Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Member Activity Board!

Have a community activity or organizational event coming up?
Want to let people know what is going on out there?
Make sure to post it here on the "Member Activity Board" to help get the word out.
All LCSC member organizations are welcome to post upcoming events or activities; county departments, communities, governmental agencies, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, schools, etc. Please remember to indicate sponsor, event name, date, time, location, cost, and any other pertinent information about the event.
Postings will be reviewed and verified prior to placing on the blog.

Congratulations!!

Otter Tail County has been selected for the 2008 "Blue Ribbon County Award" by Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota, for their outstanding work in child abuse prevention. The certificate of merit selection is based on a nomination review process and knowledge of counties with innovative programs.

The Public Library Association announced that the winner of the coveted Highsmith Award for Library Innovation for 2008 is Lake Agassiz Regional Library based in Moorhead. This award honors Lake Agassiz Regional Library for their pioneering work in creating the LINK Sites program, which now has a three-year track record of success in serving small communities in west central Minnesota. The American Library Association gives this award each year to one library in the nation that best exemplifies cutting-edge library outreach.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Should the legal drinking age be lowered in Minnesota?

Seven U.S. states are considering legislation that would lower the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 either for all residents or for members of the military, UPI reported April 3, 2008.
Lawmakers in Missouri, South Dakota, Vermont and Minnesota have introduced measures to lower the drinking age for everyone, while the military-only bills have been filed in Kentucky, Wisconsin, and South Carolina.

Some proponents argue that 18-year-olds who volunteer to fight and die for their country have proven that they are mature enough to drink. The proposals face a major hurdle in a federal law that penalizes any state that lacks an age-21 drinking law with the loss of a percentage of its federal highway funding.

We would like to hear your comments on this proposal.

Work Place Tips...go GREENER one step at a time!

Individuals and businesses these days are asking themselves what they can do to conserve resources and preserve our environment. They want to make smart decisions; choices that save energy and money. We are looking for informative comments that focus on what you can do at your place of business to promote a greener lifestyle.

Add your advice on how to live greener. It is our hope that this guide will inspire and motivate you with useful information about the ways that everyday people can make a difference. How green can you go?

Did you know?
  • Small things can make a big difference. Use your own coffee mug at work instead of paper cups. The U.S. disposes of more than 1.9 million tons of paper and plastic cups and plates each year.
  • Recycled paper uses up to 90 percent less water and half the energy required to make paper from virgin timber, yet less than 10 percent of the over 12 million tons of printing and writing paper used in the U.S. each year is recycled content.
  • Disposable type ink pens add up to about 770 tons of unnecessary plastic waste in landfills each year. Make a better impression in your written work by using long-life refillable pens made from recycled plastic, paper, timber, or from fully biodegradable bioplastic.
  • If everyone properly inflated their tires, it could save the country around 2 billion gallons of gas each year.
  • Request automatic deposits for your paycheck. More than 7 billion checks are written annually that could be replaced by automatic deposits. If everyone who was eligible for an automatic deposit opted for it, it would save about $65 billion in fuel costs and lost time expenses.
  • Online Banking...Receive your bills, make payments and check your account balances online to save your business time, postage costs and paper.
  • The idea that leaving a machine on is more efficient than turning if off has become something of an urban, and deeply uneconomic, myth. Left on all day, everyday, as happens in some offices, a computer will over a year use nearly 1,000 kilowatts of electricity, resulting in more than a ton of carbon emissions and an unnecessarily high electric bill. By switching off your computer before you go home you'll cut its electricity use to less than 250 kilowatts, with comparable carbon and cost savings. Think about turning it off even when you're going to a meeting or lunch. Do the same with other office equipment.