respublica

Drywall and stucco

The big story in the St. Louis area right now is the tragedy which occurred when an 84 year old driver somehow drove into the Shiloh (Illinois) Elementary school cafeteria killing an 8 year old second grader, Ryan Wesling.

The driver crashed into the outer wall of the cafeteria and the car continued for 100 feet before hitting the opposite wall of the room.  A debate, which began almost immediately after the crash, centers on whether or not there should be stricter drivers tests for older drivers or, is there an age where people should not have drivers licenses at all?

This is a question which should be debated, but just as pertinent a question should be, "Why would a school's exterior have been constructed of drywall and stucco?  The cafeteria was part of a 1999 addition built of foam covered by a synthetic stucco and drywall.  That exterior is nothing, absolutely nothing.

I was in a local wine and coffee store this afternoon talking to the owner and a carpenter who was doing some remodeling.  The building owner was adamant that his building, made of real brick and concrete would have stopped that woman's car before it made much of a dent.  And, that no school in Missouri would ever have been allowed to build such a thin exterior wall.  Both men just shook their heads in puzzlement at the construction at the school.

This is a terrible story.  Ironically the driver was on her way to an AARP driver's class.  A bubbly 8 year old is dead, his parents suffering a horrible grief.  But there are two questions to debate.

McCain chooses his team

Senator John McCain crossed over to the House of Representatives got a number of republican members to be part of his campaign team.  McCain, never very very popular among House republicans, is hoping to get ground support going.

His Whip team so far includes two from Illinois, Mark Kirk and John Shimkus.  Other members who signed on are Spencer Bachus-Alabama, Dan Lungren-California, John Shadegg-Arizona, and Fred Upton-Michigan.

What's happening on the Mike Huckabee front?  He needs to receive a fair hearing before everyone rushes out to support the media's top picks. 

Via Roll Call- paid subscription required

California looks to ban lightbulbs

Sort of.  A California lawmaker is hoping to get legislation passed which would ban the use of incandescent light bulbs, the bulbs found in most home lamps. This law would be part of California's initiative to reduce energy consumption.

Called "incredibly inefficient, converting only 5 percent of their energy into light," incandescents would be replaced by compact fluorescents (CFL) which use only 25 percent of the energy of the old types.

Habits die hard, but if we were honest, we'd admit the incandescents aren't the greatest light bulbs.  And, some folks who look into these things recommend the GE Soft White Fluorescent of just about any wattage as the best light for reading and all around indoor living.

It worked for Barack

According to Omaha.com via Political wire, Nebraska senator, Chuck Hagel is considering writing a book.  Although he has met with several publishers, no topic for the book has been chosen.  But, the book would have nothing at all to do with a possible presidential run.

Of course not.  And Obama's book is just a sweet look at hope.

Does Hagel even have a chance at the rep. nomination?  No more chance than a book would have nothing to do with a possible run.

And, oh no!  Say it isn't so.  Senator Joe Biden announces today that he too will join the million man and woman march toward a possible presidential nomination...he's going for the democratic nomination.

The Chicago Public Schools have their own problems

The post below linked to videos of a major controversy in the St. Louis Public Schools.  Chicago is wrestling with their own issues relating to failing schools.  Interestingly, an alternative, Charter Schools has been given short shrift by the state of Illinois.  By law there can be a maximum of 30 charter schools in Chicago, 15 in the suburbs and 15 downstate. 

In Missouri, Charter schools may be created in only the Kansas City and St. Louis public school districts and in those two districts 5 percent of the operating public schools may be converted to a charter school.

Michigan allows a maximum of 250 charter schools.

With the No Child Left Behind Act up for renewal, one of the additions to the act would encourage, push, threaten, school districts to replace failing schools with charter schools.  According to the Chicago Sun-Times, schools like Noble Street Charter High School have waiting lists of over 1000 students.  And yet Illinois has done little to increase the maximum number of allowed charters in the state.

The NCLB has worked.  It has worked in spite of all the moaning and complaining and blaming that went on in the beginning.  For schools which are still failing, maybe renewing the Act with the additional wording allowing more charter schools is a major step forward.

Here's the thing.  Charter schools are proving to be highly successful drawing from the same population as neighboring, failing public schools.  Like the making of sausage, forcing public schools to get their students to learn can be an ugly business.  It is time to either increase the number of charter schools or expect more of parents and teachers and students in the public schools. 

What is looming on the educational horizon for the opponents of charter schools?  Vouchers. 

Backyard Conservative posts about this subject as well.

St. Louis public schools hearings

1000 people attended a public meeting concerning the possibility of a state of Missouri take over of the St. Louis Public Schools.  The local school board, the board president, the mayor, the public, the school superintendent have been embroiled in a loud, long argument for months.  Pub Def was at the public meeting held at Harris Stowe State University and has posted a series of videos.  The videos are a fascinating look into a very public and very emotional situation.

Memorial conflict in Northbrook

Eric Zorn expands on a brewing disagreement in Northbrook, a suburb of Chicago.  Seems the local American Legion wants to move a World War II Howitzer from their building to a spot outside the village hall.  Local anti-war residents are opposing this.  One pacifist said:  "The cannon an icon of violence that should be banned, not celebrated, by society.  We are deeply gripped with the idea of militarism as a way to resolve our differences," he said. "It's deeply troubling. Every statement we can make to reject violence and militarism is a good thing."

Some Legion veterans are puzzled by this opposition and defend the memorial and the men who fought.  "It was through their service that we preserved the freedoms of Europe and Asia.  That howitzer really does not glorify war; it really commemorates the sacrifice of those members of our post."

Zorn says:  ".......Our shrines should be to warriors, not weapons; heroes not howitzers. "

On the other hand, I tend to agree with the Legion member who believes the howitzer commemorates the sacrifice.  These armaments also give the people who walk up to them a chance to pause and really think about the danger men were in and the bravery it took to come through it.  In Collinsville, the American Legion has a large cannon as well as an Army helicopter.  Both are viewed regularly by many who stop while driving down Vandalia Street (159) just to walk around and look.  Many have taken photos.


The Collinsville American Legion helicopter

Cannon

And they have an airplane propeller which saw military action.

If it makes people stop and think, if it honors the men who fought along side and inside these artifacts, why is that a bad thing?

Need Answers?

A very thorough online free reference site from the American Library Association.

The first link listed is AARP which is funny because the sub-title is American Association of Retired People.  But, yesterday the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn posted a quiz which asked, "What do the letters A A R P stand for?  And the answer was:  Nothing.

"The American Association of Retired Persons decided several years ago that the name wrongly characterized members, many of whom still work. So now, officially, the letters don't stand for anything."

Via Cyber Brethren

Microwave as sanitizer

There are people who use sponges for kitchen cleanup and who also microwave the sponges to clean them because they have heard microwaves kill the bacteria. 

Now an expert in such things appeared on CBS's Early Show and put the kabosh on that theory.  But Sharon Franke, kitchen technology and appliances director at Good Housekeeping Research Institute told Harry Smith, "They take the risk that their sponge will not be sanitized. It's a false security."

I've never understood the use of dish rags (whew they smell so bad so quickly) or sponges to clean kitchen counters and stove tops.  It just seems so unsanitary.  Use paper towels or those bleach towels which come in a container, (wasteful I know, but germs are top priority), get rid of those rags and sponges.

Landfill-ed up

In five years the Milam landfill in Fairmont City, Illinois will be full.  Nearby Madison has been asked by Waste Management, the operators of the current landfill, to approve 119 acres within its city limits in order to expand its operation.  If the city council approves the request, Madison would see its revenue increase by $1 million a year.  After two public hearings, this issue, as expected, is controversial among residents.  Collinsville could be affected should the new land be approved as that ground is perilously close to Horseshoe Lake and seepage could leak into it.

Waste Management's Milam landfill is the depository for much of the St. Louis area's trash and having to close would bring consequences to many cities.  Waste Management is in the beginnings of a new landfill technology, called Bioreactor Landfills which accelerates the decomposition of wastes.  They are currently using this process in ten cities as demonstration projects, although the local Milam landfill does not appear to be one of them.

Recently the GAO, Government Accountability Office released a report to the senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.  The report on which additional efforts could help municipal recycling is addressed to Senators James Jeffords, Thomas Carper, Barack Obama, Olympia Snowe, and Ron Wyden.

Trash containment and recycling is a local responsibility, but the GAO believes that federal agencies can help by encouraging recycling as well as educating local officials on how to get more resident participation. 

In 2005 this country generated 246 million tons of municipal solid waste or 1600 pounds per person.  Per person!  A family of four would have put 6400 pounds or over 3 tons of garbage to the curb.  79 million pounds of that 246 million was recycled with the remaining 166 million taken to landfills or disposed of some other way. 

There are a number of municipalities in this area who are working ambitiously at getting residents to recycle as much as possible.  With so many items being recyclable these days, this should be a major effort for city officials. 

The city of Festus, Missouri has claimed the number one spot in the area for the most pounds per household recycled.  Clayton has begun the purchase of new, trash can size, recycle bins which will replace the small typical rectangular bins.  Many cities are contemplating charging residents by the pound for trash.  Each home will be allowed as certain weight and anything over that will cost extra.  In so doing, the hope is recycling will be a higher priority.

A big problem is large apartment and/or condominium buildings nationwide in which there is little or no recycling done even though some tenants may desire this service.  Owners of these buildings have been unable or unwilling to come up with an easy way to dispose of such items.  Office complexes also are behind the curve when it comes to recycling and are major producers of paper in landfills. 

In the end, it is up to the local governments.  Perhaps a competition between cities would be the impetus for less landfill trash and more recycling, pit one city against the others to see who generates the least trash and the most recyclables.