What exactly does religious liberty mean both in the eyes of the law and in practice? Houston Matters talks it over with a law professor and some religious leaders.

Houston Matters gets underway today at noon on 88.7FM or listen online. Join the discussion at 713-440-8870,talk@houstonmatters.orgor @HoustonMatters.

Religious liberty is one of many rights enumerated in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, though it never seems quite so simple as make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or [prohibit] the free exercise thereof. What exactly does religious liberty mean from a legal standpoint and how has it been interpreted by courts?To discuss that, we talk with Josh Blackman from South Texas College of Law Houston. Then, to get some perspectives from actual religious leaders on what religious liberty means to them, we talk with Rev. Laura Mayo of Covenant Church, and Mustafaa Carroll, with theCouncil of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Also this hour, we learn more about Liftoff Houston, a business plan competition the City of Houston is holding,a new book called Mexican American Baseball in Houston and Southeast Texas, andMichael Hagerty visits atraveling exhibit on the subject of the death penalty.

Audio from todays show will available after 3 p.m. CT.We also offer a free daily, downloadable podcast here, on iTunes, Stitcher and various other podcasting apps.

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Tuesday's Houston Matters: Defining Religious Liberty, And The City's Business Plan Competition (July 11, 2017) - Houston Public Media

DAVENPORT, Iowa All Dave Reynolds could do was tip his cap.

After home postseason wins over Davis County and West Burlington, the West Liberty softball team ran into a giant buzzsaw Monday night.

Class 3A top-ranked Davenport Assumption pieced together 17 hits and limited West Liberty to just three in a 10-0 regional final victory at the St. Vincent Athletic Complex.

"That is a great team," West Liberty's head coach said. "They clearly had the better bats, better pitching and better defense. We've got to aspire to be a team like that."

West Liberty (22-14) hung around for the first couple of innings. In fact, Haylee Lehman led off with a double.

Lehman, though, was stranded there after Nicole Timmons recorded back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out.

"It would have been big if we had gotten a run early to put pressure on them," Lehman said.

Lehman had two of West Liberty's three hits, both coming off Timmons.

"I just went up with confidence and I knew she threw a rise ball," Lehman said. "You've either got to stay in the back of the box and lay off or hit it in the front of the box. I saw it coming early, kept my hands high and tried to stay on top of the ball."

West Liberty just couldn't string anything else together against Timmons or reliever Hannah Kelley. The Comets struck out 14 times.

"We don't see many riseballs and quality changeups like that," Reynolds said. "They just play against better teams all season long in that 5A conference."

Assumption, which has won 41 consecutive games, goes to the state tournament in Fort Dodge next week as the top seed in 3A.

After not scoring in the first two innings, the Knights scored three times in the third inning. Eighth grader Olivia Wardlow laced a two-out single back up the middle to plate the initial run.

Kelley, Emma Valainis and Carlie Sammon followed with singles.

Then in the fourth inning, Assumption (41-1) added five more hits, three coming from the bottom of the order, to extend the lead to 7-0.

"We know our offense can come through anywhere in our lineup," shortstop Nicole Yoder said after a three-hit game. "It gives us a lot of confidence and helps us stay up during the game."

West Liberty pitcher Emma Martin worked into the fourth inning before Macy Akers relieved her. Akers pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth before Assumption pounced for three more runs in the seventh.

Defeat aside, Lehman said this season was a step in the right direction for the Comets.

"This will help with our confidence next year," she said. "We've done it and now we know we can do it again."

Reynolds said for West Liberty to clear that next hurdle and get to the state tournament for the first time in program history, it starts with more offseason commitment.

"We've got to convince the girls to play more ball year-round," he said. "A lot of these quality programs have kids playing 200 or 300 games before they get to the high school game.

"Plus, we've got to get our numbers up."

Even so, Reynolds admitted his opponent Monday was just too good.

"I think Assumption will win it all," he said. "They're well-coached and do everything right."

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Top-ranked Assumption ends West Liberty's postseason run - Muscatine Journal

LIBERTY TWP.

The Liberty Twp. trustees are going back to square one in their search for a new fire chief after one candidate turned down their job offer and another dropped out of the applicant pool.

Trustee Tom Farrell said he is not happy with the job the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association did in finding suitable candidates so the township will continue its search solo.

Im not happy. Im not sure that they did anything wrong, but the point is you hire someone to bring you these top candidates and they are the leaders in their field, you expect them to bring you the top candidates, Farrell said. We didnt get that.

The township paid the OFCA $12,150 to search and screen 19 candidates who applied, only two were internal candidates.

Fire Chief Paul Stumpf announced his retirement last September and gave the trustees a year to find his replacement.

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Liberty Twp. trustees continue fire chief search - Hamilton Journal News

PHOENIX Brittney Griner had 31 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty 81-69 on Sunday.

Diana Taurasi added 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers for the Mercury (10-6), who have won three straight.

I was just feeling it tonight, honestly, Griner said. I dont know what it was, it was just a good night. My teammates were trusting me to take some shots with defenders in my face. When I have the team behind my back, it pumps me up.

Sugar Rodgers hit a 3-pointer and then a jumper to give New York (8-8) a 5-4 lead one minute in, but Griner answered with a basket that gave Phoenix the lead for good 12 seconds later. She scored six points during a 12-4 run that made it 34-23 early in the second quarter and the Liberty trailed by at least eight points the rest of the way.

She realizes how much she can impact the game, so we put the ball in her hands a fair bit, because they trust her, her teammates trust her, Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said of Griners performance. Its great, her mindset is great, and she knows she wants to be great. Half of the battle is her and he is doing fantastic. Im sure she will continue to do great.

Tina Charles had 29 points for New York and Rodgers added 14 points. Charles made 11 of 21 shots from the field but the rest of the Liberty players hit just 17 of 58 (29.3 percent).

It was the last of a four-game, 12-day road trip for the Liberty, who have lost four of five.

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Mercury knock off Liberty for 3rd win in a row - FOXSports.com

The Reno Tahoe Liberty FC a team that includes two Douglas High School graduates, Ally Freitas and Amber Gwinn will wrap up its Women's Premier Soccer League season at home next Sunday in Reno.

The Liberty will face the Players Soccer Club from Las Vegas in a 7 p.m. Mountain West Division game at Bishop Manogue High School.

Gwinn, a 2002 Douglas graduate, opened the season in May as a starter on the Liberty's defensive line and Freitas, a 2009 graduate (she set a school single-season scoring record during the 2008 season) started as a starting midfielder.

Two of their Liberty teammates are former Carson High standouts, Valerie Sue Meyer (2017 grad now headed to Saint Mary's College of California and Shelly Gamble (1999 graduate and more recently head coach of Bishop Manogue's girls team).

The Liberty (1-1-1 in the division standings) played games on Friday and Saturday against the Utah Arrows in Salt Lake City.

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Douglas soccer grads play for WPSL Liberty - The Record-Courier

St. Josephs 240-year-old Liberty Tree fell last year and was removed from Hyde Park, but a local woodturner has ensured that its legacy will live on.

The 80-foot tall bur oak was dedicated in 1976 to celebrate the nations bicentennial. It died last year, and was replaced by members of the local 4H club with a seedling that came from an offshoot of one of the last remaining original Liberty Trees in the country.

According to Director of Parks, Recreation & Civic Facilities Chuck Kempf, the wood from the tree was placed behind the park departments building to dry out in order to be used in the future.

Kempf said woodworker Bill Hinde contacted the parks department and was able to get his hands on some of the wood

We cut a few sections of the tree off that were manageable for him, he took him to his shop and hes been working on them no for the last couple of months, Kempf said.

Hinde turned the wood into three bowls, which he is calling Liberty Bowls and dedicated one of them to the city at the July 5 council meeting.

We would like to donate and dedicate this bowl to the mayor, to the City Council and to the citizens of St. Joe in recognition of this long-standing tree, Hinde said at the meeting as he removed the bowl from a sack.

Kempf was impressed with the bowl and expects it to be on display for the citizens to see.

He did great work, Kempf said. Its a very, very pretty piece of wood and Im assuming that the mayor will have some place to display that in his office or in City Hall somewhere.

Two other bowls were dedicated to the parks department. One will be on display at their offices and another will be on display at the Remington Nature Center.

Kempf said the remaining, usable wood from the Liberty Tree has been drying out behind the parks department since the tree fell.

Its finally at a point now that it is dry and its something that we can use, Kempf said.

He said the city has been looking into options for what they can do with the wood and have discussed making benches, ornaments and knick-knacks.

He said that only a small amount of the massive tree will be reusable.

Read the original:

Liberty Tree lives own through craftsmnaship - News-Press Now

Community Report, cadvocate@hcnonline.com

Registration deadline nears for Liberty County Citizens Police Academy

Don't miss a chance to attend the Liberty County Citizens Police Academy. The deadline to sign up is Friday, July 14, and classes start Monday, July 31. Anyone turning in an application after the deadline date cannot be considered. Thus far the applicants have been coming in at a good pace and the class should be full soon.

This Academy, co-sponsored by Liberty County Sheriff Bobby Rader and District Attorney Logan Pickett, will have state certified instructors speaking on a vast number of law enforcement subjects such as the Penal Code, SWAT operations, a hands-on "shoot/don't shoot" scenario, Texas Ranger interfacing, a hands-on homicide investigation scene utilizing the usual investigative techniques such as fingerprints, blood splatter patterns and many other subjects of interest to any citizen who may be interested in the manner in which your Criminal Justice system must and does function. After graduation, the students can join the Alumni Association and work with the sheriff's or DA's office in a non-frontline volunteer capacity as this academy class does not certify the students as peace officers or grant them the powers of arrest.

Applications for the Citizen Police Academy can be picked up on the south end of the county at the sheriff's dispatchers office at 2400 Beaumont Ave. in the City of Liberty or on the north end of the county at the court house annex located at 304 Campbell St. in the City of Cleveland. All applicants must be at least 18 years old and pass a criminal background check. The academy is free. Call 936-336-4500 for more information.

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Registration deadline nears for Liberty County Citizens Police ... - Chron.com

When the tip came in at 10:30 p.m. on July 3, Josh Gibson, director of communications for the D.C. Council, says it took all of his willpower to keep from immediately jumping into his car.

A reporter who had covered his press conference the previous day was passing on the tip that a full-size Liberty Bell replica had been spotted in a local cemetery, and Gibson was tempted to do a Scooby Doo and see if I could find the thing with a flashlight.

But when Gibson arrived on the scene the next morning, his hopes were dashed. There was, in fact, a full-scale Liberty Bell replica in the cemetery, but it was not the one that had gone missing from D.C.s Wilson Building over three decades before.

In 1950, the U.S. government launched an Independence Drive that lasted from May 15 to July 4 to encourage the sale of U.S. Treasury Bonds.

The intention of the initiative was the encouragement of thrift and the fostering of public interest in the affairs of the Government, a no doubt important goal in the aftermath of World War II as the Cold War was heating up.

The goal was to sell $650 million worth of bonds, but the states and territories (the first 48 plus Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and D.C.) beat that amount by over 10 percent.

Their reward was a full-scale, exact replica of the Liberty Bell for each of the geographic regions that had participated. According to a government report, these reproductions were presented by the Secretary of the Treasurywith the intention that the bells should be kept permanently on public, noncommercial exhibition.

Since its chimes rang out in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776, signaling that the brand new Declaration of Independence was about to be read, the Liberty Bell has become an emblem of freedom and democracy in America.

Its symbolic destiny was set when it was first installed in 1751 in the tower of what would become known as Independence Hall inscribed with a quote from Leviticus that read, Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.

It was such a powerful symbol, that it was adoptedand given its nameby abolitionists, who used the bell as the sign of the cause starting in the 1930s. Less than a decade later, the Liberty Bell would go silent when its signature crack suddenly appeared.

A piece in the Philadelphia Public Ledger on February 26, 1846, reported on the events of that day: The old Independence Bell rang its last clear note on Monday last in honor of the birthday of Washington and now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and dumbIt gave out clear notes and loud, and appeared to be in excellent condition until noon, when it received a sort of compound fracture in a zig-zag direction through one of its sides which put it completely out of tune and left it a mere wreck of what it was.

But despite its jagged crack, the Liberty Bell became firmly ensconced as a symbol of the American spirit to the point that, in 1950, the federal government decided it was the perfect prize for its overachieving states and territories.

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According to Gibson, the government sent out a request to foundries around the world for their proposed plan to create 55 full-scale (and crack-free, of course) copies of the bell. The winner was a company in France called Paccard.

The decision was made at the end of the business day in America, which means it was like midnight in France, Gibson, who visited the foundry last summer while on family vacation, tells The Daily Beast. So they got a phone call saying, You got it. Youre going to be making the 55 Liberty Bells. And apparently they were popping the corks on champagne. Thats a big get if you run a bell factory.

The Liberty Bell replica gifted to the District of Columbia was originally installed at the top of the stairs of the Wilson Building, the districts city hall and state house. A few years later, it was moved to a small park in front of the building where it stayed for nearly three decades and became something of a landmark in the city, a place local residents often picked to meet-up with friends.

But that all changed at the end of the 1970s. According to Gibson, the mystery of the missing D.C. bell was set in motion during President Kennedys inauguration.

The backstory is that, when JFK was having his inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, he was looking around and basically said, What a dump. It looks shabby; its a lot of second hand stores; it just doesnt look like the main street of the main city of the main country.

It would take nearly two decades for the slow trudge of bureaucracy to take effect, but, eventually, the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) was formed for the purpose of renovating and reviving the street. But, first, they had to relocate the four small monuments that were in the way of the beautification process.

A statue of Benjamin Franklin and the Temperance Fountain were moved to a nearby location. A statue of Boss Shepherd, an early governor of the district, got kind of deliberately exiled, sent out to sort of the hinterlands of the district because he had historically fallen out of favor at the time. But he was never really lost, people knew where he was, Gibson sayseven if where he was happened, for a time, to be standing guard at the sewage treatment plant.

But the Liberty Bell vanished without a trace.

Gibson has spent the better part of two years trying to track down what happened to this monument. (In his role as director of communications, he has made something of a name for himself in investigating the mysteries of the district and the Wilson building in particular.)

He knows from a mention in a press account that the bell was still standing in front of the building in 1979. But by mid-1981, there were reports that it had gone missing and that no one had been able to discover its whereabouts.

On his quest to crack the case, Gibson came across the name of the person who had served point between the D.C. government and the PADC.

As luck would have it, he finally found the man last week, two days before his press conference. But it turned out to be a dead end. The former bureaucrat remembered the three other monuments that were moved, but he did not remember a thing about the Liberty Bell.

This guy who I thought was going to be kind of the missing link of the story, who maybe couldnt tell me where it is, but maybe could tell me at least where it was, ended up knowing nothing to help me deal with the Liberty Bell situation, Gibson says.

He had hoped that the first time he staged a press event on this matter, it would be a victory lapa big reveal of the discovery of the Liberty Bell that no one at this point remembered was missing. But after realizing that his search was starting to go in circles, he decided it was time to turn to the public for help.

On July 3, Gibson called the media together to announce that the districts Liberty Bell had been missing for nearly four decades and to request that anyone who had any tipsor fond memoriesof the monument to come forward.

Since the press conference, the tips have started to come in. So far, Gibson has toured some of the districts storage areas with a veteran government worker (I saw a lot of interesting stuff, but not the Liberty Bell). Hes been tipped off about a barn sale near Antietam and an antique shop in West Virginia and a museum in Baltimore.

While it may seem difficult for a giant brass and bronze bell that weighs 2,000 pounds to stay hidden for this long, there are some complicating factors in the search.

For starters, there is a double-size Liberty Bell replica sitting in front of Union Station (I get multiple calls a day that, Oh you bone head, its sitting right here).

Then, theres the fact that the Treasury Department graciously gifted themselves with one of the 1950 replicas (which are all numbered above the inscription), which they still have.

Then, of course, theres the replica that Gibson discovered in the cemetery, which, it turns out, was created by the same French foundry, but in 1976 (the foundry continues to make Liberty Bells to this day).

But despite the false leads and dead ends, Gibson hasnt given up hope. While theft for scrap metal is not uncommonand could be worth around $2,000 in this bells casehe says he discounts the nefarious explanations for what might have happened.

What I tend to think happened is they stuck it someplace, Gibson says. When youre dealing with a whole city-state like D.C., theres a lot of places where you do stick stuff. And I think they stuck it someplace and then maybe the person who put it there left the government or no one ever asked for itand it just stayed wherever it was.

Original post:

Have You Seen Washington, D.C.'s Missing Liberty Bell? - Daily Beast

It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies. H.L. Mencken, Baltimore Evening Sun, 1923

When I quoted C.S. Lewis last week as saying that a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive (Liquor Licensing Labyrinth, WTE, July 2), I had no idea just how quickly an affirmation of that statement would arrive.

The ink was hardly dry on my rant when I received this text message from Laramie County Commissioner Linda Heath:

The hours of operation were set from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. in order to prevent bar hopping between the city and county during a time period when law enforcement is typically scaled back. ... Both the CPD and the sheriff estimate they would have to hire an additional squad each to handle that shift if bars were allowed 24-hour operations. I dont have the cost in dollars, but it wouldnt be cheap. ... Public safety has to be considered as well, not just the rights of business owners.

Lets examine these arguments closely, as they contain profound implications.

To begin with, observe that Commissioner Heath makes no attempt to challenge my thesis that such regulations constitute abrogations of liberty. Rather, she contends that such freedoms of action and commerce should be subordinated to costs and public safety instead.

Which means our individual rights to peaceful actions take a back seat when questions of social utility arise, yes? Apparently, if it can be demonstrated that such rights might sometimes have a negative impact due to the actions of people who dont understand what the word peaceful means, thats enough to outlaw such behaviors for everyone else. Right?

And, if so, lets take a look at some other areas of our culture where such a principle begs for application:

- Since, In 2015, 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (29 percent) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Impaired Driving: Get the Facts, http://www.cdc.gov, 2017), doesnt it just make sense to reinstitute Prohibition completely to eliminate this scourge from society? Why piddle around with four hours out of the day when we can save lives on a 24-hour basis?

- And, since drivers who miss between one to two hours of the recommended seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period nearly double their risk for a crash (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Missing 1-2 Hours of Sleep Doubles Crash Risk, http://www.aaa.com, 2016), it certainly seems logical to legislate a good nights sleep for everyone as well, does it not?

- Or, if the hours of 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. pose issues regarding costs and public safety, why not just ban driving completely at that time? Lets save even more lives and money. After all, your rights dont mean anything any longer, theyve already been hijacked to the back of the bus. Where could you possibly want to go at those hours, anyway? Shouldnt you be at home, getting your seven hours of sleep like a good citizen?

But seriously, where does it end? The only place it CAN end: With your rights tossed into the bit bucket forever while the social nannies legislate and regulate every single aspect of your existence ... for your own good ... because youre just too stupid, uncaring and insensitive to the needs of others to be trusted with anything as politically explosive as individual liberty.

And, if such examples as listed above are determined to be ridiculous and all of them are then where do we draw the line? Political expediency? Or simply what the plundering politicians think they can get away with? And, if there arent any objective principles, standards or absolutes any longer which certainly appears to be the case then WHAT, exactly, serves as the limitation on state power? Or are we to now just forget about such limitations?

If so, thats an extremely dangerous slope to be sliding down. For the safety of the public, after all, was the reason given by Chairman Mao for his establishment of communism in Red China (the most complete, progressive, revolutionary and rational system in human history, On New Democracy, 1940) while he exterminated 55 million to 70 million individual human beings in order to bring his utopia about.

And no, Dear Readers, I am NOT saying that Commissioner Heath is a communist or a mass murderer. Rather, my point is that when the safety of the public becomes the justification for the curtailment of our liberties, whats left, philosophically or politically, to prevent the Maos from rising to power?

Maybe, just maybe, as we recklessly mouth such phrases as public safety, we should take a good long look at who it is we find ourselves sitting next to when we do so.

Bradley Harrington is a computer technician and a writer who lives in Cheyenne. Email: bradhgt1776@gmail.com.

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Harrington: Public safety vs. liberty - Wyoming Tribune

Students clamor for books during one of the stops by the Liberty ISD Bookmobile. Students were also served a snow cone to cool them down in the hot sun.

Students clamor for books during one of the stops by the Liberty ISD Bookmobile. Students were also served a snow cone to cool them down in the hot sun.

Tom Connelly, Dusty McGee, Superintendent Dr. Cody Abshier and Robert Dunn (the general manager of BJ Ford) helped donate the money to pay for the cost of the graphics on the whimsical bookmobile.

Tom Connelly, Dusty McGee, Superintendent Dr. Cody Abshier and Robert Dunn (the general manager of BJ Ford) helped donate the money to pay for the cost of the graphics on the whimsical bookmobile.

Liberty ISD bookmobile making stops around the city

Little hands count the grape, watermelon, cherry, strawberry, and lime nozzles, yes, they're all there.

A student, inside the bus, shouts "Did someone check the ice?"

All while several straighten the books on the shelves and make ready for their first stop.

Then the adults board and there's a guy who climbs in the driver's seat, the engine cranks up and the vehicle readies for takeoff.

Making turns and thrusting forward, the vehicle slowly makes its way through the streets of Liberty.

And then, to shrills and screams of ecstasy, everyone onboard catches a glimpse of a group of students who are ready to meet the Liberty ISD Bookmobile as it pulls up and parks.

The students, standing in the parking lot, look up to see the smiling face of their superintendent, Dr. Cody Abshier.

The children climb onboard and make their way through the center aisle, scanning the offering of summer reading adventures that will take them away to a fantasy land as they cozy up alone to peruse the pages.

Abshier can't help but smile as he watches and assists the students with selections.

To complement the books they check out, each student is offered a snow cone of their own choice of flavors. Some want a little of all the sweet-flavored syrups. The icy treat hits the spot, especially in the sun-drenched days of the summer.

Then Abshier puts the bookmobile in drive and all aboard wave goodbye to the students until next week.

In years gone by, it was the superintendent as a little boy standing on the curb watching and waiting for the bookmobile to come around.

"They actually sold the books," he remembered, but the memory was etched permanently into his mind and he couldn't wait to figure out a way to do the same for Liberty children.

While the snow cones and seeing the children during the summer are fun and adventurous for Abshier and his colleagues and helpers, there's more to the trips.

Research and studies show that students who read outside of the classroom do well and advance at a faster rate of comprehension.

"We know that we want our students reading, especially during the summer time," the superintendent said, pointing to research by popular education specialist Jim Trelease.

Trelease addresses the concerns of parents who might tend to think their child would be turned off by requiring them to read a book each week.

"Do you require your child to brush his teeth every day? How about changing his underwear or making his bed? Do you worry that such requirements will eventually lead to your grown son giving up teeth-brushing and underwear changes because you 'required' it in his childhood?" Trelease asks.

He writes about a single parent who required her two sons to obtain library cards and read two books a week. Today one is an engineer and the other is a preeminent pediatric brain surgeon, Dr. Ben Carson (yes, the former candidate for president).

Trelease points out huge advantages over rival students for those students committed to summer reading.

Abshier offers his boyhood experience as a game-changer in his own life.

"It was so amazing because it looked like a virtual library on wheels," he said.

Now, he is replicating that same experience for LISD students.

Four years ago, they embarked on the journey taking an old bus and trying to make it work.

"It was primitive, but the kids still came," he said.

The books came from Scholastic Book Warehouse in Houston where the superintendent spent about $1,000 on books for the bookmobile.

"We would load up the bus with the books and when we got to the area where we were going to see children, we would put these old plastic tables across the seats and line the books so the kids could see them and make their choice," he said.

But it was a lot of work.

"It was labor intensive to put all of the books out and then pack them back up when we would leave or they would go all over the bus while we were driving to the next destination or back to the district," Abshier said.

Then Bill Buchanan of KSHN found out and discovered a real bookmobile truck.

They met at the John Deere location in Liberty and found that Mr. Foster had bought a bookmobile that was designed and built by a company as a real bookmobile. It had been taken out of commission and Foster was going to use it as a food truck. But he had a change of heart when he heard Abshier's story.

"He told me he wanted to do something for the kids of Liberty and he sold it to us for practically nothing," Abshier said.

Abshier recruited his guys at the bus barn to get to work on the air conditioner, fixed the generator and it is now fully functional.

"It has three air conditioners," he said proudly, "and the bookmobile has bookshelves and even a desk for the librarian to sit and check out books to the children.

Thus far, they have traveled to a couple of apartment complexes and a trailer park.

This year, he announced that for the first time, they were going to make return trips to some of the locations on a weekly basis.

To promote the bookmobile coming each week, Abshier said they will be placing signs in front of the neighborhood a day or so before to remind parents and students that they will be traversing their way and to watch for them.

In addition to the thirst for more books by the students, the district is placing over-sized mailboxes and attaching them to a 2 x 4 board in a five-gallon bucket of concrete.

"The kids can use them to return the books and look inside to see if there is one they may want to read," all before the bookmobile returns the next week.

Abshier said he is grateful for the help of Jo Ann Gilliland and Julie Pruett, colleagues on the campus of Liberty Elementary School.

In addition to the staff, Abshier has a group of high school and middle school students who show up an hour before the bookmobile rolls to straighten the books, make sure the syrup is ready and there's ice ready for the snow cones.

"Once we get there to the location, they basically run it," Abshier said proudly.

"We just drive the bus and it's neat that the kids want to run it all," he said.

Abshier says they average between 30-40 kids per stop, or sometimes as few as a half dozen or so.

They attract the students with an external speaker system that blares out the 'ice cream favorites' music to alert the children they are near.

"We'll make three or four real slow loops around the neighborhood to let everyone know, particularly if they're inside, that we're there and have free snow cones and books for them to pick out and read," the superintendent said.

The investment, the superintendent said, is paying off and it's a program he hopes to continue every summer.

Here's the list of locations left for the summer:

Wednesday, July 12, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, July 13, 2017 --- Lemelle's Sausage Company [Ames] - (12:30 p.m.)

Thursday, July 13, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (10 a.m.) --- Regular Summer School

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (1 p.m.) --- Bilingual Summer School

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, July 20, 2017 --- Liberty City Park (12:30 p.m.)

Thursday, July 20, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (10 a.m.) --- Regular Summer School

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (1 p.m.) --- Bilingual Summer School

Wednesday, July 26, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, July 27, 2017 --- Liberty Municipal Library (11 a.m.)

Thursday, July 27, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 --- Mother of Mercy Catholic Church [Ames]-(12 p.m.)

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 --- New Work Family Worship Center (11:30 a.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

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Liberty ISD bookmobile making stops around the city - Houston ... - Chron.com

BERNARDS TWP., NJ - Cyclist Greg Cordasco,Basking Ridge resident and owner ofLiberty Cycle bicycle shop in Basking Ridge, recently won agold medaland a National Cycling Title at the Master's National Track Cycling Championship at the Giordana Velodrome in Rock Hill, S.C.,

Cordascowon thegold medal in the the 2-kilometer individual pursuit on June 29.The event is a race against the clock, and Cordascosaid he bested his closest competition in his age group (55-59) by twoseconds.

Cordasco is a state, regional and, now, a National Champion, with more than25 race wins in his competitive cycling career.

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"I've been chasing a National title for many years, and it finally all came together on the day of the event," Cordasco said.

Cordascosaid he was motivated by a little family rivalry.Greg Cordasco's son, Gregory, now 16, has been a cycling National Champion since 2013.

"He reminds me of his title from time to time," Cordasco says. "Well, dad has one now, and I'll have the Stars and Stripes on my uniform for life, too. Like son, like father," he observed.

Through Liberty Cycle, Cordascohas been part of the Basking Ridge community as well as local and larger-scale cycling scene for the past 27 years, and he plans to remain so.

Cordascosaid hewants to help all walks of life enjoy cycling, from a child's first bike to a racing aficionado's high-end racing machine accompanied by coaching and mentoring. Liberty Cycle, at 107 N. Maple Ave., has a registered USA cycling team. The shop also has been involved in itscollectionand repair ofused bikes for children who need bicycles.

"Balancing family, business and running one of the largest, most diverse, and active clubs in the country and doing the necessary training is a real challenge, but with a lot of help from friends and family I was able to reach my goal this year," Cordasco said.

Cordasco said he will continue to run rides from the Liberty Cycle shop, run his Junior Cycling program, promote top-notch cycling events like the Olde Mill Inn Tour of Basking Ridge and the State Bicycle Championships, and compete in area racing. In 2018, Cordasco said hewill be also berunning his 19th cycling trip to Italy.

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Liberty Cycle Bike Shop Owner Wins National Championship - TAPinto.net

Miami Herald

The lights are finally on at Liberty City basketball courts Miami Herald At long last, the lights illuminating the basketball courts at Charles Drew K-8 Center in Liberty City have been repaired and kids are playing summertime hoops. It was a slow, frustrating process, but the lights are working, the kids are having fun ...

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The lights are finally on at Liberty City basketball courts - Miami Herald

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia came to be a symbol of the nation's newfound freedom.

On this day in 1776, a 2,000-pound copper-and-tin bell that came to be known as the Liberty Bell was said to have rang out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, calling people to the first public reading by Col. John Nixon of the newly minted Declaration of Independence.

The document had been adopted by the Second Continental Congress four days earlier, but the bell ringing was allegedly deferred until the declaration returned from the printer.

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The steeple was in poor shape at the time. Many historians doubt that the bell rang in that setting. Nevertheless, within a few decades, its association with the Declaration of Independence became fixed in the nations folklore. It remains so today.

The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly had ordered the bell built in 1751 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pennsylvanias Constitution. After being cracked during a test and recast twice, the bell was hung from the Statehouse steeple in 1753.

Rung to proclaim meetings of the Pennsylvania Assembly and to rally people for singular events and special occasions, such as King George IIIs 1761 ascension to the British throne and, in 1765, for them to denounce the British Parliaments passage of the Stamp Act. It also rang in 1775 to announce the battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening skirmishes of the Revolutionary War.

As British troops advanced toward Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, the bell was hidden in Allentown to save it from being melted down by the British and used to forge cannons. After the British defeat in 1781, the bell was returned to Philadelphia, which served as the nations capital from 1790 to 1800. The bell was tolled annually to celebrate George Washingtons birthday on Feb. 22 and Independence Day on July 4. The name Liberty Bell was coined in an 1839 poem in an abolitionist pamphlet.

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The bell acquired its distinctive large current crack sometime in the early 19th century possibly when it was rung to mark the death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. It acquired further fame after an 1847 story alleged that an aged bell ringer rang it on July 4, 1776, upon hearing of the congressional vote for independence. That tale became widely accepted as being factual, even by some contemporary historians.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, many Americans sought ways to venerate symbols of unity. The U.S. flag became one such symbol; the Liberty Bell became another. To help heal the wounds of the war, the Liberty Bell traveled across the country, being welcomed by huge crowds.

In preparation for Americas bicentennial celebration in 1976, the Liberty Bell was moved to a newly built pavilion about 100 yards from Independence Hall. It was relocated on the same block in 2003. The bell remains there today, viewed by upward of a million visitors annually.

SOURCE: http://WWW.USHISTORY.ORG/TOUR/LIBERTY-BELL.HTM

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Liberty Bell rings out in Philadelphia, July 8, 1776 - POLITICO - Politico

With Silverstone poised to announce next week that it will activate a break clause to terminate its British GP deal beyond 2019 so it can renegotiate terms, the fate of the event has been thrown into doubt.

One of the key issues that has threatened its future is a heavy escalator in its F1 rights fee which will make it impossible to break even in the future.

While there has been talk of the British GP finding a new home potentially with a street race in London the financial reality is that a reduced rights fee for Silverstone over the long-term would help pave a better way forward.

But Brown, who is executive director of McLaren and recently met with Liberty to discuss the future of F1, thinks perhaps the best way forward would be for F1's new owners to take over Silverstone from the British Racing Drivers' Club.

"My view is Liberty should buy Silverstone," said Brown. "Much like the NFL which is a pretty successful sport - they own their own Super Bowl which moves around.

"I think Silverstone is a great track. I sympathise if, with the escalator, it cannot make money, so we need to figure out a way for them to make money. So we either create new revenue streams or re-cut the deal."

Brown thinks that a way to make Silverstone more financially attractive would be for it to become an F1 hub, featuring museums, more testing and other attractions for fans.

"You could do an F1 Hall of Fame, you could do racing schools, and eSports.," added Brown. "If you owned the property yourself there is a lot of incremental activities.

"Testing too. Maybe instead of it all being in Barcelona for eight days, you could do it at Silverstone and really open it up to the fans. Personally I think it would be a great acquisition."

Brown said he had voiced his opinion to Liberty's chiefs, and suggested that it had not been rejected.

"I have voiced my views on that," he said. "They listen. They will be quick to tell you if they disagree, and they didn't disagree with the logic.

"But I wouldn't want to put words in their mouth that they are going out to buy it. The nice thing about Liberty is that you can just share your views, take them on board, see them register and they have a lot of stuff going on. It is easy for me to say just go buy it."

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Liberty should buy Silverstone to secure future, says Brown - Motorsport.com, Edition: Global

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Contractor to reduce time Liberty Bridge is restricted to motorists ... Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has reached an agreement with the contractor responsible for the Liberty Bridge fire that will offset monetary ... Prepare yourself for more Liberty Bridge and tunnel closures next ...Tribune-Review Liberty Bridge closures scheduled | Washington County News ...Observer-Reporter PennDOT waives $3 million fine for Liberty Bridge fireWTAE Pittsburgh all 6 news articles »

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Contractor to reduce time Liberty Bridge is restricted to motorists ... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Stubbs live music venue and barbecue restaurants are changing their name to settlea trademark lawsuit that dragged on for nearly two years but their ownerhasnt said just yet what that new name will be.

Documents filed with the Texas Secretary of States office, though, indicate it will be a name near and dear to longtime Austinites.

In a filing made Friday,one day after the settlement was announced, Stubbs Austin Restaurant Co. applied to reserve theLiberty Lunchname.

Liberty Lunch was a legendary live music venueat 405 W. Second St. in downtown Austin that shut down in 1999 and was later demolished to make way for redevelopment. The site is now part of the Second Street District, a mixed-use project featuring shops, restaurants, offices and apartments.

Social media lit up Thursday with speculation that the Liberty Lunch name would be used, but an attorney for the restaurants wouldnt confirm those rumors when contacted by the American-Statesman.

In addition to the original Austin Stubbs location on Red River Street, there are smaller Stubbs outposts at Mean Eyed Cat, Graceland Grocery and Lalas Little Nugget. All four locations will change their name, although Stubbs Austin Restaurant Co. hasnt indicated when that change will occur.

While the name will change, it will still be the same owner/operator, same live music, same cold beer and great food for years and years to come, the company said in a statement Thursday.

The Stubbs name will be retained by the line of marinades, sauces and rubs sold by One World Foods, which wasacquired by Maryland-based McCormick and Co. in 2015 for $100 million.

One World said Thursday it was pondering opening its own Stubbs-branded restaurants.

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Is Stubb's changing its name to Liberty Lunch? Documents say 'yes' - Austin American-Statesman

Sara Barr, BYU

Brett Scharffs, director of BYU's International Center for Law and Religion Studies, speaks at the university's Religious Freedom Annual Review on Thursday, July 6, 2017.

PROVO More faiths were represented at BYU's Religious Freedom Annual Review this week than in the conference's previous three years, but on Friday that diversity revealed the complexity of issues religious people believe they face.

While presenters on one panel all praised increased interdenominational unity of purpose in defense of religious expression, clear differences emerged about how to move forward.

Several championed an effort to forge a federal version of the Utah Compromise, a 2015 law based on the idea of a "fairness for all" approach, which passed with the direct backing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The law protected LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing and hiring while also providing renewed safeguards for people of faith to exercise their religious beliefs.

Others said the compromise went too far.

"There is a real split in religious communities now about how best to advance religious freedoms," said Elizabeth Clark, associate director of the BYU law school's International Center for Law and Religion Studies, the conference sponsor.

For example, John Jackson said he has at times tearfully apologized to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in regular meetings with Equality California for the way some have been treated in the name of Christ. But the president of William Jessup University, an evangelical Christian college, said he can't be party to a federal version of the Utah Compromise.

"I remain very dubious," he said, because a national compromise would enshrine civil liberty protections for LGBTQ people. He predicted his comments would be the fireworks between the Fourth of July and Utah's Pioneer Day on July 24.

"I'm unwilling and unable to support any legislation that normalizes gender fluidity or gender inconsequentiality or that normalizes same-sex sexual behavior," he said. "Please know that I am unequivocally for civil protections for all persons in our constitutional republic regardless of status or standing. Simultaneously, I'm biblically, theologically, parentally and pastorally unable and unwilling to affirm any view of gender which suggests that maleness or femaleness are arbitrary, self-selected, fluid or inconsequential."

During a question-and-answer session, Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, expressed worry about attempts to preserve religious institutions by compromising on "basic human anthropology." He said surrendering the belief that man-woman marriage is the foundation of society "goes too far" and is incorrect from a Catholic point of view.

Both men drew some applause. While the conference organizers back the fairness for all approach, they welcomed the diversity of opinion.

"We don't come together expecting to agree with everything we say," said Brett Scharffs, director of BYU's International Center for Law and Religion Studies.

Other than drawing those clear lines, Jackson and Reilly built bridges.

Reilly outlined what he called serious threats to religious higher education. Those challenges extend to health plans, accreditation, academic associations and athletic leagues. He said Catholic schools face an increasing number of lawsuits from students and faculty who wish to force them to give up their Christian missions. He expected a trickle to turn into a downpour in the near future and offered a solution.

"Legal experts repeatedly ensure us," he said, "that when religious institutions comply with internal policies that are clearly presented and rooted strongly in their religious belief, First Amendment protections are likely to prevail."

Alarmingly, he said, many schools have vague, inconsistent polices and practices.

"Unpreparedness leads to fear," he said, backing religious educators into corners from which they mount weak defenses or compromise their religious identity.

Without different legal and public relations tactics, "we're going to lose," said Shapri LoMaglio, vice president for government relations and executive programs at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

She argued for freeing religious liberty from the culture wars and doing away with dramatic speech, outraged postures and circular logic.

LoMaglio backed the federal version of a Utah Compromise/Fairness for All. She said it polls well because it speaks to values held by both conservatives and liberals.

"We hope it will be an effective mechanism nationally," she said.

Steven M. Sandberg, BYU's deputy general counsel, advised conferencegoers that they can make a long-term difference with courage, hard work and connecting one-on-one with others, saying the best protection is friends who defend believers because they know them.

He told the story of a Christian psychologist whose relationships on a national psychology accreditation board averted a negative change in accreditation standards for religious schools.

Clark, the center's associate director, said the conference's presenters also included a Unitarian pastor and a woman who is an elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

"We can learn so much from each other," she said.

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At BYU conference, differences emerge on protection for religious ... - Deseret News

Turnovers and rebounding bite the Storm in a 79-70 loss to New York, which opened a five-game homestand.

In the third quarter, Sami Whitcomb seemed to become the spark the Seattle Storm needed.

Whitcomb, who was scoreless to that point, scored eight points in the quarter. She brought the Storm within two of the New York Liberty, but that was the closest Seattle would come in the second half.

After spending nearly the entire first half ahead of the Liberty, the Storm lost 79-70 to New York on Thursday night at KeyArena, the beginning of a five-game homestand.

I thought we were definitely going to break through, Whitcomb said. I felt like defensively we were getting stops. We were rebounding, and we were flowing again.

Whitcombs energy stood out in that quarter, Storm coach Jenny Boucek said, but it shouldnt have, not if everyone had been playing how Boucek had hoped.

Prior to the game, Boucek said she thought her team had turned a corner, and Thursdays matchup would be a quick way to find out. Now, the Storm has won just three of its last 11 games.

Breanna Stewart earned a double-double, and she had 20 points against the Liberty to follow her season-high 30 in the Storms 20-point win over the Dallas Wings on Saturday.

Youre starting to see Stewies versatility really come out, said Seattles Sue Bird, who scored only two points. More than anything youre starting to see her be a little more aggressive.

The Liberty shot 29 free throws, making 22. And that stop-and-go nature of play ultimately hurt the Storm.

A slower pace definitely favored them, Boucek said. All the free throws turned it into a game that definitely was their style.

New Yorks Tina Charles is third in the WNBA in points, averaging 20.3 a game. In Seattle, she recorded 29, her second-best total of the season.

The Storm hit 37.5 percent from the field, and five Seattle players Stewart, Whitcomb, Crystal Langhorne, Alysha Clark and Jewell Loyd had at least 10 points. But the Storm also had 14 turnovers that resulted in 18 points.

In the win against Dallas, Bird said, the team was playing at the fast tempo it wants. But on Thursday, there were only glimpses of that pace. After the Liberty took the lead toward the end of the first half, Bird said, It felt like they had control ever since.

You want to try to impose your will, your style on another team, but the challenges that present with each team that you play against are different, Bird said. With the whistles being blown as well as them getting offensive rebounds and that kind of thing, we just werent able to get going.

New York (8-7) leads the league in rebounding, averaging 37.6 per game, and the team didnt have any trouble against the Storm, finishing with 43 rebounds. The Storm notched 36 rebounds, led by Stewarts 14.

Thursdays game was the third and final time the Storm will play the Liberty in the regular season. This years previous two games between the Storm and the Liberty were decided by eight points or fewer, with with the teams splitting the pair.

The Storm will continue its homestand on Saturday against the L.A. Sparks, a team Seattle lost to earlier this season.

Its a quick turnaround, Stewart said. You cant dwell on anything in this league.

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Storm's homestand begins in rough fashion as Liberty pulls away in second half - The Seattle Times

The town of Liberty underwent the largest percentage increase of new construction throughout Vernon County.

The 5.5 percent increase, measured between 2015 and 2016, was largely due to residential construction, said Martin Chapin, Libertys property assessor. The assessments are reported by the Department of Revenue and are used to determine appropriate tax rates.

Chapin said several homes were built during that time frame, adding to Libertys more than $1.6 million in new construction from 2015 to 2016. The towns overall property value was assessed at more than $29.4 million for 2015.

We have a couple areas where there are some new homes going in there, Chapin said, adding that more people are settling down year-round in Liberty, which tends to add property value as compared to seasonal residents.

Mostly it used to be summer cabins that were lower value.

Town Supervisor Adrian Amelse said he used to be a part-time resident but became a permanent resident several years ago.

Liberty is growing its residential numbers, Chapin said, in part because the municipalitys school districts Viroqua and Kickapoo are strong educational establishments, and that the townships Board of Supervisors works to keep the budgets tax rate low.

Access to employment, Chapin said, might also play into Libertys residential growth.

Its a short commute to Viroqua or to any other place, Chapin said.

Each year, individual properties in towns are assessed by real-estate professionals like Chapin to determine the towns new net construction value, which is then incorporated into an overall property-tax assessment for the county. These tax values are affected by new construction projects and by demolitions.

Viroqua came below the average of Vernons 33 municipalities with 0.75 percent increase.

The countys average was 1.38 percent growth.

Not all Vernon Countys 33 municipalities grew their overall value three municipalities lost some value and Chaseburg saw the biggest dip at -0.18 percent.

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Vernon County sees positive growth for construction: Town of Liberty sees biggest change (copy) - La Crosse Tribune

1. Liberty finished 10-0 in the EPC Steel Division and 15-1 overall in EPC play to earn the top seed for the league tournament. It went 18-1 during one stretch after dropping its regular-season opener to Wilson-West Lawn.

2. The Hurricanes ended the season 25-4 overall. No other area team won more than 18 games.

3. Liberty rebounded from losing to Parkland in the EPC final to win the District 11 Class 6A crown. The Hurricanes beat three EPC tournament qualifiers Nazareth, Emmaus and Parkland to win their first District 11 title since a 4A championship in 2007.

4. The Hurricanes were the only Lehigh Valley team to average six-plus runs per game and allow fewer than three runs per game.

5. Liberty reached the PIAA Class 6A semifinals, marking their deepest state-tournament run since 2002.

Past Team of the Year Awards

Year, School

2016, Bangor and Easton

2015, Parkland

2014, Parkland and Notre Dame-GP

2013, Salisbury

2012, Nazareth

2011, Salisbury

2010, Pleasant Valley

2009, Parkland

2008, Whitehall

2007, Bethlehem Catholic

2006, Nazareth

2005, Emmaus

2004, Whitehall

2003, Tamauqua

2002, Liberty

2001, Bethlehem Catholic

2000, Emmaus

1999, Emmaus

1998, Northampton

1997, Catasauqua

1996, Bethlehem Catholic

1995, Northampton

1994, Northampton

1993, Easton

1992, Jim Thorpe

1991, Liberty

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Morning Call all-area baseball: Liberty is team of the year - The ... - Allentown Morning Call