Motorcyclist killed?

Still at the rumor stage, we heard that a local motorcyclist was killed by a young person driving on a learner's permit - with no accompanying licensed adult.

RIP, Justin Mixon

From wwltv.com [requires login]:

A soldier from Bogalusa died in Iraq Sunday from wounds suffered when his vehicle came into contact with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

Spc. Justin R. Mixon, 22, was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

Godspeed.

UPDATE:

More here.
Family?

Bogalusa City Schools; - attend at your own risk!

The following was sent to us by a close friend whose child attends a public Bogalusa school. While we haven't researched this and therefore can't vouch for its accuracy, similar things have taken place in other school districts. I've added links where appropriate to aid understanding.

My son was recently diagnosed with a severe allergy to stings (wasp, hornet, bee) and was told by his pediatrician to carry an EpiPen at all times in case of a future sting. Minutes count.

Bogalusa Middle School claims that my child's EpiPen will need to be left with the nurse - who isn't always at the school. They also claim that the medication will be available because someone else has a key, but they didn't elaborate on what their procedure will be. They don't want him to carry it because it's sharp. Gee, so are pencils, pens and scissors, all standard school supplies.

I talked to a woman at the Bogalusa School Board also. She claims that she is also allergic to stings and carries an EpiPen. She said as long as my child gets the shot within 15 minutes, everything is fine. Ha! 15 minutes passes pretty quickly if he'll need to leave to find the right teacher, or go to the health center (which isn't always open). What if he's stopped by a teacher on the way? What if the nurse is out and the person with the key can't be located immediately?

She had no good answers.

I asked her if they could assure me that the EpiPen would be available within 15 minutes. She said they could not. Nice of them to treat his life so cavalierly! I asked her if she was aware that there is a diabetic student who carries all her supplies with her, including syringes with needles. She was not.

I don't think my son should go to school without guaranteed quick access to his EpiPen, and that means he ought to be allowed to carry it.

Catherine Seipp wrote possibly the definitive article on children who need to carry asthma inhalers and the stupidity of school boards. Excerpt [emphasis ours]:

...Nancy Sander referred to the 1991 death of a New Orleans high school student, Catrina Lewis, who was delayed by security guards before being allowed to get her inhaler from the office. When it didn't help, she asked school staff to call an ambulance; instead they spent a half-hour trying to call her mother first. Catrina's sister, another student, finally called 911 herself, but emergency help arrived too late. In 1996, a New Orleans judge ordered Lawless High School's acting principal, a school counselor, and the school board to pay $1 million in damages to Catrina's family.

I wonder about several things:

1. Was the woman at the Bogalusa school board office a doctor? Or was she practicing medicine without a license?

2. Is she aware that the Louisiana State Board of Education's standard forms have a space for the prescribing physician to allow the student to carry their own medication?

3. Are they aware that public schools are required to accommodate a student with a medical condition, or pay tuition if necessary for the student to attend a school that can accommodate them?

And that's just for starters. I'm sure they aren't aware of much except the pleasure they get out of playing with children's lives and saying No. Dumbasses.

One mo' time: Buckle up!

And put those babies in car seats.

Infant dies after accident ejected him from vehicle

I dunno what year 4Runner they were driving, but the 2008 model was made to hold SEVEN. They were carrying EIGHT.

The driver oughtta be charged.

Cathy Seipp - In Hospital

From her blog:

I'm at her bedside now, holding her hand. I tell her she has 292 comments on the latest blog post..her last but she just squeezes my hand. She was very happy with this blog. In honor of her, if you can...support the American Lung Cancer Society and or adopt stray dogs and cats from the pound. Those were her causes.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who posted. As of 7:45am this morning she is still breathing and pulsing but is passing peacefully.

She was a wonderful writer and a very brave woman. If you pray, say a prayer.

If you've never heard of her - start reading.

UPDATE: Link fixed.

The murder of Oneal Moore

A Google news alert showed up in my inbox, with a link to this at the Times-Picayune - also being discussed on the Hard Copy board. Excerpt:

The unsolved 1965 killing of a black Washington Parish sheriff's deputy by a group of white assailants is among roughly a dozen unsolved murders from the civil-rights era that the FBI is giving new scrutiny, said Jim Bernazzani, special agent in charge of the bureau's New Orleans office.

The murder of Oneal Moore is one of 10 to 12 unsolved inquiries into suspicious deaths around the country that FBI Director Robert Mueller said Tuesday the agency is re-examining.

Further down in the article [emphasis mine]:

Ironically, Moore and Rogers were hired in part to help quell racial unrest in Washington Parish, which at the time was thought to have more members of the Ku Klux Klan per capita than any county in America.

I believe it. Remember David Duke's run for a seat in the Louisiana legislature?:

Duke actually carried Tangipahoa Parish, a rural county which is one of four in the district, and finished second in another rural county, Washington Parish. Link

And here's an excerpt from a 1965 Time article:

Governor McKeithen offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to a murder conviction, promised to "demonstrate to the world that Louisianans are law-abiding, Godfearing citizens, and that our state is no haven for cowards and murderers."

Sadly, he has been proven wrong. In this case, Louisiana, specifically Bogalusa, was indeed a haven for a murderer and his two accomplices.

Turn them in. This is a terrible blot on the city, and it's way past time for justice.

R.I.P., Barbaro

Euthanized today.

ATV fatality - correction

It's what I get for publishing half-cocked.

Through a better source - a friend of Nick's - I learned that the injured passenger was not his daughter.

Any further corrections will be placed as updates in this post.

Great book by a real journalist:

Another whoops?

Taking a look at today's online Daily News, I clicked on the obit for Carole Ann Rundell Myers and got this page:


















Mrs. Myers?

Yes, an ATV fatality

Young man in his 20s, Nick Johnson, was killed in an ATV accident.

I was told that his young daughter was riding with him and was seriously injured. She and the rest of the family will be in our thoughts.

Fatality?

Over on the Hard Copy board, Ms. Sasha says there was an ATV accident with fatality [redacted screen shot]:

I don't know how old the alleged victim was; don't know him personally. Yeah, "alleged" because I hope it isn't true.

We see them screaming up & down our street, too - in excess of the speed limit. Why do people let their kids play in traffic like that?

Here's the ATV Safety Institute. They've got a library of printable info. Literature could show up in the parents' mailbox anonymously, heh. It takes a village sometimes.

If you see repeat violators and calling 911 doesn't help, you can email the police. I can't locate a similar online form for WPSO; emailing your councilman is another idea.