plus 3, Alexander Haig, four-star general and former secretary of state for ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Alexander Haig, four-star general and former secretary of state for ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Canadian ship sinks off Brazil, all aboard rescued - canada.com
Disciplinary action is delayed against Steve Neu - Bismarck Tribune
Choosing to go smoke-free - Bismarck Tribune

Alexander Haig, four-star general and former secretary of state for ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 06:28 AM PST

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WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, a four-star general who served as a top adviser to three presidents and had presidential ambitions of his own, died Saturday of complications from an infection, his family said. He was 85.

Haig's long and decorated military career launched the Washington career for which he is better known, including top posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations. He never lived down his televised response to the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

Hours after the shooting, then Secretary of State Haig went before the cameras intending, he said later, to reassure Americans that the White House was functioning.

"As of now, I am in control here in the White House, pending the return of the vice president," Haig said.

Some saw the comment as an inappropriate power grab in the absence of Vice President Bush, who was flying back to Washington from Texas.

Haig died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he was surrounded by his family, according to two of his children, Alexander and Barbara. A hospital spokesman, Gary Stephenson, said Haig died at about 1:30 a.m.

In his book, "Caveat," Haig later wrote that he had been "guilty of a poor choice of words and optimistic if I had imagined I would be forgiven the imprecision out of respect for the tragedy of the occasion."

Haig ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988.

"I think of him as a patriot's patriot," said George P. Shultz, who succeeded Haig as the country's top diplomat in 1982.

"No matter how you sliced him it came out red, white and blue. He was always willing to serve."

Born Dec. 2, 1924, in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd, Alexander Meigs Haig spent his boyhood days dreaming about a career in the military. With the help of an uncle who had congressional contacts, he secured an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1943.

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Canadian ship sinks off Brazil, all aboard rescued - canada.com

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 05:52 AM PST

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CALGARY — Relieved that his daughter is safe after surviving a harrowing rescue at sea, Stu Reid can't shake the terror his daughter and others must have experienced adrift for hours off the coast of Brazil.

Tori, 18, was among 64 passengers and crew pulled from the Atlantic Ocean after her class-at-sea sailing ship, the SV Concordia, sank Thursday in rough waters about 550 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro.

"I picture her bobbing around in dark water in the middle of the Atlantic with storms and winds . . . and it's hard," Stu Reid said Friday.

"As a parent, the first thing I wanted to do is jump on a plane to Brazil to rescue her."

At least nine Calgary students, and as many as 20, were the group forced to abandon the Nova Scotia-based tall ship when it capsized and sank in the storm-churned waters.

The Class Afloat crew and students spent 16 to 18 hours huddled in life rafts until rescuers found them in the dark. All aboard the vessel survived following a rescue effort that drew praise from parents and even the prime minister.

"It was an absolute nightmare. A real life Titanic, but with a happy ending," parent John Gunn said of the ordeal. His son David, 17, is among the senior high school and university students — aged 16 to 19 — enrolled in the program operated by West Island College International.

Trouble for the tall ship began off the Rio coast Thursday night after the Lunenburg, N.S.-based ship flipped in strong winds, according to the Brazilian navy.

"They were very, very lucky because they were all saved," an officer aboard one of the rescue vessels said. "They were all saved and rescued and nobody went missing."

Only one person was reported injured.

In the dark hours before dawn Thursday, the captain of the merchant ship Hokuetsu Delight was contending with high winds and rough seas when he received a distress signal from the ill-fated Concordia. Almost immediately, the Brazilian coast guard also alerted the Philippine-flagged boat of the dire situation.

Signalling to the navy that his ship was close to where the Concordia went down, Cpt. Edgardo Ybranez set out at 3:50 a.m local time to the last co-ordinates the Concordia had transmitted.

"We were worried about finding the survivors, of course," one unidentified crew member told the Calgary Herald. "We are seamen, and we were very concerned about finding people, survivors."

The mission took five hours of navigating through turbulent waters and strong winds by a seasoned crew that grew increasingly anxious as they approached the site of the sunken ship.

They spotted the groups several hours after dawn — 44 students and crew in three lifeboats that had been lashed together some 16 hours before, as the Concordia sank. Some of the passengers were too exhausted to do anything other than weep with relief at the sight of the cargo vessel, while others were able to cheer along the relieved crew of the Hokuetsu Delight.

By 8:05 a.m., the captain was able to close the chapter in the ship's log: rescue completed, all souls found and aboard the Hokuetsu Delight.

The story for the traumatized students and crew continued, however.

Bad weather shut down efforts to helicopter the passengers to the Brazilian naval frigate, Constituicao from the Delight and tanker Crystal Pioneer, which had picked up the remaining 20 members of the school-boat. Only 11 people, yet to be identified, made the transfer before winds called a halt to the operation.

New plans were made, and both merchant ships changed course to take the grateful survivors to Rio de Janeiro, where they were expected to arrive Saturday morning.

Gunn was asleep in his Calgary home Thursday night when the phone rang at 11 p.m. It was the operations manager from Class Afloat telling him the bad news.

"The boat had gone down and there was a distress signal. But there was no mention of mayday and we didn't know what was going on," Gunn recalled Friday. "It was dark and they wouldn't know any more until morning."

Parents didn't learn until 4 a.m. that all aboard the Concordia were safe.

"The first words were, 'everyone survived.' We were all so relieved. It's your worst nightmare."

Carol Grant-Watt, headmaster of Calgary's West Island College, expressed relief that everyone from the Class Afloat Program vessel were rescued safely.

Grant-Watt learned of the high seas drama when a parent contacted her by telephone Thursday around 8 p.m. It wasn't until agonizing hours had passed that the school learned by 4:30 a.m. that all five of the school's Calgary students on board the ship were safely rescued.

"Everyone's concern is to be reunited with the students and make sure everyone is safe," Grant-Watt said Friday.

The Class Afloat program is offered by Lunenburg, Nova Scotia-based West Island College International, which is operated independently of the Calgary-based school, although WIC Calgary and other Canadian students choose to participate in the Class Afloat program.

Word of their friends' rescue dominated students' conversations at West Island on Thursday.

"A lot of people were really upset this morning and crying," said Grade 12 student Laura Douglas, 17.

"It was a relief they all got out OK. I can't wait to give them a big hug."

The ship sent out its first distress signal about 8 a.m., Atlantic time, on Thursday.

About 12 hours later, a C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Brazilian air force located the Concordia's life rafts and Zodiac boat.

Ships in the area were alerted, and two Brazilian merchant marine vessels and a Japanese freighter headed for the wreckage. After spending the night aboard the rafts, Knight said the crew was rescued by the merchant marine ships by 6:30 a.m. Friday.

The crew had boarded Brazilian merchant marine ships, and would be transferred to a Brazilian naval vessel.

Spokeswoman Cpt. Maria Emilia de Moura Estevao Padilha said strong winds and waves between 2.5 and 3.0 metres were impeding efforts to helicopter the Canadians from the ships to the naval vessel.

Estevao Padilha said communication with the merchant ships was limited to radio, and could not provide details about the Canadians' state of health.

David Aftergood was still eagerly waiting Friday to speak with his daughter Olivia, a 16-year-old grade 11 William Aberhart High School student who joined the crew of the Concordia just little more than a week ago.

"We spent a very sleepless night, not sleeping at all, quite frankly, worried sick waiting to hear what we could," he said.

Shortly before 5 a.m. Friday they learned by e-mail that all on board the Concordia had been rescued and were accounted for.

Before Olivia left for her adventure, David says he did have his fears. But he said Class Afloat is a longstanding and professional organization.

"When it's all said and done, they got all 64 people off that boat safely in the middle of the South Atlantic, 500 miles or whatever from shore, in rough seas and they all got rescued," he said. "They obviously did a very professional and proper job in saving and protecting our children."

"They did exactly what they should have done. In a catastrophic situation they saved my daughter and that's all I care about."

The voyage on calm waters from where the tall ship sank, about 500 kilometres south east of Rio de Janeiro, to the city takes around 12 hours.

Western Canada student David Gunn's voyage began three weeks ago, and the family was sure he would see the world and have a fantastic experience.

"We took him to the airport three weeks ago," said his father John Gunn.

"I joked, 'you're leaving as a boy, and you're going to come back as a man.' We knew it wasn't going to be a cake walk, but we didn't think it would be this."

The ship left Recife, Brazil, on Feb. 8 and was scheduled to dock in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, on Feb. 23. The Concordia had just started its second semester, and had intended to sail from Montevideo to South Africa, then back across the Atlantic to the Caribbean before finally returning to Lunenburg for graduation on June 26.

Tori Reid first set sail on the Concordia last September for two semesters of study on the sea. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the William Aberhart High School graduate who dreams of a career in marine sciences.

It never crossed the couple's mind to fear for her safety.

"There's risk in everything you do. You could put your kid on a school bus and be worried about it," said Stu Reid. "The Class Afloat program has a wonderful reputation. It's outstanding," said Reid.

In the months she spent on the Concordia, Tori relished her studies and enjoyed the many cultural experiences offered at sea, which included the opportunity to educate communities in Senegal about malaria prevention.

The Reids met up with their daughter last November when the ship docked in Malta. In their brief time with her, they marvelled at how much Tori had taken to life on the water. "She was having the year of her life. She loved the sailing — the worse the weather, the better," recalls Su Reid said.

"As a kid from Calgary, she was enthralled to be exposed to these sorts of things."

No matter what caused the Concordia to capsize, Stu and Vicki Reid have nothing but praise for Class Afloat, a program they still consider exceptional. The course is taught by Lunenberg, N.S.-based West Island College International, a safety-conscious school according to the couple.

The crisis at sea was handled as well as could be expected, said Stu Reid. "The fact you can get 64 people off a capsized boat and everyone makes it with no major injuries is a testament to their commitment to safety," he said

Students who previously sailed aboard the Concordia said it's troubling to think the program is in jeopardy.

"You can't describe the feeling. It's a second family to me. The people that I was with, I'll forever love," said Grade 12 West College student Kate Briscoe, who spent five months on the ship last year.

Emergency drills were part of the intense training for the voyage, she said.

"Practicing for a real situation, getting ready, putting on emergency suits. Being ready to get in the water," Briscoe described.

"But we were told the only time you'll ever leave the ship is if it's going under."

Briscoe, who knew nine people aboard, including the five West Island students, said the news has been "truly upsetting," though she said it's a comfort knowing her friends are safe.

Shelby Fretwell, a 17-year-old grade 12 student at Western Canada High School, bid farewell to her classmates on the Concordia only weeks ago and is still reeling from the news the ship is no more.

"The home that I lived on for five months and built a huge family on is gone," she said. "I can't believe it's true."

Students and crew, she said, were accustomed to rough weather at sea. "We were used to hurricane winds, huge waves and pouring rain. I wonder what happened out there," she said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a statement Friday, expressed relief about the rescue.

"On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to thank both the Brazilian navy and merchant vessel crews for their swift and heroic response, saving the lives of all 64 passengers on board the Canadian tall ship SV Concordia," Harper said. "The skill and compassion demonstrated by Brazilian rescuers is a tribute to their training, spirit and seamanship."

With files from Richard Cuthbertson

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Disciplinary action is delayed against Steve Neu - Bismarck Tribune

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 06:07 AM PST

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Choosing to go smoke-free - Bismarck Tribune

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 06:07 AM PST

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