Pachuta Insurance Blog

This year’s Turkeypalooza feeds almost 300 Athens families in need

11/20/2018

With the turkey being the main menu item in a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner, it is no wonder
Campus Kitchen at the University of Georgia and the Athens Community Council on Aging held ‘Turkeypalooza,’ an event that helped nearly 300 families secure a turkey and other traditional fixings.
Described as a seasonal event that “provides holiday groceries and meals to older adult families and homebound individuals,” Turkeypalooza is necessary.

As reported recently in The Red & Black, according to the Campus Kitchen website, 1 in 5 residents of Athens-Clarke County are at risk of hunger. In order to tackle this issue during the holiday season, Turkeypalooza collected canned foods from halloween until Thursday, Nov. 15th.

Turkeypalooza, unlike other donation organizations, directly impacts families in need this holiday season. On Monday the families retrieved their free Thanksgiving meal, which included a 15-pound turkey, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. A homemade card, greens from the UGArden and a recipe book were also included.

“Turkeypalooza is one big day broken up by six hour naps, broken up by five days” said The Campus Kitchen Coordinator Brad Turner of his position leading the event.

This year, The Campus Kitchen student leaders distributed and collected the donation bins from the businesses participating to alleviate the transportation issues.

The Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia were among the businesses that contributed this year. The organization’s year-round partners include the ACCA, UGArden, the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia and UGA Foods and Nutrition to form the Athens Senior Hunger Coalition.

The Public Service and Outreach student scholars and students from the Leadership and Service class recruited organizations and shuttled donation bins around Athens.

Matthew McGinty, a Junior Biological Science major from Savannah, Georgia, is one of the volunteers for Turkeypalooza. He was at the can drive sorting and collection at the Office of Student Learning annex.

“I was required to do experiential learning and saw this as an opportunity to serve” McGinty said. “ I wanted to be apart.”

The Turkeypalooza is just one of several ways Campus Kitchen at UGA is trying to fight hunger in the Athens community, but their efforts continue after the holiday season. Every week they provide sustainable and accessible food for those in need.

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Two UGA students open up about hardships during and after the military

11/13/2018

With Veterans Day having fallen on a Sunday this year and having been observed on Nov. 12, Americans again had the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by all the men and women who have served our country in the military.

In honor of this Veterans Day, The Red & Black interviewed two vets pursuing a college degree and transitioning from a military to civilian lifestyle in Athens. Having resources including the Student Veterans Resource Center and the Student Veterans Association, University of Georgia was ranked No. 1 in the nation for student veterans.

These student veterans shared stories about their time in service and their transition into college.
Within a few months, Joseph Millunzi went from handling explosives on aircrafts to flipping omelets at the Niche.

A United States Marine Corps veteran, Millunzi joined the Marine Corps in December 2007. A native of Lodi, California, Millunzi was the first person in his family to join the military, but it is something he knew he wanted to do.

“I always wanted to serve. That was something I’ve wanted to do my entire life,” Millunzi said. “My father told me I had a servant’s heart.”

Millunzi served as an aviation ordnanceman, putting bombs and gun systems on to aircrafts to carry closer to troops on the ground. Millunzi was deployed to Japan and Afghanistan and came back to the U.S. to serve in Arizona and North Carolina. Although he planned on serving the full 20-year term, Millunzi had to retire for his heart condition in August 2017.

Aside from being the first to join the military, he was also the first person in his family to attend college. While Millunzi took classes during his time in the Marine Corps, he realized to utilize the skills he learned in service and support his family, he had to pursue a higher education.

“I always knew I wanted to get an education because no one in my family has ever done that before,” Millunzi said. “Where you’re at is you go to work or you go to war, and in 2007, that’s exactly where I was at, so I knew education was everything.”

He only had 45 days to figure out where to go after his last day of service, so he applied to several schools along the east coast and chose the University of Georgia after meeting a friend from the area while he was in the Marine Corps. In fall of 2017, Millunzi enrolled at the University of Georgia as a business management major.

For Millunzi, while the transition from military to college was not a smooth one, he found a support system on campus with his coworkers and resources for veterans to aid his transition back into civilian life.

“Jumping into these classes were so fast paced, so that was kind of rough, but we have resources on this campus that are immense. They’re there to help you succeed, and they really care,” Millunzi said. “I would say the hardships are different in every aspect, but there’s nothing that we don’t look forward to solving or getting forward passing — nothing to dwell on.”

His first job was at the Niche, where some of his coworkers also had military backgrounds, which gave him the chance to settle into college life with a job. Millunzi also found support through the SVRC, and from there, he connected with the SVA. After just a year in the association, Millunzi was elected as the SVA president, which is an organization that connects student veterans to share their experiences and offer advice to newer veterans on campus.

Millunzi’s wife and children are also instrumental in motivating him through school and work. His wife, who is also a Marine Corps veteran, can relate to her husband as they had gone through similar experiences.

“To see the public and the civilian sector and veterans from prior wars come around and put their arms around those veterans that are coming home, those in our community,” Millunzi said. “It just shows that caring and that love that they have for this country and for those who have gone on to fight.”

From the opposite side of the country, there is fellow veteran Stephanie Lawsure. Having grown up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, a town of less than 10,000 people, Lawsure was a shy girl who worked at the local diner. While in high school, she met a Marine Corps recruiter and in 2009 after graduating high school, Lawsure decided to join the Marine Corps.

“I worked at a diner, and I remember I wanted everything done the right way. That was how my recruiter got me. He said, ‘You like structure, and the Marine Corps is structure — the military is structure,” Lawsure said. “I wanted to push myself. I wanted that structure, that routine.”
Lawsure began training for the military by attending regular workouts at the recruitment station and training around town.

“There are a lot of older veterans, a lot of Vietnam veterans, and they all knew what I was doing, and they were all very supportive,” Lawsure said. “It was almost like I had the whole town behind me. Once people started supporting me, it gave me the actual push to not be afraid to actually do it.”
Throughout the five years she served, Lawsure began her first two years in Monterey, California, learning Korean. She became a Korean cryptologic linguist, translating and identifying foreign communication. Lawsure later moved to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, where she was a rifle instructor and worked with new marines.

Although she planned to re-enlist in the military, in July 2014 Lawsure found out she was pregnant with her daughter and left the military. She moved from Boston to Georgia in September 2015, and decided to enroll at the University of Georgia as a business administration and management major.

Even though the transition from military to civilian life was difficult at first, Lawsure eventually found the people and resources to connect with on campus to help with the transition.

“It was really hard to transition just because I didn’t know anyone, and I didn’t have that camaraderie anymore. Those people weren’t right there, and I struggled for a while,” Lawsure said. “As soon as I started making friends, my life changed. I don’t know what I would be doing if I weren’t at UGA.”
At UGA, Lawsure connected with the SVA, and they mentored her through her academic and personal life.

“There have been times where I think, ‘Do I really need this degree? Should I go try and find a job?’ because I want to spend more time with my daughter,” Lawsure said. “It’s definitely not easy, and a lot of people ask me, ‘How do you do it?’ and I think the military trained me to work under pressure.”
For Lawsure, Veterans Day is also important to understand the hardships they go through, both during and after their time in the military.

“A lot of people say thank a veteran on Veterans Day, but I tell this to people all the time: It’s not just about that. We go through a lot transitioning from where we are in life or pivoting. Don’t just thank them; ask them how they’re doing because it’s so much more than thanks, and that’s the most important thing,” Lawsure said. “Because when people do that with me, somebody cares, and they want to know. Just check in with them, make sure everything’s going OK because it’s hard.”

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UGA’s polling predictions indicate a close gubernatorial race

11/6/2018

Well before today’s midterm election, several polls have been conducted throughout the state and across the country. In a poll commissioned by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and WSB-TV, Democratic and Republican candidates for governor Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp are practically neck and neck.

As reported recently in The Red & Black, this was the most recent poll in a series of general election polls conducted in Athens by the University of Georgia’s Survey Research Center within the School of Public and International Affairs.

With 47.7 percent of respondents in support of Kemp, he was slightly ahead of Abrams’ 46.3 percent. However, the 1.4 percent margin was within the margin of error of 2.8 points, which means the two are basically tied.

These results were verified by an unbiased third party, the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, in order to ensure the polling process and the results were conducted accurately and fairly.

“Research shows that when polls are done well, they provide valuable information to different kinds of individuals and groups,” Auer said. “For example, public opinion polling on candidates help political campaigns to hone political messages and to understand candidates’ strengths and weaknesses in the eyes of different parts of the electorate.”

The SRC is a fairly new department, but with the success it has encountered, it has clear goals set out for its future.

Since 2016, the SRC has conducted 14 polls for the AJC, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Association of Realtors and the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce.
SRC polls are “cost effective and typically much cheaper than private sector polling firms,” Hood said.

Jake Truscott, a graduate student at UGA, is the supervisor and manager for the SRC. Most of his responsibilities center around general support for the employees of the department.

“There are a handful of universities across the United States that are heavily employed to conduct polling for major news syndicates, interest groups and political parties,” Truscott said. “My hope is that UGA’s SRC can develop itself into being a recognizably competitive research center employed by major groups across the U.S.”

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Out-of-state UGA students upset over shortened Thanksgiving break for 2019

10/30/2018

Each year, students at UGA countdown to Thanksgiving break, which has been Monday through Friday for many years now. But recently the University Council decided next year’s break will only be three days.

As reported in The Red & Black, according to a report from the University Council, the Educational Affairs Committee recommended the fall semester to begin later — on or after Aug. 15 — and for the fall commencement to begin no later than the second Friday in December.

To be able to meet the University System of Georgia Board of Regents requirements and federal guidelines about what completes a semester, the 2019 Thanksgiving break can only be Wednesday through Friday.

The changes are already in the 2019-2020 academic calendar, with classes beginning on Wednesday Aug. 14 and ending Wednesday Dec. 4. Thanksgiving break will be Nov. 27 to Nov. 29, followed by the weekend.

Despite a full week off for Thanksgiving, this year’s fall semester is the same length — classes started on Monday Aug. 13 and will end Tuesday Dec. 4.

The break shortening will affect out-of-state students who look to Thanksgiving break to spend enough time with the family they may not have seen since the beginning of the semester.

Hailey Goldberg, a junior applied biotechnology major, thinks this change is stressful because she travels to her hometown of New York City.

“Because of the difficulty of my classes, I cannot afford to skip a day of classes to go home for the weekend. I look forward to the week I get to spend at home with my family before finals week picks up,” Goldberg said.

Charley Claudio, an out-of-state sophomore international affairs major, will get to see her family for the first time since August this upcoming Thanksgiving break. She said the change will be a financial burden as well an emotional one.

“I always watch students from Georgia go home and spend relaxing time with family, and I am jealous of the luxury,” Claudio said. “With a shortened Thanksgiving break, it is not financially efficient to fly home for a four-day weekend. I won’t be able to see my family until winter break [next year],” Claudio said.
Goldberg agreed with this sentiment about flying home to New York.

“Making Thanksgiving break shorter not only gives me less time to decompress at home, but it also puts a larger financial burden on my family,” Goldberg said. “Buying expensive plane tickets to go home for that short of a time would not be economically possible for myself and for other students.”

Claudio said this change demonstrates the disadvantages out-of-state students deal with.

“Out-of-state students face many more challenges than in-state students already, and this change makes the campus less welcoming to the already disadvantaged out-of-state students,” Claudio said.

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Winterville Mayor and his family’s home to be featured on HGTV

10/23/2018

It was quite a surprise for the mayor of Winterville and his family when they found out that the search for a new home would be filmed for a national audience.

Mayor Dodd Ferrelle, his wife Cameron Bliss Ferrelle and their three children, who moved out of a home they lived in for almost 13 years to a bigger house earlier this year, will be featured in a future episode of the popular HGTV reality show “House Hunters.”

As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, Ferrelle said the producers of the show – which made its debut nearly 20 years ago and has viewership of about 20 million per month – informed him that the program will air Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. on HGTV.

“We may try to do something fun out here in Winterville and show it at the auditorium and maybe raise some money for a local charity or something,” said Ferrelle. “We’ll see it when everybody else does. From talking to the producers out there, they told me it was one of their favorite episodes. So, I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

The family previously lived on North Georgia Avenue before moving to their house, which was built in 1861 by John Winter, who along with other family members gives the town its name. Ferrelle, who was elected mayor in 2015, had to find a home within the city limits to be able to remain in office.
“We were starting to look because of our three kids,” he said. “We started looking for a house and found some that we liked.”

The Ferrelles found a home on South Georgia Avenue, an 1836 house originally constructed for Henry Winter, the train depot keeper at what was then the Six-Mile Station. Winter later encouraged his cousin John to purchase property in the area that became known as Winterville, which was incorporated in 1904.

“We’ll still be neighbors with our old house, even though we moved from one side of the train depot to the other side of the train depot,” said Ferrelle, who said it has been reported that Henry Winter’s home was the first built in the city and John Winter’s house was the first private home built there.
With the history of both homes and the creative endeavors of the Ferrelles (Dodd is a musician and songwriter, leading the band the WinterVillians, and Cameron is an award-winning artist), Realtor Daniel Collins thought their story would be one “House Hunters” would be interested in and contacted the HGTV people he’d worked with before on a show about small houses.

“Our Realtor sent our story in without us knowing it and the producers out in Los Angeles really liked the idea of the fact I couldn’t move outside the city limits, I’m a musician, Cameron is an artist, the Realtor is a musician, we’re moving from one historic home to another,” said Ferrelle.

“They liked the history of the city and interviewed Cameron and I remotely and decided to do the project

and sent their crew out here, and we did the show in February and March.”
Ferrelle said his main purpose for participating in the production was to show off Winterville.

“They came out and did the show and I agreed to do it because they were going to highlight the city,” he said. “They asked for locations to highlight and of course we had a bunch. I don’t know what they’ll pick to show but they got a lot of good footage for the city.”

As for the stress of moving along with the stress of being in front of cameras, Ferrelle said a film crew helped the family including son Dodd Jr., 12, daughter Bliss, 11, and son Lucas, 7, sort the situation.

“It was crazy because being mic’d up and having a camera on you while you’re doing all that is stressful, but it kind of took the stress away from moving and put it on to a creative stress, and we both are creative people and we liked that,” Ferrelle said of he and his wife.

The Ferrelle family loves their new home since the kids all have their own rooms, Cameron has a space for her art studio and the mayor will soon be setting up his music room.

“Now we’ve got plenty of room; it’s a good bit bigger,” said Ferrelle. “... It’s an awesome place and we love it. It’s 2 acres right off the main street in Winterville and we’re still right in the middle of town.”

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Early voting HAS BEGUN in Georgia

10/16/2018

The early voting turnout on Monday in Athens was quite impressive.

As reported in The Athens Banner-Herald, over 50 people were lined up outside the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections office after 2 p.m., waiting to get their turn to cast ballots on the same Diebold touch-screen voting machines voters will see on election day November 6.

Early voting will continue during business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the board office on Washington Street in downtown Athens through Nov. 2.

The office will even be open to voters on Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Voting was happening throughout Georgia’s other 158 counties, which will permit voters to vote on one Saturday before the election. Voters can also get absentee-by-mail ballots by calling their county’s elections office.

Since Thursday, elections officials across Georgia mailed about 45,000 ballots, twice as many as at the same point in the 2014 midterm elections.

Voters will also have access to voting machines the week before the election, Oct. 29 through Nov. 2, at the Athens-Clarke County Library on Baxter Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Voters can also go to the University of Georgia Tate Student Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 31, and to Athens City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 2.

The major race for Governor between Democrat Stacy Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp tops the ballot in Georgia, but every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives will be on a ballot, and every seat in the state House and Senate.

Locally, Democrat Dawn Johnson, a candidate for the District 47 seat in the state Senate, recently cited the state’s No. 1 U.S. maternal mortality rating as a result of the Republican legislature’s refusal to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid. Her opponent, incumbent Republican Frank Ginn, opposes Medicaid expansion as too costly, and is unsure whether making health care widely accessible is a proper role for government to play.

In other races, Democratic challenger Marisue Hilliard hopes to unseat incumbent Republican District 46 state Sen. Bill Cowsert, while two first-term Democratic state representatives want to win the seats they took from the Republican party in special elections last year.

Rep. Deborah Gonzalez, the Democratic incumbent in House District 117, faces Republican Houston Gaines, a former University of Georgia Student Government Association president. A strong showing in Clarke County helped Gonzalez defeat Gaines in last November’s special election.

Democrat Jonathan Wallace in District 119 also hopes voters will vote him back in for a full term after winning out over three Republican would-be legislators a year ago to take the seat formerly held by Republican Chuck Williams, who left to direct the Georgia Forestry Commission.

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UGA partners up with Clarke County Schools for Georgia Possible Initiatives

10/9/2018

A select group of students in each of the two Clarke County High Schools now have a chance to participate in a three-year program that will prepare them for the future. About 40 students will participate in classes which will enhance their leadership and academic skills through the Georgia Possible program.

As reported in The Red & Black, the program was created through a partnership between the Clarke County School District, UGA’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development and the Office of the President. Its goal is to prepare its students for the process of entering college.
Those selected were nominated as eighth-grade students by their middle school teachers.

“I think we were very deliberate in making sure there was not a narrow criteria of identifying what characteristics these young people had,” said CCSD Superintendent Demond Means. “We don’t want to pigeon hole and define what young people can do based on their current academic performance. We believe that all students are really capable and possible of doing anything that they want to do.”

Last month the program launched on the UGA campus, Means said. At the kickoff, the students had a chance to work as a group on the UGA challenge course practicing “team building,” Means said.
Means said CCSD faculty involved in organizing the program, UGA President Jere Morehead and those from the Fanning Institute have planned topics to be covered such as exposure to “cultural experiences,” communication, conflict and stress management and understanding the college application process.

“You could see that they’ve already kind of became a little cohort of individuals from both schools that probably would have minimal interactions because they don’t go to the same schools,” Cedar Shoals High School Principal Derrick Maxwell said.

Means said one thing teachers considered were students who are “looking forward to doing something with their lives in post-secondary situation.” He said that grades were not a main factor in determining nominees.

Although UGA is a partner for Georgia Possible, Means said that students will not be persuaded to attend UGA specifically. He said the students will be advised no matter where they decide to go to college.

Means also said that even though there is not a plan in place for students who decide to drop out, he understands the program may not be the best fit for all young people selected to participate.

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Georgia’s kicker on his perfect streak

10/2/2018

Rodrigo Blankenship was impressive most of last season having completed 20 of 23 field goal attempts, including a career-long 55-yard field goal against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.

The Marietta native did not miss an extra point, and 67 of his 94 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks, making for a Georgia record.

Blankenship kicked off the 2018 season right, at least in the first three games.

As reported in The Red & Black, Blankenship missed a 49-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter and had a 36-yard attempt blocked in the fourth quarter of the Missouri game. On the opening kickoff of the second half, for the first time this season, his kickoff did not result in a touchback.

“It may have been highlighted in that game [against Missouri] for some individuals, or maybe as a team collectively, but I think just, as a whole, the whole team, every single player on this team has things they can do to get better,” Blankenship said. “It was just a little bit more so for myself in that game. I realized that what I've been doing so far isn't quite good enough, and I still need to get better.”

Against Tennessee on Saturday, Blankenship showed as he completed his only field goal attempt, a 43-yard kick in the second quarter, and all seven of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

“The first thing [the kickers] do every practice, after we have our team flex and everything, we go up to our top field and we hit some no-steps,” Blankenship said. “That's what that kick was—you don't get to take any steps, you're just already planted next to the ball, and you just gotta kick it.”

Blankenship is currently 116 of 116 in extra point tries.

“Just trying to treat every kick with the respect and attention to detail that it deserves, and just trying to go out and take everything one step at a time,” Blankenship said. “I'm just trying to take it one rep at a time and worry about all the streaks and records at the end of the day, a little bit later on.”

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American Red Cross to hold more blood drives in Athens due to Florence

9/25/2018

Despite the total damage of Hurricane Florence still being unknown, the American Red Cross is in urgent need of blood and platelet donations in the wake of the powerful storm.

As reported in The Red & Black, almost 200 blood drives had to cancel as a result of the hurricane, resulting in a possible loss of more than 5,200 donations, according to a press release from the Red Cross.

Cliff Numark, the senior vice president of Red Cross Blood Services, said natural disasters usually prevent donors from giving, but the need for donations only grows more.

“There is an especially critical need for platelets to help cancer patients and type O blood donations for ongoing patient care and emergencies,” Numark said in the press release. “Every donation can be a lifeline for patients.”

Donations can be made every day from now until Oct. 15 at the Athens Blood Donation Center located in the Clark Crossing Shopping Center and the Janssen Welcome Center on Olympic Drive.

On Sept. 26 blood can be donated at Stegeman Coliseum from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and at the Kappa Sigma House from 1-6 p.m. Donations can also be made on Sept. 27 at the Tate Student Center from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

On-campus donations will occur on Oct. 4 at the College of Pharmacy from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. or Brumby Hall from 2-7 p.m. and on Oct. 10 at Tate from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Blood donors must provide two forms of identification, be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in fairly good health.

The Red Cross recommends that student blood donors get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before donating, eat a healthy meal and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.

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This year’s Mr. Milledge event raises $10,000 for local charities

9/18/2018

Last Tuesday the Georgia Theatre hosted Greek students for the 7th annual Mr. Milledge pageant. Students from several University of Georgia sororities and fraternities came to support a cause.

All proceeds from the event, which was put together by Alpha Gamma Delta, went toward the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation. The foundation helps support Meals on Wheels and Feeding Athens. At the end of the evening, $10,000 had been raised for the event.

Attendees came dressed in everything from T-shirts to evening gowns. Freshman J.P. Efferth said he and his friends from Beta Upsilon Chi came out to support Nick Cho, one of the pageant’s participants.
“We’re going to be super loud and obnoxious when he is onstage,” Efferth told The Red & Black. “We’re going to go all out.”

Performer Aspen Countryman also performed numerous covers and originals for the audience.

When time came for the contestants to perform, the crowd was much larger. Each contestant was judged on three categories: best gameday outfit, best pickup line and best talent.

They would win Mr. Milledge, Mr. Congeniality or Crowd Favorite, which was determined by how many likes their post got on Alpha Gamma Delta’s Instagram account.

Some of the outfits were odd, some pickup lines were sweet and there were several musical performances for talent.

The evening concluded with the presentation of the awards. Xander Davis, representing Phi Kappa Theta, won Crowd Favorite for his memorable gameday outfit. The title of Mr. Congeniality went to Cho from Beta Upsilon Chi for his musical talent. And the title of Mr. Milledge went to Caleb Ellison from Theta Chi.

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