The Model City Times
May of 2015 brought a huge celebrating for the Geocaching community as the game turned 15 years old. The hobby has changed a little since its start in Oregon in 2000, when it was called geostashing. Geocaching was started by a group of people who were interested in technology and geography. They used GPS devices and the Internet to re-invent the older hobby of letterboxing. There are more than 3 million geocache players in the world and are currently over 3.4 million hidden caches for players to find.
- 2 Giga-Events (5,000+ geocachers)
- 45 Mega-Events (500+ geocachers)
- Over 28,000 geocaching events total
It’s evident from all the fun gatherings that took place that geocachers enjoyed making new friends and spending time with the old at an average of over 76 geocaching events per day!
The acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin led to the creation of #BlackLivesMatter in 2013, and the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner among others by police officers in Missouri and New York, respectively, carried the outrage through 2014. It was the deaths of Walter Scott and Freddie Gray, both at the hands of police officers, that fueled the outcry in 2015. Scott was fatally shot by a police officer following a traffic stop in South Carolina on April 4.
Footage of the incident was recorded by a bystander that appeared to show Scott, who was unarmed, running away from the officer, identified later as Michael Slager. Slager was arrested three days after Scott’s death and charged with murder. His attorney says that Slager insists he is not guilty.
Four of the biggest trials of the year all resulted in guilty verdicts and one of those murderers now faces a death sentence. The first verdict came in February when Eddie Ray Routh was found guilty of killing “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. Though Kyle was well-known before the trial because of his bestselling book, the case gained even more national attention when his biopic came out just over a month before the trial started. Routh received a sentence of life without parole. He has filed a notice of appeal.
Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was found guilty in April and sentenced to life in prison without parole after killing Odin Lloyd, who was dating Hernandez’ fiancee’s sister. The case turned into a family drama as both Hernandez’s fiancee, who was granted immunity for her testimony, and her sister took turns on the witness stand. His appeal is underway.
In another case, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving brother of a pair of siblings, was found guilty in April of all 30 charges that he faced in connection to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and his ensuing flight from police, which included the killing of an MIT police officer. One month later, he was sentenced to death after the conclusion of the penalty phase of his trial. The first of many expected appeals is underway.
James Holmes, the shooter who opened fire inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado in 2012, was found guilty in July of killing 12 people in the rampage and injuring 70 others. While it took jurors only 12 hours to find him guilty, they were unable to reach a unanimous decision when it came to the penalty phase so he was spared the death penalty and sentenced in August to one life sentence for each life he took, plus 3,138 years for the attempted murders, without the possibility of parole. He has not appealed.
The Supreme Court made a landmark decision in June, voting to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide. The 5-4 decision was praised by many, including President Obama, who called it a “victory for America.”But not everyone was pleased with the decision. A county clerk in Kentucky became a touchstone for the national debate after she claimed it was against her religious beliefs to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kim Davis was jailed for nearly a week for defying a judge’s order to issue any marriage licenses in Rowan County.
The Kingsport Carousel Is A Uniquely Charming Destination That Has Quickly Become One Of The Region’s Most Popular Attractions.
The Menagerie-Style Carousel Features Hand-Carved Wooden Animals, Chariots, And Original Paintings On A Refurbished 1956 Allen Herschell Frame. There Are More Than 30 Animals, Each Of Which Took 700 To 800 Hours To Carve, On The Carousel, Which Also Highlights Kingsport’s History On The 24 Rounding Boards That Feature Painted Scenes From The City’s Past.
More Than 300 Volunteers Worked To Bring The Iconic Landmark, Located Inside Pal’s Roundhouse, To Life. Through The Hard Work Of Dedicated Volunteers And Sponsorships And Donations, The Carousel, Which Took Six Years To Complete, Opened In July 2015 And Is Open Year-Round.
