Hazleton Area Looks To Refund School Tax Money
0 Comments | Republican & Herald; Pottsville, Pa., Jul 26, 2010 | by SAM GALSKI
HAZLETON - The Hazleton Area School District can reopen its budget and refund the estimated $800,000 to $1 million generated from property tax increases in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties, school officials said.
Now, school officials are working to determine the best way to get that money back into the hands of taxpayers, including property owners in East and North Union townships in Schuylkill County.
The district has two possibilities for returning money to taxpayers, but neither is likely to materialize until next year's tax bills are prepared, district Business Manager Anthony Ryba said.
Ryba spent the past week working with Hazleton Area Solicitor Chris Slusser and state Department of Education officials to determine whether the district can reopen its budget and adjust its millage rate to reflect a tax refund.
"There's legislation passed with the (state) budget that does allow you to open the (local school) budget," Ryba said. "(Slusser) felt it allows you to levy taxes."
Ryba said he also checked with state education officials, who concurred with Slusser.
But this year's tax bills have already been issued and several taxpayers have paid, a scenario that Ryba said could create problems for issuing refunds. Plus, the school district would have to pay about $32,000 to re-print and mail a new set of tax bills, he said. Refunds would range from a low of $6 to a few properties that would be eligible for as much as $1,000, he said.
After talking with state officials, Ryba proposed two scenarios the district can pursue for returning money generated from the tax hikes.
The first would tack an additional property tax rebate onto next year's Homestead exceptions. This year's exemption is about $365.
An alternative would involve calculating revenue generated by the tax increase - which Ryba and school Director Robert Childs estimate is between $800,000 and $1 million - and reducing next year's tax bills accordingly.
Ryba will research both avenues and report back to the board with options.
School directors last week approved Childs' motion to review the possibility of giving back the tax increase in light of $3 million in unanticipated state subsidies the district will receive this year.
Childs said Monday that he'd favor increasing next year's Homestead.
"Taking it off the budget for next year ... it's hard to display to the taxpayers that that's what you're doing," Childs said. "But with the Homestead Act, you can calculate that as you always do and you essentially tack on the extra somewhat around $800,000
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Integrating Energy Efficiency Upgrades: 2010 School/College Building
0 Comments | U.S. Newswire, May 10, 2010
CHICAGO, May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In today's economic climate, education leaders are pressed to maximize the use of every resource possible. Leaders from two central U.S. schools recently combined energy efficiency upgrades with other projects to improve the learning and teaching environment.
At the upcoming School/College Building Expo, Scott Krull, central territory vice president, HVAC-R operations for Trane and Hussmann, and Kyle Hayden, district superintendent, Tonganoxie Unified School District (USD) 464, will describe how the district coupled building upgrades with an energy efficiency curriculum to create an integrated hand-on learning experience. Bill Harris, vice president, education markets for Trane and Dr
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As a result
As a result of this clearing, I had developed a poison ivy rash, in the crux of my arm, in the shape of a three inch circle. The rash occurred no where else on my body. I had just contracted poison ivy, while in a class room, in February. After the class, I went directly home. I did not walk near any woods, or any weeds.
Later that evening, as I was undressing for bed, my husband asked what I had done, to have such a large bruise on my chest. I had no idea what he was talking about. I turned and faced the mirror in our bedroom, and saw a large, fresh, dark black, blue and purple bruise, which encompassed nearly half of my breast, and upward towards my shoulder. As we looked closer, we could clearly see that the bruise was in the shape of a foot, or a shoe.
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Commentary: Seven tips for law firm Web site content writing
Missouri Lawyers Media, Mar 8, 2010 by Geri Dreiling
Writing pages for your law firm's Web site can, at times, be daunting - especially when you're staring at a blank computer screen and wishing the legal content would just magically appear.
In writing countless Web pages for attorney Web sites, though, I've found that following seven steps can make the process more manageable.
1. Research your keywords.
Keywords are the string of words that people type into a search engine such as Google when they're looking for information. Researching the keywords that are searched most often but have the least amount of competition will help improve your search engine performance.
For law firms, geographic locations can form the basis of many of your keyword phrases.
There are several free tools - among them Google Insights, Wordtracker and Google AdWords - you can use to conduct keyword research.
Although it can be time consuming, making the effort to understand how prospective clients might go about finding you and using that information to inform your writing is important. If you do not have time to conduct the research, outsource it to a legal content writer who can prepare the information for you.
2. Pay attention to keyword placement and page length.
Estimates vary when it comes to the optimal word count for a Web page that provides the necessary legal content for prospective clients and search engine optimization, but generally it lies somewhere between 300 and 700 words.
At Legal Media Matters, we aim for about 500 words, repeating a keyword phrase four to 10 times. Generally speaking, keyword phrases are often most effective in the title, in the lead paragraph and at the end of the page.
However, keyword usage must be natural. The main priority is making the text attractive and helpful for human readers rather than machines. As with any new endeavor, mastering these parameters takes some practice. If you're short on time, it may be easier to hire a legal content writer to handle the matter for you.
3. Write fresh legal content.
Don't plagiarize. When you're writing your Web pages, it's natural to look at how your competitors have handled a topic. It may be tempting to use those passages on your own Web site, especially if the competitor's site is performing well in the search engine rankings.
Don't.
The first reason is the moral and legal one: You're taking someone else's words and representing them as your own. Second, it can hurt your Web site's performance. Search engines reward fresh content. If you simply duplicate what someone else has written, you're going to do more harm than good when it comes to your search engine position.
4. Limit jargon and legalese.
Potential clients turn to the Internet in search of information. If your reader needs a legal dictionary to interpret your prose, he or she is likely not going to continue reading. Instead, the prospective client will search for another Web site, one that he or she can understand.
That doesn't mean you should avoid legal terms all together. In fact, some of those legal terms might be good keywords. For example, the terms "copyright" and "trademark infringement" should serve as keywords for an intellectual property law firm's Web site.
Nina Totenberg, the legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio, is a master of explaining legal concepts. Listen to a few of her news segments for ideas on how to communicate complex topics in a comprehensible yet informative manner.
5. Turn your draft over to a copy editor.
It is easy to miss grammar and spelling mistakes when you're too close to your copy, and when you work with keywords and legal terms a draft can quickly become unreadable
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He created ?The Million Dollar Home Page?.
He created ?The Million Dollar Home Page?. The basic concept was that website owners could buy advertising space on the home page of the site at a cost of $1 per pixel. The smallest advertising block you can purchase is 10x10 pixels, hence a cost of $100. There are a million pixels available for purchase, thus if Alex succeeds in selling them all, he will have raised a cool $1million!
On the face of it, this is a crazy idea - why would anyone want to pay to put a tiny graphic on a page of thousands of other tiny graphics on the off-chance that someone might click on it? I?m sure if he had taken advice from Internet experts he would have been strongly advised not to bother even to attempt such a ludicrous notion as would not have a hope of succeeding.
Alex launched the site at the end of August and right away started to try and generate press interest. This approach worked superbly and he has had International press coverage over the past couple of months which has helped to spread the word about his site in the viral manner that is only possible via the Internet.
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Or, you find yourself so
Or, you find yourself so overwrought that it seems impossible to "talk yourself" into getting started.
But, exercise and nutrition are powerful tools to help yourself at this point. Here are 6 reasons why:
1. Exercise and attention to your nutrition shift your focus to you. Exclusive focus on the other person atrophies your spirit, your energy, productivity, your healthy emotions and your body. You fade. You diminish. You become less than you truly are. So much of my work with others is helping them begin to think about themselves and take action for themselves. This is a major move. And it can begin by focusing on your body. It is the best, most practical place to begin. Your body is basic. It is a huge part of you. Begin paying attention to it.
2. Focusing on the body, using it, stimulating it, making it stretch and sweat is a great way to reduce stress. I'm not an expert here, but I understand it kicks in healthy body chemicals and cleanses some of the toxins - calming your mind, heart and soul.
Colchester were 11/8 favourites and
Colchester were 11/8 favourites and found themselves 3-0 up through Neil Danns and Richard Garcia. A penalty from Tommy Smith 11 minutes from time was the Rams? only reply.
Leyton Orient will have had their supporters at 10/1 to beat Charlton Athletic. Jon Fortune gave the Addicks an early lead but the League Two side hit back through veteran Lee Steele. Charlton, 2/7 jollies before kick off, needed a stoppage time winner from Jay Bothroyd to spare their blushes.
The scent of an upset hung in the air before the lunch-time clash between League Two side Cheltenham Town and Newcastle United. Despite their efforts, Newcastle scored two goals in as many minutes just before half-time through Michael Chopra and Scott Parker to justify their odds of 8/15.
Rank outsiders on the day, 14/1 Port Vale, gave Aston Villa a scare with five minutes remaining to claw the score back to 2-1, although highly-rated midfielder ensured there would be no upset with a third goal in the 90 minute to please the big hitters who waded in at 1/4.
Better finishing could have earned Coventry City a shock 5/2 win over Middlesbrough but the tie ended all square at 1-1, extending Coventry?s unbeaten run at the Ricoh Arena to eight matches.
On Sunday, Manchester United were shorter still at 4/9 but did not disappoint against Wolves, brushing aside the Championship team 3-0 at Molineux.
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Ventana Completes Acquisition of La Bodega and La Baja Properties
Market Wire, July, 2010
Ventana Gold Corp. (TSX: VEN) ("Ventana" or "the Company") has completed the acquisition of the La Bodega and La Baja properties and now owns 100% of all mineral rights, key surface rights, easements, equipment and facilities, and related intangible assets on both properties.
Ventana President and CEO Steve Orr said: "We are extremely pleased to have completed this transaction as it means we now have an expanded land package for continued exploration and development. We now plan to mobilize two exploration drills onto La Baja to conduct infill and extension drilling on the La Mascota and Las Mercedes zones that continue onto the La Baja tenements."
La Baja comprises 16.5 hectares between the La Bodega and El Cuatro properties and contains an operating mine and processing plant. The property is strategically located on strike with the La Mascota zone and provides Ventana with contiguous mineral rights for a distance of 2.1 kilometres. Recent drill results indicate that La Mascota mineralization extends across the northern portion of the La Baja property. In addition, it is apparent that the recently discovered Las Mercedes parallel zone trends onto La Baja. Acquisition of this strategic property consolidates Ventana's land position in the California district and the Company's land holdings now total 4,590 hectares.
Concurrent with the activation of exploration drilling on La Baja, Ventana will have 10 drills active on the La Bodega project testing the following areas:
-- La Mascota - drilling will be focused on the southwest extension of the
mineralization and continue to test the depth extension;
-- Las Mercedes - identified in 2008 and has been partially defined along
700 metres of strike length; remains open in all directions;
-- Aserredero target - discovered in 2009, runs parallel to La Mascota and
southeast of Las Mercedes
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Given the responsibilities
Given the responsibilities and overwork that most of us deal with in today?s world, our own health may not be as robust as it once could have been, regardless of our age. However, we can remedy that!
A worn-out body and nerves, and a run-down immune system, leave us more susceptible to illness, whether waterborne, airborne or carelessly plastered on doorknobs. Sickness can be nature?s way of making us slow down and rest, but it's still better to do everything we can to avoid illnesses.
Among the most positive steps we can take now are:
eating a balanced diet (forget the fads),
getting enough sleep (?Americans? are severely sleep-deprived), and
finding a way to exercise a little every day.
About that exercise?it can seem impossible to find the time, when you're working long hours.
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Businessman helps boy get home to say goodbye to his mother
Businessman helps boy get home to say goodbye to his mother
0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Apr 21, 2010 | by Carolyn churchill
A SCOTTISH businessman has come to the rescue of a 13-year-old boy who faced missing his mother's funeral after he was stranded abroad with his football team.
Mark Shaw, chief executive of Hazledene Group, intervened after he heard about the plight of Connor Cameron, who was stuck in Spain with little hope of making it home to pay his last respects to his mother at her funeral on Friday.
Coaches for Johnstone Burgh FC, which was playing against Real Madrid's junior team, were told it would cost pound(s)5,000 to hire a bus to drive home, but when Mr Shaw, who owns Keanie Park where the Renfrewshire team are based, heard about the situation, he began organising alternative transport.
He arranged for a chauffeur-driven car to collect Connor, a striker with the under-14s team, with one of the coaches' wives and her son. They left Madrid at 1.15pm UK time yesterday and headed north through Spain and France, where they were due to spend the night in Paris.
The car will then take Connor to Zeebrugge in Belgium where he will catch the Norfolkline ferry to Rosyth. He is expected to be home by tomorrow afternoon
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