Appointments to Ashtabula County Transport, by Resolution

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE


The Board of County Commissioners of Ashtabula County, Ohio, met on the 11th day of February,
2014, in regular session at the offices of said Board in the Old Courthouse Building, 2nd Floor, Jefferson,
Ohio, with the following members present: Daniel R. Claypool, Peggy A. Carlo, Joseph A. Moroski.
WHEREAS, In December, 1986 the Board of Commissioners created the Ashtabula County
Transportation System Advisory Board to advise the System on meeting the transportation needs of the
residents of Ashtabula County; and
WHEREAS, on August 19, 2008, by Res. No. 2008-287, the by-laws were amended and the
name changed to the Ashtabula County Transportation System Advisory Committee; and
WHEREAS, The terms of the members are set at three (3) years; and
WHEREAS, the following is a list of new appointments:
Miriam Walton replacing Mardona Treen eff. Immediately terminating 12/31/2016
Judith Barris replacing Lynn Frank eff. Immediately terminating 12/31/2016
Diana Dickson Sowry replacing Julius Petro eff. Immediately terminating 12/31/2016
Joseph Petros Jr. replacing Raymond Stoup eff. Immediately terminating 12/31/2015
; now
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Board of Commissioners of Ashtabula County, Ohio,
that the new appointments be accepted to the Ashtabula County Transportation System Advisory
Committee as outlined above.
MOTION: Carlo moved the adoption, Moroski seconded. DISCUSSION:None
VOTE: Yeas: Carlo, Claypool, Moroski Nays: None Abstained: None Absent:
None
Whereupon the resolution was declared passed unanimously

Stop BP from bringing dirty tar sands to Ohio

From:  Credo

Across the country, activists are fighting to stop the Keystone XL pipeline from transporting dirty Canadian tar sands oil – the dirtiest kind of oil on Earth – across the United States.

But if BP and Canadian company Husky Energy get their way, dirty tar sands oil will soon be coming to Ohio. The companies are seeking permission from the Ohio EPA to modify their Oregon, Ohio refinery so it can process dirty tar sands oil.¹

Letting a company with BP's dismal environmental and safety record process highly toxic tar sands oil is the last thing Ohio should be doing, but that's exactly what the Ohio EPA is currently considering.

Tell the Ohio EPA: Keep dirty tar sands oil of out Ohio! Submit a public comment now.

Activists nationwide are fighting the Keystone XL pipeline and dirty tar sands development because they know that allowing dirty tar sands to be fully exploited will make it impossible to stop catastrophic climate change. Keystone XL’s proposed route doesn’t run through Ohio – but BP’s dangerous plan for refining tar sands oil does.

BP has repeatedly shown that it is an irresponsible company that can’t be trusted to protect people and the environment. We all remember BP’s central role in the largest oil spill in American history, in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, but the company has also had safety and pollution problems at the same Ohio refinery it is now hoping to retrofit for dirty tar sands.

In 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued BP 62 safety violations and fined the company nearly $3 million for “exposing workers to a variety of hazards” at its Oregon, Ohio refinery.² Then on March 10 of this year, the refinery malfunctioned and released extremely dangerous hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide pollution into the air.³

The Ohio EPA has the power to keep dirty tar sands oil out of Ohio, but it won’t do so unless Ohioans demand it.

With climate change wreaking havoc across the globe and greenhouse gas emissions at their highest level in human history, we can’t afford to continue investing in the dirty oil on the planet. We need strong grassroots pressure to convince the Ohio EPA to do its part by rejecting BP’s plan to refine tar sands oil in Ohio.

Tell the Ohio EPA: Keep dirty tar sands oil of out Ohio! Submit a public comment now.

1. "Ohio EPA Hosting Meeting about BP-Husky Air Permit," Ohio EPA, 5/22/13
2. "Ohio BP refinery facing fines of $3 million," Houston Chronicle, 3/9/10
3. "BP Reports Equipment Malfunction, Emissions at Toledo, Ohio, Refinery, Dow Jones Business News, 3/11/13

Ohio Pipeline Spill Leaked Double the Amount of Crude Oil Originally Estimated

From:  EcoWatch 

by Brandon Baker

The pipeline that oozed oil into the Oak Glen Nature Preserve near Cincinnati, OH a week ago leaked more crude oil than originally estimated—about two times more.

Federal investigators now estimate that 20,000 gallons leaked last week, threatening the drinking supply and wildlife in the area, the Associated Press reported.

Federal investigators say a pipeline in Ohio leaked 20,000 gallons of crude oil last week. Photo credit: U.S. Environmental Agency/via RT America

Sunoco spokesman Jeff Shields said a clamp has been engineered just for the 20-inch diameter pipeline as part of a federally approved plan. While Shields said the pipeline had a 5-inch crack, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the matter is still under investigation.

The pipeline has been repaired and reopened on Monday, according to Sunoco Logistics. Sunoco had turned off a stretch of the pipeline from Hebron, KY, to Lima, OH as a result of the leak. The new clamp was tested before oil resumed flowing.

The company owns most of the Mid-Valley Pipeline Co. pipeline, which extends 1,000 miles from Michigan to Texas. 

The pipeline carries crude oil to refineries in Ohio and Oregon. Inspectors last checked it in 2011. A system-wide inspection of the 1,119-mile-long pipeline five years ago resulted in a $48,700 fine for Sunoco, which did not address corrosion problems in the pipeline.

MORE

BP Confirms Oil Spill into Lake Michigan From Whiting Refinery

From:  Fox 17 News 

NEW PHOTOS OF CLEAN-UP EFFORTS HERE

By Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune reporter

WHITING, Ind. (March 25, 2014) – A malfunction at the BP refinery in Whiting forced a slug of crude oil into Lake Michigan on Monday, the company confirmed today.

It was not immediately clear how much oil spilled into the lake or how long the discharge continued. A spokesman for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said the leak was plugged by 1 a.m. today.

The effect on Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for 7 million people in Chicago and the suburbs, likely won’t be determined for several days. Emergency response crews from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard are on the scene.

Slide Show  

The malfunction apparently occurred at the refinery’s largest distillation unit, the centerpiece of a $4 billion overhaul that allowed BP to process more heavy Canadian oil from the tar sands region of Alberta. The unit, which Dean said has resumed normal operations, performs one of the first steps in the refining of crude oil into gasoline and other fuels.

SENATOR CARL LEVIN STATEMENT

Read more: http://fox17online.com/2014/03/25/bp-confirms-oil-spill-into-lake-michigan-from-whiting-refinery/#ixzz2x3eatEmx

BREAKING: Tar sands oil spills into Lake Michigan by BP

From:  Surf Great Lakes 

Posted by B. Wallace on Mar 25, 2014 

 

Reports are coming in that a little over 500 gallons of oil has spilled into Lake Michigan from the BP Whiting refinery, which just went under massive upgrades to take on tar sands crude from Alberta Canada. This refinery and the tar sands upgrades have already caused major health effects in the nearby communities because of pollution and massive petcoke piles that continue to pop up near the refineries and Lake Michigan.

Reuters reports:

A malfunction at BP’s Whiting, Indiana, refinery caused an oil spill into Lake Michigan on Tuesday morning, according to a report on The Times of Northwest Indiana website.
The incident was discovered at 4:30 p.m. Monday, according to the report that quoted company spokesman Scott Dean.Dean told the paper BP was not yet know the amount of oil discharged into the lake due to the disruption in the processing unit at the refinery.
The refinery has a capacity of 405,000 barrels per day.

You can see footage of the clean-up from NBC Chicago

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No. 89 – March 20, 2014 – Will He Ever Forgive Me?

by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

Graysom came into my life when a friend asked me to watch him for two days while he attended to some personal business. As it turned out, Graysom never went home because we bonded.

Graysom is a talker, trilling and warbling as he looks at you with hope in his eyes. When I took him home he was a small, fluffy ball of gray fur who relaxed in your arms and looked at the world with shiny interest. He still is. But I knew the day would come when I would have to have the little guy neutered. Would he ever forgive me?

Tiger Lady, the first cat my family had when I was around two, turned out to be Tiger, a definite male with King of the Jungle attitude. Tiger, a gorgeous orange tabby, did not live long, He crawled home so bloodied and battered by battle the vet just shook his head.

I found PetFix with a Google search and called. Mary Riffe takes care of scheduling cats and the dread date was agreed on. Soon, the paperwork arrived in the mail.

PetFix is a not-for-profit which is dedicated entirely to spay and neuter services. Mary and Susie Huggins, who staff the office, are volunteers, dedicated to ensuring a smooth and non-traumatic process for cats, dogs, and owners.

The procedure takes place in a van, decked out to provide mobile surgery. PetFix makes the procedure affordable for those who are low-income.

As I drove into the facility Graysom was attempting to escape from his carrier . Clearly, I was a cat-abuser. He had not eaten or drunk since the night before.

The back room held other pets, also clearly worried. The biggest growl came from a tiny dog who had hunkered down under his blankie, eyes and nose alert. The paperwork, already filled out was handed over. Graysom was consigned to his fate.

Mary and Susie love animals, that is why they are there. Every animal is someone special.

When I returned Graysom was very groggy, but had, Susie said, done just fine. Susie went over the going home instructions with me. No stairs, watch the incision, water first, then a tiny bit of food. I nodded.

At home, Graysom wobbled around the room, plumping down and looking at me blankly. Then, he plopped into my lap and buried his head in my arms. I was forgiven.

No. 88 – March 13, 2014 – Legends of the Fall

by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

“There are Dark Angels, who rejected God, choosing evil. Light Angels accept God.”

Last Sunday I called Father Teo and the conversation turned first to his prayer ministry and then to his own journey of faith. The Dark Angels of whom Father Teo spoke he also characterized as demons, or psychopaths. I called Father to chat about his ministry for healing psychopaths.

Father Teo is a former Catholic priest whose ministry took him to South America in the 70's, where he started the first Catholic High School for boys in Bolivia.

When his ministry was moved back to the United States Father Teo's own spiritual journey resulted in his leaving the Catholic Church to start an outreach ministry which focused on the sacred feminine and also included working through prayer to heal.

In the last several years Father Teo's congregation have also begun to receive counseling from a licensed psychologist in conjunction with prayer, which he provides along with the prayer group of the church. Where prayer is included, healing the wounds of emotional trauma comes far more rapidly, Father said, this taking place sometimes in only one session.

Dark Angels, those who turn away from God, Father said, are very different. While they can always choose to change most do not. For two years his prayer group, which focuses on psychopaths, worked on one woman, adopted by a family who finally realized, after years of manipulation and trauma, she was a psychopathic.

All the work took place remotely, using a clairvoyant to let them know what was happening in the woman's mind. At the end of two years the signs of psychopathy were gone. Now, a year later, her behavior is still emotionally normal, to the family's relief.

Father Teo says she chose to affirm her relationship with God, even if this was unconscious.

Talk of the Fall in Christian theology begins with Abraham, when three Angels visit him announcing the birth of a son to his wife, Sarah. Images from the Bible include a ladder, stretching from Heaven to Earth. After the Captivity in 450BC angels become an integral part of Jewish religion. Some believe these were actually aliens. Father Teo believes these beings, rejecting God, chose evil, and their continued rejection will damn them to Hell.

Father's work with psychopaths is intended to offer the lost, Dark Angels, a choice. It was a fascinating discussion.

No. 87 – March 6, 2014 – Legends, and Truths from a Small Town in Texas

by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

The town of Quanah holds surprises and an American example of courage, clear thinking, and integrity which intrigues those who look. The same town holds the roots for two very different families.

Quanah's population today is 2,599.

Frederick C. Koch, whose career in the oil business made him a millionaire, laid the foundation for Koch Industries. Fred was born in Quanah, the second son of Harry Koch, a Dutch immigrant. Fred's sons were born in Wichita, Kansas, 338 miles away.

Quanah was named for Quanah Parker, the son of Cynthia Ann Parker, captured in 1836 during the massacre at Fort Parker by Comanches in 1836. Cynthia was nine. Adopted by the Comanches she later married the chief, Nocona.

Quanah came to know his Parker relatives in later years but remained a firm supporter, and respected leader, for the Comanche, helping them survive attempts to destroy their sources of food with the annihilation of the buffalo herds and life on the reservation.

Understanding that respect in the white world necessitated having money, Quanah went into business. By becoming a cattleman when it became clear the Federal government intended to break up the reservation he was able to help his people transition from the grim future then overtaking other tribes by advocating assimilation. In business, he secured the funds necessary to help them. Quanah showed them how to assimilate into white society while keeping their own traditions alive.

Quanah invested in other enterprises, including the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway, dying a wealthy man whose friends included President Theodore Roosevelt.

Remaining a man of integrity he died in 1911, held in esteem by both Indians and Whites.

Fred Chase Koch started a company which today is the first or second largest privately held company in the world. Now run by two of his sons, Charles and David, their multiple enterprises are responsible for billions in toxic waste while they rhetorically uphold the principles of the free market, substituting the reality of mercantilism, business dependent on a hand and glove with government, for freedom in commerce.

In Quanah the Kochs are rarely mentioned. On one website Fred Koch, the oldest son of Fred, Sr., appears,“"Fred Koch has been instrumental in preserving some of the buildings downtown and in reviving interest in the town's heritage."

Those who know you closest, really know you. These are the people who can best calculate your true worth.