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Carroll High School junior Marie Brammer said she didn’t think anything of it when, at the end of the second day of auditions for Carroll’s production of “Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood,” Principal Cleve Million came in to talk with the director.
However, the student actors got an email the next morning telling them to come in early.
“We all assumed that this is just going to be casting or a rehearsal or something like that,” Brammer said. “We got there and everyone got seated and the principal walked out (to address the students). We knew immediately that no good was going to come.”
Million said he’d decided to cancel the play. Almost immediately, a few students put together a Change.org petition opposing the decision. The students blamed the cancellation on complaints by some Northwest Allen County Schools parents and claimed some registered their dissatisfaction using “threatening tones.” They noted the play contains LGBTQ+ characters and themes.
The petition’s goal was 250 signatures. It received more than 5,500 from around the world, including from bestselling author Jodi Picoult.
The next week, students and parents brought those concerns to the Feb. 27 meeting of the NACS school board. More than two dozen people spoke during the public comment period, many against the play’s cancellation. Some, though, voiced support.
“That’s one of the biggest politic issues, is the LGBT whatever, however many, you know, ABCs you want to put on it. It is a big political issue,” said Kaye Niman. She described herself as a very conservative person, a pastor’s wife and a parent of children in the district.
“The Bible says the homosexuality is a sin,” she said.
Janine Rudolph said she has six grandchildren in NACS and commended the play’s cancellation. She said those who signed the petition weren’t NACS taxpayers.
“It was some guy sitting in California drinking a margarita or wherever. … So that carries no weight with me whatsoever,” Rudolph said.
Referencing another speaker who said the story of LGBTQ+ people should be told, Rudolph said the story of that community is already out there.
“You do not need to bang this in my child’s head,” she said. “They don’t need to know; they’re children.”
At the end of the meeting, after the board concluded its business, NACS Superintendent Wayne Barker defended Million’s decision.
“(The principal) simply wanted this play to be about the students’ skill, about their talents, about their work ethic – not about the storyline that was the play,” Barker said. “I’m comfortable with why he did what he did, and I support him for what he did.”
Although some parents raised concerns, the district said in a news release this week, that’s not why Million made the decision to cancel “Marian.” The statement also said it wasn’t because of the play’s LGBTQ+ representation or because of threats against students.
The decision was made, the statement said, “because of disruptions that were happening between students who wanted to participate in the play.” NACS spokeswoman Lizette Downey said she couldn’t clarify what those disruptions were, however.
Instead of “Marian,” Carroll students last month performed the Harry Potter parody “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.” | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/schools/student-actors-faced-opposition-from-administrators-community-members/article_81b94978-f4fb-11ed-ad83-571b2fd429b9.html | 2023-05-20T05:49:09 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/schools/student-actors-faced-opposition-from-administrators-community-members/article_81b94978-f4fb-11ed-ad83-571b2fd429b9.html |
Birmingham, Ala. (WIAT)–“I only had one opportunity to meet Jim Brown and I was scared to death,” that’s how former NFL player Gary Burley described his first and only encounter with NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown. Burley, a 10 year NFL veteran who spent 8 years as a Defensive End with the Cincinnati Bengals, called Brown one of the greatest running backs in the history of the NFL.
That day they met in Canton, Ohio Burley said, “John Wooten my sports agent and I had the opportunity at the NFL Hall of Fame to walk up and see Jim Brown and then look back at the great things he did as a running back and as an activist.”
Brown retired a decade before Gary Burley entered the NFL and in many ways paved the way for what was then a growing number of black athletes to play in the NFL in the early 70’s.
Gary Burley has written a book called “Glory: The Struggle for Yards” that chronicles the story of the first African Americans to play in the National Football League. It’s due to be published next month.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Historical Content Expert Barry McNealy said Brown’s was one of those figures in the 1960’s who used his voice making the Civil Rights Movement more mainstream, “when you think of someone who would not necessarily toe the line, someone who would stand up a little taller and speak a little louder” he said that was Jim Brown. Someone whose contribution came at a time when it took all hands on deck to address equality.
McNealy said Brown was important because he used, “the pulpit that he had and the voice that he had,” to influence the movement. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/former-nfl-player-gary-burley-remembers-jim-brown/ | 2023-05-20T06:12:49 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/former-nfl-player-gary-burley-remembers-jim-brown/ |
Talking Canton: Bernabei updates Rotary on city's progress
- Canton Mayor Tom Bernabei said city is in solid shape
- He said city should have used water as a tool to annex years ago
- Growth challenges largely due to lack of green space
CANTON ‒ Although billed a "state of the city" address, Mayor Tom Bernabei told the Canton Rotary Club Friday lunch group his speech would be wide-ranging, and less formal.
It was both.
The two-term mayor, who turns 77 this year as he nears the end of a political career that also included stints as city law director and Stark County commissioner, tossed in some self-deprectating humor for the crowd of less than 100 at Christ Presbyterian Church.
Being Canton's next mayor:Ins and outs of city's top job
Bernabei, a Democrat, said he'd reflected on his life, the meaning of success and how it's come full-circle.
He described these age-identified goals for success: 4 years old, not peeing your pants; 12, having friends; 16, get a driver's license; 20, having sex; 35, have money; 50, still have money; 60, having sex; 70, having a driver's license; 75, having friends; and lastly, at age 80, not peeing your pants.
"Symmetry ... circle of life," the mayor said.
City government and services
A graduate of Brown University and Ohio State University Law School, Bernabei served four years in the U.S. Army, including a tour in Vietnam, in between getting those degrees.
Much of his one-hour presentation, aided by slides, was a civics lesson on how city government is organized, structured and operates.
From explanations about the roles and duties of all its 935 employees, to where all its $334 million budget is spent. From more than 300 paid firefighters and police officers, to volunteers on 21 boards and commissions.
Rotary President Rick Taylor noted how the club, early on, had donated $100,000 to the downtown Centennial Plaza project. After all, one long-standing motto of Rotary clubs around the world is "Service above self." Taylor thanked Bernabei for always remembering the gift.
Bernabei said everyone will remember, because the Rotary holds center position on a plaque at the plaza.
Besides discussing how city government works, the mayor highlighted economic development occurring in Canton, most notably Hall of Fame Village and an Amazon warehouse.
City missed chance to grow its footprint
Bernabei proclaimed the city's finances and services to be in excellent shape, but noted it faces challenges.
One of the biggest problems, he said, is a lack of open green space where businesses and homes can be built. He said the city made a mistake which dates to three-quarters of a century ago when it agreed to provide water to suburbs without requiring them to be annexed into Canton.
"We should have used water as an annexation tool ... it's why Columbus has grown," the mayor said.
Bernabei decided not to seek a third term, so he'll complete his eighth and final year in office on Dec. 31.
By then, a new mayor will be ready to take over.
Earlier this month, William Sherer II won the Democatic primary, while Roy Scott DePew was unopposed in the GOP primary. They'll square off in the Nov. 7 general election.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/canton/2023/05/19/outgoing-mayor-bernabei-talks-about-success-and-challenges/70232706007/ | 2023-05-20T06:53:56 | 1 | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/canton/2023/05/19/outgoing-mayor-bernabei-talks-about-success-and-challenges/70232706007/ |
SEATTLE — A breast cancer survivor who was wrongfully fired from her job has won in a King County court.
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019,” said Linda O’Brien.
Two months later, O’Brien would find out it was stage four breast cancer. Her oncologist said she could continue to work full-time as a financial coordinator for two doctors who own Orthodontic Excellence and other clinics across Western Washington.
“I didn't have to have chemo, I didn't have to have surgery or radiation. I take a couple of pills, we started off the cancer,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien continued to work full time while undergoing treatment, “ I did that to try to take the least amount of time off from work as possible, so not to disrupt the practice.”
The lawsuit said after her diagnosis, O’Brien’s employers became hostile and even told other employees they were going to fire her.
In October 2019, O’Brien had shingles due to a weakened immune system from treatment and asked to work from home to protect a pregnant co-worker. Two days later, she was fired via email.
“I lost a group of people that I thought were supporting me. I am a single woman. I don't have anybody else's income to fall back on. It was a very, very scary place to be,” O’Brien said.
She also lost her health insurance. O’Brien knew she was wrongfully terminated.
“I didn't want to go into litigation, but I couldn't sit by and let somebody treat me as if I didn't matter because I do matter. We all matter,” O’Brien said.
That’s where Elizabeth Hanley, an attorney for Schroeter Goldmark & Bender stepped in and filed a discrimination suit.
“These laws are really critical because most people at some point in their working careers, especially since people are working longer are going to have some sort of illness,” Hanley said.
Hanley said, unfortunately, cases like Linda’s are common.
“Even if you have a serious illness or something that's affecting you, you have the right to still have a full life,” Hanley said.
Hanley said if you find yourself facing a serious illness, notify your employer and if they offer accommodations, work with them, but she said most importantly there are state laws that protect workers who file discrimination suits.
“If an employee raises a case of discrimination like Linda did, other employers are never allowed to retaliate against them or deny them employment opportunities,” Hanley said.
This week a jury sided with O’Brien and awarded her $3,263,230 in total damages.
“For a King County jury to say 'Look, no, this was a perfectly high-functioning employee who was doing her job and according to evidence was doing it really well.' We’re going to tell your employer this is a person of value. That does a lot in terms of restoring someone’s belief they are valuable,” said Hanley.
“The fact that they deliberated for 90 minutes tells you they knew what was right and what was wrong. They chose to do the right thing and that was wonderful. I'm so grateful for each and every one of them for doing that for me,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien hopes her story will help others come forward.
“Don't lose faith, and stand up for yourself because you're worth it. Everybody's worth it,” O’Brien said. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/cancer-survivor-wins-millions-discrimination-suit-wrongful-termination/281-cfb87797-b82d-409c-8cbf-5cd55111136c | 2023-05-20T07:31:19 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/cancer-survivor-wins-millions-discrimination-suit-wrongful-termination/281-cfb87797-b82d-409c-8cbf-5cd55111136c |
BPS hires assistant principal
Bismarck Public Schools has hired Mark Lardy as an assistant principal for Bismarck High School, starting 2023-24.
Lardy began his educational career in Oakes as a math teacher and head wrestling coach. He joined Bismarck Public Schools in 2002, teaching math, coaching, and serving as activities director at Wachter Middle School. He has worked at Bismarck High School for the past 10 years, first as a math teacher, and most recently as dean of students. He has been the co-head wrestling coach at BHS since 2017.
Sanford Health adds neonatologist
Dr. Stacy Kern has joined Sanford Health in Bismarck.
Kern received her medical degree from University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis and did residency work at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She also completed a fellowship in neonatology from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and holds certification from the American Board of Pediatrics in neo-natal-perinatal medicine and pediatrics.
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Agency names executive creative director
Jon Carroll has joined Odney as a executive creative director. Carroll has over two decades of experience in creative management. He will manage the creative team at Odney.
Carroll has been honored with 200 ADDY Awards, a 2016 National ADDY, Telly Awards, MarCom Awards, MM&M Golds, Print Design Annual and is a Radio Mercury finalist, DxMA Golds and a New York Film Festival finalist.
One joins Convention & Visitors Bureau
Marcus Christianson has joined the Bismarck-Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau as a sales account manager, bringing a background in the service and hospitality industry.
He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota and his primary market segments include education, agriculture, medical, corporate, ethnic and family and class reunions.
ND DOCR promotes Charvat
The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has promoted Joseph Charvat to deputy director of facility inspections.
A 1993 graduate of Mandan High School, Charvat earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Minot State University. He began his career with the DOCR in 1998 as a correctional officer and most recently served as the North Dakota State Penitentiary chief of security.
Capital Credit Union promotions
Capital Credit Union has added cash management staff within the credit union’s Business Department and promoted Kaitlyn Ohlhauser and Ashley Ryberg.
Ohlhauser will serve as cash management supervisor. She has been with Capital Credit Union since May 2016.
Ryberg has been promoted to cash management officer. She has been with Capital Credit Union since August 2021, most recently as a business services associate.
Davis selected for national commission
Lorraine Davis, founder and chief executive officer of Native Inc., has joined the Expanding First Response Commission launched by The Council of State Governments Justice Center. The commission will develop policy recommendations for community responder programs.
Snyder recognized
Kurt Snyder, executive director at Heartview Foundation, is the 2023 recipient of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations’ Walt Odegaard Leadership Award.
The award is given to an individual who has strengthened North Dakota and its nonprofit sector through his or her long-term commitment to leadership, volunteerism and/or philanthropy. | https://bismarcktribune.com/business/local/businesspeople---may-20-2023/article_79711ea6-f03e-11ed-81eb-97a6e84a1dd9.html | 2023-05-20T07:37:13 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/business/local/businesspeople---may-20-2023/article_79711ea6-f03e-11ed-81eb-97a6e84a1dd9.html |
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission accepted a petition to list the Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) as Endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.
Acceptance of the petition initiates the rule-making process that will include an assessment of the biological status of SRKW in Oregon by ODFW and consultation with affected agencies, tribes, organizations, and the public.
An actual decision on listing SRKW will not be made until a future Commission meeting. The petition was made by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
SRKW use coastal waters off Oregon, Washington and California and currently number just 73 individuals in three pods. Some key factors behind SRKW’s decline are scarcity of prey (primarily Chinook), high levels of contaminants from pollution, disturbance from vessels/sound and inbreeding. This population is already listed on the federal ESA.
On Friday morning during the Director’s Report, ODFW staff presented the 2022 Annual Report and discussed a planned review of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. (The Plan needs to be reviewed every five years; it was last reviewed in 2019.)
Staff will initiate the review in May 2023 and plan to bring any necessary rule changes to the Commission by June 2024. A public workshop with the Commission and other opportunities for public input are planned. Interested members of the public can sign up for Wolf Updates to keep up with the Wolf Plan review process.
Adopted 2023-24 Game Bird Regulations: The summary of changes for next year is: Western Oregon Fall Turkey Season will open on Sept. 1, rather than the second Saturday of October.
A special Beardless Turkey Permit was established allowing the harvest of up to three beardless turkeys in portions of four Wildlife Management Units in Grant County beginning this fall. The cost of the Western Oregon Fee Pheasant permit will increase from $17 to $25 to keep up with the cost of stocking pheasants; a $10 Youth permit will also be available. No changes from last year for migratory game birds; duck seasons will begin on Oct. 14 in both zones with bag limits the same as last year.
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs: Approved an updated agreement for off-reservation hunting.
Marbled murrelet: Approved Endangered Species Management Plans for ODFW and nine other designated land-owning or land-managing state agencies that can play a role in marbled murrelet conservation. They also directed to staff to continue collaboration with these nine landowner agencies for conservation of the marbled murrelet.
Fish Screening Task Force: Appointed Robert R. Durham of Dufur to fill the vacant seat representing Agriculture.
Pacific halibut seasons: The International Pacific Halibut Commission set this year's fishery catch limit at 1.52 million pounds for Area 2A (Oregon, Washington and Northern California) which is 30,000 pounds higher than last year. For a look at the recreational season visit this map
Ocean salmon seasons: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recently adopted ocean salmon fishing regulations for federal-jurisdiction waters from three to 200 nautical miles offshore. The Commission adopted matching permanent regulations for state jurisdiction waters (within three miles offshore). A strong coho run is expected again and recreational fishing will begin along the entire coast in mid-June.
But due to severely low forecasts for Chinook returns to the Klamath and Sacramento Rivers, recreational and commercial fishing for Chinook will be closed south of Cape Falcon until Sept. 1 to protect these fish that are caught along with local Chinook and coho in Oregon's ocean fisheries. See this map for more details on recreational ocean salmon fisheries. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/odfwc-accepts-petition-to-list-southern-resident-killer-whales-as-endangered/article_84edbda2-f4d5-11ed-b959-f7a8679a7af0.html | 2023-05-20T07:46:20 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/odfwc-accepts-petition-to-list-southern-resident-killer-whales-as-endangered/article_84edbda2-f4d5-11ed-b959-f7a8679a7af0.html |
The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) announced the recipients of its competitive $18-million Community Wildfire Risk Reduction (CWRR) Grant, which includes Coos and Curry County organizations.
These funds will help communities across Oregon reach their goals of improving wildfire resiliency, using local programs and solutions.
In total, 106 organizations were offered grant funding, totaling $18 million. Projects receiving funding include community-wide wildfire defensible space programs, vegetation removal around buildings, community chipping programs, community education related to wildfire preparedness, equipment for vegetation removal, and staff to support these local efforts.
“This grant will allow communities to create proactive, local solutions to lessen the impacts of wildfire,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “We know that wildfire can happen anywhere in Oregon. Investing in communities in all areas of our state will bring much-needed community risk reduction and resiliency projects and programs to life.”
The CWRR grant is funding local governments, special districts, structural fire service agencies, and non-governmental organizations to support wildfire risk reduction projects, equipment, and staff. In total, 161 entities applied to fund 269 projects totaling a requested $44.5 million, highlighting the need for these grants to support important work in communities across Oregon.
“We are excited that Sumpter was awarded funding through this grant,” Matt Armstrong with the City of Sumpter said. “We are a small town with limited resources; it makes it difficult to fund initiatives focused on preventing wildland fires. The funds will go a long way toward building defensible spaces. We are truly grateful and are looking forward to working with the OSFM.”
Applicants were scored through a diverse scoring committee with representatives from the OSFM, other state government agencies, non-governmental organizations, fire service agencies, special districts, and emergency management.
Projects were prioritized on:
- Impact in high wildfire-risk regions
- Communities with high social vulnerability
- Those in and around the built environment
- Providing defensible space and community resiliency
- Protecting people and communities
- Geographically diverse projects to ensure all areas of the state have the resources to improve community wildfire risk reduction and better prepare communities
For a list of recipients, Click Here. To learn more about how the OSFM is helping Oregonians, visit the Success Stories section on our website. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/osfm-announces-wildfire-grant-recipients/article_e9b3d76a-f509-11ed-a674-eb548797ce8b.html | 2023-05-20T07:46:26 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/osfm-announces-wildfire-grant-recipients/article_e9b3d76a-f509-11ed-a674-eb548797ce8b.html |
The police blotter is a public record of incidents as reported by law-enforcement agencies. All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are innocent until proven guilty. The information printed is preliminary and subject to change.
Thursday 05/04:
North Bend
• 12:26 am, dispute, 700 block of California Avenue.
• 1:39 am, theft, 1900 block of Virginia Ave.
• 7:35 am, runaway juvenile, 2100 block of State Street.
• 9:21 am, civil problem, 600 block of Chapelle Parkway.
• 12:16 pm, disorderly conduct, Broadway and 17th Street.
• 1:33 pm, minor in possession of marijuana, 2300 block of Pacific Street.
• 2:33 pm, 47 year old male transported to Coos County jail on criminal trespass II, 1700 block of Virginia Ave.
• 7:45 pm, dispute, 2100 block of Newmark Street.
• 8:19 pm, hit and run accident, 3200 block of Tremont Avenue.
Coos Bay
• 12:07 am, harassment, Curtis and 4th.
• 6:17 am, violation court order, 200 block of E Johnson Avenue.
• 8:24 am, family dispute, 900 block of S Empire Boulevard.
• 9:46 am, phone harassment, 200 block of S Broadway Street.
• 9:51 am, damage city property, 500 block of Central Avenue.
• 10:08 am, civil problem, 1600 block of Minnesota Avenue.
• 10:18 am, theft, 1400 block of Highland Avenue.
• 11:14 am, dispute, S 2nd and Hall.
• 12:16 pm, 34 year old female transported to Coos County jail on eight counts ID theft and eight counts unlawful use of credit cards, 11th and Lincoln.
• 1:01 pm, theft of shopping cart, 1000 block of S 1st Street.
• 1:31 pm, theft, 1900 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 1:56 pm, ID theft, 500 block of N Wall Street.
• 2:00 pm, hit and run accident, 1000 block of S 1st Street.
• 2:25 pm, narcotics investigation, 900 block of W Ingersoll Avenue.
• 4:14 pm, disturbance, N 10th Street and W Commercial Avenue.
• 6:18 pm, civil problem, 900 block of S Empire Boulevard.
• 6:23 pm, fraud, 500 block of S 4th Street.
• 6:35 pm, theft of bike, 1900 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 8:12 pm, located wanted subject, 600 block of 6th Avenue.
• 9:14 pm, theft of property, 2000 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 11:41 pm, injured animal, 400 block of S Empire Boulevard.
Coquille
• 10:04 am, 45 year old female and 38 year old male on weapons offense, 1100 block of Folsom Street.
• 4:19 pm, juvenile problem, Sanford Heights.
• 6:11 pm, assault, 100 block of N Birch Street.
Reedsport
• 9:33 am, trespassing, Reedsport Pharmacy.
• 11:56 am, theft, Ace Hardware.
• 12:55 pm, theft, Safeway.
• 6:20 pm, disorderly conduct, House of Dank.
Friday 05/05:
North Bend
• 12:06 am, pan handling, 1900 block of Virginia Avenue.
• 3:32 am, elude, 1600 block of Virginia Ave.
• 8:41 am, civil problem, 3500 block of Tremont Avenue.
• 11:17 am, civil problem, 1700 block of Union Avenue.
• 11:19 am, theft from yard, 2600 block of 13th Street.
• 12:23 pm, hazardous material, 2200 block of Newmark Street.
• 1:52 pm, disorderly conduct, McCullough Bridge.
• 5:42 pm, theft, 2500 block of 16th Street.
• 6:08 pm, dispute, Boynton Park.
• 7:43 pm, 31 year old male and 52 year old male cited on criminal trespass II, 2200 block of Newmark Street.
• 9:09 pm, threats, 1600 block of Virginia Ave.
• 10:16 pm, threats, 1700 block of Virginia Ave.
• 11:04 pm, theft, 3200 block of Tremont Ave.
Coos Bay
• 12:16 am, 51 year old male arrested and transported to Coos County jail on warrants, Wallace and Newmark.
• 12:19 am, dispute, 100 block of N 14th St.
• 1:42 am, intoxicated subject, 100 block of N 9th.
• 7:46 am, burglary, 500 block of 8th Avenue.
• 7:56 am, fraud, 100 block of S Wasson St.
• 9:49 am, theft, 400 block of Newmark Ave.
• 10:08 am, 31 year old male cited on disorderly conduct II, 1200 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 10:08 am, 52 year old male box booked at Coos County jail on warrant, 1200 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 11:12 am, 29 year old male cited for driving while suspended, 800 block of Seabreeze.
• 1:06 pm, 61 year old cited on warrants, N 10th Street and W Commercial Avenue.
• 2:39 pm, disorderly conduct, 1600 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 5:00 pm, neighbor dispute, 1200 block of S 14th Street.
• 5:05 pm, fight, 1200 block of Newmark Ave.
• 5:11 pm, neighbor dispute, 1300 block of Minnesota Avenue.
• 5:55 pm, disorderly conduct, Newmark and Ocean Boulevard.
• 5:57 pm, criminal mischief, 200 block of S Cammann Street.
• 6:00 pm, civil problem, 900 block of N 9th St.
• 6:03 pm, theft of keys, 1400 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 6:49 pm, 36 year old female cited for driving while suspended, Newmark and Kinney.
• 7:28 pm, 42 year old female served on warrants, N 10th Street and Commercial Avenue.
• 8:46 pm, 40 year old male transported to Coos County jail on fail to report as sex offender, N Bayshore Drive and Market Avenue.
• 11:46 pm, disorderly conduct, 500 block of N Morrison Street.
Coquille
• 9:38 am, disorderly conduct, 100 block of N Birch Street.
• 10:33 am, 47 year old male booked at Coos County jail on disorderly conduct II, 500 block of N Central Boulevard.
• 12:48 pm, dispute, 12th and Dean.
Reedsport
• 9:26 am, disorderly conduct, 500 block of Regents Place.
• 12:09 pm, animal problem, Holiday Mobile Home Park.
• 3:05 pm, theft, Dunes Memorial Chapel
Saturday 05/06:
North Bend
• 1:08 am, family dispute, 700 block of California Street.
• 10:52 am, disorderly conduct, Union and Virginia.
• 11:12 am, dispute, 600 block of Chappell Parkway.
• 12:02 pm, juvenile problem, 1500 block of 16th Street.
• 1:08 pm, fraud, 800 block of California Ave.
• 2:50 pm, deceased raccoon, Newmark and Cedar.
• 4:13 pm, disorderly conduct, 2400 block of Pacific Street.
• 4:57 pm, disorderly conduct, 1500 block of Newmark Street.
• 5:10 pm, criminal mischief, 2000 block of Grant Street.
• 5:29 pm, shoplifter, 1600 block of Virginia Avenue.
• 5:49 pm, family dispute, 3300 block of Broadway Avenue.
• 10:05 pm, barking dog, 3400 block of Oak St.
• 11:35 pm, disorderly conduct, Broadway near Newmark.
Coos Bay
• 1205 am, theft, 1000 block of Evans Blvd.
• 12:21 am, burglary, 200 block of N 14th St.
• 1:28 am, 56 year old male cited on warrant, 3100 block of Ocean Boulevard.
• 9:30 pm, 34 year old male cited for driving while suspended, Newport and Barry.
• 10:32 am, shoplifter, 2000 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 12:26 pm, criminal mischief, 200 block of LaClair Street.
• 1:15 pm, shoplifter, 2000 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 2:01 pm, civil problem, 1400 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 2:07 pm, civil problem, 900 block of N 9th Street.
• 7:20 pm, civil problem, 900 block of N 8th Street.
Coquille
• 4:56 am, dispute, 1100 block of N Folsom Street.
• 9:46 am, disorderly conduct, 90 block of W 1st Street.
• 1:11 pm, dog bite, 500 block of W 18th St.
• 4:53 pm, 47 year old male booked at Coos County jail on disorderly conduct II, 200 block of W Highway 42.
• 5:54 pm, shots fired, 1000 block of N Cedar Point Road.
• 9:14 pm, civil problem, 400 block of W 4th Street.
• 9:29 pm, disorderly conduct, Highway 42 and Highway 42S.
Sunday 05/07:
North Bend
• 1:09 am, theft, 1900 block of Virginia Ave.
• 6:53 am, dispute, 1800 block of 14th St.
• 8:21 am, theft from vehicle, 1800 block of Waite Street.
• 2:41 pm, dispute, 1700 block of Sherman Avenue.
• 4:59 pm, shoplifter, 1700 block of Virginia Avenue.
• 5:27 pm, disorderly conduct, 1600 block of Virginia Avenue.
• 8:51 pm, animal complaint, 2300 block of Everett Avenue.
Coos Bay
• 12:03 am, 24 year old male transported to Coos County jail on DUII, elude, reckless driving and reckless endangering, Broadway and Market.
• 2:50 am, disorderly conduct, 100 block of Johnson Avenue.
• 2:50 am, neighbor dispute, 1000 block of S 4th Street.
• 8:11 am, elderly abuse, 2100 block of California Avenue.
• 9:05 am, 29 year old male lodged at Coos County jail on warrant, 1200 block of Ocean Boulevard.
• 9:42 am, 30 year old male transported to Coos County jail on burglary II, theft I and felon in possession of a firearm/30 year old male transported to Coos County jail on felon in possession of firearm and violation of restraining order/30 year old female transported to Coos County jail on felon in possession firearm, 300 block of S Wall Street.
• 10:49 am, theft, 1400 block of Spruce Avenue.
• 10:54 am, harassment, S Morrison Street.
• 10:56 am, juvenile problem, 1000 block of Augustine Street.
• 11:22 am, elderly abuse, 200 block of N 11th Street.
• 1:12 pm, civil problem, 900 block of N 9th Street.
• 1:19 pm, stolen vehicle, 100 block of S Wasson Street.
• 1:56 pm, civil problem, 1400 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 3:07 pm, dispute, 600 block of N Front Street.
• 3:35 pm, theft of mislaid property, 1000 block of Augustine St.
• 6:06 pm, dispute, 2000 block of Newmark Avenue.
• 7:29 pm, civil problem, 900 block of N 9th Street.
Coquille
• 11:38 am, 51 year old male lodged at Coos County jail on warrant, Coquille Riverwalk.
• 12:15 pm, 53 year old female cited for driving while suspended, Birch and 2nd.
• 6:22 pm, stalking, 400 block of N Central Boulevard.
• 7:30 pm, assault, 1200 block of Shelley Road.
Reedsport
• 5:18 pm, trespassing, Highway 101 and mile post 218. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/police-blotter/article_d28c28f0-f601-11ed-b96a-d3c99af44c2b.html | 2023-05-20T07:46:32 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/police-blotter/article_d28c28f0-f601-11ed-b96a-d3c99af44c2b.html |
Roses, representing each of Idaho’s fallen peace officers, are placed during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell on Friday.
Holding a photo of her late boyfriend, Officer Fernando Uriel Arroyos, of the Los Angeles Police Department, Angela Mendoza speaks during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell.
Joshua D. Hurwit, United States Attorney for the District of Idaho, offers remarks during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.
Chief Rex Ingram, with the Caldwell Police Department, delivers remarks during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell on Friday.
Holding a photo of her late boyfriend, Officer Fernando Uriel Arroyos, of the Los Angeles Police Department, Angela Mendoza speaks during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell on Friday.
Law enforcement professionals from across Idaho are represented at the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell on Friday.
Joshua D. Hurwit, United States Attorney for the District of Idaho, offers remarks during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.
Holding a photo of her late boyfriend, Officer Fernando Uriel Arroyos, of the Los Angeles Police Department, Angela Mendoza speaks during the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell on Friday.
Law enforcement professionals from across Idaho are represented at the 11th Annual Canyon County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Caldwell on Friday.
CALDWELL — Angela Mendoza’s boyfriend had his life cut short while they were house hunting in Los Angeles.
Fernando Uriel Arroyos, a Los Angeles Police Department officer who was off duty at the time, was shot after relinquishing his wallet to a pair of gang members who accosted the couple outside the property.
“I am able to stand before you today by the strength and grace only God can grant me,” Mendoza said Friday afternoon at the 11th Annual Canyon County law enforcement memorial ceremony, which honors officers in Idaho and across the country who have lost their lives.
“I have peace within me knowing that Fernando’s sacrifice will not be in vain,” Mendoza said, adding that she credits a former LA County sheriff for getting the case moved swiftly to the federal level so justice can be served.
Friday’s event featured a variety of speakers, including Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue, United States Attorney for the District of Idaho Josh Hurwitt, Idaho State Senator Todd Lakey, Idaho State Police Col. Kedrick Wills, and Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram.
Forty-two officers were killed in the line of duty across the country between Jan. 1 and May 18. The most recent local death was that of Corp. Joe Johnson of the Nyssa Police Department, who was killed on April 15.
Part of the ceremony included placing a rose in the name of every officer in Idaho — 76 total— who have been killed in the line of duty since 1883 prior to releasing blue balloons in their honor.
Donahue said the event was originally proposed over a decade ago by Rev. Bill Roscoe, who provided the ceremony’s invocation.
“God, we pray to bring peace, and hope, and even joy back into those homes and comfort those who mourn,” Roscoe said during the invocation. “And we ask you to bless each and every man and woman behind the badge today, God, as they serve you and serve their communities.”
The event’s speakers pointed to the Idaho values responsible for attracting people, including police officers, to the state.
“In Idaho, we’re different …” Lakey said, addressing attendees, many of whom were law enforcement officers. “We’re not afraid to acknowledge our faith in God and his higher purpose. I’m grateful for his involvement in your profession.”
Ingram invited Mendoza to the event, as he was a colleague of her late boyfriend’s in the Los Angeles Police Department. He re-read the eulogy he gave at Uriel Arroyos’ funeral. The eulogy represents the promise he made Uriel Arroyos to honor his sacrifice, he said.
Reading part of the eulogy, Ingram said wearing the badge is “‘a sacred promise to treat everyone both inside and outside of our stations or policing facilities with fairness, respect, dignity, and compassion. Fernando wore his badge with pride and lived up to his promise.’”
Donahue said today’s officers are working in “unprecedented times.” The nation faces the greatest threat it has encountered since World War II, due to foreign enemies like China and Mexican cartels, he said, adding he has been urging the federal government to do its job to protect people.
Though officers dying in the line of duty is inevitable, Donahue said, “I know I speak for everyone, the men and women who wear the badge — we will never, ever give ground. We will never, ever back up to the criminal element, or to the evil that comes upon us, that tries to get by us to get to those who we protect. We will never stop fighting.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/law-enforcement-officers-gather-in-caldwell-to-honor-those-who-made-ultimate-sacrifice/article_47b705d2-f698-11ed-842c-e3ae261a9a5f.html | 2023-05-20T07:48:27 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/law-enforcement-officers-gather-in-caldwell-to-honor-those-who-made-ultimate-sacrifice/article_47b705d2-f698-11ed-842c-e3ae261a9a5f.html |
A father of two was intentionally run down in Brooklyn following a dispute that turned deadly, police said, and the driver who hit him never stopped. Now the victim's family has a message for the accused killer, who is still on the run.
The incident occurred just after noon on Friday at Keap Street and South 5th Street in Williamsburg, according to police. Surveillance video obtained by NBC New York shows what police said was an argument between the victim, Jesus Perez, and the driver inside a gray Honda CRV in the middle of the street.
Perez and others continued arguing for a matter of seconds before the suspect threw the SUV into reverse and ran right over the victim, police said. It wasn't clear what sparked the argument. The driver then raced away as others raced to help the victim, Perez.
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A short time later, police found the abandoned SUV several blocks away at Meserole Street and Humboldt Street. The side and quarter panels of the vehicle were bent and mangled — evidence of the deadly confrontation.
Perez's family said he was pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital. Family said he would have turned 50 in June if not for the deadly incident just a few blocks from his home.
"There was six of us, so breaking off a piece is taking a piece off a jigsaw puzzle that can’t be replaced," said Albert Perez, the victim's older brother. "I went into like vertigo. It felt like I was spinning and the one thing that came to mind was my mom."
Perez's mother was inconsolable after the death of her son, an artist who was born and raised in Williamsburg. Those who knew him said his positivity, generosity and street tags will live on.
"People will most likely preserve them, they won’t destroy them. I’ll see these tags for a long long time," said Albert Perez.
His brother had one message for whomever was behind the wheel of the SUV.
"Remember, God is going to take care of you, even if you don't turn yourself in. I have no animosity for anyone — there's this thing, 'what goes around comes around.' You got family too," said Perez.
Police sources told NBC New York that witnesses last saw the suspect Friday afternoon running toward the Bushwick Houses. He has yet to be caught, and no arrests have been made. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-killed-by-hit-and-run-driver-in-brooklyn-after-street-dispute-turns-deadly-police/4350466/ | 2023-05-20T08:03:19 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-killed-by-hit-and-run-driver-in-brooklyn-after-street-dispute-turns-deadly-police/4350466/ |
What was born out of necessity during the pandemic has become a boon for restaurants across New York City. And now outdoor dining sheds may be here to stay — for most of the year, at least.
The al fresco dining areas were allowed on an emergency basis during the COVID-19 pandemic. So for years now, restaurants have wondered "What’s the long-term plan?" But they didn't get much in terms of a clear answer.
At last, it now appears there is one. A plan has been formulated by the city to keep outdoor dining around for years to come.
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A proposed bill would allow sidewalk dining year-round. That involves seating that is not located inside dining sheds taking up room on city streets, but rather areas on sidewalks only.
The same bill would allow "streeteries" — aka the dining sheds on the streets — to stay up from April through November each year.
"We’ve got to move from the emergency program and really standardize and make it more sustainable and I think this is a big step forward," said NYC Hospitality Alliance Executive Director Andrew Rigie, who said the bill is a good compromise. "We’ve been waiting a long time but I think it’s an historic agreement. We’re gonna cut red tape so they can get outdoor dining licenses faster."
While all the details are not quite clear yet, restaurants would be required to get a license and pay a fee for their outdoor dining plan. But Rigie says the process will be easier and cheaper than it was before the pandemic.
"It’s going to significantly cut the fees, it’s going to be permitted for thousands of restaurants that were restricted," he said.
While diners seemed on board with the plan, some restaurants worry about the cost and hassle of taking down their structures in the winter.
"You have to think of long term: Do I really want to keep it? Because once you take it down one time, you don’t know if you want to keep doing that," said Jose Mendoza, an employee at El Mil Sabores on Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen.
Mendoza said that at his restaurant, customers use the streetery all year long. He thinks that in the end, many restaurants will be forced to weigh the costs.
"They won’t want to keep hiring someone to do it for them and then they got to do it themselves. They’re gonna get tired of doing that as well," he said.
This bill has the approval of Mayor Eric Adams, through it still needs to be finalized and voted on next month. If passed, the permitting process would start but it wouldn’t go into effect for restaurants until November 2024. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/to-stay-or-to-go-what-the-future-holds-for-nyc-outdoor-dining-sheds/4350560/ | 2023-05-20T08:03:25 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/to-stay-or-to-go-what-the-future-holds-for-nyc-outdoor-dining-sheds/4350560/ |
MITCHELL — After going a year without enough corn to decorate Mitchell’s biggest tourist attraction due to the 2022 drought, the Corn Palace is desperate for a successful crop this year.
The heavy snowfall Mitchell received this winter improved drought conditions, which has Corn Palace Director Doug Greenway hopeful there will be enough corn to decorate the iconic murals in the 2024 theme.
“We just don’t want to be short. We hope we have a good growing season and have plenty of corn that comes in and is ready to go,” Greenway said.
Last year’s drought took a historic toll on Corn Palace farmer Brett Lowrie’s crops. The amount of corn he managed to produce during the dry spell was enough to fill up only a handful of bins, making it the first time Lowrie wasn’t able to harvest enough corn to decorate all nine murals along the landmark building.
To redecorate the murals each year, it takes roughly 350,000 ears of corn. According to Greenway, they received about 25% of that amount last year.
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As a result of the corn shortage, Greenway had to make the tough call to keep the circus themed murals along the Corn Palace for another year and hope for a better crop this upcoming fall.
Although the circus murals have managed to remain fairly in-tact after two years of being in the elements, Jeff Hanson, the lead decorator, said they’re reaching the end of their life cycle.
"We desperately need corn this year. These murals will really start to lose their color and look rough if they have to stay up any longer,” Hanson said.
The need for a healthy supply of corn isn’t solely for the exterior of the building to welcome the Famous South Dakotans 2024 theme. Some murals on the interior of the building also need to be touched up, Greenway explained at the early May Corn Palace Entertainment board meeting.
“We’ve got some fixing to do on the murals in the arena. Basketball fans will sometimes pick away at them,” Greenway said of the murals that are situated on the north and south ends of the basketball court, which are arm’s-length from fans standing on the bleachers. “Our visitor’s booth is looking in tough shape, and we need to replace the corn on that.”
Hope rests on Mother Nature
The 58.7 inches of snow that doused Mitchell this winter improved drought conditions, bringing the Mitchell region out of severe drought status that persisted throughout much of last year. Despite receiving nearly double the amount of average snowfall this winter, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor showed all of Davison County was in a moderate drought, as of Friday.
Drought status aside, Hanson said field conditions are in much better shape now than they were at the same time last year. It has Hanson optimistic of receiving an adequate supply of the 12 colored corn variations needed to create the designs on the murals.
A sizable amount of the Palace corn has already been planted on Lowrie's Mount Vernon area farm, Hanson said. With the growing season on the horizon, Hanson is praying it will be a good one.
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“We have already had some decent rains in the Mount Vernon and Ethan area where our corn and other stuff we use to decorate grows. They had about 4 inches of rain recently,” Hanson said of the rural towns near Mitchell. "We need some timely rains for the corn this summer." | https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/local/corn-palace-leaders-hope-for-better-crop-season-to-replace-worn-down-murals | 2023-05-20T08:16:56 | 0 | https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/local/corn-palace-leaders-hope-for-better-crop-season-to-replace-worn-down-murals |
MITCHELL — Alexis Korzan knows the value of seizing opportunity.
The Mitchell High School senior, who will graduate along with the rest of the Class of 2023 Sunday afternoon at the Corn Palace, has been doing that throughout her high school career. She has taken advantage of both academic and athletic programs during her teenage years, and even set out on a personal health research project that earned her a government patent for her work.
All those opportunities taken have led her to the end of her time in high school and the beginning of her college career. Now she has another opportunity: Attending Princeton University in New Jersey on a full ride scholarship to study molecular biology on a pre-medicine track. She was accepted to the Ivy League university in December.
“I was really shocked,” Korzan told the Mitchell Republic in a recent interview. “When I matched with Princeton it was a huge surprise to both me and my family. It covers room, board, tuition, travel and all these other additional expenses, so it’s a really great opportunity.”
Korzan, 18, admits she had a couple of safety schools in mind in case the research university declined her application, but was more than pleased to accept an invitation to study at the prestigious institution. It will be a chance to pursue a long running interest in health care, a quest that was inspired by her father Mathias’ fight against acute myeloid leukemia.
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Growing up, she spent a good portion of her life thinking about medicine and helping people. Korzan estimates that she has spent about 5% of her life in hospitals during the years her father was receiving chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Though not necessarily an ideal place to spend one’s youthful days, Korzan again focused on the opportunity in front of her. She saw the work being done by the professionals at the Mayo Clinic and found it inspiring.
“I genuinely care about helping other people around me in my community who don’t have as much access to health care. When my dad was diagnosed they couldn’t help him here in Mitchell. We had to travel to Rochester to get that proper health care treatment,” Korzan said. “And he’s alive to this day and now healthy.”
She hopes she can make a difference in that kind of health care availability through her work in college and beyond. She focused on biology classes at Mitchell Career & Technical Education Academy, spent time interning at Avera Grassland Diagnostics and even spearheaded a backyard research project. She is a member of Health Occupations Students of America.
She started More Life Genomics in an effort to advance her own research into horizontal gene transfer, which is a transfer of genetic material of DNA across species. The research involved gathering 10 pounds of leaves from hackberry trees in her neighborhood, which she then sent away to the South Dakota State University Plant Diagnostic Laboratory for testing.
“I got some pretty strange looks from my parents’ neighbors,” Korzan said.
Her work resulted in her filing for a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for ANKH-22, which is a unique DNA transfer methodology for killing cancer cells through a naturally occurring phenomenon in plant genes, she said.
Princeton will be a perfect place to advance that research. There she will have access to scientific minds and facilities. She already has a scientific adviser at the school for the More Life Genomics project, she said.
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“I will have the opportunity to immediately advance my research on horizontal gene transfer at Princeton with world-renowned genomics experts, have access to funding and grants and work closely with the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore, Maryland,” Korzan said. “When somebody you love is desperately ill, you’re motivated to think outside the box and do absolutely anything and everything to give them more life. This genomics research is my purpose. My mission in life.”
She gives a great deal of credit to teachers like Clayton Gropper and Tricia Neugebauer at MCTEA for giving her the foundation necessary to pursue her dreams. And she has taken part in other endeavors while at Mitchell High. She played volleyball and ran track and field until her senior year, when she decided to focus more on academics.
It has paid off — out of about 191 graduating seniors listed in Sunday's graduation program, she is one of 20 listed as receiving highest honors in scholarship and a 4.0 grade point average.
She also is a highly regarded speech and debate team member at the school. She serves as team captain this year, and she will be taking part in a national debate competition in June in Phoenix, Arizona.
Along with her science studies, speech and debate has been a highly positive experience. Being able to communicate thoughts and opinions clearly is beneficial in many facets of life, including the world of scientific research. She encouraged underclassmen who may not have considered speech and debate to do so.
“Speech and debate has been completely transformational for me. It’s really taught me how to express my opinions and views in a formal manner and it’s given me more confidence to be able to stand in front of people and talk out loud,” Korzan said.
Madi Miller, the speech and debate coach at Mitchell High School, said she has seen Korzan blossom over the course of her time in high school, and her work in speech and debate is reflective of that.
“When she came in as a freshman, she was so timid and so quiet. I think the first speech she ever gave was 20 seconds long and then she sat down,” Miller chuckled. “And I thought we had our work cut out for us.”
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Miller said Korzan’s growth in her class is indicative of the success she’s had throughout her high school days. Her voice hitches when talking about Korzan, and she has to pull out some gentle teasing to hold back the tears.
“She is one of the kindest students I ever had. She’s always helping out the younger kids and mentoring them, and I know her future is bright, but I do wish I could keep her here forever,” Miller said. “Princeton. I guess Princeton is fine. I can’t wait to see where she goes (in life), but it’s sad (to see her leave).”
Joe Childs, the incoming superintendent for the Mitchell School District and principal of Mitchell High School during Korzan’s time at the school, also had high praise for the student.
“Alexis has been a remarkable leader at Mitchell High School. She is active in her school and community and she is an accomplished student. Holding top academic honors and participating in school activities both require time and effort. Alexis is able to excel at both simultaneously," Childs said. "In addition to that, she goes on to showcase her leadership skills as the team captain for the school varsity speech and debate team, as a contributing member of our International Club, our Pen Pals Club, and a member of National Honor Society. Alexis isn’t just impressive, she is awe-inspiring.”
The next phase of Korzan’s life will begin Sunday, when she walks across the stage to receive her diploma. As one of the two student commencement speakers, she will deliver her address, “No Opportunity Wasted,” to those in attendance. Fellow senior Keatyn Wede will also deliver an address titled “Don’t Be Strangers.”
“It’s definitely a great honor to receive my diploma on stage and I can’t wait for them to call my name,” Korzan said.
After graduation, the Class of 2023 will begin to drift apart, as high school classes tend to do. Korzan said it is an exciting time, if a little bittersweet. Mitchell has been a great place for her and her family, and despite the important work she will be doing at Princeton, she said she would make time to come home to visit during her breaks.
That will likely include her beloved walks by Dry Run Creek near her home, or possibly even carting her siblings around to the swimming pool or to their friends’ houses in her role as big sister. She might take in a John Grisham novel or two.
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But her focus will remain on fighting cancer with her research, hopefully bringing new and better treatments for patients suffering from the disease. She saw what scientific research did for her father, now she wants to improve upon that research and make life better for patients around the world.
It’s another opportunity she has been given, and she’s not going to waste it, she said.
The Mitchell High School graduation ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 21 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. | https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/local/opportunity-taken-mitchell-high-schools-korzan-bound-for-princeton-to-pursue-medical-career | 2023-05-20T08:17:06 | 1 | https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/local/opportunity-taken-mitchell-high-schools-korzan-bound-for-princeton-to-pursue-medical-career |
Buddy Kennedy, a 2017 Millville High School graduate, in action for the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' AAA team, in 2023.
David Calvert Photography/Reno Aces, Provided
Mainland Regional High School graduate Chase Petty in action with the Dayton Dragons in 2022. Petty, the No. 8 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization according to MLB.com, made his season debut this week.
Dayton Dragons, Provided
Jay Groome pitches for the Padres during a spring training game against the Royals.
Abbie Parr, Associated Press
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Jay Groome throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during a March 23 spring training game in Phoenix.
Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press
This is a 2023 photo of Jay Groome of the San Diego Padres baseball team. This image reflects the San Diego Padres active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 24, 2023, when this image was taken in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
Darryl Webb
Buddy Kennedy, a 2017 Millville High School graduate, before a game with the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' AAA team, in 2023.
David Calvert Photography/Reno Aces, Provided
Buddy Kennedy, a 2017 Millville High School graduate, in action for the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' AAA team, in 2023.
David Calvert Photography/Reno Aces, Provided
Buddy Kennedy, a 2017 Millville High School graduate, in action for the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' AAA team, in 2023.
David Calvert Photography/Reno Aces, Provided
Buddy Kennedy, third from left, a 2017 Millville High School graduate, in action for the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' AAA team, in 2023.
David Calvert Photography/Reno Aces, Provided
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Buddy Kennedy dives to stop a deep infield single by the Dodgers’ Jason Heyward during a March 2 spring training game in Phoenix. In 15 games with the Triple-A Reno Aces this year, Kennedy was hitting .408 with three homers, 15 runs and nine RBIs. His OPS was 1.281.
Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press
This is a 2023 photo of Jay Groome of the San Diego Padres baseball team. This image reflects the San Diego Padres active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 24, 2023, when this image was taken in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
Darryl Webb
This is a 2023 photo of Arizona Diamondbacks' Buddy Kennedy. This image reflects the Arizona Diamondbacks' active roster as of Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, when this image was taken in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
A look at how local minor league players are performing (stats through Thursday):
Triple A
2B Buddy Kennedy (Millville), 24, is playing for the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks). Through 38 games, he was hitting .358 (49 for 137) with nine doubles, five triples, three homers, 38 runs and 16 RBIs. He had walked 32 times and struck out 23 times, and his OPS was 1.051.
Kennedy made his major league debut June 17, 2022. In 30 games, he batted .217 with a homer and 12 RBIs. ... Through 435 minor league games, Kennedy was hitting .286 with 78 doubles, 23 triples, 43 homers and 217 RBIs. He was chosen in the fifth round of the 2017 draft.
LHP Jay Groome (Barnegat), 24, is pitching for the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres). Through nine starts, he was 1-3 with a 7.23 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings. In his last outing Thursday, he allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings and struck out two, including the 400th of his minor league career.
Through 77 career minor league games (75 starts), he was 16-27 with a 4.61 ERA and 401 strikeouts in 349 2/3 innings. He was drafted with the 12th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2016.
Double-A
RHP Sean Mooney (Ocean City), 25, was assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge (Minnesota Twins) and placed on the seven-day injured list to start the season (right shoulder fatigue). He was later moved to the 60-day IL.
Through 31 career games (24 starts), he is 2-5 with a 3.09 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 102 innings. He was selected in the 12th round of the 2019 draft.
High-A
RHP Chase Petty (Mainland Regional), 20, started and gave up one unearned run in four innings for the Dayton Dragons on Wednesday. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out six. Petty, who threw 39 of his 57 pitches for strikes, did not get the decision in a 5-1 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps. In two starts this season, he is 0-0 with a 1.13 ERA and nine strikeouts in eight innings.
The No. 8 prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com, Petty started the season on the injured list with an elbow issue. In 27 career games (21 starts), Petty was 1-6 with a 3.57 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 103¹/³ innings. Petty was selected 26th overall in the 2021 draft by the Minnesota Twins.
Single-A
LHP Noah Dean (Pinelands Regional), 22, is pitching for the Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox). Through six starts in his first pro season, he was 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.
This is the first pro season for Dean, who was chosen in the fifth round of last year’s draft by Boston.
SS Josh Hood (St. Augustine Prep), 22, is playing for the Modesto Nuts (Seattle Mariners). Through 34 games, he was batting .275 (38 for 138) with 11 doubles, a triple, three homers, 22 runs, 25 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
In 42 career games, he was hitting .259 with 11 doubles, a triple, three homers, 27 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Hood, from Vineland, was selected in the sixth round of last year’s draft.
RHP Joe Joe Rodriguez (Vineland), 23, pitching for the St. Lucie Mets (New York Mets), was 1-0 with a 11.88 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings (seven appearances).
In 10 career games, Rodriguez was 3-0 with a 7.31 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. The Mets signed him out of the MLB Draft league last summer.
LHP Jake McKenna (Ocean City), 21, has been on the Philadelphia Phillies’ restricted list since last year.
GALLERY: A look at local major and minor leaguers in 2023
I graduated from Rowan University in 2011 where I studied journalism. I've done everything from cover sports to news and have served as a copy editor and digital producer with The Press since July 2013.
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Buddy Kennedy, a 2017 Millville High School graduate, in action for the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' AAA team, in 2023.
Mainland Regional High School graduate Chase Petty in action with the Dayton Dragons in 2022. Petty, the No. 8 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization according to MLB.com, made his season debut this week.
This is a 2023 photo of Jay Groome of the San Diego Padres baseball team. This image reflects the San Diego Padres active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 24, 2023, when this image was taken in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Buddy Kennedy dives to stop a deep infield single by the Dodgers’ Jason Heyward during a March 2 spring training game in Phoenix. In 15 games with the Triple-A Reno Aces this year, Kennedy was hitting .408 with three homers, 15 runs and nine RBIs. His OPS was 1.281.
This is a 2023 photo of Jay Groome of the San Diego Padres baseball team. This image reflects the San Diego Padres active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 24, 2023, when this image was taken in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
This is a 2023 photo of Arizona Diamondbacks' Buddy Kennedy. This image reflects the Arizona Diamondbacks' active roster as of Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, when this image was taken in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York) | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/buddy-kennedy-hitting-358-groome-petty-pitch-well-in-starts-local-minor-league-update/article_12c5e5d2-f625-11ed-9e2e-0f7482dc22fd.html | 2023-05-20T08:47:42 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/buddy-kennedy-hitting-358-groome-petty-pitch-well-in-starts-local-minor-league-update/article_12c5e5d2-f625-11ed-9e2e-0f7482dc22fd.html |
BOYS AND GIRLS CREW
8 a.m.
Stotesbury Cup Regatta on Schuylkill River, Philadelphia
FLAG FOOTBALL
10 a.m.
Cedar Creek at Absegami
BOYS TENNIS
10 a.m.
Cumberland County Championships at Vineland
SOFTBALL
10 a.m.
ACIT at Holy Spirit
Brick Memorial at Lacey Twp.
11 a.m.
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West Windsor Plainsboro South at S. Joseph
BASEBALL
1 p.m.
Holy Spirit at Vineland
BOYS AND GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
9 a.m.
Shore Conference Championships at Neptune H.S.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
11:15 p.m.
Pinelands at Lakewood | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/high-school-schedule-for-saturday-may-20-2023/article_6e8d7eec-f5ae-11ed-bf9b-970b67887f81.html | 2023-05-20T08:47:48 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/high-school-schedule-for-saturday-may-20-2023/article_6e8d7eec-f5ae-11ed-bf9b-970b67887f81.html |
OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Nor’easters are back for another season in the exciting and high-level United Soccer Leagues League Two.
New head coach Matt Perrella, an Ocean City assistant coach last year, will have Alessandro Arlotti, their top scorer in 2022, and talented goalie Felix Schaefer back from last year’s successful team.
The Nor’easters will open the season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Real Central Jersey at Rider University in Lawrenceville. Ocean City then visits Lehigh Valley United for a 7 p.m. Wednesday game at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Ocean City’s home opener is at 7 p.m. Friday against Philadelphia Lone Star FC.
Perrella, 31, played for Rider University and later for Bethlehem Steel, a pro team in the USL Championship League.
“It’s a great program with a lot of history, so for me it’s an honor to step in,” Perrella said Friday of coaching the Nor’easters. “I take the position very seriously, and there’s a tradition of success here and we want to continue that, obviously. Last year had an amazing season, an undefeated regular season, so we’re going to do the best we can to replicate that success and then give ourselves a chance to go even further than last year’s team, that’s the goal.”
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The Nor’easters, who play home games at Ocean City High School’s Carey Stadium, thrilled the fans in 2022 by winning the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic Division with an 11-0-3 record. Ocean City was one of four League Two teams among 114 in the U.S. and Canada to go unbeaten in the regular season.
Your story lives in South Jersey. From reporting on all of your favorite teams to the news t…
But the season ended quickly as Ocean City lost its first playoff game, 3-1 to the Long Island Rough Riders on July 22 in Newport News, Virginia. It was the only time all season a Nor’easters opponent scored more than two goals.
The Nor’easters are beginning their 26th season overall and their 20th in League Two. Ocean City again has a 14-game regular season schedule, all against Mid-Atlantic Division rivals. They include Reading United AC, West Chester United SC, Real Central New Jersey, Lehigh Valley United and Philadelphia Lone Star.
League Two consists mostly of players from the United States and around the world who play for U.S. collegiate teams in the fall. Arlotti, a native of Monaco and a junior forward for Harvard University, scored eight goals and had six assists last year for the Nor’easters to lead the team in both categories.
“Last year was a really good season, but unfortunately the end didn’t go like we wanted it to,” said Arlotti, 21. “This year we’re back with a few of our players, and we want to do better than last year. This year we have a very good group. Training is going very well, and we’re happy to be back. I’m sure we’ll do even better than last year.”
Schaefer, a goalie for Santa Clara University, is from Berlin, Germany. Last year, Schaefer had a franchise-record 0.55 goals-against average for O.C. in 2022 and won the League Two Golden Glove Award as the top goalie. He had five shutouts, one off the franchise record.
“We have a good group returning, and we have a bunch of additions who will make the team even better,” said Schaefer, 22. “Remembering the success we had kind of drives us to practice hard every day and of course win as many games as we can.”
Two other key players back from last year are defender Galen Flynn (St. Louis University) and midfielder Nick Pariano (Duke University).
Nor’easters general manager Giancarlo Granese Jr. said that the team, front office and coaching staff are all hungry to build off of last year.
“We’re excited for the 2023 season,” Granese said. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/noreasters-ready-for-new-league-two-soccer-season/article_dc630122-f661-11ed-ad81-33625e4eb2d1.html | 2023-05-20T08:47:54 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/noreasters-ready-for-new-league-two-soccer-season/article_dc630122-f661-11ed-ad81-33625e4eb2d1.html |
A recently released state audit paints a worrying picture of the city of Hopewell’s financial position.
Auditors found that the city is years behind on its own financial reporting, that city agencies are undermanned and undertrained, and that some federal programs might soon disappear if long-standing administrative issues are not addressed.
Last year, the state intervened to order a D.C. consulting group to analyze the city’s books over the past five years. The firm held a meeting with Hopewell City Council members on May 11 to deliver their final report.
Auditors described shortcomings that led to an “inability for the city to understand its true cash position, cash and fund balances,” and that it was “unclear” if “controls even exist to reconcile revenues and expenses,” incurred by the city.
For example, different reports used by the city show discrepancies of millions of dollars in agency accounts. The city of Hopewell has already hired an external contractor to help address the discrepancies and backlog.
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But the immediate consequences are that the city has no credit rating. Without a credit rating, the city has become unable to issue debt. Hopewell’s “AA” credit rating was withdrawn in 2018 by ratings agencies that cited the city’s “lack of financial disclosure.”
Virginia localities typically issue debt in order to borrow money for building projects — like schools, libraries and roadwork. The city has not done that since 2015, the auditors wrote.
The auditors also believe that the city could lose its Head Start program — a federal child care program that serves children between the ages of 3 and 5 — if the city does not begin to catch up on its audits.
“In particular, the District’s Head Start program is currently at risk of losing Federal funding,” auditors explained.
The audit was commissioned in December by the Virginia Secretary of Finance. The consulting group that performed the audit was the D.C.-based Alvarez & Marsal.
Auditors cautioned that findings were limited because the city of Hopewell only turned over less than two-thirds of the documents they initially requested. The city left out regular financial audits, which it did not have, from 2019 to 2022.
“After six weeks of efforts, of the requested items, the City only provided 59% (48 of 82) of requested documents,” auditors wrote.
Hopewell’s city government is structured such that day-to-day decision-making is handled by the city manager. The current city manager is Concetta Manker, who is serving in an interim role.
Manker declined to respond to requests for comment on the audit reports.
The audit recommends the city create a dedicated office to steer the city’s financial turnaround. The office’s priorities, when it is created, should be to catch up on years worth of overdue paperwork so that it can look to the future.
Council member Mike Harris, who represents Hopewell’s 2nd Ward, expressed concern about losing Head Start — and said that the city’s response to the worrying report would be “crucial to what we’re trying to do here.”
Harris said the City Council is waiting for Manker to deliver a budget for their approval by June 5. The council is then aiming to approve the budget by the end of that month.
The audit also identified issues with how the city issues rebates to industrial partners — like WestRock, AdvanSix and Ashland Specialty Ingredients. The companies contribute significantly to the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
And it said the city needed to hire a grants manager to ensure accountability and efficiency in how it distributed COVID relief dollars.
The audit did not identify any clear misuse of funds and said the city is currently compliant with relief funding reporting requirements. | https://richmond.com/news/local/government-politics/hopewell-city-audit-head-start/article_da8768e2-f66c-11ed-8f24-6740518f624b.html | 2023-05-20T09:24:22 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/government-politics/hopewell-city-audit-head-start/article_da8768e2-f66c-11ed-8f24-6740518f624b.html |
'My angel': Middleboro teen dies after crash, organ donation saves others
GoFundMe to help funeral costs; community calls for traffic light at intersection
MIDDLEBORO — On Mother’s Day, 15-year-old Dylan Levesque was struck by a car while crossing the street at the corner of Route 28 and the shopping entrance to the Hannaford Supermarket plaza.
He fought for two days on life support at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.
By Tuesday morning, his mother, Chelsea Levesque, declared in an open letter online that Dylan, “my angel was determined to be brain dead and declared clinically deceased” after suffering and fighting a life-threatening brain injury. She said Dylan was "the absolute light" of her life.
Middleboro police said in a written statement they received the Sunday call at around 7:23 p.m. Dylan was airlifted immediately after initial treatment.
Police said the incident wasn’t a hit-and-run. The driver stopped at the scene and cooperated with police.
An outpouring of grief and support
In the days after the crash, before the announcement of Dylan’s passing, and since, there’s been an outpouring of love and support for the Levesque family in the Middleboro community.
A vigil was hosted at First Baptist Church in North Middleboro on Tuesday night for Dylan.
A GoFundMe was started by Jaclyn Norek, a co-worker of Chelsea’s. The original intention of the GoFundMe was to assist with either medical bills or other costs while the mother was on leave from work and by Dylan’s bedside. With the passing of Dylan, the purpose has changed to funeral costs.
As of Friday, May 19, the GoFundMe had received 350 donations totaling $27,134, out of a $50,000 goal.
'My son died a hero'
In an update on the GoFundMe, Chelsea Levesque said Dylan’s organs will be donated to help others.
“He may have been robbed of the opportunity to grow up, get married and have children…. But perhaps a life that he saves, will do just that. Get married and have children…. And a piece of him will live on in them,” she said, in the message.
Said Dylan's father, Mark James Slattery, on his Facebook page: "By now many of you know I lost my son on Mothers' Day. Although this is just one of the most tragic things that could happen I'm finding peace knowing my son died a hero. Two kids about Dylan's age were saved because my son gave what they needed to live. I know he's at peace now and can rest. He became the man I couldn't have ever imagined him becoming. I'm so proud of you! I love you Dylan. Forever 15!"
Calls for a traffic light at the intersection
Officials said there have been longstanding concerns over the lack of a traffic signal or crosswalk light at the intersection of Merchants Way and Route 28/East Grove Street where Dylan was hit.
Within the vicinity of the shopping plaza, also known as Middleboro Crossing, where Dylan was coming from, are two elementary schools, Middleboro High School and the YMCA.
“There are always kids, walking, riding bikes, families walking to and from the grocery store/shopping center. We need something so these people that aren’t in cars can be safe from cars flying by,” said Erika Rusconi, who started a Change.org petition to get a crosswalk light installed at that intersection.
At the time of this writing, 5,534 signatures have been gathered, with a goal of 7,500. One of those signers was Chelsea Levesque.
“My baby was just killed in this cross walk. And I will not stop until they put in a light. I will not let another family go through what we are going through,” said Chelsea Levesque, on the Change.org petition.
MassDOT has jurisdiction over Route 28
Town Administrator James McGrail addressed the concerns over the intersection at the May 15 Select Board meeting.
McGrail said that Route 28 is a state-owned highway and only Mass DOT has jurisdiction to install traffic lights and crosswalk signals.
Select Board member Brian Giovanoni said that intersection has been discussed numerous times over the years by different variations of the Board, since Hannaford opened up there, and he “would love to see the state do something about it.”
McGrail said he and other town officials are in communication with the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) and received a grant to study and identify high-traffic areas and areas of safety concerns in the town, with that information to be submitted to the state.
“Our best bet is to get as much information as possible to present to MassDOT, to get them to move on this,” said McGrail.
On McGrail’s Town Administrator social media, he posted a copy of a letter, written May 18, submitted to MassDOT, along with state Sen. Marc Pacheco, and state representatives Norman Orrall and Susan Gifford, requesting the immediate installation of a traffic signal and updated crosswalk at that intersection.
Said McGrail’s letter: “When one family heartbreakingly loses a child, we all share in that pain. Sadly, it is understood that we cannot undo what has been done, but there are steps we can take to make sure another child isn’t taken from their family, friends and community in a similar manner.” | https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/middleboro-ma-teen-dylan-levesque-dies-car-accident-route-28-no-traffic-light/70233509007/ | 2023-05-20T09:39:19 | 1 | https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/middleboro-ma-teen-dylan-levesque-dies-car-accident-route-28-no-traffic-light/70233509007/ |
When the current owners purchased unit 1401 in the 9600 Condominium Association in Margate, they held the upper hand over other prospective buyers who would have been awestruck by the magnificent 14-story oceanfront views alone.
“We’re actually second-generation 9600 owners. My parents were there for about 40 years,” says the current owner, who purchased unit 1401 with his wife about 11 years ago. “My father and I were in business together as builder-developers (in the suburban Philadelphia area), and when he bought his unit, he made a lot of improvements to it immediately.
“Consequently, when we bought ours, we almost gutted the entire unit and rebuilt and redesigned it completely.”
What had been in vogue when the luxurious 9600 building (see 9600condo.com) first materialized on the Margate beachfront in the mid-1970s gave way to today’s coveted open-floor plan design. And with a tradesman at the helm of renovating a unit that would be self-occupied, it is doubtful more care and quality of construction went into transforming any other 9600 unit.
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“We redid everything,” he says. “The whole concept of the living area changes completely when you renovate the kitchen area the way we did. And of course with that we put in all new cabinetry, countertops, appliances and lighting throughout.”
The process involved adding extra closet space in the hallway, modifying the laundry room and storage areas, and renovating both spacious bedrooms.
As much as there is to praise about the quality of modern construction and the craftsmen who…
“The master bedroom was a major upgrade in that we reconfigured it to create a spectacular walk-in closet. Both bathrooms were changed significantly (with his-and-her vanities in the master bathroom), and we put in a pocket door instead of a swing door. We tried to approach it from a design standpoint of maximizing the space as much as we could.”
Attention to detail in both aesthetics and efficiency was derived from more than five decades of experience in the building trade, giving current ownership the magic touch in terms of restoration know-how. Fittingly, the owner is also an internationally renowned magician/mentor with several national and international awards over a six-decade career.
“We’ve owned at 9600 for 11 years and love the property, but our family is growing and we thought it was important to have a bigger space. We’re now in a position to turn this one over to someone else to love as much as we have for the past 11 years.
“One thing I know we’ll miss, though, is walking out of your living room onto the deck and seeing the ocean.”
The 9600 Condominium Association is located directly on the Margate beach, about a block north of the Longport border, a block south of Lucy the Elephant and within easy walking distance of some of the best dining establishments on Absecon Island.
Ownership amenities include garage parking; a large, lifeguard-staffed oceanfront pool open during the warmer months; a year-round, newly renovated fifth-floor fitness center with men’s and women’s locker rooms and the latest in gym equipment; a community room/clubhouse that serves as a hub for year-round socializing and special events; and a beautiful lobby featuring comfortable furniture, a koi pond and an oak baby grand piano.
Reminiscent of the perennial sunset celebrations at Mallory Square in Key West, Florida, the…
The 9600 Association has 24-hour security in the elevator-equipped building and is overseen by an on-site administration team, front-desk staff and facilities professionals who maintain the grounds to the highest standards. There is also a seven-member Board of Trustees who have vested interests in the association and are dedicated, according to 9600condo.com, to being active and engaged ambassadors of the community.
To make an appointment to tour this sensational Margate condominium, qualified buyers can call the direct line of listing agent Paula Hartman at 609-271-7337 or Todd Gordon at 609-553-5098, or call the office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach at 609-487-7234. Prospective buyers can also email Paula at redheadedrealtor@aol.com or Todd at todd.acrealtor@gmail.com. Visit HartmanHomeTeam.com for more. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/owner-of-14th-floor-margate-condo-is-building-trade-professional-with-magic-touch-for-making/article_fc6b4ce8-f500-11ed-ba64-6b051d58c7d7.html | 2023-05-20T10:17:09 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/owner-of-14th-floor-margate-condo-is-building-trade-professional-with-magic-touch-for-making/article_fc6b4ce8-f500-11ed-ba64-6b051d58c7d7.html |
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — While normally a harbinger for ghosts and goblins, the Halloween spirit in South Jersey is also a sign of economic modernization and growth.
Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween is expanding its headquarters off the Black Horse Pike. The company, which has stores across North America, is seeking to build new office space and amenities. Company officials said they are setting the foundation for a modern workplace fit for an international pop-culture apparel business and what they call the largest Halloween retailer in the world.
Spencer’s & Sprit Halloween CEO Steven Silverstein said he hoped the new additions would foster collaboration and creativity as the company grows its footprint, calling it a “reflection of the business’ strength and growth for the future.”
“Our commitment is not only to create space, but to create a great working environment for our associates,” Silverstein said during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday. “We’re also adding a significant amount of amenities to create a campus, more than just a workspace.”
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The addition to the headquarters will span 81,000 square feet in a lot adjacent to its current office building, creating a 24-acre Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween campus. New amenities will include a fitness center, a 1-mile path for employees to walk and an outdoor meeting space. There will also be a parking lot with 400 spaces and, in reflection of an embrace of green energy, new solar paneling and an electric-vehicle charging station.
As Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween is a private company, it is not obligated to disclose financial information. Silverstein declined to share the total cost of the project Thursday but said it was a “significant investment, clearly.”
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — It may be the week between Christmas and New Year’s, but it is the Hal…
Mayor Laura Pfrommer said she was enthusiastic about the expansion of Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween and the economic impact it could have on the township. She discussed what it meant to the township to anchor a company like Spencer’s that had an international reach.
“Expansion in any business is good for us, but actually an expansion of a business of this size, it shows a lot of faith in Egg Harbor Township and in Atlantic County,” Pfrommer said. “To be the international headquarters of a company of this size, I think it speaks well of Egg Harbor Township and how we work with other businesses.”
Spencer’s — a retailer that sells “edgy, outrageous, and unique” products, according to its website, including novelty gifts, T-shirts, adult toys, pop-culture items and other accessories — was founded as a Pennsylvania catalogue in 1947, opened its first retail store at the Cherry Hill Mall in 1963 and now has 680 retail locations across the United States and Canada. Spirit Halloween — founded in 1983 and acquired by Spencer’s in 1999 — has 1,500 seasonal locations in North America from which it sells Halloween costumes, decorations and animatronics.
Silverstein said Spencer’s has 30,000 employees across the country during the Halloween season and about 6,000 employees during the offseason. Of those employees, 700 work from its headquarters in the township, from which it has been based since 1977. With the new expansion in the wings, Silverstein said he anticipates adding as many as 100 new employees to the township site, as well as an unknown number of additional construction jobs during development.
Silverstein said the addition to the locally-based headquarters demonstrates the dedication of Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween to the township and South Jersey. He added its economic impact complemented its other charitable activities, such as Spirit of Children, which donates funds to hospitals and provides them with Halloween costumes and decorations.
“We’re committed to this community, we’re committed to this area and this is our home,” Silverstein said.
BASS RIVER TOWNSHIP — South Jersey is celebrating the launch of new trade programs for high …
Pfrommer said the new jobs and economic activity from the site would directly benefit the broader community and stoke new growth throughout the township.
“Those jobs turn into our coaches on our sports teams, they turn into our helpers in our schools, they turn into people that shop at our businesses,” Pfrommer said. “So overall, for the economy around here, it’s fabulous.”
The addition, which is expected to be finished by spring 2024, comes as workers and businesses navigate the modern labor market, following the surging prevalence of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic; and as some workers push for premiums to return to the office.
Noting that Spencer’s currently has a hybrid schedule in which employees work at the headquarters Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Silverstein said he thought conventional work allowed for more creativity.
The new amenities, he said, could help make the centralized workplace more appealing for employees. While Silverstein said it had always been a goal to modernize the company’s workplace, the first years of the pandemic “intensified” the company’s desire to prioritize appealing to its workforce.
“It creates a highly collaborative environment, one where we can interact in a very direct way and that really adds to, not only the camaraderie, the sense of community, the sense of commitment, but a lot of the spontaneity that just happens because people are face to face,” Silverstein said. “We certainly understand that it’s a flexible schedule, but we think it’s very important that we create a campus that is accommodating and really attractive to our workforce community.”
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — Spencer’s and Spirit Halloween are helping Stockton University bolster b…
The new development has been telegraphed for months as the company made its way through the local regulatory process to secure approvals for the addition. The township Planning Board voted to grant a variance for the addition in November that laid out some of its plans, as well as plans for some of the neighboring properties, including the Trocki Hebrew Academy and Ocean Aquarium.
The former of those two properties had fallen into disuse. Trocki Hebrew Academy was founded in 1996 through the efforts of the late Jack and Mira Trocki, both of whom were Holocaust survivors. A preexisting bank branch operated at the Black Horse Pike site under a lease from the Hebrew academy until 2012. Court records indicate the academy was in operation as late as 2015 before closing.
Ocean Aquarium was set to relocate to a new building across the parking lot.
Pfrommer said there were dilapidated properties on the site and that people who were homeless had tended to reside there. She said some of the blighted properties surrounding the area demolished by workers from Spencer’s, something she said would help present the township in a better light to passersby on the heavily traveled highway.
“What Spencer’s has done is taken a building that was blighted, taken it down and, as you can see there, they have a plan to put a very attractive building there that somebody in the community can be proud of,” Pfrommer said. “Instead of people driving by saying, ‘Oh, what is that?’ they’ll be going, ‘This looks beautiful.’” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/spencers-egg-harbor-township/article_80195052-f5b6-11ed-8f06-2fa28e6a2b34.html | 2023-05-20T10:17:16 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/spencers-egg-harbor-township/article_80195052-f5b6-11ed-8f06-2fa28e6a2b34.html |
A pair of streaks continued at the Atlantic County Track and Field Championships at Stockton University on Friday.
The Mainland Regional High School girls won their third straight county championship.
The Mustangs girls outscored second-place Absegami 187-123. Egg Harbor Township finished third with 58 points. Emma Crozier-Carole led Mainland with three individual victories.
Meanwhile, the Egg Harbor Township boys won their eighth-straight county title. The Eagles outscored second-place Mainland Regional 164-97.33. Oakcrest finished third with 72.33 points.
Crozier-Carole showed versatility during the meet. The senior won the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump and the long jump. She also finished second in the shot put with a personal-best put of 33 feet, 4.5 inches.
Distance runner Gillian Lovett was a double-winner for Mainland, sweeping the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.
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The Mustangs also got wins from Camryn DeMorat in the 400 hurdles and Kalla Tocci-Rogers in the triple jump.
@njmilesplit @SJTrack @ACPressMulranen Mainland girls win their third consecutive Atlantic County Title. Emma Crozier-Carole wins long, high, 100h and second in shot to score 38. Gillian Lovett wins the 1600 and 3200. pic.twitter.com/ilhA8IADpb
— MRHS Track (@mainlandtrack) May 20, 2023
EHT boys win again
Ahmad Fogg, Ryan Taylor, Sean Dever and Mike Simeon led EHT to the team title.
Fogg won the triple jump with personal-best distance of 46-9.
Simeon won the shot put with a personal-best put of 51.11.5
Taylor won the 3,200 run, and Dever took first in the discus.
2023 Boys Track and Field Atlantic County Champions! #Back2Back2Back2Back2Back2Back2Back2Back #8Straight #EHTPride pic.twitter.com/MMcjfizDib
— EHT ATHLETICS (@EHTNJAthletics) May 20, 2023
Farmer blazes to victory
Royanah Farmer of Oakcrest delivered the top individual performance of the meet. The senior won the 100 dash in 11.98 seconds, the thir—fastest time in Cape-Atlantic League history. Only Lauren Princz of EHT (11.66 in 2021) and Shameka Speed of Bridgeton (11.78 in 2003) have run faster.
Farmer also won the 200 in 25.36 seconds.
Roberts-Bogin wins again; Winterbottom doubles
Xander Roberts-Bogin of Plesantville won the 400 dash for the third straight year. He also won the 200 dash.
#agtg,@ACPressMcGarry @ACPressMulranen @SJruns Here's my historical 400mI can proudly say,I'm the 1st to3peat,400m Atlantic countyChampion! I would like to thank Atlantic county, Your 3X 400m champ @19xFire SR.CAPTAIN,"XDACANNON"🥇2nd best performance OTD! https://t.co/6R7xPE4Z3W pic.twitter.com/eqqJYdDUL1
— XANDER ROBERTS-BOGIN #19X! (@19xFire) May 20, 2023
Matthew Winterbottom of Cedar Creek ran personal bests to win the 800 (1:57.68) and 1,600 (4:25.91) runs.
— CedarCreek Sports (@CCHS_Sports) May 20, 2023 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/mainland-girls-and-eht-boys-continue-winning-streaks-at-county-championships/article_43ac6298-f6c5-11ed-a136-8f0f94853542.html | 2023-05-20T10:17:55 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/mainland-girls-and-eht-boys-continue-winning-streaks-at-county-championships/article_43ac6298-f6c5-11ed-a136-8f0f94853542.html |
TUPELO — The All-America City is making progress on its redistricting plan but not without opposition from local advocates.
The Tupelo City Council held a public hearing Tuesday night, allowing input from the public on its proposed redistricting plan. Those who spoke had concerns ranging from equity to possible Voting Rights Act violations.
The Voting Rights Act, among other things, protects the voting power of racial minorities.
The redistricting process is being driven by population shifts within the city. According to the 2020 census, Tupelo’s average population deviation was 39%, well above the 10% threshold that state law says makes redistricting mandatory.
In November, the council approved a contract with Three Rivers Planning & Development District, which redrew the map, bringing it within an acceptable deviation of 9%.
When redistricting, the city must follow a slew of rules put in place by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, as well as rules laid out by the state and federal constitutions. These rules include creating contiguous, compact districts within the ideal size that maintain incumbents within them, follow current ward lines as much as possible and follow natural boundaries such as major highways, rivers and railroads.
The city must also preserve majority-minority districts — Ward 4 and 7 in Tupelo’s case. Under the proposed changes, both will maintain a majority Black population, although Ward 7’s minority population will drop slightly from 66.8% to 63.2%.
That’s a sticking point for some area residents and voting rights advocates, including Jeffrey Gladney, pastor of Red Oak Missionary Baptist Church. Gladney said he believes the proposed changes will weaken minority voting power. The church currently stands in Ward 5, but the new plans see it move to Ward 3. CB note: Why does the church's location matter? Did Gladney make and issue of it, or is this something we're bringing up?
“We want to make sure that lines are drawn favorably,” he said. “It should be if it can be across the board, but any district could be African American or white… . If we do something that would shift the balance of power away from the Black community, other towns around us tend to follow.”
Charles Penson, pastor of Lane Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and local politico, said the proposed redistricted map is flawed because it splits a census block between wards 7 and 3.
“I want the assurance that this plan complies with the criteria to ensure one person, one vote,” he said before offering his services to craft a new map. “Split (census) blocks address the contiguity requirement, and if a block is split to enable passage from one district to another, that is illegal.”
The census block in question is currently on the border of wards 3 and 7. A portion of Williams Street and Oak Leigh Drive are currently in Ward 7, but the residents cannot get to their homes in the area without traveling through Ward 3. The new map places that stretch of road within Ward 3, splitting the census block but reconnecting the neighborhood.
Penson said splitting the census block is illegal because there is no way to know how many voters ended up in Ward 3 from Ward 7, only how many households there are. This theoretical imbalance is at the heart of his argument.
But City Attorney Ben Logan said splitting census blocks isn’t necessarily illegal so long as it doesn’t dilute the strength of a minority-majority voting percentage. In this case, Logan said the effects of the area being split from its census block are nominal.
“I do not agree that splitting a small block is constitutionally flawed,” Logan said.
But not all the city’s council members are on board with the proposed changes. Ward 7 Councilwoman Rosie Jones said she plans to vote against the map as is, believing the city made needlessly convoluted changes to the city’s district lines.
Jones also said her requests to expand her ward east and west rather than north and south, as the proposal does, were ignored.
Although Logan said he’d be happy to look at alternate plans, he believes Jones’ proposal would weaken the strength of the minority-majority voting power in Ward 7 too far, thus breaking one provision of the Voting Rights Act.
“We will not accept a plan that weakens the voting power of a minority district,” Logan said.
Part of the issue of Ward 7 expanding west into Spring Lake is that Ward 6 Councilwoman Janet Gaston currently lives within that neighborhood, and part of the guidelines for redistricting is that the city cannot move incumbents from their neighborhoods.
Penson, who said he was working on an alternative map, said his proposal will split the neighborhood as part of recouping Ward 7’s population loss. Logan said the city hopes to avoid splitting neighborhoods between wards.
Lee County NAACP chapter president Charles Moore said Thursday the issue boils down to the map designers and city officials ignoring Jones’ requests. He said he believes splitting Spring Lake between wards would not weaken the strength of minority voters in Ward 7.
Logan, meanwhile, argued that splitting the Spring Lake neighborhood would not only weaken Ward 7’s minority-majority but also break a core tenant of redistricting states that maps should not break communities of interest, like neighborhoods.
Moore also threatened to sue the city if it moves forward with the redistricting map as is.
“In this ward, the representation needs to be intact,” Moore said. “I ask that the city council and those that work with the city council would do their due diligence so we don’t have to move forward on litigation outside of this room, but we are prepared to do that as well.”
The council will meet May 23 for a work session that will further detail the redistricting plan and further address community input. The final vote will be held during a special-called meeting on June 1.
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Error! There was an error processing your request. | https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-redistricting-proposal-sparks-concerns-for-jones-ward-7/article_5ef59e26-f5c5-11ed-b2a5-731d2fe560ed.html | 2023-05-20T10:37:32 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-redistricting-proposal-sparks-concerns-for-jones-ward-7/article_5ef59e26-f5c5-11ed-b2a5-731d2fe560ed.html |
LIVING CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH May 21 — 500 W. Riordan Road, 500 W. Riordan Road, Flagstaff. 928-526-8595. 10-11 a.m., We invite all to celebrate with us God's love and presence in our lives and be God's hands in the world. We are intentionally inclusive. We worship through music, teaching, prayer, and the sacraments each Sunday at 10 a.m., at the Campus Ministry Center located on the NAU campus or join us online. Join Rev. Kurt Fangmeier for the Seventh Sunday of Easter! In these days between Ascension and Pentecost, we gather with the disciples in the upper room, waiting for the Spirit to transform the church around the world. In today’s gospel Jesus prays for his followers and for their mission in his name. Amid religious, social, and economic divisions, we seek the unity that Jesus had with his Father. Made one in baptism, we go forth to live our faith in the world, eager for the unity that God intends for the whole human family. We will learn more with our Reading of Acts 1:6-14 (Jesus’ companions at prayer after his departure) Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 (Sing to God, who rides upon the clouds) and Reading 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11(God will sustain and restore those who suffer), together with the Gospel John 17:1-11 (Christ’s prayer for his disciples).
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BEACON UU SUNDAY SERVICE: “Watch Me Flower, Carry Me” May 21 — Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 510 N. Leroux St., Flagstaff. (928) 779-4492. 10-11 a.m., ALL ARE WELCOME! You BELONG at Beacon. Spiritually open and intentionally inclusive since 1958. Our annual flower ceremony, this year marking the 100th anniversary of the first one enacted by Norbert Capek in Prague. Bring a flower and plan to take a flower during the ceremony. Rev. Robin will preach - “Watch me flower, Carry Me” and the Beacon choir will sing. Budget town hall after the service. Looking Ahead: May 28, 2023: Memorial weekend service. Rev. Robin will preach - “Chasing Immortality: Would You Want to live forever?” This is Andrez’s last service with us so please come and wish him well on his journey. We will also build a memorial altar during the service, so please bring a photo or memento that represents a loved one who has passed. https://go.evvnt.com/1735070-0.
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH May 21 — 3430 N. Fourth St., 3430 N. Fourth St., Flagstaff. 928-526-9578. 10-11 a.m., We invite you to join the family of Peace Lutheran Church (LCMS) on Sunday at 10:00am for in person blended service (Combined Liturgical, hymnal based and Praise Worship) with Holy Communion. Pastor William Weiss Jr. (Pastor Bill) will be presiding. The service will be live streamed on our website (peacelutheranflagstaff.org) and on YouTube. Fellowship and refreshments are available before the worship service beginning 9:15am. https://go.evvnt.com/1734159-0.
Flagstaff Federated Community Church Please join us for in person services Sundays at 10 a.m. We are located at 400 W Aspen Ave. on the corner of Aspen and Sitgreaves in Downtown Flagstaff. All are welcome to our services. For more information about Flagstaff Federated Community Church please call our office at 928-774-7383, Mon – Thurs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Church of the Resurrection Sunday Church Services 740 W. University Heights Drive S., 740 W. University Heights Drive S., Flagstaff. 928-853-8522. 10-11:30 a.m., Church of the Resurrection Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): We invite you to join us for worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays at 740 W. University Heights Drive South. Please feel free to contact us for information on our mid-week gatherings and for more information on our church. You can find us at www.cor-pca.org and www.facebook.com/CORFlagstaff or we can be reached at corflagstaff@gmail.com and (928) 699-2715.
Leupp Nazarene Church The church, near mile post 13 or Navajo Route 15, has been holding services by teleconferences and doing drive-up meetings. For information, call pastor Farrell Begay at 928-853-5321. Teleconference number: 1-7170275-8940 with access code 3204224#. Services are 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
Christian Science Society of Flagstaff 619 W. Birch Ave. Bible Lesson services every Sunday 10-11am (Zoom option: https://zoom.us/j/369812794). Testimony Meetings every Wednesday: 5:30-6:30pm (Zoom option: https://zoom.us/j/971672834). Zoom password: CSS. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-religion-news-for-may-20-2023/article_9345ba44-f692-11ed-bb2c-efecc71e710e.html | 2023-05-20T10:42:17 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-religion-news-for-may-20-2023/article_9345ba44-f692-11ed-bb2c-efecc71e710e.html |
New postmaster in Myakka City; two golf tournaments raise more than $250,000 for charity
New Postmaster takes overoperations in Myakka City
Vernell Spence, who began his U.S. Postal Service career 10 years ago in Orlando, was recently named Myakka City Postmaster, overseeing one retail unit, 10 employees, and six rural routes with more than 2,500 deliveries.
"I am excited to serve in Myakka City and be a part of this community," Spence said. "With transparency and minor changes, we can have Myakka leading Central Florida in postal standards and reputation. We have high expectations, and we will meet them daily."
Spence joined the Postal Service as a holiday employee at the Seminole Processing & Distribution Center in Orlando. He advanced to a supervisor in St. Cloud, acquiring "substantial knowledge from my leader and Postmaster Tabrina Murphy." He credits his work ethic to his mother.
"Delivering for America is about being available not only in the office but in the community," Spence said. "We are hearing the concerns of employees and customers. We are a service-driven company, and our customers are all around us, including our employees.”
SMH Healthcare Foundationraises $128,000 for endowment
More than 248 golfers participated in the 21st annual Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation Golf Tournament at Laurel Oak Country Club, helping to raise over $128,000. To date, the tournament has raised more than $1.2 million for the SMH Physicians Endowment, which provides continuing education opportunities.
“The golf tournament allows our community to come out and support the Healthcare Foundation and SMH Physicians Endowment,” said Healthcare Foundation president Stacey Corley. “We are deeply appreciative of our sponsors and volunteers who help make this the premier golf event in Sarasota.”
David Fouche of J2 Solutions served as tournament chair. The Fairway Sponsor was Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel. Other sponsors included DeAngelis Diamond, Flad Architects, Gilbane Building Company, Gresham Smith, J2 Solutions, and Sarasota Emergency Associates.
Next year’s tournament also will be held at Laurel Oak Country Club. For sponsorship information, visit smhf.org/events or call 941-374-9700. For more about the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, visit smhf.org.
27th annual Meadows Cup raises$125,000 for Happiness House
Easterseals Happiness House, in partnership with The Meadows Country Club, raised close to $125,000 in April at its 27th annual Meadows Cup Pro-Am Golf Tournament presented by Ginger Judge. The funds will be used for programs that serve children, teens and adults with disabilities.
“The Meadows Country Club is proud to host Easterseals’ golf tournament in its 27th year,” said Tony Johnson, GM for Meadows Country Club. “The Meadows staff, volunteers and the golf pros gave their time to make this an incredible top-tier tournament. We’re already looking forward to hosting the next one.”
More than 140 golfers and 35 golf professionals participated. “We are thankful to our event sponsors, golfers, volunteers and auction participants for helping us reach our goal which supports individuals with disabilities,” said Tom Waters, president and CEO of Easterseals Southwest Florida. To learn more about Easterseals services and programs, visit easterseals-swfl.org.
North Port, Sarasota sports leaguesreceive donations from developer
Neal Communities recently donated $10,000 to two Sarasota County sports leagues to help them recover from Hurricane Ian.
Neal Communities donated $5,000 to the North Port Junior Bobcats Pop Warner football league to assist with equipment purchases, including equipment lost or damaged in the hurricane. The private home developer also donated $5,000 to Sarasota Babe Ruth Baseball to assist with repairing a storm-damaged dugout roof and the main building’s roof at the organization’s fields off Fruitville Road.
Neal Communities has given more than $7.75 million to charities throughout Southwest Florida. “Local youth sports leagues have a positive impact on the children in our local communities,” said Pat Neal, founder and president of Neal Communities. “We’re proud to support these organization’s efforts – especially to help them recover some of their losses after the storm.”
Around and about ...
Wellen Park in North Port is holding a Luminescence Festival at Grand Lake on May 26 from 6-10 p.m. to mark the start of the Memorial Day weekend. The event will feature hundreds of glowing lights along nearly 3 miles of shoreline; jazz by Orlando-based Eighth Note Collective; a table-decorating contest; VIP experiences; and a lighted boat parade. Info: wellenpark.com/events/luminescence-festival-general-admission
· American Legion NO-VEL Post 159 is hosting its annual Memorial Day Ceremony on May 29 at 10 a.m. at Patriots Park, 800 Venetia Bay Blvd., Venice. The event will include a "Laying of the Wreaths" by area veterans organizations and auxiliaries and guest speakers Mayor Nick Pachota and Ret. U.S. Army Col. Norman MacLellan. Music by Sun Coast Wind Ensemble. Info: Post 159 office, 941-488-1157
· Second Chance Last Opportunity is hosting its 28th anniversary party , 'Git It In Your Soul,' on May 27 from 6-9 p.m. at Sarasota Bayfront Community Center, 655 N. Tamiami Trail, with refreshments and music by DJ Al. Celebrate with SCLO staff and volunteers, meet board members and learn more about the nonprofit’s mission. Tickets $50. Info/reservations: secondchancelastopportunity.org/events; 941-360-8660.
· Boy Scout Troop 776 (Port Charlotte) is holding a golf tournament fundraiser on June 10 at Rotonda Hills Golf Course, 100 Rotonda Circle. The four-person scramble with a shotgun start will include lunch, awards and raffle prizes. Entry fee is $65. Info/registration: Kristie Coleman at Kris.Machel@gmail.com or 941-270-3026.
Submissions by Tia Calomeris, USPS News, Ticia Mahler, Terri Watson, Christine McKelvey, Laura Hardin, Don MacLean, Lucy H. Hedrick, Dana Hanson. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/new-postmaster-in-myakka-city-smh-healthcare-foundation-raises-128000/70220197007/ | 2023-05-20T10:51:54 | 1 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/new-postmaster-in-myakka-city-smh-healthcare-foundation-raises-128000/70220197007/ |
Summer camps in Sarasota-Manatee cater to nature lovers, future leaders, musicians and more
Registration is open for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ summer camp for young nature lovers entering first through fifth grades.
Camp Lookout will teach children about the science of plants, local marine life, even wilderness survival skills, through a variety of hands-on activities during four one-week sessions (Monday–Friday) from June 5 through June 30.
The first two weeks take place at Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus; the third and fourth weeks are at the Historic Spanish Point campus in Osprey. Camps begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Campers may sign up for individual weeks or all four sessions. Registration is limited to 30 campers each week.
“We love helping kids engage with the outdoors,” said Anastasia Sallen, director of environmental education at Selby Gardens. “Whether they’re wading in our waters or exploring our forests and plant life, they’re getting out into nature, observing the local ecosystem firsthand, and learning about some of the things we study here at Selby Gardens.”
For information and registration, visit selby.org. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available by emailing camps@selby.org.
Laurel Civic teen program
Enrollment is open for the Laurel Civic Association’s Teen Empowerment summer program, a seven-week life skills camp for 10th and 11th graders from June 5 to July 27 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
“Our goal is to empower, encourage, and uplift students,” said Alicia Williams, director of youth programs. “We want to help students envision a successful future, whatever direction it takes.”
Participants will explore career and training opportunities, including personal finance, health, and public safety. Business leaders and community organizations also make presentations to the teens during the sessions at Laurel Civic, 509 Collins Road, Nokomis.
There is no cost for the program. For information and to sign up, visit laurelcivic.org or contact Williams at awilliams@laurelcivic.net or941-483-3338, ext. 101.
Music Compound offers choices
The Music Compound is offering summer camp for students in grades 1-12 at its locations in Sarasota (1751 Cattlemen Road) and Bradenton (4740 State Road 64 E.).
Families can choose full (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) or half-day (9 a.m.-noon; 1-4 p.m.) options. This year also features programs for more advanced players, including “Songwriting.” The 6th through 12th grade camp offers band opportunities. Learn more at musiccompound.com/camps or call 941-379-9100.
“Our Summer Music Camp is the perfect offering for kids who want to explore new music or get better in their favorite instrument,” Music Compound owner Jenny Townsend said. “Whether a student is new to music or has years of experience, there is an opportunity for everyone to learn, have fun, and find and feed their inner musician.”
Submissions by Greg Luberecki, Jon DeVries, Sharon Kunkel. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/summer-camps-offer-variety-of-opportunities-for-sarasota-manatee-youth/70220251007/ | 2023-05-20T10:52:00 | 1 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/summer-camps-offer-variety-of-opportunities-for-sarasota-manatee-youth/70220251007/ |
Sarasota County to get $201.5 million from federal gov as Hurricane Ian recovery continues
Sarasota County is expecting to receive a $201.5 million grant from the federal government to help with ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ian and preparing for future storms, the county announced.
The federal funding can be used for activities like rebuilding homes, fixing damaged infrastructure, and assisting business owners affected by the hurricane. Sarasota County will be coming up with a plan for how to spend the money.
“It’s a long-term road to recovery,” Sarasota County Commission chair Ron Cutsinger said in a recorded video interview. “And this money is really going to help with that.”
More Hurricane Ian news:Slow response by Citizens leaves Ian-damaged South Venice home vulnerable to storm season
And:North Port now crafting resolution to fix FEMA trailer problem
The grant will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which announced an overhaul of its disaster recovery efforts in March. The agency will give out over $3.3 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds.
Sarasota was one of four counties in Florida to be named a direct recipient of the funding, joining Lee County, Volusia County and Orange County. In addition, the state of Florida is receiving over $910.6 million in grant money.
Staff in Sarasota County's Office of Financial Management said there is a series of steps the county must take before it can access the grant funding. It has to conduct an unmet needs assessment and develop and submit an action plan, which the county will be working on over the next several months. The plan will include projects and programs meant to meet unmet needs in Sarasota County.
These projects will primarily assist low- to moderate-income households and will fall within one of these categories: housing, restoration of infrastructure, economic revitalization, and mitigation.
The county is inviting the community to participate in the development of the Resilient SRQ program action plan. More information will be released as opportunities are finalized at scgov.net/ResilientSRQ. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2023/05/20/hurricane-ian-sarasota-county-awarded-201-5-million-to-help-with-recovery/70235329007/ | 2023-05-20T10:52:06 | 0 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2023/05/20/hurricane-ian-sarasota-county-awarded-201-5-million-to-help-with-recovery/70235329007/ |
FeLeap out, white oak leaf in: Stark County Park District changes logo
- The Stark County Park District is updating its logo throughout the park system.
- Stark Parks' new logo is a white oak leaf, which is a symbol of the park system.
- The logo change will be implemented over the next few years.
The Stark County Park District is modernizing its brand with a fresh logo.
Stark Parks' new logo will feature an orange and maroon white oak leaf with green "Stark Parks" lettering. The updated branding marks the district's fifth logo in its 56-year history.
New use:Kayak, canoe launch ramp at Sippo Lake Park to benefit those with mobility issues
Funding sought:Stark Parks seeks comment on Devonshire Park trail upgrades, expansion
"I am very excited about the updated look of our new logo and how it will adapt to each of our parks, facilities and publications," Stark Parks Executive Director Dan Moeglin said in a prepared statement. "While FeLeap (the frog) will no longer be part of our logo; for those like myself that have a strong affinity for FeLeap, don’t worry, he’s not going away."
FeLeap's mascot status is to be elevated throughout the park district to include an ambassador role.
"(FeLeap) may even be seen (donning) his fishing equipment or running gear, or dressed in his Santa hat at our annual Deck the Hollow event," Moeglin added.
Why does the logo include a white oak leaf?
The white oak leaf is a symbol of the parks and is native to Stark County, Moeglin said.
"White oaks are strong majestic trees that provide habitat, shade and food for wildlife," he said.
The logo change will be implemented over the next few years, including updating materials and signs at various park district locations.
Immediate changes will be noticed on digital elements and merchandise, such as T-shirts, hats and coffee mugs. Stark Parks main website is updated with the new leaf logo at the top left.
Logo colors were selected to represent colors found in the vegetation, trees and water within Stark Parks. The initiative started with feedback via a community survey and five internal and external focus groups.
Stark Parks oversees 15 public parks, four lakes and more than 120 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails. All combined total more than 6,800 acres. | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2023/05/20/stark-county-park-district-logo-change-feleap-frog-ambassador-feleap-the-frog/70214846007/ | 2023-05-20T11:07:16 | 0 | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2023/05/20/stark-county-park-district-logo-change-feleap-frog-ambassador-feleap-the-frog/70214846007/ |
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — The Sunrise MarketPlace in Citrus Heights is being transformed from a parking lot to a beer festival Saturday.
The annual Brews in the Burbs event will bring craft beer tastings, live music, food trucks, backyard games and more to the city to support Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART) and the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce.
HART is a nonprofit with the goal to "help Citrus Heights locals develop a stable living situation through connecting them with the resources they need," according to their website.
Tickets will run you anywhere from $25 to $75 for the event. The event will start at different times depending on which tier of ticket is purchased — but everyone is available to participate after 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The tiers of tickets are as follows:
- VIP Admission: 4 pm – 8 pm $75 - Enter at 4 p.m., get a "swag bag," have a designated area for yard games and snacks, receive a $5 voucher for food trucks at the event, a souvenir 8 ounce mug and unlimited tasting of brews
- General Admission: 5 pm – 8 pm $50 - Includes entry and unlimited beer tastings with a souvenir 4 ounce mug.
- Designated Driver: $25 - Entry into the event, a $5 voucher for food at any food booth and water/soft drinks.
Must be 21-years-old or older to enter the event. Last pour at 7:45 PM. No children or pets are allowed.
The event will be held in the Sunrise Mall Parking Lot at 6041 Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
For more information and to purchase a ticket, click HERE. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/citrus-heights/brews-in-the-burbs-citrus-heights-sunrise-mall/103-90b30370-7e2e-4264-9ab6-eb04bb4c5676 | 2023-05-20T11:24:20 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/citrus-heights/brews-in-the-burbs-citrus-heights-sunrise-mall/103-90b30370-7e2e-4264-9ab6-eb04bb4c5676 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The season finale for a Sacramento music tradition is Saturday night where attendees will see and hear local and international musicians on stage.
The musicians and performers are excited to come back to the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center at 1301 L St., describing it as something truly special.
“There's a really, really dynamic, almost like electricity and energy that you can feel if you're in the concert hall, between our audiences and the musicians and the talent," said Giuliano Kornberg, executive director of the opera.
The Sacramento Philharmonic Opera is returning to Sacramento to perform Puccini's famous opera "La Boheme,” a humor and romance filled feast for the eyes and ears.
"One of the friends named Rodolfo stays in his little attic in the penthouse in Paris and it's so romantic, and you see over Paris, if you would buy that today it would cost millions — at the time it was still available,” said conductor Sascha Goetzel.
Goetzel is visiting from Austria to put on the show’s magic.
The set was made by an Italian set designer in the 1960s, shipped into Sacramento from Seattle, Washington.
Many of the orchestra's musicians are from the area and are continuing to give back to their community in many ways beyond the concert stage — including through teaching.
Music education is part of the philharmonic's mission, hosting collaborative performances with thousands of kids across the Greater Sacramento region through their “Linkup” program.
"This is the message for Sacramento or any other community — if you want to be happy, be a part of the music community,” said Goetzel.
Kornberg says the reason they do this is to “capture the spirit of what music can do for younger folks.”
The performance is only being shown in Sacramento Saturday and won’t be taking stage anytime soon afterward. Goetzel says it could change how you feel about your community and those attending around you.
"Music can bring us all together. People who would have never thought to stand next to each other to celebrate music. Music doesn't know any cultural differences. Music doesn't know any differences of age. Music doesn't know elite or non-elite. Music just cares for one thing: that we can do it together,” he said.
The show starts at 8 p.m. with a pre concert interview at 7 p.m. hosted by ABC10’s Lora Painter.
For more information and tickets, click HERE. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento-philharmonic-opera-season-finale/103-e43bad8b-66b1-438b-bf0d-68fd1f4a6d7b | 2023-05-20T11:24:26 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento-philharmonic-opera-season-finale/103-e43bad8b-66b1-438b-bf0d-68fd1f4a6d7b |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: One that would have ramped up the state's emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells.
They are among the hundreds of bills that did not survive the Legislature's suspense file, a mysterious process where lawmakers decide — with no explanation — which bills will get a chance to become law later this year and which ones should not move forward.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that bans drilling new oil wells within 3,200 feet of sensitive areas like homes and schools. But the law hasn't taken effect because the oil industry qualified a referendum on the 2024 ballot asking voters to overturn it.
That referendum angered environmental and health advocates. They decided if the oil industry wanted to block that law, then they would try to pass another law making it easier for oil companies to be held liable for health problems of people who live near wells. The bill, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, would have required oil companies to pay up to $1 million to people who have cancer or other health problems associated with the well.
"Today, we missed a key opportunity to advance legislation that would hold polluters accountable and prevent further harm to families who are just trying to stay healthy and have a better quality of life," Gonzalez said in a statement.
The Senate Appropriations Committee stopped the bill from getting a vote by the full Senate, meaning it is not likely to become law this year. Jamie Court, president of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, blamed committee chair Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from Burbank who is also running for Congress.
"A bill like this should get a hearing by the full Senate and not be shoved in a drawer by one politician when we have millions of people living within a half mile of oil wells whose lives and health are at threat every damn day," Court said.
Portantino's office did not respond to an email seeking comment about why the bill was held.
Kara Greene, a spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, which opposed the bill, said it would have been unfair to oil and gas companies and done more harm than good.
"The billions of dollars and the fiscal mess that this bill would have caused to the State and local governments from their own liabilities, the fiscal responsibility of inherited wells, and the cost to the court system, would be substantial," Greene said in a statement.
State Sen. Henry Stern, a Los Angeles Democrat, introduced another bill this year that would have required the state to reduce its planet-warming emissions to 55% below the 1990 level by the end of 2030. The state has already set out to reduce those emissions by 40% by that same deadline.
"The bill dying was a reflection of the impasse I worry we're heading towards on climate in California," Stern said in a statement. "As the world races ahead, we may get stuck debating pathways forward."
A similar bill introduced last year didn't make it to the governor's desk.
California is also aiming to achieve carbon neutrality, meaning the state will remove as many carbon emissions as it releases, by 2045. The state Air Resources Board has approved rules to limit pollution from cars, trucks, lawn mowers and trains.
Bills that were held in the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees are not likely to pass this year, with a June 2 deadline looming for legislation to advance from one chamber.
Other bills that failed included a plan to allow people struggling with suicidal thoughts to voluntarily register themselves on a "do not sell" list for firearms, and a proposal to ban people under 21 years old from using mobile phones, even hands-free, while driving. A bill that would require the Department of Justice to investigate all police's use-of-force incidents that resulted in the death of civilians also didn't make it through Thursday, nor did legislation that would have expanded access to mental health treatment for inmates.
Some proposals, including legislation to create a mental health hotline for California State University system students and a bill to stock government bathrooms with free menstrual products, were designated as two-year bills, meaning that they won't be voted on before January.
Once bills are voted on in the Senate or Assembly, those that passed will move on to the other chamber. The Legislature has until mid-September to pass bills, then Newsom has about a month to reject them or sign them into law. ___ This story was first published on May 18, 2023. It was updated on May 19, 2023 to correct that Sen. Henry Stern is from Los Angeles, not Malibu. The AP also incorrectly described legislation as allowing people who live near oil wells to sue the oil companies over health issues. Oil companies can already be sued but the legislation would make them liable for those health issues under certain conditions.
___
Associated Press writers Adam Beam and Trân Nguyễn contributed.
___
Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @sophieadanna | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/lawmakers-oil-companies-liable-health-problems/103-c108e3f5-fa6f-4a60-8047-e8f51525d25d | 2023-05-20T11:24:32 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/lawmakers-oil-companies-liable-health-problems/103-c108e3f5-fa6f-4a60-8047-e8f51525d25d |
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento residents Roderick Rigmaiden and his wife Onjale Nettles were recently sentenced to a collective 12 years and 8 months in prison for defrauding local car dealerships out of almost $250,000.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 37-year-old Rigmaiden and 32-year-old Nettles stole mail to obtain and use the victims' identities for fraudulent purchases.
The couple bought and financed one-quarter of a million dollars worth of vehicles from dealerships across Sacramento, the Bay Are and Orange County.
Officials say Rigmaiden was a prolific mail thief tied to many postal burglaries of; postal boxes, apartment complex mailboxes and mail trucks.
"Rigmaiden and Nettles used stolen identities to fraudulently purchase and finance at least seven cars [and attempt an eighth] from auto dealerships," U.S. Attorney's officials said Tuesday.
Stolen identities were used to secure a down payment on the vehicles, with the remainder of the purchase secured by an auto loan.
Rigmaiden was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison, while Nettles was sentenced to 5 years and 11 months in prison. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-couple-defrauding-dealerships-out-of-250k-worth-of-cars/103-f0090fc9-6c5a-4ffd-ac8d-e9caebefc5de | 2023-05-20T11:24:38 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-couple-defrauding-dealerships-out-of-250k-worth-of-cars/103-f0090fc9-6c5a-4ffd-ac8d-e9caebefc5de |
Fort Wayne police are investigating a car crash that left a person in critical condition after the driver hit a fire truck early today.
Officers said they arrived at the South Anthony Boulevard and Gardendale Avenue intersection about 1:30 a.m. and found the driver of the car with life-threatening injuries inside the vehicle.
Firefighters were exiting Fire Station 12 on an emergency run when the car southbound on South Anthony smashed into the rig, police said.
Besides the driver, paramedics took two of four firefighters inside the truck to a hospital with minor injuries, officers said.
No further information was provided. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/1-critical-after-fire-truck-crash-in-fort-wayne/article_0ab65408-f6f7-11ed-b1e3-a3ac2dd1fca6.html | 2023-05-20T11:24:41 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/1-critical-after-fire-truck-crash-in-fort-wayne/article_0ab65408-f6f7-11ed-b1e3-a3ac2dd1fca6.html |
YUBA CITY, Calif. — An at-risk 16-year-old girl was reported missing from Yuba City Tuesday and authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating her and the man she may be with.
Rachel Nielson was last seen at home around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on Grant Way in Yuba City, according to the Yuba City Police Department.
She is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 140 lbs, with brown eyes, faded blue and black hair and a brown birthmark on her neck. She also goes by “Fate” and “Hazel.”
Officials believe she is with 19-year-old Reed Knittle, who is on probation. They say the two know each other from their "online relationship."
Knittle is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall, has green eyes and brown hair. He is also known as “Brett.”
Officials do not know where either Nielson or Knittle are.
It is unclear why Nielson is considered at risk at this time.
Anyone with information about their location is encouraged to contact the Yuba City Police Department at (530) 822-4660. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/yuba-city-at-risk-missing-teenager/103-33a1cccf-1c65-401b-b441-0fe23b911007 | 2023-05-20T11:24:44 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/yuba-city-at-risk-missing-teenager/103-33a1cccf-1c65-401b-b441-0fe23b911007 |
Abortion-rights activist arrested for incident following ceremony for pregnancy center
PCSO: Woman threw underwear that struck deputy
A woman who protested a groundbreaking for a pregnancy center in Lakeland was later arrested, accused of battery on a law-enforcement officer for throwing women’s underwear toward him.
Options for Women held the ceremony Tuesday afternoon at its property at 4504 S. Florida Ave., where it plans to construct a building to replace a portable structure. The center is a faith-based nonprofit that provides pregnancy testing and ultrasounds as an alternative to an adjacent clinic that performs abortions.
A Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Capt. Billy Strickland, attended the event as a representative of the agency. PCSO spokesperson Scott Wilder said that Options for Women had invited Sheriff Grady Judd, who was unable to attend and sent Strickland in his absence.
After the ceremony had ended, Strickland was standing on a low stage under a temporary tent with Florida Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, who had spoken at the event. According to the arrest affidavit, they had their backs turned to the Lakeland Women’s Health Center, where Bonnie Patterson-James and other advocates for abortion rights had gathered.
Related:Two Polk residents arrested in Tallahassee during protest of six-week abortion bill
Also:Abortion-rights advocates stage 'Occupy Polk' event in Lakeland, prepare for petition drive
The PSCO report offers this description: As Strickland and Canady posed for a photo, Patterson-James stood on the fence line of the boundary between the two properties. She threw a rolled-up pair of women’s panties held together by a sticker toward the stage, and it hit Strickland on the right leg.
When Strickland turned to see where the item had come from, Patterson-James, 55, looked at him and said, “That did not hit you!”
Strickland was dressed in his green uniform with patches on each arm, making it obvious he was a sheriff’s deputy, the affidavit said.
Patterson-James dropped to the ground and “merged in with other protesters out of sight.” Strickland went to the clinic property and asked to speak to the person who threw the underwear, and someone present called out, “Bonnie, they want to talk to you.”
Strickland identified Patterson-James from her brightly dyed red hair, pink shirt and red-framed sunglasses. A well-known local advocate for abortion rights, she had stood behind the fence throughout the Options for Women ceremony, calling out criticisms of the center and the anti-abortion movement as Canady and others spoke to an invited audience.
Strickland approached Patterson-James, who refused to identify herself, the affidavit said. When told she was going to be arrested, she stepped back into a group of people on the clinic property and said that she would not be arrested. She admitted to throwing the item but said she didn’t think it had hit Strickland.
The deputy eventually identified Patterson-James, a Lakeland resident, but did not arrest her at the scene. On Thursday, a deputy pulled over her vehicle on the Polk Parkway for failing to signal while merging, PCSO said. The deputy learned of an outstanding warrant and arrested Patterson-James on two counts: battery on a law-enforcement officer, a third-degree felony, and resisting arrest without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The Options for Women property is in Lakeland, and two Lakeland Police Department officers attended Tuesday’s event. They were on extra-duty detail, LPD spokesperson Robin Tillett said.
PCSO deputies have the authority to make arrests for crimes that occur anywhere in the county, spokesperson Scott Wilder said.
Patterson-James is the founder of Lakeland Inclusive Diverse Voice, an organization that has coordinated demonstrations for abortion rights. She traveled to Tallahassee during the legislative session to protest a bill, co-sponsored by Canady, that would bar most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promptly signed the bill into law, though its validity hinges upon a ruling of the state Supreme Court, which is reviewing legal challenges to a law passed last year setting the abortion threshold at 15 weeks.
More:Lakeland pregnancy center to construct new building beside clinic that performs abortions
The Florida National Organization for Women issued a press release Friday condemning the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for the arrest. It said that a video taken on Tuesday captured Strickland saying the thrown underwear bounced and then hit his leg.
In a video posted on TikTok by Swan City Clinic Defenders, a group of volunteers at the Lakeland facility, Strickland said the item hit him on the back of the leg.
“No footage of the alleged battery is known to exist, despite multiple people seen filming.” Florida NOW said in the release.
The organization noted that Canady, who was honored with an award at Tuesday’s ceremony, requested $1 million for the Options for Women expansion in this year’s state budget. The version that passed allots $500,000 for the private organization, though that is subject to a potential veto by DeSantis.
The abortion bill that Canady co-sponsored also provides $25 million for a network of pregnancy centers that includes Options for Women.
The Florida NOW release claimed that the Clinic Defenders have reported several instances of alleged assaults against volunteers, one of them a minor, by anti-abortion protestors, who regularly demonstrate outside the clinic. It said that LPD has refused to make arrests despite knowing the suspects’ identities and despite multiple witness reports and photos of injuries.
Tillett previously discussed an incident from May 3 with The Ledger, saying LPD investigated claims of assault, trespassing and theft at the clinic by anti-abortion protesters and did not find sufficient evidence to make an arrest.
Florida NOW, of which Patterson-James is a member, suggested selective enforcement of laws is taking place.
“Why are Polk County Clinic Defenders being jailed for tossing an ounce of fabric that allegedly touched an officer's leg, while a child who was actually assaulted and sustained injuries was ignored?,” Debbie DeLand, President of Florida NOW, said in the release. “We believe Patterson-James’ arrest was not only unjustified, but also politically motivated. If Representative Canady is not behind the targeting and arrest of this pro-abortion activist, she should be speaking out against it as well as speaking up for the child denied PCSO protection.”
Canady said the Florida NOW statement was "as ridiculous as it is false."
"Here are some facts — you have every right to voice your opinion, but you have no right to assault a law enforcement officer," Canady said in a text message. "Here in Polk County you can expect criminal activity to be met with criminal charges. I’m thankful that we have a Sheriff and law enforcement leaders in this region who enforce the rule of law. Our whole community is grateful for their service."
Wilder said he had no comment about the specific claims in the Florida NOW release.
“The Polk County Sheriff’s Office supports peaceful protest across the board,” Wilder said in an email. “When either side of an issue begins throwing things at others, the protest is no longer peaceful. We will take enforcement action when that occurs in our jurisdiction and in our presence. If someone unlawfully throws something and it hits a law enforcement officer in our presence, we will take enforcement action every time.”
Patterson-James was released on bond early Friday morning.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/bonnie/70235276007/ | 2023-05-20T12:26:38 | 1 | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/bonnie/70235276007/ |
Funds available for Winter Haven residents with damage to homes from Hurricane Ian
Winter Haven has approximately $95,000 remaining for residents who incurred damage from Hurricane Ian and need help with insurance deductibles or repairs. Applications are being accepted until all funds are gone, the city said in a news release.
The home must be owned and occupied by the applicant for at least one year as documented by homestead exemption status. In addition, the home must be within the Winter Haven city limits, and the applicant must be current on Polk County property taxes.
The applicant must have filed a claim with their insurance company and with FEMA, if applying for repairs.
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Applications will be accepted on a first-qualified, first-served basis, the release said, and incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applicants must qualify based on total household income.
Priority will be given to applicants who have special needs in accordance with state law.
For more information, contact Diane Durr, Affordable Housing Programs Manager, at 863-291-5600, ext. 6108, or ddurr@mywinterhaven.com. | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/winter-haven-has-funds-for-homeowners-with-damage-from-hurricane-ian/70235560007/ | 2023-05-20T12:26:39 | 1 | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/winter-haven-has-funds-for-homeowners-with-damage-from-hurricane-ian/70235560007/ |
Interstate 40 lanes reopen near the Tennessee-North Carolina border
Good news, holiday travelers; your drive to North Carolina just got (hopefully) faster than it might have been over the winter.
All four lanes of Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge near the Tennessee-North Carolina border have reopened to traffic as of May 19, according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Starting this past November, one lane of I-40 in each direction had been closed for two miles between U.S. 276 and mile marker 18, to allow work on replacement of aging bridges.
Similar lane closures are planned to begin again this fall to expedite the next phase of bridge work, but specific dates for that haven't been set yet, according to a DOT spokesman.
For subscribers:Traffic to the Smokies keeps increasing. Is a new Interstate 40 exit a possible solution? | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/interstate-40-lanes-reopen-near-the-tennessee-north-carolina-border/70236896007/ | 2023-05-20T12:28:32 | 1 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/interstate-40-lanes-reopen-near-the-tennessee-north-carolina-border/70236896007/ |
What time zone is Knoxville? Here are the time zones in Tennessee
Visitors to Tennessee who fly into Nashville might feel like they've dropped into a time warp if they start driving east toward Knoxville. About 150 miles outside of Nashville, clocks suddenly re-set to an hour ahead.
That's because Tennessee has two time zones ‒ Central time and Eastern time.
Memphis and Nashville and the surrounding communities are in Central Time. Knoxville is in Eastern time.
Tennessee, it turns out, is not that unusual. Fifteen U.S. states have more than one time zone (depending on the time of year): Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
Does Tennessee have two time zones?
Yes. Tennessee is split between the Eastern and Central time zones. The majority of the state, including the cities of Nashville, Memphis and Clarksville, is in the Central time zone.
Where does the time zone change in Tennessee?
The Tennessee boundary line between the Central and Eastern time zones follows the eastern borders of Picket, Fentress, Cumberland, Bledsoe, Sequatchie and Marion counties.
Is Pigeon Forge in Eastern time?
Yes, Pigeon Forge is located in the Eastern Time Zone.
What time is it in Tennessee right now?
It depends where you are in the state. To find out which Tennessee county is in which time zone, go to .timetemperature.com/tzus/current_time_in_tennessee.shtml. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/knoxville-tn-time-zone/70233408007/ | 2023-05-20T12:28:38 | 1 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/knoxville-tn-time-zone/70233408007/ |
Carthage College theater professor Martin McClendon is hosting “The Kenosha Verbatim Project,” performed for one night only at the college.
The performance is 7:30 tonight (May 20) in the college’s Wartburg Auditorium, 2001 Alford park Drive.
Admission is free, with no assigned seating.
This is another “verbatim theater” project for McClendon.
“This form of theater takes words that are already out in the world — in newscasts, in trial transcripts — and shapes them” said McClendon, who also created the college’s “Afghanistan/Wisconsin” verbatim piece, which used interviews with 12 veterans.
“We edit the words, but we don’t add to them,” he said of the theater form. “We don’t change their language.”
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For this project, McClendon and the other project coordinators — Nora Carroll and Carthage students Rayven Craft and Katherine Layendecker — interviewed community members about the events that happened in the summer of 2020.
That August, Jacob Blake was shot seven times by a Kenosha police officer, touching off led to protests and major incidents in Downtown Kenosha, including property damage and the killing of two people.
This project asks: What has happened since then? How has Kenosha changed or not changed? How do people view their city since these incidents? How do we move ahead?
This verbatim theater project “will examine how the people of our community have navigated the aftermath,” organizers said. “Collecting material through interviews with community members as well as through researching trial transcripts, news articles and other documents, the team will create a script using the actual words of the people who experienced it.”
The goal of the project is to create “a way to explore the issues and give voice to people without the ability to otherwise share their experience.” | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/carthage-college-presents-the-kenosha-verbatim-project-on-may-20/article_07804e78-f671-11ed-966c-7fb736f7ed85.html | 2023-05-20T12:30:37 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/carthage-college-presents-the-kenosha-verbatim-project-on-may-20/article_07804e78-f671-11ed-966c-7fb736f7ed85.html |
Raise a glass (or two, easy on the ice) to World Whisky Day on May 20. The liquor can be made from barley, corn, rye and wheat, just to name a few. We just want to know why it’s spelled two ways: “whisky” and “whiskey.”
The Four Seasons Garden Club hosts its Spring Plant Sale today at the Kenosha HarborMarket, open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Second Avenue and 56th Street. Club members will be at the market with “hundreds of perennials, annuals and blubs.” Club members will be present to answer questions and offer plant advice. For more information, go to 4seasonsgardenclub.org.
The Carthage Music Honors Recital is 2 p.m. Saturday in A.F. Siebert Chapel on the Carthage campus, 2001 Alford Park Drive. Each year, the Carthage Music Department’s Honors Recital highlights a wide range of performances, from classical vocal and instrumental music to popular song and musical theater. The recital is free and open to the public. No tickets are required. The public can also watch from home through a free livestream. For more details, go to carthage.edu.
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Also at Carthage today, “The Kenosha Verbatim Project” will be performed for one night only, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the college’s Wartburg Auditorium, 2001 Alford park Drive. The project coordinators interviewed community members about the events that happened in the summer of 2020. Admission is free, with no assigned seating.
At the Racine Theatre Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave., the deadly Broadway musical “Sweeney Todd” continues on stage. For more details, go to racinetheatre.org. The show continues through June 4. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-area-events-for-saturday-may-20/article_a2767b24-f5c6-11ed-9ede-bb1cf49fb8f2.html | 2023-05-20T12:30:43 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-area-events-for-saturday-may-20/article_a2767b24-f5c6-11ed-9ede-bb1cf49fb8f2.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A 38-year-old Bloomington woman has been charged after authorities said she burglarized a grocery store and tried to cash a fraudulent check from a local pub.
Jessica M. Longberry appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland. Longberry is charged with burglary and forgery, Class 2 and 3 felonies, respectively.
According to the court documents, Longberry is accused of burglarizing a grocery store in the 1500 block of North Main Street and attempting to cash a check in the amount of $587 from an account that belonged to a local pub, on April 17.
She was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. Her arraignment hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. June 9. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-woman-faces-burglary-forgery-charges/article_9f682070-f681-11ed-8e1a-772008c73724.html | 2023-05-20T12:32:44 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-woman-faces-burglary-forgery-charges/article_9f682070-f681-11ed-8e1a-772008c73724.html |
How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region.
100 years ago
May 20, 1923: A task has been tackled by Superintendent of Streets Charles T. Evans in putting the dirt streets of the city in shape again after the rains of the last few days. Much grading that had been completed shortly before last Friday night's storm has to be done over again. Several streets were made impassable in places, leaving the streets in worse condition than before the grading.
75 years ago
May 20, 1948: Mrs. Howard Sloan was elected president of the Community Players and Whedon Slater, retiring president, presented five Amateur Dramatic awards at the club's annual meeting. Awards went to Mrs. David McClure, Joe Spring, Stanley Lantz, Eleanor Kath and Jim Ryan.
50 years ago
May 20, 1973: The city of Bloomington ruled out arbitration in the wage dispute with striking public service and parks department employees and made its "final" offer to the union. The offer is to go into effect Monday. The letter said the city's final offer is 54 cents over a two-year period.
25 years ago
May 20, 1998: Planned attendance by Bloomington city officials at a meeting with the Illinois Commerce Commission to discuss Illinois Power's tree-trimming practices in Normal has prompted a controversy and cancellation of the meeting. The utility initially agreed to Bloomington's participation in the informal meeting, which was initiated by ICC. Illinois Power Regional Manager Peter Millburg pointed to comments made during recent city and town council meetings, saying "it's apparent they want to see this end up in court."
101 years ago: See vintage Pantagraph ads from 1922
Gerthart's
Union Gas and Electric Co.
Hoover
Dr. J.A. Moore Dentists
Moberly & Klenner
W.P. Garretson
W.H. Roland
Pease's Candy
Thor 32 Electric Washing Machine
The Kaiser's Story of the War
Ike Livingston & Sons
Gossard Corsets
Cat'n Fiddle
'Stolen Moments'
Case Model X
The Johnson Transfer & Fuel Co.
The Pantagraph want ads
Franklin Motor Car Co.
'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'
Calumet Baking Powder
Mayer Livingston & Co. Newsmarket
'The Emperor Jones'
'California Fig Syrup'
Compiled by Pantagraph staff | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/25-years-ago-drama-over-illinois-power-tree-trimming-continues/article_5e38ae5c-f2d1-11ed-bad5-fba436b4ba4f.html | 2023-05-20T12:32:50 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/25-years-ago-drama-over-illinois-power-tree-trimming-continues/article_5e38ae5c-f2d1-11ed-bad5-fba436b4ba4f.html |
CEDAR FALLS — John Speer, chief administrator with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency in Cedar Rapids, has received the 2023 UNI Educational Leadership Legacy Award.
This award is given annually to a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa principalship, superintendency or doctoral programs who has demonstrated exemplary educational leadership as a leader of learning, service and/or change, core values of educational leadership at the College of Education.
Speer earned his B.A. in English education in 1994, his M.A. in educational administration/secondary in 2000, advanced studies certificates in superintendency and principalship in 2002 and his Ed.D. in the educational leadership intensive study area in 2017, all from UNI. He began his teaching career in 1994 and moved into administration as high school principal by 1999. Prior to joining the AEA in 2018, Speer served in superintendent positions with the College Community, Ballard and Allamakee school districts.
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Roark Horn, Ed.D., instructor in educational leadership who holds the Pomerantz Professorship in Educational Excellence, served as a mentor to Speer earlier in their careers.
“It can be viewed as a statement of fact that, although I was the mentor, I learned far more from John than he ever learned from me,” he said as he presented the award to Speer on May 9 on behalf of the college and the educational leadership team within the department of educational psychology, foundations and leadership studies.
The annual award was established with support of a gift from the family of Vernon Kirlin (1946, B.A.), a longtime educator and school administrator, to honor his legacy of educational leadership. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/aea-head-john-speer-earns-educational-leadership-legacy-award/article_61b74236-0fed-5204-952c-4a86d860508a.html | 2023-05-20T12:38:32 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/aea-head-john-speer-earns-educational-leadership-legacy-award/article_61b74236-0fed-5204-952c-4a86d860508a.html |
Jerome County Commissioner John Crozier has resigned from the board.
In an email to Chair Ben Crouch on Monday, Crozier said he was resigning for health and personal reasons, effective immediately.
Commissioner Charlie Howell said that Crozier would be missed by the board.
“Both Ben (Crouch) and I certainly are going to miss working with John,” Howell told the Times-News by phone. “He brought something to the table — I always told him he brought the soft side to the table and I brought the hard side — so we were a good balance, and the three of us worked well together. We’re gonna miss him.”
Crozier was first elected to the commission in 2018.
The Jerome County Republican Central Committee will meet on Wednesday to select up to three names as a potential replacement. Those names will then be submitted to the governor within 15 days of the formal resignation.
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Gov. Brad Little will then have another 15 days to select one candidate as a replacement.
The central committee, chaired by Nic Wittman, is collecting the names of interested candidates. Those names must be received no later than Tuesday.
A candidates must be a registered Republican and must reside within the boundaries of Jerome County’s third district, roughly the eastern half of the county. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/government-and-politics/crozier-resigns-from-jerome-county-commission/article_643be3fa-f65f-11ed-b992-0fa799232ea8.html | 2023-05-20T12:38:57 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/government-and-politics/crozier-resigns-from-jerome-county-commission/article_643be3fa-f65f-11ed-b992-0fa799232ea8.html |
A veteran’s return to Buhl after seeing the sights in Washington, D.C., this weekend will be nothing but first class.
A big crowd welcoming Bill Pryor home will make it that much better, say planners of a welcome home ceremony.
The public is encouraged to gather at Buhl City Park on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. to greet 86-year-old Bill Pryor, who left for Washington early Friday morning, flying out of the Boise airport. Pryor is making the trip as part of the Honor Flight program that allows veterans to visit the nation’s capitol at no cost.
The return to Idaho on Sunday will include everything from a limousine ride back from Boise, a police escort once he nears Buhl, and a ceremony involving the reading of a proclamation, flag presentation and music by the Buhl High School pep band.
“The City of Buhl is behind this 1,000%,” said Marvin Barnes of the veterans group Joining Forces in Magic Valley.
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On his trip, Pryor, who served in the U.S. Air Force 20 years, will see the war memorials that commemorate the service of veterans.
There isn’t an Honor Flight airport hub in Idaho, and often veterans in Idaho participate in the Utah program which flies out of Salt Lake City. Pryor is the first veteran from the Magic Valley to make the trip as a “lone eagle.” He will be accompanied by his son.
Barnes said Pryor knew he was going on a trip to Washington but he doesn’t know about the fanfare that is being planned for him. His return to Buhl will be a big surprise, Barnes said.
He was driven to Boise by Twin Falls County Commissioner Don Hall, and was greeted at the Boise Airport by people from various veterans organizations and the entire night shift of the Boise Police Department, Barnes said. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/public-asked-to-welcome-buhl-veteran-as-he-returns-from-d-c/article_4c947490-f66b-11ed-9317-979302f58123.html | 2023-05-20T12:39:03 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/public-asked-to-welcome-buhl-veteran-as-he-returns-from-d-c/article_4c947490-f66b-11ed-9317-979302f58123.html |
News Tribune, May 20, 1983
- The Duluth City Council yesterday voted 5-4 not to stop construction of Interstate 35 at 10th Avenue East. The vote means the freeway could be extended to 26th Avenue East, but the council still needs to approve plans for that part of the project.
- The Wheat Motor Co. has proposed opening a plant to build motorhomes in either Duluth or Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Duluth City Council, in a special meeting yesterday, voted to guarantee a loan the company is negotiating with First Bank-Duluth for the project.
News Tribune, May 20, 1923
- The planned route of construction of Congdon Boulevard through the Brighton Beach area has changed, moving the road nearer to the lakeshore. Duluth Mayor S.F. Snively, who has taken an active interest in the boulevard's construction, is leading the movement to change the route.
- More than three million tons of iron ore are expected to be shipped by the Oliver Mining Company during the present season. The Spruce Mine, one of the largest on the Iron Range, will probably ship at least one third of the season's output. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/bygones-40-years-ago-duluth-was-considered-for-motorhome-plant | 2023-05-20T12:55:35 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/bygones-40-years-ago-duluth-was-considered-for-motorhome-plant |
SCHROEDER — Heidi Swalve made a round-trip drive of several hours just to tell a reporter about Frederic Baraga. But wait, there's more.
Curtis Chambers has snowshoed over 1,000 miles along routes traversed on foot by the 19th century missionary. Chambers said that's just "a little bit ... nothing, compared to what he did."
A granite cross on the North Shore marks the conclusion of a harrowing journey by canoe across Lake Superior. Baraga and his companion survived due to what the faithful believe may have been divine intervention.
"This is a place that Father Baraga actually came to in 1846. He came from Madeline Island," explained Swalve, standing beside the cross. "He came here to be able to help the Ojibwe."
Swalve is the creator of fatherbaraga.org, one of many sites celebrating the achievements of the Slovenian American cleric who's gone down in history as the Upper Midwest's "Snowshoe Priest." The itinerant Baraga covered a lot of ground in his missionary pursuits.
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"Pretty much half of the (Lake Superior Circle Tour), you'll find spots that Father Baraga was a participant in," said Swalve. "To be able to go around Lake Superior and to establish the number of missions that he did is not a small feat."
The Minnesota monument is a permanent version of a wooden cross that Baraga himself erected upon successfully reaching the North Shore. Positioned on a promontory overlooking the mouth of the Cross River — which takes its name from the incident — the cross is a dignified but modest marker, dwarfed by a far larger shrine on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Michigan, where Baraga served as the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette (originally situated at Sault Sainte Marie), is home to the Bishop Baraga Association. It's the official organization working to advance Baraga toward being officially canonized as a saint. Lenora McKeen, executive director of the association, refers to her work as "the cause."
"Baraga was declared 'venerable' in May of 2012," McKeen explained. "That means there's evidence to support his heroic virtues ... and people can pray to him privately."
For Baraga to advance the next two steps, to beatification and ultimately canonization, the Bishop Baraga Association must document two miracles attributed to his intercession. Another factor the Vatican considers, said McKeen, is whether a candidate for sainthood has popular support. Baraga (typically pronounced "BEAR-a-ga") seems to have that covered.
"We have strong support from Slovenia" and from Slovenian American communities, said McKeen. "We have a strong (contingent) of elders from the Native American groups."
Two recent documentaries on the Catholic cable channel EWTN have sparked further interest. "I get frequent phone calls about, 'I saw the documentary and I started praying,'" said McKeen.
Chambers is a practicing Catholic. He's also a member and former chairman of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. "I was raised in the Catholic religion," said Chambers. "I also was brought up with Native culture. It's a big part of our life, and I find that ... it's almost like Catholicism is a natural progression of Native spirituality. For me, the two fit together so nicely."
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Some members of Native communities, Chambers and McKeen acknowledged, point to Baraga's status as a European missionary and aren't inclined to celebrate his legacy. "I say, before you criticize him, understand where he came from and why he did what he did," said Chambers. "It was absolutely zero profit for him."
Baraga learned the Ojibwe language, among several others, and composed dozens of hymns in that language. "Everybody else would try to teach the Natives English and then teach their particular religions," said Chambers. "Baraga not only learned the language, but the culture."
Chambers said he "felt called" to literally walk in Baraga's footsteps, which he's done during numerous winters. "It's deeply personal. The tribes along the way are incredibly welcoming."
His journeys create opportunities to spread the word about Baraga, said Chambers. "He could have had a wonderful, fulfilling life without the hardships of ... the North. And he gave that all up, just to spread the word of God."
The North Shore cross is something of a roadside attraction. Curious travelers who see the Baraga Cross sign and turn off Minnesota Highway 61 find a small wayside rest, with a parking lot and a short path leading to the cross. The cross is featured on Atlas Obscura and Roadside America, which highlight the surprising story behind the priest's "boat miracle."
The story of Baraga's Lake Superior crossing, as explained on a Knights of Columbus plaque, is that the priest and an Ojibwe man named Louis Goudin set out to paddle from the Apostle Islands to the North Shore after "learning of a possible epidemic" in Grand Portage. "An unexpected storm threatened them but their lives were spared when they were blown over the sandbar and into the quiet mouth of the Cross River."
Swalve, who says she's "done a lot of research on Father Baraga," hasn't found any independent evidence to either substantiate or disprove the account of an epidemic. Regardless of the health situation, she pointed out, the journey took place just four years after one of the major treaties ceding Ojibwe land to the U.S. government. According to Chambers and Swalve, Baraga was instrumental in helping Ojibwe communities across the region resist relocation.
"Baraga was also an attorney, so he was familiar with how laws work," said Chambers. "He just dedicated his life, his whole life. The man died absolutely penniless. He gave his last 20 bucks away to a teacher of a school in Marquette."
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The priest lived from 1797 to 1868. His remains are interred in the Baraga Chapel of St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette. The Bishop Baraga Association maintains an educational center and museum in the same city. There's also an annual Baraga Days celebration, and merchandise including a " Venerable Frederic Baraga" T-shirt ($5) with an illustration of snowshoes sticking out of the Upper Peninsula.
Several places are named for Baraga, mostly in Michigan, although there's also a Baraga Street near the Catholic church on Madeline Island. Baraga co-established a mission in Grand Portage in the 1830s; it was that mission he was trying to reach with his fateful canoe trip. The Schroeder cross has become "a pilgrimage destination" for the faithful, said McKeen.
Chambers, meanwhile, is continuing his pilgrimage in motion. "It's so humbling to think that I get just a small fraction of what Baraga actually did," said the man who walks in the steps of the Snowshoe Priest. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/northlandia-snowshoe-priest-crossed-lake-superior-in-canoe-and-may-become-saint | 2023-05-20T12:55:45 | 1 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/northlandia-snowshoe-priest-crossed-lake-superior-in-canoe-and-may-become-saint |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando police on Friday shared a Crimeline flyer offering cash for crucial tips in a man’s shooting death earlier this month.
Calvin “Cojo” Craig was found dead May 3 at 427 McFall Avenue, according to the flyer.
Describing Craig’s death as a murder, the flyer states information leading to an arrest “or substantial assistance pertaining to the crime” would make one eligible for an up-to $5,000 reward, even if anonymous.
Anyone with such information is urged to call Crimeline at 407-423-8477.
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News 6 has reached out to the Orlando Police Department to learn more about the shooting.
If you have any information regarding this murder case, please call Crimeline at (407)423-8477. You can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000. pic.twitter.com/7zaeCCKAI3
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) May 19, 2023
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/20/cash-reward-for-suspect-info-after-man-found-murdered-in-orlando/ | 2023-05-20T13:02:23 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/20/cash-reward-for-suspect-info-after-man-found-murdered-in-orlando/ |
WAYNESBORO, Va. — It might be a good time to smell the flowers.
The peonies have been blooming quickly for over a week and are planted by Jelte Tjalf, a Dutch-born tulip farmer, and his wife, Tip, with the help of some friends. Originally from Holland, Netherlands, Tjalf said his home country is known for tulip flowers and agriculture due to the mild climate. He moved to the Lyndhurst area to work at a nearby tulip farm.
The couple initially created the peony farm to plant wholesale peonies for grocery stores but soon discovered competing with large corporations was too difficult.
“Plus, it’s boring, the wholesale industry,” Tjalf said. “Because you never get to meet your customers, and that’s the great thing about the field.”
Tjalf said he has met customers not only locally, but also internationally.
“It was an eye-opener for us,” Tjalf added. “People really, really enjoy the flowers, so now we get to meet the customers.”
The farm was opened for the first time to the public last May, but it did not gain too much attraction from the little peony signs they put up on the roads. However, once people suggested that Tjalf promote the peony fields via Facebook and Instagram and offer customers a free flower, the fields were flooded with flower pickers during the following days.
“It took off because everybody wanted a free flower,” Tjalf laughed. “So, everybody started sharing, and then, more and more people showed up, and we were surprised. People drove from Virginia Beach, Richmond, Washington D.C. and Roanoke.”
The couple has planted the peonies for over six years. The big flowers grow well with any soil and regular fertilizer, but their root clumps are planted by digging a fairly deep hole in the ground and are covered, then grow over time. The peonies start to bloom with their bulbs during the spring season throughout the summer months, then die off in the fall before regrowing again in the springtime.
In addition to the long rows of peonies, this year, the couple added purple hyacinths shaped into a heart and a sign that reads Love made from daffodils to represent Virginia’s slogan, “Virginia is for Lovers.” The couple also extended their peonies to another acre of land for customers to pick from. Deer and foxes are no concern to the fields, but the growing weeds between the plants are annoying, Tjalf said. To get rid of the weeds, the couple encourages flower pickers to make bouquets out of them to add accents to the flowers.
Tjalf did not expect the farm to succeed quickly and is grateful to open for another year.
“It’s great,” he said. “We’ve received some questions over the last few weeks, and we did not expect it. We had no clue that locally it’s so popular.”
Half of the profits made from the flower-picking will be donated to National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the other half will be used to plant more peonies and other flowers for the next season.
Shenandoah Peonies is open from 3 to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the weekends through May 22. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2023/05/20/exchange-peony-farm/7dc188fc-f70e-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html | 2023-05-20T13:20:41 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2023/05/20/exchange-peony-farm/7dc188fc-f70e-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — When Horatio Sharpe, the colonial governor of Maryland, started work on Whitehall in the 18th century, the story goes that he hoped the palatial villa on the Chesapeake Bay would win his beloved’s heart. Alas, the young woman fell for Sharpe’s friend and personal secretary instead.
Long overshadowed by grander and more accessible cousins such as Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Whitehall could become a main attraction in the proposed Chesapeake National Recreation Area, according to lawmakers and others pushing for the federal designation.
The Annapolis site would offer visitors a jumping-off point to explore the bay’s paradoxical history as the birthplace of American democracy and slavery. The National Register of Historic Places lists it as “a major milestone in American architectural history,” too, because of the scale and quality of a classical design that predated Monticello. Draft legislation would allow the National Park Service to acquire or partner with Whitehall and other designated sites on the bay.
The idea of transforming Whitehall into a national destination also has the blessing of a key individual: Charlie Scarlett, one of the last people to reside there.
Scarlett said he remembers family dinners on the grand portico overlooking the bay, learning to swim with a chunk of a two-by-four as a float, raising a red fox as a pet and living with a portrait of Edgar Allan Poe outside his bedroom.
“This is home for me,” he said during a recent tour. “And I love everything about it.”
His late father, Charles E. Scarlett, Jr., a Baltimore shipping executive with a love for history, bought Whitehall in 1946 and spent more than a decade restoring the structure to its original design, right down to hand-painted wallpaper imported from China. He lived at Whitehall with his wife until their deaths.
Charlie Scarlett, who oversees the family-run Brandywine Foundation that owns the property, is taking steps to open Whitehall to the public. Partly, his motivation is practical: He said the nonprofit organization struggles with the enormous cost of maintaining a nearly 260-year-old building.
But Scarlett, 70, a business executive who lives in St. Louis, said he also believes Whitehall should become more accessible to all Americans, including the many descendants of enslaved people who lived and worked there, because of its historical significance.
If Congress incorporates the bay into the national park system, Scarlett envisions Whitehall becoming a national attraction modeled on the nonprofit-owned Mount Vernon or managed by the National Park Service within a network of landmarks, such as those in San Francisco’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Scarlett has even considered allowing Brandywine to sell his former home to the federal government. The foundation’s most recent publicly available income tax form values the property at $7.8 million.
“You know, if you’d asked me 10 years ago, I would have said, ‘Hell no.’ But that was 10 years ago,” Scarlett said. The manor’s leaking roof — which has caused extensive water damage — alone costs nearly $1 million to repair, he said.
Janice Hayes-Williams, who lives in Severn, Md., and traces her family to Whitehall’s enslaved Africans and enslavers, said the historic site would be an asset to the country in educating people about the enduring impact of slavery. She said her late father dreamed of the day when he and other descendants of its enslaved residents might walk its halls.
“He would say, ‘Baby, whatever you do, go in there because your ancestors built that,’ ” Hayes-Williams recalled. He never got the chance, but when Hayes-Williams visited during an open house about five years ago, she wept. “The slaves are my family members,” she thought.
Unlike Jefferson and others whose homes have become national shrines, Sharpe was a British loyalist. He was born in Yorkshire to a large, prominent family whose connections likely played a role in his appointment as governor by Lord Baltimore, according to a 1937 article in the Maryland Historical Society’s magazine.
Sharpe also had received a captain’s commission in the Royal Marines, rising to lieutenant colonel with an infantry sent to the West Indies — an experience that made him a wise choice to run the colony on the eve of the French and Indian War. He was 35 when he sailed from England, accompanied by his private secretary, the Oxford-educated John Ridout, according to the 1912 book “A Colonial Governor In Maryland,” by Lady Matilda Ridout Edgar.
Legend has it that Sharpe set about building Whitehall in late 1764 to impress Mary Ogle, the daughter of a previous governor, according to a 1951 article by Charles Scarlett Jr. She fell for the younger Ridout, who eventually married her.
Col. Sharpe, as he was known, hired the best architects to build Whitehall and oversaw its construction, using enslaved Africans and indentured European laborers, including a skilled woodcarver who died of tuberculosis before he could earn his freedom.
The building’s design drew on the influential Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, whose clean, simplified neoclassical Roman and Greek styles — distinguished by columns, domes and pediments — became popular in London in the mid-1700s, according to a 1974 report supporting Whitehall’s inclusion in the National Register. The Palladian style also influenced Monticello, the James Semple House in Williamsburg and other colonial homes.
Whitehall was one of only two pre-revolutionary houses in the United States to display a “full temple portico,” using massive Corinthian columns hewed from white cedar, the 1974 report says. (The other was Roger Morris’s mansion on the Harlem River, built in 1765.) The spacious interior also was “extraordinarily rich” with skilled wood carvings, including satyr-like faces in each corner of the central salon to represent the four winds. From atop the great square hall, a phoenix looks down.
“And so evolved in our part of the world a Palladian dwelling which in all probability marked the beginning of the full classic revival in America,” the elder Scarlett wrote. “Taken to heart and fostered by Thomas Jefferson, it was to become the foundation of our national architecture.”
Chesapeake Bay proposal could benefit thousands of Native Americans
Lady Ridout’s book describes Sharpe’s 1,000-acre estate humming with activity, much of it performed by enslaved people, in well-tended gardens, orchards, a sawmill, a brickyard and a workshop that spun cotton, flax and wool.
In 1773, Sharpe sailed for England, expecting to return to Whitehall, though he never did. He entrusted his beloved villa to Ridout, sometimes sending back cuttings for its vineyards or often writing to check up on affairs there, Lady Ridout wrote. In one letter, Sharpe granted Ridout freedom to sell enslaved workers if economically necessary, directing that they go only to purchasers “you are well assured will treat them with Humanity.”
Yet Hayes-Williams spent hours digging through state archives, including correspondence between Ridout and Sharpe discussing her ancestors in the same context as chattel.
“He’s basically saying, ‘Oh, the pigs are fine, the horses are fine, the slaves are fine,’” she recalled.
Upon Sharpe’s death in 1790, Ridout inherited Whitehall, and his heirs held onto it until 1895. After that, the property changed hands several times, including an early-20th-century purchaser who considered offering it as a summer White House for the president. By the time the Scarlett family bought Whitehall, the place was in disrepair.
In recent years, their family foundation has cobbled together a variety of business ventures, including using the now-115-acre site as a wedding venue. It hosts as many as 12 weddings a year for a rental fee of $19,000, part of which is shared with a wedding planner that handles the other arrangements. Other income comes from boarding horses ($500 a head per month) and renting out a small, 17th-century cottage ($500 a night on weekends). But it’s nowhere near enough to cover capital expenses and needs, such as the roof repair.
To defray the cost, Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, both Maryland Democrats, secured $500,000 in fiscal 2023 for Whitehall’s restoration, as part of a $10.2 million package of local investments. The foundation also obtained a $100,000 preservation grant in 2021 from the Maryland Historical Trust, an agency within the state Department of Planning.
The Scarletts’ foundation has applied for inclusion in the agency’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network and explored a future partnership with the National Park Service to open Whitehall to the public.
Charlie Scarlett said possible options include creating a ferry service between Annapolis and Whitehall Creek west of the manor. Visitors probably would board at Burtis House, a former waterman’s home that also is expected to be a focal point in the proposed national recreation area. (Others include Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse and Fort Monroe’s North Beach in Virginia, where ships delivered enslaved Africans in 1619, as pivotal attractions anchoring the new park.)
“I think what makes it interesting from a historian’s perspective is, it’s a place where you can get a close connection to the loyalist story,” said Mary-Angela E. Hardwick, vice president of education and interpretation for Historic Annapolis, a nonprofit organization that operates a museum and colonial houses.
Wendy O’Sullivan, superintendent for the National Park Service’s Chesapeake office, said the Brandywine Foundation has sought recognition as a Gateway site but so far has not qualified because the site is not fully open to the public. She said the Park Service has been consulting with the foundation on how that could happen.
In the meantime, Scarlett said his family tries to accommodate requests for visits on an informal basis, as well as archaeological research, while planning for a future that could allow many more Americans to experience his former home.
“It’s a treasure,” he said. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2023/05/20/exchange-whitehall/817048c6-f70e-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html | 2023-05-20T13:20:47 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2023/05/20/exchange-whitehall/817048c6-f70e-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html |
Derek Roesch of Saybrook was charged Thursday, Nov. 10 in McLean County Law and Justice Center with several counts, including:
-Two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Class 2 felonies
-One count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon while on parole, Class 2 felony
-Two counts of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon, class 2 felonies
-One count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon while on parole, class 2 felony
-Unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver (greater than 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams), a class 1 felony
-Unlawful possession of cannabis (greater than 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams), a class 2 felony
-Unlawful possession of a controlled substance, psylocibin less than 15 grams, a class 4 felony
-Unlawful possession of methamphetamine, less than five grams, a class 3 felony.
-Unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-man-charged-with-meth-possession/article_aeec4f8e-f67d-11ed-b480-3f2d9001031f.html | 2023-05-20T13:30:49 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-man-charged-with-meth-possession/article_aeec4f8e-f67d-11ed-b480-3f2d9001031f.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A 26-year-old Normal man is facing five felony drug charges after being arrested by Illinois State Police.
Barry D. Guyton appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland.
Guyton is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class 2 felony, and two counts of unlawful possession of 15-100 of cocaine with the intent to deliver, with one charged as a Class X felony and the other as a Class 1 felony.
Guyton was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a Class 2 felony.
According to the court documents, ISP said Guyton knowingly sold less than a gram of cocaine to an individual who was a confidential source with ISP Task Force 6 on two separate occasions on Wednesday and Thursday.
His bond was set at $750,000 with 10% to apply. His arraignment hearing was set for 9 a.m. June 9.
Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph
Bryant Lewis
Derek Roesch
Justin M. Mata
Marcus D. Wesley
Phillip Tinch
Trisha L. Hanke
William B. Givens
David L. Oliver
Kenneth E. Funk
Jordan R. King
Holly M. Isaacson
Kenneth L. Minton
Tony L. Jackson
Britley L. Hilger
Jasmine L. Smith
Jackie S. Claypool
Noah R. Demuth
Brandon L. Parsano
Alexander N. Williams
Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano
Jaylin S. Bones
Jordan R. King
Dominique M. Banks
Austin T. Daugherty
Sandra M. Lewis
Samantha E. Morris
Nolan C. Love
Nikkita L. Sandefur
Katlin M.B. Wilson
Eli C. Garozzo
Tysean T. Townsend
Curtis J. Byrd
Noral K. Nelson
Charles J. Tankson
Davis, Micah S
Livingston, Joshua D.
Kevin L. Ewen
Emmanuel K. Mpay
Ahmad S. Manns
Dylan R Mann
Tony L. Jackson
William R. Linden
Zadek U. Moen
Zachary T. Willis
Cecily M. Sexton
Tonisha A. Jackson
James A. McConnaughay
Jessica M. Longberry
Barry D. Guyton
Keon E. Spiller | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/muliple-drug-charges-pending-against-a-normal-man/article_8d57a13e-f682-11ed-9bbe-033f3b350f32.html | 2023-05-20T13:30:55 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/muliple-drug-charges-pending-against-a-normal-man/article_8d57a13e-f682-11ed-9bbe-033f3b350f32.html |
The price tag to reconstruct Memorial Highway in Mandan has nearly doubled from $65 million to $110 million after nearly a year of delays.
The project to upgrade the road better known as The Strip in three phases was first introduced in 2019. The first phase of construction was expected to begin in 2022 with the installation of storm sewers and the relocation of a lift station. A lift station moves wastewater from lower elevations to a higher elevation.
The project in November was pushed back due to stormwater drainage challenges, and a few weeks ago the city again announced that "the start of construction has been pushed back to address (drainage) challenges."
The intersection by McDonald's sees more than 17,000 vehicles pass through every day, making it comparable trafficwise to Mandan's Main Street -- second only to the section of Interstate 94 that runs north of the city center. The 2.4 mile-Memorial Highway stretch saw 164 crashes from 2016-18, according to a study. And turning left onto The Strip from either direction is difficult due to the often-heavy traffic and the need to yield.
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Improving traffic flow is just one of the reasons for the project. Other goals are improving intersection safety, providing safer access to businesses, adding sidewalks or trails, improving drainage and revamping the road surface.
The road is part of the state highway system and has been through several remediation efforts including chip sealing, micro surfacing and asphalt overlays since its construction in 1979. A typical roadway has a 20-year design life, and remedies lose effectiveness after time. The group planning the reconstruction is composed of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, the city of Mandan and consultant HDR Engineering Inc.
"We've got 44-year-old pavement which is well beyond its life," City Engineer Justin Froseth said.
The highway originally designed as a rural road has its water runoff go into a ditch that at times pools and floods parking lots, according to Froseth.
"With very large and complex projects such as this, the planning challenges tend to warrant extensive design and review in order to be confident in any change to the plan," he said in an update letter sent in May.
The increase in price is primarily because of inflation but also due to increased planning and engineering fees. The majority of the project costs will be covered by DOT, but the city is on the hook for the cost of the storm sewer work and 10% of the rest of the project -- roughly $20 million, according to Froseth. Maintenance of the highway will be turned over to the city after the reconstruction is complete.
Froseth told the Tribune that the City Commission will revisit the topic in the coming months to discuss the new price tag and determine a course of action. Construction likely would begin in 2024 if approved.
The highway will remain the same size with two lanes in both directions. The entire stretch will feature a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the south side of the roadway.
The majority of the project will feature a middle two-way left-turn lane with exceptions at intersections on Third Street, East Main Street, 40th Avenue (near Kist Livestock) and 46th Avenue (near Liberty Memorial Bridge).
The intersections at 40th and 46th avenues will feature a raised median, and a lane for cars turning left with a gore and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side of the highway. A gore is a marked space to give separation between lanes.
The intersections at Third Street and East Main Street will be like the aforementioned intersections but without the 6-foot sidewalk on the north side of the highway.
The highway also will feature curb and gutter with improved drainage and modern street lights and traffic signals along its entire length. The power lines on the highway will remain in place.
The city last April installed temporary "span wire" traffic signals at the intersection by McDonald's.
Periodic updates can be found at cityofmandan.com/roadprojects or at https://www.dot.nd.gov/projects/memorialhwy/. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/cost-of-upgrading-the-strip-in-mandan-soars-city-commission-to-revisit-project/article_60154628-f03c-11ed-9249-37b93098ff39.html | 2023-05-20T13:34:22 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/cost-of-upgrading-the-strip-in-mandan-soars-city-commission-to-revisit-project/article_60154628-f03c-11ed-9249-37b93098ff39.html |
Two people are recovering in a hospital after a shooting early today at a Mexican restaurant in Fort Wayne.
Police said witnesses reported gunfire at Las Lomas, 2202 Fairfield Ave., about 2:15 a.m. Officers headed to the scene spotted a vehicle speeding away from the business and immediately followed.
The driver stopped at a hospital with a male victim who police said suffered life-threatening injuries from the shooting.
Officers also said a man at Las Lomas was taken to a hospital suffering from at least gunshot wound.
Police did not provide the condition of the second victim and the shooting remains under investigation. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/two-hurt-in-fort-wayne-restaurant-shooting/article_8ad81f48-f6fe-11ed-b9a2-b7dab93664f2.html | 2023-05-20T13:35:42 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/two-hurt-in-fort-wayne-restaurant-shooting/article_8ad81f48-f6fe-11ed-b9a2-b7dab93664f2.html |
GARY — During a public hearing last year, environmentalists from across the Region spoke against a Maya Energy LLC solid-waste plant looking to locate in the Glen Park neighborhood.
"If these industries are allowed in Gary, the message continues to be: You are Black, you are brown, you are poor, you are a sacrifice zone," Susan Thomas said during the March 2022 forum, which was organized by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to discuss Maya Energy's request to renew its air permit.
"How much more can one community bear?" Thomas, who serves as the legislative coordinator for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, asked.
How much more can Gary bear? That question is at the center of a civil rights complaint filed against the IDEM after the agency decided to renew Maya Energy's air permit.
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The complaint was initially filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance by the environmental nonprofit Gary Advocates for Responsible Development. GARD refiled the complaint Monday, this time with representation from the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
The complaint says IDEM's renewal violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because the agency refused "to consider and address the disparate discriminatory adverse effects of its decision to renew the federally enforceable state operating permit for Maya Energy."
According to Maya Energy's air permit, the facility at 2727 W. 35th Ave. will accept and process municipal waste and construction and demolition debris. The site is across the street from the Steel City Academy charter school.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. GARD and ELPC say Maya would add to the already-high level of industrial pollution in north Lake County, which has a large number of African American and Hispanic/Latino residents.
“Gary and neighboring north Lake County communities have served as a ‘sacrifice zone’ and a dumping ground for far too long,” GARD member Kimmie Gordon said in a news release. “We are a largely minority community and one of the most polluted areas in the country."
The complaint asks the EPA to make IDEM revoke Maya's permit until a cumulative impact analysis is conducted and to require IDEM create a "non-discrimination policy" that evaluates how permitting decisions could affect communities of color.
“It is no small coincidence that Gary is a predominantly non-white city and is home to the largest concentration of industrial pollution in the state,” said Mike Zoeller, a senior attorney with ELPC. “While IDEM may not have intended to create the disproportionate amount of industry and resulting pollution in Gary, the Civil Rights Act requires the state agency to consider the discriminatory effects of its permitting decisions to avoid the kind of disparities that exist today.”
Of the 17 solid-waste facilities in Lake County, 11 are in census tracts with more than 80% non-white populations. Much of Gary, a city that is 78% African American, is in the 95th national percentile for various kinds of air pollution and proximity to superfund sites and traffic.
GARD's complaint says environmental justice issues in the Region are "undeniable."
“IDEM’s blind approval of permits for industrial facilities in northern Lake County has resulted in the proliferation of stationary sources of air pollution as well as the disproportionate volume of air pollution emitted into communities of color," the complaint says.
According to the EPA's Environmental Justice Screen tool, more than 95,000 people of color live within a five-mile radius of the facility, making up 63% of the total population.
In their final permitting decision, IDEM responded to environmental justice concerns by saying the agency "has no authority to create any permit limits or measures that exceed what is legally required for a regulated source."
"IDEM, (Office of Air Quality) cannot resolve the historical issues that led to the development of the area through an individual permitting decision."
However, GARD, ELPC and Mayor Jerome Prince's administration all agree that resolving the city's historical pollution issues has to start with tightening environmental standards.
After IDEM approved Maya's permit renewal, the city of Gary and GARD President Dorreen Carey filed Petitions for Administrative Review of the renewal. The petitions were filed with the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication, which acts as the ultimate authority to review IDEM decisions. The OEA dismissed both petitions March 15.
The city has taken the issue to court, filing a petition for Judicial Review of the OEA's Final Order. It says Gary "has been the victim of environmental racism by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for decades."
The petition, filed April 14 in Lake Superior Court, is pending.
The Gary Common Council passed a resolution Tuesday supporting the city's petition, although Councilmen Ron Brewer, D-at large, Dwight Williams, D-6th, and Darren Washington, D-at large, abstained from voting.
Brewer said he still has a lot of questions about the Maya project and would like to "hear both sides" before making a decision.
The EPA's Office of External Civil Rights Compliance will review GARD's complaint and decide whether to reject or accept it. If accepted, the EPA will open an investigation and preliminary findings will be issued within 180 days.
“I’m glad we’ve had the opportunity to come together as a city and realize this was a mistake," GARD member Jennifer Rudderham said during the Tuesday council meeting. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/gary-environmental-group-files-epa-civil-rights-complaint-over-maya-energy-air-permit-renewal/article_1b49761e-f5a9-11ed-9505-b7dea6f84a3e.html | 2023-05-20T13:42:39 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/gary-environmental-group-files-epa-civil-rights-complaint-over-maya-energy-air-permit-renewal/article_1b49761e-f5a9-11ed-9505-b7dea6f84a3e.html |
SAN ANTONIO — One person has been sent to the hospital after being hit seven times by a shooter on the northwest side early Saturday morning, according to San Antonio Police.
The incident occurred at the 10400 block of Shaenfield around 12:53 a.m. Saturday.
Police say an unknown male began shooting towards a group of people at a pool area as the shooter was located outside the pool area and fence.
A 20-year-old was hit seven times in the torso and taken to a local hospital in critical condition, according to SAPD.
Another person was grazed by one of the bullets and treated on the scene.
No injuries were reported and the investigation is ongoing.
This is a developing story. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/person-shot-pool-san-antonio/273-f63262d3-7566-4f26-9a1d-ea7de3a67b93 | 2023-05-20T14:00:43 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/person-shot-pool-san-antonio/273-f63262d3-7566-4f26-9a1d-ea7de3a67b93 |
Average daily flows
Snake River at Jackson 273 cfs
Snake River at Palisades 8,883 cfs
Snake River at Heise 12,180 cfs
Snake River at Blackfoot 8,455 cfs
Snake River at American Falls 8,497 cfs
Snake River at Milner 0 cfs
Little Wood River near Carey 892 cfs
Jackson Lake is 41% full.
Palisades Reservoir is 63% full.
American Falls Reservoir is 85% full.
Upper Snake River system is at 70% of capacity.
As of May 19 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/average-daily-streamflows-copy/article_a3b30914-f678-11ed-9191-23ae5b37f3f6.html | 2023-05-20T14:17:10 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/average-daily-streamflows-copy/article_a3b30914-f678-11ed-9191-23ae5b37f3f6.html |
Kali Avery loves playing the title character in “Charlotte’s Web.”
But that doesn’t mean she’s now a fan of arachnids.
“My fear of spiders in real life is absolutely off the charts,” she said. “If I see a spider in my bedroom, I simply will not sleep in there.
“I would like to say my role changed the way I see spiders in general, but it would not be true. I have a deep amount of respect for them and their work, but I still would like some distance — respectfully, of course.”
Avery, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, was attracted to this role in the Lakeside Players production due to her love of the classic tale.
“I read the story as a child multiple times,” she said. “I owe it to my mother for having it available for me, as it was one of her favorite stories when she was younger.”
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She also appreciates playing a familiar role.
“As someone who is at the beginning of her acting career,” Avery said, “I figured it would be easier for me to start with a story I grew up reading as a kid. I’ve loved ‘Charlotte’s Web’ for as long as I can remember.”
E.B. White’s children’s book, first published in 1952 and still popular today, follows the unlikely friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur. She’s a spider living in a barn. He’s a pig at the farm.
When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered, Charlotte writes messages in her web praising him, to persuade the farmer to let the now-famous pig live.
Avery also worked on giving Charlotte more of a backstory than appears in the novel.
“I was able to work on finding out who this spider really was, outside of the storyline of the play: What she did in her free time, what she was doing before Wilbur arrived, the types of relationships she had with the other animals in the barn,” she said.
Focus on friendship
Working with Jordan Lynn, who plays Wilbur, Avery “built the chemistry between Charlotte and Wilbur over time. It was really important that we both understood the comfort and closeness of their friendship, and I am really happy with the results.”
Avery credits Lynn “for being such an excellent Wilbur and for letting our friendship create the perfect chemistry in our story” — a sentiment shared by Chris Brouton, the show’s director.
“The best thing about this production,” he said, “is that we have all generations represented in our cast. There are people ranging in age from 7 to 70, and all the generations have a significant part in the show.”
The 35-member cast also features “a lot of families who are working together in the show,” Brouton added.
This is not Brouton’s first involvement with “Charlotte’s Web,” a story he’s “always loved. I was in a production in college, and I co-directed the show here in 2015 with my wife, Julie.”
This time, Brouton is assisted in directing by Jacob Machado, with Becky Kafka as stage manager.
The well-loved story, Brouton said, “gives all the characters the chance to change. Wilbur starts out as a baby and grows up during the show, and other characters change, too.”
Looking the part
The actors portray animals “through costuming, but nothing too over the top,” Brouton said.
For her stab at playing a spider, Avery finds “creating this character through costume is probably my favorite part. Having eight arms is definitely neat. In terms of makeup, I do a normal humanoid look, but with dark eye shadow and red lips. Charlotte, to me, is someone who would have a sort of formal style.”
“I also give her some physical choices,” she added, “such as how bubbly she is to Wilbur, how she writes in her web, and of course the way she would scurry away if a human were to appear in the barn. As sleek and formal as I like her to look, Charlotte’s personality is bright and fun.”
The focus on kinship is a huge reason why this story remains timeless, Avery said.
“A pig and a spider being friends? It’s strange, but this particular friendship is very special due to Charlotte and Wilbur’s abilities to love their differences,” she said. “Their personalities are similar, but they have different life experiences. This gives them opportunities to learn from each other, and I think their fascination with one another initially derived from this. Over time, of course, their friendship formed the closest bond they will ever know.
“I think it is something we can all learn from. This story is a beautiful one that I hope is still shared with children now.”
Lakeside Players is closing its season with this show, offering audience members “a chance to squeeze in some theater before Memorial Day,” Brouton said.
Even people who know the story “will get choked up a bit,” he added. “You see the circle of life in this show, and it’s really touching.”
What you’ll also see?
“I think audience members will find all the children to be adorable,” Avery said. “The costumes definitely help. I also believe the closeness within our cast and crew makes this show even more special.” | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/charlottes-web-on-stage-at-kenoshas-rhode-center-for-the-arts/article_5bb876b2-f5c4-11ed-bcf4-f78cf8e585b7.html | 2023-05-20T14:23:38 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/charlottes-web-on-stage-at-kenoshas-rhode-center-for-the-arts/article_5bb876b2-f5c4-11ed-bcf4-f78cf8e585b7.html |
Name: Alex Gotz
School: Tremper High School
Parents: Courtney and Traci Gotz
Most memorable high school moment: Playing for Tremper Soccer.
Most influential teacher: Julie Chase in Spanish; She made learning Spanish lots of fun and helped me be able to communicate in the language effectively.
School activities/clubs: Link Crew, National Honor Society
School athletics: Basketball, soccer
Out-of-school activities/hobbies: FC 1974 Soccer, Coaching basketball at the Boys and Girls Club, refereeing soccer
College choice: UW-Whitewater
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Intended major/field of study: Business
Role model: My father
Three words that best describe my role model: Kind, determined, and humble
What I hope to accomplish in my lifetime: I want to earn a college degree and support my own family. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-2023-alex-gotz-of-tremper-high-school/article_e2ba1e2e-f5b8-11ed-a0ba-4fabeb3cafae.html | 2023-05-20T14:23:51 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-2023-alex-gotz-of-tremper-high-school/article_e2ba1e2e-f5b8-11ed-a0ba-4fabeb3cafae.html |
25 years later: Healing from the Thurston High shooting
Content warning: This article discusses gun violence and the Thurston High shooting of 1998, which may be triggering for some readers.
"May we all understand the life-changing impact of violence."
This quote is etched into the stone at Springfield's Thurston High memorial, which marks the tragedy that occurred at the school exactly 25 years ago.
On that day, 25 students were injured and two students lost their lives during one of the largest mass school shootings in modern history. The shooting came almost a year before the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado that left 15 dead and 24 wounded.
The memorial honors Mikael Nickolauson and Benjamin Walker, who were killed at the school on Thursday, May 21, 1998.
At the time, the shooting shocked the nation and spurred demands for action surrounding guns and youth mental health that have become increasingly frequent in recent years following each subsequent school shooting.
But as the nation moved on to the horrors of Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Umpqua Community College, Parkland, and Uvalde's Robb Elementary, many in the Springfield community have struggled to heal, especially those directly affected.
More:Remembering the victims of the May 1998 Thurston shooting
James Ready, now 41, was a junior at Thurston in 1998.
He was in a wheelchair, having broken his leg the month before. He lived across the street from the school, and wheeled himself there that morning. He remembered skipping the cafeteria that morning, anticipating seeing his friends at lunch.
Ready went into the band room instead. He remembered greeting his friend Nickolauson, who would be killed later that day.
Grace Sanders, now 42, went to the cafeteria where she sat with her friend at one of the lunch tables.
Both Ready and Sanders recalled hearing gunshots and thinking they were fireworks. Student government campaigns were in full swing, and they thought it had something to do with that.
At the time, they had heard about a handful of school shootings, but this was years before active shooter drills and school lockdowns became routine.
When Ready went to look outside the band room to see what was going on, a crowd surged past, bending the door off its hinges. He remembers a bullet whizzing past his head just as a friend pulled him back through the doorway in his wheelchair.
He saw several students shot in the hallway, including Walker.
In the cafeteria, where much of the violence would occur, Sanders remembers everyone ducking under lunch tables, which provided little shelter. She remembers being frozen, like a deer in headlights.
She remembers the gun being pointed toward her.
"I looked, and he aimed the gun at me, and it clicked. He ran out of bullets," Sanders said.
The perpetrator, Kipland Kinkel, had been suspended pending an expulsion hearing for being in possession of a loaded, stolen handgun. He killed his parents, Bill and Faith, who were both teachers, at their home the day before returning to school with a rifle and two pistols.
Seeking release:25 years after Thurston High shootings, Kip Kinkel and attorneys file new petitions
Most of the students were shot in the cafeteria before injured student Jacob Ryker and several other students tackled Kinkel while he tried to reload and held him until police arrived.
Kinkel is currently serving a 112-year prison sentence.
Healing and facing the trauma
In the days and weeks that followed the shooting, Ready described school as almost pointless. He found it hard to motivate himself to get to school. Schoolwork was minimal. There was little time left until the end of the school year. The school parking lot was crawling with news media. Counselors were on call as needed.
Sanders remembers meeting with counselors, trying to cope with what she witnessed that day.
Ready said he tried to ignore the trauma at first.
"It's not that I didn't have people to talk to. I just had no idea how to process, and I just didn't really want to acknowledge it, because acknowledgment meant I would have to essentially relive it," Ready said. "In that first five years, if I were to retell it, I would be experiencing it on an emotional level. And so I just chose to ignore it. Obviously, my parents were concerned, and even my friends would definitely make sure that I was okay. But in terms of seeking help, I just chose not to."
Eventually, while attending the University of Oregon, Ready began attending free on-campus counseling services. He said group and individual counseling helped him get to a point where he no longer feels emotionally destabilized by remembering what happened.
Ready has also been able to talk with friends about his trauma, saying those who share similar experiences are easier to relate to.
He remembers every detail about that day, except for a moment after the shooting when he wheeled by the cafeteria. He knows he looked inside and was frozen there, but still cannot remember what he saw. He assumes this was an automatic trauma response that blocked the image from his memory.
"The following couple of years, it's just like, how does somebody go back to normal? What is normal after something like that?" Ready said. "Of course, sadly, nowadays that is the normal."
Ready said hearing about gun violence can still bring up bad memories, but the Columbine shooting a year later was especially hard.
Sanders also said she struggles every time there's another school shooting, with some making a bigger impact than others.
"I still get triggered," she said. "That doesn't really go away. With the shootings that have been happening lately, it's been tough because I was hoping there would be some, like, last event. It seems like that's not the case."
According to research by the Washington Post, there have been 380 school shootings since 1999. Since Columbine, more than 352,000 students have experienced gun violence at school.
Even now, although Ready is no longer in regular counseling, he still notices himself keeping a smaller friend circle, avoiding getting too close to others.
Ready said he was fairly close with Nickolauson. He said Nickolauson was the one who first introduced him to eating ranch on pizza. They were in a group that would play fantasy role-playing games together after school. They had known each other since middle school.
"To an extent, I just stopped making friends because I didn't want to lose anyone," Ready said. "I'm definitely friendly to even people I haven't met before. It's just, sometimes I'll catch myself realizing that I do have a very small group of friends, and I wonder if that's technically on purpose or a little bit of a defense mechanism."
Mental health now
Mental health resources have changed across the country since the turn of the century; this is also true for Springfield Public Schools.
Dr. Brian Megert, special programs director for Springfield, said expectations have changed significantly for what role the schools play in providing mental health resources.
Teachers and staff now receive training to ensure instruction and interactions are culturally responsive and trauma-informed with a focus on restorative practices. There is generally an emphasis on supports and interventions to help students in need, as opposed to enforcing punitive action.
In addition to the district's six registered nurses, dozen psychologists, and middle and high school counselors, Springfield works with many community partners that offer extra resources. Several offer therapy services at school, including HOOTS, through White Bird Clinic, which visits high schools four times a month.
"There was more and more requests for mental health services in our school system," Megert said. "And I think what we've realized over time is that we would never really be able to get up to the level of capacity with internal staff, which is why we turn to our community partners."
This trend toward mental health resources is not attributed to gun violence, but interventions and methods have been developed in recent years to try to prevent threats in the school setting.
Megert said Springfield uses Lightspeed Alert, a school violence prevention software that flags any harmful language such as threats in district-affiliated email accounts. District staff then look at the language, and talk with parents if they believe intervention is needed.
"We have a variety of ways to keep an eye on our kids, and a variety of services that we can provide if we see any issues around behavioral safety," Megert said.
Megert said parents and students can reach out to their school administration if they're seeking mental health resources. He said for any students that may not be able to pay for mental health services, Springfield offers funding to cover services through their community partners.
How do we remember and honor?
The public memorial just outside of Thurston High's gates was unveiled five years after the shooting, in 2003. It features a mosaic wall and an engraved stone dedicated to Nickolauson and Walker, as well as all those who have experienced gun violence. In the past, community members have left flowers and notes at the site.
Nowadays, Thurston students who were born years after the shooting hang out in the area during lunch and before and after school. It offers a shady place to rest as well as a place to remember the tragedy.
When asked how the community should best remember the Thurston shooting, Ready said he didn't have a real answer.
"In terms of like a communal, collective standpoint, do we still mention it 25 years later? How many people have moved away? How many people now have families? How many people, especially in this day and age, have children in that same (age) group by now?" Ready asked. "Obviously, you shouldn't not mention it, because it affected people, and especially now that it's happening way too often."
Ready doesn't plan on attending any memorial events.
"I'm trying to move on as much as I can, but I would never in a million years judge people who did go," Ready said. "Everybody deals with things in their own way."
Thurston High has no coordinated memorials or vigils planned. There have been community-organized remembrance events in the past, but the Register-Guard was unable to find any announcements for anything public to mark 25 years since the shooting.
Sanders said this was disappointing. She said she attended the candlelight vigil held at a park near Thurston on the 20th anniversary.
Sanders said she wishes there was some sort of vigil or memorial to attend.
"I think that's important to remember that at one point in time, we had something horrific happen, but the community came close together and supported one another," Sanders said.
Mental health resources
- Whitebird Crisis Service Center: 541-687-4000 or 1-800-422-7558
- Eugene Crime Victim and Survivor Services: 541-682-8432
- Willamette Valley Counseling: 541-636-0885
- Lane County Victim Services: 541- 682-4523 or lanecounty.org/government/county_departments/district_attorney_s_office/victim_services_program
- Portland Office of Violence Prevention: portland.gov/community-safety/oyvp/programs-services
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 988
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr | https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/25-years-thurston-high-school-mass-shooting-springfield-mikael-nickolauson-benjamin-walker-kinkel/70232948007/ | 2023-05-20T14:26:57 | 0 | https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/25-years-thurston-high-school-mass-shooting-springfield-mikael-nickolauson-benjamin-walker-kinkel/70232948007/ |
BLOOMINGTON — An Indiana restauranteur is in the final stages of acquiring the property at 704 McGregor St., which was home to Ozark House restaurant for the last 34 years, and reopening as a new Bloomington dining establishment.
Mark Henrichs, owner of Revery in Greenwood, Indiana, which offers a diverse menu inspired by various cultures, said when the Ozark House came up for sale earlier this year, he was approached by several Bloomington-Normal locals about filling the space.
But by the time he started to consider it, Henrichs said the property already was under contract.
Chef Nicholas Birky had been in the process of acquiring the Ozark House property and secured the proper rezoning that would allow the building to continue to operate as a restaurant.
However, Birky had said some unexpected expenses forced him to find a new location for his restaurant. He eventually settled on the space previously occupied by Pokeworks on Airport Road for his new restaurant, which will be known as Eatery at Crafted and will specialize in breakfast sandwiches.
"When that fell through, the real estate agent called and we started negotiations," Henrichs said.
Henrichs added that he is still waiting to receive the closing documents before the property is officially signed over to him. However, there are several areas, including the bathrooms and roof, that need to be brought up to code to make the building as safe as possible.
Henrichs, who attended University High School in Normal, said he knows he had big shoes to fill following the 50-year run of Ozark House, 30 of which were spent on McGregor Street. And although he wants to preserve remnants of Ozark House's design and menu, Henrichs said he also is excited to bring Revery's food and cocktail menu to Bloomington.
"We want to start fresh with an all-new professional chefs kitchen," Henrichs said. "This will give us a good start to try and beat the 30-year run."
He said he anticipates that about 75% of Revery's menu will be featured at the Bloomington location, but he will bring back specialty items from Ozark House, including items cooked on the smoker.
Henrichs noted all other equipment will be up for sale, and he intends to post items on social media once they become available after renovations.
The tentative plan is to open the restaurant by September, he said.
Eats of the Week: See the latest coverage of Bloomington-Normal restaurants
DR McKay's Bar & Grill, 909 N. Hershey Road in Bloomington, is this week's pick for Eats of the Week.
Bloomin Cafe celebrates its one-year anniversary in Normal this weekend. Learn more about this family-owned brunch spot in the latest Eats of the Week.
Bakery and Pickle is this week's pick for Eats of the Week. Learn more about downtown Bloomington's speakeasy:
Cookies & Cupcake by Design, 1520 E. College Ave. Suite F in Normal, is this week's pick for Eats of the Week.
The Longbranch Again, 102 Garfield Ave. in Cooksville, is this week's pick for Eats of the Week.
Epiphany Farms Restaurant, 220 E. Front St. in Bloomington, is this week's pick for Eats of the Week. | https://pantagraph.com/business/local/indiana-man-to-open-new-eatery-in-bloomingtons-former-ozark-house/article_1d90f70e-f689-11ed-bb12-4bad63e3153a.html | 2023-05-20T14:31:40 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/business/local/indiana-man-to-open-new-eatery-in-bloomingtons-former-ozark-house/article_1d90f70e-f689-11ed-bb12-4bad63e3153a.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A 22-year-old Bloomington man, who was found guilty in a jury trial Wednesday, was charged with attempting to escape custody after a verdict was reached.
Keon E. Spiller appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland and was charged with attempted escape, a Class 3 felony.
Keon E. Spiller
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Spiller was in court Wednesday for a jury trial on a previous case in which he was charged with unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, and manufacture or delivery of between 30 and 500 grams of cannabis.
Judge William Yoder presided on the case Wednesday and Spiller was found guilty on both possession charges.
According to court documents, Spiller is accused of attempting to escape by running from a McLean County sheriff's deputy. He was apprehended shortly after.
Spiller's bond was set at $100,000 with 10% to apply. His arraignment for the escape was set for 9 a.m. June 9.
For the possession charges, his sentencing hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. July 18.
After an introduction held at the Grand Theatre Lumière on Thursday, the Indiana Jones star was announced as a surprise recipient of the festival's honorary Palme d'Or award.
Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph
Bryant Lewis
Bryan Lewis, 28, of Bloomington, is charged with home invasion causing injury, a Class X felony. His next appearance is Dec. 30.
Connor Wood
Derek Roesch
Derek Roesch of Saybrook was charged Thursday, Nov. 10 in McLean County Law and Justice Center with several counts, including:
-Two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Class 2 felonies
-One count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon while on parole, Class 2 felony
-Two counts of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon, class 2 felonies
-One count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon while on parole, class 2 felony
-Unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver (greater than 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams), a class 1 felony
-Unlawful possession of cannabis (greater than 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams), a class 2 felony
-Unlawful possession of a controlled substance, psylocibin less than 15 grams, a class 4 felony
-Unlawful possession of methamphetamine, less than five grams, a class 3 felony.
-Unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor
Justin M. Mata
Justin M. Mata, 28, no address given, is charged with possession of less than five grams of meth with intent to deliver, a Class 2 felony, and possession of less than five grams of meth, a Class 3 felony. He was released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond and his next appearance is Dec. 30.
Connor Wood
Marcus D. Wesley
Marcus D. Wesley, 36, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in a vehicle (Class 4 felony), unlawful possession of cannabis (Class 3 felony) and unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Phillip Tinch
Phillip Tinch of Normal was charged Thursday, Nov. 10 at the McLean County Law and Justice Center with several felonies including:
- Five counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, more than one but less than 15 grams of a substance containing cocaine, a Class 1 felony.
-One count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, less than one gram of a substance containing cocaine, a Class 2 felony.
Trisha L. Hanke
Trisha L. Hanke, 36, is charged with theft of over $10,000 (Class 2 felony). Court documents indicate she knowingly took $14,000 belonging to a Love's Travel Stop, in LeRoy, where she was employed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
William B. Givens
William B. Givens, 49, no address given, is charged with unlawful possession of five to 15 grams of meth with intent to deliver, a Class 1 felony, possession of less than five grams of meth with intent to deliver, a Class 2 felony, possession of five to 15 grams of meth, a Class 2 felony, and possession of less than five grams of meth, a Class 3 felony. His next appearance is Dec. 30.
Connor Wood
David L. Oliver
David L. Oliver, 51, of Bloomington, is charged with predatory criminal sexual assault.
Kenneth E. Funk
Kenneth E. Funk, 27, is charged with residential burglary (Class 1 felony) involving an apartment in Lexington on Dec. 31, 2022.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jordan R. King
Charges have been filed against Jordan R. King, 34, for violation of the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Holly M. Isaacson
Holly M. Isaacson, 36, is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance containing cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kenneth L. Minton
Kenneth L. Minton, 51, is charged with aggravated home repair fraud (Class 2 felony) and theft (Class 3 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tony L. Jackson
Tony L. Jackson, 50, is charged for violation of the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Britley L. Hilger
Britley L. Hilger, 32, is charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony) after she supposedly punched a McLean County Detention Facility officer in the chest.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jasmine L. Smith
Jasmine L. Smith, 31, is charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol (Class 2 felony) and five counts of endangering the life or health of a child (Class A misdemeanors).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jackie S. Claypool
Jackie S. Claypool, 46, appeared for a Friday bond court hearing for two new cases which charged her for one count of burglary (Class 2 felony), four counts of forgery (Class 3) and one count of deceptive practices (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Noah R. Demuth
Noah R. Demuth, 22, of Evanston, is charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer, a Class 2 felony, aggravated battery in a public way, a Class 3 felony, mob action, a Class 4 felony, and obstructing a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor. His next court date is Feb. 17.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brandon L. Parsano
Brandon L. Parsano, 39, is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class 2 felony. His next appearance is Feb. 17 for an arraignment.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Alexander N. Williams
Alexander N. Williams, 24, was charged Feb. 2 with the following:
3 counts of unlawful delivery of cannabis between 30 and 500 grams - Class 3 felonies. 2 counts of armed violence - Class X felonies. 1 count of unlawful possession of cannabis between 2,000 and 5,000 grams with the intent to sell - a Class 1 felony. 1 count of unlawful possession of cannabis between 500 and 2,000 grams with the intent to sell - a Class 2 felony. 3 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon - Class 3 felonies. 1 count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon - a Class 3 felony 3 counts of violating the Illinois FOID act - Class 3 felonies.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano
Carlos H. Sanchez-Solozarzano, 22, was charged with 1 count of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jaylin S. Bones
Jaylin S. Bones was charged with four counts of first-degree murder stemming from a homicide in Bloomington last year. A McLean County grand jury also returned a bill of indictment charging him with attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm (Class X felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jordan R. King
Jordan R. King, 34, was charged with violating the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act (Class 2 felony) a second time in under a month.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dominique M. Banks
Dominique M. Banks, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery involving strangulation (Class 2 felony). The incident happened in October 2022 and involved one victim.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Austin T. Daugherty
Austin T. Daugherty, 29, was charged with burglary (Class 2 felony) after he entered an Avis Car Rental, 3201 Cira Drive, in Bloomington, without permission and with the intent to commit theft.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Sandra M. Lewis
Sandra M. Lewis, 77, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance containing MDMB-4E-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, with the intent to deliver (Class X felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Samantha E. Morris
Samantha E. Morris, 40, is charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer (Class 2 felony) after supposedly spitting on a Colfax police officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Nolan C. Love
Nolan C. Love, 46, appeared in court Friday for a bond review hearing after being charged with aggravated domestic battery involving strangulation (Class 2 felony) on Feb. 26.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Nikkita L. Sandefur
Nikkita L. Sandefur, 36, is charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 2 felony) containing cocaine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Katlin M.B. Wilson
Katlin M.B. Wilson, 32, is charged with aggravated identity theft (Class 2 felony) after being accused of fraudulently obtaining money exceeding $300 but not exceeding $10,000 from a 60 year old man.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Eli C. Garozzo
Eli C. Garozzo, 20, is charged with two counts of home invasion, a Class X felony, two counts of attempted armed robbery, a Class 1 felony, and two counts of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. His bond was set at $200,000 as a 10% bond, meaning he must pay $20,000 plus fees to be released. His next appearance is an arraignment on April 13.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tysean T. Townsend
Tysean T. Townsend, 35, is charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle (Class 2 felony), three counts of child abduction, aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer and obstructing justice (Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Curtis J. Byrd
Curtis J. Byrd, 31, is charged with two counts of burglary (Class 2 felony), two counts of fraud and two counts of financial institution fraud (Class 3 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Noral K. Nelson
Noral K. Nelson, 31, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm (Class 4 felony) after he was arrested in connection to a shooting along the 1500 block of S. Main Street.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Charles J. Tankson
Charles J. Tankson, 23, was charged with burglary (Class 2 felony), theft and two counts of unlawful use of a debit card (Class 3 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Davis, Micah S
Davis was charged with 3 counts of arson, Class 2 felonies, and 3 counts of criminal damage to property, Class 4 felonies.
His next court date is May 5 at 9 a.m.
PROVIDED BY THE MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Livingston, Joshua D.
Livingston was charged with 2 counts of possessing stolen vehicles, Class 2 felonies, possession of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony, and criminal damage to government property, a Class 4 felony.
His next court date is May 5 at 9 a.m.
PROVIDED BY THE MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kevin L. Ewen
Kevin L. Ewen, 42, appeared in a Thursday bond court hearing and was charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony), obstructing a peace officer (Class 4 felony) and two counts of resisting a peace officer (Class A misdemeanor).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Emmanuel K. Mpay
Emmanuel K. Mpay, 23, appeared in a Thursday bond court hearing following a grand jury indictment for two counts of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Ahmad S. Manns
Ahmad S. Manns, 19, appeared in a Friday bond court hearing and was charged with cannabis trafficking (Class X felony), unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) and unlawful possession of cannabis (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dylan R Mann
Dylan R Mann, 31, appeared Friday in bond court following four grand jury indictments for two separate cases relating to aggravated assault and battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tony L. Jackson
Tony L. Jackson, 50, was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle (Class 2 felony), domestic battery, violation of an order of protection and driving while license revoked or suspended (Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
William R. Linden
William R. Linden, 79, was released Tuesday on felony burglary charges for trying to pass a forged check at Busey Bank.
Zadek U. Moen
Zadek U. Moen, 20, is facing six felony drug charges after being arrested by the Illinois State Police on Thursday.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Zachary T. Willis
Zachary T. Willis, 27, is charged with aggravated domestic battery by strangulation (Class 2 felony) and domestic battery subsequent offense (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Cecily M. Sexton
Cecily M. Sexton, 39, was charged with two counts of burglary, a Class 2 felony; one count of forgery, a Class 3 felony; financial institution fraud, a Class 3 felony, and possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tonisha A. Jackson
Tonisha A. Jackson, 27, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
James A. McConnaughay
James A. McConnaughay, 53, appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland. McConnaughay is charged with unlawful possession of 5-15 grams of methamphetamine (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jessica M. Longberry
Jessica M. Longberry, 38, appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland. Longberry is charged with burglary (Class 2 felony) and forgery (Class 3 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Barry D. Guyton
Barry D. Guyton, 26, was charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon (Class 2 felonies) two counts of unlawful possession of 15-100 of cocaine with the intent to deliver with one being a Class X felony and the other being a Class 1 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Keon E. Spiller
Keon E. Spiller, 22, appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland and was charged with attempted escape after his jury trial reached a verdict.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Contact Mateusz Janik at (309) 820-3234. Follow Mateusz on Twitter:@mjanik99
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Fond du Lac woman $50K richer after winning Agnesian Samaritan Cash Raffle: Weekly dose
More than 4,000 tickets were sold in this year's raffle, raising approximately $120,000.
FOND DU LAC - Ellen Kant, a Fond du Lac resident, was the grand-prize winner of the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation’s Samaritan Cash Raffle, being randomly drawn for the $50,000 cash prize.
More than 4,000 tickets were sold in this year’s raffle with the cash raffle raising approximately $120,000. All money raised by the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation stays local and supports the Fond du Lac community.
Other prize winners include second prize of $10,000, Sandra Fryda, Fond du Lac; and third prize of $5,000, Wayne Sobotta, Fond du Lac.
There were also several winners of $2,500, $1,000 and $500 prizes.
Welcome to your weekly dose.
Here is more news from throughout Fond du Lac County in your weekly dose.
▶ Audubon members lead Tuesday evening walks: Fond du Lac Audubon Society will explore trails and yards during Tuesday Evening Summer Walks.
Walks begin at 6:30 p.m. and participants should wear good walking shoes and take insect repellent and binoculars. All are welcome.
The June schedule follows:
The June 6 walk will be Oakfield Ledge and Trail Marker Tree. Karl McCarty will lead the walk. Meet in the small parking lot on County Y, just south of the water tower.
Diana Beck will lead the June 13 walk at Kiekhaefer Park, W4235 Kiekhaefer Parkway
Explore Lakeside Park West on June 20 with Diana Beck. Meet by the dog park.
On June 27, Evelyn McLean-Cowan will lead the group through Greenway Arboretum. Meet at the west side of the parking lot at the south Pick ’n Save store, 55 W. Pioneer Road.
For more about the summer walks, contact dianahbeck@gmail.com or 920-922-7931.
▶ Lomira High seniors awarded Kondex scholarships: Annually, Kondex awards five $400 scholarships to graduating seniors of Lomira High School.
The recipients are chosen based on their academics, future field of study, career goals, as well as participation in extracurricular clubs such as 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Future Business Leaders of America, and National Honor Society.
The 2023 recipients are Emma Doyle, Aidan Keiler, Oscar Lopez, Talan Luedtke and Isaac Wolf.
Doyle plans to attend UW-Oshkosh to pursue marketing. Throughout high school, she was active in the student council and FBLA.
As future students of UW-Platteville, Keiler and Lopez will pursue mechanical engineering degrees. Both students were part of FBLA and National Honor Society.
Luedtke and Wolf intend to pursue degrees in mechanical engineering at MSOE and were both involved in Project G.R.I.L.L. (Growing Readiness in Learning and Leading) during high school.
▶ Agri-Business Council names 2023 scholarship winners: Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Agri-Business Council has selected scholarship winners of the 2023 Fond du Lac Area Agri-Business Council Scholarship and the Fond du Lac Area Foundation Harold Reinecke Scholarship.
Katlynn Steffes of Mt. Calvary is this year’s recipient of the Harold Reinecke Scholarship. She attends University of Wisconsin-Platteville, pursuing a degree in agriculture education.
Winners of the Agri-Business scholarship are Kaylee Mess, Rosendale, attends UW-Platteville, majoring in agricultural education; Grace Clark, Rosendale, will attend the UW-Platteville, majoring in agricultural business; Samuel Mess, Rosendale, attends Fox Valley Technical College, majoring in agribusiness science and technology-animal science; and Katelyn King, Brownsville, attends Purdue University, majoring in agribusiness.
The Fond du Lac Area Agri-Business Council Scholarship is open to Fond du Lac County residents pursuing post-secondary training at a university, trade school, technical college, UW-Short Course, etc., in the fields of agriculture or agri-business. The Fond du Lac Area Foundation Harold Reinecke Scholarship honors the long-time county extension agent, open to those seeking careers in agriculture.
For more information, visit envisiongreaterfdl.com.
Read last week's top stories:
- Fatal crash: Eden woman dies after single-vehicle crash on County B Tuesday morning
- Fatal head-on crash:Rosendale woman and Ripon man were killed in a head-on crash in Lamartine
- Lottery winner: Lottery ticket worth $350,000 sold at Fond du Lac gas station
- Summer events: Fond du Lac, here are 9 can't miss events happening this summer, from Walleye Weekend to Fondue Fest
- Fire Rescue winners:Fond du Lac Fire Rescue award winners include firefighters, citizens who saved elderly woman from burning home
Award-winning content
The Fond du Lac Reporter won four total awards in the 2022 Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest.
Read more about the awards and follow links to the award-winning content by clicking here.
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Contact Mara Wegner at mwegner@gannett.com or 920-996-7241. | https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/fond-du-lac-woman-wins-50k-agnesian-healthcare-samaritan-cash-raffle/70223583007/ | 2023-05-20T14:45:23 | 0 | https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/fond-du-lac-woman-wins-50k-agnesian-healthcare-samaritan-cash-raffle/70223583007/ |
“It’s the space between what was and what will be, which is where you are at the present, but sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t feel very good. That’s where I’m (at), in liminal space right now.”
That’s Lynn Williamson, pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Casper. She is talking about liminal space because, on Sunday, she will retire after 18 years leading the church.
Shepherd of the Hills sits right at the bottom of Casper Mountain and sees about 250 people a week come through its doors. Williamson herself sees them all, from the youngest to the oldest.
Although she will miss her flock, it’s time to retire, she says. Pastoring for almost 20 years, plus trying to navigate a pandemic, exhausted her.
“I weight lift, so I’m strong enough to carry the weight that I carry on my shoulders. That’s gotten heavier and heavier and heavier. I didn’t realize that when I started but … there’s so much – people are suffering. And I’m the only one who knows (sometimes),” she told the Star-Tribune in an interview.
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The coronavirus didn’t help, either. Williamson had to adjust to doing services via Zoom – a change she said her congregation glided into with ease. But she also constantly feared that she or someone she knew would be the next one to get sick.
“I just started to do a lot of pastoral care on the phone,” she said.
Still, there've been a lot of really sweet moments, Williamson, who is originally from South Carolina, said. She has been an ordained pastor for 35 years.
When she first came here, she noticed that it was warm but not humid, windy but not buggy, and snowy but with no ice storms. As she adjusted to driving in the snow and found snowshoeing to be an enjoyable hobby, she liked it more and more.
She and her husband, Dan Houck, plan to stay in Casper after her retirement.
She will, perhaps, miss working with the kids of her church the most. She loves “telling children about Jesus,” she said, and one of the reasons that she didn’t retire last year was because two of the kids she baptized when she first started are seniors in high school this year.
It’s part of Shepherd of the Hills’ youth program, she said, to bring the seniors up to the stage so they can present their “senior sermon,” a collection of favorite Bible passages and memories, and thanksgiving to parents, teachers and leaders. As they go out, they can reflect on what their time at the church has taught them and how it’s shaped them into who they are now.
Williamson usually preaches from a Biblical text or from a lectionary, which is a system that designates different Biblical texts to be read for each Sunday, or holy day, of the year.
On Sunday, though, she will abandon her usual preaching style for a different one: her own senior sermon.
“I’m reflecting on a couple of my favorite Bible passages and thanking everybody and saying what I’m gonna do next. So I said, this is my senior sermon,” she said.
Then, it’s off to a summer break that will last longer than just the summer. Her plans? “Sabbath rest,” she told the Star-Tribune, which includes a month-long stay at Ring Lake Ranch in Dubois, more time in the gym and perhaps some lifelong learner classes at Casper College.
And, of course, whatever the next steps are, the place beyond the liminal space she exists in now.
“You know, I’m between two worlds, the threshold of something new. And I don’t know what that is. So we’ll see.” | https://trib.com/news/local/casper/liminal-space-and-lifting-weights-a-casper-pastor-on-whats-after-retirement/article_4f441a9e-f669-11ed-86d8-7b90f22ca3fa.html | 2023-05-20T14:51:44 | 1 | https://trib.com/news/local/casper/liminal-space-and-lifting-weights-a-casper-pastor-on-whats-after-retirement/article_4f441a9e-f669-11ed-86d8-7b90f22ca3fa.html |
Artist draws inspiration from contemporary Native experience
Next week the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls will open a summer-long exhibition of the work of the nationally celebrated Montana artist Sean Chandler.
The exhibit entitled “The One Defined to be No One” will be on display at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (The Square) through September 20, 2023, and will open on May 26 with a lecture by Chandler on his art and the inspiration he draws from to create it. The event is free and open to the public and will begin at 5:30 p.m.
“Once in the mode to create, I like to just let the work take me where I’m supposed to go… But very often, parts of the painting that seemed to be the best expressions turn out to be better by covering them up,” Chandler said in a quote released by The Square. “Maybe that is due in part to me, covering myself, layer by layer. More likely, however, it is a line formed by my own contemporary experiences in mainstream society connected to the years endured by ancestral experiences of dehumanization, racism, and cultural genocide.”
Chandler, who is originally from Glendive, is an enrolled member of the Aaniinen (Gros Ventre Nation). He is also the President of Aaniiih Nakoda College located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation east of Havre. His artwork uses a variety of oil, acrylic, charcoal, paint stick and other media to communicate the contemporary life he lives.
Chandler’s work has been awarded by the Heard Museum in Phoenix and the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, and is part of collections at the Museum of Natural History in Paris and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minnesota.
According to The Square, Chandler’s involvement in art began at an early age when his father taught him the traditional arts of his ancestors, including hide and tipi painting. Integrating those early teachings, Chandler voices his own style to communicate the themes of racism, loneliness, depression, anger, humor, stereotypes, sovereignty, dependency, and cultural genocide.
Chandler cites late Blackfeet artist Ernie Pepion, Salish Kootenai artist Corwin Clairmont and Bozeman-based artist Jay Schmidt as mentors.
The exhibition originated at the Missoula Art Museum (MAM) and will travel to select locations throughout the state of Montana via the Montana Art Gallery Director’s Association, a statewide service organization for non-profit museums & galleries. It is supported in part by grants from the Montana Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is located at 1400 1st Avenue North in Great Falls. Visitor hours are Tuesday 10am to 9pm, Wednesday through Friday 10am to 5pm, and Saturday from 10pm to 3pm. The Square is closed Sunday and Monday and on select holidays. Admission is free to the public.
For more information, contact museum curator Nicole Maria Evans at nicole@the-square.org; (406) 727-8255, or visit The Square’s website at www.the-square.org. | https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/19/paris-gibson-art-museum-to-present-work-of-montana-artist-sean-chandler/70215248007/ | 2023-05-20T14:58:56 | 1 | https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/19/paris-gibson-art-museum-to-present-work-of-montana-artist-sean-chandler/70215248007/ |
Lawmakers are making a final push for their bills at the State Capitol as the 88th Texas legislative session enters its final weeks. And as the anniversary of the Uvalde mass shooting nears, the spotlight will shine on bills that would address school safety.
Some of the headlines from the major pieces of legislation still on the table include the creation of a safety and security department at the Texas Education Agency, the requirement of an armed security officer on Texas campuses, and a $25,000 stipend for employees who choose to carry a gun on campus.
The Texas House and Senate have both already passed a bill with bipartisan support that would put panic buttons in classrooms statewide.
"I think that that really underscores, 'OK, here's something that we can at least agree,' that whether you're a Democrat or Republican, whether you're conservative or liberal or progressive, we can all agree that getting assistance to a student in crisis or a classroom in crisis, however, defined, is something that we can all agree on," Derek Cohen, vice president of policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said.
But some of the measures that lawmakers have taken might not ease teachers' concerns.
"So fear is a major factor for our educators," Rena Honea, president of Alliance AFT said. "Are they willing to put their life on the line for someone else's child? Most of them, yes, they are. But then they have to consider what does that do for my family, for my own children, for my husband, my siblings?"
While addressing school safety in any capacity has broad support, State. Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), who represents Uvalde, said there's one thing he wishes the legislature could accomplish.
"Under no certain terms should we avoid talking about guns. And I'm not going to talk stop talking about guns," he said. "Seventy-six percent of Republicans have been polled very recently saying they want common sense gun safety solutions, raising the age limit, extreme mayors protective orders, closing the gun show loophole, a loophole. We've got to be able to do those types of things."
Listen to Texas Wants to Know in the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-wants-to-know-in-the-year-since-uvalde-how-has-the-legislature-addressed-school-safety/3261964/ | 2023-05-20T15:09:21 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-wants-to-know-in-the-year-since-uvalde-how-has-the-legislature-addressed-school-safety/3261964/ |
89-year-old woman struck, killed by vehicle in Bethany Beach parking lot
An 89-year-old woman was fatally hit by a car in a Bethany Beach parking lot on Friday morning, according to Delaware State Police.
The identity of the Bethany Beach woman has not yet been released.
An 82-year-old woman from Bowie, Maryland, was driving a Hyundai Tucson in the parking lot of a Walgreens at 32979 Coastal Highway, police said. At the same time, the 89-year-old woman was walking toward Walgreens in the parking lot.
The Tucson stuck the 89-year-old woman at around 10:15 a.m. on May 19, as the driver attempted to pull into a parking space, police said. The 89-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital, where she died.
The Tucson driver was not injured in the crash.
The parking lot of Walgreens was closed for about four hours, and police are still investigating.
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to call 302-703-3269 or contact Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-847-3333.
More:Police identify Frederica man who died after speeding into a set of trees
Contact local reporter Cameron Goodnight at cgoodnight@delawareonline.com or by calling or texting 302-324-2208. Follow him on Twitter at @CamGoodnight. | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/bethany-beach-crash-vehicle-pedestrian-fatality-walgreens/70239195007/ | 2023-05-20T15:09:27 | 0 | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2023/05/20/bethany-beach-crash-vehicle-pedestrian-fatality-walgreens/70239195007/ |
WATERLOO – On Monday, May 22, the Waterloo Community Foundation will gather for Celebrate Waterloo, an annual grant recipient and donor recognition event, at the Hawkeye Community College Van G Miller Adult Learning Center. The foundation will recognize seven nonprofits that received a total of $35,000 in competitive grant funds in 2023.
This past fall, the foundation received applications from 38 nonprofit organizations, representing total requests of over $190,000. A grant committee reviewed each and every application to award grants benefitting Waterloo residents in one of four areas: health and human services; arts and culture; education or economic development.
This year, the group of grant recipients includes Allen College, Hawkeye Community College Foundation, House of Hope, Link CCD, Waterloo Public Library, The Salvation Army of Waterloo/Cedar Falls, and Vision to Learn.
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The Celebrate Waterloo event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a short program at 6 p.m. to recognize each grant recipient and the important work they’re doing in Waterloo.
Each recipient will be awarded $5,000 to fund the following projects in 2023:
Allen College: Summer Nurse and Health Careers Camp
Hawkeye Community College Foundation: Family Literacy Program
House of Hope: Pillars Porch Replacement
Link CCD: Link Youth Team
Waterloo Public Library: Installation of Public Art by Waterloo’s Youth Art Team in Library Teen Area
The Salvation Army of Waterloo/Cedar Falls: Waterloo Salvation Basketball
Vision to Learn: Waterloo Student Vision Care | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/waterloo-community-foundation-awarding-35-000-to-local-nonprofits/article_8c8b490a-9e84-5511-9c2d-859eb7689a25.html | 2023-05-20T15:16:36 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/waterloo-community-foundation-awarding-35-000-to-local-nonprofits/article_8c8b490a-9e84-5511-9c2d-859eb7689a25.html |
FRANKENMUTH, Mich. (WJRT) - The World Expo of Beer returns to Frankenmuth for the 26th year.
The goal of the World Expo of Beer goes well beyond hops, malt and yeast. It’s to raise money for several organizations throughout Mid-Michigan.
"Craft beer has been a big part of Michigan," said Shari Palmer, director of the World Expo of Beer. "We're at the beginning stages of it and we brought craft beer to Frankenmuth with this festival."
Helping the community four ounces at a time over the past 15 years, the Word Expo of Beer has been able to donate over $1 million towards charitable causes.
"Frankenmuth Jaycees has been putting on this event for over 20 years. We are a nonprofit so everything we raise here goes back to charity," Palmer said. "And over the last 20 years we've given away over $1 million around Frankenmuth, Saginaw County, Genesee County. We helped build a splash pad here in Frankenmuth, so everything that's drunk here and gets paid for goes back into the community."
The Expo is held yearly on the third weekend of May in Frankenmuth.
This is Michigan's largest beer sampling event with nearly 300 different beers available from around the world, including one of the six original Oktoberfest beers — Hofbräuhaus, a German beer created in 1589.
"Hofbräuhaus was first imported in the United States in Frankenmuth," said Jerry Bishop of Hofbräuhaus Beer. "So, it has a special place in our hearts."
Palmer said this expo represents a big part of Frankenmuth's history and that it is much more than a night of fun but a staple in the community for more reasons than one.
"We have one of the oldest microbreweries here — the Frankenmuth brewery," Palmer said. "So, yes we have lots of ties to craft beer here."
Hundreds of people from all over Michigan gathered, rather it was their first time or a yearly tradition.
For them, it's all about enjoying the festivities, food trucks and the company.
The event goes on from 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Harvey Kern Pavilion. | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/frankenmuth-world-expo-of-beer-celebrates-26-years/article_de618140-f6b8-11ed-a0ea-b7050fab3c60.html | 2023-05-20T15:19:13 | 0 | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/frankenmuth-world-expo-of-beer-celebrates-26-years/article_de618140-f6b8-11ed-a0ea-b7050fab3c60.html |
INDIANAPOLIS — A man died in a house fire Saturday morning on the northeast side of Indianapolis.
Firefighers were called to the house on Timberline Drive, near 82nd Street and Fall Creek Road, just before 6 a.m. and found heavy fire and smoke when they arrived.
The woman who owned the home was able to escape. Her adult son was still inside, along with several animals, who did not survive.
Fire crews from Indianapolis and Lawrence dealt with heavy clutter inside the house while battling the fire, which appeared to start in the garage and spread through the attic.
They eventually located the 50-year-old man inside approximately 30 minutes after they arrived.
He is the eighth fire fataly in the IFD service district this year.
The house had working smoke alarms.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/ifd-man-dies-northeast-side-house-fire-timberline-drive/531-3c458b89-54ee-4ec7-9287-8ef33bc3a605 | 2023-05-20T15:26:03 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/ifd-man-dies-northeast-side-house-fire-timberline-drive/531-3c458b89-54ee-4ec7-9287-8ef33bc3a605 |
Report: Response to I-10 crash, hazmat spill in Tucson reveals major communications breakdown
The emergency response to a hazardous spill and collision on Interstate 10 in February revealed a major breakdown in communication among agencies involved, according to a Pima County preliminary report on the multiagency response.
On the afternoon of Feb. 14, a portion of I-10 in Tucson was shut down after a commercial tanker, belonging to Landstar Inway Inc., hauling a box trailer rolled over in a median and began to leak nitric acid.
The Tucson Fire Department had tweeted the hazardous material was nitric acid, described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a highly corrosive material that can irritate one's skin, eyes and mucous membranes if exposed.
Five emergency alerts were sent out informing the public within Pima County of the incident, to shelter in place and to avoid the area.
Following the crash, the Pima County Board of Supervisors and members of the public complained that a lack of information was released about what was going on.
The Pima County Office of Emergency Management compiled a preliminary county After Action Report highlighting how difficult the accident was to contain with inclement weather and the lessons learned and shared among agencies.
Issues with response, flow of information
Issues that came up during the incident related to communication to the public and a lack of clear direction to supporting agencies.
According to the report, there was no incident command identified until very late, and therefore, no point of contact to provide directions to agencies or to check in with.
The report revealed that some agencies were not notified immediately after the accident. The Pima County Department of Transportation received limited information, and the Pima County Health Department was not notified until the following day.
“For situational awareness and posturing of support, it is recommended that the Pima County Office of Emergency Management initiates an Emergency Support Function Coordination Call upon notification of a significant incident to inform support agencies,” the report recommended.
The report also noted how three different transportation departments were assembling traffic plans for their jurisdictions; however, these departments did not inform the others of their plan.
“In turn, this created community stress as there was no unified detour product,” the report stated.
To compound this issue, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s website directed questions to the county’s Transportation Department, which was unable to field questions due to a lack of information sharing.
Hospitals were not notified of the incident, and the county Public Health Department was notified the next day. This means time was lost for effective messaging from the Health Department, and hospitals would not have had time to be on standby, if there had been a need, the report said.
While the driver of the truck died, no known injuries or direct effects to the public or responders were reported from the collision or hazmat spill.
The incident also showed a need for the activation of a Joint Information System, in which public information officers create unified messaging.
“Lessons learned brought to light the need for activating a JIS (Joint Information System), which alleviates discrepancies in messaging and provides clear information to media and public outlets,” the report stated.
DPS criticized:Pima County slams state agency for delayed release of emergency information during hazmat crash
The lack of unified messaging became clear with discrepancies in shelter-in-place perimeter maps that were published, and a lack of information between public information officers. The lack of communication made it difficult for Tucson's Communications Department personnel to answer questions from the public.
The report also identified a breakdown in communication between agencies via radio. The report found that while local agencies could easily communicate using the Pima County Wireless Integration Network it was not used by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the lead agency. This was because some DPS radios lacked the appropriate code plugs and responders were not aware of the possibility of integrating into this system.
In addition, there were issues with the radio channel used in the Arizona Interagency Radio System, which hindered communication and was abandoned early in the response.
Recommendations made to improve future emergency responses
The report made a variety of recommendations, from establishing and communicating clearly the location of the incident command post to increasing training of personnel.
Some of the suggested improvements included the following:
- Develop situation reports.
- Improve information flow between public information officers.
- Increase network and information sharing among the transportation departments.
- Increase training of public information officers.
- Train responders about radio equipment use.
The report also revealed that while the Office of Emergency Management was notified of the hazmat incident by the Tucson Fire Department, a notification was not made by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
“Since the incident, DPS has gone to great lengths to establish relationships and broaden their understanding of the support role (Pima County Office of Emergency Management) can provide,” the report stated.
The county’s Office of Emergency Management is researching a strategy that involves deployable support personnel, including public information officers, helping gather intake data, providing scripts for personnel, answering calls and analyzing information to better inform the Joint Information System and the public.
County supervisors await final report from state
Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy, who previously was vocal about the lack of communication among the responding agencies and the county administration, said he was happy with the preliminary report and hopes the final report, which will be published by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, is as honest and comprehensive as the county’s preliminary report.
“The main issue is that there are so many bureaucracies involved and so many departments involved in something like this when it happens on an interstate,” Christy said. “There is not a clear-cut delineation of chain of command and point of information who is the lead agency that will spread the information.”
He said he is awaiting the final report that will be published by the Department of Public Safety, noting it is in the final stages of editing.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.
The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/05/20/report-response-to-interstate-10-crash-hazmat-spill-in-tucson-reveals-communications-breakdown/70237791007/ | 2023-05-20T15:33:52 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/05/20/report-response-to-interstate-10-crash-hazmat-spill-in-tucson-reveals-communications-breakdown/70237791007/ |
'Staggering': Homeless deaths rose 42% in Maricopa County in 2022
The number of people who died while homeless in Maricopa County surged in 2022, newly released data shows, revealing yet another grim consequence of the region’s growing homelessness crisis.
The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner investigated 732 deaths of people experiencing homelessness in 2022, representing a 42% jump in deaths from 2021, according to the office’s annual report released Friday.
That amounts to two deaths per day when averaged out, though some days — particularly during the summer — were far deadlier than others.
While the overall homeless population has grown in recent years, the increase in deaths has outpaced it. There were just over 9,000 people experiencing homelessness in the county on a single night in January 2022, according to the annual Point-in-Time count, representing an increase of 22% over the 2020 count. (Because of COVID-19, no count was conducted in 2021.)
Drug overdoses, traffic accidents, heat deaths and other types of accidents accounted for a large majority of the deaths of people experiencing homelessness in 2022 that were investigated by the Medical Examiner’s Office (78%). Those were followed by natural deaths (12%), homicides (5%), suicides (3%) and undetermined deaths (2%).
Not every death is captured in the data. The Medical Examiner’s Office investigates accidents, homicides and other types of unnatural or unexpected deaths, but it doesn’t look into deaths that occurred naturally in a health care facility, such as a hospital. The homeless death tally also doesn’t include people whose housing status couldn’t be determined, which accounts for hundreds more people.
'I’d like anything better':Residents of 'The Zone' react to Phoenix's relocation plan
Central Arizona Shelter Services began working with the Medical Examiner’s Office in April to help identify deceased people who may have been homeless, to better understand the factors behind the deaths and to reconnect family members who contact the Medical Examiner’s Office searching for people who are still alive, said Phillip Scharf, CASS’s new chief operating officer.
“Our main goal is to help them close cases and to get more families into a state of knowledge of where their loved ones are,” Scharf said.
Jamie Chang, an assistant professor at Santa Clara University who researches deaths of unhoused people, called Maricopa County’s numbers “staggering” and said a majority of the deaths are preventable.
While local policy changes can help address the issue, Chang believes a more sweeping approach is needed to solve the housing and homelessness crises at large.
“We just need stronger state and federal policy around this,” Chang said. “I don’t see a solution out of the current crisis situation that a lot of our cities are facing without that.”
Juliette Rihl covers housing insecurity and homelessness for The Arizona Republic. She can be reached at jrihl@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @julietterihl.
Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/05/20/maricopa-county-homeless-deaths-rise-in-2022/70238235007/ | 2023-05-20T15:33:58 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/05/20/maricopa-county-homeless-deaths-rise-in-2022/70238235007/ |
Phoenix man who tried passing off girlfriend's murder as suicide is sentenced to 20 years
After trying to make his girlfriend's death look like a suicide, a Phoenix man was sentenced to prison for her murder on Friday.
Guillermo Diaz Jr., 43, was given a 20-year sentence by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Lisa Ann VandenBerg for his second-degree murder conviction in the death of Corina Leyva, 41. He accepted a guilty plea in March.
In 2021, Diaz shot and killed Leyva in his north Phoenix home after they had an argument, he confessed in court. He placed the gun next to Leyva's hand to make it look like a suicide, but his 7-year-old son saw the incident unfold and told the story that Diaz later admitted to.
Friday's sentencing was filled with testimony of who Leyva was, the domestic violence issues within Diaz and Leyva's relationship, the hardships Leyva's family has gone through after leaving behind six children and Diaz's character.
What happened in 2021?
The following account is based on court documents and testimony.
A little after 4 a.m. on July 3, 2021, Phoenix police were called by Diaz, who reported that Leyva had committed suicide by shooting herself in the head. When police arrived, they found Leyva lying on the floor of Diaz's bedroom with a shot to the head and a gun next to her right hand. They declared her dead.
The initial story Diaz told was this: Leyva, Diaz, and his 7-year-old son were lying in bed. Diaz told police that Leyva suddenly became upset, so she got up and said that she did not want to be there anymore. Diaz had a gun in his dresser drawer — something he was not supposed to have because a prior felony conviction prohibited him from possessing a gun. Diaz told police that Leyva pointed the gun to the back of her head, according to court records.
Diaz said he tried to take the gun from her, but Leyva ended up shooting herself before he could do so.
But that story didn't hold up. Diaz's son said he saw the whole thing and told family members, officers, and first responders that Diaz lied and actually killed Leyva.
In an interview with investigators, Diaz's son described how Diaz grabbed Leyva, hit her, and the son heard a shot. The son said he saw Diaz holding the gun after Leyva fell to the floor.
However, Diaz stuck with his story in his interview with police. He told investigators that he and Leyva had been drinking earlier in the night and began arguing about suspicions of infidelity. The couple continued arguing in Diaz's bedroom when Leyva became upset, got up, and grabbed the gun.
Diaz said he grabbed the gun, struggled, and fell. While he was falling and the gun was in his hand, Diaz said the gun fired a round and hit Leyva in the head. He first said he did not know how the gun ended up next to Leyva's hand, but later admitted to moving it there before police arrived.
Diaz said it was an accident and told police he lied because he was afraid. He was arrested the same day.
Arrest records show that a domestic violence incident had been previously reported between Leyva and Diaz.
A tormented relationship described in court
A total of 22 family and friends filled up the courtroom on Friday — 12 for Leyva and eight for Diaz. Diaz was in an orange jumpsuit and, from behind, looked like his head was tilted slightly downward for most of the hearing.
Leyva's family, specifically her sister, mother, and niece, dug deeper into the domestic violence issues between Leyva and Diaz. Leyva's mom told the court about seeing her daughter's bruises, despite Leyva trying to cover them up with makeup. Leyva's niece testified that the family knew about "the beatings," and that they knew "everything," with one of Leyva's daughters commenting from the gallery, "Everything!"
Leyva's sister, Betty Leyva, spoke powerfully to the court about Diaz and Leyva's relationship, while occasionally casting glances in Diaz's direction.
"I would like the court's records to reflect that my ultimate goal and presence here in this courtroom today is justice for my little sister Corina Leyva."
She said that from the beginning, the family did not have a good feeling about Diaz after Leyva met him in January 2021. He was still living with his mother, had no job, was behind on his house, and made himself the victim for issues he wouldn't take accountability for, according to Betty Leyva.
So, Leyva helped him out. Betty Leyva said her sister helped Diaz out financially and helped him fill out unemployment paperwork and child support responsibilities — all for him to get back on his feet.
That ended up costing Leyva her life, her sister told the court.
"What he (Diaz) did not expect was that this little act of his would wind up giving my sister Corina the upper hand in this toxic relationship. Now, he owed her money," Betty Leyva said.
She added that Diaz's insecurities grew, resulting in domestic violence situations with Leyva. She said Leyva told the family that Diaz once said he was going to kill her if she left him.
Betty Leyva said that Leyva finally broke up with Diaz the night of the incident. But, Diaz wanted to meet up with Leyva and threatened that if they did not meet, he was going to hurt her children, Betty Leyva testified. He accompanied that message with a picture of him outside of her home.
"So my sister, the protector that she was for her children, agreed to meet him at his mother's house where he then took her life," Betty Leyva said.
Leyva's daughter, Maryann Lopez, also spoke. She praised Leyva not only as being a mother, but a sister, aunt, daughter, grandma, and friend. Lopez said Leyva was such a selfless person who would bend over backward for anyone who needed it. Lopez then turned to face Diaz and said, "Like she did for you."
Lopez said since her mother's death, she is a co-guardian for her three younger siblings with Betty Leyva.
Three of Diaz's friends made statements. One said he never knew Leyva to do things that were described by Leyva's family. He described Diaz as someone who was always there for him and that they attended the same men's Bible study where the group would try and talk through their problems together.
Another friend was one Diaz knew since childhood. He said he knew Leyva well because they all had dinner together often. He said he would give Diaz and Leyva relationship advice and had once told them that they might not be the best for one another because they were both strong-willed people.
Diaz's mother and sister were in the gallery but did not make a statement.
After the sentencing, Leyva's family gathered together in the hallway. At one point, a group of them hugged Betty Leyva because of her strong statement to the court.
Betty Leyva told The Arizona Republic she wished the state was more assertive with the sentence because of Diaz's past and because of what he did.
Diaz's plea agreement stated that the maximum sentence he could have received was 25 years.
But now, Betty Leyva says the family is just looking forward to moving on and turning the page.
Maryann Lopez said in an interview that it's important to be observant of the people in our lives. Leyva's niece said in her statement that Leyva hid from the family for two days because she was ashamed of her bruises. Lopez wants people to know they should support and love those who are in a tough spot, because it's never known what's happening behind closed doors.
Betty Leyva had a message for young girls, but it can apply to anyone.
"If any young lady or young girl is in an abusive relationship, the first and immediate thing to do is to get away from it."
This reporting follows crimes The Republic began to cover in 2021 and is part of our commitment to telling the story from start to finish. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/05/20/phoenix-man-gets-20-years-in-prison-for-2021-murder-of-girlfriend/70232315007/ | 2023-05-20T15:34:04 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/05/20/phoenix-man-gets-20-years-in-prison-for-2021-murder-of-girlfriend/70232315007/ |
Construction begins on Buckeye manufacturing plant that will bring 125 jobs
Rehrig Pacific Company has begun construction on a new manufacturing plant in Buckeye, and it is expected to bring plenty of jobs to the region.
Based in Los Angeles, Rehrig is an environmental waste and supply chain partner, creating products for various industries to transport their products. Some of the products include crates, trays and bins for the dairy and beverage industries, among several others.
Andrew Resler, vice president and head of special projects, said the facility is expected to bring 100 to 125 jobs, although it has the capacity to expand even further across the 35 acres Rehrig purchased.
Buckeye development:Not all residents are backing the rapid changes
The jobs will have a significant range in salary due to the nature of the work, Resler said. The facility will need front office jobs, and well as roles in management and supervisory, engineering, maintenance and automation. While Resler said some team members will be relocated from Los Angeles, the majority of the new jobs will be filled by people in the Buckeye and Phoenix area.
Rehrig already has seven manufacturing facilities all over the country, Resler said. What was appealing about Buckeye was the close proximity to an existing customer base, with Rehrig having customers all over the Western United States.
Resler also said Rehrig needed a site that had the capacity to provide a lot of power and water. While Rehrig will use a significant amount of power, Resler said the facility’s water use will be very minimal, as the whole facility will use non-evaporative cooling systems to preserve water. Resler also said the facility needed to have proximity to rail, and it needed to be located somewhere that has the workforce base to fill all needed jobs.
Rehrig also looked for areas that were investing in the future and had local government support, Resler said.
“That’s very important for us because we are a small, privately-owned company,” Resler said.
Some jobs may open up within the next few months, Resler said, depending on whether they can be done remotely. The facility is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2024. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2023/05/20/buckeye-manufacturing-plant-begins-construction/70214081007/ | 2023-05-20T15:34:16 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2023/05/20/buckeye-manufacturing-plant-begins-construction/70214081007/ |
The Press Bookstore and Coffee Shop is the first independent new bookstore to open in Northwest Indiana in years.
The new bookstore is supplying literature, coffee and wine at 9 Lincolnway on the courthouse square in downtown Valparaiso.
John and Dia Montgomery founded the bookstore that sells new hardcover and paperback books, catering to the "nostalgia of the physical ink-on-paper experience." The married couple from Kansas City relocated to Valpo where their son Ben Montgomery attended Valparaiso University. He founded a local coffee roastery, the Yaggy Road Roasting Company, that now runs the bookstore's coffee shop.
"We looked around and there were no independent bookstores selling new books and coffee," John Montgomery said. "There was a void of independent bookstores."
Their son graduated from Valparaiso University last year. He's been locally roasting coffee beans that he sells to coffee shops like Uptown Cafe in Valparaiso, Evvy's Coffeehouse in LaPorte and Grindhouse Cafe in Griffith, as well as restaurants like Ivy's Bohemia House in Chesterton, Suzie's Cafe in Valparaiso and Roots Market Cafe in Valparaiso.
They had visited him several times in college and fallen in love with the community.
"He encouraged us to move up here and said there was a void of independent bookstores," Montgomery said. "Basically, we saw a need. There's a Barnes and Noble but there's no independent bookstore in town. The education level is pretty high here and there are college students."
To cater to the university crowd, the bookstore has seating where it invites hanging out, studying and working. It has about 25 seats inside and another 12 on an outdoor patio along Lincolnway.
"We want to be a bookstore where people can hang out in comfortable chairs," he said. "People can come to have a coffee, look at books, study and socialize. We envision book clubs meeting here. Valparaiso University has expressed interest in the space for functions."
The coffee shop sells all locally roasted Yaggy Road coffee, offering cold brew, teas, lattes and other espresso-based drinks.
The cafe has a light food menu that includes scones, muffins and cinnamon rolls.
"Books pair well with coffee," he said. "Books also pair well with wine."
LambStones Cellars Winery in Valparaiso will sell wine by the glass and bottle there between 4 and 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, beginning either later this month or in June, as soon as they secure a liquor license.
"The idea is to have coffee during the day and wine in the evening," he said. "We want to have an experiential bookstore. We were brainstorming what we could offer over a glass of wine at LambStone Cellars and it was obvious. Pairing books with coffee and wine is natural. They loved the idea."
They plan to be open late on wine nights and have regular events like live music, typically acoustic acts.
"It's a very cool comfortable space in an old building," he said. "One wall is all brick. It has the original tin ceiling and dark fixtures. It's a comfortable and inviting space."
The Montgomerys took over the former Digital Target Marketing office and opened the space up, removing offices and partitions. They got inspiration from a number of bookstores like The Book Cellar in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. The Press has different sections, including fiction, nonfiction, travel, cooking, home and children's books.
"We try to have a wide variety," he said. "In politics, for instance, we have books by Mike Pence and Bernie Sanders. We try not to appeal to any particular type. We don't have a huge selection but can order whatever people want and try to curate what we have."
It has some room for expansion in the future and could add used books, but the focus is on new books.
"E-books came out a decade ago and have plateaued in sales," Montgomery said. "Industry statistics have shown people really appreciate the physical, tangible feel of the book. People can order on Amazon but I think independent bookstores have a lot of appeal and are not going out of business anytime soon. Well-run independent bookstores are actually trendy right now. Valpo has a Barnes and Noble and it's a great store but we're a small business in the heart of downtown."
Many people prefer to shop local, Montgomery said.
"There's just something about an independent bookstore," he said. "It's amazing. There's online book delivery that's more convenient, but people really want to browse books, see them and hold them in their hands. Business has been great, exceeding all our expectations."
The bookstore is called The Press because Montgomery has worked as a newspaper editor and publisher for 25 years. He hails from the fifth generation of a newspaper family and had served as the publisher of a paper in Kansas.
"The name is a reference to my journalistic background and print-on-ink nostalgia," he said. "The concept is a book press, a coffee press and a wine press. It's a common theme that goes through all the elements. We play up the newspaper nostalgia. There's vintage typewriters in the store and old press cameras."
Readers have been enthusiastic since it opened a few weeks ago.
"People have been responding really positively," he said. "They love the coffee and love the space. They're just happy to have an independent bookstore."
The coffee shop is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The bookstore is open until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and will be open until 9 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday once the wine bar opens.
For more information, visit valpopress.com, call 219-286-6079 or find the business on Facebook or Instagram.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Unbeatable Eatables, DRIPBaR Crown Point, Taco Depot and Flashback Antiques open; Da Burger House closes
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219 News Now: Check out the weekend forecast with Matt Holiner 5/12/23
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
Region native Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times of Northwest Indiana since 2013. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/new-bookstore-brings-literature-coffee-and-wine-to-downtown-valpo/article_c988af26-f66f-11ed-a940-a341be3bf058.html | 2023-05-20T15:35:58 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/new-bookstore-brings-literature-coffee-and-wine-to-downtown-valpo/article_c988af26-f66f-11ed-a940-a341be3bf058.html |
HOUSTON — Agitated and upset are just two words to describe the parents of a 6-year-old girl who said she was forced to change out of her dress while at school.
Jonathan Alexander said his daughter loves putting on dresses and she wears them to school nearly every day, but now the young girl is self-conscious after an incident that reportedly took place at Clear Lake City Elementary School.
Jonathan and his wife Kristie said a teacher's aide spoke to their daughter about the dresses she wore to school. Their daughter continued to wear dresses and a few days later, after going to school in a dress, the 6-year-old came back home wearing jeans.
“The first thing I asked was, ‘Did you have an accident?’ ‘No ma’am.’ ‘Ok, why did you change clothes?’ ‘The teacher made me change clothes because I was running around or playing and didn’t sit properly," Kristie explained of the conversation she had with her daughter.
Johnathan and Kristie said the next day they were sent a message by their daughter's teacher over an app used for parent-teacher communication.
The message read, in part, that, "...she was trying to maintain student dignity."
Jonathan said he believes that there was nothing wrong with the way his daughter wears dresses. He said all they are telling him and his wife is that she doesn't sit in the chair properly and you're able to see her underwear because the shorts underneath her dress were too baggy.
“Ever since the beginning of the year, my daughter has worn dresses. She wears shorts or tights or something under the dress," he said. “I do not believe that any 6-year-old is looking at another 6-year-old like that.”
Clear Creek ISD sent over the following statement:
“CCISD is not able to comment on student matters, however, the District will continue to reinforce with staff, parprofessionals, and substitute teachers what the dress code policy is in Clear Creek ISD.”
Jonathan and his wife said this is their daughter's first year at Clear Lake City Elementary School and, for now, they plan to keep her there. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/girl-wears-dress-to-school/285-9271430f-7e47-4627-89f7-29e22cbd16b3 | 2023-05-20T15:36:24 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/girl-wears-dress-to-school/285-9271430f-7e47-4627-89f7-29e22cbd16b3 |
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The popular Mercado District, west of downtown, is being built out with a new apartment complex, river walk and plaza with a large food and beverage hall and a parking facility.
The $110 million Bautista project, by local developers The Gadsden Co., recently broke ground and is expected to be complete in 2025.
The complex will have 256 apartments and 16,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and office space, and a large public plaza.
A paseo will lead from the project to the Santa Cruz River, where developers plan to restore vegetation and add viewing platforms and recreation spots, said Adam Weinstein, Gadsden’s president and CEO.
The apartments will range in size from studios to large two-bedroom units with balconies or Arizona rooms, similar in characteristic to the neighboring Monier complex, which was also developed by Gadsden.
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Completed in 2021, Monier is 100% occupied, with rents ranging from $1,333 to $2,777.
“We know good design pays dividends,” Weinstein said. “We wanted to build 100-year buildings that give a sense of place.”
Aside from food and beverage, retail interest in the Bautista project has come from service providers such as salons, spas and dog groomers, he said.
A vision that began 20 years ago, the Mercado District started with the Mercado San Agustin, single-family housing, the shipping container annex and the Monier Apartments and retail.
There are more than 100 single-family homes in the development and a workforce housing complex, Westend Station Apartments.
Food offerings include Agustin Kitchen, Beaut Burger, La Estrella Bakery and Seis Kitchen.
Shops include La Cabaña, Mast and Transit Cycles. Several events and farmer’s markets are also held in the Mercado District.
Located within the Rio Nuevo boundaries — at the western end of the streetcar line — the Bautista development is the largest to date for the 24-year-old district.
The board previously approved $2.4 million toward the Monier mixed-use project and $3.9 million toward the annex.
For the Bautista project, Rio Nuevo voted to invest $7.2 million, given the success of the Mercado District.
“They’ve done everything they’ve always promised they would do,” said Fletcher McCusker, chairman of the Rio Nuevo board. “Some people scoffed at the idea of a shipping container village, but it’s been immensely popular.”
He said Rio Nuevo’s portion of tax revenue from the development's retail operations is currently more than $7 million a year.
“Gadsden has earned the right to present to us, starting with the annex, the Monier and now the Bautista,” McCusker said. “They’ve turned that west side into a destination.”
Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at grico@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/the-mercado-district-west-of-downtown-tucson-is-expanding/article_b0ef85ac-f372-11ed-bce7-17ad4e1e7f30.html | 2023-05-20T15:38:06 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/the-mercado-district-west-of-downtown-tucson-is-expanding/article_b0ef85ac-f372-11ed-bce7-17ad4e1e7f30.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Re: the May 3 article “First 100 days.”
I read the article by Juan Ciscomani’s about his first 100 days in office. Clearly, he is kicking off his 2024 re-election campaign. Most of the piece reiterated his humble beginnings, how hard his family worked and the American Dream. The only thing he left out was the repeated introduction of wife Laura, her accomplishments, and that they have six children.
Last March, I was invited by his office to participate in a telephone town hall (as a Democrat, I’m not certain why I was chosen, but I accepted). During the call, he conducted a poll asking participants to rank their top priorities for Congress. The problem with the poll was that he listed only four options: The Border, Water/Energy, Health and the Economy. While these are important, he left out significant priorities of our district including Voting Rights, a Women’s Right to Choose, Climate Protection, Gun Safety and Immigration Reform.
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In his opinion piece, he touted an accomplishment of bringing two congressional delegations to the border in Cochise County. Not sure what the effort produced other than showboating. But, I guess, he was able to check off Item One from his incomplete priority list.
On Item Two, he touted the establishment of the Colorado River Caucus which only duplicates efforts of Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema. What results can he can bring that they can’t?
Item Three announces his appointment to the House Appropriations Committee. So far, he’s only supported the “ransom note” issued by his extremist right wing colleagues that will throw our economy off the cliff by defaulting on our debt.
On Item Four, health care, he states he supports strengthening Medicare, Social Security and benefits for veterans. He doesn’t list any results, other than just talking about it. Who doesn’t support these hard-earned benefits other than most Republicans?
Ciscomani states that his mission is “clear,” to serve our entire community. Well clearly, in his first 100 days, he has not fulfilled this. And clearly, the newly drawn Congressional District 6 was gerrymandered to dilute the original Congressional District 2 community values that support human rights, including a women’s right to choose, voting rights (note Cochise County has a clear conflict with this value as their Board of Supervisor’s initially failed to certify 2022 election results), economic development and climate protection (note he voted with a couple dozen house Republicans to repeal climate provisions that would drive significant investment of EV battery recycling in Eloy), gun safety (he blames all mass shootings on mental health, not the unchecked availability of guns including military style assault rifles), and immigration reform (no definitive steps have been taken toward fixing the broken system. Rather, he held pep rallies at the border that only highlighted what the broken system produced).
Additionally, I am afraid his representational efforts do not reflect protection of our beloved University of Arizona, the Santa Catalina Mountains, Sabino Canyon and Saguaro National Park, our world renowned Optical Astronomy and Physics, and protection of the Tucson Basin/Avra Valley aquifers.
Ciscomani tells us, ad nauseam, that he began his work life at Wendy’s. Well, I started at KFC. Big deal. We all started somewhere. He repeatedly lauds the efforts of his hard-working immigrant family to provide a better life for he and his siblings. Respectfully, his family is not unique. Many of us were blessed with this foundation. It’s been up to us to take this gift, move it forward and apply all the skills we’ve acquired in life to protect our great democracy. For his part, Ciscomani must do much more to fully represent citizens in Congressional District 6.
Julie is a retired HR Professional, NAU graduate and a 40-year Tucson resident that lives in Catalina Foothills. | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-ciscomanis-first-100-days-do-not-represent-most-of-cd-6-priorities/article_58513074-f022-11ed-94ce-3b45024604dd.html | 2023-05-20T15:38:18 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-ciscomanis-first-100-days-do-not-represent-most-of-cd-6-priorities/article_58513074-f022-11ed-94ce-3b45024604dd.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
As I get up in years, I do what most men my age do, at least the ones I know: We reminisce. All the whosits and whatsits seem to run through my head at breakneck speed. I take a trip down memory lane and laugh at the silly things we used to do. For example, when I tried to make my own ice cream with a blender and a bag of ice cubes — it was not a success! Didn’t we all try that?
My best friend (of 74 years) and I would pull pranks on people in downtown Chicago. It was fun in the ’50s. We’d stop at State and Madison, look up at the building across the street and point. Within five minutes, 20 people would be standing, all trying to see what it was we were pointing at. Then, we’d sneak away, looking back to see the crowd grow.
We walked down Albany Park neighborhood streets and suddenly separated as if something was in our path. Even though the spot was empty, people would see us and do the same. One snowy winter, we gathered 20 guys and played softball in three feet of snow with a ball we painted yellow so we could see it. Life was easy and all in good fun.
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We were kids. We wanted attention. We made people smile. And it worked. Over nine years, we gave hundreds of people a chance to smile. My friend and I realized what an influence we had on people. Those who do strange, crazy and odd things draw attention. Just as we did almost 65 years ago, that craziness still occurs today. It’s called politics.
Reminisce with me. If you are old enough to remember the days of the “clowns” on TV, you’d remember Milton Berle, Red Skelton, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, Bob Hope, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Lucile Ball, Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Jerry Lewis, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Ed Wynn, Steve Allen, Don Knotts, Ernie Kovacs, Soupy Sales, Jimmy Durante, Jonathan Winters, Buster Keaton, Pinky Lee, Buddy Hackett, Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding, Groucho Marx, Danny Kaye and Red Buttons. These are the people who influenced us with humor and pathos. They made us laugh.
These greats have, unfortunately, been replaced in 2023 by a new brand of comics, including Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Laura Ingram, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Lindsey Graham, Jim Jordan, James Comer, Ron Johnson, George Santos, Elise Stefanik, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Juan Ciscomani, Matt Gaetz, Dan Crenshaw, Tommy Tuberville, Kyrsten Sinema, Mario Rubio, Rick Scott, Rand Paul and Marsh Blackburn. They influence the wrong people. They make us cry.
Sheldon is a Tucson resident. He is a history and civics researcher and writer, and a frequent contibutor to the Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-reminisce-clowns-then-clowns-of-today/article_26d57530-f4d4-11ed-9601-47dc929b0eb7.html | 2023-05-20T15:38:24 | 0 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-reminisce-clowns-then-clowns-of-today/article_26d57530-f4d4-11ed-9601-47dc929b0eb7.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A 26-year-old Normal man is facing five felony drug charges after being arrested by Illinois State Police.
Barry D. Guyton appeared in a Friday bond court hearing before Judge Amy McFarland.
Guyton is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class 2 felony, and two counts of unlawful possession of 15-100 of cocaine with the intent to deliver, with one charged as a Class X felony and the other as a Class 1 felony.
Guyton was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a Class 2 felony.
According to the court documents, ISP said Guyton knowingly sold less than a gram of cocaine to an individual who was a confidential source with ISP Task Force 6 on two separate occasions on Wednesday and Thursday.
His bond was set at $750,000 with 10% to apply. His arraignment hearing was set for 9 a.m. June 9.
Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph
Bryant Lewis
Derek Roesch
Justin M. Mata
Marcus D. Wesley
Phillip Tinch
Trisha L. Hanke
William B. Givens
David L. Oliver
Kenneth E. Funk
Jordan R. King
Holly M. Isaacson
Kenneth L. Minton
Tony L. Jackson
Britley L. Hilger
Jasmine L. Smith
Jackie S. Claypool
Noah R. Demuth
Brandon L. Parsano
Alexander N. Williams
Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano
Jaylin S. Bones
Jordan R. King
Dominique M. Banks
Austin T. Daugherty
Sandra M. Lewis
Samantha E. Morris
Nolan C. Love
Nikkita L. Sandefur
Katlin M.B. Wilson
Eli C. Garozzo
Tysean T. Townsend
Curtis J. Byrd
Noral K. Nelson
Charles J. Tankson
Davis, Micah S
Livingston, Joshua D.
Kevin L. Ewen
Emmanuel K. Mpay
Ahmad S. Manns
Dylan R Mann
Tony L. Jackson
William R. Linden
Zadek U. Moen
Zachary T. Willis
Cecily M. Sexton
Tonisha A. Jackson
James A. McConnaughay
Jessica M. Longberry
Barry D. Guyton
Keon E. Spiller | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/multiple-drug-charges-pending-against-a-normal-man/article_8d57a13e-f682-11ed-9bbe-033f3b350f32.html | 2023-05-20T15:42:39 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/multiple-drug-charges-pending-against-a-normal-man/article_8d57a13e-f682-11ed-9bbe-033f3b350f32.html |
After 11:30 a.m. on Friday, it was almost impossible not to catch the scent of grilling burgers in the air inside the law enforcement building shared by the Coconino County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) and the Flagstaff Police Department on Sawmill Road in Flagstaff.
The sky was nearly purple, overcast and spitting rain. That didn’t stop volunteers with the County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) from lighting a grill behind the Leaf Auditorium and cooking up dozens of burgers and hotdogs.
Those burgers were served to Coconino County Sheriff’s Department veterans of all stripes during a brand-new special event.
For the first time ever, CCSO hosted a barbecue to honor retired staff and officers, crafting an opportunity for current leadership to meet some of the legends in local law enforcement.
“We dreamed this idea up a couple of months ago,” said Sheriff Jim Driscoll. “People have reunions all the time, and I go, ‘Why not do one for our retirees?’ We started working on it, got everybody involved and here it is.”
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Former Sheriff Joe Richards was one notable guest at the event. He sat near the middle of the auditorium, a few yards away from monitors that displayed image after image of the county’s lawmen and women dating back to the 1890s. At more than one point, his picture dominated the screen.
“He is a legend,” Driscoll said of Richards. “The man is a legend -- 32 years as sheriff, eight terms. Eight terms! I learned so much from him.”
Driscoll took his place at a podium in the front of the room, opposite the chow line. He recounted much of his journey as sheriff, discussing the growth of programs like Pathways to Community, and reflecting on the challenges brought by a global pandemic and shifting attitudes toward policing. All the while, he pointed to Richards’ mentorship, and the contributions of the men and women who’ve built CCSO’s legacy, as laying the foundation for future success.
“I think it was important to recognize all those people, not just the cops, but everybody who’s worked here and retired over the last 50 years,” Driscoll said.
This is the first retiree reunion event CCSO has hosted, but the sheriff said he hopes it won’t be the last. He told the Daily Sun, many of the people who gathered Friday still have a good deal to teach and deserve to recognition. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/a-bbq-the-rain-couldnt-chase-away-ccso-honors-retired-employees-at-special-event/article_e2069a0e-f68d-11ed-b1ff-23da8a0d11df.html | 2023-05-20T15:42:54 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/a-bbq-the-rain-couldnt-chase-away-ccso-honors-retired-employees-at-special-event/article_e2069a0e-f68d-11ed-b1ff-23da8a0d11df.html |
An orange cherry picker sits on the front lawn of the Coconino County Superior Courthouse. It’s one of the most important and modern tools crews will use as they work to repair and restore elements of the 129-year old building.
Coconino County facilities crews will be replacing 103 windows, seven exterior doors and one interior door. They’ll be applying new coats of paint, and ensuring that the working courthouse is weather-sealed to withstand still more decades of use.
Tom Hanecak, the director of Facilities Management for Coconino County, said the work that’s being done is critical to retain the building’s integrity -- both structurally, and historically.
The summer courthouse renovations will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $440,000.
The team, he maintains, is not focused solely on making speedy repairs. Jeff Stein, the construction manager for Facilities Management, is passionate about the building’s history. And he’s not the only one.
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"What makes this work special is the feel of all the people that were here working throughout the last 100 years,” said Stein. “It’s just neat, being involved with something that’s so essential and such an important part of our architectural history.”
The folks in charge of the current project are bent on preservation and historical accuracy. In part, that’s because the craftsmen that have had their hands in courthouse construction in the past have poured a great deal of care into their work.
As evidence, Hanecak points to an almost imperceptible seam in the locally quarried sandstone on the side of the building that faces Birch Avenue.
Until the 1920s, most of that wing of the courthouse was nonexistent. Stein pulled a reference photo from Cline Library in order to better select historically accurate paint colors.
In that image, the original courthouse sits disconnected from the now-defunct jail -- a jail that was in use until the current facility on Sawmill Road was built in the 1990s. The photo shows men and women in Gilded Age garments standing before the courthouse.
For someone who is used to seeing the building as it stands today, it’s easy to imagine where the later wing should stand. The ghost of the structure in its current form lingers like a missing limb in the mind’s eye.
When the expansion was built, great care was taken to keep the style consistent with the existing architecture.
Those great pains are evident, and deeply respected by Hanecak and Stein.
Their team has worked hard to ensure the new coat of paint applied in 2023 is true to the original green from the 1890s.
“When they did the renovations in the 2000s and they replaced the windows in the historic courthouse, the architect we spoke to on this project said they were able to pull the windows out and get to the original paint to determine that green was the original color,” Stein said. “You see that at Riordan Mansion and the Riordan Mill Building on West Route 66, too. So, it’s consistent with the color scheme for that era.”
More than 18 years before Arizona was a state, the hefty sandstone that forms the courthouse façade was brought downtown from Switzer Mesa.
In 2000, yet another addition was added to the courthouse. The part of the building that stretches toward Cherry Avenue, and the covered entrance manned daily by a team of bailiffs were both built then.
Also in 2000, facilities teams undertook major restoration projects. They replaced some of the building’s sandstone. In order to do that, the original quarry was re-opened.
For the 2000 project, none of the stone needs replacement or repair. That doesn’t stop Stein from recognizing the rock’s distinct role in Flagstaff’s architectural history.
“Some of that sandstone was taken to L.A. and St. Louis and other places along the railroad to build some historic structures there, too, so there’s a little bit of Flagstaff in other parts of the country as well,” he said.
Now, it’s been 23 years since the historic courthouse last saw fresh paint, or an effort at restoration.
The work that is being done, Hanecak said, is labor intensive. In at least one way, that’s because the building is still in use -- criminal and civil trials are playing out behind the century old stone, and the chipped window panes that need replacing.
For that reason, crews have to forgo power tools in favor of quieter methods. They’ll be doing the lion’s share of the sanding by hand.
Still, some modern innovations in construction will be in use, especially as the restoration team works to reproduce and install doors in the old courthouse.
“If you look at them mostly in old photos, they are all hardwood. They’re not composite, which is historically accurate, but it also calls for a lot of attention from a maintenance and operations standpoint to make sure those doors function properly,” said Hanecak.
The original exterior doors had two panels, instead of one, allowing the hardwood to expand and contract with changes in weather without splitting. Hanecak said the facilities crew has also relied on historic photographs to craft replica doors -- which look like they pre-date Arizona’s statehood but were produced with modern woodworking and drying techniques.
“The south sides [of buildings] in Flagstaff, they get pounded with sun, then pounded with moisture, then pounded with wind, so it’s kind of a tough environment,” Hanecak said. “With ongoing maintenance we should be able to make sure those doors stat really nice for the duration.”
In crafting reproduction doors, and thinking about sprucing up the clock-tower-clad building, Hanecak said he’s been grateful that most of the crews who worked on the building in the past held its history in mind.
“One of the nice things about this building is it’s been restored back to being historically accurate. With the old jail, we haven’t done that yet. We’re hoping in the next five to 10 years to address that and bring it back to what it was historically,” he said.
As for the current courthouse project, Stein said his crew is on track to wrap things up in July. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/coconino-county-superior-court-gets-a-fresh-coat-of-paint/article_305da5dc-f58d-11ed-bc34-ff1de903eff7.html | 2023-05-20T15:43:01 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/coconino-county-superior-court-gets-a-fresh-coat-of-paint/article_305da5dc-f58d-11ed-bc34-ff1de903eff7.html |
“Are you sure you want to go into that pen? He’s awfully big,” said the animal caregiver at the Lake Elsinore Humane Society.
The big, bouncy, yellow Labrador retriever was body-wagging and smiling ferociously at my husband and me; how could he be anything but friendly? The caregiver opened the gate slightly and we squeezed in. The gorgeous lab reacted as if we were his long-lost owners. Hugh was sold on him immediately. I was a bit hesitant because I had never owned a big dog. Hugh said, “What do you think?” I was smitten, too, and replied, “If you’re sure we can find a way to keep him out of the gardens, then let’s adopt him.”
Hugh said, “OK then, he’s ours.”
We weren’t allowed to take him home for a week, as he was recovering from parvovirus. That gave us time to fashion garden barriers from a series of tomato cages piled on top of each other and tied together. We decided to name the lab Strider, and when we introduced him to our home and yard, he showed no interest in our vegetable gardens. Yahoo!
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As Strider became a valuable member of the family, the vegetable gardens grew robustly. I was especially pleased with the broccoli crop — it was the first time we had grown one. The plants grew much taller than I would have dreamed, holding large, lovely head buds. It was nearly time to harvest.
One day Hugh and I returned home from errands and found the broccoli crop had gone missing — all of it, even the roots. We searched the back yard and found roots — lots of roots — broccoli roots! There was only one possible suspect — Strider! So long to our dreams of homegrown broccoli that year.
Not having grown broccoli again since, I’ve done some research and we’re ready for another go at it. We no longer have a pet, so that’s not a worry. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have critters: wild rabbits, rock squirrels, prairie dogs and gophers. Fortunately, our in-ground gardens are lined with two layers of 1-inch mesh poultry wire and the perimeter is enclosed with the same.
Three practices weigh in heavily when growing broccoli in northern Arizona: (1) Allowing the plants to receive six to 10 hours of direct sun per day, while making sure their temperatures don’t go much above 75 degrees Fahrenheit; (2) Protecting the crop from aphids and other pests; (3) Giving plants consistent moisture, being certain they’re neither dry nor waterlogged.
We could start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before our estimated last spring frost or buy transplants to put directly in the ground or containers. Being inexperienced with growing broccoli in the high country, we’ll try our hands with transplants as early as March and as late as May. We’ll have to secure frost cloths over our crop when freezing temperatures or a heat wave is forecast. Frost cloths will serve double duty by protecting the crop from pests, especially aphids. But if we utilize containers, we may be able to forego the frost cloths by simply moving the containers to a frost- or sun-protected area.
Once Hugh has amended the garden plot so it’s rich in organic matter, we’ll set broccoli seedlings 12 to 20 inches apart in holes dug 1-inch deeper than the level they had been in the original pot. We’ll place a seedling in each and add soil, pressing firmly around each plant to form a shallow trough. Next, we’ll fill the trough with water. When the water has soaked in, we’ll top-dress with mulch around the plant, staying 1-inch away from the stem.
Three weeks later, we’ll incorporate low-nitrogen fertilizer (5-10-5) into the soil, taking care not to damage the shallow broccoli roots. And we’ll be certain to repeat this once a month.
After about 60-75 days, the crop will be ready to harvest. First, we’ll remove the top “head” with a slanted cut about 6 inches beneath. Then we’ll have to be patient for a few more weeks to harvest the smaller sideshoots.
Strider didn’t seem a bit fazed that “his” broccoli crop was gone in one fell swoop. He moved on to even better pastures with overripe peaches falling from the tree. Hugh and I didn’t mind that one bit.
Cindy Murray is a biologist, co-editor of Gardening Etcetera and a Coconino Master Gardener with Arizona Cooperative Extension.
If you have a gardening question, send a message to CoconinoMasterGardener@gmail.com and a Coconino Master Gardener will answer your question. Or call the Coconino Master Gardener Hotline at 928-773-6112 and leave a message. A Master Gardener will return your call. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/gardening-etcetera-who-swiped-the-broccoli/article_8ece87e4-f682-11ed-98c7-33b7d3709704.html | 2023-05-20T15:43:07 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/gardening-etcetera-who-swiped-the-broccoli/article_8ece87e4-f682-11ed-98c7-33b7d3709704.html |
Northern Arizona sprinter David Dunlap was firm in his stance on what some around the country perceive the Lumberjacks track and field program to be.
“We’re not complacent just being a distance school. I don’t like that label,” he said.
“I think we’re kind of changing the narrative,” added sprinter Alyssa Colbert. “The distance squad is obviously awesome, but there are so many other aspects about the whole team that are great, and we’re able to build on that.”
It’s hard to argue, as the Lumberjacks men have won consistent national championships and often have individual runners on the podium for both cross country and distance races. The women are right on their tails, having placed sixth at the 2022 cross country championships. They also boast several athletes who compete for the top spots nationally.
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But, as the team has progressed through the past few years, the other groups have started to forge their own paths.
In particular, the Lumberjacks sprinters have grown exponentially under associate head coach Alan Dunson -- who works with the sprinters and hurdlers -- in the past few seasons.
“I think it starts with (director of cross country and track and field Mike Smith’s) continued empowerment, but I’ve also had some seniors and juniors that have stepped up the level of accountability and day-to-day work and everything they need to do to be successful,” Dunson said. “I don’t have words to describe how proud I am. But I’m not surprised, because we’ve been talking about this since the fall. If anything, I’m looking forward to them seeing the progress, because they’ve become the most dominant group of sprinters and relay teams in the history of our program and the conference."
The Lumberjacks men and women swept the 2023 Big Sky outdoor championships meet last Saturday, adding to the sweeps of both men’s and women’s cross country and indoor track and field titles. But, with several school records being broken in the past few months, and more work to be done, the sprint group is among the best in Northern Arizona's history.
Dunlap defended his conference title in the 100- and 200-meter races over the weekend. He qualified for the NCAA West Regional -- one step away from the NCAA outdoor track and field championships -- set to begin Wednesday in Sacramento. He already owns the Northern Arizona and Big Sky indoor record for the 200m dash with a time of 20.54, and took 14th in the 2022 outdoor national championship race. He hopes to add more in his final season.
“I just want to go out with a bang, give it my all one last time around the track,” he said.
Dunlap will join several women’s sprinters in the regional races, including Colbert. Colbert also qualified in both the 100m and 200m, having taken gold and silver, respectively, in the two races in last weekend’s conference championship. She holds the school record in the 100m with a time of 11.33.
She will join with Kyairra Reigh, Kenya Coburn and LiNay Perry at the regional meet, comprising the best women’s 4x100m relay team in Lumberjacks history.
The group claimed gold at the conference championships and holds the school record.
Madeline Wilson took first place at the conference meet to qualify, edging Colbert in the 200m dash with a time of 23.84. Reigh and Perry also qualified in the 400m races.
While the events are individual, Colbert said she is proud of the Lumberjacks sprinters as a unit.
“We knew we all had big goals to accomplish, and seeing all that work pay off and have this many people going to regionals is an amazing feeling,” she said.
She added: “I think, as a team, the conference goal was to win head-to-head, but coach Dunson always says you shouldn’t want your season to end there. I think a lot of us have adapted that mindset, especially this year.”
The competition will be steeper at the regional meet, with the top athletes from each of the nearby conferences competing. But Dunson believes the sprinters can maintain success. Maybe they’ll even inch closer to taking away the “distance” label.
“I think we’re going to keep turning some heads. It won’t be a surprise to us, but I think others might be shocked,” he said.
Northern Arizona will also send others to the West Regional.
Nikita Moore will run the 1500m women’s race, having qualified with a time of 4:19.60 during the season. She’ll also run the 5K, along with Annika Reiss, Jesselyn Bries and Bryn Morley. Bries will also compete in the 10K.
On the men’s distance side, Colin Sahlman and Kang Nyoak will run in the 1500m race. Nyoak will join Theo Quax, Nico Young, Santiago Gomez-Presser and Cael Grotenhuis in the 5K.
Grotenhuis and Drew Bosley qualified for the 10K races.
Mitchell Effing is a double-qualifier, reaching the regional event in both the triple jump and long jump. He’ll be joined in the triple jump on the women’s side by Jenna Figueroa. Jack Normand will round out the leapers, qualifying in the men’s high jump.
The Lumberjacks will have three competitors in the men's hammer throw, with John Murphy, Desmond Lott and Garret Bernt all qualifying.
Jade Kwinn and Trevor Hook will compete in the women’s and men’s javelin, respectively.
The NCAA West Regional will begin Wednesday and run through Saturday in Sacramento. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/lumberjacks-look-toward-ncaa-west-regional-sprinters-laud-achievements/article_d8ba13de-f667-11ed-a7ee-cb52bff9aefe.html | 2023-05-20T15:43:25 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/lumberjacks-look-toward-ncaa-west-regional-sprinters-laud-achievements/article_d8ba13de-f667-11ed-a7ee-cb52bff9aefe.html |
Northern Arizona distance runner Colin Sahlman was named the Big Sky men's outdoor track and field freshman of the year award following his outstanding performance at the conference championship meet.
Sahlman was impressive in his first conference outdoor championship appearance, claiming gold in both the 800-meter and the 1500m races in Greeley, Colorado, last weekend.
In the 800m , Sahlman dominated, running a time of of 1:50.79 to win his first medal of the day. He faced tough competition from teammate Nico Young in the 1500m.
Sahlman's success at the outdoor championships continued his outstanding season after previously being named the Big Sky cross country freshman of the year.
Mike Smith, director of cross country and track and field at Northern Arizona, also swept the conference coaching outdoor awards, earning his fifth on the women's side and fourth on the men's side.
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Smith led the Lumberjacks to their third consecutive titles on both the men's and women's side, and their second consecutive calendar sweep of the cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field titles.
The men finished with a score of 220.5 points, the second-highest point total in conference championship history, and the women scored 192 points. The program earned a total of 15 gold medals and broke multiple conference championship records.
Annika Reiss was named co-women's most valuable athlete, and Alyssa Colbert was named the women's most outstanding performer. Reiss was a champion in two events, taking gold in the 800m and 1500m races, while Colbert won the 100m and was an integral part of the women's 4x100m relay that won its event.
The Lumberjacks will send 25 athletes to next week's NCAA West Regional in Sacramento. Competition will begin Wednesday. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/nau-roundup-sahlman-wins-second-freshman-of-the-year-award/article_ee200d46-f667-11ed-bac4-9b00f259393b.html | 2023-05-20T15:43:32 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/nau-roundup-sahlman-wins-second-freshman-of-the-year-award/article_ee200d46-f667-11ed-bac4-9b00f259393b.html |
HOLIDAY, Fla. — A 43-year-old man from Holiday has been missing since Tuesday night, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say Allan Hancock was last seen around 11:50 p.m. possibly riding a gold spray-painted Honda Cruiser-style motorcycle.
Hancock is described to be 5 foot, 7 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.
If you have any information on Hancock's whereabouts, please call the Pasco Sheriff's Non-Emergency Line at 727-847-8102, option 7.
You can also report tips online at PascoSheriff.com/tips.If you have any information on Hancock's whereabouts, please call the Pasco Sheriff's Non-Emergency Line at 727-847-8102, option 7. You can also report tips online at PascoSheriff.com/tips. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/pasco-county-looking-for-missing-43-year-old-man/67-af1f09b4-496f-4e5b-9351-b8987add7652 | 2023-05-20T15:44:41 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/pasco-county-looking-for-missing-43-year-old-man/67-af1f09b4-496f-4e5b-9351-b8987add7652 |
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa police are looking for the parents or guardians of a nonverbal child who was found running along a busy street early Saturday morning, according to a news release.
Police say the child was found running along East Busch Boulevard and Interstate 275. Authorities believe the child is between 12 to 13 years old.
Police ask anyone who knows him or his family to call 813-231-6130.
No further details are available. Stay with 10 Tampa Bay as this story develops. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/tampa-police-seeking-family-of-a-nonverbal-child/67-272c3326-0823-4fb3-aa98-494cace450fe | 2023-05-20T15:44:47 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/tampa-police-seeking-family-of-a-nonverbal-child/67-272c3326-0823-4fb3-aa98-494cace450fe |
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys is hosting an event for people of all ages.
The Spring Community Career & Resource Fair and Fun Day is being held today, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Zeenith Barret with the company joined 10 News on Saturday morning to preview the event.
We’re told the community can find out about job opportunities, community resources, enjoy family-friendly activities, and learn more about the Melrose Plaza coming in 2024.
The Spring Community Career & Resource Fair is being held at 2502 Melrose Avenue Northwest, and the Fun Day is being held at the Kiwanis Centennial Playground.
See the event flier here. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/20/goodwill-hosts-community-fun-day-career-fair-in-northwest-roanoke/ | 2023-05-20T15:54:10 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/20/goodwill-hosts-community-fun-day-career-fair-in-northwest-roanoke/ |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – #UVAStrong.
UVA Football is remembering Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry, and Lavel Davis Jr. on a day of celebration.
It has been nearly six months after the tragedy that cut their lives far too short.
Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry, and Devin Chandler were killed in a tragic shooting on Nov. 13, 2022, on UVA grounds. All three victims were students at the university and played on the Virginia Cavaliers Football team. A fourth member of the team, Mike Hollins, and another student, Marlee Morgan, were also wounded but survived the incident.
[Meet D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler: Victims of the UVA shooting]
On May 20 as graduation ceremonies wrapped up at the University of Virginia, UVA Football and Virginia Sports took to social media to honor Chandler, Perry, and Davis.
As of around 11 a.m. Saturday morning, the post had more than 2,000 likes and several people took to the comments to express their support for the UVA community and the players’ families. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/20/uva-honors-devin-chandler-dsean-perry-lavel-davis-jr-on-graduation-day/ | 2023-05-20T15:54:17 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/20/uva-honors-devin-chandler-dsean-perry-lavel-davis-jr-on-graduation-day/ |
YORK, Pa. — On Thursday, Joseph "Spike" Bahn walked out of Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital of York to a standing ovation after a month of recovery.
Back in April, Spike suffered a traumatic brain injury during a golf cart accident.
“Oh, it feels so good," said Spike about returning home.
“To come back from an injury like this and be independent again is a huge accomplishment," said Lindsey Keffer, a physical therapists with Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital.
Keffer is one of several nurses and therapists who worked with Spike during his recovery. Spike worked for weeks to regain the ability to walk, get dressed, and cook on his own. Staff workers said that Spike was determined to get back home after his injury.
“He was progressing every day, and he was very motivated to work hard for us," said Tessa Golder, a physical therapist.
“He’s been a pleasure to work with and has come such a long way, from not being able to walk on his own to carrying a giant duffle bag the size of him," said Keffer.
After finishing his recovery, Spike is now focused on returning to West York High School, where he serves as the school's athletic manager.
“We’re happy to get him back to what he loves to do and help West York athletics," said Lauren Allie-Garner, speech therapist at Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital.
"That was his big motivating factor," added Golder.
“I’ll have the summer off so that I can rest up before August," said Spike. "Go Bulldogs." | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/beloved-west-york-man-returns-home-from-rehab-after-recovering-from-a-head-injury-york-county/521-89ee6e61-60d7-4fde-8159-035e3a71cffe | 2023-05-20T16:22:56 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/beloved-west-york-man-returns-home-from-rehab-after-recovering-from-a-head-injury-york-county/521-89ee6e61-60d7-4fde-8159-035e3a71cffe |
SEVEN VALLEYS, Pa. — If you’re looking for a fun and leisure adventure this summer, Seven Valleys Borough might have the perfect activity for families and friends.
American Rail Bike Adventures have opened tours for the summer 2023 season. Rides are available throughout the week and are available in Seven Valleys Borough and Stewartstown.
“Now that more rails aren’t being used, I think it’s going to get more popular,” said Robert Zain, Tour Manager for American Rail Bike Adventure.
The rail bikes are fitted to existing railroad tracks and can carry a group of four cyclists. Each tour can hold up to 20 riders. Rides can take up to two-hours to complete, depending on the location and rate of speed.
“It’s pretty much just like a bicycle at your home, accept there’s no steering and no passing, but it is all individually pedaled,” Zain said.
Biking the rails isn’t a new outdoor activity, however, more and more tours are opening around the commonwealth. Originating out of Las Vegas, Nevada, American Rail Bike Adventures opened its first tours in Pennsylvania less than five years ago.
“This is our second year, yep, we’ve been in Stewartstown for three years now and this is our second year here,” Zain said.
Zain also told FOX43 the bikes are just as fun and just as challenging as tradition biking, albeit less competitive. Riders go at their own pace.
“It’s not geared towards speed, it’s leisure, it comparable to like third gear on a ten-speed, it’s just a leisure ride that takes a couple hours to get down to the tunnel and back,” Zain explained.
Using existing rail tracks is also giving railroads new purpose. Zain shared how the company is currently researching other railroad tracks along bike trails in Pennsylvania for a possible third tour location.
“A lot of places don’t have anything going on with the rail at all anymore once they decommission the trains, they just don’t have any use for them at all,” Zain said.
Tours in Seven Valleys and Stewartstown will continue until November 2023. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/biking-outdoor-summer-exercise-trails-scenic/521-e41c975a-315b-4eff-911d-9018f3c012be | 2023-05-20T16:23:02 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/biking-outdoor-summer-exercise-trails-scenic/521-e41c975a-315b-4eff-911d-9018f3c012be |
MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — With their ten-person tent set up, Quinten Pomrink and his four buddies are celebrating a birthday with a camping trip at Tobyhanna State Park in Monroe County.
"Being outdoors, it's nice being in nature and getting away from everything. It's just relaxing, like, refreshing being away from all of the phones and stuff," Pomrink said.
The men from Bucks County are enjoying the park before crowds roll in next weekend for Memorial Day Weekend.
Park Manager Lee Dillion says maintenance crews have been busy getting the park ready for what they're expecting to be a jam-packed summer season.
"Landscaping work, mowing of the grass, we're cleaning bathrooms every day. We're maintaining buildings every day. You know, the shortlist this week is the beach. We have two of them that need to go in. We need this one in, and one in Gouldsboro, and those will be up and ready to roll for Memorial Day Weekend," Dillion said.
All 140 campsites at Tobyhanna are sold out for the holiday weekend. Dillion says the demand for being outside is just as high as it's ever been.
"I think people came out and found the resources and realized how beautiful they are and how much just being out here can be good for the soul, so to speak."
Dillion says if you're planning to visit any of the parks around the state, be sure to give them a call or check their website for open camping spots.
"Make sure there is availability," Dillion advised. "I would hate to see anyone drive four or five hours towing a camper just to get somewhere and be told, 'Sorry, we don't have any room for you.'"
Dillion says booking is looking strong for the rest of the season, with the Fourth of July Weekend on the verge of being sold out soon.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/state-park-campgrounds-preparing-for-upcoming-holiday-summer-season-tobyhanna-gouldsboro-state-park/523-8974ad78-fb81-4947-8e73-2f53eaaa5929 | 2023-05-20T16:23:08 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/state-park-campgrounds-preparing-for-upcoming-holiday-summer-season-tobyhanna-gouldsboro-state-park/523-8974ad78-fb81-4947-8e73-2f53eaaa5929 |
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — Not much seems to faze Chad Murnaghan, an accounts clerk for the Middle Township Finance Department, township Business Administrator Kimberly Osmundsen said during a recent Township Committee meeting.
Not even seeing a struggle between a resident and a police officer in which the officer appeared to be losing the upper hand.
Murnaghan, on his way home from work a little after 4 p.m. April 27, stopped his truck and ran to help the officer, who was the only one at the scene at the time.
“He remained calm, cool and collected, which is totally Chad’s style,” Osmundsen said.
She recommended him for the Middle Matters civic recognition, which the Township Committee approved and presented during the May 15 meeting.
“All those nights in Fred’s (Tavern) finally came in handy,” Mayor Tim Donohue joked before presenting the award.
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MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — For years, residents, advocates and police have reported encampments in th…
Murnaghan had taken a detour through a neighborhood to avoid some traffic that afternoon. He initially passed the scene but threw his truck in reverse when he looked in his rear view and saw the discussion between Patrolman Timothy Urquhart and a resident turn physical, according to police Chief Christopher Leusner.
Murnaghan, who has a background in security, helped subdue the man just as other officers arrived, Leusner said.
Police had gone to the residence on a report of domestic violence.
Raymond Bailey III, 24, of Cape May Court House, faces charges of aggravated assault, throwing bodily fluids, resisting arrest and obstructing the administration of law, Leusner said.
Murnaghan downplayed his actions, saying police officers face similar situations every day.
“I’ve lived in Middle Township for 47 years, was born and raised here,” said Murnaghan. “You get to know everyone in a small town, and you look after each other. This was just a chance encounter for me. The police deal with these situations all day, every day. I will always support the Police Department and their efforts.”
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — A Wildwood man was fatally struck by a vehicle Wednesday morning while cro…
He recently won recognition as the Middle Township Employee of the Month as well.
“We are incredibly proud of Murnaghan’s bravery and willingness to go above and beyond to help a colleague in need,” Osmundsen said. “His swift action helped to prevent a potentially dangerous situation from escalating.”
At the same meeting, officials honored Nikki Hober as the latest employee of the month.
Donohue said that as a code enforcement officer, Hober has a tough and sometimes thankless job, to try to evenhandedly enforce the township’s property codes, from unkempt lawns to dilapidated buildings.
“It’s a very hard balancing act. It takes a lot of diplomacy,” Donohue said.
Hober said she was honored by the award.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee on Monday unanimously approved a $30.78 million bud…
Code enforcement was moved under the Police Department in Middle Township several years ago. The code enforcement unit is staffed by civilians who investigate and enforce local ordinances. Hober began working for the unit in 2021 and enforces municipal ordinances such as those pertaining to property maintenance, tall grass and bulk waste.
“Nikki goes above and beyond and gives full attention to detail and dedication to her job responsibilities,” said deputy Business Administrator Suzanne Schumann, who nominated Hober for the award. “She has made important contacts with residents and business owners in the Rio Grande area and strives to upkeep the area as much as possible from a code enforcement standpoint. More often than not, Nikki is already in the process of handling a situation before it is even brought to her attention.” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/middle-township-honors-employee-who-intervened-to-help-police-officer/article_26ecf55c-f682-11ed-8064-efeda9e065d5.html | 2023-05-20T16:24:25 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/middle-township-honors-employee-who-intervened-to-help-police-officer/article_26ecf55c-f682-11ed-8064-efeda9e065d5.html |
In March, Marielena Vega traveled to the U.S. Capitol alongside 20 progressive agricultural groups to represent the Idaho farmworker community during the Rally for Resilience in Washington, D.C.
In her speech to hundreds of attendees, the Canyon County native urged Congress to prioritize climate change policy and protections for farmworkers. She lobbied for those protections in the upcoming farm bill, an omnibus, multiyear law that governs many agricultural and food programs across the country.
“Our farmworker community gets excluded time and time again, and this is something that has never made sense to me because farmworkers provide very essential work here in the U.S.,” she said at the rally. “We don’t want to be overlooked or silent anymore. I will not be silent today.”
Vega attended the event after her colleague, Samantha Guerrero, nominated her to attend the climate rally in Washington, D.C.
Guerrero is a bilingual agriculture and food community organizer at the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils who met Vega during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guerrero said Vega stood out to her because of her connection with Idaho’s farmworking community.
“She’s one of the people that have stepped up and really volunteered her time to our efforts,” Guerrero said. “She has a lot of family that continues to work as farmworkers and even she was working as a farmworker for a while.”
Through her network as a community organizer, Guerrero connected with the HEAL Food Alliance, a multi-sector and multiracial coalition of farmers, fishers, scientists, public health experts and community organizers that advocate for food and farming policies.
Guerrero said she and Vega applied to the food alliance’s school of political leadership to receive training on community organizing, and she later nominated Vega to participate in the program’s lobbying days in D.C. for a climate rally.
“I asked her to be a part because she was connected to the communities that we were trying to reach,” she said. “Over the time that she’s been a member of our organization, I’ve seen her grow from being a shy person to becoming really outspoken, confident and being willing to share her experience about the things that she has overcome and seen.”
IDAHO FARMWORKER ACTIVIST RECALLS UPBRINGINGVega is a University of Idaho graduate and a board member of the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils. She was born and raised in Wilder to immigrant parents who are originally from Michoacán, Mexico.
Vega said she was raised among the farmworker community, because from a young age her parents would bring her along during their shifts.
“It was hard to find a babysitter because my parents didn’t know a lot of people, so when I was like 3 or 4, when they were picking apples they were taking me along with them,” she said. “They would put me in one of the apple crates with a blanket and sit me down with some toys and snacks.”
Vega received her first paycheck from farmworking when she was 15 years old. During the weekends and summers in between school, Vega would work alongside her parents, and three of her sisters would eventually follow in her footsteps.
Vega is the oldest daughter out of five children. She has four younger sisters, and three of them are a part of the College Assistance Migrant Program, a federal financial assistance program for students who have farmworking backgrounds.
“It’s been so important to be involved in this work bringing awareness because a lot of people that I know are still in the fields,” Vega said.
IDAHO FARMWORKERS ARE AT FOREFRONT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ORGANIZER SAYSGuerrero said she nominated Vega to attend the rally in D.C. so she would share how farmworkers have to adapt to extreme weather conditions because of climate change and to promote work protections.
“Farmworkers are at the forefront of feeling the effects of climate change,” Guerrero said. “ From having to work super early in the morning to avoid the heat to working under the heat because they don’t want to lose crops, they’re the ones that are still working through all the seasons and feeling the effects of it.”
Guerrero said Vega’s unique experiences represent Idaho’s farmworking community.
“They are the driving force behind agriculture in this state,” Guerrero said. “Without their labor, we wouldn’t be one of the top agricultural states, so the least that we can do is protect them and treat them with dignity and have basic protections for them.”
During her time in D.C., Vega visited the offices of Idaho’s congressional delegation and left information about the resource council’s work.
Vega said she would like Idaho lawmakers to implement policies mimicking Washington and Oregon laws that provide farmworkers with hazard pay for enduring poor air quality during wildfires and offer shade and cooling spots for workers.
The last time Vega did farm work was in 2020. As a former farmworker who worked during summer breaks in between school, Vega said farmworking protections policies would protect people of all ages.
“A lot of people think of farmworkers and forget about the youth in the summer that are working,” she said. “People from college, high school, and middle school are exposed to extreme heat or extreme weather conditions.”
ADVOCATING FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT DRIVER’S LICENSE BILLIn addition to advocating for farmworker protections on the fields, Vega also advocated for state legislation that would have created a restricted driver’s license available to all people 16 and older residing in Idaho, regardless of their immigration status.
Two years ago, Vega testified in support of the bill during a committee hearing, but the bill died in committee at the Legislature.
During the 2023 session, the Latino advocacy group PODER of Idaho gathered 8,000 signatures from Idahoans across the state to support its Manejando Sin Miedo (Driving Without Fear) campaign, but the bill died when the legislative session adjourned.
Even though her parents both knew how to drive, Vega said she obtained her driver’s license at age 15 and became the main driver in her family.
“I knew I was gonna have to learn how to drive because my parents were undocumented at that time,” she said. “We always knew the risk of driving, and that’s why my parents pushed so hard for me to learn how to drive. At the end of the day, I knew it was my responsibility to get a driver’s license.”
Vega said she spent a lot of time during her teenage years driving her parents and siblings to places, and she knows other families that share similar experiences.
“My parents were always living in fear that they might get stopped and then deported,” she said. “My parents would have been happy to pay for a license. We live here, and this is our home, but it’s just that they were not allowed to do that.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/after-lobbying-in-d-c-idaho-activist-shares-experience-advocating-for-immigrant-rights/article_2cefa84e-f675-11ed-8157-2b46b25c1af9.html | 2023-05-20T16:35:07 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/after-lobbying-in-d-c-idaho-activist-shares-experience-advocating-for-immigrant-rights/article_2cefa84e-f675-11ed-8157-2b46b25c1af9.html |
CALDWELL — City of Caldwell staff have begun planning the creation of a new volunteer commission that would guide the city’s parks and recreation department.
“We are now the fourth-largest city in the state, and we need to consider how we approach our planning for recreation to create the best possible future and opportunities for our citizens,” said Caldwell Parks and Recreation Director Julie McCoy at a city council workshop Tuesday night.
Workshops are informational only; a decision on whether to approve the commission will be voted on at a later date, Mayor Jarom Wagoner said.
The commission would consist of three to seven volunteer community members, including one youth member, appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council, McCoy said. The duties of the commission would include land acquisition and creating new parks, developing new pathways and renovating existing parks, McCoy said.
The city currently has a bikes and pathways committee which would be subsumed into the parks and recreation committee, Wagoner said.
Committee members would be required to live within city limits, though two could be from the city’s area of impact, McCoy said. The area of impact includes land that the city intends to annex and develop in the foreseeable future.
Terms will run three years, except for the youth member, whose term “will expire on Aug. 31 of each year to correspond to the school year,” McCoy said. Each person is eligible for two terms, unless two-thirds of the committee votes in favor of their appointment to a third term.
McCoy said it’s currently expected that terms would be consecutive, but that she would look into changing ordinance language to allow people to serve non-consecutive terms.
She said she envisions bringing ideas to the committee, and based on their feedback, bringing the ideas before the council.
“So it’s more of a guiding, advising body for myself and all of you, as well as parks and recreation superintendents and anyone like that,” McCoy said.
Wagoner said, “I think it’s a great time for it. As you mentioned, with the growth we’ve seen, and with our new parks and rec director position, it’s an ideal time to enhance what we have right now and grow on that.”
Councilmember John McGee said, “congratulations on having a younger voice. I think on this, that’s a great idea,” adding that it had come up as a possibility for other commissions but had not seemed like an appropriate fit. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/caldwell-considers-forming-new-parks-commission-that-would-include-a-youth-seat/article_a1557702-f4d8-11ed-94b5-6f9c45e919a8.html | 2023-05-20T16:35:14 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/caldwell-considers-forming-new-parks-commission-that-would-include-a-youth-seat/article_a1557702-f4d8-11ed-94b5-6f9c45e919a8.html |
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines has reached a new four-year agreement with its pilots union, the union and airline officials announced Friday morning.
The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, announced that the union has "reached an agreement in principle" with the Fort Worth-based airline.
American Airlines confirmed the agreement, saying it will give pilots "pay and profit sharing that match the top of the industry with improved quality-of-life provisions unique to American's pilots."
"We have the best and most professional pilots in the business and like all American Airlines team members, they deserve to be paid well and competitively," American officials said in a statement.
The two sides will now move forward with "completing contractual language" for the deal, according to the APA.
More details about the new collective bargaining agreement were not released.
"Fellow pilots, thank you for your steadfast support throughout this lengthy process," the union officials wrote in a statement. "As always, we will proceed with the best interests of the pilot group foremost in our minds."
The two sides were expected to eventually reach a deal to avoid any possibility of a work stoppage. The pilots earlier this month voted to authorize a strike, though a walkout was always highly unlikely. Around 99% of pilots who voted on the matter were in favor of authorizing a strike.
Southwest pilots also voted to authorize a strike, a move that is largely symbolic as pilots negotiate new contract agreements with their airline.
Federal law prohibits airline unions from striking without the tacit approval of a U.S. mediation board, according to the Associated Press. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/american-airlines-union-reaches-deal-with-pilots-for-new-contract/287-edc02068-71b7-4b03-95db-0647220314d3 | 2023-05-20T16:38:21 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/american-airlines-union-reaches-deal-with-pilots-for-new-contract/287-edc02068-71b7-4b03-95db-0647220314d3 |
Editor's note: Following publication of this article, INDOT informed The Times that smaller signs recognizing Presidents Benjamin Harrison and Abraham Lincoln will be installed under the new Indiana welcome signs.
So long Benjamin Harrison. We hardly knew you.
After years of touting a one-term 19th century leader as "America's Hoosier President" on the state's highway welcome signs, even though Harrison was born in Ohio and didn't even win the popular vote in 1888, Indiana has decided to take a different route.
On Thursday, Gov. Eric Holcomb unveiled a new welcome sign that highlights Indiana as a whole as a tourism destination, instead of continuing to focus its front-door promotional efforts on a president even many Jeopardy! contestants would have a hard time recalling.
The new sign reads "More to Discover IN Indiana" and "Estd. 1816," referring to the year Indiana was established as the 19th state, and uses the style developed as part of the statewide tourism branding launched last year by the Indiana Destination Development Corp. (IDDC).
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The clear, simple sign also no longer includes a "Welcome" phrase, the "Crossroads of America" state motto, or the occasionally seen "Lincoln's Boyhood Home" designation.
The signs initially will be installed on the state line at 19 interstate highway locations by May 26, prior to the influx of visitors expected for the annual Indianapolis 500 auto race scheduled for May 28 in Speedway, Indiana.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) then is planning to install an additional 57 entry signs along non-interstate routes by the end of June.
"This statewide project is an effort made through both the IDDC and INDOT to display and amplify the Hoosier state's hospitality to our visitors," said Gov. Eric Holcomb during a sign unveiling ceremony at the speedway.
Elaine Bedel, IDDC secretary and CEO, said the new-look signs showcase Indiana's commitment to tourism and economic growth, and highlight the importance of providing an enhanced travel experience for visitors to Indiana.
"We are thrilled to extend the reach of the IN Indiana campaign throughout the entire state. Tourists and residents will have a warm Indiana welcome whenever they cross our state borders," Bedel said.
INDOT Commissioner Mike Smith also announced the state transportation agency's 10-year program to replace or renovate highway rest areas, which began in 2021 on Interstate 65 just south of Lake County, next will focus on a $32 million rebuild of the state's Clear Creek Welcome Center on I-70 near Terre Haute in west-central Indiana.
"Clear Creek Welcome Center is one of the first stops for many visitors to Indiana," said INDOT Commissioner Mike Smith. "The upgraded facility will create a more modern and inviting space with new amenities that showcase Indiana's hospitality and charm."
The new welcome center is scheduled to open in 2025. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/business/new-highway-signs-to-welcome-visitors-to-indiana/article_1e595290-f58e-11ed-a651-cfcc3ae4529d.html | 2023-05-20T16:41:20 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/business/new-highway-signs-to-welcome-visitors-to-indiana/article_1e595290-f58e-11ed-a651-cfcc3ae4529d.html |
The Skillman Corporation, an Indianapolis-based construction management firm with an office in Merrillville, has transitioned to 100% employee ownership.
The firm has tackled many major Region projects, including Marquette Park in Gary, the Portage Lakefront and River Walk and the Crown Point Community Library. It's converting to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, which gives its workers a share in the profits, a say in operations and a voice about the company's direction in the future.
Brad Skillman, president of The Skillman Corporation, said employee ownership gives employees a direct stake in the company's success and creates a sense of shared purpose.
"This marks an important milestone for The Skillman Corporation and our employees," the company said in announcing the transition. "We believe the ESOP is the best way to ensure our company's long-term success and give our employees a sense of ownership and pride in their work. We are excited to see the future of The Skillman Corporation as an employee-owned company."
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Established in 1972, Skillman has more than 100 employees at its offices in Indiana and Portage, Michigan. The company pointed to studies that have found employee-owned firms tend to have more sustainable growth, greater job stability and higher productivity.
Over the years, Skillman has won many honors such as a Best Places to Work in Indiana Award and an Engineering News-Record magazine Top 100 Contractor honor. It opened its Merrillville office in 1993.
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219 News Now: Check out the weekend forecast with Matt Holiner 5/12/23
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
For more information, call 219-252-9812 or visit www.classufcgym.com/locations/winfield/.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Unbeatable Eatables, DRIPBaR Crown Point, Taco Depot and Flashback Antiques open; Da Burger House closes
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219 News Now: Check out the weekend forecast with Matt Holiner 5/12/23
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
For more information, call 219-252-9812 or visit www.classufcgym.com/locations/winfield/.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Unbeatable Eatables, DRIPBaR Crown Point, Taco Depot and Flashback Antiques open; Da Burger House closes
Open
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219 News Now: Check out the weekend forecast with Matt Holiner 5/12/23
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
For more information, call 219-252-9812 or visit www.classufcgym.com/locations/winfield/.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Unbeatable Eatables, DRIPBaR Crown Point, Taco Depot and Flashback Antiques open; Da Burger House closes
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NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
For more information, call 219-252-9812 or visit www.classufcgym.com/locations/winfield/.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Unbeatable Eatables, DRIPBaR Crown Point, Taco Depot and Flashback Antiques open; Da Burger House closes
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219 News Now: Check out the weekend forecast with Matt Holiner 5/12/23
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Biggby Coffee, Flora Plants, Funk My Life and McDonald's open; Aster & Gray and Elements Wine Bar close
Class UFC Gym in Winfield to celebrate grand opening with top contender Belal Muhammad
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.
The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.
"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."
The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.
"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."
Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.
Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.
"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."
The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.
People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.
"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."
Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.
For more information, call 219-252-9812 or visit www.classufcgym.com/locations/winfield/. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/skillman-corp-becomes-employee-owned/article_c6d84de8-f662-11ed-82cf-277e04c33641.html | 2023-05-20T16:54:25 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/skillman-corp-becomes-employee-owned/article_c6d84de8-f662-11ed-82cf-277e04c33641.html |
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County Sheriff's Office is investigating after jailers say an inmate managed to dig a significant hole through the shower wall and attacked another detainee.
Officials at the Rice Street jail discovered the hole Wednesday around 8:30 p.m. after an inmate was stabbed.
According to the sheriff's office, an inmate carved a path through the shower wall which led to the adjacent cell block. The inmate attacked the person in the cell, suffering "superficial stab wounds to his upper body," according to investigators. That inmate was being treated in the medical unit and is expected to survive.
Correctional officers checked both cell blocks following the attack and found several weapons, including shanks made from the building. Photos of those items can be found in the gallery below.
PHOTOS | Fulton County inmate digs through shower wall
"It presents a constant challenge for us to eliminate things like this from access to the inmates," interim Fulton County Jail Commander Curtis Clark said in a news release. "This jail has clearly outlived its useful life. That reality makes it even more challenging for us to do our job of providing the safest possible environment, not only for staff but for the inmates as well."
More charges will be filed against the inmate who launched the attack, authorities said.
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- Watch live streams on YouTube | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/fulton-county-jail-inmate-digs-through-wall-attacks-detainee/85-31feaf0f-55ce-4fa6-b000-f01db6c0f91e | 2023-05-20T17:00:59 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/fulton-county-jail-inmate-digs-through-wall-attacks-detainee/85-31feaf0f-55ce-4fa6-b000-f01db6c0f91e |
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Four years after deputies say a mother left a newborn in a tied-up plastic bag and left for dead in the woods, she faced a judge.
Karima Jiwani had her first court appearance Saturday where prosecutors asked the judge to deny her bond for fear she is a flight risk and could intimidate witnesses.
Jiwani's attorney argued that as a woman with a husband and three children, the 40-year-old would not likely leave the state, saying the issue at hand was an example of Jiwani experiencing psychosis and postpartum depression in 2019. Ultimately, the judge denied Jiwani's bond.
Jiwani was arrested earlier this week and is accused of criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree cruelty to children, aggravated assault and reckless abandonment in the case surrounding "Baby India."
The newborn, who gripped the nation and became affectionately known as "Baby India" is now four years old. She was found abandoned in June 2019 after a family called 911 reporting cries from the woods nearby.
LISTEN: 911 call of baby found in woods
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office announced Jiwani, the child's mother, was the sole suspect in the case on Friday. She was arrested the day prior and is cooperating with the investigation.
Sheriff Ron. H. Freeman said investigators were able to make a break in the case 10 months ago with DNA leading to the identification first to Baby India's father and then traced the evidence back to Jiwani. It appears that the father did not know the child existed or knew that Jiwani was ever pregnant, according to the sheriff.
Jiwani likely gave birth in a car and then drove around for a period of time with the baby before allegedly abandoning the newborn "thrown into the woods like a bag of trash," Freeman said.
The lengths to which Jiwani allegedly went to leave the baby somewhere she would not be found form the basis of the criminal attempt to murder charge, the sheriff explained.
"Evidence also reveals a history of hidden and concealed pregnancies and surprise births in Ms. Jiwani's history," Freeman said, adding it appeared that Jiwani went through great lengths to hide her pregnancy with Baby India.
Freeman said despite the "inconceivable criminal act," the child is living a healthy and happy life. He did not share more about the child, who would be a toddler, for security reasons.
The sheriff made sure to point out that Georgia has a "safe haven law," where a mom can legally leave her baby at a police station, hospital or fire station if the child isn't more than 30 days old. Under the Safe Place for Newborns Act, the mother isn't required to show ID and will not be charged. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/karima-jiwani-denied-bond-baby-india/85-56ad7ead-3b60-4024-a008-4bda95b33ae5 | 2023-05-20T17:01:05 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/karima-jiwani-denied-bond-baby-india/85-56ad7ead-3b60-4024-a008-4bda95b33ae5 |
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