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Lewisburg, PA (PRWEB) April 10, 2012Dr.
 DeeAnn Reeder, a professor at Bucknell University, is a leading expert on White-nose Syndrome

More than six million bats are dead, and millions more are expected to fall victim to a disease known as White-nose Syndrome, or WNS. First identified in the northeastern United States, WNS has wiped out an estimated 95% of Pennsylvania’s bat population and is quickly spreading across the country. It was most recently discovered in Missouri, Delaware and Alabama.
“This is like bringing small pox to the New World. It is surely an unprecedented wildlife disaster for North America,” said Bucknell University professor Dr. DeeAnn Reeder. Reeder is one of the country’s leading experts on WNS, and one of the researchers responsible for identifying the cause of the disease in 2011. “We can’t stop this thing. It’s marching across the country and we’re going to see some extinction.”
Reeder has been studying the disease since shortly after it was discovered in a New York cave in 2006. Since then it was been detected in at least 17 other states. Few bats exposed to the fungus that causes WNS survive.
“I was recently in a mine where I should’ve seen 10,000 or so bats. There were 150,” Reeder recalled. “We don’t know if the survivors have some immunity, or are lucky. If they’re just lucky, we’re in trouble.”
While Reeder and other scientists are turning their attention to surviving bats, and the clues they may provide in slowing the spread of WNS, the impact of the devastation to the country’s bat population could be severe. Reeder says for every one million bats that die, 692 tons of insects that would have been eaten by the bats, survive the summer months. That includes mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Recent studies show bats provide billions of dollars worth of agricultural and pest-killing services.

By Becky Krystal, Published: April 18






Dick Clark, a television host and entrepreneur who sold rock-and-roll to Middle America on the dance show “American Bandstand” and counted down the new year with millions of TV viewers as emcee of an annual celebration in New York’s Times Square, died April 18 at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., after a heart attack. He was 82.The death was confirmed by his publicist, Paul Shefrin.
From 1952 to 1987, Mr. Clark hosted various incarnations of “American Bandstand,” first over the radio in Philadelphia and later on national television. The program was a sensation because of the prominent role it gave teenagers — who were always shown clean-cut in jackets, ties and sweaters — to vote on their favorite song.

Record industry executives paid attention to the young tastemakers, who were not always perfect in their judgment. The teens in 1963 had given the Beatles a thumbs down for “She Loves You” and their mop-top hairdos.
By the show’s 30th anniversary, almost 600,000 teenagers and 10,000 performers had appeared on the program. Among those to make early national appearances included Buddy Holly, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, and Simon and Garfunkel. Dance crazes such as the Twist and the Watusi could be traced to the “Bandstand” studio.

“Dick Clark was significant in transforming the record business into an international industry,” read the citation in 1993 when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The citation went on to say that “his weekly televised record hops — which predated MTV by 25 years — played an integral role in establishing rock-and-roll, keeping it alive and shaping its future.”
Although the citation called him affable and magnetic, critics were less kind. Washington Post TV writer Lawrence Laurent called him a bland mediocrity, adding that Mr. Clark “was final proof that one need not be handicapped by performing talent to succeed in television.”

After “American Bandstand” ended its run on ABC in 1987, Mr. Clark took it into syndication for two years and then handed it over to a new host, David Hirsch. It went off the air shortly thereafter. Despite his prominence on camera, Mr. Clark said the vast majority of his work was done behind the scenes as a producer. His self-titled production company was a force behind a slew of made-for-TV movies, beauty pageants, game shows and awards shows, including the American Music Awards and the Daytime Emmy and Golden Globe awards ceremonies. The private equity fund of Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder acquired Dick Clark Productions in 2007 for $175 million.

Dick Clark Productions provided ABC with the “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” TV spectacular every year since 1972. Mr. Clark had initially pitched the show as a hipper alternative to the long-standing broadcast tradition of airing Guy Lombardo’s big band playing “Auld Lang Syne” from New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel. Mr. Clark drew in audiences that inaugural year with performances by Three Dog Night, Helen Reddy, Al Green, and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Caine Monroy is a 9-year old boy who spent his summer vacation building an elaborate DIY cardboard arcade in his dad’s used auto parts store.
Caine dreamed of the day he would have lots of customers visit his arcade, and he spent months preparing everything, perfecting the game design, making displays for the prizes, designing elaborate security systems, and hand labeling paper-lunch-gift-bags. However, his dad’s autoparts store (located in an industrial part of East LA) gets almost zero foot traffic, so Caine’s chances of getting a customer were very small, and the few walk in customers that came through were always in too much of a hurry to get their auto part to play Caine’s Arcade. But Caine never gave up.

One day, by chance, I walked into Smart Parts Auto looking for a used door handle for my ’96 Corolla. What I found was an elaborate handmade cardboard arcade manned by a young boy who asked if I would like to play. I asked Caine how it worked and he told me that for $1 I could get two turns, or for $2 I could get a Fun Pass with 500 turns. I got the Fun Pass.

A roughcut of the film premiered at DIY Days, where Caine set up his arcade for people to play. Caine was commissioned by an attendee to build a custom cardboard claw machine, which he did for $80.

This film is a collaboration between all of my friends who chipped in, as well as all of the folks online who got behind the idea of helping to make Caine’s day. Big THANKS to everyone who helped! See FILM CREDITS

After the flashmob, at the end of the day as Caine and his dad drove home, Caine turned to his dad and said, “Dad, this was the best day of my whole life.”

If you like the film, please share it with a friend, and leave Caine a message on his Facebook page. If you are in the LA area, come on down and play Caine’s Arcade hours/directions) – Caine loves customers!

CRAIG COUNTY, Okla. -- Oklahoma drug agents have arrested a 73-year-old woman for allegedly running a major marijuana operation.

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They say Darlene Mayes ran the drug trade from her Craig County home. Agents raided the home Monday and say they found six pounds of marijuana, guns and $277,000 in cash."We kept finding more cash and it was so surprising," said Vinta police chief Bobby Floyd. "It was surprising that it was just laying around. I mean it was in closets, underneath the bed. But it wasn't really hidden."The task force says they had been investigating a drug ring for five months. Mayes had no prior criminal history.

Read more: http://www.koco.com/news/30872503/detail.html#ixzz1rxhUW7eV