Tragedy

Ken and Kristen Sheely have experienced a parent's ultimate tragedy: the loss of a child. Now, through a fledgling non-profit organization, they hope to educate young athletes about brain trauma injuries and possibly spare other families from the pain and suffering the Germantown couple endured last year. Derek Sheely was a 22-year-old honor student and a captain of Frostburg State's football team who collapsed in late August after sustaining a blow to the head in practice. He died six days later of severe head trauma.

It was with great sadness that I saw the photos in The Sun of hunters posing triumphantly next to the carcasses of the animals that they had shot and killed in Africa ("Africa calls adventurous hunters," Jan. 29). Included in the photos were a dead water buffalo, lion, nyala, oryx and elephant. Isn't there a way for people to derive enjoyment from these magnificent animals' existence without causing their often painful demise? In Africa, there are safaris that offer tourists the opportunity to photograph wildlife in preserves and parks in their natural habitat.

If it takes the proverbial village to raise a child, it takes that same village to protect the elderly. Where was Mary Hines' village from July 2011, when her electricity was turned off, until her body was discovered, stabbed, in her burning rowhouse on Jan. 5, 2012? The 84-year old retired teacher was found murdered in a burning house and left for firefighters to clean up the ashes of her human tragedy. If the financially burdened widow were as beloved and as respected by family, neighbors and church leaders as has been reported, did this "village" observe her darkened home and her inability to refrigerate and cook nutritious meals for seven months without a twinge of guilt?

The circumstances that led to the arrest of Robert Richardson III on charges of killing his father were tragic ("No bail for Bel Air teen accused of patricide," Jan. 12). Although many details have yet to be revealed, this clearly was a family struggling with a multitude of social issues in addition to the tragic loss of a mother and wife. As an educator, what I find the most perplexing and disturbing is the fact that the Harford County Sheriff's Department were called to this residence 12 times in recent years, and not one report was made to Child Protective Services.

Each week, we bring you a Q&A with a Ravens player, coach or team executive to help you learn a little more about the team. Today's guest is inside linebacker Albert McClellan. How does it feel to go from undrafted rookie in 2010 to starter against the 49ers on Thanksgiving night? It's like a dream come true. I'm still dreaming right now. I'm not settled with where I am now, but I'm happy and blessed to be where I am now. College career [at Marshall] was great, but unfortunately, I wasn't drafted, so that was a bummer.

The Penn State student rioters who overturned a TV truck and reacted so angrily at Wednesday night's firing of Coach Joe Paterno picked the wrong villain. The media did not take down their longtime coach, the winningest in college football history. It was the alleged actions of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of molesting at least eight boys between 1994 and 1999, and those at the university who failed to take appropriate action when those claims were brought to their attention.

It's been something of a puzzlement as to why there wasn't a barrier to divide traffic going in either direction on the Bel Air Bypass even before the November 2008 collision that took the life of a mother and her 8-year-old son. It would have made a lot of sense to have put a barrier in place years ago when the Hickory Bypass was tacked onto the northern end of the Bel Air Bypass. At that time, and even after the 2008 tragedy, word from the state was there wasn't enough room for such a barrier.

The temporary Berger Cookie shortage got us thinking. The temporary shortage of Berger Cookies on store shelves, reported by Mary Carole McCauley, got us thinking about other cookies. The Berger is, of course, is a brand name, but what would you call the style of cookie that a Berger is? It's not what I would call a chocolate top, but what is it? It's tempting to compare it to the Oreo, a brand name that has come to stand in for a style of cookie. But there is a readily available style name -- sandwich creme -- that describes the Oreo and many other similar cookies on the market.

America suffered a horrible tragedy on 9/11, but our actions in the aftermath also inflicted terrible tragedies on the people of Iraq andAfghanistan Thanks to Dan Rodricks for his thoughtful column on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks ("In anger and pain, little sympathy for 'the deaths of others,'" Sept. 11). Yes, America suffered a horrible tragedy on Sept. 11 that is indelibly etched into our nation's memory. But we must also acknowledge that our actions in the aftermath of Sept.

Michael Dresser says that the Sept. 11 attacks permanently changed transportation ("Traveling forever changed," Sept. 7). He's only partly correct. It is definitely less convenient and pleasant to fly, it's true. But the vast majority of "transportation" or its safety has not changed at all. Most American transportation is done by car. There was another huge tragedy that occurred in 2001. Yet, unlike Sept. 11, it is rarely spoken about and it seems that nobody really cares.