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HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK)—A building was destroyed in an early-morning fire in Huntington.
Cabell dispatch says that crews responded to a fully-involved structure fire at a two-story building on the 400 block of Richmond St. just before 4:00 a.m. on Sunday.
They say the building is thought to be abandoned.
No injuries were reported. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/building-destroyed-in-huntington-fire/ | 2022-07-17T19:23:48 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/building-destroyed-in-huntington-fire/ |
MERRILLVILLE — Construction for several major developments is closer to starting after the Town Council made several recent economic development moves.
The council finalized tax abatement for six different projects in Merrillville that represent a total investment in excess of $130 million.
Several of the tax abatement requests involve development in the AmeriPlex at the Crossroads area. The Missner Group will erect five speculative facilities in that area and lease the space to companies. That project includes an 806,000-square-foot structure that’s expected to involve a $57.5 million investment.
There were public hearings associated with the abatements, and resident Bryon Mesarch on several occasions asked how much each abatement is worth.
Attorney Richard Anderson is representing Keough Mechanical for a tax abatement involving a $900,000-square-foot speculative facility Keough will build in an industrial park near 89th Avenue.
He said the amount of the abatement will depend on what the building is assessed.
“Until these buildings are built, ... it’s going to be difficult to give you an exact dollar amount,” Anderson said.
Councilman Shawn Pettit, D-6th, said tax abatement and other incentives are used by Merrillville and other municipalities to attract companies and the many benefits the projects will bring, including jobs.
“This is the economic development game, and if it doesn’t come to our town, they’re going to hightail it over to Hobart or to Crown Point or somewhere else in Northwest Indiana,” he said.
Pettit also explained that the land for the proposed developments is vacant and generates little in property taxes, but Merrillville will bring in more than what’s currently received even when the abatements are in place.
Mesarch also questioned why the council would consider tax abatement for companies that will lease space in facilities because they wouldn’t directly create new permanent positions in Merrillville.
Eddie Adler, of Missner, said the projects will create many temporary construction jobs in town, and the companies that occupy the facilities will bring permanent employment opportunities to Merrillville.
Whether it’s temporary or permanent positions, the people filling them will visit restaurants, bars and stores in Merrillville and possibly decide to move to the community, Adler said.
“So money flows to the town,” he said.
Besides the tax abatements, the council also approved an economic development bond that will provide a $1.7 million reimbursement for utility work associated with the Silos at Sanders Farm development.
The Silos at Sanders Farm industrial park is planned for 196 acres of land on Mississippi Street between 93rd and 101st avenues. The development will include multiple speculative facilities, and the buildings will offer a total of more than 2 million square feet of space when the project is finished.
Crow Holdings, the developer of the Silos at Sanders Farm, is investing $15 million in the utility infrastructure for the project.
“These lines that they are running are going to service not only their property but undeveloped property to the north of them, ... which will open it up for development for other vacant parcels,” Pettit said.
Through an economic development agreement, the town committed to a $1.7 million reimbursement that would be provided through the bond issue, Pettit said. Property taxes generated from the Silos at Sanders Farm development will be used to pay off the bond issue, town officials said.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Geitonia Greek Grill, Las Delicias Mexican Ice Cream, Underground Thrift Clothing, gym, courthouse patio opening; Timbrook Kitchens relocated; Overstuffed closed
Doug Ross, an award-winning writer, has been covering Northwest Indiana for more than 35 years, including more than a quarter of a century at The Times.
The current master plan was developed in 1999, and it’s clear much has changed since then.The closing and demolition of the Star Plaza Theatre and Radisson Hotel site are among significant changes
Each of Merrillville’s seven wards will have space designated outside the community center to gather for Night Out Aug. 2. Residents can bring chairs and grills to cook out and meet with each other.
The town has lost public works employees to the private sector. Although Merrillville offers competitive wages, outside companies are providing signing bonuses and other incentives.
Councilman Shawn Pettit, D-6th, said the total investment for the initiatives exceeds $130 million. It’s anticipated the projects will create hundreds of jobs in town.
The Merrillville Town Council has finalized tax abatement for six different projects in town that represent a total investment in excess of $130 million. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/merrillville/builders-plan-big-bucks-projects-in-merrillville/article_623910a9-6ee0-5fad-a6a5-7eee388c08e0.html | 2022-07-17T19:23:49 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/merrillville/builders-plan-big-bucks-projects-in-merrillville/article_623910a9-6ee0-5fad-a6a5-7eee388c08e0.html |
MASON COUNTY, WV (WOWK)—The Mason County community is still searching for a missing woman.
Grace Smith, of Gallipolis Ferry, has been missing since February 23, 2022, and the community is trying everything they can to find her.
In June, the Mason County Sheriff’s Department said that the reward for information leading to Smith’s whereabouts increased from $6,000 to $7,500, and earlier this month, a billboard was erected in the Henderson area of Mason County to keep Smith’s name and photo top of mind.
Grace Smith was last seen on February 23, 2022, and Mason County deputies found her car parked in the TNT area with the keys on the hood and her belongings still inside.
The sheriff’s office has also been working with the West Virginia State Police and the FBI on certain areas of the case, but they are still missing vital information that could be used to find her.
Anyone with information about Ms. Smith’s whereabouts should contact the Mason County Sheriff’s Office at 304-675-3838 or call 304-675-9911. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/community-still-searching-for-missing-mason-county-woman/ | 2022-07-17T19:23:54 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/community-still-searching-for-missing-mason-county-woman/ |
For the second year in a row, Midland City Council members found out they will end the fiscal year with more than $110 million in their fund balance or General Fund savings account.
This brought a discussion about how much is too much to hold on to for a rainy day? The answer is not clear cut.
Midland’s new director of Finance, Christy Weakland, told city leaders this week she is comfortable with having up to 75% or nine months of General Fund spending at hand. The number she said she’d like in reserves is around $80 million to $90 million.
For decades, the City of Midland was consistent in having closer to 35% in reserves. With up to $115 million expected in reserves at the end of fiscal year 2020, it was estimated that $52 million would be more in line with what is traditional for the city.
City officials said this week that the 35% has allowed the City of Midland to enjoy better bond ratings and provided a nice cushion up to this point. Weakland said that after talking to other people in government finance positions, having more would help Midland during less stable economic times.
What was decided by city leaders is that the city is prepared to spend more than $20 million on one-time capital improvements to get the fund balance down to at least $90 million.
Those improvements include $4.5 million for police department projects, including upgrades to the aging headquarters building downtown and a police training facility.
City officials also are planning to spend $14.5 million for road improvements (the extension of Wadley Avenue in west Midland, the widening of Briarwood from Avalon to the east of State Highway 158 and right of way and design to update Mockingbird Lane).
Additional department requests include $1.072 million for Community Services and $1 million for the fire department.
City officials said that sales tax excesses and other increases in revenue have been a reason for the sales tax surge. An increase in 2020 and 2021 when the fund balance increased from $90 million to around $118 million was largely due to increased oil and gas revenues and a large CARES grant from the government.
Between now and when a budget ordinance is adopted in mid-September, city leaders will discuss the amount they want to see in reserves. Should 35% be the number, then leaders would be looking for another $40 million in projects and one-time expenditures.
City leaders said they really don’t want to use the savings to help pay for this year’s budget, which is more than $10 million more than last year, because those expenses are continual.
Still, Scott Dufford, wo has served on the council since 2001, is going to advocate for 35%. He is it is “unconscionable” to have more than that.
“We will invest it down,” Dufford said.
Lori Blong told the Reporter-Telegram she’d like to keep the fund balance “a little higher than 35%.” She said coming out of a “black swan event” with the COVID pandemic and negative oil prices, there is a need for the city to be careful. She also said city leaders should be “stockpiling dollars more than necessary” or get into a place where the fund balance is “overweighted.”
General fund over the years
2012: $49.9 million
2013: $45.2 million
2014: $40.3 million
2015: $47.8 million
2016: $41.4 million
2017: $57.1 million
2018: $60.3 million
2019: $84.1 million
2020: $89.9 million
2021: $118.8 million
2022: $114 or $115 million*
*indicates estimated | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/City-projects-more-than-110M-in-savings-17308502.php | 2022-07-17T19:26:48 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/City-projects-more-than-110M-in-savings-17308502.php |
Nearly 400 officers rushed to Robb Elementary School to stop a massacre, but faulty radio communications, the absence of a clear on-scene leader and unlearned lessons from past school shootings led to a disastrous police response, according to a report set to be released Sunday by a Texas House committee investigating law enforcement’s handling of the May 24 incident.
The report revealed some officers likely knew that injured victims were trapped inside classrooms with the gunman — yet they waited more than 70 minutes to confront him.
“At Robb Elementary, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety,” the report said.
Gunman Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old high school dropout from Uvalde, killed 19 children and two teachers. He wounded 17 others.
Some victims died after being evacuated, raising the possibility that police could have saved them if they had acted sooner.
“The void of leadership could have contributed to the loss of life as injured victims waited for over an hour for help, and the attacker continued to sporadically fire his weapon,” the report said.
Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo was among those who suspected that injured victims were inside. But he was not the only one.
That day, Lt. Mariano Pargas, acting chief of the Uvalde Police Department, and other officers became aware during the protracted response that injured victims — children and teachers — likely were inside the classrooms with the shooter, the report said.
Some of those officers “were waiting for other personnel to arrive from (the Texas) Department of Public Safety or BORTAC, with better equipment like rifle-rated shields,” Pargas told the committee.
A shield that would have protected officers against the gunman’s assault-style rifle arrived at 12:20 p.m. BORTAC, an elite tactical unit of the U.S. Border Patrol, likely assumed command shortly before 12:30 p.m.
Yet officers, including Paul Guerrero, acting commander of BORTAC, waited until 12:50 p.m. to enter Room 111 and kill Ramos — 73 minutes after police first arrived at the school.
A door to the classrooms likely was unlocked the entire time. While trying to find a master key, officers didn't try to open the door before finally storming the room, the report said.
‘Lackadaisical approach’
A total of 376 law enforcement officers from a variety of federal, state and local agencies, including 149 from U.S. Border Patrol and 91 from DPS, responded to the mass shooting.
With spotty radio communication, officers outside the school received bad information. Many were told to stay out of the school because Arredondo was inside a room with the attacker actively negotiating, the report said.
Col. Steve McCraw, director of DPS, has blamed Arredondo as incident commander for the flawed response. But other officers “should have realized that was inconsistent with (Arredondo) remaining inside the building,” and any officer could have taken command.
Overall, police took a “lackadaisical approach” in responding to the massacre, the report concluded.
“For many, that was because they were given and relied upon inaccurate information,” the report said. “For others, they had enough information to know better.”
New details about the police response were among many astonishing revelations contained in the committee’s 77-page report, which also delved into failures by school administrators, teachers and relatives of the gunman.
The three members of the committee — state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock; state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso; and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman — spent weeks interviewing 35 witnesses, including Arredondo, behind closed doors. They also reviewed hundreds of crime-scene photos and dozens of audio and video recordings from the shooting.
Among their findings:
- Before the massacre, Ramos was openly showing violent and sociopathic tendencies. In the week before the shooting, his family knew he had bought guns.
- At Robb Elementary, the lock on the door to Room 111 — the classroom that Ramos first entered — was “widely known” for weeks to be malfunctioning. The teacher in Room 111 had reported its condition to the school on several occasions, yet no one placed a work order to repair the lock.
- After a coach spotted the gunman outside and alerted the school, no one used the intercom system to announce a lockdown. As a result, the teacher in Room 111 was unaware of the danger when Ramos walked in and started shooting.
‘A terrible, tragic mistake’
“Coach Silva to office — somebody just jumped over the fence and he’s shooting.”
The warning crackled over the school radio system on the morning of May 24.
Robb Elementary Coach Yvette Silva, acting “heroically,” issued this warning after she saw someone in black throw a backpack over a fence, climb over and start shooting a gun, the report said. After shooting his grandmother in the face, Ramos had stolen her pickup, crashed it in a ditch and emerged toting an assault-style rifle.
Silva expected school officials to immediately announce a lockdown, but she never got word that they had, she told the committee.
Principal Mandy Gutierrez was in her office when she heard Silva’s report. She tried to initiate a lockdown on the school’s cell phone application, but a bad wi-fi signal gave her trouble. She did not use the school’s intercom to announce a lockdown.
As Ramos approached the school, staff who began to lock down did so “based mostly on word-of-mouth reports,” the report said.
At 11:33 a.m., Ramos entered the school. He strolled into rooms 111 and 112 and fired more than 100 rounds in about two and a half minutes.
Arredondo was in his office at Uvalde High School when he heard “shots fired” on the radio. Rushing to Robb Elementary, he was among one of two groups of officers who converged on the school from different directions.
As Arredondo got out of his car, he fumbled with his radios. They “bothered” him, the report said, so he dropped them by the school fence.
As the officers approached, they heard gunfire. No one heard screams or understood that teachers and students had just been shot inside the classrooms, the report said.
At 11:36 a.m., officers approached Rooms 111 and 112. Ramos fired at them through the wall, grazing two of them. They retreated without firing back.
Arredondo entered Room 110. It was empty.
“There’s no babies in here,” he recalled thinking. “It’s awards day.”
Arredondo “prayed” there were no children in the rooms with the attacker, the report said. He immediately began thinking the gunman was “cornered,” and considered the situation was one of a “barricaded subject” rather than an active shooter.
“With the benefit of hindsight, we now know this was a terrible, tragic mistake,” the report said.
Arredondo told the committee he did not consider himself incident commander.
“You can always hope and pray that there’s an incident command post outside,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about that.”
Arredondo decided not to treat the attacker as an active shooter because he could not see the gunman or any injured victims.
“When there’s a threat … you have to visibly be able to see the threat,” he told the committee. “I never saw a threat.”
Inside the school, Arredondo spent 40 minutes trying to find a key to the door, which was likely unlocked. Yet no one called the principal, who had a key.
There’s evidence that Arredondo eventually realized that “fatalities and injuries within the classrooms were a very strong probability,” the report said..
At 12:34 p.m., an officer’s body camera footage recorded someone asking, “We don’t know if he has anyone in the room with him, do we?”
“I think he does,” Arredondo responded. “There’s probably some casualties.”
Asked what he would have done differently had he known injured victims were in the classrooms, Arredondo told the committee, “I guess, if I knew there was somebody in there, I would have — we probably would have rallied a little more.”
Victims trapped
Arredondo was not the only officer who lacked urgency.
During the incident, Uvalde Police Sgt. Daniel Coronado agreed that the gunman was “contained” and “barricaded.” At one point, Coronado told dispatch he wasn’t sure if the classroom door was locked. He also asked for a mirror to look around corners.
Pargas, the acting Uvalde police chief, told the committee he assumed Arredondo was in charge and that Uvalde police were there to assist.
Pargas was present when Uvalde CISD officer Ruben Ruiz entered the school and told officers, “She says she is shot” — referring to his wife, Eva Mireles, a teacher in Room 112.
Ruiz was escorted from the building. Mireles later died.
Pargas heard on the radio about 911 calls coming from inside the classrooms. He said officers on the north side of the building “understood there were victims trapped inside the classroom with the attacker,” he told the committee.
“According to Lt. Pargas, while nobody said it, the officers … were waiting” for more personnel to arrive with better equipment, the report said.
At 12:03 p.m., a student inside Room 112 started calling 911. Radio traffic relayed the calls.
“Several witnesses indicated that they were aware of this, but not Chief Arredondo,” the report said. There’s no evidence that any officer who learned about the 911 calls “acted on it to advocate shifting to an active shooter-style response or otherwise acting more urgently to breach the classrooms.”
Guerrero, the BORTAC commander, arrived around 12:30 p.m. He was told the gunman “had possibly shot multiple children and was still in the classroom.”
He went to grab a Halligan tool from his car. He tried to pry open a door in the hallway but decided against using it because “he did not want to expose or jeopardize the safety and lives of any officers by trying to pry the door open,” the report said.
Guerrero also searched for a master key. Eventually, taking cover behind a rifle-rated shield, Guerrero opened the door to Room 111, and officers shot and killed Ramos.
Arredondo told the committee he did not order BORTAC to breach the classrooms.
Throughout the ordeal, any officer could have assumed command or offered to assist, the report said.
For more than an hour, no one did.
bchasnoff@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-Texas-report-17310525.php | 2022-07-17T19:30:08 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-Texas-report-17310525.php |
A Texas House committee investigating the botched police response to the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde will release its findings on Sunday.
The gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in the May 24 attack.
Here are five key takeaways from the report:
1. A total of 376 law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies responded to the shooting. As officers waited more than 70 minutes to confront the gunman, some likely knew that injured victims were trapped inside classrooms with him. Others received inaccurate information during the incident, hamstringing their response.
2. Robb Elementary school administrators made a series of mistakes before and during the shooting. They failed to produce a work order to repair a faulty lock on the door of Room 111 weeks before the massacre, and the principal did not use the school intercom system to alert teachers of the lockdown after a coach spotted the gunman outside and warned school leaders by radio.
3. The gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, of Uvalde, openly showed violent and sociopathic tendencies in the months before the massacre. A week before the shooting, family members knew he had bought guns.
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4. During a period of 73 minutes — from the time police arrived to the moment they killed Ramos — no one was obviously in charge or directing the law enforcement response. Officers should have recognized that Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo could not have effectively commanded the incident from inside the building. Yet no one approached Arredondo to assist with incident command.
5. Radio communication was ineffective inside the school. Arredondo did not learn about 911 calls coming from inside the classrooms because he failed to establish a method to receive information from outside the building. Eventually, he realized there likely were casualties inside the classrooms, yet he continued to wait to confront the attacker. | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-Texas-report-takeaways-17310568.php | 2022-07-17T19:30:14 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-Texas-report-takeaways-17310568.php |
The Texas House panel investigating law enforcement’s handling of the massacre on May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde released its report Sunday afternoon.
Read the report in its entirety here.
More than 375 law enforcement officers responded to the shooting.
The report said as officers waited more than 70 minutes to confront the gunman, some likely knew that injured victims were trapped inside classrooms with him.
Others received inaccurate information during the incident, hamstringing their response.
Police response of the video also was made available. The 77-minute video was taken from hallway surveillance cameras inside Robb Elementary on May 24.
The video shows officers equipped with weapons and shields spending more than an hour in a hallway — from the moment they first took cover from the gunman to when he was killed inside a classroom. | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-report-Read-all-77-pages-17310732.php | 2022-07-17T19:30:20 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-school-shooting-report-Read-all-77-pages-17310732.php |
Delaware State Police told people they would be seeing an "increased police presence" in part of Rehoboth Beach Sunday afternoon due to a "criminal investigation in the area."
In a brief news release, put out shortly after noon, state police didn't reveal the reason for the investigation in the area of East Atlantic Apartments. Those apartments are just off Delaware 1 near Wolfe Neck Road.
"This investigation is in the early stages and is ongoing," police said in the news release.
This story is developing and will be updated. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/police-investigation-rehoboth-beach-apartments/3302121/ | 2022-07-17T19:30:38 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/police-investigation-rehoboth-beach-apartments/3302121/ |
ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) are conducting a death investigation after a woman’s body was found in a pond at the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club Friday night.
FWC said they received a call around 8:15 pm Friday evening that the body was of a deceased elderly woman. Neighbors who live in the Boca Royale neighborhood told us that the victim is Rose Marie Wiegand and that she was in her 80s.
“She lives a couple doors down from me and she would bring our trash cans up if we were out of town,” Kurt Kauffman said. “Very kind. She always came up. She introduced herself when we moved in.”
FWC said two alligators were observed nearby and it’s unknown at this time if the alligators were involved in this incident. A contracted nuisance alligator trapper was dispatched to the location and the two alligators were removed. One alligator was 8’ 10” and the other was 7’ 7”.
Kauffman and other neighbors say they are used to seeing alligators in the neighborhood but will now be more precautious.
“They live in the community. They go from pond to pond sometimes you’ll see them crossing the road,” Kauffman said.
“I mean it’s pretty horrible and it’s shocking to think that that could actually happen. We see alligators from time to time but never thought that anything like that could happen,” John Whitworth, a neighbor said.
The cause of death has not been determined by the Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Count on NBC2 for updates as we receive them. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/07/17/death-investigation-underway-after-womans-body-discovered-at-country-club-pond-in-englewood/ | 2022-07-17T19:42:00 | 1 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/07/17/death-investigation-underway-after-womans-body-discovered-at-country-club-pond-in-englewood/ |
ATLANTA — Georgia; great for business, bad for living. That's at least what a new study from CNBC had to say about the Peach State.
The network scored all 50 states on 88 metrics in 10 categories in order to determine the business ranking.
In addition, CNBC used the numbers from the "Life, Health, and Inclusion" category to determine lists on the best and worst states to live in.
Georgia thankfully didn't make the "worst" list but we weren't far off, tying at 11th from bottom with Florida, earning an "F" in that category from the network. Ouch!
The network said it considered factors such as crime rates, environmental quality, and health care to come up with that grade. In addition, for the first time, it also considered the availability of childcare.
CNBC also explained that the "inclusiveness" part of the category had to deal with of state laws regarding protections against discrimination and voting rights.
However, the Peach State helped make up for such a low placement in that category with higher scores in things such as workforce, cost of living, and economy.
With all 10 categories taken into consideration, Georgia faired much better in the overall business ranking, coming in as one of the top states in the country.
So who took the top spot? While Georgia came in at number 10, North Carolina came in as CNBC's top pick for state to do business in, with high scores in categories such as technology, economy, and access to capitol. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/georgia-11-worst-state-to-live-in-10-best-for-business/85-f2c668f5-0867-4b7d-a144-79243c484462 | 2022-07-17T19:48:50 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/georgia-11-worst-state-to-live-in-10-best-for-business/85-f2c668f5-0867-4b7d-a144-79243c484462 |
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A window at Historic Midland Motors was shattered by gunfire early Sunday morning, according to Lynchburg police.
Witnesses say two vehicles were seen leaving the scene. They are described as a white or silver GMC Sierra and silver, late-90s model Honda Accord. Both vehicles were gone by the time police got to the scene.
The business is located in the area of 13th and Main streets.
It happened around 1:48 a.m.
Anyone who may have captured video of this incident on a security or doorbell camera is asked to share the footage on the Neighbors portal.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Lynchburg Police Department at (434) 455-6041 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900. Enter an anonymous tip online at http://p3tips.com or use the P3 app on a mobile device.
The investigation is ongoing. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/17/business-windows-shot-out-in-lynchburg-two-cars-seen-leaving-the-scene/ | 2022-07-17T19:58:19 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/17/business-windows-shot-out-in-lynchburg-two-cars-seen-leaving-the-scene/ |
AMHERST COUNTY, Va. – A man died when his car ran off the roadway and into an embankment in Amherst County early Sunday morning, according to Virginia State Police.
The crash happened in the 2200 block of Richmond Highway.
State police were notified about the crash around 8 a.m. when someone driving by spotted the crashed 2000 Nissan Maxima on Route 60.
It is believed by state police that the vehicle was travelling west when it ran off the left side of the highway and went down a steep embankment. It struck several trees.
Damien Waugh, 22, of Lynchburg is identified as the driver. He died at the scene. State police say he was not wearing a seatbelt.
The crash remains under investigation. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/17/man-dies-in-amherst-county-crash-vsp-investigating/ | 2022-07-17T19:58:25 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/17/man-dies-in-amherst-county-crash-vsp-investigating/ |
A trail of broken glass and empty display cases reflect the work of quick-moving jewelry thieves who struck a Long Island store on Saturday, police said.
The brazen team hit London Jewelers in Greenvale around 4 p.m., about 90 minutes before closing time.
Authorities said four men dressed in black ran inside and took sledgehammers to the store, before making off with an unknown number of watches.
There were no customers inside at the time of the robbery, but five employees were on site, police said. There were no injuries reported.
Police said the thieves fled in a vehicle. No description of their vehicle was released.
Copyright NBC New York | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/jewelry-smash-and-grab-thieves-take-sledgehammers-to-long-island-store-cops-ny-only/3777932/ | 2022-07-17T20:00:19 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/jewelry-smash-and-grab-thieves-take-sledgehammers-to-long-island-store-cops-ny-only/3777932/ |
WASHINGTON -- Here's a look at how Georgia's members of Congress voted over the previous week.
Along with the week's roll call votes, the House also passed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act (H.R. 7535) to encourage the migration of federal government information technology systems to quantum-resistant cryptography.
HOUSE VOTES:
CARIBBEAN TIES: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 1168) sponsored by Stacey E. Plaskett, D-V.I., stating the need to strengthen U.S. economic partnerships with Caribbean countries. Plaskett said the partnerships "support budding democracies at our doorstep and create mutually beneficial economic stability with our neighbors." The vote, on July 12, was 351 yeas to 64 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
FEDERAL WORKER BENEFITS: The House has passed the First Responder Fair Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned Act (H.R. 521) sponsored by Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-Va. The bill would keep federal government workers classified as first responders for the purposes of receiving retirement benefits if those workers are disabled on the job and then move to non-first responder jobs within the federal government. Connolly said: "We want to incentivize our first responders to continue their service to this nation. We shouldn't punish them for injuries they sustained protecting us." The vote, on July 12, was unanimous with 417 yeas.
YEAS: Entire Georgia delegation
CYBERSECURITY TRAINING: The House has passed the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7174) sponsored by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. The bill would reauthorize, through 2032, the U.S. Secret Service's National Computer Forensics Institute, which trains state and local law enforcement agencies in addressing cybersecurity and electronic crime. The vote, on July 13, was 410 yeas to 16 nays.
YEAS: Entire Georgia delegation
FENTANYL EXPOSURES: The House has passed the Prevent Exposure to Narcotics and Toxics Act (H.R. 5274) sponsored by Rep. David P. Joyce, R-Ohio, to require the Customs and Border Protection agency to distribute containment devices to its workers to prevent their exposure to fentanyl. Joyce called the requirement "a simple but necessary extension of the tools we provide those who defend our borders" and help them do their jobs safely. The vote, on July 13, was unanimous with 429 yeas.
YEAS: Entire Georgia delegation
ACTIVE SHOOTER ALERTS: The House has passed the Active Shooter Alert Act (H.R. 6538) sponsored by Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I. The bill would establish an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network at the Justice Department, and have the network make plans for sending alerts about active shooters by working with local and state governments. Cicilline said the network "will provide access to an important tool for law enforcement departments across the country, regardless of their size or location." An opponent, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said state and local governments already had adequate alert systems, and called the bill "another failed attempt by Democrats to 'do something' about the surge in violence and crime across the country." The vote, on July 13, was 260 yeas to 169 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
VETERANS AND TOXINS: The House has passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (S. 3373) sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to increase medical benefits and treatments for military veterans who were exposed to toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan. A bill supporter, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., said it "will help millions of veterans, servicemembers, survivors, and military families." The vote, on July 13, was 342 yeas to 88 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
MILITARY COMMISSIONS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would require the Defense Department to publish on the Internet the proceedings of military commissions. Schiff said the requirement would "show the American people that we believe they have the right to observe military commission proceedings, including those against the individuals who planned the 9/11 attacks." An opponent, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said: "Letting hardened terrorists know there is a public audience for their hate will do far more harm than good." The vote, on July 13, was 218 yeas to 207 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
CONTRACTOR LABOR PRACTICES: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would bar the Defense Department from awarding contracts to employers found to have recently engaged in unfair labor practices. Jones said, "Taxpayer dollars should go to companies that are helping to build and strengthen our country, not tear it down." An opponent, Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said: "This flawed blacklisting amendment will threaten federal contractors' due process rights because a federal contractor could be prohibited from DOD contracts before a charge has been fully adjudicated." The vote, on July 13, was 221 yeas to 207 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
MILITARY LABOR STANDARDS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Janice Schakowsky, D-Ill., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would give preferential treatment to potential Defense Department contractors who meet certain labor relations standards. Schakowsky said the amendment was needed to prevent contractors "from harassing workers." An opponent, Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said that by favoring contractors who have signed neutrality agreements with workers who might unionize, the amendment would "stifle employee free choice and prohibit employers from communicating with their employees about the downsides of union representation." The vote, on July 13, was 220 yeas to 209 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
MILITARY CONTRACTING: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would give preferential treatment to potential Defense Department construction contractors with a majority of their employees living near the planned construction project. Kim said the preferential treatment "will help small businesses and highly skilled workers in the building trades access new opportunities and unlock the local economic potential of military bases across the country." An opponent, Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., said it "would increase time and money to an already difficult, lengthy, and often slow military construction process." The vote, on July 13, was 220 yeas to 207 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
MILITARY HARASSMENT CLAIMS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would require the military to complete its reviews of harassment and discrimination complaints within 6 months. Escobar said the time limit was needed "because our servicemembers lack many of the protections and privileges that their civilian counterparts have when it comes to discrimination and harassment." An opponent, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said that by overturning current military procedures for reviewing complaints, "this amendment creates an existential threat to the good order and discipline of the military." The vote, on July 13, was 219 yeas to 209 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
MILITARY HARM TO CIVILIANS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would authorize up to $5 million of annual spending on programs to mitigate civilian harm from military actions. Khanna said the funding would "help make sure we have the resources to track and report and minimize civilian casualties." The vote, on July 13, was 215 yeas to 212 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
NUCLEAR TESTS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would end limits on funding for the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Foster said of the need for increased funding: "We must continue our efforts to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons and continue longstanding commitments to our allies." The vote, on July 13, was 216 yeas to 209 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Williams D-GA (5th)
NOT VOTING: Johnson D-GA (4th)
D.C. NATIONAL GUARD: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would give the mayor of Washington, D.C., authority over the District's National Guard equal to authority the governors of the 50 states have over their National Guards. Norton said currently, "presidential control over the D.C. National Guard creates a loophole in the Posse Comitatus Act which limits the military's involvement in civil law enforcement." The vote, on July 13, was 218 yeas to 209 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
WHITE SUPREMACY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider, D-Ill., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would require the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Department, and Defense Department to oppose white supremacist and neo-Nazi activity by agency employees. The vote, on July 13, was 218 yeas to 208 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
DOMESTIC TERRORISM: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would require the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Department to send Congress a report on processes needed to improve their reports on domestic terrorism threats. Rice said the report would "ensure that we give our agencies the tools they need to give us the best intelligence and information. The vote, on July 13, was 220 yeas to 205 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
POSSE COMITATUS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) that would bar the use, in legal proceedings, of evidence obtained by military members in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which governs the involvement of the military in domestic law enforcement activities. Schiff said the measure "would prevent any president of either party from unlawfully using the military as a domestic police force, and it would ensure that evidence obtained because of unlawful acts isn't used against any American." The vote, on July 14, was 215 yeas to 213 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
MILITARY SPENDING: The House has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900) sponsored by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., to authorize $850 billion of fiscal 2023 spending at the Defense Department and military construction programs, and prescribe military personnel levels for the year. Smith said of the need for the bill: "The men and women who serve must have the tools and the support from us that they need to do that job." The vote, on July 14, was 329 yeas to 101 nays.
NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Hice R-GA (10th), Williams D-GA (5th)
YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th)
5G NETWORKS: The House has passed the Promoting United States International Leadership in 5G Act (H.R. 1934) sponsored by Rep. Michael T. McCaul, R-Texas, to require the president to form an interagency government working group for supporting U.S. 5th generation (5G) mobile telecommunications systems. The vote, on July 14, was 405 yeas to 20 nays.
YEAS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Bishop D-GA (2nd), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
NAYS: Greene R-GA (14th), Hice R-GA (10th)
SUDAN COUP: The House has passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 59) sponsored by Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., condemning last October's military coup in Sudan and calling for the restoration of the country's constitutional leaders. The vote, on July 14, was 417 yeas to 7 nays.
YEAS: Entire Georgia delegation
VETERANS' RECORDS: The House has passed the Access for Veterans to Records Act (H.R. 7337) sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., to require the U.S. Office of the Archivist to send Congress a plan for ways to reduce the backlog of processing veterans' requests for National Personnel Records Center documents, and authorize $60 million of spending on that effort. Maloney said the current backlog of about 500 thousand records requests has left veterans and their families struggling as they wait to receive material needed to access housing, healthcare, and other government services. The vote, on July 14, was 406 yeas to 21 nays.
YEAS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Bishop D-GA (2nd), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)
NAYS: Greene R-GA (14th), Hice R-GA (10th)
SENATE VOTES:
MILITARY READINESS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ashish Vazirani to be the Defense Department's Deputy Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness. Vazirani, a longtime management consultant and former naval officer, is a senior official at the A2O Strategies business consultancy, and previously was CEO of the National Military Family Association. The vote, on July 12, was 73 yeas to 21 nays.
YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA
BATF DIRECTOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Steven M. Dettelbach to be head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Dettelbach was a U.S. attorney in Ohio for most of the Obama administration and, since 2016, has been a partner at the Baker Hostetler law firm. A supporter, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called Dettelbach "a career prosecutor with decades of experience fighting crime, religion-motivated violence, gun trafficking, and he is a proven consensus-builder with bipartisan support." The vote, on July 12, was 48 yeas to 46 nays.
YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA
FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael Barr to be a member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors for a 14-year term ending in 2032. Barr, an assistant secretary at the Treasury Department during part of the Obama administration, has since been a finance and public policy professor at the University of Michigan. A supporter, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said Barr "has worked for a quarter century to make our financial system safer and fairer." The vote, on July 13, was 66 yeas to 28 nays. Barr was then confirmed, in a separate 66-28 vote, to also be the board's vice chairman for supervision for a four-year term.
YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Owen Herrnstadt to be a member of the board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Herrnstadt, currently an executive at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, is also an employment and labor law professor at Georgetown University, and was formerly a Federal Reserve official. The vote, on July 13, was 51 yeas to 44 nays.
YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA
CIA GENERAL COUNSEL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kate Heinzelman to be the Central Intelligence Agency's general counsel. Currently a senior aide in the attorney general's office, Heinzelman had been a partner at a Washington, D.C., law firm, and a legal official in the Obama administration in various roles. The vote, on July 14, was 50 yeas to 41 nays.
YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA | https://www.albanyherald.com/news/local/congress-votes/article_840d78fc-05f0-11ed-882b-8fbd5e828ed3.html | 2022-07-17T20:00:19 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/news/local/congress-votes/article_840d78fc-05f0-11ed-882b-8fbd5e828ed3.html |
ST. CLOUD, Fla. – There is a new option for getting your dog off the couch and outside for some exercise this summer.
Linden Hollow Sheep Farm in St. Cloud lets dogs tap into their wild side.
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Natalie Cole said her grandma started the unique business with shelties.
“We used to show Shetland sheepdogs in confirmation and we wanted to compete with them in herding as well. So, my grandma got a few sheep for herself to work her dog and we started from there when I was very little and have been going since then,” Cole said.
Cole gave News 6 anchors Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden a behind-the-scenes look at the training on Florida’s Fourth Estate.
She said when people bring their domesticated dogs out to the property, some of them act like “they are born and bred on a farm.”
“It’s just hard-wired (in their) DNA. So, when they say that they have their pup that lives in an apartment and they want to bring it out for herding lessons and it comes out and does what it is supposed to do, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” she added.
Ginger takes her dog Finn to the farm and says when he goes, he gets a great workout and comes home tired.
You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below:
Other than tapping into their natural instincts, Cole said dogs also get a boost in their confidence after visiting the farm.
“I will have some people come out that say, ‘You know, my dog is a little timid, my dog is a little afraid of people’ and stuff like that, so a lot of times, we’ll bring the dogs out here if they are bred for this and we get them on sheep and a totally different dog just comes alive. They are not afraid of things. They come out of their shell, they learn how to do this and it’s something that they love and it keeps their brain busy and it’s a good stimulation for them,” Cole said.
Learn more by checking out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/17/st-cloud-sheep-farm-lets-domesticated-dogs-come-alive-with-herding-lessons/ | 2022-07-17T20:30:22 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/17/st-cloud-sheep-farm-lets-domesticated-dogs-come-alive-with-herding-lessons/ |
Here’s an update of the COVID-19 numbers in the state:
New positive cases: 2,425
New deaths: zero
Total positive cases: 2,173,472
Total number of deaths: 31,069
Total vaccine doses administered: 14,116,004
Rate of transmission: 1.10
CASES BY COUNTY
Atlantic: 61,225 cases, 955 deaths, 380,097 doses administered
Cape May: 12,117 cases, 262 deaths, 134,286 doses administered
Cumberland: 36,001 cases, 574 deaths, 186,527 doses administered
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Ocean: 149,261 cases, 2,868 deaths, 703,046 doses administered
Figures as of 2:30 p.m. July 17
Source: N.J. Department of Health | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-more-than-2-400-new-covid-19-cases-but-no-new-deaths/article_ef28a2c2-05f7-11ed-ac4b-5fb480de09c4.html | 2022-07-17T20:33:00 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-more-than-2-400-new-covid-19-cases-but-no-new-deaths/article_ef28a2c2-05f7-11ed-ac4b-5fb480de09c4.html |
Alessandro Arlotti scored three goals in the second half, as the Ocean City Nor’easters finished the League Two regular season unbeaten Saturday with a 4-0 win over host Philadelphia Lone Star FC at South Philadelphia Super Site.
Arlotti scored three consecutive goals in just under 13 minutes after a scoreless first half, the second-fastest hat trick in club history. Arlotti, a forward from San Remo, Italy, and a rising sophomore at Harvard University, led Ocean City in the regular season with eight goals and six assists.
O.C. finished the regular season at 11-0-3 (36 points) to dominate the Mid-Atlantic Division of the United Soccer Leagues League Two. The Nor'easters are the 26th team in league history to finish the regular season unbeaten, according to the team.
Philadelphia Lone Star FC ended up 3-7-4 (13 points).
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The League Two Eastern Conference playoffs begin this weekend with first and second-round games Friday and Sunday. The opponent and time for Ocean City’s first game will be determined, but the first two playoff rounds will be hosted by the Western Mass Pioneers, in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
League Two has 114 teams in the U.S. and Canada, and the Nor’easters were one of four to go undefeated in the regular season. The others were the Des Moines Menace (10-0-2), of Des Moines, Iowa, Lionsbridge FC (12-0-2), of Newport News, Virginia, and Texas United (9-0-5), of Grand Prairie, Texas.
Ocean City extended its regular season unbeaten streak to 15, dating to 2021, and its road unbeaten streak to 14, dating to 2019. The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first half was dominated by the Nor’easters, but the game remained 0-0 until Arlotti scored from 20 yards out from the right side into the left corner in the 47th minute. Nick Pariano assisted.
Arlotti added more two goals, both from outside the 18-yard line. He also assisted as Jeorgio Kocevski scored his first goal of the season to make it 4-0.
O.C. goalie Felix Schafer played until the 67th minute, and that was enough to set the team record for lowest goals against average for the regular season (0.55). The old mark was 0.56 by Pat Hannigan in 2004. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/noreasters-end-regular-season-unbeaten-set-for-playoffs/article_9eb9af1a-05f3-11ed-b3f9-7bb7b7f66cce.html | 2022-07-17T20:33:12 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/noreasters-end-regular-season-unbeaten-set-for-playoffs/article_9eb9af1a-05f3-11ed-b3f9-7bb7b7f66cce.html |
UVALDE, Texas — A year before the Uvalde school massacre, the gunman had already earned the nickname “school shooter” — a running joke among those he played online games with. He had also started wearing all black and making over-the-top threats, especially toward women, who he terrorized with graphic descriptions of violence and rape.
Story originally published by The Texas Tribune on July 17, 2022.
Those details are part of an interim report by the House committee investigating the incident, which points to a trail of missed signs leading to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas — one that was months in the making.
The report, released Sunday, presents the most complete picture to date of the 18-year-old who killed 19 students and two teachers in his former fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary. The findings are based on law enforcement interviews with family members, data on the shooter’s phone and testimony presented to the committee.
Salvador Ramos — who the committee is only referring to as “the attacker” so as to deny him the notoriety and fame he desired — also shot and wounded his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, before storming the school.
He was born in Fargo, North Dakota but moved to Uvalde as a child with his sister and mother, who struggled with a long history of drug use. A former girlfriend interviewed by the FBI said she believed the shooter had been sexually assaulted at an early age by one of the mother’s boyfriends but that the mother didn’t believe him, according to the report.
Relatives described him as someone shy and quiet who was reluctant to interact with others because he had a speech impediment. When he started school, his pre-K teacher described him as a “wonderful student,” always ready to learn and with a positive attitude.
Then, something changed. He started falling behind in school but never received special education services, despite being identified as “at-risk” and having someone request speech therapy for him, according to the report, citing school records.
Family and friends told the committee he was bullied throughout the fourth grade over his stutter, short haircut and clothing. He often wore the same clothing day after day. One time, a girl tied his shoelaces together causing him to fall on his face, a cousin said.
Beginning in 2018, he was recording more than 100 absences a year, along with failing grades. But the report authors said it was unclear whether a school resource officer ever visited his home. By 2021, when he was 17 years old, he had only completed ninth grade, the report’s authors wrote.
When students started to return to school following the pandemic, he dropped out. Instead of trying to fit in, as he had done in the past, he grew more isolated and retreated to the online world. Uvalde High School officials involuntarily withdrew him on October 28, citing “poor academic performance and lack of attendance.”
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Ariana Diaz, a senior at Uvalde High School and one of the shooter's former classmates, described him as a "popular loner," someone who everyone knew, but who kept to himself. She also said that after COVID, he seemed to be in what she described as a “dark place,” and started wearing all black and combat boots.
He became depressed and lonely, those who knew him said.
He would tell his girlfriend at the time that he wouldn’t live past 18, either because he would commit suicide or “wouldn’t live long,” the girl later told the FBI in an interview, according to the report. When she broke up with him in mid-2021, he started harassing her and her friends, the girl told officials.
Online, the report authors said, he started to show an interest in gore and violent sex, sometimes sharing videos and images of suicides and beheadings. He became enraged and threatened others, especially female players, when he lost games.
Privately, he wrote about his challenges connecting with others or feeling empathy for them, saying he was “not human.” His search history, the authors of the report wrote, suggest he was wondering whether he was a sociopath. His internet searches led to him receiving an email about obtaining psychological treatment for the condition.
Attacking women became a pattern. He was also fired from his job at a Whataburger after a month for threatening a female coworker. And later he was let go of his job at Wendy’s.
Despite losing his jobs, living at home allowed him to save money. By the end of 2021, when clues of his plans first surfaced, he ordered rifle slings, a red dot sight and shin guards, as well as a body armor carrier he wore the day of the Robb Elementary massacre. But because he was still 17 at the time, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy the weapons and at least two people he asked refused.
He started becoming fascinated with school shootings and increasingly seeking notoriety and fame on social media, the report said.
In late 2021, the committee said Ramos shared a video online showing him driving around with someone he said he had met online, holding a clear plastic bag with a dead cat inside, which Ramos “discarded in the street and spit on while his driver laughed.” The video then showed him dry firing BB guns at people and ended with footage of emergency services responding to a serious car accident, which he claimed his driver had caused, according to the report.
But despite all the threats and violent talk, none of his online behavior was reported to law enforcement. It’s unclear whether other users reported his behavior to any social media platform, but the committee concluded it doesn’t appear there were any actions taken to restrict his access or to report him to authorities as a threat.
He moved in with his grandmother, who had retired from the local school district after 27 years, after having a blowout argument with his mother that was livestreamed on Instagram. The report doesn't specify who livestreamed it, but The Washington Post reported that two months prior to the shooting, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother who, according to a high school classmate, he said was trying to kick him out of their home.
He confided in an older cousin who was also staying with their grandmother that he didn’t want to live anymore. But the cousin told authorities she thought she’d gotten through to him after a lengthy “heart-to-heart.”
Instead, Ramos began to buy more firearm accessories beginning in February, including 60 30-round magazines. As soon as he turned 18, on May 16, he started buying guns and ammunition. In the end he bought two AR-15-style rifles and thousands of rounds. In total, he spent more than $6,000, the committee found.
He had no criminal history nor had he ever been arrested. There was nothing in his background that kept him from owning the weapons. And while multiple gun sales within a short period of time are reported to the ATF, the committee report authors point out that the law only requires purchase of handguns to be reported to the local sheriff.
“Here, the information about the attacker’s gun purchases remained in federal hands,” they wrote.
Online, the shooter started to reference a timeline, foreshadowing his plans.
On April 2, he sent someone a direct message on Instagram, “Are you still gonna remember me in 50 something days?”
The person responded, “probably not.”
“Hmm alright we’ll see in may,” Ramos responded.
At least, one friend from out of town started to become worried and proposed visiting him in Uvalde. But when the friend said he wouldn’t be able to go until July or August, he said “damn that’s too late.”
Five days before he went on a rampage, a man targeted and killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo, N.Y. supermarket. The mass shooting didn’t go unnoticed by Ramos. He saved news stories and other information about it. He also spent time with a cousin’s son who went to Robb Elementary to get information about his schedule and lunch periods, officials reported.
On the eve of the shooting, Ramos sent out messages to people about something he was going to do the following day.
“I got a lil secret,” he wrote to a German girl he had befriended.
It was impossible to do that day, he explained, because he was waiting for something to be delivered.
His order of 1,740 hollow points arrived later that day. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 | 2022-07-17T20:44:15 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 |
KENOSHA — The following students graduated with degrees from Carthage College:
BRISTOL: Dillon Conhartowski, bachelor of arts in computer science; Alex Tricoli-Walkanoff, bachelor of arts in finance, magna cum laude.
KENOSHA: Aysiah Aguilar, bachelor of arts in sociology, magna cum laude; Matthew Ausse, bachelor of arts in criminal justice; Inaara Babwani, bachelor of arts in criminal justice; Nick Barden, bachelor of arts in management; Gwendolyn Bellmore, bachelor of arts in psychology, magna cum laude; Zach Borden, bachelor of arts in management, cum laude; Jillian Brann, bachelor of arts in communication; Caden Broesch, bachelor of arts in environmental science; Margaret Brown, bachelor of arts in management; Brandon Burries, bachelor of arts in management; Sarah Carlson, bachelor of arts in biology; Charise Carson, bachelor of arts in social welfare; Vanessa Chapa, bachelor of arts in biology;Emily Czarnecki, bachelor of arts in marketing; Jessica Doyle-Rudin, bachelor of arts in management, cum laude; Ashlynne Edwards, bachelor of arts in neuroscience, summa cum laude; Emily Eisenhauer, bachelor of arts in accounting, cum laude; Mason Fanelle, bachelor of arts in biology; Reed Freund, bachelor of arts in English, magna cum laude; Trey Grabot, bachelor of arts in exercise and sport science; Tariq Hammad, bachelor of arts in biology, summa cum laude; Bria Hollingsworth, bachelor of arts in criminal justice; Joshua Hood, bachelor of arts in marketing; Nicholas Kowalczyk, bachelor of arts in communication, cum laude; Morghan Lafond, bachelor of arts in chemistry, magna cum laude; Sydney Malone, bachelor of arts in marketing; Ashley Maurer, bachelor of arts in neuroscience, cum laude; Peyton May, bachelor of arts in economics; Darryl McCottrell, bachelor of arts in computer science; Lauren Meyer, bachelor of arts in psychology, magna cum laude; Ivonne Monroy, bachelor of arts in biology, magna cum laude; Daniel Moore, bachelor of arts in accounting, magna cum laude; Sabrina Nikula, bachelor of arts in psychology, cum laude; Andrew Ochoa, bachelor of arts in political science, cum laude; Adriana Perez, bachelor of arts in marketing, magna cum laude; Kathryn Perri, bachelor of arts in chemistry; Jessie Poppie, bachelor of arts in marketing, summa cum laude; Robert Rattle, bachelor of arts in English, cum laude; Sara Redalen, bachelor of arts in public relations; Vurgo Richmond, bachelor of arts in marketing; Sydney Sturino, bachelor of arts in biology; Emily Tibble, bachelor of arts in neuroscience, cum laude; Hallie Upham, bachelor of arts in management; Alejandra Vazquez, bachelor of arts in neuroscience; Valerie Velez, bachelor of arts in marketing, magna cum laude; Nicholas Waring, bachelor of arts in computer science, cum laude; Bryce Wheeler, bachelor of arts in finance; Elisabeth Wilson, bachelor of arts in environmental science, magna cum laude; Jenna Zeihen, bachelor of arts in communication, magna cum laude; Andre Barreno, bachelor of science in nursing; Brianna Cisneroz, bachelor of science in nursing; Hayley Hagen, bachelor of science in nursing, cum laude; Ruth Morales, bachelor of science in nursing; Madeline Rohlman, bachelor of science in nursing, cum laude; McKenna Studrawa, bachelor of science in nursing; Katheryne Zuberbuehler, bachelor of science in nursing; Ava Lorenz, bachelor of arts in Japanese and Asian studies, magna cum laude; Rachel Skowronski, bachelor of arts in music: music theatre and communication, magna cum laude; Marina Katanaeva, bachelor of arts in accounting and finance, cum laude; Hannah Rozinski, bachelor of science in nursing; Janna Hollingsworth, bachelor of arts in marketing and management, summa cum laude; Joseph Atkins, bachelor of arts in management and marketing; Logan Rhodes, bachelor of arts in management and marketing; Natalie Lall, bachelor of arts in political science and theatre performance, summa cum laude; Justin Bublitz, master of education; Haley Celebre, master of education; Andrew Hayes, master of education; Emma Oster, master of education, summa cum laude; Saige Scott, master of education; Heidi Stermer, master of education; Robert Tomecek, master of education.
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PLEASANT PRAIRIE: Casey Aicher, bachelor of arts in communication, summa cum laude; Blake Cornell, bachelor of arts in communication; Kelsey Coshun, bachelor of arts in social work; Ayo Fury, bachelor of arts in chemistry; Abigail Kowalsky, bachelor of arts in elementary education; Rita Nicholson, bachelor of arts in management, magna cum laude; Krishna Patel, bachelor of arts in finance, magna cum laude; Sydney Redlin, bachelor of arts in biology, magna cum laude; Alexander Rivi, bachelor of arts in biology; Jack Granucci, bachelor of arts in marketing and management; Arely Ortiz, bachelor of arts in accounting and management; Leona Turnquist, bachelor of arts in accounting and management; Alec Digirolamo, bachelor of arts in computer science and physics, cum laude.
SALEM: Kai Kuebler, bachelor of arts in computer science, summa cum laude; Ashley Wells, bachelor of arts in marketing and management, magna cum laude.
TREVOR: Taylor Mitchell, bachelor of arts in management and marketing. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/carthage-college-lists-kenosha-county-area-graduates-in-class-of-2022/article_bd0006d0-0130-11ed-8cf3-e76583b97a05.html | 2022-07-17T20:48:16 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/carthage-college-lists-kenosha-county-area-graduates-in-class-of-2022/article_bd0006d0-0130-11ed-8cf3-e76583b97a05.html |
A timeline in the search for Gateway Technical College’s next leader has been unveiled with the clock ticking on the current president’s retirement.
Scott Pierce, a Gateway District Board trustee, has been serving on an ad-hoc committee focused on the search for Bryan Albrecht’s successor. Albrecht in January announced his plans of retiring this fall.
At Gateway’s recent annual organizational meeting, Pierce discussed the committee’s timeline for reviewing candidate applications — a process the panel is undertaking in conjunction with Greenwood/Asher, a contracted consulting higher education search firm.
Gateway, with Greenwood/Asher’s assistance, officially posted the president vacancy July 1, and applications are currently being accepted. Pierce indicated the search committee will meet with a Greenwood/Asher representative Aug. 11 and review the pool of candidates.
After a preliminary review, Pierce said the committee intends to conduct virtual interviews with 12 to 16 candidates over a two-day stretch in mid-August and use a score sheet to gauge each person’s qualifications for the college’s top leadership role.
Pierce said Greenwood/Asher representatives will concurrently conduct background checks and other related investigations on each of the preliminary finalists.
In the first half of September, Pierce said a finalist group of candidates — three or four of the applicant pool — will be part of a more intensive, day-long process, in person, that will include campus tours with Albrecht and multiple rounds of interviews in different settings and formats.
On a yet-to-be-determined date in mid to late September, Pierce said the decision-making District Board will have a final round of interviews after the day-long sessions with the intent of offering the post to a candidate.
During a broad-brushed discussion of what is ahead in the coming months, Pierce also delved into some of the recommended interview-related exercises.
“I think it’s important we ask our candidates to do a writing sample,” Pierce said, laying out one of his recommendations. “I’ve worked with college students and graduate students. Sometimes you don’t know about their writing skills.”
Regardless of the specific candidate, Pierce said the intent is to have each of the finalists undergo the same process.
“If we have internal candidates — and we hope and expect that we will — the internal candidates will be treated exactly the same as everyone else,” Pierce said.
New board officers installed
The District Board’s organizational meeting also included the annual election of officers.
Rebecca Matoska-Mentink, Kenosha County Clerk of Circuit Court, was nominated to serve as chair of the nine-member board for the next year.
Matoska-Mentink succeeds Pierce, a retired superintendent at Westosha Central High School district, who had served two consecutive terms as the head of the board. Board policy states no one can serve as chair for more than two years in a row.
The other board officers for the next year include" Pamela Zenner-Richards, vice president; Zaida Hernandez-Irisson, secretary; and William Duncan, treasurer.
In photos and video: Gateway Technical College opens its renovated Health Center in the Lincoln Building
An investigator said that the suspect was identified because he posed with a gun and hoodie in a Facebook photo that matched what the robber wore, as seen on surveillance video. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/timeline-set-for-gateway-technical-college-president-search/article_f74b4394-03ca-11ed-a0bc-d7f35f1c65db.html | 2022-07-17T20:48:22 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/timeline-set-for-gateway-technical-college-president-search/article_f74b4394-03ca-11ed-a0bc-d7f35f1c65db.html |
Thousands of area residents turned out for the whimsical Kenosha Kingfish Legends Weekend Celebrity Softball Game Saturday night.
The event held at Simmons Field featured a celebrity team against local softball players.
Among those on the celebrity team were former Green Bay Packers players Gilbert Brown, Dorsey Levens, Ahman Green and George Teague and current players A.J. Dillon and Jordan Love. It also included University of Wisconsin basketball star Trevon Hughes, who is now coaches the Kettle Moraine High School boys basketball team, as well as Tristan Jass, a Tremper High School graduate who has become an Instagram and YouTube star thanks to his basketball trick shots.
They faced off against local legends including Tremper graduate and current USA Softball player Mike Umscheid, who won the Kingfish Home Run Derby in 2021, and pitcher Clark Candiotti.
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Kingfish General Manager Ryne Goralski said the event was a success. This was the second year the organization has hosted a celebrity night.
"I grew up watching Ahman Green and Dorsey Levens and Gilbert Brown but I guess A.J. Dillon and Jordan Love are the new thing in town," he said. "This year we went with a Packers theme and I'm a Packers fan so I can say this ... they are crazy people. The guests are unbelievably excited. It's a fun night."
Goralski said the current and former players were all "supported" by the fans even though the game "is not a serious game."
"It's just a fun night," he added, adding that they sold out.
The evening began with autographs and photographs with the celebrity players.
Brown served as the celebrity team's makeshift coach. The Detroit native said being in Kenosha "felt like home."
"It feels very nice being here and we have a nice little crowd," said the nose tackle who retired from Packers in 2003.
Love said he was "just out here to have a good time" before driving back up to Green Bay. This was his first time in Kenosha.
He said it felt "awesome" seeing his fans who "showed a lot of love" to him.
Jass, 22, said he too was having a "great time."
"I love this city of Kenosha and it's a beautiful place to be," he said, adding he planned to "put on a show" and get the crowd involved.
One unexpected moment during the event went viral on social media. Dillon sent Kingfish mascot Elvis flying after tacking him in an Oklahoma, or one-on-one tackling, drill The clip has already been viewed more than 4.4 million times on Twitter.
Randy Webb, a 45-year-Kenosha native, said he tries to attend as many Kingfish games as possible.
"It's great for our town and it brings us up," he said. "The camaraderie around people, it's awesome. I have a 9-year-old boy who absolutely just loves coming to this stuff."
The current Kingfish team was absent Saturday because they were away preparing to play the Kokomo Jackrabbits in Indiana. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-thousands-turn-out-for-kenosha-kingfish-legends-celebrity-softball-game/article_fa203162-05fd-11ed-b1b1-4f91665828c1.html | 2022-07-17T20:48:28 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-thousands-turn-out-for-kenosha-kingfish-legends-celebrity-softball-game/article_fa203162-05fd-11ed-b1b1-4f91665828c1.html |
“The luckiest guy in the world.”
Paraphrasing baseball great Lou Gehrig, that’s how Emerald “Dixie” Knudson describes himself on the eve of turning 102.
A World War II veteran, Knudson was the guest of honor Friday at the American Heroes Café at Festival Foods in Kenosha, where a room filled with friends saluted him five days in advance of his birthday.
“Unheard of,” the remarkably spry Knudson said of the surprise celebration. “(It's) just unbelievably good. And it’s really unnecessary — but I love all of it.”
Born July 20, 1920, in Livingston County, Ill., Knudson moved to Kenosha as a 5-year-old and grew up across the street from his future wife of 72 years, Mary Bielewicz.
Knudson would spend most of his life in Kenosha County — first in the city and then for many years on his farm in Pleasant Prairie — minus the nearly three years he spent fighting in World War II as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
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Stationed in North Africa and then at various locales across the European theatre, Knudson was a photographer whose job it was to operate cameras in bombers to document exactly where the bombs fell.
“If it was a good bombing raid, it was fine; everybody was happy with me,” Knudson recalls. “If they missed the target, they just raised hell with me because I was wrong — the bombs went out there, the target’s over here.”
After Germany’s surrender, Knudson’s unit was sent back to the United States, outfitted with new aircraft, and then redeployed to Japan. After just a short stay there, Japan surrendered.
Nearly 77 years later, Knudson describes the scene after the surrender: “All the soldiers were out getting drunk, getting happy and this and that,” he said. “The MPs were out there, ‘Get back in camp, get back in camp.’ That’s a lot of baloney — that’s not gonna happen. That was pretty much the gist of it.”
Honorably discharged Sept. 28, 1945, Knudson returned to Kenosha and reconnected with Mary, who herself was serving in the Women’s Branch of the U.S. Navy. A proposal and a wedding followed, and then four children — including two who would go on to serve their country in the Army.
Knudson, now widowed, lives with his youngest son, David, who will retire later this year after 39 years in the Army. They traveled together from David’s home in Terre Haute, Ind., to attend Friday’s celebration in Kenosha.
“This is amazing to be here, and it’s good for him,” David said.
As part of the celebration, Knudson was presented with proclamations from Gov. Tony Evers, state Sen. Robert Wirch, state Reps. Tod Ohnstad and Tip McGuire, and Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman. Kenosha County Veterans Service Officer Ali Nelson gave him an American flag in a shadow box display and a commemorative challenge coin.
“You are a member of what is truly the Greatest Generation,” said Kerkman, who declared July 20 as Emerald “Dixie” Knudson Day in Kenosha County. “It is an honor to celebrate this great day with you.”
About that Lou Gehrig parallel, Knudson explains it like this.
“I don’t know if you ever saw the movie with Lou Gehrig, when he retired his body was turning, he couldn’t move anymore, and he said, ‘I’m the luckiest guy in the world,’" Knudson said. “And I think to myself, ‘Lou, move over; there’s another guy standing right beside you.’ And I am. It’s incredible. The friends I’ve made, people who have looked after me all my life, it’s just unbelievable.” | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/wwii-veteran-and-longtime-kenosha-resident-emerald-dixie-knudson-honored-as-he-turns-102/article_6def0476-05ed-11ed-9574-ebece84f391a.html | 2022-07-17T20:48:34 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/wwii-veteran-and-longtime-kenosha-resident-emerald-dixie-knudson-honored-as-he-turns-102/article_6def0476-05ed-11ed-9574-ebece84f391a.html |
DES MOINES, Iowa — One person is dead in what police are investigating as Des Moines's 10th homicide of 2022.
According to the Des Moines Police Department, officers were called to 3630 Twana Ave. around 7:17 a.m. on July 17 to investigate reports of a deceased person. They found an adult male dead at the scene with "obvious traumatic injury."
The name of the victim has not yet been released.
Local 5 will update this developing story throughout the day as more information becomes available. | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/police-investigating-des-moines-10th-homicide-of-the-year/524-645dcb5a-a203-4bb2-9e25-eeb2e4757435 | 2022-07-17T20:49:45 | 0 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/police-investigating-des-moines-10th-homicide-of-the-year/524-645dcb5a-a203-4bb2-9e25-eeb2e4757435 |
UVALDE, Texas — A year before the Uvalde school massacre, the gunman had already earned the nickname “school shooter” — a running joke among those he played online games with. He had also started wearing all black and making over-the-top threats, especially toward women, who he terrorized with graphic descriptions of violence and rape.
Story originally published by The Texas Tribune on July 17, 2022.
Those details are part of an interim report by the House committee investigating the incident, which points to a trail of missed signs leading to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas — one that was months in the making.
The report, released Sunday, presents the most complete picture to date of the 18-year-old who killed 19 students and two teachers in his former fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary. The findings are based on law enforcement interviews with family members, data on the shooter’s phone and testimony presented to the committee.
Salvador Ramos — who the committee is only referring to as “the attacker” so as to deny him the notoriety and fame he desired — also shot and wounded his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, before storming the school.
He was born in Fargo, North Dakota but moved to Uvalde as a child with his sister and mother, who struggled with a long history of drug use. A former girlfriend interviewed by the FBI said she believed the shooter had been sexually assaulted at an early age by one of the mother’s boyfriends but that the mother didn’t believe him, according to the report.
Relatives described him as someone shy and quiet who was reluctant to interact with others because he had a speech impediment. When he started school, his pre-K teacher described him as a “wonderful student,” always ready to learn and with a positive attitude.
Then, something changed. He started falling behind in school but never received special education services, despite being identified as “at-risk” and having someone request speech therapy for him, according to the report, citing school records.
Family and friends told the committee he was bullied throughout the fourth grade over his stutter, short haircut and clothing. He often wore the same clothing day after day. One time, a girl tied his shoelaces together causing him to fall on his face, a cousin said.
Beginning in 2018, he was recording more than 100 absences a year, along with failing grades. But the report authors said it was unclear whether a school resource officer ever visited his home. By 2021, when he was 17 years old, he had only completed ninth grade, the report’s authors wrote.
When students started to return to school following the pandemic, he dropped out. Instead of trying to fit in, as he had done in the past, he grew more isolated and retreated to the online world. Uvalde High School officials involuntarily withdrew him on October 28, citing “poor academic performance and lack of attendance.”
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Ariana Diaz, a senior at Uvalde High School and one of the shooter's former classmates, described him as a "popular loner," someone who everyone knew, but who kept to himself. She also said that after COVID, he seemed to be in what she described as a “dark place,” and started wearing all black and combat boots.
He became depressed and lonely, those who knew him said.
He would tell his girlfriend at the time that he wouldn’t live past 18, either because he would commit suicide or “wouldn’t live long,” the girl later told the FBI in an interview, according to the report. When she broke up with him in mid-2021, he started harassing her and her friends, the girl told officials.
Online, the report authors said, he started to show an interest in gore and violent sex, sometimes sharing videos and images of suicides and beheadings. He became enraged and threatened others, especially female players, when he lost games.
Privately, he wrote about his challenges connecting with others or feeling empathy for them, saying he was “not human.” His search history, the authors of the report wrote, suggest he was wondering whether he was a sociopath. His internet searches led to him receiving an email about obtaining psychological treatment for the condition.
Attacking women became a pattern. He was also fired from his job at a Whataburger after a month for threatening a female coworker. And later he was let go of his job at Wendy’s.
Despite losing his jobs, living at home allowed him to save money. By the end of 2021, when clues of his plans first surfaced, he ordered rifle slings, a red dot sight and shin guards, as well as a body armor carrier he wore the day of the Robb Elementary massacre. But because he was still 17 at the time, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy the weapons and at least two people he asked refused.
He started becoming fascinated with school shootings and increasingly seeking notoriety and fame on social media, the report said.
In late 2021, the committee said Ramos shared a video online showing him driving around with someone he said he had met online, holding a clear plastic bag with a dead cat inside, which Ramos “discarded in the street and spit on while his driver laughed.” The video then showed him dry firing BB guns at people and ended with footage of emergency services responding to a serious car accident, which he claimed his driver had caused, according to the report.
But despite all the threats and violent talk, none of his online behavior was reported to law enforcement. It’s unclear whether other users reported his behavior to any social media platform, but the committee concluded it doesn’t appear there were any actions taken to restrict his access or to report him to authorities as a threat.
He moved in with his grandmother, who had retired from the local school district after 27 years, after having a blowout argument with his mother that was livestreamed on Instagram. The report doesn't specify who livestreamed it, but The Washington Post reported that two months prior to the shooting, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother who, according to a high school classmate, he said was trying to kick him out of their home.
He confided in an older cousin who was also staying with their grandmother that he didn’t want to live anymore. But the cousin told authorities she thought she’d gotten through to him after a lengthy “heart-to-heart.”
Instead, Ramos began to buy more firearm accessories beginning in February, including 60 30-round magazines. As soon as he turned 18, on May 16, he started buying guns and ammunition. In the end he bought two AR-15-style rifles and thousands of rounds. In total, he spent more than $6,000, the committee found.
He had no criminal history nor had he ever been arrested. There was nothing in his background that kept him from owning the weapons. And while multiple gun sales within a short period of time are reported to the ATF, the committee report authors point out that the law only requires purchase of handguns to be reported to the local sheriff.
“Here, the information about the attacker’s gun purchases remained in federal hands,” they wrote.
Online, the shooter started to reference a timeline, foreshadowing his plans.
On April 2, he sent someone a direct message on Instagram, “Are you still gonna remember me in 50 something days?”
The person responded, “probably not.”
“Hmm alright we’ll see in may,” Ramos responded.
At least, one friend from out of town started to become worried and proposed visiting him in Uvalde. But when the friend said he wouldn’t be able to go until July or August, he said “damn that’s too late.”
Five days before he went on a rampage, a man targeted and killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo, N.Y. supermarket. The mass shooting didn’t go unnoticed by Ramos. He saved news stories and other information about it. He also spent time with a cousin’s son who went to Robb Elementary to get information about his schedule and lunch periods, officials reported.
On the eve of the shooting, Ramos sent out messages to people about something he was going to do the following day.
“I got a lil secret,” he wrote to a German girl he had befriended.
It was impossible to do that day, he explained, because he was waiting for something to be delivered.
His order of 1,740 hollow points arrived later that day. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 | 2022-07-17T20:52:22 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 |
BUCHANAN COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) – 91-year-old Gay Maxwell loves reading on her porch swing, so it only seems fitting that’s what rescuers found her doing when they finally reached her home the morning after the flood Tuesday night.
“Well, I guess they thought I’d gone crazy,” Maxwell chuckles.
Maxwell was alone that night, with all of her family on vacation. The river sits just at the end of her yard, and a neighbor alerted her to the rising waters.
“My neighbor came round 9:30 or 10 and hollered at me,” Maxwell said.
She said that’s when she decided to move one of her two cars to higher ground, but when she returned for the second, she couldn’t get back out of her house.
“So that night I just went on to bed,” Maxwell said. “I prayed that God wouldn’t let the rain, the water, come up to my bed, and I said but if you do, if it’s your will, I will just stand up and hold onto my bed post.”
Maryland resident Rusty Maxwell said he immediately started trying to get in touch with his grandmother when he started getting weather alerts on his phone.
“Scared to death,” Rusty Maxwell said. “She’s the matriarch of our family, so if anything happened to her we’d all be devastated, you know she holds us all together. She always has.”
Gay Maxwell’s family felt worried when no one could reach her, but she told News Channel she was never worried that night.
“I want people to know that that woman’s face is so strong that she went and laid down back in the bed and if Jesus was going to take her then it was her time to go,” Rusty Maxwell said. “If you don’t believe that then I don’t know what else to say about her.”
Now that the water’s receded, most of her possessions are destroyed, but the house’s foundation and Maxwell’s faith is still strong.
“Just start over,” Gay Maxwell said as she sat on her old porch swing, watching her family clean out what’s left from the flood.
“My whole life this is where every memory I ever had was,” Rusty Maxwell said. “You know 44 years of Christmases, holidays, Thanksgivings. So we got here as fast as we could, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get her back in it.” | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/surviving-the-storm-alone-91-year-old-flood-victim-shares-her-story/ | 2022-07-17T21:05:26 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/surviving-the-storm-alone-91-year-old-flood-victim-shares-her-story/ |
STARKE COUNTY — A Chicago man was seriously injured in a jet ski accident at Bass Lake in Starke County.
The jet ski accident took place at around 4:15 p.m. Saturday at the 1,300-acre lake, which is the third largest natural lake in Indiana and a popular camping site just south of Knox.
Indiana conservation officers patrolling the lake responded to the report of a serious personal watercraft accident.
Michael O’Malley, a 30-year-old Chicago resident, was operating a jet ski on the lake when he collided with another jet ski at a high rate of speed.
"The impact caused O’Malley to be ejected from the personal watercraft and lose consciousness. O’Malley was immediately removed from the water and brought to shore," Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Brock said. "O’Malley was transported to South Bend Memorial Hospital by Memorial Medflight helicopter in serious condition."
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Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the jet ski crash on Bass Lake.
"The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available," he said.
DNR was assisted by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Bass Lake Fire Department, Starke County EMS and Memorial Medflight. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/chicago-man-injured-in-serious-jet-ski-accident-at-bass-lake/article_e824c7de-4f1a-525d-b1bd-e90df096ed42.html | 2022-07-17T21:07:58 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/chicago-man-injured-in-serious-jet-ski-accident-at-bass-lake/article_e824c7de-4f1a-525d-b1bd-e90df096ed42.html |
Affirm Wealth Advisors: Affirm Wealth Advisors, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC., is hosting a community Back to School Drive benefiting Flowing Wells Unified School District through Wednesday, July 20. Contributions will be accepted at Ameriprise Financial, 2484 E. River Road, during regular business hours. Items requested for donation include: Pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, dry erase markers, highlighters, glue sticks, scissors, college-rule paper, notebooks, notecards, Post-its, folders, tissues, hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes. For more information, call 520-338-2600 or email affirmwealthadvisors@ampf.com.
Interfaith Community Services: Interfaith Community Services is looking to restock its food banks this July with the fifth annual Peanut Butter Party food drive. Now through Aug. 5, ICS is asking the community to meet a goal 10,000 jars of peanut butter to help replenish its food bank supply through the end of the year. In an average month, ICS gives out about 2,000 jars of peanut butter. Donated peanut butter (14–16 oz. jars) will be accepted at the two ICS food banks, 2820 W. Ina Road and 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail, Monday through Friday, 8 to 11 a.m. For more information, visit icstucson.org/peanut-butter-party.
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Arizona Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons: Local students who are paying their own way through college will receive a financial break while also getting a necessary surgery — free wisdom teeth extractions and a chance to put the money it would have cost towards their higher education through Arizona Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons’ Wisdom For Wisdom program. The oral surgery practice’s final recipients are: Ryan May, 17, from Marana; Aysella Gherna, 17 from Tucson; and Christian Holland, 24, from Oro Valley.
Tucson Street Rod Association: TSRA Rodders Days Car Show donated $15,000 to the Pima Community College Applied Technology Programs to graduate more students into the hands-on trades, including automotive-diesel and electronic vehicles; aviation; construction; welding; advanced industrial technology; CNC machining and others.
The Cork and Tucson Appliance: Jonathan Landeen, owner of The Cork, store manager Rovella Ruscuitti, and Tucson Appliance's Chris Edwards each purchased a canine bullet proof vest for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Submit items about charitable donations by businesses or nonprofits to business@tucson.com. | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/giving-back-in-southern-arizona/article_ace92634-02dc-11ed-a120-7f7761c06ecb.html | 2022-07-17T21:17:29 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/giving-back-in-southern-arizona/article_ace92634-02dc-11ed-a120-7f7761c06ecb.html |
Just 6 miles from Downtown Tucson, there is La Doce, a 3-mile stretch along South 12th Avenue from 44th Street to Drexel Road with a population of 9,000 in which 90% identify as Latino.
The area's cultural diversity and neighborhood pride was on full display Saturday, July 16, as part of the event “La Doce Space Activation,” put on by the Southwest Folklife Alliance in partnership with Regeneración, with performances by Nihil Escapism, YMP and Ballet Folklorico Tapatio, as well as food, artwork and live music.
“We want to strengthen community identity,” said Nelda Ruiz, event organizer.
The event served as a space to share with the neighborhood the efforts of some community members to enhance the south side.
“I would want (folks) to leave knowing that this community in the south side is a community that's proud, joyful, full of love and care, but that's also super capable of power of harnessing power and executing power and I mean that by being decision makers and deciding how their community gets designed, and what comes in and what goes out,” Ruiz said.
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Changing community
In 2018, Regeneración, a grassroots organization, partnered with Southwest Folklife Alliance in a project called “La Doce: Barrio Foodways” to hear people's stories and traditions of food waste that existed in people's homes, while doing research and talking to the community, Regeneración mapped out about 65 city blocks and green spaces in La Doce.
“Food was the vehicle that took us to a lot of important conversations,” Ruiz said.
In those conversations, some of the issues that came up were the lack of green spaces, gentrification and informal economy.
Data from the Pima Association of Government reveals that the area has the lowest tree equity score in the city, meaning the shade canopy is one of the poorest in Tucson.
“There is more cement, there is more construction and fewer parks, fewer attractions for young people, fewer attractions for children and families,” said resident Miriam Rojas.
The community has been affected by gentrification, where big companies are buying vacant lots to build houses and selling them for higher prices, prices that people from the community can't afford, Rojas said.
Three years ago, people could find properties under $100,000 and now you can't find anything under $150,000, Ruiz said.
Additionally, there are abandoned properties often owned by people who live out of state. This has led to an increase in taxes and property value.
A work in progress
Regeneración works with an intergenerational cohort of south side community leaders who meet every other Saturday to discuss topics that are affecting the community and how to address them.
According to a 2016 report by the UA College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, La Doce has a higher youth population (30.7%) than metro Tucson (23.3%).
“It is a place of diverse communities from different traditions and cultures,” Rojas said.
Regeneración received a Vitalyst Spark Grant to support the development of a new City of Tucson Community Land Trust Policy, designed to help low-income residents with affordable housing.
Other initiatives in the works include creating recreational areas for families to gather; outside areas where kids, teenagers and young adults can ride their bikes, skate or just hang out; recover existing parks and repurpose the empty properties into community centers.
“This isn't a project, right, this is our life's work and this is the work that we're doing for the seven generations in front of us and for the seven generations behind us,” Ruiz said.
READ MORE:
Henry Barajas now authors Gil Thorp, which beginning Monday appears in the Star's Sports section.
Fare-free bus transit will remain through the end of 2022. Then Tucson officials will make a decision about whether it is viable to keep the transit system free.
This Tucson nonprofit provides programming designed to heal, restore and preserve Indigenous identity for Native American youth, families and adults. | https://tucson.com/news/local/this-community-on-tucsons-south-side-is-changing-the-narrative/article_88edb31a-0397-11ed-9b47-6fad54be1d03.html | 2022-07-17T21:17:35 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/this-community-on-tucsons-south-side-is-changing-the-narrative/article_88edb31a-0397-11ed-9b47-6fad54be1d03.html |
Some two dozen protesters bearing self-made signs gathered at 2400 Dawson Road in Albany Sunday to rally against the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Britny Wray organized the rally. For additional photos from the rally, go to AlbanyHerald.com.
A pro-abortion rally in Albany Sunday drew some two dozen protesters, who held up self-made signs of protest. For additional photos from the rally, go to AlbanyHerald.com.
Passers-by blew their horn in support or offered rude gestures in opposition during a pro-abortion rally in Albany Sunday. For additional photos from the rally, go to AlbanyHerald.com.
Some two dozen protesters bearing self-made signs gathered at 2400 Dawson Road in Albany Sunday to rally against the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Britny Wray organized the rally. For additional photos from the rally, go to AlbanyHerald.com.
A pro-abortion rally in Albany Sunday drew some two dozen protesters, who held up self-made signs of protest. For additional photos from the rally, go to AlbanyHerald.com.
Passers-by blew their horn in support or offered rude gestures in opposition during a pro-abortion rally in Albany Sunday. For additional photos from the rally, go to AlbanyHerald.com.
ALBANY -- Motorists driving by blew their horns in support while drivers in pickups offered middle-finger salutes in opposition of a Sunday rally protesting the recent overturn of Roe v Wade that threatens abortion rights in the country.
The rally drew some two dozen or so protesters who lined the busy thoroughfare along 2400 Dawson Road, holding up self-made signs, some with colorful slogans.
"(Gov. Brian) Kemp is pushing to reinstate the life bill -- abortion after six weeks being banned -- so we're out here to protest (that legislation and) the (Supreme Court) decision," Britney Wray, who organized the rally, said. "Everyone should have access to safe and legal abortion.
"Banning abortion does not prevent abortion, it prevents safe abortion."
The abortion issue is expected to play a key role in the Georgia gubernatorial election, as Kemp takes on challenger Stacey Abrams in November.
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TWIN FALLS — Solar-powered cars raced into town Saturday, powered not only by the sun, but by groups of bright college students from the U.S. and Canada.
It was part of the American Solar Challenge that started July 9 in Independence, Missouri, then followed the Oregon Trail to Twin Falls.
Racers stopped at checkpoints and stage stops along the way. The final stage started Saturday in Pocatello and ended at the finish line at the Herrett Center for Arts and Science on the College of Southern Idaho campus.
Herrett Center Director Joey Heck said he was ecstatic that Twin Falls was chosen as the final destination.
“The finish line location is a big deal," Heck said. "The teams finish the week-long race in a culmination of months of design, build, and qualifying trials, and celebrate the successful completion of the competition at a photo-friendly finish line featuring checkered flags, black and white stripes, pomp, fanfare, and general racing pageantry.”
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The nine solar cars began pulling into the Herrett Center parking lot at about noon, accompanied by applause, high fives and hugs between members of their respective support teams.
This race isn’t just about racing. It’s about designing and building the vehicles as well.
“Students built this program from the ground up,” Logan Richardson of the Appalachian State team told the Times-News. Richardson assisted with developing the speedometer, navigation system and communication systems for his team’s car.
Although his team had many positive moments along the 1,400-mile journey, the mechanical and electrical systems had a few hiccups along the way.
But that didn’t get the team down.
“Kudos to our electronic and mechanical teams,” Richardson said. “We are proud of the race we ran; we came together.”
Appalachian State started its solar car program in 2013. It can take two years for students to get a car ready for competition.
This year’s race featured college students from around the country and Canada, including teams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkley.
Teams performed well for the race and developed a camaraderie as they followed the Oregon Trail, Appalachian State team member Kiernan Presler-Marshall said.
“We did pretty well; only one ox died,” Presler-Marshall said. The Iowa State University team was forced to withdraw from the race due to vehicle problems.
Richardson said he envisions a time when technology will improve to the point where solar cars will be manufactured and made available to the general public.
Race officials agreed that solar cars have improved significantly since races started in 1995. Steven Day recalled a race decades ago in which teams faced cloudy, rainy weather — obviously not conducive to solar cars — that at times reduced cars’ speeds to about 5 mph.
Some solar cars today can reportedly reach speeds in excess of 100 mph under the right conditions, although for the race, teams were required to obey speed limits and regulations limited the cars to 65 mph for the event. Average overall speeds for the cars were in the mid-30s.
The race had two classes — one for single-occupant vehicles and the other for multi-occupant vehicles — with each class having its own regulations.
The winner of the single-occupant vehicle class was determined based on the official mileage completed across stages of the event, including optimal mileage and reduced for any penalties incurred.
For the multi-occupant vehicle class, additional considerations of energy efficiency and practicality factor into the overall score.
The formula for naming the overall winners is complicated and scores weren’t released until Saturday night. The University of Minnesota was named the overall winner of the multi-occupant vehicle class, followed by Appalachian State and Polytechnic Montreal.
MIT claimed the single-occupant class, followed by Principia and University of Kentucky.
In order to qualify for the road race, teams’ vehicles were required to pass muster during a series of inspections and later having to compete at the three-day Formula Sun Grand Prix in Kansas, which involved driving the vehicles around a track for 24 hours. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/solar-cars-shine-along-the-oregon-trail/article_f1d1057e-0600-11ed-adcc-678a438c0c04.html | 2022-07-17T21:32:51 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/solar-cars-shine-along-the-oregon-trail/article_f1d1057e-0600-11ed-adcc-678a438c0c04.html |
UVALDE, Texas — A year before the Uvalde school massacre, the gunman had already earned the nickname “school shooter” — a running joke among those he played online games with. He had also started wearing all black and making over-the-top threats, especially toward women, who he terrorized with graphic descriptions of violence and rape.
Story originally published by The Texas Tribune on July 17, 2022.
Those details are part of an interim report by the House committee investigating the incident, which points to a trail of missed signs leading to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas — one that was months in the making.
The report, released Sunday, presents the most complete picture to date of the 18-year-old who killed 19 students and two teachers in his former fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary. The findings are based on law enforcement interviews with family members, data on the shooter’s phone and testimony presented to the committee.
Salvador Ramos — who the committee is only referring to as “the attacker” so as to deny him the notoriety and fame he desired — also shot and wounded his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, before storming the school.
He was born in Fargo, North Dakota but moved to Uvalde as a child with his sister and mother, who struggled with a long history of drug use. A former girlfriend interviewed by the FBI said she believed the shooter had been sexually assaulted at an early age by one of the mother’s boyfriends but that the mother didn’t believe him, according to the report.
Relatives described him as someone shy and quiet who was reluctant to interact with others because he had a speech impediment. When he started school, his pre-K teacher described him as a “wonderful student,” always ready to learn and with a positive attitude.
Then, something changed. He started falling behind in school but never received special education services, despite being identified as “at-risk” and having someone request speech therapy for him, according to the report, citing school records.
Family and friends told the committee he was bullied throughout the fourth grade over his stutter, short haircut and clothing. He often wore the same clothing day after day. One time, a girl tied his shoelaces together causing him to fall on his face, a cousin said.
Beginning in 2018, he was recording more than 100 absences a year, along with failing grades. But the report authors said it was unclear whether a school resource officer ever visited his home. By 2021, when he was 17 years old, he had only completed ninth grade, the report’s authors wrote.
When students started to return to school following the pandemic, he dropped out. Instead of trying to fit in, as he had done in the past, he grew more isolated and retreated to the online world. Uvalde High School officials involuntarily withdrew him on October 28, citing “poor academic performance and lack of attendance.”
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Ariana Diaz, a senior at Uvalde High School and one of the shooter's former classmates, described him as a "popular loner," someone who everyone knew, but who kept to himself. She also said that after COVID, he seemed to be in what she described as a “dark place,” and started wearing all black and combat boots.
He became depressed and lonely, those who knew him said.
He would tell his girlfriend at the time that he wouldn’t live past 18, either because he would commit suicide or “wouldn’t live long,” the girl later told the FBI in an interview, according to the report. When she broke up with him in mid-2021, he started harassing her and her friends, the girl told officials.
Online, the report authors said, he started to show an interest in gore and violent sex, sometimes sharing videos and images of suicides and beheadings. He became enraged and threatened others, especially female players, when he lost games.
Privately, he wrote about his challenges connecting with others or feeling empathy for them, saying he was “not human.” His search history, the authors of the report wrote, suggest he was wondering whether he was a sociopath. His internet searches led to him receiving an email about obtaining psychological treatment for the condition.
Attacking women became a pattern. He was also fired from his job at a Whataburger after a month for threatening a female coworker. And later he was let go of his job at Wendy’s.
Despite losing his jobs, living at home allowed him to save money. By the end of 2021, when clues of his plans first surfaced, he ordered rifle slings, a red dot sight and shin guards, as well as a body armor carrier he wore the day of the Robb Elementary massacre. But because he was still 17 at the time, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy the weapons and at least two people he asked refused.
He started becoming fascinated with school shootings and increasingly seeking notoriety and fame on social media, the report said.
In late 2021, the committee said Ramos shared a video online showing him driving around with someone he said he had met online, holding a clear plastic bag with a dead cat inside, which Ramos “discarded in the street and spit on while his driver laughed.” The video then showed him dry firing BB guns at people and ended with footage of emergency services responding to a serious car accident, which he claimed his driver had caused, according to the report.
But despite all the threats and violent talk, none of his online behavior was reported to law enforcement. It’s unclear whether other users reported his behavior to any social media platform, but the committee concluded it doesn’t appear there were any actions taken to restrict his access or to report him to authorities as a threat.
He moved in with his grandmother, who had retired from the local school district after 27 years, after having a blowout argument with his mother that was livestreamed on Instagram. The report doesn't specify who livestreamed it, but The Washington Post reported that two months prior to the shooting, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother who, according to a high school classmate, he said was trying to kick him out of their home.
He confided in an older cousin who was also staying with their grandmother that he didn’t want to live anymore. But the cousin told authorities she thought she’d gotten through to him after a lengthy “heart-to-heart.”
Instead, Ramos began to buy more firearm accessories beginning in February, including 60 30-round magazines. As soon as he turned 18, on May 16, he started buying guns and ammunition. In the end he bought two AR-15-style rifles and thousands of rounds. In total, he spent more than $6,000, the committee found.
He had no criminal history nor had he ever been arrested. There was nothing in his background that kept him from owning the weapons. And while multiple gun sales within a short period of time are reported to the ATF, the committee report authors point out that the law only requires purchase of handguns to be reported to the local sheriff.
“Here, the information about the attacker’s gun purchases remained in federal hands,” they wrote.
Online, the shooter started to reference a timeline, foreshadowing his plans.
On April 2, he sent someone a direct message on Instagram, “Are you still gonna remember me in 50 something days?”
The person responded, “probably not.”
“Hmm alright we’ll see in may,” Ramos responded.
At least, one friend from out of town started to become worried and proposed visiting him in Uvalde. But when the friend said he wouldn’t be able to go until July or August, he said “damn that’s too late.”
Five days before he went on a rampage, a man targeted and killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo, N.Y. supermarket. The mass shooting didn’t go unnoticed by Ramos. He saved news stories and other information about it. He also spent time with a cousin’s son who went to Robb Elementary to get information about his schedule and lunch periods, officials reported.
On the eve of the shooting, Ramos sent out messages to people about something he was going to do the following day.
“I got a lil secret,” he wrote to a German girl he had befriended.
It was impossible to do that day, he explained, because he was waiting for something to be delivered.
His order of 1,740 hollow points arrived later that day. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 | 2022-07-17T21:34:23 | 1 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 |
UVALDE, Texas — The 18-year-old who massacred 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde on May 24 had no experience with firearms before his rampage began. He targeted an elementary school with an active shooter policy that had been deemed adequate but also a long history of doors propped open.
No one was able to stop the gunman from carrying out the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, in part because of “systemic failures and egregious poor decision making” by nearly everyone involved who was in a position of power, a new investigation into the shooting has found.
On Sunday, a Texas House committee is releasing the most exhaustive account yet of the shooter, his planning, his attack and the fumbling response he provoked.
The 77-page report, reviewed by The Texas Tribune, provides a damning portrayal of a family unable to recognize warning signs, a school district that had strayed from strict adherence to its safety plan and a police response that disregarded its own active-shooter training.
It explains how the gunman, who investigators believe had never fired a gun before May 24, was able to stockpile military-style rifles, accessories and ammunition without arousing suspicion from authorities, enter a supposedly secure school unimpeded and indiscriminately kill children and adults.
In total, 376 law enforcement officers — a force larger than the garrison that defended the Alamo — descended upon the school in a chaotic, uncoordinated scene that lasted for more than an hour. The group was devoid of clear leadership, basic communications and sufficient urgency to take down the gunman, the report says.
Notably, the investigation is the first so far to criticize the inaction of state and federal law enforcement, while other reports and public accounts by officials have placed the blame squarely on Uvalde school police Chief Pete Arredondo, for his role as incident commander, and other local police who were among the first to arrive.
The report also reveals for the first time that the overwhelming majority of responders were federal and state law enforcement: 149 were U.S. Border Patrol, and 91 were state police — whose responsibilities include responding to “mass attacks in public places.” There were 25 Uvalde police officers and 16 sheriff’s deputies. Arredondo’s school police force accounted for five of the officers on the scene. The rest of the force was made up of neighboring county law enforcement, U.S. Marshals, and federal Drug Enforcement Agency officers.
The investigators said that in the absence of a strong incident commander, another officer could have — and should have — stepped up to the task.
“These local officials were not the only ones expected to supply the leadership needed during this tragedy,” the report said. “Hundreds of responders from numerous law enforcement agencies — many of whom were better trained and better equipped than the school district police — quickly arrived on the scene.”
The other responders “could have helped to address the unfolding chaos.”
The three committee members — Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock; Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso and former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman — said they sought to create a comprehensive account the Legislature can use to craft policies aimed at preventing future massacres. The trio also sought to present an accurate narrative to the public, in contrast to several conflicting and retracted accounts provided by other officials, including the governor and state police, in the seven weeks since the tragedy that have undermined residents’ trust in the ongoing investigations.
They dedicated the document to the 21 people killed in the shooting, and first unveiled their findings during a private meeting with Uvalde residents on Sunday.
“The Committee issues this interim report now, believing the victims, their families, and the entire Uvalde community have already waited too long for answers and transparency,” the report reads.
Law enforcement Failures
The failure of police to quickly subdue the shooter has faced widespread public condemnation and criticism from fellow law enforcement officials. At its core, the committee report echoes criticisms made previously by police tactics experts: that instead of following the active doctrine developed after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which dictates that officers immediately confront active shooters, police at Robb Elementary retreated after coming under fire and then waited for backup.
“They failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety,” the committee said in its report.
The report lists myriad law enforcement mistakes, which expanded far beyond any single commander or agency. They stemmed not from a lack of manpower, but from an absence of leadership and effective communications.
In interviews conducted or obtained by the committee, police officers said they assumed Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo was in command or did not know who was in charge. Several described the scene as “chaos” or a “cluster.”
The report listed several ways that an effective incident commander outside the school might have helped: The commander might have noticed that radios weren’t working well and found a better way to communicate. They might have found a master key to the school faster to get inside the classroom where the shooter was barricaded — or suggested checking to make sure the door was locked. Or they might have urged officers to find another way to get inside the classroom.
But Arredondo told The Texas Tribune in June that he did not consider himself the incident commander after he was one of the first officers to arrive inside the school. He said he assumed another officer outside would fill that role.
The committee did not find this argument persuasive. It cited the school district’s active shooter response plan, co-authored by Arredondo, which states the chief will “become the person in control of the efforts of all law enforcement and first responders that arrive at the scene.” The school district last month placed him on administrative leave.
But blame for the flawed police response extends far beyond the school district police chief of a six-officer department, the report concludes.
The report criticized other officers and law enforcement agencies, many of them better trained, for failing to fill the leadership vacuum left by Arredondo’s inaction.
“In this crisis, no responder seized the initiative to establish an incident command post,” the committee wrote. “Despite an obvious atmosphere of chaos, the ranking officers of other responding agencies did not approach the Uvalde CISD chief of police or anyone else perceived to be in command to point out the lack of and need for a command post, or to offer that specific assistance.”
In testimony to a Senate committee June 21, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Steve McCraw said some officers on scene observed that Arredondo was not acting like an incident commander.
McCraw previously dismissed the idea that his state troopers could or should have wrested control from Arredondo.
“Let's say a DPS captain shows up in a situation, decides he's going to exercise control,” McCraw told senators last month. “Well, first of all, he doesn't have the information. And you know what? He may not be as sharp as the on-scene commander that's there … so I’m reluctant to encourage or even think of any situation where you'd want some level of hierarchy where a larger police department gets to come in and take over.”
Yet when pressed by Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, McCraw conceded that confronting an active shooter is more important than deferring to an officer who, according to protocol, is the rightful incident commander.
Instead, the report said Border Patrol agents decided they would breach the classroom without seeking permission from Arredondo. That team killed the gunman at 12:51 p.m., ending the standoff.
Despite the collective failure of police to act decisively, the committee uncovered individual instances where officers acted boldly without instruction.
When officers were driven back by gunfire just after entering the school, Uvalde Police Department Lt. Javier Martinez attempted to confront the shooter again. He advanced up the hallway in “an evident desire to maintain momentum and to ‘stop the killing.’” No officers followed him, and he stopped. Several law enforcement officers told the committee that they believed if others had followed him as back up, he might have made it to the classroom and engaged with the shooter.
DPS Special Agent Luke Williams disregarded a request that he assist in securing a perimeter outside and instead entered the building to help clear rooms. He found a student hiding in a boys bathroom stall with his legs up so he couldn’t be seen. The boy refused to come out until Williams proved he was a police officer, which he did by showing his badge beneath the door of the stall.
Williams then encountered a group of officers clustered at the end of the hallway where the shooter was and overheard someone ask “y’all don’t know if there’s kids in there?”
“If there’s kids in there we need to go in there,” Williams said at 11:56 a.m., according to footage captured by his body camera.
An officer in the hallway responded to Williams that “whoever was in charge would figure that out,” the report said.
Inadequate school safety
Robb Elementary School, on its face, had all the pieces in place to slow an intruder. The school is encircled by a five-foot fence. It has an emergency management alert system and school policies for faculty and staff to keep exterior and interior doors locked at all times.
But a culture of complacency weakened these safeguards.
Multiple witnesses told the committee that employees often left doors unlocked, while teachers would use rocks, wedges and magnets to prop open interior and exterior doors. This was partly because of a shortage of keys.
“In fact, the school actually suggested circumventing the locks as a solution for the convenience of substitute teachers and others who lacked their own keys,” the report said.
In March, the teacher in Room 111, through which investigators believe the shooter entered during the massacre, reported to school administrators that his classroom door “was not always locking.” The head custodian testified he never heard of any problems with that door, and maintenance records during the school year do not contain any work orders for it. The teacher, Arnulfo Reyes, was shot twice in the shooting but survived.
Ultimately, the shooter was able to easily scale the fence and enter the school through a series of unlocked doors.“Had school personnel locked the doors as the school’s policy required, that could have slowed his progress for a few precious minutes — long enough to receive alerts, hide children, and lock doors,” the report found.
The question of locked doors came into play again when law enforcement arrived and assumed they couldn’t break down the doors of the classroom to reach the gunman.
They would fumble for several minutes in search of a key, and other equipment to break down the door, that is now believed to have been unlocked the entire time.
The search for the unnecessary key was complicated by the fact that the school, which first opened in 1955, had different sets of master keys for different doors. Lt. Mike Hernandez of the district police department said he carried 50 keys to various campus buildings, though sometimes he had to jiggle them to turn locks. On other occasions, staff changed locks without his knowledge. During the shooting, other officers attempted without success to use Hernandez’s set to find a suitable master key for the wing of the school where the shooter was.
Additionally, some faculty and staff did not initially take the intruder alert seriously because they were desensitized to the alert system which often was triggered by frequent immigration-related police pursuits.
Uvalde is about 50 miles east of Mexico and sits at the intersection of major highways from the border cities of Del Rio and Eagle Pass. Police described a recent increase in “bailouts,” where officers chase a vehicle containing suspected undocumented migrants, who then purposely crash and scatter to avoid apprehension. School district officials told the committee there had been 47 “secure” or “lockdown” events since February 2022. Around 90% of those had been because of bailouts.
There has never been an incident of school violence related to the bailouts.
“The series of bailout-related alerts led teachers and administrators to respond to all alerts with less urgency—when they heard the sound of an alert, many assumed that it was another bailout,” the report states.
Even when there were alerts, it wasn’t certain that everyone would receive them. The emergency management alert system operates by sending out warnings online to teachers and faculty — and many access it through a smart phone app.
But not all teachers received the alert about the gunman immediately, thanks in part to a poor wireless internet signal that made it difficult to send out the alert and the fact that many teachers didn’t have their phones or had them off at the moment they received it.
Principal Mandy Gutierrez never attempted to communicate the lockdown over the school’s intercom system.
Missed warnings signs
The gunman, Salvador Ramos, displayed signs he was unstable and possibly planning a violent attack, yet none of these warning signs reached authorities.
A year before the massacre, he had earned the nickname “school shooter” on social media platforms because of violent threats he would make against other users. With few, if any, friends and a strained relationship with his parents, the report describes him as a high school dropout and social outcast who eventually concluded that spectacular violence could bring him “notoriety and fame.”
Online, the committee found, he became interested in gore and violent sex, sometimes sharing videos and images of suicides and beheadings. His internet search history suggested he questioned whether he was a sociopath.
In real life, he was fired from two fast food jobs. At Whataburger, he harassed a female employee and at Wendy’s he would not talk with any co-workers, except one occasion where he attempted to start a conversation about guns.
In the final months of his life, he was determined to acquire guns, a desire the report says family and friends were aware of. Because he lived with his grandmother and had no expenses, he was able to use his money for this effort.
While he was still 17, the shooter asked at least two people to purchase guns for him, but they refused. Instead, he focused on purchasing accessories, including a gun sight, rifle sling and body armor carrier. He turned 18, the legal age to buy guns in Texas, on May 16. Over the course of the next week, he spent more than $3,000 on two AR-15 style rifles from an online retailer, which shipped the weapons to a Uvalde gun shop.
Because he had no license and did not know how to drive, an uncle transported him to the gun store twice. He said the first time he didn’t know he was going to pick up a rifle, since the store is also a popular restaurant in town and his nephew said he was hungry. But he returned with a narrow box and no food.
The owner of the gun store, Oasis Outback, remembered him and described him to investigators as an “average customer with no ‘red flags.’” Other store patrons told the FBI they thought he was “very nervous looking” and “appeared odd and looked like one of those school shooters.”
The report details no attempt by anyone who interacted with the gunman to alert authorities about his troubling behavior.
Undermining trust
In the days after the shooting, state officials unnecessarily undermined public trust in the ongoing investigations by making false statements about what had happened, the report states. The day after the massacre, a Uvalde Police Department lieutenant tasked with briefing Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders fainted just before the meeting began.
DPS Regional Director Victor Escalon took his place, relaying the secondhand accounts of police, as he had arrived at the school minutes before the shooting ended. Some of this information was inaccurate, which the committee said was the reason Abbott, in a news conference immediately following the briefing, presented a “false narrative” that the shooting lasted as few as 40 minutes thanks to “officers who rapidly devised a plan, stacked up and neutralized the attacker.”
Abbott also said that the gunman had been contronted by a school resource officer before entering the school. At a news conference the following day, a DPS official said the exterior door through which the gunman entered had been propped open. Both statements were false.
The committee criticized state officials for misleading the public.
“A complete and thorough investigation can take months or even years to confirm every detail, especially when this many law enforcement officers are involved,” the report states. “However, one would expect law enforcement during a briefing would be very careful to state what facts are verifiable, and which ones are not.”
The committee also refutes a significant revelation included in a report published last week by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University. That report stated that a Uvalde Police Department Officer with a rifle had an opportunity to shoot the gunman before he entered the school. However, when he asked a supervisor for permission to fire he never received a response and the gunman slipped into the school.
The committee noted that the ALERRT staff conducted no investigation on their own and relied entirely on information supplied by the Department of Public Safety. The committee concluded that the person the Uvalde officer saw was a coach who was ushering children inside, and found no evidence that any law enforcement personnel had a chance to engage the gunman outside the school.
The disastrous police response at Robb Elementary has set this mass shooting apart from so many that have become a regular occurrence in American life. It has renewed the debate over the role of police, and cast doubt on the theory embraced by many Second Amendment advocates that good guys with guns are the best defense against active shooters.
Yet the report concludes with a somber finding: Because the gunman fired the majority of his rounds before police arrived inside the school, about 100 in the space of three minutes, whether the death toll would have been lower had police breached the classrooms immediately is unknown.
Most of the victims died quickly, torn apart by bullets designed for battlefields, and it is unclear whether a flawless police response would have saved any lives. But the report suggests that stopping the gunman sooner could have made a difference.
“Given the information known about victims who survived through the time of the breach and who later died on the way to the hospital,” the committee wrote, “it is plausible that some victims could have survived if they had not had to wait 73 additional minutes for rescue.” | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/systemic-failures-in-uvalde-shooting-went-far-beyond-local-police-texas-house-report-details-robb-elementary-school-tragedy/273-7a6624bf-4150-4fdd-9d95-9857585068bd | 2022-07-17T21:38:12 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/systemic-failures-in-uvalde-shooting-went-far-beyond-local-police-texas-house-report-details-robb-elementary-school-tragedy/273-7a6624bf-4150-4fdd-9d95-9857585068bd |
Relentless Pastor John Gray improving, proof of God's work, his wife says
God knows what he's doing, and he is working in miracles, that was the message from the service at Relentless Church June 17. One week after Relentless founder and pastor, John Gray was hospitalized with a life-threatening embolism.
Gray’s condition following diagnosis of a saddle pulmonary embolism was dire, per his wife, Aventer Gray’s social media posts early last week, but his condition had improved by the end of the week. Gray was transported from a hospital in Alabama where he was initially admitted to one in Atlanta Wednesday.
Gray’s health was central to the service Sunday, with a resounding message of faith and hope and belief that he would be back in front of the congregation himself soon.
Aventer Gray, co-pastor of Relentless Church, made an appearance Sunday, thanking all “for your relentless prayers, for your love, calls, text messages, while we were in Alabama, the visits.”
She reiterated the “miracle” of her husband’s medical experience, her voice at first weary, but gaining strength as she spoke. As many as seven doctors looked at Gray, Aventer Gray said. The doctors said the saddle embolism in her husband’s lungs could easily kill someone.
The clots in Gray’s body, his lungs and his legs had begun to break apart and dissipate, Aventer said, defying doctors’ predictions.
“We can’t explain it, but we know that it’s God,” Aventer Gray said. “And that it’s only God that has kept him and that is keeping him even now.”
She added, “he’s in amazing spirits and he can’t wait to see you all again.”
Guest pastor, Kevin Wallace continued the message of hope and God’s miracles. He spoke of putting fuel on the fire of the church and how the challenges in our lives are a chance to see God’s potential to work in our lives.
Gray’s health conditions served as inspiration to rally around God and reinforce belief.
“The attack is an announcement of what God is going to use next,” Wallace told the people attending both in person and online.
While Gray has “a long road ahead,” Aventer Gray said, she was hopeful and thankful.
“I came here today because I wanted to let you know that if you believe in God for any type of miracle, this house is definitely a house of miracles,” she told the congregation. “I’ve seen it and I’m seeing it right now.”
She urged people to continue to pray and to support Relentless.
“I need you to remain committed to your ministries, I need you to remain a participant in this vision and this work because he will step out here again,” Aventer Gray said, her voice lifting. “And oh my God when he does….I’m gonna tear every pew outta here with my bare hands because I know how close to death my husband was and I need you to take it up because there is a miracle taking place in our midst!” | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/greenville/2022/07/17/relentless-church-service-honors-hospitalized-pastor-john-gray/10061688002/ | 2022-07-17T21:38:41 | 0 | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/greenville/2022/07/17/relentless-church-service-honors-hospitalized-pastor-john-gray/10061688002/ |
UVALDE, Texas — A year before the Uvalde school massacre, the gunman had already earned the nickname “school shooter” — a running joke among those he played online games with. He had also started wearing all black and making over-the-top threats, especially toward women, who he terrorized with graphic descriptions of violence and rape.
Story originally published by The Texas Tribune on July 17, 2022.
Those details are part of an interim report by the House committee investigating the incident, which points to a trail of missed signs leading to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas — one that was months in the making.
The report, released Sunday, presents the most complete picture to date of the 18-year-old who killed 19 students and two teachers in his former fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary. The findings are based on law enforcement interviews with family members, data on the shooter’s phone and testimony presented to the committee.
Salvador Ramos — who the committee is only referring to as “the attacker” so as to deny him the notoriety and fame he desired — also shot and wounded his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, before storming the school.
He was born in Fargo, North Dakota but moved to Uvalde as a child with his sister and mother, who struggled with a long history of drug use. A former girlfriend interviewed by the FBI said she believed the shooter had been sexually assaulted at an early age by one of the mother’s boyfriends but that the mother didn’t believe him, according to the report.
Relatives described him as someone shy and quiet who was reluctant to interact with others because he had a speech impediment. When he started school, his pre-K teacher described him as a “wonderful student,” always ready to learn and with a positive attitude.
Then, something changed. He started falling behind in school but never received special education services, despite being identified as “at-risk” and having someone request speech therapy for him, according to the report, citing school records.
Family and friends told the committee he was bullied throughout the fourth grade over his stutter, short haircut and clothing. He often wore the same clothing day after day. One time, a girl tied his shoelaces together causing him to fall on his face, a cousin said.
Beginning in 2018, he was recording more than 100 absences a year, along with failing grades. But the report authors said it was unclear whether a school resource officer ever visited his home. By 2021, when he was 17 years old, he had only completed ninth grade, the report’s authors wrote.
When students started to return to school following the pandemic, he dropped out. Instead of trying to fit in, as he had done in the past, he grew more isolated and retreated to the online world. Uvalde High School officials involuntarily withdrew him on October 28, citing “poor academic performance and lack of attendance.”
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Ariana Diaz, a senior at Uvalde High School and one of the shooter's former classmates, described him as a "popular loner," someone who everyone knew, but who kept to himself. She also said that after COVID, he seemed to be in what she described as a “dark place,” and started wearing all black and combat boots.
He became depressed and lonely, those who knew him said.
He would tell his girlfriend at the time that he wouldn’t live past 18, either because he would commit suicide or “wouldn’t live long,” the girl later told the FBI in an interview, according to the report. When she broke up with him in mid-2021, he started harassing her and her friends, the girl told officials.
Online, the report authors said, he started to show an interest in gore and violent sex, sometimes sharing videos and images of suicides and beheadings. He became enraged and threatened others, especially female players, when he lost games.
Privately, he wrote about his challenges connecting with others or feeling empathy for them, saying he was “not human.” His search history, the authors of the report wrote, suggest he was wondering whether he was a sociopath. His internet searches led to him receiving an email about obtaining psychological treatment for the condition.
Attacking women became a pattern. He was also fired from his job at a Whataburger after a month for threatening a female coworker. And later he was let go of his job at Wendy’s.
Despite losing his jobs, living at home allowed him to save money. By the end of 2021, when clues of his plans first surfaced, he ordered rifle slings, a red dot sight and shin guards, as well as a body armor carrier he wore the day of the Robb Elementary massacre. But because he was still 17 at the time, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy the weapons and at least two people he asked refused.
He started becoming fascinated with school shootings and increasingly seeking notoriety and fame on social media, the report said.
In late 2021, the committee said Ramos shared a video online showing him driving around with someone he said he had met online, holding a clear plastic bag with a dead cat inside, which Ramos “discarded in the street and spit on while his driver laughed.” The video then showed him dry firing BB guns at people and ended with footage of emergency services responding to a serious car accident, which he claimed his driver had caused, according to the report.
But despite all the threats and violent talk, none of his online behavior was reported to law enforcement. It’s unclear whether other users reported his behavior to any social media platform, but the committee concluded it doesn’t appear there were any actions taken to restrict his access or to report him to authorities as a threat.
He moved in with his grandmother, who had retired from the local school district after 27 years, after having a blowout argument with his mother that was livestreamed on Instagram. The report doesn't specify who livestreamed it, but The Washington Post reported that two months prior to the shooting, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother who, according to a high school classmate, he said was trying to kick him out of their home.
He confided in an older cousin who was also staying with their grandmother that he didn’t want to live anymore. But the cousin told authorities she thought she’d gotten through to him after a lengthy “heart-to-heart.”
Instead, Ramos began to buy more firearm accessories beginning in February, including 60 30-round magazines. As soon as he turned 18, on May 16, he started buying guns and ammunition. In the end he bought two AR-15-style rifles and thousands of rounds. In total, he spent more than $6,000, the committee found.
He had no criminal history nor had he ever been arrested. There was nothing in his background that kept him from owning the weapons. And while multiple gun sales within a short period of time are reported to the ATF, the committee report authors point out that the law only requires purchase of handguns to be reported to the local sheriff.
“Here, the information about the attacker’s gun purchases remained in federal hands,” they wrote.
Online, the shooter started to reference a timeline, foreshadowing his plans.
On April 2, he sent someone a direct message on Instagram, “Are you still gonna remember me in 50 something days?”
The person responded, “probably not.”
“Hmm alright we’ll see in may,” Ramos responded.
At least, one friend from out of town started to become worried and proposed visiting him in Uvalde. But when the friend said he wouldn’t be able to go until July or August, he said “damn that’s too late.”
Five days before he went on a rampage, a man targeted and killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo, N.Y. supermarket. The mass shooting didn’t go unnoticed by Ramos. He saved news stories and other information about it. He also spent time with a cousin’s son who went to Robb Elementary to get information about his schedule and lunch periods, officials reported.
On the eve of the shooting, Ramos sent out messages to people about something he was going to do the following day.
“I got a lil secret,” he wrote to a German girl he had befriended.
It was impossible to do that day, he explained, because he was waiting for something to be delivered.
His order of 1,740 hollow points arrived later that day. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 | 2022-07-17T21:42:39 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 |
A firefighter responding to a two-car crash in Manhattan was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when one of the vehicles unexpectedly shifted, falling on top of the firefighter and crushing his leg, authorities say.
The vehicle that fell on the FDNY member had been partially resting on another car stopped at a traffic light in Hell's Kitchen at W 42nd Street and 11th Avenue.
Multiple firefighters were working to stabilize the BMW after its driver pulled forward and onto the the second car. It's still unclear what caused the initial crash.
The top vehicle was already at a 45-degree tilt when it shifted forward and fell onto its side, on top of one of the firefighters.
Once he was pulled from the vehicle, the firefighter was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for a broken femur, FDNY sources told News 4.
There were no injuries reported for any of the involved passengers. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/fdny-members-leg-crushed-in-midtown-crash-rescue-attempt-ny-only/3777983/ | 2022-07-17T21:43:43 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/fdny-members-leg-crushed-in-midtown-crash-rescue-attempt-ny-only/3777983/ |
A 61-year-old man was found dead Saturday morning in the courtyard of this Manhattan apartment building after a fall from his sixth floor unit, police said.
Police said he was discovered around 7 a.m. outside the 21-story high-rise on the Upper East Side. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man was cleaning the windows of his sixth floor apartment at the time of his fall, police said. There were no reports of foul play.
His official cause of death will be determined by the city medical examiner.
Copyright NBC New York | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-falls-to-death-from-manhattan-high-rise-while-cleaning-windows-nypd-ny-only/3777881/ | 2022-07-17T21:43:49 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-falls-to-death-from-manhattan-high-rise-while-cleaning-windows-nypd-ny-only/3777881/ |
Mississippi Miss Hospitality 2022: Hannah Grace Crain wants to 'change someone's world'
Hannah Grace Crain said she is looking forward to traveling Mississippi while sharing her story and love for her home state.
The 18-year-old from Hernando was crowned Mississippi Miss Hospitality 2022 on Saturday in the 73rd annual competition at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg. It is Hattiesburg's 25th year as host of the event.
Crain will attend the University of Mississippi in the fall as a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, working on her studies while serving as the state's ambassador for economic development and tourism.
Although Crain has lived in Mississippi all her life, she would like to get to know her state better and see more outside the area where she lives.
"I'm looking forward to exploring the state more and possibly traveling outside the state to promote it," she said. "I'm really excited about that."
Mississippi Miss Hospitality:40 women from around the state will compete in Hattiesburg
The daughter of Matt and Heather Crain, she plans to major in psychology and minor in intelligence and security studies to pursue a career as a federal agent and investigator.
Crain is a singer and 10-year member of the MidSouth Music Institute, based in Olive Branch. She sang with the children's choir and will continue to sing in the adult choir.
She also sings in her church's praise band and was involved in the youth group at the United Methodist Church in Hernando.
Crain said when she was considering her career path she thought of her favorite quote: "We all have a little 'save the world' in us."
"That quote really inspired me and it reframed what I was thinking about what I wanted Midsouth Music Institute to do," she said. "I believe that I have a skill set that is good for investigation. I'm very by-the-book, I'm very methodical, but I'm also very creative with my problem-solving. If I could change someone's world … that would make all the difference to me."
Crain worked on the student council at Hernando High School and was involved in planning student activities, including Interact Club, pep rallies and other student-led events. Interact Club is a service organization sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hernando.
"Party planning is a big hobby of mine," she said.
Pearl River Community College:Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves promotes job training programs in Hattiesburg
Crain was one of 40 women between 18 and 24 who spent a week in Hattiesburg performing community service and getting to know each other in between competition events and rehearsals.
The competition included one-on-one and panel interviews, speeches, on-stage interviews and evening gown components.
“This week has been phenomenal," Crain said in a news release. "I am so happy that I came out with this title, but I quickly turned to look at my fellow contestants because I wouldn’t be here without them."
Serving alongside Crain at official events and appearances will be 9-year-old Callie Scruggs, as Mississippi’s Little Miss Hospitality. She is the daughter of Andrea Hinton and Ken Scruggs.
Crain was chosen from the top five contestants, which included first alternate Ellis Ann Jackson of Starkville; second alternate Aubree Dillon of Madison County; third alternate Katherine Bishop of Pike County; and fourth alternate Anna Kaitlyn Ashley of Magee.
In addition to the top winners, other awards were given throughout the competition.
Four women received the Jay Slaughter Memorial Scholarship for their 90-second speeches creatively showcasing the state’s history, tourism resources and business assets. Winners included Anna Kaitlyn Ashley of Magee; Aubree Dillon of Madison County; Ellis Ann Jackson of Starkville; and Rachel Shoemaker of Smith County.
Peyton Rounsaville of Greene County won the social media challenge, which began two months before competition week. Contestants shared posts on social media that highlighted their hometowns, the program’s sponsors and more.
Julia Johnson of Marion County received the Lake Little Spirit of Hospitality Award for her supportive, welcoming, and kind behavior throughout competition week. The winner is nominated and chosen each year by her peers. The award is named in memory of Lake Little of Starkville, who died before competition in 2019.
The top ad sales scholarship for generating the most community support for the state competition was awarded to Keaton Boyd of Walthall County, whose Little Miss Hospitality also sold ads.
The Southern Miss Image Center provides a scholarship for the Most Photogenic contestant each year. This year's recipient is Carson Ward of Jasper County.
The 2022 Volunteer of the Year was Meridian, Lauderdale County, and Clarke County’s local director Penny Randall, who has served in shaping and supporting young women from the area for 10 years.
Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge. | https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2022/07/17/mississippi-miss-hospitality-hannah-grace-crain/10064122002/ | 2022-07-17T21:49:36 | 0 | https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2022/07/17/mississippi-miss-hospitality-hannah-grace-crain/10064122002/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Experts say self-defense classes are in higher demand because of a spike in crime.
As students head to college this fall, the Central Indiana Police Foundation is offering some upcoming classes that could protect students while also giving back to local police departments.
(Note: The story in the media player is a 13News report about a previous self defense class offered by CIPF.)
Bud Lich of The Shooting Institute has been a firearms and martial arts instructor for decades.
"I got my blackbelt in 1979, so a while," Lich said.
He said crime has changed.
"I do believe it's a scarier time," Lich said. "I believe people should be aware as they can be and have an option."
He recently began partnering with CIPF to offer self-defense classes.
"All the energy people spend on screaming and slapping, they could get away if they had a little knowledge on what to do," said Lich.
Lisa Rollings, CIPF's executive director, is sending her daughter to college this fall, which helped them come up with the idea.
The first class taught potentially life-saving skills to 55 young adults, with all the money benefitting local police.
"We raised $4,000 last time. That can buy a lot of trauma supplies and a lot of tourniquets," Rollings said.
Lich teaches eight self-defense techniques and how to be more aware.
"Elevators and getting into your car," Lich said. "Makes you more of an aware person. If you can spot trouble, that's better than anything we can teach, because you can avoid it."
He hopes you never have to use his class, but you'll know these three principles if you do.
"Be aware, when you do attack, you want to be fast and aggressive and three, you don't necessarily have to wait. If you know you're being attacked you can defend yourself and get out of there," Lich said.
The next class is on Saturday, July 23 from 10 a.m. to noon at Westfield Middle School. The following class is Monday, July 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Plainfield High School gym.
The classes are $75 per person. Click here to sign up. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/after-crime-spike-self-defense-classes-in-higher-demand-in-central-indiana-protection-aware-defend/531-1cfdf282-6a2b-4653-bc54-e089fc58e1b0 | 2022-07-17T21:59:52 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/after-crime-spike-self-defense-classes-in-higher-demand-in-central-indiana-protection-aware-defend/531-1cfdf282-6a2b-4653-bc54-e089fc58e1b0 |
INDIANAPOLIS — Persistent heavy rain across parts of Indiana led the National Weather Service to issue a Flash Flood Warning Sunday afternoon.
The NWS issued a Flash Flood Warning for an area that included parts of Hamilton, Madison and Delaware County, setting it to expire at 9 p.m. Sunday.
Late Sunday afternoon, the NWS extended the Flash Flood Warning for Elwood, Alexandria and Summitville to 8:30 p.m.
The alert for parts of Delaware, Henry and Madison County was set to expire at 7:15 p.m.
An earlier Flash Flood Warning, for Howard, Tipton, Hamilton, Madison and Delaware counties, was issued with a 7 p.m. expiration.
The Emergency Management Agency in Delaware County reported Sunday's rain was causing flooding in low-lying areas. First responders were assisting "multiple" stranded motorists.
EMA reminded motorists that "even shallow water can disable your vehicle. Do not drive through flood waters. Turn around, don’t drown." | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/flash-flood-warnings-issued-drivers-reported-stranded-on-east-central-indiana-streets/531-559f4cd8-c7dd-4887-aa0c-74d872eef1bc | 2022-07-17T21:59:58 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/flash-flood-warnings-issued-drivers-reported-stranded-on-east-central-indiana-streets/531-559f4cd8-c7dd-4887-aa0c-74d872eef1bc |
INDIANAPOLIS — Police are investigating after a person was fatally shot Sunday afternoon.
Police were called to a report of a person shot in the 5200 block of Padre Lane around 3:30 p.m. The location is a neighborhood just southeast of Thompson Road and Emerson Avenue.
Officers found a person who had apparently been shot. The person has been pronounced deceased.
Police have not provided any information about a suspect or possible motive.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as additional information becomes available. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/police-southeast-indianapolis-shooting-leaves-1-dead/531-60b1afbf-b349-47fb-ba6c-1075746d3602 | 2022-07-17T22:00:04 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/police-southeast-indianapolis-shooting-leaves-1-dead/531-60b1afbf-b349-47fb-ba6c-1075746d3602 |
BLOOMINGTON — The Bloomington Police Department came in at No. 6 for driving under the influence arrests made by municipal police departments in Illinois, according to new data from The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, which describes itself as a “citizen activist group” that monitors the numbers.
Bloomington recorded 252 DUI arrests in 2021, coming in at No. 6 on AAIM's list. Bloomington was also No. 6 the year before, with 254 DUI arrests in 2020.
At the county level, McLean County came in fifth among sheriff's departments, with 179 DUI arrests in 2021.
The Decatur Police Department had the highest number of DUI arrests for the second year in a row.
Decatur police recorded 353 arrests for 2021 as logged by AAIM, and 344 arrests in 2020.
AAIM also reported that the Macon County Sheriff’s Office did well in 2021 DUI arrest totals, finishing fourth among sheriff’s departments, with 218 arrests.
Chicago, because of its vast size, is judged in its own category, and the Windy City saw its impaired driver arrests actually fall by 27.6% to 1,622 in 2021, compared to 2,240 in 2020.
Illinois State Police DUI arrest numbers, by contrast, were up 10.9% to 6,596 in 2021, compared to 5,947 the year before.
And while AAIM wishes all the arrest numbers were even higher, it says the totals achieved matter because they represent dangerous drivers taken off the roads.
“Progress has been made to help eliminate the devastation caused by impaired driving in Illinois,” said Rita Kreslin, AAIM executive director. “While frustratingly slow, many lives have been saved.”
AAIM said the single cop with the most DUI arrests in 2021 was Illinois State Trooper Eric David with 298. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-mclean-county-rank-high-for-dui-arrests-in-illinois/article_9d8a587a-0610-11ed-8cf3-2366536561d5.html | 2022-07-17T22:00:07 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-mclean-county-rank-high-for-dui-arrests-in-illinois/article_9d8a587a-0610-11ed-8cf3-2366536561d5.html |
BLOOMINGTON — The rain was pouring Sunday in the Twin Cities, but so was some locally-made soft-serve ice cream.
Sunday marked National Ice Cream Day, which was designated in 1984 by President Ronald Regan, according to the Illinois Dairy Foods Association.
Customers who made a trip into Theo’s Microcreamery on East Beaufort in uptown Normal were given raffle tickets to honor the occasion. Co-owner Mindy Theobald said they wanted to say thank you to their customers by giving winners gift cards for other local businesses. Some of those included the Pop Up Chicken Shop, Bloomington Meats and The Brass Pig Smoke and Ale House.
The owner said their best-selling flavors have included cookie monster, blueberry crumble and peach crisp.
She said they’re the “ultimate ice cream nerds" at Theo's, and they've attended a convention in Florida, an ice cream science class on North Carolina, and the opening day of a new ice cream museum in Chicago.
Preparing for the busy summer season means Theobald has to source products, which she said is currently difficult. For example, they order 55 pounds of peaches at a time for their peach crisp ice cream. She said that flavor was a big hit last year, and the peaches come from PrairiErth Farm in Atlanta, Illinois.
They also have to plan out their flavors for the season. Theobald said they try to mix in new flavors, as well as keep older favorites on the menu.
“You don’t need an excuse to eat ice cream, but if you do, today is the day,” said Theobald on Sunday.
Christina Doxsie made a stop Sunday to Theo’s with her two daughters, Matilda and Min Doxsie, plus their friend Addison Richardson. She said they’ve been there 20 times this summer, and traditionally get ice cream after going rock climbing.
Matilda had a scoop of blue moon, which she said had a vanilla flavor and was nice and sweet. Despite its blue hue, she said it doesn’t taste like blueberry.
“It’s a mystery ice cream flavor,” the 10-year-old said.
Min said the cookie monster flavor was her favorite. That’s because it has “1,000 cookies in one cream,” the 6-year-old said.
Her older sister also noted their friend has a role in the Community Players' musical production of “Matilda,” of which the title shares her name. Matilda Doxsie said she’ll be playing Veruca Salt in their upcoming production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
So the little Miss Doxsie agreed that eating ice cream was a good way to research her theatrical character.
Frosty treats can also be had at several other local ice cream shops around Bloomington-Normal.
Manager Christi Thompson said they “make ice cream dreams come true” at Carl’s Ice Cream Factory, located on College Avenue in Normal. Another walk-up location is on Locust Street in Bloomington.
She said they offer 30 flavors of homemade, hand-dipped ice cream, as well as soft serve and yogurt options.
Hit sellers at Carl’s include buster brownies and cheesecake bars, Thompson said. She said they also have ice cream cakes.
Janet and Steve Severson, both of East Peoria, made their first visit Sunday to Carl’s on College Avenue. Mr. Severson got the vanilla-chocolate swirl cone, which he said was “fudgy,” and Mrs. Severson had the peach cone. She said it was both peachy and refreshing.
They came with her sister, Ann Adkins, and her husband Greg Adkins, both of Roanoke. The latter said he might get a peach ice cream cone to go.
Over in downtown Bloomington is Main Street Scoop at Main and Monroe streets. Owner Janet Mariani said they stayed open late this weekend and last for the Saturdays on the Square concert series.
Their top sellers are lavender honey, salted caramel and sweet cream and cookies. Her favorite is the lavender honey. She also noted they have three dairy-free options: chocolate, lemon sorbet and mango sorbet.
And they use eco-friendly utensils and tableware. Mariani said it’s all compostable.
The owner agreed her location is prime for catching foot traffic. She added people who live and work around downtown Bloomington are “so happy we’re here.
“And the kids are happier.”
Mariani said her goal was to offer more things for children in downtown Bloomington. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/twin-cities-parlors-get-scooping-for-national-ice-cream-day/article_523f53f8-060a-11ed-adf9-578bff07621f.html | 2022-07-17T22:00:13 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/twin-cities-parlors-get-scooping-for-national-ice-cream-day/article_523f53f8-060a-11ed-adf9-578bff07621f.html |
The St. Therese Catholic Church summer parish festival returned this year with live bands, delicious food and a cornhole tournament. It drew a sizeable crowd Saturday evening.
Daniel Gaitan
Among those enjoying the church festival Saturday were, from left, Natalle Dreifke, Andy Dreifke, Matt Dreifke, Tony Dreifke, Marcus Allemand, Logan Allemand, Nicolette Allemand, Grace Allemand, Rachel Allemand, Lio Allemand and Nathan Allemand.
Daniel Gaitan
St. Therese oCatholic Church's annual parish festival offered food, fun and activities held on the Father Becker Festival Grounds at 2020 91st St.
There was plenty of food, fun and laughter Saturday as St. Therese Catholic Church’s annual parish festival drew a crowd in Kenosha.
The event, held on the Father Becker Festival Grounds at 2020 91st St., included live music, food vendors, a raffle and games for the whole family, especially the children. Thousands turned out throughout the weekend for the church’s three-day fundraiser.
Organizer Adam Kavalauskas has managed the event for the last three years. He said this year’s event was a success.
“It’s been fantastic so far and several thousand will attend,” Kavalauskas said. “We have people from northern Illinois, Kenosha County and even Racine County.”
Kavalauskas said it takes months of planning to properly host such a large summer festival. He hopes to have more volunteers next year but said he was deeply grateful for all who helped out this year.
“It’s a lot of different moving parts,” he said. “A lot goes into this, which is a lot more than people might imagine. ... I don’t sleep during the festival week.”
Kavalauskas said his faith inspires him to devote so much time to the festival.
“There’s something to be said about helping out when we can and while we can,” he said. “We just do it while we can for the church, for the community. ... I just want to offer a very sincere thank you to all the volunteers. We can’t do it without the volunteers.”
Kristen Kelly also volunteered her time.
“I love the church and I want to see us keep going for as many years as we can and that includes volunteers,” she said. “People want to come out and have a good time. People want to come out and socialize.”
Natalle Dreifke attended the event with her family and friends.
“We’re having a blast,” she said. “We had some great pizza and the boys love the bounce houses.”
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An investigator said that the suspect was identified because he posed with a gun and hoodie in a Facebook photo that matched what the robber wore, as seen on surveillance video.
The St. Therese Catholic Church summer parish festival returned this year with live bands, delicious food and a cornhole tournament. It drew a sizeable crowd Saturday evening.
Among those enjoying the church festival Saturday were, from left, Natalle Dreifke, Andy Dreifke, Matt Dreifke, Tony Dreifke, Marcus Allemand, Logan Allemand, Nicolette Allemand, Grace Allemand, Rachel Allemand, Lio Allemand and Nathan Allemand. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-st-therese-catholic-church-festival-draws-a-crowd/article_83b84c9e-0607-11ed-a75a-07a16d8e2a6d.html | 2022-07-17T22:28:13 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-st-therese-catholic-church-festival-draws-a-crowd/article_83b84c9e-0607-11ed-a75a-07a16d8e2a6d.html |
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Originally published July 13 on IdahoCapitalSun.com.
On the day the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the regulation of abortion rights to the states, Idaho Family Policy CenterPresident Blaine Conzatti told the Idaho Capital Sun that he was overjoyed, but that the work was not yet done.
The Idaho Family Policy Center is a 501©(3) nonprofit that has helped draft and pass several anti-abortion bills, and helped push for the passage of Idaho’s trigger ban on nearly all abortions. The center also helped craft and pass a law modeled after legislation in Texas allowing individuals to sue medical professionals who provide an abortion.
Other anti-abortion individuals and groups have also been thinking about their next battles in the weeks since the court issued its ruling. While the Supreme Court’s action was a significant victory that activists have worked toward for years, Conzatti and some incoming members of the Idaho Legislature are now focusing on what’s next.
“I’ve been watching the various Supreme Court cases come out and trying to figure out what opportunities we have in the state legislatively, and I’m pretty excited about those opportunities,” Conzatti said.
For him, those opportunities so far include banning emergency contraception and IUDs, removing the affirmative defenses for rape and incest from Idaho’s abortion ban law, and placing limits on businesses or others who attempt to pay for a person to travel for an abortion.
Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, health care providers who determine a patient needs an abortion because of a medical emergency are protected regardless of state law. Those medical conditions could include ectopic pregnancy, pregnancy loss complications, or preeclampsia, according to previous States Newsroom reporting.
Removing the rape and incest exceptions is not an idea Conzatti sees as going very far with the Idaho Legislature, even as more conservative candidates will be seated in the state Senate by January. Many of the legislators are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has allowed for those exceptions in its doctrine regarding abortion.
“That’s probably going to be a long-term educational effort to convince LDS legislators that we never punish a child for the sins of the father, and no matter the circumstances of birth, every child deserves equal protection of the law,” Conzatti said.
On the subject of contraception, Conzatti said there’s no evidence that monthly birth control pills should be banned, but said emergency contraception and IUDs go a step too far because fertilization can still occur. The International Planned Parenthood Federation disagrees with the classification of IUDs as a device that causes abortions.
“Anything that can end life after conception is problematic,” he said.
Restricting interstate travel for abortion could be unconstitutional, policy center director says
According to the Washington Post, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers has started to work on model legislation that would restrict people from crossing state lines to get an abortion, but Conzatti said he isn’t sure about that idea.
“I don’t know how I feel about it. There are interesting constitutional questions,” he said.
Instead, Conzatti wants to stop businesses and others from “furnishing” an abortion, which he says he is modeling after other states that had similar laws on the books prior to the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Texas is one of those states, where it was a crime to perform or furnish the means for procuring an abortion prior to Roe.
Several businesses in Idaho have stated intentions to pay for employees to travel for an abortion, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Citigroup Inc. and Chobani.
Chobani, which employs more than 1,000 people in the Magic Valley, said it would cover expenses for employees who need to travel out of state or more than 100 miles for an abortion, cancer treatment, bariatric surgery and other special procedures, according to the Times-News.
“You want to talk about crazy dystopia, like, ‘Here, instead of us providing you with family leave and paying for your pregnancy and paying for all the accommodations that we’re going to have to offer after you give birth, we’re going to spend $5,000 and ship you out of state so that you can keep working for us,” Conzatti said. “It’s just bizarre stuff.”
Chobani provides six weeks of paid parental leave following the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child after six months of employment, along with medical, dental and vision coverage.
According to the Idaho State Journal, Chobani President Kevin Burns said in an email to employees that he knows the issues are not without controversy or religious implications.
“We recognize that we have employees with strongly-held views on both sides of this issue and we respect the deeply-held beliefs on both sides,” Burns wrote. “For Chobani, this is not a political stance or posturing – it’s a reaffirmation of our core belief that we will strive to do what’s best for the safety, health and well-being of our employees and their families.”
What is the status of Idaho’s trigger law?
The Idaho Legislature passed an abortion trigger law in 2020, making nearly all abortions a felony with prosecutorial defenses allowed only for rape, incest and to save the pregnant person’s life. The law included a clause that would make it effective 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a judgment that returns the authority to regulate abortion procedures to the states. The U.S. Supreme Court took that action on June 24, overruling Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood case law.
The Idaho Supreme Court vacated its original plans for a hearing on Idaho’s Texas-style abortion law allowing civil lawsuits against medical professionals who perform abortions, and will use the same date to hear specific arguments related to how that lawsuit and the case over the trigger law should proceed, according to two court orders.
House State Affairs chairman says next steps should be slow and deliberate
While new members of the Idaho Legislature next year will include Republicans in both chambers who are likely to support Conzatti’s proposals, there may not be as much appetite for some of those changes from those in leadership positions.
Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, is chairman of the House State Affairs Committee and said he and Conzatti have not spoken about the bills Conzatti says he is drafting. Crane said he is committed to taking a measured approach to the issue and not messing with the trigger law too soon.
“We have a very robust trigger law, and there is some time that’s going to be needed to look at that and see if it’s good as it stands or if there are deficiencies,” Crane said. “I have talked to a number of legislators who feel like that is a solid position and would love to let this trigger law go into effect and see what happens.”
Crane says he’s been clear that he isn’t interested in banning contraception such as IUDs, but said the Legislature probably will have a conversation about emergency contraception, including Plan B.
While Crane has been chairman of the House State Affairs Committee for the past two years, he may not be selected as chairman again in the 2023 session. That will be up to leadership to decide.
As far as legislation restricting a person’s ability to travel for an abortion, Crane said Americans have a fundamental right to travel freely. But he is working with Stanton Healthcare and other groups to discuss how to provide more support and care after the birth of a child, including providing formula, diapers and other resources. He’s also working on legislation to help make the adoption process easier and more affordable. Conzatti expressed support for legislation on that subject as well.
But most importantly, Crane wants to proceed deliberately around what he called an emotional and sensitive issue.
“The advice I’ve been giving to lawmakers is, I think we need to proceed slowly with prudence and caution and care as we move forward,” Crane said. “Idaho has already made a policy statement on where they believe the line should be drawn, let’s put that in place and see if there’s any deficiencies.”
Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, will retire from the Legislature in December after more than 20 years, the last four of which she spent as chairwoman of the Senate State Affairs Committee. As chairwoman, Lodge drew criticism for holding some bills in committee, effectively killing them for the session. That has included several pieces of legislation Conzatti helped draft and push over the past two years.
A new chairperson of Senate State Affairs will be determined at the beginning of the 2023 legislative session.
Several incoming senators have publicly voiced far-right views on abortion
Perhaps more than any other, lawmakers in the next legislative session are likely to represent a broad spectrum of opinions, from left to the extreme right. While legislative seats won’t be finalized until after the general election in November, some Republicans have no opponents in the general election and others that do have opponents are still likely to win.
Scott Herndon, the Republican nominee for Senate in North Idaho, has said publicly that Idaho’s trigger bill should have treated abortion as homicide and has compared abortion to slavery, saying it is a human rights violation and a defilement of the image of God.
Herndon said in a video on Facebook that in the next legislative session he will introduce a bill making changes to Idaho’s trigger law. That will include taking out the exceptions for those who were victims of rape and incest. Under the existing law, those victims would have to prove they had filed a police report documenting the accusation, which can take weeks or months to obtain if it is an open investigation.
{div class=”fullwidth”}Herndon said in the video that those exceptions are “absolutely unjust” and give mothers a “free pass.”{/div}
“You don’t put to death the innocent child for the crime of its father, but that’s what this law would allow,” Herndon said. “… If a mother really wants to kill her child, she could lie, say she was raped, file a police report and go get her child killed in the state of Idaho and nobody would be prosecuted.”
Ben Toews, who won the Republican nomination for a Senate seat in the Coeur d’Alene area and is unopposed in the general election, is also a board member of the Idaho Family Policy Center. In a candidate survey, Toews said he is passionate about ending abortion in Idaho from conception.
“For too long we have allowed the most vulnerable in our society to be killed in the name of women’s rights or freedom of choice,” Toews wrote.
Glenneda Zuiderveld, the Republican nominee for a Senate seat in the Twin Falls area, posted on Facebook that the issue isn’t over.
“They can still (choose) the life of the mother over the baby,” Zuiderveld wrote. “Which is very rare, I can’t think of one woman who would (choose) her life over her child’s. Most women would sacrifice their lives for their children.”
Dan Foreman, a Republican who served one term in the Idaho Senate from 2016 to 2018, will face Senate Democrat David Nelson, D-Moscow, and Constitution candidate James Hartley in November. Foreman has written that his top issue is for Idaho to abolish the “unnecessary, harmful and wasteful curse of abortion,” and said he would also introduce legislation eliminating the rape and incest exceptions.
Other likely Idaho senators hold back on making more changes to abortion restrictions
Rep. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, has a challenger in November from the Constitution Party named Paul Thompson, but said assuming she’s in the Legislature next session, she doesn’t see a need for removing the exceptions or going after contraception.
“The majority of the people that I talk to actually wish we’d just leave it alone. I think they like the exceptions for incest and rape, and obviously the health of the mother. Most of us have not walked in these people’s shoes, so it’s hard for us to know,” Hartgen said. “To the bottom of my toes, I am pro-life, but there’s just a few things there that I feel like the doctor and the mother and father need to give strong consideration to.”
Wright Hartgen said she’d like to see the Legislature focus on policy issues related to water and education. And she is of the mind that they should leave businesses alone and let them decide what they want to do for their employees.
Chris Trakel, who defeated Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, for a Senate seat, will face Democratic challenger Toni Ferro and Constitution nominee Kurtis Berger. To Trakel, any type of abortion is murder, although there are justifiable defenses. He said he would be hard pressed to decide an abortion was acceptable because of rape or incest, but as a representative, he said he would listen to what his constituents wanted. The same is true for contraception, he said.
“I’m not here to push my opinions through and what I think is right,” Trakel said. “I want as much input as I can from other people, and when I don’t have that input, I go off my own principles and thoughts.”
Mountain Home resident Geoff Schroeder beat six-term incumbent Rep. Terry Gestrin, R-Donnelly, for a seat in the Senate. He is running unopposed in the general election, and is one of few Idaho Republicans who says he doesn’t think the government should be in the position of making medical decisions for people.
“My grandfather was a doctor, and there’s so many different situations, ranges of ages and medical history that are beyond the expertise of any legislator,” Schroeder said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to weigh in, in advance of these things. It should be left to the doctor and the patient.”
He called the idea of the government regulating access to contraception absurd, and said he’s not in favor of regulating business in this area either.
“I am not in favor of the government interfering in contractual agreements between an employer and an employee,” Schroeder said.
Boise Democrats vow to continue fighting future legislation
While Republicans spar over upcoming abortion-related legislation, Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, said she is focused on knocking on doors and talking to people across the state. Regardless of party affiliation, Wintrow said she is hearing from many Idahoans that they don’t like the direction of the state’s political landscape.
“I want folks out there, regardless of party, to vote for the person, not just the party,” Wintrow said. “I think there are a lot of people who feel that this is one bridge too far.”
Two college students who are working as interns for Wintrow are knocking doors with her and encouraging people to vote, even if it’s not for Wintrow.
Bryn Harris, a Boise High School graduate who is attending the University of California San Francisco, said people are going to have their religious beliefs, but it’s not their place to impose it on anyone else.
“This country was founded with the belief that there’s separation of church and state,” Harris said. “Especially regarding such a fundamental thing.”
Although Democrats remain a small minority — with just 19 of 105 seats — in the Idaho Legislature, Wintrow said she will keep fighting for personal freedoms and separation of church and state.
“It behooves no one to incorporate one religion into government,” Wintrow said. “We’ve seen where that’s gotten us before.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/what-s-next-for-idaho-s-abortion-policies-activists-new-legislators-want-more-restrictions/article_a88ce076-6e3c-5f2e-a814-a96b820ca6aa.html | 2022-07-17T22:36:34 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/what-s-next-for-idaho-s-abortion-policies-activists-new-legislators-want-more-restrictions/article_a88ce076-6e3c-5f2e-a814-a96b820ca6aa.html |
Cattle ranching runs through Jarrod Montford’s veins several generations over. Yet lately, the Bridgeport rancher is one of thousands statewide who've had to sell his cattle due to the high costs to keep them fed.
“It’s gonna hurt and it’s gonna hurt bad,” Montford said. “It’s a strain. And sometimes you have to sell some cattle to keep a few."
He’s sold seven or eight of his livestock and has plans to sell more.
Last Monday, over 3,000 head of livestock were sold at the Decatur Livestock Market.
The shade under a tree offered Montford's herd some relief from the scorching sun.
He uses rotational grazing - rotating his herd through the pasture to allow other grassy spots to grow back. If rain doesn’t pour in to break the drought, it could break the bank as more ranchers are forced to dip into their winter reserve.
“We have producers like our neighbors who are already feeding hay. If they’re already feeding hay now, it’s a long time to frost and it’s going to really hurt their pocketbooks if they’re feeding hay currently,” said Montford.
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It’s a problem affecting cattle ranchers feeding much of the nation.
“1.6, 1.7% of the population feeds the rest. It’s not how bad are we at the end of the day," Monfort said. "It’s the fact that if we don’t survive, our nation fails,” said Montford. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/extreme-heat-drying-up-pastures-forcing-ranchers-across-texas-to-sell-livestock/3016537/ | 2022-07-17T22:37:22 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/extreme-heat-drying-up-pastures-forcing-ranchers-across-texas-to-sell-livestock/3016537/ |
A man sitting on an escalator rail at Lincoln Financial Field died when he fell off and plunged about 40 feet down, police said.
The unidentified 32-year-old fell at the stadium in South Philadelphia around 10:47 p.m. Thursday, the Philadelphia Police Department said Sunday. An ambulance rushed him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was declared dead at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
The death appears to be accidental, the PPD said. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-on-escalator-rail-falls-to-his-death-at-the-linc/3302221/ | 2022-07-17T22:37:34 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-on-escalator-rail-falls-to-his-death-at-the-linc/3302221/ |
VALPARAISO — Madison Cary's happy smile lit up the spacious but crowded Patio Room as she posed for dozens of photos with well-wishing friends and family.
Cary, 18, of Chesterton, was crowned 2022 Miss Porter County Fair Queen at the pageant held at the Expo Center on Saturday night.
"I'm shocked. I feel truly blessed," Cary said.
Cary, who listed Jesus as her role model on her candidate application, won over a field of 12 candidates vying to serve as the new Porter County Fair queen.
The Porter County Fair starts Thursday and runs through July 30.
Events leading up to Cary's win as fair queen included interviews by judges, presentation of a prepared speech and modeling of professional wear and an evening gown.
A recent Chesterton High School graduate, Cary donned a deep blue, sequined gown and sparkling jewelry for the evening gown/impromptu question portion.
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Cary, the daughter of Angela and Norman Navarro, will be attending Franklin College of Indiana in the fall where she will major in psychology.
A survivor of sexual assault, Cary while in high school created a group called HOPE (heal, overcome, persevere and empower) to create hope for survivors of sexual assault by empowering each to heal, overcome and persevere in a supportive environment.
"Advocating for survivors and educating allies is something that I am very passionate about and believe is truly my life's work. I never wanted HOPE to end after my time at Chesterton High School, so I have spoken with club members to continue HOPE at CPS, and I have spoken with directors at Franklin College and will be able to bring HOPE to Franklin," Cary said.
Cary said she sees herself 10 years in the future as a school counselor who has "already created or is planning to create a nonprofit that sets standards in schools for sexual assault awareness."
"I would love for HOPE to be a name known nationally and that I could dedicate my life to serving others and using my own experiences to comfort those around me," Cary said in information on her pageant application.
Outgoing queen Anna Pressel, who crowned Cary, gave a farewell speech prior to naming the new queen as well as Miss Congeniality, Miss Photogenic and first and second runner-ups.
Gwen Weaver, 18, of Hebron, was named Miss Congeniality; Paige Cavanaugh, 18, of Valparaiso, was named Miss Photogenic; Shelby Whitaker, 19, of Valparaiso, was named second runner-up and Madison Heavilin, 20, of Valparaiso, was named first runner-up.
Cary, as the new Porter County Queen, receives $1,000, numerous other gifts, all expenses paid as a Porter County Fair Queen representative and will be an entry to the Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant.
Pressel, who was crowned Miss Porter County Fair Queen and Miss Photogenic last year, graduated from Morgan Township High School.
During her farewell speech, Pressel spoke of an early memory of herself as a 5-year-old in a flower dress dreaming of being the fair queen when she grew up.
That dream became a reality last July 17, and Pressel said she recently looked through photos taken to recall all the wonderful new memories she made as fair queen.
"Each image told a story," Pressel said.
Pressel said she felt she came full circle because of all the little girls she met during the fair who wanted photos taken with her.
After thanking her family, especially her mom who had her back and was with her from morning to midnight, Pressel had advice for the new fair queen.
She told the new queen to smile a lot and take photos with every little kid you see.
"It is now your turn to build your scrapbook," Pressel said. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/build-your-scrapbook-new-porter-county-fair-queen-crowned/article_d2187f0b-bd29-5204-8945-ec7f0b7e4ce7.html | 2022-07-17T22:48:03 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/build-your-scrapbook-new-porter-county-fair-queen-crowned/article_d2187f0b-bd29-5204-8945-ec7f0b7e4ce7.html |
A bridge replacement project on I-94 will require lane closures in LaPorte County.
Provided
Motorists should be alert for changed traffic patterns on Interstate 94 between exits 34 and 40 in LaPorte County.
Indiana Department of Transportation contractor Rieth-Riley Construction Co. will perform a bridge project that will require the lane shifts beginning on or after Wednesday between the exits serving U.S. 421 and U.S. 20/35.
The two left lanes and shoulders in both the eastbound and westbound directions will be closed between W 400 N and Bleck Road. Traffic will be shifted to the right with two 11-foot lanes with two-foot shoulders open in both directions, INDOT said.
The lane closures and shifts are for the second phase of a bridge replacement project just east of Johnson Road expected to last through late October.
This INDOT graphic shows the location of lane closures lasting through early September.
Jasper County lane shifts A pipe lining project on Interstate 65 will require lane closures between U.S. 231 and Ind. 114 in near Rensselaer. F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates will begin the project on or after Tuesday, INDOT announced.
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Work will begin with overnight lane and shoulder closures on I-65 to install the lane shifts, which will keep two travel lanes in each direction open during daytime hours. INDOT urges motorists to navigate the lane shifts carefully.
Additional overnight lane closures may be used to modify the work zone, INDOT said.
Preliminary work on the project was done earlier this year to widen the median shoulders for the pipe lining itself, which will be ongoing through early September.
Community Crossings applications open INDOT is accepting applications from municipalities and counties for the summer 2022 round of the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program. The deadline is Aug. 31, with announcement of grants expected in late winter or early spring.
Through the program, cities and towns with a population of fewer than 10,000 and counties with fewer than 50,000 will receive funds using a 75/25 match, while larger municipalities and counties are eligible for a 50/50 match.
Since 2016, the state has awarded more than $1 billion in matching funds to support local road and bridge projects.
Gary airport operations rise Take-offs and landings at Gary/Chicago International Airport totaled 2,046 in June, a 23.6% increase over the same month a year ago, airport officials announced at the July airport authority meeting last week.
The airport and its fixed-base operators pumped 297,518 gallons of fuel during the month, up 16.2% from June 2021.
Gary welcomed 14 international arrivals in June, with 78 travelers going through its U.S. Customs facility. The flights arrived from the United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada.
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
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Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/transportation-bridge-work-continues-on-i-94-east-of-johnson-road/article_d9a3acf3-3dcb-573e-9e09-0b2dc4ce9c40.html | 2022-07-17T22:48:09 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/transportation-bridge-work-continues-on-i-94-east-of-johnson-road/article_d9a3acf3-3dcb-573e-9e09-0b2dc4ce9c40.html |
TAMPA, Fla. — A semi-truck on fire parked in front of a mobile home in Tampa led to the trailer also to be caught on fire at 4:34 p.m. Sunday, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said in a news release.
Authorities say the fire occurred at a home on 20th Avenue South and the person who reported the incident said the fire was very close to the trailer.
The mobile home was already caught on fire when firefighters arrived at the scene, the news release said.
HCFR says the fire was under control in about 10 minutes when they arrived and crews put out the fire from the trailer and semi-truck.
There were no reported injuries and nobody was inside the home after firefighters conducted searches.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/blazing-semi-truck-tampa-home-fire/67-02554293-c02e-4321-af9c-f0aec0bdba3d | 2022-07-17T22:52:29 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/blazing-semi-truck-tampa-home-fire/67-02554293-c02e-4321-af9c-f0aec0bdba3d |
ELLENTON, Fla. — A man was shot at a mall in Ellenton at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, deputies say.
The man was shot at the Ellenton Premium Outlets parking lot on Factory Shops Boulevard by people he appears to have known, Manatee County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Law enforcement is reportedly following leads on three Hispanic people responsible for shooting the man and were seen driving away from the parking lot in a car.
The man shot was taken to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition, deputies say.
The sheriff's office says there is no current threat to the mall and all stores remain open.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/manateecounty/1-person-hospitalized-ellenton-mall-shooting/67-96eccd1f-673c-470e-bda7-f97cbd4d975d | 2022-07-17T22:52:35 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/manateecounty/1-person-hospitalized-ellenton-mall-shooting/67-96eccd1f-673c-470e-bda7-f97cbd4d975d |
HARVEY COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — Two people have been critically injured in a crash in Harvey County Sunday afternoon.
The crash happened on Interstate 135 between Hesston and Newton.
According to Hesston Fire/EMS Chief Russ Buller, one of the vehicles involved was going at a highway speed north on the I-135 when a car headed south crossed the meridian and collided with the northbound car head-on.
Both cars had significant damage, according to Buller.
Buller says the Interstate has since been cleared, and traffic is able to go back through.
Each driver was the only occupant in the car. They were both taken to Wichita-area hospitals in critical condition.
KSN has a crew headed to the scene. We will provide more information as it becomes available. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/two-critically-injured-in-harvey-county-crash/ | 2022-07-17T22:57:01 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/two-critically-injured-in-harvey-county-crash/ |
10:35 A.M.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Troopers have closed the Luckett Road travel lanes at the overpass and right lane of Northbound I-75 due to a commercial motor vehicle crashing into the overpass. There are no reported injuries at this time. Please travel with caution. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/07/16/traffic-alerts-july-16-3/ | 2022-07-17T23:04:10 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/07/16/traffic-alerts-july-16-3/ |
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News from around the state of Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-house-report-on-systemic-failures-in-uvalde-school-massacre/3016578/ | 2022-07-17T23:12:24 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-house-report-on-systemic-failures-in-uvalde-school-massacre/3016578/ |
Nearly a year after making inroads into the Tucson market, the Gilbert-born-and-based Salad and Go soup and salad chain has plans to expand its footprint with three new stores.
The first, at 1302 S. Kolb Road, is expected to open Aug. 7 and a company spokesman said construction has started for a northwest side location at 2080 W. River Road that is expected to open in early 2023. The company is still in the planning and permitting stages for a location at 7980 E. Speedway and no opening date has been announced.
Salad and Go introduced itself to Tucson in August 2021 at its first location, 5501 E. Speedway, near North Craycroft Road. Within months, a second location opened in the bustling south-side Tucson Marketplace at the Bridges, near Costco and Dave & Buster’s, at 1730 E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd.
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Everything at Salad and Go is prepared to go — hence the name — but instead of serving unhealthy fast-food fare like burgers and fried foods, Salad and Go’s menu is health-focused.
Baked or grilled chicken or tofu can be added to generous green salads topped by fresh vegetables that are often locally-sourced from area farmers. Salads and wraps, which you create yourself from a list of available vegetables, lettuces and proteins, are $6.24.
You can make your salad even more portable by wrapping it in a tortilla, which also serves as the anchor for the five varieties of breakfast burritos including turkey sausage burritos and a classic egg, potato and bacon (nitrate-free, of course).
A featured soup makes your salad a meal.
Salad and Go launched in Gilbert in 2013 and already has nearly 50 locations statewide as well as more than 40 restaurants either open or about to open in Texas, and one in Oklahoma.
Restaurants and bars that have opened in the Tucson area in 2022
Rudy’s “Country Store” & Bar-B-Q
2130 E Ajo Way
520-908-7397
Rudy’s specializes in all things barbecue from their popular brisket to smoked turkey breast, chicken, ribs and pulled pork. Meat is sold by the half-pound — ranging from $6.99 for sausage links to $10.99 for brisket — and sides are a la carte.
By the Bucket
2130 N. Kolb Road
(520) 771-6917
By the Bucket sells hot spaghetti to go in a bucket, meatballs, meatball subs, deserts and cold drinks.
Peace, Love and Pops
814 E University Blvd
(520) 372-7805
Home | Peace, Love, and Pops – Handcrafted Frozen Treats Tucson (peaceloveandpops.com)
Tooley's Cafe
299 S. Park Ave
The restaurant at 299 S. Park Ave. will reopen, after a six-year closure, on Friday, June 3, with the original breakfast and lunch menu that dates back to 1989.
Texas Burrito Company
1570 E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd
Suite 100
520-367-6050
This new restaurant on Tucson's south side is run by Jason Scott, who incorporates his Texan roots and barbecue into traditional Sonoran food.
Ren Bakery and Espresso Bar
4320 N. Campbell Ave., #43
520-389-8926
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Baked goods from muffins and danish to scones and cinnamon rolls that are used in Ren Coffeehouse nearby, and of course, espresso.
Tanna's Botannas
4426 S. Sixth Ave.
520-445-5875
Spicy candies and snacks are on the menu.
Squared Up Pizza
5870 E Broadway
520-519-2000
This pizza spot presents Sicilian pies like you get in New York. Their pies are in the traditional Sicilian square, with a thicker base and crunchy crust.
Frida's Cafe
5526 E Grant Road
520-367-4711
Menu items are inspired by the famous painter couple, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
The Monica
40 E. Congress St.
520-645-1924
The Monica opened as an offshoot of El Charro Café. It is named for El Charro's founder Monica Flin and includes a market along with the restaurant.
BoSa Donuts
6872 E. Tanque Verde Road
520-526-2341
BoSa Donuts serves more than donuts and coffee. You can get lunch there with sandwiches and other drinks.
Bun Dock Vietnamese Noodle
3225 N. Swan Road, Suite 111
520-274-7419
The restaurant specializes in Vietnamese Bún (Vermicelli Salad Bowls)
Cruda Mariscos & Oyster Bar
31 N. Scott Ave.
520-207-0589
Cruda is the newest in a slew of opulent, Mexican-influenced restaurants across Tucson. It was opened by Danny Cordova in the space left when his first downtown venture, La Chingada, moved into the former location of the now-closed restaurant Cafe Poca Cosa.
Fullylove's
994 E. University Blvd.
520-534-7896
This lunch to late-night munchies spot has classic and vegan burgers and sandwiches and sides and a considerable dessert menu.
Guadalajara Grille
5955 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive
520-296-4221
This Mexican restaurant at 5955 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive is the third location for chef-owner Seth Holzman, which include Guadalajara Grill Mexican, 4901 E. Broadway, and Guadalajara Grill Fiesta, 750 N. Kolb Road. It has the same menu of classic Mexican food.
Midtown Vegan Deli and Market
5071 E. Fifth St.
520-849-5553
Tanya Barnett started her deli and market out of a desire to make veganism more accessible — for meat eaters and die-hard vegans alike. She asked vegans what ingredients they needed to find and placed them on her first order.
Ni Hao Tea
2800 N. Campbell Ave.
Ni Hao Tea, with this new location, serves Boba tea and smoothies.
The Century Room at Hotel Congress
311 E. Congress St.
520-622-8848
hotelcongress.com/family/century-room
Tucson's only jazz club, The Century Room borderlands jazz club and mezcal tasting lounge, is in the former Copper Hall banquet space at at Hotel Congress.
The Delta
135 S. Sixth Ave.
520-524-3400
The Delta officially opened on New Year’s Day. It is the downtown sister project of local favorite The Parish.
Tucsonans might recognize The Parish as a restaurant that transforms an Oro Valley strip mall into a shot of New Orleans. The Delta will feature the same Southern Hospitality it will be a bar with a grill menu instead of the Parish's gumbo.
Bata
35 E. Toole Ave.
Bata is owned by Tyler Fenton, who, with two siblings, also owns Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink. The menu will consist of foods touched by fire, whether being grilled, charred, flame dried or burned (on purpose).
Pacaws Wings & Things
6255 E. Golf Links Road
520-526-2857
facebook.com/pages/category/Food-Truck/Pacaws-Wings-Things-LLC-105721851726183/
Opened March 17.
Ceres owner's 'second wild child' fresh pasta restaurant Noodies is NOW OPEN
Editor's note: This story was originally published on March 8, 2022. Noodies opened on April 15, 2022.
Noodies! When owner Carolyn O’Connor says the word out loud, it sounds like a party, a celebration.
The name belongs to her new pasta restaurant, opening later this month, in the space formerly occupied by Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea. Carolyn is totally re-imagining the place, complete with a mural painted by a friend who happens to experiment with abstract noodle shapes. There isn’t a better word for it than “fun.”
Noodies is a Tucson inheritance. But its lineage, like sister restaurant Ceres, comes from all over. If Ceres is inspired by the pastries and pasta of northern Italy, Noodies draws material from the checkered-tablecloth Italian-American of Syracuse, with some help by way of Hong Kong.
Syracuse is Carolyn’s hometown. It’s where she was pregnant, scrolling Pinterest, when the algorithm realized she needed more brightly-colored images of cha chaan teng — American-style diners in Hong Kong, where you can get condensed-milk French toast and macaroni soup. Those hues inspire the setting of Noodies today, if not the menu.
Though both restaurants share the foundation of Carolyn’s handmade pasta, Carolyn is clear that each restaurant is its own concept. “Ceres always felt like my baby. The first time going into something, everything was really new. Because of that everything feels so precious … Noodies felt almost like having a second child … Noodies is colorful; the food is a little more gluttonous and cheesy. I see it as a wild second child or something.”
While you will be able to get your favorite sauces from Ceres at Noodies — the tomato basil, the bolognese, the cacio e pepe — Noodies’ larger kitchen allows Carolyn to expand the menu. You’ll be able to add Italian sausage, meatballs and burrata to your order. Unlike Ceres’ lunch counter, Noodies will have both indoor and outdoor seating. Their menu will also offer sandwiches Carolyn misses from her hometown, like meatball subs and Italian grinders.
Though Carolyn never thought she would go into the restaurant business — her parents are in academics — her mother’s hospitality inspires Carolyn’s restaurants.
“My mom, she’s a really good cook, and she loves having a real dinner. She sets the table, puts out napkins, does all this stuff, makes a whole beautiful meal and a pie, tea and coffee, so she creates this whole experience for people, and it makes people feel so loved and appreciated. It’s also a legacy in my own family, taking care of people through food,” she said.
The “also” responds to Noodies’ more apparent legacy: Noodies is taking over the lease of her mother-in-law Jo Schneider’s first restaurant, Bentley’s, which occupied that space for over two decades. If Carolyn’s own mother gave her a love for feeding her community, Carolyn’s mother-in-law inspired her to make service her livelihood.
“Going into the restaurant business or being an entrepreneur was so different than what I expected (for my life). The trust (the Schneider family has) put in me, the support, how they’re always there for me, with anything. It’s such a testament to their kindness and generosity. I think Jo does that for a lot of people in this community, giving people a chance when maybe other people wouldn’t, and let them shine,” she said of Jo, who owns downtown’s LaCo.
At both Ceres and Noodies, Carolyn aspires to be that support system for her own employees. She hosts weekly tasting sessions for staff, where they all sample the specials, the soft-serve flavors and give feedback. “Everyone who works there respects everyone else and works really hard. It’s such a good thing for workplace morale. It’s very collaborative, so everyone feels really listened to,” Carolyn said.
“There’s two staff at Ceres who have been there since the day we opened,” she said. “They now know how to do everything. They’re more or less managing Ceres for the shifts, every day … I really wouldn’t have been able to take on the new project without them.”
Workers at Ceres have to be able to do it all: cook pasta and take orders and make espresso — because the space to work is tiny. Though the larger venue at Noodies allows for more specialization, people working in the front versus the back of house, Carolyn aspires for the restaurants to cross-pollinate.
“I have everyone try cooking lunch. I love it so much. It’s really fast … I think a lot of women, especially, are really intimidated to go into a kitchen and work in a line … I think giving people the chance who wouldn’t maybe necessarily think that’s a good fit for them, the opportunity to cook in a fast-paced place, and realize: I could be really good at this.
“We just started accepting resumes for Noodies. I’m not sure what the kitchen will look like, or the front of house. We wrote that all are welcome to apply. I really hope people will.”
Noodies
Location: 1726 E. Speedway
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Monday.
For more information, check out their Instagram.
Tucson's new food truck park is tucked into a former gas station parking lot — and the food is incredible
Amber Donahue and Chris Frisch were running a thriving sports therapy business, traveling across the United States with elite athletes, when the pandemic hit.
“Overnight, our jobs were obsolete,” Amber said. “So we started thinking about businesses we could do that were pandemic-proof.”
As they traveled for work, through cities like Austin, Texas; Portland and Bend, Oregon; and Nashville, Tennessee, they noticed these cities each had food truck parks. They liked that the concept had a small footprint: it’s simply making a setting to bring together food trucks and the people who love them. And Tucson, the foodie city where their eldest daughter was recently hired as a high school teacher, didn’t have a food truck park yet.
“We thought we could bring something to this town we loved vacationing in so much,” Amber said.
After nearly a year of development, their new food truck park, The Pit, opened last weekend at 7889 E. 22nd St. “The property used to be a haunted Scooby Doo gas station,” Amber said.
“Remember the gas stations you see in the middle of nowhere? That’s what we walked into,” she said. “We gutted the whole thing and kept it bare: we have coolers full of drinks, a few snacks and decorated it with kitschy awkward family photos, just made it a place that is clean and comfortable.”
The station itself is used as a central bar to complement the sizable outdoor space they cleared of debris and turned into seating. They also built a stage for live music on weekends and have plans in the works to install misters and build more shade for the summer. Many of their materials were sourced from community donations, from families and local businesses.
“We want this to be a place people can come in the evening,” Amber said.
The business partners decided on a rotating food truck schedule so people who live in the area can experience a variety of different vendors. Harris Hotstuff, a made-to-order barbecue truck, is only set up on the weekends, while you can get Hermanos Tacos and Lebanese food truck Homemade Mediterranean during the week.
“The woman who runs Homemade Mediterranean is the hardest working person I know,” Amber said.
Amber and Chris will soon be adding a Jamaican food truck, and are looking for a pizza truck and a truck that does Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Filipino noodle dishes.
Though the two divorced seven years ago, they are involved co-parents. Last year, they bought homes near each other, both in the Catalina Foothills School District. “Our success is based on building a legacy for our children, which is something we both agree with, always,” Amber said.
When I visited, every single thing I tried stood out as one of the best meals I’ve eaten all year. I was amazed at the curated selection of food trucks.
When I asked co-owner Chris about it, he said that the park has a special culture. Everyone is super kind and they help each other out. “We open up in the mornings, Homemade Mediterranean locks up at night. Cuppa GoGo helps clean the bathrooms. We all pitch in,” he said.
The result is a tight community of vendors, each with outstanding customer service and even more special food.
The Pit is currently home to six regular trucks, with three more coming soon, and seven visiting trucks. Here’s what you can get:
Homemade Mediterranean
This Lebanese sandwich place, Homemade Mediterranean, is simply amazing. I will be going back to try every item on their curated menu. I ordered their koefte sandwich, which is a vibrantly spiced beef patty tucked into a pita that rivals Tucson’s best flour tortillas: thin and almost laminated in its flakiness, but with a slightly more bready texture. The condiments are also stars: slightly sweet, slightly umami pickle with parsley salsa and tomato.
They had an extra falafel lying around when I stopped by and they let me try that too: perfectly crunchy with a slightly softer inside, with a dusting of sesame seeds. In my humble opinion, Lebanese hummus is the best of the Mediterranean, and I can only imagine how yummy their falafel sandwich with hummus and tahini must be.
I also got a side of fries, which I habitually get alongside Mediterranean food. I need to research why the region has french fries down pat: somehow they get extra crunchy on the outside, with a custardy middle. Heavenly.
Homemade Mediterranean is open 12:30-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 12:30-6 p.m. Sunday.
Bemo’s Ol’ Joe’s
Stop by Bemo's Ol' Joe's and you might find the now-closed Hog Pit co-owner, Les Baxter, sitting in a folding chair, welcoming you with a big smile. He's teamed up with chef Donald Adkins to bring you a food-truck concept with a pared-down menu, but full-volume flavor. Donald insisted I try the tot-chos, which were over-the-top in exactly the best way.
Tot-chos consist of five layers. The base, of course, are tater tots — fried, not baked. Tots’ signature riced texture and substantial crust will hold up to the hearty toppings: first a layer of melted sprinkle cheese, then a generous portion of melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork, doused in sauce and finished with a serving of slaw. While each ingredient is indulgent, they are in such perfect ratio that each bite is in harmony. I loved this place.
On my way out of The Pit, I saw someone eating a chicken sandwich from Bemo’s. I asked her how she liked it. To my surprise, she puckered her face like she was about to come up with the worst insult she possibly could, and delivered one line: “I wish there was more sauce.”
Bemo’s Ol’ Joe’s is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Hermanos Tacos
Trust me when I’ve said, I’ve eaten a lot of carne asada.
Hermanos has the real deal: succulent, a little chewy but tender, with a little crisp on some of the edges. The flour tortillas are thin, stretchy and just substantial enough to deliver the meat, pico and a splash of bright green salsa to your eager taste buds.
The one-man operation also makes impressive-looking raspados, as I witnessed from the woman who ordered in front of me, then hopped back in her truck, raspado in hand. I was so jealous.
This place is cash only, so keep that in mind.
Hermanos Tacos is open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Other food trucks on the regular roster:
- Cuppa GoGo — Coffee with syrups and sauces made from scratch, open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily
- Moncho's Mex — Tacos, burros, quesadillas and more Mexican favorites, open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday-Monday
- Harris Hotstuff — Made-to-order barbecue, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Coming soon: Jamaican, Italian and sushi!
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/salad-and-go-adding-three-more-tucson-restaurants/article_7b1a755c-0167-11ed-96ab-9b63f41f2743.html | 2022-07-17T23:15:10 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/salad-and-go-adding-three-more-tucson-restaurants/article_7b1a755c-0167-11ed-96ab-9b63f41f2743.html |
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Big Sandy Fire burns near Wikieup
5 PHOTOS | https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/arizona-wildfires/2022/07/17/big-sandy-fire-near-wikieup/10083003002/ | 2022-07-17T23:26:21 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/arizona-wildfires/2022/07/17/big-sandy-fire-near-wikieup/10083003002/ |
Burn scars raise risk for flash flooding after weekend's storm events
Hail and strong winds were seen across Arizona as storms progressed through the state on Saturday. Next week’s forecast includes more showers and high temperatures for most of the state.
In Phoenix, the thunderstorms brought wind gusts with speeds ranging between 50 and 60 mph on Saturday, according to Sean Benedict, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Phoenix. At the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport gusts of 61 mph were recorded.
A heat burst event occurred at the airport due to winds since these pushed the dry air toward the surface and temperatures rose almost ten degrees, according to the NWS.
There were some showers in Phoenix although most of the rainfall was seen outside of the metro area in places including the Superstition Mountains, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Sun City and Buckeye.
Lightning was also seen across the region progressing from the White Mountains area until the Colorado River over the course of 12 hours. According to the NWS, there were almost 25,000 flashes.
"We don't typically keep track of what's normal for an event like this, so I can't say whether or not [25,000 flashes] were normal or not,” Benedict said. “But the storms yesterday were definitely a little bit stronger than what we typically see.”
The progression of the storm was a result of the change of wind conditions, according to Benedict.
In southern Arizona, most of the thunderstorms on Saturday were severe, according to Aaron Hardin, forecaster at the NWS office in Tucson. There were storms from Rio Rico, up to Green Valley, Tucson and Mammoth, and to the west toward Three Points.
The strong winds left some uprooted trees, and one roof was blown off, according to Hardin. There were also reports of hail, and the biggest one reported was about 1.5 inches in diameter which is close to the size of a ping pong ball.
“That big doesn't happen very often,” Hardin said. “We just had the right ingredients in the atmosphere for that to happen. Typically, we'll get, like, pea-sized hail storm during the monsoon, but we just had the right conditions yesterday to give us bigger hail.”
In northern Arizona, the heavy rains have resulted in flash flooding that has damaged structures and forced temporary road closures. In the upcoming week, anywhere from 30 to 60 members of the National Guard will be in the area to assist with flood mitigation in the the Schultz/Pipeline flood area.
No floods were reported on Saturday, according to Jeremy Mazon, meteorologist at the NWS office in Flagstaff. There were some scattered storms, especially along the Mogollon Rim and toward the Flagstaff area.
While the precipitation rates haven’t been out of the ordinary, Mazon said the challenge is when they happen over wildfire burn scars since it increases the chances of flash flooding.
“So if anything, that that's been our primary concern with these storms is just the location, which is it can be difficult to try to predict exactly where those storms will form,” Mazon said.
In central Arizona there are chances of thunderstorms in high terrains on Sunday and overnight a cluster of showers and some storms are expected to develop west of Phoenix, according to Benedict.
Monsoonal moisture will be in the area next week, bringing chances of showers and thunderstorms, especially in high elevation areas.
In Phoenix high temperatures are expected to drop a little bit to 110 degrees or below.
“So still hot, but not as hot. It’s just that time of the year, we're at the number at the peak of our heat season. So regardless, we should still be taking out all precautions necessary,” Benedict said.
In southeast Arizona near the border, daily thunderstorms are expected next week, according to Hardin. By Wednesday and through next weekend most of southeast Arizona is expected to have chances of thunderstorms.
In Tucson, temperatures will be between 102 and 105 degrees, which is about 2 to 4 degrees above normal, according to Hardin. Next weekend, the highs will be around 100 degrees and temperatures will be returning closer to normal.
In northern Arizona, scattered showers are expected almost every afternoon next week, according to Mazon.
In this region, temperatures are expected to climb to the upper 80s throughout the week, which is above average for this time of the year, according to Mazon. There is an excessive heat warning for the lower parts of the Grand Canyon and Marble Canyon through the middle of next week as temperatures can reach up to 114 degrees.
“So not only do we have the threat of a thunderstorm… but we also are watching out and communicating to everyone that temperatures are going to be well above normal and it could become dangerous if people are recreating in the afternoon and not properly hydrating and taking care of themselves,” Mazon said.
Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-weather/2022/07/17/burn-scars-boost-risk-flash-flooding-after-weekend-storm-events/10082261002/ | 2022-07-17T23:26:27 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-weather/2022/07/17/burn-scars-boost-risk-flash-flooding-after-weekend-storm-events/10082261002/ |
A couple was shot at while driving in a car along Ocoee Apopka Road between West Road and Fullers Cross Road on Sunday, according to the Ocoee Police Department.
Police said the passenger in the vehicle was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in serious condition. The driver of the vehicle was not injured and is cooperating with the investigation.
The Ocoee Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is actively investigating this incident. Anyone with any information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
Check back with ClickOrlando.com for more updates to this story. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/17/2-people-shot-in-vehicle-while-driving-along-ocoee-apopka-road-police-say/ | 2022-07-17T23:30:29 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/17/2-people-shot-in-vehicle-while-driving-along-ocoee-apopka-road-police-say/ |
TWIN FALLS — Bureau of Land Management fire crews quickly took charge of a wildfire Sunday north of the Snake River Canyon.
The blaze burned about 3 acres of BLM ground 5 miles northeast of Twin Falls, spokesperson Kelsey Brizendine told the Times-News.
Four engines, one water tender, one fire investigator and one fire manager responded at about 4 p.m., Brizendine said.
The fire, called Corral 2, burned ground between Interstate 84 and the canyon rim, she said. The blaze was expected to be contained by 7 p.m. and controlled by 10 a.m. Monday.
Multiple agencies are responding to an estimated 5,000-acre-fire five miles west of Eden. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/blaze-burns-blm-ground-near-devils-corral/article_bce71788-061c-11ed-a097-5f44fbd4b538.html | 2022-07-17T23:33:33 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/blaze-burns-blm-ground-near-devils-corral/article_bce71788-061c-11ed-a097-5f44fbd4b538.html |
Motions have been filed from the defense attorneys of Lori Vallow Daybell to seek clarification in the language in the grand jury indictment against her and her husband, Chad Daybell.
Lori Daybell’s defense team argues that two of the counts listed in the indictment are too complicated because they each include two separate allegations. Counts one and three in the official indictment, which was filed on May 25, 2021, are both labeled, “Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception.”
Count one against the Daybells indicts them for alleged conspiracy to commit the first-degree murder of 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and grand theft by deception, for wrongfully continuing to collect five monthly Social Security Survivor benefits on behalf of Tylee.
Count three indicts the couple for alleged conspiracy to commit the first-degree murder of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and grand theft by deception, for wrongfully continuing to collect four monthly Social Security benefit checks on behalf of JJ, and four monthly Social Security child-in-care payments.
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According to Idaho Code, an indictment must be “direct and certain.” The defense argues that because there are two separate crimes, a jury could be confused on how to rule for two crimes when both of them are included in one count. The defense asks that the grand jury re-deliberate and amend the indictment so that both alleged crimes are their own count.
According to the motions filed, “the crimes as currently stated do not meet the elements of a single crime, but in fact, lumps two crimes into one allegation making it a general felony for possible punishment purposes at sentencing.”
The defense also argues that although there is a punishment for each of the charges on their own, there is no single punishment for the two charges lumped together.
Lori and Chad Daybell are charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of JJ and Tylee — two of Lori’s children — and Chad’s first wife, Tammy Daybell. They have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against both. The Daybells are scheduled to stand trial together on Jan. 9, 2023, in Boise. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/lori-daybell-s-attorneys-ask-idaho-grand-jury-to-clarify-language-in-2-murder-counts/article_7c4cc7e8-0614-11ed-8ba0-6be69e95ea68.html | 2022-07-17T23:33:37 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/lori-daybell-s-attorneys-ask-idaho-grand-jury-to-clarify-language-in-2-murder-counts/article_7c4cc7e8-0614-11ed-8ba0-6be69e95ea68.html |
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — A shooting at a block party in Milledgeville sent five people to the hospital.
It happened just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning at the intersection of Leo Court and Nobles Court, according to a post from the Milledgeville Police Department.
There were reports of shots fired, and a large crowd was running away from the area when officers arrived on the scene. Multiple homes and vehicles were also hit by gunfire during the shooting.
Navicent Health Baldwin notified police that five victims with gunshot wounds had arrived by personal vehicle. Four female victims and one male victim are all in stable condition.
The investigation is active and more information will be released when it becomes available.
Anyone with information can call 478-414-4090 and ask to speak to a detective or call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at (478) 742-2330.
WHAT OTHERS ARE READING: | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/five-people-shot-in-milledgeville-georgia/93-135788c8-ae18-4ca3-ba2c-a4b80acbeaab | 2022-07-17T23:35:15 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/five-people-shot-in-milledgeville-georgia/93-135788c8-ae18-4ca3-ba2c-a4b80acbeaab |
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — The Barrow County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help finding a missing 37-year-old woman.
The sheriff's office said Jessica Gill Wheeler was last seen in the area of 560 8th Street in Statham Saturday at 9:45 p.m.
She is approximately 5-feet 6-inches tall, weighs 120 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. Wheeler was last seen wearing a black spaghetti strap shirt and blue jeans.
If you have any information or know where Jessica Gill Wheeler is, call the Barrow County Sheriff's Office at (770) 307-3080. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/missing-in-georgia/missing-barrow-county-woman-jessica-gill-wheeler/85-bc661e1d-ab4b-4530-8113-a97239411be2 | 2022-07-17T23:35:21 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/missing-in-georgia/missing-barrow-county-woman-jessica-gill-wheeler/85-bc661e1d-ab4b-4530-8113-a97239411be2 |
ATLANTIC CITY — Voting rights have always been at the fore of the NAACP mission, but some legal experts who have long fought for the franchise feel it has become an uphill battle.
The second day of the 113th annual NAACP Convention featured several events, including a Continuing Legal Education seminar on voting rights and, particularly, redistricting. The NAACP Office of the General Counsel and its panel guests explained the latest developments to those aspiring to get in redistricting fights being waged across the country.
The panelists often focused on how a more conservative judiciary was upending the voting-rights landscape. Organizations like the NAACP, whose agendas have often been advanced by liberal courts, were now being confronted with conservative reinterpretations of federal laws that have been lodestars for their redistricting litigation.
“The fight this time around is harder,” said panelist Carroll Rhodes, a veteran Mississippi civil rights attorney.
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One of the principal obstacles Rhodes and other panelist highlighted was the Purcell Principle. Established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006, it creates the presumption against having federal courts take action to change district maps or voting laws when too close to an election. Conservative proponents have held that the principle avoids sewing confusion for voters by abruptly changing rules just before an election is set to begin. Liberals and organizations such as the NAACP have maintained it hobbles the courts’ ability to remedy racially discriminatory or otherwise unconstitutional district maps, especially given the protracted period of time that many voting-rights cases can take.
Rhodes said redistricting battles had been further complicated by the four-month delay in the publication of the U.S. Census apportionment counts, a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it complicated efforts from the Census Bureau to collect responses. The redistricting process was more rushed, and it was more difficult for litigants to bring challenges to district maps state legislatures produced.
Rhodes emphasized that it was important for lawyers to wait to bring their redistricting challenges in years when relevant elections are not being run, owing to the Purcell Principle.
Stuart Naifeh, the manager of the redistricting project at the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, also recommended that attorneys take faster action, noting that the courts’ interpretation of the Purcell Principle has grown stricter over time. Like many of the panelists for the day, however, Naifeh was somewhat pessimistic about the prospects of such challenges. He said conservative courts may be willing to stay remedies for redistricting cases even if they are brought promptly. He worried that the principle was not always being applied fairly.
Texas NAACP Legal Redress Chair Gary Bledsoe said efforts to protect voting rights legislatively being pushed by groups like the NAACP had been severely hobbled by the courts.
Weakened Voting Rights Act
The panel’s anxiety about the Purcell Principle comes after the Voting Rights Act was significantly weakened nine years ago.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the landmark case of Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 that it was unconstitutional to enforce the preclearance standards established by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a rule that had required states and local governments with a history of racial discrimination to receive approval from the federal government before changing their election laws. The conservative majority on the court maintained that such rules were antiquated and unreasonably infringed on a state’s right to run its own elections. Congress could update the Voting Rights Act with a new preclearance formula, although it would likely be subject to a legal challenge over whether the court’s concerns were properly addressed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has shifted right since 2013. Conservatives hold a robust 6-3 majority on the court due to the three justices appointed by President Donald Trump.
Despite their generally dismal outlook on the future of voting-rights litigation, panelists advised those interested in getting involved on what steps they could take.
Ezra Rosenberg, a co-director of the Voting Rights Project for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, cited his efforts challenging Congressional and legislative district maps for Georgia and Texas. He emphasized the importance for attorneys to connect with demographers and statisticians, as well as community groups, so they can evaluate whether there is a good-faith basis to bring a voting-rights lawsuit against a state map.
Political science professor Sekou Franklin, of Middle Tennessee State University, has studied and advocated against what he maintains is racial discrimination against Black and Hispanic voters in Tennessee. He emphasized how critical it was for legal organizations and demographers to communicate with local community groups about their districts. They could keep advocates informed of local factors that should inform the redistricting process, such as whether an area have shared schools, transit hubs or history, and how to keep those interests consolidated.
“Oftentimes, those ... in the places that are drawing the maps don’t have that intimate data and relationships and on-the-ground skills that community advocates have or history,” Franklin said.
Convention reaction
People attending the convention at the Atlantic City Convention Center, all supporters of the NAACP redistricting efforts, said the seminar was informative but ominous.
“It was very informative, but with the Supreme Court that we have now, it’ll be very, very difficult to win cases about redistricting,” said Arleen Simmons, of West Orange, Essex County.
Jeanetta Williams, the NAACP president for the tristate conference of Idaho, Nevada and Utah, was also in attendance. She said she would take lessons from the seminar back to help to make fight for redistricting reform across the three states in her conference.
“The information that was given has been very instrumental in having some guidelines, that when we go back to our home state, to share with the others,” Williams said.
James Tucker, a founder of the Native American Voting Rights Coalition and another member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, highlighted what he felt was a particularly egregious example of unconstitutional maps in Wisconsin.
Although he said the amount of registered Democrats and Republicans in the state are roughly equal, the GOP had a chance to secure a veto-proof, supermajority in the Wisconsin state Legislature, due in part to racial gerrymandering. A U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned a ruling from the conservative-controlled, Wisconsin Supreme Court that blocked a GOP-created map and opted for a Democratic alternative that created more Black-majority districts.
The decision argued that the state court had failed to examine whether more Black-majority districts were actually needed to satisfy the Voting Rights Act. When the case was remanded back to the state level, the Wisconsin Supreme Court later signed-off on the Republican-proposed map.
Tucker that it was important to win trials outright on the merits, under new federal principles, rather than simply secure injunctions based on a likelihood of winning and the potential for irreparable harm. Reflecting on the Wisconsin case, however, Tucker said that he was worried that even ostensible wins on the state level were not secure from a more conservative federal judiciary.
Franklin said that people eager to get involved in the dispute could refer to local or national organizations that are involved with voting rights, such as NAACP branches. He also said that even organizations such that are not regularly doing voting-rights works, such as labor unions and fraternities and sororities, may be able to help.
“(We) need to engage the local people, we need to educate the local people, we need for litigators to become educators and engage in this process,” Franklin said.
Dorothy Richardson, of the New York-Jamaica branch of the NAACP attended the seminar. She said she was aware of the difficulty facing the NAACP efforts to reform voting rights. She was nevertheless hopeful, citing the spirit she saw from the young people at the convention.
“The struggles are still as hard as they were,” Richardson said. “But the youth are an example that they’re willing to take up the challenge.” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/naacp-panel-in-ac-calls-fight-for-voting-rights-daunting-task-due-to-conservative-courts/article_073e6eda-0622-11ed-93a8-47b276fee792.html | 2022-07-17T23:40:15 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/naacp-panel-in-ac-calls-fight-for-voting-rights-daunting-task-due-to-conservative-courts/article_073e6eda-0622-11ed-93a8-47b276fee792.html |
With the pop of a starting gun, about 760 runners took off down Stadium Drive near Memorial Stadium early Sunday morning, showing support for children suffering from brain cancer.
Cheering alongside them were Husker football players, cheerleaders, and coaches. A cluster of jersey-wearers and pompom-wavers were waiting at the finish line to shake the hands of tired finishers.
Participants in the 10th annual Nebraska Football Road Race on Sunday laced up at 8 a.m. for the mile fun run and 8:30 for the 5-kilometer runs. Afterward, runners offered their tees and caps for their favorite players to sign.
All registration fees went directlyto pediatric brain cancer research at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The event honors a longstanding relationship with Team Jack Foundation — an organization that seeks to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer.
Husker football coach Scott Frost addressed the sea of red shortly before the 5k race began. He encouraged the crowd to help their neighbors.
“We live in an era now where it's really easy to get on social media and just say, ‘I wish you well; I'm praying for you,’ but never actually do anything,” Frost said. “You can make a difference in this world.”
Frost thanked his players for their leadership in organizing the event and encouraged them to use their position to make an impact.
“Be the type of person that makes a difference, even if it's one person or event at a time,” he said.
The first road race began in 2012 after Jack Hoffman, then a 6-year-old with brain cancer, formed a relationship with former Husker football player and current Houston Texans running back Rex Burkhead. The two met in 2011 and Burkhead sported a bracelet that read, “Team Jack — Pray” during each game.
In 2013, the Huskers asked Jack Hoffman to suit up for a spring game. Former Husker quarterback Taylor Martinez handed the ball to Jack Hoffman, who proceeded to score on a 69-yard touchdown for the red team.
Today, Jack Hoffman is a junior at West Holt high school. He’s traded his Husker jersey and plays on his high school football team while continuing treatment. On Sunday, he ran the mile with his supporters.
His father, Andy Hoffman was diagnosed with a glioblastoma — a type of fast-growing brain tumor — in late July 2020. Andy Hoffman died on March 1, 2021. A memorial fund for Andy Hoffman has been created on the Team Jack Foundation website.
Kate Frazier, assistant director of life skills at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who helped organize Sunday's run, said it’s important for Nebraskans to join hands in this cause, which affects far too many children.
“The pediatric brain cancer percentage in Nebraska is one of the highest,” Frazier said. “This money really helps kids to be able in the comfort of their own homes … and not have to travel as much for treatments.”
Frost assembled a leadership team for the road race to help promote the event. Members include fifth-year rush end Ryan Schommer, freshman outside linebacker Ernest Hausmann and senior wide receiver Omar Manning.
Schommer has been involved with the road race since his redshirt year in 2018. He said he’s always held the cause near and dear to his heart.
“What these families go through, no family should go through,” he said. “We think we have it tough with practices and the stuff we go through, but it doesn't even compare.”
Before the 5k, the crowd stood in silence as 21-year-old brain cancer survivor Cayden Hubbard performed the national anthem. Seeing the rush of red and white banding together makes him hopeful.
“It's amazing,” Hubbard said. “It just tells everybody that … whether you're a parent, a kid, you know, whoever, you're not alone in this fight.”
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Jack Hoffman meets President Obama
President Barack Obama greets Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, on Monday in the Oval Office. Hoffman, who is battling pediatric brain cancer, gained national attention after he ran for a 69-yard touchdown during the Red-White Spring Game. Hoffman holds a football Obama signed for him.
Jack Hoffman with former Nebraska football player Rex Burkhead after meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Monday, April 29, 2013. The 7-year-old, who is fighting brain cancer, attracted millions of fans after his 69-yard touchdown run during Nebraska's spring football game.
Jack Hoffman with former Nebraska football player Rex Burkhead after meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Monday, April 29, 2013. The 7-year-old, who is fighting brain cancer, attracted millions of fans after his 69-yard touchdown run during Nebraska's spring football game.
Nebraska's Brooke Thomason (left) and Courtney Breault give a high-five to Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, after throwing out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium.
Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, throws out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium. Since 2011 Hoffman has been battling pediatric brain cancer.
Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, gives high-fives to the Husker softball team after throwing out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium. Hoffman's sisters Ava, 5, (lower right) and Reese, 2, (top right) were there to enjoy the fun with their brother Jack.
Jack Hoffman, 7, and his sister Ava, 5, both of Atkinson, stand with the Husker softball team during the National Anthem before Jack threw out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium. Since 2011 Jack Hoffman has been battling pediatric brain cancer.
LINCOLN, NEB - 04/06/2013 Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, Neb., down the field for his touchdown play during a special segment dedicated to Hoffman during the second half of the Red-White Spring Game Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Memorial Stadium. Since 2011 Hoffman has been struggling with seizures and complications related to a brain tumor. MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Taylor Martinez (3) hands off to Jack Hoffman, whose 69-yard touchdown run in the Nebraska Red-White spring football game at Memorial Stadium has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube.
LINCOLN, NEB. - 04/06/2013 Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman (22) on the field for a special play in the second half of the Nebraska Red-White spring football game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday, April 6, 2013. The red team won the game 32-25. ANNA REED/Lincoln Journal Star
Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman to the right spot for his play in the second half of the Nebraska Red-White spring football game at Memorial Stadium. More than 7.6 million people have watched the play on YouTube. Jack, now 8, has battled brain cancer for the past two years.
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) and Scott Criss (67) guide Jack Hoffman down the field on his touchdown run during the second half of the Red-White Spring Game in April. Associated Press members in Nebraska voted the play, and the attention it drew, as the state's top story in 2013.
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) hands off to Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, for his touchdown play during a special segment dedicated to Hoffman during the second half of the Red-White Spring Game ON Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman, 6, of Atkinson, down the field for his touchdown play during a special segment dedicated to Hoffman in the second half of the Red-White Spring Game Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Memorial Stadium.
The touchdown Jack Hoffman (22) scored at last year's Red-White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium helped spark nationwide interest in Team Jack and research into a cure for pediatric brain cancer.
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) escorts Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson down the field for a touchdown during Saturday's Red-White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) and Scott Criss (67) guide Jack Hoffman down the field on his touchdown run during the second half of the 2013 Red-White Spring Game.
President Barack Obama greets Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, on Monday in the Oval Office. Hoffman, who is battling pediatric brain cancer, gained national attention after he ran for a 69-yard touchdown during the Red-White Spring Game. Hoffman holds a football Obama signed for him.
PETE SOUZA/The White House
Rex Burkhead, Jack Hoffman
Rex Burkhead (left) and Jack Hoffman with the signed football President Obama gave to Jack on Monday, April 29, 2013, at the White House.
Courtesy photo
Jack Hoffman, Barack Obama
The signed football President Obama gave to Jack Hoffman Monday, April 29, 2013, at the White House.
Courtesy photo
Jack Hoffman and family
The Hoffman family of Atkinson pose for a photo outside the White House were they met President Obama Monday, April 29, 2013.
Courtesy photo
Jack Hoffman, Rex Burkhead
Jack Hoffman with former Nebraska football player Rex Burkhead after meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Monday, April 29, 2013. The 7-year-old, who is fighting brain cancer, attracted millions of fans after his 69-yard touchdown run during Nebraska's spring football game.
Courtesy photo
Jack Hoffman, Rex Burkhead
Jack Hoffman with former Nebraska football player Rex Burkhead after meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Monday, April 29, 2013. The 7-year-old, who is fighting brain cancer, attracted millions of fans after his 69-yard touchdown run during Nebraska's spring football game.
Courtesy photo
Jack Hoffman throws pitch
Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, throws out the first pitch for the Michigan-Nebraska softball game at Bowlin Stadium on Saturday, April 27, 2013.
ANNA REED/Lincoln Journal Star
Jack Hoffman Throws Pitch
Nebraska's Brooke Thomason (left) and Courtney Breault give a high-five to Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, after throwing out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Jack Hoffman Throws Pitch
Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, throws out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium. Since 2011 Hoffman has been battling pediatric brain cancer.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Jack Hoffman Throws Pitch
Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, gives high-fives to the Husker softball team after throwing out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium. Hoffman's sisters Ava, 5, (lower right) and Reese, 2, (top right) were there to enjoy the fun with their brother Jack.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Jack Hoffman Throws Pitch
Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Nebraska's softball game against Michigan on Saturday at Bowlin Stadium.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Jack Hoffman Throws Pitch
Jack Hoffman, 7, and his sister Ava, 5, both of Atkinson, stand with the Husker softball team during the National Anthem before Jack threw out the first pitch for the Nebraska-Michigan game Saturday, April 27, 2013, at Bowlin Stadium. Since 2011 Jack Hoffman has been battling pediatric brain cancer.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Jack Hoffman trading card
Jack Hoffman trading card by Upper Deck.
Darnell Dickson
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13
LINCOLN, NEB - 04/06/2013 Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, Neb., down the field for his touchdown play during a special segment dedicated to Hoffman during the second half of the Red-White Spring Game Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Memorial Stadium. Since 2011 Hoffman has been struggling with seizures and complications related to a brain tumor. MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Sta
Spring Football Game
Taylor Martinez (3) hands off to Jack Hoffman, whose 69-yard touchdown run in the Nebraska Red-White spring football game at Memorial Stadium has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube.
ANNA REED/Lincoln Journal Star
Spring Football Game
LINCOLN, NEB. - 04/06/2013 Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman (22) on the field for a special play in the second half of the Nebraska Red-White spring football game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday, April 6, 2013. The red team won the game 32-25. ANNA REED/Lincoln Journal Star
ANNA REED
Spring Football Game
Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman to the right spot for his play in the second half of the Nebraska Red-White spring football game at Memorial Stadium. More than 7.6 million people have watched the play on YouTube. Jack, now 8, has battled brain cancer for the past two years.
ANNA REED/Journal Star file photo
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) and Scott Criss (67) guide Jack Hoffman down the field on his touchdown run during the second half of the Red-White Spring Game in April. Associated Press members in Nebraska voted the play, and the attention it drew, as the state's top story in 2013.
MATT RYERSON/Journal Star fire photo
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) hands off to Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, for his touchdown play during a special segment dedicated to Hoffman during the second half of the Red-White Spring Game ON Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Memorial Stadium.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) guides Jack Hoffman, 6, of Atkinson, down the field for his touchdown play during a special segment dedicated to Hoffman in the second half of the Red-White Spring Game Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Memorial Stadium.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13
The touchdown Jack Hoffman (22) scored at last year's Red-White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium helped spark nationwide interest in Team Jack and research into a cure for pediatric brain cancer.
MATT RYERSON/Journal Star file photo
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) escorts Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson down the field for a touchdown during Saturday's Red-White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium.
MATT RYERSON/Lincoln Journal Star
Red-White Spring Game, 4.6.13 (copy) (copy)
Nebraska's Taylor Martinez (3) and Scott Criss (67) guide Jack Hoffman down the field on his touchdown run during the second half of the 2013 Red-White Spring Game.
Jenna Thompson is a news intern who has previous writing and editing experience with her college paper and several literary journals. She is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln pursuing degrees in English and journalism.
William "Billy" Hall, a former paraeducator at Goodrich Middle School who was preparing to teach there this fall, died after the car he was riding in rolled into a creek southwest of Sterling.
Emergency crews responded to the 500 block of Pioneers Boulevard shortly after 9 a.m., where they found a woman dead in Beal Slough, a small stream that feeds into Salt Creek.
Police on Friday identified the 83-year-old woman found dead this week in a southwest Lincoln stream as Marilyn McArthur, a longtime Union College professor.
Police say the girl was alone for about seven hours before a relative arrived at 2 p.m. to meet Caden Dober and found the child under blankets on the couch.
Sgt. Chris Vollmer said a volunteer arrived Monday to find the place in disarray, a computer missing and the security cameras removed. There was no sign of forced entry. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/10th-annual-road-race-helps-children-with-brain-cancer/article_34046d1d-921a-5ca5-a18f-86c9dbb0ef67.html | 2022-07-17T23:40:56 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/10th-annual-road-race-helps-children-with-brain-cancer/article_34046d1d-921a-5ca5-a18f-86c9dbb0ef67.html |
A Lincoln man was arrested Saturday night for the sexual assault of a female victim under the age of 16.
Lincoln Police was called to the 1600 block of West E Street with complaint of a disturbance. Upon arrival, 22-year-old Xavier Wheeler was found hiding in a bedroom closet, LPD Sgt. Justin Armstrong said.
During the investigation, officers determined Wheeler had made sexual contact with the minor. Armstrong said she was unable to consent.
Police also discovered Wheeler was at the residence to sell marijuana to the minor.
Wheeler was subsequently booked in Lancaster County Jail on one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver to a minor and one count of sexual assault of a child in the 1st degree.
Wheeler remains in custody. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-arrested-for-sexual-assault-of-a-minor/article_affeaceb-d0ad-5600-b589-17fbe645f732.html | 2022-07-17T23:41:03 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-arrested-for-sexual-assault-of-a-minor/article_affeaceb-d0ad-5600-b589-17fbe645f732.html |
UVALDE — Relatives of those killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School expressed grief and outrage on Sunday in response to a Texas House committee report that found police — in waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman — prioritized their own safety over the lives of students and teachers.
“They’re going to have the blood of those kids on their hands for eternity,” said Manny Renfro, the grandfather of Uziyah Garcia, 10, who died in the massacre.
Renfro, 65, said the thought of dozens of officers “going up and down the hallway” of the school, waiting to enter the classrooms where injured victims remained with the shooter, made him sick to his stomach.
“I think every single lawman who was on the scene should be held accountable,” Renfro said. “They lost 19 beautiful children, including my grandson. My blood just starts boiling, and I get upset because something more could’ve been done to save those kids.”
According to the report, 376 law enforcement officers from nearly two dozen federal, state and local agencies converged on Robb Elementary on May 24 after an 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos of Uvalde, walked in at 11:33 a.m. with an assault-style rifle and began shooting inside two classrooms.
Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers. He wounded 17 others.
The police response to the crisis was chaotic, and no one was clearly in charge, the report said. It took officers 73 minutes to enter the classrooms, kill Ramos and begin treating the wounded, some of whom died after being evacuated.
“It’s disgusting,” said Leticia Garcia, 42, Uziyah’s aunt. “They didn’t have the courage to go in there. They had a shield. They all had vests. They had weapons, and they had numbers. There was one gunman.”
Polly Flores lost two relatives in the massacre: Jackie Cazares, 9, her niece, and Annabell Rodriguez, 10, her great niece.
“My niece, she had a pulse,” Flores said. “They rushed her to the hospital. She bled to death. Why? Because she didn’t get medical attention. (The gunman) was one. One idiot. All of you jump on him — you swore to protect.”
Some officers likely realized injured victims were in the classrooms with the shooter, yet they continued to wait to confront him, the report said. Some were waiting for more officers and better equipment to arrive, a Uvalde lieutenant told the committee.
That officer, Lt. Mariano Pargas, was serving as acting chief of the Uvalde Police Department on the day of the shooting. Pargas told the committee he and other officers were aware of 911 calls coming from the classrooms during the delay.
On Sunday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. announced that the city had placed Pargas on administrative leave while it investigates the role of the Uvalde Police Department in the botched response.
Flores, 59, blamed the disastrous response by police on one thing: “Cowardice,” she said.
“They failed us,” she said. “Who protected our kids? Nobody. And they were cowards. I’m sorry to say that, and I’m embarrassed to say that, but every single individual who was in the hallway should be fired. If nobody was in charge, then anybody could have gone in.”
The committee’s three members — its chairman, state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock; state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso; and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman — met Sunday with families of the victims.
“It’s about showing respect for the families and delivering our report, which we do so with humility,” Guzman told the San Antonio Express-News.
“I think that they seek to understand what happened,” Guzman added. “And I hope that the families know that we grieve with them and that this report can in some manner allow them to seek and find peace.”
However, some families of victims were either not notified or allowed into the meeting Sunday.
Alfred Garza III — whose daughter Amerie Jo Garza, 10, was killed in the attack — said officials told him “that I wasn’t on the list and that I wasn’t welcomed there.”
McLaughlin, who coordinated the meeting, said another person had been responsible for drawing up a list of family members who could attend. He didn’t identify the person.
‘What were you thinking?’
Mary Grace Garcia, another aunt of Uziyah, said on Sunday she was seeking justice.
Her main questions for officers: “What were you all thinking? What was going through your mind by standing there in the hallway?”
Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, has blamed the flawed response on Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo as the incident commander.
But any officer at the school could have taken command, the committee’s report said, and police should have realized that Arredondo could not have commanded the response effectively from inside the school, where he stayed with spotty radio communication throughout the crisis.
Arredondo spent 40 minutes searching for a key to a door to the classrooms that likely was unlocked the entire time. Other officers knew 911 calls were coming from inside the classrooms, yet they continued to wait, the report said.
U.S. Marshals delivered a shield at 12:20 p.m. that likely would have protected officers against rounds from Ramos’s rifle. But officers continued to wait another 30 minutes to enter the classrooms and kill the gunman.
BORTAC, an elite tactical unit of U.S. Border Patrol, took command shortly before 12:30 p.m. Its acting commander tested a Halligan tool on another door and searched for a key before finally entering Room 111 at 12:50 p.m. and killing Ramos.
bchasnoff@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/My-blood-just-starts-boiling-Families-of-17311031.php | 2022-07-17T23:42:17 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/My-blood-just-starts-boiling-Families-of-17311031.php |
SEATTLE — Police said over 50 shots were fired outside a Capitol Hill nightclub early Sunday morning, injuring one man and causing damage to several nearby businesses.
The Seattle Police Department said in a release that officers in their patrol car at the intersection of Boren Avenue and Pine Street heard gunshots from the 1200 block of Pine Street at about 2:30 a.m.
Officers saw vehicles leave the area and people near the nightclub hiding behind cars. No victims were initially found, police said.
Police said a 35-year-old man arrived at Harborview Medical Center about 15 minutes later after the shooting was reported with a gunshot wound to his leg. He told officers he had been shot near a club in the 1200 block of Pine Street.
Another victim, a 33-year-old man, arrived to Harborview with a gunshot wound to his leg, but he refused to say where he was when he'd been shot, according to investigators. Detectives are still piecing together whether the second victim was involved in the shooting.
Detectives found more than 50 shell casings in the area and a "ghost" gun, which are unserialized and untraceable firearms.
Officers found two cars with ballistic damage and several surrounding businesses with thousands of dollars in damage to their windows.
Authorities asked the public to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 with any information on the shooting.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/over-50-shots-fired-outside-capitol-hill-nightclub-one-man-injured/281-67cdeec2-86e2-4159-8c97-119d3221f51f | 2022-07-17T23:44:57 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/over-50-shots-fired-outside-capitol-hill-nightclub-one-man-injured/281-67cdeec2-86e2-4159-8c97-119d3221f51f |
BARBOURSVILLE, WV (WOWK) – Billy Bob’s in Barboursville is now housing the very last animatronic band in the country, according to their team.
Billy Bob’s used to be Showbiz Pizza, and managers say they’re the only ones left standing out of pure luck.
“The creator of it doesn’t give licensing to anyone else, and we’ve been grandfathered in since 1989,” explained Billy Bob’s manager, Rex Donahue Jr.
He says with this being the only location in the country to have the animatronic band it draws in a crowd from all over.
“We’ve had people on spring break and this summer coming in here from all over the state – Michigan, Boston, DC, and of course all of the surrounding states,” Donahue said.
Many residents say they remember experiencing this as a kid, and now they’re excited to bring their kids for the games, prizes, and the band.
Employees of Billy Bob’s say the upkeep of the animals is not the easiest task, but it’s one they don’t take lightly.
“It’s actually very hard because after years of wear and tear I have to send most of them to a welder – they break almost constantly,” said Braylon Giles, the stage tech for Billy Bob’s. He continued by explaining, “There were 280 shows made, and now [they’re] the only one – right here in Barboursville. It’s incredible.” | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/countrys-last-animatronic-band-is-in-barbourville/ | 2022-07-17T23:51:25 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/countrys-last-animatronic-band-is-in-barbourville/ |
KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK)—An investigation is underway after an elderly man and woman were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds in Kanawha County.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office says that the two were found at a residence in Sissonville on the 3300 block of Walker Dr.
13 News has a crew on its way to the scene, and we will provide updates as new information becomes available. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/two-dead-after-shooting-in-sissonville/ | 2022-07-17T23:51:31 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/two-dead-after-shooting-in-sissonville/ |
GREENWOOD, Ind. — Police are investigating a shooting at Greenwood Park Mall reported shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday.
Greenwood Police confirm two people are dead and three others wounded in the shooting. Police tell 13News the shooter has died, but it is not clear if the shooter is included in the two dead or an additional death.
IMPD said multiple people are being treated at area hospitals.
People inside the mall at the time of the shooting told 13News reporter Logan Gay that they heard 20 gunshots in the food court. IMPD said it appears shots were only fired in the food court area.
First responders are still clearing the mall and ask that people avoid the area. IMPD is assisting at the scene and said there is no known ongoing threat, during a news conference at 7:45 p.m.
Multiple police units are going through the mall to make sure there are no people wounded or still sheltering in place.
IMPD said there is no information yet on a motive for the shooting.
Witnesses are being interviewed, according to IMPD.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/multiple-victims-reported-in-shooting-at-greenwood-park-mall/531-df15bbf5-8eca-4220-b149-7de4735fbe37 | 2022-07-18T00:12:36 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/multiple-victims-reported-in-shooting-at-greenwood-park-mall/531-df15bbf5-8eca-4220-b149-7de4735fbe37 |
Precision and form draw crowds, and awe, at Thunder Over Michigan
A half-dozen air show acts, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, took to the skies Sunday, showing off high-flying acrobatics for Thunder Over Michigan.
The event this weekend at Ypsilanti's Willow Run Airport drew aviation fans, particularly for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels featured during the afternoon shows.
"That obviously draws a big crowd," said Scott Buie, Thunder Over Michigan spokesman.
The event is an annual fundraiser for the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti. It featured two shows with U.S. Navy Blue Angels and two with the U.S. Air Force's F-16 Demo Team. The F-16 Demo Team featured for the first time for its Thunder Over Michigan show a female pilot, Capt. Aimee "Rebel" Fiedler.
The air show was canceled in 2020 due to COVID, but returned in 2021 with a drive-up format that continued this year. Fans bought tickets per car and watched the show from the field in and around their vehicles.
In addition to the air show, the event also featured aircraft on display as well as helicopter rides, food and a "KidZone" area. Rosie the Riveters had a merchandise display and reminded fans of the critical role women held at the former WWII bomber plant.
Dennis and Pam Stom of Ann Arbor and their children, Nathan, 13, Carver, 11, and Betty, 8, are regular attendees. One of their first stops Sunday was a visit to a Navy helicopter on display, HSC-22.
"We love history," said Pam Stom after the family spent some time chatting with a naval aviator. "We love military history."
They started attending the event when Nathan was 5 because of his interest in planes.
"I like the history of planes and I like to look at them and how the mechanics work," he said. "I find it interesting they fly airplanes as their job."
Pam Stom said she was interested in supporting the Yankee Air Museum. At $225 per car, the proceeds benefited the museum.
"It's supporting a cause, and I think that's important," she said. "It's not cheap to be here. I think supporting the museum is doing your part."
About a half-dozen aircraft acts performed during the last show of the weekend, with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels performing for about 35 minutes.
Jeanene Van Every said she's drawn to the aerial displays because of the precision and form the pilots demonstrate. The Howell-area resident attended the event with her husband, son and daughter-in-law.
"It's like a ballet in the sky," she said. "It's beautiful. It's phenomenal technology."
cwilliams@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CWilliams_DN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/17/precision-and-form-draw-crowds-thunder-over-michigan/10034664002/ | 2022-07-18T00:26:22 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/17/precision-and-form-draw-crowds-thunder-over-michigan/10034664002/ |
STARKE COUNTY — A Fishers man was seriously injured in a jet ski accident at Bass Lake in Starke County.
The jet ski accident took place at around 4:15 p.m. Saturday at the 1,300-acre lake, which is the third largest natural lake in Indiana and a popular camping site just south of Knox.
Indiana conservation officers patrolling the lake responded to the report of a serious personal watercraft accident.
Mark Hatch, of Fishers, was operating a jet ski on the lake when he collided with another jet ski at a high rate of speed.
"The impact caused Hatch to be ejected from the personal watercraft and lose consciousness. Hatch was immediately removed from the water and brought to shore," Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Brock said. "Hatch was transported to South Bend Memorial Hospital by Memorial Medflight helicopter in serious condition."
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Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the jet ski crash on Bass Lake.
"The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available," he said.
DNR was assisted by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Bass Lake Fire Department, Starke County EMS and Memorial Medflight. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/fishers-man-injured-in-serious-jet-ski-accident-at-bass-lake/article_e824c7de-4f1a-525d-b1bd-e90df096ed42.html | 2022-07-18T00:27:44 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/fishers-man-injured-in-serious-jet-ski-accident-at-bass-lake/article_e824c7de-4f1a-525d-b1bd-e90df096ed42.html |
EAST CHICAGO — The Common Council has given final approval to an ordinance that appropriates $1.6 million obtained from the American Rescue Plan Act toward a premium bonus for city employees.
The council passed a similar ordinance last year that appropriated $1.4 million in ARPA funds for full-time city employees as a reward for continued service during the COVID pandemic.
Attorney Joseph Allegretti, legal advisor to Mayor Anthony Copeland, told the council last month that the new ordinance would allow for a maximum payment of $3,500 to be received by all city employees, including public safety, in two installments.
The ordinance was narrowly approved on second reading by a vote of 5-3.
Council President Monica Gonzalez, D-1st, said at the time that a meeting between Copeland and a committee selected by the council had not yet occurred to discuss the expenditure of ARPA funds and the possibility of also adding to the bonus plan workers with the city's Health Department who were hired on a contractual basis.
"The health care workers who were contractors that were actually doing the testing, doing the swabbing, doing the shots, they were not included in that," Gonzalez said. "So we wanted to make sure that they were included this time."
Gonzalez said that the meeting with Copeland did take place prior to final reading and that as a result 11 health care workers were also included.
She said the maximum any of them would be eligible to receive is $3,000.
The ordinance passed on final reading by a vote of 8-0, with Councilman Dwayne Rancifer, D-at large, not present for the vote.
But the council failed to approve two ordinances that would have provided additional funding for special events in the city.
The ordinances were defeated when the council voted 4-4 on both.
Natalie Adams, a special events coordinator for the city, said that one ordinance requested an additional $68,000 for events for which plans are already in motion and that the money would be used for additional security, pest control, cooling fans, light towers and for transportation of physically disabled people.
A second ordinance requested $24,000 to put on a seniors lakefront event that Adams said had been an annual occurrence prior to COVID and for which seniors have been calling on a daily basis to inquire about its status.
"We don't have any funds for this event," Adams said.
Gonzalez asked Adams why the event wasn't included within the department's budget.
Adams said that costs for putting on events have risen and that money included in the budget had been used up by other events that came first.
Last month, the council did not approve on final reading an ordinance that would have provided $615,000 from the city's gaming fund to be used for special events.
Adams said at the time that multiple events would have to be canceled if the funds were not approved.
After the two new ordinances were defeated, Adams said any event already advertised would take place.
Gonzalez said her main reason for not approving more money for special events is the large amount of money involved.
"We're trying to focus on our public safety ... with our police and fire and our health department," Gonzalez said. "We want to make sure that everything is funded correctly, and we can worry about special events in the future."
The Common Council also adopted by a vote of 8-0 a resolution that proclaims June 19 as the official day to observe Juneteenth in East Chicago.
The resolution states that Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day and Liberation Day, is recognized as a holiday in 47 states and is a federal holiday.
The resolution also states that the annual observance of Juneteenth will allow residents and employees of the city the opportunity to celebrate the freedom and humanity of Black Americans, reflect on the history and impact of slavery in the United States and honor those who were enslaved while acknowledging their contributions to society.
Gonzalez said that city employees did not receive a day off to celebrate Juneteenth this year and that while the resolution does not provide that, she hopes it is a step toward the city doing more to recognize the holiday.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Geitonia Greek Grill, Las Delicias Mexican Ice Cream, Underground Thrift Clothing, gym, courthouse patio opening; Timbrook Kitchens relocated; Overstuffed closed
The money would be used for a wide variety of purposes, including hiring recording artists, rental fencing and tents, light towers, sound equipment, portable bathrooms and fireworks. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/east-chicago/east-chicago-appropriates-1-6m-in-arpa-funds-for-employee-bonuses/article_0d504b81-414f-5140-ae77-570677ec78e7.html | 2022-07-18T00:27:50 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/east-chicago/east-chicago-appropriates-1-6m-in-arpa-funds-for-employee-bonuses/article_0d504b81-414f-5140-ae77-570677ec78e7.html |
MICHIGAN CITY — Michigan City Area Schools is again seeking retired educators, future educators and other community members to assist students who have fallen behind academically due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Classes resume next month.
“Students in our district, like school-age children across the country, experienced learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Superintendent Barbara Eason-Watkins said. “High-dosage tutoring is just one way we are working to help students get back on track.”
MCAS began high-dosage tutoring as a pilot program at several schools last spring and hopes to increase the number of tutors this school year.
High-dosage tutors work with students at the elementary and middle school levels in the areas of language arts, reading and math. Students in groups of no more than four meet with tutors for 30 minutes per day, three days per week, during the school day.
According to Director of Curriculum Cathy Bildhauser, high-dosage tutoring is a proven model that is effective because tutors can pinpoint specific gaps and address them with an individualized catch-up plan.
“Research shows that tutoring in small groups helps students develop a strong, comfortable relationship with the tutor that results in strong academic gains,” she said.
“This is not homework help. It’s extra quality time on math, reading and language arts activities that will quickly accelerate student learning.”
High-dosage tutors are paid $15 per hour, with retired teachers receiving their most recent hourly wage. The schedule can be flexible based on the tutor’s availability. All training and curriculum is provided by MCAS.
“Our students missed 131 days of in-person instruction with educators and peers during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years,” Eason-Watkins said.
“Many in our community have asked how they can help, and this is one tangible way for those who may have a couple of hours to spare each week.”
For more information and an application to become a high-dosage tutor, visit educateMC.net/highdosage.
The Times Media Company is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Northwest Indiana, through local news, information, service initiatives and community partnerships.
Mentor/advocates will provide support throughout the summer and serve as a bridge into the next school year, which is especially important for 8th grade students transitioning into high school.
The academy, a pilot program last school year to help meet labor needs at Sullair and other local employers in the compressed air/vacuum industry, has earned a State Earn and Learn designation from the Indiana Office of Workforce Development. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte/michigan-city/michigan-city-schools-seek-tutoring-help/article_36a1a171-7e2e-5fc6-9227-41802a46afc4.html | 2022-07-18T00:27:56 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte/michigan-city/michigan-city-schools-seek-tutoring-help/article_36a1a171-7e2e-5fc6-9227-41802a46afc4.html |
TWIN FALLS, Idaho —
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Idaho Public Television reporter Ruth Brown wraps up the platform changes and resolutions that Idaho Republicans approved today on the third day of their three-day state party convention in Twin Falls. Brown reports that delegates debated multiple proposed resolutions and platform changes, most of which passed.
Key changes to the platform included calling all abortion murder, criminalizing abortion and excluding exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest. The platform does not include an exemption allowing abortion if the life of the mother is in lethal danger; a proposal to add that to the existing platform failed.
Delegates approved 13 resolutions on Saturday, and brought one resolution back from the dead after the announcement of Tom Luna’s loss as chairman of the party.
Every incumbent member of party leadership lost reelection on Saturday.
A resolution regarding the lawsuit filed against Bonneville County Central Committee by then-chair Tom Luna failed to make it out of the Resolutions Committee in a tie vote.
But after the announcement of Rep. Dorothy Moon’s win as the new chair, central committee chair Mark Fuller asked the delegates to bring the resolution back. Delegates agreed and passed it..
That resolution states “Chairman Luna or his successor shall immediately dismiss the litigation in Ada County … filed by Chairman Luna and the Idaho State Republican Party against Bonneville County Central Committee and Executive Committee, with prejudice.”
Luna filed the lawsuit in his capacity as chairman, against Bonneville County Republican Central Committee for making what he characterized as unauthorized donations to non-county level candidates. The May lawsuit called it a “blatant disregard” for statutory obligations.
Other resolutions that passed were similar to platform changes and addressed crossover voting in the primary election.
Sen. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, requested a minority report. During his debate, Thayn voiced concerns about the messaging, telling delegates the message looked like “we are more interested in keeping people out of the party,” and that wasn’t his goal.
Another successful resolution sponsored by Moon states the Republican Party supports partisan elections in all races, except for judicial elections. A proposed resolution rejecting the results of the 2020 presidential election didn't make it out of committee.
You can read Brown's full report here at the Idaho Reports blog.
Betsy Z. Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing Group. Follow her on Twitter at @BetsyZRussell.
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
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/idaho-press/day-3-gop-platform-focuses-on-abortion-restriction-and-primary-elections/277-0eb64986-935b-4519-951d-7d4b87bebb9a | 2022-07-18T00:33:10 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/day-3-gop-platform-focuses-on-abortion-restriction-and-primary-elections/277-0eb64986-935b-4519-951d-7d4b87bebb9a |
Big Sandy Fire leads to about 20 evacuations in Wikieup, northwest of Phoenix
WIKIEUP — A wildfire has forced the evacuation of about 20 people from the unincorporated Mohave County community of Wikieup in northwestern Arizona, authorities said Sunday.
Officials with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said the wildfire was at 150 acres and threatening multiple structures as dense vegetation burn close to Big Sandy Wash, located a few miles away from Wikieup.
Smoke is visible along U.S. 93 and officials said the wind-driven fire was creating numerous spot fires in the area.
Wildfire map:Track where fires are burning in Arizona in 2022
Authorities have ordered additional resources, including a hot shot crew.
It’s unclear how the wildfire started, but federal Bureau of Land Management officials said recent monsoon storm activity and lightning has ignited at least six wildfires in the Kingman area.
Wikieup is 139 miles northwest of Phoenix. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-wildfires/2022/07/17/big-sandy-fire-evacuations-wikieup/10082804002/ | 2022-07-18T00:40:18 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-wildfires/2022/07/17/big-sandy-fire-evacuations-wikieup/10082804002/ |
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Motel guests are looking for a new place to stay after a fire in Lancaster County Sunday evening.
According to Lancaster County 911 Dispatch, Motel 6 officials in East Lampeter Township are finding new accommodations for guests after a fire caused the establishment to be evacuated.
The fire was reported just after 4:30 p.m.
Authorities say no one was injured in the fire, but the American Red Cross is responding.
The cause of the fire is currently investigation. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/motel-6-evacuated-fire-lancaster-county/521-355e4dfa-6572-4109-b17d-e041fa567101 | 2022-07-18T00:44:42 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/motel-6-evacuated-fire-lancaster-county/521-355e4dfa-6572-4109-b17d-e041fa567101 |
An explosive device was found and safely detonated near the town of Italy on Sunday, the Ellis County Sheriff's Office confirms.
The device was located in Chambers Creek at Highway 77. The area itself was not populated and the device posed no immediate danger to the public. In an abundance of caution, Highway 77 was temporarily blocked from traveling near the location. It has since been reopened.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Division were contacted for assistance. From there, the device was identified as an old military-issued mortar shell and was found to be live. The shell was safely detonated using controlled measures by the ATF and Air Force.
The origins of how the device ended up in the area are unknown at this time. No other devices were found. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/explosive-device-located-near-italy-texas/3016600/ | 2022-07-18T01:00:57 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/explosive-device-located-near-italy-texas/3016600/ |
A man was taken to the hospital early today because of life-threatening injuries from being battered, police said.
Fort Wayne police officers were called to the 2500 block of River Cove Trail at 1:30 a.m. about a battery in progress, according to a news release.
When officers arrived, they learned someone had taken the man to the hospital in a private vehicle. His condition was reported as life threatening.
The Fort Wayne Police Department and Allen County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating. They ask anyone with information to contact the Fort Wayne Police Department at 260-427-1201 or Crime Stoppers at 260-436-7867. Or those with tips can use the P3 Tips app. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-seek-info-on-battery-that-left-man-hospitalized/article_6cf1779a-060e-11ed-b5bf-2bd0d0eede94.html | 2022-07-18T01:02:23 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-seek-info-on-battery-that-left-man-hospitalized/article_6cf1779a-060e-11ed-b5bf-2bd0d0eede94.html |
As the spread of coronavirus continues, here are the latest updates from Southern Arizona.
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Tuesday, March 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/updates-tucson-area-coronavirus-developments-july-18-what-we-know/article_dc8e92ea-6561-11ea-9e87-17207f678ee6.html | 2022-07-18T01:06:48 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/updates-tucson-area-coronavirus-developments-july-18-what-we-know/article_dc8e92ea-6561-11ea-9e87-17207f678ee6.html |
WABASHA, Minn. - One is dead and another is injured following a Saturday night motorcycle crash in Wabasha.
The Wabasha County Sheriff's Office responded to a single vehicle accident in Hyde Park Township at 7:46 Saturday night.
The Sheriff's Office said the preliminary investigation revealed that a motorcycle was traveling on 350th Ave. when it swerved to miss a deer that was in the road.
The driver, 44-year-old Brock Kahn from Plainview, was transported to Mayo Clinic with minor injuries.
40-year-old Rebecca Kahn from Plainview was the passenger on the motorcycle. She was treated on-scene for injuries sustained to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Wabasha County Sheriff's Office was assisted at the scene by Elgin Ambulance, Zumbro Falls First Responders and Fire Department, Mayo One, and Minnesota State Patrol. | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/passenger-dead-after-motorcycle-crash-in-se-minnesota/article_cf75af0c-0619-11ed-bf80-4398841e7a08.html | 2022-07-18T01:15:21 | 0 | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/passenger-dead-after-motorcycle-crash-in-se-minnesota/article_cf75af0c-0619-11ed-bf80-4398841e7a08.html |
WILDWOOD — From the railing of the Boardwalk, with the ocean shining in the distance, it may seem like the last thing the city needs is a beach replenishment project.
The length of New Jersey, the Army Corps of Engineers has undertaken massive projects to restore sand to barrier island beaches. In many cases, the dredges have returned again and again to pump sand from shallow offshore sandbars or the mouths of inlets, rebuilding the beaches as they erode away.
Plans are to add sand in Ocean City, the Strathmere section of Upper Township and Sea Isle City before next summer. Avalon and Stone Harbor have seen four beach projects since 2011, with another project on the way, and dredges have been back to Cape May multiple times since the first beach project in 1991.
Of all of the seaside communities in New Jersey, so far only the island known as Holly Beach or Five Mile Beach, which includes Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and a tiny portion of Lower Township, has not seen a federal project.
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The project now proposed will include more than building beaches.
In addition to adding sand in some areas, the project calls for the construction of dunes along most of the beach, ranging from 6 feet to 16 feet tall and running about 25,000 feet. That’s almost 5 miles of dunes.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has been working to reach agreements that would allow the federal project to move forward.
Known as State Aid Agreements, they will allow the project to move forward. According to Caryn Shinske, a spokeswoman with the DEP, the state Attorney General’s office and the Army Corps are working with her department on reaching the agreements.
“To date, the DEP has fully executed State Aid Agreements from North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, and is actively working to complete the same agreements with Wildwood and Lower Township,” Shinske said recently.
Long time comingThe project has been in discussion for more than a decade. Since the first discussions with local officials and area property owners, Superstorm Sandy hit the New Jersey coast, bringing extensive damage to properties, infrastructure and beaches.
According to officials, the funding for the beach project for the Wildwoods was approved as part of the federal response to that storm.
But for Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, it’s easy to see why there may be a lack of urgency for the project to start. Wildwood’s beaches are so wide that the city offers a shuttle service across the wide sands and has enough room on the beach for country music festivals, monster trucks, sports and other events.
Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron said Sunday the city is still in negotiation with the DEP on an agreement, but he did not offer details on the talks. In Wildwood Crest, Mayor Don Cabrera said the Borough Commission has approved an agreement.
While those communities are flush with sand, the north end of North Wildwood is facing serious erosion, leaving Mayor Patrick Rosenello impatient for the federal work to begin.
Each spring, North Wildwood spends millions of dollars bringing sand in from other parts of the island to shore up beaches near Hereford Inlet and replace sand washed away over the winter. That area also had a wide beach and a healthy dune system, but federal reports say the area has lost about 1,000 feet of beach in recent years.
In several interviews, Rosenello has expressed frustration with the slow process of beginning the project, especially as other shore communities have seen multiple beach replenishment projects since this one was first discussed.
In a recent interview, Lower Township Mayor Frank Sippel said his community’s beachfront section has an additional complication compared to other New Jersey beaches. In the Diamond Beach area, the southernmost tip of the barrier island, there are several private beaches, open either to hotel guests or to those who join the private club.
The Army Corps required that beaches built with public money remain open for public use. The private beach owners already have a legal obligation under what’s known as the public trust doctrine, which holds that the public has a right to access to the ocean and area of the beach where the tide covers.
In most communities where beach projects have taken place, the Army Corps has obtained easements from people who own the beach in front of their properties through riparian rights. In some cases, that has meant using condemnation. But even when a property owner held title to the beach in front of a home, that was far different than a private beach. Visitors would typically never notice if an area was privately owned or publicly owned.
An Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson said the process of obtaining the easements is entirely up to the state DEP.
According to Shinske, some easements were obtained for the project in North Wildwood in 2008 and 2009, but more are still needed in each of the four communities for the project to move forward.
In a presentation earlier this year to Wildwood Crest officials, Erik Rourke, a project manager with the Army Corps, said the project could begin by the fall of 2023, an estimate that has already been pushed back several times.
Another delayIt appears that estimate has been pushed back again.
“The timeframe to formally obtain all of the easements to satisfy the project’s real-estate requirements will vary based upon the level of coordination with each of the property owners. At this time, it is estimated to take at least 18 months,” Shinske said. “Based on the current project status, initial construction is anticipated to commence in fall 2024 and the project duration is estimated to be between eight months and one year.”
The DEP’s division of Resilience Engineering and Construction and the Office of Coastal Engineering are leading the effort, Shinske said. At the last estimate, the project was expected to cost $22 million, divided between the state and federal government. Local governments would not be on the hook for the initial project costs, but would be expected to contribute to the cost of future work.
Rather than pumped onto beaches as has happened in multiple other beach projects, in this case the plan is to gather sand from the beaches in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, building up the beaches in the north end of North Wildwood.
“In contrast to North Wildwood, sand accretion in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest is causing extensive maintenance problems and health hazards with their storm water management system,” reads a project description from the Army Corps. “The excess sand clogs storm-water outfalls, creates pools of stagnant water, produces unhealthy beach conditions and causes associated interior flooding.” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/easements-agreements-still-in-the-works-for-wildwood-dune-project/article_0f392cb6-060d-11ed-b9eb-c3d31f22eeeb.html | 2022-07-18T01:19:54 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/easements-agreements-still-in-the-works-for-wildwood-dune-project/article_0f392cb6-060d-11ed-b9eb-c3d31f22eeeb.html |
A 72-year-old man died in a crash Saturday night in Towanda, according to McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder.
She identified the man as Timothy A. Jobe of Normal. He was pronounced dead at 9:26 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. Route 66 and North 1900 East Road.
Jobe's SUV went through an intersection, left the roadway and struck a tree, Yoder said. There was no evidence of steering, braking or course correction.
Autopsy results found that he died from multiple blunt injuries of the chest in the crash, and that he had ischemic heart disease, with evidence of very recent and older heart attacks and cardiac surgery. These findings explain his sudden unresponsiveness while driving, she said.
Toxicology testing is pending.
This crash remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police and the coroner's office.
Today’s top pics: World Athletics Championships and more
President Joe Biden reacts as he stands with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Israeli President's residence Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Evan Vucci
President Joe Biden points to his hat as he poses for a photo at the Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium, Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Evan Vucci
Milwaukee Brewers' Jonathan Davis scores next to San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart on a single by Willy Adames during the sixth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Godofredo A. Vásquez
John Daly of the US plays from the 3rd tee during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday, July 14 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17, 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St. Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Alastair Grant
Norway's Viktor Hovland plays off the 3rd tee during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday, July 14 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17, 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St. Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Alastair Grant
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy plays a shot on the 2nd hole during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday July 14, 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17, 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St. Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Peter Morrison
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy plays off the 18th tee during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday, July 14, 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17, 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St. Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Peter Morrison
Tiger Woods of the US reacts to dust after playing a shot on the 1st hole during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday, July 14 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17, 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St. Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Gerald Herbert
Jordan Spieth of the U.S. plays off the 11th tee during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday July 14, 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17, 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St. Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Alastair Grant
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia hugs Leah Holton-Pope, senior advisor to New York Assembly Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes prior to a ceremony to honor the victims on the two-month anniversary of the attack by a racist gunman at a memorial outside the store in Buffalo, N.Y., Thursday, July 14, 2022. (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)
Derek Gee
Jamaica's goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer, back, punches the ball next to teammate Vyan Sampson, center, and Canada's Kadeisha Buchanan during a CONCACAF Women's Championship soccer semifinal match in Monterrey, Mexico, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Fernando Llano
Fireworks illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris during Bastille Day celebrations late Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
Lewis Joly
France's Kadidiatou Diani celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women Euro 2022 group D soccer match between France and Belgium, at the New York Stadium, Rotherham, England, Thursday July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Rui Vieira
The pack with Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Belgium's Wout Van Aert, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, and his teammates set the pace for the pack as they climb Col du Galibier pass during the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.5 kilometers (102.8 miles) with start in Briancon and finish in Alpe d'Huez, France, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Daniel Cole
Stage winner Britain's Thomas Pidcock celebrates as he crosses the finish line of the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.5 kilometers (102.8 miles) with start in Briancon and finish in Alpe d'Huez, France, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Thibault Camus
Stage winner Britain's Thomas Pidcock climbs Alpe D'Huez during the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.5 kilometers (102.8 miles) with start in Briancon and finish in Alpe d'Huez, France, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Daniel Cole
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, attempts to break away from Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, Sepp Kuss of the U.S., right, and Britain's Geraint Thomas, left, as they climb Alpe d'Huez during the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.5 kilometers (102.8 miles) with start in Briancon and finish in Alpe d'Huez, France, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (Bernard Papon/Pool Photo via AP)
Bernard Papon
Sepp Kuss of the U.S., front, sets the pace for team leader Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, as Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, follows, as they climb Alpe d'Huez during the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.5 kilometers (102.8 miles) with start in Briancon and finish in Alpe d'Huez, France, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (Bernard Papon/Pool Photo via AP)
Bernard Papon
Boats lie on the dried riverbed at a tourist dock along the Po river in Torricella, northern Italy, Thursday, July 14, 2022. Italy's drought has dried up rivers crucial for irrigation threatening some 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in agriculture, according to Italian farm lobby Coldiretti. Italy's confederation of agricultural producers, Copagri, estimates the loss of 30%-40% of the seasonal harvest. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Antonio Calanni
Iceland's Elisa Vidarsdottir, left, challenges for the ball with Italy's Martina Rosucci during the Women Euro 2022 soccer match between Italy and Iceland at the Manchester City Academy Stadium, in Manchester, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Jon Super
A peacock stands in Lake View Park, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Rahmat Gul
Cars destroyed by a deadly Russian missile attack stand near a monument in honor of the Ukrainian Air Force with a Soviet MiG-21 fighter jet in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Efrem Lukatsky
Blood stains are seen on a damaged car after a deadly Russian missile attack in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Thousands people gather in the bullring on the final day of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, Thursday, July 14, 2022. Revellers from around the world flock to Pamplona every year for nine days of uninterrupted partying in Pamplona's famed running of the bulls festival which was suspended for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Alvaro Barrientos
Army soldiers stand guard at prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, July 14, 2022. Sri Lankan protesters retreated from government buildings they seized and military troops reinforced security at the Parliament on Thursday, establishing a tenuous calm in a country in both economic meltdown and political limbo.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Rafiq Maqbool
Costa Rica's Carol Sanchez (6) and United States' Lindsey Horan (10) fight for the ball during a CONCACAF Women's Championship soccer semifinal match in Monterrey, Mexico, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Fernando Llano
Athletes train while workers put up signage before the World Athletics Championships Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Charlie Riedel
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UVALDE, Texas — A year before the Uvalde school massacre, the gunman had already earned the nickname “school shooter” — a running joke among those he played online games with. He had also started wearing all black and making over-the-top threats, especially toward women, who he terrorized with graphic descriptions of violence and rape.
Story originally published by The Texas Tribune on July 17, 2022.
Those details are part of an interim report by the House committee investigating the incident, which points to a trail of missed signs leading to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas — one that was months in the making.
The report, released Sunday, presents the most complete picture to date of the 18-year-old who killed 19 students and two teachers in his former fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary. The findings are based on law enforcement interviews with family members, data on the shooter’s phone and testimony presented to the committee.
Salvador Ramos — who the committee is only referring to as “the attacker” so as to deny him the notoriety and fame he desired — also shot and wounded his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, before storming the school.
He was born in Fargo, North Dakota but moved to Uvalde as a child with his sister and mother, who struggled with a long history of drug use. A former girlfriend interviewed by the FBI said she believed the shooter had been sexually assaulted at an early age by one of the mother’s boyfriends but that the mother didn’t believe him, according to the report.
Relatives described him as someone shy and quiet who was reluctant to interact with others because he had a speech impediment. When he started school, his pre-K teacher described him as a “wonderful student,” always ready to learn and with a positive attitude.
Then, something changed. He started falling behind in school but never received special education services, despite being identified as “at-risk” and having someone request speech therapy for him, according to the report, citing school records.
Family and friends told the committee he was bullied throughout the fourth grade over his stutter, short haircut and clothing. He often wore the same clothing day after day. One time, a girl tied his shoelaces together causing him to fall on his face, a cousin said.
Beginning in 2018, he was recording more than 100 absences a year, along with failing grades. But the report authors said it was unclear whether a school resource officer ever visited his home. By 2021, when he was 17 years old, he had only completed ninth grade, the report’s authors wrote.
When students started to return to school following the pandemic, he dropped out. Instead of trying to fit in, as he had done in the past, he grew more isolated and retreated to the online world. Uvalde High School officials involuntarily withdrew him on October 28, citing “poor academic performance and lack of attendance.”
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Ariana Diaz, a senior at Uvalde High School and one of the shooter's former classmates, described him as a "popular loner," someone who everyone knew, but who kept to himself. She also said that after COVID, he seemed to be in what she described as a “dark place,” and started wearing all black and combat boots.
He became depressed and lonely, those who knew him said.
He would tell his girlfriend at the time that he wouldn’t live past 18, either because he would commit suicide or “wouldn’t live long,” the girl later told the FBI in an interview, according to the report. When she broke up with him in mid-2021, he started harassing her and her friends, the girl told officials.
Online, the report authors said, he started to show an interest in gore and violent sex, sometimes sharing videos and images of suicides and beheadings. He became enraged and threatened others, especially female players, when he lost games.
Privately, he wrote about his challenges connecting with others or feeling empathy for them, saying he was “not human.” His search history, the authors of the report wrote, suggest he was wondering whether he was a sociopath. His internet searches led to him receiving an email about obtaining psychological treatment for the condition.
Attacking women became a pattern. He was also fired from his job at a Whataburger after a month for threatening a female coworker. And later he was let go of his job at Wendy’s.
Despite losing his jobs, living at home allowed him to save money. By the end of 2021, when clues of his plans first surfaced, he ordered rifle slings, a red dot sight and shin guards, as well as a body armor carrier he wore the day of the Robb Elementary massacre. But because he was still 17 at the time, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy the weapons and at least two people he asked refused.
He started becoming fascinated with school shootings and increasingly seeking notoriety and fame on social media, the report said.
In late 2021, the committee said Ramos shared a video online showing him driving around with someone he said he had met online, holding a clear plastic bag with a dead cat inside, which Ramos “discarded in the street and spit on while his driver laughed.” The video then showed him dry firing BB guns at people and ended with footage of emergency services responding to a serious car accident, which he claimed his driver had caused, according to the report.
But despite all the threats and violent talk, none of his online behavior was reported to law enforcement. It’s unclear whether other users reported his behavior to any social media platform, but the committee concluded it doesn’t appear there were any actions taken to restrict his access or to report him to authorities as a threat.
He moved in with his grandmother, who had retired from the local school district after 27 years, after having a blowout argument with his mother that was livestreamed on Instagram. The report doesn't specify who livestreamed it, but The Washington Post reported that two months prior to the shooting, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother who, according to a high school classmate, he said was trying to kick him out of their home.
He confided in an older cousin who was also staying with their grandmother that he didn’t want to live anymore. But the cousin told authorities she thought she’d gotten through to him after a lengthy “heart-to-heart.”
Instead, Ramos began to buy more firearm accessories beginning in February, including 60 30-round magazines. As soon as he turned 18, on May 16, he started buying guns and ammunition. In the end he bought two AR-15-style rifles and thousands of rounds. In total, he spent more than $6,000, the committee found.
He had no criminal history nor had he ever been arrested. There was nothing in his background that kept him from owning the weapons. And while multiple gun sales within a short period of time are reported to the ATF, the committee report authors point out that the law only requires purchase of handguns to be reported to the local sheriff.
“Here, the information about the attacker’s gun purchases remained in federal hands,” they wrote.
Online, the shooter started to reference a timeline, foreshadowing his plans.
On April 2, he sent someone a direct message on Instagram, “Are you still gonna remember me in 50 something days?”
The person responded, “probably not.”
“Hmm alright we’ll see in may,” Ramos responded.
At least, one friend from out of town started to become worried and proposed visiting him in Uvalde. But when the friend said he wouldn’t be able to go until July or August, he said “damn that’s too late.”
Five days before he went on a rampage, a man targeted and killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo, N.Y. supermarket. The mass shooting didn’t go unnoticed by Ramos. He saved news stories and other information about it. He also spent time with a cousin’s son who went to Robb Elementary to get information about his schedule and lunch periods, officials reported.
On the eve of the shooting, Ramos sent out messages to people about something he was going to do the following day.
“I got a lil secret,” he wrote to a German girl he had befriended.
It was impossible to do that day, he explained, because he was waiting for something to be delivered.
His order of 1,740 hollow points arrived later that day. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 | 2022-07-18T01:22:02 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/a-year-before-uvalde-shooting-gunman-had-threatened-women-carried-around-a-dead-cat-and-been-nicknamed-school-shooter-texas-robb-elementary/273-50d033e8-8461-4445-a83a-be83d8dd36c0 |
TEMPLE, Texas — Editor's Note | The video above and below are previous segments on past Temple shootings in the area.
A shooting took place late Saturday in the 800 block of East Downs Avenue, according to the Temple Police Department.
Around 11:42 p.m. officers responded to multiple reports of gunshots in the 800 Block of East Downs Avenue. Upon arrival, one vehicle was found with multiple shell casings at the crime scene, according to police.
Police have reported no injuries.
Anyone with information is asked to call Temple Police Department at 254-298-5500 or the Bell County Crime Stoppers at 254-526-8477, where callers can report anonymously.
More on KCENtv.com: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/late-night-temple-shooting/500-7542da5d-b033-4097-a428-97e570dc3a3a | 2022-07-18T01:22:08 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/late-night-temple-shooting/500-7542da5d-b033-4097-a428-97e570dc3a3a |
TWIN FALLS — Bureau of Land Management fire crews quickly took charge of a wildfire Sunday north of the Snake River Canyon.
The blaze burned about 25 acres of BLM ground 5 miles northeast of Twin Falls, spokesperson Kelsey Brizendine told the Times-News.
Four engines, one water tender, one fire investigator and one fire manager responded at about 4 p.m., Brizendine said.
The fire, called Corral 2, burned ground between Interstate 84 and the canyon rim, she said. The blaze was contained by 7 p.m. and expected to be controlled by 10 a.m. Monday.
Multiple agencies are responding to an estimated 5,000-acre-fire five miles west of Eden. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/update-firefighters-hold-blaze-at-3-acres-on-blm-ground-near-devils-corral/article_bce71788-061c-11ed-a097-5f44fbd4b538.html | 2022-07-18T01:26:11 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/update-firefighters-hold-blaze-at-3-acres-on-blm-ground-near-devils-corral/article_bce71788-061c-11ed-a097-5f44fbd4b538.html |
UVALDE — Relatives of those killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School expressed grief and outrage on Sunday in response to a Texas House committee report that found police — in waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman — prioritized their own safety over the lives of students and teachers.
“They’re going to have the blood of those kids on their hands for eternity,” said Manny Renfro, the grandfather of Uziyah Garcia, 10, who died in the massacre.
Renfro, 65, said the thought of dozens of officers “going up and down the hallway” of the school, waiting to enter the classrooms where injured victims remained with the shooter, made him sick to his stomach.
“I think every single lawman who was on the scene should be held accountable,” Renfro said. “They lost 19 beautiful children, including my grandson. My blood just starts boiling, and I get upset because something more could’ve been done to save those kids.”
According to the report, 376 law enforcement officers from nearly two dozen federal, state and local agencies converged on Robb Elementary on May 24 after an 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos of Uvalde, walked in at 11:33 a.m. with an assault-style rifle and began shooting inside two classrooms.
Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers. He wounded 17 others.
The police response to the crisis was chaotic, and no one was clearly in charge, the report said. It took officers 73 minutes to enter the classrooms, kill Ramos and begin treating the wounded, some of whom died after being evacuated.
“It’s disgusting,” said Leticia Garcia, 42, Uziyah’s aunt. “They didn’t have the courage to go in there. They had a shield. They all had vests. They had weapons, and they had numbers. There was one gunman.”
Polly Flores lost two relatives in the massacre: Jackie Cazares, 9, her niece, and Annabell Rodriguez, 10, her great niece.
“My niece, she had a pulse,” Flores said. “They rushed her to the hospital. She bled to death. Why? Because she didn’t get medical attention. (The gunman) was one. One idiot. All of you jump on him — you swore to protect.”
Some officers likely realized injured victims were in the classrooms with the shooter, yet they continued to wait to confront him, the report said. Some were waiting for more officers and better equipment to arrive, a Uvalde lieutenant told the committee.
That officer, Lt. Mariano Pargas, was serving as acting chief of the Uvalde Police Department on the day of the shooting. Pargas told the committee he and other officers were aware of 911 calls coming from the classrooms during the delay.
On ExpressNews.com: They all failed us
On Sunday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. announced that the city had placed Pargas on administrative leave while it investigates the role of the Uvalde Police Department in the botched response.
Flores, 59, blamed the disastrous response by police on one thing: “Cowardice,” she said.
“They failed us,” she said. “Who protected our kids? Nobody. And they were cowards. I’m sorry to say that, and I’m embarrassed to say that, but every single individual who was in the hallway should be fired. If nobody was in charge, then anybody could have gone in.”
The committee’s three members — its chairman, state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock; state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso; and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman — met Sunday with families of the victims.
“It’s about showing respect for the families and delivering our report, which we do so with humility,” Guzman told the San Antonio Express-News.
“I think that they seek to understand what happened,” Guzman added. “And I hope that the families know that we grieve with them and that this report can in some manner allow them to seek and find peace.”
However, some families of victims were either not notified or allowed into the meeting Sunday.
Alfred Garza III — whose daughter Amerie Jo Garza, 10, was killed in the attack — said officials told him “that I wasn’t on the list and that I wasn’t welcomed there.”
McLaughlin, who coordinated the meeting, said another person had been responsible for drawing up a list of family members who could attend. He didn’t identify the person.
Seeking justice
Mary Grace Garcia, another aunt of Uziyah, said on Sunday she was seeking justice.
Her main questions for officers: “What were you all thinking? What was going through your mind by standing there in the hallway?”
Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, has blamed the flawed response on Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo as the incident commander.
But any officer at the school could have taken command, the committee’s report said, and police should have realized that Arredondo could not have commanded the response effectively from inside the school, where he stayed with spotty radio communication throughout the crisis.
Arredondo spent 40 minutes searching for a key to a door to the classrooms that likely was unlocked the entire time. Other officers knew 911 calls were coming from inside the classrooms, yet they continued to wait, the report said.
U.S. Marshals delivered a shield at 12:20 p.m. that likely would have protected officers against rounds from Ramos’s rifle. But officers continued to wait another 30 minutes to enter the classrooms and kill the gunman.
BORTAC, an elite tactical unit of U.S. Border Patrol, took command shortly before 12:30 p.m. Its acting commander tested a Halligan tool on another door and searched for a key before finally entering Room 111 at 12:50 p.m. and killing Ramos.
“If there’s one thing that I can tell you — there were multiple systemic failures,” Rep. Burrows said during a news conference after meeting with victims’ families. “The people of Uvalde before this, they felt it couldn’t happen here. They felt that. That’s the false sense of security I worry about.”
bchasnoff@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Robb-Elementary-shooting-report-reaction-17311031.php | 2022-07-18T01:39:40 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Robb-Elementary-shooting-report-reaction-17311031.php |
BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) – Former Tennessee High Viking and Virginia Tech standout, Gavin Cross, didn’t have to wait too long to hear his name called at the 2022 MLB First-Year Draft on Sunday night.
The Kansas City Royals selected Cross with the 9th overall pick in the draft.
A room filled with family and friends erupted in excitement as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement over the broadcast just before 8:15 p.m.
Cross’ selection cemented him as the highest Major League Baseball draft pick in Virginia Tech history. The Tri-Cities-area product hit .328 this past season in Blacksburg with 50 RBI and 17 home runs. He also helped lead the team to its first-ever ACC Coastal Division title this past spring. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/bristol-native-gavin-cross-taken-in-2022-mlb-draft/ | 2022-07-18T01:42:34 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/bristol-native-gavin-cross-taken-in-2022-mlb-draft/ |
WASHINGTON — More than half of American farmers will reach retirement age in the next 10 years, but the steep price of entry to start a farm, along with rising input costs and volatile markets, make it tough for young and beginning farmers to take their places
“Farming is inherently a risky business, but in the environment we are in right now, that risk is elevated,” Nathan Kauffman, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Omaha, Nebraska, testified at a U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing Thursday.
The current financial outlook for farmers is particularly challenging.
Farmers face rising costs for not only farmland, but also fertilizer, fuel, seeds and chemicals. These rising costs are due in part to the war in Ukraine, strains on the global supply system, inflation and severe weather.
Meanwhile, high crop prices that have buoyed farmers over the past year are expected to go down.
“Uncertainty about the outlook for the U.S. agriculture economy is high and will depend significantly on global factors, particularly the war in Ukraine and the strength of global economic activity,” said Kauffman.
Demand for farm loans is expected to rise notably, and capital expenditure is expected to decline in the coming months for the first time since 2020, according to Kauffman.
House lawmakers are looking for ways to mitigate some of these risks and support young and beginning farmers in the next farm bill, the sweeping legislation that will set programs and funding levels for farm and food support for the next five years.
“It is a national and very critical issue. And we must ensure that the next generation of men and women can take the place of those who are retiring from this grand occupation called farming,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, told his colleagues at the hearing.
“This is very critical to me. And credit is one of those tools that we must make readily available,” Scott said.
An aging demographic
Aging farmers and the price of entry in the industry pose a challenge for U.S. agriculture.
A third of America’s 3.4 million farmers are over 65, and nearly a million more are within a decade of that milestone retirement age, according to the most recent agricultural census from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The census was taken in 2017 and published in 2019.
The census said nearly 14,000 of Idaho’s farmers were over 65. That was 31% of the farmers in the state as of 2017.
The census found that 27 percent of U.S. farmers qualify as “new and beginning producers,” with 10 years or less of experience in agriculture. Idaho’s rate was much lower, just shy of 10% of all farmers.
Most of those farmers have operations that are smaller than average, both in terms of acres and value of production, according to USDA.
Members of the House Agriculture Committee said they are particularly interested in whether young, beginning or underserved farmers have access to credit, so they can get started in the high-capital world of agriculture.
“In any agriculture operation, one of the most critical relationships the farmer may have is with his or her lender. This is especially true for young and beginning producers. Farming is capital intensive,” said Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the committee.
“The cost of entry is incredibly high and can act as a barrier to entry for these new agriculturalists trying to start or grow their farm operations.”
Challenge for federal loans
The Agriculture Department’s Farm Services Agency has an array of different loans available to farmers, including one targeted at young and beginning farmers.
But in practice, producers say the federal loan process can be laborious, slow and hard to access.
The struggle to obtain a loan can be especially acute for Black farmers, who can face racism and discrimination in applying for a loan, according to Dania Davy of the Alcorn State University Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center in East Point, Georgia.
Black farmers have reached out to her group for help when the Farm Services Agency recommended they use their credit card instead of a federal loan, or when loan delays put a generational family farm at risk.
“As we review the farm bill and prepare for the scheduled reauthorization, we must make use of the opportunity to prevent the looming threat of loss of Black farms, land and livelihoods that has been institutionalized by racially disparate credit access,” Davy told the committee.
Davy recommends a more robust civil rights process at the local level with farm loan field agencies.
Julia Asherman, who owns a small organic farm in Jeffersonville, Georgia, was able to finance her operation with three different Farm Service Agency loans.
But she said even her success story highlights some roadblocks in the process. It took two months for her to get approval for her loan and there was no option for pre-approval before she identified land to purchase. In a competitive market, a landowner would likely move on to the next bidder rather than wait that long for a loan.
“Farmers easily lose out on potential properties by not being able to act fast, and I’ve known several farmers personally who have not been able to use FSA loans to purchase for this reason,” Asherman said.
Asherman has a three-acre certified organic vegetable and specialty cut flower farm with five employees, three full-time and two part-time — a business she runs with no off-farm income.
But the FSA loan process is geared toward much larger operations, and it was a struggle to prove the validity of her farm.
“Their expectation of what a farm would look like, what it would gross per acre, and what it could produce per acre was in a totally different realm from what my understanding was, because they were really talking about a different kind of farming,” Asherman said.
The hearing was one in a series as the House Agriculture Committee ramps up its oversight work for the 2023 farm bill.
Hearings are set in Washington this month to examine farm credit, crop insurance and forestry programs. Lawmakers plan to take their show on the road in August with field hearings slated in committee members’ districts across the country. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/as-aging-farmers-retire-lawmakers-explore-how-to-boost-beginning-producers/article_6d445535-682d-509a-9607-10d179175629.html | 2022-07-18T01:47:15 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/as-aging-farmers-retire-lawmakers-explore-how-to-boost-beginning-producers/article_6d445535-682d-509a-9607-10d179175629.html |
JONESBORO, Ark. — An officer with the Jonesboro Police Department passed away on Sunday after he reported to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy Central at Camp Robinson.
38-year-old Vincent Parks reported to the academy at around 1:00 p.m. and began to exhibit symptoms of medical distress shortly before beginning an exercise.
According to reports, instructors quickly separated Officer Parks from the class and began to administer oxygen to him as he rested on a nearby table.
Shortly after, he was able to walk to an ambulance, but once inside he almost immediately went into cardiac arrest.
Emergency medical staff quickly began life-saving measures but unfortunately shortly after reaching the hospital, Officer Parks was pronounced dead.
His body has now been transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab where the state medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
Jani Cook, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said, " In a day and time when so few are willing to step up to be among those who protect and serve our communities, it seems unjust that a man like Officer Parks, who was prepared to sacrifice for his community, be taken from his calling" when speaking of Officer Parks and his commitment to serving others.
She also added that his sacrifices were not in vain by stating, "We are saddened and grieve for him, his family and fellow officers, yet we know his life was not in vain, he answered the call."
Officer Vincent Parks was one in a group of five Jonesboro Police Department recruits that were in a 13-week-long academy session where they would receive basic law enforcement training. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/jonesboro-police-department-mourn-vincent-parks/91-d93a30ec-6d5b-4f39-8d7a-3f2d65abfa16 | 2022-07-18T01:55:10 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/jonesboro-police-department-mourn-vincent-parks/91-d93a30ec-6d5b-4f39-8d7a-3f2d65abfa16 |
Space Coast summer camp students take to the skies above Brevard to learn the 'thrill' of aviation
MERRIT ISLAND — It was a sense of control that Sophia Sutton won’t soon forget.
There in the azure skies over Merritt Island, the Melbourne 15-year-old not only took her first flight, but grappled the yoke for five minutes as the high-winged Cessna 172 lilted gently over the houses and waterways below on a short path to Melbourne and back.
“It was honestly amazing … when I took control, it just made my heart go fast. It was just breathtaking,” the Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy student said of the 30-minute journey Sunday.
“I saw the ocean … It made me think about how the world is really a small place. After we landed, I really wanted to just go back.”
Read more:Brevard County pilot helps minorities learn more about flying
Als:Florida Tech aviation grad to fly aboard Navy A-18G Growler during Space Coast Air Show
It was all part of the Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles Chapter 724’s closing program at Merritt Island Airport. Participating were 15 students ages 13 to 17 from across Brevard as well as Vero Beach.
The teens all received a certificate of completion from the program after two sessions — 40 hours total — in which they received hands-on experience with understanding flight mechanics, electrical wiring, and the aerodynamics of wing design, coordinators said.
“We’re trying to share the spirit of avionics. This is to help them become more familiar with aircraft. This is also something that can help with a career,” said Dwayne Waters, the president of the chapter and a former aircraft mechanic who worked with the space shuttle program.
Brevard County remains an industry leader in space flight and aviation with several major companies and thousands of employees. There are several aviation programs that aim to teach young students air flight and the basics of avionics.
“This is the second year we’ve done this program,” Waters said, adding that he has been flying for 20 years.
Sunday, the students gathered at a nearby hangar and after the morning rains passed, climbed aboard for their short trips in the airspace above Melbourne and back. The students also sat in the camp’s bungalow to study and put together electrical components.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Tom Consbruck, treasurer for the chapter. The love of air flight, he said, is something that must be passed on to the next generation.
Caleb Waters, Dwayne's son and one of the instructors for the program, said that the students seemed very engaged. Instructors guided them through the checklist to ensure the aircraft was in proper condition and functionally ready to fly.
“Flying and handling an aircraft is like controlled adrenaline,” Caleb Waters said. “It’s just a thrill to be up in the sky.”
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop. | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/07/17/summer-camp-ends-air-flight-over-brevard-aviation-students/10074152002/ | 2022-07-18T02:01:30 | 0 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/07/17/summer-camp-ends-air-flight-over-brevard-aviation-students/10074152002/ |
Six of the nine men trapped in a flooded mine in southwestern Pennsylvania two decades ago gathered at a raceway over the weekend to kick off 20th anniversary celebrations of the dramatic rescue that ended their 77-hour ordeal.
The six took in the races Saturday at Jennerstown Speedway in Somerset County, only miles from the Quecreek Mine, sitting with former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker, news outlets reported. Blaine Mayhugh, John Phillippi, John Unger, Robert Pugh, Ronald Hileman, and Thomas “Tucker” Foy came to the track at intermission to applause from the crowd.
Miners broke through stone into the uncharted mine shaft on the night of July 24, 2002, releasing millions of gallons of water and trapping them more than 200 feet below the surface. Crews drilled a small shaft and lowered a small metal capsule, bringing them up one by one until the last was lifted to safety early on the morning of July 28.
“I can’t believe it’s been that long,” Hileman said. “A lot of memories still there.”
Schweiker, the former lieutenant governor who had been elevated nine months earlier after Gov. Tom Ridge was picked to run the newly formed U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Saturday’s gathering was like a family reunion.
“This weekend is about reflection and being grateful for dedicated first responders,” Schweiker said, referring to the team that came together to save the miners. One of the other miners rescued, Dennis Hall, 68, died May 13 and was also honored Saturday.
Kelsey Mayhugh was just 7 when she and her mother learned her father, the youngest of the miners, was trapped.
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“I was really scared. And all I wondered was when my dad was coming home,” she said. “He really didn’t talk too much about it for the next 10 years.”
Mayhugh said living through Quecreek gave him a different outlook on life.
“I believed in religion more after the incident, and I appreciated life a lot, definitely a lot more,” he said. “You think nothing’s going to ever happen to you, at your guys’ age, and then something like that puts it in perspective that it could happen anytime to anybody.”
“It’s really nice to see these guys again,” Foy said. “We only see these guys one time a year.”
Phillippi, attending his first reunion in a number of years, also said “I miss this group."
“It just seems like a long time ago — and sometimes not long enough,” he said. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/6-of-9-miners-rescued-20-years-ago-in-pa-gather-for-reunion/3302086/ | 2022-07-18T02:01:57 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/6-of-9-miners-rescued-20-years-ago-in-pa-gather-for-reunion/3302086/ |
AUSTIN, Texas — On Sunday, the Lost Pines Art Center hosted "Central Texas Cares," a benefit for Uvalde.
There was live music and a silent auction, all in hopes of collecting money to donate to the Robb School Memorial Fund.
Jeff Stayton is one artist who was working on a live painting during the event. After visiting Uvalde last week and seeing the teddy bears, crosses and cards that surrounded the school, he was touched.
"At some point, I would see a periodic statement saying, 'If you see a cardinal, it's a messenger from heaven,'" he said.
So, he decided to channel that grief in a unique way. At Sunday's event, he painted 21 cardinals to represent the lives lost at Robb Elementary School on May 24.
"Whatever I'm painting is going to probably be more like cathartic," said Stayton. "And it's like, for children, it would be painting the monster."
The money raised from this painting will be donated to the Robb School Memorial Fund. Money raised from the tickets and other paintings sold would also be donated.
Patricia Rendulic, one of the organizers of the event, said they'll ensure the money gets distributed to those who need it the most.
"They'll be taking care of families' mental health, which is very important," she said.
One of the community's biggest concerns is getting trained mental health professionals to help families heal. As more information comes to light, Counselor Taish Malone said survivor's guilt will set in.
"They will have sadness," she said. "They will have anger. There will be some anger with that fear. And panic attacks are very common."
They'll need all the help they can get because overcoming this won't be easy.
"Sometimes the emotions flood you so much, you really don't know how to process them," said Malone.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/central-texans-show-support-uvalde-fundraisers/269-62706fe8-4420-49a3-8125-d2dd939c0eb8 | 2022-07-18T02:06:31 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/central-texans-show-support-uvalde-fundraisers/269-62706fe8-4420-49a3-8125-d2dd939c0eb8 |
Burns Ranch cowboys win Texas Ranch Roundup
Torin Halsey
Wichita Falls Times Record News
The Burns Ranch of Henrietta earned bragging rights and the title of Winning Ranch in the 41st annual Texas Ranch Roundup Saturday night at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.
The two-day event features working cowboys testing their talents in the rodeo arena in events similar to their work on historic ranches of Texas. A trade show, cattle dog challenge, cowboy church service and a kids festival round out the weekend.
The second place ranch was the Tongue River Ranch of Dumont, and the Circle Bar Ranch of Truscott placed third.
Over the years, the event has raised more than $3.75 million for the North Texas Rehab Center, the West Texas Boys Ranch and the West Texas Rehabilitation Center. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/17/texas-ranch-roundup-winners/65375407007/ | 2022-07-18T02:18:47 | 0 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/17/texas-ranch-roundup-winners/65375407007/ |
WFISD, community to welcome superintendent finalist Lee, School Board meeting postponed
Community members have the opportunity to meet Donny Lee, the lone finalist for Wichita Falls ISD superintendent, during a come-and-go reception Monday, but the School Board meeting slated to follow has been postponed.
Close to 7:40 p.m. Sunday, the district sent out an email saying the School Board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday was postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances."
The meeting will instead take place July 25, and the district will release a revised posting for it later this week, according to the email.
The public is invited to the reception to welcome Lee from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday in room 302 in the Education Center at 1104 Broad Street.
WFISD had released an agenda Thursday for a regular meeting July 18.
The agenda for the since postponed meeting included a closed session for trustees to discuss personnel matters, hiring a new superintendent and approving his contract, and consulting with legal counsel about employing Lee and his contact.
Then School Board members were to come back into open session to consider hiring Lee, who has a doctorate in educational leadership from Lamar University, and approving his superintendent contract.
Lee has been serving as superintendent of Buna ISD in an unincorporated community of about 2,200 people close to Beaumont, according to a previous Times Record News story. Trustees picked him as the lone finalist for superintendent during a June 27 meeting.
More:WFISD picks lone finalist for superintendent
By state law, Lee must remain the sole finalist 21 days before trustees can officially offer him the job, according to a June 27 WFISD media release. BISD is a 3A district, and Lee began serving as superintendent for BISD in April 2019.
"During his tenure there, Dr. Lee has increased academic performance and has improved fiscal management," according to the WFSID media release. "Prior to Buna ISD, Dr. Lee was superintendent in Oakwood ISD and was a high school principal in Frankston ISD."
Lee also has a master's degree in educational administration from Lamar University and earned a bachelor's degree in special education and kinesiology from Stephen F. Austin State University, according to the WFISD media release.
He and his wife, Leah, have two daughters who are 11 and 16, according to the media release.
Lee is expected to fill a post left vacant by former Superintendent Mike Kuhrt, who resigned under a cloud after his proposal for budget cuts was rejected and triggered a backlash.
Interim Superintendent Debbie Dipprey has been at the helm since early April when the School Board accepted Kuhrt's resignation.
More:Former WFISD superintendent Kuhrt resigns new position
More:WFISD seeks new chief financial officer
The agenda for the postponed meeting also included financial reports and possible action on allowing home-schoolers to participate in UIL activities.
Last year, trustees opted not to make it possible for non-enrolled students to take part in football, choir and other activities. This year, some trustees asked for the item to be on the agenda for a vote.
The option can only be offered to home-school — not private-school — students if trustees approve.
More:Trustees discuss allowing home-schoolers into UIL activities
At least three School Board members, Place 1 Trustee Bob Payton, At-large Trustee Katherine McGregor and Place 3 Trustee Mark Lukert, spoke in favor of it during the July 12 meeting.
They also voted in favor of allowing home-schoolers to participate during a July 19, 2021, meeting. The measure failed 4-3.
More:Mark Lukert seeks reelection to the WFISD School Board | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/18/wfisd-school-board-donny-lee-welcome/65374494007/ | 2022-07-18T02:18:53 | 1 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/07/18/wfisd-school-board-donny-lee-welcome/65374494007/ |
A woman has been taken into custody in connection with a road rage shooting that took place in Edgewater on Friday, according to the Edgewater Police Department.
Police arrested Brittany Seiler, believed to be accompanying James Seiler when he got involved in an altercation during a traffic dispute.
Police said the victim was able to produce a knife and slashed James Seiler across the chest in self-defense.
James Seiler then pulled out a gun and fired shots during the altercation, but nobody was struck, police said.
James Seiler then drove off in a silver Toyota Tundra with temporary license plate DEY8579 and is still at-large, police said. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/18/woman-arrested-in-connection-with-road-rage-shooting-in-edgewater-police-say/ | 2022-07-18T02:34:08 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/07/18/woman-arrested-in-connection-with-road-rage-shooting-in-edgewater-police-say/ |
Four people were shot in Brooklyn Sunday evening, and one victim, a teenager, was seriously wounded, a senior law enforcement official said.
The NYPD confirmed it responded to the Tilden Houses in the Brownsville section just after 8 p.m. Sunday.
According to a senior police official, one of the four victims was 16 years old and was in grave condition. Another victim was shot in the stomach, a third was grazed by a bullet and the fourth refused medical attention, the official said.
The shootings added to the toll of a violent night in Brooklyn. About 90 minutes earlier, a woman was sitting in the courtyard of the Pink Houses in East New York when a bullet struck her in the stomach.
Copyright NBC New York | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/4-shot-in-brooklyn-teen-seriously-wounded-sources/3778114/ | 2022-07-18T02:41:01 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/4-shot-in-brooklyn-teen-seriously-wounded-sources/3778114/ |
Two fall out of boat in Lake Erie; one dials 911 while treading water
Monroe — A man whose boat capsized on Lake Eerie early Sunday was able to tread water while phoning for help, Monroe County Sheriffs officials said.
A U.S. Coast Guard crew rescued the man and his companion. The Sheriff's Office Marine Unit was working late Sunday to recover the submerged boat, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office.
The incident started with a 3:30 a.m. phone call to Monroe County Central Dispatch reporting an overturned vessel.
"Two subjects were reported to be in the water, with the caller being one of those victims," the release said.
The Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, area fire departments and the Coast Guard responded to the call.
"At approximately 4:13 a.m. the two victims were rescued by the United States Coast Guard and brought to shore in Bolles Harbor (in Monroe Township)," the release said.
Sheriff's officials withheld the names of the two men.
With the recovery of the boaters over, an effort was under way to recover their vessel.
"The Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit is coordinating with area towboats for the recovery of the capsized vessel," the release said. "The recovery is still underway."
The Coast Guard issued a safety broadcast warning of the submerged vessel, the release said.
The Monroe Township, LaSalle Township and city of Monroe Fire Departments assisted at the scene, as did Monroe Community Ambulance.
In the release, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough commended the responding agencies and his dispatchers, "who played a vital role in the swift and successful recovery of the victims."
ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134
Twitter: @GeorgeHunter_DN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/17/two-fall-out-boat-lake-erie-one-dials-911-while-treading-water/10083172002/ | 2022-07-18T02:41:05 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/07/17/two-fall-out-boat-lake-erie-one-dials-911-while-treading-water/10083172002/ |
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