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The basic question posed by of "" is an easy thing to address. They should provide oversight, and they do.
The fact that some people do not like HOW the County oversees what The Humane Society of Harford County does is clearly the basis for many of the 185+ responses to Ms. Neidhardt's blog. The Humane Society of Harford County has a rather unique relationship with the County.
Each year almost 80 percent of the animals that come through our doors are brought to us by Harford County Animal Control or as strays brought in by the general public. HSHC then provides a service to the County during a four day hold period during which we evaluate the animals for health and temperament, and hope that their owner will come get them for a joyful reunion. After the four days one of five options exist: held for adoption, sent to a rescue, sent to a foster home, or humanely euthanized due to medical or temperament issues.
In addition, some animals that are deemed to be adoptable are unfortunately put down when we run out of space or other options and there are not enough adopters that day or week or month. We are working on a variety of programs that I will discuss later to address the tragedy of adoptable animals being euthanized. During 2010, less than 1/2 of 1 percent of healthy, adoptable dogs were put down due to a lack of adopters and options at particularly busy times; for cats, just over 17 percent of healthy, adoptable cats were put down due to a lack of adopters and options at those particularly busy times. It is our goal to get those numbers as close to zero as possible over the next 5 years. The full accounting of animals for 2010 can be found on our website.
The funding that we receive from the County is not a grant, but rather a fee for services provided. In the most basic sense, HSHC is a vendor, and the County is purchasing our services. This fee-for-service is classified the same as if they were purchasing 500 reams of paper from Staples or contracting with independent snow removal vendors who join with County agencies to clear our roads during busy storms. HSHC is not a County agency and is not held to the same requirements as a governmental agency might under State or Federal Freedom of Information Act regulations or requests.
That having been said, we enjoy our working relationship with the County, and believe we have a very candid discourse and openness about our operations with the various offices and agencies with which we interact, including but not limited to County Executive David Craig, County Council President Billy Boniface, the six Council members, Animal Control and the Health Department.
In addition, the County has a representative on our Board of Directors, and any significant issues that may come up are brought to the County Executive's attention immediately. When we make our annual presentation to the County Executive to seek funding for the coming year, the County is provided with a detailed budget request and our audited financial statements, and we must justify our request for future funding based upon our most recent past performance.
Our budget has been flat lined for the past several years due to the pain that the County has felt due to the economic contraction and the needs of other departments. While it has been painful to hear the word "no" time and again, we are grateful that our funding has not been cut when other departments suffered that fate, and we take that as a healthy sign that the County acknowledges that they are getting value for the services we provide when they send HSHC its quarterly check.
Every day the officers from Harford County Animal Control call on HSHC with dogs, cats and a variety of other critters. It is not unusual to have Animal Control stop by more than a half-dozen times a day, during which time they are in our tech area or walking through the kennels. There have been many times over the years that HCAC and HSHC did not see eye-to-eye over the conditions and policies at the shelter, but I can unequivocally state that we have the full vote of confidence from the County's Animal Control department.
So bottom line, the County has a strong working relationship with HSHC. Our doors, phone lines and e-mails are always open and available to the County, and we are very pleased that theirs are also open to us. To think that there is no County oversight of HSHC is simply incorrect, no matter how many times one repeats it.
This segues perfectly into a discussion about a new shelter building. For anyone who has been to our facility, the physical plant itself is enough evidence of the need for a new, modern building to help with the process of finding forever homes for .
A bit of background. In 2007, the Board of Directors contracted with Shelter Planners of America to evaluate our facility and provide us with a needs analysis, feasibility and building program study. This firm has been involved in shelter planning for over 30 years and has worked with over 700 shelters on studies, remodeling and totally new facilities. This analysis was to provide us with the basis for the design of our new facility.
Included in their study were analyses of population growth in Harford County, the number of animals handled each year by our organization, the types of programs that we offer, staffing, and budgeting. Also included were their recommendations for a proposed new shelter, whereby Shelter Planners reviewed the site and prepared a design concept that addressed interior features, animal capacity, HVAC systems that would reduce the spread of infectious disease and reduce unpleasant odors, square footage allowed to each section, a preliminary construction budget and a preliminary operating budget once the new shelter is up and running.
In 2009, HSHC engaged the services of a fundraising consultant to determine the feasibility of a capital campaign that would allow us to raise sufficient funds to build what was described in the Shelter Planners report. We were told quite plainly that in the opinion of our fundraising consultant HSHC would not be able to raise more than 10–15 percent of what might be needed.
It was very obvious at that point to both HSHC and the County that the only way an open admission shelter could be built that handles the volume that we handle was with a commitment from the County to fund the costs. Remember that 80 percent of the animals that come to HSHC are strays.
If HSHC was forced to shut down due to the deficiencies of the physical plant, the County would have been put in a very difficult spot. The County Executive and County Council President spent quite a bit of time reviewing the operations of the shelter, looking at everything from how the organization was being run to the number and types of complaints/reports from county residents, area veterinarians and Harford County Animal Control, and decided that now was the time to step up and provide funding for the building.
Harford County government is taking a major role in the design/development process of the proposed new facility. Under the guidance of the Harford County Department of Procurement, 18 architectural firms submitted "Expressions of Interest" in providing design services to the County, and a committee of 6 people - 3 from the County and 3 from HSHC - reviewed and rated each one of these proposals. Five firms were selected from that group to provide additional information, including the cost of services for the design, and local firm Edmeades and Stromdahl received the highest overall score from the 6 committee members. Edmeades and Stromdahl has been working closely with Shelter Planners, HSHC and the County on the design.
They have visited a recently built facility in York, PA and spent countless hours reviewing ideas from shelters around the country as they move forward with the design of the new facility. In the spring I went to a day long seminar on "how to design and build a new shelter" put on by the Humane Society of the United States and shared many of the more exciting ideas with the design team. Shelter Planners and the Edmeades group have also met with HSHC staff to hear firsthand how their departments work and what the staff needs in order to meet the challenges of working in a shelter environment.
For those of you unaware of the plans, the new shelter building will be built (assuming the County is able to provide the funding, as we anticipate) on the existing 26 acre Connolly Road site in the field near the horse barn. There were three major site considerations with which we were faced. First and foremost, we had to be able to continue operations of the existing facility during the year long construction period, so locating a new building where the current building is was impossible. Second, although it is a large site, we are subject to a 170' setback from the property lines, which means that the new building has to be built inside of a bubble that is at least 170 feet from all lot lines.
Third, there is a sizable portion of that bubble that is in a natural resource zone, which further inhibited the ability to locate the building. Fourth, we are limited in the number of dogs that can be housed at the facility due to the fact that we are on a septic system that is sized for no more than 85 dogs. This is not really a major issue as that is within the guidelines established by the Shelter Planners report. Fifth, we needed to significantly increase parking, and there will be 75 spaces in the new parking lot. Finally, we needed to relocate Rebel's Dog Park, and we are attempting to have it adjacent to the new parking lot.
Some of the major highlights of the new shelter (subject to change, but at this time we are moving forward with these design features included):
- a surgical suite to perform spay/neuter procedures before and animal leaves the facility (puppies and kittens that are not of age for the procedure will be exempt, but will be required to have the procedure when of age);
- two cat free-roam or community rooms, each holding 10-12 cats;
- additional cat cages for 24 cats;
- separate intake areas in our tech department for dogs and cats;
- a small critter room;
- a separate kitten room and a separate nursery;
- 4 get acquainted rooms for prospective adopters to spend some quiet time with cats;
- two adoption paperwork rooms;
- a conference room that can hold upwards of 75 people for meetings and presentations
- 26 large dog kennels;
- 18 small dog kennels;
- additional stray hold areas for dogs and cats;
- isolation areas with separate air handling systems;
- pressure wash stations throughout the kennel areas;
- a grooming area for dogs
- heated pipes under the first two feet of each dog kennel to keep them warm during the winter
- an attached dog walk area;
- 4 smaller dog exercise areas in a courtyard
and more.
The design team is creating an exciting new facility that most everyone will be proud of. With all due respect to the tax paying members of the community who want a say in the design, I believe we have that covered.
Some in the community have taken exception to the fact that I have repeatedly stated that when Mary Leavens took over as Executive Director and I was into my 4th month as Board President, a decision was made to run the shelter as a "business." I am not sure exactly what horrifying images popped into the heads of those who have expressed displeasure at this notion, but let me share with the community what "running the shelter like a business" means.
It means first and foremost that our animals are kept healthy, fed and clean. It means that our staff's hourly wage is raised above the poverty level, and that employees' hours are set for when we need them to work and not when it is convenient for them to work. It means that we carefully balance expenses based on revenue projections, and deal with shortfalls when they occur. At our first staff meeting we asked each department head to come up with a wish list. On those lists were a phone system that worked, a computer system that worked, a van that didn't catch on fire again, a living wage, a new shelter plus countless small items - stainless steel cat dishes and stethoscopes, for example - that never should have been on a wish list in the first place as they should have been some of the tools provided to the staff. We have been able to provide all of these items with the exception of a new shelter, and we are closer to that goal than ever.
Running it like a business also means keeping records. There had never been a comprehensive system to keep track of donors. There is now. There had never been a computerized way to keep track of volunteer hours and tasks. There is now. There had never been an accurate system to keep track of all of the animals brought to us; in fact, the Shelter Planners report in 2007 referenced that 588 animals were "unaccounted for", this occurring when there was an Executive Director that some are now pining for. Running it like a business means reviewing contracts with vendors and making changes that result in better pricing and servicing, and it means developing a better working relationship with Harford County veterinarians and Harford County Animal Control. Running it like a business also meant creating a Code of Conduct for volunteers, which was part of the reason some left -- they simply did not like being told that things had to be done "our way" and according to established policies and guidelines.
So yes, under my watch we are going to run HSHC like a business and not a mom-and-pop operation. I make no apologies for that - not when I said it, not now, not ever.
We are in the process of redesigning our foster program and expect to have it revamped and running after the first of the year. We are networking with other open admission shelters to determine what is working for them, what is not, and why. We will also be working with former employees and associates and a local rescue group to structure a program that makes sense for the animals, for HSHC and for Harford County.
That brings us to rescue organizations and Kara the collie. Just for the record, we will not call a dog "purebred" without AKC papers that document that claim, regardless of how closely they might resemble Lassie, Rin Tin Tin or Spuds Mackenzie. While I admire Ms. Neidhardt's passion and commitment to collies, I have 100 percent confidence in how this dog's brief tenure with us was handled.
Generally speaking, our policy with all adoptable dogs is that we will keep them at the shelter for a minimum of two weeks after they come off of their stray hold. This gives the public time to see the dogs on our website, at the shelter, or on our Facebook page, and it also gives the public the opportunity to see that we do not just offer pit bulls and pit bull mixed dogs, a breed with an unfortunately vilified reputation. Our webpage averages 30,000 unique hits a month. We have more foot traffic than any rescue group could ever hope to have.
There has been some grousing that a rescue group offered to pay the adoption fee to take Kara out of our facility and that HSHC turned them down. Problem with that is that it never happened. But repeat a story often enough and it becomes just another urban legend. In mid-September Ms. Neidhardt posted on her Facebook page that "I always find it humorous that people who do not have firsthand knowledge of something claim to know what really happened. Too funny." Maybe I, too, would find it funny if the stakes for HSHC and our animals weren't so high.
Now some make the claim that Kara would have been much better off being placed in a foster home immediately, including one who very publicly fretted that Kara's "spirit could be crushed" after only a few days at the shelter. Yet how would Kara's spirit have been after being in a foster home for 2 or 3 or 4 months, then getting ripped out to go to her new forever home? In the brief time that Kara was with us, she happily shared her kennel with 2 other dogs. She was clean, she was fed, she was checked out by a vet, she had daily walkers and she had canine companionship. In other words, she was fine. She was at the shelter a total of 18 days including her stray hold - NOT the 4 weeks that some have posted - when she was adopted. We could not be happier for her and her new adoptive family.
Since June of this year our staff has reached out more than 300 times to rescue groups, with very little success to show for these daily efforts. This disclosure is not meant to cast stones at rescue groups, but rather to illuminate those who view our rescue efforts in a dim light. Most dog rescue groups are breed specific, mixes need not apply. Too old? No thanks. Medical issues? No thanks.
We recently had one prominent Harford based rescue group tell us that they were only interested in dogs that were under 20 pounds and "drop dead gorgeous." We are blessed to be working with Stuart Feline Rescue in Churchville and are seeking other organizations that can take cats from us and place them in loving homes, but the sad reality is that the Stuart Feline Rescues have been, for us, few and far between. But the young ladies in our adoptions department will keep smiling and dialing, hoping against hope to find other area rescues that can help us in our fight to reduce the euthanasia of adoptable dogs and cats.
Earlier I talked about the staff's wish lists at my first meeting with the different departments. Other than the new facility, Mary and I have two major items, or rather positions, on our wish list. First, we would like to have a full- or near full-time veterinarian on staff and will have this as a priority when the new shelter is built. Second is an animal behaviorist who will help us work with some of the more difficult cases, and who will also be responsible for running the foster and rescue programs. If these items are as important to you as they are to us, then help us raise money and let the County know that these two items on our wish list mean as much to you as they do to us.
Over the past two and a half years, Executive Director Mary Leavens, the staff, the Board and I have worked diligently to right a ship that was taking on water from many different sides. We have made significant progress in stabilizing the vessel, and trust that our goal of increasing our save rate, increasing adoptions and significantly reducing the euthanasia rate will be achieved, in time. Finally, please take a moment to "like" us on our Facebook page. This simple act will help keep you informed of what is happening at and with the Shelter, which animals have been selected as "Pets of the Week," and upcoming special events such as the Walk-and-Wagathon on November 5th. Here is the link.
We look forward to continued support from the community, both financially through donations and through volunteering as dog walkers, cat cuddlers, groundskeepers, fundraisers, event planners and all of the other activities that enable us to do the good work we do.


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In his time off from the ongoing Twilight series, Jackson Rathbone decided to dive right into a film about the nature of fear itself: Dread, based on the Book of Blood short story by horror-fantasy author Clive Barker. In the film, adapted and directed by Anthoni DiBlasi, Rathbone plays Stephen, a mild-mannered film student who gets caught up in a classmate's study of fear -- a project that takes an unexpectedly dark and disturbing turn.
FEARnet spoke with Rathbone by phone as he was preparing to play New Orleans with his band, 100 Monkeys, with whom he'll be touring right up to the start of his promo duties for June's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. (Read our Eclipse-focused chat with Rathbone here) Rathbone discussed his reasons for taking on the part in the gory psychological thriller -- including the behind-the-scenes story of his brush with a live maggot, partially documented on the Dread DVD, out this week -- and how the disparate worlds of Dread and Twilight both fit into his multi-faceted career.
Rathbone also recalled his challenging guest spot on Criminal Minds as a killer with multiple personality disorder and spoke about fight training for M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, his upcoming fantasy-action film. Dallas fans can catch Rathbone in person on April 24, when he appears with 100 Monkeys at the Spencer Bell Legacy Concert in memory of his late friend, Spencer Bell, whose posthumously-released song Beautiful, More So also marks Rathbone's music video directing debut.
Dread is out on DVD this week as part of the After Dark Horrorfest.
FEARnet: How's the tour going, and where are you right now? Do you get pulled back from time to time to do press for films like Dread and the upcoming Twilight film, Eclipse?
Jackson Rathbone: We just got into New Orleans, which is nice because my mom was born and raised here. Well, basically I kind of go back and forth; sometimes we have driving days and literally I'll have one day where I fly back and do some promos. So I can keep both up at the same time. It's fun… I'm always in motion.
What was it about the script for Dread that hooked you and made you want to be a part of it?
I've always been fascinated by Clive Barker's dark, Gothic world, and I was a fan of the Hellraiser series when I was growing up. When I got the script, I was told it involved his short story so I read them both and I thought, this is much more of a personalized, humanized version of these dark tales that Clive Barker likes to tell. I really liked it because it was something that could happen in real life -- the derangement of a character like Quaid [played by Shaun Evans]-- that was something that was grounded in reality, and I really liked that aspect of it. I was kind of on the fence, so I gave it to a friend of mine to read and he got through all of it, and at the end he was like, oh man, I almost vomited toward the end. That's when I knew I had to do it.
What was it that you think brought him to that crucial vomiting point?
I think it was the realistic element of the ending, really. I don't want to give away or spoil the ending, but the realistic, visceral imagery of what Anthony was able to pull out of a short story and turn into a full length feature script -- it's one of those things, I have such a strong imagination whenever I read a script, I can visualize things pretty well. A lot of my friends are like that too because they're artists.
In the DVD special features for Dread, there's a behind the scenes moment where we see you eat a maggot. Please tell us there's a good reason for why that happened?
[Laughs] That was kind of a dare; I don't know if they got the entire scene on camera, but you know… In the beginning of Dread, Stephen's only friend is a crow. There are a couple of scenes that I don't think made it into the final cut where I feed the crow little maggots.
So these maggots were on set the whole time, especially towards the end, and people were always joking with one another, "You have to eat a maggot!" They're full of protein, they're actually not that bad for you. So Anthony DiBlasi was holding one out, and I happened to be covered in blood and it had been a long day, and somebody asked me to eat the maggot -- so I did!
The funniest thing about that is that someone's already posted that clip to the 100 Monkeys message board under the title, "Sexiest Jackson Moments…"
You're kidding me! Wow. I'll take it!
How familiar were you with Clive Barker's work beforehand, and did you ever get the chance to meet with him at any point during production?
I never got the chance to meet Clive. I was running and gunning, shooting that film; I was up there for 28 days, I believe, and worked every day. I don't think I had a single day off. So I never got to meet him, but I really wanted to. I'm extremely jealous of Anthony, who got to meet with him a lot. He's worked with Clive in a producer capacity several times, and then he was able to adapt this short story into a feature. I thought he did an amazing job with it, I love the slight changes and how he expanded upon his ideas to lengthen it out and make it a full length story.
One Barker-esque element that is hinted at early on in Dread is the subtle sexual subtext between Stephen and Quaid, especially as horror and sexuality can often be quite intertwined. Is that tension something that was present in your mind or discussed beforehand?
I'd definitely say that horror films are the best kinds of films to take a date to. You get a little scared, you get a little closer. But in terms of filming, there were only a couple of scenes that seemed to me to have a slight sexuality, especially when Quaid is sort of laying out his idea for this project and he's in the shower while Stephen's outside the shower. I think that was one of those first moments, for Stephen, where he's thinking, "This guy's kind of weird." And of course, after the club and all the things that go down in the house afterwards, there's definitely a sexual [vibe] there. But I don't think it's too homoerotic. It's more a subtlety of these two guys becoming friends and testing the , which is always kind of weird.
Dread does have its gory moments, but it's much more a deeply psychological thriller than a straight out blood-fest -- and that seems to be what makes it all the more disturbing, doesn't it?
I definitely agree. You know, it's hard for me to classify Dread as a horror film; it does have horrific elements, but horror to me has always had more of a fantastical element - movies with monsters, or films like Friday the13th or Halloween. As opposed to this, which I think of more as a psychological thriller; it's much more about testing the limits of your mind and your psyche, exploring the darker side.
On the subject of fear, what's the first movie that ever scared you?
The first movie that ever scared me was Poltergeist. I watched it when I was about ten, my older sisters made me watch it. Freaked me out for two or three days. I couldn't sleep at all, I was scared of my own shadow… that was definitely the first movie that ever did it for me in the horror genre, and it freaked me the hell out. My parents got real mad at my older sisters for that one.
Dread is a film more in the traditional horror realm than perhaps Twilight is, but do you see much of an overlap between those two worlds?
I don't know… I've always been varied in terms of the art I like to create; I'm a musician, I'm an actor, I write, I just directed my first music video for one of Spencer Bell's songs called "Beautiful, More So," and I also have the same degree of varied taste in art. So it depends on your taste, really. But they are very different films. [Laughs] Twilight's more of a romantic action film, and Dread's more of a psychological thriller. The two are very different, but that's also how I've managed my career, through very different mediums and different characters, as much as I can. It lets me spread my wings as an actor and try on different shoes for a little while.
At the beginning of Dread, Stephen meets Quaid as a stranger in a darkened alley. Have you had any similarly fateful, random, life-changing meetings in strange places yourself?
Well, I don't have too many life-changing experiences in dark alleys, I've got to admit. [Laughs] But I was fortunate enough to go to a high school called Interlochen Arts Academy, and we had halls in the dorms that we lived in, and I lived down the hall from two guys who eventually became my best friends later in life. One of them was Spencer Bell, who I met as I was blaring some Primitive Radio Gods. I don't know if you know that band, but it's a fairly obscure band from back in the '90s. And Spencer came by and said, "Hey man, are you playing Primitive Radio Gods? Hell yeah, I love that band!" We kind of became friends through music.
That was about ten years ago; Spencer passed away about three and a half years ago from adrenal cancer. Spencer and I had always written and played music for each other, sending it back and forth when he was living in New York and I was living out in Los Angeles. Spencer formed a couple of bands, and then he passed away and his CD was released posthumously. So now we're working with his father, Bill Bell, and his other band members from The Stevedores, to release his albums posthumously. We're about to release the third one, and we're supporting it with the Spencer Bell Legacy Foundation which is coming up in Dallas, Texas, on April 24. There will be performances by Spencer's other band mates from bands he's been in since he was 15, and a record release of his new album that we put out. So I hope people come check that out. You can go to ASCCNow.com, which is Artists Supporting a Cure for Cancer Now, or SpencerBellMemorial.com. There's some amazing music that he was making that never got a chance to see the light of day until he passed away. That changed my life.
Tell us about your guest spot on Criminal Minds, which may have been a surprising role for some fans see you in.
That was one of the roles that I, to use a vampire pun, loved sinking my teeth into. I just love playing characters that are really out there. That was a hard role; I got to work with [actor-director] Jason Alexander, who's incredible to work with as an actor because he is an actor and he understands the difficulty in trying to play extreme characters as honestly as possible. I had a great time working on that set. I got to work with Matthew Gray Gubler a lot - he's one of the coolest guys I've met so far.
Right after The Twilight Saga: Eclipse premieres (June 30), you've got a prominent role in M. Night Shyamalan's epic-scale fantasy film The Last Airbender (July 2). What kind of fun did you get to have on that set?
M. Night Shyamalan brought it to life; it's the first film he hasn't completely come up with from scratch. It's pretty cool, it's going to be an amazing action movie for families. It's an amazing fantasy realm. I was stoked to be a part of it, I got to do like three months of kung fu training.
What forms of fighting did you train in?
It was a lot of different forms, kind of a crash course. I learned power fist form and they taught me a lot of grappling techniques and holds, it was basically a run-through of many forms. I will say that my kicks are terrible. I don't kick so well. I'm pretty good with my hands and my hand-to-hand combat, but foot-to-foot? Not so good.
Do you get to use your character's signature sword in this as well?
Not yet. Right now it's still the first series, so he's rocking a boomerang.
Lastly, what do you get to call M. Night Shyamalan on set? M? Night? Mr. Shyamalan?
Night. I call him Night. I wondered that, too. He's an amazingly cool guy. It's great to get to work with someone who I've respected for years.


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Posted by Andy Fullerton on Mar 14, 2013 in FS, Movie News | 0 comments
Here is the new red band trailer for Kick Ass 2, be warned this video contains some bad language. Kick Ass 2 opens August 16th and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
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Careers fair can help you find that ideal job (From Tewkesbury Admag)
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Careers fair can help you find that ideal job
6:10pm Thursday 30th August 2012 in Business
FINDING that dream job is now as difficult as ever, but your Worcester News has again come to the rescue to offer help and advice on finding a new career.
The Worcester News Jobs and Careers Fair, in association with Bright Assessing, will take place in the Guildhall , Worcester, on Thursday, September 20. Following on from the success of the previous fair held in March, this established event continues to give local jobseekers the chance to gather information on a variety of local employment opportunities and training and educational courses.
The fair will welcome new exhibitors, as well as hosting returning stands. Richard Hencher, Worcester News recruitment manager, said: "It is really important and also very positive that we continue to help local people by organising this careers event. "The last fair in March was a huge success and attracted more than 750 visitors. We received lots of positive feedback and success stories from jobseekers and exhibitors alike."
The sponsor of this year's event, Bright Assessing, which specialises in training people to become NVQ Assessors, is exhibiting again following on from their success at the previous event.
Samantha Thwaites, narketing manager, said: "We had more than 80 enquiries into our assessing course on the day from people who were looking for a job or a new career, many of whom had experienced rejection after rejection and felt we had provided them with a lifeline."
To find out more about exhibiting at the fair, call Richard Hencher on 01905 742355. The fair will be open from 10am until 4pm. Admission is free. To view video footage from previous events, visit worcester news. co.uk/jc.


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You'll enjoy this vacation in luxurious 5-star castle hotels throughout Ireland including Cavan, Roscommon, Adare and Meath.
Travel to Ireland for 6, 7 or 8 nights and enjoy 5-star accommodations along with the warmth of an Irish Bed & Breakfast of your choice!
Spend 6 nights in two exciting cities; Paris and Dublin! With luxurious accommodations and beautiful scenery, this will be a vacation to remember.
Experience all of the beauty, romance, food and history that encompasses Italy as you travel to Rome, Florence and Venice. You will travel by train between cities which means that you will be rested and ready to enjoy every moment of your 6 or 8 night trip.
Travel to Ireland for 6, 7 or 8 nights with this luxurious vacation package complete with 4 and 5-star accommodations, meals and more!
This Ireland vacation package will take you to the cities of Dublin, Galway, Clare, Killarney and Killenard for 8 nights.
Learn about your Irish roots and walk in the footsteps of your ancestors with the help of a professional genealogist.


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Contemporary Stainless Steel Roasting Pan with Rack (13x16-in.) by Calphalon
Double Bonus
We Epicurious editors have selected this as a go-to, tried and true item. We love it and hope you'll love it, too.
From Calphalon's Contemporary Stainless line, this brilliantly shiny roaster holds a ham, turkey, chicken or pork tenderloin, leaving plenty of room for vegetables. It comes with a nonstick rack that ... See complete description »
Item #403913 - Hurry, Only 6 In Stock!
Ships from Our Warehouse in 1-2 business days. Gift wrap is available for this item.
DOUBLE BONUS - Purchase $299 or more of select Calphalon Cookware* and receive a Bonus 7-pc. Utensil Set; a $55 value. Purchase $399 or more of select Calphalon Cookware* and receive the Bonus Utensil Set and a Bonus Unison Nonstick 12-in. Everyday Pan; a $240 total value. Not valid on orders that ship internationally. Limit one per order. Valid for a limited time or while supplies last. *Offer Excludes All Simply Calphalon and Classic Stainless Cookware.
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From Calphalon's Contemporary Stainless line, this brilliantly shiny roaster holds a ham, turkey, chicken or pork tenderloin, leaving plenty of room for vegetables. It comes with a nonstick rack that lifts out for transporting your roasted food to the chopping block and for easier cleaning of the roaster itself. Two side handles are sturdy and wide for an easier grasp. Bring stunning, contemporary design to your kitchen with Calphalon Contemporary Stainless cookware. Crafted from lustrous, brushed stainless steel, clean lines and curvaceous silhouettes - Contemporary Stainless epitomizes the soul of modern style and with professional performance and dishwasher-safe convenience.
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I've owned many roasting pans over the years but this is the absolute best. It is heavy enough to do a great job yet not so much that I can't manage it. It heats evenly and cleans up easily - and it fits in the larger compartment of my sink. I can't imagine needing a larger one. Used it last night for a standing rib roast and it turned out perfectly. I don't think I'll ever need another roasting pan. You can't go wrong with this one; you can spend more but I doubt you'll get more.
Used this on arrival to make braised lamb shanks. What a delight. The large volume held everything with ease, and allowed for extra sauce that we enjoyed as a soup after the meat was gone from the lamb shanks.
The size and shape of this pan are perfect for any roast I might want to make, and it fits easily into my oven. I particularly like the generous handles. Other pans I have seen in stores have handles that my hand doesn't fit into. Even with an oven mitt I can grasp this easily.It does a fine job of roasting...distributing heat evenly. I can't vouch for durability, since I've just gotten it, but will go with America's Test Kitchen's assurance that it will last forever, as all good cookware should.
This pan is very heavy duty but at the same time it is fairly easy to handle and lift. I roasted root vegetables in some olive oil and they cooked perfectly, beautifully carmelized and crisp tender.It heats evenly and the handles make it easy to stay safe while lifting in and out of oven. Restaurant quality for a great price. Just the large size I was searching for.
I am in love with this pan!
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PITTSBURGH | Sitting on top of the Empress riverboat riding down the Monongahela River, 13 of the top prospects who will be taken in the first round of the NHL draft Friday night talked about their paths to this moment.
Many were Canadian kids living out one more step toward a dream they cultivated as kids. But a few were European players who became highly touted prospects by leaving home and playing junior hockey in North America: Finnish defenseman Olli Maatta, Russian center Mikhail Grigorenko and Czech center Radek Faksa.
It was clear Thursday that it was worth the journey for all of them.
"I think if someone want to go here and they left family from home, it's his dream to play NHL," Faksa said. "I think it's better for him go here because if he want to play NHL, it's better him go for CHL and play here."
In many ways, the biggest benefit is the extra exposure. While Washington Capitals prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov and others elite stars have no trouble getting noticed, Grigorenko made sure he was at the forefront by playing for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"I already shown people that I want to play NHL. I will not go back to Russia," he said. "In Russia I know we have a lot of good players there, but no one see them and they will not be drafted because of this. But if they would be here, everyone would see them; some scouts and general managers are always at the games, so they would draft them."
On the ice, there are plenty of benefits.
"It probably has made my game more Canadian, a lot more American one. It probably makes it easier to make the jump to the NHL," said Maatta, who played for Dale Hunter's London Knights and could be there for the Caps at No. 11. Maata explained that adapting to a more North American style included "making the decisions faster, becoming more physical, being ready to get hit."
The consensus was that the language barrier was the most difficult part of the adjustment. Maatta studied English for 10 years, but this was different.
Leaving home wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Faksa.
"It wasn't too tough for me because I lived in Czech by myself because I played in other cities. It wasn't problem for me," he said. "Bigger problem for me was English because I didn't speak English before I came here."
As far as hockey itself, it was an adjustment, too.
"It was faster and harder for me because here is small rink than Czech and different style hockey, so it was something new," Faksa said.
You can read much more about that trend of Europeans to the Canadian Hockey League in Friday's Washington Times and online here.


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Course enquiries: 01708 462801
General enquiries: 01708 455011
HAVERING College has added its voice of congratulations after the cycle servicing company Cycle Systems won the Rising Star prize at the annual BikeBiz Awards.
The college based in Hornchurch, Essex, is proud to work with Cycle Systems in delivering an apprenticeship in cycle maintenance. Sean Lally, Director of Cycle Systems, accepted his BikeBiz trophy in front of a packed house at the Hilton Metropole, NEC, Birmingham. The "Rising Star" category is a fairly new one at the BikeBiz event and has been set up to help promote and acknowledge the hard work and successes of smaller companies entering the trade.
Mr Lally, who set up Cycle Systems in Islington, North London, with his wife Julia in 2007, said: "I would encourage anyone in the cycle trade who is interested in high quality training provision to contact me. We are now in the business of providing Government QCF accredited Level Two and Level Three qualifications in Cycle Mechanics through an engineering framework and are very proud of the quality of both our facilities and instruction delivered in partnership with Havering College." Havering College employer engagement manager Nigel Hogg, who was a guest at the BikeBiz Awards, said: "Working with Cycle Systems has opened up new opportunities for apprenticeships in this exciting and growing sector. It is fantastic to see Cycle Systems recognised as a rising star in the cycling industry." The event was a double celebration for Cycle Systems and Havering College as they also deliver an apprenticeship for UK folding bike giant Brompton. The Brentford-based company proved its continued popularity by picking up the Bike Brand BikeBiz Awards prize. Havering College delivers a wide range of apprenticeships across all sectors, including cycle maintenance. For further information on apprenticeships at Havering College call the Business Services team on 01708 462800 or email email@example.com
Date: 13 Oct 2011
© 2014 Havering College


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The Oprah-Lance Armstrong interview teaser shows them sitting on chairs! OMG! (video)
Jan 15, 2013, 12:06 PM EDT
Lance Armstrong will sit down with Oprah for an exclusive interview on Thursday, and the big news is that there will be no couch. They're on chairs! And is that hand lotion on the table? OK that's it, g'night folks.
Reports say of course that Armstrong will admit to doping and kind-of-somewhat apologize, and who knows if that leak was inadvertent or came from OWN itself? Either way, just because we know what's going to happen doesn't mean that people won't watch. For proof of that concept, just look at the movie Titanic. Exciting two-minute teaser video below (of Lance and Oprah, not Titanic).
"I would say he did not come clean in the manner that I expected," Winfrey said on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday. She added that she and her production team were "mesmerized and riveted" by some of Armstrong's answers. "I think the most important questions and answers that people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered," she said.
As for myself, there's only one person to whom I think Armstrong should apologize: that would be the guy who dressed as a syringe at the Amgen Tour of California in 2009. Remember when the guy ran alongside Lance's bike, and Lance pushed him into a snow bank? Syringe Toting Guy was ahead of his time: speaking truth to power. So be a standup guy, Lance, and apologize to Syringe Toting Guy. That's all we ask.
Here's the teaser, which tells us pretty much nothing, except that there will be no Tom Cruise couch-hopping.
OWN press release:
Oprah Winfrey's exclusive no-holds-barred interview with Lance Armstrong, 'Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive,' has expanded to air as a two-night event on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. The special episode of 'Oprah's Next Chapter' will air Thursday, January 17 from 9-10:30 p.m. ET/PT (as previously announced) and Friday, January 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The interview will be simultaneously streamed LIVE worldwide both nights on Oprah.com.
Meanwhile, the computer graphics elves at New Media Animation have been hard at work:
- klownboy - Jan 15, 2013 at 2:45 PM
LOL, I love it! Keep up with the good sarcastic humor guys!
- guinsrule - Jan 15, 2013 at 6:34 PM
I'm outraged over this! I thought I'd never have to see Oprah on my tv again…and now I've upgraded to HD! Oprah in HD!! I'll never forgive you for this Armstrong! NEVER!
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Richard Baird from New Jersey could be facing jail time after he allegedly shot and killed squirrels that he said were invading his home — and then hung them on a fence.
Linden Police said that Baird is charged with a single count of animal cruelty. He could face up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, according to Det. Lt. James Sarnicki.
Baird told police he was having a problem with squirrels getting into his house through a hole. He said he tried to patch the hole with metal but the rodents kept sneaking back inside.
Det. Lt. Sarnicki said Baird decided to set a trap – slathering peanut butter on a tree in his backyard to lure the rodents. Then, he opened fire on the unsuspecting squirrels with a BB gun.
"He was taking them out on by one," Sarnicki said. "He was frustrated that he couldn't keep the squirrels out of his house and he took matters into his own hands."
Sarnicki said they found as many as ten dead squirrels, including at least a half dozen carcasses that Baird hung from a backyard fence.
He said it was unclear why the homeowner decided to hang the animals.
"My theory is maybe he wanted the dead bodies to send a message to other squirrels not to trespass on his property," Sarnicki told Fox News Radio. "That's my theory."
Police said they consulted with the county prosecutor to see if the squirrel massacre qualified as a felony offense. Under the law, Baird could have been charged with up to ten counts of animal cruelty — and in Linden it is against the law to shoot squirrels.
"We don't want to see him be severely punished, yet we do want to send a message that there are other ways to handle animals that come on your property," Sarnicki said.
Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka told Fox News Radio that it's an interesting and unique case.
"I've never experienced somebody in the city being charged for shooting squirrels," he said. "But then again, nobody hung them up on their fence like trophies."
Gerbounka said the message for city residents is "you shouldn't take matters into your own hands."
He said the city has animal control officers to take care of squirrel issues and said it's important for residents to use the appropriate agency to solve their problems.
"They are critters and they want to live just like everyone else," he said, referring to the squirrels.
Police in England were involved in a 19-hour stand-off with a householder who had armed himself … with a bottle of household cleaning fluid.
At least 100 officers surrounded Richard Jablonski's home in Weston Coyney, Staffordshire, last January after someone called police to say he had a gun.
Following the siege Mr Jablonski was arrested and charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
But the case was dropped at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday after it was accepted the 38-year-old was actually holding a bottle of the Cillit Bang cleaning product during the incident.
Staffordshire Police have always refused to reveal the cost of the Aster Close siege, despite coming under pressure from their own police authority members.
Paul Spratt, prosecuting, told the court: "When officers got to the address the defendant was alleged to have produced a gun, before retiring into the property and holding them at bay. The defendant asserted what he was holding was a bottle of Cillit Bang. There is an unresolvable conflict between the evidence from the police and the evidence of the defendant. Therefore the prosecution offers no evidence in this case."
Judge Paul Glenn returned a not guilty verdict.
Mr Jablonski had been due to stand trial early next month. Armed police cordoned off part of the Weston Heights estate and a section of the A520 Leek Road as they tried to coax Mr Jablonski out of the house during the siege on January 6.
After the incident, officers recovered a BB gun from Mr Jablonski's kitchen, although it is now accepted he was not holding the firearm during the siege.
Staffordshire Police have defended the Aster Close operation.
In a joint statement with Staffordshire Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the force said: "The CPS, after consulting with Staffordshire Police, has decided to offer no evidence, for legal and evidential reasons. For the duration of the incident the police response was overseen by highly-trained and skilled officers who managed the situation in a measured manner and ultimately brought it to a safe and peaceful conclusion."
A suspect tried to escape police custody Monday after his hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
A spokesperson with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said first and foremost no one's security was ever at risk and Monday's attempted escape is an example of how courtroom security works.
The inmate had already been in court for his hearing when he attacked a deputy.
The man was placed in a holding cell after his hearing and when they tried to get another inmate out of the same cell, police said he charged the door and pushed the deputy back as he was trying to escape.
The inmate and the deputy then stumbled into a courtroom. The inmate made it about 20 ft. before he was tackled and deputies took control.
Police have not released the inmates name or his original charges, but did say he is now charged with attempted escape and assault.
Boys from Century Middle School in Lakeville, Minnesota snapped photos of girls' butts and forwarded them to their classmates.
The game then moved to the locker room, where two girls were unknowingly photographed while partially undressed and the images spread rapidly from cellphone to cellphone. It came to an end Tuesday with criminal charges against four teenagers.
"It started out as a game and quickly and unfortunately crossed a significant invasion-of-privacy line," said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. "This isn't funny. It's not a game to be doing this sort of activity, and it needs to stop."
He outlined the May incidents on Tuesday when he announced charges against a 14-year-old boy, a 13-year-old boy and two 14-year-old girls.
The gross-misdemeanor charges include conspiracy to commit interference with privacy, interference with privacy and criminal defamation.
The court system keeps the teens' names private because they are juveniles. Prosecutors will not seek detention for the teens, but instead ask that they perform community service and write letters apologizing to victims, Backstrom said.
"I want them to learn a lesson, but I don't want them left with a permanent record that's going to be harmful to them," Backstrom said. "I'm not sure they even realize it was a crime to do what they did."
Investigators believe more than 40 students saw the photos and video taken in the Century locker room. Backstrom said the four teens charged were the ones most directly involved in distributing the images.
The news release from Backstrom's office offered the following version of events:
The two boys began taking photos of girls' buttocks in the hallway and then forwarding them to other students. Then, each boy paid $5 to one of the girls who was later charged, and one of them gave her a can of soda, to take the inappropriate photograph and a video in the locker room.
The second girl who was charged took one photograph at the urging of the other girl who was charged.
The images show the two girls' lower bodies from the back, partially undressed.
After school officials learned of the incident, they suspended 16 students for violations of the school harassment policy, the district confirmed Tuesday.
In a statement, the district's director of administrative services, Tony Massaros, said: "Lakeville Area Public Schools are committed to providing a safe and respectful learning environment for all students."
Lakeville students can use cellphones at Century as part of approved class assignments, but must turn them over to staff if they are causing a disturbance. Student handbooks posted on the websites for Lakeville high schools prohibit harassment and sending or receiving pictures or videos of people who are partially or completely undressed.
Judy Keliher, chairwoman of the Lakeville school board, said the incident at Century "gives you pause to make sure that you have all the right pieces in place."
"It's just a good lesson learned, [a chance] for everybody to step back, for parents to have discussions with kids," she said.
Jill Murphy, editorial director at Common Sense Media, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with schools, parents and kids on topics related to media and digital literacy, said an incident like the one at Century can be a very effective way to teach kids about the correct ways to use technology.
"Honestly, examples make things real," Murphy said. "The stakes are a lot higher."
35-year-old Danielle Harkins convinced the Florida teens that they needed to rid their bodies of demons as the group gathered before dusk Saturday around a small fire near the St. Petersburg Pier.
She told them that they should cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, then, they needed to burn the wounds to ensure that those spirits would not return.
Some kids got cut, police said. Some kids got burned. Harkins got arrested.
Harkins, a literacy teacher at Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center, was booked in jail Tuesday morning on child abuse charges in connection with the bizarre ritual. She was held in jail Tuesday night on $55,000 bail.
The ritual was attended by seven teenagers, all of Asian ethnic background, whom Harkins had taught a few years ago in her job at the center. At least two were injured, police said.
"Obviously, it's very strange," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz. "The motivations for the ritual are very unknown to us."
None of the teens told their parents about the incident. Police investigated after one of the teens, a 16-year-old boy, sent a text message about the incident to a friend. The friend told the boy's parents, who notified police.
In interviews with detectives, the teens were reluctant to talk about the ritual beyond the basic facts of what happened. They did reveal a few things.
When Harkins held a lighter to one teen's hand, wind blew the flame out, police said. That prompted her to douse his hand in perfume before setting it on fire. The boy suffered second-degree burns, police said.
Another teen was cut on the neck with a broken bottle, police said. Harkins used a flame to heat a small key, which she then used to cauterize the wound.
Steven Chanthalima, 17, one of the teens who attended the gathering, declined Tuesday evening to discuss what happened.
"I'm okay," he said. "I'm fine. All I know is she's in custody."
Harkins was suspended without pay from her job at the family center, where she has worked for about 41/2 years, said Carolyn Chance, the center's administrator.
"We had no suspicion of any of this," Chance said. "We do everything we can to know our employees."
None of the teens was currently taking part in any of the center's programs, Chance said. As a literacy specialist, Harkins taught reading and writing skills to the center's clients.
Though the motives behind the ritual remain unclear, court records and those who know Harkins offer a few clues.
Harkins recently divorced her husband, George. They had two children, a 4-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.
Records show that Harkins was the defendant in a sexual violence injunction that was dismissed in January. In August, she filed a domestic violence injunction against her husband, which was also dismissed.
The divorce was finalized June 1. About a month before, Harkins began acting strangely.
Lisa Cope, Harkins' next-door neighbor for the past four years, said the last time she saw her, Harkins had taken an interest in extreme religious beliefs.
"She was my friend," Cope said. "She cried on my shoulder when she and her husband were getting a divorce."
Cope didn't know what to make of her neighbor's newfound religious interest.
"She told me I was okay," Cope said. "She said I didn't have any demons."
In the past few days, Harkins disappeared. Cope picked up her mail. She phoned George Harkins and learned that the couple's children were fine. On Tuesday, she saw the story on the news.
"I don't know where she got the whole demon idea," she said. "Who knows what makes people think those things?"
A teacher in Montreal, Canada, has been suspended after he made his 10th-grade class watch the horrific video that allegedly shows Luka Magnotta murdering, eating and dismembering his lover.
School officials condemned the popular young instructor's decision to air the footage in his civics and history class.
They have provided psychological counseling for the 25 students who saw the disturbing images.
The video of Jun Lin's death, called '1 Lunatic, 1 Icepick,' has circulated on underworld gore websites since Magnotta allegedly released it online last month.
It's unclear what educational purpose the teacher, whose name was not released, thought he could bring to his classroom at Cavelier-De LaSalle High School by showing the clip.
School officials are furious with his decision.
'We condemn with one voice the actions of the teacher who showed students a video whose content was as inappropriate as it was offensive,' the school board said in a statement to the Toronto Star.
The news of the teacher's actions even reached Canadian Education Minister Michelle Courchesne, who condemned the instructor.
'It's horrifying. It's a very, very serious and total lack of judgment. I don't see any educational value in that (video).'
The teacher apparently aired the video after some students in the class convinced him to show it.
He gave them a choice about whether the wanted to watch the killing.They voted 22-to-3 to see it.
However, the three students who expressed concern about the video had to stay in the class while it was put on screen.
Before the teacher played the clip, he warned the class: 'He said, "Watch out, for sure there are images that could be shocking,"' student Maude Aubin-Boivin, 17, who was in the room at the time, told the Star.
She said her classmates found the video disturbing, but didn't receive any long term damage from watching it.
'For sure, at the beginning I found it tough. But I wasn't traumatized or anything. We see so much these days on TV,' she said.
Two 15-year-old girls have been arrested and Ottowa police are hunting for a 17-year-old girl accused of forcing other teens into prostitution.
Police said that they were laying charges of human trafficking, procuring, forcible confinement and sexual assault after a number of teen girls, between the ages of 13 and 17 were lured to a residence in late May and early June only to be abducted and delivered up to adult clients.
The most astounding aspect of the case is that the three chief suspects are all teen girls themselves.
The two 15-year-olds face almost a dozen charges. The third suspect is the wanted 17-year-old.
Staff Sgt. John McGetrick said police believe the trio were not acting on behalf of an adult organizer, but committed the alleged crimes on their own initiative.
"It's shocking, quite frankly," McGetrick said. "We asked the RCMP, who take the lead on human-trafficking, and they didn't know of any similar case in Canada."
The Ottawa Police Sexual Assault/Child Abuse Section investigated three incidents in late May and early June in which individual female victims were asked to meet at the Walkley Road residence "for social reasons" before being driven to other parts of Ottawa and forced into sex acts.
Investigators found connections between the three incidents, McGetrick said, and quickly identified the three suspects.
The two minors now in custody were arrested on June 8 and June 9 and face almost a dozen charges each, which also include abduction and robbery, assault and uttering threats.
One of the accused is further charged with administering a noxious substance.
They can't be named because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, but McGetrick said the department may apply to release more information in the future.
Regardless of their age, he said, they would be brought to justice.
"The actions that lead to the offence are the same whether you're 12 or 60," McGetrick said. "It's still an offence, and they still need to be held accountable."
Charges against the johns may follow, McGetrick said, but the investigation has not yet reached that point.
Natasha Albert has been living in the 2400 Block of Walkley Road for the past 19 years. Albert had initially assumed one of the accused minors was in trouble with the police because of a petty crime.
She was shocked to hear the arrest had to do with an alleged prostitution ring — one based out of her neighbourhood.
"This is insane," said Albert. "I cannot believe that such young girls would be the ones responsible for something like this."
She said she did not know the girls well, but had seen them in the neighbourhood before. She was extremely surprised by the idea that they might be capable of the alleged crimes.
68-year-old John Philip "Phil" Oldham from New York, who investigators say exposed himself to little girls at a Walt Disney World swimming pool, was arrested Monday.
A 7-year-old and a 9-year-old told an Orange County deputy that a man with white hair wearing red, white and blue swim trunks exposed himself to them in the pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
The 9-year-old told an investigator she was in the pool about 1:30 p.m. Monday when she almost swam into a man later identified as Oldham.
She said the man had his trunks pulled up to his waist on one side and something that looked like a "dog chew toy" was hanging out, according to the report. The girl said she thought it was "disgusting" and told her parents.
At the same time, the 7-year-old told her family that she saw a man with his "private" out of his swim shorts, the report states. The girl told the investigator she swam away, but the man followed her and she got scared, according to the report.
Police said that one parent watched Oldham for a while and noticed he would float around until he found other children with goggles.
The parents called the police, and after a brief investigation Oldham was arrested.
Oldham was arrested on two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition. He was in the process of being released from the Orange County Jail late Tuesday on $3,500 bail.
Public records show Oldham runs TargetVision Entertainment, an independent TV program distributor/media production company. An article in TV Week described him as a sales, marketing and consulting veteran with four decades of experience.
A man from western Pennsylvania who blamed his dog for causing an apartment fire has been jailed on charges that he set the blaze himself.
Cresson Township police have charged 58-year-old John Saparo with setting the July 12 fire. Police have yet to specify how.
Police did say that they've determined that the fire didn't start the way Saparo claimed.
He allegedly told officers he was cleaning and had several fans running when his dog knocked over one of the fans, which, somehow, started the fire.
Saparo remains in the Cambria County Jail awaiting a preliminary hearing June 20 on arson and related charges.
A Texas couple made global headlines back in 2011 after their property was searched for a "mass grave" that was later debunked as nothing more than a bad tip from an alleged psychic.
Joe Bankson and Gena Charlton have now filed a lawsuit against the Liberty County Sheriff's Office and several media organizations.
"Not a single body was found buried in the backyard," attorney Andrew B. Sommerman told The Dayton News. "This all started with a psychic who gave them (the sheriff's office) a tip — a bad psychic who had given the sheriff's office tips in the past that were wrong."
Along with the sheriff's office, Sommerman says the couple is filing suits alleging false statements against several media organizations, including KPRC, Belo Corp. The New York Times, CNN America, Thompson Reuters and ABC News.
In their lawsuit, the couple alleges that the search resulted in "mental anguish," financial loss and "substantial damages" to their reputations.
When asked what the couple hopes to achieve, Sommerman said, "A little dignity. Vindication … At least now everyone will know the truth."
In June 2011, local officials, the FBI and several national media organizations descended on the property as reports began to circulate that 25-30 bodies were buried on the grounds. After a search that Sommerman says left extensive damage to the property, police were forced to admit that their only "evidence" had come in the form of a tip from a 48-year-old grandmother, and self-described psychic, going by the name of "Angel."
In their lawsuit, which was filed last week in the 193rd Judicial District in Dallas, Bankson and Charlton claim they have been unable to return to their rented home because, "everyone looks at them askance because of the accusations made against them."
The couple also alleges that the sheriff's office failed to secure their property after what they call an "unreasonable search."
"This situation was handled okay on our end. It checked out for us," Liberty County Sheriff Henry Patterson told the Dayton News. "I am not worried about our part of it. Everyone (the media) at that location was told that nothing was going on and we couldn't stop what happened."
The couple is also reportedly trying to sue "Angel," who is listed as a Jane Doe in the lawsuit, but they have as yet been unable to obtain her legal name.


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By Mike DeFabo
Times West Virginian
The next state champion is here, inside the East Fairmont wrestling room, which overflows with the scent of hard work, the sound of childhood laughter and the intangible quality of youthful enthusiasm.
There he is, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to the Cheez-Its that have been ground into the carpet. Or perhaps he's that one, smiling through his blue Powerade mustache. Or maybe it's that youngster, laughing at the sound the wrestling mat makes when he rubs his foot along it.
Sure, right now the three dozen wrestlers — most still in elementary school — don't look much like the muscular, disciplined athletes who win high school championships. But give it time.
Full story


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Gear for the practice room
View Single Post
2005-11-16, 12:36
TEH PWNZOR!!!1qa
Alumni Staff
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: The West.
Posts: 4,433
Originally Posted by
You don´t need the best equipment to play technical stuff...
you don't need the best equipment to play anything. but you're totally missing the point. it's a fender, fender makes some shit amps, and some great amps. but most fender amps are CLEAN amps... and you say you play technical death metal. he wants to know what amp it is.
anyways... as far as wattage goes. 100w s.s. might be enough for you volumewise(must have a soft handed drummer)... but that still means jack shit. you really need to think, HOW DOES IT SOUND?
alot of amps are 100w, some are shit and some are not. an amp is not simply a box of watts. it's something that shapes your sound. i have three amps, all are 100w, does that mean that mg100 is just as good? don't kid yourself.
i'm doubting your teachers understanding of how wattage relates to volume and if he understands the difference between a tube amp and a s.s. amp. being a great guitarist has nothing to do really with knowledge of gear.
the actual volume difference between a 300w head and a 100w head is maybe like 3 to 4db, and as i said before, it's a headroom issue. being able to turn a 300w head up and be as loud as the 100w head, but without the shitty poweramp distortion.
now if we were talking tube amps, headroom may not be an issue, and that's where the 50-80w combo can come in. because tubes breakup in a much more musical way.that's why alot of people will by a 50w tube head instead of something else. they want the breakup.
for concerts, some places mic you, some places don't. you're playing the local stadium? definately a mic... you're playing at the bar & grill down the street? maybe not.
not to mention, band practice. not all bands have huge PA's in there bandrooms. you need to make sure your amp is loud enough for that.
yet in the end, still.... how does it sound?
Friends don't let friends play Krank!
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New consultation over East Lancashire windfarm scheme (From Chorley Citizen)
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New consultation over East Lancashire windfarm scheme
12:22pm Tuesday 16th October 2012 in East Lancashire
A CONTROVERSIAL windfarm planned for East Lancashire's moors has been scaled down.
Kelda Water Services will submit a new planning application to install five 125m turbines instead of seven above Todmorden and Bacup following public consultations.
Another public consultation will be held today from 4.30-7pm, at Bacup Hub in Burnley Road.
The company has contacted residents near to the development to tell them about the changes to the proposed wind farm on land owned by sister company Yorkshire Water near Gorpley Reservoir.
Kelda says the site will have a total output equivalent to the average annual demand of up to 8,132 homes.
Comments (5)
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3:36pm Tue 16 Oct 12
Noiticer says...
4:05pm Tue 16 Oct 12
Major Tom says...
4:25pm Tue 16 Oct 12
eastlancslad says...
No, that's not true is it Kelda. The windmills will only produce that amount of electricity if the wind is blowing constantly at the optimum speed. Which, of course, it doesn't. Average production is somewhere around 25% of maximum. So this project will supply only 2033 houses, not 8132. What is more, everyone who is struggling to pay the bills at present will have to pay more 'cos of the extra tax on 'green power'.
The only reason moorland is being industrialised is because of the guarenteed extra money 'green power' is allowed to charge.
Saving the planet? No, lining pockets of those who are already wealthy, and to hell with the plebs.
Eastlancslad, proud to be a pleb.
4:33pm Tue 16 Oct 12
district01 says...
Noiticer wrote:Probably the valley looked better before Darwen was built there!
More monstrosities to blight our moors - how many more before the blight is complete?
7:27pm Tue 16 Oct 12
jogalot says...
Comments are closed on this article.


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County's stroke services to be centred on Worcestershire Royal Hospital (From Malvern Gazette)
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County's stroke services to be centred on Worcestershire Royal Hospital
9:30am Tuesday 23rd July 2013 in News By Catherine Phillips, Reporter
AN announcement that stroke services in the county will be centred on Worcestershire Royal Hospital has been welcomed by the city's MP.
People calling for an ambulance for stroke symptoms will be taken to the hospital from Wednesday, following the opening of the Surgical clinical decisions unit in May this year.
The acute hospitals project team has been working hard for the last 12 months after a decision was passed in 2012 at the health overview and scrutiny committee to improve stroke services in Worcestershire.
The stroke unit at Worcester has a hyper acute stroke unit (HASU), acute stroke ward and an additional two consultants in the team, both with expertise in thrombolysis.
There is also a nursing team specifically trained to care for stroke patients and support from physiotherapists, dietitians and occupational therapists.
Robin Walker MP said that stroke patients needed rapid access to the best expert clinicians and the best equipment as soon as possible.
He said: "Having had cases of stroke in the family I am well aware of the importance of high quality emergency and rehabilitation services.
"I am hopeful that the changes announced today will help to improve stroke services in the county and make sure that more stroke sufferers in Worcestershire make a full recovery."
The Trust's TIA (high risk) outpatient clinics will not change and will continue to be held in Worcester from Monday to Wednesday, Kidderminster on Thursday and the Alexandra, Redditch, on Friday.
The surgical clinical decisions unit aims to see patients quickly and have them directed to the right scans and clinical experts which can be critical in cases of stroke.
Mr Walker has sought assurances from the Acute Trust that careful thought will be given to pathways for recovery and rehabilitation and they have confirmed that Worcester patients will go to Timberdine in Battenahll, Worcester, Redditch patients to the Princess of Wales Community Hospital and Wyre Forest patients to Cookley.
Comments (2)
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5:23pm Wed 24 Jul 13
rubalish says...
Perhaps the new service be able to save more lives with a much better service centralized in Worcester .
One good service is better than having two that is not up to scratch don't you think ?
I would hate to think relatives had to go through what we went through as a family all we wanted was for my husband was to get to a good unit with really good care to enable him to leave this world in peace .
He was only sixty four worked hard all his life and deserved a much better end to his life than was given at Worcester Royal .
I will have to live with those horrific memories forever .
5:40pm Wed 24 Jul 13
commonsense says...
Comments are closed on this article.


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Sheila Buff is a health writer with a special interest in nutrition. She is the author of many books on diet and health, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vitamins and Minerals, and was coauthor of the bestselling book Dr. Atkins' Age-Defying Diet.
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What is the LRC?
The Learning Resources Center (LRC) provides all UAA students with resources and opportunities to learn and achieve academic success. As a provider of academic support services, the LRC is an inclusive, supportive learning environment in which students can study or get extra help for their classes.
The LRC offers a number of services, including tutoring, computer access, study materials, and open, quiet, and small group study areas. Tutoring is available in a range of subjects, including reading, writing, English as a Second Language (ESL), world languages, and mathematics.
The Course Reserve Service provides access to many course-related and self-tutoring materials, including textbooks, reference materials, and a wide variety of study aids. Technology assistance is also provided in the open Computer Lab.
The LRC is located is in the Sally Monserud Hall (SMH) on the west end of the UAA campus, next to the Wendy Williamson Auditorium. Please stop in and see how the LRC can help you succeed!
For more information on the Learning Resources Center's services, please view our lab, library, and other pages or download the LRC Brochure.
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Hysterectomy, a procedure to remove the uterus, is considered major surgery. It is usually not used for sterilization, but it can be because the removal of the uterus makes it impossible for a woman to bear children. If the ovaries are removed during a hysterectomy, this procedure will end menstruation as well as the potential of pregnancy. A hysterectomy may help chronic medical problems such as uterine fibroids, excessive menstrual bleeding, or certain cancers (endometrial, cervical, or ovarian). Otherwise, contraception should be considered a secondary benefit to a hysterectomy and not the sole reason to have this procedure.
During a hysterectomy, the whole uterus or just part of it may be removed. The fallopian tubes and ovaries may also be removed:
- A partial (or supracervical) hysterectomy is removal of just the upper part of the uterus while the cervix is left in place.
- A total hysterectomy is removal of the entire uterus and the cervix.
- A radical hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus, the tissue on both sides of the cervix (parametrium), and the upper part of the vagina. This is done mostly when some cancers are present.
- Complete hysterectomy is a common non-medical term that usually means a total hysterectomy plus removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
- Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of the ovary(s).
- Salpingo-oophorectomy is the removal of the ovary and its adjacent fallopian tube.
A hysterectomy can be performed through the vagina or abdomen. A combined approach can also be used. In the past the most common hysterectomy was done by an incision through the abdomen or at the bikini line (abdominal hysterectomy). Now most surgeries can utilize laparoscopic assisted or vaginal hysterectomy for quicker and easier recovery.
During a vaginal hysterectomy, the surgeon makes a cut in the vagina, and the uterus is taken out through this cut. The incision is then closed with stitches. Laparoscopic hysterectomy consists of the surgeon making 3 to 4 small cuts in your belly. A laparoscope (a narrow tube with a tiny camera on the end) and other surgical instruments are then inserted through the other cuts. The uterus is cut into smaller pieces that are removed through the small cuts. Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy is a combination of these methods.
The average hospital stay depends on the type of hysterectomy you had. Most women stay 2 to 3 days. When hysterectomy is done because of cancer, the hospital stay is often longer. The hospital stay generally tends to be longer with an abdominal hysterectomy than with a vaginal hysterectomy, and hospital charges tend to be higher. The procedures seem to take comparable lengths of time (about two hours).
Women also spend several weeks recovering at home after a hysterectomy surgery. Recovery from a vaginal or laparoscopic hysterectomy is faster than recovery from an abdominal hysterectomy. It may also be less painful. Average recovery times are:
- Abdominal hysterectomy -- 4-6 weeks.
- Vaginal hysterectomy -- 3-4 weeks.
Women should not have sexual intercourse for 4 to 6 weeks after having undergone a hysterectomy.


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Fashion Police
Elisha Cuthbert in Toronto
The Top Cops Weigh in:
Buck Wolf, AOL Weird News, Senior Correspondent:
With all those tassels, you'd think she'd graduate to a better look.
Galanty Miller, Scottgalantymiller.com:
I can think of 24 things wrong with this outfit.
Michael Cohen, AskMichaelCohen.com:
From the Edward Scissorhands collection.


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The Bottom Line
- Outstanding performances by Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett
- Story that is absorbing almost from start to finish
- Interesting issues are raised by how desperate loneliness and obsessive desire lead to manipulation
- The key confrontation scene between film's two main characters feels forced
- Some viewers will object to the movie on grounds that it is politically incorrect
- Film has unlikable main characters and presents a dark view of human nature (could be a pro)
- DVD containing drama Notes on a Scandal (2006) starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett
- Dench received Oscar nomination for Best Actress and Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress
- Film got Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score
- Movie is based on novel by Zoë Heller
- DVD provides feature-length audio commentary by director Richard Eyre
- DVD contains featurettes with a total run time of approximately 33 minutes
- MPAA rating: R for language and some aberrant sexual content
- Feature film run time: 1 hour 32 minutes
- DVD release date: April 17, 2007
Guide Review - Notes on a Scandal DVD Review
Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett are two of the best actresses working in movies today, and they are in top form in the lurid psychodrama Notes on a Scandal. The film tells the intertwined tales of two very different women struggling to deal with the fact that they find themselves living lives where their emotional needs are not being met. We are repulsed by some of the choices they make, but the storytelling and acting are so good that we see their humanity and pity them.
Barbara (Dench) is a lonely, older woman who has taught for years at a London school. When the much younger Sheba (Blanchett) joins the faculty, Barbara goes out of her way to befriend the new teacher. However, Sheba feels trapped by her marriage and kids, and she embarks upon a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student because it is liberating in a transgressive way. But when Barbara learns of the affair, she emotionally blackmails the younger teacher into spending time with her, thus partially fulfilling the older woman's desperate need for a companion.
The Notes on a Scandal DVD has 33 minutes of short featurettes, the best of which is "The Story of Two Obsessions." This gives us the opportunity to see and hear from novelist Zoë Heller, screenwriter Patrick Marber, director Ricard Eyre, the two lead actresses, actor Bill Nighy (portrays Sheba's husband), and actor Andrew Simpson (plays Sheba's schoolboy lover). The remaining featurettes are clip-heavy and repetitive.
The DVD also provides an informative audio commentary by director Richard Eyre, who is perhaps best known for his stint as the director of Britain's National Theatre. Eyre covers nearly everything you would want to know about making the film from adapting the novel to the locations to working with the actors.


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The cheap new york jets jerseys have three new quarterbacks on their current roster -- Geno Smith, Matt Simms and Graham Harrell. And, of course, they still have Mark Sanchez. It would be wrong to assume general manager John Idzik is satisfied and won't make any changes to the depth chart. Don't be surprised if he has another move in the works.
This is a muddled situation because of a couple of variables, namely Sanchez's injured throwing shoulder, which could sideline him a few weeks. The Jets are prepared to start the season with Smith even though he played poorly in less than four quarters of preseason work. Now that Sanchez is banged up, they will rally around the rookie. What choice do they have?
But there's one element missing from this group: An experienced (and healthy) backup willing to groom Smith in a non-competitive situation. The Jets thought they had that guy in David Garrard, but he retired in May because of a chronic knee condition. That really disrupted the master plan. Sanchez could be that experienced backup (and an expensive one, too, at $8.25 million in base pay), but you get the feeling that Idzik doesn't see Sanchez as the mentor type. Obviously, Sanchez still believes he's a starter.
If recent history is any real indication, Geno Smith will throw twice as many interceptions as he will touchdowns on Sunday, en route to a Jets loss to the Bucs. Smith, in all likelihood, will join the ranks of recent quarterbacks who make their first NFL start in Week 1 of their rookie season, and while many of those have gone on to have fine years, their debuts haven't been so rosy.
In the past decade, 13 quarterbacks have made their first NFL starts in Week 1. The average stat-line from those starts was: 56.6% completion percentage, 214 yards, .77TDs and 1.54 INTs Five of the 13 quarterbacks won their starting debuts.
A counter-example, a rookie who played well in his Week 1 debut, was Mark Sanchez, who began his career in 2009 with a win over the Texans in which he threw for 272 yards with a TD and a pick. Five years later, Sanchez will likely watch from the bench as his presumed successor takes his first NFL snaps.
Clearly, it simply takes time to decipher a quarterback's ability, whether they start strong or not. John Elway completed just one of eight pass attempts in his Week 1 debut. The Cowboys lost all 11 games Troy Aikman played in in his rookie season.
The Daily News reported Saturday that Rex Ryan and John Idzik were on board with starting Smith back before both quarterbacks got hurt, but regardless, Ryan has no choice but to roll Smith out there against Darrelle Revis & Co.
Ryan was asked last week what he would hope to see out of Smith if he played against the Eagles last Thursday. That didn't happen — so the work Ryan wanted to see then will have to play out at MetLife on Sunday.
"You look for guys making the improvements, not making the same mistakes, putting the ball in front of receivers, those types of things that he needs to see (and) needs to recognize," Ryan said, also bringing up Smith's failure to realize that Justin Tuck dropped into coverage on the play when the defensive lineman picked off the rookie. "Tuck was an example out of that. That is maybe a little unusual, (but) we're going to see a lot of those, obviously."
If Smith can't beat the odds, and is beaten by the Bucs, he won't have long to recover and make adjustments: the Jets play the Patriots just four days later in New England.
Greg McElroy, who was cut by the new york jets jerseys cheap on Saturday, will fly Monday to join the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad, according to a source.
McElroy, who was a 2011 seventh-round draft pick, sent out a message via Twitter thanking the Jets. . . . The Jets made three waiver claims: RB Alex Green from the Packers, T Ben Ijalana from the Colts and LB Scott Soloman from the Titans. The team released RB Kahlil Bell and LB Danny Lansanah and placed LB Josh Mauga (back) on IR.
WR Michael Campbell, LB Troy Davis, DT Tevita Finau, S Rontez Miles, TE Chris Pantale, T J.B. Shugarts and C Dalton Freeman were added to the practice squad. Lansanah, who impressed throughout training camp and the preseason, would make sense to fill the final practice squad spot, assuming he clears waivers.
In releasing fullback Jacob Hester to make room for special teamer/linebacker Adrian Robinson, Denver Broncos executive John Elway described the weekend's events as a "liquid process."
Cheap jets jerseys running Kahlil Bell is the next to go after the Gang Green has claimed Alex Green off waivers from the Green Bay Packers, per agent Michael Hoffman.
With Mike Goodson suspended four games, Green will add depth behind Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell in Jets coach Rex Ryan's backfield.
The jets jerseys cheap tweaked their roster Sunday, acquiring three recent draft picks on waivers -- including the Green Bay Packers' leading rusher last season.
Running back Alex Green, who rushed for 464 yards, was claimed on waivers even though the Jets appeared to have a solid No. 3 back in Kahlil Bell. Green, a third-round pick in 2011, became expendable due to the emergence of rookie Eddie Lacy.
Green will back up Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell in the Jets' rebuilt backfield. They also have Mike Goodson, but he's serving a four-game suspension. To make room for Green, the Jets cut Bell, who rushed for a team-high 114 yards and four touchdowns in the preseason.
The Jets also addressed their offensive-line depth, claiming tackle Ben Ijalana, formerly a second-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts. Ijalana has played in only four games, having suffered a torn ACL in each of his first two seasons. The Jets have 10 offensive linemen on the roster.
They also claimed former Tennessee Titans defensive end Scott Solomon, who probably will be converted to outside linebacker in the Jets' 3-4 scheme. The former seventh-round pick played in 13 games last season as a rookie, making four tackles.
Linebacker Danny Lansanah was released and linebacker Josh Mauga (back) was placed on injured reserve to create roster space for Ijalana and Solomon.
Former Jets quarterback Greg McElroy, who was waived Saturday, has cleared waivers. His rights reverted to the Jets on their injured-reserve list. He reportedly was on his way to the Cincinnati Bengals to join their practice squad, but he has to negotiate an injury settlement with the Jets before he can sign.
The Jets acquired at least two players on waivers Sunday -- running back Alex Green (Green Bay Packers) and defensive end/outside linebacker Scott Solomon (Tennessee Titans), according to reports.
Green was the Packers' leading rusher last season (434 yards), but he became expendable with the emergence of rookie Eddie Lacy. Green, a third-round pick in 2011, was pedestrian in the preseason, rushing for 71 yards on 21 attempts. His agent tweeted the news that the Jets had claimed him.
This may not well for the Jets' No. 3 back, Kahlil Bell, who had a solid preseason. They also have Mike Goodson, suspended the first four games, waiting in the wings.
Solomon (6-foot-3, 262 pounds) is a hybrid player who was moved to defensive end this season. He was a seventh-round pick in 2012, appearing in 13 games last season but making only four tackles. The Jets now have 11 linebackers -- unless they plan to make him a lineman. He's undersized for the Jets' 3-4 front.