Rally New York to Honor a great volenteer.

Tuesday, March 10th 2009, Rally New York USA 2009 has named three Delaware County, New York special stages to Honor the Memory of Ham Radio Volunteer
Steve Bogart, N2UZV.

Steve passed away suddenly on February 1, 2009. He was an extremely dedicated long term Radio Operator volunteer at many Rally New York events. Steve was a big guy who often worked with Ed Jackson as a mobile operator in one of the course safety cars. When he was not doing that, you could find him helping Olga at a time control. One thing Steve was never without at the Rallies was his great big smile! He will be missed by all his fellow Radio Operators and Marshal volunteers as well as the competitors and crews.

Aside from Rally, Steve was a very active volunteer with Ham Radio groups providing Safety and Emergency Communications for many different disasters and Public Service events in the Hudson Valley. As an active member in his local Fire Company, Steve served both as a volunteer and a commissioner.

We should all be thankful that we had the opportunity to know and work together with Steve Bogart. With his passing we have all lost a good friend and volunteer.

So, on Saturday afternoon, April 4th , when you are out working or competing on the Steve Bogart Special Stages please remember Steve, N2UZV and how much he contributed to our sport!

More info on Steve:Here

www.rallynewyork.com

Bryne doesn’t get bite out of Big Apple, yet

LOS ANGELES (March 10, 2009) – Unbeaten light welterweight Dean “Irish Lightning” Byrne’s dream to fight in New York is only delayed, not shattered, after the recent announcement that “Erin Go Brawl II,” scheduled for March 16 at WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden, had been canceled.

Byrne (10-0, 4 KOs), fighting out of Los Angeles by way of Dublin, was supposed to fight in an 8-round bout on the card headlined by his friend, Andy Lee, and featuring his hero, Wayne McCullough. Dean, who has Freddie Roach as his trainer, works out at Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, where he has sparred with Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan and Juan Marquez.

“I was very disappointed,” Byrne said about not fighting Mar. 16 in New York City. “I was looking forward to fighting in front of so many Irish at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A lot of my family were coming over from Ireland and booked flights. It was a big opportunity for us because they’ve never seen me fight as a pro. Hey, that’s boxing and someday I’ll fight there. I want people in New York, all up and down the East Coast where there’s a lot of Irish – Boston and Philadelphia – to see what a good entertainer I am.

“Freddie gave me the weekend off and I was back in the gym on Monday. I’ll continue training hard and hopefully I’ll be in a fight soon, maybe the end of March or in April. Someday, though, I’ll be fighting in Madison Square Garden.”

Byrne had more than 200 amateur fights, winning an Irish National title, and he turned pro in Australia, where he captured the New South Wales State belt on only his fourth pro fight, and one fighter later added the Australian crown in a 10-rounder. On his way from Australia to relocate in Boston, Dean stopped in Los Angeles and trained at World Card, where Roach took a shine to him. “He’s a tough kid who is a really good fighter but doesn’t know it yet,” Roach spoke about Byrne. “He’s learning to sit-down on his punches and has had two knockouts since he’s been with me. Dean’s learned a lot sparring with Manny, Amir and the others. He’s a lot of fun to watch, very exciting and cleaver for a young man. Early in his career he fought 10 rounds for the Australian title, so he already has that experience. He’s one of my best prospects.”

Byrne last fought in December, when he registered a win by fourth-round technical knockout against Francisco Rios Gil (13-8) in Inglewood, California.
“One of Dean’s most important dreams is to fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City,” Bryne’s manager Steven Feder (Standing Eight Management) remarked. “Ever since we started working together, Dean has told me that coming from Ireland and traveling around the world, his dream was to fight in Madison Square Garden. He was excited about fighting in an Irish community. We feel bad for Irish Ropes. Dean was looking forward to fighting on their card with Andy and Wayne. It’s too bad things didn’t work out for that show. Dean Byrne has a clear shot at really making it big in boxing. He’s 10-0 and ready to go. He never had a 4-round fight, starting with a six and going right to eights and then tens. Fans love him and Irish fans on the East Coast will embrace him once they get to see him fight. We train in LA because that’s where Freddie is but New York is my hometown and we hope New York fight fans will make Dean their adopted son.”

Unrest in Northern Ireland

Continuity IRA claims responsibility for Northern Ireland police ...Telegraph.co.uk - United KingdomThe Continuity IRA, the republican splinter group, has claimed responsibility for killing a policeman in an ambush in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. ...read more

Northern Ireland's police chief vows to catch officer's killersIndependent - London,England,UKBy Deborah McAleese and Claire Harrison Northern Ireland's police chief Sir Hugh Orde today made an emotional but defiant appeal for help in catching the ...read more

Second shooting 'feels like deja vu'BBC News - UKDuring the Troubles, late night statements from police chiefs about the latest murder in Northern Ireland were part of the daily routine. read more

New York Times: LONDON — A dissident splinter group of the Irish Republican Army took responsibility on Tuesday for the killing of a police officer that sent tremors of apprehension through Northern Ireland just 48 hours after two British soldiers were shot to death. read more

PSNI Officer killed in Northern Ireland.

Belfast Ireland, March 9th 23:30:

It has been confirmed that a PSNI officer has been shot and killed in the Craigavon area tonight.
The incident is understood to have happened near Lismore High School at Brownlow.
Police came under attack while investigating suspicious activity near the school. No links have been made to the killings over the weekend at this time.