Man Sells Alien Toy Online, Bike Frame Stolen

The following was recorded in the log of the Salem Police from Monday through Tuesday afternoon. Police found a hypodermic needle on Lafayette Street and took a report of a man who sold a toy online and was not paid.

    * At 4:29 p.m. Monday, police responded to a Highland Avenue business to talk to an elderly female. The elderly woman had come in with a money order because she was told she had won the lottery. Police advised the woman never to give out her social security number.
    * The Animal Control officer responded to North Street at 5:19 p.m. Monday for a report of a dog left in a car for 24 hours. The car was gone when police arrived.
    * At 5:40 p.m. Monday, police responded to Cedar Street for a report of malicious damage to a fence. Police observed a six foot section of fence kicked in.
    * At 5:56 p.m. Monday, police were called to Congress Street for a past break-in. Police were met with a woman who said her boyfriend rents one of the stalls in the garage. The owner of the garage called her to inform her the stall had been broken into. A Harley Davidson motorcycle frame was stolen. The woman told police the frame belongs to someone else and her boyfriend was working on paying him for it. The woman's boyfriend was out of state at the time so police told her to have the boyfriend contact them when he returns.
    * Monday at 9:46 p.m. Monday, police placed one man into protective custody after he could not walk on his own on Derby Street. Another man with him was able to take care of himself.
    * Tuesday at 12:25 a.m., residents of Parlee Street complained about hearing construction noise. Police found someone doing construction and advised them to stop for the night.
    * At 7:22 a.m. Tuesday, police were called to Dearborn Street for a car with slashed tires.
    * Tuesday at 8:12 a.m., a man told police he sold a toy online to a person in Hong Kong and that person would not pay him and sent the toy back with missing parts. The toy is called an "alien hot toy." A report was filed.
    * At 9:18 a.m. Tuesday, an officer working a detail on Bridge Street witnessed a car driving left of center and almost collide with oncoming traffic. Police arrested Jose Dasilva, 48, 4 Exchange St., Gloucester, and charged him with marked lanes violation and driving without a license.
    * At 9:51 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to North Street for a four-car accident. There were no injuries.
    * At 11 a.m. Tuesday, police noted in the log that they solved the "cat napping."
    * At 11:13 a.m. Tuesday, a resident of Crosby Street said a go-kart valued at $300 was taken by two men in a van. The resident said the go-kart was next to the trash out on the sidewalk, but was not trash. Two men pulled up and started to take the go-kart. When she told them it was not trash, they took it anyway.
    * A hypodermic needle was found on Lafayette Street at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
    * A second car was found to have slashed tires on Dearborn Street at 1:24 p.m. Tuesday.
    * At 2:05 p.m. a Broadway Street business reported someone had put graffiti that said "bread" on the back on their building.

Hypodermic shock as girl finds needle on Westcliff beach

A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl had to be checked over by medics after picking up a hypodermic needle while playing on the beach.

Chelsea Cheshire was with her 18-month-old brother Leeland and her parents Tanya, 32, and Gary, 30, when she picked up the needle during an afternoon at the beach, in Westcliff.

Fortunately her parents were nearby and quickly took it from her before it could cause any harm.

Mr Cheshire, of Holland Road, Westcliff said: “The first thing I did was dispose of the needle in a sharps container in the nearby public toilets.

“I was disgusted and frightened by what my daughter found and we had her checked out by a doctor.”

“If Leeland had seen it he would have simply put it straight in his mouth. We’re very concerned that people just chuck this sort of thing on the beach.

“What if there were children there without their parents and they didn’t realise how dangerous it could be?”

The couple have informed the council.

Anita Thornberry, Southend Council’s head of enterprise, tourism and regeneration, said: “We would like to thank the family for disposing of this needle in a responsible manner. We believe it must have been carried in on an incoming tide. Fortunately, this kind of thing is not a common occurrence.

“However, if someone should find such an item again, for safety reasons we would urge them to contact us on 01702 215006 immediately, so our cleansing contractor can deal with it straight away.”

Outreach program valuable

Del Thomson wants to get rid of the health region's Needle Safe Saskatoon because he thinks it's doing nothing to reduce HIV/AIDS.

Stopping the handout of needles and condoms, he seems to think, will surely stop all the bad behaviour.

Here's a news flash: People created the concept of selling sex and getting high before they created the concept of God. These are the follies of man.
Removing access to safe needles and condoms will greatly increase HIV/AIDS in our population. It is a tragedy that people do this to themselves, and it's even worse that some do it so irresponsibly.

However, Thomson doesn't seem to want to talk about the fact almost nine in 10 needles are safely returned to the evil van he mentions, as opposed to ending up on the streets.

It could be your pastor or neighbour, or your kid's teacher who visits the prostitutes. There is no profile for a john. Ask a cop. If these women don't have condoms provided by outreach workers, where is that infection coming home to?
I greatly thank SHR for reaching out to lend a caring, helping hand to people who probably wouldn't find it elsewhere.

Sick Raccoon On Winter Island and Man Climbs Light Pole

The following is an excerpt from the Salem Police Department's Tuesday and Wednesday's police log. Police had to dispose of a sick raccoon on Winter Island and found two hypodermic needles in different parts of the city.

At 1:04 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a noise complaint on First Street.

At 3:24 a.m. Tuesday, police received a complaint about a "party causing a major disturbance" on Highland Avenue. Police advised the party to quiet down.

Police responded to Auburn Road at 7:33 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a man sleeping in a "banged up" vehicle. Police spoke with the man in the vehicle who was delivering papers in the neighborhood.

A possible rabid raccoon was spotted on Winter Island at 8:04 a.m. Tuesday. Animal Control was called and police responded to the island where they found the "gravely ill" raccoon in the roadway. According to the police log, "one round was used from the officer's service pistol to put the sick/injured animal to rest." DPW removed the animal from the roadway afterward.

At 10:24 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to Derby Street for a report of a man yelling in the street. The man was placed in protective custody.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, an officer on patrol found a hypodermic needle on Boston Street.

At 12:38 p.m. Tuesday, an officer on patrol witnessed a possible drug transaction in a car in a parking lot along Highland Avenue. Police found a hypodermic needle on one of the men standing at the car. Upon search of the car, police found five bags of marijuana. One man was given a citation for marijuana possession. The other man was cited for driving an unregistered car and the car was towed from the scene.

At 1:56 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a pedestrian accident at the intersection of Lafayette and Harbor streets. Upon arrival, the pedestrian was laying in the street in the crosswalk. The driver said he was turning left from Harbor Street and did not see the pedestrian because of a blind spot. Police issued the driver a citation for failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The pedestrian was treated by EMS and the fire department.

At 4:52 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Gardner and Canal streets. There were no injuries.

At 5:31 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a motor vehicle accident on Highland Avenue. Police observed minor bumper damage. One of the drivers was transported to Salem Hospital with a possible back injury.

Police responded to Lafayette Street near Palmer Street at 7:27 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a woman being threatened by a group of people. The woman told police she got in a fight with her boyfriend's "other girlfriend." The other woman was angry and said some things the woman interpreted as threats, police said. Police told the woman to stay away from the woman and to take it up with her boyfriend at a later time.

At 7:31 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to Crombie Street for a report of larceny.

At 9:55 p.m. Tuesday, a resident of School Street called police to report a "suspicious odor" coming from the apartment next door. The resident told police it was a "chemical smell" that she believed was "illegal in nature." When police arrived, they did not smell anything and told her to call back if it the smell became stronger.

Police Warn of Hypodermic-Needle Danger

North Reading police are warning residents to avoid handling syringes after receiving several reports of needles being found in local neighborhoods.

Police received numerous calls in March and early April from people who found dirty syringes on the side of the road. The reports were not isolated to any particular area of town, according to police.


"We've seen an increase in needles improperly disposed of on the side of the road," said Police Chief Edward W. Nolan. "It is a real concern."

North Reading police believe that a state law passed in 2006 allowing people to purchase and carry hypodermic needles without a prescription has contributed to the increase in syringes being found in local neighborhoods.

Lawmakers passed the measure with the aim of preventing the spread infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C through shared needles by allowing anyone to purchase clean ones.

It had been illegal to possess a hypodermic needle without a prescription prior to the law change. According to press reports at the time, Massachusetts became the 48th state to remove the prescription requirement.

According to police, the number of syringes recovered from public places since the law took effect in 2006 has more than tripled. Police believe the change in the law has devalued the street worth of syringes, making them more accessible to illicit drug users.

The discarding of dirty hypodermic needles has become an issue across the Boston area. In late March, two Lynn elementary school students were pricked by a needle that one found on the street on his way to school.

According to press reports, one student used the needle to give his friend a pretend flu shot. School Superintendent Catherine Latham told the Daily Item of Lynn that both students sought medical attention, but she declined to disclose their conditions, citing privacy laws.

North Reading police realize that incident may not be an isolated one.

"We are very concerned about a child picking up a contaminated needle," Nolan said.

North Reading police urge residents to avoid touching needles if they find them on the side of the road. They also should not let their pets come into contact with the needles, police said.

this isn't the end of the series

Now that's how you finish a season! If only the series had started off this strong, we might not be staring likely cancellation in the face.

I was absolutely riveted throughout "No Ordinary Beginning." Everything the season had been building towards came to a head, including the first family power team up. Finally, each of the Powells had a moment to prove formidable in his or her own right, from Daphne's near-mental throwdown of a particularly stubborn guard to Stephanie speed thrashing a room full of armed sentries to J.J.'s geometrically correct toss of a hypodermic needle into the eye of his father's would-be killer.


J.J. in particular showed himself to have his father's fortitude when standing up to GlobalTech CEO Helen Burton the way he did. Though I can't suppose it would take super intelligence to feel superior to someone so out of touch that she actually brought in circa 1981 video games, including Centipede, to entertain a 15 year child of today.

The final showdown between King and Jim was epic, and one I'd been waiting for all season. Dr. King's revelation that he can't die, thanks to the trusty trilsettum, came as no surprise as I've been touting he had some kind of ability all season. What was a surprise, though, was that he had developed every ability that the Powells possess. A little convenient, but Stephen Collins demonstrated here, more than ever, that he makes for one menacing villain so I'm not going to quibble over something so minor.

If this isn't the end of the series, it definitely appears to be the end of King (I see no way he can come back from a skull-rotting bout of insta-cancer) so I take my hat off to Mr. Collins for chewing every morsel of every scene he had all season. Well done, sir.

The ending definitely set things up for what could be an enticing second season, with George developing an unrevealed ability of his own after that plane crash (what do you want to bet it's flight?) and the eighty some odd criminals all with now-permanent powers.

I don't know about you, but having the Powells providing support to the government as they hunt down these super villains definitely entices me, even if we didn't exactly find out how the NSA came to know of their abilities in the first place. And despite the earlier hinting of a possible George/Katie romance, I'd actually like to see Katie and Joshua as they attempt to raise a super-powered baby.

Should the ride end here, I'll be sorely, bitterly disappointed. No Ordinary Family started out a story of a family who had lost their connection, but ended with them stronger than ever before, proving that no challenge is too strong for any family to endure, as long as they have faith in one other...and, of course, a measure of super abilities don't hurt.

Whatever happens,  I have to say I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Powells and seeing their journey this season. I applaud the work done by Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker, Jimmy Bennett, Stephen Collins, Autumn Reeser, Romany Malco, Josh Stewart, Rebecca Mader, Lucy Lawless and everyone else involved in the series.

Here's hoping for a season two.

My son's foot

I do not usually visit hospitals. In fact, whenever possible I try to avoid them. However, a month ago, my son Douglas decided upon elective surgery to have one of his one of his toes straightened. Being twenty-five years old and having parachuted from an aircraft the previous year, Douglas showed no trepidation whatsoever as we drove to the hospital. After he was admitted into the pre-operative department, I was asked to meet the surgeon and the anesthesiologist.

Being an inquisitive kind of fellow, I asked the doctor what type of anesthetic would be used before the surgery was performed. I was informed that the short-acting, hypnotic agent known as Propofol would be intravenously administered. Always the wit, I turned to my son and said, "Good luck then, Michael." The anesthesiologist was not amused and immediately went into a rant about how Mr. Michael Jackson's lack of success with the drug was due to improper administration. I felt three inches tall.

Thanks to the professionalism of the surgeon, my son's operation was a complete success—although he has to wear a very large shoe that looks as if it were designed by engineers at NASA.

Having not visited a hospital in about ten years, it was interesting to note the changes—and especially the new products—that the doctors and nurses now use in their everyday tasks. However, it was not the high-tech flat-screen display used to monitor heart rate and blood pressure that impressed me most of all. Nor was it the precision-made cannula-over-needle device used to administer Lactated Ringer's solution into my son's bloodstream. It was the Novaplus ice bag—manufactured in China—that the hospital supplied to keep the anticipated swelling at a minimum. Fabricated of just five parts (including the manufacturer's label), the product could keep ice in a frozen state for up to six hours.

However, even the most simple products, like these, demand some serious design, manufacturing, and testing techniques. While the systems used to manufacture such products may incorporate vision, it is rare to read many case studies that describe how the systems are deployed.

Perhaps the main reason for this is the legal ramifications that might occur should such details be revealed. In the development of automated manufacturing systems to build medical devices, vision plays just a small but vital role.
Compliance or consequences

Because manufacturers must comply with standards such as TS 13485 and ISO 9001 as well as FDA requirements, their systems most often employ secure electronic signature and document control, allowing a complete audit trail of the manufacturing process, and providing lot and serial tracking, traceability, and a device history record. With the development of every new medical device, new methods must be implemented to ensure they are tested and manufactured to the highest quality requirements.

To guarantee that these products meet FDA standards has proved challenging when products—such as my son's ice bag—are not manufactured domestically. Indeed, according to a recent report, the FDA conducts relatively few inspections of foreign establishments.

Officials estimate that the agency inspects foreign manufacturers of high-risk devices (such as pacemakers) every six years and foreign manufacturers of medium-risk devices (such as hearing aids) every twenty years. Finally, inspections of foreign manufacturing operations pose unique challenges to the FDA, such as difficulties in recruiting investigators to travel to certain countries and in extending trips if the inspections uncover problems.