Iraqi kids enjoying American charity
Par 4 Plastics, Tyler Manufacturing and Xtreme Tracker are joining forces to raise money to buy candy and soccer balls for Iraqi children.
The plan started coming together recently, when Xtreme tracker chief information officer Kris Carlson urged some fellow employees to help him gather up items to send to his brother's military unit, which is stationed north of Baghdad at Camp Taji.
His brother, Cpt. Brandon Carlson, sent a letter home to his family and friends recently, explaining the need for soccer balls and candy. Part of the letter went like this:
"We have a very large diverse battlespace and so far we have been doing a good job in helping protect the populace and rebuilding the country.  We are out on the streets daily interacting with the populace and performing patrols and other missions. One of our greatest assets here is building relationships with the Iraqis, especially the children who in turn provide us with cooperation and intelligence, which allows us all to operate in a more safe, secure environment."
One of the best ways to do that, Cpt. Carlson said, is to gain the children's trust. Passing out candy and soccer balls helps achieve that goal.
Carlson's mother, Lee Gardella, has been a tireless supporter of the troops overseas. She has been collecting items and sending them to soldiers for several years. The recent letter home from her West Point-graduate son adds some new urgency to her efforts.
"This used to be something I wanted to do. Now, it's something I need to do," she said, "because it can save lives."
The letter pointed out that her son and his unit are on the streets of Iraq every day, facing a variety of conditions.
The effort to collect balls and candy is growing exponentially as more and more people and groups – like the three Marion manufacturing companies – start chipping in to help, Carlson said.
"I have even had an attorney, who was in the military himself, offer to set up a non-profit corporation so I can start getting larger donations," Gardella said.
Lisa French, personnel manager at Par 4 Plastics, said the three companies are taking donations from employees and the corporations are going to at least match the contributions and possibly double them.
Joe McDaniel, president of Par 4, is encouraging other community groups and companies to join the effort.
"I am sure there are many in the community who would like to help," he said.
For more information, contact Gardella at 965-4158 or ljgardella@gmail.com.

Quake aftershocks continue this week
An early morning earthquake rattled Crittenden County Friday and continued to keep the ground moving in the region as late as Wednesday morning.
Though experts claim the constant shaking is not necessarily a portent of things to come, some four-legged residents appear to be more skeptical.
“They were clawing at the door. I thought they were going to break it down,” Dwight Sherer said of his cats reacting to Friday’s initial tremor. That quake could be felt for as long as 15 seconds in Marion.
Sherer was up before dawn, getting ready for work when the first, and strongest of 25 earthquakes since 4:37 a.m., Friday began to rumble across the Midwest. His cats that he had let outside were eager to get back in when the 5.2-magnitude quake hit. Neither were the dogs in his Fords Ferry Road neighborhood too happy about the shaking.
“When I went outside, every dog in the neighborhood was barking,” Sherer said at Five Star Food Mart shortly after the first earthquake struck.
And that’s about all anyone was talking about at the convenience store at 5 a.m. Marion’s emergency dispatch center also fielded plenty of questions regarding the quake.
“I’ve had forty-eleven-dozen calls,” said dispatcher Bob Woodward early Friday morning, “But no one's reported any injuries. They've all said it woke them up, though.”
While the southeastern Illinois-epicentered earthquake was felt as far away as Canada and in 16 states, and subsequent tremors continue to occur, there have still been no reports of injury or damage locally. The repeated aftershocks, though, are starting to raise questions and worries among some residents.
Science, meantime, may offer solace to those fearing the end of times.
Gary Patterson, a geologist and information services director with the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis (Tenn.), says there is no reason for panic despite five straight days of quakes.
“...Based on 30 years worth of instrumental data, we don’t think these events are precursors to anything,” Patterson said, adding an asterisk to his statement. “...But we can’t say with certainty.”
The fact the shaking isn’t from the usual suspect also makes the recent earthquakes a bit of an anomaly.
Most tremors felt locally over the last several years have been centered somewhere in the New Madrid Seismic Zone to the west. Yet, of the 30 earthquakes that have occurred within 150 miles or so of Marion in the last week, only five of those can be attributed to the New Madrid Seismic Zone centered along the Tennessee-Missouri border. The balance have been centered in southeastern Illinois in the middle of the lesser-known Wabash Valley Seismic Zone.
“It is capable of producing ‘New Madrid’ size earthquake events,’ the Central United States Earthquake Consortium Web site says of the Wabash Valley zone.
Patterson said earthquakes similar to Friday’s 5.2 have occurred in the Wabash Valley zone since 1968, most recently in 2002. None have triggered larger events, though many aftershocks were felt after a 1987 tremor. And the shaking related to last week’s initial earthquake could last into next month, or beyond.
“The recent earthquakes in Wabash seem to be a classic aftershock sequence where events occur on, or near, the same fault as the mainshock; generally decay in magnitude over time; and become less frequent,” Patterson said. “The time scale for this sequence could be hours, days or weeks.”
Historically, the geologist said, at least eight earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater have occurred courtesy of the Wabash Valley zone, with two of those greater than 7.0. He is, though, talking about the last 20,000 years.
Despite Patterson’s reassurances, he indicates there are still lots of unanswered questions about earthquakes in the heartland.
“Is all the stress relieved after an earthquake in the central U.S., or is the system still ‘charged up’?” he posed. “We don’t know the energy budget or even why the energy is accumulating here as opposed to other weak spots in the North American continental crust.”

Earthquake insurance
The phone lines at local insurance agencies have been lighting up since last Friday’s quake. Customers with earthquake insurance are clearing up any questions about coverage and those without are asking how to get it.
Those without may have to wait a bit longer.
One Marion insurance agent said a waiting period of 72 hours after the last recorded earthquake is common among insurance companies. And, the risk is so great to those companies, that in some states, they do not even offer coverage. Kentucky, however, is not one of those states.
If property owners can afford earthquake coverage, they should be aware that deductibles for such policies differ from those for other risks. Instead of a flat fee deductible like those for most losses, the policyholder is responsible for a percentage of the loss before coverage kicks in. For Crittenden and all surrounding counties, that rate is limited to 15 percent or below.
At 15 percent, for instance, the total loss of a $75,000 home with $25,000 of contents ($100,000 total) would be covered for only $85,000. The owner would foot the first $15,000.
Ironically, the county just recently dropped earthquake coverage on its properties. The City of Marion also does not keep earthquake insurance on its properties.