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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller penned an editorial Friday expressing his support for expanding the "compassionate use" of cannabis products in Texas.
Miller started out by saying that, in the past, Texas policy on cannabis has not been driven by facts but, rather, fear.
"As I look back, I believe that cannabis prohibition came from a place of fear, not from medical science or the analysis of social harm," Miller wrote. "Sadly, the roots of this came from a history of racism, classism and a large central government with an authoritarian desire to control others. It is as anti-American in its origins as could be imaginable."
He continued, calling for the state to enter "a new chapter and a new attitude about the use of cannabis" and its potential medical benefits.
Texas lawmakers approved back in 2015 a medical marijuana program intended for people with epilepsy. Since then, the list of people who can use it for medical purposes has expanded. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to do just that in June 2021.
A law expanding the use of medical marijuana in 2019 added those with terminal cancer, autism, multiple sclerosis and others to the list of legal users. Then, in 2021, an additional law further expanded the use to all forms of cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.
That law, which went into effect last September, also doubled the amount of THC allowed in marijuana products from 0.5% to 1%.
Miller wrote that his goal next year is to expand access to medical marijuana in Texas "so that every Texan with a medical need has access to these medicines."
"I will urge our state legislature and our Governor to make that a top priority in the upcoming legislative session," he wrote. "It is time for all of us, including the Governor, members of the Texas Legislature and others to come together and set aside our political differences to have an honest conversation about cannabis: where we have been, where we are going and what role government should properly play."
Miller highlighted other states, including conservative ones, that have legalized medical marijuana and others that have legalized marijuana sales to all adults.
Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas currently allow the use of medical marijuana, but not recreational use. New Mexico is currently the only state bordering Texas that has legalized the sale of recreational marijuana. That New Mexico law went into effect on April 1.
"We owe it to our fellow Texans, especially those who are suffering, to lead or just get out of the way if we cannot formulate effective cannabis policy for Texas," Miller wrote.
Read the full editorial on the Texas Department of Agriculture's website.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-agriculture-commissioner-supports-expansion-medical-marijuana/269-f4e13e55-75dd-499c-9b11-dea0ccb8a470 | 2022-07-16T20:39:41 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-agriculture-commissioner-supports-expansion-medical-marijuana/269-f4e13e55-75dd-499c-9b11-dea0ccb8a470 |
CALDWELL — Reid Stephan, vice chair of the Vallivue School District Board, will step down on Aug. 10 after 11 years of service.
“Turnover on a board is good,” Stephan said by phone Thursday morning. “It’s good to bring in fresh perspective and energy and diversity.”
The board accepted Stephan’s resignation at the meeting Tuesday night and notified the public that the seat will be vacant as of Aug. 10, said Board Chair Toni Belknap-Brinegar.
Stephan’s term ends in January 2024, he said. He said he had contemplated stepping down earlier, but due to transitioning in a new superintendent, it was not the right time, he said. Now that Superintendent Lisa Boyd has served for a year, and the district and board have good leadership, the timing is right, he said.
“It’s just an ideal time to step aside and let someone else come in and do it at the time when things are relatively stable and strong, and not a lot of things are in turmoil that someone would be stepping into,” he said.
After the Aug. 10 meeting, the board will have 120 days to fill the seat, and will seek applicants who reside in district’s Zone 5, the seat being vacated, she said.
Zone 5 is bounded roughly by Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard in the west-southwest, U.S. Highway 20 and U.S. Highway 26 to the north, and Franklin Road to the east.
After the board’s Aug. 10 meeting, applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of intent and a resume to the board clerk, Belknap-Brinegar said. If the board does not receive any applicants from Zone 5, it will open it up to the rest of the district, she said. If it cannot find an applicant, it would fall to the Canyon County Board of Commissioners to appoint someone, she said.
Stephan said his service has given him a greater appreciation of the work of administrators, faculty, and staff.
“I’ve just continually been inspired by the care, the compassion, the excellence that they bring with them, and the direct benefit that is for kids in the classroom,” he said.
Belknap-Brinegar said she has appreciated Stephan’s perspective on information technology and the medical field he has brought to the district from his work at St. Luke’s Health System, as well as his leadership.
“There were some times we as board members did not agree, but he was always so diplomatic and kind about it, and that’s what I wish for the nation … I wish we could disagree the way Reid disagrees, in saying disagreement is part of the human existence,” she said. “There’s no need to villainize and hate the other person you disagree with. Instead, we disagree, and then we move on,” she said. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/its-just-an-ideal-time-vallivue-school-board-trustee-stepping-down-after-11-years-of/article_1eb8033b-6246-52cc-9237-fefb9e9a10ac.html | 2022-07-16T20:48:36 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/its-just-an-ideal-time-vallivue-school-board-trustee-stepping-down-after-11-years-of/article_1eb8033b-6246-52cc-9237-fefb9e9a10ac.html |
BLOOMINGTON — The second annual Carnival of Care welcomed families to Mid Central Community Action on Saturday for a day of free games and prizes.
The carnival is also a fundraising event for the Mayors Manor, an apartment complex for people who are struggling with homelessness.
Theresa Knack, building coordinator at Mayors Manor, said the complex performs many functions.
"We're there to do case management with them, teach them life skills and just want to see them succeed," Knack said. "We teach them anything they need, we help them with counseling. I treat them as my family: 'I want you to treat me the way I treat you.'"
Knack said the purpose is to help underserved community members: "My success is seeing them succeed."
Mayors Manor was originally built for then-Bloomington Mayor James Costello in the 1800s. In the 1940s, another Bloomington mayor, Walt Bittner, lived there. According to MCCA's website, when the Bittners moved out in 1998, they gave it to the city to "serve a community purpose."
That community purpose is fighting homelessness. "We have 26 tenants in our building," Knack said. "We just want the community to know that we're there."
Joey Keller, senior relationship and resource developer for MCCA, said at first, the carnival was not about Mayors Manor.
"The idea of the carnival came from a leadership institute through Neighborworks," Keller said. The funding was to be for a health fair in west Bloomington, he said.
"But that evolved from a community event to a community event and a fundraiser event for us," Keller said. He said MCCA already has fundraising for their other programs, but did not have one for Mayors Manor.
The carnival featured nine games this year, nonprofit community engagement agencies, as well as sandwiches and snacks. Keller said everyone who attended received a card to play all games free one time, with additional plays for $1.
There also was a dunk tank where carnival goers could pay $5 for three tries to hit the target.
Keller said they would raffle off prizes, which were not announced at the time of publishing.
Carnival volunteer Karisma Morris-Bush said community engagement is important to her.
"To me, it's just serving our community for a better opportunity...Bloomington-Normal does an exceptional job at being inclusive," she said.
Knack said one of the most important functions of Mayors Manor is community engagement.
"If we want to do activities with the tenants out in the community, (the fundraiser) helps pay for that," she said.
Sometimes, Knack said, this looks like routine, daily functions.
"We teach them if they need help cleaning their room, or if they need help getting out into the community, getting dentist appointments made, going to the doctor," she said. "If they just need somebody to sit down and talk with them because they're having a bad day, that's where I step in and I help."
She said sometimes this process gets emotional.
"One of my tenants, he came in and was struggling really bad and was always told that he can't do nothing in his life," she said. "And he got his welding certificate.
"I cried. He made me cry for that," she said, laughing. "He went and got his certificate and showed me that he graduated." | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/bloomington-carnival-of-care-raises-funds-to-fight-homelessness/article_36fa9962-0539-11ed-a2f1-439ce41fe6d4.html | 2022-07-16T20:50:56 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/bloomington-carnival-of-care-raises-funds-to-fight-homelessness/article_36fa9962-0539-11ed-a2f1-439ce41fe6d4.html |
BLOOMINGTON — Most visitors to the McLean County Museum of History are there either to experience the architecture of the former courthouse or explore the local history documented within, including the area's ties to Abraham Lincoln.
But once they reach the main floor and begin to look up, another key historic space is visible — but not accessible to the general public. The clocktower dome towers above the downtown Bloomington skyline; inside the museum, the rotunda rises over 100 feet in the center of the building and is finished at the top with a painting said to represent peace and prosperity.
Museum officials last week agreed to give a tour of the dome interior to Pantagraph journalists as part of a new series, "Off Limits," that seeks to offer a glimpse into places that are typically restricted.
That's not to say that you couldn't get a peek inside the dome yourself. Museum staff offer tours as an incentive for small groups or individuals who have either won a prize in a raffle or raised money for another nonprofit.
Jeff Woodard, director of marketing and community relations, said he'll bring prospective staff members up during the interview process.
”Maybe 10 or 20 years from now, when they might even have their own kids, people will look from a distance and see this dome and they’ll never look at this building the same again," he said.
Keeping county time
The museum inhabits the former McLean County Courthouse, which was built between 1900 and 1903 after the Great Fire of June 1900. In the 1960s, it was determined that the courthouse was not large enough to support all the courtrooms, government offices and employees based there.
Instead of razing and replacing the building with something newer, the courthouse was preserved, and the Mclean County Historical Society entered an agreement with the county to be a tenant of the building in 1991.
Inside the dome itself, names from past workers, local officials and residents line the brick walls holding up the four individual sides of the clocktower. The original "brain" of the clock sits off to the side, while the new digital system moves the hands each minute, Woodard said.
A bell and a clock were both key parts of historical McLean County courthouse buildings. The county's third courthouse — the immediate predecessor to the building that now houses the history museum — was built in 1868 and in service by 1871, when a bell was added to summon parties to court sessions. A clock was installed in the tower in 1878, and it was decided that the bell would toll every hour and half-hour.
In those days, the county's clock provided an important standard for its residents.
Greg Koos, executive director emeritus at the museum, said the whole notion of having public time can be foreign concept to most, but at the time, county leaders were proud of their ability to provide a precise time to all.
For example, the board of supervisors of McLean County would set their watches to the courthouse clock, and they would bring that back to Saybrook or Arrowsmith or wherever they were from as an official county time, Koos said.
“Preserving that piece is important to us and I think for the community as part of the overall architecture of the building; then there’s a sonic component which is the bell,” Koos said. “The unique voice of that bell has been part of the sonic environment of downtown Bloomington since 1868.”
Records said the original clock in the current history museum building was a Johnson Pneumatic Time System that would release a gallon of water every 60 seconds, creating air pressure that moved the clock hands forward.
In August 1959, lightning struck the dome, stopping the clocks at 3:39 a.m. Starting in the 1970s, the clocks didn't work reliably, and by the 1990s they didn't work at all. New driver motors were installed in 2000.
In the mid-2000s, the museum undertook extensive restoration efforts that saw the dome clad in new copper. In 2005, close to 400 residents gathered in the old courthouse to hear the bell ring for the first time in 50 years, according to museum records.
Today, the bell no longer rings on the hour and half-hour, but can be rung on special occasions.
Koos said he worked in the history museum for 30 years, but never ran out of aspects to marvel at.
“Every day there was a new way of looking at what was there,” Koos said. “I recall walking to work and coming on a foggy day and seeing this beautiful stone building gently unfolding itself in a deep fog. There’s just so many different ways to experience it, and it was an ever-changing opportunity to see something new.”
Gathering place
In many ways, the former courthouse still remains at the heart of the county. The silhouette of the dome appears on the official McLean County symbol. A variety of community groups host events inside the building, and demonstrations of all kinds frequently take place in the plaza outside.
Museum Executive Director Julie Emig said one of her main goals was to get word out that the museum is not just a place to access stories and history, but a space for the community to use for events, meetings and dialogue.
“Whatever the issue, whatever the topic, people come here to gather and we just ask that they give us a heads up,” Emig said. “I always keep the county (government) in the loop about anything that’s happening because they own the building and as long as people are gathered peacefully and all of that, we love hosting for whoever needs a space.”
During the month of June, the museum hung Pride flags donated by a community member off the railing of the rotunda. Currently, the Bloomington Public Library is hosting most of its programs there as the library is under construction, Emig said.
As for tours of the clocktower dome, Emig said it is something they offer as an incentive for small groups or individuals who have either won a prize in a raffle or have raised money for another nonprofit but only if the groups or individuals are physically abled to do so.
“Another goal is to continue to partner with all religious organizations in the community and really amplify holidays that significant to them and use the dome as a centerpiece for rotating displays while providing background information,” Emig said. “We’re really committed to revamping our entrance so it’s much more of a welcoming place, turning it into a plaza, making the entrance more of a centerpiece and creating more space for people to gather. All of that should really ratchet up what it is we want to communicate about what's underneath the dome.”
For Woodard, the memory of first coming to the museum as a volunteer in 2000 is crystallized.
He walked in the front entrance, which was on the east side of the building on Main Street at the time, walked up the stairs to first floor and looked up.
“I was just shocked because I’m just a big fan of architecture and was hooked on it, but to come up here and actually see this space from the inside and see the mechanical working and all the craftsmanship that goes into it. That’s what it means to me,” Woodard said.
“And then have the ability to just continue to do that for people, offer that authentic experience and totally engage the public," he said. "This is the center of the county and you can’t get any more central than this.”
Check out all the fun from the History Makers Gala
Sandeepa Sangras, Shree and Phani Aytam with honorees Dee Frautschi and Al Bedell
Honorees Myra and George Gordon
Julie Emig, McLean County Museum of History Executive Director
2021 Honorees Jerry and Carole Ringer
2021 honoree Robert Sutherland, Beverly Bell, George and Myra Gordon
2021 Honoree Barbara Stuart, John Freese
Duane and Carolyn Yockey
Janet Hood, Joshua Crockett, Heartland Community College President Keith Cornille, Carl Teichman, IWU President Georgia Nugent, Andy and Kathy Shirk
Takesha Stokes, Chemberly Cummings
Sandra Harmon, Kathi Davis
Kevin and Shelleigh Birlingmair
Mary and Hank Campbell
Larry and Marlene Dietz
Meghan Allen, Stacie Killian
Sonja Reece, Paul Harmon, Honorees Al Bedell and Dee Frautschi
Pat Grogg, Kaye Andrews
Pag Grogg, Jerry Ringer, Kaye Andrews
ISU Trustees Bob Dobski and Dr. Kathy Bohn with Dr. Tom Nielsen, Susan and Stephen Kern
Michelle Pazar, Allison Petty
Dee Frautschi with her nominator Phani Aytam
Jeff Payne, Julie Dobski
Art and Camille Taylor
Karen and Tony DeAngelis
Mike and Connie O’Grady
Jan and John Wohlwend
Kris Williams, Beth Whisman
Carolyn Yockey, Joan Vanden Eynden
Nayoka Griffis, Sonya Mau
Judy Buchanan, Marilyn Freese
Pam and Herb Eaton
Former Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner with wife Melinda
Dan Adams, Adam Morris
Dionne Blake, Christina Rogers
Jeff and Julie Payne
Illinois Voices Theatre actors Cristen Monson, Jennifer Rusk
Illinois Voices Theatre actors Bob Mangialardi, Cristen Monson, Jennier Rusk, Vicky Snyder
Honoree Dee Frautschi
Honoree Al Bedell
Honoree Myra Gordon
Honoree George Gordon, Tari Renner
Julie Emig, Allison Petty
Larry Dietz, Brian Wipperman
Myra Gordon
Dee Frautschi, George Gordon
George and Myra Gordon, Michael Brown
Dee Frautschi, Al Bedell, Jeanne Morris
Karen DeAngelis, Bob and Julie Dobski
Paul Scharnett, Marlene Dietz
Pam Eaton, Karen DeAngelis, Julie Dobski, Marlene Dietz, Bob Dobski
Phani Aytam, Dee Frautschi, Al Bedell, Paul Harmon | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/off-limits-explore-the-dome-at-the-mclean-county-museum-of-history/article_0f4c8270-0469-11ed-85bb-8b9a23c705be.html | 2022-07-16T20:51:02 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/off-limits-explore-the-dome-at-the-mclean-county-museum-of-history/article_0f4c8270-0469-11ed-85bb-8b9a23c705be.html |
BLOOMINGTON — Saturday’s arrangement of the first Regency-era Promenade and Picnic event in Bloomington’s Franklin Park was really just a matter of chance.
Popularized by Jane Austen’s literary works and other media, fans came from as far as the Quad Cities to experience a reawakening of early 19th century British culture by donning their best garbs and dresses.
Tamar Ruehrdanz, who was sporting her middle name as her character name "Lady Rebekah," said she mentioned to her mother they should hold a promenade. And once it was in Susan Lange’s head, the daughter said: “That was it.”
After attendees sauntered down the park paths, lined with colorful pinwheels, the guests were formally presented to Lange, who acted in dress as “the Duchess of Gloucester.” They were provided refreshments, a small flower arrangement, offered professional photo shoots, and invited to relax and socialize over a picnic.
Also provided were activities like "battledore and shuttlecock," a game that’s similar to badminton but doesn’t use a net or boundaries. And there was “pall mall," a croquet-like game that uses only starting and ending hoops.
Lange said they had a modest but dedicated group of enthusiasts attend. She said she wanted to do something happy and sweet.
One group of attendees included Rock Island married couple Christina and Robert Conklin, who are both retired librarians. Mr. Conklin went in character as "Captain Robert Conklin." And he was accompanied by “Mrs. Robert Conklin.”
"Captain Robert Conklin" said he’s an English captain who recently came back from Canada, which was involved in a border dispute with the U.S.
Christina Conklin said they both love history, and Austen is a favorite author of hers. She also said dressing up helps put things into perspective.
“Having your dresses really restrict how you move, following certain etiquette restricts what you can do and say, and it made me really appreciate the rights that women have today,” she said, “because women didn't have very many rights.”
She added another fact was how women were so dependent on who they married, as she lovingly embraced her husband.
Conklin also said it was “so brave” to start something like this. And, she said meeting the Duchess was worth the two-hour trip from the Quad Cities.
Attending as well were Curt Roof, of Bloomington, and Emma Dorantes, of Champaign. Roof noted that “pockets” of nerd culture and fandoms can be found in the Twin Cities, from the Steampunk Festival to programming at Red Raccoon Games. He said Bloomington-Normal is a nice central hub for these events.
Dorantes said it was a good crowd for a first-time event.
Another pair at the promenade were Springfield’s Sarah Adams and Bryanna Tidmarsh, of Normal.
Adams, whose Regency name is "Countess Sarah of Laurel," said she really loves Jane Austen. Her favorite book is "Northanger Abbey," she said, but she does love all of them.
Adams said she started going to Jane Austen events in 2018.
“The whole atmosphere is just really fun,” she said.
In character that day as "Lady Bry of Manchester," Tidmarsh said she really enjoyed spending time with Adams, adding they went to the Bridgerton Ball in Chicago together.
She also said that dressing up, wearing cute things and going out for a picnic makes for a magical day.
Busy bees
Ruehrdanz said her mother is someone who’s “always doing things and she absolutely loves hosting, creating events and experiences.”
She said when the event idea came up, they were discussing Netflix show “Bridgerton,” which shares the Regency time period, but is a separate book series from Austen’s works.
Ruehrdanz said the Netflix show has opened the Regency era to a more popular audience.
Both organizers hope to do another Regency event in the future, but it may not be until May.
Lange said they’re considering renting out the Vrooman Mansion for a proper ball.
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Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison
Brendan Denison is our breaking news reporter. Denison was a digital content producer for WCIA-TV in Champaign and a reporter for The Commercial-News in Danville. He can be reached at (309) 820-3238 and bdenison@pantagraph.com.
Museum officials agreed to give a tour of the dome interior to Pantagraph journalists as part of a new series, "Off Limits," that seeks to offer a glimpse into places that are typically restricted.
Kelly Lay is the person you ask for advice about how to control slugs in a small garden, for an exotic recipe that includes spruce branch tips, or how to navigate the Illinois Cottage Foods Act.
From right in front, Christine and Robert Conklin, a married couple from Rock Island, proceed through Franklin Park in Bloomington Saturday in Regency-era clothes.
Emma Dorantes, of Champaign, and Curt Roof, of Bloomington, are formally greeted at a Regency-era Picnic and Promenade on Saturday at Franklin Park in Bloomington.
Emily Cappan, of Bloomington, is formally greeted at a Regency-era themed event Saturday in Bloomington, while dressed in character as "Lady Rose Waterford." | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/regency-era-fans-dress-fine-and-fair-for-franklin-park-promenade/article_9c147fac-053e-11ed-b3e5-5b615710afbe.html | 2022-07-16T20:51:08 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/regency-era-fans-dress-fine-and-fair-for-franklin-park-promenade/article_9c147fac-053e-11ed-b3e5-5b615710afbe.html |
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — A 22-year-old man from Ocean City died in a plane crash at an airfield in the Green Creek section of the township Saturday morning, police said.
Thomas Gibson, 22, was piloting the aircraft when it crashed at Paramount Airfield at 317 Route 47 South at around 9:35 a.m.
Details of the crash were not released by police. Investigation of the crash was turned over to members of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, who will determine the cause of the crash, police said.
Members of Middle Township Patrol Division secured the scene with assistance from the Green Creek and Rio Grande fire departments. Middle Township police's Major Crimes Unit and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office also responded. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/22-year-old-ocean-city-man-dies-in-plane-crash-in-middle-township/article_fd49d784-0540-11ed-ab59-7ff6ef442c3c.html | 2022-07-16T20:51:58 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/22-year-old-ocean-city-man-dies-in-plane-crash-in-middle-township/article_fd49d784-0540-11ed-ab59-7ff6ef442c3c.html |
For the third time in less than a week, Lincoln police are looking into a car fire in the area of South 70th and A streets.
Police Sgt. Jason Wesch said someone set fire to a Hyundai Tucson in the 7300 Block of Candletree Lane at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday.
Firefighters were called shortly after and discovered the Tucson fully engulfed. The car was a total loss, said Lincoln Fire and Rescue Investigator Thomas Schmidt.
A Chevy Equinox parked next to the Tucson also sustained exterior damage. In total, the fire caused about $30,000 in damage to the cars.
It's unclear how the fire was started, but police are investigating it as an arson. No suspects have been identified.
Wesch said it's unknown if the fire is connected to a pair of early morning car fires and a vandalism at an elementary school last Tuesday in the same part of town.
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A 2014 Buick LaCrosse was destroyed in a fire just before 2:20 a.m. Tuesday near South 70th and A streets. An electrical issue is believed to have started the blaze.
Then about 40 minutes later, firefighters were called to the 800 block of Roanoke Court about another car fire. This time, a textbook on the floor of a 1999 Honda Accord had been lit on fire, causing about $800 in damage.
Police are also investigating a vandalism at Morley Elementary School just south of 70th and A streets that caused about $1,750 in damage inside the school. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-investigating-another-car-fire-in-east-lincoln/article_25b3aa9b-83cb-5f3c-8d4b-60b07091e207.html | 2022-07-16T20:56:34 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-investigating-another-car-fire-in-east-lincoln/article_25b3aa9b-83cb-5f3c-8d4b-60b07091e207.html |
City and county officials hope to renovate a portion of the Lincoln Police Department’s old fleet garage to use as a detoxification center — part of a plan to replace the services provided by a nonprofit that will end Oct. 1.
A proposed interlocal agreement with the city and Lancaster County would allow the local governments to pursue bids to renovate the north end of the city-owned building at 635 J St. using up to $2 million of the county’s federal stimulus funds.
City and county officials have been looking for a place for law enforcement to take intoxicated people since a nonprofit agency known as The Bridge announced in May it would not renew contracts with law enforcement agencies to offer the services it has provided for the past 40 years.
The Bridge’s decision not to renew contracts with Lincoln police and other area law enforcement agencies for what’s called “civil protective custody” — once known as detox — was driven largely by staffing issues caused by a serious nursing shortage, a situation that came to a head last fall when the agency’s board voted to temporarily close the protective custody unit.
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Although The Bridge contracted with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, the Nebraska State Patrol and area law enforcement agencies, by far the biggest user of the services was LPD.
LPD’s contract with The Bridge runs out at the end of September, so city and county officials were scrambling to find a replacement.
The interlocal is part of the proposed solution — but the group of city, county, hospital and nonprofit officials looking for alternatives is exploring additional options, said Sara Hoyle, the county’s human services director.
The renovated space in the police garage will be a place for officers to bring people to wait for a responsible person to pick them up, Hoyle said.
That includes those ticketed for DUI as well as others who police think are a danger to themselves or others but don’t need to be in jail.
The space will be able to hold about 10 people, but could be expanded on Husker football game days to 20 people when demand is higher, Hoyle said.
It will be staffed by a treatment provider, possibly CenterPointe, she said.
While the space is a safe place for intoxicated people to wait for someone to come get them, it also allows officers to better use their time instead of having to look for and wait for someone to come get those they’ve taken into custody, Police Chief Teresa Ewins said.
City and county officials also are talking to officials at the City Mission about using some of the beds for homeless people taken into custody, Hoyle said.
Pastor Tom Barber, CEO at the People's City Mission, said discussions are still in the early stages, but if the city pays for the overnight staffing needed for such a venture, he would offer 10 beds in the mission’s Curtis Center.
The Curtis Center has 60 one-room apartments for men waiting for federal housing vouchers, but is also used by the state and county for those on parole and probation.
“We’re not willing to lose money, but we’re willing to help out,” Barber said.
The group looking for alternatives to The Bridge is following a different model than the one used for many years, trying to address people’s different needs, Hoyle said.
“We are really trying to find targeted services for the population instead of having them all go to one place,” she said.
People interested in going to a voluntary program or getting treatment could go to The Bridge’s voluntary program or Bryan Hospital’s Independence Center, Hoyle said.
The remodeled police garage space will use recliners instead of beds, and would not have the bare, locked rooms like the space at The Bridge.
Those cells were among the concerns the nonprofit’s leaders had with the protective custody portion of its services, and it had a long-term goal of transitioning away from protective custody.
Medicaid had stopped funding the protective custody program because it wasn’t accredited and state officials deemed it incarceration, not behavioral health. The Bridge officials also were concerned because it didn’t follow best practices, as its voluntary detox program does.
But instead of temporarily closing the protective custody unit last fall, The Bridge ended up pulling staff from its voluntary program to keep the protective custody unit open after the director said she got a call from county officials saying she’d be in breach of contract if she temporarily closed it.
During that time, county officials, worried that The Bridge didn’t intend to continue the protective custody services, set aside $2 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to deal with the situation if the contracts weren’t renewed.
Hoyle said she doesn’t know what renovations will cost because they can’t bid the project until both the City Council and County Board approve the interlocal agreement.
The County Board will vote on the agreement Tuesday; the City Council will vote on it July 25.
Two years ago, the City-County Planning Commission approved a plan to surplus the property so it could be sold after LPD moved its fleet garage to 100 Oak Creek Drive.
But the city still owns the property and LPD uses it to store equipment.
The building has a garage door where law enforcement officers can enter to bring people in custody, and a reception area, and it’s close to LPD, Hoyle said.
The new space won’t be ready by Oct. 1, when The Bridge contract ends, so officials are also looking for a temporary location to take people until the renovations are complete.
Hoyle said she expects to have a temporary location pinned down and ready by Oct. 1. They hope to have the police garage renovated by early next year, she said.
County officials worried about the impact the end of The Bridge contracts would have on the jail — because it would have been the only alternative placement for people.
County Commissioner Sean Flowerday said he’s hopeful the new space and finding other alternatives for the homeless or those who have no place to go will keep the jail numbers down.
No one involved thinks jail is the best long-term solution, he said, and looking for different placements for people will be good for the community.
“I’m really hopeful about this,” he said. “I think it will be a great solution .. meeting people where they’re at, more tailored courses for people in the long run will be better for the community and better for people who use the services.” | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-county-officials-hope-to-use-renovated-police-garage-for-new-space-to-let-people/article_634cbf29-5706-5970-9680-7481712e8a67.html | 2022-07-16T20:56:40 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-county-officials-hope-to-use-renovated-police-garage-for-new-space-to-let-people/article_634cbf29-5706-5970-9680-7481712e8a67.html |
West Michigan plane crash kills pilot, sole passenger
Shelby – A small plane crashed in western Michigan, killing the pilot and another man who were the aircraft’s only occupants, police said Saturday.
The single-engine plane crashed about 6 p.m. EDT Friday in Oceana County’s Shelby Township, killing pilot Raymond Gundy, 56, of Muskegon County, and his passenger, Troy Caris, 48, of Holton, Michigan State Police said.
Police said the plane crashed after taking off at Oceana County Airport, about a mile and a half northwest of the crash site, which is in a wooded area behind a residence, WOOD-TV reported.
State police said the Federal Aviation Administration was on the scene and representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and Cessna were expected at the crash site to continue the investigation into the cause of the crash.
“Please keep the families in your thoughts during this difficult time,” state police said in a tweet Saturday. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/16/plane-crash-west-michigan-pilot-passenger-dead/50496847/ | 2022-07-16T20:57:49 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/16/plane-crash-west-michigan-pilot-passenger-dead/50496847/ |
Leases
Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer reports the following leases:
- Piano Movers Plus LLC leased 48,000 square feet of industrial space at 4100 Tomlynn St. in Henrico. Jeff Cooke handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Rocksteady Fitness Group LLC leased 16,700 square feet of retail space at Chesterfield Marketplace, 1201-1385 Carmia Way, in Chesterfield. Isaac DeRegibus and Danielle Beckstoffer handled the negotiations on behalf of the tenant.
- Travis Shaw, M.D., P.C. expanded with an additional 4,219 square feet of office space at Park at Stony Point III, 8730 Stony Point, in Richmond. Brian K. Berkey and Karla Knight handled the negotiations on behalf of the tenant.
- F45 Training Midlothian leased 2,800 square feet of retail space at Huguenot Village Shopping Center, 2015 Huguenot Road, in Chesterfield. David Crawford and Kevin South handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord; Alex T. Wotring and Bruce Bigger, also with Thalhimer, represented the tenant.
- Investment Management of Virginia LLC leased 2,342 square feet of office space at Highland I, 7231 Forest Ave., in Henrico. Amy J. Broderick and Kate Hosko handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- GameStop Inc. renewed its lease of 1,750 square feet of retail space at Dimmock Square, 723 Southpark Blvd., in Colonial Heights. Alicia Brown and Pete Waldbauer handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- ProNails expanded with an additional 1,200 square feet of retail space at Southgate Square, 44-100 Southpark Blvd., in Colonial Heights. Alicia Brown and Pete Waldbauer handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Sew My Monogram LLC renewed its lease of 1,200 square feet of retail space at Southshore Shops, 12056 Southshore Pointe Drive, in Chesterfield. Alicia Brown and Pete Waldbauer handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Luxury Furniture renewed and expanded its lease at 501 Oliver Hill Way in Richmond to 19,398 square feet of industrial space. Isaac DeRegibus handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Keeton & Co. Real Estate leased 6,422 square feet of office space at 4235 Innslake Drive in Glen Allen. Isaac DeRegibus handled the negotiations on behalf of the tenant.
- Mazatlan Tacos of Broad LLC leased 5,460 square feet of retail space at 8415 W. Broad St. James Ashby IV handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Sea Dreamz LLC leased 4,200 square feet of industrial space at 2026-A Dabney Road in Henrico. Craig Douglas handled the negotiations on behalf of the tenant; Gregg W. Beck, also with Thalhimer, represented the landlord.
- Hibachi House leased 1,960 square feet of retail space at The Shops at Wellesley, 3400 Lauderdale Drive, in Henrico. James Ashby IV and Reilly Marchant handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Cellular World, an AT&T authorized retailer, leased 1,580 square feet of retail space in Carytown Exchange, 3550-3403 W. Cary St. and 3403-3550 Ellwood Ave., in Richmond. David Crawford and James Ashby IV handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Rhudy & Co. Strategic Communications leased 1,550 square feet of retail space in Carytown Square, 3218-3222 W. Cary St., in Richmond. Reilly Marchant handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
- Mauricio Romero leased 1,375 square feet of office space at 3819 Jefferson Davis Highway in Richmond. Michael A. Shaia and Scott Douglas handled the negotiations on behalf of the landlord.
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***
Porter Realty Co. Inc. reports the following lease:
- Lew & Associates leased 1,198 square feet of office space at 1806 Chantilly St. in Richmond. Wilson Flohr represented the landlord.
***
Commonwealth Commercial Partners LLC reports the following leases:
- Wildfire Technologies LLC dba Community Safety and Response Educators leased 1,519 square feet at 2819 N. Parham Road in Henrico. Michael Good and Eric Hammond represented the landlord.
- Smith & Nephew Inc. leased 1,848 square feet at 413 Stuart Circle in Richmond. Tucker Dowdy and Michael Good represented the landlord.
- Theresa Headen leased 1,500 square feet at 418 W. Grace St. in Richmond. Michael Morris, Jim McVey and Thomas Lynde represented the landlord.
- Scott & Scott attorneys at law leased 4,423 square feet at 4551 Cox Road in Henrico. Jamie Galanti represented the tenant.
- Woodforest National Bank renewed its 803-square-foot lease at 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive in Chesterfield. Jamie Galanti, Russell Wyatt and Eliza Izard represented the landlord.
- RBC Capital Markets LLC renewed its 9,525-square-foot lease at 919 E. Main St. in Richmond. Jamie Galanti, Russell Wyatt and Eliza Izard represented the landlord.
- Capital Healthcare Clinics leased 1,305 square feet at 4915 Radford Ave. in Henrico. Eliza Izard and Nash Warren represented the landlord, and Thomas Lynde and Michael Morris represented the tenant.
- Oikos Roofing & Siding Inc. leased 12,500 square feet at 11011 Richardson Road in Hanover. Ben Bruni and Tucker Dowdy represented the landlord.
- GeroPartners LLC leased 1,427 square feet at 1 Park West Circle in Chesterfield. Tucker Dowdy and Jamie Galanti represented the landlord.
***
Joyner Commercial Real Estate reports the following lease:
- Nolef Turns Inc. leased 1,600 square feet of office space at 211 N. 18th
St. in Richmond from Butter Dog Properties LLC. Rob Brown represented the tenant.
Sales
Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer reports the following sales:
- B.P.O.E. Richmond Lodge #45 purchased the 14,400-square-foot building at 880 Technology Park Drive in Richmond from ETCH Investments LLC for $2,085,000.
- Ewing Irrigation Products Inc. purchased the 7,430-square-foot building at 20A Westover Hills Blvd. in Richmond from Azul Properties LLC for $3,014,000.
***
Porter Realty Co. Inc. reports the following sale:
- N. Chasen & Son Inc. by and through Realty Exchange Corp. in Richmond purchased a 37,720-square-foot office/warehouse building at 6801, 6811, 6829 and 6831 Atmore Drive from Sheppard Investment of Virginia LLC for $3,400,000. Byron Holmes represented the seller.
***
Commonwealth Commercial Partners LLC reports the following sales:
- Zion Notch LLC purchased 38.892 +/- acres at 21611 James Madison Highway in Louisa from RS Glass Commercial Center LC for $2,450,000. Jim McVey, Thomas Lynde and Michael Morris represented the seller.
- Towne 1031 Exchange LLC as Q1 for TVEH II LLC purchased 10.901 +/- acres on Old Staples Mill Road in Henrico from Pruitt Associates for $1,200,000. Ben Bruni and Russell Wyatt represented the purchaser. | https://richmond.com/business/local/commercial-real-estate-highlights/article_1f23c949-6e4b-5ce8-89ad-138370dab488.html | 2022-07-16T21:07:16 | 0 | https://richmond.com/business/local/commercial-real-estate-highlights/article_1f23c949-6e4b-5ce8-89ad-138370dab488.html |
A lawsuit filed against the Henrico School Board will move forward on a count claiming the school system violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a judge has ruled.
Unlike the traditional federal case, the lawsuit emanated from an extensive administrative process that took place more than a year ago.
The family of a student at Pinchbeck Elementary School said their child, who is diagnosed with several disabilities, struggled in school while school leaders refused to accommodate her needs and intentionally inflated her failing grades.
The school district does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The back and forth between the girl’s parents and school leaders began in 2019. The student’s parents said the girl’s individualized education plan (IEP), which is a legal document developed for every public school student in special education under federal law, was inadequate.
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The girl’s parents began to pay for tutoring for their child after school leaders refused to amend the IEP, they said. Eventually, school leaders agreed to have an independent expert evaluate the child, and the expert concluded the child had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia and auditory processing disorder, according to court documents.
School leaders still did not change the IEP, the suit claims.
After the state ordered schools to close at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the girl stopped receiving the special reading instruction that was granted by the IEP.
After more back and forth, the parents enrolled their daughter in The New Community School, a private school in Richmond that is geared toward students with dyslexia.
In March of last year, the girl’s parents asked for a due process hearing. After eight days of testimony and presentations in June 2021, the hearing officer released a three-page decision in October 2021.
Hearing officer William S. Francis Jr. ruled in favor of the student and concluded the school system had not complied with the requirements of IDEA in regard to providing a free and appropriate public education, which school districts are required to provide to students with disabilities under federal law.
The hearing officer also dismissed all of the students’ requests, said the request for reimbursement was not appropriate and said there was no evidence that private school placement was appropriate for the girl.
The student’s family filed a request for judicial review in the Henrico County Circuit Court in late March, asking the court to reverse a hearing officer’s denial. The family also asked for $3 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages for the “pain, suffering, embarrassment and other emotional damages.”
The case was removed to Virginia Eastern District Court in April due to the plaintiff’s claims both being under federal statutes: the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
A veteran Colonial Heights police commander who retired last year has returned to the force after being hired as the city’s new police chief.
In court last month, Senior Henrico County Attorney John McChesney moved to dismiss the case and argued the plaintiff failed to state a claim under IDEA because she didn’t elaborate on how the hearing officer erred in denying her relief.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, in his opinion filed Monday, said the bar is not so high. The plaintiff only needs to cite the decision and outline how it “aggrieved” her.
Hudson wrote, “while plaintiff’s complaint does not artfully or perfectly please a claim under the IDEA,” the motion to dismiss was denied.
The motion to dismiss the second count, however, was granted. But an option was left open for the plaintiff to amend her complaint.
Defense attorney Jason Krumbein indicated he will likely amend the second complaint and try to make the Rehabilitation Act claim stick.
Krumbein demanded a jury trial, but as long as the case is live, the option for a settlement is on the table. | https://richmond.com/news/local/education/federal-suit-claiming-henrico-schools-violated-disability-law-moves-forward/article_413559a5-d401-5ab6-a1c7-66986a4a9d50.html | 2022-07-16T21:07:22 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/education/federal-suit-claiming-henrico-schools-violated-disability-law-moves-forward/article_413559a5-d401-5ab6-a1c7-66986a4a9d50.html |
At the tomato festival at Pole Green Park on Saturday, a bubble-making machine at a booth promoting children’s activities captivated 2-year-old Ashlynn Elliott.
JAMES H. WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Felix (cq) Clark, 4, played in the bubbles at a children's tent.
JAMES H WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. David Fuller with Hanover Parks and Recreation showed off the condition of a box of tomatoes for a customer making a purchase.
JAMES H WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Sliced tomatoes went for $1 per plate.
JAMES H WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. A climber celebrated after making it to the top of the rock climbing wall at the festival.
JAMES H WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Felix (cq) Clark, 4, played in the bubbles at a children's tent.
JAMES H WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Don Garris and his son Michael, 7, came prepared for the heat and carried a beach umbrella to provide shade while walking between the exhibits and activities.
JAMES H WALLACE/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. David Fuller with Hanover Parks and Recreation showed off the condition of a box of tomatoes for a customer making a purchase.
Depending on the hour, the big seller Saturday at Hanover County’s annual celebration of the healthful fruit with which it’s synonymous — the tomato — was funnel cake or shaved ice.
“That’s the joy of this,” said John Budesky, county administrator. “There’s something for everyone.”
Before the steamy summer sun was high in the sky, funnel cake — a warm, curlicue confection of deep-fried batter, garnished with powdered sugar — was popular among those streaming to the Hanover Tomato Festival at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville.
By midday, as the mercury pushed toward 90 degrees and the air was thick with humidity, a long queue had formed in front of the stand where one could purchase cooling cups of shaved ice flavored with sugary water in tropical colors.
After a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, the festival returned this weekend, but it’s been re-calibrated.
This year, for the first time, the festival was staged over two days — Friday and Saturday, for four hours each day. In the past, it ran over three days, attracting between 20,000 and 40,000 people.
More than 10,000 were expected this year, Budesky said.
In 2020 and 2021, the festival was canceled — a casualty of COVID-19 — though last year a monthlong observance was held, with tomato-themed events at five parks across the county.
And noting that 10 vendors canceled plans to sell their wares or set up information booths at the 2022 festival, Budesky said the pandemic “is still having a shadow effect on the event.”
Even as a new variant of the coronavirus wells up, masks were anything but numerous Saturday among festival-goers. Over several hours, just 13 people were spotted wearing masks.
Though it’s not one of the state’s bigger producers of tomatoes, Hanover has a reputation among aficionados for nurturing a particularly tasty variety of the fruit. Enthusiasts attribute that to Hanover’s sandy soil on the east side of the county, where most of the crop is raised.
Ed Wall, a Virginia Cooperative Extension Service-trained master gardener who lives in eastern Hanover, answered questions and provided tips on the varieties of tomatoes — “there have got to be hundreds” — and controlling the winged and crawly pests for which the plants can be a smorgasbord.
The service’s information stand, flanked by towering plants raised in pots and set up under an open-air marquee that provided refuge from the sun, was among the festival’s few tomato-centric concessions.
Public safety agencies, artists, religious organizations, investment firms, car dealers, a theater group and a radio station had a presence at the festival. So did a berry farm, a beekeeper and a purveyor of hemp products.
Sacks and boxes of locally grown tomatoes were available for purchase at two tents operated by Hanover’s parks and recreation department.
A bag, typically containing six good-size ’maters, went for $10. A 25-pound case cost $35.
Mouth-stretching bacon-lettuce-and-tomato sandwiches were available for $12 — a buck more than last year — at a stand operated by Chris Nelson, a food broker, and his family.
“I feel bad about charging so much,” said Nelson, though a steady stream of customers indicated that they didn’t mind.
The new policies break with CDC guidance, which recommends unvaccinated people quarantine after an exposure and all people wear masks indoors during periods of high transmission.
A former sales associate for Virginia ABC and another man have been indicted in what authorities described as a conspiracy to obtain internal ABC inventory data on high-demand and limited-availability bourbons, and provide that insider information to interested parties for a price.
At the tomato festival at Pole Green Park on Saturday, a bubble-making machine at a booth promoting children’s activities captivated 2-year-old Ashlynn Elliott.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Felix (cq) Clark, 4, played in the bubbles at a children's tent.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. David Fuller with Hanover Parks and Recreation showed off the condition of a box of tomatoes for a customer making a purchase.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Sliced tomatoes went for $1 per plate.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. A climber celebrated after making it to the top of the rock climbing wall at the festival.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Felix (cq) Clark, 4, played in the bubbles at a children's tent.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. Don Garris and his son Michael, 7, came prepared for the heat and carried a beach umbrella to provide shade while walking between the exhibits and activities.
The Hanover Tomato Festival returned to Pole Green Park in Hanover County on Friday and continued with limited hours on Saturday, 7/16/2022. The festival featuring Hanover tomatoes also featured crafts, music, food and activities for children and pets. David Fuller with Hanover Parks and Recreation showed off the condition of a box of tomatoes for a customer making a purchase. | https://richmond.com/news/local/hanover-again-celebrates-the-apple-of-its-eye-tomatoes/article_3a7a7bf5-02fd-5e5f-8cbf-ba98c9e9e15c.html | 2022-07-16T21:07:28 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/hanover-again-celebrates-the-apple-of-its-eye-tomatoes/article_3a7a7bf5-02fd-5e5f-8cbf-ba98c9e9e15c.html |
An Amber Alert has been issued for Angie Carrasco, a missing 12-year-old girl from Corinth who police believe is in grave or immediate danger.
Corinth Police said Carrasco is believed to have gotten into a newer model silver Chevrolet pickup at about 1:45 a.m. in front of her home on the 2700 block of Cherokee Trail.
The vehicle was last seen traveling east on Cherokee Trail. No license plate or further vehicle description is known about the truck or the driver.
Corinth Police said Carrasco is Hispanic, stands 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing black shorts and Croc-style shoes. The color of her shirt is not known.
Anyone with information on Carrasco's location is asked to call the Corinth Police Department at 940-349-1600. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/amber-alert-issued-for-missing-12-year-old-corinth-girl/3016212/ | 2022-07-16T21:10:15 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/amber-alert-issued-for-missing-12-year-old-corinth-girl/3016212/ |
There’s hope and inspiration to be found on the softball field on Saturday, all for a little girl who lived a big life and was like family to some Fort Worth police officers.
“She was like a goddaughter to me. When her mom would call on me, I always check on her. And she fought a fight,” said Fort Worth Police Public Information Officer Tracy Carter.
Carter helped the girl, Adriana Nixon, get sworn in as an honorary Fort Worth Police Officer in 2020 when she was 6 years old.
Adriana's mom, Andrea Pederson, said it was one of the happiest times in her young life.
“She wanted to be an officer. They make it happen. And they kind of took us in as a family and made sure Adriana was always smiling,” said Pederson.
Adriana loved softball and made the All-Star team her first season -- all while she fought cancer. She got a liver transplant on her seventh birthday, but her cancer came back.
“They did tell us that that was a possibility. And after that, they said there weren’t any options to cure the cancer once she relapsed,” said Pederson.
Several agencies took part in Saturday’s tournament. All the money raised will go to her foundation to help with research and treatment for others facing the same disease.
Adriana's family and friends in blue hope to make it an annual event to raise even more money and support in years to come. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/police-hold-inaugural-softball-tournament-for-8-year-old-girl-who-died-fighting-cancer/3016191/ | 2022-07-16T21:10:21 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/police-hold-inaugural-softball-tournament-for-8-year-old-girl-who-died-fighting-cancer/3016191/ |
BRYAN, Texas — College Station, Texas residents will be among the first in the country to receive drone deliveries from Amazon Prime Air.
According to Amazon's spokesperson, Av Zammit, Prime Air has developed a system that enables Amazon drones to fly farther.
Zammit said, it is done as safely and reliably as possible, in order to avoid other aircraft, people, pets, and obstacles as much as possible.
Zammit mentioned customers can receive free and fast delivery on thousands of everyday items.
Residents will be able to select from a large selection of products never before offered by drone delivery. The program will begin later this year.
According to Zammit, the propellers are designed to reduce the transmission of high frequencies.
In an Amazon official statement, they stated that the Prime Air drone is capable of traveling at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour), reaching altitudes of 400 feet, and carrying packages weighing up to five pounds.
Amazon will display Residents' Prime Air-eligible items once they are onboarded.
Zammit said their order will be placed as usual and you will get an estimated arrival time with a status tracking system.
According to Zammit, when obstacles are detected, Amazon drones will automatically change course to avoid them. A drone ensures that any people, animals, or other obstructions are removed from the area surrounding the delivery location.
Zammit mentioned the delivery drone will fly to the resident's backyard and hover at a safe height until it delivers. The aircraft will return to base after releasing the package safely and returning to altitude.
Lastly Zammit said, in order to realize their drone delivery vision, Amazon has recruited hundreds of scientists, engineers, aerospace professionals, and futurists.
It was also said that Amazon has designed, built, and tested more than two dozen prototypes over the past nine years.
Zammit said the company will also make a significant investment in the local community, create new jobs, and develop partnerships with local organizations. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/amazon-using-drones-to-deliver-to-college-station/499-624fc145-4472-4e35-a6a3-195db0799b48 | 2022-07-16T21:14:36 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/amazon-using-drones-to-deliver-to-college-station/499-624fc145-4472-4e35-a6a3-195db0799b48 |
CORINTH, Texas — An AMBER Alert was issued Saturday afternoon for a 12-year-old North Texas girl who police say was abducted and believed to be "in grave or immediate danger."
The Corinth Police Department is looking for Angie Carrasco, 12. Police said Carrasco is 5 feet, 1 inch tall, 120 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing an unknown color T-shirt, black shorts and black croc-style shoes.
Police did not give an identifying characteristics for the suspect, but the suspect is believed to be driving a silver newer model Chevrolet with an unknown license plate. The suspect was last heard from in Corinth, Texas, police said.
If you have any information about the abduction of Angie Carrasco, you're asked to call the Corinth Police Department at (940)349-1600.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/amber-alert-angie-carrasco-corinth-texas/287-17e8dd3a-48b4-4e69-b6a9-380f0e04cd03 | 2022-07-16T21:14:42 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/amber-alert-angie-carrasco-corinth-texas/287-17e8dd3a-48b4-4e69-b6a9-380f0e04cd03 |
ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — Note: The above video is from June 3, 2022.
The manhunt was intense when escaped prison inmate Gonzalo Lopez was speeding south through the San Antonio area and headed for the border on June 2.
Offering a window into the effort to stop a killer, Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward detailed the fast-moving, multi-faceted effort that ended with no harm to anyone except the accused.
At a time when Texans are still reeling from the massacre of Uvalde school children and teachers, Soward said he is grateful his team was successful in bringing a killing rampage to a halt in the heart of a quiet, small town neighborhood.
Soward said when he received intelligence that Lopez, accused of killing a family of five in the Centerville area northwest of Houston, might be headed into the heart of his community, he told his wife he would personally lead the hunt.
“That night I had this gut feeling that this guy was going to end up in our county and I didn’t want my guys to get into something with this fellow and me not be there,” Soward said, adding “ The most important thing – and everybody knew it – but we never talked about it - is that if this guy shows up? He doesn’t get away. He doesn’t get away with a chance to kill again.”
“The last thing we wanted him to do is get into a residential area, get into a house and take a hostage,” Soward said, adding “He had already killed five people so he’s going to kill again and we wanted to avoid that, most of all.”
Soward said with a massive cooperative effort underway by every law enforcement agency in the region, they had only moments to come up with a plan.
“Something just told me – I don’t want any of our officers stopping this guy, not knowing who he is, so I sent a message to all my officers to be on all the possible routes he would take,” Soward said.
Soward said he gathered his things and left home, knowing that the man they were after was desperate and maybe deadly.
“He did have an AR-style rifle, and we knew he would be armed. And of course, we knew he was dangerous and had nothing to lose, serving a life sentence in prison when he escaped,” Soward said.
But the hastily assembled plan to neutralize an accused killer was developed and successfully executed in a matter of minutes and Soward said he could not be more proud or grateful that when his people had to stare down a murder suspect – they didn’t blink.
The effort was massive and included Atascosa County deputies and constables and officers from Pleasanton, Jourdanton, Poteet, Lytle, DPS troopers and U.S. Marshals.
Soward said “Everybody was pleased that no officer got hurt, no civilians got hurt, nobody else was killed except the suspect and frankly we just didn’t really care about him. He had a gun and he was trying to kill us.”
A review of audio transcripts of the takedown on Broadcastify, and an interview with Soward, offers an insider’s view of an almost perfect operation.
“On this night, everything went smooth. Everybody worked together, and it did go down pretty much textbook,” Soward said.
A few minutes after 9 pm, lawmen from various agencies detailed the net they cast over several south Texas highways.
Soward said when they received intelligence that Lopez was headed south “We covered all the major roads in the county heading south, Interstate 35, Texas 16, US 281 and IH 37.”
At 9:48 pm the radio crackled: “He is armed with an AR-15 and a pistol and a whole bunch of ammo in the San Antonio area and is going to McAllen. He is in that pickup and he is armed.”
Lawmen knew what they were after: a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck had been stolen during the Centerville murders.
The takedown drama began around 9:57 pm when Atascosa County Chief Investigator Henry Dominguez, who works for the county’s Animal Control Authority, announced he had the suspect in his sight. Just 19 minutes later, at 10:16 pm, radio transmissions show it ended in a firefight that caused no collateral damage to any innocent civilians.
While some officers discussed how they planned to deploy spike strips to disable the truck, Dominguez announced he was following the truck.
Dominguez calmly announced he had the license plate they were after “I got a white Chevy. DPV is the first three (letters).”
Soward said at that point, they knew the battle was set, and he quietly reminded Dominguez to be careful.
Soward can be heard on the radio advising “Do not attempt to stop until we have plenty of backup,” while Dominguez replied “10-4. He’s weaving in and out of traffic.”
As Dominguez kept the truck in sight, others got ahead of the action, and deployed spikes.
Soward said the Jourdanton Police Chief set up the trap just north of town on Highway 16.
“The plan was to spike him out there and hopefully never allow him to get into town,” Soward said, adding “The spike was successful. We hit all four tires, but he kept going and we chased him into the edge of Jourdanton.”
The radio transmission calmly indicating “He’s still southbound but he’s starting to lose it. He’s going 50 mph but it was a good hit and he is losing rubber.”
After a few twists and turns west of Highway 16, the chase turned even more dangerous. Soward said “He went through a field, circled around behind a truck stop and came back out on the highway.”
At 10:13 pm there was an urgent warning to all the lawmen converging on the scene: “He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun! He hit a telephone pole. He’s still going!”
Soward said he heard the exchange of gunfire start because he was close by and he had rolled down his window so that he could track the chase.
“I heard several shots from a semi-automatic rifle, which had to be coming from him because none of our guys shot at him while he was driving on Cypress Street,” Soward said, adding Lopez was holding a rifle out the window, shooting at oncoming deputies.
“He ran off the road, jumped a curb, went down an embankment, hit a telephone pole and knocked it down and kept going until he hit a fence and that was as far as he could go,” Soward said, adding that his deputies, running toward rifle fire, returned fire.
One minute later “Shots fired! Shots fired!” was the urgent call on the radio, “He is running with a weapon!”
Soward said four lawmen returned fire to end the attack and by 10:16 pm the firefight was over.
The same deputies who stopped the rampage immediately began resuscitation efforts, but the damage, from multiple shots, was too great and Lopez was pronounced deceased, ending a crime spree that spanned 22 days and more than 400 miles across Texas.
In the intervening weeks, Soward said he has had time to reflect on the importance of bravery in the face of overwhelming danger, a topic that is top of mind for many Texans now.
Speaking of his team, who are like family members, Soward said “It’s always tough to send them out on dangerous missions, but that’s what they pay us to do.”
Soward said when it was over “It’s an overwhelming sigh of relief that’s hard to describe.”
After the heartbreak of the Uvalde massacre, Soward said Atascosa County residents have been expressing their gratitude for the way this incident ended.
“It’s pretty much like I haven’t seen it before,” Soward said, adding “I have had phone calls and messages from all over the area and I hardly think anyone has paid for a lunch in weeks, I mean, everybody wants to buy your lunch!”
“It’s good that the community appreciates law enforcement when law enforcement does something good because nowadays there’s been a trend across the United States to bash law enforcement,” Soward said, adding “but in this county we see that the citizens want and respect good law enforcement.”
“It’s good when they show it and mention it, good job, good job, I’ve heard it a hundred times in the last few weeks,” Soward said.
Soward said because he has experienced tragic results, he’s especially grateful for this outcome.
“The good guys got to go home, and that’s what we’re supposed to do, but most of all we’re supposed to protect the citizens. They’re supposed to be alive and well at the end of the night, even if we’re not. That’s our job,” Soward said.
Soward said in law enforcement, sometimes officers can go a while and not draw a lot of attention to their efforts. “I always tell people ‘Don’t pay us for what we do, but pay us for what we’re willing to do,’ and Thursday night, June the second, is a good example of that.”
“Of course I told them they did a great job and I handed out 14 commendations, and there was more people than 14 that were out there that night, but these 14 were there when it went down, in the middle of it pretty much,” Soward said.
When the shooting stopped, Soward said the job of making sure everyone in the area was safe rushed forward.
“The shooting happened in a yard and those people were not home. I think the good Lord just had that planned. I thank God they weren’t home,” Soward said, adding that the area is home to a number of senior citizens.
“There was an elderly housing unit off to the south of us, so officers knocked on all the doors and checked on people,” Soward said, relieved that no innocent person was hurt.
Soward said the officers who traded shots with Lopez were given a few days off after the Thursday gun battle, but they all were anxious to return to duty.
“We gave all those guys three days off to chill out and relax and be with their families and offered them more, but they were all ready to come back to work. They all wanted to come back on Monday and it says a lot about them,” Soward said.
The long-time sheriff, with decades of service, said “It’s a good feeling when everything goes right and it pretty much went right that night and everybody went home except the bad guy - so I’m grateful.” | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/ending-a-crime-spree-as-big-as-texas-an-insiders-view/273-d9f9a349-458c-4e43-9e3d-736d4db35de8 | 2022-07-16T21:14:48 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/ending-a-crime-spree-as-big-as-texas-an-insiders-view/273-d9f9a349-458c-4e43-9e3d-736d4db35de8 |
Chesterton-based AV distributor Starin recently reached a distribution agreement with Creston Electronics.
Starin, a subsidiary of Midwich Group, inked a new distribution deal with Creston, a workplace collaboration solutions firm.
“Supply chain is a key concern of our partners and the entire industry. This partnership with Creston will allow us over time to help alleviate and provide adequate inventory to all of our markets for this in-demand and unique product portfolio,” said Starin CEO Bobby Swartz. “Crestron is one of the most respected names in AV, and we are honored to be able to help continue their growth globally, by bringing the most complete UC product line up forward with the experience and specialty of high value and high touch services.”
Chesterton-based Starin distributes value-added pro-AV products across the country, focusing largely on the communication and education markets. Its portfolio includes leading brands like Poly, Logitech, DTEN, LG, Neat, Barco and SMART.
- Woman faces felony after flipping off, shoulder checking officer, Porter County cops say
- 72-year-old man rescued from Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes State Park, officials say
- 'Where are we supposed to go?': Families displaced after apartment building in Hobart shuts down
- Portage man ejected from vehicle during I-94 crash, police say
- Valpo man nabbed groping himself at local Walmart store, police say
- WATCH NOW: Lake County cop and civilian vehicle collide in Gary; civilian driver dies, ISP says
- Babysitter goes on trial for child neglect, battery
- Valpo man dies after rolling convertible, officials say
- Driver airlifted with life-threatening injuries after flipping 1950s roadster, officials say
- Region man faces 18 counts of incest
- Four shot Monday in what Region police call 'a terrible night in our city'
- UPDATE: 9-year-old who drowned at lake identified, officials say
- Gary man killed in homicide, investigation ongoing
- 72-year-old pulled from Lake Michigan dies, officials say
- Pierogi Fest to return at 'full strength' with familiar food and new twists
For more information, visit www.starin.biz.
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Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/chesterton-based-starin-reaches-new-distribution-agreement-with-one-of-the-most-respected-names-in/article_36b05490-8643-5d72-85b1-ce918a2d4b8c.html | 2022-07-16T21:17:35 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/chesterton-based-starin-reaches-new-distribution-agreement-with-one-of-the-most-respected-names-in/article_36b05490-8643-5d72-85b1-ce918a2d4b8c.html |
A pilot died from a plane crash in Cape May County, New Jersey on Saturday.
According th the Middle Township Police Department, the crash happened around 9:35 a.m. at the Paramount Airfield located on Route 47 South.
Police say the pilot, 22-year-old Thomas Gibson of Ocean City, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation of the crash was turned over jointly to members of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board who will determine the cause of the crash | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/pilot-dies-from-plane-crash-in-cape-may-county/3301847/ | 2022-07-16T21:28:15 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/pilot-dies-from-plane-crash-in-cape-may-county/3301847/ |
CORINTH, Texas — An AMBER Alert was issued Saturday afternoon for a 12-year-old North Texas girl who police say was abducted and believed to be "in grave or immediate danger."
The Corinth Police Department is looking for Angie Carrasco, 12. Police said Carrasco is 5 feet, 1 inch tall, 120 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing an unknown color T-shirt, black shorts and black croc-style shoes.
Police did not give an identifying characteristics for the suspect, but the suspect is believed to be driving a silver newer model Chevrolet with an unknown license plate. The suspect was last heard from in Corinth, Texas, police said.
If you have any information about the abduction of Angie Carrasco, you're asked to call the Corinth Police Department at (940)349-1600.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/amber-alert-angie-carrasco-corinth-texas/287-17e8dd3a-48b4-4e69-b6a9-380f0e04cd03 | 2022-07-16T21:33:15 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/amber-alert-angie-carrasco-corinth-texas/287-17e8dd3a-48b4-4e69-b6a9-380f0e04cd03 |
GREENSBORO — He was born the son of a Baptist minister, but made his mark here as a Quaker.
William R. "Bill" Rogers, who died Friday at age 90 after a period of declining health, served as the sixth president of Guilford College from 1980-96, the private Quaker school said in a news release.
Guilford College has "lost a true friend," said Kyle Farmbry, who became the college's 10th president in January.
In a statement Saturday to the Guilford College Community, Farmbry said Rogers "is best known for his consensus-building, humility and friendship."
"He is remembered for enjoying lunch with students in the dining hall or dinner at Ragsdale House, and taking part in choir tours and Quaker sporting events," Farmbry wrote. "He not only knew the names of students and alumni, he knew about their lives."
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Farmbry said the college moved forward on many fronts during Rogers' presidency. The school established the Friends Center, Office of Campus Ministry and the Quaker Leadership Scholars Program. Relationships with Friends throughout North Carolina and the nation were strengthened, he said.
Among other achievements during his tenure: the development of interdisciplinary studies, an exchange program with a university in Japan, the strengthening of other study abroad programs, and the creation of a sports studies major, the first undergraduate academic program of its kind in the nation, the college said.
In addition, Guilford College expanded Hege Library, added the Guilford College Art Gallery and the Bauman Telecommunications Center, raised millions in a major fundraising campaign and increased its endowment in the 16 years that Rogers led the school.
"I did not know Bill nearly as well as many of you did, but I sense the profound impact he made on so many lives," Farmbry said in the statement.
In his spare time while president, Rogers kept busy with varied pastimes, according to a 1996 article in the News & Record. He played multiple instruments — guitar, French horn, trumpet, piano and dulcimer. He sang with the Greensboro Opera Company chorus. He sketched, built furniture and fixed antique cars.
His artistic touch remains visible on campus, Farmbry noted. The college's logo features the pen-and-ink drawing Rogers made of a great black oak that stood outside New Garden Hall. And the library still contains a love seat he made from a felled elm tree. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/former-longtime-guilford-college-president-bill-rogers-had-profound-impact-on-many-lives/article_6cd41a32-0533-11ed-b75e-533aee6ed010.html | 2022-07-16T21:36:21 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/former-longtime-guilford-college-president-bill-rogers-had-profound-impact-on-many-lives/article_6cd41a32-0533-11ed-b75e-533aee6ed010.html |
Bethlehem’s 35th anniversary Blueberry Festival & Market To Go got underway Saturday at the Burnside Plantation, with blueberry patches lining the festival ground and historic barns in the background.
The two-day festival features an 18th-century Moravian farm complete with historic barns, a colonial kitchen garden and a pollinator garden. Attendees were able to peruse artisanal crafts, listen to local musicians and enjoy pony rides and blueberry pie eating contests.
The festival also hosted a variety of blueberry-themed goods, including blueberry pie-themed candles and soaps from Purrfect Handcrafted Soaps, which is owned by Diane K. Weitknecht of Allentown.
“I love selling my goods at festivals like the Blueberry Festival because you get to engage and meet so many people who’ve traveled from afar to attend,” Weitknecht said. “I especially love creating specific scents for the festivals, like my blueberry pie-scented candles, which look and smell exactly like a freshly baked blueberry pie.”
Among the other highlights of the festival were blueberry-infused alcoholic beverages, blueberry ice cream, blueberry cheeses and, of course, blueberry pies.
Marie Reiner, the owner and baker at The Bake-A-Re, and a four-time Blueberry festival vendor, was selling a variety of blueberry desserts including blueberry kiffle with both vegan and gluten free options. Reiner said she loves baking blueberry desserts due to their unique flavor profile.
“I think blueberries can sometimes be an overlooked flavor, but I think they are a great flavor option because they are both sweet and tart without being overly sweet, which I think makes it perfect for desserts,” Reiner said.
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The festival was also filled with activities for children, including reading to dogs, petting zoos, coloring activities and colonial dress-up games.
Kristina Dobrick of Allentown brought her husband and twin children to the festival and said it was a great family bonding activity.
“The kids loved looking at the garden and they really enjoyed all the desserts and activities the festival set up for them,” Dobrick said. “I think especially if you have young children, you should definitely attend this festival, because there are so many fun activities and it’s really wonderful for the whole family.”
The proceeds from the festival will go toward helping and maintaining Historic Bethlehem sites and museums.
Kathy Gray of Bethlehem, another festival attendee, said she thinks it’s important to support the Historic Bethlehem community and that the festival is a great way to get out of the house and enjoy good food.
“I always like to support the historic Bethlehem community, and festivals like these are really nice because you get to enjoy great food and it’s especially nice to get out of the house after we’ve all been stuck inside for so long,” Gray said.
The festival continues on Sunday. | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-blueberry-festival-20220716-57ol7pqg5zd57d3u73zi645xku-story.html | 2022-07-16T21:43:21 | 1 | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-blueberry-festival-20220716-57ol7pqg5zd57d3u73zi645xku-story.html |
As of July 11, all Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) districts are in fire season. This means that public use restrictions may be in place where you live or at a destination you plan on recreating to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires.
Compared with previous years, this is a slightly delayed start to the season for the state. The heavy rains in May and June of this year have helped in that. However, ODF urges Oregonians to remain vigilant in preventing human-caused wildfire.
“Don’t be lulled into complacency because of the weather,” said Mike Shaw, Fire Protection Division Chief. “July and August historically have higher fire activity, and ODF is ready to respond, but we need the cooperation of Oregonians so we don’t strain our resources on fires that could have been avoided.”
A large concern for the agency are the ground fuels, like grass, that grew tall due to the spring rains but will dry out quickly, becoming a greater risk for human-caused fires. Those ground fuels will be able to catch fire easily and will then burn and spread quickly. Therefore, it is extremely important for Oregonians to continue to practice wildfire prevention this summer.
Wildfire prevention for Oregonians means:
Make sure your campfire is cool to the touch before going to sleep or leaving your site. Don’t forget to Drown, Stir, Repeat.
Go back and check on your debris burn site to make sure nothing reignites due to the heat.
Don’t park your car over dried grass and make sure it is regularly maintained in order to reduce the risk of sparks.
Don’t flick a cigarette onto the ground. It may be just enough to start a grass fire.
Check local restrictions and fire danger levels.
ODF protects over 16 million acres of private, county, state, and federal land from wildfire. Most districts start their fire season around May or June, and the season ends around the end of October. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/odf-urges-wildfire-prevention-with-all-of-oregon-in-fire-season/article_9fa7d4d2-02fc-11ed-8827-8f4461cb7b93.html | 2022-07-16T21:59:38 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/odf-urges-wildfire-prevention-with-all-of-oregon-in-fire-season/article_9fa7d4d2-02fc-11ed-8827-8f4461cb7b93.html |
AUSTIN, Texas — This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune on Saturday, July 16, 2022.
An Austin couple gave $2 million to Beto O’Rourke, making up his largest donations yet in his campaign against cash-flush Gov. Greg Abbott.
Simone and Tench Coxe each wrote O’Rourke’s campaign a $1 million check earlier this year, Simone Coxe said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. Both are philanthropists and investors who have long been politically active, with Tench Coxe supporting both parties over the years.
Their donations to O’Rourke and others are set to be disclosed on a campaign finance report due Friday and expected to be posted Saturday.
“We believe that state government is really important and we believe in good governance, and we believe good governance requires some checks and balances on the system,” Simone Coxe said in an interview. “Looking at the way [Texas] is structured in terms of the gerrymandering … the only real opportunity to put a check on the state Legislature is through the statewide race, and we think Beto is an extraordinary candidate.”
The Coxes’ donations are part of a historic $27.6 million haul that O'Rourke announced Friday morning. The figure covers late February through June, and it bested Abbott's fundraising for the same period, which totaled $24.9 million, according to his campaign.
Abbott has his own donors who have contributed seven figures at a time, especially in recent years. They include people like Dallas pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren, whose $1 million donation to the governor after the 2021 power grid failure has proven especially controversial. O’Rourke has assailed it as bribery, and Warren has sued O’Rourke for defamation over the attacks.
For O’Rourke, though, the two $1 million checks are much larger than any donations he has ever received in his political career. O’Rourke, a former congressman and presidential candidate, has previously been bound by federal election rules that cap contributions. In fact, some of O’Rourke’s biggest donations until now were from the Coxes, who each gave him $50,000 shortly after he announced his candidacy in November of last year.
Simone and Tench Coxe moved to Austin from Palo Alto, California, in January 2021. Simone Coxe co-founded the public relations firm Blanc & Otus, where she served as CEO for 15 years, and she more recently co-founded CalMatters, the California news nonprofit. Tench Coxe is a former venture capitalist.
Simone Coxe has been a prolific political donor in her own right, mainly giving to Democrats, including O’Rourke when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2018. Her husband, however, has a more bipartisan giving history, especially prior to the 2016 presidential election. For example, he gave to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, as well as the Republican National Committee that year.
“We’re pretty middle of the road,” Simone Coxe said. “We’re moderates, and I’m more of a liberal moderate than he is probably. But I think that’s how we would both describe ourselves. We need commonsense solutions.”
She said the couple has been drawn to O’Rourke’s positions on public education, health care and the economy. They support abortion rights, but Simone Coxe acknowledged O’Rourke would have a hard time reversing the state’s stringent abortion restrictions with a Republican-led Legislature. Still, she expressed hope that he could be a “moderating influence” on those kinds of issues as governor.
This is O’Rourke’s first campaign at the state level, where there are no contribution limits. While O’Rourke has long crusaded against big money in politics, he said when he launched his campaign he would take advantage of uncapped donations, saying he did not want to “run this campaign with a hand tied behind our backs.”
In a statement on the Coxes' donations, an O'Rourke spokesperson, Chris Evans, said the campaign was "going to do everything necessary to ensure our organizers and more than 78,000 volunteers have the resources" to win the race.
“I would make a distinction between special-interest large contributions and kind of general-people public interest,” Simone Coxe said. “We have no agenda other than debate and dialogue.”
“No strings attached,” she added. “Nothing we want out of anything other than good leadership.”
Disclosure: Tench and Simone Otus Coxe have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/beto-orourke-gets-2-million-his-largest-campaign-donation-yet-from-austin-couple-texas-govenor-abbott-election-november/273-6fc411ab-15c0-4f82-bfd5-35542f9d448c | 2022-07-16T22:05:37 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/beto-orourke-gets-2-million-his-largest-campaign-donation-yet-from-austin-couple-texas-govenor-abbott-election-november/273-6fc411ab-15c0-4f82-bfd5-35542f9d448c |
“A legend’s only a lonely boy when he goes home alone.”
— Carly Simon
Let’s get one thing straight right out of the box: Herschel Walker is great.
Wait a minute, let’s adjust that a tad: Herschel Walker was great ... a great football player.
To University of Georgia fans, there will never be another like him. He carried them on his muscular back and legs to one of UGA’s two national football championships, so to a large part of the state, Herschel could never do wrong.
But Herschel Walker the Senatorial candidate is not great. He’s not good. He is, to put it kindly, an embarrassment. But the thing that makes me mad is that he’s an embarrassment not of his own making. It was Donald Trump’s great idea to have Walker — who had been living in Texas for the last several years — to run for the Senate. In Georgia.
Walker won the Republican primarily in the race for the Senate overwhelmingly. Even with an actual competent candidate in the mix — Gary Black — and other decent folks running as well, Walker didn’t even need a runoff to wipe his challengers out. Hell, he didn’t even have to debate them.
And that’s the thing. If Walker had debated in the primary, there would no doubt have been a whole lot of people who would have had second thoughts about voting for him.
See ... hmm ... how do I put this and not seem harsh? Welllll ... Herschel’s just not that bright. His handlers have kept him quiet throughout most of this run-up to the election, just letting him get out and sign a few footballs and collect some big checks from these never-weres who want to bask in the glow of his long-ago celebrity. But when he slips up and says something to people who are not sycophants who could not care less if he doesn’t have the ability to spell Senator, his failure to grasp even slightly complex problems is revealed.
Like talking about being a valedictorian in high school. Hmmm ... no. Like graduating among the tops in his class at UGA. Didn’t graduate. Like forgetting that, oh yeah, I did father a couple of kids that I forgot about. Like finding that magical spray cure for COVID (that sounds a lot like his mentor’s “drink bleach to kill the vaccine” idea). Like staying away from the New Green Deal because it might push all our good clean air to China and make us have to clean up their messy air. Like lying (or terribly misremembering) details about his business that actually preys on veterans rather than helping them.
Walker is running for the Senate because Trump told him to, and a lot of the clowns in Georgia who still think Trump is the second coming see Herschel as the answer to Raphael Warnock winning a seat and helping turn the Senate Democratic. But what they’re doing is tarnishing Walker the football player’s — and the man’s — legacy. By feeding Walker’s ego and telling him he can be a force in the Senate, these liars are setting him up for a huge fall.
And I don’t mean just if he loses, because there are a lot of people who don’t care if Walker can walk and chew bubble gum. They just love that R after his name ... and the Trump endorsement. But if Warnock, the far superior opponent — and this is a guy with little political experience — somehow botches the election and loses to Walker, that’s when Herschel will really learn that ego and friends in high places do not add one point to your IQ.
Senator Walker would make Marjory Greene, whose fantasy life is equally pathetic as Walker’s lack of awareness, look like a Mensa member. He would not only shame the state, he would become the focus of Washington media types who would seek him out for sound bites that would reveal to the world how dumb people in Georgia really are.
Of course, if we elect Herschel Walker to serve in the U.S. Senate, we will already have proved that. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/carlton-fletcher-win-or-lose-herschel-walkers-inadequacy-will-be-revealed-in-senate-campaign/article_5160b710-0547-11ed-a2ea-f7c0dfc81bfd.html | 2022-07-16T22:07:31 | 0 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/carlton-fletcher-win-or-lose-herschel-walkers-inadequacy-will-be-revealed-in-senate-campaign/article_5160b710-0547-11ed-a2ea-f7c0dfc81bfd.html |
ALBANY — Democrat Stacey Abrams likens Gov. Brian Kemp, her Republican opponent in the Georgia gubernatorial race, to a slick used car salesman.
“He’ll show you a nice, shiny vehicle with a polished grill and new tires,” Abrams said during a conversation with The Albany Herald Friday on a campaign swing through southwest Georgia. “But he’s just hoping no one will look under the hood. See, it’s the engine that matters most. And Brian Kemp’s not telling the people of Georgia the whole story. He’s not talking about the engine.”
Abrams, who lost to Kemp by a handful of votes in a contentious 2018 governor’s race in which the Republican actually attempted, in his role as the sitting secretary of state, to trim the voting rolls by hundreds of thousands even as he campaigned, a move that was overturned by a federal judge, got a bit of good news/bad news as she set out for south Georgia Friday. Her latest campaign financial report showed that she had raised $22 million over two months to Kemp’s $6.8 million, but the latest poll commissioned by AARP showed the Republican incumbent with a 7-point lead.
Asked about the differences in the current campaign and the 2018 campaign, Abrams quickly offered up a single word: COVID.
“COVID revealed the weakness of our health care infrastructure as it relates to the political divide,” she said. “I think that because of COVID, now more than ever Georgians want to be seen and heard, and not just a certain group of Georgians. People of the state want to know that there’s someone who understands their pain more acutely. And that’s the whole state, not pockets here and there.
“For much of Georgia, the people believe they’ve fallen behind and have been left behind. That’s why ‘One Georgia’ has become a mission statement for my campaign.”
Abrams said COVID revealed how deeply health care has become the state’s No. 1 priority, and she said — just as she did in ‘18 — that expansion of Medicaid would go a long way in solving health care issues among the state’s poorest citizens.
“A half-million Georgians would receive health care with the expansion of Medicaid,” she said. “And, let’s face it, there aren’t that many good-paying jobs in southwest Georgia and other rural areas of the state that offer adequate health insurance. You’d think that our leaders would want a healthier population.
“The expansion also would give access to mental health care and take that problem out of the hands of law enforcement. Right now, law enforcement is the No. 1 provider of mental health care in our state.”
Abrams acknowledges that she’s seen the political ads that appear to have her saying she favors “defunding the police,” but she scoffs at the legitimacy of the ad.
“What Brian Kemp’s campaign does is they take snippets of what’s said and edit them to appear that something was said that fits their narrative,” she said, bristling at the mention of the ad. “I won’t do that kind of thing. Yeah, I’ll fight you. But I’m not going to lie about your position to try and confuse voters. I’ve been told all my life that a lie of omission will send you to hell just as quickly as a lie of commission. And that’s what this is.
“Look, in 2020 we were in the middle of a litany of racial violence perpetrated against black people by law enforcement. The community that was most harmed was saying, ‘Stop hurting us.’ They used a slogan (‘Defund the Police’) to reflect their anger, and I wasn’t going to try to sanitize their slogan.”
The Democrat said she has always supported law enforcement.
“I know how important law enforcement is,” she said. “I’m not an activist; I’m running to be governor of this state. And I understand the concerns on both sides of this issue.
“I don’t believe in defunding public safety, I believe in paying them a fair wage — and not just state troopers, but all law enforcement — and holding them accountable for their actions. This even impacts our prison system where prisoners are being abused and their families extorted. We need a plan in place. Gov. (Nathan) Deal saw that, and he improved the state prison system over his eight years with reforms that worked. Then Brian Kemp came in and eviscerated the system.”
Abrams said the $5,000 raises that Kemp gave teachers over his four years in office “amounts to nothing when you consider inflation.” She said she has a plan to increase teachers’ starting salaries from $39,000 to $50,000, a plan that she said the state can afford.
“Go to my website; we’ve done the math,” she said. “The state can afford it. The problem is the current governor doesn’t want to use the capital that the state has amassed to help the people who need help most.
“Teachers are facing oversized classes, and they’re leaving the profession in large numbers. We have to stop the drain, pay these professionals a living salary.”
Abrams said before heading to her next event that the state must do more to take care of its veterans, many of whom are homeless, and the next governor must be willing to tackle the state’s top issues: education, health care, public safety and economic development.
“Economic development underpins everything,” she said. “While people like Brian Kemp were making money off PPP, there were black, Latino and other small business owners who did not get a dollar.
“We need a governor who looks out for all Georgians, not just a select few.” | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/georgia-gubernatorial-candidate-stacey-abrams-on-campaign-ads-ill-fight-you-but-i-wont-lie/article_1efb25f0-0536-11ed-80eb-6b0da2c39caf.html | 2022-07-16T22:07:32 | 0 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/georgia-gubernatorial-candidate-stacey-abrams-on-campaign-ads-ill-fight-you-but-i-wont-lie/article_1efb25f0-0536-11ed-80eb-6b0da2c39caf.html |
ALBANY — Decades ago, in 1951, with the publication of a booklet marking the completion of the building that would become St. Teresa’s Catholic School, the author of that booklet mentioned that, with the construction of the school for classes through eighth grade — what was then called junior high school, now middle school — there was enough land for future expansion to include high school classes.
“It will take a leap of faith” to make that happen, the writer noted some seven decades ago.
Jump ahead to the 2000-teens, and St. Teresa’s Priest Father Ray Levreault, along with a group of board members and parents eager to have their children continue their Catholic education, petitioned the Bishop of Savannah and received permission to, indeed, add high school education to the curriculum at St. Teresa’s. Freshman and sophomore classes were added in 2017, juniors in 2018 and seniors in 2019.
And in 2020 that long-ago prophesied leap of faith was made whole when St. Teresa’s celebrated its first graduating class.
Now, overseen by Father Ray and led by Principal Susie Hatcher, Assistant Principal Linda Johnson and High School Director Terry McKay, St. Teresa’s School is thriving, turning out some of the brightest graduates in southwest Georgia, students that are continuing their education at Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Yale, North Carolina State, various other Georgia colleges and the nation’s military academies.
“The primary difference between a Catholic education and a public school education is faith,” Johnson, who is heading into her 26th year as an educator/administrator, 12 in the Dougherty County Public School System and the rest at St. Teresa’s, said. “Having been in both, kids are going to get a great education wherever they go. But the Christian faith is part of the discovery at St. Teresa’s.
“We pretty much base all that we undertake on the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ principal. And we can openly speak it.”
Indeed, Hatcher says, along with religious classes, staff development includes the introduction of Catholic principles that are introduced in all disciplines.
“Let me be clear: Our goal is not to convert anyone,” the St. Teresa’s principal said. “Our goal is to share our faith, share the faith of Jesus Christ. In fact, we welcome students of all faiths and have instructors from different denominations. But what we teach is based on the principles of the Catholic church.”
Hatcher should know about Catholic School education. She was taught by nuns in Ohio and Kentucky, as were her husband and both sides of their family. And she makes no bones that she’s excited about her own children receiving the same kind of education.
“It’s something I’ve wished for my whole life,” she said.
Johnson, meanwhile, converted to Catholicism while at the University of Georgia, and at St. Teresa’s she’s taught every level through eighth grade, has served 13 years total during her two stints as assistant principal and was principal for two years.
With the backing of church officials, including Gregory John Hartmayer, who now is the Archbishop of Atlanta, Hatcher and Johnson helped write up the proposal to bring a K3-12 education to St. Teresa’s. Up to 2017, students at the Catholic school attended classes there through eighth grade. Then ... well, it was up to parents. Options included private schools, whose tuition was often too steep for many parents, or sending their high-schoolers to public schools.
“That could be a bit of culture shock for a lot of our students,” Johnson admits.
With some 136 students now enrolled in St. Teresa’s, Hatcher said that the school is open to more students ... but not too many more.
“Ideally, we want between 16-20 students in each grade level,” she said. “We’d love to increase our student body, but not to the point that we’d have huge classes. That would impact instruction. We like having the opportunity to give each child individual attention; we can meet special needs of each student.”
Hatcher and Johnson, whose apparent rapport includes finishing each other’s thoughts at times, said there are a number of reasons in addition to smaller class sizes and individual student attention for parents to like St. Teresa’s, including:
— Safety: “That is our top priority,” Johnson said. “Our doors are locked at all times, teachers are given codes to open the doors — which they don’t share with anyone — and the codes are changed frequently. If our office personnel doesn’t know you, you don’t get in the building.”
— College choices: “We have some very successful kids here; our graduates are going on to some of the best schools,” Hatcher said. “But even before we had a high school, we’d hear from our students who said when they went on to high school or college that the education they’d gotten put them ahead of other students.”
— Rigorous (and faith-based) education: “There is a high expectation of achievement,” Hatcher said. “We have dedicated teachers here who believe in their mission. And there is a work ethic here that serves our students well when they move on to college or careers.”
— Diversity: “Learning to live, interact and respect all different cultures is one of the greatest gifts you can give a child,” Johnson said. “I am so blessed that my kids had such a diverse group of friends here at St. Teresa’s.”
Now that St. Teresa’s Catholic School has established its academic bona fides — the school also offers such extracurricular activities as basketball, soccer, cheerleading, archery and “lots of clubs” — the administrators say there is lots to offer parents looking for the right place for their students to receive a quality education.
“It’s an education based on Christ,” Hatcher said. “There’s no better way to raise a child.”
(Interested parents may contact Hatcher or Johnson by calling (229) 436-0134 or via email at shatcher@stteresas.org or ljohnson@stteresas.org.) | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/st-teresas-catholic-school-expands-on-leap-of-faith/article_fc4ce60e-0528-11ed-85d7-5f77ecf05732.html | 2022-07-16T22:07:33 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/st-teresas-catholic-school-expands-on-leap-of-faith/article_fc4ce60e-0528-11ed-85d7-5f77ecf05732.html |
Editor’s Note: Will Thault — in celebration of “Freedom Month” — is taking a look throughout the month of July at President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedoms” speech. For a look at Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” illustrations based on Roosevelt’s words, follow this link: Norman Rockwell Four Freedoms paintings inspired by Franklin Roosevelt.
What does freedom from want mean to us? A fully-stocked fridge? A full gas tank? Central A/C with the thermostat set on 70 degrees? Smart phones and a TikTok account?
It’s hard to imagine being without many of these things. However, for some, freedom from want such as this is only a dream. Just learning to survive day by day is challenging enough, with the insecurity of no job, no income, no food on the table or a roof overhead. Sadly, in a nation that’s been blessed with abundant natural resources and luxuries unimaginable even today in third world countries, we still have poverty and homelessness.
Why is FDR’s long ago vision of this freedom still one of the most elusive of the Four Freedoms? “The third freedom from want — which translated into world terms,” he said, “means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.” FDR’s wish for “a healthy peacetime life” wasn’t just about material possessions either; he meant security and contentment — a better standard of living.
While many take these basic needs for granted today, consider the shaky economic conditions of the time that Roosevelt made his speech. The Great Depression was just winding down, after a decade of disasters beginning with the stock market crash and Wall Street panic of 1929, followed by years of high unemployment, bread lines, soup kitchens, mass migrations caused by severe droughts wiping out farms and livestock during the Dust Bowl of the Southern Plains. All this was still fresh in people’s minds. The rest of the world was suffering from want as well, made even worse by dictatorships forcibly subjugating the land, its people and its resources, leaving millions to starve.
The bleak picture of a world at war in 1941 and a nation still in economic recovery only galvanized Americans’ resolve to overcome this evil. But first, Roosevelt knew his task was to clearly identify those universal human values that would give meaning to the human sacrifices soon to be expected from us. Norman Rockwell popularized these ideals in his Four Freedoms illustrations of exaggerated realism to drive home the president’s points.
In his allegorical setting for Freedom from Want, he chose to portray a multigenerational family gathered around the dinner table for a holiday meal, as the perfect imaginings of good fellowship and plenty. At the center of the table is a roasted turkey, but we notice that it’s not the food that stands out, it’s the happy and contented faces — sharing the experience of freedom from want, celebrating all that we have and can be grateful for among friends and loved ones. Rockwell’s interpretation was idyllic, but the imagery has stood the test of time and become an iconic symbol of the classic American Thanksgiving.
When seeking a contributing essayist to Rockwell’s painting, the editors of the Saturday Evening Post chose Filipino novelist and poet, Carlos Bulosan, “because,” they said, “a man struggling to reach a goal often sees the goal more clearly than one who has already reached it.” Bulosan’s experiences as a migrant worker gave his words authenticity. “When our crops are burned or plowed under, we are angry and confused,” he writes. “Sometimes we ask if this is the real America. Sometimes we watch our long shadows and doubt the future. But we have learned to emulate our ideals from these trials. We know there were men who came and stayed to build America. We know they came because there is something in America that they needed, and which needed them.”
Bulosan’s essay is as meaningful now as it was then. “Our march toward security and peace is the march of freedom. It is the dignity of the individual to live in a society of free men, where the spirit of understanding and belief exists; of understanding that all men are equal; that all men, whatever their color, race, religion or estate, should be given equal opportunity to serve themselves and each other according to their needs and abilities.
“Sometimes we divide into separate groups and our methods conflict,” Bulosan continues, “though we all aim at one common goal. The significant thing is that we march on without turning back. What we want is peace, not violence. We know that we thrive and prosper only in peace.
“But our march to freedom is not complete unless want is annihilated.”
“What do we want? We want complete security and peace,” Bulosan concludes. “We want to share the promises and fruits of American life. We want to be free from fear and hunger.”
Is this too much to ask for anyone? It’s not too late. Together, we can work to identify the inequities and cast them aside, so that all may have the opportunity to live a “healthy peacetime life” free from injustice and want. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/will-thault-freedom-month-part-3-freedom-from-want/article_37539c64-04fe-11ed-bcca-eb3cb6c40869.html | 2022-07-16T22:07:34 | 0 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/will-thault-freedom-month-part-3-freedom-from-want/article_37539c64-04fe-11ed-bcca-eb3cb6c40869.html |
TONIGHT: An isolated shower or storm possible before midnight. Muggy and warm, with lows in the low 70s.
SUNDAY: A toasty mid-July day across Central Alabama with highs in the low 90s and a heat index between 95° and 100° in most spots by mid afternoon. A few scattered showers and storms are possible across the state, with the best rain chances across the Tennessee Valley and the Gulf Coast. In Central Alabama, showers and storms will be very isolated, but a few could bubble up in the heat of the afternoon.
WORLD GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY: Rain chances look very slim for the start of the ceremony at Protective Stadium, but I can’t entirely rule out a brief shower as the event starts. It will be warm and partly cloudy through the event, with temperatures falling from the mid 80s to the low 80s through the evening.
SUNDAY NIGHT: An isolated shower can’t be ruled out through around 7 pm, then it’s the typical warm and muggy evening we all expect this time of year. Lows in the low to mid 70s with a partly cloudy sky.
MONDAY/TUESDAY: A strong upper-air ridge will be in place across the Southern Plains and Four Corners states Monday into Tuesday, with a weak upper-air trough in place across Alabama. That trough will lead to some additional rising motion in the atmosphere here and help kick-start more numerous showers and storms Monday and Tuesday than we’d normally see on a July afternoon. The best chance for heavier rain will be on Monday, and north of I-20, but we do expect widely scattered storms to continue to push southward through the day Monday. Tuesday, the upper-air trough begins to strengthen, but also begins to push east. Still, expect at least scattered storms to remain through Tuesday afternoon.
WEDNESDAY: Rain chances dwindle on Wednesday as the upper-air trough moves eastward. This will be a day in-between systems, but expect the heat to build with fewer clouds around. Highs reach the mid 90s with the heat index back into the triple digits.
THURSDAY: A second weak upper-air trough digs across the Central U.S. Thursday, and we’ll get enough rising motion from that to again increase our coverage of showers and storms. For those without rain and cloud cover it will be another hot day with the heat index again in the triple digits.
FRIDAY & THE WEEKEND: That upper-air ridge slides east Friday into the weekend and strengthens across the Central and Southern U.S. This is a pattern that supports extreme heat over the state of Alabama, and we’d typically expect to see heat advisories become necessary in a pattern like this. Right now, we’re forecasting highs to climb into the upper 90s by next weekend, and the heat index to climb above 105°, but it’s not totally out of the question that temperatures could reach triple digits with the heat index potentially climbing to 110° or more.
While the odds of the heat index getting that high aren’t over 50%, they aren’t zero either, so it’s something we’ll monitor as we head through the week.
Storm Team 7 Day Forecast
Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team:
Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Ashley Gann, Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes and Meteorologist Alex Puckett | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/hot-humid-and-occasionally-stormy-week-ahead/ | 2022-07-16T22:22:37 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/hot-humid-and-occasionally-stormy-week-ahead/ |
HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) — An early morning fire has affected over 20 people in 10 units of the Valora community in Homewood.
According to Red Cross, 21 people were assisted during the fire. Efforts are being made to find temporary housing and to help meet financial needs for those affected.
Help and counseling for those affected will continue. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/over-20-people-affected-in-homewood-apartment-fire/ | 2022-07-16T22:22:43 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/over-20-people-affected-in-homewood-apartment-fire/ |
Innovation improves Las Cruces Utilities' free mulch for residents
When Las Cruces Utilities picks up yard waste throughout the city with its Green Grappler, it becomes mulch that residents can pick up for free. Through the innovative experiment of a machine used to process dirt from other projects, the mulch is now better than ever, and residents have been rushing to get a bucketful at the Foothills Landfill Composting Facility at 555 Sonoma Ranch Blvd.
The flip screen machine was initially purchased to help LCU with two projects: separating trash from dirt in the pre-1965 landfill removal near Sonoma Ranch and reusing dirt from projects throughout the city. FLCF has been storing and separating construction debris from dirt – for example, when a pipe breaks and crews must dig up a portion of the street, which consists of water-saturated soil along with asphalt and concrete. The crew will send the dug-up materials to be processed at FLCF. Crews then can pick up the processed material for reuse, saving money for LCU and the City of Las Cruces by not needing to buy material to fill holes.
The idea to use the flip screen was thanks to LCU Lead Equipment Operator Max Gonzalez who asked for a half-hour to use it and show LCU Route Supervisor Philip Glasson what it might do for the mulch. Glasson, who uses the mulch for his yard, came back to check on the processed mulch pile and requested that the crews go to work on the rest of the mulch.
“The flip screen has one-inch holes to process the mulch, making it finer by catching some of the bigger wood pieces and some trash as well,” he said. “Even if we pick up clear bags with the Green Grappler, our crew will examine to remove any trash that might have mistakenly landed in the yard waste. This is why we can’t pick up dark bags; we don’t know what’s in them, which can contaminate the mulch we’re giving back to the community even as we sort it.”
As part of LCU residential Solid Waste service, the Green Grappler can pick up an amount equal to two leveled half-ton pick-up truck loads or four cubic yards, equivalent to four 5’x3’x2’ adjacent piles. Any trees or branches need to be cut into pieces shorter than 5 feet in length and smaller than 5 inches in diameter. Larger loads may be scheduled for pick up for an additional charge and can be arranged by calling Customer Central at 575-541-2111.
Yard waste is chipped, piled up, watered, turned, and left in the sun to "cook" at temperatures above 131 degrees to destroy weed seeds and pathogens to make the compost useful for landscaping and gardening. The added water is from reclaimed water produced by the nearby LCU East Mesa Water Reclamation Facility.
Glasson explained, “We have plenty of repeat customers for the mulch. Residents use it for erosion control, plus adding ground cover saves moisture and helps their plants. Customers can request either the finer screened compost or the larger unscreened compost. If they want, they can request the larger material that we screen out as well. Our goal is to try and accommodate the customers’ needs as best as we can.”
The facility is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents are encouraged to take what they need, even filling up a pickup truck. If residents don’t have a truck, LCU recommends bringing buckets, and don’t forget a shovel and gloves.
LCU – Your Utility Connection. Customer Central can be reached at 575-541-2111 from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. LCU provides clean, safe, and reliable services to Las Cruces residents and businesses. Learn more at las-cruces.org/180/Utilities. For emergencies, call Dispatch at 575-526-0500.
Others are reading: | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/07/16/innovation-improves-las-cruces-utilities-free-mulch-for-residents/65374067007/ | 2022-07-16T22:28:46 | 1 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/07/16/innovation-improves-las-cruces-utilities-free-mulch-for-residents/65374067007/ |
ATLANTIC CITY — Authors Deborah Robinson and D. John Jackson led a criminal justice system discussion panel Saturday at the NAACP Convention at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
Robinson is the author of "Daisy Bates, In Her Own Words," a pictorial book that tells, in her own words, the story of Arkansas NAACP leader Daisy Bates and the huge role she played during the civil rights movement.
Jackson wrote "What About Me: Walking The Tightrope as a Black Man in America" in which he dives into the experience of African American men in this country and the adversity that they've had to overcome in all aspects of their lives.
Robinson, who has a master's degree in journalism and a minor in criminal justice, opened the panel by talking about the criminal justice system and its origins.
She made a comparison about how one person working at a bank could embezzle $30,000 and just get a slap on the wrist for it but that an African American in the same situation might not have opportunity to work there but has the chance to rob it.
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Robinson mentioned that she was taught in school that the crimes that African American's commit and get high sentences for are the ones they had the opportunity to act out on.
"That was something that really stuck with me from school because in the past it was always the crimes that African American's had the opportunity to commit is what got them higher punishments," Robinson said.
The conversation then shifted over to police, and Jackson shared a personal experience he wrote about in his book.
He was driving around early one morning in workout clothes and police stopped him because they got a report about an African American with dreads who was breaking into cars around Jackson's neighborhood.
The police looked at Jackson, realized he wasn't the person they were looking for and sent him on his way.
One of the major ongoing issues in America still is young black people being killed while running from police. Jackson says many emotions go through your mind when stopped, especially if you don't know why you are being stopped. He said he can see why somebody's first instinct might be to run.
"If you get stopped on a lonely street either in the middle of the night or early in the morning and you aren't sure why you are being stopped, I can totally see a young 16-, 17- or 18-year-old panic," Jackson said. "But that panic might lead to your death."
Jackson offers a list in his book that goes over the right ways to go about getting stopped. The list mentions things such as turning the radio down, being respectful and answering all of the officer's questions to the best of your ability.
The next topic that was brought up was how being in tune with law and politics can benefit the Black community.
Jackson emphasized the importance of voting, but not just for a face. He mentioned the importance of voting for someone whose values align with yours and could be an asset in your community.
The last few minutes of the discussion touched on steps that people can take to solve some of the issues in their communities. Some of the solutions that were brought up include engaging in and becoming a student in your community and educating police officers to not judge a book by its cover when they are interacting with people. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/authors-host-discussion-panel-related-to-criminal-justice-during-naacp-convention-on-saturday/article_b8d8eba2-0532-11ed-8844-2b26aaa9f3e6.html | 2022-07-16T22:31:43 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/authors-host-discussion-panel-related-to-criminal-justice-during-naacp-convention-on-saturday/article_b8d8eba2-0532-11ed-8844-2b26aaa9f3e6.html |
CAPE MAY — City Council plans to explore the possibility of reducing speed limits throughout town, at least on city roads.
It won't happen this summer, Mayor Zack Mullock said Wednesday, but he believes summer is a good time to take a look at the issue, when traffic is at its most intense.
He said he has heard from police that speeding has become more common in town, adding that it's obvious to residents as well.
"It's pretty easy to see," he said.
By default, where speed limits are not posted within the city limits, the speed limit is 25 mph, “which we all know is pretty insane,” City Councilman Michael Yeager reported at a July meeting.
That includes most streets in Cape May. Mullock says that is much too fast for most areas of Cape May.
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"A lot of our streets were specifically designed for carriages," he said.
Yeager said he’s put together a small committee, including city engineer Vince Orlando and the city attorney, to explore the possibility.
Yeager cited the many narrow streets in the Victorian city, while other officials also cited the number of low-speed vehicles, e-bikes and other forms of transportation competing for room.
While officials in multiple other shore towns have raised concerns about the speeds of battery-assisted bikes and scooters in the summer, Cape May has the added complication of horse-drawn carriages that use many downtown streets.
Yeager said the move grew out of a discussion with Mullock. If changes are enacted, he said, they would apply only to city streets, not county or state roads within Cape May. He also predicted a long and potentially complicated process.
“I’m sure there are restrictions that the state puts upon us,” he said. “It’s not like it’s impossible.”
City attorney Christopher Gillin-Schwartz said municipalities have authority to set speed limits on streets where it has jurisdiction. For instance, Lafayette Street, one of the primary routes into and across town, is a county street, so that would require action by the county Board of Commissioners.
But he said city streets like Corgie Street, Hughes Street or Yacht Avenue could be changed by City Council. Each is a narrow street within town. Corgie and Hughes are both one-way streets, but Yacht Avenue dead-ends at the harbor and so must be two-way.
He described them and other examples as sleepy residential streets where someone driving at 25 mph would be out of place to someone mowing his lawn.
The first step will be a traffic investigation.
“We can proceed on that if that is the direction you all want to move in,” Gillin-Schwartz said.
Yeager expects there to be traffic studies performed before a recommendation is completed. He wants to look at the entire city in the project.
“If we’re going to do this, we should do it at a large scale,” Yeager said. “I think it’s an effort worth moving forward with and make this place a lot safer.”
He added that new stripes for bike-sharing lanes and new crosswalks will be painted, adding to safety in the town.
Council member Stacy Sheehan said enforcement must be the main concern.
“We can reduce the speed limit, but if we’re not enforcing it, it doesn’t make a difference,” she said.
Powered scooters and low-speed vehicles, primarily golf carts, should also be part of the discussion, suggested City Council member Shaine Meier.
“I see people not following the traffic laws, mostly in golf carts,” Meier said, citing young children riding in the back of open low-speed vehicles without the protections offered by child safety seats in a car or truck.
Speed is an issue with those forms of transportation as well, Yeager said.
“I wouldn’t doubt that we have electric bikes traveling at 25 miles an hour, and they are supposed to obey all traffic laws,” he said.
Meier suggested everyone should slow down in Cape May.
“It might not be the best motto, but I’ve always had a motto that when you’re coming to Cape May, you’ve made it. Slow down,” he said. “You’re not traveling anymore. You’re here. Relax.”
Sheehan suggested posting a sign at the entrance to town stating that the speed limit is 25 mph and is strictly enforced. Visitors to other communities in the area know where enforcement is strict.
According to Mullock, the county has promised to paint a large speed limit on the surface of Lafayette Street.
“People have to slow down. We have so much conflict with these golf carts and now the motorized scooters and the motorized bikes,” said city manager Mike Voll. “First and foremost is public safety.” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/cape-may-looks-at-reducing-speed-limits/article_0ef92590-02f6-11ed-9420-e7b655a7eb62.html | 2022-07-16T22:31:49 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/cape-may-looks-at-reducing-speed-limits/article_0ef92590-02f6-11ed-9420-e7b655a7eb62.html |
Members of the NAACP kick off their annual convention with a news conference at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Saturday. More than 8,000 people are expected to attend the convention, which runs through Wednesday.
MATTHEW STRABUK PHOTOS, FOR THE PRESS
NAACP President Derrick Johnson was among the participants at the kickoff event.
MATTHEW STRABUK FOR THE PRESS
The opening day of the NAACP Convention featured several programs that followed the news conference at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Saturday.
MATTHEW STRABUK PHOTOS, FOR THE PRESS
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. speaks at the news conference. Small urged the convention attendees to "make sure to explore this great city because although we appreciate the casino industry, we are more than just casinos."
ATLANTIC CITY — The NAACP marked the start of its 113th annual national convention with a news conference at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Saturday.
"We cannot be more thrilled to finally say, 'Welcome to Atlantic City.' The city has a lot to offer, and we can't wait to showcase it to all of you," said Larry Sieg, the CEO of Meet AC, Atlantic City's convention and visitors bureau.
The hour-long conference highlighted what the NAACP is looking to accomplish over the course of the weeklong event and the impact it will have on the city.
The theme for the convention is #ThisIsPower, and events throughout the week will highlight issues pertaining to voting and reproductive rights, student debt and police reform.
This year marks the first time in three years the convention is not an online event. Leon Russell, chair of the NAACP national board of directors, said now that the convention is being held on site, rather than virtually as it was during the height of the pandemic, people need to use the energy they've built up since the last in-person convention to make the changes necessary to address the problems they are highlighting.
"The theme is 'This Is Power,' and our members from all across the nation are that power," Russell said. "As we go through our program over the next few days, its time for us to explain how we will use this power."
In 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer spoke during the Democratic National Convention and asked: Is this America?
With COVID still negatively affecting communities, as well as other issues such as a belief in the hospitality industry that hotel workers aren't being paid a fair wage, Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said the convention is the perfect opportunity to figure out if the current America is the one people want.
"As we approach a midterm election, this convention allows us to question as an organization and a community if this is the America we want to see or the America that others are pushing upon us," Johnson said.
Although more than 8,000 people are expected to attend the convention, not everyone who wants to attend will make it. Stanley Holmes, just a few blocks away from the Convention Center, has 424 units, making it the largest public housing complex in Atlantic City.
City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, who also is president of Atlantic City's NAACP chapter, said he feels a big responsibility to speak on their behalf.
"I want to make sure that after the convention is over and all the banners are taken down, that those of us who are elected use 'This Is Power' to make a way out of no way."
Events began throughout the convention shortly after the conclusion of the news conference and will last until Wednesday.
Mayor Marty Small Sr. said the convention will have a big economic impact on the city.
"It means a lot to have the convention take place in our great city," Small said. "The convention is going to bring in nearly $10 million, according to Meet AC." A nonprofit created in 2014 by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, Meet AC is charged with drawing convention business to the city.
"Make sure while you here that you take care of our service workers as they just negotiated new contracts," Small said to conclude his remarks. "Also make sure to explore this great city because although we appreciate the casino industry, we are more than just casinos."
PHOTOS 2022 Day 1 of NAACP Convention in Atlantic City
"This convention allows us to question as an organization and a community if this is the America we want to see or the America that others are pushing upon us." Derrick Johnson, NAACP president
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Members of the NAACP kick off their annual convention with a news conference at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Saturday. More than 8,000 people are expected to attend the convention, which runs through Wednesday.
The opening day of the NAACP Convention featured several programs that followed the news conference at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Saturday.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. speaks at the news conference. Small urged the convention attendees to "make sure to explore this great city because although we appreciate the casino industry, we are more than just casinos." | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/naacp-outlines-priorities-as-it-kicks-off-national-convention-in-atlantic-city/article_3f837a32-051a-11ed-91cd-97d8440a61ec.html | 2022-07-16T22:31:55 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/naacp-outlines-priorities-as-it-kicks-off-national-convention-in-atlantic-city/article_3f837a32-051a-11ed-91cd-97d8440a61ec.html |
The Northfield 10-and-under softball team was eliminated from the Section 4 Tournament on Friday with a 9-1 loss to Audubon in the semifinals.
Swedesboro/Woolwich and Audubon played Saturday for the title.
Northfield captured the District 16 championship July 10.
On Friday, Lila Clifford struck out 15. She also went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a stolen base. Addison Keena went 1 for 2 with a run and a stolen base. Riley Kolmer added two stolen bases.
Northfield defeat Waterford Township in the first round of the tournament Tuesday. Northfield lost 3-1 to Swedesboro/Woolwich on Thursday.
The players on the team were Keena (centerfield), Riley Kolmer (second base), Aurora Smith (left field/ right field), Parker Obermeyer (third base), Chloe Brandt (shortstop), Ella Wainwright (right field), Faye Brozosky (cather), Clifford (pitcher), Lucee Supp (third base), Payton Boyd (left field/ right field), and Sophie Gray (first base).
People are also reading…
Northfield's head coach was Leanne Gray, and the assistant was Brent Kolmer. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/northfield-winners-of-district-16-eliminated-from-section-tourney/article_ad40f5aa-0519-11ed-b988-4f456aaa00e9.html | 2022-07-16T22:32:01 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/northfield-winners-of-district-16-eliminated-from-section-tourney/article_ad40f5aa-0519-11ed-b988-4f456aaa00e9.html |
Days after officers waited for more than an hour to confront a gunman who had massacred 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, Uvalde city officials tried to convince state leaders to go along with a narrative painting the police response as heroic.
Uvalde officials presented the proposed narrative to Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, and District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee at a meeting at Uvalde City Hall on June 2. Gov. Greg Abbott’s chief of staff, Luis Saenz, was on hand, too.
The narrative would have blunted criticism of authorities’ handling of the rampage, leveled by both McCraw and Abbott in separate news conference on May 27, three days after the shooting.
“The total number of persons saved by the heroes that are local law enforcement and the other assisting agencies is over 500 per (the Uvalde Consolidated ISD),” city officials claimed in the document. “40 minutes were not wasted but each minute was used to save lives of children and teachers. But for (Uvalde Police Department) and UCISD being on scene IMMEDIATELY, that shooter would have had free range on the school.”
A surveillance video leaked last week to the news media shows police gathering in the hallway outside classrooms 111 and 112, scene of the killings, but failing to confront the gunman — Salvador Ramos, 18, of Uvalde — for more than an hour.
On ExpressNews.com: Morning of chaos: A reconstruction of how the Uvalde massacre unfolded
Ramos sporadically fired his assault-style rifle while officers waited in the hallway.
Uvalde City Attorney Paul Tarski distributed the narrative during the June 2 meeting.
“My recollection is that (Uvalde Mayor Donald McLaughlin Jr.) was upset with the way that DPS had conducted the press conferences, and they had prepared that narrative and they were going to release it,” Busbee said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News. “And then I objected to it because … the investigation had just begun so we did not know if that was a true assessment of what transpired. There was no way for us to tell or assess whether or not that narrative was accurate.”
Busbee’s office is investigating the school shooting and how officers on the scene responded.
Uvalde County Judge Bill Mitchell, County Attorney John Dodson, Uvalde Assistant City Manager Joe Cardenas also attended the meeting, as well as Victor Escalon, director of DPS’ South Texas Region, and Freeman Martin, DPS’ deputy director of Homeland Security Operations.
Ultimately, the narrative was not released to the public.
“I still don’t know whether that narrative is correct because we’re still (early) in the investigation,” Busbee said. “If you are going to release something to the public that is further going to create confusion and may be misleading, you would have to walk it back.”
By early June, state officials had already reversed course once. A day after the May 24 shooting, Abbott claimed during a news conference in Uvalde that officers had responded heroically.
But then investigators obtained the hallway surveillance video.
“At my directive, the scope of the investigation broadened,” said Busbee, who’d reviewed the video. The probe would include a close examination of the responding officers’ action.
Related: Who is the Uvalde DA? And who — if anyone — will she prosecute in school-shooting probe?
At his May 27 news conference, Abbott said he was furious that he had been “misled.”
By June 2, Mayor McLaughlin had become increasingly irate over McCraw’s briefings with reporters and lawmakers. McCraw appeared to cast blame on local officers — in particular the on-scene commander, Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo — for holding back instead of quickly confronting and shooting the killer.
After some of those briefings, McLaughlin complained to reporters that DPS was not highlighting the actions of its own officers or those from other agencies that responded to the shooting.
The city on Saturday released the narrative, but declined to answer questions.
Excerpts from the narrative:
“Within 5 minutes of receiving a report of an accident at approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 24, Patrol Officers (Jesus) Mendoza and (Juan) Saucedo and their Patrol Sargent, Daniel Coronado, were on scene taking fire. They immediately pursued the suspect as he ran to Robb School.”
“Officers Pete Arredondo, Donald Page, Daniel Coronado and Adrian Gonzalez followed the sound of gun fire and entered the west end of Robb School while officers Javy Martinez and Eddie Canales entered the east end of Robb School, also following the sound of gunfire. There was zero hesitation on any of these officers’ part, they moved directly towards the gunfire.”
“They immediately approached the door and were fired upon by the suspect with an AR rifle approximately four times, with Eddie Canales taking shrapnel to his ear and Javi Martinez being grazed by a bullet to the head. With both officers bleeding, they took cover a few yards down the hall to avoid fire and called for backup.’”
“US Marshals arrived with the shields. NO ONE ELSE, not UPD, not UCISD, not Border Patrol, not DPS, not Homeland security and not any other agency had shields available. Bortac insisted that all the rooms be cleared, i.e. all the children and teachers be removed, PRIOR to use of the shields and the breach of Room 112.”
“Absent the shields, every UPD officer was of the opinion that breaching the door was suicide and every Texas Ranger or DPS agent who took their statements agreed… Not a single officer present, including DPS troopers and Texas Rangers, believed they could save lives by approaching that door and being killed one by one.”
guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-narrative-17309465.php | 2022-07-16T22:46:48 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-narrative-17309465.php |
SPRING HILL, Fla. — A single family home in Spring Hill caught fully on fire on Saturday, Pasco County Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post.
Firefighters responded to the scene on Kent Grove Drive and are performing a defensive attack to put the fire out.
There are no reported injuries. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/spring-hill-fire-pasco-county/67-1bf7ce65-74fe-4e82-a01d-01ad2fb83332 | 2022-07-16T22:48:34 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/spring-hill-fire-pasco-county/67-1bf7ce65-74fe-4e82-a01d-01ad2fb83332 |
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of central Indiana families in need got prepared for the upcoming school year on Saturday at a free back-to-school giveaway on Indianapolis' north side.
Volunteers with the nonprofit Dotted Line Divas helped hand out backpacks, health products, and classroom supplies, and also provided free haircuts at their parking lot near I-465 and Michigan Road. On top of that, families were also able to get a free phone and apply for jobs with employers in the area.
"I enjoyed it last year and decided to come back again this year," said Patrice Higgins.
Higgins is a parent of five who stopped by the giveaway. She is also a substitute teacher and wanted to get a jump on school supplies ahead of the school year.
The free event came as Indiana schools continue to struggle to fill teaching positions, just weeks before classes begin.
"At the school that they're at, I don't have that problem," Higgins said.
The state still has over 2,300 open positions as of July 16, but Higgins said she's helping fill the gap at her school in Pike Township through serving as a substitute teacher.
"I'm going to be helping the teachers out so they can go and take off when they have to and I can take over in the classroom in there," she said.
If you would like to apply for a teaching job, you can click here.
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- Study reveals Americans may be leaning toward electric vehicles | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/hundreds-line-up-for-free-school-supplies-haircuts-and-more-at-back-to-school-bash-indianapolis/531-d97cb4ff-b1f9-4c22-8b35-3d07fee7fbe4 | 2022-07-16T22:54:36 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/hundreds-line-up-for-free-school-supplies-haircuts-and-more-at-back-to-school-bash-indianapolis/531-d97cb4ff-b1f9-4c22-8b35-3d07fee7fbe4 |
An Interstate 820 bridge is set to be demolished this weekend and instead, traffic crossing over State Highway 121 will shift to a new one, City of Fort Worth officials confirmed in a press release.
The old bridge is set to be demolished fully by 6 a.m. on Monday, July 18. Demolition began on Friday. Drivers traveling southbound on I-820 will be detoured on southbound State Highway 121 exiting at Minnis Drive, then returning northbound and exiting to the I-820 southbound direct connector ramp.
Southbound traffic will be detoured on I-820 southbound to exit at Trinity Boulevard, turning west to Handley-Ederville Road, then north back to 121 southbound Frontage Road and the entrance near Big Fossil Creek.
Expect delays and seek other alternative routes.
Work on The construction is part of a $3.8 billion congestion relief initiative from the state to reduce gridlock in the state's congested areas. Parts of the project include reconstructing existing roadway and access ramps, building additional lanes in each direction, replacing the Trinity Bridge and installing new direct connector to and from State Highway 121. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/southbound-loop-820-bridge-to-be-demolished-this-weekend/3016230/ | 2022-07-16T22:54:46 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/southbound-loop-820-bridge-to-be-demolished-this-weekend/3016230/ |
90 for Dad downtown bike sculpture unveiled
Hospice of Wichita Falls and 90 for Dad unveiled downtown's latest bike sculpture Friday.
A small crowd gathered and braved the heat to see the bike rack sculpture unveiling Friday afternoon.
Wichita Falls Downtown Proud, 90 For Dad and Hospice of Wichita Falls were on scene to watch as the Burn Shop’s latest creation, the 90 for Dad bike rack, was uncovered on Sixth Street near the 6th Street Winery in downtown Wichita Falls.
This is the 15th artistic, bike-friendly sculpture unveiled.
According to a previous Times Record News report, 90 for Dad began as a cycling event and fundraiser organized by Dail Neely and his family to show appreciation to Hospice of Wichita Falls for the care provided for his father and then later for his mother.
More:Hospice of Wichita Falls unveils a Mane Event Horse, the newest member of their family
More:Texas Ranch Roundup takes place this weekend with real cowboys. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/90-for-dad-downtown-bike-sculpture-unveiled/65374934007/ | 2022-07-16T22:55:30 | 1 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/90-for-dad-downtown-bike-sculpture-unveiled/65374934007/ |
41st Texas Ranch Roundup offering new events
The Texas Ranch Roundup kicked off its 41st year Friday morning with the festival and tradeshow featuring more than 150 vendors from all over the country selling cowboy boots and hats, saddles, spurs, jewelry, artwork, leather goods, custom hardwood products, toys and much more.
It was also time for Kids' Roundup which offered pony rides, a petting zoo, rope making and mechanical bull rides.
Friday night and Saturday night feature the ever-popular arena events where the working cowboys get to shine, displaying skills in riding, roping and other events that are similar to their everyday jobs on the ranch.
There are ten historic Texas ranches that compete.
This year's lineup includes the W.T. Waggoner Ranch, Tule Ranch, Bonds Ranch, Pitchfork Land and Cattle Co., Tongue River Ranch, Circle Bar Ranch, R.A. Brown Ranch, Rocker b Ranch, Burns Ranch and the Spade Ranches.
Sunday morning features a Cowboy Church service led by Susie McEntire Eaton and her husband, Mark Eaton.
Proceeds from the event benefit the North Texas Rehabilitation Center, West Texas Boys Ranch and the West Texas Rehabilitation Center. These charities have received more than $3.75 million to date. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/texas-ranch-roundup-this-weekend-with-real-cowboys/65374746007/ | 2022-07-16T22:55:33 | 0 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/texas-ranch-roundup-this-weekend-with-real-cowboys/65374746007/ |
Arizona National Guard to help fill sandbags in Coconino County after days of flash flooding
The Arizona National Guard has been authorized to deploy to Coconino County to help with flood mitigation.
Soldiers will fill 600,000 sandbags after the areas near Pipeline Fire burn scar were hit with numerous rainstorms this week.
After the heavy rains resulted in flash flooding that damaged structures and forced temporary road closures, Coconino County asked for help with flood mitigation in the Schultz/Pipeline flood area from the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.
Throughout the next week, anywhere from 30 to 60 members of the National Guard will be in the area to assist with the project, according to the Arizona Emergency Information Network.
There are already operations to fill sandbags underway with prisoner crews in both Kingman and Winslow. The United Way of Northern Arizona is looking for volunteers to help fill sandbags to meet an estimated need of 80,000 total bags for flood mitigation.
A powerful storm on Friday quickly caused washes to overflow and produced serious flash flooding in the Pipeline and Schultz Fire scars while threatening the nearby communities of Doney Park, Fernwood, Timberline and Wupatki Trails.
Just after 6 p.m., as storms continued to move through the area, the City of Flagstaff issued a shelter in place order surrounding the Museum Fire Flood Area, which includes Mt. Elden Estates, Paradise, Grandview and Sunnyside.
Just a day prior, more heavy rains created downstream flooding in the same high-risk places. The flooding became serious enough to temporarily close Highway 89 just east of Flagstaff. That flooding came a day after nearly a quarter inch of rain fell in the same area.
According to the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, scattered showers and storms are expected Saturday, possibly producing heavy rain and flash flooding.
The frequent rains have also prompted fire restrictions to be lifted across parts of Yavapai and Coconino counties including Coconino and Kaibab National Forests.
Contact northern Arizona reporter Lacey Latch at llatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatch. Coverage of northern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America and a grant from the the Vitalyst Health Foundation in association with The Arizona Republic. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-weather/2022/07/16/national-guard-help-after-days-flash-flooding-coconino-county/10077657002/ | 2022-07-16T22:56:10 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-weather/2022/07/16/national-guard-help-after-days-flash-flooding-coconino-county/10077657002/ |
19-year-old man is dead after shooting in Phoenix; investigation ongoing
The Phoenix Police Department says a 19-year-old man is dead after he was discovered with a gunshot wound in the area of 40th Avenue and Roosevelt Street early Saturday morning.
Officers arrived at the scene about 1:15 a.m., where they discovered Robert Cardona in a nearby field "suffering from an apparent gunshot wound."
Cardona died from his injuries at the scene, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Suspects are still being sought. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish if they wish to remain anonymous.
Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at hkochanski@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @HaleighKochans.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/07/16/19-year-old-man-dead-after-being-found-with-gunshot-wound-in-phoenix/10078988002/ | 2022-07-16T22:56:16 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/07/16/19-year-old-man-dead-after-being-found-with-gunshot-wound-in-phoenix/10078988002/ |
BOISE, Idaho — Editor's note: The video above this article was published Friday, July 15.
Multiple Treasure Valley agencies assisted in containing a fire south of the Boise Airport near the Black's Creek Public Shooting Range Friday at midnight.
In a post on Twitter, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho said it responded with four overhead units, five fire engines, a dozer, a water tender, air attack, four Single Engine Airtankers (SEATs) and investigation.
BLM Idaho said the fire was mapped at 1,979 acres Saturday morning. Crews with the Boise Fire Department, Meridian Fire Department, Kuna Rural Fire District and Eagle Fire Department assisted BLM in stopping the active fire spread.
Crews secured the perimeter throughout the night after containing the fire Friday at midnight. BLM said crews will continue to mop up the hotspots Saturday, with control estimated for 8 p.m.
The Blacks Fire traveled towards the Orchard Combat Training Center amid response Friday evening. BLM Idaho said crews from the training center in Boise also assisted with fire reduction.
A dozer and brush truck were brought to the scene by Eagle Fire, as requested by BLM.
The cause of the fire Friday is currently unknown.
The National Weather Service in Boise said its GOES-17 satellite detected the fire southwest of Interstate 84 exit 64. NWS said resolution imagery shows the fire's rapid evolution:
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/blacks-fire-south-of-boise-airport-impacts-over-1900-acres/277-f5b7a5e1-e658-4c00-af0b-78a02c9aa25c | 2022-07-16T23:01:11 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/blacks-fire-south-of-boise-airport-impacts-over-1900-acres/277-f5b7a5e1-e658-4c00-af0b-78a02c9aa25c |
BOISE COUNTY, Idaho — The Boise County Sheriff's Office and volunteers are searching for a missing man whose vehicle went into the Payette River on Highway 17 on Thursday, July 14.
In a Facebook post Saturday, the sheriff's office said Milt Alley went missing after his vehicle went into the water near milepost 1. Officials recovered Alley's vehicle and dog from the Payette River following the incident.
Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue, Boise County Search and Rescue and private volunteers are assisting in the search for Alley Saturday.
The Boise County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) said the volunteers are searching using helicopters and watercraft.
A Facebook group has been created for updates and information on the search, according to BCSO. The group is titled 'Milt Alley Search and Rescue Information Page.'
According to the search and rescue page, a group of kayakers were on the Payette River Saturday morning to assist in the search efforts. The page also said a volunteer flew a helicopter from south of Banks to Black Canyon Saturday, but did not see anything along the river bottom.
Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue, Boise County officials, Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue and volunteers have been walking on both sides of the river on Highway 17 Saturday.
As of early Saturday afternoon, Garden Valley Fire joined the search efforts today and volunteers are still searching with watercraft.
The Milt Alley Search and Rescue Information Page is available by clicking here.
KTVB is gathering more information about this developing story. Check back for updates.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/search-on-for-man-along-payette-river/277-1222200e-2180-4166-aab4-0072155864c9 | 2022-07-16T23:01:17 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/search-on-for-man-along-payette-river/277-1222200e-2180-4166-aab4-0072155864c9 |
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division on Saturday issued a Public Safety Alert warning Florida communities of an increase in mass-overdose events suspected to be related to drug supplies laced with a synthetic opioid.
While law enforcement agencies continue to investigate these events, the alert seeks to notify the public and raise awareness of the statewide spike.
The DEA has determined that just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose.
Synthetic opioid mass-overdose events, characterized as three or more overdoses occurring close in time and at the same location, have happened in at least three Florida counties in the last two weeks resulting in overdoses, hospitalizations, and death.
The CDC estimates that over 107,000 Americans died of a drug overdose during the 12-month period from February 1, 2021 through January 30, 2022, with 67% of these overdose deaths related to a synthetic opioid. In 2021 alone, DEA seized enough fentanyl to provide a lethal dose to every American.
If you are aware of controlled substance violations in your community, please submit your anonymous tip through the DEA online Tip Line at Submit a Tip | DEA.gov. Concerns about prescription drug abuse or diversion can be reported to the DEA through this link: RX Abuse Online Reporting (usdoj.gov). | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/16/dea-issues-warning-of-increase-in-fentanyl-related-overdoses-in-florida/ | 2022-07-16T23:04:58 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/16/dea-issues-warning-of-increase-in-fentanyl-related-overdoses-in-florida/ |
A 40-year old woman from Ohio was presumably bitten by a shark on Saturday, according to Volusia County Beach Safety.
Authorities said the woman was wading in waist-deep water in the 3300 block of Daytona Beach Shores when she was bit on the lower left leg.
Her injuries were not life threatening and she was transported to the hospital for further treatment. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/16/woman-presumed-to-have-been-bitten-by-shark-in-daytona-beach-authorities-say/ | 2022-07-16T23:05:04 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/16/woman-presumed-to-have-been-bitten-by-shark-in-daytona-beach-authorities-say/ |
BOYD COUNTY, KY (WOWK)—A man was life-flighted to the hospital after an ATV crash in Boyd County Kentucky.
The Ashland-Boyd County-Catlettsburg office of Emergency Management says that a man wrecked his ATV on his own property on Bolts Fork at around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. They say he went over a steep hillside and that his ATV rolled over him at least once.
Since this happened about three-quarters of a mile back in the woods, responders accessed him with a Stokes basket and UTVs. They say they used a rope system to bring the man up a steep hillside.
Once the patient was out of the woods, he was taken to the hospital by Healthnet. There is no update on his condition at this time.
East Fork Fire Department, Norton Branch Fire Department, Summit-Ironville Fire Department, Boyd County EMS and Ashland-Boyd County-Catlettsburg Emergency Management responded to the incident. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/man-flown-to-hospital-after-boyd-county-kentucky-atv-accident/ | 2022-07-16T23:06:32 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/man-flown-to-hospital-after-boyd-county-kentucky-atv-accident/ |
Riders take off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Riders take off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Hope City Church Pastor Quovadis Marshal leads riders in prayer as they prepare to take off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Drew Collins, father of Elizabeth Collins, speaks to riders before the group takes off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Riders prepare to take off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Riders bow their heads in prayer before taking off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Riders take off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
EVANSDALE — Riders once again gathered Saturday in Evansdale to remember the two girls who were kidnapped and murdered there ten years ago this week.
Approximately 140 riders filled the street in front of Lofty's Lounge for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive to help remember Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, cousins who disappeared on July 13, 2012 and were found dead five months later during December.
The annual event, with the help of the Elizabeth Collins Foundation, the non-profit organization created by her father, Drew, has become a platform to raise awareness for other unsolved abduction and murder cases.
Several participants in the event on Saturday could be seen within the crowd holding signs seeking information about their own loved one's cases.
Out in the street, Pastor Quovadis Marshal of Hope City Church in Waterloo was on hand to bless the bikes and lead riders in a prayer. Guest speaking inside Lofty's was Anna Williams, the mother of 13-year-old Abigail, who, along with friend Liberty German, 14, were found dead in there home state of Indiana in February 2017.
At 11 a.m. on the dot, kick stands were up and the riders began their trek towards Angels Park, named after the two cousins, before driving to Jesup, Quasqueton, La Porte City and returning to Evansdale.
Proceeds from the ride and will go towards Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, the Elizabeth Collins Foundation and for maintenance of Angels Park.
Five police cars were on the scene responding to a call from the 900 block of Martin Road, which ended up being for a 'non-life threatening cut to an extremity,' an official said.
Cedar Falls Police, Cedar Falls Fire Rescue, and MercyOne Paramedics were called to the 2900 block of Apollo Street for the reported attack, and transported the person to a local hospital.
Before any vote is taken at the 5:30 p.m. meeting inside the Community Center, 528 Main St., Superintendent Andy Pattee and Tim Turnis with Invision Architecture will present a project update.
Hope City Church Pastor Quovadis Marshal leads riders in prayer as they prepare to take off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive.
Drew Collins, father of Elizabeth Collins, speaks to riders before the group takes off from Lofty’s Lounge in Evansdale Saturday for the 10th Annual Memorial Ride and Drive. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-riders-bring-attention-to-murdered-cousins-other-unsolved-crimes/article_35224d57-cbfb-5778-b287-3d8888ebfdbf.html | 2022-07-16T23:21:39 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-riders-bring-attention-to-murdered-cousins-other-unsolved-crimes/article_35224d57-cbfb-5778-b287-3d8888ebfdbf.html |
WAVERLY — Deklen Poppe, 3, likely spoke for most kids at the Heritage Days parade Saturday morning when he held up a piece of Dubble Bubble Gum in response to being asked about his favorite part of the hour long-event.
Walkers and riders in this year's parade had no shortage of candy to give out to kids and adults of all ages on the nearly two-mile route on a cloudy summer day.
People were lined up and down Fifth Avenue Northwest and Sixth Street Northwest and Southwest in anticipation with big bags to carry all of the sweet treats.
But it's not the only reason the Poppe family came out.
“We always like to see the fire trucks, too, because his grandfather is the fire chief in Plainfield,” said the boy's mother, Katie Poppe of Waverly.
“The parade is great because it gives the community something to celebrate,” she added.
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Other goodies were handed out during Saturday's first scheduled activity.
Stuffed animals from Trinkets & Togs Thrift Store were among them as well as jar lid grippers from Taylor Physical Therapy, fly swatters from CUSB Bank, and sandwiches from Jimmy John’s.
Waverly friends Dennis Wiley and Judy Miller had their eyes on the Jimmy John sandwiches and the goodies from Fareway Bakery. But Miller said they also liked to “see the different floats they haven’t seen before.”
“We like to listen to the bands too,” said Wiley. “They have a good variety.”
This year’s theme for the 35th annual event is “The Beat Goes On” in honor of the music groups that come back to perform year after year during the three-day weekend event.
Heather Grier, of Tripoli, came with her two kids who had yet to experience Heritage Days’ festivities.
They had experienced the parade, but 2022 was the first time the family would branch out to visit other attractions.
She said her daughter Bristol, 5, was “pretty excited” about the General Public Princess Party and the bounce house.
“As a mom, it’s a good way for the kids to socialize especially after COVID,” she said. “For the small businesses, the event provides good exposure.”
Michelle Jacobs, of Waverly, came with her mother Angela and her dog Boo.
They parked themselves in their usual spot along the parade route. Jacobs was most impressed with the beginning of the parade when the military veterans and a large American flag passed through the streets.
Spectators near the Wartburg College campus stood up, removed their caps and were dead silent.
“During these tumultuous times, that says a lot about our community,” she said. “You could hear a pin drop.”
They were planning to head over to a relative’s 50th wedding anniversary. It’s not uncommon for reunions and other special events to organize this weekend.
In fact, two parade floats carried Waverly-Shell Rock graduates from the classes of 1977 and 1972 celebrating their 45th and 50th anniversaries, respectively, since dawning their graduation caps.
Speaking of traditions and heritage, another Waverly resident Danise Schweer was one of four Waverly high school graduates from her family to make it out to the parade.
The oldest got his diploma in 1943 and the youngest in 2012.
The Denver High School 1991 graduate walked away with two “Reserve World Champion” buckles.
Seeing other people from all walks of life within Waverly, she said: “It gives us a chance to unite, and serves as a good reminder as to where we all come from.”
“As a farmer, I always like seeing the old tractors and horses,” Schweer noted. “I was in the municipal band, so I like seeing them, too.”
Her family was planning to check out the Vic Ferrari Band’s final Waverly concert as part of the rock and roll group’s farewell tour.
Additionally, the annual fireworks were on her family’s radar.
Lynne and Bill Fruehling, of Waverly, can see those loud colorful rockets from their porch.
Before the nightcap, the husband and wife were enjoying a peaceful afternoon at the park, where most of the Heritage Days’ gatherings and events take place, eating a Philly Cheese Steak and bratwurst, with some Beaver Creek Band music in the background.
When they moved to town from San Diego five years ago, they said signs of Heritage Days were “everywhere. You can’t miss it.”
In addition to the fireworks, they can hear the music “clear as a bell” from their house two miles away, said Bill.
Polls will be open at the Falcon Civic Center, 1305 5th Ave Northeast, from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Now they’re one of Waverly’s dozens of participants in the parades and other festivities.
They rode the Rotary Club’s float, and purchased some honey and seasoning from the pop-up marketplace.
“We’re taking advantage of a day that’s not so hot, unlike last year,” Lynne said. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-waverly-heritage-days-brings-community-together-for-parade-weekend-of-fun/article_281c91af-3672-5262-8330-8a924285c32d.html | 2022-07-16T23:21:45 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-waverly-heritage-days-brings-community-together-for-parade-weekend-of-fun/article_281c91af-3672-5262-8330-8a924285c32d.html |
Regular Staten Island Ferry riders may have noticed a longer wait for their next ride between its namesake borough and Manhattan.
That's because a growing number of sick calls related to rising COVID-19 infections has left the ferries with fewer workers to meet the around-the-clock schedule.
The ferry system will run fewer ferries during rush-hour for at least two weeks, running instead in 20-minute intervals from 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
Outside of rush-hour operations, the ferries are scheduled to leave every 30 minutes.
The city's Department of Transportation said the adjusted schedule will be in place through at least July 26. Overnight cancellations are also a possibility, the agency tweeted July 13.
COVID-19 transmission is up 33% in New York City in the last week and rising markedly in each of the five boroughs, new health department data out Thursday shows, amid a sixth pandemic wave fueled by what some have called the "worst version" of omicron yet.
News
The omicron subvariant BA.5 now accounts for most NYC COVID cases, and all five boroughs are seeing skyrocketing transmission rates; reinfection risk is also up and may be connected to the strain.
Staten Island is seeing the highest rolling new case rate in this latest wave, followed by Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn, according to the latest data from the health department. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/virus-hits-staten-island-ferry-crews-delaying-runs-during-rush-hour/3777425/ | 2022-07-16T23:27:05 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/virus-hits-staten-island-ferry-crews-delaying-runs-during-rush-hour/3777425/ |
AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's Note: The video above is from a previous report that aired on July 1.
On Saturday, more than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers released a letter to the Biden Administration proposing strategies to guarantee abortion access in Texas.
The letter proposes five strategies to make sure pregnant people can have access to abortions in Texas specifically for people who are not able to travel out of state for the procedure. The strategies focus on providing access to FDA-approved abortion medication inside state lines and protecting those who use the medication.
The group makes the following suggestions to President Biden:
- Declare a public health emergency protecting private providers who dispense medication via telehealth.
- Support mission-driven telehealth providers and abortion funds across America.
- Establish a federal program for providers to dispense medication abortion.
- Give the federal government power over state abortion laws that conflict with FDA regulations.
- Protect all Americans from civil or criminal prosecution where self-sourced abortion medication is used.
The proposal to the Biden Administration comes a week after Biden signed an executive order in an attempt to protect abortion access. That action formalized instruction to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to fight efforts to limit access to FDA-approved abortion medication or travel outside of the state for abortion procedures.
The executive order does not restore access to abortion across the United States. It also doesn't protect people from facing prosecution for violating abortion laws in states with such laws.
You can read the full letter online here.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-democrats-letter-biden-administration-in-state-abortion-strategies/269-8f455db9-71cf-454d-8fc7-45b38cf7e559 | 2022-07-16T23:29:41 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-democrats-letter-biden-administration-in-state-abortion-strategies/269-8f455db9-71cf-454d-8fc7-45b38cf7e559 |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/deeply-harmful-in-philadelphia-vp-harris-excoriates-scotuss-abortion-decision/3301869/ | 2022-07-16T23:34:24 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/deeply-harmful-in-philadelphia-vp-harris-excoriates-scotuss-abortion-decision/3301869/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/jalen-hurts-begins-free-football-camp-for-kids/3301872/ | 2022-07-16T23:34:31 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/jalen-hurts-begins-free-football-camp-for-kids/3301872/ |
Four people are in the hospital after being shot in Northeast Philadelphia Saturday evening.
According to police, the incident happened shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday on the 1300 block of E Luzerne St. A 39-year-old man was shot multiple times throughout the body, police say. He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors placed him in critical but stable condition.
Additionally, a 20-year-old man was also shot nine times throughout the body. The victim was transported to Temple University where he was placed in critical condition.
A 37-year-old man was also shot once in the right foot and an 18-year-old was also shot once in his right bicep. Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital by police, where they were listed in stable condition.
Police say It’s still unclear what sparked the gunfire. No arrests have been made.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/north-philly-quadruple-shooting-leaves-4-men-hospitalized/3301879/ | 2022-07-16T23:34:37 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/north-philly-quadruple-shooting-leaves-4-men-hospitalized/3301879/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/wilmington-teacher-charged-with-raping-student/3301880/ | 2022-07-16T23:34:43 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/wilmington-teacher-charged-with-raping-student/3301880/ |
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Originally published July 15 on IdahoCapitalSun.com
Individuals not affiliated with Idaho Republican Party Chairman Tom Luna’s campaign for a second term distributed flyers advertising free pizza to local shelters for people facing homelessness, causing confusion at a campaign event on Thursday night, party officials said.
Luna’s event, called “Pizza and Patriots,” was advertised to all delegates at the Idaho Republican Party Convention in Twin Falls. Jake Miller, director of communications for the party, said Luna discovered an alternate flyer was distributed to at least one local homeless shelter with the title, “Pizza for the hungry.” Miller said he did not know who distributed the flyers.
An alternate flyer advertising a free meal at a Tom Luna for chairman campaign event was distributed to at least one Twin Falls homeless shelter with the title, “Pizza for the hungry.” (Courtesy of Tyler Hurst)
Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, ran against Luna for the position; Delegates selected her on Saturday. Moon could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Luna, who was elected as Idaho’s superintendent of public instruction in 2006 and served two terms, was elected as the Idaho Republican Party chairman in 2020. Moon was elected to the Idaho Legislature in 2016 and ran for secretary of state in the May Republican primary, narrowly losing to Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane.
Tyler Hurst, a Republican campaign staffer, organized the Pizza and Patriots event for Luna and said he was sitting in the hotel where the event took place and saw a child come up to the front desk and ask if it was the place where they could get pizza for dinner.
When he realized what was happening, Hurst said he told them there was free pizza for everyone and that it was a town hall event.
“I didn’t want them to feel out of place or embarrassed. These are people who left their homes behind, and they’re just looking for something to eat,” Hurst said. “I don’t care about being politically punked, but what was really sad is the position it put these little kids in.”
Hurst said he spoke with Moon, who told him she had no knowledge of the action and thought it was terrible.
A representative of Valley House, one of the major shelters for people facing homelessness in Twin Falls, confirmed that a man had dropped off the alternate flyers on Thursday. She didn’t know who the person was but said she thought it was great and distributed them to shelter residents.
In a statement, Luna said it was a shameful act.
“We can’t allow this behavior to be tolerated. My heart goes out to those families and children in need who showed up at our event,” Luna said in the statement. “I hope, I ask every Republican to stand up for what is right and not reward this kind of behavior.”
Luna has publicly stated that he was unhoused and lived in a tent at one point when he was growing up — that he used to go to school hungry with unkempt hair and clothing. That fact added to his anger, Hurst said.
“His first instinct was, ‘How dare you use people who are already in a tough spot as pawns,’” Hurst said. “This is stupid. What we do here is a hobby, and this is people’s lives. It’s horrible.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/pizza-for-the-hungry-gop-flyers-cause-confusion-for-people-facing-homelessness-in-twin-falls/article_c4c5e47e-d1b7-5659-89ec-ad2bf5fce777.html | 2022-07-16T23:42:18 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/pizza-for-the-hungry-gop-flyers-cause-confusion-for-people-facing-homelessness-in-twin-falls/article_c4c5e47e-d1b7-5659-89ec-ad2bf5fce777.html |
Originally published July 16 on IdahoCapitalSun.com
TWIN FALLS — Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, will be the new chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party, one of few women to ever lead the party in its history.
Delegates selected Moon and cheered loudly for her when she came on stage. The vote tallies were not announced, unlike in years past.
Moon narrowly lost her bid to be Idaho’s next secretary of state in the May primary and served three terms as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives. She unseats Chairman Tom Luna, who was elected in 2020, and is only the third woman to serve in the position since the late 1800s.
Moon thanked Luna for his service as chairman and said she appreciated the support of the delegation.
“We have to make sure with the Democrats coming at us with full force that we have our barriers up, our guns loaded and ready to keep us safe,” Moon said after the results were announced.
Moon is a legislator who earned high marks from conservative and libertarian groups for her hard-right voting record, and during the campaign for secretary of state, Moon said she did not believe President Joe Biden was legitimately elected by Americans in 2020. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“The primaries are over, and my heart is strong,” Moon told the delegation. “And I’m committed to seeing Republicans up and down the ticket get elected in November.”
Darr Moon, her husband, is active in the Idaho Republican Party and serves on the national council for the John Birch Society, a far right-wing political advocacy group.
Luna told delegates it was an honor to serve as the state party chairman, and said he respected the will of the people.
“I only wish and hope for the best for the Republican Party going forward,” Luna said, becoming emotional toward the end of his remarks. “A party that I love so much.”
Campaign efforts between the two camps were fierce over the three-day party convention in Twin Falls. Attendees wore T-shirts supporting Moon and sported signs that referenced a lawsuit Luna filed on behalf of the Idaho Republican Party just before the primary because the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee endorsed candidates in state-level races. A judge determined Luna was correct in his assertion that the endorsements were a violation of the central committee’s bylaws.
Moon referenced the lawsuit in her speech before delegates on Saturday morning, saying she would not make a “unilateral decision without consulting executive committee members.” Luna acknowledged the lawsuit as well, saying he learned lessons from the situation and said he thought both sides could have done things differently.
Campaign efforts also included unknown individuals distributing alternate flyers to local shelters for people facing homelessness advertising free pizza at a campaign event Luna held Thursday night, in what Luna’s campaign staffers described as an effort to disrupt the event.
Moon called it a dirty trick and said she condemned the action.
“If I am your chairman, there will be no more dirty tricks,” Moon said. “We will never treat hard-working Idahoans with anything less than full respect.”
Delegates also chose Maria Nate, wife of Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, as the party’s next secretary. The new treasurer will be Steve Bender, second vice chairman will be Mark Fuller, and the first vice chairman will be Daniel Silver. All of the executive committee appointments are changes from the current committee makeup. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/rep-dorothy-moon-becomes-new-chairwoman-of-idaho-republican-party/article_8305c7c0-fe64-5312-b13f-047f305b753e.html | 2022-07-16T23:42:25 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/rep-dorothy-moon-becomes-new-chairwoman-of-idaho-republican-party/article_8305c7c0-fe64-5312-b13f-047f305b753e.html |
Rhode Island sewer-system operator hit by cyber attack
PROVIDENCE — The Narragansett Bay Commission, which runs sewer systems in parts of the metropolitan Providence and Blackstone Valley areas, was hit by a ransomware attack on its computer systems.
A spokeswoman for the commission acknowledged the attack in a Friday evening email to The Providence Journal.
"Last week, the Narragansett Bay Commission identified a cybersecurity incident that involved the encryption of data on certain computers and systems in its network," spokeswoman Jamie R. Samons said in the email.
While she did not specify a ransomware attack, such attacks typically involve hackers encrypting data on a victim's computer system and refusing to supply the key to decode the data until a ransom is paid.
More:Why RIPTA decided to pay $170,000 to hackers who broke into its computers
Samons did not reply to a follow-up email asking whether a ransom was paid.
She did note that the systems hit by the attack are not ones that control the operation of the sewage system.
"There has been no disruption to wastewater collection and treatment services," Samons wrote.
She said that law enforcement was contacted immediately.
More:Rattled by RIPTA breach that affected 22,000, lawmakers propose policy changes
It was unclear whether customer information was taken during the attack.
"If it is determined that anyone’s personal information was potentially subject to unauthorized access or acquisition in connection with this incident, Narragansett Bay Commission will promptly provide notice to those individuals in accordance with applicable law," Samons wrote. "Notably, Narragansett Bay Commission does not store payment information or Social Security numbers for any of its customers on its systems."
She said the commission is enhancing security measures on its systems, as well as training employees "concerning data security." | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/ri-sewer-system-narragansett-bay-commission-hit-cyber-attack/10076978002/ | 2022-07-16T23:43:43 | 1 | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/ri-sewer-system-narragansett-bay-commission-hit-cyber-attack/10076978002/ |
TEXAS, USA — A soldier with the Texas National Guard died on Thursday in a "non-mission related incident," according to the Texas Military Department.
The Guardsman was assigned to Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star in the Rio Grande Valley.
TMD says the name of the deceased soldier won't be released while they notify the next of kin.
The soldier's cause of death is under investigation, but the department says the soldier suffered a medical emergency in his hotel and was not able to be revived.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, the 52-year-old guardsman was from the San Antonio area.
The soldier was a team leader for the 36th Infantry Division's Delta Company, 536th Brigade Support Battalion and the 72nd Brigade Combat Team, the Express-News says.
The soldier's death comes after Guardsman Bishop E. Evans drowned back in April trying to rescue migrants.
The Express-News says they've tracked six casualties so far connected with Operation Lone Star. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-national-guard-soldier-dies/285-7d89d1bf-9a0f-43cf-9749-9995855a786e | 2022-07-16T23:45:36 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-national-guard-soldier-dies/285-7d89d1bf-9a0f-43cf-9749-9995855a786e |
Keizer may ban psilocybin 'magic mushroom' treatment centers
Keizer City Council is set to vote Monday on whether to ask voters in November to let them ban psilocybin therapeutic treatment centers within their city limits.
In 2020, Oregon became the first state in the nation to legalize the therapeutic, supervised use of psilocybin after 56% of voters approved Ballot Measure 109. Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic ingredient in what are commonly referred to as magic mushrooms.
On Jan. 2, the Oregon Health Authority is expected to begin accepting applications for licenses to manufacture, deliver and administer psilocybin in the state.
Proponents of the measure say using psilocybin therapeutically helped them work through depression and PTSD following military service and terminal cancer diagnoses.
The approved measure allows counties to opt out if they get approval from local voters.
Polk County is also considering a possible ban on psilocybin centers. County staff said the issue with be discussed Tuesday at the 9 a.m. public work session in the courthouse conference room, 850 S. Main St., Dallas. It can be viewed live on the county's YouTube page.
The City of Salem and Marion County officials did not immediately respond to inquiries on whether they were planning to pursue similar ballot measures.
The opt-out loophole is causing confusion, and concern.
More:Voters pass Measure 109, making psilocybin 'magic mushroom' therapy legal in Oregon
Questions about this issue were raised several times during the first public listening session hosted Wednesday by the Oregon Health Authority and its new Psilocybin Services section.
Facilitators are paying thousands of dollars for training, one participant said, asking what could be done if counties opt out.
Several county commissioners, mostly in rural areas, have recently decided to put psilocybin center bans on their local ballots in November.
The trend is similar to one in 2016 when the state gave local governments the ability to opt out of legal cannabis sales, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Many eastern Oregon cities and counties banned cannabis sales initially, but some communities saw a shift in opinion after cannabis became a tax boon for municipalities once it was legalized.
Last year, Mill City voters overturned a measure that banned cannabis sales in that community.
Creating new rules
Wednesday’s public listening session allowed Oregon residents to comment and ask questions about the new psilocybin program. Oregon Psilocybin Services said it will post online responses to the questions in the coming weeks.
Under the measure, only licensed facilitators can possess and administer psilocybin services. Clients, who must be 21 or older, must consume the substance at an approved site under a facilitator’s supervision.
The measure directs OHA to license and regulate the manufacturing, sale and provision of psilocybin services. It also created Oregon Psilocybin Services, a new section housed within the Oregon Health Authority, to oversee the creation and implementation of a new regulatory framework.
OPS, still in its two-year development period, is aiming by year’s end to establish the rules on psilocybin facilitator licensure and training, case management, compliance and product tracking, among others.
The Food and Drug Administration has named psilocybin a “breakthrough” therapy for severe depression. The designation can expedite the development of drugs that intend to treat serious conditions and that could substantially improve upon available therapy based on preliminary clinical evidence.
Outside of certain scientific research contexts, however, the substance remains illegal under federal law.
Keizer considers ban
Keizer is among the Oregon cities and counties considering an outright ban on the service centers.
During the Keizer City Council meeting July 5, Keizer City Attorney Shannon Johnson said he only recently found out that the state was preempting cities' abilities to place serious restrictions on the centers.
Several councilors expressed concern about how the centers would be regulated and how they would ensure people were not under the influence of drugs when they left.
"This is totally new territory for me, so help me out here — what happens when a person leaves?" Mayor Cathy Clark asked. "Is this going to cause a public safety issue for that individual and the community?"
Johnson said the Oregon Health Authority said there would be measures in place to prevent that but the specifics remain unclear.
Although Measure 109 passed statewide, the majority of voters in Marion and Polk counties voted against it. According to city officials, all five Keizer precincts voted against it.
Johnson stressed that the November election would be the last opportunity to ban the centers before they became officially legal.
The council unanimously passed the motion directing Johnson to craft a draft ballot measure and prepare other documentation for banning psilocybin products and centers to send to Keizer voters in November.
On Monday, the council will vote again on whether to adopt a resolution to place the ban on the ballot. The public meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Robert L. Simon Council Chambers, 930 Chemawa Road N.
This story includes reporting from Associated Press reporter Claire Rush.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/keizer-may-ban-psilocybin-magic-mushroom-treatment-centers/65374469007/ | 2022-07-16T23:57:03 | 0 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2022/07/16/keizer-may-ban-psilocybin-magic-mushroom-treatment-centers/65374469007/ |
STAFFORD TOWNSHIP — Two people caught shoplifting at Walmart were found in possession of heroin, police said Saturday.
At around 6:45 p.m. Friday, the township police department's Drug Enforcement Unit arrested Brittany Koppenjan, 30, of Lacey Township, and Ryan Powell, 36, of Seaside Heights, for shoplifting at Walmart.
The two were observed concealing numerous electronic items in their bags. After a short period of time, they were observed walking past the checkout counter and exiting the store. Police encountered the two in the parking lot and arrested them.
While searching the suspects, police recovered stolen items as well as heroin. It was learned that both Koopenjan and Powell had multiple arrest warrants from the Ocean County Sheriff's Department as well as the Berkeley Township and Seaside Heights municipal courts.
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Both were charged with shoplifting and possession of CDS. They are being lodged at Ocean County jail.
Police pointed out that shoplifting and drug offenses are related, because shoplifting leads to the black-market sales of stolen items, which in turn are used to buy, possess and sell narcotics. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-arrest-walmart-shoplifters-find-drugs-in-stafford-township/article_6b135686-0556-11ed-9575-13d6159e72b9.html | 2022-07-17T00:07:14 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-arrest-walmart-shoplifters-find-drugs-in-stafford-township/article_6b135686-0556-11ed-9575-13d6159e72b9.html |
HENRY COUNTY, Va. – The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another hospitalized in Bassett.
It began Friday night when authorities say 32-year-old Marshall Blake Tutor was shot in his torso and hand. It happened on Joyce Park Drive just before 8 p.m.
Tutor was flown to the a Roanoke hospital for life-threatening injuries.
He and witnesses later identified Chase Conley Crum, 20, of Bassett as the suspect. It was discovered that Tutor and Crum were arguing when the shooting took place.
Five felony warrants were issued for Crum and the search for him began.
Things took a turn when authorities were called to a home on Holly Hill Road for a shooting around 3:30 a.m. Saturday. The caller told 911 operators that someone had broken into his home and assaulted a female, and he had shot the man. The caller was identified by authorities as Michael Shawn Flippen, 46, of Bassett.
Deputies say when they arrived, Chase Conley Crum was deceased from a gunshot wound.
The investigation unveiled that Flippen lied during his 911 call.
It turns out, Flippen allowed Crum into his home, knowing he was wanted in connection with the earlier shooting, officials report. Some type of altercation ensued between Crum and a female inside the house. Authorities say Flippen got involved and later shot Crum.
Flippen has been charged with second-degree murder, using a firearm during the commission of a felony, maliciously discharging a firearm inside a dwelling, and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a violent felony. He is currently held in the Henry County Adult Detention Center without bond.
Anyone having information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 63-CRIME (632-7463). The Crimestoppers Program offers rewards up to $2500.00 for information related to crime. The nature of the crime and the substance of the information determine the amount of reward paid. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/16/one-dead-another-injured-in-henry-county-shooting/ | 2022-07-17T00:11:34 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/16/one-dead-another-injured-in-henry-county-shooting/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke area kids got their chance to get some new equipment as fall youth sports leagues are right around the corner.
Different youth athletic associations hosted their first ever trade in/up event outside Play it Again Sports in Roanoke.
Kids were either able to donate their gently used cleats for a 15% off coupon into the store or trade up their cleats for an already donated pair.
Catie Foster, organizer of the event and Communications Coordinator for Greater Southwest Athletic Association, says some families are stretched thin with prices these days.
“Gas prices, inflation, everything is up. So, we just wanted to make sure that after registration happens that if there’s some concern for costs for equipment that we can help with that,” Foster said.
Leading up to the event people were able to donate their used cleats at all Roanoke City Libraries. In total, 10 pairs of cleats were donated.
Foster says she intends on having a similar event for Spring sports. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/16/trade-intrade-up-event-held-in-roanoke-to-help-kids-gear-up-for-the-upcoming-sports-season/ | 2022-07-17T00:11:41 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/16/trade-intrade-up-event-held-in-roanoke-to-help-kids-gear-up-for-the-upcoming-sports-season/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport is looking to make the flying process a little easier for customers.
On Saturday, Virginia Senator Mark Warner presented a check for $15 million for the airport to make improvements.
The money is a part of the bi-partisan infrastructure bill. The bill helps fund infrastructure systems throughout the United States.
Sen. Warner says this was something congress has wanted to do for a long time.
“For 40 years in this country we’ve been talking about needing to invest in roads, in rail, in broadband and airports,” Warner said. “Instead of talking about infrastructure actually put our money where our mouth is...and this at the end of day is part of the result.”
The $15 million is going towards two specific projects: Security and Bag Check.
Currently someone flying out of the airport would check their bag in at the ticket counter but then have to carry the bag themselves to one of two screening areas.
The goal is to eliminate the process and have customers leave their bags at the counter for a conveyor belt to then carry to the screening area.
As for security, the funds will move some areas of the security line more central. It would ultimately free up space in gate 1, which will then be able to be used as a traditional airline gate.
Mike Stewart, Executive Director for Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, says passengers don’t have an issue right now but making it easier will improve overall satisfaction.
“It’s just not optimal. So, we’ll be able to smooth out that process. As we grow in passengers, if you kind of take out that lobby piece, it gives us room to grow ticket counter wise. It gives us room to grow gate wise and just makes the whole flow easier on the customer,” Stewart said.
The goal is to have construction begin in about two years. The airport is still going through some designing phases. However, customers should not see any delays in the process during construction.
“Not at all. You may see some pardon our dust signs but that will be about it,” Stewart said. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/16/virginia-senator-mark-warner-presents-15-million-check-for-roanoke-blacksburg-regional-airport-improvements/ | 2022-07-17T00:11:48 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/16/virginia-senator-mark-warner-presents-15-million-check-for-roanoke-blacksburg-regional-airport-improvements/ |
QUESTION: I’ve just been promoted and I’m starting to focus on improving my leadership skills. What are the most important characteristics of an outstanding leader?
ANSWER: The following exercise has been conducted hundreds of times. Without exception, the results are directionally the same. Participants are asked to think of the name of a great leader. Someone whose leadership prowess they greatly admire. They are then asked to list the three most important characteristics of the leader they selected. As you can imagine, there is considerable variation in the lists, but there is also most often some overlap. Words such as “decisive,” “inspiring” and “visionary” are often on the list.
Interestingly, some of the characteristics people list are virtual opposites of each other. For example, the lists often contain both “passionate” and “unemotional.” “Big picture thinker” and “detail oriented” have appeared at the same time, as have “good listener” and “decisive, not easily persuaded by others.” The fact is that leaders utilize a wide variety of competencies.
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The participants are then asked to share the name of the leader they selected. The list of names will include former bosses, coaches and mentors of the participants. It will also include famous leaders such as Lee Iacocca, Vince Lombardi, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Jack Welsh, George Patton, Mahatma Gandhi, Bear Bryant, Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill, Tommy Lasorda and Ike Eisenhower. It’s not surprising that this diverse group of leaders would generate the list of vastly different characteristics described above. The question is then asked, “What does this group of diverse leaders have in common?”
The answer is that they all led organizations, teams or countries that succeeded when they were at the helm. Successful leaders lead organizations that achieved great things. No one ever lists the coach who had a lifetime record of 26 wins and 189 losses or the CEO whose company had flat sales and stagnant profits. Without exception, great leaders are people who led organizations that achieved their goals.
If you want to measure the quality of a leader, look at the success of the organization he or she runs. The key to being a great leader is to set goals and achieve results, full stop! The new leadership paradigm is about goal achievement, not about behavioral characteristics.
Our country is filled with corporations that have performance management systems based on competencies. Someone, usually an HR person, has tried to identify a set of characteristics that will result in good leadership at the various levels of the corporation.
Everyone, from front-line supervisors to senior managers, is evaluated against these competencies. These evaluations drive compensation and the likelihood of promotion. The implicit assumption is that if managers at each level in the organization possess the appropriate characteristics, they will be successful.
Unfortunately, we demonstrated above that successful leaders possess a wide range of often-conflicting characteristics. The fact is that two people whose outward characteristics look very different can both be successful leaders. Consider the contrast between Vince Lombardi and Mother Teresa. Evaluating the quality of a person’s leadership by comparing them to a set of predetermined competencies is a fundamentally flawed approach.
The new paradigm for leadership focuses on goal achievement within the context of the organization’s values. For example, George Patton was without question a great leader and a successful general but, given his style, it is unlikely that he could have been a successful leader in the church. His behavior was simply at odds with the value system of that organization.
Creating success in your company is a matter of establishing a process that causes realistically high goals to be set at each level of the organization. The goals must be aligned with the overall strategy of your business and with each other. People must then be held accountable for achieving their goals within the values of your organization. In our experience, such a system will not only deliver outstanding results but also develop outstanding leaders for the future. | https://richmond.com/business/local/ask-doug-polly-the-most-important-characteristics-of-an-outstanding-leader/article_b43e6567-df1f-5272-8bd7-14ae0d06cee2.html | 2022-07-17T00:25:31 | 0 | https://richmond.com/business/local/ask-doug-polly-the-most-important-characteristics-of-an-outstanding-leader/article_b43e6567-df1f-5272-8bd7-14ae0d06cee2.html |
On a Saturday this March, Stephanie Nantkes walked into the Civic Center in downtown Seward and found a few dozen people gathered in the meeting room downstairs, heads bowed in prayer. She found Kirk Penner, running for re-election to the Nebraska State Board of Education. She found Jessie Bremer and Jacob Bierbaum, local school board candidates.
She found a table of fellow teachers. Some retired, like her. Some still at it: grading essays, revising lesson plans and organizing field trips.
Together, they waited for a new film called “The Mind Polluters” to begin — a film that would eventually be publicly screened by Nebraska for Founders’ Values and the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition roughly two dozen times across the state, from Omaha to Gordon.
The lights were dimmed. The projector turned on.
“Let me ask you a question …,” Mark Archer, the film’s director and narrator, begins. “What if I told you that your child was being not only sexually harassed, but shown pornography in an effort to groom them for sexual activity? What if they were being groomed for homosexual activity? What if they were being groomed for sex with pedophiles ….”
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He speaks slowly, softly. Concerned.
“Now here's the big question: What if I told you all these things were happening to your child in their school classroom?”
Nantkes watched as speakers rifled accusations at “government schooling systems” — at teachers like herself, she felt.
Months later, Nantkes, mother of former ACLU of Nebraska director Danielle Conrad, struggled to articulate the depths of her bewilderment.
“A horror film,” she called it.
“How insane is this?” she asked. “There isn’t one fact behind what they were saying.”
She hadn’t spent 40 years teaching in Nebraska’s public schools and served two terms on the Seward school board only to have her life’s pursuit portrayed as the work of the Antichrist.
“And that’s the proper definition … ,” insists author Alex Newman near the film’s end. “So parents, you have an obligation as a Christian to remove those children from that school.”
When the film ended and Penner rose to speak, Nantkes snapped.
“Boo!” she yelled. “Boo! Boo!”
She kept at it until the hosts tried — and failed — to usher her from the building. She dared them to call the police. They backed down.
“They were telling people lies about what I've loved my entire life,” she says. “And I will go down fighting for it.”
Leaders of Nebraskans for Founders’ Values and the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition rejected interview requests for this story, as did Nebraska Board of Education member Penner and state board candidates Elizabeth Tegtmeier, Marni Hodgen and Sherry Jones, who have been endorsed by the coalition and participated in a showing of the film.
“Any statements attributed to the PNCC or myself will be disavowed,” wrote Sue Greenwald, retired pediatrician and Protect Nebraska Children Coalition member. “If you would like to talk about the film, I would suggest you talk to the producers.”
Mark and Amber Archer, the Indiana-based husband-wife filmmaking duo who produced the film, also declined to comment.
Doug Brady, candidate for the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties’ Coordinating Council, hosted an April viewing of “The Mind Polluters” in Bellevue.
“A real eye-opener,” he said. A movie that “tells a lot about what’s actually going on in our school districts around here.”
* * *
“The Mind Polluters” is the second feature-length film produced by the Archers. The movie alleges that “government schools” are “grooming” children through programs like comprehensive sex-ed and social-emotional learning, in addition to what speakers call pornographic children’s books.
“Overcoming the natural inhibitions that children have is the goal of both the sexual predator and the sexual educator,” Amber Archer says. “Breaking down the God-given barriers that children have toward sexual content and behavior is the key: the key to manipulation and ultimately enslavement…”
The film doesn’t interview any active public school teachers, administrators, academics or experts in public health or child psychological development.
The Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska State Education Association — the teachers union — don’t always see eye to eye.
Both agree that “The Mind Polluters” has no basis in reality.
“This movie is pure propaganda,” wrote NSEA President Jenni Benson in an email.
“I think it's detrimental to the schools,” said David Jespersen, the Nebraska Department of Education’s public information officer. “I think it's detrimental to the teachers. And I think it's actually detrimental to society to be making these broad, baseless claims.”
Unlike the couple’s first film — about disgraced Indiana doctor and abortion provider George Klopfer — “The Mind Polluters” was prohibited from release on Amazon (Amazon could not be reached for comment). It costs $24.99 to rent on Vimeo.
The Nebraskans for Founders’ Values (whose director, Mark Bonkiewicz, also stars in the film) and the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition began jointly screening “The Mind Polluters” in churches, libraries and community centers this spring, shortly after the Nebraska Board of Education voted to indefinitely postpone the state’s first-ever health education standards.
State and local school board candidates endorsed by the groups appeared as guest speakers at these events.
Word of the “The Mind Polluters” quickly spread on social media and bled into local school board meetings.
Amanda Ripley, a Lincoln nurse and mother of two, streamed the movie online. She then publicly addressed the Lincoln Board of Education, certain the state’s proposed health standards would soon inch their way back into consideration.
“It would almost be negligent for anyone to vote yes or no on the proposed health standards without seeing this very comprehensive and well-sourced documentary,” she told the school board last February.
In a follow-up interview, Ripley said she hasn’t personally seen any of the grooming activities alleged in “Mind Polluters.” She called the teachers at her kids’ public school “lovely people” and said she hasn’t hosted a screening of the film “because this does seem super extreme for Lincoln, Nebraska.”
“It does seem … to paint teachers in a bad light,” she said. “So if I were a teacher, would I be happy with that? No. But then prove yourself. Prove that you’re better and can be trusted with our kids. …”
Jespersen, at the Nebraska Department of Education, said there’s no evidence to support the film’s accusations. He said Nebraska made headlines when similar “baseless claims” were aired in the Legislature.
Repeating a rumor that spread from the coalition's Facebook page, Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Brainard claimed public schools were providing litter boxes to “furries,” or children identifying as cats. Multiple school districts discredited the rumor. Bostelman apologized.
“If parents truly believe something's going on, it should be investigated. … And if you think the administration is pushing it, then the Department of Education should get involved,” Jespersen said. “But we don't have those claims.”
If parents are morally opposed to part of a school's curriculum, they can typically opt their child out, he said. If they believe material is inappropriate, they can file notice with the school board and district for review.
“But we're just not aware of any of these things happening,” he said.
Even as it misleads, the film may have power because, in many ways, the United States has transformed. According to a recent Gallup poll, 7.1% of American adults now identify as LGBT, nearly twice as many as a decade ago. The number of LGBT teenagers is rising sharply. The country’s multiracial population is growing at an unprecedented rate. The percentage of white Americans is shrinking, and so is the percentage of self-identifying Christians.
“The world is becoming a frightening place to many because it is changing,” said Rita Bennett, former Lincoln Education Association president, who opposes the documentary.
Brady, candidate for the Learning Community’s Coordinating Council, agrees that things are changing. He said schools are pushing that change.
He said lessons about gender and sexuality taught in schools are often inappropriate. Any knowledge about sex should be taught by parents, he said.
Citing “The Mind Polluters” as evidence, he said schools are teaching children that it’s acceptable to have sex with adults.
“The big thing they always say is ‘No means no and yes means yes,’” Brady said. “They’re telling a young child that is is OK for them to give permission to have sex, even to older people.”
Jill Brown, a Creighton University professor who teaches “The Psychology of Gender,” testified before the Legislature’s Education Committee supporting the proposed health standards in February.
She said “Mind Polluters” does a disservice to “the real work” of preventing sexual abuse, which many studies have shown can be significantly reduced when comprehensive sexual education is taught in schools.
Many claims made in the film are disproven by current research.
The film says “every cell in your body testifies to the fact that you're either male or female.” According to a United Nations report, up to 1.7% of the world’s population is born with intersex traits.
The film says transgenderism is the result of trauma, confusion or whimsy. But numerous studies have shown otherwise.
The film says children’s “natural aversion” to sex will prevent abuse. But the U.S. government reports nearly 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys experience sexual abuse every year.
* * *
After the “Mind Polluters” program in Seward was finished, Nantkes and other teachers from her table reconvened outside the Civic Center. They were shocked. Angry. One of them later compared it to stepping off a roller coaster. “Your back is up against the wall, and they have you get out, and you're just wobbling around like, What just happened here?”
But they were also filled with conviction. All of them, Nantkes said, are “hellbent” on damning the flow of disinformation.
It’s a frustration shared by the Nebraska Department of Education.
“People see films like this and they wonder why teachers are having a hard time right now. This definitely contributes,” Jespersen says. “With everything that we're asking of teachers, we should be celebrating them, not using baseless claims to bring them down.”
Flatwater Free Press reporter Natalia Alamdari contributed to this report.
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
Learn more at flatwaterfreepress.org | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/minds-polluted-new-film-making-rounds-in-nebraska-is-filled-with-falsehoods-education-experts-say/article_b645ac10-a6a4-578f-84cb-43e49e8d80a9.html | 2022-07-17T00:25:36 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/minds-polluted-new-film-making-rounds-in-nebraska-is-filled-with-falsehoods-education-experts-say/article_b645ac10-a6a4-578f-84cb-43e49e8d80a9.html |
WAVERLY — On Saturday, wheat threshers, old sawmills and farm equipment of old chugged, smoked and pulled.
Outside the farming community, it’s not uncommon for someone to have never seen an antique tractor moving and working. Many urban dwellers have never smelled the richness of freshly turned soil or hay curing. Nor have they seen a cultivator till and row.
That’s why Don Kneifl, president of Camp Creek Threshers, is passionate about his nonprofit’s work.
Camp Creek Threshers is an organization that seeks to keep the farming ways of old and new alive through annual shows. The group's July show, which took place Saturday and continues Sunday, is its largest event.
“There’s not nearly as many of us involved in agriculture as there were 50 years ago,” Kneifl said. “There’s a good chance you had a grandparent or an aunt or uncle that probably had an operation like what (we’re) doing here.”
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Kneifl called the annual event the farming community’s Christmas.
“We prepare literally all year round,” Kneifl said. “It's like a small village here that we have to maintain.”
Though the organization puts on several other events, the July show is by far its biggest attraction. The weekend’s agenda ranges from tractor pulls to flea markets. The showgrounds east of Waverly have a variety of food options and music.
Kneifl typically sees 15,000 to 20,000 attendees on the grounds over the weekend, he said. Though there’s a substantial group in the crowd who understand farming life firsthand, the largest group is simply curious about rural life.
Christy Hughes of St. Louis is among the inquisitive spectators.
She and her children come from the hustle and bustle of the city, far away from harrowers and sickle-wielders. They’ve come several years now just to experience rural peacefulness.
She heard about the event because her sister lives in Lincoln.
“It’s a very different experience for us,” Hughes said. “When we tell people back home that we're going to come up here for a tractor show, they think it's kind of strange … but I think it's a really cool activity for any family.”
Though the family has other activities planned, she’s made the long trip — 6½ hours without stops — just for the event.
Beckie Yates and her husband, Kurt, have also traveled long distances to attend.
They hail from Denton, North Carolina, but they have a house in Arapahoe. Kurt Yates grew up on a farm and works at a sawmill. Beckie Yates enjoys mingling with the “salt of the earth” community.
“We love the people,” Beckie Yates said. “Their lives are a lot like our lives even though we're 1,400 miles away.”
The Yateses appreciate swapping stories and shared experiences with people who they consider to be “just like them.” Shows like these foster a unique type of community, Beckie Yates said.
With festivities continuing into Sunday, Kneifl encourages everyone to attend and to look out for future Camp Creek Threshers shows, including an upcoming one in September.
It’s an industry Kneifl believes everyone should understand and appreciate, especially if their roots are planted in Nebraska soil. They likely have connections with earth-cultivating ancestors that reach back for generations.
“Farming didn't just start off with computerized technology and global positioning systems," Kneifl said. "It started off with men and women working hard to feed everybody." | https://journalstar.com/news/local/watch-now-antique-event-seeks-to-preserve-the-history-of-nebraska-farming/article_14f7cb69-1cf1-5044-baf8-5691a3ce61e9.html | 2022-07-17T00:25:43 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/watch-now-antique-event-seeks-to-preserve-the-history-of-nebraska-farming/article_14f7cb69-1cf1-5044-baf8-5691a3ce61e9.html |
CARBON COUNTY, Pa. — In Carbon County, a former police chief found guilty of raping a child was sentenced this week.
Brent Getz, the former Weissport chief of police, was charged back in 2019 along with Gregory Wagner.
Police say the two men raped a girl over several years at a home near Lehighton.
A jury found Getz guilty on child sex charges back in March.
He has been sentenced to 16 to 32 years behind bars.
Getz will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/carbon-county/former-police-chief-sentenced-for-child-rape/523-f03e251c-2349-479f-851f-b6c75bb427d1 | 2022-07-17T00:35:17 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/carbon-county/former-police-chief-sentenced-for-child-rape/523-f03e251c-2349-479f-851f-b6c75bb427d1 |
SCRANTON, Pa. — The Solemn Novena to St. Ann begins Sunday in Lackawanna County.
The ten days of prayer and reflection for Catholics takes place at St. Ann's Basilica on Scranton's west side.
Thousands of whom make the pilgrimage for the novena, believe St. Ann was the grandmother of Jesus Christ.
The novena continues through July 26, the feast day for St. Ann.
This year's preachers are Fr. Rick Frechette and Fr. Paul Fagan.
If you can't make it to the Basilica, services will be live streamed throughout the day on their website.
For more information on the event and live streaming click here.
Information is also posted on their Facebook page here. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/novena-to-saint-ann-begins-sunday/523-cbfeecb9-aa47-4397-9b4f-3830a23f5aab | 2022-07-17T00:35:23 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/novena-to-saint-ann-begins-sunday/523-cbfeecb9-aa47-4397-9b4f-3830a23f5aab |
DUPONT, Pa. — A tradition decades in the making took place in Luzerne County Saturday.
Holy Mother of Sorrows Church held its 60th annual chicken barbeque in Dupont.
Volunteers with the church were very busy on this hot day, barbequing chicken at the Frank Bednash Memorial Hall on Wyoming Avenue for the event.
For a $12 donation, folks got half a chicken, french fries, cole slaw, a roll, and dessert.
More than 500 dinners were sold here in Luzerne County. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/annual-chicken-bbq-in-luzerne-county/523-ec17aad6-71a0-4c5c-b2f5-a9e44312f4c8 | 2022-07-17T00:35:29 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/annual-chicken-bbq-in-luzerne-county/523-ec17aad6-71a0-4c5c-b2f5-a9e44312f4c8 |
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of bikers rode through three counties on Saturday for the sixth annual Libby and Abby benefit ride.
The event honors 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty Williams, whose murders in Delphi remain unsolved.
The ride went from Kitley Inn on Indianapolis' east side through Whiteland and Shelbyville. It raises money for safety and lighting improvements at the Abby and Libby Memorial Park.
The event is also a chance to keep the case in people's minds and hearts.
"We'll take a moment of silence and think about the kids, and then also we'll say a prayer, and then we'll lead the ride from that point on," said biker Anthony Grizzle.
The park in the girls' names, which the bikers raised money for, opened last summer in Carroll County. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/hundreds-of-bikers-participate-in-abby-and-libby-benefit-ride-indianapolis/531-5633a968-0dbc-466e-af3f-18973e91898c | 2022-07-17T00:35:35 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/hundreds-of-bikers-participate-in-abby-and-libby-benefit-ride-indianapolis/531-5633a968-0dbc-466e-af3f-18973e91898c |
LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — For the first time, Fellowship Church in Luzerne County's Back Mountain hosted a special community event Saturday.
A touch-a-truck event that spanned a large grassy area next to the church on Hildebrandt Road in Dallas Township.
Organizers with the church say the purpose of this event was to show appreciation for area first responders while bringing the community together.
Families got to explore police cruisers, side-by-side, and fire trucks from different departments in the Back Mountain, siren and k-9 demonstrations, and also get something to eat from a food truck here in Luzerne County | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/fellowship-church-hosts-touch-a-truck-event/523-e69bea6a-0a16-4097-92f8-f7557636299b | 2022-07-17T00:35:35 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/fellowship-church-hosts-touch-a-truck-event/523-e69bea6a-0a16-4097-92f8-f7557636299b |
LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — In Luzerne County, a foot hockey tournament took place to help those with cancer Saturday.
The competition went down at the Quality Hill Playground on Hill Street in Nanticoke.
This was the ninth year for the Puck Cancer event.
Its goal is to provide financial assistance to cancer patients through the medical oncology associates prescription assistance fund.
So far, the tournament has raised more than 100 thousand dollars for area cancer patients.
"This has yet to be our biggest day. Food was out for a half hour and we already had to go get more food. We're out of parking. I was told I was just playing the cornhole tournament. We ran out of parking. So it's incredible. It's really awesome to see all this come together. It's literally a dream come true," said Co-Founder of Puck Cancer, Lauren Myers.
When folks weren't on the court for the tournament there were kids' games, an inflatable obstacle course, and basket raffles to take part in too here in Luzerne County. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/hockey-tournament-to-help-cancer-patients/523-5b172cc4-20c7-487f-a98f-e8b0481135dc | 2022-07-17T00:35:41 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/hockey-tournament-to-help-cancer-patients/523-5b172cc4-20c7-487f-a98f-e8b0481135dc |
MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Distribution day at the Went End Food Pantry in Kunkletown runs like a well-oiled machine.
Volunteers say, "Everybody works very hard in here and sometimes we can get caught up in the work and forget about the big cause, like why we are doing the work."
The typical group of dedicated volunteers was joined by a special guest- NBA player and human rights activist Enes Freedom, who spends time giving back with the Chestnut Retreat Center.
"My friends actually invited me here for the first time so I was like sure I will come, but I think what is so important is living for others and giving back to the community," said Freedom.
Freedom helped load up bags of groceries for clients. Staff says having him be a part of the day gave them a boost of positivity.
"We do this every other weekend throughout the entire year whether it be sleeting, snowing, hot cold we are here working hard constantly so this is just giving us this influence of just positive energy and makes us feel good about what we are doing," said pantry director, Karena Thek.
But Freedom says what the volunteers do here every day to make sure families have food on the table inspires him.
"Especially now that I am here I'm seeing so many young kids having a smile on their face while they are giving back to the community it just gives me so much hope for the future."
The West End Food Pantry serves nearly 300 families on each distribution day which is offered twice a month.
Director Karena Thek tells Newswatch 16 recently their numbers have jumped once again.
"But now with gas prices, we have been seeing our numbers rising pretty regularly, and really the number that is rising the most is in the last distribution we had the most new families in the pantry ever."
And you don't need to be an NBA star to lend a hand.
The West End Food Pantry is always looking for more volunteers to help serve families in need. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/nba-player-helps-at-monroe-county-food-bank/523-4253b506-a486-4d02-b8eb-77b0abe88981 | 2022-07-17T00:35:47 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/nba-player-helps-at-monroe-county-food-bank/523-4253b506-a486-4d02-b8eb-77b0abe88981 |
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — A walk to raise awareness about addiction and overdoses took place in Schuylkill County Saturday.
The 7th annual Safer Streets for Tamaqua's Little Feet event was held at the Owl Creek Reservoir on Owl Creek Road in Tamaqua.
It all began in 2016 as a walk and has expanded over the years.
The event now includes talks from motivational speakers with a personal connection to recovery, Narcan training for attendees, as well as live music and food to enjoy in between.
"So many people think recovery is about bad people becoming good. It definitely is not. It's about good people getting well. And that needs to be said so much more," says Co-Founder, Safer Streets for Tamaqua's Little Feet, Tammy Sienkiewicz.
And even though the walk has grown over the years, organizers tell Newswatch 16 that the message of recovery and remembrance has stayed the same here in Schuylkill County. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/safer-streets-for-tamaquas-little-feet/523-a7f1bab4-fcea-4049-b380-1dcef052e328 | 2022-07-17T00:35:54 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/safer-streets-for-tamaquas-little-feet/523-a7f1bab4-fcea-4049-b380-1dcef052e328 |
An Amber Alert issued for a 12-year-old girl from Corinth has been canceled Saturday, police say.
According to Corinth Police, the girl was found safe Saturday in Carrollton.
The original alert was issued earlier Saturday afternoon. No further information has been released at this time. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/corinth-amber-alert-canceled/3016212/ | 2022-07-17T00:39:05 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/corinth-amber-alert-canceled/3016212/ |
Twenty new deaths were reported as a result of COVID-19 in Northwest Indiana in the past seven-day period, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
Of those deaths, 10 were reported in Lake County, eight in Porter County, one in LaPorte County and one in Newton County. No new deaths were reported in Jasper County.
Cases across the Region are also increasing. In Lake County, the seven-day average was 124, an increase of 37 from last week. The day with the most reported infections was July 5, with 186 reported cases.
In Porter County, the seven-day average is 42. In LaPorte, it is 27. Newton has a seven-day average of 2, and Jasper has a seven-day average of 10. Newton was the only county to show a decrease in case averages from last week.
However, Marion County, home of the state capital, still leads with the highest seven-day case average in the state, at 236.
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The increase in cases could possibly be attributed to BA.5, a variant of COVID-19 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say is responsible for more than 60% of cases in the U.S. as of last week. The CDC also states more than 15% of cases can be attributed to BA.2.12.1 and more than 15% can be attributed to BA.4.
According to a fact sheet released by the federal government, early indications signal that BA.5 may have an increased ability to escape immunity.
"This potential for increase is greatest where fewer people are up to date on their vaccinations and there is increased waning of immunity from vaccines," the news release said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Lake County has reported 1,773 COVID-19 related deaths, Porter County has reported 550 and LaPorte County has reported 368. Newton County has reported 67, and Jasper County has reported 143.
Lake County has trailed Marion County in total cases since the pandemic's start. Lake County has had 115,855 cases and Marion County has had 238,857 total.
Over the state border, 7,495 cases in total have been reported in Lansing since the pandemic's start. The number is currently at 8,598 in Calumet City.
Records show that 54.6% of Hoosiers age 5 and up , the state's eligible population, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
A complete list of COVID-19 vaccine sites is available online at ourshot.in.gov .
Here are the new Indiana laws to know that took effect July 1
Animals
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248 )
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248)
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Annexation
The Aberdeen subdivision may seek to officially become part of Valparaiso, even though the neighborhood is not currently contiguous to the city. A pre-annexation financial study must be completed so Aberdeen residents know the fiscal impact of being voluntarily annexed by Valparaiso. (House Enrolled Act 1110 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Ag equipment
Counties, cities or towns can designate agricultural zones as Economic Revitalization Areas (ERA) on the same basis as outdated business districts or distressed residential neighborhoods. New farm equipment or new agricultural improvements located in an ERA are eligible for a property tax abatement for up to five years. The exemption does not apply to farmland. (Senate Enrolled Act 119 )
AP file photo
Bone marrow
The Indiana Department of Health is authorized to establish and promote a bone marrow donor recruitment program to find eligible Hoosiers willing to donate bone marrow to individuals fighting leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cell conditions. (Senate Enrolled Act 398 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Campus speech
State colleges and universities cannot designate outdoor areas of campus where First Amendment activities are prohibited. Higher education institutions may impose reasonable and content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on other campus speech that's narrowly tailored to serve a significant interest of the school. (House Enrolled Act 1190 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Caregivers
An adult relative caring for a child after the child has been removed from a dangerous home situation is entitled to directly participate in court hearings concerning services needed by the child, or terminating the parent-child relationship. Previously, only state-licensed foster parents had a statutory right to intervene in legal proceedings pertaining to abused or neglected children. (Senate Enrolled Act 410 )
Times file photo
Catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is redefined as a "major component part" of a motor vehicle and only licensed automobile salvage recyclers are permitted to buy or sell used catalytic converters. Automobile salvage recyclers also must keep the same records for catalytic converters as valuable metal dealers and cash payouts for detached catalytic converters are capped at $25 per transaction per day. (Senate Enrolled Act 293 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Coerced abortion
A new crime of "coerced abortion" punishes anyone who knowingly or intentionally coerces a pregnant woman to have an abortion with up to 2 1/2 years in prison. State law already required "the voluntary and informed consent of the pregnant woman" prior to obtaining an abortion. (House Enrolled Act 1217 )
AP file photo
Data breach
Businesses, banks and similar entities that suffer a data breach must notify their customers within 45 days of the breach being discovered, instead of simply providing notification "without unreasonable delay." (House Enrolled Act 1351 )
AP file photo
Dementia training
Home health aides who provide care to individuals with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or a similar cognitive disorder must complete at least six hours of dementia care training within 60 days of hire. Current home health aides with at least one year of experience must participate in at least three hours of dementia training. (Senate Enrolled Act 353 )
Joe Ruffalo, file, The Times
Double voting
The penalty for fraudulently casting more than one ballot in the same election is set at up to 2½ in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The penalty does not apply to individuals casting a valid replacement ballot as permitted by law. (Senate Enrolled Act 328 )
AP file photo
Expungement
Individuals charged with crimes who either are acquitted following a trial or the charges are dismissed will have their court records automatically expunged within 60 days of disposition, unless the county prosecutor requests a one-year expungement delay. Any non-prosecution of criminal charges within 180 days following an arrest must be expunged immediately. (Senate Enrolled Act 182 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Foreign land purchases
Foreign business entities are barred from purchasing Indiana agricultural or timber land, with certain exceptions. Businesses organized under Russian law or controlled by Russian nationals are prohibited from acquiring any real estate in Indiana. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
AP file photo
Health officers
The Indiana Department of Health no longer is entitled to remove a local health officer on the basis of intemperance. Health officers still may be removed for failing to collect vital statistics, follow rules, keep records, make reports, respond to official inquires or for neglect of official duty. (House Enrolled Act 1169 )
Provided
Handguns
Adults age 18 and up legally entitled to possess a handgun are not obligated to obtain a state permit to carry a handgun in public. Indiana carry permits remain available for out-of-state reciprocity purposes. Handguns continue to be prohibited in schools, courthouses, and any residence or business that chooses to bar handguns. (House Enrolled Act 1296 )
AP file photo
Housing shortage
A 13-member Housing Task Force is directed to study issues relating to housing and housing shortages in Indiana. The task force must submit recommendations for policy changes to the General Assembly and the governor no later than Nov. 1. (House Enrolled Act 1306 )
Tony V. Martin, file, The Times
Hunting
The holder of an archery hunting permit is allowed to use a bow and arrow or a crossbow. Previously, crossbow hunters were required to obtain a separate license. (Senate Enrolled Act 186 )
Times file photo
Inmate calls
The in-state rate for telephone calls placed by inmates at Indiana Department of Correction facilities drops to 12 cents per minute from 24 cents per minute. County jail telephone rates are capped at 21 cents per minute statewide, instead of ranging from 22 cents per minute to $4.70 per minute. (House Enrolled Act 1181 )
Times file photo
Lead testing
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, doctors must offer a blood lead screening test to the parents of children between nine months and six years old if the child has not previously been tested for lead poisoning. Parents are not required to have their children tested for lead. (House Enrolled Act 1313 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Low-level felons
Judges once again may sentence level 6 felony offenders to state prisons operated by the Indiana Department of Correction, replacing a mandate that individuals found guilty of minor felony crimes only serve their six-month to 2 1/2-year sentences in county jails. (House Enrolled Act 1004 )
Provided by Indiana State Prison
Lowell investment
The town of Lowell is authorized to segregate its recent water utility sale proceeds from other town funds, contract with an investment adviser, and deploy the funds in most kinds of investments offering higher returns than fixed-income securities, except corporate stock and other equity securities. (House Enrolled Act 1011 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Medicaid
Pregnant individuals whose family incomes are less than 208% of the federal poverty level are entitled to receive low- or no-cost health coverage through Indiana Medicaid for the duration of their pregnancy, and up to 12 months after giving birth. (House Enrolled Act 1140 )
AP file photo
Nuclear power
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is directed to adopt rules by July 1, 2023, permitting small modular nuclear reactors to be used to generate electricity in the Hoosier State. The law does not mandate any utilities switch to nuclear power but opens the door by putting in place the regulations that would guide its development and use. (Senate Enrolled Act 271 )
AP file photo
Pregnant inmates
Restraints used on a prison inmate in her second or third trimester of pregnancy need to be the least restrictive restraints necessary. A pregnant inmate must be unrestrained while in labor, delivering a baby and during the immediate post-delivery period, unless she is an immediate danger to herself or others, or a substantial flight risk. (House Enrolled Act 1294 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Property tax
The $3,000 property tax deduction for mortgaged property is eliminated beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and the homestead deduction is increased to $48,000 from $45,000. The senior citizen tax deduction may be claimed on homes worth up to $240,000, instead of a maximum of $200,000. (House Enrolled Act 1260 )
Photo provided
Public comment
School boards must allow any person physically present at a school board meeting to address the board if the person is interested in doing so in accordance with the board’s public comment rules, including any time limits. Boards still can take "reasonable steps to maintain order in a meeting," including "removal of any person who is willfully disruptive of the meeting." (House Enrolled Act 1130 )
Dan Carden, file, The Times
Rape
The definition of rape is expanded to include a person who disregards the other person's attempts to physically, verbally, or by other visible conduct refuse the person's sexual acts. Rape in Indiana also consists of the use of force, or imminent threat of force, to compel sexual conduct; sex with a person unaware sexual conduct is occurring; or sex with a person unable to consent to sex due to mental disability. (House Enrolled Act 1079 )
Times file photo
Semiquincentennial
A 23-member commission is established to organize events and commemorations across the state celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. (Senate Enrolled Act 12 )
Library of Congress
Simulated child porn
The production, distribution, possession or viewing of a video or image depicting obscene sexual conduct involving a person who appears to be less than 18 years old — even if the person is over 18, or doesn’t exist — is the legal equivalent of child exploitation, possession of child pornography and similar felony crimes. (House Enrolled Act 1363 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
State fossil
The mastodon is designated as the official fossil of Indiana. Dozens of mastodon fossils have been found throughout Indiana, including the bones of at least five mastodons now held by the Indiana State Museum that were discovered in 2005 by workers digging a pond in the Porter County town of Hebron. (House Enrolled Act 1013 )
Provided
Tax cuts
The utility receipts tax, a 1.46% charge paid by businesses and consumers on a portion of their electricity, natural gas, water, steam, sewage and telephone bills, is eliminated July 1. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, the state income tax rate drops to 3.15% from 3.23%, with the possibility of future reductions to 2.9%. (House Enrolled Act 1002 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Tourism
The definition of "agritourism" is expanded beyond agricultural activities to include camping, canoeing, kayaking, river tubing and winter sports activities. An agritourism participant release form may be signed electronically, instead of only on paper. (Senate Enrolled Act 343 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Township trustees
A township trustee who fails to perform the duties of his or her office is subject to removal by court order if the removal is endorsed by the township board, county commissioners and county council, and other conditions are met. (Senate Enrolled Act 304 )
Dan Carden, The Times
Trans sports
All children assigned male at birth are barred from participating in any elementary, middle or high school athletics designated as a "girls" or "female" sport — no matter the child's gender identity or physical characteristics. (House Enrolled Act 1041 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Tribal law enforcement
A police officer employed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in South Bend may exercise law enforcement authority anywhere in the state, so long as the officer meets the standards of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the tribe consents to statewide police powers. (Senate Enrolled Act 347 )
Turn signal
A mandate that drivers signal all turns or lane changes at least 200 feet ahead of time, or 300 feet if the vehicle is traveling in excess of 50 mph, is deleted on Jan. 1, 2023, in favor of a requirement that motorists signal all turns and lane changes "a reasonable time" before completing them. (House Enrolled Act 1167 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
University gifts
Public and private colleges and universities in Indiana must report to the state, and disclose on their website, all gifts from foreign entities that already must be reported to the federal government upon receipt. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Vaping taxes
A tax of 15% is imposed on the wholesale price of closed system cartridges used for vaping. Under a 2021 law, the tax rate was scheduled to be 25%. An additional tax of 40 cents per ounce is assessed on alternative nicotine products, such as electronic cigarettes. (Senate Enrolled Act 382 )
Richard Vogel, file, Associated Press
Virtual instruction
Public schools may only hold up to three student-directed virtual instruction days during the 180-day school year absent extraordinary circumstances and a waiver approved by the Indiana Department of Education. (House Enrolled Act 1093 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Youth ag
A public school or school corporation may purchase up to $10,000 in food each year from a youth agricultural program, up from the former annual maximum of $7,500. (House Enrolled Act 1320 )
AP file photo
Concerned about COVID-19?
Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/20-new-covid-19-deaths-reported-in-nwi-cases-on-rise/article_0847d81c-da2b-595a-b445-26f44fbff7e5.html | 2022-07-17T00:41:53 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/20-new-covid-19-deaths-reported-in-nwi-cases-on-rise/article_0847d81c-da2b-595a-b445-26f44fbff7e5.html |
GRIFFITH — If art is your thing, Central Park may have something for you, including papercutting, welded images and wood-carved puzzles.
Park Full of Art began Saturday and continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the downtown park at 600 N. Broad St.
“This show brings the creative love of art to the community,” said Kathie Price, committee chair.
The juried show features oils, acrylics, watercolors, clay pottery, sculptures, photography, handcrafted jewelry, mixed media, graphics, glass, woodworking and crafts.
“We have a lot of unique art and a really nice variety,” Price said.
Among those unique vendors is Amy Green, from downstate Andrews, bringing her womanly welded art.
“It’s all made from farm scrap,” said Green, coming from a third-generation family. “It’s all one-of-a-kind with no remakes."
Green uses such farm equipment as farriers, rasps, disc and chapping blades and rotary hoe tines. She chooses not to name pieces. “If you fall in love with a piece, you can name it,” she said. “I see my art as preserving a piece of farm history.”
Since its opening in 1974, when the art show had 54 entries, Park Full of Art has grown to attract up to 5,000 visitors. This year’s show has 44 entries. Most come from the Midwest, but some travel from Georgia, Texas and New Mexico.
Coming from Santa Fe, New Mexico, are Deborah Henderlong and her glassware.
Working in kilns with glass is an involved process, Henderlong said, “but I love it.”
Henderlong has worked with glass since 2006. Having worked in mental health for 45 years, she calls glassware “my sanity.”
In 1974, the Griffith Park Board suggested a fine arts fair for Central Park. A committee formed, and Park Full of Art was created. In the early 1980s, the fair committee began awarding scholarships to Griffith High School students interested in pursuing fine arts.
This year, Griffith High School students operated the Kids Kraft Korner, enabling youngsters to hone their artistic skills.
Jim Graff, a GHS art teacher and self-described “pot dealer,” displayed his original pottery. Among the shoppers at his booth was Tracy Tippery, of St. John, who bought a large soup bowl, spoon rest and canister for kitchen utensils.
“I like the colors, and they’re neat and unique,” Tippery said. “People like the mugs and soup bowls.”
Graff has worked in ceramics for 20 of his 29 years as an art teacher. His business, Coffee Creek Ceramics, has operated for five years.
“Everything is functional,” Graff said. “It’s made for people to use and enjoy.”
Marc Tschida, a Griffith product now living in Bloomington, brought his wooden puzzles. Using a scratch saw, he hand-carves flat and statue puzzles. Images on flat pieces include states and colleges.
Tschida, who attended nearby St. Mary School and Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, said he enjoys “the solitude of being in my workshop. I’m dumbfounded that I can make something that people feel has value.”
Lou Hii, of Indianapolis, displayed his papercut creations. A rural Chinese tradition dating back to the seventh century, papercutting is an intricate and delicate art pattern cut from tissue-thin paper. Hii added three-dimensional images to this tradition. Smaller pieces take several weeks to complete; large pieces may require several months.
“It’s very challenging, putting it all together,” Hii said.
Jokingly calling herself a “glutton for punishment,” Kathy Los-Rathburn has displayed at every Park Full of Art. Her specialty is watercolor, as the former college instructor now teaches from her home studio a few blocks from the park.
“I love the spontaneity of [watercolor],” Los-Rathburn said. “I paint any subject. Nothing stops me. It’s a new challenge.”
For unsure art students, Los-Rathburn counsels, “You don’t know until you try. Put your mind to it. Give it a try.”
PHOTOS: Art lovers flock to Griffith park for annual show | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/griffith/watch-now-art-lovers-flock-to-griffith-park-for-annual-show/article_763fbf50-8b06-5eec-bf53-36a6d4754bc8.html | 2022-07-17T00:41:59 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/griffith/watch-now-art-lovers-flock-to-griffith-park-for-annual-show/article_763fbf50-8b06-5eec-bf53-36a6d4754bc8.html |
MICHIGAN CITY — Michigan City Fire Department responded to a fire at an old factory building on the city's west side Saturday.
The cause is unknown, and there are no injuries at this time, fire department officials said. However, traffic was diverted from the area while crews addressed the fire.
The response included neighboring departments and the Michigan City Police Department, officials said.
Michigan City Fire Department did not immediately respond to requests for more information.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into LaPorte County Jail
Briene Henderson
Arrest Date: July 12, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 33
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Shannon McKee
Arrest Date: July 11, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Failure to Appear
Class: Felony
Age: 38
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Christopher Michaels
Arrest Date: July 12, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Theft
Class: Felony
Age: 30
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Richard Payton
Arrest Date: July 4, 2022
Arresting Agency: Kingsford Heights Police Department
Offense Description: Intimidation
Class: Felony
Age: 41
Residence: Kingsford Heights, IN
Michael Ennols
Arrest Date: July 11, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Intimidation
Class: Felony
Age: 63
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Daniel West
Arrest Date: July 10, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Possession of Methamphetamine
Class: Felony
Age: 45
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Brian Moreau
Arrest Date: July 10, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Resisting Law Enforcement; Auto Theft
Class: Felonies
Age: 35
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Brandy Reese
Arrest Date: July 10, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Possession of Methamphetamine; Failure to Appear
Class: Felonies
Age: 39
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Matthew Bajza
Arrest Date: July 8, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery; Criminal confinement; Intimidation
Class: Felonies
Age: 51
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Monica Del Real
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Failure to Return to Lawful Detention; Unlawful Possession of Syringe
Class: Felonies
Age: 22
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Emerson Limbrick Jr.
Arrest Date: July 8, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Incest
Class: Felony
Age: 52
Residence: Gary, IN
Kenneth Veal Jr.
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Resisting Law Enforcement
Class: Felony
Age: 32
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Andre Williams
Arrest Date: July 8, 2022
Arresting Agency: Other
Offense Description: Possession of a Narcotic Drug
Class: Felony
Age: 23
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Kristen Arnett
Arrest Date: July 8, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Neglect of a Dependent
Class: Felony
Age: 37
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Shelby-Sue Pippin
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Felony
Age: 26
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Estrella Nieves
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Battery Against a Public Safety Officer
Class: Felony
Age: 29
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Rachael Bakker
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 43
Residence: N/A
Zachary Magley
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Sexual Battery
Class: Felony
Age: 31
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Curtis Maupin
Arrest Date: July 7, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 33
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Haley VanHolten
Arrest Date: July 6, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: OWI
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 20
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Camico Smith
Arrest Date: July 6, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Felony
Age: 25
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Travis Pahs Sr.
Arrest Date: July 5, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Felony
Age: 37
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Earl Stone Jr.
Arrest Date: July 6, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Failure to Register as a Sex or Violent Offender; Failure of a Sex Offender to Possess Identification
Class: Felonies
Age: 45
Residence: Michigan City, IN
David Hunt
Arrest Date: July 6, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Failure to Appear
Class: Felony
Age: 40
Residence: South Bend, IN
Raven Nevorski
Arrest Date: July 5, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Failure to Appear
Class: Felony
Age: 27
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Timothy Lisak
Arrest Date: July 5, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery; Strangulation
Class: Felonies
Age: 33
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Noel Mpie Ntang
Arrest Date: July 5, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 22
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Christopher Sobieski
Arrest Date: July 4, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery
Class: Felony
Age: 46
Residence: Michigan City, IN
LaShawn Kuykendall
Arrest Date: July 5, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Domestic Battery; Strangulation
Class: Felonies
Age: 48
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Joseph Jorgenson
Arrest Date: July 4, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Intimidation
Class: Felony
Age: 56
Residence: Rolling Prairie, IN
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WACO, Texas — Waco Police say a two-vehicle crash resulted in a death early Saturday morning.
Officers were called to 18th and Clay around 2:15 a.m. after a Dodge Charger was traveling southbound on 18th St. and hit a Chevrolet Silverado traveling east. The impact spun the Chevrolet around, turning it over on its passenger side, as stated by police.
When officers, medical aid was given to all involved in the crash. The driver of the Chevrolet’s injuries were too severe and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Waco PD.
The driver and passenger that were in the Dodge suffered serious injuries. Both have been taken to the hospital and are in stable condition at this time, as stated by police.
The identity of those involved in the crash has not been released at this time. The family has been notified of the other driver's death.
Waco police say no charges have been filed at this time. Waco FD, AMR EMS, Waco PD Crime Scene Tech, and Reconstruction assisted in the investigation.
6 News will keep you updated if more information is received.
More on KCENtv.com:
RELATED: Waco Police investigate fatal crash | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/fatal-crash-in-waco/500-dc63c59d-1fa8-4f18-9391-a84647f16976 | 2022-07-17T00:45:57 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/fatal-crash-in-waco/500-dc63c59d-1fa8-4f18-9391-a84647f16976 |
GREENSBORO — Parks and recreation, affordable housing, firefighting and police facilities, and transportation services would benefit if voters approve issuing five city bonds on the July 26 ballot.
The five separate referendums equal $135 million worth of bonds. Each bond can be passed independently of the others. The city estimates repaying the bonds will take 1.25 cents of the tax rate or about $25 of the tax bill for a home valued at $200,000. The city already allocated $6 million for these bonds in its 2021-22 fiscal year budget, to account for the possibility that they will pass.
Unlike the $1.7 billion school construction bond passed by voters in May, which has been delayed by a legal challenge, the city’s bond package has not garnered as much attention.
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The city has some flexibility on how the bonds might be used, said Jon Decker, the city’s budget director, but the money must be spent within the assigned categories.
Here’s a look at the cost of the bonds and how the city anticipates the money would be used if voters approve them.
Parks and Recreation
The city is seeking $70 million for two proposed projects — $50 million for the Windsor-Chavis-Nocho Joint Use Facility and $20 million for Phase 2 of the Greensboro Science Center.
The Windsor-Chavis-Nocho Joint Use Facility in east Greensboro would combine library and recreational activities under one roof in a new 65,000-square-foot facility.
“It is a library. It is a recreation center. It's an aquatic center. It's a community center. It's a gathering place,” said Brigitte Blanton, the city’s director of libraries and museum. “It’s a destination place for the community.”
The Windsor Recreation Center, built in 1965 at 1601 E. Gate City Blvd., would be torn down to make room for the new facility. The Vance Chavis Library, catty-corner from the site, would be repurposed for an as-yet undetermined use, Blanton said.
A tunnel under Gate City Boulevard already connects the site to Nocho Park, which would be revitalized as well, said Assistant City Manager Nasha McCray.
What makes the design so unique is that the library resources will be scattered throughout the recreational areas, “making it a blended operation,” she said.
For example, parents who bring their children there for swimming lessons can check out books on swimming safety at a kiosk near the swimming pool.
“So you're bringing library services, not just general library services, but specialized collection and resources to the areas within the building based on function and need for the community,” Blanton said.
The facility also would include a demonstration kitchen which also could serve as an entrepreneur hub for smaller businesses, McCray said.
She said there are few food options along Gate City Boulevard between the eastern city limits and downtown.
“This allows us to have a presence where the community can come in, they can purchase food, more like a café,” she said.
“We're bringing the services and embedding them directly into the community as opposed to expecting the residents or community members to find where these facilities or these services are,” said McCray, who also serves as acting parks director.
Plans also include basketball courts, an indoor track, lazy river, makerspace, amphitheater, sensory and game rooms. Multi-use fields and community rooms, as well as a moveable screen that can project murals, movies or TED Talks, are planned.
The design, which was paid for with the 2016 bond package, is flexible with open site lines and easily moveable furniture.
“If you look at libraries that we've built in the last couple of years, they're a shell. You know that you can shift things around,” Blanton said. “It’s very easy to repurpose things within that building to meet what the current community need is.
“Why not be the hub where people can come, feel safe, have activities that feed every part of them — their physical, their mental, their emotional, their social — but it's in a place that builds community,” Blanton said.
The remainder of this bond money — $20 million would help pay for Phase 2 expansion of the Greensboro Science Center.
It would include the Expedition Rainforest: Greensboro Biodome, an interconnected complex featuring a diverse ecosystem, and the Aquatic Rehabilitation and Care Complex.
Expedition Rainforest would contain sloths, toucans, clouded leopards, giant tortoises and birds of the Amazon, the science center said in a news release. The biodome would feature rockscapes, waterfalls, swinging bridges and tropical foliage, as well as replicas of ancient art from South America, Africa and Asia.
“That will allow the sun to actually penetrate through the roof so guests can get that whole immersive experience to the diverse ecosystems that we have in the tropical areas,” McCray said.
The aquatic complex would include a conservation and research “ocean lab” designed to propagate and/or replenish wild coral, sea horses and other aquatic animals, according to the science center. The facility also would enable sea turtle rehabilitation and would allow for the isolation, treatment, housing or quarantining of sharks, rays and other fish.
Visitors would be able to see all sections of the facility while interacting with biologists and veterinarians as they work.
McCray said the science center would raise money on its own to complete the project, but that the bond money would “at least get them started.”
She noted that the facility has a “fantastic track record of fundraising matching either one-to-one or two-to-one in previous years for the bonds.”
The science center benefitted from the $5 million bond passed in 2016 devoted to the Battleground Parks District.
“We are early in the schematic phase, so estimates are not yet available,” Beth Hemphill, chief operating officer for the science center, said by email last month. “However, bond funding would be supplemented by private funding as we have done with projects in the past.”
Housing
The city is seeking $30 million to implement Housing GSO, a 10-year plan the City Council adopted in 2020.
Of this, $20 million would go toward affordable rental units, $5 million toward increasing access to home ownership and $5 million toward neighborhood reinvestment.
“These things are really ways that we break cyclical poverty, and we create wealth investments in the communities that need them most,” said Michelle Kennedy, neighborhood development director.
For affordable rental units, the $20 million would go toward boosting the availability of rental units available to families who earn 80% or below of Greensboro’s median family income, Kennedy said.
“But the most significant need is for 60% of area median income and below,” she said. “Those are the units that are being lost as we see the changes happening within our rental market, rental rates and things like that.”
That 60% level amounts to an annual income of $43,800 for a family of four.
The $5 million would assist builders with low-interest loans to build affordable rental units.
“That's also the income band where Low Income Housing Tax Credits fits in,” said Cynthia Blue, housing services division manager. “So what we try to do is partner up as much as we can with that (federal) funding source because the combination of low-income housing tax credits and the city's low-interest loans, is what makes those units extremely affordable.”
“Leveraging becomes really important,” Kennedy said. “While this (bond) is $30 million, what that actually represents … is a much higher amount of money gets contributed.”
With construction costs soaring, Kennedy said the city has to do everything it can to keep low-income rental developments in place.
“They have to make good business sense for development partners, because if they don’t, we’re not going to be able to get any of these off the ground,” she said.
The $5 million for increasing access to homeownership would again target families making 80% or below of Greensboro’s median family income.
It would provide down payment assistance to these families in the form of a loan that’s forgivable after five years of home ownership.
“We're also currently working on a … Community Heroes program that would provide down payment assistance for city employees, first responders, people that basically make up the infrastructure of a lot of our community and our community services,” Kennedy said.
“It allows someone that may have been a renter there for 15 years to make a lifetime investment in their community,” she said.
“The market … right now is just saturated with cash buyers who are investment buyers,” Blue said. “It’s very difficult for first-time home buyers to compete.”
The $5 million for neighborhood reinvestment targets things like minor infrastructure upgrades, helping homeowners make home repairs or enhancing down payment assistance in underserved communities — typically communities of color, Blue and Kennedy said.
“Those are collaborative community processes,” Kennedy said. “The goal there is not go in there with a plan and mandate it to folks, but to have a community-driven plan that is in line with what folks who live there need.”
Transportation
Another bond proposed by the city would allocate $15 million for a variety of transportation projects.
This money would be used to match federal and state grants for projects that would help pedestrians, bus riders as well as motorists.
Transportation Director Hannah Cockburn said this referendum is a “bread and butter request to keep projects that we’ve secured the federal funds for to keep those projects moving.”
They include:
Sidewalks/Greenway
• Vandalia Road sidewalk, Elm-Eugene Street to Groometown Road.
• 16th Street sidewalk, Yanceyville Street to McKnight Mill Road.
• A&Y Greenway, Hill Street to north of Markland Drive, connecting it to the Downtown Greenway.
• Battleground Avenue sidewalk, south of Westridge Road to Martinsville Drive.
• Lindley Road sidewalk, Friendly Avenue to Market Street.
Roads
• Pisgah Church intersection improvements at Elm Street, Lawndale and Martinsville drives.
• Safety improvements at high injury crash hotspots.
• Traffic signal detection and timing enhancements to optimize traffic flow.
Transit
• New bus shelters and amenities, including improved pedestrian access.
• Replacement buses for the Greensboro Transit Agency fleet.
• Maintenance and repairs for Douglas Galyon Depot.
• Additional buses for more frequent, more interconnected and more direct service.
Cockburn said the cost of doing construction projects is the highest she’s seen in her 25 years in transportation work.
“It's kind of stunning to see what things are costing today,” she said.
“We have to be very careful and deliberate about ensuring that we've done all the value engineering work,” Cockburn said, “so that we can still deliver the essential elements of it and keep improving the network.”
Firefighting facilities
A $14 million bond would be used to renovate four aging fire stations: Station 40 on Pisgah Church Road; Station 8 on Coliseum Boulevard; Station 10 on West Gate City Boulevard; and Station 14 on Summit Avenue.
“We’re hopeful that it will pass because we’ve got a lot of needs with those four stations,” Deputy Chief Dwayne Church said.
Some of the renovations could involve gutting fire stations and possibly replacing Station 10, meaning the city will have to find alternate quarters for the firefighters.
Station 10 was in the county when it was built in 1958, Church said. “Now it’s in the middle of everything that’s going on on Gate City Boulevard,” he said. “There’s no room.”
This station could be torn down and a two-story station built at the site, which has a limited footprint, Church said.
And major renovations are planned for Station 40.
“The problem with Station 40 is it is sinking drastically,” Church said. When the station was built in 1972, brush underneath the dirt was not cleared out before the foundation was laid and is rotting away, he said.
While the station has been stabilized, “that’s going to be a major project,” Church said.
Station 8 also has foundation problems, though not as severe.
The renovations include asbestos abatement and would make the stations more gender friendly. Built before 1973, none incorporated accommodations for female firefighters.
Workout rooms and gear extractors — which are washing machines for firefighter gear — also would be added at some stations. Air conditioning, improved ventilation and energy-efficient windows also are included in the plans.
Raising roofs to allow higher bay doors for taller firefighting vehicles and installing high-speed doors also are on the list.
“Some of them are really slow … up to 40-some seconds,” Church said. The high-speed doors open on just two seconds.
“That’s just getting to the citizens … a lot quicker,” he said. “Where we can make up time is getting to the truck and getting out the door. … We want that to be under one minute.”
Law enforcement facilities
There’s also a $6 million bond for the Greensboro Police Department.
About half of that amount would go toward renovating the second and fourth floors of its downtown headquarters, interim Police Chief Teresa Biffle said.
The former IRS building was built in 1954 and the city bought it in 2011. The renovations would allow the department to bring its criminal investigative division under one roof. It also would allow for investigators with other departments, such as code enforcement, to have space, Biffle said.
“We'd love to have more resources in one place, especially when you think about gas prices these days and having to drive all the way to Maple Street and other satellite areas just to interact and have meetings,” she said.
The rest of the money would go toward upgrading the department’s records system and integrating it with the computer-aided dispatch system.
Decker said the upgraded system potentially also could make it easier for the public to access police department records online.
Lower on the priority list for this bond money is upgrading the police department’s firing range on Church Street, Biffle said.
“Our indoor firing range is outdated to the point that you can no longer buy parts for the rail system in there,” she said, referring to the system used to retrieve the paper targets. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/5-greensboro-bonds-totaling-135-million-on-citys-ballot-july-26-heres-what-you-need/article_4535f8fc-fc9f-11ec-8b28-e783edd80c8a.html | 2022-07-17T00:56:35 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/5-greensboro-bonds-totaling-135-million-on-citys-ballot-july-26-heres-what-you-need/article_4535f8fc-fc9f-11ec-8b28-e783edd80c8a.html |
GREENSBORO — Former Greensboro Fire Chief Ray Flowers died Saturday after a short illness, the fire department said.
Flowers, who served from 1993-99, was the city's first Black fire chief. He joined the fire department in 1961 when he was 21, the Greensboro Fire Department said in a news release announcing his death.
An N.C. A&T graduate, Flowers was one of the first group of African American firefighters hired and was assigned to Station 4 on Gorrell Street after completing training.
He became a captain in 1975, battalion chief four years later and was named deputy chief in 1988 before being picked to lead the department in 1993. During his tenure as chief, he started an educational program for fire personnel and initiated closed circuit television fire training.
After being named chief, Flowers told the News & Record he was a "lucky man."
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"Sometimes I don't think it's right that anybody should enjoy his work this much," he said.
He also talked about the No. 1 priority for firefighters.
"That's saving lives. That's what a firefighter does. It's routine. And it takes a tremendously motivated, dedicated group of people to do that," he said. "That's why I get excited just coming to work every morning."
Fire Station 7, where he had been a driver early in his career, was dedicated to Flowers last year in December. He attended the ceremony with family and friends to accept the honor, the fire department said.
“It is a sad day for the City of Greensboro and the Greensboro Fire Department,” Greensboro Fire Chief Jim Robinson said in the release. “Chief Flowers represents everything that is right with public safety and the Greensboro Fire Department.” | https://greensboro.com/news/local/greensboros-first-black-fire-chief-ray-flowers-has-died/article_2a030d34-0561-11ed-8bf3-235c8f6cef82.html | 2022-07-17T00:56:41 | 0 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/greensboros-first-black-fire-chief-ray-flowers-has-died/article_2a030d34-0561-11ed-8bf3-235c8f6cef82.html |
People pay respects to fallen Detroit Police Officer Loren Courts
People trickled in and out of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Saturday afternoon to pay their respects and mourn the loss of Detroit Police Officer Loren Courts, who was shot and killed while on duty earlier this month.
Sheriff's deputies from Livingston County stood on the sidewalk. A young man sat on a bench with his head in his hands. A white and blue floral arrangement was delivered inside.
Some of Courts’ extended family members embraced outside the church as they reunited for the kind of occasion that always seems to bring the big family together.
“Can you tell we’re all related?” asked Ruth Littleton as they put on their masks and accompanied each other inside the church to pay their respects to a man who they say was caring, loving, and always offering to help.
About fifteen minutes later as they exited the church, the mood was more somber.
“We just come together in moments like this and it’s hard to accept,” said Littleton, taking a deep breath as she processed the grief. She and Courts are related through her grandfather’s side of the family. “Right now I just feel so full because this is so unnecessary.”
Littleton described her slain family member as a God-fearing man and the people gathered outside and inside the church were a testament to how people cared about him.
“He was a son, a father, a husband, a cousin … he was loved,” said the 83-year-old lifelong Detroit resident.
“At this point I trust God to keep the family lifted up and to keep the city of Detroit protected.”
At various points in the afternoon, groups of retired police officers, family members, and even a motorcycle club gathered outside.
The visitation hours spanned most of the day and will continue on Sunday, as the slain officers' loved ones prepare to lay him to rest on Monday, less than two weeks since the 40-year-old police officer responded to a 911 call on Detroit's west side and was fatally shot.
The loss of a family member to gun violence, is unfortunately part of the territory, according to Dwayne Stubbs, another relative of Courts who sat on a bench off to the side of the entrance, resting with his cane.
“I feel just like anybody else when something happen to your relatives or your kinfolk,” said Stubbs. “Don't want to be here, you know, under these circumstances. But ... we as a family, we are very supportive.”
The 78-year-old has lost several family members to gun violence in recent years, including a nephew, a niece, and his grandson. According to him, Courts was one of the responding officers after his grandson was shot. The loss is difficult, he says.
“It weighs heavy on your heart,” he said. “But what you gonna do? Pray to the lord and try to protect the ones that are close to you.”
Not everyone there knew Courts directly. One woman came with her brother, a Detroit police officer.
“You can’t explain it,” said the 70-year-old Pontiac resident, who asked to be identified by her first name, Jeanne, as she described the feeling of worrying about the safety of family members serving in the police department. “You’re sort of on edge whenever the phone rings.”
Anytime she hears news that a police officer has been injured or killed, Jeanne said she immediately calls her brother to make sure he’s safe. She had the same reflex last week as soon as reports emerged that an officer had been killed.
“I’m nervous until I hear the police officer’s name, and then I’m sorry it’s their family, but I’m glad it’s not mine,” said Jeanne. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/07/16/people-pay-respects-fallen-detroit-police-officer-loren-courts/10044503002/ | 2022-07-17T01:01:23 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/07/16/people-pay-respects-fallen-detroit-police-officer-loren-courts/10044503002/ |
Entering the 2022 World Athletics Championships with the world's best hammer throw this year, former Northern Arizona University athlete Brooke Andersen needed just one attempt to secure her place in the Sunday final.
Andersen threw Friday afternoon at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, hitting 74.37 meters on her first attempt of three to begin the championships. With marks of 73.50m guaranteeing athletes a place in the final round, Andersen opted out of her final two throws.
The throw ranked second overall entering the finals, with fellow Team USA member Janee Kassanavoid sitting atop the qualifying rankings with a throw of 74.46m, also achieved on her opening attempt. Kassanavoid ranks third in the world this season and second to only Andersen among those competing at Worlds.
Just four throwers hit the automatic mark to move on to the finals, with the next eight top scores advancing to the final consisting of 12 throwers. All three American throwers advanced to the finals, with Annette Nneka Echikunwoke taking fifth at 72.60m.
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Andersen's final is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. on Sunday.
On the men's side of the hammer throw, Andersen's former teammate Adam Keenan just missed qualifying for his final.
Throwing 74.38m on his opening throw, Keenan improved to 74.44m with his second attempt. The throw placed Keenan sixth in his qualifying group just on the bubble to enter the final round. However, seven throwers beat Keenan's mark in the group as Team USA's Alex Young just edged him with a 74.67m mark on his opening throw to take the 12th and final place of the medal round. Chile's Humberto Mansilla jumped into 11th and past Keenan on his final throw of the day. Sitting at 74.39 meters after two attempts, Mansilla reached 75.33m on his last attempt to beat Keenan's 74.44m throw.
Keenan, Canada's national champion in hammer throw for the past five years, will now prepare to compete in the 2022 Commonwealth Games set to begin in England at the end of July. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/nau-roundup-andersen-moves-on-in-hammer-throw/article_a05c7020-0529-11ed-9d77-af5c508ef3e9.html | 2022-07-17T01:22:19 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/nau-roundup-andersen-moves-on-in-hammer-throw/article_a05c7020-0529-11ed-9d77-af5c508ef3e9.html |
AUSTIN, Texas — Across the country, we've seen protests and outrage over drag performance events where kids were in attendance. On Saturday, The Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop held "Drag Story Hour," where drag performers dressed as pirates and princesses read stories to kids.
Colleen Pannell, also known as Captain Scar, was one of Saturday's drag kings.
"It's a way for us to just express and be a little bit extra," Pannell said. "Which is what everybody likes to be is a little bit extra."
While drag has been around for decades, there are some who don't accept it.
"I had already gone through this before in the eighties and the late seventies," said Pannell. "This is something that's already happened before and even before that. To have to go through it again, we always say history repeats itself, and it's repeating itself again."
Ryan Holiday, the owner of The Painted Porch Bookshop, said he got many complaints from the community.
A customer called the bookshop and said because they're hosting a story time with drag performers, they will no longer visit the store. Below is the exchange they had with a worker at the bookstore.
"We got some angry notes online and stuff," added Holiday.
People were calling on Holiday to cancel the event, but despite the pushback, it didn't deter him.
"There is nothing inappropriate or strange or weird about it," he said. "It was people reading books and having a good time together. It was a community."
Pannell said these comments can sometimes hurt, but it's all about keeping your head high.
"We're not going to back down," added Pannell. "We're not going to give up. We're going to show people that we're not here to harm anybody. We're here to show our love."
Pannell hopes that at some point, those who don't agree with what she does, one day understand what it's all about.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/bastrop-bookstore-hosts-drag-sotry-kids/269-0a86fe9d-f76a-48d3-a6fa-b33c524864b9 | 2022-07-17T01:35:38 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/bastrop-bookstore-hosts-drag-sotry-kids/269-0a86fe9d-f76a-48d3-a6fa-b33c524864b9 |
Eastbound lanes reopen on Interstate 40; police activity ongoing
Haleigh Kochanski
Arizona Republic
The Arizona Department of Transportation says the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 near Holbrook are now open following law enforcement activity at milepost 297.
While traffic is getting through on the left lane, the right lane remains blocked due to "police activity."
Travelers are advised to expect delays or seek alternative routes.
This is a developing story; return to azcentral for updates.
Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at hkochanski@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @HaleighKochans.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-traffic/2022/07/16/law-enforcement-activity-prompts-closure-interstate-40-arizona/10079585002/ | 2022-07-17T01:41:28 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-traffic/2022/07/16/law-enforcement-activity-prompts-closure-interstate-40-arizona/10079585002/ |
16-year-old boy found dead from gunshot wounds in car in Phoenix
The Phoenix Police Department says a 16-year-old boy is dead after he was found in the driver's seat of a car with gunshot wounds Saturday morning in the area of 26th and Luke avenues.
Officers arrived at the scene about 4:30 a.m. where they found a car damaged by gunshots and a victim dead in the driver's seat.
An investigation at the scene found that after the shooting, the victim's car struck a parked car and came to rest where it was discovered by officers, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
A homicide investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish if they wish to remain anonymous.
Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at hkochanski@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @HaleighKochans.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/07/16/16-year-old-boy-found-dead-gunshot-wounds-car-phoenix/10078855002/ | 2022-07-17T01:41:34 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/07/16/16-year-old-boy-found-dead-gunshot-wounds-car-phoenix/10078855002/ |
Suspect involved in police shooting at Red Roof Inn in Phoenix is identified
The Phoenix Police Department has identified the suspect of a police shooting that occurred at Red Roof Inn near Interstate 17 and Bell Road on Friday morning.
Phoenix police were called to the area of 27th Avenue and Bell Road about 11:30 a.m. where they learned of a man trespassing on a property that he had previously been banned from.
"A security guard recognized the suspect as having been banned from the property," said Phoenix Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Vincent Cole in a statement. "The guard got out of his car and asked the man to leave, noticing a gun in his waistband."
The security guard got back into his car and noticed the suspect point a gun at him, according to Cole.
As the man was walking away, the security guard proceeded to follow the suspect and call police.
The suspect then proceeded to the parking lot of Red Roof Inn where he approached a man he was associated with, confronted the man, "pistol whipped" him, and pointed the gun at the man's head, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
After the suspect entered the hotel, Phoenix police arrived at the scene and began looking for the suspect.
"He was found hiding near a stairwell and was given commands, but he ran away," said Cole. "Officers used less lethal tools, but the suspect continued to elude officers."
Officers eventually located the suspect with a gun in his hand, running up and down a stairwell. He came out of the stairwell and pointed a gun at officers, who responded to the "threat" by firing at the suspect.
The suspect then ran into a laundry room of the hotel and tried to hide in a washing machine, said Cole.
An officer proceeded to use a "less lethal stun bag," which caused the suspect to surrender to police.
The suspect was identified as Jayden Bush, 26, who has been booked into a Maricopa County jail on multiple charges, including warrants, weapons violations, drug charges and aggravated assault.
Bush was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries caused by "less lethal projectiles" prior to being booked into jail, police said.
No officers or community members were injured as a result of the incident.
Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at hkochanski@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @HaleighKochans.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/07/16/suspect-identified-police-shooting-red-roof-inn-phoenix/10079625002/ | 2022-07-17T01:41:40 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/07/16/suspect-identified-police-shooting-red-roof-inn-phoenix/10079625002/ |
'It feels like a violation of the constitution': Transgender community in Phoenix marches to protect their rights
Members of the LGBTQ community and allies gathered to march at the Arizona State Capitol on Saturday morning as part of a national movement to protest legislation targeting transgender people across the United States.
The march comes about a month after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. According to protesters, both issues are "intersectional" as abortion bans could disproportionately affect transgender women.
"Roe isn't the end, it is the beginning," said Reyna Guerra, an event organizer and founder of Queerizona. "With a conservatively-packed Supreme Court, we don't have protections, especially in a state like Arizona."
Signatures come up short:Abortion right won't be on the ballot
According to Noelle Canez, Secretary and Creative Director of Queerizona, 130 bills targeting transgender people have been introduced nationwide, 14 of which are from Arizona.
One of these bills restricting surgery for transgender youth and banning their participation in sports was passed by the Arizona government in April, causing dissent among transgender rights activists.
"We are demonstrating in response to these bills. Trans people at the state level are not being taken care of. Safety-wise, healthcare-wise. For me, it feels like a violation of the constitution." Guerra said.
'We just want the right to be equal'
The crowd of more than 200 people marched around the State Capitol holding signs and banners and chanting "Trans rights are human rights."
Carolyn Burke said she attended the Saturday rally to support her 15-year-old child, Nex Smith, who identifies as non-binary.
Burke said with the passing of bills targeting transgender youth in Arizona it's important for her to keep fighting to protect other teenagers like her child.
Arizona trangender bill:This woman wants transgender youth to learn from her experience
"I don't really understand the purpose (of the bills) other than oppression," Burke said.
Smith said they came to the rally for themselves and their friends who also identify as non-binary.
Smith said they consider themselves fortunate to have been surrounded by a supportive environment at home and in school, yet they said they fear that is being threatened by state bills restricting the freedoms of transgender people.
"The situation is bad, but I think no matter what happens, we have to be ourselves," Smith said.
But Canez said those restrictions could fuel discrimination and even violence against LGBTQ community members.
"There is fear we are going to be treated badly in result, that's the way that trans people and gender non-conforming people get treated after all these bills get introduced," Canez said "These bills tell the rest of the community 'These people are different. They're doing something different, something maybe wrong. That's why we have to pass this law.'"
According to Canez, the court's decision in Roe v. Wade intensified concerns about issues like access to healthcare and privacy of transgender people with their doctors, among other freedoms.
"We just want the right to be equal, and choose things for ourselves without the government having to tell us what to do," Canez said. "Whether that is to choose to go forward with birth or not, or if it's to choose whether or not you wanna have reassignment surgery, or if you want to choose the pronouns that you go by."
Susan Massey with Radical Women Phoenix, who was also present at the march, said she believes fighting for reproductive rights also stands for bodily autonomy of trangender people.
“Their bodies are increasingly under attack, just as pregnant people's bodies are under attack, and we’re all part of the same fight,” Massey said.
Massey said she believes it is important to mobilize and strategize for both causes to be more effective in challenging conservative efforts to “threaten reproductive and transgender rights,” she said.
"We want Arizona to know that Trans people have been here, we are here and we will always be here. They are our neighbors, coworkers, community members, and friends, and they deserve the same exact rights as every other American," Canez said.
Reach breaking news reporter Laura Daniella Sepulveda at lsepulveda@lavozarizona.com or on Twitter @lauradNews.
Support local journalism.Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/07/16/transgender-community-phoenix-marches-protect-their-rights/10074370002/ | 2022-07-17T01:41:46 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/07/16/transgender-community-phoenix-marches-protect-their-rights/10074370002/ |
No one seems to claim that July means “time of rain” in any known language, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been getting soaked here in Washington.
In a plaintive tweet that scored high on the mournfulness scale, the team said “it once was a bright, bright sunshiny day . . . ”
That, of course, would do well as a description of our rapidly changing July afternoons. Saturday became our seventh day this month of measurable rain, with a total so far of at least 6.5 inches. (Three other July days got credit for raindrops, but not enough to measure.)
But by 8 p.m., Saturday had earned a spot in this month’s record book, as the second rainiest day of July 2022.
In two fiercely wet hours on Saturday after overcoming hours of dryness, Washington recorded an official 1.33 inches of rain.
Only the astonishing deluge of July 9 outstripped the redoubtable rains of Saturday afternoon and evening
On July 9, the measured rainfall came to 4.05 inches. But Saturday’s two-hour figure amounted to at least three-quarters of an inch more than on any other day in this wet month.
Saturday may have had its bright and shining hours, but many of us did not need to look for to see the atmosphere preparing to convert itself to a raindrop production footing.
Dark clouds intruded on the edges of our field of view, and it was obvious that the air was laden with moisture and humidity.
By late afternoon, reports had arrived from around the region telling of bursts of rain here and there. Flood warnings had been issued for many areas.
The city itself, particularly downtown areas, seemed for hours to have missed most of Saturday’s moisture.
This seeming atmospheric omission was remedied between 6 and 7 p.m.
As if signaling that something was afoot, a dark, elongated and slightly elliptical cloud seemed to drift over the Potomac River, like an ominous mothership in a science fiction tale.
What could it mean? In fact, the clouds-to-rain equation has become well-known to many of us, even if we were not versed in the more arcane and abstruse aspects of weather forecasting.
The hour from 6 to 7 satisfied expectations and fears.
In an hour, Reagan National Airport measured an official 0.24 inches of rain. In the next hour another 1.09 came down.
It seemed to fall first in smaller-sized drops, but then the full armament of the atmosphere seemed to join in the downpour, with large fat drops hissing on treetops, pattering on roofs.
Part of a road was flooded near the Braddock Road Metro station in Alexandria. High water was reported on Route 1 in College Park.
How heavily the rain fell could be inferred from how well it curtained our view of objects in the landscape. Figures provided by the National Weather Service indicated that the thick gray curtain of rain had cut visibility for a time to a quarter mile.
But spectacular as it seemed, rewarding as it was to watch, the rain resulted from a summer storm. Such storms we know to be frequent, but not unceasing.
The rain seemed to reach a crescendo. Flood warnings continued to fly, urging residents throughout the area to beware of swiftly rising waters.
At moments, the rain itself began to diminish. Dark clouds began to thin, and gaps emerged.
At one point during the torrent it almost seemed that the rain had gone, at least from the environs of Washington.
Clouds seemed to move away in swift procession. At one level, dark gray clouds rolled slowly past in a kind of formal review. As some moved, they trailed tendrils of rain that seemed to stretch from cloud to ground.
In front of them, below them, came small and ragged white clouds, following one after the other in a northbound parade. Against the gray upper-level background, they prompted the imagination to conceive of the ships and chariots of some ancient empire, depicted along the roofline of a classical temple.
Meanwhile, the sun could not be completely smothered. At moments, even as rain fell, its orange rays streamed through the grayness. It reflected off upper windows of tall buildings. It imparted an orange tinge to the curtain of rain that still fell.
From time to time, small patches of blue sky could be spied through small gaps in the stack of cloud above. It suggested a full-scale summertime deployment of many of the most salient features of this season’s weather systems.
It was a summer day, with rain and sun, with patches of blue and plenty of gray. It provided summer stickiness aplenty, but also moments of pleasure, when a soft breeze sprung up, a seeming sign of showers and storms doing their stuff miles from where we found ourselves at the moment. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/saturday-was-our-second-wettest-day-in-a-wet-month/2022/07/16/ef9dacec-055d-11ed-b005-46df9be530f3_story.html | 2022-07-17T01:49:13 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/saturday-was-our-second-wettest-day-in-a-wet-month/2022/07/16/ef9dacec-055d-11ed-b005-46df9be530f3_story.html |
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TACOMA, Wash. — It was an emotional morning in St. John Transformation Ministries, as family and friends paid their last respects to Iyana Ussery.
Ussery was shot and killed on July 6 while sitting in a car at the intersection of Martin Luther King Way and South 19th Street.
Those closest to Iyana talked about how much life and light she brought into their lives, and they shared their memories of the 14-year-old, and how much she’ll be missed.
“She was a good kid, we talked about going to college, she was college bound, it doesn’t matter where she was growing up at, she was focused,” remembers Jamee H., who was friends with Iyana’s mother, Kelsey. “It didn’t matter what was going on, she was focused.”
“We were just reflecting about Iyana, I think the most common thing that came to mind was, ‘Gone too soon,’ gone too soon,” said Michael Knuckles, assistant principal for Hilltop Heritage Middle School.
Ussery’s death was Tacoma’s 25th homicide this year.
During his eulogy deliverance, Pastor Gabriel Madison spoke on how this act of violence rippled throughout the Hilltop.
“We understand the loss of this life and its importance, and it seemed to spark a cry for justice and a cry for change in our community, and we definitely see the need for that,” Madison said.
Others called for something to be done about the violence that led to Ussery’s death.
“We should be able to go to the store, to get some snacks,” said James Watson of Tacoma Ceasefire. “We should not have to fear for our lives. We need to do better, and we’re going to.”
Now Iyana’s family are beginning the difficult work of laying one of their youngest to rest.
But community members let them know that they will not be alone.
“We didn’t want to turn this into a spectacle,” Pastor Madison said. “We want the family to know that we love them, and we care for them, and we’re here when the cameras are gone.”
So far, two suspects have been arrested for Ussery’s death. Both are 17 years old, and both will be tried as adults. Their charges include second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault each. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/community-unites-funeral-held-14-year-old-killed-tacoma-shooting/281-a01a008c-7bc8-43ee-a57e-b4233dba4dcc | 2022-07-17T01:56:05 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/community-unites-funeral-held-14-year-old-killed-tacoma-shooting/281-a01a008c-7bc8-43ee-a57e-b4233dba4dcc |
TIMES-NEWS
The Lynch Foundation donates $200,000 to charities after Shaylon Schafer Golf Benefit.
This week's Most Wanted from the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office
A 10-acre fire Saturday in Rock Creek Canyon in the South Hills destroyed structures and dozens of old cars 12 miles south of Hansen.
BOISE — The Idaho Republican Party will consider 31 resolutions at its three-day convention, which started Thursday in Twin Falls, including o…
“The operation’s focus was to identify and arrest individuals targeting minor children over the internet for purposes of sexual abuse.” Rupert Police Department Sgt. Sam Kuoha said.
TWIN FALLS — Dozens of protesters showed up Friday to voice their opposition to the reversal of Roe v. Wade with bold signs and loud chants. T…
A fire in Rock Creek Canyon on Saturday in the South Hills was contained by 8 p.m.
Opinion: On Tuesday, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol held a hearing delving into the role of far-right paramilitary organizations in the attempt to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election. Focusing on groups, including the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and Three Percenters, who were involved in the 2021 attempted insurrection, the hearings presented compelling evidence of significant coordination between these groups, as well as awareness within the Trump administration of their plans.
Congratulations to these families!
“When I announced the after-school program, I had more kids sign up than I could take,” West Minico Middle School Teacher Brandi Milliron said. “These kids did a fantastic job and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Three days of committee meetings, workshops and party business kicked off Thursday at the 2022 Idaho Republican Party Convention at the College of Southern Idaho.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/lynch-foundation-donates-200-000-to-charities/article_7fc7b9ea-056b-11ed-aa19-f3eef09099c3.html | 2022-07-17T02:02:07 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/lynch-foundation-donates-200-000-to-charities/article_7fc7b9ea-056b-11ed-aa19-f3eef09099c3.html |
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, has joined Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and six other senators in proposing a bill to block the federal government from using federal property for abortion services.
The Prohibiting Abortion on Federal Lands Act would prohibit the federal government from promoting, supporting or contracting with abortion providers or otherwise expanding access to abortion on federal lands or facilities such as military installations, national parks, courthouses and federal buildings.
The legislation is a response to calls for President Joe Biden to use federally owned facilities and land to provide abortion access in states where the procedure is banned or could soon be banned. In Idaho, pending action from the Idaho Supreme Court, nearly all abortions could be illegal by mid-August.
Risch and Rubio have also introduced legislation to block the administration from declaring a public health emergency to protect abortion access, according to a news release.
People are also reading…
“The Biden administration will stop at nothing to force their radical abortion agenda nationwide,” Risch said in the release. “Attempting to bypass states that have made the commitment to treat every human life with respect and dignity is shameless and unacceptable, and we must ensure this option is not on the table. States must be free to stand up for the unborn.”
Additional cosponsors of the bill include Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi; Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi; Steve Daines, R-Montana; John Thune, R-South Dakota; and Josh Hawley, R-Missouri. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/sen-jim-risch-cosponsors-a-bill-to-block-biden-from-using-federal-property-for-abortion/article_b029df16-0474-11ed-b3ce-a725316c09e6.html | 2022-07-17T02:02:13 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/sen-jim-risch-cosponsors-a-bill-to-block-biden-from-using-federal-property-for-abortion/article_b029df16-0474-11ed-b3ce-a725316c09e6.html |
Two men accused of vandalizing an Olympia anti-hate mural in October were also arrested in North Idaho on suspicion of conspiring to riot at a pride event.
The city of Olympia announced the men’s arrests on Monday and noted they have known connections to Patriot Front, a white nationalist hate group. KING 5 TV reported their connection to the Idaho Pride event on Wednesday.
Citing court documents, KING 5 reported Colton M. Brown and Spencer Simpson were identified on videos of the June 11 Idaho incident. That day, police in Coeur d’Alene arrested 31 masked Patriot Front members in the city’s downtown, The Idaho Statesman reported.
Simpson attended a hearing in Olympia municipal court on Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor crime of aiding and abetting graffiti, according to KING 5.
Brown did not attend his hearing, so a judge issued a warrant for his arrest, according to KING 5. He was charged with the same crime.
People are also reading…
Neither of them have criminal convictions in Washington state, according to KING 5.
The Olympia mural covered the front of a Fourth Avenue building that has since been demolished. It was created in 2014, in part in response to violent attacks outside Jake’s, downtown Olympia’s only gay bar.
The two men are accused of using stencils to spray paint “Patriot Front” over the mural. City staff and volunteers repainted the mural soon after.
A new affordable housing project has been planned for the site of the demolished building. In the meantime, the mural has been kept in storage.
It’s unclear if and when the mural may return, but there’s an active petition to bring the mural back. The petition also calls for several other Patriot Front members to be charged with crimes related to defacing the mural.
On Monday, Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen said his department is working to identify others involved. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/two-men-accused-of-vandalizing-olympia-mural-also-linked-to-idaho-pride-event-incident/article_30584a20-0488-11ed-ade0-afd6fa1db995.html | 2022-07-17T02:02:19 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/two-men-accused-of-vandalizing-olympia-mural-also-linked-to-idaho-pride-event-incident/article_30584a20-0488-11ed-ade0-afd6fa1db995.html |
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Queerizona's March for Trans Justice in Phoenix
14 PHOTOS | https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2022/07/16/march-trans-rights/10077789002/ | 2022-07-17T02:11:54 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2022/07/16/march-trans-rights/10077789002/ |
BOISE — As concern from Idaho homeowners has swelled in recent years over soaring property taxes, the Idaho Legislature both last year and the year before appointed a study committee of lawmakers from both parties and both houses to look at possible fixes.
However, the joint panel focused largely on local government spending, recommending successful legislation and state investment to increase the tracking of local government expenditures. It didn’t recommend anything to change the increasing share of the property tax burden that’s falling on homeowners, compared with all other classes of property.
This year, the Legislature didn’t formally appoint any committee. Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, is calling on legislative leaders to do that now.
“While considerable attention is being paid to the 9.1% national inflation rate, the state is paying no attention to the unfair, unjust and undeserved property tax assessment inflation,” he said in a statement. “The Legislature is way behind the curve. Most states have had some remedy in place for years. A working group needs to be formed. We need to get to work.”
Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said Friday that there’s an “informal working group made up of House and Senate members that are working on property tax issues, but it’s informal. We haven’t appointed it.” That informal group includes only Republicans – Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, and Sens. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, and Jim Rice, R-Caldwell.
Rice and Rep. Jim Addis, R-Coeur d’Alene, chaired the last property tax study committee, but both of them lost their re-election bids in the May primary.
Gannon said Friday that he’s submitted his request and at least one GOP legislative leader has expressed interest, but he’s had no official response as yet.
Rice, Grow and Moyle met with Treasure Valley mayors and other local officials on June 30 to discuss concerns about property taxes and changes that would work for Idaho cities. There, Grow said he’s been holding meetings with stakeholders such as the Idaho Farm Bureau, the Idaho Association of Cities, and the Idaho Association of Counties on the issue.
As reported in the Idaho Press, Grow told the gathering, “We’re trying to have a group that can actually move something and not get bogged down by so many ideas, so many conflicts and disagreements between the different groups that we can’t do anything.”
Formally appointed legislative interim committees, working groups and study committees are required to post notice of their meetings and follow the Idaho Open Meeting Law; they also typically include lawmakers from both parties and both houses. But Winder said that doesn’t apply to an informal group that hasn’t been appointed. “They wanted to try and get it worked out among themselves,” he said.
Gannon is floating a proposal he’d like to be considered to shift to a five-year average for assessed taxable values, to smooth out big jumps. His proposal includes a provision that if the five-year average came to an amount higher than the actual market value in the 5th year, the property would be assessed at the actual market value.
Gannon said his idea is to deal with situations he’s seeing both in his Boise district and throughout Idaho where one house on a street sells for, say, $150,000 more than any other house there is currently valued – and that prompts big assessment hikes for all the rest of the homes, with accompanying tax increases. “It puts a fairness factor into our property tax system,” he said.
Gannon said he believes other ideas should be considered as well, and thinks his proposal paired with an increase in the homeowner’s exemption would largely address the current problem.
In Ada County, residential property currently bears 80% of the property tax burden, compared with 20% for commercial property. It’s a trend that’s been intensifying for years, as home values soared but business and commercial property values remained stable.
In 2000, the split in the Ada County property tax burden was 57% residential, 43% commercial, according to figures compiled by the Ada County Assessor’s office.
Ada County Assessor Bob McQuade, a Republican who is retiring from the office after this year, has long supported indexing the homeowner’s exemption to changes in home values to address the problem. Currently, the homeowner’s exemption from property taxes is capped at $125,000. That’s only 23% of the current median assessed value, McQuade said, though Idaho’s homeowner’s exemption was long envisioned as exempting half the value of an owner-occupied home from property taxes.
“So there’s no doubt about it, that it really has lost a lot of its value in real terms,” he said. “I’ve always felt the homestead exemption being indexed is very important.”
That exemption was indexed to home values until 2016, when the Legislature removed the indexing and capped the exemption at $100,000. In 2021, the Legislature passed HB 389, which paired an array of changes including limits on local government budgets and tax breaks for businesses and developers with an increase in the maximum homeowner’s exemption from $100,000 to $125,000, but it didn’t restore indexing, just setting a new cap.
McQuade said he’s intrigued by Gannon’s idea about using a five-year average for assessments, for all types of property. “That would really add a lot of predictability for both residential and commercial,” he said. “That’s an idea I really think is worth exploring. … I’d really like to hear robust discussion around that.”
With this year an election year, there has been little work done in legislative interim committees, work groups or study committees. The only two that have publicly announced and held meetings are the Committee on Federalism, which met June 7, and the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs, which met July 6. Though House and Senate GOP leaders announced in March that they would form a working group of senators and representatives to study allegations from House Republicans that Idaho libraries are making explicit materials available to minors, that hasn’t been appointed.
Winder said he’s made appointments for four working groups, but is awaiting House appointments for those to be finalized, so none have met yet. The four are to address elections; health insurance for public school employees; how to better fund construction and capital improvements for Idaho schools; and the makeup of the Idaho Judicial Council.
The informal group discussing property taxes is not among those, Winder said. “They’re basically working on their own, and we’ll see how they get through the next month or so and then decide what we need to do, if anything,” he said.
Gannon said he’s been assured “they’re going to talk about it.”
“When there’s a serious problem, which there is, that affects the entire state – we’re seeing it in Idaho Falls, we’re seeing it in Boise, we’re seeing it in Kootenai County – legislators need to get to work and come up with some solutions and get everybody at the table, including the people who are paying the tax,” he said. “I think it’s unfortunate it’s an election year, but we’ve still got a job to do.”
A NAME CHANGE
The Idaho Federation of Families, an advocacy organization for youth and families dealing with behavioral health issues in Idaho, has long gone by that name, but it’s changing now. “We’re trying to go by the name FY Idaho – Families and Youth in Idaho,” said Executive Director Ruth York. The reason: Because the initials IFF, which the group had long used, are shared by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation is a right-wing lobbying and political group that advocates against funding for public education, and through its various affiliated organizations has become increasingly active in Idaho politics and campaigns. The group, which doesn’t disclose its funding sources, says on its website that its mission is “to make Idaho into a laboratory of liberty by exposing, defeating, and replacing the state's socialist public policies.”
“I saw a headline this winter that said something outrageous that IFF has done, and my heart just stopped,” York said. “Then I realized, ‘Oh, no, it’s just them again. We’ve got to fix this!’”
The youth and family advocacy organization has now officially changed its name and is in the process of transitioning to a new logo to match. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/eye-on-boise-calls-mount-for-lawmakers-to-examine-property-tax-issues/article_17aa50f5-1293-5bd0-9f5c-0b55738dfe56.html | 2022-07-17T02:18:45 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/eye-on-boise-calls-mount-for-lawmakers-to-examine-property-tax-issues/article_17aa50f5-1293-5bd0-9f5c-0b55738dfe56.html |
The Idaho Youth Ranch, which first started working with troubled kids at a ranch near Rupert in 1953, is now deep into construction of a new psychiatric residential treatment facility for up to 100 kids a year in Canyon County, after successfully raising more than $27 million in private funds for the project.
The longtime Idaho nonprofit decided to close its Rupert ranch seven years ago – located on a dirt road 12 miles out of Rupert, as it was no longer a cost-effective place to deliver services or maintain staffing – and purchased the Canyon County property. It then spent three years working with a task force and conducting feasibility studies before settling on developing a PRTF, exactly the type of long-term behavioral health facility for youth that’s currently lacking in the state.
“We had a task force that looked at what should the program be, what is the greatest need in the state that we believe we can operate well and sustainably,” said Scott Curtis, Idaho Youth Ranch CEO. “We looked at a lot of different possibilities. … We settled on a PRTF.”
That type of long-term psychiatric treatment facility for youth is covered by Medicaid, but Idaho currently doesn’t have any of those facilities. As a result, roughly 100 Idaho children have been placed out of state at any time to receive treatment, causing hardship for their families and difficulty transitioning back after treatment.
Two years ago, the Idaho Youth Ranch launched its fundraising campaign, with the slogan, “Bring Idaho Kids Home.”
“A group of volunteer leaders statewide … has really worked their tails off over the last couple of years to help raise the funds privately through individuals, businesses and foundations,” Curtis said. “We have one donor … at the $150,000 level that is from outside of Idaho, but other than that, this is Idaho really stepping up.”
“It’s remarkable, and it’s so critical for Idaho’s youth and families,” he said. “This is a huge need.”
Construction has been underway for a year, and the facility will start accepting kids in the summer of 2023.
The site, a 253-acre parcel between Caldwell and Middleton north of the Purple Sage Golf Course, is “this hilly property in the middle of ranch country,” Curtis said. “It’s got a vast pine forest, open space, streams and ponds, and it’s got active ag land being used for farming.” It’s also already the site of an equine center, including a large indoor horse arena, where the Youth Ranch conducts equine therapy for kids.
“It’s quite moving to walk around that property and realize that kids will be there,” Curtis said.
Ruth York, executive director of FY Idaho, or Families and Youth in Idaho, an advocacy organization for families and youth dealing with behavioral health issues, said, “I really like that they weren’t just saying, ‘Oh, we have this great idea’ or ‘we have this great plot of land.’ They were really looking at what’s actually needed here.”
The Idaho Behavioral Health Council, which brings together all three branches of state government in Idaho, has identified the lack of PRTF facilities in Idaho as a top need, and the Legislature this year approved $66 million over the next three years for major behavioral health initiatives for adults and youth, including $15 million to establish PRTFs in all three regions of the state, eastern Idaho, southwestern Idaho, and North Idaho.
Curtis said the Youth Ranch became a Medicaid agency four years ago and has been communicating with the state. “They’ve been incredibly helpful in us understanding the need,” he said. “But that does not mean we’ve had any direct communication about these funds and our eligibility for them. We’re in that process right now along with everyone else.”
There are clear synergies between the Youth Ranch project and the state’s behavioral health plan, which includes a plan to address Idaho’s current behavioral health workforce shortage; all 44 of the state’s counties have been designated as shortage areas for those workers.
“That’s another piece we’re delighted to see as part of the funding plan, is looking at the workforce challenge,” Curtis said, “because that’s a piece we know we’re going to be facing and are already facing.”
When it opens, the new Youth Ranch treatment center in Canyon County will have the equivalent of 115 full-time employees.
The Idaho Youth Ranch currently operates at about 30 locations in Idaho. Those include an outpatient headquarters in Boise where they offer outpatient counseling and their YouthWorks job development program for youth; Anchor House in Coeur d’Alene, which offers out-patient therapy and the Youth Ranch’s adoption program; tele-mental health services that can operate in any Idaho county; the Hays Shelter, an 18-bed crisis shelter for youth in Boise; and 24 thrift shop locations. “Those thrift stores, and more importantly all the Idahoans that donate and shop there, support our programs by doing so,” Curtis said.
In 2021, the Idaho Youth Ranch served more than 1,100 Idaho kids and their families.
The Hays Shelter alone provided 2,598 shelter days to 91 Idaho kids in 2021, the Youth Ranch reported in its annual report, providing short-term residential care that kept the youth in school and connected to their families. It has 18 beds.
“There are a lot of kids that come to Hays that are relatively healthy,” with issues including homelessness or runaways, Curtis said. “There is a real crisis going on in their life. They’re not necessarily eligible for a PRTF.”
That level of care is for youth with a psychiatric diagnosis, he said, whose family has been working to resolve the issues, and have gone through a process that determines they need longer-term residential care.
The new Canyon County campus will include 64 beds, serving more than 100 youth per year; a year-round school; individual and group therapy spaces; a dining hall; indoor and outdoor recreation spaces; a health center; and aftercare for kids and families.
Youth at the center will be provided with 24-hour nursing, psychiatric care and therapeutic treatment. They’ll have access to services including medication reduction, nutrition and physical fitness in a secure environment with 24-hour supervision.
“What I’ve seen in conversations with them is they are really serious about the healing, and they really hold hope for all children,” York said. “They’re just taking this from a really meaningful place.”
That includes bringing troubled youth into an environment where they can experience nature and interact with animals, she said.
“I’ve seen kids go to many places,” she said, “and I’ve had my own child go to places over time that just don’t have that environment. There’s definitely something special and healing about the physical setting that can help a kid make more progress with their therapeutic goals.”
“I think this stands to be one of Idaho’s best resources,” York said. “It’s in an area that is accessible by a fair amount of parents. … I think given what Idaho is trying to fund right now, that this fits really, really well.”
The Idaho Youth Ranch was founded by the Rev. James Crowe and Ruby Carey Crowe. On July 11, 1952, President Harry Truman signed a bill passed by Congress to grant the Crowes the right to buy 2,560 acres near Rupert for $1 per acre per year for 25 years with no interest to establish the ranch. After several years of cutting roads, digging wells and clearing sagebrush, the first boy arrived to live at the ranch in 1957.
“Everything grew out of there,” Curtis said.
The Idaho Youth Ranch began offering adoptions in the early 1980s. Thrift stores started in the 1980s to support the programs, and that’s also when the organization started serving girls as well as boys. The old ranch served about 50 kids at a time.
In 2015, the year the Youth Ranch board decided to close the old ranch, it purchased the Canyon County campus. “We kept taking care of kids,” Curtis said. “We even transitioned some of our residential program to a house that was on the new property in Canyon County, but we stopped taking new kids into long-term residential.”
In 2019, the Youth Ranch opened its Equestrian Center on the Canyon County property, including a large indoor riding arena for equine therapy as well as space for more traditional therapy offices.
York said, “It’s kind of amazing. They are a well-known and well-liked and trusted organization in Idaho, and that’s another positive, because this is not a new player coming in. This is a group that knows Idaho and has done their homework, and has been in Idaho and has done this sort of thing in the past.”
She recalled dropping her own child off at a residential center years ago that was just “concrete cinderblock.” The living quarters were dorms, “and very stark,” she said. “It’s not nurturing, it’s not healing. So they’ve really taken the whole healing part as a theme throughout every piece of what they do.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/idaho-steps-up-youth-ranch-building-treatment-center-after-raising-27m/article_7451123f-eea7-52d4-8d0d-56c334768b11.html | 2022-07-17T02:18:51 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/idaho-steps-up-youth-ranch-building-treatment-center-after-raising-27m/article_7451123f-eea7-52d4-8d0d-56c334768b11.html |
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