Daily Archives: June 8, 2010

by | June 8, 2010

Bethany Lott struck by lightning, seconds before boyfriend was to propose

Bethany Lott struck by lightning, seconds before boyfriend was to propose

I guess people do not understand the inherent danger in lightning storms. The last thing you want to do in a lightning storm is go to a mountain peak.

He never got to pop the question.

Richard Butler was hiking up a North Carolina mountain with girlfriend Bethany Lott – and an engagement ring in his pocket – when lightning struck.

“God, baby, look how beautiful it is,” Lott said of the mountain vista just before the bolt hit her.

Those turned out to be her last words.

Butler, who was also hit, said “everything went black” and when he opened his eyes again “she was laying a few feet away.”

“I crawled to her,” he told the Asheville Citizen Times newspaper. “I did CPR for probably 15 minutes and the whole time was trying her cell phone, but I couldn’t get anything out.”

Later, when the paramedics arrived, a badly-burned Butler used what remained of his strength to perform one last act of love.

“I put the ring on her finger while the EMTs were working on her,” he told the newspaper. “They are listing me as her fiancé in the obituaries.”

Butler, 30, and Lott, 25, both of Knoxville, Tenn., had set off for the summit of Max Patch Bald on Friday when it started to rain.

“I picked that spot because she actually said she would like to get married there,” Butler told a local TV station. “She absolutely loved the outdoors.”

And Lott was not deterred by the stormy weather.

“She hiked thousands of miles and spent a couple of years in Utah just hiking,” Butler’s mother, Janet Delaney, said.

Then lightning bolts creased the sky and one of them hit the lovebirds.

“I was spun 180 degrees and thrown several feet back,” Butler said. “My legs turned to Jello, my shoes were smoking and the bottom of my feet felt like they were on fire.”

Another Knoxville couple raced over and also tried to revive the doomed hiker.

“They stood on the top of the hill doing what they could for probably 20 minutes until the rescuers got there,” Butler said.

But there was no saving Lott, who was to be buried at a Tennessee cemetery on Tuesday with a view of the mountains she loved in the distance.

“I’ve tried to be mad at God, but I can’t do it,” Butler, who suffered third degree burns, said before the funeral. “I feel like it is my obligation to her to be as happy as I can be and be as productive with the rest of my life as can be, and do as much good as she would’ve done if she could have.”

1 Comment

Filed under Breaking News

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | June 8, 2010

Obama puts graduates to sleep

Leave a Comment

Filed under Breaking News

by | June 8, 2010

Wood Chipper Kills Santa Cruz CA. County Worker

WATSONVILLE, Calif- A horrific accident that could make anyone cringe. A 61 year old man pulled into a tree chipper and killed! Investigators aren’t releasing the man’s name yet but people that knew him told Central Coast News he worked with the county since 1969 and it’s going to take a long time to get over losing their friend.

County workers in Santa Cruz are trying to deal with the unthinkable, a friend and co-worker was pulled into this tree chipper and killed, “I’ve talked to people who knew him and they just say he was a great guy he loved public works he loved being out there doing the work, out there with his crew so it’s really tough for everybody, “said Dinah Phillips with the County of Santa Cruz.

The 61 year old man’s co-workers helplessly watched it happen on whiting road in Watsonville this morning. On Monday counselors were trying to help them deal with this horrific accident, “It’s a pretty small knit department and everybody in the department is going to need help to one degree or another,” said Phillips.

Terry Reynolds was too shaken up to talk on camera but said he worked with the man for 34 years and described him as dependable, hardworking and honest. Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Department is still investigating the accident and the county is taking a close looking at its safety procedures, “We’re always looking at our safety processes and procedures and trying to tweak them and make them better and better to keep thing like this happening and this will just me part of that ongoing process,” said Phillips.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Breaking News

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | June 8, 2010

Isley Brothers Marvin Isley Dies at 56

The youngest member of the Isley Brothers band died at the age of 56 at a hospice close to his home in Chicago. Marvin Isley was the foundation for his family’s R & B group.

Marvin’s cousin Chris, the band’s keyboard player, revealed that diabetes was the cause of his cousin’s death. Marvin has been suffering from diabetes for 20 years now. About 13 years ago, one of his legs was amputated due to this condition. A year before he lost his legs, he already stopped performing with the band.

The Isley Brothers band first started performing in the 1950’s with only three members – Ronald, the lead singer with O’ Kelly and Rudolph. In the 1970’s, Marvin along with Ernie and Chris joined the group. It was in this decade that the band started making chart-topping hits such as “Livin’ in the Life”, “Fight the Power Part 1″ and “Harvest for the World”. But in the mid-80’s, Marvin, Chris and Ernie split from the band and formed their own group which they called the Isley Jasper Isley.

Many say that the Isley Brothers were not really recognized for their contribution to the industry as much as the other bands. When Marvin was still with them, they performed alongside hitmakers like Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones.

Marvin was survived by his brothers Rudolph, Ronald and Ernie, as well as by his wife Sheila, and their three children Corey, Sidney and Jalen.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Breaking News

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | June 8, 2010

Obama looking for ‘whose ass to kick’ over BP oil spill

Obama looking for ‘whose ass to kick’ over BP oil spill

A few things wrong with Obama’s statement about “Whose ass to kick” statement. First, if a republican used this phrase, the media would be calling him a “jack booted thug” and a “Nazi.” Then the republican would be accused of “strong arm tactics” and “bullying.”

The other problem is that Obama weighs maybe 145 soaking wet. He couldn’t kick his own ass out of a paper bag. We are still wondering what he was thinking using such language. I guess its an attempt to improve his poll numbers that he says he doesn’t care about.

In his toughest words yet on the billion-dollar oil disaster, President Obama said Monday that he’s been boning up on “whose ass to kick.”

Frustrated over BP’s inability to stop a deepwater gusher and fed up with criticism that he hasn’t seemed to be mad as hell, Obama turned as salty the Gulf of Mexico.

“I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick,” Obama fumed in an interview to air this morning on NBC’s “Today” show.

Asked about BP CEO Tony Hayward downplaying the environmental impact as being “very very modest” and the volume of the spill as “tiny” in relation to the Gulf of Mexico, Obama bristled.

“He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements,” Obama told Matt Lauer.

He insisted he’s been on top of the calamity since the deadly April 20 rig explosion triggered it.

“I was down there a month ago, before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the gulf,” Obama said in the interview from Kalamazoo, Mich.

“A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there, standing in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be,” the President said.

Noting that a review of what caused the spill is underway, Obama said he didn’t want to prejudge BP, but said that, so far, the oil giant isn’t instilling confidence.

“The initial reports indicate there may be situations in which not only human error was involved, but you also saw some corner-cutting in terms of safety,” Obama said.

His tough talk came as BP revealed it has spent $1.25 billion on the spill so far.

Cash payouts went to spill response and containment, relief-well drilling, payments to gulf states and the feds, and damage claims, BP said Monday.

About 37,000 claims have been submitted and about half have been paid, the company said.

BP said it can’t estimate how much the spill will cost in the end, but Obama said economic impact will be “substantial.”

He also warned that he better not catch BP “nickel-and-diming these businesses that are having a very tough time.”

“This will be contained,” Obama said after meeting with advisers.

“It may take some time and it’s going to take a whole lot of effort. … But the one thing I’m absolutely confident about is that, as we have before, we will get through this crisis.”

There was progress over the weekend on controlling the leak.

The cap on the damaged well is now collecting 462,000 gallons of oil a day – up from 250,000 gallons Friday, according to Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Amateur Hour, Ball Scratchers, Breaking News, Comedy, It's the Economy Stupid!, Nadcicles, Nitwits, Obama, Opinion, Political humor, Science, Stupid Human Tricks

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,