Latest news with #Bemis
Irish Examiner
22-04-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Cork heritage group gets go-ahead to build Lusitania museum
A Kinsale-based heritage group has received planning permission from Cork County Council for a new museum to commemorate the Lusitania. The Old Head Signal Tower Heritage CLC has gotten the green light for a new Lusitania Museum on a site close to where the vessel infamously sank more than 100 years ago. The group said that the new museum can act as a draw to tourists that will benefit not just Kinsale but surrounding towns too, as it lies on the designated Wild Atlantic Way touring route. During World War One, the British passenger liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the Cork coast, resulting in almost 1,200 deaths. The event was seen as a heinous act by the Germans, and is believed to be a contributory factor in the US joining the war in 1917. The bid for planning sought permission to demolish existing temporary structures on the site and the removal of the existing on-site wastewater treatment plant. In its place, it sought permission to build a single-storey, L-shaped museum incorporating an exhibition space, cafe, gift shop and more across 641m2. In a planning statement, they said: 'The proposed development aims to ensure the continued and improved use of the site as The Lusitania Museum and Memorial Garden. 'This site is significant as it represents the closest point of land to the final resting place of the RMS Lusitania. It also incorporates Ireland's only restored Napoleonic Signal Tower, one of 81 coastal defences built in 1801.' The applicant clarified that the bid for permission does not involve any works to the signal tower structure and would establish a 'high-quality tourism facility' that encourages visitors to explore surrounding towns and villages. It added: 'By employing an innovative and sensitive design approach, in conjunction with previous conservation initiatives, this project aims to meet visitor demand, improve the visitor experience, and elevate Cork county's status as a premier national and international tourism destination.' Gregg Bemis In 2019, an American businessman donated the wreck of the Lusitania to the heritage group. Multi-millionaire Gregg Bemis had originally acquired joint ownership of the vessel in the 1960s and fought multiple legal battles to verify his ownership. He was also a regular visitor to Kinsale and was hailed as a 'good friend and benefactor' of the town when he passed away in 2020. Mr Bemis had said it was "very important" to get all the artifacts from the wreck into the planned museum. Read More The Lusitania wreck is facing collapse. The race is on to save as many artefacts as possible
Miami Herald
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
South Florida HEAT's first trip to girls' soccer state semifinals ends with lopsided loss
After years of success, only to be turned away many times in the regional finals, the South Florida HEAT girls soccer team finally made it to the state final four. But their first state 'experience' turned out to be a quick one. The HEAT, (which stands for Home Education Athletic Teams) a collection of home-schooled students who have no school or home field, were faced with the gigantic task of taking on Orange Park St. Johns Country Day - a 14-time state champion. The result was predictable. Country Day, which won 11 straight state titles from 2012-22, scored just 47 seconds into the game and never slowed down, mowing down the HEAT 6-0 in a Class 1A state semifinal on Wednesday night at Spec Martin Stadium. The Spartans, 19-3-1, advance to Saturday's 1A championship game where they will take on Hobe Sound Pine School at 1 p.m. and look to tie St. Thomas Aquinas for the most titles in the state with 15. They were tied for second last week when Plantation American Heritage won No. 14. 'We hung in there for a little while but I guess eventually the dam broke,' HEAT coach Bob Bemis said. 'But the girls never gave up, even right to the very end and I can't be more proud of them for that. All heart. What will they remember from tonight? They'll remember the experience, they'll remember the loss, but they'll also know that they left everything out here. The victory is in the effort and that's what they'll take from tonight.' Bemis could only watch helplessly as his outgunned players did everything they could to hang in there in the first half. Even after Calli Berang popped that early first minute goal in off a perfectly placed free kick from 20 yards out on the left side, HEAT players didn't flinch. The game was still a one goal game at the first half water break but then Country Day struck quickly. First came a foul by HEAT player Hannah Brankamp in the penalty box giving Cece Nowicki a penalty kick which she converted and just 60 seconds later, Reygan Ropero scored off an assist from Madisyn Bowman to make it 3-0 at the half. The Spartans then came out in the second half and slam dunked things away by scoring three goals in a five-minute span to make it 6-0 with 28 minutes left and that was that. 'We obviously knew what we had in front of us going into tonight,' said HEAT senior captain Eden Greenfield, who led her team this season with 52 goals. 'I'll admit we were pretty nervous because we had heard so much about them and everything they had accomplished. Honestly, for what our expectations were, I actually think we played better than we thought we would. Even if the score was 6-0, I'm proud of my team and really glad that we got up here and got to play here. It's always been a dream for me to play at state and that was realized tonight.' The game also marked the end of a two-decade career for Bemis as the head coach and athletic director of the program as he announced that he was stepping down. He and his wife Gina started the ministry in 2004 and built it to the point where they once had a total of 11 athletic teams going at one time including football. 'A great run here but time to make room for some younger blood,' quipped Bemis with a wink. 'Someone a little younger, a little more into social media because athletics and athletes are changing in general. We're proud of what we built here and want to keep the success going.'
