Wise County on the Web

A tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 10:00 p.m.
(Note: To make sure you are receiving the most recent update, hold down the "Shift" key while you click on reload/refresh).
For the week ending 07/20/02:

The Story	Highway 380, between Decatur and Bridgeport, is set to be expanded beginning in October 2003. "The $34 million dollar project will also include reconstruction of the Sandy Creek and Dry Creek bridges."
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	**
The Spin	Didn't we just pay for one of those major bridge reconstructions?

The Story	Cody Duty, 13, had to be knocked lose from an inadvertently electrified fence at the Butterfield Stage Days carnival.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	The carnies immediately began charging $5.00 for the experience.

The Story	An unidentified man donates $25,000 to the Bridgeport Police Department "to assist the department in making a greater impact on drug related crimes."
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Nice try, but adding to the billion dollar and more budget to fight the War on Drugs won't solve the problem.

The Story	Five men were honored for freeing Jim Crippen from a burning vehicle several months ago. Three of the men "commented on the large number of people standing around the scene, watching, not offering to help."
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Five men and one victim - we think you boys had it handled.

The Story	Commissioners were apparently "stunned" when County Court at Law Judge Melton Cude "asked for $520 for contract labor to answer phones while he and his staff go on vacation - all at the same time."
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Ok, how about $10 for a really big answering machine tape.

**Special Highly Technical Research Project to be Conducted Throughout 2002:**
	New This Week	Year To Date
Number of new births announced in the Wise County Messenger	14	293
Number of new births announced by parents with different surnames (or no father identified):	3 (21%)	94 (32%)

See something in the local papers that struck you funny? Then suggest a topic for The Spin.

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