The Good
Cheers to students from the Johnston High School and Middle School. Last week, both schools participated in cancer-awareness activities after Johnston teacher, Lacey Corcoran, was diagnosed with colon cancer. Student-body president Julia Manning, a group of students and faculty advisors originally planned to raise funds to help with costs associated with Corcoran’s treatment but decided to donate proceeds to the American Cancer Society, granting Corcoran’s wish to help others with cancer. Throughout the week, students and faculty wore a certain color of clothing to represent an awareness of a certain cancer. Teal was worn for ovarian, cervical and testicular cancer; black for melanoma; pink for breast cancer; orange and lime green for leukemia and lymphoma; and blue for colon cancer.
Those in Louisiana didn’t have to wait until Mardi Gras to celebrate in fashion as the New Orleans Saints capped off 13-3 season by beating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. The Super Bowl victory was the team’s first championship in its 43-year history. The underdog Saints trailed by 10 points early, but New Orleans’ Drew Brees rallied the comeback. Brees, who was named Super Bowl MVP, completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards with two touchdowns.
The Bad
Some people seemingly can’t keep their hands to themselves. Case in point, Des Moines Police Officer Maynard Richardson, who was arrested and charged with attempting to sexually assault a 22-year-old woman in his patrol car last week. Reports state Richardson was on duty and in uniform when the incident allegedly happened. Police say the woman was not injured, but declined to describe the type of contact the officer had with her. Richardson posted a $3,000 bond last Friday from the Polk County Jail, and he has been placed on paid administrative leave. He now faces a review by police administrators that could result in the termination from the department.
Note to criminals: Cover your tracks. When Jamie Sauceda arrived at his Des Moines home on Sunday about 6 p.m., he spotted footprints in the snow on his deck. He also noticed that glass had been pried away from his sliding glass door in what appeared to be a break-in attempt. Sauceda followed the footprints, saw a man running away to a nearby home and called police. Officers followed the prints to the home and questioned Jacob Eli Stapleton, 26. Following questions, Stapleton’s shoes were taken as evidence. Police said the prints in the snow matched the shoe prints, and Stapleton was arrested on charges of third-degree attempted burglary and possession of marijuana, which may explain things.
The Ugly
Take it easy Gary Barta. It’s bad enough your Iowa men’s basketball team is putrid, but you’re going to take offense and make a big deal about a funny movie trailer spoof that aired on WHO-TV’s “Sound Off”? “Little Lick, Lotta Bite,” was a laugh-out-loud video that lampooned John Lickliter, an Iowa basketball walk-on and son of head coach Todd Lickliter, with truthful hilarity. Barta then ruined the good time by demanding that WHO-TV sports reporter Chris Hassel apologize for the video. Hey Barta, ever heard of freedom of speech? The “Sound Off” crew should be proud of what they do — providing a satirical look at the world of sports — and we hope they continue. The laughs kept rolling last week when Hassel spoofed “Ask Gary Dolphin” as a way to enjoy some of the negative feedback about “Little Lick, Lotta Bite.” We think Barta should be more worried about “the special appearance by thousands of empty seats” than a little jab at the coach’s walk-on son. Besides, even his dad thinks, “he is destined for NBA greatness.”
Could the Super Bowl Halftime Show have sucked any worse? Years after the infamous Janet Jackson nipple scandal, the powers to be have brought in old rocker after old rocker to lamely entertain the masses. Last Sunday they wheeled out The Who and it was so bad that it sent some of our party guests on a beer run. Besides, if we really wanted to hear music from The Who, we could watch one of the 1,800 crime investigation shows on CBS. Enough already. CV
