If It's Thursday, It Must Be...

Snowing AGAIN?
Seems that way, especially up north, with reported near white-out conditions along I-69.
All we're seeing down here in the crotch of Fort Wayne are some snow sprinkles...the really BIG stuff might be coming this weekend with the possibility of up to SIX more inches of snow.
Today's high close to yesterday's, and that means around 15 degrees (or less). And it's gonna be breezy to boot.
Been a helluva winter so far, hasn't it?
In any event, go pour yourself another piping hot cup of your morning beverage and we'll see about getting this show on the road.
*** First out of the Klondike today is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."
This was spoken by none other than Booker T. Washington, and here's his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington
Now, we've covered this fine man before, so I'll leave it to you to read up on him, if you haven't already.
And I think you'll still find his life and times interesting reading.
I believe that if he lived TODAY, he'd most likely be a conservative, and therefore an outcast by (too) many of his own people.
He'd be labelled a sellout...or worse, an Uncle Tom, and from the historical perspective, that is simply incorrect.
Personally, I don't think you'll find a BETTER person who fostered equality for blacks in such remarkable ways in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
And by EQUALITY I mean equal opportunity and NOT equal outcome.
The Civil Rights movement would still be 50 years after his passing.
*** Next up, I want to shamelessly pimp another blog - that of fellow blogger GADFLY (link at left).

He posted a fantastic take on the whole FWCS bus issue, with a marvelous solution to their current dilemma, as well as providing some very good "back-story" to the financial "woes" they seem to suffer from. Give it a read, and become enlightened.
*** An Allen County Superior Court judge ordered that six men WILL stand trial "as one" for a beating that took place November of 2013.
(Finally, some common sense coming from downtown - can we stand the strain?)

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140227/LOCAL03/302279986
The article has the "mugs" of all the punk-ass perps, so you tell me if you see any remorse on their primate faces.
If anything, they are typical of the violent nature of their ilk.
*** A liquor store robbery leads to a standoff in Arcola.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140227/LOCAL07/302279987
Around 1315 hrs yesterday, the S&V liquor store on Illinois Rd. was robbed by a man wearing a camo jacket and a "grim reaper" mask.

He drove off in a red flatbed truck. Police have not said if the man was armed.
The truck was found parked next to the post office in the 11400 block of downtown Arcola (west of Ft. Wayne). Apartments are located over the post office.
Around 1530 hrs, Allen County SWAT arrived there and they had good reason to believe that the robber was holed up in one of those apartments.

After a couple hours of attempting negotiations, the SWAT team made entry, where they found one dead person, but do not know if that person is the suspect in the robbery.
The coroner will release the name and C-O-D of the man found later.
Gee, I know that Pro-Tow has red flatbeds...wonder if there is a "connection"?

Sure LOOKS like a red flatbed to me.

I've seen a former felon driving one of them...he lives down the other end of our block.
Maybe if any ACSD officers check this blog, they might want to look into it...and that company?
Just a thought...
*** Next, we have an interesting way of looking at the way things operate in this city.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140227/LOCAL/302279977

Councilman Mitch Harper is making a run for mayor, and he's had his finger on the pulse of this city for a while.
His views on the city and how it's been managed represent a fresh look at the status quo, which in my opinion has been going on far too long.
Mitch maintains the city goes from crisis to crisis, without looking far enough down the road to properly address things before they occur.
Funny, we used to call that being PROACTIVE.
He just might be on to something here.
Harper always did seem to represent a lot more REASON than could be found in the rest of the city council.
*** Last back to the barn today, is the fact that we DO have problems in this city...LOTS of them.
Thing is, "we, the people" are rarely told about many of them...we're too busy hearing about all the GOOD things (many of which have absolutely NO impact on any of us, but DO serve the common interest of the Good Old Boy Network downtown).
Hey, every city has problems,but how they are HANDLED determines the level of success in dealing with them.
Some cities do okay in that...others...well, we know about Detroit, and Chicago, and Philly, and so on.
Can we predict every  crisis that could occur?
Certainly not, but we CAN follow certain "trends" that DO predict various outcomes.
And, we can always be prepared for the worst because it never hurts to err on the side of caution, if a city is truly interested in it's citizens.

It's like I've said about the SE side...everyone wonders WHY there is no retail, no "thriving" economic aspect to down here, and I always have the same answer. Get rid of the CRIME, and everything else WILL follow.
But, why does it take a record year of homicides JUST to get those that need to be motivated into action...to ACT?
We should be better than that.
And maybe...just maybe Booker T. Washington was RIGHT - to be successful, we need to overcome obstacles and not be content to hold some high, exalted position in life or our job.
The greater the challenge, the greater the change...in all of us.

Be well, make a difference to someone,and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.