Category Archives: Emergency Measures

Local Elkhart Businesses Support Pack-A-Backpack

29 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Children, Education, Elkhart County, Elkhart Indiana, Emergency Measures, Indiana, School Supplies, Schools, Volunteer

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WNDU-TV is collaborating with McDonald’s, U93, Meijer, Notre Dame Credit Union, Saint Vincent De Paul Society and local agencies to gather donations to help provide local children with needed back-to-school supplies.

WNDU-TV is collaborating with McDonald’s, U93, Meijer, Notre Dame Credit Union, Saint Vincent De Paul Society and local agencies to gather donations to help provide local children with needed back-to-school supplies. (Photograph by Carmen Heredia Rodriquez, Student Journalist)

WNDU-TV, NewsCenter 16 has teamed up with McDonald’s, Meijer, Notre Dame Credit Union, Saint Vincet De Paul Society, The United Way of Saint Joseph County, and area agencies for the 16 Pack-A-Backpack school supply drive. Over the past eight years, NewsCenter 16 and local volunteer organizations have distributed more than 28 thousand packages of back to school supplies to deserving children in grades K through 6 throughout the community.

The program concludes August 3. If your children are in need of school supplies please contact the United Way helpline at 211.

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DHS is peddling military weapons to local police. WHAT could go wrong?

31 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Activism, American, ammunition, Civil Rights, Communist, Department of Homeland Security, Eavedropping, Electronic Communication, Emergency Measures, Executive Order, Facism, Fusion Centers, Independence, Intervention, Law Enforcement, Liberty, Martial Law, NSA, Posse Comitatus Act, Privacy, Socialism, Taser, weapons

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The Department of Homeland Security has begun a new program to counsel local police departments on how to buy and use armored vehicles, military helicopters, tanks, humvees, body armor, sniper rifles and even UNMANNED DRONES.

Does anyone actually believe it’s a good idea to use weaponized military vehicles for civilian “surveillance”? Is this really the direction in which we are headed?

Meanwhile…

It’s o.k., they’re the good guys.”

According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office the $300,000 ShadowHawk drone, purchased from Vanguard Defense Industries, will take to the skies in the coming months to provide another tool in their law-enforcement arsenal.

Outside the Anaheim Police Department today.

Don’t worry…more “good guys”.

Aerial ‘Shadowhawk’ Police Drones can now deploy tasers & tear gas.

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Is water the new gold? The drought’s economic impact…

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Department of Homeland Security, Drought, economy, Elkhart County, Emergency Measures, Energy, Food, Food Prices, Indiana, Indiana Department Natural Resources, Lawn, Planning Commission, Property Rights, United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, Vegetables, Washington, water, Zoning

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Think about it…just for a minute. How many bottles of water do you drink a week? How much do you use for a shower? When you flush a toilet? Wash your car? Cooking? Lattes? And my guess is your city water bill’s gone up in recent years.

The amount of water used to produce items you USE EVERY day…

Illustration is from CNNmoney

In 2010 global water generated over a half trillion dollars of revenue. Global world population will explode from 7 billion today to 10 billion by 2050, predicts the United Nations. And over one billion “lack access to clean drinking water.”

What happens in the next 40 years when another three billion people come into the world? Imagine adding 75 million people every year, six million a month, 200,000 every day, all demanding more and more water to drink, to shower, to cook, to everything. All guzzling down the New Gold that’s getting ever scarcer.

But, individuals DON’T consume the most water.

Agriculture accounts for 71%, and industry another 16% for a total 86% of all water use in the world. It takes 71 gallons to produce a single cup of coffee, due to processing the beans.

Here’s CNN/Money’s summary of the global market for all water users: Total worldwide revenues of $508 billion in 2010 … the bottled water market generated $58 billion of that total and growing fast … industry needs $28 billion for water equipment and services to all kinds of businesses … another $10 billion covers agricultural irrigation … another $15 billion in retail products like filters and various heating and cooling systems …waste water, sewage systems, waste-water treatment and water recycling systems cost $170 billion … and $226 billion for water utilities, treatment plants and distribution systems.

But, that isn’t the worst of it…

Drought puts electrical production at risk.

As illustrated above, coal is burned to heat water, which becomes steam. The pressure of the steam is used to rotate a turbine, which spins a magnet that creates electricity. The steam is then cooled back into water and pumped back out to the source. Without water, there’s no steam. With no steam, there’s no power. (Image courtesy of Tennessee Valley Authority.)

According to Philip Bump at Grist, about half of the nation’s water withdrawals every day for industry are to cool power plants. In addition, the oil and gas industries use tens of millions of gallons a day, injecting water into aging oil fields to improve production, and to free natural gas in shale formations through hydraulic fracturing. Those numbers are not large from a national perspective, but they can be significant locally. Michael Webber, associate director of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas, finds that worrisome, given our recent water-access difficulties. (Yes, we’re talking about the drought again. Get used to it.) He wrote an editorial for The New York Times titled, “Will Drought Cause the Next Blackout?“

More from Philip Bump about how the drought could affect energy availability and costs HERE.

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Elkhart County: “The Drought of 2012”

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Drought, Elkhart County, Emergency Measures, Food Prices, Gardening, Heat, Hoosier, Indiana, Lawn, Severe Weather, Turf, water

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The drought has made yellow the default color of many Elkhart lawns. Some homeowners, though, water to assure a lush green color. Here’s what the Elkhart County Purdue Extension Office recommends:

Home lawn during drought, to water…or not?

Many homeowners wonder whether they should regularly water their dry lawns during a drought or essentially leave them alone. A Purdue Extension lawn specialist says each option has its pros and cons.

This lawn is drought stressed. (Photo/Purdue)

During a dry season, many lawns will show initial symptoms of drought stress, Aaron Patton said. As grass loses water, its leaves become less rigid and wilt; in this stage, after grass gets stepped on, it stays “flat” rather than “bouncing back.”

The most telltale signs of drought stress, however, are the crunchy tan or brown leaves of grass that has entered dormancy; the plant is still alive, but the leaves dry up and die. This helps the plant conserve water and survive a drought.

Drought stress is most noticeable on slopes and lawns established on shallow or poor soil, Patton said.

“In order to keep your lawn green during hot and dry periods, at least 1 inch of water needs to be applied weekly,” Patton said. “However, you can keep your lawn alive with far less water.”

Homeowners can water regularly enough to avoid drought stress altogether, or they can let their lawn go dormant and water only occasionally to help it survive.

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of each option:

Watering to keep lawn green

“Water turf two to three times weekly – deeply, a good soaking, so you don’t have to water daily,” Patton said. Watering in the early morning hours is most effective; watering in the evening could encourage disease or pests.

* Advantages: Turf will stay green, aesthetically pleasing and actively growing; ground remains soft for recreation use; deep soaking will foster deep roots, which will help plants better survive a prolonged drought.

* Disadvantages: Higher water bill for those with city water; some increased risk of turf disease.

Letting turf go dormant

“Once the lawn turns brown and goes dormant, we can’t tell if a lawn is dying unless we water and wait to see the response,” Patton said. “That is why we advise to water once every two weeks with one-half inch of water once the turf goes dormant to keep plant crowns hydrated during drought. This amount of water will not green up the turf, but it will increase long-term survival during long dry spells.”

* Advantages: Avoid irrigation costs; most turf species are drought-tolerant and will survive typical Indiana droughts.

* Disadvantages: Difficult to tell when turf is getting too dry and needs water to stay alive; lawn is brown and has poor aesthetics; hard soil makes turf less usable for recreation; turf is more susceptible to injury and will not recover until rain returns; some thinning and turf death can occur if there is no rain for 4-6 weeks and the lawn in not watered.

Patton emphasized that when lawns are dry, it is important to stay off them. Mowers and other heavy equipment can cause substantial damage to vulnerable, stressed grass. Once rains return, the turf will begin to recover and grow new leaves within two weeks.

For more information about keeping lawns healthy during the drought, visit Purdue University Turf Tips.

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How to get emergency assistance in Elkhart County for utility bills

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Bills, Community, Community Services, Drought, Elkhart County, Emergency Measures, Energy, Heat, Indiana

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Financial assistance is available to help families with utility bills during “crisis times”.

The summer months are notorious for high utility bills, but this year’s extreme weather has also brought some extreme bills causing thousands of people in Elkhart County to seek financial help.

Elkhart Community Church Services as well as Elkhart County’s Township Trustees and the Salvation Army are all working together in Elkhart to help residents pay their looming bills.

For more information about emergency assistance call:

• Church Community Services: 295-3673

• Elkhart Salvation Army: 970-0088 (northern half of Elkhart County)

• Goshen Salvation Army: 533-9584 (southern half of Elkhart County)

Here’s how to get in touch with the township trustees:

• Baugo: 293-5873

• Benton: 642-3659

• Cleveland: 264-2453

• Clinton: 642-3202

• Concord: 293-6889

• Elkhart: 533-2066

• Harrison: 875-6408

• Jackson: 831-3322

• Jefferson: 535-9015

• Locke: 773-3320

• Middlebury: 825-3446

• Olive: 862-1480

• Osolo: 262-2175

• Union: 784-3110

• Washington: 848-7024

• York: 848-9387

The weekly hours for Community Church Services emergency assistance:

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

9 AM-11:45 AM and 1 PM-3:45 PM

Tuesday

9 AM-11:45 AM and 1 PM-7 PM

Friday

No emergency services available