Board Game Animal
Parents, sooner or later you are going to have to face the GAMING issue.Video games . . .
Well, they are here to stay.
I still remember my first video game system.
The Nintendo.
Ah, Mario was top dawg back then.
There weren't many systems to choose from back in "my day".
Things have changed.....
ALOT!
My husband is what I call the PRO VIDEO GAMER.
My kids definitely get their love FOR THE GAME from him.
Each one started playing some form of system at the tender age of 4.
Their system of choice-Nintendo DS/Nintendo DSi, hands down.
So, it's only natural that we add DS games to their ever-growing wish list.
I wanted to give you a few more suggestions before the big day gets here :
Charm Girls Club My Fashion Mall
This one is for your little fashionista!
About the game:
She will work her way through the mall completing missions such as makeovers, pouring lattees and caring for puppies at the petstore.
Complete missions to earn charms and new fashions. The more you earn, the bigger your mall will get.
The bigger the mall, the better!
There are 10 mini games including facials, fashions, manicures, pet pampering and more.
Sounds fab, huh?
She will love it.
SimAnimals Africa
For the Animal lover!
About the game:
SimAnimals on the Nintendo DS allows players to bring the African adventure with them anywhere and play with friends!
Featuring all of the animals included in the Wii adventure, the DS version also features exclusive animals such as parrots, cheetahs, meerkats, aardvarks and even a surprise secret animal as a reward for finishing the game! Build relationships with these wild, African animals, discover their secret abilities and use them to help solve challenges.
Collect items to earn each reward badge in the game. The stylus and microphone allow players to interact with the animals and environment in a totally unique way. The friendly parrot is your guide through the African landscape. Talk to him through the DS microphone and he’ll repeat back what you said! Conquer the African kingdom in co-op mode, where friends can trade plants and animals and play together to achieve goals faster.
Hasbro Family Game Night 2
For the entire family
(my personal favorite)
Some of your favorite board games are now on Nintendo Wii and DS.
Games such as Operation, Jenga, Bop-It, Connect 4 and Pictureka! right there at your fingertips.
No game board to worry about.
No game pieces.
Just YOU and your handheld DS (or Wii).
Mr. Potato Head leads the way as master of ceremonies.
He will serve as your video game "host".
Make game night extra fun by challenging your friends and family with Hasbro Family Game Night 2.
All games rated E for everyone.
For more info about any of the games above visit www.hasbro.ea.com
Foghorn PR (on behalf of EA Hasbro) sent me the above mentioned games for review purposes.
No other form of compensation (monetary) was received. The opinions in this feature are my own.
A last-minute request to the Gratiot County Board of Commissioners from the Pine River Task Force to help in a deadline-nearing suit against Velsicol was postponed yet again.
The would-be suit centers around the Gratiot County Landfill and Smith Farms that had been contaminated by Velsicol but never properly cleaned up, despite efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Quality.
After having studied the issue, Commissioner Mark Knowles said, "The more we know, the more questions we have."
He said he was "deeply disappointed" that the Traverse City environmental attorney hired by the task force wasn't able to attend Tuesday night's meeting due to weather.
For many commissioners, a kind of crash course on the landfill had to be undertaken, because so little was and is known on the history of the site and the county's responsibility.
The county's responsibility, should it become a party to a suit, was one of the questions directed to Tony Costanzo, the county's lawyer, and to Robert Anderson, the Mt. Pleasant
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environmental consultant hired by the task force to complete some of the studies, and Jane Keon, the task force chair.
Pointing out that he is not an environmental lawyer, Costanzo tried hard to answer the questions.
He said that by entering a suit, it was not likely that the county would increase its liability any more than it has now.
If the county did participate in the suit and if the lawsuit did go forward - a decision that would be made by the lawyer after the studies were completed - the defendant would likely attempt to go after any party it could, including the county, he said.
Rather astonished at the lack of information the county board has about the landfill, Knowles said, "There are records involved. Where are they?"
Drain Commissioner Brian Denman said he has cabinets filled with records but since he's been in office, he hasn't had occasion to look at them. Money is provided to the county by the state so it can maintain the area around the landfill, he said.
Commissioners asked if the county would still be responsible if the cleanup by the state and federal agencies was not satisfactory.
With a new administrator and mostly new commissioners, none of those questions could be answered.
Lambrecht was concerned that if there were such an insurance policy, how and in what way would the county file a claim.
Commissioners are aware that in the 1970s the county was cited for violations at the landfill; it received money from Velsicol for its use. They wanted to know how much of an impact that would have.
"If we do nothing (with the suit) and then in 2011 (when another DEQ inspection is due) we learn, boy, there are problems, whose dime? Gratiot County? It's your landfill?" asked Commissioner Tim Lambrecht.
Costanzo also pointed out that there is a $500,000 deductible in the policy the task force is trying to access with the suit. Although Keon said that the Traverse City attorney would consider that the money spent on the cleanup thus far by the agencies as the deductible, Costanzo wasn't so sure.
Eldridge said it was his understanding by reading the last report from the DEQ in 2006 that the site was now OK. In the future though, there would be problems.
Commissioners appeared eager to help, but were in the dark and stymied with so many unanswered questions. When Don Long, Bethany Township supervisor, said he doubted that his board would approve the approximately $7,000 immediate expenditure and become part of the suit, it seemed the commissioners then didn't feel so bad about postponing.
Eldridge said he switched his opinion and that while he hates to see the policy expire, "there's too many unanswered questions."
Hoping for more answers by that time, the board agreed to postpone the decision another week.
