Virginia's Yvette Lewis Qualifies for 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Hurdles

With a 12.98 clocking in the women's 100-meter hurdles at the recent World Challenge in Beijing, China, Newport News' Yvette Lewis qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Lewis, who has competed for Panama since 2012, took advantage of the opportunity to qualify by besting a standard of 13.00 seconds. While the American team is selected by way of the first three places at the Trials, the qualifying standard was designed to allow smaller countries the opportunity for athletes to make the Olympiad. While Lewis' time was 63 hundredths of a second off of this year's world leading 12.35 time by the USA's Jasmine Stowers, it is also slower than her own best of 12.67, which was set in Lahti, Finland two years ago.

In fact, at 30, Lewis may be arguably the greatest female track athlete ever to have not yet made the Olympics. Prior to concentrating on hurdling, the Menchville High (VA) graduate was a two-time NCAA champ for Hampton University in the triple jump. Her best jump of roughly 45 feet, 5 inches is a world class mark. In fact, Lewis is certainly the only female athlete to combine for both a sub-12.70 time in the 100 hurdles and over 45 feet in the triple jump, a claim that is not argued by several track experts, such as Trinidad and Tobago Olympic track legend, and now NBC sports commentator, Ato Boldon.

Unfortunately, the triple jump is not a premier competition in women's track, so Lewis hung up the jumping spikes several years ago to concentrate on the 100 hurdles, which is more of a glamour event with the likes of Lolo Jones, Dawn Harper-Nelson, and fellow Virginians Queen Harrison and former teammate and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Kellie Wells in the mix of competition.

However, the glut of star power, now boosted further by Stowers and Brianna Rollins, has now caused the event to be America's strongest event, on the men's or women's side.

In 2012, Harper-Nelson (silver), Wells and Jones represented America as the three representatives in the hurdles at the London Olympics. In a show of incredible athletic ability, and after missing the chance to qualify for the team in the hurdles, Lewis quickly entered in the Trials heptathlon, and won two of the seven individual events on her way to an eighth place finish.

"If We Build It, They Will Come!" -- Mentoring Our Youth Through Entrepreneurship

The movement is called, “If We Build It, They Will Come! The Take Back the Dream Act!” By its initial definition, it is described as:

“An open forum to discuss development of entrepreneurship programs offered as an alternative to the gang lifestyle and other social issues we are combating lately in our communities. What has been done in the past does not work. We need fresh ideas and a new path to show these young people that there is a better way! All are welcome!”

On April 29th, almost 40 people took up D’Shawn Wright’s challenge and congregated at the Body By D Gym in Yorktown to exchange thoughts, vents, confessions, and ideas with regard to finding better options for today’s inner city youths.

For almost two hours, D’Shawn played host, but mostly distributed the microphone to anyone with a willing voice. To add posterity to the proceedings, he seated a panel in the front – consisting of a lifelong educator who told her tales of teaching gifted students in Hampton (Dr. Linda Hutchinson), two former Denbigh High classmates who now walk the talk daily for troubled youth at the Newport News Juvenile Detention facility (Oliver Walmon and Elizabeth McGrath), a former gang member who now mentors youths (and some adults) from the barber chair of his shop in Denbigh (Robert Moore), and the Republican candidate for the Clerk of the Court seat in York/Poquoson, Tu Ritter.

From the audience, educators, business owners, activists, and other community leaders offered tales of optimism and hope. But this is not a one-time event. Wright promises to take the ideas which were shared at the Town Hall, develop a plan of action, enlist help and support from community organizations, and move the mission to Step 2. Here is a video, filmed by Jamison Media LLC, summarizing the first Town Hall meeting.

The time and date for the next meeting will be finalized in the next few weeks. Details will be posted on the group's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1604405843107829/), as well as here on the "Wall."

Poker Run for the Holiday Family To Take Place on Sat. May 23rd in Williamsburg

Continuing with my ongoing coverage of “Taking Back The Streets,” there are two parts this week.

Last week, I talked about how the Holidays are taking to the streets in search of information which will help capture their son’s killer. Now, their friends are lending an even greater hand. If you’re in the Williamsburg area, the Poker Run will be taking place this Saturday, May 23rd. here’s how the announcement reads on their Facebook page.

Please come out to honor the memory of Adrian B. Holiday as we ride in a Memorial Day Weekend poker run on Saturday, May 23rd. The proceeds from this event will go to Adrian's Mother, Williamsburg PD Ofc. Holiday and her family in the wake of his unexpected loss. 

The ride will kick off at Quarterpath Park in Williamsburg. Riders can pick their own route as long as they fill their hand and reach Daddyo's at Bourbon Street (351 York St., Williamsburg, VA) by 6:30pm when winners will be announced. There will be a sixth (optional) wild-card stop.

Prizes will include cash pot for best hand, as well as door prizes and raffle items.

Billy Joe Trio will play live at the after-party, 8:30pm for those who stick around! 

*Registration starts at noon, kickstands up at 1pm.*

Single Riders $25
Doubles $35
Cars $35

Email AmberEFrye@gmail.com for more info, or to sign up for support team!

Marching for Adrian

On March 19th, Adrian Holiday, 26,
was senselessly killed in the parking
lot at Deer Run apartments in
Newport News. Father Jeremy, with
family and friends, have taken to the
streets in a series of marches
to remember Adrian, and to
find answers.

On Thursday afternoon, March 19^th, I left my home in Newport News, VA and headed to Williamsburg for my Professional Development class at William and Mary. The routine was simple. I was home that afternoon and left my neighborhood, took the right turn on to Shields Road, which I followed to Jefferson Ave., one of the two anchor roads which travels from the south to north end of town. To make the right on to Jefferson from Shields, one must drive around the perimeter of Deer Run Apartments, whose entrance you cross just after making the turn. Since class was at 4:30, and Williamsburg is 10 miles away, I estimate that I drove past the Deer Run entrance on Jefferson and Chester Road at about 3:55.

Why bring this up? About 45 minutes later, Adrian Holiday and Jeremy Taylor were shot to death in the Deer Run parking lot, not more than 100 yards from the spot I had just crossed.

Adrian, 26, was found slumped in the driver's seat of the white Mercury SUV he was driving. Jeremy, 23, who was catching a ride, tried to make a run for it, and was gunned down in the middle of the parking lot, in broad daylight. It appeared that a couple of stray pedestrians, perhaps known to Taylor, had inquired about a ride in the SUV. But once they entered, things went from bad, to worse, to deadly.

Unfortunately, events such as this are becoming too common in Newport News and neighboring Hampton. Usually there are teenagers, drugs and gang wars involved. But Adrian was a working grown man. He was a veteran who served in Afghanistan. He was engaged to be married. He was not involved in illegal activity.

But this incident touched me for a couple of other reasons. I didn’t know Jeremy, but Adrian was a shot-put and discus thrower for our Denbigh High track teams from 2005-2007. I knew him and brother Jazz well. He was also a lineman on the football team, and at 6’3” and about 300 pounds, stood out in any crowd, not just because of his size, but also his monster personality. They called him “A-Boogie” and it was a name that Adrian made up. As his Dad Jeremy said at the funeral – “Isn’t it something? You just wake up one day, and decide that everyone is going to call you A-Boogie from now on. And everybody did.” It’s probably needless to note that Adrian’s funeral was one of the saddest events I have ever encountered. However, it was very well attended – a testament to the legacy of friends and memories that Adrian left behind.

But it’s the second reason why this event has touched me that will continue to touch our friends and neighbors. Jeremy Holiday, with his wife Aundrea, a police officer in Williamsburg, are using their tragedy as a teaching moment, and one that a lot of folks should pay attention to. Newport News, like many communities across America, is stifled with the “no snitch” policy of the streets. Witnesses may see, but many will never tell, either out of fear, or on a much sadder note, because it is considered to be the honorable way to behave on the street. “Snitches get stitches” is a way too familiar mantra, but many times, the witnesses are more concerned about losing their street “cred,” as opposed to a couple of teeth.

In spite of this, two persons of interest have been identified by the Newport News police. In this forum, I’m not ready to drop their names, simply because they haven’t been charged, and certainly not convicted yet. Go figure, it might be slanderous. I will be happy to do so in due time. But the Holiday’s are taking the offensive. Two weeks ago, on May 4^th, they gathered 25 or so family members and friends, made signs, invited local newspapers and TV camera crews and marched through the middle of Warwick Lawns, the same neighborhood where one or both of the alleged perpetrators live. At the very least, the Holidays believe that someone in the neighborhood knows something, and they want the person or persons to start talking.

“We’re not going to stay locked up in our house,” said Jeremy Holiday. “We’ve been victims once – we’re not going to be victims twice.”

Link to the story can be found here:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-nn-homicide-march-20150504-story.html

Other neighborhood marches of this type are planned within the Denbigh community. The point is simple. You can run, but if people stand up and tell the police what they know, you will no longer be able to hide.