The federal government is cutting 10 jobs at the National Research Council in Fredericton as the agency sheds jobs across the country.

The federal government is eliminating 94 jobs across Canada, which represents more than half of the local research staff.

Charles Drouin, a spokesperson for the agency, said eight people who work in information and communication technology and two people in the business group will be cut.

Drouin said the private sector is now developing and marketing technology that's been the focus of the NRC's Internet Logic Program, for example. So, he said, public sector involvement is not needed in that area.

When we looked at these different programs across Canada, this internet logic program, for example, we noticed that the technology was now being developed or deployed by the private sector. he said.

So as a result, we decided that the need for public funding, public investment had diminished and that we didn't want to pursue this because it may be perceived as competing with the private sector.

The council is refocusing its research to support a number of other high-potential programs in line with the priorities of Canadian industry, he said.

Drouin said the council's human resources department is working with the employees who have had their positions eliminated.

He said the NRC currently has some open job competitions.

And the council will maintain what he calls an effective presence in New Brunswick.

The rest is here:
National Research Council sheds 10 jobs in Fredericton

Three storage sheds were destroyed in two separate fires Wednesday in Amboy and La Center.

At 1:20 p.m., two storage sheds caught fire at 42510 N.E. 256th Ave. in Amboy. The detached storage sheds, estimated to be about 10 feet by 12 feet, and 8 feet apart with a breezeway roof between them, were engulfed in flames when crews from Fire District 10 arrived with an engine and a water tender, said Chief Gordon Brooks.

Firefighters got the fire under control in 20 minutes, but sheds and their contents were destroyed. Brooks said one shed had been full of gardening equipment, while the other was used as a general storage shed.

The cause has not been determined, and the Clark County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire. However, Brooks said it appears to be an accidental fire caused by gardening chemicals.

Many outdoor gardening and housing materials are highly flammable, such as oil-based paints, wood stains, linseed oil, some weed-killers, garden fungicides and fertilizers. Brooks recommends storing flammable materials in tightly sealed containers.

Later in the day, at 5:43 p.m., a storage shed caught fire at 2011 N.E. 373rd St. in La Center. When firefighters arrived, the tin roof of the shed had already caved in from the flames, said Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy, spokesman for Clark County Fire & Rescue. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings, but the shed and its contents were destroyed.

The shed was full of the homeowner's hobby equipment and sporting goods.

The fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire.

--Patty Hastings

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Fires destroy storage sheds

The last time actor and screenwriter Dan Davies was in San Francisco, when he had a short film in the 2009 American Indian Film Festival, he got in touch with his Irish and Welsh heritage.

"I went to some Irish bar, and I was the hero for a day," laughed Davies over the phone from his native Wisconsin. "I broke up a fight between Irish people from Ireland and English people from England. I was the go-between! I was really proud of myself."

This year, he comes in peace (not that he didn't before, but ...), and he's representing a project that is close to the American Indian side of his heritage.

Davies co-wrote and stars in "West of Thunder," a Western set in 1899, about the beginnings of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota from the perspective of the Lakota people. But this is more than just a film: It is a fundraiser for a proposed $15 million school for impoverished Lakota children on today's Pine Ridge Reservation.

"I consider the film the engine to the train - and the train is the school," Davies said. "It's a film where all of the profits go to this K-through-12 Cambridge-accredited school in economically the poorest area in the United States.

"We wanted to make an amazing film, but we wanted to shed light on the problems of the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation."

"West of Thunder," co-written and co-directed by former Berkeley resident Jody Marriott Bar-Lev and co-directed by Steve Russell, plays at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Bridge Theatre as part of 37th American Indian Film Festival. The festival opens Friday at the Bridge with two short films and the Canadian feature "Path of Souls," about a road trip by a grieving wife and her best friend to sacred Indian sites, and closes Nov. 10 with an awards program at the Palace of Fine Arts, which hosts the last three days.

"West of Thunder" is up for best film. It also has been nominated by the prestigious Political Film Society in Hollywood for best film on human rights and best film on peace - George Lucas' "Red Tails" is one of its competitors. It looks like a multimillion-dollar production - cinematographer John Stanier shot "Rambo III," among other films - and the sets are amazing. The movie was shot at Wisconsin's Stonefield Historic Site, as well as wide expanses in Colorado and California. But make no mistake: It's a distinctly Lakota project.

"We worked with the Lakota people," said Marriott Bar-Lev, who has worked on the Pine Ridge Reservation and saw the plight of the children firsthand. "So we weren't trying to guess what their perspective was or about the authentic things of that time."

For more information on the school "West of Thunder" is supporting, go to http://www.sunkawakan.org or the film's website, http://www.westofthunder.com.

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Film sheds light on plight of Lakotas

After shedding half its weight and sticking to a workout regime, a dog in Windsor, Ont., would make fitness guru Richard Simmons proud.

Sam, a six-year-old lab, arrived at the Humane Society in January, overweight.

He weighed 79 kilograms or 174 pounds. A lack of exercise and overfeeding led to what the society called "an incredible weight gain."

Sam had difficulty walking more than very short distances and running was impossible for the canine.

A vet determined that there wasnt any medical reason for his condition, so Sam's weight-loss journey began.

He was sent to a foster home where he started on an exercise program and special food.

When he arrived in the foster home he was too large to follow the other dogs out the doggie door, but as the pounds melted away he happily began following them in and out.

He also regularly swam at the Essex Animal Hospital rehabilitation centre and in warmer weather enjoyed the in-ground pool at his foster home. Regular walks once again became the highlight of Sams day.

Today, Sam weighs 44 kilograms or 96 pounds. He is now an active dog that runs and plays with other dogs.

He is now ready for full adoption.

Continued here:
Overweight dog sheds 35 kg working out

VANDALS smashed pumpkins and sheds, tore plants to pieces and stole garden furniture in the latest of a string of rampages through the Twiss Road allotments.

Plot-holders described the incident as "soul-destroying", mentioning that three of their number are currently suffering from cancer and one is recovering from a stroke.

UPSET: Plot-holders at the Twiss Road allotments, where vandals caused destruction last week GIPM20121023E-003_C

Last week's attack was the latest in a string of similar incidents, one the previous evening.

Grandfather of nine Martin Crosby said: "This is people's passion, hobby, exercise everything.

"These little hounds, the politest word I can think of, have smashed sheds, taken beautiful pumpkins, which people like me grew for their grandchildren, and kicked them around the football pitch. At the weekend, they stole chairs and a bench and now this.

"One person has been going through hell, with cancer and heart surgery, and his was one of the worst hit.

"It's totally and utterly soul-destroying."

Fellow plot-holder Marcus Little, 57, whose gourds had been torn off and smashed, saw a group of youths hanging around the site hours before last week's incident.

He said: "It's upsetting, frightening, bewildering. It's been two night in succession, which is demented.

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Pumpkins hit in vandal rampage

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) October 31, 2012

While double-wide garages and modular sheds have been a part of the Sheds Unlimited line of prefab garage sheds for over a decade, the recent addition of a Double Wide Garages page on their website and new prefab car garage ideas catalog makes the modular car garages even more accessible.

If one is a frequent visitor to the Sheds Unlimited Prefab Garage website, he will notice near weekly changes and updates on the attractive storage shed and prefab car garage website. New shed and garage products lines, updated photos and new storage shed and prefab car garage information is all a part of their pledge to offer garage sheds to customers through an easy-to-access form from beginning to end. Chris Stoltzfus, the middle son of the original founder of Sheds Unlimited and manager of design and marketing in this growing corporation says that Sheds Unlimited strives to offer customer satisfaction through a growing line of products, quality customer service and superb storage shed and prefab garage products. Adding more product lines to the website allows customers to find what they are looking for quickly.

The newest addition of double-wide garages and modular sheds and barns to the website allows customers to quickly compare the prices of their existing detached two car garages and Attic Car Garages which Sheds Unlimited has been producing for the past two decades. The page describes the double wide garages as well as provide a long list of double-wide garage prices for interested customers.

Sales for detached car garages has risen dramatically in the past two years, reports Mr. Stoltzfus. Fall orders for detached two car garages has been stronger than ever thanks to the expanding website showcasing the many models of single car garages, 2 car garages, two story garages and now modular two car garages. At the present, Sheds Unlimited is working hard to complete the flood of prefab car garages orders before the Christmas season.

Sheds Unlimited also recently completed their all new Prefab Car Garage Ideas catalog where customers are invited to Dream of Possibilities for a car garage on their property. The 28 page catalog is filled with outstanding photos of the many different prefab garage lines offered by this PA car garage company. The newest line of double-wide car garages is also featured among the other luxury car garages, modular car garages and beautiful garage sheds from PA.

Sheds Unlimited has been in the business of producing Amish storage sheds and barns, modular garages, single car garages, 2 and 3 car garages and two story garages and sheds for almost twenty-five years. The small family business still operates from the family farm located in the Amish County of Lancaster County. The 5,000 square foot shop located on the fourth generation family farm is hardly adequate to meet the needs of this growing corporation, but for now, the family along with their Amish workers are doing their best to provide the best detached car garages direct to customers in PA, NJ, NY, CT, DE, MD, VA, WV, OH, MA and beyond.

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Double Wide Garages and Modular Buildings Added to the Sheds Unlimited Line Of Prefab Garage Sheds