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Nobody knows what's going on inside Colorado's nursing homes better than Virginia Fraser.
One recent morning, Fraser spent several hours visiting the Cherrelyn nursing home in Littleton, introducing herself to residents as their ombudsman. "I'm here to advocate for the people who live here," she told an elderly woman with carefully coiffed red hair, who simply smiled and nodded.
Walking down the corridor of one of the state's largest nursing homes, Fraser stopped to visit with a woman named Dorothy, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Dorothy has been in Cherrelyn for several years; Fraser helped her when she needed to move to a new room.
"The ombudsman is a mediator," says Dorothy, who uses a wheelchair. "They showed me a room that was decorated too fancy; it was too feminine. I didn't like it. The ombudsman met with the manager and helped me find this room."
Dorothy enjoys sports and doesn't like the room too hot, unlike many of Cherrelyn's other female residents. With the ombudsman's help, she found a roommate who shared her interests.
"Heaven knows how long things would have gone on without the ombudsman," she says.
For two decades, Fraser served as director of the Colorado Ombudsman Program, which advocates for residents of long-term-care facilities in the state. The ombudsman's office assists seniors, asking them if they're having any problems and taking their complaints to management. Fraser transformed Colorado's ombudsman office from a one-person operation into a widely admired force, a program recognized as one of the best in the country. In the process, Fraser has earned a national reputation among advocates for the elderly.
"She's been a national leader on residents' rights," says Elma Holder, founder of the National Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. "She's always been relied upon to be wise and supportive of other people around the country."
Fraser is in the unusual position of being respected by both the nursing-home industry and its critics.
"I think she's done a wonderful job," says Arlene Miles, head of the Colorado Healthcare Association, which represents 178 nursing homes around the state. "She's dedicated her whole life to working toward positive ways of improving care."
Despite this record of achievement, Fraser stepped down as state ombudsman last month. Her resignation was prompted by a proposal from the Department of Human Services that would have restricted the ombudsman's ability to talk to legislators and the media about problems in Colorado's homes for the elderly.
"The restrictions from the state were getting worse and worse," says Fraser. "It was ridiculous."
By this past spring, Fraser directed a staff of forty paid and a hundred volunteer ombudsmen across Colorado. They are charged with visiting 242 nursing homes as well as 507 personal-care boarding homes, which provide assisted living and other services for the more able-bodied elderly. For many of the 30,000 residents of these facilities, the visiting ombudsman may be the only person who bothers to ask how they are doing and whether they're receiving the care they need. Last year the ombudsman's office collected nearly 12,000 complaints from residents of long-term-care facilities.
The ombudsmen have no legal authority to fine nursing homes or force owners to improve care; they simply act as the residents' eyes and ears and try to get the management to respond. And although the ombudsman program's director prepares an annual report for the Colorado Legislature on issues related to long-term care, she has no real power other than that of persuasion.
Still, the ombudsman's office has made powerful enemies, and they just happen to be some of the biggest campaign contributors to the state Republican party and Governor Bill Owens: Ralph and Trish Nagel, owners of the Meridian chain of retirement communities.
Governor Owens has appointed both Nagels to important state positions. Ralph Nagel serves as chairman of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, which sets budgets and policy for the state's colleges and universities. In 1998, Trish Nagel served on a transition committee that helped the newly elected governor choose a director for the Department of Public Health and Environment -- the very agency that regulates nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Later, she was appointed to the state Science and Technology Commission.
And the Nagels haven't hesitated to play politics. Ralph Nagel has publicly described the ombudsmen as "vigilantes," and the Nagels' company has prevented ombudsmen who show up at Meridian homes from talking to their residents. Since Meridian doesn't accept any Medicare or Medicaid payments, the Nagels insist that the ombudsmen have no legal right to be in their facilities, even though Colorado law doesn't make a distinction between private-pay facilities and those that accept federal funds. According to the statute that established the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, "The State shall ensure that representatives of the Office shall have access to long-term care facilities and residents."
And the Nagels have fought other proposals intended to help protect nursing-home residents, even opposing a state regulation requiring nursing homes to publicly disclose unexplained deaths, medical mistakes and reports of sexual abuse. Such allegations, the Nagels argue, should be investigated by the health department before being revealed to the public.
The Nagels' well-known antipathy toward the ombudsman program has led others in the health-care field to speculate that their influence may have been a factor in the proposal to prevent the ombudsman program's director from speaking out on behalf of the elderly.
"Virginia Fraser has done an excellent job. I don't think you can replace someone like her," says Jeff Jerebker, president of Pinon Management, a local chain that runs eighteen nursing homes. "The government has left her alone for years. Why muzzle her now?"
Trish Nagel, however, insists that Meridian had nothing to do with any proposed changes in the ombudsman program.
"In no way was Meridian involved in the Ombudsman's resignation," she said in a written statement provided to Westword. "We were as surprised as anyone when Ms. Fraser chose to resign her position. Based on Ms. Fraser's published statements, she resigned because she could no longer honor the terms of a longstanding contract her employer had with the state. To blame Meridian or others for her personal decision would be false and irresponsible."
Fraser herself declined to comment on Meridian, noting the ongoing dispute between the ombudsman's office and the Nagels over access to Meridian sites.
Fraser's resignation came as a shock to hundreds of people around the state who had worked with her over the years. But she says she came to feel she had no choice but to resign, leaving behind a program she'd spent a big part of her life building.
"[The state was] saying they were going to speak for the ombudsman and they would make the policy decisions," says Fraser. "It was outrageous. I decided this isn't working for me. Enough already." The 72-year-old Fraser believes she made a statement by stepping down, and she hopes the ensuing uproar will remind state bureaucrats of just how valued ombudsmen are in Colorado.
"I feel pretty good about dropping this bombshell," she says with a smile.
Virginia Fraser suspects she knows precisely what first incurred the Nagels' wrath.
It was the 1993 annual report issued by her office. In a section on personal-care boarding homes -- a broad category that includes assisted-living centers such as Meridian -- Fraser included one paragraph that alluded to the chain but didn't mention it by name.
"In larger assisted-living facilities," the paragraph read, "the majority of complaints have come this year from one ownership group concerning contracts which allow management to determine when and why residents are no longer 'appropriate.' In addition, they limit the ability of a resident to access Medicare benefits by insisting on 'their' provider, who is not Medicare certified. They have refused to allow ombudsmen posters and have attempted to deny access in certain circumstances."
The Meridian chain has five homes in the metro area, with a total of more than 1,500 residents. The company offers three different levels of housing, including independent-living apartments for people who don't need help with day-to-day tasks, assisted living for those who need some help, and small nursing homes in two of the facilities that care for people with more severe problems. The target population is the relatively healthy -- and wealthy -- elderly.
Meridian's homes are among the most expensive in the metro area, with apartments going for as much as $3,000 per month and rooms in nursing homes costing $50,000 to $70,000 annually. The complexes offer a dazzling number of recreational amenities, from Jacuzzis to on-site restaurants. Most Meridian residents say they like living there, and they give the company high marks for helping them enjoy their golden years.
Because the chain doesn't accept Medicare or Medicaid, residents must pay all expenses themselves. Meridian makes it clear that those with serious health problems such as Alzheimer's must go elsewhere.
The idea behind the three levels of care is that as residents age, they can move from one level to another. However, the contract Meridian residents sign says that company management always has the final say in what level of care is appropriate for each individual. This has led to some conflict when managers decide that an individual needs to be moved to assisted living or the nursing facility.
As a state-licensed facility, Meridian is subject to the state law that mandates regular inspection of all nursing homes by the health department. Earlier this year, the department cited the Lakewood Meridian for two violations of state regulations that require nursing-home residents to be given thirty days' notice of their right to appeal evictions. Trish Nagel wrote a blistering 39-page response, claiming the evictions involved residents with such severe conditions that they posed a potential threat to the health and well-being of other people in the facility. She went on to accuse the health department of drawing "a line in the sand that clearly puts the health department, with its dogma on one side and health-care facilities, who promise what they deliver and deliver what they promise in quality patient care, on the other side."
The most recent confrontation between Meridian and the state ombudsman's office took place this spring. Two local ombudsmen, Julie Christiansen and Ginger Perini, went to the Lakewood Meridian on March 20. At the front desk, they asked to be directed to the assisted-living section of the facility. After going to the fourth floor, they joined several residents playing bingo and struck up a conversation. "Within five minutes," Perini wrote in a report, "the general manager, Jan Van Blommesteyn, appeared and...requested that we go downstairs with him. In front of the residents he stated that we 'have no authority in this type of facility and the federal and state statutes do not say that we have access to this facility.' At this point he said we would need to leave the facility. We asked if Jan had been given this directive by Trish Nagel, and he indicated that he had and again asked that we go downstairs."
The manager then escorted the two women to the front door.
This experience was similar to several confrontations at the Boulder Meridian in the summer of 1999, when two ombudsmen were accused of coming to the facility in order to "plant" complaints and were told to leave.
Last August, the state human services department -- which contracts with the ombudsman's office -- notified Meridian that it was preparing to fine the company $2,500 for barring the ombudsmen from entering the Boulder facility. Trish Nagel accused the ombudsman's office of a pattern of "harassment and intimidation" and reportedly placed a call to the governor's office. In October, she met with the governor's attorney, Troy Eid, Attorney General Ken Salazar and Deputy Attorney General Barbara McDonnell, and threatened to sue the state over the proposed fine.
Human Services director Marva Hammons later rescinded the fine, with a warning that Meridian would be fined if it again barred ombudsmen from trying to enter one of the company's facilities.
But that was exactly what happened this past March at the Lakewood Meridian, so in April, the human services department again notified Meridian that it would be fined $2,500. This time, Trish Nagel sent a response insisting that state law did not permit the ombudsmen to enter a facility that doesn't accept government funding; she also suggested that even if the state law did cover such facilities, it would be unconstitutional.
Meridian is appealing the fine, and a hearing on the matter will be set later this month.
Nagel insists there is no good reason for the ombudsmen to be in its facilities.
"The quality of life and the satisfaction of residents is readily apparent to anyone who visits a Meridian community," Nagel said in her written statement to Westword. "Why would the ombudsman spend precious time and resources at communities known for outstanding care when the ombudsman reported over 12,000 resident care complaints at other facilities? The ombudsman's resources should be spent where they are obviously needed -- at facilities where the ombudsman has reported complaints about such serious resident care issues as abuse, neglect, odors, infestations, pressure sores and other signs of poor resident care and mistreatment. In wasting time and resources in this way, the ombudsman has lost sight of the people they are responsible to serve -- the socially and economically disadvantaged senior citizens who reside in government-funded facilities."
Others see this strong defense differently.
"The Nagels are a very powerful and influential couple in Colorado," says Mary Reilly, western regional director of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. "They are so anti-regulation. They don't think anybody should have the ability to come into their operation."
And Trish Nagel, a practicing attorney, hasn't hesitated to use the courts to take on those who criticize their operation. When Westword requested information for this story, Ralph Nagel responded with a letter that pointed out problems in Rocky Mountain News coverage this spring "which necessitated that newspaper printing a retraction and taking other action to ameliorate the damage caused by that coverage. Certainly," he continued, "we want to avoid a repeat occurrence with the Westword article in the interest, not only of Meridians, but also in the interest of not having older adults and their families unfairly frightened by the publication of reckless or unsubstantiated statements and accusations."
Jerry Ritchie, a disabled tenants'-rights activist, was sued in 1995 by Meridian in connection with the "Renter's Hotline" that he operated. At one point, Ritchie had called consumer advocate Tom Martino and talked on his radio show about complaints he'd received from former Meridian residents.
That was enough to spur the Nagels into action. They hired private investigator John Corsentino, who called Ritchie's hotline and pretended to be a son looking for long-term care for his elderly mother; he told Ritchie the family was considering the Lakewood Meridian. (A transcript of the telephone call, which Corsentino secretly taped, wound up in the court file.)
"The last contracts of theirs that I saw on independent living take your rights away," Ritchie told Corsentino, adding that he'd gotten several calls from people who were mad at Meridian, including one man who said his parents had died and the company was demanding three months' rent because no advance notice had been given. "Meridian I wouldn't do business with," Ritchie continued. "From my point of view, as far as I'm concerned, and any records and anything that I've seen, and the track record that I know about Meridian, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
In the lawsuit, Meridian accused Ritchie of slander, interference with contractual relations and civil conspiracy. The company asked the court for an injunction that would prevent Ritchie from "communicating to any third person any false and inaccurate statements" about Meridian. Ritchie was served with the lawsuit papers while hospitalized with pneumonia.
In 1996, a lawyer arrived at Ritchie's small apartment to take a deposition in the case. She introduced herself as an attorney with Moye, Giles, O'Keefe, Vermeire & Gorrell, the firm that represented Meridian. Her name was Trish Nagel ("Nursing a Grudge," January 7, 1999).
As part of the lawsuit, Meridian subpoenaed several staffers in the ombudsman's program and even tried to obtain copies of the confidential complaints against the company that had been filed with that office.
Ritchie decided not to hire a lawyer to fight the suit and never showed up in court to defend himself. Because he failed to appear, the court granted Meridian a default judgment and issued an injunction to prevent Ritchie from making "false and inaccurate" statements about the company.
Ritchie died last fall.
Virginia Fraser never expected to become the state ombudsman. But a class project twenty years ago led her to a new career that soon became her life's calling.
In the late 1970s, she was working as an assistant professor at Loretto Heights College in a program for older, non-traditional students. One of the graduation requirements was that students had to work on a community project. Fraser contacted a nursing home near the college and started doing programs there with the students.
About the same time, her elderly mother came down with Alzheimer's. At the time, there was little understanding of the condition. Fraser and a colleague wrote a booklet called "Understanding Senility: A Layperson's Guide" in an effort to help others whose loved ones were suffering from the disease. After an article about the project ran in a local newspaper, more than a hundred people contacted her asking for help. Soon a support group was founded that became the predecessor to today's local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
Fraser was in touch with the director of the Colorado Congress of Seniors, which had just been awarded a $20,000 federal grant to start the ombudsman's program. One person would be the ombudsman for Colorado, and Fraser was offered the job.
"I had no idea what I was doing," she recalls. "It was me for the whole state."
The first telephone call she received as state ombudsman was from a panicked RTD driver who was carrying a confused elderly woman. She recalls: "He said, 'I have this woman on the bus who should be in a nursing home. What should I do?'"
Over the years, Fraser built up the program with the use of volunteers and money from both the public and private sectors. The federal Older Americans Act requires every state to have an ombudsman, but the office is structured differently from state to state. In Colorado, the contract to run the ombudsman program has always been awarded to a local nonprofit, in large part to ensure its independence from political pressure. Here the state human services department contracts with the nonprofit Legal Center for People With Disabilities and Older People to run the program.
State funding for the ombudsman program has been flat for several years, but the program has been highly successful at obtaining grants from local foundations to help it continue its work. The Rose Community Foundation has made an especially large commitment.
Colorado's program is often used as an example for other states. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently recognized Colorado's ombudsman's office as among the finest in the country, in particular noting its effective use of volunteers.
"Virginia Fraser has gone beyond what a lot of states do," says Holder, of the National Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. "She's been really creative and accomplished a lot."
One of Fraser's more unusual endeavors was to develop a "residents' rights" bingo game for nursing homes. The game helps staffers and residents who might be bored listening to a lecture learn the same information in a fun way. More than 7,000 copies of the game have been sold to nursing homes all over the country.
Those who work with Fraser say she brought a passion to her work that inspired them. "She was my mentor; she taught me everything I know," says Jayla Sanchez Warren, who supervises the ombudsman program in metro Denver. "The clearest message you get from her is, 'We're here to help the residents. They're our bosses.' The ombudsman program in Colorado is what it is because of her. She's given us a wonderful foundation to build on."
At the same time that Fraser was building up the state ombudsman program, the Nagels were busy building their health-care empire. Recently, they've taken their crusade to keep government away from their business into the heart of the State Capitol.
Ralph and Trish Nagel have opened their checkbooks to Republican politicians at both the state and national levels. They've given $800,000 to the party over the past five years and were important backers of Bill Owens in his run for the governor's office, giving him $23,000 in the weeks before a new law took effect that limited campaign contributions to $1,000. They also gave $1 million to Owens's pet project, the Colorado Institute of Technology.
In addition, the Nagels have contributed to Colorado Concern, a group that funds political advertising independent of candidates, thus exempting contributors from limits on donations. These so-called educational groups are not required to disclose the size or source of their funding.
Trish Nagel's involvement in the selection of Jane Norton as head of the state health department struck many people as a conflict of interest. But Dick Wadhams, the governor's spokesman, says Trish Nagel has not influenced Owens's attitudes toward nursing homes or the ombudsman's office. "They have never talked about that," he says.
Wadhams cites Meridian's current dispute with the state health department as evidence that the Nagels don't have undue influence over Owens. "The proof is that the Nagels don't have a good relationship with Jane Norton," says Wadhams. "That indicates [their contributions] haven't played into this situation."
Wadhams also notes that criticism of the state health department's lax regulation of Colorado nursing homes extends back to the Romer administration.
The Nagels' political influence was vividly demonstrated during the last session of the legislature. Representative Kelley Daniel of Golden introduced a bill that would have limited long-term-care homes to charging thirty days' rent when a resident has to leave through no fault of his own. The proposed law was prompted by the same complaints against Meridian that first came to the attention of the ombudsman's office in 1993, over a clause then in its leases requiring residents of independent-living facilities to pay ninety days' rent after vacating their apartments, even if the vacancy was caused by illness or death. (The Nagels say they haven't needed to enforce that clause for several years, because they have a waiting list for apartments.) The bill attracted little notice in the House and passed easily with bipartisan support.
That may have been because the Nagels' chief lobbyist, Karen Reinertson of Hays, Hays & Wilson, had just been appointed by Owens to head the state agency that approves Medicaid payments to nursing homes. With Reinertson off the floor, apparently no one was tracking the bill on behalf of Meridian. Once the Nagels realized the bill had passed the House, they leapt into action to stop it in the state Senate.
"When the Nagels heard this had passed -- it flew in under the radar -- they dispatched every lobbyist from Hays, Hays & Wilson to the Senate," says Senator Sue Windels of Arvada, who sponsored the bill there. "They unleashed a huge effort to kill it." Trish Nagel personally joined her hired hands to lobby senators against the legislation.
Windels was also sponsoring an important nursing-home reform bill, Senate Bill 78. The lobbyists told her they would kill SB 78 if she tried to include the provisions limiting contracts to thirty days, she says. To save SB 78, Windels made that proposal part of a different bill.
To appease the Nagels, at one point the House even added a provision to SB 78 mandating that all investigations of complaints at private-pay facilities be done by the state health department rather than the ombudsman's office. But that provision was removed after legislators realized how costly it would be for the health department to take on the ombudsmen's role.
"Most of the complaints they handle are quite frivolous -- there's no chicken soup on the menu, and they promised there would be," says Windels. "It would have cost more than a million dollars a year for the health department to handle those complaints."
Windels tried to shepherd Daniel's thirty-day's notice bill through the Senate. Several other states have laws that place even more severe restrictions on the amount extended-care facilities can charge residents who leave, she points out. "We wanted to protect people who decide 'I don't know how much longer I can live independently,'" she says. "They know they're moving into a phase of their lives where they may have to move into a nursing home. What we were trying to do is protect them from things over which they have no control: death, and when the nursing home is going to ask someone to leave."
Windels's bill was defeated on a party-line vote after Democrat Jim Dyer of Durango joined the Republicans to kill it. Dyer had just been appointed by Owens to an $87,000-a-year job on the Public Utilities Commission.
Earlier this month, Meridian announced it was dropping the ninety-day-notice requirement from its leases and would require only thirty days' notice on its independent-living contracts.
Nevertheless, Nagel says she still would oppose Daniel's proposal. "Meridian did not support [the bill] because it would have set a dangerous precedent in undermining the public's ability to rely upon contracts in all types of businesses and would have done nothing to improve the quality of care or life of residents of nursing homes or personal-care boarding homes," she said in her statement to Westword.
Meridian's reputation for opposing government regulation is undeserved, according to Nagel: "Meridian has supported legislation that would increase the quality of care provided to residents of nursing homes and personal care boarding homes. This year, Meridian supported legislation to increase the role of the health department in investigating complaints in nursing homes. In the past, Meridian opposed legislation that would have eliminated unannounced annual inspections by the health department."
All of this skirmishing over one legislative proposal stands in sharp contrast to Colorado's failed effort to regulate nursing homes. For years, Colorado has had one of the worst records in the country for inspecting nursing homes and citing them for poor care ("Dying for Dollars," October 15, 1998). Several class-action lawsuits have exposed shocking conditions at area facilities and highlighted the state's refusal to crack down on the worst of them. And recently, workers at the state health department division that monitors nursing homes have become accustomed to regular office visits from FBI agents.
The most stunning charges involved the privately owned O'Hara Regional Center for Rehabilitation in Denver. That center, which cared for people with severe disabilities, was sued in 1999 by former patients and their families who alleged that O'Hara's poor care had led to the deaths of several people from abuse and neglect. The plaintiffs provided a horrifying list of complaints, including those of helpless people being allowed to fester in their own waste, developing such severe bedsores that they required surgery. The lawsuit included stories of patients going unfed for days, not being bathed for months, and getting blood poisoning from untreated infections. Several staff members gave depositions in which they verified the accounts of horrible care. That lawsuit was eventually settled for $37 million.
The state's failure to close O'Hara or force it to change left many observers incredulous, but it was part of a pattern in which Colorado regulators refused to fully enforce laws meant to protect nursing-home residents from abuse. It was that sorry record that brought the FBI into the offices of the state health department last fall. While no charges have been filed, dozens of employees have been interviewed in a division said to be in disarray. The FBI probe was likely prompted by the O'Hara scandal. Several officials in other states have been arrested and accused of taking bribes from nursing homes they were supposed to be regulating.
For many, the O'Hara situation highlighted how crucial it is for the state to have a forceful advocate for seniors in the ombudsman's office.
"Having a strong and autonomous ombudsman program is really important," says Enid Cox, director of the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Denver. "There are more families facing the issue of how to provide for elders in need of care. The point of the ombudsman program is that it can get into all facilities and be a voice for the residents. Not having that would be a huge loss to all of us concerned about quality of care."
Another vital part of the equation is keeping the ombudsman program independent from political pressures, say those involved in elder care.
"There's all these players in nursing homes, but the ombudsman's office is the only one that's truly independent," says Pinon Management's Jerebker. "Advocacy needs to be independent; it should not have an agenda. If it's dictated by government or politics, then it really isn't advocacy anymore."
Cox says Virginia Fraser's resignation is a blow to seniors all over the state.
"It's heartbreaking that someone who's had such an excellent long-term career would need to terminate their position because she felt she couldn't do her job," Cox says.
The state is currently negotiating a new ombudsman's program contract with the Legal Center for People With Disabilities and Older People. Since Fraser's resignation, the state reportedly has backed off on some of its previous demands that the ombudsman be restricted from talking to the public.
Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services, claims the department's position on the ombudsman's office has been misrepresented. She says her department simply wants to "coordinate" any public comments the ombudsman makes.
"We wanted to have a knowledge of what was being said to the media or what was being presented to the legislature," says McDonough. "If it's an issue of some controversy, we'd prefer they get together with us and we discuss how it would be responded to. This was not about trying to change the role of the ombudsman. It was about closer coordination with the human services department."
To Fraser, "coordination" sounds more like censorship. Anyone who has read the ombudsman's annual report knows Fraser is always careful to balance the complaints of residents with the perspective of nursing-home managers. Rabble-rousing is not what she's about, but she feels strongly that someone has to be there to defend elderly people when they are most vulnerable.
"The nursing homes have a really tough job," says Fraser. "Short staffing is at the root of a lot of the care problems. Many of the corporations [that own nursing homes] are still so bottom-line-oriented, they don't provide the care they should."
While Fraser is no longer running the ombudsman program, she still serves as a volunteer ombudsman at Cherrelyn. She started doing this before she resigned: In the midst of the political attacks on her office, she wanted to remind herself of just how important the ombudsman's work was.
"I felt like I wanted to get back to the basics," says Fraser. "I was feeling like I was getting out of touch with the nursing-home residents by not being there."
Cherrelyn is one of the biggest homes in Colorado, with 200 residents. Its managers pride themselves on cooperating with the ombudsman's office, which they view as a useful intermediary between residents' families and the facility. In a recent meeting, Fraser talked with the staff about doing a "residents' rights" quilt and bringing in a local quilting group to help. The managers told Fraser about a recent field trip to a Rockies game that became eventful when their bus broke down and they had to be rescued by RTD. At the request of residents, plans are also being made to buy a frozen-yogurt machine and new patio furniture.
Making the rounds, Fraser walked through Cherrelyn's dining room. She noted approvingly that the nursing aides were chatting with several disabled people as they helped them eat lunch.
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"It's important to see how people are being tended to when they're eating," says Fraser. "Are they just shoving food in people's mouths, or are they talking to them as they feed them?"
Fraser likes Cherrelyn's current administrator and clearly feels the staff is doing a good job. She's been around long enough to remember years when things weren't going so well at Cherrelyn. "At one time we had a lot of problems here," she says.
Eventually, Fraser plans to try and talk with every person who lives at the home.
"I'm going to try to go there once a week," she says. "I hope to visit with every new resident as they come in. It's a way of getting back in touch with what the local ombudsmen are doing."


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Black, Latin and Asian caucus members don 'hoodies' in solidarity with slain teen's family
SACRAMENTO – Outraged by inflammatory public statements and the failure of law enforcement to take action, members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), Latino Legislative Caucus (LLC) and Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (APILC) donned their 'hoodies' as they adjourned Thursday's Legislative Session in memory of Trayvon Martin. The three caucuses and other concerned Members then joined together for a news conference calling for justice for the murdered Florida teen.
On February 26, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot down by a self-styled "neighborhood watch leader" as he walked to his father's home carrying a bag of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea. More than a month later, no charges have been filed against his killer, and some are blaming the young man's choice of clothing for his death.
"Just as we recognize Denim Day each year to signify that you can't blame a woman for her own rape for wearing jeans, you can't blame this young man for his own death because he chose to wear what nearly every teen in America has in his or her closet," said Senator Roderick D. Wright (D-Inglewood), who called for the three caucuses to band together. "Trayvon Martin was killed because George Zimmerman assumed a black teen walking in his neighborhood must be up to no good and took it upon himself to serve as judge, jury and executioner."
"The tragedy of a young man's untimely and unfair death is being compounded each day by the hateful and hurtful comments of those seeking to deflect blame from the neighborhood vigilante who killed him, and by the failure of law enforcement officials to seek justice for his murder," said CLBC chairman Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., adding, "There is no argument to be made that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor here. The recorded evidence clearly shows that Mr. Zimmerman pursued Trayvon Martin -- as Trayvon walked unsuspecting to his father's home to enjoy his Skittles and iced tea -- against the explicit instructions of law enforcement."
"The unfortunate tragedy of Trayvon Martin's death has inspired a national movement across all communities to fight against racial profiling and racism," said Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani (D – South Los Angeles County), Chair of the APILC. "The authorities need to listen to the voices of communities across our nation demanding justice and measures to prevent such a senseless tragedy from ever happening again."
"It is a shame that a young man in America cannot walk down the street without fear of being picked on or in this case, murdered because of the color of his skin," said LLC Chair Assemblymember Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens). "The senseless murder of Trayvon Martin is exasperated by a law that allows people to use the self-defense claim to kill in cold blood and walk away with no consequences. A solid revision of this law is needed so that the spirit of the law fits the letter of the law. I hope Trayvon's death serves as a call for all of us to seek tolerance and understanding before we jump to conclusions and can't retract our actions."

subset: commoncrawl


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Paul Phillips and Mike "Gramps" Burlas were roommates at Assumption College, the best man in each other's wedding. Phillips is godfather to one of Burlas' children, Burlas to one of Phillips' kids. Phillips needles Burlas, and Burlas gives it back. They have shared many good times and many good laughs.
But back in the early 1990s, when Phillips invited Burlas to join his men's basketball staff at Anna Maria, their friends weren't sure it was such a good idea.
"They were like, 'Oh my God — you two working together?' " Burlas, the much more — shall we say — "reserved" member of the duo, recalled this week. " 'How long do you think this is going to last?' "
Twenty-one years later — six at Anna Maria and 15 at Clark — their coaching partnership is going strong, and their friendship, more like a brotherhood, which has spanned more than 40 years, is more solid than ever.
"As much as we joke about it," Burlas said, "I really do enjoy working with Paul. It's been an unbelievable experience."
Clark's men's and women's basketball teams have the three longest-serving assistant coaches in the area. Alongside Burlas, Tyrone Hicks, a former four-year (1982-86) Clark standout, has been on the Cougars' bench for 25 straight seasons.
Marge O'Brien, arguably the best player in Clark women's history, is in her 22nd year on Pat Glispin's staff and this season was elevated to associate head coach.
"In recruiting speeches to parents, I talk about the years Coach Burlas has been here and Coach Hicks' longevity, and that's got to say something about the family atmosphere we have here and how dedicated these guys are," Phillips said. "I'm not sure if 18-year-old kids can completely comprehend that, but I think the parents look at that and say, 'Wow! That's really something for those guys to stay together all those years.' "
Clark's teams open play in the NEWMAC Tournament tonight. The No. 4-seeded men host No. 5 Babson at Kneller Athletic Center at 7. The No. 6 women play at No. 3 Wellesley, also at 7.
Both Clark programs have enjoyed their share of winning over the last couple of decades. Since 1996, the men have made five trips to the NCAA Tournament, with back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2001 and '02. The women have made it to the NCAA tourney seven times since 1986 and advanced to the Elite Eight in 1989.
While Phillips and Glispin have been the driving forces behind Clark's success, their longtime assistants have played vital roles in their programs' accomplishments as well.
"Marge is the heart and soul of this program," said Glispin, who is in her 29th season at Clark and closing in on 500 career wins. "Everything we've achieved in this program has been a direct result of her efforts. I'm the luckiest head coach in the world to have her at my side."
Hicks has served under four head coaches at Clark — Kevin Clark, Larry Mangino, Phillips (1996-2004), Mo Cassara, and Phillips again (2006-present). Clark, an assistant under Wally Halas when Hicks played for the Cougars, mentored Hicks and gave him his start in coaching.
Hicks has been around Clark for almost 30 years. Why? The answer is simple.
"Clark University," Hicks said. "What Clark has done for me, what it's helped me to achieve. I feel like I have to give back."
Hicks' primary responsibilities include working with Clark's post players and assisting in scouting and recruiting. He also has been known to "take Phillips for a walk" when Phillips gets heated with officials during games. Burlas, likewise, is a calming presence.
"Gramps is a pretty laid-back guy," Phillips said. "Tyrone is a really laid-back guy. The great thing is they're the absolute opposite of me. It's perfect. I'm wound up enough for all three of us."
Glispin and O'Brien have more similar personalities and also have worked to achieve a balance on the bench and with players through the years.
"I know what she thinks and how we want to see things happen," O'Brien said. "At this point, we are very much on the same page, so I know what she wants and I can help her to get the message across. When maybe she has to come at it more authoritatively and high level, as an assistant I can soften it a little bit. We kind of do it naturally."
O'Brien, who played for Barbara Stevens at Clark (Glispin was an assistant on the staff in O'Brien's senior year), is the only player in school history with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She coached for three years at Anna Maria — a year and a half as an assistant and a year and a half as the head coach — but decided she did not want to pursue a career as a head coach.
Glispin took over at Clark in 1986 and asked O'Brien to join her staff.
"I just thought it was so cool," O'Brien said. "I feel so fortunate to work with Coach Glispin and to stay involved with basketball. It's just a great opportunity."
Burlas, Hicks and O'Brien all give full-time effort, expertise and enthusiasm to the Cougars, though their positions at Clark are part-time.
Burlas is operations manager at Keltec Associates in Westboro, Hicks works for Verizon, and O'Brien is employed at the Hanover Insurance Group.
"What I try to explain to our kids is you don't know how lucky you are to have these coaches," Phillips said. "They're so much a part of it. They coach because they love it."
Speaking of Stevens, her undefeated Bentley College women's basketball team is No. 1 in this week's USA Today Division 2 Top 25 poll.
The Falcons (23-0) are one of two remaining unbeatens in Division 2. Bentley had been ranked No. 2 since the preseason.
This marks the second time in Stevens' storied career that Bentley has topped the poll. The team achieved its first No. 1 ranking last season and maintained it for three weeks.
Bentley beat Southern New Hampshire last Saturday to clinch at least a tie for its 21st Northeast-10 Conference regular-season title. The win was the 875th of Stevens' career. Junior forward Jacqui Brugliera of Fitchburg scored her 1,000th career point in the game.


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For all of the discussion of data in marketing, and Big Data in 2014, most B2B marketers are showing they are inept when it comes to actually using data to improve the majority of their marketing.
Yes, B2B marketers are doing a few things well when it comes to using data:
- B2B marketers are increasingly adopting marketing automation and using past behavior to deliver more relevant content.
- Ads are (occasionally) targeted and relevant to discrete audiences, using retargeting or through data providers like Bizo.
- B2B marketing performance is being carefully tracked and optimized based on reported results.
Sound ok? Before you give yourself a pat on the back, this isn't even the tip of the iceberg! [Read more…]


text: Pootle for etoys project concerning greek (https://dev.laptop.org/translate/el/etoys/) is still marked as "TEST". Does anyone know when will it be marked as normal so that the commited translations make their way up the XO builds?? Another problem i just noticed: when i browse the untranslated strings (https://dev.laptop.org/translate/el/etoys/el.po?translate=1&view=1) pootle reports 3707 as total strings which seems to be wrong according to the total of 22948 strings reported on this page (https://dev.laptop.org/translate/el/etoys/index.html)!! Is something wrong with pootle or me? :)


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Alumni Awards
Philadelphia University recognizes the achievements and contributions of its alumni through the following award programs. Nominations for these awards may be made by any member of the Philadelphia University community. Awards are presented each year during Alumni Weekend.
- Frank L. Giese Award
The Frank L. Giese Award was established by Philadelphia University alumni in 1970 in honor of Dr. Frank L. Giese, Professor Emeritus of Textiles. The award is presented in recognition of an individual's major innovation in the design, technology or marketing of textile products and outstanding achievement and significant impact on the textile industry.
- Leadership in Philanthropy Award
The Leadership in Philanthropy Award was founded in 2013 and honors visionary leaders and philanthropists.
- Time, Talent, and Treasure Award
Philadelphia University's Time, Talent and Treasure Award was established in 2001 to honor an outstanding alumnus/a who has contributed time, talent and treasure through a commitment to the mission of the University and to future generations of Philadelphia University students.
- Young Alumni Achievement Award
Established in 2009 by the Alumni Association's First 5 Council, the Young Alumni Achievement Award honors and recognizes the personal and professional achievements of a graduate of the last ten years.
Philadelphia University's
Alumni Network
Login Here
Not Registered?
Sign Up Here
Hey, PhilaU alumni, we want to hear from you!
Email your class notes by clicking here. Include your name and class year with your short update.


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Dec 7, 1998
Contributed on 9/4/13 by eagle12953
Email This Contributor
Record #: 923478
On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Arkansas, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 9/4/13 • Approved: 9/4/13 • Last Updated: 9/7/13 • R923478-G0-S3


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About Us
Energy, Opportunity, Growth
Learn More
At Just Energy, we strive to create a best in class work environment. We are committed to fostering a supportive environment of trust, professionalism, integrity and fairness as we strive to be the employer of choice. Just Energy Human Resources policies are accessible to employees for review and provide for: competitive compensation and benefits; workplace health and safety; protection of employee privacy; protection from harassment and discrimination; and equitable access to development opportunities and training to further our organizational objectives as well as enhance the career development of all employees.
Diversity is recognized within our workforce and is encouraged through inclusion by creating an open environment to share ideas and for people to make a contribution. The company upholds, without limitation, respect for differences in ethnicity, gender, age, race, disability, marital status, religious beliefs, place of origin, sexual orientation, family status, and colour.
Just Energy received recognition as one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged WorkplacesTM in Canada. This annual award recognizes top employers that display leadership and innovation towards building employee engagement.


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President Barack Obama's inaugural team is opening an online and brick-and-mortar store to sell souvenirs including a commemorative poster by famed artist Chuck Close.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee launched the online store Thursday. A retail store a few blocks from the White House was scheduled to open Jan. 11. The goods, ranging from $2.50 rulers to $30 champagne flutes to a $7,500 medallion set, also will be sold at some Washington hotels around the Jan. 21 inauguration.
Close, a long-time Obama supporter, designed the $100 poster in the pixelated photorealistic style he is famous for. Only 2,013 are available.
Obama's inaugural committee had a similar store for his first swearing-in four years ago. Proceeds go toward fundraising efforts for the parade, balls and other inaugural celebrations.
Online store: http://store.2013pic.org


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Brand Label: Swell
Available for Purchase Online at Neiman Marcus for $35.00Pin It
S'well "Silver Lining" reusable bottle from the Traveler Collection. Triple-walled for maximum insulation, leaving no condensation on the exterior. Made of high-grade 18/8 stainless steel. Nontoxic, non-leaching, and BPA free. Vacuum sealed; keeps drinks cold for 24 hours, hot for 12. 3.25"Dia. x 8.1"T; weighs 0.8 lbs. Holds 16 ounces. Hand wash. Imported.
Shop other brand label items from Swell on FashionStylist.com.
This item was published for sale online by Neiman Marcus on April 4, 2018 5:43 pm and last updated by us October 12, 2018 4:43 pm.
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New promo codes and links offering limited time promotions, sales coupons, and special offers on Swell designer fashions and accessories will be posted on each designer label apparel page. For the latest up to date information on this Swell Silver Lining Traveler 16 Reusable Bottle Luggage | Bag fashion item, including product specifications, ordering options, pricing, shipping details, high resolution pictures, shopper comments, and other sales media, visit the Neiman Marcus Online Store.


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Jon Stewart drops an F-bomb
Jon Stewart probably won't be winning another Emmy for "The Daily Show" after simultaneously dropping an F-bomb and ripping the taste of Emmy voters with his acceptance speech for variety series. Though don't expect Bill Maher to benefit. He's been nominated 28 times and has lost them all.
Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
Copyright © 2018, Hartford Courant


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Interception is a 32-map megawad that was released in 2013 by members of the Doom community. The outcome was some very unique levels of varying size and creativity.
IWAD: DOOM2.wad
WADs: Interception, coopmthru_vanilla, Fuzzball's text colors
What day: Saturday, January 18th, 2013
What time: 18:00 UTC
United Kingdom: 19:00
Russia / Moscow: 22:00
Eastern Time (US): 2:00 PM
Where: Vicious Pariah's servers
More info...
Get Zandronum and check out modern Doom.
For session number 333, join us for three way madness CTF modified to work with ZDaemon's KOTH game mode! Double jumping will also be enabled, which is a new feature of 1.10.
Game mode: KOTH
IWAD: Doom2
PWADs: 3waymadness-ctf-v5 3waymadness-ctf-v5koth zvox6 monster_skins5_team
WAD URL: KrawaServ
Date: Saturday 18th January 2014
Times: Euro: 19:30 BST (14:30 EDT); USA: 02:00 BST (21:00 EDT)
Locations: [SDA] / Dwango United NJ
More Info...
Get ZDaemon and enjoy Doom the way it was meant to be played.
This week we will be hosting 32in24-6, a set of 46 Deathmatch maps by the 32in24 team. There are small maps, big maps and everything in between. Should be something for everyone to enjoy.
Date: Saturday, January 18th, 2013
Session Start: 20:00 EST (2:00 GMT)
WADs: 32in24-6.wad
Maps: 01-45, 00
Mode: 16-player Deathmatch
Server: [NJ] Funcrusher
If you want to join up and don't have Odamex yet, head over to the Odamex site and get yourself 0.6.4. Don't forget to also check out and join the Odamex Steam Group for information on updates and announcements.


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Material Components
Reading a preview of the newest Harry Potter title - the one for the Wii, with motion sensing wand controls(!!!) - I've begun to make certain preparations for its eventual release. I've had my robes pressed, my scarf of blue and bronze dry-cleaned. I've also endeavored to secure certain… materials, shall we say, of a mystical nature to augment the experience. I was aware that Gabriel owned a unicorn, but I was not aware that he was operating some kind of supernatural zoo.
Reaction to the cost of Guitar Hero II's downloadable content has been such that Joystiq cornered Major Nelson at a recent event to try and discern precisely how much crack cocaine was involved in generating the pricing schedule.
There are a lot of ideas presented as to why it costs as much as it does - things like new licensing fees (which I'd already heard about) or the cost of putting items through certification. These are factual hors d'oeuvres, though, and I'm looking for something more main course. If it is fair and just to charge rates of this kind, if indeed they must because they are flanked on all sides by evil license holders, then why would Activision purchase such a demonstrably failing business entity? Because again, if these prices are legitimate, the mathematics never work - there's no point at which this series becomes solvent. Each disc is a headstone.
They've made it so that the only sane bet is to purchase nothing but the annual releases, where the content dips below a dollar a track and new features further compound the value. There's a strange mathematics that goes on when purchasing things, and similar to Quantum Mechanics it only gets stranger as you deal with smaller amounts. Most Marketplace offerings operate well beneath my impulse buy threshold - usually I leap at opportunities to build onto the parent purchase. I'm not a person who believes deeply that all content should be free. You really need to have a tin ear for for consumer demand in order to elicit this kind of response from me.
Continuing with the micropayment theme, I decided to upload that older podcast I talked about the other day, the one with the owls and so forth - the feed is available here. It's available in two parts, which is to say parts one and two. It describes the writing process for the strip entitled "Reading Between The Lines." It's not perfect - the Gears talk at the beginning is now hopelessly out of date. For example, to produce the Lancer these days is to invite death. I think we might have our facts wrong in a couple places. But the conversation investigates some interesting locales, and certainly the price is difficult to argue with.
We're just now heading up north to work on the game, but I have been asked to remind you that the Heroism shirt has returned to the store and can be had in a "babydoll" version as well. Also, the new poster Gabriel mentioned is now available.
(CW)TB out.


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An authorized associate for previous National Football Business superstar Aaron Hernandez on Tuesday rejected media files that the professional professional athlete created a letter to a jail fan prior to hanging himself in his jail cell recently.
The previous New England Patriots gamer's body was discovered on Wednesday awaiting a cell where he was providing a life jail sentence. Police officers authorities recently verified that Hernandez left 3 tape-recorded letters.
Regional media, pointing out police officers resources, insisted that of the letters was taken care of to a fan Hernandez had actually truly taken while behind bars. He had actually truly continuouslied remain in state safety and security considering that June 2013 when he was fingernailed and also accuseded of getting rid of a companion. He wased well-known guilty of that murder in 2015 and also punished to life behind bars without possibility of parole.
" Records of letters to a gay fan, in or from jail, are incorrect," insisted legal representative Jose Baez, that this year properly protected Hernandez in an evaluation where he was billed of getting rid of 2 guys in Boston in2012
" These are dangerous leakages used to taint somebody that is dead," Baez included. "I suggest anyone remaining to be to broaden these dangerous untruths to end today."
Hernandez, that had actually truly been a going up superstar in the NFL with a $41million agreement prior to his anxiety, hung himself simply days after being lacking the double-murder prices.
Location attorneys in Worcester Nation, the website of the jail where Hernandez passed away, on Monday presented suits of the letters to Hernandez's family member after being acquired to do so by a court. Authorities did not launch details on the letters' components.
A representative for Baez decreased to supply much more details on the letters' components.
Moreover on Tuesday, attorneys asked a Massachusetts court to desert Hernandez's 2015 sentence for getting rid of a companion.


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Minimally-invasive surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System is an effective alternative to traditional open and laparoscopic surgery that may allow physicians to provide patients with the best of both open approaches.
With the assistance of the da Vinci Surgical System, surgeons can now operate through a few tiny (one to two centemeter) incisions with greater precision and control. da Vinci helps surgeons minimize the pain and risk associated with traditional surgery, while increasing the chances for a fast recovery and excellent clinical outcomes.


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Johnny Pierre Goodwill Hendrix Olson the 3rd, or better known as Johnny Olson or Sir John, was a master of announcing and a beast at calling down people's names on many game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. He was born in 1910 in Announcer Springs, Minnesota. He, along with former announcer Gene Wood, both enjoyed speaking into microphones for various programs on CBS and getting paid a shit load for it. They seldom get on camera, and had a mere chance if they beg the host to do so. Johnny was long-time announcer for the Match Game and The Price Is Right.
Early life and careerEdit
Growing up on a farm in Northen Minnesota, Olson had always dreamed about being famous. At the age of 8, he begged his dad (Papa John Olson, Sr; 1457-1953) to take him to see Hollywood, California. Papa John did not like the idea, because it was rather expensive to travel during that time. A few years later when Johnny was 11, he asked his mom the same question. She loved the idea and did not tell her husband that she was making arrangements to visit California. Unfortunately, Johnny's mom could not book a single flight, because every person in the country reserved a flight of their own, due to the sudden popularity of commercial flights. Johnny had to wait until he was 28 years old to venture over to California, by plane. By then, his dad had a successful job and bought stocks in Macy's, so he was wealthier than ever. The year was 1938, where Johnny, his mom and dad and their pet snake Chowder, finally managed to visit Hollywood, California. Flying with Delta Airlines, they arrived at LAX airport late at night. A planned 3 day stay in Hollywood, Johnny's dad prompted the family to not overstay their welcome. Johnny crossed some of the things off his Things-To-Do-In-Hollywood list, leaving just 2 things left. The first thing he wanted to do was to head over to Universal Studios and see how they make movies. The second thing on the list was to get Lucille Ball's autograph. Considering Lucille was nowhere to be found, he decided to check out Universal. While on a tour of the studio, Johnny noticed the announcer giving the in's and outs of the place. Johnny said to his mom, "Hey, that seems fun." Shortly after, Johnny was inspired to become an announcer for a television show. Growing up watching many television shows (in the living room; the Olson family had 1 TV and could not afford another), his favorite were game shows. He enjoyed What's My Line and To Tell the Truth. After a bunch of schooling at universities back in his hometown, he finally acquired his specialized degrees in broadcasting and communications. In the 1940s, he landed his first big job as a radio announcer for a local radio station in Minnesota. Then in the 1950s, he moved permanently to California, where he became an icon for announcing and eventually earned the nickname, Sir John.
Success on Match GameEdit
Olson was most notable for announcing episodes of Match Game. Ever since the show first made it to air, he said in a private interview, "I can't believe they thought I was good enough to be apart of the Match Game team. I tried out many times to work on other game shows, but they never seemed to appreciate my announcing skills. Then, I struck gold when I went down to CBS Television City for the premiere of the new and improved Match Game in 1973. The people loved me and thought my voice sounded like Charles Bronson from The Dirty Dozen film."
What they do behind the scenesEdit
It is expected that all people who are in show business will follow all rules and regulations, with regard to the network they work for. Well, Sir John hauled ass the best he could, but there were times that he felt overworked and sore, particularly in the 1970s. He was the announcer for Match Game for an odd number of years. After tapings of the show, he and Richard Dawson would snoop around Brett Somers' dressing room, trying to find various items that they would enjoy. Brett always had a bad habit of leaving 20 dollar bills on the table. As the immature "children" they were, both Richard and Johnny stole the money and replaced it with fake dollar bills. One time they entered Gene Rayburn's dressing room and stole his lunch. They also disorganized his wardrobe, leaving only one suit and two pairs of socks. Gene didn't notice a thing.
In 1977, Johnny slashed Mark Goodson's tires in the parking lot, because he was parked in a red zone.
In 1979, Johnny was caught making whoopee with Elaine Joyce.
Other workEdit
Johnny Olson appeared in many commercials in Europe, including a 1980 ad for Trojan Condoms. He made $59 that day after the shooting of the commercial. In total, he made $800 from making commercials across Eastern Europe. In 1982, he was fed up and never wanted to be in a commercial again. By 1984, he was diagnosed with Announcer-Lifestruck Syndrome. This disease is common with television announcers, whereas Gene Wood also had this illness and died as a result from it.
Later yearsEdit
In October 1985, Johhny Olson died from being in bed too much. He was bedridden for almost a year, doing jack shit. A memorial ceremony was held in August 1986, where former game show celebrities attended, such as Gene Rayburn, Charles Nelson Reilly, Richard Dawson, Betty White, Bob Barker, Drew Carey, Pat Sajak, Chuck Woolery, Fannie Flagg, Bert Convy, and Donny Osmond.


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The Heritage Series THRG2 Cart Mount Gas BBQ Grill is the ultimate in luxurious stainless steel quality and beauty! This hybrid grill provides the classic beauty and durability of stainless steel for low maintenance and long lasting life.
- Grilling Surface Area: 574 sq. in.
- CSA Certified
- 38,000 BTUs
- Stainless steel and cast aluminum construction
- Electronic ignition system
This hybrid grill offers a two-in-one burner system for greater cooking versatility. The infrared burners will save you time grilling, and the two cast stainless steel burners allow for traditional grilling - the best of both worlds!
This grill also features exclusive SearMagic premium grids, which are constructed of rust-free anodized aluminum that heats up quickly and cooks all foods at a uniform temperature; these grids are reversible.
The portable cart is constructed of Duro Cast aluminum with heavy duty legs and 8" rubber wheels for strength and easy portability! The propane model includes a tank ring, while the natural gas model includes a 12' hose with quick disconnect coupler.
The Heritage Series grills have a heavier grade construction for "Made in the USA" quality. They are built of the finest grade weather-resistant material - their permanent mold cast aluminum housing ensures thicker walls for years of endurance, sustains higher temperatures, and retains more heat for unmatched cooking performance. The stainless steel construction and high temperature powder paint finish provide lasting beauty and durability.


text: Businesses may evolve and technologies might come and go, but business telephone systems are always going to be in high demand in any industry in any age. We might be in a digital era but business telephone systems are still required for internal and external purposes. Whether you're on the lookout for telephone equipment to use in conference calls, internal communications, sales pitches or customer enquiries; you'll find an extensive range of high quality business telephone systems to buy for small and large businesses at BT Shop.


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With a tip of the hat to Yahoo! Sports' Ball Don't Lie, a petition has surfaced at Change.org pleading with Lakers center Dwight Howard to lose his headband.
Howard spent eight seasons with the Orlando Magic, who had a no-headband policy. Now that he's with the Lakers, Howard has been taking advantage of his newfound freedom.
The petition, initiated by Henry Erickson, has a simple explanation, "It looks ridiculous."
The message on the petition, addressed to Dwight Howard is brief, "Take off the headband."
As of late Wednesday night, Erickson has 289 supporters.
Naturally, Howard is not obligated to listen but if there was a groundswell of support, perhaps it might prove influential.
Or not . . .
Lakers unable to win on road vs. Kings
Mike D'Antoni welcomes 'Hack-a-Howard'
Mike D'Antoni expects even more from Lakers' Metta World Peace
You can email Eric Pincus at firstname.lastname@example.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.


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Green tea. Just green tea, because I'm a health nut.
autumn_dreamsicle wrote:
Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide
sabzki wrote:
Sugar...one lump or two?
Do you drink it scalding hot or luke warm?
I'm a tea addict and have been known to on occasion down atleast. 5 cups a day. And I don't mean in some dainty tea cups, I drink my tea in big gulp cups ;).
I never take milk in my tea, the reason is as much to do with culture (Iranians drink their tea black) as it is to do with the fact that I hate milk and majority of derived dairy products.
I also never mix sugar into my tea, instead I prefer to have something sweet accompany it like a biscuit/date/slice of cake etc. Again it's a cultural thing.
I can never drink my teak scalding hot though, I just personally don't enjoy burning the roof of my mouth or tongue. Everyone else in my life seems to enjoy downing super heated liquid.
So I'm curious to know how others like to have their tea?
Oh and I did check to see if there was another forum like this and didn't find one. However if I was wrong just ignore this.
That's fine you can ask. No I'm not lactose intolerant I have just never enjoyed milk, I don't like the taste, smell or texture. The same applies to butter and cream, to me eating them is like ingesting fat. The only exceptions is natural/Greek yoghurt which has to be atleast 98% fat free and Danish fetta cheese. I also love ice cream but again not the full cream ice cream I prefer something with less fat.
Tea Enthusiast
i like to drink it, not burn my mouth.
warm obviously.
I do prefer hot, but not scalding. I also like my tea to be plain and a bit on the strong side but not so strong it's bitter.
Oh, tell me why do we build castles in the sky?
HinataX wrote:
i only drink green tea as my parents think black tea is bad for you(colour of teeth changes and stuff-.-)
i can't drink it hot but a bit cooled down and i sometimes put sugar in my tea, but usually get a biscuit or something
green tea can also make your teeth yellow :P
I drink lots of green tea myself.
Hello everyone! Add me(:
Hot, 3 sugars, half the cup filled with water and half filled with milk to give it a sort of cream milk taste. DONE
Prefer iced tea, but hot or warm is fine, no sugar, no milk, but I love chai tea latte's
It's been soooooooo long since I did anything on this site damn ps3 app :P
I take my tea like I take my coffee....Not at all! I have never liked tea (though not to say I havent tried), and I am trying to like coffee, since as a college student, it may become a staple of life I prefer soda!
i like mine scalding hot, i'm not sure why @[email protected] and i usually just put a lot of sugar in it, and nothing else, since i like it sweet~
Ice cold sweet tea with a slice of peach
Im back. How was studyville you ask? Judging by that question, you should visit.
I mainly drink Arizona Ice Tea of the Green Tea variety. The one with Ginseng and Honey
In a cup
If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick.
Green tea only, not more than about 3oz of water per tea bag (so, insanely strong tea).
Ender143 wrote:
I take my tea like I take my coffee....Not at all! I have never liked tea (though not to say I havent tried), and I am trying to like coffee, since as a college student, it may become a staple of life I prefer soda!
Coffee (yes plain/black coffee) can have an appreciable amount of calories if you consume insane quantities of it. It might as well be a staple food.
FA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA *runs away*
All the ways!
I am Zexy Destroyer, sworn enemy of all things good and decent ^_^
Jasmine Green Tea with Honey.


text:
Minnesota, County Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
|This article describes a collection of historical records available at FamilySearch.org.
Access the records: Minnesota County Marriages, 1860-1949 .
- 1 Collection Time Period
- 2 Record Description
- 3 How to Use the Record
- 4 Record History
- 5 Related Web Sites
- 6 Related Wiki Articles
- 7 Contributions to This Article
- 8 Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
- 9 Sources of Information for This Collection
Collection Time Period
The dates covered by this collection are 1860 to 1949.
Record Description
Most of this collection consists of marriage licenses, applications, records, registers, and certificates. The records are arranged by county, then by volume and year range. The form type varies between register style and certificate style. County clerks usually used the same printed form during the same time periods. Marriage records were generally well preserved, although fires, floods, or other disasters may have destroyed some records.
The earliest marriage bonds and licenses were usually handwritten on loose papers that were later bound into lettered volumes. Some marriage records had multiple entries on each page, while others had single records per page.
Record Content
Genealogical facts found in these marriage records include the following:
- Name of the groom
- Name of the bride, often including the maiden name of the bride
- Names of the officiator and witnesses
- Names of the parents or guardians of the bride and groom
- Date of the marriage
- Birthplaces of the bride and groom
- Residences of the bride and groom
- Age and races of the bride and groom
- Marital status of the bride and groom
How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to marriages make it possible to access a specific marriage record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.
When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:
- The county where the marriage occurred.
- The name of the person at the time of marriage.
- The approximate marriage date.
- The marriage place.
- The name of the intended spouse.
Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the marriage records. Compare the information in the marriage record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.
When you have located your ancestor's marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:
- Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
- Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
- Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
- Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
- Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
- Use the parent's birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
- The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
- Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
- Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
- Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
- When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
Keep in mind:
- The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
- Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
- There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.
If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:
- Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
- Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner if known.
- Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
- Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records)
Record History
Marriages were usually recorded by the clerk of the district court for each county from the time the county was formed. Persons desiring to marry obtained a license that they presented to the minister or other person authorized to marry, such as a justice of the peace. Once the marriage was performed, the officiator sent a return to the clerk confirming that the marriage had occurred.
Why This Record Was Created
Civil marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs to legal claims on property.
Record Reliability
The marriage date, place, residence of the bride and groom, and occupations are relatively reliable. Other information, such as age or birthplace, is dependent on the knowledge, memory, and accuracy of the informants, usually the bride and groom.
Related Web Sites
Minnesota County Marriage Index
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related web sites here.
Related Wiki Articles
Contributions to This Article
| We welcome user additions to FamilySearch Historical Records wiki articles. We are looking for additional information that will help readers understand the topic and better use the available records. We also need translations for collection titles and images in articles about records written in languages other than English. For specific needs, please visit WikiProject FamilySearch Records.
Please follow these guidelines as you make changes. Thank you for any contributions you may provide.
Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.
Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
"Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949." index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org): accessed April 15, 2011. entry for Samuel T Kilpatrick and Sophia Alford, married 17 May 1909; citing Marriage Records. FHL microfilm 1,315,837; Freeborn County Courthouse, Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Sources of Information for This Collection
"Minnesota County Marriages, 1860-1949," index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org). Digital copies of originals housed in the clerks' offices of the district courts in various counties throughout Minnesota. FHL microfilm, 420 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.


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The Drama to 1642, Part Two
Philip Massinger
> His women
Typical situations
His lovers
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes
Volume VI. The Drama to 1642, Part Two.
Philip Massinger
§ 13. His women.
In view of this inclination of Massinger to repeat himself, we are not surprised to find, also, that many of his
dramatis personae
resemble each other in a pronounced manner; the theory of the typical characters of a dramatist
stands confirmed by many of his figures. The most typical of his heroines is the passionate woman who falls violently in love at first sight and runs to the embraces of her beloved without any reserve. This class of women is most characteristically represented by the Turkish princess Donusa, who offers herself to the unsuspicious Vitelli and persists in her wooing until he becomes the victim of her seductive charms, notwithstanding his Christian scruples about her being an infidel. With the same self-abandonment, the empress Domitia makes love to the handsome player Paris. Nor can Aurelia, the duchess of Siena, in
The Maid of Honour,
who, at the first sight of young Bertoldo, forgets all about her princely dignity, and claims him for herself, to his intense surprise and to the great dissatisfaction of her court, be rated higher than her heathen sisters, though she retains at least an outward show of decency. Less objectionable, but not less masterful, appears this form of the passion of love in the character of another duchess, Fiorinda of Urbino, in
The Great Duke of Florence,
who abjectly endeavours to induce the unwilling Sannazaro to take herself and her duchy, though she knows that he loves another, the charming Lidia. Another copy of the same type is the inconstant Almira in
A Very Woman,
who obstinately refuses to listen favourably to the wooing of the price of Tarent, but, later, when he crosses her way once more in the habit of a slave, is immediately charmed with him to such a degree that she, the daughter of the viceroy of Sicily, does not hesitate to offer a nocturnal meeting to him, a slave. Massinger himself so much affected scenes in which a woman acts the part of the wooer, that he introduced a similar situation in a play where there was no pressing need for it: queen Honoria in
The Picture
seeks to seduce the knight Mathias, only in order to be able to refuse him, and, in this manner, to punish him for having praised the beauty and the chastity of his wife.
A somewhat subtler art of character painting we observe in Massingers delineation of the nature of those women who are not the powerless victims of a sudden passion. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the utterances and the behaviour of his virtuous women often reveal that, in drawing female characters, he could rarely escape from the region of the senses. But, though most of Massingers women are of the earth, earthy, we must not forget that he was able to create at least two women in another mould: the chaste Camiola and the lovable Lidia. Camiola, the Maid of Honour, deserves this appellation, though, perhaps, the poet impaired the nobleness of her presence and of her actions by two superfluous additions: the violence of her refusal of an unwelcome, boisterous wooerwhose bodily defects she criticises in a strain approaching, though by no means equalling, the invectives which the passionate Donusa hurls at the head of the unfortunate basha of Aleppo when he comes to court herand the cautious contract (taken from the source of the play) by which Bertoldo, to liberate whom Camiola spent a fortune, is placed under an obligation to marry her. Perfectly delightful is Lidia, the youthful heroine of
The Great Duke of Florence.
In her, everything is charming: the simplicity with which she talks of her love for prince Giovanni; her naive conviction that the fiercest enemy would let fall his weapon when looking on the sweetness of her lover; her anxious pleading at the feet of the duke, who is righteously angry with his deceitful nephew, and her trembling readiness to sacrifice her own hopes to the happiness of the prince. Nothing could be more winning than the manner of her receiving the fatal letter of her boy lover: she kisses it, she scarcely dares to hurt it by breaking the seal fastened by the beloved handeven Shakespeares Julia did not prattle more tenderly when kissing and piecing together the fragments of the letter of her beloved Proteus.
With this exception, a comparative survey of the women of Shakespeare and Massinger is the surest means for convincing us how rapidly the moral character of the English stage had changed since the days of the greater poet. The effrontery of Donusa and Massingers other women of the same stamp would suffice to indicate the rise of a taste demanding stronger stimulants; but he went far beyond the loss of dignity and of delicacy of feeling which they exhibit. He created the Syracusan Corsica, the lewd wife of old Creon, who tries to seduce her stepson (
The Bond-Man
); Iolante, who, in the absence of her husband, is ready to accept the first handsome stranger as lover (
The Guardian
)not to speak of bawds like Calipso in the same play, or the drunken hag Borachia in
A Very Woman.
We are but rarely allowed to forget that Massinger is seperated from Shakespeare by Fletcher, whose plays had accustomed the public to the open licence of women.
Massingers male characters, as a rule, are more interesting than his women. If we except one short scene of the patriotic Cleora, his women think and talk of nothing but the dominating passion of love in its different gradations; while their lovers, though meeting their desires, are yet, at the same time, not rarely made the interpreters of the views of the author. The Venetian Vitelli, whose virtue is too weak to resist the temptations of the infidel Donusa, is, by the admonitions of his ghostly counsellor, the Jesuit Francisco, filled with a repentance which rises to religious ecstasy, so that, in the end, he even aspires to the glory of the death of a martyr, becoming the most eloquent exponent of Massingers religious feelings. Still more distinctly, we hear the voice of the poet himself in one of the speeches of Paris the Roman actor, in a splendid apology for the stage and its poets and players. Paris, the favourite of the Roman public, is cited before the senate, being accused of satirical attacks on persons of rank and of being a libeller against the state and Caesar. The gist of the actors defence is that he and his companions cannot help it, if the conscience of the spectators is shaken by what is done and said on the stage; The energetic flow of this
oratio pro domo,
one of Massingers rhetorical masterpieces, and its superfluousness from the dramatic point of viewfor it stands quite outside the action of the tragedyshow how willingly he availed himself of the opportunity offered by the part of the actor to speak against the detractors of his art in general, and against those Catos of the stage of whose persecutions he bitterly complains in one of his rare prologues.
Note 7
. See, on the subject of typical characters, Schroer, A.,
Uber Titus Andronicus
(Marburg, 1891),
Typical situations
His lovers
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