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Monday, December 21, 2009

Dec 18, 2009 — Delaware Agencies Preparing For Weekend Storm

This was the last Post the State put up. I guess they didn't prepare all that well, eh? ;-)

Hey Chiefy, Gary, Louise & Shanie, Listen Up A Minute


Dispite More Jobless, Crime Rates Drop

FBI: Big drops in crime rates in first half of '09

'Remarkable' given unemployment and the recession, expert says

WASHINGTON
- Unemployment is high, the economy is down. Yet for all the signs of recession, something is missing: More crime.

Experts are scratching their heads over why crime has ebbed during this recession, making it different from other economic downturns of the past half-century. Early guesses include jobless folks at home keeping closer watch for thieves, or extra benefits keeping people from resorting to crime.

Preliminary figures gathered by the FBI for the first six months of 2009 show crime falling across the country — at a time when many experts and police officials had expected crime to rise under the pressure of high unemployment, foreclosures and layoffs.

GO HERE to read more.

It's Time To Show JT & Others We Will Succeed No Matter What They Say Or Do


Folks, see the red kettle above. Look to the right and you'll see the exact same kettle on the upper right hand side of the Blog. If you simply click on the kettle on the upper right you can make an on line donation immediately and make a difference without ever having to leave the house. Oh, ALL donations through this link stay right here in Salisbury.

Please take the time to send in a donation and together we can beat them through donations. We're in the final week of fundraising and their shenanigans have truly put a hurting on the fundraising.

Remember, there's going to be lots of celebrities in Pittsville this evening so please bring the kids and come meet Santa from 6 to 9 PM.

By the way, every time someone makes a donation I get a message telling me someone, (not you specifically) just made a donation.

Thanking You In Advance,

Joe Albero

Wicomico County Schools Closed Again Tomorrow

Tuesday December 22nd: School Closed due to weather conditions.

Taylor Mali - "What Teachers Make"

Breaking News On East Side Deli Case


On November 30, 2009 at approximately 5:50 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the East Side Deli on East Main Street for the report of an armed robbery with gunshots fired. Upon arrival the officers met with witnesses and a single victim of two (2) gunshots. The victim was identified as 56 year old Gregory David Knowles of Delmar, Maryland. Knowles was transported to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center. The witnesses advised the officers that a single suspect had entered the business and approached the victim with a handgun pointed at the victim. The suspect fired two (2) shots at the victim then took U.S. Currency from a cash register at the rear of the business. The suspect fled from the business on foot and was last observed traveling east along the front of the building. A K-9 track was attempted with a K-9 from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office and yielded negative results. This investigation continues, and the suspect was described as:

Black male, approximately 5’10”, thin build, light complexion, wearing a black hoodie type sweatshirt with the hood up, black jeans, black tennis shoes and a black ski mask. The suspect had black with grey facial hair around his mouth that was seen in the mouth opening of the mask. The handgun was described as a black in color revolver type weapon.

Additional information has been received in reference to a vehicle in the area of the East Side Deli at the time of the incident. This vehicle was described as a white in color mid to late 1960’s model Plymouth, possibly a Valiant.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident or information about this vehicle, they are asked to contact the Salisbury Police at 410-548-3165 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776. Information may be given anonymously.

Editor's Note: Remember Folks, there's a $4,000.00 Reward from Crime Solvers on this case.

The Baltimore Sun Sends Even More Readers To Salisbury News


While we're enjoying record setting days pretty much every day last week, the Baltimore Sun linked to Salisbury News again today, sending our visits through the roof once again.

GO HERE to see their article. It's a fun Santa story.

CITY HIRES NEW DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS


Mayor James Ireton, Jr., is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Teresa Gardner as the City’s new Director of Public Works. Ms. Gardner will replace Jim Caldwell who resigned in May.

Ms. Gardner has over 23 years of professional experience in engineering. Most recently, she was employed as a Senior Transportation and Safety Engineer for Vanesse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., in Vienna, Virginia. Prior to that, Ms. Gardner worked for the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) for almost 17 years.

During her service with DelDOT, she was employed as a Traffic Project Engineer, Contract Review Engineer, Assistant Maintenance Engineer, Project Manager, and Traffic Manager. During her last two years with DelDOT, she was Assistant Director.
Ms. Gardner has a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Delaware.

As Director of Public Works, Ms. Gardner will be responsible for overseeing water and sewer operations, engineering, sanitation, street maintenance, parks, the Salisbury Zoo, vehicle maintenance, and the marina.

“Salisbury welcomes Ms. Gardner as our first female head of the Public Works Department,” said Mayor Ireton. “Her leadership and professionalism will guide the department as we strive to become more efficient, as we work to improve the health of the Wicomico River, and as we face down the challenges of our Wastewater Treatment Plant. I appreciate the work of the search committee and the rate of confidence the Salisbury City Council gave in approving Ms. Gardner’s nomination.”

Ms. Gardner will begin her new assignment on Monday, January 25, 2010. For further information, please contact John Pick, City Administrator, at 410-548-3100.

CITY NAMES BARKLEY AS ACTING POLICE CHIEF


Salisbury Mayor James Ireton, Jr., is pleased to announce the appointment of Lt. Ivan E. Barkley as the City’s Interim Police Chief effective today, Monday, December 21, 2009.

Barkley has 25 years experience as a law enforcement official, all with the Salisbury Police Department (SPD). Acting Chief Barkley has served the citizens of Salisbury as a Patrol Officer, Detective, Community Police Officer, and now as Acting Chief. He is the recipient of 4 Honorable Service Awards, 5 Exceptional Duty awards, 2 Chief’s Awards, and a Salisbury City Police Department Silver Star. He was Salisbury’s Police Officer of the Year in 1991.

Barkley has held many assignments in the SPD including: SWAT Tactical Unit, Community Oriented Policing, and SPD Zero Task Force. Education and training certifications include: Firearms Certification and Training Procedures, ATF Explosives Training, and TOP Gun Undercover Law Enforcement Training. Barkley has previously been involved in Weed and Seed Coordination Training and the Wicomico Mentoring Project.

“Acting Chief Barkley’s commitment to our community is evident through his 25 years of service, his many awards, his Cops for Kids Christmas Outreach Program, and his willingness to take this assignment as Acting Chief of the Salisbury Police Department at this time,” said Mayor Ireton.

Crisfield Victim Recovering From Pit Bull Attack

Mr. John Casey was attacked last week by a stray Pit Bull who's owner has yet to be found. Mr. Casey received multiple puncture wounds on his hands while trying to protect his deceased Mother's dog but was unsuccessful. The Pit Bull continued to go after their beloved pet and ultimately killed it.

The incident happened on State Street in Crisfield. State Police and Crisfield Police were on the scene as well as Jimmy Henderson with Animal Control. The dog is being tested for rabies and of course our hope is that the test comes back negative.

Mr. Casey was taken to PRMC and was released that same day. All our very best wishes to you Mr. Casey and a Merry Christmas to you and your Family.

Troopers Investigating Home Invasion

Location: 28000 block of Carpenter Road, Milton, Sussex County, DE

Date of Occurrence: Saturday December 19, 2009 at 9:45 p.m.

Suspects: Three male suspects

Resume:

Delaware State Police are investigating a home invasion which occurred Saturday evening.

Troopers responded to the 28000 block of Carpenter Road near Milton Saturday evening during the snow storm after three male suspects entered the home. The suspects barged into the home and confronted a 17 year-old male and an 18 year-old female. The male was shot multiple times in the leg and the female was shot in the arm. The suspects fled the area by unknown means.

Both victims were taken to Beebe Hospital in Lewes where they were admitted with non-life threatening injuries.

Troopers are still determining a motive for the crime.

Anyone who may have any information is asked to contact the state police at Troop 4 in Georgetown of contact “Crime Stoppers.” Callers may remain anonymous. Tips may also be forwarded to law enforcement through tip lines maintained by Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-333 3 or on line at www.tipsubmit.com.

Latest Update On Brooke Mulford


Well, "Hell Week" is definitely living up to it's name! Since my last entry Brooke's temperature has remained anywhere between 102-104.8. Her last temp was actually starting to get a little more normal (100.3) so hopefully the fever is gone now for good. She needed to be on "blow by" oxygen Thurs & Fri night but did well without last night. Her heart rate got as high as 172 but averaged in the 140's (currently 139). Her blood pressure was fairly stable throughout this round. The hives went away once they slowed down the rate of her infussion and never came back.

Enough of the technical stuff...overall she has just felt plain awful. she is in pain and has been sleeping most of the past 2 days. she never even felt up to getting out of bed to look at the snow out the window (which, by the way, I just saw on the news that Philly got 23"). Saturday she asked me to go outside (once the snow stopped), build her a snowman & take a picture of it for her but Sunday she never wanted me to leave the room. Hopefully there will still be snow at home when we get there (my guess is there will be)!

Brooke is due to be discharged tomorrow (Monday) but looking at her right now I don't know how that is possible. Everyone says though that once the infussions are done (antibodies 4:00am & IL2 9:30am) that the side effects should all stop. So we will see how she is doing tomorrow and take it from there.

I'm going to go ahead and keep this short tonight.

I'm attaching a YouTube video just for fun that I put together back in June of the first 6 months of treatment. It's very short (about 1 1/2 minutes):
Brooke's Journey with Neuroblastoma

Please Pray that all the side effects are gone by morning and that Brooke is feeling better.
Thank you and God bless,
Amy

A Winter Wonder Land At The Albero Ranch






Caption This Photo

Best Wishes And Merry Christmas !!!

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes.


To All My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"What Do Teachers Make"


The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

To emphasize his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Ned. Be honest. What do you make?'

Ned, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied,
'You want to know what I make? (He paused for a second, then began...)

'Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?' (he paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

''I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brain, not the
man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in
English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.'

(He paused one last time, then continued.)

'Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't
everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
What do you make, Mr. CEO?'

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

We The People

Health Care?

Very interesting.

A recent "Investor's Business Daily" article provided very interesting statistics from a survey form believe it or not... the United Nations International Health Organization.

Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years after diagnosis:
U.S. 65%
England 46%
Canada 42%

Percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received treatment within six months:
U.S. 93%
England 15%
Canada 43%

Percentage of seniors needing hip replacement who received it within six
months:
U.S. 90%
England 15%
Canada 43%

Percentage referred to a medical specialist who see one within one month:
U.S. 77%
England 40%
Canada 43%

Number of MRI scanners (a prime diagnostic tool) per million people:
U.S. 71
England 14
Canada 18

Percentage of seniors (65+), with low income, who say they are in "excellent health":
U.S. 12%
England 2%
Canada 6%

I don't know about you, but I don't want "Universal Healthcare" anything close to comparable to England or Canada .

Moreover, it wasSen. Harry Reid who said,

"Elderly Americans must learn to accept the inconveniences of old age."

SHIP HIS "A$$ " TO CANADA OR ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's Nature Photo By Scott Phoebus


Harder To Buy US Treasuries

IT is getting harder for governments to buy United States Treasuries because the US's shrinking current-account gap is reducing supply of dollars overseas, a Chinese central bank official said yesterday.

The comments by Zhu Min, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, referred to the overall situation globally, not specifically to China, the biggest foreign holder of US government bonds.

Chinese officials generally are very careful about commenting on the dollar and Treasuries, given that so much of its US$2.3 trillion reserves are tied to their value, and markets always watch any such comments closely for signs of any shift in how it manages its assets.

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange reaffirmed this month that the dollar stands secure as the anchor of the currency reserves it manages, even as the country seeks to diversify its investments.

GO HERE to read more.

Alas, Where Has All Our Innocence Gone….

While I sat in the reception area of my doctor's office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist's desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother's lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man's, he said, 'I know how you feel. My mom makes me ride in the stroller too.'

*****

As I was nursing my baby, my cousin's six-year-old daughter, Krissy, came into the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed before, she was intrigued and full of all
kinds of questions about what I was doing. After mulling over my answers, she remarked, 'My mom has some of those, but I don't think she knows how to use them.'

*****

Out bicycling one day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little
wistful. 'In ten years,' I said, 'you'll want to be with your friends and you won't go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now. Carolyn shrugged. 'In ten years you'll be too old to do all those things anyway.'

******

Working as a pediatric nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving immunization shots to children. One day, I entered the examining room to give four-year-old Lizzie her needle. 'No, no, no!' she screamed. 'Lizzie,' scolded her mother, 'that's not polite behavior.' With that, the girl yelled even louder, 'No, thank you! No, thank you!

******

On the way back from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son, 'Dad, I know babies come from mommies' tummies, but how do they get there in the first place?' After my son hemmed and hawed awhile, my grandson finally spoke up in disgust, 'You don't have to make up something, Dad. It's okay if you don't
know the answer.'

*****
Just before I was deployed to Iraq , I sat my eight-year-old son down and broke the news to him. 'I'm going to be away for a long time,' I told him. 'I'm going to Iraq.' 'Why?' he asked. 'Don't you know there's a war going on over there?'

*****

Paul Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children stricken with cancer, AIDS, and blood diseases. One afternoon, he and is wife, Joanne Woodward, stopped by to have lunch with the kids. A counselor at a nearby table, suspecting the young patients wouldn't know Newman was a famous movie star, explained, 'That's the man who made this camp possible. Maybe you've seen his picture on his salad dressing bottle?' Blank stares. 'Well, you've probably seen his face on his lemonade carton.' An eight-year-old girl perked up. 'How long was he missing?'

*****

God's Problem Now.

His wife's graveside service was just barely finished, when there was a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance. The little, old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, 'Well, she's there.

A Personal Message From George


Romantic Sleigh Ride

Naylor Mill Road Now Open

The new West Side Collector Road is now open to traffic. The light is now fully functional and the road to the Dump is complete. Just watch out for the Deer!

Salisbury's 3rd Friday Memories


Sam Hotton was kind enough to send us this photo from last Friday's 3rd Friday Event in Salisbury.

Salisbury's 3rd Friday Memories Part I





While there were less people out this past Friday night, it was still a great time.

School Closings/Delays From WBOC & WMDT

You can go to WBOC HERE or WMDT HERE and stay updated on local School Closings or Delays.

A Breath Of Fresh Air


OK, anyone who watched "The Joe Albero Show" this week and last week would have to agree, its influence has turned over a stone no one would have thought would happen. Yet it did. GO HERE to see today's editorial from the Daily Times and if you missed this week's Show, go down a couple of Posts and you'll see it there.

My hat is tipped once again to the Daily Times for recognizing that the local media plays a huge role in local politics. Uniting everyone, rather than dividing is the key issue. This will help curb many of the major problems here in Salisbury.

Now, let's just hope Joe Carmean and some of their Reporters read their own Newspaper.

And The ‘Survivor Samoa’ Winner Is...



New reality show millionaire refuses to sell ‘sole survivor’ title

The sole survivor: Natalie White, 26, a former pharmaceutical sales rep from Arkansas, won "Survivor Samoa's" $1 million prize, taking the title of sole Survivor from one of the biggest game players ever, Russell. But his game was too big, and the jury gave Natalie more votes (third-place Mick apparently received zero votes). Natalie may not have outwitted like Russell did, but she outplayed and outlasted him.

Famous last words: After the first immunity challenge, Russell said of Natalie: "Who better to take to the final two than her? There's no way she can beat me in votes." No way at all. He also said that the other players were "my puppets. When I'm finished with them, just throw them in the trash." But he forgot that he needed to get their votes before discarding them.

Devastated: Before the final Tribal Council, Russell told us, "If Mick or Natalie won this game over me, that would just be a shame. It wouldn't make any sense to me. I've played this game strategically better than anybody, maybe in history." But during the live show, he displayed bloodshot eyes.

GO HERE to read more.

Gander Mountain Stops Salvation Army From Ringing The Bells One Week Before Christmas

While the local Chapter of the Salvation Army is extremely grateful for the local Gander Mountain allowing them to ring the bell at the Salisbury location, the District Manager came by last Thursday and asked the Bell Ringer to pack their things and stop ringing the bell.

It was a complete shock to all as the schedule was completely full throughout the rest of the Christmas Season but Corporate has made a final decision and no one will solicit in front of Gander Mountain.

The Grinch has in fact stolen Christmas. I will personally be returning the gifts I purchased from Gander Mountain and spend the rest of this week purchasing gifts elsewhere. It's a two way street, the way I see it.

A solid Corporate decision would have been, allow them to finish out the Holiday and announce a decision after the fact. They made their statement, now I'm making mine. So you also know, I have not made a single purchase from Sam's Club or Wal-Mart either.

"The Joe Albero Show"


; ; ;