That’s Elbert With An E

Today is April 20 or, in numerical form, 4/20. I have heard that this is unofficially National Smoke Weed Day. The reason: “420″ is a code-word for smoking marijuana, thus 4/20 would be the best day for inhaling an illegal substance. Wikipedia has some historical information on “420″:

Although many diverse theories exist to explain the origin of the term, one central root of the phrase stems from a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California in 1971; the teens would meet after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke cannabis at the Louis Pasteur statue. The term became part of their group’s salute, “420 Louis!”, and became popularized in the late 1980s by fans of The Grateful Dead. Many North American cannabis users continue to observe 4:20 as a time to smoke communally. By extension April 20 (”4/20″ in U.S. dating shorthand) has evolved into a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.

And here’s the charm to the Wikipedia entry:

In some locations this celebration coincides with Earth Week.

That speaks volumes!

There is some information posted here about marijuana. The web site provides a list of dangers which include:

• Impaired perception
• Diminished short-term memory
• Loss of concentration and coordination
• Impaired judgement
• Increased risk of accidents
• Loss of motivation
• Diminished inhibitions
• Increased heart rate
• Anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
• Hallucinations
• Damage to the respiratory, reproductive, and immune systems
• Increased risk of cancer
• Psychological dependency

The article also points out:

Although dangers exist for marijuana users of all ages, risk is greatest for the young. For them, the impact of marijuana on learning is critical, and pot often proves pivotal in the failure to master vital interpersonal coping skills or make appropriate life-style choices. Thus, marijuana can inhibit maturity.

So maybe the best thing to do on 4/20 is don’t smoke weed.

A Georgetown man and Salisbury man were killed in a head-on collision that occurred Saturday night on US Route 9 east of Laurel. Mario Lucas, 22, of Georgetown was traveling east on 9 when he crossed the center line and hit Mei-Liao Lo, 69, of Salisbury. Lucas died on the scene. Lo was airlifted to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury where he died. Lo’s wife was also in his car. She had some non-life threatening injuries. I heard at church that Route 9 was closed from Hardscrabble to Dukes Lumber Road. It was closed for about three hours. It was also reported that police and emergency responders came from Georgetown, Seaford, and Laurel. It hasn’t been reported if alcohol was involved.

Reported in the News Journal

Last week on February 26 the Laurel Police seized 105 pounds of pot. How did they get it? They got it from a vehicle they stopped for running a red light. The driver, Donald P. Gayle, was coming from Virginia Beach heading to his home in New Jersey. Also last week on February 29, Harrington Police seized 140 pounds of pot. How did they get it? They got it from a vehicle with the wrong license plates. The driver, Sherri N. Taylor, was coming from New Jersey heading to Norfolk, VA.

Both Gayle and Taylor were stopped for simple traffic violations. One was going from VA to NJ, the other was going from NJ to VA. Maybe Gayle should have stayed in NJ and hooked up with Taylor and shared the wacky weed. Then they would have been off the road and out of jail. Well, that’s why I call them stupid criminals.

Two thumbs up to officers in both towns for getting 245 pounds of marijuana out of circulation.

The News Journal article is here.

WBOC reports that a man was robbed at the Wilmington Trust ATM on Friday evening, January 4th at 7:10.

This is from WBOC’s report:

Officers learned from the victim that while at the ATM machine a male suspect walked up to the victim and demanded money. When the victim refused, the suspect punched the victim in the face. The suspect was able to get an undisclosed amount of money from the victim.

Police say the suspect is described as a black male, approximately 18 to [20] years of age, approximately 5-foot-10, between 150 and 180 pounds, clean shaven and was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black long-sleeve button-up shirt and possibly a black hat or do rag.

It’s distressing to hear stuff like this. I often wondered if any of the ATMs in town would be a target. That one seemed to be the safest of them all, certainly safer than County Bank, which is behind the bank and out of view of the road. If you have any information on this, give the Laurel Police a call at 875-2244.

According to a Daily Times story, the Delaware State Police are looking for a Laurel resident in connection to a hold-up on November 4 of Royal Farms on Concord Road in Seaford. The suspect is idenitfied as 18 year old Devin Bagwell. He is wanted for first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and aggravated menacing. About a month ago, they were looking for a 22 year old Devin Bagwell in connection to a hold-up at Hardee’s in Laurel. So, I’m assuming that we don’t know how old he is, or that he’s robbing places to finance the development of a drug to make someone younger. We do know he likes hold-ups at various business establishments. Most of the rest of us don’t like hold-ups, so if you know where he is, please call the Delaware State Police and tell them. Thanks.

Previous post here.

A Laurel man, Charles Whary, was arrested on a number of charges on Saturday after he said to someone that he wanted to “kill them all” and commit “suicide by cop.” Depressed and drunk, Whary assaulted two town police officers and one state police officer before being subdued. The state officer was suffered a sprained right thumb and the two town officers uniforms were torn. Whary was armed during that time. He was later charged with 15 weapons violations as well as a slew of other charges. He was been jailed on a $28,500 secured bond.

Sorry, I’ve got to get this dig in: I wonder if he bought the alcohol at Laurel Liquors, the new dispensary of “adult” beverages? Really though, it’s none of my business. I’m just glad no one was shot. Hopefully Whary can get the help he needs soon.

Stories reported here: WBOC, WGMD

This was a good Halloween, if for no other reason just that we didn’t get egged on mischief night this year. Last year we nearly got our “eggers” but the police officer that handled our report could not put enough together to secure a prosecution. The kids that did it knew that we knew they did it, but if I could have gotten the tag number off of their vehicle that night, the law would have handled them. We were left alone this year probably because of their “close call” last year.

We have fun every year with the kids coming by for candy. This year the children’s costumes were better. I’m not sure if we had more children or not, but we didn’t have much left over at the end of it all.

Kudos to the Laurel PD for keeping the streets safe.

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