College Safety Tips

I did a story about safety tips for college students. I have a daughter out of town in college...(Hi Emily! Love You!)...and i worry about her 24/7.

So, I decided to post these tips below for people to read. Safety is a serious issue...especially when it's your kids.

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How to Protect Yourself:

Your property:

Use a combination padlock on all storage units. Check the unit periodically to make sure nothing has been disturbed.
Don’t mark your key chain with your name, address and license number. Lost keys can lead to theft. Take care of keys; don’t give anyone the chance to duplicate them.
Engrave all valuable personal property with your name and social security number. Keep a detailed list of all valuables and serial numbers.
Move valuables out of view from windows and doors.
Lock your vehicle at all times.
Copy all important papers and cards that you carry in your purse or wallet, including your driver’s license. Keep the copies in a safe place. The information will be invaluable if anything is stolen or lost.
Copy your vehicle ID and tag number. If your vehicle is stolen, it cannot be entered into the nationwide law enforcement network without this information.

At home:
Keep doors and windows locked at all times, even if you are only away for a few minutes. Do not “prop open” doors in residence halls.
Be assertive and demand that any unwanted person in your residence leave, or leave yourself. Anyone who refuses to leave is a trespasser. If you live in a women’s residence hall, report any unescorted males to security.
Make sure hallways, entrances, garages, and grounds are well lit. Leave porch lights on all night. Keep blinds and curtains shut after dark and never dress in front of a window. When you expect to return after dark, leave an interior light on with the shades drawn. If you live on campus, report any malfunctioning light to the physical plant.
Know who is at your door before you open it. Campus staff carry identification and solicitors are not allowed on campus. Require proper identification from any repair or utility people. If you live off campus, install a peephole in your front door.
Make calls for strangers who want to use your phone. Don’t open your door or let them in.
List initials and last names only on your mailbox or door and in the telephone book. Don’t leave your name on your door or answering machine if you live alone. Don’t have the recording state you are away or when you will return.
Get to know your neighbors. If you live off campus, join a neighborhood watch system and share information on suspicious circumstances.
When you go home on breaks, have someone pick up your mail, newspaper, etc. Install timers and leave on all outside lights. Make your residence appear “lived in.”
If you come home and see a broken window or a jimmied door, don’t go inside. Confronting a burglar can be dangerous. Phone police immediately.

Away from home:
Walk or jog with a friend. Avoid jogging after dark. If you must jog at night, stay in well- lit, well-traveled areas.
Carry a whistle and don’t hesitate to use it to alert others you need help. Vary your pattern frequently.
Don’t wear headphones when jogging or biking. They significantly reduce your ability to hear and thus your awareness.
Tell someone where you are going and when you will return.
Don’t fight back if your purse or wallet is snatched. Throw it in one direction and run in the other rather than risk personal injury. Call the police immediately.
Be careful when and where you patronize ATM machines. Accessing ATM cash machines in remote locations, particularly at night, could increase your risk of robbery and personal injury. While you are standing at the machine, keep turning around and scanning for people approaching you or lingering around.
Avoid working or studying alone in a building other than your residence at night.
Stand and walk tall with a brisk, purposeful stride. Make brief eye contact with someone who makes you feel uneasy to let them know that you see them and are not afraid, but don’t stare too long or prolong your glance.
Trust your instincts.

In your car:

Check the back seat before entering.
Keep vehicle doors locked at all times, even when driving in daylight, so no one can jump in at a red light.
Be suspicious of people approaching your car asking for directions, or change, or handing out flyers.
When stopping in traffic, leave enough distance between your car and the one in front of you, so you can quickly pull away if necessary.
If another driver bumps your car or your tire goes flat, keep the doors and windows closed and wait for police to arrive, or slowly drive to the nearest police station.
Keep enough gas in your tank for emergencies.
Don’t offer rides to anyone you don’t know, even if he or she claims to be a student.
Honk your horn if someone suspicious approaches your vehicle.
If your car breaks down, lift the hood, put on flashers, and wait inside the car for help with the doors locked. Ask people who stop to call the police or AAA. Don’t go with anyone.
Don’t stop for stranded motorists. You are of greater help to them by calling the police.
Keep valuables in the trunk of your vehicle, not on the seats.
Park your car in well-lit areas.
Remove all keys from your vehicle. Thieves look for keys under fenders and in magnetic key cases. Walk with your keys in hand.
Remember to buckle up. It’s the law in Alabama.

At work:

Avoid working or studying alone in a building at night.
When working late, make sure doors are locked.
Keep your purse in a locked cabinet or drawer. Never leave it on or underneath a desk.
Avoid using stairs in remote sections of the building.
Do not hold the door open for strangers after normal business hours.
Ask people you don’t recognize if you can help them.
Report suspicious activity to campus police.
Be careful what you leave on your desk and on your computer screen when you step away from your desk.
Keep passwords in secure places.

It is very important for you to have a plan if an attacker tries to steal your bag, attack you from behind, or your car breaks down at night, etc. Knowing how you would handle situations if you should ever have to face an attacker could save your life. Always be on your guard.

Date or Acquaintance Rape Prevention

Prevention:
Awareness + Common Sense + Early Planning = Best Prevention.
Be aware of your surroundings and instincts.
Expect to be respected. Assert your rights.
Clearly communicate your thoughts and beliefs through actions and words.
Meet social or business acquaintances in public places; arrange to have your own transportation or travel with good friends.
Carry money to meetings and on dates in case you need to use the phone or pay for transportation.
Control your environment. Don’t let yourself get put in a dangerous location like an alley or back room.
Know your date’s first and last name, address and business.
Especially with new people, watch how much alcohol or drugs both you and your date consume. Alcohol and drug use may increase your vulnerability by lowering your awareness and ability to react.
If you find yourself in a potentially bad situation, consider:
The object is survival. Do whatever you can to survive. Try to remember as much as you can about the attacker: height and weight compared to yours, scars, tattoos, accent, etc.
As in prevention, clearly assert your rights through your words and actions.
Criticize your date’s actions, not him personally, so that he will understand what behavior to stop. For example “I’m not ready for sex.” or “I have enjoyed our date until now, I don’t want to do this.”
If he does not listen to you, leave.
Do not let embarrassment for him keep you from doing what is right for you.
Choose effective means to get yourself out of the situation. Act with a purpose.
Try to keep your composure; avoid falling apart.
At the first opportunity, escape from the situation and go to a safe place and call for help.
Active intervention methods:
Bite, scratch, kick, pull, twist and punch in vulnerable areas- stomach, sides, face, eyes, shins, hands, and the groin area.
Run away.
Attract attention by continually screaming and yelling “FIRE,” “HELP,” or “I DON’T KNOW THIS PERSON.”

Passive intervention methods:

Talk yourself out of a situation. Give a “convincing story.” Tell him you have a contagious venereal disease, you’re pregnant, or a friend is expected to appear at any moment.
Pretend to cooperate until an opportunity for escape presents itself. Put your attacker off guard.
Act in a bizarre and/or repulsive manner (feign insanity or convulsions, urinate or vomit.)
Do what is best for you and your situation.
After the attack:
Try to be as calm as possible in order to think more clearly.
Call 911 immediately and ask to speak to a rape counselor or call the Crisis Center (826-8600). Do not disturb any evidence, including that on your body. Do not bathe, brush your teeth, douche, clean fingernails or change clothes. Take a change of clothes with you to the hospital.
The student has the option to report a rape, and the campus security authority has the responsibility to help him/her report it to the proper people.
The University wants to ensure the victim is both mentally and physically protected and that counseling is available and is encouraged. If living arrangements need to be changed, the University will assist in providing reasonable accommodations.
If you know someone who has been attacked:
Be there. Your presence means you care and helps counter feelings of helplessness, guilt, and isolation that victims often experience.
Listen to the victim. Don’t be judgmental of his/her actions.
Offer to accompany the victim to the hospital or police station.
Encourage the victim to seek help from a victim’s assistance program.

Murder Between The Headstones

"This boils down to a father upset that Bobby Kellum was with his 17-year-old daughter."

Kellum's throat was slit and body burned in May of 1977. The girl's father, Dewitt Thrash, was apparently angry that Kellum ran off with his daughter. The Marshall County Sheriff confirms that Thrash brutally killed him while two other men watched. They were drunk. They were angry. And, in an instant, Bobby Kellum vanished off the face of the earth. His body was found, but his identity unknown.

Today, Marshall County Sheriff Scott Walls unraveled the mystery from 30 years ago. For three decades, the unidentified body was buried in small plot at the Arab City Cemetery.
A NewsChannel 19 Taking Action Investigation lead to that body being identified as Bobby Kellum and his killers being identified. NewsChannel 19's Sand Mountain Bureau Chief, Carson Clark, did yeoman work and provided the spark that lead to this murder story being resolved.

This story isn't over, though. Thrash and an accomplice in the brutal murder, Troy Barnes, are dead. But, the third man present on that night in May 1977 is still alive. His name is CW Brooks and he's terminally ill. He has six months left. Maybe eight. Not much time left to wonder if you've been a good man. Not much time left to say bye. Not much time left to cleanse your soul of dark secrets which keep you awake at night, fearing what you may dream.

For thirty years, CW Brooks lived with the secret of Bobby Kellum's horrifying murder.
Sheriff Walls says Brooks statement was key to solving the crime. "He has six months to live and didn't want to go to his grave with that on his mind," Walls said.

Looking squarely at the end of your days has a way of bringing instant clarity
to defining issues in your life. Brooks can't say, "I'm sorry" to Bobby Kellum.
But, by saying "I was there," he can give the Kellum family the answer to Bobby's fate.

In Ecclesiastes, it's written "there is a time to kill and a time to heal."
As his life slowly ends, CW Brooks must have realized the need to heal. The need to come clean. He's lead a long life. He's had time to reflect on what sins to confess.

Time. A long life. Confession after years of reflections. CW Brooks understands the value and precious nature of those opportunities.

I'm glad he took advantage of the opportunity to cleanse his soul.
Bobby Kellum's family wishes he had enjoyed the same opportunity.

A Yard Sale...Just Shoot Me!

I'm having a yard sale. And I'm having it against my better judgment.

The last yard sale I had didn't go so well. It started with my doorbell ringing an hour before the newspaper ad, radio spot, sign on the telephone poll, street corner signs, signs on the Star Market window, signs in my yard, signs in my car, the grapevine, the word on the street, and every other sign you could imagine said it would start. The doorbell didn't just ring. It rang repeatedly. At 5:35 a.m.

RINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRING.

I was rethinking not buying a gun. But I did find a housecoat to wear while stumbling bleary-eyed to the door.

There stood a 113-year-old woman wearing a 1985 United Way t-shirt and a denim skirt that was way too short for someone who looked over 11 decades old.

"Hey! Where's the yard sale stuff? How come yer stuff ain't out yet?"

So that's what happens to your voice when you start smoking unfiltered camels before WWI.

"The yard sale doesn't start till 7 a.m."

"7 a.m. Hell, I'm usually done and gone by 7 a.m. I got four more to hit in this neighborhood. What's the problem? You gotta light for my smoke?"

"Ma'am, all the ads say no early birds."

How can a 113-year-old woman suck down half an unfiltered camel on the first drag?
She blew the smoke out of her old lungs long and street.

"Early?" she sneered. "You call this early?"

Even her words wanted to fall out of her mouth to their death.

"Hell, I'll just sit down here and wait. Can I read your paper?"

Rather than have Beelzebub sit on the steps and scare the other yard sale shoppers, we split a pot of coffee. She only stole two forks and a butter knife while in the house.

Selling your old goods at a yard sale brings a mixed bag of emotions. You can chart your life by how much you keep. You can also chart your path by how much you are going to sell.

Sell. Oh. Selling. A bit of advice about the money you make in a yard sale:

You will not be able to fund a Hawaiian vacation, pay for Junior's college, or buy a BMW with yard sale proceeds. If you are lucky, you will make enough money to buy two really good bottles of wine, two movie tickets, and get the oil changed in the car you have to keep since the yard sale only made $122.

Some yard sale tips:

Morning drinking makes the early yard sale go great, but keep the afternoon cleared for a really long nap.

Haggling just ticks people off. Throwing them out of the yard sale will make you feel better. Especially when you combine it with morning drinking.

Make sure you know what you are selling. Having the preacher down the street find a stack of Playboys isn't good. And he won't buy it that the Playboys belonged to your cousin Thor who is in Afghanistan and left them with you for safe keeping.

Bring a BB gun to shoot neighborhood dogs that start barking 'cause the sun isn't up and you are setting up a yard sale. Oh...sorry...scratch that..that is Michael Vick's yard sale.

and finally.....

Don't forget to get a receipt when you donate all the clothes you didn't sell.


Email me any time. greg.screws@whnt.com or the newsroom at news.dpartment@whnt.com

Taking Back The Highways-Great Idea!

I'm happy Alabama troopers are on the offensive. It's called Taking Back The Highways and it's about time. Traffic on I-65 and I-565 looks like the backstretch at Talladega with three laps till the checkered flag.

Despite what NASCAR commercials would have you believe, there is no constitutional right to impersonate Dale Jr. while driving your SUV.

For five days, Alabama troopers are taking a zero tolerance stand against lunacy on state highways. Especially the interstates. Why are you driving so fast with one hand on the wheel and the other on the cell phone texting dinner plans to the kids?

You can drive insanely fast and get home...four minutes quicker.

"Doggone it! If I had just done 100 through Madison, I could have gotten home sooner and caught the latest restless leg syndrome commercial."

It's just plain stupid.

Slow down. Get your mindless driving under control and stay more than three inches off my bumper.

Have you ever seen what happens to the human body when a car doing 90 blows a tire, goes off the highway, and flips a few times?

Do you know what happens to a family when someone crosses the median and hits them head on?

Have you tried to sleep when the first thing you see in your dreams are headlights drifting into your lane?

The highway fatality rate in Alabama is rising. The reason is two-fold. People drive too fast and they don't use common sense. The Taking Back The Highway program is designed to remind people that speeding kills.

Don't complain to me about your ticket! I think taking back the highway is a great idea. In fact, I'm glad you got a ticket for doing 90. If the trooper had more time, maybe he could write you another one for reckless driving since you were three inches off the back bumper of the car in front. But he has to go. Someone else is always going 95.

My Three Cents-Immigration and My Trip To The Restaurant!

Most people put in their two cents, but I'm a big guy. That combined with inflation means the two cents people weigh in is now up to three cents.

There's a dirty little secret in this country about illegal immigration. Not many people want to address it. It's one of those, are we going to ignore the 800 pound elephant in the room, arguments.

Many North Alabamians rail against illegal immigration. They want a fence on the nation's southern border with armed guards pointing their weapons at any illegal who tries to cross.

Recently, I talked to a friend whose husband installs sheet rock. It's hard for him to compete. Businesses who employ illegal aliens consistently turn in the low bid for a job.
Those companies that employ cheap labor from south of the border are not owned by illegals. The business, in almost every case, is owned by a U.S. citizen who understands that the financial bottom line is greatly enhanced by hiring illegals.

Frequently, those are the people who listen to talk show hosts rail against illegal immigration.
They're the same people who think something should be done about illegal immigration, but only after they've made their money.

I ate at my favorite barbecue restaurant last night. There was a man cleaning off tables who clearly could not speak English. Not a word. A group of people finishing up their meal was amused about this Hispanic man not understanding the language in Huntsville.

"You can take my plate now."

"Uh huh," he said quietly. He moved on to the next table without taking the plate.

The conversation, which I did eavesdrop on, turned serious.

"Someone has to do something to keep those people out."

Illegal immigration bothered them. But not enough to make them eat somewhere else.

That is the part of illegal immigration no one wants to talk about. United States citizens will support a business that employs illegal immigrants if they like the food, want the sheet rock put on their house cheaply, want the yard mowed, the roof put on at a bargain, a ditch dug, a driveway paved, a monument put up at a church, their groceries carried to the car, their dishes washed, the dog walked, or the fruit picked.

Then they listen to Rush or Hannity and shout at the radio.

"That's the way Rush. Go get them. You tell them. Illegal immigrants are killing this country."

They want the fence built on the border. But they want their "good deal" first.

As always, tell me what you think. My email is greg.screws@whnt.com
The morning show on WHNT cranks up at 5 a.m. and stops at 8 a.m. We would love for you to watch!

The President, Conspiracy Theories, and Things I Want To Do

The President's visit was a mixed bag. Whether there's a Republican or a Democrat in the White House, it's always interesting to have a front row seat to see the most powerful person in the world.
For just a few hours, President Bush got away from low approval ratings and the war.
Or so he thought.
The day Bush was in town, the paper had an interesting front page. On the right side of the page was the "President is coming to town" article.
On the left side was a huge headline reading, "IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING" with a soldier's picture jammed between the two articles.
The story was about some local soldiers who had driven through a very dangerous section of Tikrit to conduct a training mission with Iraqi soldiers. They arrived safely only to be stood up by the Iraqi soldiers...hence the headline.

I did think it was interesting how the President and his administration refer to "the planet."
President Bush doesn't not talk about global warming. He doesn't because everyone knows that if you believe in global warming, you are a liberal, left leaning, card carrying PETA member who hates America.
You can, however, be concerned and believe in "climate change." The President regularly preaches his concern for climate change and says that we need to be ready to work diligently for a solution. He is concerned about climate change and not global warming.

'Cause only liberals like Al Gore believe in global warming. Conservatives are concerned about
climate change.

Speaking of Gore....and an "Inconvenient Truth".....

Look Al, next time your hungry, reach for an apple or a banana and skip the Bugles and Doritos. An inconvenient truth is that you and I both need to hit the treadmill more often.
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What is your favorite conspiracy theory? When the President comes to your town, the Secret Service mandates that you are in a specific place by a specific time. Usually that means you get to your spot two hours in advance and stay there. So, there is plenty of time for plenty of discussion about anything.

My favorite conspiracy theory is the 2000 election, but it's not what you think.
Mine is that the Republican party did "something" for Ralph Nader. Nader got 95,000 votes in Florida and Bush won by 537 votes. I don't think Nader ran to make a statement or to give people a third option.

Another one...in sports.
The NBA rigged the draft lottery so that the New York Knicks could get Patrick Ewing.
Love that one and knowing the way sports can work, I don't doubt it.

Junior winning at Daytona in July after his dad was killed there in February is a good one.
Don't know...but at a restrictor plate track, when you hit the gas and pull away from the draft,
that tells me something is a little different.
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Things I Want To Do:

1) Be on Oprah after she recommends by book.
2) Accept my Tony Award for best play from David Letterman.
3) Go on a two week trip down the Colorado River.
4) Throw out the first pitch at Wrigley.
5) Throw out the first beer at Wrigley.
6) Pick out my very own blue healer to run around with in the back yard.
7) Do stand-up and KILL the crowd.
8) Wake up by the beach....everyday.
9) Win The Lottery. Give almost all of it away.
10) Win a World Series of Poker bracelet.

More later I'm sure.

Three Things: Selmer, The Shuffle, and Emily

Sorry....again real life gets in the way.

1) Selmer, TN.

A drag racer doing a burnout on a street...not a race track...lost control of his Pro Mod car and plowed into a crowd killing six people over the weekend.
There is always a point in just about anything that goes wrong where someone should have raised their hand and said "that is a bad idea."

Clearly this was one of those times. Putting a 3,000 horsepower capable of chewing up asphalt was dangerous at the least and, as you can see, deadly at the worst.
The driver did his burnout too far. He was on a public street with no adhesive material, which is put on drag strips to make the tires stick. They may have held that event for years with no problems, but they were lucky.

2) I joined part of the 21st century over the Father's Day weekend. I got an I-Pod Shuffle. Capable of holding 500 songs I'm told. Aerosmith, Springsteen, and a liberal sprinkling of
metal will be on my "shuffle." Not sure what I would do with those I-Pod's that can hold 15,000 songs. Vic Camp and I used to pay $4.99 for Bad Company albums at Funland Records in Decatur. Now 50 bucks will get you 500 songs....and earplugs to I can tune the world out.
Is this a great country or what!

3) Emily got me a tie for Father's Day. She also bought me some cologne. But here is the best part! She got mad when I paid for lunch on Father's Day. The check was supposed to be hers! Maybe that is the sign a kid is growing up! My dad has paid for every restuarant meal we've both attended since 1982.

Promise to be more consistent with posts. Thanks for being patient.

GS