Clemson Writers' Event to Benefit Food Pantry

CLEMSON — Award-winning poets Jillian Weise and Julia Koets will read at this year’s Writers’ Harvest, a Clemson University benefit for Paw Pantry and Loaves & Fishes.

The event takes place at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 in the Self Auditorium at the Visitor’s Center, 230 Kappa St. at Clemson University.

The reading will also feature fiction writer Dan Leach and winners of the annual Clemson University Writers’ Harvest Student Reader Awards.

For admission, a donation of canned goods or cash is requested. Checks also can be made out to Loaves & Fishes.

“This annual event gives the campus and the public a chance to hear some of Clemson University’s most talented poets and fiction writers — both faculty and students,” said Mike Pulley, event organizer and emcee. “In the process, the audience also gets to help feed those in need on campus and throughout Upstate South Carolina during the holidays.”

Writers’ Harvest readings are planned during the holiday season by writers and poets throughout the nation.

“It is an honor to join the national tradition of the Writers’ Harvest,” Weise said. “Poets, fiction writers and essayists across the country gather to read new work and give back to our local communities. I’m grateful to Mike Pulley for organizing this event and I invite everyone to join us.”

“I’m looking forward to reading at this year’s Writers’ Harvest in support of Loaves & Fishes and Paw Pantry, two local organizations that work to reduce hunger in our community,” Koets said.

About the beneficiaries: Loaves & Fishes is a nonprofit organization that fights hunger in the Upstate by rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted and delivering it to almost 100 partner organizations for distribution to those in need.

Paw Pantry, located next to Clemson’s Harcombe Dining Hall, reduces food insecurity among Clemson students and in the community.

About Writers’ Harvest: These events were launched by Share Our Strength, a national organization that works to make sure no child in America grows up hungry. Writers’ Harvest at Clemson is sponsored by the Pearce Center for Professional Communication and English Majors Organization.

About the writers: Jillian Weise is a poet, playwright, performance artist and disability rights activist. She is the author of two poetry collections and a novel. Her first book, “The Amputee’s Guide to Sex,” was reissued in a 10th anniversary edition in 2017. Her second poetry collection, “The Book of Goodbyes,” won the prestigious James Laughlin Award and named one of the year’s best books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly and National Public Radio. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, and her alter ego, Tipsy Tullivan, hosts the “Tips for Writers” show on YouTube. Weise is an associate professor in creative writing at Clemson.

Julia Koets’ collection “Hold Like Owls” won the 2011 South Carolina Poetry Book Prize judged by National Book Award-winner Nikky Finney. Her nonfiction manuscript, “The Rib Joint: A Memoir in Essays,” won the 2017 Red Hen Press Nonfiction Book Award and will be published in 2019. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in poetry at the University of South Carolina and her Ph.D. in Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati. She currently teaches writing at Clemson University and serves as associate editor for Black Lawrence Press.

Dan Leach’s short fiction has appeared in New Madrid Review, Greensboro Review and storySouth. His debut collection, “Floods and Fires,” was released by University Press of North Georgia (2017). He lives in Taylors and is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at Warren Wilson College and a Master of Arts in English candidate at Clemson University.

Student reader awards: Also reading at the event will be three undergraduates who won the Writers’ Harvest Student Reader Awards: Hannah Jane Pearson (prose), Dorothy “Dottie” David (poetry) and Brett Cranny (poetry).

Why We Celebrate Halloween

The Big Think

Halloween was influenced heavily by Celtic, Pagan and Christian traditions.

The holiday has always celebrated the strange and scary, but festivities as we know them have changed over the years.

Current Halloween traditions were brought by immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century.

Halloween is a holiday that's celebrated every year on October 31st. While its tradition in the United States is felt everywhere, from horror films in our cinemas, weekend house-party revelers and kids trick or treating in the streets, the celebrations don't stop here. Halloween draws from a number of festive fall holidays throughout the millennia. 

It originally came from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Later, in the eighth century, Catholic Pope Gregory III decided to call November 1st All Saints Day. Over time, the two disparate holidays began to coalesce and the foundations of Halloween began to form. The evening before November 1st became known as All Hallow's Eve. 

Over time, Halloween activities evolved into what we know today. But it took a long time to get there.

Halloween: A mix of ancient traditions

Samhain Revival Via Flickr 

In Celtic tradition, Samhain marked the day that summer was coming to a complete close. The harvest was ending and the throngs of winter were near. The shadowy winter was a time associated with death followed by eventual renewal. Celts believed that this was the night where the veil between the living and the dead was lifted and the spectral past returned to the Earth. 

At the time, Druids (Celtic priests) would use Samhain to make prophecies about the future to help guide their community. They would begin to light massive bonfires where they burned crops and animals as sacrifices to their gods. During this celebration, the druids would dress up in animal heads and skins, dance around the fire and tell fortunes and stories. 

It was the early first century when the Roman Empire had managed to conquer most of the Celtic territory. During this centuries-long rule, a few Roman fall festivals combined with Samhain. Romans also celebrated the dead through a holiday called Feralia. Throughout the years, this eventually blended with the holiday of Samhain. The next Roman festivity that influenced Halloween was one that honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and vegetation.

Halloween’s etymology and the lore of the jack-o-lantern

Photo: Getty Images

All Saint's Day

It was during the 18th century when the word "Halloween" came to be. Scottish poet Robert Burns helped to make the word more popular with his poem called 'Halloween'. The word itself seems to be a portmanteau of the word 'Hallow', which originally meant 'saint', mixed with 'een' which was an abbreviation of the word "eve," or night before.

Halloween is just another way of saying something like the night before All Saint's Day or Hallowmas. Christians tended to celebrate the holidays and other traditions on the night before the major feast, for example Christmas Eve. 

The many mixtures of traditions date back throughout the years. People used to make additional food offerings for their ancestors and the many spirits wandering about. Halloween's history is a great mix of religion, folklore and eventually secular consumerism. 

The apple bobbing most likely comes from Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruitful abundance. Jack-o'-lanterns derive from an old Irish folk figure; the legend was that one night a drunkard named Jack had come across the devil on a deserted and darkened road. He tricked and trapped the devil in a tree. After agreeing to let the devil down, he struck a deal with him that he could never take his soul. 

When he died, he went to neither heaven nor hell. Instead he was forced to wander around in eternity. The devil flung up from hell an ember of coal to light his way, which Jack stuck in a hollowed-out gourd. Thus, the legend of the jack-o'-lantern was born. 

Other eponymous Halloween traditions also have similar folksy roots.

Where did trick or treating come from?

Our modern day iteration of trick-or-treating has a number of influences. Ancient Celts began the tradition of dressing up as animals and evil spirits in order to confound demons and other malevolent spirits. 

Eventually, in medieval England, there was a group of people called "soulers" who'd go around on Halloween begging the rich for soul cakes. They were said to have prayed for people's souls in exchange for their cakes or food. 

All around Europe in the middle ages, there was a tradition of dressing up during major feast days and festivals. Eventually, the tradition of "souling" was brought to the United States in the 19th century. This would mix perfectly with the remnants of colonial Halloween festivities. 

The peak time for the creation of what we now think of as Halloween came in the early half of the 1900s when there was an influx of millions of Irish immigrants. They helped to popularize the complete celebration of Halloween and eventually lead it to its national holiday status. 

Borrowing from many of these ancient traditions, Americans would both dress up and go from house to house asking for food or money. This early trick-or-treating would eventually turn into the consumer bonanza we know today, with candy taking the place of the original "souling" practice. Eventually there was a general move in America to turn Halloween into a secular holiday and play down the ghastly and scarier aspects. The intention was to put the focus on get-togethers and parties. 

Today, Halloween remains a mixture of many of these things. The spookiness still flows and the deep tradition is still there, hidden, if you know where to look.

Anderson Resident Honored by National Occupational Therapy Group

Anderson's Sandy Hanebrink has been chosen to receive the American Occupational Therapy Association Roster of Fellows award.

The AOTA Roster of Fellows recognizes members "who through their knowlege, experttise, leadership advocacy and guidance have made a significant contribution to the profession."

"I am extremely honored to have my life work in disability rights and inclusion, and assistive technology recognized by the American Occupational Therapy Association with one of the professions highest awards," Hanebring said. "It is humbling to join so many leaders who have earned this prestigious designation. I will proudly use my new credentials, FAOTA."

Multiple New S.C. Moped Laws Go into Effect Nov. 19

South Carolina is making some sweeping changes to Moped Laws beginning Nov. 19. Here’s what you need to know about the changing laws as a moped owner:   - The state’s “motor vehicle” definition no longer excludes mopeds. - Mopeds do not have motors exceeding 50cc or 750-1500 watts. - Operators must possess a valid driver’s license/moped operator’s license (MOL) and registration at all times. A MOL is for those who 15-16 years old, who can only drive during daytime hours. If accompanied by a 21-year-old in viewing area, they can drive during the nighttime. A 16-year-old with a MOL can drive alone any time. - Through registration, a proper “MOPED” plate will be provided. This must be displayed. - Moped operators are required to drive in the farthest right lane, unless making a left turn. - All moped operators under 21 years of age must wear helmets. - It’s unlawful to drive mopeds more than 35 miles-per-hour. - It’s unlawful to drive mopeds on roads with speed limits greater than 55 miles-per-hour. - Headlights and operational lights required at all times. - Mopeds are not required to be titled or insured, as long as this motor vehicle does not exceed specific definitions.

President Vows to End Birthright Citizenship

Washington (CNN) - President Donald Trump offered a dramatic, if legally dubious, promise in a new interview to unilaterally end birthright citizenship, ratcheting up his hardline immigration rhetoric with a week to go before critical midterm elections.

Trump's vow to end the right to citizenship for the children of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on US soil came in an interview with Axios released Tuesday. Such a step would be regarded as an affront to the US Constitution, which was amended 150 years ago to include the words: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." 

Trump did not say when he would sign the order, and some of his past promises to use executive action have gone unfulfilled. But whether the President follows through on his threat or not, the issue joins a string of actions intended to thrust the matter of immigration into the front of voters' minds as they head to polls next week.

A day earlier, the President vowed in an interview on Fox News to construct tent cities to house migrants traveling through Mexico to the US southern border. His administration announced the deployment of 5,200 troops to protect the frontier as the "caravan" continues to advance. And the President has warned of an "invasion" of undocumented immigrants if the border isn't sealed with a wall.

Still, the threat of ending birthright citizenship amounts to another escalation in Trump's hardline approach to immigration, which has become his signature issue.

"We're the only country in the world where a person comes in, has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits," Trump said in an interview for "Axios on HBO."

Several other countries, including Canada, have a policy of birthright citizenship, according to an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for reducing immigration. 

"It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And it has to end," he continued. 

The step would immediately be challenged in court. Some of Trump's previous immigration executive orders, including an attempt to bar entry to citizens from some Muslim-majority countries, came under legal scrutiny after a chaotic drafting process. At the same time, the President has derided his predecessor Barack Obama for taking executive actions to block some young undocumented immigrants from deportation, a step Trump said was a presidential overstep.

The White House did not provide additional details of the planned executive order on Tuesday morning.

"It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don't," he said, adding that he has run it by his counsel. "You can definitely do it with an act of Congress. But now they're saying I can do it just with an executive order," Trump said. 

The President didn't provide any details of his plan, but said that "it's in the process. It'll happen."

The interview is a part of "Axios on HBO," a new four-part documentary series debuting on HBO this Sunday, according to the news site.

Study: Gun Injuries Sent 75,000 Kids, Teens to ER Since 2006

(AP) -- Gun injuries, including many from assaults, sent 75,000 U.S. children and teens to emergency rooms over nine years at a cost of almost $3 billion, a first-of-its-kind study found.

Researchers called it the first nationally representative study on ER visits for gun injuries among U.S. kids. They found that more than one-third of the wounded children were hospitalized and 6 percent died. Injuries declined during most of the 2006-14 study, but there was an upswing in the final year.

The researchers found that 11 of every 100,000 children and teens treated in U.S. emergency rooms have gun-related injuries. That amounts to about 8,300 kids each year.

The scope of the problem is broader though; the study doesn't include kids killed or injured by gunshots who never made it to the hospital, nor does it count costs for gunshot patients after they're sent home.

"I don't know what more we need to see in the world to be able to come together and tackle this problem," said Dr. Faiz Gani, the lead author and a researcher at Johns Hopkins University medical school.

The study is an analysis of estimates on emergency department visits in a national database created by the U.S. government's Agency on Healthcare Research and Quality.

The researchers focused on victims under age 18; the average age was about 15.

Almost half the gun injuries were from assaults, nearly 40 percent were unintentional and 2 percent were suicides. There were five times more ER visits for boys than for girls.

Pediatric ER visits for gun injuries fell from a rate of 15 per 100,000 in 2006 to about 7 per 100,000 in 2013, then jumped to 10 per 100,000 in 2014, the most recent data.

University funding paid for the analysis, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

The findings highlight that gun violence involving kids extends beyond mass shootings that gain the most attention, said Dr. Robert Sege, co-author of an American Academy of Pediatrics gun injuries policy.

"It's extraordinarily sad because these children grow up in fear and it affects their ability to feel safe and comfortable at home or in school. It has an enormous ripple effect on child development," said Sege, a Tufts University professor of medicine who was not involved in the research.

Pressure from the gun lobby has limited U.S. government funding for research on gun injuries and death, and that has led to big gaps in understanding the scope of the problem, said Dr. Denise Dowd, an ER physician at Children's Mercy hospital in Kansas City.

"It's really important that we have an idea of the magnitude of life lost and injured and how much money we are spending ... so we can prioritize it as a national health concern."

But she said much more needs to be known for prevention.

"We need national surveillance systems just like we do with motor vehicle deaths, to track these injuries and figure out the circumstances," she said.

Clemson Graduate Named Southeast's Top Farmer

Kevin Yon has built his life around family and farming, who recently celebrated landmark moments on both fronts.

On the same day Yon’s first grandchild came home from the hospital to the family farm in Ridge Spring, he was named the overall winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award for 2018.

“It was very special,” said Yon, a first-generation angus breeder. “And I got to be there for the birth prior to going to the banquet, so that was good, too.”

But Yon’s accolade wasn’t just a milestone for his family, it was also one for Clemson University. He is the first Clemson alumnus to garner the event’s top prize and only the third South Carolinian to win the award in its 29-year history.

And the Clemson connection isn’t just a footnote, the Yons are — quite literally — a Clemson family. All told, the family includes six graduates of Clemson’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.

Kevin and wife Lydia met while undergraduates at the Clemson University Block and Bridle Club, and Kevin eventually proposed at the Clemson bull-test station, at what later became the T. Ed Garrison Arena. All three of their children, Sally (’13), Drake (’14) and Corbin (’16), are also Clemson alumni, as is Drake’s wife, Nicole (’14).

After being named the South Carolina winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award this summer, Kevin was named as the overall winner at the Willie B. Withers Luncheon held on the opening day of the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Georgia. He was chosen as Farmer of the Year over nine other state winners who were finalists.

But while his name is on the award, Yon said his family and employees deserve much of the credit. And Yon Family Farms, as its name indicates, is nothing if not a family business.

All three Yon children grew up on the farm, and all three have returned to work on the farm as adults, along with two of their spouses, Nicole, and Sally’s husband, Reid Harrison.

“They call it the Farmer of the Year, but for us it is the entire family and the entire farm and also extended family members who are longtime employees as well,” Kevin said. “It was nothing to do with Kevin Yon; it was about the whole Yon Family Farms team. Everybody has special talents and contributes in their own ways — just like a team.

“So it was very gratifying for the team to be recognized, or the entire farm. And it’s humbling because getting to meet those other nine state winners, they were so passionate about what they do. Each one of them, to me, could’ve been a winner.”

The Yons’ operation has grown into one that is listed among the country’s 25 largest purebred operations by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, but it started from scratch. Yon was 12 when his parents loaned him the money to buy his first steer and heifer. By high school, he’d purchased a small crossbred herd he kept in a leased pasture in Anderson County, close enough to care for when he left for Clemson to pursue a degree in animal science.

These days, the Yons sell about 450 bulls and 200 females each year in two on-farm sales. They also sell cattle in private treaty sales, and their herd includes about 1,200 registered breeding-age females, 590 commercial breeding-age females and 90 steers and heifers that are fed out. The Yons retain ownership on calves not sold for breeding and feed most of them in a Kansas feedlot. They also feed out calves on their farm that are marketed through an Augusta, Georgia, processing facility.

But it is also an operation that has grown well beyond just cattle. Forages are among the most extensive plantings on Yon’s farm, which has successfully grown alfalfa and corn and has become a new grower of soybeans, pecans and grain sorghum. The Yons also own a retail store in Ridge Spring where they sell pecans and beef from their farm, along with other South Carolina-grown products.

The Southeastern Farmer of the Year award recognizes excellence in agricultural production and farm management, along with leadership in farm and community organizations. The award also honors family contributions in producing safe and abundant supplies of food, fiber and shelter products.

“Something else that was really special about it is our Clemson University Extension agent, Travis Mitchell, was the nominator,” Kevin said, “and we credit his help and his predecessor Phil Perry’s Extension help for the success of our farm. We’ve worked hand in hand with those guys since the very beginning, and they’ve been so good to us and helped us in so many ways.

“So credit for the award also goes to all of Clemson Extension, but especially our county agents, Phil Perry — who is retired — and Travis Mitchell, who was right there with us every step of the way preceding the award and even during the award.”

John Miller, president and chief executive officer of Swisher International Inc., of Jacksonville, Florida, praised Yon for his farming accomplishments.

“Kevin is an outstanding farmer who has become a role model for others who want to farm,” Miller said. “It is an honor for our company and our Swisher Sweets cigar brand to recognize Kevin for his farming accomplishments.”

Parents Shouldn't Rush to Get Child Checked for ADHD

SUNDAY, Oct. 28, 2018 -- A growing number of U.S. children are being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

But parents shouldn't be too quick to get their child checked for ADHD, a child expert says. 

"The key to determining if your child has the disorder is the consistent demonstration of at least six specific traits for a minimum of six months, and in two settings such as at home and at school," said Ronald Brown.

"Also, the traits must be impairing how your child functions, and cause him or her to fall behind the normal development for his or her age," he added.

Brown is dean of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' School of Allied Health Sciences.

People with ADHD have a number of traits within three main symptom categories: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.

"Some people have problems within one of the groups and others exhibit characteristics within two or three," Brown said.

Traits within the inattention symptom group may include: disorganization; difficulty paying attention to details and a tendency to make careless mistakes; trouble staying on topic while talking, not listening to others, not following social rules; being easily distracted by things such as unimportant noises usually ignored by others.

Traits within the hyperactivity symptom group may include: fidgeting and squirming when seated; getting up frequently to walk or run around; running or climbing frequently at inappropriate times; and having trouble playing quietly.

Traits within the impulsivity symptom group may include: having a hard time waiting for a turn; blurting out answers before someone finishes asking a question; frequently interrupting or intruding on others; starting conversations at inappropriate times.

"Many of these symptoms happen from time to time in all youngsters, and sometimes among adults," Brown said in a university news release.

"The difference between an active, imaginative child and one diagnosed with ADHD is functional impairment. Those with the disorder may have consistently poor academic performance, trouble interacting with peers and friends, and even challenges at home," he explained.

Among American kids aged 4 to 17, there was a 42 percent increase in ADHD diagnoses between 2003 and 2011, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

October is ADHD Awareness Month.

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on ADHD.

Attorney Generals Seek Overturn of Kinder Morgan Spill Ruling

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel has joined 18 other GOP attorneys general in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that Clean Water Act protections extend to non-point pollution.

The case stems from a 2014 gasoline pipeline leak in South Carolina. Conservation groups sued in 2016 alleging pipeline owner Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is violating the CWA. The groups argue that even though the pipeline has been repaired thousands of spilled gallons from the leak are seeping through the ground into nearby waters.

Schimel joined with 10 other states in arguing that adopting the groups' stance would erode states' regulatory role. A federal appellate court ruled in the conservation groups' favor.

Earlier this month Schimel and the other GOP attorneys general filed a brief with the high court urging the justices to overturn the ruling.

Ga. Police Warn Parents to Check Halloween Candy

(Meredith) – Police at the Dublin Police Department in Dublin, Georgia, have a very scary warning for parents before their kids go trick-or-treating.

The department posted on its Facebook page a picture of what looks like candy but is actually meth pills.

Here’s what the post said:

“Please be aware that the Dublin Police Department is seeing methamphetamine pills in our community. These pills are stamped and resembled to look like specific candies. Please make sure you check your children’s candy and report any suspicions to the Dublin Police Department. – Dublin Police Department’s Facebook Page

Even though this incident happened in Dublin, Georgia, it can serve as a reminder to parents across the country to make sure to inspect the candy their children get before they gobble them up.

Why Children's Food Allergies Continue to Increase

Trent Gillies/CNBC

Among children, allergies to peanuts and other types of food continues to climb, but experts say there is some progress in controlling or preventing life-threatening reactions.

A food allergy, defined as a reaction that occurs when the immune system attacks harmless proteins, is an ailment that drugmakers are working to treat. One method involves treatments that introduce small amounts of peanuts to allergy sufferers, which gradually increases the amount to build tolerance. 

The exploding segment of the population suffering from certain food ailments is skyrocketing, and experts are stumped on the reasons why. A study from the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at New York's Mount Sinai hospital found that from 1997 to 2008, peanut allergies tripled from 1-in-250 children to 1-in-70.

"It really is almost an epidemic," Dr. Scott Sicherer, the institute's director, told CNBC's "On the Money."

"It's impossible to deny an increase, even with anecdotal reports from school nurses," he said, adding that "about two (children) per classroom have food allergies. It's not just our imagination."

Last year, the National Institutes of Health said early exposure could help prevent peanut allergies, with new clinical guidelines suggesting parents introduce peanut-containing foods to infants as "early as 4 to 6 months."

Sicherer told CNBC that improved peanut tolerance can affect food allergy sufferers and their families. "If you can increase the threshold let's say from 1/100th of a peanut to two peanuts, that's an amazing safety."

It's not just peanuts, though, with Sicherer citing milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish and other nuts as being among the most common allergies. "They account for most of the food allergies, but you can be allergic to almost any food," he said.

Most kids outgrow milk and egg allergies, but peanut allergies are harder to do so, he told CNBC.

Sicherer, who is author of "Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on It," said that one possible cause is "the cleanliness theory," which suggests kids aren't being exposed to the germs that help build up immunity.

"The thought is we just have such clean living now" that kids are on computers and not in playgrounds, he said.

As a result, "our immune system may be getting misdirected and attacking things that it doesn't need to, because our immune system is the part of the body that's supposed to protect us from germs," he added. "But for allergies, it attacks the foods and makes us sick."

While there's not yet a cure for food allergies, Sicherer said treatments are "very promising, not just for peanuts but for other foods as well. The other amazing thing is that we have more than a dozen different therapies that are in the pipeline, that are actually being tried in people now to look at more foods."

The ultimate goal is a full-fledged cure, the doctor said. "But in the meantime, safety is really a big part of it. When you're living with a food allergy, it's like you're living in a landmine situation," he added. "Every meal, every snack, every party, every social activity — is that food that can hurt me going to be there?"

Attacked Synagogue Near Where Mister Rogers Lived

CNN - Ask the residents who live there and they'll tell you that Squirrel Hill -- the site of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack -- is generally a happy, safe community.

After all, it was Mister Rogers' neighborhood.

The television icon and puppeteer and his family attended Sixth Presbyterian Church, which is just a 10-minute walk from Tree of Life, the synagogue targeted Saturday.

"It's a wonderful Jewish community," said Chuck Diamond, former rabbi at Tree of Life.

The neighborhood is central for Jewish life in Pittsburgh, housing over 26% of the city's Jewish households -- about 15,000 people, according to a study by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh. Another 31% of Jewish households lie in the surrounding neighborhoods.

"I think we all get together across the board, whether it's Orthodox or Hasidic or Conservative or Reform and we have wonderful Jewish communal organizations," said Diamond, who grew up and still lives in Squirrel Hill. "So it's very vibrant and very active."

It's a center for the Jewish community

Squirrel Hill residents are much more active in Jewish life than residents of other neighborhoods, the study found.

They're more likely to attend Jewish programs than residents of other Pittsburgh neighborhoods -- probably because the programs are all nearby. And they're far more likely to access Jewish-focused culture.

"Squirrel Hill remains both the geographic and institutional center of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish community, and the Jewish community is growing there and in adjacent neighborhoods," the study said.

"The density of the Jewish population and its institutions in Squirrel Hill make it an attractive neighborhood for Jewish households looking to be especially active in Jewish life."

But it's been targeted before

Still, Squirrel Hill has experienced prior hate.

Last year, anti-Semitic and white supremacist stickers and cards were found around the neighborhood on car windshields, park benches and playground slides.

"I thought this was a safe neighborhood," said Mutlu Kesten, who lives nearby with her husband, Onur, and their 4-year-old daughter. The Muslim couple moved to Pittsburgh from Turkey in 2006. "It's devastating."

She said she walks her daughter to preschool near the synagogue every day and the family cherish their close ties with their Jewish neighbors and diverse community.

"Up until now, we were very happy to be here," said her husband. "But these kinds of things are happening everywhere."

High School Football Scores

T.L. Hanna 41, Woodmont 7

Westside 50, Wade Hampton 7

Pickens 29, Palmetto 27

Crescent 48, West-Oak 24

BHP 42, Daniel 21

Wren 63, Walhalla 0

Liberty 21, Powdersville 13