Saturday, January 31, 2009

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Fairdale-Area Shelter Now Open

Councilwoman Welch announces addtional shelter for residents in the Fairdale area dealing with winter storm clean up.

Louisville -Those who have been affected by this past week's winter storm now have an additional shelter to turn to in the Fairdale area. Councilwoman Viciki Aubrey Welch (D-13) announces Our Lady of Mt.Carmel Church will open its doors to help those with out power or heat.
"It is my hope that residetns in Southwest Jefferson County will take advantage of this effort," says Welch. :"I realize there are many who may not want to leave their homes but this is not the time to tough it out when shelters are avaialble."
Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church will open its doors tonight from 6:00pm until 7:30 am Sunday Morning. The Church Is located at 5306 New Cut Road. If anyone needs more information then contact Tim Hardy at 367-6333 or the church office at 366-5651.Those use the shelter are asked to bring their own, blankets and food. Limited snacks will be available.
"I want to thank Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, the Yorktown North Community and the Scottsdale Neighborhood Association for join me in this effort," says Welch."We have had many groups pitch in to help out during this winter storm."
On Friday, The Fairdale Lions Club opened its club to serve food for those in need. The Lions Club joined with the Fairdale Pic Pac and Councilwoman Welch to help out.
"It is good to see this community taking the time to help out as we try to get everything back to normal following a very difficult week for so many," says Welch..

Friday, January 30, 2009

Abramson's 4PM Briefing c/o Courier-Journal

Find A Felon Friday - January 30



Louden, Laurena J.
LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: 5524 Arid Lane
Louisville, KY 40258
REMARKS: Wanted for: Knowingly Exploit Adult By Person Over $300,
Theft By Unlawful Taking.
*** Bond To Be Set Upon Arrest***

Gimme Shelter

The "word on the street" is Metro Louisville's Emergency Management people fouled up badly when it came to providing shelter to those suffering from ice storm damage, with only a handful of locations provided, and none within easy reach for citizens in Southwestern Louisville. It has been noted that Southern Indiana did a much better job of providing warm shelters for residents. An example: Valley High School's gymnasium sat empty although it was one of the few places that had electricity and is large enough to accommodate a number of people . I have received numerous requests for information as to why the location was not utilized as an emergency shelter. I do not have an answer, as I have not been given one by authorities responsible for such measures.

The common answer seems to be "MetroCall - 311".

Residents should make sure they are heard regarding this matter. This is the second time in four months people have been out of power for days on end. Perhaps some suggestions should be made to officials on how to properly care for their constituents without electrical service due to circumstances beyond their control. With elderly people in need of electricity to power medical devices, it seems dumb to force them to travel downtown to a crowded homeless shelter. We can do better than this. Let's make it happen.

Extreme Behavior at Thornton's


In an act of extreme weirdness and seeming desperation, one short, stocky bald guy took on 6 athletic-looking 20-somethings in the parking lot of a Southwest Louisville gas station yesterday afternoon. It is not known what started the confrontation, but I can relate to you what I witnessed there. It was a lively exchange, to say the least.

The bald guy was leaving the gas station, waiting to exit onto Dixie Highway when one of the youths ran up to the bald guy's car, jumped into the air and delivered a hard slap to the passenger door window. The bald guy, now enraged, flew out of the car, procured a baseball bat and approached the offending window-slapper. As the bald guy got closer to his target, setting up to tee off on the offender's skull, five (5) more youths scattered out of a white Oldsmobile. The bald guy, now out-numbered six (6) to one (1) kept moving forward and exclaimed, "I am not afraid [of you punks], bring it on."

The six youths expressed surprise towards the determination of the bald guy, and four (4) of them retreated like cowards while continuing to hop up and down and yell threats. One (1) continued to move toward the bald guy and one (1) other ran to the glove box of the Olds, popping the trunk and retrieving his own Louisville Slugger. The crowd surrounding the melee was now fully aware of what was happening, and cars started heading for the exits in nervous anticipation, as someone had shouted "Gun". I saw one swing of the bat by the bald guy, but it was a strike. Had he connected, I'm sure the head of the target would still be flying over Waverly Hills. Some witnesses rose up to protect the advancement of the bald guy and claimed to be heavily armed. The six youths (6), now outnumbered nearly twenty (20) to six (6) returned to the Olds and went into escape mode. They were last seen heading south on Dixie Highway, then West on Stephan Drive. The police were called to the scene and dropped a net on the area. I know not if the youths were captured.

The bald guy calmly placed his bat in the backseat, refusing offers of free beer from witnesses and exited the station. He was last seen northbound on Dixie Highway.

As I said before, it is not known what started the incident. But it was solved one way or another, and all will live to fight another day. Tensions and anxiety are high these days, and everyone seems to operating on a hair trigger.

If you are going out into this craziness, pack some heat. I prefer the 12-gauge Remington. It is unmistakable, easily brandished and calms crowds immediately upon arrival to the discussion. Try to keep a level head. Current conditions do not warrant violence. There is enough of everything to go around. Turn off the TV, and clear your head of the panic it induces. Things are simply not that bad.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Juice is Back On

The power is back on here at the compound and I'm starting to thaw out a little. I hope you are all doing okay.

More when I can feel my fingers.

Vaya Con Dios

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bunning Vs. McConnell: Dumb & Dumber


Jim Bunning, the confused, doddering Foul Ball supposedly serving as Kentucky's junior Senator is "defiantly" seeking reelection in 2010, according to this Courier-Journal article. Among the article's notable items include a terse statement by Bunning toward McConnell, McConnell acting as though he knows nothing of Bunning's plans for reelection, and the most hilarious, Bunning crying about receiving "the Fletcher Treatment" from ol' Mitch.

I usually don't get into big-time federal politics on this blog, but I couldn't resist this nonsense. It is truly an embarassment to the Commonwealth.

City Locked Down After 2 Inch Snowfall

An arrogant, drunken Old Man Winter skidded in sideways and dumped enough snow on Louisville to cancel school today, ruining my forecast and racking up massive gambling debts among those foolish enough to wager real money on the weather.

This situation has begun to wreak havoc on motorists, most of which have given up any attempt at Skillful Driving in Hazardous Conditions. The radio, TV and internet reports are all screaming about non-stop ice and snow alerts and certain death on the roadways. These reports are jangling nerves and keeping otherwise sane people in a condition that renders them unable to operate a motor vehicle. They are all telling us to stay inside and avoid the danger, so you know what that means......

Load up on strong coffee, dress warmly and get in the car for some laps around the city. Have some fun today.

UPDATE: If you are staying around the house today, you can map snow removal progress in your neighborhood. HERE is the link. Have fun.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Join the Friends of Otter Creek Tonight

From The Friends of Otter Creek:

The next Friends of Otter Creek Park meeting will be tonight, Monday, January 26th, at 7 PM at the Southwest Government Center at 7219 Dixie Highway.

This meeting’s focus will be on the Sub-Committees formed at the last meeting on January 5th. The Sub-Committees are:

1. Petitions and Volunteering
2. Public Relations and Media
3. Non-Profit and Charity Outreach
4. Government Liaison
5. Legal Issues and Liability Policy
6. Friends of Otter Creek Park Bylaws
7. Special Interest Groups

After a brief introduction at the beginning of the meeting, we will divide into these Sub-Committees to work on a plan of action for each, for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. After this group workshop time, the larger group will reconvene and the Sub-Committees will report on what they’re planning. If you’ve signed up for more than one Sub-Committee, there should be ample time to work in more than one.

If you CANNOT attend this evening’s meeting, you may want to consider attending the first of Mayor Abramson’s Community Conversations tonight to express your support for reopening Otter Creek Park at Westport Middle School, 8100 Westport Road, in the East End. The Mayor’s Community Conversation begins at 6:30 PM.

Monday Morning Blues

-If WHAS11 and the rest of the over-excited, super-exaggerated weather reports are correct, you will die under a blanket of killer snow today. And if you are not killed by the demon snows today, there is a good chance of it tomorrow. Or the next day. Maybe. If everything "goes perfect", as they say. As for me, I have a Storm Window 3000 weather forecasting station, and I predict we will receive less than 2 inches per day. Continue on as normal. You're welcome.

What Louisville needs is a real snowstorm (10+ inches) to put things in perspective. When I was young, a little overnight snow was nothing. We didn't even watch for "closings or delays" unless there was actual snow accumulation. Today, however, there is panic. Stay inside and hide from this snow devil. This too, shall pass.

-WAVE3 has a compelling story on a pharmacy in Shepherdsville that has been robbed 3 times in 2 months. Maybe it is time for the pharmacy to "think security".

-I also want to wish my fellow brother Ironworkers a safe day. Be careful up there this morning.