Q. Hi Honk: My family was driving along the I-5 Freeway near the Ortega Highway off-ramp in San Juan Capistrano and noticed some nets below what must be power lines. Hoping you can tell us what they are for. My sons guess was to catch birds that arent so lucky landing on live wires. Yikes!

Alison Cox, Aliso Viejo

A. Good tidings for your son, Alison and all of the other bird lovers.

San Diego Gas & Electric was replacing electrical wiring over the freeway there, spokeswoman Denice Menard said. The project is to reduce the chance of electrial outages and to improve the grid.

The netting is put into place to prevent wires from potentially falling onto the road while construction work is taking place, she told Honk in an email.

The netting was up for, roughly, the month of May before being tucked away.

The netting is no longer over the freeway, she said. It is tied back to the poles on the side of the freeway and will be deployed again in the fall when we are ready to finish stringing activities.

Netting is often used by SDG&E when putting up wires over freeways and roadways, Menard said.

Q. Honk, below are a few of the practice questions on the Department of Motor Vehicles website. The answers dont match the questions. Am I missing something?

Bruce Welch, Northridge

A. Just the right landing spot, Bruce.

You stumbled onto some business website meant to somewhat mimic the DMVs site. It is real easy to get onto the wrong website, because some sites make their addresses close to the real thing.

Honk didnt include those questions in your query here we dont want to confuse the masses, right?

For legit sample tests, go to dmv.ca.gov and in the search tool in the upper-right corner type in practice knowledge tests.

A couple of years ago, the DMV went from calling them written tests to knowledge tests, for whatever bureaucratic reason.

Anyway, you will then get five 10-question tests for a Class C license, the type needed to drive a car or a pickup. There are sample tests, too, for commercial drivers and motorcyclists.

You can see how you did. Kinda fun.

Honkin reminder: Because those in Honkland are the smartest (and best-looking) folk anywhere, if you have a pressing question it is likely that another Honkland resident has asked it and the wizard-like Honk has answered it.

Generally he has time to only answer questions that make it into the column. If he didnt tackle a question you sent in, or your curiosity is working overtime, try looking online at ocregister.com/tag/honk for past columns, or try Googling honk and ocregister and the key words.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

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Nets over 5 Freeway arent to catch birds that land on live wires - OCRegister

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For many animal rescuers and rehabilitators, the pandemic has brought a new set of challenges.

Miranda Altice

June 12, 2020

Find more of our Covid-19 coverage.

Despair and heartbreak are two words to describe how the volunteers felt when Olly Pitt, general manager for the Australian Seabird Rescue (ASR), told everyone to stay home. In March, as Australia reacted to the Covid-19 outbreak, Pitts staff, faithfully clad in blue ASR shirts and holding trays of raw, pungent squid destined for the 26 sea turtles in rehab, listened to the rest of her message.

Because of Covid-19, she announced, its crucial that we put measures in place not only to protect our organization but to protect the volunteers as well. For that reason, Pitt continued, ASR would be sending many volunteers home and postponing programs.

Over the last few months, the Covid-19 outbreak has unleashed a dystopia of physical distancing, lockdowns, and anxieties. Only those with an Im essential passcode are allowed to carry on in a strange new world. Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centers work in conjunction with wildlife veterinarians, making them an essential service. But the pandemic has brought a whole new set of challenges that many of these centers couldnt have predicted. Because centers have their own unique organizational structure, they have different ways of coping with these changes. For most, it boils down to volunteers and donations.

From March 23, we asked all of our volunteers that were elderly, living with someone elderly, have school children, or were showing signs of illness to no longer come to the center, says Pitt. Ive had to balance that and the pressure building up with running the center without our normal influx of vollies and funding.

The Australian Seabird Rescue usually operates with around 40 volunteers, but now theyve had to learn how to make do with the remaining few.

When we issued our Covid management plan, recalls Jen Slape, ASRs North Coast coordinator, we cut back to one volunteer a day to help feed the animals and clean the tanks. This is just the bare minimum so we can adhere to the social distancing measures while taking care of the essentials.

At the moment, only two people out of ASRs six rescuers are working, alternating days to rescue marine animals. Our two rescuers are coping, says Pitt. Fewer people on the beaches also means fewer people reporting rescues, but they will need a well-deserved break after all of this!

Larger organizations have a little more breathing space, but they still rely heavily on volunteers. The Marine Mammal Center, with locations in Hawaii and California, is the worlds largest marine mammal hospital and the only partner organization authorized by NOAA to treat Hawaiian monk seals, one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world.

With a trained force of more than 1,400 volunteers, the centers volunteers are truly the backbone of our non-profit organization, Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson for the center, said in an email.

According to Rulli, volunteers at the centers operations in California and Hawaii contributed more than 150,000 service hours in 2019 alone. Thats approximately $4 million in workforce value, she said, a staggering figure.

Dr. Cara Field, the centers medical director and staff veterinarian, explains that the hospital continues to provide expert care for their marine mammal patients, while also prioritizing the health of our staff and volunteers in both California and Hawaii-based operations. This includes reducing the number of volunteers and staff on every shift, following CDC distancing guidelines, and eliminating non-essential projects. All staff who can do so are working from home, Field says.

Ryan Berger, the centers Northern Range operations manager, says that their volunteers go through a rigorous training process that allows for greater flexibility, since these volunteers are able to work alone or with limited assistance while maintaining social distancing. This adaptability, he says, has proven its worth during the pandemic.

The Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service, or WIRES, in Australia can manage the Covid-19 restrictions a little differently because they handle animals that dont need specialized aquatic enclosures and filtration systems, like sea turtles and seals.

WIRES is unique in that our volunteers rehabilitate wildlife from their homes, not from hospitals and centers, says John Grant, their media officer.

Representing Australias largest rescue organization with 3,000 volunteers and 28 branches in New South Wales, rescuers at WIRES receive more than 50 calls per day, depending on the branch location.

After the bushfires earlier this year, an influx of donations has allowed WIRES to meet this demand by providing their rescuers with medical supplies, specialized food, medical support, veterinary bills, and improved enclosures. This funding couldnt have come at a better time, as Covid-19 has closed down tours, school holiday programs, training sessions, and fundraising events that typically bring in significant funds.

Other organizations havent been as fortunate.[Our programs] are all postponed,ASRs Pitt says. As a non-profit, this heavily impacts our finances, but what scares me the most is not being able to educate the public on our marine life.

On a positive note, she continues, weve put our creative brains to work and come up with virtual ways of educating the public. For example, ASR has flooded its social media outlets with educational videos and live talks about sea life. I imagine that after the pandemic, we will still offer something similar, Pitt says.

The Marine Mammal Center is navigating through similar digitally creative waters. With no public visitation at both hospitals due to Covid-19, Rulli says, our Learning and Community Team are building learning resources to help families and teachers amidst school shutdowns.

But as Covid-19 has forced wildlife rescuers and rehabilitators to adapt to these changes, many of them have chosen to look at the bright side.

Ive found myself able to remember whats important, says Pitt. Before Covid, I was caught up in office work and not making time to dedicate myself to the animals in the center. Now, Im reminded of the importance of 100 percent animal engagement, while still finding time for my office work, because sometimes, it can just wait.

Plus, even with beaches and parks reopening, the limited visitor numbers could still be considered a relief to both wildlife and rescuers and rehabilitators. Pitt notes that they are seeing less direct anthropogenic activities such as fishing tackle injuries or trash that could be ingested by an animal, and the Marine Mammal Center has noticed a positive side effect of fewer people on the beaches.

Seal pups are at their most vulnerable stage and can easily become stressed or abandoned by mothers if a human or dog gets too close, Berger explains, and because many beachgoers cant resist taking what Berger calls a seal-fie, responders often need to step in to rescue the dependent pups. This year, however, has given seal pups their space.

In the meantime, wildlife rescuers remain hopeful. The world will turn, the money will come, and volunteers dont lose their passion overnight, says Pitt. They will come back, and our animals will recover.

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How Wildlife Rescue Centers Are Coping with Covid-19 - Earth Island Journal

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heilind Asia Pacific, part of Heilind Electronics Inc., was awarded the 2019 Best Asia Performance Award from Amphenol in May. The award was presented to Heilind Asia Pacific during EDS-Summit which was held online due to the circumstances surrounding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

The award was presented by Amphenol, which is the leading manufacturer of sensors, electronic and fiber optic connectors, cable and interconnect systems. As a professional global distributor, Heilind Asia Pacific received the award in recognition for the outstanding performance and positive contributions which evolved from the successful partnership with Amphenol.

On behalf of Amphenols CEO, Adam Norwitt and the entire Amphenol organization, may I take the opportunity to congratulate Heilind Asia for winning Amphenols 2019 Best Asia Performance Award during Amphenols virtual EDS Distributor VIP and Awards presentation. This award is so well deserved! I would like to personally thank you and the entire Heilind team for the explosive growth last year, across several Amphenol groups. Your partnership means so much to us! said Annette Tyler, Corporate Distribution Director of Amphenol.

Thanks Amphenol for awarding the 2019 Best Asia Performance Award to Heilind Asia. We value our partnership and look forward to greater achievement with Amphenol in the future. As an authorized distributor for over a dozen Amphenol divisions, Heilind consistently demonstrates its commitment to expanding market share. said Alan Chuah, Marketing Director of Heilind Asia Pacific.

Heilind Asia Pacific supports both original equipment and contract manufacturers in all market segments of the electronics industry, stocking products from the industrys leading manufacturers in 25 component categories, with a particular focus on connectors, relays, switches, thermal management & circuit protection products, terminal blocks, wire & cable, wiring accessories, insulation & identification, fastener/hardware and sensor products.

About Heilind Electronics:

Founded in 1974, Heilind Electronics, Inc. (http://www.heilind.com) is one of the world's leading distributors of connectors, relays, switches, thermal management & circuit protection products, terminal blocks, wire & cable, wiring accessories, insulation & identification, fastener/hardware and sensor products. Heilind has over 40 facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe and Asia Pacific including India.

Heilind Asia Pacific (www.heilindasia.com) commenced operations in Dec 2012, and now has 23 locations throughout Asia. Its industry leading service offerings to customers in Asia Pacific is the result of a commitment to the belief of Distribution As It Should Be. Learn more at http://www.heilindasia.com and on Facebook, WeChat, Weibo and Twitter.

Go here to read the rest:
Amphenol Presented 2019 Best Asia Performance Award to Heilind Asia Pacific - Business Wire

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Electrical Wiring Tools Market 2020: Potential Growth, Challenges, and Know the Companies List Could Potentially Benefit or Loose out From the Impact...

Isle of Wight electrical business, ETL Electrical Solutions Ltd, are one of many local firms returning to work but it is not business as usual after lockdown

This Island-based business of more than 15 years, with a further 20 years of experience on the mainland, are putting in extra guidelines and training for their staff before returning to their full service of commercial and domestic electrical installations.

ETL Electrical Solutions have been actively working to keep the Islands lights on, even throughout lockdown, as they provided emergency cover for frontline staff across the Isle of Wight.

In the run-up to returning to full service, the ETL Electrical team have been undergoing extra training, from online to in-person, socially distanced learning to prepare for working inside of peoples homes in the aftermath of COVID-19.

The team are used to working on sites, big or small, from fitting a light fixture in someones home, to fully wiring a marina However, working in personal protective equipment (PPE) such as full facial masks and even paper suits for the most vulnerable clients can be a tricky task. The training and guidelines being set out by Graeme and his team, outline the full process from picking up the booking to closing the job when completed safely!

ETL Electrical have already completed specific COVID-19 safe working training through an online learning platform so that they understand what is required. The team have also been working with local training business, Jigsaw Training and Development Service, learning about mental health in the workplace.

Graeme Preston, owner of ETL Electrical, says:

Keeping our staff and our customers safe as we move out of lockdown is our number one priority.

Mental health is something that we all have, we all deal with it in different ways and going back to work or coming into a socially distanced contact with people within their homes after weeks of being in lockdown can be challenging. Thats why we wanted to raise the topic before sending our team back to work.

Along with the training and the PPE that each team member is being provided with, steps such as arriving at jobs in separate vans, ensuring a safe working area, wiping down of surfaces after the work has been completed and rebooking of any jobs to a later date have been undertaken.

A full list of the ETL Electrical Solution COVID-19 Safe Working Guidelines can be found on the ETL website at https://www.etl-electrical-solutions.co.uk/.

The measures being taken by this independent Island business allow you to book work in full confidence But if that isnt enough With their 35+ years of trading, years of experience and wide skill base they really do know what they are doing!

Read more here:
ISLE OF WIGHT ELECTRICIANS RETURN TO BUSINESS - Island Echo

TOMORROW, A RANGE of free arts events and workshops for children and teenagers is kicking off to propel students into arts, crafts and music by asking them to give creativity a go.

Cruinnina ng which is usually a Dublin-focused initiative is hosting its events online this year, meaning that children from across Ireland can join in.

To add to that, organisers have decided to leave all but one of its 27 events, tutorials, videos and guides online for the entire summer a resource much-needed by parents.

Margarita Cappock, an Assistant Arts Officer at Dublin City Council, told TheJournal.ie that artists usually submit ideas for what activities they can do for children and teens this year they had to tweak these pitches in order to move them all online.

The amount of goodwill and can-do from all the artists and organisations has been absolutely brilliant, she said. Some of them have turned out just really so well.

It means children from outside Dublin may join in, and its a system they might keep on after the pandemic.

Source: Cruinni na ng

Among the events she highlights are:

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Source: Photograph Ivaylo Petrov

When asked what the aim of the festival is, Cappock says: We just want to really encourage people to make, and to create whether its writing or performing, or just enjoying the virtual visits to various places, or the workshops.

I think that it really is just to provide a wide range of events and activities for everybody, so there will be something for every child.

I think the great thing about it, in particular Tunes from Me Gaff, is to give teenagers the opportunity to actually perform and have their work streamed like that. Its very confidence inspiring, I think its a great opportunity also to make connections with like-minded teenagers.

You can view the full list of events on Fingal County Councilhere, or on the Cruinni na ng websitehere.

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Kids bored at home? This children's art festival has gone national and online - Brinkwire

WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor-Essex residents and city crews were dealing with the aftermath of severe storms that moved through the region Wednesday evening, causing downed trees, power lines and damage to some homes.

Here's a photo gallery of the storm and aftermath.

Windsor Fire and Rescue says it attended to over 30 calls, many of them in south Windsor, with many trees and branches down, pulling down power wires with them.

There were no documented injuries as a result of the storm, civilian or firefighter, says John Lee, chief fire prevention officer. There was one accident on Huron Church as a result of the storm.

Windsor fire activated their storm protocol.

Because theres so many calls in different areas at the same time we reduce our man power to each call so we will only send one vehicle and well upgrade if necessary, says Lee.

The line of severe storms came following several days of humidity and heat.East of Windsor the storms produced two tornados in the London region.

One near the community of Glencoe, southwest of London, and the other near Belmont to the southwest. A third possible tornado was being investigated near Bothwell.

Meanwhile thousands were without power Thursday morning across southwestern and southern Ontario.

Enwin Utilities says locally the storm resulted in 27 calls about tree limbs on wires, 22 calls for wires down, and three poles damaged.

The majority of the damage was in the west and south ends of the city, but there was some further activity in Walkerville.

Most power was restored by 7:30 a.m., but crews remained on site during the day, to finish the longer-term restorations.

As far as city cleanup, forestry says by the end of the Thursday or late Friday morning, all critical cleanup will be completed, such as trees off porches, driveways, road and walkways.

City officials say it could take a solid week or more to attend to the rest of the less critical issues. There were 70 calls for down tree branches, but no calls for flooded basements.

Many residents were also cleaning up on Thursday.

We have neighbours helping everybody get the branches off the street, says Mary Arbor, a downtown Windsor resident.

When Arbor saw the storm coming, she told her sister they have to go to the basement.

I looked out the window, the wind was coming straight down with branches, adds Arbor.

Jeff, another downtown Windsor resident, says a big tree hit a house.

This used to be a big beautiful tall tree he says. It just lifted right up and hit the corner of her house and fell.

Read more:
Windsor-Essex deals with aftermath of severe storms on trees, power lines - CTV News Windsor

Tom Savage, For the Dell Rapids Tribune Published 1:37 p.m. CT June 5, 2020 | Updated 1:47 p.m. CT June 5, 2020

Officials at St. Mary are hoping to turn the current practice facility on Garfield Avenue into its permanent football field in the future.(Photo: Tom Savage)

The St. Mary Cardinals havent played a home game at Rickeman Field since Aug. 30, 2019. After opening with back-to-back home games last season, the Cardinals hit the road for two straight.

Then the Big Sioux River broke through its banks, flooding Rickeman and displacing the Cardinals for the balance of the season. They played one home game in September against Avon at Dell Rapids public, and homecoming in October was against Centerville and played at Sioux Falls OGorman. St. Mary played its two home playoff games at Chester because of the damage to Rickeman.

Although 2020 has so far been a headache on sports schedules, Dell Rapids at least caught a break when the Big Sioux stayed inside its banks this spring and the predicted second round of flooding never transpired. But Rickeman was heavily damaged in last falls flooding and city officials didnt make repairs to the playing surface under the assumption that more flooding would occur in the spring.

With those waters never creeping onto the field, officials began repairs earlier this spring and Dell Rapids PBR played its first baseball game of the season at Rickeman on May 31 with all repairs completed.

Dell Rapids St. Mary prepares for the game against Colman-Egan on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. (Photo: Abigail Dollins / Argus Leader)

There is now hope that St. Mary will be able to use the field this fall after seeding on the outfield, which doubles as St. Marys 80x40 football field in the fall, had come in nicely by PBRs opener.

The field was covered in sand following the fall flooding, and there was some doubt if baseball or football could be played on the surface in 2020. But city administrator Justin Weiland said he thinks the field will be fine for the Cardinals to compete this fall. St. Marys home opener isnt until Sept. 4 when they host De Smet.

But the long-term solution to St. Marys situation could be their 5.5-acre practice field east of Rickeman and across Garfield Avenue. That area is where the Cardinals practice during the week, and its also home to St. Marys portable bleachers and goal posts, which are moved over to Rickeman each August and taken back to the practice field each October.

Athletic director Casey Michel said the school is in preliminary stages of turning the practice field into the Cardinals permanent home. Its a financial hurdle that the school has to overcome in order to make that a reality, and theyve got a big chunk to go to make it so.

Michel said theyve raised approximately $6,000 towards the project that could easily creep into six figures when completed. Between lights, wiring, a crows nest for timing and scoring, and potentially crowning the field to help with drainage, Michel admitted the need for fundraising in order to make it all work.

But thats our goal, to make that area our permanent field, he said. If we do it right, it would probably be pushing six figures pretty quick, which we just dont have.

Michel said flooding about 10 years ago forced the Cardinals to play their homecoming game at Garretson. That situation started the conversations about developing the practice field, but those talks cooled before resurfacing again last year after the flood.

A bid process was started and Michel said they have received quotes for the project.

The practice field is further away from the river (than Rickeman) and last year we may have lost a couple of home games, but by playoff time, we could have been able to play on it, Michel said. We would still run the risk of having to move a home game, but typically on that field, when the water recedes, its in good enough shape that you could play on it after a couple of weeks.

Although the six-figure number is a bit daunting, Michel said the school could just chip away at the goal slowly to get the field playable sooner than later.

If we could just get lights, we could make everything else work because we really dont want to play afternoon games, he said. So if we just got the money to do the lights, maybe we dont have a crows nest for a couple of years. We can figure that out and maybe just put them on the top of the bleachers.

For this fall, all indications are that the Cardinals will be back at Rickeman. Weiland said St. Mary will have to supply proper liability insurance paperwork and a mitigation plan due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Its the same paperwork the city is requiring baseball andsoftball teams using city facilities this summer.

We dont have a final answer, but I dont anticipate there being a problem,Weiland said of St. Mary playing football games at Rickeman this fall. Hopefully we dont see a second wave of this thing (COVID-19). Like everything, its really hard to plan that far out on anything right now.

Read or Share this story: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/dell-rapids/2020/06/05/where-st-mary-play-football-season/5311086002/

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Where will St. Mary play football this season? - Argus Leader

A bed-bound great-grandmother died in a house fire while her family were attending a Christmas nativity play, an inquest has heard.

Alma Parsons, 75, of Cardiff, was killed in the fire at her daughter Lisa Scourfield's home in Aberporth Road, Gabalfa, on December 18 last year.

Emergency services were called to the property at around 3pm by a neighbour who saw dark smoke pouring from a letterbox and Mrs Parsons was removed from her bedroom by members of the fire brigade.

Despite the best efforts of firefighters and paramedics, who performed CPR on Mrs Parsons, she was declared dead at the scene.

Mrs Scourfield and her sister Catherine Parsons returned from Highfields Church in Monthermer Road, after being notified by a neighbour, to discover the house covered in smoke and the fire brigade outside the property.

They were taken to the University Hospital of Wales to await the arrival of their mother but were later told she had died.

An inquest hearing at Pontypridd Coroners' Court on Thursday heard Mrs Parsons moved in with Mrs Scourfield and her family following the death of her husband Terrance.

In a statement read out by coroner Rachel Knight, Catherine Parsons said her mother had "given up the will to live" and spent most of her time in bed sleeping.

In the days before her death Mrs Parsons had attended her GP and was diagnosed with a chest infection.

Catherine Parsons said Mrs Scourfield, her brother-in-law Marc Scourfield, and their family were watching her daughter perform in a nativity play on December 18 and last saw her mother sleeping before leaving the house.

In another statement Mrs Scourfield described her mother as "well-educated" and "prim and proper".

She said Mrs Parsons had come to live with her after struggling to manage living on her own following the death of her husband and said her mother would often fall over which made her reluctant to leave her bed.

After attending the nativity play Mrs Scourfield said she was called by a neighbour who said smoke was coming from her home. She said she rushed back to the house and the fire service were already at the scene.

The fire was first discovered by neighbour Colin Russell who saw smoke coming from the house as he walked with his mother and son.

In his statement Mr Russell said: "I saw smoke coming from an upper-storey window and there was dark smoke coming from the letterbox.

"I dialled 999 and saw flames so I told my mother to get away from the house. My father emerged from his house and said he saw the fire brigade bringing a body out the back of the house."

In his statement Mr Scourfield said he had also attended the nativity play and arrived back to Aberporth Road after dropping a family friend home.

He said he saw fire engines outside his home as he pulled up and he approached a fire officer to find out what was going on.

Mr Scourfield said: "I could see a number of firefighters giving CPR to my mother-in-law. I thought the worst and thought she wouldn't make it.

"My wife and sister-in-law arrived and they were standing in the street, hysterical, and asking about their mother. Neighbours were attempting to console them.

"Not long after my wife and sister-in-law left to attend hospital an officer at the scene told me after a valiant effort they were unable to save Alma. The whole family were left in shock."

Footage from the scene of the incident:

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A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Parsons' cause of death was ischemic heart disease due to coronary artery atherosclerosis in a woman with an elevated concentration of carboxyhemoglobin.

A fire investigation report written by Stuart Townsend from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service concluded the fire was caused accidentally after electrical wiring behind the cooker overheated causing the cupboard it was housed in to heat up and smoulder before bursting into flames.

Before delivering her conclusion coroner Ms Knight said: "I express my condolences to Mrs Parsons' family and friends. Her death must have come as a great shock and I am sure she is greatly missed."

A narrative conclusion was made by the coroner, stating: "Alma Parsons died as a result of ischemic heart disease in conjunction with coronary artery atherosclerosis, caused by an accidental fire at her home."

Following the inquest a family spokeswoman said: "The family are still devastated after Alma's death but they were helped so much by the love and support of the local community who came out to help them in the days after the tragedy. They just wanted to let people know how grateful they are for that support at such a difficult time."

See the article here:
Great-gran died in house fire when wiring behind cooker overheated - Wales Online