They are going to take over the These people are not our friends!!!!!
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Events for Saturday August 14, 2010
BERLIN -- A Berlin man is facing federal charges of drug possession and distribution after he was allegedly found with more than 3 pounds of suspected cocaine.Tyrone D. Lawson, 37, has been charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for allegedly being a major distributor of cocaine on the Lower Shore. Similar charges against him in Worcester County Circuit and District Court have been dropped to allow the federal case to proceed.
According to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore last week, the Worcester County Sheriff's Office Criminal Enforcement Team began an investigation last summer into drug distribution in and around the county. Their work led them to Lawson.
"During the investigation, it was learned that (Lawson) was distributing cocaine from his brother's residence," the complaint reads. In May of this year, police issued a search warrant on the property. There, they found a locked shed containing large speakers.
"Two speakers were removed from inside of the speaker box, and approximately 1.7 kilograms of suspected cocaine was found," according to the documents. Officials also located a scale with suspected cocaine residue and other distribution paraphernalia.
Tyrone Lawson and his brother, Tony Lawson, were arrested around the time of the search. Tony Lawson was later released on bail. At this time, no federal charges have been filed against him.
"The focus of the investigation is not Tony; it was his brother, Tyrone," said Cpl. Nathaniel Passwaters, head of the Criminal Enforcement Team. "We never made any direct purchases from Tony, although the bulk of the drugs that were found were in his shed."
Tyrone Lawson has been incarcerated since May and is in federal custody. Police said they have evidence that links him to the shed. In addition, police are in the process of seizing three vehicles owned by the men.
Passwaters said investigators took the case to federal court to take advantage of longer minimum and maximum penalties for the drug crimes, not an uncommon practice for the Sheriff's Office in drug cases. Recently, two Pocomoke City men were found guilty in federal court on distribution of crack cocaine. They will be sentenced later this year.
"The overall thing is the enhanced penalties," Passwaters said. And in Tyrone Lawson's case, this "is a large scale investigation that reaches out beyond Worcester," he said. The investigation is ongoing.
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. (WTNH) - A Wethersfield woman is facing charges after police say she handed a bank teller an envelope containing cocaine.It happened at Rockville Bank in South Windsor Thursday afternoon.
Kendl Murphy, 43, pulled up to the drive-up teller and handed over a deposit envelope that contained a small bag with white powder. Bank staff asked Murphy to wait for her transaction to be completed and called police.
A field test of the substance revealed that it was cocaine.
Murphy has been charged with possession and possession within 1,500 feet of a school or day care. She was later released on a $1,000 bond.
SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina judge says prosecutors cannot revive charges against more than 30 people whose drunken driving charges were dismissed several years ago as part of a ticket-fixing case.Multiple media outlets reported that Judge Joseph Setzer denied the request on procedural grounds.
Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle had argued that the cases were improperly dismissed with the signature of an assistant prosecutor who had resigned. Setzer said the cases couldn't be reactivated under a "motion for appropriate relief" because that's only supposed to be used after a verdict has been issue.
Four defense attorneys and a prosecutor pleaded guilty this year as part of the ticket-fixing case.
WASHINGTON (AP) - After skirting the controversy for weeks, President Barack Obama is weighing in forcefully on the mosque near ground zero, saying a nation built on religious freedom must allow it."As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama told an intently listening crowd gathered at the White House Friday evening to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," he said. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."
The White House had not previously taken a stand on the mosque, which would be part of a $100 million Islamic community center two blocks from where nearly 3,000 people perished when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Press secretary Robert Gibbs had insisted it was a local matter.
It was already much more than that, sparking debate around the country as top Republicans including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich announced their opposition. So did the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group.
Obama elevated it to a presidential issue Friday without equivocation.
While insisting that the place where the twin towers once stood was indeed "hallowed ground," Obama said that the proper way to honor it was to apply American values.
Harkening back to earlier times when the building of synagogues or Catholic churches also met with opposition, Obama said: "Time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values and emerge stronger for it. So it must be and will be today."
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent who has been a strong supporter of the mosque, welcomed Obama's words as a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion."
But some victims' advocates and Republicans were quick to pounce.
"Barack Obama has abandoned America at the place where America's heart was broken nine years ago, and where her true values were on display for all to see," said Debra Burlingame, a spokeswoman for some Sept. 11 victims' families and the sister of one of the pilots killed in the attacks.
Building the mosque at ground zero, she said, "is a deliberately provocative act that will precipitate more bloodshed in the name of Allah."
Added Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.: "President Obama is wrong. It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero."
Entering the highly charged election-year debate, Obama surely knew that his words would not only make headlines in the U.S. but be heard by Muslims worldwide. The president has made it a point to reach out to the global Muslim community, and the over 100 guests at Friday's dinner in the State Dining Room included ambassadors and officials from numerous nations where Islam is observed, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
While his pronouncement concerning the mosque might find favor in the Muslim world, Obama's stance runs counter to the opinions of the majority of Americans, according to polls. A CNN/Opinion Research poll released this week found that nearly 70 percent of Americans opposed the mosque plan while just 29 percent approved. A number of Democratic politicians have shied away from the controversy.
Opponents, including some Sept. 11 victims' relatives, see the prospect of a mosque so near the destroyed trade center as an insult to the memory of those killed by Islamic terrorists in the 2001 attacks.
DEAL ISLAND -- Somerset County watermen are protesting a state plan to create oyster sanctuaries in the Manokin and Nanticoke rivers -- a measure that would ban them from working the productive oyster bottoms. "It's one of the areas where we can finally make a living on," said Danny Webster of Deal Island. "It's frustrating."
The two rivers were not originally set aside as sanctuaries under an oyster restoration plan announced by Gov. Martin O'Malley in December, but were created to take the place of one near Smith Island, said Frank Dawson, an assistant secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources.
When the plan was introduced, watermen objected to the sanctuary proposed for the highly productive area near the island, so DNR officials swapped it for areas in the Manokin and Nanticoke, Dawson said.
But at a recent public hearing on the state oyster plan, some watermen expressed interest in going back to the original proposal to place the sanctuary in the Tangier Sound, he said.
"We hope to hear back from them," Dawson said. "We hope they can come together with some sort of consensus."
Webster said Somerset watermen are consulting with oystermen in Dorchester County, who work in some of the same waters, to come up with a proposal on which they can all agree.
Delegate Carolyn Elmore, R-38A-Wicomico, said she attended a recent meeting of the Somerset County Watermen's Association during which the issue was discussed.
"Their concerns are this is already written in stone," she said.
Webster said he and other watermen are anxious about the possible creation of sanctuaries in rivers that have been making a comeback in recent years.
"We're scared to death," he said. "We don't know if we're going to be making a living or not."
DNR officials are open to going back to the original proposal for a sanctuary off Smith Island, if that's what watermen want, said Tom O'Connell, DNR's director of fisheries.
Since January, DNR has held public meetings throughout the state to gather input from watermen and other stakeholders on the plan, which uses a three-prong approach for oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay.
"It's been a very challenging process for us," O'Connell said.
In addition to creating sanctuaries, the plan includes opening part of the bay for commercial aquaculture and maintaining 167,720 acres of oyster bars for harvest by watermen.
On Sunday, O'Malley plans to join other state, regional and university leaders to dedicate a new $11 million facility at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory in Dorchester County that will allow the lab to double its annual production of oyster spat for Chesapeake Bay restoration.
RICHMOND, Va. - Hazardous materials teams and investigators combed the headquarters of a Republican congressional candidate in Chatham after a letter containing white powder was opened.
A New Hampshire state representative has resigned his position and announced he will not run for re-election after writing that a dead Sarah Palin is "more dangerous than a live one."
VENICE, Italy (AP) - Venice is on its way to having its first official female gondolier.City Hall said Friday that Giorgia Boscolo had passed the practical exam to become a gondolier. She is the first woman to pass this test, considered the most difficult of those required to pilot a boat on Venice's canals.
Boscolo must pass one further test, a written, multiple-choice exam, in order to join the guild of official gondoliers.
Deputy Mayor Sandro Simionato says her success breaks "900 years of male dominance" in the profession, and that it will likely inspire more women to try.
A German woman once won the right to transport guests of a Venice hotel, but only aboard the hotel's gondola.
According to the ANSA news agency, Boscolo is a 24-year-old mother of two.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is sending firefighting equipment to Russia to help officials there respond to the 500 wildfires burning across the country.The White House says President Barack Obama called Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (dih-MEE'-tree med-VYEH'-dyev) Thursday morning to express his condolences for the losses his country has suffered. The wildfires have been sparked by the hottest summer ever recorded in Russia, and Moscow's death rate has doubled to 700 people a day.
The White House says several U.S. agencies, including the Defense Department, and the state of California are airlifing firefighting equipment to Russia to help combat the fires.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk is about to gain some weight - 700 pounds to be exact.Five Aldabra tortoises – the second largest land tortoise in the world – are moving into in a brand new exhibit at the Virginia Zoo on Friday at noon. The largest, a male named A.J., weighs 475 pounds.
The zoo's second largest tortoise, a female named Lynn, weighs 150 pounds.
A.J. and Lynn are estimated to be around 80 to 90 years old. The youngest turtles of the five, Dottie, Bubbles and Jackson, hatched in the spring of 2006. The lifespan of Aldabra tortoises is estimated to be over 100 years.
The zoo says Aldabra tortoises are native to the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The cluster of coral islands is part of the Seychelles’ Islands in the Indian Ocean.
The tortoise exhibit was built by Virginia Zoo staff. Officials say its low barriers will help visitors feel even closer to the animals.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia cannot risk the kind of economic calamity the Gulf Coast is experiencing as a result of the BP oil spill, the leaders of two environmental groups in the state said Thursday.President Barack Obama suspended planned exploratory gas and oil drilling off Virginia's coast shortly after the April spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and J.R. Tolbert of the Virginia Sierra Club said that doesn't go far enough. They favor a permanent ban.
Tidwell and Tolbert were joined on a news teleconference by former Navy Capt. Joe Bouchard of Virginia Beach, who said drilling platforms off the state's coast also would interfere with military training exercises.
"The industry claims 'we have a great working relationship with the military and we don't interfere with their activities.' You can't believe that for a minute," said Bouchard, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
The push to make Virginia the first East Coast state to explore offshore oil and gas resources has been led by Gov. Bob McDonnell. That hasn't changed.
"The governor supports a comprehensive approach to Virginia's energy needs," McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in an e-mail Thursday. "He is a proponent of offshore energy exploration and development that is environmentally responsible and economically viable. That includes oil, natural gas and wind."
Tidwell and Tolbert touted wind as a viable alternative to drilling in the Atlantic. Tidwell said enough offshore wind could be harvested to power 3.6 million electric cars and 750,000 homes.
Tolbert said that beats risking an oil spill like the one in the Gulf, which he said has put 300,000 jobs in jeopardy and wrecked the region's tourism industry. BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf before it was successfully capped last month.
Bouchard said the spill reached three of the four Navy training areas in the Gulf, but exercises in two of those areas have been limited to aviation since the 2005 base realignment process. The spill did make a portion of the Panama City operations area unavailable for surface and underwater vessel exercises, he said.
"That should stand as a very clear warning to those of us here in Virginia," Bouchard said.
He said sailing through oil spills also can ruin expensive and sensitive equipment on Navy ships.
High temperatures and pollution have made conditions ripe for a potentially dangerous bacteria carried in Chesapeake Bay waters, leading state and local health officials to warn swimmers, fishermen and shellfish eaters to take precautions.
City homicide detectives were investigating the discovery of a body that appeared to have gone down the trash chute of a downtown apartment building.
The Late Rural Health Secretary
Street Stock:
Small-Tire Modified:
1st Aaron Ellis Bog Hog Full 4.144sec.
2nd Patrick Long All Night Soldier Full 6.324sec.
3rd Kelly Hubbard 90 s10 Full 9.019sec.
Big Tire Modified:
1st Jared Collins Orange Crush Full 5.149sec.
2nd Rodd Owens Mud Mistress Full 5.413sec.
3rd Sarah Clifton 69 Jeepster Full 7.211sec.
4th Kelly Hubbard 90 Chevy s10 Full 7.361sec.
5th Bryan Watson Cowpatty Full 7.520sec.
6th Mike Rodriguez 83 Chevy p/u 7.797sec.
7th Wayne Jones 92 Chevy p/u Full 11.345sec.
Mini-open:
1st Wright Townsend Mud Dobber II Full 3.059sec.
2nd Johnny Edwards In The Mix Full 3.556sec.
3rd Aaron Ellis Bog Hog Full 3.733sec.
4th TJ Bernard Equal Justice Full 4.953sec.
Unlimited:
1st Greg Noonan Can't Stop Full 2.554sec.
2nd Melvin Deavers Neighborhood Nuisance Full 2.731sec.
3rd Mike Scheifley Over The Top Full 2.750sec.
4th Wesley Ward Git-n-Busy Full 2.890sec.
5th Larry Joslyn Equal Justice II Full 3.260sec.
6th Aaron Ellis Bog Hog Full 3.719sec.
7th Johnny Edwards In The Mix Full 3.980sec.
8th Barry Long Sod Buster Full 4.443sec.
9th Chris Johnson Da Shiznit Full 4.977sec.
10th Ed Hoffman Equal Justice Full 5.559sec.
X class:
1st Jerry Pitman Big Buck$ Full 3.828sec.
2nd Jesse Ellis Big Red Full 5.006sec.
3rd Richie Lewis Big Poppa Full 5.136sec.
4th Jimmy Hall 99 Problems 127ft.
Thanks Kim!
Richard Copes, 31, of Withams was found guilty of robbery, grand larceny and abduction. A presentence report has been ordered.John Marshall Jr., 47, of Horntown was sentenced to five years with all but two years and four months suspended for third-offense assault and battery.
Martese Creekmore, 19, of New Church was sentenced to youthful offender program for robbery, grand larceny and abduction.
Dashon Scarborough, 25, of Atlantic was sentenced to five years with three years suspended for burglary and five years with three years suspended for grand larceny, to serve consecutively. He was also sentenced to five years with all time suspended on each two counts of conspiracy to uttering, to serve concurrently.
Christopher Phillips, 27, of Parksley was sentenced to 10 years with seven years and three months suspended for grand larceny. He was also sentenced to three years with all time suspended on each five counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, to serve consecutively.
Thomasena Capers, 39, of Oak Hall has had his probation revoked.
Robert Paskill Jr., 33, of Onancock has had his probation revoked.
Tony Linton, 48, of Sanford has had his probation revoked.
A grand jury in Accomac on Monday indicted 15 people, including three Painter men who police say have admitted involvement in a string of break-ins in that town in March and April.
James Phillips Johnson, 37, and Spencer Lee Sample, 53, both were indicted on eight counts of burglary and grand larceny related to a string of break-ins in March and April at two Painter residences and the Gravities Light clothing store.
Michael Lee Sample Jr., 25, was indicted on six counts related to break-ins at the residences.
Also indicted were:
Troy Wayne Beacham, 43, of Cheriton, maiming.
Storm Carter, 59, of Keller, grand larceny.
George G. Gaskill Jr., 45, of Onley, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Keenan S. Goodwine, 18, of Atlantic, robbery and use of a firearm.
Leroy Handy, 63, of Bloxom, grand larceny.
Shawn Lamont Harmon, 24, of Onancock, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance.
Wanda D. Stratton, no age or town given, seven counts welfare fraud.
Keith Leander Parker, 41, of Onley, grand larceny.
Victor Manuel Scott, 20, of Bloxom, carnal knowledge.
Devric Jamar Hinmon, 25, of Temperanceville, attempted burglary, felony property destruction, maliciously shooting at an occupied dwelling.
Jennie Net Tumblin, 58, of 25241 Estate Lane, Parksley, shooting at an occupied dwelling.
Joseph Lamont Washington, 33, of Exmore, grand larceny.
"He is currently being held on unrelated charges," Leesburg, Va., police spokesman Chris Jones told reporters. "While this is a key step in the investigation, there are still many issues that need to be addressed before we identify this individual as the person responsible for this horrific crime spree." 
Prince William, Va. --Carlos A. Martinelly Montano was being represented in deportation proceedings by Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Arlington when he allegedly struck and killed a Benedictine sister and wounded two other Richmond-based nuns in Prince William County while driving drunk this month.
Hogar Immigrant Services, an arm of Catholic Charities in Arlington County, was providing legal help to Martinelly Montano, 23, whom federal officials have described as an illegal immigrant, the organization said yesterday.
A deportation hearing is scheduled for Martinelly Montano next week in Falls Church, but a statement released last night by Catholic Charities indicates that deportation proceedings will be put on hold pending resolution of Martinelly Montano's criminal charges.
The representation by the Catholic-based immigrant service adds another development to the death of Sister Denise Mosier. Her Benedictine order has decried the politicization of Martinelly Montano's case, which has become part of the debate over illegal aliens and diverted what the order has described as the more relevant issue of drunken driving.
Police say Martinelly Montano's car crashed head-on into a vehicle carrying the sisters Aug. 1 as the nuns were traveling from Richmond to a retreat at their monastery near Bristow in Prince William.
Martinelly Montano is facing charges of driving under the influence for the third time in five years, a felony, and involuntary manslaughter. He is being held without bond.
Sister Charlotte Lange and Sister Connie Ruth Lupton remained in critical condition yesterday, according to the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia.
It is not clear why Martinelly Montano, a native of Bolivia, has been classified as illegal. The father of two young children, he was living with his parents and a sister.
In the statement issued last night, Art Bennett, president of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Arlington, said Hogar "accepts only clients who are eligible to apply for lawful immigrant status or other benefits under federal immigration law."
What you might not know is that the Catholic Church receives federal grants to assist people like this. The assistance is for those that have fled their country due to persecution NOT severe hardships. I wonder how much money the taxpayer has spent buying this man his booze!
While at the Worcester County Fair this weekend look for The Bay Queen Bakery Stand. Try one of those BabyCakes if you never have. And if you have, well, have another one! 
SNOW HILL -- Each day of the Worcester County Fair brings something new, along with the three-day standard features. 
Shannon Mecall Hussain, 34, and her fiance, Kirt Barren Greenberg, 45, of West Street, were taken into police custody after officers used a department issued baton to unlock the doors and release the dogs.
"We raised them from babies," Hussain said. "They were our children. There's no way in hell we would do anything to jeopardize them."
An unresponsive German shepherd lying on the floor of the vehicle had a weak pulse, according to police. An officer was able to revive it two times after performing CPR, but was unsuccessful a third time.Police expect a necropsy report on the deceased dog to be completed sometime next week.
"The others seem to be fine, luckily," said Officer Edward Stewart, a Salisbury Police Department animal control officer.
Hussain said the couple drove the six dogs to the Humane Society of Wicomico County on Sunday morning before driving to The Centre at Salisbury. She said Greenberg's necklace broke while they were at the Humane Society, so they drove to the mall to have it repaired.
Hussain said she waited in the vehicle with the dogs while Greenberg went inside. She left the dogs to take Greenberg his wallet but denies leaving the animals for more than 20 minutes.
"I thought I was a little quicker," Hussain said. "I rushed as fast as I could."
People often leave their dogs in the car while shopping or running errands, but leaving a pet in the vehicle during extreme weather "can literally be a death sentence," said Nicole Forsyth, United Animal Nations President and chief executive officer.
UAN is a nonprofit national organization that provides pet-related financial assistance, emergency and temporary shelter, and educational materials.
"People are under the misconception that dogs are tougher than humans are; that they can handle the heat," Forsyth said. "But the reality is they are more susceptible to high temperatures and depend on us to keep them safe. Even a few minutes in a hot car, let alone three hours, can be deadly."
The surviving dogs --a German shepherd mix, a golden retriever mix, a terrier mix and two Labrador retriever mixes --were weak and fighting amongst each other for water, according to police.
Witnesses reported to police that the vehicle had been parked since 2 p.m., according to charging documents. When witnesses checked back an hour and a half later, the dogs were still alone.
Hussain and Greenberg returned to the vehicle around 5:18 p.m., about an hour after police at the mall located the vehicle at about 4:17 p.m., according to court records.
After the dogs were released from the vehicle, they were transported to the Humane Society, where they were vaccinated and given flea treatments, according to Linda Lugo, the executive director of the Humane Society. One of the canines who was suffering from hair loss was sent to a veterinarian.
Hussain and Greenberg, who have since been released from the Wicomico County Detention Center, have not given up the dogs for adoption so the canines will remain at the Humane Society until the animal cruelty case for the couple has been adjudicated.
"Whether they get the dogs back or not, they will owe us restitution for (the) time they were in our care," Lugo said.
Meanwhile, Lugo cautions pet owners to think twice about allowing animals to travel with them during extreme weather in the summer months.
"Leave your pet at home," Lugo said. "Sometimes people think they'll keep the car running, but the car can turn off. Leave your pet at home. They'll be happy, safe and alive."
