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Wednesday, 12 December 2012 12:00

The silent majority speaks out !

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The results of Sunday’s municipal elections are thought-provoking in various ways:
1. The 2000 Remake has passed its first electoral test while the Labour/PMSD alliance  have registered  their first electoral setback since 2005 when Ramgoolam emerged as invincible.

2. The Labour Party’s strategy has failed despite the armada of generously paid advisers and the abuse made of the MBC and other institutions.

3. Voters have not blindly followed  party discipline  and consequently picked and chose their representatives independently and  dumped incompetent candidates imposed by their political leaders.

4. No blank cheque has been given to councilors as voters have also opted for an Opposition in all municipalities  with the exception of  Beau-Bassin / Rose-Hill . There is hope for a healthier democratic game.

5. There has been  a minor swing in favour of the Opposition if we use the last 2005 elections  as yardstick when all five municipal councils fell to the Labour- led Alliance Social.(How much has been the MSM’s contribution to the Opposition’s victory is yet to be tabulated  just as is the real weight of the PMSD and his leader as urban vote-catchers).

6. Electoral bribery  and treating like the distribution of flour , rice and  macaroni , the last minute resurfacing of certain roads and lanes on the eve of elections, or still, the move by the PSSA as the electoral campaign was peaking to take over the previously fee-paying Doha Institute  didn’t   guarantee a vote bank.

7. The stifling of the people’s voice by the discredited and blatantly biased IBA has clearly done a disservice to the masters they wanted to shield.

8. Government leaders should have had the humility to concede defeat  rather than embark on a grotesque acrobatic play for the gallery that the Labour/PMSD alliance has won rather than lost these local elections. The majority of Mauritians , including  Labour diehards , are thinking people who expect to be treated as such. The leaders’  exercise in self glorification and complacency  following the results masks a cruel deficit in intellectual integrity  .

9. The silent majority have condemned by their vote the maladministration of the Municipalities over the last seven years  by incompetent councilors ,the wastage of tax- payers money by unjustified  overseas travels,  the  various projects left unrealized  , the partying mentality of most councilors  , the unbelievable lightness  in dealing with  certain problems like that of street vendors  and above all, the absence of any vision .

10 The majority of urban voters have also said ‘no’ to the fact that everything is possible in politics  and henceforth  will no more swallow water snakes for spaghetti , sorry macaroni!

Vidya Golam
Le Défi Quotidien

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Definitions for huddie leadbetter

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  1. Ledbetter, Huddie Leadbetter, Leadbelly(noun)

    United States folk singer and composer (1885-1949)

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Definitions for rogers, john

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  1. Rogers, John

    the first of the Marian martyrs, born at Birmingham; prepared a revised edition of the English Bible, preached at Paul's Cross against Romanism the Sunday after Mary's entrance into London, and was after a long imprisonment tried for heresy, and condemned to be burned at Smithfield (1505-1555).

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Definitions for velarium

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Webster Dictionary

  1. Velarium(noun)

    the marginal membrane of certain medusae belonging to the Discophora

  2. Origin: [L., a covering.]

  1. Velarium

    A velarium was a type of awning used in Roman times. It stretched over the whole of the cavea, the seating area in the Colosseum, to protect spectators from the elements. Precisely how the awning was supported is a matter of conjecture. The velarium that covered the Colosseum in Rome provided both shade and slight protection from rain, although the main use of the velarium was to create a ventilation updraft, creating circulation and a cool breeze.

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How to say competition in Norwegian ˌkɒm pɪˈtɪʃ ən

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Police identify SUV driver in double fatal on Del. 273

5:13 PM, Nov. 9, 2012

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Two people were killed Thursday after their car was hit by an SUV and became engulfed in flames west of New Castle, state police say. Tonight, they identified the driver of the SUV.

John C. Quigley, 67, of Newark, was driving the 2003 Ford Expedition, Cpl. John Day said in the release. He was properly restrained and was admitted to Christiana Hospital in serious condition, Day said.

Day said late Thursday night that the two people who died have not been identified. ...

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The Delaware County Daily Times (

Report: Eagles likely to take QB in second round

Friday, April 26, 2013

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles are among three teams likely to take quarterbacks off the board early in the second round of the draft according to an report.
Geno Smith of West Virginia, Ryan Nassib of Syracuse and Matt Barkley of USC are among the top-rated quarterbacks remaining.
Though the Eagles have the third pick of the second round, teams are interested in acquiring the first and second picks of the second round now owned by the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles like Smith and E.J. Manuel, the latter selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 16th pick of the first round.
There was speculation the Eagles could trade back into the first round Thursday to draft a quarterback, with Smith supposedly the guy they coveted. Now it appears Manuel was the target.
Smith expected to come off the board in the first round. When it was obvious he wouldn't be chosen on the first night of the draft in New York he was forced to change travel and hotel arrangements.
Smith stayed in New York because he reportedly received assurances he would be selected early in the second round. The Eagles and the Jets were mentioned as suitors.
In addition to the quarterbacks, several solid players are available in this draft for the Eagles, who have eight more picks, including four in the seventh round.
The list includes, among others defensive linemen Jesse Williams (Alabama), Margus Hunt (SMU), Datone Jones (UCLA) and Tank Carradine (Florida State), safeties Jonathan Cyprien (Florida International) and Matt Elam (Florida), cornerback Jamar Taylor (Boise State), wide receiver Robert Woods (USC) and middle linebacker Arthur Brown (Kansas State).
Also available is Notre Dame middle linebacker Manti Te'o.


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Patrick Dempsey red carpet
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McDreamy may soon earn the nickname "McCreamy." It seems Patrick Dempsey, the actor who plays the handsome neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, has his sights set on purchasing a Seattle-based coffee chain.

According to the Associated Press, Tully's filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October and subsequently closed several locations. For years Dempsey has starred in the ABC drama in which his character works at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. While on the program he saves lives, in real life he's hoping to save 500 people from losing their jobs.

More From Delish: Cool Beans: The Best Coffee Shops in the U.S.

Dempsey said in a statement, "I'm excited about the opportunity to save hundreds of jobs, give back to Seattle and become a larger part of the economic growth and fabric of the community." Dempsey also hinted that he's going to stick around to see the results. I've always loved this city, and with the purchase of Tully's Coffee, I plan to spend a lot of time in Seattle and at the stores connecting with the community and growing the Tully's brand."

More From Delish: Quiz: Can You Speak Coffee Talk?

But Dempsey isn't the only buyer interested in the coffee chain. According to Nation's Restaurant News, a bid was made by Baristas Coffee Co. for $10.4 million. Tully's, which has 46 locations in Washington state and California, has struggled for several years. According to the Seattle Times, in 2008 Tully's sold their brand, wholesale, and supply chain business to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for $40.3 million. Tully's continued to own and operate its retail businesses.

Should the actor trade in his scrubs for a barista uniform?

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Jake Varnhagen and wife, Cindy, attended last year's Veterans Day ceremony at Veterans Park in Deming. Jake is the Commander of the American Legion Bataan Post 4 in Deming.
Veterans of U.S. armed forces are scheduled to be honored Sunday as the Disabled American Veterans, Tony Viramontes Chapter 2, hosts the local Veterans Day Ceremony for the first time.

The ceremony is set to begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11 at Veterans Park on Silver Avenue. The time and date reference the signing of the Armistice ending World War I, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. It is open to the public.

"We're excited, nervous, a combination of everything," Reggie Price, Commander of the local DAV post, said. "Doing something for veterans... for us to do that, we're definitely looking forward to it."

The ceremony's program includes the traditional items of having the Deming High School Junior Reserve Officers' Corps holding the presentation of colors, the national anthem by Jessica Juarez and participation by the American Legion Bataan Post 4 and AMVETS Post 30. Several dignitaries are also scheduled to speak.

A new addition to this year will come from AMVETS state commander Jack Apfelbacher and American Legion Commander Jake Varnhagen as they perform the Prisoners of War ceremony.

"It's an actual citation that's read and it's accompanied by the person at the table holding up the glass with the lemon, the different things that's on the plate and explaining different things on the table," Price said, who retired from the United States Air Force as Master Sergeant, said referring to the table, salt, lemon and other symbolic items you may have seen at various military organization posts.

A proclamation from Susana Martinez will also be read before keynote speaker Rick Holdridge takes the stand. He is a Deming native who attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and served in the USAF for about 22 years. He attended Standford University where he earned a Ph.D. in Astronautical Engineering. He now serves as the chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.

Following the other guest speakers, Blue Star Mothers Pam Fletcher, Alyce Hastings, Stephanie Pacheco, Sylvia Rodriguez and Sonia Villezcas will perform the wreath dedication. Blue Star Mothers are those who have children serving or who have served in the past.

Lunch will be served following the ceremony at the American Legion, located on W. Spruce St., for veterans and their families.

Matt Robinson can be reached at

IF YOU GO Who: Veterans, dignitaries

What: Veterans Day Ceremony

When: 11 a.m., Sunday

Where: Veterans Park, Silver Avenue


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Obama Replaces Bush Missile System with Naval Deployment

The Obama administration has unveiled its plan to replace the Bush administration’s so-called "missile-defense" system in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the US would deploy missile interceptors aboard naval ships instead of at bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: "We have now the opportunity to deploy new sensors and interceptors in northern and southern Europe that, near term, can provide missile defense coverage against more immediate threats from Iran or others."

The move marks one of the Obama administration’s sharpest reversals of a major Bush administration foreign policy to date. The Bush White House claimed the missile system was intended to thwart a potential Iranian attack. But critics widely denounced it as a first-strike weapon for hitting Iran or other targets. In announcing its new plan, the Obama administration rejected calls to abandon proposals for a so-called "missile-defense" system outright. Gates said the US could also still use the Eastern European sites at a later date.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: "Those who say we are scrapping missile defense in Europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing. The security of Europe has been a vital national interest of the United States for my entire career. The circumstances, borders and threats may have changed, but that commitment continues."

Gates went on to say the US hopes the plan will curb Israeli moves to attack Iranian nuclear sites — for now. Gates said, "We hope it will reassure them that perhaps there’s a little more time here." Meanwhile, the vice-chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General James Cartwright, said the new missile system would entail a larger naval deployment.

General James Cartwright: "Three ships at any given time, in and around the Mediterranean and the North Sea, etc., to protect areas of interest, and then we would surge additional ships. And part of what’s in the budget is to get us a sufficient number of ships to allow us to have a global deployment of this capability on a constant basis with a surge capacity to any one theater at a time."

Peace activists in the Czech Republic welcomed the news but said their work would continue.

Anti-missile activist Jan Majicek: "More than 70 percent of Czechs were against this plan, which was happening against their will. For us activists, it doesn’t mean we finished our work, because already now there is information about possible new American bases. We will analyze the situation and think about our further steps."

US Downplays UN Inquiry on Gaza Assault

The Obama administration is criticizing a United Nations fact-finding mission that found Israel committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity in deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians during the attack on Gaza earlier this year. More than 1,400 Palestinians, over half of them civilians, were killed in the US-backed Israeli assault. The report also cited Palestinian militants for committing war crimes in firing rockets at Israeli towns. The report advises the UN Security Council to call on both Israel and Palestinian authorities to probe the allegations or face investigations by the International Criminal Court. On Thursday, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said the White House has "serious concerns" about the report’s focus on Israel.

UN Ambassador Susan Rice: "The United States is reviewing very carefully what is a very lengthy document. We have long expressed our very serious concern with the mandate that was given by the Human Rights Council prior to our joining the council, which we viewed as unbalanced, one-sided, and basically unacceptable. We have very serious concerns about many of the recommendations in the report."

Gaza Water Supply Nears Collapse

Meanwhile, in Gaza, the International Committee of the Red Cross is warning Palestinians could lose access to a safe water supply at any moment. The warning follows a UN report showing Gaza’s underground water system is on the verge of collapse. The system is Gaza’s only source of drinking water. Just five to ten percent of the aquifer is currently fit for human consumption.

Paraguay Rejects US Military Deal

Paraguay has rejected an extension of a military cooperation deal with the United States. On Thursday, Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo said his government would stop conducting a series of military exercises with US troops. Lugo cited recent hemispheric opposition to an agreement extending the US military presence inside Colombia.

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo: "There would be about 500 US military and other personnel in the country, and that would not go unnoticed. It’s neither prudent nor convenient at this time and could raise concerns among the other members of Mercosur and UNASUR."

House Votes to Remove all Funding for ACORN

Back in the United States, the House has voted to strip the anti-poverty group ACORN of all federal funding. ACORN has long been a target of right-wing scorn for its work helping poor people fight foreclosures, fix tax problems, and register to vote. ACORN’s critics were recently given a boost after the group’s workers were caught on camera appearing to offer advice to a pimp and prostitute. The House measure passed by a 345-to-75 vote. It goes further than this week’s Senate vote, which targeted ACORN’s federal housing and community grant funding.

Mass. House OKs Bill for Interim Kennedy Successor

In Massachusetts, the State House has approved a measure that would let Governor Deval Patrick appoint an interim successor to the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy. The successor would fill the seat until Massachusetts holds a special election in January.

Justice Dept. Probes Ex-Interior Secretary for Shell Leases

The Justice Department has launched a probe of former Interior Secretary Gale Norton over her ties to the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. Investigators are looking into whether Norton unlawfully granted Shell leases of public land around the same time she was considering working for the company. Norton stepped down in March 2006 and joined Shell as its general counsel nine months later.

Insurance Firm Ordered to Pay $10M for Stripping Coverage of HIV-Positive Man

In South Carolina, the insurance company Fortis has been ordered to pay $10 million in damages for rescinding the health coverage of a man who had tested positive for HIV. Jerome Mitchell obtained coverage from Fortis in 2001, when he was seventeen years old. But Fortis dropped Mitchell after he found out he was HIV-positive the following year. The company accused Mitchell of misrepresenting his medical history. In a ruling upholding a trial court judgment, the South Carolina Supreme Court said Fortis’s actions were "reprehensible" and "demonstrated an indifference to Mitchell’s life and a reckless disregard to his health and safety."

Unite Here Rejoins AFL-CIO

In labor news, the hotel and restaurant employees union Unite Here has announced it’s rejoining the AFL-CIO. The move comes four years after Unite Here broke off from the AFL-CIO to help form the rival coalition Change to Win.

Audit: Border Fence to Cost $6.5B

A new government audit claims the program to radically increase electronic surveillance along the US border with Mexico is years behind schedule and has run billions of dollars over initial projections. The Government Accountability Office says the network of cameras, radars and fences won’t be completed until 2016, instead of the initial plan for later this year. Auditors also say the border system will cost an additional $6.5 billion in maintenance costs, with no mechanisms to gauge its actual impact.

Families Urge Iran to Free Jailed Americans

The families of three Americans arrested in Iran last month are renewing their call for their loved ones’ release ahead of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the United States next week. The three are believed to have mistakenly crossed over into Iran while hiking in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. The detained Americans have been identified as Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal. Bauer is a freelance journalist who has written for The Nation magazine and the Pacific News Service. On Thursday, Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey, spoke of the impact of his imprisonment.

Cindy Hickey: "Well, just on a day-to-day basis, it’s been very up and down for us, very emotional. Part of my — I have three children. Part of my family is not with me. It’s left a huge hole in my heart. And while we’re waiting for his return, we’re also having to continue our jobs and our life, and it’s been very hard to do that."

Ahmadinejad will be in New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly.

Judge OKs G20 Tent Protest

A federal judge has ordered authorities to allow a tent city protest during the G20 summit in Pittsburgh next week. The peace group CODEPINK plans to use a downtown park for the tent protest over the course of three days.

Publisher, Journalist W. Horace Carter Dies at 88

And the pioneering newspaper publisher and journalist W. Horace Carter has died at the age of eighty-eight. Carter founded the North Carolina-based Tabor City Tribune and won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on and commentary denouncing the Ku Klux Klan.

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Friday, January 27, 2012 Previous | Next

Mumia Abu-Jamal Transferred Out of Solitary Confinement, Into General Population

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The Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections tells Democracy Now! it has transferred Mumia Abu-Jamal out of solitary confinement and into general population. The move comes seven weeks after Philadelphia prosecutor Seth Williams announced he would not pursue the death penalty against the imprisoned journalist. Abu-Jamal’s legal team confirmed the move in an email from attorney, Judy Ritter. "This is a very important moment for him, his family and all of his supporters," Ritter wrote.

Supporters of Abu-Jamal note prison officials just received more than 5,000 petitions calling for his transfer and release. Superintendent John Kerestes has previously said Abu-Jamal would have to cut short his dreadlocks, and meet several other conditions, before a transfer would be allowed.

While on death row at SCI Green, Abu-Jamal made regular phone calls to Prison Radio in order to record his columns and essays, but prison officials revoked his phone privileges after he was moved to SCI Mahanoy, the Frackville, PA prison in which he’s currently being held. Prison Radio has since announced it will continue to record and distribute Abu-Jamal’s essays as read by his well-known supporters.

Click here to listen to Noam Chomsky read Of Idiots and Sages.

See all of Democracy Now’s coverage of Mumia Abu-Jamal.

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Wednesday, April 4, 2007

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  • Subprime Lending Crisis: Millions of Families Face Losing Their Homes to Foreclosure

    Subprime loans have led to one million American families losing their homes in the past decade, a new study by the Center for Responsible Lending has found. In the last 10 years, the subprime loan industry has emerged as a major, and controversial, player in the housing market. We speak with an attorney at the Center for Responsible Lending. [includes rush transcript]

  • Danny Schechter on "In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Burst"

    We take a look at a new documentary by veteran journalist and media critic Danny Schechter called "In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Burst." The film shows how "the mall replaced the factory as America’s dominant economic engine and how big banks and credit card companies buy our Congress and drive us into what a former major bank economist calls modern serfdom." [includes rush transcript]

  • Imprisoned Journalist Josh Wolf Released After Record 225 Days in Jail

    Independent journalist Josh Wolf has been released from prison after spending over 225 days behind bars. The 24-year-old Wolf spent more time in jail than any journalist in U.S. history for protecting his sources. In the first broadcast interview since his release, Wolf joins us from San Francisco. [includes rush transcript]

  • Beyond Vietnam: 40th Anniversary of King’s Landmark Antiwar Speech

    Forty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King gave the speech "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence." It was April 4, 1967 — a year to the day before he was murdered. He was speaking at the Riverside Church here in New York. King billed the speech as a declaration of independence from the war and called the United States: "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." [includes rush transcript]

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Batavia man accused of taking teen out of state

8:08 AM, Dec. 4, 2012  |  Comments
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A Genesee County man is facing federal charges for allegedly having a relationship with a 16-year-old girl and taking her out of state.

Timothy Logsdon, , 29, of Batavia, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. He was arraigned in Batavia Town Court Monday.

Logsdon is expected to return to court Jan. 28.

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11 February 2011

Science online, bright and beautiful edition

Beep-beep. Photo by jafro77.
So, um ... have you "liked" Denim and Tweed on Facebook yet? I'm sure you meant to. I bet you were just busy with other stuff, earlier.
  • Run, run, as fast as you can ... For small ground birds like ptarmigans, the energetic cost of running decreases as they go faster.
  • Declining effect. Ecologists really shouldn't be all that surprised, or worried, about the "decline effect".
  • Skin guns don't heal people. Doctors with skin guns heal people. A new "skin gun" can heal second-degree burns by spraying them with stem cells.
  • Microscopic foraminifera know more than you might think. The history of a warming Northwest Passage is encoded in plankton.
  • Ants are total mutualism sluts. Microbes living on leafcutter ants generate antibiotics that may help fight bacterial infections of the ants' fungus gardens.
  • Harder than it sounds. Science educators need to know when, and how, to say, "I don't know."
  • Is that a just-so story in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? Scicurious and A Primate of Modern Aspect consider adaptive explanations for the shape of the human penis.
Video this week, via Thoughts from Kansas: a Sunday School song for the combative biologist. (See also Eric Idle's classic "All Things Dull and Ugly".)

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Children's Food Campaign - Website Launch

16 Jun 2009

The Dental Health Foundation and the National Heart Alliance are calling for a ban on TV advertising of unhealthy foods to children -foods high in fat, sugar or salt, such as confectionary, salty snack foods, fizzy sugary drinks and fast food. There is a vast amount of scientific evidence linking these foods to a poor diet and obesity in young people.The Children’s Food Campaign website was launched on Tuesday, 16th June 2009 via a press release (click here to view)


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Tommy Dean Denison

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Tommy Dean Denison, 79 years old, was born to Fred H. and Mary W. (Owens) Denison on January 7, 1934 in Sanger, Texas. He was raised on a farm west of Bolivar, Texas.

He passed away on January 9, 2013 in Dallas, Texas

Tommy served his country in the United States Navy from March of 1956 to October 1957. He married LaVerne Hensley in Denton, Texas. Before his retirement, he worked as a machinist.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Laverne; brother, Fred Denison, Jr.; two sisters, Marie Paul and Helen Rindal.

He is survived by three sisters, Ruby Sullivan and husband, Elmo, Beulah Copeland, and Mary Lou McKay and husband, Jack; brother, Jim Denison and wife, Linda; and many nieces and nephews. He was much loved by his entire family.

Graveside services will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 11:00 am.

For online condolences, please visit

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Copyright 2011 Denton Record-Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The Colorado Catholic Conference said it has not endorsed a Colorado ballot measure that would grant personhood and constitutional rights to humans from the moment of conception.

The conference, which speaks for the state's three Catholic bishops, issued a statement Thursday contradicting the petitioners — Colorado for Equal Rights — which claimed Wednesday that the church's state leaders are on board.

Colorado for Equal Rights organizer Keith Mason had issued a statement listing the anti-abortion group's prominent supporters.

Mason said Pueblo Bishop Arthur Tafoya, Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan and Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput had "personally expressed their support."

Colorado Catholic Conference Executive Director Jennifer Kraska said the statement "seriously misrepresents" the views of the Catholic bishops regarding the personhood amendment.

Mason said that Tafoya of personally told him he had signed the petition and "to keep up the good work."

Tafoya has not signed the petition, Kraska said.

"We commend the goal of this effort to end abortion. Individual Catholics may choose to work for its passage," Kraska said.

"At the same time, we recognize that other people committed to the sanctity of life have raised serious questions about this specific amendment's timing and content," she said.

Kraska said the Georgia Catholic archbishops did not support a similar human-life bill tabled by the state legislature.

The Georgia archbishops said the bill would not effectively challenge Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

"It's a political, gutless position," said Judie Brown, president of the American Life League.

"As a Catholic, it's the most scandalous thing I've ever heard," Brown said. "I can't believe that any bishop wouldn't want to be out in the front lines helping the petitioners. The sanctity of life is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church."

The majority of Colorado for Equal Rights' 1,000 volunteers, Mason said, are Catholics.

The dioceses also had questions about Colorado for Equal Rights' structure, financials, strategy and tactics, Kraska said. She had requested additional information from the group, she said, that it never provided.

Mason said he did provide it and would do so again.

The Colorado effort is part of a national movement to win Supreme Court review of Roe v. Wade, Brown said. Montana and Mississippi also have ballot initiatives in progress for 2008; Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Oregon were working toward a 2009 measure.

Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or


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A national fraternity with chapters on more than 125 campuses must stand trial over the drinking death of a Wabash College freshman, an Indiana court said in a ruling that may force the organizations to take more responsibility for misconduct at chapter houses.

The Indiana Court of Appeals on May 8 reinstated a lawsuit against Delta Tau Delta by the family of Johnny Dupree Smith. Smith, 18, was found dead on Oct. 5, 2008, his blood alcohol level five times the .08 percent limit for legal intoxication in Indiana. He had passed out during "Pledge Family Drink Night," according to the complaint in the wrongful-death case.

The ruling is the first by an appellate court in Indiana, where many fraternities are based, that a national fraternity must face a trial for injury or death at a chapter house, Stephen Wagner, a lawyer for Smith's parents, said.

Unless reversed on appeal, the decision may compel national fraternities "to re-double their efforts to protect all their members" from injury, said Robert Heidt, who teaches negligence law at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. "If every court in the country did this, I bet it would change the structure of fraternities."

The ruling comes as Greek life rebounds, with membership up 29 percent since 2005. Death and injury from fraternity-related hazing, drinking and partying also are climbing. Since 2005, at least 54 students nationwide have died and six were paralyzed in incidents connected with such activities, according to a Bloomberg analysis of lawsuits, news accounts and interviews.

Beset by lawsuits claiming negligent supervision, national fraternities have argued in court that they're not responsible for misconduct at their local affiliates because they don't actively supervise them. One fraternity lawyer recently told national groups that most state courts won't hold them liable if they're "predominantly passive" in their supervision of affiliates' "daily activities."

Last week's ruling, if upheld, may make it harder for national fraternities to take that middle-of-the-road approach, said Donald Gjerdingen, who also teaches torts at Maurer. Instead, national fraternities will have to decide whether to supervise fully or not at all, he said.

"You can imagine the scenario where the fraternity says we're going to take these things on," said Gjerdingen. "Or they'll say, 'It's not worth it — we leave it up to the local'" chapters to supervise its members.

The lawsuit also names Wabash College, an all-male institution of 900 students 48 miles northwest of Indianapolis, and the local fraternity chapter. It claims Delta Tau Delta, which is based in Fishers, Ind., and Crawfordsville, Ind.- based Wabash encouraged hazing and excessive drinking.

According to the complaint, Smith, who was from Tucson, Ariz., attended a chapter party where new initiates were told there would be "an abundance of alcohol." After drinking beer and vodka, he was unable to walk, could barely talk and fell down a stairwell, according to the complaint.

Left on a mattress in an upstairs bedroom, Smith was placed on his side "so he wouldn't choke on his vomit," according to court papers. He was found dead the next morning.

The appeals court detailed how Delta Tau Delta set rules, monitored and punished its local chapter for hazing, drinking and other wrongdoing. The court said jurors at a trial must determine whether the fraternity had assumed a "duty to protect" Smith, and then breached the duty.

"Through its chapter consultants and chapter advisers, Delta Tau Delta remained apprised of the daily activities of their local chapters," a three-judge panel said. "Not only were chapter advisers required to report conduct violations, they also were responsible to ensure the local chapter complied with any enforcement and corrective mechanisms."

The appellate court didn't rule on the merits of the case in reinstating claims, dismissed by a lower court last year, against Delta Tau Delta.

Kevin Schiferl, Delta Tau Delta's lawyer, said in an interview that he hasn't decided whether to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. The national fraternity "had no involvement in this incident," he said.

Since 2005, three student deaths have been associated with local affiliates of Delta Tau Delta, which was founded 150 years ago. The fraternity and a related charitable foundation had revenue of $5.5 million in 2011. A fraternity spokesman didn't immediately return a call for comment on the ruling.

Jim Amidon, a spokesman for Wabash, declined to comment. The ruling is controlling only in Indiana. Plaintiffs injured in other states where laws may be more favorable to Greek house may try to sue in Indiana if a fraternity is based there, Heidt said.

Heidt, who was critical of the ruling, said it may drive national fraternities to abandon oversight of their chapters.

"In a way, the message sent by this is that national organizations should make no effort at enforcing their guidelines," he said.

Separately the Indiana Supreme Court is reviewing a case in which a national fraternity was found not responsible alleged hazing at another local chapter at Wabash. Gjerdingen said he expected the state Supreme Court to review the Smith case if Delta Tau Delta asks it to do so.


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Electrical and Computer Engineering
TTU Home Whitacre College of Engineering Electrical & Computer Engineering Safety Plan

Safety Plan

Emergency Action Plan

Skip to Emergency Action Plan Document

The purpose of this plan is to assist in moving employees and/or visitors within the Texas Tech University (TTU) Electrical Engineering building to a safe location in the case of an emergency. This plan also serves to provide information for employees, students, visitors and first responder personnel to facilitate a rapid and efficient response to various types of emergency situations which may arise in or around the Electrical Engineering building. Some examples of serious hazards which might create an emergency include, but are not limited to:

Electrical and Computer Engineering Building

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The building is classified as an education and research use building. The building consists of two stories above ground level and a basement below ground level. The Texas Tech Police Department (TTPD) has primary responsibility for response to public safety issues in and around the building. Fire, hazardous material response, and emergency search and rescue services are provided by the City of Lubbock Fire Department. The building has a fire alarm system. There is no public address capability in the building. Utilities for the building are managed and maintained through Texas Tech University Building Maintenance and Utilities, a division of the Texas Tech University Physical Plant. Power for the building is provided by Lubbock Power and Light. The majority of the building is dependent on commercial power only. Boston Avenue Discovery Mall Canton Avenue R04 Engineering Center The building population is made up of faculty, staff, students, and visitors. The building population is generally highest during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Each area within the Electrical Engineering building shall ensure their employees have been fully informed of this plan, participate in drills, post any required documentation and assign Emergency Action Coordinators (EAC)sate following areas currently occupy the Electrical Engineering building:

In addition to those areas listed above, the following areas may routinely occupy the Electrical Engineering building outside of normal business hours:

Building Emergency Manager:

Richard Woodcock richard.woodcock@ttu.edu or 806.742.3533 is to serve as the Building Emergency Manager (BEM) for the Electrical Engineering building. The BEM is expected to normally be available upon short notice during what are considered to be normal work hours for the Electrical Engineering building (typically, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with the exception of holidays). If the BEM anticipates that he/she will be unavailable during these hours, he/she should notify the backup BEM.

The first backup to the primary BEM is Dr. Brian Nutter.

The second backup to the primary BEM is Tom Heisey (806.742.3533 or tom.heisey@ttu.edu).

In the event of an emergency that requires evacuation of the building (such as a fire, significant toxic gas release, explosion, etc.), first:

Rescue: Try to rescue any personnel in immediate danger if it does not put you in imminent danger.

Alarm: Activate the building fire alarm (by pulling a fire alarm pull station) and/or call 9-9-1-1 or 9-1-1. All of the fire alarm pull stations are labeled. If you talk with a 911 operator, state your name, address, and nature of the problem. Speak slowly and clearly. Wait for the dispatcher to hang up before you hang up.

Confine: Close all doors, windows, and other openings that would aid in the spread of fire or toxic fumes.

Evacuate: Evacuate the building.

For further information on Evacuation see page 5 of the full Emergency Action Plan.

Laboratory Safety Procedures

The purpose of this document is to provide students, faculty, staff, and visitors with an explanation of general safety procedures that should be followed when working in the undergraduate laboratories. These procedures are intended to reduce risk of injury and to make the laboratory experience more enjoyable.

General Safety

Electrical Safety

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Skip Navigation Links Home / Asbestos Control Program / Homeowner Information

Homeowner / Residential

Big news: W.R. Grace announces the Zonolite Attic Insulation Trust

W.R. Grace has started a trust fund to allow homeowners the opportunity to receive partial funding to have Zonolite vermiculite attic insulation removed from their home. Samples will be sent to the trust to be analyzed by labs employed by W.R. Grace. To my knowledge they have come up with a proprietary method for analysis of the vermiculite by chemical means via ICP with barium as the signature cation. It’s about identifying that the vermiculite is from the Libby deposit, not asbestos content.

The FAQ section has all the basic facts. Please get this around to those that may have use of this information. Training providers might consider bringing this up in class especially in those areas where ZAI is prevalent.

From the FAQ’s:

What is the ZAI Trust?

W.R. Grace's plan of reorganization became final on February 3, 2014. Consequently, W.R. Grace has now funded the Zonolite Attic Insulation Trust from which eligible Claimants will be reimbursed for their legitimate ZAI Property Damage Claims ("ZAI PD"). Under the settlement, Grace will fund an independent Trust and Claims Facility ("the Trust") that will operate for a minimum of 20 years educating the public about the potential health effects associated with asbestos containing vermiculite/ZAI.

How much will be paid from the Trust for a ZAI Claim?

The Trust will provide a reimbursement contribution of 55% of the abatement cost for eligible Claimants up to a ceiling of 55% of a $7,500 removal bill (or $4,125). For example, if you spent $7,500 removing and replacing the insulation, you are eligible for the maximum reimbursement of $4,125. If you spent $3,000 for abatement and re-insulation, you are eligible for reimbursement of $1,650 (55% of $3,000).

Who can make a claim?

If ZAI was installed in a structure which you own or rented, and you incurred expense removing, abating (to include re-insulation cost) or containing the ZAI, you are entitled to submit a Claim. In order for your Claim to be successful, and for you to receive compensation, certain evidentiary requirements must be met. Those requirements are set forth in the Claim Form and can also be found in Section 5.4 of the ZAI TDP.

Does the Fund provide benefits for Personal Injury claims?

No. The ZAI Fund is for ZAI abatement claims only. (see this FAQ for further info)

There are numerous other FAQ’s…please see that page for more info.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Asbestos Control Program (ACP) does not regulate residential facilities; however, there may be instances in which a residential unit becomes a facility. Please see our FAQs tab for more information on residential units becoming regulated facilities.

Also, even though the DEQ does not regulate residential units, your local landfill may have other regulatory requirements which may require the characterization of waste to prevent asbestos exposure risks to its employees. Please contact them for further information. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) covers contractors working in homes. Please contact them at (800) 321-6742, or in Billings at (406) 247-7494.

Our information sheet, Asbestos Basics, provides some basic information about the ACP, the origin of asbestos, and other helpful information. For places where asbestos can be found in a residence, see our Asbestos in Homes informational sheet and Asbestos Diagram.

Asbestos is one of the most highly regulated substances in the U.S.

In Montana, asbestos-related activities are regulated by federal agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA), State of Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and local agencies, such as county health department and city building departments. However, not every aspect of asbestos management is regulated by every agency. And there may be aspects of asbestos management than may be regulated by more than one governmental agency.

DEQ oversees the permitting of asbestos abatement projects, the accreditation of asbestos-related occupations, and provides compliance assistance to the regulated community and interested parties. DEQ is also delegated by EPA to administer the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), 40 CFR Part 61 Subpart A, and the National Emission Standard for Asbestos, 40 CFR Part 61 Subpart M.

The following are some of the frequently asked questions regarding homeowners and residential units.

To determine if the Residential Exemption applies, answer the following questions. Any "No" answer will mean that the residential exemption does not apply and State regulations under NESHAP apply:

  1. Is it a single residential building have four or fewer units?
  2. Is it the only structure impacted and under the control of the same owner within 660 feet (roughly a city block)?
  3. Is the structure in question free from being included in any previous or future projects under the criteria addressed in question 2?
  4. Is the structure free of any previous use for commercial, industrial, or other non-residential use?
  5. Is the structure free from any historical scenario that would change the answer of 1-4 to a "no"?

If the answer was "Yes" to all the above criteria, the residential exemption applies. If not, then inspection, permitting, and compliance with Federal and State regulations apply.

The EPA considers projects "under the control of the same owner at the same site: as regulated. While the definition of "site" is extremely vague, they do clarify that they equate this as "comparable to a city block." There are approximately eight city blocks to a mile, so it comes to 660 feet. This may vary in a large complex or project.

People who work around or disturb asbestos are at risk for developing asbestos associated diseases. The occupational groups at the greatest risks for developing asbestos associated diseases include janitors, maintenance personnel, construction workers, insulators, plumbers, mechanics, telephone workers, electrical workers, fire fighters, and asbestos workers. People who work, live, or attend school in buildings containing asbestos products are also considered at risk for developing asbestos-associated diseases.

When asbestos or materials containing asbestos are damaged or disturbed, fibers are released into the air. Airborne asbestos fibers are small, odorless, and tasteless. They range in size from .1 to 10 microns in length (a human hair is about 50 microns in diameter). Because asbestos fibers are small and light, they can be suspended in the air for long periods. People whose work brings them into contact with asbestos may inhale fibers. The amount of asbestos a person is exposed to will vary according to several factors including the fiber concentration in the air, the duration of exposure, the person's breathing rate, the weather conditions, and whether or not protective equipment is worn.

Asbestos has been so widely used in the United States that the entire population has been exposed to some degree. Air, beverages, drinking water, food, drugs, dental preparations, and a variety of consumer products all may contain small amounts of asbestos. In addition, asbestos fibers are released into the environment from outcrops of bedrock in the earth. The asbestos containing rocks release fibers as a result of wind, water and chemical erosion.

If you breathe asbestos fibers into your lungs, some of the fibers will be deposited in the air passages and on the cells that make up your lungs. Most fibers are removed from your lungs by being carried away or coughed up in a layer of mucus in the throat, where they are swallowed into the stomach. This usually takes place within a few hours. Fibers that are deposited in the deepest parts of the lung are removed more slowly. In fact, some fibers may move through your lungs and can remain in place for many years and may never be removed from your body.

If you swallow asbestos fibers (either those present in water or those that are moved to your throat from your lungs), nearly all of the fibers pass along your intestines within a few days and are excreted in the feces. A small number of fibers may penetrate into cells that line your stomach or intestines, and a few penetrate all the way through and get into your blood. If you get asbestos fibers on your skin, very few of these fibers, if any, pass through the skin into your body.

Once inhaled, the small asbestos fibers can penetrate the body's defenses. Because inhaled asbestos fibers remain in the body, each exposure increases the likelihood of developing one or more of the following diseases:

  • Asbestosis: A chronic lung ailment caused by the build up of scar tissue inside the lungs. Asbestosis can cause shortness of breath, permanent lung damage, and increases the risk of lung infections. Asbestosis is not usually of concern to people exposed to low levels of asbestos.

  • Mesothelioma: An asbestos caused cancer of the chest cavity lining or abdominal cavity. These diseases do not develop immediately following exposure to asbestos, but appear only after a number of years. Members of the public who are exposed to lower levels of asbestos may also have increased chances of getting cancer, but the risks are usually small and are difficult to measure directly.

  • Other cancers: Cancer of the lung, esophagus, stomach, colon, and pancreas. There is also some evidence from studies of workers that breathing asbestos can increase the chances of getting cancer in other locations but this is less certain.

The levels of asbestos in air that lead to lung disease depend on several factors. The most important of these are (1) how long you were exposed, (2) how long it has been since your exposure started, and (3) whether you smoked cigarettes. Cigarette smoking and asbestos exposure increase your chances of getting lung cancer. Also, there is a scientific debate concerning the differences in the extent of disease caused by different fiber types and sizes.

There are currently no means of detecting exposure-related effects from commonly encountered environmental exposures. Low levels of asbestos fibers are found in nearly all people. Higher-than-average levels can show that you have been exposed to asbestos, but it is not yet possible to use the results of this test to estimate how much asbestos you have been exposed to, or to predict whether you are likely to suffer any health effects.

If a person has received sustained exposure to asbestos, a chest x-ray is commonly used. A chest x-ray is recommended for detecting exposure to asbestos only in persons who have sustained relatively heavy exposure. A chest x-ray is of no value for detecting evidence of asbestos exposure in a person whose exposure to asbestos has been only brief or transient. The x-ray cannot detect the asbestos fibers themselves, but it can detect early signs of lung disease caused by asbestos.

The most reliable test to determine if you have been exposed to asbestos is the detection of microscopic asbestos fibers in pieces of lung tissue removed by surgery, but this is a very invasive test. Asbestos fibers can also be detected in mucus, urine, or feces, but these tests are not reliable for determining how much asbestos may be in your lungs.

Asbestos had been used in a variety of materials and applications for purposes of reinforcement, heat and cold insulation, condensation control, friction, fire protection, sound dampening, decoration, texturing, chemical resistance, and other applications. Asbestos was used in over 3500 types of materials. Some materials, such as vermiculite, might be contaminated with asbestos naturally. Materials which contain more than 1% asbestos are called asbestos-containing materials (ACM). Typically, asbestos is found in thermal system insulation such as pipe and boiler insulation, surfacing material such as fireproofing and wallboard, and miscellaneous materials such as floor and ceiling tiles. In America, asbestos was used in a variety of materials from the late 1800s to the present; however, its use has declined. Contrary to popular belief, asbestos is not banned from all products in America. Certain materials such as floor tile, cement asbestos, adhesives, roofing products, clutch and brake assemblies, etc, might contain asbestos. Prior to purchasing products or materials, determine whether asbestos is present. Asbestos-containing materials are currently being used widely in developing and industrializing countries. For more information on the asbestos ban and phase out, visit EPA's Asbestos Ban and Phaseout page.

You may have run across the terms friable and non-friable asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos regulations define friability as the ability of a dry asbestos-containing material to be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure. Examples of friable asbestos include thermal system insulation and spray-on fireproofing. Asbestos-containing materials such as floor tile, roofing, cement asbestos products, and gaskets are typically non-friable. Be aware that demolition and renovation activities can render non-friable ACM friable, and thus, regulated. Contact the Asbestos Control Program for more information.

Asbestos is a health concern because it is a carcinogen, meaning it causes cancer and other illnesses. Asbestos can break down into very small fibers that can become airborne and stay airborne for a long time. Exposure generally occurs by inhalation or ingestion. Asbestos causes asbestos-related illnesses such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, pleural plagues, and lung cancer. Asbestosis is an illness characterized by the scarring of the lungs that reduces the lungs’ ability to function. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the membrane lining the chest or abdominal cavity specifically related to asbestos. Lung cancer and other diseases have been linked to asbestos exposure. Epidemiological studies (studies of people and diseases) document asbestos-related illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos in many occupations including mining, milling, manufacturing, insulating, shipbuilding, construction, and others.

Cases of asbestos-related illnesses have also been documented in persons exposed to asbestos indirectly in non-occupational settings. Wives, husbands, and children of people who worked with asbestos have contracted asbestos-related illnesses after being exposed to asbestos on the clothes of those people.

Generally, a latency period of 10 to 30 years accompanies asbestos exposure before an asbestos-related illness develops. This latency period is dependent on other factors in a person's life, including whether the affected person smokes or smoked. According to research statistics, a smoker who is exposed to asbestos is over 50-90 times more likely to develop an asbestos-related illness than a non-smoker. The reason why smokers are so susceptible to asbestos is due to the loss of the lungs’ capability to rid itself of fibers.

If you have any questions concerning asbestos, feel free to contact DEQ at (406) 444-5300.

In Montana, activities involving asbestos in facilities are governed by one or more regulatory authorities, i.e. State of Montana DEQ, EPA, and OSHA; in many cases jurisdictions and regulations overlap.

Asbestos regulatory authorities are:

Another asbestos authority is OSHA. OSHA regulates worker safety and health as they relate to asbestos in the general and construction industries. Prior to initiating construction activities, OSHA's asbestos standard (29 CFR 1926.1101) also requires an asbestos inspection as part of its hazard communication requirement. For more complete information on OSHA's regulatory requirements, contact OSHA at (800) 321-6742, or in Billings at (406) 247-7494.

City or county governments such as local building permitting offices or local environmental health or sanitarian's office may also have asbestos requirements, contact them before initiating demolition or renovation work. City or county governments issue building permits for general renovation/demolition activities; however, don't be tricked assuming that their permit will satisfy the DEQ's asbestos inspection, project permit, and demolition/renovation notification requirements if a residence has become a facility.

One last asbestos authority is the landfill. Prior to initiating asbestos work, contact your local landfill and learn about their asbestos disposal requirements. In many cases landfills do not accept ACM and the last place you want to learn that is at a landfill's gate. According to state of Montana Refuse Disposal Rules and ACP, regulated asbestos waste must be disposed of in a state-approved Class II or IV landfill.

To find currently-accredited Montana inspectors who have agreed to release their information to the public, click on the Current Accreditations link below, enter a city if you want a specific city (please note that you will obtain a broader response by leaving city blank), select Inspector from the Accreditation Type drop down list, and click submit. Please remember that this list displays only currently Montana-accredited Asbestos Inspectors who have agreed to release their information to the public.

Link: Current Accreditations

The following links are to the contractor pages and to search queries to assist the homeowner in asbestos inspection and removal, and a courtesy link to the Meth Contaminated Property List.

Contractors and Consultants

Contractors and Consultants
The Contractors and Consultants page contains listings of contractors and consultants with accredited personnel who can perform asbestos-related activities in Montana.

Asbestos Accreditations Search

Asbestos Accreditations Search
This search tool is designed to assist you in finding Montana-accredited Asbestos Inspectors who have agreed to release their information to the public.

Approved Asbestos Project Permits

Asbestos Project Permits
This search tool will return approved Asbestos Project Permits with project dates greater than the search date used.

Meth Contaminated Properties List

Meth Contaminated Properties List
As a courtesy, the ACP is providing a link to the Meth Contaminated Property list which identifies properties contaminated by the production of methamphetamine. In some cases, asbestos-containing materials must also be addressed when there is a possibility of impacting building materials. DEQ is currently helping property owners comply with the laws and rules during the cleanup of property contaminated by methamphetamine production.

The list of Montana landfills that are approved Class II landfills that accept friable asbestos-containing waste are located here. Contact the landfill before transporting waste to their facility to ensure they are accepting friable asbestos-containing waste and other regulatory requirements.

Solid Waste Program
Department of Environmental Quality
Waste and Underground Tank Management Bureau
PO Box 200901
Helena MT 59620-0901
(406) 444-5300

Asbestos Control Program
Department of Environmental Quality
Waste and Underground Tank Management Bureau
PO Box 200901
Helena MT 59620-0901
(406) 444-5300

Updated 12/11/2013


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Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins focuses on faith and family

By Jo-Ann Barnas

Detroit Free Press

Published: Thursday, Nov. 10 2011 5:00 a.m. MST

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins throws in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Nebraska, in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.

Associated Press

HOLLAND, Mich. — He wanted to slip in quietly, like old times, but that was impossible.

Word was out — Kirk Cousins is in the building! — and before he found a vacant seat in Mark Hiskes' sixth-hour AP English class, Cousins already had signed a handful of autographs and smiled for students capturing his photo on their cell phones.

The attention was more than enough to certify his celebrity: Five years ago, in his senior year of high school, a strong-armed Cousins led Holland Christian to its first berth in the football state playoffs.

Now a fifth-year senior at Michigan State, he'll depart at season's end as the Spartans' winningest quarterback of all time.

Beginning in the seventh grade, after his family moved to west Michigan from Barrington, Ill., Cousins lived in a neighborhood across the street from Holland Christian. Although he had stopped by occasionally since graduation in 2007, his visits had been mostly cordial — saying hello to former teachers and coaches, maybe catching a football game when his schedule allowed.

This was more than that.

Cousins said it was his faith that guided him home to the Christian-based private school Oct. 7 — during MSU's bye week — following the Spartans' victory over Ohio State. That faith fueled his desire to be an "HC" student again, even if it was for only two class periods.

As Hiskes distributed his discussion sheets to the students, Cousins asked for one. When he saw they were reading Frederick Buechner's "Godric" — a narrative on the life of the medieval saint — Cousins exclaimed, "I love that book!"

When class was over, student and teacher embraced.

"I'm not sure why he was here, but a lot of him was grounded here," Hiskes said this week. "I think he was coming back to make sure of that, that he's the same Kirk to his core even though circumstances around him have changed."

Told of Hiskes' remark, Cousins smiled. This was Tuesday, and he was sitting in an empty and dark press box on the eighth floor of Spartan Stadium. Four floors below, MSU coach Mark Dantonio was holding his weekly news conference, answering questions about a 24-3 loss at Nebraska, which had followed the Spartans' thrilling 37-31 win over Wisconsin on Cousins' game-winning TD on a Hail Mary throw on the last play.

"Yes. It was sort of like a walk down memory lane for me," Cousins said of his journey back to high school. "But it was more of a chance to get back to what was familiar to me.

"I am somebody who lives a certain way, and I want to be able to truly stand up to that and live that way so people who do get to know me say, 'Everything I've read about him is true. It's not a facade. It's not a front. He's not fake. He's the real deal.'

"I hope to be the real deal."

Cousins smiles again, finishing his thought with a quick addendum, as if anticipating the next question.

"And I also want to be known as a great quarterback," he said. "That I was a great football player here — not just a nice guy, but for people to say, 'He made a lot of plays on the football field.'"

Thursday night, Cousins was scheduled to be the headliner at an event at MSU Auditorium that had been promoted aggressively on campus, including in a full-page advertisement earlier this week in the student newspaper, the State News.

As a member of a Christian group of college students called Cru — formerly called Campus Crusade for Christ International — Cousins said he allowed his name to be used in publicizing the event because he was asked to speak about his faith in Jesus Christ.

The slogan: "Do you agree with Kirk?"

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Utah Jazz: Greg Miller wonders how relationship turned 'sour,' wants to mend fences with Karl Malone

Published: Saturday, Feb. 4 2012 8:27 p.m. MST

"The only thing I can tell you is that's great. But there's nothing that can be said or done to hurt my relationship with Jerry Sloan," Malone said. "That's just the way it is. That's awesome. But when I feel a certain way about a friend, Jerry and Karl is a friendship to the end, not just lip service."

Continued Malone: "When I'm a friend, and there aren't many of them, I make a commitment to be a friend to the end of time. There's nothing you can do or say to keep it from going there. You don't need to fix nothing."

Current Jazz members wanted to distance themselves from the controversy.

"It has nothing to do with us," Jazz forward Paul Millsap said, adding that he never talks to his fellow Louisiana Tech product.

"You've got to talk to them about that. I have no comment," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "That's Greg and Karl."

Corbin said he hoped his players wouldn't let the well-publicized dispute bother them.

"It's a part of our family. It's a part of who we are. You just deal with it and move forward," Corbin said. "Hopefully, they get past it as soon as they can so we can go back and play ball. … It could be a distraction. Hopefully, we won't let it be."

Corbin said Miller didn't pressure or advise him to avoid hiring Malone as an assistant coach — something the Mailman has said he'd consider.

"It had nothing to do with it," said Corbin, who added Sidney Lowe (assistant) and Michael Sanders (player development) to his staff in the offseason.

Contributing: Brad Rock

Twitter: DJJazzyJody Blog: jazzland.blogs.deseretnews.com

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In our opinion: Saying the right things

Published: Monday, July 8 2013 12:00 a.m. MDT

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell speaks with reporters during the Western Governor's Association 2013 annual meeting at Montage Deer Valley Friday, June 28, 2013, in Park City, Utah.

Rick Bowmer, AP

Enlarge photo»

Newly appointed U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell's speech before the Western Governor's Association in Park City recently hit all the right notes. She called for balance in the federal government's approach to land management, and she stated that there is an "appetite in the federal government to work with state governments to thoughtfully manage our land."

This approach included a promise that the Obama administration would not designate any new national monuments without consulting with local and state governments, alleviating worries that President Obama is planning to blindside Utah the way President Clinton did with the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument nearly two decades ago.

Thematically, at least, Secretary Jewell seems to understand the needs and concerns of Utah in a way her predecessor did not. At the same time, amiable rhetoric cannot compensate for heavy-handed federal overreach, and despite the secretary's assurances that the Department of the Interior and Utah state government will do their best to "understand each other," there remains tremendous fodder for skepticism.

Consider, for instance, the president's renewed focus on executive action combating climate change, which will likely stifle attempts to accelerate shale oil production across the state. And as Jewell continually stressed the importance of balance and multiple use, she also downplayed the role of oil and natural gas in favor of tourism and recreation. While those are undeniably vital components of any land management strategy, they also are not the elements of multiple use that have come under fire in recent years. Easing opposition to expanded energy development in Utah would provide practical evidence that these renewed calls to cooperate with localities are more than just lip service.

It's also important to note that if they expect the Obama administration to be more flexible, some Utah lawmakers will need to temper their impulses to cut the federal government entirely out of the loop. Given that more than two-thirds of this state consists of federal land, it's foolhardy to believe Utah has the authority to override Washington. Making this relationship work will require genuine compromise instead of fiery speeches. Legislators should look for accommodation rather than confrontation.

Jewell, with her practical experience outside of government, seems to be presenting the state with an opportunity for a legitimate federal/state partnership in managing public lands that hasn't been available so far under this administration. While it's certainly possible that the hope for a better relationship will prove illusory, it makes no sense to give up before even getting started.

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Audit: USTAR revenue, jobs reports were overstated and inaccurate

Published: Tuesday, Oct. 15 2013 4:06 p.m. MDT

Officials with the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative failed to accurately report revenue, jobs and return on investment, according to a legislative audit. (Shutterstock) Officials with the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative failed to accurately report revenue, jobs and return on investment, according to a legislative audit. (Shutterstock)

SALT LAKE CITY — Officials with the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative failed to accurately report revenue, jobs and return on investment, according to a legislative audit released Tuesday.

The audit also found a number of lapses in oversight at USTAR, which was created in 2006 to enhance economic development in the state through research at the University of Utah and Utah State University and the commercialization of innovative technologies.

More than $250 million in engineering contracts, private investments and sponsored research was found to be over-reported by USTAR. Auditors also reported that USTAR was unable to independently validate 3,380 jobs reported by the initiative.

"USTAR's reported revenues were overstated and inaccurate because dollars presented were unrealized, invalid and over-reported," the audit states. "USTAR's reported jobs were inaccurate because they included jobs that no longer exist, were based on projections instead of actuals, and included duplicate counts."

Auditors listed 15 recommendations for USTAR, including that the initiative report actual outcomes when possible and better identify when estimates are being used, that USTAR establish lease agreements with the U. and USU for the use of facilities, that USTAR's governing board align outreach programs with legislative intent and that a conflict of interest policy be adopted for members of the Governing Authority.

Senate President Wayne Niederhauser said the audit suggests that USTAR is little more than a name given to state money that would otherwise be appropriated as typical funding for higher education research.

"It seems like this was just more funding for the research for those universities and we could have done that without the glitzy title," he said. "It just seems like we’ve dressed up a program that we could have funded without a special name and given research to University of Utah and Utah State University."

Audit supervisor Brian Dean said USTAR was designed to be more than just a title for higher education research but had suffered from a "failure of management." He also spoke of USTAR's violation of open meetings laws, saying that incomplete records were kept of the actions and deliberations of the initiative's Governing Authority.

"Their minutes were in such disarray that we often couldn’t find motions within the minutes," Dean said.

House Speaker Becky Lockhart described USTAR as being under a "complete lack of management" and asked whether the Governing Authority's non-compliance with open meetings policy was intentional or the result of ignorance.

"Where was the assistant attorney general when all of these things were happening?" she asked.

Dean said it appeared that legal counsel had not been invited to USTAR's governing meetings, but they would attend in the future.

"We’ve got a commitment from USTAR management that moving forward those attorneys will be at board meetings," he said.

During Tuesday's meeting of the Executive Appropriations Committee, several lawmakers expressed concerns with the audit's findings. Rep. Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray, said he understood that the process of generating jobs and commercial projects from research takes time, but the misrepresentation of revenue and return on taxpayer investment is unacceptable.

"It just flies in the face of what we’re asked to do here day in and day out on behalf of the good people of the state and the investments of their dollars," he said.

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, expressed that his confidence in USTAR was shaken by the audit. "It puts me in a position where I don’t know what to believe when I see a report from USTAR," he said.

Ted McAleer, executive director of USTAR, expressed his thanks to the Office of the Legislative Auditor General for identifying a number of issues that need to be taken seriously and addressed. He said USTAR had seen a revolving door of financial managers over the last several years, which contributed to the reporting errors, but a new manager had already been put in place.

"I think the most critical piece of my responsibility as the executive director is that I need to hold a finance manager, my assistant, accountable for working with me on these recommendations," he said.

McAller also assured lawmakers that he and his staff would work toward addressing the concerns raised by the audit.

"You have my commitment that we will manage each of these three areas on a monthly basis at the USTAR Governing Authority Board meetings," he said.

Audit findings

Return-on-investment claim of 219 percent is overstated

State-bonded construction costs were not listed as expenses

USTAR claims credit for projects that might have occurred anyway

Majority of jobs credited were construction jobs that no longer exist

Many research jobs are part-time positions primarily held by students

USTAR governing board meetings were not held in compliance with Utah open meetings laws

Email: benwood@deseretnews.com, Twitter: bjaminwood

Copyright 2015, Deseret News Publishing Company


text:
Comments about ‘Obama official says immigrant kids draining funds’

Return to article »

Published: Friday, July 11 2014 12:00 a.m. MDT

  • Oldest first
  • Newest first
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Provo, UT

The solution is to send them back

Hayden, ID

Liberals are so "compassionate" with other people's money! We will all watch and see how many liberals open THEIR homes and wallets to support these illegals!

dale richards
Green River, Utah

I agree with the other two.
I would like to here from GaryO on the matter.

Mark B
Eureka, CA

I've never read the three posters above claim that there's no money to launch another attack on another country. Plenty of cash for that.

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RIP Jim Hatt :(

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RIP Jim Hatt :(

Postby reptilist » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:14 pm

Jim Hatt has been the chief moderator of these forums for about three years I think. He was well versed in the mystery of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine and the Superstition Mountains. He was a pretty neat fellow... A true man of the West, not just some poser.
He'll be missed on many levels by all his peers!

Just last year we lost moderator Plays in the Dirt, and now Jim Hatt... Both to cancers.
I expect they are feeling much better now.

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Previous Next
"Night of the Ravens" Metal Wall Sculpture
Watch the changing light cast the mysterious shadows of these mystical ravens, harbingers of magic and creation, onto a favorite home or garden wall. Created exclusively for us at Design Toscano, this yard-high, crafted metal panel boasts an antiqued black finish with just enough rusty patina to lend a vintage look and feel. Add drama and enchantment with the shape shifters of the animal kingdom!

19"Wx1"Dx36"H. 4 lbs.
andquot;Night of the Ravensandquot; Metal Wall Sculpture 4.7 5 7 7
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Night of the Ravens WE love this sculpture,the quality and detail is first rate. I would definatly recommend this sculpture. November 25, 2013
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LOVE IT!!! It was suggested as a Halloween decoration but I'm keeping it up all year. Well worth the price. It's art work, everyone that sees it loves it. October 27, 2013
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text:
Who Should Run the CRM Show?
Companies are increasingly struggling to choose between sales, marketing, IT and service for control over customer-centric programs.
Posted May 11, 2001
Page 1

Finding the right team to lead a CRM initiative is sometimes more of a struggle than the project itself. Everyone from IT to sales to the CEO wants their hands in it but with the wrong people in charge (or constant battling over power), a solid plan may be doomed for failure.

To handle technology projects many companies are increasingly forming special groups which have both business and technical expertise. Early on, according to Barry Trailer, a business process consultant, IT departments initiated CRM projects, which were then imposed on the sales and marketing departments. "A lot of disappointment came from IT-driven initiatives," says Trailer. However, projects initiated by sales weren't the solution, either.

"The problem with initiatives endorsed by departments other than IT is that the purpose is vague," says Trailer. Sales has goals such as "increase team communication" or "increase productivity." According to Trailer, it is difficult to measure the success of the project with such vague goals, so companies are focusing on return on investment and as a result, are getting a clearer idea of what business problems they want to solve and how CRM can help. "But there's still a ways to go," he says.

Out of the Loop

Administaff, a Kingwood, Texas-based company that serves as an off-site HR department for small and midsize businesses, learned how important it is to have the right people in charge of a CRM initiative. In 1995, when Administaff first started looking for a CRM system to track marketing leads, the company's vice president of IT and its director of marketing made a joint decision to implement GoldMine. After initial use in a fall marketing campaign, the sales department approved the system and Administaff installed one copy in each of its 30 sales offices.

Though IT was involved in the initial decision-making, the department quickly worked itself out of the loop, according to Administaff's Lori Haynes. The director of market research and automation at Administaff, Haynes was involved in the GoldMine project from the start. "IT told us they would offer only limited support," she says. Then Administaff began to have synchronization problems. "We were getting invalid information," says Haynes. "The sales side was not motivated, so GoldMine just sat there."

Fast forward to 1997. Administaff's sales and marketing departments merged, and the company wanted to put GoldMine to better use. The company decided to roll the system out to all its sales consultants. Starting in February 1998, Haynes spent four months going from city to city training the sales force on their new laptops and the GoldMine system.
This time, the decision to expand the GoldMine program was made exclusively by sales management, which allowed for quicker turnaround time, says Haynes.

Haynes was aided in her training effort by a special group of sales automation support specialists formed by Administaff's sales and marketing department in 1998 to offer IT support for sales and marketing personnel. The group is independent from the IT department, reports in to sales and marketing, and has both the technology and the people skills necessary to support Administaff's sales consultants. These specialists go on calls with the sales force and know Administaff's sales process well. "I feel the reason our automation project was successful was that we had people supporting our sales consultants who understood the sales process," says Haynes.

It's a Hybrid

Administaff's experience highlights the importance of a new breed of manager that is emerging to take charge of CRM projects. This hybrid manager is not just a salesperson, not just a tech geek, not just a marketing savant; he or she is a little bit of all the above. "CRM works best when you've got someone in charge who can stand with a foot in multiple camps," says Dave Roberts, vice president of product development at Siebel Multichannel Systems, Siebel's sales process consulting arm. "We come across hybrid managers more and more," he says. At a recent Siebel user week, for example, Roberts says a large proportion of attendees had this type of cross-functional background.

Increasingly, companies are forming new departments, headed up by a hybrid manager, to be the liaison between the business organizations in the company--like sales and marketing--and the IT department. These new groups take business needs into account when planning technology initiatives.

Internet Security Systems (ISS), an Atlanta-based provider of information security management software and services, has just formed this type of department. Karyn Mullins is manager of "business enablement" for ISS. She reports to IT. "We were struggling to separate the business issues from the software development issues," says Mullins, who has both a technology and a business background.

The business enablement group is in charge of 10 strategic technology projects that ISS wants to complete in the next two years. The first major initiative Mullins will undertake is reviewing the company's CRM system. In 1997, ISS implemented an Onyx system that automated its selling process, allowing marketing to more easily distribute leads and sales to track them. Now ISS wants to implement a global CRM system and will be evaluating various software packages.

Since the original Onyx implementation (which was driven by the vice president of sales), ISS has grown from 75 employees to 1,500 employees. "With 1,500 people in the company, you don't get to talk to people in the hall," says Mullins. "You have to go out and meet with each department and get a list of requirements they have for the system." Once Mullins and her staff have the list of requirements, they prepare a cost/benefit analysis and a feasibility study. Then another, more technical group in IT identifies solution candidates. "It's a big advantage to have Karyn's group to balance potentially conflicting requirements," says Lynn McInerny, director of field marketing operations for ISS.

Team Building

A hybrid manager is great, says Trailer, but he or she cannot replace the commitment of the affected departments. Having someone with a multifunctional background in charge of the CRM project can help achieve success only if the vice presidents of sales, marketing and customer service and the CIO don't abdicate their responsibilities. "Commitment is easy to measure," he says. "It's involvement."

Which brings us to the next question you need to ask yourself: Who should be on the CRM implementation team? "When putting together a team, think 'i2 ,'"[i squared] says Siebel Multichannel Systems' Roberts. "You need people with insight, and you need implementers." There's no magic number of people to have on a team, says Roberts. But, he warns, there's a balance to strike. "If too few people are involved, the end-user community will not feel they have been consulted and they won't use the system," he says. "If too many people are involved, you get analysis paralysis."

The Madding Crowd

It's clear you need representatives from sales, marketing and service on your team to ensure those departments' needs are met, but should you include every single salesperson or call center rep in the implementation process? "You can't have the crowd in charge," says Trailer. "But you have to have the crowd enrolled."

Administaff can attest to the importance of getting the sales team enrolled. When the company initially rolled out GoldMine in 1995, sales was not fully behind the system, and it went unused. Then, when sales and marketing executives took stock of how GoldMine was doing six months after the re-launch in 1998, they realized sales was viewing GoldMine as a corporate reporting tool. "Sales consultants didn't see the value for them," says Haynes.

So Administaff embarked on the third phase of implementation, which was to teach the sales force to use GoldMine as a relationship management tool. Administaff changed its sales training to emphasize five phases of the sale process. After the training, sales consultants finally started to see the value of using GoldMine to manage their pipeline. Now, with GoldMine's reporting function, sales consultants can see where there are gaps in the pipeline. They can also identify weaknesses in their sales process and seek the appropriate training. It took months of repetition, patience and handholding to get the sales consultants trained, but now they're convinced of the usefulness of the system, says Haynes.

"Buy-in is key," Haynes adds. "We noticed that when a district sales manager did not have enthusiasm for the project, it was harder for that office to get up to speed."

Empire involved brokers in the FirePond implementation process early on. "We brought brokers in to test the prototype," says Empire's Bell. "We picked brokers we knew would give straight feedback." For example, brokers said they loved the ease of preparing quotes electronically, but they also would like to be able to print out the proposals to send to prospects. They pointed out places where it was difficult to navigate between Web pages. Empire incorporated these suggestions into the final version, and the system was immediately successful. Within three months 550 brokers had registered to use it. "We are pleased with the results," says Bell.

"One of the most skeptical communities in the world is sales," says Siebel's Roberts. "You've got to prove what we call 'WIIFM,' or 'What's In It For Me?'" he says. "The key to success is to articulate value for sales. If the data is just a 2-by-4 to beat them up, you won't get meaningful usage."

From the Top

On the other end of the spectrum, executive sponsorship is equally important, agree the experts. Empire's Chief Operating Officer Dave Snow was the main motivator behind the health insurer's move to install FirePond. "From my past experience, I know that not having executive sponsorship is a killer to any project," says Bell. Empire has a weekly senior management meeting to discuss corporate initiatives (those that cover more than one department). Updates on the FirePond project were discussed at this meeting every Thursday. "Dave was important when we found inconsistencies in our processes," says Bell. "We as a team laid out the pros and cons and said the team couldn't decide. Dave made the call."

A CRM initiative needs both initiating sponsors, like the CEO or COO, and sustaining sponsors, like sales managers, says Roberts. "CEOs are getting involved more and more in CRM projects," he says. "Companies have already streamlined manufacturing processes, quality and distribution. The back office has been done. CRM is the next frontier in competitive advantage. When CRM becomes a key competitive differentiator, more CEOs are truly interested. If they're not, they should be."

CRM is increasingly viewed as strategic and critical for the future competitive advantage of the company, says Roberts. "This is something CEOs can't abdicate responsibility for," he says. "The CRM system is the physical manifestation of the company's philosophy of how to treat customers. It's not just tin and wires anymore."

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Jetpack Joyride launches for free on PSN and Vita

9:00 AM on 12.21.2012 // Dale North

Free steak fries!

Mobile hit Jetpack Joyride launches on PS3 and PS Vita this month, with Europeans getting it today while North Americans wil have to wait until December 31. It's in full HD, features leaderboards and trophies, and will be absolutely free.

Halfbrick worked with fellow Aussie studio Big Ant for this version of the game.

In our gallery you'll find a few new screenshots of Jetpack Joyride on the Vita.

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