Northern Neck Regional Jail

Journal Junction for July 4

Editor's Note: Journal Junction offers the public a forum to applaud successes, discuss issues, point out problems and review the events of the day in a constructive manner. Journal Junction comments should be limited to two to four sentences. Longer comments should be submitted as "Letters to the Editor," which is a separate forum. The Journal's classified ads section offers help to those with lost or found items. This is a sampling of comments received today. All others, subject to editing, are published in the online Journal Junction at journal-news.net under opinions.

From Charles Town:

Our mayor and city council did the right thing by eliminating the Lord's Prayer from their meetings. Now they should do another: get rid of the Confederate flags in Edge Hill Cemetery.

From Martinsburg:

Regarding the revamped weekly drawing at the Martinsburg Moose Lodge: If the person is not present when his/her name is drawn, they get half the amount in the pot and the other half will go to a Moose charity. Does this mean we'll be seeing a picture in the paper (or at least the Moose newsletter) of a Moose officer handing a check to a charity representative? I hope so. It would be nice to see where the money is actually going. ...

From Shepherdstown:

Glory be and hallelujah! Even the Martinsburg caller has conceded that the "rumor" may be true: Shepherdstown is the most welcoming, inclusive and pleasant locale in the Eastern Panhandle. This is, of course, what Shepherdstownians, as well as many others, have long known, but it is nice to have the Martinsburg caller's endorsement in any event. Thank you, and there is a place for you as a booster at the Visitors Bureau.

From Berkeley County:

I think it's very strange that if prostitution truly is illegal in West Virginia, then why weren't the three women caught given higher bails or larger fines? Of course the first two women made bail - it was only $2,500! That's nothing compared to other offenses! ... Those women will be right back out there on the streets again because they know that the punishment is light.

From Charles Town:

To the Martinsburg caller: Yes, the rumors are true. There are rational people in Shepherdstown who don't believe that a basic civil right should be denied to a large percentage of our population just because of the baseless bigotry of people like yourself. I don't want to scare you, but there are plenty of people who share that same rational way of thinking right there in Martinsburg, too. In fact, they're everywhere - even Mississippi.

Michael Vick Goes To Jail Early

Disgraced American football icon Michael Vick has turned himself over to Virginia authorities, checking into jail three weeks before he is due to be sentenced for dogfighting charges.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback surrendered himself to U.S. marshals on Monday (19Nov07), reporting to Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw in anticipation of a prison sentence.

Vick entered a guilty plea in a federal court in Richmond in August (07), where he admitted helping to kill six to eight pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights as part of a plea agreement to lessen prison time. He is due to be sentenced on 10 December (07).

But Vick's attorney claims the sportsman's actions this week (begs19Nov07) show he is trying to make amends for his crimes.

Lawyer Billy Martin says, "From the beginning, Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance. Michael wants to again apologise to everyone who has been hurt in this matter, and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time."

Vick - who will be having a very sombre Thanksgiving on Thursday (22Nov07) - faces a maximum of five years in jail when he appears in court next month (Dec07), but is only expected to receive between 12 to 18 months behind bars.

Vick has already been sentenced by America's National Football League and his sponsors - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Vick indefinitely without pay and the sports star's sponsors Nike have pulled all advertising connected to him.

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