Latest news with #Woosley
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Apollo graduates class of 2025
Rabia Hanafi, Shoaib Hanafi and Omid Hanafi came to Owensboro and Apollo High School in 2021, after their family was forced to flee Afghanistan. The family fled that country 'when the Taliban took over Afghanistan,' Rabia Hanafi said Monday morning. 'Our lives were in danger because our father worked at the (U.S.) Embassy,' she said. 'There were no women's rights, no school for girls. My father wanted us to continue our studies and graduate' high school. When they arrived, the students knew very little English. Shoaib Hanafi, who was close to graduating in Afghanistan, had to start over as a freshman at Apollo High School. Monday evening, the siblings were scheduled to walk the line as members of Apollo's class of 2025 at Eagle Stadium. The Hanafi family were taken in by the students and teachers at Apollo, Rabia Hanafi said. 'It felt like we didn't belong at first. But when we saw the people were so nice and kind to us,' the school began to feel like home, she said. Michael Woosley, the class' Honor Graduate, transferred to Apollo from McLean County High School when he was a sophomore. Woosley traveled from McLean County to attend Apollo every school day, and said the family's decision to send him to AHS was the 'best thing' that could have happened. 'I made so many great friends,' Woosley said Monday morning. Woosley said of Apollo's teachers and staff, 'so many people put their faith in me, and helped me grow as a person.' Woosley was a member of marching band his sophomore and junior years, was a member of the archery team, and was selected to be JROTC's student commander his senior year. Woosley and Rabia Hanafi were both members of National Honor Society and the Beta Club. 'We are so happy we've had the opportunity to study,' Rabia Hanafi said. Later, Rabia Hanafi said teachers at Apollo helped her come out of her shell in terms of speaking. 'I have such good memories with teachers. I was very uncomfortable speaking with everyone, and they encouraged me,' she said. Shoaib Hanafi, who will be studying auto repair at Owensboro Community & Technical College, said he will miss his friends and teachers at Apollo. 'I'm feeling good,' Shoaib Hanafi said about graduation. 'I will miss this.' Rabia Hanafi, who will major in biology and pre-med at Kentucky Wesleyan College in the fall, said of her years at AHS, 'We are so happy we are graduating.' Of Apollo, she said, 'we feel like we're home.' Woosley, who plans to study criminal justice at Kentucky Wesleyan College and then join the Air Force, said leaving Apollo as a graduate is bittersweet. 'I'll feel sad in the moment' of graduation, Woosley said. 'I will definitely miss the place. 'I feel that every teacher cares,' he said. 'Every teacher and staff member cares, and that's what makes Apollo so special.' As Honor Graduate, Woosley was chosen to address his fellow graduates. Woosley said the graduates are ready to meet the world. 'What I love about the class of 2025 is the outstanding qualities (the students) have,' he said. 'They can all be a leader ... Putting their foot in the door and standing out, each of them can do that. 'No one can stop them,' Woosley said.
Khaleej Times
25-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE Lottery launches four new scratch card games
UAE Lottery announced the launch of four new online scratch card games, giving players more ways to win prizes up to Dh1 million. The new scratch cards feature entry points tailored for every player, ranging from small wins to substantial prizes. The scratch card options are as follows: The lottery, announced in late 2024, is the country's first and only regulated lottery. The UAE Lottery offers participants the chance to win amounts ranging from Dh100 to Dh100 million, with scratch cards also available offering a top prize of Dh1 million. While no one has claimed the jackpot yet, "someone in the UAE will win the Dh100 million for sure," Bishop Woosley, director of Lottery Operations at The Game, which operates UAE Lottery, earlier told Khaleej Times.
Express Tribune
08-03-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
UAE lottery announces new winners: Here's how to check
Listen to article The UAE Lottery revealed its latest winners on Saturday, March 8, during its fortnightly draw, with seven lucky participants collectively winning Dh100,000. However, the grand jackpot of Dh100 million remains unclaimed, keeping anticipation high among hopeful participants. The winning numbers for the jackpot were 12, 22, 18, 15, 9, 27 in the days section and 10 in the months section. While the numbers in the days section can be matched in any order, the months section number must be an exact match to secure the grand prize. Seven winners took away a 'guaranteed' Dh100,000 with the lucky chance ID's: AR1662719 BG3177507 BS4398470 BQ4197018 CZ7641924 BG3184461 BJ3486542 Since its launch last year, the UAE Lottery has awarded Dh100,000 each to 60 winners, but the record-breaking Dh100 million prize is still up for grabs. 'Someone in the UAE will win the Dh100 million for sure,' said Bishop Woosley, director of Lottery Operations at The Game, the entity behind the UAE Lottery. Lottery tickets are currently available online, but the company plans to introduce new purchasing methods. Woosley previously revealed that an app would soon be launched, and vending machines may also be deployed at retail locations such as convenience stores and fuel stations. The UAE Lottery is the country's only regulated lottery operation, offering prize amounts ranging from Dh100 to Dh100 million. Participants can also purchase scratch cards, with top prizes reaching Dh1 million.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Saving Nevada's dark skies - one license plate at a time
From her home in Baker, Nevada, Elizabeth Woosley can see Andromeda - the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way (152,000 light years away) - with her naked eye. But she's one of the lucky ones as America's dark skies are rapidly disappearing. Woosley, the owner of the Stargazer Inn in Baker & Great Basin National Park, Nevada, is one of the state's dark sky lovers working to introduce millions of Americans to the importance of our nation's inky skies. Woosley, who grew up in New England, now lives in Baker, a town of 100 people. Alongside 20 of Baker's 100 residents, Woosley hopes to get dark skies designation for the area to lessen the light pollution from the street, house, business lights and other lighting sources. There are very few places left in the country where there is so little artificial light that the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. Nevada is one such place, and to preserve that Woosley is part of a larger group of determined state residents dreaming up novel ways to raise funds to stop their dark skies from disappearing, including promoting "astro-tourism," drives across large swathes of rural land in the dark of night — and even selling license plates. And after recent federal cuts in National Parks — about 3,400 recently-hired employees with the U.S. Forest Service and 1,000 employees with the National Park Service were fired from their jobs last weekend under the Trump administration, accounting for 10% and 5% of those workforces, respectively — the stakes might be higher than ever. Most Americans live under light pollution These Nevada residents plan to save dark skies within their state borders — but also hope to inspire Americans across the nation to protect them. There are several dark sky areas in the United States, the National Park Service says, including in Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho. In 2019, Dark Sky International designated the first dark sky sanctuary on public land — as Nevada's Massacre Rim. (About 63% of Nevada's land is public.) Critics will say there are only about six truly dark areas, according to NASA maps, and other areas have light pollution. This matters, proponents say, because more than 80% of the world's population, and 99% of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow - which causes big problems for humans, wildlife, and the environment. The natural circadian rhythms of humans and animals are disrupted by light pollution and have caused the decline of fireflies, the death of birds during migrations, and sea turtle confusion. In the U.S., about 19 states have laws limiting light pollution, and Texas has laws governing lights around military bases — but most areas have limited requirements. Dark Sky International says there are about 230 places around the world showing "strong support" for dark skies, and they created an interactive map for users to see if they live in a place impacted by light pollution. To ease the funding crunch needed to get dark skies designation — which was challenging before the latest federal cuts — local organization Friends of Nevada Wilderness started developing the idea for a "Save Starry Skies" license plate back in 2018. Program manager Pam duPre said it took years to get approval from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. The plates, designed by dark sky advocate Jonathan Boarini, were released in May 2024 for $61 - with $25 going to the Friends of Nevada Wilderness. About 2,000 plates have been sold and "we expect that number to keep climbing," duPre told CBS News. Executive Director Shaaron Netherton said the funds will help rural communities get a dark sky designation, like Baker and Gerlach, a small town 100 miles north of Reno and the gateway to the annual festival "Burning Man." Funding will also be used to promote astro-tourism, supporting local efforts to upgrade lighting and infrastructure to attract stargazers. Dark sky "astro-tourism" Dave Cooper, a long-time resident of Gerlach and defender of rural tourism and dark skies, like Woosley, has been working to promote "astro-tourism" in their area. Cooper, who retired from the Bureau of Land Management, has been living in rural Nevada for 24 years. The dark skies area in Nevada is "the largest one on the lowest 48," and Cooper is working to develop dark sky tourism and "astro-tourism" in his area. Gerlach is an unincorporated community, so it is challenging to get all the lighting shields in place and infrastructure needed to keep the skies dark, Cooper says. Both Cooper and Woosley feel once visitors come to experience the majestic nature of truly dark skies, things will change for the better. "People don't see dark skies as a resource," said Woosley, adding that dark skies haven't gotten the same attention as parks or beaches. Woosley said she didn't truly understand the depth of dark skies until she came out West. She was a teacher in Washington D.C. married to a national park ranger for three decades when they moved out to Great Basin National Park in 2018. The couple lived in the park for a few years before buying Stargazer Inn, opening it on March 4, 2022. About 150,000 visitors a year come to Great Basin National Park. "We are quite remote," said Woosley, who says the inn is open 11 months a year. People come to star gaze, take new moon hikes, and see the Milky Way or stars. "We just fell in love with this place, like instantly," Woosely said. "The quiet, the mountains, the grandeur, the people, the pace of life, everything just felt like…we were meant to be here." Preliminary autopsy report findings in deaths of Gene Hackman, wife Heated Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in Oval Office | Special Report Why officials believe deaths of Gene Hackman, wife are "suspicious enough" to investigate
CBS News
01-03-2025
- CBS News
Dark skies across America are rapidly disappearing. Nevada is fighting to maintain theirs
From her home in Baker, Nevada, Elizabeth Woosley can see Andromeda - the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way (152,000 light years away) - with her naked eye. But she's one of the lucky ones as America's dark skies are rapidly disappearing. Woosley, the owner of the Stargazer Inn in Baker & Great Basin National Park, Nevada, is one of the state's dark sky lovers working to introduce millions of Americans to the importance of our nation's inky skies. Woosley, who grew up in New England, now lives in Baker, a town of 100 people. Alongside 20 of Baker's 100 residents, Woosley hopes to get dark skies designation for the area to lessen the light pollution from the street, house, business lights and other lighting sources. There are very few places left in the country where there is so little artificial light that the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. Nevada is one such place, and to preserve that Woosley is part of a larger group of determined state residents dreaming up novel ways to raise funds to stop their dark skies from disappearing, including promoting "astro-tourism," drives across large swathes of rural land in the dark of night — and even selling license plates. And after recent federal cuts in National Parks — about 3,400 recently-hired employees with the U.S. Forest Service and 1,000 employees with the National Park Service were fired from their jobs last weekend under the Trump administration, accounting for 10% and 5% of those workforces, respectively — the stakes might be higher than ever. Most Americans live under light pollution These Nevada residents plan to save dark skies within their state borders — but also hope to inspire Americans across the nation to protect them. There are several dark sky areas in the United States, the National Park Service says, including in Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho. In 2019, Darks Skies designated the first sanctuary on public land — as Nevada's Massacre Rim. (About 63% of Nevada's land is public.) Critics will say there are only about six truly dark areas, according to NASA maps, and other areas have light pollution. This matters, proponents say, because more than 80% of the world's population, and 99% of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow - which causes big problems for humans, wildlife, and the environment. The natural circadian rhythms of humans and animals are disrupted by light pollution and have caused the decline of fireflies, the death of birds during migrations, and sea turtle confusion. In the U.S., about 19 states have laws limiting light pollution, and Texas has laws governing lights around military bases — but most areas have limited requirements. Dark Sky International says there are about 230 places around the world showing "strong support" for dark skies, and they created an interactive map for users to see if they live in a place impacted by light pollution. To ease the funding crunch needed to get dark skies designation — which was challenging before the latest federal cuts — local organization Nevadans Friends of Nevada Wilderness started developing the idea for a"Save Starry Skies" license plate back in 2018. Program manager Pam duPre said it took years to get approval from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. The plates, designed by dark sky advocate Jonathan Boarini, were released in May 2024 for $61 - with $25 going to the Friends of Nevada Wilderness. About 2,000 plates have been sold and "we expect that number to keep climbing," duPre told CBS News. Executive Director Shaaron Netherton said the funds will help rural communities get a "dark sky" designation, like Baker and Gerlach, a small town 100 miles north of Reno and the gateway to the annual festival "Burning Man." Funding will also be used to promote astro-tourism, supporting local efforts to upgrade lighting and infrastructure to attract stargazers. Dark sky "astro-tourism" Dave Cooper, a long-time resident of Gerlach and defender of rural tourism and dark skies, like Woosley, has been working to promote "astro-tourism" in their area. Cooper, who retired from the Bureau of Land Management, has been living in rural Nevada for 24 years. The dark skies area in Nevada is "the largest one on the lowest 48," and Cooper is working to develop dark sky tourism and "astro-tourism" in his area. Gerlach is an unincorporated community, so it is challenging to get all the lighting shields in place and infrastructure needed to keep the skies dark, Cooper says. Both Cooper and Woosley feel once visitors come to experience the majestic nature of a truly dark skies, things will change for the better. "People don't see dark skies as a resource," said Woosley, adding that dark skies haven't gotten the same attention as parks or beaches. Woosley said she didn't truly understand the depth of dark skies until she came out West. She was a teacher in Washington D.C. married to a national park ranger for three decades when they moved out to Great Basin National Park in 2018. The couple lived in the park for a few years before buying Stargazer Inn, opening it on March 4, 2022. About 150,000 visitors a year come to Great Basin National Park. "We are quite remote," said Woosley, who says the inn is open 11 months a year. People come to star gaze, take new moon hikes, and see the Milky Way or stars. "We just fell in love with this place, like instantly," Woosely said. "The quiet, the mountains, the grandeur, the people, the pace of life, everything just felt like…we were meant to be here."
