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By all standard President Olusegun Obasanjo is a wealthy man. But does his wealth reflect in the lives of members of his family and his ancestral home of Ibogun Olaogun? If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. But for the people of Obasanjo's town, this will only be a rare opportunity. Sunday Vanguard tries to capture how the people carry on with poverty.
She wore a forlorn look sitting by her bedside. Clad in a multi-coloured, ankara fabric with an inscription 'Continuity Secures Our Democracy' and the photograph of President Olusegun Obasanjo boldly imprinted on the local fabric, this old woman held a bowl of tea from which she sipped at intervals. Her look does not reflect any sign of good living. If anything, her look betrays the message of hope, which the inscription on her cloth suggests. Neither does hope of democracy have meaning in the living condition of the old woman. Instead, she wore an outlook of extreme poverty. This is the mood at Ibogun Olaogun, the ancestral home of President Obasanjo.
The woman in this picture is no other than President Obasanjo's niece, Mrs. Adefunke Adebayo whose family appellation as common among the Yoruba is 'Iya Ibadan'. She only survives on the grace of her daughter, Mrs. Ladun Onagade, who is a petty trader in the community. Just of recent her living condition was given a face-lift with the purchase of a mattress to put head on. This was made possible through the help of a boy in the family. Before then she was sleeping on a mat. Even inside her room, clothes littered everywhere. The only evidence of modern life was a ceiling fan in the room. The means of livelihood of Iya Ibadan, who is over 80 years, was selling of pap (ogi), which she had stopped since last year.
Just adjacent Obasanjo's house too was another niece of his selling pepper, tomatoes, onion, okro, and all others by the roadside. She is Mrs. Asabi Adebayo in her either late 70s or early 80s. When asked if the president was not aware of her living condition, the woman simply said that her palpable state of poverty is glaring. To her, the family has not benefited any significant thing for producing the number one citizen of the nation. 'Each time General comes around, we, the family members, go to his house to greet him. There we sat like any other people and served food when they prepare one. If we have something to do like buying clothe he will assist us. And during December period, he will give each family Christmas gifts like food stuff and N10,000 or N5,000. That is all. Only God can turn our fortunes around,' Mrs Adedayo said.
Mrs Ladun Onagade, a member of the family, on her own, waxed philosophical as she said, 'there is nothing so special in being the family of the first citizen of the nation.' She recalled how the family paid visit to Abuja on two different occasions. The expectation of the villagers was that on return they will come back fulfilled, but they got it wrong. Nothing of such, they came as they went. 'The way people think is that being a family of Mr. President we lack nothing, but this is not true. Our lives have not changed to what we are used to. The only thing is that some members of the family have received one form of assistance or the other from Baba,' Ladun said.
Indeed, many members of the family are still living as if they do not have somebody to provide succor for them. They are not even happy with Obasanjo. 'You can see that there is poverty all over the village. Even we, the family members, who are closer to him, have not seen any significant change in our life style. Mind you if you are sleeping under the same roof with Baba, that does not mean that you will benefit from him,' a source that is a family member told Sunday Vanguard at the village. The source gave instances of how the president has refused to help the family members. According to our source, there was a time one member of the family, Remi Olufela, who has graduated for twelve years without any tangible job, was handed over to the president. When the president asked him where he would like to work, Olufela joyfully told the president that he needed an employment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Rather than help, the president simply called him a thief. For one year and two months Olufela was staying in the Presidential Villa waiting for employment until a cousin of Obasanjo, Mr. Omolaja Adebayo, confronted him over the matter before help could come.
The source added that another member of the family helped the Nigeria Police to secure a land to building a police station and quarters in the village during the tenure of former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun. The man, according to our source, along with a contractor bidded for the contract, and on the verge of approving the N42million worth of contract, President Obasanjo was said to have stopped the approval of the contract to the family member on the basis that the man was not a contractor.
' You see I don't go to his house again. What is the need in that when the man is not willing to help? When he comes home he moves around the village and sees me in front of the house. What he simply does is to greet me and nothing more. People do say if it were to be other parts of the country our situation would have changed for better but poverty is our lots. You see the villagers at times abuse us that we cannot get anything from him. But each time we ask him for a little thing, he calls us names.
Some members of the family believe that 'Obasanjo was only born here'. Their prayer: 'Ours is that he went there in peace, he should return in peace even if he does nothing for us.'
If the President's family members are complaining, other villagers are not faring better, even though it's population is less than 1000 people. There are families who could not even boast of N500 as savings at home much less keeping money at bank. They live from hand to mouth, a situation that is not only peculiar to Ibogun Olaogun alone but also a phenomenon rampant in Nigeria. Most of the houses in the community are in bad shape. Even some parts of house roof have been removed yet people still live in them. There are less than five houses with toilet facilities in the village. What is obtainable here is a situation where people make do with bush or refuse site to excrete, until Ibogun Olaogun Development Association (IODA) through a community efforts built about three public toilets in the village. So, if they are to ease themselves, they must leave their houses to a public toilet some distance away. The source of livelihood of majority of the villagers is farming while some women engage in petty trading. The joy of the community is the availability of electricity and portable water.
Ibogun Olaogun, a largely agrarian community people are quite aware of the importance of education. Hence, they strive hard to ensure that their wards are educated to a certain level despite their living conditions.
Last Tuesday afternoon, a group of pupils were pursuing a grasshopper. It was a frenzy look. Some of the pupils were in rubber sandals while majority were in their bathroom slippers with others walking barefooted and running around the overgrown grasses. Among these pupils were those with no uniform while some others wore torn uniform. One had his bathroom slippers pressed upon in the rush and cut off. He held his damaged slippers and continuing pursuing the grasshopper. At the end, one pupil caught the living nature. At the corridor of the classrooms block, there was a student vomiting. Her teachers rallied around her for help while her friends washed away the vomit. The corridor was the office of the Head Teacher, Mr. J. A. Fasina.
There is only one primary school meant for the community's use and other adjourning villages. The school, Baptist Day School, has been in existence since 1949 and is directly opposite President Olusegun Obasanjo's house with 256 pupils and eight teachers.
There are three structures in the compound. One of the structures has been in existence since the school was founded in 1949. Unfortunately, the wind had blown off its roof and has been unused as a result. The other structure was the one constructed by the Universal Basic Education (UBE). The block consists of three classrooms and offices. However, the contractor handling the project for over a year now had abandoned the building that has reached 80 percent completion level. As a result, its windows are dropping and facilities are going in bad shape. The only structure in use was the two-classroom block built by Ogun State Primary Education Board. But here the learning condition is near zero. The two classrooms are not just sufficient for the seven classes 'CKG, primary 1-6. To remedy the situation, two classes are combined into one; KG and primary one, while primary 2 and 3 make do with another class. The three remaining classes, primary 4,5, and 6 are located at the school annex. The annex is the First Baptist Church, Ibogun Olaogun. The church auditorium houses the primary six pupils while primary 4 and 5 receive their instruction in a wooden shed under the tree in front of the church cemetery. The shed serves as the children church on Sundays.
The modus operandi of learning here is that a blackboard is divided into the number of classes-two. And when one teacher is teaching one class the other teacher would either be writing notes on the board for pupils to copy or pupil doing assignment. The distraction is evident. ' We have to make do with what we have. At least we cannot use our salary to build classrooms and buy chairs,' a teacher told our reporter. One of the teachers said that when she was posted to the village, he was so happy at least he would be teaching in the president's village. Her joy was short-lived the day she brought her letter of deployment to the Head Teacher of the primary school. That day, she met the head teacher under the tree. When she resumed, there was no table and chair for her and she had to make do with the pupil's own. Since the day of her deployment to the community, experience has not been too good only that ' I derive joy in imparting knowledge on the pupils.'
Unfortunately, while the school could not boast of good learning environment, its playing field has been playing host to many functions holding in the community. The school's pitch serves as heliport for the president's air shopper when he comes around. Also the school is being used for the Olaogun Day Celebration that attracts dignitaries to the community.
One saving grace for the community to educate its populace is the free education at the primary level. Many residents of the village avail themselves this golden opportunity to send their wards to school. After the primary school at Ibogun Olaogun, the pupils proceed on their secondary education at Ibogun Egbeda, some kilometers away.
Indeed, the inhabitants of Olaogun value their well-being, but they are somehow handicapped to take proper care of their health situation because of the poverty level as peculiar to other communities. Though there is existence of a Primary Healthcare Centre in the village, but the people here prefer patronizing the traditional means of treatment.
Sunday Vanguard learnt that few years ago, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency was established in the community and serves the 36 villages in the Ibogun area. The Centre handles two categories of patients. One is the normal one applicable in the government hospitals where patients obtain a registration card at a cost of N50 or more for treatment when the need arises. The other patients' scheme is the National Health Insurance Scheme. Here, prospective patients are asked to pay N120 monthly. It was learnt that when the programme was introduced in the village, about 7000 were registered as NHIS members. Initially, the community felt Obasanjo has brought a free health care scheme to the community and this informed their rush for the programme. Hence, about 7000 members of the community registered for the scheme. But when the people were told that they would be paying N120 monthly, they never showed up at the Health Centre again. 'It took us a lot of time when I came here to embark on sensitization programme of the community on the benefits inherent in the programme. As at last count, only 100 people from all the Ibogun villages are now fully registered as NHIS members. Even some will only remember that they have not paid for sometime when they come to the clinic for treatment, that is when they pay their outstanding,' Dr. Enitan Oketope, who heads the Health Care Centre said last week.
Dr. Oketope noted that many a times the residents of Ibogun remember the clinic when their situation gets out of hand. 'The situation is so pathetic that people don't come for treatment when they notice that they are ill. They believe so much in the use of local herbs and when this fails and can no longer handle the situation, they rush to the Centre for treatment. So what we have is a case of hospital handling complications,' Oketope said, attributing this to poverty. It was further learnt that there are occasions that patients who come for treatment could not even afford the bill, which in most cases are below N500, and when payment of hospital bills turned into appeals, they are let go. This inability of being able to pay as little informed the decision of some residents to patronize local herbs.
While many residents of Ibogun Olaogun have not individually and directly benefited from Chief Obasanjo's rein as president of Nigeria, his influence has changed the face of the community. Apart from the president building his own castle at the village, he also built an hostel, Heritage Hostel, for the use of Olabisi Onabanjo University College of Engineering students. This in no small measure has attracted students to the community. As a way of providing job opportunities for the villagers, Obasanjo located one of his poultry farms in the village and as at last week Wednesday the president has acquired over 150 acres of land for farming purposes which when it begins operation it will bring expansion into the community.
Through the president's efforts, health care services are made available to the 34 cluster villages that make up Ibogun. Health Minister, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo in August 2003, commissioned the Primary Health Care Centre at Ibogun. This has eased the burden of the community having to take sick people to Ifo, a major town far away from the village for treatment. Also most of the money used for the development of the community are realized through the annual Olaogun Day which normally attracts prominent people in the society who donate at the event; a thing that is made possible through the influence of Mr. President. Proceeds realized from the event have been used for building public toilets, construction of culverts, establishing of small scale industries like Fufu Factory, Bakery and all other developmental purposes. Before a borehole was dug in the village, President Obasanjo ran water pipes from his farm to the village. This has reduced the problems of fetching water from the stream. Even with the small population of the village, the president has facilitated the citing of a modern police station with quarters for men of the force. The architectural design of the station and its quarters can hardly be found in any urban cities across Nigeria.
Conscious of the abject poverty in which residents of the President's village contend with, efforts are now being put in place to alleviate their sufferings. There is now OBJ/OGD Farmers Empowerment Scheme. The scheme, which is in collaboration with the All Farmers' Association of Nigeria (AFAN) allows residents to obtain a loan for farming. To be a beneficiary of the programme, applicant needs to obtain a Beneficiary Registration Form from the community and pay 10 percent of the loan he/she is applying for. For instance, if an applicant intends to secure a N50,000 loan he/she has to pay N5,000 deposit at the Nigeria Agricultural Development Bank in Ota and when the loan exceeds a certain amount collateral is needed. However, Sunday Vanguard learnt that when the idea of the scheme was brought into the village almost every body obtained the registration form but the inability to pay the deposit which starts from N5,000 upward hindered many from benefitting as they could not get the deposit while few went borrowing. The registration for the poverty programme started in May and is due to end in July.
Mr. Ezekiel Ayinde Okunola, a former clearing agent in Lagos is full of hope that the scheme would when implemented bring relief to his life. In January this year, he returned to the village when life was unbearable for him in Lagos. 'Things were not going on well with my clearing agent work in Lagos and this informed my decision to return to farm in the village. Here I have since January been battling to make ends meet until I was told about this programme which made me to obtain the form with the hope of securing N50,000 loan to start cassava and fishing farming. Having obtained the form, I had to wait for weeks to source for the N5,000 deposit.
Obasanjo has done well for us ' Adelani
AYODELE OJO
Obasanjo has done well for us - Adelani
By Ayodele Ojo
Elder Julius Adeyemi Adelani, is a cousin to President Olusegun Obasanjo. President of Ibogun Olaogun Development Association, Adelani, who doubles as second-in-command to the village's head speaks on what the community has benefited from having the nation's number one citizen as their son.
How do you feel producing the president of Nigeria?
Everybody feels happy the village produces such an eminent person. As far as we are concerned, he has done excellently well for us. And we can name some of the things he has done for us.
So, you are proud to have him as your president.
Yes, very very proud of him.
What specific things has he done for the community that makes you proud of him as your son?
Ever before he became the president, you know he was formerly Head of State, during that time there was no electricity. He provided electricity for us. He gave us portable water from the borehole in his farm. Also, when he became the president, he has built more boreholes to serve us well and even rebuilt some houses for their owners particularly the dilapidating ones.
What other things has he done to really alleviate the poverty level of the community?
He has made us to come together to form an association of Ibogun Olaogun Development Association. Once in a year, the association comes together. That is what we call Ibogun Olaogun Day which comes up every 26th of December. Through the event we have some philanthropists that give us money for development of our community. You can see the wad under construction there, the money we are using to do the work is through the association. Sometimes, he (Obasanjo) adds his money to it. He has built cocoa industry, bakery, and gari processing mill in this community. He also bought buses to ease movement of women. During Christmas time, he sends gift items to the community. The same thing he does during Ileya Festival.
But before he became the president, what was the situation like in the community?
Before he became president, only very few of us come home because this place was a real typical village but immediately he became the president, he advised us to gather ourselves together for any possible development association.
What about the health facilities?
We have a good hospital there. Before that one, he has got his own personal hospital. And now, he brought the government's own. With all these combined, the community can boast of good heath care delivery system.
You are saying he has really helped the community?
Yes of course. In fact, we can follow him to any length. Even though people may be talking of PDP, it is because of him many of us are supporting PDP. The PDP itself did not do anything for us. But he himself is the only one doing these things for us with his personal money.
Are you saying that government has not done anything for your community?
If the government is really out to help us, there should be some certain money set aside for our community. But nothing like that. What he has done for us are from his personal purse because he has his own business. The only thing government has done for us is this electricity and pipe borne water and that was when he was the Head of State. Even then, he did much of the water project.
To what extent has the community benefited from poverty alleviation programme of the Federal Government?
It appears now that the NAPEP wants to give us some loan and that is still largely in the pipeline. But NAPEP is related to party affairs, though I have not received the money but it is in the pipeline.
It seems you are a comfortable man. But are there no people who cannot afford to feed themselves?
If I say I am comfortable, it is through the help of God. Nothing is given to me to make me comfortable, except whatever is done for the entire community in the village.
But do you believe that there is poverty is the community?
Yes, of course. There is poverty only that it is not as rampart as before. There have been some changes especially through the amenities provided for us, because if he didn't give us electricity this place would have been very backward. The same thing could also be said of water, which is now accessible to us. Roads too have helped in easy transportation of our farm produce.
What about school?
We have primary school and a secondary school nearby but not within the village. The secondary school serves all the entire Ibogun Community consisting of about 34 Villages. This was built through his personal effort. The Olabisi Onabanjo University College of Engineering we have here in Ibogun might not have perhaps been sited here if not for the factor of President Olusegun Obasanjo. That would have been in Ijebu Igbo because there is no way it would have freely come here.
The issue of loan, how much is NAPEP giving?
The amount given as loan ranges between N50,000 to N1 million depending on individual economic status. This is because you have to make some deposit before you are considered for the loan. As for me applying for N250,000, I deposited N25,000.
Those seeking for N50,000 are to deposit N5,000. But in our own association, Ibogun Olaogun Development Association, we have helped those that are not able to pay the deposit. We paid into the bank and we are hopeful that when the loan is ready we would all have our bargains.
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Six Sizzling Industries For Your Summer Career Change
Content Courtesy Of ClassesUSA.com
by Dawn Papandrea
Suffering from heat exhaustion? You know, that feeling you get when summer rolls around and you sit stagnant, unprotected from the rays of downsizing and corporate mergers?
Lucky for you, says Joyce L. Gioia CSP, CMC, president of The Herman Group, a thinktank of workforce futurists based in Greensboro, N.C., "we've gone from a buyer's market for labor to a seller's market in many fields."
In other words, there's no excuse not to protect yourself from career burnout by applying top-quality knowledge (think a professional SPF 50!) to these sizzling industries in need of new hires.
Forensics
If you turn on the TV, you can probably find a show that deals with some aspect of forensics or crime scene dynamics, from "CSI" to "Forensic Files." In real life, the world of forensics is just as hot, with the demand for professionals who can perform DNA analysis, ballistics testing, blood splatter examination, and chemical experiments at an all-time high.
Even traditional career paths like nursing are seeking forensics specialists. Forensic nurses, who must earn an associate degree in nursing before obtaining their forensics certificate, can work in hospitals, medical examiners' (ME) offices, disaster preparedness, even law offices. Their specialty is helping set up forensically accurate exhibits for court cases.
Three years ago, Diane Kelley, R.N., began Kaplan University's online certificate in forensic nursing while juggling a night job and kids. When she graduated a year later, school officials suggested she consider a six-week internship offered with the ME's office. Upon completion, she managed to convince the office that her skills could help them out.
"This is the first time nurses have been involved in the chief medical examiner's office, so it's been a real breakthrough for us," Diane says. Equally groundbreaking are the duties she's called upon to perform, including cemetery views where she must check on bodies before they are cremated to ensure there are no irregularities that could suggest foul play.
Health Care Management
Doctors and nurses may be on the frontlines, but behind the scenes at many medical facilities are healthcare managers who assure smooth operations of the business kind.
Approximately 100,000 people are employed in health management positions, according to the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). With healthcare services on the rise 30 percent from 1996-2006 - accounting for 3.1 million new jobs - healthcare management is seeing one of the largest increases of any industry.
"Given the way healthcare is growing, mergers and rollups notwithstanding, there's an increasing demand for good healthcare administrators," says Joyce, who's also author of the business bestseller 'Impending Crisis, Too Many Jobs, Too Few People' (OakHill Press, 2002). Particularly hot, she says, is the continuum of care for the elderly (that's the broad spectrum of care that starts with totally independent assistant living to highly supervised 24-hour care).
Because of the nature of the field, advanced study like a master's degree in healthcare management is usually required. Students can pursue graduate degrees in business and public administration, with course concentration in health services management. They may also seek out joint degrees such as business administration and public health, or in healthcare management and law. Coursework typically includes healthcare policy and law, marketing, organizational behavior, healthcare financing, human resources, and other healthcare management topics. Some programs may also include a supervised internship, residency, or fellowship.
If you're looking for a more hands-on, entry-level role in the healthcare field, consider becoming a medical assistant. Why? For starters, the position is projected to grow a whopping 59 percent through 2012, according to the BLS.
Accounting
Sizzling plus in demand equals accounting?! In light of recent legislation and high-profile corporate scandal, that equation says one thing - accounting is hot, illustrated by the fact that the number of accounting degrees awarded nationwide in 2003 jumped 11 percent from the previous year.
What's more is that online learning's technology is making accounting accessible to more people, allowing them connect numbers and concepts despite never setting foot on campus. Adam Mikolajczak, who has taken several online accounting courses through Baker Online, explains that technology like video-cams and real-time simulations of events enhances study of the number-crunching field. "Instead of dry textbook theories, practical terms seem to come alive."
The job outlook is alive and kicking also, with both large and small companies experiencing a hiring boom, says Tom Ward, Jr., corporate relations manager at the Career Center of St. John's University (Queens, N.Y.). "Even mom-and-pop shops are being vigilant in terms of accounting." What's desired across the board, he points out, is not only a strong knowledge of finance, but people skills as well.
"You need the right type of personality to say 'let me see your books,' and balance those political and interpersonal skills with foundational knowledge," Ward explains.
Computer Software Engineering
If you're driven by the digital world, why not capitalize on your cyber-savviness? With fast-growing fields such as computer software engineering, you can write your own code for a career opportunity that is exciting, cutting-edge and creative - and one that is ranked as a fastest growing career through 2012 by the BLS.
According to Joyce, advanced manufacturing is partly responsible for driving the demand for software engineers. "It's a marriage of manufacturing and IT. It's taking systems and procedures and processes that were normally exclusively done manually, and [instead] programming machines to help people get the job done," she explains.
In today's rapidly evolving world, the role of a computer software engineer changes quickly, requiring a huge commitment to continuing education. According to the BLS, a computer software engineer must understand the intricacies of computer science, such as engineering and mathematical analysis, as well as the design, development, testing, and evaluation of computer software and systems.
Properly trained software engineers are expected to become leaders in their field, specifically ones who continually strive to acquire new skills in a solutions-driven environment. Robert Savage, who recently completed his online bachelor's degree in computer science through Regis University, can attest to that.
As an applications software engineer at control systems manufacturer AMX Corporation, he says writing software is his passion. "In fact, I started programming on Commodore VIC-20's at age eight," he says. Now, having lived out his childhood dream, he takes pride in his education and profession. "I like to create solutions to create increased efficiency and productivity."
Entrepreneur
Always dreamed of opening your own business? You're not alone. In fact, in 2003, there were approximately 23.7 million small businesses (defined as an independent business having fewer than 500 employees) in the United States, according to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. Unfortunately, only about half of all new businesses survive at least four years, reports the U.S. Census.
To get an entrepreneurial edge, many are turning to education to acquire skills like creating a business plan and analyzing potential markets. With such overwhelming demand for do-it-yourself business training, degree programs like the MBA in Entrepreneurship, offered online at Jones International University (JIU), are designed to teach students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Such lessons include how to launch a new business, as well as function successfully in a corporation that employs entrepreneurial management strategies.
"Some students have actually taken a [class] project and used that as the basis for starting their own business," says Richard Thompson, Ph.D., JIU's academic chair of business administration. For those who don't start up new ventures right away, entrepreneurial study makes them popular hires for corporations looking to start a new division, he assures.
Paralegals
Paralegals help lawyers prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings, as well as investigate the facts of cases. They may even be called upon to help lawyers prepare legal arguments, draft pleadings and motions to be filed with the court, obtain affidavits, and assist attorneys during trials.
What makes the field piping hot? The fact that paralegals can find work in a number of places and in a variety of ways has the profession projected to increase by 35 percent through 2012. In addition, for career changers, becoming a paralegal allows you to draw upon previous professional knowledge , increasing your marketability.
"Paralegals can apply a medical background into a legal career that deals with malpractice, for instance, assisting in reading medical records, evaluating cases, etc.," says Louise Gussin, academic director of legal studies at University of Maryland University College (UMUC), which offers an online paralegal certificate program. "A lot of lawyers don't have a medical background."
The same concept can be applied in other areas of specialty, she says, including corporate law, criminal law, employee benefits, intellectual property, labor law, bankruptcy, immigration, family law, or real estate. While some paralegals benefit from on-the-job training, the BLS suggests that most employers prefer graduates of paralegal education programs.
Louise, who is a former paralegal graduate of UMUC's program, and is now an attorney and educator, notes that because law firms are realizing they can bill clients for paralegal consultation at a fraction of the cost of an attorney, the field is exploding. "Paralegals offer a delivery of services that are more efficient and affordable," she says, "and they can do anything from interviewing clients, to gathering evidence, and conducting legal research."
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Southeast Missouri State head athletic trainer Rob Hunt said he wouldn't be leaving the university for just any other position.
But the chance to again be involved with Big 12 Conference football was simply too good to pass up.
Hunt recently accepted a position as the head football trainer at Oklahoma State University. His last day at Southeast will be Friday.
"It's a great opportunity. There's a lot going on that's good there, for me and my family," Hunt said. "It will be nice to be back in the Big 12. It's a nice professional opportunity."
Hunt, 31, has been at Southeast the past two years. Prior to that, he spent seven years as an assistant trainer at the University of Missouri, including five years as the first assistant for football.
"I wanted to get back in the Big 12," Hunt said. "Taking care of a Big 12 football team was always something I wanted to do."
Not that Hunt couldn't have envisioned he and his family -- wife Krista and two young children -- remaining at Southeast for quite some time.
"Coming to Cape Girardeau has been a wonderful experience. We had a wonderful, wonderful two years here," said Hunt, an Indiana native and a graduate of Ball State University. "I told somebody that, had we stayed another year, I bet we would have been here 10 years.
"This was a great professional opportunity for me, to be a head athletic trainer for the first time. When I came here, Don Kaverman let me run the show. I think we raised the bar as far as athletic health care."
Kaverman, Southeast's athletic director, said Hunt will be missed.
"He's done a phenomenal job for us. He's really professionalized that operation. The care our student-athletes have received has been second to none," Kaverman said. "He will be difficult to replace. We hate to see him go, but it is a good professional opportunity and we wish him well.
"We've already publicized the position, and we hope to have somebody in place by the middle of next month at the latest."
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Judy Burrow works for the American Red Cross, but she could be a poster child for the Senior Aides program.
The program has the dual purpose of job training and extra income for senior citizens, and providing low-cost help for government and nonprofit agencies.
Burrow, 59, of Eva went to work for the Morgan-Lawrence County chapter a year ago as a senior aide, and will begin regular employment Wednesday as an administrative assistant.
"I never dreamed that it would lead into something that I enjoy as much as I enjoy it," the BellSouth retiree said. "The people I work with are wonderful and the job duties also."
Her employment could not have worked out better if the North-central Alabama Regional Council of Governments scripted it.
"The whole point is you have this person you have trained," said Cissy Pearson, NARCOG's interim project director for the program.
"You're comfortable with them, they're comfortable with your agency and they have already proven their dependability. It opens up an opportunity for us to have someone else in our program."
Openings
The Senior Aides program has openings for qualified people 55 and older to fill slots in Morgan, Lawrence and Cullman counties.
In Lawrence County, three of the 14 slots for senior aides are open.
There are two vacancies each in Morgan and Cullman counties.
Limestone County's Senior Aides program, which also has openings, is administered through Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments.
Some of the slots must be filled by July 1, which is why Pearson wants to get the word out.
"We're always looking for qualified applicants," she said. "Sometimes it's hard for us to recruit because of what's entailed in the program."
Applicants must meet certain income requirements. For instance, a single person can earn no more than $12,250 annually.
A family of two can have a maximum of $16,500 in annual income.
While senior aides provide a service to the community, and receive financial compensation, it is not an employment program.
The government terms it a training program and the amount of training time is limited to one year before participants find unsubsidized employment.
"The whole purpose is to allow them a chance to obtain some training and develop some skills and tools so they can find a job," Pearson said.
The host agencies pay a portion of the salaries.
Lawrence County pays NARCOG $1,100 for each senior aide, whose work includes the county's five senior nutrition centers, the county archives and road department and county parks, such as the Jessie Owens Memorial Park and Museum, where they maintain the grounds and keep the museum open.
They earn a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and can work up to 19?hours a week.
"It benefits not only host agency; it benefits the seniors as well," Pearson said.
"This gives them that little bit of extra to make their lives a little more comfortable."
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MOLINE -- The soldier lay on a bed in a Baghdad Army hospital, bare-chested and bloody, looking straight up as a tear rolled down his cheek.
Major Arther Fager, of Moline, stood above him as he placed the Purple Heart on the soldier's chest.
"I told him it was one medal I had hoped he would never get," Major Fager, commander of Milan's Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 123rd National Guard Field Artillery, says now.
That day, June 6, 2005, was recorded forever, another page in the annals of war coming to millions of homes through the HBO documentary "Baghdad ER." Major Fager's comments to the soldier were featured as part of the documentary focusing on the daily life in the 86th Combat Support Hospital.
The power, the poignancy of that moment in the documentary, when the soldier from Southern Illinois lay wounded, drew former soldiers who had been in Iraq back into the conflict.
"That evening, those soldiers were coming back from a mission north of Baghdad," Major Fager said this week from his Milan headquarters. "We got the call that our convoy had been struck.
"Myself and the first sergeant loaded (into their vehicles) as soon as we could to see them. Depending on the injury, we knew it might be the last opportunity.
Spec. Brian M. Romines, 20, of Simpson, Ill., didn't survive.
"I lost a soldier that night. That was the main thing those two men (in the documentary) cried about. They could have cared less about the medals, the cameras.
"It takes a special person to do the job of a soldier, a certain determination and dedication to be able to do the job as needed."
Moline residents Scott and Angela Snyder watched the program at their home with Scott's mother, Patricia. He is also part of the 123rd field artillery out of Milan, but served his time in Iraq under the 106th Aviation unit based in Davenport from February 2003 to June 2004.
Sgt. Snyder lost friends while in Iraq, including Chief Warrant Officer Bruce Smith, of West Liberty, Iowa, and two other soldiers of the 106th who were killed in 2004 when their helicopter was shot down.
"He and I were going to start an astronomy club," Sgt. Snyder recalled Thursday. "I was coming home on leave, he was going to Fallujah. I told him we would meet when I got back.
"He said, 'Great, Scotty. See you when you get back.' It didn't happen."
Sgt. Snyder is a federal employee who works for the 123rd in Milan. He wears his uniform to work everyday, repairing humvees, trucks and howitzers. He sees Major Fagen often.
Sgt. Snyder's wife, Angela, still helps with a Family Readiness Group (FRG).
The group helps keep soldier's families together through communication. When someone is hurt, they call other families to tell them their soldier is OK.
It brings them directly into the conflict. Major Fagen has commended Mrs. Snyder for her work in supporting the troops.
"It was real emotional for me to watch this," Mrs. Snyder said of the program. "It really drives it close to home. We were responsible to notify these families as to what was going on."
The documentary is graphic at times -- body parts being cut off and put in garbage bags, soldiers screaming from injuries, others dying. But, the program doesn't make soldiers like Sgt. Snyder regret their duties.
Like many of the soldiers who have served, they speak with a mixture of emotions when it comes to the war.
Sgt. Snyder was an M60 doorgunner on a Chinook helicopter, flying over the infamous Highway 1. Helicopter crews could have been shot down in an instant by rocket-propelled grenades.
Shrapnel tore through his tent one night, just missing him as he slept. He called home regularly with bombs landing 50 yards away.
"It feels like I was just there in Iraq yesterday," he says now. "That's how vivid it is.
"On my way to work, I ride my motorcycle past the water treatment plant. The plant smells like Iraq.
"Certain times, I'll see the Chinooks fly over from the Davenport unit. That sound is so familiar, almost heartwarming. It's confusing, and it's irritating.
"You can't pinpoint what it is. A mix of elation and sorrow rolled up into one."
Baghdad ER shows the parts of war many don't see.
"It's accepted," he said of the film and the soldiers he has spoken to. "It puts a human element to the situation."
But, it doesn't deter his devotion. He said that's the way it is for a lot of his comrades.
"I hated being in Iraq, but at the same time, I really loved doing my job in whatever capacity it meant for the United States," he said. "What an awesome feeling to know you served your country.
"I can't think of an honor any greater than that. I would go back."
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Extraction of palm juice is going on in full swing in Bangladesh's western Jhenidah district, 146 km west of capital Dhaka, local newspaper The Independent reported Friday.
Juice extractors are busy trimming the tops of palm trees to collect palm juice for making molasses. They are also selling palm juice to local people.
A glass of palm juice is now being sold at two taka (one U.S. dollar equals to 68 taka).
Abdul Kader, 45, a palm juice extractor of village Gayeshpur was quoted as saying he will continue the extraction of juice till the end of the rainy season in October. He said normally huge quantity of juice is extracted during the summer.
Molasses made of palm juice is used in preparation of various cakes. The solid molasses is very much relishing. This molasses is prepared by boiling palm juice. One kg of sweet palm molasses is being sold at 45 to 60 taka at the local markets.
But molasses is not so much available in the markets as extractors normally prefer to sell the juice directly to customers to avoid the extra expenses.
Jhenidah and its adjoining areas have been famous for palm juice and palm molasses for years.
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LIMA ' Work Procter & Gamble awarded to a Wisconsin company for its new warehouse could have been given to a company that would have used local workers, union officials said Friday.
Earlier this week, P&G announced its contractor for a rack system in its new automated warehouse was hiring as a subcontractor Reich Installation Services Inc., a company under investigation by the federal government for having illegal immigrants as employees.
P&G said it investigated the company and received assurances that illegal workers would not be used at the job site.
Giving Reich the job was a missed opportunity, said Steve Wilson, a local representative of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
Wilson had spent three months working with a Chicago company bidding on the work Reich received. Conveyor Specialists Inc. had pledged to bring only two managers from Chicago to Lima and hire all local people for the work, Wilson said.
'This isn't a union-nonunion issue,' Wilson said. 'This is a local jobs for local people issue. Some of the people who would have been hired for that job wouldn't have been union mem-bers. We could have put a lot of people to work for a year. I just thought the community should know.'
Procter & Gamble is building a $100 million warehouse and distribution center about a mile east of its plant on Reservoir Road. It will begin operating in January 2007 and continue to open in phases through 2007.
Tuesday, Procter & Gamble officials said about 45 percent of the value of the project will be awarded to local contractors, which P&G defines as being within a 60-mile radius. Other con-tractors, while not based locally, are using local employees. The contractor, Nedcon, that hired Reich is based in the Netherlands.
P&G has said it knew its decision would be controversial, but the company allowed Reich to be hired because of the company's experience with Nedcon, and its bid.
Wilson said Conveyor was given three chances to bid on the project, and the Reich's bid came in 'seven figures' lower than Conveyor's.
'I just don't know how that's even possible, bringing 50 or 60 people here from Wisconsin and they're cheaper than a company that would use people who live here,' Wilson said.
News reports about Reich's employees being arrested at three jobs sites in the past six months have said Reich consistently underbids competitors by 30 percent.
While working with Conveyor, Wilson found the Reich arrests online, went to P&G with the information and was told the company already knew.
'I told them I wouldn't do anything with the information until I heard from them. That was two weeks ago. I wanted to give them the opportunity to do the right thing,' Wilson said. 'Then I was called there on Tuesday to be told in person they were going with Reich.'
Wilson said he's not making an illegal immigrant issue, or a union issue and isn't trying to bash P&G, because he said it's a good company.
'I just think they could do more,' he said.
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