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A Star is Born!

Enclosed with Mrs. Brand's letter was the newspaper article entitled, "Poster boosts 'safety is only a click away' theme" written by Jeanette Kasnia for the 'Neighborhoods of South Carroll' section of the December 17^th, 1999 Carroll County Times. Excerpts from the article follow:

Vitalius with Westminster Police Chief Roger Joneckis Photo: Michelle Brand

“I’m proud,” Vitalius Brand said when asked his reaction to winning the grand prize in the Westminster Police Department’s safety belt poster contest.

And proud he should be, since he bested more than 1,400 entries from across the county, winning the right to have his poster made into a safety billboard for all the world to see.

The poster contest, which was restricted to children in the fifth grade, had only three requirements. The poster had to be within specified size parameters. The wording on the front had to say: “safety is only a click away -- buckle up!” and the student’s name and school had to be on the back..

Vitalius’ poster, which is done in markers with glitter enhancement, shows a smiling seat belt about to be clicked into locked position. The required slogan is printed in bold letters. Scattered around and on the belt are three dimensional stars with .the words “buckle up” printed on them.

Vitalius specifically chose stars because the mascot of his school, Linton Springs Elementary, is a star. Regardless, the subtle message that comes through when looking at his poster is “you are a star if you buckle up".

According to Mrs. Brand, Vitalius, who goes by the nickname Vitali, set his mind on winning the poster contest from the start. “He never entered anything before. He said "Mom, I’m going to do this, and I’m going to win."

It would be easy to pass such a statement off as typical, pre-teen overconfidence, but in young Brand’s case, it’s more likely a verbal acknowledgment that he has a future full of possibilities if he just goes after them. For, you see, he and his sister Alma, 10, were both adopted about five years ago from a children’s home in Lithuania. It took him two years just to master the English language. Although he enjoys arts and crafts and shows artistic talent, it is only lately that he has gained the confidence to engage his world in new and different ways.

Congratulations, Vitali! Sveikiname, Vitaliau!

Discoveries in the Making

Enclosed with Mrs. Mikatavage's letter was the Mt. Carmel News article entitled, "Wilburton native earns doctorate in biochemistry, molecular biology" dated November 17, 1999. The article follows:

Dr. Susan M. Dallabrida, formerly of Wilburton, graduated from Pennsylvania State University’s College of Medicine in Hershey with a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology.

While at Penn State, Dallabrida researched the role of the cell adhesion receptor in blood vessel formation. She developed and patented a three-dimensional fibrin-based angiogenesis assay that allows for rapid, inexpensive and quantitative comparison of angiogenesis regulators.

She also discovered and patented a potentially new antiangiogenesis agent, RNA anti-sense to a special integrin and provided evidence of the important role this integrin plays in angiogenesis. In addition, she found a potentially new natural angiogenesis regulator blood coagulation factor XIIIa.

Anti-angiogenesis agents may be useful in the treatment of solid tumor growth and metastasis, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, atheroscleroris, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders, according to Dallabrida.

Dallabrida said the principle behind anti-angiogenesis therapy is that, in a normal adult, very little if any angiogenesis occurs. But angiogenesis is required to supply a tumor with needed oxygen, nutrients and waste removal.

“Targeting these diseased areas with anti-angiogenesis agents may provide a way to treat several pathologies without encountering the side effects commonly incurred with some of the current anti-cancer agents,” Dallabrida explained.

As a graduate student at Penn State, she was awarded a $25,000, two-year grant from the American Heart Association for her research. She was invited to present her work at the American Society of Hematology International, the Keystone Conference and American Society of Biochemistry and molecular biology meetings on nine different occasions.

Her research was selected as one of the top five finalists in the 1999 American Heart Association National Annual Contest for Outstanding New Research. She also was elected to serve as the senior student representative for Department of Biochemistry Molecular Biology at Hershey College of Medicine.

She received her undergraduate education at Bloomsburg University, where she graduated cum laude and earned a dual degree with a bachelor of science degree in biology and a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry While at Bloomsburg University she conducted research with Dr. Emeric Schultz and, together, published their findings on the enzymatic activity and specificity of bark-degrading enzymes.

She has accepted a position as a post-doctoral research fellow with Dr. Judah Folkman in the surgical research department at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mass. She is researching angiopoietins, which are recently-discovered regulators of angiogenesis (blood vessel formation from pre-existing vessels) and their role in vascular remodeling.

Dallabrida is the daughter of Karen and Don Dallabrida of Wilburton and the granddaughter of Joseph and Marion Wydra of Mount Carmel. 

Mažeikiu Nafta Steps up its Production

Butingė oil terminal, a Mažeikių Nafta oil concern, accepted imported crude for the second time in its history.

On Jan. 7^th, 2000, Butingė unloaded a tanker, the Nordic Torinita, bringing the North Sea crude to Mažeikiai refinery. This was the first tanker in the year 2000 and the ninth one since it began operations last year.

The first Western crude was imported via Butingė oil terminal at the end of November 1999, when Mažeikiai refinery had been force to halt due to the absence of Russian crude deliveries. A Panama-registered tanker, Stena Compas, brought more than 83,000 tons of Flotta crude from Scotland.

Butingė oil terminal was officially opened last summer. Until now, nine tankers have been loaded with Russian Yukos company crude at the terminal.

After Williams International took over the management of the Mažeikių Nafta concern last autumn, its leaders have been unable to agree with the Russian crude supplies coordinator of the LUKoil concern on crude deliveries to Lithuania. Shortage of crude forced Mažeikių Nafta Co. to halt its production several times last year.

The Lietuvos Rytas [daily newspaper] reported on Jan. 17^th that an agreement between LUKoil Co. and officials of the Williams International Co. had been reached in Moscow. LUKoil agreed to sell to Lithuania 100,000 tons of oil

Ivan Paleichik, chairman of LUKoil affiliate LUKoil Baltija Co., refused to speak about the price of crude. The official admitted that Russian oil would cost Mažeikių Nafta Co. much less than crude purchased from oilfields in the North Sea. However, the Lietuvos Rytas noted that the amount of "cheaper crude" would not be a big one.

As an aside, during mid January the documents of Williams International and Lithuanian government agreement over privatization of Mažeikių Nafta oil concern was available to the public, the Lietuvos Aidas [daily newspaper] reported.

However, the daily said that only insignificant documents would be presented to the public in an unprecedented move. It would not be possible to see the most important and controversial co-operation agreements between Mažeikių Nafta and Klaipėda Nafta and Lietuvos Geležinkeliai. It would also not be possible to see the conclusions of legal experts and Mažeikių Nafta business and financing plans.

Economy Minister Valentinas Milaknis said that it was unusual to give the public an opportunity to glance at commercial agreements. u

Seimas Marks Ninth Anniversary of 1991 Soviet Aggression

The Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) hosted a solemn session on Jan. 13^th to mark Freedom Defenders Day, the ninth anniversary of Soviet military aggression against Lithuanians in Vilnius in 1991 after Lithuania proclaimed independence from the USSR.

The session included family members and relatives of those who were killed for freedom, President Valdas Adamkus, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, government officials, deputies of the former Supreme Council of Restoration Seimas (who were also signatories of the Independence Declaration), members of the first government, ex-President Algirdas Brazauskas, court judges, Church representatives, diplomats, and representatives of youth groups.

The Speaker of Parliament, Vytautas Landsbergis, who chaired the solemn session, invited everyone to pay homage to those killed during the fight for independence.

Bishop Juozas Boruta said a prayer in remembrance of the freedom defenders, urging politicians to recall the past and refer to higher ideals in their actions.

The other speakers were the wife of January 13^th victim Apolinaras Juozas Povilaitis; MP Antanas Stasiškis; and Lithuanian Ambassador to Latvia Petras Vaitiekunas.

MP Bronislovas Kuzmickas said he recollected with gratitude the support, which came from foreign countries, in particular Scandinavia, at that time and the political moral support of the mass media.

MPs Sofija Daubaraitė and Saulius Kubiliūnas went to the Medininkai border checkpoint to pay respect to victims of the 1991 offensive against pioneer customs officers. u

Lithuania Moves Towards the West

Among seven new European Union (EU) candidates mentioned at the EU summit in Helsinki last December, Lithuania turned out to be on top of the list, an article published in the latest publication of the influential British magazine The Economist said.

The magazine stressed that Lithuania has moved away from Russia's orbit more towards the west. The country has resolved a boarder dispute with its neighbor Latvia and has good relations with Poland. Also, regardless of suffered historical wrongs during the Soviet occupation, Lithuania maintains good neighbor links with Russia.

While Russia is quarrelling with Estonia and Latvia over ethnic issues and the rights of the Russian population in these Baltic States, Lithuania is doing much better. Demography bears its weight here, as ethnic Russians account for only nine percent of Lithuania's 3.7 million population. In Estonia and Latvia, Russians make up one third of the residents.

Lithuania has also won Moscow's favor by its attempts to help Russians in the impoverished Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, situated on the Baltic Sea coast between Lithuania and Poland.

With regard to the neighboring Belarus, Lithuania is trying to be on the safe side and continues to extend itself to its president, Lukashenko, despite prevailing negative views among the local population towards Pres. Lukashenko. Lithuania needs Belarus as a junction to trade with Russia, and also expects that some time in the future it might become a huge market for its goods. However, the present situation is totally different -- as tobacco, alcohol and drugs keep flowing into the Baltic State from Belarus, as well illegal migrants.

Following the invitation to start EU membership talks, Lithuania became even more active to join NATO. Its small and poorly armed forces took part in peacekeeping missions. Recently, Lithuania and Poland, the latter joined NATO last year, formed a joint battalion LITPOLBAT. The Lithuanian government said it was going to raise military expenditures from 1.5 to 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the year 2000.

Although the government is excited over the invitation to start membership negotiations with the Union, a lot of ordinary Lithuanian nationals are not that optimistic over joining the 15-member bloc. Even the most optimistic locals do not expect full EU membership by the year 2007; meanwhile, one of the country's most influential dailies maintains that the date 2015 is much more realistic. u

Adamkus Wants Child Adoption to be Stepped Up

The Lithuania's President Valdas Adamkus spoke out in favor of simplifying rules for adoption of children left without parental custody, as he met the newly formed working team whose goal was to improve protection of such children.

Adamkus alleged that, according to available figures, the state failed to take care of orphaned children. He underscored that the principal goal of the state was to ensure the rights of these children to grow up in a family.

"Therefore, our task is to ensure that no artificial bureaucratic hurdles impede child adoption," he said.

Adamkus asserted that he was aware of the fact that people distrusted the present child adoption system, and there was data about corruption and power abuse cases. He ordered the working team, formed at his initiative, to evaluate the current legislation and operation of services concerned.

He expressed belief that the group, led by the Director of the Human Rights Center, Toma Birmontienė, would produce recommendations on how to improve law on protection of children's rights, civil code, and family code.

At present, various institutions for child care house around 15,000 children in Lithuania -- of which 40 percent are orphans or children whose parents lost formal parental custody.

Unfortunately, the child adoption rate has been declining recently — from 421 adoptions in 1997 to 118 during the first half of 1999.

According to formal sources, 357 foreign and 78 Lithuanian families filed applications for child adoption. However, the motivation of some Lithuanian applicants is often based on economic reasons -- they apply for custody of a child and not adoption to become eligible for State support.

Source for news from Lithuania — ELTA News Agency