This Week's Facts:
-
Indiana Springs Ahead the
Sunday
-
Award Recognizes Youth for
Volunteerism
-
Whack Fol the Daddy O! It's
Irish Heritage Month in March
-
Census Forms Coming to a
Mailbox Near You
EPA Tool Localizes
Environmental Info
Here’s a feature from the Environmental Protection Agency that
may be of interest to patrons.
MyEnvironment gathers environmental information
on a specific geographical area based on ZIP code. You can find
out air quality indicators, your number on the UV Index, even
current ozone conditions. The MyHealth section also details
cancer risks, mortality and low birth weight measurements for
the area. One useful part is MyCollaboration. In addition to
providing contact information and widgets for your own website,
it features an interactive map that lets you know what sort of
environmental projects are going on in your area. Earth Day is
coming up next month. If you want to volunteer but need some
ideas, this is a great place to start!
-------------------------------
Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
-------------------------------------
Join the
FDLP-IN
listserv
for the latest
government info
 
 |
Indiana Springs
Ahead this Sunday
 On
Sunday, March 14, Indiana observes Daylight Savings Time at 2
a.m. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday
night before bed and “spring ahead.” Just in case you’ve
forgotten what time zone you’re in, you can look at the
map and find your
corresponding county to determine your specific time zone. To
find out what time it is at anywhere in Indiana or the U.S. at
any time of day, you can visit the federal government’s
Time.gov
website. Read an article about the history of Daylight Savings
Time on the
NationalAtlas – Saving Time, Saving Energy
website. Remind your patrons to adjust their
clocks this weekend or they’ll be late!
Award Recognizes Youth for Volunteerism
 In
2007,
Lt. Governor Becky Skillman
created the Hoosier Rising Star Award to acknowledge the
contributions young Hoosiers have made in their communities.
Presented annually, this award is given to outstanding young
people who have influenced their communities with deeds and acts
such as contributing to violence prevention, leadership,
co-founding and creating chapters for the injustice in Darfur,
and other social and economic injustices throughout Indiana and
the world. Any student enrolled in grades K-12 during the
2009-10 school year who lives in Indiana is eligible for the
award. Strong candidates for this award should exhibit strong
leadership skills and have performed at least one significant
volunteer opportunity during the school year. The
application and supporting documents that
nominate the student must be received by the Lt. Governor’s
Office by March 31, 2010. For more information regarding
eligibility and previous winners’ activities, visit the
Hoosier Rising Star Award website.
Whack Fol the
Daddy O! It's Irish Heritage Month in March
 As
of 2008, 36.3 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry – eight
times the number of people living in Ireland today. In order to
honor these people and the contributions they’ve made to
American society over the years, March has been proclaimed
Irish-American Heritage Month.
In 2010, the month has a dual purpose – it is also meant to
honor the late Senator
Edward Kennedy, a very
prominent Irish-American.
While not everyone is aware of Irish-American Heritage Month, it
is difficult to find someone who is not familiar with St
Patrick’s Day! Celebrated on March 17, it is in honor of St
Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland. St Patrick’s Day
is celebrated with festivals and parades around the world.
St Patrick’s Day isn’t the only day of celebration in March for
Hoosiers. With the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness, the
people of Indiana have a lot to celebrate. Because of this, the
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, in conjunction with state
and local law enforcement officials, is conducting
Operation Pull Over. Lasting from March 6-22,
this is a period of intense vehicular vigilance, including
pullovers and sobriety tests. Honor your Irish ancestors and
drive safely this month!
For more information about St Patrick’s Day and the Irish in
America, you may be interested in
Today in History from the
Library of Congress. Additionally,
America’s Library provides
information on St Patrick’s Day celebrations throughout the
country. Of course, for statistical data, visit the Census
Bureau's
Irish-American Heritage Month - Facts
for Features.
Census Forms
Coming to a Mailbox Near You
 Census
Day, April 1st, is less than three weeks away. Most
U.S. residents have received a letter reminding them to fill out
the census questionnaire which will arrive in mailboxes next
week. We will all fill them out according to what is true in our
households as of Census Day 2010. This week, the Census Bureau
released a special
2010 Census edition of its
Facts for Features filled with interesting numerical data
about this year’s census. Did you know 360 million
questionnaires have been printed, weighing 11.6 million pounds
collectively? As the press release states, “Printing the
mail-out/mail-back questionnaires (those delivered by mail to
residential addresses) required one printer using three printing
presses, with one running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for
seven months and the other two for 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, for about seven weeks.”
Most households should receive forms between March 15 and 17.
Then, between March 22 and 24, they will receive reminder cards.
As stated in
2010 Census by the Numbers,
the form does not ask about citizenship or legal status, or for
anyone’s Social Security number. For more information about
importance of census, see
Indiana’s 2010 Census website. |
