Hagel's 16th Overseas Trip Includes Wales SummitBy Cheryl Pellerin WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2014 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will begin his 16th international trip Sept. 3, a six-day visit to three countries and participation at the Sept. 4-5 NATO Summit in Wales, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said here today.
Hagel also will make stops in Georgia and Turkey, his first as defense secretary. On his way to the summit, Kirby said, the secretary will stop in Newport, Rhode Island, to deliver a keynote speech at the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance's Defense Innovation Days Conference. Stop at Newport conference At the conference, Kirby added, he expects Hagel to address challenges facing the U.S. military's technological edge and how the Defense Department must meet such challenges. "He touched on these issues before in his budget testimony and in his speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs this spring," the admiral said, "but this will be an opportunity to talk in greater detail about the need for innovation and how we develop and procure new capabilities." In Newport, the secretary also will visit the Naval War College. NATO summit's focus, topics At the NATO Summit in Wales, Hagel will join President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and their counterparts from NATO and its partner nations for important discussions, Kirby said. Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Lt. Col. Vanessa M. Hillman said the summit's focus will be Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Middle East, and how to bolster future NATO efforts. "We view the summit as an important opportunity to address the ongoing crises in the world, but also set the direction for NATO in the coming years," Hillman said, adding that other topics to be discussed at the summit include: -- An update to DoD contributions to the European Reassurance Initiative and 2015 reassurance measures; -- NATO's post-Afghanistan mission and role; -- Russia's continued provocations and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, as a serious terrorist threat, and other emerging security challenges; -- Defense capacity building; and -- Ways that NATO can improve coordination among its members during capacity-building efforts with key partners. An important opportunity Kirby said Hagel has participated in four NATO defense ministerials leading up to the Wales summit. He said the secretary views the upcoming summit "as an important opportunity to address the ongoing crises in the world but also to set the direction for NATO in the coming years. An important part of that strategy will be NATO's partnerships." The summit also will pay tribute to the sacrifices and achievements of NATO and partner forces during a decade of unprecedented operations in Afghanistan, according to NATO officials, and will look ahead to the alliance's planned new mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces after 2014. The previous NATO summit was held in Chicago in 2012. Stop in Georgia Hagel will next travel to Georgia, one of the United States' and NATO's most important and capable partners, Kirby said. "This will be his first visit to Georgia as secretary, but he's met with his Georgian counterpart before and also met with the Georgian prime minister earlier this year while in Munich," the admiral said. "The Georgian military has been a valued partner of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan," he added, "and the secretary looks forward to thanking the Georgian people for their contributions and sacrifices over the last decade." Georgia shares U.S. concerns about Russia's actions in Ukraine, Kirby said, and that will top Hagel's agenda during the visit. On to Turkey Afterward, Hagel will travel to Turkey, making his first official visit to the key NATO ally. "Given its border with Syria and Iraq, [Turkey] shares our deep concerns with the regional threat posed by ISIL," Kirby said. Hagel has longstanding relationships with Turkey's leaders, including the newly inaugurated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Kirby said the secretary views the upcoming visit as an important opportunity to advance the critical U.S.-Turkey relationship |
(Lenexa, Kan., Aug. 29, 2014) - Custom Feed Services Corporation and Earthworks Health LLC, two separate pesticide companies based in Norfolk, Neb., with common ownership, have agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $74,513 to settle allegations related to the production and distribution of unregistered and misbranded pesticides, in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
On behalf of EPA, in November 2011 the Nebraska Department of Agriculture conducted a for-cause inspection of the two companies at their shared facility in Norfolk, based on a tip. Custom Feed Services produces and distributes pesticides and agricultural products, while Earthworks Health sells and distributes pesticides and other products.
The inspection and subsequent investigation documented that on multiple occasions Custom Feed Services sold or distributed copper sulfate and diatomaceous earth pesticide products that were not registered with EPA, and that were misbranded in that they lacked valid EPA registration numbers and production establishment numbers. The copper sulfate products also lacked applicable directions for use and personal protection language. In addition, Custom Feed Services produced the pesticide products in a facility that was not registered with EPA as a pesticide-producing facility in accordance with FIFRA. Under FIFRA, repackaging constitutes production.
On multiple occasions, Earthworks Health sold or distributed unregistered and misbranded copper sulfate and diatomaceous earth pesticides, in addition to an unregistered antibacterial product, Foaming DisposALL Drain Cleaner.
The use of non-exempt, unregistered pesticides may result in harm to human health or the environment, as they have not undergone the rigorous risk and label reviews necessary to ensure safe and effective use. Copper sulfate is an inorganic compound that can be used as a pesticide to kill bacteria, algae, roots, plants, snails, and fungi. Improper use of copper sulfate can be toxic to fish and aquatic animals, and failure to take proper precautions may result in eye or skin injury to humans. Diatomaceous earth may cause eye or respiratory irritation if improperly handled.
Custom Feed Services' civil penalty is $55,752 and Earthworks Health LLC's civil penalty is $18,761. EPA calculates penalties by considering a variety of factors, including risk to the environment, size of the business, and ability to pay.
Under FIFRA, distributors of pesticides must ensure that the information on their products' labels contains the same required cautionary information as found on the labels filed with EPA by the pesticides' registrants, and that those pesticides are not distributed with claims that differ from the registration information filed with EPA.
Through their respective settlements with EPA, Custom Feed Services and Earthworks Health LLC have certified that they are now in compliance with FIFRA and its regulations.
As summer ends and the school year begins, we often think about teachers and students heading back to school. While teachers prepare lessons and students learn new concepts we can't forget the service employees who provide support that enable the schools to run efficiently.
Instructional support in schools can play a key role in student success. Paraeducators –– support staff responsible for assisting in the delivery of instruction — help provide such support by assisting with classroom management, organizing instructional materials, helping in libraries and media centers, and translating, to name a few of their responsibilities. Perhaps most importantly, paraeducators reinforce the efforts of teachers in the classroom, and help increase student outcomes.
This is why, as President of the California Service Employees Union, I want to take the time to tell the story of one service employee in the Golden State who really shines.
Paraeducator Michele Delao, a 2011 California School Employees Association Member of the Year, uses her knowledge and warmth to help special education students learn. For the past eight years as special education paraeducator at Bear River School in Wheatland, California, she has brought light-heartedness and laughter to the serious mission of showing special education students that they can thrive.
The staff of Bear River School laud Delao's ability to help students focus and grasp instruction.
Michele Delao helps a student on an assignment.
"She has a very striking sense of humor that comforts the kids and takes the pressure off," explains Angela Gouker, principal of Bear River School. "Most of these kids know they're a little bit behind or struggling in some areas. She makes learning fun so that they forget that pressure."
Delao says it's satisfying to see the students' progress. With her help, the students can attend mainstream middle school classes even as they're working to master the basics.
With budget cuts and fewer staff dedicated to special education, the paraeducators at Bear River School have taken on a larger load of students with a broader range of learning disabilities. Despite the challenge, Delao tailors her approach to fit each student.
"They're having great difficulties and there are great variations in each person," she says. "But because there are only three of us, our groups are really not as targeted as we would like. I have to find a middle ground and at the same time try to meet individual students where they are."
Understanding the needs and challenges of working with diverse learners, including special education students, Delao comes to work each day fired by the energy, compassion and will to give the students she mentors a boost toward academic success. And, she does it all with a smile.
"She really cares about what she does – she cares about people – and that sense of humor comes through," Gouker said. "It doesn't get much better than that."
Michael Bilbrey is the President of the California Service Employees Union.
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2014 - Military officials here and at U.S. Central Command are working to present President Barack Obama with options to contain the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said here today.
Kirby told reporters that officials are taking under consideration the changing situation with the terror group.
During a White House press conference yesterday, President Obama said he had directed DoD to present options to him.
"What the president was referring to yesterday was planning options inside Syria," Kirby said. "Now, I'd be less than truthful if I said to you that we ... hadn't been thinking about that before yesterday. Of course we have been. And we've talked about that."
Still, the department is not at the point where plans are mature enough to have the discussion with the commander-in-chief, Kirby said. A second point is that all those involved, including the president, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have repeatedly said that options in Syria are not limited to the military.
"It can't just be military," Kirby said. "There's not going to be a military solution here to the threat that ISIL poses. It's just not going to happen."
Containing and eliminating the terror group will take all elements of national power, he said. "So while we certainly, for our part, have to work on what those options could look like, there are other parts of our government that are working, as well, on options that they might need to pursue in the future going forward," the admiral said.
In the meantime, Kirby said, operations against ISIL will continue. The United States has been providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis victimized by ISIL's brutal tactics. U.S. aircraft have also flown a number of strikes against the terror group in and around Irbil and around the Mosul Dam area. "We're up almost to 110 air strikes total since they began," Kirby said.
The admiral said U.S. efforts are about degrading ISIL's capability to operate and the terror group's ability "to conduct the sort of brutal violence that they have been doing inside Iraq and the threat that they pose to the region."
Officials said that on a tactical level inside Iraq, the strikes are having an effect on ISIL's ability to operate. "We're being disruptive to their operations, to their command and control, to their ability to move around," Kirby said.
Delivering humanitarian assistance in Iraq and building capabilities of Iraqi security forces are also ways to impact and degrade ISIL. DoD has asked for $500 million for a train and equip program for a moderate Syrian opposition.
"We hope to get that authorized and appropriated for fiscal year 2015, which is coming up here pretty soon, so that we can move out on this," Kirby said. "There are a lot of hurdles that remain to be leaped, in terms of getting us there."
