[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 87 (Friday, May 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO VALPARAISO HIGH SCHOOL AND THOMAS JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL

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                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2007

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride and enthusiasm 
that I take this time to recognize Valparaiso High School and Thomas 
Jefferson Middle School for their involvement in the 23rd Annual 
Science Olympiad National Tournament. Both schools took 11th place in 
their divisions at the National Science Olympiad competition held in 
Wichita, KS. Valparaiso High School won medals in four events by 
finishing among the top six for that event while finishing in the top 
10 in 10 of the tournament's 23 events.
  The Science Olympiad began when Dr. Gerard J. Putz, Regional Science 
Consultant for Macomb County Intermediate School District in Michigan, 
decided to share the Science Olympiad program with Macomb County 
educators on March 29, 1982. The invitation was prompted by an article 
published in The Science Teacher in December 1977. After a few 
successful tournaments, Dr. Putz was convinced to share the program 
with the rest of the Nation, so the Science Olympiad program was 
presented to the Council of State Science Supervisors at the National 
Science Teachers Conference in Boston in 1984.
  The mission of the Science Olympiad is ``to promote and improve 
student interest in science while improving the quality of K-12 science 
education throughout the nation.'' The purpose is to bring science to 
life and show how it works, to emphasize problem solving aspects, and 
to understand all of its concepts. The Science Olympiad teaches 
teamwork and cooperative learning strategies and promotes high levels 
of achievement and a commitment to excellence.
  The 2007 Science Olympiad team from Valparaiso High School consists 
of: Lani Rush, Laurel Peterson, Sonia Phadke, Kristin Engerer, Katie 
Mika, Kate Sanders, Ruth Sanders, Rocio Rodea, Melissa Barrie Lehman, 
Ajay Major, Pat Skelton, Jon Gold, Mak Hozo, Schuyler DeArmond, Jeff 
Rinkenberger, Joe Kaminski, Ethan Kruse, Evan Gootee, and Gianni 
Galbiati. This team was under the outstanding guidance of coaches: Jim 
Young, Kristen Philipchuck and Kelly Woods. Several of these students 
received medals for their outstanding achievement. In Ecology, Jon Gold 
and Laurel Peterson received fourth place medals. Evan Gootee and Ruth 
Sanders received fourth place in Robot Ramble. The fifth place medal 
awarded for Entomology was given to Jon Gold and Lani Rush. Also taking 
fifth place medals in the subject of Write It, Do It were Ethan Kruse 
and Kate Sanders.
  The Thomas Jefferson Middle School Science Olympiad team of 2007 
consists of: Kati Manning, Jon Sherrick, Joe Galbiati, Julia Young, 
Matt Kerner, Kathryn Dalzotto, Josh Bartusch, Chris Haller, Karl 
Rinkenberger, Katalin Hartman, Alex Robinson-Norris, Maddie Woods, 
Katelyn Neis, Christian Briggs, and Jesse Bunchek, as well as student 
alternates: Brian Kingsbury, Adam Alamillo, Roshni Dhoot, Bennet 
Sanders, Cam Haskett, Nick Hartmann, and Daniel Karr. Guiding these 
exceptional students were coaches: Richard Bender, Carol Haller, Bill 
Dalzotto, Gwenn Rinkenberger, Mary Faith Dalzotto, Becky Juergens, Paul 
Huang, Lynda Galbiati, Diane Bernhardt, Molly JolI, Linda Cronk, and 
Mike Haller.
  Several members of the Thomas Jefferson Middle School team were 
awarded medals for superior achievement. Kathryn Dalzotto and Katelyn 
Neis won third place in Anatomy. Kati Manning and Kathryn Dalzotto also 
took a third place medal for Wheeled Vehicle. A fourth place medal was 
awarded to Chris Haller and Karl Rinkenberger for their Balloon Launch 
Glider. For Mission Possible, Chris Haller, Kati Manning, and Katalin 
Hartman all took fifth place medals. Roads Scholar brought Jon Sherrick 
and Christian Briggs sixth place medals.
  Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I congratulate Valparaiso 
High School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School on their great 
achievement at the 23rd Annual Science Olympiad Tournament. I wish them 
continued success. These intelligent young students possess the work 
ethic and dedication that will make them successful leaders throughout 
their bright futures. I hope the rest of my colleagues will join with 
me in applauding the Science Olympiad teams for their commendable 
efforts.

                         TRIBUTE TO BILL WHITE

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                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2007

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I am proud today to 
congratulate the Honorable Bill White, the distinguished mayor of my 
hometown of Houston, TX, on his receipt of the 2007 John F. Kennedy 
Profile in Courage Award.
  Mayor White, who has a long history of public service as mayor and, 
previously, as Deputy Secretary of Energy of the United States, earned 
this prestigious award because of his heroic work in assisting victims 
of Hurricane Katrina. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, nearly 
150,000 evacuees came to Houston to find temporary housing. Mayor White 
established numerous important programs following these hurricanes that 
gave evacuees the badly needed temporary assistance they needed to get 
back on their feet.
  In September 2005, Mayor White established a program giving emergency 
prescriptions and free medication to evacuees who could not afford to 
purchase them on their own. Mayor White also helped establish the 
Houston Katrina/Rita Fund, which provided evacuees assistance with 
groceries, baby care products, and other necessities. The mayor also 
worked tirelessly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 
establish a formalized housing program for evacuees and to transition 
tens of thousands of evacuees from hotel rooms to apartments.
  All of the extraordinary work done by Mayor White and others helped 
get tens of thousands of hurricane evacuees back on their feet. 
Already, many of the evacuees who stayed temporarily in Houston have 
returned to their permanent places of residence. Many of the 300,000 
evacuees remaining in Houston are in the process of acquiring the 
stable employment and housing that will allow them to return home.
  Without Mayor White's extraordinary leadership, the successful 
transition of untold thousands of victims of Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita would not have been possible. Indeed, without his leadership, 
thousands of people would have been left temporarily homeless and many 
of the most vulnerable could have easily lost their lives.
  In this situation, Mayor White's leadership was not without risk. 
Over the past 2 years, the mayor has frequently faced criticism for 
using the city's resources to help those who have come from the Gulf 
Coast in dire need of assistance. Yet, in the face of such risks, Mayor 
White has unflinchingly done what is just and right for those innocent 
victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
  The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is one of the most 
prestigious honors that can be earned by our public servants. With his 
receipt of this award, Mayor White joins an extraordinary group of 
recipients that has included Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, former 
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and several of my esteemed 
colleagues in the U.S. Congress. Mayor White's heroic actions in the 
wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita certainly merit his inclusion in 
this select group.
  I applaud Mayor White and all of my fellow Houstonians for their 
terrific work in helping those victims of horrific natural disasters in 
their time of greatest need. I congratulate Mayor White on his receipt 
of the prestigious Profile in Courage Award, an award that is very well 
deserved.

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