We drive on a lot of roads made out of a lot of junk…and we’re going to be driving on a lot more roads made of junk.
Download Bob Priddy’s Story (:55 mp3)
Putting Junk Into Our Roads
MU Prof Raises Nuke Concerns in Wake of Bhutto Killing
The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, less than two weeks prior to elections in that country, has further destabilized an unstable nation.
And, University of Missouri Political Science Professor Paul Wallace – an expert on India, Pakistan, and terrorism – says the instability should concern the United States and other countries because it could lead to confrontation with Pakistan’s arch-nemesis, India. Both countries are nuclear powers and the threat of a limited nuclear war between the two is possible, if not probable.
As for the elections scheduled for January 8th, Wallace doubts they’ll take place. Wallace says in the wake of the killing the U.S. should reach out to civilian reformers in Pakistan, and should not embrace President Perez Musharraf, whom Wallace calls a dictator.
Blunt Announces Cabinet Changes
Governor Matt Blunt (R-MO) has announced a couple of changes to his cabinet.
Omar Davis, the current Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, has been named to head the Department of Revenue. The Columbia resident previously served as the Director of the Legal Services Division and general counsel for the Department of Revenue.
Named to replace Davis as head of the Labor Department is Todd Smith, who currently is the Labor Department’s Deputy Director. Smith is a former State Representative who served in the General Assembly from 1984-1994 and from 2002-2006.
Bond Calls Bhutto Assassination "Brutal Act of Violence"
Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), the Vice Chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, has reacted to the assassination of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Banazir Bhutto.
He’s released a statement in which he calls the killing "tragic," saying it was "a brutal act of violence." He adds, "Terrorists will continue to strike at democratic and freedom loving people around the world."
Grants Given to Food Banks
Regional food banks in Sikeston, Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield are splitting $200,000 from the Missouri Foundation for Health.
Foundation spokesman Bev Pfeifer-Harms says the food banks will use the money to distribute money through local food pantries in their regions. "This has been a tough year for folks," she says, "The economy is tough for people. businesses are not doing well this year so people have been laid off and are losing their jobs. The weather has been worse than normal. All of those things combined to put a lot of demand on the food pantries in every community in our state."
She says MFH has been hearing of chronic shortages in local food pantries Pfeifer-Harms says people cannot stay healthy if they do not eat properly, leading the foundation to make the donations.
The Central Missouri Food Bank in Columbia and the St. Louis Area Food Bank each is receiving $70,000. Thirty-thousand dollar grants are going to the Bootheel Food Bank in Sikeston and to the Ozark Food Harvest in Springfield. The four food banks and their local affiliates provide services in 86 counties.
The Missouri Foundation for Health was created to receive assets from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Missouri in 2000, before the organization converted from nonprofit to for-profit status. The foundation does not operate in the Kansas City area or in northwest Missouri because those areas were not served by the St. Louis-based Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Missouri.
