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Thomas Saf-T-Liner® HDX
Bus routes come in all shapes and sizes. Short and hilly, long and bumpy or all of the above. The Saf-T-Liner® HDX and Saf-T-Liner® HDX CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) from Thomas Built Buses was built to handle them all. We keep the driver comfortable with features like the standard tilt and telescoping steering wheel and optional adjustable pedals, while air conditioning, coach-style seating and heavy-duty shock absorbers make the ride a perfectly pleasant one for up to 90 passengers. Of course, safety is most important to everyone, which is why the HDX meets or exceeds FMVSS. Our unwavering commitment to the needs of every passenger, driver and customer has made Thomas Built a leader for over 90 years. And with one of the most extensive dealer networks in the industry, there's always support nearby when you need it.
Body Specifications
- Passenger capacity
Up to 90
- Wheelbase
181", 209", 238", 267", 277"
Up to 36,200 lbs.
- Engine
Cummins® ISB 220-300 HP, ISL 260-300 HP
- Green option
CNG – Cummins ISL G 250-280 HP
- Ergonomic driver's dash and switch panel
- Easy-to-read offset gauge cluster
- Tilt and telescoping steering wheel
- Suspended brake and accelerator pedals
- Foot rest
- 45-degree steering angle
- Sound isolator over engine
- 78" headroom
- Exterior electrical access door
- Streamlined electrical center for easy identification and access
- Fuse relay centers provide circuit protection and easy diagnostics
- Front access panel
- Drop-frame design at engine location
- Engine compartment accessible via three doors plus access panel
- Easy access to fluids
- Display of fault codes in dash
- Lights equipped with plug-in connectors
- Wheelchair lift
- Adjustable pedals
- Air suspension driver's seat
- Air ride suspension
- AM/FM radio/CD/PA
- Remote control/heated mirrors
- Reading lights
- Various seat options available: bench seat without belts, with lap belts, with 3-point belts; integrated child seats; or coach-style seating
- Child reminder system
- Crossing arms
- LED light packages
- Acoustical ceiling
- Underbody pass-through storage area
- Overhead book racks
- White roof
- Tinted windows
- Staggered passenger seating
- Customer accessory module for aftermarket component hookup
Decade after decade, Thomas Built Buses has followed one simple philosophy: design and build the kind of bus that we'd want our own children to ride in. It's a simple idea and it works. Passenger safety is our number one priority and every bus we manufacture meets or exceeds all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for school buses.
- Meets or exceeds FMVSS
- Roof bows extend to bottom of side panels
- Double rear bumper with exterior contoured steel bumper
- Double-bolted body mounting clips
- Fuel tank mounted between frame rails
Driver Visibility
- Large two-piece curved bonded windshield
- Specially developed integrated mirror system
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If you like all of these great freebies and deals, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.
When you join Dunkin' Donuts Perks, you will get a coupon for a free beverage. In addition, they will send you a coupon for another free drink on your birthday. You will get more coupons throughout the year.
Image Credit: Dunkin' Donuts

subset: commoncrawl


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We have a varied selection of updates to share tonight beginning with the question on many royal fans' minds: when will we see the official photos of William, Kate and George? Unlike William's RAF announcement, which we've been told would happen "soon" since last December (it really is expected "soon" at this point... honestly), the press have been assured the photos will be shared by Kensington Palace's Twitter Feed (@Clarence House) shortly - most likely early next week.
We are all excited to see if the royal photos will be taken at the Palace or the Middleton family home in Bucklebury and of course who the lucky royal photographer with the opportunity to take these historic shots is?
Will it be Getty Images Chris Jackson who took the couple's official photo before the Canada tour in 2011, a seasoned Press Association snapper, or possibly William's favourite photographer, Arthur Edwards, who took the unforgettable shots of the Cambridges dancing in Tuvalu?
According to reports circulating in the media today, the photographers could very well be Kate herself, Pippa, Carole and Michael Middleton. In a break with tradition the Cambridges may choose to use their own photographs of Prince George as official portraits.
More from The Mirror's story:
'Kate will break with the tradition of using a celebrity snapper and choose from images taken by herself, sister Pippa and parents Carole and Michael Middleton.
'A royal aide confirmed: "One of the options they are looking at is releasing a couple of family photos they have taken themselves. The new parents are keen not to disrupt three-week-old George's routine with a formal shoot, so Kate is sifting through photos taken at the Middletons' Berkshire home."'
William and Kate are very much modern royals and we have already seen time and time again that they plan to follow their own rules, such as spending Christmas with the Middletons instead of following tradition at Sandringham. We know Kate is a keen photographer and has a keen eye, so family photos would offer a much more relaxed and intimate view of the family. Some will be disappointed that the first official photos of the future monarch will not be taken in a formal setting at the Palace. We'll know for sure next week, which option the Cambridges have chosen - I for one think it is quite possible we'll see family photos.
William, Kate and George plan to travel to Balmoral "in a matter of days rather than weeks" according to the Express. Prince Philip, who has been convalescing at Sandringham in Norfolk, will join the Queen for her annual summer break and is said to be very eager to meet his great-grandson. The Queen briefly met Prince George at Kensington Palace before travelling to Scotland last month.
More from The Express:
'For the first time in more than a century, three heirs to the throne are alive and the 87-year-old Queen is expected to pose for photographs with son Prince Charles, grandson Prince William and great-grandson Prince George. The last such picture was of Queen Victoria in 1894 with her son, grandson and great-grandson: Edward VII, George V and Edward VIII respectively.'
A photo of Her Majesty with three heirs will be very special and of major historical importance to the Commonwealth not to mention to the family themselves. It's been quite a week at Balmoral thus far, with a visit from Sarah, Duchess of York over the weekend. The Queen invited her former daughter-in-law to stay following Princess Beatrice's 25th birthday celebrations. Kate and George are reportedly planning to join William in Anglesey before the trip and the family will travel to Scotland together.
In other news, Prince William has asked his former nanny Jessie Webb to come out of retirement, at the age of 71, to help care for Prince George. He and Kate have approached Jessie - even though the late Princess Diana fired her.
More from The Mirror's story:
'Jessie is regarded by royal aides as a trusted pair of hands who protected the young William and Harry when their parents were going through a traumatic divorce. When Wills was a vulnerable and bewildered boy witnessing screaming matches between Charles and Diana, Jessie often found herself scooping up the lad so he wouldn't have to see his mother sob uncontrollably. The retired nanny is said to be sorely tempted to help the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.'
In surprising news, Kate's right-hand woman Rebecca Deacon has fallen in love with the Cambridges media adviser Nick Loughran. Thirty-year-old Rebecca, assistant private secretary, has become a very important person in Kate's life and found herself working closely with Nick whilst planning engagements. Both Rebecca and Nick, who was a former press officer at the City of London Police, visited Kate in hospital. A royal aide said: "The in-house romance will bring the Cambridges' emerging court even closer together".
It was wonderful to see such a positive reaction to our post on Bucklebury, and in related news, Bucklebury Parish is offering a mug created by the talented Emma Bridgewater in celebration of the birth of Prince George. The commemorative mug retails for £19.95 at Ms. Bridgewater's site and is a lovely piece!
|Bucklebury Parish
Meanwhile, it seems Beatrix Potter is set to win another fan - Prince George. Kate has apparently decorated her son's nursery with characters from Ms Potter's classic books. Palace officials suggested antique furnitures but the Duchess wanted a more relaxed theme. The books' most popular characters include Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and Miss Moppet. It has been speculated Kate used the same company that created William's nursery - Dragons of Walton Street who specialise in handmade furniture painted with characters from Beatrix Potter and other popular books.
We'll be back on Wednesday with news on William's Anglesey engagement!


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Juanita L. Thorp
Age 87, of Montgomery
MONTGOMERY � Juanita L. Thorp, our beloved mother and grandmother, went home to be with her Lord, Monday, June 17, 2013, with her family by her side.
Mrs. Thorp, age 87, of Montgomery, was born Sept. 25, 1925, in Steuben County, Ind., the daughter of Cecil and Erma (Hotelling) Smith. They preceded her in death.
Juanita married Rosier Wayne Thorp on March 28, 1947 in Fremont, Ind., and he preceded her in death on Dec. 19, 1997.
She attended Fremont Schools, and was a member of the Montgomery United Brethren Church, and also attended the California Presbyterian Church, and taught Sunday School at both churches.
She enjoyed reading, her family, grandchildren, and her friends.
She is survived by her two daughters, Cindy and her husband, Kim Westfall, of Montgomery, and Diana and her husband, Merv Youngs of Scotts; two sons, Cecil and his wife, Michael Lee Thorp, of Jonesville, and Michael and his wife, Deborah Thorp, of Hillsdale; eight grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Rosier Wayne Thorp; her parents, Cecil and Erma (Hotelling) Smith; two grandchildren, Rodney and Michael Youngs; two sisters; and one brother.
Calling hours will be held from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, June 20, 2013, at the Beams Funeral Home, Fremont, Ind.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 21, 2013, at Beams Funeral Home, with Rev. Mark Case officiating.
Burial will follow services at Floral Grove Cemetery, Pioneer, Ohio.
Memorials are requested to the donors choice.
Condolences may be sent online to www.beamsfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of Beams Funeral Home of Fremont, (260) 495-2915.
Juanita L. Thorp obituary
Juanita L. Thorp


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Laws designed to curb the environmental impact of computer parts will disrupt complex global supply chains unless companies themselves are more stringent, says Gartner.
Manufacturers must adopt the toughest laws as best practice if manufacture and supply is not to be disrupted, said Meike Escherich, the principal research analyst at the firm. A green computer law, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, came into effect in July this year.
The RoHS Directive regulates the dismantling and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment by restricting the use of hazardous substances used in their manufacture. (The UK implementing laws came into force on 1st July 2006 and, since that date, products put on the market in the UK must not contain any of six listed hazardous substances, measured against prescribed concentrations.)
Escherich says that because of the increasingly international nature of manufacture, companies could find themselves breaching some laws in the assembly of computers unless they adopt the most stringent laws as their basic requirement.
"Failure to transition products on time can lead to high inventories and dramatic price cuts, similar to the effect we saw in western Europe as the RoHS came into effect," said Escherich. "Non-compliant components will be gradually removed from the global supply chain and force manufacturers to discontinue products that contain them."
A spate of new green manufacture legislation is due to be enacted across the world. China's law, which Gartner says is stricter than Europe's, comes into force in March next year. Japan has had an active law for six years, and Gartner says that South Korea, China, Australia and California will soon adopt even more green manufacturing legislation.
Escherich said that the best way for companies to insure themselves against supply chain disruption and legal trouble is to adopt the most stringent laws in the world as their standard practice.
"European organisations should be prepared to specify products free of lead and other hazardous substances in requests for proposals now, and we recommend that global and multi-regional companies plan for an orderly transition to compliant products in 2007," said Escherich. "Good record-keeping is important to demonstrate compliance to enforcement agencies if required."
In addition to the regulations on hazardous waste, the EU's Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive will take effect in the UK in July 2007. The long-delayed implementation makes manufacturers responsible for the disposal of electrical and electronic goods.
Escherich says that soon green legislation will have an impact on every manufacturer in the world. "Not far from now, 'non-green' parts will be assigned end of life status and green legislation will come to impact every single PC manufacturer," said Escherich. "The worldwide market should expect to see longer lead times, part shortages and rising prices for non-compliant parts over the next two years."


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Connoisseurs in pursuit of the perfect pumpkin know there is only one place to find a gorgeous gourd that's ripe for the picking - Pumpkinville, in Great Valley. It's the season's signature event, full of family-friendly activities to please everyone.
This year, Pumpkinville has added an exciting new "pink" pumpkin to its pumpkin yard. This new pumpkin is unique not only because of its color, but because its sale will benefit local breast cancer services.
Dan and Diane Pawlowski, owners of Pumpkinville, said they are excited to offer this new addition to their variety of pumpkins and support the WNY Affiliate of Susan G. Komen.
"When Diane and I researched growing pink pumpkins, we knew immediately we had to use them to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Western New York," Dan said. "They've been a huge success with our crowds and we've only been open five days."
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each "pink" pumpkin will be donated to the WNY Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Funds raised by the Komen WNY Affiliate go to support local breast health education and outreach programs and services for families affected by this disease.
Pumpkinville is located at 4844 Sugartown Road, off Route 98 in Great Valley, just minutes from Ellicottville and is open now through Halloween, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.pumpkinville.com.


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Pool season in Las Vegas is upon us. And what a beautiful time it is for a trip filled with sunshine, bikinis, DJs, and lots and lots of poolside drinks – because what trip wouldn't be?
Summer in Vegas means pool parties. Considered the best of the best for a reason − you won't be able to find places to party like these anywhere else.
To help you on your next adventure, we've provided a list to help you decide which one to visit.
Encore Beach Club
If you're looking for a party, then you're bound to have the time of your life here. This place is a staple among the pool-party scene. But if, by some rare chance, you get bored, don't worry, there's always gambling − inside the beach club, that is.
Party level: Extreme
TAO Beach
The venue might be small in comparison to the mega-pools, but the party sure isn't. Labeled as one of the top party pools in Las Vegas, TAO is great if you're looking for a real party atmosphere in an intimate setting. The close proximity to everyone makes it easy to make friends.
Party level: Moderate
Palms Pool
For the most part, this pool is on the lower end of the party spectrum, unless you visit on a Friday for "Ditch Fridays." The lounge chairs are first come, first served and don't cost an arm and a leg.
Party level: Chill
Marquee Dayclub
What differentiates Marquee from other dayclubs is not its atmosphere, as it's on par with the best of them. It's the bungalow lofts and glass dome. At The Cosmopolitan, you can rent a three-story, 1,000-square-foot bungalow with a deck attached to the Marquee Dayclub.
Ever been to Las Vegas in the summer and the weather wasn't what you expected it to be? Well, Marquee has you covered with its glass dome that encompasses the entire pool; perfect for days like that.
Party level: Moderate
Drai's Beach Club
Don't let Drai's Beach Club fool you. It may be new to the scene, but it brings a tough game with it. Seated on the rooftop of The Cromwell, it overlooks the center of the Strip, giving it bragging rights that few other clubs can compete with.
Party level: Moderate
Moorea Beach Club
This isn't your typical Vegas pool club scene. While the venue allows women go topless, it does so in a "sensible fashion." Most will agree that the venue offers a comfortable atmosphere with a relaxed party vibe. The crowd tends to be quite diverse in age, but skews away from drunken 21-year-olds looking to rage. If you want a pool with a party vibe, but don't want to feel overwhelmed by the atmosphere, this is your place.
Party level: Chill
Wet Republic Ultra Pool
This is the pool to go to if you're looking to see some of the best DJs in the world perform. It's here where you can expect to see performances from Calvin Harris, Tiesto, Steve Aoki and many more. This 54,000-square-foot venue comes complete with 6,000 square feet of pool space, along with six private dipping pools − all filled with saltwater.
Party level: Extreme


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Video By Pat Fenelon
Sure, it's called the US Open, but that's not really telling the story of who you'll be seeing on the podium. Yesterday, the Scandinavians dominated the men's and women's slopestyle, and today it was an American sweep in women's pipe and an awesome Japanese/Swiss podium for men's pipe. And thankfully, the weather cooperated.
The day started off with snowflakes falling gently over the hillsides of Vermont. The snow let up after practice in time for the six women to have a legit finals. Kelly Clark dominated today's pipe event from start to finish. In a winter reminiscent of Shaun White's 2006 Olympic run, Kelly has won every event she's entered—eight in a row including all four Opens and the Winter X Games. Along the way, she's pushed the progression of the sport for women introducing a front 1080 into her run first at the X Games and again today during her victory lap. She broke another record for the most wins at the US Open, beating Danny Kass' with five top finishes. Winning today's pipe, the Open series, 2nd in the TTR rankings, Kelly walked away at least $70,000 richer and the proud owner of a new Mini. Holy shit. She says, "The Open holds a really special place in my heart, and to have won five and set a record is just incredible. I've been coming to this event since before I was a competitor—I came as a spectator—never even being able to make it past pre-qualifiers for a number of years, so it's just pretty amazing."
Hannah Teter, has been practicing away from the watchful eye of us media types at her home resort in Tahoe and it showed in her riding, she impressed the judges with big airs and held grabs throwing a frontside 900 and a frontside 720 stalefish—that's $10,000 more towards her charity Hannah's Gold.
Given the total devastation occurring in Japan right now, pipe and powder pro Kazu Kokubo's win today, his second consecutive at the Open, was about much more than snowboarding. It was a little glimmer of good news for our snowboarder friends in Japan. He said, "I hope my win brings a little joy and happiness to Japan." Here's what went down, Kazu was able to oust Iouri Podlatchikov in the second round going ballistic with a frontside alley-oop nosebone, front 900, Michaelchuck, frontside double cork 1080, to a Cab 1080 melon—holy smokes! Iouri wasn't able to top his first run, which left him in a respectable second place, kicking off with a Cab double cork 1080, into a crippler, back 9, into frontside 1080, finishing with a Haakon flip. His strategy was to add his epic double McTwist in followed by a front 1080, but he wasn't able to put the whole run together. Kohei Kudo took third with a front 10 and back-to-back 9s in a perfectly executed run.
Kazu celebrated his win during his victory lap by straight lining down the center of the pipe with a huge smile on his face—yeah Kazu! Check back for highlights from tomorrow's Junior Jam, there were some 13- and 15-year olds poaching the pipe today and killing it. We'll check in with them.
Women's Halfpipe Finals Results
1. Kelly Clark (USA) Burton 94.95 $20,000
2. Hannah Teter (USA) Burton 88.10 $10,000
3. Gretchen Bleiler (USA) K2 86.30 $5,000
Men's Halfpipe Finals Results
1. Kazuhiro Kokubo (JPN) Burton 90.10 $20,000
2. Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) TSG 88.60 $10,000
3. Kohei Kudo (JPN) Oakley 87.90 $5,000
Burton Global Open Series Men's Final Results
1. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) Burton $50,000 and a MINI Countryman
2. Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) TSG $30,000
3. Christian Haller (SUI) Burton $20,000
Burton Global Open Series Women's Final Results
1. Kelly Clark (USA) Burton $50,000 and a MINI Countryman
2. Jamie Anderson (USA) Billabong $30,000
3. Kjersti Buaas (NOR) Roxy $20,000
Men's TTR World Tour Champion
Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) Burton $50,000
Women's TTR World Tour Champion
Jamie Anderson (USA) Billabong $50,000


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Why Home CCTV Cameras?
Home Alarm Systems are definitely important in helping to keep your family and home safe, but unfortunately, home alarm systems will only go so far in protecting you. As soon as the Alarm is tripped, the offending perpetrator has plenty of time to flee the scene, leaving little evidence behind. A well-placed Home CCTV Camera System can complete your home security by providing the needed video footage of the perpetrators to help prevent and convict any would-be criminals.
Home CCTV Cameras, are they needed?
It doesn't matter where you live, your block has probably been affected by burglary, theft or vandalism. According to the FBI, more than 2 Million homeowners in the United States alone experienced burglaries in 2004 and that number keeps growing. How many years will it take before your own home or family is affected?
A Home CCTV Camera System can help deter burglary or theft, because the perpetrators will most likely move on to an easier target.
See PC-Based Home CCTV Camera Systems here
See Standalone DVR Home CCTV Camera Systems here
Hidden Spy Nanny Cameras
For home security camera installations where hidden cctv cameras are needed, but you don't want to permanently install the cameras, our hidden nanny spy cameras are a great choice. These hidden nanny spy cams have a hidden camera built into a normal everyday object like a teddy bear, alarm clock, tissue box, wall clock or more. These cameras also have a built-in DVR that records from the camera.
See More Home Hidden Nanny Spy Cameras here
Indoor Home CCTV Cameras
The Outside Areas of your home are not the only important areas. The inside doorways and living areas can be equally as important, or more important than the outside. Indoor Home CCTV Cameras can provide video of babysitters, children, maids or even home healthcare workers that are inside your home.
Indoor Security Cameras are also available in covert style which look like common household items, such as a motion detector or sprinkler.
See More Indoor Home CCTV Cameras here
Outdoor Home CCTV Cameras
Outdoor Home CCTV Cameras are great for monitoring the outdoor areas of your home. These cameras are commonly used to view the front or back door of your home, watch cars in the driveway, or even watch the children playing in the backyard.
Outdoor CCTV Cameras are weatherproof to prevent moisture entry into the camera, and generally have various ranges of infrared night vision for no-light condition viewing.
See more about Outdoor Home Security Cameras here
Montgomery, IL - CCTV Cameras and Systems
Montgomery, IL may be a great place to live, but even in the best neighborhoods, Home CCTV Camera systems can be very beneficial. Each of us has the chance of being affected by theft, vandalism and more. A Good Home CCTV Camera system can help prevent this by discouraging criminals, and can provide evidence to police to help get criminals off of the street when something does occur.
Nanny spy cameras are popular in homes throughout Montgomery, IL to help protect your family even when you are not there to watch them, because what do you really know about the babysitter or nanny that you hired to watch your children, maid that you hired to clean your house or home healthcare worker that you hired to take care of your family? These hidden spy cameras found in our showroom will help you immediately begin recording so that you can find out fast.
Our Naperville, IL showroom can help you to find a CCTV Camera system that can help to secure and protect your home and family.
Our Naperville Illinois Showroom is located at:Platinum CCTV Surveillance Solutions
751 Frontenac Rd #157
Naperville, IL 60563
Get Directions here:
View Larger Map
Our showroom includes active displays to demonstrate the capabilities of each of our Home CCTV Cameras and DVR Systems. Come visit our Naperville, IL showroom to find cameras that will suit your needs today.


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The 399th: Mission to heal:
PART ONE: The medics' battle (8/27/06)
SLIDESHOW: Preparing for Iraq
PART TWO: In Iraq, 'it's us versus death' (12/31/06)
SLIDESHOW: Mission to heal
In Iraq, 'it's us versus death'
Mass.-based unit on constant call
Colonel Edward O. Cyr, chief of anesthesia, issued instructions as a 399th surgical team fought to save a severely wounded man. (Dominic Chavez/ Globe Staff)
MOSUL, Iraq -- The alert hit the 399th like a shot of pure adrenaline.
"Attention on the compound," crackled the public address system. "Mass-Cal. Mass-Cal. Mass-Cal."
Mass-Cal: Military slang for mass casualties. Inbound on medevac helicopters. Due in minutes. All medical staff to the hospital. Now! Now! Now!
Already the throb of distant rotors was audible from the west. Getting louder by the second. "Three birds," said Lieutenant Colonel Mike Kolodziej, 49, of Keene, N.H., officer in charge of the medical unit's tactical operations center, which provides intelligence and forecasts of impending emergencies. "A dozen cals."
Medics were pounding down the concrete walkway to the hospital. Doctors were snapping on face masks and surgical caps. And nurses were breaking out trauma kits and hooking saline bags to IV racks. In the lab, Lieutenant Colonel David De Haas, 51, of Mount Desert, Maine, was readying red blood cells and plasma -- and already considering whether to contact Baghdad for emergency resupply by air.
The mass casualty call to action is the most dreaded in combat medicine. For sheer heart-cracking urgency, its only rival is the siren blare that warns of imminent incoming shellfire or rockets. Since arriving in Iraq in early October, the doctors, nurses, medics, and techs of the 399th Combat Support Hospital, a Massachusetts-based Army Reserve unit, have become intimately familiar with both signals.
They've handled scores of hideously wounded casualties so fresh from the battlefield that the stench of explosive still clings to skin and red-hot fragments of shrapnel sizzle and pop in torn flesh. And they've scrambled for cover behind sandbags or into concrete bunkers to the soul-jarring whump of mortar rounds "walking" the compound, and the rip-roar of automatic weapons at the far perimeter wire.
"You listen for sounds like you've never listened in your life," said Captain Kathy Ryland, 42, a trauma nurse from Camas, Wash. "You learn fast to recognize the difference between a shell blast that's too near and one that's too far away to matter. You live by speed because you can die by slow. That's true for saving our patients. That's true for saving ourselves."
They've treated young American soldiers punctured by bullets. They've treated the insurgents who pulled the triggers. They've treated Iraqi police cut down by roadside bombs. They've treated school kids blown up for what's become the cardinal sin in this suffering land -- being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Months after arriving in Iraq, some members of the unit are still coming to grips with their violent new reality.
"Before I came in-country, I'd hardly even seen a bad cut," said Specialist Judy Phothimath, 25, of Lowell, a patient administrator. Since then, she's seen buckets of blood mopped from the emergency-room floor and taken information from soldiers with bones protruding from blast wounds. "I've tagged the toes of dead men and zipped their bodies in bags. It's pretty emotional. It's a pretty wild ride."
Still, most of these healer-soldiers have found what they call their "battle rhythm."
Said Colonel Bryan R. Kelly, 52, of East Sandwich, commander of the 399th: "We've gotten very focused, very quickly. We understand where we are and why we're here -- in a war zone, to save lives. For us, all the other issues of this conflict are incidental."
Borne on stretcher racks inside Blackhawk utility helicopters configured for medical use were the most critically wounded victims of a suicide bomb attack in Tal Afar, 40 miles west of Mosul. All 12 were Iraqi civilians, some barely clinging to life -- skulls pulped by shrapnel, skin seared by flame, internal organs raked by metal, lungs collapsed by concussive force, legs and arms nearly sheared by the blast.
There was an 8-year-old boy whose X-rays would reveal perfect tiny spheres lodged in his leg bones: Ball bearings that had been packed around the bomb's explosive charge to ensure maximum injuries, surmised radiologist Major R. Brian Heathcock. The boy would be OK, the docs would pull him through.
Had this been Boston, the injured would likely be divided among the city's four top-level trauma centers. Even then, such an influx would rate as a significant emergency, with backup specialists summoned from far and wide, and extra medical gear on standby.
But this was Iraq. This was the 399th Combat Support Hospital. Six emergency bays. Three operating tables. Twelve intensive care beds. Twenty intermediate care beds. Twenty-one doctors, mostly surgeons. Six anesthetists. Thirty-eight registered nurses. Thirty-two licensed practical nurses. Twenty-seven medics. Eleven medical technologists. A hundred or so units of red blood and fresh-frozen plasma, a pair of CT scanners, a pharmacy heavy on pain killers, and racks of gleaming surgical implements. This was medicine at the rough and ready.
"We've got what we need, by and large, but not what we're used to at civilian trauma centers," said Lieutenant Colonel Joaquin Cortiella, a Harvard-trained pediatrician and anesthesiologist, a specialist in burn cases and the 399th's deputy commander for clinical services. "It can feel like working the high wire with no safety net. We're our own backup."
This combat support hospital and five others like it across Iraq receive the most horribly injured. The six hospitals are attached to Third Medical Command, responsible for all US military medicine in Iraq -- from dentists to mental health counselors to veterinarians caring for K-9 dogs. During its first three months on the ground, the 399th has endured repeated mortar strikes, rocket attacks, and a rare ground assault against the nearby main gate of Forward Operating Base Diamondback.
"There's nothing like a 4 a.m. mortaring for a wake-up," said Major Mark Edney, a urologist and general surgeon originally from Penacook, N.H. "It'll ring in your head forever."
And now litter crews from the 565th Medical Company, a unit assigned to the 399th, were rushing to the Blackhawks, unloading casualties and hustling them on wheeled stretchers back through the ear-splitting noise and stinging clouds of grit thrown by the rotor downblasts.
Outside the emergency room, all clothing was stripped from the casualties -- precaution against grenades and other booby traps planted by insurgents -- while a supervising surgeon made the grimmest of medical calls. Two of the wounded were pronounced "expectant," beyond any realistic hope of saving. Triage, used in dire emergencies, allows doctors and nurses to concentrate on the most critically injured by separating them from the mortally wounded and those in no immediate danger of death.
"It runs against the medical grain, writing off someone who is still alive," said Cortiella. "But it comes down to whether we're going to keep a hopeless individual alive for a few extra hours, or spend those same precious hours trying to stabilize someone with a real chance."
The dying were bedded in the 399th's clinic, which treats less-serious injuries on normal days but serves as a hospice during major influxes. The patients received pain killers, bandaging, warm blankets, and comfort.
"No one passes away without soothing words and the touch of a human hand," said Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Pasqualone, a nurse practitioner from Arlington. "We don't turn our backs on the dying. We try to give them dignity. It's solemn. It's been rough on our younger soldiers, still unaccustomed to death. Some have tears in their eyes."
The 399th Combat Support Hospital consists of roughly 470 officers and enlisted personnel, three-quarters of them surgeons, nurses, medics, or lab technicians. One of the 399th's two companies and the command staff are based in Mosul. The 399th's second company runs a hospital near Tikrit, Hussein's birthplace, 125 miles south of Mosul on the highway to Baghdad.
Most soldiers of the 399th are from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Maine, but there are also contingents from Ohio and the Pacific Northwest. In all, 37 states are represented. "It's an American cross section," said Command Sergeant Major William Valliere.
The Mosul portion of the 399th took position on Oct. 11, beginning a year long deployment. The next day, the unit conducted a mass casualty drill. That evening, at chow time, insurgents delivered the real thing as 68mm and 82mm mortars slammed near the dining complex and into a motor pool next to the medical compound. Among the wounded were personnel from the 47th Combat Surgical Hospital, the unit handing over to the 399th.
"That was our welcome, a 13 mortar-round salute," said Colonel Edward Cyr, 54, a nurse anesthetist from Bristol, R.I. "It was pretty surreal to be in the heat of action so fast."
The 399th occupies a helter-skelter warren of containerized housing units and shipping containers crammed into a few acres at the edge of Mosul's main airstrip. The compound is surrounded by blast walls that resemble giant versions of the Jersey barriers used along US highways. Most structures are banked with sandbags. Some are draped by camouflage netting incongruously threaded with Christmas lights, winking merrily. The lights are for general cheer, not just the season.
People live two-to-a-room in tiny chambers outfitted with basic amenities: bunk bed, wooden desk, metal cupboard, and heating/air conditioning. Hot showers and flush toilets are in a prefab building at the center of the compound.
On their own dime, the medical soldiers can equip their rooms with televisions and personal computers fed by satellite links. Many have refrigerators and microwaves. Hospital staffers can't always make mealtimes at the main chow hall, a 15-minute hike down a road usually slick with mud or choking with dust. But standard supermarket fare -- from Campbell's chunky New England clam chowder to frozen enchiladas -- can be procured at the nearby PX, or base general store. Even closer to the hospital is a fly-ridden Internet cafe, run by an Iraqi entrepreneur, offering lattes, hot chocolate, and slow-speed connections. There's laundry service. There's an AT&T calling center.
"Being here is nothing like I imagined," said Phothimath, the soldier from Lowell. "I expected desert, maybe camels. Not living on the edge of a city, with stir-fry and salad bar at the mess hall. And bad guys just beyond the wire."
Five times a day, the muezzins' call to Muslim prayer floats from Mosul's minarets. But the city "outside the wire," as the soldiers say, is strictly off-limits except to combat patrols and military convoy drivers.
There are times so busy that some nurses and doctors will work 36 hours at a stretch, grabbing cat naps on a spare ER bed.
There are days so slow that the minutes and hours seem trapped in some sticky spiderweb.
"Our lives accelerate from zero to 100 miles per hour in nothing flat," said Lieutenant Melinda Nekervis, 30, a registered nurse from Millbury, "then just as quickly drop back to zero again."
To while away quiet stretches, the 399th watches football games at weird hours (Iraq is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time), plays chess, drinks Beck's nonalcoholic beer, works out in a makeshift gym, smokes more cigars than entirely appropriate for a medical unit, grills chicken wings on a barbecue rig made from a split oil drum, and flips through magazines ranging from Nature to Cosmopolitan.
Anesthetist Cyr reads detective novels by Boston writer Robert B. Parker. "I don't really follow the plots, but the New England settings make me feel at home," he said. He also enjoys thumbing through a photo album thick with snaps of his wife; five daughters, ages 18 to 26; four cats and a corgi dog. Cyr misses his family, often desperately, but sees his year in Iraq as a matter of obligation.
"I've always felt a profound sense of debt and duty to my country," he said. "It's as much a part of my identity as loving my family."
In the 399th, political news from Washington is followed with roughly the same interest as the weather back home. People are mindful of polls showing plummeting support for the war, just as they are mindful that New England's weather has been unseasonably warm. But neither fact seems especially relevant to their reality.
"Good war, bad war -- history will tell," said Major Joseph Luz, 53, who practices family medicine in Schoharie, N.Y. "Meanwhile, it's our war. We're groping through the thick of it. Our soldiers are getting shot and blown up. We've got the skills to save them. That's what we're concentrating on."
Amid the onslaught of mass casualties, instruments bleeped vital signs, surgeons probed wounds, nurses punched needles into veins. The tile floor was slick with blood, littered with torn bandage wraps. Combat surgeons work like line officers. They scout the terrain of riddled flesh, find a target -- the lacerated intestine, the nicked artery, the pulverized limb -- then attack hard with blade, clamps, and forceps.
"Surgery is the infantry of medicine, we fight it out in the blood and mud," said Major Matthew Hueman, 32, a West Point graduate and trauma surgeon from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "Surgery is black or white, yes or no, stay or go, all or nothing."
The air was rank with odors of seared flesh and burned hair. Radios set to military frequencies squawked counterpoint to agonized shrieks and groans. Ventilators hissed, transfusers churned.
War injuries in Iraq are no worse than in any other war. But fast transport of the wounded and high levels of medical care close to battle zones mean people are surviving more terrible injuries than in past conflicts.
"OK, lift on three!" a surgeon told litter bearers about to hoist a patient onto an examining table. "One, two, three!"
"Oh Jesus," cried a bearer, barely in her 20s. The wounded man had been transferred smoothly. But he left chunks of skull, brain matter, and charred scalp on the olive-drab stretcher. "Oh Jesus God Jesus."
The surgeon shook his head. Not much to be done. Stop the bleeding. Severe brain injuries are generally too complex for combat support teams. Within minutes, the patient was bundled into a body bag for warmth and reloaded onto a chopper for the larger Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, 170 miles to the south, for neurosurgery. He would survive an "unsurvivable" wound, at least for a few more days or weeks.
The scene in the emergency room looked to be chaos. But the reality was closer to choreographed jazz: Doctors followed scripted procedures and protocols, then quick-riffed to improvisation to repair ruptured vessels and shattered limbs. Every patient was surrounded by healers in green, blue, or purple scrubs. "Blood! Two units emergency release blood, now!" sang out Colonel William Myers, an orthopedic surgeon from Augusta, Ga., on his second combat tour in Iraq.
Myers and Major Dennis Callender, an obstetrician/gynecologist from Montana, were working on a patient whose leg was hopelessly mangled -- soon to be amputated -- and whose chest and abdomen were peppered with shrapnel hits.
Around the corner, in the intensive care unit, Major Jeffrey Mikita, 35, a pulmonary critical-care doctor from Washington, D.C., sutured bleeding near the lungs of a patient with multiple blast injuries. Nekervis, the nurse from Millbury, was cleaning another wound. "There's a big piece of sharp metal," she warned Mikita. "Watch your hands."
A third nurse dumped an armload of blood-soaked dressings into a maroon biohazard bag. A medic wheeled a patient with belly wounds and shredded arms into the crowded ICU. "Make room, make room," the medic cried.
Here a severed artery was clamped, there sterile cloths were packed into the yawning holes of "soft tissue" injuries. Bags of yellow plasma and red blood dangled from IV hooks. The scene was illuminated by bright surgical lights. A nurse struggled to insert a lung drain. A surgeon used his fingers to trace the terrible trajectory of metal through organs and entrails, trying to assess damage by sense of touch.
Said Colonel Joseph Blansfield, the 399th's chief registered nurse and, in civilian life, manager of the trauma program at Boston Medical Center: "Heard about the glory of war? You're looking at it. This is the ground truth."
And more bearers were carrying more casualties into the ER, even as surgeons cut into the flesh of the first patients to reach the operating room.
"X-ray, we need X-ray!" called Major Matthew Deeter, a surgeon wearing black rubber galoshes against blood spatter. The doctor leaned over a seemingly unconscious patient with shrapnel in his chest, burns on his face, and a immense chunk of right calf blown away.
"X-Ray coming through!" responded Private First Class William Lyons, 23, a medical tech from Worcester, as he maneuvered his portable rig into position, warning everyone to step back. "Stand clear -- X-ray!" The machine emitted a sharp electronic snap.
Suddenly, the patient sat upright, eyes wild, roaring his terror and pain.
Translator Kaniah Zangana, 49, one of six contract linguists with the 399th, materialized at the examining table, offering soothing words in Arabic. "Be calm. Truly you are in a place of safety," she told the Iraqi.
Zangana, a San Diego real estate dealer and a mother of five who emigrated from northern Iraq to Southern California 30 years ago, also sought information: "Have you any allergies? Are you on medications?"
But the wounded man was panicking, thrashing against catheter tubes and monitors, until painkillers kicked in and he flopped back onto the examining table. Anesthetist Captain Richard Del Sesto, 46, of Pawtucket, R.I., inserted a breathing tube, prepping the man for surgery.
Said Deeter: "There's lots of shrapnel in the chest. But it's hot and sterile" -- from the heat of the blast -- "so no prob, leave it. We'll get the bleeding under control and this patient should be all right."
But badly wounded insurgents are also carried through the 399th's emergency doors.
The US military doctors and nurses struggle for the lives of these enemy fighters with the same ferocity and tenacity that American combat troops put into killing them. "Back home, hospitals treat a cop shooter just as they would a wounded police officer," said Captain Bertha Maloof, a registered nurse from East Bridgewater . "Same difference. Medicine doesn't take sides."
In mid-October, during a series of attacks on US positions near the hospital, insurgents assaulted the north gate of the Mosul base. An American infantryman suffered severe wounds in the firefight. So did an insurgent. Both were rushed to the 399th.
After hours of intensive surgery, the insurgent survived. The US soldier died of his wounds on a nearby operating table.
Combat medicine does, in fact, take sides. Said surgeon Hueman: "In the shooting war, it's us versus them. In the war we fight, it's us versus death. Our first allegiance is to the patient."
The only indication that a patient is an insurgent is that curtains are drawn on either side of his bed -- a measure partly intended to dampen tension and partly to prevent a foe from gleaning details about the precise layout of the hospital. American wounded, by and large, ignore the bandaged insurgents. By contrast, Iraqis wounded in insurgent attacks are often furious to find themselves being treated alongside their assailants.
"For Iraqis, it's shocking and frightening to find a radical so near. They say, 'Why is our enemy healing among us?' " said Zangana, the translator. "I just tell them -- it's the American way."
"If soldiers are going to be kicking in the doors of an arms cache at 21:30, we need doctors ready for the fallout," Kolodziej said.
Specialist Ari Goldschmidt, from Beaverton, Ore., presides over an array of radios whose reach varies from a few miles to the entire war theater. "When the birds are inbound, we get detailed info on what sort of patients they are carrying, what sort of injuries they have. We want to get people into the hospital the quickest way possible, and make sure the clinical people are ready to handle specific wounds."
The tactical center also watches for insurgent activity in the vicinity of Mosul. When attacks come, sirens screech and the alert goes over the PA: "Bunkers, bunkers, bunkers! Incoming, incoming, incoming!"
A mortar shell that explodes near, but not near enough to imperil life or limb, still rattles bones and makes a terrifying blast. An incoming mortar landing near enough to kill makes a flat crack that slams the eardrums and squeezes air from the lungs. The burst seems almost to occur inside the brain. There's a gout of orange flame and hot metal slivering through the air.
With soldiers, mortal danger seems to bring out a flair for understatement.
"This isn't very nice," said First Sergeant Shirley Martino, a grandmother of five from Haverhill, after blast debris lashed the exterior of one of the bunkers -- basically just long concrete tubes with crouching space -- scattered throughout the compound.
In the same attack, one mortar round punched through the ceiling of a housing unit, smashing a bunk bed before tearing out the back of the prefab without exploding. Dud shell. The two occupants had bolted the room just moments before.
Another 68mm round exploded on the hospital roof, directly over the emergency room. It didn't penetrate the reinforced concrete, but gouged out a fair-sized hole and slashed some communications wires.
"In a blink, you could go from doing surgery on a patient to being that unlucky someone on the operating table," said Major Brian Vickaryous, 35, an orthopedic surgeon from Lake Mary, Fla. "Everyone is mindful of the danger. But you can only spend so much time worrying about yourself. Your main concern has got to stay with the patients."
On Iraq's medical front, doctors, nurses, and medics are saving lives at a dramatically higher rate than in any previous war.
Roughly 90 percent of American soldiers and Marines wounded in Iraq are surviving their injuries, according to medical studies. That compares with 75 percent in Vietnam. The key reason is speed -- fast first-aid techniques, including aggressive use of tourniquets, and chitosan bandages, impregnated with shrimp shells, that can stanch bleeding in 30 seconds. Then, fast evacuation from battle areas to hospitals near the front, such as the 399th. Here, the goal is stabilizing the wounded, as opposed to fully repairing injuries, a major shift in approach. After treatment at a combat hospital, US casualties are flown to more sophisticated medical facilities in Germany and the United States, often arriving within 36 hours of suffering their wounds.
"Most casualties who come through us hardly even know they've been here," said Major Paul Zaborski, of Rockland, Mass., head nurse of the 399th's intensive care unit. "We bring them out of immediate danger and get them to higher levels of care."
Iraqis wounded in the conflict, however, are only rarely evacuated from the country. It means they tend to stay longer in combat support hospitals, since US doctors are reluctant to release patients still in critical condition to Iraq hospitals, where the quality of care, availability of medicines, and even basic hygiene are markedly inferior.
"The Iraqi patients have to be made healthy enough to survive a big drop in care standards," said Zaborski.
The doctors, nurses, medics and techs in blood-splotched scrubs were still toiling over the casualties trundled off the Blackhawks that day in late November.
Scrawled in Sharpie ink across the stomach of one patient: "Shrapnel in spine!" A medic on the incoming bird had written the warning on the best chart available. Meanwhile, full-bore surgery was underway in open bays throughout the hospital, since its two operating chambers were jammed.
In the ER, the blast-torn patient lying in front of Hueman and a vascular surgeon, Lieutenant Colonel Sung Kwon Kim, had barely measurable blood pressure and almost no heartbeat. He was essentially gone. But the docs weren't ready to surrender.
Hueman made a lateral cut across the man's chest, cracked through the ribs, and tried to jump-start the heart by hand. The desperate massage failed. "He's dead," the surgeon finally conceded in a flat voice. "That's that."
For a moment, Hueman seemed lost, stunned. He stripped off his bloody surgical gloves and tossed them toward a trash bin, shaking his head when the latex tangle missed the target.
He took a deep breath, eyes focused nowhere. Then snapped on another pair of gloves. And turned to the next patient.
This blast victim, too, had fading vital signs. Hueman pressed the abdomen, could feel dangerous swelling of the liver from internal hemorrhaging. Thought, oh-oh. Shrapnel had severely lacerated the organ and caused other critical internal damage.
Surgery: All or nothing. Yes or no. Stop or go.
"OK, let's open this guy," Hueman said.
Immediately he was joined by Lieutenant Darrin Pohlman, a critical-care nurse for surgical assistance. Trauma nurse Ryland packed the wounds with clotting cloths. Anesthetist Captain Rich Jacobson fine-tuned the flow of knockout drugs. Other nurses and doctors lent their skills. After more than an hour of touch-and-go surgery, the 25-year-old Iraqi patient's vital signs were back in normal range.
Of the dozen wounded rushed to the 399th that day, three died, including the two rated beyond hope on arrival. The brain-injured man flown to the Air Force hospital for neurosurgery remains comatose. The other eight patients were stabilized, likely to heal.
"Losing a patient is terrible. It's like losing a piece of yourself," said Hueman. "But when you pull a patient from the brink, the feeling is almost indescribable. You've won the battle that counts where we fight. So you feel elation -- for a few minutes, anyway. Then you go back to the war."
This is the second in a series of occasional articles following the 399th's deployment to Iraq. The first article appeared Aug. 27.


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Previously I wrote about an effort by two organizations - Beyond Pesticides and Food & Water Watch - to get the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate Triclosan, a little-known but extremely ubiquitous antimicrobial used in many household products. The EPA reviewed the petition and was supposed to release their results a few months ago but never did. Now Triclosan is back in the news because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been evaluating its safety.
Triclosan is the antibacterial part of antibacterial hand soap. It was developed as a surgical scrub in the 1940s but is now used in lots of products to stop the growth of bacteria, fungus and mildew as well as to deodorize. Triclosan is in just about everything (including many of us) and it has been listed as a possible endocrine disruptor.
According to the petition filed by the groups:
In spite of its unintended consequences as an endocrine disruptor in frogs and rats, as well as its ability to encourage antibiotic resistance, the FDA is apparently not quite willing to consider a ban. According to the FDA, "Triclosan is not currently known to be hazardous to humans. But several scientific studies have come out since the last time FDA reviewed this ingredient that merit further review."
Triclosan is an antimicrobial substance used in pesticide products, hand sanitizers, toothpaste and other consumer products. The petitioners claim that the 'pervasive and widespread use' of triclosan poses significant risks to human health and the environment. In addition, the petitioners claim that the agency [EPA] failed to address the impacts posed by triclosan's degradation products on human health and the environment, failed to conduct separate assessments for triclosan residues in contaminated drinking water and food, and is complacent in seriously addressing concerns related to antibacterial resistance and endocrine disruption.
In spite of its unintended consequences as an endocrine disruptor in frogs and rats, as well as its ability to encourage antibiotic resistance, the FDA is apparently not quite willing to consider a ban. According to the FDA, "Triclosan is not currently known to be hazardous to humans. But several scientific studies have come out since the last time FDA reviewed this ingredient that merit further review." The agency also says, "FDA does not have sufficient safety evidence to recommend changing consumer use of products that contain Triclosan at this time." They say they will release their findings to the public in the winter of 2012. The FDA previously confirmed Colgate's claim that Triclosan in Colgate Total effectively fights gingivitis but they aren't necessarily sold on the efficacy of Triclosan in hand soaps and body washes (we in this office aren't either so we use regular soap and water).
Regulation of Triclosan can be a little confusing. It's regulated by the EPA as a pesticide, by the FDA as a drug or cosmetic and by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as a consumer product not regulated by the FDA. It's in about 76% of liquid and 29% of bar soaps, and is also contained in personal care products such as toothpaste, cosmetics, facewash and deodorant and household products such as countertops, textiles and kitchenware. Popular items that contain Triclosan include: Dial® liquid hand soap, antibacterial Softsoap®, Clearasil® face wash, Colgate Total® toothpaste, Reach® antibacterial toothbrush, Colgate Breeze® mouthwash, Right Guard® and Old Spice® deodorant, Farberware® Microban® knives and cutting boards, Merrell® shoes and Biofresh® socks.
Triclosan is one of a class of substances known as "emerging contaminants" – detectable but currently unregulated and frequently untreated contaminants found in water and wastewater. Many of these substances are produced by industrial and agricultural processes and end up in our waterways and they include:
- Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs);
- Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs);
- Organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs);
- Persistent organic pollutants (POPs);
- Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs);
- Microconstituents; and
- Nanomaterials.
While there is not sufficient evidence to indicate whether many of these compounds are a threat to human health and the environment, there are numerous programs underway at the state and federal level to evaluate the risks.
Ecocentric blog will take a look at emerging contaminants in several upcoming posts, exploring their impacts on the environment as well as suggesting ways to minimize contributions and risks. In the meantime, start reading the product labels on the items you buy so you can learn about what you're bringing into your environment. You can also purchase products from manufacturers who have made a commitment to exclude Triclosan from their products.


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HoustonFest 2012 announced the creation of the Houston Caldwell Music Scholarship. This program is part of the HoustonFest mission to provide inspiration and avenues for regional youth to pursue their artistic endeavors preserving the musical heritage of our region.
Houston Caldwell, who died on April 30, 2010, was only 18 years old, "but his musical legacy, passion for the continued growth of our musical heritage, and his spirit of community service will live on as we continue to fulfill his vision," according to the festival website.
Beginning this year, a percentage of HoustonFest profits will be earmarked for scholarships to individual youth and grants to non-profit traditional music programs. Funding levels will be determined at the discretion of the Houston Caldwell Scholarship Committee.
Individual Scholarships
Individual applicants will be selected to receive a scholarship that may be applied to the traditional music education of the recipient's choice.
Recipients may apply the funds toward traditional music education and can be applied to tuition fees for workshops, camps or private lessons to learn to play traditional acoustic instruments over a continued period of time.
Applicants must demonstrate acceptance to and enrollment in a program of study that fits the criteria.
The Houston Caldwell Scholarship will pay fees for tuition or private lessons with funding level at the discretion of the Houston Caldwell Scholarship Committee. Fees will be paid directly to the educational institution, camp or qualified instructor.
Scholarship winnings must be redeemed within one year of announcement to recipients.
Students/musicians of traditional acoustic music Instruments in grades 8 to 12 and high school graduates up to age 21 are eligible for individual music scholarships. Applicants must be residents of the Central Appalachian Region to include counties in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Application packets must be completed and returned (postmarked) by April 15, 2012, including:
• A completed application form
• Two letters of reference from an adult (parents of applicant excluded)
• Standard size CD or DVD recording demonstrating the applicant's musicianship
• 150-word essay explaining why the applicant would like to win the scholarship and explanation of how they plan to use the scholarship.
Grants to Non-Profit Traditional Music Programs
The Houston Caldwell Scholarship Program will offer opportunities for traditional music programs to compete for grants.
Funding level is determined by the Houston Caldwell Scholarship Committee to pay instructors, student fees or fund general operating expenses.
Organizations must have non-profit status and must be serving youth of Virginia, North Carolina or Tennessee. Preference will be given to applicants in the immediate region including the City of Galax, Grayson and Carroll Counties in Virginia.
Interested organizations should submit a written narrative describing their music program. Narratives must be completed and submitted (postmarked) by April 15, 2012, and must include:
• History and objectives of your program
• Structure of program, target population and number of children served
• Key artists and organizations involved in the program
• Annual operating expense and projected use of grant money
• Proof of non-profit status.
Application packets should be mailed to: HoustonFest, Attn: Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 1516, Galax, VA 24333.
Go to www.HoustonFestGalax.com for scholarship or grant details, send e-mail to email@example.com or call 236-9908.
Winners of the HoustonFest 2012 scholarships and grants will be notified by April 30, 2012, and announced during the event in May.
Recipients will be required to be present at HoustonFest 2012 to receive the award when announced.
Artists receiving awards will be expected to perform in a Scholarship Showcase at HoustonFest 2013.
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Contact information: email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com
I am Professor Emerita at Rutgers University and currently a visitor at the Courant Institute, NYU. I work on problems related to soap bubble froths, crystals, quasicrystals, and how they evolve under various physical laws. Much of my recent research has been interdisciplinary, joint work with materials scientists. Here is my CV and publications list. Here are electronic versions of some of these papers.
To see videos I made illustrating various crystalline motions I have defined, click the links:
MotionByCrystallineCurvature (40,000 K)
Crystalline Surface Motion
Crystalline Surface Diffusion and SALK
Articles about my work have appeared in the popular press several times; some are listed in my CV. Here is my PowerPoint presentation on Women and Mathematics, a talk I gavearound the country as part of being a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar in 2006-2007. Here are links to some of the many organizations in which I have been an officer, a board member, a committee member, or a research participant:


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Definitions of seam
n. - Grease; tallow; lard. 2
n. - The fold or line formed by sewing together two pieces of cloth or leather. 2
n. - Hence, a line of junction; a joint; a suture, as on a ship, a floor, or other structure; the line of union, or joint, of two boards, planks, metal plates, etc. 2
n. - A thin layer or stratum; a narrow vein between two thicker strata; as, a seam of coal. 2
n. - A line or depression left by a cut or wound; a scar; a cicatrix. 2
v. t. - To form a seam upon or of; to join by sewing together; to unite. 2
v. t. - To mark with something resembling a seam; to line; to scar. 2
v. t. - To make the appearance of a seam in, as in knitting a stocking; hence, to knit with a certain stitch, like that in such knitting. 2
v. i. - To become ridgy; to crack open. 2
n. - A denomination of weight or measure. 2
n. - The quantity of eight bushels of grain. 2
n. - The quantity of 120 pounds of glass. 2
The word "seam" uses 4 letters: A E M S.
Direct anagrams of seam:
maes mesa same
Words formed by adding one letter before or after seam (in bold), or to aems in any order:
b - beams bemas mabes c - acmes cames maces d - dames meads f - fames g - games mages h - haems hames shame i - amies k - kames makes samek l - almes lames males meals n - amens manes manse means mensa names nemas r - mares marse maser reams smear s - masse mesas seams t - mates meats satem steam tames teams u - amuse w - wames x - exams maxes y - seamy z - mazes smaze
Shorter words found within seam:
ae am as em ems es ma mae mas me sae sea
List shorter words within seam, sorted by length
Words formed from any letters in seam, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with seam, words containing seam or words ending with seam
All words formed from seam by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: se ea am
Browse words starting with seam by next letter
Previous word in list: sealskins
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Some random words: foal ctenidia ear kestrel feeze anna kelep
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West (Feat. Young Buck) - Hustleman [Unsigned Hype]
Unsigned Hype Video for "Hustle Man" by West Ft. Young Buck out of Springfield, TN . Shout out to Lola
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