We have been friends with O.B. for what may be considered a long time in this era of constant social flux and superficial amenities. While a close friend of ours initially pointed out how the illustration in our blog on the Cypress Inn crash could be misunderstood and a second stated it would perhaps better be replaced, because of the nature of some demands from those we've never heard of and don't wish to hear of again, we chose to let the photo remain in place.
For those who wanted it replaced, O.B. has come to your aid and made a special request. He's always had our back, and for him we are replacing the original graphic with one that has been cropped and redone.
We received the new photo this afternoon from the gentleman who made the original Photoshop type graphic. He wanted us to be sure to convey his apology if it was misunderstood. He in no way was attempting to comment on anyone's final resting place, but simply on the tragedy of the fire. He added it was not his first altercation with the PC group and would probably not be his last.
We'll also relate that this was extremely magnanimous of O.B. since he was named in some of the off-color comments. While he is a good friend, he is not connected with our blog. At this time, we have three or four who are part of our blogging group. Many others are our friends; we're sure they get into enough trouble on their on without having to take blame for what is published here.
*****
The Crash:
We do have an update on the crash itself; we're publishing this information since there seems ostensibly to be so many who have attempted to refute the police reports.
1. The arrest warrant for John Clark Burns Jr. was initiated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol--not the Wayne County Sheriff as we originally blogged. Burns is charged with vehicular homicide.
2. Partial details of the crash were published in the Wayne County News on Wednesday, September 11th. Our blog was published several hours after the WCN went on sale and we were forwarded details from several readers. Thanks to Bubba for purchasing a copy after visiting at Salem Church in Zip City this morning. He says not to tell his grandmother in the nursing home who's still a Hardshell.
3. The details of the crash itself published in the WCN are somewhat disparate from those published in the TD. According to the TD, Burns' truck was traveling north on 157 when it approached the (almost) T-zone and headed into the the old Darby Store. According to the WCN, Burns' truck was headed east when it carromed into the building.
4. The Tennessee Highway Patrol officially said only that excessive speed was involved in the crash. A LEO reported that in his work, excessive is usually defined as at least 30 miles over the limit, indicating the truck was traveling at approximately 85 miles an hour in his opinion.
Peace out...
Shoalanda
