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Saturday, May 10, 2008

A Smart Texan

Three men... a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and a Texan are all working together one day.

They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it.

'I will give each one of you one wish, which is three wishes in total', says the Genie.

The Canadian says, 'I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada .'

POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.

Osama was amazed, so he said, 'I want a wall around Afghanistan , Palestine , Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadians can come in our precious lands.'

POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.

The Texan in his easy going west Texas draw says, 'I am very curious. Please tell me more about this here wall.'

The Genie explains, 'Well, it's about 5,000 feet high, 5oo feet thick and completely surrounds the countries. Nothing can get in or out; it's virtually impenetrable.'

The Texan sits down, cracks a beer, smiles, and says, 'Fill it with water.'

IRAQ FOR SALE: The War Profiteers

GO HERE to see the video.

Soldier Comes Home From Iraq Today At 1:50 PM

The mother of Army E-4 Robert Lewis is going to get a wonderful Mother's Day gift: her son is returning to Salisbury from Iraq TODAY, AT THE AIRPORT AT 1:50 p.m.

A shout out to EVERYONE: Please join "We Care About Wicomico County", the American Legion and V.F.W. in welcoming him back home. Be at the
Airport by 1:50 p.m.--we have the banners and flags! Just show up and
help us welcome him HOME!!!!!!!!!!! It only takes a few minutes of your
time and is time well-spent to honor his service.

East Church Street Closed!

East Church Street is closed indefinitely between Naylor Street and Linwood Avenue due emergency sewer repairs. The closure is expected to last several days, though East Church Street may reopen on May 14? If you have any questions you can call, 410-548-3105.

Saturday Morning Funnies - William Shatner's Rocket Man




Courtesy of Tequila Mockingbird, Hollywood California

Delaware State Fair Ticket Sale Dates

2008 Delaware State Fair entertainment ticket online sales are scheduled for May 14th, 15th and 16th, at 10:00 AM.

For a full online ticket sales schedule please visit www.DelawareStateFair.com.

Please remember gate admission to the Delaware State Fair is not included in your online entertainment ticket purchase. All patrons coming to the Delaware State Fair must purchase a gate admission ticket in order to gain admission to the fairgrounds.


May 14:
Demolition Derby Thursday, July 17, 2008
Demolition Derby Friday, July 25, 2008
Monster Truck Show Sunday, July 20, 2008

May 15:
Brooks & Dunn Friday, July 18, 2008
Carrie Underwood Monday, July 21, 2008
Trace Adkins with Bucky Covington, Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Martina McBride with Chris Young, Thursday, July 24, 2008

May 16:
3 Doors Down, Staind & Hinder,Saturday, July 19, 2008
Daughtry, Tuesday July 22, 2008
Tony Hawks’ Boom Boom HuckJam Saturday July 26th, 2008 2:00pm & 7:00pm

Is The "GW" Stimulus Package "BS"?

Just Curious?

Is there ANYBODY out there who actually got the amount promised in the George Bush "stimulus" package?

I was told over and over and over, my household, i.e. my wife and I, would get $1,200.00.

BALD FACE LIES!!

Try $678!!!!!!

My sister - in - law and her husband got $600.00. He was furious and asked everyone he knew and couldn't find ANYONE who got the amount promised!

Has any of your readers gotten the full amount??

I made a whopping $25K last year and am losing my factory job in June. Thanks a lot, W!!!!

This email is absolutely restrained compared to what I'm thinking!

Presidential Proclamation


The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office will recognize the Presidential Proclamation of former President John F. Kenedy that sets aside May 15 as National Peace Officer's Memorial Week and the week of May 15th as National Police Week. This year, National Police Week will run from Sunday May 11, through Saturday May 17th.

Everyone is welcome to join the WCSO in honoring not only their fallen Officers but the Officers that put their lives on the line each and every day. The Presidential Proclamation will be read on Monday May 12, 2008, 1:00 pm. at the Wicomico County Historic Courthouse on Main Street and Division Street Salisbury, Maryland.

Borrowed From On Your Side

GO HERE to see their Website and article.

Delayed Budget Information Is Dual Eye-Opener

At yesterday’s budget work session, Ms. Turner of the Department of Public Works (DPW) provided an excellent forecast model she created on the water and sewer fund relevant to the impact on its surplus given some different scenarios. Ms. Turner deserves our thanks for her initiative and outstanding work.

Two eye-openers resulted from council receiving this information. One is, to replace our aging infrastructure over the coming years, sewer and water rates have to be increased at some level very soon. This in itself is not a surprise, but DPW Director Jim Caldwell’s recommended level of 25% in the first year and 20% in year two, with inflationary increases afterward, coupled with even more hard-hitting possible scenarios, was a stark revelation. The council will need to consider deeply and quickly the numerous factors involved in order to develop budgetary policy to deal with these scenarios in the most balanced way possible.

The forecasting tool that now provides us with the ability to understand the actual financial impact of annexations given sweet deals and a long-standing policy of allowing the city’s deteriorating infrastructure to continue to decline. Every time you see a pot hole or crumbling sidewalk, the Hearne and Sassafras annexations, the Salisbury Mall TIF and numerous developer reimbursements will come to mind.

The good news is – and there is good news – this tool will allow this and future councils to properly fund the water utility and bring greater transparency and order to the budget and financial management process. Our goal is to see this long-overdue process applied to the entire budget.

The second eye-opener is, this information was available as early as April 3, but the council did not receive it until nearly a month later on April 30 – two weeks after the presentation of the proposed budget by Mayor Tilghman. The mayor did not make a recommendation for a rate increase, instead saying at her public budget presentation that she just plugged in over $4 million dollars of surplus to balance the water and sewer fund budget until she could have “discussions” with the council.

Wednesday’s work session was apparently intended to be one of those “discussions,” but the mayor was not present. Is the mayor’s proposed budget her budget or not? What scenario with what level of rate increase did she plan to recommend since she had the forecast in enough time prior to presenting her budget to make a recommendation? Especially given that the administration was copied on the council’s budget session schedule, did the mayor not think that it would be beneficial to have this discussion sooner than five weeks after the information was available, and with just a month left before the budget must be struck?

First the mayor’s proposed budget has inconsistent representations of the department heads’ funding requests granted and denied, which the council learned a week after the budget had been presented by the mayor. Then, we had to ask to see actual requests to reconcile them against the budget, and these came 8 and 10 days after the budget was presented. Now, with only a month to go in the council’s budget process, we are briefed on this critical situation with the water and sewer fund with serious implications for both our infrastructure and our taxpayers.

Like last year’s last-minute revelation of a huge tax hike, the mayor’s pattern of suppressing information and severe budgetary changes until the last possible moment does not serve the city and its citizens well. When the mayor is not forthcoming with full information in a timely manner and is not clear regarding her budget recommendations, the council and the public cannot know the true status of our city’s financial picture, any more than they could with late audits and delayed updates on the current year-to-date expenditures.

The mayor’s budget process takes place largely out of the view of the public, while the council’s process is open to full public view. The taxpayers of Salisbury have a right to know exactly where the mayor stands on spending their money and her rationale for doing so. They have a right to the transparency of full and timely information from the administration and to hold the mayor accountable for her decisions, rather than have her portion of budget accountability shifted to the council, which has its own share to shoulder.

Disclaimer
The views expressed in this newsletter are those of Councilwomen Campbell and Cohen solely and do not necessarily represent those of other council members.

Salisbury Police Departmane Press Releases

On May 7, 2008 at approximately 7:07 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police Department arrested the below listed suspect for a robbery that occurred in Salisbury on April 30, 2008. On that date it was reported that a female suspect had robbed two (2) subjects of U.S. Currency while in a motor vehicle. During the robbery, the suspect produced a pocket knife and a handgun to threaten the victims. Salisbury Detectives were able to positively identify the suspect and obtain an arrest warrant.

ARRESTED: Wanda Michelle McGrady, 37 years of age Salisbury, Maryland



CHARGES: Robbery (2 counts)
Armed Robbery (2 counts)
First and second degree assault (2 counts)
Possession of a dangerous and deadly weapon
Reckless endangerment
Theft (over $ 500)

DISPOSITION: Suspect released to Central Booking CC # 200800015170

On May 7, 2008 at approximately 7:15 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police Department Community Action Team (CAT) executed a search and seizure warrant on a room at the Thrift Travel Inn occupied by the two (2) below listed suspects. During the execution of the warrant, the officers located quantities of suspected marijuana, suspected cocaine, suspected crack/cocaine and a quantity of CDS related paraphernalia.

ARRESTED #1: Melissa Andrea Holbrook, 20 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Possession of crack/cocaine
Possession of crack/cocaine w/int to distribute
Possession of cocaine
Possession of marijuana
Possession of cds/paraphernalia (2 counts)

ARRESTED #2: Nathaniel (nmn) Moss, Jr., 58 years of age Eden, Maryland

CHARGES: Possession of crack/cocaine w/int to distribute
Possession of crack/cocaine
Possession of cocaine
Possession of marijuana
Possession of cds/paraphernalia (2 counts)

DISPOSITION: Both suspects released to Central Booking CC # 200800016100

Question of the Day, Sat 5/10

Mother's Day is Sunday. As a mother of 2, I'm realizing more everyday that I'm becoming my mother.

What is something your mother did that you swore you would never do as a parent, but now cringe &/or smile that you find yourself doing the very same thing?