Kids, Parents, and Teachers

What a collection for you today.


Teen Clocked at 142 MPH, Police Say

VALPARAISO, Ind. - A teenager charged with driving 142 mph along a four-lane divided highway said he was speeding home so his parents wouldn't be mad at him for being late.

Brandon D. Raap, 16, faces speeding and misdemeanor reckless driving charges and could have his license suspended.

Porter County sheriff's deputies stopped Raap along a rural stretch of U.S. 30 at 12:40 a.m. Saturday after a radar gun clocked his 2004 Subaru Impreza going almost 90 mph faster than the posted 55 mph limit.

It might be the fastest speed ever recorded on the northwestern Indiana county's roads, said Porter County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Emmons.

"Most people's cars won't go that fast," he said.

Raap told police he was late getting home and didn't want his parents to be angry, Deputy John Brubaker said in his report. Raap told Brubaker he didn't have a curfew but is usually home by midnight.

Brubaker didn't arrest Raap, who had a valid Colorado license, but told him to drive straight home and call him within an hour. Raap's mother, Cindy Raap, called instead and Brubaker told her what happened.

"Kids sort of have tunnel vision," Emmons said. "They're so concerned with not getting yelled at or grounded, they place other people's lives in jeopardy."

The highway has two lanes in each direction, divided by a median, and traffic is usually light that time of night, Emmons said.

I like Indiana cops - 142 miles an hour, an outta state driver's license, and they let him drive home.

Tomorrow I am going to test drive a Subaru Impreza if it will do 142!!!








Mom sues over rejection of yearbook photo

Senior’s picture with sword nixed because of school’s no-weapons policy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The mother of a high school senior who posed in chain mail and held a medieval sword for his yearbook picture sued after the school rejected the photo because of its "zero-tolerance" policy against weapons.

Patrick Agin, 17, belongs to the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international organization that researches and recreates medieval history. He submitted the photo in September for the Portsmouth High School yearbook.

But the school's principal refused to allow the portrait as Agin's official yearbook photo because he said it violated a policy against weapons and violence in schools, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by the Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The lawsuit seeks an order that would prevent the yearbook from being published without Agin's senior portrait.

Agin's mother, Heidi Farrington, said she and her son believe the decision defies common sense.

"He doesn't see it as promoting violence," Farrington said Tuesday. "He sees it just as a theatrical expression of the reenactment community that he's involved in right now."

According to the lawsuit, principal Robert Littlefield told Farrington she could pay to put the photo in the advertising section of the book, but he would not allow it as Agin's senior portrait.

"That in and of itself demonstrates to us that there's absolutely no legitimate rationale for banning Patrick's photo," said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU.

Littlefield said he thought there would be less editorial scrutiny given to paid advertising space, and that an ad would not be viewed as receiving the school's endorsement.

The complaint says there is nothing in the weapons policy that would apply to the picture Agin submitted. It also says the weapons policy is arbitrarily enforced, noting theatrical plays at the school have included prop weapons and that the mascot — a patriot — is depicted on school grounds and publications as carrying a weapon.

Sue for this. Sue for that.

I do wonder why the principle thinks it's OK if you pay, but not in the free section.

Oh, that's right, I have been telling you people don't know how to think anymore. Now I know why - that's what we teach in school!!!









Teacher suspended over art of his posterior

Students say they don’t mind cheeky creations of ‘butt-printing artist’

RICHMOND, Virginia - To hear the students tell it, Stephen Murmer is a fun, popular art teacher who is always quick to crack a joke.

But there is another side to Murmer. A side that has agitated school officials and resulted in his suspension. A side that focuses, almost entirely, on his backside.

Outside of class and under an alter ego, the self-proclaimed "butt-printing artist" creates floral and abstract art by plastering his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas. His cheeky creations sell for hundreds of dollars.

This has not gone over well with Chesterfield County school officials, who placed Murmer on administrative leave from his job at Monacan High School.

Murmer contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia after he was suspended on Friday, ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said. He told Glenberg that administrators had suspended him with pay for five days because of his work as a butt-print painter and that he also could face unpaid suspension pending an investigation.

Murmer has been instructed by the school administration not to speak with the media, Glenberg said. He did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Chesterfield County schools spokeswoman Debra Marlow confirmed that a Monacan art teacher had been placed on administrative leave but declined to provide additional details because it is a personnel issue.

"In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct," Marlow said. "Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models."

Separate work, art lives
Murmer went to great lengths to keep his work life separate from his activities as an artist, said ACLU executive director Kent Willis. As a butt-printing artist, he goes by the name "Stan Murmur," and appears in disguise in photographs and videos promoting his art.

"As a public employee, he has constitutional rights, and he certainly has the right to engage in private legal activities protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution," Willis said, referring to the right to freedom of speech.

A nearly naked Murmer expressed concern about remaining incognito during a 2003 appearance on the now-canceled cable television talk show, "Unscrewed With Martin Sargent." In a clip from the show, available on YouTube.com, Murmer dons a fake nose and glasses, a towel on his head, a black thong — and nothing else.

"I'm certainly proud of the ass painting," Murmer said in response to questions about his disguise. "I do have a real job where I do have real clients and I don't think they'd be too understanding if I was also the guy who painted with my ass."

Students not impressed with suspension
That video has made the rounds at Monacan High, where the mere mention of Murmer's name was enough to elicit grins from students Tuesday. Most appeared to be firmly behind their teacher, describing his suspension as "stupid," "ignorant" and "kinda retarded."

"Everyone has been talking about it," senior Heather Thompson said with a laugh as she and other students streamed out of school.

Thompson, who worked with Murmer in the school's art club, said many students have known about his paintings for a few years, but the YouTube clip recently got everyone buzzing. She and other students described Murmer as a funny, likable and popular teacher. There is little support among the student body for his suspension, she said.

"It was simply him expressing himself and his art, and it had nothing to do with school — he wasn't advertising," she said.

This is not the first time Murmer has faced potential problems because of his extracurricular activities. Three years ago, he contacted the ACLU after he was told school administrators were unhappy about his paintings, Willis said. The issue eventually blew over with no suspension issued, Willis said. It was unclear why administrators decided to take action now.

Owning a piece of Murmer's art doesn't come cheap. On his Web site, his creations run upward of $900. His most popular piece, "Tulip Butts," goes for $600.

So how does one become a butt-printing artist? On his Web site, Murmur said his journey began a few years ago when he was told to find an organic item to use as a stamp for a class painting assignment. He decided to use his posterior. His final product was a hit with the class and a butt painter was born.

He was, however, the only student not asked to hold up his organic stamp.

The ACLU is certainly busy.

The crime here is someone actually pays $600 to $900 to hang this guy's butt on their wall.

Does anyone remember the game butts up?








4 -year-old Accused of Improperly Touching Teacher

BELLMEAD- A four-year-old hugged his teachers aide and was put into in-school suspension, according to the father. But La Vega school administrators have a different story.

Damarcus Blackwell's four-year-old son was lining-up to get on the bus after school last month, when he was accused of rubbing his face in the chest of a female employee.

The prinicipal of La Vega Primary School sent a letter to the Blackwells that said the pre-kindergartener demonstrated "inappropriate physical behavior interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment."

Blackwell says it's ridiculous that the aide would misread a hug from a four-year-old. Blackwell wrote to administrators demanding that the whole incident be expunged from his son's academic file because his son is too young to know what it means to act sexually.

David Davis, the executive director of the Advocacy Center in Waco tends to agree with Blackwell. He says assuming the boy has not had sexual encounters, or been inappropriately exposed to pornography, most four-year-olds are sexually innocent.

Blackwell got a response from the La Vega administration. The sexual references on the discipline referral were removed. But the thing that makes Blackwell most upset is they told him "your request for an apology by the aide and removal of all paperwork regarding this incident is denied." Now the young student's file will refer to the incident as "inappropriate physical contact." And Blackwell says he will continue to fight the district.

Man, I have covered stories of kids 6 to 9 years old driving, but sex at 4 years old, oh, to be a kid again. It used to be the car first then sex!!!

It is a man's nature to want to rub his face in the chest of a female, so it's really not the kid's fault!!!

I wonder if the female employee encouraged the boy and then thought someone might have seen them so she panicked and accused the boy to deflect the blame from her?


For the times they are a changing.

What a wacky world we live in!!

Join me once again tomorrow when I bring you more of less of all the news you can use!!!