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Green group plans suit over snowmobile trail
SARANAC LAKE – An Adirondack environmental group plans to sue the state for building the first of many "community connector" snowmobile trails in the Park, but the state says the group doesn't have a case.
Protect the Adirondacks has filed a motion with the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division Third Department in Albany, seeking approval to sue the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Adirondack Park Agency – a procedure required for all lawsuits alleging a violation of Article 14 of the state Constitution. If the motion is granted, the group says the lawsuit would be filed in State Supreme Court in Albany.
Protect is challenging the new 12-mile community connector snowmobile trail the state opened earlier this month in the Moose River Plains Wild Forest in Hamilton County. The case could also have implications for other areas of the Park where community connectors have been approved but not yet built, including the Wilmington Wild Forest in Essex and Clinton counties, and the Jessup River Wild Forest in Hamilton County.
Protect alleges that DEC's cutting of more than 2,200 trees to build the Moose River Plains trail violates the New York Constitution's prohibition on tree cutting in the state-owned Adirondack Forest Preserve.
"We're not saying the state can never chop down a tree, but the work done on these new trails goes far beyond what is legal and acceptable," Protect Chairman Chuck Clusen said in a press release.
Protect's attorney, John Caffry, cited a 1930 case in which the New York Court of Appeals struck down the state's plan to build a bobsleigh run for the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics on Forest Preserve land because doing so would have required destroying more than 2,500 trees and clearing 4-and-a-half acres.
"DEC's plans for the community connector snowmobile trails go far beyond that, and are clearly unconstitutional," Caffry said in the release. The group estimates the entire community connector trail system in the DEC's Adirondack Park Snowmobile Plan will result in cutting more than 8,000 trees and clear-cutting almost 50 acres of Forest Preserve.
Protect Executive Director Peter Bauer said construction of the 9- to 12-foot-wide Moose River Plains snowmobile trail, which was done by DEC crews, involved extensive grading, flattening, tree and rock removal, destruction of bedrock, bench cutting, the use of gravel and the building of oversized bridges. It's more like a road, he said.
"These lands are supposed to be 'forever kept as wild forest lands,' and you now have what is, in essence, a 12-acre clear-cut," Bauer told the Enterprise.
DEC spokeswoman Lori Severino said staff at her agency are reviewing Protect's motion and "do not believe it has merit," although she didn't say why.
"Moreover, over the past six month(s), DEC and APA staff, together with the towns, the New York State Snowmobile Association and numerous local volunteers worked tirelessly to construct what is the most significant trail project to be undertaken in the Central Adirondacks in decades," Severino wrote in an email. "While there are a limited few who refuse to see the forest through the trees and how sustainable communities benefit both the Adirondack Park and the local economies, our many partners in this project demonstrate the broad-ranging support for this new trail."
DEC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Moose River Plains snowmobile trail on Feb. 15.
"Establishing this community connection multiple-use trail reflects Governor Andrew Cuomo and DEC's vision to connect Adirondack communities to the Forest Preserve and to each other, providing recreational and economic benefits," DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said in a press release issued the same day as the ceremony.
Jim Rolf, trails coordinator for the New York State Snowmobile Association, called the potential lawsuit "unfortunate." He said the effort to create a snowmobile trail building and maintenance policy for the Park involved a broad group of stakeholders.
"Everybody gave their input," he said. "We were not 100 percent happy as to what the final product was, as probably and obviously they weren't. But it involved negotiations and compromise, so I think it's unfortunate they started this action."
Rolf attended the Feb. 15 ceremony, when he rode the trail for the first time.
"I would invite anybody to go ride it and tell us if it's anything remotely close to a superhighway," Rolf said. "It's probably the most winding foot trail that is wide enough to be used by snowmobiles that I've ever ridden on in my life."
Groomer suit
While it waits for approval to sue the state over the Moose River Plains trail, Protect has also filed a lawsuit over the use of large-track snowmobile trail groomers on state land in the Adirondacks.
"We think the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan and the DEC regulations are quite clear that the only motor vehicle allowed on a trail is a snowmobile," Bauer said. "A community connector trail would not be built in the way it is if it were not being built for a large groomer to operate on. If it was just a snowmobile pulling a drag, which is what these remote trails should be, it would be a much narrower trail, which is wilder."
Contact Chris Knight at 891-2600 ext. 24 or email@example.com.


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>Runner's World - My Event Ratings>
In short: enjoyableIn full: First time to Tewkesbury & really enjoyed it, good run & a very nice place to visit. Parking was fine & no problems at the start, course took you through the town & out to the countryside & back into town for finish, nice slightly undulating course with only one slight problem of having to cross the road at the 12 mile mark with no marshalls in sight, nice medal & t shirt & overall a pleasant event, one i would do again.Date of review: May 27, 2014
In short: One of the best half marathonsIn full: Having run most of the big city halves such as Reading,GNR,Bath, Royal Parks & the awful Run To The Beat the Cardiff half for me beats the lot of them hands down, scenic course that shows Cardiff as one of the nicest cities in Britain,well organised with great medal & t shirt. Definately be back next year, well done Cardiff.Date of review: October 7, 2013
In short: A complete rip offIn full: With better organisation, cheaper entry fee & get some good live bands (playing instruments) & it could be a good event but at present it's a shambles, surely if you're going to take nearly a million pounds in entry fees you need to eliminate any possible hiccups.Date of review: September 13, 2013
In short: Poor valueIn full: Overpriced race & one i'll give a miss in future, ran Cardiff a fortnight ago & it was in a different league for value & organisation.Music was awful & not a band in sight just a repetetive electronic din, dreadfull.Quite enjoyed the course but a few of the mile markers were all over the place, two 5 mile markers 500 metres apart, what was that all about? Potentially it could be a very good race but they need to give far better value for money than this, sort out some better music & get some half tidy bands just to give the music some variety, at the finish there was some dross being blasted out f-ing & blinding, great for families waiting.Date of review: October 30, 2012
In short: Great new courseIn full: Well organised event & the new course is probably the best Cardiff has had, crowd support was superb & this ranks alongside Reading has probably one of the best halfs in the U.K.Date of review: October 14, 2012
In short: Poorly organised for the half marathonIn full: I've run over 100 half marathons but have never seen such a farcical start, i ran the first mile according to the mile markers in 4 minutes & the last in 15! Unable to know if i was on my predicted target time as the markers were all over the place, poor medal & T shirt & easily the most dissapointing half marathon i've ever run. Hats off to the runners who completed the full marathon though those hills were challenging enough fo a half marathon.Date of review: June 11, 2012
In short: Brilliant raceIn full: Spot-on race, organisation,course,etc, It's got to be up there with the best of them.Date of review: May 25, 2009
In short: Great runIn full: Great atmosphere, fast course & all in all a very good big city run. Too many people moan about any hiccups, after all it's a big event.O.k maybe not up to FLM organisation but that is exceptional.Why do so many on here complain about a goody bag? It's still a very good run.Date of review: March 17, 2009
In short: race is getting to bigIn full: Race struggles to cater for such a large field.First ran this one in the eighties with a lot smaller field & a lot less problems.Overall it's a good race but certainly not the best.I ran the Llanelli coastal half marathon a fortnight ago & was able to park the car right at the start & leave with ease straight away.I arrived at 9:00am this morning & still struggled to park anywhere near the start.If i do it next year i'll definately be looking at staying overnight.Date of review: March 16, 2008
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subset: commoncrawl


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Here's how RW members rated this race in the past (134 votes).
In short: Well organised mud fest!In full: Very, very muddy run, 'worse' than Hellrunner in that respect but a quarter of the price. Very well organised with friendly marshalls cheering you on along the way.Date of review: August 13, 2012
In short: A muddy adventure!In full: This is one to remember! It was a slippy, muddy and fun experience. Tough but worth it for the experience. Date of review: August 8, 2012
In short: New favourite trail race.In full: Excellent race, well organised with varied terrain and great scenery. Battle of the Somme type conditions following huge downpour prior to race added to the fun ! But having said that I look forward to running it again next year, hopefully on dry trails.Date of review: August 7, 2012
In short: I come back year after year excellent raceIn full: Very hard and challenging even more so than other years. Fell over twice , and help was at hand both times. Very friendly and supportive . See you next yearDate of review: August 7, 2012
In short: Tough Mudder but without the fire pit and £80 price tag! Super friendly, super muddy trail race - loved it!Date of review: August 6, 2012
In short: Beautiful, Brilliant, but brutalIn full: Do this race every year when I can, so thought I knew what to expect - but this year! So muddy, was wearing my trail shoes so no slipping/sliding and I love the downhills, but by 10 my legs had just gone. That thick mud just drains me, but all that means was I could really appreciate the glorious views as an excuse to slow down.As regards the value and facilities - Oscar should try the Hellrunner or Turbofilth, which cost more, give you less and leave you to change in a carpark afterwards!So well done Liss Runners, just the best race ever.Date of review: August 6, 2012
In short: Hilarious, hair-raising, slip, slide and squelch experience!In full: I don't have much trail-running experience, and entered this race as a training run for the Jungfrau Marathon rather than because I'm an off-road aficionado. It was surprisingly enjoyable - at times hair-raising, at times hilarious. Not sure the deep mud and vertiginous descents will be much of a preparation for the Jungfrau, but the walking-pace ascents, narrow paths and general cameraderie seemed pretty much spot on. Some of the downhill sections were truly dangerous (I was one of many fallers and have the cuts to prove it) and I also got lost at one point. But my lasting memory will be of a magnificently mad race. Thank you, Liss Runners.Date of review: August 6, 2012
In short: indulging, beautiful scenery, only £12 but poor afterwards facilities, no timing chip...In full: traveled long way to get there im so glad it started at 10:30. little bit a walk to start, good steady first then slowly gets harder and harder,it is not the toughest but very indulging race, after all this rain it was very muddy, you need to be very careful in some places, i seen few people fall and hurt, asking for help. Lots of water on the way every 2.5 miles with jelly babies. lots of smiling marshals, well organised race with lovely scenery. last 2 miles was downhill to finish, lots of people were cheering at the end, it was only £12 bargain! bring your own goodies all you get medal,water and jellies. no timing tag. Date of review: August 6, 2012
In short: A challenging trail raceIn full: Great run in challenging conditions. Torrential rain helped turned most hills into a slippery and hair raising experience!A group of us were directed the wrong way by a 'rogue sign' which was apparently moved by some joker (not one of the runners mind you). It would be a real shame for Liss Runners to cancel this race because of this. Really hope to see this return next year...sign me up!Date of review: August 5, 2012
In short: well organised raceDate of review: August 5, 2012
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French exhibits and Chautauqua ties to the Big City
NEW YORK – Hot Town! Summer in the City.
If those words bring you memories from a hit record of 1966, by The Lovin' Spoonful, it will give you a good idea of how my past week has progressed. Our oldest son had his birthday in the past week, and is now nearly twice as old as my wife and I are. My strong desire was to go out to Manhattan, where he lives, and to at least take him out to dinner for his birthday, but the cost and the inconvenience were on the verge of stopping me, when I received an invitation to have lunch at the Consulate of the French Republic, during the same week. The combination set me looking for more reasonable ways to travel there, and hotels which wouldn't break the bank, and I ended up spending two days in the great metropolis.
New York has gotten vastly more expensive in recent years, with theater tickets costing up to $200 or more, and hotels and restaurants costing far more than they did only a few years ago. Still, going there seems like going to the center of everything. In my two days, I managed to attend a hit Broadway show, to conduct an interview with a Jamestown native who has gone far in the classical theater, which you might have read about in a newspaper early last week, because there wasn't time to get it into the column, to do some spectacular book shopping – even though my three favorite book stores in the city have yielded to the current decline in our culture – and to dine with both my son and with the French Republic.
Let me tell you just a bit about what's happening at the other end of our great state.
We have a number of readers with either relatives or business dealings in the great city of Philadelphia. Since the city is somewhat removed from our area, I'm not able to pass along all the arts news which they send us, but I know a number of people who ask often about the city, and especially its first rate art scene, so I try to send along as much as I can.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of a long chain of five museums which stretch between the wonderful Museum of Art, toward the center of the city. The other four are the Perelman Building, which showcases textile and rare books; the Rodin Museum, which houses more sculptures and other works of art by Auguste Rodin than any other museum outside of Paris; the Barnes Foundation, which shows the hundreds of impressionist paintings and African Masks which until recently were housed in the former home of their owner, Dr. Albert Barnes; and finally, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which both teaches artists at the early stages of their careers, and shows extensive displays of their creations.
The Philadelphia Museum held the lunch in New York City's French Consulate, to announce three exhibits of art by French artists which will be on display soon in the museum. I'm sure no one would be surprised if I said the food and the atmosphere were splendid.
If you can make your way to Philadelphia in the fall, it will be well worth your while.
The first and most prominent of the three exhibits is called "Leger: Modern Art and the Metropolis." It will open Oct. 24, and run through Jan. 5, 2014. The focus of the exhibit is the painting "The City," which was created by Leger in 1919. It is cubist – or post-Cubist – in nature, and demonstrates the way, when an individual looks down a street of a modern city, he is overwhelmed by giant circles, squares, spirals, and other shapes. Other artists who lived concurrently with Leger and created in similar styles have works which are also included in the exhibit. These include Picabia, Exter, Gerald Murphy, Mondrian, and the architect Le Corbusier.
The second French-themed exhibit is called "The Surrealists: Works from the Collection." It will open Nov. 3, and run through March 2 of next year.
Surrealist artists created images which sought to tap the unconscious mind of the viewer. They were most active in the first half of the 20th Century. Salvador Dali, perhaps the artist most associated with surrealism, painted "Soft Construction with Boiled Beans," which he described as a premonition of the horrific violence of the Spanish Civil War.
Joan Miro created "Dog Barking at the Moon," which created an unlikely juxtaposition of different images, to demonstrate how each of us deals with a wide variety of ideas and experiences, and often must process and deal with them simultaneously.
Other artists whose works have been included in the Surrealism exhibit are Photographer Man Ray, Max Ernst, Dorothea Tanning, Kay Sage, Marcel Duchamp, and Roberto Matta.
Opening Sept. 14 and running through Dec. 8, an exhibit of works by Barbara Chase-Riboud will show the first comprehensive survey of her Malcolm X Steles.
Included are the four bronze and folded wax sculptures which she created in the late 1960s, inspired by the life and works of Civil Rights leader Malcolm X, plus the nine additional works which she created later, on the same theme. Also included are her series called "Le Lit," or "The Bed," and well-known works such as "All That Rises Must Converge/Gold," from 1973, and "Tantra #1″ from 1994.
If you're planning your autumn schedule now, I heartily encourage you to consider Philadelphia. The museum has a good web site at www.philamuseum.org, which can help you to plan.
In the days before television and home video, the most popular form of entertainment, in our country, was burlesque. These were variety programs, built upon a few women who danced and removed a bit of their clothing, often using props such as large feathery fans, numerous balloons, and other objects, to be certain that while you got a hint of their charms, the audience never really saw anything too spicy.
Between the dance numbers came a variety show, including mostly comics telling jokes, but also including piano players, singers, and other forms of entertainment. Strangely like Italy's famed "Commedia dell' Arte," the comics in burlesque shows often adopted a recognizable character. Jack Benny's character as a penny pincher and Jackie Gleason's well-meaning but oafishly loud characters are examples of these characters which might be still recognized today.
Now playing on Broadway is a play by Douglas Carter Bean, called "The Nance." The Nance in a burlesque show was an effeminate man who was usually the butt of insulting jokes by a more aggressive comic, and whose humor was based on the number of times he would seem right on the verge of saying something naughty, only to say something innocuous, at the last minute. "I have a new neighbor: an artist who is very handsome. I would just love to scrutinize his work," the Nance would say, drawing out the first syllable of "scrutinize" until the audience was certain he was about to make a sexual suggestion, only to complete a harmless sentence.
Modern readers are probably familiar with the artist Liberace, who wore flashy, effeminate costumes, and whose television and night club shows were wildly popular in the 1960s and '70s.
Bean's play is focused on one of those Nance characters, a man named Chauncey Miles, who is portrayed in the show by Nathan Lane. Chauncey's misfortune is that his burlesque character is more than just a character, it's a fairly accurate capture of his own personality.
Politically, Chauncey is a confirmed conservative, who believes with all his heart the speeches by conservative politicians who say that they are in favor of low taxation and reduced government interference in the lives of citizens. He works very hard for the election of politicians with whom he agrees.
At the beginning of the play, Chauncey visits the famed automat, the restaurant where sandwiches and other plates of food were made by a cook, and placed behind rows of small glass doors. Dropping the appropriate coins for the items desired – usually a nickel – into a slot enabled a customer to open the door and remove the food item. Since the owner didn't have to pay a waitress or waiter, he could charge less for the food. Many actors who later became stars – including Jamestown's Lucille Ball – would write about the days when they had no money, so they would go to the automat and get a cup of hot water, then stir tomato ketchup into the water, to produce a tomato soup which was better than nothing, if you were hungry.
One of the automats – the one in Greenwich Village – had a reputation that gay men might meet other gay men in the automat there, as long as they left the building separately and met up with their new friend at another location. The vice squad watched customer's behavior vigilantly, and men who asked another diner to pass the salt and then said "thank you," when someone did, might be hauled away in handcuffs, and often were severely roughed up by the police in the process of the arrest.
On his visit to the automat, Chauncey meets a young man from Buffalo named Ned, who has been sleeping on park benches and eating out of dumpsters, behind restaurants. He invites the man to his apartment, and the two form a relationship. Sadly, Ned is not just exchanging sex for money, he has become fond of Chauncey and wants to form a closer relationship. But, Chauncey is so used to being the butt of jokes and being the source of disgust and loathing, he isn't able to accept affection and runs away from the possible relationship.
The central event comes when New York City is preparing for the 1939 World's Fair. Those politicians Chauncey has been supporting decide that more tourists will come to the city and they will spend more money, if they don't see anything they don't approve of. They begin ordering the arrest of anyone who even looks effeminate, even if the person doesn't do anything illegal. Chauncey gets himself punched around by the police and spends some time in jail, and finally realizes that his heroes are people with personal agendas which sometimes connect to right or wrong, but for whom self-interest is the only guiding light.
Nathan Lane is a pleasure to watch and to hear, in the role of Chauncey. His firm faith in his politics, and the depth of his despair, when they turn out to be only shills is deeply moving. Jonny Orsini is saddled with the difficult role as Chauncey's would-be lover, Ned. The playwright doesn't give him any material to make us believe in his genuine affection for the comic. Just being good looking and earnest is supposed to be enough for him to build a character, and it isn't enough.
Broadway veteran Cady Huffman is warm and wonderful as Sylvie, one of the burlesque dancers who begins to sense that her ability to wow the audiences may not have long to last, and who is a genuine friend to Chauncey, although she is unable to get some self-respect through his defensive wall of self-loathing.
"The Nance" is currently playing at the Lyceum Theatre, on W. 45th St., in Manhattan. It was produced by Lincoln Center Theater, and directed by Andre Bishop and Bernard Gersten.
When I learned I was going to the city, I asked a number of people at Chautauqua if I might be able to contact some of the alumni of Chautauqua's excellent arts training programs, while I was there, because I know many readers are very interested in following up on the accomplishments of the young people whose careers we have had the opportunity to see in their early stages.
Vivienne Benesch, Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Theater Company, was kind enough to arrange a meeting with two of her company's alums. Gabriel Ebert who recently won the Tony Award as Best Supporting Actor, for his role in the current successful production of "Mathilde: the Musical." and Frankie J. Alvarez, recently the title character in the Asolo Rep Company's "Hamlet: Prince of Cuba," and soon to share the lead in a new HBO television series with television and Broadway star Jonathan Groff, agreed to catch local readers up on what's happening in their careers. Sadly, my travel plans were changed, by forces beyond my control, and the young actors weren't able to accommodate the change, in their schedules.
We'll do our best to talk with them again, but I wanted to let you know about two more Chautauqua Alums who are making a success in the big tent.


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Graduate Studies
Graduate study in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering prepares you for leadership in modern chemical engineering research. One excellent way to learn more about us and our program is to visit! The Graduate Affairs and Admissions Office offers campus tours on most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Please check their webpage to verify scheduled tours before you arrive. You can also view a student-produced video tour of our campus here. You can learn more about the department and the university below.
The application deadline for Fall 2017 is January 5 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Spring admission is not offered. Information about application policies, verification of credentials, application fees, transcripts, letters of recommendation, financial assistance, GRE scores, mailed materials and more can be found on the JHU Graduate Application Requirements page.
All applicants are required to complete the online application. Upon starting an application, applicants will receive an email from email@example.com. This email contains a PIN (personal identification number) and password, generated by the online application system. This PIN and password are necessary for accessing the ApplyYourself/Hobsons application, to monitor the application's status and to view the receipt of supplemental materials. Applicants are urged to submit all required supplementary materials electronically; doing so will avoid delays in processing the prospective student's admissions file.
If you are experiencing problems accessing the online application or supporting forms, please feel free to contact the Graduate Admissions Office using their contact form. For further information about the ChemBE Graduate Program, please contact our Academic Program Coordinator, Kailey Dille.
Financial Aid
Graduate student financial assistance is available through teaching or research assistantships, fellowships, and partial or full tuition remission. The actual financial aid package is specified upon acceptance into the graduate program. Current financial aid packages include full tuition support and a stipend. Outstanding applicants are automatically considered for Abel Wolman Fellowships. Wolman Fellowships provide stipends that exceed standard graduate support as well as full tuition payment. Wolman Fellowships are awarded for one year; department support is provided after the first year. No special application is required.
Financial assistance for the Department's graduate program comes from many sources outside the University, including research grants from federal agencies, grants from industries, corporations and foundations, and gifts from individual alumni and friends. Department sponsors are listed on this page. The Department acknowledges their valuable assistance.
Research Opportunities
Chemical and Biomolecular engineering graduate students at Hopkins participate in collaborative research programs with scientists and engineers at the Homewood campus, the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, the Applied Physics Laboratory, and nearby government laboratories, such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This research network provides students with the opportunity to conduct research and learn in an extraordinary array of state-of-the-art laboratories.
Engineering in Health and Disease
Biomolecular Design and Engineering


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by Anton Shilov
Advanced Micro Devices recently said it would not cut the prices on its microprocessors in close future. In a bid to be "transparent" and "predictable", the company does not want to further reduce the pricing, possibly because it not only affects the world's No. 2 maker of chips, but also because it makes business of small system builders uneasy.
AMD, who has been reducing the pricing of its microprocessors for several quarters now after its chip lost performance crown to Intel Core 2-series products, now believes that even though Intel will cut down its prices on July 22, it needs no further decrease of pricing shortly.
"We've tried to be very transparent on price actions. Things got crazy last year, but this year we made it a point to provide the channel with what it wants, which is a predictable business, a stable business. We communicated that price move well in advance to our channel partners. We haven't announced our next price move yet, so take that at face-value – another one is not imminent," said Gary Bixler, AMD's director of marketing for
The world's second largest maker of central processing units usually notifies its clients regarding an incoming price-cut, but sources familiar with the company's ongoing plans do not expect any price-reductions shortly.
Given that back-to-school season is getting closer and demand towards personal computers may increase substantially soon, AMD may not need any price-cuts in order to sustain its normal sales.


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Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>
Dear Sir & Madam, Great thanks for you kind answers to my poor question. I would like to thank you again, everyone! maguraares.fils.us.edu.pl <maguraares.fils.us.edu.pl>; Barbara Schrammel <barbara.schrammelkfunigraz.ac.at>; Frank Joosten <frank.joostenarts.kuleuven.ac.be>; Lotfiwww.dci.co.ir <Lotfiwww.dci.co.ir>; Dr Kormi Anipa <tordiahotmail.com>; suying yang <syangnet1.hkbu.edu.hk>; R?y Viredaz <remy.viredazspan.ch>; Deborah D K Ruuskanen <druuskancc.helsinki.fi>; mchaletextwise.com <mchaletextwise.com>; Michael McHale <mchaletwcny.rr.com>; zhwinston163.net <zhwinston163.net>; Travis Bradley <tgb114psu.edu> Your comments are summarized as follows: >1. Why netizns love to use as many acronyms as they could? >Ex) By the way --->BTW ****the tendency toward the use of reduced forms may reflect the importance of minimizing the effort required to communicate one's message. The pace of communicative exchange in such an environment is pretty rapid, especially among those who are "veteran" users and who feel they belong to an online community or communities, such as a an IRC channel. **** to show their strong ties.... linguistic economy >2. Why it occurs all over the sentences? >Ex) How are you? -->How R U? This particular example is a good example of the minimal effort factor. Since the pronunciation of the letters 'R' and 'U' are equivalent to the words 'are' and 'you', then use of the letters would allow one to get the same message across with only two keystrokes instead of six. This may not seem like that big a difference, but when one is talking to several people in the same channel or separately, things tend to become very fast-paced. So anything that can be done to "say more with less" is definitely a plus. >3. How we could classify these phenomena? Werry (1996), which I discuss in my paper, has proposed a few categories for classifying the types of linguistic modifications that take place in IWD. Travis shoed a phonological model, thanks again!http://www.personal.psu.edu/tgb114 Frank did give me a nice model, it is wonderful! 1. Graphemic abbreviations (graphemic means: abbreviation only on paper; when spoken, you use the base form) e.g.: viz., etc., i.e., e.g. 2. Graphonemic abbreviations: the abbreviated form is used in written and spoken language and can be situated on a phonemic level (e.g. GATT pronounced as 'get') or on a level in between the graphemic and the phonemic level (e.g. CIA pronounced as 'see-ai-ei' (and not as one word ('seeya'). Graphonemic is thus the hyperonym of these two cases. >4. How we can foretell its future of language behavior in cyber communities? Everyone is not really sure about this one, and not really up on the literature enough to tell. But I am sure that the more time netizens spend on line(CMC), the more topics we will have to research and resolve. Larry Dwan Chong,Ph.D. Dean & Professor School of Foreign Languages & Tourism Kyongju University 42-1, Hyohyundong, Kyongju, Rep. Korea Tel: +82-561-770-5134 Fax: +82-561-748-2812 chongldtour.kyongju.ac.kr http://www.kyongju.ac.kr/univ/eng/chongldMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue


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Office of Budget and Evaluation
Disrict Clerk's Request for Reorganization
411 Elm Street, 3rd Floor, Dallas, Texas 75202
Part I- Introduction
The District Clerk has requested that he be allowed to reorganize his 243-position Department. This request initiated a thorough analysis by the Office of Budget and Evaluation. The District Clerk provided proposals for new alignments, as well as job descriptions of positions that would be created as a result of the proposed reorganization. The goals of the District Clerk were outlined prior to the initiation of the evaluation and are as follows:
To rewrite certain job descriptions to match current duties
To rewrite certain job descriptions to enhance cross-training within the department
To reduce the overall number of job titles and descriptions
To realign certain supervisory relationships.
The overriding purpose of the reorganization is to mitigate certain ongoing personnel problems which hinder the efficient operation of the office in the opinion of the District Clerk. In particular, during the last five years, the Clerk's Office has experienced a turnover rate each year which ranged from 22% to 34%. A portion of the staff review will be devoted to determining whether or not reducing this rate is likely to occur and to suggest other strategies for reducing the negative effects of this turnover.
Additionally, the Office of Budget and Evaluation reconsidered the strategy for investing in a document management system to replace the current microfilm system; a strategy that had been suggested by the District Clerk and studied by a consultant. The rapid advances in the development of the Internet and the dramatic decline in the cost of technology suggests that periodic review of such emerging technology may reveal that conclusions drawn even one year ago may be obsolete.
Part II- Organizational Analysis
The District Clerk submitted a comprehensive and thoughtfully prepared departmental reorganization plan, developed over several years. The following steps were taken by OBE in developing a recommendation on the proposed reorganization:
Review and understand the mission of the department and each division
Interview department personnel and management to ascertain understanding of mission and adequacy of job descriptions
Review adequacy of performance measures and workload data for the department
Prepare and discuss alternate organizational arrangements
Prepare a list of recommended positions to refer to Personnel for study and classification.
Current Organizational Structure
The District Clerk's Office is currently organized into seven divisions: (a) Records, (b) Criminal, (c) Trust/Accounting, (d) Passports, (e) Information Systems, (f) Civil/Family, and (g) Administration. Each of these divisions performs a distinct function and each division head reports to the District Clerk through the Chief Deputy. The following chart displays the current authorized structure of the District Clerk Department:
The District Clerk's reorganization request makes no changes in the reporting structure shown above. Rather, the changes requested occur within several of the divisions and involve changes in reporting relationships, job descriptions, and, in some cases, wholesale job redesign to accomplish specific purposes.
Summary Of Reorganization Requests
The following paragraphs discuss various categories of changes requested, in order to aid in the discussion and recommendations that follow.
Category 1 - Job Descriptions Inaccurate - The District Clerk has identified - and OBE confirmed - that 66 employees of the department have inaccurate job descriptions. (See Attachment I contains a detailed list). The job descriptions of these employees were last reviewed over ten years ago.
The majority of the employees in this category are Court Clerks, i.e. those employees whose duties involve direct support of a district court. OBE believes that the Senior Court Clerks in these positions did not receive credit for the responsibilities of their positions at the time that these positions were last evaluated. For example, the Senior Court Clerks have responsibility and accountability for all files that come through the court, must continuously train new clerks, and must act in a lead function for the court. None of this is included in the job description for these positions, and it is therefore advisable that these positions be forwarded to Personnel for further evaluation.
Category 2 - Job Descriptions accurate, however grading not based on current job description - The District Clerk has identified 37 positions (see Attachment II) whose job descriptions are accurate although they seek a review of the classification for these positions. In 1994, the job descriptions changed for these positions, however a classification study was not performed at that time. Previous job descriptions are unable to be gathered, and therefore OBE recommends that these positions undergo a classification study by the Personnel Department. Of these 37 positions there are only two job titles, thus a classification study would not take long to complete.
Category 3 - Job Redesign - The District Clerk seeks to modify duties, reporting relationships, and job descriptions for 113 positions (see Attachments III and IV). Of these, the District Clerk expects that 63 will result in reclassification. Attachment IV, in particular, are positions with major functional changes in job duties.
The job reviews requested in Category 1 and 2 above are immediately recommended. The remainder of this analysis focuses on Category 3.
Detailed Reorganization Requests
The following paragraphs discuss the requested changes in job design on a section-by-section basis. An analysis and a recommendation follow each request.
Records Division
Description - The District Clerk's Records Manager is the principle advisor of records to the District Clerk. The Records Division is responsible for storage, maintenance, and retrieval of all District Court Records used by the Civil, Family, and Criminal Courts, interdepartmental personnel, the legal community and the general public. This division also maintains a computerized fax/billing operation. Staff routinely delivers supplies and documents within the District Clerk's Office. The Records Division photocopies and certifies documents, performs research and retrieves documents for attorneys and the general public as required by the Open Records Act. The Records Division is currently comprised of twenty-six clerical positions supervised by the Records Division Manager and Assistant Manager. The current organization is as follows:
Requested Changes - The District Clerk has requested to reorganize the Records Division from eight functional areas to three functional areas. Under the proposed reorganization the Records Division seeks a change in job titles to decrease the number of job titles that are currently in use from 14 to 4. These job titles would bring all functions of the division together to create a broadened title with steps that increase as duties become more difficult. The District Clerk also requests that one Certified Copy Clerk position is deleted, and that one additional clerical position is transferred to the Criminal Division. The District Clerk's proposal includes transferring three Certified Copy Clerk positions from the Criminal Division to the Records Division due to the fact that the Certified Copy Clerk positions currently perform duties that are related to the functions being performed in the Records Division. Total transactions for this division would result in one additional employee. The proposed structure is illustrated below:
OBE Recommendation - The District Clerk's proposed reorganization is structurally sound and is consistent with other requests made throughout the department. The deletion of the Assistant Manager position to be replaced by line supervisors would give more direct supervision of daily operations within the division. OBE recommends that the proposed organizational structure be adopted.
The District Clerk's request includes broadening job descriptions within the division and implementing a cross-training program that would allow personnel to be used in a variety of functions. While it is possible that the broadening of job descriptions may result in an upgrade in position classification, OBE feels that his would allow for more efficient use of personnel.
The District Clerk no longer participates in Microfilming, and therefore has three positions that are no longer necessary for this function. However, OBE has identified backlogs in both the Criminal and Mezzanine Sections of the division, and therefore recommends that these positions be utilized in these areas of the division. The District Clerk has agreed to utilize these positions to address these backlogs.
Civil/Family Division
Description - In 1997, the Civil and Family Divisions were combined to create one division that would have responsibility for both types of cases. These changes resulted in greater efficiency and reduced customer wait time in these divisions. The Civil/Family Division is made up of four sections that are responsible for separate components of District Court Case Maintenance. The Civil/Family File Desk is responsible for filing cases and collecting fees for both the Civil and Family Courts. The Civil/Family Process Section is responsible for issuing many different types of process from citations to after-judgment writs. The Civil/Tax Courts are responsible for file maintenance of all cases within the Civil and Tax Courts. The Family and IV-D Courts are responsible for file maintenance for all cases within the Family and IV-D Courts. In addition to file maintenance, the IV-D Section is also responsible for issuing its own process and filing IV-D cases.
Requested Changes - The Civil/Family Division would undergo significant functional changes, however would not see any significant change in structure. The functional changes in this division include the broadening of job descriptions in the Process, File Desk, and Courts. This broadening of job descriptions would allow the District Clerk to more fully utilize the personnel within this division. In addition to these changes, the Civil/Family Training positions would be deleted and replaced with Court Specialist positions. These positions would act as a direct oversight of the courts, and would assist the Courts Supervisor in overseeing the daily operations of the Courts. These positions would also fill-in for Court Clerks during absences or turnover situations.
OBE Recommendation - The job description of the Court Clerk I is adequate, however the positions were graded based on previous job descriptions. OBE recommends that these positions be reevaluated based on the current job description. Although OBE does recommend that the Court Clerk I positions be reevaluated by the Personnel Department, we disagree with the inclusion of these clerks under the Civil/Family Clerk II title. It is OBE's opinion that due to excessive turnover and heavy workloads, it would be unlikely that a Court Clerk would be able to function in the duties that would be included in the proposed job description. Under these circumstances, a broadening of job duties would have no effect other than creating pressure for upgrades, without commensurate benefits. OBE would reevaluate this recommendation at a later time if a manageable cross-training plan was established and performance measures to indicate that the plan would be utilized adequately were developed.
Criminal Division
Description - The District Clerk's Criminal Division is responsible for the maintenance of all files related to the Magistrate and Criminal District Courts. In addition to this responsibility, the Criminal Division also issues pre- and post-judgment process, as well as completing transcripts for the appellate courts. The Criminal Division operates a Collections Division that is responsible for the collection of overdue fines and fees related to felony cases. Finally, the Criminal Division operates a Bond Forfeiture Section that is responsible for representing the District Clerk at Bail Bond Meetings and collecting bonds that have been forfeited to the court.
Requested Changes - The Criminal Division would make organizational changes that would mirror those that have already taken place in the Civil/Family Division. These changes include the deletion of the Assistant Manager position and the combination of the Process and Bond Forfeiture Sections. The reorganization would create three functional areas within the Criminal Division: Collections, Court Operations, and Court Support.
Collections - This program has proven successful in past years by collecting in excess of $700,000 annually. The District Clerk requested and received 2 additional positions in this section in the FY2000 budget. The addition of these two positions is projected to increase collections for felony court costs and fines. This section would not change as a result of the reorganization.
Court Operations - This section would cover both the Criminal and Magistrate Courts and would create a Court Operations Manager as well as a Criminal Court Supervisor. These changes mirror the changes that have already taken place when the Civil and Family Divisions were combined, and would bring consistency throughout the department. There are 17 Criminal Courts serving Dallas County, and these courts each operate with 2 clerks provided by the District Clerk. There would also be 2 Criminal Court Trainer positions that would be created from existing Criminal Roving Clerk positions. The Evidence Registrar position would fall under this section as well, whereas it previously fell under the Criminal Process Section.
Court Support - The Court Support Section would be a result of the combination of the Criminal Process and Bond Forfeiture Sections. The section would operate under one supervisor as opposed to the current structure that includes two separate supervisors. This section is also responsible for creating transcripts for appeal purposes. The District Clerk requests that one position be transferred from the Records Division to assist in this effort. Three Certified Copy Clerk positions would be transferred to the Records Division as these positions perform functions that are consistent with the mission of the Records Division.
OBE Recommendation - OBE generally concurs with the District Clerk's request in this division. The changes that take place here mirror the successful changes that have already taken place in the Civil/Family Division. By combining sections, the District Clerk will be able to utilize employees more efficiently. By training employees on multiple functions, the Criminal Division will not lose efficiency during absences or turnover situations.
Trust/Accounting Division
Description - The Trust/Accounting Division is responsible for ensuring that all revenues received from the disposition of cases are transferred, deposited, or invested accurately. This division operates three sections, each responsible for an individual function within the division. The Trust Section is responsible for investing funds that have been ordered by the Court to be held for a specific period of time. The Accounting Section is responsible for ensuring that all funds received are accurate and for auditing cases to identify any funds that have not been collected. The Collections Section is responsible for attempting to collect funds that are past due or that are necessary for disposition of the case. The current organization structure is illustrated below:
Requested Changes - The District Clerk's request further identifies a structural delineation between the three individual sections:
The Trust Section would delete one Investment Clerk II position and replace this position with an Investment Analyst position. The Investment Analyst would be charged with supervision of the section, as well as overall maintenance of the investments made by court order. This position is necessary to bring a degree of professionalism to this section, as well as provide credibility in the instance that this position is called on to testify in court.
The Accounting Division would create an Accounting Supervisor position to oversee the day to day accounting function for the division. Currently this section has 2 Accountant positions and 2 Accounting Clerk positions, along with assistance by 1 part-time employee.
The Collections Section would create new positions whose job descriptions would more accurately reflect the duties being performed in this section. There would also be an Account Resolution Coordinator position established from a current position in order to provide supervision to this section.
OBE Recommendation - OBE agrees with the changes proposed in the District Clerk's request. The deletion of the Assistant Manager position eliminates the one-to-one reporting relationship that is occurring at the top level of the division. This structure would also provide for more accountability within each section and would allow for more direct supervision of day to day activities.
Passport Division
The Passport Division currently operates in three locations. In the two satellite locations, a Lead Clerk position has been established to oversee the daily operations of the location. The Passport Supervisor position is a "working supervisor" position that operates from the downtown location, which also travels when needed among the two remote locations. The current staffing includes two clerks and the supervisor downtown, one Lead Clerk, four full time clerks, and two part-time clerks in the North Dallas location, and one Lead Clerk, one full-time clerk, and one part-time clerk in the East Dallas location:
Requested Changes - The District Clerk has requested changes in titles as follows: Passport Supervisor to Passport Manager, Lead Clerk to Passport Supervisor, and Lead Clerk to Senior Passport Clerk with the understanding that these title changes may lead to changes in the grading of these positions. However, no changes in job description, duties, or supervisory relationships are proposed. Under these circumstances, no grounds exist for a job study and OBE recommends that the District Clerk be allowed to change titles (for consistency throughout the department) without job studies or grade changes.
Administration Division
Description - The District Clerk Administration is charged with oversight of administrative functions within the District Clerk Department. These functions include budgeting, purchasing, and personnel functions. There are four positions within this division, organized as follows:
Requested Changes - The District Clerk seeks to delete the unneeded Senior Secretary position and create a Personnel Analyst position. The District Clerk also requests that the Court Clerk II position be changed to Clerk V and that the job description reflect the actual duties being performed by this position. Furthermore, the request is to change the title of Special Assistant to Budget and Planning Analyst and have the Clerk V position report to this new position. The revised organization chart is as follows:
OBE Recommendation - The Office of Budget and Evaluation concurs with the District Clerk's proposal for a Personnel Analyst on the basis that this is a large department with a high turnover rate, and this position would help the department identify ways to reduce both turnover and grievances. The Court Clerk II position is currently performing duties that are not reflected on the job description for that position, and therefore OBE recommends the Clerk V position for which the job description would match the duties currently being performed.
However, OBE disagrees with the implementation of a Budget and Planning Analyst position and the reporting relationship between the Clerk V and Budget and Planning Analyst positions. The Budget and Planning Analyst position would perform duties nearly identical to those on the job description of the Special Assistant position. Furthermore, the most complicated planning needs of the department appear to relate to computerization (imaging, new Civil Court system) and the department already has a high-level computer specialist added as a part of the "Banner" reorganization. There are no significant changes in function or description that do not appear to be covered by other positions, and therefore OBE does not recommend that this position be forwarded to Personnel for further evaluation. OBE recommends that the Clerk V position continue to report to the Chief Deputy.
Summary Of Reorganization Requests/Recommendations
Table I summarizes each request made by the District Clerk and provides the corresponding recommendation:
Table I
Other Findings And Recommendations
In order for this reorganization to work effectively, it will be necessary for communication between divisions to improve greatly. It will also be necessary for communication between employees within the department to improve. OBE has identified occurrences in which improved communication would create a more efficient and effective solution to problems within the department.
Morale within the Family Courts Section of the department is very low. This may be a reason for high turnover and should be immediately addressed.
The North Dallas Passport Facility is unable to operate at maximum efficiency because of the office design. There are six clerks, but only four service windows. In order to improve efficiency and customer wait time OBE recommends creating two additional windows.
There is limited security at the Passport satellite locations. These locations collect large amounts of cash and receive no protection. This could create a hazardous working environment for clerks in these locations.
The Office of Budget and Evaluation would recommend a thorough cross training program be developed in order to meet the goals set forth by the District Clerk in this reorganization request. One of the District Clerk's goals was to provide a base of well-trained employees," which a cross training program would accomplish. In turnover situations employees could be called upon from multiple sections to complete routine tasks and eliminate backlogs.
If the District Clerk is willing to put together a comprehensive training plan, the Commissioners Court should consider adding additional money to the budget for this purpose.
Performance Measures
The District Clerk has consistently provided excellent performance measures as requested by the Commissioners Court. Through this reorganization, OBE would like to expand these performance measures to include the divisions that have not previously used performance measures. Table II identifies performance measures that can be used as a guideline for this expansion:
Table II
Financial Impact
The cost of any reorganization proposal can only be estimated, inasmuch as the final grading has not been completed. However, estimates can be derived to assist the Commissioners Court in making its' decision.
Cost estimates are of two types - short-term impact and long-term impact. The former reflects partial-year budget impact and personnel policies that may limit costs even if individual jobs are re-graded. In particular, an individual in a re-graded job is limited to the maximum in-hire of the new (higher) grade and therefore long-term incumbents in re-graded jobs may already be above this pay amount and receive no increase despite being reclassified.
Longer-term effects of an upgrade, however, reflect the "next generation" of incumbents, who will be brought in at a higher rate than they would otherwise command. Therefore, a long-term impact is likely to be higher than a short-term impact.
The following table summarizes the estimated short-term and long-term costs, for the requested changes and recommended changes. A start-up date of April 1, 2000 is assumed to be the earliest that upgrades can be implemented.
Table III
As shown above, the impact of the District Clerk's request on the current budget would be approximately $135,000 based on calculating current salaries against proposed grade changes (or short-term impact). Under OBE's recommendation, this would be reduced to $85,500. This is a result of not recommending the Court Clerk I upgrades, the Passport Division changes, nor the Budget and Planning Analyst position. These calculations are based on proposed grades, and are subject to change according to actual grades recommended by the Personnel Department.
Long-term costs for this are calculated by comparing step 2 of the current pay grade versus step 2 of the proposed pay grade. Although these costs are not expected to ever be recognized, it is important to understand that there is a potential for these costs. The District Clerk's request has a long-term cost of $462,000, whereas OBE's recommendation would reduce these costs to $400,000. Again, it is likely that many years would pass before the full effect of these costs would be fully incorporated into County spending.
Part III - Imaging
In FY99, the County engaged a consultant to evaluate the potential of imaging to replace the current paper-storage system. The same consultant's engagement was extended to encompass the County Clerk's Office to ensure that coordination between two similar functions was maintained.
The Consultant's report recommended the purchase of document management hardware and software beginning in the District Clerk's Family and IV-D area. However, the consultant's report was generally unconvincing and the effort has been given a lower priority until more definitive data is gathered.
The Office of Budget and Evaluation reviewed the consultant's report and review the cost-benefit analysis for a limited portion of the consultant's scope.
One major observation that resulted from this review is as follows:
Although the Family Courts have the greatest "convenience need" for an imaging system (i.e. they have the most paper movement and retrieval need), they are the least likely to support a cost-effective replacement of a manual system with a document management system. This fact stems from the very small microfilm cost associated with family court cases. Due to the lack of these costs, it is probably far more cost effective to continue a manual system, even though a manual system is less convenient.
On the other hand, it is Civil cases, with their huge microfilming costs and their use by large law firms that can probably support the first phase of a document imaging system on a cost-neutral basis. Table I extracts certain costs from the consultant's report that pertain to the Civil Courts Imaging System. The following table summarizes their results:
Table IV
Obviously if these numbers are even roughly correct, an immediate and long-term efficiency is evidenced by replacing microfilm with a Digital Document Management System.
The above calculations assume that the transition to imaging is staff-neutral at worst. That is, microfilm-related staff (not included in the $365,000 contract payment) will be replaced by imaging staff. Furthermore, the calculation assumes that revenues will not be effected. That is, that subscription fees from law firms will be at least equal to the current fee charged for copies. Both of these assumptions are easily tested during the requirements/definition phase of the project.
The initial cost of $550,000 will be offset by the deletion of the microfilm contract at a savings of $365,000 annually. This will provide a payback time between 1.5 and 2 years. Ongoing costs for this project would be $122,299 annually, which again would be offset by the deletion of the microfilm contract.
The issue of cooperation between the District Clerk and County Clerk has often been raised. The Office of Budget and Evaluation concludes that the most successful computer system implementations tend to be those that minimize the need for cooperation among departments headed by elected officials. Examples are the Finance System (essentially controlled by the Auditor's Office) and the Elections System, which had a generally good records of success. Likewise, the County Clerk's imaging of real estate records has been trouble free. However, the early 90's attempt to change the accounting system failed, as did the Banner implementation, essentially due to a lack of clear authority.
Accordingly, OBE recommends that a document system for the District Clerk Civil Courts be pursued on a stand-alone basis, with the expansion to the Family Court area and perhaps to the County Clerk, being a secondary activity.
Part IV - Recommendations
The Office of Budget and Evaluation provides the following recommendation:
Related to Job Studies - The tables (I-IV) at the end of this document contain recommended job studies to be conducted by the Personnel Department. Each table is labeled as to the justifications for further study.
Related to Performance Measures - The District Clerk should provide the Commissioner's Court with proposed performance measures for all sections except Criminal Collections and Passports. These proposals should be discussed at the January 11, 2000 Performance Forum.
Related to Imaging - OBE recommends that digital imaging be pursued further by establishing a committee to develop a Request For Proposal within thirty days of this meeting. In doing this, the District Clerk and potential vendors understand that there is no commitment of funds to this project. The RFP is merely a method of gaining a learned analysis of the problem and potential cost effective solutions with minimum risk. Vendors would be asked within ninety days to address the issue and to give feedback on the necessary equipment and functionality of the project. Vendors would be invited to visit the District Clerk's Office and to determine the best way to implement this plan. After all proposals have been evaluated, the District Clerk would come back to the Court and request the funds necessary for the project with all costs and benefits quantified, thus allowing the Court to determine if the project should continue.
Related to Turnover - The District Clerk should continue to collect data in the form of exit-interviews as they have done in the past. This data should be analyzed to determine if any correlation between departmental changes and turnover exist. The District Clerk should report back to the Commissioner's Court on the status of turnover six months after the implementation of the proposed reorganization.
Attachment I
Job Description Inaccurate
Attachment II
Re-Grading Requested Due To Elapsed Time From Last Study
Attachment III
Modified Job Descriptions Requested
Attachment IV
Major Functional Changes Required
Attachment V
Detailed Imaging Costs


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Oak Hills gets 5-star rating in report
NEW ULM – U.S. News & World Report fifth annual Best Nursing Homes ratings gave the highest possible overall rating to Oak Hills Living Center.
The 2013 ratings gave five stars to less than 20 percent of nearly 16,000 facilities nationwide. The ratings draw data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency that assesses homes in health inspections, nurse staffing levels, and care quality to create an overall rating.
"As an administrator at Oak Hills Living Center, it is an honor to receive this type of recognition," said Candace Shouviller. "The staff works hard at creating a 'home-like' environment with the focus of 'resident-directed' care. We strive to employ caring individuals who have a passion of working with the elderly. It takes each person employed at Oak Hills to achieve this honor. I am proud to be a part of this team."
Oak Hills administrative staff created "Mission Possible 2013," a year-long project designed to make the facility the best possible place to work with individual and team challenges and growth while having fun.
"Due to state funding freezes, we needed to create unique ways to recruit and retain talented staff," said Oak Hills Payroll Administrator Kim Schlumpberger.
Oak Hills has always focused on resident care, but it began stressing staff focus after its latest remodeling project.
"As caregivers, it's easy to focus on others and not ourselves," Schlumpberger said. "We realized we can't take care of others to the best of our ability until we take care of ourselves." She added that nursing assistant positions are available at Oak Hills.
Each month, one of six Oak Hills Mission Possible Committees meets and creates mission challenges promoting individual and team growth. Residents Choice Awards are awarded to employees each month. Winners listed on a Wall of Fame will vie for a 2013 Residents Choice Award.
In other activities at Oak Hills, on Saturday, May 5, a run run/walk begins with a resident walk at 2 p.m. A 2.2-mile fun run/walk open to the public begins at 2:30 p.m. Entry fee is $10 through May 1. The first 50 participants will get T-shirts. Snacks will be served following the run/walk.
The Minnesota National Guard will bring its obstacle course for staff to use from 4:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 12 in front of Oak Hills. Rain rate is June 13.
Oak Hills teams and the public are invited to use the course at 6 p.m. The Oak Hills Relay for Life team will sell food and have family games available to raise cancer research funds.
In July, Oak Hills teams will be active at New Ulm's Bavarian Blast including the Grand Parade.
For more information on the report, go to www.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes
(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at email@example.com).


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Offer hardworking families a chance to take their first step out of poverty. Learn more.
Support World CouncilWith Amazon Smiles!
WASHINGTON, D.C. — World Council of Credit Unions this week came out
in opposition to some aspects of the United States Internal Revenues
Service's proposed implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act (FATCA). The proposed regulations, which would require many foreign
financial institutions (FFIs), including credit unions, to register with
the IRS for the purpose of detecting taxable account activity by U.S.
citizens in foreign countries, would place unnecessary and inappropriate
burdens on small non-U.S. credit unions, World Council said in an April
30 letter to the IRS.
"Credit unions are in most cases small, localized financial
institutions that, like banks, provide members with retail banking
services," wrote Michael Edwards, World Council's chief counsel and vice
president for advocacy and public affairs. "Unlike banks, only people
within the credit union's common bond can become members. Credit unions
are unlikely to have accounts held by 'U.S. persons' who are not
residents of the credit union's home country."
World Council further urged the IRS to revise current definitions
within FATCA rulings so that small local credit unions be exempt from
compliance with the rule. Some credit unions' current inability to
qualify as "nonregistering local banks" as defined by the proposed
legislation puts an undue and inappropriate burden on the institutions, a
concern of credit union leaders around the globe. Appropriately
revising the proposed rule would help small credit unions avoid
noncompliant activities, the letter said.
World Council also urged the IRS to make other changes to the rule, including the following:
"We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed FATCA
regulations," said Brian Branch, World Council president and CEO. "We
urge the IRS to review our recommendations and act in a way that removes
undue compliance burdens on small, locally owned credit unions, freeing
them to use their resources to serve their members."
The public comment period on the proposed FATCA regulations closed
April 30. World Council has petitioned the IRS to be allowed to
participate in a public hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 15 to
further support its recommendations. The final law, due to take effect
Jan. 1, 2013, will be released before year-end.
To view World Council's letter to the IRS in its entirety, go to: www.woccu.org/positionpapers.
World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
World Council has implemented more than 290 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 60,500 credit unions in 109 countries serve 223 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.


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Lucky Dog Chain Link Kennel - 10'L x 5'W x 4'H
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Today is another day to enjoy tea, I hope everyone does a lot of enjoying.
Welcome everyone to TeaDay. Please grab a cup and share what you are drinking with the www!!! Be sure to stop by whenever you are able and feel free to give us updates. While you are here, see what fellow TeaChatters are sipping as well...I enjoy reading what everyone is drinking and I know others do as well.
Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic...I have shown a lot of restraint not bringing this up sooner, you should be very impressed. Shincha...aka "new harvest" is approaching fast, in fact, some new harvest Chinese teas have already hit the market, and some Darjeeling as well.
So, how important is this time of the TeaYear to you??? Please share with everyone your take on this "fresh topic." I expect this to be a fun topic.
I hope everyone is enjoying their TeaDay, remember to share it with us whenever you can!


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University of Rochester Medical CenterSchool of Medicine and Dentistry601 Elmwood Ave, Box 603Rochester, NY 14642
Appointment: (585) 276-3000
Stanford University, Stanford, CA B.S. 1992-1995 Biology/ChemistryStanford University, Stanford, CA M.S. 1995-1996 BiologyColumbia University, New York, NY Ph.D. 1996-2001 Neurobiology and BehaviorMassachusetts Institute of Technology Post-Doc 2000-2005 Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Read full Professional bio »
My specific interests lie in understanding how visual activity shapes the structure and function of connections between neurons in the visual cortex. During the critical period, closure of one eye leads to a shift in the responses of neurons towards the open eye. My labs current work focuses on the structural basis for this rapid ocular dominance plasticity using in vivo two-photon microscopy to elucidate single cell structure deep in the intact brain. Dendritic spines are the postsynaptic structures of most excitatory synapses in the CNS. Interestingly, spine structure is highly dynamic making the precise morphology of the spine a possible candidate for the coding of synaptic strength.
Read full Patient Care bio »


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Oh sorry, i totlly forget about honey22 oz warm water26 oz bread flour1/2 oz compressed yeast1/4 oz wheat germ1/2 oz kosher salt1/4 oz Honey
It's still gonna be soupy.
I'm not sure if we're making pizza or pancakes....
I want chocolate chips on mine.


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Topic: opening a port to localhost?
We are developing our health care web surveys using rails and are in need of a way to have the researchers look over the surveys as we program them.
Unfortunately each survey has to approved by a review board before it can be launched and while we are awaiting approval we using do our testing to ensure we coded all the variables, etc correctly. While the survey is out for review we can not make any changes to it.
Because we run multiple rails projects on our hosting account, we can't have another version online for testing. Ideally I would like to open a port to the mongrel server running on my machine and have those who need to test put my ip address and port number into their browser...
something like - 10.20.300.400:3002
I can't figure out how to make this work with the windows firewall on (which I don't have the ability to turn off).
Any ideas on the best way to handle this?


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As Scott 123 states, bigger is better when it comes to steel. I have 17 by 17 by 1/2 and would even like 18 by 18. I have a cheap Kenmore electric oven that goes to 530 or 540, and with my steel and top broiler kick, I have everything I need to put out the one of the best New York pies anywhere. I am a student of Scott 123, and he has brought me to the promised land. My steel is seasoned. I wipe it down every 2nd or 3rd use with olive oil and it has a nice dark smooth patina. No rust. At 530, no pie should take longer than 5 minutes. My times are 3.5 to 4.5 minutes, with some char. Mike, I am glad to review my process, and ask any questions. Kitchen Aid mixer All Trumps Bromated, 63% hydration ( Pur filtered water ) 1.75% salt, .5% IDY and 1% Olive Oil. Toss yeast into flour, and mix salt into heated water. Add water to flour ( temps added equal around 140 degrees, to get about 80 degrees after mix ) and combine with spatula for 3 second mix. Mix in Kitchen Aid mixer on speed one for 1 minute, speed 2 for one minute, and toss in oil and keep on speed 2 for 1 minute. Total 3 minute mix ( and I think I can even cut down on this ). Divide dough into 14 ounce balls ( And I do hand knead for about 15 seconds each ball to get a nice round smooth ball ). Put in lightly oiled containers. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. Pull containers 2 to 3 hours before baking and place in room temperature to warm up. On well floured surface, open 14 ounce ball to 16 inches. Place on peel with semolina, top with 6.5 ounces cheese, 6 ounces sauce, dust with Pecorino Romano, and launch pie. Top broiler assist for 45 seconds. Pull pie from 3.5 to 4.5 minutes. Enjoy. Mark
I've done both ways, using broiler and not. Turned out better when I turned the broiler on for a min or two before launching pizza and for a minute after being in oven. Still had to go right around 10-12 minutes to get what I wanted, forgot to check steel temperature last night but I'm guessing it was in the 530 range.
How long are you pre-heating the steel for?
Colin, that could be the other 20% of the issue. 45 min. should be plenty of time to pre-heat 3/8" steel, but I've seen and worked with gas ovens that were pretty anemic. Just to be safe, I'd push it to 80 minutes and see what kind of undercrust char you're getting.You're letting the dough warm up a few hours after being refrigerated, correct?This oven has no convection feature, right?Position the steel about 4-5" from the broiler, and, besides going with a 80 minute pre-heat using the highest bake setting, turn the broiler on about 4 minutes prior to baking and give it a blast of heat from above. Monitor the broiler and see if it stays on. Take temps of the top of the plate and bottom. I'm not a huge proponent of this extra broiler pre-heat, but it does seem like it helps a few of the members here push a little more heat into the plate.Try, if possible, to get a clear, well lit photo of the undercrust, as the undercrust color is the most important component of using steel.Oil helps browning. 3% oil will help browning while still being within the parameters of NY style.
Obviously, your issues are centered on your underdeveloped peel skills and not with the use of steel.
(http://uppix.net/1/8/f/11f44c0946cbf400639a070c10ce6.jpg)(http://uppix.net/f/4/4/f83d2a7498ebdf95eed8ec02f3740.jpg)(http://uppix.net/5/c/1/29446dfcaa6485b9d0e338980a6fb.jpg)Hi folks. I'm still inexperienced in pizza making but had a real turning point today.My previous attempts on my steel plate at 525f with the top oven and grill/broil compartment were quite long bakes, little browning underneath and limp/soggy. With my new dough done at 63% using the Lehmann calculator yielded a slight more browning underneath, like a fine tuning of the dough but still a long bake and only slightly improved, not looking to great for the steal I thought. I moved my steel near the top of the lower oven without the grill at 490f (was in a hurry) in hope of some increased heat but not expecting much and boom the pizza just explodes into life. After just a few minutes the bottom is nicely charred with the dough soft airy on the inside. The oven spring was incredible and I was scrambling to move the pizza under the grill it all happened so fast.Don't know how long it took exactly, seemed like 4mins. Easily my best tasting yet. I was starting to think these quick bakes at home were an exaggeration. previously they were 10mins+ and quite anaemic looking underneath.


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Skip to comments.Global Warming Denialism Just Foolishness, Scientist Peter Raven Says
Posted on 04/01/2012 10:26:15 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Global Warming Denialism Just Foolishness, Scientist Peter Raven Says
U.S. prestige falling as world has pretty well given up on any American leadership facing climate change.
Natures Edge Notebook #23
Observation, Analysis, Reflection, New Questions
One of the worlds most widely known and respected senior scientists tells ABC News that current denial about the basic daunting realities of manmade global warming is just foolishness.
He also reports that the rest of the world has now pretty well given up on its hope for U.S. leadership in dealing with global climate change.
His assessment reinforces our findings at the recent global climate summit in Durban, South Africa, that the vigorous anti-climate science movement in the United States has significantly damaged American prestige among European leaders who are struggling to deal with the daunting impacts of global warming.
Peter Raven, co-inventor in 1964, along with biologist Paul R. Ehrlich, of the bedrock concept of co-evolution (see footnote below), has long been a trusted adviser of American presidents, many other heads of state and government, religious leaders including popes, and countless congressional, academic and scientific leaders in the United States and around the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Yep, that grant money always amounts to some kind of trouble. It'd be curious to go back and find where we started handing out science grant money. I doubt if it was going on in the 1920s or prior.
"He also reports that the rest of the world has now pretty well given up on its hope for U.S. leadership in dealing with global climate change."
Then let the "rest of the world" implement all of the kooky measures they want to fight the weather.
Unless this whole thing was nothing more than some scam to cripple the U.S. economy and standard of living in order to redistribute our wealth to 3rd world dumps.
And how does this differ from treatment of non-believers during the Spanish Inquisition?
Yes, fighting mother nature, and the past and ongoing history of the world, is going to change nothing. Except of course, giving nutcase liberals a reason to exist and deny the rights of others.....
So what is new, right?
Yes. Just Foolishness.
Plummetting temperatures worldwide shows that Mother Nature is only 'Just Foolishness.
The people who produced the emails that show collaborative 'scientific' fraud as regards Glow-Bull Warming? 'Just Foolishness'.
Individuals that point out that Solar Maximums and Minimums are the true source of temperature variations? You guessed it: 'Just Foolishness'.
Raven, you are the worst kind of ass. You have NOTHING to do with science.
Senior Scientist = Junior Birdman....."Up In The Airrrr UPSIDE DOWN!"
No torture.
"U.S. leadership" is codespeak for "U.S. money."
The commie "manmade climate change" believers have taken up a new tactic. Insulting Americans. Yeah! That'll work. LOL! I've always known those loony, "manmade climate change" believers weren't very bright.
Well, listening to these insufferable boors is sheer torture, so I guess it doesn't differ much at all. Personally I prefer the rack.
Europe has significantly cut back on green energy projects, more so than us. Plus, they are "struggling to deal with the daunting aspects" of one of the worst winters in memory, where whole towns were cut off and homes buried in snow, in normally moderate winter areas.
Another botanist with expertise in climate science.
That said, he authored (or co-authored, I forget) just about the finest botany textbook one could ever read.
That does not excuse the good Dr. Raven, however, from the anti-scientific-method pot banging and fear-mongering alarmism that is global warmism.
(In fact, it makes it worse, as he knows how science works, and knows that that Alinskyesque squashing of dissent is contrary to our basic science principles, and is really no different from faking results.)
Just when we were all comfortable thinking the world is round, the warmers come along demanding we all think it is flat again. Ignore them until they go away. Sounds like that is beginning to happen.
This BS starts as soon as the weather gets warmer.
.....because a Doctor of Botany knows so much about Meteorology.
Perhaps this "scientist" would like to debate with Professor Lindzen of MIT or with Lord Monckton. He'd be destroyed.
Note to Ehrlich people are not insects! With that observation and with Ehrlich as an example of his field of study's high intellectual standards I deserve a graduate degree in entomology!
What's a Peter Raven? and who cares?
Science can never be prescriptive. All it can do is raise issues for the world's attention. It is politics and economics that then decide what to do about them. People who argue that the science says we must do something are being disingenuous about their true motives. If those people are also scientists, then they are abusing science. This is a tremendously important point. --- Iain Murray, National Review, December 21, 2004
In all fairness, I would reject any opinions about biology and "conservationism" from a climate scientist or a Sea level researcher with decades of experience and world status.
Just saying.
"Experts" at anything deserve no respect when they attempt authoritatively to comment about any subject beyond their reservation.
I got to get me one of those!
I agree with you... "Scientist Peter Raven" is a botanist not a "climate scientist", but in most cases "climate scientist" is a misnomer these days. Leftist anti-capitalist climate activist would be more accurate in most cases.
Sugar Daddy has bailed?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
He say that as if it's a BAD thing.
If the past 100 years is any indication, the US has a pretty good track record of resisting global "movements" originating in Europe, and we've been validated every time.
It is CRIMINAL for faux Scientists to promote the lie of globull warming... just as it is Criminal for a non natural born citizen to become president.
One to many trips to the bong!
Michael Savage has a doctorate in food, so he is just as qualified and he says it's a load o' crap.
If there is any justice in the world, once a "respected" senior scientist makes such a foolish statement, he should find that he no longer deserves or commands such respect.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.
Well Pete, who caused the Global Warming 500 years ago? Ford, GM or Conservatives? It is most likely the Sun! ooops!
Yes, but it's our fault for not providing them with leadership. Leadership is global-speak for money, of course.
That's the thing that kills me about this stuff. Many of these so-call climate expert PhDs really have little to no training in the core physical processes involved here. I have an MSME, with a strong academic background in fluid mechanics, heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation), diffusion, and thermodynamics - in short, the key physical sciences at the heart of "weather". I guarantee most of these clowns know less than I've forgotten in these areas.
I know enough to know that if it is "consensus", it isn't science. What it is, is a way to keep a check coming in. Government money has badly corrupted science, and this may be the biggest damage to our society from The Great Anthropogenic Global Warming Scam.
Oh, just damn! This guy was big buddies with Paul Ehrlich? That explains much. Ehrlich is an anti-human alarmist from way back.
Global Warming on Free Republic
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Nobody's made more money off this than algore.
The Europeans have made it another tax.
If they were really worries about warming, they cuold just put an additive in jet fuel and we'd be freezing in no time.
Which American Presidents?
What other "heads of state and government"?
Which religious leaders?
Which Pope?
Countless congressional (oxymoron)?
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on the "academic...leaders" around the world. But standing in a crowd of 30K people to see the pope doesn't constitute advisement. Attending a fund raiser for Hillary Clinton doesn't make him a "presidential advisor."
I've never heard of him and he sounds dillusional.
Very true. I'm an engineer today. But if I were to get an interview on MSNBC and preach about how CO2 was killing mother earth, they would change my title to Climate Scientist, give me an honorary PHD from Stanford, have me sign an IPCC document and hand me a check for $5,000 and maybe even call me Reverand....."Reverand Tenacious1, PHD"... Hmmm.
Now that I think about it, I hope I didn't completely miss the boat on this one.
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