Latest news with #Sandlin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Filling Parks and Rec director opening next for council
Jun. 6—Parks and Recreation director is next on the lengthy list of job openings for the Decatur City Council to fill, and 73 people have applied for the position. Just this week, a new police chief took office and the council made an offer to a planning director candidate. City Council President Jacob Ladner said Wednesday that the priority for the next agenda is its midyear review of the fiscal 2025 budget, and then Parks and Recreation director is next. The City Council, which is responsible for hiring directors, is seeking to replace former Parks and Recreation director Jason Lake, who retired in February. In response to a request based on the state's Open Records Act, city Human Resource Director Richelle Sandlin released the applications for Parks and Recreation director and an email containing her recommendations to the council, Mayor Tab Bowling and Chief Financial Officer Kyle Demeester. In the email, she recommended the council interview five applicants: —William Collins, statewide trails coordinator, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Montgomery. He previously served as athletic programs director, city of Bessemer; director of parks program, Red Mountain Park; and athletics coordinator, city of Orange Beach. —Stephanie McLain, interim operations manager and Point Mallard Park superintendent; previously Point Mallard marketing and group sales after starting as aquatic facilities operator. —Joseph Rodecker, former recreation superintendent, Canton, Ohio; previously assistant parks and recreation director, Montgomery County, Tennessee; athletic division, Franklin, Tennessee; and assistant property manager, CNA. —Jerry Smith, director of parks and grounds, Boynton Beach, Florida; previously county parks director, Bexar County, Texas; and deputy director of parks and recreation, North Miami Beach, Florida. —Todd Strubhart, golf and street services, University City Parks, Illinois; previously director of Parks and Recreation, Godfrey, Illinois; recreation supervisor, Belleville, Illinois; managing partner, Midwest Team Training LLC; vice president of select sports operations, Belleville Select Youth Sports. Sandlin listed a second group of four applicants who she writes, "are minimally qualified and recommended for hold pending consideration of Group 1 candidates." She writes that a third group of 63 applicants "did not meet the minimum requirements for consideration and further review is not recommended." — DYS director The City Council is also looking for a new leader of Decatur Youth Services after Brandon Watkins resigned in March. Retired DYS Director Bruce Jones stepped in to run the department on a part-time basis. The city received 70 applications, but Sandlin has not made a recommendation on how the council should proceed. Ladner said that's OK with him. He said he prefers "to let Bruce guide us on how he wants to proceed," especially since the department seems to be running smoothly. Jones has indicated he's willing to work with the city through November when a new council term begins. — or 256-340-2432
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Boston's top pitching prospects start the season with Portland
Apr. 7—David Sandlin is eager for the 2025 season to unfold. A starting pitcher for the Portland Sea Dogs, Sandlin sees the talent around him in Portland's starting rotation and can't help but get excited. "We've got a really deep organization. It's going to be a lot of fun. A lot of new names, too, that people are going to fall in love with," Sandlin said. Advertisement After years of failing to develop starting pitchers, the Red Sox are on the upswing. Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Brayan Bello have contributed at the major league level over the last few seasons, and Hunter Dobbins, who spent much of 2024 in Portland, made his first big league start and earned the win Sunday night when Boston needed a starter for Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Cardinals. As the 2025 season begins, Portland's rotation includes some of the top prospects in Boston's system. Sandlin sits at No. 9 in Boston's system, according to MLB Pipeline, one spot ahead of Connelly Early, a left-handed starter with the Sea Dogs. Two other Portland starters are ranked in the top 30, Yordanny Monegro (No. 24) and Blake Wehunt (No. 28). Tyler Uberstine, who started the Sea Dogs' season-opening 14-6 win Friday against the Reading Fightin Phils, is ranked No. 54 by Luis Perales, Boston's No. 5 prospect, underwent Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow after two starts with the Sea Dogs last season, and could rejoin the team midseason. "Everybody has their own strengths, and we want to take advantage of those strengths. Really try to make sure we're putting them in a good position," said Sean Isaac, who along with Juan Rivera will serve as a pitching coach in Portland this season. Advertisement Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 11th round in 2022, Sandlin was traded to the Red Sox during spring training last year for John Schreiber. Sandlin began last season in High-A Greenville before a promotion to Portland in late July. He started eight games for the Sea Dogs last season, going 0-2 with a 5.61 ERA. He struck out 82 over 57 1/3 innings in Greenville and Portland last season. Early was drafted in the fifth round out of the University of Virginia by the Red Sox in 2023. He also started eight games for the Sea Dogs last season, going 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA. In 103 2/3 innings between Greenville and Portland, Early fanned 138 hitters. Sandlin pitched five innings Saturday at Reading to get the win, throwing 78 pitches. Early went 3 2/3 innings Sunday, also a Portland victory, throwing 62 pitches. Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson said he thinks Sandlin and Early could have a leg up on the rest of the rotation to begin the season, because of the experience each gained in Double-A last year. Uberstine and Monegro will make their Double-A debuts this season, and Wehunt started one game for the Sea Dogs at the end of last season. "I think in the beginning, pitchers hold the advantage in this kind of (cold) weather. But knowing that you've already pitched here kind of gives you a little bit more confidence and that experience. I'm not saying these guys are vets by any means, for the league, but they do have a few games under their belt and they know what to expect," Epperson said. "Early on, all of these guys are going to be monitored on a pitch count, like they always are. I'm super excited to watch these guys attack the zone. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch." Advertisement What the Red Sox want to see from their starters in Double-A is consistency, especially when it comes to throwing everything in the arsenal for strikes. Because of the use of the automated ball-strike challenge system used in Triple-A, the strike zone there is tighter, said Brian Abraham, Boston's director of player development. Being able to work throughout the zone is crucial to making that jump. "They (Sandlin and Early) have the stuff. They have different repertoires to get guys out," Abraham said. "They need to be able to get strike zone swings and miss." To Isaac, everything has to start with the fastball. "Velocity is still king, right? For major leaguers, the standard has continued to rise. For us, it's about creating their major league self in these minor league guys," Isaac said. "In terms of being over the plate with off-speed pitches, we've got to be consistent. Making sure we're dominating over the plate as much as we can, particularly early and late in counts." Advertisement Both Sandlin and Early spent a large chunk of the offseason working to increase their velocity. Sandlin's fastball already consistently sits in the high-90s, occasionally hitting 100 miles per hour. Sandlin said he continued to work on developing his splitter and adding a cutter. For Early, adding weight was an additional goal, to help give him the strength to get through a long and rigorous season. He now carries 195 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame, and has seen his fastball tick up from the low to mid 90s. "David, he's a power pitcher, a high-velocity guy. We want to continue that and make sure that's in a great spot. That's going to be a huge contributor to his success at the major league level," Isaac said. "Early, we've seen gains in velocity as well. He's put on a ton of weight, good and healthy weight. Keeping those guys in the mid-to-upper 90s is a huge priority for us, and throwing over the plate consistency." There's no Big Three prospects starting the season in Portland, like 2024 when Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel all opened the season on the Sea Dogs roster. Early sees an overall deep team, particularly in the starting rotation. "We've got a bunch of good players this year," he said. "The group we have is pretty solid, so it should be a good year." Copy the Story Link
CBS News
21-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
How Trump's NIH layoffs upending one probationary staffer's life: "We are important and we do important work"
Washington --- Last month, Katie Sandlin uprooted her life in Carbon Hill, Alabama, a town of 2,000, to work at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, outside Washington, D.C. "I wiped out my savings account, I maxed out my credit card, I had to take out a loan," Sandlin told CBS News. But she called her job as an education outreach specialist an opportunity of a lifetime, educating communities about NIH research. "People like me, where I'm from, rural Alabama, like, these kind of jobs don't happen to people like me," Sandlin said. "You know, my entire town, they were all rooting for me." Three weeks later, before she even unpacked her D.C. apartment, Sandlin became one of the thousands of federal probationary workers to be fired as part of President Trump's efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. Probationary workers usually have less than one year experience, and in some cases less than two years. They have fewer protections from layoffs, making them easier to terminate. "Now, I'm unemployed, I have a ton of debt, and I'm also losing my health insurance, and I have, like many Americans, a chronic condition that requires me to take medication," said Sandlin, who adds that the idea of getting fired "never crossed my mind." Sandlin says her supervisors "made it clear that I was not being terminated because of anything that I had done." An official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which NIH is a part of, sent Sandlin a letter which read, in part: "Unfortunately, the Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency's current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the Agency." Sandling said receiving the letter "really upset me, because it felt like it wasn't truthful. My boss, her boss, and even his boss, all said that that was not true." The CBS News Data Team found that at the Veterans Health Administration, which implements the healthcare program for vets, probationary workers account for 30% of the staff. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, probationary workers make up 19% of the branch that performs food safety inspections, while 29% of workers in the Transportation Security Administration are probationary, CBS News found. So far, about 2,000 probationary workers at NIH have lost their jobs. "We are important and we do important work," Sandlin said. "We're impactful. And if you have questions or concerns about federal workers, ask one."
