text:
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises The End of an Empireby Paul Motter, CruiseMates Editor
Part 3 of a 4-Part Series
Note: as more information seems to be coming in daily I am publishing all of these articles now. Some areas of parts one and two have been updated. If you would like to comment, please go to our message boards here: Windjammer Message Boards
The Family Fallout Starting around 2005 details start to get very, very sketchy. While various family members began to disagree in earnest about how the cruise line should be run, at the same time actual ship operations, once the forte of Captain Burke (Michael Sr.) were all but forgotten. Authorities on the islands where Amazing Grace and Flying Cloud were moored decreed they were not fit to carry passengers.
Daughter Susan had been at the helm of marketing and sales, but the consensus is she is conservative and objected to certain groups using the ships for charters (smaller ships, on other cruise lines as well, are often chartered for nude and gay cruises).
Later in 2005 the Captain, CB, replaced Susan with his namesake, Michael D. Burke (MDB) as president of the cruise line. MDB (Michael Jr.) says he realized that the cruise line's biggest problem was his own family taking so much money out of the company. Almost all of the ships desperately needed attention, especially when the laMer and Sail 5 and 10 programs left them obligated to provide cruises to pre-paid customers.
MDB took legal steps to curtail what his attorney described as the "raping and pillaging" of the company by the Burke children - yet more pirate metaphors. Unfortunately, the response from his siblings was that MDB's moves were merely a self-serving power play to get control of the company for himself. Whether or not that is true is subject to interpretation. he claims he was just trying to stop the bleeding and take care of the ships.
MDB decided the pressure was too much and so he quit. The company went without a rudder for three months until Captain Burke persuaded MDB Jr. to try again, and reinstated him with a $300k/year salary. In truth, by now it seems no one really wanted to be named as the head of the company. With new SEC laws adopted since Enron, a CEO can be held personally liable for a company's actions. The days of hiding behind a corporation are long gone.
Sadly, just a few months later the the patriarch, CB, suffered a stroke. While it did not stop him, it did slow him down. Sometime at this point, Joey says came into the office one night and caught Michael on the telephone completing a bank transfer of over $400,000 into an account in his own wife's name. Joey called the police who showed up but informed Joey it was a domestic disagreement and they couldn't do anything.
Now, the family accused MDB (Michael Jr.) of abuse of his father. They claim he forced his father to appoint him president and then refused to pay his medical bills, credit cards, utilities and mortgage. The money is apparently still in MDB's wife's name, and to date he has not been able to show a legitimate reason why it should be. If his company was owed money, or if he was owed salary, that would be one thing, but so far no one has demonstrated any justifiable logic for putting the money in his wife's name.
In September 2006, the Burke siblings agreed to put management in the hands of son Danny, a 6' 4" charmer married with children who resided in a $3.4 million home on Miami's Rivo Alto Island. Danny had the looks and charisma of a star quarterback but also an apparent weakness for chemical dependency.
Still, Danny was thought to be capable by his family and very likable indeed by those who met him. The family thought the company was secure in his hands and believed he was in the process of setting things straight. Unfortunately, Danny's demons were getting the best him.
On March 26th, 2007, he checked into a Biscayne Blvd motel with a woman he had met in a grocery store just a week before. She had a long criminal record of drug offenses. Danny "disappeared." According to my witness, after nine days the Windjammer office realized he was "missing" and called the Dade County Morgue. They found Danny's body, with traces of crack cocaine and Xanax -- a prescription sedative. The police had apparently been trying to contact his wife for several days to no avail.
Naturally, Danny's wife, Dahl was devastated, and she has been one of the participants in helping to get stranded crewmembers on ships in the Caribbean home, having donated a significant amount of money (estimates of $40,000) to the effort organized by people in the non-official "Windjammer Flotilla" message board. No doubt, this has caused a schism between her and with brother-in-law Joey who is currently at the helm of Windjammer, as he has been doing his best to persuade the crews to remain with the ships (although they are not being paid) so he will have a crew if/when these ships ever become sailable again.
A Rudderless Ship Months of chaos ensued while all but two ships were tied up. All the ships were becoming more and more dilapidated, and no progress was made on the laMer project. When the board of directors asked MDB for an accounting of the money during his tenure as president he refused to comply. They then officially removed him from the company. Michael D. Burke counter-sued his family in Miami and the island of Trinidad, apparently tying up control of the yard in Trinidad where the other Windjammer ships are still in the process of being renovated to qualify for passenger certification. Using their father's medical setback as a reason, MDB (Michael Jr.) had the Captain declared incompetent.
Soon after this, Captain Burke's castle was sold in Miami, apparently at auction. Public records indicate that it fetched $7.5 million. By now the number of Burke family members involved in Windjammer operations had dwindled to two, or three if you include Polly who is apparently still focused on merchandising. The board of directors still seemingly has little actual involvement with or control over the company.
Amazingly, while passengers were flying to ships and being turned away at the port, little of the story was hitting the press. Many of these passengers actually refused to be interviewed. Possibly they decided not to say how bad things had gotten with Windjammer for fear a bankruptcy would negate their pre-paid Sail 5 , Sail 10 and LaMer cruises. Or possibly the constant promises by the Burkes of better days right around the corner on the Flotilla web site were reassuring enough to keep them quiet. In any case, news of the Windjammer problems had not gone much beyond the immediate family and upset passengers until word of mouth about the unpaid crewmembers got out. Then the situation deteriorated rapidly.
In July 2007, with the company desperately in need of money and management, someone affiliated with Windjammer made an agreement with a Miami investor, Jerry Cedar. Cedar agreed to help out with an infusion of $273,000 based upon a verbal agreement that he would subsequently be given a controlling interest in the Windjammer cruise line.
Joey Burke Takes Command By August the line had fallen almost completely apart, yet no records indicate any of the Burkes were willing to commit any personal money to save it. Three of the four remaining ships had their certificates of compliance to carry passengers withdrawn by island authorities in Granada. This left the company with but one ship, the Legacy.
By now a call went out to help the many homeless crewmembers that were stuck with their ships. In all, over $30,000 in donations for Windjammer crew was raised by the Flotilla, and Danny's widow, Dahl Burke, is said to have donated possibly another $40,000.
At this time, some questions must be asked. What had happened to all the money from the timeshare and Sail 5 and 10 pre-sales? Oddly, MDB (Michael Jr.) is believed to be the person who received the money from the timeshare sales for LaMer, yet he is now the person who is said to be negotiating to buy the LaMer ship. The original money for the timeshare sales should have been specifically held for the LaMer buyers and Windjammer's obligation to refurbish it for timeshare occupation. Yet, the agreement between Joey and MDB, according to Joey, will transfer the same ship from Windjammer to Michael for his own use (to start a new company perhaps). Many people see this as double dipping; it is conjectured he received the original timeshare money, and now he is getting the ship as well. Once again, details here are very sketchy, but no reasonable alternative public explanation has been presented.
More questions being asked; when Burke kids like Susan are living in mortgage-free multi-million dollar homes, and the Captain's castle had just sold for $7.5 million, why would they agree to give an outside investor a majority of the company for a comparatively paltry $273,000?
Or were the Burkes indeed planning to do that? A month later (September) Windjammer told Jerry Cedar the company needed an additional $100,000 immediately, and if he didn't give it to them then they would fall back on their original oral agreement to give him any shares in Windjammer and he would have nothing. Cedar handed over an additional $100,000.
If this sounds similar to the Contessa story at the beginning of this article, it is. It is practically identical, except we know the Captain bought engines with his $4,000 "investment." There is no accounting of where Cedar's money went, but indications are it went to pay crewmembers back salaries and money owed to vendors and island governments. Nowhere is that stated, but it is fact that Joey started saying crewmembers and vendors were getting paid just after the Cedar money was acquired.
Unfortunately for Cedar, history repeated itself. Even after he forked over some $373,000 he was then told that the rest of the family had trumped his word of mouth agreement. He would not be given any part of Windjammer cruises, nor would the money be returned. Susan alluded to me that the family had "trusted the wrong people to bail them out financially," so presumably, something was found to be wrong with Jerry Cedar and so while his money has good enough for the original agreement, he apparently did not get what he was promised in return for it.
Once again, a well-meaning friend caught up in the magic and romance of Windjammer receives a promise via an oral agreement and takes action in good faith only to be subsequently told that the agreement was invalid and hence not in force, but (by the way) the money is not scheduled to be returned. Cedar, who has still received nothing for his reported $373,000 investment has filed a lawsuit in Miami court seeking repayment of his money plus damages.
This is yet another incident where everything that has been said is public record, however no better or more logical counter explanation (read "no comment") for Cedar's lawsuit has been presented by the Burkes.
Link to: Windjammer Barefoot Cruises - Part 1 Link to: Windjammer Barefoot Cruises - Part 2 Link to: Windjammer Barefoot Cruises - Part 4


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Meet the Candidates
Geriets for sheriff: positional statement
Send a link to a friend
05, 2014]
From Michael Geriets, candidate for Logan County
I am a life
long Logan County resident, and lifetime republican. I attended
Lincoln Public Schools, Mt. Pulaski High School, and graduated
Lincoln Community High School. I am a father to four children, Tori
and Jackson 7, Christina 18, and Megan 25 who has two children of
her own. I am a proud father and grandpa. They have been thrilled to
take part in my campaign and will remember this for years to come.
I remember my father testing for
the Illinois State Police when I was in the 3rd grade. He was
excited to become a police officer. In the late 1960's they had a
height & weight requirement and he was a little overweight at his
6'2" stature. He began losing weight to be accepted, when he
suddenly became ill, and was later diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis. I remember how devastated he was. I knew then from the
3rd grade, I wanted to make him proud and do what he was unable to
do. He passed away my senior year of high school. My mother is
Bessie Newhouse, married to Ron Newhouse and they reside in Lincoln.
I am an experienced administrator,
and a graduate of the FBI National Academy. I feel blessed to have
attained a career in law enforcement. I am proud to have served the
citizens of Lincoln, the past 25 years. I look forward to the
opportunity to extend the same professional service to all of Logan
Deputy Chief
Lincoln Police Department
Lincoln Police
IL. Department
of Corrections
IL. Dept. of Mental Health, Lincoln
Developmental Center
F.B.I. National Academy
Basic SWAT
Dept. of Justice, Narcotics
Investigations (D.E.A.)
IL. State Police, Internal
Affairs Investigator Certification
Critical Incident Response,
Springfield Police Academy
Basic Crisis Negotiation
Advanced Crisis Negotiations
Crisis Intervention Team
IL. State Police, Central IL.
Enforcement Group-Drug Task Force
IL. Dept. of Corrections, Adult
Advisory Board (12 years)
Vice President, Logan County
Emergency Planning Committee
My opponent would
like you to believe that electing me is taking a chance, not knowing
what you will get. He was quoted as saying; "the last time someone
promised us change, we wound up with Obama and Obamacare".
I have proven
myself as an effective administrator currently on my seventh year
managing an agency with practically the same annual budget as the
Sheriff's Department. The agency I manage handles twice the amount
of activity than that of the Sheriff's Department.
If elected, I
will walk into the office of Logan County Sheriff with more years as
a police officer, a supervisor, and more years handling a
departmental budget, than he did when he walked into that office 11½
years ago.
What most qualifies you for the position of Sheriff?
I am an
experienced administrator of the Lincoln Police Department. I am
currently beginning my 7th year as Deputy Chief and have proven
myself as being fiscally responsible as an administrator,
successfully managing a $1.8 million budget. We handle nearly twice
the number of incidents compared to that of the Logan County
Sheriff's Department. In 2013 LPD took 1,918 Criminal reports
compared to the Sheriff's Department 854. We made 1,161 arrests
compared to the Sheriff's Department 602. I currently oversee 25
police officers, and one civilian staff member.
I am currently on
my 25th year at the Lincoln Police Department and I have worked my
way up through the ranks. I have a keen understanding of all facets
of managing a law enforcement agency. I oversee all purchasing,
vehicle and equipment maintenance, benefit time used and overtime
accrued of all employees, along with workman's compensation issues.
I am certified as an internal affairs investigator. I believe in
accountability and discipline. I have high expectations of how our
police respond, handle calls and treat the citizens of our
I am not just
reactive when it comes to crime in our community. I am also
proactive in the prevention of crime. I believe that being Sheriff
should be a transparent position and you should be seen and heard by
the community on a regular basis, not just during an election year.
I have proven this under the safe schools initiative by training all
staff of our schools how to react to a critical incident. I did not
just start doing this as a campaign strategy. This is my passion and
I believe as an elected official it is our duty and responsibility
to be an active member of our emergency preparedness agencies. As
Sheriff, I believe you should be at all of the table top, and field
exercises preparing our county in the event of a disaster, and not
just send other representatives to those meetings who do not have
the authority make a decision for the agency.
I have been a
liaison to the community and other agencies within our county, and
currently I am serving as Vice President to the Logan County
Emergency Planning Committee, preparing our county and emergency
service providers what to do in a terroristic, hazardous material,
or weather related incident. I have helped train and write policies
with the Logan County Health Department on procedures to follow in
the event of mass distribution of medicines, or antidotes when
required, through the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
What personal or professional finance experience would you bring to
the office of the Logan County Sheriff?
I currently
manage the Lincoln Police Department with an annual budget of $1.8
million. I have been successful in the management of those budgets
set forth by the City of Lincoln, and take pride in the fact that we
have been able to stay within the confines of those budgets. I have
experience taking part in budget meetings to determine future budget
changes based on the economy and needs of our agency. I am always
looking for ways to reduce overtime, and ways to be reimbursed
through government grants to recoup the costs for equipment
replacement. We do not re-issue ballistic vests to new officers, and
have been able to consistently attain a 50% reimbursement on all
bullet proof vests purchased for new officers through the Department
of Justice. I have purchased many items through the sale of seized
vehicles, and through drug task force accounts, and was able to
replace equipment used in drug investigations.
We were also able
to replace a majority of the carpeting in our Department that was
previously duct taped together. I was able to do these things by
utilizing other sources for funds, for example; By working to lower
our workers compensation claims, we have been able to generate
safety funds from our insurance carrier that have enabled us to
purchase tasers, ballistic equipment, and other safety equipment at
no cost to the taxpayers.
What experiences in leadership would you bring to the position?
Understanding the
different personality traits of the officers you supervise is
essential. I have been to a number of leadership schools, and they
all teach about effective communication with different personality
traits. When I ask an officer to do something, I may explain
different ways depending on whom I'm talking to. No two people are
the same. Some require more explanation than others and it has
nothing to do with their intelligence, it has everything to do with
their personalities.
I also believe in
other forms of communication. I must stay in tune with officers and
their personal lives. They may have issues at home, whether in their
marriage, a death in the family, or someone ill for example. These
issues could have a direct effect on the way they handle themselves
on duty. When we see so much negativity on the calls we respond to,
the last thing you want is an officer that doesn't have his head in
the game. His life, his co-workers life, and the citizens of the
community depend on him being alert to his surroundings. I love the
fact that when there are issues that concern my officers, they come
to me. They know I'm approachable, fair, and will give them the best
advice that I can. I have been told that when your officers stop
coming to you, that's a problem. I take pride in the fact that I
have regular conversations with my staff and there is a mutual
When it becomes
necessary to counsel, or discipline an employee I have always been
professional. I speak to them one on one, privately, and always give
them the opportunity to state their side. It's never done in a way
to belittle them or cause embarrassment. Everyone makes mistakes and
the idea behind any form of discipline is to correct the behavior so
that it's documented and does not happen again.
I am confident
that the people I supervise are very competent, and capable of
handling any call and do not require a micromanager overseeing
everything they do.
Their endorsement
of me from their police union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge
#208 also shows their confidence in me being the next Sheriff of
Logan County.
How do you see the future of law enforcement changing in the next 5
Several issues
come to mind regarding the changes we will see. First of all, new
laws dealing with concealed carry, and medical marijuana are at the
forefront. I support our 2nd Amendment Rights, and I am supportive
of the new concealed carry law. We already know that criminals carry
weapons without any lawful authority and will continue to do so.
Now, law abiding, licensed and trained citizens have the right to
carry. We have yet to see how this will affect our patrol officers
on the street when dealing with more firearms. It's not the
responsible law abiding citizens I'm worried about. Just like
anything else, a few people will surely slip through the cracks that
probably shouldn't be carrying a firearm. The responsibility of
carrying a weapon goes further than that just shooting it. It takes
common sense and good decision-making skills, especially under
pressure. We have sent officers to training classes dealing with the
new concealed carry laws because again, one of my main concerns is
officer safety.
Another issue
will be the new law providing patients medical marijuana. The
effects of this are yet to be seen. With other states legalizing
possession of marijuana in certain amounts for recreational use, I'm
concerned how this will affect the future of law enforcement. The
medical marijuana issue has already opened the door to new
legislation regarding Driving Under the Influence, and due to
marijuana staying in the blood longer, how to determine whether a
person is actually under the influence compared to residual amounts
from smoking a week ago. We will see a number of court cases in the
future challenging decisions made on the road.
top of second column]
A 21st Century
law enforcement agency needs to rely on 21st Century means of
communication. We have already embraced the use of technology such
as social media. In the past, we would post a surveillance photo of
a burglary suspect in the squad room, hoping that an officer may be
able to identify the suspect. Most recently the use of Facebook has
proved successful by having a departmental Facebook account. When we
started this, we were unable to identify a suspect we had from
picture of from a surveillance camera, within 30 minutes of being
posted on Facebook we had more than 10 posts positively identifying
the suspect. We have been successful in posting information
regarding scams, weather, and other public service announcements.
These notifications have the potential of reaching thousands within
minutes within Logan County.
Last but not
least, I see technology changing for police. We are already testing
the use of I-Pads in the field for police officers. They are cheaper
than the in car, MDC's (Mobile Data Computers) and may prove to be
beneficial allowing officers to access police reports from the
Would you do anything different from how the office is ran now to
meet those changes?
The Sheriff's
Department currently does not have a Web Page, nor do they have a
Facebook account. I believe as Sheriff, it is our duty and
responsibility to utilize tools such as this to communicate and be
accessible to the public. I have personally answered many questions
from citizens on our Facebook and departmental webpage. There are
also links for people to contact the various divisions. Utilizing
Facebook and our Departmental Web-page, have proven to be beneficial
for our department.
How would you work with other law enforcement departments: would you
do anything different in the next four years?
I have an
excellent relationship working with other law enforcement agencies
in our county. My opponent stated in a recent publication;
"Unfortunately personalities sometimes enter into the equation with
other agencies in the county". I believe this is unacceptable.
Personality conflicts should never interfere with the goals or
operation of the agency you manage. I can honestly say that in 25
years of service and the past 6 years as an administrator, I have
never allowed a personality conflict enter into any decision I have
made. I have proven myself as a team player with all law-enforcement
agencies in our county. These critical relationships with other
Chief's of Police in our county are in desperate need of repair.
My opponent says
"if it aint broke, don't fix it". I will disagree with him by saying
that there are critical communication issues between the Sheriff's
Department and other law enforcement agencies. Communication is
virtually non-existent with other law enforcement administrators in
our county.
I believe that
there should be monthly meetings with the Chief's of Police from our
surrounding communities, actively sharing information that would be
beneficial to all. If elected Sheriff, I will restore these
relationships. I believe one way of ensuring communication is; if a
Deputy handles a call in a community that has a police department,
and an officer was not on duty for that community. The next morning
that department should have the police report already faxed to their
office, waiting to be reviewed by the officer beginning his duty.
For example, a Deputy arrests a male offender for Domestic Battery,
and the following day he attends court, posts bond and is released.
It's imperative for the officer to know what happened because he may
get called for additional problems. The safety of victims and
officers handling the call should be priority. There is no active
sharing of information at this time.
I have been
endorsed by; Lincoln Police Chief Ken Greenslate, Mt. Pulaski Police
Chief Lynn Freer, and Atlanta Police Chief Jim Pinney. These
community law enforcement leaders have all recognized the serious
issues that exist with the current Sheriff's Department
What would be the most challenging issues in the next four years as
Initially I
believe the challenge would be to become familiar with the County
Board and to gain their trust in me as a qualified and responsible
administrator. Another would be to become familiar with current
policies, making sure they are up to date and are in compliance with
current state laws, and accepted practices. Manpower will be an
issue as I believe there should be a minimum staffing level and
having only one Deputy on duty for the entire county at times,
should never be acceptable. Economics will play a huge part in
increasing patrols in the county. I believe that instead of giving
money back to the county every year, the taxpayers of the county
deserve to be protected and know that staff is available when they
are in need.
What is the most significant issue facing law enforcement at the
county level?
Practically all crimes committed in our county are either directly
or indirectly related to drug use. Property crimes such as burglary
and thefts occur in many cases due to subjects trying to come up
with money to support their habit. We have seen these addictions not
only adversely affect the individual suffering from chemical
dependency, but it has a negative effect on their families as well,
by stealing from their own loved ones. Individuals with drug and
alcohol addictions have difficulty maintaining a job and supporting
them selves, let alone having to support their habit.
I have worked
with drug treatment centers and Mental Health in the past. I want to
change the way we treat our arrested offenders waiting trial who are
suffering from chemical dependency or mental illness. We see the
same names over and over in the newspaper. We know we have a high
rate of recidivism in our jails and prisons. What are we doing to
reduce this? What if we were to begin drug treatment or counseling
for persons in our jail awaiting trial, especially if it's unlikely
that the offender will go to prison. When they are released into our
community, they will at least have had a chance to address the
issues that caused them to get arrested in the first place. If we do
nothing, then they will revert back to same exact behavior that
caused their problems to begin with. Some people may say, who cares
if they are in jail? The problem is when they come out, they will
be your problem and you may be the next victim of a crime. The
Illinois Department of Corrections has addressed this issue and made
drug treatment programs available; in many cases this treatment has
proven to be successful.
As Sheriff, I
will be a voice to be heard on the state level if necessary. If it's
policies and procedures of state agencies that prevent this from
happening, then we need to change it!
What would you most like to see the same?
If there is a
major crime, you will continue to see me utilize resources necessary
to properly investigate those crimes. I know that the Beason murder
investigation took a toll on the county. Not only for the officers
that had to respond to this awful crime, also having taxpayers pay
for the defense of the accused when budgets are already tight. It's
just another slap in the face. Calling in the Illinois State Police
to assist in a major investigation is standard practice for most
departments, and was not special during this particular
I currently work
well the Logan County States Attorney. I believe we have a great
working relationship and that will continue. I admire him and have
the upmost respect for him. That will not change, regardless of his
endorsement of my opponent. He and I have discussed this and I'm
confident that our great working relationship will continue.
I know many of
the Deputies and respect their abilities to enforce the laws of the
state. I look forward to a rewarding, positive working relationship
with them.
Is there anything you would like to see change that would improve
the department?
meetings with all other law enforcement agencies in the county.
Develop a
webpage, and Facebook account to be accessible to the public.
officer safety by purchasing tasers, training Deputies in the
use of them, while developing strict guidelines for their use.
Ensure that
all patrol vehicles have a functioning video camera installed.
Teach all
schools in the county under the safe school initiative, how to
react to a violent or critical incident.
Teach all
major businesses in the county how to react to violent/critical
Reduce high
turnover rate of employees by outlining clear hiring practices,
with a board or commission oversight.
Assign a
Deputy to the IL. State Police drug task force, to develop cases
in Logan County.
Have Deputies
trained and assigned to ILEAS (IL. Law Enforcement Alarm System)
Mobile Field Force Team. They will assist us in need of
additional personnel, and we would send help when other
communities are in need. (Note: any overtime for call out or
training is reimbursed by ILEAS)
Our Sheriff
approached the County Board more than three years ago and asked for
his annual salary percentage increases to be uploaded in advance,
because he was going to retire. This request was for no other reason
than to provide him with increased pension benefits. The County
Board approved that request. Now he has decided that he would like
another four years. As a taxpayer, are you okay with that?
Furthermore, he
came to my office more than four years ago and asked if I was
running against him in that election. I told him I was not, however
I was running in this one. He told me that he was going to retire
and that he had no reason, not to support me. In November of 2013 I
went to his office and asked for his support prior to my
announcement. He told me that he would be running for another term.
I was disappointed to say the least.
My endorsements
are not from Sheriff's of other communities, or politicians working
in Washington D.C., they are from current local leaders who
recognize my skills, abilities and a need for a change from our
current Sheriff.
I am thankful to
the endorsements from the following people or organizations;
Lincoln Mayor
Keith Snyder
Atlanta Mayor
Fred Finchum
Mt. Pulaski
Mayor Jim Fuher
Police Chief Ken Greenslate
Police Chief Jim Pinney
Mt. Pulaski
Police Chief Lynn Freer
Police Chief Ben Lowers
Lincoln Fire
Chief Mark Miller
Lincoln Rural
Fire Chief Chad Letterle
Mt. Pulaski
Rural Fire Trustee Rick Voley
Logan County
Board Members; Patrick O'Neill, Andy Anderson
Lincoln City
Councilman; Mel Anderson, Dave Wilmert (ret)
Police Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #208
Central IL.
Association Law Enforcement Executives
Citizens for
Justice, Les VanBibber
Tom Rowland,
Logan County Housing Authority
I ask the voters
of this county to exercise your right vote on March 18th. It's time
for fresh new perspectives, and new ideas. It's time to move forward
with technology and embrace the changes in our technical society. I
will be an accessible, pro-active Sheriff, visible in the county
making drug crimes, crime prevention, education, and the safety of
our schools, children and businesses a priority. Critical working
relationships with other law enforcement agencies in our county will
immediately be restored. I'm asking for your vote on March 18th.
When experience, dedication and professionalism matter, elect
Michael Geriets for Logan County Sheriff.
[Text copied from file received]
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Mr. and Mrs. James Owens of Traer are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, Natalie, to Greg Ivory, son of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Ivory of Fort Dodge. The wedding was held July 9, 2011 at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines. A reception followed at the Renaissance Savery Hotel.
Serving as Maid of Honor was Marlee Owens, sister of the bride. Bridesmaids were Carly Vojslavek, cousin of the bride and friends of the bride, Megan Staker, Katie Laird, Laura Wieck, Lily Glenn and Teresa Zmolek. Junior bridesmaid was Grace Vojslavek and flower girl was Lea Vojslavek, both cousins of the bride.
Best Man was Michael Ivory, brother of the groom. Groomsmen included Tom Pingel, cousin of the groom and friends Tyler Russell, Mark Buschur, Kenny Knutson, Mike Riley and Cody Lawler. Vance Vojslavek, cousin of the bride, was the Ring Bearer.
Article Photos
Ushers were Justin Wieck, friend of the couple and Jake Vojslavek, cousin of the bride. Personal attendants for the bride were her friends Kelly Ducey and Tiffany Rohert. Helping at the guestbook and with gifts were Andrea and Taylor Pingel, cousins of the groom. Reception hosts were Brian and Karen Pingel, uncle and aunt of the groom and JoAnn Vojslavek, aunt of the bride and Jim Vojslavek, uncle of the groom.
The couple enjoyed a honeymoon in Key West, Florida.
The bride is a 2007 graduate of the University of Iowa in business administration and is an account executive for Groupon. The groom is a 2007 graduate of Drake University in business administration and is a project manager at RuffaloCODY. They reside in Cedar Rapids.


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France defeated 10-man Honduras 3-0 in a World Cup match that saw goal-line technology used to prove Les Blues' second strike was legitimate. Karim Benzema broke the deadlock from the penalty spot, goalkeeper Noel Valladares scored an own goal before Benzema grabbed his second of the game in Porto Alegre.
France enjoyed the better of the first half, twice going close as Valladares palmed Blaise Matuidi's shot onto the woodwork before Antoine Griezmann's header also hit the crossbar.
Just before half-time, Wilson Palacios received his second yellow of the match after he bundled over Paul Pogba in the box. Benzema stepped up and slammed home the penalty kick.
France doubled their lead three minutes into the second half. Benzema saw his shot clip the woodwork and bounce down off Valladares, who attempted to claw the ball out only for the goal to be awarded by goal-line technology.
Benzema did get his second goal before full-time, though, as he lashed into the roof of the net, sealing three points for France in their opening Group E game.
As well as the three points, France will be just as happy to have departed without serious injury after 90 minutes of late tackles and physical intimidation from their limited opponents.
France wasted no time setting the pace, with Griezemann and Mathieu Valbuena both impressive.
Griezemann, making his first competitive start, had a fine chance to open the scoring in the sixth minute when he took a poor clearance on the chest and saw his goalbound effort blocked.
Valbuena and Mathieu Debuchy were enjoying plenty of joy down the right and the former's cross caused Valladares to fumble.
Honduras invited pressure with a series of fouls that allowed Valbuena to send a series of testing free-kicks into the danger area.
Matuidi nearly scored from a half-cleared Valbuena delivery, controlling with his thigh then seeing a powerful shot brilliantly pushed against the bar by Valladares. France went closer yet in the 23rd minute, Griezemann beating Maynor Figueroa to a Patrice Evra cross and heading against the crossbar.
The game could have changed moments later when Palacios tussled with Paul Pogba, the Honduran guilty of a couple of kicks at his opponent and Pogba retaliating by rashly flicking a leg out. Both saw yellow cards, with Pogba particularly relieved. After play resumed France's flow had deserted them, with Benzema beginning to show frustration at his lack of clear opportunities.
Palacios rectified that just before half-time when he barged through the back of Pogba as he shaped to shoot, earning a second yellow card and conceding a penalty. Benzema fired home to make it 1-0.
Honduras reshuffled with two changes at the break but shipped a second inside three minutes. It went down as an own goal, Valladares palming fractionally over the line after Benzema's powerful shot bounced back across goal off the inside of the post. Honduras boss Luis Suarez seemed unhappy with the verdict but without good reason.
Amid repeated nasty challenges a third seemed inevitable, but Matuidi spurned a glorious chance shortly after the hour when slotting Evra's pinpoint cross into the side netting.
Benzema then provided it with 18 minutes left. Debuchy's long-range drive did not make it through a crowd of bodies but fell kindly for the centre forward, who hammered home an unstoppable shot at the near post.Information from the Press Association was used in this report.


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Writes both adult and children's fiction and adventure stories, including the Jack Houston St. Clair political thriller series and the Sherlock Holmes IV mystery series, as well as a series of travel guides. He has been involved in filmmaking for over 10 years and has directed 7 independent films and shorts, written 5, and produced 5. He is currently involved in adapting his book, "The Trap Door," about a boy who travels back to Shakespeare's time, for a television series to be produced in the U.K.
In the past, owned a famous nightclub on South Beach (The Warsaw Ballroom), published the longest-running paper on South Beach, "The Wire," and produced (for several years) a weekly TV show, "The Live Wire."
Long a wine lover, he also produces a fine sparkling wine (from Napa) made by the "methode champenoise," as they do in France, and is working to bring his own Champagne from France into the U.S. market.
Lives on Miami's South Beach and in London.


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text: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 FAQs About New Volunteer Group System Now Available Wondering what APTA's new volunteer group systems is all about? Check out this FAQ document. If you have a question about the new system and don't see an answer in this FAQ document, contact us at email@example.com. APTA welcomes questions from members on this new volunteer group system.


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One of the biggest buzzwords in security today is AI, or artificial intelligence, as one of the challenges today is determining if the technology is being overpromised and under-delivered. Security Systems News' News Poll this month addresses these very questions, as we try to figure out where the industry stands on this topic.
Although the technology is still in its early adoption phase within security, a new study finds that spending on AI systems will continue to skyrocket within the next five years.
Worldwide spending on artificial intelligence (AI) systems is forecast to reach $35.8 billion in 2019, an increase of 44.0 percent over the amount spent in 2018, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). With industries investing aggressively in projects that utilize AI software capabilities, the IDC Worldwide Semiannual Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide expects spending on AI systems will more than double to $79.2 billion in 2022 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.0 percent over the 2018-2022 forecast period.
Global spending on AI systems will be led by the retail industry where companies will invest $5.9 billion this year on solutions such as automated customer service agents and expert shopping advisors & product recommendations. Banking will be the second largest industry with $5.6 billion going toward AI-enabled solutions including automated threat intelligence & prevention systems and fraud analysis & investigation systems. Discrete manufacturing, healthcare providers, and process manufacturing will complete the top 5 industries for AI systems spending this year. The industries that will experience the fastest growth in AI systems spending over the 2018-2022 forecast are federal/central government (44.3 percent CAGR), personal and consumer services (43.3 percent CAGR), and education (42.9 percent CAGR).
"Significant worldwide artificial intelligence systems spend can now be seen within every industry as AI initiatives continue to optimize operations, transform the customer experience, and create new products and services," Marianne Daquila, research manager, Customer Insights & Analysis at IDC, said in the announcement. "This is evidenced by use cases, such as intelligent process automation, expert shopping advisors & product recommendations, and pharmaceutical research and discovery exceeding the average five-year compound annual growth of 38%. The continued advancement of AI-related technologies will drive double-digit year-over-year spend into the next decade."
The AI use cases that will see the most investment this year are automated customer service agents ($4.5 billion worldwide), sales process recommendation and automation ($2.7 billion), and automated threat intelligence and prevention systems ($2.7 billion). Five other use cases will see spending levels greater than $2 billion in 2019: automated preventative maintenance, diagnosis and treatment systems, fraud analysis and investigation, intelligent process automation, and program advisors and recommendation systems.
Software will be the largest area of AI systems spending in 2019 with nearly $13.5 billion going toward AI applications and AI software platforms. AI applications will be the fastest growing category of AI spending with a five-year CAGR of 47.3%. Hardware spending, dominated by servers, will be $12.7 billion this year as companies continue to build out the infrastructure necessary to support AI systems. Companies will also invest in IT services to help with the development and implementation of their AI systems and business services such as consulting and horizontal business process outsourcing related to these systems. By the end of the forecast, AI-related services spending will nearly equal hardware spending.
"IDC is seeing that spending on both AI software platforms and AI applications are continuing to trend upwards and the types and varieties of use cases are also expanding," David Schubmehl, research director, Cognitive/Artificial Intelligence Systems at IDC, added. "While organizations see continuing challenges with staffing, data, and other issues deploying AI solutions, they are finding that they can help to significantly improve the bottom line of their enterprises by reducing costs, improving revenue, and providing better, faster access to information thereby improving decision making."
On a geographic basis, the United States will deliver nearly two thirds of all spending on AI systems in 2019, led by the retail and banking industries. Western Europe will be the second largest region in 2018, led by banking, retail, and discrete manufacturing. The strongest spending growth over the five-year forecast will be in Japan (58.9% CAGR) and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) (51.4% CAGR). China will also experience strong spending growth throughout the forecast (49.6% CAGR).
"AI is a big topic in Europe, it's here and it's set to stay. Both AI adoption and spending are picking up fast. European businesses are hands-on AI and have moved from an explorative phase to the implementation stage," said Andrea Minonne, senior research analyst, IDC Customer Insight & Analysis in Europe, said in the announcement. "AI is the game changer in a highly competitive environment, especially across customer-facing industries such as retail and finance, where AI has the power to push customer experience to the next level with virtual assistants, product recommendations, or visual searches. Many European retailers such as Sephora, ASOS, and Zara or banks such as NatWest and HSBC are already experiencing the benefits of AI, including increased store visits, higher revenues, reduced costs, and more pleasant and personalized customer journeys. Industry-specific use cases related to automation of processes are becoming mainstream and the focus is set to shift towards next-generation use of AI for personalization or predictive purposes,"
The Worldwide Semiannual Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide sizes spending for technologies that analyze, organize, access, and provide advisory services based on a range of unstructured information. The spending guide quantifies the AI opportunity by providing data for 25 use cases across 19 industries in nine regions. Data is also available for the related hardware, software, and services categories. Unlike any other research in the industry, the detailed segmentation and timely, global data is designed to help suppliers targeting the market to identify market opportunities and execute an effective strategy.
Our May 2019 News Poll got me really thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and the possibilities. My previous AI-related thoughts have been around Watson, the IBM-created, question-answering computer system that answers in natural language, and robots, and how AI can take over the world one day, according to some! Spooky! But, I wanted to know if AI is a legit, practical application for security-related functions, so I scoured the internet and found some exciting and unique, currently deployed uses.
Physical Security
According the to China Morning Post, AI is revolutionizing physical security in Asia. It can detect people acting out of the ordinary and flag them, and then transmit that information to a command center, where human operators can make an informed decision. Additionally, AI and high-definition cameras can work together to first communicate to a human that a smoke detector, for example, has been activated, with the cameras identifying the exact location of the fire.
Financial Security
Shoplifting literally costs billions of dollars here in the United States, which trickles down to honest consumers who end up paying more for goods and services. Vaak, a Tokyo-based company, spent more than 100 hours showing their AI system closed-circuit television footage of honest shoppers and shoplifters. The system can now identify suspicious activity based on more than 100 aspects of shoppers' behavior including gait, hand movements, facial expressions, clothing choices and even "restless" and "sneaking" behaviors. Store employees are alerted of suspiciousness via an app and they can decide what to do.
Life Security
Paris-based startup, Pharnext, was founded by Daniel Cohen, who "mapped" the human genome and demonstrated it is possible to use Big Data and automation to speed up the processing of DNA samples. Today, Cohen is using AI to analyze and map the chain of reactions of disease in the body. With this information, he and his team are combining existing drugs, known as "repurposing," to create therapeutic effects that each drug lacks on its own. His overall goal is to use existing medicines to treat all disease, preventing the design of new medicines.
Post-doctoral research fellow at Stanford University, Dr. Srijan Kuman, is developing an AI method — REV2 — to identify online conflict using data and machine learning to predict internet trolling before it happens. (Trolling is an action by a person who posts inflammatory and often deceptive and disinformation online to provoke others to respond on pure emotion.) Kuman uses statistical analysis, graph mining, embedding and deep learning to determine normal and malicious behaviors. His method is currently being used by Flipkart, an online store, to identify fake reviews and reviewers, and he was able to accurately predict when one Reddit community will troll another.
Be sure to check out our editor's blog that talks about worldwide spending on AI systems to reach $35.8 billion in 2019, according to International Data Corporation.
Excited to be here in Denver, Colo. this week for PSA TEC 2019, a conference hosted by PSA, a global systems integration consortium made up of progressive security and audio-visual systems integrators in North America.
Approximately 1,200 security professionals converged on Denver — ahead of a blizzard, yes blizzard, that is coming — to learn, network and explore the many opportunities and challenges facing system integrators and the security industry as a whole.
What is unique about this conference is that it brings together an incredible array of security professionals all focused on the same goal: Improving security for their customers while pushing the industry forward during a highly volatile and quickly changing security landscape.
Interestingly, PSA members combined boast over 400 branch locations, employ over 7,500 industry professionals and are responsible for over $4.5 billion annually in security, fire, life safety and pro audio-visual installations.
Some of the bigger themes for the conference this year — and for the industry overall as well — are:
• Cybersecurity and the physical and data convergence;• How integrators are adapting to and adopting more of a managed services, RMR model;• The continued rise and adoption of cloud-based solutions;• Hiring, training and retaining good people;• Adapting to the increasing role of IT within security• The benefits and challenges of open architecture systems and platforms vs. end to end systems;• Compliance and regulations, including GDPR; and• Data privacy
Based on analyst firm Gartner's research, 20.4 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices will be deployed by 2020; that's more than double the world's population! Hackers tend to gravitate toward the weakest link in the security chain, and because more and more IoT devices have questionable defenses, they make easy targets. This has caused the U.S. government to take notice.
To date, there is no national standard for IoT security, leaving it up to each company to decide how they want to security their connected devices. So, on Monday, March 11th, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives members introduced the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act. If passed, this legislation would set minimum security standards for connected devices used by the government in an effort to prevent the federal government from purchasing hacker friendly devices.
While the legislation won't set security standards for all IoT companies—just the ones wanting to win federal contracts— it could provide a baseline of best practices for all connected device manufacturers to consider.
Should the bill pass, here's what would happen:
Do you think this legislation would compel all connected device makers to adopt these security requirements or just the ones wanting to do business with the government?
Venturing off to Coronado Island, right outside of San Diego for MercTech 5 was an exciting adventure into the open architecture world of physical security. Various trends were identified, company announcements made, valuable networking with security companies was experienced as well as education and fun.
To kick off the conference, Matt Barnette, president, Mercury Security, announced that this year, the company will be formally converting to HID Global and they are always looking for new partners. (HID Global purchased Mercury Security, an OEM supplier of controllers for physical access control, in 2017.) Thus far, Mercury Security has kept their original logo, with the added phrase: "part of HID Global."
Serra Luck, VP end user and consultant business, HID Global followed with three major trends in the physical access control market: the evolution of identity; service oriented and convergence of video, biometrics, access control, lighting and more to be controlled by a single device. Luck identified what she termed "BIMruption," building information modeling in which a wholistic view of a building, including its vulnerabilities, can be seen before the structure is actually built. This enables the simulation of possible terror attacks, physical breaches, structural integrity and more so that security consultants, integrators and end-users can become even more proactive in preventing security-related issues.
Donna Chapman, consultant relations business development manager, ASSA ABLOY compared how she "talks up" security consultants to their partners. She likens it to doing taxes.
"Can I do taxes," she asked the audience, hypothetically. To which she answered, "yes, but am I up-to-date on all the tax regulations…no, and that's 'ok' unless I get audited. So, it's easier and safer to have my taxes done by a professional…same with security consultants."
The two full days of the conference continued on with valuable education as well as meetings with various Mercury Security partners, followed by amazing dinners and networking events. Partners were available in various suites in a "speed dating" type of format, 45 minutes in length, where security consultants learned about their solutions as well as got their questions answered.
A consultant roundtable took place, in which hot topics were discussed, one of which was the adoption of Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP), a communication standard developed by the Security Industry Association (SIA) to improve interoperability among access control and security devices. Security consultants were also concerned with specifying manufacturer's certifications, asking if companies could possibly add certification numbers or some sort of identification so each certification is easier to "spec."
As the event concluded and I began to reflect, one of the most valuable takeaways from the whole conference emerged. Steve Wagner, president of Open Options, said the following during a speed dating session: "Everyone employed with Open Options is empowered to make decisions on behalf of customers; if a mistake is made with any such decisions, it will be to the benefit of the client." This customer/client-first mentality, in my opinion, is a big piece of the pie that security companies must incorporate into their culture for maximum success.
The Monitoring Association (TMA) and the Electronic Security Association (ESA) are calling out Google on its recent statement — "security systems often use microphones" — noting that such statements "misrepresent the vast majority of today's residential security systems installed throughout the country."
The dispute follows recent reporting by Business Insider, CNN Business and many other publications that have highlighted the undisclosed, on-board microphone discovered in Google's Nest Guard Security Device — raising serious privacy concerns among consumers.
Since audio recording includes privacy and legal complexities, it's not extremely common in residential installations, the associations noted, pointing out that security professionals and integrators consult with customers and ensure all federal and state laws are abided by.
"Adding audio surveillance can certainly make for a more robust system," ESA President Chris Mosley said in a prepared statement. "We're seeing exciting advancements in the audio surveillance category, such as acoustic sensors and microphones that can help us detect gunfire or when voices become elevated that could indicate potential violence. However, sweeping statements to infer that residential systems commonly have this feature are simply not accurate."
Richard Brent, CEO, Louroe Electronics, an ESA Member company and 40-year-old manufacturer of audio-based technologies, agrees, noting, "Sound-based technology in security systems is common in law enforcement, institutional, and smart city installations. However, the use of microphones for surveillance in residences is extremely rare on account of heightened expectations of privacy."
According to both associations, adding microphones and audio capabilities to security systems adds another level of precaution that must be taken to install the system in a way that protects the privacy of the consumer.
"Security systems are now an important part of the customer home experience in that we can integrate with audio assistance," TMA President Ivan Spector said. "However professionally installed and monitored security systems are not designed to record data and conversations unbeknownst to our customers."
Professionally installed systems have the backing of technology experts who know the full capability of the system and its components and can appropriately safeguard these systems, so as not to compromise privacy.
TechSec Solutions, which wrapped up this week here in Delray Beach, Fla., brought together thought leaders from across all areas of the security industry to discuss the current state of the industry, key trends and technologies impacting and shaping security, and what the more successful companies are doing to stay relevant and profitable.
PSA's Bill Bozeman … SIA's Don Erickson … Securitas' Jim Henry … ESIConvergent's Pierre Bourgeix … DICE Corp's Cliff Dice — the list of speakers at this year's event represented the who's who of security. Together with many other great speakers they provided a stellar day and a half of learning and networking. Moving outside the education room, attendees were able to check out some of the newest technology and services from this year's sponsors, which included DICE Corp., Hikvision, ISC West, Lifesafety Power, Secure Utility and simPRO.
In addition to the incredible lineup of speakers and sponsors, the "20 under 40" award reception on the evening of day one provided a great capper to a tremendous day that included an "Integrator State of the Union" from Bozeman, a killer session from Bourgeix that featured Peter Rung from NCODED Communications and Samuel Trotman from KLJ, a consulting firm. Gretchen Gordon from Braveheart Sales Performance was another highlight on day one, as she tackled one of the greatest challenges for everyone in security today — finding, hiring, training AND retaining good people.
Day Two started with the highly anticipated Security Mega Panel featuring Bozeman, Erickson, ESA CEO Merlin Guilbeau and Michael Gips from ASIS International. The session exceeded expectations, as this group that has more than 100 combined years of experience in the industry riffed on the key issues, challenges and opportunities facing the industry today.
The second day also featured former "20 under 40" winner Rob Simopoulos, co-founder of Defendify, whose presentation on the importance of cybersecurity struck a nice balance between showing the audience the real threats that are out there (and many times in a humorous way), while providing tangible solutions and strategies to build a better "cyber posture."
Closing out the conference was the session, Protecting Critical Infrastructure, which featured two of this year's "20 under 40" end user winners — Colby Meshey, Deputy Director, Security Services, Pentagon Force Protection Agency and Kevin Didden, Senior Manager, Security Programs and Administration, MTA Bridges and Tunnels — as well as Meshey's colleague James Ell, Electronic Security Services Branch Chief, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, and Joe Morgan, Business Development Manager for Critical Infrastructure, Axis Communications. Moderator Mike Lavway, Senior Manager, Enterprise Security Risk Group (eSRG), Aronson Security Group (ASG), was able to cover a lot of ground with this talented group, looking at specific examples from each on how they are using new technologies and strategies to improve security.
Many of the conversations sparked within the sessions spilled out into the exhibit room and lunches, and audience participation added some great energy to the sessions and discussions.
Getting back to the "20 under 40" reception. The fun-filled event, which was sponsored by SIA, brought 10 of our winners together by the pool to receive their award in person, network with their peers and celebrate a well-earned recognition as one of the rising stars in the industry.
Speaking of "rising stars," SIA sponsored the event because they understand how important it is to recognize and support young professionals in the industry as they become the thought leaders of tomorrow. SIA's RISE program does just that and there is great synergy between the "20 under 40" and RISE program's goals. SIA also just announced its AcceleRISE conference, which is Aug. 16-18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Keep checking back to the website for more coverage from TechSec 2019 — including some live video footage from sessions — as well as more information on the big announcement that Cloud+ will be joining TechSec Solutions in early 2020! Stay tuned for more exciting news about that two great shows finally coming together.
This week, I'm spending time in the Country Music Capital of the World, Nashville, hanging out with everyone at MIPS 2019, a conference organized by Milestone. After quite an eventful experience at the DFW airport — maintenance issues, delays and arriving a bit late to the conference — I'm happy to report it was all worth it!
Yesterday was jam-packed full of amazing speakers, new announcements from Milestone and their partners, and of course, hand claps and "yee-haws" to celebrate. Today promises even more highly beneficial content and a one-on-one interview to discuss the new Milestone Marketplace, an online experience to explore proven applications, hardware, and services that work with XProtect; connect with technology partners; and find the solution to deploy.
Be on the lookout for my MIPS 2019 roundup piece and follow me on Twitter @SSN_Ginger for live updates. To get caught up on yesterday's Tweets, search with SSN's new hashtag #SSNTalks.
The success of smart home assistants such as Amazon Alexa has spurred the growth of smart speakers within the home, as voice control in the home seems to be a trend that is not going away any time soon.
In fact, the adoption of these devices increased by 800 percent from 2016 to 2018, reaching nearly one-third of U.S. broadband households by the end of 2018, according to research by Parks Associates.
In the firm's "Strategies for Integrating Voice in the Smart Home," report, it estimates U.S. households will buy more than 64 million smart speakers with voice assistants in 2022. The research profiles key technology partners that can help companies integrate voice and evaluates different strategies for implementation.
"Voice is emerging as a key complement to smart home device adoption and ownership, as it provides a simple method of interaction and creates opportunities for a centralized user interface and interoperability among multiple devices," Dina Abdelrazik, research analyst, Parks Associates, said in the announcement. "The next step will be integration of voice among multiple device categories, which will help to alleviate smart home fragmentation."
Use of voice in conjunction with smart home devices is increasing. The report finds 21 percent of smart homeowners have used voice to turn their devices on/off, while 18 percent have used voice to check a device's status. With voice popularity and use cases expanding, device makers and service providers are looking to capitalize on the current market opportunity by integrating a voice experience with their current offerings. The first decision a company must make before doing so is to decide whether to create its own proprietary solution or to integrate with a readily available solution.
"Major tech giants have entered the voice-first market providing companies with the opportunity to leverage their voice-based solutions, with Amazon and Google leading the market," Abdelrazik said. "They have made it easier for companies to enable voice-based solutions while creating competition for consumer mindshare, with Apple, Samsung and Harman Kardon promoting their own solutions in an increasingly crowded market. This diversity gives companies more choices when considering partnerships or whether to develop their own proprietary in-house solution."
Parks Associates will host CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference on May 21-23, 2019, in San Francisco, where analysts and IoT executives will examine the impact of voice along with other solutions in shaping demand, adoption, and new business strategies within the smart home ecosystem.
Further validating the growth of smart speakers, IHS Markit recently released its report on this growing trend.
The love of smart speakers is permeating the world, as more and more people are introducing these devices into their homes for various reasons—to listen to their favorite tunes, search for real-time and factual information, listen to news, chat with the voice assistant for fun (I mean, it's pretty cool to play trivia with Alexa!), and use alarms and timers, and more. So, to do all these activities, what are people looking for in a smart speaker?
After surveying more than 13 percent of Internet users with smart speakers in their households in November 2018, from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, IHS Markit found:
• 27 percent said the most important feature is "integration with services and devices;• 25 percent said a "questions and answers" feature; and• 24 percent indicated "sound quality."
Of the respondents with access to smart speakers powered by Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, they were more likely to rate integration as the most important feature because they positioned their digital assistants as smart home hubs, primarily because both platforms leverage their own entertainment offerings, such as audiobooks and streaming music.
Fateha Begum, associate director, IHS Markit, revealed the following information from the survey in an announcement:
• Sound quality and integration is usually equally important among consumers, especially for those with Bose, JBL, Link, Panasonic, Sony and other traditional audio brands.• Smart speaker households in India and Brazil selected sound quality as the most important factor.• Amazon Echo and Google Home owners said answering questions was top of their list.
Across all markets surveyed, it seems Amazon Echo is making a bigger splash among households. Those owning Amazon Echo devices were more likely to have multiple devices and on average, 21 percent accessed two Echo speakers with 15 percent accessing three or more speakers. Only 15 percent of Google Home owners had access to two Google speakers with an additional 15 percent accessing three or more speakers.
In my opinion, the key takeaway from this survey was stated by Maria Rua Aguete, executive director, IHS Markit, "Operators now understand the importance of having their own digital assistants, to maintain and control the customer experience and network usage."
As the semi-proud new owner of an Echo Show, 2nd Generation, I enjoy Alexa for the little things—playing games and listening to music, and I appreciate the concept and lure of smart speakers and AI, but for me, and maybe it's my undeniably strong Texas accent, Alexa just doesn't understand me!
For more research on the smart speaker craze, click here.
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Donald Trump
by Siegfried Woldhek
In The Review
This drawing appeared in the following:
- 'My Button Works!' from the October 11, 2018 issue
- Imperial Exceptionalism from the February 7, 2019 issue
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Let's make a list of straightforward, warm-hearted, lovable American men who we want to be our adoptive fathers. Tom Hanks is totally at the top of it, right? Our modern-day answer to Jimmy Stewart, Hanks has spent decades embodying pretty much everything good about American identity, from fearless World War II soldiers to history-changing Alabamans to a kid who just wants to make better toys. And while Hanks has created his share of American icons already-- Apollo 13 hero Jim Lovell, Woody, fictional Da Vinci Code sleuth Robert Langdon-- he's got two huge ones on deck for later this year. His role as the heroic Maersk Alabama Captain Phillips ought to be stirring when that film arrives October 11, but the real challenge arrives December 25, when Hanks is given the challenge of turning into Walt Disney.
How will he pull it off? We're getting our first hint in the image above, which debuted at Time Magazine of all places, from Saving Mr. Banks, the film that goes behind-the-scenes of Disneys 1964 adaptation of Mary Poppins. Standing next to Hanks is Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers, the British Mary Poppins author who was just as difficult and sour as she looks in that photo. They're walking down Main Street of Disneyland, and Travers looks like a schoolmarm scolding a bunch of second-graders! This is clearly not a woman who was in tune with Disney's version of The Happiest Place on Earth. In fact, Thompson tells Time that "She's the most difficult person I've ever played," and digs into the ways that Travers, while stern and determined, was also totally confusing compared to other characters Thompson has played over the years:
"She was a woman of quite eye-watering complexity and contradiction. Often I play people who are controlled by some very clear guiding moral principles. Like Margaret Schlegel [in Howards End], guided by the early principles of feminism and equal rights, and Elinor Dashwood [in Sense and Sensibility], guided by the principles of decency and honor. There are very clear moral prisms these women pour life through, and I understand that very well. And [Travers] was not like that at all. She was far more chaotic and confused and morally various."
(Side note: Maybe playing crazy Professor Trelawney in the Harry Potter movies helped Thompson gear up for this?)
This image from Saving Mr. Banks technically isn't our first look at Hanks in costume-- there were some sneaked set photos from the Disneyland shoot last fall, which included a photo of Hanks that was meant to directly mimic a famous portrait of Disney that hung in Disneyland. But now, of course, the next step is to actually see Hanks in action, walking and talking as Disney did. Walt Disney himself died in 1966, but his face and voice remained incredibly familiar to kids who watched The Wonderful World of Disney or other relics from our parents' own childhoods. Check out this clip from Disney's final filmed appearance, in October of 1966 (it starts around the 3-minute mark), and let us know if you think Hanks can capture Disney beyond the mustache and slicked-back 60s hair. Hanks is already an American icon himself, so does that give him an edge in playing another one?


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Thrown pistols, an injured officer and a car chase through the streets of the Lancaster city limits on Tuesday, Dec. 4, added up to a multitude of charges for a Lancaster man.
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The Wall Street Journal reported in an article, "All the President's Men," by Julia M. Klein, on 4 January 2011 -- Philadelphia -- With temperatures in the mid-20s, the mid- December dedication of the President's House was an occasion for celebration (that the site, after eight years of controversy and delays, was finished), thoughtful rumination (about the entanglement of liberty and slavery in Federalist America) and incipient frostbite.
Abutting the Liberty Bell Center in the heart of Independence National Historical Park, the $11.9 million project combines architecture and archaeology, memorial and exhibition, in an open-air setting. The exhibition, "The President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation," touches on the uses and abuses of federal power, the spread of slavery, Philadelphia's 18th- century free-black community—and, most tellingly, the occupants of the house itself.
The original President's House was the seat of U.S. executive power from 1790 to 1800—the home of President George Washington and his successor, John Adams. Built in the late 1760s at what is now the corner of Sixth and Market Streets and mostly demolished in the 1830s, the gracious Georgian mansion was at various times the residence of British Gen. William Howe, the traitor Benedict Arnold (who hatched his treason here) and Revolutionary War financier Robert Morris.
But not only dignitaries called this place home. During Washington's presidency, nine "enslaved people" (in the exhibition's vernacular) also lived and worked here, just a block from Independence Hall.
Washington periodically rotated his slaves back to his Mount Vernon, Va., plantation to circumvent Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act of 1780, which would have freed them after six months of residency. Two of the nine eventually escaped and were never recaptured, despite Washington's signing of the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act.
Situated within a deliberately fragmentary re-creation of the house, the exhibition provides an intriguing sketch of this complex story. But its nonlinear, mosaic-like narrative—essentially, another set of fragments—would work better in a more sheltered space. The blustery winter weather made absorbing lengthy texts and watching five videos something of an ordeal. A simple, elegant memorial—supplemented by an exhibition in the Independence Visitor Center, across the street—would have been a smarter design choice.
Yet there is no gainsaying the power of the history. That this place was all but forgotten for so long—and its site used for a public restroom—is amazing. In the January 2002 issue of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, the historian Edward Lawler Jr. pinpointed the house's precise location and features, and lit an intellectual conflagration by declaring that "the last thing that a visitor will walk across . . . before entering the Liberty Bell Center will be the slave quarters that George Washington added to the President's House."
Grass-roots organizations —including the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, Generations Unlimited and the Ad Hoc Historians—agitated for recognition of the site, and especially its significance to African-Americans.
After initial resistance, the National Park Service and the city of Philadelphia embraced the memorial project. But the development process was contentious. The first interpretive team, the Brooklyn-based American History Workshop, was replaced by Eisterhold Associates of Kansas City, Mo. Rhetorical battles were waged over design and interpretation, including how to balance the mansion's presidential history with its connections to slavery. (That battle seems to have been fought to a draw.)
An archaeological dig in 2007 uncovered the house's 18th-century foundations—the remains of the kitchen and corridors where slaves toiled and of a bay window addition that may have inspired the design of the Oval Office. The electrifying finds drew more than 300,000 visitors and were incorporated into the final design.
That design, by Kelly/Maiello Architects and Planners, owes more than a little to Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown's Franklin Court, which commemorates Benjamin Franklin's razed dwelling a few blocks away. Like that memorial, the President's House is not a reconstruction, but an evocation of a house, using red-brick walls, granite flooring, and white door and window frames to mark its footprint. Fireplaces interrupt the walls, and videos are set above them like paintings. The focal point of the design is a rectangular glass box that both protects and highlights the archaeological fragments below.
While the Franklin memorial is a pendant to an underground Franklin museum, now being renovated, the President's House structure itself provides the backdrop for text panels, illustrated glass panels, distracting ambient sound and informative, visually crisp but dramatically inert videos (written by Lorene Cary and directed by Louis Massiah).
The exhibition mentions the Whiskey Rebellion, the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, the migration of Haitian slave owners to Philadelphia, the yellow fever outbreaks of the 1790s, and the formation of Philadelphia's first two black churches. It suggests that contact with Philadelphia's free black community, as well as white abolitionists, heightened the restlessness of Washington's slaves.
But restoring those nine people to history is the project's signal accomplishment. In the moving finale of his dedication address, Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter recited their names, etched on a granite wall on the structure's east side. The nine (and all the victims of slavery) are also commemorated by an uninspired box-like memorial-within-the-memorial.
Videos sum up the little that is known of their lives, describing the escapes of Oney Judge, maid to Martha Custis Washington, and Hercules, George Washington's gifted chef. Learning she was about to be given to Martha's grandchild, Judge fled, in 1796, to New Hampshire, where she married and had three children. Washington apparently never stopped pursuing her. Under his steward's name, he placed an advertisement for a "light Mulatto" fugitive and offered a reward of $10 or more for her capture.
Hercules, shipped back to Mount Vernon to make bricks, snuck away from the Virginia plantation in 1797, on Washington's 65th birthday. He left behind at least three children and virtually no documentary trail.
Washington was, we now know, conflicted about slavery. As the exhibition relates, his will freed the 123 slaves he owned, with emancipation to occur after his wife's death. She liberated them herself in 1801. But she did not emancipate her own 153 "dower" slaves, from the estate of her first husband; she left them instead to her grandchildren.
That created a conundrum on the plantation: mixed marriages between enslaved and free spouses. A video asks just how this would have played out in human terms—and whether Washington and his wife ever discussed the differing fates of their workers. These are provocative questions—portals to yet more dark, intricate corridors of history. (source: The Wall Street Journal )


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|MLBPA Press Release
Administered by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America, the Action Team program encourages young people throughout the United States to volunteer in their communities. To date, Action Teams of high school students and Major Leaguers have inspired more than 17,000 high school students across the country to help over 75,000 people in need by volunteering in their communities. An Action Team service-learning curriculum created by the Players Trust in partnership with The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition teaches valuable community service skills to 700,000 high school students in more than 5,000 classrooms across the country. The Association of Educational Publishers named this innovative service-learning program a finalist for a 2009 Distinguished Achievement Award.
Receiving signed certificates of achievement from the players tonight are Detroit Action Team Captains Lisa Alder, Swati Bajpayee, Chris Carr, Sean Carr, Angel Escott, Robin Gravlin, Victoria Lane, Mimi Sheng, Deanna Valrie, Emily Wang, Shanaye Watts and Mariah Wright. Also, Victoria Lane receives a $1,000 college scholarship from the Major League Baseball Players Trust in recognition of her dedication to community service.
Earlier today, Granderson and Robertson joined the Detroit Action Team for a day of Spring Training at Volunteers of America Michigans Oak Village Square Senior Apartments. The players and student Team Captains planted flowers outside the complex before joining the residents for lunch and some Wii baseball and bowling.
Action Teams are working together in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Maui, Minneapolis, Mobile, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland (Maine), San Francisco, San Juan (P.R.), Santa Fe, Seattle, Tampa and Washington D.C.. Beginning in September 2009, virtually every high school in America will be able to join the Action Team by participating in a new Internet version of this unique service-learning program. Action Team applications and additional information can be received by sending an e-mail request to email@example.com.


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By Pokédex number, 001 may refer to:
- #001 Bulbasaur, in the National and Kanto Pokédex
- #001 Chikorita, in the New Pokédex and the Johto Pokédex
- #001 Treecko, in the Hoenn Pokédex in Generation III and Hoenn Pokédex in Generation VI
- #001 Turtwig, in the Sinnoh Pokédex
- #001 Snivy, in the Unova and New Unova Pokédex
- #001 Chespin, in the Central Kalos Pokédex
- #001 Drifloon, in the Coastal Kalos Pokédex
- #001 Diglett, in the Mountain Kalos Pokédex
- #001 Rowlet, in the Alola Pokédex in Sun and Moon and the Alola Pokédex in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
By Browser number, 001 may refer to:
- R-001 Bulbasaur, in the Fiore Browser
- R-001 Pichu, in the Almia Browser
- R-001 Pidgey, in the Oblivia Browser
- S-001 Heatran, in the Oblivia Browser
- N-001 Piplup, in the Oblivia Browser (Past)
- X-001 Deoxys, in the Oblivia Browser (Past)
By hexadecimal identifier, 001 may refer to:
- Rhydon, a Pokémon which, in Generation I, has the index number of 001
- Bulbasaur, a Pokémon which, in Generation II and onward, has the index number of 001
- The Master Ball, a Poké Ball whose index number is 001
- The index number for the move Pound
In the Pokémon anime series, 001 may refer to:
- Pokémon - I Choose You!, episode 1 of the original series
- Get the Show on the Road, episode 1 of the Advanced Generation series
- Following a Maiden's Voyage!, episode 1 of the Diamond & Pearl series
- In The Shadow of Zekrom!, episode 1 of the Best Wishes series
- Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, episode 1 of the XY series
- Alola to New Adventure!, episode 1 of the Sun & Moon series
- Mewtwo Strikes Back, the first full-length Pokémon movie
- Pikachu's Vacation, the first Pikachu short animation
- A Family That Battles Together Stays Together!, the first side story episode
In other Pokémon anime series, 001 may refer to:
- File 1: Red, episode 1 of Pokémon Origins
- The Adventure, episode 1 of Pokémon Generations
In the Pokémon games, 001 may refer to:
- Route 1, a route in Kanto
- Route 1, a route in Unova
- Route 1, a route in Kalos
- Route 1, a route in Alola
- The island named One Island
- The town named One Island
- TM01, a Technical Machine
- HM01, a Hidden Machine
- Cheri Berry, a Berry that debuted in Generation III
- XD001, a Pokémon from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- ZERO-ONE, a vehicle in Pokémon Snap
- Secret Storage 1, a location in Pokémon Trozei!
- Huge Storage 1, a location in Pokémon Trozei!
- Phobos Mobile No.1: Phobos Train, a location in Pokémon Trozei!
- SOL Laboratory 1, a location in Pokémon Trozei!
In the Pokémon manga, 001 may refer to:
- A Glimpse of the Glow, round 1 in the Red, Green & Blue chapter of Pokémon Adventures
- In Search of the Legendary Pokémon Dialga!!, chapter 1 of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
- Deoxys, The Phantom Pokémon! (Part 1), the first special chapter in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
- Pokémon to the Rescue!, chapter 1 of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team
- Pikachu, I See You!, chapter 1 of The Electric Tale of Pikachu
- Hoppip, The Wind Calls!, chapter 1 of Ash & Pikachu
- Prologue: Masara Town, chapter 1 of Pokémon Zensho
- Let's Go! The Journey Towards The Championship, chapter 1 of Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
- The Day Dratini Grew Up, chapter 1 of How I Became a Pokémon Card
- District Convention "Kenta, to the Open Sea", chapter 1 of Aim to Be a Card Master!!
- Behold The Phantom Thief Of Justice, chapter 1 of Phantom Thief Pokémon 7
- The Pokémon Clefairy Enters!!, chapter 1 of Pokémon Pocket Monsters
- Let's Go Catch The Dumpling Thief!!, chapter 1 of Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire
- Enta Arrives at the Battle Frontier!, chapter 1 of Pokémon Battle Frontier
- How Do You Do, Pikachu?, chapter 1 of Magical Pokémon Journey
- A Destined Meeting (chamo!?), chapter 1 of Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪
- Enter Shū & Pikachu!, chapter 1 of Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All
- A Heated Battle Begins!!, chapter 1 of Pocket Monsters Platinum: Aim to Be Battle King!!
001 may also refer to:
- ONE, a CD single by Crystal Kay
- ONE, the Japanese ending theme to Giratina and the Sky Warrior
- One, a song from the English soundtrack to The Power of One
- Generation I, the first set of Pokémon games
|← 000
|Number Disambiguations
|002 →


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Your exposition planner for the 2013 National Farm Machinery Show
February is the time of year to make a trip to Louisville, Ky., for the country's largest indoor farm show. Before the hustle and bustle of planting prep is in full swing, come see row after row of new tools and iron at the 48th annual National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) from Feb. 13 to 16.
The Kentucky Exposition Center, home of NFMS, has grown through a series of renovations and expansions during the past few years. With more than 1.2 million square feet of exhibition space and more than 850 exhibitors, this year's show will have something that appeals to every farmer's interest.
The event will feature machines of all sizes, irrigation equipment and more.
Show exhibits include grain-handling and storage equipment; computers and electronics; tractors and combines; tillage implements; planting, fertilizing and spraying equipment; alternative energy; trucks and trailers; irrigation equipment; livestock feeding and handling equipment; buildings, barns and fencing; shop tools; and more.
During the four-day show, exhibit halls will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free; parking costs $8. Parking for RVs is available but requires advance registration.
This year, NFMS will host the 45th annual Championship Tractor Pull, sponsored by Syngenta. Each night at 7:30 p.m. and with an additional event on Saturday at 1 p.m., the adjacent Freedom Hall will be home to the contest, which attracts the best competitors in the country with more than $200,000 in prize money. The tractor pull packs the arena every year, so make sure you purchase your tickets ahead of time. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster online by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or by calling toll-free (800) 745-3000.
Seminar lineup. Take a break from the show floor to hear Farm Journal Economist Bob Utterback's thoughts on the direction of the commodity markets. Implement & Tractor columnist Greg Peterson will present a seminar on trends in used equipment values. Both 90-minute seminars are free to NFMS attendees. There will also be a live taping of the Marketing Roundtable segment of "U.S. Farm Report." All three events will be presented in the South Wing conference center Make a trip of it.
The machinery show lasts only four days, so if you already have someone lined up to handle your chores, take advantage of your time away from the farm and check out the activities Louisville has to offer. Home of Louisville Slugger baseball bats, the Kentucky Derby and educational centers, the city and surrounding area offer plenty to do.
Check out the websites listed below for more suggestions on attractions to visit and local restaurants. For additional information, you can call the Louisville Visitors Bureau at (800) 626-5646, visit www.gotolouisville.com or write to 1 Riverfront Plaza, 401 West Main St., Suite 2300, Louisville, KY 40202. See you in Louisville!
Know Before You Go
Check out these websites for more information when making your plans to attend the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky.:
¦ National Farm Machinery Show www.farmmachineryshow.org
¦ Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau www.gotolouisville.com
¦ Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby www.kentuckyderby.com
¦ Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory www.slugger.com/museum
¦ Kentucky Science Center www.kysciencecenter.org
¦ Louisville Zoo www.louisvillezoo.org
¦ Belle of Louisville riverboat cruises www.belleoflouisville.org
¦ Frazier History Museum www.fraziermuseum.org
¦ Thomas Edison House www.historichomes.org
¦ Howard Steamboat Museum and historic home www.steamboatmuseum.org
¦ Marengo Cave National Landmark on Blue River www.marengocave.com
¦ Locust Grove historic home www.locustgrove.org
¦ Farmington Historic Plantation www.historichomes.org
¦ Muhammad Ali Center www.alicenter.org
¦ Local restaurants found only in Louisville www.louisvilleoriginals.com
The Kentucky Exposition Center is at the junction of Interstates I-65 and I-264. Follow these directions to make your way to the Expo Center.
From I-65 northbound: Exit at Fair/Expo Center (Exit 131B). Follow signs to the main gate, Gate 1.
From I-65 southbound: Take Exit 132 to Crittenden Drive and merge to the left. Gate 4 to the Fair/Expo Center will be on the left. To enter Gate 1 (main gate), go past Exit 132 and continue approximately ¼ mile down I-65 to Exit 131B. Follow the Fair/Expo Center signs to Gate 1.
From I-264 westbound: Exit at the Fair/Expo Center (Exit 11) and follow the signs to Gate 1 (main gate). If you continue on I-264, you can exit at Crittenden Drive to enter Gates 2, 3 or 4. To access Preston Highway (Route 61), take Exit 12. Turn right off the exit ramp and follow Preston Highway to Gate 6, which will be on the left.
From I-264 eastbound: Exit at the Fair/Expo Center (Exit 11) to Crittenden Drive. Proceed to Gates 2, 3 and 4, which will be on the right. If you continue past the Crittenden Drive exit on I-264, exit at the Fair/Expo Center (Exit 12) and follow the signs to Gate 1 (main gate).
See Farm Journal Media's full coverage of the 2013 National Farm Machinery Show.


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Safe driving class offered
A smart driving class will be offered at the Peabody Senior Center from 1 to 5 p.m. June 2 and 3.
The class is for all licensed drivers. No driving is required to complete the course.
The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for non-members.
Both sessions are required to receive a certificate to send into insurance companies for a premium reduction.
Richard and Marilyn Riemer of Hillsboro will teach the course. Call them at (620) 947-3453 to sign up or the senior center at (620) 983-2226 for more information.


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(Forest Hill, Louisiana, April 14, 2013)– Charlie Mullins got back on top of the podium at this weekend's Cajun Classic Enduro, round four of the Rekluse AMA National Enduro series in Forest Hill, Louisiana. After suffering a mechanical problem and finishing a disappointing 11that the previous round in Texas, the FMF/KTM rider was anxious to make amends and turned in a dominating performance in Louisiana which saw him win all six tests and top runner-up finisher Russell Bobbitt by over two-and-a-half minutes in wet and muddy conditions.
Thunderstorms overnight left the Kisatchie National Forest where the race was held wet and muddy, but that didn't deter Mullins, who was fast from the get-go, taking the slippery opening test by 37 seconds over Bobbitt. At that point everyone else was racing for second place as Mullins cruised home with his third win of the series.
"I was really happy to be able to get a win after the last race; and especially to win all of the tests," said Mullins. "It was difficult conditions but I felt good on the bike and I just rode my own race."
Bobbitt set the second fastest time in four of the six tests and finished out the day in the runner-up slot. The factory Husaberg rider pushed Mullins in the fifth test, finishing just five seconds behind the KTM rider, but it was not nearly enough to mount a serious challenge for the win.
Radiant AirGroup Racing's Nick Fahringer grabbed his third podium of the season and second consecutive with a third place finish, putting his Husaberg on the box with a time that was just under a minute-and-a-half off of Bobbitt's time. Factory Husaberg rider and eight-time champ Mike Lafferty edged ahead of Fahringer early in the race, but a strong final push by Fahringer solidified his third place status.
Lafferty ended the day in fourth overall, despite being second fastest in the third test. Meanwhile, Am Pro Yamaha's Jesse Groemm rounded out the top five after sitting third after the first two tests.
Grant Baylor chose to run a trials tire in the first two tests, and finished 11thand eighth, respectively. However, he jumped up to third-fastest and second-fastest in tests three and four when he went back to a conventional knobby. Despite the slow start, the KTM rider from South Carolina finished sixth overall.
Arkansas rider Josh Weisenfels was seventh on a two-stroke Yamaha, while Texas winner Andrew DeLong struggled with the conditions and ended the day in eighth.
Colorado KTM rider Ian Blythe and Obermeyer Yamaha/Raines Riding University/Offroadvikings.com's Brad Bakken rounded out the top 10.
With four rounds in the books and six to go, Mullins holds an 11-point lead in the series standings over Bobbitt, 100 points to 89. Fahringer sits in third with 83.
The Rekluse AMA National Enduro Series takes a short one-week break before resuming action at West Point, Tennessee, for the Rad Dad Enduro on April 28th. For more info on the series, check out www.nationalenduro.com.
1. Charlie Mullins (KTM)
2. Russell Bobbitt (Hsb)
3. Nick Fahringer (Hsb)
4. Mike Lafferty (Hsb)
5. Jesse Groemm (Yam)
6. Grant Baylor (KTM)
7. Josh Weisenfels (Yam)
8. Andrew DeLong (Hsq)
9. Ian Blythe (KTM)
10. Brad Bakken (Yam)
Shan Moore


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STD ScreeningPage address: http://www.mnsu.edu/shs/sti.html
Many students seek out routine screening for sexually transmitted infections even when they are not having symptoms just to be sure they don't have an STI. This is especially important since many infections do not cause symptoms.
If you are sexually active and experiencing symptoms (unusual discharge, sores, bumps, blisters, bleeding between periods or after sex, burning and pain with urination, pelvic pain) call for an appointment for evaluation and treatment.
STD Testing
We offer the following tests to screen for STD's: HIV, Syphillis, Hepatitis B & C, Herpes titer or culture, Chlamydia, Gonnorhea, and HPV (leading to cervical cancer or genital warts). Costs for each test varies and can be submitted to your insurance. Copays can be paid at the time of your visit or billed to your student account.
HIV Testing
Student Health Services provides confidential HIV testing. The test is available to any Minnesota State Mankato student. It is important to understand that it is required that both the request for the test and the results of the test will be recorded in the student's medical record. If a transfer of medical records to another medical facility, insurance company, or employer is requested, this information will be included. This may cause concern on the part of future insurers or employers.
Two appointments are necessary for HIV testing, one for the test and one to discuss the results.
Students having HIV testing done at Student Health Services can expect their test results in approximately 1 week.
Meet Our Medical Providers