In the spring of 2007, city of Dalton and Whitfield County officials met to discuss the possibility of a TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) program dedicated to improving the transportation infrastructure of the city and county. Working together, city and county transportation and administrative officials put together a project list which had more than 50 specific road and bridge improvement projects. Later that year, voters approved the TSPLOST.

One of the city's top three TSPLOST projects was the widening and extension of Fields Avenue from Underwood Street south to East Morris Street. This project had three main objectives.

Traffic congestion relief: This project gives an alternate north-south route to Glenwood Avenue, which is heavily congested during certain times of the workday. This project provides the last leg of a three-lane roadway beginning at East Morris Street and extending north to Cleveland Highway. A new traffic signal at MLK Jr. Boulevard and Fields Avenue provides a much safer intersection.

Quality of life: This project improves the quality of life for this area by providing sidewalks on both sides of the street. Since schoolchildren who attend either Blue Ridge Elementary or Roan Street Elementary who live within 1/2 mile of either school are not provided bus service, sidewalks will make their walk to and from school each day much safer. Biking and walking is also safer for everyone.

Economic development: The East Morris Street corridor is one of the fasting growing areas for startups of small businesses in the city. This new street provides greater connectivity for those businesses and customers.

Project facts

Project length was 3,650 feet (one-third of that was new location construction from Nelson Street to East Morris Street).

Construction contract: Just under $5.1 million and was completed by Northwest Georgia Paving Inc. of Calhoun.

Project involved widening Fields Avenue from two to three lanes from Underwood Street to Nelson Street and constructing three new lanes from Nelson Street to East Morris Street.

Two new traffic signals were constructed:

1. At East Morris Street and Fields Avenue/5th Avenue.

2. At Fields Avenue/MLK Jr. Boulevard (corrected an offset problem that traditionally had a high number of crashes).

MLK Jr. Boulevard was also widened to five lanes to accommodate left-turn lanes at Fields Avenue.

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Ribbon cutting held for Fields Avenue extension - The Daily Citizen

APPOMATTOX Housewife, Lucifer, lucet circa 1865, each had special wartime meaning, and not necessarily what people expect in modern English.

The first term didnt denote a married homemaker; it meant a bundled cloth lined with buttons and sewing needles. The second did involve a fiery devilish figure, but in this sense, merely a match ready to strike.

And lucet? A handy tool dating to the Vikings that crafters in the mid-1800s still used to spin yarns into cord, a staple of the era.

All these now-outmoded items and a few others, viewed as key components of a soldiers haversack, are part of an often under-appreciated side of the Civil War: the civilian-driven supply chain.

In Appomattox, the birthplace of peace among the states, historical re-enactors in recent days showed visitors how many of these tools and supplies are used and made, hewing as close to the 1860s as possible a century and a half later.

It was all part of the yearly activities of the Pallas Athena Ladies Aid Society, a group devoted to serving Civil War soldier re-enactors through the parallel efforts carried on by civilians.

Volunteers, mainly from the mid-Atlantic and Florida, take part in battle re-enactments and living history presentations to keep detailed knowledge of the Civil War alive over the years.

Its an independent and neutral group composed of people of all age groups who distribute free comfort supplies to the acting soldiers. In the past week, the Civil War Museum on Horseshoe Road served as the venue for the supply chain re-enactment.

We love to do it. We are history nuts to begin with, Helga Torbert, who trekked from Tallahassee, Florida, to take part, said during Sundays event. To me the civilian activities are easy because I sew, I knit and do other sorts of needlework, so its a natural extension.

Accompanying her from the societys Florida group was Karen Kugell, who worked on rolling up housewives on the cabin porch outside the museum.

Around Kugell were various trappings from the Civil War era: bandages, handkerchiefs, candles, copies of the Soldiers Prayer Book. All of these would be sent alongside their gear to help soldiers make it through the harsh travails of war.

Ive been involved in historical re-enacting for many years more than 20, said Kugell, who was there for her second year.

She pointed out as a general rule, the societys re-enactors make their own clothes along with the soldiers supplies.

Its a love of history that keeps her coming back, Kugell said. Its enjoyable to present how people lived during the period of the Civil War, she added.

In the cabin, re-enactor Tim Dvorak, of Ruckersville, showed a skilled hand using the wooden lucet to turn string into tightly wound cords.

A good supply of cord played an essential part of comfort and survival in the woods and fields of wartime, he explained.

Usually Dvorak works on colonial-era re-enactments, so hes new to the Civil War unit.

I am in the future this weekend, he quipped.

Dvorak said he recalls a historian as saying living history is a societys collective heritage, and Dvorak believes events like the re-enactment preserve that.

My focus has been on the skills and crafts, he said.

Cord-making was a common activity of the 1860s, Dvorak said; so was making sashes and belts, as well as woodworking.

These are very basic skills then that most people have never heard of, he said.

Some crafters could even build chests without using nails, which are taken for granted today.

It goes back to an era when nails were too expensive and hard to come by, Dvorak noted. You have shortages and supply disruption, the blockade.

The same went for the things people wore, he said: You made your clothes last because you just couldnt replace them.

Along with interpreted supply displays, the Pallas Athena Ladies Aid Society provides soldier food and field cookery. Re-enactors offer history for children, a field hospital, textiles and dyeing, herbal medications for military pharmacies, a wagon train for refugees, and more.

The society has more events on tap in Virginia, including in October, re-enacting the Battle of Cedar Creek in Middletown.

Originally posted here:

In Appomattox, civilian side of the Civil War comes to life - Lynchburg News and Advance

Bob Wojnowski, John Niyo and Justin Rogers look at the Lions as they head into NFL training camp this weekend in Allen Park. Detroit News

Lions head coach Jim Caldwell enters the fourth and final year of a contract he signed in 2014 this season.(Photo: Daniel Mears, Detroit News)

Allen Park Jim Caldwell has led the Detroit Lions to the playoffs twice in three years, a significant accomplishment for the franchise, but that has yet to earn him a contract extension.

The coach enters training camp working on the fourth and final year of the contract he signed in 2014, and he continues to express no concern about his future with the team.

Im not worried about that, Caldwell said. As a matter of fact, those years dont matter, this year coming up is what matters.

Caldwell has been fielding questions about his contract since last season, but its not a topic that ever comes up at home.

Yeah, Im focused in on football, but I will tell you this, not any point in my life do I remember my wife asking me about my contract, Caldwell said. If you have a 15-year contract, it doesnt mean youre not going to be fired tomorrow. Youve always got to perform. Ive never worried about those things. I couldnt care less, to be honest with you. Im more focused on getting the team ready. Thats my job, thats my charge and thats what were going to do.

The Lions hired Caldwell in 2014 to replace Jim Schwartz. Caldwell led the team to an 11-5 mark that first season, only to see the team struggle the following year, dropping the first five games and seven of the first eight. That led to a coaching staff shakeup, with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn being fired midseason.

The team also fired general manager Martin Mayhew that year, hiring New England Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn as his replacement.

After a series of meetings, Quinn opted to retain Caldwell as coach, and by all accounts, the two have forged a strong working relationship.

The Lions went 9-7 last season, earning another postseason berth. In three years, Caldwell has compiled a 27-21 regular-season mark, but has failed to advance the team beyond the opening round of the playoffs.

jdrogers@detnews.com

Twitter: @justin_rogers

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Caldwell: 'Not worried' about lack of contract extension - The Detroit News

Learning life skills for life Youth ages 915 need skills to learn, play, get along and be creative. Life skills are important at this age.

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Beverly Przystas, Michigan State University Extension

Children ages 915 need to learn life skills to become successful adults. Some life skills are practical skills needed to grow and learn. Other life skills help develop social and emotional skills. All are needed as youth grow into young adults. The following tips and hints will help you teach life skills to youth at this age.

In the book 101 More Life Skills Games, author Bernie Badegruber describes activities designed to bring awareness to not only life skills, but also life values. The focus is developing foundation skills on getting along with others, as well as to be more aware of ones own self.

Below are a few ideas to use in developing life skills for children ages 915.

Mood Meter. Players sit in large circle and the leader shares what moods are and how we can handle them. At the beep, all players either stand up tall, stay sitting in their chairs, stand on their chairs or sit on the floor, depending on how high their mood is. Kids can guess each others moods. The leader can ask reflection questions regarding their mood choices. This game touches on getting acquainted, expressing moods, feelings and talking.

Cooperation games such as Birthday Present gets kids to learn to cooperate, become integrated into the group and strengthen relational ships. Colored pencils, markers and paper are needed. First ask if it is anyones birthday. In groups of four, the players have half an hour to think about a gift for the person whose special day it is. The birthday child gets to go spend some quiet time while the groups of children work on a present such as a poem, group drawing, speech, birthday song, or read a story. When everyone has shared their gift, reflect on how the child felt.

Other activities in 101 More Life Skills Games cover simulation games, social role play games and we, you and I games.

For more articles on child development, academic success, parenting and life skill development, please visit the Michigan State University Extension website.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Learning life skills for life - Michigan State University Extension

TransCanada Corp. said it still expects commercial support for its controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, tamping down speculation that it was having trouble finding customers for thelong-delayed line.

Keystone XL, which was rejected by the Obama administration before being revived by President Donald Trump this year,would boost TransCanadas dividend growth, the company said in a statement Friday. Media reports in recent weeks said that the company was having trouble signing up customers for the pipeline, conceived to help move crude from Albertas oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

TransCanada said earlier this year that it was working to sign new shippers following years of delays. Given the time it took to gain federal approval, TransCanada said it expected some shippers to reduce their volume commitments and that other new customers would be introduced. The company said on Thursday that its soliciting additional commitments to ship oil on Keystone XL.

Weve had good support from our legacy shippers, which gives us a good base to launch this open season, Paul Miller, TransCanadas president of liquids pipelines, said on a conference call.

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The open season closes on Sept. 28, with the results of the process expected to be finalized in late November, Miller said. The company should also receive its regulatory decisions from Nebraska around that time and will weigh both of those factors in determining whether to proceed with the line, he said. If TransCanada decides to move ahead on Keystone XL, it would need six to nine months to prepare for construction and about two years to build it, he said.

The shares were up 0.2 percent at C$63.66 as of 1:44 p.m. in Toronto. Calgary-based TransCanada gained 5 percent this year through Thursday.

Success in advancing Keystone XL or other growth initiatives such as the Bruce Power life extension may augment or extend the companys dividend growth outlook, Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling said in the statement. The company plans to increase its annual dividend at the upper end of an 8 percent to 10 percent range through 2020.

Keystone won votes of confidence from the chief executive officers of Canadian oil producers Cenovus Energy Inc. and Suncor Energy Inc. this week. The CEOs both said they support Keystone and that the Canadian energy industry needs more pipeline capacity. Suncor confirmed that it plans to ship its products on Keystone.

Albertas oil producers have long warned that a lack of pipeline space was hurting their prospects. That pipeline pinch may start to hit the industry later this year as Suncors massive Fort Hills oil-sands project starts to produce oil and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. completes another phase of expansion at its Horizon mine.

Looking beyond Keystone, TransCanada is spending C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) to expand its natural gas pipeline network in Western Canada. The upgrades to the Nova Gas system will include 171 miles (275 kilometers) of new pipeline, additional compression and new metering stations.

The company said on Friday that it was applying to the National Energy Board to expand capacity on its Canadian Mainline, which carries natural gas from producers in Alberta to markets in the nations east. The company would spend about C$160 million on the project, which is underpinned by 15-year contracts.

TransCanadas second-quarter profit was 76 Canadian cents a share, excluding some items. Theaverage estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 68 cents.

Excerpt from:

TransCanada Confident It Will Find Customers for Keystone XL - Bloomberg

Reprinted with the kind permission of Life Extension.

July 21 2017.A study reported on July 18, 2017 in the journalPLOS ONEfound positive effects for supplementation with whey protein in combination with calcium, creatine, omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D in the muscles of older men. The gradual loss of muscle that occurs with aging known assarcopeniais associated with frailty, falls and disability in late life. "Older people who do little to prevent the progression of sarcopenia drift toward a state where they find activities of daily living, like rising from a chair or ascending stairs very difficult or maybe impossible," observed lead researcher Stuart Phillips, who is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University.

The study included 49 men aged 70 years and older who received the whey-based supplement combo or a placebo for six weeks. At the end of the six-week period, the participants continued their regimens while engaging in a resistance and high-intensity interval training program for 12 weeks. "We chose that combination of exercises to get a maximal benefit in terms of fitness and muscle strength" explained coauthor Gianni Parise.

At the end of the first six weeks, those who received whey experienced an increase in lean body mass as well as strength. While both groups experienced gains in strength during the second phase of the study, those who received the whey-based supplement combination had greater upper body strength than the control group.

"The results were more impressive than we expected," reported first author Kirsten Bell. "Clearly, exercise is a key part of the greatly improved health profile of our subjects, but we are very excited by the enhancements the supplement alone and in combination with exercise was able to give to our participants."

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Whey protein supplementation could help maintain muscle during aging - ProHealth

University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Valley Community College announced the opening of a new chapter in its expanding soil and crop research partnership with the development of a stand-alone research plot at IVCC just south of the Oglesby campus.

The eight-acre plot has been planted with soybeans and is being used to conduct a replicated soybean population study. The study has three planting populations: 100,000, 140,000 and 180,000 plants per acre.

Extension staff Russ Higgins and Daryle Wragge will record data. Higgins is an Extension educator with a commercial agriculture emphasis while Wragge is a coordinator of ag and natural resources programs.

Test plot data will be obtained from the yield monitor on the combine during fall harvesting. Research is being conducted in close cooperation with Chris Kolodziej, who has contracted with IVCC to farm its land. The Extension will offer a late season scouting workshop at the site Tuesday, Aug. 15.

This is an exciting step in the quickly developing partnership between IVCC and the University of Illinois Extension/College of ACES," said IVCC President Jerry Corcoran. "We are pleased to be working with one of the worlds premier colleges of agriculture.

I also want to express our appreciation for the essential cooperation of Chris Kolodziej. Having Chris handle the IVCC farming operation is a major plus for the college, Corcoran added.

The enhanced research program is the latest chapter in the IVCC-Extension partnership. IVCCs effort to build a new agriculture program was aided greatly by the partnership, according to a press release from the college.

The relationship began three years ago with Extension moving its four-county main office to IVCC. The counties are Bureau, La Salle, Marshall and Putnam.

The Extensions significant resources and vast network of clients played a major role in helping us plan and carry out the successful ag program launch, Corcoran said.

Extension County Director Jill Guynn, said, "The Extension provides both direct, research-based educational programming and also works in cooperation with local partners to address needs that improve the quality of life for area residents.

It has been a pleasure to work with IVCC to develop the new agriculture program and to enhance local resources and services for residents and the ag industry. Through this partnership, we will bring more programs from the College of ACES and create opportunities for more youth and adults.

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IVCC and Extension partner on ag research plot - MyWebTimes.com

WASHINGTON As the Coast Guard continues to push for funding to modernize an aging fleet and handle a lack of personnel, a government watchdog agency is calling attention to the services serious need for strategic planning.

The Coast Guard has been producing five-year capital investment plans, or CIP, for Congress since 2012, but the GAO found that these reports are not accurate at a time when forward-looking strategy is vital.

The CIP does not prioritize future acquisitions, resulting in projections that are much larger than requested or received funding, the GAO said.

Senior Coast Guard officials have said the service needs $2 billion for acquisitions while in the White House budget, the service requested $1.1 billion for fiscal year 2017 and $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2018, according to the GAO.

To address this, the service has reduced its capabilities and pushed acquisitions to the future without measuring the negative effects or a realistic, prioritized plan for the future.

Since 2014, the GAO has recommended that the Coast Guard develop a 20-year plan to identify all necessary acquisitions and the funding needed for fielding them. The Department of Homeland Security agreed with the advice but has not produced the plan or said when it will be available.

This GAO recommendation comes after a dramatic response to a presidential budget proposal that slashed the Coast Guards budget by $1 billion. The reaction from advocates and lawmakers spurred U.S. President Donald Trumps budget chief to go back to the drawing board and throw out the cut.

The Coast Guardsonly active heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, is nearing the end of its expected service life and the service plans to implement a limited service life extension estimated to cost $75 million.

However, there are concerns that even with the extended service life of the Polar Star, the funding for the acquisition would coincide with 2019 funding requests for the acquisition of an offshore patrol cutter, a massive acquisition that would occupy up to two-thirds of the budget. According to GAO, the Coast Guard has not said how it will prioritize these acquisitions.

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GAO: Coast Guard lacks vital strategy for funding, acquisitions - DefenseNews.com

The Coast Guard needs to present a 20-year fleet modernization plan that identifies what it intends to buy and what they project the costs to be, particularly in light of current plans to buy heavy icebreakers and offshore patrol cutters at about the same time, the Government Accountability Office reported Tuesday.

While not issuing new recommendations on how to proceed, GAO repeated findings of a 2014 study calling for the same approach. Then, the study was looking at projected costs for command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for fleet modernization of vessels and aircraft. The Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard accepted the recommendations.

This study, while not offering new recommendations, deals specifically with the potential risk of going ahead with the replacement for Polar Star and buying, building and launching of the Offshore Patrol Cutter, a program projected to cost $12.1 billion through 2032.

A Coast Guard spokesperson referred USNI News to its response in the GAO report when contacted.

In its latest study, GAO acknowledged the Coast Guard has been submitting a five-year Capital Investment Plan annually to Congress, but these submissions do not match budget realities in that tradeoffs are not included. It added that in the 20-year plan all acquisitions needed to maintain current service levels and the fiscal resources to build the identified assets as well as tradeoffs in light of funding restraints need to be identified.

On replacing USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) , the services only heavy icebreaker, GAO reported the Coast Guard has not completed an official cost estimate of a limited service life extension program to keep it operational until a replacement is in the fleet.

Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant, has ruled out trying to bring back Polar Sea to duty. In an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank in May, he said the Coast Guards long-range thinking calls for six icebreakers three heavy and three medium.

Consequently, the Coast Guard expedited its acquisition of new heavy icebreakers with delivery of the first polar icebreaker scheduled in 2023.

GAO identified the risk as potentially coming from the accelerated schedules need to have the required acquisition documents ready to award the contract for the heavy icebreaker in 2019 and fully funded in that year. The preliminary cost estimate is $1.15 billion.

The Coast Guard has not articulated how it will prioritize its acquisition needs given its Offshore Patrol Cutter is expected to absorb half to two-thirds of its annual acquisition funding requests based on recent funding history starting in 2018, GAO said in its study.

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GAO: Coast Guard Needs to Present More Details on Icebreaker, Offshore Patrol Cutter Acquisition - USNI News

Oshkosh, WI Wednesday, July 26, 2017 - ONE Aviation announced today, at EAA AirVenture 2017, FAA approval of an unrestricted increase in the structural life limit of the Eclipse 550 and the Eclipse 500 in the extended tip tank configuration to 20,000 flight hours or 20,000 cycles, whichever occurs first. Previously the life limit had been 10,000 cycles, 10,000 hours, or 10 years, without enrollment in a life extension maintenance and inspection program. Completion of long term fatigue and damage tolerance testing of the aircraft structure and materials resulted in this change.

When maintained in accordance with the Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM), the completion of the full-scale aircraft level testing, and the large scale material coupon testing, demonstrated the aircraft structure has fatigue and damage tolerance life, in excess of 20,000 cycles.

The increase in the life limit is automatic to existing and future Eclipse Jet owners, with no additional action necessary beyond continuing to perform the AMM required structural inspections.

The FAA approved changes to the aircraft life limits greatly simplifies the ability of Eclipse Jet owners and operators to benefit from the extensive investment made by ONE Aviation in structural life testing, said Brent Christner, Senior Director of Engineering at Eclipse Aerospace.

Currently these life limit changes are applicable to United States N registered aircraft. Eclipse is working to get the new life limits accepted by other civil aviation authorities.

About ONE Aviation ONE Aviation is a global manufacturing corporation, which markets, produces, and delivers the Eclipse 550 twin-engine jet, as it develops the Eclipse Project Canada and the Kestrel K350 single-engine turboprop. In addition, ONE Aviation will design, acquire, and build additional aircraft complementary to its core product line. ONE Aviation also provides engineering, maintenance, service, and support for the Eclipse 500 and Eclipse 550 fleet. For more information, please visit http://www.ONEaviation.aero.

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ONE Aviation Receives FAA Approval Pertaining to Eclipse 500/550 Extended Tip Tank Configuration - AviationPros.com

Sentient Science announced that Toronto, Ontario-based growth equity firm,Georgian Partners, will fund $22.5 million in a Series B, growth-stage investment in the materials science-based software as a service company. Sentients expansion in thewind-energy market,providing prognostic health monitoring and life-extension actions for fielded wind turbines will soon be available to commercial customers in theaerospaceandrailmarkets.

Funds will be used to provide new technical, security, and software capabilities withinDigitalClone Live. Operators use DigitalClone Live to understand when failures can be expected in their turbine fleet.

Capital funds will be used to provide new technical, security, and software capabilities withinDigitalClone Livefor the continuation of rapid market growth from 20,000 wind turbines to 100,000 globally, and then to one-million rotating assets as more commercial operators and suppliers in aerospace and rail come on line.

Hiring plansinclude an additional 70 employees, including a chief financial officer, vice president of software, software developers, and sales and marketing staff in the offices located in United States, Europe and China.

We incentivize our employees with pre-IPO stock options, so were very strategic in who we bring in as partners. Were very excited and proud to be working with Georgian Partners, who is another important partner on our journey to IPO, said Ward Thomas, CEO & President of Sentient Science. I am incredibly thankful to our customers in the wind, aerospace and rail markets, and for our brilliant staff and management team who are truly the smartest people in the room.

Together, they made Q2-2017 our largest sales quarter in our companys history, while promoting clean energy. I would like to thankSimon Chongof Georgian Partners, for his commitment to help us further our agenda to significantly lower the cost to operate equipment through life extension actions, said Thomas. Sentient Sciences network effect increases the demand for longer life assets and components, and ultimately changes the way the world buys and sells aftermarket products and services through our SaaS platform. This is all completely differentiated, based on materials science versus just big data from sensors.

Sentientsmanagement teamincludesEd Wagner, BS, Chief Digital Officer;Dr. Nathan Bolander,Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer;Jason Rios, MBA, VP of Aerospace;Gerald Curtin, MBA, Vice President of Asset Actions and Delivery; andAaron Russell, MBA, Finance.

Ward and his impressive team at Sentient Science have a unique technology and business model that lowers the cost of energy through supply and demand integration, said Simon Chong, Managing Partner at Georgian Partners. Their DigitalClone Live software fits perfectly with our thesis area for artificial intelligence, and we look forward to working with Sentient to expand technical capabilities and added value within the core applications.

For more information on Sentient Science and to view the full article, click here.

Link:

Sentient Science raises $22.5 million in Series B growth-stage funding with Georgian Partners - Windpower Engineering (press release)

MONTREAL, July 26, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ -SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC) announces a contract award on the Fine Ash Dam 6 Project in Secunda for Sasol Group Technology in South Africa.

SNC-Lavalin's scope of work for this project includes the structural, mechanical electrical, instrumentation and piping (SMEIP) construction services for the new facility. This will consist of the installation of approximately 15 km of piping, 370 tons of steel, and various mechanical and electrical equipment.

The Fine Ash Dam 6 Project is to support the life extension of the Sasol Secunda operations facilities by constructing a new fine ash dam. This will take the ash generated by the Secunda operations, in stages, to the new Ash Dam 6 as Fine Ash Dam 5 is decommissioned. The construction of the project will be completed in a number of phases and this award is part of the first phase, with a peak workload forecast for September 2017 and an average team size of 125 people. Fine Ash Dam 6 will be constructed in accordance with the latest environmental requirements with the final phase being completed in 2021.

"We are delighted to be awarded work with Sasol, providing solutions to this logistically complex project," said Martin Adler, President, Oil & Gas "We are currently mobilizing and at the peak workload expect a team of up to 250. With our strong track record in training and development within the local community, we expect 80% of our craft team members to be from the local area. We look forward to executing the first phase and hope to continue working with Sasol through the latter phases of the project."

About SNC-LavalinFounded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a global fully integrated professional services and project management company and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure. From offices around the world, SNC-Lavalin's employees are proud to build what matters. Our teams provide comprehensive end-to-end project solutions including capital investment, consulting, design, engineering, construction, sustaining capital and operations and maintenance to clients in oil and gas, mining and metallurgy, infrastructure and power. http://www.snclavalin.com

SOURCE SNC-Lavalin

Original post:

SNC-Lavalin awarded contract on Sasol's Fine Ash Dam 6 Project in South Africa - Markets Insider

Reprinted with the kind permission of Life Extension.

July 14 2017.Readers ofWhats Hotmay recall the publication of the recent finding of Mayo Clinic researchers of a potential antiaging senolytic effect for fisetin, a compound found in plants that is available as a dietary supplement. On June 2, 2017 inThe Journals of Gerontology Series A, researchers from the Salk Institute reported a reduction in aging-related inflammation and cognitive decline in mice given fisetin.

Acting on earlier findings of a decrease in memory loss in association with fisetin supplementation in mice that were genetically modified to develop Alzheimers disease, Pamela Maher and colleagues tested the compound in a SAMP8 mouse model of premature aging. Three-month-old animals were given diets with or without fisetin for 7 months, during which memory and activity tests were conducted, and levels of proteins related to brain function and responses toinflammationand stress were measured.

"At 10 months, the differences between these two groups were striking," reported Dr Maher, who is a senior staff scientist in Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory. While mice that did not receive fisetin did poorly in tests of cognitive function and had elevated markers of stress and inflammation, those that received the compound were not noticeably different from untreated 3-month-old SAMP8 mice.

"Mice are not people, of course," noted Dr Maher, "But there are enough similarities that we think fisetin warrants a closer look, not only for potentially treating sporadic Alzheimers disease but also for reducing some of the cognitive effects associated with aging, generally."

"Companies have put fisetin into various health products but there hasn't been enough serious testing of the compound," she added. "Based on our ongoing work, we think fisetin might be helpful as a preventative for many age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, not just Alzheimer's, and we'd like to encourage more rigorous study of it."

See more here:

More antiaging effects for fisetin - ProHealth

Press Release

Kemin Industries, a leading provider of shelf-life extension and food safety solutions for food and beverage industries, has added a new color protection simulator to its website for their North America Food Technologies division. The new digital slider tool illustrates color loss over time in an 80/20 fresh, ground beef, and allows users to compare various antioxidants and see the protection that could be achieved by adding a Kemin antioxidant solution.

We developed the color protection simulator so the industry could utilize the easily accessible tool to visually see the process of color degradation and how various plant extracts can protect and extend color, said Courtney Schwartz, Senior Marketing Communications Manager for Food Technologies. The calculator highlights the color degradation process from day one through day ten, and showcases results of untreated protein versus several antioxidant solutions. This tool can help manufacturers determine the optimal antioxidant solution to meet their desired shelf life needs.

The color protection simulator showcases the following Kemin antioxidant solutions:

In todays highly competitive marketplace, Kemin provides food processors, manufacturers and formulators the ability to reduce costs, control inventory and meet demand, all while providing the visual appeal and flavor protection consumers demand.

Click here to try the new simulator today.

Disclaimer: This tool is for illustrative purposes only. The color change scale is based on scientific research; however, the images used were recreated for the purposes of this tool.

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Kemin Launches Color Protection Simulator - Natural Products INSIDER

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) With the Tongon gold mine, in Cte dIvoire, operating to plan, West Africa-focused gold miner Randgold Resources has shifted its focus to the discovery of additional reserves and resources.

Tongon continued to ramp up production, tracking the 2017 output target of 285 000 oz of gold, CEO Mark Bristow said in a statement on Monday.

In line with this, the company is seeking to replace depleted ounces and extend the mines life beyond its current four-year horizon.

Bristow previously highlighted the high resource potential of the exploration programme at Tongon.

Meanwhile, with eyes on what Bristow described as potentially the most exciting gold prospect in West Africa, the companys exploration programmes have defined a large target at Boundiali in the Fonondara corridor.

The company has just completed its yearly review of its exploration targets . . . [which also] highlighted very positive results from its other holdings in the country, underlining again Cte dIvoires exceptional prospectivity, Bristow said.

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Randgold continues to seek out Tongon life extension prospects - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly

Wayne Gooden holding up a photo of his time in the service.

Editors note: The Journals Unsung Heroes series spotlights a local veteran each week from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. If you would like to nominate an Unsung Hero, email news@journal-news.net.

MARTINSBURG Wayne Gooden, 75, is a decorated Vietnam War Veteran with a colorful military history and police background.

Gooden said he remembers his time in the service vividly, entering the military at age 19.

I went into the military at such a young age, Gooden said.

I actually wanted to travel a bit before I went in, but then I just decided to stay in and serve. In 1967, I was sent to Vietnam and once I got there, I was assigned to the food service. After I was there about three months, I decided I wanted to go into combat arms, which was an infantry unit. I served with the infantry unit for about four months. They sent me back to the NCO Academy (Non-commissioned Officer Academy) and once I graduated from there, I heard that they were looking for volunteers for LERPS (Life Extension Refurbishment Program). The LERP is a four-man recon unit and I was with the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division LERPS. It was a volunteer thing, one assignment and you can quit at any time.

Gooden was awarded the Bronze Star medal for heroism on March 24, 1968 from his commanding officer Charles R. Swiffin, Colonel, GS-Chief of Staff.

I was awarded the Bronze Star award for heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, Gooden said.

Gooden was participating in a long range enemy reconnaissance patrol when the men observed an enemy platoon moving toward their position.

Knowing that contact with the numerically superior enemy force was unavoidable, the team leader deployed his men to the most advantageous positions, assigning Sgt. Gooden with the responsibility of rear security, said Col. Swiffin in a letter recognizing Gooden for his heroic efforts. Throughout the ensuing engagement, Sgt. Gooden prevented enemy soldiers from breaking through his area of responsibility. When a fellow soldiers weapon malfunctioned, Sgt. Gooden gave the man his own rifle. Courageously, he continued to hold his position, using hand grenades against the threatening enemy. Largely through his heroic efforts, the four Americans effectively repelled the enemy platoon. Sgt. Goodens personal bravery and exemplary devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

Gooden said he is very proud of his military service.

When I served my first tour over there in 68 everyone knows that was a bad year but I served it proudly, Gooden said. The only way we got out was because of the chopper. It was literally pulling each of us up by our arms. After that, I went back home for a bit, then went to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to start training. It was there I decided I wanted to go back to Vietnam, so I asked my commanding officer if I could return and I did. On my second tour, I was assigned to a security outfit and then after four months I decided I wanted to go into law enforcement.

Gooden was then assigned to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Office as a military police investigator.

I served my tour there, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Gooden said. I decided to go back to Vietnam a third and final time to the same CID office. After I finished my tour there, I was awarded the Army Commendation medal twice, for involvement with solving drug cases, things like that. Then I went back to the states for a while. That time I was assigned to the military police school in Fort Gordon, Georgia. I was assigned there because they came up with a formal class for the military police investigators, and I was chosen to help write the first lesson plan for that class.

From there, Gooden went to complete a tour in Germany, and from there he landed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Gooden then found himself in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I was assigned there as a military police investigator, Gooden said. So I finally got to do my traveling that I have always wanted, just in a different capacity.

Gooden then came close to home.

I was lucky enough to get close to Martinsburg, where I was assigned to Fort Ritchie, Maryland, to the Post Marshals office, Gooden said. There I was a crime prevention officer, a physical security investigator and court liaison officer.

Gooden stayed there until 1981 when he retired.

After staying out 10 years, Gooden decided he wanted back in.

He went to the federal law enforcement academy in Brunswick, Georgia, and was assigned to the Pentagon as a federal police officer and then earned a spot on the protective service detail agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, where he stayed until 2004 when a vehicle accident forced him to retire.

When I was working at the Pentagon, I enjoyed my time on the protective service detail and all aspects really. I met a lot of amazing people and formed great relationships, Gooden said.

Now that Gooden has officially retired, he said he has no plans of slowing down.

Gooden said he plans to take many vacations with his wife and children, but he also has more exciting projects for this upcoming year.

Gooden has a love for gospel music.

According to Gooden, he has recorded two gospel albums already and hopes to record his third, to be released next fall.

I have always had a passion for writing and performing gospel music, Gooden said. I am currently recording for my third album and I am happy I finally have the time to really pursue my music.

Gooden said he is also working on writing a book about his life.

The book will be called God and Country,' Gooden said. I hope to have that out within the next year or two.

Looking back, Gooden remembers his military service fondly.

To me, I have had a great career and I am grateful for the career that I have had, Gooden said. I am not saying all of it was easy, but I truly gave my life to this, I gave the federal government 33 and a half great years and I just cant wait for my next adventure.

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Local veteran shares colorful past - Martinsburg Journal

The United Kingdom did more than any nation to pioneer armored warfare, and its Challenger 2 stands amongst the best tanks in the world. The sixty-two-ton tank established a reputation for exceptional toughness during combat in Iraq. But despite being a newer design than the Leopard or Abrams, the Challenger 2 has not been lavished with the extensive upgrades that its NATO peers have, and is generally perceived as having fallen behind.

In January 2017, the Ministry of Defense declared it had short-listed competing proposals from BAE Systems and German Rheinmetall for a modest Challenger 2 Life Extension Program (LEP) to improve the vehicles sensors and fire control computers. While the LEP is meant to increase the Challenger 2s service life until 2035, neither proposal addresses the most glaring issues with the vehicle.

The Challenger 2 entered service only fifteen years after the Challenger 1 in 1983. At the time, it was the first British tank to benefit from state-of-the-art Chobham composite armor, which decisively restored the defensive primacy of modern tanks. However, the Challenger 1 still shared many systems with the preceding Chieftain tank, including a sluggish fire control system. The new tank performed poorly in exercises and suffered from extravagant teething issues. The Ministry of Defense was inspired to sign on to a more thoroughly modernized design in 1989.

Ironically, the Challenger 1 performed brilliantly under actual combat conditions in the Gulf War, destroying 200 to 300 Iraqi tanks without suffering any losses. The Challenger and Abrams were simply more than the Iraqis could handle. The Iraqi army was fielding older Soviet tanks that could not defeat such formidable armorthey might have had a fighting chance if they had improved ammunition. In return, the 120 millimeter guns on both vehicles could effortlessly pierce opposing armor. A Challenger 1 crew even achieved a record long-range shot during the conflict, destroying an Iraqi tank from 3.2 miles away.

But the Challenger replacement was already well underway. Despite its similar appearance, the Challenger 2 that entered service in 1998 had very few parts in common with its predecessor. It featured a longer barrel L30A1 cannon with a longer fifty-five-caliber barrel, and an upgraded composite package known as Dorchester armor, mixed with extra Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) tiles. The latter type of armor involves metal plates sandwiched with explosives that explode outward against incoming projectiles, diminishing or deflecting the blast of shaped-charge warheads. In addition to the main gun, the crew of four can fire machineguns.

The Leopard 2, Abrams and Challenger are all considered to be broadly similar in capability, but the British design has some distinguishing quirksnotably, it was formerly considered the best armored of the three tanks, but also the slowest with a maximum speed of thirty-seven miles per hour. This latter trait is related to its underpowered 1,200 horsepower engine, compared to 1,500 horsepower powertrains on other top Western tanks.

The Challenger 2 is also noted for being one of the only modern tank design in its weight class to use a rifled gun. A rifled gun allows for greater accuracy, but the spinning motion it imparts leads to lower muzzle velocity, diminishing penetrating power for the kinetic armor-piercing sabot shells favored by most countrieswhich are quite stable anyway. But British tankers in the 1980s were more interested in their own unique form of ammunition, the High Explosive Squash-Head (HESH) which does not depend on kinetic energy for penetration, but still could benefit from the greater accuracy of a rifled barrel. HESH rounds employ a plastic explosive that generates a shock to the interior vehicle, causing metal to spall.

The Challenger 2 soldiered on in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, where it once again steamrolled opposing tanks around the city of Basra without suffering any losses to hostile fire. The British tank faced the greatest danger from roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. One Challenger 2 was allegedly struck by seventy RPGsand emerged with its crew unscratched. Another survived seventeen RPGs and a Milan missile, and despite the battle damage, was back in combat the next day.

The Challenger 2s reputation for indomitability created somewhat unreasonable expectations. In 2007, it was revealed that a few years back an insurgent using an RPG-29an especially powerful 105 millimeter warheadhad pierced through the belly armor of a Challenger 2 as it crested a dune. The belly armor is one of the weakest points on any tank. The penetrating warhead mauled the drivers footthough the vehicle remained in operational condition and was able to back away from the ambush. Another Challenger 2 was disabled in 2007 by an IED, but restored into operational condition. The only Challenger 2 to be totally destroyed was hit by another Challenger 2 tank by accident.

The Ministry of Defense was lambasted for having tanks that were not actually indestructible, and slightly more reasonably, that they had covered up the initial incident. Afterwards, the ERA armor on the lower front-hull was replaced with heavier Dorchester composite armor. Presently, the armor packages on the Challengers 2 breaks the scales at around seventy-five tons!

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Britain's Challenger 2 Tank Is One of the Bestbut It Needs Some Serious Help - The National Interest Online (blog)

Would you spend a rupee if it saved you Rs 677? Eagerly, perhaps. The US Department of Defense has been saving billions of dollars for 30 years by continuing to use 'expired' medicines in its stock after testing them. Last year, the tests--part of its Shelf Life Extension Program--cost $3.1 million and saved $2.1 billion. Are drugs safe to use past their 'expiry' date? If they are, why do they come printed with expiry dates only 2-3 years from the date of manufacture? A recent article on ProPublica 'That Drug Expiration Date May Be More Myth Than Fact' shows why drug companies ought to revise their expiry schedules.

When Lee Cantrell, a toxicologist who helps run the California Poison Control System, and Roy Gerona, a University of California, San Francisco researcher who specialises in analysing chemicals, started testing leftover stocks of pills from the 1960s, they were surprised to find that "a dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100% of their labeled concentrations."

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Have we been 'expiring' perfectly good drugs? - Times of India

Vanessa Grubbss 2017 book, Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers, discusses racial disparities in organ transplants.

Earlier this month, professor Vanessa Grubbs, M.D. visited Seattle, Wash., on the promotional tour for her new book, Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers: A Kidney Doctors Search for the Perfect Match. Grubbs details the romance with her now-husband, Robert, and his life-threatening battle with kidney failure. The book uses their courtship, they are both Black, to illustrate how racial bias prohibits Black people from getting equal access to life-saving organ transplants.

During the question-and-answer session, the doctor was askedto relate Interlaced Fingers to previous scholarship on medical racism such as the work of Harriet A. Washington and Rebecca Skloot, who both documented centuries of deliberate exploitation of Black bodies.

Gingerly, Grubbs told the mostly white onlookers that witnessing her husbands ordeal radically shifted her understanding of how Black patients experience health care. She referenced her 2007 report, Good For The Harvest, Bad For The Planting which provides a systemic explanation for why Blacks, like Robert, who are one in three of the candidates awaiting a kidney transplant, receive only one in five of donated kidneys. She contrasted this to whites, who represent a third of the kidney transplant waiting list, but receive every other donated kidney. White patients also enjoy half the wait time of Black patients in need of a transplant.

Statistics like this in the organ transplant industry bring to light the historic and current racism Blacks face in receiving equal medical treatment in America.

Earlier this year, Oprah Winfrey was the executive producer and star of the HBO drama, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The film, based on the book of the same title, is Skloots 2010 bestseller, which explains how white health officials at Marylands Johns Hopkins University stole tissue samples from a Black cancer patient, Lacks, and used her genetic material to make countless advances in medical science.

Providing context for the exploitation of Lacks, Skloot incorporates the history of the white-dominated medical industrys relationship to Black citizens. This includes exposing celebrated scientists like French surgeon and Nobel Prize winner Alexis Carrel, who pioneered early 20th-century ideas on transplanting organs. Skloot writes that Carrel praised Hitler and was a eugenicist: organ transplantation and life extension were ways to preserve what he saw as the superior white race, which he believed was being polluted by less intelligent and inferior stock, namely the poor, uneducated and nonwhite.

Washingtons 2006 masterpiece, Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, reveals that racist health professionals like Carrel saturated the U.S. medical industry at one point in history and, to an extent, still do to this day.

In fact, Washington begins with a conversation between herself and a nephrologist, a kidney doctor. When Washington struggled to accept the history and scope of medical abuse against Black people, her colleague looked at her as if she were not too bright and minced no words. Girl, Black people dont get organs; they give organs.

The remainder of Washingtons work unearths how, before and after death, Black people have had organs and other body parts stolen by the white-dominated medical industry. After describing the lucrative industry and longstanding practice of harvesting Black corpses for medical research, she pivots to the organ transplant enterprise. Washington writes, The troubling disproportionate prevalence of Black body parts such as organs, corneas and other tissues is suggestive that Blacks also make up a greatly disproportionate number of the entire bodies that are used in research, research that infrequently benefits Black people like Henrietta Lacks.

In Seattle, Grubbs attributed these disparities to conscious and unconscious bias that require policy changes and training to help health care professionals practice medicine in a socially just manner. This analysis may, however, fall short of curing the bias of medical professionals and the industry itself.

Historian Daina Ramey Berrys 2017 gem, The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved from Womb to Grave in the Building of a Nation, makes whites willful consumption of Black bodies a central theme and explains how anti-Blackness and the theft of Black organs became a normalized part of our vocabulary.

Berry writes that in 1763, an African-American male became one of the first recorded cases of a dissection in the colonial territory. This marked the beginning of medical education, particularly the dissection of the dead. It also spurred the clandestine business of sending bodies and body parts to physicians and colleges, creating a traffic in human remains that still exists today in the form of an underground organ trade.

Sugarcoating centuries of white pathology masquerading as medical science maintains racism and is a central theme of John Hobermans 2012 book, Black and Blue: The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism. He too resists the pattern of ignoring or downplaying centuries of racists wearing nurses caps and stethoscopes. Hoberman writes that many recoil at the charge that Blacks suffer disproportionate health problems because racism taints American medicine. Doctors and nurses are among the least likely candidates upon whom to pin the label of bigotry. Because of generations of racist doctors and nurses, Hoberman writes, Mainstream medicine devised racial interpretations that have been applied to every organ system of the human body.

Tellingly, near the end of her Seattle visit, Grubbs admitted that honestly addressing these issues does get hard, and that she often takes flak for illuminating how the medical industry fails Black patients. In a monumental display of courage and love, Grubbs donated a kidney to save then-boyfriend Robert. The two celebrated the 12-year anniversary of the surgery this past April and will enjoy a dozen years married next month. The bravery that helped Grubbss share a life-saving organ must also inspire us discuss and call out racism as the primary obstacle to Black health and prosperity.

Gus T. Renegade hosts The Context of White Supremacy radio program, a platform designed to dissect and counter racism. For nearly a decade, he has interviewed and studied authors, filmmakers and scholars from around the globe.

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Doctor Began to Understand the Role of Racism In Organ Transplants After She Donated a Kidney to Then Boyfriend - Atlanta Black Star

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