But it worked on television.....

It must have seemed like a very good plan October 22 2007 in Silver Springs Shores FL. That is, until it hit an unplanned glitch.

Jeffrey Mumani, 25, had planned to rob the CVS store there by lowering himself down a ventilation shaft. He climbed up on the roof of the store, removed the air conditioning cover and then tied a rope there to lower himself into the shaft. Evidently, Mumani should have spent the extra cash on a good climbing rope because it snapped and he fell about 10 feet into the shaft.

"He was begging the manager to help him out," stated Marion County Sheriff's Captain James Pogue.

The store emplyees had called the Marion County Fire Rescue at 8:11 am, after Mumani began shouting for help, some ten hours after he had become stuck there. Lt Lonny Blackburn stated that they had to position firefighters at the top and bottom of the shaft to stabilize his position. He added that there was no easy access and mumani was trapped about 10 feet below the roofline with his hands pinned and his feet through the bottom of the shaft.

Mumani was freed after approximately an hour and a half and was transported to Munroe Regional Medical Care Center. He suffered from minor cuts and was in stable condition and for the moment, has charges pending. I would think that Mumani now knows that some plans work great on television but not real well in life.

Iggy-gate

It began with the adoption of a 4 month old brussels griffon mixed puppy from the Mutts and Moms adoption agency. By October 16 2007, it became a national media story.

When a representitive from the adoption agency called Ellen DeGeneres to check on Iggy's welfare, she found out that the pup had been given to Ellen's hairdresser. That had been in violation of the contract that Portia de Rossi had signed when adopting the puppy, which stated that the dog had to be returned to the agency.

Iggy wasn't dumped on the street but had been given to a family with two young girls, ages 10 & 12 and had been taken care of very well. This had happened after Ellen had paid approximately $3,000 in vet bills, neutering and training of the pup and he still didn't get along well with her cats.

It seems that Ellen had been told to immediately return the dog to the agency or they would go and seize the dog. That is exactly what a representitive of Moms and Mutts did, with police presence, she removed the dog from the home and children because of a violation of the contract. Ellen pleaded for the return of Iggy to the children, the agency stated that they would make sure that the children didn't receive the dog and the situation spun out of control.

Ellen was visably upset about the events, the owner of Moms and Mutts was as well. Marina Batkis, a co-owner of the rescue group, had stated that they "may" have considered the new placement if Ellen had asked them to do so before putting the puppy there. I think that is a very large "maybe" on their part, since they state the agency has a rule barring placement of small dogs with families with children under the age of 14.

Iggy it is now reported, has been placed with another family, which is rather nice that the agency could rush him out the door that quickly during this dispute. It has also been reported that Iggy would not be returned to Ellen because her name had not been added to the microchip he has. That seems a bit of a double standard, the agency states they have a contract and follow it to the letter but they use a technocality to claim Ellen can't prove the puppy is hers?

My final thoughts......... if this agency has a policy of not adopting small dogs into families with children and they evidently monitor their placements militantly...... what happens when a couple adopts a small dog and two years later, has a baby? Does Moms and Mutts point to their policy in the contract and have police stand by as they yank the dog out of the home?

Of note:

Ellen and Portia may well have broken the contract that Portia signed with Mutts and Moms, a contract that it seems now, that many pet adoption agencies have, Marina Batkis's sobbing on television has done little for me to believe that she had Iggy's best interests at heart. She publically stated that there was no way that she would have placed Iggy back with Cheryl Mark's family because of the publicity and the fact that there were "young" children in the home. That can be shown by how fast Mutts and Moms were to place Iggy with another family as soon as they had him back in their grasp.

What has been revealed though from "Iggy-gate" is that there are numerous pet adoption agencies out there, some with little more that the local governement's approval to operate because their facilities meet certain standards. Those standards though often do not include how well trained they are in placing animals and most solicate donations for their "good" works.

The "Smoking Gun" posted several of the emails exchanged between both parties and while some may point to their relevance, I found little in them that excited me........ Batkis evidently felt that not hearing an update for more than 30 days on the placement of one of their pups was excessive and I do wonder........ does anyone who adopts a pet from Mutts and Moms have to send an update every two weeks or so for them to feel confident of the care their former charge is getting?

For a look at those emails, go here.

Update: November 13

"Iggy's doing famously, very well and in a loving home," stated Keith Fink.

It seems that Iggy is destined for some sort of fame at the moment, he is now being paraded on television to prove what a good job Moms and Mutts has done in placing Iggy after the tears and hate of last month. I had no doubt that they would find yet another family to care for the now 5 month-old pup and one that would allow them to exploit him as well.

What isn't being addressed though is the policy that they have, one which many agencies it has been revealed has and specifically, their policy of not placing a dog in a house with small children. That alone would have most likely kept the agency from allowing Iggy to stay with Ellen's friends, especially after it was publically stated that the would be no way that they would get the pup back.

I personally feel that the family who now has Iggy, who is doing famously and probably with the help of the couple thousand Ellen spent on training him, should be living quietly at home.... not paraded on "stage" by Fink, the lawyer for the agency.

Could you move your fin, I can't see

The month of October brings out scarey themed parties and numerous Halloween related activities. Besides those more normal contests, there are complicated corn mazes, flying pumpkins at chukin contests and at dive shops nationwide, carving contests.

Ken and Linda Smith of Sebring FL recently swam away with the top prize at the 10th annual Amoray Dive Resort Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest. Yes, divers do it underwater and this one is held at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary five miles off Key Largo FL.

"The pumpkins want to float, so that makes it difficult. So you are working against your own bouyancy and the pumpkin's," stated Ken Smith.

Most divers will state that the carving isn't easy even if they drop weights into it to hold it down. You only have to think of how difficult it is to carve one on your kitchen table, add the "floating factor" and the numerous other divers and fish swimming through.

These contests are rapidly becoming very popular fun among divers and can be run for charity, prizes or just the fun diving with your friends. The fun factor even has divers in the northern regions, donning heavy gear to carve in 40 to 50 degree waters. The Smith's won a free dive trip for their winning entry of the scariest pumpkin this year and can enjoy the memories for years to come.

For a related post, go here.

Not so booksmart

Wednesday, October 17 2007, finally closed the book on the case of a former Northwest Catholic High School teacher. The once popular teacher who also was a musician admitted in court to having a sexual relationship with a 16 year-old student.

Matthew Glasser, 31, of Oxford St, Hartford CT, resigned from his teaching job at the high school in the spring of 2005, after allegations came to light of a relationship with a student. That student had confessed a fear that she may have been pregnant.

Glasser met the now 16 year old when she was in elementary school and used his position to violate the student's trust, according to the prosecutor. The arrest warrent describes a relationship that began as friends and advanced to internet chats and late night cellphone chats to a sexual relationship according to the victim.

On Valentine's Day 2005, Glasser sent the victim an email that asked her in slang, "Wanna Spoon ha ha." The girl stated that she replied. "Aww yes" and Glasser responded in return with telling her she could whenever she wanted to. Within a month, the relationship had changed and Glasser called the girl's cellphone at about 2 am and asked her for directions to her house. He picked her up and they spent the time driving around.

By April 12 2005, the girl was sneaking out of her home more often and the time spent at Glasser's apartment watching movies had progressed to consensual sexual intercourse. They had used condoms all but once, on May 3 and it was after that, the young girl thought she might be pregnant and sought help from authorities. The arrest warrent doesn't state how school officials found out about the relationship but they contacted authorities immediately after learning of the allegations in early May 2005.

Police then searched Galsser's apartment and seized sheets, pillowcases, cellphone records, a stuffed frog and his computer for evidence. Some of the items had been described specifically by the victim.

While Glasser seems to have taken a similar path as Brenton Wuchae in North Carolina did with his former student, now wife, he faces a very different future than Wuchae. Glasser was 28 at the time of the relationship, 12 years older than the girl he felt he needed to be with. He also resigned as soon as the allegations surfaced but didn't use the apparent escape clause Wuchae did by marrying his child girlfriend.

Glasser doesn't get to look forward to evenings of games and watching movies with a young girl, he instead struck a deal and pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of tampering with a witness and five counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced on October 17 to a seven year suspended prison term and five years of probation. As a condition of his probation, he forfeits his rights to teach in Connecticut, must register as a sex offender and comply with any sexual offender treatment recommended by the state.

It would seem that there is a very big difference in how some states view teachers having relationships with their students.... Wuchae so far is only facing an investigation and Windy's parents are left to try and sue the school board that turned deaf ears and a blind eye to their complaints.

For a related post, go here.

Well that sux

The city leaders have finally decided to scrape any plans of continuing the fight. The officials in Sioux City Iowa have been trying to have the designation changed since 1988 to no avail.

"Lets make the best of it. I think we have an opportunity to turn it into a positive," stated Dave Berstein, airport board member.

The decades old battle centers around Sioux Gateway Airports identifier - SUX. At one point, the FAA offered the city five alternatives: GAY, SGV, GWU, GYO and GYT but the airport trustees turned them all down.


They have finally decided to set aside the battle and stick with SUX, making it the center of the airport's new marketing campaign. The code, which is used by airports and pilots worldwide, will be printed on tickets, luggage tags, caps and T-shirts using the new slogan.... FLY SUX. The slogan is also the basis for the airport's new Web site, http://www.flysux.com/.

Dave Berstein stated that they should embrace the designator that is so easy to remember and added that many of the major airports have very forgettable three-letter codes. Mayor Craig Berenstein had stated in 2002 that the designator was an embaressment to the city, now calls the new slogan a cute way to make light of the situation.

While I have to agree that SUX well, sucks for a slogan.... I don't understand why several of the other choices offered before by the FAA had been turned down. I think it would be a bit better to have a very forgettable identifier than one that frankly, sux.

It's a great plan......

Once again, aspiring thieves have proven that having a well thought out plan will lead to a successful crime while no being completely prepared usually means failure. This seems to be the case in Seminole County FL last night.

The thieves evidently planned to steal cash from a pair of ATMs at the Bank of America on State Rd 434 in Longwood October 21 2007. They planned far enough ahead as to steal a front-end loader from a nearby construction site and drive it to the bank. It seems that they had planned to use the loader to rip the machines out and then get the loot.

It didn't quite work out as planned though. While the loader did a fine job of breaking into the bank, it also did so much damage to the surrounding structure that they ended up burying the machines in debris and crushing them. The bank is closed today to assess the damage and try and repair it.

"They get an A for effort but an F for form," stated Sheriff's Lt Barry Smith.

Deputies and a a police searched the surrounding area for the thieves after the 11:45 pm crime but not successful in finding the unsuccessful thieves. They plan to check with an offsite video camera to try and identify the thieves.

As shown so many times before...... careful planning that includes all possibilities should be done or the result is much like this case. They managed to get to the machines but no cash for the effort.

Since when?

It would seem that the city of Eau Claire WI has to be working on some new signs for a park now, due to a new city ordinance. That is because, almost overnight, there now is no archery allowed at Archery Park.

"Several archers that I've talked to are kind of in disbelief," stated Tom Draper.

That disbelief stems from the new signs outside Archer Park, whis had ben set aside by the city years ago to practice archery in. Despite the earthen berms and practice stands set up within the park, it is now offlimits to use a bow and arrow there.

In September 2007, the city decided that those berms along with the wooded hillsides that are there to keep arrows in the park were not enoughprotection. A neighbor nearby had complained to the city after they found a stray arrow in their backyard. The city then decided to ban archery in the park after this last of several complaints made in the past fifteen years.

Some of the archers who have used the park for years, to practice in, would like to see the city appoint a committee of city representitives, archers and neighbors to review the situation and new ordinence.

Since this sounds like a park that had been set aside specifically for one purpose, it would seem that this was the first thing the city should have done to deal with the complaints. Unless of course, they just enjoy renaming their city parks overnight.