08-23-02

Public Relations--In and Out

We have made great strides with our PR and we are aware of it. The videos have shown me just how good you are doing in that area. It seems to me that we use up all our tolerance in dealing with the public and don't have any for our co-workers. Kind words, polite constructive criticism will go a long way in having a pleasant work environment. If harsh words are needed to get the point across, it should be the exception instead of the rule.

PR is needed in and outside our workplace.

Dumb Crooks

DEEP SIXED
Three men who were fishing illegally in Vrula Bay, Croatia wound up facing double murder charges. Authorities say one of the suspects admitted they were using landmines to fish -- and killed two divers.

WAS REGIS PHILBIN'S PICTURE ON IT?
A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania woman was arrested on 16 counts of fraud after opening a bank account with a fake one-million dollar bill. Embarrassed bank officials said the teller who accepted the bogus bill was unaware that America has never issued that large a denomination.

MUSKY MENAGERIE
According to Davis County, Utah law, a person can keep no more than six ferrets. Animal Care & Control reported that a woman was keeping no less than 261 ferrets in her apartment. Neighbors had complained about the stench of the critters, who were distributed to various ferret rescue groups.

DON'T CALL ME, I'LL CALL YOU
A manhunt in Harrison County came to an end when a burglary suspect was outdone by modern technology. Deputies said Milton Sims was easy to find in a wooded area after his cellphone rang.

NEED NOT APPLY
A Baltimore man who was applying to be a police officer was surprisingly candid when the questionnaire asked if he had ever committed a crime. Police said Edwin Gaynor confessed to committing a carjacking and robberies in Texas. Authorities in Texas immediately filed extradition papers.

Justice is Served

The Second Annual Justice is Served Spaghetti Supper benefiting CASA is Thursday, September 5, 2002 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. It will be held at First Baptist Church in Decatur.

As a reminder, CASA is Court Appointed Special Advocates. These trained volunteers investigate and advocate on behalf of children in and out of the courtroom.

If you would like to help, please contact the sheriff.

Don't try this on anyone under 30.....

1. "Kookie; Kookie. Lend me your _________."
2. The "battle cry" of the hippies in the sixties was "Turn on; tune in; _________."
3. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, "Who was that masked man?" Invariably, someone would answer, "I don't know, but he left this behind." What did he leave behind?
4. Folk songs were played side by side with rock and roll. One of the most memorable folk songs included these lyrics: "When the rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and I'll be gone. You're the reason I'm traveling on, ___________."
5. A group of protesters arrested at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 achieved cult status, and were known as the ____.
6. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in 1964, we all watched them on what show?
7. Some of us who protested the Vietnam war did so by burning our _______.
8. We all learned to read using the same books. We read about the thrilling lives and adventures of Dick and Jane. What was the name of Dick and Jane's dog?
9. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk (what there was of it) in the front, was called the VW. What other two names did it go by?
10. A Broadway musical and movie gave us the gang names the ___and the _____.
11. In the seventies, we called the drop-out nonconformists "hippies." But in the early sixties, they were known as what?
12. William Bendix played Chester A. Riley, who always seemed to get the short end of the stick in the television program, "The Life of Riley." At the end of each show, poor Chester would turn to the camera and exclaim what?
13. “Get your kicks, ________________."
14. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed ______."
15. The real James Bond, (only one, Sean Connery), mixed his martinis a special way. How?
16. "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, ______."
17. That "adult" book by Henry Miller - the one that contained all the “dirty" dialogue - was called ________.
18. Today, the math geniuses in school might walk around with a calculator strapped to their belts. But back in the sixties, members of the math club used a _________.
19. In 1971, singer Don Maclean sang a song about "the day the music died." This was a reference and tribute to _______________.
20. A well-known television commercial featured a driver who was miraculously lifted through thin air and into the front seat of a convertible. The matching slogan was "Let Hertz _________."
21. After the twist, the mashed potatoes, and the watusi, we "danced" under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the________________.
22. "N-E-S-T-L-E-S; Nestles makes the very best... _____________________."
23. In the late sixties, the "full figure" style of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe gave way to the "trim" look, as first exemplified by British
    model ________________.
24. Sachmo was America's "ambassador of goodwill." Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was ________.
25. On Jackie Gleason's variety show in the sixties, one of the most popular segments was "Joe, the Bartender." Joe's regular visitor at the bar was that slightly off- center, but lovable character, _______________. (The
    character's name, not the actor's.)
26. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it; it was called ___.
27. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking?
28. One of the big fads of the late fifties and sixties was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist; it was called what?
29. The "Age of Aquarius" was brought into the mainstream in the Broadway musical ______________.
30. This is a two-parter: Red Skelton's hobo character (not the hayseed, the hobo) was ________. Red ended his television show by saying, "Good night, and _________."

Legal Issues

An officer patrolling an interstate highway noticed a car swerving in the lane ahead of him. As the officer watched, the car crossed the marked lanes. The officer stopped the defendant for failing to maintain a single lane.

In testimony at a suppression hearing, the officer said that there had been other traffic on the highway, but in response to being asked whether there was “any incident that came close to causing an accident or was unsafe in any manner,“ the officer replied, “I guess not.”

The defendant had been arrested after consenting to a search of his vehicle which uncovered marijuana in the trunk. His suppression motion was based on his claim that the officer had no legal basis for a traffic stop.

The State responded that the defendant was stopped for violating Texas Transportation Code Section 545.060(a), requiring that drivers “drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane, and may not move from the lane unless that movement can be made safely.” The State also contended that the officer was justified in detaining the defendant to determine whether he was intoxicated or fatigued.

Holding: The officer in this case did not testify that he thought the defendant was intoxicated, or that there was anything about the movement of the vehicle that would have led him to believe the defendant was intoxicated.

In order to justify the stop, the State was required to show that the defendant had committed a traffic violation. A violation of Section 545.060(a) of the Transportation Code occurs “only when a vehicle fails to stay within its lane and that movement is not safe or is not made safely.”

The stop in this case was warranted only if the officer had reasonable suspicion to believe that the defendant “failed to keep his vehicle within its lane and did so in an unsafe manner.”

The officer did not testify that the defendant changed lanes unsafely. He said he saw no unsafe behavior. While some cars passed them, the officer did not say that cars were passing while the defendant was changing lanes, or that ant lane change was unsafe.

There was no indication how many times the defendant left his lane of traffic, or what the circumstances of any lane changes were. In the absence of evidence that the lane change was unsafe, there was no traffic violation and no reasonable suspicion to justify a stop.

The trial court should have granted a suppression motion because the traffic stop was not justified. Bass v. State, 64 S.W.3d 646 (Tex. App. – Texarkana 2001).

Some Reasons to Be Grateful if You Grew Up Speaking English

Try to read these aloud:

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
18. I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.

Screwy pronunciations can mess up your mind!
For example... If you have a rough cough, climbing can be tough when going through the bough on a tree!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

From the Chaplain

To See God and Know Him…

There was a teenage boy who was deeply interested in scientific subjects, especially astronomy. So his father bought him a very expensive telescope. Since he had studied the principles of optics, he found the instrument most intriguing. He took it apart, examined the lenses, and made detailed calculations on the distance of its point of focus.

The boy became so absorbed in gaining a technical knowledge of the telescope itself that he never got around to looking at the stars. He knew a lot about that fine instrument, but he missed seeing the wonders of the heavens.

We need to know facts and figures contained in the Bible, but that is not the end for which God gave us His Book. The purpose is that we might see God and know him.

Seems Fishy

Yes, we know it’s fake, but it is cool...