Cooking From Around the World

The Christiansburg Institute will host “Cooking From Around the World” at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center on October 15 from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m.  The Aquatic Center is located at 595 N. Franklin Street.  The program features a celebration of the cultures and food of our community.  Admission is $15 for adults and $7 for children 10 and under.  For more information, contact Gladys Sokolow at (540) 394-5001.  Visit The Christiansburg Institute’s website at www.christiansburginstitute.orgfor some interesting facts about this historical institution, including the Edgar A. Long building, recently designated as an historic landmark, which is the only campus building to be named for an African American Leader.

Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

540-345-2000

Protecting your Electronic Data......

In the September 19, 2011, issue of Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly, Sharon Nelson and John Simek of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., provide some tips to protect your electronic data.  One of the things they suggest is that passwords need to be 12 characters long.  Did you know that anyone with any IT sophistication can crack your 8 digit password in less than two hours?  With 12 characters, it takes 17 years.  Make sure to use both letters, numbers, and unusual symbols.  Also, they suggest doing test restores of your data to make sure that all is well.  This is true even if you use an online provider.  The authors recall a situation where a major online backup provider lost five years of a law firm’s data because they had never done a test restore.

                                                                                    Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

                                                                                    540-345-2000

Comfort Zone Camp for our Youth Who are Grieving

The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association supports Comfort Zone Camp, a bereavement camp located in Richmond, Virginia, that serves children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver.  The mission of the Comfort Zone Camp is to give children between the ages of 7 and 17 a place to grieve, heal, grow, and lead more fulfilling lives.  If you know a child who is grieving the loss of a loved one, or if you would like to volunteer or make a donation, visit comfortzonecamp.com for more information.  There is no charge for their services.

Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

Your Emergency Plan

With the recent severe weather events in and around the Commonwealth, now is a good time for small businesses to put in place or to evaluate their emergency preparedness contingency plans.  And aside from natural disasters, other business interruptions such as fire or water damage could create havoc with your day-to-day operations.  Gary Gosselin and Deborah Elkins provided some excellent insight into how to formulate such a plan in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Vol. 26, No., 16, September 12, 2011.  In that article, Gregory J. Parry, Eagle Risk Management Law Firm, PLLC, in Rochester, Michigan, points out that, “It’s a whole lot easier to look at these things, and change them and tweak them when your’re not in the middle of an emergency.”  The plan does not have to be an elaborate one.  You should be backing up your files and data and storing the information offsite for easy retrieval should your facility be damaged.  Make sure that more than one person knows how to retrieve this information.  Have a plan in place to contact employees and clients.  Your plan should revolve around how to get your business back up and running and returning to normal after an emergency.  As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  

Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

540-345-2000

In case of an Automobile Accident.......

No one intends to be involved in an automobile wreck.  It happens in a split second, and it can be a frightening and stressful experience.  Fortunately, many of us have never been involved in an automobile collision.  But if you are, you will find that the process of dealing with various insurance company adjusters -- one who handles your property damage claim, one who handles your medical payments claim, and one who handles your bodily injury claim – can be a confusing and time-consuming process.  Here at Altizer & Altizer, our attorneys have been serving injured persons since 1974.  Assisting clients who have been injured in automobile collisions is but one of the legal services that we provide.  If you are overwhelmed with the process of navigating the maze of your personal injury claim, please call us.  We can remove the stress and worry, which gives you the time and energy to recover from your injuries.  Our offices are located in Roanoke, Virginia.  But we also serve clients in Bedford, Smith Mountain Lake, Lynchburg, Covington, Harrisonburg, Rocky Mount, Martinsville, Botetourt County, Blacksburg, and all areas surrounding the Roanoke Valley.  You can contact us at (540) 345-2000 or toll-free at (800) 310-5777.  Please visit us on the web at altizerlaw.com to find out how our firm can be of service to you.

Assess your Conscious - Unconscious Preferences

Welcome to your Brain

Kelly Tait was the keynote speaker at the Judicial Conference of Virginia on August 8.  According to Lawyers Weekly,  the program was entitled, “Information Processing and Judging:  Welcome to Your Brain.”  The article spoke about the Implicit Association Test, which is a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences in your brain.  In other words, people do not always say what’s on their mind because they are either unwilling or unable to do so.  The IAT measures these implicit attitudes and beliefs.  The Project Implicit website gives you the opportunity to assess your conscious-unconscious preferences for over 90 different topics including pets, political issues, sports teams, entertainers, music, and more.  You can register as a participant by visiting www.implicit.harvard.edu.

Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

324 Washington Ave.

Roanoke, Va. 24016

540-345-2000

Welcome to your Brain

Kelly Tait was the keynote speaker at the Judicial Conference of Virginia on August 8.  According to Lawyers Weekly,  the program was entitled, “Information Processing and Judging:  Welcome to Your Brain.”  The article spoke about the Implicit Association Test, which is a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences in your brain.  In other words, people do not always say what’s on their mind because they are either unwilling or unable to do so.  The IAT measures these implicit attitudes and beliefs.  The Project Implicit website gives you the opportunity to assess your conscious-unconscious preferences for over 90 different topics including pets, political issues, sports teams, entertainers, music, and more.  You can register as a participant by visiting www.implicit.harvard.edu.

Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

324 Washington Ave.

Roanoke, Va. 24016

540-345-2000

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Roanoke County focusing to Lower Accident Rate .....

The Roanoke Times reported on August 30, 2011, that, “Roanoke County officers aim to lower wreck statistics.”  The paper reported that, “The number of fatal crashes in Virginia continues to decline, except for a blip in Roanoke County this year, where 11 people have been killed in wrecks, up from four in all of 2010.”  One of the crashes involved a teenager, one an elderly victim, there was a head-on crash, and a T-bone wreck.  There were also two motorcycle crash victims.  So, the good news is that over the past five years, traffic deaths have declined 23 percent.  But the bad news is that people continue to be injured or killed in automobile and motorcycle accidents.  Keep Altizer & Altizer  in mind if you need a personal injury lawyer to serve your needs and to look out for you.  We are here to provide personal care for your personal injury.  You can contact Altizer & Altizer at (540) 345-2000 or toll free at (800) 310-5777, or visit our website at www.altizerlaw.com.

Dangerous Roads

Interstate 81 connects a number of Virginia's towns and cities, specifically, Abingdon, Blacksburg, Bristol, Christiansburg, Lexington, Marion, Radford, Radford, and Salem, to name only a few.  Although I-81 makes travel easier for millions of Virginians, the interstate is traveled by tens of thousands of cars, trucks, and buses every day, and is the scene of many car accident crashes, injuries, and death. In fact, in August 2009, Christian Davenport wrote a story for the Washington Post about the dangers of I-81 entitled, "On Accident Plagued Interstate 81 in Va., Fear Becomes a Travelling Companion." The growing number of vehicles on I-81 has led to a huge increase in car and truck accidents.  In 2009, tractor trailers accounted for one of every four vehicles on the highway according to the story, and traffic has tripled in the past 20 years in the Winchester and Roanoke regions, from 20,000 to 60,000 vehicles a day.  Also in that article, Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic was quoted as saying, "To be blunt: If you're driving a car and you have a truck in front and a truck behind and a truck passing you, it's not difficult to determine who the jelly in the sandwich is if things go bad."  Consult an experienced personal injury attorney if you have been injured in an automobile accident.  Call us at Altizer & Altizer at 540-345-2000 or toll free at 800-310-5777, or visit us at our website, www.AltizerLaw.com.