Soap Box Day Today

[Teresa]

AND - Don't put this guy in jail so I can pay for him for 10 years...or however long he ends up being there (If he even goes). Put him out behind the barn, with no shade, little water at the bottom of the stock tank, and NO food. Let's see how sorry he is then.

Devyn Devyn Devyn............. such harsh words...

Are you my child? 
I believe that there must be a genetic strand connecting us .... * Probably in a past life of *an eye for an eye*.

There is 20 some charges against him...and he will hopefully go to jail.
I like "Our" solution better..
but it won't happen of course, because we have to "coddle" criminals in the 21st century.  

[Devyn-Leann]

I know I used harsh words and I've been thinking about my post all dang morning. It certainly isn't very christian of me, but it IS something I feel very passionate about.

LOL, Teresa, I think we were related in a past life. We share many of the same opinions. Billy tells me to always keep my mouth shut, nobody wants to hear my opinion and blabbering. I really let myself go on this post. That'll show him. 

[flo]

told myself I wasn't going to get in on this, but ya'all know me.  can keep my mouth shut for only so long.  First, thank you Angie, for also being concerned about those children.  I know first hand the conditions out there and yes, I did report what I seen and observations I made.  I was told these people had an "exotic animal farm", what ever that means.  I personally seen nothing exotic about it.  That would probably explain the prairie dogs, although I doubt they could be classified as "exotic". They reported different animals penned together.  I seen pens, but not one closed gate.  All the animals were free to wander at will.  Conditions were much less than desirable.

PS - need to modify this reply and state that law enforcement was not who I reported these conditions to just in case some of you would start on Sheriff Hanks, who so far as I know does a very good job.  Now I know that I should have gone right to the top - but didn't - so what I should have done and what I done is of no consequence now.   

[Lookatmeknow!!]

Ok, I am back.  I want you all to know that if you want to adopt or get one of these animals you can call the sheriff's office and be put on a list.  I was put on a list.  I told him that we were interested in a Llama, a pony, and the cats.  He said that they had lots of calls for the Llama, ponies, but now for the cats.  I would have liked to take a dog, too.  But we already have 4 and really kind of afraid to take one of them, because of the girls chickens.  We have put a lot of money in the chickens and don't think I want to take a chance on them getting killed.  There might be a small fee, just because it cost the county to feed and house these animals, but I don't mind.  He also told me that they have to wait until the court date to see what they can do with them.  They also will have to be sent to an animal santuary, not sure if I spelled that right, to get nursed back to health.  That is what he told me.  I was just passing along the information for you all. 

Yes, Devyn you are right about putting him out in a barn.  I feel the same way.  Why should he get to live in the lap of great jail cells.  I mean he would have shelter, unlike he gave the animals, food, unlike he gave the animals, and attention, unlike he gave the animals.  But Teresa is right.  We "coddle" our criminals these day is just right.  I think they live better than I do.  You know that this man will live better than any of those animals will. 

Flo, I agree with you, too.  But I know first hand from working in schools, too, that they basically have to be physcially abusing those kids for something to happen to them.  But if he hoards animals, what I wonder if he does the same with those kids.  Maybe those kids are bringing him in some kind of income.  I am sure that they are.  It is just one sick and twisted family!!

[flo]

 Proof? no, strongly suspect? yes - - - and I shouldn't say any more

[Lookatmeknow!!]

I don know that Parker has a real hard time with the boy in her class.  He seems to get away with alot. Not sure why, but he does.  She is always telling me about him, he either hit her, kicked her, or called her some kind of name.  But you know, I just tell her that he doesn't know better and leave it at that.  I don't feel that she or the other kids should put up with this, but you know what I always think that the kid doesn't know any better.  So, I just let it be.  Now if it got to bad, things will change, but leaving it alone is what is best.  Flo, I feel for you.  You know the situation really well it seems, and that is hard.  I can't stand the way the SRS system works.  You can turn in a family for things you know are inhuman and nothing is done about it.  But just remember that they are Gods children and he is watching over them.  That is what I had to do when I saw all the cases of neglect that I saw while working at the school.  Believe me, no one realizes the amount of neglect that happens to kids in this county more than the teachers athe the schools.  But they also know, that they can turn them in, the parents will change for a while, and it will be right back to the same conditions if not worse when the SRS is out of the picture. I have even tried to give nice hand me downs to a family I felt needed them, and they did not want them.  I think that is sad, especially when you see them wearing rags as close.    Ok, that is another soapbox.  Sorry you can tell were my heart is!!

[Teresa]

On March  we were returning home from vacation. We connected in Phoenix. In Phoenix the US Airways Gate Agent announced that the flight was over weighted and he was looking for volunteers to give up their seats. This was the last flight out that night, so it would mean staying overnight, and not leaving on another flight until 1:00  the next afternoon.
We had been gone 10 days and I was more than ready to be home..but being on a plane that was too heavy wasn't anything I was too overjoyed about riding on. So Kjell and I volunteered.

The reward was a round-trip airline ticket anywhere US Airways flies within the 48 contiguous states.
When the "Take Flight Certificates" were issued, it read:
$200 discount off round-trip flight OR free restricted economy class ticket within the 48 contiguous states." These were good for one year. So they would be invalid on March 28, 2008 of this year. ( Just in a few days)

We have been saving them for when we both needed to fly out together. We are needing to book a flight to Louisville KY in May. So today I called to redeem the flight certificates. Tickets are $408.00 each to fly out of Wichita with a change over in Chicago and then on to Louisville. So I called and told them that I had these free vouchers and I wanted to use them on these flights.

I was told that there were no seats available for the free tickets. Now I was on line on the internet at the time and I could SEE  that there were available seats. I told her so too..
She advised us that these flight certificates are limited to Dividend Miles frequent flyer seats (at the lower mileage rate, of course).
And that there were none of THOSE seats available.  And that since it is 3 months in advance that no way could there be any  of these seats available on these flights , BUT we could pay full price and use the $200 discount...and get a seat.
SAY WHAT?!

The tickets are presently $409 each. Delta has the same flight for $219.00.

I said, " so you are telling me that you HAVE Coach seats but not for my vouchers, but you DO have them if I pay half??"
She said yes.. and proceeded to tell me how the $200 voucher worked. 

I was furious and told her I understood the math. That I could easily pencil and paper it..and it came out to the same thing... We were being ripped off. !"  ..I didn't understand why the airlines were not honoring the "free" voucher that they had issued to us.

I was informed that  the "Take Flight Certificate" is only free if X-class coach seats are available, and she couldn't override this restriction.
I ask when any seats  would be available...if ever.  She said she didn't know. That I would have to call back periodically to check.
But in the meantime, my vouchers are void after March 28th..and I doubt that there would ever be any free seats, no matter when I called.

Kjell did some extensive online searching for fraud and rip off information and sure enough .. There is loads and loads of complaints...sounding just like mine.

US Airways gives out thousands of these "free" ticket vouchers every month. ( even sells them on e-bay) I'm sure they have heard every possible complaint about them. Every time anyone has called for a particular destination, there were no seats available.
And these were well in advance of the intended trips.

So rather than lose out, I suppose I will  book the flights and received the $200 off. But get this!

I will be charged $25 per ticket for booking through a rep instead of on line. . My online confirmation numbers can't be keyed in online ( since they are vouchers) so I have to go through a rep and do the reservations by phone.There go $50 more off my discounts! And if you have more than one suitcase, you are charged now $25.00 per suitcase, no matter the size.

What a stinkin' rip off!
NO wonder  US Air is the lowest rated carrier in the US.

[Bonnie M.]

There's a lot of "fine print" that the airlines don't make you aware of, when they give you anything "free!"  I have two "free" tickets on Southwest, but there were no seats available when I flew back for Ardis's funeral, to use one of those tickets.  I was pretty "put out," but the piece of paper I had did say "seats, when available."  So, after checking the other airlines, and finding the prices would be as much as $1,200 for a trip out the next day, I went ahead and booked on Southwest, for $371.50, round trip.  But when I tried to book to come back on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, there were no available seats on the flight I'd need to take, due to it being Spring Break.  So, I had to wait until Monday to fly back.  The thing I do like about Southwest is their policy of not overcharging for the tickets when you need them in an emergency.  I've flown back several times with the same thing, needing to get out in a hurry, and their prices are a fraction of what other airlines charge.  Southwest doesn't fly into Kansas, so we always fly to Tulsa.

[Teresa]

When we were on the "rip off " web sites , most all the people who had posted said that Sothwest was the best airline to use.

[Bonnie M.]

We've always enjoyed flying Southwest.  And, it's enjoyable flying into Tulsa.  The airport there is pretty small and very easy to get into and out of.  And, driving from Tulsa to Longton is such a pretty drive!  They have a better system now for lining people up in their "A," "B," and "C" lines, as each boarding pass has a number on it, along with the A, B, or C, and you just get in line according to your nubmer, so don't have to get in line so early, to get a good shot at getting the seat you want.