PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Olivia Thompson

PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the Warren-Prescott School Chorus are seen in the recording studio.

Students from the Warren-Prescott School Chorus can now call themselves bona fide recording artists following the release of their debut CD of Christmas and Chanukah standards entitled “Happy Holidays 2007.”
Several months ago, Warren-Prescott music instructor Olivia Thompson was looking for fundraising ideas for the school’s upcoming production of “Peter Pan” when she stumbled across a Web site for a company that helped choral groups raise money. But when the company never returned her calls, Thompson decided to take the task on herself.
Thompson constructed a makeshift recording studio at the school using set pieces from last year’s school play to block the sound. The recording process took about three weeks, and Thompson mixed the tracks on her home computer with the GarageBand software program. She even went so far as to print custom labels and inserts for each disc to give it the appearance of a store-bought CD.
While Thompson said both she and the members of the chorus are very proud of the final product, she admits that recording it was as challenging for her as it was for the 21 second- through eighth-grade chorus members.
“They were with me when I was experimenting,” Thompson said. “It was a learning experience for all of us at the same time.”
Thompson is also pleased that the CD spotlights what she describes as the strongest choral group she has worked with since coming to the Warren-Prescott three years ago. “This is a select group of kids who had to audition to get in,” she said.
In fact, the CD has also helped some participants recognize their own talent.
Eighth-grader Laura Hughes is at the age where kids are often prone to insecurity, Thompson said. But after listening to several of her featured solos on Thompson’s iPod, she thought differently and decided to buy the CD as a Christmas gift for both her mother and grandmother.
Besides showcasing the talent of both Thompson and her students, Dr. Domenic Amara, principal of the Warren-Prescott, said the CD also calls attention to the school’s strong extracurricular programs.
“With the CD, the school will get notoriety, the kids get exposure, we earn money to support our upcoming [theatrical] production, and we get to show the community the kind of theatre and arts programs we have here,” Amara said.
The Warren-Prescott School Chorus is also making a number of public appearances in Charlestown and throughout the city. An official CD release party took place at Zume’s Coffee House on Main Street yesterday, at which students were on hand to sign autographs. Today, the group is scheduled to perform at the Shrafft Center, as well as City Hall and other downtown locations.
And Thompson said the community shares her enthusiasm about the new release.
“The community is really excited by this, and they’ve never had anything like it before,” she said. “It’s a product that’s representative of both the Town and the school.”
The Warren Prescott Chorus “Happy Holiday 2007” CD is available at the school at 50 School St. for a suggested donation of $10. For more information, call 617-635-8346.

CAPTION: Dr. Kevin Morgan of Charlestown Chiropractic.

Dr. Kevin Morgan put his chiropractic knowledge to good use while running the Boston Marathon last April.
Just after clearing “Heartbreak Hill,” the half-mile climb between the 20- and 21-mile marks that is perhaps the most taxing portion of the race, Morgan of Charlestown Chiropractic had to stop by the side to adjust his own foot.
“The pain was excruciating, but it went away,” Morgan said.
Born in 1965, Morgan enjoyed what he described as a “Mayberry upbringing” in suburban Medfield. As one of nine siblings, he quickly learned the challenges of growing up in a large household. “Growing up in a large family was fun, but there was always someone to fight with,” Morgan said.
His father, a mailman, was “Mr. Hockey” in his hometown, Morgan said. The family patriarch was not only instrumental in starting the town’s youth hockey league, but he served as the first hockey coach at Medfield High School.
Morgan is also the nephew of Joe Morgan, the Boston Red Sox manager from 1988 to 1991 and, before that, the manager of its AAA affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox, for more than two decades. As a boy, Morgan recalls visiting McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket and seeing future Sox greats like Jim Rice and Fred Lynn play during their minor league careers.
After graduating from Medfield High School in 1983, Morgan enrolled at UMass Amherst. He spent two semesters in the U.S. Army Reserves before earning an undergraduate degree in physiology 1989 and relocating to San Diego. Here, he worked stints as a bartender, a personal trainer and a health club manager while pursuing his main interest at the time: surfing.
“I enjoy surfing because it’s physically demanding and you’re in touch with nature,” Morgan said last week after just returning from a Hawaii, which, like most of his exotic getaways, was largely an excuse to surf.
In 1993, Morgan came to the realization that he had to find a career and enrolled at Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. (Today, three of Morgan’s siblings also work in the field). Morgan moved to Orange County after earning his degree in 1996 and began practicing chiropractic.
The next year, Morgan said he made the “adult decision” and left California for West Roxbury to be closer to his family. His younger brother Tim was an associate at Chelsea Chiropractic at the time and found Morgan work at its sister practice in Jamaica Plain.
Unlike California, where chiropractic is commonplace, Morgan said his biggest challenge was getting Bay State residents to realize the benefits of his work.
“Chiropractic is about biomechanics,” Morgan said. “When people are in pain, it’s because there is structurally something wrong. No amount of medicine can stretch a muscle or release a joint fixation. Chiropractic is a hands-on approach to healthcare without medication.”
Contrary to popular opinion, Morgan emphasizes that chiropractic doesn’t focus solely on the back. It is about balance, he said, and can be used to treat afflictions ranging from headaches to carpal tunnel syndrome.
And as Morgan proved during the last Boston Marathon – the sixth consecutive time he has run the footrace - chiropractic can be used to effectively treat foot discomfort.
Morgan runs the marathon each year to raise money for the Todd Hill Scholarship Fund, an annual grant made available to minority students from Framingham who attend UMass Amherst. Morgan and his friends established the scholarship nearly six years ago in honor of Framingham native Hill, one of Morgan’s UMass fraternity brothers who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
As for Morgan’s practice, he and his brother Tim brought Chelsea Chiropractic from the previous owners in 1999, but it wasn’t until February of this year that he expanded his business to Charlestown. (Tim isn’t involved with Charlestown Chiropractic).
Morgan said he became convinced that Charlestown was the ideal place to practice when he learned the name “Charlestown Chiropractic” wasn’t taken already and that he would be the Town’s only chiropractor. Soon afterwards, he was offered space in the former home of Fancy Fingers at 4 Dexter Row by its current occupant, massage therapist Anne Marie Rodriguez.
While Morgan admits that business at Charlestown Chiropractic was a bit sluggish at first, more people are now learning about his practice. At a recent Charlestown Business Association meeting, Morgan handed out four cards to fellow members, three of whom have already called him for a consultation.
“The business is growing slowly but surely,” he said.
Dr. Kevin Morgan can be reached via e-mail at kjmdc@verizon.net.

A memorial service commemorating the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took place on the fantail of the World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young in the Charlestown Navy Yard on the 66th anniversary of the attack on Friday, Dec. 7. The memorial service, sponsored by Boston National Historical Park and conducted by the Freedom Trail Chapter of Pearl Harbor Survivors & Friends, was attended by Park Service officials and sailors and officers from USS Constitution and from visiting Canadian naval vessels.
USS Cassin Young is named for Commander Cassin Young, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the ship was built at San Pedro, Calif., it is typical of the many Fletcher-class destroyers constructed in the Charlestown Navy Yard during World War II. The ship was commissioned at the end of 1943 and served with distinction during the War in the Pacific, weathering Kamikaze attacks in which 22 crewmembers were killed. USS Cassin Young was recalled to service in 1951 and underwent modernization at Boston on several occasions during the next decade. The ship finally hauled down its commissioning pennant and was placed in reserve at Norfolk on April 29, 1960. USS Cassin Young has been at Boston National Historical Park in the Charlestown Navy Yard since 1978, where the National Park Service and many dedicated volunteers maintain the ship as a living memorial to the thousands of men and women who built, repaired and served on Navy ships throughout American history.

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Pearl Harbor survivors Bernard Murphy and Earl Kuja are seen seated aboard USS Cassin Young.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: Pearl Harbor survivor Bernard Murphy, 85, of Worcester tossed a wreath into Boston Harbor from the fantail of USS Cassin Young.

A remittance bag was stolen from the post office at the Bunker Hill Mall on Friday, Dec. 7, at approximately 6:30 p.m., according to U.S. Postal Inspection Service Postal Inspector Rich Atwood.
At that time, two men entered the post office at 23 Austin St.. One distracted the clerk, while the other ran on the loading dock and removed the remittance bag from a postal truck parked outside. Both suspects ran in the direction of the Knights of Columbus Hall on West School Street.
The first suspect is described as a stocky white male, approximately 5-foot 10-inches tall. A description was unavailable for the second suspect, who is of an unknown race, Atwood said.
The U. S. Postal Inspection Service is offering an award of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the theft. If you have any information regarding this incident, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division Headquarters at 617-556-0489.

On Wednesday, Nov. 21, Charlestown Turkey Time Hockey took place at the Emmons-Horrigan-O’Neil Skating Rink. Now in its fourth year, the annual Charlestown Youth Hockey Association fundraiser included three generations of male and female CYHA players and alumni, ranging in age from 14 to 55.
Pictured are some of those who participated in the event.