Archive > Survivor 10: Palau
Contestant Newspaper articles ~
puddin:
Washington Survivor Competes On 'Survivor'
Willard Smith~
New Season Starts Feb. 17
BELLEVUE, Wash. -- As you watch the new "Survivor" next month, be sure to look for a local man from Washington state -- .
This 57-year old lawyer from Bellevue will be competing against 19 other contestants in the popular reality television show's 10th season. This time, the show is set in the island country of Palau in Southeast Asia.
Willard is no stranger to obstacles; he endured rheumatic fever at the young age of 5 which landed him in the hospital, leaving him wheelchair bound for several years. Over time he recovered and later went on to accomplish many endeavors such as joining the Marine Corps and the Army, and eventually completing a law degree from the University of San Diego.
He believes that his profession as a lawyer will give him an advantage over his fellow competitors. "If you get me in front of a jury, I'll win $1 million. That's what I do."
For more information about Willard and his opponents on "Survivor," visit the official Web site. "Survivor" premieres Feb. 17 on KOIN News 6.
source~
http://www.koin.com/news.asp?RECORD_KEY%5Bnews%5D=ID&ID%5Bnews%5D=811
puddin:
Tom Weston~
His girl aided
in Brave gig
BY MELISSA GRACE and DON SINGLETON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Tom Westman
The trim and hunky city firefighter who battled to outwit, outlast and outplay 19 rivals for $1 million on the new season of the TV hit "Survivor" drew inspiration from his own little girl.
It will be months before we know if 41-year-old FDNY Lt. Tom Westman comes out on top, but he's already a winner at home on Long Island and among comrades at Ladder 108 in Brooklyn.
Fellow firefighters said Westman took "personal leave" to compete on "Survivor: Palau," which is scheduled to premiere Feb. 17 on CBS. But he has said nothing about his time on the remote Pacific island nation.
"I can't," he said firmly Friday at his firehouse at Broadway and Union Ave. in Williamsburg. Those are the rules of the game, he said.
But out in Sayville, L.I., where Westman lives with his wife, Bernadette, and their three kids, Meghan, 8, Declan, 6, and Conor, 4, folks see their handsome, silver-haired neighbor as a winner no matter what happens on the show.
The son of a fireman, Westman is active in the FDNY's Emerald Society, the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Disabled Sports USA, where he teaches disabled vets to ski.
But around town he's mostly known as a doting dad who especially admires the courage of daughter Meghan.
The youngster lost her hearing at 18 months, underwent cochlear-implant surgery at 2 and now is doing great in the third grade.
Westman clearly has a lot going for him, but can he win "Survivor?"
Sure, says neighbor Jeanne Christensen. "He runs all the time," she noted. "And he's very, very strong-willed."
His only drawback, Christensen added, may be that "he's too nice."
The Queens-born Westman, who describes himself as "competitive," set a pole-vault record at Archbishop Molloy High School - 14 feet, 6 inches - that stood for 20 years. He keeps in shape skiing, sailing, scuba diving and playing golf.
Four other "Survivor" contestants have come from our area, but none won. So the stage is set for Westman to set another record.
With Lauren LaCapra
source~
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/271890p-232735c.html
puddin:
Ashlee Ashby~
Dacusville woman tests 'Survivor' skills on TV
Posted Monday, January 17, 2005 - 10:50 pm
By Heidi Coryell Williams
EASLEY BUREAU
hwilliams@greenvillenews.com
DACUSVILLE — This is a tribal council of a different sort, as the extended Ashby family — which number more than a dozen on this day but more than 100 in all — mingle over a steaming stockpot of taco soup and loaves of homemade bread.
Members come from not-so distant places — Travelers Rest, Simpsonville and Greenville, to name a few — and the get-together is one the aunties are apt to throw together on any given day of the week, for most any occasion.
But Monday's gathering — held at the rural home of Phil and Kathy Ashby, off State 135 in Pickens County — marked the start of something special for Pickens High School graduate and recent celebrity Ashlee Ashby.
Ashby is one of 20 new "Survivors" announced last week on CBS News' The Early Show.
The reality show, which pits "castaways" against each other in a contest to win $1 million, was taped on the Pacific island of Palau, just north of the equator.
She is listed on the show's roster as hailing from Easley, but in reality (since we are talking reality TV, here), Ashby hails from the rural foothills community of Dacusville.
Contractual obligations prevent Ashby, 22, from saying much about her experiences on the widely popular reality series, which will premier in its 10th season Feb. 17.
The tribe that is her enormous family has, however, spoken.
"I know we're all excited to see how she deals with island life," her 19-year-old sister Sharleen Ashby said Monday from the family home, which sits at the end of a mile-long dirt road. Aunts, uncles, cousins and friends were among those who arrived at the family's 15-acre property for the impromptu party.
"When she told us, we all went crazy," cousin Heidi Johanson said Monday.
Now the family is dying to know how she fares among the show's other contestants.
But Ashby, laughing and smiling alongside her loved ones, has to be tight-lipped about her island adventures — even with those closest to her.
So, who is Ashlee Ashby?
The oldest of five siblings, she is an avid exerciser and the self-proclaimed princess among her outdoorsy and athletic clan.
She spent her summers life-guarding at the Pickens Country Club swimming pool and waitressing at Alley Gators sports bar and grill on Pelham Road. After graduating from Pickens High School, she was one of the few students who chose to attend college out of state, selecting Brigham Young University in Utah.
A practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Ashby completed seminary while attending high school, requiring her to travel from home to her Berea church every weekday before school at 6 a.m.
She moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating from Brigham Young, to pursue an acting career.
"She's had a lot of comfort in her life, but she's not the kind of person who has to have a lot of comfort," said her aunt, Brenda Wahrer.
Just to be sure and sharpen her survival skills, her siblings spent the weeks before she left for Palau teaching her what they thought she'd need to know for the show.
Chad, a 13-year-old Boy Scout and Pickens Middle School student, schooled her on the finer points of fly-fishing and fish "trapping."
Tyler, 15, a freshman at Pickens High, showed her how to tie a lashing, a skill he thought she could use to help her build shelter on the island.
And her 9-year-old sister Taylor had her on a strict program on a "balance beam," which she crafted using an old board in the back yard. (Because on the show, "you've got to balance stuff," Taylor explained.)
Just one day after the television network's initial announcement, Ashby's appearance at a local bank stirred a small, but excitable crowd.
Now, the family's phone is ringing off the hook with requests for interviews, and by Monday a television station and local radio program had already featured family members on air.
When her mother dropped her off at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport so she could fly out for the show, she said to her daughter, "Ashlee Ashby: In a couple of months, everyone will know that name."
How right she was. Staff writer Heidi Coryell Williams can be reached at 306-3302.
source~
http://greenvilleonline.com/news/2005/01/17/2005011756898.htm
RudyRules:
thanks for the articles puddin. good to start getting somewhat acquainted w/ the new survivors!
hey, i played all the games. They're fun & makes ya think, for sure! nope, I did not go to bed cuz I was on a roll...wide awake. Thank goodness I can sleep in! :)ZZZ:) :)ZZZ:) :)ZZZ:)
&*&
puddin:
your welcome Rudy ..you never know what tidbits of info my be in the articles </]
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