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Memorial books are now in circulation for Kathryn T. Jewell at the Alvah N. Belding Library.
Memorial books are now in circulation for Kathryn T. Jewell. Adult Non-Fiction titles
include "Everyday kindness: shortcuts to a happier and more confident life" from Dr.
Brad McCoy, Julie, Jenny & Angie, "Kisses from Katie: a story of relentless love and
redemption" from Grace Bible Church, "Puppyhood: life-size portraits of puppies at 6
months" from Alice Mitchell, "The smart guide to the perfect job interview" from Lester
J. Sitts Post 5065 Ladies Auxiliary V.F.W., "Warman's antiques and collectibles 2013"
from John & Connie Kennedy, "The kissing sailor: the mystery behind the photo that
ended WWII" from Lorenzo & Nancy Huey, "World's best travel experiences" from
Larry & Carolynne Donovan, "The Dust Bowl: an illustrated history" from Dick &
Esther McPherson, "Betty Crocker quick & easy cookbook" and "Hexa go-go: English
paper piecing" from Ross & Sharon Barber, "The homemade pantry: 100 foods you can
stop buying and start making" from Russ & Karen Reeves.
Fiction titles in memory of Mrs. Jewell are large print titles "Christmas cake" and "Two
brides too many" from John & Karen Bush, "Hush puppy: a Melanie Travis mystery"
from Louise Fountaine & Betty Jenkins, "Domestic malice: a Murder, she wrote
mystery" and "Family patterns: patchwork mysteries" from Lorraine Reminder & Kay
Dickens, "Here come the ride: the Andi McConnell mysteries" from Beverly Zahm, "The
bridesmaid" and "The gunman's bride" from Ron & Carol Richard & Family. Adult titles
are "A home in Drayton Valley" and "The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose"
from Joan Garland, "Wake" and "An Irish Country Wedding" from Mary Jane Ciganik,
"Dancing dogs" from Ron & Carol Richards & Family, "The girl on fire and thorns" and
"The dragon's eye" from Bill & Betty Arntz.
The remainder of Mrs. Jewell's memorials were placed in the children's collection.
Titles are "Summer treasure" and "Amelia Bedelia sleeps over" from Bob & Deloris
Leppink, "Flip-Flop and the BFF's" from Gary & Diane Sower, "Jimmy the greatest"
and "Avengers assemble!" from Randy & Norrie Slater, "Diva Duck goes to Hollywood"
from Sharon Hamblin, "Just say boo!" and "Scare a bear" from Tom & Joan O'Connor,
"I know a wee piggy" and "Every cowgirl loves a rodeo" from John & Michelle Byrne
& Girls, "Underground" and "Frog and friends: the best summer ever" from Deloris
Crissman, Ken & Nancy Byrne and Joann Russell, "Going ape" and "The Amazing
Spider-Man" from Aileen McCabe, "Sammy Keyes and the night of skulls", "Penelope
Crumb" and "Ivy + Bean make the rules" from Cathy & David Reimersma, Jayne &
Clyde McAllister, "Drama queen" from Rita Gotwalt, Margaret Bradley and John Byrne,
"Junie B., first grader: turkeys we have loved and eaten" from Lloyd & Linda Loper,
"Hocus pocus motel", "Prisoner of the ring" and "This hotel is haunted!" from Melvin
& Julia Holbrook, "Baxter" and "Lucky" from Ken & Gloria Geiger, "Cinderella: the
great mouse mistake" from Don & Jody McGahan, "To Heaven and back" and "Sophie's
lovely locks" from St. Joseph's Secret Sisters, "Stink and the freaky frog freakout" and
"Cool stuff for your room" from Lela Deal, Sue Fountain & Julie Brimmer, "300 step-by-
step cooking and gardening projects for kids" from Dan & Joan Miller Moran, "Beading:
25 projects for a crafty afternoon" from Marcia Jenkins, Ashley & Brenda Townsend &
Allison, "Greece", "Russia", "England", "Spain" and "Milton Hersey" from Narva &
Forrest Champlin, Sandy & Don Tromp, Laura Jewell, Ronald & Lora Jewell, Bernard &
Karen Jewell, Judy &^ Terry Sears, Ray & Denise Jones, Wendy & Marty Joyal, Lois &
Jim Kenney and Mel & Tom Tromp.
Carol Smith made a donation to the Alvah N. Belding Library Building Fund.


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October 28. 2013 12:54AM
Police say Manchester shooting victim suffers 'non-life-threatening' wound
By PAUL FEELY
New Hampshire Union Leader
Manchester Police and SWAT vehicles line Rimmon Street during a search for a man involved in a shooting Sunday. (Mark Bolton/Union Leader)
MANCHESTER -- Police are searching for a Hispanic man with an Afro hairstyle pulled back in a pony tail in Sunday's shooting on the city's West Side that left a man with non life-threatening injuries.
Lt. Maureen Tessier said detectives do not believe the shooting was random and that there is a connection between the 30-year-old injured man, whose name investigators are withholding, and the gunman.
The shooter is described as being between 18 and 20 years of age, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, with a thin build. He wore his Afro-style hair pulled back in a pony tail and was dressed in dark clothing. The weapon was a black handgun.
Police say they were called to the Crosstown Variety at 270 Amory St. Sunday afternoon to respond to reports of a fight.
"At 3:35 Sunday, we got a call of a dispute or fight of some sort at Crosstown Variety," said Sgt. Allen Aldenberg. "As units were arriving, we got reports of a gunshot victim."
He said police found the man suffering from a gunshot wound to his midsection near the variety store.
"The victim was transported to Catholic Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries," said Sgt. Aldenberg.
Tessier said she did not know the wounded man's condition or if he was still hospitalized.
Police quickly developed information that a suspect in the shooting may be in a residence at 393 and 399 Rimmon St., allegedly on the third floor of one of them. Between eight to 10 officers in full SWAT team armor were sweeping the addresses late Sunday night. As of 11 p.m., neither a suspect or weapon were found at the scene.
"Once we clear the residences, we will deem safe for residents to return," said Aldenberg. "Detectives will begin actively working the case from there."
Rimmon Street was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the intersection with Wayne Street. Dozens of Manchester police cruisers, along with Manchester K9 units could be scene working the area, as residents looked on.
"I was the first to call the cops about it," said of Alexa Ray Doyon, of Putnam Street. "There was a fight down the end of the street. A guy with a gun was getting beat up. I thought they were fooling, but they weren't. One of the guys had a pretty good goose egg on his face, I called the cops, then I heard someone was shot."
"I was in my place sleeping, and the cops came in and told me to get out," said a Rimmon Street resident who would only give his name as Greg. "I didn't know anything was going on, I didn't hear any gun shots or anything like that."
"I walk a lot at night, and now I'm worried about it," said Doyon. "Maybe we'll head back to the east side."
(Union Leader staff reporter Pat Grossmith contributed to this report.)

subset: commoncrawl


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Drew Cline: A first for the NH GOP since Roe v. Wade?BY DREW CLINE
Editorial Page Director
April 30. 2014 4:49PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE Republicans are likely to nominate their first pro-choice U.S. Senate candidate since 1986 and their first pro-choice candidate for governor since 1970. If that happens, it will be the first time since Roe v. Wade that the New Hampshire GOP has run pro-choice nominees for U.S. Senate and governor in the same year.
It has been so long since Republicans had a pro-choice nominee for governor that no seasoned GOP hand contacted for this column could say for sure when the last one was. Former BAE Systems CEO Walter Havenstein, the establishment Republican choice for governor, is a moderate who is motivated by fiscal issues, not social ones. He is pro-choice, though he thinks a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy is appropriate. Andrew Hemingway, the activist turned candidate for governor, describes himself as pro-life, but few Republicans say he has a strong shot at the nomination. If he falls short, Havenstein will become the first pro-choice Republican nominee for governor since Walter Peterson ran for re-election in 1970.
For U.S. Senate, the favorite right now, according to both Republicans inside New Hampshire and national political prognosticators, is Scott Brown, who is pro-choice. Jim Rubens, widely considered to be Brown's most serious rival despite having raised little money, also is pro-choice. Pro-life candidate Bob Smith has raised more than $200,000, but he generates little media coverage or buzz among rank-and-file Republicans. He is considered a real long shot. Pro-life candidate Karen Testerman is a social conservative activist who has little support in the more moderate New Hampshire GOP. She ran for the 2010 nomination for governor and received 12,787 votes, just 10 percent of the total.
New Hampshire Republicans regularly nominate both pro-life and pro-choice candidates for Congress. Both Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley were pro-choice, as was Bill Zeliff, who represented the 1st District from 1991-1997. But John E. Sununu and Bob Smith, who both served in the 1st District, were pro-life, and this year three of the four Republicans vying for Congress are pro-life.
Republican governors have all been pro-life since Mel Thomson beat Walter Peterson in 1972, and all Republican U.S. senators have been pro-life since Warren Rudman retired in 1993. And althouth the New Hampshire party has had a pro-life platform plank since 1996, polling by the UNH Survey Center shows that the New Hampshire GOP is not a strongly pro-life party. April's UNH poll shows that 46 percent of New Hampshire Republicans say abortion should be legal in all circumstances, 40 percent say it should be legal in limited circumstances, and 9 percent say it should be illegal always.
The question is: Would pro-choice candidates at the top of the ticket this year mean anything? "I think the ground will have shifted like on gay marriage," former GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen said. It would be "a major wedge issue going out with a wimper."
Others are not convinced. "I don't think it's a big shift," said Chuck Douglas, who is pro-life and who represented the 2nd District in Congress from 1989-1991. "I think it's just the reality of who's running."
I suspect Douglas is right. But it could encourage more pro-choice candidates to challenge pro-lifers for high office in the future. We will need another few election cycles to know — assuming primary victories by Havenstein and Brown or Rubens.
Andrew Cline is editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader. Follow him on Twitter @Drewhampshire.


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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new World War II exhibit starting this summer at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum will pay tribute to the millions who fought, but organizers also have another purpose for the ambitious three-year project: getting young people engaged in the war's relevance.
Karl Weissenbach, executive director of the library and museum in Abilene, said the "Leaders, Battles and Heroes" exhibit will be directed at younger generations that often know little about the war, its significance in world history or the impact of its outcome.
"It's amazing how little information and understanding they have about World War II," Weissenbach said. "You ask them questions and often you get a blank stare. That's really unsettling."
Eisenhower museum curator William Snyder said not every battle will be depicted, but the hope is for people to see the war through the eyes of those who were there, using first-person accounts of what happened from the late 1930s through the war's end.
"It continues to impact our lives on a daily basis. I hope people will realize this didn't happen in the far-off history books," Snyder said.
The 10,000-square-foot exhibit opens in June and runs through the end of 2016. It will rotate artifacts periodically from a collection of 78,000 items to reflect the advancement of U.S. forces during the war, leading to the surrender of Japan and Germany in 1945. Among the items to be displayed will be a newly acquired Soviet uniform and diary that were obtained with the help of the State Department.
Beyond artifacts and photographs, Snyder said the plan is to use new technology to deliver the story of the war in a way that's compelling and relevant to young people. Visitors will be able to scan quick response, or QR, codes with a mobile device to link to more detailed content about specific events or items — a far cry from the telegraphs, shortwave radios and landline telephones used during the war.
"It's hammering home how different things were, just getting people to realize how much slower things were," Snyder said.
Younger generations are not getting a full enough picture of World War II because of the way history is taught today, with major events often lumped together with other social sciences, said Anita Specht, history professor at Kansas Wesleyan University.
"When I survey my students what their favorite topic is, the majority will say World War II," Specht said. "I think maybe our young people are frustrated with their understanding."
She said history teachers may need to be more creative in the future about how they cover the war in their classrooms.
Weissenbach said the exhibit will be the largest the Eisenhower staff has presented. It will involve both the library and museum and include educational programs and symposiums.
Staff will be collaborating with officials in Europe, Japan and South America to bring their artifacts and perspectives to the U.S. for the exhibit.
"World War II is still so relevant. I believe it's our responsibility being the Eisenhower library and with his legacy that we thank our veterans and our allies," Weissenbach said. "Hopefully, our goal is to make sure that kids have an appreciation of what their grandparents or great-grandparents sacrificed.
"We're putting all of our resources into this program. We are obligated to do this. This is Gen. Eisenhower's hometown and what the public rightfully expects."


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Since "redistribution" is in the news these days, I thought it might be valuable to offer some passages from Benedict XVI's 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate on the theme. He uses the term 8 times. The basic concept of redistribution is accepted as moral obligation to achieve distributive justice that the market alone cannot deliver on both the national and international scale. This doesn't preclude critical awareness of the need for doing it well and preserving the participation and full development of persons in need.
As Tom Reese says so often, in these matters, the Popes are far to the left of any politician in America.
The final passage does not mention redistribution, but so tracks the current stakes in our politics I have found myself returning to it repeatedly since it was written.
32. Lowering the level of protection accorded to the rights of workers, or abandoning mechanisms of wealth redistribution in order to increase the country's international competitiveness, hinder the achievement of lasting development. Moreover, the human consequences of current tendencies towards a short-term economy — sometimes very short-term — need to be carefully evaluated. This requires further and deeper reflection on the meaning of the economy and its goals, as well as a profound and far-sighted revision of the current model of development, so as to correct its dysfunctions and deviations.
36. Economic activity cannot solve all social problems through the simple application of commercial logic. This needs to be directed towards the pursuit of the common good, for which the political community in particular must also take responsibility. Therefore, it must be borne in mind that grave imbalances are produced when economic action, conceived merely as an engine for wealth creation, is detached from political action, conceived as a means for pursuing justice through redistribution.
37.Economic life undoubtedly requires contracts, in order to regulate relations of exchange between goods of equivalent value. But it also needs just laws and forms of redistribution governed by politics, and what is more, it needs works redolent of the spirit of gift. The economy in the global era seems to privilege the former logic, that of contractual exchange, but directly or indirectly it also demonstrates its need for the other two: political logic, and the logic of the unconditional gift.
39. Paul VI in Populorum Progressio called for the creation of a model of market economy capable of including within its range all peoples and not just the better off. He called for efforts to build a more human world for all, a world in which "all will be able to give and receive, without one group making progress at the expense of the other." In this way he was applying on a global scale the insights and aspirations contained in Rerum Novarum, written when, as a result of the Industrial Revolution, the idea was first proposed — somewhat ahead of its time — that the civil order, for its self-regulation, also needed intervention from the State for purposes of redistribution.
42. The processes of globalization, suitably understood and directed, open up the unprecedented possibility of large-scale redistribution of wealth on a world-wide scale; if badly directed, however, they can lead to an increase in poverty and inequality, and could even trigger a global crisis. It is necessary to correct the malfunctions, some of them serious, that cause new divisions between peoples and within peoples, and also to ensure that the redistribution of wealth does not come about through the redistribution or increase of poverty: a real danger if the present situation were to be badly managed. For a long time it was thought that poor peoples should remain at a fixed stage of development, and should be content to receive assistance from the philanthropy of developed peoples. Paul VI strongly opposed this mentality in Populorum Progressio. Today the material resources available for rescuing these peoples from poverty are potentially greater than before, but they have ended up largely in the hands of people from developed countries, who have benefited more from the liberalization that has occurred in the mobility of capital and labour. The world-wide diffusion of forms of prosperity should not therefore be held up by projects that are self-centred, protectionist or at the service of private interests. Indeed the involvement of emerging or developing countries allows us to manage the crisis better today. The transition inherent in the process of globalization presents great difficulties and dangers that can only be overcome if we are able to appropriate the underlying anthropological and ethical spirit that drives globalization towards the humanizing goal of solidarity. Unfortunately this spirit is often overwhelmed or suppressed by ethical and cultural considerations of an individualistic and utilitarian nature.
49. What is also needed, though, is a worldwide redistribution of energy resources, so that countries lacking those resources can have access to them. The fate of those countries cannot be left in the hands of whoever is first to claim the spoils, or whoever is able to prevail over the rest.
25. From the social point of view, systems of protection and welfare, already present in many countries in Paul VI's day, are finding it hard and could find it even harder in the future to pursue their goals of true social justice in today's profoundly changed environment. The global market has stimulated first and foremost, on the part of rich countries, a search for areas in which to outsource production at low cost with a view to reducing the prices of many goods, increasing purchasing power and thus accelerating the rate of development in terms of greater availability of consumer goods for the domestic market. Consequently, the market has prompted new forms of competition between States as they seek to attract foreign businesses to set up production centres, by means of a variety of instruments, including favourable fiscal regimes and deregulation of the labour market. These processes have led to a downsizing of social security systems as the price to be paid for seeking greater competitive advantage in the global market, with consequent grave danger for the rights of workers, for fundamental human rights and for the solidarity associated with the traditional forms of the social State. Systems of social security can lose the capacity to carry out their task, both in emerging countries and in those that were among the earliest to develop, as well as in poor countries. Here budgetary policies, with cuts in social spending often made under pressure from international financial institutions, can leave citizens powerless in the face of old and new risks; such powerlessness is increased by the lack of effective protection on the part of workers' associations. Through the combination of social and economic change, trade union organizations experience greater difficulty in carrying out their task of representing the interests of workers, partly because Governments, for reasons of economic utility, often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labour unions. Hence traditional networks of solidarity have more and more obstacles to overcome. The repeated calls issued within the Church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum,60 for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honoured today even more than in the past, as a prompt and far-sighted response to the urgent need for new forms of cooperation at the international level, as well as the local level.
It is certainly possible to deny either or both of those assumptions and not be struck dead. Marxists accept, sort of, the first one but disdain the second. Social Darwinists - who include Herbert Spencer in a direct line to Ayn Rand in a direct line to current campaign rhetoric - deny both. That there are, then, economists who deliberately omit Genesis and the Gospels from their structure of assulmptions is undeniable. But isn't it nice, for most of us, that the Church is on hand to expose their omissions?
Stanley (#4)
You are always displaying more hate for the rich than love for the poor (a legacy of 20th century socialism). But it is only those with excess capital who will start new companies and employ people. You cannot get more employees by crippling the employers. You also seem to miss the fact that without the technological inventions of the West, the minerals of the undeveloped countries would just be stones, and oil would just be a contaminant of the soil, something to be avoided and lamented.
As long as the US is building mountains of debt, it will be impossible to even consider spending for the environment, which is frankly a luxury of those who are well-fed and reasonably well-off. We need to make the social safety net sustainable and refocus it on only the truly needy, and get everyone else back to work. This will only happen if there is a change in leadership in this country. Another 4 years of the current plan, and redistribution will be impossible.
Bizzarely wrong.
Unmoored to reality
Bank leveraging has nothing to do with the mess we are in. What caused our current problems was the collapse of the housing bubble. That collapse also led to the financial liquidity crisis of 2008. It also led to a moribund housing/construction industry. These are two separate events that are the result of the same cause.
The financial crisis was an old fashioned bank run as the result of liquidity problems by many of the banks but our unemployment problems and GDP growth have much different origins. The liquidity problem was over by late November or early December of 2008. Subsequent unemployment and low growth starting in early 2008 but exacerbated by the fears of the financial crisis are also mainly due to the housing bubble collapse. However, there are additional problems that have made it worse and extended it so that our current malaise is due to both low housing/construction (too much inventory so why build anything new) and bad economic policies implemented since 2009.
Once the we lefties get the Bush wars over we can reduce the defense budget ,, unless FOX news convinces the crazies we need more aircraft carriers to control riots in numerous Muslim countries. Then we get those 4000 millionaires who pay no taxes, and the Tech companies to close their overseas tax shelters and bring the money home, and raise taxes on the 10% to 35% and eliminate carried interest and multi million dollar IRAs like Romney's and start taxing Swiss, Cayman Is. accounts..
THE DEBT will start to shrink. See we love specifics. check the polls.. the above is going to happen.. the WS traders are betting on it too. get aboard.. the train is leaving the station.
I have rarely seen one of the so called ''lefties'' say anything coherent on this web site, and that includes most of the authors. Oh, occasionally there is something to consider and agree with but in general it is incoherent, lacks a factual basis, illogical, often bizarre, unpleasant with insults directed at those they do not like. There is a refusal to engage in any serious conversation and the best that many of the ''lefties'' can often do is denigrate others. Interesting world the lefties come from.
When anything on the left leads to something worthwhile, let me know. It will be interesting to discuss it and maybe the non lefties can see what is in it that is worthwhile.
The National debt reached the milestone of $16 trillion during the Democratic Convention. How many speakers there noted that? Was there even 1 speaker who mentioned it?
President Obama said it would be counter-productive to increase taxes on the employers and investors in a recession, yet now he plans to do that this January. How many times do we hear him and those on the left say the reason the ''stimulus'' didn't work was because it needed a couple of more $trillion to work?
They have tried to borrow and spend their way out of the recession for 3 years and promise to do the same again for the next 4 years. That's what I mean by ''heads in the sand.''
'I have rarely seen one of the so called 'lefties' say anything coherent on this web site"
Then why do you read and post on this leftie website.?
We lefties have DOW up, Obama UP, lefties up. and you find this insulting?
How about your 'Incoherent.. not factual, illogical, bizarre, unpleasant with insults, and denigrate others." remarks
I can't wait for your 'calm' adjectives for me after the Nov.election when the GOP loses WH and both Houses.
Three reasons:
First, because this is the online public face of the Jesuits in the United States and I was taught by them at the college level. They had a very definite effect on me so someone suggested I look at their website to see how they are now. I find the shallowness, incoherence and bias of the presentation here an interesting phenomenon for the once most respected intellectual voice of the Church. It should not be a leftie website which almost by definition can not be respected. How they justify what is posted here boggles my mind some times.
Second, it is an easy way to keep up with what the Left is thinking. I don't have much time to pursue what nonsense they are up to lately and this site gives a quick insight into that and because I have a Jesuit background find it easy to get a quick read. If the Left thinks they have an advantage in anything, it will often be posted here but also like the dog which barked in the night, the lack of posting on many topics is an indication that they do not think they have an advantage. I find the mindset of the left fascinating. The left's lack of both logic and information and the constant use of insulting verbal attacks is one that I rarely saw growing up, in my Catholic education and in my professional career. But to watch it in supposedly grown people is as I say fascinating but almost incomprehensible that it is on a Jesuit site.
Third, there is often some good stuff about Catholicism here. I love the Church and am proud of it so I enjoy some of the non political articles here. It is the politics that is absurd and very often the religious topics are good.
Interesting comment. I really cannot think of one person I hate or have ever hated. I disagree strenuously with lots of things because I think they are dysfunctional and which hurt people but hate, no. There is absolutely no one that I will not converse with if the other person wants to. Maybe I have never been exposed to situations that would generate hate of anyone.
There is plenty of excess capital. But there is no one buying. That is the problem. So why invest. Also, a high tax motivates them to invest because that is one way the government can't tax it.
I'm not complaining about the use of minerals and oil, at least up to the point of 20 years ago. The thing is, it was removed without responsibility as is seen most obviously in the Gulf of BP. A contaminant in the soil becomes a contaminant in the oceans. This has been previously done throughout the world, but we only barely noticed it when it finally lapped up on the shores of our own contiguous states. But they will handle us the same way they handled the other third world countries now that we are becoming one. For the most part, the oil was stolen. Probably based on the experience of stealing land from native peoples.
I shouldn't hate the rich but a man has to know who his enemies are. They use their big bucks to bend the government to their purposes and that I despise. Don't love anything that can't love back, like a corporation. They don't like you or care about you, no matter what their commercials say.
As far as my logic is concerned, it helps when I apply it to the climate data and research that I don't think of Forbes as a science journal. I also don't get my science from slanderers and conspiracy theorists.
I have two major issues with your reasoning and both I consider immoral. I will explain why. I want to propose to you that some forms of redistribution may be immoral and that defined benefit plans in general are immoral. Use the term immoral in anyway you want, but I will use it in the sense that the common good is being hurt by some forms of redistribution and definitely by defined benefit plans. Notice I did not say all forms of redistribution but some. I find only very limited defined benefit plans as moral.
Redistribution - The average wealth of any group of people, whether they be the individual, family, community, state, region, country, sub-continent, continent and the world depends on the total amount of goods produced within each separate group. As the total wealth goes up, the average wealth goes up though not all will see their wealth increased as the total wealth increases. Redistribution is meant as a way to increase the wealth of the poor within any sub-group. Redistribution in the form of money transfers often do not increases the total wealth of all so it is a sub-optimal process in most cases but some can be justified for those truly in need. For example, the much maligned hero of libertarians, Frederick Hayek, was in favor of providing a basic level of subsistence for all. There are also some highly desirable forms of redistribution (for example the education of all within a group to a certain level is highly desirable and it takes redistribution to make this happen and as suggested a basic level of subsistence for the poor is probably an exception that benefits all.) Some individual groups may become wealthier through redistribution but most often the whole is less well off as a result. If the whole is less well off, then under what circumstances is the common good greater. I can think of some but generally this does not happen for a lot of reasons.
What many who propose redistribution should discuss is under what circumstances does redistribution increase the common good of everyone and what types of redistribution are positive. And just what does one mean by the term ''common good?'' Very often people who favor redistribution think that what they are doing is removing wealth from those who already have too much of it so their marginal lost is meaningless to them where those who receive the redistributed wealth have a large marginal increase in perceived wealth. Hence one justifies the redistribution on this basis. Seems like a reasonable process if in fact it actually happens this way.
But does such a thing happen in every case and when might the total wealth actually decrease as a result of the redistribution including the perceived wealth of the poor. For example, taxing the rich to redistribute might result in less economic activity and less jobs for the poor. Also suppose there were situations where instead of redistribution the use of the wealth by the rich actually increased the total wealth of the group including the wealth of the poor. I can describe real world situations in both cases. In one, redistribution would be good but in the other it would be harmful. To just blithely say there must be redistribution is meaningless unless one considers all the implications of the redistribution process. (The experiences with the Great Society programs provides numerous negative effects of redistribution) So there can definitely be times where redistribution hurts the poor and in those cases it is immoral. The discussion should be on when does it help and when it doesn't.
Defined Benefit Plans - The other topic which you brought up in another OP, and which I often consider immoral is the defined benefit plan. There are two major problems, with defined benefit plans which I see. There may be many others but these two problems to me are immoral because they are inherently not available to all and they force others without such plans to finance others with them. When these plans were first the norm the average age at retirement was 65. People did not live on the average many years past 65 but now it is not uncommon for one to live till their late 80's. That is often more than 20 years of retirement most often without any contributions to the total wealth of the group but yet the retiree is sharing in the total production of wealth by the entire group. It means less on the average for all.
The first problem with the defined benefit plan is that financing authority may not have the resources to fund the plans which puts the financing requirement on others who have nothing to do with the workers and the second problem is that not all members in our society are able to have such plans which means that a privileged sub group has much better retirement benefits than others because there are just not enough available resources for all.
Another issue with a defined benefit plan is how big it is supposed to be. Everyone tries to get the most for themselves but in doing so they may be mandating others to pay for their financial good fortune who are confined to a much smaller payout. There are teachers and policeman who are making over $100,000 a year in retirement while many in the surrounding community funding these generous benefits will never hope to come close to this.
It common now for public service union and some private union contracts to provide defined benefit plans that are beyond the funding authority to finance and in order to meet the requirements, others are forced to pay in higher taxes or reduced services. This is happening in our society now as public sector unions have negotiated retirement benefits far in excess of the benefits available to those who must fund the benefits. Because of this less funds are available to those who are financing the retirement benefits and less funds are available for social programs to help the poor or others in need by the funding agency. This is an immoral situation where a small group receive a large sum at the expense of others.
There seems to be an attitude that there is an bottomless pit full of money, mainly from the rich, that could pay everything for everyone. But in fact that is not the case and when the costs of these defined benefit plans come due, it is often others besides the rich which suffer. If such is the case, and I believe there is strong evidence to support such a conclusion, then how can one justify a defined benefit plan for a privileged few. It certainly is not possible for everyone and in some cases it may not hurt anyone to provide it but in a large number of cases it does. Hence, one could make the argument that a defined plan is often immoral.
Now before anyone jumps on this to say I am claiming that social security is immoral. My experience is that social security benefits are far less than private sector or public sector retirement plans and no major threat to our financial well being if they are kept at current modest levels. they may have to be cut back somewhat but the country should be able to fund them. Health care plans are another issue as often health care costs exceed actual payouts for social security and must somehow be brought under control or they could end up harming the common good. To just put off the discussion or hand waive them away is I believe immoral.
Benedict and the European intelligentsia demand that something be done so that workers in the developing world can have an increase in employment and income with no adverse effect on European welfare state beneficiaries.
What should be done? How can these conflicting demands be reconciled? On this question, Benedict and the European intelligentsia are silent. The role of Great Intellectuals is to criticize; figuring out solutions is for technicians. But they all agree that somehow or other it's all America's fault and the Americans ought to pay for it.
All this was done by the rich, for the rich.
The sucker middle class pays up to 35% tax on their pensions but Romney and his ilk only pay 15% on their carried interest pensions worth millions. Try short and sweet JR.
It's interesting that progressive Catholics seem to have rejected one of these authoritarian beliefs for the other. Or maybe it's just a shift of emphasis, from heaven to earth.
Progressives want something like a perpetual motion machine - investors to invest and employers to create new jobs, both without any prospect of keeping their earnings. They want people to have similar incomes despite marked differences in willingness to work really hard. They can't understand that if taxes are increased, the most talented people will figure out that long hours and short vacations and late retirement are not worth it. They don't understand that long-term dependency has a corrosive debilitating effect on the very poor they want to help.
Also, most taxes do not come from the rich and most benefits do not go to the poor, but to favored groups. There are not enough rich, and they are better at avoiding taxes (whether through retiring early, moving abroad, changing their use of the money, using politically favored loopholes, etc.). That's why GE and GM can get away with paying no taxes.
As JR said, coercive redistribution has the added effect of diminishing wealth of the whole community, as the incentives for hard work, honest trade and ingenuity are diminished, as has happened in every country where this has been most marked (see especially 70 years of Communism - the redistributing revolution par excellence).
Free open markets, flat fair taxes (as in transparent without an accountant), no loopholes, simple regulations (transparent without a laywer), and a safety net for the truly poor is the only way to grow ourselves out of our debt. And even Obama has said raising taxes in a recession hurts the economy.
If we don't grow the economy, then the only way to pay back the $16 trillion (or $20 trillion if Obama has another 4 years) is through reduced spending and massive inflation. And guess who gets most hurt by inflation (think gas prices and food prices - both have gone up dramatically in the last 4 years)?
There is new book by Charles Kesler which provides an interesting history of the Progressive movement in the United States and how Barack Obama fits into its long history. It is called ''I Am the Change: Barack Obama and the Crisis of Liberalism''
I am about a quarter through it and right now in the chapter on Woodrow Wilson. In this chapter it describes the origin of the US progressive movement in the university system which developed in the US after the Civil War. The university system modeled itself after the Prussian system of universities and its goal was to change our government to something similar to the Prussian model of government. In Prussia the government was run by experts from the universities. Prior to WWI Germany was considered by many to be most effective form of government in the world and was quickly surpassing Great Britain in economic power.
Obama is considered the fourth wave of Progressivism in the US as Wilson, FDR, and Lyndon Johnson were the ones that proceeded him. Actually the original model was implemented in Wisconsin by La Follette in the early 1900's. Interesting sidebar to all this is that La Follette would not support Wilson's war aims against Germany in 1917 because of his affinity for the German model of government and essentially was silenced because of it. Wilson made him the most hated man in America. Until the war La Follette was a big Wilson supporter as they both thought the US model of government and Constitution was inferior.
The essence of progressivism is that smart people can solve all of society's problems. It originally did not have as part of its agenda the running of economic activity by the government but that grew into it over time and is why progressives were very fond of Mussolini and the Soviets because they thought they saw an even better way to get to a new and better tomorrow. Some of the original important progressives were Republicans (e.g. Theodore Roosevelt) and La Follette was originally a Republican before becoming a Progressive. And Obama has channeled Lincoln in some of his oratory. It is hard to get away from Progressive thought as nearly everyone thinks they have a better way of making life better by government intervention. The problem is always the unintended consequences that no smart person has yet solved.
amos 4:1-9
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,
You who are in the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
Who say to their husbands,"bring that I may drink!,
The Lord God has sworn by His holiness,
That, behold, the days are coming upon you,
When they shall take you away with hooks,
Even the last of you with fishhooks.
And you shall go out through the breeches,
Everyone straight before her;
And you shall be cast forth into Harmon, says the Lord.
The biblical passage is about those who oppress the poor, which of course is not the same as the rich. It could be middle-class oppressors, government bureaucrats, lawyers, planned parenthood, criminal organizations, or foreign invaders, etc. I think we could all agree that oppressors of the poor should be stopped but it is wrong to justify everyone with a high salary (like President Obama, a union boss, a movie actor, a baseball player, or a banker, or CEO) as an oppressor of the poor, especially if we are relying on them to create new jobs.
Another point about the rich - is it everyone in the West (the top 1% of the world in wealth or income?), or just those who have a lot more money than I do? If we consider what wealth was in biblical times, almost everyone today would be seen as dramatically better off. Also, is a person with poor health and little time left to live really richer than someone who has less money but is young and in full health?
Better to focus on helping the poor and on incentives to facilitate their independence rather than on dividing the population by some financial metric so we can vilify them (whether the top 1%, 10% or 20% - of those with assets or those with high incomes). Good and bad people do not easily fit into these categories.
''A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous'' Proverbs 13:22
I do have a question for Tim: what is a "union boss"? Unions are democratic institutions that hold regular free & fair elections. The few that don't face government intervention and rank-and-file protests.
The dialogue that goes on in the comment tails of these blog entries ought to be seen as a richness, not an annoyance. Since they're only lightly moderated, I think we can assume that the editors see it that way, too. At least, I hope so.
(and probable fellow member of the Global 1% - defined globally as someone making over $34,000/yr).
Being a reader of this blog, I can certainly ''feel your pain'' about tedium and verbal gyrations, as the same complaints about the Church seem to come up again and again no matter what the topic.
In any case, to address your question on the meaning of ''union boss'', it is a common term for people who get to the top of unions through manipulation and coercion and then maintain discipline with an iron hand (sometimes criminal) or use threats of violence against company owners. Forcing workers to become union members and using their coerced dues to support their political opponents is an recent example in the news. There are indeed honest unions, but there are also many unsavory characters hovering around the strikes, yelling ''scab'' and worse and causing riots.
I googled ''union boss'' and got over 600,000 links. One was for Jimmy Hoffa, another for Richard Trumka (AFLCIO). Here is just one on yahoo news (Reuters). As we know from politics, a democratic process does not prevent bad actors gaining and clinging to power (such as Hugo Chavez, or even Hitler). Also, note the LA times article on the California Teacher's Union from a few months ago: The latter fought to prevent removal of abusing teachers, even in a case with photographic proof (see LA story on Mark Berndt and SB1530)
I'm sorry Tim that you can't do better than Hoffa. Good grief. The percentage of unions with any history of corruption is in the low single digits.
As for "coerced dues" I believe you are (once again) referring to the "closed shop" practice. Here it is in short form: workers vote on whether to have union representation in the workplace. The workers vote in a democratic election to have the union. Now you abide by the election and are a union member. Don't like the results? Work for a decertification of the union.
When you are part of a democratic society do you just ignore the results you don't like? Does this mean that Barack Obama isn't really president of the USA because you never voted for him?
Finally, I don't understand your reference to the Global 1% Are you inferring that I shouldn't endorse redistribution for that reason? Or that I should? BTW, I do.
Voluntary collective bargaining is moral, but coercing a worker to join a union if he/she wants to work there is not. Also, secret ballots are the norm for most democracies - why are unions opposed to it - only to coerce and bully workers, in my opinion. Any worker should have the right to work whether he/she joins a union or not. Imagine how much bullying goes on in a closed shop. What are they afraid of? It should be voluntary and an open shop.
You feign surprise at the mention of Hoffa (wasn't he one of the good guys, relatively?) but avoided my reference to the current political hack, Richard Trumka. I mentioned Hoffa because he came up in the first page of the Google search on ''union bosses.'' And Reuters did too - not exactly a conservative think-tank!
Anyway, my point is that unions, being human, can be good and bad, and a lot of the time they are bad, most famously in the fight against Communism in the past century. Union bosses can be as greedy as any Wall Street boogeyman. And they support purely political policies that have nothing to do with their mission, such as abortion, gay marriage, and what-not, often against their members views. They are reflexively against fair trade (the means where wealth is distributed internationally to the very poor), against immigration (too much competition in the workplace, etc.) and against any pension reform, so needed in the current financial situation we are in. I am amazed you can't see all this.
Do you feel coerced by elections? My point is that unions are democratic workplace organizations-they aren't a men's fraternal organization or a wine tasting club.
Why is Rich Trumka a "political hack"? If you have evidence of Trumka's wrongdoing please share it with us-but telling me to Goggle "Trumka" and "Reuters" and I will find references to "union bosses" is downright silly. Please Goggle "Santorium" and tell me what you discover in the first couple of results.
p.s. Your laundry list of labor's positions is inccurate. As for "sceret ballots" I take it you are referring to the defunct card check legislation. I was never a fan of it-but the current labor law regime is lopsided to a significant degree in the employers' favor. The labor law system has been broken for a long, long time. I have a couple of acquaintances who worked in personnel and HR. They report that interferring with a union recognition campaign is easy and few penalities apply for companies. They will gladly pay them. Even if the union wins they drag their feet on signing the first contract so it never sees the light of day. Real fair, democratic, and Christian. That brings us back to Catholic social teaching.
Since this seems to be a debate between us I'd be happy to continue it through e-mail exchange.
(What next? No virgin birth?) But anyway, I want to suggest to Mr. Smith and Mr. O'Leary that they try to explain their oppositon to unions to Green Bay Packer fans this morning. In their explanations, I hope they devote particular attention to the equivalency of scabs.
I think you have just said the only way to accept unions is to give them coercive power over workers. So, like Animal Farm, you just want to replace the people in power, not empower the workers. I feel like I am stuck in a time-warp, arguing with ideas discredited in the last century.
Again with this argument Cosgrove? In fact, public officials are no push overs when it comes to negotiating with public sector unions. Ask the Chicago teachers. . .
But that doesn't matter. There are no facts or references to Catholic social teachings that will move you (or Tim et al.) to support unions. Fair enough. You are idelologically opposed to unions and collective bargaining rights. Why not just admit that you guys endorse the old master-servant relationship that ruled labor relations before the Wagner Act and be done with it? The not-so-coy provisio that you guys do really support unions-just not any unions that have ever been in exisitence is tiresome and transparently glibe.
We have a couple things in common. First, I just downloaded your book to my kindle and will read it shortly and second, I also grew up in Philadelphia.
Mr. Killoran,
You introduced private sector unions while my comment was mainly about public sector unions. You did what I said everyone who supports unions do, switch the discussion to private sector unions instead of dealing with a completely different type of situation, public sector work. I believe the Wagner Act does not apply to public sector unions and the master servant relationship is certainly not appropriate for public sector unions in the way you used it. Actually the master is mainly the union and the servant is who they negotiate with because often they receive donations from the unions. There are thousands of examples from all across the country with California being a good example of their excess. Those who pay are usually people who never see let alone participate in the negotiations. Not true in private sector unions.
My objection to a lot of private union activity is less than my objections to the public sector unions. They are now a minor factor and they have less effect now with strikes which was their main threat till the late 70's. Let's just say my main objection to private unions is that they are suboptimal for all while favoring a select sub group, themselves, and in the process reduce the efficiency of the economy overall which means that there is less on average for everyone except themselves who end up with a greater share. See Mancur Olsen's book for a discussion of this.
Private sector unions do this in numerous ways but two are work rules and demand for high compensation which reduces the ability of the employer to compete in a private sector nationally and internationally because of higher costs. They also exclude non union workers which are generally poorer and must find somewhere else to use their skills that are frequently less appropriate for the jobs they find. Private unions essentially create more poor. But today this is generally not as true since they are a minor factor in the economy.
My guess is that Catholic social policy would change if they examined more carefully just what effects unions have on the economy. I can see some benefits of private union activity, an important one is safety and work conditions for the workers. I can also see some economic benefit for a corporation if the union ensures stability of the workforce. So I would not try to make blanket accusations about how someone else thinks. I would support unions if I thought they led to the common good. They mainly lead to the good of a select subset of the economy and in the case of public sector unions, some who are very, very comfortable.
As for ''coerced dues'' I believe you are (once again) referring to the ''closed shop'' practice. Here it is in short form: workers vote on whether to have union representation in the workplace. The workers vote in a democratic election to have the union. Now you abide by the election and are a union member. Don't like the results? Work for a decertification of the union.
When you are part of a democratic society do you just ignore the results you don't like? Does this mean that Barack Obama isn't really president of the USA because you never voted for him?
Vince, perhaps the parallel fails fatally in that presidential elections are held repeatedly, every four years, whereas, so far as I know, union members vote only once on what kind of shop to have, then there are no more elections. This is what the wikipedia ''union shop'' article says about subsequent elections:
Union-represented employees covered by a union shop agreement may ask the NLRB to hold a ''deauthorization election'' to allow all bargaining unit employees to vote to determine whether the clause will continue to remain in effect.
That seems to say that any subsequent elections are unusual, extraordinary, not normal. And that suggests that once a union is in, it's unlikely to be voted out.
I agree the Christian call is radical, but there is a key feature you and others seem to have missed. It should not be coercive. It shouldn't try to capture one's allegience by power, by force, but by a call and a response of the heart and mind. Even though Christians have often used force in history, it is not the way of Christ and it was wrong. By all means, call the rich to conversion and the virtues, like generosity. Also, there is a lot of unapologetic and robust hate expressed for the ''rich'' on this blog, even on this post. Just read the earlier entries above.
Regarding unions, it is completely within Catholic teaching to decry the coercion and violence and other bad behavior of powerful organizations, whether unions, or corporations or banks, etc. I did point out above that unions can be good as well as bad. I fully support unions that are arranged voluntarily, are free of political and organizational corruption and especially that abjure violence and coercion. many unions need to be reformed - transparency, no closed shops, regular elections, always with secret ballots, and they should not give money to political campaigns that go against the wishes of their members.
It is true that it is much harder to verify hypotheses in economics than in, say, chemistry. But some hypotheses are so easily falsified there is no point in discussing them. The proposition that the way to end global poverty is for rich countries to simply throw money at poor countries has been conclusively disproved.


text:
The 2012 and 2013 commencements were held at the Faith Family Church at 8200 Freedom Ave.
Over 30 students from the Hoover High School graduating class of 2014 attended the North Canton City Schools Board of Education meeting Wednesday to show support for keeping this year's graduation program at a local church.
One student, 18-year-old Matt Sahadi, spoke to the board about a petition he has circulated. It has signatures of 288 students from the graduating class demonstrating their support for keeping the ceremony at the Faith Family Church at 8200 Freedom Ave.
The 2012 and 2013 commencements were held at the church. Last August, Superintendent Michael Hartenstein received a letter addressed to him from The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) headquartered in Madison, Wis. The letter stated that the organization had been contacted by a local parent regarding North Canton Schools holding their graduation ceremony in the auditorium at Faith Family Church.
FFRF "works to protect the constitutional principle of separation of church and state," according to the letter.
The group says it is unconstitutional for a public high school "to force, compel or coerce its graduating students, their parents, teachers and other members of their families or friends to violate their rights of conscience at a graduation ceremony."
The letter also says "the selection of the Faith Family Church as the site for the Hoover High School commencement ceremony demonstrates the school's preference for religion over non-religion and, more specifically, Christianity over all other faiths."
Hartenstein said the district has decided not to hold the ceremony at the church.
"A site for this year's commencement has not been confirmed yet, but it will not be held at the church," Hartenstein said.
"We are considering the Canton Civic Center or using the auditorium at Hoover High School," he said.
In response, Sahadi put together a petition for graduating students to sign asking the district to reconsider and hold the ceremony at the church.
"The auditorium in the Faith Family Church offers seating for 4,000 people, unlimited parking, it has great acoustics, and it is centrally located just minutes from Hoover High School. The Canton Civic Center has difficult parking and it is located outside of the North Canton School district," Sahadi said.
He also said local businesses and other community groups rent the auditorium for various non-religious events. Sahadi told the board that he started circulating the petition Dec. 9 and within a few days, 283 of the 413 seniors from this year's graduating class had signed the petition.
"Currently, Hoover rents its facilities to a church," he said. "And, not one outsider has complained about that. What is the difference between a church renting a facility from Hoover and Hoover renting a facility from a church?"
Jeanne Konowal, a Hoover alum who has two children enrolled at Hoover, also spoke to the board.
"The holding of the 2014 graduation at Faith Family Church will not change the ceremony in any way, shape or form," Konowal said.
"It does not suddenly become more religious because it is held in the auditorium of the church. The invocation used will be the same, any references made to deity in the commencement speeches and even the closing 'The Lord Bless You and Keep You' will remain the same no matter where the ceremony takes place," she said.
Konowal said that the letter from the FFRF stated there are 530 members in Ohio and comparatively there are 410 students graduating from Hoover this year.
"I want the board and the administration to understand that I don't have any issues with them, I appreciate everything they do for the students. I just wanted them to see how important this is to the students. This is not about holding commencement in a church. It's about holding it in an auditorium that meets the needs of students and their families. That auditorium just happens to be owned and rented out by a church," Sahadi said.
He said the next step is to meet with the superintendent and then meet with fellow students to determine what to do next.
Met in executive session to discuss personnel matters. When the board came out of executive session, they approved a five-year contract for treasurer, Todd Tolson, effective Aug. 1, 2014 with a salary of $113,300 a year.Recognized two outgoing board members, Chris Goldthorpe and Chris Thomas. Goldthorpe is retiring after 20 years of service as a board member and Thomas is leaving after serving four years.Approved establishing a North Canton Hoover High School Athletic Hall of Fame to recognize outstanding athletes, coaches, teams and individuals who have contributed significantly to the athletic program.Granted permission to donate bricks from the Charlotte Avenue school to the North Canton Sideliners to use for a fundraiser project.UP NEXT
Meets at 6 p.m., Jan. 8 in the Media Center at Hoover High School beginning with an organizational meeting with Betty Fulton acting as Pro Tem.


text:
Browns QB Campbell wishing for win to end season
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — There won't be any playoffs stuffed in stockings again in Cleveland this year, but Jason Campbell has decided to make the most of his final start in what has been another bitter season for the beleaguered Browns.
"It's Christmas time, time to be jolly, not sullen," Campbell said Tuesday. "It's time to smile and not frown. We don't need any Grinches. We need to go out, have fun, cut it loose and fix the things we need to fix in the offseason and come back next year."
Campbell's positive approach and attitude are in stark contrast to his postgame comments following Sunday's 24-13 loss to the New York Jets. Campbell played poorly as the Browns (4-11) lost their sixth straight and ninth in 10 overall, a skid that has given them six consecutive seasons with at least 11 losses. Campbell admitted to "pressing" during the game, and that his desire to make big plays had an adverse effect, resulting in costly mistakes.
Campbell said he was still "pretty down" on Monday, but after speaking with his father, Larry, he decided it was time to lighten up.
"He's the guy I go to to give me that little extra boost that I need," Campbell said of his dad. "He asked me what's my Christmas gift, I told him I really don't want a Christmas gift, just to get a ′ W.′ Just to end the season the right way, that would be the only Christmas gift I'd really appreciate."
The Browns haven't won since Nov. 3, when a 24-18 victory over Baltimore put them at 4-5 and actually triggered postseason talk that now not only seems presumptive but preposterous.
Campbell, who began the season backing up Brandon Weeden and then got passed by Brian Hoyer on the depth chart, had expected so much more. The 31-year-old veteran signed as a free agent in March because he thought he'd have a chance to revive his career, which seemed on the rise before a season-ending injury for Oakland in 2011.
He was playing the best of his career then only to be sabotaged by injury.
Campbell has shown flashes of being a dependable starter this season, but was slowed by a rib injury and concussion. He's gone 1-6.
On Dec. 8, he passed for a career-high 391 yards in a heartbreaking loss at New England, but followed it with uneven outings against Chicago and New York, showings that may have affected his future in Cleveland.
Campbell knew this could be his final shot, and he may have blown it.
"They're hard to come by," he said. "I was talking to my dad last night. He said I need to sound a little but more enthused. I told him it kind of hurts when you look at the opportunity that's been there. Some of the games I've played up to my ability, some games I've had a couple mistakes. It's been tough in that aspect because I wanted to take advantage of the full opportunity presented."
Campbell is his own toughest critic, but he said the desire to win drives him.
"I take things a little bit too hard at times," he said. "A lot of it is from the pressure of trying to be successful and just reaching the expectations you have for yourself. I set high expectations when I got a chance to play and sometimes you lived up to it and sometimes you didn't. Overall, I'm happy in some things and disappointed in a lot of things."
He's under contract through 2014 at $2.25 million, but Campbell knows this Sunday could be his last with the Browns.
"That's up to the GM and the coaching staff," he said. "Whatever it is, I just want to finish on a high note and go into the offseason feeling good, or at least get a win and not feeling bitter or bad."
NOTES: Safety T.J. Ward, eligible for free agency, said he wants to re-sign with the Browns. "I'm a person that wants to finish things and I want to finish things on a winning note," he said. "I want to play in the playoffs here, I want to bring this city a championship. I've been doing everything in my power to help this team win, so I definitely want to see that through." ... CB Joe Haden (hip), NT Phil Taylor (concussion), TE Jordan Cameron (concussion), LB Paul Kruger (flu), John Hughes (knee), Jason Pinkston (concussion) and G Shawn Lauvao (unspecified) all missed practice.
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org


text:
I attended a conference recently where the presenter began with a quip. He said, You know youre getting old when you strain your back in your sleep. His joke highlights an unfortunately common problem that for many Americans is no joking matter.
Some surveys have shown that more than 80 percent of Americans suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain accounts for about 3 percent of all visits to a physician resulting in 15 million visits each year.
Risk factors for low-back pain include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, increasing age, smoking or repetitive physically strenuous work. Its interesting to note that back-pain risk includes not enough activity as well as overdoing it. In addition, psychological risk factors for chronic low back pain include depression and anxiety.
Back pain can result from injury to structures in the back including bones, ligaments, discs or nerves. Less commonly, back pain may be the result of infection or systemic illness.
Most commonly, back pain involves the lower back and is associated with muscular strain. The anatomy of the back involves a stack of blocks made of bone, known as vertebrae, which surrounds a tube known as the spinal canal. At upper levels, the canal contains the spinal cord while at lower levels the canal contains nerves.
Between each vertebra is a disc made of cartilage which serves as a shock absorber. At the level of each vertebra are nerves exiting the spine and responsible for everything from sensation and muscle control to other jobs including bowel and bladder control.
Muscles on either side of the spine help maintain upright posture. Muscles in the low back are especially prone to strain injuries resulting from use of the low back as a lever such as when bending forward to lift or carry.
Muscular strain injuries of the low back can produce a wide range of symptoms from mild soreness to severe pain and spasm. Such injuries can be avoided through practice of healthy back behaviors such as using proper lifting techniques.
In general, the back should be kept straight while using leg muscles to lift. Remember to squat rather than stoop.
Maintaining a healthy weight along with regular low-impact physical activity can reduce the likelihood of low-back problems.
When strain injuries do occur, rest, stretching, moist heat and judicious use of anti-inflammatory pain medications such as ibuprofen can provide symptomatic relief.
Whenever back pain is associated with fever, abdominal discomfort, leg weakness or numbness, or alterations in urinary or bowel habits, medical evaluation is recommended.
Likewise, back pain that is severe or prolonged merits a medical assessment to exclude diseases manifesting as back pain.
Similarly, back pain that follows trauma such as a motor-vehicle accident or fall from a height should prompt a visit to the doctor to exclude serious injury.
Dr. Matthew A. Clark is a board-certified physician in internal medicine and pediatrics practicing at the Ute Mountain Ute Health Center in Towaoc.


text:
The Colorado Department of Agriculture reminds cattle owners to test their herds for bovine trichomoniasis.
As of April 25, there were two positive trich locations in two Colorado counties: La Plata and Park.
So far this year, there have been three locations in the state.
A map detailing trichomoniasis sample submissions by county and the prevalence for trichomoniasis-positive counties can be found at www.colorado.gov/ag.
In 2012 there were 12 positive locations in 8 counties; 2011 saw 143 locations in 8 counties. The highest number in recent years has been 43 locations in 17 counties in 2008.
"Testing and monitoring herds for trichomoniasis is the best method of controlling this infection," said Keith Roehr, state veterinarian. "Cattle owners should talk to their veterinarians to determine the best management practices for their herds."
Trichomoniasis is a venereal disease of cattle caused by Trichomoniasis foetus.
The infection causes fertility problems such as early embryonic death or abortion of the calf. T. foetus is asymptomatic in bulls, but if bulls become infected, the percentage of open cows can increase from 5 to 30 percent. The disease can affect both beef and dairy cattle.
Colorado trich regulations require all non-virgin bulls changing ownership or being transported into Colorado to be tested for T. foetus unless the animal is going to slaughter.
Bulls on public land grading permits or with grazing associations must be tested prior to turn-out.
Several diagnostic labs across the state offer trich testing.
Samples must be taken by an accredited veterinarian.
For testing questions, call a local large-animal vet or the Colorado Department of Agricultural Animal Industry Division at (303) 239-4161.


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Historic artifacts to be saved, says mayor
Demolition for the Gibson Building is scheduled to begin the week of March 11, according to an email from Belding Fire Chief Gregg Moore.
In the email, he said Tim Cook of Golder Associates contacted him to make him aware the demolition permit had been received. Also, Golder said the contractor, Bierlein Companies, is expected to move large equipment to the site through the week of March 4.
The building is located at Bridge and Main streets in downtown Belding and was once the location of an Electrolux Home Products facility. The structure dates back to the 1800s.
The fight over the building's future began in autumn of 2010 when Electrolux purchased the property and announced its plans for demolition. A petition began circulating around town, and a Facebook account called "Save Belding's Clock Tower" began and gained more than 1,000 "likes" in a short period of time. Soon, an official group was formed with Belding resident Jon McGowan at the helm. The group members brought awareness to the issue and placed their focus on saving the building, which they deemed part of the city's history that should remain.
Members of city council placed a moratorium on demolition for six months in order to research the situation and asses potential options to save the building. Soon after, a historic district ordinance was approved by city council members and a historic district study committee was formed. The committee, made of six volunteers, completed a study to establish the legal basis for the creation of a local historic district. The district was formed and an additional six-month moratorium was established in April of 2011.
Court battles ensued, with the city defeating Electrolux in hearings to remove the moratorium and place a restraining order to prevent the city from having historic study committee meetings. The historic district committee also labeled some of the buildings on the Electrolux site as historic, which denied the company the right to apply for demolition.
However, the amount of court cases, hearings and attorney consultations broke the city's budget allotted for the services, and a consent judgment was created and sent to Electrolux after city council members approved it during a meeting in November 2012. It included the allowance of a demolition permit for all 4.5 acres.
The consent judgment states, "Electrolux shall use reasonable efforts to dismantle, preserve, donate and deliver to the City: (a) a slate tile roof top over the clock tower, the clock, the wood housing surrounding the clock and the materials immediately abutting such wooden housing ... and (b) the blocks/placards containing the "Belding Bros." inscription and the plaque showing the year built."
Electrolux is expected to work with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to make sure demolition is legally carried out and that the property is left in the same condition it was prior to the demolition.
The clock tower and other artifacts from the building are expected to be salvaged. Belding Police Chief Dale Nelson said there will not be any permanent road closures or detours during the demolition, but there may be temporary delays or closures for heavy equipment moving. He added safety measures will be enforced by Bierlein Companies once demolition begins.
Belding Mayor Protem Andrea Belding, who was a supporter of saving the structure from the beginning, said it will be hard to see the Gibson Building disappear.
"I am still disappointed and saddened at the loss, but the inability of the city to sustain the fight financially and the consent judgment leaves me optimistic for the future," said Belding.
She added she appreciates Electrolux's swift action following the demolition permit approval and said she believes it shows a commitment from the company to abide by the guidelines within the consent judgment.
As demolition takes place, Belding said she will be one of many watching, as the event will hard to ignore.
"I am still anxious that the process will go smoothly and that there will be hopefully minimal disruptions to the residents and businesses," she added.
Belding Mayor Ron Gunderson said he is also sad to see the Gibson Building go.
"I still feel that the building itself could have been a viable resource for downtown development and economical development," said Gunderson. "The whole downtown is going to change drastically."
He said he will be sure to take pictures as the building comes down.
Follow Karin Armbruster on Twitter @ISSKarin


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Well hello you lovely lot, When I started 'From Stitch To Stage' it was all about giving creative people an outlet to design and make something outrageous that they might not get a chance to wear and of course a way to represent our wonderful crafty community on the stages I perform on but what
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Good morning happy campers! I'm just swooping in to send you to my latest Minerva Crafts blog – all about the marvellous Mila dungarees by Tilly and The Buttons! Love love love! Click on the picture to read the blog! Now I'm off to enjoy the sunshine – whoopeee!! ?? Have a lovely weekend
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The post My May Minerva Make – Marvellous Milas! appeared first on Gabberdashery.
Ahoy me hearties! I am so sew SO ridiculously excited to share this make – not only is it Spring and hot and finally cotton dress time and I've made one of my favourite dress patterns, By Hand London's Kim, but also I DESIGNED THE FABRIC! I am over the moon to get a chance
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Hello folks! It's another quick blog today as I'm just sweeping through with a link to my latest Minerva make – my first knitted socks! Click on the photo to read the blog on Minerva Craft's Blogger Network: Oh and while I'm here – the stunning flowers in the photo are from London Blooms who have
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The post My April Minerva Make – first knitted socks! appeared first on Gabberdashery.
Morning lovelies! I just wanted jump into eyesight to share the wonderful new prizes that have generously been offered to the winner and runners up of the 'From Stitch To Stage' challenge I am running. I have already been sent some AMAZING entries in both physical form and photos and it's all getting very exciting!!
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Hello makers! I thought it was high time that I told to you all about the AMAZING prizes for my creative challenge 'From Stitch To Stage' because there are many and they are INCREDIBLE! Firstly the ones from me and my music team… THE RUNNERS UP: Will be featured in a photoshoot This will be
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Item description: This Knitting Annies product is by Annie - Classical and traditional blackwork receives a modern makeover when stitched in shades of green and yellow in this intricate design. The pattern only appears complicated, but it is easy enough for an early intermediate stitcher to accomplish. This e-patt... Learn More
Manufacturer: Annie
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Category: Annies
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Living Color: The Watercolorists
Living Color: The Watercolorists : Libby Davidson
West Gallery
Our Annual Land & Light & Water & Air is once again presented in 2018. This is our most anticipated show of the year and is the one show in which we invite a judge and award prizes. The Alden Bryan Medal goes to the Best In Show. Artists wait all year to present their best works in this exhibit. 100+ works of art fill the main gallery, and are sure to delight and engage you.
Middle Room
Alden Bryan painted Vermont and the Lamoille Valley with love and caring. We decided to invite a handful of artists to revisit some of those paintings, and the places they represented, and give us their view of Vermont. Selecting just a few of Alden's paintings, each place is revisited and painted by multiple artists. Contrasts in history, interpretation, and style are revealed in these groupings of paintings in the Middle Gallery for this show.
East Gallery
Legacy 2018 is full of new works by the best selling artists of 2017! New artists in Legacy 2018 include Dianne Panarelli Miller, Ken Dewaard, Irina Rybakova, Dennis Sheehan, Tom Adkins, and SSam Vokey. They join returning favorites, Eric Tobin, Andrew Orr, TM Nicholas, Julie Y Baker Albright, Jeanette Fournier, Bob Aiken, Susan Bull Riley, Tom Nicholas, Mark Tougias, Fiona Cooper Fenwick, Chris Magadini, Mary Martin, Jayne Shoup, and John Clarke Olson.


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April 21. 2013 1:31AM
Ted Siefer's City Hall: Aldermen quietly invite proposals for ambulance service
By TED SIEFER
New Hampshire Union Leader
At any given meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, dozens of items come up for votes, and many are passed without discussion - especially if there is something controversial on the agenda like, say, the tax cap. This, of course, was the main event at Tuesday's meeting, which stretched past 1 a.m.
And so it was that the aldermen OK'd a pretty important document without a word of debate - a request for proposals for its emergency ambulance service.
For more than a year, the current ambulance company, American Medical Response (AMR), has been the target of complaints over large bills - topping $2,000 for a trip to the hospital - and aggressive billing practices.
In response, the fire department, which oversees the ambulance contract and works closely with the company in responding to 911 calls, has proposed an in-house ambulance service. Last month, the department proposed putting out an new RFP for a private company, while making the transition to an in-house service over five years.
However, unlike the draft RFP discussed in committee last month, the final version approved by the aldermen Tuesday eliminates any mention of a transitional plan. The department is not being considered as the ambulance provider at this point.
The RFP also differs in another important respect: Rather than negotiating the fees, the department would charge the contractor for "dispatch services," it puts them down in black and white.
Under the proposed contract, the fee would start at $325,000 in 2014 and steadily rise to $372,892 in Year 5. In addition, there would be an unspecified annual fee to cover the cost of monitoring the contract.
The fee is quite a hike from the current amount AMR pays the department: about $249,000.
You may recall that the "dispatch service" fee was the decisive factor in AMR winning the contract two years ago over Rockingham Ambulance. AMR offered to pay $235,000 - more than double the amount Rockingham was paying.
The aldermen acknowledged at the time that, all things being equal, the money was what gave AMR the advantage.
So, will the even larger dispatch fees this time around be a barrier to other bidders?
Fire Chief James Burkush doesn't think so. "We've already had five vendors express interest," he said, adding, "We would expect that AMR would also be in the mix."
One of the likely bidders will be CarePlus, a New Hampshire-based company that has been pressing local and state legislators to do more to prevent patients from being charged exorbitant rates from out-of-state companies. (AMR is the largest private ambulance company in the country.)
Rick Doherty, the company's vice president, said he wasn't discouraged by the RFP approved last week. "We need to gather more financial information, but we're going to do everything possible to meet the provisions of the RFP," he said.
Since ambulance rides are often covered by Medicare or Medicaid, the contracts must comply with federal anti-kickback laws.
Burkush said the amount charged for dispatch services reflects the growing costs of operating it. "We took everything into account," he said. "We've had salary increases, equipment costs, a lot goes into it."
Left blank in the proposed contract is the rate the ambulance company is authorized to charge. In AMR's current contract, the amount is 35 percent of the Medicare reimbursement rate, although in practice, this only applied to the amount a patient could be charged out of pocket.
The new contract begins Jan. 1, and the fire department expects to make its recommendation in June. Good thing ambulance companies are used to working in a hurry.
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City Democrats appear to be coalescing around a single challenger to the formidable Mayor Ted Gatsas: Ward 12 Alderman Patrick Arnold. The latest endorsement - and it's a biggie - comes from Alderman-At-Large Dan O'Neil, who is the longest serving member on the board and also enjoys strong support from labor unions.
"I'm proud to support Patrick's campaign for mayor because we share some important values," O'Neil said in a statement released by Arnold on Thursday. "We share the belief that our city can do better, that we need responsible leadership at City Hall, and that our leaders should always put the people's best interests first."
O'Neil joins a growing list of endorsements, including those of Aldermen Ron Ludwig and Pat Long, and school board members Sarah Ambrogi and Kathy Staub.
- - - - - -
The shared values of O'Neil and Arnold may have been on display on Tuesday, when both voted against a proposal to put the tax cap on the ballot again. They were joined by another tried and true Democrat, Garth Corriveau of Ward 6.
Corriveau and O'Neil were largely silent during the discussion, and Arnold made the point that proposing a charter amendment would be stepping on the Charter Commission's turf.
In the midst of the debate, the three left the room and returned at the same time.
Was there an informal caucus, which would seem to clash with the spirit, if not the letter, of the state's Open Meetings Law?
Arnold says it was a "coincidence."
"One might be using the restroom, another increasing their blood sugar," he said, adding there was "no discussion" of the tax cap.
Ward 4 Alderman Jim Roy, who also chafes at the tax cap but didn't support putting it on the ballot, couldn't help but take notice. "I don't go for backroom horse trading and twisting of arms," he said. "I'm not saying anything happened, but sometimes perception is reality when people disappear in the middle of a discussion. There are some questions in some people's minds."
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One doesn't typically think of hot-dog vendors as social service providers, but this was the premise behind John Giles' recent message to city officials.
Giles runs a hot-dog cart, and he wants the city to revise the zoning around Verizon Wireless Arena to allow peddlers in the area from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.
"When kids get out of the clubs, we serve a purpose," Giles told the aldermen Tuesday. "Club-goers might have had one too many drinks. Getting something in their stomach - a hot dog, a sausage - could prevent them from getting in their car drunk."
Giles said he would only be doing his vending after events at the Verizon and wouldn't threaten concession sales. He would also be close to bars in the area.
Alderman Pat Long of Ward 3, which includes downtown, said he's working with the City Clerk's Office on the matter, and it will likely by referred to the Administration Committee.
Long said he's supportive of the idea, but it needs to be examined. "We want to make sure we don't hurt the businesses that are 24-7 there," he said. "And when you have people congregating outside bars, you can have issues with fights and what have you."
- - - - - -
Word is the job of principal at Manchester High School West is going to be reposted. District officials are not satisfied with the candidates. In the meantime, it's safe to say that John Rist will continue as principal on an interim basis, at a rate of $90 an hour.
Rist, you may recall, took the reins at West following the resignation of MaryEllen McGorry in January, which itself followed a months-long investigation that cost more than $100,000.
That the district failed to find a satisfactory candidate for a top post sounded a bit too familiar to Ward 9 school board member Art Beaudry.
"I'm very disappointed, for a district of our size, we can't find internal candidates to take over that position," he said. "This seems to happen time and again."
Ted Siefer may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @tbsreporter.


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The Democratic Party has come a long way from the "lockbox" economics of 2000. Four years ago, Al Gore campaigned on a promise to maintain federal budget surpluses as far as the eye could see–and to use the money to pay off the national debt. This year, every candidate has evidently figured out that fiscal rectitude does not alone win elections. So they are all promising to spend public money on more positive objectives–big spending, in some cases. Four years ago, Gore attacked from the right, denouncing Bill Bradley's modest healthcare proposal as fiscally irresponsible. This year, every Democrat has a substantial plan to reform healthcare, and some of them want to go all the way: universal coverage. Gore himself now blesses the concept.
Collectively, the Dems share a far more aggressive posture on economic issues than the one inherited from the Clinton era. The party is not exactly turning left, but its would-be leaders are definitely sidestepping toward a more ambitious liberal agenda. The shift is probably accompanied by belated regrets. If Gore had run on a stronger agenda in 2000, he would likely be President today. If Congressional Democrats had not lost their voices during the 2002 elections, they might not be a virtually impotent minority in the House and Senate.
In any case, the Democrats hardly have much choice for 2004, given that Bush has governed so brutishly and nearly obliterated the landscape left behind by Bill Clinton. Who can accuse the Dems of liberal profligacy when Bush has shifted fiscal policy from $200 billion surpluses to $500 billion deficits? How can the right attack Democrats for expanding the welfare state when the Republicans have just done so themselves, with their expensive new drug benefit?
If one sifts through the candidates' policy papers and speeches, a rough consensus is visible on three large propositions–all important goals. Healthcare reform, including insurance coverage for all children and maybe for all adults too. Confronting the global trading system with major reforms, that is, "fair trade" rules on labor rights and environmental protection, and less freewheeling power for multinational corporations. A major restoration of public investment for long-term objectives–renewable energy production and public infrastructure, everything from high-speed rail to hydrogen fuel cells to rebuilding inner-city neighborhoods. One way or another, these three proposals are also designed to stimulate jobs and raise incomes.
The most imaginative and forward-looking item is the public-works vision called the new Apollo Project–a $300 billion, ten-year plan to jump-start the transition to the postpetroleum era. Every Democratic candidate has endorsed the concept in generalized terms. It would reduce US oil dependence by financing alternative energy sources like wind and solar power but also guarantee a market for cleaner technologies like hybrid cars and other energy-efficient products. The agenda was fashioned by a blue-green alliance of organized labor and environmentalists, joined by some businesses and civil rights and community groups. Dick Gephardt bought the whole package, which he dubbed "Apollo 21." Dennis Kucinich goes further and calls for $500 billion in spending. The public investments under the original program will leverage $1 trillion in private activities, generating some 3.3 million new jobs (about what Bush has lost in the past three years).


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Powerbock.eu is a new portal dealing with associations interested in jumping boots. Our goal is to provide the greatest amount of information and build community with the same interest. Powerbock, is a new revolutionary urban sport, that is constantly branching out for a new jumper and teams around the world.
It is currently 24 Oct 2018 03:24
In total there are 7 users online :: 1 registered, 0 hidden and 6 guests (based on users active over the past 5 minutes)
Most users ever online was 1750 on 21 Oct 2013 23:11
Registered users: Majestic-12 [Bot]
Legend: Administrators, Global moderators, Registered users
Total posts 110007 • Total topics 7110 • Total members 2328 • Our newest member Matt


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This is in response to coverage of the public hearing on the proposed closing of Har-Mer Elementary School in Harrisville, and to the Butler Eagle's Feb. 6 editorial on the subject.
Some important information might have been missed.
One point not mentioned is that, of the five schools in the Slippery Rock School District, Har-Mer is the only one that passed the mandated state testing.
Should the reward for success be elimination?
Another point is more involved. I have serious issues with the numbers that were included in Superintendent Kathleen Nogay's presentation at the hearing.
Every school district is required to submit enrollment numbers to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Those numbers are available on the department's Web page.
The Education Department table shows that the district reported Har-Mer's enrollment as 120 for 2011-12. Nogay's presentation showed that number as 115.
A number of years ago the district redrew its lines, which reduced the number of students at Har-Mer. Now the claim is that Har-Mer is under-used.
Nogay presented an extensive list of "educational services" that the Har-Mer students would have access to, should they be transferred to Slippery Rock Elementary School. The first question is: Why were Har-Mer kids deprived of those services in the first place?
There have been several school district families that wanted their children to attend Har-Mer, but the district denied their request. At least one family was told it was because Har-Mer was "too full."
Another factor being weighed is the cost-to-student ratio in the various schools. Of course, a big part of the ratio is enrollment, and the district's numbers are suspect.
A number of years ago, the school board decided to merge the Prospect and Portersville elementary schools into one school (Moraine Elementary). Later, a considerable amount of money was spent to expand Moraine, so it could handle the student load.
A similar situation should not be repeated in connection with Har-Mer. Much money was spent expanding Har-Mer about 12 years ago. Now Nogay proposes to just throw that away.
There also are some issues regarding loss of federal Title I money for Har-Mer for the current year. Some insiders believe that funding loss was due to a lack of foresight by the administration.
Har-Mer has for years had a friendly, nurturing and healthy environment that promotes learning in our most impressionable students. Shouldn't it be kept open to do the good work it's doing?
Balancing a budget is difficult in the current economy, but the board's decision must be based on real, accurate, verified data. The board also must consider the effect that closing Har-Mer would have on students, the community and the district.


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Farm Rich recalls more food as E. coli spreads
April 05. 2013 11:11PM
Farm Rich Products Corp. is expanding its recall of various frozen mini meals and snacks in New Hampshire and across the country because of possible contamination by a strain of E. coli, state health officials announced Friday.
A total 24 people in 15 states have been infected with the outbreak of E. coli 0121. None were in New Hampshire.
Farm Rich Products of Buffalo, N.Y. expanded its recall to more than 10.5 million pounds of its products that it distributes to retail stores and restaurants nationwide, including New Hampshire.
A complete list of recalled products may be found on its website: www.farmrich.com. Consumers who have these foods in their homes should immediately throw them away, state public health officials said.
"It is important that all consumers check their freezers for this product," state Public Health Director Dr. Jose Montero said in a statement.
"Since many of these items are frozen, they could still be in many New Hampshire homes, and with the recall expansion, people should check again to be sure," he added.
E. coli 0121 infection causes hydration, bloody diarrhea, abdominal crams. While most people recover in a week, some develop hemolytic uremic syndrome.
See www.fda.gov/Food/default.htm or www.fsis.usda.gov for updates.


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Welcome to the Virus Encyclopedia of Panda Security.
Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT/ME/98/95
Agent.FHG is a Trojan, which although seemingly inoffensive, can actually carry out attacks and intrusions.
It uses stealth techniques to avoid being detected by the user:
It uses several methods in order to avoid detection by antivirus companies:
Agent.FHG does not spread automatically using its own means. It needs an attacking user's intervention in order to reach the affected computer. The means of transmission used include, among others, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, email messages with attached files, Internet downloads, FTP, IRC channels, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks, etc.


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Firefighters free Colo. woman whose belly button ring got stuck on drain cover of shallow pool
GREELEY, Colo. – Firefighters in Colorado say a woman's belly button ring became entangled with a drain cover in a shallow splash pool but that she was freed without injury.
Authorities say the woman became stuck Wednesday as she floated on her stomach with her child in a shallow pool at the Greeley Family Funplex.
Firefighters tried to turn the ring to free her but then started to drain the pool while working to manipulate the ring.
They said Thursday that she eventually was freed and she wasn't hurt in the process.