Saturday, April 21, 2007

in the new-to-me category of "Strange News"

cleveland.com: NewsFlash - Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder: Just today, on www.cleveland.com, I noticed a category named "Strange News." Here's my one I couldn't pass up, once I read the part about balancing on the walker and the snub-nosed .38. Don't miss the link at the end--it adds a lot of depth to the story, depth you don't have room for in a print edition of the news. As it turns out, this is actually an amazing lady--

"WAYNESBURG, Ky. (AP) — Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder. Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment.


Ramey said the man told her he would leave. 'I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave,' Ramey said.


She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun. 'I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it,' she said. 'If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now.'


Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911.


Curtis Parrish of Ohio was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, Deputy Dan Gilliam said. The man's hometown wasn't immediately available. Three other people were questioned but were not arrested.


After winning the pageant with her singing, dancing and comedic talents, Ramey sold war bonds and her picture was adorned on a B-17 that made missions over Germany in World War II, according to the Miss America Web site.


Ramey lived in Cincinnati for several years and was instrumental in helping rejuvenate Over-the-Rhine historic buildings. She returned to Kentucky in 1990 to live on her farm.


'I'm trying to live a quiet, peaceful life and stay out of trouble, and all it is, is one thing after another,' she said.
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On the Net: http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1940/1944.asp "

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