Service Dogs

By Jordan L.

A service dog in a harness is helping a blind person walk down the street.

Training Service Dogs

Service dogs help people with disabilities in their daily activities. These dogs are trained at a special facility, usually with other types of assistance dogs. After the service dogs have been trained specifically for their soon-to-be owner’s needs, the owners go to the facility to train with their dog for about two weeks. After the dogs are trained, as long as the training has gone well, there will be a graduation ceremony, and the dog will go home with his/her owner.

How to Act around a Service Dog

When you are around service dogs and their owners, it is always best to talk to the owner, not the dog. Ignore the dog as to not distract him or her from their work. If you want to pet the dog, ask the owner, and wait until they say it’s alright. If you want to know about the dog, ask the owner.

Service Dogs for America

Service Dogs for America, or SDA, was created by Ed Duden, Steve Powers, and Michael Goehring in 1989. It is a nonprofit organization that assists those with disabilities in their daily lives by providing them with highly trained service dogs. SDA headquarters is located in Jud, North Dakota, and is the only nonprofit service dog provider in North Dakota. It aims to help physically injured people be more independent by using a trained assistance dog. According to its website, “We hope to see a society where disabled individuals are empowered to fully participate in social, educational, and occupational opportunities.”

Ms. Wheelchair America

By:Jordan L.

Ms. Wheelchair America is a program that has been inspiring women in wheelchairs for over 40 years. This program is for disabled women 21 to 60 years of age. The current title holder, Ms. Wheelchair America 2014, is Jennifer Adams from the state of Washington. I had the opportunity to ask Jenny a few questions, including her favorite part of the ceremony. She said, “My favorite part of the pageant was the crowning ceremony night. I always love the chance to get dressed up to the nines. And that’s exactly what I did. And it didn’t hurt that I won the crown!”

Winning the title of Ms. Wheelchair America means the opportunity to travel around America sharing information about the program and the winner’s platform or sponsor—Jenny’s is Inclusion Revolution—to people of all ages.

To learn more about the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant and find out if there is one in your state, go to the Ms. Wheelchair America organization's website. To learn more about Jenny and previous Ms. Wheelchairs, go to the winners section while you're on the website.

Audrey Hepburn, 20th Centruy Legend

By Amandine M.

 Audrey Hepburn was born an average girl— not rich, not popular, not being fawned over by servants and paparazzi. She didn’t consider herself particularly special, nor did she even predict what her future would turn out to be. And yet, this movie legend’s name and legacy will be remembered for many years to come.

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born on May 4, 1929, to Ella and Joseph Ruston. Audrey was the couple’s first and only child together, although Ella had given birth to two sons while married to her former husband. Audrey lived with her family in Belgium until she was sent to a boarding school in England.  She was only five years old and almost completely separated from her family for the very first time. Her mother signed her up for dance classes, which Audrey was very active in until 1939. At that time, England had just declared war on Germany.

Audrey returned overseas, this time to Holland, which at that time was still neutral in the war. But on the tenth of May in 1940, only six days after her eleventh birthday, Holland was invaded by Germany, and one of Audrey’s brothers was captured. The family did not see him again for a very long time. Audrey gave ballet classes in her grandfather’s house and performed whenever possible, but by 1944 as the importing of food into the country stopped, she was too weak to dance.

Times were better the next year. On her sixteenth birthday, her two brothers returned, both alive and well. Eventually, Ella and Audrey went to Amsterdam to study with a recommended teacher until the studio closed in 1948. They then went to London, Audrey having received a partial scholarship to study with one of the world’s greatest teachers at that time.

Unfortunately, Audrey was unable to fulfill her dreams of dancing, as she was told that she was too physically deprived from the war. She instead went into acting, receiving numerous small parts in movies. She then was cast in the film “Monte Carlo Baby,” which was shot in English and French. She was lucky enough to have crossed paths with Colette, a writer who was looking for an actress to star in her Broadway show.  Colette found Audrey, and the gears began turning.

When the show opened, fantastic reviews poured in, complimenting Audrey’s performance. She starred in her first Hollywood movie soon after and won an Oscar for Best Actress. She was offered job after job, and while she won many awards, her most famous project was “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

With Audrey in the starring role and directed by Blake Edwards, the movie was a smash hit, earning 2 Academy Awards and 2 Golden Globe Awards, among others. It was released on November 4, 1961, and was Audrey’s most famous project. Although she starred in other movies after this, it was and is what she is most well-known for.

While Audrey Hepburn is gone now, her legacy will live on forever as people around the country celebrate what would have been her 85th birthday. Though she went through hard times during World War II, she lived on to become an acting legend.

Welcome to "The Summer Sun"

Welcome to The summer sun newspaper. The Summer Sun Newspaper is made of writers that our friends of mine. We write about anything, anywhere. We also answer questions so if you want to send them in just comment or send them to me VIA google+. Thanks for reading! Articles once a month. Not just in the summer. It is called The Summer Sun becuase Summer is when i started it.