Larry Scheckel

Ordinary glass shatters when struck by a bullet. Bulletproof glass will withstand one or

bulletproof glass after test.

more shells depending on the thickness of the glass and the type of bullet. Bulletproof, or bullet-resistant glass, looks the same as ordinary glass. But bullet proof glass is made differently.

The process is known as lamination. A tough transparent layer of polycarbonate plastic is sandwiched between two layers of glass. Brand names of the polycarbonate plastic are Tuffak, Cyrolon, and Lexan.

Bullet proof glass is about 7 to 8 millimeters thick, more than twice as thick as standard window glass. Ordinary single strength untinted window glass is one-eighth inch thick or about 3.2 millimeters.

A bullet shot at bullet-resistant glass with go through the outer layer of glass, but the plastic polycarbonate layer will absorb the bullet’s energy and stop it before it goes through the last layer of glass.

There is some neat physics involved here. It is much like a baseball player catching a hard thrown or hard-hit baseball. To reduce the “hurt”, the player moves his hand backward while catching the ball. The player is allowing the ball to come to a halt over a longer period of time, lessening the force of impact.

It’s the same with the bullet proof glass. The glass, of course, can’t move like the player catching the baseball. But that polycarbonate plastic sheet can dent a bit, stretch a fraction of an inch, and bring the bullet to a halt.

The terms “bulletproof” and “bullet-resistant” glass are used interchangeably.  Experts in the field say that there is no such thing as totally bulletproof glass. A very powerful assault rifle round will penetrate most bulletproof glass. A rifle bullet generally has a higher velocity than a handgun bullet and will collide with the glass with much greater force.

The thicker the glass and the more layers it contains, the more protection is provided. The ability to stop higher velocity projectiles increases. High quality bulletproof glass is typically made one inch to two inches thick.

But there are some problems encountered. As the glass become thicker, the weight increases. The cost goes up. Less light gets through, so the interior of a vehicle or building is darker.

In 2007, police stopped rapper Buster Rhymes “for having excessively tinted windows”. Buster’s SUV has bulletproofed glass that was two inches thick.

The President of the United States has at his disposal a dozen specially constructed GM cars called “The Beast”. Those cars do have five-inch-thick bulletproof windows, but also sport an armor-plated fuel tank, an on-board fire suppression system, extra weapons, oxygen supply, blood of the current president’s type, Kevlar reinforced tires, night vision cameras, and secure encrypted communication systems. No, it does not have those James Bond 007 rocket launchers.

Similarly, the current Popemobile carrying Pope Leo VIV is a modified Mercedes Benz and is used for his trips aboard. Bulletproof glass became essential following the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in St. Peters Square. For the short trips in Vatican City, Pope Francis used a plain Ford Focus from the Vatican motor pool. He loved to drive himself around Vatican City in a 1984 Renault 4 given to him by a priest in northern Italy.

We’ve all witnessed the squirrel’s autumn ritual of scurrying about the lawns and parks, front paws and cheeks full of acorns. They’re preparing for winter. In winter, a squirrel can stay hidden in a tree nest, hole, crevice, or ground burrow for a day or two, but after that they get mighty hungry and need to eat. Tree squirrels don’t hibernate like their ground squirrel cousins. Red squirrels collect nuts and store them in piles. It’s a central location, called a midden, located in a tree cavity, under leaves, or in branch forks of trees. The more numerous gray squirrels bury their nuts in the ground and in various scattered caches around their territory. Spreading the nuts around makes it harder for other animals or naughty squirrels to pilfer their entire food supply.

If a squirrel is scurrying all over the place and hiding nuts everywhere, how does it remember where the food is hidden? There have been two schools of thought on this subject. One theory is that the squirrel uses its sense of smell to find its stock of food. The second theory is that the squirrel has developed a mental picture, using landmarks such as trees. The gray squirrel is a wily creature. It will bury “fake” nuts to trick other squirrels out of finding its stash. Some gray squirrels dig holes and bury nothing, pretending to have buried nuts. Squirrels partly use scent to uncover their buried treasure, and they do steal a nut or two from other squirrels’ caches. However, scent is not totally reliable. When the ground is too dry or covered too deep in snow, scent is of little use. Trying to find nuts through ice is impossible.

Scientists seem to study everything, and a Princeton group published a study in the journal Animal Behavior entitled “Grey Squirrels Remember the Locations of Buried Nuts.” The Princeton study indicates that squirrels use spatial memory to locate stored food. The squirrel goes back more often to its own food supply than to the caches of other squirrels. Squirrels bury their food near landmarks that aid them in remembering where they stored the food. They seem to form a cognitive map of all their storage locations. They also remember the amount of food in their caches, returning first to the cache that has the largest amount. Some squirrels will dig up and rebury nuts to determine if the stored food is still good.

Dr. Peter Smallwood, at the University of Richmond, has studied squirrel behavior for ten years. He says squirrels only find 75 percent of the nuts they bury, whether by smell or memory mapping. That’s a bonus for the woodlands, because those unfound nuts can grow into trees. Dr. Smallwood claims that a gray squirrel prefers to bury red oak acorns, which are rich in fat and sprout in the spring.

The squirrel is more likely to eat a white oak acorn immediately, because it will germinate soon after it hits the ground. The red oak acorn is high in tannin, which isn’t as tasty as the white oak acorn. Mr. Squirrel will leave the red oak acorn for spring eating. Spring is a hard time for squirrels. They’re running out of stored food. They will go for road kills and dumpsters with discarded pizza boxes and chicken bones. If desperate, they will seek out bird eggs and even young nestlings.

This question was a source of endless argument for the three Scheckel brothers growing up on that Crawford County farm outside of Seneca. We never did come to any definitive conclusion. We even snuck out of the house one summer night and went to the barn to witness if Dolly, Prince, and Lightning were standing in their stalls or lying down. All three were standing, but we couldn’t figure out if they were sleeping or not sleeping.

I finally got an answer straight from the veterinarian’s mouth a few years back.  Dr. Steven Doll said that horses have a suspensory ligament apparatus in the lower leg that locks up. Their legs can lock in place, enabling them to fall asleep without falling over. So, it turns out that horses do sleep standing up, but they also sleep lying down.

Historically, horses were prey for wildcats, lynx, and mountain lions, and did not feel safe sleeping on the ground. Most of their sleeping was done during the day rather than at night, when predators were out hunting. Horses cannot get up quickly. If an enemy mountain lion were to come along while on the ground, the horse might not be able to get up fast enough to make an escape.

When a horse is standing still, it is able to relax such that there is little fatigue. Except for a few minutes each day when it is in deep sleep, the horse can remain upright. If you watch horses dozing with one leg relaxed you’ll see how the stay apparatus works. The horse will rest his weight on three legs at any one time, shifting the non-weight-bearing leg every now and then.

If necessary, a horse can remain upright for several days before it lies down. It can “rest” in the upright position because of that ‘stay mechanism” of the forelegs and hind legs. An adult horse needs about 5 hours sleep but instead of sleeping for a solid five hours, they will spread their sleep out throughout the whole 24-hour period. In fact, it’s rare for an adult horse to spend more than 10 to 20 minutes asleep at any one time.

Horses cannot lie down for long periods of time. Rib cages only allow so much pressure for any amount of time. Average lying-down time for a horse is about 30 minutes. Just like us, horses need to have deep, REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in order to maintain their physical well-being, but they can only do this while they’re lying down. This is because true REM sleep only happens when their muscles are completely relaxed which therefore means the stay apparatus doesn’t work. This inability to use their muscles is one of the reasons why horses will only lie down to sleep when they feel completely safe. Horses do occasionally take short naps lying down during the day. This helps them to rest their legs. You can sometimes find a horse stretched out on its side, asleep in the sun, or lying on the ground with its legs folded under. A sleeping horse should not be disturbed.  A startled horse may kick.

How does that lane deviation system work on my new car?

It is called LDWS or Lane Departure Warning System. It was new to me too, when we traded in a 2018 Dodge Caravan for a 2024 Chrysler Pacific. We’re very happy with the new car and surprised at all the new auto technologies that were developed in just six years.

The LDWS is designed to warn a driver when the car begins to move out of its lane on a freeway or limited-access highway. A limited-access highway is usually a four lane highway, but does not necessarily have on-off ramps and can be accessed by turn-offs and intersecting roads. In any case, for LDWS to work properly, there must be that white stripe on the right side edge of the driving lane or white broken line on the left side. The system does not work when the edge of the lane is not marked by a painted line.

There are several versions. Lane departure warning (LDW) systems warn the driver the car is leaving its lane. The driver gets a visual, audible, and/or vibration warning. Lane keeping assist (LKA) gives the driver a warning and automatically turns the steering wheel for correction. That is what our Chrysler Pacific has. The Chrysler people call it “LaneSense.” Lane centering assist (LCA) systems keeps the car centered in the lane, and after two or three “assists” a loud audio warning is given to the driver. My vehicle will flash a warning on the LCD display, “Lane departure detected. Keep hands on wheel.” The LaneSense system is operational between 37 and 112 mph. Our car also has adaptive cruise control to prevent rear end collisions. My car is smarter than I am!

Various systems use video sensors mounted on the front of the car, sometimes integrated into the rearview mirror. Some use laser sensors mounted on the front of the vehicle or infrared sensors mounted behind the windshield or under the car. The computer in the car is really quite powerful. It’s called a Hough transform and Canny edge detector. The computer system detects lane changes from real time camera images from the front of the vehicle. The system, camera and computer, is keeping tabs on that white, broken white, or yellow line.

Steering inputs and camera images are fed into the computer system to change the steering angle to keep the car in its proper lane. The system is turned off on the side that has an operating turn signal.

Really smart people started working on the lane change problem back in the early 2000s. They recognized that many accidents occurred due to driver errors, distractions, and drowsiness. The first patent was issued to Englishman Nick Parish in 1989 and fitted on a Rover SD1.

An onboard fire, and this one hit close to home, right here in Monroe County. On September 16, 1998, a twin-engine Beach 58, operated by the Wisconsin DOA (Department of Administration), crashed near Oakdale in eastern Monroe County. The pilot and two DNR (Department of Natural Resources) employees took off at 6:53 a.m. from Madison’s Dane County Airport intending to fly to Burnett County Airport near Siren, Wisconsin.

At 7:39 a.m., the highly experienced (14,800 hours) 52-year-old pilot, at 8,100 feet altitude, radioed controllers that there was smoke in the cabin that was coming out of a heater. He was in contact with the Volk Field control tower and was advised he could land at Volk Field or the Tomah airport. The aircraft crashed in a cranberry bog about one mile south southeast of Oakdale, Wisconsin and about five miles from Volk Field with its 9,000-foot runway and six miles from the Tomah Airport that has a 3,900-foot runway. Either could handle the distressed aircraft. Two separate witnesses later told investigators they saw black smoke trailing out of the back of the plane that was at about 500 feet altitude. The plane crashed in a cranberry bog and there were no survivors.

A jet engine on fire is not a catastrophic situation on large passenger planes. The first action is to reduce the thrust to idle. Then fuel to the engine is shut off. Most modern jet engines have a built-in fire extinguisher system. Not so on small twin and single engine aircraft and certainly not on a propeller-driven plane like the Beach 58.

All aircraft accidents are investigated by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). This Beach 58 had an inflatable weather-tight door seal installed that was designed to keep water out of the plane when sitting outside and exposed to the elements. A small electric pump inflated the seal. Apparently, a hot resistor started the black seal material burning, filling the plane with smoke.

Pilots of small aircraft are cautioned to get the plane on the ground ASAP at the first indication of fire or smoke. That could mean landing in a field or attempting to land on a highway. A cockpit can fill up with smoke very quickly.

Modern large aircraft are equipped with advanced fire detection systems, including smoke detectors, heat sensors, and fire suppression equipment, but there are no guarantees. ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami to Atlanta. On May 11, 1996, the DC-9 crashed into the Florida Everglades about ten minutes after departing Miami as a result of a fire in the cargo compartment caused by mislabeled and improperly stored hazardous cargo (oxygen generators). All 110 people on board perished.

On September 2, 1998, fire caused by an electrical short circuit in the cockpit wiring led to the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The crew’s inability to control the fire due to smoke and loss of critical systems resulted in the loss of all 229 lives on board.

This crime was one that shocked us all with its sheer brutality right here in the community where we live. I was compelled to document the story because of its far-reaching impact.

This is a story of how a small city, well-trained police force apprehended the perpetrator, secured the crime scene, thoroughly assessed, and meticulously investigated the crime. It’s an inside look at how that city police force worked together with a county police force and investigators, who question the killer and his relatives, friends, and contacts. It’s also the story of an ambulance crew and a hospital trauma unit laboring feverishly to restore life.

It’s an account of an award-winning District Attorney and an award-winning Assistant District Attorney who skillfully weaved together a prosecution that guaranteed a killer will never again walk freely, or buy, use, and sell drugs, and, to employ the informal colloquial term, never again “beat the crap” out of little kids.

It’s a narrative of a mother who lost her only child and is not likely to have another, and of brutality, loss, shame, and families torn apart.

It’s the story of an eight-day trial that cost tons of money, but in the words of the sentencing judge, “money well spent, and worth every penny.” And finally, it is about our society that won by putting away a criminal who was totally bereft of feelings and empathy.

To pre-order in paperback, go to this Barnes & Noble link:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-a-small-town-larry-scheckel/1147103010?ean=9798992238303

To pre-order your kindle ebook, click this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Small-Town-Kyson-Rice-ebook/dp/B0DWPX9VR7/

“It was the most horrific crime ever to come before this Court,” said the Judge. A renowned forensic pathologist shouted from the witness stand, “Torture!” when describing the beating three-year-old Kyson Rice took at the hands of a 6-foot 3-inch, 240-pound monster. Read the account of an ambulance team desperately trying to keep a badly beaten boy alive and a high-risk arrest by a well-equipped professionally trained police force to take down a murderer. Follow in the footsteps of four investigators who reached as far as Arizona to gather information. Relive the courtroom drama as a seasoned District Attorney and a skilled Assistant District Attorney forge a compelling case in which there were no witnesses, no weapons, and a questionable motive. Follow the longest trial in Monroe County Court history, with the most witnesses ever to testify, often leaving the jury in tears. Read the heartbreaking account of a mother and community losing a loving, intelligent, and happy youngster to a painful and excruciating death at the hands of cowardly psychopath who refused to accept responsibility for torturing Kyson to death.

In total, 41 witnesses would be called to the stand during the trial. Many were, of course, law enforcement who had worked diligently on the case, but others were people with direct knowledge of Marcus Anderson and Kyson Rice. No matter their background, great care was taken to make all witnesses feel comfortable. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK: “Judge Goodman was excellent at making a witness feel at ease. Each witness was not allowed to be in the courtroom until after he or she had testified. Even though the jury and those attending the trial hear the same mini sermon as each witness is being called to the stand, it is new stuff to the one testifying.” The first witness called by the prosecution was John Glynn, Kyson Rice’s great uncle.

To pre-order “Murder in a Small Town: The Kyson Rice Case” . . . Go to this link for paperback.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/murder…/1147103010…

Or pre-order you Kindle ebook copy here:

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Small-Town…/dp/B0DWPX9VR7/