Getting Vista?

  • June 30, 2008 12:34 am

If you are upgrading your computer to Windows Vista, which you should be doing soon, you are going to be needing more computer memory. Memory in most older systems is not enough to support Vista which is a huge memory hog. It is nice though as Vista is the most powerful OS from Windows yet. So get more computer memory for your Vista install today.

Colon cleansing

  • June 30, 2008 12:32 am

One of the newest ideas to keep your body safe and healthy is to actually cleanse your colon as it is the gateway to the rest of your body. Just give a colon cleanser a try to see if you make your body feel any better. You would be amazed to see the results of what happens after someone has a colon cleanser. They feel and look so much better than there old selves.

Look good for summer

  • June 30, 2008 12:30 am

With the dog days of summer coming up fast you are going to want to look good for all the guys or all the ladies. You should try lipovox which is a brand new way to diet. Some of the materials in the pills are very amazing and it can make you actually diet pretty well. So if you need to look good try to get some lipovox.

Summer yards

  • June 30, 2008 12:28 am

With the nice summer weather many people are outside in the evening, even later on when it starts to get dark. While it may get dark later during the summer sometimes people still need some outdoor lighting in their yard. If you are one of those type of people I would recommend you get some because it can truly lit up your yard and it just makes it look great.

Remodeling the bathroom

  • June 30, 2008 12:26 am

The bathroom is one room of the house that you really want to look nice. Not that people spend a whole lot of time in there but the time they do spend in it, they want it to be in splendor. Thats why you want to buy nice bathroom faucets to go with your bathroom if you are remodeling. Even this mundane detail can totally throw off a bathroom.

Vegas

  • June 30, 2008 12:25 am

Las Vegas is a very large city and more people are going there every year. Sadly, I have never been to Las Vegas yet but when I go I am going to hit the nicest one of the las vegas hotels. That would be the Hilton because after Paris Hilton is the nicest American girl their is, I want to support her families hotels so I can see her even more! Viva Las Vegas and lets go see Paris Hilton at the Hilton!

Custom boxes

  • June 30, 2008 12:23 am

Don’t you love those little boxes? They are so cool. The best part is that you can get your own set of custom boxes made for yourself for a very nominal fee. That way you can enjoy a set of boxes all year long and not have to worry about going out to the store and having to buy more boxes.

Credit Cards

  • June 30, 2008 12:21 am

If you accept credit cards online you know how much of a pain it can be to find a credit card processor that doesn’t charge you an arm and a leg in fees. authorize.net is a worthwhile credit card processor that treats its clients as real people. They also do not charge too many fees so if you are a small or medium size business needing credit card transaction power, check them out.

Jewlery

  • June 16, 2008 2:06 am

I hate the word Jewlery I can never spell it correctly. That is just one thing that drives me nuts. Then again, women love handcrafted jewelry and don’t they ever look great in it. I hope that the price of some of those metals comes down though, gold is very expensive right now and I love seeing women in gold. I would hate to see them not being able to afford to wear it.

Don’t you hate the drugs

  • June 16, 2008 2:05 am

If one thing could change in my life it would be hearing about all these darn prescription drugs on T.V. It is sickening to hear about people overdosing on things like generic Phentermine or something else. Let us just hope that people will stop doing such crazy and stupid things and just go on with their normal lives. Why can’t they just live simply and not kill themselves with overpriced and dangerous drugs.

Shirtless man ticketed

  • June 12, 2008 6:01 pm

EASTON, Md. – For only the third time in five years, Easton police have ticketed someone for going topless in public. Sean Cephus, 18, was cited June 4 when police say he was spotted without a shirt on South Street near Hanson Street. He was also cited for failing to obey a lawful order to stop for police.

A town ordinance adopted in 1974 forbids anyone from going topless in public buildings or on public streets and sidewalks. Possible penalties are a fine of up to $100 and up to 10 days in jail.

Easton Police Lt. Gregory Wright said people without shirts are considered a public nuisance. He said three citations have been issued since 2003.

Cedar Rapids Floods

  • June 12, 2008 5:59 pm

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Cedar River poured over its banks here Thursday, forcing the evacuation of nearly 4,000 homes, causing a railroad bridge to collapse and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets.

Officials estimated that 100 blocks were underwater in Cedar Rapids, where several days of preparation could not hold back the rain-swollen river. Rescuers had to use boats to reach many stranded residents, and people could be seen dragging suitcases up closed highway exit ramps to escape the water.

“We’re just kind of at God’s mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start,” Linn County Sheriff Don Zeller said. “We’re going to need a lot of prayers and people are going to need a lot of patience and understanding.”

Days of heavy rain across the state have sent nine rivers across Iowa at or above historic flood levels. Residents were already steeling themselves for floods before storms late Wednesday and early Thursday brought up to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa.

“We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring,” said Brian Pierce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport. “We’re in uncharted territory — this is an event beyond what anybody could even imagine.”

Gov. Chet Culver has declared 55 of the state’s 99 counties as state disaster areas.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported in Iowa, but one man was killed in southern Minnesota after his car plunged from a washed-out road into floodwaters. Another person was rescued from a nearby vehicle in the town of Albert Lea.

In Des Moines, officials said they were urging residents to evacuate more than 200 homes north of downtown because of concerns that the Des Moines River would top a nearby levee. Some residents also were ordered to evacuate homes along rivers in Iowa City and Coralville.

In Cedar Rapids, a city of about 124,000, flood waters downtown neared the top of stop signs and cars were nearly covered in water. It wasn’t clear just how high the river had risen because a flood gauge was swept away by the swirling water.

“It’s going door to door to make sure people don’t need to be rescued, cause right now they can’t get out on their own,” said Dave Koch, a spokesman for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department. “It’s just too deep.”

The surging river caused part of a railroad bridge and about 20 hopper cars loaded with rocks to collapse into the river. The cars had been positioned on the bridge in hopes of weighing it down against the rising water.

Joe Childers, an official at a U.S. Bank in downtown Cedar Rapids, was in jeans and tennis shoes as he worked to move documents and other items upstairs or out of the building.

“We’re trying to keep water out of as many places as we can,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think anyone really expected it this far.”

Prisoners had to be moved from the Linn County jail, including some inmates who had been transferred from the Benton County jail in Vinton because of flooding. The sheriff’s office also was under water, Zeller said.

“We’ve had to move our operations out of the area and to our alternate emergency site,” Zeller said. “We are just trying to regroup. When you don’t have all of your equipment and you don’t have all your facilities to operate out of — we’re at a little bit of a disadvantage … but we’re carrying on as normal.”

Several emergency shelters were opened, and the city had closed all but one of its bridges over the Cedar River.

“I believe that this is God’s way of doing things, and I’ve got insurance, so I’m not worried about it,” said Tim Grimm, who was forced to leave his home in the city’s Czech Village area.

In Austin, Minn., the Cedar River was expected to crest Thursday night at 22 feet, 7 feet above flood stage. The river reached 25 feet in a 2004 flood that caused major damage in the city.

Some businesses and offices were closed because of the flooding, including a Hormel Foods corporate office and its Spam Museum. The city of Austin, however, has bought many properties in the flood plain since the 2004 flood and tore structures down.

“The city has been very proactive and that’s going to save them some problems this time,” said Mike Welvaert, a weather service meteorologist.

Flooding this week also caused damage across southern Wisconsin, where thunderstorms continued pounding the area on Thursday.

A funnel cloud was reported in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin, said Chris Kuhlman, a weather service meteorologist. The weather service also said flash floods in the county closed two highways and required rescues, though a sheriff’s office dispatcher did not immediately have those details.

Just southeast of Grand Rapids, Mich., crews pulled the body of a motorist from a car found drifting in the swollen Thornapple River. State police said they believe the 57-year-old man called on his cell phone but didn’t say what happened or where he was; they found him using global positioning equipment.

People in several northern Missouri communities, meanwhile, were piling up sandbags to prepare for flooding in the Missouri River, expected to crest over the weekend, and a more significant rise in the Mississippi River expected Wednesday.

Oceanside school fakes students death

  • June 12, 2008 5:57 pm

On a Monday morning last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at El Camino High School to announce some horrible news: Several students had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend.

Oceanside Unified Schools Superintendent Larry Perondi discusses the DUI program as a student looks on.

Classmates wept. Some became hysterical.

A few hours and many tears later, though, the pain turned to fury when the teenagers learned that it was all a hoax, a scared-straight exercise designed by school officials to dramatize the consequences of drinking and driving.

As seniors prepare for graduation parties Friday, school officials in the largely prosperous San Diego, California, suburb are defending themselves against allegations that they went too far.

At school assemblies, some students held posters that read, “Death is real. Don’t play with our emotions.”

Michelle de Gracia, 16, was in physics class when an officer announced that her missing classmate David, a popular basketball player, had died instantly after being rear-ended by a drunken driver. She said she felt nauseated but was too stunned to cry.

“They got the shock they wanted,” she said.

Some of her classmates became extremely upset, prompting the teacher to tell them immediately that it was all staged.

“People started yelling at the teacher,” she said. “It was pretty hectic.”

Others, including many who heard the news of the 26 deaths between classes, were left in the dark until the missing students reappeared hours later.

“You feel betrayed by your teachers and administrators, these people you trust,” said 15-year-old Carolyn Magos. “But then I felt selfish for feeling that way, because, I mean, if it saves one life, it’s worth it.”

Officials at the 3,100-student school defended the program.

“They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized,” said guidance counselor Lori Tauber, who helped organize the shocking exercise and got dozens of students to participate. “That’s how they get the message.”

The plan was to tell the truth to the students at an assembly later in the day. But word that it was all a hoax began to spread before the gathering. Tauber said some counselors and administrators revealed the truth to calm some students who had become upset.

Oceanside Schools Superintendent Larry Perondi said he fielded only a few calls from parents, and the PTA chapter said it had not heard any complaints. Perondi said the program would be revised, but he would not say how. And he said he was glad that students seemed to have gotten the message.

“We did this in earnest,” he said. “This was not done to be a prankster.”

Mayors ask Congress for help with U.S. infastructure

  • June 12, 2008 5:55 pm

Big-city mayors told Congress on Thursday that they are overwhelmed by the infrastructure needs of their regions and cannot maintain well-functioning water systems, roads and rail networks without more federal help.

On July 19, 2007, an underground steam pipe exploded in New York, sending residents running for cover.

“We’re having a quiet collapse of prosperity,” said Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Mark Funkhouser, one of four mayors to testify before the Senate Banking Committee about the state of the nation’s infrastructure, which they agreed was poor and getting worse.

They blamed much of the decay on shortsighted thinking by local, state and federal officials.

The issue of the country’s deteriorating transportation systems came under scrutiny last year with the collapse of a bridge in Minnesota that killed 13 people. Although experts believe that a poor design led to that collapse, the mayors sounded an alarm about decay throughout the system and its long-term effects on the U.S economy.

Senators on the panel were largely supportive of the mayors’ complaints, but one, Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Delaware, reminded them, “at the end of the day, we’ve got to figure out how to pay for this stuff.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged Congress to abandon the tradition of earmark spending, in which individual lawmakers often deliver dollops of taxpayer money to small local projects that don’t provide much help for the long-term needs of their districts.

“We’re as guilty as anybody,” Bloomberg admitted. “We ask for money for things that are totally local, and why the federal government does it, I don’t know. They shouldn’t be doing it, although we will continue to ask as long as they are giving it out. Our senators have the obligation to bring home the bacon like everybody else does. … Seems to me the Senate should get together and say together, ‘We’re not going to do it anymore.’ ”

The American Society of Engineers estimates that bringing the nation’s transportation and resources networks up to a properly functional level would require $1.6 trillion and five years of work. Still, the mayors say, even that wouldn’t accommodate the new strains placed on roads in coming years.

Funkhouser said municipalities like Kansas City are unable to meet infrastructure needs on their own. Kansas City has a $6 billion backlog of needed improvements to roads, highways and the city’s outdated sewer system. The scale of massive projects such as expanding access to the Interstate 435 and I-70 interchange or linking the downtown “loop” with the urban Crossroads neighborhood to the south requires more help from the federal government, he said.

John Peyton, the mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, said that a bigger port under construction in his city will add a half-million trucks to surrounding roads, which aren’t ready for them.

“Our existing level of transportation infrastructure simply cannot handle this kind of shift in trade from the West Coast to the East Coast as it is today. We will need new roads and rail,” Peyton said.

Atlanta, Georgia, Mayor Shirley Franklin said she is still struggling to fix her city’s water and sewer systems after decades of neglect by her predecessors. The issue became more urgent as the South suffers from a long-running drought pitting state against state in battles for water supplies.

To answer such demands, Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, and Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, are pushing a bill to create a National Infrastructure Bank that would raise money for major national projects by issuing up to $60 billion in tax credit bonds, which could then be leveraged into greater funding.

Dodd, the committee’s chairman, said he would bring the bill before the panel next month, but it’s unclear whether it would get a vote on the Senate floor this year.

Funkhouser called the bill a good concept for funding large construction projects.

“With this proposed legislation, the federal government can begin to address infrastructure not as a budgetary cost but as an investment,” he said

Man puts duct tape over license plate to steal gas

  • June 10, 2008 5:14 pm

MADISON TWP., Mich. – An Adrian man is being sought on suspicion of stealing gasoline.

According to a report released Friday by the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department, at about 2:54 p.m. on May 19, a passerby observed a man placing black electrical tape over the license plate of a 1998 Chevrolet in the parking lot of Meijer and then driving away.

When the responding officer arrived, the witness told him the vehicle had pulled into the Murphy Oil station in the 1500 block of East U.S. Highway 223.

The officer pulled in behind the man, who was in the process of pumping gas into the vehicle, and noticed the license plate on the vehicle was obscured with black tape. Determining the evidence suggested a crime was in progress, the officer approached the man with his duty weapon drawn. The man was identified as William B. Webb, 23, of Adrian. Webb was released after being detained, as the investigation continued.
Lt. Cletus Smith of the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department said “a massive amount of gas” is being stolen because of the recent increase in fuel prices. If a person’s vehicle is involved in a crime, Smith said, “we have the right to confiscate it to pay for what was stolen.”

Smith acknowledged the citizen who alerted police to the suspicious behavior. “We commend her for taking note of what was going on in the parking lot and reporting it,” he said.

Maggie Lyn Bailey, 19, of Adrian, who owns the vehicle, is not being charged with any crime, Smith said. The seized car was sold back to her.

One felony and two misdemeanor warrants have been issued for Webb on suspicion of larceny of gas, forging or altering a license plate and driving on a suspended license, second offense.

Michigan Sherrif arrests burglar next door

  • June 10, 2008 5:10 pm

PITTSFORD — Even in his sleep, the Hillsdale County sheriff is on duty.

WCSR-AM in Hillsdale reports Sheriff Stan Burchardt captured a breaking-and-entering suspect at an automotive-related business after being awakened about 1:15 a.m. Friday by noise outside his Pittsford home.

The sheriff’s department says Burchardt went outside to investigate and saw a person run up to the front of Pittsford Gas & Tire, smash a window and go inside.

Burchardt followed the person inside and spotted him filling a backpack with cigarettes and other items.

Burchardt ordered the suspect to get on the floor and called for backup. Deputies arrived within minutes.

The suspect is a 17-year-old from Montgomery and was being held at the county jail pending arraignment.

Police blow up pipe bomb chicken

  • June 10, 2008 5:09 pm

SIMSBURY, Conn. — Authorities in Connecticut are wondering who stuffed a raw roasting chicken with a pipe bomb and left it on a roadside.

Simsbury police Capt. Matthew Catania says a motorist noticed the chicken Monday morning. He says the bomb was large enough to harm a person if it went off.

The road was closed while the Hartford Police Department’s bomb squad came and blew up the chicken.

Nobody was injured. No arrests had been made Monday night.

City of Dearborn Bans Ice Cream Trucks

  • June 10, 2008 5:05 pm

City officials in Dearborn Heights, Mich., say they may ban ice cream truck drivers from playing music because residents think it’s too loud.

The city council is preparing to pass an ordinance Tuesday, permitting drivers to sound bells only as they are making an ice cream sale, The Detroit News reported.

Drivers say the ordinance is unreasonable and poses a major threat to their sales.

“You’re just going to be driving down the streets and the kids won’t hear you coming. I’m going to have to watch what I’m doing. It’s just not worth it,” driver Dominic Amato, 19, said.

City leaders defend the proposed rule, saying it is intended to keep the peace in local neighborhoods.

“We don’t want to discourage people from making a living selling ice cream, but we have to have some sort of control,” Councilwoman Janet Badalow said.

Drunk Baby Born Fives Times Over the Limit

  • June 10, 2008 3:36 pm

A mother who was intoxicated during her labor at a Polish hospital gave birth to a baby girl who was almost 15 times over the country’s adult drunk-driving limit, Agence France-Presse is reporting.

The baby girl, born Monday, had a blood alcohol level of 0.29 percent. Poland’s drunk driving limit is 0.02 percent, according to the report.

In the U.S., the adult drunk-driving limit is 0.08.

Doctors at a hospital in Otwock, on the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, called the police after the drunk expectant mother checked in to give birth.

The 38-year-old mother’s blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent, which is the equivalent of drinking a bottle of wine, according to the report.The mother could face up to five years in prison on charges of endangering the life and health of her child, it is reported. Doctors said the baby is not in immediate danger, but the alcohol may impact her development.

Passenger plane crashes in Sudan

  • June 10, 2008 3:03 pm

A plane with up to 180 people aboard crashed Tuesday while attempting to land at a Khartoum, Sudan, airport, according to Sudanese television.

Video from the scene showed wreckage engulfed in flames. It was reportedly flying from Amman, Jordan.

Airport officials told CNN it overshot the runway in bad weather, and that many people are believed killed in the crash.

It was not immediately clear which airline or what type of plane was involved.

FDA says Florida tomatoes safe to eat

  • June 10, 2008 3:01 pm

Florida tomatoes are now safe to eat according to the FDA.  Many people were worried these tomatoes carried salmonella but the FDA has cleared them from the infected tomatoes.  Consumers should not be concerned with tomatoes from Florida.

Internet Companies Blocking Child Pornography

  • June 10, 2008 2:59 pm

ALBANY, N.Y. – Internet providers Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block access to child pornography and eliminate the material from their servers, New York’s attorney general said Tuesday.

The companies also will pay $1.1 million to help fund efforts to remove the online child porn created and disseminated by users through their services, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. The changes will affect customers nationwide.

Time Warner Cable acted as soon as it learned that users were posting objectionable material and eliminated the newsgroups, a mainstay of the Internet from its early days, said spokesman Alex Dudley.

He emphasized that Time Warner didn’t host or provide any of the content and was simply a portal, allowing groups to be created with content provided by the users.

“As soon as we were made aware of the issue … we took steps to correct,” Dudley said Tuesday.

The agreements follow an undercover investigation of child porn newsgroups. Cuomo said in a prepared statement that his investigation of other service providers is continuing. He has used similar probes and the possibility of civil or criminal charges to extract concessions on Internet safety in the past.

Last year, Cuomo reached agreement with the social networking sites MySpace and Facebook to toughen protections against online sexual predators.

“By shutting down offending newsgroups and contributing to funds that will combat child pornography online, we are working to remove this content permanently,” said Verizon deputy general counsel Tom Dailey.

Verizon and Time Warner Cable are two of the five largest internet service providers in the world. Verizon has 8.2 million subscribers and Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner has 7.9 million. Sprint is one of the three largest wireless companies in the United States.

“We are doing our part to deter the accessibility of such harmful content through the internet and we are providing monetary resources that will go toward the identification and removal of online child pornography,” said Sprint spokesman Matthew Sullivan. “We embrace this opportunity to build upon our own long-standing commitment to online child safety.”

Americans Fear Gas Shortage

  • June 10, 2008 2:53 pm

As much as Americans fret over the rising price of gas, one thing worries them more: the possibility of having to wait in long lines to buy rationed gas.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll released Tuesday shows that 55% of those surveyed are more worried about long lines at gas stations and rationing than about the high prices that drivers have paid in recent months. The poll shows 40% of the respondents are more concerned about the high prices.

While gas rationing is not expected at this time, it was a hallmark of the 1970s- era energy crisis, when drivers lined up outside gas stations and sales of gas were limited to certain days of the week.

However, at that time, gas was in short supply, which is not the case today.

The poll shows that 83% of respondents think $4-a-gallon gas is a major problem or a crisis.

The poll results highlight the conflict facing U.S. consumers between the financial hardship of elevated gas prices and the necessity of driving. It suggests that they are heavily dependent on easily accessible gas and are willing to pay more to avoid inconveniences.

The poll results reflect telephone interviews with 1,035 adults conducted June 4-5. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Consumers are responding to the current energy dilemma in different ways. A previously released portion of the poll showed that 66% of those surveyed said they are cutting back on the amount of driving they do, and 71% indicated that they are considering buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

What’s more, 55% of respondents said they were cutting back significantly on household spending to cope with higher fuel bills. And 78% said the current state of the economy was poor or very poor.

Gas prices have become an important political issue as the nation prepares to elect a new president. On Tuesday, Senate Republicans were able to block consideration a windfall profits tax of the five largest U.S. oil companies and the rescinding of $17 billion in tax breaks the companies expect to enjoy over the next decade.

Critics of the oil industry say its profits are excessive and come at the expense of the American public. Energy companies say oil and gas prices are determined by the economic fundamentals of supply and demand, that strong demand from overseas supports prices and that their profit margins are slim.

Child shoots self in Sams Club

  • June 9, 2008 8:14 pm

Authorities say a four-year-old girl from Salley is recovering after she grabbed a gun out of her grandmother’s purse and shot herself in the Harbison Blvd. Sam’s Club Monday.

The child underwent emergency surgery Monday afternoon at Palmetto Health Richland Memorial Hospital.

Lewis says no major organs were hit by the bullet, and the child is out of surgery and in the recovery room right now. The hospital says she’s in stable condition.

Investigators tell WIS News 10′s Stewart Moore they believe the child was sitting in her grandmother’s shopping cart when she pulled a small-caliber handgun out of her grandmother’s shopping cart and accidentally shot herself in the chest.

The entire incident was captured on surveillance cameras near the store’s pharmacy.

“They made an announcement that they were closing and that there was an official on the scene. No announcements to what happened,” said Heath Mills, who was in the store at the time.

CPD spokesman Brick Lewis says the grandmother has not been charged with a crime, and no other injuries have been reported.

Lewis says the grandmother, Donna Hutto Williamson, has a weapons permit.

Store officials say the store was closed for about an hour after the shooting.

“Everyone at Sam’s Club is deeply saddened by today’s tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the little girl and her family,” said Tara Stewart, South Carolina spokesperson for Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.

Stewart said as of right now they do not have a policy on concealed weapons, but after this incident, that could change.

“While we don’t have a sign posted, I think everyone knows the rules and laws. We are working with police to make changes if necessary,” said Stewart.

Minister launces drive-in church

  • June 9, 2008 8:12 pm

MARIETTA, Ga., June 9  — A Georgia church had its first drive-in service Sunday attracting worshipers who remained in their cars while the minister preached.

The Rev. Norman Markle of New Hope Methodist Church in Marietta, Ga., says he has been pondering the idea of a drive-in church for a couple of years, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.

Markle sees drive-in spirituality as the logical next step for people who eat in their cars and conduct business by cell phone.

To launch his new service, Markle purchased a low-powered AM transmitter and posted signs along Cobb Parkway urging people to “Worship in Your Car Just as You Are.”

“I thought we could get some new people to come out and see what the word of God is on Sunday,” Markle told the newspaper.

About a dozen cars showed up for the first service on Sunday but Markle says he is optimistic the number will increase, the Journal-Constitution reported.

Scottish Girl starved by parents

  • June 8, 2008 11:34 pm

A 12-YEAR-OLD girl in Scotland brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman.

Doctors are under pressure to report the couple to police and social workers amid concerns that her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their dietary beliefs.

The girl, who has been fed on a strict meat and dairy-free diet from birth, is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones.

The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce. Decalcification leads to the bones becoming brittle and can cause curvature of the spine.

Dr Faisal Ahmed, the consultant paediatrician treating the child at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, declined to discuss the specific case. He said, however, that he believed the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet needed to be highlighted.

One leading nutritionist, who asked not to be named, said: “In most instances, the parents who are imposing this very restrictive and potentially hazardous diet are not themselves brought up as vegans. They are imposing on their children something . . . which we do not know enough about to know it is safe.”

Jonathan Sher, head of policy at Children in Scotland, an umbrella group representing 400 organisations, said social workers should intervene where a vegan diet was putting children’s health at risk.

Last year, an American vegan couple were given a life sentence for starving their six-week-old baby to death. In 2001 two vegans from west London were sentenced to three years’ community rehabilitation after they admitted starving their baby to death.

Glasgow city council said the incident involving the 12-year-old girl had not been referred to its social work department.

WWII Vetran Attends Prom

  • June 8, 2008 11:30 pm

He arrived in style: a black limo, a sharp tuxedo, a beautiful date and with an adoring crowd waiting for him. Kenneth Smith, 84, attended the Chester High School prom on Thursday night – fashionably late. Decades late.

Smith was drafted into military service 1943, before he could finish high school. He returned home after World War II but never got his high school diploma.

A friend arranged for him to receive an honorary diploma from Chester High School, just outside Philadelphia, and finally go to the prom.

He did – at the Springfield Country Club.

Smith said this prom wasn’t just for him. He said it was also for all the other soldiers who couldn’t make it to their own.

Virgina to execute crazy man

  • June 8, 2008 11:28 pm

RICHMOND, Va. – A Virginia man who whose execution has been pushed back three times because of questions about his mental capacity is scheduled to die Tuesday unless the governor or courts step in again.

Percy Walton, 29, was sent to death row for robbing and killing three neighbors in Danville in 1996. He is set to die by lethal injection at 9 p.m. Tuesday and would becoming the 100th person executed in Virginia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Only Texas, with 405, has executed more people.

A federal court stopped Walton’s execution in 2003 three days before it was scheduled to allow time to determine if Walton understood he was going to die and why.

In June 2006, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine granted a reprieve two hours before Walton was set to die and ordered an evaluation of his mental condition. That December, Kaine delayed the execution another 18 months.

At the time, Kaine said he believed Walton met the Supreme Court’s definition of mental incompetence but that it was possible _ though unlikely–that his condition was temporary. The governor’s spokesman said Kaine was reviewing Walton’s clemency petition but he would not comment on the case.

Kaine, a Roman Catholic, has personal, faith-based objections to the death penalty but five executions have occurred since he became governor in 2006, including one last month. Kaine has yet to commute a death row inmate’s sentence.

Walton’s attorneys say he has not improved.

“His mental condition, in my own opinion, is just as it was if not worse,” Nash Bilisoly said.

Walton’s attorneys claim he suffers from schizophrenia and that he does not understand his execution.

Walton has said that after he is put to death he plans to go to Burger King and maybe ride a motorcycle. But he also has referred to the execution as “the end” and said before his trial that the “chair is for killers.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to execute the insane or those with an IQ less than 70, established by the age of 18, who lack basic adaptive skills.

No competency hearing was held before Walton was sentenced to death, and mental evaluations have yielded conflicting results.

Walton scored 90 and 77 on intelligence tests taken when he was 17 and 18, respectively. After he was sentenced to death, Walton’s scores declined.

Several of Walton’s fellow death row inmates told The Associated Press in 2006 that Walton spends his days laughing to himself and talking to voices in his head, and that he is incapable of engaging in any meaningful conversation. Walton’s prison nickname is “Crazy Horse.”

A prison guard once testified that Walton refused to shower, complaining about a man in a white suit sitting on a gray box in his cell. One prison psychiatrist testified that Walton was “floridly psychotic.”

Others question whether it’s all an act. Several jail inmates testified that Walton told them he planned to “play crazy.” Another prison psychiatrist testified that he considered Walton “a mentally limited, street-wise predator.”

Walton pleaded guilty in 1997 to the murders of Jessie and Elizabeth Kendrick, a couple in their 80s, and 33-year-old Archie Moore, an aviation instructor at a nearby college.

The Kendricks’ bodies were found Nov. 26, 1996 in their townhouse, both shot in the head from close range. Archi Moore’s body was found in a closet of his apartment two days later. Police were called to both homes after the victims failed to pick up loved ones who were visiting for Thanksgiving from the airport.

Elizabeth Kendrick’s sister has prepared twice to watch Walton be executed, but said health problems will prevent her from attending this scheduled execution. Irene Jurscaga said she has written to Kaine several times detailing how difficult his decision has been on the family.

“It is sad that this young man has lived as long as he has,” said Jurscaga, 87, of Suffolk.

Plane crashes killing six

  • June 8, 2008 11:15 pm

Six people died when a small plane piloted by a former state lawmaker crashed in northern Ohio Sunday, a state police spokesman said.

art.plane.crash.ap.jpg

This single-engine Cessna crashed into a residential area west of Fremont, Ohio, minutes after taking off Sunday.

No other injuries, deaths or damage to homes were reported, said Sgt. Matt Crow of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which is investigating the scene.

Crow said the single-engine Cessna crashed into a residential area west of Fremont, Ohio, just minutes after it took off from the town’s regional airport at about 1 p.m..

The pilot, Gene Damschroder, 86, was a retired World War II pilot who served in the state Legislature from 1973 to 1983. He also owned the single-runway airport in Fremont, a city of 25,000 about 45 miles southeast of Toledo, Ohio.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, though the pilot’s son, Rex Damschroder, told CNN that one eyewitness reported that the 1968 Cessna engine had “sputtered.”

The other victims were Bill Ansted, 62, of Lindsay; Allison Ansted, 23, of Lindsay, Ohio; Danielle Gerwin, 31, of Gibsonburg, Ohio; Emily Gerwin, 4, of Gibsonburg; and Matt Clearman, 25, of Maumee, Ohio.

Rex Damschroder, also a pilot and former legislator who filled his father’s seat for eight years, said his father had worked as a professional charter pilot and flight instructor, accumulating thousands of flight hours.

“I’m a professional pilot, and I never questioned his flying,” he said. “I might not ride in a car with him, but flying a plane, it was second nature to him.”

He said Sunday’s flight was part of a Lions Club pancake fundraiser, in which participants could catch a quick aerial tour of the city. Damschroder said he knew the passengers aboard the plane.

“Our thoughts are with those families. It’s not going to be easy for any of them,” he said.

Gene Damschroder is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, three daughter, another son and several grandchildren.

Woodland

  • June 7, 2008 9:31 pm

WOODLAND, CA – After a week filled with controversy, Woodland School District officials met in a special session Friday to look through confidential student records and review the process of allowing 18-year-old Leanna Elizalde, who has battled cancer most of her senior year, to walk with her class during Woodland High School’s graduation ceremony Saturday.

“We have reviewed the record and are satisfied that the administration has followed the process that is fair for all students. The school district supports that all families have equal access to the appeals process,” said school board president, Carol Souza Cole following the closed door meeting.

Cole would not discuss the specifics of Friday’s meeting, although the session was scheduled after public outcry over Elizalde’s case.

The decision brings the nearly week-long controversy over Elizalde and her graduation to a close after the story of the girl’s plight began garnering media attention earlier this week.

Since December, Elizalde has had two cancer surgeries and faced weeks of radiation therapy that left her with at least one English class she had to finish in order to graduate Saturday.

Earlier this week, Elizalde was told that she was five credits shy of graduation and would not be allowed to participate in ceremonies with the rest of her class.

After her story generated community ire, the school began to backtrack. On Wednesday, Woodland High principal Evelia Genera announced the teen could sit in the stands and would receive recognition during graduation ceremonies but still would not be going home with a diploma.

Finally, Thursday brought closure to the family’s frustration. After meeting with district officials and the girl’s teachers, Elizalde and her mother said they were told she could sit with her classmates and graduate as long as she completes one final English paper.

“Somewhere, there a place where the integrity of the diploma and the other things are protected, but the student still gets what the student needs,” Woodland Unified School District Superintendent Jacki Cottingim said.

Leanna and her mother said they didn’t want anyone fired or disciplined over the case and harbored no bad feelings toward the school. They said they wanted others to know an appeals process and help was available in these types of unique situations.

“We thank everyone for all their support in this,” Elizalde’s mother Lupe Ramirez said.

In addition to finishing her paper and donning her cap and gown, Leanna said she planned to take some time to buy a new dress in her favorite color — purple — in time for Saturday’s ceremonies.

Coral springs teacher has sex with student

  • June 7, 2008 9:29 pm

MARGATE – A Lauderhill woman who taught 11th and 12th graders at a private Coral Springs school was arrested Friday after police learned she had been involved in a sexual relationship with one of her male students for more than a year, authorities said.

Christine Brown Jouini, 38, a teacher at the Center Academy in Coral Springs, is accused of repeatedly having sex with the student at her former apartment in Margate and other locations off campus between June 2006 and September 2007, police said.

Jouini, who faces three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, is being held in the Broward County Jail without bond.

“It was consensual,” said Margate police spokesman Chip Kolenda. “It wasn’t until our detectives spoke to him that he admitted to the relationship. He never actually came forward.”

The Center Academy, at 4700 Riverside Drive, is described as a “small, safe, accredited college prep environment for students who have fallen behind or who want to get ahead,” according to the school’s Web site.

The school has been family-operated since 1968, and is one of 13 in Florida, the Web site said.

School director Gail Levy could not be reached for comment Friday, despite repeated attempts by phone.

Margate police began their investigation after the victim recently confided to another teacher that he had previously had a sexual relationship with Jouini, Kolenda said.

That teacher notified the state child abuse hotline, Kolenda said.

According to police, the boy said the relationship began when he was 16 years old.

He said he and Jouini had “sexual contact” more than 100 times and he visited her apartment almost every day for almost a year, staying overnight when her husband was not home, according to a police affidavit.

Jouini introduced the boy to neighbors as her brother, the affidavit said.

During their investigation, detectives located several witnesses who had seen the student and Jouini together, away from school and also at her residence, Kolenda said.

Jouini turned herself in to Margate police on Friday without incident, Kolenda said.

Teachers investigated for shouting

  • June 7, 2008 9:24 pm

TEACHERS are under scrutiny for shouting while trying to control students in the classroom and playground.

Education Department officials are investigating teachers for shouting at students to “put that down”, “leave him alone”, “sit down” or “pick up those papers” and demanding to know, “who told you that you could go there?”

The Sunday Telegraph has obtained letters sent from the department to teachers, asking them to explain their actions.

One letter stated: “It is alleged that while you were employed as a teacher you engaged in unreasonable conduct towards students, contrary to the Code of Conduct 2004, in that on unspecified occasions in class you unnecessarily yelled at students”.

Teachers have launched legal action against the department, claiming the investigations are eroding their authority and affecting discipline.

The situation has resulted in 750 school principals signing statements of concern.

Teachers Federation deputy president Bob Lipscombe said the investigations were a consequence of a decision by the department in December last year to cut back on the number of investigators who hold teaching qualifications.

“A number of teachers have been investigated for yelling in the classroom,” he said.

“These sorts of investigations can undermine their capacity to maintain reasonable discipline in their classes and the prolonged investigations often cause significant harm to teachers’ wellbeing.”

Independent Education Union secretary Dick Shearman said the problem was a result of over-zealousness, with some teachers being accused of abuse after raising their voice.

“It’s been a battle to distinguish between what might be normal discipline or genuine psychological abuse,” he said.

“In some schools, there’s overzealousness of this approach. If someone raises their voice on one occasion, this can be interpreted as child abuse.

“You can harm a child without physically harming them.

“It’s not the notion we have a problem with, it’s the interpretation of it.

“We’re not criticising child-protection legislation.”

Despite the letters ordering teachers to explain why they yelled at students, the department denies it investigates them for shouting.

“A teacher raising their voice at a student will not prompt an investigation by the department,” a department spokesman said in a statement.

“The Employee Performance and Conduct Unit investigates staff for serious misconduct and poor performance.”

Almost 1000 teachers and other staff are currently listed on the department’s not-to-be-employed list.

Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner said teachers were left to deal with ill-behaved children who were not being disciplined at home.

“I certainly got the cane at school a lot because I was a little bugger,” he said.

“I don’t suggest we bring it back, but let’s say discipline was a lot tougher in former years.

“The Government has taken away a lot of teachers’ powers to discipline children in the classroom. It’s no wonder teachers sometimes end up yelling at unruly and difficult students.”

Sarah Redfern public school principal Cheryl McBride said the investigations had resulted in an erosion of discipline.

“A normal disciplinary action to prevent dangerous or threatening behaviour is being interpreted as something that needs to be reported as a child-protection incident … whereas that might be very appropriate discipline for the child,” Ms McBride said.

Tyler Student, 17, gets eight years

  • June 7, 2008 9:23 pm

TYLER — A 17-year-old who phoned his rival high school on a school bus and threatened to open fire on students has been sentenced to eight years in state prison.

An attorney for Terrance Taylor said Saturday he was surprised by the sentence and had recommended probation for his client, who was a junior at John Tyler High School in Tyler.

Taylor pleaded guilty Thursday to making a terroristic threat. Don Davidson, the student’s attorney, said state District Judge Jack Skeen Jr. used the phrase “the times we live in” in handing down the sentence.

Police found no weapons belonging to Taylor after he made the call in January. Davidson said another student initiated the call on the bus and that his client was “gullible” in taking part.

Angela Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the Tyler school district, said that while the sentence was “severe in this circumstance,” the school takes threats very seriously. She said “we now live in a time where safety is of paramount concern.”

Stock Market

  • June 2, 2008 12:11 am

If you are someone who is investing in these very turbulent times, one of the most sound and wise investments you can make is in a future. These futures allow you to say what you think the price of a certain commodity will be. Corn, oil and cattle are all popular futures. If you want to get into this very lucerative game, and possibly bid on the price of a barrel of oil, look up a good futures broker in your area.

Hammocks

  • June 2, 2008 12:09 am

With summer now in full swing many people are starting to look forward to a few nice weekends off from work, just relaxing. Well, if you lost your hammock in your backyard from last year’s barbecue incident, you can get a brand new hammock this year! You can also get a hammock chair that will allow you to enjoy all the comfort of a traditional hammock in your own comfy chair. Why not enjoy a hammock chair today?

Plus Size Clothing Stores

  • June 2, 2008 12:07 am

With a large, no pun intended, portion of the United States becoming obese more and more stores are catering to plus size clothing requests. If you are someone who would qualify for that title, or you know someone who would, many stores are specially designed or have items on stock that are particularily for you. Check out plus size clothing if you are someone who thinks that the same old clothing is nothing new, and you won’t even fit into the little clothing that most people wear.

Cheap Flights

  • June 2, 2008 12:05 am

If you are going anywhere that involves a flight this summer, heed my warning and buy your tickets right now if you want to make any travel plans at all in the next six months. Ticket prices are not going to do anything but increase. cheap flights are going to be a thing of the past, and you are going to struggle to fly, so pick up any last minute summer airline tickets today.

Logo Pens

  • June 2, 2008 12:04 am

If you have a company you know how important it is to have tons of stuff with your logo on it. The more free stuff with your logo you have on it, the more business you can get for a very cheap price. Well, I found these logo pens and they look really awesome. I might get some for a few people I want to give them out to, plus free stuff is cool for everyone, you know that, right?