Easter weekend with the family

Sunday, March 31st may have been Easter, but it was also another very important day.  March 31st, was my great grandma’s 82nd birthday. So, besides getting to spend this weekend at home for Easter, my family and I got to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday.

So the weekend started like every weekend, me getting home on Friday night and hanging out with all my friends in town and can not forget a trip to Marion, IL or Paducah, Ky.  Well this weekend, we got out the bowling shoes and went and bowled. All in all, it was a fun night with all of my friends back home.

When I am home, everyone knows on Saturday, I will be found in Pope County, IL at the sheriff’s office or out with a deputy.  So this weekend was no different.  I got up at 6:45 am and was out the door by 7 am to be at work by 7:30.  So as always, I walk in the office and get caught up with the dispatcher before getting some work done.  So after getting caught up with all the crime in Pope County and all the good gossip, I went and cleaned up two squads.  I finished cleaning the squads just in time before the deputy I ride with came out.  Well it was a normal Saturday at the sheriff’s office, the routine crazy calls and traffic stops.  So after being at the sheriff’s office for 10 hours and getting a lot accomplished it was time to head to home.

So after a full day at the sheriff’s office, I went to my Aunt and Uncle’s house to enjoy a night with them.  We had some pizza, roasted mash mellows over the fire-place.  All in all it was a fun night at their house and not to mention that they helped me complete the 15 loads of laundry I had.

So every Easter Sunday, my family and I all have a tradition.  Every Easter Sunday, we get up and go to church with my Grandma and Great Grandma.  So we got up and dressed in our newest Easter clothes and went and spent the morning in the presence of God.  This Sunday, was also very special because it was my Great Grandma Perry’s 82nd birthday.  So after church, my family and I all went back to her house and had a huge Easter/birthday lunch with all 20 of us kids, grand-kids, and great-grand kids.

This was by far a wonderful trip home.

How to dress Greek

Phone from http://fratatat.tumblr.com/

Greeks on campuses nationwide are considered to be the best dressed on campus.  While most students who enter college are still wearing Hollister, Abercrombie, and Nike the Greeks are dressed to impress.  So if you are planning on joining a fraternity or are in a fraternity, here are some key ideas to keep in mind.

1. Loose the Nikes

Fraternity guys do not wear Nike’s unless at the gym.  The proper footwear for Greeks are Sperry’s.  Sperry’s make you look more sophisticated and give you a better look.

2. No more Hollister or Aeropostal

You are not in high school anymore and you should not dress like it either. I mean, you are Greek, so you should be the best dressed on campus.  So open your pocket-book and make a trip to Dillard’s or Macy’s.  Most fraternity guys wear Polo or Banana Republic.  So for shirts, a polo, button down, or collared shirt would be your best bet.  Also, stick to the name brands I mentioned above.

3. Pants and Shorts

So in high school, you may have thought cargo shorts was thing to wear, well in college cargo shorts are out and now you should be wearing khaki shorts.  Also, the only time basketball shorts should be worn is when you are going to the gym, and your shorts should be name brand.  Now on to the next thing, pants.  Leave your sweats and basketball pants in your room.  Fraternity guys do not wear basketball pants unless to the gym and probably would not be caught in sweats at all.  So the proper pants a fraternity guy should wear would be khaki pants, such as Dockers or dark name brand jeans, no holes though.

4. Accessories

Ray brands are essential eye wear for Fraternity guys.  They give you an awesome look and make you look more sophisticated.  Then when it comes to watches, Fossil is a good choice.  Also, most guys accessorize with a Polo brand hat and a nice sunglasses band to keep your Ray Bands on your head.

If you follow these key steps to Greek wear, you be looking good and getting the girls in no time.

2013 Spring Break

All of my cousins from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

With college comes more freedom from your parents.  Well this year, I got to take my first big road trip.  On Tuesday, March 5, I traveled eight hours south to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

This spring break was an awesome and fun experience.  I currently have two cousins who live in Baton Rouge, one who is a student at Louisiana State University.  So while most students were soaking up the sunshine in Florida, I was soaking up the sunshine in the beautiful Baton Rouge.

I also had the pleasure of getting to meet some of my fellow Kappa Sigma Fraternity Gamma Chapter brothers at LSU on Thursday.  The brothers of Kappa Sigma LSU were very accommodating and friendly.  The Kappa Sigma brothers gave me a tour of Baton Rouge, allowed me to hangout at their Greek house on campus, and showed me around campus.

While hanging out with fellow Kappa Sigma brothers was a great experience, the best part of spring break was spent with cousins and their boyfriends and girlfriends.  During the day, I got hangout with my cousins best friend, Aaron while he was in class and then at night we all went out to eat and enjoy the southern nightlife.

I would definitely say that my spring break to Baton Rouge was the best spring break I have ever had and I am very thankful for my cousins and new friends.

 

A Friday with my Southern Illinois University Edwardsville friends

SIUe students experience hometown high school basketball game

This past weekend, two of my closest friends and my roommate got go to my hometown with me.  All of my friends that went home with me are all from Northern Illinois and had never had the chance to experience the “true” Southern Illinois.  All of my friends had thought Edwardsville was Southern Illinois and boy were they wrong.

After making the two-hour drive south, my friends got to see where I went to high school at.  This Friday, was the biggest day of the school year, homecoming.  Homecoming at Vienna High School is also the craziest day of the year, as students and staff are decked out in blue and orange, the school colors.  Kyle, Jade, and Paul were chosen by the supervisor of homecoming activities to judge the lip sync competition which is held between classes.  So after getting to tour what my friends called my “small school” they got to watch and judge lip syncs.

Well after three hours back in high school, it was time for me to show off my town.  Vienna, my hometown, has only around 3,000 residents.  After the five-minute tour, I took my friends to the famous Family Pizza where they enjoyed some good pizza and subs.

With stomachs full, we headed out to meet some of my friends and family.  Once my friends met my family and friends we headed out to the famous Carbondale, Illinois.  During our visit to Carbondale, Il my friends got to see Southern Illinois University Carbondale and got to see some of the Carbondale nightlife.

After an eventful day in Southern Illinois, we made the two-hour drive back to SIUe where we finished the night off with movies and popcorn.  All of my friends commented that they really enjoyed the small town atmosphere and would love to come back again.

First College Snow Day

Looking out of the MUC on the SIUe Campus

Thursday, February 21, 2013, the students of SIUe got to enjoy their day out of classes.  On Thursday morning, students received the message that everyone had been waiting for, a message informing students that classes had been cancelled.

Thursday morning, the nasty winter weather made its appearance to SIUE.  The weather was a mixture of snow and sleet.  The weather made travel treacherous, whether walking or driving.  The snow was coming down faster than it could be cleared by street crews.

With classes being cancelled, students and residents got to enjoy themselves with a day off.  Students on campus were seen sledding, having snow ball fights and playing in the snow.  Other students used their day off to get caught up on studying or homework while others played card games and stayed inside of their residence halls.

Outside of campus, travel was dangerous.  In the Edwardsville area, there were cars off the roadway and in ditches, while others were stuck in the middle of the roadway.  Besides traffic issues, businesses in the Edwardville and Glen Carbon areas closed early do to the winter weather.  With businesses closed and the campus closed this left many students in a bind for eating.

I know being a student, we are anxiously awaiting our next snow day.

Johnson County Recieves Much Needed New Ambulances

Johnson County, Illinois has been in great need for an ambulance for a long time.  Johnson County, is approximately 349 square miles and has a population of 12,000.  In Johnson County, there is one ambulance for the entire county.  The Johnson County Ambulance Service has been making do with three ambulance with every ambulance having over 200,000 miles on them until recently.

 

Last election, the residents of Johnson County voted on a public safety tax.  The majority of the county voted for the public safety tax and it passed.  With this tax, it was possible for the Johnson County Ambulance Service to be better staffed and also have more reliable and newer equipment.

 

The last ambulance the ambulance service received was in 2001 and the ambulance had over 200,000 miles on it.  The ambulance service also had two older ambulance one a 1994 and one a 1998, with well over 200,000 miles as well.   All of the ambulances that the county were all high in mileage and had numerous mechanical issues.  One ambulance, even broke down en route to a critical emergency call.  It was well-known by the residents of Johnson County, that we were in need of new or newer ambulances.

 

On February 13, 2013, the Johnson County Ambulance service received something that have been desperately waiting for.  The ambulance service received two newer used ambulances.  Theses two ambulances will hopefully be serving Johnson County residents starting March 1.

 

Goreville/Vienna Continue Longtime Rivalry

On Saturday, February 9th, the basketball game everyone in Johnson County, Illinois had been waiting for was finally there.  In Johnson County, there are two schools, The Vienna Eagles and The Goreville Black cats.  The two schools been rivals in all sports for the last 50 years.  The rivalry is very serious.  However, many Johnson County residents were sure that the rivalry would have ended when the two schools joined to play football together, since neither school is big enough to have its own team, but yet it did not change at all.

Goreville Junior, Zeke Snell, dunks for his second time during the 3rd quarter.

During my sophomore year of high school, The Vienna Eagles and The Goreville Black cats faced off in a basketball game.  While I live in Vienna, I am originally from Goreville and Goreville is where all my family and a majority of my family is from.  Well during this particular game, I sat with my family from Goreville during the game to cheer on my two cousins.  During the game, I was called everything from trader to black cat wanna be.  Well, where it gets intense is when I got to school the next day.  When I got to school, I received a letter from all of the officers of The Vienna High School Pep Club revoking my membership for not cheering on my school, but for cheering on my cousins.

So this Saturday, this game was no different.  The two schools pep clubs were in full force cheering for a victory.  The Vienna Eagles showed their true colors at numerous times during the game, for instance, when The Goreville Black cat’s cheer leading team was cheering during halftime, the Eagle’s basketball team continued to practice.  Also, there was numerous comments made about how rude and disrespectful the Vienna Pep Club was, there was several instances where members were asked to take their seats but refused to and there was also numerous social media posts made about the night.  The game ended with Goreville winning 60-54 over Vienna.

Southern Illinois Cracking Down On Meth

It has always been known that Meth is a very big problem in Southern Illinois.  With Southern Illinois being such a heavily wooded area, it is the perfect area to cook meth where it can be easily hidden.  Also, Southern Illinois is a big problem because most of the population is extremely poor and meth is a reasonably inexpensive drug to make, and also the ingredients that are used to manufacture meth is also reasonably available, including anhydrous ammonia. We in Southern Illinois have one department stepping up and cracking down on Meth use and manufacturing/

Since November of 2012, the Pope County, Illinois Sheriff’s Department has made over twenty arrests in connection with meth.  According to the Massac County, Illinois Sheriff’s Department there is currently ten inmates being housed in their facility as a result of meth charges from Pope County. With Pope County being such a poverty struck county the meth use and manufacturing seems to be a greater problem in the rural Pope County area.  Charges from arrests that were linked with meth ranges from possession of meth to child endangerment.

Sheriff Jerry Suits stated in a news interview, “Meth is a very serious problem in our county and we are taking every action possible in combating this problem.”

Sheriff Suits advises anyone with information regarding any  drug problems in Pope County to contact the Pope County Sheriff’s Office at 618-683-4321.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A State Trooper That Will Not Be Forgotten

Photo Courtesy of Facebook Memorial Page

Illinois State Trooper Kyle Deatherage was killed in the line of on November 26, 2012.  Trooper Deatherage was an Illinois State Trooper out of district 18 and served on the motorcycle unit.  Trooper Deatherage was killed instantly after being struck by a semi truck on Interstate 55 near Litchfield, Illinois at approximately 9:00 am.

Trooper Deatherage, 32 was living in Highland, Illinois with his wife, Sarah and two young children, Kaylee and Camden.  Trooper Deatherage was originally a Madison County, Illinois Deputy Sheriff before starting his career with the Illinois State Police as a Trooper in May of 2009.

At the funeral for Trooper Deatherage, it was an amazing site.  People from all over the United States were in attendance to pay respect to Trooper Deatherage, his family, and the Illinois State Police.  The funeral ceremony was very sad.  Family members of Trooper Deatherage shared stories along with fellow State Troopers.  There was over 3,000 police officers in attendance at his funeral.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook Memorial Page

After Trooper Deatherage’s death, numerous family, friends, and co-workers began fundraisers to help his wife Sarah with expenses.  Last week, on the memorial page for Trooper Deatherage, they were pleased to announce that they were able to present his wife, Sarah with a check for $20,000 from selling t-shirts, bracelets, and decals alone.   There is still numerous fundraiser in the work to help the Trooper Deatherage’s family.

Trap and Skeet Team Is In Full Gear

This Sunday was the time of the semester that the SIUE Trap and Skeet Team met to shoot.  We meet each month at the Maryville Gun Club.  We shoot approximately for 3 hours and have a blast.

So after shooting this Sunday, I realized it was time to go and buy a new gun.  So Monday, while I was out of school I went to Cabella’s and purchased a new Mossberg 500a 12 gauge shotgun.

2013 SIUE Cougar and Trap and Skeet Team

The SIUE Trap and Skeet Team is currently a recreational shooting club at SIUE, participating in Trap & Skeet shoots at local gun clubs. For now, we are focused on recreational shooting while promoting gun safety and responsibility, but hope to compete in the future.

Joining our club is easy. All we need is an Illinois Fire Arm Owner Identification Card, or some other sufficient form of identification which shows you are able to lawfully own a firearm in the United States, and your student ID card on file. Each member of Cougar Trap and Skeet must sign a Club Sports waiver to join. Right now there are no dues, but each student must pay for their own ammunition and rounds shot at the gun club, which is approximately $5 per day you shoot.
Our club has built a strong relationship with Town and Country gun club in Maryville, Illinois. Town and Country offer 5 Stand Trap, 8 Stand Skeet, and the new addition of a 5 Stand which is similar to Sporting Clays. In the Spring of 2012 we held shoots every other week.