What A Difference A Day Makes...
It's amazing how much better a morning can be when the weather conditions decide to cooperate, isn't it?
The freezing drizzle we had yesterday morning that shut down the schools, and snarled traffic into a bigger ball than Clark Griswold's outdoor Christmas lights is nowhere to be found THIS morning.
And I'd wager that our first responders are ALL breathing a sigh of collective relief over that, eh?

I know that after the "rush-hour" was over (and the word RUSH could never be applied to yesterday morning), we had a lot of calls about people falling..didn't surprise me on bit.

It was slick underfoot.
I'm still fighting my way through this cold, otherwise known as my "Tribute to Sam Elliott".
At least I'm not sounding like Michael Chiklis as THE THING from the Fantastic Four movies...LOL.
(and definitely not LOOKING like him either)
But, as our weather conditions improve just enough to make winter tolerable, we're due for some COLD (read FRI-GID)weather over the next 48 hours, combined with snow flurries (we're talking lows around ZE-RO).
It's not so much that we can't catch a break here...it's just that those "breaks" are so damn SMALL, they're hardly noticeable.
Still, we will soldier on and move forward.
Have a few "updates" to toss on the table this morning, so top off that cup of whatever you're drinking, sit back and enjoy the ride.
*** (( Published: January 20, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Cocaine kingpin admits to role; wife pleads next -

Rebecca S. Green / The Journal Gazette
The leader of a cocaine distribution ring pleaded guilty in federal court this week.
Arrested in the summer of 2009 after an extensive investigation by the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, Andre L. Hutchins, 39, was indicted along with his wife, Talitha Hutchins, 33.
Also indicted were Fort Wayne residents Kevin Porter, 52; Greg Johnson, 39; Charles Dies, 53; Paris Jones, 38; Takiesha McGlaston, 38; Adrian Lee, 38; John Minniefield, 33; Frederick Parrish, 29; and Michael Watson, 34; and Andre Hutchins’ mother, Arielean Hutchins, 74.
Brad Moore, 30, of Waterloo, also was indicted.
Andre Hutchins admitted to the first count of the indictment, accusing him of conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, in a plea agreement filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Fort Wayne. He pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Theresa L. Springmann.
According to court records, Springmann ordered Hutchins removed from the Allen County Jail after his hearing and sent to a jail in another county for his own protection.
Talitha Hutchins is scheduled to plead guilty next week before a federal judge and admit to maintaining a drug-involved premises, according to a plea agreement filed with the court.
According to court documents, officers found guns and $7,200 in cash in the Hutchinses’ home, bundles of cash in two storage units used by Jones and an additional $37,000 and a handgun at Jones’ home in the 13100 block of Bolinni Lane. At Dies’ Decatur Road home, police found a kilogram of cocaine and $30,000 in cash. The investigation began with undercover work as Fort Wayne police detectives monitored Watson’s activities, officials said.
Through that investigation, the other agencies became involved, culminating in a string of federal wiretaps, undercover drug buys and surveillance of the parties involved, according to court documents. Andre Hutchins organized the enterprise, according to federal officials, lining up orders and arranging distributors while
using throwaway cell phones, officials said at the time of his arrest.
In the nearly two years since the investigation was unveiled, Dominguez, Porter, McGlaston, Parrish, Watson and Johnson pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the drug trafficking ring. Dominguez was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
The cases against the other defendants are pending in federal court. ))
Nice to know that SOME progress is being made...now, about the two "drive-up" drug buys I've seen in our area this year...and those drug HOUSES...!?!
And there's more on that car theft up on Illinois Rd:
*** (( Published: January 20, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Ring of pros suspected in 5-car heist at luxury dealer -

Jeff Wiehe / The Journal Gazette
Five high-end cars were stolen from the lot of a west-side dealership over the weekend, presumably by a crew of professional thieves.
The cars – four Audis and a Mercedes – were taken from the O’Daniel Porsche-Audi dealership at 5611 Illinois Road between 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday, according to general sales manager Jeremy Greenway.
There was no broken glass or signs of broken doors, and security cameras did not capture images of the thieves.
"They’re obviously professionals," Greenway said. "They knew what they were doing."
The value of the cars is estimated to be $175,000, according to Greenway.
When the dealership closed Saturday, employees made sure all the cars were locked, Greenway said.
When they came back to the lot Monday, they noticed the cars were missing.
Later, a woman who had traded in a car at the dealership said she drove by the lot Sunday about 10 a.m. to check to see whether whether the car was still there.
When it wasn’t, she figured it had sold, Greenway said.
But it turned out to be one of the stolen cars.
Greenway said such high-end stolen cars are usually exported to other countries.
The cars stolen would be worth double in China what they’d sell for in the U.S., Greenway said.
Ports around the country and officials on the border with Mexico have been notified, Greenway said.
The dealership has never had such a theft, Greenway said, and investigators told him it’s the biggest vehicle theft from any dealership in the region.
Fort Wayne police are investigating the theft. ))
Okay, so certain PORTS have been alerted, AND the border to MEXICO...BUT...what about the CANADIAN BORDER, folks?
If I was going to get these vehicles out of the country, I'd surely head NORTH instead of SOUTH.
It's easier to get there, first off. A few tractor trailers with the cars hidden inside, a few false documents as to manifests, and presto...some mook in AFRICA or SAUDI ARABIA gets a nice car. Sound like a plan? You bet it does. Let's hope these thieves make a slip-up along their merry way.

BTW, your security cams SUCK, O'Daniels if they didn't show ANYTHING!

(let's go back to gating those place back IN, hmm?)
But wait, there's still more....
*** Another person attacked at apartment complex in Fort Wayne.
A woman was struck from behind and relieved of her purse at the WOODBRIDGE APARTMENTS.
Details are not forthcoming, but the woman was admitted to the hospital in serious condition.
This makes (at least) THREE robberies in recent weeks where someone has targeted citizens.
And this makes THREE robberies at Woodbridge to date.

(refer back to post & comments from 14 January)
...You'd think the media would be all over this, but try and find ANY mention of it anywhere. I haven't yet.
And then, there's THIS little gem:
*** (( Police serving arrest warrant find two one-pot meth labs in home on Fairfield
Updated: Thursday, 20 Jan 2011, 4:50 AM EST
Published : Wednesday, 19 Jan 2011, 5:19 PM EST
FORT WAYNE, Ind (WANE) - Police serving an arrest warrant Wednesday afternoon at a home in the 2700 block of Fairfield Avenue found two one-pot meth labs.
The Allen County Sheriff's Department tells News Channel 15 that Allen County Warrants detectives arrived at the home around 2 p.m. The man who answered the door allowed officers to enter the home and investigate. That's when officers discovered the meth labs.
Four adults and two children were in the home at the time.
The kids were taken to the hospital for evaluation as a precaution.
Three of the adults were arrested. One was arrested on possession of meth charges, the other two face manufacturing meth charges.
At this time wit is not known what the original arrest warrant was for or any of the identities of the people involved.
The Allen County Sheriff's Department will provide that information to us Thursday morning. ))
Right smack dab in the middle of town...astounding, isn't it? Right under everyone's nose.
--Which reminds me, the "limit" being imposed on over-the-counter drugs that contain pseudo ephedrine (used to make METH) are starting to honk ME off.
If I have a damn cold, I don't need to be placed under scrutiny for the particular medicines I purchase to get OVER said cold or flu.
This is so "nanny-state" it isn't funny.
I'm not making meth, don't plan to make meth, and certainly don't plan to sell my OTC meds to someone to make meth...got it, big government?
I'm just trying to GET WELL, dammit!
And I don't need to be placed on anyone's "list" because I want some Sudafed or Nyquil to get back to feeling normal again.
This article , written WAY back in 2005 seems to echo my sentiments:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,159713,00.html
I suppose the NEXT "ban" will be on a MINT product that has taken the place of "spice" or K2 out west.
(there goes our cure for halitosis)
Don't get me wrong...people ARE "inventive", and Americans EXCEL at this.
Hell, it was OUR inventiveness that gave the world a LOT of cool stuff...like that (soon to be banned, but safer than CFLs) incandescent light bulb!
And those (now obsolete and reliable) CRT televisions...you get the idea.
Now "some" people are, shall we say, a bit MORE inventive when it comes to illicit and illegal activities and pursuits.
Well, that's why we have LAWS...and police to enforce them.
But don't think that there not some idiots are out there NOW, smoking or snorting anything and everything for that next "innovative product" that can be exploited and used for the next high, because there ARE.
Then the government will step in AGAIN, and regulate or ban something else the rest of us law-abiding folks use for cooking, or fixing our homes, or otherwise making our lives better without taking those items and using them in ways we don;t even think about.
All for our "safety"...(yeah, right).
Maybe we'd all be better off if we were a little LESS safe when it came to REGULATIONS and BANS, and a lot MORE safe if those that abuse such things were DEALT WITH...and PUNISHED harshly...'ya think?
I've always thought that WE (generally) were our own best watchdogs when it came to what WE felt was good or bad for us.
I know my PARENTS sure were with me...and themselves as well.
We've over thought the unthinkable, overstated the obvious, oversimplified the complex, and overcomplicated the mundane...ALL for our own "safety".
Perhaps we'd all be a bit better off if WE had more say, and those tasked with creating ALL these regulations would just BTFO for a spell, and spend more time rounding up all the ones that thumb their collective noses at laws, regulations and authority that are already IN PLACE, because THEY are the ones acting in such an uncivil manner, and taking freedoms and liberties away from the REST of us.
It's just a thought (and one that would serve all of us much better).
Be well, make a difference today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.