Estes Park Middle School receives LWV & Community Recycling award

By Anne Morris

Special to the Trail-Gazette

Students, staff, and faculty at Estes Park Middle School were recently presented with the May 2013 Recycler of the Month Award by the League of Women Voters & Community Recycling Committee. The LWV&CRC recognizes a local business or organization each month for leadership, commitment, or innovation in practicing the 3Rs of "Reduce, Reuse,and Recycle."

For the students and employees of Estes Park Middle School, commitment to recycling and the environment is a tradition. Led and inspired by students and supported by faculty advisors and staff, the school participates in a variety of sustainability programs.

Members of the environmental club, known as the "Plastic Pulverizers," led a campaign to reduce the use of plastics and save the school district money by replacing plastic cutlery with metal cutlery in the cafeteria. Using EcoChallenge award money they'd won the year previously, students purchased metal cutlery and a magnetic bin lid for the school cafeteria.

The Student Council has worked with school janitors and Waste Management to collect and recycle paper from classrooms for about five years. This past year, the students also began collecting traditionally hard-to-recycle items in the lunchroom and shipping the materials to Terracycle, where they could be recycled or "upcycled" into new products. By collecting foil juice packets, plastic snack packaging and milk cartons, the group reduced the amount of trash going to the landfill from three bags a day to one.

"I'm proud of our students and their initiative to reduce waste in our school," said Ruby Bode, middle school principal. "They're environmentally aware and really make a difference in an area they're passionate about."

She added that the school's recycling programs support the school district's end goals of promoting civic duty and environmental stewardship.

The Pulverizers included Skylar Shumate, Christy Kearsley, Kaezan Tag, Kelley Dennison, Daniel Menger, Hunter Sallee, Mariah Pena, Alina Frontczak and Kelston Glassman, and were mentored by faculty advisor Jennifer Taylor.

Student Council members included Ted Dumont, Ben Switzer, Skylar Shumate, Savannah Erskine, Mary Ringgenberg, Aspen Turner, Mariah Pena, Bailey Ash and Molly Morgan, and were supported by faculty advisors Carol Carner and Allison Skapin. Erin Curran, a parent, volunteered numerous hours helping coordinate between the students and Terracycle.

Bode said a major component to the school's recycling success is the enthusiastic support of the janitors. "We couldn't recycle as we do without Andrew Sweet and Keller Patterson," she said. "They're awesome!"

She said the lunchroom staff's assistance was also critical to the Student Council being able to initiate their Terracycle program.

The LWV&CRC welcomes suggestions for other Estes Park businesses and organizations that deserve to be recognized for reducing, reusing and recycling. Pass ideas to Judi Smith at 586-4530.

Source: http://www.eptrail.com/estes-park-news/ci_23730825/estes-park-middle-school-receives-lwv-community-recycling?source=rss_viewed

andrew luck

Signs point _ finally _ to end of Europe recession

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? After a year and a half of recession, Europe's battered economy could finally be showing signs of life.

It's not the kind of recovery that calls for a big celebration. Any upswing will be a slow and arduous climb ? up a slope strewn with high unemployment and scarce credit for businesses.

But signs of improvement are there. On Thursday, a German index of business confidence rose for the third month in a row. Meanwhile, surveys of purchasing managers in the euro area indicate manufacturing activity edged back into growth territory in July for the first time in 18 months.

And there are other indications that Europe has bottomed out.

Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, says the country's economy ? Europe's biggest ? expanded "strongly" in the April-June period. Automaker Daimler AG says it expects to see the continent's sagging car market start to recover toward the end of the year. In the No. 2 euro economy, France's Insee index of consumer confidence ticked up in July to 82 from 79 the month before.

News like this has raised hopes that economic growth figures could be flat or slightly positive when they come out for the April-June period on Aug. 14.

That would end a string of six straight quarters of contraction in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro currency.

"Contrary to widespread market perceptions, the eurozone recession ended when the snow melted last Easter," Berenberg Bank chief economist Holger Schmieding wrote in a note Thursday. He is forecasting 0.2 percent growth for the second quarter and 0.3 percent for the current, third, quarter.

The eurozone is the second-largest economy after the United States, with 9.5 trillion euros ($12.5 trillion) in economic output last year. It's a major trading partner with the U.S., close neighbor Britain and with Asia. Losses in Europe have been a drag on otherwise stellar earnings for U.S. carmakers. Ford Motor Co. lost $348 million there in the second quarter and General Motors lost 110 million euros ? high but still smaller than earlier quarters.

An improvement can't come fast enough for the auto industry. Even low unemployment of only 5.3 percent of hasn't moved Germans to buy new cars. Sales fell 8.1 percent over the first six months of the year.

What's needed is a better consumer mood that can outweigh negative headlines and fears about the future, says Fritz Kuckartz, who runs his family's 60-year-old Renault dealership in Aachen.

"Purchase decisions don't just depend on the unemployment number," Kuckartz said. "It depends on the person's situation and the entire political and news media environment. The key factors in our experience are disposable income and the general outlook for the future. "

Manufacturers have cut their prices "and the customers still can't decide. "

Only a "better fundamental mood" can outweigh negative headlines and worries, he said.

The signs of stabilization come a year after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi did much to halt the financial market crisis in Europe with a forceful statement on July 26, 2012 at a London investor conference that the bank would "do whatever it takes" to save the euro and that "believe me, it will be enough."

The bank followed with a plan to purchase unlimited amounts of government bonds issued by indebted governments. The aim was to drive down the borrowing costs that threatened Spain and Italy with financial collapse. No bonds have been bought. But the mere prospect of central bank purchases sent interest costs lower. Yields on Spanish 10-year bonds have fallen to 4.65 percent from over 7 percent ahead of Draghi's speech.

That cut financing costs for indebted countries such as Spain and Italy and reduced the threat they would need a bailout Europe couldn't afford.

European leaders also started work last summer on centralizing the regulation of banks to prevent bailouts from adding to government debt.

As a result, the market crisis eased. But the slack economy remained.

It stagnated as governments cut spending and raised taxes to reduce debt. Now, much of the cutting is done ? and chastened eurozone leaders are now willing to let countries such as France and Spain balance their budget more slowly.

Nonetheless a real recovery ? enough to cut into the eurozone's unemployment rate of 12.2 percent ? would need economic growth of 1.5 percent a year or more. And that isn't in view yet. Ernst & Young forecasts 11.6 percent unemployment ? out as far as 2017.

For real growth, several obstacles will need to be cleared away.

Consumers remain downcast and unable to spend in the hardest-hit countries such as Spain and Greece, with jobless rates of 26.9 percent and 26.8 percent, because of the threat to their jobs from high unemployment. And there are fears that the slowdown in China, a key export market, will worsen.

As a result, businesses ? even those in more prosperous Germany ? are remaining skeptical they will suddenly have lots of new customers ? and so they are not investing in new factories and production.

It is this investment that gives a recovery its legs, as consumer demand feeds expansion and that boosts orders for equipment and facilities.

Credit remains tight in places most affected by the debt crisis. The ECB has cut its benchmark rate at which it loans to banks to a record low 0.5 percent. The low rates aren't being passed on in the trouble countries because banks there have shaky finances. They can only borrow from the ECB and don't have money to lend to new customers. Companies in Spain and Italy pay several percentage points more than German companies for loans.

The European Union has had two rounds of stress tests to try to force banks and governments to deal with the problem by closing or restructuring zombie banks or putting more money into them. The ECB will try again next year to purge bad banks with a review of their investments and loans before it takes over as the EU's new banking supervisor.

Unless those things improve ? jobs, credit for businesses, willingness to invest in hope of profit ? a recovery may meet the statistical definition recovery: Output that is more than zero.

But it won't feel much different than the current recession.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/signs-point-finally-end-europe-recession-170451557.html

oscar winners

Where do Michael Chandler, Anderson Silva and Demetrious Johnson fall on Cagewriter?s Hot or Not list?

Who had a good week in the world of MMA, and who didn't?

Losers -- The unnamed fighters who went to Biogenesis labs: Porter Fischer, the man who blew the whistle on Major League Baseball players using performance enhancing drugs, said there are MMA fighters who have used the labs products. Baseball player Ryan Braun was suspended for the rest of the season for his role in the scandal. If the fighters' names come to light, will they face as strong of a penalty?

Winner -- Michael Chandler: Bellator lightweight champion Chandler is 11-0 and set to defend his belt against David Rickels next week. Chandler was rewarded with some job security. Bellator signed him to an eight-fight contract.

Loser -- Anderson Silva, perhaps: Remember how Roy Jones, Jr. was at UFC 162, and the former UFC middleweight champ Silva wanted to fight him? Well, Jones IS interested in fighting an MMA star, but it's not Silva. According to MMA Junkie, Jones is targeting a pay-per-view bout at the end of the year with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. The fight would be backed by Viacom, the media conglomerate that owns Bellator, Jackson's current promotion.

Winner -- Ronda Rousey: She headlined a popular UFC card. She's going to star in the next season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Now, she will be on the big screen. Rousey has an upcoming role in "The Expendables 3," along side Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Still taking temperature -- Demetrious Johnson: The UFC flyweight champion will put his title on the line against John Moraga at UFC on Fox 8 on Saturday. Will he still rule the 125-lbers after the fight, or will Moraga become the second man to hold the flyweight belt?

Thank you for reading this week. Join us on Twitter and Facebook for discussion of Saturday night's fights.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Michael Chiesa's beard has Jorge Masvidal worried
? Fatherhood won't soften flyweight king Demetrious Johnson
? Dana White and Demetrious Johnson in can't-miss 'Jeopardy!' spoof

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/where-michael-chandler-anderson-silva-demetrious-johnson-fall-171817789.html

Tropical Storm Sandy

Spain train driver suspected of negligent homicide

A passenger train passes the wreckage of a train in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Saturday July 27, 2013. Spain's interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz says the driver whose speeding train crashed, killing 78 people, is now being held on suspicion of negligent homicide. The Spanish train derailed at high speed Wednesday killing 78 and injuring dozens more. (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar)

A passenger train passes the wreckage of a train in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Saturday July 27, 2013. Spain's interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz says the driver whose speeding train crashed, killing 78 people, is now being held on suspicion of negligent homicide. The Spanish train derailed at high speed Wednesday killing 78 and injuring dozens more. (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar)

EDS NOTE : SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN - Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, top and Princess Letizia, stand with children in the village of Angrois, near the train crash site just outside of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Friday July 26, 2013. The Spanish royals met with the villagers, some who were first on the scene to help pull passengers out of the wreckage. Investigators have taken possession of the ?black boxes? of the Spain train that hurtled at high-speed along a curve and derailed, killing 80 people, a court official said Friday. (AP Photo/Brais Lorenzo)

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, right and Princess Letizia meet with residents of the village of Angrois, near the train crash site just outside of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Friday July 26, 2013. The Spanish royals met with the villagers, some who were first on the scene to help pull passengers out of the wreckage. Investigators have taken possession of the ?black boxes? of the Spain train that hurtled at high-speed along a curve and derailed, killing 80 people, a court official said Friday. (AP Photo/Brais Lorenzo)

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, right and Princess Letizia meet with residents of the village of Angrois, near the train crash site just outside of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Friday July 26, 2013. The Spanish royals met with the villagers, some who were first on the scene to help pull passengers out of the wreckage. Investigators have taken possession of the ?black boxes? of the Spain train that hurtled at high-speed along a curve and derailed, killing 80 people, a court official said Friday. (AP Photo/Brais Lorenzo)

The Spanish flag, left, and the Galician regional flag, right, fly at half mast on the town hall in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Friday, July 26, 2013. Spanish police said Friday they arrested the driver of the train that blazed far over the speed limit into a curve and toppled over, killing 78 people, and planned to question him as a suspect for "recklessness." (AP Photo/Brais Lorenzo)

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (AP) ? Spain's interior minister announced Saturday that the driver whose speeding train crashed, killing 78 people, is now being held on suspicion of negligent homicide.

Minister of Interior Jorge Fernandez Diaz announced the step against Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, who previously had been detained on suspicion of recklessness following Wednesday's crash in Santiago de Compostela.

"There is rational evidence to lead us to think that the driver could have eventual responsibility," the minister told reporters at the city's police station.

Fernandez Diaz also said Garzon, 52, has been discharged from the hospital, taken to the police station and would appear before a judge by Sunday evening.

Garzon has the right to keep silent, "although he may change his mind on that," the minister said.

Blame has increasingly fallen on the driver, with the country's railway agency saying it was his responsibility to brake before going into the high-risk curve where the train tumbled off the rails and smashed into a wall. But it's still not clear whether the brakes failed or were never used, and the driver has remained silent so far.

A blood-soaked Garzon was photographed Wednesday being escorted away from the wreckage, at first by civilians who had hurried to the scene of the accident and then by police, but it is not clear just what his medical status is.

Unconfirmed media reports said that Garzon had injured ribs.

He had been expected to give a preliminary statement to judicial police as early as Thursday, but that process was delayed, reportedly due to health reasons. Earlier Saturday, the justice department said Garzon's first appearance before a judge had been postponed until Sunday.

In Wednesday's crash, the train's eight carriages packed with 218 passengers blazed far over the speed limit into a curve and violently tipped over. Diesel fuel sent flames coursing through some cabins.

Investigators are examining recording devices from the train but have not officially said how fast it was going when it derailed.

An American passenger, Stephen Ward, said he was watching the train's speed on a display screen in the carriage ? and it indicated it was going 194 kph (121 mph), more than double the 80-kph speed limit.

The president of Adif, the Spanish rail agency, said that the driver should have started slowing the train 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) before the dangerous bend. He said signs clearly marked this point when the driver must begin to slow.

Normally, police take a first statement that is then examined by an investigating judge who must then take testimony within 72 hours of the arrest. That deadline is Sunday.

Although that initial court hearing would be closed, it would give hints about the status of the investigation. The judge would decide whether to jail the driver as an official suspect, release him on bail, or release him without charges. If a judge finds sufficient evidence for a criminal trial, the suspect will be charged and a trial date set.

___

AP writer Harold Heckle in Madrid contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-07-27-EU-Spain-Train-Derailment/id-734dd76abfb54a71981b8ccf55f8f09b

the office

Drone gender gap: More women worldwide opposed to strikes than men?

drones

Suzanne Choney NBC News

6 hours ago

Pew Research Institute

There's a significant global gender gap when it comes to the United States' use of drones for military strikes, with more women around the world opposing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles than men.

While women in general are "far less likely than men to say that force is sometimes necessary in the pursuit of justice," the "gender difference over drone strikes is unusually large," says the Pew Research Institute in a new report.

In the U.S., of 61 percent of Americans who approve of drone strikes in military situations, 70 percent are men and 53 percent are women, Pew found.

But the gender gap is even greater in other countries "about this signature Obama administration anti-terrorist tool," wrote Bruce Stokes, Pew's director of global economic attitudes, in the report:

In Japan, for example, 41 percent of men approve of drone attacks, compared with just 10 percent of women. Double digit gender gaps are also found in six of the eight EU nations polled, as well as Australia, Canada, the U.S., South Korea and Uganda.

The Obama administration says it uses military drones to target al Qaeda leaders and senior Taliban officials who are plotting attacks against the U.S. and U.S. troops. But a recent NBC News investigation found that in Pakistan, the CIA didn't always know who it was targeting in using the drones.

Last spring, Pew surveyed people in 39 nations about the U.S. use of drone missile strikes in countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The only three countries where "majorities" support the drone use are Israel, Kenya and the U.S. itself, Pew found.

In France, Germany and Spain, "there are also sharp ideological divisions on this issue, with those on the political right far more supportive than those on the left."

Check out Technology and TODAY Tech on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2f350842/sc/20/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cdrone0Egender0Egap0Emore0Ewomen0Eworldwide0Eopposed0Estrikes0Emen0E6C10A760A647/story01.htm

chandler jones

love from momma: baby shower for kade

I have mentioned several times how big my dad's side of the family is. It seems like once someone announces they are prego, they start coming out of the wood works.... which is totally awesome! I love seeing all of the babies and taking Hadlea home to family functions to play with them. She doesn't quite understand she is related to all of them, but she will one day. I just hope she makes alot of memories with her cousins like I have... some of the best times of my life.

When I was prego with Hadlea, there was definitely a baby boom going on. You can read it here. I will do another baby boom post soon. We have 4 others prego at this time too.

We went to my cousin Kelsey's baby shower this past weekend. If there is one person on earth that is prego that makes me feel SUPER old, it would be Kelsey. Her dad, Gary, is my Godfather. I used to go stay summers with them and babysit all 4 kids! ...yes, FOUR KIDS! I am not sure how I did it, but I have some of the best memories doing it. Gary and Amy always treated me like one of their own. I just loved being with them.

I cannot put into words what Kelsey means to me. She is seriously the sweetest most humble little baby ever... she will ALWAYS be my baby!! She is due with Kade Michael in August.... and she looks amazing! When Kade is born, he will be the 117 person in our immediate family (from my dad's parents to the youngest great-grandchild, which will be Kade. If that makes sense at all. Ha!)

Alot of my cousins and babies showed up.

And this doesn't even touch half of them...

My cousin, Amanda, with our 4 kids...

Hadlea, Kason, Demi, Ivan and Jake

Kelsey Ellen,

I have no idea whether you read this blog... or if you even know it exists. But if you ever read this, know I love you so very, very much! I am so proud of the awesome woman you have become. You are going to be THE greatest mom ever! Kade Michael is already loved by so many people. It is such a great feeling to know people truly love our kids. We just have that kind of family. I cannot wait to get up there to see Kade once he arrives. I wish you nothing but the very best!

Source: http://www.lovefrommomma.com/2013/07/baby-shower-for-kade.html

houston texans

Stocks suffer as China seeks to reform industry

LONDON (AP) ? Stocks mostly dropped on Friday on concerns that a brusque overhaul of China's industrial sector could cause a sharp slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Beijing has ordered companies to close factories in 19 industries where overproduction has led to price-cutting wars, affirming its determination to push ahead with a painful makeover of the economy. That move followed weak manufacturing data on Wednesday.

Communist leaders are trying to reduce reliance on investment and trade. But a slowdown that pushed China's economic growth to a two-decade low of 7.5 percent last quarter had earlier prompted suggestions they might have to reverse course and stimulate the economy with more investment to reduce the threat of job losses and unrest.

China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.5 percent to 2,010.85.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell even further, closing 3 percent lower at 14,129.98, due to a big rise in the yen, which risks making the country's exports less competitive on international markets.

Japan on Friday said consumer prices rose in June for the first time in more than a year, an early sign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus policies are working. While that is a promising sign in the long-term, the signs of inflation suggest interest rates could eventually also increase ? higher rates tend to strengthen a national currency. The dollar was down 0.6 percent against the yen, at 98.67 yen.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 percent to 6,571.71 while Germany's DAX was 0.5 percent lower at 8,258.18. France's CAC-40 bucked the trend, rising 0.4 percent to 3,973.45, thanks to a 5.7 percent rise in the shares of LVMH, the luxury goods maker, after it reported higher earnings.

Wall Street was expected to drop slightly on the open, with S&P 500 futures down 0.3 percent and Dow futures 0.2 percent lower.

Overall, trading has been quiet in recent days as a lot of people wait for next week's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in the U.S. for guidance on the tapering of U.S. government bond purchases, he said.

Since late last year, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been buying $85 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds a month ? a move that has kept long-term rates near record lows and supported economic recovery.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent to 5,042. Stocks in South Korea and New Zealand finished slightly higher while benchmarks in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan fell. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.3 percent to 21,968.95

In energy trading, benchmark crude was down 75 cents at $104.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 10 cents to close at $105.49 on Thursday.

The euro was little changed at $1.3275 from $1.3277 late Thursday.

___

Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-suffer-china-seeks-reform-industry-103953678.html

Fiesta Bowl