The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • A6

1 A6 MONDAY, MAY 28 2018 THE PANTAGRAPH NATION MAX FILBY Tribune News Service illions are expected to be on the road this Memorial Day weekend where tra will be slow and gas prices high, but good weather is projected. Nearly 41.5 million travelers nationwide will hit the road for the holiday weekend, according to AAA, and most will see gas prices around $3 a gallon. Memorial Day weekend is considered the beginning of the summer travel season and experts expect the high gas prices projected to a ect summer vacation plans. you look at the overall vacation budget, fuel is a relatively small portion of that travel said Kimberly Schwind, AAA Ohio spokeswoman. still pay it because they want to get out for their Nationwide, a gallon of gas is now hovering around $3, the highest since Memorial Day weekend in 2014, according to travel organization AAA.

U.S. oil prices went above the $70-a-barrel mark last week for the rst time since late 2014, foreshadowing costlier gasoline and consumer goods. The hike comes after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal and reinforce economic sanctions. And Venezuela, which holds most of the oil reserves, is in turmoil with a dwindling supply.

a little bit of a tough one this summer because of all the geopolitical said GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHann. crystal ball gets a little foggy with all this The average price for a gallon of gas over the holiday weekend is expected to be $2.91. In addition to the gas increase, roadways typically see an increase in tra for the Memorial Day holiday. biggest thing is to pack your patience, especially if going to be traveling during those peak travel Schwind said. at other times during the day if you want to avoid tra MEMORIAL DAY BY THE NUMBERS A TIME TO REMEMBER Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Expect slow tra high prices, good weather for holiday 8 historic sites you can visit Princeton eld, Princeton, N.J. Fort McAllister, Richmond Hill, Ga. Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown, N.Y. Kings Mountain eld, Blacksburg, S.C. Antietam eld, Sharpsburg, Md.

Manassas eld, Manassas, Va. Shiloh eld, Shiloh, Tenn. Saratoga eld, Stillwater, N.Y. Associated Press More than 1.3 million Total number of American servicemen who have lost their lives. 7 billion Number of hot dogs eaten between Memorial Day and Labor day.

$15 billion Sales of meat and seafood of people plan to barbecue for the holiday Paying respects Time to eat 400,000 Number of soldiers buried in Arlington National Cemetery 5,000 Unknown soldiers are buried at Arlington National Cemetery This commemoration on Monday marks the 150th anniversary of Memorial cial nationwide observance. 2015201620172018 Auto Air Other Holiday travel AAA projects more than 41.5 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day weekend, nearly 5 percent more than last year and the most in more than a dozen years. 30.5 34.8 34.3 35.1 35.5 35.5 37.3 39.3 41.5 million 38 Number of Memorial Day travelers How are people traveling? 7.5% 4.4% 88.1% Source: AAA Tribune News Service graphic Average gas price for Memorial Day, per gallon Source: AAA, Census.gov, wallethub.com WAYNE PARRY Associated Press GALLOWAY, N.J. One of best law enforcement cers at sni ng out hidden explosives is 8 years old, already going gray and loves nothing more than chewing vigorously on a white cotton towel to unwind. Hemi, a chocolate Labrador assigned to the campus police force at New Stockton University near Atlantic City, won a nationwide competition last week for police dogs trained to sni out explosives.

Another New Jersey dog took top honors for dogs trained to nd hidden drugs. Luna, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois assigned to the Passaic County Sheri Department, bested all comers in sni ng out drugs. The United States Police Canine Association held the Detector Dog competition, which featured more than 100 dogs from across the country. Police dogs from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. competed, as did dogs from the FBI and CIA.

There even was a dog from Fiscalia General, the national ce. Sgt. Tracy Stuart, handler at Stockton, which hosted this competition, said considered the Super Bowl for sni er dogs. And Hemi was quick as a ash in sni ng out hidden traces of explosives. crushed she said.

makes a momma The dogs are trained from a young age by exposing them to the scent of whatever it is they will search for, which might be various narcotics, explosives, or even dead bodies. The one cadaver dog that competed was literally in a class by himself. K9s sni out danger in contest DAVID SHARP AND CLAUDIA TORRENS Associated Press PHIPPSBURG, Maine Frustrated by red tape and visa limits on foreign workers, tourism businesses from Maine to Missouri are turning to Puerto Ricans who are eeing a shattered economy and devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Bob Smith, owner of Sebasco Harbor Resort in Phippsburg, hired a half-dozen Puerto Ricans last summer for housekeeping, landscaping and kitchen work, providing relief to his overworked sta This summer he is doubling the number, and he would like to hire even more. Louis Morales, 50, of Comerio, Puerto Rico, is happy to be here because he makes double the salary he would back home, where jobs are scarce.

lot of people lost their houses, their jobs, everything. not the same said Morales, a maintenance worker who worked at Sebasco last year and has recruited more residents from Comerio to join him. Employers large and small are seeking alternative solutions as demand continues to outstrip the annual allotment of 66,000 H-2B temporary visas, which are issued for workers holding down seasonal, nonagricultural jobs. Critics fear that immigration politics were playing a role in program changes starting last summer. Compounding the uncertainty for businesses was a lottery system and background check delays on workers who come from dozens of countries from the Caribbean to Croatia.

On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced 15,000 additional visas and acknowledged reforms were needed. Businesses looking to Puerto Rico for workers WAYNE PARRY ASSOCIATED PRESS Luna, a drug-sni ng dog, left, and Hemi, an explosives-sni ng dog, are shown in Galloway N.J., May 23 after they won a national competition for police dogs trained to sni out dangerous or illicit substances. MARK PRATT Associated Press BOSTON The solemn display of tens of thousands of U.S. ags that rst appeared on Boston Common for Memorial Day a decade ago, honoring service members who have died defending the nation, is slowly becoming a national movement. The ag gardens, as they are known, can be seen this weekend in Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and New York, all started by local residents inspired by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund tribute established in 2010.

are extraordinarily proud that what we intended to do for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been brought to a scale that we never fully said Tom Crohan, president of the board of directors. The concept has even spread to Canada, where thousands of Canadian ags are planted in Toronto on Remembrance Day in November, when Canada honors its military members who have died in the line of duty. The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund was founded in 2009 to support to the families of active duty service members killed since The rst sea of uttering stars and stripes included 20,000 ags, one for every Massachusetts resident who gave their life in war since World War I. This year, more than 37,000 ags honoring those who have died dating to the Revolutionary War have been planted. What makes the stirring display so special is that so unexpected.

Most people who see it are just walking across the Common for another reason, Crohan said. almost impossible to walk past that site without Crohan said. what happened with Chuck Schneider, executive pastor of Sagemont Church in Houston. Schneider and his wife were on vacation in Boston three years ago and on the way to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game when they saw the ag garden. was so moved that I immediately thought like to do the same thing in he said.

With the help of hundreds of volunteers from the congregation, 38,000 ags are planted on church grounds, each one representing a Texan who died in service dating to the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. Janet Broussard, a member of the Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana, was inspired by pictures of tribute. For ve years now, the organization has planted 11,000 ags on Statehouse grounds in Baton Rouge. Karen Carmen, community services director for the city of Beachwood near Cleveland, saw an article about the Boston display in her local newspaper. Since 2012, the city has been painting a 30-foot-by 60-foot U.S.

ag on city property and decorating it with hundreds of smaller ags. Like Crohan, they say they get the greatest satisfaction from reactions. thing that I love is when you see families solemnly and slowly walk by, probably thinking of a special loved Carmen said. favorite moment was the time a little girl of about 4 whose father had died in Iraq visited the Baton Rouge ag garden. Flag garden concept spreads across U.S.