While on a long motorcycle ride through the passes and bypasses of Southwestern Virginia recently, I noticed an interesting, but disturbing, trend in the sea of political signs that cover the landscape.

In Republican front yards, you find signs touting GOP Senatorial candidate Jim Gilmore, the party's choice for the House (different names depending on the district) and, of course, the signs promoting John McCain and Sarah Palin in the Presidential race.

In many Democratic yards, however, you see signs promoting Senatorial choice Mark Warner, House choices like Rick Boucher, but no signs for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oversight? I doubt it. Racism? Yep. I've even seen some yards promoting Warner, Boucher and McCain.

McCain will probably carry Southwestern Virginia, even as racist incumbent Senator George Allen did two years ago, although Allen lost when more enlightened members of the electorate cast their votes elsewhere in the state. And voters around here continue to send blatant racists like Virgil Goode back to Washington.

We can talk until the cows come home about how Southwestern Virginia has changed for the better but the sad fact remains that racism still has strong roots in this part of the state. I've overheard too many overt racist comments about Obama in the last few months and racism, unfortunately, extends beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

If Obama were white and had a more Anglo Saxon sounding name, McCain and Palin wouldn't stand a chance.  But he's half black and that's a problem when racism remains part of our national heritage.

Writes Charles Babbington of The Associated Press:

Since the nation's birth, Americans have discussed race and avoided it, organized neighborhoods and political movements around it, and used it to divide and hurt people even as relations have improved dramatically since the days of slavery, Reconstruction and legal segregation.

Now, in what could be a historic year for a black presidential candidate, a new Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll, conducted with Stanford University, shows just how wide a gap remains between whites and blacks.

It shows that a substantial portion of white Americans still harbor negative feelings toward blacks. It shows that blacks and whites disagree tremendously on how much racial prejudice exists, whose fault it is and how much influence blacks have in politics.

One result is that Barack Obama's path to the presidency is steeper than it would be if he were white.

Wachovia, the struggling Charlotte-based financial giant that is also our area's largest bank, began the week selling its banking operations to Citibank, but has now changed its mind by weeks end and is selling all of its financial operations instead to San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.

Reports The Associated Press:

In an abrupt change of course, Wachovia Corp. said Friday it will be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. in a $15.1 billion all-stock deal, wiping out Wachovia's previous plan to sell its banking operations to rival suitor Citigroup Inc.

A key difference is that the Wachovia deal will be done without government assistance, while the Citigroup deal would have been done with the help of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Wachovia-Wells deal, announced Friday, comes in a turbulent time for banks and financial firms as they grapple with the ongoing credit crisis, which led to the recent bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the failure of Washington Mutual Inc.

Wachovia shareholders will receive 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo for every share of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia stock they own, valuing Wachovia at about $7 per share. This is a nearly 80 percent premium over the stock's Thursday closing price of $3.91. Shares closed at $10 last Friday, the last trading session before the deal with Citigroup was announced.

On Monday, Citigroup had agreed to buy Wachovia's banking operations for $2.16 billion in a deal orchestrated by the federal government.

That deal, which had been approved by the boards of both companies, was still subject to approval by Wachovia's shareholders and regulators.

Situated with a scene view atop the rolling hills around Bedford, the National D-Day Memorial is a fitting tribute to those who sacrificed so much during the battle that changed the course of World War II.

The sweeping memorial includes the names of all who died in the battle and the statues honor those who landed on the beaches.

I stopped by the memorial on my way back from a visit to Lynchburg last Sunday and am only sorry that i did not visit earlier.

Admission is $5 and worth the cost. Guided tours are available as well as a narrated tour that you can access on your cell phone.

Shawn Brent Gerald, the 28-year-old son of Floyd County Supervisor Fred Gerald of Indian Valley, died Sunday night when his motorcycle crashed into a car turning left on U.S. 11 near Fairlawn.

The driver of the car, Jerry Wayne Viars, 35, of Max Meadows, was charged by Virginia State Police with driving under the influence of alcohol.

State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy says an initial investigation into the accident shows Gerald racing with a Ford Mustang at the time of the accident. The driver of the Mustang fled the scene and police are still seeking information on the car and its whereabouts.

"There are multiple factors," Conroy told The Roanoke Times. "And if you take away one of them, you may not have had this tragedy in the first place. Here you have speed, you have alcohol."

Any parent who has ever lost a child in a senseless, tragic accident such as this knows the pain Gerald's family feels.  As one who also rides a motorcycle, I know full well the dangers that come from traveling the public roads on two wheels. Taking chances on a bike only increases the danger and lowers the odds for survival. As a recovering alcoholic who works with others who battle the beast of substance abuse, I also know that climbing behind the wheel of a car while drunk turns one into an instrument of death.

Life is precious and can be cut short in an instant. My condolences to Fred and his family. Knowing a tragedy such as this could have been avoided does not lessen the sorrow and sense of loss that all of us feel.

Took a ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway recently to the Blue Ridge Music Center at Milepost 213. OK, it was a nice weekend day and I needed an excuse to put some miles on my motorcycle. The center was well worth the effort.

Inside the display hall, you can find information on Southwestern Virginia music groups, including the Floyd County Ramblers, who gamed some fame in the music world with a song about a local tragedy.

If you haven't visited the Center, the trip is worth it for both the scenery along the Parkway and the tour through the area's musical heritage. The concert season is finished for the year but the fall colors are starting to come in on the Parkway, which provides another reason to go.

Citigroup today assumed the assets of failing Wachovia Bank, marking the latest failure among financial institutions with bad mortgage loans.

Reports The Associated Press:

Citigroup agreed Monday to purchase Wachovia's banking operations for $2.1 billion in a deal arranged by federal regulators, making the Charlotte-based bank the latest casualty of the widening global financial crisis.

The deal greatly expands Citigroup's retail franchise — giving it a total of more than 4,300 U.S. branches and $600 billion in deposits — and secures its place among the U.S. banking industry's Big Three, along with Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

But it comes at a cost: Citigroup Inc. said it will slash its quarterly dividend in half to 16 cents. It also will dilute existing shareholders by selling $10 billion in common stock to shore up its capital position.

In addition to assuming $53 billion worth of debt, Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses from Wachovia's $312 billion loan portfolio, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreeing to cover any remaining losses. Citigroup also will issue $12 billion in preferred stock and warrants to the FDIC.

Struggling banking giant Wachovia is on the ropes and on the market, hoping a deal with potential buyers.

If Wachovia fails, it will be the largest area bank to go down the tubes. Some who have dealt with the bank say the collapse is well deserve.

Wachovia is saddled with thousands of foreclosed properties, some from its own questionable lending practices and others from its foolish acquisition of troubled mortgage lender Goldenwest.

Reports The Associated Press:

At least two major banks were reportedly in talks Sunday to buy Wachovia Corp., the latest U.S. bank to be the focus of investor anxiety over mounting losses tied to toxic assets.

The New York Times reported on its Web site that Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are bidding in a possible emergency takeover of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia.

The Wall Street Journal also listed Spain's Banco Santander SA as a possible bidder. Both papers cited people familiar with the talks who they did not name.

Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown declined to comment on the reports, as did Citigroup spokeswoman Christina Pretto. Wells Fargo spokesmen could not be immediately reached for comment.

Wachovia's shares fell 27 percent in regular-session trading on Friday, and shed another 15 percent in after-hours dealings to end the week at $8.50, as investor worries heightened.

We have friends who had to walk away from their home after Wachovia reneged on a commitment to a bridge loan to help them sell the home after real estate values plummeted in Northern Virginia. Last year, we were bombarded by calls from a high-pressure Wachovia mortgage rep, trying to con us into "leveraging the equity" in our mortgage-free home into a 30-year loan. We finally had to block Wachovia's number to stop the calls.

Wachovia is counting on the $700 billion taxpayer bailout make make the sale possible, hoping the government will save it from its own stupidity.

I met Paul Newman in 1977 during a sports car race at Mid-America Raceway in Wentzville, Missouri, just outside St. Louis. He came to Wentzville late in the Sports Car Club of America racing season to try and qualify for the runoffs later in the year.

But his car lost a clutch and Newman gained no points that day. As both a media photographer and a race official for SCCA, I was able to get past the guards that surrounded his compound and spend some time with the movie star and acclaimed actor.

Newman was gracious, funny, witty and tired. His blue eyes sparkled with humor and vigor that belied his age. We chatted for about 30 minutes before I had to go out and work another race.

Amy met Newman in 1984 when we attended the pole qualification weekend for the Indianapolis 500. We were leaving on the Sunday following pole day qualifying and she was struggling with a suitcase at our hotel. A short, wiry man stepped up to help with the door. It was Newman, part owner of Newman-Hass racing.

When she got to the car where I was packing the rest of the luggage, her mouth was still open.

"My God," she said. "That was Paul Newman. He's almost as short as I am."

Newman was short in stature but tall in the eyes of his fans. The 83-year-old legend died Friday after a long bout with cancer. Reports The Associated Press:

Paul Newman never much cared for what he once called the "rubbish" of Hollywood, choosing to live in a quiet community on the opposite corner of the U.S. map, staying with his wife of many years and _ long after he became bored with acting _ pursuing his dual passions of philanthropy and race cars.

And yet despite enormous success in both endeavors and a vile distaste for celebrity, the Oscar-winning actor never lost the aura of a towering Hollywood movie star, turning in roles later in life that carried all the blue-eyed, heartthrob cool of his anti-hero performances in "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

The 10-time Academy Award nominee died Friday at age 83, surrounded by family and close friends at his Westport farmhouse following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said Saturday.

The experts who know about such things say a full fall foliage this year could be iffy, given the three-year-long droughout and the cooler weather lately that has fooled some trees into dropping their leaves ahead of schedule.

Still, there's hope for a lot of color:

Reports WDBJ:

Chris Thomsen of the Department of Forestry says there is some evidence of stress on the trees, but the nearly four inches from Faye slowed that down.  However, it's still unclear whether this year's fall foliage will make a full comeback.

"The moisture may be the critical thing this year, and I'd say right now we're kinda in limbo as whether it's going to affect the fall foliage colors severely or not," says Thomsen.

Some of the trees in the woods on our properties began dropping leaves three weeks ago.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

(Photo from last year on the Blue Ridge Parkway)

According to the Blue Ridge Parkway tour guide, the free book you can pick up at Mabry Mill and many other stops along the scenic drive, the Galex lies just north of the Parkway shortly before you reach North Carolina.

Galex? Isn't that supposed to be Galax?

Yep, but the map in the center of the guide misspells the city's name, calling it Galex.

Elsewhere in the guide, Galax is spelled correctly, but the map shows it as "Galex."

You'd think the folks who run the Parkway would know better. At least they spelled "Floyd" correctly.

We dated briefly in high school and I she came to visit my studio when I moved back to Floyd County in 2004. We had lunch and talked about old times. She married shortly after graduation from high school and they remained in Floyd County.

She seemed happy...until a phone call last week asking to meet for lunch, not in Floyd, but in Christiansburg.

I noticed the big, goggle-sized sunglasses when I walked into Cracker Barrel. She wore them at the table.

"What's with the sunglasses?"

She lowered them just enough for me to see the swelling and bruises around her right eye.

"Who did this?"

"He did," she said, referring to her husband, a man I've also known since high school.

"Has this happened before?"

"Yes, many times."

"So, why do you stay?"

"I love him."

After sexual abuse, spousal abuse is one of the most unreported crimes in America. According to the Take Back the Night project at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte:

Between 1/3 and 1/2 of all adult women are beaten by their husbands or lovers at some time in their lives. 14% of American women acknowledge having been violently abused by a husband or boyfriend.

92% of women who were physically abused by their partners did not discuss these incidents with their physicians; 57% did not discuss the incidents with anyone.

In the U.S., every 9 seconds a woman is physically abused by her husband.

Within the last year, 7% of American women (3.9 million) who are married or living with someone were physically abused, and 37% (20.7 million) were verbally or emotionally abused by their spouse or partner.

Too many women stay with men who beat them. They become dependent on their abusers. They use love, children or dozens of other excuses for living in fear in their own homes. They feel trapped and unable to leave.

Sometimes they reach out, as my childhood friend did recently, because they finally realize they need help.  We discussed options. I made some phone calls and found her a bed at an abused women's shelter out of the county, away from her abuser.  I found a lawyer to file divorce proceedings. I urged her to file charges against her husband. She isn't ready to do that yet but, with the help of counseling, she may soon.

I visited her husband and gave him a short lesson in non-verbal communication, letting him know the lesson would be repeated tenfold if he ever went near her again. Let's just say he felt her pain and got the message.

With help, and luck, she may escape the horror of living with a spousal abuser. But how many still live among us, trapped in a cycle of violence that never ends?

If your family tree doesn't branch, you might be a redneck...

If you go to family reunions to meet girls, you might be a redneck...

They have a new law in West Virginia. If you get a divorce that's OK. You're still brother and sister.

--Comedian Jeff Foxworthy

Jokes about inbreeding among country families have been around for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, like many jokes, they have some basis in fact.

In high school in 1962, I remember a female classmate who started to gain some weight and suddenly "went away" to take care of a sick relative. She wemt away because she was pregnant by an uncle. She was 16.  Another got pregnant from her father.

In Floyd County Circuit Court two years ago, I listened as a local grandfather, convicted of sexually molesting his granddaughter, tell the judge: "Your honor, I love my granddaughter. I guess I just love her too much."  In the sentencing hearing of another case, an 18-year-old boy convicted of sexually molesting his younger sister, a relative told the judge: "He's just going through a phase that all teenage boys go through."

Incest is a sad fact of life, not just in Floyd County but nationwide.  The National Center for Victims of Crime reports:

Father-daughter and stepfather-daughter incest is most commonly reported, with most of the remaining reports consisting of mother/stepmother-daughter/son incest. Prevalence of parental child sexual abuse is difficult to assess due to secrecy and privacy; some estimates show 20 million Americans have been victimized by parent incest as children.

But even that number may be low. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that 60 percent of incest cases may go unreported.

Over the last four years, I've covered more than a dozen cases of incest in Floyd County Circuit Court. Too many of those guilty of incest went free because of the poor prosecution record of the previous Commonwealth's Attorney Gordon Hannett.  Most of the 19 sex offenders who live in Floyd County and who are listed in the Virginia Sexual Offender Database are there because of sexual crimes against family members.  Some who went to prison are back on the street.  I saw the grandfather who loved his granddaugher "too much" eating breakfast in the Blue Ridge Restaurant the other day.

Current Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Shortt won her job by promising, among other things, to put sexual offenders away. For the most part, she's delivered on that promise although she did cut a deal earlier this year that let one walk on probation. She said didn't want to put the victim on the stand in open court and that might have done more damage than good.

But Shortt and the Floyd County Sheriff's Department cannot put these animals away if people keep incest hidden as a dirty little secret that no one likes to talk about.  For too many families, the shame of incest is too embarrassing to reveal. They live with the secret and hide their shame.

So they keep it all in the family...which is where the problem starts.

A Floyd County mother brought her two teenage daughters into my studio one day and said she wanted "model portfolios" produced for each.

The oldest -- 16 -- wore way too much makeup along with short shorts and a bare-midriff blouse, revealing a navel ring and a tattoo.  The youngest -- 13 -- wore a t-shirt that read: "Jailbait and worth the risk."

I told the mother -- as politely as my rising anger could permit -- that I didn't do that sort of thing.

"Your daughters are under 18," I added.

"That's OK," she anwered. "You have my permission."

I tried to explain that no one's permission would be adequate to allow me to take such photos.

"Well," she replied, obviously upset. "Can you recommend someone who does?"

"No," I said. "I can't and I won't." I explained to her that the kind of glamor photography that she wanted to get her daughters into was is a shady business. Just ask Radford's Bob Shell -- convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges for his role in the death of a 19-year-old "glamor model" in his studio.

She left and I sat for a long time, trying to calm down. My God, I thought. I went to high school with this woman's mother.

More than a dozen area mothers have brought their underage daughters into my studios since 2004, wanting me to produce "model" portfolios for their children. They want to place these photos, featuring 12-to-17 year old girls, on "teen model" web sites that feature underage children modeling minuscule swimsuits, lingerie or other scanty attire. One wanted nude photos of her 17-year-old, saying the girl "could be in Playboy some day."

This kind of thing happened more frequently when I lived in the St. Louis and Washington metropolitan areas but I never expected to run into it in Floyd.  When I mentioned this latest incident to a friend who has a daughter in high school, she said: "I know who you're talking about."

Like many photographers, I've done my share of nude photography. My subjects have been adults who are free to make thier own decisions and most were professional models. One 25-year-old in Floyd County wanted a "glamor portfolio" to give to her fiance as a wedding gift.

But I cannot understand parents who want to exploit their children in such a way. It makes me want to vomit...and then take a shower.

(Photo above for illustrative purposes only. The model for the photo was 22 when the photo was taken.)

Floyd County High School's varsity football team pulled off another come-from-behind victory to beat Fort Chiswell Friday night, raising their record to 4-0.  It's the best start for the Buffaloes in four years.  A fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Luke Harris to Christian Rodrique gave the team a 28-25 lead with 6:54 left.

An internal investigation by the Floyd County Public School administration has cleared high school teacher and coach Stan Hawkins of any responsibility for a five-second pornographic video clip that was accidentally shown to students at a Students for Destructive Decisions (SADD) seminar last Friday.

In a letter to to all parents and students of Floyd County High School, superintendent Terry Arbogast said:

We found that a five second video clip of a pornographic scene was unknowingly saved to the hard drive of the laptop computer assigned to the club sponsor. This occurred in the summer time, off school grounds during non-school hours. We determined the club sponsor did not have any knowledge of this occurring.

Furthermore, we have no found any evidence of other staff members or students involved from Floyd County High School. Finally, there was no evidence of any additional pornography on this computer.

Hawkins is the faculty sponsor of SADD but was not operating the computer during what was supposed to be a DVD video showing on drunk driving.

Arbogast's letter continues:

The DVD video was originally played using using the Windows Media Player software. Within a few minutes into the DVD, the video stopped functioning properly. In an attempt to continue playing the DVD, the Media Player was closed and another software media player, Real Player, was opened. Instead of playing the intended DVD, when the play button was pressed, the inappropriate video clip was displayed because Real Player played this video clip by default.

I talked with Dr. Arbogast at the 8th Grade/JV football game at FCHS Thursday and he made it clear that, despite what at least one Roanoke television station is reporting, the investigation is not over. In addition, he states clearly in the letter that "we have taken this incident very seriously and will continue to investigate."

I congratulate the school system for taking swift action to investigate this matter and to clear Coach Hawkins. Unfortunately, some had already concluded that the long time teacher and coach was guilty before the facts were in. That was the failing of those who jumped to conclusions and reflects badly on them.  I'm personally sorry that some attempted to use this web site to dredge up an old grudge they had against Coach Hawkins and I removed more than a dozen comments from those who made accusations that either had nothing to do with the issue at hand or which were potentially libelous.  Like anyone, Coach Hawkins deserved to be considered innocent until proven guilty.  He has been found innocent and I'm glad to see the school system take decisive action to protect his name and reputation.

A copy of the letter from Dr. Arbogast appears below:

Stan Hawkins, a Floyd County High School teacher, assistant coach and advisor to Students Against Destruction Decisions (SADD), is on leave until an investigation determines how a few seconds of a pornographic video ended up on the screen of a SADD assembly last week.

Hawkins was not at school Monday and the teacher will not return until an investigation by FCHS principal Barry Hollandsworth and School Superintendent Terry Arbogast is complete.

During a SADD assembly in the FCHS auditorium Friday, a few seconds of a video clip showing graphic sex scene appeared on the screen instead of a drunk driving video on the DVD in a laptop computer used for the program.  The pornographic video was on the laptop's hard drive, school sources say.

Hollandsworth took control of the laptop following the assembly. It is not clear at this point if the laptop was one the school issued to a teacher or privately-owned.

The incident, first reported on this web site, has sparked a county-wide debate and rumors have flooded the county. Roanoke media descended on Floyd like locusts in a feeding frenzy Monday, attending the regular monthly meeting of the county school board where the incident was not on the agenda but may have been discussed in a closed-door "executive session."

When Hawkins was not at school Monday, rumors circulated that the long-time teacher and coach had resigned but school officials denied the rumors. Arbogast told reporters Hawkins is on leave and remain on leave during the investigation. The school superintendent would not say if the leave is paid or unpaid.

Arbogast said the investigation will be complete by the end of the week and promises a full report to "my community."  Hollandsworth will not comment on the incident.

The Floyd Country Store in early evening light during a Saturday night concert.

It didn't take long for word of the porno video that popped up in the middle of a Floyd County High School assembly on drunk driving to circulate throughout the area. I received the first call from a student before the session in the auditorium ended (it seems a number of FCHS students have my cell phone on speed dial).

By 4 p.m. some 23 messages had arrived on my Blackberry. The story circulated on the streets outside the Friday Night Jamboree and over dinner at local restaurants. A student who works at one local establishment showed me a photo on his cell phone of the letter sent home with students. Another had a short video clip of the reaction of students inside the auditorium.

In a county where even rudimentary sex education is frowned upon in public schools, word that a few seconds of a video clip depicting anal sex popped up on screen in the FCHS assembly fueled the gossip meals. A few local ministers preached against it from the pulpits on Sunday.

The incident, no doubt, will overshadow everything else on the agenda of Monday's school board meeting. FCHS principal Barry Hollandsworth promised parents a "complete investigation" into the matter.

Several readers have pointed out that what happened at FCHS has happened elsewhere, most recently in Phoenix.

While it is obvious that someone wasn't on the ball when it came to keeping an eye on a laptop computer used for the SADD meeting, we should avoid premature speculation or assignment of blame or fault until all the facts are known in the case. Hollandsworth and School Administrator Terry Arbogast owe the public a full and complete explanation on what happened and how.  The person or persons responsible for placement of a pornographic video on a computer used in a school function must be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

The Shooting Creek Farm Brewery on Thomas Farm Road near the Blue Ridge Parkway won the first round in a battle with religion and self-righteous neighbors, obtaining approval for an off-premises Alcoholic Beverage Control license from the hearing officer who oversaw a contentious debate on the brewery last month.

Robert O'Neal, ABC's chief administrative hearing officer, ruled in effect that the neighbors and a Baptist minister from Check were creating a loud, but misinformed tempest in a teapot with their claims that the brewery would turn the rural road into a danger zone of drunk drivers.

Brewery owners say they are happy with the decision but will wait to see if their opponents appeal for a full hearing before the ABC board in Richmond.

The minister who is helping drive the protest wants to press ahead but it is not his money that must pay for lawyers to appeal the decision.

"This is a battle between what the people want along that road and what I've called the pro-intoxication winery people," Rev. Warren Brown of Faith Baptist Church told The Roanoke Times. "They make their money by selling alcohol and getting people intoxicated."

In reality, the pastor is burying facts under a pile of hyperbole that stinks to high heaven. The license sought by the micro-brewery is off-premises. As O'Neal demonstrated during the hearing, the entire annual output of the small brewery would not fill a corner of one tractor trailer. The existence of Chateau Morrisette winery, which serves alcohol on premises, has not led to an increase of drunk driving arrests or accidents on Black Ridge Road.  Statistics also do not show such problems on the rural roads near a cider house or a meadery near Buffalo Mountain Presbyterian Church in the Southern end of Floyd County.

The residents of Thomas Farm Road would be better served by listening to legal experts who note that such appeals seldom result in overturned decisions and stop wasting their time and money listening to a minister with an obvious personal agenda.

The assembly of some 250 Floyd County High School students, members of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), in the school auditorium Friday was supposed to be a discussion about the dangers of drunk driving with a video from the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) and a debate between Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Shortt and lawyer Jonathan Rogers.

It turned into a graphic display of sexual intercourse.

The DVD with the ATLA video stuttered and, according to students at the event, The operator of the computer stopped the DVD and brought up the "favorites" play list on the laptop he was using to show the video. Instead of clicking again on the DVD, students in the auditorim say the operator apparently clicked on one of the videos stored as a "favorite" on the computer's hard drive and it turned out to be a graphic pornographic film featuring a closeup shot of graphicsex. FCHS teacher and coach Stan Hawkins, who is also the school advisor of SADD, told the Roanoke Times he was adjusting the screen when the porno popped up. What is not clear yet is whether or not the laptop is question was a school unit assigned to a teacher or program or a personal one used for the demostration.

The video was stopped after a few seconds (which witnesses say lasted 5 to 15 seconds) but the damage was done. Accounts of what followed range from "chaos" to "pandemonium." Students whipped out cell phones and started calling people to relate what happened. My Blackberry lit up like a Christmas tree.

FCHS Principal Barry Hollandsworth sent a letter home with students calling the affair a "very unfortunate incident" and telling parents "your child" had been exposed to pornography. Hollandsworth was vague on details but promised a "complete investigation" into what happened.

What happened is that somebody screwed up big time because a pornographic video clip somehow found its way onto the hard drive of a laptop that is used in a public school.

Stay tuned. The school board is meeting on Monday and will probably discuss details of the incident in a closed-door "executive session."

 (Updated on September 14.)