DAYTON, Ohio -- Dayton police said they went to an apartment building on Fernwood Avenue looking for a robbery suspect and ended up tazing the man's mother who is legally blind.

The incident happened on Fernwood Avenue Thursday.Police said 49-year-old Denise Harris refused to talk with them and became combative, striking out at an officer. According to officers, when they tried to arrest her, she resisted and they tased her.Neighors said the officers used unnecessary force on the blind woman, who is also suffering from diabetes and cancer.Sgt. Charles Anderson said Harris will be charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, but the incident is under investigation. See more and watch the video here.

Update - Here is the video:

Apparently failure is an option. About 10 or so days ago we were enjoying some incredibly nice weather. Cooler than average temperatures and low humidity were ruling both our days and nights. And this particular night I was lounging in the television room of the west wing of the mansion, while a mostly naked Kate Isitt fed me peeled grapes and pressed the buttons on the t.v. remote for me, when I noticed the stark white light of the waxing moon upon the lawn. "Hum," thought I. "Perhaps a chance to snap a few pics of the moon this evening?" but the pull of the television, the peeled grapes and the mostly naked Ms. Isitt kept me from making my way out of doors.

Another hour or so passed and I again noted the lovely light upon the lawn and could now see the moon hanging in the night sky, high enough that it was above the tall trees to the south of my view. Extending my apologies to Ms. Isitt I made for my camera kit and tripod and headed out into the wilds that are the 1,276 acres upon which my mansion sits. I stumbled about in the dark for a bit before turning my eyes heavenwards to find not only the moon, in all Her glory, but clouds.

Clouds. Fast moving clouds. And plenty of them. "Damn." thought I. "It was perfectly clear earlier," but I had elected to stay put and now I was about to pay the price for my laziness. I set up my kit and played with my manual settings until I had found one that I thought would provide a decent result and offer a starting place for making adjustments. Regardless the clouds would have none of it and left me with this sort of mess.

Or this instead.

"Clouds be damned!" I mused. "I"m going to stay out here and keep snapping pics until I get something that is remotely useful." And maybe I did?

However, before this particular evening (and around the July 4th holiday) we experienced some rather rainy weather. But this rain was prefaced with something we don't get too often: lightning and thunder. I have enjoyed pictures taken by others of lightning, but have yet to find myself in a position to return the favour. Until now, so to speak. As I could see the flashes of lightning and hear the occasional distant grumble of thunder I thought I should get out and try to capture some of nature's light show, especially since there wasn't yet any rain. Unfortunately the 2,413 acres of land upon which my mansion sits is very wooded and not conducive to photographing lightning on the horizon. Clearly I needed to get into the helicopter and have Pilot fly me to a field whereupon I might have a chance to capture some lightning.

I eventually settled upon a field not too far from my mansion and got myself set up. This wasn't going to be easy though. The lightning wasn't the sort whereby there is a sudden flash of light zipping across the sky, branching out in all sorts of directions, but what is often referred to as heat lightning. It would come and go so quickly I couldn't get off a shot that actually captured anything so I turned to pointing the camera into the sky, setting a longish exposure and hoping I caught something. Anything. What I caught was crap as evidenced below.

And this image is the best of them all. Pitiful. I might have gotten some better shots as time went by, but the arrival of rain sent me and Pilot scurrying to the protection of the helicopter and thus ended my chance to bring to others the same joy they have brought to me.

However, not everything photography-related has been a dismal failure of late. I have managed to pull a few rabbits out of my hat, if you will, and these instances have made my failures feel less-so in retrospect. I have had some great luck with the pets of late. Both the cats and dogs have been more cooperative than usual, but with the dogs it could be simply that they were either asleep or too tired to give me any shit. The one really great situation has been my ability to get a few really super shots of one of the cats, Pumpkin. Pumpkin is, for all intents and purposes, feral. While having lived with us for almost three years he, and his sister Little One, have never properly socialized with we mere mortals. However, Pumpkin was very, very cooperative a few days back and I was able to get a couple of really nice pics of him like this one.

Over the July 4th holiday we had guests from Florida visiting us in the way of our best friends, George and Caroline, and their daughter, Rowan. We haven't seen them in about two years (for a variety of reasons, but money being the biggest impediment. well it's not that money is the impediment, but that the lack thereof is the impediment) and it was truly super to have them about for a week. We enjoyed spending time chatting and otherwise farting around and it gave me a chance to take some pics like this one.

You, my most cherished readers, may recall how poorly went a recent visit to the Butterfly House at the Cox Arboretum of Dayton, Ohio. Well, while there that first time I noticed how nice the arboretum was and thought to myself that I should return on another day and try to take some pictures of whatever I could find. There were lakes and ponds, so ducks, frogs and dragonflies may have been in order. There were flowers, so bees may have been in order. And who knows what else may have been there that I simply missed on our other adventure to the butterfly house. As such I elected to head back earlier this week (Monday I think) with camera kit in tow (but no tripod).

I arrived in what might be best described as very late afternoon/very early evening such that the shadows were obvious, but not yet pronounced. I had my entire kit (camera body and all four lenses including the very heavy 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM monster) with me as I didn't know which lens or lenses I might make best use of, but I elected to start with the 100-400mm just in case I came across dragonflies. Funny how it takes a huge and heavy lens to snap a decent pic (at distance) of a very tiny and very light insect. I must say I was not disappointed.

I will concede the dragonflies were less-than-cooperative as they typically wouldn't sit still for more than a few seconds, which resulted in a lot of nicely composed, but poorly focused images. Alas, I'm not complaining as this was nirvana! Onwards and upwards though as there were bees to be found all over the park!

I had more luck with the bees, but they too kept moving quite a bit as bees are wont to do....or so I assume. While taking pics of the bees (and flowers) I was struck by the beauty that can be found in the death-throws of a flower. I have noticed this before (and noted such as well), but was again struck by this bit of information.

Beyond the bees and dragonflies I was lucky enough to grab a very nice shot of a bird and some landscape type shots of the grounds and its lakes/ponds.

Finally, there has been much in the way of photographs of clouds taken and posted by certain Flickr cohorts of mine. Puffy white clouds. Stormy clouds. Sunrise and sunset clouds. As for me though, not so much. Mostly it has been a matter of not seeing any clouds or cloud formations that seemed photo-worthy. Until recently that is. On my drive back home from the Cox Arboretum Mother Nature saw fit to add a little frosting to the delicious cake that was the arboretum.

As disappointing were my attempts at lightning pics and the moon stuff, I will confess that this recent trip to the arboretum, our friends visit, and the cooperative tame fauna more than made up for those minor setbacks. For a switch everything felt right and good.

I guess I should start looking over my shoulder now, eh?

Beth's mom, Gina, wrote her a beautiful letter.  She asked one of the bridesmaids to read it aloud for everyone to hear because she knew she wouldn't make it to the end without crying.  It was so touching!

Beth was a gorgeous bride:

Then we headed over to Ault Park to have some fun with the guys!

Beth & Jason:  Congratulations!  I had a great time & I wish you nothing but happiness!

I recently finished three novels—Noah Charney’s The Art Thief, Louise Erdrich’s The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse and Michael Ondaatje’s Divisadero. All three are good reads that I recommend. Charney’s is a debut novel and it’s a kind of mash-up of sociologist Howard Becker’s Art Worlds and mystery writers Janwillem Van de Wetering and Georges Simenon (“Maigret” for PBS watchers). Now I realize that I read the short, easily portable books first and have the weighty tomes to carry on vacation. By the way, if you haven't read Van de Wetering--take one of his mysteries to the beach.

What I want to haul around, to the dismay of my husband, are John Mack Faragher’s A Great and Noble Scheme: the Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from their American Homeland and Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth. I noticed that a Canadian blog, Gen X at 40, linked to my earlier piece on the Acadian Bank Museum in Rustico and I was embarrassed because a local historian in Rustico had to correct so much of my first draft. I want to get the Acadian story right. I also liked Faragher’s Daniel Boone a lot. Some how the lottery of books on hold at the public library landed the second big book in my lap this weekend – Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth. I know there will be a hold on this when I get back so I’ll try to shoe horn it into my suitcase as well. Perhaps I should just download the audio book? I’m also taking Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven because recent events in Texas have so many people talking about it.

I’m saving Elliot Jaspin’s Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America and Christopher M. Kelty’s Two Bits: the Cultural Significance of Free Software for my return. Kelty’s book is available free online but I couldn’t seem to wean myself off of a book to hold in my hands. Perhaps the new One Laptop Per Child computer that also functions as an ebook will solve that problem. These two did not sound like vacation reading. Looks like I’ll facilitate a Center for Teaching and Learning book discussion of Two Bits at Wright State in the fall.

If you like photographs, I recommend a book that is both beautiful and serious. Gary Harwood’s Growing Season: the Life of a Migrant Community will remind you where your fresh vegetables come from this summer. You can see many of his photographs online but buy the book.

I find myself eagerly awaiting the next addition to Louise Erdrich’s children’s book series (The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence). Some adults got hooked on Harry Potter but not me. I should go back and read more of her adult novels but I don’t think there’s room in my suitcase or my two-week vacation.

Fortunately, Rob Andrews, my producer and camera man tracked down the link to get media passes and we submitted in time.  I am going there on behalf of the National Arab American Journalists Association.  Our cameras are set up and we are going back at 9:30.

Wish me luck!

I will be writing an article about this even in addition we will be taping for SHERIFTV NEWS.

I'm excited to see Obama and what he has to say about the future of our country

Sherif Hedayat
WWW.SHERIFTV.COM

This weekend I had the opportunity to give the weekend talk for both campuses and unroll our exciting summer initiative - Summer in the City.

The heart behind Summer in the City is that we want bring Jesus to Dayton - PERIOD.  We have about 12-13 partnership churches in the inner-city of Dayton and we are locking arms with them through service projects, prayer canvasing, clothing and house-ware distribution, evangelistic block parties and a huge back-to-school rally to close the weekend out.

The exciting thing is that NO ONE WILL KNOW WE ARE BEHIND IT!!!  We are taking a weekend to be about God and His work in the city and not about our church!  I can't wait - big things are going to happen.  Our prayer is that through our humble, obedient service people will see Jesus.  Summer in the City happens on the weekend of August 23 & 24.  Pray!

A plan for a regional bikeway has veered into a rough patch, largely because proponents have only one foot on the pedals of reality and area county engineers have only one eye on the road ahead.

Bold and mostly worthy, the Comprehensive Local-Regional Bikeways Plan calls for gradually connecting the Dayton area's existing bikeways with others into a network for getting around by foot or on two wheels in Montgomery, Greene, Miami and parts of northern Warren County.

The proposal slipped off course at a May meeting of a Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission committee. County engineers complained they were being hit with an unfunded mandate; the

MVRPC hadn't anticipated this concern — natural though it is.

Robert Geyer, Greene County engineer, said he and the other engineers were blindsided.

"They said if you wanted federal dollars from MVRPC to do a project, and your project was on this plan, you had to incorporate a bikeway or some kind of bike facility as part of your plan unless you could prove it would cost you more than 20 percent of the original estimate," Mr. Geyer said.

Estimates to add 96 to 325 miles to the bikeway paths are high — anywhere from $36 million to $112 million, according the MVRPC's consultant, Alta Planning & Design. But that's partly because the original proposal called for altering roadways to conform to a design called "complete streets." Because not everyone is going to stop driving or could, even if they wanted to, and to get the engineers back on board, that approach is being scaled back.

Common in Europe and catching on in some U.S. cities, complete streets are built for cars, buses, bikers and walkers. They include dedicated lanes for different modes of transportation.

Locally, among the problems of adopting this approach are that the shoulders of selected narrow rural roads would have to be paved. That's expensive.

But, of course, one of the big threats to bicyclists is the danger they face on roadways where drivers don't expect to see them or where there's not enough room for them.

With gas prices forcing people to consider alternatives to driving their cars, planners have to be thinking ahead and about safety.

Some officials think MVRPC hasn't done enough homework to justify being so adamant about building bikeways. They think the demand needs to be documented before too much money is spent. (The MVRPC hasn't done a survey; its research mainly is in the form of questionnaires given to bicycle enthusiasts. MVRPC executive director Donald R. Spang has to produce harder evidence.)

Jeff McGrath, Beavercreek planning director, summed up the situation well. "We're behind it (connecting the bikeways) 100 percent," he said. "But there should be some documented support in the communities, which is lacking right now."

Mr. McGrath is not just making excuses. He agrees, for instance, that a bikeway network fully linking Beavercreek's neighborhoods with work and leisure sites would be a great economic development, quality of life and recruitment tool. He says it would be an amenity to sell to people considering coming to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as part of moves resulting from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

The bike plan should be moved forward by both the engineers and MVRPC. There's just more work to do on precisely how important transportation gaps can be closed and how quickly.

I never thought that I would be using a bicycle as one of my main modes of transportation, the others being the bus and my feet. Had you told me ten years ago that i'd be riding a bike, catching the bus and walking at 28 years old, I would have laughed in your face, and yet here I am, absolutely loving it, and thankful. Yes, thankful, in a country where 2/3 of the people are overweight or obese, to even be ABLE to walk around, and get around on a bike or bus is an accomplishment, and when gas is $4+ dollars a gallon, it becomes a MUCH more attractive alternative.

Admittedly, I was not so hot on the idea initially, but now, you can't keep me off my bike. My husband and I were "marooned" here in Dayton last year in August due to some absolutely insane circumstances (our home and our STUFF is still in California), and in the fall of last year, he bought himself a bike from a pawn shop and started riding to class (He's studying Nutrition and Culinary Arts), which is about 3.5 miles downhill. He rode the entire winter long, in the rain and snow. Hell, I thought he was crazy, but he loved it, had so much energy, and was so excited about it, I told myself, in the spring, when the weather breaks (cause there was no way in HELL I was riding around in the snow, with a baby no less lol), I would get a bike and ride around town with him.

That being said, I was still skeptical because Dayton is unlike a lot of areas in the Midwest that are flat and not so scenic, has LOTS of hills (it's in a river valley), tons of beautiful mature trees, and wonderful bike trails courtesy of our Five Rivers MetroParks. We live near the top of one of the many hills in Dayton, and at the time, I wasn't too interested in finding out how much my legs would burn trying to pedal up that hill. I rode as a kid around the corner, a little in college to get to class, but I was by no means someone who considered themselves a bike rider.

For Mother's Day, I was given a present that I was happy and excited about, but also dreaded because I knew that those hills were coming sooner than later. The first weekend that I had my bike, we rode a total of almost 30 miles. I surprised even myself! I was taking epsom salt baths for a couple of days to help soothe my muscles, but I was getting hooked.

So, since we've started riding our bikes all over the city, i've noticed that I have more conversations with people i've never met than I ever have in my life. Usually it'll start over the babies bike seat, or how sweet my husband has my bike set up with a flag, rack, and Baby on Board sign (thanks baby!). Some conversations go deeper than others (can't talk too long while waiting at the stop light), and I have had some very interesting conversations with people in most cases, I wouldn't otherwise talk to.

Recently though, i've been getting a lot of encouragement, and people telling me how much they respect that i'm out running my errands, going for groceries and riding the bus, all with baby in tow, on my bike. Now, it's just become so much a part of my life that I don't even think about it, but I know that I can't take it for granted either. It is a blessing to be able to have these experiences, and i'm thankful everyday to know that people appreciate and respect what I do, because they don't HAVE to take the time out to let me know how they feel. That's incredibly humbling! I know that because people see me, I am silently encouraging some other moms to hop on their bikes with their babies, that young women see that it's okay and cool to ride a bike and be healthy and strong.

A young pregnant woman I was on the bus with a week or so ago saw me carrying my baby on the front, backpack on the back, and groceries, then put my bike on the rack, and when I got on the bus, she said, "Oh my GOD, you're a BEAST! I saw you waiting at the bus stop with all that stuff and watched you put that bike up there, and I was like, WOW, she's REALLY doing it!" That is incredible to me! When I hear stuff like that, I just know that I gotta keep doing what i'm doing. You never realize how much people are paying attention to what you're doing, and when they see you doing things, they see that it's not as bad as they thought, or wow, she's doing it, I can do that too.

I love everything about riding my bike, and I get more excited every day to hop on my bike and see how much further I can go, how strong i'm getting, how much easier it's getting to climb those hills, and know that I will almost certainly run into some fun and fascinating people along the way.

Along with the damage it can cause to your body, it can also take a toll on your home life and your family’s home life. When you are constantly angry, you tend to take it out on those that are at your disposal. A family that has to walk on eggshells around one of its members can not be a happy and peacefully functioning unit.

The person feeling angry is not the only person that has to worry about stress. The friends and family of an angry individual may also be dealing with a tremendous amount of unhealthy stress. These individuals are also at risk for stress related illnesses and depression.

Try to think about the people you work with and the people you live with the next time that you feel an outburst coming on. They may be the source of your anger or they may not be. Your internal and external conflict may be causing bad side effects on you and your peers. Take a deep breath, step back from the situation, and allow yourself to come down before you overreact. You will find that not only are you happier but so is everyone around you.

By Carlos Todd, LPC http://www.masteringanger.com

Anger Management Institute of Texas is a certified Anderson & Anderson ® provider.

Anger Management Classes available 7 days a week in Houston, Texas.

Gregory A. Kyles, M.A., LPC, CEAP, CAMF
Director, Anger Management Institute of Texas
Diplomate, President of Texas Chapter
American Association of Anger Management Providers
http://www.ami-tx.com
http://www.ami-tx.org
http://gregorykyles.wordpress.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorykyles
http://www.myspace.com/anger_management_expert

We toddled along, as one does with a three-year-old in tow, and took in the lovely surrounds of the park.  I stopped to snap a picture here and a picture there and grew ever so excited about the pending foray into the house of butterflies.  We eventually arrived, made our way inside and were what?  What is the best word or phrase to describe the moment?  Underwhelmed?  Disappointed?  Irritated?  Desiring to take Mother Nature by the neck and throttle her till she turned blue?  Well, any of these words would suffice so I'll leave it to you to select the one you wish.

I think you could count the number of butterflies on one hand.  Certainly no more than two.  Disaster.  Debacle.  What three year old would be beside herself with glee and excitement when the butterflies were more rare than honesty in the current White House administration?  And FORGET about the three year old....what about me!  What was I going to photograph?  I had dragged my kit around in the rather unpleasant heat and humidity of this particular day just so that I would get glorious pics of wonderful and possibly exotic Lepidoptera.  But no.  Once again Mother Nature had shown herself for what she truly is:  one mean chick!  Still.  I didn't come away completely empty handed, which is something I suppose.

Of course, the insanity didn't just end there.  No.  That would have been way too easy.  However, in all fairness this particular instance of insanity was completely self-induced and in no way related to that bitch, Mother Nature. (unless, of course, you consider that I am really nothing more than a somewhat domesticated beast of nature and, therefore, directly related to that spiteful Mother Nature)  Today I transferred the image files from my camera's media card to my laptop, where I was going to review them and select the ones for upload to Flickr.  As has been my trend of late, I worked with the RAW image files instead of the JPEGs.  I reviewed each image, made the necessary corrections (very little really - a few tilts, but a fair bit of cropping), and thought about performing a batch operation to create JPEG files at the requisite file size that I use for upload to flickr (1024 x 683 pixels).  Normally I use two different apps to perform these steps, but today I opted to use just the one (Capture One 4) to work with the RAW files and to create and size the JPEG files.  But I ran into a problem, of my own making of course, when it came time to convert my edited RAW files into JPEGs.  As I had a number of images I wanted to make use of the batch processing feature.  This way I could convert to JPEG AND re-size to 1024x683 en masse.

But I couldn't get it to work.  All the files were ready to go and all were selected, but when I pressed "Process" the software would only process the first image in the group.  "Okay," thought I.  "What now?"  Well the first thing I opted to do was check that I had, indeed, actually selected all the files.  Check.  Next I opted to consult the Help file, which was full of useful information, but only confirmed, at least at first glance, that I was doing everything correctly.  Check.  Confusion and irritation began to cloud my mind.  I opted to check online at the software manufacturer's web site, where I came across a short instructional video which covered this very endeavor (batch processing).  Again, I felt certain that I was doing everything correctly, but what is the saying?  Is it "The devil is in the details"?  Well it seemed that I was doing everything correctly EXCEPT that I needed to be pressing the laptop's Shift key when I selected the Process icon on the screen.

Awwwww shit.

So neither the trip to the butterfly house nor my attempts at batch processing went quite as flawlessly as I had hoped or anticipated.  But let me say this:  I would rather be out having a bad day with my camera than a good day doing a lot of other things.  I so love just the process of taking pictures.  The feel of the camera gear in my hands.  The sound of the shutter clicking.  The minor shift of the lens when the image stabilization kicks in.  The quick thought processes that occur when trying to compose and frame a shot on the fly.  It's all grand.  It's all a high.  I sometimes think that the actual pictures mean less than the process by which I obtained them.  But I'll have to ponder that further and save those thoughts for another day.

A new trend in the death business is set to boom over the next 20 years, according to Funeral Business Weekly magazine.

Funeral homes are starting to sell "Kitty Kaskets" to potential dead people. The caskets have a special compartment in which deceased pet owners may put their cats, in order to hang on to something familiar during their journey into the afterlife.

"We thought up the idea one day after watching a black cat cross in front of the car we were all riding in," said Victor Hugo, one of a team of coffin engineers working at American Casket Enterprise in Dayton, Ohio. "In our minds, everything just clicked."

A fellow engineer at the company, Ralph Sherwin, built the first prototype Kitty Kasket.

"The compartment can hold up to three dead cats, or two live ones with a food dish," Sherwin said.

The caskets are gaining in popularity and sales are brisk for now, but that may change in the future if Americans start to lose weight and become normal-sized again.

"It wouldn't be economical for us to outfit smaller caskets with a kitty compartment," Hugo said.

Det første jeg gjorde var at blive syg. Ligesom de fleste andre i konvojen var jeg underernæret, og klimaskiftet fik min krop til at bukke under. Jeg lå med feber i flere dage, så jeg husker ikke den allerførste tid så godt.

Det var aldrig meningen, at vi skulle blive her særlig længe. Højst tre måneder, tænkte jeg, for jeg skulle jo tilbage når skoleåret begyndte igen. Desuden var min far og min søster med sin familie stadigvæk derhjemme, og det var helt ubegribeligt for mig, at vi skulle være skilt fra hinanden. Men krigen blev bare værre og værre og i mange måneder ad gangen anede vi ikke, om nogen af dem var i live længere. Det var frygteligt at sidde heroppe og have al den mad, man havde lyst til, når ens nærmeste var ved at sulte ihjel. Men jeg var virkelig vild med mad og spiste og spiste så meget, at jeg lige pludselig var blevet buttet. Det var heller ikke så godt, for det var min ryg ikke stærk nok til (jeg havde slet ikke vokset i krigen), så selv det gav problemer.

Vi boede i lejren i over to år og krigen ville bare ingen ende tage. Der var ikke andet end frygtelige nyheder hjemmefra. Massakrer, sult, granatregn over de bosniske byer. Det var det eneste, man kunne tænke på. De voksne i lejren var nervevrag fra ende til anden.

Og så kom den forfærdelige Dayton-aftale, der splittede mit land op i atomer og belønnede dem, der i flere år havde gjort alt hvad de kunne for at udradere mit folk og fjerne mit land fra verdenskortet. Da blev det klart, at vi ikke kunne tage hjem. Vores hjem var blevet foræret til dem, der havde fordrevet os derfra. De skulle vel have noget for deres hårde slid.

Min far, min søster og hendes familie overlevede heldigvis alle sammen. Familien er i dag spredt over hele verden og vi er alle på sin vis ødelagt af krigen. Selv mærker jeg rigtig meget til det i hverdagen, på trods af at der er gået så lang tid. Det føles ikke som 15 år, det kan stadig føles som var det i går. Og det betyder nok også en del, at jeg ikke har set så meget til denne fred efter krigen. Dem, der bor i BiH nu, og dem, der har råd til at tage tilbage oftere end jeg, er sikkert kommet længere med at bearbejde det hele end man kan påstå om mig. De har jo set det ske, mens nogle af mine seneste minder fra mit land handler om køreturen over broen over Sava, over grænsen mellem BiH og Kroatien, da vi for 15 år og to dage siden blev smidt ud af landet, ledsaget af skudsalver. Da jeg på et tidspunkt kigger ud af vinduet, ser jeg en FN-soldat krybe ved siden af bussen. Han vinker pænt op til mig. Der kryber han så ved siden af os, med hjelm, skudsikker vest og våben i hånd, og vinker til mig, der sidder en meter højere oppe, uden nogen form for beskyttelse. Jeg vinkede tilbage.

Det har altid ikke været lige nemt i løbet af de sidste 15 år. Nogle dage er hjemveen er ved at tage livet af mig. Men jeg har bestemt også haft det godt. For nylig lærte jeg så, at min 4. juli er sådan en mærkedag, men sætter lys i vinduet på. Det gjorde jeg i forgårs og vil gøre det hvert år fremover. Til næste år har jeg forhåbentlig råd til at tage hjem igen, se lidt mere af denne fred efter krigen og få nye, gladere minder i stedet for FN-soldaten på broen over Sava.

Donating to charity is a great way to get rid of a car when you don't have the time to negotiate with used car salesmen or don't think you can get what it's worth. Donating a car to a charity lets you deduct its fair market value from your taxable income.

Step #1
Make sure the organization is a registered 501(c)(3) charity or a qualified religious organization that can legally accept your donation from which you can rightfully claim a tax reduction. It is also advisable to find a charity that accepts vehicles without charging a removal fee.

Step#2
Use the Kelley Blue Book or IRS Publications 526 (“Charitable Donations”) and 561 (“Determining the Value of Donated Property) to determine the fair market value of your car. If it’s worth $5,000 or more, have the car appraised by someone certified.

Step #3
Receive a tax receipt with the charity’s name and federal tax number, date of donation, donor’s name as well as the year, make and model of the car that was donated.

Step #4
Follow New Jersey regulations on what to do with the title and plates after notifying the MVC and your insurance company that you no longer own or insure the vehicle. Your receipt and completed IRS Form 8283 should be kept in a safe place, you’ll be needing it when it comes time to file your taxes.

2236 Route 130 North
Dayton, NJ 08810

How to Donate the Car to Outreach Center

Step #1
Know that for the easiest method and maximum tax benefits, the clear choice for car donations is the popular “Outreach Center” You can simply fill out a form on their Car Donation Website or by calling them on 800.768.7666

Step #2
Outreach Center will give you an idea of whether your car will be able to be used as a program car that can be given in aid of needy children. If the car isn't worthy, it will be sold at auction or for scrap, in which case you can only use the sale value or scrap value. You will get an email or letter back about the decision.

Step #3
Note that in the event that you are pre-approved, you will send Outreach Center your signed title, and they will pick up the vehicle free of charge and have it inspected. If approved, you get a tax voucher in the mail letting you know you can take the fair market value for tax purposes.

Step #4
Sit back, and smile knowing that you did something nice for charity and at the same time got a nice reward for yourself as well.

TIPS
* If the charitable organization is going to make material improvements to your car donation, you must get written notice within 30 days about the use and duration of such improvements and that the asset won't be sold or bartered until the improvements are finished.

* If the fair market value of your vehicle is less than $500, it doesn't matter what the car will be used for. You can take the full fair market value on your tax return.

WARNING:
* Make sure you choose a reputable company before donating your car
* Don't pay for towing - The better known car donation companies will usually foot the bill.

Things you'll Need:
* Internet connection and computer
* Form 1040 for Federal tax return
* Title to car you will be donating
* Itemized deduction tax form
* Used car with some blue book value
* Keys to Car

Sources and Citations:
Car Donation Website
Kelley Blue Book value website
IRS website for tax forms
State of New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission
Official Site for Middlesex County

Drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and high winds have prompted the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carson City District Office, the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and the Nevada Division of Forestry’s Sierra Forest Fire Protection District to announce the implementation of fire restrictions Tuesday, July 1, 2008, and lasting until further notice.

Vegetation in western Nevada and eastern California has dried out significantly since receiving only about 50-percent of normal snowfall last winter. A large crop of grass and brush is evident at lower elevations and trees and other forest vegetation at higher elevations are quickly drying out. The public is encouraged to safely enjoy the public lands, bearing in mind that the recent Martis, Waterfall, Andrew and Hawken fires were all human-caused.

Motorists are advised to be careful when driving off-road, because hot exhaust systems can ignite dry grasses. The potential for another devastating fire during the summer is very real. Report fires to the Interagency Dispatch Center, Minden, Nevada,   (775) 883-5995, or dial 911.

Fire Restrictions Prohibit:

1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire (using wood, charcoal or any other material), campfire, or stove fire except a portable stove using gas or pressurized liquid fuel, outside of a developed fee campground or picnic area (except by permit).

2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or at a developed campground or picnic area.

3. Welding, or operating an acetylene torch with open flames, except by permit.

4. Using or causing to be used, any explosive, except by permit.

5. Possession or use of fireworks, or any other incendiary device.

6. Use of tracer rounds, steel-core ammunition or exploding targets while recreational shooting.

7. Open burning (e.g. weeds, brush and yard debris).

In addition, the Nevada Division of Forestry restrictions within the Sierra Fire Protection District prohibit operating vehicles off of existing hard surface gravel roads or dirt roads in wildland areas, and operating vehicles or equipment traveling on or using wildland areas without at least an axe, shovel and one gallon of water. The BLM and the Forest Service recommend avoiding cross-country travel whenever possible to prevent grass from igniting from hot exhaust systems. All agencies recommend that individuals carry cell phones while in the wildlands or national forests to report wild fires.

Affected Areas:

BLM -all areas, roads and trails on the BLM-Carson District outside of developed recreation sites with the exception of Sand Mountain Recreation Area, and the portion of the Walker Lake Recreation Area within 100 yards of Walker Lake, or between Walker Lake and U.S. Highway 95 where camp fires are permitted.

Forest Service - all areas, roads and trails, with the exception of campfires covered by a valid campfire permit in the Hope Valley & Blue Lakes areas.

NDF – all areas, roads and trails within the boundaries of the Sierra

Forest Fire Protection District in Carson City and Storey County. This order also applies to the following state parks: Lake Tahoe Nevada, Washoe Lake, the Carson River Ranches portion of Ft. Churchill, and Dayton in western Nevada, and Beaver Dam, Cave Lake and Spring Mountain in Southern Nevada.

Citizens are reminded that the charcoal grills cannot be used during fire restrictions. Charcoal burns longer and hotter than wood and may appear to be cold; however, embers can linger for hours. Winds can spread the embers from charcoal and campfires into vegetation, igniting a wildfire. Propane or white gas stoves, however, are acceptable for use during fire restrictions.

As fire season continues the BLM, Forest Service and NDF will be aggressively citing those who do not comply with the posted restrictions and those who use or possess fireworks. Violation of these prohibitions is subject to punishment by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than six months or both, as Class B misdemeanors under federal law (agency statutes vary). Persons may also be responsible for resource damage, suppression costs and any injuries that occur if they are found liable for causing a wildfire.

For more information or clarification on the restrictions, please contact the BLM-Carson City District Office at 775-885-6000, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest at 775-882-2766  (Carson Ranger District) or 760-932-7070 (Bridgeport Ranger District), or the Nevada Division of Forestry at 775-849-2500.