#FallinforFallon

Recently on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy made a comparison about how Niagara Falls is on both sides of the border and left some people on the US side a little upset. However, most of the tourism companies on the US side are taking that with a grain of salt and trying to get Jimmy Fallon to notice the good things that are happening on our side of the border and hopefully trying to get him to come see it for himself. They even started the hashtag #FallinforFallon.

Having worked down at the Cave of the Winds gift shop for two summers now, I've seen a few celebrities while I was working, such as Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandan, Kathy Bates, and the Long Island Medium. I love when celebrities come to either visit or even to work on a film. It brings more tourists down and hikes up business at the shops that I work in also. So, I hope it works out that he does come and take a visit to Niagara Falls, USA. 

House Fire

Yesterday there was a house fire in Monroe, La. killing Tashae Johnson (age 4) and Clifton Johnson (age 3). The two girls were left alone in the house while their mother, Ciarra Johnson, went for a hair appointment. She told authorities she left for a 1:30 pm appointment but investigators discovered that she had actually left the children home alone around 10 am. The house fire was called in around 3 pm and firefighters found both girls dead in their bedroom. When asked about arrangements for the children, Johnson stated that a local family was supposed to come watch the girls. Investigators found out that she made no such arrangements. The fire was started by two gas space heaters were turned on when she left. Investigators also discovered that there were flammable materials too close to the space heaters which started the fire. Ciarra Johnson is being charged with two counts of negligent homicide and will be taken into custody in the next couple of days.

I see two problems with this situation. First, the biggest problem is leaving your two preschool children home alone. If they were older, it would be a completely different story, but these two girls were too young to know how to react in a fire. I feel terrible that they had to go this way. It could've been avoided by having a family member watch the two girls. Supposedly there was numerous family members that were in the area and the mother could've made an appointment while a family member was able to watch the girls. Another problem is that she could've taken precautions to stop the fire by not putting flammable things next to a space heater. She should've used common sense before putting flammable stuff by a space heater, and if there was someone there, the person could've stopped the fire before it killed her kids and destroyed her house. I hope that the mother suffers consequences for her actions.

Is Obama the new Hitler?

There was an uproar on the twitter world yesterday when Rep. Randy Weber (Republican for Texas) compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler. This is what he tweeted: "Even Adolph Hitler thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris. (For all the wrong reasons.) Obama couldn't do it for right reasons." The representative was upset that Obama didn't join other world leaders in Paris after the recent bombings in France to stand against terrorism. "I think it's fair to say that we should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there," stated White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in a press conference on Monday. People were quick to come back at the representative with comments and some even noticed that he even spelt "Adolf" wrong. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Josh Schwerin called Weber's comparison "beyond vile and insulting," He now wants GOP leaders to condemn Weber's wrong comments.

I think it is very wrong that he made this comment about Obama. He should realize that the president is a very busy man and I believe President Obama would have joined if he didn't have something that was a more pressing matter. I hope that Representative Weber makes an apology to President Obama for his comment.  

Abandoned Dog

On January 2, a dog was found tied to a railing in a Scottish train station located in South Ayrshire. The male shar-pei crossbreed was found with a suitcase full of food, bowl, a toy, and a pillow. The dog had a microchip and the original owners of the dog was found. However, the owners sold the dog online and does not know the address of the new owner. The SPCA says this is the exact reason why you should not sell your dogs online because people are buying a dog they know very little about and could lead to a situation like this. In Scotland, the act of abandoning a dog is a crime and can ban you from owning an animal for a certain period of time or even for life.

I believe this is a horrible act. I don't understand why someone would just leave an animal unattended in a train station. It doesn't make sense why they couldn't just bring the dog to the SPCA so it will go to a good home. At least there was no sign of physical abuse on the dog.

The SPCA says that they will look after the dog until they are able to find a suitable owner.

Gas Prices

Recently I went on a trip to Florida and passing by a gas station I notice the price of their gas, it was $1.97 a gallon! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the gas below $2. When I got home I noticed the gas was around $2.80. That's not even the worst of it, the national average is at $2.19 per gallon, making our gas about sixty cents over the national average. I wonder why Western New York has the most expensive gas in the country.

Last night on Channel 2 news they questioned senator Chuck Schumer about the big difference of gas prices. His response was, "We did not like what the [Federal Trade Commission] did a few years ago. We've asked the Energy Information Administration to do a study. They are doing it now. As soon as we get results, I'll let you know." Channel 2 reported that crude oil fell below $50 a barrel, so I don't understand why our gas is not coming down to around the national average. But we can't complain that much because the gas is still under $3. Hopefully, they will fix the problem soon.

Lancaster Snow Piles

Even though the "Snovember" Storm was over a month ago, residents in Lancaster still have huge piles of snow blocking the sidewalk. The Village of Lancaster did cut the citizens a break during and shortly after the storm and dropped the law saying you must clear your sidewalk for that period of time. However, a month after the snow storm residents are still having trouble removing the snow piles which have now turned more into ice. These piles are very dangerous for people because they will have to walk in the street instead of on the sidewalk. A concerned resident called WGRZ news station and had one of their reporters investigate the story. The reporter went to a village official who said it is the landowner's responsibility to clear the sidewalk. He then went on to say that the village will help anyone who contacts them. And the village did send out workers to clear some of the sidewalks the reporter did come across. I'm glad that the Village is doing something about it but they should have done something about it before a citizen had to reach out to a news station.

Cat Killer

Last week, a man was walker his German Shepard in Batavia and ended up killing a cat. He came across the cat, threw it in the air and stomped on it a few times until the cat was dead. By the time the police arrived, the man and his dog were gone. There is now a $500 award out for whoever finds the man. 

I think it's horrible that someone would just kill a cat for walking in front of him. There was no reason to hurt the animal, he could've just kept walking. I hate when people hurt animals like this. There is just no place in my mind where I can figure out why people would do this sort of thing. It is believable that the man has something wrong for just killing an innocent animal and hopefully they find him and give him the help he needs. If anyone with information is asked to Batavia Police at 585-345-6350.