Posts in category: New Jersey Motorsports Park

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A sign and white ribbons are placed outside of a house in Elk Ridge to show support for the Cheney family, who lost their son Eric in an explosion at their home Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

Courtesy Colleen Sorensen

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In this family photo, Eric Cheney poses with his parents, Julie and John Cheney. Eric died Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, after an explosion in the garage of his home in Elk Ridge.

Courtesy Julie Cheney

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The community organized and gathered for a candlelight vigil Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in front of the Cheney family’s home in Elk Ridge to remember Eric Cheney, who died in an explosion at the home Friday. Stories, pictures and hugs were shared between the family, friends and strangers.

Courtesy Colleen Sorensen

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A message reading “We love you Eric” is displayed on a gas station marquee. Eric Cheney, 19, died in an explosion at his home in Elk Ridge on Friday Sept. 22, 2023.

Courtesy Colleen Sorensen

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Over 50 people from the Elk Ridge community came to the Cheney family’s home Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, to help clean up debris, clean out the garage and repair damages after an explosion inside the garage on Friday. The explosion caused significant damage to the garage and home and killed 19-year-old Eric Cheney.

Courtesy Colleen Sorensen

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19-year-old Eric Cheney is remembered by family and friends as someone who was happy and was always active. He died after an explosion at his home in Elk Ridge on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

Courtesy Julie Cheney

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19-year-old Eric Cheney, far right, poses for a picture with his five siblings. He is the fourth of six children. Eric died Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, after an explosion at his home in Elk Ridge.

Courtesy Julie Cheney

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Two men work to repair damage to the garage at the Cheney family’s home in Elk Ridge on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023.

Courtesy Colleen Sorensen

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In this family photo, Julie Cheney hugs her son Eric Cheney. Eric died Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, after an explosion in the garage of his home in Elk Ridge.

Courtesy Julie Cheney

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Two men rake mulch in the Cheney family’s yard on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023.

Courtesy Colleen Sorensen

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“This is a story full of hope, full of courage. … There is strength in humankind. There is love in humankind. There is courage and there’s triumph in the human race, and this is what you see in this story,” Julie Cheney told the Daily Herald as she recounted the events leading up to and following the death of her 19-year-old son, Eric Cheney, last Friday, the casualty of an explosion in the garage of the family’s home in Elk Ridge.

Support from the community

Before Julie Cheney arrived at her home around 9 or 10 Saturday morning, the day after the explosion at her home, over 50 people from her church ward and community had already showed up and completely cleaned out the garage, mowed her lawn, and were beginning to clean and repair the inside of her home.

When the community came that morning, they cleared out the garage and took down the rest of the Sheetrock damaged by the explosion. They removed the damaged roofing, bricks and garage door and took loads of debris and damaged items to the dump. After making sure the garage was as structurally sound as possible, they pressure washed and cleaned all of the items in the garage then repacked them inside of the garage.

Cheney explained how it felt when she came to her home that morning to see all of the work that had been done for her and her family without anyone asking. “I was able to come in and help and have it be safe and be home. I don’t even know how to explain. I don’t think there’s words for how that feels; it was so safe,” she said. “When there were so many unknowns, they gave me a solid, that I could stand in my own home and be there with the rest of my kids and look around and just see all the happy memories that I could think of with Eric. I could do that because I didn’t have to see or think about how to clean up.”

From 7 a.m. until about 1 p.m. that day, there were always at least 30 people at the home — and at one point as many as 50 — helping the Cheney family clean up, giving hugs and supporting them. Some stayed an hour, others a few hours, and some stayed all day. All of them helped in immeasurable ways, Cheney said.

While the garage will likely have to be torn down due to structural damage, Cheney said, the family is able to currently live in their house, which is where they want to be, even though they do not have electricity. The first night after Eric’s death, their neighbor gave them a place to sleep, and many others also offered a place in their home.

A GoFundMe account was created by a friend of the family to raise money for funeral and home repair expenses. “People are thinking about my needs before I can even think about my needs. It is so incredible,” Julie Cheney said. Over four days, more than 270 people have donated, amounting to almost $17,000 being raised for the family.

When the sun set on Saturday night, one of Cheney’s other sons went outside to see over 500 candles in their front yard and placed up and down the street. He called out his mom and family to see the candles placed there by people waiting outside of their home to celebrate Eric with a candlelight vigil. They offered hugs to his family and shared stories and pictures of Eric that they had found from over the years. Cheney said it was healing to be able to sit and hear stories and see pictures she never would have seen without people’s kindness to take the time to find them.

“So many hugs. People I don’t even know are stopping and hugging me, and it feels and is so nice, so good. And my children have just been greeted with so much love,” she said. On Monday, her daughter went to school for one class and as she dropped her off, Cheney said she saw many students in dresses and suits because the high school did a “dress for Eric day.” When she saw this, she thought, “We live in one of the most blessed places ever.”

“The thing I still remember most is his laughter,” Julie Cheney said of Eric. “He had kind of a dorky laugh, but we all love it. It’s so contagious.” She said people have been sharing videos of Eric laughing with her and she saves each one so she can remember his laugh.

“His laughter and his hugs, they are things I will miss the most,” Cheney said, her sobs and tears evident over the phone. “It just hurts. It’s hard to think about not hearing him laugh or having his hugs. But I don’t have to go through it by myself, (I have) all my kids and my husband. If I had to do this alone, I don’t think I could do it.”

Cheney recalls how Eric would come home after school and give her an eight-second hug. This happened every day, and if she was on the couch when he got home, he would come sit on her lap, even at 19. At 6 feet tall, Eric bested her by nearly a foot, “but he’d just come sit right in my lap, and he’d put his arm around me and put his chin on my head because I’m too short, so he’d put his chin on the top of my head. And he’d just sit on my lap for a while. He’s so funny. I’d be like, ‘OK, my legs are going numb, you have to get off,’” Cheney said, laughing.

Eric had his brotherly moments when he fought with his siblings and was human like everyone else, but “he is so loved, and he loved so hard,” his mom said, adding that he was always playfully wrestling someone or being on someone’s shoulders or just having fun, especially with her and his siblings.

Support from first responders

When the explosion happened, Cheney said there were immediately 10 people there trying to help, and within minutes there were over 50 people there to help however they could, physically and emotionally. She said they were all standing there with her and her family, offering water, asking if they were OK and asking if they needed to sit down.

“I didn’t even have a moment that I didn’t have someone there helping me. Lots of times, I didn’t even know the person, and then (there were) a lot of people I did know. But I was amazed by, to me, earthly angels that were there, so many good people,” she said.

Cheney had just finished cutting her daughter’s hair when they heard the explosion and ran out of the house. They thought they were the only ones home, but Eric was outside the front of the house near the garage.

Three young teenagers had been walking past their house on the other side of the road. They later recalled looking over and seeing Eric, then looking forward and continuing to walk — then the explosion happened. They looked back and the house was changed from the explosion, and Eric was gone.

Cheney explained the reports from those girls were one of the reasons she knew Eric was home and hurt in the explosion. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, although no evidence suggests anything suspicious or criminal, according to Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.

When the first responders arrived three minutes after the call came in at 4:19 p.m., they had to ensure the structure of the garage was safe for them to enter to recover Eric. Cheney said she was told by first responders he likely died immediately from the explosion before his body hit the ground, meaning he did not suffer, but the investigation of the cause of his death is still ongoing.

Tears once again filled her eyes and her voice broke as she recalled the moment first responders arrived at her home. “I remember I was like, ‘My son is in the garage. Please, please check,’ and I know I was asking them to do something that they couldn’t do because of risk of life to more people, but you can’t not ask, you know. It’s like, ‘Please, get my son.’ And they were so good to me to just try so hard to explain that they wanted to try to help him but that they have to be careful. It was so hard.”

In the midst of her suffering and pleading, the first responders were kind and gentle toward her as they explained why she needed to move away from the area, what was happening and why they could not go into the garage immediately.

“I can’t even imagine how that would be from their (the first responder’s) side with a mother pleading for her son and them knowing that they can’t and shouldn’t go in,” Cheney said. “I think that was just something that will be impressed upon my heart for so long, how hard that must have been for them and how kind they still acted towards me. And how gentle they still were with me even though I wanted so badly to know about my son right now.”

Support from her faith

Julie Cheney said Eric was always doing something, no matter the season or the weather. He would dance in the rain with his youth group from church and go snowboarding during the winter. He played tennis, volleyball and almost every other sport except for soccer and football. He loved hiking and motocross. She said he was never bored because he was always doing something.

“He’s just happy. He’s just ready to live every minute,” Cheney said. “Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m doing better with this, because I know he didn’t waste time. He lived every minute he was alive.”

Eric is the fourth out of six children in the Cheney family. When Eric was a baby, Julie Cheney was diagnosed with cancer. She explained, “When you go through something like that, it also changes the way you view life. This (Eric’s death) is another life-altering view. But that (having cancer) was a life-altering view for me, and I think at that time, I just learned to be with my kids more and treasure every minute. And I think his life would have been really different had I not had cancer when he was born. … Our relationship would have been different.”

She said because of this experience with cancer, she and Eric have an extra bond. “Maybe that’s just why he was my snuggle buddy. He just would hug me all the time. He was so good to me.”

Cheney is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which she said has brought her spiritual comfort through her belief that Eric was received into heaven by his grandmother, who passed away 13 years ago, and that he was immediately surrounded with love.

“I’m not sad for him. I mean, I could think about all the things that he’s going to miss, yes, but I don’t believe that there isn’t something even better that he’s going to have. So I don’t believe he’s missing out on things. I’m only sad for me, to be honest. I’m only sad for me and my family that we have to keep trying to figure out how to do this without him here with us.”

Her belief in a loving Heavenly Father and a heaven that is full of love is the reason why she said, “I’m not worried about him. I feel so much comfort, beyond what any person could do to give me. It’s a spiritual comfort, and that’s been from the very minute I saw his car and I realized he was in the garage. I immediately knew he was OK.” She explained that in that moment of realizing he was in the garage, she knew he was gone, but she knew he was OK because of her complete belief in God.

As she shared her spiritual experience and her testimony of Eric being in heaven, her countenance shifted to one of strength and hope for him, even in the midst of her grieving. “When I think about what he’s experiencing now, I’m strong,” she said. “When I think about what I’m going to experience without him, I break.”

She explained her reason for sharing Eric’s story and the story of the love they have been shown is to give back after her family has received so much strength from others. She hopes Eric’s story “gives people hope and encouragement in a world that right now seems not so hopeful.”

The funeral service will be held next Tuesday, with details still being discussed. The family’s ward has been providing them dinner each night and will continue to do so after the funeral, Cheney said. She added that those in the ward who have lost children or other loved ones have been helping her navigate planning a funeral and have been a blessing to her and her family.

Newsletter

Heather Locklear looks healthy as she cradles her dog in her arms during a stroll in Malibu… two days after her 62nd birthday

By Ashleigh Gray For Dailymail.Com

Published: 18:06 EDT, 27 September 2023 | Updated: 18:40 EDT, 27 September 2023

Heather Locklear looked healthy as she stepped out with her small white dog in Malibu on Wednesday.

Locklear appeared fresh-faced during her midweek outing as she wore a low, v-neck, gray T-shirt with a red-lipped mouth printed across the front.

The Los Angeles native carried the pup in her arm as she walked with a smile on her face.

Heather covered her tousled blonde locks with a dark, faded baseball cap with a butterfly emblem on it. 

It comes about two months after DailyMail.com revealed the 62-year-old actress had started drinking again. 

Looking good: Heather Locklear looked healthy as she stepped out with her dog in Malibu on Wednesday

Weeks later: It comes about two months after DailyMail.com revealed the 62-year-old actress had picked up her alcohol habit again

The Melrose Place star wore a pair of black, Spandex biker shorts and black flip flops on her lower half.

She has a troubled history with alcohol, which peaked in August 2019 when she drunkenly crashed her Porsche.

Following the accident she was convicted of nine misdemeanors sent to court-ordered rehab.

She overcame her alcoholism before it was revealed last month that she had begun drinking again.

A source told Daily Mail that the situation left her family ‘very worried.’

In June, exclusive photos obtained by DailyMail.com showed Locklear looking disheveled and distressed.

In the images she walked along the ledge of an office building in Malibu before sitting and talking to herself for more than an hour.

She was eventually picked up by a man thought to be her fiancé Chris Heisser, who also has a history of alcohol trouble.

Casual: Locklear appeared fresh-faced during her midweek outing as she wore a low, v-neck, gray T-shirt with a red-lipsticked mouth printed across the front

Headgear: Heather covered her tousled blonde locks with a dark, faded baseball cap with a butterfly emblem on it

Her look: The Melrose Place star wore a pair of black, Spandex biker shorts and black flip flops on her lower half

A Malibu blonde Barbie: Locklear at the world premiere of the Lifetime original movie Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story at the Orinda Theatre in 2021

A family source revealed Locklear has been taking the Hollywood-obsessed weight loss drug Ozempic.

‘Tequila has always been her drink,’ the insider said. ‘She can’t stay away from it. She’s also on Ozempic and obsesses over her weight. She’s lost 40lbs.’ 

The person close to the star also said Locklear’s behavior had been hard on both daughter Ava, 25, and fiancé Heisser.

It was noted that the situation is particularly ‘unfair’ to the former motocross driver, because ‘he is battling alcohol too.’

‘Chris has to drive her for mandatory errands and try to sustain his career while lying to family and friends, consistently hiding her alcohol and drug problems,’ the source told DailyMail.com.

In 2020 DailyMail.com broke the news that three years after rekindling her relationship with her high school sweetheart, she accepted Heisser’s marriage proposal.

The two have been an item since Heather completed a highly-publicized stint in rehab.

Recent troubles: Heather has a troubled history with alcohol, which peaked in August 2019 when she drunkenly crashed her Porsche

Insider info: A family source revealed Locklear has been taking the Hollywood-obsessed weight loss drug Ozempic

Heather and her beau dated each other in the late 1970s at Newbury Park High School.

They would later both go through multiple marriages to other people and have had their share of ups and downs since getting back together in the fall of 2017.

The couple were an item before Heather went on to marry rockers Tommy Lee from 1986-1993 and Richie Sambora from 1994-2007, with whom she shares Ava.

Earlier this year DailyMail.com spotted the actress with a new tattoo on her wrist in tribute to her only child.

George Dunn, President & CEO, CRE8 Independent Consultants, A DotCom Magazine Interview

The DotCom Magazine Entrepreneur Spotlight Series-Featured Interview

The DotCom Magazine Entrepreneur Spotlight Series-Cover Story

The DotCom Magazine Entrepreneur Spotlight Series-Impact Company

The DotCom Magazine Entrepreneur Spotlight Series-The Power Of Video

George Dunn,President & CEO of CRE8 Independent Consultants joins thought leaders interviewed for popular DotCom Magazine Entrepreneur Spotlight Television Show

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, September 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Andy “Jake” Jacob, CEO of DotCom Magazine interviews George Dunn, President & CEO of CRE8 Independent Consultants for the Magazine’s Entrepreneur Spotlight Television Series, which is featured on The Binge Networks TV Channel as featured on Apple TV, Amazon TV, Sony, ROKU, Samsung, LG, and many others. George Dunn joins other leaders selected by the editorial team of DotCom Magazine to be interviewed on the top trending show.

About CRE8 Independent Consultants

Since 1995, CRE8^® Incorporated Independent Consultants have helped organizations plan for Process Improvement, Workflow / ECM Paperless Technologies, Information Governance, and Complex Computer System Replacement.

Our services include consulting, workshops, and conferences; provided on-site or through the internet. As independent consultants, we work directly for end users and do not sell or represent any technology solution. This allows us to provide an independent voice to help organizations plan for and evaluate process improvement, advanced technology (workflow/ECM), information governance IG plans, and complex computer system replacement options. To learn more about our services:

– Process and Organizational Improvement

– ECM, Workflow, ERM And Information Governance Planning

– Complex Computer System Replacement Planning

– On-Line Education and Certification (Agile, BPM, Project Management PMP, Lean, Six Sigma)

– Conferences

CRE8 serves national and international organizations in all industry sectors, including Fortune 100, government, and privately held. We conduct process improvement and technology planning projects at the enterprise, department, and workgroup levels for worldwide, national, and local organizations.

CRE8 projects are staffed by leading professionals who have extensive experience assisting organizations with planning for process improvement and new technologies. Our consultants provide full knowledge transfer of the tools and techniques that we employ. CRE8 delivers outstanding successes and customer results.

As the President & CEO, George Dunn’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in the company’s growth and success. Under his guidance, CRE8 Independent Consultants continues to expand its market reach and explore new opportunities in the ever-evolving landscape of direct sales.

George Dunn joins other leading CEO’s, founders, and thought leaders that have participated in this informative and popular interview show. In the interview with Andy Jacob, George Dunn discusses the newest offerings of CRE8 Independent Consultants, what makes the company different than other firms, and shares thoughts on leadership and entrepreneurship. George Dunn joins other leaders building strong and compelling companies that have been invited to participate in the exclusive series

Andy Jacob, CEO of DotCom Magazine says, “The interview with George Dunn was amazing. The success of CRE8 Independent Consultants is a true testament to their team and their people. It was a real honor to have George Dunn on the video series.

Andy Jacob says, “It’s the goal of DotCom Magazine to provide the absolute best in what entrepreneurship has to offer. We have interviewed many of the world’s leading entrepreneurs in their respective field. It takes amazing leadership to build a company like CRE8 Independent Consultants. There are so many powerful and talented entrepreneurs throughout the world, and I am extremely fortunate to interview the best of the best. I always come away humbled by how many talented people are building amazing companies. As we scout the world for interesting entrepreneurs and companies, it is always a wonderful experience to meet leaders like George Dunn who are forging an incredible path for others. At DotCom Magazine, we believe entrepreneurs are the heartbeat of the world. We believe it is a world where risk takers must be lauded, saluted, and respected. Successful entrepreneurs get up every morning and give an amazing effort. We salute the business leaders of this world like George Dunn”.

ABOUT DOTCOM MAGAZINE

DotCom Magazine is a leading news platform providing fascinating interviews with news makers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs. DotCom Magazine is the leader in putting people with insatiable entrepreneurial spirit at the forefront of every story it covers. The Entrepreneur Spotlight Interview Video Series looks at business through the lens of a successful entrepreneur’s mindset. The Entrepreneur Spotlight Series has included high-profile leaders, including Inc 500 founders, Ted Talk presenters, ABC Shark Tank participants, venture backed visionaries, prolific CEO’s and Founders, and many other wonderful thought leaders and entrepreneurs. DotCom Magazine covers Founders and CEO’s making a difference. Regardless of who the entrepreneur is, where they live, or what they are doing, if it is interesting and newsworthy, DotCom Magazine covers it. In selecting entrepreneurs for this important video series, we consider the newsworthiness of the story and what our viewers want to learn about. If something is important to our viewers, it is important to DotCom Magazine. The people at DotCom Magazine believe in including a diverse range of entrepreneur voices in our interviews, and actively pursuing entrepreneurs making a positive difference in the world.

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George Dunn, President & CEO, CRE8 Independent Consultants, A DotCom Magazine Interview

When it comes to sports icons, there’s something or the other that we remember them by; whether it be Ronaldo‘s iconic ‘Siuuu’ celebration or Muhammad Ali’s Ali shuffle, there’s always a signature move that a sportsperson likes to create. Mostly, it’s like a trademark, a “wow moment”, a particular feature that fans will associate them with. NASCAR also has its fair share of signature items – a particular helmet that a driver always wears to his races or a certain gesture a driver makes after winning a race. It is these things that give fans something to remember them by, even when they’re not professionally competing anymore. The same is the case with the iconic Dale Earnhardt Jr.

While the helmet has always been a staple form of artistic expression at NASCAR, it is Dale Jr’s “Skeleton Gloves” that made an impact on fans around the country. But how did the gloves make their way into Earnhardt Jr’s races?

Dale Earnhardt Jr got the skeleton gloves idea from a racetrack, but it wasn’t NASCAR

One might assume that Dale’s signature skeleton gloves are a lovechild of him and his time on the NASCAR racetrack. But the truth seems to be quite the contrary. Speaking on his podcast, The Dale Jr Download, the veteran revealed how he first got the idea from a track that didn’t even belong to NASCAR.

“I saw a guy. I think it was motocross, probably 15 years ago,” he quipped.

Dale also revealed how he immediately thought the gloves looked really cool.

“One guy had all these skull gloves, and it just really stood out, and as a racecar driver, I’ll just say this, watching a NASCAR race, right? The drivers would always have white gloves, you could always see their hands moving from the, you know, watching the race from the cameras or the TV or from the grandstands or whatever. You could always see their hands when they wore a light-colored glove, and I thought, man, I bet those would be cool to wear; it’ll be different,” Earnhardt Jr revealed.

However, the gloves have now taken on multiple roles to slowly transition from being just an iconic staple in Dale’s driving gear.

Watch This Story: Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals the Immediate Regret After Entering Bristol

Skeleton gloves, now part of a movement, raised above eight figures for charity

The gloves are more than an inanimate object for the show now. Over the years, Dale has succeeded in capitalizing on the popularity of the iconic pair of gloves for causes that are, very well, beyond his personal gains.

The Driven To Give Glove Auction, which started in 2014 and is backed by The Dale Jr. Foundation, has been responsible for raising over $11 million in charity to date. Every year, a select number of NASCAR drivers sport autographed gloves on the track that eventually get auctioned off for charity. According to the Dale Jr Foundation website, over $60,000 was raised for the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2022 alone. The gloves certainly came into the track when not many were experimenting with that particular piece of gear.

The signature gloves that Earnhardt Jr donned to races year after year became his staple trademark. And more so, because he did it at a time when not many NASCAR drivers were taking the artistic freedom to experiment with their gloves, which Dale seemed to be well aware of.

“I thought imma start doing that, that’ll be different; that’ll be.. nobody’s really doing anything with gloves. It’s kinda fun, I like skulls, always had skulls on the back of my helmet and so I was kinda into that and so I just started doing it, I just started wearing them and that was that,” he added.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals How NASCAR Robbed Him of a Championship in 2014

It is not without reason that Dale Earnhardt Jr is considered iconic. Be it on the track or off of it, Dale has certainly earned his place among the most popular NASCAR drivers of all time.