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Led by business and community leaders Tom and Gloria Kellerhals, local businesses and individuals raised more than $14,000. By partnering with the nonprofit organization In-Vest USA, these volunteers were able to equip 40 local law enforcement officers with the one piece of gear that could mean the difference between l...
I founded In-Vest USA 14 years ago on my firmly held belief that we must do everything in our power to protect the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us. We've enjoyed tremendous success, thanks to civic-minded folks like the Kellerhals.
Look no further than New York, where four convicted criminal aliens -- a child molester, two killers and a racketeer -- just won a federal lawsuit to remain in the country after all being ordered deported. The stunning decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Blake v. Carbone, came down on June 1 as the shamn...
Errol Foster, a Jamaican national, who killed a man with a pistol in 1990. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. He was released from prison in 2002. The feds began deportation proceedings while he was still in custody. An immigration judge ordered his removal in 2000, which Foster appealed. The Board of Immi...
Immigration lawyers representing criminal aliens like these four menaces have gummed up the court system with 11 years of litigation over the 1996 laws banning deportation relief for felons. Meanwhile, when all else fails, deportable aliens can appeal directly to their member of Congress to circumvent immigration laws ...
These individual bills are ripe for corruption. Indeed, the Abscam scandal in the 1970s involved payoffs for the sponsorship of exactly these kind of private immigration laws. Democrats and Republicans alike continue to sponsor these "private relief" bills seeking to sabotage deportation efforts. Every time a private r...
WWW has come to be known as the World Wife Web for netting a spouse. For every success story on the matrimonial sites, there are scores of failures. Gitanjali Sharma gives the low-down on the addictive search for a partner.
The octapads start their beats, the bass guitar craves for even more, the synthesizers size up the mood, the crescendo is building up, the feet start to move, suddenly you hear the unmistakable sound of the Punjabi dhol and voila it has vocals by Bryan Adams as he whips up the Summer of 69.
The economy, the introduction of Mandarin Chinese to primary grades’ curriculum and other initiatives in the Macon Miracle are some of the reasons behind the higher enrollment numbers, Dallemand said.
He also said the introduction of the system’s Welcome Center this year -- requiring new and transferring students to register there instead of at schools -- has helped students begin learning once they get to school each day, based on his visits to several schools this week.
“For the most part, with a few exceptions, when students go to their schools, they went directly to their classrooms,” the superintendent said.
Carter said Welcome Center staff didn’t know what to expect this year in light of reports of people leaving the system. Despite some challenges, staff members are working on improving the experience for families.
In an update to board members about the budget as of June 30, Chief Financial Officer Ron Collier said new numbers show there is an additional $64,000 in the fund balance than what projected in preliminary figures.
In July, the system used about $8 million to cover deficits in the fiscal 2013 budget to cover lower state and local revenue funding as well as higher employee costs.
This week, accounting firm Mauldin & Jenkins started auditing the system’s finances for the past fiscal year, Collier said.
Board members later discussed the possible cost savings from proposals to close schools and cut staff through attrition, which were included in an early draft of the Macon Miracle plan.
Dallemand said closing up to 10 elementary schools and cutting 300 positions through retirements and resignations could save the system $23 million to $27 million over several years.
Closing schools with low student enrollment might need to be reconsidered in light of future budget projections, some board members said.
“It’s something we need to look at soon, real soon,” board member Tom Hudson said.
Board President Tommy Barnes said school leaders will need to consider how schools could serve the district’s future educational needs as well as how to best merge schools.
“I would hate for that process to get out of (line) with what our needs are going to be,” Barnes said.
Considering the challenges that arose when school leaders have had to close schools in the past, board member Lynn Farmer said the public should be involved in the process when the time comes.
“The important thing is that we bring the community along,” she said.
In other business Thursday, in a 4-2 vote, the board approved increasing elementary school lunch prices by a dime to $1, bringing them in line with current prices at the middle and high schools, with board members Gary Bechtel and Sue Sipe voting against the measure. Board members Ella Carter and Wanda West were not pr...
Through the price increase, the system is working to comply with the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 by making sure that essentially the federal government isn’t subsidizing the cost of paid lunches, Barnes said. The federal government also takes into account the funding a school receives for free and red...
With almost 80 percent of Bibb students on free or reduced lunches, the full price of Bibb’s lunches are less than half of those in Houston County, Collier said.
“This increase in the school lunch price at the elementary schools will be the first increase in over 16 years,” a memo to school board members stated.
The newest version of the Air Force's Predator unpiloted aircraft will perform primarily "hunter-killer" missions, according to newly available Pentagon documents.
The current Predator's primary mission has been to supply real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for other forces. The new Predator B will perform that as a secondary role, according to the documents sent to Congress last month and now published on a Pentagon Web site.
The current Predator, which CIA operators originally armed with just two Hellfire missiles in late 2001, has since proven itself in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Predator B will be armed with as many as 3,000 pounds of precision-guided bombs or missiles and carry sensors that will allow it to automatically find, track and ...
The new aircraft would be intended to fulfill broader tasks outlined in the National Defense Strategy signed March 1 by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The strategy calls for denying sanctuary to enemies such as terrorist groups in ungoverned territories within otherwise sovereign countries anywhere in the world.
"A key goal," the Rumsfeld strategy program says, "is developing the capability to surge military forces rapidly from strategic distances to deny adversaries sanctuary." To do this, the strategy paper calls for "a number of capabilities, including persistent surveillance and precision strikes."
According to unclassified budget material, "The aircraft is being designed primarily to prosecute critical emerging time-sensitive targets as a radar-based attack asset with on-board hard-kill capability." The Predator B will fly at 50,000 feet, twice the altitude capable by its predecessor, and will carry seven times ...
The current Predator already carries a targeting system built into a sensor turret that has both electro-optical and infrared imagery, a laser target marker and infrared illuminator. Together, they transmit "real-time motion imagery throughout the operational theater," according to the documents.
Powered by a new turboprop engine, the Predator B has started undergoing tests using advanced sensors and weapons payloads, controlled by pilots on the ground operating instruments that "function as the aircraft cockpit," one document says. From ground control stations at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas or new mob...
At a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing March 9, Glenn Lamartin, director of defense systems for Rumsfeld, told members, "Two weeks ago . . . I saw [at Nellis ] Air Force Predator pilots and sensor operators working missions over 5,000 miles away under combat conditions. They operated from the safety of home."
At that same hearing, the price next year for each Predator was put at $12.5 million by Rep. Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), the ranking Democrat on the panel. Over the next five years, Pentagon documents project purchases of 35 Predators to replace those that crash or are shot down and 24 Predator Bs, with the first 20 to ...
The price does not include the costs of developing the Joint Direct Attack Missile or Small Diameter Bomb that the Predator B will eventually carry. Those munitions will also be carried eventually on the B-1 and B-2 bombers and fighter-bombers.
Even before the Predator B is available for combat, the Air Force projects its annual spending to operate Predators will more than double. The additional costs, most of which will augment intelligence gathering and distribution, are to grow by $78 million this year, by $164 million next year and by $175 million the fol...
Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell, Goulburn Valley Vietnam Veterans’ Association member Bill Brown, City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Kim O’Keeffe and Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed.
Bob Wilkie and Graeme Bayley lay a wreath on behalf of Shepparton RSL.
Goulburn Valley Vietnam Veterans’ Association president Peter Dealy and Private Brian McInneny.
Tatura RSL member Rob Mathieson lays a wreath on behalf of Tatura.
Guest speaker Brian McInneny spoke of his time in battle.
Goulburn Valley Vietnam Veterans’ Association president Peter Dealy addresses the crowd.
The rain stayed away for celebrations of Vietnam Veterans’ Day on Saturday, where more than 100 people braved the cold to honour the 52nd anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.
Also in celebration this year was a special emphasis on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Coral-Balmoral.
Goulburn Valley Vietnam Veterans’ Association president Peter Dealy said the battle was a great awakening for him.
‘‘There has already been remembrance day services held in Townsville and Canberra on May 12, which was the start date of the battle that lasted 26 days and today we celebrate in Shepparton,’’ Mr Dealy said.
Guest speaker Brian McInneny, then a private, spoke of his time in battle.
‘‘In the Battle of Coral-Balmoral, not only did these diggers display and reform the Anzac spirit, they also wrote their own chapter, which is now added to Australia’s military history,’’ Mr McInneny said.
The GV Vietnam Veterans’ Association, Shepparton RSL, State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell, City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Kim O’Keeffe, State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed and GVVVA Patron Sharman Stone laid wreaths.
Proceedings were delayed for a short period of time because of a medical emergency.
THE partner of England football star Ryan Bertrand was robbed of her Rolex watch outside their mansion early yesterday.
Model Mari Burch was ordered to hand over the diamond-encrusted watch as she got out of a taxi at 5.45am.
Sources say she was threatened with a weapon by a masked bandit suspected of following her taxi after she left a nightclub in Central London.
It is understood England and Southampton left-back Ryan, 29, was in the house with their two children at the time of the robbery.
Mari, in her late 20s, raised the alarm and police were called to the gated house in Cobham, Surrey. She was “shocked and distressed’’ by the robbery, but unharmed.
The robber is believed to have had an accomplice driver. A source said: “Mari had been out with friends and left the children with a babysitter before Ryan got back.
The Premier League star has shared Instagram snaps of the glamorous beauty - thought to be originally from Brazil.
We all have to learn to be by ourselves, whether it\'s after a breakup, a move or a divorce -- but how, exactly?
I recently went through a breakup. It was the worst -- they always are -- but as I wrestled with sadness over the end of the relationship, another perplexing challenge arose: how to be alone.
I've been through a million -- OK, three -- breakups before. I’ve spent plenty of time single in between. I thought I'd be good at this alone thing by now. I'm an only child, for crying out loud. Instead, on the heels of another split, I’m amazed at how difficult just being by myself can be. I have friends – they are w...
How does one become good at being alone? This question might be uniquely poignant for those of us fresh out of a breakup, or still in our 20s, but it's a question people confront at all stages of life and for all sorts of reasons, whether it’s a big move to a new city, an unexpected death, a divorce or any countless nu...
So, I decided to seek out the world's wisdom on how to be alone. (As I tweeted earlier this week, "One of my favorite things about being a journo? Being able to take my own burning questions to experts under the pretense of public service.") In terms of romantic aloneness, Anna David seemed like a good first stop: She ...
It took a long time to move past that fear. In fact, it took setting out to write a book about bettering herself in order to land a man. "The idea I pitched Harper Collins was very much 'Let me get totally perfect so that I can find the perfect guy to fall in love with me and the last chapter will be about how in love ...
Either through the writing of the book or that final relationship disaster, she says, "I basically realized that it was the old cliché: that no guy was ever going to make me happy," she says. "I was buying into this age-old fairy tale that at the end of the movie you end up with a guy."
In my search for wisdom on spending time alone, regardless of relationship status, I quickly found that very few experts want to talk about being alone; they'd rather talk about how to not be alone. Judy Ford, the author of "Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent," is a rare exception to that: "W...
She adds, "The fear of public speaking is a mere tickle in comparison to the seismic ripples of horror that reverberate through the heart when faced with spending the weekend alone," says Ford. "People are more courageous about going to the dentist than they are about eating in a restaurant alone." That's true for youn...
Her practical tips for conquering solitude are to get creative ("creativity is the cure of loneliness"), push yourself to "do something you have never done before" (like taking yourself out to dinner), admit your loneliness to others ("you might be surprised that they feel lonely too"), "get cozy with the gaps," those ...
Speaking of happiness, Gretchen Rubin wrote the book on it -- she's the author of the New York Times bestseller "The Happiness Project" -- and has a slightly different take. "Ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists agree that probably the key to happiness is strong relationships with other people," she says. "...
Her emphasis isn't on learning to be happy alone, but rather recognizing what level of social interaction makes you happiest -- and it's different for everyone: "Maybe you don't have a sweetheart, but being around a lot of other people might make you feel happier even if you wish you had that," she tells me. "I think p...
As for making the most of whatever degree of aloneness that you have -- whether it's being a bachelor or living in a new town with no friends -- she says, "You don't wait for circumstances to change in order to have the life that you want. If you want to go to France, don’t think, 'Oh, as soon as I have a boyfriend I’l...
As for simple, radical acts of public solitude -- like taking yourself out to dinner -- Eric Klinenberg, a sociologist and author of "Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone," says a large part of people's discomfort is the result of social expectation. "There are some [activities] that...
It's odd that being alone requires any instruction. As Ford so exquisitely and painfully put it: We’re born alone, we die alone and “deep within our souls we live alone" -- but it's one of life's many poetic ironies that we couldn’t be more together in our aloneness.
“I am not going to Cancun,” I barked — defiance lining my voice.
Eyebrows arched, my saintly mother glowed at me. “What do you mean you aren’t going to Cancun? You are not spending the week at home; you can spend the weekend in Duluth with your grandfather,” she coolly responded.
“Fine, I’ll go see Grandpa Arnold,” I smirked before stomping off in a pique of high school frustration.
The average March temperature in Cancun is 82 degrees; the average March temperature in Duluth is 34 degrees. Furthermore, I would be taking the inimitable Greyhound to the Iron Range. Cancun, on the other hand, promised tropical beaches and drinks. And for this irrepressible teenager, it promised sultry Spring Break n...
Irrelevant — even to this hormone-crazed teenager. I was proving a point. Come hell or (Caribbean) high water.
“Pack warmly,” my mother laughed as she and the rest of my family shook their heads in collective disbelief. Upholding my promise (at least to myself), I would spend the next eight hours on the gurgling Greyhound. Cancun would soon emerge as the newest curse word in my vocabulary.
From Spring Break trips to university grades (yes, I have debated professors — as in multiple — over semester grades) to endless Monopoly games, I am proudly stubborn. Strong-willed, I euphemistically counter, when pressed on my obstinacy.
While my mother chuckled at my strong-willed nature, other parents (cough, cough Dad) demanded dutiful obedience. Or else.
The open question: Should you embrace your child’s inner rebel or neuter his strong-willed personality?
The answer: embrace the volcanic meltdowns, passionate political discussions, and “I am not going to Cancun” declarations (thank you, Mom!). While my mother surely eye-rolled at my latest dinnertime disagreement, the strong(-willed) survive and, in most cases, prosper.
Therapists confirm that strong-willed kids are more willing to do what’s right, rather than what their friends are doing. Assuming parents connect with their strong-willed spawn, these kids make motivated leaders who will do the right thing even if they have to do it solo.
As for all those draining battles with your strong-minded child, well, they presage a persistence that will pay off — literally. Rule-breaking kids are more likely to command higher salaries than their straight-and-narrow peers. From standing up for their own financial interests to employing greater persuasive skills, ...
“You are too damn stubborn. Mind me,” my father would shriek. As his brow furrowed, face reddened, and neck veins bulged, I would ignore the latest demand with a smirking nonchalance.
Yes, I am stubborn. Proudly so. And that attribute — the willingness to stick up for myself — has helped charter life’s turbulent waters.
Even when those waters are, let’s say, frigid Lake Superior — and not the balmy Caribbean seas.
Kibuishi was hesitant to take on the project at first, however; GrandPré's original pastel covers "are so fantastic and iconic," he said, that "when I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn't want to see them reinterpreted."
But Kibuishi's illustrations are not meant to replace GrandPré's. Instead, Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade Publishing, explained to the Guardian that the covers were a "way of attracting the interest of a new generation of 8- and 9-year-olds who may know Harry mostly through the movies," for the trade paper...
Kibuishi added, "I could bring something to it that many other designers and illustrators probably couldn't, and that was that I was also a writer of my own series of middle-grade fiction."
"As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, 'If I were the author of the books - and they were like my own children - how would I want them to be seen years from now?' When illustrating the covers, I tried to think of classic perennial paperback editions of famous novels and how those illustrations tend to fe...
My kids are on my mind a lot lately.
If my life were perfect, I would probably work part-time and devote so much more time to my kids. I would be the mom who is at every activity. I would be the mom with home-cooked meals every night. I would be the mom with fresh-baked cookies after school.
If my life were perfect, I would have put my kids in a private Christian school from the time they were little. I would spend hours praying for my kids, with my kids. I would commit myself to working with the youth at our church. I would be the sponsor the youth minister always knew he could count on.
If my life were perfect, I would never give my kids the left-overs. They would always get the best. We would spend countless hours every summer having fun, creating memories, finding creative ways to entertain ourselves. I would be the fun mom, always ready for an adventure.
But my life isn’t perfect.
I cooked a good meal last night. It’s probably the first real meal I’ve cooked in at least three weeks. We’ve kind of just been scrounging around, everyone finding something for themselves. Even last night, I was home from work late enough that we still didn’t sit down and eat together. My plate of chicken was being ea...

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