TIME MACHINE ... More On Earthquake Shocks In Eastern Shore History!

(The following news items appeared in The Denton Journal in Denton, Md)

September 4, 1886

At a few minutes before ten o'clock on Tuesday night the whole area of the Eastern and Southern States was violently shaken by an earthquake. The prohibition meeting held in the Masonic Hall in Denton was just closing and several persons felt the shock. Clocks were stopped, hanging lamps swung, and doors thrown open by an invisible force. In Denton, it lasted about a half minute and the wave like motion was felt by a great many families. Reports from all sections show that the shock was general, reaching from New York to the Gulf. (The newspaper went on to report that Charleston, South Carolina had a dozen shocks with more than 50 fatalities and several hundred injured.)


October 6, 1888

A Cambridge dispatch reports that a very perceptible earthquake shock was felt in Dorchester County a few days ago.


December 23, 1899

Two distinct earthquake shocks were felt in this county.


May 12, 1906

An earthquake lasting several seconds badly frightened residents of Seaford Tuesday, but no damage resulted. The ground quivered, buildings trembled and windows shook as though they would fall out. Earth tremors were also felt by some people here on Tuesday, it is said. Several shocks were reported in several part of New England on the same day.

TIME MACHINE ... 1886 Eastern Shore Earthquake!

Fortunately, earthquakes on the Eastern Shore are few and far between.

The following item is from GHOTES (Genealogy And History Of The Eastern Shore Of Virginia.. www.ghotes.net ):

"In 1886 there was an earthquake on the Eastern Shore. On August 25th all clocks stopped at 9:53pm. At Craddockville ornaments on mantles were knocked to the floor and broken."

UPDATE On Fires Set In Cypress Park- Arrest Made

From the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office

 On August 22, 2011, the Pocomoke Police Department arrested and charged

Anthony Deshield of Pocomoke for setting fires in Cypress Park.

The Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company responded  to Cypress Park in Pocomoke City on Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 6:46 am for several fires in the park area.  Damage was done to a pavillion, restrooms and childrens playground equipment.

  Deshield with 2nd Deg. Arson, 2nd Deg. Malicious Burning and Malicious Destruction of property of another.

 The arrest is the result of a joint investigation by the Pocomoke Police Department and the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office.

Deshields is presently being held in the Worcester County Jail without bond.

According to the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office these fires are not linked to the fire extinguished by the Pocomoke City Police Department in a housing complex back in July of this year.

Earthquake

We just had an earthquake in Salisbury WOW!!

That was really weird I have never felt anything like that in my life

Downtown Farmers Market Extended Into Saturday....

The PPE would like to welcome Angela Manos to Pocomoke City as the new downtown coordinator.

FARMERS AND FLEA MARKET

 EXTENDED TO SATURDAYS

Downtown Pocomoke City

Visitors to the eastern shore will want to be sure to stop by the ever-expanding Pocomoke City Farmers & Flea Market.   Due to popular demand, Pocomoke City announced that it will add an additional day to its Farmers & Flea Market.  The well-attended outing has been growing for the past several years, and as a result, the city is now opening the event on Saturdays, while maintaining the regular Friday schedule.

In addition to the usual offering of fresh local produce and abundance of costume jewelry you might find at similar venues, Pocomoke’s market hosts a wide variety of unique items, like fishing equipment, hand-carved birds and knives, Civil War relics, and wholesale homegrown plants, shrubbery and flowers.  Visitors will also find a plethora of used books, tools, electronic equipment, quilts, toys, clothing, and accessories, including Vera Bradley handbags.

Rick Fish, of Rick Fish Antiques & Decoys, is a regular vendor at Pocomoke’s Farmers & Flea Market.  Rick has been a “picker” since he was a kid and a bird carver for fifty-two years.  According to Rick, Pocomoke’s size and location are desirable.  “Pocomoke’s location is beautiful and comfortable, by the river, said Rick.  “I find it an enjoyable place to sell my goods.  It is one of the safer places I come to and I have made a lot of friends here over the years.  The people are friendly and the environment is relaxing,” said Rick.  He has been in the antiquing business for thirty-one years and has been working flea markets for the past fifteen.  He is pleased that Pocomoke City will be expanding the Farmers and Flea Market to Saturdays and thinks it will bring more visitors to Pocomoke’s downtown.

Mayor Bruce Morrison said that he is excited about the plan to expand the Famers & Flea Market.  “The downtown area is one of my major priorities as mayor and something I spoke about frequently when I campaigned for this office.  The expansion will bring more visitors to our beautiful downtown area,” he said.    

Beginning Saturday, July 9,

 Pocomoke City’s Farmers & Flea Market

 will be open from 7:00am until 1:00pm. 

This is in addition to the same hours on Friday. 

The event is free to both the public and vendors. 

Vendors pay no fee and set-up is on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

The market is held at: 3 Market Street, in the downtown historic district of Pocomoke City, across the street from the Delmarva Discovery Center, and next to the Nature Trail on the Pocomoke River. 

Don't Forget Shore Beef and BBQ For Lunch!

TUESDAY SPECIAL

Pulled chicken sandwich/with side

 & drink   ~  $7.50

If available, check out the fruits and vegetables.....

Route 13, South

Just before T's Corner

~Host A thirty-one Party - Get A Free Appetizer

When was the last time you purchased something for youself just for the fun of it?

Why not begin your Chirstmas shopping now..........

DON'T MISS this opportunity!

All the information to get started as a Hostess is on the poster.

Or give  Dawn a call and she will be more than happy to help you plan your party!

(410)957-3677 / (410)251-8810

Congresswoman Maxine Waters: The TEA Party Can Go Straight To Hell

The self proclaimed "socialist" Maxine Water is still spewing liberal hate and blame. Take a look at the video below and notice at two minuets into the video the number of SEIU Waters supporters that pop up like puppets. If you take a glance around the room you will see a sea of purple SEIU shirts today's equivalent of brown shirts. Is this really the kind of people that the majority wants to run our country? 

Maxine Waters says"The Tea-Party can go straight to Hell"


Maxine Waters admits that she is a "socialist" and says she "will take over and run all of your companies"

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) came out swinging against Republicans in Congress on Saturday as she addressed the unemployed during a forum in Inglewood.

The event occurred a day after new statistics were released showing that California's jobless rate last month went up to 12%, from 11.8%.  California now has the second-highest rate of unemployment in the nation, trailing only Nevada at 12.9%, and its jobless rate is well above the U.S. average of 9.1%.
Waters vowed to push Congress to focus on creating more jobs. "I'm not afraid of anybody," said Waters. "This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the 'tea party' can go straight to hell."

More than 1,000 people attended "Kitchen Table Summit," which was designed to give the jobless an opportunity to vent to elected officials and share their struggles about finding a job.

KABC-TV quoted speakers talking about living without medical insurance and surviving paycheck to paycheck.

"Thank God I am healthy because a medical illness would bankrupt me," said Regina Davis of Inglewood.

Congresswomen Laura Richardson and Karen Bass also attended. Several people urged the representatives to push for a national jobs program.

According to the Employment Development Department, California employers added just 4,500 new jobs last month, a steep drop from the revised 30,400 jobs added in June.

VIA: Los Angeles Times

Judge says rule of law applies to White House, too

Orders Secret Service to disclose 8 months of records

---

A federal judge has ordered the Secret Service to release eight months of White House visitor logs it had previously kept hidden, an estimated "tens of thousands" of records from Obama's first year in office.

U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell – an Obama appointee – earlier this week ruled in favor of the government watchdog organization Judicial Watch, which had argued the Jan. 20-Sept. 15, 2009, visitor logs were agency records subject to public inspection through the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. 

While the Secret Service had argued that being compelled to release visitor logs under FOIA might compromise "national security interests," Judge Howell ruled that the White House already has authority to exempt certain records that might prove sensitive – so long as it provides legal explanation for the exemption – so the adminstration has no excuse for refusing Judicial Watch's FOIA request.

"This is a major victory for open government and an embarrassing defeat for the Obama administration," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, in a statement responding to the ruling. "This administration will now have to release all records of all visitors to the White House – or explain why White House visits should be kept secret under law. It is refreshing to see the court remind this administration that the rule of law applies to it."

In July of 2009, the White House announced a new policy touting its own "transparency" for voluntarily releasing the records from Sept. 15 onward. The first eight months of 2009's logs, however, would only be available to "narrow and specific" requests.

But, Judicial Watch argued, there's a difference between "voluntarily" releasing records and actually being accountable to the people.

"The White House insisted that it could release visitor information at its own discretion, the timing and specifics of which [were] not subject to court review," Fitton wrote in an update on the case. "And despite White House misinformation to the contrary, tens of thousands of visitor logs are being withheld from disclosure by the Obama administration.

"These records," Fitton continued, "are now subject to disclosure under FOIA."
According to court documents from the case, the White House argued that the court's oversight of its record releasing policy could breach the constitutional separation of powers and would pose "a substantial intrusion on the confidentiality necessary for the president and vice president to discharge their constitutional duties."

Furthermore, the administration argued, it would be "virtually impossible" for the Secret Service to process the plaintiff's FOIA request with respect to records created between Jan. 20, 2009, and Sept. 15, 2009, without potentially compromising national security interests.

Howell, however, dismissed the separation-of-powers argument and stated, "To the extent that a visitor record might, if publicly released, disclose confidential presidential communications, the Secret Service has a ready recourse in Exemption 5 [of FOIA]," which exempts privileged documents from disclosure.

"Therefore," Howell continued, "the proper course of action by the Secret Service is duly to process [Judicial Watchs's] FOIA request, disclose all segregable, nonexempt records, and then assert specific FOIA exemptions for all records it seeks to withhold."

The ruling gives the Secret Service 20 days to meet with Judicial Watch to settle upon a plan for releasing the records.

---

VIA: WND

Obama pays Sunday visit to Comcast CEO

In all my life I can't remember any POTUS ever paying a personal visit to a company CEO. Something smells fishy and it ain't fish.

The presidential motorcade on Martha's Vineyard peeled out of Blue Heron Farms at 5:15 p.m. with the president and Valerie Jarrett in tow.

After 10 minutes, we made an abrupt left turn on John Cottle Road — an unpaved, deeply rutted eight-foot-wide private path hemmed in by ivy, scrub oak and big, scary boulders.

After bottoming out four times — we're talking two-foot holes in a sand-and-gravel road, along with one hairpin turn — Obama and Jarrett arrived at the West Tisbury home of their friends Brian and Aileen Roberts, spokesman Josh Earnest informs us. It was 5:30 p.m.

Roberts is chairman and CEO of Comcast.

VIA: Politico

1st Neighborhood Crime Watch Meeting

GIRDLETREE RESIDENTS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS

1st CRIME WATCH MEETING

TONIGHT

Monday   August 22, 2011 @  7:00 PM

Girdletree Firehouse

Worcester County Sheriff's Office is trying to establish a crime watch in Girdletree.

Please take advantage of this opportunity to listen to Deputy First Class Dale Trotter as he gives a brief overview of crime watch and and the necessary precautions to take against crime in your area.


NOW is your  opportunity to speak to him about your concerns in your neighborhood.


For more information call 410-632-1112


The Worcester Counth Sheriff's Department is reaching out to the citizens of Worcester County to show  that they care about its citizens.


Show them that you appreciate their time and care about taking care of crime in your area by being there  tonight!

Fires Set At Cypress Park

This morning, Sunday, August 21, 2011 the Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company responded to a fire in Cypress Park.  Upon their arrival they found  several  small fires.

Small fires were found in the pavillion located towards the back of Cypress Park, the restrooms and the childrens playground!

What a shame! 

If my memory is  correct those restrooms have recently had work done to them.

Regardless, this will take money and someones time to clean this up.  And playground equipment is not cheap. 

According to Dicky Gladding, PCVFC, and officer in charge, the fires were extingquished quckly.

At this time the fires are being investigated by Rodney Sharpley of  The Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office and the Pocomoke City Police Dept.

If you have any information about these fires please contact:

 Rodney Sharpley @ Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office - 410-632-5666
Pocomoke City Police Department - 410-957-1600

Photos- Pocomoke fire department.

Help Harvest Berlin Branch Library Garden to Feed the Hungry

Worcester County Staff and Master Gardeners

 invite you to help harvest produce, plant seeds for fall crops and learn about sustainable gardening at the

Berlin Branch Library Garden on

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 from 4:30 to  5:30  p,m.  

“The objective of this project is to demonstrate sustainable gardening techniques to the
public and to provide fresh, healthy, locally grown food for Diakonia, an area homeless shelter,
and other organizations providing food assistance in the community,” said Katherine Munson, the Natural Resources Planner for Worcester County who spearheads the garden project.

All ages are welcome and no experience is necessary and those with garden gloves are asked to bring them. The food harvested will include raspberries, squash, peppers, tomatoes, greens, herbs and cucumbers and will be donated to the Stevenson United Methodist Church’s (SUMC) food assistance program. For more information about the food assistance program, contact SUMC at (410) 641-1137 or http://sumchome.org/.

“Hosting the garden is a natural extension of the library's broader mission to inform and educate, not just with books and words but also with actual, tangible projects, such as the community garden,” Worcester County Library Director Mark Thomas said. “Our hope continues to be that the visibility and success of the Berlin Library community garden would inspire similar efforts throughout the community and county.”

A grant from Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, matched by in-kind donations from the community, has supported the project by providing funding for basic materials. 

In the event of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled. For more information about the library garden, visit Berlin Branch Library Garden on Facebook.

Any groups interested in starting up community gardens are invited to contact Ms. Munson at (410) 632-1200, ext. 1302 for information on how to get started.

Crime Watch Meetings For Girdletree and Stockton Communities

Wo. Co. Sheriff's Office - Crime Watch Meetings

The Worcester County Sheriff’s office is hoping to establish a crime watch in Girdletree and has scheduled a crime watch meeting on

August 22nd at the Girdletree Firehouse

Beginning at 7 p.m., Deputy First Class Dale Trotter will give a brief overview of crime watch, citizen concerns, necessary precautions and future meeting times.

Call 410-632-1112.

ALSO

Friday, August 26th Stockton Community

 Crime Watch Meeting,
 Stockton Firehouse
at 6 p.m.

PLEASE Don't Feed The Wild Animals

If you've lived on the Eastern Shore long enough and you love the beach you have seen the wild ponies that live on the beaches of Assateague on both Maryland and Virginia.  And if you've traveled there enough times you have no doubt witnessed the stubborness of these beautiful wild creatures.  It is not uncommon for them to be lured to a cooler on the beach, turn it over and search for food- your food. 

But then we've also seen them at the hands those that do not know they shouldn't  have popcorn, bread, candy, chips nor anything that is consumed by humans.  No, not even fruits!

So, my guess of all these years of being at  the hands of improper feeders has gotten this poor guy with the addiction that he is being treated for.

Here is the link that will take you to see Fabio and get a kind look at the wonderful "rehab" he's in.
http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news/2011/08/fabio_assateague_ddhrac_081111.html

Horse is exiled from Assateague

Fabio

Written by  Charlene Sharpe

BERLIN -- After a horse was removed from Assateague Island because he fixated on taking food from campsites and visitors, he is showing potential at a horse rescue center in Texas.

Eighteen-year-old former stallion Fabio, removed from Assateague Island National Seashore's herd of 114 horses in late June, is undergoing training at the Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center in Texas. With a reputation for aggressive behavior like biting and charging preceding him, trainers at the adoption center were concerned about Fabio -- until they began working with him.

"We were so pleasantly surprised, and pleased that very quickly he showed himself to be gentle," said Anne Rathbun-Favre, director of the center.

Staff members at the center have been working with Fabio since his arrival in mid-July. Officials at Assateague Island National Seashore determined in June that the stallion was getting too aggressive to remain in the park.

"He was getting to the point where there was the risk of someone being seriously injured," said Allison Turner, a biological technician at Assateague.

She said nearly two decades of being fed junk food by visitors and plundering campsites for food had made the already dominant horse too pushy. Charging at park visitors with his teeth bared and even biting some led to the decision to remove him.

In the past, Assateague equines with aggressive behavior like Fabio have been admitted into the Chincoteague herd, in a wildlife refuge where no camping is permitted and there is no access to roads for begging tourists. Chincoteague's herd is limited by a grazing permit, however, and could not accommodate Fabio, Turner said.

Instead, park staff coaxed the stallion into a corral with his favorite food, hamburger buns, and castrated him, something that can help quiet down an unruly horse. Again using hamburger buns as a lure, Fabio was loaded onto a trailer and sent to the new Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center. Turner said the center was equipped to deal with an essentially wild 18-year-old horse.



FABIO At his new facility.



She said the Doris Day facility, which just opened in May, is part of the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, a sanctuary where the horse could spend the rest of his days if deemed unsuitable for adoption.

While Fabio may end up joining the sanctuary's herd of 600 horses and burros, staff say he is showing potential for adoption.

"When he came we weren't quite sure," said Ben Callison, director of Black Beauty Ranch, "but we let the horse define that for us."

Although his small stature does not lend him to under-saddle use, Favre said Fabio was showing promise as a companion animal, used to keep other horses company.

Favre said since Fabio's arrival staff had had few difficulties with the horse. His initial refusal to eat hay or grain --because aside from his penchant for camping fare, he lived solely on grass at Assateague -- ended when staff used applesauce and molasses to make the fare more enticing. Once Fabio began eating regularly, trainers have stayed busy teaching him to wear a halter and learn to be handled. Although he's still feisty to lead around, Fabio is still in the beginning of the training process and Favre is optimistic that he can one day be adopted.

"The advantage is that even if he's turned out into the sanctuary, these skills will allow us to care for him," Callison added.

Although Fabio is the most recent horse to leave Assateague Island because of bad behavior, there have been a number of others.

Turner said that 39 horses have been removed from the park in its history, but it hadn't happened since 1995 until now. Although the one before Fabio went through a training process and was adopted by a family in Florida, the others were all absorbed into the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company's herd.

Turner hopes new regulations at the park -- which prohibit visitors from getting within 10 feet of a wild horse or doing anything to attract them -- will prevent other horses from becoming as aggressive as Fabio.

Source;  http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110818/WCT01/108180302/Horse-is-exiled-from-Assateague?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Worcester County Times|s

TIME MACHINE ... 1909 Properties For Sale, Land Mystery South Of Pocomoke, Houdini!

June, 1909

Pocomoke area properties were being marketed in Harrisonburg, Va., by The Valley Realty Company. Advertising in The Daily News of Harrisonburg the company stated they were.. "making a specialty of securing farming lands for colonization purposes, and after a careful investigation of the Eastern Section of the United States, making a study of the soil, climate, and all natural advantages of the various localities investigated, have selected the Eastern Shore, or Peninsula of Maryland, and Piedmont section of Eastern Virginia, all things considering, offering the greatest inducements to home seekers, and have purchased some of the finest tracts of land in these most favored sections, and are subdividing same to suit purchasers, and offering for sale at very reasonable figures, and on long and easy terms of payment."

Eastern Shore properties listed included the following:

A good comparatively new eight-room frame dwelling, with good stable and two and one-quarter acres of land, located on Market St., extended in suburbs of Pocomoke City, Md., with good Macadam road in front of property leading two miles into the most beautiful section of Worcester Co. This is a very attractive home, and in the best section of Pcomoke. Price, $5,000.


A very attractive fertile farm, in a beautiful section of Maryland, containing one hundred and sixty-four (164) acres, ten acres in good woodland and one-hundred and fifty four (154) under successful cultivation. This farm is located on the main public road down the Peninsula, in sight of public school, and is bounded on the west by the N.Y.P.&N. Railroad. Price, $6,000.


A good, productive 120-acre farm, adjoining Arden Station, Somerset County, Md., seven room dwelling and all necessary out-buildings. Price, $5,000.


This is a part of the well-known Stewart Farm of Somerset Co., Md., and contains 287 acres of as good quality of black vegetable loam soil as can be found east of the mountains, that yields as high as three and one-half tons timothy hay and seventy-five bushels shell corn to the acre. Good eight room dwelling, barn, granary cribs, tenant-house, etc. The property can now be bought for $7,500.


A good 450 acre farm, half cleared and half in thrifty pine timber. Improved with six room brick dwelling, and ordinary out-buildings. This land is adapted to mixed farming and grazing and is within two miles of R.R. station in Somerset Co., Md. Price $20.00 per acre.


This 187-acre farm is located within two miles of railroad town, Worcester Co., Md., graded schools, churches, etc., about one-half under successful cultivation, balance in young, thrifty woodland. Is improved with comfortable five room dwelling, barn and all necessary out-buildings. We can sell this property cheap. Price, $4,700.


Box and crate factory, saw-mill, store, dwelling, etc., and the good will of a well and profitable established business, together with two acres of land upon which same is located. and on the public road from Old Dublin to the county seat of Somerset Co., Md. Over two thousand acres of standing timber are accessible to this factory and can be bought at a reasonable price. Price, $4,000.


May, 1909

(Trenton Evening Times- Trenton, N.J.)

LAND WITHOUT AN OWNER

NEW CHURCH, VA., MAY 20 - There is a strip of land of considerable area lying between here and Pocomoke City, Md., that for more than a century truly has been called "No Man's Land." It is not within the recollection of the oldest resident of Accomac County, Va., or of Worcester County, Md., that anyone ever has laid claim to it, nor are there any records of it in the courts of either county. Even the question as to which of the two states the land belongs has been considered seriously.

Not a few of the older residents hold the opinion that the land does not even belong to the United States, some of them going so far as to say that, if it belongs to any country at all, it is England's as the mother country owned everything down this way before the Declaration of Independence changed ownerships, and they think it more than likely that, in dividing up, Maryland and Virginia overlooked "No Man's Land," leaving it out in the cold and making of it a miniature territory unto itself, without a ruler.

There are between 300 and 400 acres of virgin soil in the tract that could be made to produce bumper crops, but no one cultivates it, and, so far as is known today, there is no one who has any desire to do so. For some unaccountable reason it does not appeal strongly to the farmers and truckers of this section, and they always take good care to steer clear of the apparently hoodooed land.

ACROSS THE USA

January, 1906

Houdini Mixes Things Up at the United States Jail

(Condensed from The Washington Post)

Two condemned murderers, four others under indictment, and two noted criminals were released from the United States Jail yesterday and for a brief time tasted a counterfeit liberty.

Harry Houdini, the international prison breaker and handcuff king, as he is styled, was the hero of a sensational exploit. On the invitation of Warden Harris and the jail authorities he ravaged locks and bolts.

Houdini escaped from the cell in which Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield was confined, released all the other inmates on the murderers row cells, and transferred each into some other cell then the one to which he was originally committed.

All these cells are brick structures with their doors sunk into the walls fully three feet from the face of the outer corridor wall. When the heavily barred door is closed, an arm-like bar runs out to the corridor wall and then angles to the right and slips over a steal catch which sets a spring that fastens the lock. The latter is only opened by a key, and there are no less than five tumblers in the lock. One key opens all the doors in the corridor.

Footnote: The news article stated that Houdini was "stripped to the skin," thoroughly searched, and locked in a cell, and was free from the cell in two minutes. Without the knowledge of the waiting officials who had retired from view he ran to the cells of the other prisoners. The article stated "To each occupant the unclad cell-breaker seemed like an apparition from another world, and the astonishment he created when he commanded each to come out and follow him can be better imagined than described." The entire episode occurred in 21 minutes and Houdini emerged fully attired; his clothes had also been locked in a cell. The warden issued a certificate to Houdini verifying the authenticity of his actions and stating there was no chance for collusion. "The experiment was a valuable one in that the department has been instructed as to the adoption of further security which will protect any lock from being opened or interfered with. The act was interesting and profitable and worthy of study. Mr. Houdini impressed his audience as a gentleman and an artist who does not profess to do the impossible."

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. Your name won't be used unless you ask that it be. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Did The President REALLY Say This??

Boy, this really has some farmers scratching their heads!!

Virginia Farmer/2010

Obama Wrongly Disses Farmer

By  Brian Sussman

During a Wednesday town hall meeting in Atkinson, Illinois, a farmer expressed concern to President Obama regarding forthcoming regulations involving dust.

President Obama arrogantly dismissed the farmer, saying, “Don’t always believe what you hear.” Obama added that, “Nobody is more interested in seeing our agricultural sector successful than I am, partly because I come from a farm state.”

Once again Mr. Obama proved himself to be a reckless, uncaring demagogue.  The fact is the Environmental Protection Agency is considering revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standard in such a way that particulate matter, such as agricultural dust, could be regulated.

In a letter written to Obama’s handpicked EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, 16 Senators–representing both parties– concerned about these potential regulations stated, “Whether it’s livestock kicking up dust, soybeans being combined on a dry day in the fall, or driving a car down the gravel road, dust is a naturally occurring event.”  If the EPA particulate standards were altered, the Senators wrote,  it would “impose significant costs to farmers and businesses.”

Mr. Farmer, you sir, are the backbone of America. Our President dissed you, but we salute you.  You work hard and provide us with a wonderful product that we enjoy and depend on.

By the way, Mr. President, we didn’t know Indonesia is a farm state.

Source; http://www.briansussman.com/news/obama-wrongly-disses-farmer/

TIME MACHINE Preview ... 1909 Properties For Sale, And A Land Mystery To The South Of Pocomoke City!

A reminder, tomorrow on The Pocomoke Public Eye... Local property listings from 100+ years ago; a 1909 news account of the mystery of a large unclaimed area of land nearby; and from ACROSS THE USA.. in 1906, Houdini's visit to a prison brings amazing happenings!

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. Your name won't be used unless you ask that it be. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Baby Giraffe Dies At Norfolk Zoo

A baby giraffe died on Wednesday at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk.

The male giraffe, who was born on July 28, was found dead in his enclosure on Thursday morning when zoo keepers made their morning check.

Necropsy results showed that the giraffe died from peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the stomach lining. The inflammation is caused by a bacterial or fungal infection.

Zoo officials say the giraffe was alert and responsive on Wednesday and had gained 28 pounds since his birth.

"The baby giraffe's loss is a tragedy," said Greg Bockheim, executive director of the Virginia Zoo. "In his short time here, our staff and visitors had already grown attached to him."

PHOTO/ Virginia Zoo

Many visitors watched the baby's birth, since he was born during public hours. This was the second baby for the giraffe mother, a 9-year-old zoo resident named Imara. Giraffes have a gestational period of 15 months, and the baby endures a 6-foot, headfirst drop when it is born. The deceased baby giraffe was reported to be in excellent health at birth. The zoo planned to open a baby-naming poll to the public.

Source;  http://www.dailypress.com/features/family/dp-fea-giraffe-dead-zoo,0,7324297.story

Announcer Ted Williams Backs Out Of Baltimore Fashion Week

Have you been wondering where he's been???

By John-John Williams IV

Baltimore Fashion Week may be under way, but the showcase of models and designers is missing its star announcer.

Due to contract disputes, Ted Williams, the homeless Ohio man with the golden baritone who became an overnight sensation earlier this year, won't be manning the microphone this weekend, organizers said Friday.

Fashion Week founder Sharan Nixon said she canceled Williams' contract because he made last-minute requests which soured the deal — accusations Williams' camp denies.

Williams signed a contract in March to announce the designers during the four-day event, which runs through Sunday. He was also scheduled to do radio spots and attend promotional events.

The arrangement fell apart earlier this month when Williams asked if Baltimore Fashion Week could also pay for hotel accommodations for his girlfriend, Nixon said.


"According to the contract, I was suppose to provide accommodations for him, his manager and bodyguard," Nixon said. "Then they started demanding other requests that were not in the original contract."

Alfred Battle, Williams' agent, said budget cuts were responsible for the severed contract.

"That was on the producer, Sharan Nixon," he said. "She called and said that she had to do some cut backs, and the budget she had for him had to be cut. We were really disappointed about that."


Battle said adding Williams' girlfriend to the mix might have also played a role.

"I told her that she would have to come," Battle said. "The two met each other in rehab. But her presence wouldn't have been a deal breaker for her. We would have put them in a room together, I don't want to contradict what she had to say. I don't want this to come off as a controversy. But this was due to budget cuts. It was due to her budget."

Williams' absence is the latest setback for Baltimore Fashion Week.

Eight days before the annual event was set to begin, Nixon announced that she did not have a venue to host her event. An initial agreement with H&S Properties Development Corp., the group responsible for developing the area, fell through leaving her without a location. Nixon later found the Scottish Rite Masonic Center north of the Hopkins Homewood campus.

Williams achieved instant celebrity in January after the Columbus Dispatch posted on its website a video interview of him where he demonstrated his voice by doing a mock radio announcement. The video hit YouTube and went viral — making him a household name. He has recorded voice-overs for various national brands and even been offered a job announcing at games for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nixon said that different personalities from local radio stations will be filling in for Williams, including Belinda Merritt from Magic 95.9, Tim Watts from Magic 95.9. and Mikel from Magic 95.9.

Source;  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-st-ted-williams-fashion-week-20110819,0,4309399.story

Showing At the Mar-VA Theater This Weekend

  

Fri, August 19th  

Sat, August 20th 

Time: 7 p.m.  

Tickets: $5  

PLOT:  

The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.

 Rated PG-13

 

The Northern Sky

I took these looking to the north @ 3:00pm 8/19/2011

Ten Years In Jail For Berlin Businessman

Written by

News Editor Shawn J. Soper

SNOW HILL -- Berlin businessman Bill Scott was found guilty this week on three counts of theft scheme after bilking several resort area condo associations out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and was sentenced to a combined 55 years in jail, all but 10 of which were then suspended.

In April, a Worcester County grand jury indicted Scott, president of Scott and Associates, an accounting and property management firm, on six counts of theft and theft scheme for clearing out the accounts of a handful of condominium associations over a two-year period that ended with his confession earlier this year. His victims included, among others, Sunset Village, Assateague House and San Remo condo associations, from which Scott absconded with over $800,000 from various operating and reserve accounts.

The trial began last Wednesday with victim testimony building the case against Scott. Also last Wednesday, a videotaped confession was shown in court, taken last February by Maryland State Police when Scott’s theft scheme began to unravel. On Tuesday, after closing statements by both sides in the case, Judge Richard Bloxom found Scott guilty of two counts of theft scheme over $100,000 and one count of theft scheme from $10,000 to $100,000.

For each of the first two counts, Bloxom sentenced Scott to 20 years with all but 10 years suspended. For the lesser conviction, Bloxom sentenced Scott to 15 years with all but 10 years suspended. The sentences are to be served concurrently, netting Scott a total of 10 years. He was also placed on probation for five years upon release and ordered to pay restitution to the victims, although the details of the latter will be worked out at a later date.

Before finding Scott guilty and ultimately meting out the sentences, Bloxom heard closing statements from prosecutor Steve Rakow and public defender Chastity Simpson. He also heard emotional testimony from Scott and his wife, Elizabeth, who made an impassioned appeal for leniency on her husband’s behalf.

Bloxom related a story from his service as a public defender early in his career about a client he defended who was convicted of theft and received a significant sentence. According to the judge’s story, the convicted man remarked on the disparity of sentences for low-level theft convictions and convictions for so-called “white collar” theft schemes. Bloxom said he was not going to let that recollection be his guide before dropping the hammer on Scott.

“I don’t know what to make of you,” he said. “You speak well and I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of your remorse, but the amount of theft here is staggering and the extent of the deviousness and deceit is staggering.”

Bloxom said the extent of the theft scheme and the amount of money stolen deserved a hefty sentence.

“These schemes are staggering to me,” he said. “It seems to me the sentence the court imposes has to reflect society’s absolute repugnance for the criminal behavior you engaged in.”

In his closing statement, Rakow pointed out Scott’s theft scheme was carried out against victims who had placed their trust in him to handle their money.

“It was easy for Mr. Scott to steal, to make checks out to himself, because he had unfettered access to those accounts,” he said. “We don’t know why he took the money and we don’t know where the money is, we only know he stole over $800,000. Just because one has unfettered access to accounts doesn’t give one the right to steal money from those accounts.”

Last December and early this year, Scott’s vast embezzlement and theft scheme began to come to light after irregularities were detected in his various clients’ books. When the extent of the thefts started to become revealed, Scott went to the Maryland State Police barrack in Berlin and confessed the crimes, setting off the investigation that led to his indictment.

The defense on Tuesday attempted to paint Scott’s confession in a positive light.

“He walked in there apologetic, seeking to make things right,” said Simpson. “He’s still remorseful. He shamed himself and he shamed his entire family, but he chose to walk in and confess and he was not obligated to do that.”

However, Rakow pointed out Scott’s confession came only after the writing was on the wall.

“Only after he was caught did he go to the Maryland State Police to clear his soul,” he said. “Who knows how long it would have going on if he didn’t get caught? He was obviously taking money from one condo association to pay another so the theft would not be uncovered. Only after he was caught was the existence, mechanism and extent of his theft revealed.”

Simpson also attempted to point out not all of the roughly $800,000 was permanently stolen and that Scott had moved funds from one association’s accounts to another in some cases to offset the deficits.

“This is a case of temporary deprivation versus permanent deprivation,” she said. “Much of the money taken was later returned.”

However, Rakow discounted the defense’s effort to somehow minimize the extent of the theft scheme.

“Theft is theft,” he said. “If you steal from me and you put it back, it’s still theft. The evidence shows a pattern of deceit, manipulation, lies and theft. He admitted to stealing the money from the condo associations.”

Simpson also appealed to the judge to consider allowing Scott to take a reported employment position in Baltimore that would allow him to begin paying back the victims rather than sitting in jail.

“With a felony conviction, it will likely be impossible for him to ever get a job in his field, or even McDonalds,” she said. “He has an opportunity for a job in Baltimore where he can live relatively free while he starts to make restitution.”

For her part, Scott’s wife, Elizabeth, said he was a good husband and father and urged the judge to consider leniency in the case.

“He’s a good man that made bad choices,” she said. “I give him credit for trying to make things right. His conscience led him to the State Police to try to make things right. He’s a good person who can benefit society, my family and our child more by being allowed to work and begin to repay this. Over the course of his lifetime, he has done far more good than the wrongs he had done recently.”

Scott was given the opportunity to speak on his behalf and delivered an emotional statement to the judge.

“I stand here humble, ashamed and embarrassed,” he said. “My actions have tormented me over the last few years, and when someone asked me how I thought it would play out, I honestly thought of taking my own life.”

A tearful Scott implored the judge to allow him to pursue the employment opportunity in Baltimore to begin to repay his victims.

“I exercised tremendously poor judgment and made horrible decisions,” he said. “I want to make them whole again. My name is mud now, but I have an opportunity in Baltimore and I feel like it might be my best opportunity to have a job and make restitution.”

In the end, Bloxom was not persuaded and handed down the stringent sentences in the case.

“Punishment is to deter people from engaging in future criminal activity,” he said. “Some people need more deterrence than others.”

Source;  http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/articles/2011/08/19/Top-Stories/Decade-In-Jail-Ordered-For-Condo-Theft