Alex Arshinkoff has been called a lot of things, but “generic” is not among them.
So it seems incredibly odd to find his photograph on the main page of the website for the Board of Elections in Charles County, Md., illustrating the fact that “board meetings are conducted every third Thursday.”
Check it out at www.charlescounty.org/boe.
Is that Alex or what?
It’s what, according to the board.
The man who appears to be a clone of the boss of the Summit County Republican Party is actually Bill Proper, Director of Public Facilities for Charles County, about 45 minutes south of Washington, D.C.
Unlike his apparent twin, Proper does not routinely call the Beacon Journal to complain about our reporting.
Bad omen
A reader who was searching the classified ads for a job Nov. 13 came across a listing that seems to predict an extremely unpleasant summer in 2012.
Under the heading “Summer Help,” it read: “Snow shovelers wanted.”
Words to live by
Anybody who quotes Warren Zevon can’t be all bad.
Rob Spore of Akron, reacting to an item I wrote about a nonsensical fortune cookie I received in Montrose, put this in the subject line of his email:
“I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand.”
He then continued:
“Not really, but your fortune-cookie anecdote reminded me of my favorite fortune I got a few years ago, which I still keep on my wall at work: ‘Now is the time to make circles with mints, do not haste any longer.’
“This is how I try to live my life.”
Different house
You don’t have to be a football fan to appreciate a sign that recently appeared in front of Cornerstone Community Church in Stow, but it helps.
The message was a play on the viral video Factory of Sadness, a rant by a frustrated Cleveland Browns fan outside Browns Stadium that, as of Monday afternoon, had been viewed on YouTube 799,488 times.
Dave Emmitt posted the sign, which identified the church as “A Factory of Gladness.”
The Browns might want to attend; nothing else they’ve done for the past 13 years has worked.
Excuse me?
Subject line in an email to a member of our Features Department from a company hoping to get publicity for a high-powered fireplace log-lighter:
“New tool gets your chestnuts roasting on a roaring open fire.”
Dear Santa ...
Paydirt
Thanks to Beacon Journal readers, John Jacobs Jr. had a fantastic Thanksgiving.
Recently we wrote that Jacobs, a 45-year-old Stow resident, has been laid off multiple times through no fault of his own and, because of the rotten economy, has been jobless for a year. He lost his car and emptied his 401(k) and was on the brink of losing his house.
After the column, more than two dozen readers offered him job interviews, leads or donations. He referred all potential donors to local charities — “There are people worse off than me” — and accepted a job with Meyer Distributing in Hudson. He started work Monday.
“I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough to all the people who sent in job leads, words of encouragement and offers of financial help,” he writes.
“I want each of you to know how touched I was by the overwhelming responses to the article.
“I have some advice for those people who are in a similar situation: Faith, family and friends will get you through the toughest times. There were many times I was ready to give up, but those three things kept me going.”
He also offered a plea to human relations managers: Take a closer look at resumes and “don’t hesitate to hire those long-term unemployed workers who are still out there and desperately need and want to work. Give them a chance.”
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.