Archive for October, 2009
Crime in our Neighborhoods
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
Recently we have received numerous e-mails concerning the burglary situation in McCalla, Lake View and surrounding unincorportated areas of Tuscaloosa county.
One e-mail came from a resident who lives on Broadway Drive in the unincorportaed area of Tuscaloosa county adjacent to Lake View.
This resident was burglarized in August for the second time in 7 months. The e-mail said that on this particular day in August, 12 houses were burglarized in the area. In June of 2008, this same family had their truck stolen from their driveway. Another resident on Woodland Lake Drive had their wood planer stolen while it was sitting just outside the garage door while they were inside of their home.
Lake View police department reports 4 burglaries in the town during the last three months, 2 in July and 2 in August. Suspects have been questioned and two are currently in Shelby County Jail, one is in Jefferson County Jail and one has died of a drug overdose. There are three more suspects to be located and questioned.
Tell us what is happening in your area. Help us keep the public updated. Any issue you would like to discuss enter in comments below.
Tags: Burglaries, Crime Prevention, Lake View, mccalla, Tuscaloosa County
Posted in Community Activism | 4 Comments »
Identity Theft and Census Concern
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
The big question is – how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
• If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.
• Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.
• Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home. However, they will not contact you by e-mail, so be on the look out for e-mail scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org
Tags: Better Buisness Bureau, Census Scam, Identity Theft, Scam
Posted in Business, Financial, Local News, World News | No Comments »
Shoes Fashions Come and Go
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
Shoes for women have taken a toll lately. The look for comfort rather that fashion is now the style. Ladies, don’t you love those back less shoes, even to wear to church? No, panty hoses either!
Of course there are always those “funky” shoes that invade our stores, but only for those who can stand the pain of crumpled toes and stretched arches. Wearing those spike five-inch heels, stilettos I think they are called.
Shoe fashions for kids have changed also. Now days, kids go to school wearing flip flops or tennis shoes. Shoes are expensive for kids who participate in sports. There are special shoes with cleats for football, golf and soccer; high tops for basketball, low cut for tennis, soft-shoes for the dance team, and special shoes for cheerleading, not to mention track shoes.
Those types of shoes are a long way from shoes I had to wear to school. Every night my Mother would shine my brown oxfords with a rag and soft paste from a round flat tin can called “Shoe Polish.” Naturally, I wore ankle socks with my shoes.
Buying shoes in my early years of school was so different. A shoe store in Tuscaloosa located on Greensboro Avenue had a machine that you could walk up to and stand with you new shoes on and it would “x-ray” your feet. The store salesman and Mother could view my feet in the shoes and tell if my shoes were the correct size. If my toes were at the end of the shoes, I needed a larger size. The salesman would always say, “This guarantees a correct fit.” This was always fun for me to see my toes through my shoes. I wonder why shoes stores don’t have this machine any longer. Was it because of the radiation it emitted to patrons and salespersons?
Custom from around the world dictate shoe etiquette in homes. In Eastern Europe, Russia and Japan, shoes are always taken off before entering the home. Sometimes the families just wear socks, other prefer bedroom shoes to slip on.
In desert countries soft-shoes are made with pointed toes to assist in sliding through the sand. In the Netherlands the people wear wooden shoes to keep out the dampness, and leave their wooden shoes at the door. I have collected some of these unusual shoes while traveling overseas. Most Americans wear their shoes from the outside into the home. I usually always ask, before I enter a home in a foreign country what the custom for shoes are in the home..…Shoes off, or shoes on!
Shoe fashions may come and go…but give me comfort all the time!
Jean Butterworth
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Lessons From Life — Help!
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
I was newly married, living in a small duplex. My husband often went to work at 3 A.M. One morning after kissing him good bye, I quickly dozed back into dreamland. Suddenly, I was awakened by the opening and closing of the front door. Heavy footsteps clomped through the living room, into the kitchen, and then into the bedroom. The foot steps were now muffled by the carpet. I felt someone sit on the side of the bed pushing up against my back. I twisted my neck as far as I dared. I strained to force my eyes open, hoping I would be able to see something in the dark room. Oh! Horror of horrors! The dim night light provided just enough light for me to distinguish a flash of flannel plaid. My husband didn’t wear flannel or plaid!
I tried to scream but not a sound came out. Now there was only silence, no movement, no sound, only my own ragged breathing and the loud thumping of my heart.
Then as I began to come to grips with my situation, I realized that I was alone. My neighbor on the other side of the duplex was a dental student who was often up late. It must have been his front door that I heard opening and closing. It was his feet that had clomped down the hall. The body that sat down on the bed pushing up against me turned out to be my husband’s pillow that shifted as I moved. The flannel shirt was nothing more than a square in the quilt my grandmother had made.
Boy, was I relieved! I also felt rather foolish about my vivid imagination.
Whenever I remember that terrifying experience, I realize that it was my own imagination that caused me such great anxiety. In today’s world there are many things that scare us and fuel our imagination. There is the horror of 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the anthrax scare, international terrorism, earthquakes, flu pandemics, AIDS, flesh eating bacteria, antibiotic resistant diseases, rising gas prices and on and on.
God‘s principles and promises are for today’s stressful times. We must trust, hope, and believe in our Lord, His word, and His provisions. We can bank on God and His word.
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7
By Bunny Murphree
Bunny is a wife, mother, grandmother, retired teacher, writer, and professional storyteller. For ministry needs, storytelling events, or for information on becoming a subscriber to the “Lessons From Life Column” for your newspaper or magazine, please contact Bunny by e-mail: bunny@otelco.net or call (205) 274-8719. Bunny is the author of “Job – A Book of Faith and Hope
Tags: Bunny Murphree, Inpiration Column
Posted in Inspriration | 1 Comment »
New Type of Dating at Brookwood High School
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Photo by Jeremy Aldridge, BHS Student
Left to Right: Kaylan Dodson, Cory Hudson, Sandy Miesse, Librarian, Jaleesa Cameron, and Hannah King
In an effort to introduce students to books they would normally not even look at, Mrs. Miesse, the Brookwood High School Librarian has implemented a new and interesting concept called “Speed Book Dating.” Once the students are in the library, they are given three minutes to read about one of the four books on the table in front of them. After the three minutes are up, the students pass the book they are reading to a classmate at their table. This experience is not only a learning experience for the students but also for the librarian herself. She observes the books, students are most interested in, and finds out what her students would like to read in the library. She finds most students enjoy reading books that are relevant to their age group and their life situations. Students studying a variety of subjects can benefit from this experience such as a science class, in which each fiction book on the table can represent various topics relating to science. After all the students have had their three minutes with each book, Mrs. Miesse asks students at each table to discuss each book and how it relates to science. Students usually are more interested in a book once they hear about it. When the discussions are over students are able to check out the book that interests them. One student who was questioned after having this ‘book dating’ experience responded that he enjoyed the opportunity to look at a variety of different books he wouldn’t have chosen on his own. Mrs. Miesse has noticed the increased circulation and interest of books in the library since trying out this new idea. She stated that the idea came from a summer workshop and thought it just might help the students to get more interested in reading.
By Keri Pugh, BHS Student
Tags: Brookwood High School Tuscaloosa County Alabama, Reading Program
Posted in Education, Local News | No Comments »
Advertisements
