Quick Hits – A Christmas Edition
Once again we have some items of interest and for this holiday season, a Christmas Rule Five lady.
It has been a tough year for the iconic “Toys for Tots” program. The Marine administered program provides toys for underprivileged children through monetary donations and donation of toys throughout the country and has been a model of accountability and trust during its 64 year history so it is sad to see some of the stories coming out of the organization.
In Brevard County, Florida, a Toys for Tots area coordinator and volunteer of 16 years recently stepped down from the organization after admitting he had lied about his military service record and an investigation into the alleged rape of a 16 year old girl.
In Chicago, the Toys for Tots program was rocked by what appears to have been an embezzlement this past spring of funds marked for the purchase of toys this holiday season.
These types of setbacks are difficult to comprehend much less for the charity to deal with. After all, what kind of lowlife steals money intended for toys?
While it is easy to focus on the slimeballs, we should also applaud the people who have helped with the issues. In Florida, the Marines told the volunteer he was essentially no longer welcome in the program and thereby demanded accountability for the actions of a volunteer. The Marines did not wait for the result of the criminal investigation. In their eyes, lying about military service was enough to demand he walk away.
In Chicago, an anonymous donor stepped in and gave $25,000 to the charity to make up for the embezzled funds.
A generous donor stepped forward today, saving Christmas for a local charity after an alleged theft left organizers unable to buy toys for thousands of needy Chicago-area kids.
A man came in with a $25,000 check to cover the missing amount, said Toys for Tots Chicagoland treasurer Janet Malpede.
The donor’s only stipulation? That he remains anonymous and that the gift be in memory of Sid Luckman, the Chicago Bears quarterback during the 1940s who led the team to four championships.
After news became public this week, the phone has been ringing constantly, Malpede said. Beyond the $25,000, others have made generous offers, including a donor who gave $1,000 in toys through Target, Malpede said.
Once again, we see how the generosity of people is often amazing.
The City government and the Sanitation Department of Queens, New York doesn’t seem to be in the holiday spirit as a man was given a $100 ticket for putting his trash cans out in front of his home 30 minutes early.
The Failure to Store Receptacle summons from the agent stated: “I did observe three 30 gallon plastic can(s) placed out on the public sidewalk on a non-collection day.”
[Homeowner Raymond] Janson says, “We’ve lived here 30 years and always put the garbage out Monday and Thursday for Tuesday and Friday pickup.”
It is legal to put out the trash cans the day before pick-up but the time of the day matters. City sanitation rules say the cans can be put out no earlier than 4:00 p.m. from October 1st to April 1st.
Janson’s ticket was written at 3:27 p.m.
At least he wasn’t given a $300 citation for not having lids on trash cans he doesn’t own.
A 91-year-old grandmother is having to fight a ticket for not having a lid on her trash can. The only problem is that Blanche Pierce doesn’t even have a trash can.
Pierce says she’s lived in the Bay Ridge Brooklyn home for 60 years. She says she hasn’t owned a trash can for 10 years. Her nephew takes the trash from her home every week so she was surprised to see the ticket issued by the Dept. of Sanitation.
In what we can only describe as one of the dumbest things we have ever heard, a Rutherford County, Tennessee elementary student has been banned to the “silent lunch table” for 6 days. His crime?
Having a slice of pizza some said was in the shape of a gun.
School leaders say the 10-year-old threatened other students at his lunch table with a piece of pizza with bites out of it so it looked like a gun and when asked about it was initially not truthful.
Nicholas’ mother LeAnn calls her son’s punishment “absolutely ridiculous” saying he was just playing around and never said anything derogatory or anything about shooting anyone.
“The kid across the table from him said it looked like a gun so he picked it up and started shooting it in the air,” she told Nashville’s News 2 Investigates.
Taylor said she learned of the incident when the school sent her a note saying her son was threatening other students.
James Evans, spokesperson for the Rutherford County School District, said the boy isn’t being punished because he had a piece of pizza shaped like a gun.
He’s being punished because “some students reported he was making some threatening hand gestures, that he was shooting other kids at the table and they reported it to a teacher,” according to Evans.
OHMIGOD! You might shoot someone’s eye out with that pepperoni!
[School spokesman James] Evans called the punishment minor but said the message is clear.
“I realize some might say we are going overboard but the principal is just trying to use an abundance of caution and send the message that we don’t play about guns and it’s not something we joke around about,” he said.
“Might say we are going overboard?”
Sir, you passed overboard a long way back.
If the child does the same thing again, the school says they will suspend him.
Taylor said the school system has made it clear that if her son eats his pizza into the shape of a gun again and there is a similar occurrence, he will be suspended.
That’ll teach the young whippersnapper not to play with his food.
See you next time for more “Quick Hits” here at Raised on Hoecakes.
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