Appreciation for Nock sixth-grade staff.
Three areas of exceptional quality stand out: the staff, the curriculum and the experiences provided to our kids.
All have been remarkable.
I am thankful for the life experiences and lessons our kids have been afforded during this school year.
The Long Walk to Water unit, taught in an interdisciplinary model across all four subject areas, was outstanding.
After the study of child labor in underprivileged countries, our kids understand what it must be like to live in an impoverished country where families are separated indefinitely so that young children can work to earn money to survive.
Our kids were treated like young adults and taught important lessons on appropriate social behavior in public places and social settings.
Once again, the kids presented their research to the public and were a little less nervous this time, having had practice earlier in the year.
Our sixth-graders are an extremely fortunate group to have such an outstanding middle school here in their hometown.
I couldn’t imagine a better education for my kids, and I’m excited to see what the next two years of middle school will bring.

National Water Quality Survey In Haiti Uses Aquagenx CBT Kit and mWater Mobile App to Ensure Access to Safe Drinking Water for Haitian Citizens.
Digital water quality monitoring and evaluation for this large field survey was simplified by pairing the Aquagenx CBT Kit with mWater and using smart phones in low resource, rural areas CHAPEL HILL, NC, June 22, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ — Haiti Outreach, a U.S. non-profit organization whose principle work is in Haiti, mapped 13,000+ water points across Haiti using the Aquagenx CBT Kit for E. coli bacteria and the mWater mobile app.
Haiti Outreach adopted the Aquagenx CBT Kit because of its simplicity and convenience in low resource, rural areas while generating quantitative test results, the Most Probable Number (MPN) of E. coli in a 100 mL sample.
On average one water point survey takes 25-30 minutes to cover 50+ questions and 12 water quality parameters.
This has allowed longitudinal monitoring of water quality and access to potable water."
Anyone can visit frape.mwater.co for more information on the Haiti Outreach national water survey and to see data and test results.
Digital Water Quality Monitoring and Evaluation Digital water quality monitoring and evaluation are simplified by using the Aquagenx CBT Kit for E. coli with the mWater app.
Anyone with a smartphone can use the CBT Kit with mWater to create surveys and calculate, map, track and share CBT test results in real time.
Using the Aquagenx CBT with the mWater mobile app simplifies water quality testing in the field and enables data collection and sharing without needing complex testing and data collection systems.
— Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com

Trump budget threatens key programs.
The history of genocide and assimilation of the indigenous people is hidden, as well as how we were forced to believe the white man’s way is the only way.
The administration has proposed cutting the EPA’s budget by $2.5 billion and DOI’s budget by $1.6 billion, which would eviscerate key programs that North Dakotans need to ensure that we leave a strong and healthy legacy for our children.
We will not be able to safeguard our public lands and our families’ drinking water if leaders in Washington continue to allow special interests to take priority over the needs of average Americans.
In North Dakota, headwater, rain-fed and seasonal streams contribute to the drinking water supplies of 290,000 people.
Rather than taking steps to ensure that our children and the generations that follow have access to clean drinking water, Trump and his administration have put the needs of corporate polluters first.
Cuts to DOI and EPA clearly signal to North Dakotans that this president does not care about our health or our outdoors.
Instead of maximizing sellouts to special interests, our leaders in Washington need to recognize what so many before them have: When our parks thrive, so do Americans.
We are counting on our leaders in Washington to reject any more cuts to the EPA and DOI for the sake of our most sacred resources in North Dakota — our lands and our waters.
North Dakotans across the state will resist any actions by our leaders in Washington that would harm our outdoor heritage, or the clean drinking water our children need.

Pipeline oil, and protests, keep flowing at Dakota Access pipeline.
WASHINGTON — Oil will continue to flow through the underground Dakota Access pipeline during the summer while authorities conduct additional review of the environmental impact, after a judge Wednesday ordered more court hearings.
The tribes said the 1,170-mile pipeline that starts in North Dakota and ends at a hub in Illinois — crossing 18 counties in Iowa along the way — violates their hunting, fishing and environmental rights.
On Wednesday, Boasberg set out a schedule of hearings that will decide what will happen to the line while additional review is completed.
The pipeline began commercially shipping crude oil June 1.
The company said Wednesday it was “pleased with the judge’s decision” for operations to continue while the process “unfolds.” The Native American tribes have been protesting the line’s construction for more than a year, notably near Cannon Ball, N.D.
Opponents argued that the route threatens tribal drinking water supplies where it crosses the Missouri River and disrupts sacred lands.
Thousands of protesters from around the world gathered at a “spirit camp” near the river crossing, many enduring a bitter Plains winter before disbanding when the disputed river segment was bored underground.
Earlier this month, Iowa regulators scolded the pipeline developers after they allowed documents showing they had the required $25 million worth of insurance to lapse.
Additionally, environmentalists asked the state regulators to shut down the pipeline pending the new environmental review.

Federal Judge: Environmental Law was Broken in Rushed Review of Dakota Access Pipeline.
The Army Corps of Engineers, acting under directions from the Trump administration, violated the law when it approved the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) on February 8.
That’s according to a ruling issued by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on June 14―two weeks after Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind DAPL, announced that the pipeline was fully operational.
According to Boasberg’s 91-page decision, the Corps “failed to adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on Standing Rock’s fishing and hunting rights and on environmental justice.” “This is a major victory for the Tribe and we commend the courts for upholding the law and doing the right thing,” said Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault in a statement.
(Image: Wikipedia) The Standing Rock tribe initially argued that the clearing of land for the pipeline right-of-way would destroy sites of historical and religious importance to the Lakota people and so would violate the National Historic Preservation Act.
The Cheyenne River tribe contended that the flow of oil in the pipeline would desecrate the sacred waters of the Missouri River and so violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Judge Boasberg ruled against the tribes in both cases.
In this third and most recent attempt, the Standing Rock tribe argued that the Corps’ decision to permit the pipeline without conducting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—and this time the Court agreed, at least in part.
In doing so, Judge Boasberg ruled, the Corps was largely within the law.
Two, the Corps did not adequately address expert scientific criticisms of the agency’s oil spill risk analysis.

Pipeline oil, and protests, keep flowing at Dakota Access pipeline.
Judge orders more hearings on Dakota Access review WASHINGTON — Oil will continue to flow through the underground Dakota Access pipeline during the summer while authorities conduct additional review of the environmental impact, after a judge Wednesday ordered more court hearings.
The tribes said the 1,170-mile pipeline that starts in North Dakota and ends at a hub in Illinois — crossing 18 counties in Iowa along the way — violates their hunting, fishing and environmental rights.
On Wednesday, Boasberg set out a schedule of hearings that will decide what will happen to the line while additional review is completed.
The pipeline began commercially shipping crude oil June 1.
The company said Wednesday it was “pleased with the judge’s decision” for operations to continue while the process “unfolds.” We make it easy to stay connected: Follow @TwitterDev Subscribe to our email newsletters Download our free apps The Native American tribes have been protesting the line’s construction for more than a year, notably near Cannon Ball, N.D.
Opponents argued that the route threatens tribal drinking water supplies where it crosses the Missouri River and disrupts sacred lands.
Thousands of protesters from around the world gathered at a “spirit camp” near the river crossing, many enduring a bitter Plains winter before disbanding when the disputed river segment was bored underground.
Earlier this month, Iowa regulators scolded the pipeline developers after they allowed documents showing they had the required $25 million worth of insurance to lapse.
Additionally, environmentalists asked the state regulators to shut down the pipeline pending the new environmental review.

Decay In Infrastructure Affects Baha Mar And All Our Islands.
EDITOR, The Tribune.
My ongoing experiences with inadequate drinking water here on Eleuthera dovetails with new criticisms about the air conditioning at Baha Mar, and the potential effects of smoke from the nearby smouldering New Providence landfill on tourists.
Tourists who enjoy their first visits to our islands, and tourists who will return, year after year.
But as too many are just learning, repairs and upgrades must be planned and executed on a carefully laid out 5, 10, 20, and 40 year plan.
My experience with inadequate water supply on Eleuthera can be used as an analog for all the Family islands, and New Providence itself.
I found the roughly 36 mile-long water pipe supplying middle Eleuthera was built years, decades ago.
One week a break here, a week later another break there.
(With each breech comes contaminated water causing serious diarrhea, and possibly worse).
Finally the leaking becomes so serious all the Corporation’s capital is used fighting old problems, and they simply cannot supply 40psi, the pressure target for all developed municipalities.

And through his volunteer work with the nonprofit Raritan Headwaters, Dionel has helped make the river a cleaner place.
“Throughout my time in Boy Scouts, I have become very passionate about the safety and conservation of our rivers and felt that it was natural to make it the focus of my Eagle Scout project,” said Dionel, a Ringoes resident who is a rising junior at Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
For his Eagle project, Dionel worked with the Hunterdon County Division of Parks & Recreation and Bedminster-based Raritan Headwater on a multi-faceted project to improve access to the river and make it cleaner.
The projected included: Preparing complete inventory of all access points of the South and North Branches of the Raritan River in Hunterdon, Morris and Somerset counties.
This includes GPS coordinates, descriptions and photos of access points, and other important information that will be helpful for future use.
He found that he enjoyed it, and he and his troop have since paddled all over New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
A year ago, Dionel signed up to paddle his home river as part of the Raritan River “Sojourn” sponsored by Raritan Headwaters.
He described the upper Raritan as very scenic — except for litter at various access points.
It’s amazing what people will leave.” For his Eagle Scout project, Dionel and his mother, Wanda, visited and evaluated approximately 150 spots along the river to identify the best places to put in and take out kayaks and canoes.
It’s a challenge I want to take further over time.” About Raritan Headwaters The largest watershed organization in New Jersey, Raritan Headwaters has been working since 1959 to protect, preserve and improve water quality and other natural resources of the Raritan River headwaters region through efforts in science, education, advocacy, land preservation and stewardship.

War-torn Yemen to get cholera vaccines as death toll mounts.
A spokesman for the World Health Organization said Wednesday that it didn’t initially want to publicize last week’s decision because questions remain about when and how the doses could reach the neediest people in a country sliced up along front lines and grappling with a nearly-collapsed health system.
WHO said the 1 million doses for Yemen were approved on June 15 by the International Coordinating Group, which manages vaccine stocks and includes the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance along with WHO.
Such a shipment would be the largest since 1 million doses were sent to Haiti after Hurricane Matthew last fall — and would amount to about half of the usual world stockpile, which would then be replenished.
Berkley said the doses could help slow the spread of the disease as part of a broader strategy to contain it.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said Tuesday that a tally from the cholera outbreak between April 27 and June 19 turned up 170,286 suspected cases and 1,170 deaths.
For the vaccination campaign, the needs will include access to people in affected areas; "cold-chain facilities" because the vaccines require refrigeration; trained health workers; and "mobilization activities to prepare the communities to accept the vaccine," the agency said.
"Without treatment for malnutrition, more people will fall ill. And a child who survives cholera will be even further malnourished," he said.
Experts say that proper estimates of cholera cases are hard to come by in Yemen, and many cases could involve acute watery diarrhea, which has similar symptoms.
According to WHO, an estimated 1.4 billion people who live in countries where cholera is endemic are at risk of the disease each year.

Extreme heat: Tips to stay cool during warm weather.
Older adults and individuals with chronic medical conditions During peak heat hours stay in an air-conditioned area.
Older adults and those on certain medications may not exhibit signs of dehydration until several hours after dehydration sets in.
Stay hydrated by frequently drinking cool water.
Stay out of the sun if you do not need to be in it.
•Outdoor animals should be given plenty of shade and clean drinking water.
Do not leave pets outside in the sun.
Ensure that cool drinking water is available.
Avoid drinking extremely cold water as this is more likely to cause cramps.
Coaches, teachers, and employers should seek immediate medical attention for those exhibiting signs of heat-related illness.