Family friendly and striving to be a worthy choice for your Internet browsing. Comments and material submissions welcome: tkforppe@yahoo.com . Pocomoke City-- an All American City And The Friendliest Town On The Eastern Shore.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Mural Ignites Debate on Race, Censorship in Arizona
In all my years I have never heard so many apologies about race, words, and our American way of life in some incidences then I have heard in the last year. This PC BS has to come to a head.
It's the corrupt Preachers that scream "heathen", it's those that talk the most that want to smash the first amendment, it's the Al Sharpton's and Van Jones' of the world that cry racism at every whim, like black Barbie being cheaper than white Barbie. [hypocrites]
Am I the only one that is sick and tired of this BS
An Arizona school mural designed to promote environmentally friendly transportation has ignited a debate about race and censorship of the arts.
Officials at Miller Valley Elementary School in Prescott, Ariz., asked the painters of the mural to lighten the skin of children depicted after a city councilman denounced its prominent portrayal of ethnic minorities. Following protests, the principal apologized today for making the request. "Miller Valley made a mistake when we asked them to lighten the mural. We made a mistake," said Principal Jeff Lane.
The mural shows children walking and cycling in a garden-like scene, with birds flying around them.
"We don't have a racist town," R.E. Wall, who painted the "Go on Green" mural, told AOL News. "I believe we have racist city council."
City Councilman Steve Blair, who says he "can't stand" the word "diversity," criticized the mural on his talk-radio show. He particularly targeted the portrayal of the painting's main figure, a dark-skinned boy in blue jeans and green sweatshirt.
"To depict the biggest picture on that building as a black person, I would have to ask the question, 'Why?'" Blair said on a May 21 broadcast, according to The Daily Courier.
The child in question is meant to be a Mexican-American, Wall told AOL News.
When the Courier published an article online about the unveiling of the mural, readers left comments describing the painting as "tacky," "ghetto" and "ugly." On his radio show, Blair said that he had spoken to locals who are offended by the mural and call it "graffiti."
The mural aims to fight childhood obesity by encouraging children to walk or cycle to school. It was paid for by the Prescott Alternative Transportation Organization, with money from the state Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program, The Associated Press reported.
Students examined different options for the design of the mural, before passing on their recommendations to the school's teachers, who had the final say.
"The teachers selected this design because it focused on children and their role in the environment," Lane told the AP.
Wall says that he and his fellow painters from the Prescott Downtown Mural Project, were often harassed by drivers passing by the mural. The motorists shouted racial slurs against the figures depicted, said Wall, adding that the painters were working with school children at the time.
"To us it's children, we don't care what color they are," Wall told AOL News. "But for some people, that's all they see. "
As the controversy grew, school authorities requested the artists lighten the skin tones on the forehead and cheeks of the main boy depicted, and to make the children appear happier.
The school's principal denies that he was motivated by any kind of political pressure relating to racism.
"We asked them to fix the shading on the children's faces," Lane told The Arizona Republic. "We were looking at it from an artistic view. Nothing at all to do with race."
Wall told AOL News that the artists would work to make the most prominent child look more like a Mexican-American but that they "weren't interested" in simply lightening the skin tones.
He says he's glad that the controversy has erupted, as it provides a rallying point for Latinos who have been squeezed by city measures, such as banning soccer in public parks.
"Art shouldn't just be flat pictures of puppies," Wall told AOL News. "Like Picasso said, art should be a hammer that shatters the illusion of the masses."
Credit: AOLNEWS
Be Causious of Old Sun Screen
He was there early, knowing he would be out in the sun all day he grabbed a bottle of SPF50 sunscreen and covered his exposed skin.
After being out in the sun he noticed he was starting to burn even with the SPF50 sunscreen he'd applied so he checked to the bottle of sunscreen for the date, that's when he found out that he had grabbed a bottle the was 2 years old.
Who would think that it would go bad? He is sunburned pretty bad after spending the day out in the sun even though he thought he took precautions by applying liberal amounts of SPF50 sunscreen.
We view this as a learning experience and just thought I'd pass along the warning to you to check the date on your sunscreen and discard last years bottle.
There are people that would sue I'm sure .... hot coffee comes to mind.
So if you're going out in the sun for any prolonged time make sure to get new sunscreen especially if you have little-ones, don't trust that old bottle of sunscreen.
Enjoy the summer sun, it's not fun having a blistering sunburn.
NAACP calls Hallmark graduation card racist
The "word" that the NAACP is so upset about is the word "hole" listening here on the computer through crappy speakers and so-so audio quality associated with the video the word is very clearly "hole", the NAACP is arguing that the word is "whore" or "ho" they (NAACP) say they can hear the "r" in the phrase "black hole" the last time I checked there is no "r" in the phrase "black ho". You be the judge.
I say they are just looking to keep racism alive and hunting for a law suit.
A graduation card sold at local stores has been pulled from shelves after a civil rights group raised concerns about the content. The group claims the card's micro-speaker plays a greeting that's racist.
It is a graduation greeting from Hallmark that says, "Hey world, we are officially putting you on notice."
Members of the Los Angeles NAACP did take notice. As characters known as "Hoops" and "Yoyo" banter on, African American leaders hear offensive language.
"And you black holes, you are so ominous. Watch your back," the card vocalizes.
"That was very demeaning to African American women. When it made reference to African American women as whores and at the end, it says 'watch your back,'" said Leon Jenkins of the Los Angeles NAACP.
When Hallmark was reached by phone, they said the card is all a misunderstanding. The card's theme is the solar system and emphasizes the power of the grad to take over the universe, even energy-absorbing black holes.
The card company says the card speaks about the power the grad will wield.
"The intent here is to say that this graduate is not afraid of anything," explained Hallmark spokesman Steve Doyal.
But that's not what some people heard.
"You hear the 'r' in there. 'Whores,' not, 'holes.' The 'r' is in there," said Minnie Hatley of the Los Angeles NAACP.
Hallmark sent Eyewitness News a transcript of what the card says, but Hatley says that the actual audio raises questions.
"It sounds like a group of children laughing and joking about blackness, again," said another NAACP member.
Hallmark is now notifying all of its stores to pull the card. Walgreens and CVS are doing the same.
"In any situation where there is a circumstance that we need to be sensitive to, we try to learn from that experience," said Doyal.
However, NAACP members say they do not want to see the card on store shelves ever again.
Credit: ABC7
"Last Word Of The Week"
Don't get me wrong. I like the Pocomoke Mayor. I do, however, think he would fair alot better if he would keep his comments out of the "crime business" and leave that up to his Chief of Police. There are alot of people here in Accomack County quite angry and worked up over this. I hope he left some "wiggle room" to get out of it. "Politics" or not Mr. Mayor you need to have a long talk with OUR Accomack County Sheriff! I think the apologies need to begin there and then with the rest of the law abiding people (like me) that visit your town for one reason or another.
LAST WORD OF THE WEEK Pocomoke mayor's Va. criticism is suspect as written by Ted Shockley, Eastern Shore News:
Last week a Greenbush man was fatally shot in Pocomoke City, Md. The town mayor was quoted in a report before an arrest was made that its violent incidents were the fault of Virginians
"I'm weary of the Virginia violence that pours over into Pocomoke City -- the problems that we've had in the past couple years tend to come from Accomack County, and it's really getting wearisome to our city," said Mayor Michael McDermott.
As it turned out, the man charged with murder resides in a Washington, D.C., suburb of Maryland. In fact, he lived in Pocomoke City in 1993 when he was charged with first-degree murder. The charge was later dropped.
I'm surprised that the Maryland mayor decided to paint our county as a violent badlands before a Marylander was charged with the slaying of Reginald Jerome Handy Jr., 22, of Greenbush.
Instead, maybe Accomack County should be a little wary of having such a lawless place so close to our border.
You would think the self-proclaimed "Friendliest Town on the Eastern Shore" would be a little friendlier with respect to comments about its southern neighbor.
It led me to think of everything that gets on my nerves about Pocomoke City. I could start with all of the Walmart plastic bags blowing through Accomack County. Maybe someday, those plastic bags could come from our soon-to-be-opened Walmart. Right now, they are imported from the north.
I could continue with the outrageously long wait at the traffic light at Walmart in Pocomoke City. Or the Pocomoke Christmas Parade, which I stopped attending because I don't like mixing with hooded mobs on sidewalks after dark. (If you want a much nicer after-dark Christmas parade, go to Chincoteague's or Exmore's instead.)
Or the super-long waits at the former Greene Turtle restaurant on U.S. Route 13. No wonder it's no longer in business.
Sure, all of that seems petty, but I didn't start the pettiness.
The truth is, Accomack County spends a lot of money on everything from cars to meals in Pocomoke City. Accomack County provides a lot of Marylanders jobs at the Wallops industrial complex. For two municipalities in separate states, Pocomoke City and Accomack are pretty close and cooperative siblings.
One wonders if Maryland competition for NASA-related spinoff business and new residents was behind the mayor's criticism of us. People will say anything to lure a job or two.
In reality, the issue of street shootings is more a societal issue than a geographical problem. When it comes to senseless violence, there are a lot of contributing factors that transcend state lines and municipal limits.
The mayoral thing to do would be to help find ways to fix the problem before publicly affixing blame.
NOTE: If you care to leave a comment be sure to think about what you write. I DID NOT post this so the people of Pocomoke (that seem to think they have no use for the mayor ) could have a big time with comments. I merely want everyone to know that Accomack County heard him loud and clear
Claims of 14 Sightings of Sasquatch in Virginia
THORNBURG, Va. — Billy Willard says he’s on the verge of a major discovery that could change the way humans think about the natural world, not to mention their need for a creature-proof home security system.
Here in Spotsylvania County, in the forests around Lake Anna, Willard contends there have been 14 sightings in the past decade of that most fabled of cryptozoic beasts: Bigfoot.
Or Sasquatch, as the elusive, apelike brute is referred to in other circles — and on the side of Willard’s blue pickup. The decal on the truck reads “Sasquatch Watch of Virginia,’’ of which Willard is chief pooh-bah (when he’s not earning a living installing and removing underground home oil tanks).
Go ahead, call him a loon, a flake, a huckster. He’s heard it all. But Willard knows what he knows, which is that three people from this area — a woman, her husband, and their granddaughter — told him they saw a shaggy, super-sized figure on two legs gallivanting across their wooded property.
Last month, Willard led a weeklong expedition to the site, where he installed five motion-sensor cameras that will snap photos if and when the big galoot wanders by again.
Willard, 41, says he’d like to lead a tour of the property and introduce the witnesses, really he would. But the woman who says she saw what she believes could have been Bigfoot fears an avalanche of ridicule, which is why Willard is left to deliver his version of what happened a few miles away, in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen.
“We believe we may be close to some kind of major discovery,’’ he said. “All the things they would need are here, fresh water, shelter in the woods. The high concentration of sightings tells me they’re here.’’
He interrupts his monologue to answer his cellphone, the ringtone to which is the country tune “People Are Crazy.’’
Ever since humans began telling stories, they have spun yarns involving life forms that tower above mere mortals, whether it’s the giant of “Jack and the Beanstalk’’ fame, or Goliath, or Frankenstein.
Bigfoot has been a perennial for generations, with hundreds of purported sightings (many of them of supposed footprints), most prevalent in the Pacific Northwest but also popping up in states as disparate as Rhode Island, Illinois, and Alabama.
The myth grew in popularity in 1967, when two men in California filmed what appeared to be a huge and hairy biped walking into the woods, at one point turning its head to glance dramatically at the camera.
In Bigfoot circles, the footage is referred to as the “Patterson-Gimlin film,’’ named for its makers.
In less admiring circles, the short, fuzzy clip is cited as nothing short of poppycock.
Willard knows about the film, and most everything else Bigfoot-related, all of which he’s happy to share at any time, sometimes to the annoyance of his wife, Jeanean, who is prone to blurt out, “Okay, the conversation will have to change.’’
For all of Willard’s certainty about Bigfoot, the buzz has not exactly caught on in the rural hamlets around Lake Anna, where many residents work at the nearby nuclear power plant or in construction or commute to Richmond or Washington.
Behind the grill at Tarheel Pig Pickers barbecue, Mark Lane, 54, giggled.
“When I see Bigfoot water skiing, I’ll believe it,’’ he said. “If they catch him, we’ll put him on the rotisserie and invite everyone in the community.’’
Ron McCormick, president of a home-building company, said people have more pressing concerns, such as plummeting property values and paying bills. “On the other hand, it could bring in tourists,’’ he said as he sat at his desk, playing solitaire on his laptop.
Craig Petrie, 55, mowing grass a few miles away, volunteered that he sometimes hears voices calling his name from below as he tends the cemetery adjoining Wallers Baptist Church, where he holds the titles of head deacon and chief groundskeeper.
But Bigfoot sightings? “Never happened,’’ he said, although he’s open to the possibility, particularly with all the new subdivisions in the area ripping out trees and kicking up dirt.
“If anyone’s going to see him, it’s me, because I’m always on this mower. And if he kills me, they’ll just have to walk a few feet to bury me. It’s convenient.’’
The small but avid universe of Bigfoot enthusiasts includes self-styled investigators who pursue their quest during off hours from their day jobs.
Willard, for example, hosts an Internet radio show and maintains a website from his home in Manassas; he also monitors his Bigfoot hotline for reported sightings (a recent caller announced “I just saw Bigfoot in Reston,’’ before exploding in laughter and hanging up).
More dispassionate scholars are fascinated by the unflagging interest in bogeymen.
“People have a need to think about something like ourselves, something scary, using them as a cautionary tale,’’ said Robert Michael Pyle, whose book “Where Bigfoot Walks’’ explores the history of Sasquatch.
Willard spends countless hours in the woods listening for footsteps, always with a camera, ready to snap a picture.
He brings a set of knives and a hatchet. If he finds a dead Bigfoot, he intends to walk away with the ultimate trophy, DNA evidence, to send a message to those who ridicule the believers: “To give them the final ‘Aha! I told you so.’
License Plate Falls Off Car At Crime Scene
Police say security camera video from a March gas station break-in shows a sedan pulling up to the store and a man smashing the window and stealing cigarettes. Before the car drives away, the video shows the car's license plate falling off.
Police retrieved the plate and traced it to a vehicle registered to Browder.
~~Show Your Support For Courtney Bloxom ~~
Proceeds will go to help her family with the expenses of her medical care. Courtney still remains in a coma and other critical injuries resulting from an automobile accident.
There will also be a few ribbons left for sale and the bracelets that everyone is wearing to show their support for Courtney.
Please show your support for Courtney if only in prayer. For more info and to see the outpouring of love being sent to Courtney and her family go to "Prayers for Courtney Bloxom" on Facebook.
PayPal Millionaire's Rocket Blasts Off On 1st Test Flight
SpaceX's brand new Falcon 9 rocket soared off its Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday afternoon. It's carrying a mock-up of the company's spacecraft, named Dragon. The goal is to put the capsule into orbit.
The first attempt to launch the rocket was aborted in the final few seconds earlier Friday.
NASA hopes to use the Falcon-Dragon combo for hauling cargo and possibly astronauts to the International Space Station, once the shuttles stop flying. The first supply run could come next year.
SpaceX — or Space Exploration Technologies — was founded eight years ago by Elon Musk, a South African-born entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal.
Only Woman On Death Row Gets Rejected By Federal Appeals Court
Shortly after that, Lewis became the first female death row inmate in Virginia in more than 90 years, but her appeals attorneys argued Tuesday that she should be spared the death penalty, because she was too dependent on drugs and other people to mastermind anything.
James Rocap, Lewis' attorney, argued that her trial attorneys should have presented hundreds of pages of medical and pharmaceutical records showing her increased dependency on prescription drugs following her mother's death, and expert testimony showing that a disorder made her especially dependent on men.
"She was not a person who could have come up with this," Rocap said.
Katherine Burnett, a senior assistant attorney general, painted an entirely different picture of Lewis, saying that she bragged to two friends that she was marrying Julian Lewis, Jr. for his money, came up with the idea to kill him and his 25-year-old son, Charles, and offered the two gunmen sex in return for helping her as well as buying the weapons used in the crime.
The gunmen, Rodney Fuller and Matthew Shallenberger, were sentenced to life in prison.
Lewis' daughter, Christie Lynn Bean, who was 16 at the time, served five years because she knew about the plan but remained silent.
David Furrow, Lewis' defense attorney when she pleaded guilty in 2002, said he had expected the judge to sentence Lewis to life in prison.
But at her sentencing, Circuit Court Judge Charles Strauss said that she appeared cold and emotionless throughout the proceedings, that she seemed to have no other motive besides financial gain, that he saw her as a continuing threat to society, and sentenced her to death.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Words from a LEGAL Mexican immigrant
Here is the quote:
"If you had tickets to a sports event, concert, Disneyland, or for an airline flight, and when you got to your assigned seat you found someone else was in that seat, what would you do? You would call for a person in charge of ticket checking and have the person in your seat removed. You would properly be asked to show your ticket, and you would gladly and proudly do so, for you have bought and paid for that seat. The person in your seat would also be asked for a ticket, which they would not be able to produce. They would be called "gate crashers" and they would properly be removed.
Now in this huge stadium called the USA we have had millions of gate crashers. We have been asking security to check for tickets and remove the gate crashers. We have been asking security to have better controls in checking at the door. We have asked security to lock the back doors. Security has failed us. They are still looking the other way. They are afraid to ask to see the tickets. Many people say there is unlimited seating, and whether there is or not, no one should be allowed in for free while the rest of us pay full price!
In "section AZ", of "Stadium USA", we have had enough of the failures of Security. We have decided to do our own ticket checking, and properly remove those who do not have tickets. Now it seems very strange to me that so many people in the other 49 "sections", and even many in our own "section" do not want tickets checked, or even to be asked to show their ticket! Even the head of Security is chastising us, while not doing his own job which he has sworn to do.
My own ticket has been bought and paid for, so I am proudly going to show it when asked to do so. I have a right to my seat, and I want the gate crashers to be asked to show their tickets too. The only reason that I can imagine anyone objecting to being asked for their ticket is that they are in favor of gate crashing, and all of the illegal activities that go with it, such as drug smuggling, gang wars, murder, human smuggling for profit, and many more illegal and inhumane acts that we are trying to prevent with our new legislation. Is that what I am hearing from all of the protestors such as Phoenix Mayor Gordon, US Rep. Grijalva, even President Obama? If you are not in favor of showing tickets, (proof of citizenship, passport, green card, or other legal document) when asked, as I would do proudly, then you must be condoning those illegal activities."
Written by a US Citizen, Globe, Arizona.
This makes perfect sense to me. What do you think?
Since Obama has never shown his ticket I guess he feels obligated to not ask others to show theirs.
Hat Tip; Mrs M.
Parksley Spring Festival Is Tomorrow
country/southern rock band
A Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country.
Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student's Association.
The e-mail was in response to the students' protest of the Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist.
The group had complained the cartoons were 'hate speech.'
============
Enter Professor Wichman.
==========================================
In his e-mail, he said the following:
===============================
Dear Muslim Association,
As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intend to protest your protest.
I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey), burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavian girls and women (called 'whores' in your culture), the murder of film directors in Holland, and the rioting and looting in Paris France.
This is what offends me, a soft-spoken person and academic, and many, many of my colleagues. I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Muslims to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile 'protests.'
If you do not like the values of the West - see the First Amendment - you are free to leave. I hope for God's sake that most of you choose that option.
Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans.
Cordially,
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
=============================
As you can imagine,
The Muslim group at the university didn't like this too well.
They're demanding that Wichman be reprimanded, that the university impose mandatory diversity training for faculty,
And mandate a seminar on hate and discrimination for all freshmen.
Now, the local chapter of CAIR has jumped into the fray.
CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, apparently doesn't believe that the good professor
Had the right to express his opinion.
==========
For its part, the university is standing its ground in support of Professor Wichman,
Saying the e-mail was private, and they don't intend to publicly condemn his remarks.
We are in a war.
This political correctness crap is getting old and killing us.
BP Disaster Reaches Florida's Panhandle Beaches
Think about all this when another country in need comes calling..............
Movie At the MarVa Theater
In New York City, a case of mistaken identity turns a bored married couple's attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening into something more thrilling and dangerous.
Friday and Saturday, June 4th and 5th
Show starts: 7:00 PM
Tickets: $5:00 Rated PG-13
Volunteers Relocate Eggs Of Rare Leatherback Turtle
The StarNews of Wilmington reported Thursday that Mary Marwitz of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol says volunteers saw the turtle earlier this week. She estimated the turtle at 6-feet-long and 800 pounds.
McDermotts June 17th Event
Dear Fellow Patriot,
The response to our June 17th Spaghetti Fundraiser in
Ocean Pines has been heart warming. In just two weeks, we have
already sold half the seats. There is still time to join with
other like minded Marylanders who desire to take back the
reins of an out-of-control government. Come join us as we
serve up homemade pasta, meatballs, and a proven track record
of effective government!
I have concentrated on budget friendly events so everyone can get involved, but I need your help for this event to be a success. Your partnership in this campaign is the only way to insure that I will have the opportunity to serve you and this district in
Our shared eastern shore values deserve to be heard. Please help me as I work to be your strong voice in
With Warmest Regards,
New Church Man Sentenced For 2007 Slaying
Dominique Miller, who was 20 years old at the time of the murder, was already a convicted felon and was on probation for a drug charge when the shooting took place.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two firearms charges last summer.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2007, a group of young people were gathered at a mobile home park in New Church. They had been there since early evening, testimony at the preliminary hearing showed. All were drinking and some were smoking marijuana.
Some of the men had brought guns to the gathering. One of those was the victim, Michael McKyer. Another was defendant Miller, witnesses said. McKyer had a firearm earlier that night but it was stolen from him — he thought Miller had taken the gun, testimony showed.
Another witness saw Miller put the clip on the gun. He said he heard shots, but thought McKyer had gotten away.
McKyer was taken to the Nelsonia Royal Farms to save time. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was no longer breathing, the witness said.
Miller was charged with first-degree murder, a charge that was reduced to murder in the second degree in a plea bargain with a prosecutor last July. In the terms of the agreement, his incarceration was not to exceed 25 years.
At a sentencing hearing on Thursday, defense attorney James Broccoletti called the killing, “a tremendous, terrible tragedy that should not have occurred,” and argued that Miller should serve a sentence at the low end of the guidelines, which he said were 13 to 22 years. At the preliminary hearing he told the court that Miller and the victim were cousins as well as friends.
He cited Miller’s mental deficiencies related to an earlier head injury.
“His mental status was no fault of his own,” he said.
Broccoletti said Muller had been hit by the slain man and “reacted in a way he should not have reacted."
“He had problems long before the accident occurred,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Agar. “Problems with fighting, with not following the rules in school.”
“The victim was shot seven times, once in the upper chest and the rest in the back while he was running away,” Agar said.
Agar spoke about young men and guns.
“This is something that has to be combated to bring order to the community,” Agar said. He said that the victims family asked him to “please let the court know we want a sentence commensurate with the damage he has done.”
“Neither family should be too critical of the other,” said Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler before sentencing Miller.
“The event occurred at 1 a.m. among people who were drinking and partying and using substances that altered their minds.” He described the scene as “pretty bad circumstances all around.
Before being sentenced, Miller read aloud a statement apologizing for what he had done.
Mar-Va Theater Is Looking For Volunteers
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
- selling concessions
- taking tickets
- help with lights
- help with sound
- promotions
We also need friends to run the movie projector. We are willing to train for this position.
If you can help email Emily Rantz, theater manager: emily@marvatheater.com
Today Is NATIONAL DONUT DAY !!
In honor of this day, established in 1938 by the Salvation Army to raise funds to help people in need, Krispy Kreme is offering customers one FREE doughnut of any variety at participating U.S. store locations on Friday, June 4. No purchase is necessary to receive a free doughnut.
"On National Doughnut Day, Krispy Kreme is encouraging everyone to stop by for a free doughnut," says Ron Rupocinski, corporate chef of Krispy Kreme. "While my preferred indulgence is the signature Original Glazed(R) doughnut, we are inviting our guests to select their favorite doughnut. Make life a little sweeter by visiting your local Krispy Kreme store with your friends and family."
Krispy Kreme wants everyone to join the chatter about National Doughnut Day. Log on to Twitter to Tweet your desired doughnut variety with the hashtag #KrispyKreme. Take a picture of yourself at Krispy Kreme with your favorite doughnut and post it to Krispy Kreme's Facebook fan page. Also, send a Twitpic to your friends and followers, and remind them not to miss out on getting their free goodie.
The offer is good for one doughnut of any variety per customer. To find a participating U.S. store near you, visit www.krispykreme.com.
For updates on special promotions, exclusive offers and local events, join "Friends of Krispy Kreme" by visiting www.KrispyKreme.com, or interact with Krispy Kreme at www.facebook.com/KrispyKreme and www.twitter.com/krispy_kreme.
NASA Has Open House
Gates will open at 9:30 a.m. The event will be held rain or shine.
In recognition of its 65th anniversary, NASA Wallops, along with many of its customers and partners that conduct activities at the facility, will have exhibits and demonstrations of the research and operations at one of the nation's oldest launch ranges.
Bill Wrobel, director of NASA Wallops, said "Wallops is at a very exciting point in its history. We want our neighbors on Delmarva to have this opportunity to share in this excitement."
"In addition, this is an opportunity to introduce students in the area to many science, technology, engineering and math careers. We hope that one day our local students will be carrying on the research at Wallops."
For the event, Wallops will have many of its facilities on its Main Base open including the sounding rocket payload facility, engineering labs, its scientific balloon labs and the range control center. Visitors will get to see full-scale sounding rockets, a scientific balloon, and the Cygnus spacecraft from Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus is scheduled to start carrying supplies to the International Space Station from Wallops in 2011. Also, three local high school teams will demonstrate their robots that competed in the First Robotics Competition.
For young explorers, there will be a kids' activities tent, a giant space shuttle slide and the Atlantic Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company's Fire Prevention Trailer.
In addition, the military aircraft, including the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, performing at the Ocean City Air Show, will be based at Wallops. They will take to the skies in the afternoon. Departure and arrival times will be announced the day of the open house.
Parking will be available on the base and buses will run throughout the day. Food will be available in the facility's cafeteria and on the grill outside out side the café.
www.shoredailynews.com
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Small Tremor NNW of Baltimore..........
The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting a small earth tremor Thursday morning just 57 miles north northwest of Baltimore. The Mag. 2.9 shake occurred at 8:25 a.m. EDT northeast of Franklintown, Pa., and 14 miles south southwest of Harrisburg.
USGS reported the quake was very shallow, centered less than a mile below the surface.
Nandua High Recycles Plastic Bags and Gets A New Bench
Today, 152,145 plastic grocery bags later, the school now proudly displays a bench made of recycled plastic and sawdust -- the award given to the Accomack County school that collected the most bags between Oct. 1, 2009, and Earth Day, April 22.
The program was launched by Trex, the country's largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking, and Food Lion. Bags collected at the school were taken to Food Lion, where they were collected and moved to Trex's location in Winchester.
"I've been nicknamed the 'bag lady' at Food Lion," teacher Susan Wilder joked.
Wilder played a key role in starting the bag collection program at Nandua, and her class -- the program's "Grand Central Station" -- was essential in counting and tallying the bags collected by the school.
"She was instrumental," said English teacher Kathy Evans.
The plastic bag recycling program was launched in addition to the school's Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y recycling program, "because the convenience center didn't take plastic bags," Wilder said.
To provide incentive to recycle bags, Nandua initiated a school-wide competition among all first-block classes. At the end of each month, the class that collected the most bags was given a doughnut party, and the winner at the end of the semester held a pizza party.
Evans' AP English class won the competition.
"It was amazing how much fun we had with the bags. Once it was finished, the kids just wanted to continue with it," she said of her students.
Every Tuesday, Evans' class joins George Boggs and the Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y clubs for a school-wide collection of recyclables. The bags used to collect the recyclables are emptied and put in the bins provided by Trex.
Since Nandua's recycling initiative began, it has expanded to almost every classroom. Just a month ago, Nandua got a receptacle for its recyclables so students no longer have to load them onto the back of Boggs' truck.
The bench, which is made of 4,500 plastic bags, will eventually be placed outside to replace an older, broken-down bench.
Dishwasher Recall
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall Thursday, says the company has received 12 reports of electrical failures in the dishwasher heating element that led to fires and damage.
One kitchen fire caused extensive damage, the agency said. No injuries have been reported.
The recall includes Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag and Crosley brand dishwashers with plastic tubs. The recalled dishwashers were made with black, bisque, white, silver and stainless steel front panels and sold at department and appliance stores nationwide from February 2006 through April 2010. They cost between $250 and $900.
CPSC advises consumers to immediately stop using the recalled dishwashers and disconnect the electric supply by shutting off the fuse or circuit breaker controlling it.
Consumers can schedule a free in-home repair or receive a rebate of $150 or $250 toward the purchase of select new Maytag dishwashers. The amount of the rebate depends on the type of model to be purchased.
More information on the numerous serial numbers involved in the recall can be found at the company's website or the website for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Baltimore Grand Prix in 2011
From left, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr.; Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake; Gov. Martin O'Malley; Jay Davidson, president of the Baltimore Racing Development Corp.; driver Graham Rahal; and Terry Angstadt, president of the Indy Racing League's commercial division, formally announce a deal Wednesday to bring high-speed racing to the streets of Baltimore.
Gov. Martin O'Malley and Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake announced Wednesday the long-anticipated deal to transform downtown Baltimore into a high-speed raceway for Indy-style cars.Flanked by racing stars Al Unser Jr. and Graham Rahal, officials proclaimed the Baltimore Grand Prix a "game-changer" that they said would inject millions of dollars into the city's economy.
"It will bring eyes from all around the world to Baltimore and to Maryland," said O'Malley, who compared the race's impact to the Preakness.
The three-day event, which will include an auto show and races leading up to the Indy Racing League-sanctioned competition, is scheduled for the first weekend in August 2011, and to return to the city each of the next four years.
Rawlings-Blake, who attended the Indianapolis 500 last weekend with Deputy Mayor Kaliope Parthemos and City Councilman William H. Cole IV, said open-wheel racing aficionados are preparing to visit Baltimore.
"We talked to vendors who were trying to figure out how to be a part of it. We talked to race fans who were already planning where they're going to stay and who they're going to bring," said Rawlings-Blake. "It's just an excitement I've never experienced before."
Officials estimate the race will draw more than 100,000 visitors to the city and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket sales, hotel stays and restaurant meals. O'Malley said the race would support 400 jobs and produce $65 million to $70 million in economic impact.
City transportation director Alfred H. Foxx said the contract to build the 2.4-mile course, which will wind along Pratt, Light, Conway and Russell streets, with a pit stop by Camden Yards, would likely be awarded late this summer.
Surveying and planning will begin in the fall, and construction will start early next year, he said. Some streets will need to be widened, especially to accommodate passing at turns, and the light rail tracks will need to be altered, he said.
The city has dedicated $7.75 million in state and federal money for the roadwork. Baltimore Racing Development LLC, a private company, will pay the Indy Racing League about $2 million each year to host the event and will share the profits from ticket sales.
The group will spend about $14 million to prepare for the race and pay the city a $250,000 annual fee and a percentage of profits.
Martyn Thake, who has been hired to design the race course, said he has drawn up plans for more than 30 racetracks but is most excited about Baltimore's course.
"I think this location has the ability to be an East Coast Long Beach," he said, referring to the 37-year-old California course considered the grandfather of American street racing. "It's going to look so freaking sexy on TV — the water, the ships, the buildings."
Husband's Alibi Is Questioned by Investigators
They say they hope to find clues about Venus Stewart's disappearance by asking questions about her estranged husband Douglas Stewart.
Douglas, who lived in Newport News, told police he was in Virginia when his 32-year-old wife went missing on April 26. Detectives made it clear on Tuesday they do not believe him.
"He provided Michigan State police investigators with an alibi at that time," said Newport News Detective Todd Filer. "At this point we have reason to believe that there may have been someone that posed as Mr. Stewart in our area to provide that alibi."
Investigators have not released details about why they believe Douglas was in Michigan, but they are asking "anybody that has any information about someone posing as Douglas Stewart in the area between April 25 and April 26, around the time of Venus Stewart's, disappearance to contact us," Filer said.
Court documents from Newport News showed detectives searched Douglas' vehicles. Forensic investigators collected swabs described as coming from an "apparent blood stain."
According to the records, they found a "Walmart receipt" for a shovel, tarp and gloves. The receipt from a store in Ohio was dated the day April 25, one day before Venus vanished.
Venus has not been seen since the morning she went to the mailbox at her parents' home in St. Joseph County, Michigan. Police said Venus was wearing pajamas.
While Douglas has never been named a suspect in the case, Filer said he is still "a person of interest" in the case.
Douglas Stewart has moved back to Michigan. Friday, a judge ordered that he could not see his two daughters.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Traffic Accident - Use Caution
Singer For The Temptations Dies
Woodson died Sunday in southern California after battling cancer, Motown Alumni Association President Billy Wilson said. Wilson said Woodson's wife, told him about the death Sunday.
Woodson was not an original member of the group, which had several lineup changes since it started in the 1960s. But he played an integral part in keeping the
Temptations from becoming just nostalgia act.
By the early 1980s, the Temptations were no longer posting hit after hit like they did in the 1960s and '70s with classics such as "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," "My Girl," and "I Wish It Would Rain."
The group had lost original members, and Woodson was charged with replacing
Dennis Edwards, whose passionate voice defined the group during the 1970s.
Woodson's voice, though similar to Edwards' with its fiery tone, was distinct in itself, and helped the group notch the R&B hits "Treat Her Like A Lady," "Sail Away," and "Lady Soul," from 1984 to 1986.
"He had this swagger about himself. He was cool. He had a coolness about himself that was really very inviting," said Wilson. He said he first met Woodson in 1980 before Woodson joined the group and that he last spoke with his friend about two weeks ago.
Despite his fame, Woodson was "always a gentleman and always polite and kind to everybody. If we ever asked him to do anything, he never said, 'well, it's going to cost you.' He'd always say, 'yeah, let's go,'" said Wilson, who founded the Detroit-based Motown association in the mid-1990s.
"He was just a star performer. Wonderful person. Wonderful, wonderful person. He was very kind."
Messages were left Monday for a producer and a manager who worked with Woodson. A recorded message at a phone number for his wife said the voice mailbox was full.
Woman Smuggles Heroin Into Jail By Stashing It In Herself
Katrina Montez Wade, 37, was arrested on May 20th when deputies raided a suspected drug den in Port Charlotte.
Wade and another woman went to jail on trafficking charges after detectives say they found 98 grams of crack, 30 grams of heroin and pot at the home.
One note read, "Bags are $5.00. I am nice, but also a business person," according to deputies.
After interviewing several other inmates, corrections deputies confronted Wade on May 26th.
They told her they were prepared to use an ultrasound device to find anything she had hidden inside her body, according to the report.
In addition to the original drug charges, she's now facing Narcotics Possession, Possession with Intent to Distribute and Smuggling Contraband into Prison.
She remains in the Charlotte County Jail.
The sheriff's office wouldn't answer questions about why a body cavity search was denied upon her entrance into the jail.
This is Wade's 14th booking with 8 previous records.
Man Considers Lawsuit After Being Bitten By Dog In His Home
TEMPERANCEVILLE — Continuing a trend of dog attacks that goes back more than a year, an Accomack County man was bitten twice by a neighbor’s pit bull — once in his yard and once in his own home.
Stephen Hopkins has filed a criminal complaint against the owner of the dog, has contacted an attorney and plans to file a civil lawsuit against the owner.
“I’m not going to lay down after getting bitten in the face and on the hand in my own house,” he said.
He thanked Oak Hall Rescue, which arrived at the scene quickly. He was disappointed that it took two hours, by his count, for the sheriff’s department to arrive.
The dog is under quarantine by the Health Department to see if it has rabies. If it shows signs of rabies, Hopkins will have to have post-exposure rabies treatment.
He said several children were in his back yard on the day of the attack and began screaming when the pit bull began to fight his pet beagle.
Hopkins ran out to rescue the beagle, and the pit bull bit him in the face.
“I get my beagle away and I run back in the house,” Hopkins said. ‘The pit bull chases me inside my living room and bites me on the hand.”
Hopkins thanked Supervisor Ron Wolff, who he described as being concerned about the attack and about Hopkins’ welfare.
“He was very, very helpful,” he said.
The beagle was fine afterward, he said.
Hopkins also asked that a photograph of him, bleeding from the face, be published so people would know the dangers of dogs running at large.
“From what I understand, there is a lot of this going on,” he said.
Food Stamps For Felons??
Vinita Crenshaw is a convicted drug dealer – and just days away from delivering a baby. She supports a bill that would allow some 900 convicted drug dealers in California to receive food stamps. Crenshaw says food stamps might have stopped her from selling drugs years ago.
"I don't think that I would have ended up resorting back to the behavior that If did," she told CBS 13, then added, " if I had just a little bit more help."
Just last month, the State Assembly passed a bill exempting California from a federal ban on food stamps for convicted drug dealers.
AB1756 Fact Sheet (.pdf)
"Right now under current law, if you commit murder you get food stamps," said Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, the author of a bill that would alter the rules of eligibility.
Swanson is correct – the federal food stamp program has no restrictions preventing convicted murderers form getting food stamps upon their release.
But for drug dealers it's a different story – with more than a dozen states banning the practice of providing food stamps for drug dealers – and California is one of them.
(See page 22 in link below)
State Options Report (.pdf)
But that may soon change.
"Why are we trying to do that?" Swanson asked out loud. The Democrat from Oakland then answered his own question. "We're trying to make sure that there's a rehabilitation package available that will prevent them from re-offending and coming back into prison at a cost of $50,000 a year."
Supplying convicted drug dealers with food stamps would cost federal tax players an estimated one million dollars a year. Critics say the bill would reward criminals for bad behavior.
Lew Uhler, president of the Roseville based National Tax Limitation Committee told CBS 13: "Giving them the currency to remain in the drug world, which is food stamps getting traded off for drugs, is a silly and stupid approach."
The controversial bill does not require drug dealers to go through any counseling to get the food stamps – and Capitol critics believe it's a step in the wrong direction for California.
"Every dollar that you put towards someone who manufactured and distributed drugs is another dollar less that you have for a poor family - a law abiding poor family," said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, a Republican from Irvine.
The food stamp bill now goes to the State Senate for a possible vote later this month.
The California legislature, which is dominated by Democrats, previously approved two similar bills – both were vetoed in the past by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Students Produce Video About Texting While Driving
NEWPORT NEWS — Geoffrey Wilds sees it all the time while walking his younger brother through the Menchville High School parking lot.
Student drivers — making their way through the parking lot — texting while driving.
"I don't want my little brother getting hit by these idiots," said Wilds, a junior.
Texting while driving has become so commonplace that Wilds and other students from high schools across Newport News decided to create a public service announcement. It was part of a challenge from Police Chief James Fox to the department's student advisory council to devise a volunteer project that could have an impact on the community.
Students shot a 30-second video for a public service announcement. The video shows a student texting, the resulting accident, emergency vehicles arriving and a student being wheeled into a hospital emergency room. It ends showing a text from "mom" asking "Are you OK?"
Christopher Cheely, a Menchville High School senior, directed the video. He said he had all of the scenes imagined in his head, and he paid close attention to every detail. Cheely said his goal is to become a movie director.
The video was shot at Todd Stadium, Mary Immaculate Hospital and Woodside High School.
The students hope to land on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" because the talk show host has campaigned against texting while driving. If it's not showcased on Winfrey's show, the students also aim to have the video shown at high schools across the state and in driver's training classes.
Shooting and editing the video took about four months, the students said.
Taylor Henkel, a Menchville High School junior, said he's happy the message is getting out.
"The road is dangerous enough without any distractions at all," Henkel said. "Nothing is that important that it can't wait 10 to 15 minutes for you to drive home."
To view video go to www.dailypress.com/psa