Hello and welcome back to the patriotic world of the Dogpound. In a few days we will be celebrating our Independence Day, or as we know it, the Fourth of July. On this date the Second Continental Congress approved our Declaration of Iindependence. The colonies had been pretty much left alone to grow and develop as they saw fit, but England finally decided that they should start paying for the common defense and contribute revenue back to the homeland. Since the colonies were not represented in Parliament, they did not think this was fair, and the phrase,”No taxation without representation”…
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Last week was recognized by public safety workers as a safety stand down, focusing on highway safety. Up until recently, I would have said that incidents on America’s roadways present the greatest hazard for all public servants. My concern is that the greatest danger to a police officer here lately is when they put on the uniform. Police officers have become a target and we, the people, must do everything in our power to change that. I have the greatest respect for every man and woman who puts on a uniform, sworn to protect and serve, whatever the costs. Our…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Hard to believe that we have only reached the mid-point of 2020, it feels like we have combined five years into one considering all of the things that have happened so far this year and we haven’t even gotten to the presidential election. There is one you know?! Right now it has been way overshadowed by the virus and protests. Anyway, the good news is that despite all that has occurred in recent months we are ready to celebrate the fourth of July. A date when the 13 colonies…
Kitchen fires are the leading cause of residential fires for a reason. When I left the job, 37 percent of all fires were caused by unattended cooking. This was a large statistic in 2010 and I am sure that this number may be even higher now, since the number of fires has increased. The biggest reason for the fire problem in a kitchen is that all that is necessary to have a fire is regularly found in the kitchen. What do I mean by that? To have a fire, you need heat, fuel, oxygen, and the chemical chain reaction that…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Before I get started, I want to make a big shout out to all of you dads and “will be a dad soon dads,” Happy Father’s Day! Plus, a pat on the back for me since I got this article out on time for the holiday, for once! LOL. Just remember that you do not have to be a dad to be a father-figure. Today is a time, like no other time for a very long time, where we need good men to step up, show up, be counted,…
To the Editor: Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors (BOS) and Planning Commission (PC) meetings are currently being held “virtually” and audio broadcast on the county TV channel and on-line, due to the Covid-19 emergency. In a normal “live” meeting, with the public physically present, we have the opportunity to speak on both scheduled and unscheduled matters for up to three minutes. With the current “virtual” format, there is no opportunity to comment during the meetings. And for some unknown reason, public comments submitted before the meetings are either “summarized” by BOS and PC members, or not given at all during their…
To the Editor: My perspective comes from a background in mitigation of high level defense and security operations for the headquarters of the Department of Defense. The core complement I have for the overall countrywide communication exercise can be summed up in the following statement in the briefing document: “During this simulation keep in mind that we are to operate in an environment of kindness with the goal of getting to ‘yes’ and having a ‘Good Hello’ and ‘Good Goodbye.’” The focus on civility and positive character traits is the driving force for true success. I say this as an…
Most of you WHO read my column may recall that I have been helping out a veteran friend that attends our church. His health has continued to decline. The ability to assist as a caregiver has become exponentially more difficult. Prior to COVID-19, my role was to assist getting him to and from doctor’s appointments, dressing wounds, providing medical advice, and pulling medicines. I had that down to a science, and then COVID hit. Our first experience was in a same-day surgery center, where I was told that I could not wait in the waiting room but would have to…
As I was sitting here watching the news about the looting and fires in some prominent U.S. cities, a gentleman stated: “There is a fine line between civilization and barbarism.” Very few people know exactly what happened in Minneapolis. The video that we have seen on the news is absolutely sickening, however, we should not allow a trial by video, although I am sure that the video will be used as evidence. Someone standing there, police officer or not, should have done the right thing and stopped what was happening. We trust police officers to protect us, no matter which…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. A few weeks ago, I talked about the little mouse that was making his home in a box under my bathroom sink. I have the same problem in my three-car pole barn, but I expect that, and I plan accordingly. Being out in the country on two acres, you can expect critters to venture into your buildings, and I figured that the pole barn would be their first area of visitation. A preemptive strike there would reduce the odds of them strolling on over to the house. So, I…