Katie is a 17-year-old sophomore who lives with her mother in Diamond Valley. She has an older sister named Megan who is 28 and lives in Connecticut.
Katie recently became an aunt as her sister proudly announced the newest addition to the family, Zoe.

Katie loves animals and has two cats, appropriately named Mr. and Ms. Kitty, who live harmoniously with two her two dogs, Holly and Snapper.

Katie has a huge interest in working with animals occupationally, and she would like to study in either the equine or zoology fields when she becomes an adult.

While Katie shines in the subject of mathematics, she also loves singing and the arts and currently takes drama.

Katie is a creative, outgoing girl with a spirited personality.

She would like an energetic Big Sister who enjoys being outside for hikes, horseback riding or camping trips.

Other favorite activities include simply hanging out and watching movies with soda pop and a big bowl of popcorn.

She loves cool jewelry, shopping, and going out for steak and hot wings.

Katie also loves the popular television show “Hannah Montana” and all her friends compare her to Hannah’s best friend Lilly.

Katie would greatly benefit and enjoy the company of a Big Sister. Maybe you could be the one to make a positive impact on Katie’s life. You don’t have to change your life to change hers.

You can single-handedly make a difference in your community for only a few hours a month.

Post 18 of 100 of Brad’s Tiny World Scribefire Challenge.

Dalton native runner-up for Miss Reinhardt

Submitted by Reinhardt College

Tabatha Reece, a sophomore biology major from Dalton, was named first runner-up in the Miss Reinhardt Competition recently.

For her talent, Reece recited a monologue from the play “Tomorrow’s Wish.” At Reinhardt College, she is a resident assistant, a member of the Reinhardt theater program and serves as the manager of the volleyball team.

Lindsay Bradley, a senior majoring in sacred music from Crystal River, Fla., was named Miss Reinhardt 2008. She will represent Reinhardt for the next year at campus and community events. Other contestants included Hilary Martin, a junior public relations and advertising major from Ringgold.

The competition was open to all women who attend Reinhardt full time. The contestants were judged on academic excellence, commitment to community, talent, interview and evening gown categories.

Post 25 of 100 of Brad’s Tiny World Scribefire Challenge.

The point of prison is not to punish criminals for their crimes, it is to keep society safe from them while we supposedly rehabilitate them.  We give out life sentences and order the death penalty because we believe they can not be redeemed and society will not be safe if they walk the streets.  Such is the case of Susan Atkins.  At least it was the point of Susan Atkins incarceration.

Let us flash forward three and a half decades.  Susan Atkins is dying.  She has terminal brain cancer.  She has had a leg amputated, and from some accounts suffering mental problems.  The parole board said no to her request for release, why?  Does she continue to pose a threat to society?  No.  Will releasing her jeopardize the political careers of some people?  Quite possibly.  So rather than doing their job the board members chose to save their own ass and not follow the basic tenants of incarceration.

Not only was that decision against any sort of professional ethics, it doesn’t make for good common sense either.  California prisons are already overcrowded and underfunded, removing those that are no longer a threat to society from this system is the easiest way to fix the problem.  They do not have to be let to roam the streets without supervision, but neither should the be kept in prison past the point of it being useful.  Secondly hers and others illnesses is hitting this system hard financially.  Medical care in prison is very costly, just the guards used when she was transported off site has run the system over three hundred thousand dollars, let alone the nearly two million her care has cost.  This is care that would have cost ten percent of that outside of the prison system.  This is a stupid waste of money and resources.

No matter what happens we can’t bring back Sharron Tate or the others Susan Atkins had a part in killing.  I am not saying we should forgive those crimes either.  I am however saying we should release her to her husbands care, because there is no valid reason to keep her incarcerated.  She might enjoy that last bit of freedom, but so what, the point of prison was never to punish her.

In the end we found out she was not killed or kidnapped by an internet stranger, but a family member as is too often the case.  No details have been released about the case and I am not sure I really want to know them.  She was a girl whose life was cut tragically short by someone who should have been looking out for her.  Take a moment if you have forgotten this case to not only remember Brooke Bennet, but all the kids who go missing and are exploited every year.  The greatest failure we have as a people is how often we forget simply because we don’t want to remember.

FOXNews.com – Funeral for Brooke Bennett, 12, of Vermont to Be Held Wednesday – Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

A funeral will be held for 12-year-old Brooke Marie Bennett on Wednesday at the Randolph Union High School in Randolph, Vt.

The viewing will be Tuesday evening at the same location.

Brooke would have turned 13 on July 12.

Her body was found last Wednesday in a shallow grave in Randolph, a week after she was last seen on a convenience store video walking out of the store.

Brooke’s uncle Michael Jacques has been charged with kidnapping. Police have not released a cause of death.

Post 14 of 100 of Brad’s Tiny World Scribefire Challenge.

One post called Life is to Live has everything I know to be true right in the title. Most people think I’m completely correct for saying the point of life is to live and not merely exist, that is until they call me a bastard for suggesting it applies to old people and babies too.  Simply put my philosophy has always been keeping someone alive for the simple sake of keeping them alive is pointless, fruitless, and a waste of resources when there is no reasonable hope they will ever do more than exist.  it is the religious who yell and scream at me most for this notion, even though unlike me they believe in a grand afterlife the aged and babies could find their glorious way too.  What irony comes of life.

He also writes a fine post on online gaming and gaming in general putting forth this notion

Gaming may sound childish, but remember no adult can be happier than a child.

This is most certainly true on both accounts. As a former gamer who doesn’t get enough time to game it is a real let down of my day. I don’t think it matters what games you play either, if it revitalizes you,makes you feel youthful or just releases a fair amount fo stress from killing alien baddies then it is worth taking the time to play, no matter who calls it childish.

In the end sentimentality is never a substitute for substance, but sometimes you need to look beyond the sentimentality to get past your own surlieness.

Elizabethton Star Online Edition

Friday, October 17, 2008
776th…our hometown army

Today, members of the 776th Maintenance Company of the Tennessee National Guard left town on their first leg of deployment, which will eventually take them to an overseas assignment in either Iraq or Afghanistan. A spokesman for the Tennessee National Guard office in Nashville said more than likely the local soldiers will be sent to Iraq.

In the meantime, families of these soldiers ready for life without husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. For the past few weeks, the troops have been busy sewing up the loose ends in their own lives while their families prepare to live without them until late next year.

The 776th’s mission is to ease the strain on the regular Army. Although things have calmed down in Iraq, it is still a very dangerous place to be. You can do everything right and still be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For the most part, the men and women who are members of the 776th Maintenance Co. are only part-time soldiers. They are firemen, salespeople and mechanics, service-industry workers, city and county employees, health care workers, etc. They are our neighbors; they coach Little League; some are students; and some attend the same church as we do.

They feel a sense of responsibility to serve. They leave behind warrior wives and mothers, who this week often put on a brave face for their soldier husbands and sons. During the next few months, they must pay the bills, do the running, fix the flat tires and broken hot water heaters, and any other tasks around the house that must be done.

This is the third time since 1990 that the 776th has been deployed. This 100-plus soldier unit knew what they were in for when they signed up — a part of their contract that states can be mobilized if there is need. A good number of them hoped they never would have to go. Yet, when the time came to go, they were ready and willingly went. When local men and women receive the call to go, it makes all wars local.

As these men and women drove down Elk Avenue last Friday in their camouflaged uniforms, we saw fresh-faced men barely out of their teens, middle-aged and older men with heavily lined faces reporting to meet a responsibility perhaps they thought they had fulfilled long ago. Many of the troops are young recruits, and most of the officers and senior sergeants are veterans on their second and third call-ups.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the military has relied heavily on reservists to conduct overseas operations. More than 450,000 of these part-time soldiers — they generally train during one weekend a month and two weeks of active duty a year — have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11; more than 800 of them have died. In the prolonged ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, no reservists have spent their blood and sweat more unreservedly than those of the Army National Guard, which has deployed more than 190,000 soldiers and lost nearly 500.

The 776th Maintenance Co. is our hometown army…and while they are away serving our country, we urge those left behind to support them with care packages, cards, e-mails and prayers. Until they come home…we wish them the best!

By Anastasia Harbuck

Published: October 16, 2008

Ally Beaty and Alexis Brown have been friends since their elementary school days.

Now the Lakeside seniors will both be competing for the title of Miss Peanut Festival this weekend in Dothan. Alexis says she can’t think of anyone she’d want to share this occasion with than her schoolmate and friend.

“Who better to go to Peanut with than your best friend?” said Alexis.

The girls departed for Dothan Thursday and will spend the weekend participating in verbal communication and evening gown competitions. The Miss National Peanut Festival pageant will be held at the Dothan Civic Center.

The dream of becoming Miss National Peanut Festival has been in the friends’ sights for a long while. Alexis has longed to compete for the title ever since her little sister competed for Little Miss Peanut Festival. Alexis won the title of Miss Barbour County this spring. She and Ally will compete against 49 other beauties this weekend.

More to come in the upcoming edition of The Tribune.

Is Criss Angel Dead? Did Criss Angel Die?

A lot of people are asking whether Chriss or Criss Angel is dead or not. So we googled it for everyone. We did not find anything credible enough about Criss Angel being dead. If Criss is dead, it should be in the news online and offline, in televisions, in newspapers. But we haven’t found any news about his death.

I ask again “Did Criss Angel die and who the fuck is he?”

Did Criss Angel Die

We do remember the false reports about Oprah Winfrey’s death and Miley Cyrus’ death not that long ago. Many people are spreading false rumors about famous persons. Criss Angel’s death could be one of these lies

Alright we know he must be famous people are making references to him with the Miley Cyrus death rumor. I have my guesses but I doubt he is as pretty as she is. Is it creepy for a thrity four year old to say she is pretty? How about hot or sexy. Can Miley Cyrus be considered those things by guys who are eighteen, but not guys twice that age without the public blowing it out of proportion like the maybe sort of death of Chriss Angel?

Now we have a photo of Criss Angel from NachoFoto This still tells me nothing about who Chris Angel is or did Criss Angel die. I would like to say a photo of a guy proves they exist. However in the world of imagining technology that made Lord of The Rings several generations of technology back, I can’t say it proves it any more than a digg story assuring us he is dead.

The internet is buzzing that Mindfreak Criss Angel might be dead. Don’t go getting all excited just yet…

Worried fans of Criss Angel are wondering: Did the magician die during his latest stunt? Apparently the ominous ending to the latest episode of his series, Mindfreak, has fans thinking Angel perished in a car crash and have been leaving frantic messages on his MySpace page. The internets are abuzz with rumors that Angel is dead.

He’s probably just leaked the rumor to steal some of street magician David “I can hang upside down for 60 hours” Blaine’s thunder. If he is dead, we know who to suspect-Hef!! You’ll know Hef represented for his main girl Holly Madison! I kid. I’m sure it’s just an urban legend. Another one which will sadly prove to be untrue.

Alright I now believe he existed. What of his death rumors. Did Criss Angel die? No one can seem to tell us for sure.

http://bettywilliams.wordpress.com…i-dont-get-it/
well i must agree the finale was an Epic Fail but obviously something went wrong. You know what i honestly think? I think something was wrong with his head, eyes, or organs and he knew beforehand so he didn’t do it. But if he were to do NOTHING than something surely would have happened. I mean come on it’s New York.

I think we might be getting somewhere. Betty Williams thinks something is wrong with him. Did something go wrong during this stunt? Did Criss Angel die? According to astrological signs Criss Angel is not dead yet.

As we will see below, Criss Angel’s shocking style of illusionism has people on the edge of their seats, wondering if he’ll kill himself with his stunts. But for Criss, it’s all a cosmic joke, of sorts.

Finally this is all starting to make sense. Criss Angel is on television which instantly means he is important to many people and a guiding influence in their lives sort of like Oprah or Buffy or Jean Luc Picard. Did Criss Angel die? I don’t know, but I make this offer to him. Criss if you are alive why not give us a sign with a comment. Whether or not Criss Angel is dead let me leave you with a quote from Anything Hollywood, “Hey folks, this is illusion, don’t try it at home! “

The public, especially uninformed parents likes to blame the online services every time something happens to a child. While there have been a few cases where some small companies have failed to act on information that is rarely the case. While I do not like blaming the parents of kids that had something happen to them because of their online activities, they are the ones who ultimately old the most responsibility.

In The case of Brooke Bennett I have to ask what she was doing with a MySpace account in the first place. She was twelve, meaning she lied about her age to get an account. A lot of kids do it when they go online, in fact I have only ever met one who was unwilling to do so and played by all the rules. She however is scrupulously honest about her seventeen years. She is also the exception to the rule I think. There are literally are no ways to prevent this behavior that doesn’t put a serious burden on everyone else.

Not only would making it harder for kids to go online make it harder for everyone else, it would potentially endanger them even more. The more we forbid or restrict the action the more enticing it becomes as a rebellious activity. Secondly, every predator online would have the excuse, I thought she was eighteen, because you have to be eighteen to go online. Making it harder to go online or use services, benefits no one.

This once again brings the responsibility right back into the lap of the parents. Most parents will openly say, I don’t understand or really know what my kids do online. That however is not good enough. As a parent if you allow your kids to participate in an activity, then it is up to you to educate yourself with the facts. You are responsible for them, so it simply isn’t good enough to listen to hype from your kids about how great the internet is or the fear mongers saying how dangerous it is. It is up to parents to become informed and if that means showing and interest and taking part in what they are doing so be it.

It is also up to parents to learn about the sites their kids go to. If you are worth anything as a parent you aren’t letting your kids come and go at any hours of the night or day without knowing who they are with, where they are going, or when they will be back. The same rules apply online. If they are keeping a blog read it. If they are going to MySpace, FaceBook, LiveJournal or anywhere else, you need to find out what they are doing there. It is up to parents not some corporate internet service to act like parents.

In the end, Brooke Bennett’s parents may not have been able to do anything to stop this. Some kids will rebel and get hurt at no fault of the parents. On the other hand they should have known a hell of a lot more about what their daughter was doing. A lack of understanding is simply no excuse for parental ignorance.

MARYSVILLE, Wash. – A father arrested after his 6-year-old daughter was fatally shot in their Washington state home allegedly told authorities he had been drinking double shots of vodka while cleaning his guns.

Court papers say Richard Peters told detectives he had asked his daughter, Stormy, to bring him the .45-caliber handgun Sunday. He said he must have pulled the trigger, and the girl fell to the floor. She was pronounced dead Monday.

Bail for Peters, 42, was set Monday at $250,000. He has been arrested for investigation of first-degree manslaughter.

Already gun control advocates are up in arms about this.  They are screaming to anyone who will listen that this is why we need to outlaw guns.  To them again I scream “Bullshit!”

This was neither an accident nor is it a reason to  start making new gun control laws.  First off this was a many drinking double vodkas when he should have been paying attention to his kids.  Secondly this is a man who let his kids handle loaded weapons.  Third he was simply too drunk to remember what happened, since his wife was in the room and clueless the same could probably be said about her.

This was not an accident.  First off guns and booze never mix.  Secondly accident deaths occur when you are doing things such as carrying your kid and trip down the stairs, or accidental injuries happen by sticking a flailing baby with a diaper pin.  This was incompetence and negligence, no new gun control laws are needed to address that.  Even if you did slap together new gun control laws, they would never stop bad parents from being bad parents anymore than they stop criminals from being criminals.

For all of you so called do-gooders, who think you are so damned smart, don’t cry out for gun control laws to fix problems they can’t.  Instead cry out for someone to put the remaining kids in the custody of someone who will be decent parents to them.