TORCH OF GOLD AWARD — Valerie Bordy, someone I’ve known since BBYO days, has almost 500 friends on Facebook. And while you often wonder how many “real” friends people have on Facebook, I have no doubt Valerie has twice that number of friends. Her friends at the Trailhead District recently recognized her with the Torch of Gold Award presented by the Boy Scouts Trailhead District for working with Venture Crew 2011. The Venture Crew serves girls and boys ages 14 to 99 and is uniquely tailored to serve the needs of special needs youth (as are a Boy Scout Troop and a Cub Scout Pack) and their families. Valerie has been the adult chair of the Venture crew since its inception four years ago because her daughter, Katianne, is a member of the crew. Each of these units moves at a pace appropriate for and respective of these Scouts. Youth, parents and siblings with similar circumstances can share life’s adventures and celebrate successes in this program. The group meets once a month at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, and has two campouts per year. The boys attend a Rotary Camp session at the camp in Lee’s Summit during the summer; the girls have been attending a special needs summer program hosted by the Girl Scouts. In thanking the district for the award, Valerie noted that “it’s a wonderful group of kids and parents.” Stealing a quote from one of her Facebook friends: “You’re a special lady, Val!”
A UNIQUE PROPOSAL — (JTA) A Jewish settler from Har Bracha recruited soldiers manning a nearby West Bank checkpoint to help him with an unusual marriage proposal.
Nir Shamir, 26, had to request the cooperation of the Defense Ministry, the Border Crossing Authority, the troops stationed at the checkpoint and their commanding officer to pull off the stunt.
The ruse? The couple would be pulled over in Shamir’s car and accused of being involved in a hit-and-run accident involving a Palestinian child. Shamir had pilfered the national ID card of his girlfriend, Sara Toshinsky, and the soldiers would say they had found it at the scene.
The soldiers took Toshinsky, 23, for questioning, and then led her to an area overlooking the Samarian hills near the checkpoint where Shamir, who uses a wheelchair, had set up a red carpet with flower petals, candles and fluffy pillows. A sign lit up in fire read “Will You Marry Me?”
Toshinsky told Yediot Achronot that she “did not suspect a thing. Another second and you would have had to hospitalize me.”
The couple enjoyed the atmosphere for about an hour after the proposal, Yediot reported, accepting the congratulations of the soldiers who passed by.
PLAZA LIBRARY PRESENTS LEON LITWACK — Historian Leon Litwack will be in K.C. next week to discuss the 1963 March on Washington. Litwack is the son of working-class Russian Jewish immigrants and is a leading scholar on slavery, Reconstruction, and the fight for civil rights. He will discuss the enduring impact of that march in the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Plaza library. Admission is free. A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. RSVP at kclibrary.org or call 816-701-3407. Litwack has written several books, including “Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery,” “North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States, 1790-1860,” and “Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow.”
BE SAFE ON PURIM — If you plan to go to one of the many fabulous Purim parties taking place this weekend, make sure you act responsively. In simple terms that means, don’t drink and drive. This is exactly the message the Orthodox Union is presenting as part of its Safe Homes, Safe Schools, Safe Shuls initiative.
“In past years, our community unfortunately has heard of countless stories of teenagers and young adults involved in car accidents on Purim due to drunk driving. It is time for parents and teens to be proactive and make certain that safety is the overriding concern throughout Purim,” declared Rabbi Judah Isaacs, director of the OU Department of Community Engagement. “Bodily harm through intoxication is not a mitzvah on Purim, and driving under the influence of alcohol is illegal, leads to impaired judgment, and chasve’shalom, a possible catastrophe.”
As the rabbi put it, there are plenty of ways to have holiday fun without putting yourself, and others, at risk.