Michael R. Olinger - Candidate for Director at Large - Alburnett Community School District

My name is Mike Olinger. I live near Lafayette with my wife, Corey (Duvel), and our three sons.

I was born and raised in the Alburnett Community School District. I'm part of 5 generations of Olingers who have called the Toddville/Alburnett area home and have walked the halls of our schools over the past 100 years. Corey and I are both graduates of Alburnett and our sons are very active in school here, keeping busy with academics, sports, and music.

I received my Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Iowa and am also a magna-***-laude graduate of the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.

I have worked for 15 years at Murdoch Funeral Home, where I'm a licensed Funeral Director. I maintain professional memberships in both the National and Iowa Funeral Directors Associations.

I currently serve as a board member for the Alburnett Community School District Foundation. I've worked hard to establish the Foundation's PILLARS Scholarship Program, which I chair and coordinate annually.

I'm also very proud of helping to create and build the Alburnett Youth Football program, where I volunteer as a coach.

In addition, I'm involved in the Sports Boosters and help volunteer building sets for the high school music department.

I'd like the opportunity to continue to my serve my community as a school board member. I want to see practical advances in our school and to see the quality of our school district continue to improve.

Accountability is the key to success in any organization. I will insist on support and acclaim for those who excel at their job and will seek answers from those who do not.

Being affiliated with a “pro” or a “con” group would be unproductive for a candidate in our district. We need a candidate who stands up for what is best for our school and community at large, but is able to have open dialogue and to bring people together to make much needed decisions and changes.

I have always "bled purple and gold" and will do my best to make common sense decisions if elected.

I value our community's trust and would greatly appreciate your vote on September 11th!

Linn-Mar Candidate Forum

Linn-Mar Community School District Candidate Forum
5pm on September 4th
Board Room
Educational Services Center
3333 North 10th ST - Marion

Neil Matthias - Candidate for Director at Large - Central City Community School District

Hello -

My name is Neil Matthias and in order for you to make a more informed decision for the Central City School Board election on Tuesday, September 11th, I offer you my biography.

My family and I have been a part of the Central City community for over 10 years. My family includes my wife, Susan and our three children – Brianna (15), Skyler (12), and Storm (9).

Our children currently attend the Central City Community School District, so becoming an active member on the school board is important to me. I think it is important for my children, your children, or even your grandchildren to have a quality education in a positive and learning conducive environment.

I am excited about this opportunity and would invite you to call me at my home if you have questions regarding my views on any specific issue. My home number is 319-437-2621.

Reasons why I ask you to vote for Neil Matthias:

􀁀 I am a Change Agent willing to research issues to validate decision.

􀁀 I am excellent at driving team results.

􀁀 I effectively listen first and communicate second.

􀁀 I am consistent and successful in developing people, processes and procedures.

Career:

􀁀 Currently VP Finance and Accounting for Fleck Sales since 1999

Education:

􀁀 Passed the CPA exam on the first attempt.

􀁀 Graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelors in Accounting.

􀁀 Tripoli High School

Significant influential reading... Stephen Covey... Seven Habits

My strongest influence is my hard-working 85-year-old father who is the essence of the combination of pride and humility.

Personal interests include CC Rider, Mission Remarkable, two marathons, golfing, biking, fishing, hunting, and coaching kids for over 10 years.

Thank you ~ and be sure to vote on SEPTEMBER 11, 2007

Neil Matthias

John Laverty – Candidate for Director At-Large - Cedar Rapids Community School District

Contact: e-mail:  laverty4schoolboard@mchsi.com; or website:  www.laverty4schoolboard.com; or phone 363-9383

EDUCATION

• The University of Iowa  - Graduate College, M.A., Higher Education Administration, Student Services Administration Emphasis:  1991
• The University of Iowa - College of Liberal Arts, Bachelor of General Studies:  1988
• Fort Dodge Senior High School:  1983

 FAMILY

• Married close to 17 years to Anne (Stanley) Laverty who attended K-12 public schools in Cedar Rapids
• Two children; one at Erskine Elementary School and another at McKinley Middle School
• Have lived in Cedar Rapids for 15 years
• 42 years old

 WORK

• Associate Director of Admissions – Office of Admissions, The University of Iowa. Have worked in this same office since 1991. Prior to that, worked at Office of Admissions, Cornell College

 ACTIVITIES & AWARDS

• Parent Volunteer and PTA Member – Erskine Elementary School and McKinley Middle School
• Member – St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, including Scholarship Grant Committee
• Leader – Linn County Iowa Club, UI Alumni Association
• Member – Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation – Scholarship Committee since 2005
• Member & Conference Presenter – National Association for College Admission Counseling
• Member & Conference Presenter – Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC)
• Chair – IACAC Professional Education Committee, 2000 – 2004; developed School Counselor Workshop in collaboration with the Iowa School Counselor Association; lobbied Iowa Legislature for several years to reinstate the requirement for school counselors and media specialist in our schools.
• IACAC - Admission Professional of the Year Award, 2003

·         M.A. research published in the September 1999 issue of Career Development Quarterly (Sagen, Dallam, & Laverty); published in the October 2000 issue of Research in Higher Education.

 POSITIONS & GOALS

• Serving nearly 18,000 students with a budget of nearly $200 million, the Cedar Rapids Community School District needs to reassure the citizens that money will be spent judiciously and for the greatest benefit to students and the community;
• Finances should be available for public accountability in as transparent a format as possible, including new income from the 1% “school improvement” tax;
• Prepare our younger students in elementary and middle school  with the encouragement and skills necessary to succeed in high school and strive towards further education, whether it be for job training, a college degree or just for personal development;
• Find creative solutions to ensure that funding, both public and private, is available to support the performing and fine arts within our schools starting in the elementary levels to complement the emphasis on mastery in core subject areas such as math, science, and communication;
• Ensure basic needs are met, such as safe learning environments and proper heating and cooling, so our students, teachers, and staff can perform effectively;
• Increase dialogue with parents, teachers and the community to find new partnerships to support student success; and
• Carefully review redistricting options so students optimally can attend the school nearest their home while minimizing extra busing and overcrowding of classrooms.

School board forums (updated as available)

Cedar Rapids Community School District
7pm on Thursday, September 6th
Education Service Center
346 2nd Avenue SW - CR

Marion  Independent School District
7pm on Tuesday, September 4th
Marion High School

Mount Vernon Community School District
7pm on Tuesday, August 28th
Mount Vernon High School Commons  --Joel @5:10pm 8/24/2007

Lisbon Community School District
7pm on Wednesday, August 29th
Lisbon High School  --Joel @ 1:07pm 8/25/2007

David Gardner - Candidate for Alburnett Community School Board

Biographical:    

 I am 50 years old.  My family includes my wife Sue; daughter Sara, a senior at Linn-Mar; daughter Ellen, a sophomore at Alburnett; and son Ross, a sixth grader at Alburnett.  We have lived in the district for seven years.

I am a veterinarian and have co-owned and operated Alburnett Veterinary Service in Alburnett for 24 years.   I graduated from East Union Community School, a small school in south-central Iowa, in 1975.  I received a B.S. degree in animal science from Iowa State University in 1979 and received my D.V.M. degree from Iowa State in 1983.

Experience:

* Served as president and secretary of the Linn County Veterinary Association

* Present board member and past president of the Eastern Iowa Veterinary Association

* Executive board member of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association from 1992- 2000

* Member of the Alburnett Community School Improvement Advisory Committee since 2002
 

Positions and Concerns:

* I want to see students challenged to meet their academic potential.  One way is to reward those teachers with the skills to motivate their students.

* I supported the successful 2006 bond issue and look forward to seeing the improvements positively impact our students.

* I believe in fiscal responsibility—let’s see the SILO tax dollars before we decide how best to allocate them.

* We need to remember that we must maintain what we build or buy through the SILO tax. Maintenance costs have become a problem for some districts whose board members I have visited.  --Joel @ 1:20pm

Offer to post candidate information

The email below was sent to Linn County school board candidates who provided an email address on their affidavit of candidacy.  My posting of candidate provided information should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.  It should be viewed as news / information as this blog is hosted by a news organization.  -- Joel @ 1:10pm
***********************************************

Dear School Board Candidates:
 

Earlier this week, I began trying to call each of you, but that has proven very time consuming and some candidates have unpublished phone numbers.  The reason I was calling was to explain my offer to post the equivalent of an 8.5”x11” (font size = 12) on my blog http://cs.gazetteonline.com/blogs/updates_on_election_day/default.aspx in the interest of giving the voters access to some information on local school board candidates.

In the interest of fairness, I wanted to post all of the candidates’ information at the same time, e.g., all candidates seeking the Director at Large position in Alburnett.  Unfortunately, that attempt to be fair denies those candidates that are more responsive to my offer an opportunity to get their information published in a timely manner.

I am emailing this to those candidates who provided email addresses.  I will continue my efforts to contact the other candidates by phone in the hope that I will secure all candidate information no later than September 4^th.

Thank you for becoming a school board candidate!

Please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Best regards,

 

Joel D Miller

Linn County Auditor &

Commissioner of Elections

www.linncountyauditor.org

319-892-5333

School board candidates: Googling them didn't help

Recently, I Googled each of the school board candidates in each contested race. I typed in their first and last names in parentheses and their home zip code. The results were disappointing. I did NOT find one candidate web site or any information of significance related to any candidate. In fact, at least one candidate did not provide a phone number on his affidavit of candidacy and that candidate has an unpublished phone number. How can you run for an elected office and not provide a phone number for people to call you to find out who you are and why you are running? --Joel @ 12:25am

Temporary County Redistricting Commission meeting

The first ever Temporary County Redistricting Commission will meet at 4pm tomorrow (August 22nd) in the Board Room of the Administrative Office Building.  Unfortunately, I'm going to miss it as I'm driving to Midway Airport to bring home my USAF son who's stationed in Germany. 

The agenda contains 10 items.  Too bad we don't have the Board Room setup to televise meetings.  I think everyone would find this meeting interesting.  --Joel @ 7:42pm

First school board candidate forum announced

The League of Women Voters will host a forum for candidates seeking election to the Cedar Rapids School Board.  The forum is scheduled for 7pm on Thursday, September 6th, in the CR School District's Service Center at 346 2nd Avenue SW in CR.

Karen Hartlep, John Laverty, and D. Lynn Sherrod are running for Director at Large.  Melissa Kiliper-Ernst is running unopposed for Director District #4.

To my knowledge, this is the only forum being held for school board candidates in Linn County.  Do you know of others?

Voting equipment to be tested for upcoming school elections - You're invited!

A public test of the voting equipment to be used in the upcoming September 11^th School Election in Linn County will begin on Tuesday, August 28^th, at 9:00 AM in the Elections Depot at 823 3^rd ST SW in Cedar Rapids. 

 

The testing will continue until all voting machines have been tested.  This test will include both the Optical Scan machines and the Touch Screen machines. 

 

This public test is open to all interested Linn County residents. 

 

This election is to select directors/members for the local school boards.  If you have any questions, please contact:

 

Sue Wold
Deputy Commissioner of Elections

Linn County, Iowa

319-892-5319

fax 319-892-5359

 

--Joel @ 12:45pm

 

Did anyone ask the county central committee chairs when the caucuses should be held?

I have to wonder:  Did any of the state political party leaders talk to any of the county chairs before they decided the Iowa caucus will still be held in January 2008?  As a county chair during the 2002 gubernatorial and 2004 presidential caucuses, I can tell you the logistics of confirming 86 caucus sites and getting 86 people to commit to become temporary caucus chairs for those sites is a HUGE challenge.

When is the last time you asked someone to commit to something?  What was their first, second, and third response to your request?  Now imagine … asking someone you may or may not know to manage a meeting attended by people they may or may not know ... to discuss one of the forbidden table topics (politics – you know the others) … on a cold January night (although global warming is having an affect on our winters).  Now add in the fact that the attendees emotions may be high – sensitive – stressed – whatever – and the stakes are high (only the top 3 candidates will likely go onto New Hampshire) – and the losers are going to be suspicious of the results (Florida and Ohio did that to us) – and you have a HUGE challenge.  Now, couple all of this with the possibility of having the caucuses the first week of January when school employees are just getting back from vacations, the snow birds have headed south, Hawkeye and/or Cyclone fans have not returned from their bowl games, and it's a short week (you get the picture).

I don’t know who is arranging the caucuses for Linn County’s Republicans (if you know, let me know and I’ll update this blog), but when you see Diane Hoffmann, the organizer and 1^st Vice Chair for the Linn County Democrats, give her a hug … and then give her your name and tell her you want to VOLUNTEER to be a temporary caucus chair … regardless of the date for the caucus.  You will make her day....  --Joel @  6pm.

BTW:  To my knowledge, no one in a county political party in Iowa including the temporary caucus chairs receives any salary or stipend for their time.  The political parties in Iowa pay all expenses associated with the caucuses - no taxpayer monies are spent.  --Joel @ 11:20pm

 

Maybe local legislators could sponsor candidate forums?

Contrary to a report in last Friday's Gazette, absentee ballots for the upcoming school election were not available until yesterday, August 13th.  Unfortunately, no one came to the counter and asked for an absentee ballot based upon Friday's report.

Today was the first day anyone voted an absentee ballot at the counter, i.e., three (3) absentee ballots have been received.  Two of the three were from Jones County, i.e., the voters reside within the Mount Vernon School District in Jones County, but our office controls the election for the Mount Vernon School District. 

I'm wondering if the League of Women Voters, the PTA, and/or The Gazette are going to sponsor forums for the candidates?  OR ... maybe our local legislators could sponsor the forums?

Every two years every legislative candidate campaigns on improving education.  Maybe if the legislators sponsored the forums, the voters would realize the connection between the legislature, state funding, property taxes, sales taxes, teachers, curriculum, students, and parents.  What do you think?  --Joel @ 4:45pm

P.S.  In my previous entry, I neglected to mention that John Laverty attended the Campaign Management School.  John is a candidate for Director At Large in the CR Community School District.  Hopefully, I didn't miss any others.

Campaign Management School 101

Last night, the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters sponsored a Campaign Management School at the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa.  The presenters were Charlie Smithson - Executive Director & Legal Council of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board, Mark Bowden – Editor of The Gazette, and me.  The “school” lasted 2 hours. Nobody got and left during the presentations – which is usually a good indicator - so I think it was helpful.

 

Aside from presenters and staff, a least 15 citizens attended including Captain Brian Gardner (candidate for Sheriff), CR At-Large Councilor Tom Podzimek (seeking re-election), Monica Vernon (candidate for CR Council - 2^nd District), and Carl Foster (candidate for Mayor of Marion).  I think a few other candidates may have been present, but I don’t recall if they have made public announcements.

 

I’m thinking we should hold another school after the supervisor district boundaries are approved.  I’m predicting we’ll have 15 supervisor candidates running in the June 2008 primary and 15 candidates in the November 2008 general election.  Considering we had 6 candidates for County Auditor this Spring, my prediction is likely way too conservative.  –Joel @ 1:30pm

Presidential Caucus: Before Christmas or After New Year's?

Upon my return from lunch, Dave Franzman, local KCRG-TV reporter, and his cameraman were waiting for me outside the Administrative Office Building.  Seems a decision by South Carolina to move up their presidential primary election has the political parties in New Hampshire and Iowa rethinking the dates for their primary and caucus, respectively.  Dave asked my opinion on whether I thought Iowa’s caucus should be in December or the first week of January.  Looking at the logistics and possible impact on participation in the caucuses, my advice was to go for mid-December before the holidays and before the football bowl games and before the snowbirds head south for the winter.  I think Dave interviewed several people around the county and his report should be on the 6pm news.  When do you think the Iowa caucus should occur?  --Joel @ 1:53pm

One-to-one with Congressman Loebsack (photo)

This morning, I stopped at the Cedar Rapids Public Library to visit with Congressman David Loebsack.  Yesterday, I made everyone in the office aware that Congressman Loebsack would be holding office hours at the library.  I asked if anyone had any issues they’d like me to address.  First Deputy Becky Shoop asked me to ask the Congressman about the Airline Passengers Bill of Rights.  Congressman Loebsack didn’t know the current status of the bill, but indicated he needed to find out because he’s spent countless hours on planes and has some concerns.

 

I addressed my issue, i.e., HR811 – the Holt bill – dealing with mandated changes to electronic voting systems.  At the present time, HR-811 is mandating changes to voting systems before the November 2008 election.  While Linn County appears to be on-track with replacing its touch screen voting machines with ballot marking devices well before the June 2008 primaries, many other counties in Iowa and across the nation may NOT have time to replace touch screen machines or reconfigure their touch screen machines with the technology mandated by the Holt bill.  The biggest challenge I foresee with changing technologies is the number of precinct election officials that would need to be trained and/or retrained to use the new technology AND educating voters to use the technology on Election Day.  Neither of these challenges is insurmountable … but we do need time to provide the training and the Holt bill may mandate changes that cannot be absorbed in the time now remaining before the 2008 elections.  –Joel @ 5:00pm

Registering voters at the Downtown Farmers Market (photos)

Last Saturday, I got up early (no easy feat for me) and drove to downtown Cedar Rapids for the monthly Farmers Market.  Tim Box, Voter Registration Administrator, and I arrived at 7:30am and setup our tables and hung our signs – Register to Vote and Request an Absentee Ballot.  I only planned to stay for 2 hours because I was unsure if we would do any business. 

 

We were busy!  I took a few photos of some of the voters (SEE THEM HERE) We ended up staying until about 11am – when the rain came.  We ended the day with 21 voter registrations (either new or updates) and 11 requests for absentee ballots.  We answered questions such as:  What else does the Auditor’s Office do besides elections?  I was convicted of a felony, can I vote?  When will the supervisor districts be drawn?  It was a productive morning and convinced me of the need to attend the September 1^st Farmers Market.  If you have ideas on where we should setup temporary voter registration stands, please comment.  –Joel @ 2:00pm

Competition for school board

Just when I was thinking we wouldn't have any competition for seats on the school board, a bunch of citizens decided to run.  Although we don't have competition for every seat, we do have at least one contest in each district.  The award for the most candidates goes to Mount Vernon School District - seven candidates for three seats.  Congratulations to all candidates!  Thanks for stepping forward!  --Joel @ 5:07pm

 

Here's the candidates:

 

Candidate List for LINN COUNTY Regular School Board Election
September 11, 2007

* current office holder

Offices are “elect 1” unless otherwise noted

 

ALBURNETT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Director at Large  (elect 2)
Cindy Francois                       5253 Serenity Ln, Central City, 52214           319-438-1809

David W. Gardner                  1976 Turner Rd, Central City, 52214             319-842-2824

Michael R. Olinger                  43 Klemish Cir, Center Point, 52213

                                                                                   

CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Director District #4
*Melissa Kiliper-Ernst            2065 Cottage Glen Rd SE, Cedar Rapids 52403   319-364-3923
Director at Large

Karen Hartlep                         1620 8^th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, 52403           319-365-8842

John Laverty                           375 Eastland Dr SE, Cedar Rapids, 52403    319-363-9383

D. Lynn Sherrod                      2307 E Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, 52403          

 

CENTER POINT-URBANA COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Director District #2
Daniel Jones                            5089 Schwiebert Dr, Walker, 52352              

Cris Karr                                 4122 Alta Vista Dr, Center Point, 52213       319-849-3927
Director at Large
*Scott Millikin                         611 Boulder Dr, Center Point 52213

 

CENTRAL CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Director at Large

*Kirk D.  Hayes                      4098 Jordan’s Grove Rd, Central City 52214            319-438-1230 
 Neil Matthias                         1098 Edgerly Rd, Central City, 52214           319-437-2621
David A. Welter                      220 1^st St S. Central City, 52214                    319-438-1981

Director at Large -  to fill unexpired term
Crystal A. Murphy                  134 N 3^rd St, Central City, 52214                   319-438-6400

 

COLLEGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Director District #3
*Randy Bauer                          305 F Ave W, Walford, 52351                                    319-846-3374
Tim Kilpatrick                         12308 Morgan Valley Rd, Fairfax, 52228      319-446-7936

Director District #4

*Norman Zahradnik                7000 Ely Rd SW, Cedar Rapids 52404          319-848-4741

Director District #5

Dawn Tucker                          1570 Turkey Ridge Ct NW, Swisher, 52338  319-857-5380

 

 

LINN-MAR COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Director at Large (elect 2)

Barry L. Buchholz                   7828 Marquette Dr NE, Cedar Rapids 52402      319-373-5336

Robert J. Gilchrist                     1970 26^th St, Marion 52302                            319-377-3366

Daniel S. Schinke                    3615 28^th Ave, Marion 52302                         319-373-7968

 

LISBON COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Director at Large (elect 2)
Travis Jubeck                          419 Truman St, Lisbon, 52253                       319-455-2440
*Doren Montgomery               20 122^nd St, Lisbon, 52253                 
*Andy Sullivan                        114 E Market St, Lisbon, 52253                     319-455-2190

MARION INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Director at Large (elect 2)

*Mary Ames                            1099 2^nd Ave, Marion, 52302                          319-377-4184

James Conklin                        2798 12^th Ave, Marion, 52302                        319-377-8449

Bill Huntoon                            1325 C Ave, Marion, 52302                           319-377-6436

 

MOUNT VERNON COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Director at Large (elect 3)
Debra A. Herrmann                400 Wolfe Ln NE, Mt Vernon, 52314             319-895-8128
Ivan Kuntz                              3778 230^th Ave, Martell, 52305                      319-482-4461
Michael A. Moran                   315 3^rd St SW, Mt Vernon, 52314                  
Jason J. Nosek                       329 Hillview Dr, Mt Vernon, 52314               319-895-6138
Jennifer Pandich                     503 2^nd St NW, Mt Vernon, 52314                  319-210-0433
Jeff Walberg                            809 Lisbon Rd, Mt Vernon, 52314                  319-895-4056

*Thomas Wieseler                   406 Palisades Rd, Mt Vernon 52314              319-895-6850

NORTH-LINN COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Director District #1
Dan Buenz                               5884 Main St, Troy Mills, 52344        319-224-3200
Charles G. Ward                     3240 310^th St, Coggon 52218             563-932-2015

Director District #2
*Brad Winn                             616 Pershing St, Walker, 52352         319-448-4254

SPRINGVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Director at Large (elect 2)

Todd Nulle                              957 Paralta Rd, Springville, 52336   

*Dennis Thies                          704 Broadway St, Springville, 52336

Deb Vaughn                            113 5^th St, Springville, 52336

 

KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, MERGED AREA X

Director District II – College Community, Lisbon Community, Mount Vernon Community School Districts in Linn County
*Paul Glenn                            637 East Oak, Mechanicsville 52306  563-432-7710

Director District VII – Cedar Rapids Community School District, precinct 27 and 32, Linn-Mar Community and Marion Independent School Districts.
*James Mollenhauer                3279 Stone Ct, Marion 52302                        319-431-4374

Absentee voting at high school sporting events?

Yesterday, I was brain storming with the Election Services team when Tim Box, Voter Registration Administrator, came up with a great idea.  How about setting up satellite polling places at the schools during girls volleyball games and boys football games?  I think it’s a great idea because it ties school board members to a school event and it gives parents an opportunity to set a good example for kids by showing the kids it’s important to vote.

 

Would you take the time to vote if you could vote at a volleyball or football game?  --Joel @ 4:45pm

What do you call it when you don't have enough candidates?

The deadline to file nomination papers for school boards is tomorrow, August 2nd.  One school district, College Community, has already filed their candidates' paperwork with my office.  Unfortunately, only two candidates will be running for three positions.  What happens if Donald Duck wins the write-in vote?

If you live in the College Community School District (or know someone who lives in the district), this would be a great time to consider serving your community.

I'll have to coin a new term.  Yesterday, I used the term "democracy by default" - meaning number of candidates equals number of open positions.  What do you call it when you don't have enough candidates to cover the open positions?  --Joel @ 2:28pm