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BERLIN – A mere four weeks after citizen Pete Cosby went before his elected officials with numerous canine complaints, the Berlin Mayor and Council had the first reading of the new leash law Monday night.
The ordinance currently on the books does not restrict dogs to a leash when off the owner's property, including an exception for dogs "under the control of the owner or authorized agent of the owner."
"That's the change, now it's strictly on the leash," said Council member Ellen Lang.
Cosby said the town's action on the least law was not his primary intent, rather he sought an increase in fines, particularly for barking dogs.
"I really wasn't a proponent of leashes so much," said Cosby. "I don't mind if dogs run free, personally, as long as a dog is a safe dog. … The problem is, when you make a complaint there is no big sanction."
Under the proposed ordinance, fines would be increased from $75 to $250 for a first offense, and $400, up from $100, for every offense thereafter.
Cosby originally suggested increasing fines substantially, with $500 assessed for the first offense, and fines for each incident thereafter going up in $500 increments, with a second incident garnering a $1,000 fine, a third, $1,500, and so forth.
Under town code, fines cannot exceed $400, however.
There was some concern over the implementation of the three-page ordinance, which regulates nuisances, loose dogs and dangerous dogs.
Some are worried that the ordinance could punish so-called "good" dogs.
Berlin resident and dog owner Bob Forrester was concerned that well-behaved and well-trained dogs, like his, would be penalized if walked without a leash but under the owner's vocal control.
"I think the town tries to be as liberal as possible," said Council Vice President Gee Williams.
People are abusing the "under control" standard, Williams said, which led to the more restrictive law. He recalled that a loose dog came into his yard and killed his own dog.
Mayor Tom Cardinale related an instance when his wife had to take a loose dog back to its owner four times in one day.
Forrester agreed that there was an issue with dogs roaming the town.
"My dog has been attacked twice on walks by loose dogs," he said.
Forrester said his own dog is well trained, however.
"I was hoping that we're not going to lump all dogs [together]," he said.
Williams said that there is no way to determine ahead of time how a dog will behave.
"I'm hoping we're not going to go after someone with a well trained dog," Forrester persisted. "I don't want to get fined $250 for my good dog."
The town is trying to prevent attacks, said Williams, not interfere with good dogs and responsible owners.
The police department will be instructed to use their discretion. The police would only act on receipt of a complaint about loose, nuisance or dangerous dogs. They will not be patrolling the streets to hand out tickets for canine infractions.
Under the ordinance, if passed, resident dogs will have to be registered with Worcester County and wear collar and registration tag. Visiting dogs are excluded from this requirement. All dogs must be walked on a leash not longer than eight feet when off home property.
The legislation governs dogs that bite, claw or injure a person and can classify aggressive dogs as dangerous to other animals, or more seriously, dangerous to people.
Police may also be called for nuisance dogs that chase cars or bikes, destroy plants or other animals, excessive barking or any behavior that "interferes with enjoyment of life or property."
The law contains a provision that a dog being pursued by a human in an attempt to regain control of the dog is not considered a loose dog.
The police will provide live animal traps to those complaining of loose dogs and will assist in setting the trap if necessary.
Owners would have to retrieve a trapped dog from the police department by 4 p.m. that day or the dog would be transported to the Worcester County Animal Control facility.
"I'm just appreciative the Mayor and Council got right on top of it and did something about it," Cosby said. "I'm just very happy they responded."
Many townsfolk have thanked him for speaking up about the ongoing dog issues, according to Cosby.
"A lot of people in town are having problems with dogs," he said
Dog owners might pay more attention to their pets' behavior now, Cosby hopes.
Cosby went to the council in the wake of an incident over Memorial Day weekend where his daughter's boyfriend was attacked and bitten by a Labrador retriever while riding a bike. There are no lasting issues stemming from the incident.
"He's healed up fine," said Cosby. "The matter has been amicably settled."


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Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, May 10, 2013, 7:29 AM
Town Square
Pleasanton Council OKs pay-off of $20-million in golf course bonds
Original post made on May 10, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, May 10, 2013, 7:29 AM
Comments (17)
a resident of Birdland
on May 10, 2013 at 8:43 am
Excellent! Congrats to all those involved in city finances
a resident of Vintage Hills
on May 10, 2013 at 8:59 am
I agree with you Dan that this City is in excellent fiscal shape and always making sure we are doing everything we can to keep expenses down while still providing great services. BUT, just wait for the tea-party clan to come out and yell for more pension reform and reduced services/costs. I am so tired of the tea-party minority claiming the City is in bad fiscal shape by comparing us to other cities. We weathered the recession without layoffs or furloughs, without reductions in services, and without draining our recession fund, what other cities can say that?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 9:04 am
If the City of Pleasanton is in such great fiscal shape, why are our streets in such bad shape? If this problem is not due to lack of funds, then is it due to gross incompetence, or left wing loons trying to force us out of our cars?
a resident of Birdland
on May 10, 2013 at 9:15 am
The city was wise to hire Emily Wagner again, she truly cares about our city and does a great job! Thank you Ms Wagner
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 9:57 am
The question isn't about today but about tomorrow, about a future mountainous debt that threatens to crush us. Our assumed fiscal health is an illusion. All one has to do is look at the too-well-fed public workers, their outrageous salaries and pensions. A quick look shows the obvious. There is a tsunami coming, not tomorrow or the day before or even the day before that, but sometime in the future. Even the most cursory look at Calpers and Calstrs indicates that we are all in a huge heap of trouble. The debt-ridden waters are rising, and who will stick their finger in the dyke? Only eliminating redundant fire fighters and cops (50% of current levels), and decertifying the teachers union will give us a swimming chance. Europe recognizes this as indicated by a distinct uptick in Ron Paul teashirts. What about us? Let's not fool ourselves. The tsunami is forming, is in its latter stages, and those of us without a life preserver will be left at the mercy of unionized teachers.
a resident of Apperson Ridge
on May 10, 2013 at 10:12 am
Arnold you are hilarious...Mr doom and gloom...typical. As far as the roads Mr Pothole please consider the Federal Funding Arterial Roadway Act which provides funding for maintenance. These funds are released bi-annually and Pleasanton relies on these funds to fix our roads. This also ties us into Federal Funding for section 8 housing, thus, requiring Pleasanton to fall within the Federal guidelines to continue receiving funding.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 12:29 pm
If what Arnold says is true, then it would be in the best interest for public employees to negotiate a sustainable retirement plan, otherwise they will have to live with the possibility that the state and/or cities they worked for will need to file for bankruptcy at some point in the future, in which case pension obligations will likely be cut.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Yes, very well thought out, Brian. It all hinges on me telling the truth. And, contrary to what experts tell us about the health of the city, I can tell you definitively that we're a tiny little island out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and there is a towering tsunami roaring toward us, soon to hit us perhaps not in the foreseeable future but certainly in the future sometime or another. If public workers were smart -- and most aren't because if they were they'd have gotten jobs in the private sector -- they'd draw straws and half would step down from their bloated positions; the remaining half would agree to eliminating their union ties and paying their own pensions and benefits, like the rest of us who were smart enough to find employment in the public sector. We don't want to become like Greece where college grads are selling Ron Paul teashirts in downtown Athens.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 1:07 pm
The simple thing to do with pensions is to make the employees responsible for any shortfall in projections; not the employer (the taxpayers).
The unions keep saying that we don't have a problem, so let them take all the risk. How could they object to this since they are so confident?
As long as the employer takes 100% of the risk, the unions will always say there is no problem. That is because it is no problem to the employees, they will be covered by the taxpayers.
This applies to pensions.
For retiree medical, that should be funded 100% at the time the benefit is given. It really should be paid for by the employees, or they should have some financial interest in it also. But if the city pays 100%, they should not be allowed to give out that benefit unless they 100% pay for it at the time the liability is incurred.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 1:26 pm
I meant to say in the PRIVATE sector, that's where the smart people are located. They just couldn't have anticipated the revolutionary coup achieved by public workers who have now become the wealthy and powerful political class who lord over all of us. But I can tell you, there will be no lords when we're faced with the avalanche of water caused by the tsunamic force created by stupendously high salaries, pensions, and benefits.
How did this happen? How did a class of inferior workers, who went to work in the intellectual dump called the public sector, end up being the tyrannical political class? They unionized, that's how. And us smart ones in the private sector, who value freedom, 401k's, and exchanging sick days for vacation days, were too busy living the American Dream to even have noticed what was taking place. Well, now the worm has turned as indicated by Calpers and Calstrs. like I say, a day will come sometime in the future....
a resident of Apperson Ridge
on May 10, 2013 at 2:13 pm
Arnold is obviously jealous. Wait till Obama taps into your 401K as he recently purposed....then we will talk. Check your facts toolbag.
a resident of Highland Oaks
on May 10, 2013 at 4:16 pm
It is indeed confusing when we are told that we don't have sufficient resources for our schools while we throw 20 million at a recreational facility.
Sure, saving 10 million on interest is great. However, the excitement about the potential savings muddles the more important issue: why did we borrow money for a golf course when we couldn't afford schools?
Who knows? Maybe the golf course is a part of the city's retirement benefits package.
a resident of Canyon Oaks
on May 10, 2013 at 10:38 pm
I'll tell you why Mike. The golf course was conceptualized and financed at a time when the economy was booming. When the economy took a dump and the .com yuppies stopped golfing, the revenue went in the dumper and the stupid golf course just became a money pit.
the solution for such a poor financial decision? Punish the city workers. i mean they were the ones who built the thing. let's dock their pensions for it.
fortunately only few radical right wing nut jobs on this forum subscribe to the above solution.
a resident of Birdland
on May 10, 2013 at 11:03 pm
I'll tell you why mike. Because the city and the school district are SEPARATE.
Learn a little before you post please.
a resident of Birdland
on May 11, 2013 at 11:29 am
Gabe, the workers did not build the golf course, and they do not run it. All contracted out. In fact the golf course is being run with non-unionized employees. Thank heaven. Could you imagine the money pit if we paid the golf course employees the same benefits and pensions as city employees? I thank the previous administration that had some sense here.
So it is the taxpayers who built the golf course, not the city workers. I wish we could dock the workers pensions however. Their benefits are so unrealistic and unsustainable. However, the council will keep kicking the can down the road so our kids will be left holding the bag.
In fact to pay off these bonds, we took money that has been put aside for replacing our city capital equipment in the future. So that means we robbed Peter to pay Paul. Being we are in serious debt this was a good thing to do now because of the difference in the return on our investments vs. the bond price but we are now a bit more in debt for replacing our capital equipment. That is ok since we probably will not have enough money then to pay for the same number for fire fighters because of their pension cost so no need to replace the fire trucks.
a resident of Downtown
on May 11, 2013 at 12:38 pm
But then again if the original approved Kottinger Hills project was allowed to go forward, the city of Pleasanton would have had a public golf course for free! No bonds, no reserves, no nothing! Free!
a resident of Highland Oaks
on May 11, 2013 at 3:51 pm
The city and the school district are separate in much the same way that your left hand is separate from your right.
Salami, Salami … Baloney
By Tom Cushing | 25 comments | 778 views
Holiday Fund raises $70,000 for 12 Tri-Valley nonprofits
By Jeb Bing | 0 comments | 135 views

subset: commoncrawl


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Mission teams: An answer to tornado survivors' prayers and dreams
In April 2011, I arrived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to a scene of utter devastation after a series of tornadoes wreaked havoc across the state and the American Southeast.
It was hard to imagine what the city looked like before the storm swept through. But it was not hard to imagine what the people were like -- because their strength and caring were evident in how they responded.
I got the opportunity to meet Tracy and his wife, Tiffaney. Tracy was built like a football linebacker, while his wife was a petite woman with a big heart.
They talked about the day of the storm. Tiffaney had laughed when Tracy started running their three children through tornado safety exercises. She stopped laughing when they saw the huge tornado heading right toward them.
Caitlin Moore, 10, spends a moment with her mother, Tiffaney, outside their family's damaged home. (Photo: Laura Reinhardt/World Vision)
"All we could do was hold our ears because it was sucking, it was popping your ears," said Tiffaney. "Stuff was flyin' everywhere. And Tracy was saying, 'Hold on, hold on. Y'all hold on.'
"What else can you do? What else can you say? You just pray that you survive it. And you make it out. [The kids] were just screaming."
She continued: "You don't know what to do. You can't tell them it's OK, because you don't know it's OK. But we were fortunate."
After the storm passed, the sky returned a to a beautiful blue. It seemed as though nothing had happened -- but as they emerged from their shelter, what they saw and heard devastated them. Tiffaney said it seemed like every tree in the neighborhood now lay in the road.
Tracy said the cries for help they heard from their neighbors continued to haunt his dreams.
The family immediately sprang into action. "We ran up and down the street," said Tiffaney. "I mean, all you could do was find out if everybody else was OK. That's what we did. We went door to door."
When I met the family, they were continuing to help, even though their home was so damaged that they had been forced to move into a home with Tiffaney's mother and stepfather. Every day, they showed up to volunteer at a church in their former neighborhood.
The people in Tuscaloosa and all across Alabama soon faced another dilemma, because the disaster faded quickly from headlines. The tragedy competed for coverage with the news of Osama bin Laden's death and the celebration of the royal wedding.
A child's stuffed animal lies amidst the wreckage caused by last year's tornadoes in Tuscaloosa. (Photo: Laura Reinhardt/World Vision)
"Just because it's faded from the headlines, it's not over," said Phyllis Freeman, World Vision's director of domestic disaster response. "Children and their families and communities will be rebuilding for decades."
As residents of the Tuscaloosa area move forward and begin to rebuild, they need volunteers and donations to help -- now more than ever.
World Vision's missions teams are organizing missions trips in October, November, and December to come alongside these towns as they continue their recovery.
"Just open your heart and feel what we feel as a need. Help us and support us -- because we are so, so in need," said Tiffaney. "It doesn't have to be anything big. The small things make us feel like you're helping."
Tiffaney shared her dream for the future of Holt, her community near Tuscaloosa. "I want to see things rebuilt. I want to see our community back to a community again," she says.
"It doesn't have homes. It doesn't have businesses. It doesn't have people walking the street with their dogs or kids riding their bicycles. That's what I want."
By volunteering for a mission trip, you can help be a part of making Tiffaney's dream come true.
Read related post: Restoring houses and hearts in Nashville and nationwide
Want to be part of a similar experience that helps restore both lives and hearts -- either in Tuscaloosa or elsewhere in the United States? Check out the dates and locations of World Vision's U.S. mission trips this year. The trip might only last a few days -- but the impact can last a lifetime.
You can also make a one-time gift to our U.S. Disaster Response Fund. Any donation will help World Vision respond quickly and effectively to life-threatening emergencies right here in the United States, like last year's deadly tornadoes in the Heartland and Southeast.


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Mount Mitchell > Climber's Log
Mount Mitchell Climber's Log
[ Sign the Climber's Log ]
|Great Views
|Growing up in this area, I've been up Mt. Mitchell a few times. The meadows below the summit have some pretty good beargrass blooms, and the views from the top are outstanding.
|Posted Jul 7, 2017 11:53 am
|Trevin Ziegler
|Route Climbed: Mount Mitchell Trail
|Great views of St. Helens' rarely seen south side. Went a little too early in 2008 season. Lots of side climbing so I recommend waiting until the snow melts a bit
|Posted May 29, 2009 7:59 pm
|Regular visitor
|My in-laws have a cabin just a few miles from Mitchell so I hike up it on a regular basis. The views from the top are great and huckleberries are prolific in early September.
|Posted Aug 31, 2008 5:14 am
|Route Climbed: Mount Mitchell Trail
Date Climbed: Apr 29, 2007
|Did this one a couple of times. First time we had some snow toward the top of the trail, but not too much. Views were awesome. I scrambled around on some of the rocks at the summit... it was fun. Second time we went too early and had no views. This trail is a good, fairly easy hike with some amazing views if you go on a clear day.
|Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:17 pm
Date Climbed: May 9, 2007
|My son and I started at 5:45 pm...summited at 7, stayed on top for 30 minutes and got down in just under an hour, getting back to the car right at sunset. Almost no snow on the trail, just brief patches right before the beargrass meadow. Hard to beat the view at the top, and there are plenty of places for a nice quick scramble up there too. I recommend this mountain for anyone in the area looking for a fun hike with great views.
|Posted May 10, 2007 3:29 pm
|Mt. Mitchell trail
Date Climbed: Mar 16, 2007
|Beautiful day. Turned around at 3200 feet due to a combination of postholing and forgetting my gaiters, which equals cold, wet feet. Looks like this would be a great May hike, will be back to summit then.
|Posted Mar 17, 2007 5:26 pm
|Mount Mitchell Trail
Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2006
|This is an under-rated mountain. It starts off from an old logging road. I saw two young does at the beginning of the trail. It climbs through the forest and the views open up near the top. Mount St. Helens is so close by and the view is great. I could see four cascade volcanoes from the summit.
|Posted Jun 18, 2006 6:32 pm
|Route Climbed: Mount Mitchell Trail Date Climbed: September 06, 2004
|I did this hike thinking it was a lesser known peak. I saw about 30 people and 8 dogs on the trail. So much for escaping the Labor Day crowds. None the less it was a good hike with excellent views. while sitting on top, I saw a plane circle below me which was kind of neat considering it is such a small mountain. A hunter I met up with near the trailhead told me there had been a newspaper story about this hike, which would certainly explain the crowds.
|Posted Sep 6, 2004 9:41 pm
|Don Nelsen
|Route Climbed: North side trail Date Climbed: July 17th, 2004
|Hot and humid today but still a great hike up this under-appreciated peak. The many rock outcrops at the summit make this a great spot from which to highlight pics of the distant cascade volcanoes.
|Posted Jul 19, 2004 6:42 pm
|Brian Jenkins
|Route Climbed: Mount Mitchell Trail Date Climbed: June 20, 2004
|Well, this day did not go as planned. Started out going to go hike up Mt. Margaret and Mt. Whittier north of St. Helens to get a view inside the breach. Turns out the road to the trailhead (Road 99) is still closed with snow. The north road was blocked by a washout several miles north of the trailhead as well.
So, my backup plan was to hike in that north road (Road 26) and find the trail up Strawberry Mountain. This was thwarted by logging operations only a couple miles in. I talked to the crew for a bit and they allowed me to pass underneath a high cable that was pulling tree trunks up the mountain. Hiked up the road and then an old logging road a couple miles but when the road started descending I turned back. Turns out I should have gone on a short distance and I should have been on the trail to the summit.
So, back at my truck I went to backup plan #3, pulled out Sullivan's book and picked out something on the drive back home. Got to the trailhead of Mitchell about 2 and summitted about 3:30. Chatted a while with some Vancoverans (Vancouverites? Vancouverians? Couvies?) on the summit about Katahdin, someone had a friend doing Everest, William Sullivan's books, etc. I scrambled out onto the other peaks for some photos and then headed back with only 2900 total feet of elevation gain for the day. Was trying to get in at least 4000 for a hopeful attempt on Shuksan this coming weekend. Oh well, sometimes it just works out this way. There were excellent views though and the steep first part of this trail was a decent short workout.
|Posted Jun 22, 2004 12:01 am


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Cut to:"It was just a little miscommunication on my part or misunderstanding on my part," he said. "We're fine. Everything is good. We're good."
Sounds as if everything is good to me. LOL.Ryan, normally among the most gregarious and quotable Cardinals, left the clubhouse without talking to reporters
...a jerk to his teammates.
UNC Tar Heels 2017 National Champions 6 time NCAA Champs!!!
57, 82, 93, 05, 09, 17
Go Heels!!!!!
the biggest piece of crap in baseball.. i hate the sight of that idiot. he's probably the best pitcher in baseball, no doubt about it but I HATE HIM. He is in the Barry Bonds category as a bass hole to me. I wish that Ryan would have slapped that little witchy frown off his face last night.
I thought it was pretty funny after his last temper tantrum that 3 or 4 Cardinals had to go over to him and pat him on the back to try and calm him down.
Hondo, the reason why I know what I know is because Ryan has said even in interviews that "he needs to take things more seriously" and just watching this team all the time its well known that Ryan is more knuckleheadish than most of his teammates.
Brendan Ryan is more of a knucklehead than Felipe Lopez? That's hard to believe.
UNC Tar Heels 2017 National Champions 6 time NCAA Champs!!!
57, 82, 93, 05, 09, 17
Go Heels!!!!!
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Noël Coward's "Blithe Spirit," first staged in London in 1941, is the comedic equivalent of a dry martini.
Composed of urbane smugness, just a hint of slapstick and stirred (the worlds created by Noël Coward are never shaken), the play is considered low-shelf stuff compared to Cowards' more successful "Private Lives" and "Hay Fever." It is, however, still clever, caustic and particularly funny in the hands of Great Lakes Theater.
Classified as a "comedy of manners," "Blithe Spirit" is set in the sophisticated world of the upper class and serves to ridicule the pretensions of those who consider themselves socially superior. Witty dialogue presented through rapid-fire delivery, rather than complicated plots or complex characters, drives these plays. Their humor resides in witnessing reserved, typically unaffected, upper-crust Brits addressing an utterly improbable and absurd situation, and becoming increasingly nonplused.
"Blithe Spirit" concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine (Eric Damon Smith), who invites the eccentric clairvoyant, Madame Arcati (Laurie Birmingham) and friends (Aled Davies and Molly McGinnis) to his house for a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The séance inadvertently opens a pathway for poltergeists and Charles is visited by his ethereal and beautiful first wife, Elvira (Shanara Gabrielle). Elvira decides to stay for a while and haunt Charles' marriage to his second wife, Ruth (Maggie Kettering), who cannot see, hear or tolerate the aberration.
"Comedy of manners" storytelling is foreign-born and woefully outdated, but the GLT effectively facilitates our acclimation to this nearly three-hour, three-act excursion and it does so from the get-to.
Prior to Charles' nine-page, four-martini presentation of the exposition, which opens this play and justifies its pretense, we are offered a delightful pantomime by Edith the maid (Jodi Dominick). According to Coward's brief stage direction in the script, Edith comes in "carrying, rather uneasily, a large tray of cocktail things." Dominick turns this simple note into comedic genius as she awkwardly balances the load and -- subtly choreographed to period music playing in the background -- agonizes over each and every item's proper placement. The audience is now properly entertained, primed and ready for the evening's festivities.
In general, director Charles Fee wastes no opportunities to create interesting movement on the stage where none exists on the page to keep this production moving at progressively breakneck speed. Keeping pace with their witty repartee, Smith and Kettering are wonderful as the Condomines. He a dapper milquetoast and she a no-nonsense matron with little patience for his frailties, both are delightful to watch throughout this production.
Gabrielle, as Elvira, makes it easy to buy into Charles' predicament of being attracted to the dead. Her 1940s-era flirtation -- framed in platinum curls, a skin-clinging gown designed by Kim Krumm Sorenson, and heels -- creates wonderful 1940s-era sexual tension.
The best thing about this production is Birmingham, whose every motion and movement as Madame Arcati is superbly eccentric. Whether she is roaming the room sensing ectoplasmic energy through her wrists, waving aimlessly through air in search for the invisible Elvira, or dancing with abandon to attract the spirit she uses to allure those who have crossed over, Birmingham's actions never fail to get a hit-the-funny-bone reaction.
All this takes place in the beautifully constructed and well-appointed Condomine living room. Designer Russell Metheny has an amazing eye for detail, best reflected in the tall wood paneling and period furniture, and a gift for hiding the mechanics that generate the set's destruction at the hands of angry spirits.
Like a well-made dry martini, "Blithe Spirit" offers pure escapism that is easy to consume. This fine production of it leaves you particularly lightheaded at the end of the evening.
"Blithe Spirit" continues through March 10 at PlayhouseSquare's Hanna Theatre in downtown Cleveland. For tickets, which range from $15 to $70, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.greatlakestheater.org.


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Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies investigated a 2-car property damage motor vehicle accident at the intersection of River Road and Interstate 88 access road in the Town of Sidney. A vehicle operated by 64 year old Michael Sisson of Oneonta, was making a left turn off River Road and pulled into the path of a vehicle operated by 59 year old Mark Hopper of Wells Bridge. Sisson was issued a traffic ticket for fail to yield right of way.
The Chenango county Department of public works will be holding their annual household hazardous waste collection day tomorrow, spokesperson Pat Pittsley explains:
(Pat Pittsley 9-13-13)
More information is available at 337-1792.
Otsego county residents & businesses will have their household hazardous waste collections today & tomorrow for those who have pre-registered. The first collection site will be today at the Unadilla town highway building; the second will be at the Meadows office building in Cooperstown tomorrow. Businesses may participate by bringing their hazardous materials to the Meadows today, and fees may apply. More information is available at 547-4228.
A panel of arbitrators threw out the tobacco industry's $800 million claim against New York and ordered the companies to pay New York State more than $92 million that they had wrongfully withheld from their 2003 annual payment due under the 1998 tobacco canadameds.com Master Settlement Agreement. The judges rejected tobacco's demand for a dramatic reduction in its annual payment to New York, finding the State had fully complied with its agreement obligations and was entitled to its entire payment. The decision is expected to protect the State from billions of dollars in future claims.


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The Eagles of Cutter Morning Star (3-3, 0-1 5AA) looked to spoil the Danville Little Johns' (4-2, 1-0 5AA) homecoming Friday night at Little John Field in Danville, but the Little Johns proved too much for the Eagles as they rolled to a convincing 46-21 victory.
Danville's first five drives of the game all ended in paydirt. Senior quarterback Chase Peek got the scoring started with a 15-yard pass to senior tight end T.J. May with 8:19 left in the first quarter that capped a 7-play 61-yard drive.
Danville got the ball right back after a fumble recovery by senior safety / wide receiver Obed Pantoja on the 46-yard line of Cutter Morning Star. One play later Peek hit senior wide receiver Adam Brannon for a 46-yard touchdown pass with 6:58 left in the first quarter, increasing the Little Johns' lead to 14-0.
Danville's third touchdown of the first quarter came on a 37-yard run by junior running back Trent Davis, capping a four-play 59-yard drive and giving the Little Johns a commanding 21-0 lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter.
Cutter Morning Star's special teams helped Danville on its next touchdown by fumbling a punt in their own end zone. The fumble was recovered by Danville senior linebacker Josh Melton to give the Little Johns a 28-0 lead with 1:37 left to play in the first quarter.
Danville's next touchdown came on 6-yard pass from Peek to Pantoja capping a 4-play 30-yard drive with 8:12 left in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 34-0. The drive was set up by senior L.J. Gilbert's 25-yard punt return.
Cutter Morning Star finally got on the board with 3:04 left in the second quarter. Junior running back Hunter Hollingsworth capped a long methodical 68-yard 12-play drive, with a 1-yard touchdown run ending the Little Johns hopes for a shutout.
Although the Little Johns had a commanding 34-7 lead, they weren't ready to slow down just yet. Danville found the end zone one more time just before the half. Gilbert earned the first of his two touchdowns on the night with a 47-yard run that capped a three-play, 64-yard drive with 1:05 left in the first half.
The Little Johns' second string got most of the action in the second half, although the first string did put together one more touchdown drive. Gilbert earned his second touchdown of the night by walking into the end zone from 9 yards out, capping nine-play, 90-yard drive with 7:10 left in the third quarter, increasing the lead to 46-7.
Cutter Morning Star scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Little Johns' second-string defense.
Gilbert ended the night with 182 yards rushing on only 13 carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Chase Peek also had a huge night, connecting on 5 of 8 passes for 90 yards and three touchdowns. Hollingsworth paced the Eagles offense with 105-yards rushing on 27 carries and two touchdowns.
Danville moves to 1-0 in conference play and looks to stay undefeated next week as it hosts Mountain Pine at Little John Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.


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Vilaseca to become Education Secretary
French was one of three candidates for the position, which were announced back in November.
"I wish [Vilaseca] the best," said French. "He is very deserving of the position and I am sure he will do a great job."
Governor Shumlin said in the statement announcing Vilaceca's appointment that he will be searching for a new Education Secretary a year from next summer, in 2014. French ould be a possible candidate again once that time roles around.
But French declined to say whether or not he might make a second run at the state's top education job.
"I don't know," said French when asked if he would apply for the position once it opens up again. "Right now I am pretty busy with budget stuff. I have not considered applying."
In 2009, French was named the top superintendent in Vermont by the Vermont Superintendents Association and is currently in his sixth year as superintendent of the BRSU, which overseas Manchester Elementary-Middle School, The Dorset School, Sunderland Elementary School, Currier Memorial School, and Mettawee Community School.
Vilaseca has served as Commissioner of Education since 2009. In the past, Vilaseca has worked with Governor Shumlin on education issues including the expansion of early education, higher proficiency in math, and ensuring Vermont schools are providing the education students need to compete in the global job market, according to the prepared press release.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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There is a new Magical Moments game available at WDW. This version is a trivia game with about 500 questions. More questions will be activated automatically when a guest walks through certain areas of the parks. There will be a total of 18 sets of questions based on diferent areas of the parks. The game will sell for $15 and is available all across WDW.
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New Magic Moments Game
Posted 05 March 2003 - 09:23 PM
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SNOW HILL – Elected officials appeared divided in their support for the Worcester County school system budget formally presented this week, with one commissioner saying the schools would cope, while other commissioners worried aloud that the school system would be damaged by budget cuts.
The contentious school budget process entered a new phase with presentation of the budget to local elected officials Tuesday. The budget exceeds the 3-percent cut mandated by the county under a state law mandating level school funding.
The Worcester County Commissioners and the Board of Education also met on Wednesday morning to go over the budget briefly. The budget process calls for a more thorough, line-by-line discussion of the schools budget later on.
The public school system, which historically receives high levels of funding from county government due to the state funding formula, have been resisting the cuts mandated by the commissioners in the fall. Since January, the school board and staff have predicted negative outcomes for the school system if the schools budget was cut by that 3 percent.
In March, the school board announced that state law requires schools to fund each student at the same level as in the previous year, a standard called maintenance of effort (MOE), and refused to ratify the 3-percent cut budget. The MOE budget adds about $1.8 million back into school funding for next year, saving the county only $650,000 as opposed to the $2.3 million reduction with the 3-percent cut.
The county has already filed a request for a waiver of the MOE requirement with the state Department of Education.
The schools want $72 million from the county for the next fiscal year under the MOE request. The 3-percent budget would come in at $70.1 million.
"We are required by state law to submit a maintenance of effort budget," said Board of Eduction President Bob Hulburd at Tuesday's meeting.
The MOE budget, which includes one furlough day for administrative workers but cuts only 29 positions, adds back in field trip, textbook, and materials of instruction funding.
"We're doing the best we can do with the challenges we face," said County Commission President Louise Gulyas after the presentation. "We'll do our best. That's all I can promise you. … This budget bothers me. It really does … I find it very hard. We will work this out. We have to work it out for the students, not for the teachers, not for the staff, not for the parents. It's about the kids."
The commissioners asked some preliminary questions about the MOE budget Wednesday morning.
Commissioner Bobby Cowger questioned a reduction in textbook funding.
"We would simply delay the purchase of textbooks and only purchase textbooks on an as needed basis," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes.
Textbooks last from five to seven years, he said, and are replaced when worn out or when the curriculum changes. Next year, under this budget, textbooks would only be purchased if current volumes became damaged, if a curriculum change was handed down by the state or if new students came into the system and the school did not have enough.
The budget also reflects rising costs in utilities and other necessary services outside the classroom. Schools have already instituted energy saving practices, but cannot control energy prices. Health insurance is also seeing costs rise, by as much as 10 percent.
Out-of-county travel for school employees has been restricted since the summer, unless required by the state or for appearances in front of the Board of Public Works or Interagency Committee on School Construction.
"There are times when the state department of education insists a person attend physically, be on site," Andes said.
The superintendent has also insisted on using conference calls for distant meetings, saying six-hour roundtrip of travel for a two-hour meeting is a waste of time and resources.
Gulyas noted that the schools' technology request has been cut to $200,000.
"What kind of impact does that make for the students?" she asked.
That $200,000 is for on-site software licensing, Andes explained. In the past, the school system has used its technology allocation to buy mobile computer labs, replacement computers, document cameras and more.
"We wouldn't purchase anything like that," Andes said.
"What we have will be sufficient?" Gulyas asked.
"No, it won't be, but we'll make do," Andes said.
"That bothers me," Gulyas said.
"That bothers me, too," said Andes.
Stimulus funding will not swell the school budget, Andes pointed out. Worcester County expects to get $800,000 in stimulus funding for special education, but that money will only be provided for two years, and by law cannot be used for existing operating expenses.
"It is restricted. We can only use it for special education. We can't use it to pay for anything we're already paying for," said Andes.
The school board appears to have strong support from some of the county commissioners.
"I think you all have made a hard effort and really tried to work with us on the budget. I know you've got some obstacles," Commissioner Bobby Cowger said.
The county needs to protect its investment in the school system, he said.
"As you all see, with us not meeting maintenance of effort it's certainly putting a burden on the system. It seems like the students are really hurting from this. That hurts me," Cowger said.
Times are tough, but the commissioners do not want to damage the school system, he said.
"It's incumbent upon us to search our hearts as we work on this and do the right thing, put our differences aside and do the job we have to do and protect what we've invested into," Commissioner Jim Purnell said. "To turn the clock back on our educational system would be a disaster. I think we need to take that into consideration this budget."
Commissioner Virgil Shockley agreed that the school system is excellent, but said claiming a funding reduction would seriously damage the schools did a disservice to the excellent teachers hired by the county.
"The teachers we have in this county will rise to the occasion," Shockley said. "I don't believe they will stand up in that classroom and give less than 110 percent every day."
Shockley also pointed out that in his 11 years as a commissioner schools have received funding over and above MOE every year.
"Every captain on every ship at some point has to face the storm. For the past 11 years, we have given smooth sailing," Shockley said.
All segments of Worcester County are hurt by the recession and the restrictions on the county budget, said Commissioner Judy Boggs.
"Another segment hit badly are the people served by our non-profits," Boggs said.
Worcester County is one of only four counties in Maryland that offer grants to their non-profits, though elected officials have already informed local non-profits that the county will not be accepting grant requests this year.
"We know in a recession there's more need rather than less need…the decisions we make impact on a lot of people," Boggs said.


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Technically "beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid," HMB is a chemical that occurs naturally in the body when the amino acid leucine breaks down.
Leucine is found in particularly high concentrations in muscles. During athletic training, damage to the muscles leads to the breakdown of leucine as well as increased HMB levels. Evidence suggests that taking HMB supplements might signal the body to slow down the destruction of muscle tissue.1
However, while promising, the research record at present is contradictory and marked by an absence of large studies.
HMB is not an essential nutrient, so there is no established requirement. HMB is found in small amounts in citrus fruit and catfish. To get a therapeutic dosage, however, you need to take a supplement in powder or pill form.
A typical therapeutic dosage of HMB is 3 g daily.
Be careful not to confuse HMB with gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a similar supplement. GHB can cause severe sedation, especially when combined with other sedating substances, such as alcohol or anti-anxiety drugs.
According to some but not all of the small double-blind trials performed thus far, HMB may improve response to weight training.2-9,21,24,25
One small double-blind,
trial found hints that HMB might help prevent muscle damage during prolonged exercise, thereby potentially
enhancing recovery during athletic training;10 however, a follow-up study failed to find this benefit.25 A very small study found evidence that HMB might improve aerobic exercise capacity.26
Very weak evidence suggests that HMB might improve
blood pressure
cholesterol levels.18
In a controlled study, 41 male volunteers age 19 to 29 years old were given either 0 g, 1.5 g, or 3 g of HMB daily for 3 weeks.12
The participants also lifted weights 3 days a week for 90 minutes. The results suggest that HMB can enhance strength and muscle mass in direct proportion to intake.
In another controlled study reported in the same article, 32 male volunteers took either 3 g of HMB daily or placebo, and then lifted weights for 2 or 3 hours daily, 6 days a week for 7 weeks. The HMB group saw a significantly greater increase in its bench-press strength than the placebo group. However, there was no significant difference in body weight or fat mass by the end of the study.
Similarly, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 39 men and 36 women found that over a period of 4 weeks, HMB supplementation improved response to weight training.13
Two placebo-controlled studies in women found that 3 g of HMB had no effect on lean body mass and strength in sedentary women, but it did provide an additional benefit when combined with weight training.14 In addition, a double-blind study of 31 men and women, 70 years old, undergoing resistance training, found significant improvements in fat-free mass attributable to the use of HMB (3 g daily).15
However, other small studies have found marginal or no benefits with HMB for enhancing body composition or strength.16,17,22,23,26
When the results of small studies contradict one another, it often means that the studied treatment produces minimal benefits at most, and this may be the case with HMB. Larger trials will be necessary to truly determine the extent of its effect.
HMB seems to be safe when taken at standard doses.18 Clinical trials have not found any significant adverse effects with short-term HMB use.19 Short- and long-term toxicological studies in animals have also found no evidence of harm.20
However, full safety studies have not been performed, so HMB should not be used by young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or kidney disease, except on the advice of a physician.
As with all supplements taken in very large doses, it is important to purchase a quality product, as an impurity present even in very small percentages could add up to a real problem.
Slater G, Jenkins D. Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid (HMB) supplementation and the promotion of muscle growth and strength.
Sports Med.
Ostaszewski P, Kostiuk S, Balasinska B, et al. The effect of leucine metabolite 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyrate (HMB) on muscle protein synthesis and protein breakdown in chick and rat muscle [abstract].
J Anim Sci.
1996;74(suppl 1):138.
Nissen S, Sharp R, Ray M, et al. Effect of leucine metabolite beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate on muscle metabolism during resistance-exercise training.
J Appl Physiol.
Nissen S, Panton L, Fuller J, et al. Effect of feeding beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on body composition and strength of women [abstract].
Kreider RB. Dietary supplements and the promotion of muscle growth with resistance exercise.
Sports Med.
1999; 27:97-110.
Panton LB, Rathmacher JA, Baier S, et al. Nutritional supplementation of the leucine metabolite beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) during resistance training.
Gallagher PM, Carrithers JA, Godard MP, et al. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate ingestion, Part I: effects on strength and fat free mass.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
2000; 32:2109-2115.
Vukovich MD, Stubbs NB, Bohlken RM. Body composition in 70-year-old adults responds to dietary beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate similarly to that of young adults.
J Nutr.
Knitter AE, Panton L, Rathmacher JA, et al. Effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate on muscle damage after a prolonged run.
J Appl Physiol.
Kreider RB. Dietary supplements and the promotion of muscle growth with resistance exercise.
Sports Med.
Nissen S, Sharp RL, Panton L, et al. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation in humans is safe and may decrease cardiovascular risk factors.
J Nutr.
Gallagher PM, Carrithers JA, Godard MP, et al. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate ingestion, part II: effects on hematology, hepatic and renal function.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
Jowko E, Ostaszewski P, Jank M, et al. Creatine and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) additively increase lean body mass and muscle strength during a weight-training program.
Slater G, Jenkins D, Logan P, et al. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation does not affect changes in strength or body composition during resistance training in trained men.
Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab.
Ransone J, Neighbors K, Lefavi R, et al. The Effect of beta-Hydroxy beta-Methylbutyrate on Muscular Strength and Body Composition in Collegiate Football Players.
J Strength Cond Res.
Thomson JS. beta-Hydroxy-beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation of resistance trained men.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.
Hoffman JR, Cooper J, Wendell M, et al. Effects of beta-Hydroxy beta-Methylbutyrate on power performance and indices of muscle damage and stress during high-intensity training.
J Strength Cond Res.
Lamboley CR, Royer D, Dionne IJ. Effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate on aerobic-performance components and body composition in college students.
Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab.
Last reviewed December 2015 by EBSCO CAM Review Board
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Tuck still the only player banned by AFLAdam Cooper
Published: January 30 2013 - 3:00AM
TRAVIS Tuck is part of footballing royalty, as a son of Hawthorn great Michael Tuck, nephew of Gary Ablett snr and cousin of superstar Gary Ablett jnr.
But he also holds an unenviable position as the first - and to this date, only - player to have been suspended under the AFL's illicit drugs code.
Tuck was banned for 12 games in September 2010 after he was found the previous month slumped unconscious in a car in Berwick, with drug paraphernalia nearby, which constituted a third strike under the league's drugs policy.
Tuck's drug problem came as a great shock to Hawthorn, which was unaware of the young man's struggles, and only learnt he had recorded a third strike at the same time as the rest of the football industry.
While Tuck, who now plays for Werribee in the VFL, is the only player to have been outed by the illicit drugs policy, plenty of other big names have paid a great deal for their drug problems.
Western Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore was last year suspended by his club, forced to attend counselling and had a strike recorded against his name when found bleary-eyed and drunk, and with a small amount of an illicit drug in his pocket. Six weeks later, former Collingwood player Gavin Crosisca admitted that his addiction to alcohol, cannabis and speed had cost him his house, his coaching career and, for some time, his family.
Colleagues said at the time they had no idea he was a regular drug user.
Liberatore still has a footballing career and Crosisca has vowed to do what he can to steer others away from the troubles he endured.
But Ben Cousins is still trying to rebuild his life after years of living dangerously at West Coast.
He was was, according to his own admissions, at times, addicted to ice, cocaine and speed. Despite his footballing standing, Cousins was sacked by West Coast in 2007 after one indiscretion too many.
The 2005 Brownlow medallist never tested positive during AFL drug testing - which, for critics highlights the inadequacies of the league's policy.
In his autobiography, Ben Cousins: My Life Story, he outlined how he evaded drug testers.
''I had to plan methodically, looking for windows when we had a Friday night or Saturday afternoon game and I'd know I had enough time to rest and get the drugs out of my system,'' he wrote.
''Six-day breaks were too hard, but if we had an eight-day break I'd be rubbing my hands together.
''There was a urine-testing program in place, but I'd learnt that I only got tested once or twice a season, and the testers never came on Mondays, when I was at my most vulnerable.''
West Coast in 2007 was a club rampant with off-field problems.
But it was nothing like the devastation the club faced in October of that year when a favourite son, former player Chris Mainwaring, died from a seizure after a cocaine overdose.
Cousins had been with Mainwaring hours before the 41-year-old died.
This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tuck-still-the-only-player-banned-by-afl-20130129-2dix7.html