Clients

Editor's note: This is another in an occasional series of stories about the Franklin County Day Reporting Center and those to whom it offers a second chance. CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- For Stacy Spoonhour, spring is a time for renewal. Spoonhour found a job, an apartment and God in a matter of just a few weeks, after months of searching for the first two and thinking about the third. "Obviously, God had a plan for me," she said last week. Spoonhour, 29, was downright giddy as she talked about the changes in her life.

Editor's note: This is another in an occasional series of stories about the Franklin County Day Reporting Center and those to whom it offers a second chance. CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- While Stacy Spoonhour was engaged in a snowball fight with her children a week ago, Brian Cline passed the time in his prison cell. Spoonhour and Cline are at very different points in their lives, despite being released from the Franklin County (Pa.) Jail less than a month apart this summer.

Editor's note: This is another in an occasional series of stories about the Franklin County Day Reporting Center and those to whom it offers a second chance. CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Stacy Spoonhour cried quietly when she said it was hard to give thanks in the hours leading up to Thanksgiving. "We're homeless right now," she said. By most accounts, Spoonhour has been doing everything right as she turns around her life after a felony conviction for possession with the intent to deliver cocaine.

When Joseph Snavely sits down today to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, he'll be surrounded by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But at some point, he said, he'll pause and think about those who aren't gathered at his table - the people he helps feed on a weekly basis. For the past 17 years, Snavely has delivered food as a volunteer with the local Meals on Wheels program. One day a week, he arrives at the Washington County Commission on Aging, loads up his car with boxes of food and drives 22 miles along a route that serves more than a dozen homebound senior clients.

In my career, I've had the opportunity to work with some really talented and skilled fitness trainers. These trainers are a credit to my industry. They embody the ideals that all fitness professionals should strive for. I've also had the displeasure of working with some ignorant knuckleheads who don't appear to care about presenting what we do in a positive light or changing peoples' lives every day. I want you to know who these knuckleheads are, so you can steer waaaay clear of them, and get the best experience for your hard-earned dollar.

Editor's note: This is another in an occasional series of stories about the Franklin County Day Reporting Center and those to whom it offers a second chance. CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Stacy Spoonhour wants a job, any job. Her applications submitted in recent weeks cover a wide range of categories, including fast-food service, retail sales and sanitation. The mother of two even prefers working the third shift. Each day that passes without employment only intensifies her discontent.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- When Tracy Schmidt promised to send a care package to a client in Iraq, she thought she would send one box of comforts from home. But when news of her efforts spread throughout her company, Con-way Freight, the Greencastle-based account executive's idea snowballed into Operation Windhorst. The mission: collect as much as possible for Lt. Col. Jim Windhorst and his Air Force unit stationed in Iraq. Employees and clients along the East Coast signed up for duty, and within a month Schmidt said pencils, playing cards, razors, candy and more filled her cubicle, taking up every inch of workspace.

One of the first things I give a new client when they make the decision to get fit is our Home Team Fitness food journal. I do this because I've found that people who keep track of their daily eating tend to stick to a meal plan more than those who don't keep track. In the first week of journaling, my clients are often surprised how much they really eat all day, how imbalanced their nutrition is and how much space exists between meals or snacks. This visual tool works in two ways.

HAGERSTOWN -- Erin Tack said she still was a college student when she knew she wanted to help people. So when a position as a counselor opened up at W House two years ago, she jumped at the opportunity. Since then, the Ohio native has become executive director. A United Way agency, W House is a halfway house that helps and houses women struggling with alcohol and drug addictions as they work their way back into work, family and community life. Because of the current economy, W House also has been struggling.