MECC

The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (later Corporation), most commonly known as MECC, was an organization founded in 1973. The goal of the organization was to coordinate and provide computer services to schools in the state of Minnesota; however, its software eventually became popular in schools around the world. MECC had its headquarters in the Brookdale Corporate Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

History

Origins

During the 1960s, Minnesota was a center of computer technology, what one newspaper would describe 50 years later as a "Midwestern Silicon Valley". IBM, Honeywell, Control Data and other companies had facilities in the state. In 1963, their presence inspired a group of teachers at the University of Minnesota College of Education's laboratory school to introduce computers into classrooms via teleprinters and time-sharing. The group began with long-distance calls to Dartmouth College's General Electric computer to use John George Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz's new Dartmouth BASIC language, then moved to Minneapolis-based Pillsbury Company's own GE computer. In 1968, 20 Minneapolis-Saint Paul area school districts and the College of Education founded Total Information for Educational Systems (TIES) to provide time-sharing service on a HP 2000, training, and software. The presence of computer-company employees on many school boards accelerated TIES's expansion and helped make Minnesota a leader in computer-based education.

Haunted Forest

Haunted Forest is a horror film about a man driven by his grandfather's mysterious past, Sean (Sevy Di Cione) searches for the key to a man's sudden disappearance within a dark forest. He believes it may have a connection to the enigmatic tree that now haunts his dreams. Sean's friends (Adam Green and Edoardo Beghi), along with two young women, accompany him on his quest. But, things soon turn deadly as Satinka, a beautiful but vengeful spirit, wreaks her terrible revenge for an unspeakable crime committed over 200 years ago. This hurls the group into a foreboding ecological nightmare... forcing them onto a road straight to Hell.

Main cast

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Big Stone Gap, Virginia

Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census.

History

The community was formerly known as "Mineral City" and "Three Forks." The "Big Stone Gap" refers to the valley which has been created on the Appalachia Straight, located between Big Stone Gap and Appalachia. The town had hoped that its coal and iron ore deposits would make it "the Pittsburgh of the South."

The Big Stone Gap post office was established in 1856.

The Christ Episcopal Church, John Fox, Jr. House, Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park, Terrace Park Girl Scout Cabin, June Tolliver House, and C. Bascom Slemp Federal Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museums

Big Stone Gap is home to several museums. The June Tolliver House, located on Jerome Street, is home to the Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the official outdoor drama of Virginia.

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is located in the downtown area. Big Stone Gap also hosts the Coal Museum.

Big Stone Lake

Big Stone Lake is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir forming the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota in the United States. The lake covers 12,610 acres (5,100 ha) of surface area, stretching 26 miles (42 km) from end to end and averaging around 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and at an elevation of 965 feet (294 m) is the lowest point in South Dakota. Big Stone Lake is the source of the Minnesota River, which flows 332 miles (534 km) to the Mississippi River.

Flow from the lake to the Minnesota River is regulated by the Big Stone Lake Dam, built in 1937 and located at the southern end of the lake. Although modest, the dam controls a maximum capacity of 205,000 acre-feet. The dam is owned and operated by the state of Minnesota.

The lake is fed by the Little Minnesota River at its north end, which flows through the Traverse Gap. Big Stone was formed at the end of the last ice age when glacial Lake Agassiz drained through the gap into Glacial River Warren. The valley of that river now holds Big Stone Lake. Big Stone Lake is shown on the 1757 edition of Mitchell Map as "L. Tinton", referring to the Lakota people, also known as Tetonwan ("dwellers of the prairie"). Big Stone Lake was named for nearby rock outcroppings.