Category: community service

Posted on

Man lost his house

You have to watch the city government sometimes and this seems even more true in Detroit, Michigan.  There are lots of houses that are on the list to be demolished because they are in such bad shape.  Well it seems a man bought one of them for $7,000 and got it taken off of the demolition list.  He had put about $30,000 into repairs in the house, went by one day and couldn’t find his house.  It seems the city put it back on the demolition list and didn’t tell him.

“I drove up and down the street three times – where is my house?” Roslonski said. His lawyer, Jeffrey Dworin, said the house was taken off a demolition list, then apparently reinstated without Roslonski’s knowledge. “It happens,” Dworin said.

A message seeking comment was left with the city’s law department, which was closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday.

Roslonski is suing Detroit for his losses under a federal civil rights law. He fixed another house on the same street and sold it for $85,000. “I see all these boarded-up and burned-out houses. I’m trying to make the city a better place,” he said.

Can you imagine that happening to you?  It happened a lot down here but most of the houses were not being repaired so they should have been torn down.  This man was fixing the house.  I hope he wins his case.

Posted on

No one worked yesterday

I told everyone working on the apartments to take the day off yesterday because they needed to witness history.  That was more important than working for me.  I know there are some people that think this is the worst thing that could have ever happened but they’re wrong!!  This is a great day that will go down in history as just that, a GREAT DAY!!!  One thing is for sure, I didn’t think I would live to see it but thank God I was wrong.

New Orleans has always been known for welcoming PEOPLE to our fair city.  We don’t look at a person and say they aren’t welcome because of their heritage, skin color, accent, or anything else.  Everyone is welcome in New Orleans just as everyone is welcome in America, or used to be.  They should be because the only true ‘American’ are the Indians.  Everyone of us that does not have American Indian in our background, are from another country in all reality.  We are all immigrants but we all became Americans and that’s what is the most important thing.

I sure  hope each and every one of you took the time to watch history in the making unfold before your eyes.  I sure did and loved every moment of it.

Posted on

I’m thinking about building some apartments

I have a house behind my business and and there’s room above my place of business to build about 4 small apartments that my employees could live in.  I’ve hired a handy man to do the work for me.  He’ll start in the morning.  What I want is 2 one bedroom apartments, 1 two bedroom apartment and 1 three bedroom apartment.  I have one single lady working for me with a couple of kids.  She’s having trouble making ends meet trying to pay rent and drive 30 miles to work.  She has to live that far away because the rents cheaper there.  Well I’ll fix that.

Each room will have ceiling fans to make them more energy efficient.  I can’t wait to start picking out everything.  I’ll have to pick out bathroom fixtures, flooring and I don’t want any carpet either.  I like the laminate floors.  They can get an area rug if they want carpet.  This is going to be a lot of fun for me and my employees are even going to come in on their time off to help my handy man so it can get finished sooner.  I told them that if they do, I’ll give them the first months rent free.  It’s the least I can do.

Posted on

Well the new years starting off good

Thanks to my little Angel Tree and a lot of help from local business owners, there are several families with new jobs, and new hope.  I told you that someone donated $100 to each family, well one of the families used the money to buy paint to help get their house back to looking like a home.  They had been living with nothing but dry wall on the walls for about year now.  Now it’s beginning to feel like home to them again.

Another family used the money to buy a bigger used refrigerator.  They had been using one of those dorm type refrigerators.  They traded it in to a used appliance store and put the $100 with it and got a full size refrigerator.  That will help them save money by not having to go to the store as often.  They’ll save a lot of gas.

I am just overwhelmed by what these people have done with the help of my little Angel Tree.  I’m even thinking of putting up one for Easter.  There’s still a lot that need help and that’s one way to help without them feeling like they’re getting a hand out, just a hand up.

Posted on

I am so ashamed that he’s from New Orleans

I got on my computer this morning and my heart just sank.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  This so called ‘Man’ was ordered to pay child support and instead of paying it………….well here is what happened.

Danny Platt confessed, told police where to find the child’s body and will be booked on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Ja’ Shawn Powell, Riley said at a news conference. “He had said he would kill either his wife or his child before he paid child support,” which he recently had been ordered to do, Riley said.

Riley said he did not know the amount of child support and would not describe how the boy was killed, saying the coroner would do that after the autopsy was complete. The coroner’s spokesman did not immediately return a call. “The mother is in a safe place,” Riley said.

Although he had visiting rights, Platt, 22, of New Orleans, had never visited the boy until he picked him up Friday, Riley said. Police put out a notice Saturday asking people to look for the boy and saying his father had told them three men with dreadlocks and AK-47 rifles had piled out of an SUV and kidnapped Ja’ Shawn shortly before midnight Friday.

“His story never really added up,” Riley said. “He was a suspect from the very beginning.” Riley said Platt eventually confessed and told officers where to find the body.  “How does an individual – because he’s ordered to pay child support to take care of a kid … believe that this is so much pressure that he would face – he would do this hideous act to his own child, or to any child, and think that is a remedy to paying child support?” Riley said. “I mean there are some sick individuals in this society, and this gentleman is clearly one.”

After having so much pride in the good people of New Orleans over the Christmas holiday to reading this just doesn’t seem possible.  How could he?  This is not anything even remotely close to a ‘Man’.  This is a monster and deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.  It’s bad enough when someone else hurts a child but their own father?  I want to make sure you and everyone else gets to see this monster.

Posted on

Happy New Year one and all

Well we all made it through another year.  Now I can hardly wait to see what this new year brings.  Last year was hard on a lot of people.  The new president has a tough job ahead of him but so far, he’s choosing some really good people to help him lead the country out of the mess we’re in.  I sure hope he can anyway.

I feel that it’s time to bring our soldiers and Marines home from Iraq.  We’re not doing much of anything but losing our people now.  They don’t want us there and a lot of us don’t want them there anymore either.  So hopefully the new president will bring them home.

Any time there is an election, there are promises made that they just may intend to follow through on but for one reason or another, they can’t fulfil each campaign promise no matter how hard they try.  Well as long as they at least fulfil most of them, I’m happy I guess.  I have enough to worry about in my own little corner of this world to try and fix the world.  It ain’t gonna happen.  Well I just wanted to wish each and everyone of you a very HAPPY AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Posted on

My heart overflows

I have so many ‘Thank You’ cards along with Christmas cards that my heart overflows with the spirit of not only Christmas, but also the spirit of God.  Dinner last night was perfect.  We had gumbo, turkey, dressing, ham, candied yams, green beans, corn, dinner rolls, and more food than I can remember.  I don’t think I will be able to eat again for a week after all of that.

The children’s faces were just as I imagined they would be.  Every family brought their camera to me and I can’t wait to get them developed.  Families were coming up to me with tears in their eyes and thanking not only me but the whole community.  Some got job offers, everyone got a crisp new $100 bill, thanks to someone very special.

There was not a child that didn’t get ‘exactly’ what they wanted according to them.  There were more gadgets and toys in there than you can believe.  Each child brought their favorite toy if they could.  Some couldn’t because it was a bicycle or a game system but they made sure to bring their next favorite toy to show me.  Life is good here in Louisiana.

Posted on

Picking up presents

What a wonderful day this is.  The parents are making a steady path to my door to pick up the presents for their families.  I wish I could be at each and every house in the morning to see the faces of the whole family.  At least they will have a camera to take pictures.

I am so very proud to be from New Orleans.  I am so very proud of the people of New Orleans.  They have come together to make sure the families that have lost so much, will have a very Merry Christmas.  My little Angel Tree has already brought so much joy and tomorrow morning, it will bring more joy than I ever dreamed it could.

The day after Christmas, we’re having a special dinner for every family.  We had to borrow a church fellowship hall to hold it in but that’s as it should be too.  Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ after all so the church fellowship hall is perfect.  I can’t wait to see all the smiling faces.  Here’s hoping your Christmas is a full of love and joy as our is.  Merry Christmas!!!!

Posted on

Every present wrapped and every bow tied

Well every single Angel has been taken from the tree and all of the presents that have been donated or brought in are all wrapped and every bow tied.  There is a pile of presents like I have never seen.  In fact, there are enough presents to take up a whole room in my home.  What a wonderful feeling standing in the doorway looking at all the presents.

I feel so blessed and not a single present is for me to open.  The blessing comes from knowing I’m making Christmas special for children and their families.  I guess I’m a HO HO HO!!!!  I’m Santa Clausette.  How about that?

Posted on

The magic of the season

Christmas has long been a magical season and this year is no different.  The whole community has pitched in to help me with all the ‘Angels’ on my tree.  Some businesses have donated items.  Some businesses have offered jobs.  Some businesses have donated food, and there is even a celebrity, which I promised not to name, that has donated $100 to every family that has an Angel on my tree.  God has blessed this little tree in ways I never imagined.

I am so proud to live here in New Orleans.  I am so proud of the people of New Orleans as they have pulled together to see to it these families and mostly the children, will wake up Christmas morning to a wonderful surprise from Santa.  There are PSP’s, Game Boys, Wii’s, MP3 players, DVD players, TV’s, PS3’s, and more gadgets than I know what they are.  Guess I’m getting old when I don’t recognize some of the presents we’re giving out, ya think?

Oh well, I’ll know it’s the right thing with all the smiles.  Oh each family is getting a disposable camera that they are to bring back to me so I can get the pictures developed.  Of course I’ll get double prints and maybe more because I want a picture of the children’s faces, and I also want to send ‘Thank you’ notes to the many people that donated along with a picture of the smiling faces of the children they helped to make this Christmas special for.  Then of course, the parents need a copy of their pictures too.

I’m worse than the kids beacuse I can’t wait!!!!!!