Arrests made in murder, more mexicans arrested

So, all you liberal mind midgets out there, calling me a racist because I reported my neighbors for the illegal activity they were part of, guess who the second suspect is?  You got it, my neighbor's kid.  I knew this little moron would end up in jail at some point and unfortunately, someone else had to be killed for him to end up there.


Jose Luis Brambila

Link to booking sheet:  http://www.co.benton.or.us/sheriff/corrections/jms_reports_view.php?d=i&f=3

I love how he listed his height as 5'7", this little runt is no more than 5'2".

This kid has been the demon seed of the neighborhood since I moved in here seven years ago.  He was just bad seed.  I have not seen him all summer so I guess we now know he was out helping to murder other people.  I hope they throw the book at him, hey Haroldson, why don't you charge this little maggot with Assault 2?  He would be a good case to throw away few years.


BCSO News release:

Benton County Sheriff's Office makes arrests in connection with the homicide of Giovanni A Blancas-Frutero, whose body was found on September 23, 2011 in a wooded area near Hurlburt Road in Benton County. 

Santiago Mendez Flores, of Corvallis has been arrested and charged with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Hindering prosecution. 

Jose Luis Brambila of Corvallis has been arrested and charged with Conspiracy to Commit Unlawful us of a Weapon, Unlawful use of a Weapon, and Hindering Prosecution.

Santiago Mendez Flores and Jose Luis Brambila are currently being held in the Benton County Jail, arraignment is scheduled for 1:20PM today. 

This is an on-going multi-agency investigation and additional arrests are expected as the investigation continues.   Additional information is not available at this time.  

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Eric Glass with the Benton County Sheriff's Office at (541) 766-6858 or call the Sheriff's Office Tips Line at (541) 766-6989.

Santiago Mendez Flores

CPD Eats another recruit

Another one quits, that is all.

Recycling military material

In fiscal 2008, $2.2 billion worth of surplus property was sold by the government.  From brand new items to scrap metals, everything and anything you can think of was sold.

Why is this program important?  It simply returns money to the government for other programs.  Property that might otherwise be thrown away becomes a valuable resource.  This keeps material out of landfills and is a step in the recycling chain.  In fact, much of the property sold is scrap metals that are recycled.  Steel from Navy ships and spent ammunition brass are all valuable commodities.

Government Liquidation is the sole contractor for the Department of Defense to sell surplus property.  Almost all auctions are done on the Internet through the govliquidation.com website.

The property first goes through the Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service.  There the property is evaluated to determine if it can be reused by the Government before being sold.  The property may be given to another military organization, other federal agency, or a state or local agency for use instead of being auctioned off.

If the property is of no further use to the Defense Department, then it is transferred to Government Liquidation (GL) for sale.  After receiving the property, GL will photograph the property and make it available on the Internet.  When the item is won by a bidder, a 10% buyer's premium is added.  This 10% is the fee that Government Liquidation gets for selling the item.  The rest of the money is returned to the government.
The billions of dollars every year that is recovered is money that the taxpayers do not have to pay every year. Local and state agencies receive equipment and supplies that they could otherwise not afford.  One popular use of surplus equipment is turning old military trucks into fire trucks.  They are rugged and dependable for off-road firefighting operations.

The Corvallis Fire Department has saved thousands of dollars by converting surplus military vehicles into wildland fire trucks.  One five ton truck built many years ago is still in service.

This program is a win win for everyone.  It is a win for the taxpayers, the Government, and local agencies.

At a Glance:

In fiscal year 2008, over 56,000 military units and organizations turned in over 3.5 million items to DLA Disposition Services.-DLA Website

In fiscal 2008, $2.2 billion worth of property was reutilized. Every dollar's worth of property reutilized is a tax dollar saved.-DLA Website

Government Liquidation http://www.govliquidation.com/

Defense Logistics Agency http://www.dla.mil/

Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service http://www.drms.dla.mil/

Craigslist Rants and Raves

Craigslist Rants and raves

Are you a Craigslist user?  Craigslist has taken over many facets of the printed newspaper classified ads.  Craigslist is free to everyone to post ads for items for sale, help wanted, personal notices, and real estate.  Some commercial use may incur a fee but if you are an average person wanting to get your message out, then Craigslist may be for you.

One of the more active parts of Craigslist is the Rants and Raves section, located in the personals area. Rants and Raves is organized by location, as is all of Craigslist.  After selecting your area you are taken to the opinions of anyone choosing to post on Craigslist in your area.

The Corvallis/Albany Rants and Raves section has a very lively discussion most of the time.  Most of the posts are negative against something someone is unhappy with.  For example, the current discussion, as I write this, involves the Oregon Trail card.  The Oregon Trail card is the way in which food stamp money is distributed now, instead of paper "stamps." 

A poster started the thread by saying, "Stopped at a convenience store for a snack and an overweight lady in front of me is buying food, a bottle of Mountain Dew and a 44 ounce fountain drink, which she then proceeds to pay using an Oregon Trail card -- but then pulls out cash to buy 3 or 4 scratch off tickets. I’ll be pissed if she wins. At least if she loses on all of them, the state will get back some of their money."

The poster is upset because they observed, what they thought was a waste of their money, or taxpayer's money since food assistance is paid for by taxes.  The follow up posts range from someone saying they don't want another thread on Oregon Trail Cards to not blaming the poor lady using the cards because she is influenced by the "food lobby."  The point of all of this is that everyone has an opinion.  Whether they right or wrong, Craigslist Rants and Raves is there for people to share them with everyone else.

The general theme is that of negativity but once in a while a rave does pop up.

A poster may be happy with the dinner they had the night before or some service that they receive and make a post about it.  One recent rave was about a person who was happy with their car service and posted the name of the business with a positive message attached.

The bulk of postings, by far, are politically charged rants about any subject from the President to the local city council.  Another favorite subject is the Corvallis Police Department.  Craigslist is an anonymous forum and posters take advantage of that.  They let loose and tell it like they see it, where they may not do that if they had to put a name on their opinions.

The political rants seem to go to the absolute extreme on either side.  And, usually, it does not take long for someone to be offended and the post disappears after being "flagged."

If enough of the Craigslist population does not agree with or like one of the posts, a process is in place to remove the offending post.  A post may be "flagged" by clicking on a link in the upper right hand corner of the page.  Once enough people "flag" the offending post, it is deleted from the site.  This provides a check against posts that may be offensive or contain information that is objectionable to the Craiglist community without Craigslist having to have someone to police the posts.  Flagging is also abused to get rid of a post that someone simply does not like or agree with.

Craigslist is a valuable resource to the community.  It provides an easy, cheap alternative to posting a classified ad in the newspaper.  It also provides a community forum to discuss issues anonymously.



At a Glance:

Best Of

Some of the best posts on Craig's List are located at the Best of Craig's List.
What is it?


Craig's list is a free place to post classified and personal ads and to post your rants and raves about life.

Where?  

http://www.craigslist.org/

Cautions


As with all Internet venues be careful about what you post and about leaving personal information on Craig's List.  If you place a classified ad often times Internet scammers will send you email trying to get you to provide personal information.  With the rants and raves section, all information is hidden but you may get an email from someone who does not like what you post.  You may also feel the need to email someone who has posted something you do not like.  DO NOT reply to a post without careful consideration.  You will be giving away your email address and personal information in the process and lose your anonymity.

Mercedes

You may have seen Mercedes following Linn Benton student Michael Carey around campus.  She is is his constant companion.  Mercedes is about two feet tall with chocolate brown hair and weighs about fifty pounds.  Mercedes is Michael's Chocolate Lab therapy dog. 

Michael has seizures and Mercedes is there to comfort and help him through those seizures.  According to Michael, Mercedes is always close and will let him know when he is about to have a seizure.  She snuggles up close to him during a seizure to help comfort him.

Some therapy animals, like seeing eye dogs, need to be left alone so that they can keep their attention focused on their job.  Mercedes is a little different in that, with Michael's permission, you can say hi and pet her.  She is very friendly and loves the attention.  When I saw the two in the student union, Michael was trying to get her to play with her favorite toy, a stuffed bone.  She was having nothing to do with it and kept looking at me.  I asked Michael if I could pet her and she was happy for the attention.

Mercedes is Michael's second dog.  The first dog he had became ill and had to be retired.

According to epilepsy.com, not all dogs actually alert their person before a seizure starts.  They are there to comfort the person once the seizure has begun and directly after the seizure ends.

Not only is Mercedes an early warning system but she helps to lessen the severity of the seizures that Michael has through her attention and comfort.

Getting a therapy dog is not an easy nor inexpensive process.  A large commitment is expected of the person getting the dog.  The person must have the financial means to support the dog and the ability to take care of the dog.  Food, veterinary bills, and daily upkeep are all required of the owner.

Mercedes is an important tool for Michael to have at his disposal.  While she is there to alert and comfort Michael in the event of a seizure, she is his constant companion and provides immeasurable companionship and love with only the expectation of love in return.  Dogs are a gift to man.

At a Glance:
10% of dogs can predict a seizure

Time to train: 6 months to two years

Cost: $10,000 to $25,000

More information:

Epilepsy.com

Linn-Benton Therapy Animal Policy

Therapy Dogs

Person at LBCC

This person teaches part-time at LBCC.  I have only taken one class from her and will not take another from them. 

The subject of this profile wears some pretty strange clothing almost every day.  From green rubber boots to hand knitted tunics, she often surprised me when I went into the classroom. 

Her trademark seemed to be knitted hats of various sizes, shapes, and colors.  The caps never came off, they stayed on her head throughout the class.  Some were your standard watch type stocking caps and others were the ski type that had the long ears that would fall down each side of her head.

From one class to the next, you never knew what to expect.  From the neo hippy look one day to an almost professional look the next, complete with knee length boots, you were never disappointed.

One person said that her clothing option for the day was the best part of the class.  He said that it was usually a disaster but sometimes you were surprised when she wore something appropriate for the class.

What are three things that I have learned in feature writing so far?

I learned about getting the idea out in the first part of the story,The NUT GRAF.  Probably something I have done in my writing but the nut graf is a more formal idea than I was used to.  It makes sense to use this format and it has been easy to identify in the stories we have studied.  How to write a nut graf: http://www.ehow.com/how_2194687_write-nut-graph.html

The second thing learned has been the use of the AP style of writing.  I have worked hard to refine my english but now I am presented with another style of writing.  I want to write in the proper english style and it has been difficult to use the AP style.  The AP style is kind of a short hand for news type writing.  Where I would ordinarily spell things out, the proper AP style is to abbreviate.  This will take lots of practice to learn and implement correctly.

Last I have learned about sources and documenting them to make my story more credible.  In my most recent writings I was unable to quote too many sources as I was protecting their identities.  I was writing about controversial subjects and tried to keep their exposure to a minimum.

DPMS LR-308 Reviewed

The DPMS LR-308 rifle has been out a couple of years. Recently, I had an opportunity to test one out at the local shooting range.  The "LR" in the model designation is for "Long Range".  Almost everyone should be familiar with the LR-308 as it is an AR-15 style rifle, but instead of the popular .223 cartridge, the LR-308 shoots a .308 Winchester round.  AR-15's are the civilian equivalent of the US military's standard M-16 family of rifles.

Hunter's marksmen, and casual shooters will all be satisfied with the DPMS LR-308.  It is extremely accurate and easy to shoot.  


I spoke with Brian Stone and Dave Mentken of ABG/Corvallis Guns about the LR-308.  Mentken said that they have sold quite a few of the .308 caliber rifles and he has heard nothing but praise for them.  Stone, who is the owner of ABG/Corvallis Guns, told me that he recently took one in on a trade and it was sold within two days.  Both agreed that the LR-308 is a fine firearm.


The main advantage with an AR-15 style rifle, is that if you are familiar with an AR-15, or you served in the military and are familiar with M-16/M-4 rifles, you will be instantly familiar with the LR-308.  The safety, magazine release, and charging handle are all exactly the same as an AR-15.  The LR-308 is a few pounds heavier than an AR-15 but ergonomically, they are basically the same.


At the range I used some of my hand loaded ammunition, with a 168 grain match bullet loaded to a familiar match specification.  The LR-308 was right on the mark.  I put five rounds into a paper target at 100 yards and they were all within one inch on the target!  This is an out of the box gun with no modifications to the barrel or action.  Some accessories have been added but the gun itself is stock.  One inch at 100 yards is good on any day but for an out of the box military style rifle, this is an excellent outcome.

The .308 Winchester round is a mid-sized round that has considerable recoil when fired from a bolt-action rifle.  Much of the recoil in the LR-308 and othe AR-15 type rifles is absorbed by the recoil spring, located in the stock.  This makes the LR-308 easy on the shoulder and one would have no problem shooting several hundred rounds at a time through this rifle.


There are many configurations of this rifle produced by DPMS.  From a 16" military style barrel to a 24" stainless bull barrel for long distance shooting, almost any shooting discipline can be fulfilled from the factory.


DPMS did an excellent job with this rifle.  I had been shopping for a new .308 caliber and this one fits the bill.  I ordered mine on Thursday and I can't wait to get it next week.

Description

Barrel: ·  16" Length ·  4140 Chrome Moly Steel ·  6 grooves, right-hand 1x10 twist, button rifled ·  .308 A2 Flash Hider ·  Koebl Single Rail Gas Block Chamber: ·  7.62 NATO Method of Operation: ·  Gas operated rotating bolt Bolt & Carrier: ·  8620 steel bolt carrier, heat treated and plated per Mil Spec ·  Phosphated steel bolt, heat treated and plated per Mil Spec Sights: ·  None (mounting optics only) Weight: ·  Empty - 8.3 lbs. Length: ·  32.5" Collapsed ·  36.375" Extended

Upper Receiver: ·  A3 style flattop ·  Thick walled, extruded from 6066-T6 aluminum ·  Hard coat anodized per Mil Spec and Teflon coated black ·  Dust cover ·  Shell deflector and forward assist machined as one unit ·  Right hand ejection Lower Receiver: ·  Milled from a solid billet of 6061-T6 aluminum ·  Hard coat anodized per Mil Spec ·  Integral trigger guard ·  Aluminum magazine release button ·  Standard AR-15 trigger group Stock: ·  DPMS 6 Position Pardus Stock Handguards: ·  Carbine Length GlacierGuards™

DPMS Incorporated


DPMS Oracle LR-308 Web Page

Winter Driving, Getting to School Safely

Interview Charlie's Towing

Tripcheck.com

Who, what, why, where, when, and how?




Getting to School Safely

The beginning of the new term has brought icy mornings with it.  Chances are you either have to leave earlier or you may have been late to your first class because of the weather. If you are unlucky you may have put your car in the ditch on the way to school and missed class altogether.

Some easy alterations to your driving can help assure your success in getting to school safe and on time for class.

Arguably, the number one reason for crashes in inclement weather is driving too fast.  The faster you drive, the longer time it takes to stop and the harder it is to maintain traction on a slick road.  Simply reducing your speed gives you better traction and shorter stopping distance.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has an online road condition report at http://www.tripcheck.com/.  You simply click on the area of the state you are in and any traffic issues are reported on-screen.

Having to call a for a tow is an expensive affair.  According to Dan Richardson, with Charlie's Towing in Corvallis, a basic tow will cost around $100 and if you end up in a field and have to be winched out, it can cost upwards of $500.  Wait times for a tow can be several hours on a busy day in bad weather.

If you do crash and are injured, it can take many months to heal and cost many thousands of dollars for medical bills.

As winter term gets started, the winter driving season is about half over.  There are alternative forms of transportation to get you to school, such as the bus.  If you are uncomfortable or inexperienced in driving in winter conditions, the bus may be a good alternative.

LBCC does close if the weather is too bad.  A link can be found on the main LBCC web page to http://www.flashalert.net/news.html?id=1013 which is the page where information is posted regarding closures or late openings for the college.  You can also sign up for an email alert on this page and an email will be sent directly to you in the event of a closure or altered school schedule.

Slow down and arrive at school safe!

New Blog

Here it is!