The worst storm in more than 40 years struck the St. Louis area on Friday the 22nd, damaging or destroying at least 2,700 buildings including the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
Stltoday.com, the St. Louis area news website reports that winds reaching up to 200 miles per hour caused widespread damage across 10 miles of north St. Louis County.
The airport lost part of the roof of one of the terminals and windows were blown out as a tornado passed through.
Tornado touchdowns were confirmed by the National Weather Service in St. Louis and surrounding cities of New Melle, Bridgeton, Granite City and Lambert.
The director of emergency management for St. Louis County, Michael Smiley said, "We're calling it a miracle."
In spite of the destruction, no deaths or serious injuries were reported throughout the area.
Cleanup started immediately throughout the area and the airport resumed operations for some airline flights, but it will still take months and millions of dollars to repair the terminal.
More storms are predicted for Monday afternoon and evening.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Southern States say "we have debris!"
In the past two days the southern states have seen violent storms spawn tornadoes that ripped through towns and killed a total of 17 people.
The CNN wire staff reported that emergency crews in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama are looking over the damage from approximately 100 tornadoes that spun off of a band of fast moving storms since Friday.
Phillip Rawls of AP News reports that seven of the dead were killed in Alabama in the latest string of tornadoes to move throught the area on Saturday.
Earlier fatalities were reported in Arkansas and Oklahoma, making this storm system the deadliest so far this season.
CNN reports again Sunday that the deadly storm systems moved East into North Carolina and Virginia, causing extensive dame and killing another 27 people, bringing the total for three days to 44 dead.
The CNN wire staff reported that emergency crews in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama are looking over the damage from approximately 100 tornadoes that spun off of a band of fast moving storms since Friday.
Phillip Rawls of AP News reports that seven of the dead were killed in Alabama in the latest string of tornadoes to move throught the area on Saturday.
Earlier fatalities were reported in Arkansas and Oklahoma, making this storm system the deadliest so far this season.
CNN reports again Sunday that the deadly storm systems moved East into North Carolina and Virginia, causing extensive dame and killing another 27 people, bringing the total for three days to 44 dead.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Battle over the budget: Agree on the expenses or shut the doors
Congress and the President are working against the clock to agree on a budget for the government to finish out the current fiscal year because the current spending authorization measure expires at midnight this coming Friday.
Alan Silverleib and Tom Cohen of CNN news report that the Democrats and the Republicans failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday, and failure to enact a new spending bill would shut down all but the most essential government services after 12 midnight on April 8.
President Obama called a meeting with the leaders of both parties to discuss the matter after leaders from both political parties and budget negotiators failed to agree on the size and scope of budget cuts that should be put in place for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Cohen lists s few of the services that would continue to operate, but the total number of government employees that would be asked to stay home could total over 800,000.
Included in the list of those not receiving a paycheck are all military personnel at home as well as in the war zone, who would be required to continue with their duties without pay.
Alan Silverleib and Tom Cohen of CNN news report that the Democrats and the Republicans failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday, and failure to enact a new spending bill would shut down all but the most essential government services after 12 midnight on April 8.
President Obama called a meeting with the leaders of both parties to discuss the matter after leaders from both political parties and budget negotiators failed to agree on the size and scope of budget cuts that should be put in place for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Cohen lists s few of the services that would continue to operate, but the total number of government employees that would be asked to stay home could total over 800,000.
Included in the list of those not receiving a paycheck are all military personnel at home as well as in the war zone, who would be required to continue with their duties without pay.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Lack of parts put the brakes on U.S. automakers production
U.S. automakers are beginning to feel the effects of Japan's earthquake of several weeks ago due to the shortage of new car parts that are normally supplied by Japanese manufacturers.
An article by Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer for CNN, describes how far-reaching the earthquake is when U.S. factories are shutting down production for the lack of even a $5 part.
In the next two months Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors will all be facing shortages of key parts, mostly electronic items, and either slowing down production or shutting down completely until the supply can resume.
Ford Motor Co. spokesman Todd Nissen described the scramble to find parts a normal routine since shortages occur all the time, but the shortages that will be experienced this time will be out of the ordinary.
Nissen says that there are specialized products that involve patented processes and the only place that can make them are in the Japanese plants that have been shut down.
In order to secure a new supplier for some parts, such as electronic chips, the certifying process can take up to a year.
The shortages are not limited to Japanese and U.S. automakers, and global auto production by non-Japanese could be ultimately reduced by as much as 30%.
An article by Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer for CNN, describes how far-reaching the earthquake is when U.S. factories are shutting down production for the lack of even a $5 part.
In the next two months Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors will all be facing shortages of key parts, mostly electronic items, and either slowing down production or shutting down completely until the supply can resume.
Ford Motor Co. spokesman Todd Nissen described the scramble to find parts a normal routine since shortages occur all the time, but the shortages that will be experienced this time will be out of the ordinary.
Nissen says that there are specialized products that involve patented processes and the only place that can make them are in the Japanese plants that have been shut down.
In order to secure a new supplier for some parts, such as electronic chips, the certifying process can take up to a year.
The shortages are not limited to Japanese and U.S. automakers, and global auto production by non-Japanese could be ultimately reduced by as much as 30%.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Unrest in the Middle East conitinues
While rebel forces fight Qadhafi militiamen in Libya, protesters burn government buildings in Syria, Bahrain's security forces fired tear gas at protesters in Manama, and a bombing at a bus stop in Jerusalem killed one woman and injured 20 other people.
The Western world looks on as citizens of countries ruled by dictatorial regimes protest and demand the removal of their leaders.
Some look at the exit of Mubarak from Egypt as a victory for democracy, but those that are in the know about foreign matters are concerned about what kind of government will replace him, viewing the replacement as worse than the first.
The fear is that the exit of a dictator leaves a vacuum that could be filled with the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist group that seeks to instill the Quran and Sunnah as the primary guide for the life of all Muslims.
The Brotherhood officially condemns violence, but over the years the group has been known to support violence and has been repeatedly banned from Egypt.
Meanwhile in Libya there is some hope for the rebels as Qadhafi forces withdrew from a key city in the Eastern part of the country, mostly because of the bombing the Libyan forces received from international fighter jets of the coalition.
Violence against the citizens by Qadhafi's forces gained international attention when a Libyan woman was detained by soldiers for two days, brutally raping her, and was dragged away to an unknown location by government officials as she tried to tell her story to foreign journalists in a Tripoli hotel.
The Western world looks on as citizens of countries ruled by dictatorial regimes protest and demand the removal of their leaders.
Some look at the exit of Mubarak from Egypt as a victory for democracy, but those that are in the know about foreign matters are concerned about what kind of government will replace him, viewing the replacement as worse than the first.
The fear is that the exit of a dictator leaves a vacuum that could be filled with the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist group that seeks to instill the Quran and Sunnah as the primary guide for the life of all Muslims.
The Brotherhood officially condemns violence, but over the years the group has been known to support violence and has been repeatedly banned from Egypt.
Meanwhile in Libya there is some hope for the rebels as Qadhafi forces withdrew from a key city in the Eastern part of the country, mostly because of the bombing the Libyan forces received from international fighter jets of the coalition.
Violence against the citizens by Qadhafi's forces gained international attention when a Libyan woman was detained by soldiers for two days, brutally raping her, and was dragged away to an unknown location by government officials as she tried to tell her story to foreign journalists in a Tripoli hotel.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Fallout from Japan's earthquake continues to plague the country.
News from Japan about the victims of the earthquake and tsunami is being overshadowed by the potenential nuclear disaster that comes from four nuclear reactors damaged from the wave of water.
Power from backup generators at the Fukoshima reactors was cut off when the tsunami flooded equipment and rendered them useless.
Over the last week the reactor cores heated up and explosions from built- up hydrogen gas damaged the containment buildings, releasing dangerous levels of radiation to the surrounding areas.
Attempts to cool the reactors with sea water sprayed from fire hoses has done little to stop the nuclear material from melting down.
Finally on Saturday an electric cable connecting power from several kilometers away was connected to the power grid for the plants, giving the plant workers hope for restarting the pumps.
The damage to the reactors is still not completely known, and time is still of the essence in keeping radiation from spreading further into the country.
Power from backup generators at the Fukoshima reactors was cut off when the tsunami flooded equipment and rendered them useless.
Over the last week the reactor cores heated up and explosions from built- up hydrogen gas damaged the containment buildings, releasing dangerous levels of radiation to the surrounding areas.
Attempts to cool the reactors with sea water sprayed from fire hoses has done little to stop the nuclear material from melting down.
Finally on Saturday an electric cable connecting power from several kilometers away was connected to the power grid for the plants, giving the plant workers hope for restarting the pumps.
The damage to the reactors is still not completely known, and time is still of the essence in keeping radiation from spreading further into the country.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Japan gets the one-two punch
On Friday March 11 Japan was hit by the largest earthquake recorded in the country for the last 300 years, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, followed by a tsunami that devastated entire cities in the northern part of the country.
The 23 foot wave that came in from the Pacific Ocean after the quake lifted houses from their foundations and carried debris along with cars, buses and trucks along with it as far as 10 miles inland in a black wave of destruction.
If that wasn't enough, two nuclear power plants shut down because of the massive earthquake and lost backup powered generators that would keep cooling system pumps running, threatening to allow the nuclear fuel to overheat and possibly result in a meltdown.
The quake caused skyscrapers in Tokyo to sway for up to a half hour after the 5 minute rumbling, but the buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes by moving a little bit rather than breaking, and there were no reports of any tall buildings collapsing.
The resulting tsunami spread out across the Pacific Ocean and caused damage in Hawaii about 8 hours later and in California 12 hours later, pulling boats from their moorings and washing them out to sea.
One death was recorded near Crescent City, California when 5 people were washed out to sea as they were watching the wave come in, 4 of the 5 being rescued.
News from Japan was coming out mostly through reports on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, giving the rest of the world pictures and reports that couldn't be captured by the usual news sources.
The speed that technology gives us to pass along information is giving the people of the world the ability to make judgments and express opinions so much faster than even a couple of years ago.
Major news organizations in the U.S. immediately put news reporters on planes headed to the devastation, but the private citizens on the ground with cell phones and internet access posted breaking stories within minutes of the events, beating the professionals at their own game.
The 23 foot wave that came in from the Pacific Ocean after the quake lifted houses from their foundations and carried debris along with cars, buses and trucks along with it as far as 10 miles inland in a black wave of destruction.
If that wasn't enough, two nuclear power plants shut down because of the massive earthquake and lost backup powered generators that would keep cooling system pumps running, threatening to allow the nuclear fuel to overheat and possibly result in a meltdown.
The quake caused skyscrapers in Tokyo to sway for up to a half hour after the 5 minute rumbling, but the buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes by moving a little bit rather than breaking, and there were no reports of any tall buildings collapsing.
The resulting tsunami spread out across the Pacific Ocean and caused damage in Hawaii about 8 hours later and in California 12 hours later, pulling boats from their moorings and washing them out to sea.
One death was recorded near Crescent City, California when 5 people were washed out to sea as they were watching the wave come in, 4 of the 5 being rescued.
News from Japan was coming out mostly through reports on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, giving the rest of the world pictures and reports that couldn't be captured by the usual news sources.
The speed that technology gives us to pass along information is giving the people of the world the ability to make judgments and express opinions so much faster than even a couple of years ago.
Major news organizations in the U.S. immediately put news reporters on planes headed to the devastation, but the private citizens on the ground with cell phones and internet access posted breaking stories within minutes of the events, beating the professionals at their own game.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Second earthquake in New Zealand in six months
For the second time in about six months New Zealand was shaken by a major earthquake that caused massive damage to the city of Christchurch.
This past week the city of Christchurch, the largest city on the southern island of New Zealand and the second largest in the country felt an earthquake that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.
According to CNN news the death toll from the 6.3 magnitutde earthquake that demolished part of Christchurch, New Zealand has climbed to 145.
The death count was initially placed at 65 on the first day and after days of searching for hundreds of others many rescue attempts have been changed to recovery attempts since no one has been found alive for the last 72 hours.
I personally have an interest in this story because I have friends that live in Christchurch that my wife and I spent two weeks with for our 25th anniversary.
Maria Stack and her parents live in a quiet residential section on the southern edge of Christchurch that is nestled up next to coastal hills.
The first earthquake in Christchurch registered a 7.1 in September of 2010 and caused enough damage to their house that it was condemned by the city.
This earthquake occured while we were sleeping and the first news that I heard of it was from Maria's post on Facebook where she assured her friends that she and her family were safe.
Maria posted on her facebook page on February 22: "Hey everyone... me and family are all good. Things are crazy here.... i cant believe this. And to all those we lost today. RIP friends"
This past week the city of Christchurch, the largest city on the southern island of New Zealand and the second largest in the country felt an earthquake that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.
According to CNN news the death toll from the 6.3 magnitutde earthquake that demolished part of Christchurch, New Zealand has climbed to 145.
The death count was initially placed at 65 on the first day and after days of searching for hundreds of others many rescue attempts have been changed to recovery attempts since no one has been found alive for the last 72 hours.
I personally have an interest in this story because I have friends that live in Christchurch that my wife and I spent two weeks with for our 25th anniversary.
Maria Stack and her parents live in a quiet residential section on the southern edge of Christchurch that is nestled up next to coastal hills.
The first earthquake in Christchurch registered a 7.1 in September of 2010 and caused enough damage to their house that it was condemned by the city.
This earthquake occured while we were sleeping and the first news that I heard of it was from Maria's post on Facebook where she assured her friends that she and her family were safe.
Maria posted on her facebook page on February 22: "Hey everyone... me and family are all good. Things are crazy here.... i cant believe this. And to all those we lost today. RIP friends"
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Persian Gulf unrest since Mubarak's exit
Over the past week protests by citizens of the countries of Bahrain Libya Iran Yemen Egypt
Many of the citizens of countries in the Persian Gulf region have seen the government changes in Tunisia Egypt
According to the Los Angeles Times on February 14, Street clashes in Iran Bahrain Yemen
The BBC News reported on February 19 that at least 15 people were killed and many more wounded as violence has been reported in Benghazi , Libya
USA Today reported on Friday that after two straight days of protests in Manama , Bahrain
Pearl Square
Pearl Square
In my opinion the unrest that is occurring is cause for concern by virtually all the democracies in the world because of the uncertainty of how these countries will be governed when the protests are over.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Geocaching at Sluicebox State Park
There is a state park located about a 45 minute drive East of Great Falls called Sluicboxes State Park that has a multi-stage geocache hidden within its boundaries.
Danice and I spent several hours hiking the trails in the park one Saturday and used the multi-cache as an excuse to get out and enjoy the outdoors.
In a multi-cache, the first hide is posted at the website to get the search started.
The first cache has the coordinates for the second cache posted, and at the second cache the coordinates are posted for the third cache, and so on.
The final cache of a multi-cache is usually some kind of a point of interest, such as a historical site or in the case of a state park it might be a scenic spot.
In this particular case, the final cache was located near an old kiln that had been used many years ago.
It was a nice day for a hike because of the weather, and we also saw a little wildlife along the way.
Danice and I spent several hours hiking the trails in the park one Saturday and used the multi-cache as an excuse to get out and enjoy the outdoors.
In a multi-cache, the first hide is posted at the website to get the search started.
The first cache has the coordinates for the second cache posted, and at the second cache the coordinates are posted for the third cache, and so on.
The final cache of a multi-cache is usually some kind of a point of interest, such as a historical site or in the case of a state park it might be a scenic spot.
In this particular case, the final cache was located near an old kiln that had been used many years ago.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Geocaching as a part of business
Several years ago the marketing manager of the company that I work for, Pacific Steel & Recycling conceived the idea of using geocaching as a marketing tool.
Several of Pacific's employees enjoy geocaching as a hobby and helped put together a way of using it as a way of bringing people to our stores.
Geocaching containers were assembled and some items were purchased to put in them for placement at several of our stores.
Since it was started, over 12 geocaches have been placed at Pacific Steel & Recycling stores of the 38 stores in the company.
Many people that visit these caches make comments about how unique it was to find our stores this way.
There may not be much business brought in by the geocachers, but the way Pacific used geocaching made them remember our company.
Several of Pacific's employees enjoy geocaching as a hobby and helped put together a way of using it as a way of bringing people to our stores.
Geocaching containers were assembled and some items were purchased to put in them for placement at several of our stores.
Since it was started, over 12 geocaches have been placed at Pacific Steel & Recycling stores of the 38 stores in the company.
Many people that visit these caches make comments about how unique it was to find our stores this way.
There may not be much business brought in by the geocachers, but the way Pacific used geocaching made them remember our company.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Geocaching in Great Falls
There are over 100 geocaches hidden within the city limits of Great Falls.
On many Saturdays that my wife and I don't have anything planned, we will take the GPS and drive around town looking for the different things that are hidden by other geocachers.
On one occasion we took a walk from the box cars on the River's Edge trail out towards Rainbow Dam and found all of the caches that were hidden.
We found five or six caches that day hidden in places like next to the Black Eagle Dam overlook, the bridge by the Fish and Game building, the bridge over a creek out past Giant Springs, and under the railroad trestle near Rainbow Dam.
The day was warm and sunny and we had our pet Schnauzer with to walk with us.
Danice and I have been able to get exercise on these walks and spend a lot of time outdoors, which is where we like to be.
On many Saturdays that my wife and I don't have anything planned, we will take the GPS and drive around town looking for the different things that are hidden by other geocachers.
On one occasion we took a walk from the box cars on the River's Edge trail out towards Rainbow Dam and found all of the caches that were hidden.
We found five or six caches that day hidden in places like next to the Black Eagle Dam overlook, the bridge by the Fish and Game building, the bridge over a creek out past Giant Springs, and under the railroad trestle near Rainbow Dam.
The day was warm and sunny and we had our pet Schnauzer with to walk with us.
Danice and I have been able to get exercise on these walks and spend a lot of time outdoors, which is where we like to be.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saturday road trip
One Saturday in May of 2007 we wanted to see what the countryside looked like around Great Falls.
We started by driving to Fort Benton and found a geocache at the overlook of the Missouri River just outside of town on the the highway.
After a quick drive through Fort Benton we crossed the bridge over the Missouri and drove East.
We drove past Geraldine and continued south past Square Butte where we took a side trip through Denton to see where a good friend from Idaho grew up.
Along the highway near a creek we found a geocache and placed a travel bug for the next geocacher to find.
A travel bug is an item that has a tag attached with a serial number that can be tracked on the geocaching website as it moves from cache to cache.
Traveling south we came to Stanford where we turned back on to Highway 200 to head west back to Great Falls.
There was a geocache on the roadside rest stop near Stanford and another next to Belt Creek at the Armington junction.
The trip took us most of that Saturday and we saw a lot of different country along the way.
Once we got home we logged back on to geocaching.com and logged 10 geocache finds.
We started by driving to Fort Benton and found a geocache at the overlook of the Missouri River just outside of town on the the highway.
After a quick drive through Fort Benton we crossed the bridge over the Missouri and drove East.
We drove past Geraldine and continued south past Square Butte where we took a side trip through Denton to see where a good friend from Idaho grew up.
Along the highway near a creek we found a geocache and placed a travel bug for the next geocacher to find.
A travel bug is an item that has a tag attached with a serial number that can be tracked on the geocaching website as it moves from cache to cache.
Traveling south we came to Stanford where we turned back on to Highway 200 to head west back to Great Falls.
There was a geocache on the roadside rest stop near Stanford and another next to Belt Creek at the Armington junction.
The trip took us most of that Saturday and we saw a lot of different country along the way.
Once we got home we logged back on to geocaching.com and logged 10 geocache finds.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Geocaching at Ryan Dam
There are a number of caches hidden near and around Ryan dam on the trail that borders the Missouri River.
My wife and I parked at the trailhead near Ryan dam and hiked for several hours one Saturday to find a number of the geocaches that were hidden.
This picture shows my wife Danice reading the logbook of a cache that was hidden in this old stone house that can be found a short walk from the trailhead.
We followed the trail and eventually we found ourselves sitting on a cliff overlooking Ryan dam, as can be seen from this picture.
My wife and I parked at the trailhead near Ryan dam and hiked for several hours one Saturday to find a number of the geocaches that were hidden.
We followed the trail and eventually we found ourselves sitting on a cliff overlooking Ryan dam, as can be seen from this picture.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Geocaching in Havre
One weekend we decided to visit our friends, the Hillsteads, in Havre and introduce them to geocaching.
In the fall of 2007 the town of Havre had only about 15 geocaches hidden in the area by local geocaching enthusiasts.
We made a list of all the coordinates in the Havre area and spent about six hours with our friends looking for all of the hidden caches.
This picture is of a chimney located on the shore of Fresno reservoir about ten miles northwest of Havre.
We drove our cars over about five miles on some very rough and rocky roads to find a geocache inside this chimney.
In the fall of 2007 the town of Havre had only about 15 geocaches hidden in the area by local geocaching enthusiasts.
We made a list of all the coordinates in the Havre area and spent about six hours with our friends looking for all of the hidden caches.
This picture is of a chimney located on the shore of Fresno reservoir about ten miles northwest of Havre.
We drove our cars over about five miles on some very rough and rocky roads to find a geocache inside this chimney.
The Hillsteads have since purchased a GPS device and started going on their own geocaching adventures.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
A day of Geocaching out to Augusta
Danice and I spent one of our first Saturdays in Montana looking for geocaches that were hidden between Great Falls and Augusta. It was in February of 2007, a cold sunny day for a drive out to the Rocky Mountain front.
We drove through Fort Shaw, where we found a cache at the military cemetery just outside of town. After that we drove out to Augusta and found several caches in town.
On the way back to Great Falls later in the day we followed a trail of geocaches leading up to the Ulm Pishkun buffalo jump, now known as First People's Buffalo jump. This picture shows a clever cache hidden in a container placed inside a hollowed out rock at the Visitor's Center.
We drove through Fort Shaw, where we found a cache at the military cemetery just outside of town. After that we drove out to Augusta and found several caches in town.
On the way back to Great Falls later in the day we followed a trail of geocaches leading up to the Ulm Pishkun buffalo jump, now known as First People's Buffalo jump. This picture shows a clever cache hidden in a container placed inside a hollowed out rock at the Visitor's Center.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Our first geocaching adventure
On the second weekend after moving to Montana we took a 200 mile geocaching trip out of Great Falls and found some geocaches in interesting places.
This old jail near Square Butte had a cache hidden just inside the door.
The Isaaks start to explore Montana
When we moved to Montana in 2007 we decided to use the game of geocaching to explore all of the beautiful places that Montana has to offer.
Geocaching is a game invented in 2000 by a couple of guys in Oregon using a GPS receiver to hide a container in the woods and post the coordinates on an internet blog site in hopes that someone else will find it.
My wife Danice and I had been geocaching for about two years and found that it was a good way to go to places that we would not normally go and see unusual things.
In the first few weeks of our life in Great Falls we decided that it would be fun to try to find all of the caches that are hidden within the city limits.
Geocaching is a game invented in 2000 by a couple of guys in Oregon using a GPS receiver to hide a container in the woods and post the coordinates on an internet blog site in hopes that someone else will find it.
My wife Danice and I had been geocaching for about two years and found that it was a good way to go to places that we would not normally go and see unusual things.
In the first few weeks of our life in Great Falls we decided that it would be fun to try to find all of the caches that are hidden within the city limits.
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