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Farm Cottages Devon
Just show me Devon Farm Cottages
Deep in the heart of rural Devon, our Devon farm cottages are an
ideal choice for families keen to experience something new.
They're also a popular choice with couples looking for a quiet
retreat away from the fast pace of everyday life.
Start each day the natural way, waking to the sounds of rooster! Get involved and help with daily chores. Watch your children's faces light up as they bottle feed new-born lambs and collect newly-laid eggs. Learn how to milk a cow, groom a horse or muck-out a stable. Every day brings something new.
Get stuck in with our Devonshire farm cottages!
Or you may just want to relax and enjoy the pleasures of life in
the countryside. The views from your Devon farm cottage - fields of
grazing sheep and cattle, never-ending hills, wooded valleys,
sweeping moorland, even the sea sparkling in the distance. There
are bound to be lovely walks from your doorstep, plus cycling
trails and bridleways leading you to sleepy villages steeped in
history and brimming with character. There'll be places to
fish, spot wildlife, read a book, enjoy a picnic - you'll find
all kinds of outdoor entertainment.
Whatever you want from your holiday, whatever the time of year,
a stay in a Devon farm cottage will truly captivate and enchant.


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Spare Shell 6 Pack for WG M700 Series CO2 Revolvers
$ 15.99
Add Recommended Items for CNB-701-MAG - Spare Shell 6 Pack for WG M700 Series CO2 Revolvers:
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- Well worth it..When i first got the WG M700 revolver i went through the 6 shells it comes with fast. so i looked for spare shells and lookie here they had em' so i bought 2 sets and with the speed loaders i made after tweaking with rubber bands i couldn't be happier. These shells are really high quality and very sturdy they even make your gun look a lot more real because of the metallic shine from the shell itself. for the most realism in your airsoft game get these they are a lot of fun so good luck!
- Getting these shells are a good idea. When I bought the extra shells I wasn't sure I was going to need them. But the extra 16 dollars was well worth it
- Yeah why notshells go by like nothing. not that they're not worth the money but $10 is good but then they would be too good for the price. well I'll say it BUY IT~!!!!!!
- Well worth the money These may seem a bit pricey at first glance for just 6, but the money is well spent. Very realistic not to mention stylish, They add a very realistic feel to my gaming :) They're durable and they work well in the gun. I've never had a shell get jammed like I have a pistol magazine. Although it is a bit slow to reload into the gun, it's well worth it just for the looks. Now they just need to make a pinwheel version for faster reloads and my life will be complete xD keep up the good work! 5 out of 5
- Good.. But priceyEveryone with the revolver knows that the 6 shells it comes with is simply not enough. These spares are nice and durable, won't break, but for only 6 it's expensive.
- Buy 'em - a must!These are great. They allow me to keep using my gun, and leave big welts on the opposing team - great.
But I prefer to just pop a BB in when the chamber turns and push down, that way is a lot faster and convenient. But there are just so cool.

subset: commoncrawl


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Roane County Sheriff's Department deputies remained busy this week.
On Wednesday, an elaborate anhydrous ammonia lab was discovered at a camp site in the Rockwood area. However, no arrests associated with criminal activity have been made in that investigation.
Then, on Thursday, deputies found a "one-pot method" meth lab on Harrison Lane off River Road, which is in the area of the county commonly referred to as South of the River. Chief Deputy Tim Phillips said two people were arrested at the site, but no other information was available late Thursday.
A Sheriff's Department release said deputies received information Wednesday about suspicious activity on "some property in the Rockwood area," and when Deputy Brandon Smith responded he found approximately 250 pounds of ammonia nitrate covered and concealed in the woods.
The Sheriff's Department's meth lab technicians — Deputies Mark Steinmann and Mitch Grigsby — along with Roane County Emergency Medical Service personnel also responded to the scene. Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton said the camp site was in the woods off Joyner Hollow Road in the Post Oak area of Rockwood.
According to the release, deputies found the anhydrous ammonia lab set up inside a large tent, camouflaged with black plastic and brush. Inside the tent, they found an additional 100 pounds of ammonia nitrate, along with several gallons of various acids, chemicals and fuels.
The camp reportedly included an air mattress, sleeping bags, a cooler of food, a propane heater and a homemade phone charger. The setup indicates the suspects were staying on site for long periods of time, the release stated. Deputies notified the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force for cleanup of the anhydrous lab.
Early estimates show the lab had the potential to produce 30 to 50 pounds of methamphetamine.
The Sheriff's Department is still investigating the discovery of the lab and is working to develop more information on the responsible parties.
"According to the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, these anhydrous ammonia labs are prevalent in West Tennessee, and they have seen an influx of these labs moving east," Sheriff Stockton stated in this week's release.
Beverly Majors can be contacted at (865) 220-5514.
Location, ST | website.com


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Autism in the News – Thursday, 05.27.10
Second Chance Prom helps special needs kids come in first (Egg Harbor City, N.J.)
It started as "kind of a gag," morning radio personality Eddie Davis said Saturday, May 22 at his station's Lite Rock 96.9 WFPG Second Chance Prom at Renault Winery. Read more.
Laguna Beach students highlight heroes (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
Heroes aren't just comic book characters, according to some young Laguna Beach filmmakers. Locals will learn about the heroes in their neighborhoods at the third My Hero Laguna Fest 7 p.m. Thursday at Seven Degrees. Many of the films come from students at Laguna Beach schools, where classes work with the My Hero Project. Since 1995, the nonprofit group, founded by three Laguna Beach mothers, has worked to get more positive role models into the media. In addition to sponsoring an international film festival in the fall, the group works with schools around the world and runs a website that showcases heroes. Read more.
WCU grad students help children with autism in local community (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Graduate students from Western Carolina University's communication sciences and disorders department worked with Julie Ogletree, a speech-language pathologist in Jackson County, to develop a social skills group for children with autism. Read more.
New book seeks to thwart bullying of those with autism (Autism Support Network)
As children with autism enter what can be the cruel social world of junior high years, the subject of bullying in the school shifts front and center as a topic of concern. Often these students can find themselves the targets of teasing and bullying for their seemingly eccentric behaviors or apparent ignorance of the social dynamics around them and reluctance to interact with their peers. Read more.
Prime-time television tackles autism (CNN)
In a scene from NBC's "Parenthood," two parents are attempting to get their 8-year-old son ready for school. The child insists on wearing a pirate costume to class, again. His father asks him to take it off so he won't get teased. His mother says it's OK, mainly so she can get him out the door on time. Read more.
Imagine! all the happy people (Longmont, Colo.)
Next week, Loren Hobart will move into a new home for developmentally disabled people. And he gets to do it with his two best friends. Read more.
Huron Valley Recreation offers special needs camps (Huron, Mich.)
Huron Valley Recreation and community Education will hold two summer camps focused on special needs children. Read more.


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Romania is located in south Central Europe, bordering on the Black Sea. The Danube flows through the country and almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory. The territory's recorded history encompasses such eras as the Dacians, Roman Empire (origination of the Romanian language), Kingdom of Hungary, and Ottoman Empire. As a nation-state, the countr ...y was formed by the merging of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 and it gained recognition of its independence in 1878. Later, in 1918, the country was expanded with the inclusion of Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia. At the end of World War II, Romania became a member of the Warsaw Pact. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Romania started a series of political and economic reforms, culminating with its membership in the EU in 2007. The capitol of Bucharest is the transportation hub, but the country has a embarrasement of riches when it comes to tourism. The castles of Transylvania, mountain hiking, rural villages, untouched forests, the Danube Delta, Black Sea resorts, and more. It is on the "hot list" of experienced travelers.Show More
American and Canadian citizens must have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended return date in order to enter and depart the country. Tourists must also provide proof of return or onward travel. Each traveler is responsible for ensuring that his/her passport is up to date. Citizens of other nationalities should check with respective authorities before departure.
Please ensure that the name on your passport matches all travel documents we have issued. If this is not the case, please contact us immediately.
Please make a photocopy of your passport's identification page and keep it separate from your original. It's also a good idea to leave a digital copy with someone at home. This may speed up the replacement process should you lose your passport.
U.S. and Canadian citizens may enter for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes without a visa. Citizens from other countries may require a valid visa. These requirements change often and therefore it is best that you check with the Embassy of Romania for the most up-to-date visa information.
Cancelation and Medical Insurance is highly recommended as it can safeguard against in-country medical emergencies, lost or delayed baggage and emergency cancelation or interruption of your trip. Please ensure your policy will provide you with upfront medical coverage so that you are not responsible for a hefty medical bill. Insurance can be purchased through us.
We recommend consulting the World Health Organization and your physician to help you make decisions about the right vaccinations for your travels." Here is the link to the WHO's vaccination recommendation info: http://apps.who.int/tools/geoserver/www/ith/index.html
If there are any medical items that are essential to your health, such as prescription drugs or corrective eye wear, bring duplicates and divide them between your checked bags and hand luggage. While non-prescription drugs such as aspirin are generally available, it is difficult to replace prescription items.
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Romania experiences varying conditions depending on not only what time of year you visit, but also what part of the country you visit. Summers are warm and dry, while winters can be quite cold. In the mountains temperatures are much colder than the rest of the country. The average annual temperature for the south is 11°C, the north is 7°C, and just 2°C in the mountains. In the summer highs can reach up to 40 while in the winter it can be as cold as -35°C.
For up-to-date forecasts, check weather.com.
Electricity in Romania is supplied at 220 to 230 volts. Sockets are designed to accept two round prongs. Some sockets will take the plugs with large prongs only; others will take the ones with small prongs. A multi-adaptor with different plug configurations can be very useful. We advise not to bring a hair dryer as it could blow a fuse.
Phone: Roaming charges vary between carriers, but tend to be quite costly. Consult your phone provider prior to departure to discuss overseas rates and international package options. It is also possible to purchase a SIM card locally to avoid international charges when calling numbers within Romania. (You should check to see that your cell phone is SIM card compatible).
Internet: Internet cafés and wireless access is available in most urban areas, airports and hotels.
Remember to pack sufficient memory cards, zoom lens, a spare camera battery and charger, and dust-resistant case.
The currency in Romania is the Romanian Leu. Generally speaking, we advise bringing around 100 USD per day, per person, for spending money. Be sure to bring lots of small bills for porters, wait staff and housekeeping (not obligatory and based on your satisfaction). Romanian paper money comes in different colors and denominations (1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 lei notes). There are also coins: 1, 5, 10, and 50 bani pieces.
Romanian currency can only be purchased within the country's national borders. We suggest getting money from a bank machine in-country which is much cheaper than an exchange service at the airport or in tourist areas. Your bank card may work, but Visa or MasterCard are more widely accepted. You will need a 4-digit PIN to be able to use your cards in Europe.
Capital: Bucharest
Language: Romanian
Currency: Leu (RON)
Religion: 87% of the country is Eastern Orthodox
Time Zone: UTC +2 Electricity: 220V/50Hz
Telephone: Country code for calling you from outside Romania is +40
Calling North America: Dial 001 and your 10 digit number
Emergency numbers in Romania: For Police 955, Medical 961, Fire 981, 112 for any type of emergency


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Today, National Board Member and Northern Plains Regional Director Kay Heggestad is our guest blogger. I am especially moved by the way this group reached out to a newly-formed teen group to help make their presence known in their town. The spirit of PFLAG is alive and well in Stoughton!
Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day, is a really big deal lasting three days every year in Stoughton,WI, a city of 13,000 people, twenty miles south of Madison. The PFLAG Madison Chapter President, Karen Baker, had the idea of working with the newly formed GSA of Stoughton High School to have a float in the smaller of the two parades.
She sent in the application using just the acronyms PFLAG and GSA and was called and asked what those letters meant. She explained...and eventually a followup call came, telling her that we could not be in the parade. Not to be stopped, Karen then called the person in charge of the entire three-day event. She was told that the board was concerned since there might be something inappropriate for youth or outwardly political on our float, e.g. signs about marriage equality. They did not want anything there that might make kids "ask questions." Karen reassured her that we would only be using words like equality, harmony, peace, love, justice, and acceptance. We got the signoff to be in the parade.
And then, about 19 hours before the parade was to begin, Karen received a call saying they had changed the decision, and that we could not be in the parade after all: apparently, the coordinator thought we were going to represent all diversity and not just LGBT. Karen reported, "Finally, the coordinator cut to the chase and told me that the words 'gay and lesbian' were the deal breaker. Then she asked if we 'could we just cross them out somehow on the banner'." So, we did just that. In the photo, you can see a rainbow banner covering the "controversial words."
Eight members from Madison braved the cold and overcast day along with eight kids from the GSA. We all waved little rainbow flags. We saw a few frowns, a few puzzled looks, but also many smiles, and waves and thumbs up, sometimes hidden, from the crowd on the sidewalks. Several folks ran up the float to thank us for being there.
As a card-carrying Norske who can actually sing, in Norwegian, the first four bars of the Norwegian national anthem, I am a bit ashamed of the Stoughton folks. On the other hand, maybe next year they will let us use our entire sign. Our nose is under their tent.


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إرفنج ضد ليبستدات
Holocaust Denial on Trial, Trial Judgment: Electronic Edition, by Charles GrayTable of Contents
|< Introduction
|Irving's general response >
|(xviii) Kurt Aumeier >>
The general case for the Defendants
5.2At p161 of Denying the Holocaust Lipstadt attributes to scholars the description of Irving as a "Hitler partisan wearing blinkers". That phrase, importing the suggestion that Irving deliberately ignores what is revealed by the historical record, encapsulates one of the main defamatory meanings of which Irving complains and which the Defendants seek to justify.
5.3The way in which the Defendants summarise their plea of justification on this part of the case is as follows:In their Summary of Case the Defendants highlight claims made by Irving as to Hitler's friendship for and leniency towards Jews, which claims they assert ignore a large and powerful body of contradictory evidence. The Defendants contend that Irving
"that the [Claimant], driven by his obsession with Hitler, distorts, manipulates and falsifies history in order to put Hitler in a more favourable light, thereby demonstrating a lack of the detachment, rationality and judgment necessary for an historian".
"misstates, misquotes, falsifies statistics, falsely attributes conclusions to reliable sources, relies on books and sources that directly contradict his arguments, quoting in a manner that completely distorts the author's objectives, manipulates documents to serve his own purposes, skews documents and misrepresents data in order to reach historically untenable conclusions, bends historical evidence until it conforms to his ideological leanings and political agenda, takes accurate information and shapes it to confirm his conclusion and constantly suppresses or deliberately overlooks sources with which he is familiar because they contradict the line of argument which he wishes to advance".
5.4The Defendants advance a similar case against Irving in relation to his account of the Nazi persecution of the Jews, culminating in the genocide which they assert took place in the gas chambers, and his claims as to the extent of Hitler's involvement in that persecution. I shall deal with that part of the defendants' plea of justification in sections VI to VIII below. The present section is confined to certain specific instances where the Defendants attack Irving's historiography.
5.5The principal protagonist amongst the Defendants' witnesses of the view that Irving persistently and deliberately falsifies history is Evans. In seeking to make good this full-blooded assault on Irving's historiographical approach, Evans included in his lengthy written report multiple examples of the way in which in his opinion Irving portrays Hitler in a manner which is utterly at odds with the available evidence. He cited numerous occasions when, so he alleged, Irving distorted the historical record by one means or another; suppressed evidence; made uncritical use of unreliable sources and arrived at perverse irrational conclusions about events and documents. Evans also drew attention to occasions when Irving has written in inappropriately flattering terms about him. One example is Irving's description of the Fuhrer in Hitler's War as "a friend of the arts, benefactor of the impoverished, defender of the innocent, persecutor of the delinquent". Evans considers that the consistent bias in favour of Hitler which is manifested in Irving's works may stem in part from Irving's identification with Hitler and from his professed intention to write Hitler's War from Hitler's perspective. Irving has himself written that he sees himself as having acted as Hitler's "ambassador to the afterlife" when he was engaged upon writing his biography of Hitler. On the evidence of what Irving has written and what he has said in his talks and speeches, Evans concludes that Irving remains an ardent admirer of Hitler despite the overwhelming evidence which condemns him.
5.6Evans does not stand alone in making these harsh criticisms of Irving's historical method. In the narrower fields covered by their evidence van Pelt, Browning and Longerich level similar criticisms at him.
5.7The Defendants based their attack on Irving's historiography upon a number of selected episodes. They contend that a detailed analysis of the evidence which was available to Irving supports their case that in his account of those episodes Irving has persistently and deliberately falsified, manipulated and suppressed documents so as to presents a picture which is skewed and misleading. The Defendants focus their attention on a "chain of documents" which Irving has relied, initially on BBC television in June 1977 and on several later occasions, in support of his view that Hitler opposed the persecution of the Jews and sought to protect them from the excesses advocated by other Nazis. I shall consider the parties' arguments in relation to each of the incidents to which the chain of documents relates.
5.8Evans's detailed examination of those documents reveals, so he alleged, consistent falsification of the historical record on the part of Irving. Evans expressed the opinion that what he described as Irving's "egregious errors" were calculated and deliberate. He accepted that anyone can make mistakes but pointed out (as did Browning) that, where all the so-called mistakes are exculpatory of Hitler, the natural inference is that the falsification of the record is intentional. Evans did not resile in his oral evidence from the view expressed in his written report that Irving does not deserve to be called an historian.
|< Introduction
|Irving's general response >
|(xviii) Kurt Aumeier >>


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RICHMOND -- About three years ago, the Richmond Police Department decided it needed to do more to keep impaired drivers off the road.
So it tapped Phil Sanchez, a traffic officer with more than a decade's experience, to do just that. Sanchez was asked to create an enforcement program that focused not only on arrests, but also on prevention and education.
He immediately called the Bay Area chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and, years later, the union has proved to be a powerful one. Richmond has become a beacon of DUI enforcement, according to MADD's Silas Miers, a law enforcement program specialist for the organization, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.
MADD gave Sanchez its Century Award and also honored Richmond police Officer Ben Mendler at its annual luncheon Thursday to recognize Contra Costa County law enforcement involved in the county's "Avoid the 25" campaign against driving under the influence.
In all, 63 officers from 18 agencies in Contra Costa County were recognized.
But Sanchez's work stood out, and not just because of the 101 DUI arrests he made in 2012.
He also was a driving force behind establishing programs that force drunken driving convicts to hear the stories of victims and, after doing so, sign a waiver that increases the chance that another charge against the same DUI offender may be more serious than the first.
In so doing, he has earned MADD's Century Award, signifying he's made more than 100 DUI arrests, the past three years.
"It's always nice to be recognized for what you do," Sanchez said before Thursday morning's banquet, which was held at the Concord Hilton. "But that's not the primary reason you do it. We're all just trying to make a positive difference in our communities."
Sanchez said he received a unique opportunity to do so. He said he was handed the resources he needed and essentially told to "go to it," with any and all ideas. He worked with MADD and lawmakers to help add a legal requirement that anyone convicted of a DUI offense in Contra Costa County must attend a victim impact panel meeting. The meetings give those guilty of DUI offenses the chance to hear the stories of those injured and otherwise affected.
"That is one of the more impactful things we've done," Sanchez said. "I am approached after those meetings by people who see how far reaching these crimes are and how many lives are affected. They'll say, 'I had no idea.' "
The knowledge they gain also provides additional motivation to never drive under the influence again. Each DUI offender signs out after receiving the "Watson advisement, "which holds that if someone drives drunk and kills someone after racking up one prior DUIconviction, they can be charged with murder. It's a stipulation that makes it easier to charge repeat offenders with the more serious second-degree murder if the unthinkable happens.
"Education and getting the word out is one of the most effective avenues we have to fight against DUIs," Miers said. "The education that the offenders are getting from hearing from the victims is very powerful."
Mendler, a Berkeley native who is in his seventh year with the Richmond Police Department, became part of Sanchez's team in January 2012, and made 139 DUI-related arrests. He also pointed to the knowledge gained by DUI offenders as an effective weapon against the problem.
"A lot of times, in a violent community like Richmond, you'll find that, for lack of better words, those who get caught up in the violence are generally not good people," he said. "But with DUIs, when a person is injured or when they die, almost always you find that the victim was a real good person, and so is the suspect. So you arm people who are generally good people with knowledge, and most of them won't make the same mistake again. You open a few people's eyes, and it feels very gratifying."
Rick Hurd covers crime. Contact him at 510-262-2728 and follow him at Twitter.com/3rderh.


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Hot Hairstylists That Can Do Your Hair Better Than You (Oh, and They're Straight)
Half heather gray sweatshirt material, half faux metallic silver leather, these hidden wedge sneakers are the ultimate cool-girl kicks. What doesn't go with gray and silver? Nothing, that's what!
Forever 21 Hidden Wedge Sneakers, $38, forever21.com
When we say this pair goes with everything, we seriously mean it. But our favorite combo to wear these sneakers with consists of skinny leather pants, a loose black tee, and a black moto jacket. Um, can someone say rocker chic?
Oh, and if you want to spring for a colorful pair, these come in yellow, pink, blue, the list goes on.
Ash Bowie Sneaker, $195, nordstrom.com
8 Self Tanners to Try Now


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TRUCKEE, Calif. - Priorities such as the airport's master plan and safety, along with finances, were the main topics at a Truckee Tahoe Airport District Board candidate forum last week.
Four seats on the district board are open, with Jim Morrison, an appointed incumbent, running unopposed for the one two-year term seat. The three four-year term seats features a race among Lisa Wallace, executive director of the Truckee River Watershed Council and a member of the Truckee River Legacy Foundation since 2005; Mary Hetherington, an airport district board member the past eight years and a consulting civil engineer; J. Thomas Van Berkem, an airport district board member the past four years and current board president, and a retired senior executive of a Fortune 50 company; and Gregory Jellinek, a plastic surgeon at Tahoe Forest Hospital and a pilot for 33 years.
Wallace, Hetherington, Van Berkem and Jellinek answered questions at the multi-group-hosted forum Thursday in the Truckee Town Hall, before about 20 people.
The candidates agreed that one if not all of the following were major priorities for the district over the next four years: development of the airport's master plan, noise control and airport safety.
"What do we want to be when we grow up?" Van Berkem asked. "That's a question that that we have struggled with, and the master plan is going to take several years to put together. It's going to drive what we look like over the next 10 years. I think that is probably the most critical issue.
"Safety is equally something that we all have right on the top of the list ... We've worked on noise and annoyance, reducing it, looking at changing flight paths, (a) tracking system that can identify where they are, but we can do more."
Another issue all candidates agreed upon was the airport district made the right decision in purchasing Ponderosa Golf Course and Waddle Ranch.
"The Ponderosa Golf Course lies essentially under the departure path for the main runway, Runway 28," Jellinek said. "If that golf course had not been purchased by the airport ... the risk was for commercial or residential development in that area, which would have been a big safety issue as well as raised another order of magnitude for sound problems."
Wallace said she would be open to other land acquisitions by the airport district in the future.
"There needs to be a similar nexus or overlap in need between acquisitions that the airport might make and supporting community open space," she said. "Another key component is making sure that we have the financial management plan to maintain the land once it's acquired."
Another question posed was what the candidates thought of the airport's current rates and fees and how they are calculated.
"Many years ago one of our (former) members had gone to an aviation seminar and a consultant was there who talked about ... how rates, fees and charges should be developed," Hetherington said. "We brought that consultant on to help us figure out how we should do that. As compared to the prairie dog approach of what are they charging, what are they charging. There is benefit in that, but there's also benefit in having an economic reason for why you're charging what you are charging."
She said the airport uses elements from both pricing models in order to set its fees, an approach that Wallace supports and Jellinek said creates reasonable prices.
"I'm the only one up here that actually pays those fees and charges," Jellinek said. "I've had a hangar here since 1982. I think the airport has done a reasonable job with setting their fees. I do hear complaints from the aviation community because of the increases, but they are not catastrophic. I must say, compared to charges I was paying in the Bay Area, this is fantasy island."
Van Berkem added that the airport offers discounts to local pilots in order to preserve affordable flying.
As far as airport expenses are concerned, the candidates were asked how they would manage administrative wages and salaries.
"In the last two years we've brought in a compensation consulting firm and redid the whole wage structure for the organization and made sure that we were at a competitive, but not at an inappropriate compensation level," Van Berkem said.
He said benefits including pension and medical were also looked at, which resulted in the redesign of the medical plan causing the district to save a significant amount of money.
"We are going to continue to look at that and use the expertise we have," Van Berkem said.
It was a sentiment echoed by Hetherington.
Jellinek, however, said tenure and merit should be the basis for staff compensation.
"We want to be fair in terms of cost and control, doing the kind of analysis that's been discussed on a regular basis," Wallace said. "We want to manage pension costs, benefits cost, wages and salaries, but we also want to make sure because we have a great staff at the airport that we're taking care of them."


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Between September 2010 and December 2011, a joint committee organized by NSF International worked to complete a draft of NSF 363, a new American National Standard for excipient GMP. The draft standard, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Pharmaceutical Excipients, has completed the public comment period and a final version is to be balloted shortly (1). The new standard aims to establish industry-wide GMP requirements for the manufacture of excipients.
NSF 363 was developed based on the joint International Pharmaceutical Excipient Council and the Pharmaceutical Quality Group (IPEC–PQG) Good Manufacturing Practices Guide for Pharmaceutical Excipients (2). The suggestions expressed in the IPEC–PQG guide were reworked into requirements of the standard. Other IPEC guides are referenced in NSF 363 to clarify how industry can achieve conformance to the standard.
Background and importance of an excipient GMP standardNSF is an independent, not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization and an Accredited Standards Developer of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). ANSI is a private, nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates the US voluntary standardization and conformity assessment systems. ANSI is the US representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). American National Standards are developed in conformance with the ANSI Essential Requirements to ensure that standards are developed through participation by those directly and materially affected without financial or organizational membership barriers, a lack of dominance by a single interest category, individual, or organization, and a balance of interests (3).
Of relevance to the industry is the fact that the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1996 requires that federal agencies adopt private-sector standards, particularly those developed by standards-developing organizations, wherever possible, in lieu of creating proprietary, nonconsensus standards. Further, the US Office of Management and Budget's Circular A119 provides for "Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities." As a result, FDA may adopt the ANSI standard GMP regulations for excipient ingredients manufactured for use in pharmaceutical dosage forms intended for US domestic markets.
The NSF joint committee organized to prepare the excipient GMP standard, designated as NSF 363, is comprised of representatives of excipient manufacturers, pharmaceutical users, and the general interests of the industry, including FDA, academia, and public health organizations. The final draft of NSF 363 was completed in the fourth quarter 2011 and was made available for public comment at the end of the year. The 45-day public comment period ended in January 2012, and the NSF joint committee reviewed the comments to the draft standard. Revisions to NSF 363 are in progress with final approval of the standard is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2012. Following the joint committee's approval, the standard will be considered by NSF's Council of Public Health Consultants with final approval by ANSI's Board of Standards Review. If approved as expected, the standard will be published by the end of 2012.


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Hi guys I have just come upon this awesome program and am looking for some advice. I have a high def mkv video file on my laptop that I would like to stream to my PS3 (which is in my entertainment room in the basement). Upon installing PS3 Media Server I was pleased to see that the file did indeed play on the PS3 (had no luck with any other program) but it skipped quite a bit as if it were buffering continuously. I have since discovered that the problem must lie in the PS3's wireless g card so I am thinking a wired connection would be better.
With the devices I have at my disposal (Laptop, Desktop upstairs that could be routed downstairs with ethernet cable, Wireless Router, PS3) what would you do to optimize the PS3/PS3 Media Server "experience"?
Device Specs:
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Processor: Intel core 2 duo 1.67GHz
Ram: 2GB
Internet Connection: Wireless
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Processor: AMD Athlon 64X 2 dual core 3GHz
Ram: 3GB
Internet Connection: Wired
I appreciate any help you can give me!
Edit: For example would I connect a computer that is already connected to the router to the PS3 and if so would a faster comp provide more benefit? If so than would it be best to use the desktop, connect a separate ethernet cable to the desktop and then run it to the PS3?


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Hi all,
This could be a really bad question, but i need to rule it out. I have a severe download usage problem, where in the last 2 months
(current month and previous month) i have gone over my peak download quota of 25gig and are shaped back to 64k.
An example is yesterday i watched "Master and Commander" - blu ray rip in MKV file which i watched via streaming it from my PC to PS3 obviously using the media server. At that time i had no torrents being downloaded, no browsers open, no other network activity that i would have known about. I have wireless disabled on my router as i dont have a need to use it yet.
Surely there is no possible way that the media server can use up any ISP download quota in streaming/transcoding?
i use the following:
Billion 7404 vnpx router (gigabit ports)
intel pentium 4 - 3.20ghz, 3gig ram
using latest version of the media server - 1.10.51
apologies in advance if its a stupid question, im basically just trying to rule out everything to find the issue.


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2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) whole rye (pumpernickel) flour
3/4 cup (3 1/8 ounces) unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 ounces diced ham (or 1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with muffin papers and spray lightly.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and onion powder. Add 1 1/4 cup of the cheese and toss to coat the cheese with flour.
Whisk together the egg, buttermilk and melted butter in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Stir in the ham.
Divide the batter among the well of the muffin tin. They will be filled almost to the top. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese over each.
Bake for 25-27 minutes, until the cheese on top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool for five minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.


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Wednesday, 07/24/1991
Trax, Charlottesville, VA
Soundcheck: Poor Heart (x2), Gimme Three Steps, Jazz Jam, Dinner and a Movie Intro (x3), Sesame Street Theme -> Jam -> Superstition, Caravan, Poor Heart -> Funky Bitch -> I'm Bad I'm Nationwide
Set 1: GolgiGolgi Apparatus > CDTChalk Dust Torture, CoilThe Squirming Coil > Buried Alive[1] > SOAMeltSplit Open and Melt[1], GinBathtub Gin[1], LandladyThe Landlady[1], Cavern[1], Tela, YEMYou Enjoy Myself
Set 2: Possum, GuelahGuelah Papyrus, BowieDavid Bowie[1], JJLCJesus Just Left Chicago[1], MSOMy Sweet One[1] > Bouncin'Bouncing Around the Room[1], Funky Bitch[1], IDKI Didn't Know, Frankenstein[1], SuzySuzy Greenberg[1]
Encore: Contact[1] > BBFCFMBig Black Furry Creature from Mars[1]
[1] Giant Country Horns.
· Chameleon tease in You Enjoy Myself
· The Asse Festival tease in David Bowie
· Theme from I Love Lucy and Theme from The Brady Bunch teases in Big Black Furry Creature from Mars
Noteworthy Jams: You Enjoy Myself, Possum
Average Song Gap: 7.55
Performers: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Dave Grippo (Guest), Russell Remington (Guest), Carl Gerhard (Guest)
Notes: This show featured the Giant Country Horns on Buried Alive through Cavern, YEM, Bowie through Funky Bitch, and Frankenstein through BBFCFM. The Horns were introduced after Landlady. YEM included a Chameleon tease by the Horns. The intro to Bowie included teases of The Asse Festival. BBFCFM featured I Love Lucy and Brady Bunch theme teases.
Song Distribution:
5 Lawn Boy
4 A Picture of Nectar
4 Junta
3 Stash
2 The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday
1 The White Tape
Songs by Debut Year:
This show was part of the "1991 Giant Country Horns Summer Tour."


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Below are the forms graduate students might need to complete at different stages of their program. (Not all students will need all forms. Your program advisor can tell you which forms you'll need.) All forms require Acrobat Reader. If needed, here is a free Adobe Acrobat download. In most cases, you can complete the forms in Acrobat and print out the completed form. Mac users: Open the Adobe Reader before you open the PDFs.
Copyright © 2016 Ball State University 2000 W. University Ave. Muncie, IN 47306
800-382-8540 and 765-289-1241


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Corona Solutions Introduces Deploy Basic
A New Option for Patrol Deployment
Corona Solutions releases the newest addition to their Ops Force operations management system for law enforcement. Deploy Basic is a limited subscription-based version of Ops Force Deploy. These tools were developed to analyze data and answer important questions such as; how many officers are needed to meet workload and operational goals, how do you best deploy the resources available, and how much will it cost?
Deploy Basic is the response to requests made by agencies dealing with tight budgets, while recognizing their need for operations management software such as Ops Force Deploy.
"We are very pleased to offer this alternative with a low cost of entry to agencies that need the power of Deploy but are not ready to invest in the full Ops Force system." said Dale Harris, President of Corona Solutions. "Not only can they run their deployment analysis online, but can apply the cost of Deploy Basic to the full system when they are ready to move up."
Deploy has been a recognized tool in the industry for optimizing patrol allocation, reducing overtime expense, and improving response times.
About Corona Solutions
Corona Solutions has earned a trusted name in the law enforcement industry since they first introduced their software for optimizing police resources in 1995. More information is available at www.CoronaSolutions.com


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Questions? Email | Call | Write: 1300 Stefko Boulevard, Bethlehem, PA 18017
All our candies are proudly MADE IN THE USA.
© /® are trademarks of Just Born, Inc., Bethlehem, PA, USA.
All rights reserved. © 2016
The wonderful combination of sweet colored sugar and fluffy marshmallow creates an unforgettable taste experience. PEEPS® Brand Marshmallow Candies are made by Just Born, Inc., a family-owned candy manufacturer. We make everyone's favorite candies: MIKE AND IKE®, HOT TAMALES®, TEENEE BEANEE® Gourmet Jelly Beans, GOLDENBERG'S® PEANUT CHEWS®, and of course, PEEPS® Brand Marshmallow Candies.
Contact Us | Store Locator | Privacy Policy | Children's Privacy Policy | Company Info | FAQs


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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Raley's Reach program attracted 128 nominations and more than 65,000 online votes as schools throughout Northern California and Nevada competed for five $10,000 grants to put toward their back-to-school needs.
Continuing to give back to the community, locally owned and family operated Raley's Family of Fine Stores partnered with Unilever to provide a total of $50,000 in grants to schools in five specified regions, which is the largest Raley's Reach cycle to date. PTAs, booster clubs, parents and community members within each Reach-Region submitted nominations and votes.
This year, social networks like Facebook and Twitter were the most popular means for spreading the word and encouraging daily voting for the school of their choice.
The top five schools within each Reach-Region that will receive a $10,000 grant are as follows:
• Region 1 – Northern Nevada Region: Incline Elementary School: Earning a total of 1,219 votes, Incline Elementary School plans to enhance its science and outdoor education program. The K-5 school will use these funds during the 2012-13 school year to implement and facilitate a school-wide science curriculum that includes science experiments, a science fair and technology integration opportunities. These enhancements will benefit the student experience and provide much needed support to teachers in this important subject.
• Region 2 – North Foothill Region: Sierra View Elementary School
• Region 3 – Greater Sacramento Region: Kit Carson Middle School
• Region 4 – Central Valley Region: Aspire University Charter School
• Region 5 – Greater Bay Region: Penngrove Elementary School
The Raley's Reach program was first launched in May of 2010 in honor of Raley's 75th Anniversary. To date, Raley's Reach has awarded more than $100,000 in grants to 20 community projects throughout Northern California and Nevada.


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Ways to Help > Why Your Gift Matters > Patient Stories > Respiratory Stories > Tiauna Rivers
I came from an underprivileged home; I grew up in a household with just my mother and me. I was very sick with asthma, and was hospitalized a lot. When I got sick, my mother was always there for me. She sometimes lost a job because of my illness. One day, someone told her about Morgridge Academy on the campus of National Jewish Health. My mom signed me up.
I was a student at Morgridge Academy from 1992 until 2000, kindergarten through seventh grade. They helped me learn to manage my asthma, and during that time I saw several doctors from National Jewish Health.
The teachers at Morgridge Academy kept me focused on academics. They always talked about higher education — my family did, too — and now I am a student at Community College of Aurora.
What would have happened to me without Morgridge Academy? I probably would have spent a lot more time in hospitals. While some of my friends are in college, some aren't. I have friends who now have kids of their own. Some of them — even people with asthma — smoke cigarettes and weed. Some of them are working. I will graduate in May 2009 with an Associates Degree in Business.
The Morgridge Academy changed my life.
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This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
July 30, 2008
University of Michigan Wins the North American Solar Challenge
The University of Michigan has successfully defended its title in the largest solar car race in North America. The 2008 North American Solar Challenge (NASC) concluded on July 22 in Calgary, Alberta, after 10 days of solar-powered racing from the start in Plano, Texas. The University of Michigan completed the 2,400-mile race in about 51 hours and 42 minutes, finishing nearly 10 hours ahead of its closest competitor and achieving an average speed of about 46 miles per hour. The Michigan team was now won the NASC (and its previous incarnations) a total of five times, including the previous running of the race in 2005. This year, 15 university teams entered the race, but two failed to qualify. The competition included nine U.S. teams from universities in eight states, as well as four Canadian teams and one team each from England and Germany. See the University of Michigan press release and team Web site and the NASC Web site.
This summer's solar racing has a definite theme of returning champions, rather than the rise of new upstarts, and that theme was reflected in the nation's top solar race for high school teams, the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge. The race was held on July 7-10 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Justin, Texas, and this year, the team from the Houston Vocational Center in Houston, Mississippi, won the race for the eighth time in a row. And talk about rubbing it in: the Houston school actually had two entries—one in the "classic" division and one in the "open" division—and both teams won first place in their divisions. The race featured 15 teams from 14 schools, including five schools in Texas, four in Mississippi, and one each in Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Connecticut, and New York. Next year, the race will take to the road again, with a route that runs from Texas to Colorado. See the race results on the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge Web site.


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Three people were charged early Friday morning after they were caught jacklighting deer in the town of Floyd, the Oneida County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies responded to the area of Soule and Edwards roads shortly after 2 a.m. after a resident there reported hearing two shots fired outside their home. Deputies stopped a vehicle driven by 20-year-old Morgan Weiler of Floyd and, after interviewing her, determined she and three men had been using a spotlight to hunt deer, deputies said.
Deputies and state police were able to locate two of the men — 22-year-old Joshua Tanner and 25-year-old Alan Tanner, both of Floyd, in the woods. They later determined that Joshua Tanner had fired from inside a vehicle at a deer in a field just off the roadway, deputies said.
All three were charged with sixth-degree conspiracy and several Environmental Conservation citations. The case is still under investigation, deputies said.
Location, ST | website.com


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Southern Africas most endangered large carnivore and one of the most endangered carnivore species in the world, the Wild Dog, is the flagship species of the Carnivore Conservation Group.
The Wild Dog has been the focus of a major long-term study programme in the Kruger National Park since 1989, sponsored by the Endangered Wildlife Trust. The Kruger National Park contains the only viable South African population of Wild Dogs. Information and knowledge gained from this study has been used to improve management strategies for the species.
This population has fluctuated significantly during this time ranging from less than 200 animals to approximately 400. Impala, the major prey species of the Wild Dog provide adequate food for adults and their pups.
The Wild Dog is a highly social species that lives in packs. Normally only the alpha male and female breed and other pack members help to raise the pups. The packs inhabit large areas of 400 900 square kilometers in the Kruger National Park. Attempts are being made to improve the Wild Dog population in South Africa by introducing the dogs into other reserves and to managing these sub-populations as a single meta-population.
In 1997, a PHVA (Population and Habitat Viability Assessment) for the conservation of Wild Dogs was held in Pretoria and the Wild Dog Advisory Group (WAG) was formed as a result of this workshop. WAGs major objective is the establishment of a second viable Wild Dog population. This is an ongoing effort.
Fast facts
Article first published via Save The African Wild Dog.
You can read more about the Wild Dog here via the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
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Stillman sweeps pair from Benedict
Published: Saturday, March 30, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 11:44 p.m.
TUSCALOOSA | The Stillman College baseball team snapped a four-game losing skid with a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Benedict Tigers on Friday at Stillman Park.
The Tigers earned a 14-3 victory in game one before holding on for a 7-5 victory in game two.
In game one, Stillman plated at least one run in each inning. In the third, Stillman's Brad Sevenish capped the scoring with an RBI-single before scoring on Trent Posey's single. In the fifth, Stillman scored five runs as Posey and Dustin Dunn each had RBI hits.
Tyler Vails (3-5) earned the win in relief, throwing four innings scattering two hits and striking out four. Joey Falletta worked three innings, walking one and striking out four.
In the second game, Stillman scored a run in each of the first three innings building a 3-0 lead. Stillman received a momentum boost in the fourth when catcher T.J. Rock blasted a home run.
Kevin McNorton (2-1) earned the win in relief, striking out one and walking one. Tanaka worked the seventh earning his fourth save of the season.
The Tigers will host Benedict today at 1 p.m. in a nine-inning game.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Author of college's common reading selection to speak at Berks
Strength in What Remains is the story of one man's inspiring journey and of the people who helped him, providing brilliant testament to the power of second changes, the human will, and the endurance of the soul. In this real-life narrative, Kidder tells the story of Deo, a young man who escapes from ethnic violence in Burundi and ends up living homeless in New York City. His will to survive and love of knowledge eventually lead him to Columbia University and then on to medical school and a life devoted to healing. After becoming an American citizen, he returns to Burundi to build a clinic and public health system.
This presentation was originally scheduled for Jan. 26, and was postponed due to inclement weather. The lecture is part of the college's Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.


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For 175 years Business SA has existed for one reason: to support South Australian businesses both large and small. We deliver on this promise to you, our Member, by ensuring we assist you to: GROW your business, SAVE you money and WATCH your back
Find out more.
Choose a category to find the Training to suit your needs
Custom Software Solutions that are on Time, on Budget, and on Target


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slightly off-topic, but i have a recurring dream where i'm trying to get to this break in the middle of the woods - in the dream, i've been there before and i can picture it...slow rolling swells on a body of water, as glimpsed through a thick stand of trees....but i can never quite get to it.
and then i wake up. carry on.


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The social network is testing a project called Facebook Wi-Fi that provides free Internet access to customers who have a Facebook account and "check-in" at participating businesses.
Businesses such as retail stores and coffee shops near Facebook's California headquarters in Menlo Park are using a router provided free of charge to test out the Wi-Fi program, a Facebook spokeswoman told The Times.
When customers come in to a business' location and attempt to access its Wi-Fi network, they can do so by simply using Facebook's "Check In" feature.
If users don't want to disclose the location on their personal Facebook page when they check in, they can set the "audience" setting to "only me" so only the user can see where they are.
When user checks in, they are directed to the stores' Facebook Page before they are given access to the Internet using the business' Wi-Fi network.
The retail stores participating in the program still have to pay for the Internet service, but Facebook's special router lets those businesses give customers the option of accessing the network by simply checking in with Facebook.
Typically, customers have to fill a form or survey or watch an ad before they are given access to the Internet.
Users who don't want to "check in" or don't have a Facebook account can still gain access to the Internet by entering a password provided by the business.
Should Facebook Wi-Fi move beyond the test stage and become widely available, it could be a welcome feature for both consumers and businesses.
Consumers will have an easy and free way to access the Internet while the businesses will be able to promote themselves to their customers' friends.
The idea for Facebook Wi-Fi was born during one of the company's famous hackathons in which Facebook employees spend all night programming new features for the social network. Some of the ideas become a standard feature, such as the "Like" button, while others never make it beyond a small test.
For now, Facebook Wi-Fi is at the test stage.


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Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County is pursuing funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Housing Preservation Grant. To participate in the program, an applicant must live in a rural area, be a homeowner of a single-family dwelling and have demonstrated the need for critical repairs. The applicant must also fall within federal guidelines for very low income.
Participants will be responsible for a 50 percent cost share of materials while Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County will provide the labor, project management and 50 percent of the cost of the goods.
The repayment dollars will be used to sustain the program beyond the initial grant time. The grant period is expected to run one year from notice of fund approval.
Questions or comments may be directed to Maureen Murphy, Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County executive director, at (585) 396-3600, or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Location, ST | website.com


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California firm buys Serendipity Tennis Club for $2.1 million
Published: Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 6, 2014 at 9:04 p.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY - The Serendipity Tennis Club here has changed hands for $2.1 million.
The buyer -- Sarasota Tennis Holdings, a San Diego company managed by Eran Salu -- financed the purchase with a $1.6 million loan from the seller.
The seller was ImageStone Real Estate Holdings Ltd., a Clearwater company managed by Rex A. Roten and owned by Gerd Petrik.
The property, at 3600 Torrey Pines Blvd. in Sarasota, consists of a 30,726-square-foot clubhouse and 19 tennis courts. It also includes a junior Olympic size swimming pool and a 5,500-square-foot gym.
Petrik paid $2.4 million for the facility in March 2001.
Serendipity was the second Southwest Florida tennis club to change hands in December.
The United Tennis Academy paid $1.55 million for the Racquet Club at El Conquistador earlier in the month.
Academy founders Jeff Russell and Gabriel Trifu plan to operate the existing club and expand their youth training program.
This story appeared in print on page D1
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Ed Tech at OSPI
Education Technology Plan for K-12 Public Schools in Washington State
Find the 2012 update to the state educational technology plan and an index to the original plan published here in 2009. We outline the current state of technology integration across Washington's K-12 public schools, and describe the challenges, opportunities and emerging issues that face educators as the pressure to deliver a 21st century education meets the tough realities of funding, shifting demographics and a regulatory environment responding to a new wave of education reform.
2012 Update – Washington State Educational Technology Plan
The Educational Technology Department at OSPI (EdTech) is involved with a wide variety of programs and projects that support technology integration across Washington state.
E-rate | District Technology Plans | State Initiatives | School & Student
Data | EdTech Assessments | iTunes U | Regional EdTech Programming
The rise of data-driven instruction and monitoring, and the call for critical thinking skills, collaborative scholarship and creative, project-based learning intensifies the need for technology-enriched instruction across districts large and small.
2009 Education Technology Plan for K-12 Public Schools in Washington State
E-rate. 293 school districts received $34.8 million in discounts on telecommunications and Internet access costs during the 2011–2012 school year. EdTech staff provide direct technical assistance to districts that apply for this important financial support for technology integration.
District Technology Plans. A sub-set of districts that apply for the E-rate discount on specific network connectivity equipment and services must create and submit a technology plan to OSPI. EdTech staff manage the district technology planning process, and review and approve each district's plan. Over the course of the 2010–2013 technology planning cycle, they supported the development of 293 district technology plans from draft through approval.
State Initiatives. EdTech is integral to the state's online testing initiative, which will expand significantly with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments in 2014-15. Ongoing technical, communication and logistics support, as well as data review and analysis by EdTech staff are critical to its successful implementation. This contribution–data, expertise, technical/communications/logistical support– also connected EdTech directly to the work of the Microsoft IT Academy, Open Educational Resources (OER) and the roll-out of the Common Core State Standards.
School & Student Data. Development of the Student Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) has grown OSPI capacity to provide immediate and comprehensive school/ student data. The system now integrates data from the EdTech annual technology survey.
Now, districts are able to:
Educational Technology Assessments. OSPI must report the number of school districts that use the OSPI-developed assessments for educational technology (RCW 28A.655.075). Over the 2011-2012 school year, teachers integrated 47,500 assessments into their practice.
iTunes U. EdTech staff developed and now manage Washington State on iTunes U, a key communication platform for instructional, assessment and professional development content. Among the many content contributors are OSPI, the ESDs, schools and community partners.
Regional EdTech Programming. The EdTech director has state-level oversight of the Educational Technology Support Center Program (ETSC). Through the work of ETSC directors, educators across Washington expand their ability to work with instructional technologies through a variety of programs.
Two initiatives have broad support among educators:
Washington State's Transition to Technology-enriched Teaching & Learning Environment
The rise of data-driven instruction and monitoring, and the call for critical thinking skills, collaborative scholarship and creative, project-based learning intensifies the need for technology integration across districts large and small.
The K–12 system will find it increasingly difficult to graduate college- and career-ready students without significant attention paid to technology literacy. As with any subject, the need to build knowledge and skills begins in the elementary grades and continues into a student's senior year.
As well, the pressure is on to build and sustain an effective teaching force skilled enough to work with online instructional and assessment products, and able to differentiate content within learning environments of growing size and diversity.
Three Strategies for 21st Century Teaching & Learning
In the Educational Technology Plan for K–12 Public Schools in Washington State, we presented timely strategies based on clear goals and the direction of state lawmakers.
As a whole, these strategies were designed to drive the state of teaching and learning in Washington toward its greater goal: the realization of a 21st century learning environment for every student who enrolls in a Washington State K–12 public school. Although much has been accomplished, funding reductions over the past biennium have diminished the state's ability to support the development of learning environments equal to these tasks:
Regional Expertise to Support Technology-enriched Teaching & Learning
The strong foundation of expertise and ready, high-quality program content remains at the state and regional level. Many of the goals of the
2009 Educational Technology Plan for K–12 Public Schools in Washington State have been realized:
The state can leverage these advantages to meet the growing demand for 21st century learning environments.
2009 Education Technology Plan for K-12 Public Schools in Washington State
Washington State Educational Technology Plan (PDF)
Appendices (PDF)
Sections (PDF)
Contact Information
Dennis Small(360) 725-6384
At the National Level
US Dept. of Education's
Educational Technology Plan
Updated 4/11/2013
Old Capitol Building, PO Box 47200, 600 Washington St. S.E., Olympia, WA 98504-7200 360-725-6000 TTY 360-664-3631
Contact Us | A-Z Index | Site Info | Staff Only | Education Data System (EDS)


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Thursday February 14, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State outscored Augusta State 45-34 in the second half Thursday night to claim an 82-68 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Jaguars in Lumpkin Center.
With the loss, ASU slipped to 11-10 on the season and 6-8 in the PBC. The Cougars moved to 11-12 overall and 6-10 in league play.
Sophomore guard Devonte Thomas knocked down four 3-pointers and tallied a team-high 22 points for the Jags. Junior Ryan Weems posted 17 points and freshman Michael Graham notched a career-high 10 points off the bench. Sophomore Devon Wright-Nelson logged a game-high 11 rebounds.
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State opened up a double-digit, second-half lead Thursday night and picked up a 61-54 Peach Belt Conference victory over Augusta State in Lumpkin Center.
The contest marked the middle game of three straight road contests for the Lady Jaguars, who dropped to 16-5 on the season and 9-5 in the conference.
The victory lifted the Cougars to 14-9 overall and moved CSU into a tie for second place in the PBC West Division standings with Montevallo at 10-6 in the league.
The Lady Jaguars, who led by as many as nine points in the first half, were paced senior Taylor Ayers' 17 points off the bench. Junior guard Jemimah Ashby, ASU's leading scorer at 13.8 ppg., saw her first action since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in early January. She scored 10 points in 11 minutes in her first appearance since Jan. 2. Becky Newhouse grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Brittany White logged seven points, six assists and five steals.
Taren White matched Ayers with 17 points for the Cougars. Tae Smith and Chatil Bradford chipped in 10 points each and Asha Alexander snagged eight boards.
ASU connected on five of its first eight shot attempts and led 11-2 at the 15:05 mark of the first half. The Cougars immediately clawed back, scoring 12 straight points to take a 14-11 lead on a pair of White free throws with 8:47 to play. The lead changed hands eight more times over the remainder of the half before CSU closed with a 7-0 spurt for a 35-28 halftime advantage.
Rory Miller netted a game-high 23 points off the bench for the Cougars and nine rebounds. BJ Battle booked 18 points off the bench, while Nick Turner added 11 and Jermaine Morgan pitched in 10.
CSU shot 49.2 percent from the field, including 55.2 percent in the second half, and outrebounded the Jags, 41-25. The Cougars connected on 9-of-22 3-point attempts (40.9 percent) while ASU hit just 6-of-24 tries (25.0 percent) from long range.
Columbus sprinted out to a 10-0 lead in the first 2:57 of the contest before the Jags stemmed the tide with a 3-pointer from Thomas. The Jags countered with a 19-4 run and grabbed their first lead on consecutive treys from Thomas and Ryan Weems at the 11:02 mark.
A 3-point play from Thomas gave ASU a 22-16 advantage before a dunk from Turner capped a 7-0 Cougar spurt and put the hosts back in front. The Jags grabbed their last lead on a D'Angelo Boyce bucket with 5:24 left in the half and Columbus led 37-34 at the break.


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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will have elephants and ponies involved in their upcoming wedding.
Seriously. The florist said so.
The latest rumor bouncing around the Internet is that the couple will get hitched at the end of May at their Château Miraval estate in the South of France.
"Guests will travel past water fountains and Shetland ponies leaping as they go up the 2-mile long drive to the house," Lucille Michel, the couple's florist, told the U.K.'s Grazia magazine. "They want the wedding to take place just before sunset."
I have a feeling that someone may be looking for a new florist.
"When the guests park, they'll see the family of elephants," Michel continued. "Brad hopes it will make them smile. Apparently, the elephants were the children's idea."
Maybe that's just code for saying there will be Republicans there.
Michel also said the couple will spend $30,000 on flowers -- planted, not cut. The couple's three daughters, Zahara, Shiloh and Vivienne, will supposedly serve as flower girls. No word on what the boys or George Clooney will do.
Contact Tony Hicks on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks, or on Twitter at twitter.com/insertfoot.


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The camera does get a little out of whack at times, but nothing that takes away from the fun gameplay. I like this game and would recommend it to other people.
Sony PSP
Assassin's Creed Bloodlines on the PSP is a game that takes place after the first Assassin's Creed and before the second installment of the game. I am a huge Assassin's Creed fan so I figured I would pick up this game for my PSP. When I first fired this game up I was amazed by the graphics; it really looks great. In my opinion I think it is the best looking game on the PSP that iv played.
As mentioned above this game takes off right where the first game left off. The old villain had a love interested named, Maria and Altair take her hostage in a pursuit to flee the Templars. This will lead you to Cyprus which is an exciting island that is partial to Templar invaders and members of the resistance. It is a really interesting story, but if you are new to this series you might not fully understand it. I would recommend that you play the first game to truly appreciate the storyline. However, it is not a must that you play the first game, if you really don't want to.
Altair's freedom to explore, jump, and climb are truly amazing. Fans of this game will really like and appreciate this game on PSP. The graphics are not going to look as they do on PS3, but still you will be impressed with how amazing the city does look, though. The users interface and menu screens are very appealing too.
Ok enough about the graphics; I have already made it clear they are top notch. So you will have a long sword, dagger, throwing knives, and an assassin's blade. You will be killing Templar guards and engaging in awesome street fights. It is a little underutilized, the fact that you are an assassin, but your stealth kills don't really come that much into play, but I can get past that.
What I mean by not really stealth kills is that you will have to kill a number of different people in an allotted amount of time or just plain kill everyone in order to complete a mission. Not really a stealth approach if you ask me, but there are a couple stealth missions for you to play. But, what I really like is how you have to walk around and at times different guards will catch onto you, then you must fight or somehow evade them.
So there are number of combat scenes in which you must hack away at your enemy. You can perform a number of different combos, but I have found that it is easier to just use quick attacks and chop them down. There are number of boss scenes in which you will have to dodge their attacks and hit them at the correct time with the correct combination too.
It's not a really deep game but there are variety of collectables in which you can collect. Such as templar coins with a pretty good reward system. It is a game based around a series of little levels VS the deeper gameplay that is offered on console versions. Let's not forget about the smaller side missions too.
If you are real Creed fan you will like this game and the storyline is pretty good. The camera does get a little out of whack at times, but nothing that takes away from the fun gameplay. I like this game and would recommend it to other people.
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The community will have the chance to immerse itself in local and national film culture as the Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association presents its annual Colony Film Festival this weekend.
Festival-goers can enjoy two days of both short and feature-length films while learning about the filmmaking industry, all before awards are given out for "Best of Show," "Best Student Film" and "Best Local Film."
Boasting 18 competing local, regional and national films made by filmmakers from Washington County to Los Angeles, the screenings will also take place alongside showcase films made by Marietta College students and several speakers and workshops to pack the weekend with entertainment.
Article Photos
Submitted by Andy Hall
Kathryn McCormick and Bruce Weber star in "Ocean," a short film under the direction of Tory Nelson of Los Angeles, which will be one of the many competing films screened at the 2014 Colony Film Festival this weekend. Festival-goers can catch "Ocean" at 6:45 p.m. Friday at the festival, 121 Putnam St.
"This festival has always been a nice forum for regional filmmakers. We encourage local participation, and reach out to cities like Columbus, Huntington and Pittsburgh, too," said Hunt Brawley, developmental director for the Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association. "I think the real nice aspect of the fest is the ability for them to come network and talk about their craft."
The festival will include a "Filmmaking 101" workshop that Brawley promises will be a big draw.
"We're going to be making a film at the festival and showing it in the backspace we have available. They're going to shoot it right there, talk about angles, camera and lighting, then put it on the projector so people can get a handle on the filmmaking process," he said. "It should be a lot of fun."
Fact Box
If you go
What: 2014 Colony Film Festival:
Includes: 18 competing local, regional and national films, workshops, showcased films by Marietta College students.
When: 6:30 to 11:05 p.m. Friday.
Where: 121 Putnam St., Putnam Commons.
$10 for 1-day pass.
$7 for students with ID.
$30 VIP pass for weekend (access to filmmakers' lounge).
Tickets may be purchased at the door or contact the HCHTA office to hold tickets in advance, 373-0894.
$500-Best of Show.
$250-Best Student Film.
$250 Best Local Film.
Andy Hall, a graphic and interactive designer for Stonewall Retail Marketing in Marietta who also has won past Colony Film Festival awards for his own short films, will be one of the workshop instructors.
"It's going to be really hands-on, right on a film set, so people get a sense of what it's like to make films," said Hall, who splits his time between commercial production work and making his own independent short films.
The festival is being held in spring rather than fall this year to minimize conflicting events with Marietta College, which will provide the location for the opening reception and speaker Joe Nanashe, a New York filmmaker.
"It's the first time we've had it in this space at 121 Putnam," Brawley said. "This is temporary, but it's a clear, wide-open loft space downtown."
The festival location is at the Putnam Commons location as the former Colony Theatre, now named the Peoples Bank Theatre, undergoes the last of renovations that have lasted for about a year.
In addition to the workshops, festival-goers can enjoy a large selection of films that vary in genre and in length.
Directed by Tory Nelson, "Ocean" tells a broken love story in just four minutes, while "Seven Deadly Words," directed by Doc Benson from Huntington, W.Va., tells a story of conflicting parties trying to save a church in financial trouble in an hour and 37 minutes.
Lowell native and Fort Frye High School graduate Aaron Dunbar, 22, wrote, directed and animated the short six-minute film "Gone Beyond" that will be screened at 6:35 p.m. Saturday.
"I guess you could say it's been one of my most personally introspective videos, and it had me thinking about my place in the world in a number of ways," Dunbar said.
The film depicts a couple trying to reunite after war tears them apart, which Dunbar just completed in December.
"It's great to be able to show it locally as well, since about half of it was made while I was here at home," he said.
Alongside "Ocean" and "Gone Beyond" are eight other films being screened at the festival that are less than 20 minutes long. The remaining range from a half hour to just more than an hour and a half in length.
Brawley said depending on the year, the festival usually sees anywhere from 100 to 150 people throughout the weekend, and the theater association typically receives about 20 to 30 film submissions annually.
Keynote speaker William Wedig, a Marietta-native now living in New York City, will be speaking about his experiences as an award-winning filmmaker at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Wedig has won CFF awards and several other national awards, along with shooting some films in Marietta. His work has also appeared on PBS, MTV and other popular outlets.
"I don't want to speak so much about industry per say, but more about filmmaking mechanics, and more about what will set your film apart from others on low budget," Wedig said. "I've come from guerrilla filmmaking, and it's been a learning experience, but there's always tricks to learn."
Friday evening, beginning at 6:30, a selection of films made by Marietta College students will be screened.
Just after 11 p.m. Saturday, the three awards will be given out to the competing films, with $500 going to the best of show, and $250 each going to the best local and student films.


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Well that was some kind of cleanup!
First the shock: The location is occupied by another event (cars cars cars...)
Then the relief: We get the best places available and yes: we can start!
The combination of course and cleanup was a full success again. Although we mainly found small stuff (I can't see any cigarrette...


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Look at the man, I thought. He remembered his car, but he can't remember his granddaughter... Perhaps he, too, moved through his life as distracted as me. Perhaps only after he forgot his granddaughter did he remember his Hotchkiss... Something deep inside him was sorting out his life as it was about to end. And that is what frightens me the most. I'm afraid that deep down I am built on a much smaller scale than the surface of my mind aspires to. When something finally comes back to me with real force, perhaps it will be a luxury car hanging on a crane or the freshly painted wall of a new dry-cleaning store or the faint buzz of the alarm clock beside my bed. Deep down, secretly, I may be prepared to betray all that I think I love the most.
Robert Olen Butler
Contributed by: Katie
Copyright © 2016 Gaiam, Inc.


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BRECKENRIDGE - Though this year's race for town council didn't seem to elicit the high spending of past years, it was marked by big donations to some candidates.
Wendy Wolfe, who successfully won a seat on council, received nearly $2,500 in campaign contributions from various private donors in Breckenridge as of the March 30 reporting deadline.
Officially Gary Gallagher, who was also elected with the highest number of votes, received nearly $500 in non-monetary campaign contributions, in the form of meet-and-greets hosted by friends, according to campaign finance reports filed with the town and Gallagher himself.
Ben Brewer, Amy Perchick and Peter Joyce did not accept campaign donations of any kind, according to the campaign finance reports.
Wolfe said she did not solicit the donations that came into her campaign and that the money did not come with any expectations if she were to be elected.
"These people know me, so they know I will be fair-minded, I will listed to people, do my homework and I will come to a conclusion on an issue, but not based on pressure or money," Wolfe said. "I certainly wouldn't be swayed by a contribution."
Gallagher covered all of his own campaign expenses, but accepted contributions in the form of meet-and-greet events hosted by friends.
"I didn't want any of my friends to write me a check in support," Gallagher said. "I said, 'I'm going to pay for everything myself.'"
Other candidates opted not to accept any donations, for reasons ranging from logistics - Perchick said she didn't know the process for setting up a campaign committee - to ethics.
"I made a philosophical call, which was it's just going to be me and I'm not going to draw a bunch of other people into it and make it about the money," said now-Councilman Ben Brewer, who made the decision not to accept donations against the advice of some of his family members. "If I raise a bunch of money and I get elected based on how much advertising I can do, I don't think then it would have been about my ideas."
Brewer did accept donations during his unsuccessful bid for council in 2010.
This election, the candidates almost unanimously agree, was more about outreach and forming personal connections than it was about campaign spending.
"I think time played more into the results (of the election) than money," Perchick, who was unsuccessful in her bid for council, said. "Gary's full-time job was campaigning, and I didn't have the time or energy to do that."
The candidates agreed that, despite their common use of yard signs and newspaper ads, talking to voters in coffee houses was a popular campaign tactic. They said it was not uncommon to see other hopefuls out talking to people in Breckenridge's cafes during the campaign.
"They talk about ... campaigning door to door, and I do think that door-to-door in our community is replaced a lot by coffee-shop talk," Wolfe said. "I think that's the strongest thing that one can do, and I think it's the most important thing you can do to campaign."
Of course, coffee isn't free.
Gallagher said the $500-$600 he spent over the course of 65 coffee-house conversations during his campaign probably went a long way to helping him land a seat on council.
"When I started out I think I had the least name recognition of all the candidates running for Breck," he said. "I did a lot of one-on-one meetings. ... Was that helpful to me? I would say it probably was. ... For me that was money well spent."
Total campaign spending information will not be available until May, the deadline to file final campaign finance reports.


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Cochran's big night helps Wofford upset UNCG, 59-50
Published: Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 12:25 a.m.
Wofford is getting downright defensive about this basketball season.
The Terriers, who dropped into last place in the South Division of the Southern Conference recently with a disappointing defeat at The Citadel, have made a resurgence. Their 59-50 win Saturday night at home against UNCG, the second straight victory in the Benjamin Johnson Arena, pulled them into a tie for third.
And they've done it with a smothering defense.
Two days after ending North Division leader Elon's seven-game victory streak and holding the Phoenix to their second-lowest point total of the season (lowest was against previously No. 1-ranked Duke), Wofford put the clamps on the highest-scoring team in the league and one of the most dynamic scorers.
UNCG, which it insists in being called instead of UNC Greensboro, according to school officials, was held 23 points below its average and shot only 32 percent. Trevis Simpson, the league's second-best scorer at 17.8 per game, was 5-for-21 from the floor and scored 16.
"Our defense was off the charts," Wofford head coach Mike Young said.
The Wofford player most in charge of trying to keep Simpson in check just happened to be the Terriers' leading scorer, Karl Cochran.
"He's one of the toughest guys in the league to guard, if not the toughest," said Cochran, who gave up three inches at 6-foot-1. "Whatever you do, he has a thousand counters."
"Trevis Simpson would be a playground legend in the Bronx. He's just wired to score," Young said. "I saw him score 41 against Chattanooga. I saw him score 29 Thursday against Furman and was dominant. He had a couple of dunks in transition that were scary.
"Karl did a fabulous job on him. Of course, one guy can't keep a guy like Simpson under wraps. It's a team deal. Our team was really good. I thought if we could keep him between 12 and 16 points, we had a great chance to win. We wanted to keep him off the foul line (he was 5-for-6) and I think we did a good job with that."
Cochran, in addition to his defensive responsibilities, pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds and scored 16 points, 12 of those in the second half.
"That's a lot on a guy's plate," Young said. "Karl Cochran has to score for our team. For him to be matched up against another great offensive player, get a dozen rebounds and handle all that, what a great night for him."
Wofford freshman guard Spencer Collins (Easley High School), who has led the Terriers in scoring during Southern Conference games this season, did it again with 20 points, the third time in the past five games he has reached that mark.
Collins had a key bucket inside six minutes to play when he corralled a loose ball and converted a three-point play to give Wofford a 45-40 lead. He helped seal the deal down the stretch by going 6-for-6 at the free-throw line during the final three minutes.
Sophomore forward Lee Skinner, battling the flu and coming off the bench, had only four points on 2-for-7 shooting, but contributed seven rebounds and six assists. He made a steal and went in for a layup to give the Terriers a 47-40 lead.
"He was a little under the weather, but he's going to give you everything in his tank," Young said. "I thought he had a far greater effect on the game that his stats. He played his guts out.
Point guard Indiana Faithfull, who played all but one minute, added seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. He drove to the basket to beat the shot clock with a layup that gave Wofford a 49-40 advantage with about four minutes remaining.
The Terriers (10-15, 4-8) turn right around and play Monday night at Western Carolina and continue on the road Thursday at Samford before a home game next Saturday against Chattanooga. After that, there will be three games remaining in the regular season.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Grand Ledge is no Gotham City. That may not stop the latest Batman sequel from coming to the community.
According to Eaton County and Grand Ledge officials who didn't want to be identified due to confidentiality agreements, production crews from "The Dark Knight Rises" scouted locations in Grand Ledge's Fitzgerald Park last week.
They looked at the Ledges as well as a water treatment plant located inside the park. Sources say the area is being considered as a hideout for Batman sidekick Robin.
State senator Rick Jones told WILX Friday that he would like to maintain or adjust but not eliminate the Michigan film tax credit, likely one of the draws for productions like "The Dark Knight Rises". The credit can give filmmakers up to a 42% tax credit, but is one of many tax cuts that may be on the chopping block in the next budget.
Grand Ledge is no stranger to the move business. Fitzgerald Park was the site of filming for the still-unreleased remake of Red Dawn in 2009.


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WASHINGTON (July 15, 2013)--The U.S. is a better and stronger force for good in the world thanks to the tradition of volunteerism nurtured by former President George H.W. Bush, President Barack Obama said Monday.
Mr. Obama said Bush's efforts in the White House and beyond sparked a national movement.
He said the U.S. is kinder and gentler thanks to Bush.
Mr. Obama said the tradition may seem ordinary, but actually represents tremendous process.
He said because of the Republican former president, community service has become a prevalent part of American life.
Mr. Obama spoke Monday at a White House ceremony recognizing the 5,000th Daily Point of Light Award, granted to a retired couple that created a nonprofit to feed hungry children in 15 countries.
Bush created the award more than two decades ago to honor volunteer service.


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I noticed that embedded subtitles instead of external are loaded by default.
With a .srt file placed in the same folder, named the same as the video file,
and the GUI option "Automatically load *.srt/*.sub subtitles with the same file name" checked.
Also when transcoding mkv files with embedded VobSub the subtitle (some times but regular) flashes one time before it appears on tv.
I have uploaded a mkv sample file (80 MB) with embedded VobSub tracks and an external .srt file to MediaFire.
Here the debug.log with this mkv file played in the default folder (not trough the transcode folder),
where the embedded sub is used instead of the external .srt
additional info:
Windows 7 64 bit
PMS version: 1.82.0 (same behavior with current snapshot build)
Used transcode engine: MEncoder


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BRENTWOOD -- Once referred to as the "the hobby of kings and the king of hobbies," stamp collecting might not be as popular as it once was, but it isn't a lost art either.
Just ask the U.S. Postal Service, or better yet, 88-year-old Discovery Bay stamp collector Ralph Tatum who recently showed his collection in Brentwood. Reports indicate the art of stamp collecting has been on this rise since 1986, according to Tatum, who has been collecting stamps for more than 20 years.
The United States Postal Service estimates that 11 percent of the people in the United States collect stamps, making it by far the biggest collecting hobby and probably the most popular hobby in the country.
As common with most stamp collectors, Tatum began collecting stamps at age 7 and continued until he was 12. When he retired at 65, he began collecting again, and now at age 88, Tatum has collected almost 5,000 of the 7,000 United States made stamps.
"Everyone needs a hobby," Tatum said who encourages all he meets about the merits of stamp collecting.
"Stamp collecting improves our quality of life," he said pointing to his head. "They make you think."
Other merits, according to Tatum, include being a fun hobby, one that teaches history through the ages, is that it is affordable and reflects who we are. Stamps can also be valuable.
"Be cautious," Tatum warns. "Never collect stamps for money because you can put a lot of time into stamp collecting and you may never see the return on your investment."
To help encourage the younger generation into stamp collecting, Tatum enjoys speaking at local venues on the subject. Generally he will bring out several reproductions of his stamps and tell the story. In early November, Tatum brought his veterans stamps to a Brentwood Library presentation in honor of Veterans Day.
At the event Tatum handed out a booklet he made up that held packets of stamps to get children started collecting. Included were several stamps from different countries, even though Tatum only collects American stamps.
"These will give everyone a chance to get started," he said.
Even the casual stamp collector can find a hobby that will last a lifetime, Tatum told the audience. Stamp collecting is flexible, it can be appreciated by all ages. Stamp collecting can be done 12 months of the year even on rainy days and it doesn't require great skill or a great amount of money, he said.
Like Tatum one can start stamp collecting at any time, quit and pick it up again at long in the future.
"It is great for your quality of life," he said. "My wife can verify I have a very high quality of life and that is because of her and stamp collecting."


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Our successful fall season has come to an end and we are headed indoors for our winter training schedule. We are looking to finalize two spots on our 12U team this season as we prepare for our 2012 Spring/Summer tournament schedule. As a full-time tournament team we are excited about the caliber of talent we have assembled and our prospects for upcoming season. If you are interested in checking out these opportunities (looking primary for an infielder and pitcher, but will look at all experienced softball players), please contact Brian Ollech at 312-307-5840 for more information and to schedule a private tryout.
I was wondering if you found the players you were looking for. We are looking for a travel team. Could you please let me know? If we missed it, could you let me know when the next tryouts will be held?
Please give me a call soon at my cell (312-307-5840) and we can discuss our status for this season and next year's tryout timing. Thanks for your interest. Brian
Are you still looking for a player?
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


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The Reliquary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, toured the United States in 1999-2000. Read about the significance of St. Thérèse's relics and the relics of all saints.
Understanding Thérèse's Relics
by Raymond Zambelli
Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face was buried in the Lisieux municipal cemetery on October 4, 1897. She was the first to be buried in the new plot her monastery had purchased in response to the city's new legislative directives prohibiting interment inside the cloister. In view of what took place after Thérèse's death, we can now say that the new directives were providential, since they enabled hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to visit her grave over a period of twenty-five years. Had Thérèse been buried inside the cloister, this would never have been possible. Only in 1923 on the occasion of her beatification were her mortal remains transferred to the Carmelite chapel where they are kept to this day.
When speaking of Thérèse's relics, we must return to the initial stage of their veneration in the town cemetery. Everything began there, to the point that Thérèse's grave became the cradle of the pilgrimages. But isn't this the case with Rome, Compostela, and so many other shrines spread throughout the world?
Anthropologists have taught us that burial is an indubitable sign of the presence of human beings, because only humans bury their own. The Church respects the custom of gathering to pray in the presence of the mortal remains of those we have known and loved. When each year millions of men and women of every culture and social condition visit cemeteries, they draw near the "relics" (that is, the remains) of their dear ones. We understand well enough that we do not really rejoin our loved ones there, but we are not pure spirits and we need signs.
The saints' relics are poor and fragile signs of what went to make up their bodies. When we are close to their relics we can more easily evoke their human condition: that with their own bodies they acted, thought worked, and suffered.
At times God wishes to use such tenuous and seemingly foolish signs to manifest his presence and make his power and glory shine forth. It is God in fact who works through these signs. Here we enter into the perplexing divine logic, different from that of the world. The apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians of this: "Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1:27). But the same apostle had just declared; "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (1 Cor 1:25).
To return to Thérèse's case, it is a fact that when people stand in the presence of her mortal remains or have some contact with her poor relics, as with petals from an unpetalled rose, God, who received through her humanity so many signs of love, is pleased in turn to manifest his love through her bodily remains.
From these poor signs, God's salvific power reveals and unfolds itself. To become convinced it is enough to read the many volumes recounting favors and cures obtained through contact with Thérèse's relics, as well as the abundant correspondence that arrives daily in Lisieux.
And who can name all those who cherish in their wallets or among their personal papers an image bearing the words "cloth touched to the relics of the Saint?" Truly we find ourselves in another logic, arising from the words of Jesus: "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike" (Lk 10:21).
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: Her Life, Times and Teachings
, edited by Conrad De Meester. Copyright 1997 by Institute for Carmelite Studies. Used with permission.
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