Lancaster Eagle-Gazette from Lancaster, Ohio • 2

2ALancaster Eagle-Gazette, Sunday, November 7, 2004 Wiring schools Annual funding for a federal program to promote quality telecommunications services in schools and libraries: $3.0 Won about wiring alone, and the E-Rate program doesnt fund computers, software and other tools needed in the classrooms. Nor does it pay to train teachers to use the technology. Bonnie Bracey, who runs workshops for the Lake Barrington, Thornburg Center for Professional Development, said infrastructure won't do much good if teachers aren't trained in how and where to find information useful for their But Andy Carvin, an expert in improving access to technology and the Internet said having the wiring funded by E-Rate gives school districts "confidence to make long-term plans" that include computers and training. Without E-Rate, wouldn't school districts see the Internet's value anyhow? "It's easy for administrators to choose between new books, fixing the building and paying for teachers and paying for the Internet," Carvin said. "The Internet isn't going to be a very high priority even if they knew the Internet would help learning itself." gram will have to spread them out over the year because phone companies make their payments monthly.

He said phone companies also may have to increase contributions to the Universal Service Fund to cover the new requirements, a proposal that could face resistance from consumers and industry groups. The Education Department says 92 percent of public school classrooms had Internet access in 2002, up from 27 percent in 1997, before E-Rate began. Ninety-four percent of the schools had broadband in 2002 E-Rate has also contributed to wiring public libraries, more than 95 percent of which now offer free access to patrons, up from 74 percent in 1998. And having guaranteed business from a large user like a school district makes it more economically feasible for service providers to sell access to households and businesses in the region as well, said Delia Matthis, Alaska's E-Rate coordinator. Of course, technology isn't By ANICK JESDANUN AP Internet Writer In remote regions of Alaska, where hooking classrooms to the Internet via satellite can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars a month, cash-strapped school districts have come to depend on a federal program that has suddenly suspended funding.

E-Rate reimburses schools for Internet service, wiring and some equipment, getting proceeds from surcharges on longdistance phone bills. Without it, its advocates say, rural or poorer schools would have limited access to the online world, if at all "We would not have broadband access. We would not have interactive video," said Marge Randlett, technology director for the sprawling Kuspuk School District about 350 miles west of Anchorage. Teachers could find things ahead of time and print them out, but you can't effectively use the Internet as a live source of information." Schools in other states benefit, too. In fact, most schools and plans to switch Internet providers before it found out about the suspension, has since scaled back plans to install equipment and left some school buildings Internet-free for now.

In Alaska's Southeast Island School District, which spans nearly 25,000 square miles, all the schools have new videoconferencing equipment to provide students with opportunities to take advanced math and foreign language classes remotely. Without E-Rate funds, the required Internet linkage is absent "The teachers have been (trained) on how to use it, the kids have been exposed to it, but right now we're just waiting for the opportunity to get it up and running," said Jim Nygaard, the district's superintendent Many other school districts in Alaska and other states have managed to continue service for now, shifting funds from elsewhere or convincing vendors that funding will eventually come through. The federal government has assured districts that the money is merely delayed, not cut But school admin istrators remain worried. The program has come under fire as auditors unearthed cases of wasted equipment improper or falsified purchases, insufficient payments and poor oversight prompting a closer look by the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees E-Rate. As part of that review, the FCC noticed that the program hasnt been complying with federal accounting rules that require agencies to have enough cash upfront to cover the costs of any new commitments the letters that assure a school district it would get funding in a given year.

So instead of continuing the past practice of issuing commitments all at once, mindful that bills wouldn't come due for months, the FCC required its outside administrator, Universal Service Administrative to suspend commitments until the entire year's money was already is in the bank. Mel BlackwelL a spokesman for the adininistrator, said commitment letters should resume in a few weeks, though the pro 2g ruiKjHiy ywara 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0. 1996 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 SOURCE Federal Communications Commission AP some public libraries have gotten E-Rate funding at some point since the program began in 1998. However, with charges of fraud and new accounting rules delaying new funding commitments, the Kuspuk district and other E-Rate beneficiaries around the country aren't sure whether they can count on the program anymore. Kuspuk, which had made ipire with friendly spider Ohio author building ei About Miss Spider: The Associated Press Here's a fast lesson on Miss Spider: Miss Spider lives with her husband, Holley, and their eight children five spiders (Squirt, Spinner, Wiggle and the twins.

Pansy and Snowdrop) a beetle (Shimmer), a dragonfly (Dragon) and a bedbug (Bounce). There's also Grandma Betty, Uncle Gus and Spiderus (the villain). Miss Spider and her family live in The Hollow Tree in Sunny Patch, a lush realm of trees, grass, flowers, water and leaves. BOOKS: Miss Spider's Tea Party 1994 Miss Spider's Wedding 1995 Miss Spiders New Car 1997 Miss Spider's ABC 1998 Little Miss Spider 1999 Little Miss Spider At Sunny Patch School 2000 Little Miss Spider A Christmas Wish 2001 TELEVISION DEBUT: Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids, an hour-long 3-D computer-animated television special, aired on Nickelodeon, March 2003. HOME INVASION: Sunny Patch, a collection of garden products, home decor and apparel featuring Miss Spider characters was launched in Target stores nationwide, January 2003.

TELEVISION SERIES: Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, a half-hour series, began its daily airings on Nickelodeon Jr. on Sept. 7. By WILLIAM KATES Associated Press Writer KING FERRY, N. Y.

This spider man doesnt grapple against super-strength villains. Instead, his world is a whimsical, woodsy wonderland, where a vegetarian spider teaches lessons of love and friendship. Author and Ohio native David Kirk is the creator of the popular Miss Spider series of children's books, which have sold close to 5 million copies since 1994. Now, Kirk's creation is reaching an even wider audience as a daily show on Nickelodeon Jr. and CBS, "Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends." In many ways, Kirk's real world is as magical as Miss Spider's: His 140-year-old Gothic-style farmhouse sits on a wooded hillside overlooking the vineyards of Cayuga Lake in this small hamlet 50 miles southwest of Syracuse, where he lives with his second wife and three daughters Violet Primrose and Wisteria.

His house is stuffed with bright-colored paintings, children's books and all sorts of toys, especially robots. Outside, a two-story Victorian-style tree house sits nestled in a towering black walnut in the backyard. "Every day is a new surprise," said Kathy Kirk. "He's always making up funny stories to telL The kids can't get enough of him." ON THE RECORD POLICE BEAT Someone broke into the LE Storage company at 1570 East Main Street Lot 57, sometime between midnight and 11:38 a.m. Friday.

Eight padlocks, valued at a combined $50, were stolen, Lancaster police reported A woman reported that sometime between 10 p.m. Thursday and 12:30 p.m. Friday, someone went into her bedroom and stole a platinum and diamond ring, Lancaster police reported. The theft occurred in the 200 block of Livingston Avenue. The ring is valued at $2,000.

Sometime between 5 p.m. Friday and 10:48 Saturday morning, someone stole a black 24 foot Pe-qua-brand trailer from the Mid-State Power Equipment company, 3210 Old Columbus Road, Amanda, the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office reported. The value of the item was not reported. A 16-foot utility trailer and a 9-fcot flat bed for a truck were stolen from Ruff Welding, 4270 Old Columbus Road, around 10 p.m. Friday.

The equipment is valued at $2,650. an hour-long, 3-D computer-animated television special on Nick-elodeoa In September, Miss Spider became a popular fixture on Nick where it is seen twice daily by about 1 million children. Its debut was the highest fated Nick Jr. premiere since Bob the Builder in January 2001. CBS airs Miss Spider on Saturday mornings.

Miss Spider's success has meant some changes for Kirk, who used to sit for hours a day by himself, doing the oil paintings for his illustrations. Now, others help with the animation, story lines and writing. "I've had to give up some control of Miss Spider but it's been more fun than sitting by myself painting," said Kirk. Kirk is delighted by how his characters have come to life. They have the personalities he invented; the voices are the ones he heard in his head as he developed the characters.

Actress Brooke Shields provided Miss Spider's voice in the television special, but was unavailable for the daily show. Instead, Emmy-nominated "Sex in the City" star Kristin Davis supplies Miss Spider's voice. Kirk faces a busy future. The success of the television show has generated more inter- est in Miss Spider. Kirk is working on several new books to tie into story lines on the television show as well as a feature film.

DISSOLUTIONS Randi Morrell-Adkins v. John Keena v. Scott A Davis rt Gregory A. Brunney v. Terri L.

Brunney Charles, W. Skeen v. Betty L. Skeeri Shawn A. Johnson v.

Regina L. Johnson Sandra L. Brewer-Swartz v. Anthony M. Swartz Ginger Y.

Noel v. Mark A. Noel James R. Smith Sr. v.

Rhonda K. Smith Thomas L. Wood v. Brenda J. Wood Sara J.

Gahm v. Verne Ay-ers Amy R. Sammler v. Andrew C. Sammler Gregory A.

Dawson v. Tr-isha S. A. Dawson Amy R. Walter v.

Michael A. Michael A. Walter DISSOLUTION PETITIONS Allen M. Gahler v. Deanna R.

B. Gahler Reale Daniels v. Robert L. Daniels Jr. By that time, Kirk was married to his first wife and had daughter Violet He decided to start another toy company, this time with children in mind.

The toy venture wouldn't last but it would lead the soft-spoken 48-year-old to Miss Spider. Kirk had been considering writing a children's book, but admits he's not one to strike out on unknown paths, instead waiting for opportunities to come to him. Publisher Nicholas Callaway most famous for Madonna's "Sex" book was looking to expand his interests beyond photography, design and fashion. Callaway had struck up a friendship with Kirk after purchasing one of Kirk's toys for his daughter's first Christmas in 1991 Sneaking Baby Alligator with Spinning Eyes. He became enamored with the box with its rich illustration and recognized Kirk's ability to bring a character to life.

"I'm not surprised by Miss Spider's success," said Callaway. "David's illustrations are so rich and complex, they are perfect for computer animation. His whole life has been a rehearsal for creating a character like this. Miss Spider is the universal mother figure. Children form a deep emotional connection with her." idea for Miss Spider came, from his oldest daughter, Violet now 17, Kirk said.

"When she was little, she could tate agent. Christina R. McClaskey, 29, Reynoldsburg, homemaker, and Daniel A. Blake, 32, Reynoldsburg, sales employee. Patricia A.

Walker, 59, Lancaster, assistant manager, and Charles W. Walnoha 58, Lancaster, warehouse employee. Jessica A. Cornell, 33, Lancaster, customer service employee, and Edward S. Weiland, 40, Sugar Grove, I.B.E.WVelectri-cian.

Jennifer S. Hutchison, 28, Lancaster, self-employed, and Brian J. Stebelton, 35, Lancaster, truck driver. Helen Baldassarre, 30, Pickerington, homemaker, and Todd P. Zeik, 28, Pickerington, electrical engineer.

Sherry Akers, 33, Thurston, sales associate, and Kelly G. McKenzie, 32, Thurston, construction worker. Shannon R. Skinner, 27, Lancaster, student, and Peter H. Fi-lyo, 30, Lancaster, student.

Melissa R. Burcham, 24, Pickerington, cosmetologist, and Craig M. Richards, 24, Pickerington, field engineer. Other Advertising: 681-4335 Classified Ads: 681-4455 Other 654-1321 Soma Mown an mamomd by tupgwy ptnotm vt our MtodKJ to rmm ON To Kirk grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art. He won a scholarship to study painting in England for a year, a trip that left a profound impressioa "That whole Victorian era was appealing to me," said.

Kirk, whose parents were professional puppeteers. "The styles that de- veloped in that era and the ject matters, fairies, angels and i women. Not so much the histori- cal stuff, but the fantasy stuff, jhe LOTTERY MEGA MILLIONS The jackpot in the multi-stats Mega Millions lottery, drawing grew to $90 million None of the tickets sold for Friday's $77 million matched all five lotto1, numbers, and the Mega Ball. The next drawing will be Tuesday. There were 11 second-prize winners from Friday night's drawing, matching all five lotto numbers but not the Mega Ball number to win $175,000 each.

Also, 28 players matched four of the five lotto numbers, plus the Mega Ball number. Those tickets are each worth $5,000. The winning numbers from Friday's drawing were: 3, 29, 30, 41, and 43. The Mega Ball number was 1 OHIO LOTTERY Super Lotto Plus: The jackpot is growing to $16 million for the next drawing Wednesday night. Kicker: No game ticket had all six numbers, so no one can claim the $100,000 top prize.

Rolling Cash 5: One game pick up a little caterpillar and carry it around for hours," he said. "I would worry because kids arent usually very carefuL Hours later, she would still have her little bug, and it would still be happy, crawling around. When she was ready, she would let it go. She was the inspiration for Miss Spider. Someone who might cause a little trouble, but always very nice." In her first book, "Miss Spider's Tea Party," Miss Spider has trouble making friends because the other bugs fear they will be eaten.

In subsequent stories, Miss Spider gets married, starts a family, buys a car and learns the alphabet The stories are gentle and told in rhyming verse. The lessons, said Callaway, are simple ones: Be kind. Don't cheat. Don't give up. Miss Spider was an instant success.

(The friendly arachnid became an overnight pop-culture heroine when Madonna read "Tea Party" at a nightclub event broadcast live on MTV in 1995.) In 2002, Target began offering a "Sunny Patch" clothing line for children, as well as garden and home decor products (such as a spider sprinkler and ladybug kneepads) based on Kirk's characters. Fisher-Price will begin selling Miss Spider toys next year, Callaway said. Last year, Miss Spider made the jump to television star with DIVORCES Kimberty A Carter v. Sanford M. Carter Sergio A Martinez v.

Katina M. Martinez Kathy E. Kirkpatrick v. Gary Martinez Duskon Jovanovski v. Snezana G.

Jovanovski Zsofia J. Lester v. Dallas S. Lester Jr. Hue N.

Trang v. Henry A Tran Carolyn J. Bieber v. Larry Bieber Dina M. Reliford v.

Shad Reli-ford Tessa R. Burroughs v. Mark D. Burroughs Angela M. Bywater v.

Richard N. Bywater Megan Reed v. Mark Reed Christy Spears v. Michael Spears Samuel Smith v. Tara Smith Vickie Kramer v.

Jason S. Kramer DIVORCE COMPLAINTS Teresa Linehan v. David Linehan Jr. Lyndsay M. Walsh v.

Mark S. Walsh Yoianda D. Mace v. Jason A Mace NEWSPAPER RATES Hi Subscription $16.00 Monthly $46.50 3 month) you donl receive your 5 pm. weekdays, 7:30 am weekends, please can us at (740) 661-4500.

Customer ser-vie available 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. M-F; 6 am. to noon Sat-Sun; Hoe-days 6 to 10 a.m. 35-Daly $125Sunday Subscribe Cal 681-4500 liar Home Delivery $37 67 3 MorM 0fcBd $12 00 'Monty by Oedl Cat! a Bar Dirt USPS to stories, the legends." When he ran out of money, he returned to New York City, where he moved into a loft apartment with his older brother, who was starting an illustration business.

He was 23. 'Q; He began building toys. Not for children, but one-of-a-kind pieces for Peter-Pan adults (like Toy Story' director John Lasseter) will-, ing to pay $100. Kirk sold a few hundred pieces a year but continued to struggle in the Big Apple. ticket had the right combination for the drawing Saturday, and it's worth the Ohio Lottery game's jackpot of $120,000.

The winning ticket was sold at Kroger in Logan. NIGHT DRAWINGS Super Lotto: 11-19-23-39-42- 48 Bonus Ball: 28 Kicker: 6-9-7-1-1-0 -Rolling Cash 5: 4-13-15-36-38 Pick 3 Numbers: 8-3-5 Pick 4 Numbers: 3-9-1-2 DAY DRAWINGS Pick 3 Numbers: 7-4-5 Pick 4 Numbers: 2-3-3-1 COURTS Please note: Legal separations are included with divorces in common pleas court records. MARRIAGES Holli R. Parker, 21, Pickering-ton, pre-school teacher, and Scott M. Vess, 24, Pickerington, UPS employee.

Regina Johnson, 34, Carroll, landscapes and Cuong D. Le, 42, Toronto, Canada, real es ssr6mcogameLcorn Assistant Sports Ecftx DMPurpura-681-4356 rjpurpura nrxxxjannetLoom Advertising Director Janet Bar -6814333 OmcogannetLccm Circulation Director John Russel-681-4337 jrusselSnrcogametLcom WEATHER TODAY'S FORECAST MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY LUNAR PHASES New. Nov. 12 Full Nov. 26 i SW gypj Partly doudy Mostly sunny Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Mostty cloudy with A slight chance Rise a.m.

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