Calcis

The Piedmont Journal – ‘Downtown Tradeday’ starts April 7 with a few changes
‘Downtown Tradeday’ starts April 7 with a few changes

Ransom Middleton Meadows descendants: Nancy Peebles Browning and Ransom Middleston Meadows
Nancy Peebles Browning and Ransom Middleston Meadows

Ransom Middleton Meadows descendants
Ransom Middleton Meadows descendants

Sydney blacks out for global warming | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Sydney blacks out for global warming

By ROHAN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia — The Sydney Opera House’s gleaming white-shelled roof was darkened Saturday night along with much of the rest of Australia’s largest city, which switched off the lights to register concern about global warming.

San Francisco passes plastic-bag ban – Yahoo! News
San Francisco passes plastic-bag ban

Home is where the heart is for world’s tallest man – Yahoo! News
Home is where the heart is for world’s tallest man

Wed Mar 28, 4:30 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) – The world’s tallest man, whose search for a bride covered the world, ended up marrying a woman from his home town nearly half his age and more than two feet shorter, Chinese media reported on Wednesday.

Daily Home – Munford students to be re-tested for TB in May
TALLADEGA COUNTY

Munford students to be re-tested for TB in May

By Samantha Corona
03-28-2007

MUNFORD — The Alabama Department of Public Health and Talladega County school officials welcomed questions from concerned residents Monday night, after reporting that two active cases of tuberculosis were discovered at Munford Middle School.

The results, which included more than 800 students and faculty members from the middle school, the high school and a select group from Munford Elementary School, showed that 66 individuals had tested positive for latent TB infection, while two others were being considered “suspect” for active TB disease.

The Anniston Star » Artrain makes Anniston stop this week
Artrain makes Anniston stop this week
By Shawn Ryan
Star Entertainment Editor
03-25-2007

If your idea of Native American art conjures up images of colorful blankets, pottery and turquoise jewelry, you may have been watching too many old Westerns.

These days, Native American art includes fine paintings, funky found-item works, elegant sculptures and handsome photography — in other words, any and all forms of visual art.

From Cherokee to Navajo, Chippewa to Mohawk, 54 such artists will be displaying their works in Anniston this week, part of the Artrain USA tour. Titled “Native Views,” the exhibition pulled into town Saturday — literally on a train — and will be open for business from Tuesday through Sunday.

“There are a lot of exhibits on artifacts and the history of the Native American culture, but not too many that show the native culture as a vibrant part of contemporary culture,” says Nathan Zamarron, tour manager with the Artrain. “This exhibit is attempting to break down some stereotypes of what Native American art really is and how we all, as Americans, have certain influences in common.”

To represent those universal relationships, the exhibition is divided into three categories: Influences from Popular Culture; Native Knowledge – Land, Science, Wisdom; and Cultural Modernism and Technology. Art on display includes such works as “Urban Indian Yuppies,” a basket created by Pat Courtney Gold of Oregon’s Wasco tribe, and the painting “Rose and Coyote Dressed up for the Heard Show” by Harry Fonseca of the Nisenan-Maidu culture in California.

The Artrain, a collection of five vintage railroad cars, will sit at 300 S. Noble St., in the former Shorty’s Southern Yard location, says Mike Galloway, director of tourism for the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring Artrain’s visit. Organizers had hoped to have it at the former Amtrak station on Fourth Street, Galloway says, but renovations are taking place there and the station currently doesn’t have the 450 feet of straight track needed for the exhibition.

Artrain USA is free. No reservations are needed, Galloway says. “Just show up.”

“Native Views” has been traveling on the Artrain since 2004, and it will end its tour in New Orleans in November, Zamarron says. “It takes three to four years to reach the entire country.”

The train generally travels to smaller cities whose residents might not have access to large art museums, he says.

“On one hand, it’s bringing exhibitions to people who otherwise wouldn’t see them,” Zamarron says. “And on the other, it’s building communities by providing all of the components for a large, community-wide event.”

Artrain USA

When: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.
Where: 300 S. Noble St.
How much: Free.
Contact: 237-3536

The Anniston Star » Knitters gather on Thursday nights at Jacksonville store for hobby, relaxation
Knitters gather on Thursday nights at Jacksonville store for hobby, relaxation
By Matt Kasper
Star Staff Writer
03-26-2007
Spin with me, o muse, and through that spinning tell the story of people who gather every Thursday night at The Taming of the Ewe on the Public Square for knit night.

Each knitter is different.

Kim Stowe of Jacksonville says the yarn speaks to her — she doesn’t follow patterns, she just lets her needles do the talking.

Jerry Miller of Piedmont has been knitting since he was a boy, when knitting and car repair went hand-in-hand.

They come, store owner Pam Miller explains (her husband is Jerry) and converse, eat M&Ms, and enjoy a pastime that’s so relaxing it is right up there with transcendental meditation.

“From week to week it varies from five people to 12 people,” she says, explaining that she offers lessons on request.

The store, which closes at 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, stays open until 9 p.m. Thursdays.

Although the needlework takes place in Miller’s shop, no one is required to buy anything.

“I figure they’ll buy something eventually,” the 30-year knitter says, half-shrugging and smiling. “In the meantime, I have people to knit with.”

On Thursday night, Celtic music plays softly in the background as Wellington resident Autumn Martin settles down to knit.

She has been knitting for a year and a half.

The joys of knitting, she says, derive from the peace of steady work that is almost effortless.

“It’s calm, relaxing … it’s not like it takes so much attention,” she says, stitching a pink baby hat.

For Stowe, working on three or four different projects at once is normal.

She holds up a chocolate brown and gold poncho with fringes along the bottom — it’s soft to the touch and stylish enough to be in a Banana Republic store.

Stowe also is working on a purse and a coverlet for a pillow.

While most of the group sits at a table, she sits off to the side and works like a mad scientist with bundles of yarn instead of bubbling beakers.
“This is what I do when I’m not doing paperwork,” she explains, threading the needles.

There are two distinct styles of knitting — English and Continental.

Jacksonville resident Shannon Maddox says English knitting involves holding the yarn in the right hand and throwing it around the needle.

Continental involves holding yarn in the left hand, scooping and throwing.

“Most people in the U.S. knit English (style)” she said, explaining that she used to crochet -which involves using only one needle — before Miller taught her how to knit.

On Thursday she works on a green Afghan throw.

One of the most appealing aspects of the pastime, knitters say, is the feeling of accomplishment the hobby allows.

“If you finish a pair of socks you feel like you’ve got something done,” Miller says.

She points out that the popularity of knitting is not limited to Jacksonville.

Several books that promote knitting have been released recently, aimed at young people and men.

“Stitch n’ Bitch,” by Debbie Stoller, is described as a guide to making “hip, stylish patterns.”

“Knitting with Balls” by Michael del Vecchio is described as the “first contemporary guide to knitting for the modern male.”

Linda Boozer and her 12-year-old daughter, Jessica, seem to bridge the generational gap for knitters, though Jessica is the novice.

Friends, she says, poke fun at her for following the practice, which occasionally recalls women waiting for their husbands to come home from sea.

Linda is ready to make a business out of it.

While only yarn is sold at The Taming of the Ewe, the Pleasant Valley resident said she is arranging for the purses and scarves she creates to be sold at a boutique store in Boston.

Around 8 p.m., Linda Miller emerges from the back of the store carrying ice-cold soft drinks.

Each person has a favorite, her mother-in-law, Carol Miller, explains as she accepts a Diet Canada Dry.

“The conversations are as diverse as the people are,” Jerry Miller says as he works away on a sweater. “You could not know a soul in the world, but in five minutes you know somebody.”

From across the square, passers-by can see the light from inside the store radiating through the open door — an inviting glow on a warm March night.

The Anniston Star » Jacksonville pledges money for skate park
Jacksonville pledges money for skate park
By Matt Kasper
Star Staff Writer
03-27-2007

JACKSONVILLE — It was a night for the skateboarders.

The boarding community made its interests known Monday night, and the Jacksonville City Council responded with a $45,000 pledge.

Council members voted 5-1 to spend money from the general fund budget on a skateboard park in Jacksonville, provided the Skate Calhoun County Committee raises $20,000.

Councilman Charles Notar voted against the proposal.

The move could mean the possibility of two skateboard parks in Calhoun County at some point, with promises in place in Weaver to build a park as well, said Fred Couch, the founder of Skate Calhoun County.

Couch said the organization has raised $13,000 so far, and expects to have $25,000 by the end of May. That will fund construction of the park in Weaver. After that, any money raised will go toward the Jacksonville park.

The move, while welcome, caught supporters by surprise.

“I had no concept that was going to happen,” Couch said.

Several skateboarders, boards in hand, approached council members after the meeting to thank them.

In other business, the council:

• Rejected a $950,141 bid to turn the city’s vacant train depot into a welcome center on the Chief Ladiga Trail.

Despite scaling down the project, Parks and Recreation Director Bo Batey said the bid still was about $400,000 more than the city has to pay for the work.

The city had expected to spend $110,000, matching a $440,000 grant from the Department of Transportation.

“We hope to try and get back and renegotiate it,” Smith said.

“If that doesn’t work, I don’t know.”

• Accepted an approval from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs for a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant for a new senior center.

ADECA approval means the city can hire an architect for the project, which could occur in days.

• Approved a beer and wine license for The Vault Deli & Pub, located at 2 Public Square West.

The Anniston Star » Anniston man armed with BB gun holds family hostage in standoff
Anniston man armed with BB gun holds family hostage in standoff
By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer
03-27-2007
An Anniston man armed with a BB gun held police at a standoff for hours Sunday morning, at one time using his daughter as a human shield.

According to Anniston police reports, Steven Ray Parish, 36, was arrested just before 3 a.m. Sunday and charged with kidnapping in the first degree, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest and reckless endangerment.

Around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police were called to a residence on High Street where they were told a man had a rifle and was threatening his family.

When police arrived, they saw a man believed to be Parish holding a rifle and threatening his wife and two daughters inside the residence.

Police said they set up for a standoff, called in the Special Response Team and began negotiating with Parish via telephone.

After a couple of hours of negotiations, Parish’s mother and youngest daughter were released, investigators said.

Police said Parish then exited the building on High Street and used his 14-year-old daughter as a human shield to move two blocks to a building on Adams Street near Blue Mountain Avenue.

Police did not know the exact details Monday, but as Parish was moving down Laurel Avenue, officers knocked him to the ground and the hostage ran free just before 3 a.m.

The arrest report indicated that Parish was under the influence of drugs when he was arrested, but investigators declined to comment on what types of drugs or speculate how the drugs affected the situation.

When Parish was arrested, police discovered the firearm the suspect allegedly had used to threaten the family was actually a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.

Investigators said part of the confusion over the weapon was caused by “low light conditions” and officers are trained to err on the side of caution.

“A BB gun is going to look like a rifle at that time of night,” said Capt. Rick Sanford.

Police Chief John Dryden said the officers acted appropriately and achieved the best possible ending to the situation.

Dryden said someone at the scene told police the weapon was a BB gun, but another said it was a .22-caliber rifle.

He said police always assume the worst.

“If it looks like a weapon … you’ve got to think it’s a deadly instrument,” said Dryden.

North Alabama Songwriters NSAI Regional Workshop Website
North Alabama Songwriters Workshop is an officially-sanctioned chapter of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)

Native American Styles
Nativestyles is the web page of Native American Styles, a company that evolved from Celebrations of American Indians (CAI). CAI was founded in 1989 as a Native American touring theater company whose purpose was to teach and share with non-native people more positive images of Native Americans. The company was founded by Frank Hiendlmayr and Jackalene Crow-Hiendlmayr.

Powwow Calendar and Links 2007
APRIL 14-15, 2007
Native Solutions 9th Annual Intertribal Pow Wow
Oxford Lake Park across from the tennis courts, Oxford, Alabama

Hours: Saturday 10-6; Sunday 10-5
Grand Entry: Saturday 11:00; Sunday 12:00

Host Drum-Four Winds HM-Jerry “Smitty” Smith HL-Jackie Dean MC-Gary Smith AD-Cowboy, Special Performance by Larry Campbell. All dancers and drums welcome Bring your own lawn chairs.

Admission: Adults $5.00; Elders 65 & up and children 12 & under-Free.

Contact: Mark or Ruth (256) 820-6315 or email: ravenspiritwalker@yahoo.com

Shire of Owl’s Nest, Kingdom of Meridies, SCA, Inc.
Newcomers
Collegium VII

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Pickett’s Mill Battlefield
4432 Mt. Tabor Church Rd.
Dallas, GA 30157

Greetings fair gentles!

The Shire of Owl’s Nest would like to invite you to a once-a-year event specifically tailored for newer members and for those wishing to learn the basics of the SCA.