Sri Krishna Janam-Ashthami: The appearance, celebration of the divinity personified
Dear Editor,Sri Krishna Janam-Ashthami marks the ‘birth’ anniversary of Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna made His appearance at midnight on the eighth day (Ashtmi Tithi) in the dark half of the Hindu month Bhadrapada (August/September).It is no exaggeration at all to describe Sri Krishna as the unique personality, power and phenomenon which have exercised a profound influence on Hindus over thousands of years; an influence which has been most pervasive, positive and potent.The Sanskrit root-verb ‘kars’ means to pull or draw to oneself. When derived from this, ‘Krishna’ connotes one with that power, and from all accounts we have of Him, He was a verifiable divine magnet who irresistibly attracted to Himself all beings—men, women, and children; young and old; saints and sinners; scholars and the unlettered; royalty and common folk; heroes and the weak; and even animals like the cows.Both illumined sages and innocent devotees have adored Krishna as the ideal of all that is good and great, noble and beautiful. He has been considered the most perfect manifestation of divinity on earth. But there have been critics — both Westerners as well as Indians — who consider Him just a product of the infantile imagination of a people who possess neither lofty intellect nor high ethical standards.Notwithstanding the opinions of such critics, Krishna remains and prospers as continual power, a living and wholesome ideal illuminating the minds, inspiring the hearts and moulding the lives of millions of good, worthy and intelligent people. What may appear to the dry intellect of the ill-informed critic as a bundle of contradictions and confusions—that very Krishna lives on in the consciousness and memory of the devoted as the sublime, indefinable, fusion of a many-faceted magnetic personality, a grand all-round ideal, and a delightfully uplifting legend.Refusing to be disturbed by the doubts, comments, or critical onslaughts of the skeptics, devotes have blissfully allowed themselves to be drawn to one or more of Krishna’s aspects. They find themselves elevated and enriched by the light, love, and joy radiating from their great Teacher, who is ‘Madhava’, the embodiment of sweetness and bliss. Sri Krishna is not merely the great lover, but equally the great hero, the great yogi, and the supreme Guru for aspiring and adoring humanity.Swami Vivekananda, in offering a tribute to Krishna, observes: “He was the most wonderful Sannyasin and the most wonderful householder in one; He had the most wonderful among the Rajas, power and was at the same time living in the midst of the most wonderful renunciation. Krishna, the preacher of the Geeta, was all His life the embodiment of the Geeta. He was the great illustration of non-attachment; a great landmark in the history of religion; the ideal of love for love’s sake; work for work’s sake; duty for duty’s sake; and it is for the first time fell from His lips of the greatest Incarnation, Krishna; and for the first time in the history of humanity, on the soil of India. He was the first heart large enough to see truth in all. In Krishna we find two ideas supreme; the first is the harmony of different ideas, and the second is non-attachment. He does not need anything; He does not want anything. He works for work’s sake. He is the most rounded man I know of, wonderfully developed equally in brain and heart and hand. Every moment of His is alive with activity. Five thousand years have passed and He has influenced millions and millions. My regard for Him is for His perfect sanity. No cobwebs in His brain, no superstition. He knows the use of everything”.Limited, finite persons and themes are easy to grasp and delineate. But Sri Krishna belongs to the dimension of the unlimited, beyond the understanding of the ordinary minds and measure of ordinary standards. In him all contradictions meet and become harmonised. He is the confluence of the highest expression of knowledge, love and action, heroism and tenderness, strength and grace, might and humility, splendor and renunciation. In short, He has emerged as the composite ideal of various human aspirations, the fulfillment of the quest for perfection—ethical, aesthetic, spiritual, altruistic—of various hearts and minds. It is because of this that He often becomes the central theme of not only religion and philosophy, but of art and sculpture, music and poetry, a phenomenon that defies all delimiting definition or classification.Krishna stands out and stays on eternally as the ideal and inspirer for the classes, and the saviour and refuge for the masses.“Krishna appeared like a thunderbolt to the warriors, superhuman to man, God of love incarnate to His devotees, their own to the cowherd Gopis, a child to His parents, as death itself to Kamsa, the vast cosmos to the gross, Ultimate reality to the Yogis, and Supreme Deity to His worshippers”. (Bhagavatam 10. 43, 17)Regards,Pt. Avishkar Nandalall
POZAREVAC, Serbia-Montenegro – Slobodan Milosevic was laid to rest Saturday beneath a tree at the family estate in his hometown, a quiet end for a man blamed for ethnic wars that killed 250,000 people in one of the turbulent Balkans’ bloodiest chapters. The late Serbian leader’s burial, a week after his death while on U.N. trial charged with genocide and crimes against humanity, followed an emotional farewell in Belgrade that drew at least 80,000 Serb nationalists and another in his birthplace attended by up to 20,000 admirers. As a cold drizzle fell, his flag-draped coffin was lowered into a double grave with a place for his widow, Mirjana Markovic, who reportedly wants to join him when she dies. The grave, marked with a simple marble slab inscribed with both of their names in Cyrillic letters and the dates 1941-2006, was dug beneath a favorite linden tree where the couple first kissed as high school sweethearts. Among the supporters in Pozarevac were several indicted war crimes suspects on temporary leave from the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. One, retired Gen. Dragoljub Ojdanic, wore his military uniform. After the burial, residents of the gritty industrial town 30 miles south of the capital waited in a long line to view the grave, which was framed by a crimson carpet and brass stands holding red velvet ropes. People had lined the town’s main street to welcome the arrival of Milosevic’s remains, cheering and waving as a brass band played a funeral march. Many threw red roses, the symbol of the Socialist Party. Earlier in Belgrade, Milosevic supporters packed a square in front of the federal parliament to pay their respects. Many were bused in by his Socialist Party from Serb areas in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo, where Milosevic started wars during the splintering of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. People wept and chanted “Slobo! Slobo!” at the sight of the flag-draped coffin on a bier atop a red-carpeted stage. Some clutched photographs of Milosevic or the U.N. court’s two most-wanted fugitives: Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his wartime military chief, Gen. Ratko Mladic. Serbian authorities refused to approve an official ceremony, but Saturday’s farewell – organized by the Socialists and technically private – had some of the trappings of a state funeral. Still, though larger than many had expected, the crowd in Belgrade was far smaller than the 500,000 who turned out for the 2003 funeral of assassinated Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic, who had turned Milosevic over to the U.N. tribunal two years earlier. Milosevic died March 11 in his room at a U.N. detention center near the tribunal, which was trying him on 66 counts of war crimes, including genocide. He was the first head of state to be extradited by his country for trial by a U.N. court. Ultranationalist leaders and at least five retired Yugoslav generals wearing dress uniforms stood by the stage in Belgrade. “We are bidding farewell to the best one among us, fully conscious of his greatness,” said Milorad Vucelic, Socialist Party deputy president. Bosko Nikolic, 42, holding a huge poster of Milosevic, said: “I came to say goodbye to the greatest son of Serbia.” Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general and longtime Milosevic supporter who is now on Saddam Hussein’s defense team, drew cheers by telling the crowd: “History will prove that Slobodan Milosevic was right.” But some drivers passing by the square honked car horns and made obscene gestures at the Milosevic supporters, underscoring the disgust many Serbs feel toward the late autocratic leader. “All of Belgrade’s squares would be too small for all the victims of Milosevic and his rule,” said Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, who was twice targeted for assassination by the Milosevic regime. “A murderer and his crimes were glorified today.” Later Saturday, about 2,000 anti-Milosevic activists gathered at another central Belgrade square for an impromptu rally. The activists, mostly young people, waved red balloons, whistled, danced and shouted: “He is gone!” They also burned Milosevic’s picture and scuffled briefly with a dozen Karadzic supporters who tried to disrupt the gathering. Associated Press reporters Jovana Gec, Aleksandar Vasovic, Katarina Kratovac and William J. Kole in Belgrade and Misha Savic in Pozarevac contributed to this story. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORE‘Mame,’ ‘Hello, Dolly!’ composer Jerry Herman dies at 88 No immediate members of Milosevic’s family attended. But in a letter read at graveside, Markovic, who lives in self-imposed exile in Moscow because she faces Serbian charges of abuse of power during her husband’s 13-year reign, said: “You lost your life while fighting for noble causes. You were killed by villains. But I know you will live forever for all who wish to live like human beings.” A letter from the couple’s son, Marko Milosevic, expressed hope that the late president’s death would “sober up the humiliated Serb people.” “To die for one’s country means to live forever,” his letter said. No priest officiated at the interment because Milosevic was an avowed atheist. 
LA CA?ADA FLINTRIDGE- Over the past week and a half, NASA researchers have unleashed a strange group of robots on the Arizona desert, testing equipment that could one day lead exploration on Mars or the moon. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s contribution to the tests was ATHLETE – the All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer. The massive, six-legged robot can roll over smooth terrain or, if the going gets rough, lock its brakes and walk across the surface. “This vehicle is conceived and designed to be able to work with astronauts,” said JPL’s Brian Wilcox, the project’s principle investigator. For this field test – only the second ever tried with ATHLETE – the robot carried a cistern-like Pressurized Rover Compartment, designed to allow astronauts to recharge their space suits with air. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREThe joys and headaches of holiday travel: John PhillipsATHLETE could also be used to explore the moon’s craters and search for water, Wilcox said, and Tuesday’s tests were a step toward that goal. The JPL team planned to use the robot to drill an anchor into the earth and lower itself down a 20-degree incline. In future years, they hope to be able to practice descending the much steeper cliffs of nearby Meteor Crater, he said. The experimentation also included the half-humanoid, half-vehicle robot dubbed Centaur, as well as SCOUT, an astronaut transport rover, and a robot used to inspect SCOUT called K-10. elise.kleeman@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
1 Fabio Capello Joey Barton insists if England’s players weren’t happy with Fabio Capello at the 2010 World Cup they should have made that clear to him.In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT on Sunday, Wayne Rooney revealed the Three Lions’ squad was unhappy with Capello and his coaches for cheering for Italy and celebrating their goals during the tournament in South Africa.And Barton claims the players should have confronted their manager.Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, he said: “Did the England players say anything to Capello when he did that? Because surely you would go, ‘hey, this is England, this is not acceptable’. I bet they didn’t.“If there is something that really upsets you as a team, and as the manager he’s the leader of the team, then at some point that’s got to be communicated.“I’ve done that loads of times [been into a manager’s office to complain]. I believe if you’re not happy with something someone’s done you have to find a way to communicate that.”
10 Sonny Bill Williams (Rugby to Boxing) – Williams is only the second man to play rugby union after switching from rugby league for his country and is also one of just 20 players in history to win the Rugby Union World Cup twice. During his pre-season however, SBW favours the ring over Ibiza and between 2009 and 2013 won all six of his professional heavyweight bouts. He also boasts the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) Heavyweight Champion and World Boxing Association (WBA) International Heavyweight Champion titles to boot. Usain Bolt (Athletics to Football) – click on the right arrow, above, to see the rest of the gallery – The legendary Olympian has been called the fastest man on earth for his unprecedented feats in athletics. An 11-time world champion, Bolt holds the world records for the 100m and the 200m. Now he is set for a crack at football career with his ultimate aim to play for Manchester United. It would certainly be interesting to see him one-on-one with Per Mertesacker. 10 10 Dwain Chambers (Athletics to American Football and Rugby League) – An explosive short-distance runner, the Islington-native retired after a failed doping test to compete in the NFL Europa in 2003. When the competition disbanded, Chambers switched yet again in the hope of earning a contract with Castleford Tigers playing rugby league. However, an unsuccessful trial in 2008 saw him be released. 10 Michael Jordan (Basketball to Baseball) – Six-time NBA champion Jordan set the bar for basketball players during a dominant career with the Chicago Bulls. However, he became disillusioned with the sport due to his growing celebrity status and the exhausting schedule. After shocking the world and announcing his retirement in 1993, Jordan signed a baseball minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox and later enjoyed spells with the Birmingham Barons and the Scottsdale Scorpions. 10 Usain Bolt has announced plans to pursue a career in football, having retired from athletics in August.Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund have offered the Jamaican sprint king a trial in March and Bolt insists he is serious about swapping his spikes for studs.Should he be successful, the 31-year-old would join a long list of sports stars who swapped professions in their career.In the gallery above, talkSPORT.com looks at ten of the most high-profile career swaps to have taken place throughout history.Click on the right arrow, above, to see the rest of the gallery. 10 10 10 10 10 Conor McGregor (MMA to Boxing) – Another Irish star to make the career switch to boxing, the Notorious One has enjoyed a less successful but more profitable stint inside the ring than Taylor. After becoming the first man in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously, McGregor secured a mega-money fight with Floyd Money Mayweather. Despite succumbing to a 10th-round TKO, the Irishman earned respect for showing the courage to get in the ring. Sir Ian Botham (Football to Cricket) – Forced to choose between cricket and football as a youngster, Botham played 11 games for Scunthorpe between 1979 and 1985. Beefy, as he was affectionately known, made his Test debut in 1977 and went on to accumulate over 5,000 runs in 102 Test matches. Rebecca Romero (Rowing to Cycling) – Arguably the most successful entrant on the list, Romero won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the quadruple sculls. When she was forced to retire with a back injury in 2006, she decided to try her hand at cycling. At the Beijing Games in 2008, she won gold in the individual pursuit to become the first British woman and second woman of any country to win medals in two different sports in the Summer Olympics. Andrew Flintoff (Cricket to Boxing) – Nicknamed Freddie for his resemblance to cartoon character Fred Flintstone, Flintoff is often regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders ever. He is best remembered for his heroics during the 2005 Ashes where he hit nine sixes in three days (including one that landed in his dad’s lap) and dismissed Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting in one of the greatest overs ever bowled. In 2012, Flintoff won his first and only boxing fight. Katie Taylor (Football to Boxing) – Taylor represented the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team between 2006 and 2009 while maintaining a career as a more-than proficient amateur boxer. After winning gold medals at world championships, she decided to turn her hand completely to the sweet science and claimed gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 31-year-old is now the WBA lightweight world champion. Clive Allen (Football to American Football) – A prolific striker for a multitude of clubs, Allen competed on the continent for Bordeaux after a successful spell with Spurs. Following stints at Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham United, Millwall and QPR, Allen swapped a round ball for an oval shaped one. He signed for the London Monarchs in 1997 as a place-kicker and spent a successful year there. 
You may remember Dorman from previous columns. He’s the guy who tried to help cut the VA’s deficit by axing the free lunches offered to volunteers who worked four hours a day helping ailing vets. After a little pressure, Dorman finally relented and let the volunteers continue to have their free lunches and eat them, too – but only if they put in six hours of work for free a day, instead of four. Can you spell C-H-E-A-P? “Dorman told me they replaced the existing MRI machine at West L.A. with a new one, and I asked why they didn’t bring the old one over to Sepulveda if it was still working,” Sherman said. “I was told the old machine was disposed of.” It seems like a lot of things are being disposed of at Sepulveda these days – at the expense of previous promises. “I remember at the time of the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, the secretary of Veterans Affairs telling me not to worry,” said Rep. Howard Berman. “They were going to have to close the hospital at Sepulveda, but he assured me they would continue to give the highest quality of outpatient services. “I would think MRIs and CAT scans are a fundamental part of any quality outpatient service.” Both Berman and Sherman – strong advocates for veterans – promise to fight to get the machines back to Sepulveda. It’s a long shot, but not impossible, said Norman, who fielded questions for Dorman about the latest cutbacks at Sepulveda. “We will review everything, including the possibility of replacing it in the future, but the quality of the old equipment was unacceptable,” he said. “We won’t give poor-quality care to our patients.” To his credit, Norman is trying to make the transition as easy as possible for local vets, including providing scheduled transportation from North Hills to West L.A. “We’ve expanded the hours (for MRIs and CAT scans) to evenings and Saturdays to minimize the inconvenience for Valley patients,” he said. “My father drives to West Los Angeles from the Valley for some of his care, so I know the hardship. “But the good news is, we’re maintaining specialty services, including increasing our ability to monitor frail vets in their homes by computer so they don’t have to come into the VA for checkups.” Nice, but not enough, say veterans like Pasqual Ramirez of Northridge. “You’ve got veterans already driving to the Valley all the way from Bakersfield, Palmdale, Lancaster, and Ventura and Santa Barbara counties,” he said. “Now the VA wants them to travel through that mess known as the 101 and 405 freeways, too? “I think it’s unconscionable treatment for the men and women who defended and continue to defend our rights and freedoms,” Ramirez said. Can you spell D-A-M-N R-I-G-H-T? Dennis McCarthy’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. dennis.mccarthy@dailynews.com (818) 713-3749160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREFrumpy Middle-aged Mom: My realistic 2020 New Year’s resolutions. Some involve doughnuts.Now why, you may ask, didn’t the VA just replace the old equipment instead of making hundreds of aging vets with medical problems fight the 405 Freeway logjam over the hill? Can you spell M-O-N-E-Y? It would have cost about $4 million for new machines, plus technical staff costs, Norman said. Now, we all know the VA is strapped for money, even though Congress keeps increasing its budget every year. So where’s the money going? Not to outpatient health care for veterans at Sepulveda. “I just heard about this today and I’m more than a little upset,” Rep. Brad Sherman said Thursday. “Charles Dorman (director of VA facilities in Los Angeles) apologized for not notifying us earlier, but that doesn’t satisfy me.” When push comes to shove inside the Veterans Administration, you can always count on one thing these days – our local vets at Sepulveda VA will be the ones getting pushed and shoved the hardest. The latest bad news hit the North Hills facility last week. From now on, the thousands of veterans receiving outpatient health care at Sepulveda – from the San Fernando Valley all the way up to Bakersfield and Santa Barbara – will have to go over the hill to the West Los Angeles VA for an MRI or CAT scan. “Because of the aging equipment (at Sepulveda), the quality of scans was significantly impaired,” said Dr. Dean Norman, chief of staff for the Greater Los Angeles VA Health Care System. That must be reassuring to the 697 vets who had MRIs and CAT scans at Sepulveda in the first six months of this year. 
The F-bomb was dropped on morning radio Friday, and listeners didn’t even have to pay Howard Stern for the pleasure. Bill Handel, KFI-AM’s (640) top-rated morning mouth, was suspended for a week following an obscenity-laced tirade on Jamie White’s KYSR-FM 98.7(Star 98) show. The flap took place after White booted Handel’s daughters from her show, which is broadcast just down the hall from Handel’s own studio at radio giant Clear Channel’s Burbank complex. “It was simply a reaction of a dad who was protecting his children,” Handel apologized. “I lost my temper; I lost my cool. I should have listened to everything before I reacted – I didn’t think it through.” On the “KTLA Morning News,” entertainment reporter Sam Rubin, a frequent contributor to the “Jamie, Jack and Stench” show, told viewers Handel has been admonished in the past by management for allowing his kids to wander into White’s show. “It’s unfortunate these things happen, but I guess tempers just got out of hand,” mused Don Barrett, editor of www.laradio.com, which covers the area’s radio market. Ashlock said Handel had been suspended for a week, a period that starts immediately following the talk-show host’s vacation. He will be back the air Dec. 30 for his “Handel on the Law” weekend program. “We do not condone that kind of treatment of professional colleagues,” he said. No fines are expected, since Handel’s naughty words were not heard on the air, Ashlock said. But the episode could give some fuel to those who dislike the usually strident Handel. “If somebody has it out for Bill Handel or Clear Channel, I’m sure there will be complaints,” said Michael Harrison, editor/publisher of radio magazine Talkers. sandra.barrera.@dailynews.com (818) 713-3728160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORESurfer attacked by shark near Channel Islands calls rescue a ‘Christmas miracle’Handel’s kids were fishing for CDs in the studio of the “Jamie, Jack and Stench” program when White pointed at them and told them to leave. According to a clip that was aired afterwards on various outlets, Handel burst into the studio, shouting, “If you ever talk to my kids that way again, Jamie, I am going to kick your ass. You are not allowed to talk to them! Are you telling me they can’t be on the fifth floor?” White shot back, “I’m telling them they can’t be right there,” to which Handel responded, “You have such (expletive) losing numbers on this loser show. Shut up! You don’t talk to my kids that way.” Handel also shouted, “Don’t touch me!” before he dropped a couple of F-bombs on his way out the door. Clear Channel president/market manager Greg Ashlock said White’s show, like other live radio programs, is on a delay mechanism, so the actual F-words Friday were deleted from the broadcast. 
Latest Liverpool FC News Premier League Team of the Season so far, including Liverpool and Leicester stars latest huge blow gameday cracker RANKED Where Ancelotti ranks with every Premier League boss for trophies won REVEALED Which teams do the best on Boxing Day in the Premier League era? He has also played a huge role in the club’s UEFA Youth League campaign.And according to the Liverpool Echo, Sporting have enquired about securing the services of the Portugal Under-20s international, who has also been linked with a move to a number of Championship clubs.Camacho has been an unused sub for Liverpool’s first-team three times.The versatile player joined the Reds’ Academy in 2016 having gone through a successful trial after being released by Manchester City. REVEALED 1 shining REVEALED Liverpool youngster Rafa Camacho could be on his way back to Sporting Lisbon after the Portuguese club reportedly made an approach to sign him on loan in January.Camacho, 18, has made excellent progress since being promoted to train at Melwood on a permanent basis and impressed during the Reds’ pre-season tour of America. Top nine Premier League free transfers of the decade Boxing Day fixtures: All nine Premier League games live on talkSPORT Oxlade-Chamberlain suffers another setback as Klopp confirms serious injury Liverpool news live: Klopp reveals when Minamino will play and issues injury update Camacho in action for Liverpool against Manchester City in the International Champions Cup last summer The biggest market value losers in 2019, including Bale and ex-Liverpool star
Mobilization for INDOT’s project should soon take place. Road closures are expected to alter local traffic patterns by the end of March. Utility companies are currently on site relocating their services. Salem will benefit from full-depth reconstruction of S.R. 56—including new sidewalks, curb ramps, retaining walls and storm sewers—within its corporate limits. In Washington County, the east-west highway will be repaired and resurfaced; passing blisters will be built, shoulders widened and small drainage structures replaced. INDOT officials, the design engineer and representatives from prime contractor Temple & Temple will describe work that will soon take place from High Street to Heritage Chapel Road and go over specific parts of the plans with attendees. Meanwhile, Temple & Temple is working on water lines for the City of Salem.
The Indiana Department of Transportation promises to provide information and answer questions about the $4.2 million State Road 56 Reconstruction Project at Salem at a public meeting next Tuesday (FEB. 17) beginning at 6 p.m. inside Salem High School’s Presentation Room.For those who cannot attend, WSLM RADIO will provide LIVE STREAMING of the meeting through links on Facebook, Twitter and WSLMRADIO.COMThis work is in conjunction with the Wal-Mart development on East 56. For highway information, monitor social media sites: www.Facebook.com/INDOTSoutheast and Twitter @INDOTSoutheast. Verify travel plans at TrafficWise: http://www.trafficwise.in.gov.
Lauren Jurrens of George, Iowa has signed a letter of intent to continue her running career at Northwestern College next fall. Jurrens recently completed her fourth season running for the George-Little Rock High School cross country team. Jurrens finished ninth at the Siouxland Conference meet and earned all-conference honors for the second time. She has a personal best 5K time of 21:21. Jurrens is also a three-year letter winner in track and field heading into her final season this spring. She received the Champions of Character award in track and is an academic all-conference selection. An honor roll student and the President of the National Honor Society, Jurrens plans to major in Biology at Northwestern. She is the daughter of Jerry and Amy.“We are excited to have Lauren run for our women’s cross country team next year,” commented Northwestern Head Coach Scott Bahrke. “She will be a wonderful addition to our team. Lauren is a proven leader and a great teammate. We look forward to the positive impact she will have on our team and on campus.”