KINGSPORT – Bays Mountain Planetarium staff are very happy about the worldwide distribution of their latest planetarium show, “When Venus Transits the Sun.”  As of early May 2012, about fifty-six copies of the show have been distributed to planetaria and showing in 27 states in the US and 12 countries worldwide.  Countries include far-away, exotic places like Australia, Africa, Sweden, India, China, Russia, Malaysia and more!  The farthest US state to receive the show is Hawaii.  Bays Mountain Park staff joke about being shipped with the show contents to make sure the package “gets to its destination.”  But how to fit in such a small box?

The months of March and April have been overly busy for planetarium staff as they have had to, in addition to their regular busy schedule, receive orders, install the show on hard drives shipped to them, and send them back.  Some theaters needed to have the show processed so it would work for their systems.  This added quite a bit of work as it can be complex, but was worthwhile to make sure a fellow planetarian could run the program in their theater.

Bays Mountain’s main goal was to create a full-dome show that was accurate, interesting, educational, and easily used.  It also needed to incorporate a live section to provide activities that all the audience could participate in. Another goal was to make the show very affordable.  Leasing planetarium shows is very expensive.  For most theaters, a typical show would require a special sponsor to pay for the license. We priced our show so that anyone could afford it.  Even with the low cost, the world’s economy has hit certain planetaria harder than others.  We have provided the show to some at a token amount and others for free.  Though not as prevalent nowadays, there are still a lot of “classic” theaters out there that cannot project a full-dome image.  As such, a special DVD version of the show had been created to help these theaters.  Park staff, and the City of Kingsport, is pleased with the idea that our work is being enjoyed worldwide and providing a solid educational, and fun, experience.

The Venus transit that will occur on June 5th, 2012 will be the biggest celestial event worldwide this year.  This is when we will see the planet Venus pass in front of, or transit, the sun.  It starts at 6:04 p.m. and will continue past sunset.  Sunset for East TN is about 8:45 p.m.  There will be a free, public viewing with telescopes including appropriate solar filters, but are waiting for the final legal signatures before we can announce where it will be.  The viewing will not be at Bays Mountain Park as it won’t be able to handle the expected huge turnout.  The viewing will be hosted by the Bays Mountain Astronomy Club and the Physics Dept. at ETSU.  The transit will become very popular in the news as we approach the date and so this show will help planetaria to educate and inspire their visitors about this event and astronomy as a whole.

This show is provided at Bays Mountain Planetarium on the weekends at 1 & 4 p.m. and Tues.-Fri. at 4 p.m.  During June, up through the 9th, it will be shown at 1 & 4 p.m. daily.

The show looks into the rare and magnificent celestial apparition called a Venus transit.  The show covers what a transit is, a famous transit viewing from the 18th century led by Captain Cook, and exciting information about the sun and Venus.  There will also be a live component to the show that allows the audience to participate in two fun activities.

A Venus transit is when the planet Venus is seen passing in front of the sun.  Why so special?  Telescope technology in the 18th century allowed the first opportunity for astronomers to accurately determine the size of the Solar System.  Another reason for being special is that these transits are rare.  Two consecutive transits occur eight years apart.  But, these pairs are separated by 105.5 and 121.5 years alternatively.  The last transit occurred in 2004.  The next one will be June 5, 2012.Diehard optimists will just have to wait 105 years for the next pair!

Contact Bays Mountain Planetarium Staff, Adam Thanz or Jason Dorfman, for more details:

423-229-9447

www.baysmountain.com

KINGSPORT ‚¬â€ Kingsport/Sullivan County 911s new Community Alert System will alert citizens in the Greater Kingsport area to eminent danger from perilous conditions and is now open for pre-registration. If residents have already signed up for the Citys former Code Red system, that information will be transferred into the new system, although residents are also urged to enter a cell phone number to receive text alerts as well.

Kingsport and western Sullivan County residents can go to https://kingsportsullivantn.onthealert.com and enter their name, address and cell phone information, and the City is particularly urging residents who no longer have land-line telephones to register. All information is held confidential and is not distributed or sold to third-parties. The new alerting system is scheduled to go live in June.

City officials say the alerts are another avenue to inform the public of potentially dangerous weather conditions or local emergencies created by tractor-trailer, train or industrial accidents. Because of the unforeseen nature of some emergencies, no one can guarantee that everyone will receive a timely notification, so it is important to monitor media outlets as well.

The new Cassidian system can place 700 calls per minute and can be tailored to differing situations, such as only contacting a particular neighborhood about a specific issue or localized emergency. Kingsports Public Works Department will also use the system to notify residents about road closures, water outages and other service issues.

The City is also considering replacing two existing sirens at Eastman and Domtar and adding two new ones elsewhere in the city at a cost of about $150,000.

NASHVILLE The Tennessee Department of Education is putting the work of the Common Core transition into the hands of those who know best  the states top teachers. As Tennessee gears up to implement the Common Core State Standards in grades 3-8 math next school year, more than 200 teachers from across the state will spend their summer as Core Coaches, helping colleagues in their districts navigate the transition to the rigorous standards.

This is an exciting moment for Tennessee as we take the important concepts of the Common Core State Standards directly to classroom teachers where they will have the biggest impact for children, said Emily Barton, assistant commissioner for curriculum and instruction for the Tennessee Department of Education.

More than 400 teachers applied to be Core Coaches, and the 205 chosen went through a rigorous application process. Kicking off the transition process to new standards and assessments, they will now spend the spring training to lead sessions this summer for more than 11,000 teachers across the state. The Core Coaches were selected by the previously announced Common Core Leadership Council, a group of 13 educators from across Tennessee who advise and lead the states transition to the Common Core across all grades.

John Prince, a member of the Leadership Council from Trenton Special School District, opened a recent training of Core Coaches with the charge that Tennessee educators embrace the Common Core as an opportunity to empower students and support their development as thinkers.

I hope we will see that changing our view of mathematics and the way it is discussed in classrooms is not just another transition or another program but a chance to really do something right for our children.

Leadership Council member Vicki Kirk said she looked forward to working with the Core Coaches on the standards that she believes will transform teaching across the nation.

Part of it is learning the standards, but part of it is learning a new way to teach, she said. I am inspired by the Common Core because it is based on the philosophy that all students can learn. And they will.

The Common Core State Standards are a set of standards for math and English-Language Arts that were developed by state leaders to ensure that every student graduates high school prepared for college or the workforce. The standards are designed to set clear expectations of what students should know in each grade and subject. States voluntarily chose whether to adopt the standards, and to date, 46 states, including the District of Columbia, have done so. The initiative is led by the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Achieve.

Tennessee plans to implement the Common Core English-Language Arts standards in 2013-14, and students will take new assessments reflecting the Common Core standards in both math and English in 2014-15. Core coaches for English-Language Arts, high school math, early grades and specialized disciplines will be selected this fall.

For more information, contact Kelli Gauthier at (615) 532-7817 or Kelli.Gauthier@tn.gov.

KINGSPORT ‚¬ TheTennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) at ETSU and the Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE) will host a freeSmall Business Spring Night School on Tuesday, May 22 from 6 – 9 p.m., at theKingsport Chamber of Commerce, 400 Clinchfield Street, Ste. 100, downtown Kingsport.

Primarily, the Small Business Fall Night School provides free training, networking opportunities, group problem-solving and collaboration and access to financing to small business owners and entrepreneurs for start-up and expansion. The topics in this night school are geared to those already in business.

The workshop is offered free of cost, but registration is required.

Three classes will be featured at the Spring Night School:Becoming a More Confident QuickBooks User, Conflict In Your Workplace: Prevent It When You Can, Deal With It When You Cant and Move On!and a discussion forum with the State of Tennessee Small Business Advocate, Cutting Through the Bureaucratic Red Tape.

Becoming a More Confident QuickBooks User: This class is suitable for companies who are not using QuickBooks yet and want to explore it as well as for companies that already have it. The class will review the basics of how to: set up a QuickBooks file, tailor your chart of accounts, enter invoices and pay bills, credit memos and sales receipts, receive payments on account/make deposits, enter credit card charges/reconcile to statement, reconcile your bank account, write checks, create and run simple and customized reports and find anything in QuickBooks. Facilitated byKathy Richards, CPA, business coach and owner of AdviCoach. Richards is a consultant who helps clients grow/improve business profits, overhauls processes for greater efficiencies and provides companies the tools to build protective teams. Last year, Richards was named AdviCoach Franchisee of the Year ‚ and is the recipient of the 2011 KOSBE Awards Impact Award given to outstanding individuals and small business advocates. Richards received a degree in accounting from theUniversity of Maryland ‚ and is a certified consultant for QuickBooks. She serves as a community volunteer on several boards such as the KOSBE Council, Kingsport Ballet and Engage Kingsport.

Conflict In Your Workplace: Prevent It When You Can, Deal With It When You Cant and Move On!Attendees will learn how to handle conflicts that may arise in the workplace. Your organization depends on people, which means that conflict is a strong possibility, if not an inevitability, in your workplace.‚  Efforts to prevent conflict and to minimize its destructive potential are highly recommended, through measures such as the careful selection and training of supervision and the establishment of policy. In this session, you will explore these and other concepts and consider the impact and cost of chronic or unresolved conflict.Facilitated by Stephen Darden, attorney atHunter, Smith & Davis LLP. Dardens practice emphasis is in labor and employment issues. He has served as chairman of numerous organization and served as Johnson City Vice Mayor and Mayor from 2001-2003 and 2005-2007. He received a degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration and his law degree from theUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Law. Darden served as President of theWashington County Bar Association in 1994 and has written numerous articles including a quarterly “Legal Watch” article for theJohnson City Business Magazine.

Cutting Through the Bureaucratic Red Tape: Attendees will learn the roles of the Tennessee Comptroller of Treasury Office of‚  Small Business Advocate and how it serves as a point of contact to state government for owners of businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The Office assists in the resolution of issues concerning small businesses and state departments and agencies. Attendees will also learn tips on how small business owners working with department and agencies can get their concerns addressed more quickly by cutting through the red tape. At the end of the discussion forum, a brief legislation end of session update will be provided. Facilitated by Lauren Plunk, small business advocate ‚¬ comptroller of the treasury,State of Tennessee. Plunk was appointed the states Small Business Advocate in June of 2011. She works with small business owners who have questions or need assistance navigating regulatory issues within state government, with a focus on resolving conflicts between small business owners and state government. Prior to taking over the position, she worked for theTennessee Secretary of State, as a Business Analyst in the Business Services Division. She attended theUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in political science. Plunk is currently enrolled at theNashville School of Law with an anticipated graduation date of May 2013. A native of Kingsport, she currently resides in Nashville.

This Small Business Spring Night School is designed for existing businesses (including home-based).

Light refreshments will be provided bySunTrust Bank.

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.Advanced registration is required and must be received by Friday, May 18. Anyone interested can register online atkosbe.org or call (423) 392.8825 for more information.

It is the intent ofKOSBE to be the go-to organization in the Tri-Cities for small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to start or grow their businesses, by creating and developing the right tools and resources and cultivating the right partnerships. In partnership with Tennessee Small Business Development Centers (TSBDC) at ETSU, KOSBE can more effectively serve the needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses. For a complete listing of services, tools and resources, visitkosbe.org.

The cooperative agreement betweenKOSBE and East Tennessee State University is partially funded by theU.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SBAs funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions or services. SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Additional funding is provided by theTennessee Board of Regents and the state of Tennessee.

To schedule your‚ free confidential counseling appointment in a private setting by TSBDC-certified counselors in person, online by phone or e-mail callMarybeth McLain at (423) 392.8825 or e-mail, mmclain@kosbe.org.

For more information about theTennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) at ETSU Kingsport Affiliate Office and yourKingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE), visittsbdc.org and kosbe.org or call (423) 392.8825. Were social too; follow us on Facebook,Kosbe ‚¬ The Small Business Connection, Twitter, @KOSBEConnection, LinkedIn group, KOSBE – The Small Business Connection and our YouTube Channel, KOSBEConnection.