Just in Case You Need Some Hope Today

[Concerned]

By most accounts, 36-year-old Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea Elementary School teacher Paula Gallant didn't get to complete the chapters of her own life. Her 5-year-old daughter Anna likely will not personally remember her mother, but through the stories to be told and the love to be shown by all those caring for Anna in the future. Paula Gallant, A Glace Bay native was found in the parking lot of the school where she taught, stuffed in the trunk of her green 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier on December 28, 2005.

Yet throughout the years that followed, chapters were told which honored her life and the unstoppable quest for answers from those who loved her. They hosted events, launched awareness campaigns, offered rewards, answered media inquiries, created a website (paulagallant.com), and never gave up. They kept her memory alive. 

Sources say her husband Jason MacRae was the suspect, all along. They questioned him on February 8, 2006, then released him.  “The elements of first-degree murder include planning and deliberation so obviously those components have been reviewed by the public prosecution service who recommended it was an appropriate charge,” said Halifax RCMP Supt. Darrel Beaton. “There are so many stages in the investigative process that have to be carried out: The evidence has to be assessed at every stage, the forensic evidence is not like you see on TV...Almost every homicide, unless someone confesses or you catch them at the scene with a smoking gun is going to take a period of time.”

It's been 4.5 years. They hit a brick wall one report states.  Then new information "came to light" in the spring of 2009. Others say "There was no late-breaking tip that led to the arrest, just solid investigating by members of the RCMP-HRP Integrated Major Crime Section."  Either way, there is a report that at least 15 investigators were assembled and reexamined old evidence to lay the groundwork for a first-degree murder charge they hope will stick.  An arrest was made on August 17, 2010.

"Paula's family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the HRP-RCMP Integrated Major Crime Unit, especially Staff Sgt. Frank Chambers and team for their commitment to this investigation. To family, friends, community members and the media, no words can fully express their deepest gratitude for the ongoing support they have received throughout this entire ordeal. It has been greatly appreciated and the strength, hope, and prayers that have been extended since Dec. 27, 2005 will never be forgotten." said Ted McInnis in a statement read on behalf of Lynn Gallant-Blackburn and Lana Kenny.

At this point in the story, "...police say it gives hope for other families who have been torn apart by unsolved homicides." 

It's clearly not a TV story that gets solved within 30 minutes, and it's not the chapter of the book Paula Gallant would have probably written as her life, or the life of her daughter. But it is, nonetheless a story of hope provided to many still waiting for their very own closure. 

...for it is a commendable story about the love two sisters had for their "baby" sister.  A verse in people that don't give up. A chapter about police that never close the file, and instead put in countless hours. A story about media that kept the story alive. A story about the bad guy behind bars. And, a story about the good guys that remain where they belong, making a community full of love and hope.

Hope.

http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/605945--arrest-in-gallant-murder
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/606932--gathering-solid-evidence-slow-process-chief
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/606970--gallant-s-husband-charged
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/605915--victim-s-family-asks-for-time-to-absorb-arrest
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/606246--statement-from-paula-gallant-s-family

[Concerned]

Once upon a time there were two 22-year-old guys celebrating their birthdays which were two days apart. They drank, and drank, and drank. They came upon a police cruiser, and they stole some items. They found a control that opened the Point Edward OPP station garage door. They opened it. They stole items there, too. Sunglasses, cell phone, winter jacket and they stole a breath-test (no word yet on whether they used the device). They got caught. The defense lawyer said, they got stupid, but they were smart enough not to drive.  They wrote apology letters. They got one year's probation.

Sometimes the perps get stupid, and they get caught.

Hope.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/09/03/15240246.html

[Concerned]

It was suppose to be easy. Grab an 84-year-old Surrey woman's handbag in the streets of Vancouver, and run away. Easy money, thought the 28-year-old Allen James Barkley, also a Surrey resident. Easy, that is until the woman's 89-year-old husband gave chase.  He wasn't going to have any of it. He chased the snatcher into the corner of a stairwell that led to a dead-end. And, he wasn't too quiet about it, either. He yelled at the perp during the chase, grabbing the attention of a nearby security guard, while another person called for assistance.

The perp was charged with robbery.

The woman, well, she was treated for minor hand injuries and her property was returned, but most importantly she has a husband we can all be proud of. He did the right thing. Against, all odds. And, he's ok. His wife should be one very proud lady.

See, the system can work, with a little help (and perhaps a little love) from one another.

Hope.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/09/23/bc-purse-snatch-vancouver.html

[Concerned]

The plan was to wait until she saw a person with merchandise leave a store in the McCarthy Boulevard strip mall, then grab the bag and run. The plan wasn't to get a bloody nose and two criminal charges for a botched robbery in northwest Regina. But, that's what Autumn Rain Sanderson, 18, got robbery, breach of probation, and a date scheduled with the provincial court judge on October 25.

Her error--grabbing the bag of an off-duty police officer, 10 years older than her.

Morale--crime doesn't pay, and police officer's bag a good punch.

Sometimes, the criminal picks the wrong guy and gets hurt.

Hope.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/09/25/sk-robbery-off-duty-officer.html

[Concerned]

Imagine, having to tell a mother of a child who has been abducted, that her child has been found. Then imagine, having to tell that mother that when they bring the child into the room wrapped in a blanket, that she can't run over to him and hug him or hold him.

That is what Barb Snider has to do.  She has to tell the mother to resist the urge to run to her son, hug him, kiss him, even if it's been months since she last saw her baby. Instead, she tells the mother to wait until the child comes to her. The mother will undoubtedly cry. And, so will the child.

Now imagine, having to meet with a father whose daughter has disappeared. His helplessness at not being able to protect his daughter from harm, when father's are suppose to be able to protect their daughters. Despair.

Barb does this, too. Twenty-seven years ago, in 1983, Barb co-founded Child Find Ontario, one of the first nonprofit organizations dedicated to finding missing children in Canada.  Recently it was reported that she has graduated to international case manager with the Missing Children Society of Canada. She helps parents, police, lawyers, customs and border service, immigration officials, and more. One report claims she is the only caseworker in the field specializing in child recovery and reunification as well as cases of international child abduction.

Perhaps that is why she is invited to speak worldwide. She regularly participates in research and training sessions, too.

"Some of the children I have helped recover have grown up now. They have their own kids. It's delightful to receive Christmas cards from these families and to hear how they're doing," Barb says. "My job includes the rough times when I'm sitting with a family and struggling for the words to console them after their child's body is located. But it also includes the happy endings where I get to reunify a family. These times are why I have the best job in the world."

I think Barb would understand if I say that I hope some day soon she is able to retire (for no demand!).

But, until then, people like Barb give parents a lot hope and someone to turn to. So,

Hope.

 http://www.mcsc.ca/UserFiles/File/Barb's%2025th%20Media%20release.pdf

[Concerned]

We hear it too often--   8-year-old girl abducted by a stranger while playing with a group of friends outside a neighborhood home. An adult neighbor saw the man get out of his red pickup truck approach the group and persuade them to go with him. The adult neighbor yelled at the children to get away from him.  All the other kids scattered, but one who had followed him was thrown into the front seat and the driver sped away.  The little girl's mother raced after him, but could not find him.

An Amber alert was issued. Area resident Victor Perez had seen the media report and recognized the red truck parked in a drive, nearly 11 hours after the girl was abducted. He waited until the man left the driveway and tried to pull him over, at first just to talk to him. The guy wouldn't pull over and Perez hadn't seen the girl, but he continued to follow the truck.

"I didn't see no little girl. So the second time I cut him off, the little girl stuck her head out," Perez said. "That's when I said, 'OK, that ain't your girl right there,' Because he was hiding her--like pushing her down."

Perez cut the truck off and forced it to stop. The suspect pushed the girl out of the car and she ran to safety. She was free. She had been sexually assaulted, and who knows where the suspect was headed with her.

Perez said, "I thank God he put me here to help out that little girl--that's for sure."

The Fresno, CA, police force had called in 130 police officers that were knocking door-to-door in a three-mile area at the time.  Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, "I've got to tell you, it was the highlight of my career seeing (the victim) and her mom unite in that hospital room. Because we beat the odds today..."

Sometimes there alert neighbors, informed kids, concerned citizens that step up, media that immediately issue Amber Alerts, and 130 officers at the call.... it's called...

Hope.

Thank goodness.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101006/ap_on_re_us/us_california_girl_abducted

[Concerned]

By all measures it was a tough day today. RW trial day two, the day they revealed step-by-step how RW hid in Marie's basement waiting for her to fall asleep. "A mistake" someone called it a week ago. Today, we found out what that meant. She was suppose to sleep and instead she came looking for her cat which was in the basement where RW was hiding. When she found the cat, she found RW. Marie, trained by the military and one of their finest, called the intruder a "Bastard" was attacked, and fought back. She gave quite a fight. I think as we heard of her struggle we all mentally threw our biggest punches with her wanting the story to have ended differently.

It was also the day we found out about one of the women RW assaulted, who survived. And, when you hear the story in light of the others, you are thankful she made it. You wonder what made her circumstance different. She negotiated. She has disclosed her name to the media and has been publicly vocal about her ordeal because it helps her with the healing process. She has also suggested some improvements she would like to see that may help others from the same fate down the road, namely more vigilance in informing the public sooner so the public can chose to be more aware in their surroundings sooner and take their own protective measures.

We also heard about so many near misses RW had in the 80 some odd break-ins. His sick fetish for even the children. He broke into one house with two boys, but their dad was home, thankfully. Or the teen girls' room waiting for her to come home, but instead her father came home. And we are so glad. So many near misses. Sometimes some things turn out better than they were heading.

It was also the day we heard many of the details of RW's 12-hour reign of terror on Jessica. They say she was totally compliant doing everything in her power to not upset her attacker for he let her think if she did, she would have a chance at survival. She had grace through an extremely difficult situation, that no one wrote the rule books for.

So where is the hope today, you say? For there was a lot of devastation which words can not put justice to. The obvious is that the perpetrator got caught, and will likely spend the next 25 years behind bars. More  loss of life averted. And some lives spared along the way. For that we are thankful.

But I found a piece of hope today in the message each of the victims gave, in their own way. From Marie, I learned I could fight back. Knowing that she fought, will undoubtedly give others strength to do so, as well, if they feel it best...but maybe now our fight will carry a harder and smarter punch as we remember hers, and vow to learn better skills, just in case.   And from the vocal victim, we learned we don't have to be silent. We can learn from those who have been there, and together maybe heal. Perhaps survivors won't feel all alone knowing they have thousands of us standing behind them. Hopefully, that may make a perp think again, before first turning to crime. 

And, from sweet beautiful Jessica, came hope in the form we wouldn't necessarily wish was delivered in such a fashion. Even though it was voiced to her murderer and never relayed by him...Jessica's wish for her mother was delivered in court, "If I die, will you make sure my mom knows I love her." No matter how, and despite RW, her message reached home.

Sometimes amongst life's most difficult moments, we get messages. Some give us strength. Some give us protection. Some make us thankful. Some make us smarter. And, some bring us some peace.

Find hope (even in difficult days), find hope.

[debbiec]

So eloquently put, concerned. I guess sometimes we just have to dig a little deeper or look a little harder to find something positive. Thank you for reminding us that we can always find hope, even in the most horrific of circumstances, and for putting it into words the way only you can. You have a wonderful gift.

[jobo]

Thanks Concerned...I needed your words of wisdom....I cried like a baby, no I sobbed (I still am)... to think of Marie-France and Jessica's last day on earth in the hands of this sick monster....
I have 2 daughters the same age as Jessica....what Williams did, is every Mother's nightmare.

[Concerned]

They say hope comes in many sizes. Makes sense. I hope for one tiny thing that can be expressed in three tiny words, "Please find Penny," yet there isn't a container big enough to hold the hope those three words have backing them.

Dan Richardson knows this, too. Dan is 53 and a 26-year veteran of the Ottawa fire service. He probably lost his hope somewhere between just placing his wife in a home due to her dementia...downsizing to another home...traveling to Scotland to find his family roots...and attempting to hike the top of the highest mountain in the United Kingdom to ward of the stresses that were consuming him.

It was after that very own hike, the fit firefighter found himself sweating profusely. He tried to cool himself off, but he collapsed rolling three metres down below the sidewalk and into thicket. He was having a heart attack, unconscious.

Odd, thought 10-year-old Melanie MacLennan who was walking Spike, her neighbour's border collie. She saw feet.

"I was scared," she recalled. "But, after I'd come to terms with it and I went over and tried to speak to him, but he didn't talk. I felt for a pulse on his wrist and there was a pulse."

She and Spike went for help. Her father Gary called paramedics. He said Dan looked "in a bad way" and worried "he was a goner."

Dan made it. "I feel like a very lucky man," said Dan. "I really owe my life to this little girl."

Doug Hempstead, a QMI Agency journalist reported that when asked if what she did makes her a hero, Melanie replied, "A bit. A wee bit."

...so there you have it. A bit. A wee bit of hope...can save lives.

Hope.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Good_News/2010/10/22/15786581.html

[Woodland]

What a brave young gal - she'll go far in life!  Her parents must be so proud.

[Concerned]

It was Wednesday, October 27, 2010, when Janice Patridge, 61, and her brother Howard Patridge, 73, went for a drive in their Suzuki SUV along Forest Service Road 11 in Oregon, US. They encountered snow. Actually, they got stuck in it. They were reported missing for failing to return home when they were suppose to.

The Linn County Sherriff's Office were under search and rescue mode in Williamette National Forest. They searched logging roads, and were joined by the Marion County Sheriff's Office Special Vehicles Unit and Jeep Patrol. A UH60 Black Hawk helicopter from the Oregon Army National Guard stepped up. The rescuers were not able to make cell phone contact, but were able to narrow the search down to a 760 square mile area. Still, they weren't found.

They had packed a few travel snacks, and they melted snow to drink, and they waited two days in the shelter of the car before they realized, they were going to need help.

How in the world did Howard, 73, who is 6'2" and weighing 370 pounds maneuver his wheelchair through the snow the vehicle couldn't navigate through is, well, perhaps an act of faith. Or, hope. Or, as Howard may say, it was all downhill from there. He was on a mission to get help for his sister, free the car, and return home, in good health. He did good.

After being stranded for two days he wheeled that chair nearly three miles before some hunters found him, drove him back to where his sister was, freed his sister and the car.

Howard and Janice made it home, healthy. You know, it happens....against all odds, sometimes. People find their way back home. Sometimes it takes more than hope. In this case, a wheelchair and some kind-hearted hunters...ok, and some faith, going downhill from there, albeit.

Just think the hunting story those hunters will share this season... "We didn't get the deer, hun, but we saved a life, or two..."

You may not have Howard, his wheelchair, or a few hunters, or downhill conditions, but nonetheless, there is faith. Bag that!!!

Let's bring em' home this season!

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2010/10/brother_and_sister_missing_in_remote_area_rescued_after_he_pushes_himself_three_miles_in_wheelchair.html

[jellybean]

Thank you very much for this Concerned; sometimes we lose sight of the fact that human will  and courage can overcome impossible adversities.  His sister was  truly blessed by having her disabled brother with her.

JB

[Concerned]

Harvest Moon, or Moon Shine?  Interesting implied question Toronto Sun Reporter Mike Strobel danced around yesterday. Sort of. What have people become after the shimmery shades of eve, the turning of the season, in preparation of a new overnight harvest...where do they go after the bubbly (I think he meant to say stand on your own) spring! and after the lazy (I think he meant to say fun in the sun string bikini) summers? ...when its falls--but before winters frost sets in?

Simply, we age...overnight. Well, he didn't say it quite that way. He did use some class, he said "Their subtlety, I think," but he wasn't so subtle about it. He contrasted the need to gaze into women's eyes, posing the question what do YOU see..."Aside from cataracts, I mean." (Nice!!)

We know (as a "new dead" man in his 50s--his description, not ours) he's got an opinion, but he's leaving it up to the guys to judge what the "diets and gyms and maybe a nip or tuck or two have made 70 the new 60 the new 50 the new 40 the new 30 and so on..." will amount to tonight.

It's a character brought on by the journey--of loves, losses, joys and pains..."Moonlight Ladies" complete with laugh lines and arched eyebrows that can "wither" one with just a look. "This scares the bejeezuz out of many men. We can't bulls--'em," he says, "All our ploys are about as useful as treats on a boar hog."

He suggests that we come out tonight when the night falls, when the squirrels hide, when "Jack Frost" is in the air, after the sky was its bluest, the air its crispest and even slightly hints that a magic wand may come in handy.  Although anything "beats a sheet with cutout eyes any day."

You get the eary feeling that when the night falls, we just don't know what we will get, but bring it and wear it well, please! Admittedly, "some men faint. Some men perk up." 

He might be talking about life's journey, or life's effects, but I think he's talking a little about Halloween, and alot about the characters we become.  I'm left wondering whether I've fallen, or just colorful. Treat, or Christmas' seasons soon to be fruit cake. Oh, hell, where's the damn sheet? Better yet, the moon shine?

"Get lots of candy tonight, ladies," he salutes.  "Just tonight?" I ask?

....I thought Halloween was for kids?

Hope comes with seasons, let humor (or moon shine) in once in a while...it keeps the frost in check.

Happy Halloween!
(Nice and cute, Mr. Strobel--a must read. Not to mention he's got a picture of Anne-Margret, 46, on the beach in her bikini...damn. )

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/10/26/15837036.html#/news/columnists/mike_strobel/2010/10/30/pf-15891071.html

[Concerned]

The Australian  company name says it all, "Rockingham Wild Encounters." They take groups of around 30 adults and children on excursions to swim-with-the-dolphins. ....and sharks. Well, not intentionally.

Diver Elyse Frankcom's wild encounter started out like any other day, taking a group snorkeling. She felt a pull to the side, then another, then saw a grey figure, then felt her legs and buttocks inside the shark's mouth "It was horrifying," she said. "There is a lot of people that don't make it and a lot of people don't survive." 

She may not have, but she had a few things on her side.  She was wearing a shock device that gave the shark a shock, she punched the shark, and a guest on her tour, Trevor Burns, decided he would grab onto the sharks tail. It worked. The shark let go. She sank, and Burns grabbed her and pulled her to the surface.

She made it. When asked why he did that, Mr. Burns said his parents taught him to take care of people. 

Elyse had an emotional exchange with Frankcom stating, "Thank you so much, thank you so much....my hero."

Burns, simply replied, Anytime, okay?"

People like Burns, and Burn's parents, give hope.

Hope.


http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20439290,00.html

Boat owner tells how man saves woman from shark attack

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-02/world/australia.shark.rescue_1_shark-intensive-care-australian-woman?_s=PM:WORLD