Andover Friends To Hold 8th Annual Auction

According to courant.com, on April 29th, the 8th Annual Andover Friends of the Library's "Goods and Services Auction" will be held. The event will be at the Andover Elementary School cafeteria on 35 School Road in Andover. The auction will start at 6:30 pm. The items that will be in the auction may be viewed at 6 pm. There is no entrance fee to get into this event. This year's auctioneer will be Jay Linddy. Also to take place at the auction will be a bake sale, 50/50 raffle, and a silent auction. The current list of items that will be in the auction can be located at the Andover Library's website: http://www.andoverctlibrary.org/. Over 80 items have been donated to the auction so far. All the money raised at the event will be used to buy goods and services for the Andover Library, that is beyond the library's budget. Items are still being collected for the auction. For more information or to donate anything to the auction, please call Events Coordinator, Carol Lee at 860-646-4467.

Truck Rollover Closed Lanes On Route 9

According to courant.com, Connecticut State Police are at the scene of a truck rollover at Route 9 northbound in Haddam near exits 9 and 10. Traffic in the northbound lane was briefly brought down to one lane. Since the accident, traffic has continued to run normally. A Lifestar helicopter was brought to the scene of the accident. There is no word on how many people were injured in the crash. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Fire Damages Old Wethersfield Barn

According to courant.com, on Friday afternoon, a barn was damaged by a fire on Main Street in Old Wethersfield, CT. Firefighters responded to a call around 3:50 pm to go to 350 Main Street. When they arrived, the fire was coming from the first and second floors of the building, according to Fire Captain Paul Thompson. Throughout the structure, there was heavy smoke damage. Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire. No injuries have been reported.

-picture provided by courant.com

Music Review: Rise Against: Endgame

Track List:

1. Architects

2. Help is on the Way

3. Make It Stop (September's Children)

4. Disparity by Design

5. Satellite

6. Midnight Hands

7. Survivor Guilt

8. Broken Mirrors

9. Wait For Me

10. A Gentleman's Coup

11. This Is Letting Go

12. Endgame

Rise Against has come quite a long way from their early years. Over the last ten years they seem to have been moving more to a political protest-sounding style while maintaining their classic punk sound... at least mostly. Some fans have been disappointed with their newer albums like The Sufferer and the Witness where they seem to have been taking a more pop/political approach, while others encouraged it. So will their newest album Endgame be the one that pleases everyone?

Endgame is a very good album, with great sound from the instruments and vocalist Tim McIlrath pouring his soul into the lyrics. All the songs, especially the first single "Help is on the Way", have a lot of feeling put into them, and it shows. The songs are very well crafted overall, so the question at the end of the day is "Will you enjoy it?" Well, the answer to that depends on what you liked more about Rise Against, the old or the new. If you liked their more recent stuff, you'll love Endgame. The album is very much like a more polished version of Appeal to Reason. The messages these songs deliver is a bit heavy-handed, but emotional. However, if you preferred the band's older music, you may not like their latest outing. It sounds a little more pop than punk. Overall, though, Endgame is a good addition to your music library. 4/5.

Possible Government Shutdown Threatens National Parks

According to CNN: Officials have stated that, in the Beltway showdown, a government shutdown is very possible, which could result in disaster for national parks. This measure would be the first shutdown in over 15 years, and would result in shutting off an average of $32 million in revenue for national parks, seashores, and historic sites. Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park and Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park could possibly be closed as a result of the shutdown.

Utah Judge Orders Sex Offender be Freed

According to CNN: A Utah judge has ordered that a man being held for sexually abusing children be freed due to mental incompetence. Lonnie Johnson, a 38-year old man charged with twenty-one charges of sexually abusing children, was examined by doctors for mental competence. The doctors diagnosed him with a cognitive disorder and deemed him to be mentally incompetent and not a danger to society. Utah's Fourth District Judge James Taylor deemed that he was not competent to be charged on sex crimes. Since those were the only kinds of charges against him, Taylor ordered him be let free because now there were no legal grounds for holding him. The reaction to this decision has been very angry. Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert was "outraged that a convicted child sex offender... could be released without being tried for current charges." A status hearing will be held on the judge in November and prosecutors have filed a motion to re-examine Johnson's competency.

Libyan Air Strikes Kill Two People

According to CNN: Forces opposing Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi are left questioning what happened after an airstrike kills at least two rebels. Witnesses said Thursday that aircraft launched several missiles at a rebel formation in Eastern Libya. The rebels are now questioning whether NATO was misguided into launching attacks on the people they are trying to protect. This has happened earlier in the week as well, where a NATO aircraft killed about 13 people in al-Braega. NATO has announced that they will be investigating the reported attacks. On the diplomatic side of the matter, Gadhafi has sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama asking him to cease the bombings. An administration official has stated that they are not taking the note seriously.