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LGBTQ group for high school students and recent graduates
STATUS: now taking referrals; start date Jan. 2018
Coping with Divorce for women
STATUS: now taking referrals; start date November 2017
Support group for high-conflict parenting for women
STATUS: now taking referrals; start date November 2017.
10421 VFW Road, Suite 201
Eagle River, Alaska 99577
mhsnider ( at ) eaglerivercounseling.com
Family therapy is covered by many insurances.
Family therapy includes two or more family members working together with the therapist to resolve family dynamic issues.
Individual therapy is covered by most insurances, depending on clinical need and/or diagnosis. Most sessions are 45-50 minutes.
Expert guidance for clinicians working with high conflict child custody disputes is available.
Eagle River Counseling is an in-network provider with Aetna, Multiplan, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other insurances are also accepted and billed for you.
Co-parent facilitation is no longer provided at Eagle River Counseling, but a referral can be made to an appropriate provider who is skilled in working with families with this type of conflict. Consultation for therapists wanting to learn to work with high-conflict custody disputes is also available.
Group therapy is covered by many insurances.
Group therapy involves meeting together with the therapist and other clients who are seeking help with the same challenges in their lives.
When the parents of a child are never married, separated, or divorced Eagle River Counseling requires the consent of both parents, regardless of legal custody status, to provide therapy to a minor. Exceptions will be made on an individual basis for clinical reasons or with a court order signed by a judge.


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Wither the Senators? The hockey team, not the parliamentary variety Senators. The election campaign kicks off as another training season begins and, like many Ottawans, I desperate for something anything to lift the spirits of Sens Nation. Would any of the major parties dare flirt with a cash infusion to get a rink built in LeBreton Flats in a blatant appeal to Sens fans? At minimum, how about a promise to pay the remediation costs to clean up the soil in the area? Or perhaps promise to host peace talks to get two warring former partners back in business to build a rink downtown.
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The board is also slated to vote on a new collective bargaining agreement with the Police Benevolent Association, the union representing the school police officers. The agreement gives officers a 4 percent raise, similar to the raises given to support workers like bus drivers and custodians earlier this year. It also reinstates a suspended performance pay program that could allow more experienced officers to earn up to $100,000.
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News Links A roundup of stories from across the nation and around the world. But scientists have some new evidence for a theory The Loch Ness Monster is still a mystery. Defense Secretary Mark Esper cautioned European allies against cozying up to China.
For example, you could invest 200 in a fund which will spread your money across a number of firms. These companies are chosen by a fund manager.Fund managers are investment experts with years of experience. They also have a team of specialists who work diligently to help them choose the best stocks dependent upon the fund's goals.How to invest in gold the cheapest way to buy, sell and hold goldIs investing in the stock market risky?You must be aware there is a risk to your money as investments can go down in value as well as up.
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Have to have that passion and that game plan, said Casey McLelland, a leasing agent with Colliers International who, along with colleagues Mike Hoffert and Kevin Glass, put together The Butternut Tree deal for the new landlord of Ledgeview Centre, Hungerford Developments. Done deals with a group that we were a little concerned about, and then they knock it out of the park, because they leave it all out there. They have to love what they do, and you can tell when they don even with drive and a good business plan, things can go wrong.


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Myth Busted for Muscles – "Use it or Lose it"
According to the one of the most used proverb "use it or lose it" if one stops using their muscles they will lose their ability through shrinking. However, the recent research states otherwise. They state that this clearly means that the control centers of our body- nuclei are also off-track. A nucleus, an important organelle is responsible for forming new and maintaining muscle fibers.
According to the recent research published in Frontiers in Physiology, modern techniques now have allowed the researchers to observe the nuclei and conclude that nuclei earned during the training are not lost due to muscle cells shrinkage and decomposition.
Researchers have found one of the amazing ways to prevent weakness of muscles in old age that is by banking out muscle growth potential in teenage life through retraining of muscles. Residual myonuclei cause a much faster growth of muscles. This also opens up the fact that athletes who use steroids to grow their muscles may fail in their later life.
Large cells in muscles fuse together
A human body is blessed with a special kind of tissue which looks like a large single cell due to the close compaction of cells. The tissue is known as the syncytium. Lawrence Schwartz, Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts said: "Heart, bone and even placenta are built on these networks of cells. But by far our biggest cells—and biggest syncytia—are our muscles." At first, everything was just confusing with synctia.
He further explained, "Muscle growth is accompanied by the addition of new nuclei from stem cells to help meet the enhanced synthetic demands of larger muscle cells. This led to the assumption that a given nucleus controls a defined volume of cytoplasm—so that when a muscle shrinks or 'atrophies' due to disuse or disease, the number of myonuclei decreases."
Muscle tissues are only capable of gaining Nuclei but not losing it
The myth was believed by many of the researchers as in their studies they noticed that muscle disuse due to inactivity, paralysis or injury, there were signs of nucleus disintegration in muscle atrophy which in actual was cell inflammation. The recent markers and modern dyes have enabled the researchers to overcome this assumption by knowing that there were other cells recruited to atrophic muscle. These recent findings have changed the typical thinking about muscle syncytium.
"Two independent studies—one in rodents and the other in insects—have demonstrated that nuclei are not lost from atrophying muscle fibers, and even remain after muscle death has been initiated."
As per the study, once the nucleus is formed in the muscle cell, it will stay there forever in the muscle syncytium. Researcher, Schwartz was only found to be unsurprised by the new research. "Muscles get damaged during extreme exercise, and often have to weather changes in food availability and other environmental factors that lead to atrophy. They wouldn't last very long giving up their nuclei in response to every one of these insults."
Muscle memory
Myonucleus in simple words are the synthetic engine of muscle fibers which means that they should keep in check the muscle size and its strength after an accident to any of these. It ensures better recovery; the phenomenon is known as muscle memory.
"It is well documented in the field of exercise physiology that it is far easier to reacquire a certain level of muscle fitness through exercise than it was to achieve it the first place, even if there has been a long intervening period of detraining. In other words, the phrase "use it or lose it" is might be more accurately articulated as 'use it or lose it, until you work at it again'."
Other than understanding muscle biology this new research can help researchers in many fields.
"Informing public health policy, the discovery that myonuclei are retained indefinitely emphasizes the importance of exercise in early life. During adolescence muscle growth is enhanced by hormones, nutrition and a robust pool of stem cells, making it an ideal period for individuals to "bank" myonuclei that could be drawn upon to remain active in old age."
The research has made the initiative in drug testing for athletes and has banned the cheat steroids which only benefit them long after they quit. "Anabolic steroids produce a permanent increase in users' capacity for muscle development. In keeping with this, studies show that mice given testosterone acquire new myonuclei that persist long after the steroid use ends."


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Picture: Vida Coach with Alisia after the Cats beat Alisia's Hawks. She had to wear the jumper for the day!


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Winnipeg police are looking for information after a hit-and-run sent a four-year-old child to hospital on Wednesday.
Police say the incident happened around 8 p.m. in the 400 block of Langside Street.
Police say the driver stopped briefly before fleeing the area. Officers found the van vacated not far from the scene of the accident but have yet to find the driver.
The investigation is continuing by members of the Traffic Division and police are asking anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call 204-986-7085


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Be nice penice.Alex wrote:No offense, but whoever composed the music for K7 needs to see an ear doctor!
Where to download Commander Keen 8?
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Will A.I. Replace Teachers?
Anthony Seldon is a British education expert that made the buzz in late 2017 by declaring that in 2027 teachers will be replaced by AI, offering a rich analysis explaining that it will, but it also should happen this way. The analysis was published in many, many, many influential media, like the World Economic Forum.
This declaration is aggressive and if you don't read the article until the end, you'll understand that teachers are kind of doomed. Which is complete nonsense?
Teachers will play a most important role for many years to come…
AI threatens a great number of jobs, it's true. Up to 800 million according to McKinsey's study although those "in-the-process-to-be lost jobs†means also a whole lot of new ones will be created.
Yes, some jobs are really threatened and will have to deeply change as this analysis shows (like for example financial analysts, doctors, drivers etc.).
Pedagogy is out of this spectrum as it consists of a human relationships activity based on social skills. As it is depicted in Sapiens, written by History professor Yuval Noah Harari, what makes us humans is our capacity to tell stories, construct realities, to develop intersubjectivity. The latter is the basis of education but just can't be mastered by AI.
AI are thousands of times behind what we can achieve, they are tools, not emotionally sensitive and empathetic persons. And I'm not even talking about the current stage of development of AI which is… well, we're only at the beginning of it.
Teachers not only will play a crucial role in tomorrow's society, but their profession will be highly exciting. NEVERTHELESS! It doesn't mean technology will not play a role in the development of this profession, on the contrary...
AI will only help teachers focus on what matters
If you go further into Seldon's study, you will find some more interesting points. Notably, the development of AI as professors' assistants. There lies what will 1. improve learning and 2. will make the profession of teaching more exciting than ever.
Teachers spend too much time on tasks that haven't got a significant added value. Creating exams, marking them, managing the flow of documents and organizing logistics during exam sessions currently isn't really impactful in the learning process. These are unintegrated or unable-to-be-integrated tasks in the learning process, having thus little use for the core of the subject: pedagogy innovation.
That's where an AI assistant solves this problem. How?
- By clarifying situations through data collection and visualisation (also called Learning analytics solutions or Multimodal Learning analytics), thus helping teachers understand better how to guide their students through their work.
- By automating marking, thus letting teachers the pleasure to comment and to communicate with students on how to improve.
- By facilitating exam creation
- Finally, by helping them automate all the administrative tasks that take time.
That's notably what Rose Luckin, a professor at the University College London Knowledge Lab, affirmed in a 2017 study. Helping professors in their tasks and giving them more time to analyze and improve their learning content should be the main mission of AI in Education.
Inevitably, it would also greatly help solving the shortage of professors worldwide and promote the profession as an exciting, entrepreneurial adventure with learning.
AI will NEVER replace teachers
Dans tous les cas, le numérique n'est pas en mesure d'entrer en compétition avec le cerveau humain et sa maîtrise des relations humaines.
In any case, digital can't compete with human brains and human relationships, period. Interviewed by the media Futurism, Rose Luckin declared : "I do not believe that any robot can fulfil the wide range of tasks that a human teacher completes on a daily basis, nor do I believe that any robot will develop the vast repertoire of skills and abilities that a human teacher possessesâ€.
Take these simple facts:
- Paul Reber, professor of psychology at Northwestern University declared that "Human brain storage capacity is virtually unlimited and doesn't get used upâ€
- George Dvorsky, a senior reporter at Gizmodo, a media specialized in new technologies, affirmed that brain's memory capacity is a quadrillion, or 10, bytes. Astoundingly, this is about the same amount needed to store the entire internet!
- Terrence Sejnowski, Salk Institute professor declared "We discovered the key to unlocking the design principle for how hippocampal neurons function with low energy but high computation power. Our new measurements of the brain's memory capacity increase conservative estimates by a factor of 10 to at least a petabyte, in the same ballpark as the World Wide Web.†This recent discovery revolutionized the way we thought about human brains and it's just the beginning.
Apart from this, just like the McKinsey report stated, jobs implicating human skills are going to be the most demanding and the most needed. Yes, the job of professor will change deeply. No, AI will NEVER replace teachers, on the contrary, it will empower them!


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Benjamin Nelson would be an ideal hire for any employer: team player, upbeat, energetic, enthusiastic — and dedicated.
Right now Nelson is the Southeast Iowa field organizer for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Nelson is so enthusiastic about Harris that few of his remarks during his interview with The Hawk Eye came forth without embedding the senator's name, so we'll sum them up here:
Benjamin Nelson strongly urges you to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses Feb. 3.
His is a paid position; he's not an uncompensated volunteer, and he does have a life outside of the Harris campaign.
"Working in my hometown has allowed me to spend a lot of time with my family, which I really enjoy," Nelson said. "I also spend time with my co-workers and several of my friends from high school."
The 22-year-old Nelson grew up in Burlington and attended Blackhawk and Grimes Elementary schools before moving over to James Madison Middle School, where he was in the second-to-last class to move on to Burlington High School.
His first job was at Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream on South Roosevelt Avenue.
Nelson graduated in 2015 from Burlington High School in 2015 and went to the University of Iowa; he graduated last May with a bachelor's degree in both economics and philosophy.
Nelson said his political roots go back to BHS.
"We formed this club called Phoenix Effect with my history teacher, Ryan Osbourne," he said. "He was kind of our advisor, and the whole purpose of this club was to reinvent the culture of BHS and instill a lot of pride into what Burlington High School was, and what the town of Burlington was. We would go talk on the radio, give the latest happenings on the positive things that were going on in the community and in our high school system. And that instilled this idea of growing where you're planted. We wanted to be like that phoenix rising from ashes-type thing. You know how we can be when we're seniors and high school."
Nelson took the Phoenix Effect to heart and up to the University of Iowa, where he got involved in student government and served as the student representative on the Iowa City Council for two years.
"I very much knew I wanted to get involved in politics in some way, shape or form," he said.
Nelson's graduation coincided perfectly with the the Iowa caucus presidential campaigns kicking into gear, and he wanted to get involved.
"At the University of Iowa, I had the opportunity to see nearly every major presidential candidate come through and speak," he said.
Nelson chose the Harris campaign after hearing her speak at Memorial Union in Iowa City last spring.
"Her message was one of local activism and local engagement, and that's something that resonated with me, the way she was interacting with the people in the room," he said. "She understood where she was and why she was here. And I thought, 'That's the campaign I want to work for.'"
Nelson worked on the campaign's fellowship program over the summer and was offered the opportunity to come on full-time as a field organizer.
"I accepted that with a caveat position of, 'OK, if I'm going to accept this position, I want to be working in my hometown.' I wanted to be working in Burlington, Iowa, because what I learned in high school and what I practiced in Iowa City was growing where you're planted," he said.
He said Burlington and Des Moines County voted red for the first time in a long time in 2016.
"We're typically blue, a union shade of blue, and my grandfather was a union carpenter before he became a small business owner," Nelson continued. "I grew up with that sort of local activism and understanding the importance of getting involved in your community. And I wanted to carry that on."
Nelson didn't run for any student body office in high school. He was a three sport athlete: he lettered in football and soccer and was co-captain of the wrestling team his senior year.
"Freshman year, I started out at 120, senior year I made it up to 138," he said of his weight class in wrestling. "I had an even record, so I wasn't good, but I wasn't bad either. I did not make State, but a lot of my good buddies did, and I was really excited for them."
Wrestling is, as all high school grapplers know, the hardest six minutes you'll ever work in your life. But Nelson gained leadership development and an understanding of what it takes to achieve your goals.
"And the experience of cutting weight," he added with a wrestler's knowing grin.
On the gridiron, Nelson was an outside linebacker, a good slot for a quick 160-pounder. In terms of body weight, football is the opposite of wrestling, and beef is better than scrawn.
"I was kind of quick but certainly not able to hold my own in that inside box," he said.
Sharon Yang, who works closely with Nelson as Iowa press secretary for Kamala Harris, came from Des Moines for Nelson's interview with The Hawk Eye.
"Ben is an outstanding member of our team here in Iowa," Yang said. "I think it's really valuable to have someone who is from this community, and who knows the people and knows the issues that people care about, come here and organize and be Kamala Harris's representative here. I think he's eloquent and really cares, and that passion comes through. That's why it's important to have organizers like Ben on our team."
This isn't Nelson's first presidential rodeo; in 2016 he caucused for Bernie Sanders in Iowa City and knocked doors for Hillary Clinton in the general election.
"I was full-onboard," he said. "I'm very much a lifelong Democrat."
If Harris is elected president, will Nelson get a job in Washington?
"I would love to go to Washington and experience what that community is like and what that job environment is like," he said. "But that's well over a year away and it's a little bit hard to forecast that."
And if she doesn't win?
"There's a lot of forks in the road," Nelson said. "I'm considering returning to law school after a couple of years, maybe get a master's in Public Policy. We'll see whether the winds blow me that way."
We unfairly asked Nelson which of the big three — Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — he would support if Harris doesn't get the nomination.
"I think all three candidates have strengths, and I think there's a lot to be said about what their campaigns are and what their messages are," Nelson said. "I do firmly believe that Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States, and I think she is the best option of this historic field that we have. There's a long ways to go to the caucuses and I'm excited just to see Iowans listen to her message and ultimately decide that she's the one."
Answered like a true politician.
We tried to sidetrack Nelson from his one-track-Kamala intentions, just to see if we could — and failed.
He isn't a vegetarian, his favorite restaurant in Burlington is Lindo Mexico, and his favorite color? What else? Blue.
"That's a Democrat answer," Yang kicked in.
"Yeah. Blue became my favorite color 'cause I'm a Cubs fan," Nelson said.
Nelson is also an experienced candidate: He once ran for student body president at the University of Iowa. He narrowly lost.
"It was a great experience in democracy in action," he said. "You learn a lot about grassroots activism, campaigns, local issues."
Nelson pondered his past for a moment before continuing.
"But the whole reason I'm here is because of Kamala Harris," he said. "I can't separate my story from the campaign because it's a for-the-people campaign."
Well then, what do you want to be when you grow up?
"Whoo," Nelson said, taken aback by a non-Harris answerable question. "I've got to tell you, I'm living the dream right now. Like with this job, moving back to my hometown — it's my favorite town in the entire state. My job is very much to get involved with the community and empower the community to work with the campaign and take ownership of the campaign, and by extension take ownership of their own community. I very much see myself as a resource for these community members who want to become active but weren't sure where to get started. I'm really excited to just be here chatting politics with folks like you, folks like my grandparents, folks like my former teachers."
Sounds like the Phoenix Effect is in full swing.
Everybody has a story to tell. Tell yours, or encourage someone you know to tell theirs, in 52 Faces, each week in The Hawk Eye. Call (319) 758-8148, or write to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Primary screening for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) requires a triage protocol. Repeat cytology testing at baseline and after 6 to 12 months has emerged as a reasonable triage approach, but carries the risk of loss to follow-up. Repeat cytology testing may be omitted if cytology is supplemented with another, complementary triage test at baseline. In this study, the performance of combined triage by cytology and DNA methylation analysis was assessed. In hrHPV-positive cervical scrapes (n = 250), cytology [threshold: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS)], bi-marker CADM1/MAL methylation testing (at different assay thresholds), and combinations of both were evaluated for endpoints cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and grade 3 or worse (CIN3+). At a predefined methylation threshold of 70% specificity for CIN3+, combined triage revealed a CIN3+ sensitivity of 86.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 76.1–97.6] compared with 65.8% (95% CI, 50.7–80.9) for sole cytology triage testing. Corresponding CIN3+ specificity was 64.8% (95% CI, 58.1–71.5) for combined triage and 78.6% (95% CI, 72.8–84.3) for sole cytology triage testing. For CIN2+, the sensitivity of combined triage testing was 84.5% (95% CI, 75.2–93.8) compared with 65.5% (95% CI, 53.3–77.7) for sole cytology triage, with corresponding specificities of 69.9% (95% CI, 63.1–76.6) and 83.5% (95% CI, 78.0–89.0), respectively. In conclusion, combined triage reached substantially higher CIN2+/3+ sensitivities compared with sole cytology at a slight drop in specificity. Therefore, it is an attractive triage strategy for colposcopy of hrHPV-positive women with a high reassurance for cervical cancer and advanced CIN lesions. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(9); 1933–7. ©2014 AACR.
Because of its high sensitivity for high-grade cervical disease (i.e., cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3, CIN2/3) and cervical cancer, testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) DNA is likely to become the primary method for cervical cancer screening in the near future (1–4). However, the main drawback of the hrHPV test is its lower specificity for CIN2/3 or worse (CIN2/3+) than cytology (5). To compensate for this limitation, different triage algorithms have been suggested aiming to reduce the number of hrHPV-positive women to be referred for colposcopy, thereby limiting overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Cytology testing is nowadays considered a logical and feasible triage method. However, cytology testing at baseline alone has insufficient negative predictive value (NPV) for CIN2/3+, and thus hrHPV-positive women with a negative baseline cytology test cannot be dismissed from further follow-up. Repeat cytology testing at baseline and after 6 to 12 months has emerged as an effective triage approach (6, 7), but carries the risk of loss to follow-up. Repeat cytology testing may be omitted if cytology is supplemented with another, complementary triage test at baseline. One such test, that is, HPV16/18 genotyping, seems to be useful in certain settings (6, 7).
Measurement of DNA methylation of promoter regions of host cell tumor-suppressor genes has shown promise as molecular triage test (8–10). In our previous study, combined analysis of CADM1 (cell adhesion molecule 1) and MAL (T-lymphocyte maturation-associated protein) gene promoter methylation by quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) in hrHPV-positive cervical scrapes revealed an equal sensitivity for CIN3+ as cytology at the same specificity (11). Levels of CADM1 and MAL methylation in hrHPV-positive cervical scrapes increase proportionally to the degree and the duration of underlying high-grade cervical disease and are particularly high in scrapes of women with advanced CIN3 and cervical cancer (12). Previous data (11,13) suggest that DNA methylation analysis as triage test in hrHPV-positive women tends to be relatively more sensitive for CIN3 lesions and cervical cancer, whereas cytology is relatively more sensitive for CIN2 lesions. As such, DNA methylation analysis might be an interesting supplementary triage test to detect clinically relevant cervical lesions missed by cytology. In this study, we explored the performance of combined cytology and bi-marker CADM1/MAL methylation analysis at baseline compared with sole cytology testing at baseline, and assessed its potential as alternative triage strategy for hrHPV-positive women in cervical cancer screening.
Materials and Methods
Cervical scrapes of hrHPV-positive women
Cytology and methylation data for CADM1 and MAL genes of a consecutive series of 250 hrHPV GP5+/6+-PCR-positive cervical scrapes were used (11). The scrapes were from women who participated in population-based screening using the same screening and referral algorithm as in the intervention arm of the POBASCAM trial (14). In short, co-testing for hrHPV and cytology on the cervical scrapes at baseline was performed. Cytology was assessed according to the CISOE-A classification that can be easily converted into either the British or the 2001 Bethesda system (15). Borderline or mild dyskaryosis (BMD) corresponds to atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), atypical squamous cells that cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (ASC-H) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL). Moderate or worse dyskaryosis (>BMD) corresponds to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL). All women with >BMD cytology were directly referred for colposcopy; hrHPV-positive women with BMD cytology were advised to repeat cytology and hrHPV testing at 6 and 18 months. These women were referred for colposcopy at 6 months, if they had >BDM cytology or BMD cytology in combination with a positive hrHPV test result. The women were referred at 18 months, if they had >BMD cytology and/or an hrHPV-positive test result. Women with a positive hrHPV test result and normal cytology at baseline were advised to repeat cytology and hrHPV testing at 6 and 18 months. They were referred at 6 months, if they had >BMD cytology, and were referred at 18 months, if they had >BMD cytology and/or a positive hrHPV test result.
Methylation data for CADM1 and MAL genes were generated by qMSP analysis as described before (11). In short, left-over DNA that was used for HPV testing was treated first with sodium bisulfite, and resulting converted DNA was subjected to qMSP for CADM1/MAL and ACTB as reference gene. Ct ratios were calculated (using the formula ) to quantify the methylation level of the target genes. Samples with a Ct > 40 were considered negative for methylation of the respective target gene, and samples with a Ct value of the ACTB>32 were considered invalid and excluded from analysis because of an indication of poor DNA quality or recovery after bisulfite treatment.
A total of 234 hrHPV-positive scrapes had both valid cytology and qMSP results of the bi-marker panel CADM1/MAL. These included 38 scrapes of women with a CIN3+ lesion [i.e., 34 CIN3, 1 adenocarcinoma in situ (ACIS), and 3 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC)] with a median age of 34.5 years (range, 25–61 years), and 20 women with a CIN2 lesion (median age of 33.5 years; range, 24–49 years). Histology was assessed on colposcopy-guided biopsies that were taken according to standard procedures in the Netherlands (www.oncoline.nl) within 36 months of follow-up. The remaining 176 women had no evidence of CIN2+, further referred to as ≤CIN1, within the same follow-up time (including 15 CIN1 and 10 histologically confirmed absence of CIN). The median age of this group was 40 years (range, 19–62 years).
Data and statistical analysis
Specimens were recorded as positive for methylation when either or both markers had a qMSP outcome above a predefined threshold. Thresholds have previously been set as Ct ratios giving rise to CIN3+ specificity values of ≥20%, ≥30%, ≥40%, ≥50%, ≥60%, ≥70%, and ≥80% (11). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (for endpoints CIN2+ and CIN3+) were constructed for the methylation marker panel combined with cytology (i.e., recording positive if either methylation or cytology testing or both were above their threshold). The threshold used for cytology positivity was ASCUS (i.e., BMD; ref. 15). The ROC curve was compared with the CIN2+ and CIN3+ sensitivities and specificities of cytology. The positive predictive values (PPV), NPVs and their 95% Wald confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for endpoints CIN2+ and CIN3+, and referral rates for colposcopy (with 95% CIs) were determined by dividing the number of women with a positive triage test result by the number of hrHPV-positive women. For the latter analyses, the threshold that was used to score the bi-marker CADM1/MAL methylation assay positive comprised the validated Ct ratios that corresponded to a CIN3+ specificity of ≥70% (11). All calculations were performed in Microsoft Excel (2010) and SPSS (version 20).
We determined the performance of combined triage by the bi-marker CADM1/MAL methylation assay (using validated thresholds; ref. 11) and cytology [threshold of ASCUS (i.e., BMD)] in hrHPV-positive cervical scrapes for detection of CIN2+ and CIN3+, respectively. ROC curve analysis revealed that, relative to sole cytology and sole methylation testing, combined testing for both parameters yielded higher sensitivities for CIN2+ at specificities that were similar to those of sole methylation testing (Fig. 1A). Similar findings were evident for CIN3+, although difference of ROC curves between the combined triage and methylation analysis alone was less pronounced (Fig. 1B). At the threshold for the bi-marker CADM1/MAL methylation assay that corresponded with ≥70% CIN3+ specificity in our previous study (11), combined cytology and methylation analysis revealed a CIN3+ sensitivity of 86.8% (95% CI, 76.1–97.6) compared with 65.8% (95% CI, 50.7–80.9) for sole cytology triage testing. Corresponding CIN3+ specificity was 64.8% (95% CI, 58.1–71.5) for combined triage and 78.6% (95% CI, 72.8–84.3) for sole cytology triage test (Table 1). For CIN2+, the sensitivity of combined cytology and methylation marker triage testing was 84.5% (95% CI, 75.2–93.8) compared with 65.5% (95% CI, 53.3–77.7) for sole cytology triage, with corresponding specificities of 69.9% (95% CI, 63.1–76.6) and 83.5% (95% CI, 78.0–89.0), respectively. The PPV for CIN2+ was 48.0% (95% CI, 38.3–57.7) for combined triage and 56.7% (95% CI, 44.9–68.6) for sole cytology. For CIN3+ outcome, these figures were 32.4% (95% CI, 23.3–41.4) and 37.3% (95% CI, 25.7–48.9; Table 1), respectively. The NPV for CIN2+ was 93.2% (95% CI, 88.9–97.5) for combined triage and 88.0% (95% CI, 83.1–92.9) for sole cytology. For CIN3+ outcome, these figures were 96.2% (95% CI, 93.0–99.5) and 92.2% (95% CI, 88.2–96.3; Table 1), respectively. The referral rate for CIN2+ in case of combined triage was 43.6% (95% CI, 37.4–50.0), compared with 28.6% (95% CI, 23.3–34.7) for sole cytology testing (Table 1).
We explored the value of triage testing of hrHPV-positive women by combined cytology and bi-marker CADM1/MAL methylation analysis in a population-based cervical screening population, and demonstrated a complementary effect of these triage tools. Combined triage reached substantially higher CIN2+/3+ sensitivities compared with sole cytology at a slight drop in specificity. Therefore, it is an attractive candidate triage tool for hrHPV-positive women.
Because increased methylation of CADM1 and MAL was found to parallel increasing severity and duration of cervical disease (12), it is likely that additive methylation analysis particularly provides an extra safety net in terms of not missing women with advanced CIN disease or cervical cancer (10). Studies indeed have shown that methylation assays applied to cervical scrapes or self-collected specimens detected all cervical carcinomas (11, 16, 17). In addition, a higher detection rate of CIN3 among women of older age, which may reflect a higher duration of lesion existence, has been reported for methylation analysis (16, 17). The preference of methylation analysis for more advanced lesions is further supported by the fact that, relative to sole cytology, the gain in sensitivity of the combined analysis is higher for CIN3+ than for CIN2+ (Table 1). Conversely, relative to methylation testing solely, combined triage testing tends to a higher increase in sensitivity for CIN2+ and less for CIN3+ at a similar specificity (Fig. 1A and B). This indicates that, in addition to overlap, both assays in part detect different lesions, with cytology having a better sensitivity for CIN2 lesions and methylation analysis for CIN3+ lesions. As such, combined cytology and methylation marker testing by the CADM1/MAL panel is an attractive triage strategy for colposcopy of hrHPV-positive women, with a combined negative test providing a high reassurance for the absence of cervical cancer and advanced CIN lesions. On the other hand, still a small number of CIN2+/3+ lesions is not detected by combined cytology and methylation triage of hrHPV-positive women. Possible reasons for nondetection of these cases by both cytology and methylation analysis could be incorrect sampling of the cervical scrapes or the presence of early onset CIN2/3 lesions with a low cancer progression risk that might have limited numbers of abnormal cells and/or low methylation levels in their corresponding scrape. The addition of other potential molecular markers or identification of even better differentially methylated genes, to be identified by genome-wide methods, might improve the diagnostic accuracy of molecular triage testing in the future. Furthermore, it should be noted that the complementary effect of methylation marker analysis to cytology was observed in a setting in which quality of cytology is high (18). Accordingly, molecular triage by methylation markers might even be more advantageous in settings with less adequate cytology infrastructure, or may even be a promising alternative to cytology (10). Methylation analysis can be performed on the same DNA isolate as used for HPV DNA testing, and has an objective read-out. Multiplex PCR technologies furthermore allow analyzing multiple methylation targets and an internal control in a multiplex reaction using a single aliquot of DNA, thereby saving material, time, and costs, and improving throughput and quality control (19). A prototype version of a commercial, standardized multiplex qMSP test, including CADM1 and MAL targets, has recently been developed (PreCursor-M assay; Self-screen B.V.).
In conclusion, combined cytology and methylation marker testing by the CADM1/MAL panel is an attractive triage strategy for colposcopy of hrHPV-positive women with a high reassurance for cervical cancer and advanced CIN lesions.
Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
C.J.L.M. Meijer, P.J.F. Snijders, R.D.M. Steenbergen, and D.A.M Heideman have ownership interest (including patents) in Self-Screen B.V. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed by the other authors.
Authors' Contributions
Conception and design: C.J.L.M. Meijer, P.J.F. Snijders, R.D.M. Steenbergen, D.A.M. Heideman
Development of methodology: A.T. Hesselink, J. Berkhof, C.J.L.M. Meijer, D.A.M. Heideman
Acquisition of data (provided animals, acquired and managed patients, provided facilities, etc.): L.M.A. De Strooper, A.T. Hesselink, C.J.L.M. Meijer, D.A.M. Heideman
Analysis and interpretation of data (e.g., statistical analysis, biostatistics, computational analysis): L.M.A. De Strooper, A.T. Hesselink, J. Berkhof, C.J.L.M. Meijer, D.A.M. Heideman
Writing, review, and/or revision of the manuscript: L.M.A. De Strooper, A.T. Hesselink, J. Berkhof, C.J.L.M. Meijer, P.J.F. Snijders, D.A.M. Heideman
Administrative, technical, or material support (i.e., reporting or organizing data, constructing databases): L.M.A. De Strooper
Study supervision: C.J.L.M. Meijer, D.A.M. Heideman
Grant Support
This project was supported by a grant of the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF VU 2009-4522 awarded to D.A.M. Heideman, P.J.F. Snijders, and C.J.L.M. Meijer).
- Received April 14, 2014.
- Revision received June 3, 2014.
- Accepted June 6, 2014.
- ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.


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Kitchen Cabinet Refacing
Give your cupboards a well-deserved facelift
Changing the style of your cabinets does not mean you have to rip them from the walls and start anew. There are plenty of ways to add a more modern look to your kitchen without the work and cost of drastic measures. A simple and relatively inexpensive solution to your outdated kitchen look is to reface your cabinets.
Cabinet refacing involves replacing the parts that get the most use and attention, including the doors, handles and hinges. These are simple changes that can add new life to your kitchen without breaking the bank. If done efficiently, such alterations can be completed over a weekend or the course of a few evenings.
The doors in your kitchen ride out the storms of your life and take a lot of abuse. Therefore they must not only be eye-catching but also convenient and sturdy.
The choices are simple when it comes to doors: replace them completely, refinish your existing doors or do a combination of both.
Replacing your doors is quite self-explanatory; unless you have strangely designed custom-built doors, door sizes are standard and replacements will be easy to find at most good home renovation stores.
Though not always recommended, painting kitchen cabinets professionally could provide the change you're looking for. This is by far the most inexpensive way to brighten a boring kitchen. However, it is time consuming, and if your doors are of a good quality wood it could be a shame to cover the natural beauty of their grains.
If your kitchen cabinet doors are flat paneled, another option would be to add a veneer. Thin slices of wood, generally 1/8 inch thick, veneer layers can be glued over the surface of your existing finish to give your cabinet doors a brand new look and a change of style. Veneering your doors is an inexpensive way to add the visual effect of expensive wood to your cabinets.
Another option for adding a new look to your kitchen is by replacing a few high profile doors with glass panel doors. The glass will add a touch of modern aesthetics to your kitchen and is an easy way of displaying your fine dishes.
Hinges and Handles
Once you have decided on color and finish, you will have in your kitchen it will be easy to accessorize your cabinet doors. Think of your kitchen cabinet hardware as not only utilitarian but as the jewelry of your kitchen. You probably wouldn't consider costume jewelry if you are dressed in haute couture, therefore you shouldn't cheapen the look of your new doors with boring plastic knobs and flimsy hinges.
Good looking, well-made hinges and handles can be purchased both online and in brick and mortar shops, in an endless array of styles and finishes. Prices also vary so it is a good idea to shop around.
A good trick when trying to decide on the type of hardware to install in your kitchen is to bring a sample of the color (if you have painted your cabinets) or the veneer finish to your local home renovation center and hold it against some of the products. This "sneak peak" will get you as close to the full effect of how it will look in your kitchen as possible, and you'll also get a boost of confidence toward achieving your goal.


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Where The Wild Roses Grow
They call me 'The Wild Rose'
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me it, I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
From the first day I saw her, I knew she was the one
She stared in my eyes and smiled
For her lips were the color of the roses
That grew down the river, all bloody and wild
When he knocked on my door and entered the room
My trembling subsided in his sure embrace
He would be my first man and with a careful hand
He wiped at the tears that ran down my face
They call me 'The Wild Rose'
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me that, I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
On the second day, I brought her a flower
She was more beautiful than any woman I've seen
I said, "Do you know where the wild roses grow
So sweet and scarlet and free?"
On the second day, he came with a single red rose
He said, "Give me your loss and your sorrow"
I nodded my head, as I lay on the bed
"If I show you the roses, will you follow?"
[Repeat Chorus]
On the third day, he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he knelt above me with a rock in his fist
On the last day, I took her where the wild roses grow
She lay on the bank, and went light as a thief
And I kissed her goodbye, said, "All beauty must die"
And I lent down and planted a rose between her teeth
[Repeat Chorus]
My name was Elisa Day
For my name was Elisa Day
- Written by: Cave
- Produced by: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Tony Cohen and Victor Van Vugt
Lyrics Index
Choose a track from the list below to display the lyrics.
- 2 Hearts
- A Lifetime to Repair
- After Dark
- All I See
- All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine
- All The Lovers
- Almost a Lover
- Always Find The Time
- Aphrodite
- Aston Martin
- At The End of the Day
- Automatic Love
- Baby
- Beautiful
- Better Than Today
- Better The Devil You Know
- Bittersweet Goodbye
- Boombox
- Boy
- Breathe
- Burning Up
- Bury Me Deep in Love
- Butterfly
- Can't Beat The Feeling
- Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head
- Can't Get You Out of My Head
- Carried Away
- Celebration
- Change Your Mind
- Cherry Bomb
- Chocolate
- City Games
- Closer
- Closer (Original)
- Come Into My World
- Confide In Me
- Cosmic
- Count The Days
- Cover Me With Kisses
- Cowboy Style
- Cruise Control
- Crystallize
- Cupid Boy
- Dancefloor
- Dancing
- Dancing Queen
- Dangerous Game
- Death Is Not the End
- Did It Again
- Difficult By Design
- Disco Down
- Do It Again
- Do They Know It's Christmas?
- Dreams
- Drunk
- Enjoy Yourself
- Especially For You
- Every Little Part of Me
- Everything Is Beautiful
- Excuse My French
- Fall For You
- Feels So Good
- Feels So Good (2002)
- Fever
- Fine
- Finer Feelings
- Flower
- For All I'm Worth
- Fragile
- Free
- G House Project
- Get Outta My Way
- Getting Closer
- Give It To Me
- Give Me Just A Little More Time
- Giving You Up
- Glad To Be Alive
- Go Hard or Go Home
- Golden
- Golden Boy
- Good Life
- Good Like That
- Got To Be Certain
- Gotta Move On
- Hand On Your Heart
- Harmony
- Heart Beat Rock
- Heartstrings
- Heaven and Earth
- Higher
- I Am The One For You
- I Believe In You
- I Don't Know What It Is
- I Don't Need Anyone
- I Feel For You
- I Guess I Like It Like That
- I Know
- I Miss You
- I Should Be So Lucky
- I Talk Too Much
- I Was Gonna Cancel
- I'll Still Be Loving You
- I'm Just Here For The Music
- I'm Over Dreaming (Over You)
- I'm Ready
- I'm So High
- I'm Sorry
- If I Was Your Lover
- If Only
- If You Don't Love Me
- If You Were With Me Now
- Illusion
- In Denial
- In My Arms
- In the Mood for Love
- In Your Eyes
- Into The Blue
- It's No Secret
- Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi
- Jump
- Just Wanna Love You
- Kids
- King or Queen
- Kiss Me Once
- Koocachoo
- Les Sex
- Let It Snow
- Let's Get To It
- Lhuna
- Light Years
- Like a Drug
- Limbo
- Live a Little
- Live and Learn
- Locomotion
- Look My Way
- Looking For An Angel
- Los Amores
- Lose Control
- Lost Without You
- Love
- Love Affair
- Love At First Sight
- Love At First Sight (Original)
- Love Attack
- Love Is On The Line
- Love is the Drug
- Love Is Waiting
- Love Love Love
- Love Takes Over Me
- Loveboat
- Loving Days
- Low Blow
- Made In Heaven
- Made of Glass
- Magnetic Electric
- Mighty Rivers
- Million Miles
- More More More
- Mr President
- Music's Too Sad Without You
- My Image Unlimited
- My Love is Real
- My Secret Heart
- Never Spoken
- Never Too Late
- No Better
- No More Rain
- No World Without You
- Nothing Can Stop Us
- Nothing to Lose
- Nu-di-ty
- Obsession
- Ocean Blue
- On a Night Like This
- On the Up
- One Boy Girl
- One Last Kiss
- Paper Dolls
- Password
- Physical
- Please Stay
- Promises
- Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)
- Put Yourself in My Place
- Radio On
- Raining Glitter
- Red Blooded Woman
- Rendezvous at Sunset
- Rhythm of Love
- Right Here, Right Now
- Right Here, Right Now (1991)
- Rippin' Up the Disco
- Rollin'
- Ruffle My Feathers
- Santa Baby
- Say Hey
- Say the Word - I'll Be There
- Secret (Take You Home)
- Secrets
- Sensitized
- Sexercize
- Sexy Love
- Shelby '68
- Shocked
- Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
- Silence
- Sincerely Yours
- Skirt
- Sleeping With the Enemy
- Slow
- Slow Motion
- So High
- So Now Goodbye
- Some Kind of Bliss
- Someday
- Sometime Samurai
- Soul on Fire
- Sparks
- Speakerphone
- Spell of Desire
- Spinning Around
- Stars
- Stay This Way
- Step Back in Time
- Still Standing
- Stop Me From Falling
- Surrender
- Sweet Music
- Take Me With You
- Tears
- Tears On My Pillow
- Tell Tale Signs
- That's Why They Write Love Songs
- The Crying Game
- The Locomotion
- The Magic Roundabout
- The One
- The Real Thing
- The Reflex
- The Winner Takes It All
- The World Still Turns
- Things Can Only Get Better
- This Girl
- Through The Years
- Tightrope
- Time Will Pass You By
- Timebomb
- Too Far
- Too Much
- Too Much of a Good Thing
- Trippin' Me Up
- Try Your Wings
- Under the Influence of Love
- We Know The Meaning Of Love
- What Do I Have to Do?
- What Kind of Fool? (Heard All That Before)
- When the Cat's Away
- Whenever You Feel Like It
- Where In The World?
- Where is the Feeling?
- Where The Wild Roses Grow
- White Diamond
- Word is Out
- Wouldn't Change a Thing
- Wow
- You Are There
- You Make Me Feel
- You're Hot
- You're The One
- Your Disco Needs You
- Your Love


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Adults and children alike will love Sea Life Park's Hawaiian Reef Encounter. This kid-friendly Waikiki Sea Reef Encounter brings guests up close and personal with beautiful and fascinating Hawaiian Sea Rays. Using float vests, masks and snorkels, young children and adults swim along side these lovable Sea Rays in a special shallow water tank during the Hawaiian Reef Encounter. Experience the friendly and inquisitive nature of the Sea Rays as you pet, touch and even feed them. The park's friendly and professional trainers are on hand to provide interesting educational information about these fascinating sea creatures as well. Guests of all ages are sure to remember this special Waikiki Sea Ray encounter for years to come!
Snorkel with and feed reef fish as well. (No feeding rays)
Sea Life Park is Hawaii's premier aquatic park. Located at Oahu's Makapuu Beach, Sea Life Park is a world-class aquatic experience featuring Waikiki dolphin swims, sea lions, Hawaiian reef encounters, penguins and much more!
Activity Highlights:
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Purchase this article with an account.
Mary Ann Stepp, Gauri Tadvalkar, Victor Perez, Yaohong Tan, Sonali Ghosh, James Zieske, Albert Lee, Vickery Trinkaus-Randall, Ahdeah Pajoohesh-Ganji; Suture placement on the mouse cornea induces K8 and Muc5ac expression within K12+ corneal epithelial cells. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2013;54(15):3219.
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© ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)
The corneal epithelium is maintained by a stem cell population that is bipotential and can give rise to both corneal epithelial cells and corneal goblet cells which are generated upon injuries close to the limbus (Pajoohesh-Ganji, et al., Stem Cells, 30:2032-2043, 2012). To investigate whether corneal goblet cell progenitors are present in the central mouse cornea, we triggered an immune response by placing sutures in the central cornea and then evaluated the corneal epithelium for the presence of corneal goblet cells.
Adult BALB/c (5) and C57BL6 (4) mouse corneas were sutured as described for corneal transplantation studies studies (Dana and Streilein, IOVS, 37:2485-2494, 1996) and were allowed to respond to the sutures for 14 days. Sutures were classified as low or high risk depending upon the length of the suture thread left in contact with the corneal epithelium. After 14 days, mice were sacrificed, eyes fixed, and corneas processed for whole mount immunofluorescence to localize K12, K8, and Muc5ac within the corneal epithelium. Corneas were stained with the sutures in place.
Data show that sutures induce expression of goblet cell markers including K8 and Muc5ac within K12 positive corneal epithelial cells within 14 days after sutures are placed in the cornea in both BALB/c and C57BL6 mice but the upregulation is more robust in BALB/c compared to C57BL6 mice. Similar upregulation is seen for low and high risk sutures.
The data obtained support the fact that the immune response of the mouse cornea to a suture can induce the conversion of corneal epithelial and goblet progenitor cells located in the central cornea into goblet cells. Since the corneas were not debrided, it is unlikely that the cells that generate the goblet cells migrate from the limbus. We have shown previously that wounding the cornea near the limbus upregulates corneal goblet cell differentiation on the ocular surface. Additional studies are underway to determine whether these events can occur in rat corneas in vitro in organ culture and in human corneal equivalents
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Funko have recently revealed their villain range from Guardians of the Galaxy coming out in March 2015. I've shown these before but it was just prototype illustrations but now we get to see them for real! Let's have look:
YONDU- The mohawk is awesome and I like the threatening pose revealing his arrow.
RONAN- I love his hammer! There's not many marvel POPs with large weapons so it's nice to see larger accessories being introduced.
NEBULA- A very unique pose and the head looks great. Hopefully not too top-heavy.
THE COLLECTOR- He looks very sophisticated and I like the fact he's holding the power orb, it's a cool touch.
THANOS- The Mad Titan himself in all of his 6 inch glory! So excited for this one and I'm glad he's significantly larger to exaggerate his dominance and importance. They'll probably make one featuring the infinity gauntlet in 2019…
I'll definitely be getting Nebula, Ronan and Thanos, maybe Yondu.. Yeah why not! I'll also be making a post showing my Marvel POP collection after Christmas so check that out! 🙂


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Thank you Expertise for giving us the honor of this award once again. We are humbled and truly grateful. Most of all thank you to all our AMAZING clients! Your smiles, laughter and support over the years is cherished. <a...Read More >
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Well, little brother was born and Mom and Dad called to make sure he had his little modeling debut just like his older sister did when she was born. I think the family is officially complete. And I must say big sister was very attentive and loving during...Read More >
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I must say I think babies and weddings are my favorite of all my shoots. With my own children getting older and less willing to cuddle I get my baby fix in the studio these days and little baby Wyatt was a great cuddler. Maybe a little too much as he...Read More >
Best Family Photographer 2 Years in a Row! Award
We love our job and our biggest reward comes from happy clients and just enjoying seeing our art come to life but when we do get awards especially from unexpected places that we don't do advertising it really means a lot. So we are excited to announce that we...Read More >
Baby M Newborn Photography Shoot
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Baby K Newborn Photos | Raleigh photographers
Oh my goodness! Little K is SO adorable and big sister is doing an amazing job with this new addition to the family. It is so wonderful watching my families grow. I still remember my favorite shot at Mom and Dad's wedding. Mom (then bride) was...Read More >


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creating possibilities
Join the most trusted Corvid Community built by the Corvid Expert that is most followed on the official Corvid Forum by Wix who has created the easiest Corvid Code Tutorials found on the web with easy and creative Corvid Code Examples.
what is corvid
This playlist will brief you with the basics of corvid and how to start using it.
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timed content tutorial
Learn how to schedule content based on Day of the Month, Time of day or by randomization!
navigation using dropdowns
Trigger navigation to a specific page by using a dropdown element and a little bit of code.
"I have a different style of teaching. It is less 'commercial' and more 'friend to friend' talk. By imagining I am having a conversation with someone, it helps me keep it 'real'. "
Code Queen Nayeli


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Suns of Arqa are pioneers of world fusion.
The artists behind Yakaruna and the new album Guardians
It's a creative playground for my love of Arabic music, Indian Music, Eastern...
The Legend continues.
Deep double album compilation.
Dreamy album from alucidnation... downtempo at its finest
Remixes by Grouch, Kaminanda, Chaos By Design and Digitalis
The first ep from the new album Guardians by Evan Fraser and Vir McCoy
People use this album for massage etc... and that works fine until Eat Static's Caveman comes on..., when the envelope gets a steady push over the edge.
Compilation by Andrew and Gordon Field. Cover art by Gordon Field


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I recently installed a supercharger on a friends MG TD, this was the result at the rolling road.
I believe Peter was telling me that the speedograph seemed a little optimistic. See part 2 and you'll know what he meant, giving it some beans!
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'Game of Thrones' star Alfie Allen has told fans what they can expect from the upcoming season seven – and it looks set to get a lot 'darker'.
The actor, who plays Theon Greyjoy in the fantasy series spoke at the Malta India Fan Convention when he gave some insight into GoT season seven.
"More of the same but better," he promised, reports fansite Watchers On The Wall – adding that "there will be more dragons… lot's more torture!"
Speaking of his character Theon's current mental state in the show, he described him as "skittish and full of fear…Basically, and then that can kind of, I guess, evolve into rage, which you might see…who knows?"
As for a reunion with the Starks, he added: "You mean IF that happens. You gotta stop looking at the internet, guys!
"I would say, [Theon] would feel horrible. He'd feel awful. And he'd see it as a chance to redeem himself."


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At the approach of autumn's equinox the midday sun is still quite high but the light cascading across the hills is changed. Sea breezes filled with salt meet crisper air from mountain tops and everything around us, mixing and swirling, becomes suffused with yellowness. I was once given a cup of oolong tea in a clear glass cup. It was a rich yellow–ochre colour and tasted sweet although there was no sugar in it. And it smelled richly of honey, and hazelnuts fresh from their shells. Now the whole landscape seems to be steeped in oolong tea. It is more than that, leaves of every kind, bare soil and peat, bark and branches are being warmed and dried by the September sun and stiff sea breezes. Oolong is traditionally prepared by allowing Camellia sinensis leaves to slowly wither and curl in sunlight and air concentrating their distinctive aromas and colours in the process of shrinkage. In this spell of bright, warm equinoctial weather the leaves here are shrivelling, but the scents and golden hues that accompany them are vibrating everywhere; stand on the highest mountain top or down by the sea and breathing in deeply is like supping golden, honeyed tea. And both mind and body are refreshed.
While the sharp, fluorescence of summer sunsets has mellowed, the pastel shades of onrushing and deepening evenings over the last week have pulsed in candyfloss colours. Some clouds were wholly pink and marshmallow thick, others flashed with orange and turquoise, translucent like old fashioned boiled sweets.
Occasionally as rains showers swept across the sea the setting sun bathed distant islands in liquid gold and fiery heat. Walking by the shore in the cool blue-purple of evening, beyond us, as if encased in the magic of fairytales and legends, islands undulated in aureate ruffles.
On one evening the splendid fortresses that are the Torridon mountains were humbled by columns of rose and towers of ruby pierced by harlequin ribbons of rainbows and veils of showers.
The equinox follows the harvest full moon and usually brings colder nights and damper mornings. The sun rises just behind the Baosbheinn and sets in between ripples of the North Uist hills and southern edge of Harris. From the croft the extremes of the solar year are clearly defined by mountain peaks and Hebridean islands and in just three months the Old Man of Storr on Skye's Trotternish will mark where the winter solstice sun sets. Then we will look forward once again to the midsummer sunset at Point of Ness on Lewis. Each year I am surprised at how quickly these celestial bookmarks move.
But for all the magic in the heavens there is just as much mystery below, on the croft as well as in the wilder lands around us. Life is on the move. Streamers and pennants are billowing as birds fly southwards, some low along the shore and across the meadows, others high and remote. Some stop awhile, others sweep past us.
I imagine our fields and meadows, seen from high above, as duvets quilted in greens, purples and gold and studded with crystals. They must look so enticing to geese as they swoop across browning moorlands for down they come, honking loudly, to land in our wet fields. (How do the rainbows and pink clouds seem to them as they fly so high?) While my eyes are drawn up theirs are drawn down. My deep senses drive me to the sea or mountain tops but they cannot compare to the driving forces and unseen sensations compelling migrating birds to undertake their great journeys.
There have been many more passage migrant birds along our shores this September than in recent years. They have continued to land and feed on kelp piles, among the rocks or along sandy strandlines no matter how hard the wind has blown. Bar-tailed godwits, long legged and with slightly up-curved beaks and beautifully camouflaged, carried on feeding despite the roaring sands driven by gales. Clusters of plovers, sandpipers, sanderlings and turnstones have sheltered beside large boulders in happy comradeship. If dog disturbed them they took off together in flashing aerobatic displays, out across the sea in a sweeping arc and landing a few metres further along the shore, still in their mixed group.
There have been some late-flying swallows recently and one morning I was greeted by the sharp clack of stone chats; for a few moments it felt and sounded like early summer. Most smaller and ocean travellers have passed through by the autumnal equinox and over the last few days numbers feeding on the seaweeds and strandline line debris have indeed dwindled. But the large skeins of geese will continue to arrive, rest, gossip and cackle for some weeks yet.
In the oolong-golden light of mid-day the voices of robins burble and dribble in sweet melancholy through the hedges and across the croft garden. They have been singing more strongly in recent days heralding the equinox, knowing the darkness is coming. But with all the strength their tiny hearts can muster and accompanied by the harvest moon, rainbows and flooding of colours in the skies, they have raised their voices in defiance.
Today the Autumn sun, glinting under my peaked cap and sneaking behind sunglasses, is making my eyes water. Out at sea the deep blues of the Minch and Inner Sound are tinged with gold while the high Torridon peaks are coy under hats of thick fluffy clouds. There may be a shower or two later in the hidden valleys and corries of Beinn Eighe and Liathach.
Soon enough we will taste snow on a northerly wind but for today, when light is in perfect balance with dark, we make the most of sweet golden tea and rainbows.


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It is such fun when you have children and, like me, you have time to do things with them. When they were young we used to make all our wrapping paper by laying reams of brown paper all over the kitchen floor and stamping Christmas designs all over it. I made the stamps by cutting out shapes of stars and Christmas trees and so on out of kitchen sponges which they then dipped into paint.
I also used to make them a new Christmas T-shirt each year, decorated with fabric paint.....I got quite good at it eventually, just as they grew out of the idea! We used to do a lot of fabric painting, making bags for holding things like pencils and music books etc.
Hugh used to cook the best mince pies and he regularly still makes chocolate truffles from the Haigh's recipe leaflet you can get at the shop.
Every year for 20 years or so we have made gingerbread at Christmas time too. It doesn't matter how big your children get, they never get tired of Mum's gingerbread. They used to help decorate them and that was very messy and "creative" but never-the-less the cooking and icing was done and a lot of fun was had by all. They used to take them for their school friends and teachers so we used to triple the recipe so we had enough to leave some for ourselves. One year I left a plate piled up with them on a coffee table in the lounge while I saw my mother to the door, and when I came back ALL the gingerbread had been eaten by the dog and the serving plate - a hand-made wedding present - was smashed. Needless to say that dog got no dinner.....for several days!
This year Roger and I made the gingerbread for our great-nieces and nephews.....oh dear, we must be very old.....I remember my great aunt and she was ancient! Well, its not so bad when you think that I was only 14 when I became an auntie. Anyway, both our boys are away and won't be home for any gingerbread this Christmas so we only made one quantity. I will put the recipe on Gardeners' Gastronomy....maybe it is already there...
Roger made the piping bags from greaseproof paper, while I mixed up the 4 colours of icing for the decorating.
The cooked pieces......are transformed into whatever Roger and I can come up with...
....like this bikini beauty of Roger's... and then packed into cellophane bags .
I am taking some of these to our seedsavers picnic in the Botanic Gardens tomorrow.... see you there.


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Wearing their gown I was led into a room with a terrifying array of instruments. A needle pricked my arm, then a blessed blackness descended..
The doctor's waiting room was painted pistachio green; perhaps it was meant to be soothing. But I found it nauseating, like the pictures of the impossibly pink and bonny babies that decorated the walls. They didn't look human to me–someone's grotesque idea of the perfect infant–as remote from reality as a celluloid doll is from a real, live, breathing baby.
Snatching up a two month-old magazine, I tried to concentrate on it, just to shut out my surroundings. But try as I did, I could not shut out the nasal tones of the ghazal singer, wailing insistently at me via a strategically placed speaker, or the murmuring of the other inmates' voices.
Cool, crisp cotton saris, languid chiffons, smoothly flowing salwar kameezes–covering all manner and size of pregnancies. Large, small, medium, gently rounded, aggressively protuberant, painfully prominent. I'd never thought the sight of pregnant women in the plural could be so terrifying.
An ominous warning kept flashing through my mind, as irritatingly insistent as neon sign. This could be–this would be– me, if I failed to act in time. The worst was, they looked so smug and secure, accompanied by proprietary looking mothers-in-law or proud, smirking husbands. The little fathers-to-be. So pleased with themselves. Curious glances flickered at me: I was so obviously alone.
A feeling of overpowering suffocation came over me. I wanted to get up and run. But where to? There was no way I could escape my problem. Besides I'd been running from it long enough. As though by ignoring the damn thing, it would just vanish on its own. Can one psyche an unwanted pregnancy away? Goodness knows I'd tried.
In fact, if I hadn't fainted that day on my way to the bus-stop, I probably wouldn't have been here–in the pistachio green room–sweating profusely in spite of the air conditioning. I would still have been trying some mumbo-jumbo to solve my problem.
Like wearing pure white saris as though some perverse force would not be able to resist staining them with menstrual blood and bring me deliverance. Or forcing food down my unwilling throat as if the nausea wasn't there forcing it out again. A kind of desperate magic that wouldn't work.
Then the silly home remedies I'd heard about, running up and down the stairs, carrying heavy weights, hot and cold baths–they'd all proved useless.
It was the fainting incident that did it. Forced the painful certainty of it all on me. Finding myself flat on the ground suddenly, when just a moment before I had been chatting with Sumi, my friend. The ground felt scratchy and hard beneath my face. I could taste mud and blood from my cut lip. And as people helped me to my feet, a scene from an old Hindi movie flashed through my mind. The hapless heroine becoming aware of her condition in a similar manner. But I'd known all along, hadn't I?
"What happened?" Sumi asked, shocked and bewildered, as she helped me into a three wheeler, a worried frown creasing her broad forehead.
I didn't want to talk. My head ached. The taste of blood was sickeningly strong in my mouth. I knew I'd have to act soon, before it was too late…
"Parul!" The loud voice jerked me back to the present. It was the receptionist beckoning with a synthetic smile. Somehow I managed to totter along on suddenly rubbery legs, to face first a barrage of questions, then a battery of tests. And eventually I found myself spread on the examination table, legs ignominiously drawn up, trying not to flinch from the probing fingers.
"Hmm," the doctor said. She was rather smartly got up, smelt almost overpoweringly of perfume and had a carefully cultivated manner. Guessing this was the signal for me to get up, I clambered off and tried to rearrange my clothing and my dignity. Heart-in-mouth, I approached her desk. You see, I hadn't given up hope completely. Maybe she'd say it was all a silly mistake…
She beamed at me from behind her trendy specs. "You're definitely pregnant," she said happily. "The tests will confirm it, I'm sure."
I tried to stretch my congealing lips into an answering smile. I could see her opening and closing her mouth–but could not hear the words. All my senses were numbed. Little did she know that what she thought were tidings of joy, were actually a knock-out blow. Then I realized that she was staring at me puzzled. So I quickly nodded and grabbed the paper she was holding out. Handing over what seemed like an exorbitant fee, I fled the place.
The humid heat outside made me gasp. But I walked on blindly for quite a while till a wave of nausea made me stop short. I had to get home. But it was only when I was rattling home in the three-wheeler that I realized that I had forgotten to arrange for the abortion!
"You dummy!" Sumi said, when I reached. We shared not only the barsati flat but also our deepest confidences. "You should have gone to one of those clinics — you know those…"
With uncharacteristic delicacy she left out the word 'abortion'. I was grateful. The word itself conjured up all sorts of horrors. Grim faced females preparing to attack one with knitting needles, shifty eyed quacks operating in foul smelling rooms–the stuff of all the gloomy fiction on the subject one had read.
I pictured myself bleeding to death in some back alley and shivered. Even though I knew it needn't be that way. I forced myself to recall what one of my married colleagues had once said. "It's no big deal… I went and had an ice cream as soon as I came out. It's perfectly safe and painless…"
But somehow I hated the thought of going to one of those places. It seemed so horribly obvious. "What are you going to do now?" Sumi demanded. "And — aren't you going to tell him?"
"No!" The answer jerked out spontaneously. True, he had helped to create this problem. But an odd revulsion had been growing in me ever since I suspected what was wrong with me. Somewhat perversely, when I could have done with his help I wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him. I could not understand it myself, but the feeling was so strong, so overpowering, that I could not fight it even if I wanted to. I'd have to deal with it myself, all on my own.
"I'll find another doctor," I said, meeting Sumi's anxious, puzzled gaze. I couldn't face the thought of meeting those pasted on smiles again. I'd noticed another gynecologist's signboard on my way to work. That's where I headed.
Experience made me confident, but the place made me uneasy. Shabby, down- at- heel, there were no fancy trimmings here, no chummy first name familiarity. The clientele was a little mixed, unlike the uniform prosperity the other place had displayed. The seats were covered with cheap rexine, gashed in some places and the walls grimy with the oil from the countless heads which had leaned against it.
But somehow the doctor restored my confidence. A tired looking woman with grey hair escaping from a bun, her movements were brisk and efficient.
Again, I went through the routine. But before she could pronounce the verdict, I blurted out, "I want an abortion."
She stared at me for a moment. "Are you quite sure?"
"Absolutely," I replied, holding her gaze. "As soon as possible."
"All right," she nodded, asking no further questions, as though she had guessed my predicament. "Thursday, 8.30 a.m.," she said consulting a diary. "Come with an empty stomach."
The relief felt unreal. I couldn't wait to tell Sumi about it.
"I-I'll come with you," she said.
"Thanks." I was really grateful. Because a sudden unease was fluttering up, chilling the edges of my being. I didn't want it to progress further, turn me into a block of fearful ice.
Thursday. Did it arrive soon or did the wait stretch out painfully? I'm not sure. It seemed too long to wait for deliverance, to be free of this thing growing inexorably inside me. To be free of those nightmarish fears, saved from disastrous consequences. But the dread that wanted me to put off the moment forever. It would insist on creeping up on me and obliterate the feelings of anticipated relief.
I woke bright and early that day. We reached the nursing home well before time. The place–sparklingly clean, in contrast to the clinic — was just coming alive. Floors being swabbed, nurses bustled about importantly, breakfast trays rattled their ways into rooms.
As we waited, tense, the high wail of a new-born infant pierced through the silence. A curious flutter rose from my stomach up to my throat. Goose pimples blistered my skin, for a moment I thought I'd choke. It had never occurred to me that this thing inside me could grow into something like that baby…
But the doctor appeared just then, distracting me from that uncomfortable trend of thought. Still in her dressing gown, she looked worn out, as though she'd been up all night. She nodded to me. "Be with you in moment," she said. Then a nurse came along, "Come with me," she said.
Irrationally, I wanted to escape. All the horror stories surfaced again… what were they going to do to me? A last frightened look at Sumi and I was hustled away.
Wearing their gown I was led into a room with a terrifying array of instruments. A needle pricked my arm, then a blessed blackness descended…
I came to life to find an anxious Sumi bending over me.
"Is it–is it done?" I asked uncertainly.
She nodded.
"I'm fine," I said, producing an extra large smile for her benefit.
But it was only after I'd paid and left the place that elation really swept over me. It's over, I thought, light headed with relief. I've been saved. How simple it seemed now, almost an anti-climax! What happened to the gory stuff? I almost felt cheated.
Even the city looked transformed as we drove home in a cab. A shower of rain had washed the dust off the trees and the bushes and everything looked fresh and green and new — like me.
A dull pain was beginning to throb inside. I welcomed it. It was proof of my newly cleansed self. And then, I had pain killers if it went out of hand. But it was only when I lay in bed as I'd been told to — that the sound began to ring in my ears. The cry of an infant, a thin, high pitched wailing.
"Sumi," I asked, "Where's that baby crying?"
She gave me a peculiar look. "There's no baby crying," she said.
I put the pillows over my head but I couldn't shut it out. She's wrong, I thought. There is a baby crying. Because the sound came back, again and again and again — grating on my senses.
Then I realized what that cry was. It was the baby that hadn't been born, that I hadn't — that I couldn't allow to be born. What had it been–girl or boy? Thin, chubby, pretty, playful, naughty…? I'd never know, would I? Never, ever…
The sudden wetness of tears trickling down my cheeks jolted me back to my senses. I sat up… the sound began to fade. You stupid, stupid fool, I thought. It never existed, it never was real… it was a menace…
I repeated it over and over again like a mantra, and finally it worked. The sound faded out as I lay down and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep…
Pic Attribution: Kim Traynor (wikimedia)
This short story was first published in Meghdutam.com (between 1999 to 2002).
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Contact Information
Telephone: 250-419-6100
Facsimile: 250-387-1230
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Statutory Offices
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British Columbia has nine non-partisan statutory offices that support the work of Members of the Legislative Assembly by carrying out important functions, from the monitoring of government programs and performance to ensuring compliance with provincial laws. They are headed by independent officers who are appointed by, and report to, the Legislative Assembly. Reports of some offices are also reviewed by all-party parliamentary committees.
To ensure their independence, statutory officers have: a legislated mandate; annual budgets reviewed by an all-party parliamentary committee; and the authority to hire staff. An independent process is also used to select statutory officers for appointment and for setting remuneration.
Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner
Office of the Human Rights Commissioner
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Merit Commissioner
Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner
Office of the Auditor General
Russ Jones, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D
Acting Auditor General
The Auditor General, an officer of the Legislature appointed under the authority of the Auditor General Act, exists to help Members of the Legislative Assembly hold the government accountable. Through its financial audit opinions, the Office of the Auditor General gives legislators and British Columbians assessments about the fairness and reliability of the financial statements and public accounts of the government. The Office also reviews the wider operations and performance of government organizations or programs and whether they are achieving objectives effectively, economically, and efficiently. The reports of the Auditor General are tabled with the Legislative Assembly and discussed, in a public forum, with the all-party Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
Telephone: 250-419-6100
Facsimile: 250-387-1230
E-mail: email@example.com
Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner
Victoria Gray, QC
Conflict of Interest Commissioner
The Commissioner is an independent Officer of the Legislative Assembly appointed under the Members' Conflict of Interest Act, by resolution of the Legislative Assembly. The Commissioner performs three separate but related roles: advising Members confidentially of their obligations under the Act; providing opinions in response to requests from Members or members of the public respecting compliance or contraventions of the Act; and meeting with Members within 60 days of their election, and then on an annual basis, to review a disclosure statement of assets, liabilities and financial interests of Members, their spouses and minor children. The office is located in the legislative precinct on the 1st floor, 421 Menzies Street.
Telephone: 250-356-9283
Facsimile: 250-356 6580
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Elections BC
Anton Boegman
Chief Electoral Officer
An officer of the Legislature, the Chief Electoral Officer is responsible for the fair and impartial administration of the electoral process in BC pursuant to the Election Act, the Recall and Initiative Act and the Referendum Act. Elections BC also administers campaign financing and advertising rules under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act. The Chief Electoral Officer heads Elections BC, the non-partisan office responsible for administering provincial elections, plebiscites, voter registration and list maintenance, enumerations, referenda, electoral boundaries, election financing, registration of political parties and constituency associations, registration of election advertisers, recall petitions, initiative petitions and initiative votes, and other aspects of the provincial electoral process.
Telephone: 250-387-5305
Toll-Free: 1 800-661-8683
Facsimile: 250-387-3578
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office of the Human Rights Commissioner
Kasari Govender
Human Rights Commissioner
The Human Rights Commissioner is a new independent officer of the Legislature appointed under the Human Rights Code and is responsible for protecting and promoting human rights. The Commissioner assumed formal responsibilities effective September 3, 2019.
The Commissioner's responsibilities include: identifying and promoting the elimination of discriminatory practices, policies and programs; developing and delivering public information and education about human rights; undertaking and supporting research respecting human rights; examining the human rights implications of any policy, program or legislation; and promoting compliance with international human rights obligations. While the Commissioner may call an inquiry into broad human rights issues or systemic discrimination, the responsibility for screening and adjudicating individual and group complaints remains with the Human Rights Tribunal.
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
Michael McEvoy
Information and Privacy Commissioner, Registrar of Lobbyists
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner monitors and enforces compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection Act. An independent officer of the Legislature, the Information and Privacy Commissioner conducts reviews of access to information requests, investigates complaints, initiates investigations or audits in the public interest, monitors compliance with the Acts, comments on the access and privacy implications of proposed legislation or policy, and promotes freedom of information and protection of privacy principles through public education and outreach. The Commissioner is also designated the Registrar of Lobbyists pursuant to the Lobbyist Registration Act, and is responsible for maintaining the Lobbyists Registry and enforcing the legislative requirement for lobbyists to register.
Telephone: 250-387-5629
Toll-free: 1 800-663-7867
Facsimile: 250-387-1696
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office of the Merit Commissioner
Maureen Baird, QC
Merit Commissioner
The Merit Commissioner is an officer of the Legislature mandated to provide independent oversight and insight into merit-based hiring in the BC Public Service. The Merit Commissioner monitors the principle of merit in appointments as defined in the Public Service Act and conducts final level review of staffing decisions at the request of unsuccessful employees.
Telephone: 250-953-4208
Facsimile: 250-953-4160
E-mail: email@example.com
Office of the Ombudsperson
Jay Chalke
As an independent officer of the Legislature, the Ombudsperson investigates complaints of unfair or unreasonable treatment by provincial and local public authorities and provides general oversight of the administrative fairness of government processes. It conducts three types of investigations: investigations into individual complaints; investigations that are commenced on the Ombudsperson's own initiative; and investigations referred to the Ombudsperson by the Legislative Assembly or one of its Committees.
The Ombudsperson has a broad mandate to investigate complaints involving provincial ministries; provincial boards and commissions; Crown corporations; local governments; health authorities; colleges and universities; schools and school boards; and self-regulating professions and occupations. A full list of authorities can be found in the Ombudsperson Act. The Office of the Ombudsperson responds to approximately 8,000 inquiries and complaints annually.
The Ombudsperson conducts confidential investigations that are consultative, fair, resolution-oriented, and designed to remedy underlying problems. The Ombudsperson may make recommendations to improve public administration and issues various types of reports which are tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
Telephone: 250 387-5855
Toll-Free: 1 800 567-3247
Facsimile: 250 387-0198
Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner
Clayton Pecknold
Police Complaint Commissioner
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is the independent oversight agency that provides an accessible way for the public to voice their concerns about the conduct of any municipal/special municipal police officer or department. The Police Complaint Commissioner ensures thorough and competent investigations of police complaints and fair adjudication of police misconduct allegations with respect to both citizens and police officers alike. The Commissioner, an independent officer of the Legislature, is responsible for ensuring compliance with Part 11 – Misconduct, Complaints, Investigations, Discipline and Proceedings, of the Police Act, as well as maintaining records of all complaints and their dispositions. The Commissioner is also responsible for advising, informing and assisting all parties involved in the complaint process and provides statistical information about complaint and misconduct trends and reports regularly to the Legislative Assembly and the public.
The Commissioner can make recommendations to police boards for improvements to the manner in which they deliver their services to the public, such as recommendations for policy creation or recommendations for changes to existing policy. In addition, this office can make recommendations for improvements of the complaint process.
Telephone: 250-356-7458
Toll-Free: 1 877-999-8707
Facsimile: 250-356-6503
E-mail: email@example.com
Office of the Representative for Children and Youth
Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth
Representative for Children and Youth
An independent officer of the Legislature appointed under the authority of the Representative for Children and Youth Act, the Representative for Children and Youth has a three-part mandate: reviewing, investigating and reporting on the critical injuries and deaths of children in care or children receiving reviewable services from public bodies; advocating on behalf of children and their families respecting designated services; and monitoring, reviewing, and auditing the provision of designated services. Effective September 30, 2013, advocacy services were expanded to include young adults with special needs aged 19 to 24.
Telephone: 250-356-6710
Toll-Free: 1 800-476-3933
Facsimile: 250-356-0837
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Last Updated: June 18, 2019