East TX Church Arsonist Suspects Arrested

From the Tyler paper. Having seen Shutter Island yesterday, I think that Leo should play
McAllister.

Athens Chuch Burnings...

Yikes. I even go to one of these occasionally (Grace, when I can't handle one of mom's church's substitute pastors). From the Athens Daily Review:

It was the third suspected arson reported at an Athens-area church in 11 days. Two hours before, AFD received the Lake Athens Fire report, Grace Community Church on State Highway 19 was in flames. The year began with Faith Church burglarized and scorched.

Johnny Law...

got his man.

Manhunt in Athens

Just as I hung up the phone last night about 9:30 pm, I got my first robo-call from reverse 911 about the (still ongoing) manhunt. From the Athens Daily Review.

Death on the prairie

LJ, I see your death-markers-for-soldiers-on-the-prairie, and I raise you actual-graves-and-interesting-causes-of-death:
(This looks impossible from this vantage point, but the Missouri River is not so far away.)





From Ft. Lincoln, south of Mandan, North Dakota.

Update to give some history about these soldiers (from the Ft. Lincoln site):

The History of Fort Abraham Lincoln

As the Northern Pacific Railroad advanced west across Dakota Territory, the US military kept pace. When the railroad reached the Missouri River in 1872, the city that would become known as Bismarck sprang up and Fort McKeen was established on the west bank of the river as a small infantry post. By November of that year, Fort McKeen had been renamed in honor of the fallen President, Abraham Lincoln.

Fort Abraham Lincoln was expanded to house six companies of the 7th Cavalry under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in 1873. Their mission was to further the advancement of the Northern Pacific Railroad and open the westward expansion of the American frontier.

By 1874, Fort Abraham Lincoln was the largest and most important fort in Dakota Territory and was considered the “premier“ frontier fort on the Northern Plains with 650 Infantry and Cavalry soldiers keeping the post maintained and operational.

May 17, 1876, the troops left Fort Lincoln on the Centennial Campaign, which took the 7th Cavalry into the valley of the Little Big Horn. They were attempting to force non-treaty Indians back to their respective reservations. Outnumbered, outgunned, and out-maneuvered, 260 cavalry troopers would not return to Fort Abraham Lincoln, including every member of the five companies with Custer.

By 1883, the Cavalry had been detached to Fort Meade, the NP railroad had been completed to Montana and Fort Abraham Lincoln’s importance declined, leaving Fort Abraham Lincoln to be later officially abandoned in 1891 by order of Congress. Fort Abraham Lincoln and General Custer’s 7th Cavalry would leave a lasting legacy for years to come.

Today, the visitor can relive what Fort Abraham Lincoln was like for General Custer and his command in the year 1875. We invite you to take a step “back to 1875“ as uniformed soldiers and laundresses conduct “Living History“ style guided tours through the reconstructed Custer House and Central Barracks. Relive the Legacy! Come out to Fort Abraham Lincoln and see for yourself.

Update II: I should note that the most surprising thing about the causes of death in this cemetery is that at least 90% had nothing to do with engaging an enemy (at least not directly), but instead were these kinds of things.

K's Grandma at Burr Oak

We have no information so far about whether K's grandmother's grave site was affected by the desecration. She was buried in 2004, so we hope her grave is too new to have been disturbed.

Here's a photo from her burial:
This photo was taken after she'd been lowered into the ground. (Her grave site is not where the family group is standing, but back and to the right where the astroturf is and where the two workers are standing. The group is dealing with flower transportion.) We had the impression that this was a "new" section of the cemetery. I notice in this picture that the turf is torn up in this big corner area of the cemetery, and now I'm wondering why. Shouldn't there either have been a) naturally-occurring weeds or b) lovely-tended sod? Here's hoping the turf was merely being prepared to receive sod.

Burr Oak Cemetery

K's grandmother is buried here. Or was.

Tasing a 72 year old woman

I think this guy is toast.

Bank Robbery in Scooterworld

It wasn't me! I'm not 5'10" and don't have a ski mask or a machine gun. Do have blue eyes, though. I was at the office and have plenty of witnesses to prove it.

But, the bank robbery did happen all of a block and a half from my house. Police in my area advising us to keep doors and windows locked...ya think?

Black Market Deer—I had no idea

The Texas Deer Mafia? From the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department last December:

AUSTIN, Texas — Game wardens in the Special Operations Unit of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Law Enforcement Division have arrested six men and executed two search warrants as part of Operation Texas Shuffle, a year-long investigation into the black market deer trade in Texas.

"Our focus here is stopping two main areas of criminal activity: deer being brought illegally across state lines, and wild deer being illegally laundered into deer breeding facilities," said Col. Pete Flores, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement director.

… [The names of the bad guys are listed here which is how I learned about the issue. One of the bad guys is in a feud over an easement with an adjoining landowner—a client of mine.]

Deer breeding is a legal and growing business in Texas, estimated by one breeder organization to be worth about $650 million per year for the state economy. It is illegal to capture or obtain wild deer and place them into breeding facilities. Breeders must obtain captive, pen-raised deer from other permitted breeders. There are currently 1,099 permitted deer breeders in Texas, holding 86,989 deer in 1,161 facilities. The vast majority of these are whitetail deer, and the rest are mule deer, the two native species in Texas.

"Money is driving the illegal trade in wild native deer," said Capt. Greg Williford with TPWD Law Enforcement Division’s Special Operations Unit. "A captive-raised breeder buck can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. So, catching deer in the wild seems a lot less expensive, until you get caught."

Update: I can't believe I misspelled "deer".

FBI raid on Minneapolis money transfer businesses

The Star Tribune reports that the FBI has raided several money transfer businesses in Minneapolis. No word yet on whether these raids have anything to do with the missing young Somali men.