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Forewarned is forearmed: 2014 is an ELECTION YEAR!
I confess I am feeling the shift from the meaningful and inspiring message of Christmas which I articulated in my last two blog posts, "Birth of a baby!" (Christmas Eve, 12/24/2013) and "Thrilled to hear Pope's message" (Second Christmas Day, 12/26/2013) as I prepare for the arrival of New Year 2014.� I feel the DUTY to warn readers of my WE THE PEOPLE blog of the FACT/REALITY that 2014 is an ELECTION YEAR!
It is Mid-year Election Year for the national government with ALL 435 members of the HOUSE to be elected and 35 members of the SENATE.� Among the Senate seats, 21 are currently held by Democrats and 14 are held by Republicans.� WE THE PEOPLE of WI do NOT have a US Senator up for election in 2014.
It is Election Year for WISCONSIN.� We will elect a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Treasurer, all 99 members of our ASSEMBLY and 17 members of our SENATE (odd numbered districts). Of the Senate seats up for election this year, 10 are currently held by Republicans and 7 are held by Democrats.� For the Janesville area, we are in District IV – WI Court of Appeals – we have one judgeship up for election. And, we have one Rock County Circuit Court Judgeship up for election.� These are the STATE elections in 2014 spring (April 1, 2014 – yes, APRIL FOOLS' DAY!� Dah!)
There are also the county and local elections as part of the SPRING ELECTION on April 1, 2014.
My New Year's Resolution list includes the following related to the ELECTION CYCLES of 2014:
1.� I will try to NOT answer any ROBO-CALLS!� Please, WHY can't we make ROBO-CALLS ILLEGAL?!
2.� I will try to NOT answer any POLITICAL CALLS!� Why can't we make these calls ILLEGAL!� They should be part of the NO-CALL LIST in WI.� WHY NOT?
3.� I will NOT open any campaign mail because it is PURE PROPAGANDA.� I am able to learn ALL I need to know through outside sources, e.g., newspapers, credible websites.
4.� I will NOT contribute to ANY PAC for ANY POLITICAL CANDIDATE!� I want to contribute directly to specific candidates whom I plan to vote for and therefore WANT TO SUPPORT.� Political contributions from WE THE PEOPLE are VERY significant for high quality candidates.
5.� I will express my SUPPORT for the candidates and public policies which I believe are BEST for WE THE PEOPLE of the US and WI.� It is very important that WE SPEAK-OUT and NOT relinquish the talk-talk to the professional TALKERS!
What are YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS vis-�-vis the 2014 election cycles?
I am OUTRAGED by the manipulation of WE THE PEOPLE of WI already articulated by Governor Walker with his "repeal income tax" propaganda.� The fact is: this is PURE PROPAGANDA to create an image for re-election which is TOTALLY MISLEADING!� I am going to assert that REPEAL of INCOME TAX in WI would be DYSFUNCTIONAL!� Already we've heard the cautious comments of Republicans who are REALISTIC!
When I was Legislative Liaison for the School District of Janesville (October 2000 – June 2008), we had a major state-wide movement to create a healthier way to fund PK-12 public education.� There were several functional public policy plans proposed.� Rep. Wayne Wood, who was representing the Janesville area (44th State Assembly District), developed a well-organized plan based on SALES TAX FUNDING.
NOW it is Governor Walker who has suggested that the SALES TAX be used to replace the INCOME TAX in WI.
When we were discussing the WOOD SALES TAX PLAN it was the REPUBLICANS – every single one in the legislators – who strongly opposed the idea arguing, "You just plain cannot bank on sales tax receipts."� The GREAT RECESSION (I am convinced it was really a "depression.") which started in the US in December 2007 and is still a very significant issue in our economy, demonstrated the FACT that one could NOT bank on sales tax receipts.� So, why does Governor Walker now use this source of funding to offset INCOME TAX receipts?� I accuse Scott of another round of total DIS-information and pure propaganda!� We were TRICKED in 2008.� Will WE THE PEOPLE of WI be tricked again in 2014?�
The best discussion I've read about Walker's tantalizing re-election idea to eliminate the WI income tax is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial, "Don't eliminate Wisconsin's state income tax."� I urge you to read the editorial and consider the valuable clarification of the significance of our WI income tax with the need for reform of our whole tax system in WI.� I agree that we must not eliminate our Wisconsin state income tax.� I also agree that we must reform the whole WI tax system.� We have to be on guard that we are not misled by Walker's re-election propaganda.� Forewarned is forearmed.� What do YOU think?
I share the concern expressed by the Editorial about the REGRESSIVITY of the sales tax in contrast to the PROGRESSIVITY of the income tax.� I see Walker's idea targeted to reassure his wealthy Republican supporters.� What do YOU think?
The issue of regressivity is VERY important to me in terms of healthy political culture and fair economy.� The Editorial develops the regressivity point, "But there is a risk in shifting a large portion — or all — of the state income tax onto other taxes, especially the sales tax. The sales tax is more regressive, meaning that lower income earners would pay significantly more of their income toward such a tax than wealthier taxpayers. The income tax will account for about half the money the state spends out of its main account.
"Dale Knapp, research director for the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, pointed out that wealthier people pay more of the state income tax and the poor spend more of their earnings. A shift from the income tax to the sales tax benefits high-income earners. And the more of that burden is shifted, the bigger the benefit.
"'That will be a big, big issue — regressivity,' Knapp told Stein. 'If you go this direction, you have to find a way to deal with low-income families and that issue.'"
I have noted the VERY SIGNIFICANT SHIFT which Scott Walker has made in the last months to strategize for his own re-election as Governor in WI.� I commend him for his strategy which has provided desperately needed support for some of the needy in WI.� I have to ask, "Why did YOU (Scott Walker) NOT accept the expansion of Medicaid funded by the federal government?"� I've read the rationale, but I do NOT believe Walker's assertion will be true.� In fact, it is NOT TOO LATE for Walker to accept the federal funding to expand Medicaid in WI for the benefit of WE THE PEOPLE of WI.� WHY NOT, GOVERNOR WALKER?
I realize Scott Walker is really running for US President in 2016 as of now.� I am aware of his articulation, but I am more convinced by his behavior.� Scotty is full of TALK-TALK.� Watch the WALK rather than the TALK!� WE THE PEOPLE of WI must NOT forget Scotty's attitudes and behaviors early in 2009.� I accept the truth spoken by the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah, "Can you ever change and do what's right?� Can people change the color of their skin, or can a leopard remove its spots? If so, then maybe you can change and learn to do right." (See Jeremiah 13:23, Contemporary English Version.)� So?
I am among the voting citizens of WI who was very disappointed when Governor Walker chose to sign into law the WI DISCRIMINATION PROTECTION LAW also identified as the "Indian Mascot Bill" which passed the Republican controlled legislature�� This law repealed the healthy law passed by our WI State Legislature in 2010 and signed into law by Governor Doyle.� As a long-time PK-12 public school educator and citizen of WI, I am embarrassed by the repeal of the law.� I advocate equality and respect for ALL PERSONS in our republics (WI and USA)!
One of the details in the law which demonstrates the real motivation of the Republican legislators and Republican Governor Walker, the shift of review of school mascots from the WI CONSTITUTIONAL STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION who is elected directly by WE THE PEOPLE of WI and the WI Department of Public Education to the WI Department of Administration headed by the GOVERNOR's appointee.� Why the shift from the EDUCATION department controlled by the superintendent elected by WE THE PEOPLE of WI directly to an ADMINISTRATION department controlled by the Governor?�
"Wisconsin Gov. Walker Takes 'Big Step Backward' With Mascot Bill" is the title of the December 23, 2013 article published by "Indian Country."� I encourage you to read the whole article to gain information and perspective on this significant public policy issue.� I agree that with Governor Walker's signature of the bill into law he took WI another BIG STEP BACKWARD.
This WE THE PEOPLE blog post on the eve of New Year's Day 2014 launches us into a continuing discussion of the public policy issues and political candidates.� I look forward to your comments as I discuss various issues and candidates.
Best wishes to YOU – WE THE PEOPLE blog readers – for a healthy, productive, satisfying and involved NEW YEAR 2014!
John W. Eyster lives in the Edgerton area. He is an adjunct professor assigned with the online/distance education faculty of Viterbo University, LaCrosse. He continues his personal mission supporting democracy/civics education in Wisconsin K-12 schools through Project Citizen, We the People, Discovering Democracy (Milton HS). John is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff or management.


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December 28, 2013
Courtesy of IceCube Collaboration
Courtesy of IceCube Collaboration
We are not alone. Humans' vast inner and outer spaces teem with a menagerie of microbes that stand poised to alter conceptions of what and who we are.
Baron Victor von Frankenstein would have admired the bounty of body parts scientists crafted in the lab this year.
Lab-grown lumps of liver, bits of brain and clumps of heart, kidney and retinal cells can now mimic the functions of organs grown the old-fashioned way.


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Home » AR » Rogers AR » Energy Savings
Energy Savings Rogers AR
Are you looking to green your life and your home and save some energy? The articles in this section will give you some tips on how you can make your home more environmentally-friendly, which will help you save money and the environment all at once.
Attic and Ceiling Insulation Rogers AR
Proper insulation saves money and increases the value and comfort of your home in Rogers, AR. Your attic and ceiling are an essential part of the equation. Read on to learn what the professionals know and do something to improve your home's insulation. Below you will find references for local contractors that specialize on insulation and other home improvement and repair needs.
Everything about Thermostats Rogers AR
ENERGY STAR® is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Results are already adding up. In 2006 Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR®, saved $14 billion on their utility bills, and saved enough energy to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million cars.
Light Bulb Recycling Resources in Rogers AR
While most companies represent a much better alternative than traditional incandescent light bulbs and last up to 10 or 15 times longer than regular "Edison" bulbs, the cleanup process after a bulb break can be dangerous and complicated. Read on.
Office Furnace Resources in Rogers AR
When replacing heating and cooling equipment, specify the most efficient models. Some HVAC products, such as smaller air conditioners, are rated by ENERGY STAR.
Printer and Copier Resources in Rogers AR
Laser printers are available with different printing speeds—the maximum energy draw of faster printers is greater than that of slower ones. Read more.
Solar Panel Installers Rogers AR
This page provides useful content and local businesses that can help with your search for Solar Panel Installers. You will find helpful, informative articles about Solar Panel Installers, including "Office Water Heaters Solar". You will also find local businesses that provide the products or services that you are looking for. Please scroll down to find the local resources in Rogers, AR that will answer all of your questions about Solar Panel Installers.
Water Heater Replacement Rogers AR
Everyone loves finding easy ways to save money around Rogers. Here you will learn about an effective money saving technique that will leave extra dollars in your pockets. All you need to do is slightly adjust the temperature on your water heater. Life wouldn't be the same without this essential piece of equipment. Water heaters shouldn't be ignored. Proper maintenance insures less repairs. Below you will find local resources on installation and repair for water heaters, plumbing services and more. Take advantage of the knowledge and expertise these businesses have to offer.


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The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...
Fight the destructive harvesting and unregulated trade of one of the most attractive inhabitants of our tropical oceans.
Help prevent a coral catastrophe
or see all WWF gifts
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Where else can you get a gift that can mean so much, so easily, and in a fun and interesting way?
Buy a WWF gift
When you work with WWF to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, you give your child, and all children around the world, a chance to get to discover our earth as we know it today.
Give your child a planet


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William L. Palmer, Milton, WI (1925-2013)
January 11, 1925 - December 14, 2012
William L. Palmer, age 88, passed away Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, at The Heartwarming House in Milton. He was born Jan. 11, 1925, in Milton, WI, the son of the late George and Anna (Lawton) Palmer. Bill graduated from Milton Union High School in 1943. He joined the Marines in 1943 and served until 1945. After returning home, he married Shirley Ward May 19, 1946. Bill was a home builder for 19 years in the Milton area building several homes. He, then, went to work as an engineer at the Admiral Corporation, where he worked for over 10 years. He was a member of the VFW, American Legion, The Moose Club in Janesville, and the Masonic Temple in Milton. Bill and Shirley loved to travel together and they lived the past 20 years in Florida. Bill moved back to Milton, after Shirley passed away in 2008, in Florida.
Surviving are two sons, Wayne Palmer of Milton, and Richard (Linda) Palmer of Janesville; six grandchildren; and eleven great grandchildren. Bill was preceded in death by his parents; wife; Shirley; son: Gary; brother and sister-in-law, Charles and Artis Palmer; and a sister and brother-in-law, Helen and Henry Pullman.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at a later date. The ALBRECHT FUNERAL HOMES & CREMATION SERVICES, Milton, is assisting the family.
Albrecht Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, Milton
828 S. Janesville St. 608-868-2542


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Kolste, Dems want vote on redistricting
MADISON—Democrats in the Wisconsin state Assembly want a statewide vote on creating a new non-partisan system for redrawing political boundary lines.
Republicans, who hold the majority in both the Senate and Assembly, have been unwilling to hold public hearings on a Democratic-sponsored bill that would create a non-partisan process.
Democrats earlier this week introduced a resolution calling for a nonbinding statewide vote on the issue.
However, that would also have to pass both the Senate and Assembly, an unlikely scenario given Republicans' opposition to giving up the authority to redistrict.
Democrats say Republicans abused their power in 2011, drawing lines that protect their majority power and create districts that aren't competitive. Government watchdog groups and newspapers have been calling for creating a new approach that doesn't involve the Legislature.
"People across the state have asked the Legislature to reform our expensive, undemocratic redistricting system,'' said Rep. Debra Kolste, D-Janesville. "The majority has ignored the call. Let's give the voters a chance to instruct their representatives.''
Kolste joined 13 other freshman legislators in calling for passage of an Assembly Joint Resolution requiring the advisory referendum.
Kolste was one of the first to co-sponsor Assembly Bill 185 last spring. AB 185 would require that legislative lines be drawn by the Legislative Reference Bureau and a Redistricting Advisory Commission without regard to partisan interests. A similar system is in place in Iowa.
"Assembly Bill 185 has been available since May,'' Kolste said. "It hasn't even been granted a hearing.''
Kolste said new lines wouldn't be drawn until 2020.
"No one knows who will hold the reins in the Legislature then," she said. "The district maps could once again be crafted to allow politicians to basically fix elections.''
Democrats failed to change the system in 2008 to 2010, Kolste said.
She was not in office then and said she may not be in office in 2020 when the new maps will be drawn.
"I know the electors need a less partisan redistricting method," she said. "My only interest in redistricting is to allow competitive elections in as many districts as possible."


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Miranda angry over detention ruling
A journalist's partner held for nine hours at Heathrow under anti-terror laws has reacted angrily to a High Court decision that police and security services were legally justified in detaining him and examining material he was carrying.
Brazilian David Miranda immediately took steps to appeal against the ruling.
Lord Justice Laws, sitting in London with two other judges, rejected Mr Miranda's claim that human rights and press freedom were both victims of the disproportionate decision to detain him at the airport.
The judge said material being carried by Mr Miranda on an external hard drive included 58,000 highly classified UK intelligence documents that constituted "raw data stolen from GCHQ".
The judge ruled there was "compelling evidence" that stopping and searching Mr Miranda was "imperative in the interests of national security", even though there was "an indirect interference with press freedom".
Mr Miranda, 28, is the partner of former Guardian writer Glenn Greenwald, who exposed secret information on US surveillance leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
Articles based on some of the Snowden material were published by The Guardian and other news publications, and one of the leading figures in writing those articles was Mr Greenwald.
Mr Miranda said the court's ruling emphasised "what the world already knows - the UK has contempt for basic press freedoms".
His solicitor Gwendolen Morgan, from law firm Bindmans, confirmed he had applied for permission to appeal and said: "We look forward to the Court of Appeal considering the fundamentally important legal issues raised in our appeal in due course.
"Journalism is currently at risk of being conflated with terrorism. Therefore, our client has no option but to appeal."
A coalition of 10 media and free speech organisations intervened in the case to express their concerns about the use of anti-terror powers against journalists.
Mr Greenwald said : "The UK Government expressly argued that the release of the Snowden documents, which the free world calls 'award-winning journalism', is actually tantamount to 'terrorism' - the same theory now being used by the Egyptian military regime to prosecute Al Jazeera journalists as terrorists.
"Congratulations to the UK Government on the illustrious company it is once again keeping."
But Home Secretary Theresa May welcomed the judgment and said it "overwhelmingly supports" action taken to protect national security.
She said: "If the police believe any individual is in possession of highly-sensitive stolen information that would aid terrorism, then they should act. We are pleased that the court agrees.
"The police and our intelligence agencies do a vital and difficult job protecting our lives and freedoms from terrorists, serious criminals and hostile states. Their job has been made much harder as a result of intelligence leaks."
Mr Miranda was detained by police at Heathrow Airport last August under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 while he was in transit from Germany to Brazil.
Nine items were taken from him, including his laptop, mobile phone, memory cards and DVDs.
Lord Justice Laws said it was plain that the purpose of stopping Mr Miranda "was to ascertain the nature of the material he was carrying" and to "neutralise" any threats it posed to national security. Thus it fell properly within Schedule 7.
The judge said Oliver Robbins, the UK's deputy national security adviser at the Cabinet Office, had stated that "release or compromise of such data would be likely to cause very great damage to security interests and possible loss of life".
In a written ruling, supported by Mr Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice Openshaw, the judge rejected submissions that the use of the anti-terror laws against Mr Miranda was an "unjustified and disproportionate" interference with the right to "protection of journalistic expression".
In a decision being seen by investigative journalists as a serious threat to press freedom, the judge declared that Schedule 7 was "capable of covering the publication or threatened publication... of stolen classified information which, if published, would reveal personal details of members of the armed forces or security and intelligence agencies, thereby endangering their lives..."
In a statement published on Mr Greenwald's new website, The Intercept, Mr Miranda said: "I will appeal this ruling, and keep appealing until the end; not because I care about what the British Government calls me, but because the values of press freedom that are at stake are too important to do anything but fight until the end."
Senior national co-ordinator of counter-terrorism Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, of the Metropolitan Police, said: " This was a very important case that has attracted considerable public attention.
"Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is vital in helping to keep the public safe.
"We are pleased that the court's judgment states that 'The stop was lawful. It was also, on the evidence, a pressing imperative in the interests of national security'.
"Some commentators have characterised the stop as an attack on journalistic freedom. This was never the case."


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Milton officials in shock, grief over apparent officer suicide
JANESVILLE—City of Milton flags were at half-staff, and city officials were in shock and grief Monday over the death of Milton police Lt. John Conger, who was found dead of an apparent suicide Sunday, authorities said.
As detectives from the Janesville Police Department continued investigating the death late Sunday and into Monday, Milton officials grappled with the task of informing Conger's family and city and police staff of the tragic news.
Milton Mayor Brett Frazier said he was still at a loss over Conger's apparent suicide. By Monday, the "what" and "how" were clear. What was still unknown: Why.����
"I don't know what happened. I don't know," Milton Mayor Brett Frazier said Monday.
Conger, 43, was a 21-year veteran of the Milton Police Department. He had been the small department's administrative lieutenant since 2009 and was actively involved in public programs focusing on Milton youths.
A jogger found Conger's body along a public trail about one mile north of the intersection of Kennedy Road and Highway 14 just before 5:30 p.m. Sunday, according to statements released Monday afternoon by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Rock County Coroner's Office.
Conger's body was on the trail in an area just west of Kennedy Road and south of Terapin Trail, near a residential subdivision.
An autopsy Monday morning at the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office revealed Conger apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Department of Justice said.
On Monday, state authorities and Janesville police continued to investigate.
Jerry Schuetz was Milton's police chief and Conger's boss from 2008 to 2010 before he became city administrator. By Monday afternoon, Schuetz's voice was raw from emotion and making phone calls all Sunday night and Monday.
Schuetz and Police Chief Dan Layber were trying to lead their own ranks through grief counseling as the news sunk in of the loss of the policeman who spent his whole career in Milton.
"There's so many unanswered questions," Schuetz said.
As far as he knew, Schuetz said, there were no signs that anything was amiss with Conger before his apparent suicide.
"There was no indication that this would have ever happened." Schuetz said. "He (Conger) had a tough-guy persona. If something would come up, he'd deal with it in his own way, and he'd process it and move on."
Conger leaves behind a wife and two children.
Students and staff at Milton schools, where Conger was a fixture during officer visits and anti-bullying activities, had grief counselors available, although Conger's death was not being discussed openly in the classroom, Superintendent Tim Schigur said.
The city has called off all municipal meetings until Wednesday, and flags are at half-staff. Schuetz recounted Conger's place as a lawman and leader in the community.
"I speak from the heart," Schuetz told The Gazette on Monday. "It's a very, very sad day for our city. John Conger was a tremendous community leader. If you were old or young, you looked up to him."
In 1999, Conger witnessed a horrific Interstate accident near Milton in which 14 magazine salespeople were thrown from a delivery van and seven were killed. The van's driver had been trying to change seats with another person, according to reports.��
After the crash, Conger and a father of a woman killed in the crash pushed state legislation to tightly regulate traveling sales crews.�
In the last two years, Conger had spearheaded an anti-bullying campaign in the Milton School District and pushed a youth program that rewards students who wear bicycle helmets while riding.
After a rash of youth heroin overdoses at a park in Milton in 2009 and a Milton-area boy's fatal prescription medication overdose in 2010, Conger helped organize a countywide drug drop-off box network for unwanted prescription drugs.
Layber said Conger was heavily invested in making Milton a safer and more secure place for children.
"That was a huge focus of his. He was very dedicated to children, to protecting them. His education and prevention methods, he devoted a lot of time to it. He didn't do it because it was part of his job. He truly did believe in it and cared about it as a person."
Mayor Brett Frazier acknowledged the difficulty that officials were having coming to terms with an apparent police officer suicide. Thought it seems more unusual in a small town such as Milton, suicide is a leading cause of death among police officers.
"This is the kind of thing we don't have a lot of experience with here. Unfortunately, in the police world, this is not uncommon. Far more common that you might think," Frazier said.
According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the number of officers committing suicide in 2012 was twice as high as the number of officers killed during felony assaults or in traffic accidents.
Sixteen Janesville police officers and detectives responded to the trail where Conger was found Sunday, according to the department's call log. A fire department spokesman said firefighters responded, as well.
Police later called in the state Division of Criminal Investigation and began an hours-long joint investigation while officers blocked off a mile of Kennedy Road, Janesville Lt. Terry Sheridan said.


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UW-Whitewater takes third at Federal Reserve Challenge
WHITEWATER — A team of UW-Whitewater students is ranked third in the region for� fluency in economic policy.
At the Federal Reserve Challenge in Chicago on Monday, students from 14 colleges across the Midwest were tested on their knowledge and understanding of monetary policy.
Judged by Federal Reserve economists, the Whitewater Fed Challenge team ranked behind teams from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and ahead of teams from UW-Madison, Marquette University, University of Michigan and more.
"We beat out so many other big-name schools that are a lot bigger than us," said Mary Cummings, a senior majoring in economics. "I'm really happy with how we did, especially with being up there with Northwestern and the University of Chicago."
Each team had to use historical economic data and quote from scholarly journals during the two-part competition.
In a 15-minute presentation, each team had to present a prepared presentation about its analysis of the U.S. economy and provide recommendations about what the Reserve should be doing with monetary policy.
Each teams also had a 15-minute open question and answer session with the judges.
The Whitewater students have been preparing for the competition since summer--poring over scholarly journals and data and participating in multiple practice sessions each week, where economic professors grilled them on monetary policy and the economy.
Derrek Grunfelder-McCrank, a junior and double major in finance and economics, has been on the team for three years and is proud of his teammates' growth.
"Watching everyone else on the team learn and develop with this competition is a pretty incredible feeling," Grunfelder-McCrank said. "I want to be a part of that again next year."
Northwestern University took first place and continues on to nationals in Washington D.C. on Dec. 2.


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Rock County deputies injured when squad cars collide
TOWN OF MILTON—Two Rock County deputies injured when their squad cars collided Wednesday night were treated and released from the hospital.
Deputy Christopher Krahn was the first to arrive at the Highway 26 bypass near County N at about 11 p.m. after receiving a report of a motorcycle on the side of the road and a man lying in the road, Capt. Jude Maurer said.
Krahn was driving north on Highway 26 with lights and siren, was slowing his squad car and changing lanes to pull over when Deputy Niles Boeche arrived in his squad car with lights and siren. Boeche swerved to avoid rear-ending Krahn's squad but sideswiped its passenger side before veering off the road and into the ditch, Maurer said.
The driver's side door of Boeche's squad would not open because of minor damage and had to be pried open by Milton firefighters.
Boeche was taken to Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center, Janesville, where he was treated for a head injury and released, Maurer said.
Krahn later went on his own to the hospital for treatment of a back injury and was treated released, but Maurer didn't know which medical facility provided treatment.
Neither deputy will be cited, said Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Dustin Johanning, who investigated the crash.
The squad cars were being appraised for damage and will not be usable until repaired, Maurer said.
The county's insurance company will decide if the squads are total losses or if they can be repaired.
The operator of the motorcycle was not hurt. He was having issues with his motorcycle, parked it along the road and lay down to rest, but a passerby thought there was a problem and called police, Maurer said.


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The MPAA has given BULLY a PG- 13 - this is a great victory for us all! You've been with us every step of the way - Now let's get busy filling the theaters!!!
Shared by Jimmy Palmieri
Finally something we can firstname.lastname@example.com is guided by the knowledge that the Origin of All life is Lov.We believe that art, information,physics,stories, sacred geometry,music,nature and art unifies the heart. New ageofactivism is dedicated to all men and women who have been persecuted or murdered because of their sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, race, age, gender martial status, disability,caste or HIV infection.Being a Self-Master is not for the timid or weak of heart!


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850 South Route 31
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
United States
RITA Corporation specializes in supplying cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical companies with an extensive line of specialty and commodity chemicals. Our technical knowledge and experience as a manufacturer and distributor of an expansive variety of ingredients and chemical components has been helping support the product development efforts of cosmetic corporations, brand managers and product formulators for over 60 years! Beyond supplying cosmetic raw materials, RITA seeks to form lasting partnerships with our esteemed customers and provide additional value added services at every opportunity. RITA's product range includes technologies that encompass materials for use in hair, skin, baby care, personal cleansing and skin protection.


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Death notices for Nov. 10. 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Gloria J. Aguilar, 58, Beloit, formerly of Janesville, died Saturday at home. A Celebration of Life will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Schneider Apfel Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Janesville.
Mary Joe Kuecker, 95, town of Bloomfield, died Sunday at home. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Home, Twin Lakes. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of services Saturday at the funeral home.
Lawrence Hoyt Mills, 58, New Port Richey, Fla., formerly of Janesville, died Sept. 12 in New Port Richey, Fla. Services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rock Assembly of God Church, Janesville.


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pmcyg is a tool for creating customized collections of Cygwin packages together with the Cygwin installer. This enables self-contained distributions to be created without having to mirror the entire set of Cygwin packages. For example, it can create a single CD-ROM or DVD from which a personalized version of Cygwin can be installed on machines not connected to the Web. A basic installer can be created in less than 25MB; a full set of Cygwin packages might fill a DVD-ROM; or a selection of packages can be constructed to suit your chosen installation medium. pmcyg will then download these and all their dependencies automatically. pmcyg can be used either as a command-line script or via a simple graphical interface.
flashrd creates OpenBSD images tailored for embedded hardware devices and for executing from a virtualized environment. It installs a complete OpenBSD system with "one-touch" upgrade capability. It boots from a ramdisk to make in-place upgrades easy and complete. flashrd partitions for read-only operation by default, to minimize flash wear.
Syoncloud Logs processes log files from various applications and many servers. It can capture business relevant information from everyday log files generated by Web servers, business applications, and back office applications. It uses Flume sinks that run on the machines that produce log files. This data is filtered and relevant events channeled to HBase. The HBase NoSQL database is used for actual data analysis. The number of HBase nodes depends on the amount of processed log files. Syoncloud Logs has an easy to use installer that includes all necessary components such as Hadoop, Flume, Hbase, and Zookeeper.
BitNami Tomcat Stack Native Installer is an easy-to-install environment to develop and deploy Java applications. It includes pre-configured, ready-to-run versions of Apache, Tomcat, MySQL, and Java. Users can get the environment up and running in minutes after answering a few questions.
Python Packager is a Web application that converts Python source code into stand-alone applications for Windows and Linux. Python Packager creates a portable exe, a portable directory, and an installer for Microsoft Windows. Python Packager also creates portable files, portable directories, and DEB and RPM pacakges for Linux. Other features include analysis of the source code using linting tools, adding licensing terms to the code, and automatic generation of documentation. Python Packager is similar to tools such as Py2Exe, PyInstaller, cx_Freeze, and bbFreeze. Python Packager simply uses existing tools "under the hood". It does not claim to add any extra features which can be achieved with existing tools. It builds Python executables on Linux and Windows using PyInstaller (much like Py2Exe). It also uses PyLint to analyse the source code. It documents code with epydoc.
BitNami ocPortal Stack Native Installer is an easy-to-install distribution of the ocPortal application. It includes pre-configured, ready-to-run versions of Apache, MySQL, PHP, and phpMyAdmin so users can get an ocPortal installation up and running in minutes after answering a few questions. Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Unix operating systems are supported. ocPortal is a CMS with many Web 2.0 features for sophisticated sites. It supports many types of content (galleries, news/newsletters, etc.) and integrating rich media and advertising into them. Community features include forums, member blogs, chat rooms, wiki, and content commenting/rating. ocPortal lets you decide exactly how your site will look and behave. Features are plentiful, well integrated, and optional. Out-of-the-box, your site will meet the highest accessibility and professional standards.


text:
Firefighters battle two blazes Tuesday
CLINTON—Multiple fire departments battled fires in the town of Clinton in Rock County and in the town of Sharon in Walworth County on Tuesday morning.
Sixteen fire departments responded to a shed fire at 12701 E. Stateline Road in the town of Clinton. The shed completely destroyed.
The fire was reported at 5:23 a.m. Tuesday, according to a Clinton Fire Department news release. The cause is unknown and no injuries were reported. Sixty-six firefighters were on scene for about four and a half hours.
A passerby noticed flames from the road before stopping and waking up the homeowner, Jill Johnson. Johnson advised fire officials that truck equipment was housed in the 30-by-100-foot shed, according to scanner chatter.
Some of the belongings in the shed included a vehicle, tractor collection, several TVs, shop tools and equipment, and toy truck, according to the release. A complete inventory and damage estimate was not available Tuesday.
Town of Sharon firefighters were dispatched at 8:12 a.m. to a fire at 8:12 a.m. Tuesday at a home at 111 South St. in Sharon. The owner of the home was identified as Mike Hornby, said Sharon Fire Department Chief Bruce Vanderveen.
The fire started in a second floor bedroom and caused $80,000 in damages, Vanderveen said. Smoke and flames were coming from two upstairs windows when Vanderveen arrived on scene, he said.
Smoke and fire damaged the second floor, and smoke and water damaged the first floor, he said.
Thirty firefighters from 10 fire departments, including those that responded to the Clinton fire, helped extinguish the blaze. Crews put out the fire in 50 minutes and left at 11 a.m., the Vanderveen said.
One person was treated and released at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center, Elkhorn, for minor burns. Residents of the home are staying with family, Vanderveen said.


text:
Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
Everything on bioinformatics, the science of information technology as applied to biological research.
Moderator: BioTeam
7 posts • Page 1 of 1
Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
EST is short for expressed sequence tags, where partially sequenced cDNA fragments are used to represent gene expression. It has the power of gene discovery on a genomic level, However, there are limitations of this technology. Of course the advantage of EST is that it provides direct evidence of the expression of a gene. But there are several drawbacks I could think of:
1. mRNA abundance limitation: it is estimated that genes have an average express ion level below 5% of the mRNA population is less likely to be detected by EST technology. Therefore, genes that are expressed at extreme low level won't be able to be detected by EST, so the 27K in this sense should be an lower estimate (if we only focus on this matter). Now, one of the other technique is more sensitive, it is called SAGE, for serial analysis of gene expression, where tags at 3' end of genes are collected and sequenced to represent mRNA expression.
2. development stage limitation: some of the genes in our genome may only express at certain development stage, therefore, if EST libraries cannot cover this development stage, both for technical and ethical reasons, there is no way these gene can be detected.
3. diseased stage limitation: on the same line of #2, but from an opposite point of view, some mRNA might be a result of diseased stage, not neccissary be a normally expressed gene. Or aberrent expression that are not constitute normal behavior of human genome, hence, enriched EST libraries from cancer cell lines (for example) will likely to result in over estimation of human transcriptome.
4. sequencing error: this could post extreme difficulties for bioinformatics to
further map these ESTs back to genome to identify genes. Especially from paralog genes.
Finally, besides gene discovery, EST can be used to study post transcriptional control on a genomic level, which have been shown very successful, including studies in alternative splicing and alternative polyadenylation. Pioneer of these include Michael Zhang at CSHL, Chris Burge at MIT, and Chris Lee at UC.
Please add.
Re: Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
Except for what the top guy has mentioned, some more limitations are listed below:
1.tissue-specific limition: some genes express only in specific tissue.
So, if EST libraries is not the tissue-specific one, it is impossible for these genes to be detected.
2.cell-type limition:some genes express only in specific cell type. So,the same thing will happen as issuse 1.
3.signal-specific limitation: It is a more strict requirement. Some gene express only induced by specific signal esspecially in neural system.
Re: Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
i think the term 'transcriptome' is used in place of genome in this case - you are looking at cDNA not genomic, thus not a genomic level.
I understand what you are saying, but most people are only interested in whether you get an active protein or not - you say expression of a gene - but really what matters is the protein - so direct evidence of expression of a gene is not that - also, as an EST represents the cDNA, which could be a spliced variant which is the cells own way of making (potentially) a dominant negative or constitutively active form of the protein.
see previous comment
what is the 27K you are referring to here please?
2. development stage limitation: some of the genes in our genome may only express at certain development stage, therefore, if EST libraries cannot cover this development stage, both for technical and ethical reasons, there is no way these gene can be detected.
if you consider mRNA editing to be a real phenomena, then the human transcriptome (i see you are familair with the word) is actually infinite, in each of us, but see the dragon argument.
I agree - a real problem with high throughput work without bench confirmation. But protein action is what matters, no protein then there is unlikely to be a gene effect, although it might have evolutionary implications, regardless of EST detection. if the EST is there but the protein is undetectable tthen you either need more cells but if this is unfeasible, then you need would need a more sensitive assay, eg. a gene silencing experiment with an assay that you can detect.
Please add.
Last edited by JackBean on Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Fixed quote fail, please be careful in the future
Re: Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
Not true. Many people are looking on the transcriptome level, that's why we have transcriptomics. Of course, knowing exact level (or even activities!) of proteins would be better, but it's also much harder to determine
Just for curiosity, what ethical reasons are you refering to?
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
Re: Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
'many' is a vague term, and there are many people and many discoveries and many that lead no-where and some of the many for good reason! ; and just because one can think up a new word like transcriptomics doesnt mean one is clever, with all due respect. What matters to me, and many biochemists, is the evidence of function, which you well know cannot occur without protein (with the rare exception of ribozymes). Determining this may be harder, but to use an analogy, just because you have a car manual doesnt mean you have a car, and yes I add then that if you can only see the bookshelf then determining if someone has a car is harder to determine in the molecular biology world than if they have a manual on the bookshelf!! You don't need to tell me that the transcriptome is useful information, but one needs sufficient evidence to present a functional case.
Well, with all due respect, what are your ethics? If you have none, there is no point in my trying to tell you what these are. Most countries have ethical guidelines, I can't see how you can have overlooked this.
Re: Issues of EST in whole genome gene discovery
Transcriptomics has several advantages over work with proteins. It is easier and more reliable than proteomics and it shows which which paralogues are specifically expressed in contrary to activity measurement. Even detection of proteins by means of proteomics doesn't have to tell you the amount of the active proteins.
I'm not saying that doing proteomics is bad or useless thing, just explaining, why is it easier and sometimes better to do transcriptomics.
I asked you to which ethical reasons are you referring to with respect to transcriptomics. But I see, you rpefer to answer with a question and not to provide real answer.
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
7 posts • Page 1 of 1
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Why do women live longer than men?
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
To Butterfly1, I agree with Biohazard, it makes no evolutionary sense for an organism to be programmed to die in order to give more room to its offspring. If dying is a given, though, it may make evolutionary sense for an organism to sacrifice itself for its offspring. I think that if there were genes that made it possible to live and reproduce forever, and there was an evolutionary path to those genes, life would have found it.
I think that women live longer than men because of the grandmother effect mentioned above, but also in primitive societies, men are expendable. 10 women and one man means ten babies next year, 10 men and one woman means one baby next year. A tribe cannot afford to lose many of its women, but it can afford to lose many of its men. Thats why in primitive societies, men are more likely to wage war, not women. There's no reason why that value system should not be encoded in the DNA to some extent.
To Rap:
Excellent words there.
But in a way life has already found a way for an organism to life forever, or at least for a very long time. This can be seen for example with bacteria or plants. A bacterium in a suitable environment essentially lives forever. Admittedly, it is hard to keep track who or what is the first bacterial cell after several cell divisions, but the point is that those organisms do not die of old age. Instead, they simply keep dividing on and on. Of course one could argue that dividing indefinitely is not living indefinitely when it comes to any single organism.
But if you consider plants, some of them (most notably trees) do not exhibit this animal-worldish way of reproducing a finite time and then stopping it and dying. Instead, trees keep producing offspring for long time, some of them hudreds if not thousands of years if nothing happens to them. Of course, in the end they die too, but it is bit difficult to tell if it is "old age" or something else :)
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that ageing must be a sum of many things, and none of those things alone is something that cannot be avoided by the tools evolution has given to organisms. Together, however, they make creatures die of "old age" - some later, many sooner!
From the evolutionary point of view it is quite interesting that often males and females are born in approximately similar numbers despite the fact stated by Rap, that you only need a few males to fertilize dozens of females, or even more. In many species this obviously has a lot to do with competition: the nature makes males to fight for their right to have offspring, thus ensuring that the best genes survive. But if so, why not make 2/3 males and 1/3 of females to make the competition even more fierce? Or make 1/3 males and 2/3 females simply to allow for more babies to be born. Also, human males are born at a slightly higher rate than females, is this because more males get themselves killed before they reach adult age?
It seems what you're looking for is the evolutionary rationale for aging, which is what really clears the field for offspring. But not every organism ages. Even discounting asexual reproducers (as mentioned above, how "old" is a bacterium?), why is there variation in sexual reproducers?
Re: Why do women live longer than men?
The reason for equal numbers of males and females is differential evolutionary pressure.
If there are normally more females, which seems the optimal reproductive ratio, then there is an evolutionary advantage to producing more males. So evolution supports those who make more males. In the long run, it all balances out with equal numbers of male and female offspring.
Last edited by skeptic on Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yes, if organisms could live forever, why should there be aging? "clearing the field for offspring" does not work, because why eliminate one reproducing organism in favor of another? If an old organism has demonstrated fitness in dealing with the environment by living to an old age, why should it be programmed to die in favor of other younger organisms who might not be so fit?
An idea that intrigues me is the "red queen" effect. An organism is born with a set of genes to combat disease, parasites, predators, etc. (DPP). The DPP evolve to counteract these defenses. So its a genetic arms race, and the older an organism is, the more subject it is to newly evolved DPP.The organism species must keep evolving just to stay even with the DPP, like the red queen tells Alice that she must keep running just to stand still. At some point, it makes no sense to encode longevity, it won't work anyway. But, unless encoding longevity brings some kind of penalty, why encode for lack of longevity?
Actually it's statistically proven that women live longer than men! Look around and you will notice men do a lot of heavy jobs which wear the body out more quickly. This also due to a deeper factor involving the blood. You see, women tend to have an iron deficiency because of menstrulation. The iron in our blood equals age for our cells, and because men have more iron, their cells age faster. Also, women tend to vent their frustration better then men because men are often taught to internalize their emotions, which leads to stress. So yeah. Now you know
Re: Why do women live longer than men?
Speculation does produce some interesting thoughts.
Serious research does however point us in a direction that has some answers to this question
Thomas Perls & Ruth Fretts have done some such serious research.
They are summarised here
http://www.cmu.edu/CSR/case_studies/wom ... onger.html
An extract (with my emphasis)
"Men and women alike have seen profound gains in life expectancy in this century. Since 1900, the average national increase in life expectancy in developed countries has been 71 percent for women and 66 percent for men. This increase cannot be explained by physiological or evolutionary theories. Rather, swift changes in knowledge of health and disease, changes in lifestyle and behavior, and advances in medical technology have greatly improved the chances of both sexes' living to old age.
In the past two decades, however, there has been a notable deceleration in the extension of life expectancy in women. The reasons for this decline are still being debated. Some researchers feel that women in developed countries are close to reaching the natural limits of human life span, and so their gains in life expectancy must inevitably diminish.
But some sociologists have discounted this reasoning, pointing instead to women's changing roles in society. As more women have taken on behaviors and stresses that were formerly confined to men--smoking, drinking and working outside the home--they have become more likely to suffer from diseases that were traditionally considered "masculine." Mortality from lung cancer, for example, has almost tripled in women in the past two decades. Smoking seems to be the "great equalizer" for men and women: current actuarial data from Bragg Associates in Atlanta show that on average middle-aged female smokers live no longer than male smokers do."
This assumes that natural selection happens only on an individual and never on a group level. But there is plenty of evidence that that is not the case and the mechanism is easy to visualize. Given a population of a species that had no reproductive controls/generational turnover versus one that did, the sub-population with the immortal individuals would overbreed, exhaust the resources of its local ecosystem, and perish, leaving the other population successfully outcompeting it and passing on its genes for mortality. The selection has to happen at the individual level but what impacts the group often does impact the individual, so that's not a barrier.
Re: Re:
Hmmh. So what is keeping the immortals in their local ecosystem? If the ecosystems are completely separated, there cannot really be any competition between the two groups, can there?
Also, there are many species that are "immortal". For example virtually all prokaryotes do not die of old age, but just keep dividing as long as they can. And they indeed do exhaust all their resources in their local environment if they can and they die after that, because of that. The trick is to constantly look for new environments and only get back to old ones when they can again sustain growth.
So, why haven't bacteria evolved to die of old age in order to conserve their environment? (:
Most certainly, the game is played both ways when it comes to living beings. Some go to the very extreme in terms of quantity and others of quantity. But in the end all organisms must have both numbers and quality to survive, it is just the ratio of those that keeps differing.
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In theory, current U.S. government policy allows for all information on the Internet to be given the same treatment by Internet service providers. But a controversial proposal on "net neutrality" was narrowly approved by the FCC on May 16.
Over recent months, the issue has gotten a lot of attention from consumer advocates and businesses – with much of the divisiveness emerging over a plan to let Internet service providers give content providers priority and improved delivery service – if they pay more.
The new system is being described as "pay-for-priority." Google and Facebook are among those against pay-for-priority. But under the plan, Verizon, or other providers such as AT&T, could charge a service like Netflix more for a higher level of video streaming.
The plan comes from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and was supported by him and his fellow Democrats on the commission.
Yet, Wheeler claims he is opposed to an Internet made up of "haves and have-nots."
"There is one Internet. It must be fast, it must be robust, and it must be open," Wheeler said. "The prospect of a gatekeeper choosing winners and losers on the Internet is unacceptable."
But there are limits to his plan.
"If a network operator slowed the speed of service below that which the consumer bought, it would be commercially unreasonable and therefore prohibited," Wheeler said. "If the network operator blocked access to lawful content, it would violate our no-blocking rule and therefore be doubly prohibited."
The issue of what is commercially reasonable is key part of the controversy.
"No one really knows what the commercially reasonable test would look like," Gabe Rottman, policy advisor at the ACLU, told The Washington Post.
There were many vocal concerns voiced at Thursday's FCC meeting. Over 100 activists protested the plan, and four protestors were forced to leave the room after shouting, according to Reuters.
From their perspective, many consumer advocates want Internet providers to be treated as utilities, whereupon they would be more regulated.
But others disagree. Such a move would "reverse years of settled precedent, dry up investment in broadband deployment and network upgrades, and result in protracted litigation and marketplace uncertainty," Michael Powell, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said in a statement.
There were also concerns that the FCC moved too fast on the net neutrality issue.
"I believe the process that got us to this rulemaking today is flawed. I would have preferred a delay. I think we moved too fast to be fair," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the FCC's prior proposal on net neutrality – which gives the commission another chance. "Unlike many, I actually see this remand as a unique opportunity for us to take a fresh look and evaluate our policy in light of the many developments that have occurred over the last four years," according to a statement from FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.
Wheeler wants rules on net neutrality in final form before the end of the year. So far, over 100,000 Americans have sent comments to the FCC on the proposal.
To comment on the issue, send the FCC an e-mail via email@example.com.
For more, check out these stories:
FCC prepares to release new net neutrality guidelines
FCC Chairman remarks that new net neutrality laws will not cover connection deals


text:
New MS support group to hold forum in Walworth County
Saturday, October 26, 2013
LAKE GENEVA – The Wisconsin chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will host its first support group meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30, for Walworth County residents affected by Multiple Sclerosis.
The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center, N2950 Highway 67.
The goal of the support group is to provide those with MS who live in Walworth County the tools to create a support system. It also serves as an outlet to learn more about MS or volunteer.
The group is open to the public. For more information, email Jessica Fitzsimmons at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Affordable childcare 'down to luck'
Finding decent, affordable care for school-age children is down to luck for many families, according to a report.
It claims that there is "widespread shortages" in out of school and holiday care, and calls for more attention to be paid to the issue.
The study, published by the Family and Childcare Trust, looked at the current state of childcare for school-age children, drawing on its own surveys, a new poll of parents and an analysis of local council childcare sufficiency assessments.
Local authorities are required to complete these assessments which look at the supply and demand for childcare in an area.
The trust's analysis concluded that across England, Scotland and Wales two fifths (40%) of councils had enough term-time out-of-school care for five to 11-year-olds in all or most of the local authority. In England alone the figure was 38%, in Scotland it was 47% and in Wales it was 45%.
Across all three nations, one in four (25%) had sufficient out-of-school activities for 12 to 14-year-olds in all or most of the authority (27% in England, 28% in Scotland and 5% in Wales) a nd just over a third (35%) of local councils had enough holiday childcare (41% in England, 19% in Scotland and 18% in Wales).
The report adds that research by the Family and Childcare Trust had shown that the average cost in Britain of an after-school club for 15 hours of care is £48.19, and the average price of a week's full-time holiday childcare (50 hours) is £114.51 across Britain.
"For many families whether they find affordable and quality childcare is down to luck," the study says.
A poll conducted with parenting website Netmums for the report found that more than 40% of parents said that their childcare arrangements became more difficult as their children started school, while 63% said they had been forced to change their working patterns to accommodate childcare when their youngster went to school. Nearly 12% of those surveyed said they had quit, or changed their jobs.
"The current out of school childcare system has serious problems when it comes to availability and affordability and in many areas not enough is being done to make things better," the report said.
"Out-of-school childcare needs to be given greater attention by Government and local authorities."
Anand Shukla, chief executive of the Family and Childcare Trust, said: "For many working parents hoping that their childcare struggle ends when their children start school, this damning research shows that unfortunately the opposite is true.
"Far too many parents face a never ending battle to secure affordable, quality childcare just so that they can go to work to provide for their families.
"The system needs a complete overhaul, but in the meantime local authorities must, with the support of Government, implement action plans to tackle the severe lack of childcare for school-age children."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "This report covers the situation being faced by many parents in England, Scotland as well as in Wales. We recognise that childcare is an important issue for many families in Wales, especially working parents, and will continue to take action on this front.
"We are committed to improving access to affordable childcare and earlier in the year announced another round of funding of £2.3 million for 2014/15 to provide quality, affordable childcare to help families who wish to access childcare before and after the school day.
"We've also launched Building a Brighter Future: Early Years and Childcare Plan which sets our direction of travel with regards to how we provide high-quality early education and childcare for the next 10 years, including in rural and disadvantaged areas. We've just published our first annual report on the plan.
"It's also important to remember that we provide free part time childcare for two to three-year-olds living in our most disadvantaged communities through our Flying Start Programme. More than 31,000 children in Wales benefited from Flying Start services last year."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: " Childcare is a key issue for parents. That's why as part of our plan for childcare we're committed to driving up the choice, quality and flexibility of provision.
"As a result 64% of primaries are now providing care before school and 70% after, and after 12 years of rising prices the cost of childcare in England is actually falling in real terms.
"But we want to go further. That's why, next year, we'll be introducing tax free childcare, providing 1.9 million families with up to £2,000 of support per child."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government is committed to improving and increasing high-quality, flexible early learning and childcare that is accessible and affordable for all children and families, and which matches the best in Europe.
"This report highlights that Scotland is delivering more than the other parts of the UK on term- time out-of-school care for children aged five to 11.
"The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 has introduced a duty on local authorities to consult locally on out-of-school care which will broaden the scope of consultation and planning beyond early learning and childcare in order to meet the needs of all families.
"We are also working to help support Scotland's families through funding work designed to promote flexible and family-friendly working."
Reacting to the figures, 4Children, a charity running children's centres across the country, has called for more political support for integrated family support services.
Anne Longfield, 4Children's chief executive said: " Families need out-of-school services that are holistic, robust and flexible enough to manage their childcare requirements. As part of a staged move towards a universal childcare guarantee, there needs be a guarantee of 8am to 6pm childcare for four to 14-year-olds in and around schools.
"A network of childcare and extended community hubs, based in and around children's centres also needs to be developed. These hubs could co-ordinate childcare in every area to help parents find the flexible support they want at the times they need it."


text:
Kvapil apologizes, will race Saturday
CONCORD, N.C.--Travis Kvapil said he was embarrassed by his arrest on charges of misdemeanor assault and false imprisonment against his wife.�
Kvapil, who will race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, apologized to BK Racing, NASCAR, fans and "anyone else that was impacted by Tuesday night."
"Obviously, there was a domestic situation Tuesday night with my wife. Regret that that happened," he said after qualifying 41st Thursday night.
"Because it is a family, personal matter, we ask for respect and privacy in this situation and we try to work it out together as a family. I'm obviously embarrassed about the situation. I don't like the negative effects that it has brought on."
NASCAR said it is close communication with BK Racing and gathering information on the Tuesday night incident between Kvapil and his wife, Jennifer.� The 2003 Truck Series champion was released from police custody on $2,000 bond Wednesday morning.
"NASCAR does not condone the actions with which Travis Kvapil has been charged and we are disappointed to learn of this incident," NASCAR said in a statement. "NASCAR takes this matter very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation as it moves forward."
According to court records reviewed by The Sporting News, Kvapil allegedly pulled his wife into a bedroom by her hair and struck her in the head. He is not permitted to return home and can only contact his wife by phone or email on matters concerning their children. He faces a Nov. 19 court date.�
Kvapil, who drives the No. 93 Toyota for BK Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, was in the car at Charlotte. He is 31st in the standings.
"BK Racing understands the severity of the situation and we don't condone the actions that Travis has been accused of," team co-owner Ron Devine said. "We feel it's important to let the system take its course.� For that reason, we have elected to support Travis and his family and keep Travis in the car for this weekend's race.� Further comment will be available as additional information becomes available."
Kvapil has raced at NASCAR's national level since 2001. Although he's winless in 240 career Cup starts, he has won nine Truck Series races.
"It's been tough. I guess you really find out your true friends, your supporters," Kvapil said. "It's been quite an eye-opening experience. Been through some things I definitely don't ever want to go through again. We are going to let it take its course, let it work itself out, one day at a time."
Last updated: 11:51 pm Thursday, October 10, 2013


text:
Android processor core is royalty free
11 comments
LONDON Processor IP licensor Beyond Semiconductor d.o.o. has introduced the BA25 royalty-free 32-bit processor, which provides a performance improvement over the established BA22 RISC processor.
Beyond Semi (Ljubljana, Slovenia) classes the BA25 as roughly equivalent to an ARM Cortex-A7 or Cortex-A8 and is pitching the core at Linux and Android applications. The core includes an optional floating point unit.
The company claims the BA25 beats rival processors from ARM and others in some metrics and achieves the highest performance per square millimeter when compared to gigahertz application processors and offers the highest code density amongst application processors.
In addition Beyond Semi offers the IP for license with a single initial payment and without royalty. Beyond Semiconductor includes STMicroelectronics, Ericsson, Jennic now part of NXP Semiconductor, Lattice Semiconductor and Omnivision amongst its licensees.
The BA25 has been proven in 65-nm silicon from foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and operates at clock frequencies of more than 800-MHz where it achieves 1360 DMIPS or 1.7-DMIPS/MHz. The BA25 supports out-of-order completion and advanced branch prediction. Its seven-stage pipelined architecture and optional two-level caches and memory management functions make it suitable for use as the main processor for systems running general-purpose operating systems like Linux or Android.
"The BA25 is - at never before seen cost/performance point - unlocking the potential for designers to tap into vast software ecosystem of Linux and Android operating systems, reducing software development costs while providing reacher experience to end users," said Matjaz Breskvar, CEO of Beyond Semiconductor, in a statement.
Beyond was co-founded in 2005 by Damjan Lampret, who had previously founded the OpenCores organization and led the development of the OpenRISC 32-bit processor architecture. Beyond reworked the OpenRISC architecture as BA1 and introduced the BA12 and BA14 cores. The BA2 instruction set is a refinement of BA1. However, BA2 remains relatively simple and compact, offering system area and energy-saving benefits, the company said. Programming is facilitated with the included C/C++ tool chain, Eclipse IDE, architectural simulator, and ported C libraries, RTOSs, and OSs.
Related links and articles:
News articles:
Beyond adds development support for royalty-free processors
Lattice recruits Slovenian firm to develop compilers
Cast announces royalty-free BA22 32-bit RISC
Omnivision licenses Slovenian IP cores
Free 32-bit processor core hits the net
RISC processor IP licensor surfaces in Slovenia


text:
Alliant's Heather Lally Finds Challenges That Motivate Her: T40B
An inquisitive nature and pursuit of answers to the simple question "why?" has helped lead Heather Lally, vice president of operations at Alliant Credit Union, to her dream job.
"I had dreams of being a lawyer when I was younger," said the latest Trailblazer 40 Below, who didn't know much about credit unions when she first joined the industry. "I ask why a lot and have always liked to dissect a situation and figure out the best possible solution. It's not what I thought I'd be doing, but I changed paths and have never been happier. I get to do what I love while helping make a real difference in people's financial lives."
She added that for the past 15 years at the $8.2 billion Chicago-based credit union, it's the challenges she enjoys most.
"For me, 'no' or 'can't' are simply unacceptable," said Lally. "I truly believe every obstacle can be overcome. I don't like to take no for an answer. If it makes sense and you have the goal of doing what's right for the members or employees, then we push through. No matter how hard or challenging we have to do what is right. That is what motivates me."
Ironically time has proven to be Lally's greatest challenge.
"I always feel like there is always such room for improvement, that there just isn't enough time in the day," joked Lally. "For me, true innovation is not necessarily inventing something new but rather improving upon a process so that it's more efficient and makes life easier or better for members and employees alike."
For example, an internal service level agreement task force, which focuses on key services each department needs to provide other departments and Alliant members, meets bi-weekly to examine any issue, system or process that creates an error or disruption in service and it would be improved. According the Lally, it's part of the ever evolving Alliant culture and goes back to the drive to deliver the best member service experience.
"It comes back to understanding our vision and mission so when you strive for the best possible outcome, you simply do what's right and not focus on the obstacle," said Lally. "We all have the same goal, to make changes that improve the member experience. That focus, in an open forum, where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas, has been the catalyst in helping to deliver creative solutions."
As a Six Sigma Black Belt, one of Lally's strengths has not only been to keep asking why until the root cause is discovered but to encourage others to do the same as making improvements has to be a continuous effort.
"To remain relevant to our members it sounds simple: deliver a great value experience. Yet, to do accomplish that, we have to keep reinventing ourselves," said Lally. "The competition has been changing to include not just banks but others, including Walmart, PayPal, or Google Wallet. We have to find ways we can compete or identify and make the most of opportunities to partner and make sure we're providing the service members want and expect."
She said part of that means not only embracing technology but also providing fast service and delivering the same experience across all channels, whether in the branch, banking online or on the phone, being consistent is key.
"We have to continue to focus on making it easier for members to conduct business with us," said Lally. "Every credit union should be asking what is our core purpose, why do we exist and what's our competitive advantage? Why should consumers choose us over the competition?"
She added that the answers should play to each credit union's strengths rather than attempting to be everything to everyone.
"With our people helping people philosophy we're supposed to be a caring organization, but that doesn't mean we can't also emphasize performance accountability," said Lally. "We can and should measure results. We are only as good as the people we have in the industry so employee engagement and accountability is huge. So it's not only hiring for the right fit for our culture but making sure everyone has the tools they need to do the job right, setting clear expectations, and having a laser focus on who we want to be as an organization and supporting that."
For Lally, it starts with open conversations, encouraging and listening to feedback and trusting peers and employees.
"I think to be an effective leader you have to be someone who inspires and motivates others by doing," she said. "I like to model what I expect, so I jump in and work alongside the team. I see my role as a partner and a coach. I trust my employees. We have such a great team here and they are empowered, so they can make those decisions that will best serve the members and improve the member experience. We all have different strengths and with open, transparent communication we then partner to deliver the best solutions."
She added that with change as the only constant, it's important to keep learning and growing.
"We have to always give our best, ask why, never stop learning, really embrace change and have fun," said Lally. "There's a lot to be excited about the future. Look what we get to be a part of. We can't be effective if we're not engaged and don't believe in what we're doing. Our first priority is our members. So we need to have that mindset of adapting and embracing change to discover new opportunities. We can celebrate our successes along the way but we're never done, let's see what else we can improve or how we can become even more efficient to provide an even better member experience."


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JSeahawks wrote:Definatly glad its at home.
I say we win.
Evil_Shenanigans wrote:The Pat's shall fall! That it has been spoken, so let it be written.
Seriously, who does this team have to square off against to get some respect in this league! Pittsburgh... again!
sutz wrote:One of the reasons NE is #1 on Offense is that we did a number on GB for a game.
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Aprons - green-logo on front - 2 large pockets
Long Island Farm Bureau is a county Farm Bureau in New York State, and is affiliated by agreement with New York Farm Bureau. Long Island Farm Bureau programs and services are available only to Farm Bureau members within Long Island. The political views expressed in these pages represent the Long Island Farm Bureau's position on various issues as they relate to Long Island.


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Please see the many photographs that accompany this listing and the indicative floor plan for further detail. To fully appreciate this property please arrange a viewing appointment which you can do 24/7 by clicking on the contact link provided.
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Journal Abstracts
Unlimited access to full-length articles is included with membership. Click memberships to become a member.
Exposure to anxiolytic drugs during the third week of gestation in the rat leaves a lasting imprint on the organism. Functionally, animals exposed prenatally to diazepam (Valium) demonstrate alterations in arousal-attention and stress-related functions. Neural systems underlying these functions are also influenced by the early exposure. The effects of early diazepam exposure are related to the interaction of the drug in utero with specific binding sites in the fetal brain.
Prenatal psychology is able to shed light on various experiences which appear to be creative mechanisms for coping with difficult situations of transition in life but which on closer inspection also seem to be re-enactments of pre-birth feelings and of birth itself. The symbolism of regression to the womb and of rebirth can be found in various cultural phenomena such as puberty rites, shamanism, the myths of great heroes, fairy tales, sacrificial rituals and initiation fights.
The loss experienced by parents following the perinatal death of a twin is often underestimated by other people and the particular problems are rarely appreciated. A Bereavement Clinic for multiple birth families provides the opportunity to discuss concerns such as incomplete information, lack of a memorial, anger, the fantasy twin, the response to the surviving child and zygosity determination. An informal lunch allows families to meet and share their experiences with other bereaved families.
This paper discusses the implications of a research project that was reported elsewhere. Here the issue of empowerment and disempowerment of women during hospital births is discussed. The author takes the view that birthing technology can be used to both ends, but is usually used in disempowering ways.
Effects of Perinatal Exposure to Opioid Agonists and Antagonists on Central Nervous System DevelopmentAbstract:
The perinatal opioid syndrome has been recognized for over a century. Examination of this phenomena has revealed no pathognomonic symptoms, but rather a constellation of somatic and neurobiological deficits that may continue into adulthood. Research in this area has found that exogenous opioids such as heroin and methadone interact with opioid receptors and influence development. Moreover, a fundamental and important observation shows that endogenous opioid peptides, the counterpart to exogenous opioids, normally modulate developmental events.
This study examined the frequency of disruptions in maternal-infant bonding within a pediatric asthma population. Two groups, 30 mothers of asthmatic children and 30 mothers of well children, were interviewed through the Maternal Infant Bonding Survey (M.I.B.S.) to study the frequency of non-bonding events in the birth histories of their children. Raters determined that 86% of the asthmatic children were non-bonded as compared to 26% of the well children.
As we become more familiar with the continuum of disturbances that are understood as Borderline Personality Disorder, we have come to know more about how the illness affects-and is affected by-other family members. Much less clear is our understanding of what can be expected in the life course of a person reared by a borderline parent. This paper offers a glimpse of that world, by way of reporting on the extreme anxiety and depression experienced by four women-each of whom appears to have been the child of a borderline mother-upon the birth of their babies.
Classification Rates and Relative Risk Factors for Perinatal Events Predicting Emotional/Behavioral Disorders in ChildrenAbstract:
Perinatal factors were used to predict childhood emotional/behavioral disturbance using a discriminant analysis. A cross validation procedure was employed showing that 20 of 26 factors studied contributed to the separation between groups at clinical levels of accuracy. Frequencies, percentages, and relative risk factors were calculated for each perinatal factor and for the discriminant function. Results were used to argue to a multivariate approach in the examination of a relationship between perinatal events and development of emotional/behavioral disorders in children and adolescents.
Parents have a confusing variety of emotional reactions to the stress of a high-risk birth. Terror, grief, impotence, and anger are common feelings for these parents. Some of these reactions bring families closer together; at other times these emotions pull spouses apart. It is essential to recognize that even though these emotions are very troubling, they are normal experiences during a life-and-death crisis.


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State attorneys general have been involved in some blockbuster settlements over the past decades, including a 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies and, more recently, deals related to the mortgage crisis, off-label drug marketing and more. Recent regulations such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Consumer Protection and Reform Act and the Consumer product Safety Act have given state AGs even more enforcement power.
Given this, it's in every company's best interest to cultivate a relationship with their state AG's office. By building personal ties with the office—and educating AGs about concerns affecting businesses—in-house counsel may be able to mitigate the risk of enforcement actions or inquiries. In InsideCounsel's July issue, experts—including several former AGs—weigh in on how corporate attorneys can work productively with their local attorneys general offices.
What are the benefits of building a relationship with state attorneys general?
Because AGs have broad discretion when launching investigations or actions against companies, they may be willing to work with companies to come up with collaborative solutions to misconduct. In the tobacco settlement, for instance, companies agreed to change their marketing practices, give money to non-smoking campaigns and more.
What's more, if a company has a previous relationship with an AG's office, officials may be more likely to reach out informally to a company to discuss regulatory concerns, rather than immediately issuing a formal subpoena. "In my experience attorneys general are as interested in prospective relief as retroactive remedies, perhaps more so," says Lori Kalani, a partner in Dickstein Shapiro's state AGs practice.
How much do state AGs collaborate with each other?
Quite a bit. Through the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), state AGs can easily share information on investigations or best practices with their counterparts in other states. This collaboration can spell difficulty for companies if an AG action in one state prompts other states to join in on the inquiry, but, on the plus side, companies may face one consolidated action rather than multiple lawsuits.
Large, multi-state corporations that find it difficult to build personal relationships with AGs in all 50 states should take at least some steps to maintain ties to those offices. "Most companies are forced to react to circumstances as they present themselves," says Kent Sullivan, a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and a former first assistant attorney general in Texas. "In that case, it makes sense to at least be aware of the practitioners in the various states who do have good relationships with the various state AGs. That may allow you to access high-quality insight without being a part of your permanent staff."
Are AGs willing to meet face-to-face with in-house counsel?
By and large, experts say, AGs are more accessible than federal government officials, since they have local offices. In-house counsel can also get face-time with their state attorneys general at meetings of the National Association of Attorneys General.
"I consistently find there is no reluctance," Barry Halpern, a partner at Snell & Wilmer, says. "Usually they are much easier to deal with—they're more direct, and they can solve problems more directly and simply than most other agencies and certainly more easily than the federal government."
What if an AG isn't aligned with a company's political stance?
It's worth paying attention to an AG's political party, as it could be an indication of their outlook on various issues affecting business. But AGs can have vastly differing priorities and enforcement styles, even if they hold roughly the same political beliefs.
Furthermore, it does AGs a disservice to assume that they won't reach across party lines, when in fact they often demonstrate more bipartisan collaboration than official Washington. "Predatory lending, the tobacco settlement, the mortgage crisis resolution—these are all things the AGs have done together. They think in terms of right and wrong, not right and left," says Mike Turpen, a partner at Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis and the former attorney general of Oklahoma.


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Privacy Policy
British Airways is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information.
We've written this Privacy Policy to let you know how we use your personal information. In it, we explain the types of personal information we collect, how we collect it, what we use it for and who we may share your personal information with.
Below is a high level summary of the Privacy Policy, setting out the most important points. View our full Privacy Policy (updated July 2014).
This Privacy Policy comes into effect from 22 July 2014 and replaces our previous Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy applies to all information we process about you in connection with your relationship with us as a customer or potential customer, including where you have a British Airways Executive Club account with us.
Please contact us if you would like to find out more about any matters to do with this Privacy Policy.
High level policy
What this Privacy Policy covers
When do we collect personal information?
We collect personal information about you whenever you use our services (whether services provided directly by us or by other companies or agents acting on our behalf), when you travel with us, when you use our websites, or when you use our call centres or mobile applications.
What types of personal information do we collect?
We collect personal information about you, about your travel arrangements, about how you use our services and about how you use our websites, call centres and mobile applications. This may include information that you provide to us directly or through companies or agents we work with, as well as information which we collect when you use our services.
What do we use your personal information for?
- To provide the travel and other services you have asked us to provide.
- To personalise your travel experience.
- To communicate with you about the travel and other services you have asked us to provide.
- To provide you with marketing and offers from us (where we have your permission to do so).
- To improve our services.
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Who do we share your personal information with?
Your personal information may be shared within the group of companies controlled by our parent company, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG), for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy which includes British Airways Plc, Iberia LAE SA Operadora Unipersonal, British Airways Holidays Limited and Avios Group (AGL) Limited.
In order to facilitate your travel arrangements, we will often need to share your personal information with third parties including other airlines and airport operators, customs and immigration authorities, travel agents involved in making your travel arrangements and our customer loyalty partners, such as when you transfer between airlines or use a hotel to earn Avios. We also share your personal information with third parties who deliver services either to you or to us, such as companies that provide airport assistance or marketing agencies.
We do not sell personal information to third parties, and we only allow third parties outside the British Airways Group to send you marketing information where we have your permission to do so.
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We will keep this Privacy Policy under review and notify you of any changes by posting the revised policy on ba.com, to take effect as soon as it is posted.
Detailed policy
Last updated: July 2014
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Extreme conditions M2M communication
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Mobile phone users are not, as a rule, at the North Pole, in a sandstorm, or under water. Mobile devices that facilitate Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, on the other hand, often need to function in extreme conditions: on oil pipelines and platforms; in refrigerated trucks; on freighter ships. Even in extremes of heat, cold, or humidity, these devices must be failsafe on a long-term basis and transmit data without interruption.
Mobile M2M communication offers developers a basis for countless new applications for all manner of industries. Approximately 81 million machines are already connected in wireless networks globally, but that is only the beginning when considering the rapid growth that market researchers forecast for the M2M market. According to market analysts at Berg Insight, the number of communicating machines is set to rise to around 270 million by 2015.
The booming M2M market is due to unlimited uses for M2M communications, including vehicles in a car-sharing pool relaying their location, mileage, and fuel level; freight cars that send their position autonomously to a tracking service and vehicles that warn of dangers ahead and automatically call out the emergency services if an accident occurs. The more areas of life and work that rely on M2M, the more important fail-safe and reliable data transmission becomes.
Operability in all conditions
A typical smartphone is designed for use in temperatures between -10°C and +40°C (14°F to 104°F). But in humidity, dust, or dirt, most devices quickly cease to function. Extreme M2M solutions must withstand much more.
For example, the automotive industry demands more rugged requirements for automatic emergency call systems. These are based on fixed M2M solutions installed in vehicles, which must be resistant to both extreme fluctuations in temperature, shocks or severe changes in speed. The device must not fail in the event of an accident and should be able to make an emergency call automatically.
Many designs, one function: the SIM card
The core of every wireless M2M solution is a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. The SIM handles network allocation and authentication and is the switchboard for security and access control in connecting to the mobile network. While the other electronic components of an M2M solution can be made suitably robust, the contact between the chip card and the circuit board electronics is the real challenge in extreme conditions.


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Taupa Lithuanian Branch Quiet While CEO Sought by Feds: Onsite Coverage
CLEVELAND — Local newscasts that reported Alex Spirikaitis – former CEO of the liquidated Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union – was holed up in his suburban home after federal authorities tried to arrest him on fraud charges did not trigger a run on the Cleveland credit union Wednesday.
An armed security guard stood behind a glass door of the credit union office housed in a non-descript brick building on Cleveland's east side.
The security guard told a reporter from Credit Union Times that the credit union has been closed, and that he has been handing out single-page informational leaflets to members. He would not say how many, if any, credit union members came to the branch since the standoff was reported by local Cleveland media.
The leaflet explains the NCUA was appointed as the liquidating agency and that checks will be mailed to members as soon as possible.
While now liquidated, the credit union's website still said the branch is open Thursday through Saturday and that a branch at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church is open from 11 a.m. to noon on Sunday.
Chartered in 1984, Taupa Lithuanian CU has 1,154 members and $23.6 million in assets, according to NCUA.
Local Cleveland news outlets reported Alex Spirikaitis had been in a standoff with police since 8 p.m. Tuesday. Later Wednesday morning, however, the Cleveland news media also reported that a police standoff overnight at Spirikaitis' home was in vain, because the FBI discovered the home was empty.
FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer it's unclear if Spirikaitis, who has a warrant for his arrest for fraud that led to the $23 million credit union's failure, was ever at his home in suburban Solon.
The standoff began after police attempted to arrest Spirikaitis on Tuesday night. Anderson said a person at the home told police he was there but would not surrender.
Authorities are now searching for Spirikaitis and a reward is being offered for information that will help lead to his arrest.
"We will continue the investigation and hope he decides to turn himself in and make it a lot easier on everyone," Anderson told the Plain Dealer.
The Ohio Department of Financial Institutions made the decision to liquidate the credit union after determining it was insolvent and had no prospect for restoring viable operations.
The DFI named the NCUA liquidating agent and federal officials seized the credit union Friday.
Fraud was suspected after a review of the 1,154-member credit union's financial performance reports showed a seemingly healthy credit union with 10.31% net worth, 0.78% delinquencies and no charge offs as of March 31.
However, cost of funds was reported to be 0.87%, much higher than the peer average of 0.36%.
The failed credit union's website revealed it was not paying above average dividends to members, and liquidity was not an issue, indicating the credit union did not have outstanding borrowings that were driving up cost of funds.
The credit union reported a considerable amount of cash on its books, more than $15 million as of March 31, with just $729,595 in investments. Total loans were $7.4 million during that period.


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Lisette "Liz" R. Dybevik, Brodhead, WI (1934-2014)
April 30, 1934 - February 7, 2014
Lisette "Liz" R. Dybevik, age 79, of Brodhead, died unexpectedly Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, at her home with her loving husband, Stan, at her side. She was born on April 30, 1934, in Monroe, WI, the daughter of Nicholas and Lisette (Rudowski) Rieder. She graduated from Brodhead High School in 1952, and attended Madison Business College. She married Stan on Aug. 27, 1955, in Brodhead. She worked for a Madison Law firm for several years, then as a ward secretary for the VA Hospital in Madison. Liz also did the bookwork for the family businesses that included: Dybevik Nursery and Landscaping, Christmas tree sales and camping trailer rentals and sales.
She belonged to a women's church circle, the EverReady Club and was a former 4-H leader. Liz traveled and attended many Rock Energy Co-op meetings for the Rural Utility Service with Stan. She had a love of animals; pets and wildlife. She enjoyed growing flowers, the holidays with family and bowling with friends. She enjoyed following politics and current events. Liz lived life with joy and a twinkle in her eye, She was a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend.
Liz is survived by her husband, Stan of Brodhead; one son, Tim (Katie) Dybevik of Madison; two daughters, Julie Dybevik of Brodhead, and Maria (Dave Skripka) Dybevik of Oregon, WI; six grandchildren: Andrew, Robin and Joey Dybevik and Ava, twins, Alex and Amanda Skripka; a brother, Nick (Kelly) Rieder of Huntington Beach, CA; brother-in-law, Bjarne Breilid of Madison; cousin, Robert (Nancy) Wendt of Downers Grove, IL; and five nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:30 am, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, at BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH, Brodhead. Burial will be in Orfordville Lutheran Cemetery. A visitation will be Tuesday, from 10 a.m. until the time of service at the CHURCH. EVERSON FUNERAL HOME is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Liz's honor to Rock County Humane Society or the Evansville Manor.