text:
Here is a second essay from the Teaching Georgia Writing Collective, a group of educators, parents, and concerned citizens who engage in public writing and teaching about education in Georgia.
The collective defines its goals as: 1) empowering educators to reclaim their workplace and professionalism, 2) empowering families to stand up for their children and shape the institutions their children attend each day, 3) empowering children and youth to have control over their education, and 4) enhancing the education of all Georgians. The number of participates is growing, representing at least six counties.
Here is the essay:
"If America can increase funding for libraries and librarians, I can only think that America has found one important way to rebuild itself."
-Stephen Krashen
Stephen Krashen, along with many educational scholars, insists that investing in our libraries and librarians is crucial to building a strong and just America. Research points to high quality school libraries and librarians as key to high achievement for students, especially those from families struggling economically. But when budgets are tight, libraries (or "media centers"), librarians, and Media Center paraprofessionals can too frequently be perceived as unnecessary costs in schools.
The Clarke County school district joins others across Georgia cutting funding for Media Center paraprofessionals. But most people may not even know what a high-quality media center and media center specialist does for student achievement, much less what the job of a paraprofessional is in the media center.
So what does a Media Center paraprofessional do?
A Media Center paraprofessional does research-related activities. She assists students, teachers and parents in finding books, resources, and materials. She also pulls books supporting standards-based lessons for teachers, leads instructional centers during lessons, and assists in creating resource lists and developing the media center collection to meet the needs of students and teachers.
A Media Center paraprofessional carries the heavy burden of maintaining the media center collection. He shelves hundreds of books each week; processes, labels, and shelves new materials; repairs damaged books and materials to keep them in use; inventories all books and materials; creates inviting displays of new materials; and discards unsalvageable materials, runs a variety of reports important to the maintenance of the media center, and tracks overdue notices.
A Media Center paraprofessional is a supervisor. She supervises the library while the school library media specialist teaches, participates in mandatory meetings or repairs technology. And while the librarian/media specialist coaches students for exciting events such as the Battle of the Books or the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, the paraprofessional takes the lead to make sure the media center is open and available to students and teachers. She works one on one with students, assists with small group instruction when classrooms have lessons in the library (some librarians see 30 or more classes each week), and she supports students while the media specialist focuses on collection development, writes grants for more materials and plans in-service training for teachers.
As if the Media Center paraprofessional has any spare time given her or his extensive responsibilities with students, teachers, and materials, she or he also provides critical technical support for teachers. And outside the Media Center, they help to supervise and support students all day during breakfast, lunch, car, bus, or hall duty and in computer labs.
Cutting Media Center paraprofessionals is risky business. Beyond losing the most basic hands-on contact and support of children, youth, and teachers, this loss could result in limited implementation of initiatives for 21st Century Schools. These educators are central to a school's ability to provide technical support and professional development for teachers.
Maybe folks don't care about that fancy-sounding initiative, but they might recall that special feeling you get when you find those just-right books and wait patiently in line to check them out for the week, or that just-right software program or website for your project. The daily work of the Media Center paraprofessional makes sure that the school library is still that extraordinary place where books, materials, technologies, and all kinds of fascinating resources are displayed to pique students' interests and support teachers' learning and teaching. And importantly, they provide encouragement, smiles, and comments on your latest great finds.
Public library usage is up across Georgia, something our state can be proud of. Economic times are difficult and having access to information and resources is an important goal for any democratic society. Cutting funding for school libraries in this critical time of making sure all students have access to the materials, resources, and technological innovation they need to be the best they can be just doesn't make sense. Surely there are places to cut the budget that wouldn't impact so directly on the daily lives of children and teachers.
Let's make sure children have access to the best public school libraries now and help them build library habits that will positively affect their achievements in school and their experiences in life. And as young children and our youth are building strong habits, we adults can invest in our libraries inside and outside schools – one important way to re-build our communities and invest in a better society.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
May 12th, 2012
4:58 pm
I too hate to see Media Center personnel fall under the budget ax — an ax that, at least to all appearances, falls anywhere…EVERYWHERE…except in a school system's administration. Save the Media Center personnel and cut out some of these executive assistants to the assistant Grand Poobah in the central office. Save teacher jobs that way too. Cut the fat first … when you cut Media Center and teacher staff, you're cutting the most important muscle the school system has. There's plenty of fat in any system's central office that can be done away with first.
May 12th, 2012
5:03 pm
Point #3, in this list of goals, may be worth exploring just a wee bit further. Today's youth, unlike their generational contemporaries of yesteryear, have to/no, make that MUST assume "hands-on" control of their educational experiences. Unlike earlier gens…mine included…who, like horses, were led to the trough, these kids have to understand the budgetary constraints under which their schools must function, "grab the (educational) bull by the six, and (as Larry the Cable Guy says) "GET HER DONE".!
With cuts to school libraries, there is no reason why these kids cannot become frequent patrons of their local county libraries. These facilities provide excellent resources for all age groups.
The (educational) troughs are/will always be available. The youth of this country simply have to/no, make that MUST be willing to exercise that control over their educational destinys.
May 12th, 2012
5:16 pm
Colonel, with all respect to your comments, you're not offering any hint of a viable solution; simply another version of that complaint mechanism. Sure, there's plenty of fat which could stand a lil' trimin' before cutting into the "muscle and bone" of the educational process. If your nom du plume/your chosen ID, indicates any military experience at all…and I am quite certain in does, Colonel…than you full-well know that military operations are almost always conducted at under-strength levels, both in terms of personnel and equipment. rather than complain in our SITREPS (situation reports, for you civilians), we shoot, salute, and get on with it. In this time of austerity…whether we agree with it or not…these kids have to assume that responsibility…like the commander; like those individual troops…to accomplish the mission, by hook or by crook. There will always be time to complain; to point out the problems, but, at some point in time, people have to be willing to do whatever it takes. It's either that, or simply hang head in shame; admit defeat, and (generationaly) die.
May 12th, 2012
5:27 pm
Go to the "County Library"……that's what we did when we were kids
May 12th, 2012
5:56 pm
I certainly am pleased with the goals, stated above, of the Teaching Georgia Writing Collective. I read the link provided above, also, and I want to highlight a paragraph from it which is taken fro the first essay from the TGWC. See below:
"We dream of a school system where students aren't projected to fail and schools don't produce failure. That school system would encourage teachers to slow down and learn about a student who is struggling and design instruction to make that student successful. We teachers don't need more textbooks, scripted curricula or software programs, we need time to teach our students in the way that is best for them. And students don't need more textbooks, scripted curricula or software programs either. They need a less stressful and anxiety-ridden environment and more time in creative, supportive classrooms where they know they are valued and projected to succeed. They need student-centered inquiries back in their school lives, and teachers who do engaging projects with them where they ask questions and find answers."
In other words, educational systems throughout Georgia do not need a business model for public schools, they simply need the state of Georgia to support, again, public schools and to fund them adequately, including funding Media Center personnel, so that Georgia's public schools can, again, be the best that is possible, as described in the paragraph, above.
May 12th, 2012
5:58 pm
A teacher teaches her subject, takes care of her classroom, and her 30-150 students a day. The media specialist is responsible for ALL of the students in the school and all subject areas. He or she is also in charge of 10-20,000 books, not to mention computers, smart boards, projectors, copiers,and other assorted equipment. She often has early or late lunch (if at all) so that the library is available for students. She is there early and stays late so that students can do research and homework before and after school. Face it – many students will not take the initiative to go to the county library, but they might use the one down the hall. If we are going to invest in media centers (and a lot of money goes into them for books and equipment) we need qualified people to take care of them. One staff person in a library just isn't enough. A trained media specialist and a trained paraprofessional are worth their weight in gold when it comes to improving student achievement.
May 12th, 2012
5:58 pm
Unfortunately, most kids frequenting our school Media Center are online playing games or shopping. Reading books or conducting research, I don't think so.
May 12th, 2012
6:00 pm
Going to the county library is a great idea if a child has transportation to it.
I do not understand how a school librarian can teach 5+ classes, check in/ out books, order books, do inventory, reshelve the books, plan for classes, collaborate with teachers, etc. and all of the extra tasks a principal requires by herself. Yet, I do it everyday.
May 12th, 2012
6:03 pm
With the conversion to Common Core GPS next year, media specialists will be even more important as these standards call for much more informational reading. If media centers aren't adequately staffed, both with media specialists and support staff, this will not be successful. If media specialists have to do the jobs of the parapros/clerks, obviously their ability to meet student needs for information literacy instruction will be impacted negatively.
May 12th, 2012
6:27 pm
Our media specilaist allows me to provide incredibly rich experiences to my students. Without her support I would be limited. All I have to do is have an idea and she does the ground work. I have my hands full with 140 seniors just teaching the curriculum standards and grading essays.She collaborates with almost 100 teachers. Every day she's teaching or assisting 7 periods a day; many days with no lunch or break. I don't know how she will manage to keep up with our needs with no paraprofessional next year.
May 12th, 2012
6:30 pm
@A Conservative Voice: Have you visited a rural "County Library" lately? Step outside your suburban box for awhile and see the selections (especially for young students) in some of the smaller rural counties.
I fail to understand how anyone can support closing libraries.
May 12th, 2012
6:50 pm
"School libraries are a stronger indicator of student success than class size, experience of teacher. number of computers, or location of school." (FACTS AT A GLANCE. .. Student Achievement and School Library Media Programs) Numerous studies (several longitudinal) show strong correlations between strong library media programs and improved student achievement. One link to a 2008 compilation of such studies: http://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/s/slw3_2008.pdf
May 12th, 2012
7:03 pm
A few problems with saying the public library should meet the needs of all these students (outside the obvious problem stated above, which is that the parents won't get them there). 1) Public library hours and staff have been cut over the past few years. Parents willing and able to get their kids to the library have much more limited evening and weekend hours than before. 2) Public library materials budgets have been cut so they have fewer new materials. Tax dollars have already been spent for the materials in the schools. Should they just sit on the shelves, or should students be encouraged to use them? 3) Public librarians don't work with teachers to find print, multimedia and online resources to use with their classes. Public librarians won't come to the schools to help them with their television, LCD projector, etc. They don't have time to teach students information literacy skills such as evaluating online sources, using credible sources such as GALILEO resources, digital citizenship (including citation of all sources – print, online, images, multimedia, etc.), using the many Web 2.0 options for creating engaging projects. Without adequate staffing of SCHOOL libraries, how will our children learn what they need to know to function in the 21st century?,
May 12th, 2012
7:04 pm
lets face it. effective public education is dead in this nation
May 12th, 2012
7:29 pm
County libraries are taking the same cuts as schools for the same reason – lower real estate appraisals mean taxpayers are paying less in taxes and the revenue simply doesn't exist.
Until the economy recovers, it isn't choice between good or better; it's a matter of getting through the year on a lot less money.
May 12th, 2012
8:11 pm
In this doggie eat dog world, I only care about myself now. I teach just for the paycheck. If you think that sucks and I should quit, screw you. After years of bending backwards at my school and then to be treated like crap and used by the staff and students, they can all go to ****. I will teach to the ones who want to learn, and for the ones who don' t care can die in a gutter.
May 12th, 2012
8:46 pm
Porn and the Boston Public Library
What if some sex addict is watching PORN at the county library…? Would you send your kids there?
WHO agrees that: When you walk into a public library with your kids they should see graphic, full-color pornography because SOMEBODY IS WATCHING PORN ON A LIBRARY COMPUTER?
Get porn OFF computers at our Public Libraries.
Link: http://www.change.org/petitions/should-public-libraries-allow-porn
May 12th, 2012
8:51 pm
"We dream of a school system where students aren't projected to fail and schools don't produce failure."
@Mary Elizabeth, want to see a school system where some students are projected to fail?
Well, it's Atlanta Public Schools, where the system's vision asks for ten percent of student to graduate failures:
"The district's vision is that APS will be one of the nation's highest performing urban school systems, where 90 percent of its ninth-graders graduate from high school in four years ready for success in college or career." (Accessed 5/12/2012)
May 12th, 2012
9:19 pm
Do away with all libraries, they are "passe". With Google and electronic bookpads, mony on libraries is a waste. Sell all the libraries and books, and fire all the employees. This will save a lot of money in each county immediately, plus, removing all monetary liabilities of upkeep and salaries.
Rodney Kent
May 12th, 2012
9:30 pm
Everyone agrees we need to spend less, just not on their issue that is so incredibly important that every dollar is like life and death.
So here we are, and we get what we deserve.
May 12th, 2012
9:54 pm
@ a teacher,
I'm with you.
May 12th, 2012
10:17 pm
Im sorry to sound so nasty but it is truly how I feel .
May 12th, 2012
10:22 pm
I see APS is now cutting custodians, but no mention of the top heavy admin types
May 12th, 2012
10:28 pm
Central office IS the place to make the cuts. We have a 1/2 time media specialist at our high school of 900. We have 2 certified music teachers who see hundreds of different kids per day who are being paid as paraprofessionals. I am embarrassed to say our school board approved this. One school board member was not even aware of it (scary) Just because the central office can get away with it does not make it right. the superintendent was down to get a $30,000.00 raise over the next year until taxpayers raised hell about it. Pay our teachers first. Central office personnel we can mostly do without. The teachers are the most important. Our children get so much joy from music class. It is a stress reliever for them and they benefit greatly from the wonderful, kind teachers. Our superintendent has the school board snowed. She tells THEM what to do. They rarely ask questions because they are such "nice" people. The superintendent cries when she is questioned by someone in the community. Our good teachers are leaving..at least those who can find jobs..there are dozens looking. Others are simply miserable as they have too much invested in their homes they can't sell for them to be able to go somewhere else.
We are in a time of money constraints. When times are good we can afford the extras. But times are not good. It is a time for central office personnel and pay cuts.
May 12th, 2012
11:29 pm
Let's drop the pretense and allow ALEC to create legislation for Georgia to end Public education. I mean it wouldn't take much to change the Constitution. Then the private companies who could come in and do a better job.
May 13th, 2012
12:26 am
set limits and freeze pay raises for anyone making $100,000. This include superintendents and all central office staff. Public education is just that..public educators should make decent salaries. But a new teacher should not have to struggle, while someone in administration gets richer and richer. So many administrators talk their way into huge raises the last few years before they retire. Retirement income is based on 2 highest years. There is no real "scale" for administrative positions. An admin's pay is based on how well he or she is able to snow or brown-nose. It is not based upon performance. In our school system, the leaders who are "real" and admit there are issues and problems in their schools are paid significantly less than leaders who put a spin on or try to cover things up. The truth is, nobody wants to hear about problems that could be solved to make things so much better. They had rather remain ignorant and pretend everything is perfect.
May 13th, 2012
12:42 am
Cutting important programs and needed employees is not the answer. It makes me ill to think that many administrators are getting rich off of the backs of teachers and staff—those who are actually educating students. I realize this is par for the course for everything now, but education is different because our children are the losers. There is so much corruption and politics at the top. I do not think it will ever be cleaned up. It is depressing as an educator and a mother.
May 13th, 2012
3:30 am
When will we Georgians demand that our public school systems face independent audits of their finanaces and personnel to increase the probability that our tax monies are being effectively and efficiently expended?
May 13th, 2012
3:35 am
For shame: Bucks County, PA, the home of the late James Michener, had targeted public libraries for drastic cuts a couple of years ago. Apparently both public and school libraries are seen as "easy marks" by some myopic bureaucRATS.
May 13th, 2012
3:39 am
Credit where credit is due: the quote at the start of this article is indeed from me, but it is based on a what Isaac Asimov said: "When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself."
May 13th, 2012
4:16 am
The Palace continues with its way overpaid staff and bloat; the School Board continues with catering to high rent district schools; and education in DeKalb continues to decline. What a sad state for our children. Give us parents the $7,000 per year they say they spend on each child and let us educate our kids. We get nothing for having to take our kids to school each day to keep them from being bullied; we have bus drivers who are among the bullies and yet we get no transportation allowance. DeKalb is the pits,
May 13th, 2012
4:46 am
Is there ANY chapter in public education that isn't a "sad chapter?" There may be a page or two that is uplifting, but chapters?
May 13th, 2012
7:00 am
The great teachers have gotten me through the past eight years. Great principal at Middle School. School Board and palace bloat has been hazardous to my mental and physical health.
May 13th, 2012
7:11 am
a taecher says "In this doggie eat dog world, I only care about myself now. I teach just for the paycheck. If you think that sucks and I should quit, screw you. After years of bending backwards at my school and then to be treated like crap and used by the staff and students, they can all go to ****. I will teach to the ones who want to learn, and for the ones who don' t care can die in a gutter."
….a teacher says she wants our kids to die in a gutter and yet not a single teacher on this blog calls her out on it. And you wonder why we parents are asking for charters? THIS TEACHER is why we parents are demanding charters and other options. The government takes my money and wants to force me to send my kids to school with a teacher who wants my children to "diet in a gutter" and that is "how she truly feels."
Exactly why we're going to private schools, charter schools and getting the heck out of dodge.
May 13th, 2012
8:31 am
I got the Email at 7pm Friday night "inviting" me to report to the Frederick Douglass High School gymnasium on Saturday for another round of interviews for a "new" position. Principals gathered at their tables and we brought in our copies of our Teaching Certificates and our Resumes for their perusal. Another round of Speed Dating ur uh… Speed Interviewing. You have 10 minutes to answer a set of questions with each principal. almost every high school, middle school and elementary school was there but you probably couldn't get in more than 3 or 4 interviews because of the lines. They have a buzzer to start and end and they give you 3 minutes to transition. Of course, you never got to interview with the more popular schools because the lines were too long. Apparently the Media Specialists, and counselors at the small APS high schools forced to go still have their jobs. They did not have to attend.
Count your blessings Media Specialists. It was one of the most humiliating experiences I have ever had to go through. Most of the principals, assistant principals and academy leaders were respectful, only a few laughed at us and whispered things to principals at other schools about us.
You wondered what was going on. Principals who had lost their jobs were interviewing for positions for the schools they weren't going to return to. Additionally, we were told that the Small High Schools were going to revert back to their original traditional high school (with small learning communities). There was so much false advertising; they gave us a sheet and said that there were so many positions available but when you got to the table, the principals said the positions had been filled.
So there we were, herded around like sheep… speed interviewing and knowing that this was it. And then you began to realize who was at the fair…whistleblowers. I saw a teacher who had been shoved by an administrator with a door, a teacher who had reported cheating at the high school level (using courses with wrong labels to cover up coaching classes for the EOCT), one who had reported administrators who weren't providing services for special needs students, one who had reported a teacher helping students on the EOCT Math I examination. You learn a lot of things standing in line.
You had your usual grumbling from the elementary and middle school teachers about not being responsible for the closing of their schools. You noticed an awfully disproportionate number of older, heavier female teachers and quite a bit of laughing by administrators. I wanted to go to Grady…they didn't bother to show up. Then you look up and some principals are visiting others tables and laughing and cackling while you're standing in line wondering if you will have money to buy food come August.
So, Media Specialists…I am sorry but welcome to my world. And, I had a great evaluation. APS has a mess with the cheating scandal costs and the rest of us have to suffer especially those of us who have reported the cheating in high schools. They can't afford another investigation…they really don't want to look at the dirt in those small schools.
May 13th, 2012
8:39 am
During my 40+ years as a public school teacher in several states, I've found the biggest indicator of a successful school was the quality of the library media program. Eliminating media center paraprofessionals is comparable to cutting front office secretaries. Just as we surely do not want a principal spending her time doing the clerical duties performed by the school secretary, we do not want outstanding media specialists performing the duties of the media center paraprofessionals as described above.
May 13th, 2012
9:00 am
At least you did not have to endure speed dating ur uh…speed interviewing at the invitation only APS Job Fair. Middle and Elementary School Teachers got 4 invitations…Small High School teachers only 2.
May 13th, 2012
9:05 am
@a teacher:
Sounds like it's time to explore other career options.
I get frustrated with the lawmakers and their nonsense, the administrative hubbub, the uninvolved parents, and the uncaring students as well. But I can guarantee you that anytime I find myself with the attitude that any of my students could just "die in a gutter" will be the day that I pack my stuff and hit the road. At this point, with that attitude, you're part of the problem my friend.
May 13th, 2012
9:16 am
May 12th, 2012
6:30 pm
@A Conservative Voice: Have you visited a rural "County Library" lately? Step outside your suburban box for awhile and see the selections (especially for young students) in some of the smaller rural counties.
I fail to understand how anyone can support closing libraries.
To Teacher & Mom – T&M, I don't support closing libraries……I only made a suggestion in the event that there is not a school library anymore. Besides, most students now days have online access…….most everything is out there……it's not like the school library is the only source of information…….c'mon, T&M, lighten up a bit, have fun, be happy Remember to vote on November 6, 2012.
May 13th, 2012
9:24 am
GPC is a cautionary warning of what is to come.
we have mismanaged education in this state for so long I honestly don't see how we can fix it
May 13th, 2012
9:55 am
Ed Johnson, 8:51 pm, May 12
@Mary Elizabeth, want to see a school system where some students are projected to fail?
Well, it's Atlanta Public Schools, where the system's vision asks for ten percent of student to graduate failures. . ."
Ed, if 10% of the yearly incoming 600 9th grade students – of my last high school – were to fail to graduate, that would be 60 students of that class who would be high school drop outs. In four years, that number of dropouts would have accrued to 240 students, and the number of drop outs would continue to accrue, year after year.
I agree that educators should set a goal that 100% of students will graduate from high school, but given that, currently, in the state of Georgia, only 67% of students graduate from high school, that means that 33% of students, statewide, currently have become high school drop outs. That number may even be higher for the Atlanta Public Schools. So, as the educational leaders in the APS were writing the projected goals for the APS, they probably thought that a 90% success rate was commendable. If the APS were to raise graduation rates by 23+%, that would be commendable. However, I do agree with you that the goal of any school system should be not to lose even one student to drop out status.
As the writer of the first essay of the TGWC wrote, "That school system would encourage teachers to slow down and learn about a student who is struggling and design instruction to make that student successful." Teachers need the vote of confidence, professional autonomy, and training to do just that.
ALSO, Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, including Maureen Downey, Teacher and Mom, and myself!
Let us, all, enjoy "our day" with our children. What could be a sweeter gift than that?!
May 13th, 2012
10:10 am
Closing school libraries would be a disaster, but upgrading them and training media specialists and support staff should be a high priority. In many schools in DeKalb County, media staff are not up to speed on modern technology, including Promethean Boards, which have been in schools for years now. Ask them about phone apps or for help with MS Office software that's installed on the library computers, for instance, and you'll get a blank look, yet these are the technologies they should understand because it's what kids use. In many DeKalb schools, libraries stand empty many hours each day while staff members spend their time hanging out in the back office talking with each other. In these settings, student computers "don't work right", flash drive ports aren't functional, and "the network must be down" is a constant refrain. It's not media centers that are irrelevant, but the professionals.who work in them need to come up to the 21st century.
May 13th, 2012
10:22 am
In my system, we middle and high school media specialists have been without parapros for two years. At the elementary level, parapros are pulled to substitute for absent teachers and to pass out meds because we have no school nurses.
We also have not received our funding since January 2009. Our finance director tried to tell us that the state does not provide that money anymore, but we called his hand on that one. Of course, since our brilliant legislature enacted a rule last year that says systems can use media money anywhere they need to, his lies don't matter. He has told us flat out that we will never get our budgets back and that we should just look for grants if we want to buy books. Over the past three years, my library has received a grant of over $3000 from my personal checking account. If my kids need books, I buy them. The entire library budget for my county (not including personnel) is about $85-90K. We cannot afford this, yet our system spent half a million on a computerized reading program that is supposed to work miracles. Oh, and our agriculture department and Future Farmers of America are funded beyond belief even though we only have about five farm families in our county. Why? Because three of those families are the superintendent's, the finance director's and a board member's.
As for those media specialists who are seeing 30+ classes a week, these are mostly elementary folks being forced to see every class so that each classroom teacher gets a little extra planning time. The OCGA still states that we are supposed to have a flexible schedule, not fixed. This practice is not legal but forced on MS's by their principals and should be stopped, especially if you have no parapro/clerk. Band together and demand that this practice stop. The rest of us will stand with you.
May 13th, 2012
10:26 am
Oh, Maureen, thank you so much for this article. It sometimes seems that we library media specialists are forgotten in the education debate.
May 13th, 2012
10:31 am
Numerous studies validate the importance of the school library–a recent study by Todd and Hofschire (2011) found that states which gained school librarians had a greater rise in reading scores while states that had lost librarians had an overall decline in scores. Georgia can not afford to lose school library media specialists and library support personnel. Yes, sometimes students are 'hanging out' and playing games in the school library but those same kids feel comfortable in the library and will return to ask library staff for academic help. It's a 'safe' place for kids who aren't part of a clique in school. The school librarian, as someone earlier pointed out, contributes to the learning of ALL students in a school as well as being a resource for teachers who don't have time to track down specific types of lessons to differentiate instruction and to better help students who learn 'to a different drummer' than the majority. A good school library media specialist/librarian promotes reading–if you can learn to read well, you can learn to do anything!
May 13th, 2012
10:42 am
It is time to shrug off this inefficient and ineffective monopoly school system. It is time for school vouchers. Let the education tax money follow the children. Let the child and parents decide which is the best school for their money. Take the power out of the government and put it back in the hands of the people. Power to the people!
May 13th, 2012
10:46 am
I am in a county where they cut our media clerks to half time this year and next year they cut them completely. I am also a media specialist. I serve a school of 1400 students and 100+ staff. I am so worried about next year how am I going to be able to do my job. It was really hard this year her half time. I could be in the middle of teaching and the phone would ring or I would have students at the circ desk and I would have to stop what I was doing to take of that. I would have tons of books that have to be shelved and they would have to wait. I have students volunteer to help but I would find things still out of place etc. my principal says he has faith in me but I feel like he is the only one…
May 13th, 2012
10:49 am
Buzz144 do you realize letting the funds go where the child is will hurt the school systems. If a person decides their child is going to private school or home school that money goes there public schools lose that money.
May 13th, 2012
10:49 am
@Two cents
You're not going to get much of an education for $7000. Look at what the good private schools in Atlanta charge for tuition. What you will get for your $7000 is a fly by night private school that will take your money, provide a terrible education, and will be gone after a year or two with your money.
If Dekalb is the problem, then move.
May 13th, 2012
11:28 am
vouchers are not the answer.
it sounds good, feels good, but would be hamstrung by reality.
voucher supporters seem to assume just because they have a voucher
the system they want wants them.
why should Peachtree Ridge or Milton take in some kid from APS or DCSS
who is very likely behind in academics, social standing, and may well be
a discipline issue?
-unless of course they play holy football, then they can be illiterate rapists
and be welcomed with open arms.


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04/10/2014 14:00 - 17:00
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subset: commoncrawl


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Ok, i am glad i finally asked because i would have never figured out what the heck BD stood for. that is a lot nicer way of putting it than some people do. you would have thought i could have figured out CD but not me........haha
AliMarie---mommy to Madalyn Anne-born at 35 wks due to severe pe (9/18/2001 4lbs. 14oz.)


text:
It's graduation weekend at Virginia Tech.
One of the graduating seniors revealed to everyone he was the Hokie bird for the last five years, wearing the feet to the ceremonies. It's supposed to be kept a secret until graduation, where it has become a tradition to wear the feet to the ceremony.
Jared Parker Stollar graduates with a degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics with a Math minor.
He is thinking about joining the Navy.
WSLS 10, P.O. Box 10Roanoke, VA 24022-0010
Telephone: 540.981.9110
Fax: 540.343.3157
Email: email@example.com


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The Little Things That Helped Open My Eyes
Could I get what I considered to be proper nutrition on the food budget of the average older person on SNAP? That was the challenge that I set for myself.
SNAP Challenge Nutrition
During the SNAP Challenge, I'm using SparkPeople, an online nutrition diary, to track my intake of calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
Dinner for 4 on a SNAP Budget
When NCOA decided to do the SNAP Challenge, people assumed I would leave the rest of my family out of it. Never! Since we eat dinner together as a family every night, my family was required to come along on this important ride with me.
Day 4 Begins
I am starting day four of the SNAP challenge and was so glad to make it over hump day! My husband opted out of the challenge but has been quite supportive. He helped me shop last Sunday at Aldi's but said he did not have to participate to know that he couldn't make it on that little amount of food.
Getting into a Routine
I'm on day three of the SNAP challenge and it's getting a bit easier to get into a routine. I've found that my biggest struggle has been in the evenings at dinner time and before bed.
Meeting the SNAP Challenge
Food already looms large in my life. I have enjoyed cooking and many of my happy childhood memories involve family meals. One special memory is picking the first strawberries in June on the eastern end of Long Island for my father's favorite birthday cake – Strawberry Shortcake with lots of fresh whipped cream. So taking up the SNAP challenge is something I think I am equipped for.
Shopping for the SNAP Challenge
My husband is joining me for this week of the SNAP Challenge, and we knew we couldn't make it through the week without some serious advance planning.
SNAP Challenge: Day One
During the first day of the SNAP Challenge, I thought a lot about my grandmothers, both of whom knew how to stretch a dollar to feed their families.
My maternal grandmother, Thelma, raised five children on my grandfather's railroad salary and the money she brought in by running a daycare in her home. During the Great Depression, her family relied on bruised and damaged vegetables from the local grocery when they couldn't afford produce.
Thankful to Have Friends Who Share!
I shared the SNAP challenge with a friend a couple weeks ago and she invited me over on Monday for a potluck. I joined her and her family with my very skimpy salad (lettuce, grated carrots, and tomato) to add to her meal.
My First Lunch on the SNAP Challenge
Today was the first SNAP lunch, consisting of rice and beans, a sweet potato, and some greens. It was definitely a much smaller portion than what I'm used to eating for a work lunch.
The Snap Challenge is a Challenge
I went to my local supermarket on Saturday to buy my food for the week, and learned several lessons even before starting to live on my tight budget.
SNAP Challenge: Thinking about Momma Carol
As I reflect on how to make this week work on the less-than-$5-a-day budget, I think about my grandmother, Momma Carol. She lived in the same apartment for 40 years and three of her neighbor/friends were there for 30+ years...
SNAP Challenge: The Four Cs
I approached my shopping trip to prepare for the SNAP Challenge armed with the 4 Cs: coupons, calculator, club card, and cash. With a budget of only $20, I wanted to make sure I was ready for the bargains.
NCOA Takes the SNAP Challenge
Could you eat healthy on $3.84 per day? That's the challenge for the 2.85 million seniors who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for food help – on only $119 per month (national average). And now it's our challenge, too. From March 5-9, 2012, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) will sponsor the first-ever SNAP Challenge by a national organization serving older adults.
Call your Senators TODAY and urge them to pass the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is one of many anti-hunger programs facing cuts. This program, which primarily serves seniors 60 years and older, provides a monthly box of food to 604,000 individuals who earn less than $14,300 a year. The House of Representatives has proposed cutting this program by $38 million this coming year. If these cuts are made, approximately 150,000 people, mostly seniors, will lose their monthly boxes of food.
Right now, we have an opportunity to show Mr. Coleman and the other 603,999 individuals who receive CSFP that we haven't turned our backs. On November 1st, the Senate will vote on the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which includes a provision to protect CSFP from being cut. Please call your Senators and urge them to pass the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. You can find your Senators' names and their phone numbers here or dial the switchboard number: 202-224-3121. Together, we can create a hunger-free America where every senior has access to the nutritious food they need for healthy aging.
Senior Nutrition: Outstanding ROI for the Wise Member of Congress
A few months ago, I met a delightful couple named Bill and Sonia who recently celebrated more than 50 years of marriage. Sonia at 84 is a beautiful woman with a "dancer's body" that she honed as a fabled Radio City Music Hall Rockette. 91-year-old Bill still has a robust physique earned from decades as a general contractor. But outward appearances can be deceiving. Bill and Sonia hadn't had a real meal in two weeks, surviving on crackers and candy bars while sleeping in their car.
13 Million Seniors Are One Budget Cut Away
Putting a Face on Senior Hunger
The One Away campaign isn't the only one telling the real story of senior hunger. At a Congressional hearing last month, several witnesses told stories of older adults who are struggling to pay for food—and others who are benefiting from vital nutrition programs in their community. The focus of the hearing was Senior Hunger and the Older Americans Act.
Focus on Seniors, not Swindlers
In a June 23 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, James Bovard suggested there is rampant fraud and abuse in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps). NCOA's Nora Dowd Eisenhower, Vice President of Benefits Access, responds to Bovard's accusations by pointing to the real problem: seniors who need the benefit are not getting it.


text:
How paintballs are made
How Paintballs Are Made
Softgels are made on special, very expensive, softgel encapsulating machines. In 1933, Robert Scherer designed and patented the first such machine. Here's how a softgel encapsulation machine works:
- Hot liquid gelatin is formed into two thin but wide gelatin ribbons. Each gelatin ribbon passes over a rotating die. The dies are designed to form a capsule of a particular size and shape, such as a paintball. Softgels can be round like paintballs, oblong, or unusually-shaped.
- Each die with its gelatin ribbon presses against the other die as the dies rotate. Each die has half the gelatin shell. As the dies meet, the fill (whatever goes inside the softgel) is injected into the area between the two gelatin sheets. The dies continue to rotate, pressing the two warm gelatin ribbons against each other and forming a filled gelatin capsule. The seam on a paintball shows where the two gelatin sheets met.
- Finally, the now-sealed gelatin capsule drops away from the rotating dies. It is not, however, ready to use when it drops form the machine. For example, when it drops down, what will become a paintball is rubbery and larger than it will be when it is ready to shoot. These bouncy, not-quite-ready softgels are gently tumbled, and then dried in trays in a climate-controlled environment. The gelatin and fill shrink as they dry.
- At RPS, technicians constantly monitor the encapsulation machines as they run. Technicians will randomly check the encapsulations to see the product meets required specifications. Technicians also check the paintballs when they're dry. Any that are not up to RPS's specifications are removed and destroyed. When ready, the paintballs are packaged to move onward toward the end consumers.
- Paintballs are made from materials such as Gelatin derived from pork skins and beef bones/hides, Poly-Ethel Glycol (PEG), Glycerin, Sorbitol, water, free fatty acids, titanium dioxide, starches, surfactants, emulsifiers and FD+C colorants. A majority of these components are naturally occurring (although processed) such as Gelatin, water and Soybean. Other materials are derivatives of other natural components such as PEG, and starches. All are non-toxic and safe for use in paintball.


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South Georgia schools were named across a new Department of Education list of Reward and Alert schools released Tuesday.The list is released as part of the state's waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).In Dougherty County, two were named as Subgroup Alert schools, and three were named as Subject Alert Schools.Meanwhile, two schools in Lowndes County, one in Schley County, were named as 2013 Reward schools for highest performance.Two schools in Ben Hill County, two in Coffee County, five in Dougherty County, one in Early County, two in Lee County, one in Sumter County, and two in Tift County were named as 2013 Reward schools for highest progress.State education officials say a Subgroup Alert school is one where the achievement rate is below 3 standard deviations from the average of the state's subgroups' "meets and exceeds" rate.A Subject Alert is one where subject achievement is below 3 standard deviations from the average of the state's "meets and exceeds" rate for each subject.A "Highest-Performing School" is a Title I school among the 5% of Title I schools in the State that has the highest absolute performance over three years for the "all students" group on the statewide assessments. A school may not be classified as a Highest-Performing School if it has been identified as a Priority, Focus, or Alert School.A "High-Progress School" is a Title I school among the 10% of Title I schools in the State that is making the most progress in improving the performance of the "all students" group over three years on the statewide assessments. A school may not be classified as a High-Progress School if it has been identified as a Priority, Focus, or Alert School.
2013 Reward Schools- Highest Progress
Atkinson Co.
Pearson Elementary School
Ben Hill Co.
Ben Hill Elementary School
Fitzgerald High School
Berrien Co.
Berrien Middle School
Calhoun Co.
Calhoun Co. Middle/High School
Chattahoochee Co.
Chattahoochee Co. Middle School
Clay Co.
Clay Co. Middle School
Clinch Co.
Clinch Co. Middle School
Coffee Co.
Broxton-Mary Hayes Elementary
George Washington Carver Freshman Campus
Dougherty Co.
Lamar Reese School of the Arts
Dougherty International Education Middle School
Merry Acres Middle School
Sherwood Acres Elementary School
Southside Middle School
Early Co.
Early Co. High School
Effingham Co.
Effingham Co. Middle School
Jeff Davis Co.
Jeff Davis High School
Lee Co.
Lee Co. High School
Lee High School 9th Grade Campus
Macon Co.
Macon Co. Middle School
Macon Co. High School
Mitchell Co.
Mitchell Co. Middle School
Mitchell Co. High School
Stewart Co.
Stewart Co. Middle School
Sumter Co.
Americus Sumter Co. High North
Tift Co.
Tift Co. High School
Charles Spencer Elementary School
Webster Co.
Webster Co. Elementary/Middle School
2013 Reward Schools Highest Performance
Ambrose Elementary School
Westside Elementary School
Lowndes Co.
Moulton-Branch Elementary School
Lake Park Elementary School
Schley Co.
Schley Co. Elementary School
Chattooga Co.
Crossroads Alternative School
DeKalb Co.
Gateway to College Academy
Black, Economically Disadvantaged
Elbert Co.
Elberton Education Center
Black, White
Gwinnett Co.
Phoenix High School
Hall Co.
Lanier Career Academy
Murray Co.
Mountain Creek Academy School
Mountain Ed. Center
Mountain Education Center School
Bibb Co.
Williams Elementary School
Economically Disadvantaged
Leroy Massey Elementary School
Dade Co.
Davis Elementary School
Idlewood Elementary School
Asian/Pacific Islander
Knollwood Elementary School
Students With Disabilities
Jolly Elementary School
Stoneview Elementary School
Jackson Heights Elementary School
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School
Gilmer Co.
Ellijay Elementary
White Sulphur Elementary School
Oakwood Elementary School
Muscogee Co.
Baker Middle School
Eddy Middle School
Polk Co.
Harpst Academy
Quitman Co.
Quitman Co. Elementary
Richmond Co.
Diamond Lakes Elementary School
Spirit Creek Middle School
Bayvale Elementary School
Sego Middle School
Blythe Elementary School
Spalding Co.
Beaverbrook Elementary School
Whitfield Co.
Cedar Ridge Elementary
Bruce Elementary
Reading, Mathematics
English Language Arts
Flat Shoals Elementary School
Reading, English Language Arts, Social Studies
Northside Elementary School
Hancock Co.
Lewis Elementary School
Forrest Road Elementary School
Reading, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Meadowbrook Elementary School
Atlanta Public Schools
Bazoline E. Usher/Collier Heights Elementary School
Scott Elementary School
Thomasville Heights Elementary School
Copyright 2013 WALB. All rights reserved.
P.O. Box 3130
Albany, GA 31706
(229) 446-1010
FCC Public File
(229) 446-4005
EEO Report
Closed Captioning


text:
Benny Banks
Breakfast Bars with Benny Banks
Day 3 of Twin's school half-term takeover with Benny Banks dropping his 'Breakfast Bars' on the show.
We currently have no biography for this artist. You can contribute biographical information for Benny Banks to Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you know that a biography for Benny Banks already exists in Wikipedia, you can add a link to Benny Banks's entry in MusicBrainz.
Links & Information
- Last.fm page on Benny Banks
- MusicBrainz entry on Benny Banks
Links & information come from MusicBrainz. You can add or edit information about Benny Banks at musicbrainz.org. Find out more about our use of this data. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.


text:
Brookwood won its second consecutive Regions Directors Cup trophy in Class AAAAA, and metro Atlanta private schools retained their hold on the other four classifications despite a strong challenge from their public school rivals.
The Directors Cup competition, which has been held every school year since 1999-2000, awards points to each school based on its performances in the playoffs and state meets for the GHSA's 24 sports. Each school's eight highest-scoring sports for each gender are counted in the standings.
Marist (Class AAAA), Westminster (AA) and Wesleyan (A) successfully defended their all-sports championships, and Woodward Academy held off rival St. Pius to win the AAA trophy. Public schools Pope (AAAA), Allatoona (AAA) and North Oconee (AA) were in first place in their classifications as late as early May but were overtaken over the final three weeks of the school year. The only public school below the largest classification to win a Directors Cup is Cartersville, which took Class AA in 2001 and 2002.
Brookwood of Gwinnett County finished with 1,242.5 points to win Class AAAAA for the third time. The Broncos won state championships in boys cross country, boys track and girls swimming and had 15 of their teams finish in the top 10. No school outside of Gwinnett or Cobb has won the Directors Cup in Class AAAAA.
Marist continued its perfect run by winning the Class AAAA trophy. The War Eagles have finished as the top team in their classification every year since the competition's inception – 12 consecutive in AAAA and one in AAA. Marist had 14 teams record top-10 finishes during the past school year and won championships in boys golf and girls cross country.
Woodward Academy held off a strong field in Class AAA to win its first Directors Cup. The War Eagles won two state championships – boys tennis and boys soccer – and had 15 teams finish in the top 10. St. Pius was the runner-up, followed closely by public schools Columbus and Allatoona.
"Our goal at the beginning of the year was to be the top public school in AAA, so to have had a shot to actually win it all … our coaches have done a phenomenal job," Allatoona athletics director Benji Morrell said.
Westminster scored the most points in the state for the second consecutive year, finishing with 1,297.5 to claim its third consecutive Class AA trophy. The Wildcats won state championships in boys cross country, tennis and soccer and girls cross country and swimming. Westminster has won 12 Directors Cup titles overall.
Wesleyan had 1,071 points and won Class A by the widest margin in any classification, finishing 300 ahead of Darlington. The Wolves won state championships in boys cross country, boys swimming and girls basketball and got four runner-up finishes from their girls teams. It is the fourth consecutive Directors Cup trophy for Wesleyan and the school's sixth overall.
Class AAAAA
1. Brookwood – 1,242.5
2. Walton – 1,189.5
3. Mill Creek – 1,118.5
4. Milton – 1,092
5. Lassiter – 1,065.5
6. Harrison – 1,034
7. Peachtree Ridge – 885
8. Alpharetta – 871
T9. North Cobb – 848
T9. North Gwinnett – 848
Class AAAA
1. Marist – 1,153.5
2. Johns Creek – 994
3. Pope – 969.5
4. Lambert – 878
5. Greenbrier – 804.5
6. Starr's Mill – 801.5
7. McIntosh – 780.3
8. Lakeside-Evans – 775.5
9. Chattahoochee – 749.5
10. Kell – 737
Class AAA
1. Woodward Academy – 1,193
2. St. Pius – 1,140.5
3. Columbus – 1,126
4. Allatoona – 1,101.5
5. Carrollton – 1,003
6. Gainesville – 814
7. Oconee County – 770
8. Veterans – 704.5
9. Dalton – 693.5
10. Eastside – 642.2
Class AA
1. Westminster – 1,297.5
2. Blessed Trinity – 1,184.5
3. Greater Atlanta Christian – 1,086
4. North Oconee – 1,052
5. Lovett – 858.5
6. Calhoun – 789.5
7. Morgan County – 756
8. Pierce County – 745.5
9. Bleckley County – 681.1
10. Buford – 642.6
Class A
1. Wesleyan – 1,071
2. Darlington – 771
3. Savannah Christian – 765
4. Brookstone – 720
5. Athens Academy – 679.5
6. Aquinas – 671.2
7. Holy Innocents' – 661
8. First Presbyterian – 628
9. Mount Paran Christian – 621
10. Calvary Day – 606
June 9th, 2012
1:05 pm
LOL WHUT? Trolli
June 9th, 2012
1:05 pm
First!!! Where's my Kudo's?
June 10th, 2012
11:44 am
I guess if you look at the final standings you get a better understanding why the public A schools feel as though they have no shot. I taught in the state's wealthiest district for 34 years – we really didn't have an issue with "stuff" (be it academic or athletic) – we had the ability, either through the district or parent boosters to get what we needed. (I took Model UN teams at Berkmar HS to Chicago and New Haven for years – I wonder if the middle and south Georgia schools have the same capabilities.) I hope the public schools get some satisfaction during the next two year cycle.
June 10th, 2012
11:53 pm
Brookwood is a public school…plus the largest in the state….high academics….great arts…super band program….and of course amazing sports programs…they have it all…go broncos!!! It's THE benchmark school….
June 11th, 2012
10:12 am
June 11th, 2012
4:58 pm
How did Milton win 6 state championships and not win this trophy?
June 11th, 2012
8:55 pm
Congrats to Woodward on a great year! Let's make it two in a row in 2012-13.
June 11th, 2012
9:09 pm
It is all about populated areas and the rural teams stand very little chance of winning these unless they have an exceptional talented class and that goes in cycles. They don't have the populated areas to be consistent. Look at all the turnover in the high populated areas. And I am not just talking about private schools. Look at your Calhouns, Cartersvilles and Columbuses.
June 12th, 2012
2:48 pm
Pleasantly suprised to see North Cobb High in the top 10 of AAAAA. I remembering about 8 years ago seeing them finish next to last.
June 12th, 2012
11:49 pm
Cartersville has bragging rights that is a major accomplishment that I witnessed first hand from 1999-2003. I grew up with some amazing athletes that really put on a show at the big show everytime. GO MIGHTY HURRICANES!!!!!!!!!!!
June 14th, 2012
9:47 pm
This is exactly the reason their should be Public School State Tournaments
and let the privates have their own. Put all the privates in the same Region- at
least the Atlanta area ones and let them battled it out. All these schools recruit
as do some of the city schools(see Buford, Jefferson, etc) so you can throw them
in there as well. Tennessee has had a split public and private state playoffs for years
and it works great….
June 18th, 2012
11:06 am
June 19th, 2012
9:36 am
Marist is barely a AA size school, yet chooses to compete in AAAA so they can have actually competitive games and the kids have to work really hard to succeed. Wesleyan (and some of the other privates) by contrast choose to compete in the smallest possible classification, and win most of their games against tiny single A rural schools by blowout margins. Unless and until the other private schools decide to "man up", the public schools will continue to push for split championships if not schedules. What a shame for Marist to possibly lose some of the great respectful rivalries against the likes of Tucker and SW Dekalb because the Wesleyans of the world choose not to compete on a level playing field.
June 21st, 2012
2:44 pm
I don't understand why public schools want to break from the private schools. When I was running track in HS, I didn't care if the guy I was lined up against went to Marist or Riverwood or Columbus or was home schooled. I just wanted to race the best runners in the state and (try to) beat them. That's what made me better and allowed me to become a successful college athlete. The thought that I didn't want to race someone based on what school he went to never crossed my mind, and I'm sure never crossed the mind of my competitors.
For some reason people seem to want to dodge top competition, which will ruin high school athletics in the state. With 6 classifications, and A split up, it's just like T-Ball – Everyone Gets a Trophy!
June 23rd, 2012
1:29 am
Normal Guy apparently you have a bad case of the "I's". The problem is a level playing field, individuals can compete, but teams and schools can not. If you read, at all, the criteria for the All Sports Trophies, it includes all the sports. Most class A and many Class AA schools do not have enough athletes to field teams in all the sports. So a School like Wesleyan has to compete with very few schools and almost gets a pass at State Championships in a lot of the Spring Sports, add to that fact that they can recruit specialty athletes for Golf, Tennis and Swimming and there is no competition at all. The public schools are being forced to cut teachers, travel of any kind, and classes are being forced to purchase many of the supplies they need to learn the basics. Teachers at Private Schools are getting raises, travel, no problem, and if they needed anything a big donor will give it to them as a tax write-off. Just curious exactly how much did you give that school you graduated from in the past 5 years? I'll bet unless you live in the school district and paid school tax there it was zero. Pubic Schools get new uniforms, on average (and except football) every 8 years, Private School change every two years at worst.
Now tell me again how you equate competitive imbalance as dodging competition!
June 24th, 2012
8:06 am
June 26th, 2012
12:17 pm
absolutely meaningless to south Georgia….
June 27th, 2012
4:57 pm
Something needs to done about the private schools in class A and there is apparently a problem even in AA. It's not at all fair for a small class A public school to face competition from schools that recruit. The whole point of the classifications is to put like schools together for fair competition. What we have now is not good..
July 11th, 2012
1:10 pm
I have attended schools of both types in populated and more rural areas in the state. I have seen the advantages that large schools near Atlanta have – regardless of whether or not they are private or public. Also, these private schools have chosen to compete against public schools in the GHSA. There is another organization, the GISA, in which the majority of private schools spread around the rest of the state compete only against themselves.
July 13th, 2012
11:07 pm
That thar is some bs. we won us a state championship and dem privvy school boyz all can kiss my butt.
July 16th, 2012
10:29 am
It happens every year. They need to have a priviate and public award for classifications A-AAAA. Not all public schools have swimming, gymnastics, lacrosse, etc…. THis award is not really and "Equal" or "Fair" award.
July 17th, 2012
9:47 am
FYI,, Just letting you all know there has been a new georgia high school sports forum created if anyone is interested in using it. Brand New!


text: The socio-anthropological analyses written near the beginning of the 20th century that are still useful for their interpretations of the sacred in preliterate societies include Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss, Essai sur la nature et le fonction du sacrifice (1899; Eng. trans., Sacrifice: Its Nature and Function, 1964); and Émile Durkheim, Les Formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse, le système totémique en Australia (1912; Eng. trans., The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, 1965). More recently, in the same vein, are E.O. James, Sacrifice and Sacrament (1962), a comparative analysis of sacred ritual from many different religious traditions; and Roger Caillois, L'Homme et le sacré (1939; Eng. trans., Man and the Sacred, 1960), a general reflective interpretation of various social expressions of the sacred. The following combine philosophical and theological concerns: Rudolf Otto, Das Heilige (1917; Eng. trans., The Idea of the Holy, 1923), an appeal to an a priori preconceptual knowledge of the holy; Max F. Scheler, Vom Ewigen im Menschen, 2nd ed. (1923; Eng. trans., On the Eternal in Man, 1960), an intuitive philosopher's argument for the eternal reality of the sacred prior to man's awareness or social expression of it; Nathan Soderblom, "Holiness," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 6:731–41 (1928, reprinted 1955), which stressed the quality of holiness in all religion four years prior to Otto's more famous statement, and his Living God: Basal Forms of Personal Religion (1933), a comparative study of religion organized according to various ways through which man encounters God; and Joachim Wach, The Comparative Study of Religions, ed. by J.M. Kitagawa (1958), a systematic analysis of the modes (thought, action, fellowship) used to express the religious experience. Two Dutch phenomenologists of religion who have made notable contributions to the interpretation of forms that express man's relation to the sacred are Gerardus van der Leeuw, whose Phänomenologie der Religion (1933; Eng. trans., Religion in Essence and Manifestation, 1963) organizes a wide spectrum of data into three foci: the object of religion, the subject of religion, and their reciprocal relation; and W. Brede Kristensen, who wrote The Meaning of Religion (1960), a series of lectures given during the 1930s on the sacredness of man's cosmological, anthropological, and cultic awareness as expressed in the preliterate cultures and those of the ancient Mediterranean area. An extensive analysis of the forms and modes in which the sacred is recognized is found in the writings of Mircea Eliade, for whom the apprehension of the sacred is a unique kind of experience in which the creative power(s) of life appear(s) in particular symbols, myths, and rites. Four of his works that deal with the nature and meaning of the sacred in different types of expression are: Le Mythe de l'éternel retour (1949; Eng. trans., The Myth of the Eternal Return, 1954, reissued 1989); Myth and Reality (1963); Traité d'histoire des religions (Eng. trans., Patterns in Comparative Religion, 1958); and The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (1959).


text:
Diet pill scorecard: Race is still on for FDA approval
Orexigen, once the leading candidate to reach market, expects two more years of safety testing.
A year ago, diet pill maker Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) was riding high. It looked like the company was about to win a three-way race to sell the first new diet pill in the U.S. in more than a decade.
Orexigen's closest rivals, Vivus (VVUS) and Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), were already knocked out (at least temporarily) as the Food and Drug Administration had rejected applications for their weight-loss pills. Orexigen had the backing of a panel of experts advising the FDA. It looked like the company had defied the odds and was rounding the corner to approval. In rejecting the rival diet pills, the U.S. agency stated strong concerns about the safety of the products.
So when the FDA rejected Orexigen's drug Contrave in early February last year, investors fled and the company's stock lost almost three-quarters of its value.
Now Orexigen finds itself again in position to watch its two rivals try to win U.S. clearance to sell their pills, while it works toward its own market approval.
Arena announced this week that the FDA is reconsidering approval of the company's diet drug lorcaserin. The company is expected to receive a decision from the FDA by late June. Last week, the company said it submitted additional research to the agency, including data related to drug testing on rats and cancer. The rat research came to symbolize Arena's missteps last year. The company initially didn't disclose to investors that early rat testing raised questions about tumors found in the animals.
All three of the diet pill companies were questioned by government experts in all-day FDA panel hearings in 2010, a vetting process used by the agency. Orexigen was the only company to receive a positive vote in favor of approval. Next month, Vivus will face another advisory panel for its weight-loss drug Qnexa. That Feb. 22 panel will give investors a view of how much progress Vivus has made in moving closer to approval. An FDA decision on clearance of the drug is expected by April 17.
One undeniable negative for Vivus was highlighted this week when the FDA said the company should strike a restriction on the drug's proposed label that would exclude all women of child-bearing age. One of the FDA's major concerns over Qnexa is the risk of birth defects (see Birth Defect Worries Rock Vivus). Though it's a puzzling move by the FDA, the company said it shouldn't be a sign that there won't be a restriction. Even if Vivus is approved, its market potential may be limited.
Meanwhile, Orexigen is the farthest away from potential approval as it will spend this year and next conducting further studies on the cardiovascular risks associated with the drug Contrave. Orexigen says it hopes for U.S. approval by 2014.
Shares of all three companies have bounced up and down over the past few months. Vivus shares showed the most positive trend, rising 46% in the past three months to $12.23 at Thursday's close. Arena is up 11% in that period, closing at $1.66 Thursday. The stock has been falling over the past couple of weeks. Even with a recent run, Orexigen is down 9% over the last three months. It rose 9% to $2.02 on Thursday. With a $1 billion market cap, Vivus is the largest of the three diet drug companies. Arena has a market value of about $240 million, while Orexigen is just under $100 million.
As for which stock has the most upside, that's a good question. Even if any one of these drugs is approved -- a big if -- there are questions about market potential. The companies argue that obesity is a serious problem in the U.S. and is linked to a host of other medical conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. But label restrictions and lack of insurance coverage may weigh down revenue expectations. Diet drugs in the U.S. have a dubious history as the fen phen debacle of the '90s and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) withdrawal of Meridia in 2010 clearly illustrate.
In a recent note, Leerink Swann analyst Joshua Schimmer recommended buying Orexigen and set a 12-month price target of $5. He says he thinks the drug will be approved and may eventually produce $1 billion in yearly sales. However, the analyst noted that there are a number of questions about a diet drug's success.
"There is clearly an epidemic of obesity in the United States," Schimmer said in a note last week. "However, there is little precedent off of which to base commercial expectations for Contrave."
Another Leerink Swann analyst, Steve Yoo, recently expressed some concern about Vivus and Arena's chances of winning approval for their diet drugs. He rates both stocks a "hold." Concerns about the safety issues around Vivus' Qnexa, he says, may earn the drug a negative recommendation from the FDA panel next month.
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The Montgomery Police Department is releasing the name of the victim who was shot to death Sunday evening.
Cedric Jones, 29, of Montgomery was fatally injured in a shooting that happened around 8:15 p.m. in the 100 block of West Vandiver Boulevard.
Authorities say they have one person is in custody but no charges have been filed. No motive has been given.
The shooting is currently being called a death investigation while police look into all the circumstances surrounding the incident. It has not been classified as a homicide.
The case will presented to the Montgomery County grand jury.
No additional details are being released by police at this time.
Copyright 2014 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.
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The bride is the daughter of Frances Pearson and Steven Whitney, Moline. The groom is the son of Debra Poulton and William Michelau, Mundelein, Ill.
Maids of honor were Kathryn Michelau and Amy Michelau, sisters of the groom. Bridesmaids were Elizabeth Whitney, Kimberly Wildman, Desiree Kedzior and Hollie Hoole. Best man was Sean Kelly, cousin of the groom. Groomsmen were Dustin Whitney, Grant Carter, Adam Stankiewicz, Dave Allred and George Renfrew. Ushers were Michael Terchin and Dan Whitney.
Angela graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Northern Illinois University. She is employed by Allstate in Phoenix.
Steve graduated with a B.S. in finance from Northern Illinois University. He is employed by Honeywell in Phoenix.
Their honeymoon destination was Maui, Hawaii.
Milan, IL Details
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(WHAS11) -- Check out what happened during a San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies game when a foul ball was hit into the stands.
The foul ball landed right in a man's beer! He then chugged down the beer as the crowd cheered him on. Click on the video player above to watch.


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How is it possible for the assistant referee to realize when a player is offside or not? If the assistant referee is in line with the last forward how can he see when the ball leaves the other player if he is so far from the last forward? Watching the replays, it seems impossible to make the right decision on difficult offside calls.
When the ball is in play, the assistant referee will do their best to remain in line with whichever one of
is closest to the goal line (p.86 - FIFA 2014/15 Laws of The Game).
They will generally side-step, only running facing the goal line when required to do so to keep up (p.86, p. 95 - FIFA 2014/15 Laws of The Game). This enables them to have a view of the offside line, the ball, the referee and the majority of the players at once. By occasionally placing their chin on their chest, they can use the touch line to gauge whether they are remaining square with the offside line.
When it appears that an attacker is going to play a ball and other attackers are close to being offside, the assistant referee will focus on the offside line and use their peripheral vision to judge when the ball is last played.
This is what makes it such a difficult job, and why I can't understand why sometimes people are so harsh on linesmen when the decision is tight.
The linesman's optimal place is in-line with the second last defending player. From here he will be able to judge the hardest part of his decision, the placement of the attacker.
He will then have to use his best judgement from peripheral vision and other factors as to when the ball was passed.
Further to previous, the assistant referee remains level with the second rearmost defender for the majority of the time. He/she will only leave this position if the ball is further forward than the second last defender ie. the ball has travelled beyond the defence/attack and is going to the goalkeeper. They do this in case the ball travels over the goalline and therefore they need to be level to see it has crossed completely over the line. However, as I say for the majority of the time they will stay level with the second rearmost defender. This is because this is the optimum position for judging offsides.
If the assistant is level with the second rearmost and an attacking player is to the right of them, then this attacking player is in an offside position. Then dependant on the other criteria of Law 11, the assistant will decide whether to raise the flag and indicate offside. It is important to understand that it is not an offence to be in an offside position. It only becomes an offence when they recieve the ball or interfere with an opponent etc. There will be numerous times during a game when the assistant will 'keep the flag down' allowing play to continue because even though the player is offside, an offence is not being committed
As for how and when to judge offside, studro makes a great point that the body position of the assistant is so important. By being square on to the field of play they have a great view of when the ball is played and also the line of players in front of him. Very little head movement is required as it where.
The difficulty comes when the ball is on the same side as the assistant just a bit further down the line from him. The assistant is then required to turn his head left to watch the player about to kick the ball and also across the field to study the offside line. Add into this the assistant is watching for any fouling, and the ball crossing the line for a throw in, even a quick glance away from across the field of play (ie. away from the second last defender) can cause you to suddenly be not level any more. As per previous responses, listening for the ball being kicked is useful and it is surprising that even in grounds with many thousands of people you can still hear the thud of the kick. A trick used in the english game is for the other assistant or referee to help the assistant by using the communication kit and tell him that the ball has been played forward. This means the assistant can keep watching the line and know the ball has been played forward. Additionally the assistant will do similar on a throw in deep in the referees half. Rather than have the referee watch the throw (and take his eyes away from the players), he can watch the players and the assistant will say "In play". This means should the referee notice any pushing, if he blows his whistle, he will know if the ball was in play or not. If the ball was in play he would need to award a freekick. If not in play then he could say "calm down fellas" before allowing the throw in.


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About WyzAnt
WyzAnt.com is the leading online marketplace for private tutoring. We are a small, successful, rapidly growing company located in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago. Our environment is very casual but the entire team has a real passion for delivering a quality product. We work hard but have a good time doing it.
About the position
As a developer at WyzAnt, you will be tasked with gathering requirements from end-users and their advocates, developing a plan to implement those requirements and then performing the actual implementation which may include any of the following: creating/modifying the necessary tables in a database, writing SQL and/or Linq queries to access the database, designing a practical object model/API and designing and implementing a good-looking, easy to use UI.
Candidates should have expertise with the following:
And familiarity with:
As a small outfit, we're able to adopt new technologies and strategies very quickly. Quality code is highly valued and the ideal candidate will share in our desire to efficiently produce great software. If this sounds like fun to you, let's talk!


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HLES - Physical Education
The Physical Education Specialization prepares students to seek employment in the coaching, sport, and fitness industry outside of the K-12 school setting.
This program may meet the requirements for Florida temporary certification. Additional requirements would subsequently be necessary to obtain a professional certificate. Students are advised that this program may not be accepted for certification in other states because it is not a state approved program. Career opportunities for this specialization include: coach, administrator/director of activity centers such as YMCAs, sport camps, etc.
Three Highlights About the PE and PETE Specialization
- We recently achieved FLDOE accreditation for the new Physical Education Teacher Education program. Students can obtain teaching certification in FL upon graduation and qualifies graduates to immediately teach in other states. We now have two tracks for students who have different needs; the PE program and PETE program.
- The Movement Academy offers pre-service teachers or PETE/PE students practical experiences teaching and observing K-12 physical education on the University of West Florida campus. The administrative team works with prospective teachers and set up positive experiences where students learn important lessons in teaching not found in most traditional practical experiences (i.e., lesson plan effectiveness, classroom management, and task presentation).
- Agreements with several school districts set up quality practical experiences in the schools surrounding UWF. Strong ties to the schools have helped our students see quality physical education in the schools, meet quality physical education teachers, make important contacts in the schools, and set up placements for student teaching.
For more specific requirements about this specialization, please visit the UWF Catalog. You may also explore the HLES Academic Learning Compact and Curriculum Map:
- Physical Education Academic Learning Compact: Exercise-Science-Physical-Ed-Athletic-Training-Sport-Management-ALC (PDF)
- Physical Education Curriculum Map: Health-Leisure-Exercise-Science-(CMUG) (PDF)
Related Links
Program Contact:
Dr. Daniel Drost
Advisor, Assistant Professor
Phone: (850) 474-2592
Office: Building 72, Room 257
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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One day after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed ramped up his efforts on behalf of the transportation sales tax, DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May declared he'd do the same thing – on the opposite side. From Channel 2 Action News:
Methinks there may be personal and geographic rivalry here.
And politics, too. May has just sent out this flyer to the 15,000 households in his district who represent the largest concentration of Democratic votes in the state. "I'm tired of politicians ignoring us in favor of the Buckhead crowd," May quotes himself as saying. "I will fight to bring MARTA rail here."
Brookhaven Patch has this prognostication on the July 31 TSPLOST vote from Charles Bulloch, the University of Georgia political scientist, who hones in on the split between Republicans and the state's business leadership:
"We have the interesting phenomenon of disagreement between many GOP leaders and a group usually closely associated with the GOP."
Bullock concluded: "With GOP leadership unwilling to step forward and reassure conservative, anti-tax voters that the projects to be funded with the T-SPLOST are meritorious, there is scant prospect for approval."
On Wednesday, we told you about an expensive, glossy mailer that claimed to be paid for by TrafficTruth.net and attacked Republican state Senate candidate Brandon Beach, who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers.
But the campaign finance documents filed by the Transportation Leadership Coalition, which operates TrafficTruth.net and opposes the transportation sales tax, don't show any such expenditures, and its reported cash on hand wouldn't cover the cost of a direct mail piece.
When we called Jack Staver, chairman of the TLC, he indicated he didn't know anything about the mailer. How could a website finance that? he asked. Then Staver said the group's spokeswoman, would have a statement on the matter.
The question is whether the TLC financed the piece. Here's the vague and evasive answer that Bartlett handed in late yesterday:
"The filings for Transportation Leadership Coalition (TLC) are complete and correct. They always have been and always will be.
"TLC will continue to identify candidates for office who advocate this tax increase and we will continue to work with candidates who are against it. We understand it is not unusual for a candidate to complain when they are called out for advocating higher taxes."
One possible translation: "Maybe we didn't pay for it, but we know who did, and we're not telling."
My AJC colleague Daniel Malloy reports that U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland has joined House colleague Michele Bachmann, the former GOP presidential candidate, and added his signature to a letter demanding to know if federal intelligence agencies are considering the possibility of infiltration by Muslim extremists. From Malloy:
The Republicans specifically target Huma Abedin, the deputy chief of staff for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bachmann, in a response to Ellison, noted that Abedin's late father started an organization in Saudi Arabia, the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, that had the support of another organization, the Muslim World League, that was aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Abedin is also the wife of former congressman Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.
Westmoreland said if Abedin does not have ties to the Brotherhood "then she needs to say something."
Here is the blistering reaction that came from U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Wednesday:
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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July 19th, 2012
11:40 am
Nice of McCain to make one of those rare "Country First" efforts re Clinton aide. Now maybe he should remind Senate colleague Saxby Chambliss that the same courtesy might be due when campaigning for the "world's most deliberative" body (US Senate) in the wake of his scathing attacks on American patriot Max Cleland, who actually served in the military.
July 19th, 2012
11:51 am
Noticed one of the major contributors ($5000 – roughly 1/3 of total contributions) to the Transportation Leadership Coalition this reporting period was Paul Hamrick. If this is the same Paul Hamrick who was indicted on racketeering, conspiracy and fraud while chief of staff of the governor of Alabama it wouldn't surprise me at all things have turned sleazy.
Interestingly, last year Paul Hamrick was hired (then resigned after a firestorm) as the Alabama GOP Senate Caucus communications director. Didn't we just see a bunch of pro Incumbent fliers mailed out by an "Independent" committee contracted by the Georgia GOP Senate Caucus.
Anyone else smelling smoke?
July 19th, 2012
11:54 am
Once again jgalloway laser focuses on who paid (or who knows who paid) for the mailer. He continues to ignore the truth of what it states – that Beach supports TSPLOST, and that he ducked a vote to end the GA 400 tolls.
July 19th, 2012
12:02 pm
Those GA lawmakers just love the spotlight.
July 19th, 2012
12:06 pm
@ Toes The Line
+ 1, My father is a 30 year Army Vet…..Mention Saxby Chambliss around him and it makes him want to puke.
July 19th, 2012
12:08 pm
"Once again jgalloway laser focuses on who paid (or who knows who paid) for the mailer."
Yes, thanks for that Jim, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this business as usual corruption that plagues the Georgia Republican party. This could get real messy.
July 19th, 2012
12:24 pm
Lee May is right on the mark. DeKalb County is getting short changed, rail into south DeKalb should have been one of the priorities.
Mayor Reed and Atlanta hit gold. Not only did they score Beltline funding they also scored with the Emory rail line which is at the western edge of DeKalb and mainly benefits the city of Atlanta. Reed should not have been so greedy.
Of course Reed is starting to panic, his bag of goodies is about to go bad. Reed's payback for his enthusiastic support for the Savannah port expansion, Beltline funding, is about to be lost.
July 19th, 2012
12:34 pm
Regarding (imaginary) Muslim Brotherhood infiltration: haven't we lived under Baptist supremacy for long enough?
July 19th, 2012
12:36 pm
if i have to drive 20 minutes to get to MARTA i may as well keep driving to my destination.
IF i want to go to Dunwoody and i live in south dekalb why do i need to go into the city to get their….
TIme is of the essence in most cases…not interested in spending 3 hours on the train.
July 19th, 2012
12:37 pm
Just to go 30 miles..
July 19th, 2012
12:48 pm
I use MARTA and would love the state to do what it should and actually fork over more money to support it. And I don't support Chip Rogers and his politics. But he IS correct on one thing: transit projects take 15-20 years to complete, so the promise being made that the TSPLOST will pay for transit projects in full and they won't be back in another 10 yaers asking for it to be extended, is a flat-out lie. And considering the state of Georgia lied to our faces over Georgia 400 deciding at the last possible second the tolls needed to continue to pay for other things–after the promise that the toll would only be used to pay for 400 for 10 years and would go away–there's no way in hell I'm choosing to fork over any more money.
July 19th, 2012
1:09 pm
Republican establishments throughout the South have an increasingly difficult time maintaining contact with their grassroots. The grassroots will vote down TSPLOST, and the business interests will suffer as a result.
I'm an intown Democrat and voting against it. Why? Because lack of transport alternatives means more density in the city. If you really hate Atlanta — as all good rednecks claim — they should be maintaining contact with it and making poor people build more of the roads they need through TSPLOST.
The center isn't going away. MARTA can get me to the Airport in a half-hour. Emory, GaState and GaTech are what drive the regional economy, and will continue to drive it. Lose touch with that and your suburbs lose touch with the money.
But the GOP grassroots is too stupid to see this. Their stupidity is dragging down the whole region's economy, when compared to that in other regions of the country.
July 19th, 2012
1:10 pm
With regards to Paul Hamrick, it says in this article he was found Not Guilty.
July 19th, 2012
1:11 pm
Thanks for finally putting something up about the Westmoreland letter. I'm glad McCain gave him a piece of his mind. To slander a woman who has honorably served her country for over a decade for no reason is atrocious and frankly should embarrass anyone represented by the man (I just know from previous statements of his that they aren't).
I wish she would file a lawsuit for defamation of character.
July 19th, 2012
1:13 pm
Why the big surprize about Lee May's opposition? The DeKalb NAACP voiced their opposition to TSPLOST long ago, and Lee isn't going to cross swords with them.
The real lunacy about TSPLOST is that it includes most of the $1+ billion funding for the Emory light rail project, while it ignores running MARTA to the ATL International Terminal at a cost of $300 million. The return on investment would be better on the airport project.
July 19th, 2012
1:14 pm
Westmoreland and Moonbat Bachmann have bought into the nonsense spewed by nutjobs like Pamela Geller.
July 19th, 2012
1:24 pm
"the business interests will suffer as a result."
Yeah, tell us ALL about those "business interests" like Georgia Power's SB 31 bill which allowed them to change how reimbursement of power plant expansions are done. Rather than give Ga Power the incentive to methodically keep costs down, the ratepayers have to start paying in advance and it does not matter how long the plant takes to build, nor how much in overruns it experiences….the ratepayer is married to paying for it regardless.
Whereas, had Ga Power been required to tie-up their OWN capital (as it has been the practice for 50+ years with regards to regulated monopolies) to construct the Plant Voglte expansion, they would have paid more attention to costs.
July 19th, 2012
1:29 pm
Lee May once again shows his lack of leadership and dedication to the city of Atlanta. Here is a clear opportunity to stimulate the economy in Atlanta and bring a solution to the very annoying, and times unbearable, traffic problem that all of us who live in the metro area face on a daily basis. It is not productive to hold Atlanta back from its full potential. This transportation referendum is exactly what will move Atlanta in the right direction.
I am 100% FOR the referendum and will be voting YES!
July 19th, 2012
1:38 pm
@Bill Simon
…and the Governor for whom he was the chief of staff was found guilty. That administration was proven to be involved in back room deals and pay for play. He has acknowledged he accepted a $25,000 "gift" while a state employee.
When you surround yourself with slimy people sometimes you get dirty.
July 19th, 2012
1:56 pm
I trust very few politicians, and don't trust any inner city politicians. They have all mismanaged and red taped every one of their local governments. Totally incompetent. They win strictly on social ideological views, and cannot handle actual day to day competent management.
July 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
Look who their inner city constituents are and you can figure out how they get elected.
July 19th, 2012
2:19 pm
"Methinks there may be personal and geographic rivalry here."
….. I agree, and this is precisely the problem. The polarization and division is mind-boggling and rather nonconstructive. I side with Mayor Reid in that we need this referendum passed, "WE" meaning the City of Atlanta and surrounding areas (including DeKalb!) If the City of Atlanta does well, so will the constituents in surrounding areas.
July 19th, 2012
2:28 pm
No reason to go downtown except for a braves or falcons game
July 19th, 2012
2:34 pm
@Anyone But Chip: The fact that you first put up that Hamrick was indicted, but failed to point out he was found Not Guilty, points to you being less interested in facts and more interested in innuendo…a weak position to defend.
July 19th, 2012
2:58 pm
@Bill Simon:
It is a FACT that Paul Hamrick was indicted on racketeering, conspiracy and fraud charges.
It is a FACT that Paul Hamrick received a $25,000 gift while in office.
It is a FACT that Paul Hamrick contributed $5,000 to TLC.
July 19th, 2012
3:15 pm
Lee May needs to get his personal finances in order. He's on his 3rd bankruptcy. 2 of which occurred before the Recession.
July 19th, 2012
3:34 pm
Can't wait to see Andrew Young come out next supporting this tax increase for transportation. Bring out all the regulars.
July 19th, 2012
5:49 pm
I voted no!!!
July 20th, 2012
8:19 am
Vote NO!
July 20th, 2012
8:58 am
I live in South DeKalb. I will vote for TSPLOST because the problem is regional, not just local. Yes, we need a MARTA rail line to Wesley Chapel, Panola, Evans Mill and Stonecrest, but I'm not willing to vote no because we're not getting what we want.
Commuter rail to our area could help out in the meantime. More Express bus service outside of rush hours may help out. Voting no means setting this metro area back even further than it is.


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Still no privacy??
It's cool to see that the Private BuddyPress" plugin works, however privacy always seems to be the lowest priority among the developers.
Ideally, the http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bp-profile-privacy/ plugin would solve user privacy issues, but the new 1.5 version isn't compatible with it. Is there a way to fork this plugin so the granular privacy options will return?
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Always have clean parts on-hand! Extra parts for all Medela breastpumps except Freestyle. Includes 2 valves & 2 membranes.
Made without BPA – Safe for Mom & Baby.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is expanding benefits for breastfeeding support and supplies. To learn more about these changes and how it might impact you, read medela's ACA overview.
- Number of Pieces: 4
- Package Quantity: 2
- Includes: 2 Valves & Membranes
- Features: Breast Pump Compatible
- Compatible With: Medela: Freestyle, Medela: Pump In Style
- Safety and Security Features: BPA-free
- Care and Cleaning: Hand-wash Only
- Material: Polypropylene, Silicone


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Liberals, of course, don't want anybody focusing on Obamacare,because even they know, but will never admit, that it's an unmitigated disaster. Essentially, Milbank is suggesting that Obamacare isn't what Americans are concerned with and the economy is. Two problems with that train of thought.
First, Obamacare and the economy are hardly mutually conclusive. Businesses are terrified of what it'll do to their bottom line and individuals are in a spending crouch because they're not sure how much more their insurance will cost. To say Republicans are obsessed with Obamacare is like saying Democrats in 1973-74 were obsessed with Watergate.
The difference is Obamacare direclty, and adversely, impacts the lives of individual Americans.


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Jozy Altidore Scores a wondergoal for AZ Alkmaar & Continues to Impress in the Eredivisie
What a hit from Jozy Altidore whose fine form for AZ Alkmaar continued today with this strike from distance to put his club 1-0 up in the Europa League. Jozy has been a scoring machine since moving to the Eredivisie from Villareal this summer. Holland's first division is well known for producing goals and is a great league for any striker. It seems that all Jozy needed was confidence & playing time. His physical skill is a great asset in Holland, allowing him to hold off defenders and find space for the shot. To think Altidore is only 21.
It's hard to tell that who's more excited about Jozy's recent performances: his current fans at AZ Alkmaar or the USMNT faithful who have been waiting for this version of Jozy for years. To be honest, the amount of criticism directed at Altidore from US fans has been quite harsh considering he bypassed the NCAA, represented his country, made a name for himself in MLS, is now playing in Europe but couldn't buy a beer on this side of the pond until last November. He's a kid, but he represents so much more to US supporters who see him as the future of soccer in this country and are growing up just like he is.
The soccer scene is very young in the United States. Traditions are still being forged, the culture of football is still being discovered & icons are still emerging. Jozy is one of those icons. He's been an icon ever since he signed a professional contract for New York Red Bulls at the age of 17. All eyes have been on him since his first cap for the US National team and he has taken everything in stride.
Strikers live and die by the ball. For every striker the best medicine is always scoring. Despite what people may say, write, or tweet, none of it matters except putting the ball in the back of the net. Jozy deserves this run of form, he's been putting in the hard work for years and it's great to see it all paying off for the young man. It's only September but this season could be very exciting for Altidore who will have no trouble finding playing time with his new club.
- ctfootballsupporters posted this