Welcome to Thursday! Hold on – the weekend will be here before you know it!
If this is your first time visiting The Western Word (TWW), “Thursday Numbers” is my weekly column where I take a look at the numbers mentioned in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary (sometimes with a little sarcasm).
PROCEED WITH CAUTION: By reading this column you will probably gain a great deal of knowledge not found on other websites! You can use this information to impress your family, friends and co-workers, and it might even be life changing – so consider yourself warned…
This week I write about an electric bill, wildfires, a water bill, snakes, heat records, missing legs, Missile Command, who can better protect us from aliens, Lar-ry, things women will never understand (about men), the right & wrong way to undress, unemployment, and much more…
1,400,000
“A lot of people gripe when they get high summertime electric bills. But Kristin Harriger’s bill was nearly $1.4 million” according to this story from the Associated Press (AP). There’s some good news! The AP also reported, “The utility provider also excused a $66,000 late fee listed on the bill.”
I hope the Electric City Power Board in Great Falls (MT) doesn’t get any ideas…
386,000
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, that’s how many new claims for unemployment were filed last week.
The economy is having a tough time improving…
176,000
According to a story in the Great Falls Tribune, 176,000 Montana residents have no health insurance – this is about 18.1 percent.
We get to find out today where we go from here…
125,000
“Wildfires raced through southeastern Montana Wednesday, torching more than 125,000 acres, burning dozens of homes and increasing the need for fire equipment and personnel already responding to four fires in the western part of the state” the Associated Press reported.
Let’s be careful out there…
100,000
Having $100,000 for income is not what it used to be. According to this article, “Many say that while breaking the $100,000 annual income mark may still be an impressive milestone, it doesn’t exactly roll out the red carpet.”
32,000
In Colorado over 32,000 residents faced mandatory evacuations due to wildfires…
Let’s keep the folks in the Rocky Mountain West in our prayers…especially those fighting the fires!
12,000
According to this story in the Billings Gazette, “Some 12,000 young adults in Montana are covered by their parents’ medical insurance policies because of a provision in the 2010 health care law, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
We’ll find out today if that benefit is allowed to stand…
9,224.40
According to this story, “An Atlanta homeowner got quite the shock when she opened her mail earlier this week and found a bill for $9,224.40 for apparent water usage in her northwest Atlanta three-bedroom cottage.”
Holy water?
8400
According to this story, “More than 8,400 personnel, 578 fire engines and 79 helicopters are fighting wildfires around the country, with more than half of the active federal wildfire-fighting resources in use in Colorado.”
President Obama will be in Colorado on Friday to see the fires first hand…
3427
That’s how many views the video “Snakes are Born This Way” which was made by a 2nd grade class at Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighten, Massachusetts. H/T @BronxZoosCobra
1997
Remember this? On this date in 1997, Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear during their heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas.
1952
According to a story from the Associated Press, “The wreckage of a military plane found this month on an Alaska glacier is that of an Air Force plane that crashed in 1952, killing all 52 people aboard, military officials said Wednesday.”
Closure…
1011
USA Today reports, “In the past week, 1,011 records have been broken around the country, including 251 new daily high temperature records on Tuesday.”
One fellow said he wished it would rain – not so much for him because he’s seen it, but for his 7-year-old son…
100
According to the Great Falls Tribune, “David Hyslop, convicted of killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter last year, was sentenced to 100 years in prison without possibility of parole this afternoon.”
It is so sad when a child dies this way…
65
According to a new poll, “65 percent said (Barack) Obama would be more adept than (Mitt) Romney to respond to an alien invasion, with women and younger Americans more likely than men and over-65s to agree with that prospect.”
I think Mitt Romney could play one of the aliens in Men In Black….
55
My favorite basketball player of all time, Larry “The Legend” Bird, is 55 years old and he is stepping down as the Indiana Pacers’ president of basketball operations.
Maybe Larry can become a mentor to LeBron James and teach him how to be a professional…
40
Atari turns 40 this week! I loved Missile Command!
28.4
That’s the unemployment rate for Yuma, Arizona (28.4%) in May 2012 – the highest in the nation.
25
Here you go, “25 things women will never understand about men” discusses things like, “You finished the last of the leftovers and tossed the empty container back in the fridge because…”
Because…
11
According to this story, “It’s not as if it’s a complete surprise that there may or may not be a right and wrong way for a wife to undress in front of her husband.” Here are 11…from way back in 1937! Enjoy! (Rated PG)
It’s OK to take notes…
8
According to this story from The Weekly Standard, “A C-130 fitted with the Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) can drop 3,000 gallons of fire-retardant material in 5 seconds, and reload in just 15 minutes. This tempo is crucial to containing wildfires like the one devastating Colorado Springs. However, of a current fleet of nearly 380 C-130s, only eight can be fitted with the MAFFS—and four of them are already in the skies over Colorado.”
Only eight…incredible.
2.5
That’s the unemployment rate for Bismarck, North Dakota (2.5%) in May 2012 – the lowest in the nation.
They say Bismarck is not at the end of the world, but you can see it from there…
2
“Law enforcement officers are searching a wooded area north of Butte (Montana) after two men found a pair of human legs several yards off a mountain road” the Associated Press reports.
Butte America…
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FYI Schweitzer sent firefighters to CO and according to jumpers that I know, it is why we got caught with pants down on our own fires. Four homes lost in blaze in Helena area alone and nothing but crickets from press.