A unique day, it was......gorgeous, and my first experience with the Young Adult program on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. Which is not to say any of these kids were students, their big chore today was to continue their preparations for the Dexter area Fun Run. They needed only walk, although one young lady chose to work out on the leg machine, the treadmill, the stair-climber and probably other apparatus I didn't even notice. You want dedication? Apparently, special needs doesn't mean soft. The big thing after that was getting to the bookstore, which the kids involved enjoyed. It was quite a trek back to the office across campus, but, I survived, they survived, it was all good. And my first interaction, with the Automated Sub Jobbing system in one of my other districts. It worked a lot better than the one I'm used to (in another district.) I hope this bodes well. I still think it's impersonal as hell, but who am I? Just a person who figures it's just NICE if they make the consideration of having a live person on the other end of the phone; call me old-fashioned. No calls yet from Court-Involved; can't WAIT to see how that goes......
AND IF THIS AIN'T NEWS AMERICA CAN BE PROUD OF, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS......
U.S. Bald Eagle population soars, possibly delisted
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the number of Bald Eagles in the United States hitting the highest level since World War II, the Fish and Wildlife Service said on Monday it will decide on removing them from the list of threatened and endangered species by June 29.The Bald Eagle is the country's national bird and its image bedecks the presidential seal.There are now 9,789 breeding pairs of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states, the agency said.Minnesota tops the list with 1,312 pairs of the white-headed birds. Vermont saw its first baby eagles hatch in 2006.In the years following World War II the widely used pesticide DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, damaged the birds' reproductive systems and their population plummeted. They hit an all-time low of 417 breeding pairs in 1963.The government banned DDT in 1972 and the number of bald eagles steadily grew.In 1995, the service downgraded the bird to threatened status from endangered.The eagles would continue to be managed under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
(As a personal aside, it does point out the need to take care of our world.)