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The two pregnancy tests she took early last year were negative, but this time a faint plus sign surfaced in the plastic window. Samantha, 21, knew immediately what she wanted to do.
One week later, Samantha and her partner spoke to a counselor at Affiliated Medical Services, a Milwaukee clinic that provides abortions. She determined she would prefer the medication option to the surgical option. This would allow her to terminate the pregnancy earlier by taking two pills.
Carrying a 21-credit load at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and working 40 hours a week at a coffee shop, Samantha hoped to obtain the abortion as quickly as possible.
But then the counselor raised a caveat.
After she finished explaining the procedure, she hinted to us that it might be a difficult time to procure a medication abortion, said Samantha, who spoke to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism on condition that her last name not be used to protect her privacy.
Samantha later learned that state lawmakers were planning to change the rules for medication abortions, which could make it more difficult to obtain follow-up care.
That was really scary, said Samantha, who became pregnant because of a medical condition that rendered her birth control pills ineffective. She decided to wait several weeks to have a surgical abortion as she juggled work and school. She was fatigued and depressed.
A new Wisconsin abortion law, Act 217, went into effect last April. It prompted the states two leading abortion providers, Affiliated Medical Services and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, to stop providing medication abortions that month.
Affiliated Medical Services resumed offering medication abortions in May, after a legal review. Planned Parenthood, which has filed a federal lawsuit against the law, is still not offering this option.
Billed as a way to make abortion safer for women, the law had the consequence of limiting access to medication-induced abortions, leading more women to have more invasive surgical abortions and putting some women at greater risk by increasing the wait-time for appointments.
Dr. Doug Laube, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and former president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, has condemned the new law.
I believe that this law is legislated medicine generated by political ideology and it is a dangerous barrier to women seeking safe and legal nonsurgical abortion, Laube said in a conference call with reporters, organized by Planned Parenthood in December.
Safety concerns
Dr. Fredrik Broekhuizen, medical director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said surgical abortions require more time with physicians. This causes scheduling delays and increases the risk of complications.
Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services have reported delays ranging from a few days to more than two weeks. This sometimes means that medication abortions can no longer be done.
Additionally, Broekhuizen said, surgical abortions are less safe or even impossible for women with certain medical conditions.
Others prefer medication abortions for the privacy they offer, said Nicole Safar, public policy director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. Patients are generally able to take the second pill, which expels the contents of the uterus, from home.
More than the physical piece, for many women medication abortion is the right choice for her entire self emotionally, psychologically, Safar said. Many women would prefer to go through the process at home, with their family.
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone and misoprostol pills for abortions in 2000, Wisconsin women have increasingly relied on this option for abortions in the first nine weeks of pregnancy. In 2011, the state reported, 24 percent of the roughly 7,000 Wisconsin women who had abortions in the state chose the medication option.
Matt Sande, who lobbied for the bill with Pro-Life Wisconsin, said his group is pleased with the new law and not upset that providers in Wisconsin stopped offering medication abortions.
We applauded that, naturally, Sande said. If Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services were to permanently suspend medication abortions, it would reduce the induced abortions in Wisconsin by approximately one-fourth.
But the providers tell a different story. Rather than opting out of abortions, Safar said women are traveling out-of-state for medication abortions, or having surgical abortions instead.
Though Safar said the number of surgical abortions for 2012 will not be available until March, she said doctors have noted an increase in surgical procedures, while the total number of abortions has continued to decline as in most years in the past decade.
Doctors at Affiliated Medical Services also provided more surgical abortions due to their roughly three-week suspension of medication abortions, according to Wendie Ashlock, the clinics director. In 2012, Ashlock said, they provided 1,925 surgical abortions, 68 more than the previous year. They also provided 523 medication abortions, 73 fewer than the previous year.
Telemedicine concern spurred law
Proponents of the change say it is needed to stop doctors from prescribing abortion medication over a webcam, as has happened in Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa.
Susan Armacost, legislative director of Right to Life Wisconsin, said she and other anti-abortion advocates feared this practice would spread to Wisconsin, putting women at risk. She cited FDA reports that between 2000 and 2011, 14 women died after taking the drug, though the FDA noted it did not have enough information to attribute the deaths to the medication.
We thought the doctor should at least see her and give her a physical exam, Armacost said.
But officials at Planned Parenthood say they had no plans to use teleconferences for medication abortions in Wisconsin.
Similar telemedicine-targeted laws have been passed in eight other states, but Wisconsin is the first in which Planned Parenthood has responded by suspending medication abortions.
In December, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to get Act 217 either clarified or struck down. They specifically challenge two of the requirements in the law for being unconstitutionally vague. Violations of the law may lead to civil and criminal penalties, including jail time, for doctors.
First, Act 217 requires the physical presence of a doctor when the medication is given. Broekhuizen, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said its unclear whether the physician must be with the patient when she takes the second pill, traditionally at home.
Second, the law requires that the physician determine the patient is not being coerced, but Broekhuizen said it does not provide clear enough guidelines for doing so.
I do not understand what is permitted and what is illegal, Broekhuizen wrote in a court document. It is unclear to me what a physician must do to ensure compliance.
Abortions harder to obtain
Before Act 217, Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services already required medication abortion patients to come to a clinic for a physical exam and counseling 24 hours before receiving the pills. As mandated by Wisconsin law, this includes options for continuing or terminating a pregnancy.
The patient swallowed the first abortion-inducing pill at the clinic, took the second at home, and scheduled a third visit to confirm the termination of the pregnancy.
Sande said he hopes by making the same physician present for verifying the womans consent and giving her the abortion-inducing pills, a woman will be more likely to change her mind or reveal that she is being coerced if that is the case.
Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, of which Affiliated Medical Services is a member provider, said this requirement is unnecessary and burdensome. She said it has caused delays in scheduling appointments.
Saporta said this can even result in some women not having abortions the ultimate restriction on their ability to choose.
Sometimes, it could be the one more hoop theyre not able to go through, Saporta said. Most women are able to find a way, but some are not.


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For the past decade, technological improvements have made the dream of the unblinking eye a near reality. Cameras are cheaper to make and install and provide higher-quality images. The advent of streaming video, much of it relayed via satellite, has given Defense Department analysts a wealth of information previously unimaginable.
The consequence of those increased capabilities is that the Pentagon is drowning in data, unable to keep up with the gigabytes of information collected every day. And the situation is only going to get worse as more capabilities come online.
The problem is large enough that the National Security Agency included a subject line for research on coping with information overload in the National Intelligence Program Summary, also known as the Black Budget. The agency requested $39 million in fiscal 2011 and $64.3 million in 2012 for that research. That request dropped to $48.6 million for its proposed 2013 funding, according to documents disclosed by The Washington Post in August.
The Air Force, which runs a significant portion of the Pentagons space and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, is also aware that its operators and analysts are in danger of being swamped by information.
One approach that could offer relief: automating data processing.
For me, the bigger bandwidth [challenge] is bandwidth from the system to the human and how we really optimize that more effectively, Mica Endsley, the Air Forces chief scientist, said in a July interview. Right now, we have people sitting there watching each one. That gets to be cost prohibitive. So there is research going on about automatic processing of imagery.
Lots of it is long periods of boredom where nothing happens, she said. Can we have automation help with that, and key in the human when something interesting is going on we want eyes on? I think there is room for improvement there, and there are things we can do with effective integrations between automation and people to be able to interpret that data more efficiently.
Executives from the Virginia-based Exelis Corp. agree.
We need to start processing [the data] without an overabundance of human intervention, said Rob Mitrevski, vice president for Environmental Intelligence/Integrated Sensing and Information Solutions at Exelis. What we really want as humans is the answer. And the closer we can get to the answer without having to tell each and every piece uniquely what to do, the better off were going to be.
Ideally, a system could be set up that looks something like this: An ISR asset is tasked to track a house and is told to note whenever someone enters the front door. If that criteria is met, it sets off another chained automated task for instance, telling the asset to request another platform with a hyperspectral camera to come check for a specific substance whenever someone enters the house.
In theory, the system would operate like a classic if-then statement, used by computer programmers for years. Meanwhile, operators on the ground are no longer receiving gigabytes of data when nothing happens. Instead, they are being sent only relevant data, potentially reducing the number of operators and analysts needed for each mission.
Mitrevski is quick to point out he doesnt foresee a Terminator situation where an algorithm can be set that leads to a military strike.
There is a real emotional issue with a detect-to-kill chain because it allows the machine to make that decision, Mitrevski said. Thats not our intent. Our intent is to get the person making that decision all the information they need without delay.
The technical challenges should be easier. When asked how long it would take for an automated system to be set up if given an unlimited budget, Mitrevski estimated around a year, with much of it spent creating new algorithms.
In addition, the potential move toward a disaggregated architecture for space replacing the small number of exquisite space systems with a larger network of smaller, cheaper assets offers an opportunity for space-based systems to upgrade on-board processing systems faster than ever.
In a white paper released in August, Air Force Space Command noted that a disaggregated architecture would provide more opportunities for the latest technology to reach space-based assets. Current space systems have a developmental lifespan of up to 14 years and often last a decade or longer once launched. While it is possible to update software, the capabilities of the satellites are mostly locked in place once they are launched.
Moving to a disaggregated architecture, with multiple units going up over time, would mean that satellites can have more relevant technology during their lifespan.
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A tee like this only comes along once in a blue moon, and your kiddo deserves this one-of-a-kind style. The UV Gusher shirt from Element features a simple branding logo printed across the chest, but when he steps out in the sun – bam! The logo oozes out down the shirt for the kind of look only a boy could love. Ahhhh, to be a kid again.
- 100% Cotton fabric
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McDonald's is one of life's many small pleasures that millions of people around the world enjoy everyday. Great food. Fun to eat. Casual environment. Local and familiar. And always something new.
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Having some Rare Breed after a long walk in the cold night air. Great!
Having some Rare Breed after a long walk in the cold night air. Great!
"I distrust a man who says 'when.' He's got to be careful not to drink too much, because he's not to be trusted when he does." Sydney Greenstreet
From the "They don't make bourbon like this, anymore" category, it's an '82 Yellowstone Mellow Mash 7yr 91 proof. It's not that it's "better" than bourbons of today, as I enjoy a number of current bourbons at least as much, if not better than the Mellow Mash. But, it is indeed, different, as many of those old-timey whiskies are, as compared to the newer offerings. This one doesn't have that "rumminess" quality, like many of the oldies. Rather, this one has that old-timey, "sweet woodiness" to it. If I were to describe this whiskey in one word, it would be "chewy". And, it's a wonderful treat.
Wag more.
Bark less.
"Every bottle is its own learning experience." -- Sensei Ox-sama
My first ever pour of OGD BiB. It's not the 114, for sure.
Yellowstone was a favorite of mine for years, and , during it's day, was the best selling Bourbon in Kentucky.
It's been a night of wine and Four Roses...
"A man comes from the dust and in the dust he will end-- In the meantime it is good to drink whiskey."
Last night I spent some time with WT 101 Rye, Sazarac 18, and a 5 year Willett Rye. I know the WT 101 Rye gets a lot of thumbs up around here, and I think it is a decent pour, but the 5 year Willett Rye in my opinion completely overshadows it with it's youthful power and it's rye flavors. It works great in a cocktail, on ice, or straight up. Definitely worth the $10 extra, and if it remains as available as it is around me, I won't fret too much over not being able to get WT 101 Rye.
That being said, as always, Saz 18 does not disappoint.
A little PHC 10 aside the morning coffee. A wonderful way to start a relaxed day where the big agenda item is admiring the scenery outback. A little snow fall sure makes the cardinals stand out.
A little Barton in the coffee ruminating over the fact my Barton supply is drying up.


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Take a look at the entire new and used automobile stock of Mishawaka Volvo dealers at Autobytel.com Sort automobile listings a couple of different ways. Group the vehicles by their MSRP price, MPG numbers, year, manufacturer, or location. Discovering Volvo dealers in Mishawaka is not that difficult. Buying an automobile can be a big decision. A prudent shopper will conduct some thorough investigation. Browse the inventory of cars for sale at Mishawaka Volvo dealers.
Cyberspace has become the first place that car shoppers look when starting the car buying process. Driving around to each Volvo dealer Mishawaka can be a real hassle. Rather; see the entire vehicle inventories of Volvo dealers in Mishawaka from the comfort of your own home at the Autobytel.com website. There is a ton of data on current cars and those that are out-of-production. Study multiple automobiles in order to see how they stack up against each other. Also find the starting cost of almost any recently produced automobile. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The Autobytel website is packed with additional information. See a vehicle's safety rating, fuel economy, performance figures, standard equipment and more. Search for Mishawaka Volvo dealers with one easy click of a mouse.
Get much more than just automobile sales at a Volvo dealer Mishawaka. Most reputable Mishawaka Volvo dealerships have a complete financing department that offers leases. There will be a massive amount of factory car parts on-hand at a Mishawaka Volvo dealer. Warranty repairs can be redeemed at almost any Volvo dealers in Mishawaka as long as the vehicle and conditions meet the warranty requirements. Mishawaka Volvo dealers have certified mechanics that can fix any automobile even if the car is out-of-production. A Volvo dealer Mishawaka can provide so much more including service coupons, special maintenance offers, incentives, and rebates.
Its easy to leave your comments about Mishawaka Volvo dealerships at the Autobytel website. Find out how people feel about their experience at a local dealer. This could be a saving grace. A Mishawaka Volvo dealer definitely wants to make a good impression on any car shopper. Exploring all that Volvo dealers in Mishawaka have to offer is a solid game plan. Use the online resources at Autobytel.com to locate the perfect vehicle. You may even save hundreds if not thousands by looking at incentives and rebates before going out to buy a vehicle.


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Over the course of a week, campers will discover a variety of new materials and an exciting assortment of projects. Campers will explore painting, drawing, clay and more. If your child wants to experience the wide world of arts and crafts, this is the class for you! No two sampler classes are alike.
Member discount applied on 'Payment' page.


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MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE -- The Hartford has to be the worst company that I have ever dealt with. My local agent switched us to The Hartford without prior knowledge or our approval on January 1, 2012. The rates were absurd but it was too late to switch due to my escrow account already paying out before we even were given a quote. In the beginning of October 2012, we received a notice from The Hartford that they had randomly inspected our home and that due to slight curling of the shingles, our home was declared a hazard.
We were given 2 weeks to have a roofing contractor to come evaluate and repair our roof and provide evidence that the work had been completed otherwise our policy would be cancelled. We hired a roofer and he said that we had hail and slight wind damage and should file a claim. By the time a claim's representative came out to inspect the roof, the 2 week deadline had passed and I notified the underwriting department of our progress. My roofer quoted a $4800 price to replace the roof... The Hartford sent a check for $870 and once the roof was completed and evidence provided, sent another $2600.
So we were bullied into this new roof, to replace a non-leaking 14 year old shingled roof. Fast forward to the end of November and what happens? We receive a nonrenewal notice from The Hartford due to not repairing the hazardous roof! Phone calls were made and nobody within their arrogant staff was willing to even listen to our problem and certainly not try to find a solution to the main concern of non-renewal due to hazards showing up on our file as we go to find a new policy holder.
It took me calling them out on Facebook to even get an employee to listen, but they still didn't get this garbage removed from our file.... just the standard hired "apologizing and butt kissing" employee. I want to save anybody considering The Hartford from the stress and maddening situations that come with being their customer. I will be airing my grievances on any forum possible as well as contacting the Insurance Commission about their shoddy practices.
HOUSTON, TEXAS -- In 2007 we switched over to Hartford to get cheaper rates and never once did they explain that our deductible is based on a percent of the home value. Well there is no way that I would have agreed on this which they know would be turned down. So what do you do with policies when you get them in the mail after talking to the seller, you put it up in a safe place until needed. Well we all know Hurricane Ike hit us here in Houston 2 weeks ago. The house fared well but took off the shingles on on side of the house.
I called and reported the damage and it took almost 2 weeks to get an adjuster out and over the phone before he got here told me I had a 5% deductible which was in the amount of $7,900.00 leaving them paying me just over $600.00 total. Well I was furious and got on the phone and spoke with (won't say his name) that didn't know anything. He told me I had a choice of percents when the policy was written. He was belligerent, and rude. He put me on hold and when he came back he told me in this entire coastal area there is no choice, it's 5% of the home value and that's the way it is and they don't have to tell this when selling a policy.
I have called around to other insurance companies and all they could do was laugh saying it is standard to have a 2% deductible. Not 5%!! The bad thing, AARP recommend Hartford. Do you know how many of us live from day to day on fixed incomes in our senior days. Do you know how many belong to the AARP? Millions!! This deepens the pockets of the Corporate office from the CEO, of the Hartford and without the seniors of AARP, they won't get their yearly bonuses all the way down.
To hell with the senior citizens just trying to make it until they die. I have switched insurance companies and I hope this wakes up all you other seniors before you get the screwing I did. Cancel Hartford and get some quotes on different companies. Change now! I just received a call from the VP of claims saying they looked at the transcript of the conversation that they taped when the policy was sold. (Now get this, I was told earlier there was no record of the call because it had been a year and all the sudden up jumps a tape saying the 5% was discussed but not what the 5% was for.)
Anyway he said they were not making any adjustments because she had agreed to 5%. You would have to be BRAIN DEAD to purchase a $7,900.00 deductible policy and my wife is a school teacher and very intelligent person and very tight with our money. I have now dropped the insurance from the AARP insurance program with the Hartford Insurance Co. I now have a 1% policy and 2% for wind paying less with State Farm on deductables. We also switched our cars over to State Farm as well and the whole policy was cheeper than Hartford for which they are supposed to represent the elderly with AARP. SHAME ON YOU HARTFORD, YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY INSURANCE COMPANY OUT THERE!!!
TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Introduced to the Hartford by AARP. When first insured by The Hartford, premiums were low and very competitive. Whenever I had claims they were prompt and their selected auto collision repair was excellent with only one disagreement (broken windshield from hailstorm was not included in the hail damaged body work; ten years ago, I still have a broken window because they wanted a second claim filed.) All other storm and collision damages were promptly and equitably paid without much effort. I rate The Hartford a 4.9 of 5.0 on claims resolution. Premiums however are now just about backbreaking so I am changing insurance companies.
VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON -- In late 2010, I inadvertently backed into and dented the plastic from bumper of another car. The dent was about 5 inches long and maybe 1/2 inch deep. I was at fault. The owner of the car I hit got it repaired to the tune of $770.00.
Because I was without insurance at the time, (I am insured now) I was liable for the cost. Rather than contact me, the Hartford sent the claim directly to a debt collector in Florida. I finally paid off the $770.00 and have the final receipt. If the Hartford treats everyone this way, no contact, then it is no wonder that they have the highest premium rates I have seen. I was seriously thinking about moving all my insurance needs to them, car, house and contents. But, after this experience, I do not even want to drive by any of their offices, much less go to them for insurance.
After a quick review of a recent billing of my homeowner's policy through The Hartford I find out that the yearly policy amount has more than doubled. I am from Ohio and I knew something was up as compared to other policies from other companies. I am also in complete agreement with others who think the AARP is taking a large cut from these insurer's. I am now paying in one yearly billing to another company for more insurance coverage than I would have paid through Hartford in one quarter coverage. This is a scam and have even though of turning them in to the BBB.
My worker's comp claim was denied, I strongly believe, because the case worker that was assigned to handle my claim was prejudiced. When I called to make my claim about my work injury, this lady's attitude was really rude, she was "taking down" to me the moment she heard my accent. I've been an American citizen for many years. Throughout the 20 years of my family and I living in the land of the free, we have plenty of "experience" in being prejudiced against because we are not born here.
I'm fluent in three languages including English. However, this case worker from Hartford workers compensation didn't return some of my few calls when I called with questions regarding my claim. (She was rude and hateful in her answers to my questions when she returned a couple of my calls.) She ignored most of my few past calls except this morning when she returned my call to tell me that she denied my claim. This claim agent has done this for one month, stringing me along. I have filed all the paperwork she asked for.
I believe that she already made the decision to deny my claim from the beginning of the claim process. She told me from the first phone conversation that I would get the least amount of money, she constantly, tried to "put words in my mouth"; statements that I was not making, she was "taking down" to me, like I was some illiterate foreigner; to state that she was rude is an understatement. I haven't been this disrespected in a while.
To disclose, I work for an insurance company who's short term disability benefits are administered by The Hartford.
On Halloween I was jumped by some drunk idiots outside a bar while trying to catch a cab. Luckily for me, the police witnessed the entire incident and chased the perpetrators 4 blocks to arrest them.
However, it was not conveyed from the officers to the EMTs the nature of the attack. I only learned a week later when the detective called me to ask if I had remembered being kicked in the head which I had clearly had no recollection of. To make matters worse, the ER techs only stitched me up and didn't even bandage me, let alone treat me for the stage 3 concussion I was eventually diagnosed with. It took me weeks to get a specialist's appointment, and it took the doctors at the concussion clinic 6 weeks after the incident to establish that I needed time off and that my condition was regressing.
The Hartford doesn't seem to agree and tipped their hand to me on the 17th or so call still making an issue that I worked for almost 6 weeks after the incident, and has denied my claim twice -- not because they think my condition is not legitimate, but citing paperwork not yet received and losing doctors reports. Not helping me is that my doctors don't use e-mail and are very hard to reach.
Considering my condition left me in a space cadet state where I was misplacing my house keys on a regular basis, I'd say the Hartford is currently doing a pretty good job of exploiting me trying to get me frustrated and give up, since they can't really deny me any other way.
This probably could have been handled better if the EMTs and the ER treated me for a concussion but leave it to a for-profit insurance company to try to exploit the situation. And since I work for one, I'm not oblivious to what can happen in the industry. I'm on Round Three of sending them doctors paperwork -- let's see what happens this time!
TENNESSEE -- I had worked at Wal-mart for several years, carrying short-term and long-term insurance with Hartford. I became unable to work Sept 1999 and was put on leave by my doctor [a Wal-mart disability dr.] and he recommended me not to go back to work due to numerous health problems. HBP, arthritis, lupus and spastic colon. [Had surgery for Crohn's while on leave losing 1/4 of my colon and 8-10 inches of my small intestines.] I have been repeatedly denied my short -term and my long-term because if "I'm able to get up out of bed and go to the bathroom- I'm able to work." This company does nothing but lie to you!! They do not receive registered mail they sign for.
They lie, humiliate you and tell you "if you don't go back to work you have no coverage." One day my blood pressure was 220/138 and they said I should be in the hospital if my bp was that high. [They called dr. office to verify.] This was verified and still "no benefits." I have a very bad colon and had trouble controlling my bowel at work. I ate very little all day. Co-workers can testify to this. I am not the only one this company has done this way. Wal-mart workers beware-- you cannot depend on Hartfort insurance you are paying for. You cannot lean on them when you are sick!!
WHITSETT, NORTH CAROLINA -- Thr Hartford denied my short disability claim. They paid me for two weeks and after that nothing. My diagnosis was that I had a "stroke." My left side was not functioning at that time 25%. They thought I should be ready for work after two weeks - totally ridiculous! Not a good company to support. The pain and suffering from this along made it difficult to heal effectively. To worry about your bills being paid while recuperation is taking place is not a good policy.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I work for the world's largest retailer. I got the flu in November but still came to work through the holidays. After New Year I couldn't keep up anymore. I went to the doctor on January 5th,2010. I decided the best thing for me to do was to take a leave of absence since company policy states that after calling out for three consecutive days you must take a leave of absence. I continued to go to the doctor on a weekly basis since I was not getting better with the medicine I was prescribed. I filed a claim for short-term disability with the Hartford.
After five doctor's visits and four different diagnosis codes, my claim was denied. Since then I am still ill, have been to the emergency room, the urgent care center, a new doctor and now to see a specialist. Is the Hartford crazy? What part of my illness do they not get? I've been paying into short-term disability for years and can't get my money now that I need it. There's definitely something wrong with this system and it needs to be corrected. I am filing an appeal and will get a lawyer if need be!


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Hospital names director of wound care center - Dr. Jeffrey Hatter has been named medical director of the Wound Care Center and Hyperbaric Medicine at Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck.
The center is a diagnostic and therapeutic site for acute and chronic problem wounds, carbon-monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness.
Hatter is certified with the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.
He is a fellow with the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Chest Physicians and has served on the Medical Advisory Council of the American Cancer Society.
Real-estate developer receives national award - AVR Homebuilders of Yonkers, Westchester County, the real-estate developer of the luxury Overlook Pointe riverfront community in Fishkill, recently received a national award from the Environmental Protection Agency for the second year in a row.
The company builds Energy Star- certified homes.
AVR Homebuilders was chosen among 20,000 organizations and among top companies who have received this award, according to a news release.
Clearwater welcomes corporate member - Wickham Solid Wood Studio of Beacon has joined Clearwater as a corporate member.
The studio makes custom furniture using Hudson Valley hardwoods.
The studio retrieved "dead and down" logs from Hudson Valley landscapers since 2004 and has custom milled and dried them at its band saw mill in Bullville, Orange County.
Wickham Solid Wood Studio shares Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc.'s commitment to protecting the environment and improving the health of waterways, according to a news release.
In addition to supporting Clearwater as a corporate member and donating black locust benches for the organization's offices, Wickham Solid Wood Studio provides sawdust for the sloop's two bio-toilets, which use sawdust as an artificial soil matrix for bioconversion of human waste into compost.


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Cutline to Trent Richardson above and Donald Brown below xyxyx xyxxyxyxyxy
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Two days after being trampled by the New England Patriots in an AFC divisional playoff game during which his team was outrushed 234 yards to 69 and outscored 43-22, Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano was asked the inevitable question: Do you remain committed to running the ball and stopping the run?
Pagano stopped the conversation.
"That will always be our mantra," he said flatly. "You have to be able to run the football and stop the run to win football games in the National Football League." ...


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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - UK coach John Calipari plans on getting his team in shape and conditioning for the Cats will begin at 7 a.m. Thursday. Calipari was not satisfied with what he saw in the second half of Tuesday's game with Samford.
Kentucky whipped Samford 88-56 but outscored the Bulldogs by only one pont in the second half. Calipari said the players were taking Wednesday off but would begin conditioning Thursday morning with practice later in the day. "I don't know why else they wouldn't play if we've lost our last two games, because we didn't compete. So you come out and for 20 minutes and you compete, then you come out the second half and you don't, then you're not in shape."
Two of Cal's talented freshmen took the news of the early morning conditioning in stride. "We're in shape at spurts but ya know, he wants us to be in the best shape you can be," said forward Alex Poythress. "If we've got to condtion every morning then so be it, we'll condition every morning." 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein questioned the decision but believes it'll help build a young team. "I don't think it's needed but it's gonna make us better. Cauley-Stein added, "I think it's all in our minds, so ya know the first two weeks of it is gonna be crazy."
Calipari said he would have strength coach Ray "Rock" Oliver plan the conditioning.
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Hugh Jackman Opens Up About Wife Deborra-Lee Furness' 'Difficult' Miscarriages
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Becoming parents wasn't as easy as Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness had envisioned.
Appearing on ABC's "Katie" on Dec. 18, "Les Miserables" actor Jackman opened up about how their two children, son Oscar, 12, and daughter Ava, 7, changed their lives immeasurably.
"To be clear, Deb and I always wanted to adopt. So that was always in our plan," the 44-year-old Aussie explained. "We didn't know where in the process that would happen, but biologically, obviously, we tried and it was not happening for us, and it is a difficult time. We did IVF, and Deb had a couple of miscarriages. I'll never forget it, the miscarriage thing -- it happens to one in three pregnancies, but it's very, very rarely talked about."
PHOTOS: Hugh Jackman's hunky beach body
"It's almost secretive, so I hope Deb doesn't mind me bringing it up now," he continued. "It's a good thing to talk about it. It's more common, and it is tough. There's a grieving that you have to go through."
From the moment their son was born, Jackman said, "all the heartache just melted away." (The couple wed in 1996; Oscar was born four years later.)
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"Many of you are parents; you guys know you can't prepare for that moment. Nothing can prepare you," the People's Choice Award nominee added. "You can't even explain how incredible it is, and that avalanche of emotion that comes and how it opens up your heart, how it frustrates you, how it angers you, how everything is just all the sudden, how alive you are as a parent."
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Hugh Jackman Opens Up About Wife Deborra-Lee Furness' "Difficult" Miscarriages
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Bridgeport Firefighters, Creators Of 26 Angels Fund, Thank First RespondersSaturday, April 20, 2013
Speaking as a Sandy Hook resident, the mother of two children, and wife of a Bridgeport firefighter, Kristen Boroskey, third from left, thanked Sandy Hook firefighters for being part of the effort of recovery following 12/114. Bridgeport firefighters have launched The 26 Sandy Hook Angels Fund, and are hoping to help pay for a carousel to be gifted to the town of Newtown. With Mrs Boroskey, from left are Paul and Madison Boroskey; in her arms is the couple's son Will.


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Naomi Watts in a scene from 'The Impossible.'
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The calendar of home video releases is chock-full of new titles this week, easily enough to fill two columns. We only have one at our disposal, however, so let's get right to the rundown.New movies
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CLEVELAND -- On Thursday we may hear some of the first details about what happened inside 2207 Seymour Avenue as Ariel Castro is sentenced for his crimes.
Castro pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and other crimes for a total of 937 charges Friday, agreeing to a minimum sentence of life in prison without parole, plus 1,000 years time.
His sentencing hearing is likely to be a window into what a trial might have looked like, a chance for both sides to present to Judge Michael Russo what they believe are the facts and determining factors in this case.
"You have not seen the evidence yet of what took place. We'll make a presentation on that next Thursday," said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty, in a news conference following the plea hearing.
McGinty says the state will call witnesses to the stand to explain Stockholm Syndrome and other coping mechanisms that allowed the women to survive captivity.
Detectives will also testify on some of the horrors they faced inside.
"He's a manipulator. He has no remorse, and we will elaborate on that at the sentencing," said McGinty.
Castro himself seemed to be searching for a chance to explain Friday.
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"That's certainly something you can bring up at your sentencing hearing," said Russo.
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An officer on duty on Seymour Avenue told Channel 3 News Amanda Berry visited the house Tuesday afternoon, spending about 15 minutes outside talking to neighbors.
The house is scheduled to be demolished "as soon as possible," according to McGinty, once it's in the hands of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank.
One thing is certain: theree's no set witness list required to be presented to the court before the sentencing begins. Who will or won't be appearing could be changing even throughout the day on Thursday.
Russo expects a long day of evidence from both parties. Channel 3 News will have gavel-to-gavel coverage on air and on wkyc.com beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday.


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Dec 16 2012, 01:50
Post #1
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How come u-law was not used with high sample rates in the old days of computing? A quick search here says u-law is not good for sampling above 16 khz because of high frequency distortion, but when I encoded a 320 kbps mp3 44.1 khz into an 8-bit u-law 44.1 khz format it actually sounded quite ok especially compared to 8-bit linear PCM and even 4-bit ADPCM. So how come it was not used in games and multimedia at good sample rates before mp3 came? I understand that it distorts the sound slightly however this distortion is much less hearable on my samples created with audacity than in the same sample encoded to either linear 8-bit PCM or 4-bit ADPCM. And that encoded music was a 1980s OMD track with high dynamic range, not a modern day overcopressed/clipped sample. I am kind of interested in old formats and computing, so that's why I'm asking. I would insert short sound samples, but I don't know how to add them on this forum.
EDIT - I uploaded some sample files here http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=98358 .
This post has been edited by Neuron: Dec 16 2012, 02:09
Dec 16 2012, 11:49
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You should probably take yourself back to the soundcards used back then. The SNR of soundcards in the 90's were between -50dB and -70dB. (Nearing year 2000 probably around 90, but at that time, mp3s were already spreading).
Said that, mu-law is not a compression format (in the common sense), but a way to transmit a dynamic signal over a transmission channel in which the SNR doesn't allow that much dynamic range.
So, by definition, if you start with a 16bit signal and use mu-law to transmit it over an 8bit Wav file, it has the possibility to sound better (read: have a lower SNR value, and so be less noisy) than that signal at 8bit PCM.
Dec 16 2012, 11:59
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Well, that would be a good reason to use u-law. So why was it not used except in telephony and some 80s samplers/digital drum machines? ADPCM has high frequency distortion quite obvious even on modest 1990s sound cards. Plus the native background noise of old 16-bit soundcards has generally got a very different character as opposed to rough ADPCM/8-bit LPCM noise.
I know u-law is not a regular compression format, but it effectively packs a 16-bit sample into 8-bit with cca 10-12 bit resolution so it halves the storage space needed, and does not add as much noise as ADPCM. All my u-law samples in that thread sound better than their 8-bit LPCM counterparts.
This post has been edited by Neuron: Dec 16 2012, 12:02
Dec 16 2012, 12:28
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Hm, very interesting question, Neuron. I don't know the answer but I will speculate that maybe μ-law format would take too much of CPU power to playback? Otherwise I also don't see the reason why it wasn't used more often back in the days...
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Dec 16 2012, 13:02
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u-law takes the same amount of CPU time (meaning practically zero CPU time, even the 1985 7 mhz Amiga 1000 was able to play stereo 8-bit audio with 4 voices in 28 khz through DMA entirely through the sound chip without taking CPU time) as ordinary 8-bit audio to play. It is used in telephony after all, they would not use anything that required processing power. The question is, why was it not used in higher sample rates? It sounds better than regular 8-bit audio at any sample rate, just listen to the samples.
This post has been edited by Neuron: Dec 16 2012, 13:20
Dec 18 2012, 04:33
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As a game audio developer that lived through 8-bit -> ADPCM -> MP3 here's my take.
The simple answer is ADPCM = 4:1, u-law = 2:1. Sound designers are quite happy to be able to put twice as much audio in the game - this is a really big deal for them, there sure wasn't much memory around back then to use. It's still a huge deal today, you'll find it very rare to find 16-bit or FLAC samples in a game - it would be a waste of memory even if it does sound better. Programmers and producers like the sound of better compression too, better technical numbers just sound nicer right?
Back then nobody was performing super critical listening tests like you see on here either. A guy like me would put ADPCM in the audio engine, sound artists would hear the result and be happy with it. We wouldn't have even bothered trying u-law as it's only going to give half as much compression.
It's only when you start to critically listen to the audio and put all sorts of killer samples through it that you realize ADPCM creates some pretty bad noise in some cases. But for almost all audio in the game, it was good enough. It's kind of similar to what happens when you dissect MP3. It's often not until you start looking for problems do you notice them. The average person will never notice or care.
As well, u-law did get the rare bit of use too in video games way back then, granted not anywhere even close to what ADPCM did.
Dec 18 2012, 05:29
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Well, I think not that super critical listening is required... Both of mu-law and IMA-ADPCM sounds terrible on these settings.
The attachment is generated by the following commands:
sweep.zip ( 1.54MB ) Number of downloads: 101
sox -r 48000 -c 1 -n -b16 16bit.wav synth 10 sine 1+24000
sox -r 48000 -c 1 -n -b8 8bit.wav synth 10 sine 1+24000
sox -r 48000 -c 1 -n -e ima-adpcm ima.wav synth 10 sine 1+24000
sox -r 48000 -c 1 -n -e mu-law mu-law.wav synth 10 sine 1+24000
(edit: typo on last command)
This post has been edited by nu774: Dec 18 2012, 06:41
Dec 18 2012, 09:37
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A sine wave sweep is the worst possible sample you could put through ADPCM, especially the high frequencies (I didn't even listen to the samples, I know how bad sine sweeps get). It will be dead obvious how bad ADPCM performs on those. The purer the tone the more noticeable the ADPCM prediction error.
This is what I meant by listening too critically ... video games (and most music) aren't filled with sine sweeps. Put some rock music and crunchy sound effects through and see how it does. Back in the day most sound designers compressed the hell out of everything with L2 plugins (probably a holdover from 8-bit samples where it made a big difference). Then everything is getting nearest neighbour (actually not even that good) resampled and lots of clipping on the final downmix on top of all that. There was crunchy audio all around so the ADPCM noise itself did not stand out as much as you would think. Funny thing is that when games finally started mixing at 16-bit 44.1 kHz they were marketed as having "CD QUALITY SOUND!" ... that's pretty laughable in retrospect, but there is some very remote truth in that statement.
I'm not trying to defend ADPCM as some great thing, just giving a context to what it was like back then and why u-law was not common. I was very happy when we moved on to MP3 and the like.
PS - u-law wasn't free of CPU usage (barring hardware decode support, which no computer has). There is a table look up required to decode each sample. IMA ADPCM wasn't too much more complicated in comparison. An Amiga 1000 is still going to chew up quite a bit of CPU decoding u-law (now I'm curious how much). Plus the Amiga only outputs 8-bit audio so the 12-bit u-law result isn't immediately useful ... unless you gang 2 channels together to create 14-bit, but then there's extra CPU needed for shuffling the data around for all that. Hmmm got an Amiga 1000 sitting behind me, maybe I'll try that one day ...
Dec 18 2012, 12:03
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Amiga could do 4-bit ADPCM so it definitely could do u-law. Telephones do u-law. There was even a NES DDR pirate game that did 4-bit ADPCM instead of the usual 1-bit delta PCM or 7-bit PCM, through the quality was poor due to a 8000 Khz or so sample rate without any lowpass filtering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivD6DYmKgMI . And NES was many, many times slower than any Amiga.
Anyways, I am not saying ADPCM sucks, it definitely sounds better to me than, say 64 kbps mp3. I prefer noise to heavy psychoacoustic artifacting. It is just that u-law has even less noise than ADPCM while it still reduces the file size.
Sine wave sweeps are "killer samples" for waveform coding just as sound of handclaps would be for an MP3 encoded in the old Xing encoder. As Kujibo said, most music is not going to sound like that at all.
About CD Quality sound, I would say that actually many games that advertised this did not lie as many old games have a full Redbook CD-Audio soundtrack. In the case of mid-1990s games it was actually usual to have a 10-100 MB game and the rest to be the CD-DA soundtrack on the same disc. Late 1990s games had the most lossy soundtracks because the game data were big and not much space was left for music thus those games usually had 4-bit ADPCM soundtracks (this is not to say they had low musical quality - for example Tomb Raider 3 and System Shock 2 soundtracks are awesome despite not having very high technological quality). Later games had mp3 soundtracks and today lossless sound is again making a comeback thanks to the capacity of DVDs and Blue Ray media.
Here is a good example of an ADPCM soundtrack from the late 1990s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZrE6k5BNko . Sine sweeps make the codec look much worse than it actually is (and it actually sounds even better in the actual games as youtube compresses it into low bitrate AAC).
About dynamic compression... I would say that is more on individual samples than tracks. Most 90s game music has much more dynamics than any recently made clipressed CD.
Also, I am not sure how would dynamic compression help with ADPCM or u-law samples as quieter sections in ADPCM or u-law actually have less noise than the loud sections. Noise in 8-bit linear PCM can distort quieter sounds (without dithering), but in ADPCM and u-law the noise "rides" the waveform so loud sections have more noise than the quiet ones.
This post has been edited by Neuron: Dec 18 2012, 12:17
Dec 18 2012, 19:47
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A little something more to read regarding CPU usage (namely cache). I'm not saying this means that μ-law was too much for CPUs from back in the day, I'm just linking to something I found and might be interesting for this discussion.
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Dec 29 2012, 02:22
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A little something more to read regarding CPU usage (namely cache). I'm not saying this means that μ-law was too much for CPUs from back in the day, I'm just linking to something I found and might be interesting for this discussion.
Thanks but I think the CPU usage would be high only on primitive microcontrollers, considering televisions since early 1990s were able to decode NICAM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NICAM easily, and NICAM is basically a much better form of what u-law is (10 to 14 bit companding instead of 8 to 12, adaptively increasing or decreasing bit rate etc.). Most 8-bit samplers of the 1980s also used conpanding. In PC situations, it would really help sample storage in the Sound Blaster 16 era as many games back then used raw 8-bit samples that could have sounded a lot better with u-law/other companding algorithms.
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Two Houston Texans players have been named grand marshals for the 2012 Houston Livestock Show and Downtown Rodeo Parade.
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Hot, Dry, and Cloudy (Artist Concept)
This artist's concept animation shows a cloudy Jupiter-like planet that orbits very close to its fiery hot star. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was recently used to capture spectra, or molecular fingerprints, of two "hot Jupiter" worlds like the one depicted here. This is the first time a spectrum has ever been obtained for an exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system.
The ground-breaking observations were made with Spitzer's spectrograph, which pries apart infrared light into its basic wavelengths, revealing the "fingerprints" of molecules imprinted inside. Spitzer studied two planets, HD 209458b and HD 189733b, both of which were found, surprisingly, to have no water in the tops of their atmospheres. The results suggest that the hot planets are socked in with dry, high clouds, which are obscuring water that lies underneath. In addition, HD209458b showed hints of silicates, suggesting that the high clouds on that planet contain very fine sand-like particles.
Capturing the spectra from the two hot-Jupiter planets was no easy feat. The planets cannot be distinguished from their stars and instead appear to telescopes as single blurs of light. One way to get around this is through what is known as the secondary eclipse technique. In this method, changes in the total light from a so-called transiting planet system are measured as a planet is eclipsed by its star, vanishing from our Earthly point of view. The dip in observed light can then be attributed to the planet alone.
This technique, first used by Spitzer in 2005 to directly detect the light from an exoplanet, currently only works at infrared wavelengths, where the differences in brightness between the planet and star are less, and the planet's light is easier to pick out. For example, if the experiment had been done in visible light, the total light from the system would appear to be unchanged, even as the planet disappeared from view.
To capture spectra of the planets, Spitzer observed their secondary eclipses with its spectrograph. It took a spectrum of a star together with its planet, then, as the planet disappeared from view, a spectrum of just the star. By subtracting the spectrum of the star from the spectrum of the star and planet together, astronomers were able to determine the spectrum of the planet itself.
Neither of the parent stars for HD 209458b or HD 189733b can be seen with the naked eye. HD 209458b is located about 153 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, while HD 189733b is about 62 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. Both planets zip around their stars in very tight orbits; HD 209458b circles once every 3.5 days, while HD 189733b orbits once every 2.2 days.
Of the approximately 200 known exoplanets, there are 12 besides HD 209458b and HD 189733b whose orbits are inclined in such a way that, from our point of view, they pass in front of their stars. At least three of these transiting exoplanets are bright enough to follow in the footsteps of HD 209458b and HD 189733 and reveal their infrared spectra to Spitzer. Astronomers hope to use Spitzer's spectrograph in the future to study HD 209458b and HD 189733b again in much greater detail, and to examine some of the other candidates for the first time.
Browse Videos in Science Animations
NASA's Spitzer Confirms Closest Rocky Exoplanet
This animated movie zooms into the location of a newfound planet dubbed HD 219134b -- the closest confirmed rocky pla...
Panning Through the Milky Way
This video shows a continually looping view of the Spitzer Space Telescope's new infrared view of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Strobe-like Flashes Discovered in a Suspected Binary Protostar
This video, created from a sequence of images from the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a pulse of light emanating from ...
Flying Out to GJ 436 and its Planets
Starting from Earth, we quickly zoom out of the solar system into our sun's local neighborhood, populated by the clos...
Super Earth Reveals Itself to Spitzer (Narrated)
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has, for the first time, captured the light emanating from a distant super Earth, a pl...
Super Earth Reveals Itself to Spitzer
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has, for the first time, captured the light emanating from a distant super Earth, a pl...
Weird Warm Spot on Exoplanet
This animation illustrates an unexpected warm spot on the surface of a gaseous exoplanet. NASA's Spitzer Space Telesc...
Weird Warm Spot on Exoplanet (Narrated)
This animation illustrates an unexpected warm spot on the surface of a gaseous exoplanet. NASA's Spitzer Space Telesc...
Buckyballs Jiggle Like Jello
Mini Soccer Balls in Space
Saturn Family Tour
This video showcases the Saturnian system, beginning with the planet itself and panning out to its newest addition --...
Planetary Demolition Derby
This artist's animation shows a celestial body about the size of our moon slamming at great speed into a body the siz...
Tour of Planet with Extreme Temperature Swings
This animation shows a computer simulation of the planet HD 80606b from an observer located at a point in space lying...
Silicate Crystal Formation in the Disk of an Erupting Star
This artist's animation illustrates how silicate crystals like those found in comets can be created by an outburst fr...
Zooming in on Second-Brightest Star in Milky Way
This movie zooms in to reveal the "Peony nebula" star -- the new second-brightest star in the Milky Way, discovered i...
Dissecting a Light Echo
This animation illustrates how a light echo works, and how an optical illusion of material moving outward is created....
Cauldron of Light
In this animation, a seething cauldron of light appears to bubble and ooze around the remains of a giant star that as...
Pulling Back the Curtain of Dust
This artist's animation begins by showing a dark and dusty corner of space where little visible light can escape. The...
How to Map a Very Faraway Planet
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope were able to create the first-ever map of the surface of a planet bey...
Mapping Exotic Worlds
This animation shows the first-ever map of the surface of an exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system. The map,...


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Late posting again! 1.75lb lost this week so beat my target by 0.75lb with a week to go. Everyone is doing a great job, well done!
Caroline - 18lbs. (16.5lbs down, 1.5lbs to go)
Trisha - 14 lbs (2lbs down 12 to go)
Laura - 6 lbs (0lbs down, 6lbs to go)
Sugarsally - 7 lbs (0lbs down, 7lbs to go)
Emma07825 - 10lbs (2lbs down, 8lbs to go)
Cheshire58 - 16lbs (0lbs down, 16lbs to go)
tweekedgirl - 4lbs (0lbs down, 4lbs to go)
Tiitanium- 10lbs (0lbs down 10lbs to go)
MrsKA- 14lbs (1lb down, 14lbs to go)
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wotcalories- 10lbs (6lbs down, 4lbs to go )
fit4hols - 8lb (3lbs down, 5lbs to go)
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Saizou - 8lbs (9.2lbs down, 0lbs to go) 9.2lbs
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csw4012 - 9lbs (3lbs down, 6lbs to go)
slimsarah -14lbs (0lbs down, 14lbs to go)
littlemiss - 7 lbs
hollyrenee32 - 15 lbs
G2G - 8 lbs (3.5lbs down, 4.5lbs to go)
Faxman 11lbs (7lb down, 4 to go)
teacheronww 8lbs (2lbs down, 6lbs to go)
Chuffy_29 10lbs (10.75lbs down) 24.1.13
basile 86kg (0kg down, 8.6kg to go)
Angela (5lbs down - 9lbs to go)
Kris 10lbs (0lbs down 10lbs to go)
Bookcase 10lbs (9lbs down 1lbs to go)
ExanteDreamer 14lbs (-14lbs down!) 18.1.13
GigiD - 8lbs (0lbs down, 8lbs to go)
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feetface - 14lbs (7lbs down - 7lbs to go)
xbudx - 6lbs (-12lb down!) 24.1.13
Rakelnahe - 6lbs (9lbs lost) 25.1.13
Shellibelli88 - 8lbs (1lbs down - 7lbs to go)
Kayslx - 14 lbs (1.2 lbs down - 12.8 to go)
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Gema90 (0lbs down - 14lbs to go)
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Emmie 10lbs (5.5lbs down - 4.5lb to go)


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Plover pitcher Cal Giese fields the sacrifice bunt of Wausau hitter Justin Duffy.
As Aaron Schwecke watched the Wausau American Legion Post 10 baseball team send base hits all over Memorial Field on Saturday night, he couldn't help but feel as though he had been through this all before.
A day earlier, the Marshfield right-hander had watched the Bulldogs' Dylan Detert send a grand slam over the left-field fence in the bottom of the eighth inning in what would be a devastating 11-8 loss at the Class AAA Region 2 regional tournament.
Fast-forward nearly 27 hours, and here Schwecke is again standing in the middle of the diamond with chaos reigning around him in the top of the eighth ...


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LEXINGTON, N.C.-- Troopers with N.C. Highway Patrol are still looking for tips in a hit and run that left two cousins dead. The victims' families want closure.
Sgt. Ben Stalvey with the N.C. Highway Patrol told WFMY News 2's Liz Crawford that they have nothing but they're still looking.
On December 20, 2011 around 2 a.m., 26-year-old Ashley Johnson and 25-year-old Dwight Scales were killed on Highway 52 close to Exit 92.
"I have nothing. We have nothing. We have no new information, no new leads than what we had initially," said Sgt. Stalvey.
Winston-Salem detectives, The State Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. Highway Patrol, and the N.C. Highway Patrol's reconstruction team investigated this wreck. They followed up on every lead but ultimately all tips led to dead ends.
Troopers said the two cousins, Johnson and Scales left their vehicle for some reason in the northbound lanes of Highway 52. Then, they crossed the median into the southbound lanes. That's when a vehicle hit them. Then another car and a tractor trailer ran over the bodies. The drivers of the second car and tractor trailer stopped and called for help.
Sgt. Stalvey said even though it's been almost two years, they still won't give up.
"Maybe somebody knows something. If the person is local, somebody is going to say something. If the person is not local, we may never solve this," said Sgt. Stalvey.
Ashley's uncle and grandmother told WFMY they're not mad at whoever the person was traveling the car that initially struck their family members. The just want answers.
"To live with that every day, I don't know how they can live with it. I know they want to come forward. I believe in human nature and they want to come forward. So just do it, come on," said Larry Johnson, Ashley's uncle and Dwight's cousin.
The family believes that foul play was involved with their death. They think someone else was in their vehicle that night and threatened to rob them, which is why the cousins left the car in the middle of the road and started running.
"We are not going to hold you fault. We just want to get closure. If we can get some kind of closure, it can help the family to heal," said Blondella Johnson, Ashley's grandmother.
Anyone with information is asked to call Highway Patrol in Lexington at (336) 249-0247 or Lexington Police Crime Stoppers at (336)243-2400.
WFMY News 2, N.C. Highway Patrol


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text: Lynch, Wilson lead Seahawks past Vikings 30-20 Share this story email Share this story «Previous 3 of 9 Photos Next » Read the story « » Vikings Seahawks Football Seattle Seahawks' Brandon Browner (39) takes off past Minnesota Vikings' Michael Jenkins after an interception late in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in Seattle. The Seahawks won 30-20. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)


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People and culture
Diverse strengths, common mission
OCLC believes in fostering a workplace environment that celebrates the talents and diversity of its individual employees. Our staff members are a unique and dedicated collective of creative thinking individuals who are the best in their fields, and who bring out the best in their colleagues. We share, analyze, debate and tackle challenges on a daily basis to achieve one common goal: to further access to the world's information resources while reducing the rise of library costs.
Inclusion at OCLC
OCLC cultivates a corporate culture that understands the value of a wide array of perspectives because inclusive thinking improves our solutions for libraries and the diversity of people they serve. Our diverse workforce enjoys an environment where each of us feels respected and valued, thereby enabling us to build broad commitment and ownership for the work of the cooperative.
At OCLC, inclusion fosters an environment that encourages the best contributions from all of us, affirms our differences and similarities, and reaches out to all our employees, partners, libraries, and the diverse people they serve. Our global cooperative is built on trust and cooperation and a shared belief in connecting people to the world's knowledge. Inclusion is part of our mission and vital to our future.
The OCLC inclusion initiative is rooted in our deep respect for the individual and in our belief that an inclusive environment fosters optimal performance. We are committed to supporting an inclusive work environment based on global teamwork, diversity, trust and the highest standards of ethical conduct as is seen through our many initiatives.
Community outreach
OCLC is a gold-level sponsor of IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, which is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. IFLA and OCLC jointly sponsor the Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program.
Skip Prichard, OCLC President & CEO, publishes interviews with leaders
in all disciplines in Leadership Insights.


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- Details
- Forms Water Tight Seal Between Liners & Skimmers
- Squeezable Tube For Easy Application
- Ensure A Seal Every Time
Atlantic™ Fish Safe Silicone comes in a 2.8 ounce tube. The black RTV silicone sealant is used to create a watertight seal where liner is attached to filtration components. Permanently flexible RTV silicone ensures a watertight connection every time.


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Detroit Lions defensive lineman Israel Idonije is honored in the Daily Point of Light ceremony Monday at the White House. Neil Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush and chair of the Points of Light board, and by Points of Light CEO Michelle Nunn also are pictured.
- Filed Under
It's not often a Detroit Lion gets invited to the White House. But recently acquired defensive lineman Israel Idonije got that honor Monday a finalist for a service award during a presentation also attended by President Barack Obama and former President George H.W. Bush.
The 5,000th Daily Point of Light award - established in 1989 by Bush and presented by Points of Light, the largest organization in the world dedicated to volunteer service - went to Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton of Union, Iowa, for their 2004 volunteer mission to help renovate an HIV/AIDS Tanzanian hospital.
Although ...


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Egypts interim president Adly Mansour, right, meets Nov. 14 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second from left, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Cairo. (Khaled Desouki / Getty Images)
- Filed Under
MOSCOW — The head of Russias state industrial holding company said on Monday that Moscow was on the verge of reaching a landmark agreement to deliver air defense systems to Egypts army.
Rostec chief Sergey Chemezovs comments came in the wake of a visit to Cairo last week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu devoted to military and diplomatic ties.
Chemezov told Russias state-run RIA Novosti news agency that some contracts (with Egypt) have already been signed particularly one concerning air defense systems.
But he later clarified in remarks to the same news agency that while the deals framework had been agreed, the contract itself had not been signed because of questions about where Egypt was going to secure the funding.
Because of arising funding problems, the Egyptian side is still discussing these contracts, Chemezov said.
Moscows Vedomosti business daily reported on Friday that the deals under discussion were worth more than $2 billion and could be financed by Saudi Arabia.
Chemezov confirmed that Egypts new rulers were discussing financing options with their regional allies and also want to ask Russia to extend them a corresponding loan.
He did not say whether Russia was willing to provide Cairo the required assistance or explain what type of missiles the deal involved.
The Soviet Union was the main supplier of arms to Egypt in the 1960s and early 1970s. Cooperation between the two sides declined after Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty and Cairo began receiving generous US aid.
But Washington suspended some of its military aid to Egypt after the July ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, and Moscow has been keen to fill the resulting void.


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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
The snow is piling up on the lakes and travel conditions are becoming an issue when it comes to getting to local ice fishing hotspots, but angers are still proceeding onto the ice and with that, they are doing quite well.
The walleye bite has continued to be very good at nighttime with some decent catches of fish in the 15- to 18-inch range with a few nice fish in the 20-plus inch range. Most of these fish are coming on tip-ups in shallow water related to weeds.
Northern pike have been quite aggressive with some dandy fish being reported. Guys are getting fish on tip-ups baited up with large golden shiners set right under the ice in 3- to 6-feet of water.
The crappie and bluegill bite is very good with nice catches coming form 10- to 16-feet of water on tip-downs baited with small minnows or by guys jigging small ice jigs and spoons tipped with waxies and spikes.
Catfish are showing up more and more on our outings and most of the action is coming from deeper water associated with the main river channel. Now normally we can't get to the catfish this early in the year but with the early freeze up and good ice anglers are venturing out to places they don't normally get to until mid January and they are doing quite well.
More on ice fishing: Ice fishing news from around the state | Your ice fishing photos | Build a map | Read ice fishing reports
Have a great week.
Phil Schweik writes about his seasonal hunting and fishing patterns in Central Wisconsin along with tips and tactics on how to be successful while you are in the field or on the water.
Phil Schweik is a lifelong resident of Central Wisconsin who lives in Mosinee. Phil is a fishing and hunting guide for Hooksetters Guide Service and a professional musky tournament fisherman. He can be reached by checking out the Hooksetters website at www.hooksetters.biz.


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Singer Jon Bon Jovi attends the premiere of 'New Year's Eve' at Ziegfeld Theatre on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 in New York. / Evan Agostini AP
Drug charges against Jon Bon Jovi's 19-year-old daughter have been dropped, a central New York prosecutor said Thursday. Stephanie Bongiovi was hospitalized after she apparently overdosed on heroin in a Hamilton College dorm early Wednesday. She was charged with possession of a small amount of heroin and marijuana.
The AP reports that Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said he was dismissing the charges against both Stephanie and fellow student Ian Grant. Under state law, someone having a drug overdose or seeking help for an overdose victim can't be prosecuted for having a small amount of heroin or any amount of marijuana.
The law, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in July 2011, was designed to reduce overdose deaths by encouraging people to call 911 without fear of legal consequences.
Bon Jovi, 50, still has not commented on his daughter's overdose. We're guessing while she might have gotten off easy with the law, it might be a different story when it comes to her famous father.
Copyright 2015 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: Drug charges dropped against Jon Bon Jovi's daughter


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President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping gun proposals Wednesday, urging a reluctant Congress to require background checks for all gun sales and ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. / Susan Walsh / Associated Press
About guns
The weapon used last month in the Sandy Hook killings in Newtown, Conn., was identified as a Bushmaster .223 rifle, a variation of the AR-15 rifle that was developed in the 1950s for the U.S. military. The Bushmaster and other AR-15 variants are semiautomatic rifles, which means they fire one shot per trigger pull.
While there has been confusion as to what the killers primary weapon was, law enforcement has clarified that it was the Bushmaster and not two handguns.
Tennesseans on Wednesday reacted to President Barack Obamas plan to more closely regulate firearms with a mixture of cautious acceptance and outright defiance.
Obamas plan uses executive orders to strengthen laws and improve information sharing about firearms between federal agencies. Hes also asking for legislation to ban military-style semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines and force federal background checks for all gun sales.
While some of the measures could be a hard sell in gun-friendly states such as Tennessee, particularly bans on weapons or magazines, the executive orders were received with a measured response by many local gun owners.
Most of these do not bother me all that much, said Jon Bryson, a gun enthusiast from Chattanooga. Some of these measures make sense, so long as the scope is limited.
He worried that the orders could lead to some sort of gun registration system. And he was skeptical that any ban on military-style weapons or high-capacity magazines would stop criminals from obtaining them.
Antioch gun owner Stacey Carson said Obamas proposals were reasonable. She supports a ban on military-style weapons and large magazines.
Hes not saying you cant have a gun, she said. Hes not even saying you cant have multiple guns. I dont see any reason why someone would need that much firepower unless youre starting your own militia.
Still, Tennessee legislators have already filed bills aimed at pre-empting any new gun regulations, one of which would prohibit state or local funds from being used in any new federal gun regulations. Another would prohibit the actual enforcement of new regulations that curtail the ownership of any semiautomatic weapons by law enforcement or gun dealers.
State Sen. Frank Nicely, a Strawberry Plains Republican, sponsor of the first bill, accused Obama of overstepping his authority, though he hadnt yet seen the presidents remarks.
The author of the second bill, Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, called Obamas plan an assault on the Second Amendment.
Its our attempt to push back on the federal governments ever increasing encroachment, not only on our personal liberties but on our state sovereignty, and this is what were going to do, Carr said Wednesday. Weve had enough.
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Brentwood Republican, said she agreed that something had to be done to better protect children but was skeptical of Obamas plan.
I will closely review the presidents proposals; however I am concerned his approach is a pre-determined attempt to redefine our Constitution, she said in a statement. I am not going to allow this administration to trample on the Second Amendment or put new restrictions on the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms and ammunition.
But U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, said the president was generally on the right track.
We need background checks, and we need to keep weapons of war off our streets and out of our schools and workplaces, Cooper said. We also need to do more to improve mental health and reduce violence in the media. Bottom line: We are obligated to defend the right to bear arms, while also doing a better job of keeping our children and our families safe.
Adam Tamburin, Sam Stockard and Richel Albright contributed to this story. Contact Brian Haas at 615-726-8968 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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On Sunday 10th August, Croke Park hosts the first of this year's GAA Hurling All-Ireland semi-final. Why not take a pre-match stadium tour and check out what goes on behind the scenes in the stadium before the stiles open to match day spectators.
This is your unique opportunity to experience Croke Park Stadium gearing up for operations on a big match day.
Be one of the first people in the stadium before the stiles open. Check out the dressing rooms and the players lounge, experience the stadium from pitch side via the players tunnel, take a seat in the VIP section and on PremiumLevel, get a bird's eye view of Croke Park from the media centre before you finish your tour in the newly-refurbished GAA Museum.
Booking is essential as places are limited.
Croke Park is the only stadium world-wide to offer match day tours.
Tour tickets must be purchased in advance via this website.
Adult - €12.50
Child - €8.50
Student/Senior - €9.50
Family (2+2) - €34.00
Family (2+3) - €38.00
See the complete events listing
© Croke Park 2015
Tel: +353 (0)1 819 2300