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November 29, 2005

Teens Playing in Traffic

We have received numerous reports about kids all over the area who stand in the road and "play chicken" with passing motorists. The kids (mostly teenagers) will stand in the middle of the road, refuse to move for passing motorists and -- when some drivers stop -- will hit or shake their cars and, in at least one case, drag the driver out of the car and beat him or her up. (In one such incident, the driver's kids were in the back set and watched him get beat up.)

Well, last weekend, a motorist hit one of the ne'er-do-well teens, sending him to the hospital. In an interesting twist, the police did not cite the motorist.

Tip: If you should encounter a pack of these road-blocking punks, do not stop your car. Slow down and pound your horn, but keep moving. (If they're smart, the kids will get out of the way.) Then, when you've safely passed, report the activity to the police.

Posted by colrus at 10:58 AM | TrackBack

November 22, 2005

Update: Tory Hardy Murder Investigation

Last night, NewsChannel 9 ran John Madewell's piece on the Tory Hardy murder investigation. The station had been aggressively plugging the piece for days, and it did contain at least one new piece of information.

As you might remember, when the body of 2003 Bessie Smith Strut shooting victim Tory Hardy was brought to the Taylor Funeral Home (owned by then-City Councilman John Taylor), his internal organs were incinerated. (The organs undoubtedly contained bullet fragments that could have possibly implicated Rheubin Taylor, Jr. -- son of County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, Sr. -- as the one who fired the shot that killed Hardy.) At the time, Taylor claimed this was standard operating procedure. However, a consent order from the Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors obtained by Channel 9 shows that Taylor paid a $1000 civil penalty for "immoral, unprofessional conduct for the improper disposition of human organs."

The interesting twist? In the consent order, Taylor says this matter is "not an admission of any wrongdoing, but is solely for settling the matter."

Was the $1000 fine a symbolic slap on the wrist to settle the matter, distracting the public from bigger issues like the fact that Taylor could quite possibly have been obstructing justice? Who told him that the $1000 would be all it would take to settle the matter? And, more importantly, was he TOLD to burn the organs? And if so, then by whom?

Taylor wouldn't talk to Channel 9 about why the organs were burned. His lawyer told the station that the "facts are not all out. John Taylor will not answer questions on television. His side of the story will come out in court."

If you remember, a couple of weeks ago, Judge R. Allan Edgar threw out lawsuits filed by the family against the Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County Deputies, ruling that they had no genuine issue of fact. Interestingly, the Hardy family lawsuit against Taylor and the funeral home has not been thrown out.

Here's a link to the text of Channel 9's piece.

Here's a link to the WMV file of the Channel 9 segment. (Windows media player and a high speed connection required.)

Here's a link to last month's Pulse story about the current status of the Hardy trial.

And here's a link to my Pulse column about the case from August of 2004.

Posted by colrus at 10:49 AM | TrackBack

November 08, 2005

The Pulse: Guitar Supplier to The Stars

(Matt Roberts of 3 Doors Down. Click to enlarge.)

Last night, one of our employees sold a guitar to Matt Roberts of 3 Doors Down. Upon purchasing the rocking axe, Matt evidently "shredded" pretty hard with it in a local hotel lobby. He said that he was going to try to play it on stage tonight at the UTC Arena. So, if you go to the show and see a glittery silver guitar, know that it came from us.

Posted by colrus at 09:22 AM | TrackBack

November 03, 2005

OK. This is just TOO funny. Watch it immediately.

Click here to watch.

Posted by colrus at 09:45 PM | TrackBack