They got two big-hearted people to call Mom and Dad; a new last name, Davis; and a comfortable Conover house in which to live. Maybe the best part of their early Christmas present was the fact that they got each other. For a good while, they didn't know the joys of sisterhood because they lived in separate foster homes.
Laura and Dennis Davis of Conover became Layla's and Destinie's official adoptive parents on Sept. 21. The process began long before September, however.
According to Laura, "Layla came to us first in May of 2010; then Destinie came in November of 2010." The Davises served as foster parents of the two girls until the adoption was complete, a process that took nearly a year.
"I grew up wanting to be a foster or adoptive parent," said 31-year-old Laura, who has a degree in human and community service and works as a customer service rep for Klingspor Abrasives in Hickory. As a child in her native upstate New York, Laura knew several foster and adoptive families and saw the difference a loving and stable family can make in a child's life.
Adding to Laura's keen understanding of the need for foster and adoptive families was the year she spent working in a Catawba County group home. In 2008, Laura worked in a residence for female teens who were in the foster care system but had no foster families with whom to live. Laura said she saw kids "ready to turn 18 who literally had no one."
A Forsyth County native, Dennis had a childhood friend who was adopted, but Dennis had never considered becoming an adoptive parent until he and Laura married. Fiona and Zoe are Laura's biological daughters from her first marriage; Maddex is Laura's and Dennis's biological son. Dennis is a production worker at RockTenn, a packaging and paperboard company in Conover.
The Davises began their journey toward adoption by first considering becoming foster parents. To help them understand fostering better - and to become licensed foster parents - they took a comprehensive course in parenting offered by Family Builders of Catawba Valley, the foster and adoption agency of Catawba County Social Services. Additionally, they underwent criminal background checks and a home inspection.
"Once Dennis started the classes and saw the need in the community, he was especially supportive [of becoming a foster or adoptive parent]," said Laura.
The first foster children placed with the Davises were a 15-year-old girl and her 18-month-old baby. "It was a positive experience," said Laura. Sometime after the young mother and her child left the foster care system, the mother could not care for her child; the little girl returned to the Davises when she was 4 and stayed until June of last year, when she was placed with her biological father.
Around that time, the Davises were asked to consider two sisters. They readily agreed. The rest is the wonderful history of two little girls returning to each other and getting a family all in one big package. The Davises said their biological children immediately accepted Layla and Destinie as their siblings.
So how do two working parents manage five children? "With a lot of planning and support from family and friends," Laura shared. "We must be organized at home and make great use of time management."
Participating in activities is managed by limiting each child to one or two pursuits, Laura explained. "We want them to experience new things, but we must be able to manage it. There's also school work and chores."
Laura said the children help keep the family on schedule by laying out their clothes each evening, so they can dress quickly the following morning.
"Even Maddex can get out his shoes the night before and put them next to his stepstool," Laura said.
"We've done what we can," Dennis continued, "but we know there are so many children who need quality foster parents or adoptive parents."
State foster home licensing regulations limit a family to no more than five children, so the Davises can no longer accept foster children. What they can do, however, is challenge others to consider the possibility. "A child can't grab hold of anything until they know they aren't going anywhere," concluded Dennis.
2012年1月8日星期日
2011年9月25日星期日
Firefighters Taking Heat For Inappropriate On Camera Hose Usage
Firefighters in Los Angeles are being investigated for acting like how Samantha from Sex & The City thought they should act- by filming pornographic films while on duty.
The rescue workers aren't exactly getting hosed here; by all reports, it was pretty obvious that the pornographic films, featured on a very popular NSFW website, took place inside a Los Angeles fire house and feature Los Angeles Fire Department trucks prominently.
In one of the movies, shot at Venice Beach, LAFD Engine 263 is used as the backdrop by an actress performing lewd acts.
"Look at this fire truck," says porn actress Charley Chase, as she climbs on the engine and repeatedly exposes herself. "Isn't that nice?"
It appears that a group of firefighters are watching the movie being shot.
"I know them," one man says on camera in the reality-style porn flick. "I'm a firefighter."
It gets worse. Not only is obviously a LA firehouse, the firetruck used during the filming is illegally parked across two disabled parking spots and the truck is not within sight of the firefighters assigned to it. The entire video is policy violation central, and officials are all hot and bothered over the veritable orgy of rulebreaking captured on film.
For several minutes of the movie, the actress appears to have free access to the engine, and asks numerous passersby to fondle her.
"Look, I think we have more friends," she says, as a group of men stop to fondle the actress.
"Zero tolerance for that," said Capt. Tina Haro, an LAFD spokeswoman.
This isn't the first department in the City of Angels to be investigated for filming porn, nor is it the first investigation of its kind this year. In April, two traffic cops from the Department of Transportation did some penis acting of their own while in uniform and on duty.
The rescue workers aren't exactly getting hosed here; by all reports, it was pretty obvious that the pornographic films, featured on a very popular NSFW website, took place inside a Los Angeles fire house and feature Los Angeles Fire Department trucks prominently.
In one of the movies, shot at Venice Beach, LAFD Engine 263 is used as the backdrop by an actress performing lewd acts.
"Look at this fire truck," says porn actress Charley Chase, as she climbs on the engine and repeatedly exposes herself. "Isn't that nice?"
It appears that a group of firefighters are watching the movie being shot.
"I know them," one man says on camera in the reality-style porn flick. "I'm a firefighter."
It gets worse. Not only is obviously a LA firehouse, the firetruck used during the filming is illegally parked across two disabled parking spots and the truck is not within sight of the firefighters assigned to it. The entire video is policy violation central, and officials are all hot and bothered over the veritable orgy of rulebreaking captured on film.
For several minutes of the movie, the actress appears to have free access to the engine, and asks numerous passersby to fondle her.
"Look, I think we have more friends," she says, as a group of men stop to fondle the actress.
"Zero tolerance for that," said Capt. Tina Haro, an LAFD spokeswoman.
This isn't the first department in the City of Angels to be investigated for filming porn, nor is it the first investigation of its kind this year. In April, two traffic cops from the Department of Transportation did some penis acting of their own while in uniform and on duty.
2011年8月18日星期四
Crime reports
Served with 17th Judicial District Drug Task Force warrants at Marshall County Jail
Winston C. McClain, 24, Park Avenue. Bond: $32,000; court date: Aug. 30. Charges: possession of crack cocaine for resale, possession of drug paraphernalia, and felony evading arrest. According to the warrant sworn by Agent Shane Daugherty, "McClain admitted to being involved in the distribution of crack cocaine in the Lewisburg area." McClain allegedly had approximately 24 grams of crack and a set of digital scales in his room at the Walking Horse Inn when Daugherty got consent to search on July 22. McClain was also served with a violation of probation warrant out of Lewisburg City Court, and on this warrant his bond is $1,000; court date: Sept. 19.
Arrested and charged with driving under the influence
Benjamin G. Wakefield, 26, Sheppard Branch Road. Bond: $10,000; court date: Sept. 13. Additional charges: possession of a handgun while intoxicated; possession of a Schedule IV drug (Soma); possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of marijuana; and violation of the implied consent law.
Christopher G. Whitten-Grantham, 27, Millington, Tenn. Held without bond for court on Aug. 16. Additional charge: driving on a revoked license. This is allegedly Whitten-Grantham's second DUI.
David M. Carter, 44, Collins Hollow Road. Held without bond for court on Aug. 29. Additional charge: violation of the implied consent law. Carter allegedly told Lewisburg Police Officer John Christmas the case against him for a fourth DUI charge (on May 8) is still pending in General Sessions Court.
Bradley E. Davis, 41, Nashville Highway. Held without bond for court on Sept. 19. Davis was also served with a violation-of-probation warrant. This is allegedly Davis' 3rd DUI.
Arrested and charged with driving on a suspended license
Lydia Marie Shepherd, 25, James Shaw Road. Bond: $8,500; court date: Sept. 13. Additional charges: possession of Schedule II drugs (Adderall and oxycodone) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Arrested at the same time was the passenger in the car, Gary S. Puckett, 28, Chapel Hill. Puckett was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $500; court date: Sept. 13.
Thefts and vandalism reported
Between 7 and 10 p.m. Aug. 13, someone kicked in the front door of a home on Old Columbia Road and took an estimated $1,800-worth of items. Among the missing items are a Davis Industries chrome-plated, semi-automatic .380-caliber pistol, an heirloom diamond necklace, a diamond wedding and engagement ring set, a number of fitted baseball caps, and eight pairs of Air Jordan shoes. Repairs to the door frame will cost an estimated $200.
Between Aug. 8 and 9, property was removed from the area of Overcast Body Shop on Old Belfast Road. Missing items, valued at a total of $1,115, include a wheel for an F250 truck, a 20-inch cut Murray mower, three bumpers for an El Camino, a set of mechanic's ramps, and four Toyota tires and wheels. $250-worth of miscellaneous car parts were also reported missing.
When Marshall County Highway Department employees returned to the equipment they had left parked at the junction of Reynolds Road and Wilson School Road on Aug. 10, they found that the batteries had been stolen out of the gravel chipper and the steamroller. Also missing were a five-gallon can of hydraulic fluid, two grease guns, and two tubes of grease. A radiator hydraulic hose had been cut. Total cost of the stolen and vandalized items is estimated at $500 to $1,000.
A Lewisburg man reported to police he had received a bill for $877.32 for a Verizon Wireless cell phone account that someone opened in his name from an address in Nashville. The man stated to police he has been the victim of identity theft since Oct. 2010, when someone tried to open cell phone accounts in his name with other providers.
Sometime in the last six weeks, two pieces of farm equipment - a two-row disc and a drag rake, said to be worth a total of $800 - were taken from a farm on South Berlin Road.
The back door of a home on Limestone Avenue was pried open while the owner was out of town from Aug. 7 to 9, and an HP Photosmart printer and scanner were damaged. The victim told police the printer/scanner was worth $500 and she was still making payments on it. The estimate for repairing the door is $300.
Approximately 100 wooden 4 x 4 pallets were taken from behind S & D Warehouse, near the loading dock, between Aug. 6 and 8. Owner stated the total value of the pallets was $500.
Between 11 a.m. Aug. 13 and 8:15 a.m. Aug. 14, the mailbox of a home on Midway Street was destroyed, possibly by someone running off the road. Owner estimates the cost of replacement at $300.
A green push mower, valued at $250, was stolen from the yard of a home on 2nd Avenue North. An employee of Buffalo Valley told Lewisburg Police Officer Steve Sanders she saw two white males (one overweight and one skinny) walk across 2nd Avenue with the mower.
A 24-inch Weedeater brand lawnmower was taken from the front yard of a home on Adams Street between Aug. 11 and 12. Owners value the mower at $50.
A counterfeit one-dollar bill was found in the deposit from Oak Grove School when it was counted at First Commerce Bank on Aug. 9.
Winston C. McClain, 24, Park Avenue. Bond: $32,000; court date: Aug. 30. Charges: possession of crack cocaine for resale, possession of drug paraphernalia, and felony evading arrest. According to the warrant sworn by Agent Shane Daugherty, "McClain admitted to being involved in the distribution of crack cocaine in the Lewisburg area." McClain allegedly had approximately 24 grams of crack and a set of digital scales in his room at the Walking Horse Inn when Daugherty got consent to search on July 22. McClain was also served with a violation of probation warrant out of Lewisburg City Court, and on this warrant his bond is $1,000; court date: Sept. 19.
Arrested and charged with driving under the influence
Benjamin G. Wakefield, 26, Sheppard Branch Road. Bond: $10,000; court date: Sept. 13. Additional charges: possession of a handgun while intoxicated; possession of a Schedule IV drug (Soma); possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of marijuana; and violation of the implied consent law.
Christopher G. Whitten-Grantham, 27, Millington, Tenn. Held without bond for court on Aug. 16. Additional charge: driving on a revoked license. This is allegedly Whitten-Grantham's second DUI.
David M. Carter, 44, Collins Hollow Road. Held without bond for court on Aug. 29. Additional charge: violation of the implied consent law. Carter allegedly told Lewisburg Police Officer John Christmas the case against him for a fourth DUI charge (on May 8) is still pending in General Sessions Court.
Bradley E. Davis, 41, Nashville Highway. Held without bond for court on Sept. 19. Davis was also served with a violation-of-probation warrant. This is allegedly Davis' 3rd DUI.
Arrested and charged with driving on a suspended license
Lydia Marie Shepherd, 25, James Shaw Road. Bond: $8,500; court date: Sept. 13. Additional charges: possession of Schedule II drugs (Adderall and oxycodone) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Arrested at the same time was the passenger in the car, Gary S. Puckett, 28, Chapel Hill. Puckett was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $500; court date: Sept. 13.
Thefts and vandalism reported
Between 7 and 10 p.m. Aug. 13, someone kicked in the front door of a home on Old Columbia Road and took an estimated $1,800-worth of items. Among the missing items are a Davis Industries chrome-plated, semi-automatic .380-caliber pistol, an heirloom diamond necklace, a diamond wedding and engagement ring set, a number of fitted baseball caps, and eight pairs of Air Jordan shoes. Repairs to the door frame will cost an estimated $200.
Between Aug. 8 and 9, property was removed from the area of Overcast Body Shop on Old Belfast Road. Missing items, valued at a total of $1,115, include a wheel for an F250 truck, a 20-inch cut Murray mower, three bumpers for an El Camino, a set of mechanic's ramps, and four Toyota tires and wheels. $250-worth of miscellaneous car parts were also reported missing.
When Marshall County Highway Department employees returned to the equipment they had left parked at the junction of Reynolds Road and Wilson School Road on Aug. 10, they found that the batteries had been stolen out of the gravel chipper and the steamroller. Also missing were a five-gallon can of hydraulic fluid, two grease guns, and two tubes of grease. A radiator hydraulic hose had been cut. Total cost of the stolen and vandalized items is estimated at $500 to $1,000.
A Lewisburg man reported to police he had received a bill for $877.32 for a Verizon Wireless cell phone account that someone opened in his name from an address in Nashville. The man stated to police he has been the victim of identity theft since Oct. 2010, when someone tried to open cell phone accounts in his name with other providers.
Sometime in the last six weeks, two pieces of farm equipment - a two-row disc and a drag rake, said to be worth a total of $800 - were taken from a farm on South Berlin Road.
The back door of a home on Limestone Avenue was pried open while the owner was out of town from Aug. 7 to 9, and an HP Photosmart printer and scanner were damaged. The victim told police the printer/scanner was worth $500 and she was still making payments on it. The estimate for repairing the door is $300.
Approximately 100 wooden 4 x 4 pallets were taken from behind S & D Warehouse, near the loading dock, between Aug. 6 and 8. Owner stated the total value of the pallets was $500.
Between 11 a.m. Aug. 13 and 8:15 a.m. Aug. 14, the mailbox of a home on Midway Street was destroyed, possibly by someone running off the road. Owner estimates the cost of replacement at $300.
A green push mower, valued at $250, was stolen from the yard of a home on 2nd Avenue North. An employee of Buffalo Valley told Lewisburg Police Officer Steve Sanders she saw two white males (one overweight and one skinny) walk across 2nd Avenue with the mower.
A 24-inch Weedeater brand lawnmower was taken from the front yard of a home on Adams Street between Aug. 11 and 12. Owners value the mower at $50.
A counterfeit one-dollar bill was found in the deposit from Oak Grove School when it was counted at First Commerce Bank on Aug. 9.
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