Final Madness

If you didn't get to watch the final 4 games last night... you missed out on some great basketball!

Memphis rolled by UCLA to end the game 78-63. The athleticism of this team was incredible and proved to be just too much for the Bruins.

The Kansas Jayhawks the underdog going into last nights game walked out on the floor and for the first 10 minutes had even the biggest KU fan in shock. Ten minutes into the game B Rush had as many points as the whole Tarheel team. The second half saw the Tarheels fight their way back as they came within 4 points. The last five minutes of the game KU got their second wind to wrap up the game 84-66.

Kansas and Memphis will meet up tomorrow night for the championship game. What a game that should be!

GO KU!!!! Rock Chalk!

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

There are approximately 3 million cases of child abuse reported in the United States each year.

A new study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 1 in every 43 babies born in the United States are physically abused and neglected. In 2006 there were 499 babies that died due to maltreatment. Most are victims of abuse and neglect before they are a week old.

Maltreatment of children is the third leading cause of death in this country.

The sad part is so very many cases never get reported and many of those that do often result in not enough evidence .

It takes all of us to ensure the safety and well-being of children. They are the most vulnerable and least protected within our society.

While learning disabilities can result from problems during birth, over 1/2 of all learning disabilities occur because of neglect during the early stages of development.

If Abuse is Suspected

It's never a child's fault when abuse happens!

Believe what the child is telling you. It is important for them to know you believe them and they have done the right thing by telling someone.

Sometimes bad things happen even when we have done our best. Do not ignore it and think it will go away or maybe it didn't really happen. Report it immediately and make sure to seek medical assistance.

Prevention

Know what activities your child is involved in.

Pay attention to those that spend a great deal of time with your child. Ask your child what kind of things they do or what kind of games they play. Also ask your child if there are other people there and who they are.

Teach your child about inappropriate touching and make sure they understand they need to tell you if it happens. Also make sure they understand they are not going to be in trouble for telling.


Teach your child that bad people want them to keep secrets.


Children need to understand that their body belongs to them and not anyone else.

GET INVOLVED

Learn all you can about child abuse and the warning signs (links provided on the right).

If you suspect someone is abusing their child. Report it.

A child's life may depend on it!

Missouri: 1-800-392-3738

Outside Missouri: 1-800-669-8689

Dedicated to 9 year old

Rowan Ford

New Weather Chat

KSPR 33 has just introduced their new Weather Chat. The chat room will be open prior to and during severe weather and other scheduled times during the week. The Kspr storm team continues to go above and beyond to keep their viewers informed.

Click on my Kspr link on the right to find out more about this exciting new addition.

I JUST WON A MILLION DOLLARS!!!

Happy "April Fools" Day to everyone.

No jackpot here, but that wasn't the case April 1st 1877 when Edward Schieffelin found silver in the famous old west town of Tombstone.

And

Happy Birthday to...

Actor Sam Huntington : Born April 1st 1982 in Peterborough New Hampshire

His first appearance was in the Walt Disney movie Jungle to Jungle.

He then went on to appear in Detroit Rock City, Not Another Teen Movie, Rolling Kansas and Home of Phobia.

His big break came in 2006 when he landed the part of Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns.

He married actress Rachel Klein in 2006

Actress and Singer Debbie Renyolds

Born April 1st 1932 in El Paso Texas

She first appeared in June Bride (1948)

A few of her performances include:

The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, Three Little Words, Singing in the Rain, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Athena, The Catered Affair, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Debbie Renyolds Show and Whats the Matter with Helen?

MsRenyolds has won over 40 awards which include an Academy award for Best Actress in the Unsinkable Molly Brown, an Emmy and 5 Golden Globe awards.

March Madness Continues

History is made !

All four #1 seeds advance to the final 4

UNC will play KU

UCLA will take on Memphis

Who do you think will be the 2008 NCAA champions?

Man Loses His Life Trying To Help

How many of us have been witness to an accident and ran to the aid of those involved? I would say the majority of us wouldn't even give it a second thought. Thinking that someone could be hurt and in need of immediate help. Well yesterday in Marionville MO the outcome for a man trying to help turned deadly and leaves us all waiting for answers. For the full story click on the link below.
http://www.ky3.com/news/local/17089126.html

A couple of years ago a teenager here in our community was killed when he drove his car at a high rate of speed and lost control. It was a time of great sadness within the community. He played sports, was very outgoing and had lots of friends. There were signs written on the back of cars and trucks bearing his football number along with heartfelt messages. The following day school was basically shut down so that students could speak with counselors and help each other to try and deal with the loss. The funeral home had lines of people waiting to pay their respects to the family. All of his classmates along with their families were there. My family was there as well.



My family was also present at last night's visitation of another teenager who drown during last week's flood. The scene however this time was different. There were no long lines at the funeral home or messages on the back of cars. Just one lone message posted on the sign outside where he worked. The presence of most of his graduating class consisted of a flower arrangement. The grieving process at school was a bulletin that each teacher read at the beginning of class. Counselors were available to speak with students but only a handful even stopped in the halls to talk about it. The only memories for most was how he stayed to himself or for some like my daughter who only knew him as the guy who was picked on or ignored. Students that knew him from the special education class took his passing hard as did his teachers. They knew him best and knew how hard he had worked to overcome his academic struggles and in just a few weeks he would be a member of the graduating class of 2008. He had proven that difficulties can be overcome and even college is within reach. He would have attended college in the fall.

Both of these young men's lives tragically ended too soon. But what bothers me is the value we put on human life. The second young man wasn't popular, he wasn't outgoing and and while most everyone knew him, very few knew him well, so therefore few found it important enough to take the time to pay their respects to his family or to him as a fellow student. Liked or not liked, popular or unpopular he was still part of a team. A team that viewed him not worthy of their time neither during his life or his death.

For those students that were there, "thank you"for being there for his family and for acknowledging him as a fellow-student. You set an example of kindness, compassion, respect and responsibility that may influence others in the future to do the same. To your parents I say thank you, for teaching your children the value of life and how precious it is no matter how great or small it may appear to others.

What A Weekend For Basketball Fans

Basketball fans across the country were glued to their television sets Sunday as the tournament ended and Selection Sunday began.
UNC had their hands full with Clemson for the championship game, and while UNC went on to win the game, the last minute found Hansbrough making two really silly fouls . Something you just don't see from this guy.
Next KU met up with Texas and what a game that was! A. J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin can put the hurt on a team in a hurry. I don't think the South is prepared for the likes of Texas. Both teams played hard with KU finally pulling off the win for the championship. Chalmers and Rush were deadly from the three point line. Awesome game.

The selection committee has spoken and the teams have been chosen. The games will start on Thursday so get your brackets filled out...
You can sign up on MSN and fill out a free bracket and a chance to win some prizes. Just have it filled out before tip-off on Thursday. I've included the link below. Go check it out!

http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/collegebasketball/tourney/?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

What Do You Think?

In a 2004 survey conducted by the Department of Agriculture it is estimated that the cost of raising a child through the age of 17 is 184,320 with an annual income of 41,700 to 70,200. This does not take into account college expenses but just the basic needs of a child from birth to age of seventeen. As the result of today's cost of raising children the average size family has declined to approx. 2.6 per household.

There is however a movement in the United States called "The Quiver Full". This movement was started in 1989 when a book by Rick and Jan Hess was written entitled "A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ." These couples have decided that it is not up to them how many children to have, instead it is up to God to decide. They base this decision on a passage from Psalms 127: 3,4,5. There are couples with as many as 17 children and while they do not believe in birth control or family planning, the subject goes much deeper than just having a large family. I had no idea that such a movement existed until I had to do a report on it in my Sociology of Religion class last fall and so I decided to add this to the blog because there is so much controversy surrounding this subject. I have listed some sites below for you to check out and then come back and share your thoughts on this.

http://www.quiverfull.com/

http://home.fuse.net/mac47/quiverfaq.html

http://buriedtreasurebooks.com/PrairieMuffinManifesto.php

Another Winter Storm in the Works

Sorry for the delay! Right after I had set up the blog I came down with something. Good to go now though.

Just in time for another big winter storm. The weather this year has been far from normal. One minute your getting out the ice melt and the next minute your under a tornado warning. For those like myself who are fascinated with weather it has certainly not been boring. Will see how this one plays out. We are suppose to get heavy rain tonight and then changing over to sleet and finally snow Monday afternoon and night. While the national weather service has estimated we could get around 7 inches here in Southwest Missouri, one of the models that I looked at had us in the 19 inch range. KY3 mentions that on their web-site as their models indicate a record snow. They are predicting between 6-12 inches along the I-44 corridor.

If you are in the path of this storm let me know when it arrives and whats going on in your area and if you get a picture of hopefully the last winter storm of the year, send that too.

Safe travel to all!!!


update: The morning light brings only a trace of snow here.