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How to Obtain a DUNS Number And Register on SAM.gov
Create and improve habitats for endangered wildlife
NRCS-Minnesota uses EQIP to create habitat for pollinators, including the Monarch butterfly. Photo by Brian DeVetter.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices that improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related natural resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland. EQIP may also help producers meet Federal, State, Tribal, and local environmental regulations.
Owners of land in agricultural or forest production or persons who are engaged in livestock, agricultural or forest production on eligible land and that have a natural resource concern on that land may apply to participate in EQIP. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pastureland, non-industrial private forestland and other farm or ranch lands.
Eligible applicants must:
Additional program requirements may apply.
Financial assistance payments through EQIP are made to eligible producers, to implement approved conservation practices on eligible land or to help producers develop Conservation Activity Plans (CAP) to address specific land use issues.
Payments are made on completed practices or activities identified in an EQIP contract that meet NRCS standards. Payment rates are set each fiscal year and are attached to the EQIP contract when it is approved. Payment rates for each conservation practice can be found at each NRCS State Programs website.
Historically underserved producers (limited resource farmers/ranchers, beginning farmers/ranchers, socially disadvantaged producers, Indian Tribes and veteran farmer or ranchers) who self-certify on Form NRCS-CPA-1200, Conservation Program Application are eligible for a higher practice payment rate to support implementation of contracted conservation practices and activities.
Historically underserved producers may also be issued advance payments up to 50 percent of the established payment rate to purchasing materials or contracting services to begin installation of approved conservation practices.
Self-certified socially disadvantaged farmer/rancher, beginning farmers/ranchers, and veteran farmer/rancher producers may elect to be evaluated in special EQIP funding pools. More information can be found on the State Programs website or from your local NRCS office.
For additional information about historically underserved producers categories, see the Socially Disadvantaged, Beginning, and Limited Resource Farmers/Ranchers, Veteran Farmers page.
Payments received by producers through EQIP contracts after February 7, 2014 may not exceed $450,000 for all EQIP contracts entered into during the period 2014 to 2018.
The EQIP Organic Initiative contracts are limited to $20,000 per fiscal year and $80,000 during any 6-year period for persons or legal entities. There is no authority to waive the annual payment limitation or total payment limitation.
Federally recognized Indian Tribes are not subject to payment or EQIP contract limitations.
The EQIP Organic Initiative contracts are limited to $20,000 per fiscal year and $80,000 during any 6-year period for persons or legal entities. There is no authority to waive the annual payment limitation or total payment limitation.
A Conservation Activity Plan (CAP) can be developed for producers to address a specific natural resource concern on their agricultural operation. Each CAP is developed by a certified Technical Service Provider (TSP), who is selected by the EQIP participant.
See 2017 Conservation Activity Plans for a list of available CAPs.
Technical assistance payments for TSPs do not count against the financial assistance aggregate payment limitation or the contract financial assistance payment limitation.
For more information about TSP services, contact your local NRCS office or visit the TSP website.
NRCS accepts and processes EQIP applications on a continuous basis.
However, each state may establish deadlines for one or more application periods in which to consider eligible applications for funding.
Applications submitted after these dates will be evaluated and considered for funding during later funding opportunities. Producers must submit a complete program application, establish "farm records", and other documentation to support eligibility to be considered for financial assistance through EQIP.
To apply for EQIP, visit your local NRCS field office, in your local USDA Service Center.
Download and complete the EQIP application form (Form NRCS-CPA-1200), to establish or update "farm records" with the Farm Service Agency, and submit all other required information to the local NRCS field office prior to application deadlines.
Step-by-step assistance can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getstarted.
States offer a variety of EQIP funding opportunities to address priority local or state resource concerns. Producers may apply at the local NRCS field office where the eligible land to be enrolled is located. Refer to State Programs Links for more information available subaccounts (funding pools).
Provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers through contracts up to a maximum term of ten years in length. These contracts provide financial assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices that address natural resource concerns and for opportunities to improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland.
States offer a variety of EQIP funding opportunities to address priority local or state resource concerns. Producers may apply at the local NRCS field office where the eligible land to be enrolled is located. Refer to the State Programs Links for more information available subaccounts (funding pools).
National EQIP Initiatives
Air Quality Initiative
Provides financial assistance to implement approved conservation practices in annually designated regions to address significant agricultural air quality resource concerns such as greenhouse gas emissions, air borne particles, and other air pollutants.
On-Farm Energy Initiative
Enables agricultural producers to identify ways to conserve energy on the farm through development of Agricultural Energy Management Plans (AgEMPs), and by providing financial assistance to implement conservation practices recommended in AgEMPs or other approved on-farm energy audits.
Provides financial assistance to help implement conservation practices for organic producers and those transitioning to organic to address natural resource concerns. It also helps growers meet requirements related to National Organic Program (NOP) requirements and certain program payment limitations.
The purpose of the "High Tunnel System" conservation practice (code 325) is to assist producers to extend the growing season for high-value crops in an environmentally safe manner. The practice has the potential to assist producers to address plant health and vigor.
Strikeforce Initiative
The USDA StrikeForce Initiative's mission is to increase investments and create opportunities in persistent poverty-stricken rural communities using a multi- agency approach to achieve its mission. The Secretary of Agriculture launched StrikeForce in 2010 as a pilot project in persistent poverty areas in rural Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi. By 2015, StrikeForce efforts have expanded in an additional 17 States and U.S. territory in Puerto Rico.
National Landscape Initiatives
Landscape Initiatives
These initiatives enable NRCS to more effectively address priority natural resource concerns by delivering systems of practices, primarily to the most vulnerable lands within geographic focus areas.
Program Name
Program Description
Who Can Apply
Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)
Using EQIP financial assistance, CIG awards competitive grants to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production.
Non-Federal governmental or nongovernmental organizations, Tribes, or individuals.
Colorado River Basin Salinity Project
Helps producers in this river basin reduce salinity preventing salts from dissolving and mixing with the river's flow. Different States apply varying criteria. Contact your local NRCS field office to find out more.
A person, legal entity, Indian Tribe, native corporation, or joint operation with signature authority that is an agricultural producer.
To see what EQIP assistance NRCS is offering in your State, click the link where the property for EQIP enrollment is located.
2014 EQIP Farm Bill Fact Sheet (PDF, 1MB)
EQIP results data for years 2009 - 2014 are available on the RCA Soil Viewer website, as HTML or CSV.
EQIP Final Rule, on the Federal Register website.
See a summary of the changes on the NRCS Farm Bill website.
The Civil Rights Impact Analysis (CRIA) can be downloaded (PDF, 5MB)
The Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) is available (PDF, 1.1MB).
See the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on the NRCS NEPA website.
NRCS Home | USDA.gov | Site Map | Civil Rights | FOIA | Plain Writing | Accessibility Statement
Policy and Links| Non-Discrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | Whitehouse.gov


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This bill smells badly.
This bill smells badly.
Bob Gutermuth
Canvasback Chesapeakes
Claim: Section 1308 allows the government to dictate mariiage counseling and mental health services.
Reality: Section 1308 provides that marriage counseling.therapy services and mental health serivces provided by licensed providers will be eligible for coverage.
Claim: Section 163 gies the government direct, real time access to personal finances including access to bank accounts.
Fact: Section 163 requies that all electronic transactions conform to standard for electronic transaction simplification (defined in the existing HITECH Act) to permit timely processing of claims.
Claim: Under section 1401 a Federal bureaucracy will be created to research the efficacy of medical treatment and will be permitted to collect data for this purpose.
Fact: Absolutely true, with provisions for protecting the confidentiality of private and proprietary information.
Claim: Sections 440 and 194 establish home visitation programs and parenting programs where the government will tell you how to raise your children.
Fact: There is no section 194 as far as I can tel. Section 440 provides grants to assist states that want to establish quality program to provide visitation and parenting programs for persons in need.
Claim: Medicare recipients will be advised at least every five years on how to end their lives sooner.
Fact: Can't find this. No section number was given. However, it sounds like they are referring to counseling with respect to "advanced planning options" under section 1233, including preparation of living wills and durable powers of attorney. Good service. Happily my father was well prepared in this regard and we were able to follow his wishes precisely when he could no longer direct his own care.
God Bless PFC Jamie Harkness. The US Army's newest PFC, but still our neighbor's little girl!
Does anyone REALLY think this Health Care Bill will make it through the Senate?
I keep my PM box full. Use email to contact me: email@example.com.
I wonder what solient(sp) green taste like ?
"Communism only works in Heaven, where they don't need it, and in Hell, where they already have it" Ronald Reagan
Under HR 3200, there would be one health insurance plan that was operated by the government. However, there would be no limit on qualified, privately operated health plans. Being "qualified" means that individuals or companies purchasing those plans would not be subject to penalties associated with not having health insurance. In addition, individuals eligible for subsidized coverage would be able to purchase any qualified plan and apply the subsidy towards the premium. Finally, there would be no restrictions on individuals purchasing supplemental insurance on their own or on companies providing supplemental insurance coverages for their employees. The government is not the provider of care (as it is in the English system) and exercises no control over what services are offered or not offered subject to whatever state laws may exist regulating medical care.
All in all, the proposed approach follows the structure of what we have now -- both good and bad. Under my current insurance, if my doctor orders an MRI of my knees, it must be approved in advance by my insurance company and I must receive it from a specific provider. If I obtain the service without their approval or from a different provider, I must pay for it myself.
"Gotcha" provisions are the norm in our current health system. As an example, based on medical history, I have colonoscopies every 2-3 years. In the past, these have always been done in the hospital and my total cost has been under $200. For the last one, my physician suggested that it be done in his office because that is cheaper than the hospital. I agreed. However, the anesthesiologist that he used was not a participating physician and the lab used to analyze the samples was not a participating lab. Net result, the insurance company saved a lot of money and I paid almost $2000 out of my own pocket. Problems like this are built in to the approach we now use for coverage. Insurance companies point out thst they are not denying care, they are simply denying coverage. In the short term, because it builds on our current system, HR 3200 will do nothing to imrove that system or make it worse.
Before a plan is adopted, assuming that one is, I suspect that the "public option" will be dropped. I believe that will be a major mistake. The reason is that a government plan is less likely to rely on "gotchas" to save money. Competition from such a plan would make it harder for insurance companies to continue to play the fine print game in marketing their plans and I believe we would all benefit.
The irony I see, is that republicans repeatedly claim that gov't cannot run ANYTHING with any semblence of efficiency, and how wonderful big corporations are....then why worry that a gov't plan will put private plans out of business. Surely, no one on this list or anywhere else would give up their expensive private insurance for affordable gov't coverage? I wonder how the VA or tricare survive?
God Bless PFC Jamie Harkness. The US Army's newest PFC, but still our neighbor's little girl!
Originally from Yardley "The reason is that a government plan is less likely to rely on "gotchas" to save money. Competition from such a plan would make it harder for insurance companies to continue to play the fine print game in marketing their plans and I believe we would all benefit."
Under our current system who sets the standard for reimbursement rates for insurance companies? Who currently regulates the insurance companies? Why do you think they will do a better job in the future?
Regulation and administrative requirements are a major factor in health care costs. Nothing I have seen in the proposed bills decreases that. If anything it will be increased with the new government agency for oversight of the program.
Huntsman Tollers
Matt & Julie Martin
The govt cannot even run the post office, how in the H#LL are they going to run something as important as health care?
Bob Gutermuth
Canvasback Chesapeakes

subset: commoncrawl


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Health warnings that come with Halloween costumes
LA CROSSE, WI - Americans will spend more than 2.5 billion dollars on Halloween costumes this year. And as you put the perfect costume together, health experts have a few warnings.
For instance, when you're trying on Halloween masks at the store, odds are other people have done the same thing. That could lead to the spread of germs and bacteria, and cause things like staph infections.
A local expert says most kids won't have a problem, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Hand hygiene, with soap and water and then also washing your face with soap and water, and then the mask. And you should wash your mask before you try it on or once you get home, and once you wear it as well," said Gundersen Infection Control Specialist Stacie Christensen.
Rubbing alcohol is another option to disinfect the masks.
Health experts are also warning about colored contact lenses for costumes. They say they can be safe, but you should have them fitted and ordered by a licensed practitioner. That way you know they will not have any dangerous dyes, will fit properly in your eyes, and will not lead to an infection.
"Just like a medication, you wouldn't want to take a medication unless you know it's for you, been tested," said Gundersen's Contact Lens Coordinator Julie Buxengaard.
And if you're looking to save your lenses for next Halloween, you can keep them in a case. Just make sure to change the solution as recommended.22683802
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Home > Preparing for College >
Plan for the Future
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in 10 years. What are you doing? What is your dream? What is your life like? If you're going to achieve your dreams, you'll need to gain certain knowledge, experience and skills. But before you can get there, you need to do a little planning now.
Don't worry if you don't know the answers yet. Everyone struggles with these questions, and the answers often change as you get older. Remember that it never hurts to go back and rethink your interests, goals and dreams.
More Information


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by Allison Ehri Kreitler
fromFine Cooking
Issue 84
To many of us, the word "braising" conjures up thoughts of slow-cooked short ribs, pot roast, or chicken, but probably not fish. The moist, slow heat of a braise is ideal for melting tough cuts of meat into tender morsels, so why bother using the technique with fish, which is naturally tender? Because by braising fish, you'll get the benefits—melt-in-your-mouth texture and a full-flavored pan sauce—without the long cooking time. The recipes here are speedy enough for a weeknight yet fancy enough for company. And the chunky vegetables in the braising liquid double as a vegetable side dish, so in the end, you have a saucy, hearty, one-pan meal.
First, I make the sauce, which includes vegetables, aromatics, and a liquid like wine or clam juice. Next, I nestle the fish into the sauce, piling some of the vegetables on top to keep the fish moist. Then I cover the pan and finish the dish in the oven. Once it's done, I remove the fish from the sauce. Though the sauce is perfectly delicious as is, in two of the recipes (the red snapper and the salmon), I like to reduce it slightly to concentrate the flavors, especially when I'm cooking for guests. This is also the perfect opportunity to add a few finishing touches, like vinegar or fresh herbs.
I use an ovenproof skillet to make these dishes, but if you don't have one, you can transfer the fish and sauce to a Pyrex dish for the oven braising (just note that cooking times may be slightly longer). Also, a fish spatula comes in handy when removing the fish from the pan.
Photos: Scott Phillips
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361 Main is our newest, fully renovated mini-house, accommodating 13 female residents. Located one block south of Keddy on the west side of Main Street, this house has two full sets of bathroom accommodations, common area space and a kitchenette. Student rooms include movable furniture and wardrobes (some have built-in closets).
- Classification
- Residential


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Latest Headlines is home to all the latest, up to the minute news headlines from The Wall Street Journal in a streaming continuous headline experience.
By Drew FitzGerald
Google unseated AT&T as the supplier of free Wi-Fi service at more than 7,000 Starbucks coffeeshops in the U.S., moving the search giant deeper into the business of connecting people to the Internet.
Google is partnering with Level 3 Communications , an Internet middleman, to offer the service. Starbucks says it will be about 10 times faster than the existing T1 connections provided by AT&T.
AT&T said it had offered to upgrade its own service to the same speed. Instead, the carrier will supply Starbucks stores with other business services while customers reach the Web through Google and Level 3, which doesn't typically sell service on the last mile.
The new service will be available in some stores beginning next week and will be rolled out to all of them within 18 months.
Starbucks didn't detail Google's role, though it suggested Google could bring more to the table with media offerings like YouTube and Google Play. The two companies will "co-develop the next generation Starbucks Digital Network," Starbucks digital chief Adam Brotman said.
The partnership also offers Google a new channel through which it can sell advertising and pitch products. The company can offer seasonal drink coupons, for example, to customers as they walk into a store, Level 3 Chief Executive Jeff Storey said. "Google will do what it does best in that relationship," Storey told analysts during a call discussing his company's latest financial results. "We will do the network stuff."
Google still gets the bulk of its revenue from Internet search advertising. But it has plunged more deeply into Internet infrastructure in what many see as an effort to prod the industry to provide consumers with faster online speeds. That, in turn, could encourage people to consume more online media, use more Google services and see more Google-served ads.
Google this year revealed plans to expand Google Fiber, a superfast fiber-optic Internet service, to Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah. It can launch Wi-Fi networks in those markets by piggybacking on the wired network, allowing anyone to use their mobile device to access the Web in public spaces.
AT&T said it would provide the same service in Austin provided regulators gave it the same terms as Google. The carrier said Wednesday it still provides more than 25,000 Wi-Fi links outside of Starbucks, and said the company remains an important customer for its other services.
Starbucks has offered free Wi-Fi in the U.S. since July 2010, when it eliminated a previous fee of $3.99 for two hours of access.
Terms of the deal between Starbucks, Google and Level 3 weren't disclosed.
– Saabira Chaudhuri


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Auvio In Ear Armature Headphones
" I was trying to be generous with this review, I had these for fewer than two hours because of the comfort, They ACTUALLY cut up my ear canals, there is no exaggeration, my ears bled, and I've never been a fan of foam tips. Foam tips get ripped up, and really feel insecure in my ears, plus the plastic tube can become exposed and creates a level of discomfort greater than that of the silicon..." --ffdpmaggot
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3:59 p.m.
Hearing is recessed until Jan. 30 at 9 a.m.
That was the soonest that the attorneys and the hearing officer could commit to an entire week. Compton said the hearing would continue through that entire week, if needed.
3:48 p.m.
Kelly Stimpson is now conducting re-direct questions
Stewart said that Ellis
Stimpson: You said there were fewer students involved in Wave Connection, Sound Wave and Madrigals. DO you know why?
Stewart: At the beginning of the year, we had the same number in Wave Connection. Some have quit the program since Mr. Ellis has been gone. Sound Wave chose fewer students. They used to have 50 and only chose 40 this year. Madrigals had several students leave after Mr Ellis left.
Stimpson asks what happened to the credit card.
Stewart said some how between Deborah Atkinson and Mr Ellis it had gotten misplaced. She said Ellis had told her it had been lost. Stewart said Ellis thought it would be reissued but the board chose not to. Stewart said she was concerned about not getting receipts. She thought maybe there could be a better check system
Stimpson refers to the document that Stewart prepared for a parent. Asks if there is anything wrong with a parent requesting that
Stewart said no, she has always encouraged an open book.
Stimpson: Who chose the costuming for the show choirs
Stewart said Jauna Ellis usually chooses it.
Stimpson asks what information she was given about how much money she had to purchase the costumes?
Stewart said they showed her how much was available in the budget. She said they purchase from someone in Hattiesburg for one show and from someone in Tupelo for the other two.
Stimpson directs Stewart to exhibit 24. The email from Hal Leonard, permission to arrange for three different songs.
Stewart said this was the document she had referred to previously that Ellis had sent to her that she had gotten his signature and passed it along.
Stimpson: The money that was raised for the NY trip and the Alabama trip. Refers Stewart to year-end financials. Looking at exhibit 45 and money that was spent on the New York trip, you said you (didn't like using money in this fashion, did that have to do with putting Sound Wave in the deficit?)
Stewart: I felt like SW could not spend another night because we didn't have the money, also talked about going over and coming back on the same day. Every bit of that $13,000 that we could keep would make us a stronger choral program the next year.
Stewart said Ellis did not get permission
Stimpson: Do you know whether any person who receives money for services rendered has a responsibility to report that to the IRS?
Stewart: I believe that is correct, yes
Stimpson: You have testified that you don't have a personal problem with Mr. Ellis, correct?
Stewart said that she does not have anything against Mr. Ellis.
Stimpson asks if her only problem was with how the money was spent? Stewart said yes.
Stewart's testimony is complete.
3:35 p.m.
Butts: We were talking about (redoing choreography for songs) did you think that was squandering money?
Stewart: I never used that word squander, I just don't think it was good management of the money.
Butts: Do you know where this charge squandering the money came from?
Stewart: No sir
Butts: Is redoing choreography unusual?
Stewart: I have no idea
Buts: Then how can you say it is a misuse of money?
Stewart: To me, if you pay two choreographers to do it.
Butts: You wouldn't pay two choreographers to do the song the same way?
Stewart: Why would we need two different dances for the same song?
Butts: Whether or not a piece of choreography had to be redone was not in your realm of knowledge?
Stewart No sir
Butts: But you deemed it to be a misuse of funds?
Stewart: Yes sir
Buts: You are characterizing this choreography to be misuse?
Stewart: I didn't think we needed to hire two choreographers to do the same song.
Butts: Are you qualified to make that judgment
Stewart: As far as the choreography no, as far as the money, that is part of my job to make sure we don't waste money.
Butts asked if Stewart had previously seen redoing of choreography. Stewart said she doesn't know what songs the choreographers are doing. She just pays the bills. Until she was asked to create this document, she had never looked at the (redo question).
Butts: Asked if she discussed the document with Tammy Harrington
Stewart said they had a couple of sentences, maybe in an email. Maybe at church. Butts asks if she still has that email. Stewart said probably not.
Butts: Why did Tammy Harrington ask you to send this to her?
Stewart: She had read in the paper that one of the charges was squandering money and she wanted to know (about money spent this year)
Butts: Did Tammy Harrington express to you that she had believed it to be misuse?
Stewart said she said it was in an email. She said she and Harrington email often and that she does not know if she still has the email. Said she probably doesn't.
Butts: When did you give this document to the administration?
Stewart: The week after it came out in the paper. I am not sure when I gave it to them.
Butts: Did you ever feel compelled to talk to me as Calvin's attorney
Stewart: No sir
Butts: Did you think it would be fair to give Mr. Ellis the benefit of these documents and your concerns as you had done with the administration
Stewart: Every document I have looked at today, he has had access to through emails, through meetings. This document is the only one I have created since he has not been at the high school except for balancing the checkbook. Most of the documents I have talked about today have been emails (between the two of them).
Butts He wasn't given access to the records, which were placed in a vault in central office.
Stewart: I am talking about a notebook full of invoices I have paid. That is the records I am talking about. As far as the records at the end of the year, he has been given those, not since he has been terminated, but he has access to those…..Ellis has never looked at the invoices….That is what the Tupelo School district has is the notebook of my invoices.
Butts: Even if this is this one document or what has been on your zip drive, did you ever think it might be fair to come to Mr. Ellis and say this is what I have?
Stimpson objects, noting that she just testified that she has all of the documents except (the one document). Butts said the credibility and bias of a witness is always a question in cross examination.
Compton: Did you think it was fair
Stewart: I do not know the answer to that question. I know that while he was on leave he was to have no communication with parents or students. I knew he had his computer which had access to everything.
Butts asks how Stewart knew he was to have no communication. Stewart said she guessed it was hearsay. She had no idea who told her that. Said it was the talk of the town that he was to have no communication between parents or students. She said that Stimpson, Keith, Harris, Meadows, Susie Williams, Tami Harrington did not tell her that. She said Valerie Whitwell may have been the one who told her. Stewart said Calvin told Valerie Whitwell he was supposed to have no communication with parents or students while on leave.
Butts: This document has to do with copyright standards?
Stewart: This document was created at the request of a parent after it came out in the paper that we had squandered booster money (Said that copyright isn't the only reason some of those songs weren't used. Said there were other reasons. Said that the song "More" by Cory wasn't being used because it has been redone..)
Butts: "Why was there an asterisk next to "Written in the Stars"?
Stewart: No copyright
B; "More"?
S: Redone by other choreographer. We don't have copyright on it either
B: "Breeze"?
S: It is being redone and we don't have copyright
B: "Fire"
S: Fire has been denied copyright
B: :Run The World"
S: We have no copyright
B: "Freebird"
S: We have no copyright
Stewart said that was as of the day the document was created. Doesn't know what the status of those five songs is as of today. Stewart said she doesn't not have permission today.
Butts: How do you know those five songs require copyright permission?
Stewart: Mr. Ellis emailed to me a request for permission to obtain copyright….Said this year is the first time she had ever done anything with copyright.
Butts: You had never been concerned with copyright before this year?
Stewart: No sir
Butts asks purpose of the permission for copyright permission form. Stewart said Ellis sent it to her so she could send it to the arranger to sign it.
Butts: Before this year had the booster club ever paid for copyright permission to anyone?
Stewart: No sir
Butts: Going to last year, had the booster club paid any copyright permission fee, whether it was a fine or copyright permission fee or retroactive fee or anything of that nature?
Stewart: No sir
Butts asks if she was aware of Hal Leonard demand to retroactively obtain permission for two songs.
Stewart said she was familiar with email from Mr. Ellis that they could get in trouble but she did not know how much they could have to pay.
Asked by Butts, Stewart said the Tupelo Choral Booster Club did not pay that $1,000. She said she doesn't know what he is talking about (in reference to the permissions)
Stewart said this year they have paid $1,300 for five permissions. Butts asked how many permissions they would need to get. Stewart said on one program there was 15 songs.
Butts: That would be 30 between the two show choirs.
Stewart said she has paid for some Sound Wave copyright this year but she does not know how many because she hadn't created a document about that.
Butts: Do you know for a fact whether any of those five songs required Tupelo to get permission? Do you know whether getting a permission was even required under the law?
Stewart: No sir.
She said we requested permission for those five songs, so she would think if we would request permission, we needed it.
Butts: But did you know under your own knowledge whether the request was needed?
Stewart? No sir
Butts: Do you know whether Mr. Ellis knew on his own that copyright for these songs was required?
Stewart: I would assume if he requested copyright on a song, he knew he needed to get copyright.
Butts you just assume if he requested it, the law must require it.
Butts: Do you know what fair use it, educational use, unintentional infringement?
Stewart no to all question
Butts: You don't know on your own whether these songs would require a copyright permission?
Stewart: No I am a parent volunteer and I believe that would fall under someone else.
Stewart said she did not ask Keith, Stimpson or anyone else for legal advice about whether copyright was required.
Butts: Yet you made this document saying that it was required?
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: Did you also send a copy of exhibit number 42 to Susie White Williams?
Stewart said she did not, did not discuss it with her and does not know whether she got a copy of it. Butts asks if they are friends. Stewart said they are.
Butts: Do you want to see Mr. Ellis fired from his job?
Stewart: I want the school district to do what is right in this case
Butts finishes cross examination
2:45 p.m.
Butts holds up a document and asks when Stewart created it She said she created it at the request of a parent who had read in the paper that the booster club had squandered money and wanted to know about the money that had been squandered.
Butts: Who was the parent?
Stewart: Tammie Harrington
Butts: What did she ask you?
Stewart: She said do you know of a figure we have paid for choreography and music that is not being utilized.
Butts: When did she ask you this?
Stewart: After she read in the paper about the booster club squandering money.
Butts: At her request, you prepared this document?
Stewart: Yes sir, as my normal procedure
Butts: What does this document tell us?
Stewart: How much we spent in choreography between July of this year and today
Butts: It says $11,787.45. That is the total amount on choreography. Is that correct?
Stewart: Yes.
Butts: Next to that is a notation that the budget was $10,000. Is that correct?
Stewart: Yes
Butts: What do the do asterisks mean next to "Written in the Stars"
Stewart: Wave Connection did not have permission to perform that song
Butts: As of what date?
Stewart: When this document was created
Butts: When was that?
Stewart: When she read in the paper about money (being squandered)
Butts: Which I would assume would be same date we released the charges to the press?
Stewart: yes, sir. That was the only way we knew the charges
Butts: How did she ask?
Stewart: She wanted to know how much money we had spent on choreography this year.
Butts: You have five other songs down here, I take it at the time of the creation of this document had not received copyright permissions but you did not know when copyright permissions would be received if they ever were
Stewart: Not exactly true, if you look at "More" we brought choreographer back in to redo the song.
Butts: So the asterisk indicates when you created this document copyright permission had not been received. You didn't know when you were going to get it. What did "More redo" mean?
Stewart: Calvin Ellis came in and redid the song "More."…That song did not have copyright either….Redid the choreography for that song….The first time we did it was a waste of money for the choreographer because we redid the choreography because Mr. Ellis didn't like it.
Butts: Is it unusual to redo choreography?
Stewart. I have no idea….I didn't understand why we flew a choreographer in to do a song and then we flew in another choreographer to do the same song.
Butts: You paid Cory (sp?) $2,000-plus on choreography on three songs. Then Kellis is paid (I didn't catch the figure) to redo some of the songs that Corry had done.
Stewart: Yes sir.
At 2:45 p.m, hearing takes a 10-minute break.
2:35 p.m.
Butts: Are you aware it can be a felony to not submit a 10-99 under certain circumstances
Stewart: I did not.
Butts: I take it you told this lady that you did not issue a 10-99 to Mr. Ellis, if she asked that question?
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: But you went over the fact that (Mr. Ellis) had been paid for choreography?
Stewart said yes and that others had been paid for arranging and had not received 10-99s. She said she was advised that she should have issued 10-99s.
Butts asks how many meetings Steward has with the district lawyers. Three meetings at central office. Steward said Diana Ezell was also there and David Meadows came in during discussion about copyright and Linda Pannel.
Stewart said Meadows was not at the meeting but they had a question about copyright contracts and he came in to sign one.
Butts: I understand the three meetings you had with Ms. Stimpson, there were four of you in there, to the best of your recollection?
Stewart said her records were at the financial office and were not there when she met with Stimpson for the first time. First, she met with Rachel Murphree and Linda Pannel at the financial office. Kelly Stimpson was not there.
Next meeting was late October at central office. Diana Ezell, Kelly Stimpson and Linda Pannel were present. The third meeting was recently, after Thanksgiving.
Butts: Last week?
Stewart: It was the week after Thanksgiving
Butts: Where did this meeting take place?
Stewart: At central office
Butts asks who was present, but Stewart said she can't remember. She thinks Valerie Whitwell was there, booster club president.
Butts asks about Whitwell's knowledge of the books, Stewart said not extensively but she has some knowledge. Stewart said Whitwell as at one meeting but not necessarily the one after Thanksgiving. Stewart said she doesn't not remember what Whitwell said.
Stewart said they discussed all of these documents and it took two meetings to do so.
Butts asks what Ezell's participation was? Stewart said it was in Ezell's office. She said the first meeting was a question of how to get copyrights so they could proceed with the show. Stewart said that Pannel did not say much at that meeting and that she does not know why she was there.
Butts: Did anyone at any of these meetings express they were an expert in copyright law, including Ms. Stimpson?
Stewart: No sir.
Butts asks if anyone expresses that they had obtained copyright permission before or if anyone spoke about or produced a copy of the Tupelo copyright compliance policy. Stewart said no.
Stewart said that all she knows about copyrights is what she has read on her own. Said she does not hold herself as an expert.
Butts asks how many hours Stewart spent in preparation for the meetings. Stewart said she did not know. She said she was not compensated for these meetings.
She said she met with Stimpson and Keith on Sunday at central office. She met with them for about an hour and discussed her upcoming testimony.
Butts: Did you prepare some documents at the request of the district?
Stewart: No sir. Everything we talked about here was made befofe any of this happened except for the one choreography thing and that was done at the request of a parent.
Butts: I notice on exhibit 53, someone has written on this with arrows from left to right.
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: What does this mean
Stewart: said it was from a previous meeting, a conversation with the choral board, showing areas where they had gone over budget previously. She said that document was created at year end 2010-11. She said she was the one who created the document and the one who wrote on it.
Butts: During this meeting with the administration, you discussed copyright?
Stewart: Mainly copyright was discussed at the first meeting. After that I took everything I had on copyright and I emailed it because I knew I was not capable as a parent volunteer to take over copyright process. I took everything I had on copyrights and I emailed it to Kelly Stimpson with notes on where we were in the copyright process.
Butts: What exactly did you email to Kelly Stimpson?
Stewart said they came from the meeting she had with Ellis where they talked about copyrights and where they were in the process.
Butts asks how long Ms. Stimpson had those documents? Stewart said it was either the end of when Mr. Ellis was on leave or maybe that weekend.
Butts: She has had those documents for the last month, right?
Stewart: Yes Sir
Butts: How did you become aware that I had requested access to choral financial records?
Stewart: I believe I might have read that in the paper
Butts asked if Stewart tried to get the records back or to contact Butts. Stewart said she did not.
Butts: Did you not want me to see the records?
Stewart: They were in a locked vault in central office…said she was told they would keep them over the weekend and put them in a vault for safety reason. Said she never tried to get them back.
Butts asks about the credit card. Stewart said Vicky Wilson used it sometimes (2009-10 school year). She said that parents used it sometimes if they needed to order it.
Butts: The credit card had Vicky Wilson's name on it
Stewart said there was a credit card in the booster account with Vicky Wilson's name on it. Said Wilson did use it. Said Wilson did not use it to buy meals for choreographers. Said that she did not use it to buy meals during choreography week, to her knowledge. Said the only time parents used the credit card, to her knowledge, was when they ordered something off the Internet. She said it happened very few times.
Butts: Credit card statement does not say who used the credit card. You can not testify how many times Vicky Wilson or parents used the credit card
Stewart: Vicky Wilson did not use it last year because she was not here. She said she does not think a parent would take the credit card and use it.
Stewart said she checked all of the receipts for the credit card. Butts asked wheter during the year when Wilson was there, Stewart checked each receipt for Wilson's signature. Stewart said she didn't.
Stewart said if Wilson used the credit card if was for a company on the Internet and she sent Stewart the receipt for ti.
Butts: I am sure you did the best job you could but you did not or could not verify the signature or Vicki Wilson or Calvin Ellis or anyone else? Did you see Calvin Ellis's signature that wasn't Calvin Ellis' signature.
Stewart said no.
Stewart said that her knowledge parents never used the credit card in public. She said if parents had to buy something in public for the show they paid for it on their own and Stewart wrote a check.
Butts refers to charge of squandering booster club funds. Asks Stewart, as treasurer, how Ellis squandered booster club funds
Stewart said that for the 2011-12 school year, the fact that Ellis obtained choreography for songs they were not going to use was not using money wisely. The fact that they paid for songs before they got the copyrights.
Butts: Can you pull out what you are talking about?
2:06 p.m.
Butts asks when did Stewart start talking to administration about these issues. Stewart said when Mr. Ellis was put on leave, she was called and asked for her records. She said she took her records to the finance department. She said she hadn't gotten her records back yet.
Butts asks if she was ever made aware of Butts' request of administration for the financial records
Stewart: It would have been hearsay…yes sir.
Butts: When did you become aware?
Stewart? I do not know
She said she not provide for a parent financial reports for the last three years, last name was Williams. She sent him the end of the year records for the last three years.
Butts: Did you send him all of the records you have testified about today?
Williams said she sent him year-end financial reports for last three years.
Butts: So they have it and have had it, Mr. Williams has it but it is not here today?
Stewart: No sir
Butts: You have met on multiple occasions with attorneys for the district?
Stewart: yes sir, (3 occasions, maybe four or five hours total)
Butts: Have you met with any other members of the administration concerning the booster club records?
Stewart: No sir
Stewart said that Rachel Murphree questioned her at length about the records in mid October. Was at the financial office, downtown, not at the central office.
Butts: How long is at length?
Stewart: I guess I was there two and a half hours
Butts: What did the two of you do for those two and a half hours?
Stewart: She wanted to know how the account worked. She asked specific questions about how I kept my records. About a 10-99, that was real important to her.
Butts: What is a 10-99?
Stewart: She is an accountant and I am not
Butts: What is a 10-99?
Stewart: It is a document if a person makes a certain amount they should be sent and they should be turning it in on their taxes.
Butts: A 10-99 is issued to a person who you pay money to for their taxes who is not your employee
So you were talking to this lady who was auditing these books and she was particularly interested in why you didn't issue a 10-99 to Calvin Ellis?
Stewart: She asked if I had issued any 10-99s and I said the only person I had issued a 10-99 to was (the choreographer in California).
Butts: Don't you know whether they ask for them or not, you are required to issue one to them?
Stewart: No sir, I am a parent volunteer.
Buts: But you are the treasurer and have a finance degree
1:55 p.m.
Butts ask about structure of committees for the show choirs. He said that the band doesn't have that set-up to his knowledge. Stewart said that is also her impression.
Butts: What is Wave Connection?
Stewart: It is a show choir group. It has boys and girls.
Butts: How does a student get into Wave Connection
Stewart: They have tryouts
Stewart said Sound Wave is an all girl group. It also has tryouts for students to get in.
Butts asks how many committees there are for each show choir. Stewart said that she can't say for sure. Said each committee has a chair person and those committees also have their own budgets that the chair person oversees. Examples are sets and hospitality.
Hotel and motel rooms fall under competition, Stewart said. Said that is not a specific committee. Said that Ellis is over that budget.
Butts refers Stewart to exhibit 53, the budget. She said there are costume, publicity set and hospitality committees with their own budgets. Different people in those committees do what is shown on the budget.
Each committee has a chair person responsible for the budget for that committee.
Butts: Over the two years you were treasurer did any committees go over budget
Said Costume did, publicity didn't, sets did a little bit and hospitality didn't. She said that competitions did.
Butts: If you were going to assign blame to someone for going over budget for costumes, that would be the chair person of the costume committee?
Stewart: Yes sir.
Similar questions for each of the committees.
Butts: One person responsible for competitions and that is Mr. Ellis, correct?
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: You may start out with an idea of what each group's budget may be and that may go out of budget
Stewart: Yes sir, but we try not to overspend and spend money we don't have yet.
Butts: Is that really the way it works?
Stewart: When you have bills to pay, you really don't have much choice.
Butts: What do you do if a bill comes in over budget?
Stewart: I pay the bill
Butts: Where do you get the money?
Stewart: It is just one account, so you are borrowing from the general chorus to pay the Wave Connection bills.
Stewart said she thinks it is a problem because there are more people in general chorus than in the show choir and that money belongs in student accounts.
Butts: Would the general chorus account ever get paid back?
Stewart: When Sound Wave started out in the hole, they start out separately. I fix that with Sound Wave money from the next year.
Sound Wave started off $900 in the red.
Stewart: This is one bank account.
Butts: That you pay bills out of for all of the various committees?
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: I take what you are saying that you can't pick out $1 and say this belongs to set committee, etc. You can't say that right?
Stewart: I don't understand the question.
Butts: I assumed there had been five different accounts, but you are telling me all of the money that is raised goes into one account?
Stewart: It is all in one bank account/
Butts: But you have a budget for each committee
Stewart said it is something to go by to help them stay in the amount of money they are going to raise.
Butts: Are your budgets written in stone?
Stewart: No sir
Butts: You are keeping track of how everyone is performing as far as their budget is concerned? You can call someone like a costume chairman and say you have run out of money, you can't buy more money for costumes.
Stewart: They do not do that. They know how much money they have to spend and they are adults.
Butts: What if they go over budget?
Stewart: That happens sometimes and it is the costume committee's fault and the costume committee takes the blunt of it.
Stewart said that sometimes Ellis orders costumes without permission of costume committee chairperson. Said there is nothing wrong with that.
Butts: You have eight different committees that are in budget or out of budget at various times during the course of your fiscal year?
Butts for the 2010-11 year do you know how much you had in choral booster account on July 1, 2010?
Stewart: Not off top of my head (Said it was thousands of dollars). Said that most of that money is in student accounts. WE are only talking about one account, but keep up with Wave Connection, Sound Wave, Structure, Madrigal….
Butts: I am beginning to understand, please excuse my ignorance. What you have is ledge entries where you have a booster club account that has the money but on paper somewhere else you are keeping track of what that money is comprised of for student accounts. Is that what you are saying?…
Butts: Do the student accounts on any particular day total the amount of money in student accounts?
Stewart: No Sir
Butts: Why not?
Stewart: When students graduate if they have any money in their fund it goes into general chorus account balance
Butts: As I understand on the first day of the year you are positive in your account because of accumulation of unspent funds from students who have graduated.
Stewart: Yes sir.
Butts: Are you saying Mr. Ellis went over the budget he was responsible for and that is the competition budget (2010-11 school year)
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: And for previous year
Stewart: Said she doesn't recall
Stewart said set budget was over by $300, costume budget was over by about $1,000.
Butts: How much was Mr. Ellis over for 2010 competitions?
Stewart: We budgeted $15,000 and spent $16,966 for one competition. Normally that was going to pay for two competitions.
Butts: Why did it take $16,966 for one competition?
Stewart: He allowed Wave Connection to stay one extra night and they all went out to eat at a nice restaurant and they had a party that cost $2,000.
Butts: Did you object to that?
Stewart: I did object to him using the New York money to go to competition and I told him that. We should have banked that New York money.
Butts: How was the NY money raised?
Stewart: By having different fundraisers throughout the year
Butts: Who raised the money?
Stewart: Sound Wave , Wave Connection and Structure parents.
Stewart said only Wave Connection got to spend the extra night, Sound Wave did not get to spend the extra night because they were over. She said the reason she would have preferred to bank the money was because they were struggling to raise money in these hard economic times.
She said she wanted to bank it for future years.
Butts: You are going to take money that a senior in Wave Connection raised and not spend it on them but bank it for a child who did nothing to contribute for raising that money?
Stewart: Yes sir.
Butts: That is one problem you have with Mr. Ellis?
Stewart: I don't have any problem with Mr. Ellis and I think he will tell you that
Butts: You want him fired?
Stewart: I want the truth to come out
Stewart said she does not have a problem with Mr. Ellis.
Butts: I am not saying you have a personal problem. It could have been Calvin Ellis, it could have been any director. I understand what your job is as treasurer and I understood from your testimony earlier that Mr. Ellis was causing your problems as treasurer. Were you having any problems from Mr. Ellis in functioning in your job as treasured?
Stewart: Not sir
Butts talks about late invoices, etc. Are you saying that was not causing you a problem? Stewart said it was some extra work, but she was going to pay the invoices.
Butts: You have expressed your displeasure with Mr. Ellis utilizing some NY trip money to give these kids a party and allow them to stay another night. Were you displeased some other way with how he allocated any money?
Was there any other problem with NY trip?
Stewart: No sir
Butts: Is there any other problem?
Stewart: The problem I had with the credit cards was that I didn't get receipts from him.
Butts: How many receipts are we talking bout?
Stewart: I have no idea how many.
Stewart said she did not know off the top of her head how many they were talking about.
1:19 p.m.
Hearing resumes
1:11 p.m.
I just learned that today will be the last day of the hearing for this week and probably for this month because of everyone's schedules. They have not yet coordinated when it would resume.
12:02 p.m.
Butts asks if he can have a three-day recess so he can prepare for his cross examination. Compton said no. He said they could break for lunch. Butts said no, he would begin.
Butts asks how long she had been involved in show choir. Stewart said since 2002, with a two-year break when she did not have a child at the high school.
Stewart said she handles finances for the entire choral program: structure, chorus, show choirs and all student accounts.
Stewart said this year there are 165 children in chorus, 49 in Wave Connection, minus a few and (I think she said 40) in Sound Wave.
Stewart said that she has been the treasured this year and the previous two years. She said she was asked by Vicki Wilson to be treasurer, asked by Traci Hudson the second years and by the nominating committee this year.
Butts: I think it is a very big job that you had to handle, what has been the budget that you have dealt with over the last three years. Incomming money?
Stewart: That report shows that $200,000 was paid out for 2010-2011.
Butts: The year before that?
Stewart: About the same, maybe a little less.
Butts: What do you project this year?
Stewart: I have no way to know that.
Butts asks if it will be about the same. Stewart said there are less people in Sound Wave, Wave Connection and Madrigals, so that number could be less.
Butts asks where that money comes from.
Stewart said choral department and general chorus have fund raises and each group has their own fund raises. She said parents have to pay a fee up front. They sell ads for their program and tickets to their shows.
Butts: How much money do you receive from the Tupelo Public School District every year?
Stewart: None
Butts: You received no money from the district this year?
Stewart: No sir.
(Similar question and answer about the two previous years).
Butts: Are you are of the Tupelo Public School District contributing funds to the choral booster club at any time ever?
Stewart: No sir.
Butts: Is the choral booster club, it is a volunteer association right?
Stewart: yes
Butts: I would say from my experience mostly of parents with their children at the school is that right?
Stewart: yes
Butts: You have officers, the president each year, vice president, secretary and a treasurer? (Stewart says yes to each)
Stewart there is a WC representative, SW representative, Structure representative.
Butts asks about committees. Stewart said there is set committee, costume committee, publicity committee, hospitality committee.
Butts asks abut chorus aspect.
Stewart: We all represent the chorus….But they have their committees too. She said that includes chaperones who sit with kids during the concerts and a parent over each fund-raising event.
Butts: Many people volunteer their blood sweat and tears to that program, including you. And I want you to know a lot of people appreciate that.
Who in your experience has been in charge of selecting songs, having them arranged, having them choreographed, teaching them to kids and having them performed for Wave Connection in last year years.
Stewart: Mr. Ellis
Butts: Same for Sound Connection
Stewart: Prior two years, Mr. Ellis. This year we had separated that.
Butts: Explain that.
Stewart: Sound Wave is being handled by another individual. That didn't have to do with me.
Butts: Who is going to handle Sound Eave this year?
Stewart: Susie Williams.
Stewart said Structure doesn't have a budget. She said that prior to when she came Wave Connection and Sound Wave didn't have a budget but she felt one was needed because they were spending more than they were bringing in. She said they come up with income by determining how much money each kid was expected to bring in and how much they expected from ad and ticket sales. Then they sat down with Ellis to determine how to spend it.
Butts: This is a very fluid thing, right. You don't have hard numbers to work with?
Stewart: We do.
Butts: Lets say July 1 you are starting off with a zero balance on everything. How do oyu determine how much money you will have to spend for the upcoming years.
Stewart: Takes number of students and multiplies by amount of money they are supposed to pay (that number is already known by July).
Butts: Kids can quit or move out, so that is not an absolute fixed number. Do you know that…..On day one of your fiscal year, you may have a good idea of how many students you are dealing with
Stewart: By July 1, Wave Connection and Sound Wave parents have made two payments so I feel they have made their commitment. They paid $162.50 each payment, $325 total by July out of $650. They have paid half of their amount by that time….
Stewart: In a perfect world they would have all paid by (July 1)
Butts: That changes your budget doesn't it?
Stewart: It sure does.
Butts asks if every parent can pay and Stewart said no. She said that is problem they have to deal with.
She said they have scholarships for that. Butts said other people come in and pay for those who can't afford it. Stewart said that is correct.
Butts said you have a general idea of how many tickets will be sold, but that doesn't tell you exactly how many tickets will be sold.
Butts: The fact of the matter is, you have a pretty hard job. You don't really know how much money you will have to deal with in that year, right?
Stewart said that is correct.
Butts: You have to be flexible, right?
Stewart: Yes, sir.
Butts: Would it be correct to say that Sound Wave and Wave Connection don't really have what it known in the accounting world as a budget because you don't know how much money you will get that year and the best you can do is deal with expenses as you go along.
Stewart said she doesn't understand the question.
Butts asks if she has an accounting background. Stewart said she has a finance degree.
Butts asks her about the company where she works. Said you don't know how much money you will make, adjust expenses best you can, be flexible. Stewart said that was correct.
Butts: Would you say that the parents and the community since Calvin Ellis took over have been pleased with the performance of the show choirs?
Stewart: Yes, sir.
Butts: Would you agree they have been outstanding?
Stewart: Yes sir
Butts: Would you agree that is a wonderful experience to watch those kids do what they do?
Stewart: Yes sir.
Butts: Would it surprise you if the budget for Attahce (Clinton High School) is twice what Tupelo is
Stewart: I wouldn't be surprised at all.
Butt: I wouldn't be surprised if it was three times as much. Does it surprise you that Tupelo comes as close as they do to Attache when their budget is at least twice as much?
Butts: You have seen Attahce perform more than once?
Stewart: Yes sir.
Butts: If you assume, let's assume Attache has twice the budget Tupelo does, or Tupelo has half the budget that Attache does, are our show choirs only half as good as Attahce?
Stewart: We have never beaten them…I have no idea how their program works…They are equally talented, the kids are.
Butts: Do you think if we had the same budget as Attache, we could be performing on the same level with the sets and the costumes?
Stewart: I have no idea
Lunch recess until 1
11:28 a.m.
Stewart is looking at an email from Ellis to her. He is sending a contract for a choreographer from California. Several songs, I didn't get their names. Paid her $2,500 plus expenses.
Stimpson asks about the subscript on the document.
Stewart: It said Calvin Ellis and Aug. 19, 2011, 10:05 a.m. (That time was 20 minutes before Stewart received it.) Stewart said Ellis did not sign the document He wrote his name out and the date 8-18-2011.
Stewart is looking at a SoundWave budget connection for 2010-2011. It shows how much was budgeted and spent. The other page is for Wave Connection. Stewart said that Wave Connection was who went over budget. Choreography, budgeted $8,000 and spent $12,853. Music budgeted $7,000 and spent over $8,000.
Stewart said the budget showed they spent more for music after Mr. Ellis said that he could arrange music and save the boosters some money.
Stimpson: Are you aware of an annual report that needs to be made by the booster club to the school district?
Stewart: Yes ma'am. (She said she made that regularly).
Stewart said the only 10-99 she ever issued was for the arranger in California.
Stimpson tenders the witness. Butts prepares for his cross examination.
11:20 a.m.
Stewart is brought another email, exhibit 50.
She said it is a lengthy document. On the top is an email from Ellis to her from May 12, 2011 telling her he received an invoice from the arranger for Sound Wave.
In it, Ellis said he went to double-check things and there was an arranger who had not sent him an invoice. Ellis said he told him the books were closed and that they could pay if after July 1.
Stimpson: You testified earlier that the books were never closed, correct?
Stewart: Correct
There is another email from Stewart to Ellis on May 14, 2011. It provides reports in advanced of an upcoming booster club meeting. Ellis responded that everything looked good.
On the next page is an email with the invoice from Steve Anderson. It said that Anderson is arranging one more song without charging Tupelo. It says, he should be doing a free song for us, right?
Stewart said she disagreed, saying that if he was doing a song for Tupelo, Tupelo should pay for it.
On the next page is an email from Ellis to Stewart on May 21, 2011 at 12 a.m. In it, Ellis is discussing the invoice from Anderson. Stewart said that in the email, Ellis said that he had just received the invoice a few weeks ago from Anderson and apologizes for the stress the treasurer job can cause.
Stewart said in a reply email that she thinks that they should notify the parents of the new expense for arranging and its impact on the budget.
On the next page is an email from Ellis to Stewart on May 23. In it, Ellis said that some of those songs were also for Wave Connection, not all for Sound Wave.
Stewart said that she was excited about that because Sound Wave would not be as much in the hole.
Next page is Stewart's email to parents.
11:10 a.m.
Butts makes a motion that this witness in its entirety be taken out of the record .
Butts: It is becoming apparent to me that we are going over document after document as well as assertions by this witness, which I have never seen before. Perhaps they were emailed to me on Sunday afternoon. I don't know what is correct. My information is that the administration has had accountants pouring over these records for weeks if not months. There is no possible way for me to examine these documents and go over any cross-examination of this witness other than off the top of my head. It is apparent the administration has met with the witness (Several times).
This once again shows how unfair this entire process has been. I believe and I will stand corrected that the administration could have given me all of these documents and the booster club books which I have asked specifically for three or four weeks ago. To subject us now to this witnesses testimony and I have to write down word for word what she is saying and this is the first time I have heard any of this is a total violation of due process to the most flagrant kind. I object to this procedure, the actions of the administration, this witnesses' testimony.
I move that the charges against Mr. Ellis be dismissed and he be reinstated.
Stimpson: There is a statute under which this proceeding is being conducted. The status clearly states how this process is to run. Mr. Butts knows that t
The statue provides that his client be given notice of the charges against him. Those charges were set forth in a four-page letter, 23 charges against him.
You have made this record numerous times and the statute does not provide for a school district to provide documentation or witness lists. This is non a non renewal, this is a mid-year termination and the administration is complying with law every step of the way.
We are talking about the integrity of an employee in dealing with a booster club and in this case a budget of over $200,000.
All of the testimony from this witness is specific to the items in the termination list that Mr. Ellis received.
Butts: Once again this administration is hiding behind the statute. I understand that, but sending me 140 pages of documents this last Sunday afternoon, why did they even bother? Why send me 140 pages of documents on Sunday afternoon when I am trying to get ready for a hearing that starts at 9 the next morning? Is this their attempt at due process? I suppose it is.
I have not had an opportunity to go through these 140 pages. At this point I am confronted with having to at some point today cross examine this witness without the weeks of preparation the administration has had to prepare her and she has obviously been prepared.
I have been to court a couple of times to solve this problem and I have not been successful.
All I can say is I have made my record, thank you very much.
Compton: You have made your record. The law is clear. Discovery is not required as in a non-renewal hearing. The Supreme Court is clear. For me to take this out of the hands of the board and sustain your motion to dismiss I don't think I have that authority, I am to prepare a transcript and the board will review that transcript. Your objections will be noted in the transcript and the board will decide. It can be appealed to the chancery court or to the supreme court.
Back to testimony
Stimpson asks Stewart if any of the documents are ones Mr. Ellis hadn't seen before.
Stewart: The only one I know that he hadn't seen would be, number 42, about choreography for this year. He has not seen this document but he has seen one like that. He will testify I'm certain that I gave him more financially information than he ever wanted.
Butts: May the record reflect that since these records were not provided to Mr. Ellis with any reasonable time before the hearing that any knowledge Mr. Ellis has of these documents would have to be drawn solely from his memory.
The administration has had the actual document to either refresh this witnesses memory or construct their examination. We have had nothing expect Mr. Elli's memory. I am not saying he is impaired but I can hardly remember what I did last week. that is why I keep a calendar and make notes. When I do so much I cant remember everything that has been done without my memory being refreshed.
Stewart is now referring to an email. She said it makes it sound as though when the choreographer was in town Mr. and Mrs. Ellis would take the choreographer out to dinner and charge the booster club. Stewart said Mrs. Ellis was not a district employee.
She is now referring to an email with credit card receipts. It is a copy of all of the bills.
Stimpson: Did you have any conversations with him over charges that were not substantiated?
Stewart said she would ask him for receipts she did not have but she would usually not ask any more.
Stewart reads an email from a Wave Connection parent from Dec. 1, 201. Said she heard that they would not be going to New York and said a lot of parents were wondering when Mr. Ellis would tell the kids.
Stewart is reading an email sent to a parent from Auburn High School. She said that when the show choir was in Birmingham, they had a party with Auburn High School at the team hotel. Stewart said she was trying to find out how to get money from the school. Stewart said she spoken with Ellis and she understood that Tupelo would pay for the party and Auburn would reimburse for half. Tupelo paid $1,000 on a DJ and $700 for room rental and also paid for security and food.
The parent responded on March 1, 2011…
Stimpson: What had Mr. Ellis told you about the invitation for the party?
Stewart: That we had been invited by Auburn High School. That we had been invited to have a party with them.
Back to the response email. The Auburn parent said Auburn's director and Mr. Ellis had agreed that the school would pay $500 for the back…
10:43 a.m.
Stewart is referring to a year-end document for 2010-11 school year. Ending balance for Wave Connect was a deficit of $5,000. Stewart said a trip had been planned for New York that didn't take place. She said that money was divided out to get them out of the hole. Sound Wave still ended up in the hole, she said.
Stewart said that at one point, she thought Sound Wave would end up with money but after she got the invoice from Steve Anderson in May, it put them back in the hole.
Stimpson asks about the New York fund
Stewart said Ellis had planned a trip to NY for Wave Connection, Sound Wave and Structure and they started raising money in the beginning of the year to get 150 people to NY. It was a trip where each child would need to pay an entry fee to be in the competition. In October, the show choir board voted they were not going to have enough money to go.
Stimpson: Was this a school function?
Stewart: Yes
Stimpson: To your knowledge was this trip approved by the principal?
Stewart: Mr. Ellis said it was.
Stimpson asks about show choir board. Stewart said Ellis put it together in the summer of 2010. She said it was the only reason she agreed to be treasurer again, noting that it was a lot of work, with $200,000 going through the account. She said Louis Homes (spelling?) was going to be the financial person on that board and he helped her. She said that that board stopped meeting after they cancelled the trip to New York. She said it was a seven-member board chosen by Ellis.
Stimpson: How much money did you need for the New York trip?
Stewart: We decided each child would need to pay at least $250, we never got down to specifics of it because we realized there was no way we could raise that phenomenal amount of money. She said it would cost $800 to $1,000 per child.
Stewart said the board met with Ellis and told him the trip was not going to happen because they could not raise enough money. She said Ellis was conduction a Wave Connection practice at the time and went back with them.
How much money was raised for New York trip?
13,707.22. There was more money in that account, but people had already paid for some of that. Every student has their own account for trips. One payment had been due and she had already transferred some money. That account originally had $9,000 more in it but it was put back to student accounts or given back to parents.
$500 per group had already been paid for the New York trip. $1,000 total for the two show choir groups. That money was not refunded.
Stewart is speaking about another document, year end finances for Sound Wave, what was budgeted and what was actually spent. She goes over same document for Wave Connection.
Stimpson: Was Wave Connection over budget that year?
Stewart: Yes. They brought in $71,000 and spent $77,000
Stimpson, after the Oct. 14 show choir board meeting when NY trip was canceled are you aware of any other fund raising that occurred for the trip?
Stewart: We had a haunted trail the week of Halloween at allard Park (to raise money for the trip)
Stimpson: Had Ellis informed the students that the trip was not going to take place?
Stewart: It was later. I don't think we received anything from him that it wasn't going to take place until January (2011)
10:28 a.m.
Hearing resumes after 18-minute break
10:10 a.m.
Stewart is now referring to several invoices paid to arrange songs. Then she reads an email she sent Steve Anderson when she received a late invoice from him. The email apologizes to him for the invoice being paid late. She said that she just received the invoice yesterday and she paid it the next day. She said that she doesn't know where the invoice was sent but that if he sends the copy to her, she will make sure they get paid more quickly.
In his reply, Anderson said he is surprised Stewart did not receive the invoice earlier because Ellis had it all that time. He said that Ellis had told him that the booster books were closed.
Stimpson asks Stewart whether the booster books were in fact closed. Stewart responds that the booster books are never closed but are open year round.
Stewart reads an email in which Ellis billed the booster club $1,250 for arranging several songs.
Stewart said the booster club paid twice for some songs. She said that in the email from Anderson, he said he arranged "Crush ,crush, crush." She said that she also paid Ellis in June to arrange that song.
Stimpson: Did you have a discussion with Mr. Ellis about that.
Stewart said no. She said that the invoice from Anderson came so late that she just paid that invoice when she received it.
Stewart is referring to an email from Ellis to her on Oct. 15. It is an email specifying he needed checks from her for various things, choreography, invoicing music, the Ole Miss choir, etc.
Stimpson: Whenever he presented you an invoice, for arranging service, you paid it?
Stewart: Yes ma'am.
Stimpson: Did he ever get booster club approval for arranging songs
Stewart: No….He did tell us at one point that he was arranging music and it would be less expensive for booster club if he arranged songs, so I was aware that he was going to be doing some arranging.
Stewart said that the booster club books ended the year in the deficit for the first two years that she was treasurer.
9:56 a.m.
Stewart is directed to the 2010 Sound Wave program. It shows that the song "Ask the Lonely" was performed. She also asked about another program that shows the song "I Drove All Night" was performed.
Stewart is now directed to an email sent to her and three others. It says that the October show could be canceled because they couldn't get all of the needed copyrights. The email said that copyrights had been obtained for five songs.
Attorney Kelly Stimpson: Was that true?
Stewart: No Ma'am.
Stimpson directs Stewart to exhibit 24, a permission to arrange contract that she was given by Ellis when he started the copyright process. It has Ellis' signature. It is a permission to arrange contract. She said that the payments were made on Sept, 8.
The contracts are for "As cold as Ice," "We Didn't Start the Fire." and "Fire and Ice."
Stimpson asked whether Ellis had copies of the music at this did.. Stewart said he did. Stimpson asks whether he distributed it in student folders. Stewart said he did.
Stewart is directed to an email from Ellis about the team get together on Sept. 23. Stimpson asked whether Stewart believed this to be a school activity. Stewart said that she did. Butts objects, questioning Stewart's expertise in knowing whether it was a school activity. Compton allows the questioning to continue, telling Butts he can voir dire the witness about it on his cross examination.
Stewart said her daughter also attended the event on Sept. 30, the makeup party, but that she only attended the first hour because she was in a wedding the next day.
Stimpson: Did you consider it a required activity?
Stewart: The kids felt they needed to be there.
Butts asks for the question to be repeated again, saying the witness did not fully answer it.
Stewart: The kids were told it was optional, but my child felt like she needed to make an appearance there.
Stimpson: What was your understanding?
Stewart: That is was optional.
Stewart refers to money spent by the booster club on choreography for songs that they did not use, either because of copyright or for other reasons. She said there is another song for this year that has been choreographed but does not have copyright permission. That makes a total of $6,500 that has been spent choreographing songs that they don't have copyright permission for.
They referred to another $1,700 spent on songs that hadn't been used. I did not catch what that money was for.
Butts said several documents have been introduced. He asks whether they were part of the 140 documents that were sent to him on Sudnay afternoon.
Stimpson said they sent Butts 50-something documents on Sunday as a courtesy to him. She said she was not required to do so but that she did it as a courtesy. She said that her understanding was that these documents now being spoken about were in that group emailed to Butts.
Butts said that it may have been 50 documents, but it was 140 pages.
He has a continuing objection on each of those documents being introduced.
Stewart said Ellis charged $1,200 for four songs she arranged. She said that two of those songs were performed but that to her knowledge two of those were not performed.
She is now referring to an invoice to Ron Jones for an arrangement he did for Sound Wave in October.
9:29 a.m.
Stewart is directed to another email from Ellis. In it, Ellis said "No news means good news in that area." Stewart said that she understood that to mean that Ellis thought that they had received the copyright permissions since they had not heard anything. Stewart said she did not believe that to be accurate.
Stewart said that she was alarmed that they had a show in six weeks and that at that point, they did not have copyright on any songs.
She said that she and the booster club president then met with Ellis asking how they could help him, how they could help him to be better organized.
President of the booster club is Valerie Whitwell.
Stewart said that she met with the other officers of the booster club and realized that at that point. that Wave Connection did not yet have copyright permission on any song. This was in the middle of September. They then went and met with Jason Harris. She said the meeting with the boosters would have either been Sept. 17 or Sept. 24 and that they then met with THS Principal Jason Harris on the Tuesday after that.
Stewart said she had gotten an email from a copyright company that they hadn't gotten permission on two songs previously performed by Wave Connection. She knew those two songs had been the closing songs of past shows.
The songs were "Ask the Lonely" and "I Drove All Night." Both were arranged by David Alderman.
Stewart said when she heard that she realized that "this was far deeper than I as a parent volunteer should have to deal with." That was when she called the booster board and met with Mr. Harris.
9:15 a.m.
The third day of the hearing has begun.
Terri Stewart, the treasurer of the choral booster club is on the stand. She said that she would rather not be here but that she was issued a subpoena.
She is directed to an email from Ellis to her. It asks what is going on with the credit card.
In the past two years, the booster club had had a credit card and it had been misplaced. Stewart said she felt it was in the best interest of the booster club not to have a credit card. She said she would keep up with receipts by contacting Ellis and asking for them. Ellis had the credit card.
Stewart said she had never paid for any copyright permissions until Sept. 8 of this year. That is when she first wrote the checks, beginning process of getting copyright. She said September of this year was the first time
She is reading Ellis' email again. It says that his personal goal is to keep up with receipts better this year, acknowledging that as a weakness of his.
Stewart said that he and Ellis talked about money a lot. She said that Ellis did struggle with keeping up with expenses. She said that organization wasn't high on his list, that he was busy with other aspects of the choral program.
Butts motions to dismiss all charges dealing with booster club funds because those are not public funds and are not funds of the Tupelo Public School District. He wants to renew that motion, which he made previously.


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ORIGINAL: hunter177
I'm most likely going to invest in a Benelli Nova 12 ga. in RealTree APG with a 26" barrel. It comes with 3 chokes but not a turkey choke. I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on these guns and what a good but inexpensive turkey choke would be for it? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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Amsterdam Chief Justice Looking for Sources in Badr Hari Case
- Written by Dave Walsh
This is a follow-up to the article from the other day about Badr Hari and commentators on crimesite.nl reporting news about the Amsterdam assault from last February at the night club BlinQ (thanks to reader Ramon for translation help). Wim van den Pol of the website considers himself a journalist and the readers who comment on his articles as "sources." Like any media source, he claims, he refuses to disclose their personal information. Amsterdam officials believe otherwise, that van den Pol is a "telecommunications provider" and must abide by those laws -- which means to hand over IP addresses of those posting comments on his site so that they can be questioned and used as witnesses in the case.
How serious are officials? Van den Pol might be arrested if the IP addresses of the users are not forwarded to Amsterdam officials. That is pretty serious and shows just how much attention this case is garnering at this point in time. Officials are doing more research into the matter currently, with the investigation "frozen" until they can conclude if van den Pol is truly, legally considered a "journalist" or as an operator of a website, simply a telecommunications network provider.


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Template Question: Color Clarity
Posted 02 February 2013 - 09:06 PM
I've mostly created pages from scratch, but have a question about using templates. Using PSE 10, I choose a color I like and see it properly displaying in the bottom left corner of the tool bar (sorry, I can't recall the name of that area...the default displays as black & white squares). I choose the layer that I want colored and make sure the selection handles show that I have the right layer in the work area. I then choose
Adjust Color
Adjust Hue / Saturation
Check the Colorize Box
A color change does occur, but it's not consistent with the color I've chosen. For example, just now I experimented with an SNU ScrapSimple Collage frame. The color displaying in square below the tool bar is a bright, vivid turquoise for this test, yet the frame turns a rather pale blue. A bright vivid blue displays on the frame as a pale purple. In this case, I rather like the effect, but that's often not the case. Indeed, often the placeholder grey is replaced by an ugly, "muddy" version of the chosen color. I think I'm properly following the steps from the instructions for SS templates, but must be missing a vital step along the way. Ideas???
Posted 02 February 2013 - 09:25 PM
First, when you use the colorize box, it will give you the correct hue, but you'll usually need to adjust the saturation and lightness sliders to get the color to match.
I use color overlays with blending modes a lot when coloring ScrapSimple Items. Look in the 1 Scrap Girls ScrapSimple Instructions Handbook (Free ScrapSimple basics eBook) for more ways to color your ScrapSimple items. There is also a ScrapGirls You Tube Channel with even more tutorials.
My Gallery I scrap with Photoshop CS6.
Posted 02 February 2013 - 09:27 PM
Welcome, if I haven't said it before./>
Posted 02 February 2013 - 10:24 PM
Victoria, Too Many Interests, Too Little Time / Money / Energy!!! />
Posted 02 February 2013 - 10:25 PM
Posted 03 February 2013 - 08:32 AM
The clue is in what April said about using the sliders after you've "colorized" your item. I also use PSE, and have found that I have to play with the saturation and the lightness/darkness sliders -- sometimes quite a bit -- until I get the color to match that little square. Your light blue probably needs to be more saturated and more dark before it will look like the vibrant turquoise you want. Hope that helps!
Posted 03 February 2013 - 01:31 PM
Posted 03 February 2013 - 02:19 PM
Posted 03 February 2013 - 02:27 PM
Another method, you can select the template layer, and CTRL + CLICK on its thumbnail in the layers palette. That selects that layer, and you get the marching ants around it. Then just click Alt + Delete (in PS, can't remember at the moment for PSE) to color the template DIRECTLY.
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Posted 03 February 2013 - 04:01 PM
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Fabio Pinca vs Petmankong Petfergus 2010
- Written by Dave Walsh
I'm in China right now, unable to access Youtube, so I'm going all the way back to December 2010 for this bout, the final of the inaugural Thai Fight Tournament.
The winner got a heap of prizes including an Isuzu (yes, this tournament is also funded by Isuzu Motors), a million baht (approx. 33k USD), sponsors, and a lot exposure.
Pinca fought his way through Sharos Huyer and Rafi Zouheir, and Petmankong went through Zhou Hong Zhang and Vitaly Gurkov to meet in the semi-finals. There were questions about whether Petmankong, previously a 126 lb and 135 lb fighter, could be successful in the 147 lb tournament, but he'd proved more than skillful enough to handle his first two opponents. Pinca had been making a name for himself facing high quality Thai opponents, but had come up short against elite fighters like Kem Sitsongpeenong, Saenchai Sor Kingstar, and Attachai Fairtex. He himself was not a a large fighter for 67 kg, having fought at 140 lb a number of times.
Pinca wears the blue in this bout, Petmankong the red.
(As I said, Youtube is blocked in China, so I'm actually viewing the bout here: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjI5NjM5NTc2.html)
I have a bone to pick with this fight, so please excuse me if I get a little angry in this post.
Thanks to TungstenPalm for that video, though the end is a little hard to watch. I thinkit's safe to say that the organizers really wanted a Thai to win. "To hell with Petmankong's brain cells if they could make it happen, right?"
Petmankong had KOed a vastly outmatched opponent in the first round and overcome his second opponent through superior clinch skills. The hands hadn't come into play because Zhou never opened up and Gurkov, though much larger, really didn't have much in that department, choosing to play into Petmankong's superior clinch game.
Fabio, as we can see, played an entirely different game. He did what most fighters would do if behind in the last round: go for the knockout. In the sense that both fighters fought well, this is a good match. However, watching the ref's refusal to stop the fight, even for an eight count, was sickening. I haven't seen anyone else express anger over this, but the more I think about it, the more I see the consequences in what can only be called bad officiating. There's a point where Petmankong collapses against the ropes and Pinca backs off, only for the ref to step in and say "Chok," as Petmankong sways on his feet. Petmankong would go on to get knocked out again on the same night against Soichiro Miyakoshi in the reserve fight.
I understand the pride in having a Thai win the first Thai Fight, but this discredits the sport in showing irresponsibility in caring for fighters as well as blatant favoritism.
When this happened in K-1, say when Masato got an extra round against Buakaw, fans (at least internationally) were outraged. In the UFC, Dan Miragliotta and Mario Yamasaki catch flak all the time for early stoppages or letting fighters take too much punishment. Judges, too, are lampooned for their more untenable decisions.
I suppose this kind of thing angers me for a number of reasons. I would like to see Muay Thai grow, and something like this is bad for the fighters and bad for the sport's image. And it's not like Pinca didn't exhibit good Muay Thai or didn't otherwise deserve the win. Fabio and Petmankong put on solid performances, and I could imagine, as a spectator, having my evening rather soured by this type of result. I think it would have been fine to have Pinca win a few seconds earlier. Giving an international fighter the victory in a Thai tournament would have been good advertising of a sort, too.
I am not used to seeing this happen. Thai referees and judges usually perform excellently, especially in large events. Even when they come to a controversial decision, the judges tend to have a solid reason. Rematches are usually arranged in short order for close matches, anyway. The referees in large stadiums are impeccable, for the most part, looking very alert and as fit as the fighters.
Please, let me know what you think of this. Am I being oversensitive? If you have another perspective you can lend, I'd be happy to hear it.


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Everyday, like religion, I log onto the internet and read some of the stuff on <theforce.net> before heading over here to Sir Steve's Guide. There's usually not too much going on there other than some random spoiler news and updates. Sometimes those spoilers and notes are pretty interesting. Someone posted an article entitled "Hit and Miss". It talked about some of the things that are and AREN'T working for AOTC. It was said that the fight scenes are great, but the love story is contrived and laughable. I have included a link to this story for those who would like to read this and put a post up regarding this news.
Some of this information gives me cause to worry... considering the love story is one of the key elements to the future of Anakin and Padme- not to mention Luke and Leia!!
Please read and let's discuss!!!


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