Local Color

wabmester · 04-05-2007, 12:56 PM

I don't pay much attention to world events, but I follow local news pretty closely. Here's some of the recent excitement in our city of 20,000+:

2 middle-school girls tried to poison their teacher with artificial strawberry flavoring (the teacher was allergic to strawberries, and they were afraid they'd kill her with real strawberries)

A 20-something burned a bunch of love letters from his ex-girlfriend and accidently burned down the scorekeeper's shack on the baseball field

A young girl in our neighborhood is raising a couple goats as part of her 4H project. Neighbors basically called the cops on her for a trumped-up technical violation.

A city administrator forced a city councilman to take down his treehouse as part of a campaign of political retribution.

On the brighter side, there was a report of some kids volunteering for a local museum of flight to maintain the planes. After a few years, they get free flying lessons and a pilot's license out of the deal.

And our local chess club kicked butt at the Big Meet!

lazygood4nothinbum · 04-05-2007, 02:21 PM

By Juan Ortega & Jamie Malernee
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted March 30 2007, 1:30 PM EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Officers on Friday identified the cop driving the unmarked police car that struck and killed a pedestrian crossing Sistrunk Boulevard last night as Christopher Young-Tem, a five-year veteran of the force...The death fanned an already-existing resentment of the police in the black community....

...They said the speed of the car and force of the impact sent his body flying. His legs detached and landed several yards from his body, they said.

haha · 04-05-2007, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wab

I don't pay much attention to world events, but I follow local news pretty closely. Here's some of the recent excitement in our city of 20,000+:

Here's my favorite local news item- a 17 year old boy was having a sexual relationship with a 14 year old girl. Her parents invited the boy to live in their home. Later it was discovered that the boy is in fact a 30 year old woman.

They used to put these things in Ripley's.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/..._fakeid05.html

Ha

justin · 04-05-2007, 02:38 PM

It's been a month now, but the townhome development across the road from me was engulfed in a massive fire that swept through the development and destroyed a few dozen homes (probably 1/2 the neighborhood).

The townhome development is 190' from my front yard. The fire was supposedly started by an improperly discarded cigarette butt and very high winds. If the winds were blowing the other way, my house probably would have been gone, too.

Here's a link to pics:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/image_gallery/1211391/

As rubberneckers, we walked through the burnt-out neighborhood the next morning to view the damage. Pretty powerful sight. Probably a dozen units were completely flattened to the ground and all that remained was literally a pile of ashes a foot deep. Some residents were there shoveling through the ashes looking for anything left. One guy was there taking scrap metal out of his destroyed unit presumably to sell for a little cash to get by on.

Achiever51 · 04-05-2007, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin

It's been a month now, but the townhome development across the road from me was engulfed in a massive fire that swept through the development and destroyed a few dozen homes (probably 1/2 the neighborhood).

The townhome development is 190' from my front yard. The fire was supposedly started by an improperly discarded cigarette butt and very high winds. If the winds were blowing the other way, my house probably would have been gone, too.

WOW! A discarded cigarette caused that? Looks more like a crystal meth lab that exploded! The amount of damage is unbelievable! How very sad.

brewer12345 · 04-05-2007, 03:06 PM

A little dated, but: http://independent.gmnews.com/news/2..._page/042.html

Including my personal favorite:

"Joseph "Joey Buses" McCurnin, former Monmouth County Division of Transportation operations manager. Charged Feb. 22, 2005, with extortion under color of official right. Pleaded guilty Feb. 9, 2006. "

Nords · 04-05-2007, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

"Joey Buses"

I was outside Blaisdell Arena yesterday (the state's high school science fair, an amazing event for another post) and read a plaque outside the building.

It was a list of the mayor & city-council members who brought the exhibition hall to us in 1995. One had been peremptorily voted down in every election since their term expired, another one has been indicted, a third has been disbarred, and the fourth is still on post-release parole...

brewer12345 · 04-05-2007, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords

I was outside Blaisdell Arena yesterday (the state's high school science fair, an amazing event for another post) and read a plaque outside the building.

It was a list of the mayor & city-council members who brought the exhibition hall to us in 1995. One had been peremptorily voted down in every election since their term expired, another one has been indicted, a third has been disbarred, and the fourth is still on post-release parole...

There is a Terry Pratchett book where he jokes about a place where the elected officials are immediately taken off to jail as soon as they win their election, since they are then self-evidently crooks.

Mwsinron · 04-05-2007, 04:11 PM

Ive learned one thing. Sometimes dont look to close. Because the things you see might make you want to throw up slightly in your mouth.

lazygood4nothinbum · 04-05-2007, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HaHa

a 17 year old boy was having a sexual relationship with a 14 year old girl. Her parents invited the boy to live in their home. Later it was discovered that the boy is in fact a 30 year old woman.

i just knew someone was gonna beat my detached legs story.

justin · 04-05-2007, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Achiever51

WOW! A discarded cigarette caused that? Looks more like a crystal meth lab that exploded! The amount of damage is unbelievable! How very sad.

The landscaping around the townhomes was mostly dry pine straw. The wind was gusting 40-50 mph. It was very dry and warm that day. My guess is by the time the fire was noticed, there wasn't much they could do to extinguish it. The shopping center next door was close to burning down, too (all the juniper bushes around it were burnt completely). Hot embers were airborn for hundreds of feet from the fire site. Smoke plumes probably 100' in the air in spite of the high crosswinds.

**Martha** · 04-05-2007, 05:18 PM

We were listening to the news from Shreveport, Louisiana a couple of weeks ago. A man and woman were walking down a busy highway each wearing just their underpants. The police picked them up; they were clearly high and they mentioned something about kids. The police searched and found a baby and a toddler near the road, wrapped up in the parents clothes, along with needles and other drug paraphernalia. Kids were OK.

Mwsinron · 04-05-2007, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha

We were listening to the news from Shreveport, Louisiana a couple of weeks ago. A man and woman were walking down a busy highway each wearing just their underpants. The police picked them up; they were clearly high and they mentioned something about kids. The police searched and found a baby and a toddler near the road, wrapped up in the parents clothes, along with needles and other drug paraphernalia. Kids were OK.

What the hell is the matter with people.

**Khan** · 04-05-2007, 08:18 PM

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...50403/-1/CINCI
(picture at site)

A Wayne Township volunteer firefighter is scheduled to appear today in Mason Municipal Court on drunken driving and other charges after he was found wearing a woman's blond wig and bikini in a public park.

Steven S. Cole, 46, Waynesville, was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage Oak Park off U.S. 42 after Mason police received a report of an intoxicated man. Cole was charged with drunken driving, having an open container, public indecency and disorderly conduct.

jazz4cash · 04-05-2007, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin

The landscaping around the townhomes was mostly dry pine straw. The wind was gusting 40-50 mph. It was very dry and warm that day. My guess is by the time the fire was noticed, there wasn't much they could do to extinguish it. The shopping center next door was close to burning down, too (all the juniper bushes around it were burnt completely). Hot embers were airborn for hundreds of feet from the fire site. Smoke plumes probably 100' in the air in spite of the high crosswinds.

the meth lab explanation makes more sense to me. the smoke plume looks fairly vertical for that much gusting...........i hope you have good fire insurance.

ronin · 04-06-2007, 10:43 AM

Hot item in the valley here recently is gangs using cheap, easy financing to buy upscale homes with little to no money down and convert them into indoor marijuana grows. Very sophisticated operations. Suburban neighborhoods with a large Asian pop. are finding out why they never see anyone taking out the trash next door.

Achiever51 · 04-06-2007, 10:49 AM

Here's a new use for Craigslist......

TACOMA — Many people have had success buying, selling and swapping goods on the Web site craigslist, but one Tacoma woman says she was robbed.

Laurie Raye said she had everything stripped from her home after someone placed a fake ad on the San Francisco-based Internet site, a collection of online classifieds.

“The instigator who published this ad invited the public to come in and vandalize me,” Raye told Seattle television station KING.

Raye had recently evicted a tenant and cleaned out the rental.

Someone, perhaps the evicted tenant, posted an ad on Craigslist saying everything in the house was available for anyone who wanted to stop by and take it. Even the doors and vinyl siding were taken, according to the story.

justin · 04-06-2007, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash

the meth lab explanation makes more sense to me. the smoke plume looks fairly vertical for that much gusting...........i hope you have good fire insurance.

Mebbe. Check out pics 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 14, 19. Pretty evident, from those angles, that there was a lot of gusting. Maybe 80' vertical plumes, but that is mostly from the intense heat creating strong updrafts.

Oh yeah, I also saw it first hand and can verify those 40+ mph gusts. Could have been a meth lab, but the fire investigators didn't note anything of the sort.

newguy88 · 04-06-2007, 07:55 PM

I remember the day, we were outside in Cary and saw the smoke. Wind was easily 50+ in gusts and rain? heck it has been bone dry in these parts for the past 6 weeks. So you live near Brentwood??

We better get some rain down here soon or the woods are gonna burn all around the triangle.

04-05-2007, 12:56 PM	#1
wabmester Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,461	Local Color I don't pay much attention to world events, but I follow local news pretty closely. Here's some of the recent excitement in our city of 20,000+: 2 middle-school girls tried to poison their teacher with artificial strawberry flavoring (the teacher was allergic to strawberries, and they were afraid they'd kill her with real strawberries) A 20-something burned a bunch of love letters from his ex-girlfriend and accidently burned down the scorekeeper's shack on the baseball field A young girl in our neighborhood is raising a couple goats as part of her 4H project. Neighbors basically called the cops on her for a trumped-up technical violation. A city administrator forced a city councilman to take down his treehouse as part of a campaign of political retribution. On the brighter side, there was a report of some kids volunteering for a local museum of flight to maintain the planes. After a few years, they get free flying lessons and a pilot's license out of the deal. And our local chess club kicked butt at the Big Meet!

04-05-2007, 02:21 PM	#2
lazygood4nothinbum Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,786	Re: Local Color By Juan Ortega & Jamie Malernee South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted March 30 2007, 1:30 PM EDT FORT LAUDERDALE -- Officers on Friday identified the cop driving the unmarked police car that struck and killed a pedestrian crossing Sistrunk Boulevard last night as Christopher Young-Tem, a five-year veteran of the force...The death fanned an already-existing resentment of the police in the black community.... ...They said the speed of the car and force of the impact sent his body flying. His legs detached and landed several yards from his body, they said. __________________ "off with their heads"~~dr. joseph-ignace guillotin "life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages."~~mark twain - letter to edward kimmitt 1901

04-05-2007, 02:38 PM	#4
justin Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4,010	Re: Local Color It's been a month now, but the townhome development across the road from me was engulfed in a massive fire that swept through the development and destroyed a few dozen homes (probably 1/2 the neighborhood). The townhome development is 190' from my front yard. The fire was supposedly started by an improperly discarded cigarette butt and very high winds. If the winds were blowing the other way, my house probably would have been gone, too. Here's a link to pics: http://www.wral.com/news/local/image_gallery/1211391/ As rubberneckers, we walked through the burnt-out neighborhood the next morning to view the damage. Pretty powerful sight. Probably a dozen units were completely flattened to the ground and all that remained was literally a pile of ashes a foot deep. Some residents were there shoveling through the ashes looking for anything left. One guy was there taking scrap metal out of his destroyed unit presumably to sell for a little cash to get by on.

04-05-2007, 03:06 PM	#6
brewer12345 Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,248	Re: Local Color A little dated, but: http://independent.gmnews.com/news/2..._page/042.html Including my personal favorite: "Joseph "Joey Buses" McCurnin, former Monmouth County Division of Transportation operations manager. Charged Feb. 22, 2005, with extortion under color of official right. Pleaded guilty Feb. 9, 2006. " __________________ “When you realize that you are one of the rare few who observe moral principles in their relationships with others, there is a temptation to sink into amorality, not out of conviction or pleasure but simply to avoid further pain, because there is no greater suffering than being an angel in hell, whereas a devil feels at home wherever he goes.” – Martin Page, How I Became Stupid

04-05-2007, 04:11 PM	#9
Mwsinron Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 718	Re: Local Color Ive learned one thing. Sometimes dont look to close. Because the things you see might make you want to throw up slightly in your mouth.

04-05-2007, 05:18 PM	#12
Martha Administrator Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: minnesota Posts: 9,859	Re: Local Color We were listening to the news from Shreveport, Louisiana a couple of weeks ago. A man and woman were walking down a busy highway each wearing just their underpants. The police picked them up; they were clearly high and they mentioned something about kids. The police searched and found a baby and a toddler near the road, wrapped up in the parents clothes, along with needles and other drug paraphernalia. Kids were OK. __________________ . Do not rely on the information provided--my posts are not to be taken as legal advice. Needless to say you must consult with your legal representative. I am not responsible for errors. If I offended you with cya I apologize. If I did not, I tried.

04-05-2007, 08:18 PM	#14
Khan Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Greater Dayton area Posts: 3,159	Re: Local Color http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...50403/-1/CINCI (picture at site) A Wayne Township volunteer firefighter is scheduled to appear today in Mason Municipal Court on drunken driving and other charges after he was found wearing a woman's blond wig and bikini in a public park. Steven S. Cole, 46, Waynesville, was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage Oak Park off U.S. 42 after Mason police received a report of an intoxicated man. Cole was charged with drunken driving, having an open container, public indecency and disorderly conduct. __________________ "Candle wax and red wine can do interesting things to a keyboard."

04-06-2007, 10:43 AM	#16
ronin Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 442	Re: Local Color Hot item in the valley here recently is gangs using cheap, easy financing to buy upscale homes with little to no money down and convert them into indoor marijuana grows. Very sophisticated operations. Suburban neighborhoods with a large Asian pop. are finding out why they never see anyone taking out the trash next door. __________________ a surfer who hasn't wised up to the importance of hard shoes....

04-06-2007, 10:49 AM	#17
Achiever51 Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Southeastern Michigan Posts: 786	Re: Local Color Here's a new use for Craigslist...... TACOMA — Many people have had success buying, selling and swapping goods on the Web site craigslist, but one Tacoma woman says she was robbed. Laurie Raye said she had everything stripped from her home after someone placed a fake ad on the San Francisco-based Internet site, a collection of online classifieds. “The instigator who published this ad invited the public to come in and vandalize me,” Raye told Seattle television station KING. Raye had recently evicted a tenant and cleaned out the rental. Someone, perhaps the evicted tenant, posted an ad on Craigslist saying everything in the house was available for anyone who wanted to stop by and take it. Even the doors and vinyl siding were taken, according to the story. __________________ The best things in life....are not things.

04-06-2007, 07:55 PM	#19
newguy88 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 2,119	Re: Local Color I remember the day, we were outside in Cary and saw the smoke. Wind was easily 50+ in gusts and rain? heck it has been bone dry in these parts for the past 6 weeks. So you live near Brentwood?? We better get some rain down here soon or the woods are gonna burn all around the triangle.