The Good
The smell of B.O. can ruin anyone’s day, especially while riding the bus to work in the early morning hours. So the Honolulu, Hawaii, City Council is attempting to do something about it by punishing stinky public transit passengers. The bill would make it “illegal to have odors that unreasonably disturb others or interfere with their use of the public transit system.” Violators of bad B.O. could face a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail. The bill does not discriminate, and it doesn’t matter if it’s body odor or offensive fumes that emanate from clothes, personal belongings or animals. It’s a simple issue of personal hygiene. Most everyone can find five minutes in the day to shower, and soap is cheap.
Thousands of volunteers turned out to help package meals during the second annual Meals from the Heartland, which went through Monday, Sept. 7. The meals will be served at orphanages and feeding centers Iowa and across the world like Haiti, South Africa and Nigeria. Last year, approximately 13,000 volunteers help package more than four million meals.
The Bad
Illegal drugs and boiling water don’t mix. Just ask Jackie Wilridge, who was arrested last week on charges of killing Patricia James by scalding her with water on July 3. Police reports say that James and several others were smoking crack cocaine in Las Vegas, Nev., when James told them she had between $2,000 and $3,000 in cash on her. James was attacked by the group but died at the hospital four days later. She had burns on about 15 percent of her body. Wilridge is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of murder with a deadly weapon.
It must be child abduction season. Seems like every day another pervert is trying to snatch a kid. In the last few months, a number of attempted abductions have been thwarted in Waukee, Clive, Dallas Center, New Sharon, Pella, Panora and Urbandale. All have a creepy feeling to them, including the one that surfaced last week near Hoyt Middle School. A student told law enforcement that he was walking home from school when a white Chevy Caprice started following him. The driver slowed down and yelled, “Come here.” The student turned around and ran toward the school. The driver, described as a white male in his 40s, with long, greasy dark hair, turned around in the driveway and yelled, “I’ll get you next time.” Not only did this freak scare the student with a menacing statement, but the youngster will probably be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life. The cops need to find this creep and put him away for good.
The Ugly
When criminals are out robbing people, it’s bad. But when they hurt a little, old lady, they’ve crossed the line. Last week, Nevada, Iowa, resident Tristan Raymond Poole was charged with second-degree robbery after he mugged 78-year-old Olga Owen. Owen was reportedly walking to her car in a grocery store parking lot when Poole walked up to her from behind and grabbed her purse. Poole ripped it away from Owen, causing cuts, bruises and blood blisters. Poole jumped in a car driven by a woman with children in back (potential riminals in training) and fled the scene. An Iowa State Patrol trooper spotted the car on Interstate Highway 35 close to Ankeny and stopped the driver. Poole was identified as the suspect and taken into custody. Poole also had warrants in Boone and Story counties.
The world of health and medicine can be strange. Scientists report that a brain seizure in a 37-year-old woman in Germany caused her to believe she had undergone a sex transformation. The woman was admitted to the epilepsy center in Germany saying, “I’m no longer feeling to be a female.” She also claims that this delusion was not limited to herself, but believed others around her underwent sex changes, too. Reports indicate that the woman was completely healthy with no history of any other mental disorders besides symptoms of depression in her later adulthood. CV
