Behind the Headlines

How would you like to have these views in the morning and evening?

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

I live in the northeast part of the city of Monroe. Yes, that is small hail falling from the sky, at least in this neighborhood, at 6 p.m. April 28.

I would guess it’s about pea-sized.

By Dean Cousino dean@monroenews.com

What a refreshing way to escape the working blues and do some old-fashioned square dancing at Hickory Park in Ida. My wife and I attended a wedding reception there Saturday night for Rhonda Drodt and Dave Opfferman and what a surpirse — a live band playing oldies and square dances. You don’t see that very often. The banquet hall owned by the American Legion in Ida with its hallowed old beams and space for 700 people is famous for its dancing, especially with its huge pine floor. There were all ages dancing — too bad we didn’t have an Evening News photographer there to capture the action on digital or video.

I attended the Michigan CSI (Cyber Safety Initiative) presentation at Bedford High School Tuesday night with a story on the event in yesterday’s MEN.

I wanted to add a few things to the story.

First here are some warning signs for parents when it comes to their child’s Internet usage:
1. You child spends large amounts of time on-line, especially at night.
2. You find pornography on your child’s computer.
3. You child receives phone calls from people you don’t know or is making calls, sometimes long distances, to numbers you don’t recognize.
4. You child receives mail, gifts or packages from someone you don’t know.
5. You child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor whne you come in to the room.
6. You child becomes withdrawn from the family.
7. You child is using an online account belonging to someone else.
8. While online, your child is using a microphone or Webcam you didn’t know he/she had.

If you notice any of these signs, the following are some safety tips for parents:
Create clear and simple ground rules for children to follow.
Place a computer with Internet access in a location that is visible to other members of the family and NOT IN THE CHILD’S BEDROOM.
Explain to your children that they should never give out identifying information- name, address, school name, telephone number- in any public forum such as a chat room or bulletin board.
Discuss the importance of telling you or a trusted adult if something ever makes your child or teen feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused while online.
Become familiar with blocking and monitoring programs.
Get to know the Internet and any services your children use.

Some Web sites that might be helpful are:
http://www.netlingo.com/top20teens.cfm - This Web site has the top 20 acronyms every parent should know when it comes to message boards or instant messaging.

There is a wealth of information on the Michigan Attorney General’s Web site regarding the CSI program. The Web site is www.michigan.gov/ag.

By Dean Cousino

I’m putting together a roundup of various fairs and festivals in the Monroe County region for 2008 that will be published in the Arts and Entertainment section May 1. If anyone has an event they want to be mentioned in the roundup, contact me at 240-5771 or e-mail me at dean@monroenews.com.

The MonroeTalkers are chatting about Monroe County’s 2008 Big Read assignment “To Kill a Mockingbird,” with another thread here.

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

Are you a talented photographer? Can you create a pretty cake? Is your crochet work exquisite?

Today’s edition of The Monroe Evening News includes the Monroe County Fair Premium Guide 2008. If you’re a city slicker, and have no idea what that is all about, the premium guide lists all the contests that are available in this year’s Monroe County Fair.

You don’t have to live on a farm, or even in a township, or belong to a 4-H family to compete. The open division fair contests are open to anyone who lives in Monroe County.

Look through the premium guide and you might find something you can enter. Be sure to follow all the entry deadlines. The procedures can be confusing for first-time fair entrants, but there are contact people with phone numbers listed for each competition division.

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

What an interesting headline to wake up to: an earthquake at 5:30 a.m. today that could have been felt here in southeast Michigan, …. that is …. if my husband and I had been awake and realized what was going on.

Anyway, the Red Cross does have a list of tips about earthquake safety. You’ll find the pdf file here.

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

Attention National Public Radio listeners: Car Talk, the hugely popular automotive advice show hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, is becoming an animated feature.

Check out the details at Click and Clack go to Hollywood.

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

Monroe County has a tornado watch in effect until 9 p.m. today (Friday April 11).

National Weather Service - Detroit

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

A delegation of Monroe Evening News editors, reporters, sports writers and photographers will have a call-in night from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday April 17.

The newsroom staff would like to hear what you think about your newspaper, take your questions and feedback.

The news phone numbers will be:

• 240-5766
• 240-5767
• 240-5777
• 240-5778

The sports phone number will be:

• 242-1100 ext. 393

If you can’t call in that night, but would like to talk to someone about the newspaper, editor Deb Saul can be reached during business hours at 242-1100 ext. 289.

Charles Slat

A study by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research has concluded that having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework a week for the average woman. It also found having a wife means an extra hour of housework a week for a typical man.

It’s not clear from the study whether changing the oil or hammering one’s thumb can be categorized as housework.

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

Evening News editor Deb Saul dedicated her print column today to “To kill a Mockingbird.” You can find the article on page 3A of today’s print and e-editions of The Monroe Evening News and at www.monroenews.com.

A snippet:

Monroe County readers participating in The Big Read know how important reading was in the Finch household in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The children were read to each night and the father read three newspapers a day. When the children noticed a new boy next door the first thing out of his mouth was his name and the statement: “I can read.” And now I think that reading made the father, Atticus, the man he was.

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

Behind the Headlines is where The Monroe Evening News reporters blog about anything going on in the community.

One of the recurring topics has been The Big Read 2007 (Fahrenheit 451) and 2008 (To Kill a Mockingbird). (Click through the archives marked The Big Read).

But after I read this year’s book, I realized my book review would fit better at Monroe on a Budget. Go click on Financial Lessons from “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Now’s the time of year you start noticing how much effort has gone into cleaning drains around the county. You see deepened ditches with all vegetation stripped away to make sure land and fields don’t sit under water. During wet weather, drains can turn into efficient little rivers. One problem with the concept is that the water takes a lot of land with it.
Check out the silt was carried into the western basin of Lake Erie in recent days from this NOAA satellite image taken Wednesday.