Just another crime to mark on the prison wall

Now being a law man way back, I found it odd that Joe ran a New Jersey Tag and got private information on who owned the vehicle.  Yes, Mr. Wade may be driving illegally but Joe obtained the information about the vehicle illegally.  Momma always says two wrongs don't make a right.  Maybe we all should read this.

http://www.accessreports.com/statutes/DPPA1.htm

Unless he is in law enforcement it requires 3-5 business days for New Jersey to issue the information to a legitimate request.  Either Joe lied to New Jersey or someone in the local law enforcement could have caused themselves a job.  

Status of Company

http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/UCC-Charter/DisplayEntity_b.aspx?EntityID=D02685949&EntityName=ILLUMINATION+TECHNOLOGY+INC

Forfeited

For a Maryland entity, its existence has been ended by the State for some delinquency. For a non-Maryland entity it means its authority to do business and legal presence here has been terminated. For a trade name it means the filing has lapsed after 5 years and not been renewed.

Just Paying your own Taxes

Hey Joe, did you finally decide to pay the county the $6800 in back taxes for your defunct business that your still illegally running?

See case 020300028112007 

Leaking Information

First he releases a post about a gentleman committing suicide with out proof and probably before all the family was contacted.  I guess he wanted to see how influential his blog was by how fast it got to the family.  Then he allows comments about.  No morals, respect, and class.  Then he is sworn to privileged information on the SEALED GRAND JURY INDITEMENT.  WHO IS THE LEAK?  IS IT RUARK, LEWIS, OR SOMEONE ELSE ON THE INSIDE.  I would not trust any information to anyone affiliated with the States Attorneys office in Wicomico or the Sheriff's office.  Someone has been compromised and is a mole for the Turd.  My info goes to Annapolis and Dover or maybe even DC from here on out.  Joe you crossed to many lines today to turn back now.  Enjoy the misery because it loves company like you.

Now Anheuser-Busch Could Be Chugged

This is from a retired pal of mine FireGeezer.

THE CITIZENS OF ST. LOUIS HAVE THEIR WORTS IN A TWIST this weekend after word got out that Belgian beer behemoth InBev is considering a hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch.

InBev is currently the world’s largest brewer, by volume produced, and is looking to get into the lucrative American market.  Last year they made an import/distribution agreement with A-B to market some of their brands in the U. S. 

InBev has been gobbling up some of the leading brewers in the world including Beck’s and the venerable Bass Ale.  The proposed merger of Miller and Molson/Coors recently surpassed A-B’s standing in the beer world.  A-B’s stock was trading for around $52 before this news came out and then it jumped up to nearly $57 on Friday.  InBev is said to be considering an offer of $65 to the shareholders that will be hard for them to refuse.

Anheuser-Busch’s stock value has actually declined by 1.4% in the past five years while the Standard and Poor Index has risen 51% in that same time.  It is speculated that if InBev takes over the St. Louis firm, it will lead to a large cutback in A-B’s advertising budget.

If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of this story, start with this good background article in Bloomberg News HERE.

Remember When

Couldn't resist borrowing this from Joe since he borrowed as well.  I did add some personal touches for Joe.

Nice Parking Job!

Does anyone know who's bike this is?  Maybe they'll get in trouble for it, like Joe got that young man from OCFD for allegedly speeding and running lights.  But we all proved Joe was just as bad to get there as fast as he did.  Maybe Chiefy sees it on his camera and will have it impounded.

 

Who Needs Friends

Joe has amnesia today as he bites a "Friend of the Family" from their OC days.  Here is what he said when posting about the Dough Roller burning while he was giving us the NEWS first.

Some are saying it started at Playland, some are saying it started upstairs in the apartments above Dough Rollers, Billy Gibbs, (Owner of Dough Rollers) stated there was no one living upstairs but I just got an inside report that there was a young lady and a friend allegedly living up there

Remember this quote?

 "The Gibbs have always been wonderful to our children as well as thousands of others. Keith, thier General Manager and Partner of this location also treated our kids very well over the years. It's a sad sight to see this building burn."

 Today, I read that the same person who made the above quote is now bitching because Mr. Gibbs is not planning to add employee housing to his new building.  He also said that it was costing the employees $75 per person per week to rent a room! And they actually had to share the room with someone! The gall of Mr. Gibbs to have charged those kids $75 for a roof over their head!  And it REALLY takes nerve to not include housing in the new building!

 I'm not certain, but is it a requirement for business owners in Ocean City to supply housing?  Sure it’s nice, but I'd consider that a Perk, not a requirement.  Of course, I also read that the other blogger had children or stepchildren or whatever, who worked at and lived at the restaurant.  That he is now affectionately calling "Dough Blowers".  I'm thinking that if they all pooled the money that they annually paid in fines, they could have all got together and rented themselves a condo. He even starts to make more accusations in the comments like this one.

Getting back to the main point here though, this is an Insurance payoff. They should rebuild what they had, even if it's for historical purposes. They're going to, (from the picture) build a standard store front stucco building, cheap and crappy because I believe they're getting out of the business in the not so distant future. 

On that note, the building would be worth so much more money. I wonder why they were persuaded to take less back in return, unless they weren't properly insured?????

Some friend wouldn't you say.

 

I told you so, NOT!

An "Off the Cuff" COEIU reveals that the Mitchell Pond murder witness' name was obtained by the SPD.  Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, the witness gave a fake one.  Indeed, that witness has been re-located, but with NO help from JJ.

Question for today

Does anyone know the outcome of the case thatwent before the Grand Jury regarding the now infamous "Hebron Firefighter" crash?  A Salisbury News vehicle was seen parked downtown that day, presumably to "report" the news, but I have yet to see an update.  Did I miss it?  

Could it be that a certain blogger who was privy to certain information that would "shock" the daylights out of us was too busy eating crow to post?    

The Whole City on his shoulders

Poor Joe his back must really hurt carrying all that weight on his shoulders.  As he says,

"People are asking you to unite. Stop leaving all of this on our shoulders, get involved."

Is he compensating for his lightness in his __________?

Looks like Joe wants to Pick on Mike

What has got Joe all in a tizzy about Michael Swartz?  He's been hounding Michael on his site Monoblogue.  Here is a quote from Michael's post "Posting under the influence":

One thing I did figure out early on is that I can’t generally be a primary local news source, simply because I have a full-time job that I do during most of my waking hours. This website is simply my hobby/obsession and it can be a challenge to write so much and cover news too. While another local news-related blogger likes to brag he covers more stories than the local newspaper and its 200 employees, he should keep in mind that the vast majority of those people aren’t field reporters. If you count the number of co-contributors this particular blogger uses then the comparison of his forces against the number of reporters the paper employs is far more even.

And here was Joe's comment after a great suggestion:

DEG Says: 
May 20th, 2008 at 7:51 am 

Anybody who has to try to convince others that he is a somebody is in reality a nobody. The fact that the “other blogger” is trying so hard to convince himself that he is better than you shouts volumes.
Why don’t you just ignore the poor pathetic delusional fool?

Joe Albero Says: 
May 20th, 2008 at 11:23 am

O M G!

That has to be one of the most verbose posts you’ve done yet Michael. Get this too. I think I read about every 4th word, so I may have missed a lot but I just couldn’t help myself. Once I started dazing off and drooling, I knew I was almost asleep and I better pinch myself to stay awake.

Anyhow, why don’t you put up that e-mail I sent you last night from someone stating they were a Democrat and they were going to vote for Andy Harris because of my Blog.  That’s Influential Michael and that was my whole point.

Oh, as for the weight loss, congratulations. I’ve asked one of the Networks if they’d be willing to come up with a male Swan Show, interested? LOL

He sure is pushing on the personal attack.  I really don't see Michael as a public figure because of his blog, position on the Republican Committee, or Shorebird Fan Club.  Here is his attack yesterday under Michael's post "A pair of updates":

Joe Albero Says: 
May 21st, 2008 at 1:46 pm 

Michael, Michael, Michael!

With some 8 comments a week, I’m sure your beloved fans, (actually readers) can wait.

This post reminds me of a guy holding a phone conversation yet there’s no one at the other end of the phone.

Oh well, whatever suits you Michael. It’s a Carbonated Soda Party at the Shorebirds Fan Club Booth tonight. Woo, Hoo!

Thanks for the laugh today. By the way, is this a political post? I guess if you convinced one person to go to the Game to see you there I’d have to bow down and admit you’re influential, wouldn’t I?

Then there was these two comments under "Bad influence":

Joe Albero Says: 
May 20th, 2008 at 11:19 am 

We’ve seen Michael and the “low blows.” LOL Would you like one of those pics?

Joe Albero Says: 
May 19th, 2008 at 6:45 am 

“one can burn out quickly on doing a blog.”

Yeah, don’t kill yourself on that one post a day thing Michael. Once again you stayed away from the word and topic, “influential.” That’s OK though, you’ve finally answered my question without stressing yourself too much or becoming burned out. ROTFLMAO!

What do you think has his panties in a wad?

Give Me A Break!

Joe puts up a post from Jessie Lane who is a close friend of Riley Clark, one of the 2 SU students arrested for a vandalism streak.  She asks them to give him a break.  Big Joe jumps on her with both feet (whole lot of turd) saying he doesn't deserve a break.  Didn't someone expect a call from the Maryland State Comptroller asking him to explain how he didn't comment perjury or tax evasion?  He thought he deserved a break there.  Who's guilty?  The courts will decide for all cases.  Who's crime could carry the most punishment for the least effort?  Looks like they all deserve a Homer Award.  The boys weren't thinking and Joe couldn't think.

Define Scumbag

Scumbag.  Interesting slang term.  The meaning?  "Somebody who is seen as unpleasant or malicious."  I would guess that there are some people who might agree that the mayor is a scumbag. There are others, however, who could use that term to describe someone else around these parts.  Unpleasant and malicious.  Now who else fits that description?

Here is something else that is amusing.  A certain blog owner wants to be the one that will "destroy her campaign by exposing the truth."  Truth.  That is not a relative term.  The truth IS the truth.  Period.  That is a term that really shouldn't be used by one accused of perjury.  

Question: Is the new fire station leased (not bonded or purchased)?

This is the answer Joe was given from the City after he asked this question at the Council Session April 28th.

Answer: The City of Salisbury utilized a mixed methodology to acquire financial resources in order to fund the new fire station. A portion of the funding, $4,535,000 was acquired through two CDA bonds. The balance of the funding needed was acquired through a lease/purchase agreement with Sun Trust Leasing in the amount of $5,320,000. Upon final payment under the lease/purchase agreement, the city will assume full ownership of the facility. This mixed method approach allowed the city to proceed with the construction of the new fire dep artment building within the desired timelines.

This answer comes after several posts in which the blogger insisted that the new Fire Station was NOT bonded.  The letter in which this answer was contained was dated on May 12, 2008.  I would presume the blogger has had plenty of time to get this answer and post THE TRUTH on his blog.  I haven't seen it yet, have you? 

And Then There Were Two

Miller Brewing and Molson Coors Brewing are merging as the number 2 and 3 spots to one.  Will it mean you will ride the Silver Bullet Train and argue Tastes Great, Less Filling?  Will the Super Bowl commercials have a game with Coors Light vs. Bud Light with Miller Lite announcing?  What could happen next?  Soon we won't have anymore Beer Wars because they will all be one big happy family.  Let us crack our choice cold one and brew about it.

Perp Walks

Joe got his jollies yesterday being on the other side of the camera, THIS TIME.  He made sure that he got plenty of shots of the young criminals, since they are guilty already per Judge Joe.  But he will have his day in court and be vindicated because he is innocent of the charges.  He didn't find pleasure when he did his walk and had cameras snapping, I wonder if he took that into consideration before he did it to these boys?  Remember Joe what's good for the goose is good for the gander.  Which leaf did you turn over and hide under this time?  Just remember when you read this, IT IS NOT SHOOTER!  IT IS WORSE!  And how was Friday in Court?

Don't forget he did have Exclusive photos.  Could that had been because the others real news departments didn't see the need to waste their time?  They figured you would handle it ACE!

Collective Bargaining

Here is an article that will raise questions around here?  How many Towns like Salisbury, that opposes collective bargaining are going to cry "Unfunded Mandate"?  This could be a win for all our brothers and sisters in Law Enforcement and Fire and EMS.  Let's see if the Senate can pass it with enough votes to over ride a Bush veto.

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE 

May 16, 2008 – 1:53 p.m.

Senators Seek Deal on Bargaining Rights for First Responders

Final action on a bill to expand collective bargaining rights for public safety employees is likely next week after Senate leaders canceled Friday test votes on the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., late Thursday scrapped a pair of scheduled votes to limit debate on the bill, saying leaders of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee were close to a bipartisan deal on how to handle amendments.

“They believe they can get from here to there and work out something so that we can wind up completing the bill,” Reid said. “I think people favor this legislation and they would vote for cloture if there is more of an opportunity to work on amendments.”

Democratic leaders bypassed the committee and brought the bill directly to the floor, drawing complaints from Michael B. Enzi , R-Wyo., the committee’s ranking Republican, that the measure had not been properly vetted.

The bill would provide broad collective bargaining rights to police, fire fighters, and other emergency personnel in localities with a population of at least 5,000 or a minimum of 25 full-time employees. First responders in most states already have at least some bargaining rights, and bill sponsors say such privileges should be extended to all public safety employees.

Opponents, including the White House, which has threatened a veto, say the new rights could compromise national security.

The bill has strong bipartisan support. The House passed it 314-97 on July 17, and the measure has gained 11 Republican senators as cosponsors.

Supporting the expansion of labor unions is unusual for Republicans, but experts say the limited scope of the union expansion envisioned in the bill — it applies only to police, fire and other emergency personnel and prohibits strikes — is a potentially defensible position for Republicans.

Still, some Republicans have criticized the bill as a unfunded mandate, and others say the measure is an unconstitutional infringement on state and local authority.

What is your view on this?  Are you for or against it and why?  Does anyone have experience being involved with collective bargaining in the political realm?

You saw it here first before any other "news source" on the shore. LOL

Another Question

How many times did you relapse coming to grips with your addition?

Frankly, my math skills suck.  Addition was difficult enough.  Algebra REALLY put me over the edge.

Question of the Day?

Some one asked about this.

Has anyone given up Additives?

My answer is yes!  I grow my own meat and veggies!  I only eat the purest of foods.

Teachers Then and Now

Tomcat spurred this one.

How many remember when they were in school and how respect and discipline was given and received?  Now compare it to today.  What went wrong or do you think it's improved?

My answer is when I went to school you came to school with respect taught from home and the teachers gained more respect as I learned from them.  They didn't demand it.  Discipline was feared because after the principal was done with you, you had to face both of your parents. Luckily I steered clear of it but knew the consequences if I did screw up.  I don't think my generation turned out to bad.  We had standardized tests, but they were not given the level of priority, that they have today.  I believe if they compared our scores from then to today they would see we did much better.  Teachers taught because they loved seeing kids learn and not for the money because it wasn't much for what they did.  They all made impacts on our lives.

Today the kids have no respect for anything on the most part and demand it for themselves.  Discipline now compared to then is a joke.  No wonder our jails are filling up with younger and younger repeat offenders.  Teachers are forced to prepare for the "test" rather then real life.  They get little support from administration because they are busy worrying about the numbers rather than the classrooms.  The old saying," spare the rod and spoil the child," is showing itself to be true.  Home life for today's kids is drastically different from back in the day.  Parents are less involved and busy trying to please their kids, rather then just loving them and helping them improve themselves.  Many kids they say are raised by the TV and electronics.  Today's TV and electronic games desensitizes children from many things.  Today's new teachers are more worried about the money and moving to administrative roles then the act of actually teaching a student and making an impact on their lives.  Some how we need to return to the old values and standards to save this and future generations.

Trailer Fires

I recently read a post somewhere about offensive comments made after two disasterous mobile home fires, one of which claimed a life. I looked for those comments and I was offended too.  There was no regard for the loss of life, but rather, nasty comments about the residences.  In occurred to me though, that I had seen previous posts regarding those types of residences with inference to the types of people who live there, at that very same site.  I wonder if the person who wrote that post remembers any of those remarks?  I'm sure if they'd do a search, they may find them. 

Joe Cries Thief with No Proof

Joe A thinks he knows who stole the brick at the old station.  He blindly points finger at Joe Perdue via his anon posts.  Doesn't he monitor them and to allow a false accusation thru like that holds him liable?  

Using my detective skills I learned from work, I asked a few questions and found it hard for Joe P to even commit said crime.  First the building is locked 24/7 and you have to have a key to enter, of which Joe P does not.  Second witnesses saw nothing on Monday night while picking up donated materials for their station and an EMT-B class was there to follow them.  The missing brick was noticed on Tuesday.  

So if he has 2 witnesses please let them come forward.  Where are the little birdies?

Note: I examined the scene and noticed other bricks damaged near by from what looks like construction and removal of an old office in the same location.

Under New Management

Welcome back folks.

It back up and running under new management.  Since Joe wanted to bully Straight Shooter and her family to stop posting, she elected to pass the site on so everyone could still hear the other side.  Now we do need to keep the kids and spouses out from here on out, unless they choose to involve themselves.  At that point I will decide if the hounds should be let loose.  So happy reading and commenting and remember "Truth and Justice For All!"

Exclusive?

News Exclusive? The other blog claims to have an "exclusive" report on the Red Wolf pups which were born at the Salisbury Zoo over the weekend. An exclusive, by definition (when referring to journalism), is; "Information provided to or available from only one news outlet, such as an interview or a photograph."

Hate to tell the author, but when The Daily Times has the same information AND the same photograph, there was no exclusive.

The picture in The Daily Times was noted as being a Salisbury Zoo picture. I'm sure that the author obtained permission from the zoo to use that picture. The least he could have done, however, was give credit.     .

Oh My!

Don't look now, but the other blogger has removed his RUMOR post, but left the comment from the victim in place. Now it will appear to new readers that the "victim" just wanted to set the record straight about random rumors, and not as a reply to the person who assisted in spreading that rumor to begin with. Somehow, my intuition told me that would happen, so I do have a screenshot should anyone need it.

Apology, Kinda, Sorta

Well, I gotta hand it to the "other blogger". He has posted a letter from HIS latest RUMOR victim which lets that blogger know (in a much nicer way than I would have), that the RUMOR was just that. Since that blogger had the nerve to post that "possibly false" statement, he should have had the nerve to call him and ask him before putting it in print. But...oh yeah...it's just an opinionated blog...or rumor mill..whichever.

To go even further, the victim thanks him for his kind words. I guess he meant the words that said "I hope it's not true". Hmmm.

Oh Yeah!

Ok, not trying to point out the stupidity...well, ok...yes I am. As you know, there were pictures posted on another blog of a sandstorm in Al Asad which occured in 2005. The first picture had a nice little caption saying "Joe, this is a picture my nephew took of an oncoming sandstorm in Iraq.". In a comment to that post, Tim Chaney says:

"My nephew took that picture, awesome. He had about 10 minutes to take that picture then haul ass to his bunk. Even living in those cargo containers the sand there is like baby powder. No matter how much you try to seal off the gap's that fine sand gets into everything."

There must have been a few comments from disbelievers which, of course, never saw the light of day. But, another post with another picture is thrown up, I suppose, as proof of the photographer. This was part of that caption:

It seems it's not good enough for Mr. Chaney's Nephew to be stationed in Iraq as some are challenging the validity of his photos. That being said, here's another one he's delivered"

Unn, no, just the validity of the photographer. LOL. Then, Tim decides to comment on the Pro-Maryland Gazette:

"Since I didn't save a three year old e-mail I may have been mistaken who actually took the pictures. However, see the slightly bald guy in the last picture of that series, with the sunglasses and mask? With what he calls a five head instead of a forehead because he's going bald. Get your source to tell you who that soldier is. When you get a name get back to me, Hear?"

He couldn't really remember who took it, but swore up and down that his nephew did AND remembered enough of the three year old e-mail to tell us that his nephew "had about 10 minutes to take that picture then haul ass to his bunk." And in order to cover that lie, he wants us to play a guessing game and figure out who the guy is in the last picture. WTH?

I'm thinking Tim needs to post his "mistake" on the other blog. How bout it Tim? No one else's disputes ever made it on the page. Think you could help us out?

The Leaf

The new leaf is turning brown at a rapid rate. Here's the first line of another blog's post which a reader directed me to:

"There is RUMOR on the street that Tom Ruark allegedly filed bankruptcy recently?"

One of that blog's readers comnmented there:

"Regardless of your view on this man, it's not right to spread this "rumor" -- do actual fact or nothing at all, please."

The author of the post said:

"When are you going to get it. This is a Blog and my opinion. I'll tell you what. If I do things your way, are you willing to pay me $5.00 a week each to do so? Till then, if you don't like it, don't come back. Let me have your address so I can send you a bill."

Hmmm, I wasn't aware that a rumor was the same as an opinion. If that RUMOR is not true, that could end up costing Mr. Ruark. And that just ain't cool.

A Changing Day

Another blogger says this about Wayne Gilchrest:

"After several months of therapy with Dr. Phil, Congressman Wayne Gilchrest has finally allowed some photographs be taken of him. Now I'm not so sure he's been capable of getting out in the public and speaking, let alone earn his weekly paycheck."

After reading this, it struck me! Perhaps that is the answer! Maybe Dr. Phil can help the other blogger. This thing he's got going on right now is only temporary. Maybe Dr. Phil can truly give him a "changing day in his life".

Fog Delay

The Delmar School District has a 2 hour fog delay.

OC 104, Delmarva Now and Salisbury News are reporting 1 hour delay for the Delmar School District.

WBOC and the Honeywell Instant Alert Sytem that reports directly to parents are reporting a 2 hour delay.

Get it together guys!

Will The REAL Photographer Please Stand Up

I am replying to Tim's comment in a post because the links didn't show. I wanted to make sure that Mr. Chaney was able to take a look at all of the info I found. It looks like he needs to call his nephew right away and tell him he needs to get on the net and set things straight right away.

Dear Tim,
What the hell are you talking about? I never said the pictures were a lie...I said your nephew did not take them...UNLESS (if the Black Five post was right), Mr. Walter is your nephew. YOU SAID the date on that 230KB JPEG photo is 8/6/2005 10:31. I'm telling YOU the sandstorm in the pictures occurred in April. I didn't mention Garcia's name...someone else did. IF your nephew is the photographer, is there any particular reason why I can't find credit given to anyone besides this Mr. Walter? Oh wait...here's another site where these pictures are.

This site claims the pics were taken by a Brown and Root employee http://www.willisms.com/archives/2005/05/iraqi_sandstorm.html

On this site, Steve Brown takes credit for the pics
http://mysteve.com/BelieveItorNot/2005/08/sand-storm-in-al-asad-iraq

"Big J & Little E" took credit for them here
http://www.thegtb.co.uk/Powerpoint/iraqsandstorm.pps

Oh wait..another contractor "story".
http://xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=2608

Enough? Can't blame me for being a little skeptical can you?

Answers to Recent Questions

I had a couple of questions over the past couple of days which I have answers to.

Q. You said the land was $311,350.00. According to the land records the cost of the land was $636,000.00. Which price is correct?
A. "The seller of the land had it appraised at the $ 636,000. The sale was $ 311,350 paid in cash and the $ 434,650 was recorded as a donation to the City from the seller."

Q. In your rechecking, ask about a local architect named Jernigan (or something like that), who has no fire station experience, except this nightmare, I believe.
A. "Finith Jernigan is the principal in Design Atlantic. Design Atlantic was the design build agent for the City. Mr. Jernigan was selected because his firm was the only local firm which could manage the entire scope of the project. Design Atlantic has public safety building experience in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Finith brought to the project a Building Information Modeling system which was fully integrated into the process. Design Atlantic is recognized nationally as a leader in implementing this virtual based approach to building construction process management. Stanford University recently analyzed the fire station project in a process to develop a model for the General Services Administration. The new fire station was one of four projects selected worldwide for the Stanford study. This is the process that recently received international recognition by winning a 2008 FIATECH CETI award. In the last several days The Daily Times had an article about Mr. Jernigan winning an award for a book ( Big Bim Little Bim) he authored on Building Information Modeling." Before someone asks, my source says that Mr.Jernigan is the sole owner of his firm and to his knowledge has no other contacts with City officials.

Q. Did you ever get the land cost in Salisbury straight -- like how much -- and what about the foreclosure sale shortly before the city bought the site? It's really smelly, I'm told.
A. Apparently the land has a very checkered past but to the best of my source's knowledge it was purchased from someone in the Baltimore metro area. He is not aware of any local contacts to the land. The City obtained a low appraisal of approximately $ 175,000 and the seller had the $ 636,000 appraisal . Initially the seller agreed to sell at around $200,000. After the seller withdrew the offer the City began plans to take the property by the emanate domain process. The final price was negotiated to avoid both sides having to go to court and have a judge decide the value.

I'm trying my best here. If there are any more questions, I'll do my best AGAIN to answer them.

I'm Lost

Ok, I'm a little lost. I've read somewhere that people have been e-mailing messages to the Federal Reserve and complaining about Rod Flowers and his multi-housing deal on Camden Ave. A blogger suggested that the people send this message to them:

"Is it appropriate for a bank officer of SunTrust Bank -- in this case Rod Flowers, a vice president and branch manager in the mortgage division in Salisbury, MD -- to be involved in behaviors that damage neighborhoods zoned for single-family use. Take 1004 Camden Ave., Salisbury, MD 21801, and Captain Investments, for example, in which Mr. Flowers is a partner. Please investigate the propriety of these circumstances. Thank you."

Now, the blogger seems shocked to learn that people have been doing so and have been "garbling" the messages and have been suggesting some sort of illegal activity. AND NOW, he says that Mr. Flowers is a partner in Captain Investments III, but NOT Captain Investments, LLC which is the actual group involved in the Camden Ave. deal. Huh?

Try Again?

Any more photos you got to pull out of your "you know what"? This picture was ALSO found on Snopes. That particular post was last updated on April 28th, 2005, so we KNOW those photos came from the April 26th Al Asad sandstorm. Maybe there was another one that came through on August (I can't find anything), but the pics Tim is providing are not from then. Sorry.

Is it enough that the nephew served? To me it is as I am grateful to anyone who does. However, lets remember that while the nephew is back at Johnson and Johnson, there are others who are not home yet after serving multiple tours already. Let's remember them too!

Question of the Day...LOL

This is a portion of a recent comment which asked this question:

Please take a look at Barrie's latest budget shenanigans -- see Bob Caldwell's letter in the paper today. And why do they want 5 new fire engines in this budget, but no additional fire/ems personnel?"

This reader is referring to this letter from Bob Caldwell.

I'm not sure who the "they" in the above comment is referring to. What I can tell you is that there were indeed 5 vehicles requested by Chief See. Those are as follows: One (1) sedan, two (2) engines, and two (2) quints or medium duty ladder trucks that can function as engine companies. One engine and one quint each will be assigned to stations 1 and 2 for replacement of other vehicles. (Salisbury does have three stations if anyone is forgetting).

The proposed budget request to the mayor also included 12 new positions, 2 civilian and 2 uniformed. That number includes 10 firefighter/paramedics, 1 office associate and 1 Information Technology Coordinator. The ten FF/PM include four that had been requested when a third EMS unit had been placed in fulltime service and the other six were to increase the minimum staffing on capital apparatus from three (3) to four (4). The nationally recognized standard minimum staffing for capital apparatus is 4, however the department's minimum of 3 has become the norm due to understaffing. The Office Associate would assume the responsibility for all volunteer member related administrative issues and records management. The IT Coordinator would be an adequately trained professional data management and computer systems technician. This position doesn't seem unreasonable as the new station is a multi-million dollar facility with a " highly technical information technology system/s".

The mayor did not put these positions in the budget which was reviewed by council. That does not mean that she does not support or agree with those requests...it means she is trying to do her job and and work with the revenue she has. I understand that a "supplementary budget" was to have been presented which included the requests of the Police Department and the Fire Department. I'm not sure why the administration decided on this method either, but I will try to find out.

Oops! Busted!

Tim Chaney claims that his nephew took this photo.

"My nephew took that picture, awesome. He had about 10 minutes to take that picture then haul ass to his bunk. Even living in those cargo containers the sand there is like baby powder. No matter how much you try to seal off the gap's that fine sand gets into everything."

LOL. Relax, I didn't "steal" this picture. I pulled it off the internet and then I discovered there are a dozen more like it (actually one is JUST like it) on Snopes.com. Somebody's telling a story. Unless, of course, Tim's nephew took it in 2005 and Mr. Chaney is just getting around to telling us about it. If that is so, he needs to tell his nephew that his work is famous and can be found on Snopes. LOL.

**I looked again this morning to see if I could find the name of the original photographer so I could give him a little credit. This site says that it could be Mr. Walter, a civilian contractor. Tim, this your nephew? Inquiring minds want to know...***

Cross Posted on the Pro-Maryland Gazette

More on Pocomoke

I always talk about a dead horse being beaten and now I feel as if the stick has been handed off to me. I will try again to tell you what I have learned about the new Pocomoke Fire Station. My friend Joe Perdue took a tour of the facility yesterday and asked a few questions while being given a tour of their new home. AGAIN, let me reiterate, THIS FACILITY PROBABLY PERFECTLY SUITS THEIR NEEDS. It is NOT my intention to degrade Pocomoke's new facility in any way. They worked very hard at securing funds for their new location and they should be very proud of what they have accomplished.

According to their Grand Opening Program, the new facility is a total of 19,500 square feet. An article on Delmara Now reports the facility as 16,500 square feet. According the the Pocomoke representative the $2.2 million only included contruction costs. It did not include the land aquisition, old building demolition, or concrete removal. I am not sure what equipment (if any) was included in this figure either. Joe P. reports that within the building are 2 small offices, approximately 15 x 15 in size, a slightly larger rec room with a pool table, TV and chairs, a meeting/training room approximately 24 x 24. There is fairly small household type kitchen, a small bunk room (no bunks in place yet), a mechanical room, restrooms, and an upstairs storage area that is currently unfinished. They do have 7 suspended cleaning units that come on when equipment is started and censors indicate the air needs venting, but this obviously occurs after fumes have already been emitted. They did not use the system that Salisbury has in place because it was not cost effective for them. The have a small kitchen which was not designed for commercial use but for "the use of members on meeting night, drill nights, and sleep over crews when the have them." At this time, the only time they have sleep over crews is when there is a,severe storm, hurricane, or blizzard. Pocomoke does have plans to move forth with the second Phase of their construction which will include a community building. This facility will include (according to the above Delmarva Now article) 2 kitchens and a museum.

Obviously, the new Station 16 is much more spacious as it was designed to include administrative offices and a training facility. It also houses 24 hour sleepover crews. Maybe some don't agree that they needed commercial grade appliances. I certainly hope that the guys and gals will make good use of the kitchen facilities so I don't have to hear anymore bitching about the crews going to Super Giant and Panera for food. LOL. The new Station 16 also uses the PlymoVent exhaust removal system. This innovative sytem captures the exhaust at the tailpipe and vents thereby eliminating almost 100% of the fumes inside the building. Some might ask why Pocomoke's system wasn't good enough for Salisbury. Pocomoke's website reports they have run 37 fire calls since January. Salisbury's site reports 257 calls in January alone. Yes, I do realize this figure includes all stations, but it is a reference point to realize the need for the exhaust system that Salisbury has chosen.

I'm not sure what else to say about the subject. Pocomoke and Salisbury each built what they thought they needed to accomodate the citizens in their respective communities. Both are a "done deal".

The New Leaf

Gunpowder has some wise words regarding the recent proclamation by a local blogger that he is "turning a new leaf".

More Numbers

I had been asked the question:

"I hope this is not the same as the Civic Center reconstruction after the fire -- the architect got a percent of the general contract, which included all the furniture and even consumables like towels and toilet paper -- what's the story on the station in the swamp?"

The achitect on record for the project was Davis, Bowen and Friedel. Their contract was negotiated directly with the General Contractor, Gillis Gilkerson. The amount paid to them by Gillis was $227,000. Their job on this project was to make sure that everything was built according to the specs.

In getting this answer, I also got a ton of other information. I will try my best to relay it to you, the way it was relayed to me.

When the idea of a new station was being tossed around, the volunteers hired Cole + Russell architects. One of their specialties is, you guessed it, firehouse design. The volunteers paid them $35,000 to do what is called a "space needs analysis". A simple set of plans was introduced which included everything a fire station for our area should have.

Land was acquired for the new station at a cost of $311,350.00. I know some aren't happy with the location, but as I've said before, a independant company was hired to do a study and see where the best place to build a new fire station was. That spot was it.

As the project moved forward, a place called Design Atlantic was hired to carry the project forward, while still working with Cole + Russell. This company brought the plans to about 40% of completion. The money paid to Design Atlantic was $431,680. This number is included in the "10 million dollar" price tag. Out of this money, engineers and testing companies were paid to make certain that the structure would meet necessary standards. Design Atlantic acted as the city's agent in building the structure. They sent out bids to several General Contractors and advised the city which bid came in lowest. Obviously, Gillis-Gilkerson was the low bid. After 1 change order, the contract amount to them was $8, 041,545.

The fitout of the building,which included furniture and fixtures, came to approximately $573,000.

Paving needed to be done on the roads around the project. The money for that was paid for out of the building's budget as well. That cost was aproximately $209,000.00.

As far as the bond money, there was an initial allocated amount of $500,000. In 2004, as another blog pointed out, there was an ordinance passed (Ordinance 1898) which allocated another 4 million dollars. The other ordinance mentioned (Ordinance 1934) was for the redesignation of funds from the aerial ladder truck to the purchase of two fire engines. There was no more money given there as some would like you to believe. To finish the financing for this project, the city chose Suntrust to lend 5.3 million dollars.

I believe the original cost proposal for this project was $9,855,000. The project finished at slightly under that cost.

Done, finished, occupied and from what I understand....enjoyed. I'm hoping to get to come around and see the new place soon.