A Pound of Thoughts

Not all casualties happen on the field of battle.  Some also occur on the sea.   The Mississippi Gulf Coast lost one of its hometown sailors this past weekend.  His name was George Earl Thompson, Jr.

“The thing I remember most about George was his disposition,” said Pascagoula High School coach and algebra teacher Ricky Merrill. “He was always smiling. George was just one of those students you loved to have in your class. He was always respectful.”

Thompson suffered a fatal head injury this past Saturday while serving aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt during normal shipboard operations off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.  According to Navy officials, the weather turned unexpectedly worse and Petty Officer 3rd Class Thompson was injured.  He was rushed to a local hospital, where he passed away.

Merrill said he always was impressed with Thompson’s impeccable manners to teachers and students alike. “He always said, ‘Yes sir and no sir.’ And you never had to call George down. He was always going to do the right thing. That’s just the way he was.”

My prayers are with his family and friends.  It’s a terrible tragedy to lose someone as young and with a promising career ahead of them.  May God comfort you and keep you.

source:  Sun Herald

Chevron Corporation has decided to build a plant at the refinery in Pascagoula to test a process to boost heavy crude oil refining.

Per the Sun Herald:

Construction on the plant, which has already received needed permits, will begin later this year. The facility will have a daily capacity of 3,500 barrels, and will use a process in development since 2003 to refine heavy oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

This is good news.  Finally an oil company decides to do something to increase our refining capabilities here at home.  I know that this won’t have a huge impact on our fuel supply, but it will help.  I hope the “test” is successful, and I hope that it will be implemented later at every refinery in the United States.  This will only be a temporary fix, though, to our dependence on foreign oil.  We must eventually find an alternative energy source, such as ethanol produced from sugar cane.

I should have posted this a while back. But hey, better late than never! Brandon Green, from my hometown of Lucedale, Mississippi, gets to go to Hollywood to be in American Idol. Here’s his audition:

What is with these women??

A Biloxi teacher, who was suspended after sexual battery charges were filed against her, admitted to police she had sexual relations with the 15-year-old, according to court documents provided by the county attorney. In one communication she called the juvenile her little “sex fiend.”

 This teacher’s name is Rebecca Dawn Bogard, 27 years old, and she was a teacher at the Biloxi alternative high school.  She so befriended the student that the mother allowed her to take him Christmas shopping.  To read the full story, click here.

 My question is this:  Where was the mother?  In my opinion, partial blame should also be placed on her to allow the teacher unneccessary access to her son.  The teacher should never have been allowed to take the boy Christmas shopping nor allowed to buy him a second cell phone.  She should have nipped it in the bud.  Maybe it’s easier said than done, I don’t know.  I’m not a parent yet.  But still:  it seems like this could have been avoided.

I haven’t really been following a lot of Gulf Coast news.  But this story saddens me - alot.  A popular Mississippi Gulf Coast artist, John Whitehouse of Ocean Springs, died yesterday afternoon of injuries sustained after being struck by a car.

The driver of the car, Ryan Odom, was driving a 2001 Nissan Maxima under the influence.  Odom is nineteen years old.  Just in case you’re not from Mississippi, this is illegal as the legal age of drinking is twenty-one.

Mr. Whitehouse was found late Sunday night, and taken to Ocean Springs Hospital.  He never regained consciousness.

For the full story, see this article from the Sun Herald.  Ryan Odom has now been charged with felony DUI and fleeing the scene of an accident.

Here’s a link to Mr. Whitehouse’s website, GypsySoul.  The Coast has lost a very talented potter, and he will be missed.  May God be with his family.

 Here are some photos of his pottery:

<

Today marked the end of one era, and the beginning of another. The Era of Katrina is finally over - or is it?

On Monday, August 29, 2005, a hurricane named Katrina wiped out most of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Pearlington to Pascagoula. It devastated two bridges - the St. Louis Bay and Biloxi Bay - and disconnected community from community. For two whole years that has been the case - until today.

At 5:00 P.M. CDT, a parade of first responders, motorcycles and antique cars became the first people to drive over the newly constructed Biloxi Bay Bridge, connecting Ocean Springs with Biloxi. The day was filled with numerous festivities. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to attend any of them. Tomorrow after work I may drive over to Ocean Springs and snap a few pictures.

Click here to visit the breakdown of the festivities. Maybe the entire Katrina saga isn’t over yet; but for transportation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the worst chapter is closed. A new one has begun!

I heard it on the radio this morning, and read it later on an online newspaper.  My hometown is getting a little bigger.  Per the Sun Herald:

Chancery Court Judge Jaye Bradley has approved the city’s plan to annex nearly 2.4 square miles north and west of current city boundaries.

I’ve been wondering how long it would take after they built two major bypasses around the city.  Now it appears that all that land will become part of the big city of L’dale.  It’s about time!