One last post for the night

This was a good opinion piece from Kelly Gunning, the director of advocacy and public policy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Lexington.

Banishment of mentally ill all too common: Son also given trips; Horine case violated court order

It should come as no surprise that severely mentally-ill citizens of this country have long been targeted for relocation by some dubious law-enforcement agencies. In the case of Adam Horine, a compassionate judge, Carroll District Judge Elizabeth Chandler, could sense immediately upon interacting with him that he was not a dangerous criminal but a very ill individual pleading to go to the hospital. According to the news report, Chandler ordered an immediate mental-health examination of Horine and his transport to Eastern State Hospital. It is also noted that a social worker’s preliminary evaluation confirmed the judge’s initial read. Yet these prudent and justified acts of advocacy, according to the report and accompanying video, were soon overridden by Carrollton Police Chief Michael Willhoite and Officer Ron Dickow, who put him on a bus to Florida.

Also in The Lexington Herald-Leader today of note:

A picture of the Central Library check-out desk, 1982.

And a followup on the story of the bicyclist who was killed by an allegedly drunk driver recently:

Justice system failed family of Lexington bicyclist allegedly killed by drunk driver, widow says

Just a week before his death, Mark Hinkel said if anything ever happened to him while biking, he'd be OK with it because he'd be doing what he loved.

"I don't think he dreamed anything would happen" when he said that, his widow, Mary-Lynn Hinkel, said in a recent interview.

Mark Hinkel, 57, was at mile 99 of the Horsey Hundred 102-mile Century ride on May 23 in Scott County when he was hit by an oncoming truck whose driver allegedly was drunk. Hinkel landed on the truck bed cover, and the driver went about 3 miles with Hinkel on the cover before the truck was stopped by police. Odilon Paz-Salvador, 29, has been charged with murder.

Okay, let's put aside for a moment that this driver had no driver licence and is an illegal alien who should have been deported years ago back to his homeland. Let's look at this:

Paz-Salvador told officers after his arrest that he had nine previous DUIs, most older than five years.

The fourth DUI during a five-year period is a felony in Kentucky, but after five years, a person's DUI count resets. As a result, a driver could be charged every five years, and each time it would be the driver's first offense.

Without the five-year reset, Paz-Salvador would have been in prison, and Mark Hinkel would be alive today, Bayer said.

"The laws were not in place to protect our father, or anyone's father," Lauren Lewis said. "We cannot let another family go through what we're going through right now, because it's just unimaginable."

I hope the laws regarding driving under the influence and the 5-year reset will be changed as a result of this case. My heart goes out to the family of Mark Hinkel.

And lastly, there was a horrific accident on I-75 Southbound at the Clay's Ferry bridge. A tractor trailer caught on fire and the driver, no doubt fearing for his life, jumped from the cab, taking him off of the bridge and down below, where his body was found after the semi-truck crashed into a barrier, with flames spreading behind it for several trailer lengths. Someone shot a very chilling video of the fire. No one else was apparently hurt, which is a miracle, although the interstate was shut down for some time, there was a fire where the fuel came down off the bridge, and some of the fuel may have made it into the river, according to the Herald-Leader. The driver was from Florida. I am so sorry for his family. It was a horrible choice he had to make, and there was little chance short of a miracle that he would emerge unscathed, judging by the reports.

Last night

The Knox-Whitley County Animal Shelter was destroyed in a fire. They were able to save at least 10 dogs and 8 cats. The rest of the of the animals were killed. According to the story, donations can be made at any Forcht Bank location to help them rebuild. In the comments section of the story, there is one from Teresa J. Martin that says:

The Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter experienced a devastating fire at about 10 p.m. on Friday night. The fire completely destroyed the shelter. Fortunately many of the dogs were saved, but sadly most of the cats perished. We believe we have homes for all the dogs. What we really need right now is money to help rebuild the shelter. Please make donations (which are tax deductible) to our official PayPal account at http://tinyurl.com/KWAS-Fire-Fund

You may also donate at the Forcht Bank in Corbin and London. The Corbin branch can be reached at 606-528-3660. The London branch can be reached at 606-864-9500.

Drop-off donations may be made at two locations:

Knox County Veterinary Services 314 High Street Barbourville, KY 40906

Whitley County EMS 1002 Aviation Blvd Williamsburg, KY 40769

I haven't been able to verify the PayPal link is actually that of the fund for the shelter, so proceed with caution should you wish to go that route, but I'm including the various contact info in case it can help. I hope they are able to rebuild and continue to find loving homes for abandoned or unwanted pets.

UPDATE: Dogs Saved From Shelter Fire Have Found Homes

• 21 dogs made it out; only 3 cats did.
• The dogs were kept in pens along the outer part of the building; the cats were on the interior, and the firefighters only managed to rescue the three cats before the roof collapsed.
• The dogs have found homes, but the shelter is seeking donations to rebuild. Donations can be made through the group's official Facebook page, according to volunteer Theresa Martin. That page is at: https://www.facebook.com/knoxwhitleyanimalshelter. The PayPal address above is correct according to that page.
• The one dog that died was the shelter office dog, Miss Sassy, whose picture is posted on the Facebook page.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of the people who worked with and tried to rescue these animals. It's a terrible loss.

Sad, and preventable

But here's something I didn't know:

Davis reiterated that the Lexington Division of Fire will provide and install a smoke detector to anyone who wants one. "All they need to do is call 311 and tell them they need to talk to the fire department about a smoke detector, and we'll come out and put it in," Davis said.

Coroner identifies 3 killed in Lexington house fire; cause determined

The cause of the fire were smoking materials discarded into a plastic trash can. The elderly couple used oxygen; their son was in a wheelchair. None of them made it out, although they tried, and there was no evidence of a smoke detector in their house.

In this season of Christmas lights, space heaters, woodburning stoves, and the like, please remember that fire safety is of great concern. I work for an institution that cares for children who have been burned as well as the orthopaedic issues my hospital deals with. Please be careful with ashes and cigarettes. Please be careful when using oxygen. And please have a working smoke detector (with battery installed) in your home, or more if you have a large home. A carbon monoxide detector wouldn't be bad if you have a gas home, either.

It also shows that if you have a disability you need a fire plan just as much or more so than someone who doesn't. I've had to rethink things around my house while I've been off with my injury. I am careful to leave a clear path out of the apartment when I sleep. And I do check my smoke detector occasionally to make sure it is still working and keep a fire extinguisher in the apartment. Hopefully I won't actually need them, but, they're there if I do.

Natural disaster meets man-made one...what will happen

I'm thinking of the Russians dealing with drought, fires, and smog--and the possibility that fires will pick up contaminants left over from Chernobyl and make them airborne...



Thanks to Occasion for sharing the video. We don't have a lot of beliefs in common, but concerns for the environment and the people dealing with them are something we both share.

Something that made me cry (I know, I cry at the drop of a hat, but...)

Iconic koala that survived fires dies in surgery: ‘Sam,’ who was captured on film during Australia blazes, loses fight for life

Sam the Koala had cysts associated with urogenital chlamydiosis, which affects up to 50 percent of Australia's koala population, and went through surgery to correct the problem, but the disease was so advanced and would have continued to have been very painful, so she was euthanised. Sam became a symbol of hope during the horrible Australian bush fires when a photo was taken of her taking water from a bottle. She was treated for severe burns at a wildlife centre.

I had seen a news story where they said they were going to do the surgery, and had a feeling it would not come out okay. I'm sorry I was right.

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An Australian Smokey Bear

Koala rescued in wildfire-scarred Australia: Firefighter: 'He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby'

Okay, she's not really a bear, but Sam the koala, like many of her kind, was injured by the horrific fires sweeping through sweltering Australia. A firefighter noticed her walking on burnt paws and offered her some water. Koalas rarely drink, getting what they need from the leaves they chew, but she was in dire need. Koalas are particularly vulnerable in this situation because they are so slow on the ground.

She's been rescued and is expected to make a full recovery and be released back into the wild. [Oh, and the picture, although of a koala, is not of Sam, but was taken at the San Diego Zoo by photographer Sanjay ach, and appears as part of the Wikipedia Commons with free licensing given.]


Although the US Forest Service's own Smokey Bear (the 'the' in Smokey the Bear is actually wrong, having gained popularity from a song where an extra syllable was needed for rhythm) predates the living symbol, in 1950 a black bear cub was rescued in a New Mexico fire and later taken to the national zoo, where he lived until his death in 1976 (I remember when Smokey died.)

Here's to Sam and her good health. The article spoke of kangaroos running from flames on fire. It sounds horrible down there. My thoughts are with all the people, livestock, and wild animals affected by these fires, and may the temperatures and dry conditions break soon so these will come to an end.

UPDATE:

Millions of animals feared dead in Australia: Intensity of fires, and vast area covered, leave 'no doubt,' expert says

Many who survived the fire initially will slowly starve to death without food. Animal rescuers are doing what they can, but many of the animals are too far gone and must be euthanised to end their suffering. The death toll among humans may be as high as 200. It's an awful situation.

:(