Sue Klang's head dropped to her hands Monday after Sauk County Circuit Judge Patrick Taggart ruled 16-year-old Eric Hainstock would stand trial as an adult for fatally shooting her husband Sept. 29.
Minutes later, Klang chose her words carefully for the media. "We are satisfied he's staying in adult court," Klang said. "I don't want him out free."
But she wasn't happy, she said - that word wasn't fitting for a tragedy all around.
"There's no good that comes out of this," she said. "There's no 'happy' there."
Monday ended a five-day hearing - a minitrial really - on a defense request that Hainstock be waived from adult to juvenile court, where, if convicted, the state would have been forced to release him at age 25.
Instead, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of first- degree intentional homicide.
Klang, widow of Weston School Principal John Klang, said treating Hainstock as a juvenile would have only encouraged those who use the Internet to exhort teenagers to school shootings and violence. "There are people out there to whom Eric Hainstock is a god," Klang said.
Klang said she doesn't blame anyone for the events. "I don't know if there is a blame - the school and social services were identifying problems (with Hainstock), and the family wasn't following through."
Hainstock is accused of shooting Klang three times in the hallway of the school outside Cazenovia as the principal tried to wrestle a handgun away from him. Hainstock was 15 at the time.
When he was arrested, he had a box of 12 shotgun shells and 44 bullets for the handgun in the pouch of his hooded sweatshirt, state Department of Justice special agent Elizabeth Feagles testified Monday.
Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett, who opposed treating Hainstock as a juvenile, said he faces an arraignment and a trial on the charges. But defense attorney Rhoda Ricciardi said Hainstock's defense team would have to decide first whether to appeal Taggart's ruling.
Ricciardi argued Hainstock would not get adequate treatment for his depression, hyperactivity and other personality disorders in Wisconsin's adult prisons.
She also told Taggart that Hainstock's behavior reflected untreated trauma in Hainstock's childhood, including sexual and physical abuse.
Hainstock, she argued, reacted violently to being touched unexpectedly, and defense witnesses testified that the teenager had no ability to carry out a plan to murder the principal.
After he was arrested the day of the shooting, two videos were made of Hainstock in the Sauk County Jail. In the first, the youth said he didn't intend to kill the principal, that he just wanted to talk to Klang about classmates who picked on him and called him a fag.
In the second, much shorter video, Hainstock is shown telling a jailer that he doubts his lawyer will be able to get him out of jail. "I doubt that'll happen since it's attempted (sic) homicide, I guess," the teenager said. "Which really sucks 'cause I can't ever hunt now."
A bit later on the video, Hainstock said to the jailer, "I have a question. Does (sic) felonies go away when you are 18? 'Cause that's what I was told was when you turn 18, your felonies are dropped because you're not a juvenile anymore."
Making the ruling, Taggart agreed that Hainstock probably wouldn't get adequate treatment in adult prisons.
But Taggart said the evidence showed "a level of organization" that demonstrated intent by Hainstock, and the judge said he had to consider whether juvenile court penalties would be severe enough to deter other potential school shooters.
On a police video shown Friday, Hainstock said he wanted to talk to Klang and his teachers about classmates who regularly called him a fag, rubbed up against him and punched him.
He told police he ate breakfast that Friday morning, then waited until his parents, Shawn and Priscilla Hainstock, went to work before getting two of his father's guns from locked cabinets and loading them, getting gasoline out of a lawnmower and putting it in a truck, then driving to school.
That "does show a level of organization toward a goal," Taggart said.
Ricciardi argued Hainstock's plan was to make somebody listen to his complaints.
"His plan was not to kill somebody," she said. "He was grabbed. He freaked out. Please listen to him now."
Sue Klang said she opposed Hainstock's transfer into juvenile court at least partly because she believes that's what her husband would have wanted.
She also said the same people who revile her on Web sites as "a liar" and "a poor excuse for a Christian" would be encouraged if Hainstock faced more limited, juvenile court penalties.
No trial date was set.
Somehow, I feel like I am becoming a geezer. After my bike accident, I have used a cane. I feel like poking a young whipersnapper...
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Wisconsin to make fuel from pooh!
Making motor fuel from corn comes with a variety of problems, from the amount of energy it takes to produce ethanol to the impact on food prices.
But a report prepared today for a biofuels conference at Monona Terrace says other burnable material such as prairie grass, crop residue, papermaking waste or cow manure holds far greater promise for turning Wisconsin into an energy powerhouse.
Switchgrass grown at Agrecol, a business of agricultural ecological solutions in Evansville.
Wisconsin has almost 15 million tons of potential excess "biomass" that could produce 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol per year, enough to displace half of the 2.6 billion gallons of gasoline consumed in the state last year, according to the report from Better Environmental Solutions.
If burned to produce electricity, this same amount of biomaterial could also replace about 15 million tons of coal, roughly 55 percent of the state's entire coal use, the report said.
Tapping into these renewable resources is important because Wisconsin is almost totally dependent on importing its energy sources. Some $12 billion in energy spending leaves the state each year for purchasing coal, gasoline, natural gas or other fuels.
Expanding biofuel production will reduce this job and income drain and create better markets for the state's agricultural and forest production, the report said.
"Wisconsin has major untapped biomass reserves," said report author Brett Hulsey, president of Better Environmental Solutions. "While the state may not be able to match Silicon Valley as a high tech leader, it could be the Cellulose Prairie and Forest for biopower and biofuels."
The report was released today at the Nelson Institute Conference "Sustaining the Wisconsin Landscape: Biofuels Challenges and Opportunities."
Also today, Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, announced formation of a 12-state North Central Bio Economy Consortium.
The effort, which is being helped with a $100,000 grant from the Energy Foundation of San Francisco, is aimed at using perennial crops and crop residues to turn the Midwest into a leader in the next stage of bio-energy development.
Virtually all the biofuel produced in the U.S. comes from corn. Iowa and Illinois are the leading states in producing ethanol from corn. With the opening of United Ethanol in Milton on March 29, Wisconsin now has six operating ethanol facilities compared to more than 50 plants in Iowa.
But the Midwest states also have up to 231 million tons of potential excess biomass each year, according to the report. If converted to ethanol, this could yield 13.9 billion gallons of motor fuel, more than doubling current ethanol production. This excess biomass could also be burned, replacing 154 million tons of coal or about one-third of the coal burned in the 12 Midwest states each year.
"The Midwest is the potential biofuel Saudi Arabia of America," said Hulsey.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has been a big booster of the biofuels industry, proposing $40 million in his budget to promote renewable fuels including $5 million for a cellulosic ethanol plant.
Erin Roth, president of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council, said the oil industry is not opposed to ethanol per se, as long as its use is not mandated. A bill to require ethanol to be added to gasoline in Wisconsin failed to gain passage in the Legislature.
"We feel the market should decide," said Roth.
Roth's group is supporting legislative initiatives being advanced by the Wisconsin Soybean Association designed to develop and enhance Wisconsin's marketplace for biodiesel, Those initiatives include regulations to ensure the quality of biodiesel fuel; tax incentives for wholesalers, retailers and bulk users of biodiesel; and requiring all state motor fleets to increase their use of biodiesel to 20 percent by 2010 and 50 percent by 2015.
Hulsey's report said the state's greatest natural resources are its forests and wood products; corn production and corn stover, a major biomass source; dairy and beef cattle, therefore manure; and prairie grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program and other conservation programs.
The state also has the largest papermaking facilities in the country, with many mills using wood for energy and looking for new sources of energy and revenue to compete with stiff international competition.
Already there are promising projects in the works. The Flambeau Paper Mill in Park Falls is experimenting with an advanced ethanol project and several Wisconsin ethanol plants are studying advanced biopower projects.
"If we take these steps, we will speed our efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, coal and save money while creating jobs and helping family farmers," Hulsey said.
But a report prepared today for a biofuels conference at Monona Terrace says other burnable material such as prairie grass, crop residue, papermaking waste or cow manure holds far greater promise for turning Wisconsin into an energy powerhouse.
Switchgrass grown at Agrecol, a business of agricultural ecological solutions in Evansville.
Wisconsin has almost 15 million tons of potential excess "biomass" that could produce 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol per year, enough to displace half of the 2.6 billion gallons of gasoline consumed in the state last year, according to the report from Better Environmental Solutions.
If burned to produce electricity, this same amount of biomaterial could also replace about 15 million tons of coal, roughly 55 percent of the state's entire coal use, the report said.
Tapping into these renewable resources is important because Wisconsin is almost totally dependent on importing its energy sources. Some $12 billion in energy spending leaves the state each year for purchasing coal, gasoline, natural gas or other fuels.
Expanding biofuel production will reduce this job and income drain and create better markets for the state's agricultural and forest production, the report said.
"Wisconsin has major untapped biomass reserves," said report author Brett Hulsey, president of Better Environmental Solutions. "While the state may not be able to match Silicon Valley as a high tech leader, it could be the Cellulose Prairie and Forest for biopower and biofuels."
The report was released today at the Nelson Institute Conference "Sustaining the Wisconsin Landscape: Biofuels Challenges and Opportunities."
Also today, Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, announced formation of a 12-state North Central Bio Economy Consortium.
The effort, which is being helped with a $100,000 grant from the Energy Foundation of San Francisco, is aimed at using perennial crops and crop residues to turn the Midwest into a leader in the next stage of bio-energy development.
Virtually all the biofuel produced in the U.S. comes from corn. Iowa and Illinois are the leading states in producing ethanol from corn. With the opening of United Ethanol in Milton on March 29, Wisconsin now has six operating ethanol facilities compared to more than 50 plants in Iowa.
But the Midwest states also have up to 231 million tons of potential excess biomass each year, according to the report. If converted to ethanol, this could yield 13.9 billion gallons of motor fuel, more than doubling current ethanol production. This excess biomass could also be burned, replacing 154 million tons of coal or about one-third of the coal burned in the 12 Midwest states each year.
"The Midwest is the potential biofuel Saudi Arabia of America," said Hulsey.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has been a big booster of the biofuels industry, proposing $40 million in his budget to promote renewable fuels including $5 million for a cellulosic ethanol plant.
Erin Roth, president of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council, said the oil industry is not opposed to ethanol per se, as long as its use is not mandated. A bill to require ethanol to be added to gasoline in Wisconsin failed to gain passage in the Legislature.
"We feel the market should decide," said Roth.
Roth's group is supporting legislative initiatives being advanced by the Wisconsin Soybean Association designed to develop and enhance Wisconsin's marketplace for biodiesel, Those initiatives include regulations to ensure the quality of biodiesel fuel; tax incentives for wholesalers, retailers and bulk users of biodiesel; and requiring all state motor fleets to increase their use of biodiesel to 20 percent by 2010 and 50 percent by 2015.
Hulsey's report said the state's greatest natural resources are its forests and wood products; corn production and corn stover, a major biomass source; dairy and beef cattle, therefore manure; and prairie grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program and other conservation programs.
The state also has the largest papermaking facilities in the country, with many mills using wood for energy and looking for new sources of energy and revenue to compete with stiff international competition.
Already there are promising projects in the works. The Flambeau Paper Mill in Park Falls is experimenting with an advanced ethanol project and several Wisconsin ethanol plants are studying advanced biopower projects.
"If we take these steps, we will speed our efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, coal and save money while creating jobs and helping family farmers," Hulsey said.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Einstein sighting at University of Arizona
A student was cited and released for minor in possession while attending Spring Fling, 4502 N. First Ave., around 10 p.m. April 12.Police saw a man helping a woman who was bent over a garbage can. The man then held the student in a "baby-lap position," according to reports.The officer approached them to check on the woman. She said she did not have identification but identified herself with her CatCard.The student's eyes were red and watery and her speech was slurred.When she put her CatCard back in her wallet, the officer saw her Arizona driver's license and found the girl was 20 years old.She was cited and released for minor in possession, after telling the officer that citing her was unfair because Albert Einstein was following her.
The saga of Cazenovia continues
It is amazing how these incidents just go from bad to worse.....what to do with this 15 year old?
Eric Hainstock's voice was flat in a video interview with police Sept. 29 as he confessed to shooting Weston School Principal John Klang not even three hours before.
In a grainy video with bad audio, the 15-year-old high school freshman sprawled in a chair in bloodied pants and shirt as he told investigators that he didn't want to kill Klang when he took two loaded guns to school that Friday morning.
Why did he pull the trigger then? police asked. "I just freaked out," the teenager said. At another point, he mumbled, "My adrenaline was going."
Asked whether he fired the gun three times at Klang by accident or on purpose, he responded, "On purpose."
"It was pop, and then a couple of seconds later, pop, and then a couple seconds later, pop," Hainstock said, describing the sequence of shots fired in a school hallway decorated for homecoming.
The video confession was played Friday, the fourth day of a hearing before Sauk County Circuit Judge James Taggart to decide whether Hainstock should be treated as an adult or a juvenile in Klang's murder.
The hearing, sought by defense attorneys, is expected to continue through Tuesday.
On Friday, Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett called witnesses who testified they saw Hainstock after he came through the school's front door with two loaded guns.
Weston guidance counselor Angela Young said she heard Hainstock say, "I'm here to (expletive) kill somebody."
And special education teacher James Nowak testified he saw Hainstock point the handgun at Klang's head, then sweep the gun toward Nowak. "That's when Mr. Klang made his move," Nowak said.
During Hainstock's video confession, he told police Klang started coming closer and closer, and finally caught the boy in a bear hug. "He wrapped his arms around me, and I fired," the boy said.
"I shot him," Hainstock said.
On the video, he demonstrated how he fired the .22-caliber revolver from underneath his left armpit. "Then, when (Klang) fell down and took me down with him, I nailed him in the leg," he told investigators.
At one point during Hainstock's video confession, he loudly cracked his knuckles. At another point, he asked what kind of shoes the jail was going to give him.
A bit later, he asked if jail officers would let him keep wearing a plastic bracelet given him by his girlfriend.
He asked about a phone call to which he was entitled. He told investigators he would use it to call his girlfriend or his best friend, not his parents - he told police he didn't want his parents notified.
On the video, Hainstock said he awakened at 6 a.m. that morning feeling like he couldn't take any more insults from his classmates - classmates who regularly called him a fag, rubbed up against him and punched him, he said.
Hainstock said he wanted to talk to Klang and his teachers about the incidents. He told police he ate breakfast, then waited until his parents, Shawn and Priscilla Hainstock, had gone to work before getting two of his father's guns from locked cabinets and loading them. He said he was going to talk to Klang.
"I was just going to hold it (the gun) out," he said on the video.
After school custodian Dave Thompson wrestled the shotgun away from him at the front door of the school, Hainstock said, "I pulled out the handgun, pulled the cock back and fired" at Klang.
During the video interview, state Justice Department Special Agent Elizabeth Feagles pointed out blood stains on Hainstock's pants and shirt. Hainstock said it was "blood from the principal."
With the interviewing winding down, Feagles asked him how he felt. "Tired," the teenager said.
Do you wish this hadn't happened? Feagles pressed.
"I don't wish nothing," Hainstock said. "I'm just tired."
Eric Hainstock's voice was flat in a video interview with police Sept. 29 as he confessed to shooting Weston School Principal John Klang not even three hours before.
In a grainy video with bad audio, the 15-year-old high school freshman sprawled in a chair in bloodied pants and shirt as he told investigators that he didn't want to kill Klang when he took two loaded guns to school that Friday morning.
Why did he pull the trigger then? police asked. "I just freaked out," the teenager said. At another point, he mumbled, "My adrenaline was going."
Asked whether he fired the gun three times at Klang by accident or on purpose, he responded, "On purpose."
"It was pop, and then a couple of seconds later, pop, and then a couple seconds later, pop," Hainstock said, describing the sequence of shots fired in a school hallway decorated for homecoming.
The video confession was played Friday, the fourth day of a hearing before Sauk County Circuit Judge James Taggart to decide whether Hainstock should be treated as an adult or a juvenile in Klang's murder.
The hearing, sought by defense attorneys, is expected to continue through Tuesday.
On Friday, Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett called witnesses who testified they saw Hainstock after he came through the school's front door with two loaded guns.
Weston guidance counselor Angela Young said she heard Hainstock say, "I'm here to (expletive) kill somebody."
And special education teacher James Nowak testified he saw Hainstock point the handgun at Klang's head, then sweep the gun toward Nowak. "That's when Mr. Klang made his move," Nowak said.
During Hainstock's video confession, he told police Klang started coming closer and closer, and finally caught the boy in a bear hug. "He wrapped his arms around me, and I fired," the boy said.
"I shot him," Hainstock said.
On the video, he demonstrated how he fired the .22-caliber revolver from underneath his left armpit. "Then, when (Klang) fell down and took me down with him, I nailed him in the leg," he told investigators.
At one point during Hainstock's video confession, he loudly cracked his knuckles. At another point, he asked what kind of shoes the jail was going to give him.
A bit later, he asked if jail officers would let him keep wearing a plastic bracelet given him by his girlfriend.
He asked about a phone call to which he was entitled. He told investigators he would use it to call his girlfriend or his best friend, not his parents - he told police he didn't want his parents notified.
On the video, Hainstock said he awakened at 6 a.m. that morning feeling like he couldn't take any more insults from his classmates - classmates who regularly called him a fag, rubbed up against him and punched him, he said.
Hainstock said he wanted to talk to Klang and his teachers about the incidents. He told police he ate breakfast, then waited until his parents, Shawn and Priscilla Hainstock, had gone to work before getting two of his father's guns from locked cabinets and loading them. He said he was going to talk to Klang.
"I was just going to hold it (the gun) out," he said on the video.
After school custodian Dave Thompson wrestled the shotgun away from him at the front door of the school, Hainstock said, "I pulled out the handgun, pulled the cock back and fired" at Klang.
During the video interview, state Justice Department Special Agent Elizabeth Feagles pointed out blood stains on Hainstock's pants and shirt. Hainstock said it was "blood from the principal."
With the interviewing winding down, Feagles asked him how he felt. "Tired," the teenager said.
Do you wish this hadn't happened? Feagles pressed.
"I don't wish nothing," Hainstock said. "I'm just tired."
It is eerie how similar this is to VT and happening this week
Eric Hainstock, who allegedly shot and killed the principal at his rural Sauk County school, was bullied by classmates but bullied other kids himself, a friend and a teacher testified Wednesday.
Hainstock, 16, who is charged with shooting Weston High School Principal John Klang on Sept. 29 at the school, was constantly bullied by "quite a few" kids, said his friend, Morgan Gudenschwager, during the second day of a hearing to determine whether a first-degree intentional homicide charge against Hainstock should remain in adult court or be sent to juvenile court.
Gudenschwager, 15, said Hainstock was bullied and was called names by other students and said he and Hainstock had reported the bullying "about 30 times" to school officials.
He said nothing was ever done about it. Gudenschwager's grandfather, Allen Gudenschwager, also testified he reported the bullying but nothing was ever done.
But on cross-examination by Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett, Morgan Gudenschwager agreed that Hainstock did his share of bullying, too, that it was "kind of a two-way street."
Math and physical education teacher Corey Brunett, who had held Hainstock down after a wounded Klang had already wrestled the alleged shooter to the ground, expressed similar sentiments.
"I would classify him as someone who would more likely give and take than be the victim," Brunett said.
Hainstock's attorneys, public defenders Rhoda Ricciardi and Jon Helland, presented Hainstock in court as the victim of bullying from kids at school and physical and sexual abuse from an extended family member. Hainstock also suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and is socially maladjusted, they said.
They want his case removed to juvenile court so that he can receive treatment.
If tried as a juvenile, Hainstock could be kept in a juvenile correctional facility until he is 25 years old. As an adult, he would face life in prison with release on extended supervision possible only after serving 20 years.
Under state law, anyone 15 or older who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide is automatically charged in adult court.
Earlier Wednesday, child psychiatrist Marty Beyer said under cross examination from Barrett that once Hainstock is released at age 25 from a juvenile facility, she could not guarantee that even with a combination of treatments that he would be prepared to face society.
"I can't predict it that specifically," Beyer said. "But likely with a combination of services that meet his needs he won't be acting out from immaturity or trauma."
Shelley Hagan, of the state Division of Juvenile Corrections, said there would be nothing the state could do to keep Hainstock behind bars or on supervision once he's released from a juvenile facility.
Gerald Konitzer, a section chief from the state Department of Corrections Bureau of Offender Classification and Movement, testified that there's a "maybe 10 percent" chance that juveniles sentenced for an adult crime would be sent initially to juvenile facilities during their teen years before being transferred to adult prisons. But Ricciardi said she was told by someone else at the DOC that there's a "99.9 percent chance" that if convicted, Hainstock would be initially assigned to the Green Bay Correctional Institution for its special education program.
Hainstock, 16, who is charged with shooting Weston High School Principal John Klang on Sept. 29 at the school, was constantly bullied by "quite a few" kids, said his friend, Morgan Gudenschwager, during the second day of a hearing to determine whether a first-degree intentional homicide charge against Hainstock should remain in adult court or be sent to juvenile court.
Gudenschwager, 15, said Hainstock was bullied and was called names by other students and said he and Hainstock had reported the bullying "about 30 times" to school officials.
He said nothing was ever done about it. Gudenschwager's grandfather, Allen Gudenschwager, also testified he reported the bullying but nothing was ever done.
But on cross-examination by Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett, Morgan Gudenschwager agreed that Hainstock did his share of bullying, too, that it was "kind of a two-way street."
Math and physical education teacher Corey Brunett, who had held Hainstock down after a wounded Klang had already wrestled the alleged shooter to the ground, expressed similar sentiments.
"I would classify him as someone who would more likely give and take than be the victim," Brunett said.
Hainstock's attorneys, public defenders Rhoda Ricciardi and Jon Helland, presented Hainstock in court as the victim of bullying from kids at school and physical and sexual abuse from an extended family member. Hainstock also suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and is socially maladjusted, they said.
They want his case removed to juvenile court so that he can receive treatment.
If tried as a juvenile, Hainstock could be kept in a juvenile correctional facility until he is 25 years old. As an adult, he would face life in prison with release on extended supervision possible only after serving 20 years.
Under state law, anyone 15 or older who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide is automatically charged in adult court.
Earlier Wednesday, child psychiatrist Marty Beyer said under cross examination from Barrett that once Hainstock is released at age 25 from a juvenile facility, she could not guarantee that even with a combination of treatments that he would be prepared to face society.
"I can't predict it that specifically," Beyer said. "But likely with a combination of services that meet his needs he won't be acting out from immaturity or trauma."
Shelley Hagan, of the state Division of Juvenile Corrections, said there would be nothing the state could do to keep Hainstock behind bars or on supervision once he's released from a juvenile facility.
Gerald Konitzer, a section chief from the state Department of Corrections Bureau of Offender Classification and Movement, testified that there's a "maybe 10 percent" chance that juveniles sentenced for an adult crime would be sent initially to juvenile facilities during their teen years before being transferred to adult prisons. But Ricciardi said she was told by someone else at the DOC that there's a "99.9 percent chance" that if convicted, Hainstock would be initially assigned to the Green Bay Correctional Institution for its special education program.
Iraq and VT
I have been wondering how the famlies of the war dead feel with all the publicity on VT. In the last 3 weeks, I am sure there have been 33 dead in Iraq.....what a shame all around.....
Wineke: Thousands die while Congress, Bush duck
BILL WINEKE
Just so we don't forget: As of Thursday morning, some 68 American service members have died in Iraq during April.
At least one American has been killed every day of this month. On some days, six have been killed. One day saw the death of nine Americans.
I don't want to take anything away from the horror we're all feeling at the senseless murder of 32 people Monday at Virginia Tech. The idea that students and their teachers can be minding their own business studying in quiet classrooms only to meet a violent death is deeply disturbing.
The students didn't deserve to die.
But neither did the service members who died in Iraq. They, too, had homes and families and friends. They, too, had hopes of bright futures that will now never be.
Sometimes, we can allow statistics to numb us to the horror of what is happening around us.
We are shocked at the Virginia Tech massacre because it involved so many. The situation would have been just as horrifying had only one person been murdered - but it would have been a minor "story" and would have been soon forgotten.
We pay virtually no attention to the daily accumulation of reports of American deaths in Iraq for the opposite reason. So many have died - 3,314 at latest count - that one more American death seems just a blip, one reported only in the community the fallen soldier called home.
The deaths of Iraqis, the people we invaded to help, are newsworthy only when something spectacular happens.
The deaths of 32 at Virginia Tech - 33 when you count the killer, who surely was a victim of his own derangement - shocked us to the core. But the death of 33 Iraqi citizens is a virtually daily occurrence. On Wednesday, more than 230 people were killed or found dead in Iraq.
The Virginia Tech victims had families, friends and futures. The U.S. service members had families, friends and futures. The Iraqis had . . . well, you get the picture.
That's why it was so dismaying to see reports emerge Wednesday from President Bush's meeting with congressional leaders. They all keep posturing. They all keep weaving and ducking. None of them - not the president, not the leaders of Congress of either party - is talking seriously about the situation in Iraq or about how we can end the seemingly endless killing.
Perhaps they have nothing to say.
Wineke: Thousands die while Congress, Bush duck
BILL WINEKE
Just so we don't forget: As of Thursday morning, some 68 American service members have died in Iraq during April.
At least one American has been killed every day of this month. On some days, six have been killed. One day saw the death of nine Americans.
I don't want to take anything away from the horror we're all feeling at the senseless murder of 32 people Monday at Virginia Tech. The idea that students and their teachers can be minding their own business studying in quiet classrooms only to meet a violent death is deeply disturbing.
The students didn't deserve to die.
But neither did the service members who died in Iraq. They, too, had homes and families and friends. They, too, had hopes of bright futures that will now never be.
Sometimes, we can allow statistics to numb us to the horror of what is happening around us.
We are shocked at the Virginia Tech massacre because it involved so many. The situation would have been just as horrifying had only one person been murdered - but it would have been a minor "story" and would have been soon forgotten.
We pay virtually no attention to the daily accumulation of reports of American deaths in Iraq for the opposite reason. So many have died - 3,314 at latest count - that one more American death seems just a blip, one reported only in the community the fallen soldier called home.
The deaths of Iraqis, the people we invaded to help, are newsworthy only when something spectacular happens.
The deaths of 32 at Virginia Tech - 33 when you count the killer, who surely was a victim of his own derangement - shocked us to the core. But the death of 33 Iraqi citizens is a virtually daily occurrence. On Wednesday, more than 230 people were killed or found dead in Iraq.
The Virginia Tech victims had families, friends and futures. The U.S. service members had families, friends and futures. The Iraqis had . . . well, you get the picture.
That's why it was so dismaying to see reports emerge Wednesday from President Bush's meeting with congressional leaders. They all keep posturing. They all keep weaving and ducking. None of them - not the president, not the leaders of Congress of either party - is talking seriously about the situation in Iraq or about how we can end the seemingly endless killing.
Perhaps they have nothing to say.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Richland County, Wisconsin
A couple of weeks ago, we were visiting relatives and drove through Cazenovia. The road sign said the population was 325 and there were a couple of bars and a gas station and maybe a store or two.
This area is becoming very Amish. Very rural wtth residences far, far apart once you get out of the 'metropolis.' I can appreciate feeling abandoned in this situation and the results can only be ugly. Being hated at being called names and picked on. It certainly does not justify the ugly thing he did, but that feeling of bleakness is hard to overcome.
It is ironic that his hearings are during this very dark week at Virginia Tech.
We need to tak better care of the kids.....
Eric Hainstock woke up Friday morning, Sept. 29, feeling desperate.
The 15-year-old wanted someone to recognize how tormented he was in school and how unhappy at home.
He hated being called a "fag," and he wanted school officials to stop upperclassmen from picking on him.
He loaded two guns from his parents' house, took gas out of the lawn mower and put it in his parents' truck, then drove to school.
That's what child psychologist Marty Beyer, a defense witness, testified Tuesday in Sauk County Circuit Court.
"I had no plan," Hainstock told Beyer after the shooting. "I wanted to make people listen. No one would help."
Hainstock is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly shooting Weston School Principal John Klang three times with a handgun while Klang wrestled with him at the school on Sept. 29.
The testimony Tuesday came during the first of several days of a "reverse waiver" hearing, where Hainstock's public defenders, Jon Helland and Rhoda Ricciardi, are seeking to convince Judge James Taggart that Hainstock should be tried as a juvenile rather than as an adult.
Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett will get her chance to present witnesses later this week.
If Hainstock, who is now 16, is tried and convicted as an adult, he faces a possible life sentence without parole. As a juvenile, he could be released at age 25, said Helland.
"This is very significant," Helland said of the hearing, which is expected to last through Thursday.
Beyer, a Virginia psychologist who interviewed Hainstock for 11 hours in January and reviewed police and social services records, said the records showed the teen-ager had been sexually abused when he was 6 by a 13-year-old stepbrother and physically abused by his father and adoptive mother.
Ruth Willis, wife of the Rev. Paul Willis at Valton Friends Church, which Hainstock attended, said a few years ago she told Mike Ecker, then the Weston principal, that Hainstock could become a school shooter if no one helped him.
"I told him if he didn't find help for this boy, he was going to have another Columbine on his hands," Willis testified. "I could see the signs in Eric - he lived in a house with lots of guns. He needed someone in his corner."
Willis said Hainstock was part of the youth group at the church when she and her husband arrived five years ago, and she took him under her wing, helping him with his homework, buying him clothes, working with his teachers.
But Hainstock's parents, Sean and Priscilla Hainstock, began to resent her involvement, Willis said, and the boy began to take advantage of her. She withdrew from the family, she said.
But she described Hainstock as charming and helpful. "I believe Satan entered that boy, and that's what caused him to do this," Willis testified.
Beyer said Hainstock was diagnosed with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder when he was 4 and was treated, off and on, with Ritalin to calm him.
Every year brought the same school assessment of Hainstock's social and academic difficulties, she said, but plans to help him were inadequate.
He moved seven times in eight years as his parents divorced, then found new partners. At one point, Beyer said, Hainstock didn't see his biological mother for three years.
Willis said the boy would get a little crazy every year around Christmas and his birthday because his biological mother would promise to visit but never did. "He wanted to hear from his biological mother," she said.
'Grandma listened'
Irene Hainstock, the boy's paternal grandmother, was the first to testify on his behalf. She wept at times when she said he had been a loving and affectionate youngster. "He liked to talk, and Grandma listened," she said.
Her grandson frequently arrived at her house after arguing with his parents, she said, and he lived with her for a while. "He was terribly nervous and jumpy and easily flustered," she said.
A pediatrician prescribed Ritalin, and Irene Hainstock said it helped calm the boy. But, she said, Sean Hainstock later decided he didn't want his son to take the medication.
The teenager called her from jail right after the shooting, Irene Hainstock testified. "I said, 'Eric, what have you done?' and he said, 'Grandma, I don't know. Something snapped in my head.' "
Letter confis cated
Beyer revealed the teen-ager wrote a letter to Klang's widow, Sue, from jail, though it was confiscated by officers and never delivered.
In the letter, he wrote, "It's me, Eric. I'm sorry for what happened."
Hainstock wrote that, "I often cry about what happened. I know it will never be the same."
He ended with "I'm so sorry" and a little drawing of a heart.
Beyer said the letter showed Hainstock was out of touch and emotionally immature. "He doesn't seem to realize what it would be for Mrs. Klang to receive such a letter," Beyer said.
Beyer also said Hainstock's behavior at school - talking too much, interrupting conversations, hyperactivity - may have prompted other students to pick on him.
"They picked on him for many years," Beyer testified, "early on because of his learning disabilities - he couldn't keep up in reading and math - and later on because of his body odor, wearing clothes that smelled and wearing some clothes day in and day out."
Most recently, however, Beyer said he was most troubled by being called gay when he was not.
The hearing is expected to continue today.
This area is becoming very Amish. Very rural wtth residences far, far apart once you get out of the 'metropolis.' I can appreciate feeling abandoned in this situation and the results can only be ugly. Being hated at being called names and picked on. It certainly does not justify the ugly thing he did, but that feeling of bleakness is hard to overcome.
It is ironic that his hearings are during this very dark week at Virginia Tech.
We need to tak better care of the kids.....
Eric Hainstock woke up Friday morning, Sept. 29, feeling desperate.
The 15-year-old wanted someone to recognize how tormented he was in school and how unhappy at home.
He hated being called a "fag," and he wanted school officials to stop upperclassmen from picking on him.
He loaded two guns from his parents' house, took gas out of the lawn mower and put it in his parents' truck, then drove to school.
That's what child psychologist Marty Beyer, a defense witness, testified Tuesday in Sauk County Circuit Court.
"I had no plan," Hainstock told Beyer after the shooting. "I wanted to make people listen. No one would help."
Hainstock is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly shooting Weston School Principal John Klang three times with a handgun while Klang wrestled with him at the school on Sept. 29.
The testimony Tuesday came during the first of several days of a "reverse waiver" hearing, where Hainstock's public defenders, Jon Helland and Rhoda Ricciardi, are seeking to convince Judge James Taggart that Hainstock should be tried as a juvenile rather than as an adult.
Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett will get her chance to present witnesses later this week.
If Hainstock, who is now 16, is tried and convicted as an adult, he faces a possible life sentence without parole. As a juvenile, he could be released at age 25, said Helland.
"This is very significant," Helland said of the hearing, which is expected to last through Thursday.
Beyer, a Virginia psychologist who interviewed Hainstock for 11 hours in January and reviewed police and social services records, said the records showed the teen-ager had been sexually abused when he was 6 by a 13-year-old stepbrother and physically abused by his father and adoptive mother.
Ruth Willis, wife of the Rev. Paul Willis at Valton Friends Church, which Hainstock attended, said a few years ago she told Mike Ecker, then the Weston principal, that Hainstock could become a school shooter if no one helped him.
"I told him if he didn't find help for this boy, he was going to have another Columbine on his hands," Willis testified. "I could see the signs in Eric - he lived in a house with lots of guns. He needed someone in his corner."
Willis said Hainstock was part of the youth group at the church when she and her husband arrived five years ago, and she took him under her wing, helping him with his homework, buying him clothes, working with his teachers.
But Hainstock's parents, Sean and Priscilla Hainstock, began to resent her involvement, Willis said, and the boy began to take advantage of her. She withdrew from the family, she said.
But she described Hainstock as charming and helpful. "I believe Satan entered that boy, and that's what caused him to do this," Willis testified.
Beyer said Hainstock was diagnosed with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder when he was 4 and was treated, off and on, with Ritalin to calm him.
Every year brought the same school assessment of Hainstock's social and academic difficulties, she said, but plans to help him were inadequate.
He moved seven times in eight years as his parents divorced, then found new partners. At one point, Beyer said, Hainstock didn't see his biological mother for three years.
Willis said the boy would get a little crazy every year around Christmas and his birthday because his biological mother would promise to visit but never did. "He wanted to hear from his biological mother," she said.
'Grandma listened'
Irene Hainstock, the boy's paternal grandmother, was the first to testify on his behalf. She wept at times when she said he had been a loving and affectionate youngster. "He liked to talk, and Grandma listened," she said.
Her grandson frequently arrived at her house after arguing with his parents, she said, and he lived with her for a while. "He was terribly nervous and jumpy and easily flustered," she said.
A pediatrician prescribed Ritalin, and Irene Hainstock said it helped calm the boy. But, she said, Sean Hainstock later decided he didn't want his son to take the medication.
The teenager called her from jail right after the shooting, Irene Hainstock testified. "I said, 'Eric, what have you done?' and he said, 'Grandma, I don't know. Something snapped in my head.' "
Letter confis cated
Beyer revealed the teen-ager wrote a letter to Klang's widow, Sue, from jail, though it was confiscated by officers and never delivered.
In the letter, he wrote, "It's me, Eric. I'm sorry for what happened."
Hainstock wrote that, "I often cry about what happened. I know it will never be the same."
He ended with "I'm so sorry" and a little drawing of a heart.
Beyer said the letter showed Hainstock was out of touch and emotionally immature. "He doesn't seem to realize what it would be for Mrs. Klang to receive such a letter," Beyer said.
Beyer also said Hainstock's behavior at school - talking too much, interrupting conversations, hyperactivity - may have prompted other students to pick on him.
"They picked on him for many years," Beyer testified, "early on because of his learning disabilities - he couldn't keep up in reading and math - and later on because of his body odor, wearing clothes that smelled and wearing some clothes day in and day out."
Most recently, however, Beyer said he was most troubled by being called gay when he was not.
The hearing is expected to continue today.
I hate the "Final Arrangement" ads....
I feel a senior moment coming on
The calendar stares at me in black, white and sepia. Try as I might, I can’t change the reality of dates as they swiftly approach.
In recent months, dates such as April 3 have commanded my attention. That was election day, and it was a big deal to folks like journalists, unethical political consultants and yard-sign makers. In a few weeks, I’ll focus on the date when we publish a special edition. We fondly call it Gradzilla, because gathering the names of all high-school graduates is a monster task.
But for now, I’m zeroing in on two more dates. On those days I will visit schools in Blue Springs and Independence to speak in career-day programs.
I’m comfortable in front of groups, and I’ve addressed kids many times. So why should I feel differently now?
Maybe it’s because I’ve crossed the threshold and actually become what my son started calling me more than a decade ago. Something that’s anathema to the whippersnappers I’ll be addressing: Geezer.
A few months back, I hit 55. When the calendar turned, I became a candidate for age-related safe-driving courses, specialized insurance solicitors and even an occasional senior discount.
I can only pray that Depends remain a long way off.
Of course, my family and friends have poked fun at my gray hair for years. I found my first silver-colored strands while in college. But now, after looking at my hairbrush, I’m just happy to have any gray left on my head.
As they say, it beats the alternative — and I’m not talking about Grecian Formula.
I guess there’s just no denying that I am old. Why, I even remember when the Royals were really good and the Chiefs were really bad.
What more proof do I need?
When I turned 55, I also became eligible for early retirement. Oh, it’s not gonna happen anytime soon. If I surrendered my keyboard now, my pension might be visible with a microscope. In terms of corporate numbers, at least, I’m not so old, after all.
Of course, my son will never believe that. A few years ago, I told him that if he was going to tease me he had to do it right. He had to show some creativity.
I soon started hearing things like: “You’re so old … that Noah gave you your first boat ride.”
Soon his friends, and even my wife, were contributing such day-brighteners.
But I haven’t heard any for quite awhile. I wonder if the calendar has moved too many pages and they want to spare the old guy’s feelings.
Nah.
And neither will the kids at the career-day events. They might think I’m chronologically challenged, but I haven’t lost all of my skills.
In fact, I can still do something that few kids today have ever experienced: Program a VCR.
The calendar stares at me in black, white and sepia. Try as I might, I can’t change the reality of dates as they swiftly approach.
In recent months, dates such as April 3 have commanded my attention. That was election day, and it was a big deal to folks like journalists, unethical political consultants and yard-sign makers. In a few weeks, I’ll focus on the date when we publish a special edition. We fondly call it Gradzilla, because gathering the names of all high-school graduates is a monster task.
But for now, I’m zeroing in on two more dates. On those days I will visit schools in Blue Springs and Independence to speak in career-day programs.
I’m comfortable in front of groups, and I’ve addressed kids many times. So why should I feel differently now?
Maybe it’s because I’ve crossed the threshold and actually become what my son started calling me more than a decade ago. Something that’s anathema to the whippersnappers I’ll be addressing: Geezer.
A few months back, I hit 55. When the calendar turned, I became a candidate for age-related safe-driving courses, specialized insurance solicitors and even an occasional senior discount.
I can only pray that Depends remain a long way off.
Of course, my family and friends have poked fun at my gray hair for years. I found my first silver-colored strands while in college. But now, after looking at my hairbrush, I’m just happy to have any gray left on my head.
As they say, it beats the alternative — and I’m not talking about Grecian Formula.
I guess there’s just no denying that I am old. Why, I even remember when the Royals were really good and the Chiefs were really bad.
What more proof do I need?
When I turned 55, I also became eligible for early retirement. Oh, it’s not gonna happen anytime soon. If I surrendered my keyboard now, my pension might be visible with a microscope. In terms of corporate numbers, at least, I’m not so old, after all.
Of course, my son will never believe that. A few years ago, I told him that if he was going to tease me he had to do it right. He had to show some creativity.
I soon started hearing things like: “You’re so old … that Noah gave you your first boat ride.”
Soon his friends, and even my wife, were contributing such day-brighteners.
But I haven’t heard any for quite awhile. I wonder if the calendar has moved too many pages and they want to spare the old guy’s feelings.
Nah.
And neither will the kids at the career-day events. They might think I’m chronologically challenged, but I haven’t lost all of my skills.
In fact, I can still do something that few kids today have ever experienced: Program a VCR.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Bike trouble? Steal a car....
Woman has Bicycle Trouble -- Steals Car
Police in Florida have said that 50-year-old Kathleen Mary Pedemonti stole a car after she was having trouble with the bike she was riding. Ms Pedemonti jumped into a 2006 Chevy on the 26th of March after it was left running.
She will face a grand theft auto charge in court on the 10th of May, according to the paper Florida Today. The car was found because the man who owned the Monte Carlo had GPS installed, and police just followed its signal.
Police in Florida have said that 50-year-old Kathleen Mary Pedemonti stole a car after she was having trouble with the bike she was riding. Ms Pedemonti jumped into a 2006 Chevy on the 26th of March after it was left running.
She will face a grand theft auto charge in court on the 10th of May, according to the paper Florida Today. The car was found because the man who owned the Monte Carlo had GPS installed, and police just followed its signal.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Confesions of an Old Geezer
While resting at a mall on what he calls "husband benches," Richard J. Schwartz Sr. came up with the idea of writing Confessions of an Old Geezer.Schwartz, 86, self-published the 236-page account of his life in November 2005 through AuthorHouse.
"I wrote it for my ego," he said with a chuckle.His wife of 64 years, Vivian, chimed in, "He's an old geezer now. Just teasing. He doesn't act his age."Schwartz, who worked for Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, N.Y., for 27 years, said there are some humorous anecdotes in the book, as the title may indicate.But more importantly, he said, within the 10 chapters are thought-provoking stories about the early 1920s, the Great Depression and his late teen years. There also are tales of his days in the military, his family and camping outings and remembrances of Faun Lake, where he and his wife lived in upstate New York.The couple bought a place in Tavares in 1980. They spent the winter months there and have lived there permanently for nearly three years.Schwartz said of the title, "I thought it would catch people's attention."The military years tell of the 39 months from December 1942 to March 1946 he spent in the Army. He went to officer's school and was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base for two years. He later got on a ship and sailed for 40 days to get to Okinawa."I was on a ship longer than my brother," Schwartz said. "He was in the Navy."While in Okinawa, Schwartz began writing a diary to give to his wife when he got home. The first date of entry is June 25, 1945, and the 51 pages were rewritten into the book. Toward the end of the diary it tells of coming home."Some of the men got off the ship and kissed the ground," he said. "We were happy to be back in the United States."After retiring from Eastman Kodak, he and his wife started an RV business in New York state. They operated the business for 22 years. Schwartz, who has three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, sold the business to his son Richard Schwartz Jr.All members of the family have a copy of the book.The younger Schwartz, who has since sold that business and moved to Oregon, said, "The book is a great account of my parents' life back then, and I learned a few things I didn't know before about my dad."It sounds like he's the kind of guy I would have liked to hang around with when I was younger -- he had a lot of fun."The final chapter of the book is called "Reflections," which includes "words of wisdom concerning what an old geezer has learned, or not learned, during his . . . years on Earth."And it's where the term "husband bench" was coined.He said the inspiration to write his memoirs came to him while sitting on a "husband bench" at a mall in Greece, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester: "Husband benches (my own terminology) are the park type benches placed in strategic locations in shopping malls, usually in the center court, or arcade areas," he writes."This is a gathering place, usually for men waiting for their wives to meet them following a shopping spree. . . . I happened to be alone that afternoon on the husband bench so I engaged in people watching. . . . One observation that came to mind was the lack of senior citizens in the octogenarian group such as myself. Then it dawned on me, there aren't too many of us left on the planet. . . . A few days later I fired-up my word processor and started to type."The elder Schwartz designed the cover of the book. He looked at it and said, "You know what is amazing? It's how much I can remember. You think of one thing and it reminds you of something else."After flipping through the pages, he said, "I enjoy reading my own book. I'm going to read it again."Schwartz started writing his second book, Calories are Crumbling, some time ago. His humorous outlook on dieting has about 3,000 words now."I haven't decided to finish it," he said. "I may someday."Confessions of an Old Geezer is $15 in paperback and $20 in hardcover, including shipping and handling. To purchase one, call Schwartz at 352-343-6150 or e-mail him at rch5070@localnet.com.
"I wrote it for my ego," he said with a chuckle.His wife of 64 years, Vivian, chimed in, "He's an old geezer now. Just teasing. He doesn't act his age."Schwartz, who worked for Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, N.Y., for 27 years, said there are some humorous anecdotes in the book, as the title may indicate.But more importantly, he said, within the 10 chapters are thought-provoking stories about the early 1920s, the Great Depression and his late teen years. There also are tales of his days in the military, his family and camping outings and remembrances of Faun Lake, where he and his wife lived in upstate New York.The couple bought a place in Tavares in 1980. They spent the winter months there and have lived there permanently for nearly three years.Schwartz said of the title, "I thought it would catch people's attention."The military years tell of the 39 months from December 1942 to March 1946 he spent in the Army. He went to officer's school and was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base for two years. He later got on a ship and sailed for 40 days to get to Okinawa."I was on a ship longer than my brother," Schwartz said. "He was in the Navy."While in Okinawa, Schwartz began writing a diary to give to his wife when he got home. The first date of entry is June 25, 1945, and the 51 pages were rewritten into the book. Toward the end of the diary it tells of coming home."Some of the men got off the ship and kissed the ground," he said. "We were happy to be back in the United States."After retiring from Eastman Kodak, he and his wife started an RV business in New York state. They operated the business for 22 years. Schwartz, who has three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, sold the business to his son Richard Schwartz Jr.All members of the family have a copy of the book.The younger Schwartz, who has since sold that business and moved to Oregon, said, "The book is a great account of my parents' life back then, and I learned a few things I didn't know before about my dad."It sounds like he's the kind of guy I would have liked to hang around with when I was younger -- he had a lot of fun."The final chapter of the book is called "Reflections," which includes "words of wisdom concerning what an old geezer has learned, or not learned, during his . . . years on Earth."And it's where the term "husband bench" was coined.He said the inspiration to write his memoirs came to him while sitting on a "husband bench" at a mall in Greece, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester: "Husband benches (my own terminology) are the park type benches placed in strategic locations in shopping malls, usually in the center court, or arcade areas," he writes."This is a gathering place, usually for men waiting for their wives to meet them following a shopping spree. . . . I happened to be alone that afternoon on the husband bench so I engaged in people watching. . . . One observation that came to mind was the lack of senior citizens in the octogenarian group such as myself. Then it dawned on me, there aren't too many of us left on the planet. . . . A few days later I fired-up my word processor and started to type."The elder Schwartz designed the cover of the book. He looked at it and said, "You know what is amazing? It's how much I can remember. You think of one thing and it reminds you of something else."After flipping through the pages, he said, "I enjoy reading my own book. I'm going to read it again."Schwartz started writing his second book, Calories are Crumbling, some time ago. His humorous outlook on dieting has about 3,000 words now."I haven't decided to finish it," he said. "I may someday."Confessions of an Old Geezer is $15 in paperback and $20 in hardcover, including shipping and handling. To purchase one, call Schwartz at 352-343-6150 or e-mail him at rch5070@localnet.com.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
list of annoying people at the game....
Top 10 Most Annoying Fans At A Game
10. Drunks. OK, being drunk may contribute to this entire list, but let's get rid of them now (if only it were that easy).
9. Any guy over 16 wearing a glove. Come on, dude, look at yourself.
8. Old guy who sits in student section and continually yells "Sit down in front!" Hey, geezer, sit someplace else.
7. Anybody who sits a quarter-mile from the field and yells at players or officials as if they can hear him/her. (Also using the flash on your disposable camera from that distance and figuring it makes a difference.)
6. The guy who waits until fourth down on the goal line to stand and order his hot dog and sixth beer.
5. Anybody who gets hysterical because a TV camera is aimed your way. (You are guilty of this, admit it.)
4. The guy who listens to you and your friends and corrects everything you say about the game. (Shoot him, 'cause no jury will convict you.)
3. The guy with the hairy back who takes off his shirt. (Dennis Salvagio gets a pass -- I guess.)
2. Any fat guy sitting next to you in those 19-inch arena seats. (I can't stand that, but I blame the seats.)
But the most annoying has to be:1. Anyone who blocks your view by leaving early, no matter how close the game may be. (If you don't care about how it ends, stay home and change the channel!)But that's just me.
10. Drunks. OK, being drunk may contribute to this entire list, but let's get rid of them now (if only it were that easy).
9. Any guy over 16 wearing a glove. Come on, dude, look at yourself.
8. Old guy who sits in student section and continually yells "Sit down in front!" Hey, geezer, sit someplace else.
7. Anybody who sits a quarter-mile from the field and yells at players or officials as if they can hear him/her. (Also using the flash on your disposable camera from that distance and figuring it makes a difference.)
6. The guy who waits until fourth down on the goal line to stand and order his hot dog and sixth beer.
5. Anybody who gets hysterical because a TV camera is aimed your way. (You are guilty of this, admit it.)
4. The guy who listens to you and your friends and corrects everything you say about the game. (Shoot him, 'cause no jury will convict you.)
3. The guy with the hairy back who takes off his shirt. (Dennis Salvagio gets a pass -- I guess.)
2. Any fat guy sitting next to you in those 19-inch arena seats. (I can't stand that, but I blame the seats.)
But the most annoying has to be:1. Anyone who blocks your view by leaving early, no matter how close the game may be. (If you don't care about how it ends, stay home and change the channel!)But that's just me.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
We were in Viroqua last week at this time
glad we decided to go last week, although it was bitterly cold.....why does that word want to be cod?
More spring-like temperatures are expected in Wisconsin after the snow storm that hit the state yesterday.
Following highs today in the 30s, it is expected to reach the 40s statewide tomorrow and Saturday, the upper 40s to the low 50s Sunday and the 50s Monday.
Most of those who lost power during yesterday's storm have it back today.
Alliant Energy and We Energies reported 30,000 customers each without power at times yesterday.
But they said only about 100 were still out today.
Milwaukee and Madison broke snowfall records for the date yesterday, with seven inches falling in Milwaukee and 5.3 inches in Madison.
Milwaukee got a trace of additional snowfall overnight while Madison had an additional .4".
The weather service says other major accumulations for the storm included Taylor (nine and a half inches), Viroqua (eight), Waupaca (7.1) and Arcadia and Richland Center (seven).
More spring-like temperatures are expected in Wisconsin after the snow storm that hit the state yesterday.
Following highs today in the 30s, it is expected to reach the 40s statewide tomorrow and Saturday, the upper 40s to the low 50s Sunday and the 50s Monday.
Most of those who lost power during yesterday's storm have it back today.
Alliant Energy and We Energies reported 30,000 customers each without power at times yesterday.
But they said only about 100 were still out today.
Milwaukee and Madison broke snowfall records for the date yesterday, with seven inches falling in Milwaukee and 5.3 inches in Madison.
Milwaukee got a trace of additional snowfall overnight while Madison had an additional .4".
The weather service says other major accumulations for the storm included Taylor (nine and a half inches), Viroqua (eight), Waupaca (7.1) and Arcadia and Richland Center (seven).
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
gotta love this geezer
My dad sits in the corner.....I wonder.....
You don't need to be a rock historian to know Rolling Stone Keith Richards has enjoyed the odd narcotic.
But the legendary guitarist and songwriter, whose fondness for drugs has been openly acknowledged for decades, astonished even his hardened fans with his admission in British music bible NME that he once snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.
Richards, 63, told the magazine his unusual experiment with paternally enhanced cocaine came after his father's cremation five years ago.
"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father.
"I snorted my father. He was cremated, and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow," Richards said in the interview, which was posted on NME's website. Richards's father, Bert, died in 2002 at the age of 84. "My dad wouldn't have cared," he said, adding: "It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."
An NME spokeswoman said the story was genuine and not a late April Fool's joke. But Richards' long-time manager Jane Rose last night insisted the rocker was joking. "Can't believe anyone took it seriously," Ms Rose told MTV News.
Richards said he was proud of his ability to survive despite the excesses of his lifestyle.
"I was No1 on the 'Who's Likely To Die' list for 10 years. Some doctor told me I had six months to live, and I went to their funeral."
But he admitted his survival was partly the result of luck.
You don't need to be a rock historian to know Rolling Stone Keith Richards has enjoyed the odd narcotic.
But the legendary guitarist and songwriter, whose fondness for drugs has been openly acknowledged for decades, astonished even his hardened fans with his admission in British music bible NME that he once snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.
Richards, 63, told the magazine his unusual experiment with paternally enhanced cocaine came after his father's cremation five years ago.
"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father.
"I snorted my father. He was cremated, and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow," Richards said in the interview, which was posted on NME's website. Richards's father, Bert, died in 2002 at the age of 84. "My dad wouldn't have cared," he said, adding: "It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."
An NME spokeswoman said the story was genuine and not a late April Fool's joke. But Richards' long-time manager Jane Rose last night insisted the rocker was joking. "Can't believe anyone took it seriously," Ms Rose told MTV News.
Richards said he was proud of his ability to survive despite the excesses of his lifestyle.
"I was No1 on the 'Who's Likely To Die' list for 10 years. Some doctor told me I had six months to live, and I went to their funeral."
But he admitted his survival was partly the result of luck.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
firing overpaid workers
Perhaps Circuit City should reduce executive compensation instead of firing floor employees that make 'too much' money....
Steven Rash, 24, said he was one of 11 workers fired at a Circuit City in Asheville, N.C. The store manager broke the news during a meeting at 8:15 a.m. and escorted them out of the store. Rash said he has worked for the retailer for seven years and was one of the most junior members of the affected group.
He said he earned $11.59 an hour and worked from 15 to 20 hours a week. He received four weeks of severance pay. Though he has a full-time job at Bank of America, he said he needs to find part-time work to help pay his student loans.
"It's not just a part-time job," he said. "It's about paying the bills."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for retail salespeople was $11.14 in May 2005, the latest data available.
Circuit City chief executive Philip J. Schoonover received a salary of $716,346, along with a $704,700 bonus last year. He also has long-term compensation of $3 million in stock awards and $340,000 in underlying options, according to company filings.
Steven Rash, 24, said he was one of 11 workers fired at a Circuit City in Asheville, N.C. The store manager broke the news during a meeting at 8:15 a.m. and escorted them out of the store. Rash said he has worked for the retailer for seven years and was one of the most junior members of the affected group.
He said he earned $11.59 an hour and worked from 15 to 20 hours a week. He received four weeks of severance pay. Though he has a full-time job at Bank of America, he said he needs to find part-time work to help pay his student loans.
"It's not just a part-time job," he said. "It's about paying the bills."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for retail salespeople was $11.14 in May 2005, the latest data available.
Circuit City chief executive Philip J. Schoonover received a salary of $716,346, along with a $704,700 bonus last year. He also has long-term compensation of $3 million in stock awards and $340,000 in underlying options, according to company filings.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
You go Grandma!!!
I guess it is ok to steal if you give it back once you are caught?
An Oklahoma City woman forced to fight back after her grandson's bike was stolen.
Ellen Alsup says, "This kid was going around stealing all the kid's bikes."
Alsup says she'd had enough. Her adopted grandson Timmy's bike was one of those taken. She says when she saw the suspected thief down at the end of the block she knew what she had to do.
Oklahoma City Police Sergeant Gary Knight says, "She went up and asked this young man about it, a 13-year-old."
Alsup marched down the street to confront the young man.
She says, "He never took his eyes off me, just like saying come on lady."
Once down the street she grabbed the handlebars on the suspect's bike, refusing to let go.
Alsup says, "I said where is my son's bike? What did you do with my son Timmy's bike? He said, 'It's at my house.'"
She then began shaking the bike telling the teen he'd better bring Timmy's bike back.
Alsup says, "He slapped me on the side of the face."
She was shocked, but managed to tell the boy he would now have to deal with the police.
Alsup says, "He knew the police were coming so he brought the bike back."
She says she's frustrated with the whole situation and will press assault charges. However, she says it's not the 13-year-old that's to blame.
Alsup says, "Where are the parents? What are they doing? Do they just not care about their kids? Do they not care what their kids are doing? Do they want them to end up in jail or prison?"
The teen will likely not end up in jail. However, he is facing misdemeanor charges of assault and battery. Police say he will not be charged for taking the bicycle because he did return the bike.
An Oklahoma City woman forced to fight back after her grandson's bike was stolen.
Ellen Alsup says, "This kid was going around stealing all the kid's bikes."
Alsup says she'd had enough. Her adopted grandson Timmy's bike was one of those taken. She says when she saw the suspected thief down at the end of the block she knew what she had to do.
Oklahoma City Police Sergeant Gary Knight says, "She went up and asked this young man about it, a 13-year-old."
Alsup marched down the street to confront the young man.
She says, "He never took his eyes off me, just like saying come on lady."
Once down the street she grabbed the handlebars on the suspect's bike, refusing to let go.
Alsup says, "I said where is my son's bike? What did you do with my son Timmy's bike? He said, 'It's at my house.'"
She then began shaking the bike telling the teen he'd better bring Timmy's bike back.
Alsup says, "He slapped me on the side of the face."
She was shocked, but managed to tell the boy he would now have to deal with the police.
Alsup says, "He knew the police were coming so he brought the bike back."
She says she's frustrated with the whole situation and will press assault charges. However, she says it's not the 13-year-old that's to blame.
Alsup says, "Where are the parents? What are they doing? Do they just not care about their kids? Do they not care what their kids are doing? Do they want them to end up in jail or prison?"
The teen will likely not end up in jail. However, he is facing misdemeanor charges of assault and battery. Police say he will not be charged for taking the bicycle because he did return the bike.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Damn Wisconsin Banana Police
Rest easy, Madison, the banana cops are on the case.
You don't have to worry about being overcharged on an undersized banana in this town.
Trader Joe's on Monroe Street had its "Welcome to the Banana Republic of Madison" moment earlier this year when it was busted by the city's weights and measures department for illegally selling bananas for 19 cents each.
To be fair, this is actually a "Welcome to Wisconsin" moment, because the law that city weights and measures inspector Cindy Lease was enforcing is a state law.
"I can't change the law. I just tell them what it is," Lease said. "It's been the law for a long time."
Under section 91.03 of Wisconsin Administrative Code, it is illegal to sell bananas any other way than by net weight. Lease told Trader Joe's it had two options: Either install produce scales - like the vast majority of grocery stores - or weigh the bananas and sell them by the bag.
Trader Joe's chose the second option, put up a cute sign about "fruitful" matchmaking in the produce aisle to announce that "bananas are no longer single" and could be purchased by the bag at 49 cents a pound.
This did not warm the heart of single- banana lover Darlene Gakovich.
"Now you have to buy huge clumps of bananas," she said. "I like to buy two, three or four bananas, all at different stages of ripeness."
She has complained, so far, to the store manager, to the city and to state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison.
Gakovich is not at all mollified that this law is designed to protect her, the consumer.
"They claim the consumer might be shortchanged by buying a small banana at the same price as a big banana," she said. "I'm so angry. I don't even want a bigger banana. I think the small ones taste better."
The folks in charge of these laws say Gakovich should aim her banana elsewhere.
"I don't think the problem is with the law, the problem is with Trader Joe's deciding not to have scales," said Judy Cardin, section chief of regulation and safety for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Cardin, who is chair-elect of the National Conference of Weights and Measures, says Wisconsin's law isn't much different from those in most states. She said the laws are "fundamental consumer protection" because they allow consumers to easily compare prices between stores.
I do appreciate the weights and measures inspectors' work when they're making sure that store scales are correct and that the gas pump at the local station isn't cheating me out of any of that oh-so-expensive gasoline.
But, like Gakovich, I think I'm perfectly capable of judging whether I want to spend 19 cents for a banana.
Lettuce look at those state rules. They allow lettuce and cauliflower to be sold by the head, but not cabbage.
I don't carrot all about how I buy my carrots, but section 91.03 does: Carrots with tops can be sold by the bunch, while topless carrots must be sold by the pound. Can you beet that? Yes. The same rule applies to topless beets.
I know this sounds like sour grapes, but explain why, under state law, you can sell Concord grapes by the quart, but all other grapes must by sold by the pound?
And, someone leeked it to the media that you can buy leeks legally by the bunch, but their cousins, the onions, only by the pound.
How do you like them potatoes? It doesn't matter how you like them. Here in Wisconsin, the potato police have squashed your right to buy them by the piece.
Personally, I think they can kiss my asparagus - after weighing it, of course.
You don't have to worry about being overcharged on an undersized banana in this town.
Trader Joe's on Monroe Street had its "Welcome to the Banana Republic of Madison" moment earlier this year when it was busted by the city's weights and measures department for illegally selling bananas for 19 cents each.
To be fair, this is actually a "Welcome to Wisconsin" moment, because the law that city weights and measures inspector Cindy Lease was enforcing is a state law.
"I can't change the law. I just tell them what it is," Lease said. "It's been the law for a long time."
Under section 91.03 of Wisconsin Administrative Code, it is illegal to sell bananas any other way than by net weight. Lease told Trader Joe's it had two options: Either install produce scales - like the vast majority of grocery stores - or weigh the bananas and sell them by the bag.
Trader Joe's chose the second option, put up a cute sign about "fruitful" matchmaking in the produce aisle to announce that "bananas are no longer single" and could be purchased by the bag at 49 cents a pound.
This did not warm the heart of single- banana lover Darlene Gakovich.
"Now you have to buy huge clumps of bananas," she said. "I like to buy two, three or four bananas, all at different stages of ripeness."
She has complained, so far, to the store manager, to the city and to state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison.
Gakovich is not at all mollified that this law is designed to protect her, the consumer.
"They claim the consumer might be shortchanged by buying a small banana at the same price as a big banana," she said. "I'm so angry. I don't even want a bigger banana. I think the small ones taste better."
The folks in charge of these laws say Gakovich should aim her banana elsewhere.
"I don't think the problem is with the law, the problem is with Trader Joe's deciding not to have scales," said Judy Cardin, section chief of regulation and safety for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Cardin, who is chair-elect of the National Conference of Weights and Measures, says Wisconsin's law isn't much different from those in most states. She said the laws are "fundamental consumer protection" because they allow consumers to easily compare prices between stores.
I do appreciate the weights and measures inspectors' work when they're making sure that store scales are correct and that the gas pump at the local station isn't cheating me out of any of that oh-so-expensive gasoline.
But, like Gakovich, I think I'm perfectly capable of judging whether I want to spend 19 cents for a banana.
Lettuce look at those state rules. They allow lettuce and cauliflower to be sold by the head, but not cabbage.
I don't carrot all about how I buy my carrots, but section 91.03 does: Carrots with tops can be sold by the bunch, while topless carrots must be sold by the pound. Can you beet that? Yes. The same rule applies to topless beets.
I know this sounds like sour grapes, but explain why, under state law, you can sell Concord grapes by the quart, but all other grapes must by sold by the pound?
And, someone leeked it to the media that you can buy leeks legally by the bunch, but their cousins, the onions, only by the pound.
How do you like them potatoes? It doesn't matter how you like them. Here in Wisconsin, the potato police have squashed your right to buy them by the piece.
Personally, I think they can kiss my asparagus - after weighing it, of course.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Another enterprise in Richland Center
Gotta love Richland Center....they come up with good enterprises!
A 3-year-old poodle had such long and matted hair that her rescuers at first didn't realize she had only two legs.
Having dealt with three-legged dogs in the past - "tripods" - rescuers had to come up with a new term for the poodle in their care.
"She's a duplex," said Karen Sparapani, community outreach director at the Elmbrook Humane Society.
Acting on a tip, the Elmbrook Humane Society rescued 20 dogs from what they said was a puppy mill in western Wisconsin last week. The poodle, now named China, lost two of her legs when her mother chewed them off, a sign of stress often seen in puppy mills, Sparapani said.
A week later, China is learning to walk for the first time and learning how to behave like a dog, she said.
The dogs were kept in wire pens in a barn in rural western Wisconsin by an Amish farmer.
Elmbrook staff declined to disclose the farmer's name because they want to establish a relationship with him. They are expecting four more dogs as soon as those dogs are done nursing.
The shelter staff is hoping that the farmer turns over all his "cold stock" - dogs too old to breed or deemed unsuitable by the farmer.
The rescuers had to leave behind 150 dogs still being bred twice a year.
Unwitting customers end up buying the product of puppy mills, she said.
"It's never going to end until people stop buying dogs from pet stores and through ads," Sparapani said.
Puppy mills - places where multiple breeds of dogs are frequently bred - are controversial but not illegal in Wisconsin.
The Richland Center puppy mill was cleaner than expected, and the farmer, who gave each dog a number, seemed generally to care about the dogs, said Carol Sumbry, the shelter's volunteer coordinator and humane educator.
Sumbry, who took part in the rescue, said she couldn't look back as she was leaving. She had to concentrate on the ones they could save.
One of those removed was a 4-month-old male Boston terrier. The dog, dubbed Boston by the shelter, severely cut his front paw while the rescuers were in the barn and the farmer didn't want to have to pay the veterinarian bill. Boston is recovering at a Madison hospital and might still lose his leg.
The shelter also rescued a 2-year-old Chihuahua and poodle mix that the farmer said wouldn't breed. Likely under stress at the puppy mill, she has already gone into heat at the shelter.
Two fox terrier and beagle mix puppies were given up because the farmer thought they were ugly.
Some of the dogs have already been adopted, but others remain and are making progress. The first day the dogs were in the shelter, they cowered in the back of their pens, Sparapani said. One week later, they are approaching people and begging for attention.
Anyone adopting the animals will face challenges. The dogs never left their cages, never walked on solid ground and never wore a collar or leash. They will likely be protective of their food, and most are not housebroken. All the dogs will be sterilized before leaving the shelter.
The dogs will learn dog behavior better in a home with another dog, shelter staff say.
A 3-year-old poodle had such long and matted hair that her rescuers at first didn't realize she had only two legs.
Having dealt with three-legged dogs in the past - "tripods" - rescuers had to come up with a new term for the poodle in their care.
"She's a duplex," said Karen Sparapani, community outreach director at the Elmbrook Humane Society.
Acting on a tip, the Elmbrook Humane Society rescued 20 dogs from what they said was a puppy mill in western Wisconsin last week. The poodle, now named China, lost two of her legs when her mother chewed them off, a sign of stress often seen in puppy mills, Sparapani said.
A week later, China is learning to walk for the first time and learning how to behave like a dog, she said.
The dogs were kept in wire pens in a barn in rural western Wisconsin by an Amish farmer.
Elmbrook staff declined to disclose the farmer's name because they want to establish a relationship with him. They are expecting four more dogs as soon as those dogs are done nursing.
The shelter staff is hoping that the farmer turns over all his "cold stock" - dogs too old to breed or deemed unsuitable by the farmer.
The rescuers had to leave behind 150 dogs still being bred twice a year.
Unwitting customers end up buying the product of puppy mills, she said.
"It's never going to end until people stop buying dogs from pet stores and through ads," Sparapani said.
Puppy mills - places where multiple breeds of dogs are frequently bred - are controversial but not illegal in Wisconsin.
The Richland Center puppy mill was cleaner than expected, and the farmer, who gave each dog a number, seemed generally to care about the dogs, said Carol Sumbry, the shelter's volunteer coordinator and humane educator.
Sumbry, who took part in the rescue, said she couldn't look back as she was leaving. She had to concentrate on the ones they could save.
One of those removed was a 4-month-old male Boston terrier. The dog, dubbed Boston by the shelter, severely cut his front paw while the rescuers were in the barn and the farmer didn't want to have to pay the veterinarian bill. Boston is recovering at a Madison hospital and might still lose his leg.
The shelter also rescued a 2-year-old Chihuahua and poodle mix that the farmer said wouldn't breed. Likely under stress at the puppy mill, she has already gone into heat at the shelter.
Two fox terrier and beagle mix puppies were given up because the farmer thought they were ugly.
Some of the dogs have already been adopted, but others remain and are making progress. The first day the dogs were in the shelter, they cowered in the back of their pens, Sparapani said. One week later, they are approaching people and begging for attention.
Anyone adopting the animals will face challenges. The dogs never left their cages, never walked on solid ground and never wore a collar or leash. They will likely be protective of their food, and most are not housebroken. All the dogs will be sterilized before leaving the shelter.
The dogs will learn dog behavior better in a home with another dog, shelter staff say.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Is it cold?
I have decided the midwest has become inhabited by a bunch of pussys. I see most of the schools were closed today to cold wether. In the old days, when I lived there, we kept workig outside until it was at LEAST 20 below zero. Then we only stopped because the instruments froze up. Today, it was around 0 this morning and they closed te schools....
I remember one year, it never got above 0 for 32 days or something. Out working each day...then we moved to Arizona.....
WIMPS!
I remember one year, it never got above 0 for 32 days or something. Out working each day...then we moved to Arizona.....
WIMPS!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Local colleges
When I went to Richland Center, many of the students were older - some just coming back from Vietnam - now we have Iraq to bring the coffins home....
When Shawn Cassiman got divorced, she knew it was time to go to college to be better able to support herself and her children.
A high school dropout with an equivalency diploma, she enrolled at UW-Superior at age 40. Commuting from Ashland, she worked at a pizza joint as well as work-study jobs between classes, before gaining her bachelor's degree in 2002.
Now Cassiman has a master's degree and is working toward a Ph.D. in social welfare at the UW-Madison.
She says she was "lucky" to get scholarships and to find the mentors she needed to gain her degrees. But the University of Wisconsin System is launching a new Adult Student Initiative aimed at taking much of the luck out of the equation for older "nontraditional" students such as Cassiman.
"Nontraditional" UW student Shawn Cassiman returned to college nine years ago at age 40 and is now working toward a Ph.D.
The number of students age 24 and older has dropped dramatically in the past 10 years - at the UW-Madison and in the system as a whole. Statewide, nontraditional undergraduate students declined from 27,069 in 1995 to 20,095 in 2005. At UW-Madison, the numbers of undergraduate students age 24 and older dropped from 2,616 in 1997 to 1,661 in 2005.
UW System President Kevin Reilly said the new initiative - proposed as part of the next two-year budget at a cost of $2.6 million - is necessary to close a 5 percent gap in bachelor's degrees that Wisconsin suffers in comparison with Illinois and Minnesota.
That is one reason why the state has a lower average family income and suffers in economic vitality compared to some other states in the region, he said. Creating more high-paying employment opportunities within the state's economy requires an educated population.
"There is a documented need to attract adults with an associate degree or substantial college credit to UW System campuses to complete a bachelor's degree," Reilly said.
The new initiative - to be launched by the UW Colleges and UW-Extension - is in addition to existing programs, and would not mean a cut in funding for traditional students entering college out of high school.
The additional money would be used to identify, recruit and serve potential adult students, expand opportunities for them through distance education and provide more counseling.
Wisconsin has a high level of people with associate degrees who could use UW resources to gain bachelor's degrees, Reilly said. Jobs requiring at least a bachelor's degree include computer system analysts, schoolteachers, physical therapists and graphics designers. The potential market of Wisconsinites age 18 and older who have some college credit or an associate degree is 1.2 million people, and researchers estimate that 60,860 are "extremely or very interested in enrolling in a degree program," UW System officials said.
No one is quite sure why nontraditional students have declined, though the fact that tuition has risen sharply in recent years may be a factor. Sharp competition from private universities offering flexible hours and online courses could also be a factor.
UW System spokesman Dave Giroux added that state budget cuts have forced the system to focus more narrowly on a core mission of traditional-aged on-campus undergraduates. "It has more to do with our internal issues, doing more with less," he said.
But Teri Venker, a spokeswoman for the UW Colleges and UW-Extension, said another major cause is likely a scary university bureaucracy.
"Especially in parts of the state where no UW campus is located, the University of Wisconsin is often perceived as a bureaucracy that some people find intimidating. They don't know where to start," she said.
View from the desks: Rod Perry knew where to start, but he had to get past some obstacles first.
Perry, 63, lost his job as a digitizer in the business outfitters division of Lands' End in Dodgeville in February 2005. He designed digital logos that are embroidered on garments with a computer-assisted sewing machine, but he said he and some 40 others lost their jobs when Lands' End contracted for the work to be done in India and South America.
Perry and others applied for a federal program allowing them to draw unemployment while attending college, but they were denied and had to appeal more than once.
The application was finally approved, and in September Perry started taking classes at UW-Richland in his hometown of Richland Center to get an associate degree in liberal arts, with an emphasis on business.
"The big hang-up is that the program demands that you carry 12 credits. To be 44 years out of the classroom and leap into a 12-credit schedule was at least brutal, but it turned out a little better than I expected," he said.
In fact, Perry ended his first semester with a 3.9 grade point average.
"They want you to finish and then take a job. I said, 'OK, but who would hire me at 65?' "
Perry said he plans to cross that bridge when he comes to it, while Deanna Newlun of Wonewoc has a clear idea of where she wants to go next.
She will graduate from UW-Richland in May with an associate degree in liberal arts and science and intends to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice online through a four-year institution so she can become a probation or parole officer.
Newlun enrolled four years ago at age 28 to find a more interesting career. Married with children ages 8 and 4, she currently works part time as a ticket agent at the Crystal Grand Music Theatre in Wisconsin Dells.
Her husband, Chris, is a truck driver who is often away from home, so it has been a struggle to juggle school, homework, her children and jobs.
"It has gotten easier as my kids have gotten older. At first the classes were difficult because I didn't know what to expect, and some are still difficult," said Newlun, although she has made the Dean's List with high honors every semester.
Both she and Cassiman urged people thinking about going back to school to do so.
"It's never too late, and it's not as bad as you might think," Newlun said. "It has been very rewarding. I've met a lot of new people and I was able to experience college, on a different level but still experience it."
Cassiman said the same, even though, like Newlun, she has also had to take out student loans to get her degrees.
"I ended up with a great adviser in my program. We all need support and help to do anything we do. A big part of support is financial, but encouragement and belief in your ability to succeed are very important," she said.
"It is really important to recognize that because we don't all follow the same type of trajectory doesn't mean that we can't do things. If you didn't do it 20 years ago, that doesn't mean you can't do it. A lot of times people put their dreams on hold."
When Shawn Cassiman got divorced, she knew it was time to go to college to be better able to support herself and her children.
A high school dropout with an equivalency diploma, she enrolled at UW-Superior at age 40. Commuting from Ashland, she worked at a pizza joint as well as work-study jobs between classes, before gaining her bachelor's degree in 2002.
Now Cassiman has a master's degree and is working toward a Ph.D. in social welfare at the UW-Madison.
She says she was "lucky" to get scholarships and to find the mentors she needed to gain her degrees. But the University of Wisconsin System is launching a new Adult Student Initiative aimed at taking much of the luck out of the equation for older "nontraditional" students such as Cassiman.
"Nontraditional" UW student Shawn Cassiman returned to college nine years ago at age 40 and is now working toward a Ph.D.
The number of students age 24 and older has dropped dramatically in the past 10 years - at the UW-Madison and in the system as a whole. Statewide, nontraditional undergraduate students declined from 27,069 in 1995 to 20,095 in 2005. At UW-Madison, the numbers of undergraduate students age 24 and older dropped from 2,616 in 1997 to 1,661 in 2005.
UW System President Kevin Reilly said the new initiative - proposed as part of the next two-year budget at a cost of $2.6 million - is necessary to close a 5 percent gap in bachelor's degrees that Wisconsin suffers in comparison with Illinois and Minnesota.
That is one reason why the state has a lower average family income and suffers in economic vitality compared to some other states in the region, he said. Creating more high-paying employment opportunities within the state's economy requires an educated population.
"There is a documented need to attract adults with an associate degree or substantial college credit to UW System campuses to complete a bachelor's degree," Reilly said.
The new initiative - to be launched by the UW Colleges and UW-Extension - is in addition to existing programs, and would not mean a cut in funding for traditional students entering college out of high school.
The additional money would be used to identify, recruit and serve potential adult students, expand opportunities for them through distance education and provide more counseling.
Wisconsin has a high level of people with associate degrees who could use UW resources to gain bachelor's degrees, Reilly said. Jobs requiring at least a bachelor's degree include computer system analysts, schoolteachers, physical therapists and graphics designers. The potential market of Wisconsinites age 18 and older who have some college credit or an associate degree is 1.2 million people, and researchers estimate that 60,860 are "extremely or very interested in enrolling in a degree program," UW System officials said.
No one is quite sure why nontraditional students have declined, though the fact that tuition has risen sharply in recent years may be a factor. Sharp competition from private universities offering flexible hours and online courses could also be a factor.
UW System spokesman Dave Giroux added that state budget cuts have forced the system to focus more narrowly on a core mission of traditional-aged on-campus undergraduates. "It has more to do with our internal issues, doing more with less," he said.
But Teri Venker, a spokeswoman for the UW Colleges and UW-Extension, said another major cause is likely a scary university bureaucracy.
"Especially in parts of the state where no UW campus is located, the University of Wisconsin is often perceived as a bureaucracy that some people find intimidating. They don't know where to start," she said.
View from the desks: Rod Perry knew where to start, but he had to get past some obstacles first.
Perry, 63, lost his job as a digitizer in the business outfitters division of Lands' End in Dodgeville in February 2005. He designed digital logos that are embroidered on garments with a computer-assisted sewing machine, but he said he and some 40 others lost their jobs when Lands' End contracted for the work to be done in India and South America.
Perry and others applied for a federal program allowing them to draw unemployment while attending college, but they were denied and had to appeal more than once.
The application was finally approved, and in September Perry started taking classes at UW-Richland in his hometown of Richland Center to get an associate degree in liberal arts, with an emphasis on business.
"The big hang-up is that the program demands that you carry 12 credits. To be 44 years out of the classroom and leap into a 12-credit schedule was at least brutal, but it turned out a little better than I expected," he said.
In fact, Perry ended his first semester with a 3.9 grade point average.
"They want you to finish and then take a job. I said, 'OK, but who would hire me at 65?' "
Perry said he plans to cross that bridge when he comes to it, while Deanna Newlun of Wonewoc has a clear idea of where she wants to go next.
She will graduate from UW-Richland in May with an associate degree in liberal arts and science and intends to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice online through a four-year institution so she can become a probation or parole officer.
Newlun enrolled four years ago at age 28 to find a more interesting career. Married with children ages 8 and 4, she currently works part time as a ticket agent at the Crystal Grand Music Theatre in Wisconsin Dells.
Her husband, Chris, is a truck driver who is often away from home, so it has been a struggle to juggle school, homework, her children and jobs.
"It has gotten easier as my kids have gotten older. At first the classes were difficult because I didn't know what to expect, and some are still difficult," said Newlun, although she has made the Dean's List with high honors every semester.
Both she and Cassiman urged people thinking about going back to school to do so.
"It's never too late, and it's not as bad as you might think," Newlun said. "It has been very rewarding. I've met a lot of new people and I was able to experience college, on a different level but still experience it."
Cassiman said the same, even though, like Newlun, she has also had to take out student loans to get her degrees.
"I ended up with a great adviser in my program. We all need support and help to do anything we do. A big part of support is financial, but encouragement and belief in your ability to succeed are very important," she said.
"It is really important to recognize that because we don't all follow the same type of trajectory doesn't mean that we can't do things. If you didn't do it 20 years ago, that doesn't mean you can't do it. A lot of times people put their dreams on hold."
Where did common sense go?
Why do we need all these laws? If Iwere a lawmaker, I would write laws to get rid of existing laws that do not work! Plenty of those feel good laws out there already.....spike em!
From NJ
After a day of unrelenting ridicule, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick decided yesterday evening to withdraw his bill to ban talking on a cell phone while riding a bike.
"Even my friends didn't like the bill," the Union County Republican said.
A legislative committee on Thursday approved the bill, which would make it illegal for people to use a hand-held telephone while riding a bicycle on a public road. Hands-free devices would still be allowed. Violators would face fines ranging from $100 to $250.
Bramnick said the bill was meant to protect bicyclists and the people they might run into while riding and yakking. He had described the plan as a "common sense proposal."
But the idea crashed harder than a rider flipping over the handlebars.
Criticism came from all angles, from talk radio callers to constituents to casual acquaintances, Bramnick said.
He conceded that even he was having doubts while pitching the bill to fellow lawmakers on Thursday.
"I could feel in my own voice that, as I talked about the bill, I started to have some questions in my mind about my own bill," Bramnick said.
Nonetheless, it was released to the full Assembly, drawing instant media attention followed by a strong dose of mockery, some directed at the bill by fellow lawmakers.
"As my father used to tell me, "You can't legislate common sense,' and that's exactly what this bill tries to do, as the Legislature has already tried to do on so many other occasions," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt, R-Morris.
Pete Garnich, owner of Knapp's Cyclery in Lawrence, was among those who failed to see the need. His shop sponsors weekly group rides, and Garnich said he can't recall anyone talking on a cell phone while riding a bike.
"I wouldn't say it's a problem," he said. "You can't breathe and talk. It's absolutely ridiculous."
All of which contributed to Bramnick's change of heart by yesterday evening.
"The thing is, sometimes you make mistakes, simple as that," Bramnick said.
From NJ
After a day of unrelenting ridicule, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick decided yesterday evening to withdraw his bill to ban talking on a cell phone while riding a bike.
"Even my friends didn't like the bill," the Union County Republican said.
A legislative committee on Thursday approved the bill, which would make it illegal for people to use a hand-held telephone while riding a bicycle on a public road. Hands-free devices would still be allowed. Violators would face fines ranging from $100 to $250.
Bramnick said the bill was meant to protect bicyclists and the people they might run into while riding and yakking. He had described the plan as a "common sense proposal."
But the idea crashed harder than a rider flipping over the handlebars.
Criticism came from all angles, from talk radio callers to constituents to casual acquaintances, Bramnick said.
He conceded that even he was having doubts while pitching the bill to fellow lawmakers on Thursday.
"I could feel in my own voice that, as I talked about the bill, I started to have some questions in my mind about my own bill," Bramnick said.
Nonetheless, it was released to the full Assembly, drawing instant media attention followed by a strong dose of mockery, some directed at the bill by fellow lawmakers.
"As my father used to tell me, "You can't legislate common sense,' and that's exactly what this bill tries to do, as the Legislature has already tried to do on so many other occasions," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt, R-Morris.
Pete Garnich, owner of Knapp's Cyclery in Lawrence, was among those who failed to see the need. His shop sponsors weekly group rides, and Garnich said he can't recall anyone talking on a cell phone while riding a bike.
"I wouldn't say it's a problem," he said. "You can't breathe and talk. It's absolutely ridiculous."
All of which contributed to Bramnick's change of heart by yesterday evening.
"The thing is, sometimes you make mistakes, simple as that," Bramnick said.
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