Schools closed in the state of Georgia.

“It’s again trying to be transparent, forthcoming about information and asking people to relax and to understand that while we are taking this action to conserve fuel, it is best handled in the spirit of calmness and rationality,” Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.

And with that statement the Governor closed schools in the state of Georgia for the coming Monday and Tuesday. This action, done in haste, will create thousands of parents to be driving their children around the town to malls and other entertainment establishments to keep the children who are out of school entertained.

And on that note, Georgia is far from the top rated state when it comes to education in the country, the closing of the schools for two days, does not help the cause. Four school systems — Floyd County, Haralson County, Rome city and Thomasville city — decided to remain open. These seem to be a places that have their head on right.

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Hurricane Rita has made Landfall at 2:30 AM

As Jim Cantore said, “It was not a Katrina, but it was a good storm. They were two different storms. The biggest issue will be getting 2.5 million people back into the city.

From the Weather Channel

Hurricane Rita’s eyewall, containing wind gusts of at least 90 to 115 mph, has absolutely punished coastal and interior areas of southwest Louisiana along with portions of Jefferson and Orange counties across the border in Texas. Hurricane Rita made landfall at 2:30 am CDT just east of the Texas/Louisiana border in western Cameron Parish between Sabine Pass and Johnson’s Bayou. With the likelihood of a tremendous surge along with the torrential rain, there were immediate reports of flooding in Cameron and Lake Charles, Louisiana. In fact, there is almost no doubt that a powerful surge has overcome a good portion of Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Along with the surge, mighty waves of 20 to 30 feet battered the upper Texas coast and coastal Louisiana. Winds have gusted to 112 mph at Cameron, Louisiana while Beaumont, Texas has gusted 105 mph and Port Arthur has gusted to 116 mph. There is also now a report of terminal collapse at the Lake Charles Regional Airport. Rainfall has obviously been torrential across parts of east Texas and the southern half of Louisiana. Around 8 inches of rain has already fallen over Beaumont, Texas while Baton Rouge, Louisiana has picked up well over 7 inches.

UPDATE: Hurricane Rita stormed into Texas and Louisiana at 3:30 a.m. EDT, Saturday with relentless winds and sheets of rain.

Towns hit most heavily, according to first accounts, included Beaumont, Lumberton and Port Arthur in Texas and the area around Lake Charles and Abbeville in Louisiana, which President Bush singled out in a morning appearance from a government command center in Colorado Springs as “hard hit.”

The densely populated Houston-Galveston area was in relatively good shape, with some blown out windows and widespread power outages.

Full story

As Hurricane Rita Nears, The Devastation begins

Water Vapor Loop

Hurricane Rita Track

Advisory

Infrared Loop

As Hurricane Rita closed in on landfall the wrath of her destruction was already being felt in the previously battered areas of New Orleans. The rain soaked and flooded areas of New Orleans were simply no match for Hurricane Rita as the steady rains created a breach in the patched levees that sent flood waters back into New Orleans.

Hurricane Rita’s steady rains sent water pouring through breaches in a patched levee Friday, cascading into one of the city’s lowest-lying neighborhoods in a devastating repeat of New Orleans’ flooding nightmare. “Our worst fears came true,” said Maj. Barry Guidry of the Georgia National Guard. “We have three significant breaches in the levee and the water is rising rapidly,” he said. “At daybreak I found substantial breaks and they’ve grown larger.”

The main concern from The Army Corp of Engineers is the following:

Forecasters say anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain could fall in New Orleans as Rita passes Friday and Saturday, dangerously close to the 6 inches of rain that Corps officials say the patched levees can withstand.

CNN: New Orleans’ 9th Ward floods. Storm surge pours over damaged levees; 30 city blocks inundated.

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Amber Alert issues for 16 year old Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten

KTUL 8, Amber Alert Issued For Girl In Pontotoc County for 16 year old Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten is a white female, about 5’4″ and 125 pounds with shoulder-length, sandy brown hair.

Ada – An Amber Alert has been issued for a 16-year-old girl who is believed to have been abducted at gunpoint from her high school in Ada. 16-year-old Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten is a white female, about 5’4″ and 125 pounds with shoulder-length, sandy brown hair. She was last seen at about three o’clock at Ada High School wearing shorts and an Ada High School cheer-leading uniform.

The suspect in this case is 47-year-old Jerry Don Savage. He is 5’11″ and 180 pounds. He has green eyes. He is also the ex-boyfriend of Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten’s mother. Savage had a protective order filed against him on August 30th.

The suspect in this case is 47-year-old Jerry Don Savage. He is 5’11″ and 180 pounds. He has green eyes. He is driving a blue or green, late model Toyota pickup truck with the partial license plate PRB-. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Witnesses say Wooten was seen getting into Savage’s green Dodge truck at gunpoint. That pickup was found near Ada, but neither Savage nor Wooten have been found. The blue or green Toyota pickup is a new vehicle description. Court records show Savage had a protective order filed against him on August 30th. We’re told he is the ex-boyfriend of Wooten’s mother.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of either Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten or Jerry Savage are asked to call 911 immediately.

Leave your comments at the Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten Discussion Forum

Also covering the amber alert: predatoralert.blogspot

Bill O’Reilly has been fair? Talk about Cherry Picking a story

Just when we thought we have heard it all with regards to ArubaTruth discussing “the boycott” that was referenced on the Dr. Phil Show, ArubaTruth gives us this gem:

Always the tough, hard hitting journalist, Bill O’Reilly has been fair in his reporting on Aruba. He has refused to speculate on the disappearance and asked tough questions of everyone, including Beth, Greta, and colleague Geraldo.

So when answering an email on the boycott, O’Reilly said to give Aruba some more time.

The analysis of Bill O’Reilly’s lack of calling for a boycott of Aruba by ‘ArubaTruth’ is as follows,

O’Reilly knows that economic sanctions will not advance the search for evidence or bring about justice in the case.

I hate to tell you but you couldn’t be more wrong. Listen to what O’Reilly has said all along. No one thinks that a boycott will advance the search. O’Reilly talks of a possible boycott to put pressure on the Aruban Government if the investigation is being swept under the carpet. As in the case with Dave Holloway, it is a grave mistake to confuse patience and allowing more time to get it right with the non-expectation of results. Time is being granted to actually allow to make a first impression a second time. Beware of those who offer extra time to get the job done correctly. They are usually the ones who are harder to deal with if no results have been gained. In O’Reilly’s case, ask France about his boycott.

I guess they really do not get Fox News in Aruba. Either that or they have decided to quote one Bill O’Reilly segment out of the many that have been more than tough on Aruba. ArubaTruth before you go giving kudos to Bill O’Reilly you may want to look back on the numerous shows that he had both Gerardo and Greta on “speculating” on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. I can remember that Aruba was none too pleased when Bill O’Reilly made the comments that Aruba was a drug infested with cartels, money laundering Caribbean Island with sex trade.

Aruba itself is already paying a price. That island depends on American tourism, and a case like this can’t help the tourism industry there. Aruba is basically a benign island, very little violent crime. But according to the DEA, it is a drug transshipment center for the Colombian cartels.

It was also the O’Reilly Factor where Geraldo dropped the sex tape bombshell. As I plainly remember and as The Dark Side points out when this was referenced on the O’Reilly Factor,

“Bill O’Reilly didn’t bat an eye at that revelation, by the way”.

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