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March 5, 2000 – Billy Cox - FLORIDA TODAY
Last December, on the day President Clinton swung into Orlando for a fund-raiser, a man convicted of threatening to gun him down was getting a more dubious red-carpet treatment.
Escorted by four federal suits, 52 year old Ronald Barbour spent an all expense paid evening in a downtown Holiday Inn, with supper and breakfast billed to Uncle Sam. Talk about VIP privacy – Barbour's hosts blocked off the entire fifth floor, just for him.
But there were a few nonnegotiable strings attached. Barbour couldn't go anywhere. He couldn't make long distance phone calls. He was required to sleep with his bedroom door open. Furthermore, the Army veteran had to watch his mouth about the man he loathes.
"What did I say?" repeats Barbour, when asked to retrieve the exact words that put him in prison for four years. "Well, after all these years I can't recall my exact words concerning Clinton, but they were to the effect that he was a draft dodger and whoremonger. I would note that I was merely repeating what was said about Clinton by a high-ranking military officer who was forced out of the service for saying them."
Barbour's words coupled with a trip to Washington, D.C. in 1994 with an allegedly loaded gun have earned him an active file in the Secret Service's list of potential assassins. As a consequence, the former retired Army career soldier and right wing political activist is being watched by the Treasury Department's crypto-agency, which knows virtually every move he makes.
The Secret Service won't say how many people like Barbour it tracks: This much is certain: If all the world is a stage, the former Army Intelligence officer has the role of a lifetime. "In terms of Shakespeare, I feel like Hamlet, being stalked by the King and his men."
Now living in Orlando, about two years into a three-year probation, Ronald Gene Barbour's rendezvous with infamy has a number of potential origins. Maybe it started when he was a kid, growing up in Huntington, W..Va., reading books such as THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, THE FIRST CIRCLE, FAHRENHEIT 451 and NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR. Maybe it started with his Cold War under cover intelligence duties in Berlin.
So far as the government cares, it started on January 29, 1994, when a neighbor secretly and illegally tape recorded a conversation Barbour and his brother was having over beers. The neighbor, Stacy Harris, said he did it after hearing Barbour allegedly talking about an attempt to assassinate President Clinton.
Harris was later given a $100,000 reward by the Federal Government for his tape recording. In May 1994, a federal jury in Orlando heard excerpts from the tape. Barbour later challenged the admissibly of this recording on the fact that it lacked a chain of custody (The recording was made on January 29, 1994 - Yet it was not turned over to the Secret Service until a week later) and that it had been edited. Barbour notes that anyone can be made to say anything after a tape recording has been modified.
Hence, the jury heard Barbour's alleged graphic antipathy toward Bill and Hillary Clinton: "And Hillary," the tape has Barbour saying, "You know, I never thought about beating a woman before, but I had this vision, of just stomping her to death. I'd go for her throat and try to break her neck real quick because she's a little thing, and then finish the job by stomping her body with hobnail boots." A few moments later, Barbour allegedly told Harris to get his autograph, because "I'll be the guy who shot Clinton."
Barbour thinks that this portion of the nearly three hours taping by Harris (Only several minutes were turned over to the Secret Service) related to a joke to his brother concerning the punishment of his pet dog (a female) who had a problem with making messes in the house. In regards to the alleged threat about Clinton was a "cut and paste" job done by the Secret Service, because in the original recording transcript no threat against President Clinton is recorded.
Secret Service agents who interrogated Barbour without reading him the Miranda Warning said that Barbour was allegedly drinking heavily and depressed in the winter of 1994. At that point, feeling that life was slipping away and that he had nothing to lose and that he had a political score to settle, Barbour drove north to Alexandria, Virginia from Orlando, Florida and checked into a motel. The Secret Service agents said that Barbour was armed with a Colt .45 caliber automatic pistol and more than 100 rounds of hollow point ammunition. While at the motel for a week, the Secret Service thinks that Barbour made at least six trips into Washington, D.C. looking for President Clinton's jogging routes, so that he could set up an ambush. After learning that the president was in Russia, Barbour returned to Florida without the accomplishment of his "mission."
Barbour relates a different account of his January 1994 trip to Washington, D.C. "Bill Clinton was the last thing on my mind. At that time I was a limo driver for Mears Transportation. I took a week's vacation to visit Washington, D.C. to check out the job opportunities for a person in my line of work. I also wanted to visit the memorial to those who died in service of their country during the Vietnam War. I have a few friends named on that memorial. Yes, I did have a weapon with me for personal protection, but it remained locked in the trunk of my car and unloaded. In regards to me not knowing that Clinton was in Russia during the week I spent in the Washington, D.C. area, all I can say is that I'm a news hound – Of course, I knew he was in Russia! However, as I've said before, I was not interested in harming the president."
Despite the obvious weaknesses in the Government's case against Barbour, a federal jury in May 1994 convicted him of 18 U.S.C. 871, formally known as "Threatening the Life of the President of the United States," a felony that carries a five-year sentence with a possible $250,000 fine, although rejecting 18 USC 1751 known as "The Attempted Assassination of the President" which would have carried life.
Barbour points out that the Government committed major constitutional violations in his case: Perjury, suborning perjury, deception, falsification of official documents, unlawful modification of an audio tape used as evidence in court, intimidation of witnesses by federal agents, obstruction of justice, violation of Writ of Habeas Corpus and other criminal violations. Also, no witnesses observed him on the Mall or near the White House.
When asked in reason for the jury's decision against him Barbour thinks that it was based on emotion, "The U.S. Attorney's attitude, and one that he was successful in selling to the jury, was so what if the case against Barbour was far from perfect, he was going to assassinate the President. In other words, he couldn't prove it, he just said it and that was good enough for the jury."
Barbour spent four years and three months in various federal prisons. He walked out on June 26, 1998, unchastened and insisting that his conviction was politically motivated. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed and denied his appeal in 1995.
"Our system of justice has many ominous parallels with the star chamber of yesteryear: Decisions are made behind closed doors and the average citizen isn't entitled to know anything about the process," Barbour charges, "For instance, after numerous Freedom of Information requests I cannot find out anything on how the Secret Service determines who constitutes a threat against the presidency. If you're able to discover anything will you let me know? I've been trying to find out for years."
Replies Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin in Washington: "That not something we share. We don't talk a lot about protective intelligence."
But on February 9, 1994, an inadvertent glimpse of insight came from agency psychologist Margaret Coggins.
Lecturing at the University of South Florida's Mental Health Institute, Coggins told listeners the Secret Service had three classifications for threat assessment. Those in Class I, she said, are discarded as no threat. Class II involved suspects who were investigated and determined not to pose a threat. Class III types, Coggins said, are considered legitimately dangerous.
At that time, there were 120 Class III suspects in America. Ronald Barbour was not one of them. Coggins didn't mention Barbour's name in her lecture, but she spoke of a Florida man who had been questioned by Secret Service agents on February 3, 1994 — the same day that Barbour was contacted by the authorities.
"The subject went to the Mall every day for six days waiting to shoot the president," Coggins told the audience. "He hoped that if he shot the president, he would be shot dead himself. Fortunately, the president was overseas at the time."
Coggins, whose remarks were printed in the St. Petersburg Times, informed listeners the suspect had been interviewed and eliminated from Class III consideration. So, what happened between then and February 17, 1994, when Barbour was indicted on federal charges by a Grand Jury?
Mackin said Coggins wouldn't be available for comment, "We're, uh, well aware of that article," he says, "I'm not sure she knew members of the news media were at the Conference."
Furthermore, threat assessment evaluations are privileged information. "It goes to our methods and means," he says. "We receive cases involving threats on a rather consistent basis, and we investigate them all to the fullest. If a defendant knows how it's done, they might be able to manipulate the process."
Barbour thinks that President Clinton got directly involved with his case. He cites a reference in the Government's Sentencing Memorandum to a meeting Clinton had prior to the indictment with then Secret Service Director Ron Noble.
"Well, what else could it be but political?" says Barbour who has requested the minutes of that meeting under the Freedom of Information Act, so far, to no avail. "The State of Maryland prosecutes Linda Tripp for illegally taping Monica Lewinsky, but the guy who does the same thing to me gets off scot-free. Come on – give me a break."
Clarence Counts, who represented Barbour at the District court trial and Appeals to the Federal District Court and the United States Supreme Court, states that Stacy Harris' taping was a felony under the Florida Statutes, which mandate a five-year prison sentence for a violation.
The prosecutor of Barbour, former U.S. Attorney James Glazebrook, appointed by President Clinton to the office of U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District Court in Orlando recalls prosecuting Barbour and doesn't dispute Count's point concerning the Harris tape. "It was a very interesting case," he says.
"I remember, at that time, feeling 100 percent confident that no state attorney would think of prosecuting Harris for turning over a tape that might have saved the life of President Clinton," Glazebrook says. "The court completely and properly rejected the defense arguments, because Harris was a Patriot."
Barbour thinks that both Harris and Glazebrook are about as patriotic as Benedict Arnold.
Barbour says that the Secret Service investigators were unable to produce eyewitness accounts to build a case of presidential stalking. Therefore, they tricked him into incriminating himself, in an interview done without benefit of the Miranda Warning, by walking him through a series of hypothetical questions like, "What advice could you give the Secret Service to enable it to better protect the president?" He says that never in the course of the five-hour interrogation did he tell investigators that he planned to assassinate President Clinton.
Without knowing the particulars of the case, ACLU executive director Greg Nojeim in Washington, D.C. says that it's difficult to know where Barbour crossed the line from First Amendment rights to a deadly threat.
As for the Secret Service's classification procedures, Nojeim says: "Good luck. Your only hope of finding out how he went from Class II to Class III is to file under the Freedom of Information Act and wait a few years and hope you're satisfied with the results, because they're usually not satisfying."
With the Linda Tripp analogy in mind, Tim Lynch, spokesman for the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C. says, "Prosecutors have an extraordinary amount of discretion. You can take any two cases in the country and say, 'Why this and not that?' And because there is so much discretion, cases like these do raise legitimate questions of oversight involving the legislative branch over the executive."
Having exhausted all legal recourse, those discussions are a moot point for Barbour, now, but given his background in military intelligence, Barbour wonders whether he'll be on the government's "Watch List" for the rest of his life, "Can you believe it? The Secret Service considers my military career a negative factor in my case."
The adopted son of a World War II veteran who landed in France at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, Barbour joined the Army after high school in 1966. He served tours of duty in Europe, Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia and Alaska before being assigned covert "spy duty" in West Berlin working a cover electronic surveillance mission against Russian forces in East Germany from a radio tower.
In the late 1970s, Barbour was assigned to the very secret National Security Agency at Ft. Meade, Maryland where he worked the ELINT mission, which was the intercept and analysis of Russian and Chinese telemetry and radar systems. In the early 1980s, Barbour was assigned to the Canal Zone in Panama to monitor Cuban and Russian signal traffic to and from Central America. Barbour retired from the Army in 1986, after his last assignment at Patrick USAF Base, Florida.
Barbour says he pulled time at four federal prisons. The most memorable was a year spent at Butner, North Carolina, in 1994 where he meet Jonathan Pollard, convicted of spying for Israel and Keith Idema, convicted of fraud and a self styled "Soldier of Fortune" who alleged that his conviction was a frame up by the federal government who wanted his information concerning portable nuclear weapons. Barbour's impression of Pollard was that he was an honest man sorry for his offense against national security. In contrast, Barbour thought Idema was a liar and phony who had puffed up his resume in Special Forces and lied about his experiences in the former Soviet Union. Barbour notes that Idema spent most of his time at Butner in Segregation because of his many problems interacting with guards and fellow inmates.
Barbour says that he was assaulted twice by fellow inmates while incarcerated, but says that his injuries weren't serious. Barbour also states that he was closely monitored by prison authorities, subjected to endless interrogations by Secret Service agents, and that prison authorities encouraged fellow inmates to spy on him.
When freed in 1998, Barbour says that, "I had always been a free man in my mind, so a readjustment to life outside prison was extremely easy for me."
"In the present case, Barbour "was not just making idle threats." Hines, 26 F.3d at 1474. Less than two weeks prior to his threats, Barbour was in Washington, D.C., with one hundred rounds of ammunition, waiting to assassinate the President. He failed to carry out his plan only because the President never arrived where Barbour was waiting, and he returned home only after discovering the President was out of the country. Barbour never deviated from his plan to kill the President; he was just denied the opportunity. Thus, when Barbour made his threats after returning home, there was every reason to conclude that he intended to act on those threats and that he was likely to do so. Because the record supports the district court's determination that Barbour had evidenced an intent to carry out his threat, the six- level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2A6.1(b)(1) was properly applied." - Federal Curcuit Court Judge Kravitch.
This reporter would like to ask the following questions to Judge Kravitch after careful examination of more than 1,000 pages of pictures, tapes and court records relating to this case:
1. If indeed this account is true then why was Barbour not tried in Washington, D.C., the site of the alleged assassination plot?
2. Why the Government could produce no witnesses or pictures to place Barbour anywhere near Clinton's jogging routes where the alleged assassination was to take place?
3. Why does Judge cite "100 rounds" of ammunition and gun ownership come from when it was proven in court that Barbour owned no guns or ammunition at the time of his arrest?
4. Finally, Clinton was not in Washington, D.C. and on a tour of Russia during the alleged assassination attempt, so how could have he been harmed by Barbour in Washington, D.C.?
This reporter thinks that a great injustice was done to Barbour. Please consider the facts of the case that were exposed in court:
1. The information that Barbour had attempted to assassinate came from a confidential informant not trusted by law enforcement agencies because the information he provided to authorities was not reliable and used to settle personal disputes with others.
2. The agents discovered in the course of their investigation that Harris had produced a recording that was clearly illegal under federal and state statutes and should not have been admitted in court, because it lacked a chain of custody, but was allowed by the District Court based only on the testimony of Harris of its accuracy.
3. President Clinton was briefed by Ronald Noble, the current Director of the Secret Service, on or about February 4, 1994 concerning the arrest of Barbour for an assassination attempt. The repeated attempts made by Barbour to secure the minutes of his meeting between Clinton and Noble from the White House have been denied the citing National Security.
4. Barbour was denied his right to WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS for a period of two weeks --February 3, 1994 to February 17, 1994-- despite several attempts by Barbour to secure the attention of the federal judiciary.
5. The District Court ignored perjury on the part of Secret Service agent John McKenna who first interviewed Barbour at the VA Clinic in Orlando. Barbour has testified that he was not read his Miranda right to remain silent, and Barbour's testimony is supported by the Director of the VA Clinic in Orlando who overheard the conversation from another room. The agents also failed to record Barbour's alleged permission to answer questions or to obtain his signature on a waiver; yet both agents testified that they had these items available in their government vehicle.
6. The decision of the District Court should have been reversed by the majority Circuit Court of Appeals on any of these grounds, which are gross violations by the government of a citizen's rights under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments, violation of Writ of Habeas Corpus, and indications of a conspiracy to convict an innocent man that may reach into the highest office in the land.This reporter can only conclude from his study of the facts of the case that the federal justice system underwent a meltdown in the Barbour case. In the words of Montesquieu, "There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice." It is chilling that some of those individuals responsible for this injustice still occupy positions of authority in the federal criminal justice system.
"I was there at the party where Ron was taped by that Stacy Harris character and I heard the tape in court, and I can tell you my brother never said those things about killing Clinton and an assassination attempt," says Jack Barbour. "And I told that to the court. My brother got screwed big time by Bill Clinton. Everyone knows he uses the courts to get people who don't like him! Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives back in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice. There is not a doubt in my mind that either Bill Clinton or one of the lackeys got my brother sent up the river. Did Ron tell you he lost everything: his military pension, his apartment, his car, his bank account...EVERYTHING? And for what? Telling the truth about that degenerate and traitor, Bill Clinton. I detest Bill Clinton. I hate Hillary Clinton. I think the Democrats are filthy lying leftist elitist scum and the main enemies of the Republic. So send me to prison for four years too!"
"Ron is not a physical threat to anyone, says Scott Ellis, Brevard County Commissioner, I've known Ron Barbour for years. He helped out in my Congressional campaign in 1986. Barbour is politically astute enough to know that shooting the president doesn't effect political change. I think this injustice shows how a corrupt president can bend the federal court system and the Secret Service to do his will. Did a conspiracy exist between Ron Noble, the Director of the Secret Service and Senior Special Agent John McKenna to put Ron Barbour in prison at the orders of President Clinton? I understand that while Clinton was Governor of Arkansas his enemies were sometimes hauled into court on bogus charges. I well recall that in 1995 or 1996 that Rush Limbaugh's radio studio was raided by the Secret Service because Limbaugh was alleged to have threatened Clinton and they were looking for an audiotape to prove it. The Secret Service found nothing and Limbaugh was not charged."
"I was a juror in Barbour's trial at the Federal Courthouse in Orlando in late May 1994," said Shelly Jackson of Altamonte Springs, "There were two counts on his indictment: The first was U.S.C. 1751 – the attempted assassination of the president; the second was U.S.C. 851 – threat against the president. We found Barbour guilty of the second charge, which carried a five-year sentence. This happened because one juror – the Foreman – wanted to find Barbour guilty of both counts and the rest of us thought he was innocent, so this was a compromise. The deliberations went on for nearly three days and the best reason the Foreman who thought Barbour was guilty could come up with was that Barbour would not have been charged by the government with this crime if he was not guilty. At least Barbour was spared the worst fate in our verdict because conviction on U.S.C. 1751 would have carried life in prison."
"I was Ron Barbour's attorney in the trial and wrote both his appeals,"says Clarence Counts," I have been an attorney for more than 20 years and handled dozens of clients and have forgotten most of them; however, the USA v. Barbour is one case I'll never forget because of arrogant abuse of power and obstruction of justice on the part of the U.S. Secret Service which resulted in sending an innocent man and honorable decorated professional soldier to prison for more than four years. I remember thinking several times during the trial of Barbour that what was happening to him had an ominous parallel with the oppression of political opponents of the Communist regime in Soviet Russia like Nobel Prize winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Did Ron Barbour attempt to assassinate President Clinton? The facts of the case indicate he did not; therefore, the Circuit Court majority opinion by the very liberal and Democratic appointed Judge Kravitch in the denial of Barbour's Appeal is a tale told by an idiot."


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Emily will sing as the soprano soloist in this performance of Schubert's Mass in G with the East London Chorus.
British Soprano
Emily will sing as the soprano soloist in this performance of Schubert's Mass in G with the East London Chorus.
Emily Rose Wenman is an emerging soprano on the concert platform, studying under acclaimed soprano Nuccia Focile. Recent and upcoming concert highlights include performances of Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor and Bach's Mass in B Minor with The Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Handel's Messiahwith Gwent Bach Society, Bach's St Matthew Passion with Monmouth Choral Society, and Fauré's Requiem and Poulenc's Gloria at Llandaff Cathedral. Emily is a seasoned operatic performer - highlights include the title role in Cendrillon (Bute Park Opera, 2016), Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (Opera in a Box, 2017), Cathleen in Riders to the Sea (Bute Park Opera, 2014), Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress (Bristol Opera, 2015), and the title role in excerpts from Anna Nicole (Music Theatre Wales, 2015)
For regular updates, follow Emily's career on social media

subset: commoncrawl


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Your shopping cart is empty.
According to the law of the sales registration the seller is obligated to issue a receipt to the buyer. At the same time the received sale is obligated to be registred at the tax administrator online. In case of technical blackout it must be done within 48 hours.


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Previous Lecture
Complete and continue
Why NOT Me? AirBnB
Welcome (0:59)
Efficiency in the Course (1:24)
Disclaimer (0:47)
Meet MeiLani and Why NOT Me? (9:04)
Task: Commit to the Community
Module 1: Evaluating, Pricing, and Projecting
Introduction (1:00)
Rules and Occupancy Rates (6:24)
Costs of Setting Up (4:05)
Income Projections (3:14)
Rentals vs AirBnBs (3:58)
Goals (3:37)
Task: Evaluating and Goal Setting
Module 2: Hunting for Properties
Introduction (0:57)
OPP- Other People's Properties
WHERE to Look for Properties (6:07)
WHAT to Look for in a Property (5:41)
HOW to Look for a Property (4:32)
Task: Hunting for Properties
Module 3: Prepping the Property
Introduction (0:47)
Shopping 101
Staging: Less is Better (4:33)
Tech Stuff (3:04)
Choosing the Right Lock (2:23)
First Impressions Count (4:17)
Step-by-Step Listing the Property (39:49)
Additional Listing Set Up Tips (8:43)
Final Preparations and Checklists (4:15)
Move In Day (2:49)
Task: Shop and Move In
Module 4: Pricing is Profits
Introduction (0:56)
How to Price Your Property (14:52)
Task: Price Your Property
Module 5: Building Your Team
Introduction (1:08)
Building Your Team (6:08)
Cleaning Team: Find (3:34)
Cleaning Team: Contract (6:53)
Cleaning Team: Train (5:08)
Task: Build and Train Your Team
Module 6: Hosting and Scaling
Introduction (1:25)
Adjusting and Monitoring (3:52)
SuperHost Status (2:55)
Guest Messages (8:56)
Guesty (6:39)
Task: Automize Hosting
Module 7: Building Your Business
Introduction (1:06)
Name Game (2:24)
Intro to Building your Business
Building Your Brand (4:04)
Entity, Accountant, and Banking (3:34)
Insurance (1:56)
Task: Build Your Business
Conclusion/What's Next
Wrap Up (1:24)
Extras: FAQs/Resources
Contact Us
BONUS: The Dark Side of Airbnb
Locks & Toilets & Bugs... Oh My! (5:57)
Hurricanes, Parties, Parking, and Smoking (7:17)
Go Away HOAs (3:14)
International Spies (8:55)
BONUS: Mindset
What is YOUR Why? (3:34)
What makes you H.I.P. (1:57)
Goals (5:16)
Affirmations and Aspirations (5:26)
Mindset Introduction
Task: Evaluating and Goal Setting
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US officials expressed hope Sunday about the prospects for Middle East peace talks, but were uncertain what immediate impact the death of Syrian President Hafez Assad would have on the peace effort, reported The Associated Press.
"The dust I think does need to settle," cautioned White House chief of staff John Podesta Sunday on CNN's 'Late Edition' program.
"I think time will tell whether we can make progress in the short-term and hopefully we can make progress over the long-term."
US Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross predicted Syria would see a smooth transition under the expected leadership of Assad's son, Bashar.
"It seems to me that the initial signs that we have seen suggest that there is a very smooth transition process underway," Ross was quoted as saying Sunday on ABC's 'This Week' program
President Bill Clinton on Sunday had a brief telephone conversation with Bashar to express his condolences, spokesman for the White House National Securities Council, P.J. Crowley, told the agency.
"Bashar has not been involved in the peace process but there appears to be an orderly process of transition underway and we'll wait until that process is completed," Crowley told AP.
An official source in Damascus was quoted as saying on Sunday Bashar told Clinton that he would pursue his father's aims of achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
"Clinton said he would continue to work for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East," the source said - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)


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On April 26, 2014, Team FiltersFast.com will embark on the 2014 Xtreme Hike for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The purpose and goal is that all hikers receive donations to help medical and technological advancements in Cystic Fibrosis research for a cure.
These dedicated hikers will be hiking over 30 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail. These men and women have been training hard for this adventure. Part of the preparation includes a 3 month training program, daily workouts and weekly team hikes.
The hard work and dedication put forth, arises from the commitment of each team member. Each one has their own personal reason for participating, whether having a friend or family member affected by the disease, or being driven to do something charitable for a worthy cause.
FiltersFast.com, owner and hike participant Ray Scardigno, "Knowing my love of hiking and my love of a good challenge, a good friend of mine that has personal ties to CF asked if I would be interested in joining the Xtreme Hike to help raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I researched the foundation and found out how amazing they are and was extremely impressed with their accomplishments in working towards a cure for CF. I went on training hikes with the group and learned more about Cystic Fibrosis by hearing the personal stories of those hikers who have loved ones with Cystic Fibrosis. Since I started hiking the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has made great progress in the fight and hearing the promising updates on new drugs and treatments. It has been a great challenge to be part of the Xtreme hike team and I hope that one day soon the donations will help push us to our goal of "Cure Found!"
Please consider making a donation to help Team FiltersFast.com. FiltersFast.com will match each dollar donated up to $7,500!


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NEW YORK – An upstate New York woman pleaded not guilty on Thursday to five counts of child endangerment after other parents complained that she hired female strippers for her son's 16th birthday party.
Judy Viger, 33, of Gansevoort, New York, denied the charges of endangering the welfare of a child at her arraignment in the Town of Moreau Court, according to a court spokesperson. If convicted, she would face up to one year in jail.
Viger was arrested after parents of five teenage partygoers saw Facebook pictures of the scantily clad dancers performing intimate routines at the bash last November 3 at Spare Time Bowling Center in South Glens Falls, New York, about 50 miles north of Albany.
"The parents of the children who attended had no idea that the adult female entertainers would be present and were shocked and stunned when they discovered what had occurred," the Saratoga County district attorney, James A. Murphy, III, said in a statement released at the time of Viger's arrest.
"Pictures of the event and the dancers first surfaced in media accounts of the story once they were posted to one of the attendees' Facebook page," Murphy said.
Viger was accused of hiring adult female entertainers from Tops In Bottoms Entertainment, of Albany, who performed at the birthday party.
Her attorney, Joseph Brennan of Queensbury, New York, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If convicted of any or all of the five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Viger faces a maximum of one year behind bars as any sentence would run concurrently since the counts stem from a single incident, according to a court spokesperson.
Viger was due back in court on April 4. (Reuters)


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Clicking on a mouse has become such a mundane task, such an embedded part of our daily lives that it's become like breathing. We need to do it, but we never actually think about it when we do it. So it's fascinating watching this video of an artist who took a picture every time he clicked his mouse in a single day.
The results are part of an exhibit by Korean artists Shinseungback Kimyonghun, called Click. You can see it below. It goes for eight minutes.
Surprisingly, it is not eight minutes of Facebook and image gags. Dude's actually getting some work done!


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DIZZINESS and AMITIZAPatientsVille
DIZZINESS Symptoms and Causes
When you're dizzy, you may feel lightheaded, woozy, or disoriented. If you feel like you or the room are spinning, you have vertigo. These feelings may make you lose your balance.
Dizziness can have many different causes. A sudden drop in blood pressure or being dehydrated can make you dizzy. Many people feel lightheaded if they get up too quickly from sitting or lying down. Certain medicines and problems with your inner ear may cause Dizziness. So can motion sickness. Sometimes Dizziness can be a symptom of other disorders.
As people get older, they may have more health problems and take more medicines. This makes them more likely to have problems with Dizziness and balance.
Dizziness usually gets better by itself or is easily treated. If you are dizzy often, you should see your health care provider to find the cause.
NIH: National Institutes of Health
Check out the latest treatments for DIZZINESS
➢ DIZZINESS treatment research studies
➢ AMITIZA clinical trials, surveys and public health registries


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When a User (let say Controller 1) creates a site using a site definition, "which already has a Custom List definition in it and different other things(like lists, webparts)"
Custom List: what it does is, You can create a item and assign it to any other controller or yourself.
Question: So what I want is, When the Site is being created, I just want to give "add New Items" / Edit List Items permission for that specific list to Controller 1 or the Controller "n" he gave permission for that specific site.
I know I need to add code somewhere while creating the site, but dunno how I gonna do that in this context :/


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Gantry crane
GH, European leader in design and manufacture of Gantry Cranes (also referred to as Portal Cranes and Goliath Cranes).
The number of Gantry Cranes installed
turns us into the reference.
GH adapt his Gantry Cranes manufacturing process to the different customer´s requirements, taking care of which kind of work is going to performance.
Our gained experience from 1958 backed up as specialists in Portal and Semi Portal Cranes.
Gantry crane
Unlike Bridge cranes, Gantry cranes have legs and move on runways which are usually on floor level.
These cranes are highly efficient to work outdoos, achieving high speeds and capacities.
Semi-gantry crane
Semi-gantry cranes are a very practical solution when it is not required to cover the entire width of the workshop. One side of the crane runs on elevated runway, while the runway for the other side is on ground level.


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In today's technology, there seems to be a designated abbreviation for everything. When it comes to marketing your company online, I recommend remembering two of them: SEO and SEM. SEO is search engine optimization and SEM is search engine marketing. SEM includes SEO, pay-per-click (PPC), link building, directory registrations, banner purchasing, video marketing and more — basically, any action you take online to get a better index value with search engines.
Do not confuse "online marketing" with SEM — you can do online marketing without it. For example, if a company places an ad online, it may be more interested in ad placement than the SEO value of the placement. For the purposes of this article, I will concentrate on building a strong SEO base to improve total SEM.
SEO Basics
Imagine you are a prospective customer seeking a water conditioning company, but you are not searching by a specific company name. In fact, because you do not know who you are looking for yet, you may use a keyword or keyword combination like "water testing, Your Town, USA." Search engines want to make sure they provide you, the searcher, with a result as close to what you are looking for, or as "relevant," as possible.
After you type your keywords, the "spiders" start crawling around the Internet looking for websites and company listings related to water testing. They do this by examining a string of matching information within their indexing services on websites, social networks and Web-based content that includes these keywords or conversations around these keywords, such as blogs or videos. Then, as you narrow your search terms with your town name, the spider narrows down the listings to the geography you specified.
The purpose of strong SEO is to be recognized by the search engine's index — in other words, to be on its radar as a relevant source of information for water testing. This combination is technical and changes frequently, but, as a business, you only need to be concerned about the term "relevancy."
Relevancy means being connected with the matter at hand. When using the example above, your social media, press releases, online advertising, etc., must match the content on your website — both the front (visible pages) and back end of the website (content, keywords, meta tags, etc.). Prospective customers read the front of a website, but spiders also read the back to be sure it is all one piece of relevant content. This content-to-relevancy, in combination with other online conversations, creates a powerful result that helps a company's online presence come up higher in search results.
Maximizing SEO
Relevant content is not the only thing needed to optimize a website to be included in a search engine's index. First, be sure you and/or your programmer incorporate the Google "tracking code snippet" into the website header. (You can find it with detailed instructions at www.google.com/analytics.) This gives Google permission to find and track your site and gives you access to Google Analytics, a free tracking and planning tool. Your site's traffic and statistics are collected, along with other information. With a click, you will know how many people visited your site, what time they visited, which keywords they used to find it, which browser they used and which search engines viewed it. You also can tell how long they stayed on the site, which pages were viewed and much more. All of this information can be used to refine search terms, website content and even your marketing plan.
Second, keep the main message for your audience within the first two pages of the site. Do not make the searchers, and the spiders, view too many pages before they find what they are looking for. Typically, spiders will only read two pages deep in a site. If they do not find what they are seeking, they move on.
Third, claim your company's online listings. This is important, as so much of the search depends on matching geography with listing. Google, Bing and Yahoo Local are the top three to keep in mind. Find your company in each of these search engines, claim your listing and update your profile, including keywords, photos, contact information, Web address, social sites and service area.
How do you find these listings? When you search for your company online, using Google for instance, you will see several types of results. Paid advertisements are on the right side of the screen, and generally the first three to four listings at the top of the page, usually in a light orange box, are PPC results — in other words, companies have paid money to appear in these positions based on keywords and will be charged if someone clicks on these ads.
If you are not running a PPC program, look for your company in the listing results beneath the paid ads, which are the organic, or free, results. Often, depending on the specificity of your search, a listing with mailing addresses to the right of a company's listing with a lettered teardrop or balloon is the Google Places listing. Find your company's Google Places listing and claim it so that you can be found organically. Bing and Yahoo operate in a similar fashion.
This also is a good place to send customers to write reviews about your company. If customers write positive reviews for your company, they will use keywords to describe their experience in layman's terms, which are probably what other prospective customers would use when seeking a product or service similar to your company.
Finally, add your company or claim your listing with local sites, such as Merchant Circle, Yelp, Patch and community blogs. If you have a Facebook page, link your website in your posts, pointing people to the site for more information on the topic you posted about. Facebook and other social networks are great for building relationships, but those listings should always direct back to your website as the point of origin for all information. The more traffic your site receives, the stronger your SEO and the higher your company will climb in the organic listings — all for free.
PPC Campaigns
Now that you have established a strong SEO foundation, your SEM campaign will be more effective over time. I add "over time" because it will not happen overnight and includes an investment of marketing dollars to be effective.
PPC campaigns are an example of pure capitalism. PPC is simply a bidding process that requires the right combination of quality scores and relevancy to get the best position within your budget. Put simply, how badly do you want that position compared with your competitors? When it comes to budgeting for a PPC campaign, keep in mind you will have to pay for clicks that are not qualified leads, too.
In time, determining which keyword combinations versus competitive bids result in the most qualified leads not only will help your online rankings, but also will get the phone ringing with a better return on investment. But again: An investment of time and money must be considered.
Here is a formula we recommend as a starting point: If you start with $1,000 per month, and there are 30 days in a month, that means $33.33 per day. If an average keyword costs $3 per click, $33 divided by $3 is 11 clicks per day. Remember, those are not calls — they are clicks. About 50% of those clicks will bounce out of your website because the customers did not find what they were seeking. That brings us to about 5.5 clicks per day. Expect that a percentage of those clickers may like what they see, but may not be ready to call. The remainder may call, but may not be ready to buy or schedule an appointment. We recommend you figure out how much each prospective customer is worth to you and work a budget around that number. If one call can cover your PPC budget and a second call is profit, then a PPC campaign is a profitable advertising source for you.
In summary, SEM should be a critical part of your advertising and marketing campaign. However, you must build a strong SEO base to improve your total SEM. But remember: Just as you are an expert in your industry, there are companies and consultants that are experts in online advertising and marketing. Allow them to keep up with the ever-changing algorithms and relevant combinations while you concentrate on the rest of your business. However, any consultant or company you hire should be willing to consult with you on a monthly, or at least quarterly, basis. Seasonality, promotions, industry changes, updates to your website, etc., all affect your SEM. Be sure they are willing to communicate and provide feedback on what is working and what is not. Also, learn how to check and read the basic information in your Google Analytics reports. You can even have the reports e-mailed to you.
You have invested a lot of money in your website and online presence — don't let it be just a brochure. Make sure it is marketing your company in the virtual world because, let's face it, everyone else is there!


text: Focusing is made easy with the JMI Motofocus MFGEN for the Televue refractor telescopes. This Motofocus requires no drilling or tapping for mounting. It is a user friendly hand control with an electric focus motor that attaches to the shaft of a focuser knob (or the knob itself). It is battery operated and comes with the 9-volt battery. The Motofocus offers precise, vibration-free focusing without the need to touch the telescope. This unit features variable speed for course and fine adjustments. Optional Digital Read Out (DRO), or Digital Focus Counter (DFC), can be added to improve focusing accuracy and repeatability.


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As the ultimate in formal attire, our sleek collection of tuxedos features high-quality tuxedo jackets and trousers perfect for parties, weddings and black-tie events. With an extensive range of styles, fabrics and fits, shop our timeless range for less than the price of renting.
$329.95 $259.95
$339.95 $89.95
2 Items Found | Page 1 of 1
The tuxedo is the pinnacle of American formal attire – a symbol of celebration and class. It's a timeless piece consisting of jacket, pants, dress shirt and bow tie, which every man can look good in with the right style and fit.
The origins of the tuxedo are hotly disputed. Some believe this elegant design was the brainchild of Griswold Lorillard, son of the owner of an exclusive sporting club north of New York City called Tuxedo Park (a simplified version of the Native American name 'P'tauk-seet-tough'). Griswold was said to have worn a 'tailless' black jacket to a ball, flouting the then-dress code of traditional tail-coat and setting a trend for all the other bright young socialites of New York.
Others attribute the tuxedo to the co-founder of the park's club – James Brown Potter, who was said to have seen the style on the Prince of Wales during a trip to England before bringing it back to the US. What was then a rising trend is now a formal dress code, worn to every black tie event in the world.
The tuxedo creates an iconic and instantly recognizable look, with the black jacket contrasting against the crisp white dress shirt (a look which lent the tuxedo its nickname, the penguin suit). If you already have the right pants, shirt and bow tie, you can buy a dinner jacket separately. Otherwise, you can buy a tuxedo suit on this page, including the jacket and pants, or go all out with a tuxedo package to get your jacket, shirt and bow tie in one easy, affordable package.
Style-wise, we offer a choice between shawl lapels (for a dressier evening look) and peak lapels (sharp and structured). We also stock a range of colors and patterns, including black, white, navy, dogtooth and velvet in black, red and blue.
At Dobell you can opt for one of our own-brand affordable Dobell tuxedos, all of which are designed in-house and inspired by the latest trends, or you can select one of our exclusive collection of designer brands.


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Thank You for Your Interest in Akaushi
As you will see, this is not just another breed of cattle and this is not just another association. It is our mission to provide market opportunities for our members. We will not leave you out of the loop. We offer breeders who use Akaushi genetics a complete program, from conception to consumer, which will put more dollars in your pocket. According to the experts, what the beef industry needs is a higher quality, more consistent product. With Akaushi you can achieve this in just one generation.
√ Innovative Marketing Programs
√ USDA Branded Programs
√ DNA verification on every animal
√ A4 Upgrading Program that will add value to your herd
We hope you find the website interesting and informative.
Please take a look around and if you have questions or would like more information please contact our office.


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We provide high quality jewelry and craft supplies since 2006, we are located in HONG KONG, started on few online marketplace like eBay and Etsy, and still as one of the top suppliers on those sites.
Mainly provide higher quality of chains and plating then other china suppliers, but still the same price.
We also take wholesale orders and custom make orders, please email us for quotation.
Our email:firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
- Did you mean
- need full harvest required increase focus safety
Search results
News tips and events for the week of Oct. 14
the early-bird registration fee of $375. After the school deadline, the fee increases to $425. ... education options that Ohio State University Extension is offering this fall. The second option is Ag Tax ... own taxes, this five-hour webinar is for you. It will focus on the key topics and regulations of the ...
Ohio farm incomes forecast to rise—again
soybeans and corn were planted in Ohio, average farm incomes in the state are likely to increase compared ... up again this year. Like national net farm income, Ohio's net farm income has increased annually ... slightly improving," she said. "But while net farm incomes in Ohio are expected to increase, many farms, ...
News tips and events for the week of Oct. 21
Administration Building, 8995 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This course is required to receive state ... but registration is required. The registration deadline is Oct. 22. Details: 330-263-3761 or ... including selection, planting, pests, and diseases. Free, no registration required. Details: 330-263-3761. ...
Food Safety
focuses microbiological safety of technologies such as high-pressure pasteurization, pressure assisted ... Safety is always at the forefront of what we do, whether on the farm or in the production and ... demonstrations, and programs that promote safety in the production and processing of food. Food produce safety ...
More diseases and lower yields forecasted for corn and soybeans
harvesting fields with stalk rot because delaying harvest increases the risk of stalks breaking off, he said. ... Faculty and Academics News Releases- Food, Food Safety, Food Insecurity News Releases- Lawn and Garden ... leading to harvest losses, Thomison said. To reduce potential losses, corn growers should prioritize ...
Soil health at risk on fallow fields
Faculty and Academics News Releases- Food, Food Safety, Food Insecurity News Releases- Lawn and Garden ... about cover crops or lacked the time or money to invest in sowing a crop they could not later harvest ... firstname.lastname@example.com 419-354-9050 Extension Faculty and Staff OARDC News Releases- 4-H News Releases- Business and ...
Introducing Ohio State's Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention
https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/new-ohio-state-center-focuses-improving-food-safety-preventing ...
Need farm workers? It could get easier
formula for calculating wages requires farms to average the hourly wages of both U.S. supervisors and ... less than they do now," Chen said. "But they'll still be required to pay a wage in line with what ... that the U.S. Department of Labor is putting in place likely will increase the number of temporary ...
News tips and events for the week of Oct. 7
fruit is gaining in popularity, used increasingly in craft beer. The pawpaw's potential as a crop for ... registration required. Details: 330-263-3761. 11 Fascinating Woodland Fungi, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ovalwood Hall, ... Arboretum, Wooster Campus, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio. A look at fall colors, seasonal plant ...
Chow line: Pawpaws making a comeback in Ohio, other markets
Midwestern states being the primary growing region. Grown on trees, pawpaws ripen in the fall and are ... generally harvested from late August to mid-October. Not to be confused with papayas, the skin color of ripe ... orchards and find markets for their fruit; and the Improved Pawpaw Cultural and Post-harvest Practices ...


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School bars autistic child and his service dog
Superintendent:%u2008"We can't just focus on one student."
Small miracles have come true since Chewey moved in with the Drew family.
Six-year-old Kaleb Drew has autism, a developmental disability that affects social, emotional and communication skills. He was only sleeping three hours each night until Chewey, a nearly 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, climbed into bed with him. The dog lies "longways" against Kaleb, applying extra pressure so the boy feels secure and comforted.
"Kaleb is sleeping through the night," Nichelle Drew, a veterinarian turned stay-at-home-mom, says. "He is sleeping so much better, so his focus is much better."
With more focus and with Chewey at his side, Kaleb can actually sit at a desk or a table, working on practice papers or looking at a book, for more than an hour — a huge task for a child with autism, his mom says.
Nichelle and her husband Brad have watched Chewey instill these benefits and
more in Kaleb since they brought him from Autism Service Dogs of America to
their Villa Grove home, near Champaign, in May. Starting at six weeks old,
Chewey was trained by the Oregon-based nonprofit organization to accompany his
child at all times and to help increase the child's mobility and stability, serve as a link to their school and community and
provide them with a sense of security.
That's why it was such a shock, Nichelle says, when Villa Grove Elementary School refused to let Kaleb finish the final three days of his kindergarten year with Chewey. The school also barred the pair from starting Kaleb's extended school year program on July 1. (Kaleb's individualized education program, which directs his special education and related services as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, determined that he needed the summer program to maintain his academic and functional skills).
"What I was told was that they thought they were providing him with everything he needed at school in order to be successful," Nichelle says. "They didn't feel that they needed to [do this]." As a kindergartner, Kaleb was in a general education class, but also worked with a one-on-one aide, a special education teacher and a speech therapist.
Margie Wakelin, a staff attorney for Equip for Equality, a nonprofit organization that advances the human and civil rights of people with disabilities in Illinois, says denying Kaleb, a student with autism, and Chewey from school is a clear violation of the Illinois School Code. The law states that, "service animals such as guide dogs, signal dogs or any other animal individually trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a student with a disability shall be permitted to accompany that student at all school functions, whether in or outside the classroom." The Americans with Disabilities Act additionally supports Chewey's presence at Villa Grove, providing that there are no public exceptions to where a service dog is allowed.
"Kaleb, for all activities, is accompanied by Chewey," Wakelin says. "If Chewey is not allowed to attend school, then Kaleb can't attend school."
On July 9 the Drews filed a complaint against the Villa Grove Community Unit School District #302 Board of Education and superintendent Dr. Steven Poznic and requested a temporary restraining order to allow Kaleb to attend school with Chewey.
On July 14 a Douglas County circuit judge granted the Drews the 10-day
restraining order. Kaleb and Chewey were permitted to go to Kaleb's 45-minute summer class the next day; a preliminary injunction hearing is set
for July 28 to determine if the pair can participate in the program until its
end on Aug. 19. A final trial will decide if Kaleb can attend all school
functions with Chewey and will request that the school district provide Kaleb
with compensatory education and services for the classes he missed.
The district's position, Poznic told Illinois Times, is that they're "not convinced that the dog is considered a service animal." The district protects the safety and well-being of all of its students, he says, and has gathered information indicating that Chewey could detract from the entire classroom's education.
"We can't just focus on one student and let that be the entire focus of our attention," Poznic says.
Kaleb's parents began researching autism service animals in January 2008 and informed Villa Grove the following May about their decision to begin the application process with ASDA. They were approved in June and worked with their community to raise the $13,500 needed to obtain Chewey. When they requested a meeting last November to revise Kaleb's education program to include a service animal, the school district denied their request.
"Once we had sent in all of the money for Chewey and we knew we were going to be getting him, and we had set up the trip to Oregon, that's when the school said they didn't feel that Kaleb needed the service dog at school," Nichelle says.
This past April the Drews sent a letter to the district asking that members
reconsider their decision and requesting that Villa Grove allow the ASDA
trainer to attend school with Kaleb and Chewey on May 26-28 to ease the pair's transition.
The Drews brought Chewey home in May; the school district reaffirmed its decision that the service dog was not allowed on school grounds. Equip for Equality and the Drews decided to pursue court action after the ASDA trainer flew from Oregon, but was also denied access to Villa Grove.
"The harm we saw in front of us made us go for immediate court action," Wakelin says. "We already have the law — we're trying to get the law enforced."
Chewey has opened the door for Kaleb, Nichelle says. Their family recently went to the St. Louis Zoo and to Grant's Farm, as well as on vacation to Colorado. Kaleb, previously known for bolting from his parents, was attached to Chewey by a six-foot tether that wraps around his waist like a belt. He can also hold on to a handle on the top of the service dog's vest. Chewey keeps Kaleb safe, Nichelle says, but gives him the space he needs, too.
Chewey's presence has also made it easier for Kaleb to transition from one place to another, like from home to the store, calm down during tantrums and communicate with his family. He recently walked into the kitchen and told his sisters: "Kelsey, Kaitlyn, come outside and play with me." Before, he hardly ever used their names or full sentences.
"He seems so much more secure and more grounded than he ever has before," Nichelle says. "He seems to be handling things so much better, and in turn, we're seeing new feats come out of him."
As far as Nichelle knows, Villa Grove is the first public school in the country
to bar a service dog from ASDA. She hopes that Kaleb and Chewey get the final
OK to attend school as a team.
"It's so important for Kaleb and Chewey to be together 24 hours a day," Nichelle says. "They both need to know that they are each other's constant. They've grown so close, so fast. I hate to see that ruined."


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Garnett's return lifts Brooklyn past 76ers 105-101
"Fresh legs," a smiling Deron Williams said.
More like, healthy back.
Garnett scored 10 points in his first game in more than five weeks to help the Brooklyn Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 105-101 Saturday night.
The 37-year-old Garnett missed 19 straight games since Feb. 27 because of back spasms. The Nets went 14-5 over that span.
"I'm just glad I didn't mess anything up," Garnett said. "The guys have been playing great without me."
Garnett was back in the starting lineup and gave a taste of just how much better he makes the Nets. He scored on an alley-oop, made his first four shots, and had a nasty block on Michael Carter-Williams' layup attempt that knocked the rookie guard to the ground.
Garnett also passed Alex English to move into 14th on the NBA's career scoring list.
Coach Jason Kidd limited Garnett to 13 minutes and the veteran center did not play in the fourth quarter.
"It looked like 18, 19 years ago," Kidd said. "He understands what this time of the year means."
Garnett, who never had a serious back injury before, said he felt no discomfort in his back during or after the game.
"It just feels good to be able to move," he said.
Williams had 19 points and Mason Plumlee 16 for the Nets.
Thaddeus Young led the Sixers with 20 points.
The Sixers, who had won two of four after losing 26 straight games, sliced a 21-point hole down to two after Henry Sims put back Carter-Williams' miss on his second free-throw attempt. With a chance to tie the game at 96-all on the next possession, Carter-Williams made 1 of 2 with 1:05 left.
Mirza Teletovic's first bucket of the game was a 3-pointer with 48.4 seconds left that gave the Nets some breathing room.
With starters Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Garnett on the bench, Williams helped the Nets seal the win from the line
Garnett was loose and all smiles in the pregame layup line, slapping hands and offering encouragement to his teammates. Pierce took on Garnett in a brief 1-on-1 battle, and yelled "Welcome back!" as he blew by him to toward the basket.
Garnett is the no longer the dominant All-Star of his Minnesota and Boston days, averaging 6.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 21 minutes in 49 games this season. But the layoff may help boost the life left in his legs that will be needed if the Nets are going to make any type of playoff run.
"I feel stronger than I have," Garnett said. "I'm just glad I was strong enough to be out there."
Garnett and Pierce turned back the clock on consecutive scores in the second - Garnett's big dunk was followed by Pierce's 3-pointer for a 13-point lead. The Nets led by as many as 21 before the Sixers made their run late in the fourth.
Garnett and Pierce had a seat on the bench during crunch time. That allowed the Sixers to pounce.
Carter-Williams went rim-to-rim off his own defensive rebound and finished with a one-handed dunk over Andrei Kirlenko. He helped the Sixers stay within 10 points of the Nets.
The Sixers closed within three when Williams was fouled on a 3-pointer with 3:08 left. He made the free throw for a 94-87 lead. Williams made all six of his free-throw attempts in the game.
Hollis Thompson scored a career-high 18 points for the Sixers and Sims had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
"Where I draw my comfort, is that they continue to be coached," coach Brett Brown said. "We are doing our best to coach them. And we are seeing improvement. We are playing hard. And our young guys are playing their hearts out."
NOTES: 76ers C Byron Mullens (sprained left ankle) was inactive. ... Johnson has made a 3-pointer in 25 straight games. ... Carter-Williams had 11 assists without a turnover. The last 76ers rookie with at least 11 assists without a turnover was Allen Iverson on Feb. 11, 1997, at Cleveland.


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Your audiobook is waiting…
The Longest Trip Home
Editorial Reviews
John Grogan (Marley and Me) spent his life distancing himself from a devout Catholic upbringing, only to return as his father battled leukemia. Grogan reads his own book with a voice that conveys both the defiance and cynicism of his youth and the concern of his older self for his ailing father. He also reflects on both times in his life from the wiser perspective of adulthood. This isn't a sentimental memoir. Grogan has rollicking tales of his youthful marijuana use and "making out," and discusses how he fell away from religion. Grogan often shows admiration for his parents, relating how they took in kids fleeing the Detroit riots. This one's for those disaffected kids, now adults, not their parents.
Publisher's Summary
In the highly anticipated follow-up to Marley & Me, John Grogan again works his magic, bringing us the story of what came first. Before there was Marley, there was a gleefully mischievous boy growing up in a devout Catholic home outside Detroit in the 1960s and '70s. Despite his loving parents' best efforts, John's attempts to meet their expectations failed spectacularly.
Whether it was his disastrous first confession, the purloined swigs of sacramental wine, or the fumbled attempts to sneak contraband past his father, John was figuring out that the faith and fervor that came so effortlessly to his parents somehow had eluded him.
And then one day, a strong-willed young woman named Jenny walked into his life. As their love grew, John began the painful, funny, and poignant journey into adulthood, away from his parents' orbit and into a life of his own. It would take a fateful call and the onset of illness to lead him on the final leg of his journey, the trip home again.
With his trademark blend of humor and pathos that made Marley & Me beloved by millions, John Grogan traces the universal journey each of us must take to find our unique place in the world. Filled with revelation and laugh-out-loud humor, The Longest Trip Home will capture your heart, but mostly it will make you want to reach out to those you love most.
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- bclmb
- 12-06-08
As real as it gets
I chose this book because I wanted a memoir; not a gruesome story about a horrendous childhood. I wanted something that was closer to real life, normal, somewhat typical, like mine.
What I loved about this book is the clarity of the writing. It amazes me when writers (good ones) can relate an otherwise boring story and make you want to finish reading or hearing it.
This is not an exciting story, or one that makes you cringe. It is a story that many people, like myself and many others, have lived.
This story was real. It sheds a great deal of insight into what it feels like to grow up in a religious home (Catholic or otherwise). It dealt honestly with the bland realities of just growing up, a typical, American middle class childhood. It makes you feel as if you can see him growing up, feel his emotional struggles and growing pains, and it leaves you feeling as if your own story isn't so boring after all.
This is a book I will listen to again, as I do many of my favorites. It reminds me of the powerful influence we have as people, as spouses, as children and as parents. A powerful, honest book, well worth reading.
15 of 17 people found this review helpful
- Ed
- Wildwood, MO, United States
- 12-23-08
Heart Warming
John Grogan has struck gold a second time. His writing and reading style are warm, inviting and inspirational. I was particularly pleased with the "wonder years" type of stories from his childhood, and I laughed and cried at the end as he shares intimate moments between he and his father. There was a bit more energy put into the religious aspect of his parents' lives, but he holds true to the necessary facts about his life to tell the whole story. I bought this book after reading Marley and Me in the hopes that it would deliver the same emotion and character. It did not dissapoint.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
- L. Clements
- SLC, Utah
- 01-19-09
Great book
I really like John Grogen he is a great story teller. So much humor. Marley and Me was one of the best books I have listen to and this one was next in line. I wish he had more.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
- Barbara
- Kensington, CT, USA
- 05-29-09
An obnoxious ittle punk
I've rarely read a memoir where I disliked the writer as much as I did with this one. He was not a "gleefully mischievous boy." He was an obnoxious little punk. Despite being raised by parents who were (by his own admission) loving, caring, nurturing and trusting, John turned out to be a chronic liar who thought nothing of stealing, vandalizing or terrorizing an elderly neighbor. He was drinking and smoking by 10; at 12 or 13, he was growing marijuana in his bedroom and in the family garden. He repeatedly betrayed his parents' trust and thought nothing of it. When he had his own children and wrote that he intended to raise them as decent moral human being, I wondered how he'd do that, since he'd shown little sign of it himself when he was a kid. As an adult, he resented is parents' difficulty in acceting his atheism; but he constantly mocked their faith. His snarky wife wouldn't even allow his parents to say grace before meals in their own home! It was considered a generous concession on her part when she finally conceded to allow them to pray at their own table. Thie whiny self-indulgent tone of the narration did nothing to improve the presentation. The best thing I can wish for him is to have kids just like himeself.
8 of 15 people found this review helpful
- nnmmppssjjee
- 08-06-18
Great Book
If you like books about real life you will enjoy this book. The author regales us with stories of his childhood and delves into more serious topics like religious strife between him and his parents.
- Linda Wilson
- 08-19-16
A good story line.
Good read, John Grogan told about his life growing up and his relationship with his family..
- 05-22-16
Growing up Catholic.
As a person who grew up going to all Catholic schools this really resonates with me. I had the same experiences he did with my education and parents. It was also a real tear jerker at the end.
- Laurel
- Pearland, TX, USA
- 05-25-09
Loved this book - John Grogan is honest, real and an outstanding story-teller and journalist. After watching the "Marley and Me" movie, I searched out for other works by this author and found this story about Grogan's life. It does not disappoint!
0 of 1 people found this review helpful


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No. 85,810
1. When interpreting a statute de novo, the goal of the courts is to implement the intent of the legislature according to the plain language of the provision in question.
2. In determining legislative intent, courts are not limited to consideration of the language used in the statute but may look to the historical background of the enactment, the circumstances attending its passage, the purpose to be accomplished, and the effect the statute may have under the various constructions suggested.
3. Under K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 60-232(a)(3)(B), a deposition may be substituted for testimony if the witness would be forced to travel more than 100 miles to the place of trial and not 100 straight-line miles. Human beings travel not as the crow does but by means of transportation. A trial court's examination of the most recent official travel map published by the Kansas Department of Transportation is a reasonable and effective way of solving such disputes.
4. Insofar as jury awards for future medical expenses are concerned, a reviewing court will not reverse or direct a remittitur unless the amount awarded shocks the court's conscience.
5. The imposition of sanctions is within the sound discretion of the trial court. An appellate court reviews such decisions on a basis of abuse. The object of a sanction should be to prevent the party against whom sanctions are being imposed from profiting by its own violation.
6. With no proof in the record of any pattern of wrongdoing by the appellees, the trial court's refusal to impose a sanction is not an abuse of discretion and will not be set aside on appeal.
Appeal from Barton District Court; HANNELORE KITTS, judge. Opinion filed September 7, 2001. Affirmed.
Brian C. Wright and Stephen L. Brave, of Turner & Boisseau, of Great Bend, for appellant.
Richard A. Boeckman, of Keenan & Boeckman, of Great Bend, for appellees.
Before RULON, C.J., LEWIS, J., and STEPHEN D. HILL, District Judge, assigned.
HILL, J.: In this appeal, the Estate of Everett H. Wikoff (Estate) appeals the jury's award to Clyde and Thomas Rodreick of future medical expenses. The Estate also argues that the court improperly admitted a deposition into evidence in lieu of testimony and should have imposed a sanction for not complying with a reasonable discovery request. We affirm.
Clyde Rodreick, 73, is the father of Thomas Rodreick. On October 19, 1996, Wikoff drove his vehicle into the rear of the Rodreick vehicle while their vehicle was stopped at a stoplight. Both Clyde and Thomas suffered whiplash and resulting neck pain and stiffness.
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found Wikoff 100% at fault. The jury awarded $21,000 for future medical expenses to Clyde out of a total award of $43,473.64. The jury also awarded Thomas $10,000 in future medical expenses for a total of $34,203.16. The trial court denied Wikoff's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and his motion for sanctions.
Wikoff is now deceased. His estate brings forward three issues in this appeal:
(1) Did the court properly admit the deposition of Rodreick's expert witness instead of live testimony, when the witness' office was less than 100 straight-lines miles from the site of the trial?
(2) Does the record contain sufficient evidence to support the amount of future medical expenses awarded by the jury to each plaintiff?
(3) Did the court err in refusing to impose sanctions against the defendant for a claimed failure to produce discoverable material?
During the trial, the Rodreicks presented the deposition of C. Reiff Brown, M.D. Dr. Brown is an expert retained by both Rodreicks to evaluate the extent of their injuries. The trial of this case was conducted in Great Bend. Dr. Brown lives in Wichita.
Suspecting that the Rodreicks intended to submit Dr. Brown's deposition to the jury rather than produce him at trial, Wikoff filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude Dr. Brown's deposition. Along with the motion in limine, Wikoff submitted an affidavit by his own expert which maintained that the straight-line distance between Dr. Brown's location in Wichita and the courthouse in Great Bend was just over 95 miles. Wikoff argued that since Brown lived less than 100 miles from the site of the trial, he should be compelled to testify in person.
The Rodreicks responded to the motion, arguing that Dr. Brown would be forced to travel 114 miles by road to reach the place of trial and, therefore, should be considered unavailable, and urged the trial court to deny the motion.
This matter was brought before the trial court over the weekend just before the trial. The trial judge conducted a hearing from her home over the telephone. That hearing is not transcribed, but the parties and the trial court orally recounted the proceeding for the record on the first day of the trial. The trial judge stated:
"Well, as Mr. Wright has pointed out that I have overruled the motion in limine and determined, according to a reasonable interpretation and relying on the official mile map that the Court uses, it's 114 miles to Wichita from Great Bend, and reasonable interpretation seems to me that it would be the distance that one has to travel from here to there, and that we can rely on the official map that is published by the State of Kansas in determining the mileage in this case; otherwise, you probably just simply get to take the interpretation and raise a lot of issues and questions about from like what to what point to determine the mileage. In any event, we're going to allow--I'm going to allow using the videotaped deposition of Doctor Brown."
Wikoff renewed his objection to the use of the deposition just before it was admitted at trial.
Wikoff argues that the trial court's recitation does not sufficiently show the method by which the court determined the distance. Wikoff suggests that the court may have determined that the straight-line distance was 114 miles and rejected the affidavit filed by the Rodreicks. We find no deficiency in the record, for it is apparent the trial court used the official state map to compute travel distances and not straight-line distances.
The 2000 Official State Transportation Map, published by the Department of Transportation, denotes a 114-mile distance on its distance table between Great Bend and Wichita. The table provides that "[a]ll distances were calculated using the shortest State, U.S., Interstate and Kansas turnpike route combinations." This corresponds to the findings of the trial court on this issue.
This question boils down to whether K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 60-232(a)(3)(b) contemplates an outer range of 100 straight-line miles or whether the statute allows a party to substitute deposition testimony for a witness who would be forced to travel more than 100 miles by road to the site of the trial.
K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 60-232 provides:
"(a) Use of deposition. At the trial . . . any part or all of a deposition . . . may be used against any party who was present or represented at the taking of the deposition . . . .
. . . .
(3) The deposition of a witness, whether or not a party, may be used by any party for any purpose if the court finds that:
. . . .
(B) the witness is at a greater distance than 100 miles from the place of trial or hearing, or is out of the state of Kansas, unless it appears that the absence of the witness was procured by the party offering the deposition."
This is an issue of first impression.
We interpret this statute de novo. Our goal is to implement the intent of the legislature according to the plain language of the provision in question. See City of Wichita v. 200 South Broadway, 253 Kan. 434, 436, 855 P.2d 956(1993).
In making this interpretation, we are not limited to the language used in the statute but can look at the background and circumstances surrounding the passage of the statute. "'In determining legislative intent, courts are not limited to consideration of the language used in the statute, but may look to the historical background of the enactment, the circumstances attending its passage, the purpose to be accomplished, and the effect the statute may have under the various constructions suggested.'" 253 Kan. at 436.
The Estate argues that the straight-line measurement is the accepted federal method of determining distance. The appellant suggests that the interpretations of similar rules by our federal courts offer guidance. F. R. Civ. Proc. 32(a)(3)(B) is virtually identical to the Kansas rule. In SCM Corp. v. Xerox Corp., 76 F.R.D. 214, 215-16 (D. Conn. 1977), the court determined Federal Rule 32 contemplated a straight-line measurement. The Estate urges us to proceed in lockstep with the federal courts and adopt the view presented in SCM.
SCM attempted to unify interpretations of rules about attendance of witnesses, F. R. Civ. Proc. 32(a)(3)(B), with rules regarding subpoenas and summonses. F. R. Civ. Proc. 45(c)(3)(A)(ii) and (e)(1) and F. R. Civ. Proc. 4(f) (now F. R. Civ. Proc. 4[k]). Rules 45 and 4 limit the reach of subpoenas or summonses to 100 straight-line miles of the courthouse. The SCM court stated:
"Uniform interpretation of the 100-mile provision in all three rules achieves several benefits. It modestly expends the reach of civil trial subpoenas, thus promoting the favored policy of affording the trier an opportunity to hear witnesses in person. [Citation omitted.] It avoids trivial disputes as to which actually are the ordinary, usual, and shortest routes of travel. Finally, it eliminates the anomaly that would otherwise exist of a plaintiff's being able to sue a person within 100 air miles of the courthouse, but not being able to present that defendant's live testimony to the trier when the defendant lives more than 100 travel miles away." SCM, 76 F.R.D. at 215-16.
We believe that the legislature intended for depositions to be substituted for witnesses if the witness was beyond the subpoena power of the court. Therefore, we recognize at the outset that any interpretation we make concerning our rule about substituting depositions for live testimony will affect future interpretations of the reach of a court's subpoena power under K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 60-245 (similar to federal rule 45). But, we hasten to point out that in K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 60-245(c)(3)(A)(ii), the statute directs a court to quash or modify a subpoena if it requires a resident of this state, who is not a party, to travel more than 100 miles from the place where that person resides or regularly transacts business, absent a showing of substantial need. To us, this language explicitly focuses on the distance traveled, not the geographical distance between the courthouse and the witness' location. We believe that this is a more reasonable interpretation than the view taken by the federal courts when they ignore similar language in Rule 45. See F. R. Civ. Proc. 45(c)(3)(A)(ii).
We interpret K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 60-232(a)(3)(B) to mean that a deposition may be substituted for testimony if the witness would be forced to travel more than 100 miles to the place of trial and not 100 straight-line miles. Human beings travel not as the crow does but by means of transportation. We think that the method employed by the trial court, examining the official travel map published by the Kansas Department of Transportation, is a reasonable and effective way of solving such disputes.
Besides, we do not view the admission of this deposition as a substantial trial error. Rather, we believe if there was an error, it was harmless in this instance. Harmless error is error which does not prejudice the substantial rights of a party. Hagedorn v. Stormont-Vail Regional Med. Center, 238 Kan. 691, 701, 715 P.2d 2 (1986). The parties took Dr. Brown's deposition in this case, and Wikoff had the opportunity to pose questions to the doctor about future medical expenses. The Estate argues that it had no notice that Thomas was claiming future medical expenses until Thomas took the witness stand. Thus, the Estate says it did not cross-examine Dr. Brown regarding Thomas' future medical expenses during his deposition. The Estate concludes by saying that had Dr. Brown been available at trial in person, the Estate would have been able to cross-examine him on the extent of Thomas' future expenses.
We find this argument to be speculative. We see no plausible reason why Wikoff should not have questioned the doctor about such an issue during the course of the deposition. Wikoff seems to assume that the Rodreicks would have called Dr. Brown to the stand after Clyde and Thomas had testified, permitting Wikoff to work from their testimony into his cross-examination of Dr. Brown. Dr. Brown could have been called to testify before the Rodreicks. Finally, when Dr. Brown did not offer any substantial testimony specifically regarding Thomas' future medical expenses at the deposition, it seems to us that Wikoff had the same opportunity he would have had at the trial to explore the omission. We find no significant prejudice. Any error is harmless. As appellant, Wikoff has the burden to show prejudice. We conclude that the Wikoff Estate has not proven prejudice on this ground.
Turning to the second issue, we examine the sufficiency of the evidence. Insofar as jury awards for future medical expenses, a reviewing court will not reverse or direct a remittitur unless the amount awarded shocks the court's conscience. See Smith v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc., 256 Kan. 90, 115, 883 P.2d 1120 (1994).
We review the evidence concerning Clyde and Thomas separately. With respect to Clyde, Dr. Brown gave the opinion that he would require occasional periods of physical therapy and medication for pain management. Typically, the treatment involved 2-3 sessions per week. The therapy sessions following the accident cost anywhere from $300 to $665. Additionally, Clyde testified that he spent approximately $40-50 in pain medication each month. He testified that he did not keep a record of expenses for his medication. There is no testimony regarding how often he would seek future care or whether a medical or surgical procedure could be necessary in the future. We believe that this evidence is sufficient to warrant submitting the question of future medical expenses to the jury. Dr. Brown testified that Clyde's condition was permanent. With Clyde's testimony that he continues to take pain medication, we believe that this supports the jury's finding that Clyde would face continuing medical treatment.
With respect to the amount of the award, we understand that the trial court told the jury that at age 73, Clyde had a life expectancy of 14 years. Ten additional physical therapy sessions over his lifetime could cost nearly $6,500. At $500-600 per year, Clyde could spend around $7,000 on pain medication. This totals $13,500. Therefore, the jury's award of $21,000 based upon such facts is not outrageous and does not shock the conscience of this court.
On the other hand, Thomas' case for future medical expenses is less strong but still exists. Dr. Brown testified that Thomas' symptoms would continue to bother him indefinitely. Brown gave the opinion that Thomas would continue to have intermittent flare-ups and discomfort. Based upon this testimony, the jury could reasonably conclude that Thomas would need further treatment.
The record reveals that a round of intensive chiropractic treatment until February 1997 was required for Thomas. At that point, the treating chiropractor indicated that Thomas had reached maximum improvement. For this, the chiropractor charged Thomas an average of $30 per visit for 13 visits during 1997. This equaled $390 with additional charges for x-rays and lab work. The chiropractor also gave the opinion that Thomas would need periodic care to maintain his health.
In his own behalf, Thomas submitted receipts for prescription pain and muscle relaxant medications. Some of the prescriptions cost more than $100. There is no evidence Thomas would require consistent medical care, nor was there evidence that Thomas would require regular pain medication after the period of acute care following the accident. The trial court instructed the jury that Thomas's age was 42, and he had a life expectancy of 34 years.
The award of $10,000 for future medical expenses does not shock our consciences. We compare Smith, where the jury had awarded $35,000 in future medical expenses, surpassing the Supreme Court's own projection based on its reading of the record of $11,043. Smith held such a disparity did not "shock the conscience of the court." 256 Kan. at 118. We are not compelled to reverse.
We turn now to the sanctions issue. At the end of the trial, the Estate moved for sanctions. The Estate made a discovery request to the Rodreicks for any and all documents, correspondence, memoranda, and written materials of any kind in support of the amount of damages for which recovery was sought in this action. It argued to the trial court that it was "blind-sided" because the Rodreicks failed to present any written receipts or other proof to show the value of the medications they continued to take. The Estate now implies that the Rodreicks concealed the true cost of their medication.
The imposition of sanctions is within the sound discretion of the trial court. We review such decisions on a basis of abuse. See New Dimensions Products, Inc. v. Flambeau Corp., 17 Kan. App. 2d 852, 860-61, 844 P.2d 768 (1993). The object of a sanction should be to prevent the party against whom sanctions are being imposed from profiting by its own violation. Mansfield Painting & Decorating, Inc. v. Budlaw Services, Inc., 3 Kan. App. 2d 77, 80, 589 P.2d 643, rev. denied 225 Kan. 844 (1979).
A careful reading of the record does not reveal that Clyde or Thomas wilfully concealed or destroyed material that could be considered discoverable. A more reasonable interpretation of the record is that they did not keep the receipts and the documents are, therefore, simply not available for discovery. Clyde relied on his oral testimony alone to support his request for damages. This issue goes to the weight of the evidence, but the record does not establish any pattern of wrongdoing by the Rodreicks.
We find that the trial court's refusal to sanction Clyde or Thomas reasonable and not an abuse of discretion.


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Doors that lock with the touch of a button.
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Check out Kickstarter: The Rosie the Riveter of Investing? on ThinkAdvisor.


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Bullying at top incites an ugly society all around
John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party, responded to a proposal from 100 of California's most prominent chefs to reconsider a July 1 ban on foie gras by threatening to shove dry oatmeal "down their throats over, and over, and over again."
I am one of the chefs and restaurateurs whom Burton threatened last month. We respect his right to disagree with us over whether or not California should become the only place in the world to ban the sale of fattened duck liver, or foie gras. We condemn, however, Burton's ongoing use of violent rhetoric. Here's why:
Many of us first became involved with this issue in 2003, when animal-rights activists vandalized the home and business of chef Laurent Manrique, his wife and 2-year-old child, and then issued a threat against him. The FBI categorizes these as acts of domestic terrorism. Such acts should be met with unequivocal opposition, not by imitation.
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Use of threatening language to inspire fear violates California's "criminal threats" law. When the threats are issued from a leadership position, such as chairman of the California Democratic Party, it sends a signal far and wide that inciting violence and causing fear are acceptable tactics in public discourse.
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The chefs involved with this issue represent the same districts as our elected officials. We create jobs, stimulate tourism, pay taxes, and vote in every part of California. Burton owes not only the chefs but all Californians an unqualified public apology for his behavior. More important, Burton owes the public his trust in today's rightfully elected officials to give this issue a fair public airing, free from backroom threats to use his position as leader of California's most powerful political party to damage their political careers.
Mark Pastore is the owner of Incanto restaurant in San Francisco.


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