2013年1月15日 星期二

Civic legacy left for Ebensburg

"That, to me, was the start of the entire renaissance of our downtown," said friend Eric Rummel, 60, an Ebensburg native and resident who, as a Vice President of First National Bank worked with Kimball on a myriad of civic and business projects over the years. "He did more for this community than most people realize," Rummel added, noting that Kimball did what was best for the town and not what was best for himself.

When Rummel managed what was then Laurel Bank in Ebensburg, Kimball sat on the bank's board and was always someone he could turn to for advice and guidance.

"He was the best coach and mentor you could ever want," Rummel said.We have many different types of crys talbeads wholesale. "He always made time. He was always available."

It was 60 years ago this year that L. Robert Kimball opened his surveying and engineering firm, L. Kimball & Associates, in his hometown of Ebensburg. Despite growing his business to include hundreds of employees and more than a dozen offices in five states, he kept the company's headquarters in Ebensburg and worked all his life to make his hometown a better place, according to friends and community leaders.Find Complete Details about howo tractor Truck.

"We rented the second floor to him when he opened his business," said Ebensburg native, attorney Freemont McKenrick, 89. McKenrick remembered Kimball as quite an athlete in his youth and the two earned their Eagle Scout honors in the same Boy Scout Troop. McKenrick pointed out how his friend was a highly decorated fighter pilot in World War II, serving with the Army Air Force.

McKenrick recalled one innovation Kimball brought to his work, the use of airplanes to take photographs to create tax maps that became part of the Cambria County tax registry.

Above all, Kimball was a friendly, charitable man who loved his community and gave his time, money and resources to help whenever and wherever he could, whether it be the Historical Society or the Ebensburg airport.

"He'll be sadly missed," McKenrick said. "He was a very good friend and I appreciated everything from him and his work in the community."

Ebensburg Mayor Randy Datsko said Kimball was "a very humble, very approachable" man who made a tremendously positive impact on Ebensburg.

"Mr. Kimball had a vision for the downtown," Datsko said, noting Kimball was instrumental in not only contructing what is now called Kimball Park at Center and High streets but also the landscape of the downtown, from the street lights to the renovation of buildings.

Borough Manager Dan Penatzer recalled Kimball as someone who was always involved and actively worked to improve Ebensburg. Penatzer said that kimball could have moved his business out of the town as it grew larger but he always stayed true to his hometown.

If the Senate confirms Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, he will confront a set of challenges similar to those faced by Charles E. Wilson in 1953, James Schlesinger in 1973 and Dick Cheney in 1991. In each of those cases, recent long and costly wars were drawing to a close, and traditional enemies were disappearing or being replaced.

Those defense secretaries oversaw drawdowns in the military budget averaging 34 percent. A comparable decline is likely over the next 10 years. The United States overspends on its military, and these resources could be better invested elsewhere, either through tax cuts today or deficit reduction that will ease the burden of taxes on future generations.

Hagel should start by setting the record straight on military spending.Find Complete Details about howo tractor Truck.Want to find howo concrete mixer? The charts make the challenge clear. Non-war spending has barely declined and will remain well above the post-Cold War average even if sequestration-level cuts go into effect. And he should neither back away from his assertion in 2011 that the Pentagon's budget is "bloated" and "must be pared down" nor withdraw his endorsement of the Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction plan. He should scrutinize Pentagon spending, and invite others to do the same. Knowing what the taxpayers spend is a crucial step for any SecDef who wishes to manage the Pentagon, rather than be managed by it.We can supply howo truck products as below. Knowing why we spend it is equally vital. If Hagel intends to implement a responsible drawdown in Pentagon spending, he must champion conservative values of self-reliance and responsibility among America's allies. Burden sharing is good; burden shifting is better. If other countries take on full responsibility for defending themselves, they can also do more to secure common interests, reducing the risks for American troops and costs for American taxpayers.

The Obama administration has shown little interest in letting allies bear a greater share of their defense burden. But it has consciously moved away from nation-building as a cure for terrorism. The revised strategic guidance released a year ago declared that "U.S. forces will no longer be sized to conduct large-scale, prolonged stability operations." And, with the important exception of the ill-advised troop surge in Afghanistan in 2009, President Obama has otherwise resisted the impulse to put large numbers of U.S. troops on the ground. Hagel shares the same inclinations. This important shift away from armed social work allows for significant reductions in the numbers of active-duty personnel in the Army and Marine Corps. Still, under current plans both forces will be larger in 2017 than they were before 2002. Meanwhile, personnel costs continue to rise. Containing these costs should be a major priority lest they strip more fighting power. Numerous think tanks, ad hoc study groups and even members of Congress have put forward specific proposals for reducing the Pentagon's budget. I especially recommend Carl Conetta's latest report from the Project on Defense Alternatives.

An easy place to start is the vehicles Congress forces the military to buy even when it has enough (for example, tanks built in Ohio and destined for long-term parking in the California desert). Hagel should also consider cutting the raft of non-military activities documented in Sen. Tom Coburn's report, "Department of Everything."

Then there are things that the military wants but doesn't actually need. This would include weapon systems designed for fighting unlikely wars, and legacy systems that should be superseded by new technologies. For example, the Navy should revisit its plan to build 55 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), a coast-guard cutter for other nations' coasts that has been plagued by technical and operational difficulties. The Navy should scrutinize, along with the Marine Corps, the costs versus the capabilities of the troubled F-35, and ponder cost-effective alternatives. And it should be forced to justify the enormous expense of the next-generation ballistic missile submarine, SSBN(X). If compelled to choose between more "boomers," more attack submarines, or more conventional surface combatants, what would the admirals pick? Hagel should ask that question.

Likewise, the Air Force should be asked whether the marginal benefits that would accrue from retaining the bomber leg of the nuclear triad are worth having fewer F-35s, fewer tankers, or fewer bombers dedicated solely to conventional strike missions. Or perhaps the Air Force should retire the other leg of the triad, the land-based ICBMs that look increasingly like relics of a bygone era?

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