Thursday, April 18, 2013

Are you kidding me?




     Unless you have been hibernating in a cave somewhere deep in the forest, you have heard a plethora of news stories about the horrific blasts in Boston, MA on Patriot’s Day which happens to be the same day of the world famous Boston Marathon. Just a little recap, for those who have been in a cave, there were two explosions around 3:00pm in Boston Monday. The explosions took place close to a block apart near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Eight year old, Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, and 23-year-old Lingzi Lu died in the bombing that also maimed and injured at least 170 more people. This is no doubt an act of terrorism.
      As information becomes available, news stations, bloggers, and reporters do their best to keep everyone up to date. Not long after the heinous act, the FBI identified a person from Saudi Arabia as a person of interest. They described him as a 20 year-old Saudi-national. Reporters and camera operators followed the FBI to the apartment of the ‘person of interest’ and watched as they carried out numerous brown paper sacks of what is believed to be evidence in the terrible crime. Any normal person would automatically think they must have some pretty good intelligence to be taking things from that person’s dwelling place, right?
     Not so fast, the FBI later came out and said the Saudi national was no longer a person of interest. They were back to ground zero of finding the person or group of persons responsible for this atrocity. So, why then did President Obama call an unscheduled meeting with the Prince of Saudi Arabia? The story from Reuters says he met with the Prince to discuss Syria. Are we, the American people, naïve enough to buy that story? The Syrian civil conflict has been going for almost two years and now our leader wants to talk to the Prince of Saudi Arabia. If that has you scratching your head, then something even more troubling is that the 20 year-old Saudi national who was the FBI’s first person of interest is now scheduled for deportation back to Saudi Arabia.
     What does the 20 year-old Saudi national know? What did the FBI carry out of his apartment? Who is he? Evidently, he is connected to some high ranking Saudi dignitaries. Will our leader allow a person who might know all there is to know about one of the worst acts of terrorism on US soil since 9/11? My answer is yes, yes he will. Regardless of all the ostentatious rhetoric coming from our President, he will serve himself before he serves us.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

IRS Monitors Facebook and Twitter


     If you thought the government was overstepping its bounds to fly drones over the country, you are not going to like the latest news from the IRS. According to an article from a fox affiliate in Washington, DC, every time the IRS has a red flag on someone they will begin browsing through your twitter feed and Facebook account.
     So, what exactly will they be looking at? Will they be looking to see how many restaurants you checked into over the last year? Will they be looking at the pictures you posted from your family’s vacation?  Whatever they are looking for I believe this is an overreach by a government that is moving closer to a police state than ever before.  One could argue that posting on Facebook and Twitter is public information. I disagree. Facebook provides its users multiple ways to protect the privacy of the information they post on there. If you do not want the IRS seeing how much money you are spending do not post it on Facebook or Twitter.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Pillow Fight Day 2013


     In case you didn’t know, yesterday was International Pillow Fight Day. Local groups along with Urban Playground organized its 6th annual pillow fight day. Pillow fights broke out in cities all around the world. Feathers were flying in Portland, ME, Washington, DC, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and many other spots around the world. People were laughing, smiling, and having a great time. Regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender, or age, everyone was welcome to participate in the Free event. Bring a pillow and pick a fight. Some of the images around the web show pillow fighters wearing costumes or pajamas. 

Friday, April 5, 2013

Quick Thinking Truck Driver Averts Distaster


     A local Tri-Axle Dump Truck driver was caught off guard this morning when the driver of the vehicle in front of him decided to make a left turn without using a turn signal.  The truck driver was travelling south on HWY 421 near the 100 block in Bedford, KY around 9:50 AM.  The driver of the vehicle in front of the dump truck made a last second decision to turn left on to Abbott Lane, but there was traffic in the northbound lane so he or she had to come to a complete stop. The quick thinking dump truck driver averted disaster by swerving right into the yard of yours truly, Todd Pollock. Tri-Axle Dump Trucks cannot come to a complete stop as fast as a much smaller four-wheel automobile.

     The driver of the smaller four-wheel vehicle is probably unaware of how fortunate he or she is that the dump truck driver was paying attention. Weighing over 20,000 pounds, the dump truck would easily demolish a car or even larger SUVs. Luckily, no one was injured when the truck driver made the split second decision to veer into Pollock’s yard only to cause minor yard damage. When Pollock saw the dump truck in his yard, he quickly grabbed his camera to capture pictures of the event, although the dramatic event was over.

     Within a few minutes, Troy Chilton, a representative of the Trucking Company who owns the Tri-Axle came to visit Pollock to claim responsibility of the incident. Chilton explained what the truck driver conveyed to him about how his truck landed in Pollock’s yard, which is detailed in the beginning of this story.

     The main part of this story is how fast accidents can happen. Although, most people are swift to blame young drivers for not paying attention that is not always the case. Drivers should be on alert every time they get behind the wheel of any vehicle. It may sound simple to forget a turn signal, but such a miss-cue could easily cause grave conditions.  

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Trimble County School Board Meeting


Trimble County Schools has approval to move forward

     The Trimble County School Board met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2013 at 5:30pm in the School Board office. Shortly after the meeting was called to order, the board approved the following individuals to serve the school as substitute teachers;  Johnathan Papal, Kathleen Adams, Lynette Barr, Catelyn Teague, and Autumn Chamness.

     In other business, the school board heard a report from Architect Bob Haferman of K. Norman Berry Associates & Architects, PLLC about the outdoor sporting facilities update at the Trimble County High School. Haferman informed the board that the Kentucky Department of Education has approved the plans for a running track around a new football field for the school’s Football and Track and Field teams. Board members have the daunting task of thinking about dates to begin the much-needed project and the different kinds of grass for the field. The board will be weighing the pros and cons of two unique start dates. Construction could begin as early as August, but the football team would not be able to host any games until next year, but the proposed project might be ready by March 2014, which would be in time to host some Track Meets. Starting the development toward the end of September would allow the football team to host a few games and continue the statewide tradition of Homecoming and Senior Night games. Different board members expressed deep concerns to accommodate everyone, but the consensus remained that it would be hard to please everyone.

     The board must reach a decision by May in order for them to move forward on the plans so they can release the architectural drawings of the facilities update to the public by June 15 to attract contractors to bid on the seven-month job by July 10.  Members of the board discussed travelling around to neighboring facilities to get some ideas about the different kinds of grass for the field. Board member Scott Burrows added that input from coaches and other athletic personnel would be important since they were the people who would be using the field.
 
     The next scheduled school board meeting is Tuesday, April 17, 2013 at 5:30 in the Trimble County school board office on Wentworth Ave in Bedford, KY.