Et cetera

By Staff
GOOD MORNING FRANKLIN COUNTY
Today is Friday, September 1, 2006. Expect partly cloudy skies this afternoon with a high of around 86. Eat a healthy breakfast because today begins National Better Breakfast Month. On this day in history:
1807 – Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr is found innocent of treason.
1830 – "Mary Had A Little Lamb" is published.
1878 – Emma Nutt becomes the first female telephone operator in America.
1918 – The professional baseball season is halted due to World War I.
1923 – An earthquake in Kanto, Japan, kills 140,000 people.
1939 – Nazi troops invade Poland, marking the beginning of World War II.
1945 – World War II ends as Japan surrenders to the United States.
1972 – Bobby Fischer defeats Boris Spassky to win the international chess championship in Iceland.
1975 – "Gunsmoke" airs for the final time on CBS television.
1983 – A Korean passenger jet is shot down by a Soviet fighter plane after veering into Siberian air space.
1985 – Wreckage of the Titanic is first discovered off the coast of Newfoundland.
People celebrating birthdays today include: wrestler "Bam Bam" Bigelow is 45; singer Gloria Estefan is 49; musician Barry Gibb is 60; former Atlanta Brave Rico Carty is 67; entertainer Lily Tomlin is 67; golfer Al Geiberger is 69; actor George Maharris is 78; and actress Yvonne De Carlo is 84.
FOOTBALL FEVER
It's going to be a beautiful evening as high school football gets into full swing across Franklin County. Go out and support your favorite team. The schedule for Friday, September 1, includes:
Haleyville at Phil Campbell
Red Bay at Shoals Christian
Deshler at Russellville
Tharptown at Vina
ARRESTED….AGAIN
Kevin Holder was arrested three weeks ago in Lincoln, Nebraska, for being in possession of burglary tools. Holder is no stranger to the Lincoln Police Department.
His most recent arrest was number 226. That's right, Kevin Holder has been arrested 226 times over the past 26 years and the current charges could land him in prison for the next 60 years.
If you think that arrest must be some kind of record you are wrong. Edward Rooks was arrested by police in Lincoln 652 times before he passed away in 2004, probably from exhaustion.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
During the graduation ceremonies at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, New Jersey, valedictorian Kareem Elnahal was allowed to rant and rave about the poor education he thought he received from the school.
Even though his school was ranked as one of the top academic schools in the country, Elnahal was allowed to describe his education as "hollow" and "incomplete" because of the right to free speech we enjoy in this country.
Meanwhile, Brittany McComb, valedictorian at Foothill High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, was giving her speech at graduation when school officials turned her microphone off. McComb was denied her right to free speech because she dared to talk about her relationship with God. You may want to know that when they turned off her microphone almost all of her fellow graduates and their families booed the school officials. (from Baptist Press reports and CNS.com)
A SMALL RECORD?
The Guinness Book of World Records has received an application from a family in Nepali to have their son recognized as the world's smallest human. The fourteen-year-old, named Khagendra, is only 20 inches tall. The current record is held by a Jordanian boy who is 25.5 inches tall.
ATTENTION ALL GERMAPHOBS
A recent study indicates that the average toilet seat contains over 17,000 germs. That's why we clean our toilets as often as possible. Well, you might better start taking your anti-bacterial wipes to the car each day. The average car steering wheel has over 41,000 germs.
ZAP METAL
Scrap metal is bringing record prices in Canada and that is bringing out crooks in record numbers.
A man in Prince George, British Columbia, was attempting to steal some copper from a power substation when he received a shock, literally. The copper was attached to an electrical source and the crook wound up getting 12,000 volts and 300 amps for his troubles. The jolt sent him to the hospital where he recovered from the accident.
He is not out of the woods yet. The copper burglar faces charges of breaking and entering along with attempted theft.
ABOVE ALL ELSE,
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE
The Rochester, Minnesota, Post-Tribune newspaper offers readers an online site to comment on news and newsmakers. One person, known as "127179," used the site to constantly praise the work of the mayor of Rochester, Pat Carr. Dozen of messages were posted which not only pointed out the mayor's achievements but also took shots at opponents of the mayor. It sounds like number "127179" really likes the mayor of Rochester. An investigation this week turned up the identity of "127179" – Mayor Pat Carr! (from AP reports)
AND FINALLY
Maria Bryant of Westlake, Ohio, entered the Moosehead Saloon and attempted to purchase alcohol. When the female bartender asked for some ID, Bryant pulled out a driver's license and placed it on the bar.
The bartender did a double take when she realized that she was looking at her own license which had been stolen from her home along with some credit cards weeks earlier. What are the odds of walking into a bar and coming face to face with the person you had robbed at random?
I guess you could say luck was with the bartender and against Bryant. Police arrived and arrested the unlucky thief.
Richard Parker is Minister of Students and Education at First Baptist Church in Russellville. You can e-mail him your comments at RParker @russellvilleFBC.org.