“In Winfred, explosions 'just another part of life' - Argus Leader” plus 4 more

In Winfred, explosions 'just another part of life' - Argus Leader
Top spots - Register-Herald
Clean up gun factory site - Ithaca Journal
A second Wynd - Badger Herald
A Senate Candidate Accustomed to Being Thrown in the Ring - New York Times

In Winfred, explosions 'just another part of life' - Argus Leader

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:14 PM PDT

(2 of 4)

Shelly Beck was burying her husband, Robert, in October 2002 when a fire thought to have begun in an oven fan destroyed one of the wax-processing buildings. There were no injuries, because the company was closed to allow employees to attend the funeral. Beck's husband had been a mechanic, and she says mourners returning from the service made a joke that wasn't so funny at the time but that she has grown to appreciate over the years.

"We said, 'We have a fire in Winfred, and the only guy who can get the firetruck to start just got buried,' " she says.

Fire department's budget is $250

On Sept. 28, Beck, Winfred's postmaster, was talking with a customer about an explosion and fire in 2004 that destroyed the wax plant and shattered windows in the school across the street.

"We heard a little boom. We thought it was not loud enough to be the wax plant," Beck says.

Soon, though, they saw smoke billowing from it.

"We said, 'Oh my God, we should not have talked about that place exploding.' "

According to Johnson, the 2004 explosion resulted when vapors from a solvent used to purify wax built up and were ignited by a spark. He suspects a similar course of events caused the plant to be destroyed again last week.

In 1990, the wax plant was damaged when workers primed a truck carburetor with gasoline. The vehicle backfired and emitted a ball of flame that set the building afire, Johnson says.

Terwilliger's Winfred Fire Department has only six or eight members, he says.

Most members work out of town and are unavailable to respond to daytime alarms, and the assets they can throw at a fire are meager. The department's annual budget is about $250, the chief says.

He was home recuperating from a severely broken ankle suffered in a fall from a ladder when the wax plant blew up last week. He and his wife, Kathy, were sitting in their living room.

"I heard something. Kathy heard it, too. We didn't say anything."

"But we thought the same thing," she says, completing the sentence.

She formerly worked for A.H. Meyer and Sons and was in the old school in 2004 when the windows were blown out. Her husband helped fight the earlier fires.

Top spots - Register-Herald

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 PM PDT

Published: October 04, 2009 09:56 pm

Top spots

Winners announced for Beckley's '09 Chili Night

Panels of celebrity judges teamed up Saturday at Beckley's 19th annual Chili Night to select their favorite chili in a variety of categories.

The 2009 event, sponsored by Beckley Renaissance, featured 45 chili participants. Participants in the competition included nine in the restaurant catering category, 12 nonrestaurant businesses, 17 organizations, three schools and four individuals.

This year's winners included:

- Schools category: Daniels Elementary fifth grade, first place; and National Institute of Culinary Arts at MSU, second.

- Individuals category: Rick Moye, first place; Jerry Keller, second; Tim Berry, third.

- Restaurant/catering category: Bob Evans, first place; As You Like It Cafe, second; and Big John's BBQ, third.

- Nonrestaurant Business category: Pinecrest Hospital, first place; Drs. Gilbert & Green, second; and Mountain Top Security, third.

- Organization category: Beckley Fire Department/Eckley Orthodontics, first place; Raleigh County Commission on Aging, second; and Maxwell Hill Baptist, third.

- Best Spicy category: Foley Orthodontics, first place; Pinecrest Hospital, second; and Ntelos, third.

- Best Specialty category (most unique/creative): Cultural Delights, first place; MSU Culinary Arts - Portuguese, second; and United Methodist Temple Youth, third.

- Honorable Mention (highest percentage of coins in the 200-500 sample range) — First Baptist Church

- Most exciting booth: Raleigh County Memorial Airport

- Most attractive booth: National Institute for Culinary Arts (Ice Carving)

- Most samples served: Beckley Fire Department/Eckley Orthodontics (1,602 samples)

- Best decorated stage: Beckley Beauty Academy

— Courtney D. Clark

Clean up gun factory site - Ithaca Journal

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:50 PM PDT

The destruction of the Ithaca Gun Factory over the course of the last year represents an immense loss for the community as a whole. Decades of culture were torn down in no time at all, and what's more, the resulting scar across the hillside is an eyesore and a health risk.

Apparently, this disastrous project burned straight through its budget and is now lacking the necessary funding for cleanup. Meanwhile, the dangerous chemicals whose presence supposedly necessitated the building's removal have been disturbed, polluting the area more seriously than when the historic factory was still intact.

Leaving the factory in its current state is irresponsible and thoughtless. The loss of this local landmark is, in itself, devastating, but then to simply leave the rubble while awaiting another burst of funding? The lead levels in the area are as high as they were before the project started, and have so far gone completely untreated.

This project was poorly planned and underfunded. The parties in charge must now realize their responsibilities, make the proper deals to gain further funding and begin the cleanup half of their task.

Emma Briggs

Ithaca

A second Wynd - Badger Herald

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:50 PM PDT

Opinion

A second Wynd

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This editorial board has never been shy about its disappointment with Dane County Supervisor Wyndham Manning, District 5, and has considered the mostly student district without representation.

However, now that Mr. Manning has stepped aside, we feel it's time to put the last two years into proper context.

When Ashok Kumar, the previous supervisor from District 5, announced he would not seek a second term on the Dane County Board, this paper rejoiced. We rejoiced, as Mr. Kumar was more of an activist bulwark against productivity than a responsible representative of his constituency. For us, it was the beginning of the end for stubborn obstructionism in local government.

So, with an open seat, we asked ourselves who would fill the void. Every name bandied about with some potential got shot down. None of them wanted to fill the seat with no visibility and little initial activity.

And so we were left with then-freshman Conor O'Hagan and Mr. Manning. When Mr. Manning ran for the District 5 seat, he did it as a joke. It was only because his opponent was more of a joke than he was that he turned the run into a serious bid.

And so, Mr. Manning took his place on the Dane County Board. He started out pushing for an audit of the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center following the murder of Brittany Zimmermann.

And then — silence.

While he certainly must have done something while on the County Board, all we could discern was that he voted against funding for the Dane County Sheriff's Office and sponsored the posting of multilingual fish advisory signs.

But even if he hadn't done much, we would have tempered our criticism had he only told us what he was doing. It was like pulling teeth to get him to answer questions regarding his tenure in December. And once we wrote an editorial criticizing his lack of office hours, his lack of responsiveness and his lack of action, he stopped talking to us altogether, untl recently.

Unfortunately, this is not unique to our paper. Charles Brace, editor in chief of The Daily Cardinal, said his paper hasn't much more luck — Mr. Manning made no attempt to contact their paper and calls placed by the city editor have not been returned.

It is, therefore, only fitting that his first contact with this paper as a representative of the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 2009 comes with a farewell.

We asked Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell what his opinion was of Mr. Manning's time on the board. While Mr. McDonell said he believed Mr. Manning has been solidly committed to his work with the Cultural Affairs Commission, manure digesters and environmental issues, he admitted he may have been over his head.

"When he got in, I thought he was going to work on renewable energy, but it's been more work than he's realized," Mr. McDonell said. "People sign up for these things and they don't know how much work it is, for no pay. But it's not too hard to respond to e-mails. I get the sense from Wyndham that this wasn't what he was signing up for."

We agree.

But that doesn't mean that Mr. Manning can't still do some good for that seat. By announcing the vacancy, he gives this paper some time to do our duty and educate this district on the issues of County Board, something we've neglected to do in the past.

We know both the (lack of) actions of Mr. Manning and those vitriolic attacks years before of former supervisor Ashok Kumar has brought the debate regarding District 5 to an all-time low. No one wants to touch the seat and most politicos would see the next election as dogs fighting over a piece of rotten meat.

We don't. The decisions of County Board are far from insignificant. They affect the social services, taxes and life decisions of 475,000 people — and with this latest budget, Dane County is in crisis. We need someone who will step into this seat next year to approach these issues with passionate pragmatism.

The District 5 seat needs a refurbishing. Mr. Manning can aid this process by leaving it in better shape than he found it through one last burst of true representation during deliberations on the 2010 county budget.

If he can show the seat is worth a damn and students can actually have some say at a county level without also derailing the process, perhaps this editorial board can make that case to the student body. Perhaps we can convince competent, interested individuals to step up to an unpopular task. Perhaps we can make the county relevant to District 5 again.

But much of that depends on what you do now, Mr. Manning. So do us a favor: Tell us what you think. Make a stand for something or someone. Speak up, for once.

It may not save your reputation, but it just might save the seat.

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A Senate Candidate Accustomed to Being Thrown in the Ring - New York Times

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:29 PM PDT

She emerges from an apparent coma and kicks her cheating husband in the groin. In a showdown with her daughter, she goes flying to the mat after her daughter smacks her in the face. And, after a black-booted bald man hoists her feet-first in the air, she falls on her back, bouncing slightly in her business suit before splaying helplessly on the ground.

As Linda E. McMahon and her husband built a small family business into the billion-dollar empire of World Wrestling Entertainment, she was more than its chief executive: She was sometimes a character in its wrestling matches' soap-opera style story lines involving family quarrels, infidelity and, of course, mock violence.

Now, Ms. McMahon is playing to a new audience, as she seeks the Republican nomination to challenge Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who finds himself among the most vulnerable of Senate Democrats. Mr. Dodd, who has been in office for nearly three decades, is among the most powerful members of the Senate, heading the Banking Committee as it seeks to overhaul the nation's financial system.

Ms. McMahon has cut her official ties to the W.W.E. corporation, stepping down as chief executive the day she announced her Senate bid last month. But the vast fortune she amassed as a wrestling mogul is helping her to shake up the race, especially since her campaign says she is willing to spend at least $30 million to win the seat.

In addition, Ms. McMahon's years in the wildly popular sport of wrestling have brought her instant celebrity, with her candidacy grabbing attention from outlets like ESPN Radio, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

Ms. McMahon — who founded W.W.E., formerly the World Wrestling Federation, more than 25 years ago with her husband, Vincent K. McMahon, the company's flamboyant chairman — has already poured more than $1 million into a television and newspaper advertising barrage since declaring her candidacy on Sept. 16.

That is more money than most of her Republican rivals have on hand, including a former congressman, a state senator, the ambassador to Ireland under President George W. Bush and a businessman.

Those who know Ms. McMahon say it would be a mistake to underestimate her.

"I don't think anyone should ever question Linda's resolve or tenacity," said Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports, who has collaborated on projects with the McMahons. "If anybody thinks she is the little woman, they are out of their minds. She put the business together."

But rather than celebrating the arrival of Ms. McMahon, a well-financed Greenwich businesswoman who, with her husband, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, some Republicans are squirming over the emergence of a political novice from a world known for down-market programming featuring leotards and outrageous stunts.

In addition, Republican elders had already begun to coalesce behind Rob Simmons, a former congressman from Stonington, who has a more traditional résumé and an unassuming style. And they worry that Democrats will seize on Ms. McMahon's association with W.W.E. if she becomes the nominee, costing the Republicans their best chance in decades to defeat Mr. Dodd.

Already, liberal blogs cannot restrain themselves from wrestling references, with The Daily Kos saying wryly that it was too soon to liken "the news of McMahon's candidacy to getting hit in the face with a steel chair."

"I'm not a prude," said State Representative Sean Williams of Watertown, a Republican who is backing another candidate. But he added: "There are going to be people who will make a clear case against her — that she has built her business by objectifying women and promoting violence. That will significantly weaken her ability to win against Dodd."

In an interview, Ms. McMahon acknowledged that there had been "excesses" in World Wrestling Entertainment's productions. But she says the organization's programs now carry the PG rating, alerting parents that their guidance is suggested.

She seemed to dismiss concerns that her ties to the business would undercut her candidacy. "Did anyone in Sacramento expect Arnold Schwarzenegger to show up in a Terminator outfit?" she said. "It borders on silliness."

And yet Ms. McMahon seems a bit chagrined by her past appearances in the ring, where she, her husband, daughter and son-in-law played themselves in made-up melodramas. Ms. McMahon was not as frequent a performer as her husband, daughter and son-in-law, a wrestler known by his ring name Triple H.

"I've seen myself on television and I am not a very good actress," she said. "That's why I've been in the boardroom."

Few doubt that Ms. McMahon, 61, is a potentially formidable candidate. A North Carolina native, she graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor's of science degree in French. She is friendly with Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who named her this year to the State Board of Education. She has also been active in charitable and cultural organizations, including the Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra and the Governor's Council for the World Special Olympics, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

But she has quickly become a big target, with videos of her W.W.E. appearances rocketing around the Internet, and her rivals digging up damaging information about her, including her failure to vote in past elections.

Cultural

Sunday, October 4, 2009