Edward Van Dyk picked up his two children, one four and one eight, and tossed them to their death from the 15th floor balcony of the Loews Hotel in Miami before leaping himself.

The three bodies landed on the mezzanine roof below.

The incident happened on Sunday. His wife, Qinuo, heard the screams of her falling children and walked into the living room to see her husband of 10 years following them over the balcony. She told police her and her husband's marriage had been suffering for the last six months.

I believe there is a special place in hell reserved for people like Edward Van Dyk.

&#8220It's a terrible tragedy. It's unfortunate that this gentleman was so selfish and in an effort to get back at his wife he took the two most loved people in the world away from her,” Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez told reporters.

Gentleman? I can think of a number of other words I would use to describe the late Edward Van Dyk. To be so horrible as to take the life of your own flesh and blood out of hatred for the woman who bore themŠit's unspeakable.

How deadly this world has become for its children.

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If not for the heat and humidity, the Democratic Executive Committee's Annual Fish Fry would have been a splendid way to spend an evening. As it was, the rotating fans at the Butler County Fairgrounds' building just couldn't keep everyone quite as cool as they would have liked.

Still, the gathering of our local Democratic candidates, along with Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, was a nice event. The fish was good, the grits were steaming, and the cole slaw possessed just the right amount of sweetness.

No doubt Steve Segrest, a candidate for State Treasurer, came to campaign. He gleefully hammered up his political signs around the entire fairgrounds building.

Segrest is from Montgomery.

Handing out your card is one thing. But nailing your signs to another county's piece of property is sort of like going into someone's home and rearranging the furniture. If Segrest gets elected, I hope he comes back down here and removes them.

Also, Lucy just didn't look like Lucy in yellow.

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Former Montgomery Mayor and decorated veteran of the Korean War Emory Folmar was the Greenville Lions Club special guest speaker during this year's Memorial Day event held on Monday.

Folmar has always been one of the most colorful political characters to come out of the Capitol City. Along with Alvin Holmes and Joe Reed. Folmar's fights with Reed, who serves as part of Folmar's city council, are legendary.

I still remember waking up on a school day with Y102 on the radio and Folmar as their special guest. His favorite response when someone called with an issue was to &#8220have your people contact my people.”

He and his wife, Anita, are currently in a spitting war with current Mayor Bobby Bright. Bright has been slowly removing Anita Folmar's name from a number of city landmarks.

Kevin Pearcey is Group Managing Editor of Greenville Newspapers, LLC. He can be reached by phone at 383-9302, ext. 136 or by email at: editor@greenville.advocate.com.