Senior Editor: Jeff Norton
Senior Writer: Ashley Kimball
Staff Photographer: Mark Seren
NATURALISTS REJOICE AT RECENT VICTORY
Cumberland Forest Declared Nature Preserve
In a recent move, the state legislature finally approved a measure that has been before it for almost three years, declaring hundreds of miles of the Cumberland Forest & Mountains and Twin Falls State Park official wildlife preserves. Naturalists and Conservationists had been trying for a very long time to get the forests protected and declared a preserve, due to the high population of wolves and other dwindling wildlife populations native to the area. The legislature also went so far as to declare Armagh Observatory a historical landmark.
Lea Cala, Conservation Agent and Park Ranger at Twin Falls had the following to say, “Poaching has been a problem in the forests for far too long. This new legislation opens up new options and opportunities, as well as for allowing for more training and additional staff for the Forest and State Park. It also makes poaching a federal crime on these lands, allowing for more attention and more stringent punishments for those caught engaging in such activities. This is a great victory for anyone that lives or works in the region.”
A spokesperson for the Armagh Observatory issued the following statement, “This is an unexpected and gratifying win for anyone that lives near or enjoys these lands. It was high time that the state legislature recognized their importance and granted the concessions they so deserved.”
Certain concessions have been granted for landowners whose lands border the Cumberland Forest.
The state legislature claims that this sudden action was in no way a response to a recent attempt by Turner Fisheries and Canneries to acquire the land for business purposes.
They legislature claims that it was simply an issue that had lain dormant for too long and was finally addressed.
Turner Fisheries and Canneries has recently come under fire for other “questionable” business practices. No one at the Turner business offices could be reached for comment.
CHARITY ORGANIZATION INVESTIGATED
Harris International Foundation Under Fire
Harris Inc just recently announced their turnover into a charity organization, but now it is under investigation by federal and state authorities. There are confirmed reports that Harris International Foundation is under investigation for money laundering, misappropriation of funds and fraudulent practices. The exact extent of this investigation and its sources for information, remain unclear.
Samantha Harris had the following to say at a press conference in the Crown Royal Hotel, “These allegations are completely false and unfounded, as the investigation will no doubt prove. This is just proof once again that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If your company is not a money grubbing, person-devouring entity, then there must be something shady going on. It is ridiculous and we will of course be cooperating fully with the federal investigators, so that we may put this behind us as quickly as possible and get back to our mission of helping those in need.”
This is not the first time that a company run and organized by Ms. Harris has fallen under fire. It was only a year or so ago that Ms. Harris saw the shut down of her company due to charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM UNVEILS MASSIVE EGYPTIAN EXHIBIT
As a 5,000-pound Egyptian granite lion hung suspended by chains from a gantry, the moving crew got out its rulers and started measuring. Staff members from the British Museum in London watched nervously as the crew slowly lowered the 3,500-year-old sculpture onto a specially designed platform at the Hidden Cove Natural History Museum. The lion had to land at precisely the right spot to fit. "You've got it," said Roger Machin, head rigger for Methods and Materials, a New York company hired to move the 13 largest objects in the "Eternal Egypt" exhibit.
The show of sculpture, jewelry, papyrus paintings and tomb artifacts is on loan from the British Museum.
With 144 objects, "Eternal Egypt" is the largest Egyptian exhibit ever presented in Hidden Cove, said Robert Jacobsen, a curator at the Hidden Cove museum. "It's probably our most expensive show ever, and without a doubt it's the heaviest," he added.
The exhibit cost $1.2 million to prepare, transport, insure, install and promote. It will open this week and run well into the fall.
The lion, the show's centerpiece, shares its gallery with an immense red quartzite head of Amenhotep III. The head is more than 4 feet tall and once stood atop a 26-foot standing figure of the pharaoh who ruled Egypt about 3,350 years ago. It was originally part of his funeral temple on the west bank of the Nile River at Thebes. Other pieces on display include a larger-than-life-size sculpture of King Tutankhamun (King Tut) in black granite and a life-sized sandstone piece of King Sety II, a serene young man perched on a throne. A third royal portrait, a large red-granite bust of a smiling Ramesses II, rounds out the ensemble of royals. Cases of scepters, jewelry and other relics of their reigns will surround them. The museum will also have such rare items as two mummies and their sarcophaguses complete with canopic jars.
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