Posts Tagged “Local Jobs”

Times disses Al film as convenient stretch of truth
By Herald staff
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 – Updated: 01:37 AM EST

http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=188169The New York Times [NYT] fires a shot today at Al Gore and his Academy Award-winning global warming film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” saying it involves “hype” and shoddy science. 

“Hollywood has a thing for Al Gore and his three-alarm film . . . So do many environmentalists, who praise him as a visionary, and many scientists, who laud him for raising public awareness,” the Times reports. “But part of his scientific audience is uneasy . . . these scientists argue that some of Mr. Gore’s central points are exaggerated and erroneous.”

Wow, the New York Times says so?

 Now ain’t that a bitch?

Posted by Tim Zank

Recently I have become interested in Biofuels.  I tend to tune out many things until it jumps out at me more and more and then I start to develop an interest in it and then I decide to learn more.  I am at the point where I have decided to learn more about biofuels.

It seems biofuel plants are springing up everywhere and the world’s largest at this point is being built in Clunette, just a little north of Warsaw.  A little further to the north, near Milford, they are discussing the pros and cons of a possible ethanol plant.  In Atwood, to the west of Warsaw, Nature’s Fuel should be operational in May. South of Warsaw, Claypool has also been eyeballed for a plant, and I believe Argos, near Rochester is yet another location being contemplated. Part of the draw to Kosciusko County for all of these plants is that fact that Tom Farms is headquartered in Leesburg and is the largest supplier of seed corn and services related to the seed corn industry. With all of this coming so close to home for me, I have decided to start delving into the facts and educate myself on all of this.

I remember during our bout with cold weather a couple of weeks ago, biodiesel was being blamed for the buses not running properly.  Well in the past, all diesel has always had the gel problem, I remember when we had to plug in my grandparents’ Cadillac to keep it from freezing up.  I also recall them saying there was a problem with algae growing in the biodeisel, but guess what?  That too has been a problem with regular diesel in the past. So I am not seeing those two factors as problems that alone are going to destroy the whole concept of biofuels.

I do however have some concern over the fact that we may be shooting ourselves in the foot with our own greed.  In our desire to become independent from fuel needs from other countries, we are driving up the costs of what was initially intended to save us money. We have raised the grain prices so high, that what might have been a bit more economical for us to consider using is now coming through at the same costs as what we were trying to avoid.  And this is the kicker that we are not hearing so much about, biofuels run about 70% of the energy we need vs 100% of the energy from regular fuels….therefore there is another 30% more biofuel that will have to be used to achieve the same amount of regular fuel, thus driving the cost up even more…

Posted by Lucy.

I just read an interesting article in today’s Journal Gazette. It appears that some parents are using local libraries as free child care. This is just something that had never crossed my mind and I can see how it would be comforting to a parent who is seriously strapped financially to feel that this is a good place the drop their kids off for awhile. I can almost understand their thinking.

While many kids were enjoying a day off from school, Mikeyla spent three hours of her day killing time on a computer at a branch of the Allen County Public Library. Her mom dropped her off there about 10 a.m. and planned to pick her up after she got off work about 1 p.m.

It’s a routine Mikeyla goes through almost every day. After she leaves school in the afternoon, she said, she and a friend are usually dropped off at the library by her friend’s mom.

She’s there for about four hours until her mom picks her up, or she gets a ride home with the same friend’s mom. Mikeyla’s mother said her daughter’s library visits are partly because she is working, but also because Mikeyla loves to read.

The mother is one of many parents in the area and across the country who use libraries essentially as child care until they get home from work. Sending their children to a public place with a number of adults is more comforting than having them stay home alone.

For the kids, you know what? I don’t know of anyplace that is more disciplined for everyone who uses the facility. You just know if you are talking too loud, its totally unacceptable and you will be asked to leave. When a child is forced to remain quiet and behave respectfully towards others, they find something to do. In a library, they are either going to find a good book to read, a quiet game to play or perhaps surf the internet. I would assume the proper filters are in place regarding the internet so that they are not going to get into trouble that way. So, at least a child will be well behaved and be using his noggin.

There’s a boy younger than 10 who comes to the Little Turtle branch every day after school and arrives every Saturday at 10 a.m., branch manager Rosie Stier said. He has money to spend either in the vending machines or at the neighboring Dairy Queen or Arby’s, and he is picked up at 6 p.m. – closing time, Stier said.

I seriously can’t imagine leaving a child under the age of 10 like that on his own every day. But then again, I don’t understand what situation his parents may be in.

Two 13-year-old girls often spend their days off from school, weekends or time after school at a branch library. They said their parents suggest they go to the library while they’re at work.

The Blackhawk Middle School students spent about five hours at the library on Martin Luther King Jr. Day while their parents were at work or running errands.

The same goes for a 14-year-old boy who goes to the library almost every day after school while his mom is at work. He doesn’t mind, though, because many of his friends go to the same branch, and he can also play on a computer, something he doesn’t have at home.

Some Allen County library branches are more prone to being kid-populated than others, specifically those in lower-income areas, said Cheryl Ferverda, community relations and development manager. She said she thinks the Pontiac, Tecumseh, Shawnee and Little Turtle branches have higher rates of unattended children.

For the staff at the library? What a nightmare for them. They know these kids are being left unattended. and they know there is just an unspoken intention that they are to keep an eye on these kids. At the same time, they have their job to do. Their job is not childcare provider.

The library wants to be known as a welcome place for children, but Ferverda thinks parents need to fully understand the situation before they decide to leave their children unattended.

“We just are saying to parents be mindful that your child is in a public building and think about it in this way: Would you just take your child to Glenbrook and drop them off and leave them? If the answer is no, then that’s the way you should look at the library,” Ferverda said.

There have been times when children have been dropped off and their parent forgets what time the library closes, Ferverda said. Library staff won’t leave if there are children waiting, and staff will stay until the parents come.

“We’re using taxpayers’ limited resources to address a situation that … isn’t of our making,” Ferverda said. “It is of somebody else’s making.”

Well, you learn something new everyday. I always say it is cheaper for me to go to the grocery store or to Wal-Mart without my kids, now I know where to drop them while I do that.

Posted by Lucy

Hey all you dropouts, I take back what I said yesterday. You can now get a job working for the Allen County Public Library AND… it only requires a 10th grade education.

Found on Craigslist.org
GENEALOGY SHELVER

Part-time, 30-hour per week shelver in the Genealogy department at the Main Library. Applications for shelver will not be considered unless the skills test has been completed. The schedule for shelver is varied and will include days, evenings, and weekends. If you are interested in applying for the Genealogy shelver position, you must have completed the tenth grade and be able to shelve and retrieve materials stored in specific numerical or alphabetical order. Strong physical stamina is needed for standing, walking, stooping, and stretching more than 80% of the work time. Responsibilities of the shelver include reading and straightening shelves, photocopying materials, shelving items and other tasks as assigned. Please apply in person at any Allen County Public Library location.

You have to take a skills test but I cannot fathom what that would involve. Maybe they have you run from the cart to the shelf and time how fast you can get the books back in place? You need to be able to STOP, STAND, WALK and STOOP – ohhhh stoop, that’s the key word here. Stoop to a new low and wonder about all the decisions you’ve made in your life up until you accepted this job.

Oh, and you gotta be able to read. I can think of better jobs but they require stooping too.