| Necrology 2007
Cooper 87 Billy Lue Kitchen 79 June Doreen Phillips 77 Dixie Jean Pogue 67 Jan. 19 Rachel Hunter Dickey 12 Esther J. Eubanks 87 Ovie Lee Alice Gibson 85 Dr. Henry C. Hink Jr. 89 Ethel Beatrice Jackson 89 Samuel J. Stafford 86 Jan. 20 Kathy Jane Copeland 55 Johnny Curtis III 57 Viva E. Dilbeck 91 Marlene Kay Mustain 65 Jan. 21 Harold F. Anderson 91 George Albert Ballard 67 Frances N. Souder 95 Barbara Stuthers 62 Cornelia Wallace 91 Jan. 22 Elery Louis Feltis 76 Clendon Jean Holcomb 78 Rose Lee Hushelpeck 46 Fredric Norman Morse 64 Lorrayne Peterson 83 Judy Kay West NA Jessy Darrell Whitlow 76 Jan. 23 Carl Chester Craig 61 Sharon Rankin 49 Robert F. ' Bud'Simmons 76 W. Glen Stromath 79 Jan. 24 Milton Irvin Dillard 87 Scharolot W. Prentice 65 Wanda Lee'Mom'Robinson 64 Montie J. Sievers 59 Arthur James'Art'Stacy 57 Jan.
Housing crisis begins to hit suburbs
In April 2007, Connecticut had the third-highest foreclosure rate in the nation and it remained in the top 10 in May and June before falling off the top of the list in July. The difference between Tuesday's RealtyTrac report and those from 2007 is where the foreclosures took place. In 2007, the foreclosures were happening in Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford. Now, those white-and-black auction signs are popping up more frequently in suburbs like Fairfield and Milford as well as Stamford. Just two months ago, RealtyTrac data showed that 657 families living in 14 Connecticut municipalities were in preforeclosure, which means they were delinquent and a foreclosure filing was imminent. Those 14 cities and towns represented a cross-section of Fairfield County and other cities and towns in the Bridgeport area.
Stage 4 - Wednesday, July 9: Joinville - Saint-Dizier, TTT, 69 km
On the first day of summer heat in the 2003 Centenary Tour De France, Lance Armstrong and his USPS-Berry Floor squad blazed across the French countryside to a decisive win in Stage 4's team time test. It was a long sought after win for Lance & Co., not just for the four years since Armstrong has dominated the Tour De France. In fact, Lance has wanted this team win for almost a decade. Today, he and his eight teammates got their first ever team time trial victory and as an added bonus, Colombian Victor Hugo Pea, Armstrong's loyal teammate from Bogota (who lives in Piedecuesta), became the first ever rider to wear the Maillot Jaune from the bicycle mad nation of Colombia. Tomorrow it's Pea's 29th birthday and he'll be awarded his weight in Champagne and then take the start wearing the golden tunic of Tour De France leadership.
Local history: The rise of Eastgate
Akron developer Francis E. Rottmayer changed the way Summit County residents shopped in the early 1950s. On Canton Road in Ellet, he built Eastgate shopping center, the first such plaza in the county and one of the earliest in Ohio. ''My dad was kind of an innovator,'' daughter Susan Suthers said. ''He did things before other people did them.'' Born in Germany in 1904, Rottmayer emigrated with his family when he was a boy and had to learn a trade when he grew up. He started out as a handyman, going door to door with a toolbox and working small jobs. He learned carpentry, plumbing and drafting without any formal schooling. ''He could really do anything,'' Suthers said. ''He became a general contractor and then he became a developer.'' As president of Rottmayer Construction Co.
Vietnamese headgear is de rigeur
Hats off to the Vietnamese government [pardon the inverted pun] for passing a nationwide law that requires all motorcyclists to don helmets as of December 15. Half-hearted attempts have been made in the past to force the drivers of Vietnam's xe om – which translated roughly means transport-hug, so named because the passenger embraces the motorcycle driver from behind. But this time the government apparently means business, and legions of police have been deployed to slap on-the-spot fines on the offenders. I have my doubts whether the fines will make their way into government coffers. If the past is anything to go by, the money will disappear into the pockets of traffic cops, who whose peach colored uniforms belie their avarice. During my four years living in Vietnam I found Vietnamese police to be terrible bullies who tended to prey on the least fortunate, especially poor vendors from the countryside trying to eke out a living in the city.
Police demand end to strike ban
Those who have to get out of their bed to go and toil to ensure that the country functions, are not allowed to share in that luxury.The present shower of Champagne socialists make sure they never have to take industrial action when they wish to plunder the gravy train. So, why should any other section of the public be denied the right to defend their living standards? The present political impostors have squandered billions upon billions of taxpayers contributions to the exchequer purse and in the process, have rapidly reduced the country to almost Third World Status in the process.I have no particular fondness for the police at the present moment as daily crime keeps soaring out of hand; but, I most certainly wouldn't like to wake up tomorrow morning without them being available.Good luck to them! They are only a fragment off the impending industrial unrest as the general cost of living keeps spiralling out of control under the prudent Brown.
Company leaders face complex problems
The good news? Salem has a number of factors working in its favor and can ultimately come out on top of this issue. Initiatives like NO Meth -- Not in MY Neighborhood and the Salem and Keizer chambers' Ready to Learn -- Ready to Work partnership with Salem-Keizer School District are just two examples of creative solutions that can have a long-term payoff for our community. Shifting demographics It is true that we face a shrinking population due to lower birth rates in the U.S. and across the globe, resulting in fewer future workers. This demographic trend is exacerbated in the U.S. by the looming retirement of the baby boomers. In fact, many employers in manufacturing, utilities, health care and the public sector indicate that as many as 40 percent of their workers will be eligible for retirement by 2010.
Tech Report: More from the SICI Symposium
Before moving on to less important matters, I'd like to acknowledge the passing on Monday of Sheldon Brown, one of the giants of bicycle maintenance, technology and general bicycle mechanical understanding. He will be sorely missed, particularly for those seeking simple, straightforward answers to a vast array of bicycle-related questions. His white bearded visage with eagle-adorned helmet has long been the online face of Harris Cyclery in West Newton, Massachusetts. .
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