Harrisonburg treasurer's hearing set to Tuesday

After being indicted on eight felony and 12 misdemeanor counts of misappropriation of public funds and altering bank deposits, Harrisonburg City Treasurer Rebecca Neal is facing a hearing to determine whether or not she should be removed from office. The hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m. this Thursday, May 1, in the Rockingham County Circuit Court.

According to an article in The Daily News-Record:

"Judge James Lane set the date in a court order he issued Friday to Neal, her attorney David O'Donnell, and Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst, who will represent the petition that triggered the civil case. Councilwoman Carolyn Frank, who took over the petition drive, said she would like to see Neal suspended from office until her indictments on misappropriation of public funds and altering bank deposits could be heard in circuit court."

Neal has repaid the lost $91,000.

It is important to remember that this is just a hearing. Neal is scheduled to face criminal charges in the Rockingham Country Circuit Court this August.

Let me know what you think. Should Neal be allowed to stay in office? Leave me a comment below, and make sure to vote in the poll.

Nothing is easier than self-defeat. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. (Demosthenes)

Let me start by saying that there are not too many things that really get me riled up. I hate prejudice, I hate small-mindedness, and above all else, I hate liars. Today I saw something on television that had me absolutely livid. This post is probably going to ruffle some feathers, but I have something that I need to get off my chest.

Tonight I was at my best friend's house for our weekly get together. We had just finished watching Gossip Girl when a commercial came on about paralyzed Iraq War veterans. (I warned you, this is going to get controversial). The 30 second PSA featured a veteran who spent more time working to get out of Iraq than actually fighting in it. After being wounded and paralyzed from the neck down he had to go through all sorts of customs and technicalities just to get home. It was a sad story, told in an unusually upbeat tone. Over countless clips of wounded soldiers the narrator discussed the honor and dignity of giving one's all in the fight against terrorism. The commercial ended with a shot of the featured veteran stating that if he was asked serve again, he would.

I looked at my friend in shock, to which she replied, "I wonder how much he got paid to say that?"

It was a simple question, but it really got me thinking about the role the media plays in presenting information to the public. Based on this 30 second clip, one would think that all veterans were happy to have sacrificed years of their lives fighting for a cause that many people don't believe in. I'm not saying that everyone is dissatisfied with the time they served, but wouldn't it be fair to throw in someone who was? The commercial made it look as though the soldiers were actually happy to have been paralyzed while abroad.

I've had friends die in war, and I've seen men come back from battle scarred, and it's not the pretty picture that the media presented. I searched YouTube for a clip of the PSA but couldn't find anything, so I decided to provide the first part of a documentary on the subject instead.



I know that I've gone on quite a rant here, but I would really appreciate hearing your opinion. Do you think coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom has been fair? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Back off, Obama!

The other day I was sitting in my quiet living, watching Big Brother and copying biology notes, when I heard someone run up the steps to my apartment and bang on my door. I answered only to be met with a half-naked, 20-something year old man whom I had never seen in my life, screaming, "I love Obama!"

Until today, I might have agreed, but I just read something that I found very upsetting. According to an article in The New York Times, while at a San Francisco fund-raiser Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) said that "small-town Pennsylvania voters, bitter over their economic circumstances, 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them' as a way to explain their frustrations."

Now I'm not from Pennsylvania, but here in Virginia those are fighting words! As someone who has lived in both a small town and a big city, I know what I'm talking about when I say that prejudice is everywhere. Rural areas might have the reputation of being conservative, bible-belts, but it's unfair to base an entire opinion on a few stereotypes.

I've followed Obama for awhile now, and while I would love to see either him or Senator Hilary Clinton (D-NY) take the White House, I can't help but wonder if his statement is going to affect his campaign. There are a lot of voters from small-towns who might be feeling a little offended right about now.

Tell me what you think. Has Obama ruined his run? What did you think of his statement? Leave me a comment below.

You can't stop the fire

Last night hundreds of Harrisonburg residents crowded South High Street as they watched Dave's Recycling go up in blaze.

While the cause of the fire has yet to be reported, its effects were felt throughout the entire community. The 20 ft. tall flames kept audiences entranced for several hours, and the southern part of the city smelled of smoke for a good portion of the night.

At this time there are no plans to rebuild the recycling center at the location it previously held. In an article published by the Daily News-Record, Fisher said he had been planning to relocate to a larger building before the fire.

Editor's note: The photo at the top of this post was taken by Evan Dyson, a local photographer throughout the JMU and Harrisonburg community. More photos and commentary from this and other news events can be found at Dyson's blog, found here.

Shenandoah man charged with hiring someone to commit murder

And you thought it couldn't happen in the Valley. Last week Kenneth Leo Alger, 59, of U.S. Highway 340, Shenandoah, was arrested and charged with four felonies, including murder-for-hire, attempting to persuade another person to distribute a controlled substance, attempting to persuade another person to commit perjury and attempting to distribute a controlled substance, according to an article in The Daily News-Record. He was also indicted for making a false statement to police, resulting in one misdemeanor count.

As reported in the DN-R:

"According to an affidavit for a warrant to search Alger’s home, Alger allegedly planned to falsely incriminate several intended victims in narcotics trafficking and then have them murdered. To carry out this plan, he allegedly asked another person to plant narcotics on his intended victims and later, murder them. The person whom Alger approached was an informant for investigators on the case."

I think this just goes to show that things like this can and do happen everywhere. Just because you live in the suburbs, doesn't mean you're safe.

Let me know what you think. Do you feel safe in the Valley? Leave me a comment.

Pilgrim's Pride layoff cuts 16

As editor of James Madison University's student newspaper I will be out of a job in a week. I've known this for over a year.

As a senior, I will soon be leaving JMU, and it is only right that I pass my position down to another. As not just anyone can do the job I do, the newbies will have a month in the office to learn the skills they need to run the paper next year. In order for them to do this, I have to leave.

I'm not bitter. In fact, I can't wait. But I saw this coming. I can't imagine how hard it would be to find a job had I not known.

This nightmare is a reality for 16 Broadway residents, who were laid off from Pilgrim's Pride this week.

According to an article in The Daily News-Record:

"A truck driver, Otis Parker goes to farms to pick up chickens and delivers them to the processing facility. But, on March 17, management told Parker he would be laid off in two weeks...Parker is among 16 people laid off at the chicken processing facility, part of a companywide cost cutting move, according to Pilgrim's Pride spokeswoman Karla Harvill."

Layoffs happen all the time, and sometimes they aren't fair. There are a lot of hard working people in this area, but should there be some sort of job guarantee created to make sure that they cannot lose their jobs for just any reason? This is unlikely, seeing as how Virginia employers doesn't even need a reason to fire someone. Should this be changed?

Let me know what you think by leaving me a comment below.

The luck of the Irish

Tonight's post is going to focus on one of my favorite holidays of the year — St. Patrick's Day. I know I'm a day late, but with last night's festivities I didn't have time to post.

I was inspired to blog on this subject by a note I read on Facebook yesterday, from a girl who was trying to correct some of the myths of St. Patrick's Day. She actually argued that it was unlucky and contradictory to wear green! I couldn't believe it, but after a little hard work and googling, I found that she was right.

According to a 2005 article by National Geographic:


"Irish brigands kidnapped St. Patrick at 16 and brought him to Ireland. He was sold as a slave in the county of Antrim and served in bondage for six years until he escaped to Gaul, in present-day France. He later returned to his parents' home in Britain, where he had a vision that he would preach to the Irish. After 14 years of study, Patrick returned to Ireland, where he built churches and spread the Christian faith for some 30 years...In the United States, it's customary to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. But in Ireland the color was long considered to be unlucky, says Bridget Haggerty, author of The Traditional Irish Wedding and the Irish Culture and Customs Web site."

So there you have it. I hope the knowledge doesn't keep you up at night. Or keep you from drinking a green beer next year.