Baby Shower

Cherylle Staley took a maternity leave from her job early this month. Her fellow employees gave her a baby shower. She got a lot of nice gifts. Her roommate saw her in a nightgown with a swollen belly. She suffered morning sickness. Her boyfriend believed he felt a fetus move. And last Saturday, Staley showed her friends a baby that she said was hers. But Staley had never been pregnant. The baby was not hers. Police say she stole 4-month-old LaShae Cherry from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Saturday because she wanted to give her boyfriend a baby and had not been able to become pregnant.

In 1982, Carol Hallenbeck of Wayne spent about $6,000 to launch a publishing company, Our Child Press, specializing in adoption-related publications. Hallenbeck, a former community-health nurse who taught childbirth classes, used that money to produce 500 copies of her book, Our Child: Preparation for Parenting in Adoption - Instructor's Guide. It's for teaching infant-care classes to parents waiting to adopt children. "It's a very limited market, so I didn't even try to have someone else publish it," said Hallenbeck, 42, during a recent interview in her Wayne home, which also serves as her office.

At the School District's recent annual convocation, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman told the principals that "it makes me sick that far too many of our children . . . are locked into school environments where some adults . . . have decided that they have little or no chance to succeed. " As the son of a woman who's spent nearly 20 years in city schools, I'm appalled and saddened by Ms. Ackerman's indictment. I can speak to my mother's dedication to her students as I've seen the time and effort she puts into planning lessons each day. I've seen the materials, books and games she's purchased for her students to use in class.

ÃœBERDIVA BEYONCE will headline Revel's grand-opening festivities Memorial Day weekend, reports Daily News casinos reporter Chuck Darrow. The long-awaited announcement of who will play during the $2.4 billion megaresort's official opening festivities May 25-27 was made yesterday on Revel's Facebook page. The super-duper-star will perform in Ovation Hall, the casino's 5,500-seat performance space. The announcement is sure to disappoint classic-rock devotees who, during the past few weeks, have been teased by speculation that, among others, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin or even a Paul McCartney-Ringo Starr pairing would be the centerpiece of the Memorial Day weekend bash.

A family friend of former Philadelphia Police Officer Frank Tepper told a jury Thursday that she saw blood on Tepper's face shortly before he shot neighbor William Panas Jr. Rebecca Malinowski, 21, was called as a witness by defense attorney Fortunato "Fred" Perri Jr. as he began his case in Tepper's murder trial in Common Pleas Court. Tepper, 45, is charged in the Nov. 21, 2009, shooting of Panas after a melee that erupted outside Tepper's Port Richmond rowhouse. Malinowski's testimony was important because it corroborated Perri's claim that, before Tepper fired his weapon, he was punched in the face trying to break up a fight that erupted between neighborhood men and guests at a baby shower for his daughter.

DEAR ABBY: I am a 27-year-old woman who lives alone in a house I own. Sometimes strangers come to the house for various reasons - plumbers, electricians, etc. One question I am frequently asked is, "Do you live alone?" I just don't know how to answer that question without feeling like someone might take advantage of me. Can you help me and other single women by providing an appropriate response? - Cautious Bachelorette, Huntsville, Ala. DEAR BACHELORETTE : Gladly. Your gut instincts are on target.

Carmen Ortiz, 34, said she saw trouble coming last Oct. 2. While driving on G Street near Erie Avenue, Ortiz saw a speeding car "swerving" toward her at about 6 p.m. She reacted by coming to a stop. It didn't do much good. The other driver, Jose Mendoza, 50, was high on marijuana and booze, and apparently tried to make an illegal U-turn when he reached her car, said Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron. As Ortiz sat frozen with fear, Mendoza's car rammed into her door, said Cameron.

A pregnant woman injured in a Burlington Township traffic accident Tuesday delivered a baby girl who lived only an hour, authorities said. Dawn Marra, 34, of Bordentown Township, suffered internal injuries when she was forced into the steering column of her pickup during the accident, police said. She was listed in stable condition last night in the intensive care unit at Rancocas Valley Hospital in Willingboro, authorities said. The baby, born two weeks premature, died at the hospital Tuesday afternoon, after doctors performed emergency surgery to deliver the child.

Singer Andy Williams told the crowd at his Christmas show Saturday night that he has bladder cancer. "But that is no longer a death sentence. People with cancer are getting through this thing. They're kicking it, and they're winning more and more every year. And I'm going to be one of them. " The 83-year-old Williams appeared early in the show at the Moon River Theatre and vowed to return next year to celebrate his 75th year in show business. Williams' appearance Saturday brought a standing ovation from a nearly full house.