Achievements

The past achievements, present conditions and future concerns of women will be highlighted in local programs marking the annual observance of Women's History Month, which is March. "The point of the month is to have educational-type programs highlight all the different ways that women have been ignored in history," said Judy Buckman, vice president and past president of the Moorestown-based Alice Paul Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). "Women's History Month started out as Women's History Week," said Barbara Irvine, president of the Alice Paul Centennial Foundation, a national group based in Mount Laurel that seeks to publicize the achievements of women's right activist Alice Paul (1885-1977)

Steven F. Hayward cites two "achievements" in his column about Ronald Reagan ("There's substance behind the acclaim," Sunday.) One, Reagan vanquished "all talk of the presidency as an inadequate institution. " People have been saying that the presidency isn't what it used to be since George Washington returned to Mount Vernon. That aside, as evidence of how Reagan restored "trust and confidence" in the presidency, Hayward referred to a poll of "presidential scholars. " I can't help but wonder who these scholars were, how the questions were asked, and other facets of polling that often render results meaningless.

Philadelphia's prestigious John Scott Award for scientific achievement was given Friday to two renowned scientists, Alfred G. Knudson and Benoit B. Mandelbrot. Knudson, 77, a geneticist and physician at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was chosen for his seminal contributions to understanding the genetic origins of cancer. Based on his studies of a rare childhood cancer called retinoblastoma, he was the first to understand that a person who inherits a mutated gene for cancer still needs another "hit," or mutation, to develop a tumor.

The notion of a retrospective like "Camden County Artists, 1844-1944" has a long history. Locally, the pacesetter for such cultural-heritage displays was the Philadelphia Museum of Art's 1976 Bicentennial exhibit, "300 Years of American Art," which exhibited work by local luminaries in painting, sculpture, crafts and architecture, and documented their achievements in a book-length catalogue that is now the standard survey text in its field. The show in Haddon Township makes a praiseworthy start at tallying the county's artistic achievement.

Five Chester High School students and six adults were honored for their achievements and their contributions to the community at the Chester NAACP's annual dinner Friday. Before about 450 people at Septembers Place in Springfield, Chester NAACP treasurer Delores R. Shelton presented awards to Chester seniors Albert Irving Layton, Lisa Gonzalez, Tamika Hayward, Lamar Jackson and Jocelyn Kea. Shelton noted that all five had received many honors in high school and numerous offers from colleges.

Stacey Mannon writes down one of her achievements on a wall-size banner at Jenkintown Elementary. On Monday night, 150 women and girls crowded the cafeteria to write down their achievements as part of an event to mark Women's History Month.

The reports of parts of human bodies being shipped across the country are calculated to shock us. We accept the achievements of medical science but recoil before the anatomical studies that necessarily underlie them. Do you remember Dr. Rock in Dylan Thomas' script The Doctor and the Devils? Alice H. Frey Wayne.

Just how much Kathleen Ruben's Girl Scout troop knew about the contributions of women throughout history soon became apparent after they started working on a new scout badge, "Learning About Women. " Although they knew of the achievements of a lot of men, the third graders in Troop 97 in Marlton didn't know much about the accomplishments of women, said Ruben, the leader of Troop 97 and a member of the Alice Paul chapter of the National Organization for Women. "Even those of us who are chapter members may not know as much as we should about the contributions of women," said Ruben.

Last year, it was Sister Mary Scullion, Philadelphia's tireless advocate for the homeless. Who should be The Inquirer's 2012 Citizen of the Year? Nominate someone who helped the city, state, or nation in an effective, creative way. E-mail a brief description of his or her achievements to kboyer@phillynews.com , with "Citizen" in the subject line. Or mail it to Citizen of the Year, The Inquirer, 801 Market St., Suite 300, Philadelphia 19107. The deadline is Dec. 7.

NEW YORK - Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son , a labyrinthine story of a man's travails in North Korea, has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, restoring a high literary honor a year after no fiction award was given. Pulitzer judges on Monday praised Johnson's book as "an exquisitely crafted novel that carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart. " It is the third book by the 45-year-old Johnson, who teaches creative writing at Stanford University.

TO APPRECIATE THE depth of Jay Wright's accomplishment this season, first consider this: Villanova lost its point guard, Maalik Wayns, as an early entrant to the NBA, after a 13-win season overall, with five wins in the Big East. Wayns' replacement, true freshman Ryan Arcidiacono, will never play in the NBA; in fact, Arch, as he is called, missed his senior season at Neshaminy High last season due to back surgery, so playing in college never was a guarantee. And, while Arch might possess 2 percent of the team's cumulative athletic ability, he possesses about 50 percent of the team's cumulative basketball IQ. Nevertheless, the chief marionette guided by Wright's masterful hand, Arch, as true freshman, led the Wildcats to a 20-win regular season, 10 Big East wins, a win in the Big East Tournament . . . And, Sunday, a berth in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed against No. 8 North Carolina.

The Wings won their second game in as many nights with a 14-12 victory over the Colorado Mammoth Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wings (4-3) got off to a sluggish start, and trailed by 5-3 after the first quarter before rallying to take a 9-7 lead at the half. Six Wings registered goals, highlighted by forward Drew Westervelt with four, and three each from forward Kevin Ross and transition player Paul Rabil . Kevin Buchanan added five assists for the Wings while goaltender Brandon Miller registered 37 saves.

Wesley Saintilnord dreamed of becoming a doctor but it wasn't until the 2010 earthquake ravaged his country that he could see a way to make it happen. Saintilnord grew up in rural Haiti, the son of a preacher raising three children and four orphaned family members. They relied on his mother, who sells clothes at a nearby market. His exemplary schoolwork earned him a monthlong program during the summer of 2009 that brought him to a family in South Jersey and gave him the opportunity to fine-tune his English.

Ryan Snell, 18, racked up almost enough college credits for two associate's degrees before earning his high school diploma. Homeschooled by his parents, the Moorestown teen simultaneously took 30-some classes at Burlington County College for more than 100 credits. He has applied to Wharton and a handful of other prestigious schools. While his accomplishments are impressive, they are not unusual in the Snell family. Both of Ryan's older brothers, Jake and Tom, took dozens of classes at the county college while being homeschooled.

EVERY SUMMER, Brent Celek and his brother Garrett, now a rookie tight end with the 49ers, get together and talk football. Now in his sixth NFL season, Brent plays the role of mentor. If he is as good a teacher as Garrett says he is, he will probably spare his brother any lessons born of this season of Eagles football. Like many of his Eagles teammates, this year has been one to forget for Celek. Whether dropping passes or absorbing bone-crunching hits, the veteran tight end has not been his reliable self in months.

Last year, it was Sister Mary Scullion, Philadelphia's tireless advocate for the homeless. Who should be The Inquirer's 2012 Citizen of the Year? Nominate someone who helped the city, state, or nation in an effective, creative way. E-mail a brief description of his or her achievements to kboyer@phillynews.com , with "Citizen" in the subject line. Or mail it to Citizen of the Year, The Inquirer, 801 Market St., Suite 300, Philadelphia 19107. The deadline is Dec. 7.

DEAR ABBY : My boyfriend, "Rick," is in prison and has been there for two years. He is the father of my 2-year-old son. I got pregnant three months into our relationship. Ten days after our son was born, Rick had to turn himself in for something that happened before my getting pregnant. He was sentenced to five years. He was supposed to serve only two years of it, but another charge caused that to change, and he won't be home for another year and a half. I'm starting to get confused about our relationship because we barely have one anymore.