In South Africa, traffic lights are called robots. In Chester, they seem to be suggestions, rather than absolutes. In two days, I have watched more people run red lights than seemingly normal. This morning, I watched a school bus for the handicapped run a red light. There were two vehicle accidents, one with an entrapment and one resulting in a fatality, at major controlled intersections, in the county. One incident did not result in an accident because the person with the green light checked before proceeding. An elderly woman ran the light as if it did not exist with no…
Browsing: Commentary
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I am hoping everyone returned from the holiday with all of their fingers and toes attached. Let’s see what we have on the books today. Well, good new, old Betsy [my 2004 Honda] just rolled through 250,000 miles, and like me, she is old, creaky, and a bit beat up, but we are still ticking and taking names. Other good news, the house I started last year ran into all kinds of problems. My builder walked out on me halfway through the project and took with him a lot…
We have been in a stormy weather pattern lately. We have had so much rain that my garden does not have a chance. In fact, we woke up to Richmond International Airport being closed due to flooding. Storms have multiple parts that may cause damage: wind, rain, lightning, hail and tornadoes, just to name a few. A nice rain shower that drops the temperature and lowers the humidity is just that, nice. It is when the storms reach extremes that they wreak havoc. We have seen more flash flooding lately than in times past, or at least it seems. There…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. When was the last time you went to a demolition derby? You know…where you are allowed to take your car and ram it into someone else on purpose, and without penalty? The last one I attended was many years ago. I was 20-ish, and our county fair had a demolition derby out on their horse racing track. It was the final event of the week-long fair, and it was a big draw, filling the grandstands to overflowing with hundreds more standing along the fence or in the infield to…
I have not written about fire extinguishers in quite a while. It is my hope that you will never need to use one, but that does not excuse you from knowing how to use one, if necessary. Using a fire extinguisher needs to be as easy as possible. You should not have to think about how to properly use the extinguisher when the time comes; it should just be second nature. Choosing the right extinguisher is one piece of the proper-use puzzle. The proper extinguisher is determined, based upon the class that it is designed for. There are four primary…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I, for one, do not like going to the doctor, and thanks to the good Lord above, I have not had to go very many times in my lifetime. However, when I need to go, I do go. For the past few weeks, my back has been acting up. Most would think “lower back,” but my problem is higher up on my right shoulder….about halfway up under the rib cage in the perfect place that makes it difficult to reach. It is an old injury I received many years…
I thought that I would write about the things that cause fires on the outside of our homes. The weather has finally changed, ushering in outdoor activities. Since more and more people are going outside, it is important to think about those things that can cause a fire on the outside. As always, my list will not cover everything that might happen, but it is designed to make the readers think about their homes and potential issues. I had originally titled this “The Deck,” but it is about any fire on the outside of a home. Your deck is a…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. If you have been paying attention to the calendar, you are aware that the kissing cousin to Mother’s Day is just around the corner. No peeking at the calendar or Google…can you guess? That is right … the lesser known Father’s Day is just around the corner. Mother’s Day was made an official holiday by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, whereas Father’s Day was not recognized as a national holiday until 1972 by President Richard Nixon. That’s the reason I call it the lesser known. The truth be had,…
One of the objectives of Kiwanis is to build better communities. The Kiwanis Club of Chester has been working diligently toward that objective, and we have been assisted with many from our area to help us meet that goal. Over the past three years we have strived to recognize our military veterans. WWII veterans in 2015 and Korean War veterans in 2016 were invited to dinners provided by Sibley & Son. In 2017 our long-neglected Vietnam-era veterans were treated to a picnic-style dinner provided by King’s Korner Catering at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, where the exhibition building was renamed the…