Aurora girl gets chance to cheer

The Omaha World Herald has posted an article about Julia Sullivan, who wants to become a cheerleader. Julia was born without legs and arms that stop shy of her elbows and has been taking dance classes for over ten years, is a member of pep band and the marching band, but has not made the cheerleading squad. When the cheerleading coach from Portland, Michigan got word of Julia Sullivan's story she invited Julia to cheer with them at homecoming. Julia will get to cheer at the pep rally and the homecoming game, ride in the parade, and participate in the team sleepover. She will get a team uniform and a football signed by the football team. The community of Portland has also donated use of a van for Julia's family as well as meals and hotel stays. Portland says they are not doing this to make Julia's school look bad but they wanted to give Julia the opportunity to cheer.

This is an amazing, inspirational story. I am glad that this young girl will finally get the chance to do something she has always wanted to do.

The cheerleading coach and the people in the community of Portland, Michigan are truly amazing to be able to make this girls dream come true. Even more amazing than the coach and community is this young girl, Julia Sullivan, who isn't letting anything hold her back from accomplishing her dreams. I am furious at her current school for not offering her accommodations for her disability from the first time she tried out, instead her parents had to get an attorney and the school was forced to offer it next year when she tries out and still makes no guarantees of her making the team. They are not asking for a guarantee, just a fair chance. That isn't too much to ask for.

Julia Sullivan probably has more spirit than the whole squad at her current school and they are fools for not being able to look past her disability and recognize that.

Driver in fatal Stafford crash was on probation, had history of license suspensions

Asbury Park Press posted an article about a 76 year old mad who was struck and killed by a driver with a history of license suspensions for drunk driving and was on probation at the time of the accident. The driver of the vehicle has had his license suspended seven times by a court, and three of those suspensions were related to driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. On the day of the crash his license was valid. Awaiting a blood analysis report of the driver, charges are have not yet been filed.

My first reaction to this article is shock, I can't believe that someone with so many suspensions and drug/alcohol driving charges is still able to get a license. It's even more shocking that he had a valid license at the time of the accident.

"He is what we consider a driver in good standing" quoted directly from the article, this quote absolutely floors me. I understand under the eyes of the law and courts that he did what he was supposed to do in order to obtain his license and that is why the statement was made, my concern is why the courts keep giving him his license back! Apparently you do the time, pay a fee, take some classes and you can have your license back. Seven suspensions, there should be some kind of limit here. He has had three drug/alcohol related charges while driving, he should not even have the option to obtain his license.

I think we need stricter laws regarding obtaining a driver's license after alcohol/drug related offenses, not only alcohol/drug charges specifically related to driving but alcohol/drug related offenses period. Perhaps if there were stricter laws in place this driver would not have been driving and this poor pedestrian would still be alive.

Less Play Time = More Troubled Kids, Experts Say

U.S. News reports that "Adult interference may deprive children of needed challenges, not to mention fun". According to this article researchers have found that children today have far less time to play outdoors than children did 50 years ago, which may have serious consequences on their development and mental health. The article states that since the 1950's adults have played a much larger role in their children's activities having a detrimental effect on their mental health by not allowing them the basic competencies ultimately needed to become adults acquired through free play. Surveys reflect that the parent's fears of abduction, worries about kids getting hit by cars and bullies are keeping kids indoors.

I agree with this article and can see how the lack of free play can have a detrimental effect on a child's development. At the same time I also disagree that children should be allowed to go outside unsupervised in today's society.

While in the 1950's children were allowed to go outside unsupervised, today that wouldn't be acceptable. The article talks about the differences in free play from the 50's to now but doesn't talk about the increase in crimes and the changes in laws over the years. I wouldn't let my four year old go outside unsupervised. Maybe that is because of a fear of abduction or getting hit by a car, really anything can happen. I think that these fears existed in the 50's but they weren't as prevalent. My kids don't play outside near as often as I did when I was a child. If I was inside my parents wanted to know why I wasn't outside playing. But when I was a child we lived in the middle of nowhere on a farm and the odds of something happening were much less, I now live on a busy street in the middle of town and am not comfortable letting my four year old play outside unsupervised.

I feel like the research should have gone more in depth on the changes in crimes and laws regarding children, not just showing research about how children not being allowed to go outside and have free play is detrimental to their development and mental health.

Mom Gambled Away Donations to Fight Son's Cancer

A mother in Buffalo, New York pleads guilting to felony fraud after gambling away her son's donations to fight cancer. The mother admitted to gambling $15,000 that was raised to help her son battle leukemia. The mother states that she isn't sure of the total amount she has gambled away but does say that it is virtually all gone. She admits to being a gambling addict and faces up to four years in prison.

I feel terrible for the son with cancer and am furious by what this mother has done with  her son's donations. After further reading the article I was even more angry with her for blaming it on a gambling addiction.

I have heard many stories of people who make up fraudulent organizations or charities to make money, but for a mother to gamble her own son's donations that he needs to help fight cancer is completely unacceptable. She accepts blame and says she knows she is wrong, so why not get some help? There is no talk in the article about her getting help for this addiction. I would imagine that spending your child's cancer donations would  have to be pretty close to rock bottom.

I have three children and can't imagine ever putting my own needs before theirs, especially if their's was life threatening. I hope they make an example out of her and give her the maximum penalty.

2 Arrested After Body Reportedly Driven To Bars

In Denver, Colorado two men are accused of using dead man's credit card at bars. Denver.com posted this news story about two men who are accused of transporting a body of a friend to various bars and using his credit card. The men put their friend's body in a car and went bar hopping before returning him to his home and notifying the authorities.

My first thought was is this for real? I am shocked that this dead man's supposed friends loaded his body and drove him around while they bar hopped. As if it isn't bad enough that they put him in their car while they went to bars, they used their dead friends credit card to fund their evening.

If I were to find my friend dead my first thought would not be to load them up in my car and go drinking and I certainly wouldn't use their credit cards. The article stated that they went to a few bars then took the dead friend back to his place and put him in bed then went and got gas and a burrito with his credit card. After that they were at another bar where they flagged down a police officer outside the bar and told him they thought their friend was dead. The police went to check it out and found his body. The article compares this incident to the movie "Weekend at Bernies".

These men had to know he was dead, I just wonder what they were thinking! They keep referring to these men as his friends but their actions don't speak of friendship at all.  If these were his only friends, perhaps he is better off.

Sexual encounter leads to J.V. football forfeit

The Baltimore Sun published this article regarding a girl and multiple members of Essex's Kenwood High School junior varsity football team. According to the article there was a consensual sexual encounter between members of the football team and a girl which resulted in school officials forfieting the upcoming game after receiving knowledged of the incident. The school's principal also sent out letters to the parents of the students who were involved in the incident.

I am baffled by the way the school took over what the parents should be stepping up and handling. After reflecting on the article I feel more strongly that this is a parental issue not the schools.

I am somewhat confused as to where the school's responsibility lies on this matter. The article does not mention that the incident took place on school grounds in which case the school should intervene. I don't disagree with the school notifying the parents of the player's who were involved in the incident, but I do disagree with them forfieting a football game and punishing the entire team for something not all of them were a part of. The parents should be taking charge and handling this incident with their children. I don't think it is appropriate for the school to take a parental role and discipline these children for something that didn't take place on school property.

I am not condoning the behavior but parents must be held accountable for their children's actions and take responsibility in teaching them right from wrong. I don't understand why the school feels they need to take on the role of parenting by punishing these students. Perhaps it's because some parents have become lazy or too busy/involved in themselves that they feel that it is the school's responsibility to raise their children, which is very sad.

Boy Left In Car Died From Heat Stroke

A boy dying from a heat stroke as a result of being left unattended in a car is featured in The Sun News. Three year old Andrew Leighlan Calloway was pronounced dead as a result of being left in a parked car. Calloway was with his babysitter, Sheila Henderson, Henderson's sister and two other children on a lunch outing. Upon their return they exited the vehicle and it took Henderson an hour to realize that Calloway was not in the house and went out to the car to find him unconscious and called 911. Calloway's father arrived to pick him up and found the day care roped off with crime scene tape. Calloway's father was notified by police at the scene that his son was left in a car, lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital.

I was both saddened and angered by this story. I am sad for the child and his family and angry that this completely unavoidable, careless incident occurred.

When I first saw the headline I assumed it was another irresponsible parent leaving their child in a hot car but was surprised to find it was a day care provider. As if it wasn't bad enough that the child was left in the car but it took the day care an entire hour to realize the child wasn't in the house. The article stated that Calloway was on a lunch outing with two adults and two other children. Two adults left the day care with three children, took three children out to eat and returned from lunch with three children yet only two children were brought inside the day care. How does the third child get forgotten? Not just forgotten for a short period of time, but for an hour by two adults who were paid and trusted to care for this child. I feel terrible for this poor father who returned from work to pick up his son and was informed that the people he trusted to care for his son left him in a hot car for an hour where he lost consciousness, then was taken to the hospital only to find out he never regained consciousness.

 I can't help but to speculate about the reasons why this day care only had a city business license but was not licensed by the state as a day care, perhaps they were avoiding it or even possibly got denied. I am appalled at the carelessness of this so called day care and hope that incidents like this can be avoided in the future, perhaps by installing some sort of safety feature in vehicles driven by forgetful, irresponsible morons to remind them they have a child in the car.

College Students Not Getting Enough Z's

Yahoo! News posted an article about college students not getting the required seven to eight hours of sleep per night. According to the article to the article this affects a student's ability to learn. Researches from the University of Cincinnati questioned approximately 200 college students who do not live at home between the ages of 18-24 about their sleep habits. The majority of the students who were questioned work full or part time and only 24% of them report getting the reccommended amount of sleep while 21% get more than the required 8 hours of sleep. Throughout the article the author of the study, Adam Knowlden talks about  how sleep deprivation directly effects a student's learning potential.

The article itself was somewhat interesting although I was disappointed in the actual study the article was featuring. I felt like both the article and the study were generic as I was hoping for a broader explanation on this subject.

It's not really news that students are not getting enough sleep or that sleep deprivation effects a person's learning potential. Everyone should already know that we need to get the required amount of sleep for optimum learning potential. What wasn't discussed is that every person is different and not everyone requires exactly seven to eight hours of sleep to achieve optimum learning potential. On the other hand some people require more than the seven to eight hours. They only interviewed around 200 students in one demographic which I don't feel provides enough output. The article does mention that financial concerns and poor time and stress management were factors that hindered a student's ability to get enough sleep, which I do agree effects not only college students but everyone without regard to demographics.

Despite my need for broader information on the study itself, the main point of the article was that getting enough rest is detrimental to a student's success.

Oversize Man Sues White Castle Over Seats

My Fox New York posted an article about a 290 pound man who is sueing the hamburger chain,White Castle, because he is too large to fit in their booths. Martin Kessman claims that the booth size violates the civil rights of fat people. Kessman's lawsuit was filed two years after he filed a complaint with White Castle's corporate offices. According to Kessman, after he filed that complaint he was promised that rennovations would be made to the seating to accommodate larger customers and nothing has changed. Kessman believes that The Americans with Disabilities Act applies not only to him, but to pregnant women and handicapped people. Kessman is suing for bigger chairs and unspecified damages.

The idea that someone can sue a restaurant because they are too fat to fit in their booths is absurd. This reaction was only strengthened after reading the entire article and reflecting upon it.

The fact that Kessman thinks his obesity is a disibality and is putting himself in the same category as pregnant women and handicapped people is unacceptable to me. It could possibly be considered a disability if he had a medical condition that caused his obesity but he doesn't. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that someone can sue a company simply because they are too fat to fit in their seating. If I didn't fit in a reastaurant's seating area, I wouldn't go back, plain and simple. There are other options, he could use the drive through, he could go inside and get it to go, or he could have someone pick it up for him, but no, he is going to sue them so they possibly may be forced to make larger booths and he may even get money out of it. I don't think this is fair to White Castle and I hope that this doesn't set a presidence for all restaurants to have to shell out money in this already suffering economy for unnecessary remodeling  which could result in some of our local small business owners having to close because they don't have the extra money to comply with a ridiculous new law.

If I was so obese that I couldn't fit in a fast food restaurant's seating I probably shouldn't be eating fast food. Obviously Kessman doesn't connect the dots.

Youth Football Referee Attacked

Youth Football Referee Attacked is an article I found on TBO.com. In Sarasota Florida a youth football referee was attacked by three coaches and a 14 year old player last weekend. The three coaches and 14 year old were all charged with one count of battery on a sports official which is a third degree felony. In addition one of the three coaches also attacked a coach from the opposing team who was attempting to break up the fight, and is charged with battery which is a misdemeanor.

I was very disappointed in these coaches just after reading the headline but after finishing the article I am not only disappointed but also angered by the irrational behavior of these coaches who are supposed to be leaders and role models for our children.

Before the attack the referee had called several penalties and the coaches first started  verbally abusing him and even threw a water at him. This behavior caused  the referee to eject the coaches from the game and eventually terminate the game minutes before the first half had been completed. The behavior of the coaches before the attack was completely unacceptable. They should be setting a good example and teaching good sportsmanship instead of everything else they did. One of the attackers was a 14 year old boy. I believe this action was a result of his coaches behaviors and probably wouldn't have happened if his coaches had behaved differently. That in no way excuses his behavior, he should know right from wrong, but the coaches behaviors and actions most likely influenced his behavior.

Upon reflection of this story I can't help but wonder why none of the parents did anything about this before it got out of hand. I have a 15 year old boy and if any of his coaches, let alone all of them, were exhibiting that behavior I would not have sat quietly in the stands turning a blind eye.

To the rescue -- finding a purpose for rejected shelter dogs

I came across this article, "To the Rescue" on CNN's website. The article is about Wilma Melville, the founder of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. In 1996 Melville started looking for shelter dogs with potential to become search dogs. Melville states that there are about 250 search and rescue teams, made up of dog and handler, but that is only about half the number that is needed to cover the country. These teams are FEMA certified and travel to disasters all over the world. Melville started this foundation after the Oklahoma City Bombing and the dogs and handlers trained through her foundation have provided help to the Japan & Haiti earthquakes, the May 22 tornado in Joplin and the 9/11 attacks in New York. Melville's organization has trained about 130 teams, for free. Melville says that this is the only group in the nation that gives a highly trained, professionally trained dog, to a handler and then stays with that handler for the rest of the team's life together.

I was thrilled to come across this article and learn about this foundation. After reading the article my feelings about Melville's foundation didn't change.

This is a great way to save a shelter dog that normally wouldn't have much of a chance of being adopted to a forever home. After training these shelter animals for free they are placed with their handler forever.  As a former animal control officer, I was excited to hear about Melville's foundation. Melville discussed in the article a former shelter dog who had previously been rejected by two foster homes because he was deemed too hyper to be a pet. But his search-and-rescue training gave him a purpose. There are many displaced animals who are euthanized simply because someone wanted a cute, furry puppy but aren't willing to take responsibility for it once the cuteness wears off and Melville has created a place for them. Another great thing about Melville's foundation is that she does this for free and receives no federal or state funding.

Melville is saving animals who are saving lives, what a great service.

FDA TYRANNIZES AMISH FARMER

I found "The case of Dan Allgyer" on directactionstation.com. Dan Allgyer is a dairy farmer from Pennsylvania who is being convicted for selling raw milk harvested from his cattle to out of state residents. The sale of unpasteurized milk across state lines is a federal crime. The FDA set up a sting operation posing undercover as customers from Maryland and bought milk from Dan Allgyer on 23 separate occasions from 2009 to 2011. Each time it was tested in never contained any harmful pathogens only tested positive for a lack of pasteurization. With that evidence, on April 20, 2011, "the FDA then proceeded in a manner fit for the taking down of a drug lord". Dan Allgyer's farm was raided by the FDA and all the milk was confiscated and tested to confirm again that it was unpasteurized and again it contained no harmful pathogens. Then on April 19, 2011, one year after Dan Allgyer's farm was raided, the FDA filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking an order banning this farmer from selling his milk and to cover the cost of the investigation and all legal fees.

I think the prosecution of this farmer is absurd. I am outraged at how the government is treating this hard working farmer as if he were a drug lord. The "illegal" milk he was selling was not harmful and tests done by the FDA itself prove that it contained nothing harmful.

The article states that FDA does not argue that Dan Allgyer’s milk will in fact cause you injury if you drink it, only that it could cause you injury. That is ridiculous. Anything you consume could cause you harm. Having a pet could cause you injury, does that mean the government should come and confiscate everyone's pets, then prosecute anyone that has a pet? Every year thousands of Americans become ill and hundreds die from ingesting pasteurized milk and cheese contaminated with listeria, salmonella, or other harmful pathogens. That being said, the government could demand that specific measures are taken to make sure that unpasteurized dairy milk is safe, but instead make a law that all dairy products need to be pasteurized to ensure that these small farmers can't compete with the mass manufacturers of pasteurized dairy, which is just as risky to consume. The people who were buying this "illegal" milk were specifically asking for it. These people weren't at the grocery store accidentally grabbing unpasteurized dairy products. That isn't even a possibility due to the government's regulations on the sales of unpasteurized milk.



It is crazy to me, that in the same store where pasteurized milk is sold, I can purchase alcohol and tobacco products that are much more harmful than any dairy products, but I can't buy unpasteurized dairy products. In a nutshell, the government ultimately decides what we can or can't consume, whether it's harmful or not.