Edition 1-02-06

FLORIDA STATE FAIR 
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February 9-20, 2006 Tampa, FL www.floridastatefair.com/ 800-345-FAIR This 12-day celebration of the Sunshine State allows visitors to share in the fun and excitement of the midway, the rides, the food, the livestock and agricultural exhibits to create new memories and reminisce about the past. As a #1 fair favorite, the smells and aromas of corndogs, cotton candy and funnel cakes will once again return to delight and satisfy taste buds. All the classic fair favorites, including the standard Fair "eats" of corn dogs, elephant ears, cheese-on-a-stick and candy apples, will be in town too for the 12-day celebration of the Sunshine State. 

VIDALIA ONION FESTIVAL 
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April 26-30, 2006 Vidalia, GA  The Vidalia Onion Story takes root in Toombs County, Georgia over 60 years ago, when a farmer by the name of Mose Coleman discovered in the late spring of 1931 the onions he had planted were not hot, as he expected. They were sweet! Word began to spread about "those Vidalia onions". Each Spring, Vidalia anticipates the harvest of Georgia's Official State Vegetable, the internationally known, Vidalia Sweet Onion. 

  The Citizen staff report Saturday, December 31, 2005 2:49 PM EST The four women who successfully defended themselves against charges after they walked through downtown Moravia topless in August have sent notice that they intend to sue municipalities involved in their case.

The notice of claim dated Thursday said the women's rights were violated and the case brought them unnecessary pain and suffering. They seek reimbursement for the costs in defending themselves and $1,500 each for their pain and suffering.

The Cayuga County District Attorney's office eventually dropped the charges against Carol Clarke, 54, of Branchport; Barbara Crumb, 61, of Branchport; Claudia Kellersch, 40, of La Jolla, Calif.; and Madeline McPherson, 40, of Rochester.

The defendants were arrested Aug. 11 for being topless in downtown Moravia. Both Moravia village police and the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office took part in the initial call.

The district attorney's office - facing a 1992 state Court of Appeals ruling that said women can remove their tops in public places where men can as long as it's not for commercial purposes - sought to prove the women negatively affected commerce in Moravia by going topless. But it eventually determined it did not have enough evidence to sustain the charges.

The women had been in town for Moravia's Empire Haven Nudist Resort and Campground's annual convention.

The case garnered widespread media attention.

Television camera crews packed the sidewalk of the Moravia village court following one of their appearances before a judge.

In the notice of claim, the women said they were kept in custody - either in a Cayuga County Jail holding cell or in handcuffs while outside of jail - for more than six hours.

They said the initial charges filed - exposure of person - is a violation, something that does not warrant the treatment they received.

“We feel that this treatment was intended to harass, embarrass and intimidate us,” the claim states.

 

To all my friends who think I'm crazy for moving to Wisconsin.
 I am now well prepared for the winter!

If you want drip-free, long-burning candles, put them in the freezer overnight before burning them. Also, If you keep your candles in the freezer they will last longer and drip less. 
To clean copper pans, give them a good scrub with dishwash ing detergent, then take a half a lemon and pour salt on it, use it to scrub the copper, you will see the shine come through. Keep adding salt to the lemon as you clean. 
Warm air leaking into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter can waste a substantial portion of your energy dollars. One of the quickest dollar- saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weatherstrip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside.
 

By BILL RODGERS, FREE PRESS PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU CHIEF OTTAWA --

The Conservative party will unveil "a very comprehensive response" to violent crime, including gun crime, within days, Sun Media has learned. 

The party has been examining approaches to the issue for release in a major platform announcement, including consecutive sentences for those committing more than one violent crime. That would mean more time behind bars by restricting the use of concurrent sentencing, which allows prison sentences to be served at the same time. 

Violent lawbreakers and those convicted of major drug offences would not be eligible for conditional sentences. 
There would also be mandatory minimum sentences. 

The party will also call for the strict enforcement of existing laws on handguns. 

"We're going to go after the Hells Angels, not Ducks Unlimited," said deputy leader Peter MacKay. 

"This idea that you can somehow create an atmosphere around people who are already respectful of the law and superimpose this blanket (handgun) ban as a solution -- a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach -- is an absolute abysmal failure. It's publicly misleading and it doesn't drill down into the real problem." 

MacKay said the Liberal party's promised handgun ban wouldn't have prevented the shooting on Toronto's Yonge Street this week. The former Crown prosecutor said the only thing that will work is addressing the root causes of the gun-crime problem. 

"Those who are caught and brought to justice (must) pay a significant price. Deterrence does work," MacKay said. 

He believes stiffer sentences, mandatory minimum prison terms and increased resources for police would go a long way toward providing a solution to the growing problem in Canada's urban areas. 

"The people who are involved in these types of shootings are not the type of individuals who are going to adhere to a gun ban or ever register a gun, period," MacKay said. "The Liberal party has proven time and time again that they're more concerned with the optics than the practicalities of these issues." 

The Conservative deputy leader would not discuss details of the policy announcement. 

"A lot of it is what I would just call targeted investment where it's needed most and a strict and deterrent-style approach to violent crime, and it also includes the proliferation of the drug trade because that's what's behind a lot of this," he said. "The (Tory) policy stuff that's out there now is part of the answer, but there's more coming." 

Charity poker runs, a popular weekend pastime for Southeast Texas motorcycle enthusiasts, might become a thing of the past after a ruling this week that the events can violate Texas gambling laws.

Advertisement Poker runs are illegal when participants must make a charitable donation to ride and have a chance to win cash prizes at the end, Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a Tuesday opinion.

In the Galveston County case considered by Abbott, the Blue Knights, a non-profit group of active and retired law enforcement officers, planned a poker run to raise money for a deputy who had been injured in an on-the-job car accident.

In poker runs, motorcycle riders generally start at a central location, then check in at several scattered sites before reaching a final site by a set time. At the end of the ride, riders who successfully checked in at each stop draw five cards to make a poker hand, with prizes for the best hand, second-best hand and worst hand.

Jefferson County District Attorney Tom Maness said the ruling does not surprise him because no exception to state gaming laws seemed to apply. Maness said charities still might be able to host modified versions of poker runs legally.

Events would be legal if they offered no prizes, only an "attaboy" to the winner, Maness said. Dropping requirements for a charitable donation as an entry fee also would comply with the law, he said.

Otherwise, Maness said, the Legislature would need to change state law to allow charitable poker runs to continue.

"Every one of these is probably going to a good cause," said Maness, who rides a motorcycle but has never participated in a poker run.

Maness said he has never received a gambling complaint about a poker run, but would prosecute if he became aware of an illegal poker run. His first step, he said, probably would be to call the organizers to make them aware of the law, "just have them do it but not give away a prize."

Amy Cansler, who handles public relations for Cowboy Harley Davidson and Cowboy Honda in Beaumont, called the ruling sad. She said Southeast Texas probably has at least one charitable poker run each weekend, especially in the spring and summer.

Riders enjoy the camaraderie and the feeling they are helping a charity or a family facing illness or other tragedy, she said.

"Definitely it is more enticing if there's a prize at the end," Cansler said. However, winners usually donate their cash prizes to the event's beneficiary, she said.

John Neves of Beaumont, who has organized charity poker rides in Southeast Texas for about five years, said the ruling could cost local charities thousands of dollars. He said he raises $5,000 to $7,000 a year with rides for the American Cancer Society and has raised even more in events for some individual patients.

The ruling also could cost the region tourism dollars, Neves said. A poker run during a Harley rally in Beaumont drew about 2,000 riders and gave the riders a chance to see the city's highlights, with check-in points scattered strategically throughout the area.

Without the option of giving prizes, Neves said this year's ride for the American Cancer Society would be cancelled.

"It just seems silly. There's more issues we need to be concerned with than a poker run to try to help people out," Neves said.

epicure \EP-ih-kyur\ noun

: one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine

Example sentence:
"Griffin considered himself something of an epicure, with an ability to taste and smell that was the functional equivalent of perfect-pitch." (Terence Monmaney, Discover, September 1987)

Did you know?
Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who lived from 341-270 B.C., believed that the best life was one of simple pleasures in which a person lived with a tranquil mind and freedom from pain. When "epicure" entered English in the 16th century, it referred to someone who followed the philosophy of Epicurus. But over time people came to believe that the philosopher actually encouraged his followers to pursue material and sensual gratification, so the term was soon applied to anyone devoted to materialistic self-indulgence; it later came to be used for one who loves good food and wine.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Drug free since 1-01-87
 Young riders pick a destination and go. 
Old riders pick a direction and go.

Scheduled delivery early March!