It Couldn't Happen Here - Part III

ASCROTM By Any Other Name, Or How Your ASCROTM Became The Barrie T

Following the launching of the lawsuit against the City by the MPAA and others, the ASCROTM In The Park film series continued, but only by showing movies that were in the public domain, that is, not owned by anyone in particular. After a few weeks of these sometimes “cult” film presentations, it was discovered that while attendance numbers actually dramatically rose, promoters found that the audience was increasingly comprised of “just too many weirdos and ne'er do wells”, according to an SFD Volunteer Auxiliary member. It was then that the film series ended, with scarcely a groan from the public, aside from an isolated "Aw, dude!" or two from affected patrons.
To divorce itself from adverse publicity and the embroiling MPAA litigation, and to perhaps soften the sound of the name and thereby its perception by the public, SFD heads determined that a formal naming ceremony for the ASCROTM-4F would kill several birds with one stone. A commission was created by the mayor, and filled with concerned citizens. A second group of concerned citizens, protesting the makeup of the commission, attempted to put the issue to referendum, but were unable to raise even a quarter of the necessary signatures in their drive. The ASCROTM-4F Naming Commission, or, as it was popularly known, ASCROTMNC, met eight times in early 2012. At the eighth meeting, the name choice was announced. Mayor Shanie Shields read from a prepared statement, “In recognition of her final successful grant-sharing effort while in office, which was the awarding to the Salisbury Fire Department the ASCROTM-4F, a craft that has saved lives and it was given to us free. Because of this the ASCROTM will now be named after Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman. We will call it The Barrie T , which is shorter. Thank you. You go out to your left and audience exits after you for drinks and cake in the next room. Remember your sugar.”
Attendees supporting the naming were pleased. “Not only does this fine craft memorialize our beloved mayor, we think it actually looks a bit like her and speaks of her bearing and philosophy. Proud, forward looking, erect. This is a fitting memorial, along with the WWTP, for our favorite mayor.”
It may be remembered by some that former mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman died in 2011 of undisclosed causes at the Betty Ford Satellite Clinic in Rancho Malario, Panama. She was 61.

0200
Interview With Commandant Leatherbury
Soon to retire Maryland State Police Commandant Ernest Leatherbury, closely involved with the local and regional law enforcement effort surrounding The Barrie T, had this to say about the multi-agency sting, which utilized the talents of no fewer than nine local, county, state and federal law enforcement entities. “We were onboard with the Wicomico County Sheriff's office and the DEA from the start, about four months ago. Once we knew surveillance was involved , we offered our helicopters. When they said that they had that covered, we went into proactive mode and claimed traffic control as our own. We worked with DSP and VSP to be ready to create a fast-access corridor from Cape Charles to Wilmington. We were ready.”
The Maryland State Police continue to offer exceptional traffic control coverage, now maintaining clear roads to and from the Wicomico County Detention Center from Route 13.

Another Interview With Sheriff Lewis
We've always envied the SFD its ASCROTM. Even though it's configured for marsh firefighting, it's a tool that we could use in multiple scenarios: drug surveillance and interdiction, search and rescue, traffic and crash site monitoring and warning, hostage situations, and a bunch I can't even think of right now. Well, as this is a confiscated vehicle, used to transport drugs, illegal cigarettes and illegal weapons across county and state lines, I think it's going to be ours, lock stock and barrel. Once we get that ugly paint off her sides and get some decent countertops in her, we'll be ready to roll. Just kidding, we'll use the countertops she has. No, wait. One more thing. We're going to have to rename her. The Barrie T just isn't going to fly. I don't know why we wouldn't just go back to calling it ASCROTM. It has a ring to it. It sounds official. It sounds like a crewcut looks: professional and official. You know, when you sport a crewcut, people tend to look up and right at you. Same with ASCROTM.”
When asked what he thought of the history of the ASCROTM, now that its true purposes were coming to light, Lewis said, “They shouldn't have abused the privilege of having something as great as this gift. If if you get something you can't afford and have no use for, even if it is a gift, you don't deserve to have it and you're probably taking it from someone who can use it, or who even needs it. People, especially government people, seem to think that you can't say no to the offer of a gift, that every time they do accept a gift it's working toward some sort of automatic progress, even if it's clearly not. In fact, some of them go out of their way to get things that they don't need, and they get other people in along with them, some with the same "I gotta have it" disease and some who are just swayed by people who say they're their friends and protectors. I'm not sure what to call that. Greed? Avarice? Stupidity? I just don't know.”

Interview with Alan Webster, Chief of Police, Salisbury
We became involved with this massive law enforcement effort early on, I think just over a month ago. We had been suspicious of the activities of the SFD when it came to the ASCROTM, but we were cautioned by Mayor Shields to be, as she put it, "Expectable and without glaring infratractionals", which I took to mean that we should put our resources and capabilities elsewhere. I was happy to hear that instruction from Her Honor, as it meant that we could continue to address the slight increase in crimes resulting from the improving economy. I know that sounds paradoxical, but, as you know, the increase in the national debt and the loss of millions of jobs was putting a strain on the lower and middle classes.
Anyway, when this thing came to a head about a month ago, I offered our services to the DEA. We have yet to hear from them, but we'll keep an ear to the ground and be prepared to defend our jurisdiction."

0239
It has been learned that the two detainees Calderon are first cousins, and are allegedly members of the alleged Calderon family Central American drug cartel. The Calderon family has long been seen at as one of the guiding forces of the Columbian drug trade, with ties to the Mid Atlantic Drug Cartel, whose members include many from crime gangs in the City of Salisbury. The Calderons are known for vigorously protecting their own, and have been known to stage violent, bloody raids on jails and holding facilities to effect the release of their family members.
Stay with Salisbury News as we continue this report.

It Couldn't Happen Here - Part II

November 16, 2014
0045
Interview with Sheriff Mike Lewis
Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis emerged from an interrogation observation room moments ago. He was able to give us these words, which gave us surprising information about the incidents leading to last night's arrests: “We were the original point of contact for complaints having to do with this case, and the first agency to be called with a complaint. This goes back about fourteen months. We got reports of the blimp being seen at all hours of the day and night, and sometimes strangely close to areas where fires had just been reported. We asked the fire department about it, and they verified that they had been doing a lot more mutual aid and training calls than ever before as a part of the grant acceptance requirements. They said that it was sometimes the case that flight hours or weather would keep them overnight in isolated places on the Shore. We later checked the county's 911 logs, and they all seemed to be on the up and up, accurate to a T with what fire officials said. We ceased investigation at that point and treated all blimp sightings as routine. State and Salisbury City Police were doing the same thing. We might never have considered to do anything more with the complaints than reassure the citizens that all was well if it hadn't been for a call from the regional DEA office. Mantenga su escroto, literally, “hold your scrotum,” was a phrase that was being newly used among Hispanic gangs on the East Coast as some sort of drug dealer code phrase. The DEA scratched their heads over this for quite some time, until one sharp agent remembered seeing a Salisbury News item a few years back about the Salisbury Fire Department accepting a blimp from the federal government, the ASCROTM-4F, which was later named The Barrie T. That was when they called me as the head of the Tri-County Drug Task Force. Task Force confidential informants verified the Spanish “hold your scrotum” phrase as locally and regionally used to indicate that limited patience would be necessary to wait for the next big drug delivery from out of state. It was then, too, that we connected the phrase to the acronym to the conflicting reports of The Barrie T's movements. It all clicked. We were able to obtain a federal warrant to place a dedicated signal GPS unit on The Barrie T as she was moored at the airport. With DEA taking the lead, and with the help of the National Security Agency, we were able to get real-time satellite film of The Barrie T when she was in transit. Whenever she moved, we had pictures. This went on for the better part of eleven months. The NSA shot over a thousand hours of useful frames, edited them for time and put them in a chronological series that showed The Barrie T flying into places she shouldn't have been, picking up and delivering suspicious cargo she shouldn't have touched. After the first two months of surveillance, there was enough to take to a Maryland court to get a warrant for video and sound recording gear to be quietly and inconspicuously installed in the blimp's gondola, and for wiretaps on the 911 dispatchers' lines. With a month's worth of surveillance video and audio from inside The Barrie T and uncompromised recordings from 911 Central, we were ready to spring the trap. Eleven months of work has led us to this day. We might not get the big boys, but we're going to deal a blow to the middlemen that will be felt for quite a while. And we're going to blow the lid off the scandal that's been silently building over the past five years, the misuse of the ASCROTM.”

A Little ASCROTM History
As many of Salisbury News' readers may have little knowledge or memory of the craft of which Sheriff Lewis spoke, we'll provide a bit of background:
The Barrie T , Salisbury City Fire Department's firefighting blimp, formerly known by its acronym ASCROTM-4F, or simply ASCROTM, was accepted by the city in fall 2009 as a part of a Homeland Security grant program. It was intended to increase the SFD's capabilities and range in fighting marsh fires on and adjacent to the land mass of the Eastern Shore. Grant requirements dictated that the area that the craft and its crews would cover would be from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Cape Charles, Virginia, a distance of over 170 miles, representing a huge increase in mutual aid response area, which historically had been, with very few exceptions, no more than forty miles from Salisbury. The acceptance of the blimp, which was unsuccessfully contested by Councilwomen Deborah Campbell and Terry Cohen and a scant few taxpayers, changed many things, including the annual expenditures for marsh fire mutual aid calls. This was a constant irritant to the two councilwomen over ensuing years, an ever present reminder that the fiscal responsibility platforms they represented were rendered nearly moot by a perennial 3 to 2 “spend it or lose it” motivated vote in council.
After three and a half years of service, a record of maintenance and operating fees published by the city listed the craft as, for the third year running, the singlemost expensive item of equipment ever owned by the city, bar none. Operating costs were estimated to be as high as $6,600 per hour of the airborne time recorded in official flight records in FY 2011, which, remarkably, is recorded as 1,874 hours, in stark contrast to Assistant Chief Rick Hoppes' prediction that "... based on the use of another fire craft we continually pull out of the water for repairs and draining, we expect that the ASCROTM-4F will run us about $7000 a year in maintenance and everything else."
The hourly cost exceeded even that of the Barrie Parsons Tilghman Wastewater Treatment Plant, whose hourly rate at the time, after years of innumerable unsatisfactory design changes, had topped $5,000.
When questioned about the seemingly excessive cost and why much of it was not borne by other jurisdictions, as 98.3% of flights were logged to rural areas outside Salisbury and Wicomico County, Salisbury Mayor Shanie Shields, replied: “This saves lives. What money cost can you put on a human life?”
Salisbury City Council President Louise Smith said, “You must live, as I do, a life of courtesy and politeness. When all else fails, courtesy will see us through.”
Majority leader and Council Vice President Muir Boda, fresh from his appointment to council after the settlement surrounding Shields' mayoral and council seat win, a result of a newly appreciated oversight by the Wicomico Board of Elections, said last week from his new home on Jersey Road, “We have much bigger things to look at right now, including getting through the 2013 audit. We can't be sidetracked by the rhetoric of the minority.”
Salisbury City Council minority leader Deborah Campbell said, “It's about time we got to knowing where our money is going. After spending over $27 million on this foolishness in about three years, we need to be assured that the next steps we take will be to find out where the money's gone, why so much of it has been spent, and why we have the only marsh fire suppression unit on the entire Eastern Shore. It seems to me that the Homeland Security Administration, and maybe some others, have played the City of Salisbury and its taxpayers for suckers with a piece of equipment no one else wanted or could use. With the results of some of the Freedom of Information Act Request responses I've received, I intend to introduce this as a council work session item at our next meeting, so that we can all read from the same pages, which I hope won't be delivered from the Shields administration ten minutes before the meeting starts.”
Junior minority leader Terry Cohen, a Democratic shoe-in to run for the upcoming Maryland State Senate seat, said, “I hope that the taxpayers of Salisbury have seen the light, and will now overwhelmingly support a thorough housecleaning of its administration, something that seems to have unconscionably and even astoundingly slipped through the cracks for the last two decades.”
City officials were unable to justify expenditures early on, but as the mutual aid system cost share administrators became better at tracking and billing for ASCROTM's forays into the counties of the northern and southern Eastern Shore, expenditures seemed more balanced with reimbursements, but always with substantial payments pending. But this was seen as an easily-to-be-expected lag in payments from state comptrollers. Little did they know an ever increasing number of those reimbursements for mis-documented flights were actually coming from coffers other than those of the states and counties of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Some were coming as electronic transfers from offshore accounts in the Caribbean, cloaked in a complex web of internet proxies and computer code, followed by counterfeited paper verification and identification. Early on, some payments were in cash, presented as “donations” charitably and anonymously made for counties who were the alleged recipients of mutual aid calls made by The Barrie T. But in the spring of 2012, the bulk of payments listed in city ledgers as reimbursements for marsh fire mutual aid calls were received from a newly formed 501(c)(3) corporation known to the public only as The Marsh Queen. It was this entity, which turned out to be the philanthropic arm of the Mid Atlantic Drug Cartel, that sponsored dozens of high-profile fund and awareness raisers across the Shore, aiming its message of marshland preservation to the upper middle and upper classes, while producing internet, television and radio advertising to reach the rest of the population. To this end, the organization's video production studios even produced a live cable TV hunting and fishing show featuring a different NASCAR driver every week as a guest hunter or fisherman, and sometimes both. Many may recall the July, 2012 episode of “Where Your Mouth Is - Hunting and Fishing And Having A High Old Time On The Big Sandbar”, as four professional drivers converged on Salisbury to fish the freshly cleaned and recertified Wicomico River. Sadly, as readers may remember, premier driver Darryl Waltrip was the victim of salmonella and acute mercury poisoning from handling and eating a tainted but record-setting 19 1/2 inch, 8 lb. 6 oz. smallmouth bass caught on a red Rebel Floating Frog in six feet of water with four pound test in light weeds and heavy submerged branches on the North Prong, near the site of the failed contaminated land “giveaway” of 2009, which has,since the fishing mishap, been found to be a fresh underground source of mercury in addition to previously discovered petroleum and chemical seepage. In the wake of the incident, the site was archaeologically source-linked to a tanning concern operating in the late 1500s and a small but prolific felt and hat factory of the early to late 1700s, a factory owned, perhaps ironically, by the Parsons family. Since the 2012 event, this and two other adjacent North Prong properties have been the site of massive excavation and remediation, currently to the tune of over $58 million. Following Waltrip's untimely death, “Where Your Mouth Is” ratings soared and several spin-off series emerged, including a wildly popular VIVA! Network derivative entitled, “Mantenga Su Escroto,” roughly based on the classic U.S. shows “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Jackass”, but with much more bass fishing, décolletage and, regrettably, graffiti. Tourists are often seen at the Darryl Waltrip Monument, located at the head of the North Prong on Isabella Street, where city-owned waterfront property meets that of the Salisbury Monument Company, the last business now occupying the North Prong after the April 2012 relocation of the Perdue Farms grain handling facility.
Once that it seemed that reimbursements for the ASCROTM's mutual aid were consistently being made, and that the city's ASCROTM-related finances appeared to be in balance, public controversy regarding the craft seemed to wither, save for an occasional Salisbury Times Grapevine post asking why the blimp was in the air so often and why its young volunteer crews came home so tired and quiet at night. Comments to those posts were generally dismissive in their tone, citing countless hours of marsh fire control by seasoned volunteers and those under their able mentorship who could have been spending their hours elsewhere, instead choosing public service.
Views from Salisbury's political camps, though, seemed unaffected. Said Councilwoman Campbell, “Something's not right here. If this blimp were a fish, it would be stinking to high heaven by now, and people would smell it all over town. You can stack hundred dollar bills as high as you like over a stinking fish, and you know what you'll get? A stinking fish covered with money and funny looks from bank tellers when you make a deposit. But, eventually, it seems, almost everybody gets used to the smell, one way or another. Almost everybody, that is.”
Council Vice President Boda said, “Like I said before, this is an insignificant issue when compared to others, and doesn't deserve any more of our attention. The money is coming in to justify the ASCROTM, and it has proved its worth on more than one occasion. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the ASCROTM soon proved its value in ways other than firefighting.”
Council President Louise Smith, looking well rested from her vacation at an undisclosed destination, said, “Pour the mixture into a greased pieplate. Cover the edges with tinfoil and bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. I like it when the sun makes the colors on the straightened windowfishings look just so.”
Shanie Shields, although not asked to make a comment, did, saying,”What part of firefightering do you not understand? I trust my department heads when they tell me what's good for them. And that's why I'm the mayor and somebody else isn't. ”

In early 2013, almost prophetically, the Salisbury Fire Department was lauded by the DEA for providing streaming surveillance video, incident to an ASCROTM night training exercise, of a large drug drop off Assateague Island. This event led to the arrest and conviction of nine mid-Shore individuals who were identified as members of an established drug ring now known to have been in direct competition with the Mid Atlantic Cartel. Following this and the subsequent flurry of positive local, regional and national public relations coverage, The Barrie T's activities went virtually without public scrutiny. This affirmation even put to rest the animosity many taxpayers felt after the successful 2011 class action lawsuit launched against the city by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Cannon Group, Walt Disney Studios, Turner Broadcasting, the Estate of Michael Jackson and thirty-one other film production companies and stakeholders, who charged that the City of Salisbury had, without authorization or recompense, publicly presented over 120 copyrighted films to an appreciative supine audience between October 2009 and November 2011 as part of the city's popular ASCROTM Over The Park film series. The end of this extensive legal battle, it can be remembered, was nearly immediately followed by the resignations of long-time City Attorney Paul Wilber and Assistant City Administrator Lore' Chambers. Chambers, after appearing in a series of direct-to-DVD feature films, is now reported to be preparing for the lead role in an MGM remake of Funny Girl, also featuring veteran actors Michael Clarke Duncan and Ving Rhames, due to begin filming next month. Wilber's exact whereabouts are unknown, but certain city sources believe that a series of unmarked postcards to the mayor's office from tropical destinations might be clues to his currently most recent location. The December 2012 settlement for an undisclosed amount of cash and other considerations was followed in May 2013 by a thirty percent property tax increase, similar to the increase in sewer and water fees levied each year after the 2011 WWTP disaster, when grounds, overburdened by an accumulation of methane in a long-undetected and ever-growing subterranean cesspool beneath the facility, erupted in a huge explosion, causing the buildings and acres of holding ponds to slide into the Wicomico River. Remarkably, no workers were injured, and their water rescue was accomplished by passing kayakers. This rendered the then ongoing WWTP lawsuit moot, as, in the words of an O'Brien & Gere attorney, “You can't have a case without evidence, and in this case, there is neither. Poof!”

Update
0155
It now comes to light that the pilot of the ship, Griffin Delacort Watson, Jr., is only fifteen years of age and one of a dozen or more Salisbury Fire Department cadets and probational volunteer firefighters who were allegedly pressed into service as flight officers, stewards and ground personnel as part of the flight program's rigorous and extensive orientation process. He has been released to the immediate supervision of parents.

0156

New allegations, stemming from Salisbury News' revelations one minute ago, are surfacing, calling for SFD officials to explain the SFD cadet program regulations and practices. The highest of those officials are currently unavailable for comment.

Stick with Salisbury News for more exclusive updates. Is the Daily Times covering this story? Nope! They're at home, in bed. Just Salisbury News is out there for you!

It Couldn't Happen Here - Part I

Salisbury News – Your 24 Hour Really Reliable Opinionated News Source
November 15, 2014

2145
Bulletin
Salisbury News has just learned that several volunteer members of the Salisbury Fire Department, one or more high ranking government officials and about a dozen others are about to be arrested at the Salisbury/Ocean City International Airport. Details are sketchy at this time, but Salisbury News will give continuing updates as provided by our many field reporters.

2158
Bulletin
Here at the Salisbury/Ocean City International Airport, under the glare of a dozen banks of tactical floodlights, a joint force of over sixty DEA, FBI, BATF, FAA, MD State Police, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wicomico County Sheriff's Department and Salisbury University agents and officers created a close perimeter around the Salisbury Fire Department ASCROTM-4F, The Barrie T, to take into custody those now inside it. Task force spokesman FBI Special Agent in Charge Levi Townsend said, “What you're about to see is the culmination of over a year's surveillance, hundreds of hours of inter-agency communication and information sharing, and the bringing together of a diverse spectrum of law enforcement professionals to achieve one goal, and that goal is to bring criminals to justice. Here's where that process begins. You see that blimp? Everybody in it is guilty of something.”

Townsend provided Salisbury News with a list of charges to be filed by one or more of the agencies against one or more of the suspects: malfeasance in public office, misappropriation of public funds, fraud, income tax evasion, possession of prohibited firearms, theft of government property, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of untagged deer (MD and VA), possession of greater than the allowed number of deer (MD and VA), hunting out of season (MD and VA), hunting deer with the use of artificial lights (MD and VA), operating an aircraft without a registered flight plan, operating an aircraft without a license, operating an aircraft while under the influence of narcotics or alcohol, interstate transportation of untaxed cigarettes with intent to distribute, possession of controlled narcotics, possession of controlled narcotics with intent to distribute, possession of controlled narcotic paraphernalia, various sex crimes, providing false information to a law enforcement official, providing false identity to a law enforcement official, dumping, littering, thirty-nine counts of conspiracy, and improper exterior lighting on an aircraft.

Townsend added, "If there was a charge for felony stupid, we'd be using it tonight."

2228
Update:
After a very brief standoff evidently involving some alcohol-induced bravado, local, county and state and federal agents and officers took custody of twenty-three individuals, at least one from as far away as Canada. Police spokesmen reported that there were no significant incidents related to the arrests, save for the quiet disarming of several occupants, and that all of those taken into custody will next be delivered to the Wicomico County Detention Center, where questioning will begin. Forensics teams from five agencies have descended upon The Barrie T, and are now swarming the craft's interior, searching for additional evidence, which allegedly includes at least one .50 caliber sniper rifle, several experimental tactical weapons, a number of concussion grenades and an undisclosed amount of illegal drugs and untaxed cigarettes.

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Update:
A list of those arrested has been provided to Salisbury News. Arrested, but with charges held pending additional investigation, are:
-Reston Barlow Fleck, 46, Vienna, MD. CEO Fleck Guns & Ammo, Fleck's Shorenuff Hunting Tours
-Armani Elugio Balsatore, 52, Alexandria, VA. Junior Senator from Virginia (D)
-Lieutenant Colonal Richard Leslie Adams, III, 41, Ft. Belvoir, VA. Purchasing Liaison, U.S. Army
-Derrick Scarpatti, 68, Vienna, VA. Lobbyist, American Best Weapons Systems, LLC
-Gary Comegys, 60, Eden, MD. City Administrator and City Councilman, Salisbury, MD
-Michael P. Dunn, 57, Fruitland, MD. Assistant City Administrator, Salisbury, MD
-Thomas J. Maloney, 58, Salisbury, MD. City Attorney, Salisbury, MD
-Glendella L'Cherisa Matthews, 19, Salisbury, MD. Massage Therapist
-Shereashia D'Anieala McBounds, 22, Salisbury, MD. Corporate Hospitality Specialist
-Griffin Delacort Watson, Jr., 18, Delmar, MD. Student and Pilot of The Barrie T
-D'Erick D'Wayne Judson, Brooklyn, NY. Salisbury University Intern, Salisbury Mayor's Office
-Dumond Rothschild Derrier, 62, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. CEO, LTA Concepts Worldwide, LTD
-Tedigonada Hijo de Puta-de Puta, 37, Washington, DC. Diplomatic Courier**
-Raymond Joseph Calderon, 41, Miami, FL. Import-export executive
-Reymundo Jose Calderon, 42, Cartajena, Columbia. Import-export executive
-Richard Hoppes, 57, Lewes, DE. Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-William Gordy, 59, Delmar, DE. Assistant-Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-Jeremy Gordy, 31, Delmar, DE. Second-Assistant-Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-Male Juvenile, 12, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 13, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 15, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 13, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 14, Salisbury, MD.
**Charges held in abeyance pending diplomatic status determination

2345
Here at the Wicomico County Detention Center, law enforcement officers fill the halls and drink the coffee as questioning continues in what some are now jokingly calling Blimp Gate. Word has reached us that the five juveniles involved have been released to their parents, pending further investigation of remaining suspects. At this juncture, it appears that the five were a part of a Salisbury Fire Department cadet orientation class, and not knowingly active participants in any illegal activities.

2355
With each passing minute, it seems that another attorney is admitted to the WCDC. Just arriving now is longtime local legal luminary Robin Cockey. We are unable to get through the crush to interview him, but it appears that he is speaking with FBI and DEA officials. Can we assume that he is here to effect the release of his as yet to be named clients? We think so.
We are now informed that one of the detainees in this case has been released, claiming diplomatic immunity from charges readied by police. First identified as Tedigonada Hijo de Puta-de Puta, his name was evidently mistaken in translation at the time of arrest. He left WCDC moments ago. His true name was revealed to law enforcement in a call from the Columbian Consulate, and his identity verified. His identity is, however, not being released to the public, evidently because of diplomatic considerations.

Questioning of other suspects will continue through the night. Salisbury News will be here to report. Stay with us.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Stares Down Feds In NW Valley Immigration Sweep

Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants Maricopa County (AZ) residents to know he’s not changing how he conducts his crime suppression sweeps, in spite of the federal government’s limitation of the sheriff’s officers to act as federal immigration agents.
“We will continue to do what we have been doing, and target human smuggling, employee sanctions and any criminal activity we come across,” Arpaio told a group of reporters on Friday evening at the District 3 substation in Surprise. “I will be doing the same job, which is to enforce state laws, arrest (criminals) and book them into the county jail.”
The press conference was held in conjunction with the sheriff’s 12th crime suppression operation, which began at noon on Friday and will continue for approximately 48 hours, targeting the Northwest Valley.
As of midnight Thursday, according to the federal government, sheriff personnel may not prosecute those in the country illegally, but instead those suspected of being illegal will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for investigation and possible prosecution.
Arpaio and his deputies may now only check the immigration status of jail inmates.
Arpaio is the subject of a Justice Department investigation triggered by complaints of racial profiling, which Arpaio denies.
Arpaio said his department was responsible for investigating arresting and detaining 33,000 suspected illegal immigrants, which represents about 25 percent of the nations’ illegal immigrant arrests.
“We did our job,” Arpaio said.
Arpaio said he is looking into challenging the limitations now imposed on the department and will have the county attorney determine whether state and local laws would supersede federal orders.
“We don’t have to be controlled by Washington in everything we do,” Arpaio said.
The sheriff was nearly drowned out by a small group of protesters who chanted through the entire press conference.
The group, carrying signs that read “We are Human,” used a microphone and protested against Arpaio's alleged human rights violations.
One of them, Jack Gilman, 70, of Surprise, said he was against Arpaio’s alleged racial profiling and treatment of undocumented immigrants.
“They aren’t bothering anyone, they aren’t taking jobs away from Americans,” Gilman said. “And he’s treating them like they are the scum of the earth.”
Arpaio said the crime sweep on Friday had so far garnered the detention of eight suspected illegal immigrants near I17 and Anthem on human smuggling charges.
“And if we don’t have enough to arrest them, we’ll turn them over to ICE,” Arpaio said, adding that the paperwork and manpower that used to be used by the sheriff’s office for those duties is now being shouldered by ICE.
Arpaio said the sheriff’s department will now be using volunteer posse members to ride along and videotape activities of the sheriff’s department employees in response to his critics videotaping similar activities.
He would not say how many cameras would be in operation, nor how much was spent on the equipment, but did say at least part of it was paid for by RICO funds.“We’ll be using video (cameras) to tape the activities of the deputies,” Arpaio said. “They are performing their duties, and we want to show that they don’t do anything wrong.”
Arpaio said Saturday night’s crime suppression sweep “may have some surprises.”
“We’ll be (targeting) all phases of illegal activity,” Arpaio said.

(from www.yourwestvalley.com)

More about Sheriff Arpaio's law enforcement activities here.

HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER

FROM OUT OF THE PAST

The following is from The Salisbury Advertiser of February 19, 1876.

At the time, it was published and owned by Lemuel Malone. Mr. Malone was also an attorney and dealer in real estate. A subscription to the Advertiser was $1.00 per annum. It was published every Saturday. Their office was located at 46 Main St. It was destroyed in the Fire of 1886.

I first became interested in this copy of the old newspaper years ago when I spotted an article about a baseball game. According to the newspaper, “A game of baseball was played on Pea Hill last Monday”. No score, no particulars. Research led me to do a map search of Pea Hill. The best I could come up with was a Pea Hill somewhere between the junction of Cooper Road and Collins Wharf Road. It was out in the country and I thought that was a logical place for a ball field.

Later discoveries proved me wrong in my original placement of Pea Hill. It seems that the plot of land that is now known as the Oaks was a popular recreation area in 1876. The name of the park area was known as Pea Hill. The land is on the Northwest side of the intersection of Isabella and Division Streets. By the 1880’s Elihu Jackson bought the land and built his Mansion on it. But in the 1870’s Pea Hill was a popular gathering place for Salisburians on the weekends to picnic and have the occasional baseball game.

More items from the paper:

Item 1: “We are of the opinion that the “ground hog” story is a barefaced
fraud”. (Remember this paper was published on Feb. 19th and “ground
hog day” was fresh in everybody’s mind.)

Item 2. “The debating society have decided that the Bible should remain
in the public schools. That settles it”. (Where did we go wrong?)

Item 3: “Needed improvements: We are glad to notice that the Town
Commissioners have taken steps to have the breaks in the sidewalk
on Division street placed in proper order. Not only will the pavements
in the front of private property be attended to, but the crossings will
have plank put down. The lumber is now on the ground ready for
using and it will not be long we hope before we shall have a
continuous path walk from Mr. T. Humphreys mill dam to the Park.
The matter should have been attended to long ago”.

Yard Sales 10/16/09

CLICK HERE for this weekends soggy yard sales.

If you have a yard sale that you would like to post, please email it to atlanticjw@aol.com. Please mark your email as "yard sale"

TLC Suing Jon Gosselin For Breach Of Contract

Suit also claims TV dad made unauthorized disclosures about show

NEW YORK - The TLC cable TV network says it's suing Jon Gosselin for breaching his contract as star of the reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8."

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Maryland, alleges that Gosselin hasn't met the obligations of his contract as an exclusive employee, has appeared on other programs for pay and made unauthorized disclosures about the show.

Gosselin has starred for two years in "Jon & Kate Plus 8," which has been consumed in recent months by marital turmoil as Gosselin and his wife, Kate, feuded, then filed for divorce. The couple are the parents of young twins and sextuplets.

GO HERE to read more.

Lottery Liar Triggers Riot, Induces Panic In Store After Claiming She Won $1Million

Dagsboro Man Arrested For Impersonating A Police Officer

Dagsboro Man Arrested for Impersonating a Police Officer

Location:
36720 Bayside Outlet Drive, Corning Ware Outlet, Rehoboth Beach
247 Rehoboth Beach Avenue, The Purple Parrott Restaurant, Rehoboth Beach
Date of Occurrence: Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at approximately 5pm

Suspect(s): Mr. Michael R. Gagnon, 45, 31000 Block of New Street, Dagsboro

Resume: On Thursday, October 15th, 20009, the Delaware State Police were summoned to 36720 Bayside Outlet Drive, the Corning Ware Outlet, Rehoboth, for a sexual harassment complaint.

The investigation revealed that a white male later identified as Mr. Michael R. Gagnon, 45, of the 31000 Block of New Street, Dagsboro, entered the store and made inappropriate sexual comments to a 20-year old store employee. The store employee was alarmed by the nature of the comments, thus prompting him to call police.

As Delaware State Troopers probed into the this initial report, it was determined that the suspect in this incident was Mr. Gagnon. During this incident, Mr. Gagnon was wearing police apparel and departed the area operating a Ford Crown Victoria which appeared to be an used unmarked patrol vehicle.

Following his departure from the outlets, Mr. Gagnon traveled to the Purple Parrot Restaurant, located at 247 Rehoboth Avenue, where he solicited a 19-year old male employee. Mr. Gagnon made sexually explicit comments to this individual. This victim was also alarmed by the nature of Mr. Gagnon’s comments.

As a result of the verbal exchange, Mr. Gagnon was contacted by management and asked to leave the establishment. Mr. Gagnon refused and made numerous statements that he was a law enforcement officer. As a result the Rehoboth Beach Police were called.

Upon arrival of the Rehoboth Beach Police Mr. Gagnon was taken into custody without incident and turned over to responding Delaware State Troopers. Mr. Gagnon was transported to Delaware State Police Troop 7 where he was formally charged with the following crimes:

Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (Felony)
Impersonating a Police Officer (Felony)
2-Counts of Criminal Solicitation in the 3rd Degree (Misdemeanor)
2-Counts of Sexual Harassment (Misdemeanor)
Disorderly Conduct (Misdemeanor)
Mr. Gagnon was arraigned and committed to Sussex Correctional Center in lieu of $15,000.00 cash bond. In addition, Mr. Gagnon was issued a no contact order with the victims and the establishments where the incidents occurred.

A Trying Day Today

Today starts the beginning of the end. My Mother's viewing will be today in Gambrills. Saturday will be the Mass in Bowie, then we're off to New York for the burial on Monday. So for the next few days we'll be back to slower Posts and then back to normal next week. Thanks for sticking with us during these times. I can tell you that we have not slacked one little bit traffic wise and amazingly the comments have been soaring each day. Wednesday we had 474 comments in one day and 400 comments yesterday, unbelievable!

I want to thank ALL of you for showing your support, understanding and kind wishes. Hopefully some time soon I'll find the time to share just how special my Mother truly was.

When I heard how many plates, forks, knives and so forth were needed for the gathering after the Mass I couldn't believe what was requested. My Mother's Church stepped in and said, don't buy a single thing, we're taking care of it all, including the food. She was loved by many thousands of people, all of which will be a pleasure to meet starting today.

Again, thanks for understanding and things will be back to normal soon enough.

Indian Name For The Man

OBAMA was invited to address a major gathering of the American Indian Nation two weeks ago in up state New York .

HE spoke for almost an hour on HIS future plans for increasing every Native American's present standard of living, since he has now become the President.

HE referred to his career as a Senator, how he had signed 'YES' for every Indian issue that came to his desk for approval.

Although President Obama was vague on the details of his plan, he seemed most enthusiastic about HIS future ideas for helping HIS 'red sisters and brothers'.

At the conclusion of his speech, the Tribes presented Obama with a plaque inscribed with his new Indian name - "Walking Eagle".

The proud President then departed in his motorcade, waving to the crowds.

A news reporter later inquired to the group of chiefs of how they came to select the new name they had given to the President. They explained that "Walking Eagle" is the name given to a bird so full of sh!t, it can no longer fly.

Burglary Suspect Caught Fleeing The Scene Thanks To Witnesses

Location: Texaco, 2501 Newport Gap Pike, Wilmington, Delaware, New Castle County

Date of Occurrence: January 11th, 2009 and October 15th, 2009

Suspect(s): Gerald Bulat, 29, of West Reamer Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware

Resume: At approximately 3:00 a.m. on October 15th, several residents along the 2500 block of Newport Gap Pike were awakened to the sound of a loud crash. These witnesses turned their attention to the Texaco, located at 2501 Newport Gap Pike, and saw a Dodge Dakota backing into the front door of the business.

With the front door damaged, the driver got out the truck and walked into the business. He obtained cigarettes and cash and made his way back to the truck. As the Dakota was fleeing the scene the witnesses provided its description to responding units.

A Troop 6 patrol officer stopped the truck in the area of Prices Corner and took Gerald Butler into custody after a struggle.

He was transported back to Troop 6 where a Troop 2 burglary detective assumed the investigation. It was learned that Bulat had stolen the Dodge from a home on Troy Avenue just a few hours prior to the burglary. Investigative measures had then linked Bulat to another burglary at this same Texaco back on January 11th. In this case, he also had backed a vehicle up into the business allowing him to gain entry and steal goods from within.

Gerald Bulat was formally charged with the following offenses: two counts of Burglary (felony), two counts of Theft (misdemeanor), Criminal Mischief (felony), two counts of Criminal Mischief (misdemeanor), Resisting Arrest (felony) and Receiving Stolen Property (felony). Bail was set at $8,000.00 secured and Bulat was committed to the Howard Young Correctional Institute.

Common Laws

1. Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to use the bathroom.

2. Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, or screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

3. Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

4. Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

5. Law of the Alibi - If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

6. Variation Law - If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

7. Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

8. Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

9. Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

10. Law of Biomechanics - The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

11. Law of the Theater and Hockey Arena - At any event, the people whose seats are farthest from the aisle arrive last, and they are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, drink, or the bathroom and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over.

Those in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies, and stay to the bitter end of the performance and beyond. The aisle people also are very surly folk.

12. The Starbucks Law - As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something that will last until the coffee is cold.

13. Murphy's Law of Lockers - If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

14. Law of Physical Surfaces - The chances of an open-faced grape jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

15. Law of Logical Argument - Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

16. Brown's Law of Physical Appearance - If the clothes fit, they're ugly.

17. Oliver's Law of Public Speaking - A closed mouth gathers no feet.

18. Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

19. Doctors' Law - If you don't feel well and make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick.

Weenies Calls It Quits

The new Hot Dog Specialty Shop on Rt. 13 is calling it quits. It's tough to compete with a Nathan's Hot Dog and a huge Soda for $1.81 at Sam's Club.

I know they're claiming they're leaving to go back to New Hampshire to tend to a business they own there, I feel for them. However, Sam's is the bomb for a fantastic Hot Dog and we wish them the best back up North.

Salisbury Police Department Press Releases

On October 15, 2009 at approximately 10:41 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the BB & T Bank on Riverside Drive for the report of a robbery. Upon arrival the officers met with bank employees that advised that the bank had been entered by two (2) suspects who approached the teller area. One of the suspects (#1 below) produced a handgun and demanded currency from the teller. Both suspects fled from the bank and ran south behind an apartment complex. A witness advised that the suspects fled from the area in vehicle, described below. There were no injuries. The suspects were described as follows:

# 1: black male, 5’10”, 150 lbs, wearing all black with a
camouflage mask and in possession of a black large frame
handgun.
#2: black male, 5’10”, 150 lbs., wearing all black with a black
face mask also in possession of a dark handgun

The vehicle was described as a dark blue older model Honda Accord, possibly early 1990’s model with dark tinted windows.
This investigation is continuing. CC # 200900036487

On the same date, at approximately 11:48 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the Shore Bank on South US Rt. 13 for the report of a robbery. Upon arrival the officers met with bank employees who advised that a single suspect had entered the bank and had confronted the employees with a firearm. The employees advised that the suspect entered the bank and produced the firearm, then vaulted the teller counter. The suspect ordered an employee to put U.S. currency into a bag that the suspect possessed, then vaulted back over the counter before fleeing from the bank. The suspect was observed fleeing from the bank on foot in a northerly direction. There were no injuries. The suspect was described as:

Black male, 5’8” to 5”10, thin, wearing a black “hoody” type sweat jacket, blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and with a light colored bandanna covering his facial area. The firearm appears to be a shortened shotgun type weapon.

This investigation is continuing. CC # 200900036725

If anyone has any information involving either of these robberies they are asked to contact the Salisbury Police Department at 410-548-3165 or to contact Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776. Information may be submitted anonymously.

Web Addresses

All of these are legitimate companies, who didn't spend quite enough time considering how their online name might appear!

These are not made up. Check them out yourself!

1. 'Who Represents' is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is: http://www.whorepresents.com/

2. 'Experts Exchange’ is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at: http://www.expertsexchange.com/

3. Looking for a great pen? Look no further than' Pen Island '..
It can be found at: http://www.penisland.net/

4. Need a therapist? Try 'Therapist Finder' at: http://www.therapistfinder.com/

5. Then there's the 'Italian Power Generator' company. Check it out at: http://www.powergenitalia.com/

6. 'IP computer' software, there's always: http://www.ipanywhere.com/

7. And the designers at 'Speed of Art' await you at their wacky Web site: http://www.speedofart.com/

Thank God It's Friday!

What Will YOU Be Doing This Weekend?

Finance Committee Health Bill Includes $507 Billion In New Taxes And Fees

(CNSNews.com) – The health-care bill that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on today will cost a total of $829 billion over 10 years, with $507 billion of that cost being covered by new federal taxes and fees, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

On Oct. 7, the CBO released a report on the budget impact of the “chairman’s mark” summary of the bill that the Finance Committee is set to vote on today. Based on the document it was given, the CBO found that the bill would reduce the federal budget deficit by $81 billion over 10 years. That estimate was based on the calculation that, if enacted, the bill would bring in $480 billion in new tax revenues and $27 billion in fees.

These new taxes and fees include:

-- $201 billion in new taxes on high-premium health care plans.

-- $83 billion in new taxes paid by workers who will receive less employer-sponsored coverage or lose that coverage altogether but will be compensated with higher wages or monetary benefits, which are taxable.

-- $23 billion in penalty fees paid by employers who do not comply with the federal insurance mandate.

-- $4 billion in penalty fees paid by individuals who don’t have health insurance.

-- $16 billion in new income and Medicare payroll tax revenue due to changes in Medicare.

-- $180 billion in other tax revenues items calculated by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).

GO HERE to read more.

Obama, An Unconstitutional Nobel

People can, and undoubtedly will, argue for some time about whether President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Meanwhile, though, there's a simpler and more immediate question: Does the Constitution allow him to accept the award?

Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, the emolument clause, clearly stipulates: "And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State."

The award of the peace prize to a sitting president is not unprecedented. But Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson received the honor for their past actions: Roosevelt's efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War, and Wilson's work in establishing the League of Nations. Obama's award is different. It is intended to affect future action. As a member of the Nobel Committee explained, the prize should encourage Obama to meet his goal of nuclear disarmament. It raises important legal questions for the second time in less than 10 months -- questions not discussed, much less adequately addressed anywhere else.

The five-member Nobel commission is elected by the Storting, the parliament of Norway. Thus the award of the peace prize is made by a body representing the legislature of a sovereign foreign state. There is no doubt that the Nobel Peace Prize is an "emolument" ("gain from employment or position," according to Webster).

An opinion of the U.S. attorney general advised, in 1902, that "a simple remembrance," even "if merely a photograph, falls under the inclusion of 'any present of any kind whatever.' " President Clinton's Office of Legal Counsel, in 1993, reaffirmed the 1902 opinion, and explained that the text of the clause does not limit "its application solely to foreign governments acting as sovereigns." This opinion went on to say that the emolument clause applies even when the foreign government acts through instrumentalities. Thus the Nobel Prize is an emolument, and a foreign one to boot.

GO HERE to read more.

Statement from Superintendent Of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen On Determination On Media Center Book

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, a member of the Wicomico County Council presented Wicomico County Board of Education administration with several photo-copied pages from Dragon Ball: The Monkey King, a book checked out by a 9-year-old Pittsville Elementary and Middle School student. As soon as staff members became aware of a concern about the book, they began the process of removing the book from media center shelves for review. Dragon Ball series books at Pittsville School and Parkside High School were removed from media center shelves for a committee review as required by procedures and policy. A complaint form was later received from a parent.

The Dragon Ball: The Monkey King book was purchased via grant funds by a first-year media specialist (librarian) in the fall of 2006. It was one of the approximately 275 books the media specialist secured that year for the 455-student school. The book had been requested by a student. To expedite the process of acquiring the book, the media specialist went to Barnes & Noble and purchased it along with several other books. There were no warnings on the books and the media specialist and bookstore clerk were unaware at the time that the Dragon Ball series was intended for young adults, while the Dragon Ball Z series (a more edited version by the same author) was intended for all audiences. The media specialist checked the books on the Amazon website at the time and no alerts or other warnings were posted. The book was rated for all audiences by viz.com and was contained on the Scholastic book title list.

This book, like others, was briefly scanned. Nothing unusual or offensive was found, and the book was placed in circulation. The book was checked out nine times in three years by a number of students, with no comments or complaints. There did not appear to be an unusual check out pattern for the book.

The committee met on Oct. 12 to review Dragon Ball: The Monkey King book. The committee members and I have read the book, and several committee members have read other books from the Dragon Ball series that were pulled from media center shelves for review. After review, the committee recommended removal of all books in the Dragon Ball series. The committee is continuing to study the Dragon Ball Z series (intended for all audiences) for further recommendations.

I concur with the committee’s recommendation. It is my determination as superintendent that the protection of Wicomico County Public School students from inappropriate material supersedes any interest that there might be in having this book available in our media centers. I am directing that the books pulled for committee review -- Dragon Ball: The Monkey King and the remainder of the Dragon Ball series (not the Dragon Ball Z series, which is still under review) -- not be returned to our school media centers. These books will not be available in any Wicomico school media center.

This decision does not deny the use of acceptable graphic novels as an available educational tool in the school system. Graphic novels with appropriate content can be a useful tool in encouraging reluctant readers to pick up a book and read.

As a result of this incident, we are instituting more focused and ongoing professional development training on the selection of media materials and additional procedures to handle student requests for media books and resources.

The Wicomico County Public School System regrets the offense caused to the family that submitted a complaint about the book. I urge anyone who has a concern about reading materials brought home from school to contact the school so that the procedures and policies already in place for handling such concerns can be followed and a resolution to the concern can be reached.

Today's Survey Question

Who Is The Greatest All Time Athlete In The World?

Caption This Photo

THIS STUDENT HAS A FIRM GRASP OF THE REAL WORLD

Students at a local school were assigned to read 2 books, 'Titanic' and 'My Life' by Bill Clinton.

One student turned in the following book report,
With the proposition that they were nearly identical stories!

His cool professor gave him an A+ for this report.

Titanic:.... Cost - $29.99
Clinton :..... Cost - $29.99

Titanic:...... Over 3 hours to read
Clinton :... Over 3 hours to read

Titanic:..... The story of Jack and Rose, their forbidden love, and subsequent catastrophe.
Clinton :.... The story of Bill and Monica, their forbidden love, and subsequent catastrophe.

Titanic:.... Jack is a starving artist.
Clinton :...... Bill is a bullshit artist.

Titanic:.... In one scene, Jack enjoys a good cigar.
Clinton :.... Ditto for Bill.

Titanic:..... During the ordeal, Rose's dress gets ruined.
Clinton :....... Ditto for Monica.

Titanic:..... Jack teaches Rose to spit.
Clinton??:... Let's not go there.

Titanic:..... Rose gets to keep her jewelry.
Clinton :.... Monica' s forced to return her gifts.

Titanic:.... Rose remembers Jack for the rest of her life.
Clinton :..... Clinton doesn't remember Jack.

Titanic:..... Rose goes down on a vessel full of seamen.
Clinton: ...... Monica.. Ooh, let's not go there, either.

Titanic:..... Jack surrenders to an icy death.
Clinton :...... Bill goes home to Hillary - basically the same thing.

How To Enjoy A Colonoscopy

The Show Goes On - RAIN Or Shine

Nightmares Haunted House
Rt 13 North, Delmar, DE

www.nightmareshauntedhouse.info,
Friday and Saturday 7:30pm RAIN or Shine

House Republicans Accuse Muslim Group Of Trying To Plant Spies

Republican members of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus said the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) have tried to plant “spies” within key national-security committees in order to shape legislative policy.

Reps. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), citing the book Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that’s Conspiring to Islamize America, called for the House sergeant at arms to investigate whether CAIR had been successful in placing interns on key panels. The lawmakers are specifically focused on the House Homeland Security Committee, Intelligence Committee and Judiciary Committee.

“If an organization is connected to or supports terrorists [and] is running influence operations or planting spies in key national security-related offices, I think this needs to be made known,” said Broun, who sits on the Homeland Security Committee. “So I join my colleagues here today in calling for action.”

But the Office of the House sergeant at arms said that it has received no such request from any of the four Republicans and declined to speculate on how a request of that nature would be addressed.

“We have not received any request at this time,” said Kerri Hanley, a spokeswoman for the House sergeant at arms office. “Until we know of the exact request, a determination cannot be made on how it will be handled.”

The book, which was written by P. David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry with a foreword by Myrick, is scheduled to be released on Thursday.

A representative of CAIR called the accusations unfounded and worried that they would tarnish the improving relations between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans.

“God forbid American Muslims take part in the political process and exercise their rights,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesman, in a telephone interview. “I suppose they’re going to investigate the Muslim Staffers Association next.

“If these people weren’t so hate-filled, it would be laughable, but unfortunately they have an audience and, given their positions, it’s going to get picked up by the hate blogs.”

GO HERE to read more.

Poll: Mexicans Say Mexican-Americans Owe Loyalty To Mexico Over U.S.

Nearly 70 percent of Mexicans surveyed said that Mexican-Americans – including those born in the United States – owe their primary loyalty to Mexico, not the U.S., according to a Zogby poll commissioned by the Center for Immigration Studies.

The in-person poll, taken during August and September, sampled 1,004 Mexicans across the country on subjects related to illegal immigration and amnesty in the United States.

When asked “Should the primary loyalty of Mexican-Americans be to Mexico or to the U.S.?” 68.8 percent of respondents in Mexico said that it should be to Mexico, while only 19.7 percent said it should be to the United States. Another 11.5 percent of respondents said they were not sure.

More..

Here's Something To Think About

I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and exhaustive Lab tests, he said I was doing 'fairly well' for my age. (I just turned 49.)

A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, 'Do you think I'll live to be 80?'

He asked, 'Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?'

'Oh no,' I replied... 'I'm not doing drugs, either!'

Then he asked, 'Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?

'I said, 'Not much... my former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!'

'Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?'

'No, I don't,' I said.

He asked, 'Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?'

'No,' I said.

He looked at me and said,... 'Then, why do you even give a sh!t?

Today's Nature Photo By Scott Phoebus

" Blueridge Parkway "

To Purchase Photos Email Me At ksphoebus@gmail.com

Picking Lemons

A woman applying for a job at a Florida lemon

grove seemed to be far too qualified for the job.

The foreman frowned and said,

"I have to ask you this;

Have you had any actual experience in picking lemons?"

She replied:

"I've been divorced three times and I voted for Obama."

"America Again" By Carman

Salisbury Police Department Press Releases

On October 13, 2009 at approximately 11:50 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call from a local medical office in reference to fraudulent prescriptions. The medical office had been contacted by a local business store who had found a suspicious prescription left in the store. The officers then responded to the business store. Upon arrival the officers met with store management who advised that store personnel had observed the below listed suspects constructing and copying what appeared to be fraudulent prescriptions. The suspects were identified and located by officers. When apprehended the suspects were found to be in possession of fraudulent prescriptions for Oxycodone and Abilify, which are controlled dangerous substances.

ARRESTED #1: Rameez (nmn) Asif, 27 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

ARRESTED #2: Johmon Lawrence Handy, 19 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES (Both): Possession of fraudulent prescription (2 counts)
Counterfeiting a prescription (2 counts)
Possession of a falsely made prescription (2 cts)

DISPOSITION: Both released to Central Booking CC # 200900036487

On October 14, 2009 at approximately 2:13 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to a residence on the three hundred (300) block of Pryor Avenue for the report of a domestic assault. Upon arrival the officers met with the female victim who advised that the below listed suspect had struck the victim several times, had choked the victim and had threatened the victim during an argument. The victim did not require medical attention.

ARRESTED: Garrick Levin Wharton, Sr., 37 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Second degree assault

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 200900036589

On October 14, 2009 at approximately 8:00 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police observed the below listed suspect on property posted against trespassing on W. Main St. The suspect was approached for information and pushed one of the officers before fleeing the area on foot. During the foot chase the suspect attempted to drop a plastic bag. The bag was recovered and was found to contain a number of smaller bags of suspected “crack”/cocaine. The suspect was caught and was placed under arrest.

ARRESTED: Rudolph Valentina Palmer, 44 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
Possession of cocaine
Second degree assault
Possession of CDS/paraphernalia

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 200900036636

On October 14, 2009 at approximately 11:45 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police arrested the below listed suspect on an outstanding warrant for a theft that occurred on October 9 of this year. On that date the suspect took a bicycle, a cd player and a weed trimmer from a residence on the five hundred (500) block of Buena Vista Avenue.

ARRESTED: Bryan Andre Hyland, 38 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Theft (over $ 1000)

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 200900036029

THE YEAR IS 1947

The year is 1947

Some of you will recall that a little over 62 years ago, witnesses claim that an unidentified flying object (UFO) with five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and mule ranch just outside Roswell , New Mexico . This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies and organizations.

However, what you may NOT know is that nine months later, the following people were born:
Albert A. Gore, Jr.
Hillary Rodham
John F. Kerry
William J. Clinton
Howard Dean
Nancy Pelosi
Dianne Feinstein
Charles E. Schumer
Barbara Boxer

See what happens when aliens breed with sheep and jackasses?
I certainly hope this bit of information clears up a lot of things for you. It did for me.
No wonder they support the bill to help illegal aliens!
Now You Know.

On The First Day, God Created Dog

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'

The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'

The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?'

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'

The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.

Lipizzaner Stallions

Enjoy the Graceful Dance of the Lipizzaner Stallions

(Salisbury, MD) The "World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions proudly presents their 40th anniversary presentation of the "Dancing White Stallions"! Over the years, more than twenty-six million people throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia and Hawaii have seen this internationally acclaimed spectacle. It is now dancing its way into the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center on Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13. Both shows will take place at 7:30pm.

The Lipizzaner Stallion has galloped boldly out of the pages of over 425 years of history and are now preserved as an equestrian work of art, performing a unique equine ballet that has no rival. Harkening back to a time when the horse was a symbol of grace and majesty, the Lipizzaner Stallions are truly a great experience to be enjoyed by the entire family!

Tickets are available for purchase and range in price from $17.50 to $26.50. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. Tickets are available for purchase at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office (500 Glen Ave. Salisbury, MD), online at www.WicomicoCivicCenter.org or by phone at 410-548-4911. Additional facility fees, ticketing fees, service charges and/or taxes may be included in (or added to) ticket prices. Please call 410-548-4911 for more information or visit www.WicomicoCivicCenter.org.

Great Stuff

AN ENTIRELY NEW MEANING

Ever since the September, 1814 day when Francis Scott Key penned, "The Star Spangled Banner", our national anthem, four words had a special meaning. "THE LAND OF THE FREE" James Madison, the fourth President was in office at that time during the war of 1812. From Madison through George W. Bush the meaning was clear. We are a Free People, Free to live as we wished, Free to buy or not to buy whatever we wanted.

Today, I am not at all certain the meaning is the same. Are we still free to by the car of our choice? Will we be forced to buy insurance by government mandate? Does free now mean a government handout? The government seems to feel we must be told what to eat, what to weigh and how much exercise we need. What is the proper temperature to keep our homes at? What will be our source of energy? How much government intrusion into our lives is acceptable? Government will determine how much of your work results you get to keep. Government will decide who is deserving of charity and use your money to make the contribution. Is this "THE LAND OF THE FREE" you were born to?

NO, I don't intend to leave, but I do intend to fight to return to the original meaning. Will you fight or surrender?

Joel

Wicomico Neighborhood Congress

Wicomico Neighborhood Congress
P.O. Box 145
Sharptown, Maryland 21861


“Education, Organization, Empowerment & Advocacy”

The Wicomico Neighborhood Congress (WNC) is pleased to inform you of our 2nd annual conference. The event will be held on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at Salisbury University -Guerrieri Center in the Nanticoke Room at 6:30 PM. – with registration at 6:15. This letter is being sent in an effort to update you on the WNC and to ask for your participation.

The initial community concerns brought forth during the first conference include:

Public safety - Crime, drugs, gangs…
Environment – Over development of agricultural land, storm water runoff, the quality of water in our lakes, streams and aquifers…
Housing – Code compliance, rentals, slum & blight…
Quality of life – Internet service, local T.V. channels…

We are pleased to announce that First Sergeant Tim Robinson with the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Department will be addressing one of the community’s topics of highest concern - crime. First Sergeant Robinson will also instruct us on “How to Establish a Neighborhood Crime Watch in Your Neighborhood.”

A second item of highest concern is our environment and our next guest speaker, Margaret Enloe with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Heart of the Chesapeake, will be speaking on this topic. Margaret will also be instructing us on: “Rain gardens: A household way to improve drinking water in your community”.

Finally we will have our very own Wicomico Neighborhood Congress board member Michael Pretl, experienced non-profit attorney, hosting our third breakout session. Mike will be speaking about and answering questions pertaining to home owners associations while addressing the topic of: “Establishing a Home Owners Association in your Neighborhood.”

Please join us or have a representative join us to express the concerns of you and/or your neighborhood. It is our vision that the WNC will bring together the residents of Wicomico County to address all issues of importance concerning our neighborhoods. In doing so, we hope to motivate and empower our members to help improve the quality of life for all of our citizens.

Best regards,

Mayor James Ireton, Jr.

WNC Chairman Executive Board

Chairman: James Ireton, Jr. - Secretary: Mary Jane Marine - Treasurer: Lena Wallop

Board Members: Kurt Drechsler - Cindy Pilchard - Mike Pretl - Constance Strott

Throwing The Baby Out With The Bathwater

In this case, the baby is the Impact Tax. In our headlong rush to cut taxes and starve government we are overlooking the fact that some taxes have merit.

In this case the Impact Tax is being politicized and demonized and made the “bad tax” by the use of erroneous statements, voodoo math and misleading diatribes for no other reason but that it is politically expedient. People are emotional about it and this lends itself nicely to political rhetoric. Political expedience, not good sense is driving some agendas.

I have read that we “will no longer build Schools”, “Cecil County does not have it”, “it is unfair”, “home building is being stopped”, “it does not generate enough revenue to matter”, and the like.

What the Impact Tax does is tax the “New People” moving into our community, not the ones already here. This is based on the assumption that new people into a community UNFAIRLY burden the existing tax payers by needing additional new schools. What the Impact Tax does is place part of the cost of this new building on the new people who need it, not the ones already living there who have paid for their existing schools.

What the Impact Tax does for existing Tax Payers: It pays for the construction of new schools. BRAC is, if you believe the reports, bringing 20,000 new jobs into the County. Let’s discount that to 5,000 additional children. These will require the construction of 2 to 3 new schools, each with a price tag of 80 to 90 million dollars. Without the Impact tax, the entire cost of these new schools will fall on the existing tax payers and I do not think it is fair. With the Impact Tax $43,000,000 falls on the new households. Without the Impact Tax, that $43,000,000 would fall on the shoulders of the existing tax payers. Now, what is so fair about that??

CECIL County utilizes an Excise Tax to help cover its new construction.

This tax hits all tax payers, new and existing alike. They wish they had an Impact Tax and are working to get one.

What is worse, The EXCISE TAX is not tax deductable on your Federal Tax Return while the Impact Tax, as part of the cost of a home is.

As for the Builders, they are out of sorts because they are forced to pay the Impact Tax before they start building. This ties up scarce funds, for as long as 18 months. In a cash tight market not very desirable.

We can readily solve this issue by moving the payment of the Impact Tax back to when the home is sold. That will get the builders off the hook by freeing up their funds so they can get back to building again. Every builder I interviewed said as much.

So, now what are we left with…….the Impact Tax is ALSO being used to pay down the Forward Funding Bonds that were sold when our existing schools were built. You can cut off the revenue stream that the Impact Tax creates, but the Bonds must still be paid for. Also there are some of in our leadership (DG said so in an Aegis article) who desire to raise the TRANSFER TAX (which affects existing taxpayers and new tax payers alike) to make up for the shortfall of no Impact Tax...What is the wisdom to that???

So then what happens when the Impact Tax is repealed?? The County is forced to raise taxes on the existing tax payers so the Bond obligations can be paid. So now where are you?? That is correct, you end up paying more taxes on top of what you are already paying. Does not sound too smart does it????

So why does an avid and active member of the Tea Party Movement support KEEPING the Impact Tax.

Because the Impact Tax reduces the tax burden on existing Tax Payers and those tax payers are the constituency of the Tea Party Movement.

Tony Passaro

Bel Air Tea Party Movement

A Comment Worthy Of A Post

Folks I wore the Brown Uniform in Wic.Wor.an Som. Counties for nearly 28 years.

When I hung up my gun several years ago I was dam glad to take it off an leave it off.But never in my wildest dreams would I ever thought I'd see the hometown I've had all my life turn into Tombstone.

I am not going to sit here and demean the Officers of the Salisbury Police Dept. As I served under some of the worst Superiors my Agency could possibly put in a Supervisory capacity and some of the best, at least they were dedicated individuals who had geniune concern for the people we protected and got involved in investigations an directed the course of these investigations to bring them to a successful conclusion and instituted policies and programs specificly targeting the crime ridden areas of the time. Salisbury PD's problems clearly go right to the top.

Sad to say I now carry a gun again, not one but 2,it use to be I'd carry a firearm only at night depending on my travels, now I carry one both day and night, one in a shoulder holster and one in my vehicle/s.The point is I'm never without one.

The only advice I could offer is to encourage all duty personnel and retired officers to carry a weapon 24/7. With the tide of crime the way its running in Salisbury its only a matter of time before one of us run into a violent crime of one sort or another. For the citizen out there, if you have the time or inclination take a Certified Firearms Course, apply for and obtain a Handgun Permit.

I know some will not agree and thats fine but there are statistics out there which demonstrate lower crime rates when the citizens are armed. Lastly you have two of the most powerful weapons known to man, the power of the pen and the vote.Scrutinize the people very closley your voting for in the next elections, its we the people who run this show and make it clear if they don't work for us their term will end at 1.

Its clear the current City and County Government now is lost. It may even be worth the effort to push a movement for a County Police Dept. absorbing the local PD's.
I'm no expert in Politics, I'm not qualified to be a Chief of Police but there is one thing I do know unless Law Enforcement redistributes their resourses and get feet on the street,the crime problem is going to get worse, and some innocent will get caught in a crossfire.

Just the ramblings of an old retired cop...........