Providence and Friends

Hello Everyone,

 

Evelyn Here,

 

I am a little late posting some of my entries but I am quite busy at times. On July 12, 2006, I joined some friends who took a group of teens to Celebration Station a combination arcade games palace and with bumpers rides and go carts which is geared around the interested of teens and youth adults. Celebration Station has two floors for fun games and can schedule private birthday parties. For those who love music there is a stage for live bands. 

 

My friends and I left St. Petersburg around 5:30 PM that Wednesday afternoon, and we arrived in Clearwater a little after 6:00 PM. It was a long but beautiful drive there and I resisted all urges to snap pictures all along the way. When we got to Celebration Station, we some entered a fairyland for teens. It offered outdoor fun and many of the teens in our group went on the go-carts, bumpers cars and we discovered that there was mini-golf course. For us less active participants, we found on the inside two floors of arcades games, good food aplenty and a stage for live band to entertain us music lovers

 

That night we were fortunate to catch a band named Providence. They are a group of four young guys who rocked Celebration Station with a new genre of music known a Scream, which I believe is also a form are hard rock but more understandable. This young band delighted me so that I soon found myself swaying, singing, and stomping to their beat along with the teens.

 

Above are some photos that I took of the Providence band and some of the members of the youth group and their leaders who attend the event. I also made a 3-minute video recording of the rock group, but I have not mastered how to post video, yet. Nevertheless, the video shows the band singing and the teens dancing and adoring. I also got a couple of good shots of Olivia from radio station 90.5FM, better known to us Christian rockers as Spirit FM. I decided to make a collage the the photos.  It is a really busy piece of work, and it took me quite a bit of time to make, but it is worth it.

 

For more on Celebration Station, and what more they offer click the link below.

 

http://www.celebrationstation.com/loc.php?id=50

 

They located at Celebration Station - 24546 Us Highway 19 N, Clearwater, FL - Tel: (727) 791-1799

 

You can also check out what other Christian’s events are happening through the Spirit FM link below or on the Favorite Link bar.

 

http://www.spiritfm905.com/

 

Evelyn out.

Welcome to SPPD - Our Local PD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn Here,

Interested is knowing more about our local PD and its history?  Check out the link below, but keep in mind that this is the official site of the Saint Petersburg Police Department. So mind your Ps an Qs. This site, as well as the others on this blog, should be used as an informative and helpful life saving tool.

http://www.stpete.org/police/index.htm

Evelyn out.

VOCA Awards $24 Millions to Florida's Victims of Crime Program.

Hello Everyone,

 

Evelyn here,

 

Below is today’s  news brief from the Attorney General Charlie Crist speak on VOCA or Victims of Crime Act that grants federal funds for the use of those who are victims of crimes as and not excluding, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect , elder abuse and neglect, and hate crimes.

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Message from Attorney General Charlie Crist

News Brief
Date of release:   July 28, 2006

 

With so much attention focused on sensational crimes and the offenders
who commit them, it can be all too easy for innocent victims to be
forgotten. The Attorney General’s Office works tirelessly to make sure
this does not happen, as we recognize that victims are most deserving
of our attention.

This week, I was pleased to announce the awarding of more than $24
million to help Florida’s crime victims as they struggle to cope with
the unwanted turmoil thrown into their lives.

The money comes from the federal Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, for
grants that provide direct services to help crime victims stabilize
their lives. VOCA was a byproduct of a task force created by President
Ronald Reagan, and for the past 22 years it has been an indispensable
resource for those who depend on the services it makes possible.

What kind of services does VOCA pay for? Everything from the cost of
medical care and rehabilitation to crisis prevention and funeral
expenses. VOCAsupports direct assistance to victims of sexual
assault, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, elder abuse and
neglect, drunk driving, robbery, hate crimes, identity theft,
kidnapping and terrorism, as well as to survivors of homicide victims.

In short, VOCA is a lifeline for crime victims and their families as
they struggle to move on with their lives.

Making life at least a little bit easier for crime victims has been a
priority of the Attorney General’s Office for these past 3½ years. Our
Division of Victim Services is staffed by more than 80 dedicated
public servants, including victim advocates located in 10 cities
throughout our state.

Since January 2003, the Attorney General’s Office has awarded 938
grants totaling more than $78 million to organizations that work to
improve the lives of crime victims. This year’s VOCA awards total
$24.3 million, distributed to private and public agencies in 60 of
Florida’s 67 counties.

Crime victims have already had their lives turned upside-down once. It
is essential that we do all we can to help them rebuild their lives,
so they aren’t victimized all over again. I am pleased that the
Attorney General’s Office is able to provide assistance to so many
important programs that offer support and comfort to the innocent
victims of crime.


Charlie Crist

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Evelyn out.

Teen "Mule" Pleads Guilty

Hello Everyone,

 

Evelyn Here,

 

I believe it is very clear by now that I do not like the sell and/or use of illegal drugs.  I have never agreed with the use of marijuana for medical purposes and believed that much of its use has been discontinued and is being discontinued. In addition, from many of the entries I have placed on this blog it is plain to all that I am trying to stop the sell of drugs on the corner of my street. It is a revolting practice and it has destroys thousands and thousands of lives directly and indirectly. However, there are even shadier aspect to the illegal drug trade that is little talked about or known and that is the use of teenage boys and girls to carry illegal drugs from one location to another. As much as we try to protect our children from the use of the drugs, many of us seldom, if ever,  think that our sons or daughters may be transporting it. 

 

Today I learned that such teenagers are used routinely to transport illegal drugs, and that they are called “Mule”.  They have earned the name because they transport the drugs for the adult traffickers. How does this happen? One reasioon is that the teen is seeking what he or she think is quick and easy cash and lots of it. another is to become accepted among their peers (to have lots and lots of friends), and many do it because they are made to believe that one: they will not get caught and two: if caught the penalty is mild because of their youthful age.

 

From the June 12, 2006 new release below some teens are beginning to see that youth not is a deterrent to paying the price for breaking the law.  

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Charlie Crist

Attorney General

News Release

Date of release:   June 12, 2006     

 

Lee County Teen Drug "Mule" Pleads Guilty

 

 

                TALLAHASSEE - Attorney General Charlie Crist announced today that a Lee County teenager pled guilty for his role in a drug trafficking ring. Jeremy Christopher Walker, 19, of Lehigh Acres, pled guilty to acting as a "mule," someone who simply transports the drugs for the traffickers.

 

                Walker was pulled over for speeding by authorities with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office during a routine traffic stop. He gave officers a false name and was arrested. Because he appeared visibly nervous, officers had a canine perform a "free air sniff" of Walker’s car and the dog alerted authorities to the trunk. A search of the trunk revealed 5.5 kilos of cocaine in a canvas bag, valued at $110,000. Walker admitted he was transporting the drugs from Miami to the Lee County area.

 

                "The lure of a big payday has led this teenager down a tragic path," said Crist. "This case sends a clear signal that even the lowest-ranking member of a drug ring can pay a heavy price."

 

                Walker was charged with one count of trafficking in cocaine – 400 grams or more, one count of driving with license suspended – third or more offense, and one count of giving a false name or identification to a law enforcement officer. He will be sentenced at a later date by Circuit Court Judge Thomas S. Reese. The case was prosecuted by Crist’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

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Evelyn out.

Volusia Man Sentenced to Twenty Years

Hello Everyone

Evelyn Here,

I have the final update on the case of the Volusia man who was charged and sentenced with operating a meth lab that supplies the illegal drug Ecstasy to the Tri-counties area of Volusia, Leon, and Flagler.

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Charlie Crist

Attorney General

News Release

Date of release:   July 26, 2006      

 

Volusia Man Gets 20 Years for Ecstasy Drug Ring

                 TALLAHASSEE - Attorney General Charlie Crist today announced that a Volusia County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty for his role in an Ecstasy trafficking ring. Michael Joel Lassiter, of Daytona Beach, was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for his role in the drug ring, which manufactured and distributed the drug in Leon, Flagler and Volusia counties.

 

                Lassiter, 51, was arrested last year after investigators with a tri-county drug task force discovered evidence that he and four accomplices were running an Ecstasy lab. Facing prosecution by Crist’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, Lassiter instead chose to enter a guilty plea last month.

 

                "Drugs like Ecstasy bring misery and harm wherever they go,” said Crist. “We will do all we can to stop those who manufacture and sell this poison in our communities.”

 

                At the time Lassiter and his associates were arrested, authorities seized more than 850 Ecstasy pills, worth approximately $17,000. The lab was the third Ecstasy lab in Florida to be shut down. In June, Lassiter pled guilty to trafficking in more than 10 grams of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy), a first-degree felony. Two of Lassiter’s co-defendants have already been sentenced, and a third is awaiting sentencing. The fourth co-defendant, Lassiter's daughter, is a fugitive.

 

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Evelyn out.

 

Workplace: the Blacks and the Blues

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn Here,

I just finished a hellish week. However, I must admit that I was not surprised by the outcome after having after reporting not just one but two co-workers for the same infraction. I then ended up listening to someone or another telling me that what I reported was not serious to them and that I should be careful not to become labeled as someone who is always complaining about their co-worker. Bravely, I made it clear that I have little to do with my co-workers because they started hazing me a month after I started working there and that I have watched them do the same to others and that some of those others have quit because of the treatment they received while trying work. 

I have survived because I put myself into my work, and I avoid much of what goes on around me. This does not mean I do not know what going. It only means that I have chosen not to involve myself after so many failed attempts at trying to “fitting in". I got to a place where it did not matter whether I was liked or disliked. What mattered was that I did my job each day and did it well. This I am please to say is exactly what I do – I do my job well. So when I know that my co-workers are turning their attention to me, I know it will be a matter of time afterward that they start to hazy and harassing me again. Generally, try to mess me up and then report that I am messing up. No friends there. Trust no one is the call of the day.

Also, and here is the kicker some of them read this blog. "Hello There! This is not a pretty picture of you is it? Keep in mean you provided the information for this entry. I just report it because that what I do as a writer. I report injustices.''

Anyway, I discovered that the duties that I now perform is neither one that is like nor respected by many of my co-workers.  Although I have been treated badly by some of my co-workers, it is not just me they do not like but also the duties I faithfully perform each day that is not likeable. However, to me the duties I perform seems to open me up to addition hazing, harassment, insults and others bias behavior wherever I attempt to get anything done which involves the assistance of one or more of myco-workers.

"It there anyone else who sees the injustice in this by-play I have with them?" 

Nevertheless, unlike the people I want to see stop selling illegal drugs on the corner where I live and can legally fight to see it stopped, I know that I have to get along with my co-workers. To do this, I do my work and avoid as much conflict as possible, especially when conflict of any form seems to be the order of the day.

 

As for my writing about what they put me through ---- well, I’m a writer.

Evelyn out.

Workplace Bullies Update

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn Here,

I am repeating the entry on "Workplace Bullies".  The reason being is the I reported a co-worker who happens to also be a family  member of the troublemakers on that corner near where I live and where so much illegal drug activities occurs. 

It was retaliation time for this young woman and others who did not like the fact that I reported her, but it could have been anyone of them and the results would have been the same.

I did speak with my boss after a second incident occurred and impressed upon her that what I spoke of is not an isolation occurrence (internet security breach) and that I have been quiet about things say to me and what done to cause trouble. I believe the idea was to bring  me into the boss's office.  I faired well because I spoke the truth and stood by the truth of my words and experiences there.

I still have a job. However, the situation is stills serious ,and I hope that my superiors will try to stop the hazing and back-bitting that goes in there. I did make it clear that I am not working there to win any popularity contests and that I am more concerned about doing a god day's work than making friends. When I work this way this, I feel good about myself at the end of each day and looking forward to the next workday. Still, I still have  learned to trust my own judgment first an foremost.

I have a life outside of my work, and I enjoy it. I do not try to mix the two. So I clearly  do not need workplace bullies at any time or level.

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Today has my fill of bullies and their bullying both with trouble makers outside my work place and those in my work place.  I spoke to a superiors about it today. I am possible to speak more on it tomorrow, but I really do not see the need.  It is clear on the job hazing and bullying. I stood up against this bullying more than once, but it is clear that these persons not only enjoy doing it, but that their ostracizing me, and than trying to bully me when I am only trying to do my job or go about daily life, shows me that they care nothing for my feelings or me as a person.

Since, I have an understanding of which I speak, I am adding the definitions of the two most forms of workplace bullying from Impact Factory.

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Workplace Bullying - Intimidation, harassment, unfair criticism and blame, belittling sarcasm; being shouted at, ordered about, dismissed, singled out. All these are types of overt bullying.

 

Covert bullying, on the other hand, is less obvious. It can take the form of being overlooked for promotion, someone gossiping about you, being lied to or having information withheld. It can be as insidious as being manipulated into doing something you'd rather not, putting your desk in an awkward place, never inviting you to join the 'gang' for lunch or after work drinks at the pub, not being included in team activities. All things guaranteed to undermine confidence and self-esteem.

http://www.impactfactory.com/p/workplace_bullying_skills_training/snacks_1724-2103-2507.html

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Evelyn out.