Greensboro Woman kills 5 youth in her family

A 17-year-old boy from Greensboro, North Carolina died on Friday November 25th after being shot by his aunt. This death brought the total to six, including the shooter, after a horrible killing spree. Mary Ann Holder had shot 17-year-old Richard Brian Suttles, along with four other minors and one adult on the previous Sunday before Richard finally died on Friday. Holder killed Richard Suttles, her two sons, her eight-year-old niece, one of her son's 15-year-old girlfriends, and shot her married lover in the shoulder before she killed herself. Holder was 36 years of age and had been having an affair with Randal Lamb for four years. After months of accusations between Holder, Lamb and Lamb's wife, Holder shot Lamb Sunday morning. Half an hour later, police found Holder dead in her car and her 14-year-old son dead in the back seat. After going to her home, authorities found her 17-year-old son dead and 3 people suffering from fatal wounds; Suttles, 15-year-old Makayla Leigh Woods and Holder's 8-year-old niece, Hannaleigh Suttles. There were two notes written by Holder that admitted to the killings in the house.

It is a disgusting story that is hard to believe. What would make a woman kill 5 young family members, including two of her own sons? Why kill them because your affair with a married man was discovered? Affairs and stories of cheating always lead to horrible things so why would someone take part in them? If one desires to have a cheating relationship, there should be no relationship at all. Your children and family should not be harmed because of your foolish actions of love. Holder was 36 years old and responsible for two kids – she should not have been involved with a married man. This is not the way a role model should act and it is very disgraceful to the human population.




Teen shot by aunt dies; death toll at 6
November 25th, 2011
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/25/9022853-teen-shot-by-aunt-dies-death-toll-at-6

Curiosity

On the morning of Saturday November 26th, NASA's Atlas 5 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida around 10 a.m. ET. The Atlas 5 is an unmanned rocket carrying a six-wheeled, car-sized rover vehicle that will explore Mars. It is a $2.5 Billion US mission that will land on Mars in about 8 1/2 months after it travels roughly 570 million kilometres. The Mars Science Laboratory rover, nicknamed "Curiosity", is designed to collect samples of Martian rocks and soil and be able to analyze them on location.

This will be one of the largest NASA experiments ever and could answer the question that most people have thought about at least once - "are humans alone in the universe?" As children, we all grew up thinking about aliens and UFO's. We watched movies about aliens and heard stories of UFO's which all contributed to our imagination. After years of doubt and no signs of other life out there, I have given up believing in other life forms. If NASA is able to find traces of organic compounds on Mars, it will create new interest in exploring the universe for other life forms. I hope they are successful so my, and so many others childhood fantasies can continue.

NASA launches Mars-bound spacecraft

November 26th, 2011

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/11/26/mars-rover-liftoff.html

Josiah's Dream

Josiah Vierra is not your average Little Leaguer. He is 7 years old and only 27 inches tall, weighing a mere 15 pounds. Josiah has a genetic disease known as Progeria, meaning “prematurely old.” He just wants to live a normal life and play organized baseball. On May 5th 2010, Josiah got the opportunity he dreamed of. He was allowed to play one game with the Tri Valley White Sox. Josiah got one chance at bat and managed to hit the ball. He didn’t hit it very far, but he sure hit it. His mother thought at that time that it would be his first and only game, but at least his dream had been achieved. After the game, Josiah was crying and told his coach, “I don’t want it to be over.” Later in the season, after a series of mini-strokes, Josiah was able to rejoin the team and play for the last month of the season. Word had spread about Josiah and at the team’s final game of the season, 1,000 people came out to watch.

It is a great story not just about baseball, but about life. Josiah refuses to let his physical boundaries stop him. He wants to play baseball and live a normal life regardless of what he can and cannot do. When he’s playing baseball he doesn’t even have to think about his disease and the fact that his life could be over in only a few weeks. Watching him run the bases is a sight to see and can bring joy to anyone. The triumphs for Josiah may be nothing special to the average person but when you take his condition and disabilities into account, he can be considered a hero and inspiration to all.

E:60 Josiah's Time
November 10th, 2010
http://search.espn.go.com/josiah-e60/videos/6

Penn State College

Breaking news this week out of the college world was that Penn State College fired their head football coach and also the college's President. The story broke out about a sexual abuse scandal by the football team's former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Joe Paterno, the now former head coach, is the winningest coach in college football history and had a 62 year tenure with Penn State that included 46 years as the Head Coach. The President, Graham B. Spanier, was also one of the longest tenured and highest-paid presidents in the nation and helped to raise the profile of the College to an internationally known status. Jerry Sandusky, the focus of the controversy, is a serial pedophile who was charged with sexually abusing 8 boys over 15 years. Both Spanier and Paterno were dismissed because they knew of the incidents but failed to report them to authorities. Paterno planned to retire at the end of the season anyway but the Board of Trustees refused to allow him to finish. In 2002, a graduate assistant from Penn State, witnessed an assault by Sandusky involving a young boy in the football building's showers and reported what he saw to Paterno. Instead of telling the police, Paterno told the graduate assistant to tell the athletic director. Mr.McQueary, the graduate assistant, claimed to have seen Sandusky having anal sex with the young boy.

This news came out of nowhere to shock the sports world. It is being regarded as one of the most controversial events in sports history. It has completely destroyed the legacy of a prestigious coach and a very recognized athletic program. Some people don't agree with the school's decision to get rid of Paterno but, quite frankly, knowing about what has happened and not reporting it, is an offence within itself. Paterno's amazing reputation has been hit quite hard with this horrific incident. It would have been nice for him to finish off his final year but his firing needed to happen. I feel bad that Paterno's legendary run had to end this way as it wasn't he who committed the crime, but it was very foolish of him not to report his knowledge of the incident. Knowing that an alleged pedophile was walking around on your campus is unacceptable. Had the news been reported earlier, it could have saved many young boys from being sexually abused. The main concern of many people is the boys who are now men that have to deal with what happened for the rest of their lives. Paterno will now be remembered for what happened this week rather than all he has accomplished in his illustrious career. I will end this with Kirk Hebrstreit's quote that will now define Joe Paterno's career: "It's not so much what Joe did, it's what he did not do."

Paterno is Finished at Penn State, and President Is Out

November 9th, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/sports/ncaafootball/-joe-paterno-and-graham-spanier-out-at-penn-state.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

ESPN effective, nuanced in coverage of Penn State game

November 12th, 2011

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/mccarthy/story/2011-11-12/mccarthy-on-tv-espn-penn-state/51179546/1