Spirit in the sky...

I'm being incredibly nostalgic over my family these past few days, and last night I yearned for my grandmother Kathryn to wipe my tears and make the chaos go away. I missed her the way I did when I was a young girl, weeks after she lost her battle with cancer. I even posted a facebook status, mentioning my grandmother. I had wished that she could help us have a relationship w/my nephew/adopted brother. I said a prayer & went to bed.

Tonight, I was looking at a lady's photos on Facebook, and commented 'you have gma's hairstyle' in a prom pic. I knew she was related to us, but I couldn't remember exactly how. I thought she had lived in California and only moved here when I was a kid. The point is, I was still missing my grandma and that pic reminded me of her...

I buzzed the lady in instant messenger, and what I discovered was that she is much closer related to me than I had realized....before I knew it, I was hearing stories about my great-gma/pepaw, my aunts and uncles....this lady had grown up down in Collins with all of my daddy's family! She's as much one of them as my grandmother is!

My heart just felt happier. After all these years of grandma being gone, the very days I'm oddly missing her, I find a treasure chest of memories with my...as I NOW know her lol....second cousin and farmtown helper on Facebook.


The BEST part, though....

I was sad and wanting my grandma (as a little girl would lol), because I wanted to see my nephew. I want to see him and hug him, and I want my sister to be able to, even more than me. That suggestion was IMPOSSIBLE 24 hours ago. The crazy thing...Just a few minutes after I heard grandma stories on facebook, my sister called crying....we get to see him tomorrow! We don't know why, or how, just that we get to see him!!

I'm so happy! I feel like my grandma is right here beside me tonite. :)

ATPA Convention

Having a great time in Hot Springs! We've toured the historical places, tried lots of new cuisines (I never thought I'd eat squid or alligator, but both ended up being quite tasty!), relaxed in spas, and showed the kids a great time before school starts.

We've been here most of the week for the Arkansas Timber Producers Association annual convention, and I'm so glad the Tigercat exhibit has been a huge success. Congrats to my hubby for doing such a great job putting it all together!

I have had so much fun and have enjoyed being here with friends such as Daryl & Kelsey Windham, Sam Dennison, Jonathan Davis, Todd Abbott, Tommy Barnes, and lots of other Tigercat families, as well as seeing local friends such as Mike Pennington, Lynn & Joe Frost and D.H. Forrest.

I'm so proud of my hubby and the great job he does....Chris and logging go together like fish and water. :)

My Most Important Blog Ever: Part 2

I've gotten several messages today, from people I can honestly say that I don't even know, from this blog & facebook. I had no idea it would generate such interest.

I have alot more information, and people are asking for it, so it'll actually be more than two parts, I suppose.

Today's writings are particularly important to me, and quite therapeutic to my heart in a time where I'm forced to separate myself from family members to protect my daughter from constant drama. All these things have happened to me and other loved ones so many times that I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I read it.

If I can't fix my family, maybe I can fix someone else's, so read this. ;)

People with attention-seeking personality disorder (Jekyl/Hyde personality) is often referred to as serial bullies, perhaps one of the most dangerous and abusive personalities in existence, due to repeated torture of numerous victims, most likely for years, even decades.

The serial bully is an adult on the outside but a child on the inside; he

or she is like a child who has never grown up. One suspects that the bully

is emotionally retarded and has a level of emotional development equivalent

to a five-year-old, or less. The bully wants to enjoy the benefits of

living in the adult world, but is unable and unwilling to accept the

responsibilities that go with enjoying the benefits of the adult world. In

short, the bully has never learnt to accept responsibility for their

behaviour.



When called to account for the way they have chosen to behave, the bully

instinctively:



a) denies everything.

§ Variations include Trivialization ("This is so trivial it's not worth talking about...")

§ the Fresh Start tactic ("I don't know why you're so intent on dwelling on the past"

§ "Look, what's past is past, I'll overlook your behaviour and we'll start afresh")



this is an abdication of responsibility by the bully and an attempt to divert and distract attention by using false conciliation. Imagine if this line of defense were available to all criminals ("Look I know I've just murdered 12 people but that's all in the past, we can't change the past, let's put it behind us, concentrate on the future so we can all get on with our lives" - this would do wonders for prison overcrowding).



b) quickly and seamlessly follows the denial with an aggressive counter-attack of counter-criticism or counter-allegation, often based on distortion or fabrication. Lying, deception, duplicity, hypocrisy and blame are the hallmarks of this stage. The purpose is to avoid answering the question and thus avoid accepting responsibility for their behavior. Often the target is tempted - or coerced - into giving another long explanation to prove the bully's allegation false; by the time the explanation is complete, everybody has forgotten the original question.



Both a) and b) are delivered with aggression in the guise of

assertiveness; in fact there is no assertiveness (which is about

recognizing and respecting the rights of oneself and others) at all. Note

that explanation - of the original question - is conspicuous by its

absence.



In the unlikely event of denial and counter-attack being

insufficient, the bully feigns victim hood or feigns persecution by manipulating people through their emotions, especially guilt. This commonly takes the form of bursting into tears, which most people cannot handle.

Variations include indulgent self-pity, feigning indignation, pretending to be "devastated", claiming they're the one being bullied or harassed, claiming to be "deeply offended", melodrama, martyrdom ("If it wasn't for me...") and a poor-me drama ("You don't know how hard it is for me ... blah blah blah..." and "I'm the one who always has to...î "You think you're having a hard time... "I'm the one being bullied...").



Other tactics include manipulating people's perceptions to portray themselves as the injured party and the target as the villain of the piece.

Sometimes the bully will suddenly claim to be suffering "stress". Alleged ill-health can also be a useful vehicle for gaining attention and sympathy.





By using this response, the bully is able to avoid answering the question and thus avoid accepting responsibility for what they have said or done. It is a pattern of behavior learnt by about the age of 3; most children learn or are taught to grow out of this, but some are not and by adulthood, this avoidance technique has been practiced to perfection.



A further advantage of the denial/counter-attack/feigning victim hood strategy is that it acts as a provocation. The target, who may have taken months to reach this stage, sees their tormentor getting away with it and is provoked into an angry and emotional outburst after which the bully says simply "There, I told you s/he was like that". Anger is one of the mechanisms by which bullies (and all abusers) control their targets. By tapping in to and obtaining an inappropriate release of pent-up anger the bully plays their masterstroke and casts their victim as villain.



When called to account for the way they have chosen to behave, mature adults do not respond by bursting into tears. If you're dealing with a serial bully who has just exhibited this avoidance tactic, sit passively and draw attention to the pattern of behavior they've just exhibited, and then the purpose of the tactic. Then ask for an answer to the question.



Bullies also rely on the denial of others and the fact that when their target reports the abuse they will be disbelieved ("are your sure this is really going on? "I find it hard to believe - are you sure you're not imagining it?"). Frequently targets are asked why they didn't report the abuse before, and they will usually reply "because I didn't think anyone would believe me." Sadly they are often right in this assessment. Because of the Jekyll & Hyde nature, compulsive lying, and plausibility, no one can - or wants - to believe it.



Denial features in most cases of sexual assault, as in the case of Paul Hickson, the UK Olympic swimming coach who sexually assaulted and raped teenage girls in his care over a period of 20 years or more. When his victims were asked why they didn't report the abuse, most replied, "Because I didn't think anyone would believe me". Abusers confidently, indeed arrogantly, rely on this belief, often aggressively inculcating (instilling) the belief ("No-one will ever believe you") just after the sexual assault when their victim is in a distressed state. Targets of bullying in the workplace often come up against the same attitudes by management when they report a bullying colleague. In a workplace environment, the bully usually recruits one or two colleagues who will back up the bully's denial when called to account.





Reflection



Serial bullies harbor a particular hatred of anyone who can articulate their behavior profile, either verbally or in writing in a manner which helps other people see through their deception and their mask of deceit.

The usual instinctive response is to launch a bitter personal attack on the person's credentials, lack of qualifications, and right to talk about personality disorders, psychopathic personality etc, whilst preserving their right to talk about anything they choose - all the while adding nothing to the debate themselves.



Serial bullies hate to see themselves and their behavior reflected as if they are looking into a mirror.



Projection



Bullies project their inadequacies, shortcomings, behaviors etc on to other people to avoid facing up to their inadequacy and doing something about it (learning about oneself can be painful), and to distract and

divert attention away from themselves and their inadequacies. Projection is

achieved through blame, criticism and allegation; once you realize this,

every criticism, allegation etc that the bully makes about their target is

actually an admission or revelation about themselves. This knowledge can be

used to perceive the bully's own misdemeanors; for instance, when the

allegations are of financial or sexual impropriety, it is likely that the

bully has committed these acts; when the bully makes an allegation of abuse

(such allegations tend to be vague and non-specific), it is likely to be

the bully who has committed the abuse. When the bully makes allegations of,

say, "cowardice" or "negative attitude" it is the bully who is a coward or

has a negative attitude.



In these circumstances, the bully has to understand that if specious and

insubstantive allegations are made, the bully will also be investigated.



When the symptoms of psychiatric injury become apparent to others, most

bullies will play the Mental Health Trap, claiming their target is

"mentally ill" or "mentally unstable" or has a "mental health problem". It

is more likely that this allegation is a projection of the bully's own

mental health problems. If this trap is being used on you, assert

"projection" as a defense against disciplinary action or as part of your

legal proceedings.



It is a key identifying feature of a person with a personality disorder or

psychopathic personality that, when called to account, they will accuse the

person who is unmasking them of being the one with the personality disorder

or psychopathic personality from which they (the bully) suffer.






Most serial bullies have unhappy and unsatisfactory private lives that are

characterized by a string of broken relationships. If you are the current

target of a serial bully and taking legal action, a little digging into the

bully's past, including their personal life, will usually unearth some

unsavoury facts that the bully would prefer not to be made public. In some

cases, serial bullies have been found to have criminal convictions for

fraud, or to have been compelled to attend therapy or counseling for their

habit of compulsive lying, or they might have a record of domestic

violence. Under normal circumstances making these facts part of the

proceedings might be considered unethical; however, if you're the target of

a serial bully, the circumstances are not normal.



Validity of testimony



Because of the serial bully's Jekyll and Hyde nature, compulsive lying,

charm and plausibility, the validity of this person's testimony cannot be

relied on in disciplinary proceedings, appeal hearings, and under oath at

tribunal and in court. Emphasize this when taking action.



Mediation with this type of individual is inappropriate. Serial bullies

regard mediation (and arbitration, conciliation, negotiation etc) as

appeasement, which they ruthlessly exploit; it allows them to give the

impression in public that they are negotiating and being conciliatory,

whilst in private they continue the bullying. The lesson of the twentieth

century is that you do not appease aggressors.

My Most Important Blog Ever: If this is you, PLEASE GET HELP (Part 1)

Human beings are social creatures and need social interaction, feedback, and validation of their worth. The emotionally mature person doesn't need to go hunting for these; they gain it naturally from their daily life, especially from their work/taking care of their families, and from stable relationships.
Emotional maturity, also known as emotional intelligence, is a much better indicator of a person's character and value than their intelligence quotient, or IQ.

The emotionally immature person, has low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence and consequently feels insecure; to counter these feelings of insecurity they will spend a large proportion of their lives creating situations in which they become the centre of attention. It may be that the need for attention is inversely proportional to emotional maturity, therefore anyone indulging in attention-seeking behaviours is telling you how emotionally immature they really are.


Attention-seeking behaviour is surprisingly common. Being the centre of attention alleviates feelings of insecurity and inadequacy but the relief is temporary as the underlying problem remains unaddressed: low self-confidence and low self-esteem, and consequent low levels of self-worth and self-love.

Insecure and emotionally immature people often exhibit bullying behaviours, especially manipulation and deception. These are necessary in order to obtain attention which would not otherwise be forthcoming. Bullies and harassers have the emotional age of a young child and will exhibit temper tantrums, deceit, lying and manipulation to avoid exposure of their true nature and to evade accountability and sanction.
Attention seeking methods
Attention-seeking is particularly noticeable with females so I've used the pronoun "she". Males also exhibit attention-seeking behaviour.

Attention seekers commonly exploit the suffering of others to gain attention for themselves. Or they may exploit their own suffering, or alleged suffering. In extreme forms, such as in Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, the attention-seeker will deliberately cause suffering to others as a means of gaining attention.

The sufferer: this might include feigning or exaggerating illness, playing on an injury, or perhaps causing or inviting injury, in extreme cases going as far as losing a limb. Severe cases may meet the diagnostic criteria for Munchausen Syndrome (also know as Factitious Disorder). The illness or injury becomes a vehicle for gaining sympathy and thus attention. The attention-seeker excels in manipulating people through their emotions, especially that of guilt. It's very difficult not to feel sorry for someone who relates a plausible tale of suffering in a sob story or "poor me" drama.

The saviour: in attention-seeking personality disorders like Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy (MSBP, also known as Factitious Disorder By Proxy) the person, usually female, creates opportunities to be centre of attention by intentionally causing harm to others and then being their saviour, by saving their life, and by being such a caring, compassionate person. Few people realise the injury was deliberate. The MSBP mother or nurse may kill several babies before suspicions are aroused. When not in saviour mode, the saviour may be resentful, perhaps even contemptuous, of the person or persons she is saving.

The rescuer: particularly common in family situations, she's the one who will dash in and "rescue" people whenever the moment is opportune - to herself, that is. She then gains gratification from basking in the glory of her humanitarian actions. She will prey on any person suffering misfortune, infirmity, illness, injury, or anyone who has a vulnerability. The act of rescue and thus the opportunities for gaining attention can be enhanced if others are excluded from the act of rescue; this helps create a dependency relationship between the rescuer and rescued which can be exploited for further acts of rescue (and attention) later. When not in rescue mode, the rescuer may be resentful, perhaps even contemptuous, of the person she is rescuing.


The organiser: she may present herself as the one in charge, the one organising everything, the one who is reliable and dependable, the one people can always turn to. She is known for extravagent planning, making lists, keeping records, but in actuality does none of it very well in many instances. However, the objective is not to help people (this is only a means to an end) but to always be the centre of attention.

The manipulator: she may exploit family relationships, manipulating others with guilt and distorting perceptions; although she may not harm people physically, she causes everyone to suffer emotional injury. Vulnerable family members are favourite targets. A common attention-seeking ploy is to claim she is being persecuted, victimised, excluded, isolated or ignored by another family member or group, perhaps insisting she is the target of a campaign of exclusion or harassment.

The mind-poisoner: adept at poisoning peoples' minds by manipulating their perceptions of others, especially against the current target.

The drama queen: every incident or opportunity, no matter how insignificant, is exploited, exaggerated and if necessary distorted to become an event of dramatic proportions. Everything is elevated to crisis proportions. Histrionics may be present where the person feels she is not the centre of attention but should be. Inappropriate flirtatious behaviour may also be present.

The busy bee: this individual is the busiest person in the world if her constant retelling of her life is to be believed. Everyday events which are regarded as normal by normal people take on epic proportions as everyone is invited to simultaneously admire and commiserate with this oh-so-busy person who never has a moment to herself, never has time to sit down, etc. She's never too busy, though, to tell you how busy she is.

The feigner: when called to account and outwitted, the person instinctively uses the denial - counterattack - feigning victimhood strategy to manipulate everyone present, especially bystanders and those in authority. The most effective method of feigning victimhood is to burst into tears, for most people's instinct is to feel sorry for them, to put their arm round them or offer them a tissue. There's little more plausible than real tears, although as actresses know, it's possible to turn these on at will. Feigners are adept at using crocodile tears. From years of practice, attention-seekers often give an Oscar-winning performance in this respect. Feigning victimhood is a favourite tactic of bullies and harassers to evade accountability and sanction. When accused of bullying and harassment, the person immediately turns on the water works and claims they are the one being bullied or harassed - even though there's been no prior mention of being bullied or harassed. It's the fact that this claim appears only after and in response to having been called to account that is revealing. Mature adults do not burst into tears when held accountable for their actions.

The false confessor: this person confesses to crimes they haven't committed in order to gain attention from the police and the media. In some cases people have confessed to being serial killers, even though they cannot provide any substantive evidence of their crimes. Often they will confess to crimes which have just been reported in the media. Some individuals are know to the police as serial confessors. The false confessor is different from a person who make a false confession and admits to a crime of which they are accused because of emotional pressure and inappropriate interrogation tactics.

The abused: a person claims they are the victim of abuse, sexual abuse, rape etc as a way of gaining attention for themselves. Crimes like abuse and rape are difficult to prove at the best of times and their incidence is so common that it is easy to make a plausible claim as a way of gaining attention.

The online victim: this person uses Internet chat rooms and forums to allege that they've been the victim of rape, violence, harassment, abuse etc. The alleged crime is never reported to the authorities, for obvious reasons. The facelessness and anonymity of the Internet suits this type of attention seeker.

The victim: she may intentionally create acts of harassment against herself, eg send herself hate mail or damage her own possessions in an attempt to incriminate a fellow employee, a family member, neighbour, etc. Scheming, cunning, devious, deceptive and manipulative, she will identify her "harasser" and produce circumstantial evidence in support of her claim. She will revel in the attention she gains and use her glib charm to plausibly dismiss any suggestion that she herself may be responsible. However, a background check may reveal that this is not the first time she has had this happen to her.


Stay tuned for Part 2 of "My Most Important Blog Ever: If this is you, PLEASE GET HELP"

~To my sister, Amy~

Congratulations to my sister!
She arrived in Sturgis, South Dakota, for the release of her book after riding her Harley all the way from Arkansas.
She battled chemo sickness (her treatment for Lupus, which keeps her severely ill most of the time), horrendous storms, heat and exhaustion, and I'm so proud of her strength and determination.
I hope you have the time of your life, Sis, and your book is already a success, so I know you'll have a great time. I'm so proud of all the things I've seen written about you by so many prominent authors and biker celebrities.
You've done it. You had a dream and you've lived it, and I'm so happy for you.
We love you!

the prison break.

I've been out of town this weekend, so I didn't have to drive to Cummins and cover the prison break story. Apparently, 'powers that be' had the bright idea to allow one of the jobs at the prison to be prisoners making guard uniforms.

I'm sure those that don't know about this can tell where it's going....because of this grand plan, two convicted murderers borrowed a couple of the uniforms and waltzed right out of the prison with the other guards during shift rotation to a car that was parked nearby, apparently waiting for their escape.

A possible sighting was reported in Missouri, and I certainly hope noone loses their life because the State of Arkansas could not foresee that a possible security breach was on the horizon when they allowed the same garments guards wear to actually be made by prisoners.

I'm just surprised it hasn't happened before now.

I wonder if another job in the prison is making keys for the gates.

Drew County Speedway hosts popular MSRA series

The MSRA Super Late Models roared into Drew County Speedway for a two -night show May 15-16, on the heels of fans’ requests for an appearance by the thriving series. Racers often televised on such networks as The Speed Channel arrived in full glory, and cars built throughout the southern region of the United States thundered around the track in multiple heats, B-Mains and two features, surpassing fans’ expectations. The show was packed with 27 super late model racers rolling into the speedway, taking their turns at the 3/8- mile oval track.

Kyle Beard (#86) of Truman, who ran at Drew County Speedway in 2008, proved his skills in last year’s race by leading the most laps before being passed at the very end to finish second. Speaking of his previous appearance before Friday‘s feature, Beard said “I’ve always liked running here at this track. The surface is right tonight, and my car’s been pretty good (so far). It looks to be a good night for the #86 car.”
The weekend did serve Beard well, granting him a win Friday night after an explosive run with hard-driving contenders (#93) Ray Moore of Shreveport, La., who finished second; and (#8M) Michael Murphree of Little Rock to round out the top three. Beard went on to secure a fifth place finish in Saturday’s feature.

Finishing mid-pack both nights (11th and 14th places), the #94r driver stuns locals wherever he goes when fans learn Austin Rettig is only 14 years old. In contention for 2008 Rookie of the Year, the zealous teenager of Sikeston, Mo., followed in his dad’s footsteps, also a dirt track racer who has recently limited his competition to allow Rettig to take the wheel. Rettig first strapped into street stocks at the age of 12, then moved up to crate late models where he earned two wins before graduating to the MSRA super late models this season.

However, Rettig is not the only teenager to run with the series’ veteran drivers; 15-year-old Gary Christian of Broken Bow, Okla., began racing go-carts at the age of five, then made his way through motorcycles and mini-stocks, honing his skills on modifieds before moving into super late models last year. His dad is known in the ASCS world for racing sprint cars, and Christian is sure to have a strong future in his sights, having already earned a racing resume of which many men would boast.


Monticello driver Bobby Derryberry (#13x) raced his way into the feature in Friday’s B-Main, while Stormy Derryberry (#311), also of Monticello, earned his way into Saturday night’s show after missing by inches over the finish line a second-place secured spot into the show during an exciting Friday night B-Main run.

Saturday’s feature was won by Billy Moyer Jr. (#21JR) of Batesville, a local favorite who has raced against well-known drivers such as Scott Bloomquist, as well as headlining racers known in the NASCAR series.

Local Series

Friday’s mini-stock race ended with returning champion Nick Frost of Monticello (#11) winning the checkered, followed by (#11x) Eric Moss of Watson in second and (#44L) Chris Lawson of Warren placing third.

In the cruiser feature, the top three contenders Friday evening were John Anthony of Dumas (#35), Brian Pharr (#26), and Tony Gillespie of Dumas (#11), who secured a third place finish after moving through the field from 16th spot.

The hobby stock division awarded winnings to three of its strongest Monticello racers again this week, with Jimmy Gibson (#83) winning the feature, followed by second place (#225) Kenneth Harvey and (#5M) Mandy Hayden, third place.

Thirteen street stocks took the track and was led to the checkered Saturday night by Huttig racer Joel Ball (#B1), with racer and car owner Eckie Harrison’s cars (#53 and #54H) lining up in second and third place finishes.

Friday’s limited modified show brought first place winner Waylon Ball of El Dorado (#B75) to the checkered, with Warren racer Joey Simmons (#17J) racing into second place as Monticello drivers (#1R) Bennie Ryburn and (#07T) Todd Abbott had another strong week with top five finishes.

The O’Reilly Modfieds took the track Saturday night and Casey Findley of Bryant (#17f) held off second place Richard Anders of El Dorado (#18A) to take that win.

Introducing Art Veno.

I am quite honored and owe a special thanks to Dr. Arthur Veno, best-selling author who has chosen my photography from a selection of nationally recognized photographers to be featured in his latest project, Biker Chicks, now available for sale and, as I have been told, is currently listed as the #1 bestseller in Australia.

Introducing Dr. Veno....

Dr. Arthur Veno is Adjuct Professor of Criminology at Monash University.

He has written three popular books on bike culture The Brotherhoods: Inside outlaw motorcycle clubs (Allen and Unwin, 3rd ed November 2009); The Mammouth Book of Bikers (Constable and Robinson, London, 2007) and Biker Chicks: The magnetic attraction of women to bad boys and motorbikes (Allen and Unwin, May, 2009).

He was the Director of Police and Justice Studies at Monash for many years and has received numerous national and state awards for his work in violence prevention with both bikies and police.

From 2001-2005 he worked on a grant requiring him to ride with The South Australian Gypsy Jokers during their campaign to stop the introduction of the current anti-bikie legislation in South Australia and assisted the Secretariat of the Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing the Australian Crime Commission's Serious and Organised Crimes Act in 2008.

He was awarded the Australian Psychological Society's Distiguished Career award for his work with bikies and police in 2007.

He has never been a member of any club.

Biker Chicks named best seller in Australia

I just got word that Arthur Veno's book "Biker Chicks" is the #1 best-seller in Australia!
I find that to be particularly fabulous because my sister is a contributing author and featured in it!

My previous blog about these books.

A repost...

Read this!

Shelley's blog...

My friend Shelley posted a blog about Kristina, our friend who is battling cancer.
Please visit this blog and keep Kritina in your prayers.
Thanks, Shelley, for this post.
~We love you, Kristina~
http://naturallightphotog.blogspot.com/2009/05/kristina.html

My sister, the author. She never ceases to amaze me, that's for sure.

She arrives in all her splendor...

Well, here it is! Actually, here THEY are.

My sister, a Monticello native and writer for Easy Rider and In the Wind biker magazines, has become a reknown biker personality throughout the United States and Australia.

As contributing author, her story is featured in the newest project of well-known and best-selling author Art Veno (and Edward Winterhalder), Biker Chicks..., as well as a book written by Amy, Wicked Bitch. Both books will be on tour this summer, beginning later this month with numerous appearances in New York City.

The first person in history allowed to be photographed with Elvis Presley's bike collection, Amy and her book have gotten rave reviews from some of the biggest names in publishing and outlaw biker organizations. Her sometimes amusing, often heart-wrenching, and constantly shocking stories are sure to stun and entertain anyone who dares to read it.

The book is available for immediate purchase by clicking here.

Tenth DTF makes arrests

www.pbcommercial.com

Erratic driving with a child in the vehicle ended in the arrest of two Hot Springs men on drug manufacturing charges Tuesday.

Tenth Drug Task Force Lt. Jason Akers said a traffic stop was made in Drew County “after a lengthy surveillance on the vehicle and its occupants“; the surveillance, Akers said, was the result of the vehicle being seen weaving on the highway.

During the traffic stop, agents learned that an unspecified quantity of ephedrine-based cold pills were inside the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle located four boxes of the ephedrine-based medicine, often used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Akers said the DTF has information the pills were being taken to a location other than Drew Couny to be used in the manufacturing of the illicit drug.

The driver of the vehicle, Charles Lee Hancock, 50, and a passenger, Tommy Smith, 26, were arrested, and each face charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with the intent to manufacture. First appearances for the suspects have not been conducted. A third person was inside the van at the time of the incident, Akers said, but was not arrested. A small child was also inside the vehicle.

My flowers Spring 2009

I'm so proud of these lil boogers. The rain has tormented them....twice I've had to pick them up out of the yard after floods and replant. At least a dozen times more, they have completely flooded and drowned in the flower bed. I was certain they wouldn't bloom.
I snapped these a couple of days ago when the first blooms started appearing...I woke up this morning and have at least 50 gorgeous pink, purple, orange and white flowers, just overlapping each other, and I'm so happy! I could stare at them for hours....lilies are officially my MOST favorite flowers EVER!!

Tragic search ends in Bradley County

Family members of LaTasha Strong, a Warren resident and 32-year-old mother of two, stood nearby as the Honda Civic she was a passenger in was pulled from flooded waters at approximately 3:45 p.m. Monday, following a 34-hour search near the Flat Branch Creek bridge in Bradley County .

The car was located in the same location amongst trees and brush where a rescue boat crashed in violent waters and overturned at approximately the same time Sunday while searching for the vehicle; searchers were not injured in the incident.

Strong’s body was located inside the vehicle. Police believe the driver, 30-year-old Tyrone Gilliam, also of Warren, fell asleep while traveling in the westbound lane of Hwy. 278 West, approximately ½ mile east of the Saline River Bridge, just before 5 a.m. Sunday. Gilliam was able to escape the submerged vehicle and was transported to Bradley County Medical Center where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Strong’s father, Jeff Strong of Banks, told reporters minutes before the vehicle was recovered “I know we won’t find her alive, but hopefully we can find some closure to it.” A large crowd of family members, friends and volunteers had gathered Sunday and Monday along the highway awaiting word.

Bradley County Sheriff Rick Anders expressed his sympathy Monday evening to the family of Strong, as well as his appreciation to the numerous volunteers and emergency workers in nearby counties who assisted in the search and recovery effort.

Search for Warren resident continues in violent waters

Heavy rain and continually rising flood waters are hindering the search of a woman who was passenger in a vehicle submerged in rapidly flowing waters early Sunday morning in Bradley County.



Rescue personnel and volunteers from Bradley, Drew, Jefferson and Ashley counties have gathered since approximately 5 a.m. Sunday and fought violently rushing waters near the Flat Branch Creek overpass, approximately ½ mile east of the Hwy. 278 West Saline River Bridge.

While the area surrounding the creek is rarely flooded, its current is violent and continues to rise with the ongoing rains in southeast Arkansas, preventing divers on the scene from searching for the missing car and victim, who was identified as LaTasha L. Strong, 32, of Warren, by her her father, Jeff Strong of Banks. Strong’s family has gathered along the highway and awaited word, hovered under umbrellas near a pile of plastic car pieces that were recovered Sunday.

While magnets have picked up signals in the vicinity south of the bridge, the waters are too dangerous for divers to search, drastically affecting a full-scale search.

At one point Sunday afternoon, a boat carrying rescue workers and volunteers was shoved by the violently flowing water and crashed into trees, overturning the boat; the searchers were able to cling to trees and were not injured.

According to the victim’s family, Strong was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Tyrone Gilliam, also of Bradley County, in the westbound lane when the vehicle left the road and drove into the flooded area of the creek. Gilliam was able to escape the vehicle and was transported to Bradley County Medical Center where he was treated for minor injuries.

Arkansas State Police Sgt. Gary Gambill said Monday that the ASP is assisting with the highway’s traffic flow in areas of the search and remains on the scene; however, a complete investigation is stalled until the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office recovers Strong and the vehicle. “We were dispatched to the wreck, but until Ms. Strong or the vehicle is recovered, we cannot proceed with any information other than an initial report of the accident.

DCS gets rave reviews from some of nation's top drivers

The weather was perfect for racing and the pits yet again filled with racers as Commercial Bank presented under lights the Parts Plus USCS Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars, Rislone Pro Modifieds, Faster Pastor Charity Challenge (a special charitable event), SportMods, Cruisers and Mini Stocks at Drew County Speedway Saturday night, April 11, 2009.

The evening also marked the much-anticipated grand opening of Signs, Shirts & Decals KidZone Klub, in memory of Faith Reed. KidZone Klub Director Mellissa Rodgers and volunteers planned a fun-filled evening for the younger crowd at the track, complete with an Easter egg hunt and the first round of the World Championship Econo-Box drag races.

Faith Reed’s mother, Elizabeth, was present for the ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as primary sponsors Kerry and Becky Rice of Monticello, owners of Signs, Shirts & Decals. “We are very happy to be able to sponsor the new playground here at Drew County Speedway,” Kerry Rice said as children scurried by him through the entrance to gather for the Easter egg hunt. “The night we lost little Faith was so tragic and shocking. I stood and watched everyone here coming together for Faith, and I felt so helpless. My wife and I are very excited to be able to provide a good, safe place for the children to play in Faith‘s memory…to get them out of the pits and stands and give them something fun to do while their parents enjoy the show,” the former flagman and track tech said. “God has blessed us, and we are so proud to be able to pay it forward to benefit the children and this track. It really means a lot to us.”

“We really appreciate the Rice family and everyone who helped make this playground possible for the children,” Reed said. “The people at Drew County Speedway have been so kind, and it touches our hearts to know that Faith is remembered and loved by so many, and that children will have a place to play each week at the track. Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a special night for our family.”

The Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour winged sprint cars blew into the speedway for a fast-paced, action-packed show, followed by the Rislone Pro Modifieds, who thundered around the 3/8-mile oval track for an intense run in front of a packed crowd.

A 25-year veteran of racing and sprint racer since 1990, 2008 Mid-South Champion Tim Crawley dominated the 25-lap feature in his return visit to DCS, having raced in Modified divisions at the track in previous seasons. He brought Memphis car owner Mike Ward’s winged sprint car to the checkered and gave local fans a show like none they’d ever witnessed at the fast-growing speedway.

“We’re happy with the surface; they’ve done a good job getting it ready for us,” Crawley said before the race. “It’s a nice dry, slick track, and that’s fine with me. I like ’em dry,” he said, thanking team sponsors Boater Sports, AMC Plumbing, Southern Renovations, Simply Countertops and Senter Farms. Recapping the night after his win, Crawley said, “Basically, we missed a little early on in the heat race and dash. Being the first time here in winged sprints, we weren’t sure on some things, but we worked hard and got the car dialed in. Everything was good for the feature, and we went on for the win.” 2008 Mid-South Championship runner-up Marshall Skinner (#26) secured a second place win, followed by third place Bryce Vowan (#2M).

Another favorite in the series, Bartlett, Tenn., driver Terry Gray (#10 Rislone) also seemed pleased with the track development and expected a strong run. “It seems like a nice place; we’ve never run sprints here before, so everyone’s on even ground. I’m looking forward to getting out there and giving it a shot,” he said pre-race. The seven-time USCS Champion and 2008 National Champion won the six-lap dash over other series headliners, but his evening turned sour when the car’s drive shaft broke and put Gray out of contention for the feature, finishing in 10th spot. “That’s just something that doesn’t happen very often,” Gray said.

Hunter Rasdon, the 22-year-old USCS Rislone Pro Modified driver, was ultra-fast in qualifying and went on to win his fifth feature win of the year (third for USCS) in his quest to secure the 2009 championship. “I’ve been racing since I was four years old, but I’ve only been running modifieds for about three years,” Rasdon said.

Running on a limited schedule in 2008, Rasdon secured a third place finish in the championship last year, proving his #5R car is the one to watch this season. Rasdon is no stranger to winning, securing in his career eight track championships and numerous big feature wins, making him one of the hottest open-wheeled modified racers in the nation. “We had a great time here at DCS,” Rasdon said, adding he looks forward to the upcoming races on the schedule this year when they will once again invade the speedway. “I travel all over the place, and this track has nice facilities on it; the pits were nice and big (we weren’t crowded like a lot of places), the lighting is real good, and the track surface was nice to race on. It had multi-grooves and we could run just about anywhere we wanted. They did a good job of getting the show moving and running smoothly for us. We’re definitely looking forward to coming back.” Behind Rasdon, 2006 USCS Champion Ben Reed powered his #07 car to a second place finish in the 25-lap feature, followed by third place #73, driven by 2008 USCS Champion Ashley Newman.

USCS representative Pete Walton said the series would return to DCS May 29. “It’s going to be a really big show,” he said. “We’ll be bringing about 30 modifieds, so it’ll be an exciting night for sure.”

In the sport modified class, Heath Wilson (#A1) of Farmerville, La., started on the inside pole and held off Cody Harger (#6VOLT) to lead the entire race to the checkered. Harger started the race in fifth position and worked his way to second place. The top two cars pulled away from the field and held a strong lead throughout the race, followed by Monticello drivers #8 Robert Moore and #1R Bennie Ryburn, with #5T Guy Teeter rounding out the top five. Ronnie Adcock (#0), who started in 12th position earned a ninth place finish, and #27h Roger Hayden finished out the top ten.

After many racers donated their cars to be used in the charitable Faster Pastor Challenge earlier in the evening, the mini-stocks took the track, and #11x Eric Moss, this year’s repeat winner, fell back to seventh place as Nick Frost of Monticello (#11) returned to the track the for the first time this season in his 1996 Honda Civic and took the checkered. Frost was a four-time feature winner in the 2008 season.

A fender-banging fan favorite, the Cruiser class was once again packed, with 20 cars making the feature. Tonya Chadwick of El Dorado (#27tc) became the first female to be named winner of the class, who ran a strong race with second place finisher Brandon Lloyd (#15). “We’re always happy just to be able to run a clean race and pull our car onto the trailer at the end of the night with no major damage; although, we sure do like it when we have a trophy in our hand, too,” said Lloyd, also last week’s second place finisher.

For Chadwick, racing at Drew County Speedway has become a full-family affair, with her sister Lisa Owens (#44) racing alongside her in the Cruiser division and her son, Cody Chadwick, operating the #14cc limited modified (who finished in 11th place in his class). “Our main focus is Cody, of course,” Chadwick said, “but my dad convinced me last year that I could do it, too. I didn’t believe him at first, but here I am in first place, so I guess women CAN race, too! I’m so happy that my dad believed in me and that racing is a way for our family to spend time, work and have fun together,” she said. “We’ve raced a lot of other places, and won at a few of them, but DCS is by far the best place we’ve ever been. If it weren’t for our great experiences here, we never would have invested the time and money into two cruiser cars and two modifieds for Cody. This is our home track. We love this place, and we’ll never race anywhere else again.”

Official race results may be found at www.speednetdirect.com/results.php .



Parts Plus United Sprint Car series sprint car results at DCS, April 11, 2009:

1. 88 Tim Crawley of Benton, Ark.

2. 26 Marshall Skinner of West Memphis, Ark.

3. 2M Bryce Vowan of Forrest City, Ark.

4. 24 Justin Carver of Drummonds, Tenn.

5. 16 Anthony Nicholson of Bartlett, Tenn.

6. 26S John Stinson of Memphis, Tenn.

7. 01 Jeremy Newkirk of Little Rock, Ark.

8. 31 Michael Craddock of Olive Branch, Miss.

9. 25 Ray Bugg of Iuka, Miss.

10. 10 Terry Gray of Bartlett, Tenn.

11. 1A Lee Moore of Tuscaloosa, Ala.

12. 58 Wade Oliver of Southaven, Miss.

K&N Filters Pole Award: Marshall Skinner

Parts Plus Power Dash: Winner #10 Terry Gray

Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Winner #26 Marshall Skinner

Butlerbuilt Second Heat: Winner #10 Terry Gray

JE Pistons Top Guns: #16 Anthony Nicholson, fifth place

Lunati Crank It Up Award: #24 Justin Carver

　

　

Rislone USCS Modified Series feature results at DCS April 11, 2009

1. R5 Hunter Rasdon

2. 07 Ben Reed

3. 73 Ashley Newman

4. 19 Jeremy Kester

5. 8 Mike Palasini, Jr.

6. 18A Richard Anders

7. 51 John Polasini

8. 401K Travis Broach

9. 26 Patrick Linn

10. 99R Justin Roberts

11. 20 Shannon Farr

12. 88S Seth Reed

13. 48 Alan Brown

14. 22 Richard Kinney

15. 22M Casey Minton

16. 51F Cory Dumas

17. 74 Matt Stacey

18. 8 Jodey Reep

19. 89 Joseph Leister

20. 26 Kevin Ferrell

21. 27F Lynnsee Povence

22. 17F Casey Findley

23. F2R Keith Craft

24. 60B Mike Bowers

25. 15 Grant Box DNS

K&N Filters Fast Time: Hunter Rasdon 17.86 seconds

Rislone Power Dash Winner: 51 John Polasini

Aero Race Wheels Semi-Feature #1 Winner: 51 John Polasini

R.H.S. Racing Head Service Semi-Feature #2 Winner: 17F Casey Findley

Comp Cams Hard Charger: 99R Justin Roberts (started in 24th position and finished 10th)

Seeking Justice for Sharron Prior

A lady added me to Facebook several months ago, and just a few days ago she messaged me these links...this is her sister, Sharron. This touched my heart, and I wanted to share Sharron Prior's story with you and the work they do for her and victims everywhere.



www.sharronprior.com This is Sharron's Story. Please visit and sign their guestbook.

www.sharronprior.blogspot.com This Sharron's family website, focusing on a variety of cases.

There is nothing more frightening....

I had perhaps the biggest scare of my life yesterday. I'm writing this so that one day my baby girl can read it, understand why I was so upset, and know how much her mommy loves her.

Since August, I have talked to scores of family members who are searching for their missing loved ones, mainly children who either vanished, into mid-air it seems, or or murdered. Missing children have always been close to my heart and I pay closer attention to missing children cases in the media than most, probably, and my daily prayers always include families that are enduring the horrific nightmare as well as children who have been abducted.

I don't talk about it much these days, but during the third week of August 2008, my friend Jamie had been talking to me about the Caylee Anthony case. It was on the news daily, and my friend told me I should blog about the bizarre circumstances surrounding the case. "Nancy Grace is on right now, and they are talking about it," she said, so I flipped the channel and watched a few minutes of the coverage.

Something they said about people trying to extort and scam victims' families reminded me of bastards who had lied about having my baby cousin 20 years ago in order to collect ransom. The FBI set up a sting, and the people, nothing more than a bunch of greedy, lying, losers, were arrested, but they didn't have my cousin. They just wanted money. I remembered the heartache felt by the family caused by false hope, and it still angers me to this day.

In 1989, when I was 12, my five-year-old cousin was abducted from a Christmas party in Virginia. As they were leaving the party, M asked her mom if she could take some potato chips home with her. As the story goes, M's mom watched her walk across the room, scoop up a handful of potato chips into her pudgy, tiny hands and head back towards her mother to go home. Her mom looked away for a split second to tell a friend good night, and when she turned back, my baby cousin had vanished.

After an exhausting, and one of the FBI's most famous, investigations, a groundskeeper for the complex where they lived, who had attended the Christmas party that night, was arrested and charged with abduction with intent to defile.

The forensic evidence in M's case was historical and ground-breaking, forcing huge developments in the FBI's technology and development of extensive testing in major crime cases. Media attention and the nationwide search for M could be compared to the wide-spread international focus of such cases as Polly Klaas & Adam Walsh. But M was never found, and her abducter has spent the last 20 years in prison, refusing to utter a single word. There are still episodes aired at least three times a month about my baby cousin, for which I'm grateful and a bit awed, knowing that is MY baby cousin they still wonder about two decades later. I loved her then, and I still do.

I assumed all this time, like most people, that he murdered her, but there was NO evidence of that, so in the back of my mind, I held onto my childhood hope that one day she would be found. Unlikely, I know, but how could I continue to pray for her safety if I didn't believe, at least a little, that she was alive somewhere?

The media coverage of the Anthony case reminded me of M for a few days. Perhaps because we were children and it was more traumatic on the younger members of the family, distant as we were, than what everyone realized, M's cousins have never forgotten her and have always felt helpless. After all, we were just kids....while the adults consoled each other and searched, the children in the family couldn't do anything to show our love for her. In these past few months, I've spoken to several of her childhood and church friends, as well as other cousins, and realized that children all over who knew her also feel a special bond to her and search for her case from time to time, so I've realized I'm not as weird as I had initially thought.

Add to the fact that our mom, always diligent over watching us and warning us of predators BEFORE M's abduction, became more worried that it could happen to anyone, to us, the way it did M and instilled a constant reminder that this is not a safe world for children and to always be careful, with our safety as we grew, and our babies after we were adults.

I'm such a public Nazi when it comes to B, and have told her from early on that NOWHERE is safe, and if she is outside or in public she HAS to stay as close to me or whoever she's with...as close as possible, to stay safe. She's always had a few more rules about playing with friends than her peers, and I have felt guilty about that from time to time, thinking that she's missing out on fun her friends are having, but I just can't bring myself to relax. There's plenty of things to relax about and ignore, being a mom, and I choose for that issue not to be one of them.

Back to August, I googled M's name because I decided to blog about her and tell my friend Jamie, since she is interested in missing children cases, also. That moment sent my life into a tailspin. Perhaps one day I can share the...rest of the story...but not today. I just ask for everyone's continued prayers for M, her family, and a girl I found after googling M's name that day who needed help and a Christian influence, also.

Since that time, though, I have met so many people who have felt the heartache M's parents felt. Two days ago, one of those new friends sent me a link to her family's blog, and I shall share it next, but it's just an example of the types of stories I've heard these past several months, making me more diligent than ever before about my own little girl's safety.

Yesterday at 4:52 p.m., I was talking to my sis on the phone and hanging up a load of laundry when B came to the bedroom. "Mommy, can I go walking with P and her mom?" "Her mom's going?," I asked, without even realizing it because it's become second nature to me...B knows the rules of the household well by now, and she would have known not to even ASK such a thing unless an adult was going along with them.

B has three friends...N lives across the street, and sisters, P and A (who is older), on the other side of us, that she plays with daily. The two families are kin and are some of the best neighbors we've ever had. The moms are responsible and watch their children as closely as I do B, which is a blessing.

"Yea, her mom's taking us," B said, sighing, as though she KNEW I was going to ask that. "Are they out there now?" "Yea, her mom is putting her walking shoes on," she said, impatient to be on her way. "Ok, just be careful and watch for traffic...stay close to her mom," I rattled off as she headed down the hallway to meet them.

About ten minutes later, Chris came in from work and said "Where's B?" I was checking my email and said, with quite a bit of unattention, "She went walking with P." It couldn't have been more than five seconds, and I heard a knock at the door...suddenly, Chris yelled, "JAYME! WHERE'S B????", running down the hall towards me. "She went walking with P," I said, still not paying much attention, but noticing the panic in his voice, I started to pay attention...quickly, and climbed off the bed, nearly crashing into him as he rushed into the bedroom. "No, she's not! N and P are at the door looking for her!"

I ran down the hall, past the kids out the door and said, "B is with ya'll, walking! Where'd she go? Have you seen her? Where's your mom?', scanning our yard and up and down the streets. P and N just stood, looking stunned at me. I was already panicking but trying not to show it....they just weren't answering my questions fast enough! Where's your mom, P? Where's your sister (A, the older of the girls)? Did B come to your house? She said she was walking with you! N, did you see her, did she go to YOUR house? Where's your mom?...I don't know how many more questions I asked, but none of their answers told me where my baby was. OMG OMG Jesus, where is she? I thought, trying not to panic. Chris circled the house, ran to the other neighbors' yards, but no sign of her.

Where's your sister, P? Where's your sister??? Is B with her???
P said, A's at home, in the house, B isn't there. "Go, run, check! Find A, tell her I can't find B! Make sure she isn't in your house! She said she was with YA'LL! SHE SAID YA'LL WERE WAITING FOR HER OUTSIDE!!!' The other two moms circled their houses...no B in the yard...they stuck their heads in the house and yelled her name. No answer....By this time I was standing at the end of our street, my head spinning....my sis was on the phone and I just kept saying, "I can't find her, Amy! I can't find her!' Chris, check her room! "I just did when I got home...she's not here! Her bike isn't here, Jayme! Where is she? Where is she?'

I saw the fear in his eyes that I felt in my heart. "I lost his baby, I lost his baby" began churning in my head. I started thinking of all the undesirables who lived nearby us, trying to calculate exactly how many minutes she'd been gone...they could be in Monticello...half way to Pine Bluff by now....WHERE WAS MY BABY???? SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS WITH P'S MOM! P'S MOM IS STANDING IN HER YARD, with her walking shoes on...STARING AT ME! "Call you back" I said to my sis, my voice shaking, my eyes still searching the neighborhood for ANY sign of her. I thought about my cousin, her mom, all the people who I had talked to, even the day BEFORE, all those babies who had disappeared. OMG, OMG, DID THEY TAKE HER, PLEASE GOD, WHERE IS SHE? Those few minutes seemed like the longest hours of my life.

My sister's call disconnected, I dialed 911, and with my finger on the green call button, watched for P to come back outside and tell me whether her older sister, A, had seen B...just to make sure before I called the police. My knees began getting weak as I thought of the horrible things that could be happening...of all the places in the world she could be....of all the hundreds of cars that drive by our house each day...she could be anywhere, with anyone. I never imagined the world as huge and frightening as I did in those moments.

What was only a minute later but seemed like an eternity, I saw P emerge from her house, shaking her head no with her hands in the air....her sister wasn't behind her. Their mom appeared from behind their house where she was scanning again, stopped P in route to me, and told her something...P ran towards me and said, "Mommy said they may have gone on ahead or walked to the dollar store," she said. Fear turned into pure rage....she BETTER HOPE I don't find her little butt in town without an adult!

Anger....while I immediately felt guilty for being mad when she could possibly be in danger, I guess it's the only way my mind could process the information enough to be able to function...to be able to make it back to my car to go find her....As I whipped out of the driveway, the neighbors and Chris stood in the yard staring at my spinning tires as I peeled out onto the main road...I must've been going 60 before I made it the short distance to the stop sign, where I would turn left and head toward the dollar store. WTF is she doing going to the store???, I asked myself as my phone rang and I turned the corner...it was my sister..."I'm headed to the dollar store...A isn't home so hopefully they are together...she is going to be in so much trouble amy! she BETTER be at the store! she better NOT be at the store, I said in the same breath, but oh, how I wanted to find her safely there. If not there, where? wtf? the STORE? She didn't say anything about the STORE!!! She KNOWS not to go anywhere without an adult, whether an older kid is with her or not! I just wanted my baby back....OMG I should have watched her when she left...but she said they were waiting on her....this is my fault, all my fault. Where is she? She HAS to be at the store....

My sis was in my ear on the phone, but I couldn't comprehend what she was saying...could barely hear her...my ears were ringing, chest pounding, the knots in my stomach that appeared the moment Chris told me the girls were at the door looking for Becca was growing by the second. I whipped into the store parking lot, and saw a girl that resembled A walking down one of the aisles..."I think I found them, Amy, I think I found them," I rushed into the store, but no sign of them..."I thought you saw A?" Amy was saying in my ear, with me saying "She's not here, Amy, she's not here" rushing up and down the main aisles, whipping my head left, right, then left again, paying extra attention to the toy aisles. "It wasn't her, it was someone else," I said, turning to head back out of the store. I noticed a girl in her early 20s staring at me with a snotty look....if I weren't in such a hurry to find my baby, I was in the right mood to smear that look right off her face...'eff her, my baby's missing,' I thought as I slammed back out the door and headed to my car, looking all through the parking lots nearby for the girls.

"She has to be with A. She has to be ok, Amy. She is in SO much effing trouble when I find her! What was she thinking???? She KNOWS better, Amy!" I shouted as I made my way back towards the house, looking inside Subway, behind the insurance office, up and down the streets I passed. As I approached our street, I saw the moms and children standing in the middle of the street, watching for me....A was with them...I looked in my yard and there was B, safe, confused, sitting on her bike. As I slid onto our street and slammed my brakes, B was waving, "Hey, Mommy! Where'd you go? I'm fixing to go walking, ok?" Where in HELL were you, B????," I screamed out the window, finally allowed to be angry now that my baby was safe at home, thanking God over and over that she was safe. I felt tears welling in my eyes as I parked the car....B headed towards the car and said, "We thought her mom had already left, so we went down that way to catch up with her, her little fingers pointing the opposite direction of the store...."but she was still at home, so we came back," she said, innocently, her big blue eyes staring up at her nutted up mom. "INSIDE! NOW! YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT!! INSIDE! I THOUGHT SOMEONE TOOK YOU! GET INSIDE!"

"But I want to go walking, Mommy!" she cried in protest..."INSIDE!!!!!" I said, slamming my car door and pointing towards the house, my face flushed, trying to calm myself.

B burst into tears, threw her bike to the side and stormed into the house, me stomping right behind her and slamming the door....
I sat on the couch, my ears still ringing. I could see her explaining to her dad where she had been, and him, looking very concerned, answering her and nodding his head, then hugging her as tightly as possible, thankful she was safe, thankful I had not lost his baby, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. My ears wouldn't work, my hands wouldn't stop shaking, and I felt vomit forming in my mouth.

Chris finished hugging her, kissed her forehead, her cheek, her forehead again. My hearing was coming back....we were just scared, B, so glad you're ok. You scared us.' She looked at me, obviosuly seeing my fear and headed straight to me, "I'm okay, Mommy," she said. "Look, I'm right here," as I held my arms open and she climbed in to my lap. "Don't be mad, Mommy. We thought A's mom had already left. We didnt' see her outside, so we went to catch up with her. I'm ok, Mommy."

The next five minutes or so was me kissing her, squeezing her, so thankful she was back in my arms, so thankful I wasn't one of those moms my heart had broken so many times for, so thankful my baby was safe. We had the 'kidnapped' talk again...what to do if anyone ever seemed odd, scary, approached her...how she should fight like hell, and if they DID get away with her, to PRAY, PRAY PRAY....we reminded her that even if she can't SEE Jesus, even if she can't HEAR him, even if someone is hurting her, to just PRAY, and that Jesus would be right there with her....that noone could hurt her heart, her soul, no matter what because she is a child of God. She seems to know that even more than I do, I guess. "I'm not angry, B, just scared, Baby." "I know, Mommy, you don't want me to disappear like M. But Jesus took care of her, too, Mommy. He'll take care of me." Tears poured down my cheeks....my baby is smarter than most adults. She has peace in her heart, and for that I'm so thankful....

"Can I go play now, Mommy?" I looked at Chris, wild-eyed...I didn't want her to ever leave my sight again....outside seemed so frightening...I knew I wouldn't be able to say Yes because all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms, but I knew that I would have to let her go and be a kid. Chris seemed to know just what was in my heart. He winked at me, said, "She'll be ok, Jayme..." and smiled at me. "Yea, Baby, let me watch you go over to N's. The girls are waiting on you."

As they headed out the door, I rushed to the bathroom and lost what I had been trying to hold back for 20 minutes, praying, taking deep breaths, brushing my teeth, and wiping my tears. I called my sister and told her all is well again, that my baby was safe. "But how are YOU?" She asked..."Oh, I'm ok, now," I said.

I know how all those moms felt now, and I wish I could bring their babies back to them. I was only afraid a few minutes. Some of these parents have been terrifed for years....have never been able to hold and hug their babies, thankful they are back at home safe.

One bassett safe at home, another looking for his owners....

Hey, guys....
Holly found HER puppy, but in the process, someone trying to help her on the Drew County Speedway forum (great folk, those racers....) sent me this link, AND IT'S ANOTHER BASSETT who has lost his way!

This breed of dogs are just about the sweetest pets you'll ever find, but they have extremely strong hunting instincts which causes them to wander ever so often....

This is a male bassett, so if you know of anyone who is looking for their pet, send them to this link and photo please! Thanks!
http://searkdogadoption.weebly.com/new-at-the-pound.html

Please help find my friend's bassett hound!

My friend Holly R. is searching for her 10-month-old tri-colored Bassett Hound named KC, so if anyone in the Drew County area sees a female bassett anywhere near the Hwy. 425 South area, please contact me, or if you hear of anyone with a bassett as a new pet.....She was last seen in between the Drew County Speedway and Hwy. 425 mud track.

This is a more recent AND younger picture of the puppy, so remember that it'll be a good bit larger by now than the puppy pic! Her children really want their pet back!
:(

Just waking up.

YAY! No tornado and the house didn't fall on my head (I'm still having to contend with a dog that's a bit annoying today, though....and have lil munchkins running all around, too).

I just heard a vicious rumor (actually, I read it on Tasha's myspace status) that there's a 70 percent chance of rain Sunday??? I certainly hope not, Tasha!

We have Easter egging all day tommorrow, and perhaps a sunrise service Sunday morning, so here I go back to weather.com again....

So today, I'm going to try and finish my laundry! Yayay! I've found a few things for the La'Keisha Shepherd family, and got a phone call last night, finding a few more things, so that's what I'm going to be doing today. Dirt-trackies, don't forget to bring items for the cash & clothes drive, and thanks for helping!

Okay, off to town I go to get cigs & coffee. Not a very healthy start to the day, is it?

Oh, goodness....

I just THOUGHT I was freaked out by the movie I'm watching (The Happening).
Then the storm showed up! I'm looking up the weather warnings now, but it's sounding dreadful out there.
Apple and egg-sized hail???? I've never heard of such!
Guys, be careful if you're in the line of the storms, and pray for those that may be danger if you're not.

I was never much afraid of tornadoes until I moved to Warren, but they are serious threats here, much more than Monticello (only 20 miles away) because it's higher land over here. Since I've lived here, I've SEEN tornadoes move over, and storms take on a whole new meaning for me. We're getting reports of massive damage in communities all over Arkanasas, and I hope everyone is safe.

I'm worried about Becca. She's staying the night across the street with her bestie. We talked about going to get her, but their house is brick and in the middle of the street, where mine is in an open area on the corner and NOT a brick house, and not as large either, so we've decided she's probably safer over there for now.

I hope everyone's okay!

Please help the La'Keisha Shepherd & her family!

This Saturday night at the Drew County Speedway, track owner Rodney Box will host a “Cash & Clothes” drive for La’Keisha Shepherd who lost her house and vehicle after a devastating house fire (see attached photos). At the time, she was out of town with her three children and fiancée.



Early Sunday morning on March 29 La’Keisha, who was visiting friends in Dallas , received the news that her house was in flames. Unfortunately, the fire department was unable to save the structure, its contents, or the family car.



This family could really use our help. So this Saturday night at Drew County Speedway, we are going to do what we can to get the family back on their feet.



We’ll have a donation site near the main entrance for dropping off clothing donations (see sizes below). The racers have also offered to pass their helmets thru the grandstands, tailgate area, and pits during intermission in an effort to raise cash for the family. Please support this important cause if you can. Thanks!




Draylan (boy) age 5
Pants-6 regular
Shirts-6/7
Shoe-12

Keonia (girl) age 8
Pants-10 regular
Shirts-8/10
Shoe-2



Chauncey (boy) age 9
Pants-12 (slim)
Shirts-10/12
Shoe-4

LaKeisha (mom)
Pants-16
Shirts-16 (1x)



Jerelle (fiancée)
Pants-46 x32
Shirts-3xl Tall

~ My Facebook people can contact me if you'd like to help! ~

I'm so totally against this crap.

How stupid. Aren't there enough unwanted babies in the world to adopt? If you want to be a WOMAN who has BABIES, then don't go have a penis attached. Pick one or the other, please.

http://www.malepregnancy.com/

The Easter Bunny vs. the Bassett Hound

Okay, if this dog doesn't shut up barking, I'ma lose my mind.

Have you ever heard a bassett hound howl? It rattles the windows.

He's gotten spoiled to coming inside when he barks nonstop, bc he knows, I suspect, that I'll get tired of saying 'hush!' and clapping my hands real loud at him, give in, and bring him inside....but it's not even 'inside' that he wants....what he WANTS is to roam the neighborhood, and I can't let him do that.

But I can't even bring him inside to shut him up today! I went out and played with him, fed him TWICE as much as I usually do, pampered and loved on him, but he's STILL being stubborn. Why can't I give in and bring him inside? Because my daughter is the proud owner of a baby Easter bunny and a pink baby Easter chick. And every Easter animal she's EVER had has either gotten sick and died, committed suicide in the toilet, or been eaten by the cat.

A hounddog would LOVE to snack upon a bunny, and the cat wouldn't mind chowing right past the pink feathers on the baby chick, so they are OFF LIMITS, and the dog's not taking it very well. I bet he smells rabbit...

I'm SO ready for Easter, by the way! I LOVE THAT DAY!!!! I usually make my rounds at the parents, then end the day at our besties' house, Mandy and Roger, with the kids dying eggs and hiding them while we join Mandy's family for lots of food and laughs.

They are close to my heart, and I often spend most weekends during dirt track season and as much time with them on holidays as I do my family. They love us like we're their own, and Easter is one of our fav holidays with them.

Last year, Becca had a homemade dress that was GORGEOUS that my sis had made her, and I had a regular Easter dress for her to wear after church in case she got dirty playing outside. It's a good thing I changed her outfit at the Haydens', because I was dying eggs with the kids, Mandy's lil one Mason got tickled, slammed his hand down on the table, and the ENTIRE cup of pink dye covered Becca. LOL She was a pink as the Easter chick I'm trying to protect from the housecat.

Happy Easter, everyone! Love ya'll!!!! And thanks, God, for sending Your Son to redeem us. Easter really IS the most important day of the year.

STRESS!!!!

It's been so crazy around here. Chris just passed his one year anniversary of being service manager at a logging equipment dealership. He's worked so hard and turned the department COMPLETELY around since taking the position, and I've never been prouder of him in my life.

And it's been TOUGH these past six months....huge corporate changes stemming from the economy has left them all stressed and worried about their jobs, but at the same time working harder than ever to overhaul the entire company. About the time they got it squared away and felt a safety net, they were informed the company was being sold.

His new boss has taken over this week, and we are most excited because it's a well-known local business man who is their new boss, and we feel certain the company is going to soar. But the stress is still there, mainly from the financial crunch Chris and I, and a few other of the families in management, are feeling because of shifted pay schedules, delayed checks, extremely long months....so, if you see me on my hands and knees in the front yard begging the light man not to disconnect, you'll know why...but we've had harder times than this before, so I'm confident that the sun will start shining again soon and we'll be just fine.

I'm so tired of being anxious, though. It feels as though just about the time we think we are going to see the checkered, the flag man throws in another 10 laps. Which brings me to my next topic....dirt track racing.

I have taken on a new task, and it's kept me quite busy....being the track reporter for our local dirttrack. I've been doing it about a month now, and while a few people didn't like a few things I said, everything has been correct and gone quite smoothly. Busy, but error-free. Those of you who know me know how much I trip over errors in my writing, and this dirt-track reporting leaves SO many openings for mistakes....similar cars, numbers, different views, poor view of the other side of the track no matter WHERE I sit...who did what, or was it what was did to them by who?

I've done great so far, but yesterday, I made my first mistake....and didn't catch it until it had been sent out in a mass-mailing to subscribers and media outlets!!!! I was MORTIFIED! I said that Ronnie Adcock plowed into two other cars, and it WASN'T RONNIE ADCOCK!!!! I changed it where I could, but couldn't do anything about the subscribed emails that had been sent out. I called Ronnie and began apologizing PROFUSELY, but thankfully track people are so nice (generally). He laughed about it and told me several times he wasn't bothered at all about it and that it's okay. But it's not okay to me, and I feel horrible about it.

One mistake out of about 20 races is pretty darn good, especially since I'm crash-coursing in all of this as I go and learning ALOT of information in a short period of time, but I still regret my mistake SO MUCH, almost to the point that I don't even want to try it any further.

But I got alot of emails from great people who have been racing for YEARS, and writing about racing, and they say I'm doing a great job, and that's made me feel ALOT better.

I'm still going to be over at Ronnie Adcock's car Saturday offering to clean the mud off of it or SOMETHING to make up for my mistake.

So, to my dirt trackies...thanks for being patient and forgiving with me whilst I learn this new genre. Good luck racing!

More third grade....

I went off on a little tangent there, yesterday, didn't I? That came from way out in left field.
I would like to add, though, one other thing Becca is tripping over....she keeps asking, "Do you think I can get a 60 percent, Mommy? I HAVE to have a 60 percent for I'll flunk the third grade!"

What they DON'T tell the kids is that a 60 percent is a D AVERAGE! Rather than saying, "Most of you will get a 60 percent even if you SLEEP through part of the test, so it's okay, don't be scared" they instead TERRIFY them with it because to an 8-year-old, 60 percent sounds HUGE. Most of them think that means they have to perform A-average, or they will fail the ENTIRE third grade. Which is crap, too, by the way. If they had BEEN TEACHING ALL YEAR RATHER THAN REVEIWING FOR A STANDARDIZED TEST, THE CHILDREN WOULD PROBABLY KNOW BY KNOW WHAT 60 PERCENT MEANS!

How can a child work hard, study, and do good...EVEN THE HONOR ROLL....all year long, then flip out on test day, fail the test, and FLUNK, throwing ALL YEAR'S WORK OUT THE WINDOW???? And how dare they tell these kids that in an effort to make them try harder on the test! If that's not cruel, what is?

I'm glad that Becca has a pretty good teacher and I can forgive her for the Benchmark stuff, because if she had wound up with a crappy one on TOP of Benchmarks, I would most likely have been dragged from the school by men in either blue or white by now.

SO READY FOR SUMMER BREAK!!!!

I hate third grade.

It’s been said that one learns something new every day. Lately, I’ve been learning something new every hour, it seems.

A friend of mine said a few days ago ‘If stress is supposed to make you thinner, I’d be invisible.’ ‘Amen,’ I thought, glancing down at my not-so-skinny self. Many of you know the recent events with my baby cousin’s case, and it has taken a huge toll on me. I can finally TRY to function again, but it still eats at my heart daily. We can’t do anything but hurry up and wait, and I ask for everyone’s prayers to continue on so many different levels.

Becca is tired of the third grade, and I am, too. The Benchmark crap infuriates me. It stemmed from one of Bush’s mistakes, so why is my baby still having to stay until dinner-time two nights a week (she is honor roll so it’s not like she needs extra help…..they pressure ALL third-graders to go on Mondays and Tuesdays after school ) for Benchmark prep, in addition to the HOURS a day they make them hunker over the same boring practice tests, redundant classwork with sample problems, rather than her actively LEARNING. I’m so tired of the kids being DRILLED CONSTANTLY BY THE ENTIRE SCHOOL STAFF. Benchmarks are a CONSTANT DAILY REMINDER to these kids. They are ready to vomit by the time it comes around (next week).

The deal with Benchmarks above other standardized tests is that the schools, ESCPECIALLY the ones who have sucked in the past, HAVE to have good marks to prove they are doing their job, or else they start losing authority of their schools, and possibly funding (if I remember correctly). So it ALL comes down to people trying to keep their jobs and the bottom dollar on the yearly budget.

Basically, if the kids do bad, the teachers look like they aren’t doing their job. THEREFORE, to prove they did better than the year previous, they NEGLECT MY CHILD’S EDUCATION TO STUFF MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS DOWN HER THROAT, PAGES AT A TIME. I wish I had saved the social studies work Becca has been given this year. And don‘t be mistaken that it‘s a lot. They spend about 30 minutes one afternoon and give them a test the next day, or something to that effect.

It’s horrendous and some of the crap has NOTHING to do with civics. It‘s questions like, “If a friend asked you to do something bad or break the law, would you?” wtcrap? Isn‘t that what they should be learning in Sunday School? I suspect it’s more benchmark crap they squeezed into a social studies lesson by throwing the word ‘law’ into it. And then the next question would be ‘Who’s the first President?’ (which my daughter has known for at LEAST three years), then ‘Who built the first car?’ ?????????????? Actually, I’ve just this moment had a revelation….the reason they stick random crap like that together is because they are combining lessons in that subject so they can SAY they covered the material, but actually use the extra time for….what? More Benchmark crap, I’m sure.

I’m highly offended by this because I have gone to college to study American history. My child has learned more about America from The History Channel and Johnny Horton songs than she’s EVER learned in her years of school COMBINED. Why? Because the school administration is apparently TERRIFIED of looking bad so they are obsessed with getting good scores. “It’s not their fault,” one may say. I said that, too, until this year, when I’ve watched my little girl collapse and sleep as soon as she gets in from school.

When I’ve seen things my daughter SHOULD be learning and she’s not because they are ‘practicing for Benchmark.’ Okay, guys, you know Varsity Blues and how freaking obsessed they were over football? That’s the way they are over Benchmarks. I’m angry because if the teachers REALLY gave half a damn, instead of using all this energy having special pep assemblies (am I fooling you? NO. They actually have damned pep assemblies for the freaking test) and figuring out sneaky ways to steal from my daughter‘s VALUABLE (in her ONLY SHOT AT AN EDUCATION) time to shove more Benchmark at her to make THEMSELVES look good, they would INSTEAD use that time to go to CONGRESS and REFUSE TO DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN, then that would be a lot easier and quicker, and better for our KIDS.

It’s laziness. All of the time all the teachers in the nation spend on all the kids in the nation to answer all the right questions in the nation….think of the time and energy WASTED. THAT’S why I said it would be easier for all of them as a whole to go to Congress rather than continue like ZOMBIES, and in the process making our kids HATE school. Kids who used to LOVE learning….Paperwork is easier to many teachers than actually interacting all day every day, so many of them have gotten lazy. As long as they get good scores, who cares. They don’t get paid enough anyways. If they ARE great teachers and the kids do bad on the test, they could lose their jobs, so screw it. They hand out the papers.

My daughter this week is told to PRACTICE GOING TO BED 30 MINUTES EARLY, waking up 15 minutes early, PRACTICE WEARING COMFORTABLE SHOES….a WEEK before the test, mind you, being told what kind of breakfasts and snacks to eat, advised not to wear jewelry. She is so freaking stressed about this test. She mentions it at least a few times a day. And they’ll probably kick it into high gear the rest of the week b/c there’s only a few days left. Is it because they care about her performance this year and how much she’s ACTUALLY learned and gained from her experience, or are they just tripping because they want THEMSELVES to look good? Hmmm, I think we all know the answer to that.

Okay, this turned into I hate third grade, and I was really going to talk about dirt track racing. Perhaps next time….

I miss being me!!!

Hey, guys....we are supposed to find out in 24 hours or so, so keep praying for the entire family, Tiffany, and us because alot of stuff has been going on within this past day or so and has left us all completely stressed.

I PROMISE to catch up with everyone in just a few days. I'm SOOO ready to get back to being me again!

Luv ya'll bunches!

Jury finds Hamburg man guilty in less than 30 minutes

www.pbcommercial.com

Steven Wayne McDougald, 45, was convicted last month by an Ashley County jury of kidnapping and second-degree sexual assault against a 2-year-old Ashley County resident.

Circuit Judge Sam Pope upheld the jury’s recommendation of two consecutive 20-year sentences in the Arkansas Department of Correction. The jury deliberated for 30 minutes on Jan. 15 before returning with the guilty verdict.

An habitual offender with four prior convictions, McDougald, of Hamburg, was arrested March 30 after he left with the toddler on a four-wheeler during a cookout and did not return in a timely manner.

The mother of the toddler reported that McDougald had asked her husband if he could take the child for a ride around the premises on the four-wheeler but left the immediate area without parental consent. A phone call to McDougald was made when the parents realized he had left the area, approximately 30 minutes later.

McDougald reportedly told them he was on his way back with the child.

When he did not return, the father of the toddler and the host of the cookout searched the area on atvs and found McDougald and the toddler approximately an hour and a half after they first went missing near a creek in the Fountain Hill area.

Police were notified after the child told her parents McDougald had inappropriately touched her.

Forensic experts presented dna evidence that indicated the child had been touched inappropriately.

Prosecutor David Cason told the jury there was only one set of tire tracks found in the woods, which disputed McDougald’s claims of being lost.

“If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, it’s probably a duck,” Cason said.

Jury rules not guilty in rape trial

www.pbcommercial.com

By Jayme Lawson/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 10:08 AM CST

Rodney Daniels, 30, of Warren, one of two men facing rape charges, has been found not guilty in Bradley County Circuit Court.

A second suspect in the case, Keatron Ridgell, 24, also of Warren, is awaiting trial.
Daniels was acquitted following at two-day trial, which ended Jan. 23.

According to testimony, an 18-year-old woman reported that she was raped by Ridgell last year at a friend’s apartment while four other people were upstairs.

After being raped by Ridgell, she said, he left with her cell phone, and his phone was left behind. The victim testified she called Ridgell by dialing her number on his phone. He returned and “grabbed hold of her and made her leave with him,” according to Prosecutor Frank Spain.

She alleged that Ridgell took her to another apartment, where she was taken upstairs against her will, held down by Ridgell and Daniels. With other unidentified men also in the room, she was forced to engage repeatedly in sex.

The victim’s friends who were at the apartment where the first rape allegedly occurred testified that they heard the victim call out, but when they couldn’t find her downstairs, they called her phone. The person who answered her phone led the woman’s friends to the apartment where they ran upstairs and “saw their friend being forced to have sex with people,” Spain said.

The friends left the apartment and called 911. Ridgell reportedly left the apartment before police arrived, and authorities found Daniels leaving the residence. He was questioned whether anyone else was in the apartment to which Daniels replied, “No.” When the alleged victim was located upstairs, Daniels maintained that he did not know she was upstairs and that he did not engage in sex with her.

When forensic results from a rape kit and bodily fluids located during the investigation indicated that both men had engaged in intercourse with the alleged victim, Daniels admitted that he did have sex with the woman but claimed it was consensual.