Moved to make a difference, Adele Ulrich

Lancaster resident Adele Taylor Ulrich is a dancer, choreographer, movement therapist and political activist. She is, in a word, busy."I've considered giving up eating and sleeping," she quipped in an interview, which was shoehorned into her jampacked schedule. She is a founding member of Lancaster's Grant Street Dance Company. She is also co director of the Fulton Theatre's Youtheatre, a program for teens who have faced challenging circumstances. Much of her time these days is spent volunteering for Organizing for America, President Barack Obama's grass roots political organization.As OFA's community organizer for Lancaster, Ulrich has been running phone banks, and canvassing for support on behalf of the president's push for health care reform. Since the U.S. House of Representatives passed its health care bill, the battle over reform has moved to the Senate."It's going to be quite a fight, so we're working very hard to educate people," Ulrich said.In Ulrich's view, health care is a human right, and health care reform is a moral issue. She struggled for a decade with chronic fatigue syndrome — and with the travails of dealing with an insurer quick to deny coverage because of that pre-existing condition. She has survived breast cancer and thyroid cancer. She said she has health insurance that is considered good. Nevertheless, she said she has "actually had to fight" to get her insurer to follow her cancer adequately.During the presidential primaries, Ulrich got a call from a friend, who was a local field organizer for the Obama campaign. Her friend asked Ulrich to open her home as a staging location for campaign staff and volunteers.Still in pain from her cancer treatments, Ulrich agreed. That very evening, a half dozen or so campaign staffers were at her dining room table, and Ulrich was all in. She said she has long used her art as a means of expressing her social justice views. Now, dance is helping to sustain her as she does political work. The weekly movement classes she teaches are "deeply restorative, which really helps me to handle all that I'm handling," she said.

Little Adele, at being best of the best adele has her shot

The Warren Twaddle trained chaser has taken out the Battle of the Sexes and Murray Oakley Discount Speedfest finals in her past two outings at Darwin Greyhound headquarters.
But Little Adele can categorically lay claim to being the best of the best, as long as she wins the Winnellie Hotel Best 8 Dash (383m). The $800 event has drawn a smart capacity field that cumulatively has won 79 races during their careers.
And in a clear indication that this field is in fine form, only Lonesome Black hasn't greeted the judge first during the past five runs.
Little Adele, who has shown class from her first appearance, possesses the best winning strike rate (12 wins from 33 outings), but is shaded in terms of career wins by veterans Iron Ruby (15) and Arnhem Virus (14).
Going on times, Little Adele also has the edge with a personal best of 22.27 seconds, slightly quicker (0.03) than the nearest rival Gunna Do It.
Last start winners Vader and Double Digits appear well placed to make it back-to-back in their respective races.
Vader takes on a slick field in the Spray Lawn Dash (312m), but with luck from box eight can figure strongly, particularlly if he replicates last week's 18.31 second run.
Double Digits also goes up in grade, but an inside draw helps his chances in the Water Dynamics Dash (312m).
Like Vader, Double Digits ran good time in winning last Friday night (18.35) and on that run looks a bold opportunity in a field containing smart types such as Money Frog and Day Seas Gilly.
Other solid bets on tonight's program appear Iron Atalanta (Race 4, No. 2) and Lonesome Mary (Race 5, No. 3).
Racing from 7.39pm.

Cancer mum: Adele makes desperate plea for donors

A DESPERATE mother has made a passionate plea for the public to come forward today to become potential bone marrow donors.
The Anthony Nolan Trust is hosting a recruitment clinic in Middlesbrough to find volunteers with tissue types that could match leukaemia sufferers.
Christine Stevens is urging people to head to Newlands School, in Saltersgill, from 4pm until 7pm.
Her daughter, Adele Wardingham, was seven months pregnant when she was diagnosed with non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which has spread to her breasts, stomach and bones.
The cancer was so advanced that the decision was taken in March to deliver Theo ten weeks early, to give his 22 year old mother the best chance of fighting the disease.
Her healthy baby, who was born weighing 4lb, is now eight months old, but Miss Wardingham is still very ill.
She has been admitted to the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, for a course of chemotherapy and to receive new bone marrow.
“It is a match but not a perfect one. It is the best they could do. If it does not work, she can have another go,” said Mrs Stevens.
“We desperately need about 200 people to come to tonight’s event to make it a good night.
“I would urge people to come because eight months ago, I did not think I would be in this situation, and I don’t want anyone else to go though this.”