Family Reunited, Teen Wins, OT Costs

THUMBS UP TO:

Family reunited after kidnapping ordeal

A mother was reunited with her newborn son on Tuesday after losing him twice – first to a kidnapper and later to state custody after someone claimed a family member had tried to sell him. The infant, Yair Anthony Carrillo, and his three siblings were no longer in foster care and authorities do not believe parents Maria Gurrola and Jose Carrillo were involved in the baby’s Sept. 29 abduction.
Garrola was stabbed and her 4-day old son was taken from her Nashville, Tenn., home. The baby was found safe in Alabama.
Gurrola told The Tennessean she has nightmares reliving the ordeal. “It’s a bad horror movie,” she said. “But it is getting better. I have my baby. I have my children and I’m healing physically and emotionally.”
Gurrola said she considered returning to Mexico after the kidnapping, versus returning to the home where she was attacked. For now the family is still in Antioch.
Police have not revealed why Gurrola and her infant were targeted. It also is not clear why someone claimed a family member had tried to sell the baby. Police have told child welfare officials that the parents have been cleared of any wrongdoing. We hope the police can tie up lose ends in this case to give this family the answers it deserves.
And we hope this family – the mother targeted and attacked, their infant child stolen, their older children briefly removed to foster care, before being reunited – can now begin to heal.

Bristol, Tenn., teenager wins pageant

Bristol’s own Kristen Rose was crowned Miss Tennessee Teen USA last Saturday during a pageant held in Clarksville, Tenn. Rose is a senior at Tennessee High School. She will go on to compete in the 2010 Miss Teen USA pageant, which is part of the Miss Universe organization.
Rose was one of 38 contestants who ranged in age from 14-18. She was crowned by Miss Teen USA 2009 Stormi Henley.
Rose, who loves sports and is a member of the Tennessee High soccer team, lives in Bristol, Tenn., and attends Highlands Fellowship Church in Bristol, Va., with her family.

THUMBS DOWN TO:

When overtime exceeds the savings

The Associated Press reported Thursday that while officials have whacked state agency payrolls to deal with hard times, records for fiscal 2009 show more than 700 Tennessee state workers each received more than $10,000 for working overtime.
The count of overtime recipients is largely unchanged from the previous year and the extra hours of pay was against a backdrop of no salary increases since July 2007.
The Tennessean reports that other than in higher education, state officials are looking to reduce payroll by about $100 million in the budget year that started July 1. State Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz said the Bredesen administration has been managing the payroll budget since the economic downturn started. He said more than 1,500 employees took buyouts and the recurring budget has been reduced by about $38 million.
In many workplaces, employees have been forced to pick up the duties of coworkers laid off during 2009. But if jobs have been cut because government cannot afford to pay them, how can government justify paying employees $10,000 – or more – in overtime? This is not an example of frugal management.
And while the recipient likely wants the added income, it is proof that more critical management is needed.
Taxpayers cannot believe that government cuts are working when more than 700 state workers receive more than $10,000 in overtime – a figure nearly unchanged from the previous year. A big thumbs down to this practice that needs to end.