FSU's Bunkley Signs Guaranteed $10 Million Contract with the Philadelphia Eagles

Brodrick Bunkley agreed to a six-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, ending the first-round pick's two-week holdout.

Bunkley, the 14th overall selection in the NFL draft, agreed to a deal worth $13 million, according to an official within the NFL. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because terms weren't publicly disclosed, said $10 million of that money is guaranteed, and the maximum value of the contract could reach between $25-$30 million with incentives.

The 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackle missed 16 days of camp, and won't play in Sunday's game against Oakland. The negotiations between the Eagles and Bunkley's agent, Gary Wichard, were prolonged because the team insisted on making it a six-year contract.

Bunkley played for the Florida State University Seminoles.

Motorcyclist Impaled on Mailbox

Syracuse, NY -

A motorcyclist was rushed to University Hospital with a mailbox pole impaled in his left leg after a two-vehicle crash at 2:20 p.m. today in Fulton.

Witnesses who gave statements to state troopers said the Honda motorcycle crashed into the rear of a Chevrolet van that was turning left off state Route 3 onto Stingray Alley near the railroad overpass on the east side of the city.

The motorcyle bounced off the van and careened into several mailboxes on the southern side of the road, said Michael Bonnell, who was walking along state Route 3 at the time.

The driver of the van was not injured. The motorcyclist was conscious and gave the phone number of a relative before being rushed by ambulance to Syracuse.

Group Formed to Oppose Coal to Oil Plant in Schuylkill County

A while back I wrote a story about John Rich's developing a plant in Schuylkill County to turn coal into oil. Since there is a 400 year supply of coal in Schuylkill County - the project seems like a positive solution to part of our energy problems.

A group in Frackville opposes the plant. They have developed a web page to oppose the project. Click on the above headline to see the web page.

My Student Chuck Shuck is Going to Iraq Again August 21st

Well I am finally home at Fort Hood!!!! For 3 weeks anyways lol...............another change came down today and I promise I will not tell you another change unitl my feet actually hit Iraq............yes I said Iraq, I have to be in Iraq by the 21st of August so I think I might leave here like the 18th or so.........I have the orders in hand so it is for sure I am leaving............Many people have asked for my address, but I will not have one until I get over there because I am not sure where I am going (most likely Baghdad) just quite yet...............Tomorrow I am taking Gabe out to the lake at Fort Hood and we are going to do some vehicle searches and maybe even give out a few citations while we are at it (for no seatbelts)...........anyways have a great weekend, hope you and your families do something fun and keep praying for the soldiers overseas especially for my good friend SGM Wally Murrell who is with that Alaska unit that just got extended, he is one of th e best guys you will ever meet and fixing to retire after 20+ years of service to this awesome nation............Hope you enjoyed one of my special moments with Gabe caught on camera also......Chuck

Great Site to See Pictures of Tamaqua

Click on this headline to a wonderful gallery of Tamaqua pictures.

This picture is Lehigh Street where I lived as a boy. We used to wait on the corner at the left for our ride to church.

Lehighton Girl Going To Duke Univrsity

By ED HEDES ehedestnonline.com from The Times News

Lehighton's Camille Dagorn has verbally committed to continue her athletic career and education at Duke University.
It's every athlete's dream to be able to continue their education and sports career at a Division I school, but more often than not, that dream never happens.

Lehighton senior field hockey player Camille Dagorn won't have to worry about that happening.

Dagorn, confirmed this week that she has verbally committed to continue her education and field hockey career at Duke University in 2007 back in February when she was offered a scholarship.

Duke University head coach Beth Bozman was more than happy to offer Dagorn a scholarship labeling her as "Duke's No. 1 offensive recruit for 2007"

John Kotchmar - Harry's Classmate Dies

A West Penn Township man was crushed to death at a construction site in Northampton County on Wednesday morning.

John Kotchmar, 59, was killed about 9 a.m. near the intersection of Newlins Mill Road in Palmer Township.

According to police, he apparently stumbled and fell beneath the tires of a dump truck while working on a sewer line project along Van Buren Road.

Kotchmar died at the scene and death was attributed to crushing injuries to his head and chest, Zachary Lysek, county corner, said.

John as a defensive end on the Tamaqua JV Football Team gave Harry his first "head slap" as he was coming out of the backfield to block - knocking Harry silly. He never recovered.

Latest on the Barn

It is certainly not as nice as Brad Johnson's place - but here are some shots of the work progressing in our barn. I would like to say this is how "the other folks" in Tallahassee live - but - what the heck - we share the same weather.

We hope to be completely done in a week or so.

Click on the headline for more pictures.

For Sale - NFL and FSU Quarterback Brad Johnson's House

If you have a spare $4,000,000 - Brad Johnson is selling his Tallahassee home. He played both football and basketball at FSU - then led the Tampa Bay Bucs to the Super Bowl. Now he is leaving town.

Click on the headline for the rest of the story.

Indoor Football Coming to Tallahassee

AIFL - American Indoor Football League will be fielding a team in the Tallahassee Civic Center starting in February. This arena is less than a mile from our home.

The league has a signed a three year contract to share the Civic Center with the FSU Seminole Basketball Team.

The AIFL has teams in -
Augusta
Canton
Carolina
Chattahoochee
Daytona Beach
Erie
Florence
Huntington
Johnstown
Miami Valley
Pittsburgh
Raleigh
Reading
Richmond
Rome
Steubenville
Syracuse

Click on the headline to read more about the league.

Father Damien Tours Turns 40 - This is the Molokai Leper Colony Tour We Went On

Today the Father Damien Tours turned 40. This is a tour of the famous Hawaiian Leper Colony on Molokai. Click on the headline to read the full story from the Molokai Island Times.

Running a Car on Used Cooking Oil

Today in the New York Times there is a very good article on using used cooking oil to fuel your car for free. Thousands of people are doing it. I have been following this idea for a while. The owners obtain used cooking oil from restaurants that usually pay to have it taken away. Some owners also buy soybean oil at Sam's where the price of it is cheaper than gasoline.

Click on the headline above to read the article in the New York Times.

My Student Chuck Shuck and Gabe Going to Afganistan

Hi Guys...........Hope you guys are all having a great weekend........mine has been hot and long ha ha, Training here ended today and we leave Tuesday morning........Now the big question is, what dog has made the cut, as we know Doki was the dog I came here thinking I was taking with me and Gabe was the dog that just couldn't pull it togther........well.......after 11 days of great training in a very hot and humid desert Gabe prevailed over Doki......Doki failed a very hard test today about 4 am while searching a roadway and was givin a NO GO to the next stage.......he has not adjusted well to the heat here and did not want to work, the other day he ran from me while searching an area and ran back to the trailer and would not come back...........Gabe has done a complete turn around and has done a outstanding job.....I am still leaving on the 12th of August for Afganistan and will keep u all updated as I get info.......Thanks again for your support and I really enjoy all the e mails.......I have enclosed a pic of Myself and Gabe in case you forgot what he looks like, as for Doki, he will go to a new handler here in like 4 weeks and start a new 4 1/2 month course...........God bless you and your family, our troops overseas and the United States of America
Chuck and Gabe

What does the Barn Look Like Right Now?

At 4PM this evening - our barn looked like this. Mayfair and Wesley Head are painting it. Wesley painted our house last year. They do an excellent job. Wesley comes to the job with a ladder - a can of paint - and a brush. He does the whole thing by hand and never uses masking tape. When shopping for anything - one looks for quality - service - and price. Usually you are lucky if you get 2 out of 3. With the Heads - we get all 3.

Today We Jumped the Biggest Hurdle of the Barn Project

We had a busy day today with the barn project. Everything had to be coordinated perfectly - a back hoe digger - laying the pipe - having the city do the sewer tap - have the building inspector examine the pipe work - then back filling the entire project.

It started at 8 AM and went to 4PM. Our front end loader operator was excellent. He was able to caluclate the grade as we went. He saved us hours of time. Then Keith and I had cleared the pipe for the sewer tap - then the city workers installed the tap - then the inspector came and passed our work - then the front end loader filled in the ditches and graded the lot.

Note the dark red clay soil. We made the sewer tap 8 feet underground. The clay was difficult to dig in - even with a pick and shovel. It was such a relief when the inspector said "okay - cover it up."

All that is left now - is the drywall upstairs - installing the bathroom fixtures - laying the wood floor - painting the interior walls - and completing the outside painting. We can do all the rest ourselves with no "hold ups" from the city.

Hopefully the barn will be done in time for our visit from the Taylors on August 11th.

Sorry to Neglect My Page - Busy Working on Guest House

Keith and I have been busy working on the guest house. We are in the home stretch.

Tomorrow - Thursday is a big day. We will be laying the sewer pipe and the city is tapping us onto the main line. It will require much coordination of material - back hoe digging - manual labor - inspections - and covering the pipes. Hopefully at this time tomorrow night it will all be done.

After the sewer pipe - we are home free.

Right now the painters are working on the outside of the barn. Keith and I are doing the inside walls in the workshop with 1/2 inch plywood. We are 3/4th done. After that we will paint the plywood. Then the downstairs is done and we will start to put our chelves in and organize our junk.

We have purchased all the bathroom fixtures. The builder will do the drywall in the guest house ands install the bathroom fixtures.

Next - Keith and I will lay the laminate hardwood floor in the guest house.

Finally - we will rent a ditch witch and bury the power cable from the house to the guest house.

We have our first guests scheduled for around August 10th.

Kate and Nate Came to Visit Keith

Keith's good friends - Kate and Nate drove over today to visit him from Jacksonville. That is Nate's boyhood home. Kate and Nate are going to be married in Chicago in early August. Keith is going to be one of Nathan's groomsmen.

Nate and Keith were good buddies at Georgetown. Keith visited Nate when he worked a year in Germany. When Nancy and Keith flew to London for a weekend - Nate also flew to London from Germany to visit with them.

After the wedding - Kate and Nate - will be going back to school. Nate will be in law school and Kate will be in business school at the University of Chicago.