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About Us
The Central Section is a networking and continuing education organization for professional planners in the Central Valley of California. Our members work in private firms, as consultants, or in city/county government.
The mission of the California Chapter Central Section is to provide its members with opportunities for advocacy, networking, outreach and professional development in the art and science of planning within Central California. Each year, we host engaging events and fun activities for our members such as the Section Planning Achievement Awards, the annual Sierra Retreat at Camp Lake Sequoia, Christmas Tree Lane Walk-Night/Holiday Gathering and our professional development programs.
The Section
The Central Section of APA California covers a vast 11 county region encompassing Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne Counties. The Section's geographical area includes the greater central and southern San Joaquin Valley – the most productive agricultural region in the world; the foothill and mountain regions with four National Forests (Stanislaus, Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo); four National Parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Death Valley); the Giant Sequoia National Monument, the eastern deserts of Kern County and the Owens Valley region on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
Meet the Board
Jennifer Clark, AICP
Section Director
Jennifer has served as the Director for Development and Resource Management (DARM) for the City of Fresno since July 2013. In this role, she is responsible for three strategic land use sections - Development Services, Placemaking Services, and Neighborhood Services which serve the lifecycle of properties from visioning to revitalization and everything in between. She has held similar positions in cities in Texas, Georgia, and Missouri. Her years of service revolve around planning, promoting and preserving quality communities through good land use planning, building standards, and code enforcement.
In her role with the City of Fresno, Jennifer is the Secretary to the Planning Commission, the Housing & Community Development Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission. Additionally, she is a member of the Fresno COG's Technical Transportation Committee and has served as past chair and vice chair to the committee. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Drury University and her Masters of Business Administration from Webster University; she completed her AICP in 2012.
Currently Vacant
Section Director-Elect
To be updated
Eric VonBerg, MRP
Director for Administration and Finance
Eric VonBerg has 25+ years of experience in land use, environmental, and transportation planning at the local, county, regional, and state level. His current responsibilities include managing planning and environmental services for Rincon Consultants' Fresno office. His previous experience includes Senior Planner, County of Fresno Public Works and Planning and the City of Fresno's DARM working on their General Plan update and managing preparation of the Master EIR for the General Plan.
His broader experience includes working on the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Integration Project, the California High-Speed Rail, and numerous highway projects as a Senior Planner and Office Chief for Caltrans Central Region Environmental. He is currently a member of the FCOG RTP/SCS Roundtable representing the Valley Planners Network. Eric's education includes a BA in Social Ecology from U.C. Irvine, a Masters in Regional Planning from UMASS Amherst, and one year abroad studying landscape planning at the University of Hannover, Germany.
Ricky Caperton, AICP
Director for Membership and Public Information
Ricky is the Senior Planner at the City of Clovis. He has more than 7 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, and has been an active member of APA and the California Association of Environmental (AEP) since 2011, which included a term on the State Board of Directors for AEP. Ricky has been AICP since 2018.
Ricky was born and raised in Northern California (Santa Rosa) and relocated to the Central Valley in 2016. He holds a Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Studies and Planning from Sonoma State University, and Masters of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School.
Karl Schoettler
Sierra Retreat Coordinator
Mr. Schoettler is the Principal of Collins & Schoettler. He joined the firm in 1991 after working as a Planner for the City of Atascadero, near the Central California coast. Collins & Schoettler is a small, award-winning city planning firm based in Visalia, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. The company is known for advocating well-designed, environmentally responsible and pedestrian-oriented development in the cities that it serves.
Currently Mr. Schoettler serves as the contract City Planner for several valley communities, including Farmersville and Firebaugh. He also provides assistant planning services to Exeter, Woodlake and Kerman, Sanger and Livingston.
At Collins and Schoettler he has prepared numerous planning documents, including General Plans and elements, design guidelines, environmental studies, community and specific plans and zoning ordinances, among others.
Rob Terry, AICP
Immediate Past Section Director, Web Master and Awards Chair
Rob is the Community Development Director for the City of Reedley, and served as the Section Director between 2015 and 2019. Between the years of 2012 and 2015, Rob served as the Section PDO. He has been a member of APA since 2005, and has been AICP since 2012. He is committed to the development and implementation of goals and principles that promote quality, clarity and consistency in the processing and approval of entitlement applications - all with the focus of ensuring the community enjoys the elements of safety, livability and economic vitality. As an undergraduate, he attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, majoring in City and Regional Planning, and holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Troy University.
Rob grew up in northern Utah and worked as a project manager overseeing roadway safety product installations on freeways throughout the western United States before relocating to Central California. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, watching college sports, and playing the drums.
Carolina Ilic, AICP
Director for Professional Development
Carolina serves as Planning Manager at the City of Fresno Transportation Department, also known as FAX. In this capacity, she manages planning efforts for the transit system and coordinates the integration of land use and transportation planning with various city departments and the regional council of governments. She started at FAX in January 2019.
Prior to her work at the City of Fresno, Carolina worked at the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) for 24 years in various capacities, including Acting Principal Planner and Senior Regional Planner. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from UCLA and her Master's Degree in City Planning from San Diego State University (SDSU). She has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 2015. While at SANDAG, Carolina served as project manager of the Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP) for the San Diego region, coordinated the preparation of the "Smart Growth Concept Map," worked on visual simulations showing how communities can be transformed by smart growth, managed the Call for Projects for the TransNet Smart Growth Incentive Program and Active Transportation Grant Program, and implemented SANDAG's Regional Complete Streets Policy. Carolina contributed heavily toward the development of several Regional Transportation Plans.
Carolina was born in Santiago, Chile, and is fluent in Spanish. For many years, she served on the Board of the San Diego Section of the American Planning Association (SDAPA) as both the Planning Journal Editor and as a Mentor for the Young Planners Group. In 2018, she won the Mentor of the Year Award for the SDAPA Young Planners Group Mentorship Program. In 2018, she also received the SDSU Donald B. Leiffer Outstanding Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in the field of City Planning and was awarded one of the top 50 alumni from the past 50 years from the SDSU School of Public Affairs.
Nicole Hoke
Student Programs Manager
To be updated
Ralph Kachadourian
Conference Liaison
Ralph Kachadourian, AICP, was the Section Director from 2009-2015. He has been a public sector land use planner in California since 1987 serving the cities of Paso Robles, Dublin, Millbrae, Union City, Sanger, Chowchilla and Fresno. He currently serves as the Supervising Planner for The City of Fresno's High Speed Rail Impacted Business Assistance Program, in the Development and Resource Management Department.
David Fey, AICP
Member at Large
David Fey, AICP, is the Executive Officer for the Fresno Local Agency Formation Commission. He has worked in local agency land use and utility planning since 1986 as both a city planner in the Fresno-Clovis area and for planning and environmental consulting firms serving the central California market from Atascadero to Porterville, Livingston to Tehachapi.


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Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 – October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. We participated by featuring Hispanic artists from our collections on social media and as part of the Treasures at the Springfield Museums series in the Sunday Republican. We are lucky to have a number of works in our collection by Hispanic artists. Here are three:
Arnaldo Roche-Rabell
Puerto Rican, 1955-2018
Fall From Grace, 1993
Encaustic and oil on canvas
The Lee Acquisitions Fund
Fall from Grace is an encaustic and oil on canvas work by Arnaldo Roche-Rabell (Puerto Rican, 1955-2018) and currently hangs in the Contemporary Gallery in the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Roche-Rabell was influenced by Neo-Expressionism and is considered one of the most important painters of the movement. This introspective self-portrait shows a table overflowing with luscious tropical fruits and ferns, reminiscent of Puerto Rico, and a disembodied head staring upwards. One eye in the portrait is blue and the other brown, referring to the bicultural tension of living in both Puerto Rico and the United States. The blue eye symbolized his life in Chicago and the brown eye his Puerto Rican heritage. He has said about his self-portraits, "I want to scratch out my own face in the paint to find out who or what I am."
Edgardo Abello
Columbian-American, born 1961
Gabriela, 2014
Gift of Edgardo Abello
This watercolor by Edgardo Abello (Columbian-American, b. 1961) portrays the artist's daughter Gabriela (2014) and joined the collection of the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts after it was exhibited in 2014. Abello was born in Barranquilla, Colombia and always enjoyed painting and drawing. For practical reasons, his father steered him in the direction of architecture and he came to the United States to study architecture in 1978. After many years of successful work in the architectural rendering business, Abello decided to dedicate himself to the kind of painting he always knew he was capable of but never had the time to complete. His beautiful works are achieved through his appreciation and understanding of color and light and also because of careful study of the subjects he paints.
Myrna Báez
Puerto Rican, 1931-2018
El Yunque #1, 1988
Museum Purchase
This engraving, El Yunque #1 (1988), is by Myrna Báez (Puerto Rican, 1931-2018). Báez was a painter and printmaker and is considered one of the most important visual artists in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Herald has claimed that her "art defines the island's reality in the second half of the 20th century." Báez's early work has been described as "traditional images of Puerto Rico" and she often depicted images of everyday life that included Puerto Rico's working-class. While studying in Spain, she learned engraving and lithography techniques and was influenced by Impressionism, Surrealism, and abstract art. Nature takes center stage in this engraving which depicts El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. While the image is black and white, the rich, varied, and abundant textures captured by the artist allow viewers to imagine the dense, colorful scene as if standing there themselves looking out to the sea.

subset: commoncrawl


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The loft birds have been busy training. Yesterday they were loft flown for an hour before being basketed and taken to 15 miles. It was a weird toss for them as 7 miles from home they came right over the car and going like the clappers. I arrived home fully expecting to see them in the loft but to my surprise they arrived the same time as us! I counted them up and found I was 7 missing!!! Only 1 returned later that night and I have only had 1 return this morning. So whether they have hit wires or something in the 7 miles between when I saw them and home I don't know. On closer inspection I found one tonight with his leg all cut open. So I suspect they have hit some wires somewhere on route.
So after yesterday sending 41, I am was missing 5 so that let me 36. The two that returned late were kept back today so 34 were trained tonight This is their 10th toss. Again I loft flew them for an hour and half before basketing. They were taken to 7 miles and all home in good time.
I am now going to finish this week at 15 miles before increasing to 27 miles all next week starting on Sunday 31st July. Depending on how they come I will then make a decision if they go to the race from 76 miles on Friday night (6th August) or if I will then give them another solid week from 50 miles before the basketing on Friday (13th August) for the race from 97 miles.


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NH Powerball Winner Wins Right to Privacy
March 13, 2018
CONCORD, N.H. — The half-billion-dollar Powerball jackpot winner has won again – this time, in court.
A judge ruled she can keep her name private, but her hometown can be made public.The New Hampshire Lottery said it was expecting a different outcome, but for the winner is very happy, according to her lawyer.
Known in court only as Jane Doe, she is the winner of one of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.
"It was extraordinarily stressful for her, so she was really quite pleased," said Steven Gordon, Jane Doe's attorney.
On Monday, a judge ruled in her favor, saying that releasing her name would be a violation of privacy and making that information exempt from the state's Right to Know law.
"To be able to walk around and feel that you're part of a community, but you're not targeted in the community, and that right to privacy, which was so important, was protected in this case," Gordon said.
The judge did make it known that the winner lives in Merrimack.
The woman purchased the winning $559 million Powerball ticket in town at Reed's Ferry Market in January. She signed her name on the back of the ticket, and the state argued that meant her identity should be made public.
Her attorney countered that her privacy was more important.
"I think that if somebody wins a big Powerball, they'll think twice before signing their name individually," Gordon said.
Last week, the New Hampshire Lottery paid a lump sum of $352 million to the woman's trust. She donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Granite State charities.
Gordon said his client was touched by thank-you notes written by recipients of her donations.
"She intends to continue and hopes to continue to privately contribute funds, to make donations, to be a really good citizen, but do that privately," he said.
The New Hampshire Lottery said it is talking with the attorney general's office to determine the next steps in this case.
See the story: (http://www.wmur.com/article/judge-rules-nh-powerball-winner-can-keep-name-private/19408539)
Fanning Law, LLC Can Help
We assist individuals and families with family law issues and other legal concerns in Southern Maryland, Washington DC, and throughout the region. For more information about how Fanning Law, LLC can help you and your family, contact Bill Fanning at Fanning Law, LLC - The Offices of William C. Fanning, Jr. - 301.934.3620 or at www.fanninglawllc.com.


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Missing man's texts show concern for being framed for murder
Jeffrey Navin, 56, and Jeanette Navin, 55, of Easton, were reported missingAug.
The Hartford Courant reports police have requested the assistance of the medical examiner's office to analyze items discovered while sifting through thousands of pounds of ash brought to Putnam from trash-to-energy plants across the state.
Kyle Navin allegedly responded "oh stop".
The warrant alleges that investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Kyle Navin's cell phone and reviewed numerous text messages that discussed Navin's use of heroin, oxycodone and Xanax.
He will appear in court again on Friday to determine if he will remain behind bars while the case is pending.
New details in the unusual disappearance of a wealthy husband and wife in Easton, Connecticut, paint a weird picture of a man fearing that his own son was attempting to frame him for a murder – a son who was soon arrested on an unrelated gun charge and whose behavior on the day his parents vanished has raised suspicions, though he has yet to be charged with anything related to their vanishing.
Search warrants reveal that no phone calls have been made from the couple's cellphones since the day they disappeared.
Take a look at the transcript:12:39 p.m., Jeffrey: I'm not going home till I know mom is okay. Police have even scoured through nearby landfills looking for possible human bodies or body parts, but none were found. In the series of 19 text messages, Jeffrey Navin asked his son if he hurt his mother.
Last time the couple was seen.
Twice, Navin told investigators that he met one or both of his parents at the park-and-ride off the Merritt Parkway in Westport.
Two hours later, a security camera video also captured Jeffrey Navin's garbage truck being driven toward the couple's home late that afternoon with the vehicle of Kyle's girlfriend following behind, the affidavit said.
A couple of minutes later, in response to the courtroom paperwork, Jeffrey Navin responded, "U R setting me up".
The son also shopped at Home Depot the day after his parents went missing, according to the court documents – purchasing bleach, stain remover and cleanup bags, authorities said.
"I go home and get framed for murder", the father wrote.
Investigators searching Kyle's home seized numerous bags with heroin residue, hypodermic needles, empty prescription bottles for oxycodone and prescription bottles containing other controlled substances and a receipt from a firearms shooting range that was issued on August 5.
Kyle Navin is arrested and detained on federal gun charges.
Since then, Easton police have been in daily contact with all of the agencies involved, Shaw said. Kyle Navin is the company's operations manager. According to police, Kyle was the last person to see the couple.
"Financial issues recently reported by the media have not been proven to be a factor for our family members' disappearance", the family said in a statement released August 13 by the Easton Police Department.


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- Original article
- Open Access
- Published:
Study versus television
IZA Journal of Labor Economics volume 3, Article number: 2 (2014)
2650 Accesses
The great majority of studies on the effect of school quality on academicoutcomes do not take account of changes in student choices concerning effortif school quality, e.g. class size, changes. We show that empiricalestimates of the 'total' effect of changes in school qualitycould be quite different from the 'partial' effect holding otherinputs (including student effort) constant. The main parameters governingthis difference are the extent to which inputs in the education productionfunction are substitutes or complements and how kinked is the benefit from ahigher mark. The difference depends also on student ability, thestudent's distaste for effort and the curvature of the educationproduction with respect to effort.
JEL classification
1 Introduction
The majority of studies on the effect of 'school quality' on academicoutcomes do not take account of changes in student choices concerning effort whenschool quality, e.g. class size or teacher quality, changes.1 Inparticular, students might respond to changes in their school quality by adjustingthe time and effort devoted to study (with a consequent change in leisure or marketwork). Thus, the 'partial' effects of school quality on academicoutcomes corresponding to production function parameters may differ from empiricalestimates of the 'total' effects (which include effects via effortresponse). This is similar to the distinction between production function parametersand average policy effects in Todd and Wolpin (2003) wherefamily inputs are allowed to respond to changes in school quality.
From a policy point of view, both the total and partial effects of an increase inschool quality are of interest. The total effect on student achievement is of courseimportant for policy makers: An intervention aimed at improving student academicoutcomes will typically be considered a success if the goal is achieved, and afailure otherwise (irrespective of specific mechanisms, including possible effortresponse). However, the partial effect on achievement (holding effort constant) isalso important, since it provides knowledge of education production functionparameters and the mechanisms through which an intervention works (or why it doesnot work). Furthermore, if students respond to an intervention which increasesschool quality by reducing time and effort devoted to study, benefit-cost analysisthat only have total effects as benefit will underestimate 'full'benefits. These include, inter alia, more leisure, increased earnings frommarket work and less need for intervention by parents. In the formal model of thispaper we focus on educational outcomes and student leisure, but benefits are muchwider than that.
Empirical estimates of class size effects are often rather small and insignificant.Reasons for this may be non-random sorting of students into schools and that schoolsreduce class size when students are more 'disruptive' (Lazear 2001). Another explanation may be that students typicallyreduce effort in response to a reduction in class size.
A few papers model and estimate the response of parental inputs to changes in schoolquality. Houtenville and Conway (2008) consider a theoreticalmodel in which student achievement depends on parental effort and school resources,and parents maximize utility, which is a function of student achievement, leisureand consumption, subject to time and budget constraints. In this model, an increasein school resources may induce parents to increase or reduce their effort dependingon the form of the utility and production functions. Their empirical analysisindicates that parental effort and per-student spending have positive effects onstudent achievement, and that some measures of parental effort are affectednegatively by per-student spending. However, the estimated effect of per-studentspending on achievement is not affected by whether or not parental effort isincluded in the model. A similar result is found in Datar and Mason (2008): controlling for parental involvement does not change estimatedeffects of class size on test scores for children in kindergarten and first grade.Bonesrønning (2004) finds zero or positive effects onparental effort of reducing class size. Das et al. (2011) consider a dynamic household optimization model where child testscores depend on school and household inputs. Assuming that households makedecisions regarding their own inputs before they know the amount of school inputs,they are only able to respond to anticipated changes in school inputs. Using datafrom Zambia and India the authors find that household school expenditure is reducedwhen anticipated school grants are increased, and that anticipated grants have noeffect on student test scores whereas unanticipated grants have significant positiveeffects.
Only very few papers consider models of student response to changes in schoolquality. In the theoretical model of De Fraja et al. (2010) student effort, parental effort and school effort aresimultaneously determined as a Nash equilibrium. In this very general model, achange in an exogenous variable, e.g. an increase in school resources, may increaseor reduce the equilibrium level of effort of students (and parents and schools)depending on the form of the utility and education production functions and thevalues of exogenous variables. In their empirical analysis, the measure of studenteffort is based on (a factor analysis of) general attitude variables such as whetherstudents like school, whether they think homework is boring and whether they want toleave school. The authors do not find any significant effect of class size on theirmeasure of student effort, but they do find that student effort is reduced when'school effort' is increased, where school effort is based on (a factoranalysis of mainly) whether streaming and disciplinary methods are used. They findthat student and parental effort are positively correlated (where parental effort isbased on a factor analysis of mainly the teacher's opinion of parents'interest in their child's education) and that class size has no effect onparental effort. The attitudinal variables used by De Fraja et al. (2010) may be poor proxies for effort or time spent on homework,and they may not be expected to be much affected by (marginal) changes in schoolresources. Furthermore, the authors ignore the important issue of the endogeneity ofclass size and assume observed class size variation to be exogenous. These problemsmay explain why they do not find any effect of class size on their measure ofstudent effort.
Using quasi-experimental variation in class size, a recent study estimates studentand parental response to class size in grades 4-6 (Fredriksson P, Öckert N,Oosterbeek H: Inside the black box of class size effects: Behavioral responses toclass size variation, unpublished). Their measures of student effort are time spenton homework and reading outside school. In their theoretical model (based onAlbornoz F, Berlinski S, Cabrales A: Motivation, resources and the organization ofthe school system, unpublished), the education production function determinesstudent skills as the product of student ability and student effort, so class sizeonly affects student skills through student effort. They assume that student utilitydepends on student effort and 'rewards to effort' which are determinedby parents' and teachers' utility maximizing behaviour. In their model,class size always has a negative effect on student effort, but a non-negative effecton parental effort. In this paper we consider a theoretical parametric model whichincludes a more general education production function and a more flexible studentutility function, which depends on an educational outcome and effort, in order toanalyse how student response to a change in school quality may depend on the valuesof important parameters of the production and utility functions. We ignore parentalresponse to a change in school quality. This simplification is more appropriate whenconsidering older students (e.g. 15-year-olds).
Some papers estimating the effects of course-specific (or subject-specific) schoolquality inputs on student academic outcomes provide indirectly an indication thatstudents' change of effort in response to changes in school quality may beimportant. Aaronson et al. (2007) estimate the effectof teacher quality and find, e.g., statistically significant effects of mathematicsteachers on mathematics test scores, but also significant effects of Englishteachers on mathematics test scores (and of mathematics teachers on English testscores). Heinesen (2010) estimates significant negativeeffects of subject-specific class size on examination marks in the same subject, butthe results also indicate negative effects on marks in other subjects. Oneinterpretation of the effects of subject-specific school inputs on student outcomesin other subjects is that they are due to spill-over effects between subjectsinduced by student reallocation of effort between subjects.
In this paper we consider simple parametric models with endogenous student effort andshow that students' responses to changes in their school quality could implyquite large differences between total and partial effects on academic outcomes ofchanges in school quality and could lead to empirical estimates of total effectswhich are either larger or smaller than corresponding partial effects. The mainparameters governing the sign of the difference between total and partial effectsare shown to be the extent of substitution in the education production function andhow kinked is the benefit from a higher mark. The absolute value of the differencealso depends on the student's distaste for effort, the curvature of the'production' of the final mark with respect to effort and thestudent's ability in the course of study. Our main conclusion is that reliableestimates of the partial effect of school quality on academic outcomes requiresinformation on academic effort, including time use. This suggests a new round ofdata collection.
2 The basic idea
We begin with an illustration of the basic idea. Assume that an educational outcome(e.g. test scores or examination marks) is a concave function of student effort fora fixed level of school quality, and that student utility is increasing in theeducational outcome and decreasing in effort. For a given level of school quality,students choose effort, and thereby (ignoring uncertainty) the educational outcome,to maximize utility. If school quality increases, education production possibilitiesincrease for each level of effort. This is illustrated in Figure 1 for four different cases of production and utility functions. In eachpanel of Figure 1 the concave curves represent theeducation production functions before and after the increase in school quality(solid and dashed lines, respectively), and the convex curves are studentindifference curves. The points marked by A are the initial utility maximizingchoices of effort and outcome, and points marked by B are the corresponding choicesafter the increase in school quality. The 'partial' effect of anincrease in school quality is given by the vertical shift of the production functionat point A (i.e., holding effort fixed at its initial optimal level). However, theupward shift in the production function implies that students may obtain a higheroutcome with less effort. This 'income effect' tends to reduce effort.The substitution effect may enhance the negative effort response if the marginalproduct of effort decreases when school quality increases, or it may work in theother direction if effort and school quality are complements in production. Ofcourse, the optimal response of students also depends on the form of the utilityfunction. The two left panels of Figure 1 illustratecases where effort is reduced (more so in the upper panel) implying that the totaleffect on the educational outcome is smaller than the partial effect. In the upperright panel, effort is unchanged (no difference between total and partial effect),and in the lower right panel effort is increased (the total effect exceeds thepartial effect).
3 A parametric model
To fix ideas we consider a parametric model. We begin with the simplest case in whicha student takes only one course.2 The outcome is a mark y.This mark is the result of school quality, s, student ability,μ, and student effort, h. 3 To make ourmain points as cleanly as possible we ignore uncertainty and take a simpleparameterisation for the production function:
Student effort and school quality are normalized so that 0 < h< 1 and 0 < s ≤ 1. The parametersη and λ capture the curvature in theoutput with respect to student effort and school quality, respectively, andϱ measures the degree of substitution or complementarity ofthe two inputs. To ensure that production is increasing and concave in both weassume that 0 < λ < 1,0 < η < 1, ϱ> - 1 and where is the maximum value of μ. If ϱ< 0 then s and h are substitutes inproduction, and if ϱ > 0 they are complements. To motivatethis function, note that education production may be considered to consist of twolearning processes, learning at school (represented by the term sλ) and learning at home doing homework (represented by μ hη), and an interaction effect between the two processes represented by the lastterm in (1). The marginal effect of school resources may be smaller forwell-prepared/high-ability students (ϱ < 0) if the primarygoal of teaching is to ensure that all students obtain a basic level of skills.Also, the marginal effect of effort (and ability) may be smaller when schoolresources are high: when the learning process at school is more effective there maybe smaller returns to effort at home to learning the curriculum. In conventionalproduction functions including the Cobb-Douglas and CES functions, inputs arecomplements, i.e. the marginal product of one input (e.g. h) increases whenthe amount of the other input (s) is increased. However, as argued above,h and s may be substitutes in production, so thatthe marginal product of h is reduced when s increases,and vice versa.4
In empirical studies a parameter of interest is the partialelasticity of the outcome with respect to school quality, holding effortconstant:
Note that in the parameterisation (1) the partial elasticity is not independent ofeffort and student ability. The same is true for the corresponding derivative∂ y/∂ s, unless ϱ = 0. If effort is fixed then we canrecover the partial elasticity from observing variation in y due toexperimental variation in s.
Typically neither experimental nor non-experimental studies of effects of schoolquality have access to data on student effort or time use, and therefore theinterpretation of estimated effects as education production function parameterspresumes that effort is fixed. However, it is perfectly reasonable to assume thatsome students might respond to the change in constraints with adjustment in effortexpended. To capture this, let preferences be represented by the utility function:
where the maximum time available for study is normalised to unity (as notedabove).5 The parameter δ captures the taste forleisure and the parameter σ (> 0) captures thecurvature in the concern about the outcome; higher values ofσ give a more kinked benefit function. That is, for highervalues of σ the student will have a high return below athreshold value of y ('passing') and a low returnabove.
Denoting the optimal choices by the total elasticity is given by:
Just as the partial elasticity is a parameter of interest in empirical studies, so isthe total elasticity, which may be recovered by observing variation in the outcome(including variation via effort response) due to experimental variation ins. However, in general, the total elasticity will not be equal to thepartial elasticity ε. We define the elasticitydifference as
The sign of the elasticity difference will depend on the sign of the effortelasticity,. Clearly the elasticity difference Δ will bepositive () if the student responds to the increase in school quality byputting in more effort, and it will be negative if the effort elasticity isnegative. If s and h are substitutes in production(ϱ ≤0) the effort elasticity and the elasticity differenceare negative. But if they are complements (ϱ > 0) the marginalproduct of effort is increased when school quality increases, and therefore it maybe optimal for the student to increase effort. Whether it is in fact optimal toincrease effort depends on the size of ϱ and the otherparameters of the model, especially the curvature of the benefit function withrespect to the outcome (σ). Thus, even if s andh are complements it may still be optimal to reduce effortbecause of the 'income effect': an increase in s enablesstudents to obtain a larger y with less effort (more leisure).
First, we show that the effort elasticity (and therefore the elasticity difference)is negative if σ > 1 or ϱ ≤ 0. Themarginal effect of school quality on effort is found by inserting (1) into (3) anddifferentiating the first-order condition:
Thus, the sign of is equal to the sign of . It is obvious that if (ϱ ≤ 0 and σ < 1) or if(ϱ ≥ 0 and σ > 1). However, is also negative when ϱ < 0 and σ> 1. Thus, when ϱ < 0 and σ > 1 we have
This inequality always holds given the assumed restrictions on the parameters. TheRHS of the inequality tends towards its lower limit from above whenσ → ∞ and . It is easy to show that: (a) for the LHS of (8) is always less than or equal to (b) when the inequality (8) also holds (the derivative of the LHS withrespect to ϱ is smaller than the derivative of the RHS). Thus, if ϱ ≤ 0 or σ > 1.
We now examine further the determinants of the direction and size of the elasticitydifference Δ. Although simple, the parametric model does not yieldclosed form expressions for the elasticities of interest. We therefore have toresort to simulations to illustrate how they vary with the parameters. Without lossof generality we can take λ = 0.4.6
We take a grid over the values given in Table 1 (andcalculate the elasticities at s = 1).7 These values are,of course, wholly arbitrary and serve only to illustrate the variation in theelasticity difference. Since the maximum value of μ is hereequal to 10, concavity is ensured whenϱ ≥ - 0.1. For each set of parameter values,the partial elasticity is calculated holding h fixed at the optimallevel given the parameters and the initial level of school quality, whereas thetotal elasticity is calculated letting h adjust to its new optimallevel induced by the increase in s.
With this range of parameter values the minimum and maximum of the elasticitydifference Δ are -0.12 and 0.00, respectively. Thus, even whenϱ attains its maximum value of the grid (0.075)Δ is not positive for any combination of the otherparameters within the grid of Table 1. Table<2 shows that the parameter values that induce the extreme valuesof Δ are very different. As expected, the largest negative valueof Δ is obtained when s and h arestrong substitutes in production (ϱ attains its minimum). Also,Δ is more negative if the benefit function is more curved(high σ), if the student has a higher taste for leisure (highδ), if the elasticity of output with respect to effort is high(high η), and/or if student ability (μ) is relativelylow (although in this case not at its minimum).
When s and h are strong complements in productionΔ may be substantially positive. This is illustrated inTable 3 where ϱ is fixed at 2.Here the largest negative value of Δ is obtained for about thesame values of (μ,δ,σ,η) asin Table 2 (except that μ is 2instead of 3), whereas the largest positive value of Δ (0.055)is obtained for the same parameter values except that σ (thecurvature of the benefit function) is at its minimum instead of itsmaximum.8
Within any school, we would expect that the parameters(μ,δ,σ,η,ϱ)are heterogeneous. For example, how important it is to attain more than a simple'passing' grade will vary from student to student, implyingheterogeneity in the parameter σ. Moreover, the distributions of theseparameters may not be independent. For example, high ability students (highμ) who aspire to further education may have a lower concern forsimply passing.
4 Differential effects
The results of Summers and Wolfe (1977), Krueger (1999), Angrist and Lavy (1999), Browningand Heinesen (2007) and Heinesen (2010)indicate that reducing class size has larger positive effects for students fromdisadvantaged backgrounds, and Heinesen (2010) also findsthat low-ability students benefit significantly more than high-ability students.Aaronson et al. (2007) find that teacher-qualityeffects are relatively larger for lower-ability students.
The simple model described above is consistent with these findings since the totalelasticity, , is decreasing in student ability, μ. The absolutevalue of the total effect of school resources on marks () is also decreasing in μ for many combinations ofvalues for the other parameters. When ϱ = 0 (i.e., s andh are neither substitutes nor complements in production), thederivative ∂ y/∂ s in the production function (1) holding h fixed doesnot depend on μ. However, the total effect depends on μ because students respond tochanges in school quality by changing effort. This is illustrated inFigure 2 which shows how and vary with μ in the model consisting of (3) and(1) where(δ,σ,η) = (1.0,1.05,0.4). Inthe lower part of the figure ϱ = 0, and the lower right panelshows that is decreasing in μ. The lower left panel shows thatthe total elasticity decreases much more in μ. This is not surprisingsince y determined by the production function (1) holding h fixedand also the optimal value are strongly increasing in μ. In the upper part ofthe figure ϱ = -0.05 (i.e., s and h aresubstitutes in production). Whereas the total elasticity varies with μin much the same way in the two parts of the figure, decreases much more in the upper part of the figure, wheres and h are substitutes, than in the lower part.
Figure 3 illustrates differential effects with respect tothe parameters of the utility function, i.e. the curvature with respect to theeducational outcome (σ) and the taste for leisure (δ),given constant values of student ability (μ = 5) and thecurvature of the production function with respect to effort(η = 0.4). In the special case whereϱ = 0, school quality (s) and effort(h) are neither substitutes nor complements in production, and thederivative with respect to s in the production function, holdingh constant, is equal to λ sλ-1, i.e. independent of the initial levels of hand y. Assuming λ = 0.4 and s = 1 asabove and considering a 10% increase of s, the partial effect ony is 0.04. This is represented by the horizontal line in the upperleft panel of Figure 3, whereas the two downward slopingcurves in this panel show the total effects for δ = 0.5 (solidline) and δ = 2 (dashed line), respectively. Whereas the partialeffect is constant, the total effect is decreasing in both σ andδ. When both σ and δ aresmall (about 0.5) the total effect is about 6% smaller than the partial effect; thedifference is about 12% if instead δ is large (2); and it isabout 40% if σ is large (1.95). The upper right panel ofFigure 3 shows the corresponding relationship betweenthe elasticity difference Δ and σ for thetwo extreme values of δ (and again for ϱ= 0). The numerical value of the elasticity difference increases in bothσ and δ, and it is about -0.07 when bothparameters are large (about 2) and in this case the partial elasticity is 0.16. Therelation between the elasticity difference and the utility function parameters isalmost the same when ϱ = -0.05, i.e. when s andh are substitutes in production; see the lower left panel. Thelower right panel shows the relation when s and h arestrong complements (ϱ = 2): when σ is smallthe elasticity difference is positive (h increases in response to theincrease in s), and more so when δ is large; but whenσ is large the elasticity difference is negative and largenumerically (of about the same size as when ϱ = 0 or ϱ= -0.05).
5 A pass/fail mark
If in this simple model the curvature parameter in the utility function is above athreshold (σ > 1), students respond to an increase in schoolquality by decreasing their effort. Conversely, if σ< 1 (and ϱ > 0), students may in some casesrespond by increasing their effort. To investigate in more detail the effect of thecurvature of the benefit function we consider an extreme case in which:
where I (y ≥y∗) is an indicator function that takes value unity if y≥ y∗ and zero otherwise (with y∗ > sλ). This corresponds to a pass/fail mark. In this case students will eitherset:
where we assume that the passing grade is attainable for some feasible level ofeffort: y∗ < sλ+ μ (1 + ϱ sλ). The student chooses to exert effort if:
This illustrates that, ceteris paribus, a pass grade is more likely ifcomplementarity in production, student ability or school quality are high or if thestudent has a low taste for leisure.9 For a given level of schoolquality we have three groups of students: bad fails; marginal fails (students whofailed but were close to choosing to pass) and passes. If we increase school qualitythen the bad fails continue to exert no effort and fail, the marginal fails increasetheir effort (the level given in (10) with the new level of s) and passstudents reduce their effort and still pass. Thus we have three different responsesto the policy change: negative, zero and positive.
6 More than one course of study
As we discussed in the introduction, results in papers using course- orsubject-specific variation in school quality indicate that students' effortresponse may be important. Thus, Aaronson et al. (2007) find significant effects of, e.g., both math and English teacherson math test scores, and Heinesen (2010) finds significantnegative effects of course-specific class size on marks in the same course, but alsoindication of negative effects on marks in other courses. One possible mechanismwhich may explain these cross-course effects (or spill-over effects between courses)is student reallocation of effort between subjects. This may be illustrated by anextension of the above model framework to the more general case with more than onecourse of study. For simplicity, consider the case with two courses. We assume thatthe utility function is additive in the two outcomes (with the same curvatureparameter) and leisure:
where y i and h i are the outcome (a mark) and student effort in subject i,respectively.
We allow student ability (μ i ) to differ between subjects, but for simplicity we assume that the otherparameters in the two subject-specific production functions are identical, and weassume their form to be similar to (1):
Denoting the optimal choices by () we may consider four total elasticities, namely elasticities ofthe two outcomes with respect to each of the two school quality inputs:
The two total 'own resource' elasticities in (14) consist of a directeffect of increased school resources in subject i on academic outcomein the same subject and an indirect effect through changed effort in subjecti. The two total cross-elasticities (15) are different from zero if anincrease in school resources in one subject induces students to change effort in theother subject. The partial own-resource elasticities, ε ii = ∂ lny i /∂ lns i , consist of only the direct effect, holding effort fixed. The partialcross-elasticities, ε ij = ∂ lny i /∂ lns j ,i ≠ j, are zero. The sign of each of the fourelasticity differences (i,j = 1,2) is equal to the sign of thecorresponding effort elasticity .
As in the model with only one course of study, the signs of the elasticitydifferences are mainly determined by the signs of σ andϱ. Thus, we now show that and (i,j = 1,2; i≠ j) if σ > 1 or ϱ≤ 0. To see this, we insert the production functions (13) into theutility function (12) and differentiate the first-order conditions:
Since A i < 0, we have Furthermore, D=A1A2 - (A1 + A2) δ /(1 - h1 - h2)2 > 0. Thus, and iff and this inequality holds if σ > 1 or ϱ≤ 0 by arguments similar to the one-course case.
If we take a grid over the same values of the parameters as given in Table 1, where now both μ1 and μ2 vary between 1 and 10, we obtain the extreme values of theelasticity differences and and the associated parameters shown in Table 4.10 The 'own resource' elasticity differenceΔ11 has extreme values -0.12 and -0.00, and the same is true forΔ22 (not shown in the table since the model is symmetric in the twocourses). The elasticity difference Δ11 (and Δ22) vary with the parameters in basically the same way asΔ in the one-course case (except for the dependence on abilityin the other subject): The extreme negative value is obtained when σ,δ and η are at their maximum, whenϱ is at its minimum, and when ability in the two subjects is low(although not at the minimum); the maximum value (zero) is obtained when whenσ, δ and η are at theirminimum, when ϱ is at its maximum, and when ability is at itsmaximum in the same subject and at its minimum in the other subject. The two crosselasticities and have extreme values -0.00 and 0.05. The extreme positive value of is obtained when σ, η andμ1 are at their maximum values, and when ϱ,δ and μ2 are at their minimum values. Thus, the elasticity of outcome in onesubject with respect to school resources in the other subject is high whenϱ is negative and numerically large,σ is high, ability in the first subject is high and ability inthe other subject is low. The minimum of is obtained when ϱ = 0 and when σ,δ, μ1 and μ2 are high, and η is low.
Table 5 illustrates that when school quality and studenteffort are strong complements in production (ϱ = 2 in thetable) then the elasticity difference of Δ11 may be substantially positive (as for Δ in themodel with a single subject) and may be substantially negative. The maximum of Δ11 is obtained when σ and δ aresmall and η and μ1 and μ2 are high. The minimum of is obtained for the same parameter values, except thatμ1 is small. However, Table 5 also shows thatwhen σ is large, Δ11 may be substantially negative and may be substantially positive even when s andh are strong complements in production.
Figure 4 shows how the total elasticities and the absolute change in the outcomes D, which is the increase in when s j is increased by 10%, vary with ability in subject 1 when (μ2,δ,σ,η,ϱ) =(5,0.5,1.95,0.6,-0.05). Thus, the values of δ,σ and η are chosen so that the crosselasticities are relatively large. The own-subject elasticity and the absolute change D are decreasing in μ1 corresponding to the results in the one-subject case. The otherown-subject elasticity (and D) do not depend much on μ1, while the cross elasticity (and D) are decreasing in μ1, and (and D) are increasing in μ1. The figure illustrates that the cross elasticities may be rather largecompared to the own-subject elasticities. For instance, when μ1 = 5 the cross elasticities are about one third of the own-subjectelasticities. Thus, when school resources in one course is changed, this may havesubstantial effects on outcomes also in other courses, and the mechanism behindthese cross effects in this simple model is students' reallocation of effortbetween subjects: When school resources in one course increase it may be optimal forstudents to reduce effort in this course and increase leisure and effort in theother course. In Figure 4ϱ = -0.05 so that s i and h i are assumed to be substitutes in production. Settingϱ equal to zero produces a rather similar figure although thecross elasticities are a little smaller compared to the own-course elasticities (forμ1 = 5 the ratio is 0.27). Assuming inputs to be strong complementsin production implies that the ratios of cross elasticities to own-courseelasticities are smaller.
7 Conclusion
Typically, studies on the effect of school quality on academic outcomes do not takeaccount of students' responses regarding academic effort or time use. Applyingsimple parametric models we have shown that students' effort or time-useresponses to changes in school quality may cause large differences between the totalelasticity of changes in school quality and the partial education productionfunction elasticity (holding student effort constant). The main parametersdetermining the sign of the elasticity difference are the extent of substitutionbetween effort and school quality in the production function and how kinked is thebenefit from a higher mark in the student utility function. If effort and schoolquality are substitutes in production and/or if there is a marked kink in thebenefit function, students will tend to reduce effort when school quality isincreased implying that the total elasticity is smaller than the partial elasticity.The value of the elasticity difference also depends on the student's distastefor effort, the curvature of the production function with respect to effort and thestudent's ability in the course of study. In a model with two courses of studywe have shown that an increase in school resources in one course may reduce effortin that course, implying that the total 'own-resource elasticity' issmaller than the partial own-resource elasticity, but increase effort in the othercourse implying a positive (total) 'cross elasticity'.
Our main conclusion is that reliable estimates of partial effects (based on educationproduction function parameters holding student effort constant) of school quality onacademic outcomes require - in addition to exogenous variation in school quality -information on academic effort and/or time use. This suggests a new round of datacollection.
It is important to note that our models are very simple in several respects. Forinstance, we focus on student effort response to a change of school quality andignore parental responses. Parental response is presumably very important foryounger students. Thus, our model is mostly relevant for older students (e.g.15-year-olds). Another limitation of our model is the assumption that school qualityaffects only the production function, but not the student utility function. Animportant aspect of school (and teacher) quality is to motivate and monitor studentsbetter, inducing them to put more effort in their school work. Thus, school qualitymay affect the parameters of the student utility function, but our model ignoresthis mechanism. In our model with two courses of study we focus on mandatory coursesand spill-over effects between these. It would be interesting to extent the model toenable analysis of effects of changes in school quality and other interventions onthe choice between optional courses, and academic outcomes given this choice (forinstance the major choice and GPA at university, see e.g. Arcidiacono etal.2012).
8 Endnotes
1 Studies on the effect of class size include, inter alia, Hanushek(1996), Krueger (1999,2003), Angrist and Lavy (1999), Case andDeaton (1999), Hoxby (2000), Kruegerand Whitmore (2001), Heinesen (2010)and Fredriksson et al. (2013). Studies on the effect ofteacher quality include Rockoff (2004), Rivkin et al. (2005), Aaronson et al. (2007) andClotfelter et al. (2007a,2007b, 2010).Other measures of school quality used in the literature include expenditure perstudent and the teacher-student ratio (see e.g. the surveys in Hanushek 1996 Card and Krueger 1996 and Betts1996) and the number of teacher hours per student(Browning and Heinesen 2007).
2 In the vastly simplified framework below we consider only aschool that has one class. A more general model would distinguish between classquality and school quality and allow for student selection based on within schoolquality differences.
3 We use Greek letters to denote preference and prodcutionparameters and Latin letters to denote choice variables. Thus s is thechoice of the school funding authorities. As discussed in the Introduction, weignore parental effort as an input in the production function which means that themodel is more relevant for older students.
4 Houtenville and Conway (2008) note thatschool resources and parental inputs may be substitutes in education production.
5 It is straightforward to allow for alternative uses of time suchas market work. This complicates the notation and analysis without adding much ofsignificance to the main points.
6 Results are qualitatively the same for other values ofλ.
7 Choosing other values of s produces qualitativelysimilar results.
8 The production functions and indifference curves ofFigure 1 are based on the parametric model above andthe four sets of parameters of Tables 2 and 3 (the upper panels of Figure 1correspond to Table 2 and the lower panels to table 3).
9 It is easily shown that and that this inequality holds because of the restriction
10 The elasticities are calculated at λ = 0.4 ands1 = s2 = 0.5.
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We are grateful to anonymous referees, the editor Pierre Cahuc, and PeterFredriksson and participants in workshops on economics of education at AarhusUniversity for helpful comments and suggestions. The Danish Council forStrategic Research is acknowledged with gratitude for its support through theCentre for Strategic Research in Education (CSER).
Responsible Editor: Pierre Cahuc
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Browning, M., Heinesen, E. Study versus television. IZA J Labor Econ 3, 2 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-8997-3-2
- Educational economics
- Human capital
- Effect of school quality
- Student effort
- Structural modelling
- Education production function


text:
Quick quiz. Who recently said the following quote and to whom were they referring?
"I'm sick and tired of being pushed around by a competitor that doesn't understand the rules of fair and open competition."
1. Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer talking about Google
2. Donald Trump talking about Rosie O'Donnell
3. AMD Executive VP Henri Richard talking about Intel
4. Everyone on Survivor talking about everyone else on Survivor
You're right if you answered number three. (If you guessed number one, I'll give you points for mind-reading, but he never actually uttered the words aloud.) In truth, Henri Richard never explicitly mentioned Intel, since within AMD their rival is usually just referred to as "the competition," "the other," or more simply, "Beelzebub."
If AMD seems to be defensive these days, it's understandable. In the midst of a price war with Intel, AMD has seen its profits and stock prices decline substantially over the past six months. More recently the company has struggled to keep its distribution channel supplied with chips, causing AMD to admit that it will miss its original Q1 2007 revenue goals.
Better days may be ahead. With the ATI merger behind it, AMD expects its new graphics cards and upcoming Barcelona quad-core Opteron to propel the company out of the doldrums.
The Henri Richard quote from above was part of a preamble to last Wednesday's AMD press/analyst briefing, which included, among other things, a demonstration of a 'Teraflop in Box' prototype system.
Whether or not the AMD-based teraflop machine was meant to counter the media frenzy surrounding the 80-core teraflop Intel processor is debatable. But Richard did refer to other "teraflop computing products that may come to market five years from now," noting that AMD knows how to do teraflop computing today.
The demonstrated benchmark used a multiply-add (MADD) calculation to achieve the teraflop mark. Interestingly, AMD also demonstrated using the GPU-based machines to achieve a 20x – 40x speedup (compared to a typical CPU platform) on the real-world [email protected] application, which performs computationally intensive simulations of protein folding. No numbers were provided for the actual levels of sustained performance achieved.
Although both AMD's and Intel's teraflop systems are prototypes, AMD used actual production chips in its machine, so presumably an OEM could bring a real product to market this year. The showcased AMD-equipped system contained an Opteron processor and two R600 graphics cards. The R600 graphics card is technically not in production yet, but is expected to be launched in Q2 of this year. As you might have guessed, most of the teraflop number crunching comes from the graphics cards. The R600 is one of the new species of GPU devices which can be targeted for stream computing, a type of workload that can be applied to a variety of high performance computing applications.
AMD is not alone in producing high-end graphics devices that double as general-purpose stream processors. Just this week, NVIDIA released its latest high-end Quadro cards, which were also designed to support GPU stream computing. Intel's much-rumored Larabee GPU program may produce some real devices as early as next year, bringing a third offering to the graphics table. The competition is just getting started.
As always, comments about HPCwire are welcomed and encouraged. Write to me, Michael Feldman, at [email protected].


text:
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This event has passed.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Game Recap
Azle (TX) outdone by Dolan Nicholson and Denton Broncos Varsity, 7-2
Dolan Nicholson collected three hits, helping Denton Broncos Varsity to a 7-2 victory over Azle on Tuesday at Azle High School.
He singled in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
Malik Minter kept contact to a minimum, striking out 10 Azle batters. Minter allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks over seven innings.
Dinkins took the loss for Azle . He lasted just 4 2/3 innings, walked two, struck out five, and allowed five runs.
In the bottom of the second, Azle grabbed the early lead, 2-0. Flynn singled to ignite Azle 's offense, before Drolet singled, plating Oliver. More runs came home for Azle when Lehr scored when Nay was hit by a pitch.
Denton Broncos Varsity went up for good in the fifth, scoring three runs on an RBI double by Josh Boring and a two-run single by Wyatt Folsom.
Denton Broncos Varsity pushed across one run in both the sixth inning and the seventh. In the sixth, Denton Broncos Varsity scored on an RBI single by Nicholson, scoring Dimitri Cruz.
"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved." Any reuse or republication of this story must include the preceding attribution.


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E-Mail 'Just Say No' To A Friend
Email a copy of 'Just Say No' to a friend
7 Responses to Just Say No
Faith Collins May 22, 2012 at 10:54 am
I help the kids in my play-group say no politely by using the phrase "No, thank you." They use it with each other during play (sometimes with reminders) and with me when I offer them more food but they don't need anymore, or if I invite them to help me with a task but they'd prefer to play. Adding that simple 'thank you' to the ending can make all the difference between the interaction being gracious or feelings getting hurt.
Laura Puginthekitchen June 3, 2012 at 9:10 am
Liam says it "No fanks" and I love it. When he uses that phrase, I know that he is really reaching into himself to make the decision to say no since he's taken the time to be polite.Momma Jorje MommaJorje May 22, 2012 at 10:52 pm
The photo is perfect (for the post)!
It drives me nuts when a family member tries to convince a child to be affectionate. You can't force love, why force signs of it? 😛
Laura Puginthekitchen June 3, 2012 at 9:11 am
Exactly. The majority of photos with the two kids are candid playing shots. And they are just as cute!Janine thejaninefowler May 25, 2012 at 4:49 am
This is such a big one. We're lucky that no one really forces my 2 year old yet, but that may change as he gets older & bigger and people stop seeing him as a fragile baby. I'll definitely be using this advice – Thanks!Destany May 25, 2012 at 8:14 am
This is a very good reminder. Often, adults don't look at their behavior as along the lines of bullying, because they don't have the intentional malice behind it. But it can be difficult for a child to tell the difference when it comes to coercion, and many adults use similar ploys to get what they want that bullies use. Bribery, coaxing, even warning looks and taking on an abrasive manner – it all comes down to manipulation. If a child is used to going against their feelings and being manipulated, the powerlessness can really harm their self-esteem, as well as teaching them that manipulation is acceptable. I enjoyed your post!
Laura Puginthekitchen June 3, 2012 at 9:14 am
You hit the nail on the head… I grew up with those "looks" and have caught myself giving them on occasion. Manipulation is evil and I don't want any bit of it in my home… older generations have relied on it for years though and making a decision to not bribe, coax, etc. your child in situations like this are not often looked upon with grace. I pray that as I age and my children have their own I can always remember how passionate I am about raising my children to be the best people they can be… even if it means we don't have dozens of adorable "loving" sibling photos. 🙂


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Date: Oct 12, 2009
AT&T to Allow iPhone VoIP traffic on Its Network
In a letter dated October 6, 2009, AT&T advised the FCC that it has decided to allow Apple iPhone users to employ third–party Voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") applications that make use of AT&T's 2G and 3G wireless networks. This issue first came to light in an FCC inquiry regarding reports that AT&T and/or Apple prevented users from accessing the Google Voice application on the Apple iPhone. AT&T's letter to the FCC can be accessed online by clicking here. Also, Verizon recently announced that for the first time it plans to offer a mobile phone using Google's Android operating system. These moves may be attempts by the carriers to forestall the FCC from limiting or banning wireless device exclusivity agreements with phone manufacturers.
NPSTC Files for Stay of Narrowbanding Deadlines
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council ("NPSTC"), recently filed a Petition requesting the FCC stay certain deadlines related to the Part 90 VHF/UHF narrowbanding requirements. Specifically, NPSTC requests a stay of three requirements that are due to go into effect on January 1, 2011: (1) licensees can no longer apply for new or modification license applications that exceed 12.5 kHz or equivalent efficiency, (2) single-mode and multi-mode transmitters that operate at an efficiency mode exceeding 12.5 kHz can no longer be manufactured in or imported into the United States, and (3) manufacturer applications for Part 90 certifications must include a spectrum efficiency standard of one voice path per 6.25 kHz of channel bandwidth. NPSTC does not request any change to the FCC's requirement that VHF and UHF licensees convert to technologies meeting a spectrum efficiency standard of one voice channel per 12.5 kHz by January 1, 2013.
FCC Seeks Comment on EWA Petition for 12.5 kHz Channels in 800 MHz Band
Last week, the FCC issued a Public Notice seeking comment on a Petition for Rulemaking filed by the Enterprise Wireless Alliance ("EWA") seeking to revise the channel plan for the 800 MHz band. Specifically, EWA requests that the Commission assign new, full-power, interstitial 12.5 kHz bandwidth channels between currently authorized 25 kHz bandwidth channels in the 809-816/854-861 MHz bands. EWA asserts that the creation of new 12.5 kHz bandwidth channels will provide greater spectrum efficiency, permit the development of new analog and digital technologies, and provide a viable spectrum alternative to new entrants without compromising incumbent operations. Comments are due November 9, 2009 and Reply Comments are due November 24, 2009.
FCC Seeks Additional Comments Relating to National Broadband Plan
The FCC is continuing its efforts to develop a record regarding the implementation of a National Broadband Plan, last week releasing Public Notices seeking comment on the impact of middle and second mile access on broadband availability and deployment (Comments due by November 4, 2009), and cost estimates of providing fiber optic connectivity to anchor institutions, such as public schools and libraries, community colleges, and hospitals (Comments due by October 28, 2009).
Member of


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About us
The profound success of pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV in causing disease depends on their ability to successfully utilize the host's cellular machinery for their own advantage to avert its immune system. Understanding these pathways or processes essential for the life cycle of these pathogens is crucial, as it represents potential targets for new drug strategies.
Lab news and events
Our paper that identifies a metabolic network with critical roles in Zika virus replication is now in preprint. Huge congrats to Hans and Jules; and thanks to our fantastic collaborators at PNNLab and Ed Dennis at UCSD. See the paper at Biorxiv.
Our paper that describes the role of Sphingolipids in the entry of M. tuberculosis is now in Biorxiv.
Our mini review regarding how pathogenic fungi usurp the host lipids during host entry is published in Journal of Fungi
Our Method paper on Visualization and Quantification of Phagocytosis is now published in Methods Mol Biol.
Our collaborative work with the lab of Sarah Fortune (Harvard School of Public Health) and Bryan Bryson (MIT) on the mechanism of how GM-CSF signaling controls Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is published in Nature Communications.
Our collaborative work with the lab of Joost Holthuis is published in Nature Communications.
Event: Fikadu G. Tafesse is one of the invited speakers at the upcoming SLB meeting "Host-Microbial Interactions in Health and Disease: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Event: Our PacTB (Pacific Tuberculosis Pathogenesis and Host-Response Research Retreat) meeting this year is in UC Berkley
Event: Conversations in Global Health | Winter 2020 Presented by the Center for Global Child Health Research
Congratulations to the Tafesse lab. They've received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their research project, Nanobodies as a Targeted-Therapeutic Against Mtb.
Professor Tafesse is featured as part of OHSU's Onward campaign.
Flaviviruses, such as Zika and Dengue virus, manipulate the lipid content of host cells to replicate and cause disease. Read our new review.
Video: Phagocytosis of Candida albicans by dendritic cells.
Our lab is growing
Tafesse Lab is recruiting. Please see our Contact Us page for details.
Consider applying for a postdoctoral fellowship through Dean's Research Scholar Program and OHSU Fellowship for Diversity in Research.


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Yoga - Uppingham
Uppingham is a market town in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, located on the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, about 6 miles south of the county town, Oakham on the A6003 road. Wikipedia
Feel Great Yoga with Naomi Kent
Leicester, Leicestershire, LE6 0JF Leicestershire, LE12 8BL
Hi there! I'm Naomi Kent, radio presenter & hardcore worshipper of yoga! I completed my 200 hours Yoga Alliance certified teacher training in Goa [...]Distance: 22.21 miles.
Nicky Hayes Yoga
North Luffenham, Rutland, LE15 8JT
Monday 10.15 -11.45am Rutland Showground, Oakham Tuesday 10.00 - 11.30am Stamford Arts Centre Wednesday 7.45 - 9.15pm Arts Centre Stamford Thursday 9.45 - 11.00am Welland Dance [...]Distance: 5.01 miles.
Yoga with Linda
Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6JQ
Let me help you to become more flexible and less stressed , Come and join in with my friendly one hour Hatha yoga classes , Mondays [...]Distance: 6.3 miles.
Tori Williams Yoga
Corby, Northamptonshire, NN17 3HR
07966 465919
Tori Williams teaches yoga to help you feel better in your body and calmer in your mind. Her classes will guide you through yoga [...]Distance: 7.28 miles.
Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 8QQ
07917 195232
Children's Yoga Classes I can offer weekly pre school, children's and teen classes in the Market Harborough and Rutland area. Family Yoga/Pre School Yoga Class - [...]Distance: 7.87 miles.
Pure Motion Yoga
The one thing we all have in common is that we have a body, but we are not given a users manual. Every action [...]Distance: 8.39 miles.
Pennyyoga /Choose Yoga
King's Cliffe, Northamptonshire, PE8 6XN
Classes are varied and friendly. I enjoy teaching a good mix of asana and the first part of the class tends to be energy [...]Distance: 9 miles.
Yogo Yoga
Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 8PH
07715 925683
Yogo Yoga specialising in SUP Yoga, Vinyasa, Mum and baby, Mum and Toddler, Private classes. Suitable for all levels.Distance: 9.61 miles.
Sala Yoga – Peterborough and Northamptonshire
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE8 5EE
01832 280247/07867 367353
NEW - Complete Beginners online 5 week courses New courses designed for complete beginners to explore yoga and its many benefits Contact Elaine for more details. NEW [...]Distance: 10.98 miles.
Baby Nomad
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Childbirth preparation classes, relaxation for pregnancy, post natal yoga, baby massage, baby yoga, toddler yoga, family yoga and yoga in schools. Baby Nomad is [...]Distance: 11.08 miles.
Cat Meffan Yoga
Stamford, Lincolnshire
I am a qualified vinyasa flow, power and restorative yoga instructor based between London, Hertfordshire and Stamford, Lincs. As an ex-dancer and gymnast I [...]Distance: 11.08 miles.
Hamsa Integral Yoga Studio
Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7DS
+44 773 1618 777
Hamsa Studio is friendly and inclusive place. Whether you are after an inspiring yoga class, or would like to meditate, let go and spend [...]Distance: 11.18 miles.
Stamford Yoga Limited
Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1PG
01733 689041
Dedicated Yoga Studio offering Yoga and Pilates class for all abilities with a range of teachers. All equipment provided. Changing rooms and lockers available. Set [...]Distance: 11.23 miles.
Liz Chapman
Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1PJ
01780 754170
Classes are an inter-disciplinary style with a focus on breath, placement and technique, as well as the philosophical aspect. Men and women [...]Distance: 11.24 miles.
Yoga for You
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN14 1JD
Anne holds weekly classes in Brixworth and Little Harrowden. Private lessons are also available. A typical lesson will include asanas, pranayama, mantra, meditation and [...]Distance: 11.41 miles.
Yoga with Una
Market Harborough, Leicestershire
01858 463919
I have been teaching in South Leicestershire since 2010, and firmly believe that Yoga can be enjoyed by just about everybody, whatever your size, [...]Distance: 11.41 miles.
Market Harborough, Leicestershire
Explore the benefits of vinyasa flow, Rocket, Yin or Pregnancy yoga with the people in and around Market Harborough. If you would like to [...]Distance: 11.41 miles.
Ironstone Wellbeing Centre
Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN14 1FN
We are situated just outside of Kettering and are Northamptonshire's first purpose-built Wellbeing Centre. We aim to offer a welcoming and relaxing space where [...]Distance: 11.54 miles.
No Events


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Linda Lunnen
Playing Career:
Linda received a full scholarship to play volleyball for Duke University where her team won two ACC Division 1 Championships in 1991 and 1992. Linda was a starting middle hitter/blocker for Duke for 4 years and also was coached as a back-up setter.
While in high school, Linda played for the Jersey Girls Volleyball Club winning the East Coast Championship her senior year. Her high school team won the New Jersey State Championship her junior year.
Coaching Career:
Linda is entering her fifth year as Club Director and Coach of the Black Bears Volleyball Club. She has just finished her seventh season as coach of the Heritage Christian Academy middle school volleyball team. She is CAP 1 certified.
Linda is the mother of Olivia and Emily and is the physical therapist for Cherokee Central Schools.
Morgan Williams
Morgan received a full athletic volleyball scholarship to Western Carolina University after graduating high school a term early in January of 2017. Beginning her college career at WCU, Morgan completed three spring seasons and two fall seasons before quitting the team to pursue her passion for teaching and ministry.
While in high school, Morgan played four years of Varsity volleyball at Newton-Conover, earning Most Valuable Player and All-Conference honors her junior and senior seasons. Morgan played club volleyball for I.C. Stars for five consecutive years out of Statesville in Iredell County while she received offers to play in college.
Morgan is returning to coach at Black Bears for her second year, continuing and creating new relationships with the players, the coaches, and their families.
Morgan is studying Elementary Education at WCU and plans to become a full-time teaching missionary once she graduates Western in December of 2020
Lauren Queen
Lauren was born and raised in Houston, Texas where she started playing Volleyball when she was 8. After moving to Charlotte, she played at the National level with CJV, and then with Triangle while living in Raleigh. Lauren graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington and moved to Cullowhee in 2014. She is excited to start coaching and sharing her love of the game! She is married to McKenzie and they have 2 daughters.
WCU Connection
Jackson County Black Bears has established a new relationship with the Western Carolina University volleyball coaching staff and team. The WCU players will assist with the coaching responsibilities during this coming club season. WCU's head volleyball coach, Karen Glover, has also invited our players to attend monthly volleyball clinics given by herself and her players.
It is our commitment at Black Bears Volleyball Club that all of our coaches be registered with USA Volleyball. This requires continuing education specific to coaching volleyball, SafeSport education, and a thorough background check.


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The third and final act of the epic Sonic/Mega Man crossover event begins here! "Worlds Unite" Part Nine: Sigma has begun his conquest of all the worlds. Now it's up to Sonic, Mega Man, and X to unify those worlds against Sigma! It's a "who's who" of SEGA and Capcom heroes answering this important call to arms! But with Sigma still active on the unified world, he turns his gaze upon those left behind! Featuring the worlds of Street Fighter, Skies of Arcadia, Nights Into Dreams, Okami, Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Alex Kidd, and more! Plus cover art from the legendary Patrick "SPAZ" Spamore
All in all Sonic Universe #78 is a fun read. If you're a fan of some of the classic Sega and Capcom games I recommend you go and buy this comic. It's the start of the third act of this epic crossover, but it'seasy for new readers to understand, especially those with a background in these characters' video game lives. Read Full Review
Growing up in the 90's this brought back wonderful memories of my Saga Master System II, Sega Genesis (Mega Drive in Australia) and the Sega Saturn games I owned as a kid. The art by Hesse and Amash bring one dimensional characters of Sega and Capcom games to life; and Flynn's humour makes it more enjoyable. Read Full Review
Be the first to rate this issue!
Click the 'Rate/Write A Review' link above to get started.


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|I always need photos. You can see what I'm looking for here or you can look up your specific trek and year and click the camera icon and get a list like this As always thanks for you support. YiS Jim
|Clearly with 2020 being cancelled the rendevouz feature is less useful. As such I've changed the display options so that it is no longer the default home page. That said, wouldn't it be nice to register the trek you were planning on and connecting with those you might have been with. Further, you could use the tour feature for a virtual 2020 trek .. Day by Day exploring wht might have been and what might be.
|Expired Articles
|PhilSearch Version 15.4 - 6/28/2020 using 2020 data set.
This web site is not officially sanctioned by Philmont or the Boy Scouts of America
The information on this site is provided as is and should be verified against official Philmont publications before being used for final trek selection.
PhilSearch is provided as a service of the Chester County Council, PA. High Adventure Committee - WWW.CCCBSA.ORG
Please DO NOT contact the council office for support regarding this site, instead email the webmaster


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#5 Holly Willoughby Well that's goodbye to @thismorning for a little bit… beautiful flowers fit for a princess from the production team curtesy of Eugene's wedding Florist @rvhfloraldesign Feel super spoilt!?… will miss you all and look after my @schofe whist I'm away… love that silver ?… here are a few pictures from the show including my first and LAST bush tucker trial!!!! ✈???
Holly Willoughby teases killer pins in thigh-grazing minidress for emotional last day
HOLLY Willoughby never fails to ramp on up the sex appeal on This Morning.
Holly Willoughby's popularity has skyrocketed since joining co-presenter Phillip Schofield on This Morning back in 2006.
Making the most of her success, she has also bagged herself a role in 2008 as team captain for Celebrity Juice and has most recently launched her Marks and Spencer's Autumn/Winter fashion range.
It doesn't stop there, after Anthony McPartlin troubles, Holly has stepped up to co-host I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! alongside Declan Donnelly.
Upon taking up the role, Holly sent her best wishes to Ant: "I love Ant and want to send him my best wishes and support for a continued recovery. These are big shoes, not to fill, but just to keep warm for a little bit."
Today was the 37-year-old's last day on This Morning and it was quite emotional, as she is set to leave for Australia on Thursday.
Fans quickly took to Twitter to share their sadness, with one writing: "Nooo, definitely going to miss this doubt act."
While others simply said: "We will miss you Holly."
The Brighton-born babe is well known for her sizzling outfits on the show and in her true style she didn't disappoint.
SWEET GOODBYE: Holly Willoughby enjoyed her last day on This Morning (Pic: WENN)
HOT HOST: Holly Willoughby will be taking over from Anthony McPartlin on I'm A Celeb (Pic: WENN)
Stepping out in the autumnal weather, the blonde bombshell looked stunning as she braved the cold for the outside segment.
Flaunting her sexy, sun-kissed pins in a patterned minidress, she flashed a smouldering smile at the photographers.
Wrapping up, Holly teamed her ensemble with a navy blue overcoat, which she tied in around the waist, accentuating her curves.
Styling up her look in total sophistication, she opted for non-distracting nude heels and wore her platinum bob loosely around her shoulders.
STYLE: Holly Willoughby always wows viewers with her sense of style (Pic: WENN)
Keeping her make-up simple, she finalised her look with complementary silver eyeshadow, a slash of mascara and pink lips.
After the opening titles it was quickly announced this would be her last appearance for a while, as she shared an emotional goodbye with Phillip.
The silver fox showed his saddened face as the hosting-duo shared a comforting hug.
Holly held back the tears expressing: "I can't believe it, it's come around so quickly. Oh don't, I'm going to miss you."
LEGGY LASS: Holly Willoughby teased onlookers with her killer pins (Pic: WENN)
FASHIONISTA: Holly Willoughby has launched her new Autumn/Winter range with Marks and Spencer (Pic: WENN)
GLUM: Phillip Schofield looked sad as they hosted an outside segment (Pic: WENN)
DOUBLE ACT: Phillip Schofield expressed that he will miss Holly (Pic: ITV)
COMFORTING: Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby shared a goodbye hug (Pic: WENN)
Hits: 3


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Big, flat cookies with chewy centres and crispy outside, filled with mint chocolate and marshmallows! Great treat for the holiday 🙂
These chocolate mint marshmallow cookies are rich in chocolate taste,with gooey melty marshmallows inside! Do you love this type of cookies too?
若想阅读中文版本,请在网页的右边 "Google Translate" 点击选择 中文简体 (Chinese Simplified)或 繁体 (Chinese Traditional) 翻译。可能食谱读起来会怪怪的,所以如果有疑问都可以问哦!
Do you love chocolate, mint and marshmallow flavors during Christmas season? I especially love these flavors during the colder weather! 🙂
If you're like me, you'd love these cookies! Sometimes I love to snack on these for breakfast (lol) when I am feeling stressed at work!
How Are These Cookies Like?
These cookies are made using the usual butter + sugar creaming method. After which we will mix in the egg, followed by dry ingredients. We will then add in the mint chocolate and marshmallows (yum!).
I am using Ghirardelli Peppermint Baking Chocolate. They are like white chocolate with mint flavor and goes very well with the dark chocolate taste! For the marshmallows, do get some good quality marshmallow so that it will be gooey as it melt. Yum!
These cookies are big and quite flat. They will spread a lot in the oven, so be sure to leave enough space in between each cookie.
Chocolate Mint Marshmallow Cookies
- 115 g butter, room temperature
- 100 g caster sugar
- 90 g brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 140 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 80 g chocolate mint chunks
- 40 g mini marshmallows (reserve 1/3 for topping)
- Preheat oven to 160C. Line baking tray with baking paper.
- Place butter and sugar in mixing bowl. Beat till pale and creamy.
- Add in vanilla and egg. Beat till combined.
- Add in cocoa powder, flour and baking soda. Beat till a soft dough comes together. Add in chocolate mint chunks and marshmallows.
- Roll cookie dough into balls (1 tbsp size). Try to contain the marshmallows inside, otherwise it will melt into a gooey puddle on the tray while baking. Place dough balls onto prepared baking tray. Chill dough for about 10 mins.
- Bake in preheat oven at 160C for 5 mins. During this time, cut reserved marshmallows into half.
- Once 5 mins are up, bring baking tray out of oven. Top the cookies with halved mini marshmallows. Continue baking for 7-9 mins.
- Once baked, leave the tray to cool on cooling rack for about 6 - 8 mins before removing to cool completely.


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During this 5 day sale you be able to browse beautiful indoor and outdoor plants, chat with staff and determine which plants will thrive in your space.
We want your plants to live long and happy lives, so we'll guide the way.
Perfect timing for lining up a beautiful Mother's Day gift too.
Come and join us over the course of 5 days and pick up some greenery for your home, garden or balcony.


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Visible Secret (2001)
Is Visible Secret on Netflix United States?
Sorry, Visible Secret is not yet available on Netflix.
An unemployed hairdresser and a strange nurse, meet at a club and start a romance. Since meeting her, the young man encounters unexplained things which she says are spirits she can see. ...
- Title
- Visible Secret
- Year
- 2001
- Genre
- Fantasy Horror Mystery
- Type
- Movies
- IDMB rating
- 5.9 (329 votes)
- Netflix rating
- 2.8
- Directors
- Ann Hui
- Actors
- Wai Ying Hung, Yiu-Cheung Lai, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Tony Liu, James Wong, Eason Chan, Qi Shu, Sam Lee, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong
Watch the trailer
Check the Visible Secret (2001) trailer!


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It's the time of the year for holiday concerts and Christmas carols, but the season is kicking off with a huge country music celebration supporting children in Saskatoon.
This is the sixth year of the Sask Country Christmas event, a music showcase and fundraiser for the Saskatoon Society for the Protection of Children. The organization runs the Crisis Nursery and Parent Aid programs that support families in the city.
"It's one of those shows and one of those causes, you're honoured to be asked (to play)," said Saskatoon country music singer Brock Andrews, who is one of this year's performers and a board member for organizing the event.
It's somewhat styled after the concerts of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where the evening is split into two shows, Andrews said.This year the show has taken a big step forward into a much larger venue, going from Mayfair Church to the main hall of TCU Place. With 10 of Saskatchewan's biggest country music acts slated to perform, Andrews said they needed to find a way to up the scale of the show but still work to maintain the lower-key atmosphere they want to foster.
"One of the ways you make it big is the talent … one of the ways you make it small is an acoustic, intimate feeling."Andrews is set to perform alongside Codie Prevost, Belle Plaine, Brody Siebert, Blake Berglund, Jay Semko, Samara Yung and Chris Henderson. The "headliner" acts are Colter Wall and the country duo Leaving Thomas, who will cap off each half of the show.
The 11-person, 10-act show will be emceed by Pat Dubois from country radio station 92.9 The Bull and Jay Richards of Country 600 CJWW, according to Gregg Bamford, who is one of the event's organizers and a spokesman for the Saskatoon Society for the Protection of Children.
"People coming out to participate in an event like this, they're just making our city stronger and better in the long run," he said.The show is "very festive" every year, and it's a great way to get into the holiday spirit by enjoying local talent and giving back to the community at the same time, Bamford added.
Codie Prevost, a 26-time Saskatchewan Country Music Award winner, said supporting a crucial cause in the city has kept him coming back to perform every year. Now that he has a family of his own, helping the Crisis Nursery has taken on a new meaning for him, he said.
"What keeps me coming out every year is the cause. When you go out to an event like this, it opens your eyes … it really hit home for me."
As a country musician, Prevost said this is a concert he'd line up to see if he wasn't playing in it.
"I'm excited," he said. "I haven't seen Colter (Wall) perform, I haven't seen Leaving Thomas perform … it's going to be a cool night."The Sask Country Christmas takes place on Thursday, Nov. 22. Tickets are on sale at sspc.ca/saskcountrychristmas. firstname.lastname@example.com