Leave The Bottle, Town Mountain’s 2012 release, had the band poised for a push into the bluegrass mainstream.Touring relentlessly behind that fantastic record, Western North Carolina’s hottest bluegrass quintet made good on their potential and spent 2013 roaring into the spotlight. Their efforts did not go unnoticed, as last year culminated with Town Mountain taking home two Momentum Awards – Performance Band of the Year and Vocalist of the Year for singer Robert Greer – at the International Bluegrass Music Association convention in September.That is heady praise that comes with lofty expectations. If early 2014 is any indication, that praise is well justified and those expectations will easily be met and far exceeded.A new record is in the works and the band continues to put the rubber to the road, sharing their hard drivin’ bluegrass sound with all who will listen.Town Mountain is coming off a weekend down in Florida and a well-received appearance at Suwannee Springfest. The rest of the spring and early summer shows a concert schedule heavy with featured spots at some of biggest festivals in the land. The band will be playing at MerleFest (North Wilkesboro, NC), Lake Eden Arts Festival (Black Mountain, NC), Graves Mountain Festival of Music (Madison, VA), Appalachian Uprising (Scottown, OH), Seedtime On The Cumberland (Whitesburg, KY), Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival (Bean Blossom, IN), and even Midnight Sun Folk Fest (Nome, AK).All of that goodness takes place before the end of June.You don’t have to wait long at all to catch Town Mountain, though. This Friday, along with Foghorn Stringband, they’ll be at Isis Music Hall in Asheville.Trail Mix wants to give you a pair of tickets so you can check out the show.Take a shot at the trivia question here below and email your answer to dave@blueridgeoutdoors.com. A winner of two tickets will be chosen from all correct responses received by noon tomorrow (Thursday, March 27).Thanks for reading, and Good Luck!Q: Town Mountain has two records produced by what noted bluegrass bass heavyweight?
Change management and your credit union
45SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr,Sarah Marshall Sarah Marshall is a consultant in the credit union industry, and can be reached for partnership and speaking opportunities through Your Credit Union Partner. Her background in community development includes … Web: https://yourcupartner.org Details Change is difficult. In a business environment, where complex layers of systems and structures interact, it can be cumbersome. Many people dislike change, and the challenges that come from it. But change also equates to greater opportunity. The avoidance of major change can quickly lead to stagnation and irrelevance as an organization. Society moves at a faster pace than ever before, and technology requires organizations to change and respond quickly to challenges. Being an organization, or credit union, that is comfortable with change and has the ability to be agile means sustainability. Change is hard because we want routines. Routines give us a sense of direction and purpose to our day. Whether your morning routine is starting your day with a run to Starbucks, or processing ACH exceptions, a routine gives a sense of direction to our day. We know what to do first. Our routines become habits, which are processes that have become almost second nature, or unconscious. Habits are hard to break, but it is possible. Change forces organizations to create a number of new systems or routines that affect many people. Sometimes policies have to be updated or procedures have to be recreated due to an implemented change. However, if something is not benefitting your credit union in the long run, the short term pain of the change is worth the effort and results in the long run. Change is hard because risk is involved. Intentional change involves a level of unknown. As individuals and team members, we develop our best plans and put together processes for implementation and projections about results. No more how carefully things are planned, something unexpected arises. Whether it’s marketing the change appropriately to stakeholders (both internal and external) or properly collecting all the tools to execute the change there is never guarantee of outcome. However, the risk of not changing is even greater. Change can also lead to loan growth, greater efficiency, or the ability to tap into a new market. Change drives relevancy, and organizations have to adapt. Brands that don’t adapt don’t survive. This is especially true for credit unions, where financial service providers are numerous, and many competitors are bigger with louder and broader messaging. The right change can draw new external support, and bring in new, engaged members and stakeholders. Change is hard because it requires learning and teaching. Teaching and learning isn’t necessarily hard in itself. Many credit unions are successful because credit union employees are dedicated and talented individuals who care to develop themselves. However, in the day-to-day, teaching and learning take time. It is one of our most important tasks, because lack of knowledge can be limiting, and in some cases, damaging to our operations. However, other business priorities quickly become urgent. Sometimes we don’t do new things because of the time it takes to learn what we don’t know, and then pass that knowledge along to others. Make teaching and learning a priority in the credit union’s culture, and put in on the calendar like any other priority. Change will happen. Staff will turn over, executives will retire, the market will fluctuate, and regulation will continue to evolve. Change happens because external forces create so much pressure on the business model, that the organization has to change in order to survive, or it happens because of a disruptive event. It can also happen because people within the organization made an intentional decision to create the change, and planned the proper steps for the desired outcome. Planned, intentional change is vital to the health of an organization. Don’t be afraid of change. Expect it, and develop strategies to move through it smoothly.
NAFCU at bureau today on S. 2155 changes, debt collection
continue reading » NAFCU today will meet with Tom Pahl, policy associate director for research, markets and regulations at the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (previously the CFPB), to discuss implementation of S. 2155 changes to bureau rulemakings to ensure that any regulatory changes do not impose undue burdens on credit unions.NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Ann Kossachev and Regulatory Affairs Counsels Andrew Morris and Kaley Schafer will attend today’s meeting.Earlier this summer, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger shared a list of recommended regulatory actions with bureau Acting Director Mick Mulvaney in a hand-delivered letter that should be pursued in light of the enactment of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155).NAFCU today will follow-up with Pahl on some of Berger’s requests. 1SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr
Threat to Our Water Quality Demands Action
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York By Richard AmperLong Island is facing its greatest economic and environmental challenge ever. The quality of the source of our drinking water and surface water has declined precipitously. We’re seeing it everywhere. Beaches are closing. So are shellfish beds. Hundreds of thousands of fish have been killed. Turtles, too. Why?The answer is nitrogen contamination. It comes from wastewater (sewage) and fertilizers. It has increased 200 percent in just the last 20 years. It creates harmful algae blooms that kill off marine life and destroy salt marches. This, in turn, increases the extent of storm surge during severe weather events.How could this situation have happened and what are we going to do?Long Island has the first federally designated Sole Source Aquifer, meaning that all of our water comes from beneath our feet. Human activity on the surface contaminates the groundwater below, which is contained in a network of aquifers and on which we depend for all of our water. Alas, Long Island has not been planned very well, and building on environmentally sensitive land as well as improperly managing waste water have taken their toll.In addition to nitrogen run-off, the contaminants include pesticides and herbicides, toxic chemicals and, now, unused pharmaceutical drugs that we were once encouraged to flush down the toilet. Of course, that was before we learned that these excess prescriptions were also going into our groundwater.At every level of government there is growing recognition that the groundwater crisis must be addressed. Federal, state, county, town and village governments are all concerned and interested. And the public is squarely behind taking action. A recently conducted poll by The Nature Conservancy says that two-thirds of Long Islanders agree that we must reverse declining water quality.In Nassau County, 40 percent of the wastewater is routed to the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Restoration of the plant with improved nitrogen reduction technology is underway. But the full protection of our bays and harbors will require the construction of an ocean outfall pipe to take the treated waste water at least two miles out into the Atlantic for better disposal. Nitrogen reduction is being accomplished on the North Shore with observable success, but salt-water intrusion and other challenges remain there.In Suffolk, some 360,000 homes have individual cesspools or septic systems that discharge nitrogen directly into our groundwater. A plan to replace these antiquated systems with new nitrogen-reducing systems is getting underway, including a component for government to subsidize the cost to homeowners. One proposal in Suffolk calls for a slight increase in the cost of public water through the imposition of a dollar fee on every thousand gallons of water used. Currently, Long Islanders are paying less for water than 95 percent of the rest of the country. Local environmentalists are calling for a public referendum so that taxpayers can vote on how best to pay for the new systems that will reduce nitrogen by nearly 90 percent.On the East End, voters will be asked to approve both extension and expansion of its 17-year–old Community Preservation Fund, which has generated more than $1 billion from a 2-percent real estate transfer tax. They will decide whether or not to extend the program and whether to add wastewater management to the open space and farmland preservation components of this successful program. East Enders are particularly opposed to the construction of sewage treatment plants because they’ve seen such plants lead to high-density development, which they dislike.Another source of nitrogen are fertilizers used on agricultural land and in landscaping. The agriculture lobby has long fought any limitation on fertilizers and pesticides—even now when organic farming and the wine industry have dramatically reduced nitrogen and pesticide use. Long Island agriculture has changed to the point where food represents only 20 percent of local farm products. In recent years, nitrogen-demanding sod and ornamental shrubbery have grown dramatically.Meanwhile, landscapers and manufacturers of lawn fertilizers have been telling government officials that they can reduce nitrogen content very little while still maintaining emerald green lawns. Frankly, the peril represented by nitrogen in fertilizers may doom certain farm crops and traditional suburban lawns.The threat of declining water quality is causing a growing commitment to nitrogen reduction with both immediate and long-term results. The Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, being developed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in partnership with the Long Island Regional Planning Commission, is already underway. It will identify all of the Island’s watersheds, measure current nitrogen loading for each one, and draft regulations on permissible nitrogen levels that are appropriate to each watershed.Long Islanders are increasingly realizing that when it comes to protecting the quality of our water, failure is not an option.Richard Amper is executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society,a non-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.
Tioga County issues public health statement
TIOGA COUNTY (WBNG) — The Tioga County Public Health Department Thursday issued a public health statement after learning several individuals who attended a wedding and rehearsal dinner have tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials are asking anyone who attended the events to self-quarantine. According to the news release, several people who eventually contracted the virus attended a large wedding on July 11 at Cornerstone at W&W in Apalachin. Person tests positive for virus, visited Olive Garden Person who attended church service in Endwell tests positive for virus The public health statement marked the third such statement in the Southern Tier on Thursday. Broome County previously announced two other health advisories.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to coronavirus: The release also stated that individuals in the wedding party had a rehearsal dinner the night before at The Celler Restaurant & Bar on the River in Owego. The health department said people who were at the restaurant between 6 to 9 p.m. on July 10 should quarantine until July 24. The health department asks anyone who attended either the wedding or went to the restaurant on Friday night, and shows symptoms, to contact their health provider and the local health department. Fever or chillsCoughShortness of breath or difficulty breathingFatigueMuscle or body achesHeadacheNew loss of taste or smellSore throatCongestion or runny noseNausea or vomitingDiarrhea
Airline trips by resistant-TB patient trigger alert
May 29, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – In a rare action, federal health authorities have ordered an Atlanta man who has extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) into isolation and are looking for people who recently flew with him so they can be tested for the disease.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the man, who was not named, flew from Atlanta to Paris on May 13 and from Prague, Czechoslavakia, to Montreal, on May 24. After he reentered the United States by car, he was contacted by the CDC and voluntarily reported to an isolation facility in New York City, officials said. Later, the CDC sent its own airplane to fly him back to Atlanta, where he is hospitalized in isolation, the agency said.”We felt it was important at this point in time to take our responsibility to protect the public to the ultimate limit and issue an order of isolation,” CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said at a telephone news conference today. She said the last time CDC staff could recall issuing a similar order was in 1963, when a person who had been exposed to smallpox was quarantined.Because of the risk of infection and in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the CDC is recommending TB testing for passengers who sat within two rows of the infected man, for cabin crew members, and for all US residents who were on either of the two flights. The flights were Air France 385 (Atlanta to Paris, May 13) and Czech Air 0104 (Prague to Montreal, May 24). The CDC did not list the affected row numbers today, saying further checking was needed.”Other passengers [who didn’t sit near the man] might be worried, so we’re requesting that they be notified, but we don’t think from past scientific investigation that their risk is high,” Gerberding said.XDR TB is defined as TB that is resistant to the two most important first-line TB drugs (isoniazied and rifampin) and the two most important second-line drugs (a fluoroquinolone and an injectable agent—amikacin, kanamycin, or capreomycin), according to the CDC.Both regular TB and XDR TB are believed to spread when TB bacilli from a person with the disease become aerosolized as a result of coughing, sneezing, speaking, or singing, the agency said. The bacilli can float in the air for several hours, and those who breathe them in can become infected.The man’s TB case was known before he flew to Paris, and local health officials were involved in his care, Gerberding said. However, the evidence about the extent of drug resistance emerged gradually over several weeks, and “it didn’t become known to CDC till after the patient left the US that his infection was resistant to both first- and second-line drugs,” she explained.Gerberding said it was her understanding that local health officials had advised the man not to travel. But the patient “had compelling reasons for traveling” and decided to go ahead with the trip, she said.”If we’d been aware that travel was imminent, we might have been able to act” with the help of local officials, she said.She also observed, “From our perspective no laws were broken here.”Gerberding said she didn’t know yet how many passengers are affected by the alert or how many countries they represent. “We don’t get this information with the push of a button; it represents many hours of work by the airlines” and by public health officials from many countries, she commented.The TB patient is “smear negative,” meaning the TB bacteria don’t show up in microscopic examination of his sputum, Gerberding said. That finding “is correlated with a low risk, but certainly not a zero risk” of TB transmission, because about 17% of TB cases are caused by exposure to people who are smear negative, she explained.However, there is no evidence that XDR TB is more infective than drug-susceptible TB, she noted.Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said the CDC contacted the patient after learning that he had reentered the country. Cetron said he talked with him personally, asking him to go to an isolation facility in New York City, and he agreed.After the man was assessed in the New York facility, he was offered the choice of staying there or returning to Atlanta, Cetron said. He chose to return to Atlanta, so the CDC sent a plane to pick him up. On arrival, he was served with a federal isolation order.”We did not feel it was safe for him to fly on commercial aircraft, so we took the unusual step of using government resources to bring him back to Georgia as quickly as we could,” said Gerberding.She said she couldn’t comment on the man’s current condition. The prognosis for XDR TB patients depends on the treatment; patients in the United States, with excellent treatment, can recover, but in some countries the disease is often fatal, she indicated.The CDC said the United States had 49 known cases of XDR TB between 1993 and 2006.See also:Transcript of CDC news conferencehttp://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2007/t070529.htmCDC fact sheet on XDR TBhttp://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/drtb/default.htm
Plans unveiled for three pedestrian bridges at Paddington
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Ronaldo double puts Juve on brink of nine in a row
Topics : “Records are always important, but the team victory is more important,” Ronaldo said to Sky Sport.”I’m helping the team to win. It’s important to win the title. There are four games left and we know that Serie A is a difficult championship.” Cristiano Ronaldo put Juventus on the brink of a ninth consecutive Serie A title on Monday after scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Lazio.The reigning champions ended a three-match winless run thanks to Ronaldo’s second half brace that moves them eight points clear of second-placed Inter Milan with four games remaining.Maurizio Sarri’s side could win the title on Thursday against lowly Udinese, or on Sunday at home against Sampdoria, depending on their rivals’ results this week. Lazio’s hopes of a first Serie A title since 2000 are effectively over as the defeat leaves them fourth, 11 points adrift of the leaders.Ronaldo grabbed the first goal from the penalty spot just after the break and was handed a tap-in three minutes later by teammate Paulo Dybala.The Portuguese has scored 30 goals this season, equal with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, who ended his three-match drought with a late penalty. His second was his 50th goal in Serie A.The 35-year-old Portuguese is looking to become the first player to finish top scorer in three of the top five European leagues after doing so England and Spain. Lazio regrets Just one point had separated Juventus from Lazio when Serie A returned last month following the three-month coronavirus lockdown.But Simone Inzaghi’s side have been hit by injuries and poor form since the return, losing five of eight games, with four of those defeats coming in the last five matches.Both sides had early chances with Felipe Caicedo coming close early for the visitors behind closed doors at the Allianz Stadium, and an Alex Sandro header clipping the woodwork.Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha got his hand to push an angled Adrien Rabiot over the bar with Ronaldo heading wide.An Immobile rocket from the edge of the box hit the bottom of the post with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny beaten.Lazio could thank defender Manuel Lazzari for a goal-line clearance just after the break as Dybala threatened and Ronaldo tried to finish amid chaos in front of goal.But the hosts got their chance when a Bastos handball was confirmed after a VAR review.Ronaldo stepped up to slot in on 51 minutes and added a second after a Luiz Felipe blunder allowed Dybala to gain possession with the Argentine powering up the pitch, before teeing up the Portuguese to finish off.The five-time Ballon d’Or winner missed the chance of a hat-trick when his header hit the crossbar after 66 minutes.Lazio pulled a goal back with seven minutes to go after a Bonucci foul on Immobile, who converted the resulting spot-kick.”There is a bit of regret because after the lockdown we had a lot of problems,” said Inzaghi, whose side had beaten Juventus twice this season, in the reverse league fixture in Rome and the Italian Super Cup final.”At the end of the game I congratulated the lads because despite the problems we showed character.”The important thing is we want to celebrate a return to the Champions League after 13 years.”Lazio are in the final Champions League berth 11 points ahead of city rivals Roma.Juventus next travel to Udinese a day after Inter host Fiorentina.Atalanta, a further point back in third, can move second on Tuesday when they host Bologna, with a win putting the Bergamo side six points behind Juventus.
Shell’s profit hit by lower prices
The Hague-based LNG giant Shell reported a nearly 50 percent drop in profit for the fourth quarter of 2019 on lower realized oil, gas and LNG prices. The company reported a net profit of $2.9 billion for the quarter under review, 48 percent down on the $5.6 billion reported in the corresponding quarter of 2018.The company’s profit for the year 2019 was 23 percent down on the previous year, reaching $16.4 billion, Shell said in its quarterly report.The fourth-quarter earnings reflected lower realized oil, gas and LNG prices, weaker realized refining and chemicals margins as well as negative movements in deferred tax positions, compared with the fourth quarter of 2018.Fourth-quarter Integrated Gas Earnings slipped 47 percent for the quarter under review, compared to the corresponding quarter in 2018.Compared with the fourth quarter of 2018, Integrated Gas earnings excluding identified items primarily reflected lower realized LNG, oil and gas prices as well as higher operating expenses and depreciation, partly offset by stronger contributions from LNG, gas and power trading and optimization. The segment reported earnings of $1.9 billion which compares to $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018.Compared with the fourth quarter of 2018, total production decreased mainly due to the transfer of the Salym asset into the Upstream segment and divestments, largely offset by field ramp-ups in Australia and Trinidad and Tobago.LNG liquefaction volumes increased mainly as a result of additional capacity from the Prelude floating LNG facility and the Elba LNG facility compared with the fourth quarter of 2018.Volumes reached 9.21 million tonnes in the quarter under review, which compares to 8.78 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2018.LNG sales volumes have jumped 16 percent, reaching 20.09 million tonnes, compared to 17.39 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018.Shell’s LNG volumes for 2019 reached 35.55 million tonnes, 4 percent above the 34.32 million tonnes reported in 2018. LNG sales volumes for 2019 reached 74.45 million tonnes, 5 percent above the 71.21 million tonnes reported in 2018.
Dolan leads all 50 laps of 50th Deery event at 34 Raceway
Ryan Dolan was challenged but never caught, leading all 50 laps of Tuesday’s $2,000 to win Deery Brothers Summer Series feature for IMCA Late Models at 34 Raceway. (Photo by Mike Ruefer)WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa (July 3) – It had been a few years since his last trip to West Burlington, so Ryan Dolan relied on Mapquest to get to town.Once he got to 34 Raceway and got some early evening brake issues figured out, he didn’t need any help getting around the track.Dolan led all 50 laps of the Tuesday night Deery Brothers Summer Series main event at 34. The feature ran green to checkered and Dolan pocketed $2,000 for his career third IMCA Late Model tour win.“It was a classic and a sweet victory for the Rick Dralle team,” Dolan said following the tour’s 50th visit to the West Burlington oval. “It was an exciting track to race on – it just suits my driving style. I ran the middle to the top, kept my momentum up and tried to stay out of trouble because there was quite a bit of lapped traffic.”Dolan started outside Darrel DeFrance on the front row. DeFrance led the field into the first turn but Dolan was the story from that point.Tyler Bruening began catching up with Dolan in lapped traffic. Dolan was slowed by two lapped cars in the final laps, but denied an inside bid by Bruening and locked down the win.Dolan had missed hot laps because of last-minute brake issues, then won his heat and drew outside pole for the feature.“I hadn’t been to 34 since I won a 50-lap modified race that ran all green in 1996 or 1997. Man, I wanted to win there again,” he said. “We forgot how to get to the track but once you get there, it’s all left turns.”Bruening was second while DeFrance, extending his perfect series attendance mark to 486 events, was third. Rob Toland and Matt Ryan completed the top five while tour point leader Justin Kay ran sixth.DeFrance was the winner of the $250 Sunoco Race Fuels feature qualifier drawing.Dolan became the fifth different winner in the last five Deery events. The pre-holiday show at West Burlington had 37 entries, a series best this season, and included Californian Michael Hynes.Next on the Deery schedule is the Wednesday, July 18 event at CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction.Feature results – 1. Ryan Dolan, Lisbon; 2. Tyler Bruening, Decorah; 3. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown; 4. Rob Toland, Colona, Ill.; 5. Matt Ryan, Davenport; 6. Justin Kay, Wheatland; 7. Andy Eckrich, Oxford; 8. Terry Neal, Ely; 9. Denny Eckrich, Tiffin; 10. Charlie McKenna, Ames; 11. Curt Martin, Independence; 12. Todd Cooney, Pleasant Hill; 13. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque; 14. Chuck Hanna, Port Byron, Ill.; 15. Nick Marolf, Moscow; 16. Sam Halstead, New London; 17. Rob Moss, Iowa City; 18. Joe Zrostlik, Long Grove; 19. Jay Johnson, West Burlington; 20. Curt Schroeder, Newton; 21. Chad Coyne, Orion, Ill.; 22. Doug Nigh, Maquoketa; 23. Gary Webb, Blue Grass; 24. Curtis Glover, Des Moines.