The U.S. House Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing tomorrow on Utah Congressman Rob Bishop’s “Utah Public Lands Initiative Act.” The Center for Western Priorities issued the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala in advance of the hearing:
“The Public Lands Initiative is a textbook example of failed leadership. Four years ago, Representative Bishop promised us a ‘grand bargain’ for Utah’s public lands. Now, with less than 30 legislative days left, he’s trying to ram a bill through Congress that ignores the voices of Utahns, doesn’t provide adequate protections for Utah’s sensitive natural resources, and proposes a massive giveaway to industrial interests.
“Because of Representative Bishop’s failed leadership, we fully anticipate the Public Lands Initiative will end up in the legislative graveyard.”
For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org.
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Author Betty Billmayer explores finding peace through Jesus in ‘The Princess and the Pea . . . nut Butter Sandwich’
CHINOOK, Mont. – Pretty little Princess Pietra is convinced that she will be able to find the perfect peace she has been pursuing by partaking of a perfect peanut butter sandwich. People come from near and far, hoping to please her with their productions, but Pietra ends up pouting.
As her parents seek God’s help in how to best proceed, they all come to realize that perfect peace comes only from Jesus, a lesson beneficial to princesses of all ages in Betty Billmayer’s new children’s book, “The Princess and the Pea . . . nut Butter Sandwich” (published by WestBow Press).
Pairing alliteration with colorful illustrations and a light-hearted tale about a princess searching for the perfect peanut butter sandwich, Billmayer offers a playful story that teaches young readers true peace is found only in Jesus Christ.
Billmayer has promotional events planned to expand the book’s reach: “I have ideas for a ‘princess party’ that I will offer to churches and other groups, making a fun event into a teaching opportunity.”
“The Princess and the Pea . . . nut Butter Sandwich”
By Betty Billmayer
Softcover | 8.5 x 8.5 in | 38 pages | ISBN 9781512746792
E-Book | 38 pages | ISBN 9781512746808
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Author Betty Billmayer has lived all of her life in rural Montana. She works alongside her husband, Mark, in the farming, ranching and cattle buying business. They raised three daughters and are now fully enjoying being grandparents. She and her youngest daughter published a children’s alphabet and photography book titled “Apples to Zebras” in 2015. Over the years, Billmayer has written several skits that have been used at various events in their church; one of those skits was the impetus for “The Princess and the Pea . . . nut Butter Sandwich.”
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INMA Business Strategies 2020 Conference Update:
Map your path to success in the next decade
With only a little over two weeks left, time is running out for you to register and join INMA in Chicago, October 3-4. If you act today, you can reserve your seat at a discounted price.
Register Now
EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS SEPTEMBER 15
This conference gives you the opportunity to think about the long game. Look ahead and ask yourself important questions about the future of your news media company.
After hearing from speakers inside and outside of the industry, you’ll go back to the office with ideas that will propel your company forward to 2020.
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Utah Treasurer David Damschen Moderates 2016 NAST Annual Conference Session on Investments in Infrastructure
SALT LAKE CITY – September 13, 2016 –Utah State Treasurer David Damschen today moderated a plenary session at the 2016 National Association of State Treasurers Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington. The panel, entitled “Investments in Infrastructure: How Differing Financing Mechanisms Can Help Ensure Steady Cash Flows,” focused on how the private and public sectors can work together to fund critical infrastructure. Experts from both sectors explored new and innovative funding ideas as well as public-private partnerships, direct appropriates and municipal bond issuances.
“Many state treasurers bear responsibility for pension and other long-term investments as well as for financing public infrastructure with tax-exempt municipal bonds, so this was an extremely interesting 360 degree conversation,” said Treasurer Damschen. “Market conditions are prompting many institutional investors to re-visit infrastructure as an asset class, and on the flip side of the coin, there’s a growing need to fund critical infrastructure around the U.S. It was interesting to hear what’s working in other countries.”
Members of the panel included Mike Parker, U.S. Infrastructure Advisory Leader, Ernst & Young LLP; Darin Turner, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Invesco; and Diana Will, Senior Investment Officer, Washington State Investment Board. The NAST Annual Conference provides a combination of nationally recognized speakers, timely policy discussions, valuable networking opportunities and the sharing of best practices in the treasury industry, along with focus on annual association business. Issues highlighted at the conference included national and state infrastructure financing, changing financial markets and investing trends.
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Sneaker Soiree Tickets Still Available!
Tickets to our Sneaker Soiree are going fast! Tickets will be $75 at the door so buy your tickets now!
If you haven't had a chance to purchase opportunity drawing tickets either you can purchase those along with your soiree tickets.
Don't forget, the prizes include a Grand Prize trip to Ireland - cash for airfare included!!!
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Mount Pleasant, Tennessee Unveils Nation’s First K-12 STEAM Campus
The town’s three schools will collaborate to create a revolutionary project-based education model
MOUNT PLEASANT, Tenn. – The small town of Mount Pleasant, Tennessee is embarking on a first-in-the-nation program aimed at transforming education in the community and beyond.
Dr. Ryan Jackson, executive lead principal of the Mt. Pleasant Arts Innovation Zone, announced Wednesday the formation of the country’s first K-12 STEAM campus, a collaborative effort involving the town’s three schools and a group of local and national organizations. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
“With so much technological advancement in our society, the most puzzling, if not scariest, irony is our unfathomable commitment to an industrial-age education model that has stood now for more than 100 years,” Jackson said. “Imagine instead a world where students as young as three years old begin a life-long journey toward personal excellence through artistic expression with advanced STEM curriculum.”
The STEAM initiative brings Jackson’s imagination to life by seeking to build the next generation of creators, thinkers and problem-solvers through project-based learning and experiential learning models. The initiative not only involves Mount Pleasant Elementary, Middle and High Schools, but also several other organizations. Joining Mount Pleasant and Maury County Public Schools (MCPS) in the endeavor are:
In the coming months, Mount Pleasant’s schools will launch a diverse array of programs aimed at identifying and building students’ strengths, talents and passions. A mechatronics program will familiarize students with principles of engineering and electronics. Mount Pleasant Middle School’s award-winning Destination Imagination team will expand to the elementary and high school levels. The schools will also combine for a K-12 chess team.
The ultimate goal of the STEAM initiative is to align students with collaborative goal-setting in order to solve societal issues.
“This experiential learning model places students right where they belong — at the center of their own learning, while charging them with identifying, investigating and proposing theoretical or practical solutions to community and/or global problems,” Jackson said.
Maury County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Marczak, who hired Jackson this summer from Maplewood High School in Nashville, praised Mount Pleasant’s vision and pledged his support.
“This revolutionary educational approach will inspire students to achieve unprecedented success,” Marczak said. “The result will be transformative not only for our educational system, but also for our workforce and Maury County’s economy.”
The STEAM initiative is an embodiment of the MCPS Seven Keys to College and Career Readiness, a set of educational benchmarks established this year through collaboration between educators and community members.
The school system is also partnering with the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance on the Grow Maury Initiative, an award-winning effort to unite the community toward educational achievement and workforce development. The initiative has brought nationally respected education and business leaders to the area to discuss ways to empower students and rally the community behind academic growth.
For more information about Mount Pleasant’s STEAM initiative or the Grow Maury Initiative, visit GrowMaury.com or call Maury County Public Schools Communications Specialist Kim Doddridge at (931) 388-8403, ext. 8132.
To learn more about the conceptual framework behind Mount Pleasant’s STEAM initiative, click here to read Jackson’s blog post on the topic.
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