3406 The violence around us

If you're wringing your hands about the violence in Baghdad, Babel and Baqouba open your local metropolitan newspaper. I've seen the violence statistics for California compared to Iraq. But things have been rough this past week in mild-mannered Columbus, OH, test market of the country.

Over the week-end at the movie theater about 2 miles north of here where we like to go for $1.00 admission, Delmar gunned down his wife Ernestine, killing her, after tracking her and their two daughters down. Then he put the shotgun in his mouth and killed himself. Eric from the homicide squad said, "They'd been having some problems." No! Really?

I was waiting in line at the post office yesterday (again, my neighborhood) and a woman customer told the clerk she was changing her daughter's address for mail delivery because a number of apartments on Dierker Rd. had been broken into, so her daughter was moving in with her for awhile.

There was a police chase 2 days ago from Wilmington to Columbus that finally ended at a bridge over one of our rivers. One perp jumped out of the car and over the guard rail. There's not much ice on the river, but it's terribly cold. They dragged the river for some time, and finally found him yesterday. All caught on video for the evening news, of course. The two other burglary suspects, both with records and weapons, aren't divulging their buddy's name.

A store owner, Abdel Shalash a father of two, was shot and killed by some teenagers for $150.

A school bus driver was stopped for a traffic violation yesterday and police found cocaine on the bus--he was on his way to pick up kids. I didn't know Columbus outsourced this task to private companies, but apparently he had a long record of problems. Today none of the buses are running because that company isn't sending out any of its drivers. I hope they aren't just pouting and are checking their security files.

Habitat for Humanity homeowners in central Ohio are being scammed by mortgage companies to refinance from 0% to 8.99% and take their equity for cash with closing costs of $7,000.

A 16 month old baby was beaten to death a few months ago, and they've finally charged her father's girlfriend. Parents were never married, of course.

50 year old Chris Wright got life for stabbing to death a man who rushed to the aid of a neighbor Wright was robbing.

There's a lot of sin and violence out there. Just open your paper.