Rain at last!

Ending weeks of drought at our home in Washington Parish.

Hey, doofuses, there's a burn ban on!

So quit burning already.

Don't be like the major doofus who almost burned down my friend's house last year.

Of course, we can be reasonably certain that nobody will be issued citations unless they're come-heres. The born-heres don't seem to get in trouble with the law much...

Online ad alert

Seems like everywhere on the interwebs these days are ads about a mom's tooth whitening discovery.

Click through, and you'll get a page telling you that for a mere four bucks, you'll receive two products that will whiten your teeth.

Read the fine print for Dazzle White:

When you order today you'll be signed up as a member of our exclusive preferred customer club. You will be billed $4.95 for the shipping of your 14-day day trial, then once you choose to continue whitening with the DazzleWhite Pro System the low member price of only $58.76 per month for every month.

And for Smile Brite:

After ten days we will charge you at a discounted price with a 18% savings of $19.95 off the regular price, for the low price of $85.37.

I think I'll pass, and I recommend you do the same.

The kids' camp kerfluffle

A Camp Fire volunteer named O'Berry was arrested after firing a gun in the vicinity of a busload of kids heading to camp.

He had been arrested three times since February on other charges, including arson, automobile burglary and home burglary.

The most distressing part of the incident is this:

Camp Fire officials said this week that O’Berry was a volunteer and the organization does not do background checks on volunteers. [Emphasis mine - Ed.]

“He was always under the supervision of an adult,” said Traci Collins, Towazi’s board president. Volunteers are required to work in pairs, and never be alone with a child, she added.

Pedophiles and abusers always work alone, huh? So having them "never be alone" is some kind of a safeguard?

I. Think. Not.

It would have been possible to learn something about this volunteer's background by searching The Daily News archives, but only if you misspelled O'Berry's name by leaving out the apostrophe and putting a space instead. I don't know if that was deliberate obfuscation or more of the same.

Considering that Camp Fire accepted O'Berry because he was vouched for by a relative, and nepotism is a primary consideration in Bogalusa, I'm leaning toward the former.

Who knew summer camp was held at the OK Corral?

Irate camp counselor fires gun near school bus, police say.

This is what happens when you hire your relatives and friends without doing a thorough background check. Or when you hire based on what church someone attends.

Wake up, people! There are plenty of resources out there to help you make an informed decision. Nepotism and favoritism are no way to run a business OR a volunteer organization.
**************

Our sister blog covered the original headline problem.

Chrysler dealership closings

Curious coincidence being noted on the 'net. Apparently it's far more likely that a Chrysler dealership owned by a Republican donor will be closed than one owned by a Democratic supporter. This isn't a surprise to me. The President came out of the Chicago political machine, which makes Louisiana's corruption look young and amateurish.

Google "dealergate" and read.

Seems that John Furey Motors is closing; their website is defunct. Wonder who he contributed to?

Juvenile sentencing

Received this from a good friend:

My son got in trouble at Bogalusa Middle School for fighting and calling the bus driver "the B-word." He said he cursed at her because he had not been fighting; she wrongly accused him. Neither he nor the other boy involved had any visible marks or bruises.

I had to go to the principal's office with my son. The principal talked about how awful it was to call the bus driver a bad name and then made a phone call to the Bogalusa Police Department. He said I was to take my son to the PD where they would arrest him for disturbing the peace.

I drove him to the PD, and the officers there said they wouldn't arrest a minor for disturbing the peace.

I took my son back to school and confronted the principal. I accused him of wasting two hours of my time and lying. He said he lied, "To your (my) son." My son was later arrested over the incident. I never saw the bus driver's report about the fight; only about calling her a name.

I was fired from my job for absenteeism, even though the only work I missed, with advance notice, was the court dates and some doctors' appointments.

He's on probation for an entire year. We have to pay $120 in fees for this. He was invited to go to a camp with other kids, and couldn't. He has to ask permission to go out of state and visit his 80-year-old grandmother. We have a social worker at our house twice a week. This is for a misdemeanor.

We have suffered a 40% reduction in income, and maybe more when my unemployment runs out if I don't get a decent job.

Now we read this in the Daily News:

Judge A.J. Hand sentenced Bogalusa City Councilman Danny Stogner a $50 fine for the battery charge and another $50 fine for the resisting an officer charge, plus court costs. The total amount comes to $299.50, which Stogner must pay by July 23.

The District Attorney’s office asked Hand to give Stogner jail time, but the judge did not, said Rick Wood, spokesperson for District Attorney Walter Reed. No probation was issued, Wood said.

I guess if you're feeling nasty and want to stay out of serious trouble, commit battery on an adult and resist the arresting officer. The punishment is less than cursing at a school bus driver and supposedly fighting with another kid - a fight the mother says left no marks.

Is it some kind of "tough love" to punish kids more severely than adults that do more serious crimes? Must be "tough love" on the whole family. According to my friend, they went from being self-sufficient to food stamps and unemployment.

Good going. That's keep the little delinquent in line! He's sure to behave when the family can't keep their lights on or their car insured!

Note: I make no claims as to the veracity of the indented, quoted material above, I am simply reporting what I was told by the frantic mother.

UPDATE: As a matter of interest about the judge, see also this page.

Boston PD will report zombie invasion

See Consumerist.

Who knew Twitter was so useful?

Wrong, wrong, wrong

At The Daily News:

When Sylvester Stallone rumbles across the screen in the movie he’s now filming in New Orleans, “The Dispicables,”... [emphasis mine - Ed.]

According to IMDB, the name of the film is "The Expendables."

The Dispicables is a punk band.

OMG they moved the city!

Missing girls:

On Tuesday, April 28th the U.S. Marshals office notified Amarillo Police that the two girls and their father were located in a trailer home in Bogalusa, Alabama [emphasis mine-Ed.].

Not the first time the city's been shifted to another state.