Michael Strickland - MichaelStrickland's Blog

Michael Strickland - MichaelStrickland's Blog - TheJHub.com http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland Adventure along with an iconoclast Adventure along with an iconoclast en-us An Idaho State University Exit Interview with Ed Nuhfer, Ph.D. http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/633 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/633 The response below references the JHub post:  <a href="http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/625">Is Idaho State University Bleeding Faculty, Staff, and Student Talent? </a>, That post included the following sentiments: "John Kijinski as Dean is doing quite well at SUNY Fredonia. John Knox will soon begin as Dean at Mankato State. Mark Salisbury, whom ISU persecuted for over a year, has won regional and national awards at U of Iowa. Ed Nuhfer is Director of Faculty Development and Professor of Geoscience at California State University Channel Islands. Ed has been instrumental in securing three grants while being well supported to deliver academic workshops twice a month. Linda Deck who made the Idaho Museum a major cultural centerpiece of SE Idaho and her husband Ralph, who brought in over a $million in grants; they are both are at Los Alamos. One of ISU’s top researchers, Rob Van Kirk, has been snatched up this year by the Cal State system at the Humboldt campus." and ... "<a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Ken%20Bain&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Ken Bain</a>, author of a best-selling book on college teaching about former ISU history professor <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=economists%20with%20guns&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bradley Simpson</a>, entitled <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Ken%20Bain&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">What the Best College Teachers Do</a>, wrote in an email:  “By the way ... <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=economists%20with%20guns&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bradley Simpson</a> is headed to Princeton. With his new book coming out, he got offers from Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford, and I think maybe Chicago--but I'm not sure on the latter.  The book, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=economists%20with%20guns&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Economists with Guns</a>, promises to be one of the most important works in diplomatic history to emerge in a long time...". ***** Ed Nuhfer responded: Hi Michael -- It’s nice to read good things about Brad and other good people in your blog, and about what they are currently contributing to the world. No matter where these people go, they will accomplish good things. I have surely enjoyed the opportunities in my work here, but also affirm I enjoyed those years I had at Idaho State University. Your two workshops a month note was an understatement—it has been closer to three—and this is about the first month in sixteen that I have not gone to a conference or given a workshop. We recently held a most successful Boot Camp for Profs® in Colorado, and again had a terrific ISU faculty participant. Life’s really fine here in CA —one can get indigestion feeding on all the opportunities. I once was the only faculty developer in Idaho; now I have over twenty colleagues in just my own university system alone--a system which produces 90,000 graduates a year, but it’s the leadership quality rather than the size that accounts for the opportunities.  We also have 15 of our folks in the Olympics, which makes these weeks particularly special for us. Incidentally, Ken Bain was Brad Simpson’s advisor. Brad lent me the most worn copy of Ken’s “<a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Ken%20Bain&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">What the Best College Teachers Do</a>” I had ever seen. It is obvious he used and treasured that book. I recall Brad as a very kind person and extremely dedicated to students’ success. He was one of the most supportive people for faculty development when we were there together at ISU. I am happy he has such an abundance of success. It is usual for competent people to move to and from campuses all the time. What makes the ISU situation less usual (and perhaps generated this blog) is the negative innuendo spread from within ISU in recent years (after Brad’s departure, I believe) about those departing or reassigned.  It is hard to find anything from elsewhere comparable to the disrespect shown in The Chronicle article... about Van Kirk, or the planting of "Dean Demoted…" headline articles about Dr. John Knox complete with university photos alongside incongruous statements of "confidential personnel decision" in local newspapers. Both articles appeared after I left ISU. I (and others) wrote letters reprimanding the editor of the Idaho State Journal for printing the latter. In the end, it appears the only things disgruntled locals who planted such innuendo produced were some very nice career advances for their intended victims, some vacancies at ISU, and some major successes for other universities. I maintain contact with friends and colleagues at ISU and some ISU folks who relocated to varied places. It’s always good to correspond with them. A co-author and past student from intro geology (Creative Writing Major), Pam Mosbrucker, and her colleague Tobin Alder just had their second edition of “Cyber Gold...” published and sent me a copy. They are wonderful folks there in Pocatello, with an ever growing national reputation for their innovative work.   An enthusiastic and very fun group of ISU geology majors stayed at my house in Colorado last fall when attending the national Geological Society of America Meeting, and I learned recently that past geology chair Scott Hughes is now acting dean of Arts & Sciences. He was excellent as chair and could be a fine dean at any institution. All the best, Ed Nuhfer Camarillo, CA ednuhfer@earthlink.net How do you feel about Bannock County Property Taxes? http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/632 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/632 "This site is not for the faint in heart," says the website of a group called he Citizens to Recall the Bannock County Assessor. "We are serious about the recall. If you want to help and affect change within the Bannock County assessors office then please do so." A property tax revolt is underway. Having been renters during my family's years in Bannock County, we don't have as much of an emotional connection to this issue. I am inquiring, for research purposes, from those closer to the fire. Comments on <a href="http://www.citizensofbannockcountyunite.com">http://www.citizensofbannockcountyunite.com</a>   include: <table style="MARGIN-TOP: 8px; WIDTH: 100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top">Sounds like Jolynn Andersen is in a complete defense mode. We must unite and fight for fair taxes. Also, we must address the budget for Bannock County. County commissioners must cut the fat and quit approving budget increases and then just simply raise taxes to fit the increase. We can't afford to live in Bannock County if this continues. <div style="MARGIN-TOP: 3px; FONT-SIZE: smaller">Posted by John Jensen</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> and: <table style="MARGIN-TOP: 8px; WIDTH: 100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <colgroup><col width="100%"></col><col width="30"></col></colgroup> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top"> Jolynn said in an article this morning (June 12) in the ISJ that the process for assessing home values is more complicated than most people realize. This is personally offensive to me. Several months ago, after the news came about the 8% pay raise county employees would be receiving, Mr. Whitworth of the Bannock County Commissioners said something very similar, that the County Budget process was "complicated". Apparently, those who work for US in the Bannock County offices, based these comments, figure that the average Bannock County citizen is too stupid to figure it out. "It's complicated" they say. How offensive. It's all just above our heads. It doesn't seem too complicated to me. They mismanage OUR money, run short, then continue to try to offset their poor oversight by raising taxes. We have not been able to do any improvements on our home since buying it 3 years ago, yet my assessed value climbs every year, this year it went up $8500. We are a middle to lower income family with several children and if this continues, Bannock County is going to tax us right out of our home! Posted by AJ</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> How do you feel? ... and how do property taxes affect renters? -- Michael Why Religion Matters http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/631 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/631 I really enjoyed this study by the Heritage Foundation. In addition to the facts below, research bears out that girls who are involved in church with their fathers are more likely to report a close and happy relationship with Daddy as adults. As the father of three little girls, that really speaks to me. I think I will be early to church tomorrow. Among other things, the article states: <ul> <li>The strength of the family unit is intertwined with the practice of religion. Churchgoers<a href="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Religion/BG1064.cfm#8">8</a> are more likely to be married, less likely to be divorced or single, and more likely to manifest high levels of satisfaction in marriage. </li> <li>Church attendance is the most important predictor of marital stability and happiness. </li> <li>The regular practice of religion helps poor persons move out of poverty. Regular church attendance, for example, is particularly instrumental in helping young people to escape the poverty of inner-city life. </li> <li>Religious belief and practice contribute substantially to the formation of personal moral criteria and sound moral judgment. </li> <li>Regular religious practice generally inoculates individuals against a host of social problems, including suicide, drug abuse, out-of-wedlock births, crime, and divorce. </li> <li>The regular practice of religion also encourages such beneficial effects on mental health as less depression (a modern epidemic), more self-esteem, and greater family and marital happiness. </li> <li>In repairing damage caused by alcoholism, drug addiction, and marital breakdown, religious belief and practice are a major source of strength and recovery. </li> <li>Regular practice of religion is good for personal physical health: It increases longevity, improves one's chances of recovery from illness, and lessens the incidence of many killer diseases. </li> </ul> For the full study: "Why Religion Matters: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability," by <a class="redHoverColorOnly" href="http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/PatrickFagan.cfm">Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D.</a>, see: <a href="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Religion/BG1064.cfm">http://www.heritage.org/Research/Religion/BG1064.cfm</a> ISU professor uses spectrometer to reconstruct historic Idaho sockeye runs http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/627 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/627 While the public and biologists are enjoying the rare opportunity to view sockeye salmon in Idaho’s upper Salmon River this year, an Idaho State University research professor has taken looks at Gem State sockeye salmon runs going back thousands of years. Today’s fisheries managers are thrilled by the return of hundreds of fish to the Sawtooth Valley, but historically the run consisted of tens of thousands of sockeye, according to Idaho State University research professor Bruce Finney, Ph.D.<a id="more-1365"></a> <div class="main"> <div class="imgwrapleft" style="WIDTH: 252px"><img height="189" alt="Researchers on Redfish Lake in process of taking sample. Photo by Jason Addison. Photos provided by Mark Shapley." width="252" src="http://www2.isu.edu/headlines/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/redfishlakedrillingrigweb.jpg" /> Researchers on Redfish Lake in process of taking sample. Photo by Jason Addison. Photos provided by Mark Shapley. </div> </div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main">____________</div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main">As of early August, more than 850 rare sockeye salmon had passed over the Lower Granite Dam, the last barrier on the Snake River that salmon must pass before entering Idaho. Fisheries biologists predict as many as 700 fish could return to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery near Redfish Lake, which is near the town of Stanley. To get to this hatchery the fish travel nearly 900 miles.</div>   Some years there are only single-digit or zero returns of the sockeye. The largest number to return to central Idaho in a year since 1985, when biologists starting counting the runs, was 257 sockeye in 2000. Since 1985, just 352 wild and hatchery-origin sockeye have returned to the Redfish Lake area. Redfish Lake is named for sockeye, which turn a reddish color when they spawn. While this relatively strong run is encouraging to those who want to save the fish, this year’s run is a small fraction of the size of sockeye runs that historically returned to spawn in the lakes of the upper Sawtooth Valley, including Redfish, Petit and Alturas Lakes. According to Finney from 25,000 to 40,000 sockeye historically spawned annually in Redfish Lake alone prior to the 1900s. <div class="main"> <div class="imgwrapright" style="WIDTH: 152px"><img height="228" alt="Scientists using the equipment on the deck of one of the drilling boats. Photo by Dave Gilbert." width="152" src="http://www2.isu.edu/headlines/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/collectingcoresampleondeckweb.jpg" /> Scientists using the equipment on the deck of one of the drilling boats. Photo by Dave Gilbert. </div> </div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main">____________</div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main">Finney bases this calculation on work he has done examining the sediment cores from lakes using a machine called a mass spectrometer. Mass spectrometers are instruments that can measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules in chemical compounds and other samples. Spectrometers accurately measure the different types of isotopes of the same element such as carbon or nitrogen in biological or geological samples.</div>   Finney has developed a technique using mass spectrometers to reconstruct the salmon runs in the past. Salmon have a signature type of nitrogen, recorded by nitrogen isotopes, which scientists can use to positively identify as originating from the salmon.  When the salmon die and they decompose they release nitrogen, which is in turn taken in by algae that end up in lake sediments. High salmon runs correspond to higher concentrations of these nitrogen deposits; lower concentrations of nitrogen in deposits represent smaller runs. The sediments on lake bottoms can be dated using radiocarbon dating, an accurate method for dating materials and by identifying ash layers from known volcanic events. So far, Finney and his colleagues have studied core samples from some of the larger lakes in the upper Sawtooth Valley, including Redfish Lake, dating back about 2,000 years. <div class="main"> <div class="imgwrapleft" style="WIDTH: 216px"><img height="288" alt="Drilling rig on Petit Lake. Photo taken by Jason Addison." width="216" src="http://www2.isu.edu/headlines/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/drillingrigpetitlake1web.jpg" /> Drilling rig on Petit Lake. Photo taken by Jason Addison. </div> </div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main">____________</div> <div class="main"></div> <div class="main">Although there were fluctuations, sockeye runs until about a century ago were consistently high, but populations crashed as Old World settlers developed the region. Finney’s mass spectrometer measurements confirm anecdotal and eyewitness accounts of what led to the precipitous demise in the Idaho upper Salmon River sockeye population: the creation in 1910 of the Sunbeam Dam, located about 15 miles downstream of Stanley.</div>   “The most dramatic decline in salmon runs occurred when the Sunbeam Dam was built,” Finney said. “Its creation just overwhelms any naturally occurring fluctuations that occurred previously.” The creation of the Sunbeam Dam shows how Finney’s technique can be used to help confirm other data about Pacific salmon runs that has been collected in the last 100 to 150 years. However, his data can also be used to help create a picture of what runs were like prior to modernization in the New World, when commercial fishing increased, rivers were dammed and there were other numerous large-scale factors that potentially altered salmon runs. The information Finney collects about pre-industrial age salmon runs may be of even more use. Based on data Finney collected while doing a similar study in Alaska, fishery managers in one area changed their management goals based on historical salmon runs from prior to when fishery records were kept. This is one example of the large number of ways that Finney’s research is applicable to current management. In completing his studies on various lakes from Alaska to the Pacific Northwest, analyzing runs that have occurred as far back as 10,000 years, Finney has confirmed that salmon population fluctuations occurred regularly in response to naturally occurring climatic events. This is also useful information because it can give managers a framework about what happens to fish runs in a particular area in response to a warming or cooling trend. That information could potentially be used by current fisheries managers to develop harvest guidelines for particular fisheries. Finney is involved in a major research project with researchers from three other universities to synthesize all the results from lake core sample studies that have been obtain in Alaska, British Columbia, Yukon Territories and in the Pacific Northwest. The results of that study could help researchers build a sweeping view of salmon run patterns occurring over a larger time and geographical scale. Idaho State University receives more than $1.4 million for five research projects http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/626 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/626 Idaho State University received more than $1.4 million in grants in a one-week period in July for five different research projects. <div class="main"> “Together, the new grants are indicators of ISU excellence in energy, health care, and scientific research,” said Pamela Crowell, Ph.D., ISU Vice President for Research. “Through these projects, our faculty and students will make new discoveries that will have impact across the state and the globe.” The five grants include: • $412,000 to Dr. George Imel, Engineering, and Dr. Dan Dale, Physics, from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the project entitled, “Idaho State University Faculty Development Program.” The grant provides funding for a joint faculty appointment with the Nuclear Engineering Department and the Physics Department. It provides three years of funding for this position. The award is in response to an application by George Imel, Ph.D., chair of our Department of Nuclear Engineering, Michael Lineberry, director of the Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Dan Dale, Ph.D., chair of our Department of Physics and Astronomy. • $394,219 to Dr. Jason T. Harris, Physics, from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the project entitled, “Idaho State University Nuclear Education Fellowship Program.” The fellowship funds are being provided by the U.S. NRC to strengthen the U.S. infrastructure in nuclear science and technology. The funding is meant to support students who, after they finish their education, will enter the nuclear workforce in the areas of industry, military, government, or academia (and in all areas of nuclear, not just power).  Specifically, the ISU funds will support five graduate students in health physics (Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences) and nuclear engineering (College of Engineering) over a period of four years. • $310,605 to Dr. Herb Maschner, CAMAS and Anthropology, from the National Science Foundation for the project entitled, “Virtual Zooarcheology of the Arctic Project (VZAP).”    This proposal proposes to develop the world's first online, interactive, three-dimensional virtual vertebrate reference collection.   • $236,367 to Dr. Carol Ashton, Nursing, from the DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration for the project entitled, “Health Care and Other Facilities.” Grant funding will be used to add three patient simulators and supportive telehealth audio/visual communication technology to the Advanced Nursing Clinical Simulation Laboratory in the ISU School of Nursing.  Nursing faculty, student and clinicians across Idaho will be able to share expertise and learning resources, increase capacity to educate new and practicing clinicians, and provide an opportunity for place-bound clinicians to stay in their communities and access state-of-the-art nursing education.   • $130,000 to Dr. Jeff Meldrum, from the Mayfield Foundation in support of Meldrum’s project titled  “North American Ape Project (NAAP): 2008. ”The North American Ape Project (NAAP) seeks to detect and collect evidence through support from the Mayfield Foundation. This will be undertaken primarily by means of hair snags monitored by camera traps. In addition, fieldworkers will record vocalizations, document tracks and sample associated scat. Habitats will be analyzed for availability and distribution of food resources. </div> Is Idaho State University Bleeding Faculty, Staff, and Student Talent? http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/625 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/625 A former Idaho State University faculty leader who had served the university for many years sent me some follow-up emails regarding my blog entry: "Mysterious letter calls for the dismissal of Robert Wharton," found at: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/isu.php?id=2521">http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/isu.php?id=2521</a> The professor referred to ISU faculty being "targeted by the ISU administration’s innuendo" then went on to say that "all the people who were targeted have become remarkably successful" and continued: "John Kijinski as Dean is doing quite well at SUNY Fredonia. John Knox will soon begin as Dean at Mankato State. Mark Salisbury, whom ISU persecuted for over a year, has won regional and national awards at U of Iowa. Ed Nuhfer is Director of Faculty Development and Professor of Geoscience at California State University Channel Islands. Ed has been instrumental in securing three grants while being well supported to deliver academic workshops twice a month. Linda Deck who made the Idaho Museum a major cultural centerpiece of SE Idaho and her husband Ralph, who brought in over a $million in grants; they are both are at Los Alamos. One of ISU’s top researchers, Rob Van Kirk, has been snatched up this year by the Cal State system at the Humboldt campus. There are more—I know."  The individual suggested that "it might make a good article to interview all of the people who left after being harassed and see what these people are now doing and the positive things that they are accomplishing now," then added: "when I popped open your old note, I was struck by just how much a year changes things. Thought I’d share the thought! ...". ******** <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Ken%20Bain&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Ken Bain</a>, author of a best-selling book on college teaching about former ISU history professor <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=economists%20with%20guns&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bradley Simpson</a>, entitled <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Ken%20Bain&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">What the Best College Teachers Do</a>, wrote in an email:  “By the way ... <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=economists%20with%20guns&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Bradley Simpson</a> is headed to Princeton. With his new book coming out, he got offers from Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford, and I think maybe Chicago--but I'm not sure on the latter.  The book, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=economists%20with%20guns&tag=michaelrstric-20&index=books&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Economists with Guns</a>, promises to be one of the most important works in diplomatic history to emerge in a long time...". One of my former ISU faculty sources said: "Brad was a truly nice person who cared more about progressive teaching and students than nearly anyone there. He was under-appreciated by some locals, and many colleagues were sorry to see him leave. Of course, when he got into an environment that was better, he could reach his potential...and as Paul Harvey said...”now here’s the rest of the story...”." Much more information is to come ... -- Michael Exit Interviews: Why do faculty members, students, and staff leave Idaho State University? http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/622 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/622 "My aim to to force ISU to follow its own rules and to drag it into the 21st century," wrote one former instructor who contacted me by email and asked to remain anonymous. "The students are getting ripped off. I had a following of African American students who told me they were looked down upon by their profs and that I was the only teacher who was real. It is a crime that the 'school' is simply a dysfunctional diploma factory." The email continued: "I do not know if you've heard about the case of Prof. Michael D'Andrea. He was banned from campus for things he said. He sued the university and won.  This is what ISU thinks it can do: censor dissent." and its author added: "ISU has employed a professor who is a RACIST and who has said in class, in class mind you, that African Americans are inferior and are animals, that Mexicans are basically a genetic class of slaves, etc. This idiot currently is paid $70,000 dollars a year. This same professor is married and walks around the dept. with his girlfriend. No one is to say a thing." This morning, the source sent me an email and spoke about concerns that have been repeatedly expressed by various parties in the ISU community during the last few years: " ... in a meeting last semester, Vailas announced that it was his policy  to stop the raiding of the better profs at ISU. Anyone who is any good there ends up leaving very quickly. This is what my spouse did. The better more motivated students transfer to better schools too. This is why the enrollments are so low. Currently, we're at a school where student enrollment has increased 40% last year.  ... ISU is in a dire situation. My last several meetings were with the acting Vice Provost, Steve Adkinson. I was telling him how Chairs in Departmental meetings slam and deride the President (because Vailas is trying to make it better/ trying to raise standards). Adkinson said "Oh I'm sure they give him grief ...". There were a lot of other juicy tidbits in the email. Such is a version of events from an individual and spouse who both left Idaho State University faculty positions under heavy duress. I will begin to research and verify things as I write. Have you left Idaho State University in recent years? How come? If you would like an "exit interview," with details to be written about here on the JHub, feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:isu@michaelrstrickland.com">isu@michaelrstrickland.com</a>. Items by US mail may be sent to me at: 775 Yellowstone Avenue PMB206 Pocatello, ID 83201 You can remain anonymous, if you would like to.     Post Register Publisher Illustrates How The JHub is the Future of Journalism http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/615 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/615 <div class="post-header-line-1"></div> <div class="post-body entry-content">Experts already know that sites like this one are the future of journalism. One nearby example of why this is the case, comes from the Post Register.</div> <div class="post-body entry-content"> "In just the past year, newsprint prices have gone up 30 percent and gasoline prices are up more than that," an editorial from publisher Roger Plothow says.</div> <div class="post-body entry-content"> "Other than labor, those are the two main costs in delivering the Post Register to an area larger than some eastern states. Faced with these rising costs, the Post Register is left with three options: - Increase the subscription price. - Deliver Monday's paper online. - Go back to six-day-a-week service. Thousands of subscribers already use their free password to the Post Register's online edition. About 600 people have an online-only subscription." Plothow goes on to talk about the fact that as people learn to use the powerful tools of the Internet to find the news they need when they need it, news organizations are dedicating more and more resources to improving their web sites. "Your hometown paper needs to be ready when that day comes," he added.  Which is why the newspaper is asking its readers  to help experiment with an all-digital day. Plothow said that a lot of people are not only opposed to the idea of an online-only Monday, they're downright outraged. "We also know that not everybody has Internet access (it's about 70 percent in eastern Idaho, and growing every year), just as we know that even those who do have the Internet might prefer to read their paper on paper, so to speak. But our mission is to look after this special place now AND for future generations. As you probably know, most folks younger than 35 just give you a funny look when you suggest they might rather read a printed paper than view it online," the editorial reads. "Wouldn't you feel better knowing that the young of eastern Idaho are keeping up with local current events and not just what's on YouTube?" Plothow asks. "Technology is changing, business models are evolving and news consumption habits are in flux. The newspaper business, in particular, is changing -- many newspapers are faced with serious financial issues. While the Post Register has been spared the worst of these, it is not immune to the financial pressures of changing reader and advertiser habits." A recent discussion on the JHub questioned whether this site was useful. A short time later, The JHub reported more than 600 participants who had signed up in a little more than a year. The "old boy network" days of journalism are fading and will soon be gone. Participatory multimedia is here to stay. That is a good thing. <a href="http://www.postregister.com/">..com</a> </div> Christian message forwarded from Pocatello's Lela Liggins and Alfreda Vann http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/611 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/611 Please take a moment to relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take the time to read long jokes, stories, etc, we should give the same respect to this prayer. The words above are the beginning of a prayer which was was sent to me in an email from Lela Liggins and Alfreda Vann. These two spiritual women are among the anchors of the Pocatello NAACP, as well as many other community service organizations. My family is blessed to be on their mailing list. The prayer continues: Friends, who pray together, stay together.  Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness. ***** Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth of my wrongdoing, and receive forgiveness. <o:p></o:p> And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. <o:p></o:p> Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe. <o:p></o:p> I believe that You change people and You change things for good reasons. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every one of my family members and friends and their families . I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.. <o:p></o:p> I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.. <o:p></o:p> This is my prayer.<o:p></o:p> In Jesus' Name, Amen.<o:p></o:p> What has been Wrong with Portneuf Medical Center? A View from the Inside http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/605 http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/MichaelStrickland/605 <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> <div class="bloggreytext">Now that Portneuf Medical Center is in the middle of a heated discussion here on the JHub, it is a good time to look back at some perceptions of the core issues that began the massive controversy which has been discussed in great detail on the Idaho State Journal pages and in the Pocatello community.</div> <div class="bloggreytext"></div> <div class="bloggreytext">*****</div> <div class="bloggreytext"></div> <div class="bloggreytext">In response to <a href="http://www.thejhub.com/home/User/EpsteinLarue">EpsteinLarue</a> - > <a href="http://www.thejhub.com/home/Blog/EpsteinLarue">Lifepoint and Portneuf Regional</a> -> <a href="http://www.thejhub.com/home/User/mbogo">mbogo</a>, on Jul 19, posted: </div> <div class="bako_blogcomment"><a href="http://www.thejhub.com/home/User/mbogo"><img class="commenter" height="120" alt="" width="80" src="http://www.thejhub.com/file/picture/205/0/0/" /> </a> Let me see if I have this right. You have some information that you think the PMC board  ought to know, before making a decision about a company they are considering partnering with, but you want them to contact you instead of you contacting them? How important is this information and whose responsibility do you think it is to get that information to the right people before they have to make a decision? As a government   teacher once asked me, "Think about it and let me know what you decide" ...       </div> _____</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Others in the community agree with <a href="http://www.thejhub.com/home/User/mbogo">mbogo</a> 's stated strategy above and have proceeded exactly as he suggests, by taking their concerns straight to PMC.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">*****</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Below  is the text of a letter, which is now a couple of years old, from Dr. Robert L. Coray  a general surgeon and former PMC board member, to the administration of the Portneuf Medical Center. Dr. Coray outlines his reasons for leaving the board and what he thinks is wrong with PMC:</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">____________</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Dear Mr. Hermanson:</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Since announcing my relocation I have yet to hear from PMC administrators or the board regarding my plans or reasons for leaving. Frankly, it is not at all surprising, nor is it without precedence. Over the past few months and years several high-quality physicians, nurses, surgical techs and other ancillary personnel have departed PMC and our community to escape the bureaucratic mess and intolerable medical environment that has enveloped our once-respected medical institution. Rarely, if ever, have these fine individuals been approached to find out the reasons for their leaving and seeking other employment opportunities. I wonder if the administration would contact Dr. Delarosa if he decided to leave . . . . ? Hmmmmm.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Indeed this lack of concern by the medical "leaders" would be akin to a surgeon continuing to operate on a hernia while ignoring a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. At the very least, one would think it valuable to learn why the hemorrhage persists in order to place a much needed clamp.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">For the record, let me list in specific terms why I am leaving my community of origin and the things that I believe, if not completely and rapidly corrected, will lead Pocatello's medical environment further spiraling downward to mediocrity and failure.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">1) PMC is a county hospital owned by the citizens of Bannock County and should be capable of taking excellent care of those citizens without incurring debt and doubt. PMC should seriously ask itself why good caregivers are leaving and why nearly all the community has lost faith or trust in the hospital. Could it be that the physicians are suddenly incompetent or inadequate? I think not. For the moment there remain many capable, competent, caring, and skilled physicians here; sadly some of whom take business elsewhere and support other medical facilities who are more willing to meet physician and patient needs. Surely the continued outflow of patients and hospitals reflects dissatisfaction with the current management environment. "Care and Compassion" only goes so far when "incompetence and inefficiency" also resides in the same house.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">2) Most families have a budget and are forced to stick to it. Instead of saving, planning and supporting the fundamental and basic care needs of the citizens of Bannock county, PMC elected to rush to purchase PRMC and hobble along with the "two inefficient campus" philosophy until the infamous "Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence" was forced upon the community - - all in a feeble effort to provide the capital to save us all from destruction and fund yet another consulting company to determine what we should have been doing all along. While the physicians on the hill are quite capable and render excellent care, I believe we are finding out that we really should just be a very, very good community hospital that does the basics well. A few of us physicians are on record as not supporting the gargantuan Heart Center effort from its beginning.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">3) While I understand the need to follow JCAHO's accreditation recommendations, we have allowed the bully big brother to heap an insurmountable pile of bureaucratic garbage upon us. As an example, another surgeon and I had three large cases on the schedule for weeks and find out that the necessary materials are not available on the day of surgery. OK, mistakes happen - - although that particular event is largely inexcusable. The pathetic part is that the OR nurses and staff were more concerned that an updated piece of paper was not on the chart in order to wheel the patient back to the room. (The red-tape had been done, by the way.)</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">This kind of misfocused patient care is entirely unacceptable. PMC worries more about installing locking doors and name-tags to keep out who-knows-who from getting from the cafeteria to the ED than hiring or giving incentives to competent nurses on the floor. PMC continues to pay ungodly guaranteed salaries to cardiac specialists and yet alienates radiologists, surgeons, and anesthesiologists who have given years of service and dedication to the community. I would speculate that more money is spent killing trees to print the most current "Physician Chart Deficiency Notification" sheets weekly than the amount saved by not paying the general surgeons for trauma coverage. Maybe when all the local patients refuse to receive care at PMC the loyal JCAHO ministers will seek care at the Heart Center.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">4) Finally, without so much as a hallway or phone consult, PMC once again ignored the general surgeons and hired a second cardiovascular surgeon, probably to cross-cover the Heart Institute, and become the "Vascular" portion of the Heart and Vascular Center, now that Dr. Whiting and the surgeons who have performed vascular surgery up to this point are alienated and obsolete. What arrogance and shortsightedness! It even makes the administration-physician relationships in Blackfoot appear admirable.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">I truly hope for the sake of the good medical staff remaining in Pocatello that these and other issues can be promptly addressed so that patient care can once again return to an acceptable state. Hopefully, confidence can be restored and the hospital can repair the damage, indeed, the dreary perception, that things are not going as well as the PMC newsletters lead us to believe. Maybe the rumors that "have been floating around regarding potential changes in the governance model at PMC" should be heeded and "interested outside organizations" be allowed to purchase, realign, repair and run the hospital as a successful business for the benefit of the citizens of Bannock County.</div> <div style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Trebuchet MS; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Sincerely, </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(250,251,241)">Dr. Robert L. Coray </div>