Obama mourns fallen at Ft. Hood

The New York Times reports that President Barack Obama mourned the victims of the Ft. Hood attack on Tuesday.  He and first lady Michelle Obama arrived in Texas at about noon central time today.  Their first stop was to meet personally with the families of those killed in the rampage.  Next they met with those who were wounded and their family members.

Afterward, President Obama attended an observance that was expected to draw a few thousand people.  Obama said that the deaths of the thirteen Americans at Ft. Hood were even more tragic because it happened on American soil rather than on a foreign battlefield.

My Take:  The Ft. Hood attacks forced Obama to speak on a tragedy for the first time as a President.  It is these moments that sometimes become the most remembered when people think back on Presidents, such as when George W. Bush stood atop the World Trade Center rubble and spoke.  The timing of the attack at Ft. Hood came not long before the plan for how to continue the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is coming out.  The fact that one of the reasons for the attack may be the U.S.’s continuing wars in the Muslim world may put added media attention on the decision. 

Thomas Connelly is back to work in North Syracuse

Syracuse.com reports that North Syracuse Police Chief Thomas Connelly is back at work after nearly a month hiatus.  Connelly walked off the job on September 29 after he was in a screaming match with Mayor John Heindorf over a bug exterminator bill.  Heindorf alleged at a press conference on October 2 that Connelly pushed him during the argument causing him to scuff his knee.

Connelly said that he got back to work on October 26.  Yet, Connelly’s fate rests on an investigation by village board member Mark Atkinson.  It is unknown if those findings have been released to the board yet. 

My Take:  It is good to know that the police chief is back to work in North Syracuse.  Any town without a police chief could be in danger, since the police department may lack structure without their typical leader.   

Averin Collier taking snaps as U tight end

Syracuse.com reports that Syracuse sophomore tailback Averin Collier is taking snaps as the U tight end this week in practice as Doug Marrone tries to replace his second tight end of the 2009 season.  Collier will take the spot of Cody Catalina whose season ended with a knee injury in SU’s 37-10 loss to Pittsburgh last Saturday.  Catalina took over for Nick Provo, whose season ended earlier this year due to a knee injury. 

A U tight end can line up in either the backfield or on the line of scrimmage.  Collier scored his first touchdown for Syracuse last Saturday.  Syracuse will try to get their first Big East win of the season this Saturday at Louisville.

My Take:  This has been a Syracuse team decimated by injuries or players quitting.  It is interesting to see that Marrone is picking Collier and changing the tight end position entirely for the final three games of the season.  It actually shows a lot of creativity on the part of the coaching staff to try to make up for the team’s lack of depth.