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More often than not, I speak before I think. I'm not the lone person in the boat, we all often do it. Mine just so happens to be at the most inopportune times, and the case in point was one of Jackson's first soccer practices.
One of the coaches was doing their best to maintain control of about 10 children, 10 years or younger. So I offered to pitch in and give them a hand.
In case you haven't noticed, the Dunnellon High School football team is deep into its regular season and remains undefeated. The Tigers are ranked third in the state and the excitement is building around their upcoming district matchup against South Sumter. It is an opportune time to reflect on the Tigers history of championship level football.
As a photographer, I get to see the action up close and I can personally attest to the fact that this team is talented. I am not surprised this team is ranked near the top of the state polls.
Well it's game on; we can now start talking about the celebration of 125 years for Dunnellon. It was touch and go there for a while and the plans for a 125 jubilee carried a tentative "if we survive that long" element.
It now looks like we will stay solvent through next summer, so I guess we can run with it.
As we begin the preparations to celebrate this event, it is a fitting time to revisit our boomtown heritage. It is informative to look at how far our city has moved forward since our not so auspicious days as an overnight boomtown.
While reading this past Sunday's edition of the Citrus County Chronicle and Ocala Star-Banner, it occurred to me that local politics, at times, appears to not have well-being of citizens with regard to police and fire protection in mind.
Starting with Dunnellon, as of yet, I have not seen a workshop with the Marion County Fire Rescue to really explore the options to have full coverage for the city. That would be well worth a seven-hour workshop session.
Come Monday, the Council will formalize a $2-plus million budget, balanced with more than $250,000 from reserves and cost-savings generated in insurance savings.
With such a large sum being pulled from reserves to provide a "balanced" budget, little will be pushed back into reserves. That's bad for business, worse yet if there are any crisis (emergencies), city officials will find themselves in a pickle.
Councilman Walter Green believes citizens deserve justice for the Greenlight debacle, which has been a financial disaster.
Most, if not all of us, are familiar with the golden goose which laid a rotten egg. The fiber-to-the-home program failed to deliver as a revenue generator as then-officials had hoped.
Honestly, the likelihood the public will ever see justice may never happen. But it certainty wouldn't hurt if we could get some answers behind the failures. Where did the money go, besides down the drain?
Those who know Richard Kennedy best know he isn't one who covets individual accolades and honors.
For nine seasons, it was more than a message he preached to his players, it was part of the culture he developed when he took the helm of a downtrodden program.
Kennedy created a personal legacy with the success he had on the gridiron, which included multiple championships and 230 victories in 28 seasons at the prep level. His program had numerous players enter the college ranks, with three of his former charges entering the professional ranks.
It was with great anticipation that I sat down to write about the renaming of Tiger Stadium. As a former player, I feel renaming the stadium after coach Richard Kennedy is a fitting tribute.
As I started to write about playing for the coach, I thought I knew to start. I wrote in detail about the epic goal-line stand against second-ranked Wildwood. I wrote about standing in the end zone to snap the ball; about knowing we could never drive the ball out with 4 inches shy of the goal line; about coming away with an 8-2 victory and those
If you haven't yet met Regas Woods, you're missing out on the impact he's making in so many lives not only in Dunnellon, but worldwide. His positive, uplifting desire to inspire others isn't just on the track where he's become one of the world's top Paralympian athletes.
The 34-year-old resident burst onto the scene as an acclaimed ATV stunt driver and a mighty darn fabulous one. Shortly thereafter, Woods paired with his friend, Nick Stillwell, who lost his legs in a wreck, to form the Never Say Never Foundation.
We certainly don't envy the Council when faced with tough decisions , but we definitely applaud their action to seek out a legal opinion regarding the details of city manager's attendance at an event hosted by the city-contracted engineering firm.
The Dunnellon City Council is proposing merging the roles of police and fire chiefs into an all-encompassing public safety director. It's certainly an idea which deserves consideration because of the potential cost savings to the city. However, we would urge the Council as well as other city officials to thoroughly and carefully vet such a proposal.
The leading candidate to assume the proposed role is Fire Chief Joe Campfield. There's no denying Chief Campfield has an abundance of knowledge regarding fire services. His lengthy career at Dunnellon Fire Rescue can attest to that fact.
Pardon me if I seem at wit's end, because I'm not sure if it's from playing the role of full-time parent for the past month as my one-time spouse recovers from total hip replacement, or the recent budget workshops.
Who knew being a lazy slob would pay off for me one day? I got very lucky thanks to my lack of desire to clean my house. I can hear my mother telling me to stop writing about how I am a slob. I guess clutterbug is the best description. The house is clean, but cluttered. I don't feel so bad because if you see the videos people post on YouTube, you will see I am not the only person who is organizationally challenged.
For the past few years, and more, the Dunnellon City Council has avoided dealing with the fiscal crisis staring back at them this year: a $400,000-plus budget shortfall.
Now, for better or worse, city officials have no other alternative but to deal with the problems with drastic changes, or cuts. Truth be told, cuts should have happened years ago as revenues, especially reserves, continued to dwindle.
The problems are essentially three-fold and the current Council must take an aggressive, proactive approach to solving the financial issues.
When someone messes with something or someone I love, they are going to get my full wrath. I wasn't born with an Irish temper for nothing. If you know me and have experienced my angry side, you know I can be downright mean. Therefore, the County Commissioners should take notice. That sounds more threatening than mean; I am a pussycat with a big roar.
The dang fools are messing with the library budget. Don't they know how essential the library is to a community? Where else on this planet can you get all the knowledge this world has to offer for free? Nowhere, that's where.
"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."
— Erma Bombeck, American humorist
The Dunnellon Chamber of Commerce has designed a brochure promoting the Dunnellon Bike Trail and Blue Run Park as a way to bring bikers and hikers into our community to see what we have to offer. Following is the brochure verbiage that is sure to entice visitors to take a minute and enjoy the beauty that is Dunnellon. For information about the trail, visit www.facebook.com/DunnellonTrail.
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take that away from you."
— BB King
For more than 300 young men and women, the first step into adulthood begins tonight. It's a time to celebrate a significant milestone, but the countless hours you, your parents and educators have invested in the past 13 years should not be wasted.
Copyright © 2019
Riverland News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Dunnellon, Fl, and the surrounding area.


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If you would like to reserve a time that is not on Resy, call us at 703-319-2177 to see if we have something else available. Reservations for Chef's Tasting Events are available through the phone only. All reservations are held for 15 minutes.
We also provide catering, private dining and take out options.
To book a party larger than 6 or for private event and catering quotes, please contact Ricardo at email@example.com

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The Parade, Leicester, LE2.
A D Masic & Co is a firm of surveyors offering a range of services relating to land and property. Based in The Parade, Glen Parva, A D Masic & Co is a surveyor.
A D Masic & Co are listed in the surveyors section here:
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A D Masic & Co is in The Parade, Glen Parva. You can view a list of neighbouring businesses by going to the The Parade page.
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Note: the pin is positioned at the postcode centre, and may not correspond with the precise location of 3A The Parade, Needham Avenue, Glen Parva.


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Does your brand need a personality review?
There are five tell-tale signs your brand needs to take a long hard look at itself.
Usabilla flies to Virgin Australia's rescue with a voice of the customer solutions
Virgin Australia has had so much success enhancing customer experience by implementing voice of customer technology on its mobile app, the airline is now implementing the capability across other digital channels.
Virgin embarked on a data transformation program in 2017, alongside a wider digital transformation program across the organisation. It aimed to enhance customer experiences across the Velocity customer loyalty member base by improving redemption offers that are personalised and relevant; and lift the team's ability to understand and attribute what communications and digital activities are supporting this quest.
As part of this overhaul, the data analytics team adopted DataRobot's machine learning platform to bolster predictive modelling capability.
In 2018, Virgin realised it needed to improve customer satisfaction for its mobile app and better understand customer pain points, but it had no viable method to do this. Fast forward a few months, Virgin is now using Usabilla, and impressed with the results so far.
Virgin digital product specialist, Brendan Valmont, said the airline started evaluating voice of customer marketing technology in order to ensure it selected the right provider, and to get all-important buy-in from the leadership team.
"We need to figure out how to improve customer satisfaction for mobile app store reviews, how to better understand customer's complaints for anonymous app store reviews, and how to obtain quality feedback from customers on new features and changes," Valmont told CMO. "We looked at a few different solutions, and decided Usabilla was best suited to meet our current and future needs.
"The company was able to provide us with screen capture of what the customer sees at the time of logging the issue. Being able to see what the customer sees has made it much easier to reproduce and understand customers' pain points in a timely manner.
"We also liked the simplicity of distributing surveys for different purposes without needing to wait for the next release deployment, and the functionality to capture useful metadata, which is useful for us because the data provides our development teams with the necessary information to troubleshoot quicker and faster."
Other key decision factors included a number of success stories and case studies from other airlines experiencing the product first hand.
Usabilla empowers more than 450 enterprises in 35 countries including global brands such as Lufthansa, Philips and Vodafone, to collect, analyse and act on real-time user feedback to improve their products and customer experience.
Most recently, SurveyMonkey entered into an agreement to acquire Usabilla for approximately US$80 million, comprised of a mix of cash and equity, and subject to certain purchase price adjustments and customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2019.
The Virgin procurement team worked with Usabilla to identify practical case studies it could showcase in a product demonstration session with the senior leadership team.
"We were able to provide the senior leadership team with the solutions which would be used to improve customer experience and help identify issues in complex digital applications. Additionally, we reached out to existing customers of Usabilla to get some insights on their experience with the product, including the implementation process and ongoing value," Valmont explained.
Once the decision was made, deployment commenced in September last year to iOS and Android as a proof of concept. While only implemented a few months ago, Valmont says it is already paying dividends, with key measures of customer satisfaction rating, mobile app Store reviews and ratings, and net promoter score already improving.
"The implementation of the Usabilla technology has allowed us to receive and address customer feedback in an efficient and timely manner. By addressing this feedback, we have seen improvements to our customer satisfaction, which is demonstrated through our App Store ratings," he said.
"We have a quick turnaround of any bugs or issues reported, as a result of the metadata and function that allows us to understand what customers are seeing. We're able to gain insights quicker because of the more simple way we are able to deploy surveys including no longer requiring a release."
As a result, Virgin has seen an increase in customer satisfaction ratings because of the direct relationship with the customer and product manager.
"It's been really successful and we're currently rolling out to other digital touch points, website and email," Valmont added.
In other news, Virgin Australia recently revealed a new product campaign that re-claims its roots. The campaign, by DDB Sydney, launches with three product spots that focus on some of the airline's most popular offerings, including Economy X, in-flight WiFi and its all-inclusive airfares.
To support the new TVCs, Virgin Australia is also launching a significant digital, social and radio campaign that introduces a bold and simple new visual identity.
The campaign aims to put a healthy dose of Virgin cheekiness back into the brand voice, as well as showcase product features that flyers may not know are offered by the airline.
Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+:google.com/+CmoAu
There are five tell-tale signs your brand needs to take a long hard look at itself.
How do we price goods and services? As business leaders, we have asked ourselves this question since the history of trading.
Australia's cricketers captured the nation's attention during their recent run to the semi-final of the ICC Men's World Cup. While the tournament ultimately ended in defeat, for over a month it provoked a sense of belonging, hope and empowerment for millions of people across Australia. Cricket, and sport in general, has a near-unique ability to empower individuals, irrelevant of their background, demographic or nationality.
I had the same vision about change from CX terminology to HX. Even with almost the same title: 'Forget customer experience...' https://ww...
Thank you, so do I.
Hi Harry, thank you for pointing this out I can confidently say both these bottles are in transition away from PET as we continue to impr...
I'm confused. He has a giant 2l hard plastic bottle in Coles and his pink bottle is also in plastic??
Great message from an Aussie company about sustainable business practices, particularly packaging. Wish more businesses would think more ...
In this bonus last episode of this new podcast series, BrandHook MD, Pip Stocks, talks with former ANZ group general manager of marketing, Louise Eyres, talks about the importance of thinking like a customer and using intuition to solve customer painpoints.


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Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a species of endoparasitoid fungi that are infamous for infecting and killing ants, as a part of their propagation.
Sonia Nair
Most of us are familiar with mushrooms that are edible fungi. There are some fungi with medicinal properties too. Some of these fungi are found in the genus Ophiocordyceps, which consists of around 140 species. Among them, Ophiocordyceps sinensis is highly popular for its therapeutic properties, and is used in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine.
Most of the fungi in this genus are found in the temperate tropical forests of China, Nepal, Thailand, and some of the neighboring countries. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is also a species, which is said to have some medicinal properties.
Ophiocordyceps fungi are endoparasitoids, which spend a major part of their life attached to a host. In case of endoparasitoids, they feed on the tissues of the host, and ultimately kill the latter.
Insects are commonly found as the hosts of these fungi. While Ophiocordyceps sinensis attaches itself to the larvae of ghost moths, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis are fond of ants as their hosts.
Life Cycle
The spores of this fungus attach themselves to the exoskeleton of the ant's body, and germinate there. Each mycelium enters the ant's body through small pores on the exoskeleton called spiracles, or through the trachea, which are the tubes that enable the ant to breathe.
Once the fungi gain entry into the body of the ant, the mycelia (thin fungal filaments) spread through the whole body cavity, feeding on the soft tissues during the process. The vital organs of the ant's body are not harmed.
Once the fungus gets ready to sporulate, it grows into the brain, and releases certain chemicals that guide the ant to climb up plants. As the ant reaches a spot that is ideal for reproduction of the fungi, it gets attached to the stem or leaves, using their mandibles.
Once settled, the ant gets killed by the fungus, which grows both inside and outside the exoskeleton of the insect. The mycelia that grow outside helps in strengthening the bond between the exoskeleton and the surface to which it is attached.
The fruiting bodies of the fungus grows out of the ant's head and release spores. These spores then attach themselves to other hosts and the life cycle continues.
In short, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis can infect ants and guide them to climb plants and settle at a specific height. Studies show that this is done by the fungi for ensuring the optimum temperature and humidity for release of spores. Such height also ensures maximum spread of the spores.
According to fossil studies, this behavior of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis evolved more than 48 million years ago. The relation between this fungi and ants is one of the nature's ways to check the uncontrolled growth of ant populations.
Even ants can sense the presence of this fungus, and studies show that the infected ants are exiled from the colony, so as to avoid spread of the fungus.
As compared to Ophiocordyceps sinensis, which is widely used in the traditional medicine of China and Nepal, very little is known about the medicinal properties of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.
However, recent studies show that this fungus contains various beneficial compounds, and studies regarding its medicinal properties are still underway. Some studies suggest that this fungus may be helpful in treating malaria.


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Even though it's hot enough outside here in Boise to cook an egg on the sidewalk (maybe not quite, but it feels that way), Summer 2016 is coming to an end. I'm not, necessarily, talking about the season of summer - as I don't anticipate this boiling heat to dissipate anytime soon - as much as I am the state of mind that is, "SUMMER!"
'SUMMER,' is the greatest! Whether you're in school or not, everyone is transported back to that state of mind of the absolute freedom that comes with the time of year. Leisurely days by the lake, the melodies of the ice cream truck, the anticipation of adventures to come, and the long days of constant sunshine and endless possibilities!
And now, we find ourselves at the end of this wonderful season. I'll give you a minute to wipe away the tears...
Whenever I'm asked the question, "How was your summer?" I find myself lost to explain. How do you sum up in a few sentences to a barista a summer like the one I've had?
Like this: This summer I was privileged to witness hundreds of teens come together to try to make the world, and themselves, better through works of service! And because of it I am filled with joy!
Catholic HEART Workcamp is an experience which can be difficult to summarize, because it is so unlike most things. It's like a mission trip, but not completely; a retreat, but not really; a camp, but different than most camps. It really is Catholic HEART Workcamp, and nothing else! It's a crazy week-long, service-oriented, faith-building, community-growing, taco-consuming, dancing, singing, praying, camp experience! If you haven't had the chance to experience it, I highly encourage you to do so with your youth group or school. You can find more info at the Catholic HEART Workcamp website.
This summer was my 4th with Catholic HEART Workcamp (CHWC) and I was able to sing and pray with campers in Reno, NV; Ashland, MT; and Detroit Lakes, MN. If you attended a CHWC with me this year please know that I consider myself so privileged to have had the opportunity to meet you, and that I hope your experiences were just as joyous as mine. I had a great time with so many of you getting to know your story! Thank you for the beautiful moments of song and prayer that you helped create, thank you for the love that you shared with others, and thank you for being open to the will of God, Who - through the Holy Spirit - called you to, "Go...and make disciples!" (Matthew 28:19).
I want to say thank you to some people that helped make CHWC 2016 such a great experience for me, and many others! Bryce, Brian, Fr. Brandon, Fr. Paul G, and Fr. Paul M, Marina, Pam, Tony, Emily, Misty, Amanda, Br. Jason, Sue, Sheila, and Dcn. Gary - thank you all for your leadership, dedication, and willingness to serve! You'll never know just how much of an impact your service has had upon others! Friend Youth Ministers, thank you for going above and beyond the call of duty to bring teens to this experience! As always, huge thanks to Steve, Lisa, and the CHWC Home Office Team for all that they do to help everything run as smoothly as possible!
Finally, I was blessed to work with an amazing group of people who made me a part of their team, and who became more like family by then end of our time together. Billy, Anne, Aaron, Jessica, Erica, Hannah, MJ, Matt, and Alicia; I am so blessed to have "worked in the fields" with you! May you continue to lead others closer to Christ everyday!
I've shared a few photos from my experiences with CHWC 2016 here, but if you click the link below, it will take you to my Facebook photo album with even more photos of the coolest people I know! ;) Check it out!
To view the full Facebook Photo Album, CLICK HERE!
As always...


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Lots of people enjoy a cup of coffee to start their morning. What place do you buy your coffee from? Explore the many different varieties of coffee on the market. Then keep reading to learn more about coffee and the diverse the world of coffee products.
No matter how attached you are to your favorite blend, don't be afraid to try a new variety. You don't need to invest in a large bag to try out something new. Almost all brands will offer a single pot or sampler size to allow you to try out new flavors.
It is very important to properly clean your coffee making equipment. If you do not clean the equipment frequently, the taste of your coffee may suffer. You do not have to clean the equipment fully after ever use, but if you start to notice a slight odor or buildup of any kind, it should be fully cleaned.
Think about using a frying pan to roast your own coffee. While some people may use an expensive machine, it is really not necessary. Using the frying pan is quite a simple process and generally won't take you more than half an hour to do. Go online to find instructions regarding home roasting. There are a lot of tutorials out there that can help.
To get the best possible coffee, look for the ones that are made of 100% Arabica beans. These beans are of top quality and will give you the best taste after you are finished brewing. Furthermore, these beans preserve their freshness longer so that you can have great coffee for a very long time.
Never put coffee in a container by the stove. Your coffee will be ruined if you put it near any kind of heat source. Steer clear of counter tops and cabinets, even if it is above the oven itself.
To keep your coffee beans fresh, put them in the freezer. While many people refrigerate their coffee, doing so allows the beans to absorb odors from foods inside your fridge. A better solution is to freeze the beans. One easy approach is to divide the beans into several smaller packages so you can simply remove a package as needed.
The amount of time that you brew your coffee is very important. Around 4 or 5- is all it should take. If you brew for longer than five minutes, the coffee ends up tasting bitter. If you brew for less than four minutes, usually you end up with a weak and flavorless brew.
Keep your coffee machine clean. Once you are done drinking coffee, you should rinse the coffee pot and remove the coffee grounds. Rinse the machine as best as you can and run hot water through it at least once a week to clean it thoroughly. Do not leave coffee or grounds in your machine for more than an hour.
Have you gained new insights into your coffee options? There are so many things you can do. Why not do them all? With this new knowledge, you are ready to explore all of the choices when it comes to coffee.