Facebook Password Laws Go Into Effect In Six States

Employers in six states will no longer be able to require their employees hand over personal Facebook account passwords thanks to new laws passed this year.

California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey all passed similar bans, reported Reuters.

The California and Illinois’ laws also include job applicants.

The Michigan law adds educational institutions to the ban. They can be punished for dismissing or failing to admit a student who does not provide passwords and other account information used to access private internet and email accounts, including social networks.

Laws preventing employers from demanding access to an employee’s Facebook or other social media accounts began after the case of a Maryland state correctional services worker was told he had to turn over his Facebook password if he wanted to be reinstated to his job after a leave of absence.

The ACLU of Maryland took up the case saying the request was a violation of Robert Collins’ privacy and was discrimination.

“My personal communications, my personal posts, my personal pictures, looking at my personally identifiable information, where my religious beliefs, my political beliefs, my sexuality — all of these things are possibly disclosed on this page,” Collins said in a YouTube video. “It’s absolute total invasion and overreach.”

Yet despite these protections, workers and job seekers will still need to be careful what they post online: Employers may continue to use publicly available social networking information.

Be aware of your privacy settings and remember inappropriate pictures, tweets and other social media indiscretions can still come back to haunt your job prospects.

For more information about the various state laws, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Source:

New Year's Eve Specials ~ Riverside Grill

MONDAY

DECEMBER 31, 2012

-Chicken Noodle Soup w/ 1/2 deli sandwich or side salad 5.99

-Taco Salad 6.99

-Open-Face Roast Beef w/ mashed potatoes and green beans 6.99

-Buffalo Shrimp Wrap w/ fries 8.99

Happy Hour

4 TO 7 pm

w/ $1 off appetizers

@8 PM

1/2 price appetizers and import beer bottles,

$3 margaritas

 $1 tacos & quesadillas

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Riverside Grill Downtown Pocomoke ~ OPEN New Year's Eve

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Riverside Grill will be OPEN New Year's Eve

11 AM  until  2 AM

CLOSED

New Year's Day

Saxis Volunteer Fire Company Santa Run

SANTA RUN

Sunday  December 23, 2012
It should be noted that the Saxis Volunteer Fire Company had just completed a successful toy giveaway a few days prior to the Santa Run.

The annual Santa Run was a very necessary thing to do this season.  Not just for the sake of the children in the area, but the fire department too.  October brought Hurricane Sandy and devastation just about everywhere you looked in the area.   And because the Saxis Firehouse was  the meeting center and drop off center for hurricane donations many of the fireman were always there.  And now, as if the storm wasn't  enough,  the department- along with all Accomack Fire Companies-  are plagued with arsons.  Never knowing when the next call will be for them they still brought Santa to the community.

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I've seen alot of Santa's in my lifetime but this was the real deal!  It was just like  seeing Santa Claus for the very first time and actually, I guess I was.  No fake beard, real eyelashes and no padding!  I will never forget how this one moment changed a hectic Sunday into the mode for me that it didn't matter if I got everything I needed to do completed or not.  I had seen with my own eyes the face that photos seem to capture.

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The fireman, natually, thought it was funny that I made such a fuss and didn't take them long to tell me they "don't mess around" with something this important!

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It was amazing to see, that even in this day and time, children young and old still take the time to sit on Santa's knee and even those who chose not to still received a candy cane.

Thank you to the Saxis Volunteer Fire Company for letting me tag along.  A Happy New Year to all of you with many thanks for all you do unselfishly throughout the community all year.

HAPPY  NEW YEAR!

Why Your Paycheck Is Getting Smaller - No Matter What!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — For middle class Americans, there may be no escaping higher taxes come January.

President Obama is trying to push through legislation to keep broader middle class income taxes from rising by Monday night. But they may still have to pay at least 2% more in payroll taxes.

That’s because the government had temporarily lowered the payroll tax rate in 2011 to 4.2% from 6.2%, in an effort to keep more cash in the pockets of Americans and provide a boost to the economy. The tax cut is expiring in December.

Come 2013, much of the country’s 160 million workers will pay more. No one is expecting the payroll tax cut to be extended, even as lawmakers in Washington meet for budget talks to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The payroll tax could be anywhere from $700 a year for people earning $35,000 annually, to $2,202 for those with incomes over $110,100.

The amounts could be large enough to deal a blow to middle class Americans’ spending budgets, especially at a time when the economic recovery is still struggling to gain a foothold.

Already Americans are feeling jittery. The latest reports show that consumer confidence took a dive in December as fiscal cliff fears weighed on the country. A closely watched consumer confidence index, which measures the American public’s sentiments every month, sank six points. It was major turnaround from October, when the index reached a four-year high.

It was also the largest drop in consumer confidence since the nation’s credit rating was lowered in August of last year.
Concern over these tax hikes are already holding shoppers back.

During the holiday shopping season, between Oct. 30 to Dec. 24, shoppers spent just 0.7% more than they did last year, according to a MasterCard Advistors SpendingPulse report released last week. That’s compared to the 2% sales growth in the same period in 2011.

President Obama’s top economic advisers have also warned that if Congress didn’t prevent tax hikes on middle class families, consumer confidence could decline, retailers could be hurt, and jobs may be cut.

“As we approach the holiday season, which accounts for close to one-fifth of industry sales, retailers can’t afford the threat of tax increases on middle class families,” the report said.

Payroll taxes are used to fund Social Security, and the tax cut has cost about $120 billion each year. The Treasury Department has made up for the difference with money from general funds.

Source:

TIME MACHINE ... New Year's Eve

(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)

　
December, 1964

The Carousel Hotel in north Ocean City was advertising a Gala New Year's Eve party to welcome in the new year 1965. It included a buffet preceding a New Year's eve party, with the party including drinks, noisemakers, snacks and a bottle of champagne for the midnight toast, breakfast immediately following the party, plus a night's lodging in an oceanfront room. Total price for two.. $42.00.

　
　
December, 1941 (Time Machine Archive)

Town Tavern in Pocomoke was advertising informal dancing for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve with music by Slim Marshall's Orchestra. Admission 75-cents per person.

　
　
December, 1966 (Time Machine Archive)

If you were planning to go out to welcome in the new year 1967 here's a look at some of the local New Year's Eve activities you could consider:

A "Chop Hop" at the Pocomoke armory featuring music by the Midnight Walkers and with master of ceremonies Choppy Layton and Wayne Powell...The Orbits appearing at Salisbury's Northwood Bar...Dancing at the Delmar Moose Lodge featuring music with Joey Welz...The True Tones providing the music at Salisbury's Eastside Men's Club Dance...Richard Maltby's Orchestra in Salisbury at the Civic Center's New Year's Eve Ball And Breakfast.

　
December, 1929

A special vaudeville show and a Fox "Super Special" singing and dancing picture, "Words And Music," provided the late night New Year's Eve entertainment at Salisbury's Arcade Theater.

　
December, 1929
(Salisbury Times)

N.Y. PREPARES FOR NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATION

New York, Dec. 31 -(AP)- Predicting a noisier, more boisterous welcome for 1930 than has been enjoyed by any of its recent predecessors, hotel and restaurant managements today prepared to entertain thousands of New Years eve celebrants.

Police Commissioner Grover A. Whalen announced that the curfew will drown out the blare of jazz, tin horns and other noise makers in nightclubs promptly at 3 A.M. Wednesday. Hotels, which are immune from curfew restrictions, advertised "dancing until dawn." Cover charges will run as high as $20 a person.

The management of the Hotel Ambassador announced that the capacity of its three large dining rooms would be taxed with reservations for more than 1,000. The Savoy-Plaza made ready to care for an equal number, and other hotels and restaurants announced preparations for capacity crowds.

Radio listeners may hear the New Years chimes as early as 7 P.M. ,Eastern Standard Time, tonight when because of the difference in time it will be midnight in London and the peals of Big Ben, famous clock in the tower of Parliament building, will be radiocast across the Atlantic and rebroadcast throughout this country.

Special New Year's eve radio programs will include a series of concerts by dance bands playing from New York, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, and Sydney, Australia.

　 　
January 1, 1901 (Time Machine Archive)

On the the first day of the Twentieth Century an Iowa newspaper, The Davenport Republican, reported on the comments of speakers at its area churches on the previous evening, the last evening of the Nineteenth Century.

Some excerpts:

From a judge... "Certainly we have not yet gone too far in strengthening the federal government. -- Somewhere, however, must be set the limits of this centralized power, at some point the line must be firmly drawn between the nation and the states. Where this line shall be fixed no one can safely say in advance. It is one of the grave problems we must leave for solution to the courage, wisdom, and patriotism of our children. -- There is some little we may say with assurance of the future. It will be what our children and their descendants make it. To such young people as hear me and who shall take part in molding the coming century I wish to say that you will not do so well as your fathers and mothers have done in life work unless you do better than they did. You have advancement they did not possess. -- We have now in every considerably town a high school where a course of study is pursued equivalent to that of Dartmouth college when it graduated Daniel Webster in 1801. Our state with some others has made provision for establishing free public library in every school district. This, with the university extension courses, so popular throughout the country, and which are continually developing, mark an era in advanced education. Eventually it will bring the college courses to the door of every earnest seeker for knowledge." 

From a lawyer... "By firing my imagination, giving it the reins and allowing it to run rampant, I might predict that in 2000 the stars and stripes will float in sole and unquestioned sovereignty from the North Pole to Cape Horn. I might speculate on the downfall of monarchies and the rise of new republics. I might be right, I might be wrong. I might be so bold and conceited to announce to you that in the coming century men, with artificial wings, will fly like birds through the air. I might contend that our whole system of transportation will be overthrown and a new one put in action. I might even be so rash as to predict that the day is not far distant when mankind will know no disease, no sickness. Trusting in the blessed trinity of chance, accident, or mistake for the fulfillment of my prophecy, I might say that the science of medicine will be so revolutionized that medical assistance will be required only to prevent disease, not to cure. I might be right, I might be wrong, it matters not. Whatever speculation we may make upon the future, we at least know enough to know the past. The world has learned that no man is good enough to govern another man excepting by that other man's consent, and in my humble judgment thereon hangs the destiny of the nations." 　
　
　
Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

TIME MACHINE Preview ... New Year's Eve

A look at celebrating the arrival of the new year in some past times.

　

Read more about it this Sunday on The Pocomoke Public Eye!

　 Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Riverside Grill Pocomoke

SATURDAY SPECIALS

DECEMBER 29, 2012

-Seafood Chowder (shrimp, crab, scallops) w/ 1/2 chicken salad sandwich or side salad 6.99
-NC Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich w/ cole slaw and hush puppies 6.99
-Soft Shell Crab Sandwich 10.99
-Blackened Shrimp Caesar Salad 9.99
-Ale Batter Fried Shrimp Basket w/ fries 8.99*

*Take another $1 off shrimp Baskets all day!

$2.50 Mimosas & Bloody Marys

@ 5 pm: $4 burgers

@ 8 pm:

$3.50 Stoli drinks

 $3 Coronas, Corona lights, Red Stripes

oops! DECEMBER 28.... TODAY IS.....

Pledge of Allegiance Official Day

Originally written in 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was not
officially recognized by the U.S. Congress until December 28,
1945.

In 1999, a New Hampshire resident contacted the office
of Senator Robert Smith to inquire why the Senate did not
follow the House, which had incorporated the Pledge into its
proceedings 11 years earlier.

Spurred by this inquiry, the Senate amended its standing rules on June 23, 1999, providingfor the presiding officer to lead the body in the Pledge at the start of each daily session.


(Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister, wrote the original Pledge in August 1892. He was a Christian Socialist.)

 

Suspects Wanted For Apparent Targeting Of Md., Del. Officers

WMDT

SALISBURY, Md. - Wicomico County officials are investigating apparent assassination attempts on several police officers along the Eastern Shore.

Officials say there have been three similar cases since last week involving a Wicomico County police officer, a Worcester County police officer and a Delaware State Trooper.

All three shootings reportedly happened between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. at the private homes of each officer.  Two shootings happened in Eastern Salisbury earlier this morning.  One shooting happened last week in Western Sussex Co.

Police say each case is related at this time because each house had a marked police car at the officers' home.

There have been no reported injuries and the suspects are unknown at this time.

Police are taking additional precautionary measures, but are no specifying at what extent.

Officials are asking for the public's help as they continue to investigate and if you have any information on suspects or the case, the number for the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation is 410-548-4891.

Source:

Hunters For Hungry Need Donations

The Eastern Shore Chapter of the Hunters for the Hungry has seen a reduction of deer turned into the program to date this year. This reduction mirrors the reduction seen at the state level for donations. The goal for this year is 200 deer and the program has had 96 deer processed to date. There are only a few weeks remaining in the deer hunting season. There remains a strong need for this nutritious product at the Food Bank. Since the program began locally in 1997over 4500 deer have been donated. This amounts to over 135,000 pounds or 540,000 servings of net processed meat.

The program enables hunters to donate a field dressed deer to be processed into ground meat that is distributed through the Food Bank and Lighthouse Ministries. It costs $45 a deer to process, the expense paid by local fundraising. With a per deer fee, hunters are encouraged to donate larger deer to further processing dollars and yield per deer. Deer donors are not required to pay any of the processing costs at drop off but funds will accepted if they chose to donate towards the cost.

The Processor this year is Brent Powell in Wachapreague (787-7107). There are refrigerated collection coolers at B&B Convenience Store in Machipongo and the Food Bank in Tasley.

The program has matching money available for donations from business, civic groups and other organizations. The program is a 501c3 and donations are deductible. The organization may be selected on the local United Way donation form.

Donations may be made out to Hunters for the Hungry PO Box 1702 Parksley VA 23421.

To answer any questions or to help with the organization please call the local director, Worth Saunders at 757.665.4517 or 757.710.0049, or email aes3ptocs@yahoo.com

Accomack County/ 38 Fires In 45 Days

Easternshorefire.com Photo

Virginia Serial Arsonist Sparks Terror, Setting 38 Fires In 45 Days

Authorities in Virginia's eastern shore are hunting a dangerous arsonist who appears to be growing bolder day by day.

The suspect, according to police, has set 38 fires in the past 45 days in Accomack County, Va. The first blaze was set on Nov. 12 in Hopeton, about 100 miles east of Richmond. The most recent fire was ignited Sunday, some 8 miles southwest in the town of Accomac.

"We've never had an arsonist destroy so many structures in such a short a period of time ... The arsonist is creating a climate of fear within our community," 1st Sgt. Jean-Paul N. Koushel, with the Virginia State Police, told reporters during a press conference.

While no one has died or been seriously injured, the blazes have left multiple structures in charred ruins.

Initially the structures set ablaze were barns, camper trailers and chicken coops, but the arsonist is becoming more brazen with each fire and has since moved on to abandoned homes and buildings. One of the more recent blazes involved an equipment building that housed a boat.

Koushel said the fires are putting a strain on local volunteer firefighters.

"It's been very difficult for our firemen ... It's a tremendous amount of fires," he said.

Authorities in Virginia's eastern shore are hunting a dangerous arsonist who appears to be growing bolder day by day.

The suspect, according to police, has set 38 fires in the past 45 days in Accomack County, Va. The first blaze was set on Nov. 12 in Hopeton, about 100 miles east of Richmond. The most recent fire was ignited Sunday, some 8 miles southwest in the town of Accomac.

"We've never had an arsonist destroy so many structures in such a short a period of time ... The arsonist is creating a climate of fear within our community," 1st Sgt. Jean-Paul N. Koushel, with the Virginia State Police
, told reporters during a press conference.
While no one has died or been seriously injured, the blazes have left multiple structures in charred ruins.

Initially the structures set ablaze were barns, camper trailers and chicken coops, but the arsonist is becoming more brazen with each fire and has since moved on to abandoned homes and buildings. One of the more recent blazes involved an equipment building that housed a boat.

Koushel said the fires are putting a strain on local volunteer firefighters.

"It's been very difficult for our firemen ... It's a tremendous amount of fires," he said.

Authorities said it is possible that some of the fires were set by a copycat, but investigators believe most of the fires are the handiwork of the same person or persons.

"Based on our ongoing investigation, we feel certain that the person or persons responsible for these fires is a resident of Accomack County and is known to local residents," said Capt. Tim Reibel, commander of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Chesapeake Field Office.

Reibel did not speculate further as to the arsonist's profile, other than to say the individual or individuals would likely be following media coverage of the crimes closely.

Dr. Scott A. Bonn, a serial killer expert and assistant professor of sociology at Drew University
, told The Huffington Post that it is not uncommon for serial arsonists to be frustrated or disgruntled firefighters who fall into the category of pyromaniacs.
"This is similar to certain serial killers, such as BTK [Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer
], who has a college degree in criminal justice and wanted to be a police officer," Bonn said.
"The pyromaniac is compelled to start fires and often experiences a sexual climax by doing so," he continued. "He simply must do it and is powerless over the compulsion."

Scott Hyde
, a fire chief and arson investigator in Albion, Pa., suspects, like Bonn, that the arsonist is somehow connected to the fire department and is possibly a volunteer firefighter. Hyde points to the time periods in which each of the fires has occurred -– between 8:30 p.m. and 4 a.m. –- and to the type of structures the arsonist has selected.

"If you look at the time of the fires, you notice they are being set at times when manpower is readily available to fight the fires," Hyde told HuffPost. "Volunteer departments have limited manpower during the day. So in looking at the avenue of a possible firefighter, that would also explain why abandoned buildings are being targeted: The individual would know that the firemen are not going to commit any forces to go inside of a derelict or abandoned building to put it out. A fireman would know they would surround it, drown it and let it go to the ground.

That tells me whoever is responsible does not want any firemen to get hurt."

Hyde said his opinion is based not only on his education as an arson investigator, but also on his own experience in dealing with arsonists.

In 1995, a volunteer firefighter within Hyde's department, along with two volunteer firefighters -- one of whom was the son of a former fire chief -- from a neighboring department in Cranesville, Pa., were arrested for setting blazes in nearby Conneaut and Elk Creek townships.

"Like the case we had here, police in Virginia could be dealing with a group of arsonists," Hyde said. "Either way, I would not be surprised if it is a firefighter, group of firefighters, or someone somehow connected to the department or the investigation."

Koushel said authorities are working "day and night" to catch the person or persons responsible, but said it is a daunting task. Accomack County consists of 455 square miles, and there are an estimated 700 to 800 abandoned structures within that area.

Information that leads to an arrest and conviction could result in an award of up to $5,000 from the Virginia Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators
.
Investigators ask that anyone with information about the fires call the Accomack County Sheriff's Office at 757-787-1131 or the Virginia State Police Chesapeake Headquarters, toll-free, at 1-800-582-8350 or at 757-424-6820.

"We are asking the public to come forward with any information they may have about the arsons," Koushel said.

Koushel said authorities will prosecute whoever is responsible to the full extent of the law. In Virginia, the crime carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Source:

DON’T LET DRUNK DRIVING RUIN YOUR NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION

(PIKESVILLE, MD) – Maryland state troopers are encouraging motorists to celebrate the New Year responsibly by not drinking and driving, but for those who don’t heed the warning, additional troopers will be on patrol beginning today and continuing through New Year’s Day.

Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Marcus L. Brown has directed commanders to initiate specific drunk driving enforcement operations in areas where traffic crashes and incidents of impaired driving arrests are highest. Every trooper on patrol throughout the holiday will be on the alert for drunk drivers, in addition to those troopers working sobriety checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols.

“Our focus will be on locating and arresting impaired drivers as we work to keep Maryland roads safe during the holiday,” Colonel Brown said. “The 171 alcohol related deaths last year in Maryland are tragic reminders that drunk drivers continue to be a significant threat on our roads. There is no excuse for drunk driving and we will accept none. Drunk drivers will be arrested and charged, hopefully before they have caused another tragedy.”

Causing the death of someone else because of impaired driving is no way to start the New Year. During the 2011 New Year’s holiday period of December 30, 2011 through January 3, 2012, there were six fatalities on Maryland roads. Two of those fatalities involved impaired drivers.

The holiday season is a particularly dangerous time of year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports more than 2,500 people lost their lives in crashes and 775 of those crashes involved impaired drivers in December 2010.

Colonel Brown and state troopers are encouraging drivers to be responsible this season to ensure their New Year’s celebration does not end in tragedy. Drivers should plan ahead. Designate a sober driver before the festivities begin. If you plan to drink, do not plan to drive. Call a sober friend, a family member, or use public transportation. If you know someone who has been drinking, do not let them get behind the wheel. If you see a driver you think is impaired or driving a vehicle in an unsafe manner, keep a safe distance and call 9-1-1.

The additional State Police patrols coincide with the Maryland Highway Safety Office initiative “Towards Zero Deaths” and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiative “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”. Overtime funding for additional patrols is provided by grants from the Maryland Highway Safety Office.

Gambling Industry Dominates 2012 MD. Employment Forecast

Gambling Industry Dominates 2012 Maryland Employment Forecast

New casinos account for 40% of new job announcements

Annapolis: The gambling industry emerged in 2012 as Maryland's top job-generating sector, far outpacing new economy mainstays including bio-tech, cyber-security, information technology and traditional economic engines such as construction and manufacturing.  This conclusion is derived from Change Maryland's analysis of the state's Department of Business and Economic Development year-to-date tally of companies setting up or expanding facilities and the estimated numbers of jobs created.

The state's estimate is derived from gaming facilities slated to open or expand by Lakes Entertainment in Allegany County; the Cordish Companies in Anne Arundel County; and Caeser's Entertainment in Baltimore.  The estimate does not include a new casino slated to open in Prince George's County following the passage of the question seven ballot referendum in November.

"Maryland should not rely on casinos as a crutch to generate jobs," said Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan.  "I am deeply concerned that so much attention was focused on casinos this year that elected officials dismissed other productive components of the economy as an afterthought. While I'm glad that some will get jobs as black jack dealers and cocktail servers, the best careers are those that require science,  technology and engineering skills that Maryland educators are working so hard to develop in the classroom."

Combined, the gambling industry is expected to generate 3250 jobs or nearly 40% of the 8500 new jobs announced in 2012.   Other sectors pale in comparison with cyber security expected to generate 2612 jobs, healthcare 379 jobs and manufacturing 334 jobs.  By contrast, such lauded sectors by the O'Malley Administration, most notably green energy, are expected to generate just 110 jobs.

"I don't know how Martin O'Malley can say with a straight face that jobs are a priority of this Administration with numbers like these," said Hogan.  "These numbers are lopsided and pitiful."

Maryland and Virginia maintain files that track new and expanding facility announcements.  Virginia's equivalent list shows 13,640 jobs announced in 2012.  Although both states' data is subject to revision, the information is an indicator of future economic performance.  Virginia's list is downloadable in excel format, is up to date as of December 2012 and is searchable by industry sector.

Change Maryland's analysis of DBED's "New and Expanding Businesses"  comes on the heels of dismal economic development results including 6500 small businesses lost between 2007 and 2010, shrinkage of state-based Fortune 500 companies to just three and the loss of companies including Accentia, Bechtel and Northrop Grumman to Virginia.

According to DBED, Maryland's data is gathered on a regular basis from department staff, county economic development officials and published sources.

 ###

 Background:

Maryland New and Expanding Businesses:http://www.choosemaryland.org/factsstats/Pages/NewandExpandingBusinesses.aspx

Virginia Announcements Database:http://virginiascan.yesvirginia.org/ResourceCenter/AnnouncementsWeb.aspx

Retired General Norman Schwarzkoph Dies

AP Photo

A U.S. official says retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991, has died. He was 78.

The official tells The Associated Press that Schwarzkopf died Thursday in Tampa, Fla. The official wasn't authorized to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as "Stormin' Norman" for a notoriously explosive temper.

He lived in retirement in Tampa, where he had served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command. That is the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.

Source:

"Courage brother, do not stumble, though thy path be dark as night: There is a star to guide the humble, trust in God, and do the right. Let the road be dark and dreary and its end far out of sight. Face it bravely, strong or weary. Trust God, and do".

Gen. Norman Schwarzkoph
1934-2012

Thursday Specials ~ Riverside Grill Pocomoke

Thursday  December 27, 2012

-Tomato Soup w/ 1/2 shrimp salad sandwich or side salad 6.99
-Ale-Batter Fried Shrimp Platter 9.99
-Open Face Turkey w/ stuffing and green beans 6.99
-Apple-Cranberry Salad 7.99

HAPPY HOUR

4  -  7

$1 off appetizers

Beginnine @ 4 PM

$4 Burgers

Beginning @ 8PM

$3.50 Bacardi drinks

"Liberty and Safety Must Walk Together"

"Liberty and Safety Must Walk Together"

By Delegate Mike McDermott

The easiest political solution in response to the murderous rampage in Connecticut would be to point the finger at something...anything...and ban it to the abyss. We could then pronounce our children to be "safe" and accept the kudos for our "success". Politics as usual.

On the books, we have thousands of gun laws obeyed by our go...od citizens while ignored by criminals. Most of our mass shootings have been perpetrated by those suffering from mental illness who were not armed with "assault rifles". The massacre at Virginia Tech involved a handgun and resulted in significantly more victims.

In order to solve the problem, let’s begin by confessing that we cannot stop it from happening again. We cannot fix all the sick, broken people determined to do others and themselves harm. We cannot take away all of the guns. We cannot afford cops at every entrance to every school.

We can, however, harden the target and limit our vulnerabilities if we become aggressive in our response to potential threats. There are school districts in our country which have adopted a proactive approach to security threats. Within their schools are certain staffers (known only to the administration) who carry concealed firearms within the school. These trained individuals are designated as "Guardians" and they represent a vigilant line of defense for those we must protect. They are equipped and ready to stand in the gap. Like Sky Marshals, School Guardians remain behind the scenes unknown to all, but prepared nonetheless.

We can opt to provide less lethal technology, such as Tasers, to select staff within our schools. While their effective range is limited, they could provide a line of defense for those who currently have nothing at their disposal. This would require minimal expense and training and could be in place within a matter of weeks.

How I wish one or more of the staff at Sandy Hook Elementary had been a "Guardian" or equipped with a Taser. How differently might the outcome have been.

We must change the way that we view mental health issues and options in our country. We closed the doors on institutions during the 1980’s only to provide no alternatives. The results surround us and it is politically incorrect to even discuss the issues. If we feel your conduct or actions place our society at an undue risk, your liberty should be in jeopardy. We recognize this when it comes to passenger aircraft, and it is time we recognized it outside of the airports as well.

The media must police itself or be subjected to fines for sensationalizing instead of simply reporting these types of tragedies. Most of these murdering crazies seek celebrity status, even in death, and the electronic media is generally only too glad to oblige. Why do we understand this when it comes to streakers at a televised event, yet fail to grasp it in these situations? There is a balance missing that the media desperately needs to find or we can find it for them.

Preparing our children to take their place in civil society is the responsibility of parents. Teachers, mentors, and the rest of society can only reinforce what parents are instilling. There are some who advocate taking certain guns from responsible citizens while simultaneously letting junior play the most hellish video games available night and day. What’s wrong with that picture? Training a child is the toughest, most important job if we are to preserve a civil society for the coming generation. In this, we must hold each other accountable. We simply must stop subsidizing and making excuses for antisocial behavior.

I will introduce legislation in the next two weeks which would:
Authorize a Maryland School District to implement a "Guardian" program;
Authorize a Maryland School District to issue Taser style less-lethal weapons to select personnel within a school;
Authorize persons who possess Conceal-Carry Permits along with Active or Retired Law Enforcement Officers (who are certified to possess firearms) to carry a concealed firearm on the campus of a public school.

It was Benjamin Franklin who proclaimed, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Let us be a people who truly understand how to provide safety while maintaining our liberty.

"80's Night" Tickets / Pocomoke Chamber of Commerce

TIME MACHINE Preview ... New Year's Eve

　

A look at celebrating the arrival of the new year in some past times.

　

Read more about it this Sunday on The Pocomoke Public Eye!

　 Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Riverside Grill- OPEN TODAY

WEDNESDAY SPECIALS

DECEMBER 26, 2012

-Tomato Soup with grilled cheese or side salad 5.99
-Taco Salad 6.99
-Open-Face Roast Beef with mashed potatoes and green beans 6.99
-Shrimp Caesar Wrap with fries 8.99

 Happy Hour

4-7 with $1 off appetizers!!

@8pm:

$5 Crab Dip!
$2 House Wines and Coors Lt. Drafts
$5 Cosmos and White Cosmos

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Christmas Pearls of Wisdom

 "To your enemy, forgiveness.

To an opponent, tolerance.

To a friend, your heart.

To a customer, service.

To all, charity.

To every child, a good example.

To yourself, respect."

 ~ Oren Arnold–novelist, journalist and humorist ~

Potato Grading Shed Burned - # 38

ACCOMACK COUNTY- Va. State Police say Sunday night's garage fire is arson.

Around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, crews on four fire trucks responded to 18192 Mappsburg Road in Painter.

Dispatchers say the fire was so large that folks could see it from miles away.

The shed had been used previously to sort and grade potatoes, but Va. State Police say the only thing inside the equipment garage was a boat.

There were no injuries.

This is the county's 38th arson since mid-November and ajuthorities don't know if one person is responsible for the fires or whether some are the work of a copycat.

This was the second arson of the weekend. On Saturday night, someone set fire to an abandoned, three-sided storage building in the 25000 block of on Parksley Road. Authorities said the building had no electricity.

A $5,000 reward for information to catch the arsonist is being offered. Call your tips in to 1-800-582-8350 or (757) 424-6820 or call the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office at (757) 787-1131.

Source:

Saxis Fire Company Annual "Santa Claus Run"

HO  HO  HO!!!

The Saxis Fire Company have begun their Annual "Santa Claus Run" for this afternoon. 

Watch for them and be sure to wish them all a very Merry Christmas!

And..... SANTA MAY BE ON BOARD THE FIRE TRUCK!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Abandoned Structure Fire #37 For Accomack County

Saturday evening at 8:51 pm Accomack County fire departments responded to an abandoned structure fire on Parksley Road behind Royal Farms.

Virginia State Police say the fire was in a three sided storage building with no electricity and the fire has been confirmed to be arson.

Units responding were: Parksley, Bloxom, Tasley and Onley.

Accomack County Sheriff's Office, Virginia State Police and other agencies are still investigating all active arsons that have occurred since November 12. This brings the total fires in abandoned structure to 37.

The Virginia State Police and the Accomack County Sheriff's Department continue to ask for the public's assistance. If anyone has seen anything out of the ordinary, PLEASE notify either agency IMMEDIATELY!

To report a tip, call: 1-800-582-8350 or (757) 424-6820; or call the Accomack County Sheriff's Office at (757) 787-1131.

A $5000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the party responsible for setting the fires.

YOU WILL REMAIN ANONYMOUS!

TIME MACHINE ... Christmas Time

(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)

January, 1884

(Peninsula Enterprise- Accomac)

Notwithstanding the disagreeable weather on Monday night (Christmas Eve) it was very lively in this locality. The firing of guns and pistols began at early bedtime, and continued during the night. Many delicious meals were prepared and eaten, and not a few persons participated in drinking eggnog.

　

December, 1888

(Dispatch- Richmond, Va.)

Onancock, Va., December 26, 1888.

This is the mildest, prettiest, quietest Christmas ever seen on the Eastern Shore within this generation. The weather is so mild that fires are uncomfortable, and people are going about in spring clothing.

FOOTNOTE: A month earlier, November 26, the same area experienced a blizzard.

1950's & 1960's

During the Christmas season the Coffman-Fisher clothing store at the northwest corner of Second and Market Streets in Pocomoke City set up a large toy department on an upper level of their store. Children of that era may still recall climbing the flight of stairs above the balcony level of the store to visit the once a year large display of toys. In Salisbury, "Jolly Jack's" toy department at the R. E. Powell clothing store was a favorite visit for the kids.

　

December, 1888

(Peninsula Enterprise- Accomac)

Christmas exercises will be held in Leemont M. P. Church on the night of December 25th, 1888, at 7 p. m. A choice programme will be arranged for the occasion, and a large number of premiums will be awarded to those receiving the highest grades.

J. WRIGHT NORRIS,
Pastor.

　

January, 1891

(Peninsula Enterprise- Accomac)

Chincoteague

The pleasures that prosperity brings made this Christmas a very delightful one to most of our people. Church entertainments, midnight watch meetings, sociables, weddings, sleighing, &c., contributed "to the feast of reason," and none of the delicacies were wanting which "the inner man" required. The scatterers and the gatherers in of the "filthy lucre" each had the pleasures which it brings. Our merchants say, that their Christmas sales were the largest in the history of the Island, and that such was the case, was a matter of surprise to no one, for in addition to the various sources through which money is obtained here, some 300 oystermen had returned home after an absence of four months with the receipts of their labor during that time of $2 to $3 daily.

(Time Machine archive)

(It appears from this article that more than a century ago it was Christmas eve that was the most anticipated time for holiday shopping.) 

December 24, 1897

(Woodland Daily Democrat- Woodland, California)

CHRISTMAS EVE

Children Will Catch A Glimpse Of Fairyland

People With Christmas Memories In Their Minds And Christmas Cheer In Their Hearts

Those who have had the opportunity to watch the people surge up and down the street this afternoon know is has been a busy day for the merchants, and without the use of the calendar they could easily determine the date. Indeed, if a resident of one of the planets could drop in on us unannounced he would know it was the day before Christmas on account of the industrious manner in which people are picking up odds and ends to fill the toe and heel of the Christmas stocking and add to the happiness of Santa Claus' day.

And this holiday rush will continue far into the evening because Christmas Eve is everybody's evening. It is the evening when all take the evening off from the ordinary occupations of their ordinary existences and spend that evening down town in the interests of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the evening when the day laborer and the capitalist rejoice together in common cause that work is over, at least for a brief season. It is the evening when the best girl shares the pleasure of the best young man. It is the evening when whole families of young children get their first glimpse of the fairyland of Christmas and of the treasures piled high behind protecting windows, and of the white-whiskered and mysterious old man who shakes their hands, takes their names and promises them on the faith of a Santa Claus a present of a doll or a drum on Christmas morning.

This evening being Christmas eve the electric lights on the streets, the electric lights over the store entrances, the electric lights that mist fantastically across the facade of tall buildings will flare their brightest radiance for the benefit and happiness of the passing throng. Windows will blaze with twinkling jets and reflect the shades of tinted glows upon the colors of the goods below. Light and darkness will chase each other up and down a continuous chain decorating the edge of our tallest structures. Lights will flicker from the branches of the Christmas trees and gladden the hearts of the children.

Christmas eve is the night when the green foliage of Christmas brings a breath of spring, and this evening it will be a cheerful spectacle to see the bright holly leaves, shining with the seasons good will, the hollie (holly) berries, red as the season's charity, the mistletoe hinting at future pleasures and the joys of future frolics, the evergreens filling the streets with Christmas odors and the minds of the passing throng with Christmas memories and their hearts with Christmas cheer. This evening windows will blaze with light and glow with color. Pavements will resound with noisy clamor. Stores that are filled with a bewildering wealth of holiday treasures will be thronged with eager, admiring purchasers. But after all it will be the people who give life and animation to the spectacle that will make the scene worth seeing, and the night worth living. It will be a crowd to watch and mingle in, to become part of it in the pleasure, in contentment, in wonder and in that satisfactory feeling of accomplished work and anticipated rest.

(Time Machine archive)

December 25, 1924

(The Lubbock Morning Avalanche- Lubbock, Texas)

(Excerpts)

Childhood's Christmas Memories

"Backward, turn backward, Oh Time in your flight, Make me a child again just for tonight."

How many of us tonight are wishing that old poem might come true just once more in our lives? Of all the days in our childhood, none stand out so vividly in our memory as those mysterious Christmas times. There is something about our Christmas memories that reach the heart of every one of us who were so fortunate as to grow up in a happy home. We did not say a big, luxuriant home, but a HAPPY HOME. A home where sympathy and LOVE, and a family understanding of one another's hearts fills the atmosphere of the whole home. A home where each member of the family believes in and rejoices with every other member of the family in their ambitions and their hopes and their accomplishments. That's the kind of home we mean when we say a happy home. It may be a humble little cottage or it may be a mansion. It is the spirit in the house and not the shell in which we live that makes happy homes. And it so happens that most of our happy homes are humble homes because we have so many more humble homes in America than any other kind.

What are your first memories of Christmas? Can you bring them back through the long years and tell them over again to the children? There is nothing children love to hear so well as Christmas stories of their own fathers and mothers. "What did Santa Claus bring you were a little boy Daddy?" "And what did he bring to mother?" "Did he travel then just as he does NOW? And what kind of toys did little girls and little boys send for in those days?"

It is the unusual, the impossible, and the mysterious belief that it will happen that puts the thrill of expectancy into the heart of the little child at Christmas time. It is their faith in the spirit of Santa Claus that is so beautiful.

But if the memories of Christmas time in the old home far away are among our most treasured memories of childhood, what is our greatest privilege at Christmas time now? Is it not storing up other Christmas memories in the lives of our children to be recalled a generation from now when we are no more and other little ones yet unborn are begging for Christmas stories of long ago? This is one of our greatest opportunities and privileges for Christmas, 1924. Creating Christmas stories and Christmas memories to be retold by the generations of fathers and mothers in 1950, 1975, and even up to 2000 after the first Christmas story was ever produced.

...fill the childish hearts and childish minds around you with those Christmas memories you would be proud and happy to have them carry through their lives and tell over and over at the Christmas tides of the future to the little heads nestled near their hearts.

　

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about, a Holiday memory? It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!