Silver Strikers coach Stain Chirwa has started the mind games ahead of Tuesday's title-deciding encounter against Mighty Wanderers at Kamuzu Stadium by claiming the TNM Super League is for the Bankers to lose.
A draw or a win will see the Bankers being crowned as the Champions while any defeat will mean Moyale Barracks becoming crowned the title.
Speaking during Monday training morning at Kamuzu Stadium, Chirwa said they will go flat out because they are aiming for a win.
"We cannot afford to slip up against Wanderers because all we need is to collect maximum points and win the title," he said.
"If we win, we should win the league. It is a game we are looking forward to," he said.
Chipping in was his captain Lucky Malata, who stressed that they will continue where they left in December when they were clobbering the Nomads 1-0 before the match was abandoned.
Malata urged their fans to keep them in prayers as they will not be able to watch the match which will be played on closed-doors.
Super League of Malawi ruled that the game be played without spectators following violence's that led to the first game abandoned.
However, Mighty Wanderers are aware that any slip up in tomorrow's game will deny them a chance to finish in top four.
The Nomads coach Stewart Mbolembole warned the Bankers not to underrate them stressing they will be in for it.
"We cannot miss the opportunity of finishing in top four. It will be a difficult game, but losing at your own back yard is always embarrassing," he said.
The Nomads captain Jacob Ngwira assured their fans that they will accelerate the gear against the Bankers because top four is what they are gunning for.


Thanks guys. Still searching..... Mike had no luck with http://forums.justoldtrucks.com "Service Unavailable"
Quite possibly could be RS instead of R3. Makes sense. What is the significance of 611 and LST (not being an R model man). Rod.
A friend has an ex-USA (LHD originally) R600 with chassis number R3611LSTxxxxx. This stamping does not look original. Is there such a beast as a R3611LST? Thanks. Rod.
Hi guys. I bought one of these years ago. Reasonably priced and so far no rust. I have though, installed a stabilising rod from the area behind the bonnet (hood) up to the centre. Very cheap to make and install. I was a little afraid that as these monolithic road-trains go past that their bow-wave would blast my visor off. This company is only about 45mins away from me, so if I can help let me know. Rod.
Hi Guys, Has anyone fitted shock absorbers to the bogie of a B61? I've just replaced the rear axle assemblies to give me (a lot) more top speed. Now I notice that I've got a bit of axle bounce - bob-tailing. A mate suggested shock absorbers. Comments and suggestions appreciated. Thanks. Rod.
Hi Guys. Just to clarify and enlighten. These (problem) wheels were off an NR (military) Mack. Here is what they originally looked like.
Hey Rob. Great to hear from you. re the power steering...not yet. Still have your pictures. Found a very good local engineer who put the rear axles in for me and mentioned to him that my next project would be the power steering. This axle swap set me back a few dollars, but well worth it. I cruise now on about 1500-1600rpm, still a gear to go and NO earplugs. Didn't know a '61 could be so pleasant to drive. (Also been a bit pre-occupied buying some old farm tractors ) Rod.
HeyCharger added images to a gallery album in BMT Member's Gallery - Click here to view our member's albums!
The Dream Becomes Reality. Slideshow, sort by "caption" in "ascending" from "the beginning"
Quad Compound Sometimes Plays Up.
Ok. I know I'm a novice and yes sometimes I need help. So. Every now and then, with my quad-box, when changing the compound box it won't go into any gear no matter what revs I use, with and without using the clutch. I use one hand to change, so the main box is in gear. I have to pull up on the side of the road to a stop and then it slips in beautifully. Without flaming me what am I doing wrong? (It only happens about once every six or seven trips). Rod.
HeyCharger commented on HeyCharger's gallery image in BMT Member's Gallery - Click here to view our member's albums!
Some of my fleet. 1961 Mack B61, 1970 Freighter low-loader, 1951 Ferguson TEA20 and Massey Harris 44k.
Hey Packer. Sorry But I must disagree with you here. I was always curious as to what position my shutters were in, so I rigged up a cable to show me in the cab the position of the shutters. I must admit most of the time they are either fully open, or fully closed, however, there are a lot of occasions where they are midway. Interesting to watch them move whilst traveling. Rod.
This is the guy (Ken) www.hy-waysunvisors.com.au I purchased one for my B61 years ago. I think his email is hywaysunvisors@ozemail.com.au Rod.


PURPOSE International Physical Fitness Association, Inc. ("IPFA") exists for the purpose of providing a reciprocal membership plan for the members of the IPFA.
AFFILIATES Members of the IPFA ("AFFILIATES") consist of companies having one or more physical fitness centers ("CLUBS") whose applications have been accepted, who have agreed to comply with the rules of IPFA, and who have not forfeited the affiliation or been suspended from the affiliation.
(a) The individual member must comply with the rules and regulations of the Club he or she is attending.
(b) Affiliated Clubs are NOT required to honor payments or credits for services or goods other than a basic club membership. Such things as racquet facilities, towel, massage privileges, court time, and food and beverage privileges and free or frozen time on memberships are NOT transferable.
(c) IPFA clubs will not be required to honor members form IPFA clubs within a 25 mile radius of their clubs. This will protect IPFA clubs that are within a 25 mile radius of each other of having transfer privileges abused. An Affiliate will not be required to honor a transferring member if the affiliate has a club located within 25 miles of the transferring members' original club.
(d) The transferring member shall NOT be able to extend his or her period of use in a transferee's Club beyond the period of time contemplated above by exercising any renewal right the member had with the original Affiliate. The transferring member must purchase an entirely new membership from the transfer Affiliate, at the end of the member's then existing membership term or at the end of 24 months, whichever is first to occur, if the member wishes to continue to use the transferee Club.
(e) Memberships, for Transfer Eligibility, have to be sold to people living in the city, or within 25 miles of the IPFA club where the membership was purchased.
(f) A transient is a club member temporarily in a new area who will return to his home area. Transient members are to be honored for 30 consecutive days, after this time, they must transfer their membership.
2. Each Affiliate must accept all memberships as evidenced by the membership cards issued by all of the Affiliates whose Clubs appear in the current official IPFA directory. It is not necessary to check the original Club or Affiliate for verification of membership. If there is any question as to the member's standing with his enrolling club (meaning he has his account up to date, or if he is paid in full, etc.) you should still honor his membership, but in the meantime you can write the club where the member enrolled to find out what his status is. If the club where he enrolled feels the member is too far behind on his account to have his membership honored, it can write you accordingly, and you will not be required to honor said membership.
Due to the many new clubs that are becoming affiliated with IPFA, it is hard to keep an up-to-date roster at all times; therefore if a transferring member comes to your club with a membership card from a club that is not listed on your roster, but the member states that the club he is transferring from is an IPFA member club, you should definitely honor that member's card, and if you do have any doubts, you may check with the IPFA central office as to the club's status, whether they are a member or not.
3. When a member of an IPFA Club transfers to a new location and there is an unpaid balance on his account, the IPFA club from which he is transferring shall have the privilege of collecting the unpaid balance of the account.
4. No Affiliate shall engage in "unfair methods of competition" or "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" in the courses of its business. Each Affiliate shall operate its clubs in accordance with generally accepted business standards and good practices of the physical fitness industry, and comply with all federal, state and local laws.
5. Each Affiliate agrees to comply with the Rules of IPFA, as they may be amended from time to time.
6. If the member of any Affiliate or Club should make any claim or obtain any judgment against IPFA or any of its shareholders, directors, officers, or agents, the Affiliate and Club which sold the membership to that member agrees, as a condition of its being a member or Affiliate of IPFA, to indemnify and hold harmless IPFA, its shareholders, directors, officers and agents, from and against such claim or judgment, the cost and expense of defending against the claim, and any losses or damages incurred or sustained as a result of such claim or judgment.
7. IPFA does not guarantee that its Rules will be honored. Accordingly, each member and each Affiliate, for itself and its shareholders, directors, officers, agents, and Members, agree not to make any claim against IPFA, its shareholders, directors, officers, and agents, for any losses, damages, costs or expenses they or any of them incur by reason of the failure of any Affiliate or Club to comply with the Rules of IPFA.
8. Each Affiliate, to remain as an IPFA member, will pay to IPFA dues each year in an amount established from time to time by the Board of Directors of IPFA.
9. A "Permanent Transferring Member" must have purchased his current membership 90 days prior to transferring to an Affiliate. "Temporary Transient Members" are to be honored immediately.
10. A Permanent Transferring Member will be required to purchase a new membership card at the transfer club; this should be the amount that the transfer club charges its own members for a lost or stolen card.
11. In the event of a closed facility, it is the decision of the reciprocal club with the opened facilities to permit the honoring of members.
12. IPFA reserves the right, at its own discretion, to delete any Health Club it feels is in the best interest of IPFA and in no event will there be a refund of any dues.
(1) Do not imply IPFA is the main office of your club. We cannot settle your collection and other internal problems.
(2) Do not refer customers to us for IPFA rosters without telling them to enclose the proper amount per copy for handling, mailing, etc.
(3) Please communicate between yourselves for members who transfer from your club to another.
IPFA members failing to follow IPFA rules and regulations will be deleted. We cannot tolerate transferring members being embarrassed by refusal to use an affiliate club. Indoctrinate all personnel to accept a transferring member, and then contact the club from which the member transferred if there is any doubt regarding the acceptance of the transferred member.


Get your favorite shows, movies, live sports, and premiums—plus, exclusive local HBC TV 25 programming. Elevate your DVR entertainment to the next level with more content, more storage, more features and do it on your schedule. Not at home? Watch what you want, when you want, from any device you want with TV2-Go. Add HBC's LuminetSM fiber-optic Internet—now you've really got a party!
Take entertainment to the next level within your home—making it easy to use apps and share media between devices while discovering and experiencing it in high-definition, right on your TV screen. It's the best Whole-Home DVR experience!
Score big with 15+ action-packed channels! Don't miss a touchdown, three-pointer, power play goal, or home run from your favorite regional or national teams! HBC's Sports Xtra package is your destination for total sports coverage, both traditional and extreme.
Get 10+ great Spanish-language channels delivering your favorite news, sports, movies, and more.
You always have a front row seat to the latest events. With the simple push of a button, you're right there in the thick of the entertainment.
Rent hit blockbusters and older classics right from your living room. Watch free movies and shows, kids programming, music, and special events.
Whether you want today's hottest music, or prefer hits from the past, you will find it here! Only Music Choice offers this much variety and content!
HBC wants your channel lineup to be MORE and your bills to be LESS! Five media companies control 90% of the networks you watch. Why should you care?


It's strawberry season!! If you find yourself with an abundance of strawberries, you MUST try this recipe for strawberry-banana bread.
Bob Dylan said, "take care of all your memories, for you cannot relive them." Did he mean that we should hoard a bunch of stuff?
What comes to mind when YOU think of home? Is it the house that built you? Is it the place on your driver's' license? Perhaps it's a person. Maybe it's a place you've only been to in your dreams. Maybe home isn't a place or person, maybe it's just an idea.


The "Learn Golf, Play Golf, Enjoy Golf" Program for New Golfers is Here!
Designed for the new golfer, the "Learn Golf, Play Golf, Enjoy Golf" program provides newcomers with the basic skills and knowledge in the most enjoyable form possible. Golfers learn the basics of putting, short game, full swing, etiquette and rules. Most importantly we have a good time!
The RG Golf Instruction Junior Summer Golf Program is a weekly summer golf program designed to provide the perfect opportunity for kids to learn while playing and having fun. Directed by US Kids Golf Top 50 Honorable Mention Instructor Rudy Gonzalez the program encompasses all areas of the game and is specifically tailored to teach kids through games, team based activities, and athletic movement activities. Students gain an understanding of how having fun and engaging in activities that develop an overall athleticism can improve your ability to learn golf swing skills. We give parents and students a fresh approach to learning the game of golf!
Newer PostMarius Golf visits RG Golf at Laredo Country Club!


text:
NBA POWER RANKINGS: Where all 30 teams stand heading into the Christmas Day games
Chris Graythen/Getty
Perhaps the biggest take-away of this NBA season, which is closer to the midway point than most would know, has been the unexpectedness of much of it.
The Warriors and Cavs don't lead their respective conferences, instead ceding No. 1 seeds to the Celtics and Rockets.
Playoff stalwarts like the Grizzlies and Clippers have fallen off in the West, while teams we were certain would be bad, like the Knicks and Pacers, are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
There's a lot of games to be played, but as we head into the NBA's Christmas Day spectacle and the end of 2017, here's where all 30 teams stand.
30. Memphis Grizzlies
Tom Pennington/Getty
Record: 9-23, 15th in West
Offensive rating: 101.0, 28th
Defensive rating: 105.8, 17th
One thing to know: Since starting 7-4, the Grizzlies have gone 2-19. The firing of David Fizdale looks even more questionable as the team has struggled mightily without Mike Conley, who has played just 12 games this year.
29. Atlanta Hawks
David Goldman/AP
Record: 7-24, 15th in East
One thing to know: In a rebuilding year for the Hawks, they can take solace in the development of Taurean Prince. The second-year wing is averaging 14 points per game on 44% shooting, 42% from three, with 5.3 rebounds per game.
28. Sacramento Kings
Gregory Shamus/Getty
Record: 11-20, 12th in West
Offensive rating: 98.9, 30th
One thing to know: One of the best offseason moves was the Kings' signing of Zach Randolph. Not only is Randolph still plugging away on the court, averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game at 36, he's become a mentor to the young Kings, as SB Nation's Kristian Winfield detailed.
27. Phoenix Suns
Christian Petersen/Getty
One thing to know: No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson has been a disappointment for the Suns so far this year. Jackson is shooting just 37% from the field, 24% from three, and the Suns are being outscored by 13 points per 100 possessions with Jackson on the floor, the worst mark of any of their rotation players.
26. Dallas Mavericks
Kevin C. Cox/Getty
One thing to know: The fourth quarter has been trouble for the Mavericks, as they've been outscored by 5 points per 100 possessions in the final frame. They've been outscored by a league-worst 68 points in "clutch" situations — the final five minutes with the score within five points.
25. Orlando Magic
John Raoux/AP
Record: 11-21, 13th in East
Defensive rating: 107.5, 23rd
One thing to know: After starting 8-4, the Magic have come back down to earth, going 3-17 since. Aaron Gordon, a key to the Magic's long, painful rebuild, has seen his three-point percentage fall from 55% in October, 40% in November, to 29% in December.
24. Charlotte Hornets
Streeter Lecka/Getty
Offensive rating: 102.7, 21st
One thing to know: The Hornets have struggled in predictable ways this season. They rank 26th in assist and three-point percentage. There's just not enough offensive firepower on a night-to-night basis.
23. Chicago Bulls
Kamil Krzaczynski/AP
One thing to know: The Bulls are 7-1 since the return of Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic has averaged 19 points on 52.5% shooting, 48% from three this season and the Bulls have been eighth in offensive rating since his return.
22. Brooklyn Nets
Elsa/Getty
Defensive rating: 107.4, 22nd
One thing to know: The Nets haven't gotten to see much of their two biggest acquisitions, D'Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor. Russell is still weeks from a return as he recovers from knee surgery, and Okafor isn't yet in good enough shape to get on the floor.
21. Los Angeles Clippers
Harry How/Getty
One thing to know: The Clippers preferred starting lineup of Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan has played just 147 minutes together this season and outscored opponents by 8 points per 100 possessions. Unfortunately, Beverley is out for the season, and Griffin is out at least another month. This team just can't avoid injuries.
20. Los Angeles Lakers
Defensive rating: 103.3, 8th
One thing to know: The Lakers have five losses decided by five or fewer points, including three overtime losses. Give or take a few baskets, and the young, surprisingly competitive Lakers would be in the thick of the playoff race.
19. Utah Jazz
Jonathan Daniel/Getty
Record: 15-18, 9th in West
One thing to know: The Jazz have a positive point differential, despite owning a losing record. Their offense has been the biggest surprise, as they were expected to struggle without Gordon Hayward and George Hill. Reserve wing Alec Burks has been huge for Utah; they have a 111 offensive rating when he's on the court.
18. New Orleans Pelicans
Offensive rating: 107.7, 8th
One thing to know: The Pelicans' big man experiment with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis remains one of the most compelling in the NBA. The two survive together on offense and have been a positive on the floor together, and while the Pelicans have been good with just Davis on the floor, they've been bad in Cousins-only lineups.
17. Miami Heat
Rob Carr/Getty
Record: 16-15, 9th in East
One thing to know: Unfortunately for the Heat, they haven't gotten the same Dion Waiters that they had last season. Waiters' effective field goal percentage is down, his turnovers are up, and he's been a net negative on the floor for the Heat.
16. Philadelphia 76ers
One thing to know: It's not complicated with the 76ers — they're good when Joel Embiid plays and not so good when he's out. They're 1-7 when the 22-year-old center sits out.
15. Denver Nuggets
Tony Gutierrez/AP
One thing to know: The Nuggets have struggled to find any consistency, likely a result from a big injury to Paul Millsap and nagging injuries to Nikola Jokic, Wilson Chandler, and others. A home-heavy stretch against some weaker opponents over the next 20 games could get the Nuggets back on track.
14. Detroit Pistons
Carlos Osorio/AP
One thing to know: The Nuggets are 3-8 in December and they've been 27th in offensive rating during the month. Leading scorer Tobias Harris, on fire to start the season, has shot 40% from the field and 35% from three in December.
13. New York Knicks
One thing to know: An encouraging sign for the often downtrodden Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina, their two most recent lottery picks, have a 14.6 net rating when they share the floor. A road-heavy schedule against tough opponents in January could decide the Knicks' season — they're 15-5 at home, 2-9 on the road this year.
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
Chris Szagola/AP
Offensive rating: 102.6, 23rd
Defensive rating: 100.8, 1st
One thing to know: For all of the fretting about the Thunder — and there are some issues, particularly in depth and on offense — they're above-.500 with the league's best defense, with a 7-3 record in their last 10. Maybe this new assortment of players just needs time to figure it out.
11. Portland Trailblazers
Abbie Parr/Getty
Offensive rating: 102.7, 22nd
One thing to know: The Blazers are a curious team. Their offense has regressed, and as ESPN's Zach Lowe noted, they boast an inefficient shot profile. However, the defense has improved, so if the offense drifts back toward above-average, the Blazers might be dangerous.
10. Milwaukee Bucks
Aaron Gash/AP
Defensive rating: 107.0, 21st
One thing to know: The Bucks' offense has been just fine this season, but the defense, designed to cause turnovers with aggression and the Bucks' length, needs work. They give up a high number of shots from 0-5 feet and corner threes.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
Mike Ehrmann/Getty
One thing to know: True to a Tom Thibodeau team, the Wolves have three players in the top 15 in minutes per game. Some believe the high minutes have caused the Wolves to falter late in games.
8. Indiana Pacers
Andy Lyons/Getty
One thing to know: The Pacers continue to look like the winners of the Paul George trade. Victor Oladipo should be a lock for an All-Star spot, as he's averaging 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game while shooting 43% from three.
7. Washington Wizards
One thing to know: The Wizards survived a stretch of games without John Wall and are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Wizards lineup of Wall, Bradley Beal, Kelly Oubre, Otto Porter, and Marcin Gortat, their starting lineup to begin the season, has outscored opponents by 21 points per 100 possessions.
6. San Antonio Spurs
Ronald Cortes/Getty
Record: 22-11, 3rd in West
One thing to know: Gregg Popovich has always said he hates the three-pointer, and maybe he means it. The Spurs are 26th in threes attempted per game and 24th in makes per game, a big reason for their offensive slippage this season.
5. Toronto Raptors
Record: 22-8, 2nd in East
One thing to know: The Raptors have remade themselves into a more modern offense, passing the ball more and taking more threes. But the regular season has never been the Raptors' problem; we may need to withhold judgment until the playoffs, where they often struggle.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 24-9, 3rd in East
Offensive rating: 111.9, 3rd
One thing to know: After a rough beginning to the season, the Cavs are 19-2 since November 11, with the league's second-best offense and 14th-best defense. With LeBron James having one of the best seasons of his career (not hyperbole), the Cavs only need to be average on defense, which they're proving they can be after a lackluster start.
3. Boston Celtics
Record: 26-9, 1st in East
Defensive rating: 101.0, 2nd
One thing to know: Kyrie Irving has become more aggressive on offense in December, averaging nearly 28 points per game on an efficient 50% shooting, but it hasn't necessarily translated to wins. The Celtics are 7-5 in December and their stout defense has been 14th this month.
2. Golden State Warriors
Ezra Shaw/Getty
Record: 25-6, 2nd in West
Offensive rating: 113.5, 2nd
Defensive rating: 101.0, 3rd
One thing to know: If this is the Warriors' championship hangover, the rest of the league is in trouble. Even with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant all missing time this year, and even with some strange on-court blowups, the Warriors haven't experienced any sort of statistical slip. They're a machine, even when they don't look like one.
1. Houston Rockets
Eric Christian Smith/AP
Record: 25-5, 1st in West
Offensive rating: 113.6, 1st
One thing to know: The Warriors may claim this spot eventually, but for now, it belongs to the Rockets. Houston has gone 20-2 since November 1, their offense rains three-pointers and this year, they have the defensive tools to make life difficult on opponents. They're also 15-1 when Chris Paul and James Harden play together. Mark your calendars for January 4 — when the Rockets and Warriors next meet.
Now, relive 2017 in photos...
Brett Carlsen/Getty
The best sports photos of 2017 >
More: Features NBA NBA Power Rankings Houston Rockets

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Looking for Privacy, Acreage, and (Mayo) river frontage(900ft) then look no further! 39.5 +/- Acres offering a Beautiful Cape Cod w/ 3 bedrooms & 2 full baths on the main level w/ potential 4th bedroom and full living quarters incl. kitchen & LR in the basement. Upstairs is also partially finished w/2 potential bedrooms/office/bonus space as well. Home has wonderful wrap around porch. 2 car detached garage w/ large room above the garage. Lots of fruit trees, rolling land and so much more! A true must see!
Data last updated: Monday, April 1, 2019. Listing courtesy of CTC Real Estate Co., LLC,.


There's a software program hole among the strength and the functionality that may be attained utilizing todays software program parallel software improvement instruments. The instruments desire guide intervention via the programmer to parallelize the code. Programming a parallel computing device calls for heavily learning the objective set of rules or program, extra so than within the conventional sequential programming we now have all realized. The programmer has to be conscious of the verbal exchange and knowledge dependencies of the set of rules or program. This booklet offers the concepts to discover the potential how one can application a parallel laptop for a given software.
The algebraic direction challenge is a generalization of the shortest direction challenge in graphs. a variety of situations of this summary challenge have seemed within the literature, and comparable suggestions were independently came across and rediscovered. The repeated visual appeal of an issue is facts of its relevance.
CWNA consultant TO instant LANS, third variation provide you with the conceptual wisdom and hands-on talents had to paintings with instant expertise in a community management setting in addition to cross the qualified instant community Administrator (CWNA) examination. The textual content covers basic subject matters, akin to making plans, designing, fitting, securing, and configuring instant LANs.
Complicated QoS for Multi-Service IP/MPLS Networks is the definitive advisor to caliber of carrier (QoS), with complete information regarding its beneficial properties and advantages. discover a sturdy theoretical and functional assessment of ways QoS could be carried out to arrive the company goals outlined for an IP/MPLS community.
2 Communication Overhead For single and parallel computing systems, there is always the need to read data from memory and to write back the results of the computations. Communication with the memory takes time due to the speed mismatch between the processor and the memory . Moreover, for parallel computing systems, there is the need for communication between the processors to exchange data. Such exchange of data involves transferring data or messages across the interconnection network. Communication between processors is fraught with several problems: 1.
Currently, there are few supercomputer systems that operate at the rate of 1015 (peta) FLOPS. On such a system, the larger problem would take about 3 minutes to complete. 1. Assume you are given the task of adding eight numbers together. Draw the DG and the adjacency matrix for each of the following number adding algorithms: (1) Add the numbers serially, which would take seven steps. (2) Add the numbers in a binary fashion by adding each adjacent pair of numbers in parallel and then by adding pairs of the results in parallel, and continue this process.
At the bottom of Fig. 2a is a carry ripple adder. The gray squares with the a + symbol indicate a 1-bit full adder. The gray circles with a + and × symbols indicate an AND gate connected to a 1-bit full adder as shown in more detail in Fig. 2b. The array of AND gates is responsible for generating all the bits of the partial products aibj. The array of adders is responsible for adding up all these partial products. The diagonal lines indicated lines of equal binary weight, and the vertical lines indicate the path for the carry out signals.


text:
Uncategories Little Girl With No Pics of Lost Dog Drew A "Missing" Poster … And It Worked!
Little Girl With No Pics of Lost Dog Drew A "Missing" Poster … And It Worked!
Sol & Morgan, best friends reunited. Photo: Mora Martha
Heartbroken in her hometown of Mexico City, 7-year-old Sol was missing her puppy, Sol didn't despair, she took matters into her own creative hands!
Her family adopted adorable Morgan back in May and the two were the best of friends and when the pup disappeared, Sol became focused on getting him back. Searches turned up nothing and she decided to make posters to hang around the neighborhood in the hope that someone had seen or found him. Except her family had no photos of the dog!
"She cried when I told her Morgan was missing," Sol's mother, Mora, told The Dodo. "She started making the posters that night."
In the poster, Sol calls Morgan her "best friend" and although her family does not have much money, she still felt a reward was important, and so she offered chocolate.
"She bought it with her own money that she saved," Mora said.
And of course, she drew pictures of Morgan so everyone would know who to look out for.
Not surprisingly, the adorable posters wound up on the Internet, where they tugged at the heartstrings of thousands of people. In a matter of days, the images had taken on a life of their own.
The sweetness and optimism Sol's hand-drawn posters conveyed took the Internet by storm. Photo: Mora Martha
"We never thought it would become viral," Mora said. "As parents, we gave Sol the tools to help find him, but we thought we would never get him back. Sol had faith."
It paid off.
So many people in the community were looking out for Morgan because of the attention Sol's poster had gotten that they eventually got the call they were waiting for. A woman had found a dog she suspected was Morgan and called Sol's family to meet.
"When we went to the point where we agreed, Sol saw the dog and shouted to him, 'Morgan!'" Mora said. "The dog jumped out of the woman's arms and went running to Sol. The lady realized that it was the dog we were looking for."
True to her word, a delighted Sol gave the woman a chocolate reward and happily took down the posters that had helped bring Morgan home.
"She is a great little person with a lot of love," Mora said. "And that's what showed."


In spite of this minor obstacle, we can still accomplish our objective by examining a female line because the surname remains unchanged after all. Tom Ellis birthname is Thomas John Ellis, and his birth date is recorded as seventeenth November 1978 in Cardiff, South Wales. In addition to his twin sister, he has two more female siblings, and they were raised by his parents Marilyn Jean Hooper and John Ellis. John Ellis was a young practising Baptist minister when he got married to his wife, a nineteen-year-old student, on 30 December 1972.
Their marriage certificate reveals that the father of Chris Ellis was an officer of the law while the father of Marilyn was a telegraph and postal official known as Arthur Melbourne Hooper. The birth date of Chris was 29 June 1949. He was the child of Joyce Doreen Jones and John Ellis who took their marital vows at Pontyclun, close to Bridgend, Glamorgan on the fifteenth of August in the year 1942. John Ellis' birth date is recorded 7th November 1921. He was born in the district of Pontypridd, and he was the son of Emmie Ellis, whose father remains unknown.
Emmie originated from the village of Llanharan in the valley of Rhondda near Bridgend. Records show that she possibly remained unmarried in her whole life and passed away at the age of 85 in the year 1982. Close scrutiny of the 1911 census reveals that she lived with her six brothers and sisters with ages ranging from 29 to 11 in living quarters that were managed by their eldest male kin known as Claude Ellis. Their eldest brother made a living as a potter in Pontyclun. Subsequent investigations of records in the General registrar office show that the matriarch of the family died in 1906, at the age of 46.


The hot pink flowers located at bottom right in this photo are Bletilla striata. It's an uncommon but locally hardy plant sometimes called Chinese Ground Orchid. Its most notable feature is the elegant little orchid flowers that bloom from May into June. This woodland edge plant (part sun/part shade) also has elegant wide foliage blades which are attractive through the growing season and take on a golden color in the fall. Here, we have paired this plant with the large umbrella-like leaves of local native May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum).


A new record should feel like gallons of fresh blood for a band. And that´s exactly how HIGH LIFE felt. It never felt that good to play new songs. Swedish singer Lil´Linn from joined us for the title tune.
You bought High Life on vinyl and want to download the tracks as soundfiles?
Please type in the downloadcode that came with your LP!


text:
Behind the scenes: Varietal clones at one of Argentina's biggest producers
By Jo Gilbert
Published: 10 November, 2017
Harpers caught up with pioneering winemaker Santiago Mayorga at Cadus – the premium arm of Nieto Senetiner, one of Argentina's largest producers – who revealed his experimentation with Malbec clones for the first time.
Rarely are the scientific components of the winemaking process laid out for all to see – or in glass to taste.
There is the must or juice in the winery, but putting the process of scientific exploration and tasting different steps along the way is unusual, espcially outside of the winery itself.
But that's exactly what happened at a special tasting at London's Gaucho this week, where Santiago Mayorga, experimental winemaker at Cadus – the premium branch of Nieto Senetiner – revealed what is cooking inside what he describes 'kitchen' at the moment.
If Mayorga is the chef, then the particular dish we were treated to was a tasting of Malbec clones – all of which have been planted in the same Mendoza vineyard while observing as many possible empirical controls as possible.
The purpose for this, apart from gaining a better understanding of the grape and which strains are best suited in Cadus' vineyards, is to try and solve some of the problems Malbec has with flowering and yields.
The exploration is also part of an objective which began with the hiring of Mayorga in 2013 - and has since been spearheaded by him - to elevate Cadus from a producer of quality wines to a producer of "next level" wines, with innovation and experimentation at their heart.
The clones themselves came from Argentinian agency the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA), and around ten have been planted at a single site in the Tupungato appellation in the north of Mendoza's Uco Valley.
There is no guarantee that any of these will make it into bottle, although Mayorga is toying with the idea of making a barrel of two of the clones as single varietals to take things to the next stage.
Still, he says, it's a great way to show the world the innovation that is taking place in the winery kitchen and is also a great way to investigate.
He said: "INAT started to experiment by developing clones. What we're trying to do is to understand their aromatic profiles. The amazing thing is that even though the region, the yeast and the terroir is the same, all of them [the clones] behave differently. The market is still not talking about place and terroir. It is talking about Malbec however, so it's nice to show the different potential."
The best of the bunch – no pun intended – showed real promise in solving some of the issues with fruit and had a wonderful violet flavour.
The next best was more astringent but still had a punchy, up front fruitiness.
Fascinating for the wine geeks around the table, but bringing these wines to market in a way that engages or even makes to consumers throws up problems.
"It is very difficult to market this as it's too scientific," Roberto Meli, export manager at Cadus, said.
"To market Clone 18 from so and so vineyard, the wine will have to be really expensive because it's only going to be for people who are more into wine. For now it's about getting the right profile according to the terroir."
However, experimentation is integral to the winery's future and to cement its reputation as a producer that is committed to innovation.
At the moment, the Appellation wines launched as Mayorga's own project when he joined in 2013, have successfully found a niche with Boutinot in the UK between approximately £15 and £20.
However, Meli believes that Cadus and Argentina in general is now ready to attempt a higher price bracket by way of further investigation in the vineyard and winery (or lab, or kitchen).
According to Meli, Argentina's rapid wine evolution began in the late eighties with influences from Europe having knock-on effects.
"Out of South America, Argentina is the most influenced by Europe," he said. "During the 1980s, the level of domestic consumption was 88 litres per person per year. Now, it's more like the UK and France: 33 litres. Beer came along and also soda, like Coca-Cola. Also work patterns changed to be more European, which also led to a drop in the consumption in the 1990s."
The change catalysed the shift from Argentina as inward facing, to an outfacing wine producing country.
Next came the drive in quality in order to compete in competitive foreign markets, which in turn led to the establishment of regions such as the Uco Valley as prime winemaking spots.
"In the early 90s no one was planting there," says Meli. "But then investment and the introduction of dripping irrigation made it possible to plant in different valleys where it wasn't possible before. If you ask anyone in the Uco Valley they will say they started making wine there in 1995."
Investment in quality techniques and also a favourable exchange rate attracting international buyers meant that by 2003, Argentina had become a large export market.
It has been a "learning process" says Meli.
"There is an opportunity now to develop high-end wines, but then you start to compete with upper Burgundy and Bordeaux. Then again, we've started from scratch. In 2003, £15 to £20 was a dream, now it's a reality."
Now, innovation is critical to order to keep ahead of the competition at the high end as is communicating the concept to the consumer.
Mayorga and Cadus also have shifting weather patterns to contend with.
Argentina is just now coming out of the stormy El Niño period which placed much stress on vineyards in 2015 and 2016, and are now about to enter a string of hotter years with La Niña.
Mayorga is planning ahead to preserve the balance as the climate shifts.
"My ideal style is purity," he says. "The integration of alcohol needs to be harmonic, the winemaking needs to be preservative of aroma, intensity and mouth feel without over-extraction."
To maintain that style in warmer years, he plans to harvest earlier in order to preserve the elegance and to irrigate so as not to lose yields.
In terms of oak: bigger volumes and less new oak, including some second and third use.
"I love oak, but I love good, integrated oak," says Mayorga. "It mustn't be invasive."
"Between 2005 and 2013, Malbecs were really concentrated, with upfront fruit, flavours of rich prunes and velvety tannins," adds Meli.
Then, when El Niño hit in 2013 at the beginning of Mayorga's tenure, came "Rain, rain, rain. When you have rain, you lose control. You pick when you can, not when you want."
As the desert-like conditions of La Niña prepare to return, picking early will play a key role in keeping things fresh and away from the "big fruity wines" of old.
In Uco Valley, winemakers also have the added benefit of a continental climate, with the altitude and position of the Andes helping to bring in cool evening climates which will help to maintain concentration.
Cadus has demonstrated its kudos as an example of what new Argentina needs to do to keep up momentum.
It isn't resting on its laurels, is outward facing, while also ambitious and hungry to see what it can achieve in the vineyard – and also the kitchen of course.
Top photo: Santiago Mayorga winemaker at Cadus
cadus
nieto senetiner
says meli
malbec clones
process" says meli
rate attracting buyers
attracting buyers meant
large export market
"learning process" says
Five minutes with Owen Morgan, Bar 44
Tim Atkin MW: Critical times for Argentina
Harpers Wine Stars goes live online
Malbec rising
Jerry Lockspeiser: Britain 2021 – Fear or opportunity?


text:
News and Conversations
Meet the ambassadors: Jody Day
Share Facebook Twitter ShareThis
As part of our What I See Campaign, we're joining forces with 18 ambassadors: women who've achieved an awe-inspiring amount in their chosen field. They'll be contributing to our What I See…Features Series, so you can hear a bit about their experiences.
So we're delighted to introduce you to Jody Day, writer and communications expert. In 2011 she founded Gateway Women – a friendship and support network devoted to supporting, inspiring and empowering women who are childless by circumstance. The Gateway Women Online Community has been reviewed as the best online community in the world for childless women and has a global reach across the English-speaking world - one member described it as 'support for the hard stuff and enthusiasm for the good stuff.'
She has studied integrative counselling and psychotherapy and is committed to giving a voice to the childless generation. She coined the term 'NoMo' (not-mother) which has been picked up by the media and is under consideration for inclusion in the Oxford Online Dictionary.
Gateway Women is collaborating with the Brunel Institute for Ageing Studies on their research project, 'Ageing without Children', and Jody's new book, 'Rocking the Life Unexpected: 12 Weeks to Your Plan B for a Meaningful and Fulfiling Life without Children', will be published this month. The Jo Cameron Achievers' Academy nominated her as a Women's Champion in 2012.
We're really excited about what Jody can bring to the project, because Gateway Women gives a voice to childess women - at What I See we're all about voices. Here's a snippet of Jody's:
"Not only had I got lost in the whole quest to become a mother but I'd actually lost my abilities to dream alternative futures… That was the beginning for me of what became Gateway Women…. When I look in the mirror, I see someone I'm happy to know. And that feels really good."
You can hear the rest of what Jody has to say here. We'll be introducing you to a new ambassador every day until October 1, so stay tuned!
Tagged in: Role Models, Age, Ambassadors
0 Comments - Be the first
Guest Post: Inspiration Awards for Women
0 people commented on this
#ScienceGrrl Speed Mentoring: Who championed you?
Meet the ambassadors: Sarah Wood
What I See meets… Anne-Marie Imafidon
#WISPchat
WISP Posts
World WISP
What I See
a global exploration of what it means to be a woman
Your Stories Our Story
Mandarin - Chinese
Facebook Twitter ShareThis
Contact Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Site designed by Citizen Group
Connect With Us: Facebook Twitter Wordpress Pinterest LinkedIn Google Plus YouTube


text:
What Happened To Critical Thinking? And How To Get It Back
Home/Self-Improvement/What Happened To Critical Thinking? And How To Get It Back
It's Time To Bring Back Some Critical Thinking Skills
2016 was a standout year in many ways. If you were paying attention you may have noticed one phenomenon that stood out in particular: the decline of critical thinking in confronting the rapidly growing use of "fake news".
But fake news is nothing new. And it is dangerously effective. In fact, throughout history fake news has been used as a means of manipulating an uninformed population – for example, as it's been used in war as propaganda.
We do have a weapon in our arsenal to counter these types of disinformation machines: it's called critical thinking. The question is, what happened to it and why don't we use it anymore?
What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is the ability to assess any situation with logic and reason and come to a conclusion based on the facts. It also means to refrain from accepting a claim if the evidence fails to sufficiently prove or support it.
The Socratic Method
A famous example of critical thinking is the method employed by Socrates of Ancient Greece (written through Plato's dialogues), also known as the Socratic Method. Socrates employed pointed questioning to determine the soundness or validity of an argument. The typical structure would begin with Socrates conversing with another person who expressed a claim or statement about Truth, or the Good, or politics in general. Instead of outright contradicting the person, pointing a finger and calling him a sheep, Socrates would innocently probe the premises laid out, seemingly just to understand the statement more thoroughly.
The questions he asked would in turn reveal gaps in the argument presented. That, in turn would lead to further dubious claims and arguments. Continued persistence would ultimately lead to the reader to question conclusion that the initial argument. The dialogue would conclude in a spectacular mic drop from Socrates after showing the inadequacy of the argument presented. At least, until he was executed by the city state of Athens for incessantly undermining their authority.
What are the steps to think critically?
Thanks to social media, we live in an age of information overload. Now more than ever it's important to use our big, beautiful brains to employ the same scrutiny of thought to the information we receive as Socrates did with his Athenian peers.
The most important first step is to ask yourself these two questions:
Do I even care if this is true?Here's the thing: if you answered "no" to this, then unfortunately we are at a crossroads. If we do not care about the truth or falsity of a given set of information, then there is no room to move forward. Science, medicine, technology, and government policy have to be based on facts. If you're thinking that in some cases, truth is relative or subjective and therefore we cannot expect to agree on everything, you are not wrong. But the question isn't whether something is 100% true or false. The question is whether it matters at all if information is true or it doesn't so long as the claim fits a narrative already held to be true.
Can I minimize my emotional reactions to the argument?Take the ever-divisive debate of about abortion. The position you take on this issue is ultimately decided by two factors: the point where you believe life begins and whether or not women should have sole authority over their bodies. If you believe life begins at conception and the fetus is God's property, then chances are you are pro-life and no pro-choicer will be able to persuade you to believe otherwise. Likewise if you believe that life does not begin at conception or if you believe that a woman's reproductive rights are paramount, then a pro-lifer won't be able to tell you what to do with your own body. Views on abortion are determined by a set of preconceived values. Values and moral beliefs are deeply tied to emotions and ingrained in us over our lifespan. Once they become ingrained, they are very hard to change.
Critical thinking relies on removing emotions and value judgments from the equation.
Moving on. If you answered yes to these questions, then move on to this very simple exercise.
Tips for critically evaluating the sources of information
The next time you are presented with a news article, statement or argument ask yourself:
WHO is the source of the information? Is this gossip or was it thoroughly researched by journalists? Could the source have a bias or conflict of interest in promoting one story over another? Just because something was said on a popular blog or website doesn't make it false. Likewise, just because something was said on a major news network doesn't make it true. And vice versa. The same scrutiny should be given to big news outlets as small ones.
WHAT is the information given? Is the information given an opinion or is it a statement of fact that can be verified with appropriate further research.
WHERE was this information said? Was this information disclosed in private or in a public venue? Does the location of the event matter?
WHEN was the information revealed or gathered? There was a prevalent news article that made its way through Facebook and social media this past year about Hillary Clinton's mentor Robert Byrd being a confessed racist, thereby portraying Clinton as racist as well. Here the "when" question is relevant. Byrd, in his early days, was an unapologetic racist and member of the Klu Klux Klan. Later in life he recanted. Before passing, he said his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one of his greatest regrets. But by positioning Byrd as Clinton's mentor without providing a context with his evolving views on race in America portrays Clinton as a racist or racist sympathizer.
WHY is the article making these claims? Does the article try to persuade you into believing what it's saying? Advocacy journalism, including documentaries, opinion columns, YouTube channels and the like are usually issuing a statement that they want their viewers to also subscribe to. This information should be taken with a grain of salt. News outlets that try to convince you to believe what they believe should be critically evaluated by the reader/watcher.
HOW was it reported? Is the video doctored? Does the article provide some context for the situation or is it merely a sound bite with heavy commentary?
Additional tips for critically analyzing media:
For both smaller news sites or blogs and larger conglomerates, watch for/think about:
Their resources/budget: Usually smaller blogs do not have the resources to employ actual journalists. The information is constructed in a way to boost traffic from third-party sources. In many conspiracy-ridden news sites they will draw on conjecture and opinion and find ways to connect dots that aren't actually there.
Their type of reporting: Is it sensationalist? Does it use a lot of click bait? Do their headlines use inflammatory language to incite visceral emotional reactions? Are they looking to reinforce beliefs that they believe their readers already have?
Possible influences: What they cover in their news reporting is sometimes just as telling as what they don't cover. In the same vein, it's important to be critical at stories that for some reason are given more weight than it deserves. News organizations with a lot at stake are not in a position to simply put out fake or false information. Any time that happens another organization is ready to pounce and they could face financial/legal penalties. But that doesn't mean the stories can't be slanted in one way or another.
Ideological standpoint: It is no secret that people have biases – these can be revealed in news reporting. The question here is about journalistic integrity. True journalists must be able to balance their own inherent biases with their commitment to honest reporting.
Fake news happens on every side of the ideological spectrum. It is not unique to one side and the purpose of this article isn't to criticize one side or the other. But it is a problem and growing at an alarming rate. Critical thinking is one of humanity's most precious tools and the beautiful part about it is it doesn't rely on anything external. It is purely an internal reasoning process of keeping an open but skeptical mind to new information. Critical thinking is our best line of defense and it's time people step up to defend it, lest it go the way of Socrates.
jessew1983 2017-02-04T21:03:23-08:00 Tags: critical thinking, discourse, disinformation, fake news, media, propoganda, rationality, reason, skeptically, socratic method|
Could Your Mattress Be Making You Sick?
Beauty Sleep: The Key to Making You Look and Feel Younger
Creative Problem Solving in Healthcare
What You Really Need to Know Before You Bring Home Your First Pet
December 21st, 2018 | 0 Comments
How Cleaning is Good for Your Health
October 31st, 2018 | 0 Comments
Calling on writers, bloggers and industry experts!
Write for Mediscript and use our platform to be heard!


Welcome to the Saint-Gobain Media Center. We offer a collection of resources such as news, events, and various data sheets, white papers and articles, brochures, and video information. Please use the Media Centre to review new and existing materials available to you.
Please use our Resource Library to access various data sheets, brochures, and an extensive library of instructional and informative videos about our products their applications/uses.
Saint-Gobain participates in a variety of tradeshows and events. Our event schedule is posted for your convenience. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.
View the latest News items from Saint-Gobain. We strive to provide you with updated items of interest relating to industry, product and application news. Our current and archived news items are available for your reference.
Visit our White Papers section of the site for an updated list of application-product papers. We continue to demonstrate our expertise and communicate the engineered benefits of our composite bearings and tolerance rings.


text:
Returning the favor
April 25, 2008 LDS Doctrine, Main, Personal History, Templesbfwebster
For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.
— Doctrine & Covenants 128:18
Forty-one years ago — in the spring of 1967 — my friend Andrew Bos introduced me to the LDS Church by asking me to go to Mutual with him, then to Sunday School, and then to Sacrament meeting. After a few months of that, Andrew prodded me to ask my parents if I could have the missionary discussions. To my surprise, it was my father — a Navy man since age 17 who smoked Marlboros, drank martinis, inhaled coffee, and swore, well, like a sailor — who was enthusiastic about my doing so. He said that he could think of no other church that he'd rather have me join (we were all inactive Episcopalians) and that he thought the Mormon Church was "the one church that would save Christianity" (his exact words).
Having received a powerful testimony of the reality of the Restoration during the missionary discussions and my own study and prayer, I went back to my parents some weeks later to get permission to be baptized (I was only 14). Again, it was my father who signed the slip, saying that if he could ever give up his cigarettes, liquor and coffee, he'd join the LDS Church himself. He never won that battle, though — in fact, it was his earlier failed attempt in 1967 to give up smoking that led to my own decision never to start — and he died a little over 10 years ago. But through the years he and Mom were always supportive my Church involvement, including paying for my entire mission.
Yesterday, I was able to return the favor to my dad, doing his baptismal and initiatory work in the Denver Temple. In fact, my sweet wife Sandra and I together did that work for a total of 40 of my ancestors, the majority of them within four or five generations. That work included six relatives whom I knew personally — my dad, my uncle Jimmy, Grandma and Grandpa Webster, and Grandma and Grandpa Fickes (my mom's adoptive parents) — as well as my mom's birth father (Grandpa Wiren), most of my great-great-grandparents along all lines, and some even further back than that.
While the temple is a sacred place for me, I am not prone to having 'thin veil' experiences. That was different yesterday. At the start of my initiatory session, I organized the 22 male names I had by lineage going back. For example, the six Websters were done sequentially (uncle, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather); I organized the other lines the same way, as far as possible. As I went through the round of initiatory work for each of these men, I felt a deep and increasing soberness at the literal nature of the authority being conferred and the blessings being unlocked; I also repeatedly felt love and gratitude from specific individuals as the work for them was done.
As importantly, I realized that by doing this work, I had opened the door for them to turn again and bring blessings into my life. Pres. Kimball famously said that when the Lord seeks to bless us or answer our prayers, He usually does so through other people. What struck me at the temple yesterday is that the "other people" aren't limited to those of us on this side of the veil. By doing temple work, particularly for our close ancestors, we multiply those whom God can use to bless us.
There is another blessing, too. I was the only member of my family to join the LDS Church 41 years ago, and through that time I have remained the only member in my immediate family (meaning my own parents and siblings, as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and all my ancestors). Through all those decades, I have felt the responsibility of being the first in all my ancestral lines to be a member of the Church and to hold the Priesthood, of having to set an example while lacking one of my own to draw upon, and I'm well aware of how often I have fallen short.
Leaving the temple last night, however, I felt a weight had been lifted. I have company, now — others in my family and family lines who have embraced the Gospel and accepted its blessings. I no longer feel like such an odd duck — at least, not for that reason — and it's nice to know I have patriarchs in my own line who now hold the Priesthood. I have a compelling reason to go to the temple frequently — we've got 38 names cleared for endowments (we did my Grandma & Grampa Webster in an endowment session last night), as well as lots of subsequent sealings. And I've got hundreds of more names to submit once we've gotten these done.
And that sounds just wonderful. ..bruce..
← A eulogy	Church Handbook of Instruction posted online →
1 thought on "Returning the favor"
Pingback: Adventures in Mormonism » Blog Archive » A Father's Day post for my wife


text:
Laura Trott is best young rider in Energiewacht Tour
Nigel Wynn April 4, 2013 11:26 am
wiggle, honda, team, laura trott
Laura Trott (Wiggle-Honda) is smoothly making the transition from Olympic gold-medal winning performances on the track to success on the road, after taking the lead in the best young rider classification in the Energiewacht Tour.
Twenty-year-old Trott was the only under-23 rider to make the lead group in a chaotic opening day of the Dutch stage race on Wednesday. Riders were stopped on four occasions during the stage due to several factors, including being sent off course, closed railways crossings and vehicles making their way onto the roads.
When the racing finally re-commenced on the finishing circuit in Winschoten, Kirsten Wild (Argos-Shimano) took the win from a small escape group. Ellen Van Dijk (Specialized-lululemon) placed second, with Iris Slappendel (Rabo Women) in third to make an all-Dutch top three.
Trott's track team pursuit and Wiggle-Honda team-mate Dani King finished 10th at the same time as Trott, who crossed the line in 17th spot, 10 seconds behind Wild. Fellow Brits Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans) and Katie Colclough (Specialized-lululemon) also finished in the same group.
Wiggle-Honda directeur sportif Simon Cope said: "It was a good ride by all of them to make that selection. They were making the selections all day."
"Laura was the lone young rider in the group. She's got a lead of one minute and one second."
The women's Energiewacht Tour is a UCI 2.2-ranked race that comprises six stages over five days. Friday features a split day, with a 21.1km time trial in the morning and a 77km road race in the afternoon. The race concludes on Sunday, April 7, in Groningen.
On Monday, Trott finished in fourth place in the Grand Prix de Dottignies, her first race for Wiggle-Honda. The race was won by Dutchwoman Vera Koedooder (Sengers).
Wiggle-Honda offers perfect set-up for Trott, King and Rowsell
Laura Trott: Rider profile
Follow @NigelWynn
Marc Hirschi says that he can't talk about reasons for leaving Team DSM


Kelly Kenzik, epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, discusses racial disparities between African American and white women with breast cancer.
Kenzik found that the survival disparity between the two groups still persists in five- to seven-year follow-up. However, this is not true for all causes of death. Though more black women were dying from their primary cancer, the difference in mortality virtually disappears when controlling for pre-cancer conditions.


The following comments were recorded by Rappahannock News staff reporter Alex Sharp VIII during Tuesday night's (March 20) public work session of the school board and board of supervisors at Rappahannock County High School auditorium. A summary of the proposed 2012-2013 school budget can be found in this story from the March 22 print edition.
I think we're all at a general agreement and understanding that public schools exist to make life better for children, to provide children with an education – and that's to improve our society by preparing our young people in such a way that they can become productive members of society, able to gain and maintain employment. And we do a pretty good job of that.
Sometimes in the midst of heated discussions about the numbers and programs, benefits and other things, I just think it's good for all of us to remember that the focus of this budget is our students, and that we as a community should be supportive of those students. I decided long ago that if you're going to work in the services of children, you can't be shortsighted or live in the moment. Education, by definition, assumes a planned, structured process over time – and at all times it is a work in progress. Change is inherent in any school improvement process, and all schools exist in a state of continuous improvement. Improvement costs money. And a huge part of this continued improvement is having a highly qualified, motivated, workforce – especially teachers.
Now I understand that boards are elected leaders, and it's important for you to answer to many people. I also understand that working together we have a responsibility to influence the future by making a positive difference in the lives of the children. Consequently, I ask you to take a long-term view of where we want this school system to go, and where we want our children to be, not just now but in the future. I've had many conversations with the board of supervisors, members of the group collectively, and I know for a fact that they all want to do what's best for children – and tonight, I hope to be able to present you with some information to help us reach our common goal . . .
The next 30 or so minutes involved a presentation of costs, accomplishments, and Boone's own figures comparing Rappahannock schools to neighboring counties.
. . . I've had a lot of references to children and private enterprise and business, and I get that. I actually have a background in business, and I probably get it more than most. But there's one main difference between private enterprise and public school divisions, and that's that children are not widgets. We take all who come through. There can't be defective children. There can't be children that didn't meet certain standards. None of that is relevant to a public school system. And as a result, you have to look at it through a different lens. I had the slide up earlier that said, "Teaching is a labor of love," and I really believe that. We take all children in, we love them all, and we try to have them all meet certain standards before they leave us. We can't toss them out into a "defective" or "discard" bin – and believe it or not, we can't start over. When we make a mistake, the effects are long-lasting, often for years. Research will tell you that a negative experience at a lower grade will continue to have negative influences for that child for up to seven years, which is a total of middle school and high school.
So short-sightedness we can't have. A budget of need is what I tried to present. A budget of need is the linchpin of this process because it represents how much we value the future of our children. Our elementary school for instance is in school improvement . . .
So suppose, for instance, we paid teachers for the time that they actually put into the job. The lowball figure on this is two hours a day. If I take my average teacher salary, and I consider that that teacher worked two hours a day for 180 student days, and we pay them time and a half for overtime, and multiply that by the 82 teachers that I have – that's about $1.2 million. And that's lowballing it. So if I want to play with numbers, I could subtract 1.2 mil from 1.6 mil, and say the total cost of life insurance is $400,000. Data is data, and number is number.
I also say, if I was a teacher, I would say to the school division, "Why don't you pay me as a babysitter? And not only that, but I'm only gonna charge you $5 an hour, which is below minimum wage." Five dollars an hour for seven and a half hours a day, times 20 children, do the math – $195,000 a year. There're a lot of ways that you can play the numbers to talk about what value that you put on the teachers in the classroom . . .
Boone then posted several slides of the specific proposed budget increases.
As far as tonight is concerned, you have a copy of the agenda, I also gave you some reminders as far as what's going to happen in the future, as the budget process is concerned. The next school board work session is March 23, then on March 30 we will submit the school board's approved budget to the board of supervisors, and the board of supervisors will have a public comment session on the school portion of the budget April 30 in this auditorium.
I'm just gonna rip the band-aid off and go first . . . My children have been in our county's schools since 1997. My son is in his second year of engineering at Virginia Tech, and my daughter is a sophomore at the high school with aspirations of one day attending Stanford or Princeton.
One of my quirks is that I like to make analogies. I think they're particularly helpful for children, and I think that they can help adults learn too. I can probably trace this back to my favorite teacher of all time, who was my fifth grade teacher. Of all the teachers I had through elementary and highschool, of all the professors I had in college, Mr. Peters remains my favorite. When I was young, my mom made liver for dinner at least once a month. Of course my brother and my sisters and I all hated it. My mom would say "eat it. it's good for growing children." So you might see where I'm going with this. I think this budget is good for growing children too.
As the adults in this community, we lead by example, and I believe it's our responsibility to grow our children as best we can, and to give them the best that we can afford, so that one day they'll become responsible and community-minded adults like we are, or we should be. I understand not wanting to raise taxes; my husband and I are paying a college tuition, and his business – which relies heavily on the housing market – has been slow for quite a while. But beef liver is two dollars and forty-nine cents a pound, four pounds for not quite 10 dollars. I think the kids in this county are worth way more than four pounds of chopped liver – or a couple of burgers and fries if you're so inclined – and I hope that our county's leaders do too.
In general I support this budget . . . I think we need to draw a line and say that if that [health insurance] premium goes up, the employee will have to absorb the cost. I said last week that because the school employees were getting this, the rest of the county's employees want it too.
I have just some general comments that relate to the budget and the budget process. I found it absolutely overwhelming to walk in here and have this whole mess of numbers dumped on us, with very few minutes to even go over it, and then Dr. Boone going for an hour and a half in excruciating detail. We don't know where we are. And, I'm concerned that there's not another opportunity for public comment after people have an appropriate opportunity to go over all these numbers and to discuss them and evaluate them. I think we're given very short shrift here to put up or shut up, on very short notice.
I think people ought to have an opportunity to have a proposed budget, to have an opportunity to comment on it fairly – which we tried to do. We pointed out several things that we thought might be a bit extravagant. But then this was totally dismissed because there was not a budget. I think there should be an opportunity after a meeting like this to be able to make public comments. I think it would be very helpful for those of us who have an interest in this to have an opportunity to really review it.
And this brings up another point that I have: Citizens are not widgets; we have differing views, differing opinions, come from different backgrounds, and we're entitled to have our opinions expressed, and to have them respected. And to have in a written document, presented here tonight, where we're referred to as a "vocal minority," because we somehow have some questions about some aspect of the budget that aren't in total agreement with what the administration wants, we're called a vocal minority. It's an insulting term. It's a "we versus us" sort of situation. I think that's unfortunate, and I think we ought to get away from that. It is not a we versus us. We – who are called the vocal minority – appreciate teachers; we think teachers ought to be appropriately paid. We're all for children. It's just that we have – I feel – a responsibility to make sure that we have the very best possible schools at the most appropriate price, and not to have something extravagant.
I see the rollerblades are still in there. I don't know whether that's a thumb in the eye for those of us who've raised that point several times. And then I have another comment. One of our citizens took a great deal of trouble to find out the broad basis of our performance, and this was in a letter published by the Rappahannock News and it set forth in great detail, legitimate numbers – and the response we got at the school board was, one member said, "I'm disgusted," that somebody would have the nerve to investigate how this school was doing versus the other schools in the state. I think that attitude is also part of this vocal minority insult, and an insult to us, who are legitimately concerned about how this school is doing.
We don't hate teachers, we don't hate children. We are concerned with the fiscal aspects of the plan. We want the best for the teachers and students.
My wife and I are residents and landowners in the Stonewall-Hawthorne district; we also own some property in the Piedmont district. I say that to let everybody know that we do pay taxes, significant taxes – at least significant to us. I graduated from this school in 1978. I've been a teacher here since 2001. I'm currently the athletic director – and in that vein, I'd like everybody to know that our baseball team is currently tied 9-9 in the sixth inning.
Back to the taxes, we don't care to pay taxes any more than the next person, but what I like even less is seeing my school – our school – struggle to attract and retain quality teachers because our pay scale does not compare favorably to our neighbors. We're not asking – and I say "we" in speaking for most teachers – to jump to the top of the heap; we're only asking not to fall farthur behind. In particular, if the insurance and benefits structure needs to be changed, so be it. But remember that if you take that away – or if you change that radically – you've got to do something about all those pay raises that the insurance benefits had been in lieu of for the past several years. Because that's why those benefits were done the way they were done; they were done in lieu of pay raises – and even at that, we're still way behind. My mother had a quote that she stole from me: "Either all figures lie or all liars figure." All salaries are public record. We don't compare very favorably to our neighbors. Are there places that pay less? Sure there are – way down in southwest Virginia, where the cost of living is significantly less than it is around here.
We're blessed to have a group of dedicated, caring and more-than-competent professional teachers. This group deserves top dollar; they know they're not gonna get it here, but they're willing to stay here if we can at least be competitive. I hope that this budget – which I feel would keep us competitive – will be passed. There will always be those who are going to say we can't afford it. My take on it is we can't afford not to do this. And I hope you'll agree with me.
It's really easy to be a hero when everything is running well and everybody has the resources they want. But when times get tough, like they are today, it really takes people, leadership and engenuity to solve those problems in new and different ways – but not necessarily to always grab for a tax raise as the first solution.
In that vein, I constantly hear that refrain that says "our teachers are leaving, our teachers are leaving – and they'll move on to other jurisdictions if we don't give them raises," and so forth. Now yes, we need competent teachers and dedicated teachers, and they need to be fairly paid, absolutely – and whatever it takes to do that, we must do. However, I guess my question is: Are our teachers really leaving in droves? Perhaps some attrition analysis would tell us a little bit about that story. It really should help us understand if we have such a retention problem as it is portayed to be, or is it just a convenient mantra that gets repeated over and over and over?
It seems to me that we have a very significant core of very senior and experienced teachers. My question really is, why have they stayed? Is it only the younger teachers that are leaving us in a massive hemorrhage through the school doors? If so, when did that start? And why? What's the history of this flood? We need to see if this is true.
I know that retention is part of the overall issue, a small part perhaps – but it is the one that seems so frequently stated, that we ought to understand it better. Understanding it should give us some kind of insight into fixing the problem, if it exists – rather than just raising taxes.
I was gonna talk about one thing, but I changed my mind and I'm gonna talk about some personal things. I've been married to a teacher for 35 years. I've been a public employee – out of my working career – probably half of it.
One thing – and I was one of the people who brought up the benefits issue – in my working career, I guess I'm really naive or not very bright, but I never thought that my insurance benefits should be the result of my wife's job. I mean my insurance benefits have always been the result of my job; we had a child and we paid the insurance benefits for him. So, I never expected the school system to give me insurance – and that sort of drove me to that point.
On the subject that was just talked about: My wife has been a teacher most of her life. She taught here in Rappahannock, and I don't think there's anybody in this room that won't say that she's a great teacher – but she decided to leave, and it had nothing to do with money, had nothing to do with benefits. And we know other teachers in Rappahannock that taught here, very good teachers, that left – didn't have anything to do with money, didn't have anything to do with benefits.
Yes, we need to pay our teachers everything we can give them. I would be in favor of redoing the benefits package, and increasing the pay increase for teachers. I think we also need to look at, across the board, our salaries and see how they compare. We tend to go, "We need to increase the salaries to keep our teachers," but we need to look at the rest of the staff – and not that they're not deserving, but we need to ensure that we're paying our other staff positions the same, or close to equal to what the neighboring communities are doing. So you can't just look at one factor. You can't just look at teachers and say, "Because our teachers are low, it's got to be across the board." We may have to look at our salary scales and do some adjusting in different areas.
In fact – now this is a small area but it's in something I talked to Mr. Lesinski about – our mechanics. We have two mechanics. They're in charge of keeping the buses, which carry the kids in, in a safe condition. You look at the salary we're paying those folks, compared to what other mechanics in this day and age are getting paid, and to increase their salary to a respectable level you wouldn't be able to find it in the school budget – but it would mean a hell of a lot to them.
So I think we really need to take the time – and obviously we can't do it on this budget – but we need to take maybe the next year to look across the board, at all our salary scales, look at our benefits package. There was a reference to Fauquier's package, which I believe is multi-tiered, in that they have different levels; in Rappahannock we have one level of insurance . . . In other counties they have different levels. That may be something you'd want to look at.
And the other things is – and there was a letter written this week, and I don't think it was intentional on the part of the person that wrote the letter – but it had to do with the health benefits for other county employees. And it sort of implied that because teachers had to get a degree, and they were encouraged to get higher degrees in order to do well in their profession, that they deserved a better benefit package than, say, a deputy sheriff. And this is something that, as far as I'm concerned, I don't care if you're a teacher, or whatever you're doing for the county, you deserve the same health insurance benefits. It's not related by the education. It's not related to your salary. Everybody deserves the same benefits, and I think we should work to this end. Thank you.
I agree with Mr. Makela that everybody should receive the same benefits, but I don't see how you help the people not getting the benefits by taking benefits away from those who already have them.
I also heard today, over and over again, "you can't simply keep raising taxes." Well I must live in another county, because we haven't raised the taxes in this county in four years, almost five. (Jimmy Swindler, "Amen brother.") Also, what we pay has gone down; in the last three years our assessment went down two cents out of a hundred. So actually we're paying less than we were paying five years ago. So I think this stuff that we hear about "we can't keep raising taxes" – well we haven't, it's that simple.
The other thing I was thinking about was: benefit package; perhaps what you can do is keep the packages for those people already employed – seems to me you have some sort of obligation, because you originially hired them under them those benefits – and then maybe look into the benefit packages of new employees. But under the present idea, what I hear is "your teacher's making $40,000, with 15 years in on the system," you wind up getting a 3 percent raise, which is $1,200 – and the suggestion is then "well let's take $3,000 back in benefits, which you have to pay for." Now I made up the term $3,000 – I don't know – no one puts forth any real, hard figures. Even if it's $2,000, a teacher winds up $800 behind the eight ball. They're actually losing money, after five years – and this goes for the whole staff, after five years of not having any raises.
So I really think that this is not a terrible hardship on this county. Our tax rate – and I know there are a lot of people who disagree with me – is not that great. The reason we seem to pay higher taxes is because our property is worth more – that's just the way it is. It's not that the rate is high, it's that property is actually worth more. So I'd really like you to consider giving the teachers their raise, and supporting Dr. Boone.
And the last thing I'm going to say is, when I hear about things like skateboards, I think that it's imperative that the school system become the center of this community – absolutely imperative. And I'd rather see us spend $5,000 on inline skates than seeing the kids hang around in front of the Quicke Mart when I go over there to fill up the car. I think it's really important that we create – every other county has things for their kids to do – we really don't have much of a park system, the school is the only place where they can actually play ball, except for maybe Stuart Field. You've got to think of the school not only as a place to educate the kids, but actually the community center for the entire county.
Rather than looking at the budget on a micro level, I'd like to look at it on a macro level. The last four years, the school division has kept their request to the county, and the funding level, flat. And correct me if I'm wrong, but the increase that this budget asks for from the county is a total increase of $559,000, of which $393,000 is this VRS that we've been discussing. So that is state-mandated; there's no choice about that. The increase, then – over the previous four, level years – is a total of $167,000, for all other programs, all other increases and decreases in the budget.
I have been active in Headwaters for 10 years – and I'm here speaking for myself and not Headwaters – and this last year I've been privileged to volunteer in an after-school program, and I had a wonderful time working with the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. And it's given me an opportunity to be in the schools, and to meet some of the teachers that I had not met or had not worked with before – and we have that core of dedicated, senior teachers. Dave Naser's one, Jimmy Swindler's another (pointing out both in the audience); there's a whole core of those teachers. They have gone without raises. This budget asks for a modest raise, and that raise is included within that $167,000 difference.
Now this county, it's not an accident that this county has a .8 LCI. We are a prosperous county. The tax system is distorted because of the agricultural and forestal uses, which shifts the burden of the taxes. But, we cannot preserve the beauty of this county on the backs of our children. We have to make the choice that it's worth it to fund the education of our children. And we also, at the same time, want to inhibit development, allow agriculture; we have to assume the obligation to tax ourselves. And I am willing to have my taxes increased by the very marginal amount that would be required to meet this $167,000 increase.
And I support Dr. Boone. I know Dr. Boone – and I've known some of the prior superintendents – and I am gratified that we have a man of his quality leading our school system. And we need to support Dr. Boone and keep him, because he will keep improving the schools.
I'm from Massachusetts. This is my fifth year here. And I just wanted to respond to, "What brings us [teachers] here?" And what really attracts some of us from outside . . . I'm in Luray, I don't live in Rappahannock. I don't know how to quantify how many of us are leaving, but I can tell you – because we put a number to everything in Team Data – that one third of our teachers live outside the county and work here. One third. Here's another number: 25 percent of men – this is a national number – are stay-at-home dads now; 80 percent of your teachers are women. And if you want to put a face to that, my husband stays at home so I can drive 40 minutes over a mountain to come to Rappahannock every day. Why do I do that? Because I've never been in a place where I'm more inspired than this place. I get inspired at every single level. Even here tonight I'm surprised by these individuals, that everybody has a clear goal. We all love our kids. And we all do want to help them succeed, and we all may have differences of opinion on how to get there.
What's scaring us away isn't necessarily money. But in times like this – it's hard when a gallon of gas goes up past four dollars – how willing are some of these people who are working so hard already traveling 40 minutes over the mountain going to last without some help? It's a difficult thing. And I just want people to consider that . . . One third of us do live outside this county, but want to come here, and do want to move here. I've been trying to sell my house for five years and move over here [laughs], but it's been a difficult journey. But we'll do it. We love this place. It's amazing. And this is an amazing school.
First of all I want to say that I have a lovely wife of 40 years who's a retired teacher, so I'm not at war with teachers. And as a father of five and grandfather of six, I don't believe children are widgets either. But I do have some thoughts for you.
"More spending always improved education": There are some people that actually believe this. I'm concerned that some of the folks in our county government believe this, people upon whom we rely to guide the finances of our small school system. My concern began in the school board work session I attended last month. At that session we learned from Dr. Boone that our schools already faced a mandatory spending increase for VRS funding and health insurance benefits that would cost an extra half a million dollars. In spite of that bad news, and with the backdrop of declining enrollment, new spending ideas were floated – ranging from a personal trainer to even new health insurance benefit programs for the school board members themselves. I don't know who specifically authored these proposed new spending priorities, but I know this: The ideas suggest a very cavalier attitude regarding the prudent use of taxpayer money. Fortunately those two ideas didn't get too far, but the mere fact that this kind of new spending was even proposed, begs the question: What other misguided spending might be buried somewhere in the budget? Are, for instance, school staffing numbers in line with our enrollment? I think this is the biggest issue on the table.
Almost 70 percent, by Dr. Boone's numbers, of the school budget is consumed by school salaries and benefits alone – therefore representing a huge portion of our overall county budget. It would seem that a detailed review of the schools staffing levels would be a most basic tool to evaluate this significant portion of our school and county budget.
The school board and superintendent are both powerful advocates for our schools. I've seen that in the meetings I've been to; I think in large measure they do that as their job. But they appear to have no appetite for school spending cuts at any level. I therefore respectfully ask the board of supervisors to serve as a counterweight to this powerful advocacy. Please, roll up your sleeves and drill down deeply into the school budget numbers. The heavy lifting for any meaningful fiscal reform is squarely on your shoulders. Yes, we must fund the legitimate needs of our schools – I think everybody agrees with that – but in the weeks ahead, I urge you to challenge the status quo, and review the justification for spending at every level in the proposed school budget. I believe most citizens in our county expect and embrace this sort of accountability. Please don't let 'em down.
I did a little math a minute ago, and realized that my kids started coming to Rappahannock County schools in 1989 – that makes me really, really old [laughs], and I have attended many, many of these wonderful meetings. Thank you very much for the opportunity to address you this evening.
We've heard a good deal about finding creative ways to solve economic problems, and to find creative ways to fund the school budget – and can't you just squeeze, can't we as a community, just squeeze a bit more effort, enthusiasm, motivation and excitement for learning out of the school budget?
I have the privilege of working with the high school band boosters – have for way more years than I have sanity – but it seems that that organization, every year, is asked to pick up more and more of what we would consider instructional funds – because of the lack of increase in the school budget. For the last four years, we've been sending, assisting to send students to the Virginia Honor Band, which is a wonderful honor; we've assisted purchasing additional equipment for the high school band. And I hear that from a number of other nonprofit organizations that also support the schools. And while we stand ready to do that, we can only do it so long, and to such a degree.
I think for the last four years, a level-funded budget has been perhaps possible because – over the last many years, since 1989 – these two boards have worked together to bring Rappahannock County teacher salaries nowhere near the top of local communities, but at least more in keeping with local communities.
We've seen the most remarkable improvement in the school system since my kids started in '89. I don't want to see parents – or have to speak to parents – who say, "Well, why are my class sizes so high?" because a choice was made to reduce a teacher in a grade. In any small school system, scheduling is horrendous. There will always be seven, eight children who want to take a class in psychology, where there aren't enough kids in that classroom – there aren't 20 kids in that classroom, no – but in order to complete academic requirements, and graduation requirements, kids need classes. And in a small school system, the reality is that there are sometimes not 20 or 30 kids in a class.
I think I remember not too many years ago, that Rappahannock went through a fairly rigorous evaluation with staffing, and came out the other end saying we need more staff, not less. That was a few years ago. But I think it's important that we, as citizens in our community, take our responsibility to fund quality public schools seriously. And in order to do that, we need to raise teacher salaries . . . That's our job. We're citizens in this community. I know you all take that responsibility very seriously. And I appreciate your service. I hope you'll fund this school budget, as it's been discussed this evening.
Good evening, my name is Jeff Sabol, although most of you probably know me as Mr. Peggy Stevenson [loud laughs from Jimmy Swindler and others], which of course is a reference to my lovely wife, who graduated from these hallowed halls back in the day, as they say.
I may not look the part, but I'm a Virginia farm boy. I grew up on a working cattle operation, and I'm a product of public education at the elementary, high school and college level. Being of modest means I worked to pay my own way through college and then graduate school – without financial assistance from my parents. As a result, I am a believer in public education and a pragmatist. Now I'm also a full-time resident of Rappahannock County; I own my home and pay real estate taxes here. I am a parent of two boys in the elementary school – fifth grade and third grade – and a little girl who will start in about 18 months. I have a vested interest, I'm a voter, and I'm a constituent represented by both boards here; I live in Piedmont district. Thank you to the distinguished members of both boards, Dr. Boone and everyone present, for the opportunity to offer – respectfully, of course – observations tonight.
When my wife and I first experienced the school system six years ago, when our fifth-grader started kindergarten, my wife and I were struck by several things: lead in the drinking water – drinking fountains you couldn't drink from because there's lead contamination – asbestos – both at the high school as well as the elementary school – rickety playground equipment that seemed dangerous to us, moldy HVAC systems that worked only intermittently. And they were disturbing to us because none of the children have a say on whether they attend here; the law rquires them to do so. And we – we as a community – did not fund the repairs that would safeguard their health in later life. Instead, we allowed the budget debate to take different courses. Again these are observations.
Progressing now through several grades, we made additional observations disturbing to us as parents. One was the lack of a formulized, integrated curriculum, wherein teachers at the higher grading levels know exactly what teachers in the next grade levels are teaching to the children. There was a lack of a formal, organized math curriculum that rivaled the reading program that we have in place thankfully here. Anecdotally, we observed a high turnover rate amongst the teachers, the ones that we knew.
Reading the newspaper, it wasn't just the young ones starting out their careers, it was also ones that made an impact here and then leveraged that impact to get better pay, better benefits in other systems. Again, we as a community for better or for worse, allowed this to happen.
A year and a half ago, we witnessed nothing short of a sea-change. There was a new administration. New ideas, unfettered by old battle scars. We could now think about what was important, not just getting half a loaf to get by. We noticed the "can do" attitude, a curriculum improvement program, formal anti-bullying programs, upgrades to bring basic, basic levels of IT support into the school system. We saw asbestos remediation last year – hopefully we can get to the lead in the drinking water. We saw real community outreach – open forums, like this one, to discuss ideas; and ones that we've had here, in this auditorium, constructive engagement. Again, constructive, polite, engagement – instead of any kind of demagoguery.
Look what happened when the elementary school needed help to get that rickety playground equipment taken care of. The whole community came forward, and somehow we got it done – and at a lot less cost than we thought would be possible.
My point is really this: We're in the midst of a much-needed transformation here in Rappahannock County. We are fixing things that we've let go for a long time. And there are folks amongst us that would have us believe that the budget we've seen tonight is full of luxury items, and I submit to you – respectfully of course – that we're not discussing luxuries; we're discussing foundational necessity. We've talked about safety maintenance and upgrades to the physical plant as well as the transportation fleet. We're talking about salary adjustments for people who haven't had a raise in over five years. We're talking about employer provisioning of health care coverage – which is a basic tenant of the American health care system. We're talking about curriculum integration, including the math and science improvements needed for our kids to compete, not just in the global economy but our state economy, in our job market today.
And the choice really is ours. We can succumb to debates of the past, allowing ourselves once again to believe that we've done "good enough, for Rappahannock." We can repeat the cycles over and over again, or we can continue the basic foundational fixes that have been proposed and discussed here. Then and only then, I submit, can we continue the debate on the next level of educational improvement. We can and should raise the bar for all of our children, no question. It is within our grasp to do it. Let's go ahead and pass this budget, be done with distractions and sidebars, and let's get on with the hard work of creating the future.


Greetings from Halloo Customer Care! Spring is a very popular time to get organized with your business. This month we provide some quick and easy ways to make your Halloo services a more effective business communication tool.
Did you know that Halloo Office plans allow you to play different Main greetings based on the day of the week or time of day? Use the Advanced Time Rules on your Auto Attendant and callers can hear your personalized After Hours or holiday menu instead of your usual greeting whenever the rule is active.
Create the New Time Rule advanced rule to activate. Note: Halloo offers professional voice recordings (from $49.95) to make your business sound its best anytime of day! Ask a representative for details.
Request your upgrade online by clicking the [Change Plan] button on your My Account page.
Need more than 3,000 minutes? Contact Halloo for special promo codes on plans with minutes as low as 3.9 cents!
Give every small business owner you know the flexibility to operate from anywhere, anytime, while projecting professionalism and credibility.
Use our web site referral logos, refer by email or simply have your colleagues mention your Toll-free number or CompanyID when they sign up.
You choose how you'd like to be rewarded. Receive a one-time bonus payment up-front, or receive 10% service discounts for the life of your referral!