Monthly Archives: June 2021

A Wixom contractor will repave a portion of Cousino Rd. in LaSalle Township next week, one of many improvements planned in the region, the Monroe County Road Commission has announced.

Cadillac Asphalt is scheduled to do a hot-mix asphalt resurfacing on Cousino between Muddy Creek and S. Otter Creek Rds., closing the road to through traffic, said Pamela Morgan from the maintenance division at the road commission. Traffic regulators will maintain local access, Morgan said. All work is weather permitting.

Several stone chip and sealing projects are planned elsewhere. Following is a roundup of road and drainage work planned in other townships next week:

Dundee Township

Dixon Rd. -- A county tiling crew will remove and replace two drainage cross-tiles on Dixon between M-50 and Pumpkin Hook Rd. Dixon will be closed to traffic and possibly overnight, Morgan said. There will be no posted detour due to a low traffic volume. The improvement is weather permitting.

Frenchtown Township

Reinhardt Rd. Reinhardt is tentatively scheduled to be chip sealed during the upcoming week. Reinhardt will be closed while crews are applying the seal and the road will be swept the following day. Motorists are encouraged to travel at an advisory speed limit of 25 mph until the road surface has been swept.

Frenchtown and Raisinville townships

Stewart Stewart will be chip sealed from Raisinville Rd. to Bates Lane, closing the road to traffic. Stewart will be swept the following day. Motorists are encouraged to travel at the advisory speed of 25 mph until the surface has been swept.

London Township

Plank Plank between Ostrander and Sherman Rds. will be chip sealed, closing the road while crews are working. The road will be swept the following day. Motorists are asked to drive at a speed limit of 25 mph until the surface has been swept.

Milan Township

The following four roads are tentatively scheduled to be chip sealed during the upcoming week:

Cone Rd. From Ann Arbor Rd. to the end of pavement.

Dundee-Azalia Rd. from Ostrander Rd. to Oelke Rd.

Hickory Rd. From Dennison Rd. to N. County Line Rd.

Sanford Rd. From Plank Rd. to Milan-Oakville Rd.

All four roads will be closed while crews are working and the roads will be swept the following day.

Raisinville Township

Blue Bush Rd. Blue Bush will be chip sealed between Steffas and Raisinville Rds., closing the road. Blue Bush will be swept the next day and motorists are asked to drive at the advisory speed limit of 25 mph until the surface has been swept.

See the original post here:

Portion of Cousino Rd. to be repaved in LaSalle - Monroe Evening News

Carl J. Asszony, Special to the USA TODAY Network Published 4:00 a.m. ET June 11, 2021

Flag Day at GWB. NorthJersey.com

Although not a federal holiday, Flag Day, June 14, is the day that commemorates the Continental Congress' adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14,1777. Since that time the flag has been an active part of Americas history. The newly created American flag would become the nations symbol of liberty and carried the message of freedom around the world.

How did it all happen?

The idea of Betsey Ross being the designer and maker of the first American flag is now considered by most historians to be the stuff of legend. Mostly forgotten is a gentleman from New Jersey who designed the banner adopted as the American flag by Congress in 1777.

There seems to be ample evidence that Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as adelegate from New Jersey, actually designed the American flag t. The new flag consisted of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; with thirteen stars, white in a blue field, each star representing a new state.

The world's largest free flying flag hangs from the New Jersey Tower of the George Washington Bridge on Flag Day Friday June 14, 2019 in Fort Lee, N.J. (Photo: Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com)

Hopkinson, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would later move to Bordentown, New Jersey, where he married, practiced law and became a member of Congress. He was a man of many skills he was a writer, poet, lawyer, composer, politician, businessman as well as the designer of the New Jersey state seal and the seal of the U.S. Treasury. He is also associated with the design of the Great Seal of the United States. Hopkinson submitted a bill for his design of the flag, asking a quarter cask of wine which he thought proper and reasonable. Congress turned him down, claiming he was already paid as a public servant.

The Francis Hopkinson House (101 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown, New Jersey) was Hopkinson's residence from 1774 to 1791. Built in 1750 by John Imlay, a merchant. The structure is an L-shaped two-and-one-half-story brick structure with a gambrel and dormered roof.(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Mr. Matt)

For Flag Day: World's biggest American flag comes out of hiding

For 244 years, the American flag has endured through the most difficult and challenging times in American history. It was carried forward in the struggle for freedom during theRevolution; it endured the shot and shell while it flew over the embattled Ft. McHenry; it held firm during the Battle of New Orleans, and was present at Shiloh and Chancellorsville; it flew in all its glory over Flanders fields; it was carried across Europe, North Africa and islands in the Pacific in the cause of freedom during World War II; and brave men proudly raised the American flag above Mount Suribachi, on the bleak island of Iwo Jima. Old Glory also saw action in Korea, Vietnam and many places around the world were Americans fought and died in the cause of liberty.

America endures because of the courage and sacrifice of those who served under that flag and those veterans whose coffins are draped with the red, white, and blue. Throughout American history generations of men and women have given their lives and their blood defending that flag and safeguarding our democracy. Despite the political division and social unrest besieging this county, that star spangled banner, still waves as a symbol of freedom.

Francis Hopkinson's original 1777 American Flag(Photo: House of Flags Museum, Robert Williamson)

This Flag Day, let us continue to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. As John Philip Sousa, composer and conductor, said, The red and white and starry blue is freedoms shield and hope.

There is an interesting footnote to Flag Day the flag we have today with its 50 stars representing the 50 states, was not designed by a skilled artist or a member of Congress. It was designed by a 17-year old-boy from Lancaster, Ohio, named Robert G. Heft, and adopted by Congress on July 4, 1960.

Carl J.Asszony, a longtime New Jersey veterans' advocate, can be reached atnjveteran30@gmail.com.

Read or Share this story: https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/2021/06/11/flag-day-new-jerseys-connection-stars-and-stripes/7640642002/

View original post here:

Flag Day 2021: New Jersey's connection to the Stars and Stripes - NorthJersey.com

Hedgerows gleam with the creamy, lacy flowers of the Elder tree.

Seamus Heaney in his poem Glanmore Sonnets refers to the elder as the boortree bush - It was our bower as children, a greenish, dank and snapping memory as I get older. I love its blooms like saucers brimmed with meal. Their essence is best captured in a cordial the flowers are infused in a lemon syrup and then strained. Bottle it up and store for the winter months. You can also make an elderflower vinegar by placing washed and dried flower heads in a clean jar and pouring cider vinegar over. Seal and allow to infuse. The vinegar is perfect as a base for dressings or buttery sauces and is especially good with fish.

Serendipitously local strawberries are now in season. You can buy these berries all year round now but nothing compares to the first of the season. The combination of strawberries and cream is a classic and a simple but sublime way to enjoy them. The weather forecast is looking good for the next few days and an ideal time to introduce some frozen desserts into the mix. When you have the barbecue lit roast some strawberries in elderflower cordial and serve them with a rose wine granite. Ive included the recipe for elderflower cordial. Granita is an Italian icy treat, translated as grainy. You freeze a flavoured sugar syrup and then fork it up every hour to form crystals. It melts beautifully on your tongue and is a great contrast to the sweet, fragrant strawberries.

Another way the Italians use strawberries is in a Sgroppino cocktail. Sprinkle 50g of sugar over 250g of chopped strawberries and allow to macerate for 30 minutes. Blend the strawberries to a puree and place in a jug with four scoops of lemon sorbet and a bottle of chilled Prosecco. Whisk it and pour into champagne coupes for a deliciously refreshing drink.

Ice-cream is one of those foods that never goes out of fashion its one of lifes great constants. As a resident of Portstewart I can attest to the fact that, in Northern Ireland, we will eat this frozen treasure in all weathers, throughout the seasons. In winter a buttery, hot apple crumble or steamed pudding will taste all the better for some ice-cream. Were blessed throughout the country with great ice-cream shops and suppliers but Ive included a recipe for a strawberry variety if youd like to have a go at making your own. You wont need a fancy ice-cream maker, just an electric whisk. The base is eggs, sugar and elderflower cordial whisked over a pan of hot water and then whisked until cold and pale. Strawberry puree and whipped cream is folded in and the mixture just needs to be frozen. It has a great texture and is made even more delicious with some fresh strawberries added. Or you could scoop it and enjoy in cone flake obligatory.

Local strawberries are only in season in the summer. While you can get them in the winter months they tend to taste like a vaguely sweet turnip and sometimes have the texture to match. Cherish them now when theyre sweet and lush.

Read the original here:

Nothing compares to the first local luscious strawberries of the season - Farming Life

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boyd Corporation, a world-leading innovator of engineered material and thermal management technologies, announced increased presence in Asia with the expansion of its design and manufacturing facility in Bac Ninh, Vietnam. Expanding Boyd Vietnam is in direct response to growing customer demand for regional manufacturing in Vietnam. The facility will design and manufacture thermal and engineered materials that cool, seal, and protect the latest innovations in the growing mobile, consumer, enterprise, and cloud computing electronics markets.

Boyds expanded Vietnam site features lean, automated manufacturing and assembly processes for high volume production of both complex thermal systems and multi-layered engineered materials. The 12,555 sq. meter expansion creates capacity in high performance air, two phase, and liquid cooling system solutions, enabling Boyd to provide the best fit solution for customers increasing compute, power, and thermal density requirements. Additionally, Boyd Vietnam will continue to design and manufacture advanced rotary converted solutions with world-leading tolerances and clean room manufacturing for complex, high yield, optical solutions. Boyd Vietnams optical solutions enhance screen brightness and clarity while minimizing display heat, reducing energy consumption, and improving battery life for more efficient, advanced display technologies.

We work diligently to anticipate customer and market needs, continually aligning our company, its supporting footprint, and innovative technologies to stay ahead of megatrends. Post globalization and responsive regionalization strategies are driving more customers to source advanced solutions within Vietnam, said Boyd CEO Doug Britt.

The Vietnam facility will include on-site design, testing, process, prototyping, and manufacturing engineering teams to enable highly responsive full product lifecycle and program support, ensuring Boyd can best support customers growth plans and accelerated speed to market for high volume, high performance applications. The state-of-the-art facility will be ISO 9001 quality management system certified, focusing on continual lean process improvement to drive speed and cost efficiency. The Vietnam expansion will also be ISO 14001 environmental management system certified and powered with renewable, high efficiency energy, helping Boyd and its customers meet increasing sustainability goals by reducing carbon footprint. Weve quickly scaled our talent and technologies in Boyd Vietnam to answer rising regional market demand while building on our core values of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, Britt said.

About Boyd Corporation

Boyd Corporation is a world-leading innovator of engineered material and thermal management technologies to seal, cool, and protect our customers most critical applications. We gain unparalleled technology insight solving complex challenges across the leading industries we serve. Our solutions maximize performance in 5G infrastructure and the worlds most advanced data centers; enhance reliability and extend range for electric and autonomous vehicles; advance the accuracy of cutting-edge personal healthcare and diagnostic systems, enable the latest generation of aircraft and defense technologies; and accelerate innovation in next-generation electronics and smartphones. Core to Boyds global, large-scale manufacturing is a deep commitment to protect the environment with sustainable, lean operations that reduce waste and minimize carbon footprint.

Visit us at http://www.boydcorp.com.

Excerpt from:

Boyd Corporation Expands Global Footprint With State-of-the-Art Facility in Vietnam - Business Wire

A former prison guard who admitted to smuggling 200 strips of prescription opioid medicine into the Airway Heights Correction Center last July has been sentenced to two months in prison, far less than the five-year minimum term prescribed in federal law.

The written arguments that swayed U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson to hand down the exceptional sentence have been filed under seal. Michael Matterns co-conspirators received sentences of 56 and 30 months, respectively, which were also below the five-year minimum.

The felony conviction does not automatically disqualify Mattern, 46, from serving a future role with the Department of Corrections.

Mattern, an employee of the state prison for nearly 20 years, was found with 200 strips of Suboxone, the prescription medication used to treat opioid addiction that can also be abused. Investigators also found him in possession of 14.6 grams of methamphetamine and 2.9 grams of heroin at the prison. The drugs were hidden in a tobacco tin inside Matterns lunch box, according to court records.

Mattern resigned from the department the same day a criminal complaint was filed in federal court.

An investigation by the FBI and the Washington Department of Corrections revealed that an inmate, 34-year-old Joseph Burnett, called from a phone in the prison to request drugs be smuggled into the prison while he was serving a sentence on theft and robbery charges. The phone calls began in March 2020, after COVID-19 lockdown procedures limited visits at the prison.

The drugs were supplied by Brandy Lorentzen, 46, who met with Mattern to provide the drugs and payment for smuggling, according to a sworn statement from FBI Special Agent David DiBartolo based on surveillance of Matterns car. The FBI and DOC received tips from unnamed inmates in the prison that drugs were being smuggled into Matterns unit of the corrections facility. Lorentzen knew Burnett before his incarceration and had previously spent time in federal prison on a heroin distribution charge.

Mattern pleaded guilty in January to a single count of conspiracy to distribute drugs, but contended in court documents that he was only aware of the Suboxone, which Burnett said sold for $250 a strip in the prison during the lockdown, according to court records. He said he didnt know the tin also included meth and heroin. The charge carries a five-year minimum sentence under federal law, but judges have discretion about whether to follow those guidelines based on the arguments of attorneys.

Those written arguments have been kept from public review and scrutiny in Matterns case.

A document known as a sentencing memorandum is prepared in most federal cases, making arguments for a departure from the guideline in a specific case by both the prosecution and defense. Those records may be filed under seal, preventing public inspection for a number of reasons.

Matterns sentencing memoranda were filed under seal, and his defense attorney, Richard Mount, declined to discuss the sentence Wednesday, citing confidential details in the sentencing reports. The U.S. Attorneys Office also declined comment beyond what was in the public court filings.

Public minutes of the sentencing proceedings show that multiple members of Matterns family spoke on his behalf at his sentencing, and the courtroom also included members of the group Narcotics Anonymous that Mattern had been attending. Mattern was permitted to attend a softball game sponsored by Narcotics Anonymous in Coeur dAlene while his criminal matter was pending, according to court records.

Lorentzen and Burnett pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy count, a felony. Lorentzen received a 30-month prison sentence, while Burnett received 56 months.

Kurtis Robinson, executive director of the group I Did the Time that advocates for reforms to assist previously incarcerated people and first vice president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, said the publicly available information about Matterns sentencing was very concerning.

We see that play out time and time again, where law enforcement, for similar offenses, are treated unequally, are held inequitably accountable, Robinson said. Thats a problem. That undermines public trust.

Jeffry Finer, who represented Lorentzen, said the prison term agreed to by Peterson was a just resolution in her case.

I dont know the reason for Mr. Matterns sentence, Finer said, adding that judges have a lot of discretion in what to seal and unseal, and that he was happy with the inclusion of drug treatment programming for his client while she is incarcerated.

Burnetts attorney, Jeff Niesen, said he didnt know the reasoning behind Matterns sentence but that he was dumbfounded when he read it.

Richard is a good lawyer. Hes a smart lawyer, theres no two ways about it, Niesen said.

Burnetts sentencing memorandum was filed publicly with the court, and disputes Matterns claim that he was bribed into participating in the smuggling.

His addiction has been the source of his problems with law enforcement and limited his involvement with his children, the memorandum reads.

Niesen said he believed his clients lengthier sentence had to do with his criminal history.

Burnett was listed in custody of the Spokane County Jail on Thursday. Lorentzen and Mattern were permitted to surrender on their own to the U.S. Marshals. Neither were listed in federal custody Thursday.

Department of Corrections policy does not automatically disqualify employment based on a felony conviction, agency spokeswoman Jacque Coe wrote in an email.

Washington State Department of Corrections policy requires all applicants for employment to disclose felony convictions and, while not precluded from employment, prior conviction information is definitely considered as it relates to the specific role and job performance, she wrote.

Mattern will remain on supervised release for life, according to the terms of his sentence. He must complete 300 hours of community service and will face up to six months of home confinement after release.

Read more:

Airway Heights prison guard gets 2 months for smuggling drugs inside. Prisoner who received the drugs? He got 56 months. - The Spokesman-Review

The chief mate of an international shipping vessel aboard which federal authorities at the Port of Philadelphia seized a record-breaking 20 tons of cocaine in 2019 expected to be paid more than $1 million for overseeing the smuggling effort, federal prosecutors said.

That disclosure a rare glimpse of the economics behind what customs officials have described as one of the largest drug busts in U.S. history came Thursday as a federal judge sentenced Bosko Markovic to seven years in prison instead.

Markovic, 39, of Montenegro, was the most senior crewman aboard the MSC Gayane arrested by federal authorities after an investigation that has spanned from the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal to the Balkans, the South American coast, and mainland Europe. He pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking conspiracy charges last year.

And while some of the seven other charged crewmen, many of whom Markovic recruited into the conspiracy while the Gayane was at sea, have since disclosed how much money they expected to be paid by the Balkan drug traffickers financing the illicit shipment, all of the amounts cited in court filings roughly $50,000 to $60,000 per participant have been significantly less than the payday Markovic had been offered.

His role was necessary, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerome Maiatico said. A smuggling scheme of this magnitude would likely not have been possible without the [Gayanes] chief officer in on the scheme.

Still, as prosecutors portrayed it in court Thursday, the sizable windfall Markovic hoped to receive was nothing compared with the estimated $1 billion that U.S. authorities say the traffickers behind the effort could have made had their cocaine reached its intended destination: the streets of Europe.

READ MORE: Eight crewmen have pleaded guilty as probe continues into a record 20-ton cocaine bust on a Philly ship

Addressing U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III in court, Markovic and his attorney, Benjamin Brait Cooper, laid out a tale similar to those shared by the other members of the Gayanes crew who have been sentenced so far to prison terms ranging from two to six years.

Like them, he had grown up in a coastal Montenegrin community known for two primary industries the thousands of crewmen it provides to international shipping companies and the violent narcotics gangs that oversee smuggling routes to much of Europe.

Like four of the others, he said he was approached in the Balkans, before the Gayane had even embarked on its 2019 voyage by the traffickers looking to recruit him. The $1 million-plus price tag they were offering far surpassed his annual salary of roughly $108,000 a year.

And as the ships chief mate responsible for, as his attorney described it, overseeing pretty much everything to do with the Gayanes daily operations Markovic was in a key position to ensure that the loading of the drugs in secret went off as planned and that the illicit cargo went undetected as the Gayane made its way from port to port.

READ MORE: Just how much is 20 tons of cocaine?

Using phones he had been given in advance, he coordinated with the cocaines suppliers in South America to secretly load the duffel bags filled with white bricks from the speedboats that approached the Gayane under the cover of darkness at several points during its journey between Panama and the Peruvian coast.

He recruited other crew members to hide the drugs in shipping containers carrying cargo like wine, vegetable extract, Chilean dried nuts, scrap metal, and other legitimate goods bound for Europe, Africa, and Asia.

But when U.S. authorities intercepted the ship as it pulled into Philadelphia on its way to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, it was Markovic and his fellow crewmates who were left to pay the price.

Although Mr. Markovic was the chief officer, his role in the offense was rather similar to everyone else who participated in this, said Cooper. He was recruited.

Neither Cooper nor prosecutors specifically identified by whom.

Though federal authorities have said the investigation into the suppliers and financiers behind the smuggling effort continues, the details of that probe remain tightly guarded.

Up until earlier this year, the cases against many of the Gayane crewmen remained under court seal. And one of the men Vladimir Penda, 28, who is serving a six-year sentence for his involvement maintained at his sentencing in April that he only agreed to participate for fear of what the Balkan gangs that recruited him might do to him or his family if he refused.

When a Montenegrin newspaper inaccurately reported last year that Penda had agreed to cooperate with the U.S. investigation, his family fled their home fearing retribution from the traffickers, Pendas attorney said at the time.

Markovic made no mention, either, of the organization that hired him when it came time Thursday for him to address the judge.

Instead, speaking in a deep, thickly accented English, he said he regretted his involvement and dreamed of returning to Montenegro once his prison term was complete.

The only thing I have left is hope, he said. Hope that I can look into the future and see my own family soon and start a family of my own.

Go here to see the original:

Seven years in prison for chief mate of cargo vessel where Philly feds found record 20 tons of cocaine - The Philadelphia Inquirer