
02/29/2016
Leap Year Facts *Why do we need Leap Year?* Nearly every four years, we add an extra day to the calendar in the form of February 29, also known as Leap Day. Put simply, these additional 24 hours are built into the calendar to ensure that it stays in line with the Earth’s movement around the Sun. While the modern calendar contains 365 days, the actual time it takes for Earth to orbit its star is slightly longer—roughly 365.2421 days. The difference might seem negligible, but over decades and centuries that missing quarter of a day per year can add up. To ensure consistency with the true astronomical year, it is necessary to periodically add in an extra day to make up the lost time and get the calendar back in synch with the heavens. The Egyptians were among the first to calculate the need for a leap year, but the practice didn't arrive in Europe until the reign of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Before then, the Roman calendar had operated on a muddled lunar model that regularly required adding an extra month to maintain celestial consistency. Finally, in 46 B.C., Caesar and the astronomer Sosigenes revamped the Roman calendar to include 12 months and 365 days. This “Julian Calendar” also accounted for the slightly longer solar year by adding a leap day every four years. Caesar’s model helped realign the Roman calendar, but it had one small problem. Since the solar year is only .242 days longer than the calendar year and not an even .25, adding a leap year every four years actually leaves an annual surplus of roughly 11 minutes. This minute discrepancy meant that the Julian Calendar drifted off course by one day every 128 years, and by the 14th century it had strayed 10 days off the solar year. To fix the glitch, Pope Gregory XIII instituted a revised “Gregorian Calendar” in 1582. In this model, leap years occur ever four years except for years evenly divisible by 100 and not by 400. For example, the year 1900 was not a leap year because it was divisible by 100, but not 400. The Pope’s updated calendar remains in use to this day, but it’s still not perfect- experts note that the remaining discrepancies will need to be addressed in around 10,000 years. history.com Golf Planning 2016 Be a Part of the 2016 Chamber Golf Outing! Although it doesn’t look like the time of year to be dreaming of hitting the links, here at the Chamber, we are! We’ve set the date and location for the 2016 Chamber Golf Outing. Please mark your calendars for a relaxing day spent with old and new friends, golf, food, drinks and prizes. The day will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, July 29^th at the Grand Ledge Country Club. With the date set, we’re ready to begin planning. Dale Bennett is the chair of the committee and Jodi Wehling is the co-chair. We’ve drafted a couple people who have been a part of making the event happen in years past, and are also looking for others to join us who can add some fresh ideas to the mix! In addition to attending the event, planning team members will participate in several meetings starting next week and continuing over the next five months. Team members also take care of event details outside the meeting time and are responsible for finding others to help at the event. If you’re interested in supporting the Grand Ledge community by helping make this event be the most successful golf outing to date, getting to know other Chamber members and having lots of fun along the way, please email Jill Russell at glaccgl@gmail.com. We need the team in place by Tuesday, March 1^st, so don’t delay; respond today! March 1 Pre-School Story Time Grand Ledge Area District Library Pre-School Story Time (power-hour story time) Tues, March 1st at 11am Children ages 3-6, and their accompanying parent or caregiver, will be treated to stories and a variety of literacy enhancing activities that pair with the weekly theme. Due to upcoming renovations, this program is held at the GLCity Hall, 310 Greenwood St. Registration not required- drop-in and enjoy! March 12 Kids Activities for the St. Pat's Parade The Grand Ledge Area District Library will host a special visit from Curious George for the St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 12th at 2pm. Enjoy the parade and say "hello" to the library's curious little monkey friend. Face Painting at Ledge Craft Lane! The St. Patrick's Day Parade will be at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 12th. Bring your kids on down to Ledge Craft Lane where we'll be doing face painting for one hour before the parade and a half hour after the parade. See you then! St. Patrick's Day Celebration March 11 & 12, 2016 St. Patrick's Day Celebration Friday: Join us at the Opera House beginning at 6:00pm for Irish entertainment, including: Glen Erin Pipe and Drum band, Irish Dancers and various live musical acts both domestic and imported. $5 admission. Food and beverages for sale. Saturday: Free Kids Movie at Sun Theatre at 12pm. Saturday: Parade downtown at 2:00pm (bagpipers, floats, free candy) followed by an afternoon and evening at the Opera House with the Goodrich bagpipe and drum band, Irish dancing, various live musical acts. Free admission. Open seating. Food and beverages for sale. Irish Stew cook-off at the American Legion hall from 11:00am-4:00pm Join the downtown pub crawl throughout the day and evening featuring various specials at your favorite restaurants & taverns Shuttle rides every 20 mins throughout the downtown area. Chairperson: Jim Hogan 517-627-8360 www.glstpats.org Living in the Ledge *Did you know...* Grand Ledge is a focus for Journalism Students at MSU? Read their online publication Living In The Ledge Grand Ledge News As Reported by MSU Journalism Students COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS _________________________________________________________________ 2016 FEB/MARCH Festivals SIGN UP NOW! Green Break - Spring Break Camp for Kids
E-News is a Chamber Member Benefit - 02/29/2016