The people left behind....

Rhonda Parks

The human remains discovered recently in a Somerset County yard have not been positively identified however it is speculated that it may be Rhonda Parks, who has been missing since 2006. I just cannot imagine the agony her loved ones must be enduring, just waiting to see if indeed she has been located.I don't know what would be worse-having someone confirm your daughter is deceased or not knowing anything at all. As long as a body is not found, you can always hang on to some hope that they are still alive. Yet at the same time, knowing what happened to them, and being able to give them a proper Christian burial would be a sad comfort. I am keeping the Parks family in my prayers and at the same time, I wanted to give a mention to some of the other people who are still missing in Somserset County, so that no one forgets they are still out there somewhere, dead or alive, and their families deserve closure so that they can heal.

James Clark Creighton

James Clark Creighton-missing since December 2000-last seen near Bowland Hill on the outskirts of Princess Anne. DOB 9/19/1958 Mr.Creighton has AIDS, a history of drug abuse and has surgical pins in right foot. At the time of his disappearance he was working a steady job and taking Ambien, a sleep medication.He is 6'2 and was 190 lbs when last seen. Foul play is suspected and he may have been taken by force. Contact Wicomico County Combined Task Force Sgt. George Nelson 443-260-3734 with info.

Stuart Garrison

Stuart Raymond Garrison-missing since May 2002-last seen leaving his home on Box Iron Rd in Crisfield, MD,walking on foot. DOB 1960 Mr. Garrison was unemployed and involved in the drug trade at one time but was cleaning up when he vanished.He is 5'9 and was 110 lbs when last seen. Foul play is suspected. contact MSP at 410-290-0050 x 130 with info.

Thomas Borum

Thomas Wilson Borum-missing since January 2000-last seen near Route 13 and Mt. Vernon Rd. intersection just shortly after being discovered missing from his room at nearby Manokin Manor nursing home at 2am. DOB 1913 Mr. Borum was last seen wearing only pajamas and is presumed dead due to exposure but no remains have ever been found and he was declared legally dead later in 2000. He was 5'9 and weighed 151 lbs when last seen. Remains unsolved. Contact Princess Anne Police Department 410-651-1822 with info.

Jacob Webster

Jacob Wesley Webster-missing since June 2006 from Princess Anne, MD. DOB 1/27/1940 Mr.Webster has a limp and a brace on his right leg.He is 5'8 and weighed 190 lbs when last seen.Contact MSP at 410-651-3101 with info.

Gordon Nelson Sr.

Gordon Lee Nelson Sr.-missing since October 2007 from Crisfield,MD.DOB 12/24/1949 No other details.Contact Sgt. Luedtke at the Crisfield Police Department, at 410-968-1323 with info.

I hope I did not leave anyone out-I used what sources were available and if I left someone off the list please let me know.Let's keep the loved ones left behind in our thoughts and remember if you have ANY information about either of these missing persons it is your duty as a human to report it.

Defending the Farmers

Yesterday in Somerset County,the County Commissioners,along with representatives from the Somerset Farm Bureau and the Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. met to hear concerns from residents about large chicken farming operations in east Princess Anne.
While I empathize with the citizens concerns,especially regarding water usage of "mega-farms",to place any more regulations upon poultry farmers will only effect our local economy adversely.Chicken is King on Delmarva-and those birds have supported many families in this area over the years.It is not a glamorous job,it is sometimes a high-risk gamble and it gets increasingly difficult each year.The price of electricity and fuel has placed an additional strain on poultry growers and they just may not survive more restrictions.With the national economy already on the brink,do we really want to "bite the hand that feeds us"?Think for a second about all the commerce that would be lost if the poultry industry downsized or folded altogether-not to mention jobs.Somerset County in particular is one of the poorest in the state and with the seafood industry tanking,we need the poultry farms.Contrary to popular belief,farmers are not the bad guys polluting the bay all by themselves,they are the original environmentalists.I think that with the advanced agricultural technology we have available today,we can eliminate alot of the negative aspects such as odor,runoff and litter management without eliminating the poultry farms.

"Scavenger" Thefts

I was reading the local paper today and there were two separate incidents involving the theft of metal products for salvage in the police report.People are stealing copper wire,aluminum,practically any valuable metal to be had and redeeming it at salvage companies,or at least attempting to.I have heard of idiots trying to steal highway guardrails and plumbing from peoples homes for cash,but a group of criminals in Delmar actually plotted to steal railroad tracks!Similar crimes are occuring more often all over the country and it begs the question-is the rise in recyclable metal thefts a result of the depressed economy?Is it substance abuse or gambling debts that inspire people to do this?Some thieves risk their lives by stealing copper from utility stations,a good way to get a lethal shock.Is it worth it?

Local Doctor Cleared

Dr.Mahmaud Shirazi was found not guilty yesterday in Wicomico Circuit Court.I learned about it just after the verdict,from a friend who was present at the trial.Today,in the Storychat section of The Daily Times,there is a post from someone claiming to be a juror which states that "he DID do something to her,but there was not enough evidence".

The man has been acquitted and now he faces the daunting task of reclaiming his medical career and recovering legal expenses.I know I might piss people off and that is a risk I will take,but there is not a shred of me that believes he is capable of such a thing.Here is why...

My late Mother not only worked with him,but remained friends with him after he went to practice elsewhere and when he was looking for someone to come in and clean his private home until he found a housekeeper,my Mom referred him to me and I did work for him over a several month period in 2004.I was alone,with him,in his house,on many occasions and he was never improper or inappropriate.During that time,Shirazis partner was my physician and my Mother often went along with me to watch my child when I had an appointment,and more often than not,when I came out of the appointment,I would find Mom sitting in Dr.Shirazis office,drinking tea with him and showing off her granddaughter and just talking.

Fast forward to 2005-my Mother became very ill and was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive GI cancer.So rare,in fact,that no cancer doctor on the Shore could treat it,and Dr.Shirazi,who was her primary doctor as well as her friend,worked with cancer specialists across the bridge to treat her.Sadly,even after an extensive surgery to remove tumors,the cancer persisted and my Mothers health started to fail dramatically and when she became dehydrated from not keeping anything down,Dr.Shirazi admitted her to the hospital and butted heads with the insurance company the whole time whenever they suggested she was well enough to be released.He made his personal phone numbers available to our family members and encouraged us to call him anytime we felt the need.I cannot help but feel that without him advocating for her,she would have been sent home and went downhill alot sooner than she ultimately did.Dr.Shirazi and his efforts contributed to giving my Mother an extra few months with her family,and to stay well long enough to greet her newborn 2nd grandchild,who was born shortly before she passed away.So,in my heart,I do not think he is a "predator".

This is just my story,there are many others who also support the Doctor.One of my coworkers at my PT job,who suffers from diabetes, says he owes his life to Dr.Shirazi.I also know that the courtroom was packed with former patients and supporters.I sincerely hope he is able to rebuild his life and his career,because there are very few physicians as dedicated as I feel he is.I may be sticking my figurative neck on the chopping block but I cannot just sit idly by and not rebut the terrible things being said about someone I know is not a bad person.

Trial of local physician started today

The trial of Dr.Mahmaud Shirazi opened today in Wicomico County Circuit Court.The local doctor was charged in 2007 with assault and sex offenses and he is no longer practicing medicine.I am no judge,and never claimed to be,but I do hope with all my heart he is found to be innocent.Having known him professionally and personally,he impressed me as being a respectable man who genuinely cared about his patients.I will be following the news closely for devlopments.

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!Part II

Last week Sbynews reported the arrest of a Salisbury man for allegedly attacking an underage girl & I was shocked to learn upon further investigation into the matter that this man is not only a registered sex offender but at the age of 27 has a history of sex offenses,unlawful imprisonment, and assault AND has served very little time behind bars for any of it.Alarmingly,he has a sibling who is right next to him on the Sex Offender Registry for similar crimes!As a Mom,I am disturbed by the fact that there are people serving more time for drugs(non violent)than those who REPEATEDLY prey on kids sexually.
Some of the most infamous and heinous child-killers had a long history of sexual offenses-Arthur Shawcross comes to mind,as well as Richard Davis,the man who murdered Polly Klaas and many others.I remember Carly Bruccia,the girl that the nation saw on the news being led away by a convicted sex offender who was,for some reason,out on the streets in Florida.Why arent we getting the connection there and keeping these creeps in jail longer.
I am not going to name the man arrested in Salisbury because it is already public record and repeating it would serve no purpose.I just encourage everyone to become familair with all the sex offender registry profiles in their areas and be proactive.You never would think in a million years that someone in YOUR neighborhood could do this kind of thing and thats what they count on to get away with their crimes.I will not beat this issue to death but it bears repeating.Until these judges get the clue and start putting sex offenders away with no parole-no early release and no second chances-it is up to the community to keep its children safe.

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows my opinion of sex offenders-they are incurable and almost always re-offend and if they are not dealt with harshly,some will escalate their crimes to murder.The recent early release of a convicted sex offender and killer stirred up alot of emotions in me as well as many others.They just do not "stop" offending-ask any cop or parole officer.So I was outraged this morning when I was reading the SPD call-log at SBYNEWS and read about the alleged sexual assault on a young girl on Riverside Drive.Why?Because as a mother I have made it my job to STUDY the sex offender registry often and I recalled the name of the assailant in this police report as one of the 60+ names on the registry for Salisbury(I used to live there and got familiar with the offenders bios!). I got the shock of my life when I realized by his bio where I had seen him before-about 2 years ago I was in the Salisbury Walmart and noticed two weird guys following closely behind unaware "tween"(12-16) girls-they were a little too old to be checking these girls out the way they were,and the girls were oblivious to the guys.I was alarmed because at that time I thought he looked familiar(when I checked the registry later that night,I learned I was correct).I was torn because technically the men were not breaking the law.I could not very well tell the girls and send them into a panic and I did not want to even approach either of the men.Later some suggested I could have reported it to the manager-but what would I report?A hunch?
Now with this latest news,I know I am right!How many times does a guy get to repeat the same stuff before we say "enough!" and put his ass away for a long stretch?If unchecked,many of them get "bored"with simple sex assaults and escalate to deadly force against their victims.I am sick to death of the imbalance in prison sentences.Guys do more time in the pen for selling dope than one who rapes innocent children.Even worse,nonviolent criminals are serving longer mandatory minimum sentences such as "3 strikes" convictions than child MURDERERS.WTF?I do not expect miracles,I just expect harsher sentencing for any crime of this nature.

Hot topic:Convicted murderer released early today

Daily Times Storychat was abuzz today by readers outraged at the early release of convicted murderer Jermaine Wright,who was sentenced in 2001 for the 1995 murder of tourist Krista Ruggles in Ocean City-she was just 16 years old.Ironically he was serving time in another state for a sexual assault against a minor girl when he confessed the murder to his cellmate!He received credits for his behavior and activities behind the walls at ECI and that,coupled with a lame-ass Alford plea,is how we get to this point-a predator will be back on the streets.The news stated that he would remain on parole until his original sentence is up and required to get some kind of sexual predator therapy but made no mention of whether he will be required to register as a sex offender.I am not pessimistic,I do believe some people can be rehabilitated but violent pedophiles do not fall under that category.How many times has this case been replayed across the country?And by that I mean whenever you see the story of some kid who has went missing or been found dead on the news,and they find the person responsible and they turn out to have a long history of prior sex offenses!Many of them have already been convicted of a sex offense at least once,are on parole and by all rights should have still been locked up!
I do admire Kristas' Dad,Larry Ruggles for the constructive way he has funneled his grief and loss into something positive and is reaching out to schools to make kids aware of predators.As a fellow blogger stated just mere days ago,John Walsh,of Americas Most Wanted,was just an ordinary Dad until the day he lost his son Adam and the difficulties he encountered after his loss made him mad as hell and he rolled with it and today thanks to his efforts,hundreds of criminals have been captured and pressure is put on our lawmakers to get tough on predators.I cannot begin to fathom the pain that the Ruggles family has been through,nor would I want to and I know that there is not a parent out there who does not have strong feelings about Wright being back on the streets.Hopefully all the publicity surrounding his release will be enough to keep him dormant but nevertheless I think I can never say this enough times-Anyone with kids or grandkids,know who your neighbors are!Check your local area for registered offenders online frequently,and just be alert and educate your kids on being proactive for their safety.We cannot instill a fear of the world around them in our kids or put them in a protective bubble-wrap but we can make them aware that there are bad people out there.

Today is the day.....

The public smoking ban in Maryland goes into effect today,and while I understand it's intent,it is not the responsibility of the state to save us from ourselves.Where does it stop?Some strong odors,for example,can cause anaphalactic shock in an asthmatic.Do we ban all personal fragrances?The majority of businesses already had smoking bans in place but the new law limits smoking literally to ones home or car.Some local beaches have enacted smoking bans too.There is no loophole that will allow a business to offer a seperate designated smoking area under the law and that is a little unfair.As long as comparable accomodations are made for non-smokers and the business has enough demand for a smoking area to justify the expense of expansion,why can they not do so?

What is the matter with these people?

I am still reeling after reading about this in the local newspaper yesterday.A Delaware woman and her live-in boyfriend,both 20,were arrested after Friday the boyfriend allegedly bit his girlfriends 10 month old baby girl(not HIS child)for crying excessively.Both the adults had been drinking all evening and the mother was charged for failing to report the abuse because "she did not want to lose her boyfriend"!!!!WTF?
Luckily,an observant family member noticed the injuries and reported the pair to police and child welfare and she was removed from the home and her mothers custody.The mother (and I use that term loosely) was freed on bail but the boyfriend was still being held in Sussex County.
What the hell is wrong with these people?What kind of asshole bites a defenseless and vulnerable infant?And what kind of mother is going to knowingly expose her little girl to that sort of person?Afraid to lose him?I would be plotting his painful torture,not "scared to lose him".My womans intuition tells me that the mother herself was probably victimized by this jerk but thats still no excuse.My thoughts and prayers go out to this little girl!

How many of you are watching "Snapped" tonight???

Oxygen,a cable channel,airs an original series called "Snapped" that I have seen every episode of and tonight the show is profiling Erica Sifrit,who along with her husband,Benjamin,in 2002 conspired to commit a double murder & killed an innocent couple,fellow Ocean city tourists Martha Gene Crutchley and her boyfriend Joshua Ford(pictured above)who had met them on a resort transit bus.It's been all over the local news and I am curious as to how many people on the shore will watch it-Oxygen isn't available everywhere so some people may not receive it and alot of people just wish it would all go away.I agree with the opinion that while there are alot of crime shows that revolve around the criminal,very seldom does the victim receive the same media attention and I hope that the Crutchley & Ford families were interviewed and allowed to speak for the victims,if only briefly.

"Judge not,lest ye be judged"

Two women recently disappeared in the Pocomoke Community,one has sadly been recovered not alive and another is nowhere to be found.The blog community has been very supportive to the families of both women and thats great,but theres that small fraction of people who are essentially "blaming the victim" because of whatever lifestyle these women may have led at one time or another and it is heartbreaking to say the least.Regardless of their choices in life,these two women are mothers,daughters,sisters & best friends to SOMEBODY.Whatever the critics think of these women has no bearing on how important THEY were in someone elses life.I do not live in that community so I do not know anyone involved in either family nor do I have any solid opinions on the issue,I just think it is unfair to even suggest that the women deserved whatever happened to them!Who among us is without sin?
The suspected murderers of Judy Wojcik have been detained however there is still no real progress in the case of Christine Sheddy,who remains a missing person.I certainly hope they find her somewhere alive and well and safe and my heart goes out to both families.They do not need to hear moral judgements about the people they love on top of everything else.

Dr.Shirazi trial set for Wednesday,December 12th

I try to steer clear of both local and controversial stories but as someone who knows Dr. Mahmaud Shirazi personally I cant help but touch on this matter.His criminal trial is set to begin in Wicomico County next week & I have had people tell me that he has loyal former patients coming from as far as North Carolina to be in the courtroom to support him.He has pled not guilty to two counts of 2nd degree assault and 2 counts of 4th degree sexual offenses.Is he guilty?I do not know.Do I think he is guilty?No,I do not-but my opinion doesnt matter and its in the judge and jury members hands now.
I can only say that my late Mother worked with him in the medical field,and after he established his own practice,she not only became his patient,but continued their friendship.When none of the doctors on the Shore could do anything for her after she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer,he pulled strings and bent over backwards to get her the care she desperately needed.He used his professional contacts to obtain the services of the very best specialists Maryland has to offer and had it not been for his diligence,she may not have had the precious little time she did with her family before the disease took her from us.He was available to us any time of night or day,and we not only had his personal cell phone number,but his private home phone number as well and he made it very clear that we could call him anytime for any reason.How many doctors do that for their patients?
And it wasnt just her either-I have had a few of his former patients tell me they also were able to call him at home anytime they needed to reach him.I do not know what transpired in the examination room with him and his accusers-all I have is my own personal experience with him to draw from and my opinion is that he is a dedicated physician and good man.After his arrest was made public,a few others came forward and proclaimed he had behaved inappropiately with them and I just hope that these accusations arent a precursor to civil suits being filed by lawyers and litigants with dollar signs in their eyes.I hope and pray he is truly innocent,and if he is indeed proven guilty I will be disappointed-but as for now I believe he is innocent of the charges.If he is not,I will have to eat crow along with his dozens of other supporters.I will provide more info as it becomes available.