JSN Update 10/20/09

Coach Hinkle Honored

Former Ravenswood High School coach Dale Hinkle was one of six inductees into the West Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this past weekend in Charleston. Hinkle was an assistant coach for just one year and then took the helm of the Red Devil grapplers for two-and-a-half decades. During his tenure, 10 Ravenswood wrestlers won state championships while he produced 48 state placers and 94 state qualifiers. Hinkle retired from teaching five years ago and stopped substituting last year. Many congrats, coach!

Charges Dropped Against Sullivan … For Now

Remember the 50+ people arrested in July for an alleged Jackson County meth ring? (http://jirl.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/jsn-update-72209/). Local attorney Jessica Sullivan, class of ‘96, was due to stand trial Oct. 13 on eight felony counts of possession of substances to be used as a precursor to manufacture methamphetamine and eight felony counts of conspiracy to commit a felony. However, charges were dismissed without prejudice because not all evidence had been turned over in time to Sullivan’s defense attorneys. At issue is a statement made by one of the other folks arrested which allegedly is very damaging to those facing prosecution. James Coiner, who was charged with nine counts each of the charges Sullivan also faced, agreed to testify against 51 other people, including Sullivan, in exchange for a plea deal. Sullivan’s lawyer had moved for the charges to be dropped with prejudice. However, because Coiner’s statement had not yet been transcribed and, therefore, could not be delivered to the defense in time, the judge decided it was not a gross violation of the law and would not dismiss with prejudice. A dismissal without prejudice means the prosecution can introduce new charges in the case against Sullivan, which it is expected to do later this month.

Naked Man Arrested at Fire Scene

Wamsley

Well here’s a doozie. Apparently, Jackson County law enforcement officers had to use a K-9 officer to gain control of a naked man who was disturbing the scene  of a camper fire in Millwood. According to the police report, a call was made to 911 reporting a camper on fire along Front Street in Millwood on the night of Oct. 5. Shortly after, another call came in with a resident saying there was an individual near the fire scene threatening him and two others. When police arrived, they found Mason resident Guy Wamsley, 39, naked and leaning against a camper trailer watching firefighters put out the fire. Police order Wamsley on the ground, an order which he apparently ignored. The order was given again, this time with the threat of releasing the polic dog if he failed to comply. Wamsley did not, and the K-9 was released. Fortunately for Wamsley, he was only bitten on the calves before being subdued and placed under arrest. According to Justin Griffith and Jared Varney, after seeing the fire break out from their residence, they went to the scene where they observed Wamsley going to a residence near them.  After telling him not to bother the residence, Wamsley allegedly became irate toward Griffith and Varney and began chasing the two with a large plastic jug containing gasoline.  Wamsley also allegedly punched Varney in the face. Witnesses backed up the statements and Wamsley was charged with assault and obstructing an officer.

Red Devils Fall to Pt. Pleasant

Pt. Pleasant’s Big Blacks upset Ravenswood 31-19 on the football field last week. The boys host winless Clay County this Friday at Flinn Field. The Devils fell from 2nd to 5th in this week’s Class AA rankings.

School Lunch Menu for Tuesday, Oct. 20

Today, the kiddies will be dining on chicken and noodles, tossed salad, whole wheat roll, peaches, Jell-O and milk.

NFL Reflections

Week 7 Reflections

Saints Alive! Dolphins Be Warned.

Dolphins had a bye this weekend, so not much to report. The good news is, Henne has had two good games and seems to be doing what he needs to do: nothing fancy, just don’t lose the game. He’s playing well, but the verdict is still out. If the Dolphins want to beat the Saints this weekend, they need to keep Reggie Bush and Drew Brees off the field. The best way to do that is to run the ball, eat the clock and dominate time of possession while scoring on each drive. It’s what the Dolphins do best.

WildCat This!

There has been much discussion in the past week and a half about the Wildcat offense and whether or not it’s a gimmick. It didn’t help that Jets linebacker Calvin Pace whined about it after losing to the ‘Fins. He called the formation nonsense. To which Channing Crowder kindly pointed out that the Dolphins “Nonsensed their ass all the way up and down the field.” Well put and to the tune of 110 yards, I might add. Look, is the wildcat an unconventional formation? Of course. Is it a gimmick?  Absolutely not, unless you’re the team getting embarrassed by it. The wildcat is an offensive formation, that if you have the right personnel, can be a great offensive threat. If it were a gimmick, you wouldn’t have so many teams adding it to their playbooks, college and pro. Miami has two phenomenal running backs, one with a steady throwing arm. They have two versatile quarterbacks. Right now, no team in professional football has a better team to run this formation than the Dolphins, though others are trying. But my point is this: Just because it’s fairly new and being used a lot now by a team, doesn’t make it a gimmick. Let us not forget that a forward pass wasn’t always part of the game. I’m sure it, at one time, was called a gimmick.

Cold Reality for Sanchez

Speaking of the Dolphins and Jets, it’s inevitable that when it comes time for the Dolphins to play the Jets again, this time in New York, people will speculate that the Dolphins will stumble because it’s a warm weather team. Did you see Mark Sanchez’s performance against Buffalo this weekend? Five interceptions in the unseasonably frigid October. Henne played college ball at Michigan. And grew up in Pennsylvania (Unrelated tidbit: Henne graduated from the same high school as Kerry Collins.) But I digress. Sanchez is a California boy. I still can’t figure why New York thought he would be a good fit for them in the long run. Weather may be a factor, but maybe not in the way New York hopes.

Remember the Titans? They Don’t.

Three teams are going into week 7 without a single win: St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Truly pathetic in a league with a salary cap designed to keep things competitive. It’s especially sad in the Titans’ case, after the beatdown they received this past weekend courtesy of the New England Patriots. It really makes you wonder how a team could fall so far from one season to the next.

Open Letter to Washington Redskins Coach

Dear Coach Zorn,
I hear Wal-Mart is hiring.
Best wishes,
Jo

Coach Q.B. Controversy Is At It Again

This is the second and last time I plan to talk about Browns Coach Eric Mangini. Dude needs to pick a quarterback and stick with them. Geez! He pulled this same tap dance when head coach of the Jets. Look, I get that your options are pretty gimpy, but unless you can acquire someone else, those are the options you have. You need to name a quarterback and then let them play enough games to properly evaluate them. Playing duck-duck-goose with your quarterbacks is a horrible way to manage a team.

Really McNabb? You Realize Your Getting Paid Millions to Play this Game, Right?

Someone needs to get Donovan McNabb the “Idiot’s Guide to Football.” (I’ll even help you out. Here’s a link: Amazon: Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Football Like a Pro.) Yes, Donovan, games can end in ties. And sorry Donovan, but each team only gets 3 timeouts in a half. So when you’re trying to score with seconds left in the first half of a game, don’t like the defensive formation and want to call a timeout to evaluate, it’s best to first evaluate if you have a timeout available. Of course, I don’t entirely blame McNabb for this one. Andy Reid clearly lost his clock-management mind when he called two timeouts following incomplete passes that stopped the clock anyway.  I really don’t know who wanted to lose more yesterday: Reid, the Bills or Mark Sanchez. Each of those did all they could to tank their team. Reid and Sanchez were successful.

Silver Lining for Jim Zorn

In honor of Coach Zorn, I bring you some press conference highlights. As the husband so poetically stated, he is a Coor’s Light commercial in the making. For the second video, skip to 39 seconds in. That’s where Bill expects the Coors Light guys to grill Zorn for buying beer that’s not Coors Light.

JSN Update 9/30/09

Liegey Opens Tattoo Parlor

David Liegey, class of ‘96, opened Hidden Dragon Tattoo parlor last week in the former Hupp’s Sewing Center along Walnut Street in downtown Ravenswood. David, who is a sergeant in the U.S. armed forces, first learned the craft while serving a tour in Afghanistan from the tattoo artist completing a tatto on Liegey’s shoulder. Liegey began performing his craft on fellow soldiers, and before he knew it, Liegey had completed more than 80 tattoos. Upon his return home to Ravenswood, Liegey decided to open his own shop in town. The store space has been completely remodeled and includes state-of-the-art equipment in a clean, sterile environment. Plus, the in-house tattoo artist is just an awesome fella. If you’re in town and looking to get inked, give David a call at 304-531-3377.

Tennant and Lewis

Stephenson Gets the Bacon Fever

Since the media is all ate up with the swine flu, I thought I’d join the sensation and wish Brad Stephenson, class of ‘95, well. He was diagnosed with H1N1 flu today. On the bright side, he’s launched a blog to document his experience. Brad is a witty and fun writer so you all should check it out.

Jackson Newspapers Welcomes New Staffers

Laura Tennant and Veronica Lewis have joined Jackson Newspapers. Tennant, the lovely wife of one Mr. Brad Tennant, class of ‘98, has joined the staff as a graphic designer. Lewis has joined the newspaper’s advertising staff.

Ravenswood Red Devils Rally Past Tyler

In a nailbiter, your Ravenswood Red Devils ended a four-year Tyler Consolidated win streak last weeknight by rallying in the final minutes to pull out a 29-28 win over the Silver Knights. The win moved the AA top-ranked Red Devils to 5-0 on the season. Special thanks go out to Jennings Starcher, class of ‘98, for the up-to-the-minute game updates on Twitter.

Woodward’s Weight Loss Featured in Magazine

Jeremy Woodard, class of ‘98, has been featured in the September issue of Pharmaceutical Representative magazine after losing 90 pounds on his own custom-crafted diet. Jeremy, who became a pharmaceutical sales representative four years ago, spends much of his time on the go. That meant many meals at the drive-thru. Before he knew it, his weight ballooned to 257 pounds. His doctor wanted to treat him for diabetes. Hardly the ideal image for a sales rep of heart and diabetes medications. So, in January 2008, Jeremy decided to take action. A fan of Panera Bread, Jeremy developed a meal plan that included meals from the restaurant chain that were high in whole grains and low in calories. Coupled with exercise, Jeremy is down to 167 pounds and much happier. Many congrats on the weight loss and the magazine feature! Since Jeremy is back down to his high school weight, I thought I’d share a picture of Jeremy back in 1997 and the one that appeared in the Jackson Star News.

Jeremy in 1997

Jeremy in 2009

NFL Reflections

Week 3 reflections … this was not fun.

Pennington Out with Shoulder Injury

Though the Dolphins haven’t officially said yet, it appears Quarterback Chad Pennington is done for the season with a dislocated shoulder. To say I’m disappointed is a total understatement, but it’s the reality we have in Miami and one we unfortunately have to live with. That brings Chad Henne, former Michigan quarterback, to take charge of Miami’s offense. Since day one, I’ve stated that Henne is overrated and will likely disappoint, but time will tell. I could be wrong. For the sake of my Dolphins, I hope I am. Some folks said I was an idiot when I said Brady Quinn would be a bust. Did anyone see the Browns play Sunday? But I digress. Pennington has been great for Miami. He’s provided stability, confidence, poise, excitement and leadership. Unfortunately, Miami and its fairweather fanbase never truly embraced him. They cheered him when he was winning, but were always ready to bench him in favor of youth. Now, they’ve had one brief look at Henne, and are throwing up their hands crying the season is over. One of my biggest pet peeves is fairweather fans. Every city has them, but Miami’s seem to be in excess. A sportswriter once wrote that Miami doesn’t deserve the Marlins because of the way the “fans” treat their baseball team. I think the same could be said about Pennington. Miami didn’t deserve him. Now they have to live with Henne. For the sake of my Dolphins, I hope Henne quickly improves because he’s going to be under center this season.

Who called Mangini a Genius?

Speaking of the Browns, who’s idea was it that Mangini should be a head coach? The Browns owners seem to be working their way through the Belichick coaching tree. Maybe they should come up with a new strategy.

Throwback this!

So again speaking of the Browns, I’m not a fan of the throwback uniforms, especially since it’s just another way for the NFL to make money by selling more jerseys. This past weekend, we saw the New York Jets wearing the old New York Titans uniforms and the Tennessee Titans wearing the the old Oilers uniforms from when the team used to be in Houston. Basically, you had the ghosts of Titans past channeling the ghost of Titans present. So that made me realize, the Baltimore Ravens could never really pull a throwback uniform game, because they were once the Cleveland Browns. I don’t think today’s Browns, which are considered an expansion team since the original team was sold and moved to Baltimore, would take too kindly to a bunch of Ravens in their old uniforms. Quite the quagmire! That would be kind of fun to see. Dear football czars, if you insist on these throwback jersey games, can we please make one of them a Browns v. Ravens showdown. Pretty please.

Ochocinco & Co. Shock Steelers

I  thoroughly enjoyed the Bengals v. Steelers game. Sorry Pittsburgh fans. Actually, that’s a lie. I’m not sorry. I loved every nailbiting second.

Jeers to Michaels and Collinsworth

So the stellar NBC crew calling last night’s Indy v. Arizona game had me defending Peyton Manning. For years, sports analysts said Manning could not be considered a great quarterback because he never won a Super Bowl. While I disagree with that because it takes an entire team to win a Super Bowl (As Dan Marino well knows), but whatever. Well, Manning got his Super Bowl victory in 2007. Fast forward to last night’s game and you have Michaels and Collinsworth debating whether you could consider Manning a great quarterback because he only won one Super Bowl. **Head hits table** Really, guys? Please. Greatness isn’t always measured in Super Bowls. (DISCLAIMER: If you’re a Steelers fan, please avert your eyes.) Ben Roethlisberger is a good quarterback. Very good. But he’s not great. He has two Super Bowl rings. But that doesn’t rank him among the elite. In fact, his first Super Bowl victory came with the lowest quarterback rating (22.6) ever logged in a Super Bowl by a winning quarterback. He “redeemed” himself in Super Bowl XLIII, but he has played with some great players.  Nevermind the fact that he didn’t win the MVP award in either Super Bowls, which is odd since they seem to bend over backwards to give it to the quarterback (ref Super Bowl XLII). He’s had two chances and come up short both times. So while I think Roethlisberger has earned his fair share of accolades, if I was choosing between him or Peyton Manning to lead my NFL team, I’d take Manning every time. So to that I say BOOOOOOO to NBC and its crack commentators for making me defend Manning. Will you analysts ever be satisfied?

Speaking of Manning

Peyton Manning’s commercials have really disappointed me so far this year. I’m bummed about that. I don’t like him on the football field, but man, he made some funny commercials!

WV v. Florida, Round 2

The Census Bureau released its ranking of median household incomes for the 50 states. At first glance, my adopted state of Florida clearly beats my home state of West Virginia, but not so fast, my friends. Florida’s average household income in 2008 was $47,778, which trumps West Virginia’s $37,989. In fact, West Virginia was one of the lowest average household incomes in the nation, second only to … anyone? … anyone? … You guessed it! Mississippi, our proverbial buddy at the bottom.

But a closer look at the data reveals that Florida is the only state in the nation to actually see a drop in the median household income as compared to 2007. Yikes! West Virginia, while ranked at the bottom, exhibited a 2.5 increase over the previous year. Not too shabby during a down economy. Now factor in the difference in the cost of living. While the average West Virginian’s income is more than 20 percent less than a Floridian’s, the average Floridian’s mortgage is 40 percent higher than the average West Virginian’s. And while Floridians don’t pay an income tax, we more than make up for it in higher property and sales taxes. I’d almost be willing to call this one a draw, but I don’t like ties.

Our score after Round 2 is:

West Virginia — 2

Florida — 0

Results from Round 1:
http://jirl.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/wv-v-florida-round-1/

NFL Reflections

With a few good games under our belt, here are some thoughts …

Dolphins Owner Misses Mark

Stephen Ross,  the new owner of the Miami Dolphins, has no clue how to nurture and grow a loyal fan base. After enduring last night’s home opener against the Colts, the live Jimmy Buffett concert on the plaza  is the only positive addition of all the superficial changes.  The “Orange Carpet” where celebrities enter the stadium divides the plaza and creates an annoying traffic issue. The new “Fins Up” signal where celebrities tell us to put our hand up to our forehead looks more like a rooster than a dolphin. And while I love Buffett and think his new Fins song is great for games, it’s a lousy fight song. (Nevermind the fact that the cameras are always zooming in on Landshark Stadium employees to give the appearance that everybody is doing the Fins dance.) I’m glad they ditched the T-Pain remake of the real fight song, but now Ross needs to listen to the fans and restore the original fight song. It’s sad when your team scores and a laid-back song immediately quiets the crowd. Yes, the old fight song is hokie. But it’s tradition and football fans like tradition. Apparently, these changes are designed to fill seats. In an interview with the Miami Herald, Ross said he realizes that winning games would fill the stadium, but he’s designing a game-day experience that will fill the seats even when the team sucks (paraphrasing, of course.) To me, that is a horrible statement to make. He’s so focused on walking in the celebrity circles, he basically told the fans he’s not worried about building a winning program. The one good nugget in all of this is that Ross is smart enough to leave the football up to Parcells and Coach Sporano. Ross may not care about winning, but these guys do. And while the first two games of the season have ended badly for the Fins, the heartbreaker against the Colts showed some very promising signs. The offense controlled the ball for 45 minutes of the game and the running attack was phenomenal. Unfortunately, Ted Ginn continues to show that he can’t catch a ball, even when it hits him in the hands … twice … in the end zone! And, the defense gave up 27 points to the Colts, whose offense was only on the field for a total of 15 minutes. They have some serious work to do there. I can’t wait to see what adjustments they make this week. Go Fins!

What’s in a Name

In watching the score updates on the CBS crawl on Sunday, I had to laugh every time I saw C. Ochocinco stats run across the screen. I can’t help it. I like this guy.

Burress’ Barney Fife Routine Lands Him Excessive Sentence

Plaxico Burress drew the short end of the sentencing stick. I think what he did was stupid. But two years? Really, New York?  Michael Vick got 23 months for his dogfighting activities, which I thought was on the mark. He acted with malice and showed a grotesque lack in judgment. Donte Stallworth got a whopping 30 days in jail for manslaughter after driving drunk and killing a human being. Granted, it was an accident and the victim was improperly crossing a very busy causeway, but a human was killed. And Stallworth was driving drunk!  Burress broke the law by illegally carrying a handgun. His accident was in shooting himself in the leg. He didn’t hurt anyone else. I think he should be punished, but believe his penalty should have fallen somewhere between animal killer and manslaughter. But I guess that’s the difference between committing a crime in Miami and committing one in New York.

Jerry Jones is Acting Like Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones

Yes, the new Cowboys stadium is very cool. You know what’s even cooler? The fact the the inaugural game was a loss. There are three teams in the NFL who have really annoying, arrogant and outlandish owners. The Bengals, the Raiders and the Cowboys. Nothing personal Cowboys fan, but I love the shots of Jones whenever his team is about to lose. And I hope the kickers of every opposing team that plays in that new stadium this year make an effort to hit that jumbotron. It’s a great feature, but it clearly needs to be raised. The NFL isn’t asking for anything unreasonable. Jerry Jones is just being Jerry Jones.

Rex Ryan is OK in My Book

I’m not a Jets fan, but I like their new coach. NFL coaches have become way too politically correct, which is going to make for some really lame Coors Light commercials down the road. Glad to see some old schoolers are still making the rounds.

Favre Continues to Unimpress

Brett Favre is still annoying me. Did I mention he took himself out of Sunday’s game for a bent fingernail. *sigh* Granted, they were winning and it happened toward the end of the game, but still, it’s a fingernail. Keep it up and he won’t be able to do his rugged Wrangler commercial anymore. I guess he has Sears to fall back on. At least those commercials are funny.

JSN Update – 09/09/09

Happy day of 9s, folks!

RHS Football Team Rolls Past Poca Dots

The Ravenswood Red Devils (2-0) were too much for Class AA opponent Poca Dots (1-1) this past Friday, winning 37-19 at Poca. With a strong start to the season, the Red Devils will host Roane County High School this Friday at Flinn Field. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Carter Arrested in Drug Sting

Donald Carter

Four people were arrested on drug charges following a three-month-long investigation by the Ripley Police Department. Among those arrested was Donald E. Carter, class of ‘96. He was charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance (Hydrocodone) for allegedly selling Norco 10 mg tablets in July. He could face a sentence of one to five years in the state penitentiary for each count or a fine of up to $15,000 for each count or both. Also charged were Kermit Patrick Hammonds, 27, of Ripley; Kathleen Trawick, 54, of Ripley; and William Patrick Huft, 55, of Ripley.

Tackett Arrested Following Bar Altercation

Three men were arrested following an altercation with police officers who responded to a reported fight at Mulberry’s last week. Deputy M.D. Strobbe of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Patrolman G.C. Burnem of the Ravenswood Police Department responded to the bar at around 2:27 a.m and were told by the owner that Donald C. Tackett, class of ‘96, was causing problems and he wanted Tackett removed. The officers say they observed Tackett  yelling, cursing and attempting to fight several individuals. Burnem advised Tackett to leave, but he refused. According to the complaint, Earl Lee Stoffel, 32, of Ripley, then began yelling and causing an additional disturbance. More officers were called to the scene. Burnem escorted Tackett outside, where Burnem says Tackett continued to cause a disturbance. Stoffell and several other bar patrons following them outside, which led to one of the officers pulling out his Taser and advising the group to back up. Apparently, most decided to comply with the exception of Adam LaCava, 23, of Ravenswood, who continued to yell and scream at the officers. According to the complaint, LaCava had to be restrained by other bar patrons to keep him from advancing on the officers. Tackett, Stoffel and LaCava were all arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer.

Class of ‘96 Grad Passes Away

Rashell (Furr) Meredith, class of ‘96, died Sept. 2, 2009 at her home in Sandyville, two days before her 31st birthday. She is survived by her husband Jeremy; sons Austin, Machia and Corey; as well as her brother, parents, in-laws and grandparents. Services were Monday and internment was at Evergreen Cemetery in Parkersburg. Condolences may be expressed to the Meredith family via Roush Funeral Home at roush1us2000@yahoo.com.

Staats to Wed in November

Leigh Ann Staats, class of ‘00, and Jason Kerns have announced their upcoming wedding on Nov. 28 at First Baptist Church in Ravenswood. Both the bride and groom are employed at Star Plastics in Ravenswood. Best of luck to the happy couple!

Hood Receives Honor for Perseverance

Dave Hood, a fixture in Ravenswood boys basketball and baseball for many years, was recently awarded the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2009 Robert Ross Personal Achievement Award for West Virginia. Hood, 52, was selected for his positive spirit and continued community involvement in spite of being diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2007. He was also recently honored as WSAZ’s Hometown Hero for his tireless work in the community.  As you may recall, Hood is the father of Kelly, class of ‘95, and David, class of ‘97. Many congratulations to Mr. Hood.

No Whole Wheat Today

On today’s school lunch menu, the kiddies will be dining on chicken on a bun with lettuce and tomato, potato rounds, grapes, chocolate pudding and milk.

 

JSN Update — Sept. 1

Coach Sturm

RHS Red Devils Defeat Herbert Hoover

Football season has arrived and Ravenswood kicked off its season with a 20-12 win over Herbert Hoover. The team’s next game is Friday, Sept. 4 at Poca. Good luck Coach Fudley … err, uh … I mean Sturm!

School Board Approves Personnel Changes

Among the many personnel matters requested recently before the Jackson County Board of Education include the request for retirement by Ravenswood Grade teacher Betty Nuzum and a transfer from RMS to RHS by David Rader. Best of luck to both!

Cell Phones Permitted in Jackson County Schools

The Jackson County School Board has passed a cell phone policy that will allow kids to bring cell phones to school so long as students store them in their lockers and have them turned off during school hours. Students engaged in extracurricular activities may carry cell phones during those activities so long as the phone is on silent. The school board was originally considering a ban on the devices but changed directions after parents and students pointed out the benefits of cell phones for students.

It’s Never a Good Idea to Drive Drunk. It’s an Especially Bad Idea to Hit a Police Vehicle While Driving Drunk. It’s an Even Worse Idea to Hit a Police Vehicle  in Front of a Police Station While Driving Drunk.

Edward Cranfield, 40, of Cottageville, was arrested after the vehicle he was driving collided with a Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Jeep on Maple Street in Ripley. The accident occurred just a few feet from the sheriff department’s headquarters. After failing several field sobriety tests administered by a deputy not involved in the accident, Cranfield was put under arrest. He has been charged with driving on a revoked license and DUI.

Stewart to Wed

Jake Stewart, class of ‘97, plans to marry Keiah White, 19, of Sandyville. Congratulations!

School Lunch Menu Returns

With school back in session, we have the triumphant return of the School Lunch Menu. Today, the kiddies will be dining on chicken strips, mashed potatoes, peas, rolls and milk. Interesting that the menu no longer refers to that dastardly whole wheat rolls and simply lists them as rolls. To all my Jackson County teacher friends, does this switch indicate a return to the fabulous hot rolls or is it just some fancy language trickery by the whole wheat roll to hide the truth?

Favre, 0 for 2 in Retirements

It’s official. Brett Favre is dead to me.

There were three stories I was dreading heading into this football season, knowing the media would saturate the insanity with useless commentary and less than insightful reports. The first is the new Dallas stadium. The second is the criminal trifecta of Vick, Stallworth and Burress. Third is Brett Favre and the ‘will he or won’t he retire’ drama.

I thought we would dodge the third one, but alas, Favre has pulled … well … a Brett Favre by signing with Minnesota.

So now we have another football season where we will hear uninspiring and ignorant commentators constantly speculating as to whether Brett Favre will retire at the end of the season. (The answer is yes and he will re-unretire at the end of the 2010 training camp.)

Meanwhile, somewhere in a locker room in Philadelphia, Michael Vick is heaving a hearty sigh of relief. The NFL media circus has a new idiot to fill the preseason doldrums.

JSN Update 8/6/09

RHS Band Director Abruptly Resigns, Recent College Grad Hired to Fill Post

Just days before Ravenswood High School’s band camp was set to begin, band director Chris Kellermeyer unexpectedly resigned. Not wasting any time, school officials hired Nathan Corathers, a Clarksburg-native and 2009 music education grad from Alderson-Broaddus College. He had a whopping four days to prepare for band camp, which started Monday. Prior to his snappy hiring, Corathers taught private music lessons in Clarksburg.  The number 22 must be a lucky one for Mr. Carothers. He’s 22-years-old and will have 22 kids marching in the band this year. That includes four majorettes. The numbers just keep dwindling. Maybe a fresh face can turn things around. Best of luck to Mr. Corathers!

Teachers Join Forces to Publish Children’s Book

Lola Smith and Violet Smith

Ravenswood Middle School art teacher Lola Smith has illustrated a children’s book written by her sister-in-law, Violet Smith, a kindergarten teacher in Ravenswood. The book, “Welcome to Kindergarten” teaches the alphabet while easing kids’ anxieties about starting school. The teachers will conduct book signings in the Mid-Ohio Valley region during the next several weeks including August 14 at the Wood County Library and August 22 at the Borders in Vienna. The book will be featured at the Family Literacy Day celebration Sept. 21 at the Culture Center in Charleston.

Benford to Run in Italy

Former RHS standout athlete Andrew Benford has been named to the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team that will compete in the 25th World Mountain Running Championships on Sept. 6 in Campodolcino, Italy. Benford will compete in the senior men’s division. Many congrats on a mighty achievement. 

 

Melvin Lee Page

Man Arrested for Drive-By Shooting in Southern Jackson County

A Charleston man was arrested last week and charged with attempted murder and wanton endangerment in connection with a drive-by shooting that occurred in June in southern Jackson County. Allegedly, Melvin Lee Page, 39, decided to drive by his estranged wife’s house, pull out a gun and fire at a car parked in front of the house. An adult male and juvenile were in the parked car. No one was injured in the drive-by and no word as to why the two were just hanging out in a parked car in front of this woman’s house. Regardless, Mr. Page’s mugshot is a doozie! You’ll be happy to know this guy is out on bond while he awaits his preliminary hearing.

Woman Arrested for Biting Aunt

In sick and twisted news, Megan Skeen, 18, of Ravenswood, downed a few alcoholic beverages and then assaulted her aunt by hitting her, spitting on her and eventually biting her in the breast. Skeen was charged with domestic battery, assault and underage consumption.