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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Another Whale Washes Ashore


Another whale washed ashore. This time in Fenwick in front of The Fenwick Towers. Looks to be 50’ or so.

HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER


The 1904 Tatler

(The first high school yearbook in Salisbury)



The Tatler is the name of the first attempt at a yearbook for Wicomico High School. This was in 1904. The name continued until a break in publication came about after the 1928 edition. When it resumed in 1941, it was called the Tom-Tom, the name used to this day. In 1904, however, it was still known as Salisbury High School. When a new school opened in September, 1905, they had decided to name it Wicomico High School to show that it included the entire county. The addition of the students throughout the county helped pay for the new high school on Upton Street.

The 1904 Tatler shows not only the styles of the time, but how much things have changed in 106 years. The graduating class had only 15 students. Of these, nine were girls and six were boys. To graduate in those days, a student had to go only ten years, a practice that had only been in effect since 1902 when nine years would qualify a student for graduation.

The pictures of the Physical Labratory (sic) and the Manual Training Exhibit look like something out of an old Frankenstein movie.

They included some of the previous graduates such as Ernest A. Toadvine, Captain Albert Laws, U.S.A., Samuel R. Douglas, James O. Adams, Grace W. Allen, George Handy Wailes, George William Todd, Vaughn S. Gordy, the Hon. Robert P. Graham, Lacy Thoroughgood, N. Price Turner, Harry Ruark, Marion Tabitha Veasey and Edna U. Adkins (daughter of E. S. Adkins). While not many of these names are familiar now, they were known to the students at the time and showed that a good education was essential to success.

Several other entries in the yearbook remind us of a time when the simple things of life were a source of merriment, such was “The Giggling Club”. It was comprised of 21 girls and had officers and by-laws. Their motto was “Giggle and Be Happy”. Apparently, they took giggling quite seriously.

The boys had baseball and football. There were no girls’ sports.

A listing in the latter pages of the yearbook shows the “Personal Characteristics of the Graduates”. One of the more humorous categories besides height and weight is “shoe size”. All together, there are 14 categories listed: nickname, age, height, weight, shoe size, favorite song, favorite expression, favorite author or book, favorite study, vocation, favorite pastime, color eyes, color hair and denomination. There is also a page in the Tatler dedicated to “a few facts”: longest tongue, laziest boy, doomed old bachelor, doomed old maid, fattest boy, fattest girl, posiest (?) girl and greatest street walker are just some of the categories. I think that some of these questions would be challenged by the ACLU today as not being politically correct.

Things have really changed in the last hundred years, haven’t they?

Feds Say NY Prius Brakes Not Applied; Toyota Seeks Apology From ABC News

1. NHTSA: ‘No Application of the Brakes’ in New York Prius Incident

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a statement Thursday regarding its investigation of the Prius involved in a widely reported incident in Harrison, N.Y., last week. “Information retrieved from the vehicle's onboard computer systems indicated there was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open,” NHTSA said.

The driver of the Prius said the car accelerated as she drove down a driveway, crossed a street and hit a wall March 9. The local police department’s investigation is continuing.

2. Toyota Calls for Apology from ABC News In a letter sent to ABC News last week, Toyota called on the network to retract and apologize for an “irresponsible” broadcast by reporter Brian Ross on Feb. 22. The letter, which received widespread media coverage today and Thursday, accused ABC News of misleading the public and Congress in its “demonstration” of “unintended acceleration” in a Toyota Avalon by Southern Illinois University professor David Gilbert.

Specifically, the letter said Ross and his crew “fabricated a dramatized sequence of the vehicle allegedly speeding out of control with Mr. Ross at the wheel using video of the tachometer filmed when the car was standing still.” Ross also failed to disclose that Gilbert’s work was financed by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota.

“ABC News chose fear mongering over public service,” Toyota noted in the letter.

In its response Thursday, ABC News said it was “legitimate and newsworthy” for Ross to report on Gilbert’s tests and claims. The letter also stated that ABC News will continue to cover issues surrounding reports of unintended acceleration.

Gawker.com has posted a story about the issue, along with Toyota’s letter to ABC News and ABC News’ response. To read the story and letters, click on: http://gawker.com/5496549/toyota-demands-retraction-and-apology-from-abc-news-over-manufactured-death-ride.

3. Recalls 101 Many of you are getting questions about Toyota’s recalls from relatives, friends and customers. To help you provide accurate information, frequently asked questions about the recalls are posted on www.toyotanewsroom.com.

WHY OUR HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE SO HIGH!!!

HERE'S THE REASON...

Those of us who spend much time in a doctor's office should appreciate this! Doesn't it seem more and more that physicbubbians are running their practices like an assembly line? Here's what happened to Bubba:


Bubba walked into a doctor's office and the receptionist asked him what he had. Bubba said: 'Shingles.' So she wrote down his name, address, medical insurance number and told him to have a seat.

Fifteen minutes later a nurse's aide came out and asked Bubba what he had.

Bubba said, 'Shingles.' So she wrote down his height, weight, a complete medical history and told Bubba to wait in the examining room.

A half hour later a nurse came in and asked Bubba what he had.

Bubba said, 'Shingles..' So the nurse gave Bubba a blood test, a blood pressure test, an electrocardiogram, and told Bubba to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor.

An hour later the doctor came in and found Bubba sitting patiently in the nude and asked Bubba what he had.

Bubba said, 'Shingles.' The doctor asked, 'Where?'

Bubba said, 'Outside on the truck. Where do you want me to unload 'em??'

LT. GOVERNOR BROWN TO ANNOUNCE NEW GRANT TO PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY FOR INFANT MORTALITY PREVENTION

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On Monday morning, Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown will visit Prince George’s County Health Department in Cheverly to announce a $250,000 grant for Prince George’s County’s Tapestry Program, a collaborative effort among the local and state health departments and the University of Maryland to prevent infant mortality. In 2008, Governor O’Malley set a strategic goal to reduce infant mortality in Maryland by 10 percent before 2012

GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF TED DALLAS AS DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley announces the appointment of Ted Dallas as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Governor. Dallas comes to the Governor’s Office from a long career in public service in Pennsylvania, most recently service as Executive Deputy Secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Dallas’ appointment fills a vacancy left last fall when Matt Gallagher was named Governor O’Malley’s Chief of Staff.

“I’m proud that Ted has agreed to come and work for the people of our state as Deputy Chief of Staff,” said Governor O’Malley. “Ted brings the unique perspective and expertise of having managed the operations of large public agency, and he understands our mission and data-driven approach to making Maryland’s state government more accountable and more efficient. I have every confidence that Ted will become a strong part of our team.”

“I am extremely grateful to Governor O'Malley for this new opportunity and look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead,” stated Dallas. “These are undoubtedly difficult times and I look forward to working with the O’Malley-Brown Administration to continue the progress of reforming state government, and delivering critical services to Maryland’s families when they are needed most.”

As Executive Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Dallas reduced administrative overhead by taking direct responsibility for several internal services, improving operational efficiencies at a cost savings of over $100 million and launched a leadership development initiative for employees to identify future leaders in the Department and develop career paths for management staff.

Dallas also played a key role in planning, coordinating and implementing several strategic initiatives within the department including the transition of approximately $1.6 billion in annual payments to mental retardation services providers from a county-based system to a state-based system.

Prior to this role, Dallas served as Chief of Staff for Government Solutions at Affiliated Computer Service, Inc, a $500 million annual business providing business and IT solutions to state and local government clients nationwide. Dallas also served as Assistant Managing Director, and later as Deputy Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia, where he played a key role in managing the City’s thirteen operating departments and a workforce of 20,000 employees.

Dallas holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Temple University.

Why We Shouldn't Have Socialized Medicine Like England

Below are 3 videos of Daniel Hannan, a British member of European Parliament from southeast England. He explains why we shouldn't go down the road to socialized medicine like England has done. If you don't want to watch all 3 at least watch one of them. This is our future.

http://libertybulaw.blogspot.com/2009/12/daniel-hannan-on-socialized-

healthcare.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=YST_kXukYdA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YST_kXukYdA

Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Press Releases

Incident: Possession of Marijuana
Date of Incident: 19 March 2010
Location: 100 block of N. Salisbury Blvd., Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Chase E. Waters, 24, Salisbury, MD


Narrative: On 18 March 2010 at 2:32 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle operated by Chase Waters of Salisbury for an equipment violation. During the encounter with Waters, the deputy discovered that Water’s privilege to drive a vehicle in the State of Maryland had been suspended. After placing Waters under arrest for that infraction, the deputy located marijuana in one of the pockets of Waters.

The deputy transported Waters to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner released Waters on Personal Recognizance.
Charges: Possession of Marijuana
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Driving While Suspended


Incident: Assault
Date of Incident: 18 March 2010
Location: 1800 block of Kevin Lane, Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Male Juvenile, 17, Salisbury, MD


Narrative: On 18 March 2010 at 7:51 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported altercation occurring inside a residence in the 1800 block of Kevin Lane in Salisbury. Upon arrival, the deputy met with the resident who advised that her 17 YOA son became mad with her when she told her son to do his homework. The deputy learned that the juvenile threw a television remote control at mom but she was able to miss being struck. A heated verbal exchange took place until the arrival of the Sheriff’s Office.

The deputy placed the juvenile under arrest and transported him to the Sheriff’s Office where the deputy completed a juvenile referral that will be sent to the Department of Juvenile Services. The juvenile was released to another guardian pending formal court action.
Charges: Assault 2nd degree


Incident: Driving Under the Influence / Single Vehicle Accident
Date of Incident: 19 March 2010
Location: Allen Road at Stockyard Road, Eden, MD
Suspect: Sarah J. Spielman, 32, Allen, MD

Narrative: On 19 March 2010 at 1:13 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded a single vehicle accident on Allen Road in the area of Stockyard Road. Upon arrival, the deputy discovered that a vehicle operated by Sarah Spielman had gone off road into a ditch. While speaking with Spielman, the deputy detected that Spielman appeared under the influence of alcohol. After the administration of roadside field sobriety tests, the deputy placed Spielman under arrest.

Spielman was processed and released from the Sheriff’s Office after signing citations.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Per Se
Driving While Impaired