JSN Update — 5/28/09

Today’s Jackson Star News Update includes insight from contributing writer, Billy Thunderbolt. Happy reading!

* Kathy Mattea will be headlining this year’s July 4th festivities in Ripley, the USA’s largest small town Independence Day celebration. The Cross Lanes native and multi-Grammy award-winning singer’s performance will be free to the public on the courthouse lawn prior to the fireworks extravanganza, courtesy of the Dickirson Corp.

Army Captain Nicki Holbrook and a fellow soldier pose for pictures with the recently received gifts for the Wounded Warriors program in Iraq.

*Dr. Nicki (Danko) Holbrook, class of ’96, who is currently serving in a U.S. Army hospital in Iraq, received gifts from two Jackson County groups for the Wounded Warriors program, which benefits injured and sick soldiers. Items included 50 phone cards, freezer pops, batteries and personal hygiene products. Nicki’s lovely picture appeared on the front page of the Jackson Herald.

* Kaeleen Pease, daughter of Rachael (Vanscoy) and Nicky Pease, both class of ’97, was one of the students of the month at Henry J. Kaiser. Well done, Miss Kaeleen.

* Annie Hunt, daughter of Mary Beth (Varney), class of ’96, and Scott Hunt, class of ’94, was also one of HJK’s students of the month. Well done to little Miss Annie, as well!

* For the youngsters who have engaged in a little mischief this year, please be aware that if you have been assigned after-school detention, all your time must be served or it will carry over into the next school year. No one wants to start off a new school year with detention already in the hopper, so I suggest just taking your medicine now and get it over with.

* Pit bulls have not been banned in Ravenswood, but city council is working on a breed-specific ordinance that will require owners of pit bulls to take a few extra steps in ensuring public safety. Stay tuned.

* The Ravenswood and Ripley city pools are open. Both celebrated the first swim day of the season with free admission. However, the Ripley pool conducted a food drive for the local animal shelter as part of opening day festivities. Score: Ripley pool – 1, Ravenswood pool – 0.

* Yuengling beer is now available in West Virginia.  Let’s be serious … it’s no Dos Equis, but we all can’t live vicariously through ourselves.

Also, Yuengling is not available in kegs or 40s, so that rules out keg stands and Edward 40 Hands, but that’s what Natty Light is for. Enjoy!

Until next time, stay classy San Diego.

Meet MyAMI – The Marlins

As many of you know, I’m a football girl. Love the game. Love the traditions. And love the memories. But the Marlins are quickly turning me into a bit of a baseball fanatic.

I used to enjoy the game before all the steroid craziness, corked bats and whining players saying a $5 million-a-year salary just isn’t enough. When the strike hit, I turned baseball off and hadn’t watched since. That was until I moved to Miami.

Whether you love them or hate them, the Marlins are a team to appreciate. The team’s combined salary is less than doped-up A-Rod‘s. Yes, you heard me correctly. One Yankees player — by himself — makes more than the entire Marlins squad. In fact, the Marlins have the lowest payroll of any team in Major League Baseball, but that hasn’t stopped them from bringing home two World Series titles in recent history. The mighty Marlins are a bunch of scrappy players who are great to watch and play for the love of the game. They’re not flashy. They’re not pretty. They have their weaknesses. But they’re fun, have winning traditions and if you go to a Friday or Saturday night game, you might just get to see the Manatees, Major League Baseball’s first all-male dance team. They’re hysterical.

The Manatees!

So if you’re ever in Miami during baseball season, I highly recommend heading over to Landshark Stadium and catching a game. This team is a great one to watch.

Jo’s Players to keep an eye on:
Dan Uggla, a good ol’ boy from Kentucky, and hip hip Jorge … Cantu, that is.

The 3 Wolf T-Shirt – 10 Facts You Didn’t Know

There’s a new retail phenomenon taking the Web by storm and it’s called the 3 Wolf T-Shirt, as seen on Amazon.com.

In case you’re living under a rock, let me help bring you up to speed. Below are three key links. Pay particular attention to the product reviews page.

The 3 Wolf T-Shirt Product Listing on Amazon

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Customer Product Reviews of the 3 Wolf T-Shirt on Amazon,

A Story about the 3 Wolf T-Shirt in the Washington Post

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This amazing piece of textile craftsmanship is taking the fashion world by storm. But here are 10 facts most people don’t know about the 3 Wolf T-Shirt:

1. It was invented by Tim Tebow

2. Pilot Chelsey Sullenberger was wearing the 3 Wolf T-Shirt under his uniform when he landed that plane in the Hudson.

3. When referring to the 3 Wolf T-Shirt, you must always capitalize the “W” in Wolf.

4. A-Rod never really doped up. It’s just that he often wears his 3 Wolf T-shirt and the sheer power exudes a steroid-like quality that causes false positives in random drug tests.

5. Bea Arthur was buried in her 3 Wolf T-Shirt, may she rest in peace.

6. When Tim Tebow was inventing the shirt, he almost went with 3 angry wombats. At the last minute, he thought “No. It should be 3 Wolves.”  He chose wisely.

7. China is now making all of its giant pandas don the 3 Wolf T-Shirt in hopes it will increase the chances of mating the endangered animals.

8. Tim Tebow once considered making the 3 Wolf T-Shirt a sleeveless muscle shirt, but then realized that would be overkill.

9. Dick Cheney is anti-the 3 Wolf T-Shirt.

10. If you chest bump someone while both wearing the 3 Wolf T-Shirt, it will give you the ability to fly, but only briefly.

JSN Update – Special Report x 2

Not that we’re becoming the 24 hour news source of all things Brian Nutter, but a reader alerted me to the fact that Brian will be hitting the stage at the Charleston Civic Center next week for the upcoming Keith Urban concert. The concert is May 28. If you have tickets, make a sign and give some love to our homegrown boy. 

And in an update to the American Idol performance, Brian was there to play guitar for Keith Urban, and was a last minute addition for the mandolin with Rod Stewart. According to WTAP, Nutter was asked to play with Stewart the day before the concert because Stewart wasn’t happy with how the concert master violinist was playing the mandolin without a pic. The best part — apparently, there was no time for a run through so Brian had to just wing it. For a lesser musician, that may have been a problem. But let’s face it … he’s from West, By God, Virginia!

In an interview with WTAP, Brian said, “I was sitting there giggling the entire time. Every time I looked up at him I would just sit there and think I’m playing Maggie May in front of 50 million people on national television with Rod Stewart. This is hilarious…really really cool. Definitely a big highlight for me.” 

Well done, sir. Well done, indeed.

Blog Terminology

Apparantly, there was a decent amount of people searching yesterday for Brian Nutter information related to American Idol and Rod Stewart on the Internet. As a result, my blog traffic saw a pretty decent spike. So in the future, any event that brings me a jump in blog hits will forever be referred to as “The Nutter Bump.”

That is all.

JSN Update – Special Report

If you any of you Ravenswooders tuned into the American Idol season finale last night and thought the guy playing the mandolin for Rod Stewart looked a little familiar … you would be correct. It was none other than Ravenswood’s own, Brian Nutter, class of ’91. 

Brian, who recently toured with Keith Urban, is an expert musician having mastered the guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin and drums. He also does backup vocals, as you may well remember from his RHS choir days. During his career, Brian has performed with Taylor Swift, Lonestar and Carolyn Dawn Johnson. He’s appeared on SNL, Today and the Academy of Country Music Awards, to name a few. Many congrats to Mr. Nutter for an amazing career and a fantastic performance on last night’s show!

Brian during a 2008 show with Keith Urban.

University of Other

Apparently, West Virginia University of Parkersburg — affectionately referred to as WVU-P  – is considering a name change, which I think is a marvelous idea. This may come as a shock to some of you,  but I’m not particularly fond of WVU. But according to some online survey, the majority of the 800 folks who responded are against a change.

However, for those who were in favor, their top pick of the choices offered was Parkersburg State College. LAME!  I’m more partial to the responders’ second choice which was “Other.” So for anyone listening, I would like to cast my vote for the University of Other.

Mark it, dude.

(Oh, and to the person who participated in the online survey and did a write-in suggestion of Marshall at Parkersburg, I award you a gold star for the day!)

Jackson Star News Update 5/18/09

* It appears John Paul McCoy, owner of McCoy’s Inn and Conference Center, is still pitching a fit about the new National Guard armory planned for Millwood. McCoy says he’s opposed to $1 million of taxpayer money being invested in the project saying its risky and he can’t find a basis for the decision. The reality is the armory is being planned with a multi-purpose function that includes a 2,000 seat meeting space, meaning it could be a competitor for McCoy’s conference center, which seats 400 people. McCoy has said he doesn’t think it’s fair he has to compete with county and federal governments for business. Time to sound off.

* In news that makes me really, really angry, Jackson County Sheriff deputies, humane officers, state livestock inspectors and volunteers seized 53 animals from the home of Harold and Malinda Davis in Sandyville. The couple was hoarding a variety of animals including horses, dogs, cats, goats, ducks and chickens, all of which allegedly were living in mud and without food. Some animals were living in the couple’s home and investigators said there was animal feces throughout the house. Investigators conducted a similar search and seizure at the Davis home in 2006 which resulted in animal cruelty charges against Malinda Davis. She was later acquitted. Sheriff Michael Bright described conditions at the most recent scene as “deplorable” and “the worst living conditions” he’s seen in his more than 30 years of law enforcement. The animals are currently being housed at the county Animal Shelter and Fairgrounds, as well as with volunteers.  Nearly all of them are reported to be in need of veterinary care. Charges are expected to be filed against the Davis couple sometime next week. Those wishing to donate resources to assist the ailing animals are asked to contact the Animal Shelter at 304-372-6064.

* The Ripley Kroger is expanding to include a gas station. Renovations should be completed by July.

* I always enjoy checking out the Letters to the Editor.  I don’t know who writes the headlines for these, but whoever wrote the latest ones in the Jackson Herald, my hat goes off to you. My particular favorites are: “‘Backstabbing’ Ousts Volunteer” and “Reader Angry with Everybody.”

* On tomorrow’s school lunch, the kiddies will be dining on meat loaf, mashed potatoes, tossed salad, orange halves, milk and that fiber-filled bread product we dare not mention.

* Your running Red Devils track and field team are the 2009 LKC champions. Congrats to all!

Until next time, stay classy San Diego!

Jackson Star News Update 5/7/09

* A woman from Canada is asking for help in finding her little white teacup chihuahua. Angela Morrone was driving along I-77 when she lost control of her vehicle near the Medina Road exit, it rolled several times and came to a stop upside down. At that point, the dog jumped out a window and ran off. Morrone received minor injuries in the accident, but is desperate to find her little pup. So if you live in Jackson County and see a rogue chihuahua running around wearing a blue collar, please call the Jackson County Animal Shelter at 304-372-6064. They have been notified and will be able to get the dog to Morrone. The pup answers to the name Lupe.

* Ravenswood High’s FFA grabbed first place at this year’s state Envirothon Competition. The annual competition tests the kids’ skills at aquatics, forestry, soils and wildlife. I kind of envision it like the ag competition in Napoleon Dynamite, only less disgusting. Regardless, congrats to the kiddos. Pretty damn cool. And now they’re eligible for the national competition. Best of luck!

Lincoln Heilmann

* In adorable news, Katie Jean (Parsons), class of ’97, and her hubby Matt Heilmann are the proud parents of a little capitalist in the making. Their son, Lincoln, recently sold his first steer. The 3-year-old is currently looking forward to the birth of a calf to add to his cattleman enterprise. Check out the picture of Lincoln with his first check that appeared in last week’s newspaper.

* And finally, in this week’s school lunch menu, the kiddies dined on ham, pinto beans, corn bread, carrot sticks, grapes and milk. Hmmm, I don’t like pinto beans. But I’m down with the corn bread.

Until next time, stay classy San Diego.