Archive for February, 2011

Not too long ago there was a loose pig running around near I-75. Efforts to find the pig fell short and as each day went on, the pig remained free. Even though he enjoyed his freedom, the cards were stacked against him. Unfortunately, there’s no future for a pig on the loose. With no education or local contacts to hide them, most pigs will end up on the streets at the beck and call of some pimp.

Every so often the animals get loose and run the streets for a while—usually after a livestock truck turns over on the expressway. The last big one I remember was a cattle truck that overturned on I-285 near Roswell Road some 20 years ago. Some of the cattle were killed but many escaped to terrorize a nearby upscale suburban community for days. Numerous cattle sighting were called in to 911 by panicked homeowners:

“911—what is your emergency?”

“Aughhhhhh! There’s a cow in the back yard! He’s slowly lumbering around the yard! Help please!!!”

“Ma’am, it’s a …

Continue reading I, too, have a chicken story »

I read a report this week that a woman received a call from a man who said he was her grandson. She didn’t know which one so she listed the names. He stopped her at Bryan. He told her that he was arrested in Madrid, Spain, in connection with a drug charge. He needed her to send him bail for the charge.

He told her he was going to testify against the real bad guy but needed to be out of jail in order to help. Another man got on the phone and said that he was a member of the U.S. Consulate’s Office. Still another man got on the phone and said he was an attorney.

All three convinced the woman to send two payments — one for $3,400 and a second for $1,500, plus more than $200 in transfer fees — to a Western Union address.

The woman later became suspicious and then called her grandson Bryan’s mom. She learned he was in college, safe and sound, in Texas.

She’d been duped.

Now you read this and say “How the heck does someone just take the word of someone on the phone and …

Continue reading Scammers often target the elderly »

I guess one of the hardest lessons a young person must learn in life is that life isn’t fair. There are some good people who get the short end of the stick and some bad people who continue to thrive. It’s just the way it is.

The recent saga about former Fulton Police Officer Paul Phillips is riddled with irony. If you are not familiar, here’s the short version from an ajc.com story late last week:

Paul Phillips, former Fulton County police officer who was wounded by a Duluth police officer in 2008, holds his daughter, Raleigh, in this Facebook photo.

“Phillips had served with Fulton County police for 12 years when he was shot Feb. 1, 2008, by a Duluth police officer, Jay Dailey.

“Police say a drunken Dailey was off duty when he crashed his car in Sugar Hill, then flagged down a woman and asked her to call 911. Moments later Dailey inexplicably went on a rampage, smashing her car window, pepper-spraying her and threatening to kill her, according to police.

“Phillips, …

Continue reading Good people come forward, help injured ex-cop »