"American Sniper" Strikes A Deep, Emotional Chord In Audiences Across The U.S.

    I should have known that something was in the air when I saw a train crossing the tracks at Dishman Lane in Bowling Green late Friday evening carrying U.S. military tanks, Humvees and Jeeps painted with that very familiar faint yellow which is the camouflage for combat in a Middle Eastern desert.

    I didn't know it at the time, but I was in for a big surprise this weekend. I assume the train was transporting equipment from Fort Knox to Fort Campbell, two Army bases,  which are both located in the State of Kentucky. Recently, I've heard the news that the U.S. government is downsizing our military and reducing the amount of man power and equipment used in operations across the globe. I know that our Kentucky politicians are concerned and many Kentucky citizens are also concerned. Both bases will be greatly reduced in many ways effecting our state's economy.  Mainly, I am concerned about America's safety and security against the War On Terrorism. With all the reduction in the troops, I feel that this make us more vulnerable to the enemy a.k.a. "ISIS."
      However, the high point and surprise of my weekend was how great of a movie that "American Sniper" was starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood. It's was the highest grossing non-big budget films movies of all time during its first two weekends. Even my wife, Patty, wanted to see it. We arrived at the theater about 15 minutes early even before the previews started and the movie was almost sold out. And it was the first movie showing of the day.  For me when I walked out the theater after the movie was over, I felt like I had been hit hard in the chest. The movie is such a deep, emotional movie for all true, patriot Americans especially if you have family members who are veterans and who fought in combat. I could barely hold my tears back. Wow. There was total silence and not a dry eye in that theater when everyone walked out of there. My heart was full yesterday afternoon after the movie. But I think all Americans can relate to this movie and the incredible bravery of Navy Seal Chris Kyle and his life story especially if you know someone who has returned home from combat and has experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Chris served four tours of duty in Iraq, he had the highest number of sniper kills (160) in U.S. military history. He earned two Sliver Stars and five Bronze Stars Medals before he was killed on a firing range at home in Texas while trying to help another solider with PTSD.  I also think all Americans can relate to the 911 scenes and the War on Terrorism. My father was a World War II and Korean War veteran and experienced PTSD or "shell shock" as it was known back in those days. Psychiatrists and psychologists really did not know much about the condition until recently.  Also, the general public is starting to understand and learn more about it too.  Nevertheless, this movie has struck a deep chord in my life and I will be forever grateful for Chris's service to our country. I also know that the family too suffers when soldiers returns home because they are still fighting the war in their minds. My dad did and my mom says he was never the same when he came home. Go see the movie and then thank a veteran and their family for the service and sacrifices in which they have made in order to protect America from the evils of terrorism.

The Mid-South Coliseum In Memphis, Tenn., Has Its Place In Rock & Roll History And It Should Be Saved

   

The 1970's in the American South was in tatters after the civil rights movement with unrest that had blazed the streets of Memphis, Tenn., and other cities across the South in the late 1960's.  With the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., at the Loraine Hotel in downtown Memphis in April of 1968, the city was struggling to get back on its feet after the riots that rocked the streets that stood next to the "Mighty Mississippi River."

     Also, the Vietnam War was still riveting the landscape with America's young soldiers being slaughtered on foreign soil and then later sent home in body bags and makeshift coffins tearing families apart as well as the drug culture seeping into mainstream of the country's veins.

     And with the "Summer of Love" in 1967 during the "Golden Age of Rock & Roll" which had come and gone in San Francisco and the massive rock concert in Woodstock, N.Y., that made history in 1969, Memphis was slowing but surely finding its way to become a world-famous city for "Arena Rock" even before the death of Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock & Roll" in 1977.  However, there was a light of hope in the form of entertainment for Memphis that shined a beacon of  light during turmoil years of the late 1960's and during the reconstruction years of the 1970's.  And that light was the "The Mid-South Coliseum" and tens of thousands of people from Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas flocked to shows, rock concerts, sporting events and graduations at this historic, iconic arena.

     Also, the Mid-South Coliseum is a place where the ghosts of the Mississippi delta blues men would meet on any given night that there was a rock concert taking place.  The roots of rock and roll all began about 60 miles south of Memphis on that famous Highway 61 in North Mississippi just outside the little shanty town of Clarksdale, Miss., where former sharecropper Robert Johnson made a pact with the devil in order for him to become a famous blues man and guitarist and singer from the Mississippi delta.  Unfortunately, Robert Johnson died at the young age of 27 years-old.  From Elvis to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin to Kiss and Van Halen to ZZ Top including hundreds of more rock bands who have performed at The Mid-South Coliseum, this former rock and roll venue has earned it's place in history and it should be saved from the wrecking ball.

                           Some Historical Facts About The Mid-South Coliseum

*The Mid-South Coliseum was also known as the "The Entertainment Capital Of The Mid-South" which is located at 996 Early Maxwell Blvd., at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds and the Liberty Bowl Stadium with a seating capacity of 11,555.  At one time, it was fully air-conditioned with a paved parking lot for 3,000 vehicles.

* The building was built as a sports and concert venue in 1963 and now listed with the United States National Register of Historic Places.

*The Mid-South Coliseum was home to the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team before they booked for the Pyramid which opened in 1991.

*The Mid-South Coliseum was one of the few stops on the Beatles' final American tour. The Aug. 19, 1966 concert is infamously known as "The firecracker Concert" in which a concertgoer set off a firecracker or "cherry bomb" while the Beatles were performing on stage.  The Beatles had flown into the city for two shows and Memphis was their eight stop along their North American tour.  John Lennon's misquoted remarks earlier in the year about the current state of Christianity had caused some problems especially in the Southern states.  There were protests, record burnings organized by Christian radio stations and even death threats including a televised death threat against the Beatles from a local Memphis Klu Klux Klansman.  While there were no problems with the afternoon concert, nerves were shattered when some someone threw the firecracker or cherry bomb on stage during the evening concert.  Apparently,  concertgoers thought the noise sounded like a gunshot during their performance.  Everyone who heard it was shocked.

*The Mid-South Coliseum was also a popular venue for professional wrestling and the home base for the United States Wrestling Association and Jerry "The King" Lawler headlining numerous sold-out shows at this historic facility.

                    Help Save The Mid-South Coliseum From The Wrecking Ball

    Currently, there are plans for the City of Memphis and Shelby County to raze the historic, iconic The-Mid Coliseum in order to build to some new developments.  In order to keep up on the latest news of what's happening with the MSC, please "Like" the "Save The Mid-South Coliseum" Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/savemidsoucol/

A Holiday Memory: The Christmas Candle

     When I was growing up in East Memphis, Tenn., I attended Sea Isle Elementary School which was only a couple of blocks from our house.  Back in those days in the early 70's, you could walk to your neighborhood school with your friends without the fear of being kidnapped by a child molester or serial killer.  This particular school year, I was supposed to be in the fourth grade but I was placed into a special education class because the educators determined that I had developed a learning disability.  My teacher's name was Mrs. Pollard and she was a very special teacher and lady.  She was kind, patient, loving and funny.  Mrs. Pollard always went the extra mile for her students and went to great lengths to spend the proper amount of time to help us develop fully and to enable us to learn what we needed in order to catch up with our classmates in the other classrooms.  I remember that she always brought us food, cakes and cookies and other treats from her home to give to us especially during the Christmas holiday season.  But the one thing I remember most about Mrs. Pollard was her faith in God. She always said a prayer with her students.  Apparently, that was something you could get away with in the public schools in those days.

    Before school let out for Christmas break that year, I remember she gave all the students a candle and a piece of paper with a printed version of the "Lord's Prayer" on it.  She told us to light the candle on Christmas eve and place it by our bedside and then read the prayer to ourselves aloud. The world was in turmoil then like it is now.  Things have not changed a lot in some ways. America was still dealing with the Vietnam war and the civil rights and hippie movement was still going strong.  A lot of families in the nation's suburbs and inner cities were beginning to struggle with domestic social issues such as alcoholism, drugs and divorce especially after women's lib and the sexual revolution had surface in the concourse of America's landscape.  However, that Christmas eve, I did light the candle, read the prayer aloud and I fell peacefully asleep shortly thereafter.  Now I can still see the candle's bright, misty glow in my mind when I shut my eyes.  It takes me back, long ago when I was just a little boy and it helps me remember all those warm and special teachers such as Mrs. Pollard who made a big difference in my life. Thank you, Mrs. Pollard, and Merry Christmas to you wherever you are.  I'm sure you are in heaven now.  I will light a candle this Christmas eve in your honor and place it by my bedside. Then I will say the "Lord's Prayer."

College Town At Christmas, 2014

BOWLING GREEN, KY. __ Usually Patty, my wife, will call me on my cell phone when bad news happens. This year it happened twice and I was out of town both times. Once was in the early fall when a young lady from our community sat down on the railroad tracks in front of a moving train less than a block from our house and killed herself. Another time, Tony's (our son) best friend's little brother was killed recently in an vehicle accident on his way home from Nashville in the early morning hours. Then, one Saturday morning, I woke up just a couple of weeks ago and found out that one of our young local musicians from the BG Music Scene was killed in a two-vehicle collision on Smallhouse Road. He was killed by a 19 year-old boy driving a Jeep who was taking a powerful antipsychotic drug while drinking on top of it. Also, a sophomore Western Kentucky University student died in a Bowling Green house fire at the end of October. Tragedy has struck our town this year with the loss of young life.

I also attended a memorial service for my elderly neighbor's son-in-law who was just a little older than me and it was a very emotional but beautiful service for somebody that I only knew casually and his body had been cremated. Near the end of the service, the hospice minister who was presiding asked two poignant questions, "What joy do you have in your life and what joy have you brought to others?"
I suppose that's the two questions for me to ponder this Christmas season. What joy do I have and what joy do I bring to others? Right off the bat, I find joy in the small things (or the big things I should say) of life. My home, my wife, my son, my job, my church and my community. And I hope and pray that I have managed to bring some joy into other peoples lives in my 52 years on this earth so far.

However, my wish for this College Town At Christmas In 2014 is that I pray for healing for the families that are hurting from the loss of their love ones that I mentioned above. Beyond all the hustle, bustle, money, materialism, excitement, parties and decorations, may they somehow find peace, comfort and joy in their hearts and minds this Christmas. Help them not to be lonely, bitter, depressed or hopeless. Help them to know that there are others in Bowling Green, who care and are hoping and praying that they somehow they find the Christmas spirit this year in our college town.

Arson At The Horse Cave, Ky., Dollar General Store: Some People Are Not Trustworthy to Manage A Store Or Handle Money

When I moved to Kentucky in the Summer of 1987 from Oxford, Miss., I noticed that there were a lot of these little discount retail markets called, "Dollar General Stores" located throughout Southcentral Kentucky. As it turns out, they were down South too but I hadn't really noticed them. I'm sure that I had probably made some purchases in them before. But I can't really recall that far back in my memory to be honest. Shortly after I had to moved to Bowling Green, Ky., I realized that the first Dollar General Store started just down the road from us in Scottsville, Ky. However, some unfortunate Dollar General Corporation news stories has been in our local newspaper lately, the Bowling Green Daily News (See article posted below). Because one of its former employees, Debra Fowler Kessinger, 57, of Smiths Grove, Ky., was found guilty the other day of arson of the Dollar General Store located in Horse Cave, Ky., about 40 miles north of Bowling Green just off Interstate 65.
According to Wikipedia, "The Dollar Stores were founded in 1939 by Cal Turner Sr. and his father J.L. Turner in Scottsville, Ky. (J.L. Turner & Son, Inc.) Their descendant Cal Turner Jr. later worked as CEO of the firm for 25 years.[5] In 1968, the business changed its name to Dollar General Corporation. In 2007, the company was acquired by the private equityfirm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which took the company public in 2009.[6]"
"The first Dollar General store opened in Scottsville, Ky, on June 1, 1955, the concept was that no item in the store would cost more than one dollar. The idea became a success, and other stores owned by J.L. Turner and his son Cal Turner were quickly converted. By 1957, annual sales of Dollar General’s 29 stores were $5 million. The Turners did not reach this level of success without obstacles. James Luther (J.L.) Turner’s father died in an accident in 1902 when J.L. was only 11. J.L. had to quit school so he could work the family farm and help provide for his mother and siblings. He never completed his education. J.L. knew his limited education demanded that he become a quick study of the world around him. After two unsuccessful attempts at retailing, J.L. became a traveling dry goods salesman for a Nashville wholesale grocer. J.L. left the sales job after 10 years and settled his family in Scottsville, Ky. During the Depression, he began buying and liquidating bankrupt general stores. J.L.’s only child, Cal Turner, Sr., accompanied his father to these closeouts at a young age, gaining valuable business knowledge and skills."
"In October 1939, J.L. and Cal opened J.L. Turner and Son Wholesale with an initial investment of $5,000 each. Wholesaling quickly gave way to retailing – J.L.’s third and final attempt at retailing. The switch to retailing resulted in annual sales above $2 million by the early 1950s.""J.L. died in 1964. Four years later, the company he co-founded went public as Dollar General Corporation, posting annual sales of more than $40 million and net income in excess of $1.5 million. In 1977, Cal Turner, Jr., who joined the company in 1965 as the third generation Turner, succeeded his father as president of Dollar General. Cal Jr. led the company until his retirement in 2002. Under his leadership, the company grew to more than 6,000 stores and $6 billion in sales."
Another known fact which I found out years later about the Turner family is that the Cal Turner Sr's daughter, Betty Turner Campbell, created and began, "The Center for Courageous Kids" also located in Scottsville. The info listed below about the center is from their web-site: "The Center for Courageous Kids is a not for profit Medical Camping Facility founded by the late Ms. Betty Turner Campbell in October of 2004 and opened for the first family weekend in February of 2008. Ms. Betty lost a beloved son following a 17 year battle with cancer. It was then she was inspired to create a place where children living with life threatening illnesses and their families could come free of charge and have fun, find respite, feel normal and forget about their every day struggles. Our 20 million dollar funded campus encompasses an on-site medical center with helipad, indoor aquatic complex, equestrian riding arena, bowling alley, gymnasium, climbing wall, boating and fishing, theater, four camper lodges, and SO much more! We have a program and medical staff who are trained and experienced in all aspects of medical camping. Operating year-round, we offer two distinct programs at CCK: weekend retreats for ill children and families and summer camping sessions designed especially for courageous kids. It is a fabulous opportunity for children who are battling an illness or handicap to come out of the shadows of their everyday lives and step into the spotlight with other children coping with the same challenges. There are no limits at The Center for Courageous Kids. We have a "You can do it" attitude. Children who attend CCK leave with memories of their first horse back ride, favorite campfire song, catching the BIG fish or taking center stage and starring in their own show. All of the memories, smiles and laughs would not be possible if it wasn't for our generous donors. Every donation, large or small, goes to helping one more deserving child experience CCK!" Since inception, over 17,900 medically fragile campers and their families have visited The Center for Courageous Kids from 40 different states and eight foreign countries. Her dream of building a medical camp on her Father's 168 acre farm, in her hometown of Scottsville, KY, came true and continues to change the lives of thousands of children every year."
To me it's just a shame when a company or corporation such as Dollar General Corporation hires and puts its trust in an employee such as Ms. Kessinger to manage their store and handle their money but they she turns around and abuses her privilege and power by stealing from her employer. Why didn't she just go ask for assistance rather than steal from them? Everybody knows that are known for their kindness and helping people. Not to mention to burn the building down to try to hide and cover up her dishonest and corrupt ways? Dollar General Stores were founded on hard work, trust and integrity and giving back to their community. Because of that hard work and honesty that had been instilled into the Turner family years ago by the patriarch of the family, they have flourished incredibly through the years and still are. And they are still generously giving back to their community and across the country through "The Center For Courageous Kids." I'm glad that the federal court system found Ms. Kessinger guilty of arson. They needed to make an example out of her. She bit the hand that fed her but her sins found her out. Like the old saying goes, "Nothing goes behind the Devil's back without coming back around." Don't steal from your employer when they are good as gold by giving you a job with benefits especially these days.

US Court Convicts Kessinger Of Arson
Prosecutors: She set fire at Horse Cave store to conceal accounting irregularities
Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2014 12:00 am
By JUSTIN STORY The Daily News jstory@bgdailynews.com 783-3256 | 0 comments

Debra Fowler Kessinger, who managed the Horse Cave Dollar General store when it caught fire in 2011, was found guilty Friday of intentionally starting the fire.
A jury of seven women and five men in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green found Kessinger guilty of one count of arson after deliberating for about 21/2 hours. Kessinger, 57, of Smiths Grove, appeared surprised and put a hand up to her face after Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley read the verdict aloud.
McKinley ordered Kessinger to be detained ahead of her sentencing, which is set for March 12. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
Don Meier, Kessinger’s court-appointed attorney, declined to comment after court adjourned other than to say that Kessinger was disappointed with the verdict.
Kessinger did not testify.
Federal prosecutors argued that Kessinger set the fire June 27, 2011, in an effort to conceal accounting irregularities at the Horse Cave store ahead of an audit of inventory that had been scheduled for June 29, 2011.
Investigators determined the fire started in the store’s break room, and a sifting of debris collected from the room turned up remnants of fireworks and charcoal briquettes.
Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kentucky State Police and the ATF/Bowling Green Fire Department Arson Task Force testified the fire could not have been started through natural causes or accidentally by electrical failure.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Judd put on evidence during the five-day trial that appeared to show a yearlong pattern of mismanagement at the Horse Cave store, with witnesses from Dollar Store management testifying about an excess of inventory in the store’s stockroom and a large increase throughout 2011 in shrinkage – the term for inventory lost through methods other than sales.
Jurors were shown security camera footage of Kessinger
handling packages of fireworks on the sales floor the night before the fire, along with clips of Kessinger handling cash and bank deposit bags in the store’s office and appearing to disconnect the digital video recorder system that monitored the store on the night before the fire.
In setting the fire, Kessinger saw an opportunity to fend off suspicion against her for what Judd described as “collateral crimes” related to management of the store’s finances, Judd argued.
“She couldn’t make the deposit for (the day before the fire) because there wasn’t enough cash in the store,” Judd said during his closing argument.
Judd reminded jurors that Kessinger left the scene temporarily on the morning of the fire as several fire departments tried to put out the blaze and pointed out phone calls she made to ATF Special Agent David Hayes and state Deputy Fire Marshal Todd Price, characterizing them as attempts to draw suspicion away from her.
“Kessinger was trying to keep law enforcement off her trail,” Judd said.
Meier’s closing argument attempted to show that the federal government made a weak case against Kessinger.
Meier pointed to testimony from Dollar General managers who said they were aware of the shrinkage and inventory discrepancies from month to month and had not reprimanded Kessinger, who received a “good” rating during a March 2011 performance evaluation.
“To say she’s going to burn down the store because she might be put on probation at work, that’s all you need to know about that evidence,” Meier said.
Meier argued that the case was not thoroughly investigated enough to warrant eliminating electrical failure as the cause of the fire, and that the evidence failed to show that charcoal had been recovered from the break room.
The last security footage recorded at the store, showing Kessinger bending down and reaching toward the wall past the height of a table by the DVR and monitor in the store’s office, did not conclusively show her turning off the system, Meier said.
“If you can see her turning that off in that (footage), you have a lot better eyesight than me,” Meier said.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter at twitter.com/jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.

Tennessee Horrific Domestic Violence Murder-Suicide Spills Into Kentucky Past State-Line

   It's always extremely sad these days to read in the news when a husband kills his wife and then turns a gun on himself. Especially when it hits close to home in or near Bowling Green.  And it's even worse, when the story turns horrific. (See the newspaper story from the Bowling Green (Ky) Daily News posted below) In a recent case of this, Joseph Parker, 45, of Springfield, Tenn., shot his wife, Samantha Parker, 43, in the temple of her head and then stuck her body in the freezer in the garage.  She had been in there in there for 48 hours when he called 911 and he stated to the operator "when he tried to move her frozen body that he broke her wrist."  However, the story gets even more gruesome.  When police arrived at their house this past Friday,  Nov. 7, 2014, they found his wife had been partially dismembered by Parker. After Parker hung up from the 911 phone call, police pursued Parker's vehicle crossed the Kentucky state-line on I-65 North where he pulled over and shot and killed himself.  Prayers for the family and everyone involved please.

Man wanted for killing wife, stuffing body in freezer shoots himself


Posted: Friday, November 7, 2014 5:01 pm | Updated: 7:21 pm, Fri Nov 7, 2014.

By DEBORAH HIGHLAND The Daily News dhighland@bgdailynews.com783-3243 | 0 comments

A Tennessee man wanted for killing, partially dismembering and stuffing his wife’s body into a garage freezer shot and killed himself on Interstate 65 north near the 12-mile marker in Simpson County on Friday afternoon.


The man, later identified as Joseph Parker, called 911 in Springfield, Tenn., at 2:45 a.m. Friday, identified himself and said he had killed his wife, Samantha Parker, Springfield Police Chief David Thompson said.

When police arrived at the 246 Clydesdale Lane home, they found Samantha Parker’s partially dismembered body stuffed inside a freezer in the garage, Thompson said.

Police don’t know how long she had been dead. The scene at the Parkers’ home had been partially cleaned up, and Joseph Parker was gone when investigators arrived, Thompson said.

On the chilling 911 tape, a man who identified himself as “Joe” said in a soft, matter-of-fact voice that he shot his wife with a .38-caliber handgun and put her in a freezer in the garage.

“All right, this is what’s happened. ... On the fourth, which would have been two nights ago at 4 a.m., I shot my wife in the temple of her head,” the caller said to the 911 operator. “I thought I’d killed her, and I put her in the freezer out in the garage. Well I checked on her tonight, and she’s not dead. She’s got a big hole in the temple of her head. And to get her body moved around in there I think I broke her wrist, you know, she was frozen from being in the thing. She had been in the thing for 48 hours now. This is no prank call. I need somebody to get out there and help her.”

The caller said he had been married to his 43-year-old wife for 12 years and that the couple had never had any domestic problems in the past but had a “real bad night” a couple of nights ago.

Thompson confirmed that the police had never been called to the couple’s home.

“I promise you this is a legit call,” the caller told the 911 operator. “I need somebody to get out there and help her because I still love her. It’s hard, hard to believe that after that. “

He told the emergency operator that Samantha Parker couldn’t talk but she could blink her eyes once for “yes” and twice for “no.” He also said that he left all of the lights on inside the home and the front door open. He told the 911 operator that he left the house an hour prior to calling 911 after making his wife “as comfortable as” he could make her. He said he didn’t want to get arrested.

“She is frozen solid,” he said. “It’s amazing she’s still alive.

“She’s got a big, big hole in the temple of her head,” he said. “I shot her with a 38-caliber handgun ... . I didn’t see an exit wound.

“My name is Joe, I’ll just leave it at that,” he said.

He told the emergency operator that Samantha Parker needed paramedics, an ambulance and maybe a helicopter.

“I love her,” he said. “I still love her. You know, I’ve loved her every day I’ve been married to her. We just had rough stretch here.”

About 3:20 p.m. Friday, Tennessee authorities notified Kentucky State Police that they were pursuing Parker, KSP Post 3 spokesman Jonathan Biven said.

State police troopers were able to get behind Parker at the 10-mile marker on Interstate 65 north. Parker drove his vehicle to the 12.6-mile mark, pulled over onto the shoulder and shot himself, Biven said. His self-inflicted shooting remains under investigation.

Hear audio of the 911 call at http://chirb.it/fBGaIn

— Follow news editor Deborah Highland on Twitter at twitter.com/bgdnnewseditor or visitbgdailynews.com.

Vote On Tuesday So That You Have The Right To Gripe

"Even though the majority of Americans are neither rich nor poor, I've noticed that we all have one thing in common. We like to gripe about everything. But two of the greatest things about being an American is freedom of speech and the right to vote. So vote Tuesday so you have the right to gripe even more."-Galen A. Smith Sr.