Controlled Chaos

hahaha

Some info Firefighting crew bosses required to speak English The old saying, “Rumor can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on,” is borne out in information circulating on the web and elsewhere that claims the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is firing and demoting fire crew bosses that do not speak Spanish. This is not the case. Here are the facts: ODF has no requirement that its employees speak Spanish, and does not demote or fire anyone because they don’t speak Spanish. And to our knowledge, no crew boss on the private contract fire crews we use has ever been fired because of inability to speak Spanish. ODF and its partner agencies contract with private companies to supply fire crews for frontline firefighting work. The crews work under the guidance of incident management teams fielded by ODF and other agencies to manage large firefighting operations. Because English is the language of firefighting in the United States, we must have the ability to communicate with all crews. Accordingly, the contract requires that the leaders of contract crews speak English. This requirement covers the crew boss and the three squad bosses on a typical 20-person crew. Companies may choose whom they hire for their crews. If a company elects to hire employees who do not speak English, then the supervisors of that crew must speak English as well as the language of any crew members who don’t speak English. This is a matter of good communication, safety, and effectiveness for the agencies that hire crews under the contract. Over the years, this system has established a record of solid firefighting performance and safety. Additional information The makeup of the private contract fire crews that ODF and its state and federal partner agencies in the Pacific Northwest use to fight wildfire has changed over the past 10 years or so. At one time, most of the crews were made up of English speakers. But today, a large percentage of the crew members are Latino. While many of these Latino firefighters speak English, a significant number speak only Spanish. As the number of non-English-speaking firefighters rose, ODF realized that their safety was increasingly being placed at risk. Also, their work effectiveness depends on being able to understand orders clearly. So, the language stipulation described above was added to the interagency contract. This stipulation places the responsibility on the crew companies: If they choose to hire non-English-speaking firefighters for a crew, then they must have bilingual crew leaders. If they hire only English-speaking firefighters, then the crew leaders need only have the ability to speak English. Experience over several fire seasons under this rule has shown that it is adequate to provide for the safety of the crewmembers as well as the overall work effectiveness of the crews. It has not been found necessary to require that all crewmembers have the ability to speak English. Some have suggested that ODF should simply require all members of private fire crews to have the ability to speak English. But is beyond the agency's power to shape the available labor pool. An historical perspective may be helpful. Back when the Pacific Northwest's timber industry was at its peak, contract fire crews were unnecessary. The large forest products companies employed thousands of woods workers, and these well-trained and equipped personnel could leave their work on a moment's notice to fight fire. In addition, the federal land management agencies had large nunbers of field employees trained as firefighters. But when the timber industry contracted in the 1980s, both the state and federal agencies found themselves without sufficient resources to fight large fires. The Oregon Department of Forestry responded to this shortage by creating a contract to procure private fire crews. It worked well, and soon the contract was expanded into an interagency agreement that supplied crews to ODF's partner state and federal agencies in Washington as well as Oregon. Today, private contract fire crews continue to serve as a key element of the Pacific Northwest's wildland firefighting forces. ODF is committed to hiring the safest and most-effective firefighting crews possible. If you would like more information about this or any other firefighting contract crew issue, please contact Rod Nichols, ODF Public Affairs Specialist, 503-945-7425, or [email protected] ###

She helped get me through puberty.

This is like that alternative broadcast experiment a few years ago.

PK base knock up the middle

Thome owning CC

QUOTE (fathom @ May 20, 2008 -> 07:29 PM) No, I don't like the Bulls that much. They're obviously my favorite team, but 4th on the totem poll of who I cheer for. ditto that

C f***in Q!!!!!!!!

Beautiful!!

This is like that alternative broadcast experiment a few years ago.

IMO, I think it's pretty simple really... There is a GOP forum and a DEM forum...leave em as just that. The GOP forum is for the guys on the right.....It will have biased GOP articles and all the DEM bashing one can hope for. If you don't like it...don't come in here. If there is something posted in here that irks you soo much...then start a new thread in the main forum and discuss it. The DEM forum is the same way. If you want to post in there, Bush is the devil, that's your right and I'm not gonna come in there and try to convince you he's not. If you had made a whole list of reasons why and I didn't agree with it or thought it was filled with lies....then I would start a thread in the main forum and those that wanted to be part of the discussion would. The problem I see is Dems can't handle a differing opinion. If it's different from theirs then it's absolutely wrong and they can't let it go. They have to make a post and convince you why it's wrong. That's just how I see it...and the posts in this thread, from the first page to the last, kinda back that up

QUOTE (knightni @ May 19, 2008 -> 08:57 PM) Thanks! I feel goofy picking Carlton and Thorpe now. Under the guidelines you stipulated...they're fine. I personally just kinda went with peeps that you associate with Chicago a little more... Great job putting it together though man. Really appreciate it.

Born in Bridgeport...lived in the building where Jimbos(if its still there) is. Moved to around 79th and Pulaski lived there all of my school years. Moved to Darien at 18 with my P's...then moved out to Lisle. Next who knows, but my townhouse currently for sale....any takers???? This market sucks!!

Can that be changed? I like Buehrle and Danks as much as the next guy....but it'd be cool to mix it up.

QUOTE (YASNY @ May 19, 2008 -> 10:06 AM) He faced 3 batters and walked 3 batters. Not much the defense can do to help him out in those circumstances. haha was thinking the same thing...

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ May 17, 2008 -> 09:33 PM) That was the point where the people they surveyed put him at. As the article said, they heart Obama, so he wasn't as liberal to them in thier 'view', but they 'thougth' close to McCain. Yeah, and they can heart Obama all they want....but if this was a serious poll...they should look at where his voting puts him...and that isn't anywhere close to center....but anywhoo...

Congrats dude...enjoy the tar poop the first couple days!!

This is like that alternative broadcast experiment a few years ago.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ May 17, 2008 -> 10:58 AM) http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whi...ike-mccain.html They had Obama at 4.1??? If Obama is 4.1 where is Biden...5?? Obama is the most liberal Senator out there. So put him where he should be, #1, and then see how far he really is from your center right ideologies.

Whew...almost forgot. This is like that alternative broadcast experiment a few years ago.

Any one ever hit that coca cola place in Vegas? I went there years ago, but I remember being able to try different drinks from all over the world. Some weird flavors out there.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 16, 2008 -> 08:28 AM) Sorry Kap. You shouldn't be in here anymore. No, but you shouldn't be. Kap can have an opinion and there would be a disucssion amoung those of us GOPer's/moderates on whats right or wrong...and we might ahve to agree to disagree or whatever...but I assure you the thread wouldn't be filled with Huffington post links and the like. If everything running through your body screams "liberal" Why would you be in the GOP thread if not to stir the pot? I mean seriously...

I find nothing wrong with the comments, nor where they took place...nor who they targeted...if you do...you probably shouldn't be in here. JMO.

This is like that alternative broadcast experiment a few years ago.

If I'm offering it to someone...I say pop. You want a can of pop? You want a glass of pop? If I'm ordering at a restuarant or something I always say coke and by coke I don't mean coca cola I just mean coke. Then they almost always say...is Pepsi ok??