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Tag: Albany

  • Joan of Shark: Biggest Great White Tagged in Australia Closes Beaches

    The largest Great White Shark to be tagged in Australia, nicknamed “Joan of Shark,” was spotted swimming close to beach in Albany, in Western Australia’s southern coast, leading city officials to warn residents to stay out of the waters earlier this week.

    The female Great White Shark, named “Joan of Shark” by local fisherman, measures over 16 feet long (5.3 meters) and weighs about 1.8 tons (1.6 metric tons), was first tagged close to Mistaken Island, in waters just 15 meters deep several weeks ago. Measuring 5.04 meters to the fork in her tail and 5.3 meters total, scientists believe she is largest shark to be electronically tagged in the country.

    Officers from the Fisheries Department fired an external tracking device into the shark and tracked her for three weeks.

    A week later, she was lured to shallow waters near the beaches in Albany by, scientists believe, the distress signals from a humpback whale that was beached there over the weekend, and later died.

     

    “Joan” was tagged at Albany by the officers for a second time, this time with a more sophisticated tag in her stomach, after a two-and-a-half hour struggle. The second tag will enable them to track the shark, which is believed to be about 30 years old, for at least a decade on more than 300 monitors that are located on the seabed, and via satellite. 

    The arrival of “Joan” near Albany was detected via signal from the first tag on Tuesday morning off of Ellen Cove, a popular beach in Albany. Authorities closed the beach and prompted swimmers to stay out of the water.

    The whale carcass was removed, but the shark is still in the waters.

    “Obviously, with that whale incident and because of the distress signals that it would have sent out, it would have attracted sharks and they will probably frequent the beach for the next few days,” said Martin Kleeman, a spokesman for the state department of fisheries.

    Kleeman referred to the first tagging of “Joan” as “potentially a world first.”

    “For the next 10 years, we’ll be able to keep a track of her movements, which is going to open up a whole new world,” Kleeman said.

    “We’ll have a better understanding of the large-scale movements of white sharks,” he said.

    Image via YouTube

  • Trooper Cunniff Dies After Thruway Car Accident

    New York state trooper David W. Cunniff passed away Tuesday after sustaining injuries from an interstate crash that happened late Monday night.

    Cunniff, 35, was rear ended by a tractor-trailer on exit 27 of I-90 after pulling over a vehicle for a traffic violation on the Thruway.

    The truck driver, 65-year-old Gary Blakley, was driving in the right lane when he lost control for some unknown reason and ran off the road.

    Cunniff was inside of his patrol car when the collision occurred and was partially thrown from the vehicle.

    According to a statement by New York Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico, both vehicles were struck by the tractor-trailer.

    “Dragging the troop car approximately 50 yards, pushing it off into an embankment, then striking Mr. Heller’s vehicle, also dragging it about 75 yards before coming to rest on top of the vehicle,” he said.

    Cunniff was airlifted to Albany Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on Tuesday afternoon due to a traumatic head injury.

    The driver of the car, 57-year-old Eric Heller, suffered minor injuries and is in fine condition. The truck driver did not sustain any injuries.

    D’Amico confirms that no alcohol or drugs were involved but the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

    Sadly enough, this isn’t the first time an NY trooper has died while pulled over on a highway:

    “In 2011, New York state instituted its “move over” law that requires motorists to slow down and move over if possible when approaching police and emergency vehicles pulled over alongside the road. Three months after the law went into effect, Trooper Kevin Dobson was killed when he was hit by a vehicle while issuing a speeding ticket alongside a highway in suburban Buffalo.”

    Cunniff, a nine-year state police veteran, has been with Thruway patrol since 2009. He leaves behind his wife and two sons.

    A Facebook page in memory of the young trooper was created yesterday and already has over 4,000 likes.

    Image via Facebook Memorial Page

  • Georgia Business Man Threatened With Jail Over American Flag

    Another day, another flag drama. This time the issue at hand is city code in Albany that says Tom Geiryic’s flag, that he has been flying over his business for 30 years, needs to be moved 1 ft.

    “It’s been there for 30 years,” Gieryic told Fox News. “She told me my flag was in the city’s right of way.”

    Gieryic said his troubles started last week when a group of retired Marines showed up and offered to put up a new flag. When he returned from lunch, Gieryic was met by a code enforcement officer telling him to either remove the American flag or face fines. “I was shocked, man – a complete loss for words,” he recounted. “I told her I wasn’t going to be moving my flag.”

    He said he was told that if he didn’t comply, he could face a $1,000-a-day fine and up to 60 days in jail. But the auto shop owner decided to stand his ground. “She stomped off to her car, got her ticket book and demanded my license,” he said. “She wrote me a ticket for flying my American flag on the city’s right of way.”

    Gieryic then went to city hall to complain. His ticket was later reduced to a warning. But he was told the flag still had to be moved – by exactly one foot. “I’m boiling on the inside,” he said. “They didn’t demand that I move it. They suggested I do it as a gesture of good will.” Gieyric said he’s received all sorts of support for standing his ground – from folks dropping by to shake his hand to others who’ve offered to help pay any possible fines. “I got 15 business cards from lawyers offering their services,” he said.

    “My local city manager has been more than fair,” he said. “He stands behind me, but the law is the law and his hands are tied.” He blamed the entire incident on “government getting involved in areas they don’t need to be involved.” “The point is – I’m an American,” he said. “That’s the American flag. That’s American soil. It belongs to me and I’m going to fly it. I’m going to fly it where I want to fly it as long as it’s not a safety hazard – and it’s not.”

    (image)@catholiclawyer
    Rogelio H.    Surprised this didn’t happen in CA: Georgia business owner threatened with jail time for flying American flag http://t.co/kxx550xF(image) 1 day ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@fuzislippers
    Fuzzy Slippers    Georgia Businessman Ticketed and Threatened w/Jail Time For Flying US Flag http://t.co/0MNZAEh7 /oh really? Jail me, I fly the American flag(image) 1 day ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@HeatherLThom
    Heather    Businessman in Georgia asked to remove his American flag. City is claiming it’s a code violation. Seriously? http://t.co/HdjBGZ5J(image) 22 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto