CNN 2010-05-10

Do you have the saying ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child’? In Dallas, there’s a push to return the rod well, the paddle anyway. Five years ago, the Dallas independent School District banned paddling but now one tutor has started a movement to bring back what’s called licks. He says just the threat of physical punishment keeps kids in line and teachers agree. They need more to control the students. Just ask the teacher, who just now recovered from the torn cartilage in her knee, courtesy of a second grader.

'We have students that don’t take the teachers seriously. They are sent on referrals to the office and sent back and it’s like a joke to them.'

'The psychology 1 of it that the threat of licks, I think that’s what’s so effective.'

Dallas morning news reports suspensions in Dallas schools have surged since the district ended paddling.

Remember all that ridiculous ‘pull the plug on grandma’ talk last year? Yeah, apparently 2. If you want bad things to happen to grandma just send her to a nursing home in Oklahoma. A state investigation 3 found that residents with bedsores weren’t getting the right treatment and it was bad enough to do serious harm. Now, if that doesn’t get grandma, maybe the starvation will or the nasty cockroaches 4. But hey, on the up side, at least one employee might have stolen thousands of dollars from grandma’s bank account. More now on this outrageous 5 story from Dan Matthews of KWTV.

'They are virtually starving those people to death.'

Kay Emery's 92-year-old mother has been a resident of Mustang Manor 6 since August. First, Emery noticed bruises 7 on her mother’s face, then a drop in weight.

'My mother has lost so much weight and she is a small person. She is maybe probably not quite five-foot-tall now. And she has lost so much weight that her bones are protruding 8.'

In the last two years, the Health Department has found enough problems at Mustang Manor to impose fines of over 35,000 dollars. More fines are coming because since February, inspections 9 have found 27 deficiencies in nutrition and sanitation 10. Meanwhile, Mustang police have investigated reports of crime at the center including embezzlement 11.

'We received a call that a resident had, actually had written checks to an employee of the business to have them cashed and have the money returned to her and that she had not received those funds.'

The Health Department says some of the problems have been cleaned up but others remain.

'Most people complain but don’t do anything about it. And so, we are doing, we are trying to do something about it.'

You know, if you judge a civilization on how it treats its elderly folks, this place would be stuck somewhere in the Stone Age. At least seven complaints filed against Mustang Manor this year. No one from the officer is talking, of course. They’re supposed to come up with a plan to fix what’s wrong. Shame on you.