek Social Club and having a glass of wine and long chats with his son-in-law, Scott Klein. In addition to his wife, Kosta is survived by his son, Christoforos, and his children Kostas and Stefanos of Greece; his stepdaughter Stacie Klein, her husband Scott and their children Jessica, Kristina, Caila, David, and Rachel. His brother, The Reverend Haralambos Christoforides and his wife, and many beloved nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his sisters Sophia and Anthe, and his brothers Christ, Anastasios and Yiannis Christoforides. Friends and family may call Thursday, May 10, 2018, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Collins Funeral Home, 92 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Funeral services will take place in Spelia, Greece. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation www.apdaparkinson.org. Visit www.collins-funeral to leave condolences.
DOURVETAKIS, PETER
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (from the Sun-Sentinel, published on May 7) – Peter Dourvetakis passed away Thursday, May 3, 2018. Peter was born in Athens, Greece to Stella and Dimitri Dourvetakis on October 17, 1933. He came to the United States in 1956 to pursue the American Dream, when he met his wife, Lucille Roman Dourvetakis in New York. They shared 48 beautiful years together. Peter owned Tropical Rainbow Hardware store in downtown Hollywood, Florida, and when he wasn’t providing for his three children, Stella DourvetakisCastilla, Janet Dourvetakis Reid (Robert) and Peter Dourvetakis Jr. (Vilma), he would often be found traveling or in the kitchen, cooking up one of his delicious Greek family recipes. His wife, Lucille preceded him on May 25, 2005. In addition to his children, Peter is survived by his grandchildren Jackie (David), Joseph, Jonathan, Christina, Bjorn, Peter Jr., Justin and Sophia and his great-grandchildren Samuel, Lola and Benjamin. He is also survived by his brother, Kyriakos Douvetakis (Frances), his sisters Helen Genadis, Mina Barberis and Anna Tzaneti (Kyriakos) and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his second wife, Christina Goranitis-Bean and her son. Funeral services Monday, May 7, 10 am, St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 425 N. 58th Avenue in Hollywood, FL. Interment following at Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
IATRIDIS, CATHERINE
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (from The Indianapolis Star, published on May 17) – Mrs. Catherine (Nina) Iatridis passed away on May 14, 2018, she was 81 years old. Nina was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1936 where she was a graduate of English Girls College. In 1957 she married the love of her life, Dr. PanayotisIatridis. She and Panayotis moved to Greece in 1962 and then to the United States in 1969. After living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for several years, she and her family moved to Valparaiso, Indiana in 1972. She was a longtime resident of Valparaiso and a distinguished realtor. Dr. Iatridis was a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine for many years, and he became the Assistant Dean of the Indian University Northwest Center for Medical Education in 1979. Both Dr. Iatridis and Nina were very involved in the Northwest Indiana medical community; Nina was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of Porter Memorial Hospital in Valparaiso. Nina was also very involved in her church; she was a member of the Philoptochos and the Daughters of Penelope of Constantin and Hellen Greek Orthodox Church in Merrillville. Nina loved the arts, particularly opera, and French antiques. Nina also enjoyed traveling to Europe to see her family. She spoke 6 different languages and tutored many high school students in French, Greek, and Latin.Nina was a beloved wife, mother, sister, and friend. She is survived by her two daughters, YannaKokkas and Mary Pease, and five grandchildren, Katerina Kokkas, Anastasia Kokkas, Nicholas Pease, Naya Pease, George Pease, and her Sister Polly Placotaris. She was preceded in death by her husband, PanayotisIatridis. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the PanayotisIatridis Scholarship at Indiana University School of Medicine or Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Carmel, IN. Visitation will be held Friday from 4-8pm at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 3500 W 106th St, Carmel, IN 46032. A Trisgion service will take place at 7:30pm. Funeral services will be held there Saturday at 11am, with visitation one hour prior. Online condolences may be shared at www.flannerbuchanan.com. Arrangements entrusted to Flanner Buchanan-Oaklawn Memorial Gardens.
KAFKOULAS, NICHOLAS
MANCHESTER, NH (from the Union Leader, published on May 8) – Nicholas V. Kafkoulas, 77, of Manchester, NH, died May 5, 2018, after a brief illness. Born in Vatsounia, Greece, on November 26, 1940, he was the son of Vasilios and Sophia Kafkoulas. He was raised in Greece before immigrating to the United States in 1966. Nicholas served in the Greek Army. In his early years, he was employed with several shoe manufacturing companies. Devoted to his faith, he was a member of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Nicholas was an avid walker who could often be seen walking throughout the Queen City. Well-known for his calm demeanor, affable nature, and gentle ways, he will be deeply missed. Family members include three sons, Vasilios Kafkoulas of Manchester, Steve Kafkoulas of Manchester, and Philip Kafkoulas of Hooksett; three grandchildren; three sisters, Kalliopi Gekas of Manchester, Maria Palangas of Manchester, and Theodora Tsavalos of Greece; many nieces and nephews. SERVICES: A calling hour will be held Thursday from 9 to 10 AM in St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover Street, Manchester. The funeral service will follow at 10 AM in the Cathedral with the Rev. Michael Wilson officiating. Burial will take place in Pine Grove Cemetery, Manchester. Memorial donations may be made to St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH 03104. The Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 537 Union Street, Manchester, NH 03104 is in charge of the arrangements. For more information, please visit: www.connorhealy.com.
KALAMATIANOS, PETER
CHICAGO, IL (from the Chicago Tribune, published on May 17) – Peter Kalamatianos, age 83, born in Gythio, Peloponnese, Greece, passed away on Friday, May 11, 2018. Cherished son of the late Panagiotis and the late Athena Kalamatianos Beloved husband of Helen (nee Cosmakos); loving father of Athina, Kiki (Jim) Saltouros, Mary and Constantine; proud grandfather of Alexis, Michelle and Dimitri; dear brother of the late George and the late Eleni; fond uncle of many and their families. Family and friends will meet on Friday morning, May 18, 2018, for Visitation from 9:30 am – 10:00 am and Funeral service starting at 10:00 am at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 2350 E. Dempster Street in Des Plaines. Interment at Ridgewood Memorial Park. Kindly omit flowers; instead, Memorial donations may be made to St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church. Arrangements by John G. Adinamis Funeral Directors, Ltd. For information 847-375-0095.
KORTESIS, HELEN
EAST LYME, CT (from The Day, published on May 10) – Helen Philip (Kiritsis) Kortesis, 87, of Niantic, passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 6, 2018, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. She was born in New London, on Jan. 2, 1931, the daughter of Philip Theodore and Evdoxia (Eva) KurusisKititsis, originally from Epirus, Greece, and established residence in New London. A lifelong resident of New London, she relocated to Ahepa 250 in Niantic shortly after the passing of her beloved husband, Steve. She was married on Jan. 27, 1952 to Efstratios “Steve” K. Kortesis who passed away on Aug. 27, 2007. Helen was a graduate of the Williams Memorial Institute located on the grounds of Connecticut College. She lived her life through simple pleasures; cooking, chatting with friends, keeping in touch with her snowbird friends, snacking and spending time with her visitors. She had an uncanny ability to reach people in a deep and positive way. As a member of St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church, New London she was an active member of the choir, and their school of religious studies where she taught Sunday School for over 22 years. Helen was active with New London School PTA/PTO where she had been a recording secretary, corresponding secretary and a member of the nominating committee. She participated at the C.W. Edgerton School for field trips, school fairs and centennial programs, assisted teachers on school projects, worked with the librarians on bulletin boards at Harbor and New London Junior High School, corrected children’s work papers and assisted students with science projects. From 1975 to 1984 Helen was called upon to set up a program for non-English speaking, especially Greek children. She also worked tirelessly with several Spanish speaking students and with children from Cambodia and the Philippines and tutored at Harbor and Nathan Hale School. Helen always had time for her Alma Mater, WMI and was her class representative for many years, responsible for staying in touch with her classmates and writing classmate notes published in the WMI Ambassador. In recognition of her contributions she was awarded the Tribute to Loyalty Award from the WMI/Williams School. This award honors alumni who have exemplified loyalty and dedication to WMI/Williams School and whose service to the Alumni Association has fostered the traditions and ideals of the school. She is survived by her three sons, Constantine E. Kortesis and his wife, Grazina, of Warren, Mich., Nickolas E. Kortesis and his spouse, Cynthia, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and Philip E. Kortesis of Tuscon, Ariz.; a sister, Athena Susi; and a brother, Theodore Kiritsis and his wife, Claire; three grandchildren, Stephanie L., Alyssa C. and Nickolas E. Kortesis II; and three great-grandchildren, Douglas N. Miller, Evy V. Calcutti and Aaron H. Boice. Funeral services and burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London were private. Byles Memorial Home, 99 Huntington St., New London, assisted with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church, 200 Hempstead St., New London, CT 06320. Please visit www.Byles.com to sign the guest book or to share a memory.
TOURNIDIS, JAMES
MANCHESTER, NH (from the Union Leader, published on May 18) – James A. Tournidis, 86, passed away peacefully at Catholic Medical Center on May 15, 2018 after a brief illness. Born May 18, 1931 in Edessa, Greece, he was son of the late Arthur and Virginia Tournidis. He enjoyed 55 years of marriage with his wife, Catherine. Raised in Greece, James moved to Canada as a young man before moving to Manchester in the early 1960s. James worked in many different fields over the years, but was best known as the owner of the Merrimack Restaurant, which he and his wife ran for twelve years. He later worked at Poor Boy’s restaurant in Londonderry. A devoted husband and father, James cherished time spent with his family. He leaves behind his wife, Catherine Tournidis of Manchester; his son, Arthur Tournidis of Manchester; his sister, Freda Peteff of Canada; his sisters-in-law, Shirley Leara of Ohio and VergaTournidis of Canada; nieces and nephews Vicki Ellis, Madelyn Schneider, Sharon Mertz, Robert and PanoTournidis, and Danny Peteff, all of Canada; niece and nephew Cassandra Ellis and Alex Leara of Ohio and nephew William Leara of Texas; as well as several great nieces and nephews, extended family members and friends. Services: Visitation will be on Sunday, May 20th from 5-8pm at Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 243 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH. Funeral service will be on Monday, May 21st at 11:30am, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, NH. He will be laid to rest at Pine Grove Cemetery in Manchester. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in James’s memory to a charity of your choice. For directions or to leave a condolence message for the family, visit www.phaneuf.net.
SYROS, Greece – Lucy Ellen Weier Krystallis, passed away on May 4 at her beloved summer home on the island of Syros, Greece. Born in Bluefield, West Virginia, she was the daughter of Dr. Karl E. Weier and Alice Moran Weier. She is survived by her husband, Commodore Dimitrios (Jim) Krystallis, H.N. (Ret.), her daughter Dr. Anna Krystallis of Sheffield, England, her son, 3D Animator Constantine Krystallis of Hilversum, Holland, and her grandchildren Lucy Ellen Krystallis and Dimitris Krystallis. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Dr. Tom Weier. She is also survived by her sisters Barbara (Bobbi) W. Johnson and Fran W. Haskins, several nieces and a nephew.
Krystallis graduated from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), received a Certificat en Museologie from the Ecole du Louvre in Paris, a Diploma from the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, and was a Fulbright Scholar. While working on an archaeological dig in Athens, Greece, she met her future husband Commodore Dimitrios Krystallis. She was a world traveler, an underwater and land-based archaeologist, and a renowned ancient metals conservator, working with the Louvre Museum, the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and the laboratory of the National Museum, Athens.
Among the projects Krystallis worked on was the Thai Bronze Project at the Bangkok National Museum sponsored by JDRIII Fund (Rockefeller) and Smithsonian Institution. The project included the survey of bronze statues, their display, storage, and physical condition in all of Thailand’s museums, and setting up in Bangkok of a major exhibit designed by the Smithsonian Institution.
Krystallis was a college lecturer, a published author, and held administrative positions in archaeological projects, among them Secretary for the Ancient Agora excavations under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies.
A ceremony for family and friends was held on May 9 at Galissas Cemetery on Syros, Greece.
The late Lucy Weier Krystallis in happier times. Photo: Courtesy of the family
To honor Krystallis’ memory and the role she played at the Agora excavations in Athens, family and friends have asked that donations be made to the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA) for two upcoming publications. A message from ASCSA’s Professor John McK. Camp follows.
From John Camp, Director of the Agora Excavations:
For several years, Lucy worked at the excavations of the Athenian Agora, the center of the ancient city for politics, commerce, socializing, voting, and spectacles (processions, dramatic performances, military drill, and athletic contests). The site has been under excavation since 1931 and has served as the training-ground for most American students interested in Classical antiquity, drawn from close to 200 universities and colleges in the States.
During her years there, Lucy served as the registrar, responsible for all the records, overseeing the cataloguing, conservation, photography, and storage of the hundreds of objects found each season and added to the museum collections housed in the Stoa of Attalos. She also provided access to hundreds of visitors every year, both local scholars publishing the new material and outside archaeologists hoping to find information about their own sites and objects. She was the public face of the American School in Athens, and her cheery, smiling welcome and generous sense of humor meant that all visitors felt welcome there.
Two volumes are in preparation which are particularly appropriate to Lucy’s role at the Agora. One describes the early years of the work, cataloguing the neighborhood which was displaced by the excavations. Painstaking assembled by the present registrar, Sylvie Dumont, it is based on the early records (photographs, drawings, and notebooks) which Lucy worked with every day. A second volume, written by deputy director and photographer Craig Mauzy, is a pictorial history of the excavations, written for the 75th anniversary of the project in 2006. It, too, draws heavily from the records under Lucy’s care. Tremendously popular, it is now out of print and plans to reprint it include adding new material so as to bring the story fully up to date.
Whichever volume is chosen (perhaps both), the thought is to include the information that the volume was published in part by Lucy’s friends and family, to honor her memory and the role she played at the agora excavations in Athens.
Information for making a gift:
For donations from the United States:
Checks made payable to the American School of Classical Studies, mailed to either Princeton or Athens office.
NEW YORK – An unprecedented crisis has burst between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America because of a total defiance of Archbishop Demetrios toward Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Specifically, Archbishop Demetrios refused to resign after Patriarch Bartholomew invited him to do so officially at the meeting of the Patriarchate’s Holy Synod on May 30. He said that he wants to stay to fix the problems of the Archdiocese.
No one can predict the developments from this point on. It should not be ruled out that Demetrios will put the Church and the Greek-American Community in vicissitudes.
Bartholomew invited Demetrios into his office for a private discussion and told him it is time to think of resigning. The archbishop refused. Then, the patriarch put the issue to the Holy Synod, inviting its members to assume their responsibilities. Regarding what was said about “autocephaly” at the Hellenic College and Holy Cross (HCHC) commencement, the archbishop said he didn’t hear what was said because the microphones weren’t working properly.
Also, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report about the St. Nicholas National Shrine was read at the Synod and was discussed extensively. Many members pointed out contradictions in the report. The patriarch said people do not give money (toward the rebuilding) when they have lost their trust (in the institution).
The construction of St. Nicholas stopped six months ago because of luck of funds. Since then, no update has been given as to when construction will resume.
The Archdiocese has gone into a dire financial condition to the point that it was forced to apply for a bank loan – apparently from Alma Bank, as The National Herald revealed – just to pay its debt.
TNH has learned that certain hierarchs from America advised the archbishop not to submit his resignation because they fear they will be next. At this moment, Bartholomew and the Synod are placed in an extremely difficult position with very few options left.
If the archbishop ultimately continues to show insubordination to the patriarch and the Synod, then the only option the Patriarchate has is to elect him to another metropolis and immediately elect a new archbishop.
Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America, was born in 1928 in Thessaloniki. After graduating with distinction from the University of Athens School of Theology in 1950, he was ordained a Deacon in 1960 and a priest in 1964.
He was elected Bishop of Vresthena in 1967, an auxiliary bishop to the Archbishop of Athens Ieronymos Kotsonis, who had been placed on the Archbishopric Throne of Greece by the Dictatorial Regime of 1967. Demetrios’ prime responsibility was the theological education of the clergy.
From 1965 to 1971, on scholarship from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, he studied New Testament and Christian Origins and was awarded a PhD in 1972. He then returned to the Archdiocese of Athens and undertook responsibilities for the theological education of the clergy, ministry among the youth, and other duties related to theological conferences in Greece and abroad.
In 1968, he was elected Metropolitan of Attika and Megaris, but he did not accept the post for reasons related to the canonical order of the Church and to the political conditions in Greece at that time.
Later, in 1977, he earned a ThD in Theology from the University of Athens with distinction. From 1983 to 1993, he served as the Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. Serving as a faculty member for more than a decade, he taught many of America’s Greek Orthodox clergy. He also taught at Harvard Divinity School as Visiting Professor of New Testament during the academic years of 1984 to 1985 and from 1988 to 1989.
On August 20, 1991 the Sacred Synod of the Church of Greece elevated then- Bishop Demetrios of Vresthena to a Titular Metropolitan of Vresthena with the simultaneous elevation of the Diocese of Vresthena to the rank of the Metropolis. After several years in the United States, he returned to Greece in 1993 to pursue full-time scholarly writing and research and resumed his responsibilities at the Archdiocese of Athens.
Elected Archbishop of America on August 19, 1999 by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Demetrios was enthroned on September 18 of that year at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City.
SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — More than 300 seniors at a Texas high school have received their diplomas with the memory of a deadly mass shooting on campus still fresh in their minds.
The Santa Fe High School seniors gathered at twilight in the 83-degree heat and 76 percent humidity on the artificial-turf football field to become the school’s first to graduate since May 18, when two substitute teachers and eight fellow students were killed in a mass shooting. Greek-American 17-year-old student, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, identified as the shooter is being held on capital murder charges.
The 328 graduating seniors, wearing white stoles in tribute to those slain, and their well-wishers watched a montage tribute to the slain students and teachers on the stadium’s video display board. Speeches by school principal Rachel Blundell, valedictorian Corrigan Garcia and salutatorian Bailee Dobson referred to “the events of May 18.”
But Blundell reassured the seniors that surviving such an experience equips them with the strength and courage to cope with the challenges that will come later in life.
“Great leaders and great nations have emerged out of the ashes of some of the greatest tragedies,” she said.
Salutatorian Bailee Dobson speaks at the Santa Fe High School graduation ceremony Friday, June 1, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas.(Chelsey Cox/Santa Fe Independent School District via AP)
Garcia told his classmates that the shared experience only brought them closer and gave them the strength that unity brings. “We’ve made it through the worst of it,” he said in his valedictory speech. But he said that another foe confronted the graduates, the emotions of trauma and loss that could be overwhelming.
“Moving on will be tough. Nothing will ever be the same for any of us. But we all have a choice to make,” he said.
“It’s been a bit of a wild ride,” Dobson said in her speech. “This year has been one of the most bizarre and life-changing years that we’ve had so far. First we had (Hurricane) Harvey, then we had snow, and most recently we had the tragic events of May 18th that happened in our very school.” But she said her classmates had remained strong “through all the challenges that life has thrown at us.”
The ceremony came a day after President Donald Trump met privately with families of the victims and others near Houston.
Principal Rachel Blundell speaks at the Santa Fe High School graduation ceremony Friday, June 1, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. More than 300 seniors at the Southeast Texas high school have received their diplomas with memories of a deadly mass shooting fresh in their minds. A gunman fatally shot eight students and two teachers on campus just two weeks ago. (Chelsey Cox/Santa Fe Independent School District via AP)Valedictorian Corrigan Garcia speaks at the Santa Fe High School graduation ceremony Friday, June 1, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. More than 300 seniors at the Southeast Texas high school have received their diplomas with memories of a deadly mass shooting fresh in their minds. A gunman fatally shot eight students and two teachers on campus just two weeks ago. (Chelsey Cox/Santa Fe Independent School District via AP)
CHICAGO – Dedicated to collecting, preserving and portraying the legacy of Greek history and culture in America, the National Hellenic Museum (NHM), 333 S. Halsted St., has the largest collection of Greek American artifacts and recorded oral histories anywhere. NHM’s newest exhibition Lives Afloat: The Greek Refugee Crisis through the Lens of Tasos Markou 2015-2017 opens on Thursday, June 21 and runs through the spring of 2019. This photographic exhibition portrays the realities facing refugees as they arrived in Greece at the height of the Greek Refugee Crisis.
By early 2015, the numbers of refugees pouring into Greece had dramatically increased to hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children. Many fled their home countries, attempting to reach Europe over land and by sea. Most were fleeing violence, war or persecution, and more than a third were escaping the Syrian Civil War. Unlike economic migrants, refugees do not willingly leave in search of new or better opportunities. Rather, refugees are forced from their homes by threat of harm and unsafe conditions.
To compose the Lives Afloat exhibition, the NHM exhibition team utilized evidence-based reports and data from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and images by photographer Tasos Markou.
Markou, born in 1983 in Larisas, Greece, studied photography at the Diek Voluou Public Vocational Training Institute. In 2015, he traveled to the island of Lesvos to cover the refugee crisis. His photographs capture some of these journeys — the difficulties of sea crossings, the living conditions in camps, and the boundaries encountered, particularly at the northern border of Greece. Daily life in the camps, including the poignant moments of families trying to adapt to living with limited resources and the sense of chronic waiting are portrayed.
The NHM’s Lives Afloat exhibition shows a perspective of the Greek refugee crisis over a three-year period in three sections, Arrivals, Waiting, and Borders, to illustrate the experience through powerful photographs. Markou found himself changed by the experience, at times working more to provide aid as a volunteer than as a photojournalist.
“I decided it wasn’t enough to just be a good person. You have to act. Lesvos changed me. It would change anyone who comes here,” said Markou.
World Refugee Day is recognized on June 20th every year. This exhibition will open to the public on June 21. On June 23, Markou will present a program at the Museum about his efforts to aid refugees in Greece. Throughout the coming year this exhibition will be supplemented with public programming, docent-led tours, and invited speakers to help raise awareness about this crisis, and the fate of refugees across history.
“It is so important for the National Hellenic Museum to be telling the story of the Greek Refugee Crisis with our own exhibition,” said Laura Calamos Nasir, PhD, National Hellenic Museum President. “It is crucial for the National Hellenic Museum to address recent history and portray the effects the crisis has had on so many. Using photos to tell the real story of a crisis impacting the Greek community, and indeed millions of lives, we aim to encourage people to learn more by seeking good sources of information, to gain more perspective and to develop a greater understanding of what is happening in the world, whether in the past or in current events. Visitors are invited to consider ways to get involved by learning more about the impact of nonprofit organizations and how effectively they directly impact peoples’ lives.”
Founded in Chicago as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center (HMCC) in 1983, the HMCC moved to the city’s Greektown neighborhood in 2004 and opened its current location on Halsted Street as the National Hellenic Museum in 2011.
The National Hellenic Museum is open to all ages with admission as follows: adults $10, seniors $8, students $8, and children 3 to 12 years are $7. Children under 3 years of age and members receive free admission. NHM is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 AM-5 PM, Thursdays from 11 AM-8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM-5 PM and is closed on Mondays. Members enjoy many additional outstanding benefits throughout the year.
NHM counts on member support to help preserve and share Greek history and culture through programs, events, and exhibitions. To become a member of the NHM, please visit the Museum’s membership page. For information on the Lives Afloat exhibit or other programs, membership, special events, facility rentals, or giving, please visit www.nationalhellenicmuseum.org.
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) announced that Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Back Chris Maragos, Greek-American, and member of the Super Bowl LII Championship team, will throw out the first pitch at the Fifth Annual Greek Heritage Night held in cooperation with Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, June 13 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.
Maragos is a nine-year NFL veteran and has played for the Philadelphia Eagles as a defense back and special teams specialist since 2014. He is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, having also been a member of the 2013 Seattle Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII. Maragos is a native of Racine, Wisconsin and played college football at the University of Wisconsin.
AHI also announced that world renowned crossover classical singer Anastasia Zannis will perform the National Anthem. Zannis has performed on the international stage at the world’s premiere venues, including: Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Teatro Argentina in Rome, and Keyaki Hall in Tokyo. She has had the honor to perform the Olympic Anthem, and the National Anthems of the United States and Greece, for special events, including the 2012 Olympic Games in London. A career highlight for Zannis was when she was selected to perform for former President Bill Clinton in New York City.
Soprano Anastasia Zannis wowed the early morning visitors at the Heriodion with the songs beloved by Greeks and international audiences of Manos Hajidakis and Mikis Theodorakis
“It promises to be a special evening at the ballpark,” AHI President Nick Larigakis said. “We invite the community of the tri-state Philadelphia area to attend and spend it with us.”
The Philadelphia Phillies will take on the Colorado Rockies. Game time is 7:05 PM.
The Phillies have created a unique landing page for the AHI Phillies Greek Heritage Celebration. More information is available online at:https://www.mlb.com/phillies/tickets/specials/greek-heritage to purchase tickets.
Great seats are still available.
The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public policy center and think tank that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek-American community.
Let’s make it very easy. You enter a grocery in Greece and you want to buy food. You need to define that you want something. The verb I wantmeansθέλω. By using this verb, you can build your first sentences.
BEING POLITE
Some of the polite forms that are used in English are not very common in Greek. In English you would say “I would like …, please”. In Greecenoone will think you are not polite, if you just say “I want” = ”θέλω”. But it is not nice to say what you want before greeting the people with a simple γειασας (hello!). It is also polite to say ευχαριστώ =thank you and again γειασας(goodbye) in the end. Note that we use the same word for hello and goodbye.
BASIC GRAMMAR
All Greek verbs end in -ω. You don’t have to say the personal pronoun I = εγώ (remember the English ego), because the person is indicated by the ending of the verb. That means that the verb’s ending changes according to the person or persons to which it refers (you, we, he, they etc.).
SOUGHT OUT GREEK PRODUCTS: CHEESE AND YOGURT
Travelers in Greece usually seek feta cheese, Greek yogurt in the Greek Super Markets. It is enough to say θέλωφέτα or you can say θέλωτυρίφέτα. Greece produces very good sheep yogurt. The word πρόβειο defines that it is produced from sheep milk.
Θέλωφέτα.
THElo FEta.
I want (I would like) some feta.
Θέλωτυρίφέτα.
THElo tiREE Feta.
I want (I would like) some feta.
Θέλωγιαούρτι.
THElo yiaOOrti.
I want (I would like) some yogurt.
Θέλωγιαούρτιπρόβειο.
THElo yiaOOrti PROvio.
I want (I would like) some sheep’syogurt.
DEFINE THE QUANTITY
How much would you like to buy?
Θέλωένατέταρτοφέτα.
THElo Ena TEtarto FEta.
I want (I would like) a quarter kilo of feta cheese.
Θέλωμισόκιλόφέτα.
THElo miSO kiLO FEta.
I want (I would like) a half kilo of feta cheese.
Θέλωένακιλόφέτα.
THElo Ena kiLO FEta.
I want (I would like) a kilo of feta cheese.
Θέλωέναγιαούρτιπρόβειο.
THElo Ena yiaOOrti PROvio.
I want (I would like) one sheep’syogurt.
Θέλωδύογιαούρτιαπρόβεια.
THElo DEEO yiaOOrtia PROvia.
I want (I would like) two sheep’syogurts.
BASIC VOCABULARY
GREEK WORD PRONUNCIATION MEANING
Γειασας yiA sas hello or goodbye
Ευχαριστώ efhariSTO thank you
Θέλω THElo I want, I would like
Τυρί tiREE cheese
Φέτα FEta feta cheese
Γιαούρτι yiaOOrti yogurt
Πρόβειο PROvio made from sheep’s milk
Ένακιλό Ena kiLO one kilo
Μισόκιλό miSO kiLO half kilo
Ένατέταρτο Ena TEtarto quarter kilo
Ένα Ena one
Δύο DEEo two
GREEK YOU ALREADY KNOW
Kilo is κιλό in Greek. It comes from the Greek word χιλιόγραμμο (hiliOgramo) which means a thousand grammars. The Greek word τέταρτοcomes from the Greek word for number four (τέσσερα) and is being used in English in words like tetrahedron, tetrathlon.A good example of a word in English that comes from δύο = two is the word dia+logue>δύο+λόγος = two persons speaking.
EXERCISE
Match the English phrases with their translation in Greek.
1.Θέλωδύογιαούρτια. 1. I would like some feta cheese.
Θέλωένατέταρτοφέτα. 2. I would like a sheep’syogurt.
Θέλωέναγιαούρτιπρόβειο. 3. I would like two yogurts.
PRONUNCIATION KEY
i (ill), ee (beer), e (ever), o (organ), oo (boot), y (yes), h (helium), th (theory), d (the). The capitalized syllables are accented.
EDISON, NJ – Four Greek-American police officers are among five from New Jersey who were “charged with official misconduct and theft, prosecutors announced,” on June 1, NBC 4 New York reported, adding that “an investigation revealed that between Nov. 14, 2016 and May 1, 2018 the police officers of the Edison Police Department allegedly were being paid for extra-duty jobs, which they were not present for. The extra-duty, or ‘side jobs,’ are in addition to the regular hours that a member of the police department is assigned to work.”
Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey announced that “Sergeant Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 38, Patrolman Paul Pappas, 43, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 32, all of Edison Township, Patrolman Gregory Makras, 33, of Cranford, and Sergeant Brian Rossmeyer, 41, of Bedminister were each charged with two counts of official misconduct in the second degree and one count of theft by unlawful taking in the third degree,” NBC 4 New York reported.
The police officers who were charged have years of experience with the Edison Police Department, ranging from 16 years for Mpletsakis, 14 years for Pappas, 11 years for Rossmeyer, 7 years for Makras, and just 4 years for Panagoulakos.
According to the statement by the Middesex Country Prosecutor’s Office, “The officers who volunteer to take these extra assignments have full police responsibilities while on the extra-duty assignments, prosecutors say, adding that these assignments include directing traffic for utility companies as well as providing security services for local businesses and residential communities.”
The statement continued that “in Edison, there is no centralized system of assignment for these extra-duty jobs. Instead, several different individuals within the department have wide discretion as to who gets the assignments. The payment for these extra-duty jobs can exceed $100,000 in a single year for an officer. This money is in addition to the officer’s regular base pay and overtime. Payment for these side jobs is billed through Edison Township payroll for police services. The fee charged includes an administrative fee and an additional fee for a police vehicle when required.”
“Any police officer who knowingly got paid for an off duty-job they did not do, is guilty of malfeasance. Edison township officials, however, are responsible for allowing a system of fiscal irresponsibility to exist,” Andrew Carey said in a statement, reported by NBC 4 New York.
The officers are set to appear in court on June 21.
The Prosecutor’s Office statement also noted that “the investigation is active and is continuing with the possibility of additional arrests. Anyone with information is asked to call Captain Kenneth Schreck of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7453, or Detective Nicholas Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-5217.”
As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against these individuals are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW YORK – The Onassis Cultural Center New Yorkpresents Birds: A Festival Inspired by Aristophanes,comprising a rich array of events that consider the enduring—and, currently, pressing—central themes of Aristophanes’ ancient satire, The Birds, April 22- July 8. The festival is produced by Onassis Cultural Center New York for the American premiere of Nikos Karathanos’ uproarious and poetic adaptation of the original Aristophanes play, presented by St. Ann’s Warehouseand Onassis Cultural Centre-Athens. More information is available online at: onassisusa.org.
THRU OCTOBER 6
TARPON SPRINGS, FL – The City of Tarpon Springs will present Night in the Islands–a free event on the world famous Sponge Docks (Dodecanese Blvd. between Athens and Roosevelt Streets) on July 7, August 4, and October 6 this year. Enjoy a Greek panigiri with music, dancing, and dining! And we will offer an hour of free Greek dance lessons by the Levendia Dance Troupe from 6-7 PM. Night in the Islands will feature the engaging music of Odyssey in April and May, and in July, August, and September we will feature Ellada in front of the Sponge Exchange. To reserve a table for dinner, please contact participating restaurants Costa’s, Hellas, Mama’s, or Mykonos. This popular event is free, thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tarpon Springs Merchants Association. For more information, contact Tina Bucuvalas at 727-916-0235 or tbucuvalas@ctsfl.us.
MAY 18-JUNE 30
DETROIT, MI – Angeliki’s Dowry Chest, An Exhibition and Estate Sale, opening Friday, May 18, 6-9 PM and running through June 30, presented by Trinosophes, 1464 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. Visit Instagram @angelikisdowrychest.
MAY 31-JUNE 3
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 2747 Riva Road in Annapolis, holds its annual Greek Festival May 31-June 3. Features include Greek food and delicacies, live music and dancing, children’s area, cash prize raffle, vendors and imported jewelry, and Grocer’s Corner. Hours: Thursday, May 31, 4-10 PM; Friday, Jun. 1, 11 AM-10 PM, Saturday, Jun. 2, 11AM-11 PM, and Sunday, Jun. 3, 11 AM-7 PM. Admission is free! More information is available by phone: 410-573-2072 and online at: www.annapolisgreekfestival.org.
RICHMOND, VA – Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 30 Malvern Avenue in Richmond, holds the 43rd Annual Richmond Greek Festival May 31-June 3. Enjoy delicious food, amazing entertainment, and the diverse Agora Marketplace. Gift certificates are available in $15 increments and can be used on food and drinks (alcoholic beverages excluded). They make excellent gifts and can be purchased easily. Please call the Cathedral office at 804-355-3687 for details. Drive-Thru menu/order form available online. Pro tip: print and fill it out ahead of time to reduce the waiting. Hours: Thursday, May 31, 11 AM- 9 PM; Friday, Jun. 1 and Saturday, Jun. 2, 11 AM-10 PM; and Sunday, Jun. 3, Noon- 7 PM. More information is available by phone: 804-355-3687 and online at: http://www.greekfestival.com.
JUNE 1-3
SAN JOSE, CA – Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1260 Davis Street in San Jose, holds its 47th Annual San Jose Greek Festival June 1-3. Enjoy food, drink, and friendship; it’s all part of philoxenia. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, and free to children under 12. A free admission pass will be posted closer to when the festival arrives. The Festival is wheelchair accessible. Only service animals are allowed. Hours: Friday, Jun. 1, 5-10 PM; Saturday, Jun. 2, 11 AM-10 PM; and Sunday, Jun. 3, 11 AM-9 PM. More information is available by phone: 408-246-2770 and online at: http://sanjosegreekfestival.org.
BROOKLYN – Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church, 1724 Avenue P in Brooklyn, holds its annual Greek Festival June 1-3. Admission is free with authentic Greek cuisine, live entertainment, pastries, loukoumades, raffles, flea market, rides and games for the kids, and much more. Reserve a table online for Friday, Jun. 1 to see Yianni Papastefanou perform live or Saturday, Jun. 2 for Cretan Night. Hours: Friday, Jun. 1, 5 PM – Midnight, Saturday, Jun. 2, Noon – Midnight, and Sunday, Jun. 3 Noon – 8 PM. More information is available by phone: 718-339-0280 and online at: http://www.3hcfestival.com.
JUNE 5-9
WILMINGTON, DE – Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 808 North Broom Street in Wilmington, holds its 42nd Annual Greek Festival Tuesday, Jun. 5- Saturday, Jun. 9, 11 AM- 11 PM. Admission is free. Enjoy traditional Greek comfort foods, live music by Philadelphia’s Atlantis, performances by Holy Trinity’s Terpsichorean Youth Folk dance group, church tours, and free lunch shuttle from 9th and Market on Tuesday, Jun. 5 – Friday, Jun. 8, 11 AM – 2 PM, running every 10 minutes. All major credit cards accepted. More information is available by phone: 302-654-4446, email: info@greekfestde.com, and online at http://greekfestde.com.
JUNE 6
ASTORIA – Ti Na Ftaiei Ti Na Ftaiei? a new musical comedy by Phyto Stratis, featuring Greek popular songs, on Wednesday, Jun. 6, 7:30 PM at Dionysos Restaurant, 23-15 31st Street in Astoria. Starring: Demetris Michael, Penny Tsinias, Louis Panayiotou, Aggeliki Psonis, and Phyto Stratis as the Judge. The 90-minute show is performed with live music as guests enjoy a beverage (wine or soft drink) and cold cuts which are included with the ticket. Post-show food menu is available from Dionysos Restaurant at the guests’ expense. Tickets: $30, available online at: www.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets also available at the venue. Additional information is available by phone: 646-595-7303.
JUNE 7-10
WHITESTONE – Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, 11-05 150th Street in Whitestone, holds its annual Greek Festival Thursday, Jun. 7-Sunday, Jun. 10. Enjoy Greek hospitality and delicacies, food, music, dancing, rides, games, flea market. Hours: Thursday, Jun. 7, 6-10 PM; Friday, Jun. 8, 6-11 PM; Saturday, Jun. 9, 3-11 PM; and Sunday, Jun. 10, 3-10 PM. More information is available by phone: 718-767-2955 and online at: www.holycrossgreekchurch.com.
JUNE 8-10
OVERLAND PARK, KS – St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Christian Church, 8100 W. 95th Street in Overland Park, holds its annual Greek Festival Friday, Jun. 8- Sunday, Jun. 10. Enjoy authentic Greek food, music and dancing performed by the community’s young people, from the adorable “Zouzounia” to the elite Delta Dynamis troupe. Browse the Plaka (Athenian Marketplace) and the Greek Boutique. Hours: Friday, Jun. 8, 5-10 PM; Saturday, Jun. 9, 11 AM- 10 PM; and Sunday, Jun. 10, 11 AM-6 PM. More information is available by phone: 913-341-7373 and online at: www.stdionysios.org/festival.
JUNE 13
MANHATTAN – HABA requests the honor of your presence for our 36th Anniversary and our Executive of the Year Award Dinner 2018, honoring Daniel S. Janis, III, Senior Managing Director & Senior Portfolio Manager, Manulife Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, at the Union League Club of New York on Wednesday, Jun. 13, 6 PM. Please visit https://haba20180613.eventbrite.com for tickets & table sponsorship.
JUNE 16
MANHATTAN – The Greek-American Writers Association invites you to celebrate summer on June 16 at the final blockbuster program of the year. World-renowned musician Pericles Kanaris will sing and perform his original compositions at the keyboard. Poet Nicholas Alexiou will debut his fifth poetry collection, The Silver Sphynx. Artist CosmoYannis will share his secrets on how he created the dynamic coloring book, They Were Super-Greeks. Saturday, Jun. 16, Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street in Manhattan, 6-8 PM. $10 includes admission and a drink.
BOSTON, MA – On May 18, Robert McCabe’s photographs of Greece were inaugurated into the Consulate General of Greece in Boston’s permanent exhibition. Remarks from the ceremony follow from Consul General to Greece in Boston Stratos Efthymiou, Amb. Nicholas Burns, McCabe, and his wife, Jackie, who read the remarks of John Camp, Director of the Agora Excavations of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
SE: Welcome to the house of Greece!In his famous poem Ithaca, Greek poet from Alexandria Constantine Cavafy writes: “As you set out for Ithaca hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.”
It was a personal privilege and honor to sail with Robert and his lovely family, Dina, George and Jackie, on a six-month journey that led us to today’s exhibition. A journey that brought Robert’s photographs to our Boston Consulate, their own Ithaca.
This Consulate building was designed and built by architect Haven Wheelwright in 1910 to be the home of the Sears family. In 1993 Consul General Kogevinas bought this building on behalf of the Greek government.
Robert McCabe’s photos have now transformed forever the premises, but also the environment of the Consulate General of Greece in Boston in a way we seldom see in our civil service. The exhibition consists of 29 prints – all of them printed in Greece by George and Sophie Marinos at Idolo Labs and by Adreas Sokulski of Striligas Printing lab. 28 Black and white photographs, 1 in color, which was captured in 2016. 10 large unframed photographs, 7 in the reception, 3 in 2 of our offices. 19 photographs, framed in Athens by Kostas Karasavidis. Robert McCabe’s photographs are now a permanent feature of this consulate, and an enduring bridge between Boston – the Athens of America – and Greece.
(L-R) Amb. Nicholas Burns, Dr. Georgios Canellos, Robert McCabe, Consul General to Greece in Boston Stratos Efthymiou. (Photo by TNH/Theodoros Kalmoukos)
Our catalogue was designed by graphic designer Lydia Ioannidou, who is here, and whom I want to thank for her enthusiasm. Within a two-day deadline she did a fabulous job.
Tonight’s exhibition would not have been possible without the efforts of my team here at the Consulate. I would like to thank each one of them.
To Robert and Dina, and to Jackie and George McCabe, who reside in the House of an earlier great Bostonian Philhellene – Samuel Gridley Howe, the Lafayette of the Greek Revolution:I would like to express my deep gratitude for their vision and generosity.
Amb. Nicholas Burns, it is our honor for you to be here with us tonight.
I think Amb. Burns needs no introduction to the Greek-American community. Before returning to his Boston home to become Professor of Diplomacy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Amb. Burns served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador to NATO, spokesperson of the State Department. To us he is best known from his service as U.S. Ambassador to Greece, from 1997to 2001, navigating with confidence through the waters of the U.S.-Greek relations. For students of Internationals Relations, like me at that time, he was a source of inspiration.
Ambassador, thank you for honoring us, and especially for honoring Robert with your presence here.
NB: Thank you very much. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is my honor to be with you tonight, and sorry for my broken Greek. First, to thank Stratos Efthymiou who has been a great Consul General of Greece, here in the Athens of America. I wanted to be here tonight to pay tribute to a truly great Philhellene – Bob McCabe. We have had a lot of great Philhellenes who have supported Greece. Stratos mentioned Samuel Gridley Howe. With Edward Everett – they supported Greece, in Greece’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire in the 1820s. Harry Truman and George Marshall, with the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine to protect Greek democracy, supported Greece at a very dark hour after the occupation of Greece by the Nazis.
Amb. Nicholas Burns. (Photo by TNH/Theodoros Kalmoukos)
And, when I became ambassador, my takeaway from three and a half years was that the governments are important. But the individuals and the relationships, the Greek-American community, the business community, and individuals like Bob and Dina McCabe – they play a more important role.
Let me tell you about this gentleman. He is a true Philhellene. I think Bob is the most dedicated, most committed, most ardent, most loyal Philhellene in the United States of America… Today.
There was another Philhellene. 80 years ago. The great British writer Lawrence Durrell who wrote Bitter Lemons about his time in Cyprus. He wrote the Alexandria Quartet and he was trying to entice another great American artist, Henry Miller, to come to Greece, and he wrote him a letter and said: “You should see the landscape of Greece, it will break your heart.” I have never forgotten those words.
And tonight we are honoring another Philhellene who has paid tribute to the landscape of Greece. Look at these beautiful black and white photographs that Stratos has put in the Consulate forever. These are Bob’s photographs. And he has been a Philhellene who has really, I think, understood the Greek soul and the Greek spirit and the Greek people and the Greek landscape from 1954, I am sorry to date you, until 2018. And these photographs they really, I think, they speak of someone who has a sensitive nature. Who can see the really important things in these gorgeous black and white pictures.
And Bob has done this; he has captured Greece of the 50s and 60s for us decades later. What a great gift to all of us who love Greece! 50 years on the American School of Classical Studies board, on the Gennadius Library board, he has been a champion of Greek archaeology in addition to photography. He has been a champion of trying to remember the history. When we built a history project, permanent exhibition in the American Embassy in Vasilissis Sofias street, Bob was our greatest source of ideas and support for that exhibit.
And in the most important way he has built the best bridge between Greece and the United States. His family; his beautiful wife, Dina, who is here today, his son, George, his daughter-in-law, Jackie. Their daughter, Ann, who I think is not here tonight but is a true Philhellene. And the new generation, if you have seen this really precautious redhead who is six years old now running around – that is Charlie, and he is the new generation of Philhellenes.
I admire Bob more than anybody. He has contributed so much, and Bobby, I honor you tonight and thank you for your services to the Greek-American relationship over many and many years, in the past and to come. Congratulations!
SE: I asked John Camp, Director of the Agora Excavations of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens – the living legend of archaeology – to send us a message on the occasion of this inauguration. A message that you will all find in the catalogue that you will get. I will ask Jackie McCabe to come and read excerpts from his message.
And thank you for your help Jackie, without you and George this exhibition would have never taken place.
JM: This is from John Camp:It is an honor and a distinct pleasure to address such an audience at the inauguration of this display of photographs of Greece by Robert McCabe, a dear and valued friend. Photography has been his lifelong vocation, the fruits of which we can enjoy today.
Throughout the years, Philhellenism has been a deep well, and has found expression in a broad variety of ways: military, cultural, political, and educational. Robert McCabe’s photographs, with their accurate portrayal of so many aspects of Greek life, are the contribution of a true Philhellene.
These images are a powerful testimony that our unease, that something has changed dramatically, is in fact the case.
How appropriate that a group of these works will remain on display here in the city of Boston – only a few steps from the house of Samuel Gridley Howe, the early Philhellene.
RM: I am going to say something very tasteless for some of you:Mike Keeley is a very old friend, brother of the ambassador who was my professor of English at Princeton, and once we were trying to figure out whether there was any cure for Philhellenism.
And we came up with only one possibility, and that was to own real estate in Greece. And it has not worked for me, notwithstanding real estate.
I want to thank the consul general. I think the dream of every photographer is to have a permanent exhibition. It very rarely happens, so it is unique.
I want to thank Nick for his kind words, Jackie, and John Camp, and I want to again reiterate what Lydia did starting on Wednesday. It is like producing something better than a newspaper with two days’ work, I mean, it is like a miracle. And Lydia, thank you so much for doing that.
When my second book was being printed, we put tremendous pressure on the publisher in Athens before the Olympic Games, and at one point she got irritated and she said, “Robert you don’t understand. The people who come to the Olympics don’t buy books, number one, and number two; your pictures get more and more interesting as time goes by.” And I think that that reiterates what John Camp wrote, and the full text is in the booklet that you have.
When I first used to travel in the islands with my brother in 1954 and ‘55, we would consider an island spoiled if there was one other tourist there. With no tourists, that may sound far-fetched, but, when I went to Santorini first in 1954, there were no other tourists on the island, and I had an opportunity to take a lot of photographs there before the earthquake, and my publisher in Greece is doing a book of them next year.
But, when I thought I would spend my life doing this, working in New York for a few months and then going back to Greece, enjoying the islands, visiting these unspoiled islands, and photographing them over a period of many years, I never dreamed what was going to happen.The change came about so quickly, with jet planes, airports, new port facilities, longer runways in the islands, and new airports in the islands, very, very dramatic change, and it came totally unexpectedly.
Although we recognized the beauty of these places, we never dreamed how the world would change so quickly. So, I feel, like I said, very, very privileged to have been able to record these.
I, as I said before, I wish I had brought more film with me but, I am really thrilled that we have an exhibition here that will stay up, and will give people an opportunity to see another side of Greece.
So thank you very, very much for coming and I am very grateful to you. AndIhopeyouallenjoyit.
SE: I would like to thank Robert McCabe one more time forthe poetry and aesthetic perfection his work reflects.
Robert McCabe’s photographs are not only a visual poetry of aesthetic perfection but an ark, a vessel, a treasure of Greek cultural heritage.
Robert’s photographs have immortalized in a unique way our marble classical monuments, and have forever captured the spirit, the geometry, the light, the identity of a Greece that is receding into history.
For more than 60 years, Robert McCabe has been using his lens to preserve the Hellenic Cultural heritage and to promote classical studies.
As a token of the appreciation and gratitude of the Hellenic Republic, I would like to offer to Robert McCabe a marble vessel, carved by Petros Marmarinos, a sculptor from the Aegean island of Tinos.
This vessel will be a symbol of the treasure of Greek cultural heritage that Robert’s photographs represent for us…
RM: Charlie and I are going to share this…
But thank you very much, that is a wonderful surprise. Tinos is a very special island. I first visited Tinos in 1954 and had an opportunity to walk around some of the paths, the beautiful stone paths. I hope they are still there.
I forgot to say one thing before, and that is that Stratos, besides sponsoring this exhibition, also was the curator. And I hope when we post, if we have not already, a little plaque giving credits for the catalogue and for the printing that we will put Stratos as the curator. He went through hundreds of photographs and personally picked the ones that you see here.Thank you.
SIOUX CITY, IA – Styliani (Stella) Maria (Pattakos) Kreekos passed away on May 13 at age 105. She was born in Agia Paraskevi, Rethymnon, Crete on May 2, 1913. Her mother passed away at age 107. Her father was killed by German bombs during their World War II invasion of Greece. Brigadier Pattakos was among the defenders of the homeland.
Kreekos was predeceased by her beloved husband, George (Kriovrisanakis) Kreekos, who passed away on July 26, 1989. George served in the U.S. Army. He owned and operated the Olympia Café at 5th and Douglas Streets.
Kreekos’ brother Harry G. (Pattakos) Peters resided in Salt Lake City, UT. He served for 26 years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps in the Pacific Theater (Philippines and Fiji Islands) during World War II and spent two years with the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany after the war. Peters also served in the Korean conflict.
Another brother, Stylianos Pattakos, died at age 103 in 2016,and was one of the three notorious military officers who overthrew the government in the coup d’étatof April 21, 1967, setting up the junta that lasted until 1974.
Kreekos’ seven siblings predeceased her.
She is survived by her son Dr. Michael G. Kreekos, who served in the Air Force in Vietnam and now practices in Omaha, NE and teaches at Creighton University as an Adjunct Professor in Prosthodontics. He resides with his wife, Liz, in Omaha.
Kreekos is also survived by three grandchildren- Anastasia, Stefania, and Athanasia, and four great-grandchildren- Christianos, Stylianos, Blake, and Victoria.
One of the original members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Sioux City, she was a member of the Philoptochos, Daughters of Penelope, and the Cretan club. A longtime volunteer, Kreekos helped with cooking and baking at the bazaars and festivals.
On October 13, 1994,Kreekos received the Most Valuable Dude Award at Bonanza by living the Bonanza mission statement and showing her willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure every guest comes back to Bonanza again and again.
She will be missed by her beloved children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives, and friends.
Michel Dragon was born in Athens sometime around 1739 to Antonio and Eleni (nee Clino). Dragon is the first documented Greek to permanently settle in New Orleans. Dragon arrived in New Orleans as a common sailor and by 1766 became, a most prominent merchant. After eight years of extensive archive research undertaken by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Archive Committee, at the moment, only four Greeks can be identified living in New Orleans before 1850. It is unclear who from this tiny group, met and interacted with later Hellenes. Without question the descendants of Dragon met and continue to meet all those who have followed.
Dragon married Marie Frangoise de Montpliaisir (born Chauvin) (1755-1822). She was born on March 1, 1755 the daughter of Francois Chauvin Beaulieu and Marianne. The Dragons had one child, Marianna Celeste (1777-1856). Terse as this information may be is it typical of what is now known of this very early period. Yet research across a number of fronts by a small group of researchers is even now rewriting the known history of the earliest of Hellenes in the New World.
Dragon arrived in New Orleans with little money and fewer prospects. He was enumerated in the 1770-1789 Spanish Louisiana Census and Militia Lists as a “hunter and voyager.” Through one means or another, Dragon gradually improved his life. One way to judge Dragon’s gradual hard won success is by an 1815 map held in the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC), a museum and research center dedicated to preserving the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf region of the South. Known as the “Plan de l’Habitation de Mr. Michel Dragon arpentee par ordre de B. Lafon Ing., le mois de decembre, 1815” this map was drawn by Barthelemy Lafon (1769-1820) as a survey of Dragon’s holdings in Bay Saint Louis and Wolf River Mississippi. This map documents as it reports upon the Spanish land grant issued to Dragon for his service with the Spanish against the British in the Florida campaign during the American Revolutionary War.
The HNOC description of this survey is simply: “Survey of the property of Michel Dragon (1739-1821) showing a 23,000 acre tract fronting the eastern shore of Bay St. Louis. Added decorative details include trees, a cow, a wild pig, a leaping stag, sailing ships in the bay, and a small village. Michael Dragon’s land stretched along the Wolf River for 14 miles inland from the bay. Some adjacent land owners are named (hnoc.org).” According to a plaque immediately below the farmed map as it is exhibited at the HNOC this rare historical map was originally the property of Dragon’s, “Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandson George Pandely Pattison.”
Portraits of Michel Dragon’s daughter Marianna Celeste.
Dragon was not simply a merchant. On January 1, 1771, he became a soldier in the Louisiana Regular Militia. Within one year, Dragon became a corporal first-class. On October 1, 1787, Dragon served as a 2nd sergeant in Mobile Alabama as part of the Louisiana Artillery under the Spanish General Galvez against the British. His unit was attached to the regiment of Antonio Gilbrto de St. Maxent, colonel in the regular Spanish Army, in command of the militia in the victorious campaign of Don Fernando de Galvez, Governor of Louisiana, for the Spanish King against the English in West Florida during the American War of Independence. He was promoted to first sergeant on July 1, 1789 during the campaign and later made a second lieutenant on February 12, 1792. Finally, Dragon was commissioned a lieutenant by Charles II, King of Spain, upon the recommendation of Baron de Carondelet on March 29, 1796. He was, then, assigned to the regiment of Don Almonaster de Roxas, commander of the standing provincial militia. According to one of his descendants Dragon for his military service ‘became the first solider not of French or English descent to be inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution (jplarroque.com).
I had read of Dragon’s participation in these military campaigns years ago. As Greek School students know, by 1768 the New Smyrna Colony in Florida was established with the arrival of a large number of Greeks to St. Augustine. These colonists ultimately settled south of St. Augustine on a site then, as well as now, named New Smyrna. For an array of reasons by July 1777, the colony had failed and the survivors of this ill-fated colony returned to St. Augustine. By 1783, the Spanish once again took possession of Florida. Just as Dragon served in the Spanish forces fighting the British in the 1780s did Greek survivors then living in St. Augustine serve with the British?
Dragon was still an officer in the militia when in 1803, the province of Louisiana was transferred from France to the United States, and he took part in the formal ceremonies attending the cession. Under the terms of the treaty, he became an American citizen without further action. A three-quarter portrait painting of Michel Dragon in his lieutenant’s uniform, c. 1810, and aptly known as Lieutenant Miquel Dragon is now held at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans and is attributed to F. Godefroid, (1807-1820) or to the School of Jose Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza.
In October, 1799, Marianna Celeste married a new Greek arrival to New Orleans Demas Tirisakos (circa. 1775-March 1, 1852). This is the first recorded Greek to Greek marriage in North America. For reasons lost to history, Tirisakos changed his name to Andrea Dimitry, not long after his arrival in New Orleans. Dimitry soon became a merchant and in time was a veteran of the War of 1812, serving at the Battle of New Orleans. The Louisiana State Museum holds a painting of Marianna Celeste painted by José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza dated 1796. A painting of Dimitry as an older man also exists. So, in point of fact, we can actually see this very first Greek couple in North America.
Michel Dragon died in New Orleans on March 10, 1821. Like many prominent New Orleans families of this era, the Dragon family have their own modest tomb in Saint Louis No. 1 Cemetery. As one of Dragon’s descendants has noted “at the far edge of the French Quarter on Basin Street is the Saint Louis #1 Cemetery, the oldest in the city. Known for its above ground tombs that rest on flood prone ground, the cemetery represents the spectrum of New Orleans society.” In time this tomb came to be known as the Dragon-Dimitry family site. The four principle figures Michel Dragon his wife Marie, Andrea Dimitry and his wife Maria are all to be found in this tomb. Successive generations of the Dimitry family and their spouses are also in this tomb. Four of these individuals are: Caroline Sophia Powers (1809-1872) Wife of M.D. Dimitry; Elizabeth de la Salle (1760-1841) Grandmother of Caroline Sophia Powers; Caroline Peronne Powers (1797-1882) Mother of Caroline Sophia Powers and Dimitry (1809-1873) brother of Alexander Dimitry, the noted politician and educator.
And those who are descended from the Dragon-Dimitry union have not forgotten their ancestors. Many of the descendants have made a point of visiting the family tomb. Yet over the decades this tomb came into disrepair. The Dragon-Dimitry extended family chose Facebook as the forum by which to collectively gather to refurbish their ancestral tomb. Posted as The Projectthe following appeal was made: “Our family has received a cost estimate for the restoration of the tomb from a professional restorer experienced in such work. All work will be performed using the appropriate masonry repair methods recommended by the National Park Service and the local New Orleans group, Save our Cemeteries. The cost of this project is expected not to exceed the amount of $4,000. This includes a reasonable contingency of $500 for unanticipated repair conditions and should cover web site service fees. One member of our family is an architect with several years’ experience in historic preservation work and he will administer the repair contract and inspect the results at the end of the job.” Based just on this appeal 39 individuals from this extended family collectively contributed $4100 toward this restoration. Anyone wishing to see the restored Dragon-Dimitry tomb, which still features the original capstone which names those within, can do so via the Internet. On April 5, 2014, a Trisagion service, organized by descendants was celebrated over the restored tomb by Father Dean Gigicos surrounded by Holy Trinity parishioners and various Dimitry descendants.
For those Greeks and their immediate descendants in North America who fear and predict openly the eventual passing of all self-identifying Greeks from the American scene need only think of this one extended family first established by a lone individual sometime around 1764. Greeks have never been a people easily defeated by the circumstances around them. I see no reason for future generations of Greeks to do any differently than those of the now widely spread Dragon-Dimitry clan.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York State Council of Churches is calling on members of the state Senate and Assembly to overhaul the state’s bail system.
The organization says too many people charged with a crime must remain in jail awaiting trial simply because they can’t afford bail.
The council released a statement Friday urging lawmakers to take action on several proposals to change the bail system before they adjourn for the year later this month.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed eliminating cash bail in misdemeanor and non-violent felony cases.
Legislation from Greek-American Democratic Sen. Michael Gianaris of Queens would go further in eliminating cash bail for everyone except suspects who commit violent crimes and who are considered a danger to others.
NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for President Donald Trump and a former “Apprentice” contestant who sued the president for saying her sexual misconduct claims were lies are due in court in New York.
Tuesday’s court date is the first since a Manhattan judge turned down Trump’s bid to dismiss Greek-American Summer Zervos’ defamation lawsuit or delay it until after his presidency. The case is proceeding, while his lawyers appeal that decision.
The court appearance likely will focus on scheduling, but lawyers could bring up other issues. Neither Trump nor Zervos is required to be there in person.
Zervos, a California restaurateur, appeared in 2006 on Trump’s former reality show, “The Apprentice.” She says he subjected her to unwanted kissing and groping when she sought career advice in 2007.
She was among more than a dozen women who came forward late in the 2016 presidential campaign to say that Trump had sexually harassed or assaulted them.
FILE- In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, Summer Zervos leaves Manhattan Supreme Court at the conclusion of a hearing in New York. A New York court said Thursday, May 17, 2018, that the former “Apprentice” contestant can proceed with her defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, at least for now. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
The Republican denied all of the claims, saying they were “100 percent fabricated” and “totally false” and his accusers were “liars.” He specifically contested Zervos’ allegations in a statement and retweeted a message that included her photo and described her claims as a “hoax.”
Zervos says his words hurt her reputation, harmed her business and led to threats against her. She is seeking a retraction, an apology and compensatory and punitive damages.
Trump’s attorneys have said his statements were true, and also that his remarks were “non-defamatory opinions” that came amid the heated public debate of a national political campaign.
They also argue that a sitting president cannot be sued in a state court.
environmentally friendly cleaners, today announced a year-long partnership with ACS.
