text:
The debate has begun - slowly.
U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., a day after the massacre in Newtown, put his feelings on updating gun control laws succinctly.
"To do nothing in the face of continuous assaults on our children is to be complicit in those assaults ... Politics be damned," Larson said in a statement Saturday on a topic that received no traction in the presidential election or any changes during President Barack Obama's first term.
Adam Lanza, 20, of Newtown has been identified as the shooter who killed 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, in the largest massacre of school-age children in the U.S. Lanza's first victim was his mother, whom officials say he shot in the face, before going to the school. The devastating killing spree ended when he took his own life.
Now that Obama has opened the door to a discussion, remarking Friday that "we have to take meaningful action, regardless of the politics," lawmakers across the country and tentatively in Connecticut are calling for a national dialogue on the hot button issue.
Connecticut gets high marks on its efforts to control the spread of weapons from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence -- only one of four states in that category - with California the lone state with the highest rating by the anti-gun group.
Arizona, Alaska, and Utah got zero points from the campaign and in an analysis, it said 31 states with few or no gun restrictions "export 9 times the crime guns as the six states with the strongest gun laws."
"There may not be a single cure-all for the violence in our nation, however we must start the process and begin the deeper and longer conversations that need to take place. Politics be damned. Of the 12 deadliest shootings in our nation's history, half of them have happened in the last five years. And there is not a single person in America who doesn't fear it will happen again. It's time we recognize the danger and address it," Larson said Saturday.
The Brady center is named for Jim Brady, press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, who was badly wounded during an assassination attempt on the former president in 1981.
The New York Daily News is reporting that Adam Lanza learned to handle a gun from his mother, Nancy Lanza, who would take her son target shooting, according to landscaper Dan Holmes, who mowed the lawn at the family home in Newtown.
"She loved her guns," Holmes is quoted as saying in the Daily News of Nancy Lanza's collection.
Adam Lanza is said to have shown up at the school with several weapons, but Connecticut's Chief Medical Examiner Wayne Carver said all 20 children succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds from the "long rifle," which has been reported as a Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine rifle.
Larson was specific in his call for action and said Congress should vote on demanding background checks for all gun sales, something that does not happen now at unlicensed gun shows, as well as a renewed ban on assault weapons and a new ban on high capacity clips.
State officials and law enforcement personnel were reserving comments on gun control to a later time, focusing for now on a mourning period for the victims.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which was started by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was a loud voice for advocates of gun control and a critic of Obama for being too timid.
"Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today," he said on Friday.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has its headquarters in Newtown, but it was not discussing the massacre in that town beyond a statement on its website.
"Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy in our community. Out of respect for the families, the community and the ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment or participate in media requests at this time," it read.
Other postings on the NSSF site pointed to the record number of gun background checks conducted in a single month in November 2012. The 1.5 million was an increase of 38.5 percent increase over the November 2011 total, which marks the 30th straight month that the figures increased year over year. The biggest single jump was on Black Friday - the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
"Responsible firearms ownership is popular, mainstream and growing," said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti on its website. "Americans in record numbers are choosing to own firearms for target shooting, hunting, collecting and personal and home protection," he said. Their story attributes the boom to the holiday season and a reaction to Obama's re-election.
Connecticut has tough gun laws, with an outright ban on assault weapons, a waiting period to obtain a rifle and a permit required to carry a hand gun.
The state has a list of individuals who cannot own weapons, which includes convicted felons, as well those with restraining orders or involuntarily committed to a mental institution.
To carry a handgun, one has to pass a background check, take a training course and report the loss or sale of a gun to a registry kept by state police.
After the shooting deaths of workers at the state Lottery in 1998, Connecticut passed a law that allows police to obtain a seizure warrant to remove weapons from individuals who they believe are in imminent danger to himself or others, something that has been invoked more than 300 times since it was enacted, a state report says.
Joe Visconti, a former council member in West Hartford and Republican candidate for the 1st District against Larson in 2008, spent the day responding to the calls on Twitter for gun control.
Describing himself as a "rabble rouser," who represents the right wing of the Republican Party, he said the fear is that the left ultimately wants to eliminate all gun ownership rights.
Visconti said there is room for discussion and a debate should take place, just not at this very moment. He said he has carried guns legally for 25 years and with thousands of permits in Connecticut, responsible owners are not the problem.
Like former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., he said he is against reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons because "it wouldn't be effective." Visconti said although he would be on board with regulating the size and quantity of ammunition that can be sold.
In light of the shootings at the Sandy Hook School, Visconti said it would be worth the cost to post police in elementary schools, something that is not now uncommon at high schools. "No price should be put on protecting our children," he said.
A attempt two years ago by state Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney to get a bill passed that would prevent felons who cannot carry weapons from possessing ammunition failed to advance after a firestorm of protest at the Capitol.
On the issue of mentally unstable individuals getting their hands on weapons, Looney Saturday said he would like to see a way to intervene when individuals who are a danger to themselves and others refuse to take their medication. "It should be on the table," he said as one element of the discussion.
Ron Pinciaro, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said what is needed is a cultural change and a reduction in how lethal the weapons are that are available to the public.
"The most calls I have been getting were from the foreign press. They can't understand the thinking here," he said. "Three-hundred million guns in the U.S. When is the number going to be enough?"
Pinciaro does hold out hope however. He said for a long time use of a designated driver, limiting smoking and wearing seat belts were not common behaviors. "It's a very different situation now," Pinciaro said.


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Police are warning people to be careful at intersections after a car was badly damaged on Devonport Rd.
Sergeant Nigel Ramsden of the Tauranga traffic department said the driver of the vehicle was going around the roundabout at the intersection of Devonport Rd and Eleventh Avenue when another car ignored the give way rule and pulled out in front of them.
The occupants of both vehicles were uninjured, although one person was taken to hospital for a check up. Sergeant Ramsden said while the accident wasn't too bad, it was a reminder for people to take care at intersections.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bulletin Subscribe
Welcome to our Club!
Service Above Self
We meet Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Mugsy's Restaurant
Mugsy's Restaurant
7161 Main
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
United States
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
United States
District Site
Venue Map
Stories & Celebrations
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Jun 17, 2015
Much to the delight of two packed audiences, the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus came to Bonners Ferry on June 16, 2015. Sponsored by the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club, a grand spectacle was seen under the big top by many, From big cats like lions and tigers, to a trapeze act, and even a daredevil double spinning act high in the air, the crowd thoroughly enjoyed the circus. The children were entertained by various circus performers, including a very cute dog act, and especially by Leo the Clown. Kirsten Madden organized the event for Rotary, and she was assisted by emcees Jim Paulus and Ron Sukenik. She also was assisted by various helpers, including Marciavee Cossette, Linda Alt, and April and Jack Douglas.
This quality circus, which comes to Bonners Ferry every other year, is a part of the continuous effort the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club makes to raise money for various causes, including the $14,000.00 given each of the last two years to scholarship students wishing to further their higher education after high school.
The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus was begun in 1985 and is now celebrating its 30th successful year in existence. The circus operates shows nightly for 32 continuous weeks, visiting more than 200 towns and cities in a year. They operate in 17 states. True to their word, the entertainment and cost is family friendly and affordable. Every day they spend three hours putting up the big tent for the one right circus, and then at the end of the second show, they spend one hour and 45 minutes taking it all back down again, only to repeat the same process daily and nightly for 32 weeks, seven days a week.
All in all, a very good evening was had by all children of all ages, and by the young at heart.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Apr 28, 2015
Play ball! Yes, it is baseball time again.
At the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club meeting held on April 28, 2015, Tom Turpin and Cal Bateman gave an interesting talk about the upcoming baseball season for the local teams. After a long hiatus from the late 1990's, American Legion Baseball will once again be played in Bonners Ferry, bringing back the smell of leather and fresh, green grass. Cal and Tom discussed the ambitious plans for baseball in our community.
Teenage boys play baseball, often called "The National Pastime," in all 50 states. More than 5,000 teams play each year. Even that seems like a conservative figure. In 1925, American Legion baseball began with a program in the small town of Milbank, South Dakota. There are two age divisions, Junior Division (ages 13-17) and Senior Division (ages 19 and older). There are Also "A" and "AA" programs, depending on the size of the program. Being a smaller town, Bonners Ferry hosts a "A" team along with other towns such as St. Maries, Orofino and Grangeville. Larger towns with more players are AA, and that includes places like Lewiston, Moscow, Coeur d' Alene and Post Falls.
This year, Bonners Ferry is having a 40-game schedule. There are 11 teams in our Idaho league, and in the schedule are 10 double-headers. This is the first time we will have American Legion baseball here in nearly 20 years. After league play, there will be a District Tournament in Post Falls, Idaho. If we win "State," in the state tournament in Orofino, we would advance to a regional tournament.
This year, the estimated cost of our American Legion program will be about $6000 to $7000, and none of that goes for salaries. To help defray the cost, the boys each are required to spend $250 to play. Considering that other towns in north Idaho require their boys to contribute amounts varying from $600 to $1100 each, this is indeed more than reasonable.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Apr 29, 2015
On April 29, 2015 at the local soccer field used by the lacrosse team, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club presented its $450 check, which the board authorized to support the program.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Apr 21, 2015
With the arrival of spring, the always-busy Bonners Ferry Rotary Club is kicking into high gear once again. Upcoming events include the Free Community Breakfast and Silent Auction.
Community Breakfast
This Saturday, April 25, 2015, the Free Community Breakfast and Silent Auction will be held at the Boundary County Fairgrounds form 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. As always, there is a need for good Rotarians to put service above self and show up to help work the event. The funds from the silent auction will be used for college and vocational school scholarships. Last year, our club awarded over $14,000 in scholarships and has been in the business of helping our local students since our local inception in 2002. Look at it this way, we are helping to invest in the future of our nation.
Location of this event is the Valley Event Center at the Boundary County Fairgrounds. The menu includes Sausage breakfast burritos, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, juice, tea and coffee.
On Friday, April 24, 2015, at 4:00 p.m., set up will occur at the fairgrounds for the event, and all Rotarians are requested to show up and assist. Lots of willing hands make the burden much lighter for all.
Posted by Jack Douglas
At the April 14, 2015, meeting of the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club - held on the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln - discussed several interesting projects and a local business, known as "Filtration Plus, Inc." That company is an air quality firm proudly representing manufacturers in Idaho, Montana, Northern Wyoming and Eastern Washington.
On April 25, 2015, from 7-10 a.m., at the Boundary County Fairgrounds, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club will hold our annual "Community Breakfast." The official title is: "Free CommUNITY Breakfast." The breakfast will be held at the Valley Event Center at the Boundary County Fairgrounds. Though the breakfast is free, it is hoped that people will donate. It is vital to remember that through various fund-raising events and efforts, the local Rotary club donates heavily to local kids attending college. In 2014, $14,000 was so donated and $13,000 the year before. President Jim Paulus told the members present that in 2015, we are going to again donate $14,000 to the local kids wanting to attend college. With the high cost of college, it all helps and it reflects the fact that Rotarians invest heavily in their communities and the future. The youth wanting to attend college are much of our future, and we generously contribute to helping them pay for that necessary education.
Of course, an event like the "Free CommUNITY Breakfast" cannot exist without help, so Rotarians are urged to show up at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2015, to help set up for the breakfast. At 10:00 a.m., after the event, help will be needed to do the take down. Remembering the Rotary motto "Service Above Self," we hope that members will rally to help put on this event.
April Douglas, wife of local Rotarian Jack Douglas, attended the meeting today. Patrick Carson and Brad Holifield, both in the process of rejoining the local Rotary, attended the meeting as well.
President Jim Paulus announced again that the District 5080 (our district) "District Meeting" will be held May 8-10, 2015 in Nelson, B.C., Canada. It is an opportunity to learn more about Rotary, network with other Rotarians and visit the lovely city of Nelson, set on the Kootenai River. Local Rotarians are urged to attend.
President Paulus also announced that on May 14, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., the Rotary will host a "Scholarship Ice Cream Social" event.
President Paulus also announced that the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club board voted:
1) $250.00 to Ian Quiznel.
2) $100.00 to the Rod Benders, to help them stage their car show in Bonners Ferry the first week in June.
3) $450.00 was donated to pay for the insurance for the lacrosse team.
4) $500.00 was given to the Bonners Ferry High School robotics team, who took first place in regional competition recently in Calgary, Canada. That team is going to St. Louis, Missouri to compete in the international competiton, making us all proud. The cost of the trip is substantial, so donations to the robotics club at the high school would be appreciated ... once again, investing in our youth. Service above self.
Lillian Lonborg announced that she will operate a tasting room at the Bonnerport Mall in Bonners Ferry ... Hard Rock Wineries. It will showcase northwest wines, which she believes are under-appeciated currently. She said that we sit at the same latitude as the wine growing regions of France, a nation well known for its excellent wines. This business will open in May. Watch for the grand opening event.
Maggie McCoy, one of the nine contestants to be the 2015 Bonners Ferry winner of the Distinguished Young Womans pageant. Maggie is the daughter of Sean McCoy, a well-known local man and former businessman.
But the main speakers were Trey and Lynn Haworth, who moved here from Arizona with their business, called "Filtration Plus, Inc. That business began in 2007 in Arizona. But, they saw Boundary County and fell in love with our place, so they moved the business here. It is called "Filtration Plus, Inc." Their business represents HVAC manufacturers that provide air treatment solutions, such as air control devices and fighting air pollution. On their ranch, they also raise horses. The business involves a lot of travel.
The next meeting of the Rotary is Tuesday, April 21, 2015,. at Mugsy's. The speaker will be Jim McKiernan, Publisher of the Bonners Ferry Herald and the Bonner County Daily Bee newspapers. .
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Apr 13, 2015
The 2015 Kootenai River Ride is set for Saturday 12, 2015 at the usual location in Boundary County, Idaho. The Bonners Ferry Rotary Club will once again host this wonderful and scenic event. There will be rides of 100 kilometers, 60 kilometers and even a 16 kilometer distance, so there is an event for everyone to enjoy. People who wish to enter can view details and register online at: www.KootenaiRiverRide.com. At that site, people can also print a registration form and fill it out, then mail it to the Rotary Club, if they wish. Details are on the website. If you have ever been a part of this event or ridden in it, you know what a good time it is. It also must be one of the most scenic bike rides you will ever experience.
As a reminder of upcoming events, at the March 24, 2015 meeting, the Bonners Ferry Rotarians were reminded that:
1. The March 31, 2015, meeting (next week) will be held at the local Restorium. Dress is casual, and be early as lunch starts at noon sharp.
2. The first ever annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner will be held at the Boundary County Fairgrounds. Tickets are $18 a plate and the meal will be catered by Chic 'n Chop Restaurant, who are well known in the community. Tickets for this dinner, which will be held to honor the men and women who serve as peace officers for our safety and protection, may be purchased by contacting Ron Sukenik or at Bonners Ferry City Hall.
3. The District 5080 Conference will be held at Nelson, B.C. (Canada), starting on May 8, 2015.
At the weekly meeting held on March 24, 2015, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club received an interesting talk from Whitney Jones about the "Relay for Life.". Jones is the Community Manager for the American Cancer Society, which puts on the Relay for Life event. In that role, Whitney is responsible for the Relay for Life held in Spokane, Newport, Sandpoint, Coeur d' Alene, and Bonners Ferry.
Ms. Whitney discussed how Relay for Life got its start in Tacoma, Washington in 1985. Because cancer never sleeps, the event is an overnight thing from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., lasting a full twelve
hours as teams or even individuals walk around the track for the twelve hours. This is done to raise awareness of the ongoing battle against cancer and of course to raise funds for the war on cancer.
This year's event will be held in Bonners Ferry, Idaho on August 14-15, 2015, probably at the BFHS track if it is available.
In the Relay for Life, a person or team of persons walk for 12 hours, maintaining at least one person on the track at all times. In 2014, $400 million was raised through these events for the American Cancer Society's battle to fight against and ultimately cure cancer. In 2014, Bonners Ferry alone raised over $30,000. The money goes to fund cancer research, prevention and education, programs and services and advocacy. Currently, there are more than 5,000 of these events in the United States and more than 6,000 world-wide.
How can someone get involved? You can:
1. Sponsor someone or a team.
2. Participate.
3. Be an event leader,
4. Help set up the event.
If anyone has further questions, they may contact Whitney Jones, Community Manager, at: email@example.com through e-mail, or telephone her at: 1 (509) 242-8291 (office) or at 1 (360) 789-2928 (cell).
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Mar 16, 2015
On St. Patrick's Day, 2015, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club received a double treat when the speakers at the weekly meeting were Ryan and Maureen Mai, owners of local ranch and farm: "Rymo Cattle Company." In 1999, the Mai family moved back to Boundary County, Idaho and began their operation. They center the farm and ranch around:
1. Crops
2. Livestock
3. Custom hire work.
Located throughout Boundary County, Idaho, the ranchers raise close to 200 pure bred cattle and farm and ranch about 2,000 acres. As they explained, there is a real technique and science to it. They use special Simmental and Sim-Angus beef. These are animals that produce great meat, are large cattle, and a good working herd. They normally run about 180 animals.
As a part of their operation, the Mai family also grows lots of crops, which they rotate every several years, for better production and the good of the land. Those crops include: winter and spring wheat, malt barley, feed barley and food barley, alfalfa and hay, canola, peas, and garbanzo beans.
It was an interesting presentation.
At the meeting, it was again announced that the District Conference is being held in Nelson, B.C. this year May 8-10. 2015. Nelson is a city renowned for its beauty, being on the Kootenai (Kootenay) River, fine skiing, and close proximity to Ainsworth Hot Springs. Local Rotarians were encouraged to register and attend. It was also again announced that on Saturday, March 21, 2015, the Rotarians will have the spring assembly in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. All were urged to attend.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Feb 16, 2015
Twenty-one people, including one visitor, attended the weekly meeting held on Tuesday, February 17, 2015. The visitor was Marla Bohne of Post Falls, Idaho, who is the sister of Jenny Fessler, a local Rotarian. The meeting was called to order by President Jim Paulus.
The speaker was Bill Justus, who spoke about JustServe.org, which the Rotarians were informed is a nationwide website that, based on zip codes, seeks to match up worthy projects with local volunteers. This is a community resource. A club like Rotary would list its volunteer needs and seek volunteers through JustServe.org. It also is an opportunity for those wishing to serve in the community to scan the site, select one project, and then easily volunteer. A person or organization goes to the website, scans what is there, registers and then can propose projects or volunteer. Projects are subject to approval, with most able to qualify. Obviously, political campaigns are not a good project, nor are mere fundraisers. The site costs nothing to the volunteer or the person, club or organization requesting volunteer assistance.
After the event, if desired, a person or entity can post how it turned out.
It was interesting and thought-provoking. Anyone desiring more information, may contact Bill Justus at (435) 249-1220 or Mike Miller at (208) 255-9166.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Mar 02, 2015
The fifth annual "Penguin Plunge" is fast approaching. This year, the popular event will be held at the at the boat dock area of the Search and Rescue at the Waterways Building. The date of the plunge will be noon on Saturday, March 21, 2015. Registration starts at 11:00 a.m.
David Kramer and Sue Wilson, both longtime supporters of Special Olympics and the "Penguin Plunge," spoke to Rotary about the event, which is designed to raise money to support Special Olympics. Rotarians learned that about $6,000 is raised per pear by this event, money which goes to helping fund Special Olympics in Boundary County, Idaho. As part of the presentation, Sue and Dave showed an interesting slide show of past Penguin Plunges.
In past years, it has been the custom that participants will often wear an interesting costume and really get into the festive spirit of the event. The water is often in the 30's and thus quite cold. Participants can either quickly dunk in all the way, or wade in slowly. There is a place to warm up after the event. Even those who may not be wanting to participate can always come to watch or can make a donation to Special Olympics at the event or through any of the many people who are participating and who are asking people to sponsor them.
Their slogan: "Freezin' for a Reason."
The annual "Free CommUNITY Breakfast" is going to be held on Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Valley Event Center at the Boundary County Fairgrounds.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Feb 09, 2015
On February 10, 2015, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club had a very busy and entertaining meeting. At noon, President Jim Paulus called the meeting to order. Two students - Kimberly Kramer and Caleb Beazer - attended and addressed the Rotarians. Former Rotary member David Kramer visited.
It was brought up that this Friday, 13 February 2015, there will be a cancer benefit charity basketball game held at the Valley View Elementary School gymnasium, with the game tipping off at 7:00 p.m. The game is between the "U.S. Border Officials" and the "Canadian Border Officials." Entry is by donation and the proceeds will benefit Reed Greenwood, who has cancer. Helpers are needed for the event and people are encouraged to attend if they cannot help.
The Rotary Board has voted at their meeting to donate $500 to the Missoula Children's Theater.
Happy Bucks and Fines were received and handed out, all for the cause of raising funds for the scholarship fund.
The District Governor, for District 5080, is from Nelson. B.C., Canada. HIs name is Norman McCarvell. He attended the meeting, and discussed upcoming events. He travels the district attending various Rotary clubs.
Tim Harlan gave a talk about his internet-based local business called "Answering Specialists, Inc." It used to be based in Seattle, Washington, but a few years back he moved it to here. It answer calls all over the country, using the internet. He said the work force here is more loyal and stable and that his business is growing at about 20% a year.
Becca Harlan then spoke about "Harlan Mountain Farms." which at present sells goat milk. The business is going to expand into other products such as goat cheese. She spoke on the health benefits of goat products.
The Rotary then had its 50/50, and the winning ticket was David Kramer's, but he failed to draw the winning card. With that, the meeting was adjourned.
Posted by John "Jack" Douglas
on Jan 19, 2015
At the January 20, 2015 meeting of the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club, the local Rotarians had another productive meeting. It was announced that the club had donated $250 to each of the junior high school robotics class and the Bonners Ferry High School robotics class. In addition, Rotarians were reminded that there is an exchange program coning with Rotarians in Sweden. Ron Sukenik presided over the meeting due to President Jim Paulus leaving early to take care of a business issue. Next week, Lisa Holmes will preside over the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club.
After the usual "happy bucks" and "fines," the rotary heard from local businessman Justin Gibbins, who is one of the owners of "Limitless Outdoors, Inc.," which is a Christ-centered company that promotes the union of the Gospel and hunting experiences in the limitless outdoors all over the planet. Their mission is to ethically follow the Gospel and combine that with hunting and love of the great outdoors. They have hunted in exotic locations as far away as New Zealand. They are into hunting, fishing, kayaking and even sky diving as they travel the globe in search of entertaining experiences. They also act as booking agent for a select few guiding services.
Here we see Justin Gibbins with hunter Garrett Graupner on a hunt with a Wyoming antelope they harvested.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Jan 05, 2015
At the January 6, 2015, meeting of the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club, the local Rotarians kicked off the new year with a festive meeting that included a talk from Mike Meier, Boundary County Information Officer, about "Living off the Grid."
At the meeting, guests included Doug Brown, Jane Kirby and Marsha Kirby (wife and daughter of Walt Kirby respectively).
Presiding was President Jim Paulus, who ran the meeting and announced that there is a board meeting tonight. He also mentioned that next week, we have an off-site meeting at the junior high school about "Robotics."
Pam Moe from Boundary Abstract asked for volunteers to help with the "Fill The Bus" food bank project she heads. This will be on MLK Day, which is January 19, 2015. Some are needed to sit in a store and hand out food bank suggestions and others will be needed at 3:15 at the food bank office to help unload the bus. Anyone who can help, should contact her at Boundary Abstract.
It was announced that Boundary County Treasurer Jenny Fessler is retiring and there will be "surprise" retirement party for her on Saturday, 10 January 2015 at 1 p.m. at Chic 'n Chop. All are invited. Unfortunately, Jenny was present at the meeting at which the announcement was made. Oops.
It was announced that Walt and Jane Kirby have been married for 64 years and so the Rotary purchased their meal for them.
After the Happy Bucks and Fines were taken care of, Mike Meier gave an informative and interesting talk about "Living Off The Grid."
No one won the 50-50 draw.
The Bonners Ferry Rotary Club held its final meeting for 2014 at Mugsy's in downtown Bonners Ferry, Idaho at noon on December 30, 2014. Despite the chill in the weather, around twenty turned out. This included Rotary visitors Brian and Cathy Greene of Carson City (Nevada) Sunset Rotary Club, and Cathy Trainer, who lives here, and her son Clay. The lucky ones who turned out were treated to the return of local student Sara
Owinyo, who has gone on to be a college student at The Masters College in Santa Clarita, California. The Masters College is a Christian college, Sara Owinyo is not only a past student in Bonners Ferry, but also one of the lucky recipients of the scholarship bounty that the local Rotarians raise every year. To the delight of those in attendance, Sara sang two songs:
1) "When I Fall In Love," and
2) "The Light In The Piazza."
After her delightful songs, Sara spoke to the rotary and informed the club that she appreciated their previous scholarship that she had received for college, and to inform them of her current plan to be part of a Christian team from the college that will go in May, 2015, to Croatia, Koosovo and Albania on a mission lasting two weeks in these Balkans nations. This is for the church. She said she desires and needs prayer, but also financial assistance. Sara is raising $3,000 for the trip, which lasts two weeks. It was agreed that she would send in a support request to President Jim Paulus of the Rotary and he would then in turn send out the request to the members in an effort to raise funding for her cause.
It was a fun, delightful way to end the year of 2013 for the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club. In addition, the 50/50 drawing stood at $243. There was no winner. Money was also raised through "Happy Bucks" and "Fines." Craig Johnson was the "Fine Master."
Happy New Year !
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Dec 08, 2014
At the December 9, 2014, Bonners Ferry Rotary Club weekly meeting held at Mugsy's in Bonners Ferry, twenty-one (21) members and guests attended. President Jim Paulus opened the meeting and after the opening ceremonies, Dave Walter introduced Jake Wilson and Kendra Urbanek, two local school students. The students spoke briefly to the Rotarians and in turn were informed that last year, the local Bonners Ferry Rotary Club donated $14,000 toward scholarships and $13,000 the year before that. This money is raised through a lot of effort and some functions and through the thrift and good will of people in the community who care enough to donate time, effort and also money.
David Sims was the main speaker. Sims is the son of former Bonners Ferry Mayor Harold Sims and his wife, Eula. He is also a Rotarian and very active in the community. Currently, David Sims is employed as the Boundary County leader for "Economic Development.". Sims gave an interesting talk on traffic problems in Bonners Ferry and what plans are being developed to alleviate it. Among the many points that Sims made were:
1) The state of Idaho is trying to address the traffic needs, issues and problems in Boundary County, and especially the pressing issues within the city limits of Bonners Ferry.
2) That traffic on the South Hill area is continuing to grow. The ITD (Idaho Transportation Department) and local authorities are discussing ways to try to fix these problems and to anticipate them.
3) By this coming Summer, they hope to have some concrete proposals.
4) Money is tight. Originally, the plan was to use $2.4 million to address it. That figure has been raised to $5.2 million and even that may not be enough.
5) Money is tight for the ITD.
6) The roads will be designed and hopefully built to accommodate vehicles, pedestrians and bikes, and hopefully without causing the closure of any local businesses.
7) The fifty-foot right-of-way is simply not wide enough.
8) That there is a real need for more and better sidewalks so that pedestrians will be safer from traffic.
9) Drainage and run-off problems need to be fixed.
10) There is a need for more and safer crossings across the highway.
Sims said that the group making this study meets at Bonners Ferry City Hall at 4:30 p.m. twice monthly, on the first and third Wednesday of the month. The next meeting will be held on December 17, 2014.
Next week's Rotary meeting will be our Christmas meeting. The club will purchase lunch (buffet) for each member and a guest. Rotarians are asked to bring a toy for needy kids to the meeting.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Nov 24, 2014
At the November 25, 2014 Bonners Ferry Rotary Club meeting held at Mugsy's in downtown Bonners Ferry, Idaho, seventeen Rotarians attended to hear from Boundary County (Idaho) County Commission Chairman Dan Dinning, about the state of the county. Ron Sukenik stood in for President Jim Paulus and chaired the meeting.
Housekeeping matters included:
1) Sign up for the Pledge of Allegiance, the prayer and the patriotic song.
2) Mention that the Festival of Trees has been in contact and needs more trees for their Fry Foundation fundraiser.
3) At least ninety (90) more Rotary calendars still need to be sold as one of our primary fundraisers. Members stepped up and said they would volunteer to get that done.
4) Happy Bucks raised $20.
5) Fine master Kevin Callos imposed "fines," which are used to raise money for the scholarships we fund.
Rotarian Linda Alt then introduced Commissioner Dinning, who is a lifelong Boundary County resident and who has been a county commissioner for many years.
Dan Dinning discussed the general state of the county, including:
1) We have a lot to be thankful for. We live in a giving community where people regularly and freely give of their time, effort and money to needy people and causes.
2) The county is generally in good shape and we believe the tax dollars are being wisely invested in the county's infrastructure, including roads and bridges.
3) Recycling is helping to save the landfill. Because of recycling, we are able to stave off the day when we might have to ship out trash and garbage at considerably more cost than today.
4) The Restorium funding was discussed. Currently, the Restorium is running at 85-90% capacity.
5) The "septage" sewage issue in Naples was discussed. The state, not the county, regulates that situation and is responsible for the permits they operate under. The state of Idaho, through DEQ, has taken the position that the permit holder is complying faithfully with all terms and conditions of the permit he operates under. The county now has an ordinance for all future such situations, but this one is controlled by the state and not the county. We cannot regulate it locally in derogation of the permit the state issued.
In short, Boundary County cannot impact or change the existing permit issued by the state of Idaho. This process is done through DEQ and not the county.
The state of the Boundary County Airport was also mentioned. The airport is in great shape and being well managed.
Commissioner Chairman Dinning also said that the county is desirous of getting more business into the county and is not chasing away any reputable businesses.
The issue of having the county and the city (Bonners Ferry) jointly fund and operate a community swimming pool, and Dinning said the Commissioners are open to discussing that possible idea.
The 50/50 draw was at $128 and there was no winner.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Nov 23, 2014
On November 18, 2014, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club held its weekly meeting. President Jim Paulus called the meeting to order and reported on the board meeting held last week. Among other things reported:
1) A report on micro business credit.
2) The request from Valley View school.
3) Proposals for raising money for the local hospital at the 2014 Festival of Trees.
4) Early planning to try to have a circus here next summer.
The local Rotarians were urged to have their calendars all sold by Christmas.
A report was made on the board decision to have a banquet to honor the local officers of the year. We would provide a plaque for each department and dinner for the officer and immediate family. No-host bar.
Talks were given by Jack Douglas, Marciavee Cossette and Greg Johnson.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Nov 11, 2014
On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club honored the local military veterans who have served and defended our nation so well. Seveb veterans attended from outside the club and many of the local rotarians also stated they were veterans. The guest speaker was a veteran from the Vietnam War and its era, Mike Ashby, who is a local product of the community having been born and raised here. Mike served several tours of duty in the Vietnam War, and stated his feelings about that service, the service of others and the current direction of our nation.
Among the veterans present were Lynn LeShack and Ken Tolene, who are both highly decorated veterans. It was reported that there is a book called "Project Cold Feet," which details a top secret Cold War mission of Commander LeShack that rivals anything James Bond ever did. Mike Ashby gave a rousing address, laying it all on the line.
As usual, the club had prayer, a patriotic song to open the meeting, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members were asked to volunteer to do calendar sales at the local stores.
It was announced that there would be a board meeting tonight at the Kootenai River Inn.
Here we see Mike Ashby and Club President Jim Paulus, after Mike addressed the club.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Nov 03, 2014
At the weekly Bonners Ferry Rotary Club meeting held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at Mugsy's in downtown Bonners Ferry, a total of eighteen (18) people attended, including one visiting Rotarian, the local school superintendent (Dick Connally) and David Brinkman, chairman of the local school board. The visiting Rotarian was Brian Board, a new banker in town, from Federal Way, Washington. Brian Board works for the new Columbia Bank, which used to be the Panhandle State Bank.
The usual opening was made, and there were plenty of "Happy Bucks" and "Fines" to go around - all used to help fund the school scholarships for local children bound for college. Last year, we gave away around $14,000 in school scholarships, raised by the hard work and personal sacrifices of the club members.
David Brinkman, Chairman of the Board for the local school district, addressed the club about our local schools and especially sought input about the state of the schools and where they are headed. A lively and interesting discussion followed. The number of students in our public schools has declined and there is more economic pressure to consider closing costly outlying schools if the funds are not there with which to keep them open. There is enough room in the Bonners Ferry schools to teach all the county students here if need be.
Superintendent Connally spoke on the subject of the condition of the schools. He stated that the schools are old, but in fairly good condition because, though costly, repairs have been kept up on them. He described how the schools get a lot of use and the wear and tear needs to be repaired and broken items replaced, but that the school district has been doing a good job of that through the years and for a good long time. But, at some point not far into the future, schools will have to be replaced with new schools. It simply costs too much to repair them at some point.
Chairman Brinkman was asked about bomb threats. He said that we are making progress and lauded the hard work the schools and law enforcement have done together to curtail these. Two years ago we had eleven of them and last year we had only three. This year, just one so far.
It was a good and very informative meeting.
More members are needed to sell calendars in the stores, so members are urged to volunteer. The calendar sales raise thousands of dollars for the various causes that Rotary supports.
on Nov 01, 2014
For the month of November, here is the "Birthday And Anniversary Report."
Birthdays: Dave Gray (November 10) & Kevin Callos (November 13).
There are no reported spousal birthdays.
No reported anniversaries.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Oct 27, 2014
At the October 28, 2014 Bonners Ferry Rotary Club at Mugsy's,long-time Bonners Ferry City Administrator Steven Boorman discussed the current state of the city and probable directions for the fairly immediate future.
Fifteen intrepid souls attended on behalf of the local rotary club to listen to what City Administrator Boorman had to say, braving the rainy autumn weather and a local outbreak of influenza.
At the meeting Norm Braatz led the Rotarians in prayer, Ron Sukenik led the song and the members saluted the flag of our country with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The next board meeting will be at 5:30 o'clock, p.m., at the Kootenai River Inn in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
Kirsten Madden is chairing a committee to bring the circus to town. Assisting her on that committee will be the following volunteers: Marciavee Cossette, Diane Blakely and Jack Douglas.
Happy Bucks, Fines and the fifty/fifty draw all raised valuable money for scholarships.
City Administrator Boorman discussed how the city works, explaining the governmental and proprietary functions. The annual budget of the City of Bonners Ferry is $1.8 million. He also pointed out that the Moyie River Dam operated by Bonners Ferry provides roughly 30% of the local electrical needs, depending on the rate of flow of the river in the spring and summer.
City Administrator Boorman also discussed two subjects near and dear to the hearts of many: the city swimming pool and the gold course. Built in the 1930's as a WPA Project, the pool needs to be replaced soon. Every year cracks must be repaired as it is. The golf course, built in the 1970s, needs either a new clubhouse or serious renovations to the existing building. The clubhouse is near the end of its life. And although the city needs a new swimming pool, Boorman said he doesn't see a path to build a new one. It also appears from existing studies that there currently is not enough population to support a new swimming pool. Boorman said it costs about $50,000 to $60,000 to operate the swimming pool. He noted that only about 11,000 people live in the county at present. He also discussed the existing city sewer system and the water system.
Posted by Jack Douglas
on Oct 23, 2014
Today is October 24, 2014, which is "World Polio Day 2014." Many of us can recall that not so very long ago, polio was a scourge throughout the world. It hardly needs mentioning, but in the fairly recent past, polio crippled thousands every year right here in the U.S., and many more worldwide. In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt, who later went on to become the only 4-term president in U.S. history, was diagnosed as having polio, which left him with paralysis that lasted throughout his life.
Polio struck anyone and anywhere, and without any warning. Even the privileged and the affluent, such as the Roosevelts, were not immune. A parent's worst fears were all-too-often realized when a beloved child would suddenly, without warning, come down with neck or back stiffness, abnormal reflexes and other problems, which were diagnosed as polio, which had no cure and often led to paralysis or deformed limbs. It still has no cure, but through the work of the March of Dimes (begun by FDR in 1938), great strides have been made in the important work of eradicating polio forever. The first of the two polio vaccines used to prevent polio was developed by Dr. Jonas Salk. This was tested in 1952 when there was a large outbreak in the United States and announced to the world in 1955. Give thanks for the fact that these efforts probably saved at least some of us from contracting that horrible disease.
The goal of Rotarians and the world at large, is to make polio the second human disease ever eliminated from the face of the Earth. For the record, dreaded smallpox was the first. To date, Rotary has helped 193 countries stop the spread of polio (a highly contagious disease), through the mass immunization of children. World Polio Day targets countries where children and others still remain at risk. Our goal is a polio-free world. Once again, Rotary helps to lead the way to a better future.
Of Rotary's contribution, $18.5 million is slated to go to the three remaining polio-endemic countries, which are: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. The rest will go to the the nations most at risk of re-infection, including: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Congo, Niger, South Sudan and Sudan.
Posted by John "Jack" Douglas
On October 7, 2014, Rotary member David Gray of Bonners Ferry, win the 50/50 draw, which had reached the amount of $1145.00. Thus, Dave was able to receive $572.50. Using that money. each of the grand children of David and Dottie Gray received $82.00 (rounded off). That made seven children and the Gray household very happy.
Rotary International News
Five years since its debut, Rotary Club Central is getting a big upgrade
When we introduced Rotary Club Central in 2012, it revolutionized goal tracking and planning for clubs and districts — no more filling out paper club-planning forms or passing along boxes of historical club information every time a new leader took office. Rotary Club Central offered clubs and districts a quantifiable way to begin measuring local and global impact, specifically membership initiatives, service activities, and Rotary Foundation giving. But as with any technological advancement, in a few short years, Rotary Club Central began to show its age, and Rotarians took notice. They...
Rotary International Board adopts new zone structure
At its January 2017 meeting, the Rotary International Board of Directors adopted a new zone structure for Rotary clubs. Rotary bylaws require the Board to complete a comprehensive review of the 34 Rotary zones no less often than every eight years to ensure that each zone has an approximately equal number of Rotarians. The Board's previous review of the zones occurred in 2008. The Board earlier approved the creation of three regional workgroups to develop rezoning proposals for Asia, Europe/Africa, and the Americas. These workgroups comprised one representative (either a current director,...
Centennial celebration honors 20 noteworthy global grant projects
Through The Rotary Foundation, Rotary members have supported thousands of projects that promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, save mothers and children, support education, and grow local economies. We've also led the fight to eradicate polio worldwide. As part of our celebration of the Foundation's centennial, we're honoring 20 global grant projects with special recognition. Learn more about the projects using our interactive map.
Convention: Southern hospitality
The Atlanta Host Organization Committee is offering some good old-fashioned Southern hospitality at the Rotary International Convention from 10 to 14 June. It has planned a wide range of activities featuring everything from good food and music to inspiring tours of local landmarks. If it's your first convention, these events are chances to meet fellow Rotarians from around the world, and if you're an experienced convention goer, you can catch up with old friends. Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Aaron will host Rotarians for a "Strike Out Polio" night at the new SunTrust Park, where you'll...
Member spotlight: The power of the press
When Teguest Yilma helped found the Rotary Club of Addis Ababa Entoto in 2002, she thought polio had already been eradicated from most of the world. But while Ethiopia had been free of the disease, Yilma was shocked to learn that new cases had started cropping up in surrounding countries such as Somalia. "I was thinking, it's not possible, we can't be free if the countries around us are not free," she says. Yilma, the managing editor of Capital, Ethiopia's largest English weekly newspaper, has brought a journalist's skills to the fight against polio. She became vice chair of the Ethiopia...


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The armed forces were starved of cash in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, the official inquiry into the conflict was told today.
Former defence secretary Geoff Hoon said the forces' budget was underfunded for years prior to the war and had to rely on efficiency savings.
As a result, he said, the Ministry of Defence had to buy much of the equipment needed for the conflict at the last minute through the system of "urgent operational requirements" (UORs).
But prime minister Tony Blair refused to allow active preparations for war to begin until just five months before the invasion was launched because he did not want to undermine diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis through the United Nations.
As a result, some kit - such as desert combat fatigues and desert boots - failed to reach the front line in time for the start of the war in March 2003.
"Some got to theatre in time, some did not," he said. "There were certainly complaints about desert combats. Quite a lot of soldiers went into action in green combats and they didn't like it.
"Some soldiers did not have the right boots."
Mr Hoon said that when he became defence secretary in 1999 there was a belief in the MoD that they had never received the cash that they needed to fund the 1998 strategic defence review.
When he pressed the Treasury for additional funding, he was rebuffed.
"There was quite a strong feeling that it was not fully funded. Part of the way that it was funded was by a commitment to serious efficiencies to the way existing equipment was used to release cash for some of the new acquisitions.
"I think everyone accepted that was a pretty challenging target," he said.
"Certainly, in subsequent CSR (comprehensive spending review) programmes we asked for significantly more money than we eventually received."
Mr Hoon said the MoD had to submit a list of UORs to the Treasury, which was finally approved on October 4 2002.
By that time he and the chief of the defence staff, Admiral Lord Boyce, were becoming concerned that Mr Blair had still not decided whether he wanted to deploy an army division in support of the Americans, which would normally take six months to prepare for.
When they tried to press the prime minister for a decision so they could begin the necessary preparations, Mr Hoon said they were told to "calm down".
"When we both went to meetings in Downing Street saying 'Look, you need to get on with this', we were told 'Calm down, you can't get on with it while the diplomatic process is under way'," he said.
"The argument I was given very clearly from the prime minister and the foreign secretary (Jack Straw) was that if we were seen to be overtly preparing for war, that would affect our ability to secure a (UN Security Council) resolution.
"Mike (Lord Boyce) and I went to meetings in September where we were both made very well aware of the attitude in Downing Street towards the requirement for minimising publicity and avoiding visibility of preparations.
"There was no doubt of the fact that we could not go out overtly and prepare."
Mr Hoon admitted that some British troops in Iraq were left without enhanced combat body armour because of problems in tracking the distribution of equipment.
Some military units were given double the required sets of armour and some were provided with none, he said.
Mr Hoon said: "Something like 36,000 sets were shipped to Iraq.
"From the lessons-learned process afterwards, one of the problems was that there was not a very effective tracking system once the containers were unloaded.
"I suspect probably what happened was that some units ended up with two lots of everything, and some units ended up with nothing.
"So the distribution on the ground in Iraq was not satisfactory."
Mr Hoon told the inquiry he was told in September 2002 that enough enhanced combat body armour was available for all the frontline forces.
He said military officials told him extra body armour should be ordered for the other troops but advised this was a "tranche two requirement".
The former defence secretary said: "What I understood that to mean at the time was that we had enough in stock for the front line, for those who were going to be fighting.
"It was desirable clearly to have more available but that the military judged this to be of a lesser priority."
Inquiry panel member Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, a military historian, pointed out that this shortage caused the death of a British soldier.
He said: "One of the consequences of this problem was that in key places there weren't enough of the relevant body armour, so local commanders had to make their own priorities about who should get what, which as you know in at least one case led to a tragic outcome."
Tank commander Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, who was born in Cornwall and lived in Shipley, West Yorkshire, was shot dead by a comrade while struggling with an attacking Iraqi near the southern city of Al Zubayr on March 24 2003.
The 2006 inquest into his death heard he was left exposed by "serious failings" in the Army's supply and training methods which meant he had to give up his body armour just three days before.
Mr Hoon said Sgt Roberts' death demonstrated how the distinction between the front and rear lines was blurred in the Iraq conflict.
Mr Hoon told the inquiry that the military told him they were ready for the 2003 invasion.
He said: "We spent a lot of time on ensuring that we could deliver this equipment in time.
"If anyone had said, 'look, we have some doubts about whether we're ready', then that would have been absolutely a show stopper."
New UK military helicopters would be coming into service now if it had not been for defence budget cuts six months after the Iraq invasion, the inquiry heard.
Mr Hoon said accounting changes introduced by the Treasury in September 2003 left the Ministry of Defence facing "difficult" cuts in its future equipment programmes.
He agreed that the budget was left under "severe constraint", but added: "I don't believe that it was relevant to helicopters in Iraq. This is going back to 2002, 2003, 2004.
"I suppose it's reasonable to assume that by now, had that budget been spent in the way that we thought we should spend it, then those helicopters would probably be coming into service any time now."
The former defence secretary agreed that the shortage of helicopters led to UK forces becoming more reliant on lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers.
But he stressed that roadside bombs were less of a problem in Iraq than they currently are in southern Afghanistan, and that getting among the local population was "part of the ethos" of the British Army.
Sir Lawrence asked Mr Hoon whether concerns about the number of British troops being killed in Snatch Land Rovers in Iraq were brought to his attention.
He replied: "I think it was beginning to develop at the time that I left the department."
Mr Hoon also said he had opposed Mr Blair's decision, in July 2004, to commit British forces to southern Afghanistan while there were still substantial numbers engaged in Iraq.
"I believed that it was necessary to reduce our commitment in Iraq before taking on what was a Nato mission," he said.
"I felt that at that time, given our commitments in Iraq, it was probably better to allow other countries to participate in that particular mission until we were in a better position to do so."
He said that his concerns were shared by the military chiefs.
"They wanted to be clear that they weren't going to be involved in two substantial operations simultaneously," he said.
The inquiry was adjourned until tomorrow.
- More about:
- Iraq
- Iraq War
- Middle East


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Durham Cathedral
Both of the latest BBC Young Choristers of the Year, one girl and one boy, will join voices in a carol concert accompanied by the cathedral organist and a brass ensemble. It will be a historic mingling of the sexes, since male and female choristers will be perfoming in a Christmas concert for the first time since girls were admitted last year to the cathedral choir school.
▶ 18 December, 7.30pm. Tickets from £7, 0191-332 4041.
Carols on the Hill, Windsor
The Band of Blues and Royals is one of two mounted bands in the British army and its brass bandsmen provide fanfares at state ceremonies. At Christmas they blast carols (horselessly) from the gates of Windsor Castle as part of an outdoor service of readings and prayers, and passersby can pick up a service sheet to add their voices.
▶ 17 December, 6pm. windsor.gov.uk/site/whats-on
Trafalgar Square, London
The vast Christmas tree donated each year by Norway illuminates the choirs who sing carols nightly through Advent beneath Nelson's Column. Donations go to charity and everyone can join in.
▶ 7-22 December 5pm-9pm. london.gov.uk/trafalgarsquare/events
Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
Festive glee echoes round one of England's most spectacular medieval ruins. The Kenilworth Lions perform with the Coventry Salvation Army brass band and local schoolchildren around a giant Christmas tree.
▶ 18 December, 6pm. Tickets £3 plus English Heritage Admission charges. www.english-heritage.org.uk
Stirling Castle, Stirling
Inside the 15th-century castle, the great hall will be lit by candles as some of the National Youth Choir of Scotland sing carols and performers narrate festive stories.
▶ 19 December, 6-8.30pm. £12 (£9 concessions). Stirling Castle, Castle Wynd, Stirling FK8 1EJ. www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk, 01786 450 000


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Honor flight an emotional experience for WWII vet
It's a long trip from Arnold Luoma's white stucco Baxter home to the historic monuments of Washington, D.C., — a journey that could be daunting for anyone, much less an 89-year-old World War II vet.
The June 8 Honor Flight that took about 80 World War II veterans from Duluth to Washington, D.C., in about 16 hours was a tiring experience for Luoma, but one that he wouldn't have traded for the world.
The receptions he and his World War II colleagues received at the Reagan National and Duluth airports were as moving as seeing the monuments, Luoma said. The Baxter man expressed emotion as he recalled the bands, the flags and the greetings from politicians, past and present.
"The way they treated us ... like we were royalty," he recalled.
Karin Swor of the Duluth-based Honor Flight Northland said that when the veterans arrived at Reagan National Airport an announcement was made noting their arrival and the World War II vets walked past a large group of people who shook their hands and voiced their thanks to them. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was at the Washington, D.C., area airport to greet the Minnesota contingent when the veterans arrived.
"This was my sixth trip and I know it's coming and I still cried when I got off (the plane)," Swor said.
A key booster of the National World War II memorial, which was completed in 2004, former Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, R-Kanas, shook Luoma's hand at the memorial.
Luoma shared with the 1996 Republican presidential candidate that he was "sick and tired of Congress nowadays." He received no argument from the 89-year-old Dole, who is also a World War II veteran.
"Sen. Robert Dole tries to be there (at the World War II monument) on Saturdays," she said. "He's getting very frail. He's in a wheelchair."
The National World War II Memorial honors the service of 16 million members of the U.S. armed forces who served in that war.
When they returned to Duluth late that night, Swor said there were bagpipes and drum and bugle corps and police fire escorts with their lights flashing.
While in the nation's capitol, the 79 World War II veterans and four Korean War veterans also saw the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery and Lincoln Memorial and the memorials for the Vietnam and Korean wars, among other historical sites. The veterans were accompanied by an almost equal number of guardians who assisted them and made sure they stayed hydrated throughout the long day.
Swor said she was particularly grateful for the four Gold Cross Ambulance paramedics who helped veterans on the flight and tours.
A member of the Honor Flight Northland board of directors, Swor's interest in the project can be traced to the World War II service of her late father in the U.S. Navy.
"My dad was a Word War II vet and was very involved in the veterans' community here in Duluth," she said. "He wanted to go (to Washington, D.C.) and I was never able to take him there."
Primarily organized to give World War II veterans a chance to see the World War II memorial Swor said individual Honor Flight groups are expanding that mission to transporting Korean and Vietnam veterans to Washington, D.C.
"Most of our World War II vets have gone, that are able to," she said. "We would like to continue on."
The June 8 honor flight was a long day for Luoma. He left Baxter at 2 a.m. in the morning, riding with his daughter to Duluth. The plane left about 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. and didn't return until 10:30 p.m.
The Honor Flights are free for the veterans, Swor said. The cost of a flight is about $90,000. The sponsoring organization in Duluth, Honor Flight Northland, is made up entirely of volunteers.
Luoma said many Americans don't realize how differently World War II could have turned out.
"They don't understand how close we came to losing that war," he said.
That early uncertainty about the outcome of the war was, in part, because the U.S. was ill prepared to battle in 1941, he said. He said the use of air power and the atomic bomb were among the keys to victory.
As a member of a combat unit \89th Division of the U.S. Army Luoma came in as part of a post-D-Day wave of fresh soldiers.
"I was a replacement for all the losses they had," he said.
In addition to German soldiers, Luoma remembers the cold as an adversary. There were few opportunities to dry out or warm up. Showers were out of the question.
"When you think of it, you wonder how we ever survived," he said.
U.S. air power, he said was a tremendous help to soldiers on the ground.
"They bombed those cities to rubble," he recalled. "The sky was so black (with planes) you couldn't see."
Wars are different now, he said, referring to situations when soldiers have to be mindful to minimize the impact on nearby civilians. The attitude during World War II, he said, was that the U.S. Army was coming through and bystanders had better get out of the way.
"I think we're all done winning wars," he said. "It's crazy."
He stayed in the service until May of 1946 and was scheduled to head to the Pacific Theater until Japan surrendered in 1945.
"If it hadn't been for that Atomic bomb we would have lost," he said.
After the war he returned to his hometown of Cloquet where he worked at the Potlatch plant for 32 years. Moving to Brainerd about 36 years ago he worked an additonal 10 years at Brainerd's Potlatch plant. He and his wife, Jennie, raised three children. One son, a Vietnam veteran lives in Monroe, Wash., a daughter lives in Brainerd and a second son passed away earlier.
After he left Potlatch, Luoma worked part-time for H & R Block during tax time.
Still able to drive and get around without assistance, Luoma was in better shape than many of the other World War II veterans. He said some of them were in wheelchairs or on oxygen.
"I never smoked. I never drank and I never ran with women who did," Luoma said.
He and his wife celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary on June 17.
MIKE O'ROURKE, associate editor, may be reached at 855-5860 or firstname.lastname@example.com. He may be followed at www.twitter.com/MikeORourkenews.


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Can't obtain IP address for wireless connection
1 replies 159 views Edited Jan 20, 2013
I'm at my other house that I've always used wireless at. I haven't signed in at this house in about a month but never have had problems before. Now when I try to test connection it can't obtain my IP address. I've tried resetting the router and modem. Router is Belkin if that matters. Still doesn't work. I know what my IP address is but when I entered it manually but it only lets you go back to automatic and it didn't work. Any ideas on whats the problem and how to fix it?? Again I've use the wifi at this house before without problems. Other devices like my iPod and laptop can access the wifi fine too.
First Son
Registered: 01/20/2013
2 posts


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Sydney superstar Adam Goodes has defended his recent form despite a growing public perception the dual Brownlow Medallist has been well below his best in recent weeks.
A quad injury suffered in the Round 6 clash against this weekend's qualifying final opponents Adelaide sidelined the veteran for five matches.
While there have been some positive signs in recent weeks, he has rarely been at his brilliant best since his enforced lay-off.
But the man himself doesn't subscribe to the widely-held theory he is heading into the AFL finals series out of nick.
"Well that's what everybody's saying but I know from inside (the club) I'm not getting any pressure from coaches or players about my form," Goodes said.
"On the weekend (at Simonds Stadium) it was good to run around and play on a bigger ground like we're going to be playing on in Adelaide this week and I feel like I'm up and about.
"It's finals footy, it doesn't matter what's happened in the last 23 weeks, we've got two finals games guaranteed and I'm just looking forward to leading the boys out there and trying to get a couple of victories."
The Crows scored a hard-fought five-point win over the Swans in the only regular-season meeting between the two sides at the SCG, and enter the finals having won four of their past five matches.
In contrast, the Swans have limped into September with three losses from their final four fixtures.
But Goodes said Sydney's recent form and the early-season loss to Adelaide will count for nothing at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
"It was so long ago that we played them now so we'll look at their last month of football and see their form and go through their tapes and how they're playing," he said.
"But they're up and about, they're playing good footy, they're confident, they've got a home final and they're going to have a big crowd supporting them.
"It's going to be an action-packed game on Saturday afternoon and that's what we're really looking forward to, getting over there for another big final where everything's against us."
And Goodes urged his team-mates not to overplay their hand in a bid to get the Swans over the line at a venue they have lost eight of their past nine matches.
"We're not asking any player to come out and do more than what they've been able to do this season," he said.
"Finals footy's a different kettle of fish, the pressure goes up but one thing I do know is you don't need to personally play better.
"You just need to go out there and play your role for the team and that's what we've been able to do in the past when we've won big finals is everybody just plays their role.
"We're not asking individuals to go up and beyond what they've been able to produce this season, because when you start to do that that's finals can start to bite you in the butt I reckon."


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Cell security in Apache HBase
Apache HBase is "the Apache Hadoop database", a horizontally scalable nonrelational datastore built on top of components offered by the Apache Hadoop ecosystem, notably Apache ZooKeeper and Apache Hadoop HDFS. Although HBase therefore offers first class Hadoop integration, and is often chosen for that reason, it has come into its own as a good choice for high scale data storage of record. HBase is often the kernel of big data infrastructure.
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text:
ED Magedson – Founder
Ripoff Report
John Group InternationalAtlanta, Georgia USA
John Group International, John Group, LLC, Eric Eaglin Landlord beware - this company will waste your time and make rent payment with bad checks Atlanta Georgia
Does your business have a bad reputation?
Fix it the right way.
Corporate Advocacy Program™
If this company approaches you for office space do not waste your time! The owner will always say he is out of town on busines travel and not able to sign leases, make payments, etc. Then when payment is made it will be with bad checks (oh yes, even cashier's checks).
This company has champagne taste and ultimately no money in the bank. The only thing professional about this company is in the department of lies!
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 12/03/2013 12:35 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/john-group-international/atlanta-georgia/john-group-international-john-group-llc-eric-eaglin-landlord-beware-this-company-wil-1104008. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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text: If you are looking for a gorgeous intimate outdoor ceremony site, Harmony Gardens may be perfect for you. Harmony Gardens is unique and provides a very special environment for your ceremony. If your wedding party is smaller, most resorts may not be a good fit. Or if it is just the two-of-you, you still deserve a charming setting for this important milestone in your life. From 2 to 50 people, Harmony Gardens can accommodate you beautifully. Celebrant Lois Heckman welcomes you!


text:
If you're looking to inspire and enthuse your pupils or students, then stunning curriculum or education related wall décor could help you in your quest.
Ideas and options include reception area murals, corridor murals, subject related murals for classrooms and other public area décor. Choose from our website galleries or if you have your own photography or illustrations, we can check these for suitability and use them to produce your own totally unique wallpaper mural.
Enquire today about murals for your education establishment!
For more details and prices contact us today using our online enquiry form or call our team on Tel 01772 284110


text:
Mathematics standards for instruction apply to all mathematics courses in all grades K-12. Standards set high expectations for all students to ensure that Tennessee graduates are prepared for the rigorous demands of mathematical understanding for college and career.
Tennessee's State Standards
The Tennessee State Board of Education adopted new state standards in 2010 for mathematics for grades K-8 and the first three high school courses (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Integrated Math 1, 2, and 3), and in 2014 adopted new standards for the further high school mathematics courses. These standards represent three fundamental shifts: focus, coherence, and rigor.
- Focus: The standards are focused on fewer topics so that students can dig deeper within the mathematics.
- Coherence: Topics within a grade are connected to support focus. Additionally, standards are linked across grades to ensure vertical coherence.
- Rigor: The standards set expectations for a balanced approach to pursuing conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, application, and modeling.
The eight Standards for Mathematical Practice are an important component of the mathematics standards for each grade and course, K-12. The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe the varieties of expertise, habits of minds, and productive dispositions that educators seek to develop in all students.
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
K-8 Standards
The State Board of Education (SBE) has the authority to adopt academic standards for each subject area in grades K-12. Select the course title/grade level to view a description of the course and the standards adopted by the SBE.
High School Standards
The SBE sets the requirements for high school graduation. Per SBE Rule, students must achieve four high school level units of math in order to graduate with a high school diploma, including Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry (or the equivalent courses, Integrated Math I, II, and III) and one additional mathematics course beyond Algebra I. View a list of the courses required for high school graduation.
- Understanding the Pathways for High School Mathematics
The Tennessee State Board of Education has approved standards in the integrated and traditional pathways. Districts will have the choice of which pathway to implement with Tennessee's state standards.
This document provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about the high school pathways for mathematics.
- Accelerating Students in Mathematics
This memo is to support schools and districts when making decisions for appropriate placement of students in mathematics courses. We believe districts know their teachers and students best, so districts will continue to have authority to make decisions and set policy at the local level to determine how to best accelerate students in their mathematics course of study. This memo provides information to consider on a range of issues related to course sequencing in mathematics. Common questions addressed in the memo:
- What does a pathway look like to reach calculus?
- Can student
- Which assessment will students take if they are accelerated?
Standards for suggested compacted courses are included as appendices within the memo to ensure there are no gaps in content or the development of critical skills and understandings unique to the middle grades for students who take Algebra I in middle school.
Course Placement Series: Spotlight on Eighth Grade Algebra I Memo
The Tennessee Department of Education explored course enrollment patterns in an effort to better understand in which courses students are enrolling and whether course enrollment policies and procedures are promoting students' interests. This memo focuses on eighth grade Algebra I enrollment, which can propel students to take more rigorous math courses in high school, higher ACT scores, and college outcomes such as majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and degree completion.
Course Placement Series: Spotlight on High School Math Course Enrollment Memo
The Tennessee Department of Education explored course enrollment patterns in an effort to better understand in which courses students are enrolling and whether course enrollment policies and procedures are promoting students' interests. This memo focuses on math course enrollment patterns throughout high school by following the 2013-14 twelfth grade cohort.


text:
July 9, 2009, 12:00 am ET - Amendment SA 1467 proposed by Senator Vitter to Amendment SA 1458.
July 9, 2009, 8:23 pm ET - Vitter Amdt. No. 1467
Full Text of this Amendment
At the end add the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available in this Act for U.S. Customs and Border Protection may be used to prevent an individual not in the business of importing a prescription drug (within the meaning of section 801(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) from importing a prescription drug from Canada that complies with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: Provided, That the prescription drug may not be--
(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Jul 9, 2009.)


text:
Lake City Residents Cleanup Mess Left Behind by Severe Storms
Published March 26th, 2013
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LAKE CITY - Residents around north central Florida are still cleaning up after a line of severe thunderstorms moved through the area over the weekend, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
The sound of chainsaws filled the air of Lake City on Monday as residents there began to pick up the pieces left behind by the storms, which according to Emergency Management officials, brought near hurricane force winds to some parts of Columbia County.
Columbia County's Emergency Management director Shane Morgan says his agency clocked winds blowing at nearly 70 miles-per-hour on Saturday afternoon.
Lake City resident Joe Irizarry says he was in his living room watching the news when he suddenly felt the ground shake. Irizarry then went outside only to find the nearly 20 foot tree next to his home had collapsed onto his bedroom.
The tree fell just inches away from his bed. Irizarry says he's grateful nobody was in the room when the tree toppled over.
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- Waterlogged Residents Near Lake City Look for Answers
- Fox Bites Lake City Resident
- Would-Be Robber caught by Sock Left Behind
- Florida Free From No Child Left Behind
- 8 million dollars left behind from CHOICES


text:
Algorithmic Aspects of Wireless Sensor Networks
€ 74,99
Lieferbar innerhalb von 2-3 Tagen
Juli 2004
BeschreibungThis volume contains the contributed papers and invited talks presented at the 1stInternationalWorkshoponAlgorithmicAspectsofWirelessSensorNetworks (ALGOSENSORS 2004), which was held July 16, 2004, in Turku, Finland, - located with the 31st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2004). Wireless ad hoc sensor networks have become a very important research subject due to their potential to provide diverse services in numerous appli- tions. The realization of sensor networks requires intensive technical research and development e?orts, especially in power-aware scalable wireless ad hoc c- munications protocols, due to their unusual application requirements and severe constraints. On the other hand, a solid theoretical background seems necessary for sensor networks to achieve their full potential. It is an algorithmic challenge to achieve e?cient and robust realizations of such large, highly dynamic, complex, n- conventional networking environments. Features, including the huge number of sensor devices involved, the severe power, computational and memory limi- tions, their dense deployment and frequent failures, pose new design, analysis and implementation challenges. This event is intended to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners to present their contributions related to all aspects of wireless sensor networks. Topics of interest for ALGOSENSORS 2004 were: - Modeling of speci?c sensor networks. - Methods for ad hoc deployment. - Algorithms for sensor localization and tracking of mobile users. - Dynamic sensor networks. - Hierarchical clustering architectures. - Attribute-based named networks. - Routing: implosion issues and resource management. - Communication protocols. - Media access control in sensor networks. - Simulators for sensor networks.
InhaltsverzeichnisInvited Talks.- Algorithm Design and Optimization for Sensor Systems.- Algorithmic and Foundational Aspects of Sensor Systems.- Contributed Papers.- On a Conjecture Related to Geometric Routing.- WiseMAC: An Ultra Low Power MAC Protocol for Multi-hop Wireless Sensor Networks.- On the Computational Complexity of Sensor Network Localization.- A Distributed TDMA Slot Assignment Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks.- Balanced Data Gathering in Energy-Constrained Sensor Networks.- Scale Free Aggregation in Sensor Networks.- The Expected Uncertainty of Range Free Localization Protocols in Sensor Networks.- Towards a Dynamical Model for Wireless Sensor Networks.- Efficient Delivery of Information in Sensor Networks Using Smart Antennas.- Neighborhood-Based Topology Recognition in Sensor Networks.- A Novel Fault Tolerant and Energy-Aware Based Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks.- Route Discovery with Constant Memory in Oriented Planar Geometric Networks.- Probabilistic Model for Energy Estimation in Wireless Sensor Networks.- Multi: A Hybrid Adaptive Dissemination Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks.- Constrained Flow Optimization with Applications to Data Gathering in Sensor Networks.
Untertitel: First International Workshop, ALGOSENSORS 2004, Turku, Finland, July 16, 2004, Proceedings. 'Lecture Notes in Computer Science'. 2004. Auflage. Book. Sprache: Englisch.
Verlag: Springer
Erscheinungsdatum: Juli 2004
Seitenanzahl: 216 Seiten
Format: kartoniert


text:
Green Building certification means that energy consumption is at least 25% less than the law allows.
The school covers 14,500 m2 and has space for 1,000 pupils.
In the period 2008-2010, MT Højgaard built Ørsted School in Rudkøbing for Langeland Municipality as a Public Private Partnership project. The sustainable school construction was given Green Building certification.
The Ørsted School on Langeland is one of four currently ongoing Public Private Partnership projects in Denmark. The sustainable school construction was carried out by MT Højgaard in collaboration with Dan-Ejendomme, Bank DnB NORD.
The school on Langeland was also a sustainable construction project and was given Green Building certification. This means that energy consumption is at least 25% less than the law allows.
Right from the design phase, sustainability was considered in relation to the building's energy consumption. For example, classrooms with large heat emissions are placed facing north and west, and natural daylight is used to an extent that minimises the need for artificial lighting.
Langeland Municipality already knows all the costs for construction, operation and maintenance of the school over the next 30 years. Even changing the light bulbs and repairing broken windows has been taken into account.
That is because Ørsted School is a Public Private Partnership project, the partners being Dan-Ejendomme , Bank DnB NORD and MT Højgaard. A Public Private Partnership delivers not only the completed building, but is also responsible for operation, maintenance and finance of the school for 30 years. During this period, the municipality rents the school from the partnership.
The school covers 14,500 m2 and has space for 1,000 pupils. It will also have its own sports halls and outdoor sports facilities with pitches and athletics facilities for school use.
Safety and consideration for patients, relatives and staff are important factors in the construction or expansion of hospitals.
Read more
School construction, upper secondary school construction, child day care centres or educational centres – with us you can get all the advice and guidance you need.
Construction of the New University Hospital in Aarhus has started. MT Højgaard are building the shell for the first part of the project.
Read more about the project


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Utah Jazz and Mountain America Credit Union 'Pass It Along' to Utah Youth Village
Program to Award $5,000 to Utah Youth Village
SALT LAKE CITY (February 7, 2014) – The Utah Jazz and Mountain America Credit Union today announced Utah Youth Village as the third recipient of 'Pass It Along,' a new program featuring fan nomination opportunities that will award a total of $25,000 to five local charitable organizations. The program is part of Mountain America and the Utah Jazz's shared commitment to community outreach.
In recognition of its significant and ongoing contributions to local boys and girls, Utah Youth Village will be presented with a $5,000 donation during the Jazz home game on Saturday, Feb. 8. Utah Jazz forward/center Derrick Favors and Mountain America Executive Vice President Marshall Paepke will help present the check to the organization. Earlier this week, Paepke and Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby visited Utah Youth Village's Sorenson Home for Little Boys to learn first-hand about the non-profit's efforts. A longtime supporter of the organization, Mountain America Credit Union has helped to bring holiday cheer to the children of Utah Youth Village by providing monetary gifts to the boys and girls every Christmas for the past 10 years. "Utah Youth Village kids are mostly wards of the State and have experienced significant abuse and neglect," said Utah Youth Village president and CEO Eric Bjorklund. "They work hard in our homes to learn to be normal, happy kids. Anytime the community reaches out to help them, like the Utah Jazz and Mountain America Credit Union have done, they feel safer. They feel they have a place in the world. Thank you for doing this for our kids." Established in 1969, Utah Youth Village is one of the largest non-profit providers of residential treatment for children who are wards of the state. The organization shelters and treats more than 300 children each year in 10 group homes and 50 foster treatment homes throughout Utah. The non-profit also offers an in-home program for families with troubled children, as well as in-person and online parenting classes that are open to the public. The mission of Utah Youth Village is to change and improve the lives of troubled, neglected and abused children and youth, without regard to race, color, national origin or religious preference. To learn more, please visit www.youthvillage.org/. Jazz fans are being asked to help select the remaining two organizations via an online nomination process. By logging on to www.utahjazz.com/passitalong, fans may nominate the local charitable organization that they feel goes above and beyond to give back to the community. One winner will be announced each month for the remainder of the regular season. In addition to the $5,000 donation, each organization selected will receive a special visit from the Utah Jazz, tickets to an upcoming game and in-arena recognition.