________________ LONG BEACH _______________
HERALD Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach
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Remembering the Holocaust
Net gain for L.B. volleyball
Rice votes with big pharma
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VOL. 32 NO. 40
SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 6, 2021
Thousands expected for Irish Day Kerry and Clonfert. He is also a patron saint of boatmen, mariners, travelers, elderly adventurLong Beach is anticipating an ers, portaging canoeists and Irish invasion Saturday as thou- whales. District 17 members go sands are expected to pour into to Manhattan to celebrate St. the city to celebrate Patrick’s Day March one of the biggest 17. events on the barri“The Irish in the er island — Irish 1 8 0 0 s we re ve r y Day. oppressed,” Traynor The event, orgasaid. “We celebrate nized by the city and St. Patrick’s Day District 17 of the because of the unity Ancient Order of and strength it Hiber nians, is brought about.” expected to attract Irish Day, he said, is 10,000 people intended to honor throughout the day JOE BRAND those who served to the West End, said Commissioner, their country and Long Beach and Long Beach parks the community, and AOH officials earlier then “to have a good and recreation this week. time.” The parade will Irish Day is a step off at 11 a.m. at Washington boon to West End businesses, and Park avenues. Dan Traynor, mostly restaurants and bars. the parade chairman, said an The city has been preparing array of groups will be repre- for Irish Day for weeks, said Joe sented in the march, including Brand, commissioner of parks workers from the Long Beach and recreation. It is one of the Soup Kitchen, EMTs and Long largest events in the city, said Ian Beach firefighters. Danby, chairman of the Long The AOH celebrates Irish Day Beach Chamber of Commerce. in Long Beach to honor St. Bren“It’s been a collaborative dan the Navigator, the patron effort between us and the AOH,” saint of two Irish dioceses, CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
By JAMES BERNSTEIN jbernstein@liherald.com
I
Courtesy Lora Webster
LORA WEBSTER, WITH her family, won a gold medal in sitting volleyball at the recent Tokyo Paralympics.
Webster takes Paralympic gold home to Point Lookout By BRENDAN CARPENTER bcarpenter@liherald.com
Point Lookout resident Lora Webster just brought home a gold medal in sitting volleyball from the recent Tokyo Paralympic Games, her second. Webster, 35, has competed in five Paralympic Games beginning in 2004, when she played in Athens at age 18. She started playing volleyball at age 5 at her hometown YMCA in Arizona.
That all changed at age 11 when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, in her left tibia. Doctors had to remove the cancerous bone, which included her knee, during a procedure known as rotationplasty. The procedure rotated her leg 180 degrees and connected it to her femur to give her the full range of motion and allow her to continue playing sports. After four years of volleyball at Cactus Shadows High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.,
and being named Best Blocker at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, five Paralympic medals and nine medals across other competitions and championships, sports and volleyball have never taken a back seat. This year was no different as she helped lead Team USA to another gold medal against China, the stiffest of competition. “There were eight teams in the women’s tournament, CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
t’s been a collaborative effort between us and the AOH.