NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY – April 13 | National Day Calendar

NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY – April 13 | National Day Calendar:



"NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY
National Scrabble Day is observed annually on April 13th. Originally named Lexiko and then Criss-Cross Words, Alfred Mosher Butts eventually settled on the name Scrabble. The amateur artist and unemployed architect developed the word game in the midst of the depression.  Still, it wasn’t until 1948, a final name change and a trademark that Butts finally began to produce the game.  "

'via Blog this'

Arkansas college at center of allegations against ex-lawmaker was broke despite grants, fundraiser says

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA) --  On Thursday Prosecutors continued to reveal the financial dealings of Jon Woods during the time he is accused of participating in a kickback scheme with Ecclesia College.

A fraud researcher with Arvest Bank testified in court that Woods took out more than $87,000 in loans with the bank between 2012 and 2014.

It was revealed that those loans were all guaranteed by other people. During that same time period, Woods is accused of receiving money for directing Government funds to non-profits.

Woods' attorney argues the money was transferred to pay back those loans. Woods was originally indicted in 2017 along with several other defendants.

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Arkansas college at center of allegations against ex-lawmaker was broke despite grants, fundraiser says:

"Ecclesia hired Seth Duell in February 2015 to raise money, he testified Friday morning. Paris never told Duell that Paradigm Consulting had been hired to raise money, he said.

In cross examination defense attorneys produced emails from Paris to Duell dated as early as February 2015 referring specifically to Shelton and Paradigm in reference to fundraising suggestions. Duell testified he did not remember the emails and said they only made suggestions. He never coordinated fundraising with Shelton, he said.

Paris had paid Shelton’s consulting company $267,000 out of college funds from 2013 to 2015 without notifying his college’s board until October 2015 when federal investigators questioned Paris, according to the indictment and testimony.

Paris reported to his board in October 2015 about the payments to the consulting business over the previous two years, the indictment says, and said Shelton’s efforts “resulted in strategic positioning with new large donors, which was anticipated to result in multiple millions of dollars over the next few years.”

The campus was rundown, Duell testified. “Dorms were in a terrible state,” he said.

Ecclesia had no record of any donations greater than $15,000 when he came on board, Duell testified. The college lacked enough enrollment to cover its expenses with tuition, he testified.

“I was kept in the dark about who Paradigm was,” he said.

Duell raised the possibility of seeking General Improvement Fund grants, but was told by Paris that Paris handled those, Duell testified.

“Many people in Springdale had never heard of a Ecclesia, and there was skepticism from those who didn’t know” Duell testified about his fundraising efforts.

Duell worked for the college for about a year he testified.

“When FBI investigators interviewed Mr. Paris in his office, I knew it was time to find another job,” he said.

Woods supported a $200,000 grant to Ecclesia in September 2013, grant records show. Neal supported a $50,000 grant to the college and Woods another $150,000 in December, 2014, also according to grant records. The amount of money Woods is accused of receiving as a kickback isn’t specified in the indictment. It claims much of that money was paid in cash, except for one transaction made to Woods by wire transfer for $40,000.

Arkansas legislators gave nearly $700,000 of taxpayers’ money to help Ecclesia College buy almost 50 acres in Benton County."

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TimberTopper says...April 13, 2018 at 12:25 p.m.

Shows their real belief. Tis better to break the law than be honest and close.

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JMort69 says...April 13, 2018 at 12:42 p.m.

BTW, the federal indictment also states that Paris and multiple members of his immediate family and their spouses were paid over 1 million in "compensation" over a 4 year period. I guess God called them all to suck this business dry. These people are an insult to Christianity and the truly good people in that religion. And, apparently no one involved in this mess had any fiscal capabilities or business acumen. Neal and Woods were broke. Paris and his board, primarily made up of preachers, displayed the normal inability, for which preachers are well known, to manage anything. And, one of their sponsors of the grants, Bob Ballinger, Senate 5 district seat candidate, was in default on his home loan 5 times in the last 5 years, finally resulting in foreclosure. Perhaps the lesson in all of this is don't elect people under financial duress. They are easy targets for unscrupulous people and schemes. I have long thought that, in many circumstances, we elect those who have failed in their business lives. They run for these seats because they need the income, not out of any concern for the people or our money. And, most particularly, starving attorneys. There are way to many in that profession and many of them struggle financially. They know the law and how to stay just inside the line, at least most of the time. Unfortunately, sometimes we are faced with only bad choices in these races. But, there is always a choice. Keep this in mind when you vote. There will be people who will vote for characters like Ballinger merely because he cloaks himself in phony religious garb. But, for the rest of us, I don't want anyone around the billions in our tax money paid to the state who can't manage his own business affairs. We are not electing Sunday School teachers, according to so-called "Evangelicals". That's true and it cuts both ways. We are electing people to run the business of our state. But, we do demand ethical behavior. And what we see here is neither. Its up to us to rid ourselves of these leeches with our votes.

Woods of Springdale; Oren Paris III, former president of Ecclesia College in Springdale; and Randell Shelton, formerly of Alma, were indicted in March 2017. Paris pleaded guilty April 4 to one count of conspiracy and will testify for the government. He resigned as Ecclesia's president and from the college's governing board the previous day.

Paris disguised the kickbacks as consulting fees paid to Shelton's company, Paradigm Strategic Consulting, according to the indictment. Shelton then passed money along, the government contends. The grants involved came from the state's General Improvement Fund.

Rose Garden - Remember the Air Umbrella and the Beneficial Insect Plants

Our thunderstorm is scheduled for 9 am with an encore at 1 PM. We had so much wind recently that I watered the entire rose garden on Wednesday. Wind dries up the soil and plants; cover crops and mulch help reduce the evaporation and soil erosion.

The Avian Air Force
Knowing the birds would chow down just before the storm, I bought a big bag of sunflower seeds and filled the feeders. We had some expired fruit that I added to the platform feeder. Birds are excellent bug eaters, so I keep the backyard's status as a destination for them, with plenty of food, shelter, and water.

The Beneficial Bugs and Their Homes
Plants favored by beneficial insects may not be spectacular beauties on their own, but they grow early in the season and provide a base where the good bugs can use their tiny flowers. Roses are themselves good for beneficial bugs, if spared the usual destructive insecticide and herbicide sprays.

Clumping mints and daisies are handy for growing around roses. As bug bases, they give alternative sources for food with constant blooms.

 Notice the volunteer bug protecting Falling in Love roses.

Concepts for Growing Good Roses

1. Storing rainwater is always good for roses. Lacking that, storing tapwater will evaporate the chlorine and make the water better for all plants. My coffee grounds go into the rainbarrel. 
2. Each rose wants plenty of elbow room. Think royalty and sensitivities. Disease spreads more easily when roses are touching. They like air movement around them (mildew) sunshine that is not overbearing (morning sun, afternoon shade - East side of the house).
3. Clay soil is good, but heavy. Sandy soil does not hold water very well. Digging out a hole for each bush is good when filled in with mushroom compost, peat compost, bagged topsoil. I mix the clay soil with peat compost.
4. I like various ground covers, but there is always the danger of a new bush being overwhelmed by something obnoxious like tall orchard grass. To keep the rose monopoly on its patch of soil, surround the plant with newspaper or cardboard, then add wood mulch on top.
5. In my yard I can count on wild strawberries growing around the tree stumps placed in the rose garden. Birds plant where they perch, so letting them have places to rest and search for food will yield the plants they like. 

Prune, Prune, Prune

Cutting roses for others is one way to prune. Bending down to a bush means having a closer look at the canes. When a cane is brown and dead, it needs to be cut away. Canes are also cut to open them up to air and give them more shape.

People cry about their roses not blooming when they pour chemical powders on them. Pruning and rainwater will do far more for the roses, but they do not sell rainwater at the hardware store, and prune shears last forever.

Pruning does many things at once, besides yielding flowers to share:

• Roots grow faster, and roots make the soil richer.
• Dead wood holds back the canes, so pruning them means growth.
• Buds and weak blooms can be removed to devote more energy to the favored roses. Do the math: 5 - 2 = 3 superb roses.

Creation Growers Add Organic Matter Whenever Possible

Organic matter can come from ground cover plants, leaves, pine needles, manure, newspaper, cardboard, sawdust, twigs, branches, and logs.

A given amount of organic matter will turn into soil and soil creatures. I am not sure how to do that equation, but matter is not lost. 

The Giver Is Gifted

Setting aside all delicacy, not only does every part of Creation serve as eater and food, but each also produces a constant supply of waste products for the soil. The Creation Gardener who lugs organic matter to land is also improving it faster and increasing the total mass of living creatures, from bacteria to moles and hawks. The number of screaming hawks on my block indicates the abundance of food for them. 

Rich soil packed with creatures will also hold the rain and convert it to more plant and animal.

I was thinking about this yesterday, because I was raised on evolution in all my classes. They may not have danced a jig for Darwin, but they certainly did not build a case for Creation.

When I pursued organic gardening to save money over gardening chemicals, the readings pointed in only one direction. If using organic methods worked so well, how could someone deny Creation - the act itself, plus the engineering and management needed to keep all systems working together for the good?

I was driving people in our Voyager when the wipers went crazy, rammed together, and fell apart - in a rainstorm when wipers were needed most. We had to head toward a dealership to get them repaired at once. The earlier repairman forgot to install them correctly - one little error. And yet all the overlapping systems of the garden work together, repair my mistakes, and thrive when nudged in the right direction. 

If the faculty at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, did more than mow their grass, they might discover Creation by Word before their eyes - and in the Scriptures from Genesis 1:1 on.