I wouldn't hold my breath people--look what I saw on the news this morning.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Flooding in Poplar Bluff
This has been amazing! We have flooding that is record breaking from 7-11 inches in a 24 hour period. Check out the KFVS Heartland News site for some incredible pictures. We are going to try to go out today and get some pictures. Our clinic is closed today due to sewer backup in the lower level. We are fine at our house and the kids are fine in town. Candy and Bernie were stranded at their house yesterday. Our pond was pouring over the bank on the one side like a big waterfall. Jana and Doug
Ulmer named 2008 Special Education Administrator of the Year
As executive director of the Bemidji Regional Interdistrict Council, Denny Ulmer works extensively with a network of area school superintendents on special education issues.
Minnesota Administrators for Special Education is recognizing his efforts by naming him the 2008 Special Education Administrator of the Year.
“I’m very flattered,” said Ulmer, who has worked as the BRIC executive director for the past 14 years. “It’s an honor.”
BRIC is a large special education services cooperative serving 11 member school districts in north central Minnesota.
One of Ulmer’s main responsibilities is working with the superintendents from the member school districts on special education funding and compliance issues. He said he helps the school districts maintain compliance with special education regulations while working within their budgets.
“We’re very, very heavily regulated,” Ulmer said.
He also said special education funding poses challenges.
Ulmer said the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act signed into law in the 1970s and reauthorized by Congress in 2004 promises to provide states with 40 percent of funding for the cost of the services the act mandates.
However, Ulmer said, the federal funding has consistently fallen short of that promise. In 2008, the appropriations from Congress to states will be about 17 percent.
“That remains a very big challenge,” Ulmer said.
Despite the challenges, he said his job as BRIC executive director is “rewarding work.”
“With the staff we have, we’re able to offer quality services,” Ulmer said.
Carl Remmers, superintendent of the Cass Lake-Bena School District and director on the BRIC Executive Board, said Ulmer does an excellent job providing for the needs of students in special education and is diligent with budgeting to make sure schools can afford special education services.
“We appreciate all the work he does with us,” Remmers said. “We congratulate him on being the Special Education Administrator of the Year.”
MASE is recognizing Ulmer for his “longtime dedication to providing quality, comprehensive and cost-effective services in public schools for students with disabilities and their families as well as his active involvement in professional and community affairs,” according to a press release.
Mia Urick, director of communications and professional development for MASE, said a group of Ulmer’s colleagues nominated him for the honor.
She said Ulmer has years of outstanding experience as a leader in education in Minnesota. She added that he is very active in informing legislators about policymaking.
“And he’s been a tremendous resource for his colleagues,” Urick said.
Ulmer is a past MASE president and board member and was appointed last year as the MASE representative on the state’s 2007 Legislative Task Force on Special Education. He also has represented MASE on several other committees, including the Minnesota Mental Health Action Group.
Ulmer has worked as a special education administrator for 23 years, serving numerous public schools throughout north-central Minnesota.
Bob Doetsch, superintendent of the Blackduck School District and chairman of the BRIC Executive Board, said Ulmer deserves the recognition as 2008 Special Education Administrator of the Year.
“He’s an outstanding administrator,” Doetsch said.
He said Ulmer is very knowledgeable about laws and special education regulations and is politically active.
“Congratulations to Denny for a job well done,” he said. “And his job continues to be well done day in and day out.”
Ulmer will be recognized at the MASE/Minnesota Association of School Administrators Spring Conference April 3-4 in Bloomington, Minn.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
The journey continues
This trip continues to be amazing. Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, is a very clean beautiful city clinging to numerous mountains. We spent a whole day walking around, getting organized and visiting the Genocide Memorial Museum which is a well done museum that recounts the tragedy that was Rwanda in 1994. It is very hard to imagine that over 1,000,000 people were butchered in this country. The people are very open to foreigners - and small children like to touch our white skin, kinda weird.
Today we awoke at 4am to go to the Congolese border and trek Gorilla (not Guerilla) and this proved to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was a difficult trek up and we were able to hang out WITH the gorilla in the wild - breast feeding, chest thumping, tree eating, poop throwing, etc. We spent about 2 hours with them and then the jungle was hit by a hail storm which made the 90 minute trek down to the base very grueling.
We crossed a 'border' between Rwanda & Uganda which is patroled by a chicken coop fence and a herd of goat. We were soaking wet from the down pour. From here I hitched a ride with 5 congolese guys in a 1998 Toyota Carolla that took us 2.5 hours on dirt mountain roads to the town of Kabale. Here i jumped on the back of a motorbike navigated by a 14 year old Ugandan Evil-Knievil over mountains at speeds that made me think - I'm going to die flying over the edge of a Ugandan mountain.
We are staying in a tent on the shore of Lake Bunyoni - it is unbelievable!
I haven't showered in six days - I must go now.
Love,
Jeffrey James
Today we awoke at 4am to go to the Congolese border and trek Gorilla (not Guerilla) and this proved to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was a difficult trek up and we were able to hang out WITH the gorilla in the wild - breast feeding, chest thumping, tree eating, poop throwing, etc. We spent about 2 hours with them and then the jungle was hit by a hail storm which made the 90 minute trek down to the base very grueling.
We crossed a 'border' between Rwanda & Uganda which is patroled by a chicken coop fence and a herd of goat. We were soaking wet from the down pour. From here I hitched a ride with 5 congolese guys in a 1998 Toyota Carolla that took us 2.5 hours on dirt mountain roads to the town of Kabale. Here i jumped on the back of a motorbike navigated by a 14 year old Ugandan Evil-Knievil over mountains at speeds that made me think - I'm going to die flying over the edge of a Ugandan mountain.
We are staying in a tent on the shore of Lake Bunyoni - it is unbelievable!
I haven't showered in six days - I must go now.
Love,
Jeffrey James
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Jeffrey James Update
From: Jeffrey James Pearson
Date: Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Subject: TIA - This is Africa
To: jpearson@ctmt.com
I'm in Rwanda. I'm safe. I'm well fed. It's 80. My safari in Kenya was awesome - soo many zebra, giraffe, crocodile, rhino, baboon, monkey, scavengers, gazelle, etc. I was the first person to stay in my hotel for 10 days, it had no power the first night and the owners were leaving the country on Wednesday... I felt fine going around Nairobi during the day but would never go out after dark.
Tomorrow we are going to track gorillas near the Congo then we are going to hopefully cross over into Uganda - track up to a village and go and camp out on an island near the city of Kabale. After this we are off to Fort Portal to hike though the crater lakes & biwindi for a few days, then off to Murhison Falls to track hippos & elephants and see the falls, then down to Jinja to raft down the Nile.
On my flight from Nairobi to Kenya we met some UW Badgers and played the name game and found some mutual friends - small world.
Last night it thundered and poured here in Kigali. Nairobi is very arid and Kigali is very tropical. The flight was awesome - flying in & out of Burundi. Rwanda reminds me a lot of Kyrgyzstan - more than any other country I've been to.
Everyplace in Africa seems to smell like B.O. or friend chicken.
I'm safe and having fun. Hope y'all are too.
Regards,
Jeffrey James
Date: Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Subject: TIA - This is Africa
To: jpearson@ctmt.com
I'm in Rwanda. I'm safe. I'm well fed. It's 80. My safari in Kenya was awesome - soo many zebra, giraffe, crocodile, rhino, baboon, monkey, scavengers, gazelle, etc. I was the first person to stay in my hotel for 10 days, it had no power the first night and the owners were leaving the country on Wednesday... I felt fine going around Nairobi during the day but would never go out after dark.
Tomorrow we are going to track gorillas near the Congo then we are going to hopefully cross over into Uganda - track up to a village and go and camp out on an island near the city of Kabale. After this we are off to Fort Portal to hike though the crater lakes & biwindi for a few days, then off to Murhison Falls to track hippos & elephants and see the falls, then down to Jinja to raft down the Nile.
On my flight from Nairobi to Kenya we met some UW Badgers and played the name game and found some mutual friends - small world.
Last night it thundered and poured here in Kigali. Nairobi is very arid and Kigali is very tropical. The flight was awesome - flying in & out of Burundi. Rwanda reminds me a lot of Kyrgyzstan - more than any other country I've been to.
Everyplace in Africa seems to smell like B.O. or friend chicken.
I'm safe and having fun. Hope y'all are too.
Regards,
Jeffrey James
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mesa Listing
If anyone wants to send a weblink for the Mesa property instead of sending an attachment, just send this link to people. Right click on the link below and copy and paste it or select "send link" and you're good to go.
Mesa_listing
Cheers,
BBlebowski
Mesa_listing
Cheers,
BBlebowski
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Olivia's Summer Adventure
Astronaut Training
Course name: Pathfinder: Space Adventure
Dates of course: June 13-15
Course Description: Pathfinder is a three day, two night program at the Rocket and Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Experience a simulated shuttle mission by training in a three-part simulator to launch a Space Shuttle, dock it to the International Space Station, re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, and safely land. Build and launch rockets and visit the space museum where you can try out astronaut training equipment. Enjoy a fascinating IMAX film and tour one of the largest lunar and propulsion collections in the world. The cost includes transportation, lodging, program registration and food.
Grade Level: Incoming 6th graders through exiting 8th graders
Time of day course will meet: Flight, early morning of June 13th, Return late evening of June 15th
Location of course meetings: Huntsville, Alabama: Rocket and Space Center
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Course Title: Extreme Science – Metro Style
Date: June 23-27
Course Description: Join us for a week of “day tripping” around the metro area. We’ll venture into the realm of the known and yet to be discovered. Our journeys will take us through a sampling of the sciences (disciplines: Astronomy, Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Hydrology, Physics). Trips in the journey include Como Zoo, WCCO , Minnehaha Falls, Wargo Nature Center, St. Paul Brickyards, Fort Snelling State Park, Sherburne Wildlife Refuge, and Valleyfair. Our day will be filled with fun as we investigate science questions through journaling our everyday observations. You won’t want to miss this bus! Special Note: We will be hiking on average 2 miles per day. Please dress appropriately for the weather, including a good pair of tennis shoes, sunscreen, bug spray, and a hat.
Grade Level: Incoming 6th graders through exiting 8th graders.
Location: Coon Rapids Middle School 8AM (room 175 for pre-trip meetings in the morning, enter via door # 6), on location for the majority of the day, returning by 4PM for pick-up.
Instructors: Cheryl Sill Cheryl.Sill@anoka.k12.mn.us
Leila Youakim Leila.Youakim@anoka.k12.mn.us
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