It’s Not All Bad News

Cops Pay Woman’s Bill

A trio of New York City police officers were called to a Whole Foods store recently after a woman was accused of shoplifting. Instead of arresting her, they paid for the food she had stashed her bag.

Paul Bozymowski, a film and TV director who was at the store, tweeted a photo of the woman with her hands and a tissue over her face as she and the officers stood near the exit at the Whole Foods in Union Square.

“This woman was being held by security. She had food in her bag she didn’t pay for. When the NYPD showed up, they paid for her food,” Bozymowski wrote.

Queens dad saves daughter

A children’s worker trained in CPR used his life-saving skills for the first time to revive his own daughter when she suffered a terrifying seizure the day after a round of immunization shots.

Rasheen Hill had just opened the door to his Queens home after his shift at the New York City Children’s Center nearby when his wife frantically called out to him. Rachel Hill was trying to get her 1-year-old daughter Shiloh and 4-year-old son Zion to bed when the little girl suddenly went limp in her arms.

Seconds earlier, Shiloh was happily camped out near the tub, tugging at a roll of toilet paper as her older brother was bathed. As the busy mom hefted Shiloh to shuffle her two kids to their room for bedtime, the girl stopped moving and fear took over.

The terrified mother heard her husband Rasheen entering their home and hastily called for him.
Rasheen saw his daughter and immediately sprang into action, administering CPR to his daughter.

“Instincts just kicked in,” said Rasheen, 43, a mental health therapy coordinator who is required to take annual CPR classes for his job, even though he’d never had to use them.

The family later learned the adorable tot had a febrile seizure, the likely result of a 102-degree fever she had following a set of immunization shots.

Sea Turtle Count Rising

Although we’re only halfway through nesting season for loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles, nest counts have already exceeded last year’s numbers, according to Indian River,Fla., County Environmental Specialist Quintin Bergman.

As of June 28, 487 green-turtle nests have been marked on the Treasure Coast, more than twice the 235 from last year. This is a big deal, considering that four decades ago, biologists thought green sea turtles might go extinct.

Folks living along the beach know that under local ordinances designed to protect sea turtle nesting until Oct. 31. Lights visible from the beach must be shielded, repositioned, or turned off from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Disturbing a sea turtle, its nests or hatchlings also is illegal.

Sand sculptors create art

What better way to celebrate Cocoa Beach’s most famous surf shop than with the raw materials you’ll find on the beach? In front of Ron Jon Surf Shop is a sand sculpture built by local artists, and it is just so cool.

Jill Harris and Thomas Koet are the owners of Sandsational Sand Sculpting, based in Melbourne. They travel the world creating incredible works of art out of sand, but they’ve brought their talents home to Florida to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Ron Jon.

The sculpture was built from 25 tons of sand and water, and took a team of four sculptors a week to complete. It should stand for about two or three months – even if it rains.

Church pays off medical debts

A Michigan church said it raised enough money to pay off the medical debt of nearly 2,000 struggling families.

Sam Rijfkogel, pastor of Grand Rapids First in Wyoming, Michigan, said the church purchased more than $1.8 million worth of medical debt for “less than a penny on the dollar” through a nonprofit group.

“There are people whose medical debt, they cannot pay. There is no way. It’s looming over their head,” Rijfkogel said. “Most of these folks are in poverty levels or below poverty levels and there’s no way that it can be repaid, but they feel the creditor banging on their doors.”

“Today, that $1,832,439.26 that’s looming over families right now has been paid in full as a result of a gift from this church,” he added.

Rijfkogel said the debt was paid off by RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit group that says it has abolished more than $624 million in medical debt since it’s creation in 2014.