Childhood: Theresa Kearney was orphaned at age 9 and went to live with her sisters and other family. She married Clarence Harold Kearney and became the mother of seven boys and five girls. The couple was married for 65 years and lived in the same house in Independence for more than 50.

Saint of the little things: In the Catholic tradition, St. Theresa is known as the patron saint of the little ways and of great love.

A Practical Need for Utopianism

Who doesn't love the Apocalypse? Society collapses, people run around in chaos, and we try to imitate the survival strategies culled from too many Hollywood end-of-the world blockbusters. Apocalyptic predictions have always been part of American culture, and why not? They're a great alternative to everyday life, and beckon with the tempting promise that when it comes, we can stop setting our alarm clocks, ironing our shirts, and getting meeting reminders in Outlook. But on closer inspection, there's good news and bad news about the Apocalypse: the End Is Near, but it means you'll be putting in some overtime at the office. Sure, the end could come from many sources, but let's look at one that's become widely accepted: peak oil. Peak oil is the notion that world oil reserves are about halfway used up, and after that halfway point, demand continues to increase while supply decreases, prices go through the roof, and our oil-dependent, car-centric way of life comes to a halt.

Face Time Max DeMilner

One wheelie motivated unicyclist, this Peru native is ready to go the distance.
While attending college at the University of Maine at Farmington this year, long-distance unicyclist Max DeMilner of Peru continues to train for three upcoming unicycle races. These include two uphill races - one in New York, the other in Vermont - and Ride the Lobster, a 500-mile relay race across Nova Scotia this summer.

DeMilner's quirky "Six States, One Wheel" unicycle journey in 2006 on a 720-mile loop through New England to raise money for college spawned the Ride the Lobster debut, an international unicycling endurance relay race.

DeMilner and his brother, Kyle DeMilner of Philadelphia, and their dad, Charles DeMilner of Flagstaff, Ariz., will compete in Lobster as Team DeMilner.

Getting to the bottom of the MTB wheel size brouhaha

What's the best wheel size for an off-road bike? It's not a new question. In the 1980s a couple of manufacturers - notably Cannondale - offered mountain bikes with 24-inch rear wheels, and in the 1990s GT briefly dabbled with an all-purpose, intermediate size called 700D. More recently, some downhillers have used 24-inch wheels to allow fatter tyres in more-or-less conventional frames. But the biggest controversy has come about as a vocal group of bike makers and riders have adopted bikes with 700C-sized rims, and two inch tyres, a combination that has become known as a "29-inch" wheel for the overall diameter of the combination.

Two-niners, as they are also known, are currently among the hot topics in the MTB world with riders of all disciplines extolling their claimed virtues over the well-established 26-inch standard.

Engineering Sturgeon Bay’s future

Among those currently evolving are renovations to Egg Harbor Road, the spring construction on Third Avenue and the ongoing construction of the new Maple-Oregon Street Bridge.

Vexing though these projects may be, city engineer Tony Depies maintains an unflappable composure in the public eye.

I think its my personality that keeps me satisfied with this job and keeps me from not being frustrated, Depies said. Having to live in the parameters of a public atmosphere, you have to be level-headed. When I get frustrated or flustered, I get red cheeks, but thats about it.

It is likely that Depies red cheeks flare up during the numerous meetings he attends involving public works in Sturgeon Bay, especially those regarding recent construction.

Usually when we make a decision, its not unanimous and we often revisit previous decisions, Depies said.

Determined Milpitas woman returns $422 to man who dropped bank ...

And Monday afternoon, Patrick Schmitz, the Costco shopper who dropped a small bank envelope with mostly $20 bills inside, got his $422 back.

Walsh, a former Milpitas business owner, found the envelope of cash - with a bank receipt, and two cash purchase receipts, but no personal identification - while shopping at Costco Friday evening.

"I don't take no for an answer," she said with a smile. So she set out like a sleuth, determined to find the owner of the cash.

Schmitz, who sports a long wild mane of curly, greying hair, and wore a knee-length blue lab coat, has an air of the absent-minded professor about him. He is a process engineer for Betatron, a north San Jose tech company that builds circuit boards.

"I thought it was a man who lost this envelope," Walsh said.