National Memory Screening Day

You may or may not be aware that in the month of November is National Memory Screening Day. This is a day to have your memory checked in order to facilitate the early detection of Alzheimer's Disease. If Alzheimer's Disease is detected early there are more treatments available to help slow the progression of the disease.

As I have had the opportunity to watch my wife's grandfather suffer from the disease I can personally say that it is a horrible experience for both the family and the person who has the disease. Both her grandfather and grandmother were very good at covering up the disease and hid it from the family until there was no option but to put them in a home. While the family was able to find a very good place for them, it was also very frustrating because at that point there was really nothing left to do but watch as he progressed to the point where he started to forget his own children. He knew that he should know who they were, but was not able to remember and this just caused him extra pain in addition to the regular problems with again.

In order to help families to not have to go through this horrible process the Alzheimer's Foundation of America has named November 13th National Memory Screening Day. Please go and find a screening site in your area for your parents or grandparents. It is free, and if nothing else will help provide piece of mind for you and your family. If something is detected you are able to start treatments to help slow the progression of the disease and start educating yourself in what you may expect to help in dealing with the disease.

Hopefully a cure for this terrible disease will be found soon, but we must also be sure to provide the best care possible for those who are currently suffering. If you are able a donation made to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America will help ensure that people will be provided with the best possible cure while the cure is being sought.

Bomb was a dud

Ok, another story for my local neighborhood of Lockland, Ohio in the Cincinnati area. This time a pipe bomb was found in an area between I-75, a major highway. It was also located very close to the Lockland School, and while I have no love for the school district as you may know if you are a regular reader of my blog, I would not wish anything bad like that to happen to them. My wife and I feel that it is probably some kids who made the device because there was no explosive in it. They probably got everything together, but were not able to obtain any explosives to make it work.

I will continue to follow this storuy, and post any further updates as they become available.

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Pipe bomb discovery shuts Interstate 75 for two hours

Police here shut down Interstate 75 for more than two hours Wednesday to investigate what was later verified by the Hamilton County Bomb Squad as a pipe bomb found near the interstate.

The bomb squad used a robot to disrupt the device electronically, said Lockland Police Chief James Toles. It was "very sophisticated," but contained no explosives, Toles said.

The metal 6- to 8-inch pipe with wires, a battery pack and an LED light was found behind S.A.T. Trucking Co., between the north and southbound split on I-75 in Lockland near Brown Street and Shepherd Lane.

Toles decided to close the highway between Shepherd Lane and Galbraith Road because of its proximity to the object just after 1 p.m. Lockland High School and Lockland Elementary School were evacuated at about 1:30 p.m., along with about 20 homes and a handful of businesses.

The decision to close the highway resulted in a massive traffic jam. The road reopened around 3:30 p.m.

Village Administrator Dave Krings said he supports Toles' decision to shut down the highway.

"You always have to put human life first. I think he made the right decision," Krings said.

S.A.T. co-owner Karen DeBord said she found the device around 11 a.m.

"I thought it looked suspiciously like a pipe bomb," DeBord said. "It had Scotch tape on it and looked sort of hokey, but we decided to call the police." Her business partner, Greg Larimer, said he thought it may have been thrown from the interstate.

Toles said Lockland Police will lead the investigation into determining who built the pipe bomb and how it came to be in the back of S.A.T. Police have the device in their possession. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene to report to the Department of Homeland Security, Toles said.

During the standstill on I-75, ARTIMIS traffic operators scrambled to keep the unexpected snag under control.

"We've dealt with this many, many times before, but it's not like with weather when we can expect it," said Ahmad Saleh, traffic operator. Extra staff members were called in.

Metro had five bus routes affected by the traffic jam, spokeswoman Sallie Hilvers said, and rerouted them.