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A memorial service for Terrance “Terry” Alan Carr, 63, of Coos Bay will be held at 1:00 pm, Saturday, May 21, 2022 at the Community Presbyterian Church, 100 N 8th Street in Lakeside. Arrangements are under the care of Coos Bay Chapel, 541-267-3131 www.coosbayareafunerals.com
At his request, no public services will be held for Larry Don Scarborough, 74, of North Bend. Arrangements are under the care of Coos Bay Chapel, 541-267-3131 www.coosbayareafunerals.com
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/may-13-2022-service-notices/article_21d32b2e-cff3-11ec-acd1-3b32b98a3007.html
| 2022-05-13T01:10:18
| 1
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/may-13-2022-service-notices/article_21d32b2e-cff3-11ec-acd1-3b32b98a3007.html
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PORTLAND, Ore — A real estate sign swung in the wind in the front lawn of a single-family home in Southeast Portland.
Muffled sounds from a TV could be heard outside the front door.
It was late Tuesday morning and Lisa Antich sat on a black leather sofa with her husband and elderly mother.
“We have nowhere to go,” she said as she nervously patted her knee.
“My biggest fear is we’re going to end up sleeping in my car, and how am I going to tell my child that?”
Antich and her family have lived in their home for about 10 years. They just found out their landlord sold it to an out-of-state buyer. She described getting the news as “heart wrenching.”
Her family lives off $1,000 per month between money she gets for her disability and her mother’s retirement.
“It’s hard. I’m trying to figure out how to do it and everything’s a waiting list.”
They don’t have time to wait. They were supposed to have moved out last month.
“We’re out of days, we’re on borrowed time.”
Antich said she can’t find an apartment in their budget and has had no luck getting a housing voucher.
“A lot of them wouldn’t help us until we’re in the car and then a lot of them won’t help us because I’m not addicted to drugs and I don’t drink alcohol.”
As for living on the streets, she’s afraid of what that would be like.
“I am terrified. I’m terrified. My uncle was just killed on 136th walking down the street.”
Their plan now is to sleep in the car since a motel room is too expensive.
“First of all, that should never happen. Families and their kids should always have alternatives and affordable rents, and no family should be forced to live in homelessness with their child,” said Shannon Callahan, the director of Portland’s Housing Bureau. “No kid should be living in a car or on the street.”
In Northeast Salem is another side to this crisis. Kathleen Quinn is disabled and on a fixed income of $850 per month.
“I’m trapped. I can’t afford to move and then I don’t have the credit to move.”
She’s been living in a one-bedroom apartment for about six years and has faced numerous issues with the living conditions.
“I’ve been telling them how hard it is for me to breathe in here,” she said as she pointed to her mold-covered walls.
“My carpet, my furniture, my Birkenstocks, everything, everything,” she said as she walked to the overflowing septic tank outside her bedroom window.
She wore a bright pink polka-dot dress and purple eyeshadow – a look she said makes her feel better when living in these conditions.
“Trying to live in this…It’s been horrifying,” she said.
Moving boxes fill the inside of her apartment. She is prepared to move, but has no where to go.
She pointed out the water heater in the bathroom that flooded and a new window she just got in her bedroom due to the mold.
“It’s inhumane to expect people to live in such high levels of mold and ignore them,” she said.
But just like Antich, she’s called people for help, but gets nowhere.
"We don't know where we're going to go, we don't know what we're going to do, we don't know where we're going to be," said Antich.
The director of Portland Housing said families in these positions should contact the Joint Office of Homeless Services or the Portland Housing Bureau, since there are transitional housing options to keep children and families off the streets.
KGW reached out to Quinn’s property manager, Cara Tapken with Crown Property Management, about her living conditions. Tapken responded with the following statement:
“We take these calls/reports, along with many other maintenance requests, very seriously as we understand the importance of addressing these items as quickly as possible. As a general standard of practice, once a tenant or a tenant representative makes us aware of the type of matters you’ve mentioned, a number of different responses are set in motion, including, without limitation, assessment by a team member and/or third-party vendor, to ensure the matters are addressed according to the needs in the unit.”
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/oregon-families-fight-to-stay-off-the-street/283-6a59592f-b063-47e5-8df1-201456e8b1df
| 2022-05-13T01:14:11
| 1
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/oregon-families-fight-to-stay-off-the-street/283-6a59592f-b063-47e5-8df1-201456e8b1df
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When Tommy Hernandez became the manager of the NAU Jacks club softball team during the 2018-19 season, the program could barely afford to close out the rest of the season and was struggling to produce wins.
Now, the skipper has the team heading to the NCSA World Series, a four-day event that is set to begin May 19. Instead of trying to afford to close out a regular season, the Jacks are seeking funds to get them to the big stage.
“It’s going to be expensive," Hernandez said. "We get $2,700 from NAU, and that’s long gone. We have probably raised about $18,000 on our own this season through fundraising and some local businesses that have donated to us.”
But the bank account is getting low and getting to the national tournament also has its own challenges beyond funds.
Local businesses have stepped up again to show support and provide funds. Meanwhile, NAU has planned to host a cornhole tournament Saturday at Grand Canyon Brewing and Distillery in order to raise money.
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The Jacks finished up the 2021-22 regular season with an overall mark of 23-3, playing a tough non-conference schedule along the way in preparation for future challenges Hernandez believed his team would eventually see. The team went 17-1 in the Pacific South, winning the conference title for the first time in program history and subsequently getting to the postseason for the first time ever.
The NAU Jacks club softball team is just as devoted to the community as it is to the field.
One of four teams to reach the regional tournament, the Jacks never let the bats cool down, going undefeated to earn a spot in the national bracket. The experience that Hernandez wanted to stockpile early in the season translated into big wins at regionals.
Taking on Sacramento State to open the regional tourney, senior Alyiah Poplawski, the leader of the stout offense, blasted a walk-off home run for the Jacks in the bottom of the eighth inning to win in extras, 10-9. Northern Arizona then edged UC Davis, 9-7, to get to the title round for a rematch against Sac State.
The bats and Taylor Brown's arm were ignited for the regional championship game, as Northern Arizona won by mercy rule in five innings, 10-0, punching a ticket to the 16-team national tourney in the process.
The bats have been there all season for the Jacks, and Poplawski has been putting up the biggest numbers. She has recorded nine total homers for the season to lead the ballclub, with two coming in the opening-round regional game. Meanwhile, she has recorded team highs in RBIs at 30, runs scored with 25 and total hits at 23.
The Jacks have also had some great leadership from a former Coconino High School player, Kaitlyn Snopek, who has provided a strong presence in the circle, at the plate and in the dugout.
“She really hypes everybody up in such a positive way," Hernandez said, "and we all just keep our cool. We are super-positive and no one is ever down. So it’s good to keep up that energy and support for each other.”
The team's chemistry and attitude have also played a big role in the overall success of the season.
“We have a lot of great, great ballplayers, but I think it's chemistry and what we talked about before the games. We talked about getting here by having fun and supporting each other, and so we really expressed that,” the skipper said.
Hernandez hopes the team bond holds as it faces yet another challenge: getting all players to the national tourney despite Northern Arizona University already being done for the semester.
Hernandez said about half of the roster is still in Flagstaff, while the other half has moved back to their respective homes. So Hernandez has been busy trying to figure out a way to get his players from their home states to the World Series in Columbus, Georgia -- another expensive feat.
The manager was emotional after his team won the regional tournament.
"It was pretty amazing to see how far we’ve come," he said, recalling the season when he took over in the dugout.
In order to finish his first season at the helm, his father wrote out a big check.
“I told the girls, ‘What a return on that investment.’ Because now we are going to this tournament as the fifth seed, as fifth in the nation, and we have come a long way in a short amount of time," he said.
Hernandez expects to field the team that got the Jacks to the World Series. But the girls will have to do work on their own.
In fact, Hernandez scheduled a ton of practices before regionals, knowing that afterward the bulk of the team would be separated.
Even so, the dedication to be at their best has been there all along.
“I am extremely proud of this team and everyone buying into the program and dedicating themselves. A lot of them work and take on full class loads, so I am very proud of them," Hernandez said.
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https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/northern-arizona-club-softball-team-makes-postseason-push-into-ncsa-world-series/article_020efc42-d23b-11ec-95f1-0786a7af56df.html
| 2022-05-13T01:23:15
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https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/northern-arizona-club-softball-team-makes-postseason-push-into-ncsa-world-series/article_020efc42-d23b-11ec-95f1-0786a7af56df.html
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of California mothers gathered at the Capitol Thursday to make an emotional request of Governor Gavin Newsom: step up and do more for drug addiction and mental health.
Their group, Mothers Against Drug Deaths, is comprised mostly of moms whose children are in addiction or whose kids have overdosed and died.
“California definitely needs to improve its mental health and addiction services,” Jacqui Berlinn said.
She knows this all too well. Her 30-year-old son got addicted to heroin 10 years ago. She said he has had periods of sobriety, but there’s been a change recently.
“A couple years ago, the dealer started putting fentanyl into the heroin, and – unbeknownst to him – he got addicted to fentanyl,” Berlinn said. “I’ve seen him deteriorate more in two years on fentanyl than he ever did on heroin.”
As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency explains, "Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine...Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths."
The most recent state data shows nearly 4,000 people died of a fentanyl overdose in 2020. That’s more than 70% of all California opioid deaths that year.
That’s why Mothers Against Drug Deaths has started an awareness campaign using a billboard showing a tent city with a sign that says, “Camp Fentanyl: Open to Kids Everywhere,” asking Governor Newsom “shut down open air drug markets now.” Drivers can see the new billboard along the I-80 Business Loop/Capital City Freeway near Harbor Boulevard in West Sacramento.
Berlinn said her son told her that in the last six months, he has started seeing more and more teenagers coming to the open air drug markets he frequents in San Francisco.
Open air drug markets, the moms explained, are spaces in big cities like San Francisco where drug dealers can openly sell drugs – even in plain sight of law enforcement.
“It’s incredibly frustrating. It’s a life-and-death situation, and I feel like I’m screaming into the wind and that people aren’t listening,” Berlinn said. “I see my son struggling to get well. I see many other people on the street struggling to get well, and California just does not have the mental health and addiction services that it needs to help people get well.”
She said San Francisco’s lack of enforcement of laws that would prosecute drug dealers ultimately enable people like her son to stay addicted.
“Enabling someone is basically just letting them slowly kill themselves,” she said.
Another mom, Gina McDonald, said that enabling – in some cases – is very literal.
“We’re talking about foil being handed out on the streets. Straws being handed out on the streets. Pipes being handed out on the streets. We agree with the clean needles and NARCAN®,” or its generic name naloxone, a fast-acting overdose-reversing medication. “I understand safe use, but at what point are we saying, ‘This is okay.’ At what point do we not say, ‘We’re here to help you – not enable you.’”
She said it’s easier to get drugs than get treatment, and she knows firsthand the importance of getting help.
“I’m a recovering addict,” McDonald shared. “I was mandated treatment. I was picked up by the Alameda County Sheriff, and they offered me treatment or jail. Thank God they nudged me toward treatment, right? And there’s no reason we can’t be doing this. We’ve been talking about this for years now – about building shelters, about building treatment facilities. Why is it taking so long? Why? People are dying. I don’t understand.”
Group co-founder Ellen Grantz, who has lost cousins to drug overdoses and wants to protect her two teenagers from getting into drugs, said Mothers Against Drug Deaths wants Newsom to take a statewide approach instead of leaving addiction services up to individual counties.
“It does need to come from the top because it’s too hard to manage in a piece-wise fashion,” Grantz said. “You can see people from Humboldt coming to San Francisco, buying the drugs and going back to Humboldt, and that’s where people are overdosing and dying as a consequence.”
She said it’s happening in cities across the state—including the Sacramento area.
“Mothers Against Drug Deaths is hoping to prevent this from happening to more families,” Berlinn said. “It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I would love for Newsom to start an awareness campaign around this and to start to tell the state that we need to enforce the laws that are in place."
WATCH ALSO:
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/mothers-against-drugs-ad-campaign-fentanyl/103-4f78e98d-67ef-48b8-ae95-1a741041d972
| 2022-05-13T01:41:54
| 0
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/mothers-against-drugs-ad-campaign-fentanyl/103-4f78e98d-67ef-48b8-ae95-1a741041d972
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Whether its jazz music, grilled cheese or lowrider car shows, there's a little something for everyone this weekend in Northern California.
Now that the springtime showers have passed, the weekend weather will reach the 90s with a light breeze, so there's plenty of reason to head outside and enjoy these weekend events.
Get your New Years' resolutions back in order by going to the Vegan Food Festival! This is a healthy living food and music event filled with food, snacks, pastries, drinks, and more and all healthy! There will also be cooking demonstrations and guest speakers.
- 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sunday, May 15
- Located on Capitol Mall in Downtown Sacramento
- Organized by the Sacramento Vegan Food Festival
- More information about this event HERE.
This is a two-day celebration of Stockton's diverse culture featuring arts and crafts, cultural performances and a wide variety of music including sounds from the Ohio Players, arts and more!
It wouldn't be a flavor fest without good food and good flavors, so there will be over 30 food and drink vendors and culinary demonstrations.
- 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15
- Located at Weber Point Event Center (221 N Center St., Stockton)
- Organized by Stockton Flavor Fest and Visit Stockton
- More information about this event HERE.
A full weekend dedicated to grilled cheese! They've paired their grilled cheese with everything from craft beer to bounce houses, so there's something for everyone.
- 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, May 14;11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday, May 15
- Located at Southside Park (2115 6th St., Sacramento)
- Organized by the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival
- More information about this event HERE.
This is a concert to bring communities together and celebrate Sacramento’s historical association with jazz. Leon Guidry will be the host and emcee and Niki Harris will be the special guest artist. Various jazz musicians including the All Star Band will be making all of the best noise at Cesar Chavez Plaza. There will also be local vendors and local talent.
- 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday, May 14
- Located at Cesar Chavez Park (910 I St., Sacramento)
- Organized by the California Black Chamber of Commerce
- More information about this event HERE.
It's returned! Country in the Park will have live performances outside and under the stars from Dustin Lynch, Cole Swindell, Chris Janson, Lauren Alaina, and more! Also, enjoy entertainment ranging from a rock wall to lounges with pool tables and games and food trucks.
- 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15
- Located at Miller Lite Grandstand at Cal Expo and State Fair (1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento)
- Organized by Cal Expo State Fair and New Country 105.1
- More information about this event HERE.
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'Small world. Big party.' This is a festival celebrating ethnic and diverse communities. There will be music, dancing, camel riding, henna tattoos, piñatas, arts and crafts, international food and more! There will also be a unique wine-tasting experience for adults called "Wines of the World.”
- 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday, May 14
- Located at Village Green Park (3141 Bridgeway Drive, Rancho Cordova)
- Organized by the Cordova Community Council
- More information about this event HERE.
This is the first-ever Pakistan Cultural Festival in Roseville! This is an opportunity to experience the authentic culture, food, handicrafts, music, dances, clothing and jewelry of Pakistan. There will also be a Sufi concert, folk dances and banjo.
- 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday, May 14
- Located at Vernon Street Town Square (311 Vernon St., Roseville)
- Organized by Sacramento Pakistan Festival
- More information about this event HERE.
A once-a-year drag brunch gala extravaganza! Party with a purpose and enjoy a scrumptious plated brunch served right to you, ranging from egg soufflé and a stack of bacon to roasted Yukon and yam hash. There will also be live and silent auctions and games.
- 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15
- Located at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium (1515 J St., Sacramento)
- Organized by The Sacramento LGBT Community Center
- More information about this event HERE.
There will be hundreds of cars like lowriders, imports, motorcycles and more. Brenton Wood and other entertainers will be taking center stage.
- 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday, May 15
- Located at the Yolo County Fairgrounds (1250 Gum Ave., Woodland)
- Organized by StreetLow Magazine
- More information about this event HERE.
Tacos, tacos, and more tacos! This event features music, food, a beer garden, cornhole, cards, vendors, a kid's area, a chihuahua beauty contest and more.
- 1 p.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, May 14
- Located at Downtown Marysville (D St. & 3rd St., Marysville)
- Organized by Yuba Sutter Taco Festival and Visit Yuba Sutter
- More information about this event HERE.
LOOKING FOR SOMEWHERE TO GO? HIT BARTELL'S BACKROADS:
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/10-weekend-events-northern-california/103-cd3b1f19-f501-4a66-a121-7804764b157a
| 2022-05-13T01:42:00
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/10-weekend-events-northern-california/103-cd3b1f19-f501-4a66-a121-7804764b157a
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WOODLAND, N.C. — After a six-year investigation and litigation, a guilty verdict was reached in the murder case of Woodland teens Enrique Rios and Elijah Moore, the Yolo County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
On Wednesday, May 11, Chandale Shannon, 25, and Jesus Campos, 22, were found guilty in the Superior Court of Yolo County on two counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Prosecutors say on Oct. 17, 2016, then 16-year-old Elijah Moore robbed David Froste, Chandale Shannon and Jesus Campos of three ounces of marijuana. After the robbery, Froste contacted his brother Jonathan, telling him about the incident and said he was going to get his gun from their home in Knights Landing.
Shannon and Campos reportedly heard the call, which was recorded on David's phone and later obtained by investigators. After getting his gun, David, Shannon and Campos met with Jonathan where David advised he wanted to find Moore and exact revenge.
Shannon suggested the group reach out to a friend of Moore's, 16-year-old Enrique Rios. Shannon communicated with Rios who provided Shannon with an address in Esparto, unaware of what Moore had done.
Cell phone tower and location data showed the three traveled to Esparto. A witness told investigators they saw Rios being picked up by a car matching the description of the car owned by Shannon.
David, Shannon and Campos turned off their phones soon after and the following day, David and Shannon told Jonathan that Rios had been taken to a secluded area near Knights Landing. Rios refused to provide a location or a call to his friend Moore. After refusing to provide his location, prosecutors say David shot and killed Rios.
Weeks later, on Nov. 4, Campos, David and Jonathan waited in a car as Moore was leaving a barber shop near Main Street in Woodland. The three forced Moore into their car and then picked up Shannon, who had the gun that was used to kill Rios.
The defendants drove Moore to Knights Landing where they forced him out of the car at gunpoint. Moore was forced to the ground where the defendants zip-tied his hands and marched him to a more secluded area.
David and Campos left the group to get shovels, a pickaxe, gasoline and bleach. During that time, Jonathan and Shannon took turns holding the gun denying Moore's pleas to be let go or to call his mother.
When Davis and Campos returned with the tools an hour later, prosecutors say David began violently striking Moore in the head with a baseball bat-sized branch. The four took turns striking Moore in the head before David selected a large log and dropped it onto Moore's head.
The four defendants then dug a hole and buried Moore's body and lit it on fire, eventually extinguishing it with bleach and dirt. The defendants then burned their own clothes and dumped their tools in the river at a drawbridge in Knights Landing.
Officials say a missing person report was made for the two teens launching a massive investigation and search. Jonathan cooperated with the Yolo County District Attorney's Office in the investigation and attempted to find the location of two teens' bodies.
All four suspects were arrested in June of 2018.
Jonathan plead guilty to second-degree murder and will be sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison, the Yolo County District Attorney's Office says. His brother, David, was convicted of the murder in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Shannon was convicted Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Rios and Moore, and also of kidnapping, and special circumstances of multiple murders and kidnapping during the course of a murder.
Campos was convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of Rios, first-degree murder for the killing of Moore, kidnapping, and special circumstances of multiple murders and kidnapping during the course of a murder
The two will face sentences of up to life without the possibility of parole, the Yolo County District Attorney's Office says.
Watch More from ABC10:'Sweet Dozen' in Sacramento founded by Louise refugee 30 years later
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/woodland/chandale-shannon-jesus-campos-guilty-murder-enrique-rios-elijah-moore/103-6cbc4739-49c0-4a1a-afc8-a211724e7f77
| 2022-05-13T01:42:06
| 0
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/woodland/chandale-shannon-jesus-campos-guilty-murder-enrique-rios-elijah-moore/103-6cbc4739-49c0-4a1a-afc8-a211724e7f77
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FORT MYERS, Fla. — The City of Fort Myers is hoping to get an idea of what can be done to redevelop parts of the Midtown area in a special meeting happening with property owners.
“Part of the reason that I bought this business four and a half years ago was they had this plan in place,” said Robert Suci, owner of Midtown Pawn and Jewelry on U.S. 41 and Lafayette Street.
Suci said when he purchased his business, he expected a boom in Midtown that never came.
The area sits between U.S. 41 to Evans Avenue and MLK Jr. to Edison, just south of Downtown Fort Myers. It is home to the City of Palms ballpark, several businesses, single-family homes, and a lot of empty lots and lots that sit unused.
“It’s kind of unfortunate not a lot has happened,” said Suci.
“We have a lot of property that hasn’t been improved or developed, and we want to see if it’s possible to do that,” said City of Fort Myers spokesperson Liz Bello-Matthews.
The city already owns a portion of the land. Midtown was a focus in 2018 to get a refresh when the city released a vision plan. City leaders are picking it up again, beginning by talking to property owners like Suci to see if owners would partner together with the city or consider selling to develop, according to Bello-Mathews.
“It needs to feel like a holistic effort to bring everybody into the same room to have the right conversations again,” she said.
“Where my property sits there could be a twelve-story building,” said Suci. “You got this great park out here with the ballpark and stuff and there’s not much activity there.”
The city hopes to learn what could come into Midtown and “to create a vision and concept for long term urban design,” according to the city’s invitation for a special meeting.
“What’s the plan really that’s my question,” said Suci. “As a business owner that’s kind of what you want.”
Fort Myers planners are going to be talking about this for a while, the plans are just in the early stages. More input meetings will be held in the coming weeks to get more community insight on the project.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/12/city-leaders-discuss-plans-with-property-owners-to-revitalize-midtown-fort-myers/
| 2022-05-13T01:42:12
| 1
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/12/city-leaders-discuss-plans-with-property-owners-to-revitalize-midtown-fort-myers/
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FORT MYERS, Fla. — What’s buried beneath a Fort Myers construction site? That’s what city officials want to know after several artifacts were unearthed near Fowler Street.
But since then, construction on an apartment complex has only progressed, despite multiple requests from the city to find out what, if anything was found during an archaeological survey of the property, which was once known as a military cemetery.
Using a historic map of the city, on Thursday, JoAnne Miller from the Southwest Florida Historical Society explained how what’s now a construction site, used to be a burial ground.
“I do know there was another cemetery there, and I would like to see that found. Maybe it’s all disintegrated, but we should be able to find nails,” she said.
She’s part of a growing number of people, including the City of Fort Myers, that are interested in knowing more about what is buried there, before an apartment complex goes up.
“History in the City of Fort Myers is a huge part of who we are, and we want to make sure we preserve it,” said Liz Bello-Matthews from the City of Fort Myers.
Despite artifacts recently found, and multiple requests from the city, Zimmer Development Company, the firm behind the project, hasn’t shown its archaeological report on the site.
“If any study has been made, we want to make sure we receive it, so we can take a look and play a part in whatever history could be preserved here,” Bello-Matthews added.
On Thursday, Florida Gulf Coast University Archaeologist Dr. Bill Locascio explained how the site could contain bodies, and insights about the early days of the city.
“In this case, we are going to lose this piece of Fort Myers’ past forever, any information that could come of that, of how Fort Myers, once a military post- transitioned into a city, and thats really what this cemetery reflects,” Locascio said.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/12/whats-down-here-locals-ask-whats-buried-beneath-construction-site-in-fort-myers/
| 2022-05-13T01:42:24
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/12/whats-down-here-locals-ask-whats-buried-beneath-construction-site-in-fort-myers/
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BOISE, Idaho — The Boise School District suspended 18-year-old Boise High School senior Daniel Dougherty for 4 days after causing a disturbance that led to a school-wide shelter in place, according to the Dougherty's family.
The Boise Police Department (BPD) responded to a call on May 5 regarding a student near campus with a gun, BPD Public Information Officer Haley Williams said. BPD instructed Boise High to shelter in place. Police quickly found the student in question, Dougherty, upon his return to campus from lunch.
Dougherty showed police to his truck, parked off-campus near the corner of 14th St. and W. State St., where his handgun was locked away. There was no evidence of a threat or that Dougherty broke any laws, according to Williams.
The district originally suspended Dougherty for 9 days and stripped him from walking at graduation, according to his mother Jessica Dougherty. The district later reduced Daniel's punishment and will allow him to walk.
"School safety is number one. But the problem we had was that they went off false information which caused the disturbance. And he's being held accountable for that false information, the disturbance being the shelter in place," Jessica said. "He's out late at night feeding livestock and feeding our horses. We have mountain lions. We have wolves. We have things that can attack him. [His gun] is for safety."
Daniel noticed at lunch his truck door would not close properly, he said. He kept his gun with him briefly while walking to a nearby gas station.
"Downtown is sketchy. Taking gun safety courses, he knew he couldn't leave it in an unlocked car," Jessica said. "He wasn't showing it to anybody. He wasn't flashing it around. He was being a responsible young adult."
Daniel realized a loose weather stripping blocked his door from locking after he returned from the gas station. Daniel placed his gun back in his truck, locked the door, and returned to campus.
Daniel does not park on school property; however, the Boise High School Handbook considers surrounding streets and alleys as part of the school campus.
Daniel parked his car, "in a parking space near the school, in an area that is considered to be a part of school campus by the School Handbook (page 13)," according to an email from Boise High School Principal Robb Thompson wrote to parents on May 5.
The area between the west side of 8th St. and the east side of 14th St. are considered on-campus, according to the School Handbook. Daniel parks his car in a lot behind Fanci Freeze, located on the west side of 14th St.
This lot is not on-campus by the School Handbook's definition.
"I'm not saying what they did was wrong by acting like they're supposed to do. But it should have stopped once they found out it was not on campus. There was no threat as [Boise Police] indicated. There was absolutely no threat," Jessica said.
Community members, including Second Amendment supporters, are organizing online in support of Daniel. A protest is scheduled on May 13 to take place outside Boise High School.
Principal Thompson emailed parents on May 11 detailing the possibility of a protest. Parents may remove their students from class prior to the protest.
"They're not gonna be on school property. They're across the street. They're exercising their Second Amendment right. And in the state of Idaho, you have the right to do that," Jessica said.
BPD will monitor the protest and respond as needed, according to Williams.
"With only a few days left in the school year, we are committed to doing what we can to keep our staff and students safe and working to keep any distractions to a minimum as we focus on education," Boise School District spokesperson Dan Hollar wrote KTVB in an email. "Due to confidentiality, we cannot release details about this student disciplinary issue."
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/boise-school-district-suspends-student-gun-campus-creating-shelter-in-place/277-52fec9d3-f22e-473c-b67b-bc6de76a5419
| 2022-05-13T02:22:03
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/boise-school-district-suspends-student-gun-campus-creating-shelter-in-place/277-52fec9d3-f22e-473c-b67b-bc6de76a5419
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BOISE, Idaho — The National Education Association’s annual rankings and estimate report found that from 2020 to 2021, the national average spent per student was over $14,000; the report also found that Idaho spent $8,376 per student, ranking last at 51.
“There has been long-standing neglect, honestly, of public education in Idaho,” Mike Journee, spokesperson for the Idaho Education Association, said.
This is the second year that Idaho ranked last in the same category.
“We have been there for a while and we are going to have to have a long hard conversation on how we improve that,” said Sally Toone, part of the House Education Committee.
The report also found that the average salary for public school teachers across the country was $65,293. Idaho’s average teacher salary came in at $51,817, which puts them 45th in the nation.
“Unfortunately, we were one of the three states where they declined our salaries when you put inflation on there, and then you are saying you want professional teachers, there's a two-edged sword,” Toone said.
“One of the most important things for student success is having an experienced well supported educator in the classroom,” Journee said.
According to Journee, the findings of below-average salaries come at a time when over half of Idaho teachers consider leaving the industry.
“We are still way behind, and we still have a long way to go in order to bring Idaho on par with other states, especially the surrounding states, where our educators can go to work for much more money, better benefits,” Journee said.
Representative Toone believes the road to recovery starts by updating Idaho’s funding formula. According to Toone, the state allocated a set amount of funding to school districts, if it is not enough, districts must run supplemental levies to make up the difference in funding.
“When we have districts like Blaine county and Coeur d'Alene that have property values that are very high, and when they pass a levy, they can pass it for more," she said. "When you have a district like Bliss, Idaho, that has 180 students, you don't have the ability to collect that tax,” Toone said.
Toone said she would like to see the funding formula be readjusted to account for student numbers.
“Let’s talk about a small school district whether we have ten kids in the classroom or 30 kids, it’s going to cost the same, so that classroom unit has to be accounted for,” Toone said.
According to Chairman of the House Education Committee, Lance Clow, simply changing the funding formula will not be enough.
“Changing the funding formula by itself doesn't solve the problem, it’s more money in the formula that solves the problem,” Clow said.
Clow added, that more money is coming to Idaho schools and teachers.
“We are on a glide path to make dramatic changes to teacher salaries,” Clow said. “The next few years there's going to be dramatic increases in appropriations from the state.”
The recent rankings from the NEA do not reflect the 12.5 percent increase in K-12 funding that was approved in Idaho’s most recent legislative session.
“I think it’s hard to move the needle when you know that other states especially towards the bottom, are investing more and more every year also,” Clow said.
However, the recent report did not move Idaho down in all categories. Idaho ranked 29 when it came to salaries for starting teachers, with an average of $39,842, just slightly below the national average.
Some policymakers are encouraged that additional state funding in years to come will only increase the good work coming out of Idaho schools.
“This year is the largest increase that we have had for a long time and hopefully it will change some of those numbers a few slots,” Toone said. “The morale and the nice side of our public education, we have to ring the bell on basically because those are wins.”
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/national-education-association-ranks-idaho-51-in-per-pupil-funding/277-d62c528b-b681-4293-b9f0-0c1ea7230324
| 2022-05-13T02:22:09
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| 2022-05-13T02:33:27
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — COVID cases continue to rise in Arkansas, but it's not the same story we've seen when it comes to hospitalizations.
You probably know of someone right now that has COVID because the virus is spreading, but the good news is that hospitals aren't flooded with patients.
We asked doctors if this means we're at a new point in the pandemic.
The halls at UAMS are always busy. Unlike a vast majority of the past two years, the pandemic isn't the main driver behind the hospital's foot traffic, according to Dr. Robert Hopkins.
"Hospitals don't tend to run with lots of open beds, but at least COVID is not an additional pressure to the normal things that we see this time of year," he said.
While COVID patients aren't taking up the hospitals beds, it is once again spreading throughout our state.
Two days in a row cases have topped 200, which isn't a shock to Dr. Hopkins.
"Most people are not really doing much in the way of public health protections and we don't have a highly vaccinated population, so I'm not terribly surprised to see rates going up," he said.
Currently UAMS has 10 COVID patients. That's far fewer than what they've had in the past, though Dr. Hopkins is still cautious.
"The challenge is... is that 10, what we're going to peak out or do we still have a lot of waves going up? I'm hopeful that we're not going to see a big surge up in hospitalization numbers from that," he said.
Over at Conway Regional Hospital, CEO Matt Troup, is holding on to that same hope.
"It is nice actually to see almost a sense of relief on people's faces. There is a sense of joy again," he said.
Right now their hospital has just one COVID patient, a feeling that Troup said is hard to put into words.
"We've been through these peaks and valleys so much that I think we're taking it more in stride, knowing that if another surge happens we're prepared for it," he said.
While they're prepared in the event, Troup doesn't believe hospitalizations will ever hit those levels again since we could possibly be turning a new page on the pandemic.
"Time will tell, but I think the prevalence of the virus combined with vaccinations have helped to keep hospitalizations low," he said.
Now with cases up, it's really important to remember the guidance if you test positive.
You should stay at home for five days and make sure to get tested again after that.
Additionally if you're vaccinated and you've been exposed but test negative, you should wear a mask around others, just to be safe.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/arkansas-hospitalizations-low-rising-covid-cases/91-9c05bfbd-ddc7-40b7-b2c6-4fdcabc3018d
| 2022-05-13T03:00:21
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/arkansas-hospitalizations-low-rising-covid-cases/91-9c05bfbd-ddc7-40b7-b2c6-4fdcabc3018d
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County supervisors passed a crackdown on illegal fireworks use, which could see hosts of Fourth of July gatherings pay the price. Supervisor Sue Frost said the ordinance passed unanimously.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors discussed illegal firework fines and penalties for property owners and passed an ordinance, amending Sacramento's County Code Chapter 4.54 to add penalties and fines for violations relating to fireworks. According to county code, unless permitted by the state, it is illegal for any person to gather or launch illegal fireworks at home or on other private property.
The ordinance is expected to go into effect on June 24, right before the July 4 holiday.
Anyone caught and identified could see citations and fines including, $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation within one year of the first violation, $5,000 for each additional violation within one year of the first violation and $10,000 for each violation that occurs within the American River Parkway, due to its previous fire damage.
This ordinance allows fire, law enforcement and code enforcement agencies to hold the person in charge of the property responsible.
People can still support local stands that supply “safe and sane” fireworks. These fireworks are not launchable, are non-explosive and are tested and approved by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Generally, any firework that goes up in the air, travels or explodes is illegal.
Residents can report illegal firework sales and usage to their local fire departments and police stations.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: Illegal Fireworks | How much you could be fined if caught using them
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento-county-ordinance-penalties-fireworks/103-5145f464-b491-436d-a2e6-e224b9af4d40
| 2022-05-13T03:13:12
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento-county-ordinance-penalties-fireworks/103-5145f464-b491-436d-a2e6-e224b9af4d40
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STOCKTON, Calif. — Brandon Leake is chasing a dream as he walked along the cracked pavement near an abandoned Kmart in Stockton. He wants to transform the run-down building into a community grocery store and gym.
“Here is where I got my first ever school clothes, blue light special with the layaway,” Leake said, standing just feet away from the building’s now boarded up front doors. “This community has a lot of history for me, and to see a landmark place like this just going to waste… it saddens me.”
The memories from Leake and others at the old Kmart building are starkly contrasted by how the dilapidated building sits today after being closed in 2019.
Surrounded by concrete k-rails meant to keep people out after multiple fires, the 84,000 square-foot property has become what Leake and other community members describe as an “eye sore.” One that is right in the middle of Stockton’s disadvantaged southeast side, which is also known as a food desert due to a lack of grocery stores.
“There’s liquor stores, drug stores or corner stores galore around the community, so we’re not lacking in that. We’re lacking in healthy food access, healthy exercise,” Leake said. “Nobody should have to consider what a four-mile bus ride would be, or asking church members for rides to be able to get to a grocery store because you don’t have a store nearby.”
Leake, who won season 15 of America’s Got Talent in 2020 as a poet, saw the abandoned structure and imagined a vision.
“I think a majority of the world sees it for its potential; they have an understanding that, if this place were to become something good, it could be the very thing that shifts the community for good,” Leake said.
For Leake, the idea was personal. As a parent of a young child, he saw the struggle that many Stockton families face and knew he had to act.
“I want the youth of this community to grow up where access to healthy food, access to a place where they can healthily exercise is a normality and not a luxury,” Leake said. “There’s no excuse for a city like Stockton, the most diverse city in the entire United States per capita, to not be providing healthy alternatives.”
On May 4, Leake released a video on social media making his idea public and asking for donations. Just over a week later, he was met with support and interest with people donating what they can.
“I’ve had somebody who has donated $1 every day because they said they picked up an extra ability to donate,” Leake said. “I believe that there are institutions and larger parties which can play a role in this, if they see the benefit. At the end of the day, money talks and this is a place that will earn money and earn income.”
One of those interested in the idea is Kimberly Warmsley, the city council member representing the “Kmart corridor” of Mariposa Road in south Stockton.
“I think that when we get to a point, and hopefully it’s very soon, for a grocery store to be in south Stockton, that would really bring me joy,” Warmsley said “This is something that I think every resident in south Stockton can attest to, so the time is now to really shift the narrative and bring resources and opportunities.”
According to Warmsley, constituents in her district often have to drive far to find healthy food or to exercise safely, leading to an unhealthy community.
“We just don’t have enough groceries or a variety of places to access fresh food, and that’s where the disparities come in,” Warmsley said. “South Stockton has the highest number of children who struggle with obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes and I think that is the direct correlation between having grocery stores or not.”
For parents like Leake, the status quo is dangerous and has a situations that can lead to bad outcomes.
While Leake said he is not the only person interested in buying the property, he believes that his idea would be the best fit and could have the ability to transform the community.
“There’s a few different companies that would like to turn this into a car lot. With no offense to said companies, it’s just a community like this is not in need of that type of service,” Leake said. “We have too much potential here.”
As Leake continues his efforts to fundraise, which has included launching a website, he hopes to continue working with others in the community to make his vision a reality.
For Leake, the campaign is just the start of a long road to fixing his community, a road that he hopes will start with the fractured pavement of his neighborhood’s old Kmart.
“This grocery store will come to life. Whether it be at this location, or somewhere else, but this grocery store will come to life,” Leake said. “This is something in which I really believe God placed on my heart, to try to bring back to a place in which gave me so much.”
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stockton-poet-transforming-food-desert/103-13882537-e2df-414f-90d0-4c8ae1a7443c
| 2022-05-13T03:13:18
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stockton-poet-transforming-food-desert/103-13882537-e2df-414f-90d0-4c8ae1a7443c
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The City of Flagstaff and Coconino County Flood Control District will be distributing sandbags to help residents affected by the Museum Fire flooding repair existing sandbag walls in preparation for the monsoon season.
Pallets of new sandbags and trash bins will be placed in neighborhoods downstream of the Museum Fire scar beginning Friday. Materials will be available through July 1. Limited assistance will be available after May 24.
Deterioration over the last year necessitates repair of existing walls. The new sandbags will be distributed from a stock of 75,000 currently held by Coconino County. The City of Flagstaff has provided the following tips for residents expecting to repair their sandbag walls:
• Only broken sandbags on the outside of sandbag walls need to be replaced. Sandbags that are broken but are inside of a sandbag wall can remain in place.
• Cinders from broken sandbags can be put in the designated trash bins provided, returned to the sandbag station at 2625 N. King St., or taken to Cinder Lake Landfill. Residents are asked not to dump cinders into street gutters or put sandbags in residential city trash cans. Old sandbags or cinders are not eligible for city bulk pickup and should not be placed curbside.
People are also reading…
• Flood mitigation should be continuous with no gaps. Removal of any sections of mitigation from an individual property may compromise effectiveness and result in liability if upstream or downstream properties are impacted.
• The maintenance of sandbag walls and the disposal of sandbags is exclusively the responsibility of residents.
• Residents are encouraged to enlist the help of family and friends in repairing their sandbag walls as there are limited staffing and volunteer resources available to assist residents. The City and the Flood Control District continue to work with the United Way and other partners to secure volunteers, but these resources will be directed toward residents who are elderly or have a disability.
• Residents are encouraged to review how to properly re-stack sandbags that are replaced. For more information on sandbagging, visit coconino.az.gov/2134/Sandbag-Information.
For those unable to conduct repairs themselves, limited assistance will be available. Residents can call 928-213-2102 starting May 24 to request assistance. Calls will be answered Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The City of Flagstaff reminds residents that “resources are limited, and crews will address as many properties as time and resources allow.”
For questions related to the sandbag refresh operation, please contact Sam Beckett, City of Flagstaff streets section director at samuel.beckett@flagstaffaz.gov. For general questions about Museum Fire flooding, residents can email info@museumfloodprojects.com.
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https://azdailysun.com/news/local/sandbags-available-to-flagstaff-residents-impacted-by-museum-fire-flooding/article_ed07a762-d240-11ec-ae91-9726c461b877.html
| 2022-05-13T03:20:45
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https://azdailysun.com/news/local/sandbags-available-to-flagstaff-residents-impacted-by-museum-fire-flooding/article_ed07a762-d240-11ec-ae91-9726c461b877.html
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State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, Republican candidate for Texas Land Commissioner, brought her campaign to Midland Thursday just before early voting in the runoff opens.
She faces Tim Westley in the Republican runoff while Jay Kleberg and Sandragrace Martinez are in the Democratic runoff.
Buckingham was accompanied by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who emphasized the importance of the Land Commissioner in overseeing state oil and gas operations, veterans’ programs and the Alamo project.
Buckingham pointed out that revenues derived from oil and gas production support the land agency’s education and veterans’ programs. She said Democrats hope to follow national efforts to shut down oil and gas operations on federal lands by shutting down oil and gas operations on state lands, which she said would be devastating. It would also be an abdication of their constitutional responsibilities to fund education programs, she added.
The impact of federal actions delaying or halting oil and gas leasing on federal lands are already being felt, she said.
“Half the nation’s oil and gas production is from Texas and the reason it is is because Biden can’t shut down oil and gas activity in Texas and he can’t shut it down because it’s on state and private lands,” she said.
Amid growing calls for domestic oil and gas producers to increase production to meet demand and help replace Russian energy supplies, she said there are things state regulators and legislatures can do to help producers increase that output.
“We can lower the threshold, help the efficiency of pipelines, ensure the playing field is level,” she said. “There’s a lot we can do. The most important thing is the oil and gas revenue that supports education and veterans’ programs.”
Patrick said officials in Washington, D.C. are not getting the message being sent by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that energy security is national security.
“No message is getting through the thickness of D.C.,” he said., “They don’t want to listen to the reality of what oil and gas is about.”
He said "the crazy left" is spinning a fantasy of eliminating fossil fuels and that fossil fuel production must be protected, not only for the Permian Basin but for Texas, for the nation and even the world.
“We can see what happens when a valuable resource is left in the hands of a dictator like Putin,” he stated.
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https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/Land-Commissioner-candidate-Lt-Governor-17169091.php
| 2022-05-13T03:23:04
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https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/Land-Commissioner-candidate-Lt-Governor-17169091.php
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Midland Christian officials stood behind the five school officials that were not indicted by a Midland County grand jury this week in its first statement since the decision was announced Wednesday.
School officials in a statement wrote, “We are proud of the five members of our Midland Christian School family and grateful these legal proceedings are behind them. They have each handled themselves gracefully in the face of these extremely difficult circumstances, all while holding firm to their faith.”
Those administrators and staff members were Superintendent Jared Lee, former athletic director and head football coach Greg McClendon, Secondary Principal Dana Ellis, Assistant Secondary Principal Matthew David Counts and baseball coach Barry Russell. McClendon resigned his position in April.
The five were charged in February with failure to report with intent to conceal neglect or abuse. Midland County District Attorney Laura Nodolf confirmed Wednesday that the five were “no-billed” or not indicted by a jury.
“We are pleased that the grand jury confirmed what we believed to be true after receiving results of our own external and independent investigation into the legal matter,” the MCS statement said. “Our independent external investigator concluded the five individuals acted reasonably and appropriately given the facts and circumstances, so we are not surprised the grand jury reached the same conclusion.
Midland Christian officials wrote that “our current administrative staff who have boldly stepped into interim roles will continue to lead our students and faculty through the remainder of the school year to help avoid yet another disruptive change to our campus life.”
MCS also stated that those no-billed will “remain on paid administrative leave through the end of the 2021-2022 school year.”
“Midland Christian School remains committed to our mission and the pursuit of excellence across everything we do,” the statement said. “As we move forward as a school, we will continue to closely evaluate ways to further strengthen this pursuit.”
On Wednesday, McClendon’s attorney Aaron Eckman called on the Midland City Council “to initiate an independent review of the handling of the investigation by members of the Midland Police Department. Professional lives were sullied and ruined by poorly investigated accusations and a calculated public arrest to garner media attention. It is said that when you drag someone through the mud, they will get muddy. Five lives are forever changed because of a rush to judgment by the police and the public.”
Midland Mayor Patrick Payton said late Wednesday evening that “I believe in the men and women in blue and our legal and justice system right here in Midland. That doesn't mean we won't continue evaluating and taking a good, hard look at why we did what we did, how we can improve and get better as we seek to serve and protect this community. We will continue to assume the best of those who serve us in law enforcement, but we will seek to be even better when we come out the other side of the process.”
Midland Christian statement
Midland Christian School was grateful yesterday to learn that the Midland County Grand Jury declined to indict the five administrative members of our staff. We are pleased that the grand jury confirmed what we believed to be true after receiving results of our own external and independent investigation into the legal matter. Our independent external investigator concluded the five individuals acted reasonably and appropriately given the facts and circumstances, so we are not surprised the grand jury reached the same conclusion. We recognize that grand jury service is one of the most demanding forms of community service. We want to express our appreciation to those men and women whose courage and pursuit of truth led them to this conclusion.
We are proud of the five members of our Midland Christian School family and grateful these legal proceedings are behind them. They have each handled themselves gracefully in the face of these extremely difficult circumstances, all while holding firm to their faith.
Our current administrative staff who have boldly stepped into interim roles will continue to lead our students and faculty through the remainder of the school year to help avoid yet another disruptive change to our campus life. Our colleagues will remain on paid administrative leave through the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Midland Christian School remains committed to our mission and the pursuit of excellence across everything we do. As we move forward as a school, we will continue to closely evaluate ways to further strengthen this pursuit.
Our faculty, staff, and students have been instrumental in our ability to press forward these last three months. We applaud their strength and determination and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments, especially our graduates, over these next nine days to finish out the year.
Mayor’s statement
When this investigation began to unfold many weeks ago there were numerous people who wanted me to interject myself into the process. Emotions were very high and opinions and viewpoints were all over the board. No doubt, this matter has been discussed within the community and many were impacted by what was taking place. I understand all of that.
When I took phone calls and meetings with people about this situation I told them all one thing, “Let the process work itself out.” I stand here today and tell you I would say the same thing again and again; let the process work itself out. We as a people here in Midland Texas cannot act like other places and seek to intimidate, harass or influence the legal process; if we lose hope in the process we are losing hope in liberty and we cannot afford to lose that hope.
As I stand here in front of you this evening, I believe in the men and women in blue and our legal and justice system here in Midland. That does not mean we won’t continue evaluating and taking a good hard look at why we did what did, and how we can improve and get better as we seek to serve and protect this community. We will continue to assume the best of those who serve us in law enforcement but we will seek to be even better when we come out the other side of the process.
I have been deeply and personally burdened by what many have had to go through in the process. I gave my word to all those who originally wanted me to step into the process that if the process played out and the grand jury delivered the verdict we have seen today that I would do what I am doing tonight. There have indeed been reputations damaged, teachers and students affected and many in this community left with questions and concerns. But…the process played itself out and we will once again choose to trust the legal process that is at the bedrock of our freedom and liberty and security.
Any great city – and I believe we are such a city – will have these challenges and we all know similar challenges are playing out even now. But when we get to where we are tonight, we must be gracious as well as bold. We must be gracious enough to admit mistakes where we find them and we must be steadfast in what is an often gut wrenching journey of letting the process play itself out and trusting that as a community committed to one another from the thin blue line to the streets, schools, and places we do live that we will do what is right and learn from mistakes where we find them.
Let us choose tonight to love and to learn. There will come another day when journeys similar to this will play out again; but tonight, we affirm that our system is not broken, our city is healthy, and we will be better and better in the days ahead with one another and for one another.
God bless you and God bless Midland.
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https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/MCS-reacts-to-grand-jury-decision-17169561.php
| 2022-05-13T03:23:10
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https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/MCS-reacts-to-grand-jury-decision-17169561.php
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Century High School senior Chance Bowlinger has high hopes of someday being a Harvard University student. While he waits to see if he can get off their waitlist, he has a spot ready at North Dakota State University to study computer science and math.
No matter where Bowlinger ends up in the fall, he has a considerable scholarship to bring with him.
Bowlinger has been named Teen of the Year by MDU Resources Group Inc. and The Bismarck Tribune. He was awarded a $5,000 scholarship Thursday during an event held at MDU Resources honoring all of this year's Teen of the Week winners. It was the first time since 2019 that the ceremony was held in person, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before he revealed the overall winner, MDU Resources President and CEO Dave Goodin had all of the teens stand up and then listed attributes of the winner. After each fact, he asked the teens to sit down again if they did not fit in that description.
After two rounds of descriptions -- being from Bismarck and in All-State band -- all but two teens were sitting. Bowlinger realized he had won after Goodin announced that the winner had a perfect score on the ACT college entrance exam, leaving him the last one standing.
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“I was very surprised," Bowlinger said. “It's so tough in a group with such qualified candidates to pick out an individual, especially when so many people are so talented in so many aspects. It's fantastic to be with a bunch of great people.”
Since September, the Tribune, in partnership with MDU Resources, has recognized 32 exemplary high school seniors from across the region and shared their stories through the Teen of the Week series. This is the fourth year of the program.
Weekly winners were selected by Tribune staff from nominations submitted by school counselors, who received recommendations from teachers, administrators and coaches.
The son of Robin and Paul Bowlinger is a 4.2 GPA student who’s taken 11 advanced placement classes. He is a National Merit Scholar and one of the four students from North Dakota to be named a U.S. Presidential Scholar.
Bowlinger was a part of the 2021 state champion science bowl team and has won multiple awards at various math competitions.
In addition to being a top-performing student, Bowlinger is an accomplished musician and athlete.
He plays piano and is a percussionist in Century’s jazz band. He has made the All-State band five times and the All-State jazz band once. He also received a Four Year All-State Music award. He said his passion for music comes from how fun it is to play with other talented musicians.
Bowlinger has been on the varsity track and soccer team since he was a freshman. He was named the West Region Senior Athlete of the Year and was a recipient of the 2021-22 WDA Senior Scholar Award. While the recognition is nice, he said, he is most proud of the positive team dynamic he helped foster by being a good leader.
“In 10 years, I’m not going to brag about how I was player of the year in high school,” Bowlinger said. “I think the memories you make by being in a good and positive team are more impactful than a plaque.”
Goodin and Cory Fong, MDU Resources director of communications and public affairs, also spoke during the event. Both said that while the virtual format used for the past two ceremonies was fine, they were excited to have the event be in person again.
“As this year’s teens’ ambitions and achievements have been highlighted during the past year through The Bismarck Tribune’s reporting, I have heard repeatedly from our employees and from community members how inspired they are to do more and be better,” Goodin said. “We are all awed by the accomplishments of this year’s remarkable and diverse teens.”
Tribune Editor Amy Dalrymple said in remarks at the event that she is impressed by the work ethic and leadership skills demonstrated by the Teens of the Week.
"What’s particularly remarkable to me is how active you are in your communities through volunteer work, church activities and school fundraisers," she said. "I suspect that MDU and other employers who read your inspiring stories are likely keeping tabs on you and will be eager to recruit you."
Previous Teens of the Year Callie Stonecipher (2019-20) and Laura Muggli (2020-21) attended this year’s event.
Stonecipher, a BHS graduate, is majoring in animation and minoring in graphic and interactive design and film production at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Muggli, a Grant County graduate, is studying financial services banking at the University of Mary.
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/teen-of-the-week/century-high-schools-chance-bowlinger-named-mdu-s-teen-of-the-year/article_65a48e10-d237-11ec-9703-7743845ede79.html
| 2022-05-13T03:46:21
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/teen-of-the-week/century-high-schools-chance-bowlinger-named-mdu-s-teen-of-the-year/article_65a48e10-d237-11ec-9703-7743845ede79.html
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/how-much-would-you-pay-for-vacant-oceanfront-auction-in-a-c-wants-to-know/3237802/
| 2022-05-13T04:04:54
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/how-much-would-you-pay-for-vacant-oceanfront-auction-in-a-c-wants-to-know/3237802/
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VALLEY COUNTY, IDAHO, Idaho — The Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to deny the proposed bid by California-based developer Roseberry Park, LLC.
Valley County Planning and Zoning held the follow-up hearing after last week's initial hearing received a greater public testimony turn out than previously expected.
The developer sought to obtain a permit to build a mobile home community park west of Donnelly. Something they pitched as "necessary workforce housing." If approved, it would have brought 201 manufactured homes to the area on about 40 acres near the intersection of Roseberry and Norwood Road.
The Planning and Zoning Commission said because of how much feedback and new material they received in opposition during public hearings, they needed to review and hold another discussion on Thursday.
“The public testimony was overwhelmingly opposed, this opposition is a good indicator that this application is not in harmony with the general population and that’s why they showed up,” said one council member.
Allison Hatzenbuhler, a Donnely resident, previously told KTVB her concerns over the park.
"The growth, we don't like it, but we know it's coming and that's okay," Hatzenbuhler said on Wednesday. "We just want it to be controlled and we want it to be fair to all. I don't want it to come down to people losing everything they had or anything they hope to have."
Hatzenbuhler added the Valley County area is not equipped for that much growth's impacts on local schools, fire agencies, and water systems around the area. A concern that was shared among several of the council members.
One council member also expressed concerns over potential residents' lack of property rights.
“There is a difference between mobile home parks, and mobile home subdivisions. In mobile home subdivisions, the person who owns the manufactured home owns the lot, which creates real property. This is not real property,” said one council member. “This not being real property, creates questions of compatibility because everything around it is real property. It is then personal property which means those 201 potential people do not have property rights and they are not a well-legally represented and protected class.”
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/growing-idaho/valley-county-planning-zoning-denies-roseberry-park-proposal/277-58ca5fe3-c11d-45f1-b6ca-67754da6634f
| 2022-05-13T04:23:23
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/growing-idaho/valley-county-planning-zoning-denies-roseberry-park-proposal/277-58ca5fe3-c11d-45f1-b6ca-67754da6634f
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RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — A Rancho Cordova woman says her savings was wiped out by a person posing as a bank employee.
Lona Rose recently moved to Rancho Cordova from the Bay Area and switched banks in the process, going from Bank of America to Chase Bank.
However back in April, she said she received several text messages that appeared to be fraud alerts from Chase and were followed by a call from a man posing as an employee. She said she was told to wire the money in her savings account to an 'official' account because of a 'fraudulent transaction'.
"He goes 'OK, this is what we need to do. You need to move the money out of your savings and protect it and put it in your checking.' And I said, 'Well, I don't see it,' and he said 'It's in the process. It's heading there,'" Rose said. "There were some triggers where I was like, 'Something's not adding up.'"
In just minutes, $6,000 was wiped out from her savings account.
"It does make me angry. There's a lot of shock," said Rose.
Over a month later, Rose still hasn't gotten her money back, putting her behind on some bills and leaving her without an emergency fund.
"I filed a report, went to the credit bureau and got the executive office of Chase to contact me," Rose said. "They will not give it (the money) back to me. They told me that I should get an attorney, but they (said they) are not gonna give me the money back that it was my fault."
Rose said she thinks the bank doesn't have enough security measures in place, and wants them to step up and reimburse the money she lost. Meanwhile, she offered advice to others on how to protect their savings.
"Put it in a credit union where it's a lot more secure, where wires cannot be done unless you go into the branch. If somebody calls you, I would just hang up with them and call your bank. There's too much spam," Rose said.
ABC10 reached out to Chase Bank for comment and received the following statement.
"We're sorry that Ms. Rose was the victim of a scam and authorized the payment. We have requested the money back from the receiving bank, but that may take up to 90 days and the results aren't guaranteed. We urge all consumers never to share their banking password or to send money to someone they don't know. Bank employees won't call, text or email consumers asking for this, but crooks will," JPMorgan Chase & Co told ABC10.
According to Consumer Issues, the most common banking scams are overpayment, phishing texts and check fraud.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rancho-cordova/rancho-cordova-woman-scammed-out-of-savings-by-fraudsters/103-6775523d-23ac-49bd-823e-0387c811398e
| 2022-05-13T04:44:36
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rancho-cordova/rancho-cordova-woman-scammed-out-of-savings-by-fraudsters/103-6775523d-23ac-49bd-823e-0387c811398e
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STOCKTON, Calif. — A Stockton police sergeant was placed on administrative leave after authorities received claims of misconduct against him.
A woman said Sergeant Nicholas Bloed coerced her into unprotected sexual encounters over the course of several months, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
"The Stockton Police Department is aware of these serious allegations. We have already launched an internal affairs investigation and Sergeant Nicholas Bloed has been placed on administrative leave. These claims of misconduct are concerning and in no way reflect the values of our department," the Stockton Police Department said in a statement to ABC10.
According to the Chronicle, the woman reported Bloed to the Stockton Police Department after their last encounter and filed a claim that accused the officer of sexual battery and seeks damages for emotional suffering and psychological treatment costs.
Citing the filing, the Chronicle reported that Bloed took pictures of her, asked her to send him nude photos and asked her for sex and oral sex over the course of several months. She also reported encounters in both February and March.
According to a Stockton Police Department post from 2014, Bloed graduated from the Ray Simon Police Academy in December of 2022 and previously worked for the Modesto Police Department. He left in 2008 to join Stockton Police Department.
Bloed was recognized in the post as Employee of the Month for August 2014.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stockton-police-sergeant-on-leave-alleged-misconduct/103-9b4cf7ac-8bb2-4e89-a0e2-3b4d61dfd7bb
| 2022-05-13T04:44:42
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stockton-police-sergeant-on-leave-alleged-misconduct/103-9b4cf7ac-8bb2-4e89-a0e2-3b4d61dfd7bb
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GILBERT, Ariz. — Ashley Crandell’s first pregnancy was easy.
“Didn't have any troubles,” the Gilbert mom said.
But she and her husband Lance struggled to get pregnant again for more than three years.
“There was definitely moments when we thought maybe we wouldn't be able to have more kids,” said Ashley.
So they decided to try artificial insemination.
“We're getting older. And so you know, it wasn't going to be much longer that we were able to keep trying for kids,” said Ashley.
They were ecstatic when their first ultrasound showed a baby.
But what they didn't expect was for the ultrasound to show four babies.
“The tech put up four pictures and labeled it baby one baby to baby three, maybe four. And my first question was, 'is that four pictures of one baby?'” Ashley said.
The couple gave birth to the quads in February. Now they are a happy family of seven and finally home after spending months in the Intensive Care Unit.
“We wanted to have five kids or four kids or three kids. You know, I think that was always the plan. Just not like this,” Lance said.
The last few months have been filled with challenges, including when Ashley went into labor nine weeks early at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical enter
“Luckily, Ashley had a fairly healthy pregnancy. And the babies did fairly well,” said Andrea Hassler, the nursing director for Women and Infant Services.
After 10 weeks in the NICU all four babies; Wesley, Emma, Leah, and Nora were able to come home.
“Everything happens for a reason. And obviously, this is the route we were meant to take,” said Ashley.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/gilbert-couple-welcomes-home-quadruplets-after-struggling-to-conceive/75-c7f3d80d-637b-46a5-ab1a-49b9937d312b
| 2022-05-13T04:52:52
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/gilbert-couple-welcomes-home-quadruplets-after-struggling-to-conceive/75-c7f3d80d-637b-46a5-ab1a-49b9937d312b
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NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — You can find Lee Halbrook outside his Conway barn sawing and sculpting away at different wood projects.
He said that the shed, which hosts his supplies and creations, acts as his 'therapeutic' place.
Halbrook is the owner of Custom Log Carvings and is now taking on yet another passion filled job.
"When I'm carving a tree, a stump, it doesn't always go exactly how I have it in my mind, because the wood itself has something to say about what you carve out of it," said Halbrook.
The solitude he has in Conway is a complete 180 from the noise his impact has made in North Little Rock.
The Old Mill sign in North Little Rock is getting an update, and it's courtesy to Halbrook.
He's done some great work for the city in the past, and now he's back for a new sign installation, having previously carved the original sign in 2018.
"I actually carved The Old Mill into the log and that's what we're going to do again, only this time we're going to use cedar," said Halbrook.
Cedar is a wood that doesn't rot and has less issues that arise from insects.
Halbrook said the log on the original sign was becoming destroyed because of termites.
Ahead of his work, the city of North Little Rock said that they're excited about having another one of Halbrook's pieces beautify the historic landmark.
Parks & Recreation Director, Steve Shields said it won't be the last time they'll work with Halbrook either.
"He's going to start the process of doing another one in the near future and he's just really talented at what he does. He produces great artwork and our people love it," said Shields.
Halbrook said he originally only carved creations for fun, until people started to take notice. Now, he does it full time running his own business.
He found his start working with the city when Mayor Terry Hartwick noticed one of his animal sculptures. Back then, Hartwick was the Parks & Recreation Director.
"It just brings character and it's just fun for our citizens in North Little Rock," said Shields.
While all parties are excited, Shields said the sign won't be up for another 2-3 weeks.
For, this is just building upon a passion for wood sculpture that he's had since he was a child, creating pieces for others and earning him worldwide acclaim.
"I put a little bit of myself into everything I carve, because I enjoy doing it," said Halbrook.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/wood-sculptor-designing-old-mill-sign/91-4a18684e-b50a-4bbe-8018-4eecc339f1ff
| 2022-05-13T04:52:58
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/wood-sculptor-designing-old-mill-sign/91-4a18684e-b50a-4bbe-8018-4eecc339f1ff
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Contests Which Trolls Live! character are you? Enter to win. Find out which Trolls Live! character you are and enter for a chance to win tickets and a VIP experience. Credit: WFAA
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/contests/which-trolls-live-character-are-you-enter-to-win/287-021a150d-2694-4820-8407-3675bb80aa6b
| 2022-05-13T04:55:21
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/contests/which-trolls-live-character-are-you-enter-to-win/287-021a150d-2694-4820-8407-3675bb80aa6b
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DALLAS — One day after three women were shot inside the Hair World Salon on Royal Lane in the heart of Dallas’ Koreatown, police could “confidently” say hate was not the motivating factor, according to Chief Eddie Garcia.
“At this point we can’t responsibly say that hate was a factor, because our investigation is telling us that it is not,” Garcia said.
The department activated a task force to investigate, Garcia said, and officers discovered the crime was motivated by “different factors” that had nothing to do with a hate crime.
“If there were a nexus to hate we certainly would be conducting outreach to make sure our community knows and it’s important our community realizes that,” Garcia said.
Dallas’s Korean community might have heard what the chief said, but still feels anxious.
“Absolutely. How could you not?” asked Jonas Park, founder of Stop Asian Hate Dallas and a volunteer with the Dallas Korean society. “It’s like your family. Like one of your family members got shot.”
The victims were all Korean women.
One of them briefly returned to the salon Thursday evening with her arm in a sling following what she said was a four-hour surgery.
She did not want to be interviewed but did say she believes she will be okay despite being shot three times.
Police say the suspect was dressed in all black when he walked inside Hair World Salon around 2:20 p.m. Wednesday and began shooting.
They say he got away in a maroon minivan.
Park said he went to Koreatown on Thursday and met with uneasy business owners.
Some had their doors locked, Park said.
He said he hopes people understand that a focus on safety and understanding each other is important moving forward.
A $5,000 reward for information that leads to the suspect’s arrest and indictment is being offered. Anyone with information regarding the crime should contact detectives at 214-671-3523.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-police-chief-says-hate-not-motivating-factor-shooting-koreatown-salon/287-890e134b-fc90-42c7-bd15-f12199b6aca4
| 2022-05-13T04:55:27
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-police-chief-says-hate-not-motivating-factor-shooting-koreatown-salon/287-890e134b-fc90-42c7-bd15-f12199b6aca4
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FORT WORTH, Texas — When 11-year-old Nikita Derevianko arrived in Texas, his mother said the young boy would constantly walk outside and look into the sky.
The reason? Ensure that no Russians were here.
Nikita and his mother, Yevheniia, escaped war-torn Ukraine on March 23 and now live in Fort Worth. The Sokol there is working to prepare the two for the next chapter of their lives by raising money for Nikita to compete in the USA Gymnastics circuit.
The organization is also trying to raise money for the two to obtain an immigration attorney to live in the United States permanently.
"All the people that we meet here are trying to help us and always say something to us about Ukraine. We are very thankful for everybody," Yevheniia Derevianko said.
The pair lived in Kyiv and fled the city by train in the middle of the night after Russia launched an all-out assault on the country.
Their 14-hour ride from Kyiv to Lviv was not an easy one. It was met with echoes of war and death in the distance that came along for the ride.
"All these planes, rockets, and bombs were horrible sounds," Derevianko said.
"It was scary. There were no lights on the train, and all the windows were closed. They asked people to lie down because the Russians could shoot us. I was afraid for him, not myself because I had to protect him."
Derevianko has a childhood friend from Ukraine who is now an American in Fort Worth. She told Derevianko that if she could get to Poland, her husband would escort them to America.
Once they arrived in Poland, the group made it to Finland and then traveled to Spain. From Spain, they flew to Mexico and were accepted into the U.S. under a temporary humanitarian protected status.
Even with her mother and brother still in Kyiv, Derevianko plans to stay in America with her son and start over.
She's now living with her Ukranian childhood friend in Fort Worth with Nikita.
The two are slowly getting back to normal. For Nikita, doing gymnastics at the Sokol helps with that process.
In Ukraine, he trained six days a week for four hours a day. His mother says he was on track, for his age, to compete at a high level in the country.
"He's very good, and our coaches there thought so," Derevianko said. "He doesn't love school so much--but he loves gymnastics."
Derevianko doesn't have a car, so the Sokol community and friends help get her and Nikita to the Sokol for training when they can.
Officials and coaches at the Sokol agreed and told WFAA they couldn't provide a higher level of training for Nikita. They started a GoFundMe to send him to gymnastics camps, and hopefully, that will lead to him competing nationally.
The fundraiser is also to help with any expenses Derevianko and Nikita may need to help them stay in the U.S. permanently as they work towards citizenship.
Nikita doesn't speak English very well, but through his mother, he told WFAA it would be a dream of his to compete in gymnastics in the U.S.
Despite leaving most of their possessions behind, it's one thing that survived: a dream that can come true with help.
"Everybody here is amazing people," Derevianko said. "This is his big wish."
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/young-ukrainian-gymnast-safe-fort-worth-fleeing-war/287-52220408-146a-4d0d-a73e-a83a9306b387
| 2022-05-13T04:55:33
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/young-ukrainian-gymnast-safe-fort-worth-fleeing-war/287-52220408-146a-4d0d-a73e-a83a9306b387
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SEATTLE — A Pierce County woman who was reported missing in 1993 was identified through DNA as the victim of a decades-old cold case homicide in Colorado.
On July 7, 1994, the body of a woman was found by a hiker on the Uncompahgre Plateau, south of Grand Junction in western Colorado. The Montrose County Sheriff's Office began a homicide investigation.
Investigators referred to the woman as Windy Point Jane Doe.
Over the past 28 years, investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies tried to find out what happened to Windy Point Jane Doe.
In August 2020, investigators submitted the woman's DNA for forensic genetic genealogy analysis.
In April 2022, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic lab received a positive identification of Windy Point Jane Doe as Susan Hoppes, who was reported as a missing person from Pierce County in August 1993.
"It is truly remarkable that technology was able to give closure to the family of Susan Hoppes and to all that was involved in the case," said Montrose County Sheriff Gene Lillard. "It has always been a goal to determine who she was and what actually happened to her. It has taken a huge team effort and lots of cooperation from multiple law enforcement agencies."
The cold case is being investigated by the Montrose County Sheriff's Office. Investigators from Colorado are in en route to Washington state to gather more information on Hoppes and to meet with detectives and private investigators, according to the Montrose County Sheriff's Office.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/pierce-county-woman-identified-colorado-cold-case/281-eca3c5c5-72dc-49c8-ac46-6000018151b6
| 2022-05-13T04:59:29
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/pierce-county-woman-identified-colorado-cold-case/281-eca3c5c5-72dc-49c8-ac46-6000018151b6
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Daycare worker pleads guilty to leaving child on bus
An Iowa Park daycare worker accused of leaving a child on a bus pleads guilty to Abandon Endanger Child Criminal Negligence.
According to court documentation:
Jessie Granjeno pleaded guilty to Abandon Endanger Child Criminal Negligence Thursday in the 89th District Court. She received 5 years community supervision and will pay $1,000 in fines plus court cost, according to the agreement.
According to a previous Times Record News report, Granjeno was arrested in November 2020, after Child Protective Service notified Iowa Park Police that Granjeno, an employee at Itty Bitty Childcare facility in Iowa Park, had left a 3-year-old unattended in a vehicle for several hours.
Granjeno had taken about seven children to the daycare facility on the morning of Aug. 24, 2020. During an interview conducted by the Texas Department of Family Protective Service, Granjeno said, “I did not do what I normally do and walk through the bus to turn the key before I got the kids out.” She said, “I did not count my kids that morning as I got them off the bus.”
More:Iowa Park daycare worker charged in child abandonment
The report indicated the victim was inside the vehicle for approximately three hours with the windows closed and estimated the temperature inside the vehicle at 127 degrees. During an interview with Iowa Park police, Granjeno admitted she did not follow protocol when she took the children out of the vehicle, and she did not notify her supervisor of the incident until about noon that day. When asked why she did not call EMTs to check the child she said she did not know why.
Granjeno’s supervisor told investigators she was not notified of the incident until 12:45 p.m. that day. The victim’s mother was not notified until later that day via a text message.
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https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/12/daycare-worker-pleads-guilty-leaving-child-bus/9752750002/
| 2022-05-13T05:19:37
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https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/12/daycare-worker-pleads-guilty-leaving-child-bus/9752750002/
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A Bismarck car salesman assembled the best baseball team in the history of North Dakota and arguably also put together the greatest basketball team in the state.
The 1935 Bismarck baseball team, owned and managed by Neil Churchill, won the first ever National Semi-pro Baseball Championship. In 1927, Churchill organized the Bismarck Phantoms, an independent basketball team.
Each year from 1938 to 1941, the Phantoms were finalists in the Amateur National Tournament. In 1939 they routed the Harlem Globetrotters, 70 to 30. From 1939 to 1946, Churchill also served as Bismarck’s mayor.
Neil Orr Churchill was born Feb. 13, 1891, in St. Croix Falls (40 miles northeast of St. Paul, Minnesota), Wisconsin, to George W. and Rebecca (Orr) Churchill.
Churchill’s big love while growing up was sports. By 1906, he was playing baseball for a semi-pro team in Osceola, Wisconsin. Each summer he would play ball, and one year, he reportedly played with 16 different teams. In 1912 and 1913, he was the catcher for a powerful team in an interstate league in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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In 1918, Churchill obtained employment with the Lahr Motor Sales Co. in Bismarck. His office was in the current MDU Building on Fourth Street. Churchill continued playing baseball and was an outstanding outfielder for the Bismarck Grays. In 1923, he got a job in Minneapolis with the Maxwell-Chrysler Automobile Agency as an assistant supervisor.
Meanwhile, Wickham Corwin, who owned a dealership in Bismarck selling Buick, Saxon, and Mitchell automobiles, believed he needed to gear up for a new automobile introduced in 1924 — Chrysler. In 1925, Churchill agreed to invest in the reorganization of Corwin’s franchise and it was named Corwin-Churchill Motors.
The dealership was soon doing a brisk business, and in 1926, Churchill decided to pursue additional interests. He agreed to become manager of the Bismarck Grays.
Later, that year, Churchill organized the Bismarck Phantoms, an independent basketball team.
In 1933, Churchill purchased the Grays and began stocking the team with the best available players he could find.
A bitter rivalry existed between the Grays and the Jamestown Red Sox, and Jamestown was winning more games that season. Both teams had Black players on them. Churchill had signed pitcher Roosevelt Davis, catcher Quincy Trouppe, and infielder Red Haley, but they could not win when Barney Brown was on the mound for Jamestown.
On Aug. 10, 1933, Satchel Paige signed a contract and went 7-0 as Bismarck beat out Jamestown for the state championship.
Churchill had a verbal agreement with Paige for the next season and began preparing to accommodate for the expected fan turnout. He built a new ball park with a 3,000-seat grandstand. Paige did not return to Bismarck in 1934, but Churchill still had a good team with a 61-18 record. However, they came in second, finishing behind Jamestown.
Churchill would not be denied in 1935. He not only secured the services of Paige, but pried Double-Duty Radcliffe away from Jamestown and added Negro League all-star pitcher Hilton Smith to his team. Bismarck cruised to win the state title and then went on to win the National Semi-pro Baseball Championship. Bismarck continued to have very good teams, but nothing that could rival the 1935 national championship squad.
The Bismarck Phantoms team was a Churchill creation and, in 1933 and 1934, they were called the Prowlers. During the first years, Churchill was the coach but later turned the team over to star players.
The heydays for the Phantoms were from 1938 to 1941 when they easily dominated most of their opponents.
At the conclusion of the 1938-39 season, the Phantoms went to the Amateur National Tournament in Atlanta. They lost in the semi-final game.
During the 1939-40 season, they shocked the sports world by clobbering the fabled Harlem Globetrotters by a score of 70-30. During that season and the next, the Phantoms again went to the national tournament.
It wasn’t just in sports that Churchill excelled. He was a master salesman, growing the Corwin-Churchill Motor Co. to one of the largest dealerships in the state. In 1935, he also opened the Corwin-Churchill appliance dealership in Bismarck. In 1937, the company purchased Murphy Motor in Fargo, and Corwin moved there to head up that operation.
Churchill was elected mayor of Bismarck and held that office until 1946.
In 1952, Churchill retired from his company and sold his share of the business to the Corwin family. He moved to California, where he died on Sept. 30, 1969.
Curt Eriksmoen has conducted historical research on North Dakota for 40 years and written the newspaper column “Did You Know That …?” since 2003. Reach Eriksmoen at cjeriksmoen@gmail.com.
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/history/bismarck/car-dealer-created-baseball-basketball-teams/article_cf348268-c63e-11ec-be03-2b90f0190f90.html
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Three companies that operate more than 600 school buses in New York City are being sued by the state attorney general's office on allegations they repeatedly violated bus idling laws and polluted the city's air since 2019.
Attorney General Letitia James announced the lawsuit on Thursday, saying the state is seeking monetary relief and a court order for the companies to fully comply with city and state idling laws.
The companies being sued are Jofaz Transportation, 3rd Avenue Transit and Y&M Transit Corp., which are all based in New York City and are owned and operated by Joseph Fazzia and his family, the attorney general's office said.
No one at the companies could be reached for comment Thursday evening. Messages seeking comment were left for attorneys representing Jofaz Transportation in other legal cases.
The lawsuit alleges the companies' buses idled longer than state and local laws allow at locations around the city that are predominantly low-income and have high concentrations of Black and Hispanic residents. State law prohibits idling for more than five minutes and city law bans idling for more than three minutes. Both laws have certain exceptions.
The attorney general's office said it previously reached an agreement with Jofaz and 3rd Avenue to stop violating the idling laws. But equipment installed on the companies' buses showed the vehicles continued to violate the laws after the agreement, officials said.
In one example, a Jofaz bus idled for at least 10 minutes at a bus yard in Brooklyn on 82 different occasions on 42 different days, the attorney general's office said.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-school-bus-companies-violated-idling-laws-outside-schools-polluted-air-lawsuit/3685916/
| 2022-05-13T05:45:26
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Ask the R-S: Who's behind Liberty Committee in Shasta County? How many people, cars per Redding home?
Ask the Record Searchlight is a newsroom-wide initiative to connect with you, our readers. If you wondered about something happening in town or had questions on a North State issue, please send us your questions. We'll do our best to answer.
Maybe you wondered what the drought's impact is on lake levels or on construction, or you want to know about luxury living in downtown Redding, or what became of the roses you used to see while driving along Highway 44.
Find out how to Ask the Record Searchlight at the bottom of this story.
What to know about the Liberty Committee in Shasta County
Q: Who's behind the Liberty Committee, and where's it getting its money?
A: This question got asked several times different ways. It's the most asked question we have received since we launched our live chat more than a year ago. Ask the Record Searchlight kicked off in March 2021.
The same group that backed the recent recall of Supervisor Leonard Moty is behind the Liberty Committee, which was established last December.
Mark Kent is the Liberty Committee’s principal officer, according to Shasta County financial campaign disclosure statements.
Kent, a local political activist whose involvement includes the Redding Tea Party, also was a principal in the Shasta General Purpose Committee, which bankrolled the Moty recall — thanks in large part to financial backing from Reverge Anselmo, the wealthy Connecticut donor who gave $450,000 to the recall.
Kent also was Supervisor Patrick Jones’ pick to represent District 4 last year to help redraw the county's five district maps, a process that happens every 10 years.
The Liberty Committee has flooded local TV with ads endorsing six candidates in six races: Kevin Crye (Shasta County Supervisor District 1); Chris Kelstrom (Shasta County Supervisor District 5); Erik Jensen (Shasta County District Attorney); John Greene (Shasta County Sheriff); Bob Holsinger (Shasta County Clerk/Registrar of Voters); and Bryan Caples (Shasta County Superintendent of Schools).
Read more:Fact-checking post surrounding Shasta schools superintendent election
The media blitz has been fueled by $400,100 in contributions, including $180,000 from Anselmo and $220,000 from the Shasta General Purpose Committee, which all told raised $602,567 in cash contributions toward the recall of Moty.
Anselmo in the 2010s had a long-running court battle with Shasta County over his construction activity on a more than 2,000-acre cattle ranch and winery. He sold his winery, Anselmo Vineyards, and moved to the East Coast several years ago after the bitter legal dispute with the county over permits for his winery off Inwood Road in the Shingletown area.
The legal battle loomed over the recall campaign with some, including Moty, accusing Anselmo of buying a supervisor's seat.
In an unusual twist, Anselmo also popped into the District 5 supervisor race by giving money to Kelstrom’s opponent, Anderson Mayor Baron Browning. But the $4,900 Browning received from Anselmo paled in comparison to what he’s given to the recall and five anti-establishment candidates.
Anselmo also helped bankroll District 4 Supervisor Jones' election victory in November 2020, giving the then-candidate $100,000, which was believed to be at that time the largest individual dollar contribution ever to a local political campaign.
Add it up, and Anselmo has given nearly three-quarters-of-a million dollars in contributions since 2020 to local candidates and political action committees.
Read more:Shasta supervisors fire health officer. Karen Ramstrom says she didn’t deserve it
Meanwhile, the Liberty Committee had to amend a financial contribution report after it appeared the group had received a contribution of $12,325 from Sinclair Broadcast Group, the parent company of KRCR-TV, raising some eyebrows in the community.
Kent in an email to the Record Searchlight said the group did not get any money from Sinclair Broadcast Group. "We have paid them for services rendered."
Read April 7 entry in Redding news roundup:Local political group refiles financial form
Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen said that a 496 independent expenditure report should have been filed and that the Liberty Committee did refile with the correct form.
— David Benda
How many people can live in a home?
Q. Does Redding limit the number of residents or vehicles in a single-family dwelling?
A. No building code or zoning code limits the number of people who can live in a single-family dwelling, according to Jeremy Pagan, assistant director at the Redding Development Services Department.
In fact, the state allows homeowners to increase the number of families living on their property by building up to two additional dwellings on their property, said the department's Associate Planner Tiffany Lightle:
- One accessory dwelling unit, like a separate guest house
- One junior accessory dwelling — like an efficiency apartment — no more than 500 square feet and attached to the main house
While there's no limit to the number of vehicles you can own, you must have a paved place to park them, Lightle said. "You can’t have vehicles parked on your lawn or strewn about your backyard," she said.
The city requires a minimum of two covered parking spaces for every newly constructed single-family dwelling, Pagan said.
These can be a garage or carport, Lightle said.
Houses must also have a paved driveway, she said.
The rules for parking are different if someone operates a home business or short-term rental, like an Airbnb. For more information call the planning department at 530-225-4030.
— Jessica Skropanic
How 'Ask the Record Searchlight' works
This feature is brought to you as part of our newsroom-wide Ask the Record Searchlight initiative. Participate by sending your questions:
- Email RRSEdit@redding.com using Ask the Record Searchlight in the subject line.
- On Twitter, use the hashtag #AsktheRecordSearchlight or tag the newspaper at @BreakingNews_RS.
- Post a message on the Record Searchlight Facebook page.
- Contact one of the journalists directly by visiting the staff directory at https://www.redding.com/contact/staff/.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
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https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2022/05/12/hows-behind-liberty-committee-shasta-county-ask-r-s/9735386002/
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With gas prices hitting record highs, 75 gas stations in New Jersey are giving drivers something of a break on Friday.
Instead of the average $4.88 per gallon for regular, those who go to the participating stations will save 15-20 cents off per gallon — but drivers may have to do something many in New Jersey are not accustomed to: pumping their own gas.
The group Fuel Your Way NJ is hoping many find the savings worth it, as their self-serve day of awareness is aimed at showing drivers their pain at the pump could be lessened by pumping gas on their own.
Drivers on Thursday seemed to have mixed reviews, as some didn't want to make the change, while others said they prefer it. At one Jersey City Exxon station, a gas attendant said that half of those who pull in pump their own gas, even though it's illegal.
In April, a Monmouth University poll found that more than half of respondents (54 percent) supported the option of both full- and self-service, while 43 percent oppose self-service. The majority (60 percent, oppose doing away with full service altogether.
A bill to change the full-service only law in the state stalled in the legislature, as State Senate President Nicholas Scutari said in a recent statement "there is no data supporting any contention that moving to a self-service model would save residents money at the pump. If the public sentiment changes or there is in fact data showing that it would dramatically reduce costs, I would reconsider."
Some have feared would such a bill would mean for gas attendants.
"Then we'd be taking their job, they won't have any job. So you might as well let them stay," said Jose Lobo.
Supporters of the change hope that drivers get spurred on by the savings and will in turn contact their lawmakers.
Here is a full list of the gas stations participating, broken down by county:
Bergen County
- MONTVALE: Exxon, 142 Chestnut Ridge Road
- NORTH ARLINGTON: Gulf, 101 Ridge Road
- PARAMUS: Exxon, 100 Route 17 North
- PARAMUS: Exxon, 782 Route 17
- PARAMUS: Valero, 639 Route 17 North
- RAMSEY: Exxon, 456 Route 17 North
- RAMSEY: Sunoco, 456 Route 17 North
Camden County
- Berlin: Wawa, 201 White Horse Pike
- Cherry Hill: Amoco, 2 Marlton Pike West
- West Berlin: West Berlin Delta, 250 Route 73
Cape May County
- Cape May: Cape Harbor Auto Repair, 795 Route 109
Essex County
- Livingston: Sunoco, 247 South Livingston Avenue
- Montclair: 264 Bloomfield Avenue
- Newark: Exxon, 625 McCarter Highway
- Newark: Lukoil, 335 McCarter Highway
- Roseland: Exxon, 550 Eagle Rock Avenue
- South Orange: Exxon, 68 W South Orange Avenue
Gloucester County
- Glassboro: Glassboro Delta, 100 Delsea Driver
Hudson County
- Bayonne: Tiger Mart, 529 Kennedy Boulevard
- Hoboken: Sunoco, 1301 Willow Avenue
- Jersey City: Lukoil, 200 12th Street
- Jersey City: Shell, 164 14th Street
- Jersey City: Sunoco, 588 Manila Avenue
- Jersey City: Exxon, 245 12th Street
- Jersey City: BP U-Haul, 235 12th Street
- Jersey City: Sunoco, 465 Grand Street
- Jersey City: Exxon Holland Tunnel Service Center, 97 Marin Boulevard
- Jersey City: Valero, 93 14th Street
- Secaucus: Exxon, 450 Route 3 West
Hunterdon County
- Califon: Exxon, 429 County Road 513
- Hampton: BP, 238 Route 31 North
- Lebanon: BP, 1201 Route 31 South
- Lebanon: Sunoco, 1370 Route 22 West
- Lebanon: Sunoco, 1237 Route 31
- Ringoes: Liberty Mart, 118 Route 202/31North
Mercer County
- Pennington: Lukoil, 2558 Pennington Road
- Pennington: Lukoil, 3513 Route 1 South
Middlesex County
- East Brunswick: Exxon, 270 W Inman Avenue
- East Brunswick: Sunoco, 784 Route 18
- Edison: Ultra Mart Inc., 3875 Park Avenue
- Edison: Exxon, 1441 Route 1 South
- North Colonia: Exxon, Garden State Parkway
- South Iselin: Exxon, Garden State Parkway
- Piscataway: Lukoil, 152 Old New Brunswick Road
- South Plainfield: Zackria Fuel, LLC, 4501 Stelton Road
- South River: BP, 258 Old Bridge Turnpike
Monmouth County
- Aberdeen: Exxon, 1164 Route 34
- Freehold: BP, 44 South Street
- Hazlet: Shell, 1355 Route 36
- Matawan: Sunoco, 323 Route 34
- Middletown: BP, 863 Route 35
- West Long Branch: BP, 373 Monmouth Road
Morris County
- Denville: Sunoco, 161 West Main Street
- Long Valley: Phillips 66, 43 East Mill Road
- Randolph: BP, 260 South Salem Street
- Whippany: Lukoil, 1235 Route 10
Ocean County
- Brick: Exxon, 600 Brick Boulevard
- Brick: Exxon, 181 Drum Point Road
- Lakewood: Exxon, 1444 Route 88
- Lavallette: Sunoco, Route 35 North
- Toms River: Exxon, 13 Route 37 East
- Toms River: Shell, 1350 Route 9 South
Passaic County
- Haledon: Exxon, 478 Haldon Ave.
- Hawthorne: Exxon, 716 Goffle Road
- Wayne: Exxon, 1431 Route 23 South
Somerset County
- Basking Ridge: Exxon, 545 Martinsville Road
- Peapack: Sunoco, 28 Route 206
- Somerset: Exxon, 1101 Easton Avenue
Union County
- Clark: Exxon, 162 Central Avenue
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/trying-to-spend-less-on-gas-where-to-save-15-20-cents-per-gallon-in-nj-on-friday/3685849/
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's minimum wage will jump to $15.50 per hour next year, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration announced Thursday, an increase triggered by soaring inflation that will benefit about 3 million workers.
The increase is required by a state law passed in 2016. But it comes at a good time for Democrats in the nation's most populous state as they rush to find ways to boost taxpayers' bank accounts in an election year marked by rising prices that have diluted the purchasing power of consumers.
Thursday, in a preview of his upcoming budget proposal, Newsom doubled down on his plan to send up to $800 checks to car owners to offset this year's record-high gas prices despite opposition from Democrats in the Legislature. And he revealed a new proposal to send at least $1,000 checks to 600,000 hospital and nursing home workers in recognition of their dangerous work throughout the pandemic.
It's part of a new spending proposal to put $18.1 billion into taxpayers' pockets through a combination of rebates and assistance with rent, health insurance premiums and utility bills.
"We're still overall having a very strong economic recovery in the state from the COVID-19 recession," California Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said. "But it's clear that we face a lot of headwinds: gas prices remain high, food prices are high because of inflation."
California lawmakers voted to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2016, but the increase was phased in over several years. Today, the minimum wage is $15 per hour for companies with 25 or more workers and $14 per hour for companies with 25 or fewer employees.
The law says the minimum wage must increase to $15.50 per hour for everyone if inflation increased by more than 7% between the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years. Thursday, the California Department of Finance said they project inflation for the 2022 fiscal year — which ends June 30 — will be 7.6% higher than the year before, triggering the increase.
Official inflation figures won't be final until this summer. But the Newsom administration believes the growth will be more than enough to trigger the automatic increase.
California has about 3 million minimum wage workers, according to a conservative estimate from the state Department of Finance. The increase in the minimum wage will be about $3 billion, or less than 0.1% of the $3.3 trillion in personal income Californians are projected to earn.
California Department of Finance Director Keely Martin Bosler said the increase could cause prices to jump for restaurants, which have low profit margins. But overall, she said the minimum wage increase is "expected to have a very minimal impact on overall inflation in the state's economy."
The increase will impact smaller companies the most, which will see the minimum wage jump $1.50 in January. Kerry Jackson, a fellow at the conservative-leaning Pacific Research Institute's Center for California Reform, said the increase could cause some employees at smaller companies to work fewer hours.
"It may be very painful for them," he said.
Inflation has been a problem everywhere, as consumer prices jumped 8.3% nationally last month from a year ago. A labor shortage throughout the pandemic has prompted many companies to increase pay sometimes beyond the minimum wage just to attract and retain workers.
In California, average gas prices hit a record high in March of $5.91 per gallon. Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders have pledged to return some of the states' record-breaking budget surplus to taxpayers. But so far, despite being from the same political party, they haven't agreed on how to do it.
Newsom's plan would send up to $800 checks to car owners — $400 per car for a max of two cars per owner — plus another $750 million to give everyone free rides on public transportation for three months.
Democratic leaders in the Legislature have rejected that plan, instead favoring one that would send $200 checks to low-to-moderate income taxpayers and their dependents.
"Senate Democrats do not believe a rebate tied to car ownership does the job," Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins said. "That plan leaves out non-car owners, including low income and elderly Californians, who are also impacted by the current high costs of consumer goods and are also deserving of relief."
Republicans favor temporarily suspending the state's gas tax, which at 51.1 cents per gallon is the second highest in the nation. But Newsom and Democratic leaders have rejected that plan, arguing it's better to send relief directly to taxpayers.
Newsom's plan to send checks to health care workers would apply to anyone who works inside a hospital or a nursing home — including doctors, nurses and other support staff. Workers would be guaranteed a $1,000 check. But if companies agree to add in another $500, the state will match it for a total of $2,000.
Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, said staffing problems at hospitals and nursing homes have only worsened as workers left the industry in droves during the pandemic "because of increased health risks, emotional and mental stress, and overwork."
"These workers have been on the front lines throughout the COVID pandemic," Bosler said. "They also are suffering very critical retention issues and shortages and we hope that additional payment will help to address those issues."
Newsom also proposed new spending on Thursday to $2.7 billion to fully fund the state's rental assistance program, adding another $1.2 billion to a fund that helps people pay their utility bills, $439 million to temporarily suspend the tax on diesel fuel and $157 million to waive child care fees for low-income families.
WATCH ALSO:
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/inflation-triggers-california-minimum-wage-increase-2023/103-703f411a-e125-4221-bc9b-3b77555fdcaa
| 2022-05-13T06:15:59
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/inflation-triggers-california-minimum-wage-increase-2023/103-703f411a-e125-4221-bc9b-3b77555fdcaa
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EAGLE, Idaho — Signs line Willow Creek Road in Eagle, reading ‘build the gun range away from our homes, our horses and our hills.’ They refer to a proposed 80-acre target shooting range in the eagle foothills, one that the city of Eagle is pushing heavily.
The city heard from the public over the past three months and said it will update its ‘shooting sports park’ plan based on feedback, but many feel the city will not listen to them, including people who live right next to the proposed site, along with people who use the land every day.
Tami Bromley has ridden her horse out here for decades, where access to trails, open space and tranquility is unparalleled.
“We're out in what equestrians call little gulch, it's one of our very favorite places to come ride,” said Bromley. “This is a place that I come to, to center my soul. This is more holy and more spiritual than a church, and I think that's true for most of these people out here.”
Not just for equestrians, but for runners, hikers, dog walkers, and anyone else who lives in the area.
“You can just sit out back and enjoy the sunshine, the sights, the people, the equestrians,” said Michael Faraino, a local homeowner.
However, the serene, quiet, rural nature could soon be disrupted in the foothills north of Eagle, not by a subdivision or a strip mall, but by the sound of gunshots.
“We've had so many people move to the area that they're pushing equestrians out, and we're running out of places to go,” said Bromley. “This is our last stand.”
The city of Eagle tasked a ‘work group’ with developing the ‘Eagle Foothills Recreation Plan.’ Passed by the city council last summer, the plan lays out use and management of BLM land north of beacon light road, and some land around it, within city limits. Creating a designated, safe area for shooting surfaced as the top priority in the plan.
The group pinpointed two potential spots for a shooting range, one on BLM land, and the other on property East of Willow Creek Road. They ultimately landed on the later.
The roughly 80-acre site sits about 3.5 miles North of Beacon Light on Willow Creek, which is Eagle Road. The owners of the Spring Valley development, going in just West of the area, own this plot of land too, and they plan to donate it to the city for the shooting park.
In an open house in early March, Eagle Mayor Jason Pierce agreed with Spring Valley's owners, who want to stop undesignated shooting on BLM land next to the development.
“For us, it's let's get ahead of the game, create a place, make sure we have a spot where it happens and it's not the wild west,” said Mayor Pierce during the open house.
The park would include archery courses, a pistol and rifle range, a shotgun range, and a separate range for law enforcement. A fence would go up around the park to control access.
While dozens of people showed up to meetings this spring in opposition of the park, several others supported a controlled, convenient place to shoot.
"I applaud the city for what they're doing, I think it's a good idea,” said one attendee of the open house.
"I've had rounds whiz past my ear. I really appreciate the city of Eagle creating a safe space for all of us to shoot. A lot more convenient than other places we have,” said another attendee.
Homeowners, like Michael Faraino, would have to deal with the public shooting range half a mile down the road.
“This will not stop shooting on BLM land, that many in the equestrian community are still very concerned about after close calls,” said Faraino. “This is not an appropriate location for any kind of gun facility, and I'm a big-time shooter!”
The problem is, they are not Eagle residents, they live in unincorporated Ada County.
“We're being shut out of the entire process, and make no mistake about it, that is deliberate,” said Faraino. “But hey, ‘sorry, you're not in the city of Eagle, you don't have a voice. You don't have a say.’”
Faraino and his neighbors are not just worried about the noise, they also worry about all the cars this will bring.
“Willowcreek is a little road, no drainage, the sides are already cracking off, there's no lining. People already speed,” said Faraino.
Neighbors said Eagle's leaders did not flag them to meetings about the shooting park.
“Not only the shooting park, but the rest of the rec plan - they're not including the county residents who are going to be impacted the most. If I live 10 miles from down here, you bet I want a shooting range,” Faraino said. “We love the Second Amendment, and we like our houses.”
The equestrians we talked to feel the city is not taking their feedback to heart either. They stood alongside neighbors when we met up at Little Gulch, holding signs showing their disdain for the fate of the foothills. Hundreds of them depend on this large lot to park and unload their horse trailers, so they can access hundreds of miles of trails.
“It takes a lot of space to park a horse trailer and have enough room to unload a horse,” said Bromley.
If the shooting range goes in renderings show they would not have space to do that.
“A single gunshot you can hear for several miles the way it echoes up and down the drainage. We just avoid those areas where we hear a gunshot coming from,” said Bromley. “Unless a horse has been conditioned to a gunshot when they hear it, they're gonna bolt and spook. That's really dangerous for anybody riding.”
Mayor Pierce would not speak with KTVB on this matter, instead he referred to the public records and meetings. The city has said repeatedly the plan is still very preliminary and ongoing, nothing is officially decided.
"We don't even have studies on traffic impacts, noise impacts, what the facility is gonna look like,” said one city council member. “So, I think to put the community at comfort a little: we're in that conceptual phase of this to see the feasibility of it."
Eagle City Council decided to move forward with noise and transportation studies for the area, in late April, they voted to spend close to $20 thousand to do the noise study.
“If they come back and it’s a bunch of junk then we deal with it then, but at least we have facts on info instead of blindly making decisions,” said one council member.
As for who foots the bill for the shooting sports park, Mayor Pierce expects foundations, private donations and user fees to pay for it. He said he wants to have that piece ironed out soon, so they can break ground by fall.
“We're the audience of a gun range. That's not the issue. The issue is where you're locating this range in proximity to residential areas,” Faraino said.
If the city moves forward, Faraino and others plan to fight back.
“If the residents were here first, and you open a range, a nuisance action is allowable by law,” Faraino said. “The foothills is the crown jewel to the Treasure Valley, or one of them, there's so many beautiful areas. I don't know why you want to mess with this.”
The city sent out a survey on the matter, about 60% of residents who answered supported the idea of a controlled, convenient place to shoot, while the other 40% opposed it. A city spokesperson said the public part of the range will cost around $2.2 million.
Public records show Mayor Pierce and other staff met with the JK Albertsons Foundation about potentially funding the project.
The city is looking to partner with law enforcement agencies for the law enforcement range and then they’ll figure out the cost and funding for that part. Along with locking in the money, the city's next steps include environmental and cultural surveys on the site, a final design and contracting with a company to build the ranges.
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/growing-idaho/eagles-proposed-80-acre-shooting-sports-park-contested-community/277-393cf55e-1c77-4196-a31c-3264c79c91c4
| 2022-05-13T06:16:13
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/growing-idaho/eagles-proposed-80-acre-shooting-sports-park-contested-community/277-393cf55e-1c77-4196-a31c-3264c79c91c4
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PORTLAND, Oregon — On Monday, staff members at Mother + Child Education Center in Northeast Portland had a full day of ahead of them. There were classes to teach new parents. There were free baby supplies, clothing and food to share with clients. But those plans quickly changed when they got to the office.
“When we came into work on Monday, literally somebody had decided to go to the bathroom all over everything,” said Mother + Child executive director Maura White. “I just wanted to cry.”
White found human feces smeared all over a mural outside the nonprofit at 1515 NE 41st Avenue. Piles of waste dotted the yard and filled buckets — it was even smeared into a padlock on their fence door.
“We spent all day washing everything down,” said White. “It was just gross, and so we called and canceled appointments. Moms couldn't come in that day because it was taking that much time to clean it.”
Days later there were more problems. White said that someone ripped out their Ring camera and broke a porch light. Another man caused a big disturbance.
“We actually had Portland Street Response come and respond,” said White. “He was having a mental health crisis but he wouldn't leave for almost four hours. So they removed him, got him safely somewhere — well, he came back. He was back causing trouble with other people who slept on the porch the next night.”
White said that what happened this week is a graphic snapshot of an ongoing problem. Safety conditions have become so unpredictable that White now keeps the front door locked during business hours. Visitors must knock to be let in.
“We've had moms come up when someone's coming up with a mental health crisis,” said White. “I have young staff coming to work, having to crawl over people that are on the [porch]. There's alcohol everywhere, there's needles outside ... it's not safe for my staff.”
White said Portland police officers run extra patrols in the area and have even trained them to de-escalate less dangerous situations. But beyond that, she said the most frustrating reality of her problem, is that there is no apparent solution to it. She's asking community members to help support them and be vigilant on their behalf.
“When they're walking by they can say, 'Hey, is there anyone on that porch?'" said White. "Make sure no one's trying to damage it when they go to Trader Joe's. Look out for us, just like you look out for our neighbors."
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/human-waste-feces-vandalism-hollywood-nonprofit-for-families/283-2f75c840-22b1-425b-8a24-b169a2908c26
| 2022-05-13T06:43:06
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/human-waste-feces-vandalism-hollywood-nonprofit-for-families/283-2f75c840-22b1-425b-8a24-b169a2908c26
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Bismarck like most frontier towns had its seedy side, or in the capital city’s case, its bloody street.
The stretch of Fourth Street from Main to Broadway had several nicknames -- Bloody Fourth, Wicked Fourth, Murderer’s Gulch. There a person could find saloons, dance halls, brothels and gambling parlors. Add into that equation soldiers, steamboat crew members and young fortune seekers -- most of whom came to town with a pocketful of cash -- and it equals all sorts of trouble.
“When you have a lot of young, single men with nothing to do but drink and gamble, they’re going to get rowdy,” said Marilyn Snyder, North Dakota historian and curator of education with the State Historical Society.
Its span of greatness, if one can call it that, was relatively short, covering roughly the years of 1872 and 1873. But what Bloody Fourth might have lacked in longevity it more than made up for in intensity. And the appeal of it lives on today as a subject of research for historians and a topic of interest for anyone who likes history. It’s a sort of claim to fame held by many Plains towns that popped up as the railroad pushed west.
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“Most towns like to have a little blood and guts in their history,” said Mike McCormack, former professor of history at Bismarck State College. “It’s like you’re earning your place in history.”
Prime for violence
If that’s the case, Bismarck appears to have earned it. Tribune stories about the time frame show that one saloon by early 1873 was the site of seven killings. This was in a town of 1,200 people and 147 buildings -- 26 of which were saloons, dance or gambling halls, or houses of “questionable use,” according to local historian Ann Vadnie, who has done considerable research and gives presentations on the topic.
It’s possible many killings went unreported, she said. Law enforcement at the time was short on personnel, and most of those were poorly trained.
“They did the best they could with what they had,” Vadnie said.
Some of the young, single men Snyder mentions were veterans of the Civil War who should have been out of the military when that war ended. Vadnie’s research shows their service was extended and they were sent to Bismarck simply because the government couldn’t afford to pay all of them at once after the war ended. They weren’t happy to be here and their distaste for the area was noted by them saying if they owned hell and Dakota, they’d live in hell and sell Dakota.
What happened -- and what business owners wanted to happen -- on Fourth Street isn’t hard to discern. Newspaper ads at the time pushed a variety of ways for people to gamble, relax and spend money. The Snow Flake offered keno every night and made “Fancy drinks a specialty.” The Concert Saloon and Dance Hall in addition to choice liquors and fine cigars assured patrons of “Pleasant Associations.”
The finest brands of liquor, wines and cigars were “kept constantly on hand,” according to an ad for The Exchange Saloon, which added that “Gentlemen will find quiet and tasty quarters with polite attention.” A Mortons’ Club Rooms ad stated “All Banking Games Played” and asked that “Gents will please report to the Proprietor any incivility on the part of employees of the establishment.”
Dave Mullen and Jack O’Neill, proprietors of The Concert Saloon and Dance Hall, themselves met violent deaths along Fourth. A Seventh Cavalry soldier was shot and killed across from old Fort Lincoln, which brought his comrades to the dance hall to find the killer. Mullen wouldn’t let them in and they wouldn’t leave. He shot through the door and killed a soldier. Mullen and a bartender were killed when the soldiers returned fire.
O’Neill’s demise was less dramatic. About a year after Mullen's death, O'Neill finished second in a scuffle with man named Paddy Hall and afterward remarked he'd kill Hall. A few days later, at 1 a.m., Hall shot O'Neill twice in the chest with a revolver.
Bismarck at that time was prime for violence. Gamblers, entrepreneurs, madams and prostitutes set up shop at every end-of-the-line town along the railroad. In Bismarck there were pioneers of several races, railroad and steamboat workers, and soldiers spoiling for a fight of any sort. The difference was that in other towns -- Duluth and Brainerd in Minnesota; Fargo, Jamestown and Dickinson in North Dakota; Glendive in Montana -- the railroad moved on in a shorter period of time. An economic downturn and land ownership disputes stalled its westward progress in Bismarck, and the “end-of-the-trackers” stuck around.
Fights were common, Snyder said, and the main culprits were soldiers from Fort Lincoln. They’d drink to excess, then square off with locals or each other over a woman or a gambling debt. Many a soldier fell victim to a pickpocket or was rolled for the pay in his pocket, and some decided to resist.
“It would generally turn out with somebody dead,” Snyder said.
With little law enforcement available, often no attempt was made to find the killer, and the prevailing attitude was one of “well, there was another fight and somebody died,” she said.
Unearthing history
For Beth Nodland, the interest goes beyond her professional career. She holds master’s degrees in anthropology and archaeology, and has provided those services on thousands of projects across North Dakota. She owns and works out of a building on Fourth Street, the site of Mullen and O’Neill’s saloon. Crews in 2014 while doing excavation work for an elevator found bones on the property. That’s when her personal interest started.
“I wanted to know more,” she said.
The bones turned out to be those of an animal, but that didn’t stop her. She learned that on the two lots she owns there were eight alleged murders, and in 1883 the grave of an infant was found. Nodland has devoted six years of research to Bismarck and Fourth Street. A book is forthcoming, one she says will deal more with "how it really happened than the Hollywood version."
Some of the fascination with Bismarck’s Bloody Fourth, she said, comes about because of an absence of detailed history for that time frame. More about Bismarck was documented as it became the capital.
“If you take Dodge City or Deadwood, we had that same thing and some of the same characters here, but there’s not enough written about it,” she said. The story is “more than just the booze end of it,” she said, when brothels, vaudeville and dance halls are added into the mix.
“Think about Williston in the worst of the oil boom,” she said. “There’s just a certain environment that happens.”
Nodland in her research has uncovered information she says represents “the bigger story” of Bismarck: Black, Greek and Chinese pioneers; entrepreneurs; end-of-line gangs.
The Bloody Fourth story is important to the city’s history because “it puts Bismarck in the flow of development of the railroad westward,” Nodland said.
“It shows that the color is interesting to people, and it’s a way to bring people into the story,” she said.
'A long-term fascination'
The importance of that stretch of time and street wasn’t lost on early writers. Tribune founder Clement Lounsberry once wrote that Mullen and O’Neill’s place had “anything that corrupt men or bad women would be apt to seek.” The lawlessness of the district prompted the Tribune at one point to push editorially for vigilante justice. Mullen and O'Neill, advertisers in the Tribune, once confronted Lounsberry at his office over his views. Lounsberry stood his ground and neither side drew weapons.
Linda Slaughter, Bismarck’s first postmistress, teacher at the city’s first school, and early member of the Ladies Historical Society, could see some of the goings on from her home above the telegraph office. She wrote extensively about young Bismarck, one of her most quoted lines being, “No respectable woman would ever walk down that street.” It would be the influence of Slaughter and other women that forced the men of Bismarck to settle it, Vadnie said. They lobbied, for example, for the replacement of wooden storefront awnings with cloth-type awnings that looked less Wild West-ish.
Dime novels and other writings glamourized Bismarck’s seedy side, making it look “dashing and daring,” Snyder said. Lounsberry could exaggerate for promotion of the city, but she added there’s no reason to doubt the accuracy of his news stories.
“He most probably downplayed it because he was a huge promoter of Bismarck and wanted people to settle here,” she said.
The most talked about two- or three-year span of Fourth Street tailed off and then settled dramatically when gold was discovered in the Black Hills.
“It became a gentler town as time went on,” Vadnie said.
Bismarck’s history is somewhat typical of a Plains town and includes “some good scholarship and some not,” McCormack said.
“People are attracted to it. It’s a natural thing,” he said. “There’s a fascination with weapons and gunfighters.”
That interest isn’t likely to wane. As a community grows, newcomers seek historical information about their new home, which in turn expands the interest even more.
“With the interest in the West, violence and in things sometimes hidden, this will be a long-term fascination,” he said.
Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com
“When you have a lot of young, single men with nothing to do but drink and gamble, they’re going to get rowdy."
-- Marilyn Snyder
“Most towns like to have a little blood and guts in their history. It’s like you’re earning your place in history.”
-- Mike McCormack
“People are attracted to it. It’s a natural thing. There’s a fascination with weapons and gunfighters. With the interest in the West, violence and in things sometimes hidden, this will be a long-term fascination.”
-- Mike McCormack
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/history/bismarck/bismarcks-bloody-fourth-history-lives-on/article_8ad0475a-c590-11ec-8f69-1f185052803b.html
| 2022-05-13T07:15:55
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/history/bismarck/bismarcks-bloody-fourth-history-lives-on/article_8ad0475a-c590-11ec-8f69-1f185052803b.html
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Two college roommates and “good friends” at West Point later became opponents in the Civil War when they led cavalry units against each other on the battlefield.
In 1873, they were reunited as friends in northwestern Dakota Territory. After Lt. Col. George Custer’s defeat and death at the Little Big Horn in 1876, his friend and former rival, Thomas Rosser, was one of Custer’s biggest defenders in letters he wrote to a number of newspapers.
Thomas Lafayette Rosser was born Oct. 15, 1836, at the Catalpa Hill Plantation, near Appomattox, Virginia, to John and Martha Melvina (Johnson) Rosser.
In 1849, John Rosser purchased a section of Texas land near the Louisiana border, but since he had business to take care of in Virginia, he instructed young Tom Rosser, the oldest boy, to drive the wagon containing his mother, siblings, and possessions to their new home.
As he neared graduation, his congressman, Lemuel Evans, recommended him for an appointment at the military academy in West Point, New York. Rosser was accepted.
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When Rosser arrived at West Point in June 1856, he was informed he would be sharing a room with a brash young cadet from Ohio who was two months his junior —George Armstrong Custer.
Although Rosser was more subdued than the young northerner, the two got along very well. In private, they referred to each other by nicknames: Rosser was “Tex” and Custer was “Fanny.”
On April 22, 1861, Texas seceded from the Union, and Rosser quit West Point despite the fact that he was two weeks away from graduating. He traveled to Montgomery, Ala., where he enlisted in the Confederate States Army and was commissioned as a first lieutenant of artillery.
Rosser was assigned as an instructor of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. At the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, Rosser shot down an observation balloon and was promoted to captain.
On June 26, 1862, Rosser was “severely wounded” at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek near Mechanicsville, Virginia. When he recovered, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the cavalry. Soon after, he was promoted to colonel and placed under the command of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart.
On March 17, 1863, Rosser was again “badly wounded” at the Battle of Kelly’s Ford in Virginia. He was unable to continue with his regiment until June when the Confederate army was ready to launch its Gettysburg Campaign. After Gettysburg, Rosser was promoted to brigadier general of the famed “Laurel Brigade.”
On June 12, 1864, opposing forces led by Rosser and Custer were heavily involved in the Battle of Trevilian Station in Virginia. Despite the fact that Rosser was again wounded, Custer was forced to retreat, and his unit suffered severe losses.
With a number of victories in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley during the summer and fall of 1864, Rosser became known as the “Savior of the Valley.” At the Battle of Tom’s Brook on Oct. 9, Rosser learned that his old friend Custer was about to join the fray. He shouted, “That’s General Custer, the Yanks are so proud of, and I intend to give him the best whipping today that he ever got.”
Instead, it was Custer who prevailed. The Union lost nine men, whereas Rosser’s forces suffered 130 casualties and another 180 soldiers were captured. What Custer was most gleeful about was that his men were able to secure Rosser’s wardrobe, including his underwear.
In November, Rosser was promoted to major general. After a number of victories in the Shenandoah Valley, Rosser, and two Confederate generals, George Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee, were surprised by fighting near Five Forks during the Siege of Petersburg. At the time of the battle, Rosser was hosting a fish bake two miles north of the battle site. By the time they arrived, half of Pickett’s soldiers were shot or captured.
In the spring of 1865, Rosser led his forces in an attempt to relieve Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. Lee was surrounded and out of supplies. On April 9, Rosser led an early morning charge on the court house where Lee was being held prisoner. Rosser was repulsed, and Lee ended up signing the surrender agreement. Rosser then attempted to reorganize the Army of Virginia, but was captured and forced to surrender in early May.
After the war, Rosser attended law school in Lexington, Virginia. Rosser decided to try and utilize his engineering education at West Point and took a job as a civil engineer with the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad in 1868.
In 1869, Rosser had a wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Winston, and three young children. With a growing family to support, Rosser was desperate for success and again needed work.
He applied for a job with the Northern Pacific Railroad. They did not need another engineer but they were looking for axmen. This was not the position that Rosser hoped for, but with no other options, he humbly agreed.
Curt Eriksmoen has conducted historical research on North Dakota for 40 years and written the newspaper column “Did You Know That …?” since 2003. Reach Eriksmoen at cjeriksmoen@gmail.com.
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/history/bismarck/custer-friend-fought-on-opposite-sides-of-civil-war/article_230b0334-c70d-11ec-9b68-e7146f58a25e.html
| 2022-05-13T07:16:01
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/history/bismarck/custer-friend-fought-on-opposite-sides-of-civil-war/article_230b0334-c70d-11ec-9b68-e7146f58a25e.html
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Police on Long Island are working to track down the driver who struck and killed a man while injuring another while they worked on a truck outside the victim's home — and didn't even stop to help.
The incident occurred just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, during the evening rush hour. Two friends, Ryan Walker and Robert Kehlenbeck, were working to fix the radiator on a 1989 pickup truck along Express Drive South in Holtsville when the driver barreled into them, police said.
Both men were raced to the hospital, while the driver of the vehicle fled the scene. The 37-year-old Walker was pronounced dead at the hospital. Kehlenbeck, 46, was said to be in critical condition.
Walker has a 13-year-old son, and lives with his parents, who were too distraught to speak with reporters.
"They are shocked, they don't want to talk to nobody, they just want answers," said Kim Miller, who was inside the home at the time of the crash. "We saw Robert in front of the truck, we didn't see Ryan right away. The driver took off, and cops want to find him."
It was not immdiately clear where the men were standing. Suffolk County police have not released much information in the case, although Miller said she overheard detectives saying other drivers may have spotted the car.
"The fact they drove off and not come back to see if they are OK, is horrendous," she said.
Kehlenbeck remains at Stony Brook University Hospital in critical condition.
Anyone with information regarding the crash is urged to contact Suffolk County police.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-island-man-killed-another-hurt-after-struck-by-hit-and-run-driver/3685995/
| 2022-05-13T07:16:45
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-island-man-killed-another-hurt-after-struck-by-hit-and-run-driver/3685995/
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FORT MYERS, Fl. (WBBH) – The federal government is slated to host a public hearing about UFOs for the first time in 50 years.
Scheduled for Tuesday, May 17 at 10:00 a.m., the U.S. House Intelligence subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation will head the meeting.
UFOs are considered one of the greatest mysteries of our time, but now possibly a challenge to national security.
More than 7,600 UFO sightings in Florida have been sent to the National UFO Reporting Center, which has tracked and maintained records of spottings for the last 47 years.
Some sightings have even been reported by U.S. fighter pilots.
“Dude that is a f–ing drone bro,” said a pilot tracking an unidentified object in the sky. “There’s a whole fleet of them. Look on the ASA.”
Three videos were released by the federal government in 2020 and thrusted the modern UFO craze into headlines.
“What the f– is that thing,” said another pilot. “Oh my gosh dude. Wow. What is that man? Look at him fly!”
“I think that they realize at this point that there have been too many sightings,” said Denise Stoner, the Assistant State Director of Florida MUFON (Mutual UFO Network).
That could be a reason the U.S. government waited until 2020 to release the videos. That’s 16 years after the first video names FLIR1 was filmed in 2004 and five years after two others in 2015.
“More and more of these vehicles, if you will, are being spotted and captured on film,” Stoner said.
The skyrocketing increase of people spotting UFOs grabbed the attention of congress. So much that on Tuesday, a House oversight committee is holding a public meeting.
“Is the government hiding something,” questioned Ken Attkisson.
Well, there’s no clear answer to that. Last year a report from the Director of National Intelligence was declassified.
The document outlines 144 reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), which only one could be justified.
“Yeah, there could be some sort of aliens out there,” said Attkisson.
“I feel like there’s terrestrial life out there that’s looking for another planet to survive on, another planet to live on,” added Perfecto Menera
Believe it or not, Southwest Florida has its fair share of sightings. Since 2019, there have been 69 sightings sent into the National UFO Reporting Center.
SWFL SIGHTINGS (2019-2022):
- Cape Coral – 8
- Fort Myers- 15
- Fort Myers Beach – 3
- Lehigh Acres- 3
- North Fort Myers – 4
- Naples – 21
- Port Charlotte- 11
- Punta Gorda- 4
“That is more than I thought,” said Menera.
“Maybe E.T. was real,” added Attkisson.
All jokes aside, the feds think these UAPs may pose a challenge to national security.
“They’re all going against the wind. The wind’s 120 knots from the west,” a pilot said in one of the released videos.
While there’s a slim chance we get answers at Tuesday’s hearing, it’s at least a start to try and figure out what the objects are.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/12/u-s-house-to-hold-public-hearing-on-ufos-for-the-first-time-in-50-years/
| 2022-05-13T08:05:06
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/12/u-s-house-to-hold-public-hearing-on-ufos-for-the-first-time-in-50-years/
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/rose-show-honors-winners/article_79bb872d-82be-5ee1-a5df-6022deb2f5ea.html
| 2022-05-13T08:18:57
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/rose-show-honors-winners/article_79bb872d-82be-5ee1-a5df-6022deb2f5ea.html
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A New York City animal shelter that serves all five boroughs is sending out a warning after there has been an uptick in cases of dogs with pneumonia at one of its locations.
Vets at the Harlem branch of the Animal Care Center of NYC are on alert after four of the dogs there were found sick with the illness, and the staff is worried about it potentially spreading. The illness can lead to death for some dogs.
"We have a number of dogs infected that have pneumonia. We have a number of dogs that have routine upper respiratory disease that we are testing to see whether or not they’re harboring this particular bacteria, and we have 4 dogs that have actually tested positive," said Dr. Robin Brennen, the senior vice president of animal health and welfare at the shelter.
Because of the sickness, the Harlem location of ACC was forced to stop taking in dogs. The shelter is now pushing to get dogs out of the shelter and into homes, even waiving adoption fees to reduce overcrowding. It is also hosting a large dog foster orientation on Sunday.
"The best thing that we can do for these particular dogs is get them out of there into healthy air, into a less stressful environment, into a home where they can heal," Dr. Brennen said.
The bacteria poses no threat to dogs at other ACC locations, and the canines at the Harlem branch are being treated with medicine. Dr. Brennen is reaching out to the public for help to clear the shelter.
"Keeping them out of the shelter does two things: It protects them, number one, but it also helps us start to draw down on our population" she said. "This isn’t going to go away with 106 dogs remaining in our shelter. We need to get those dogs out."
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-animal-shelter-sends-out-warning-after-uptick-in-dogs-with-pneumonia/3686029/
| 2022-05-13T08:48:03
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-animal-shelter-sends-out-warning-after-uptick-in-dogs-with-pneumonia/3686029/
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Wright State University is boasting what it calls the Dayton region’s sole advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner dedicated just to research — and university leaders see the machine as a way to spark collaborations with Air Force scientists.
The $1.78 million 3 Tesla MRI scanner is positioned for neuroscience research, exploring high altitude and G-forces on the the human brain, the university said.
The machine will boost regional research infrastructure, said Dr. Matthew Sherwood, director of Wright State’s Center of Neuroimaging and Neuro-Evaluation of Cognitive Technologies and a research professor in WSU’s Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Physiology.
Some of the first evaluations and trial runs will start soon, and work with humans is slated to begin this summer, said Dr. Andy McKinley, a biomedical engineer and research lead in applied neuroscience for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Previously, Air Force researchers had been forced to rely on hospital MRIs on nights and weekends, “a tougher logistical challenge,” McKinley said.
The Wright State MRI will be a welcome change.
“This is something we’ve been wanting for quite a number of years,” McKinley said.
MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues within the body.
Researchers will employ the MRI in research on hypoxia, a condition in which the brain is deprived of oxygen. The condition can happen in high altitudes or underwater diving.
“We’re also interested in high G-forces and how that affects the brain,” Sherwood said in a Wright State release. “Is there a potential for neuro inflammation? Does it change how blood flows?”
This is some of the work that will bring Air Force scientists to Wright State’s Fairborn campus.
Dr. Claude Grigsby, the medical and operational biosciences core technical lead at AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing, said physically having the MRI in place at Wright State’s Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration fulfills a longtime dream.
Research there will help answer questions on “brain-machine interfaces” and other emerging fields, Grigsby said. The possibilities stretch to new ways to control planes or “autonomous teammates,” and protecting the brain from stress and fatigue — keeping the warfighter in the fight longer.
“I don’t see the U.S. moving away from having a human in the loop, at least for certain key decision-making functions,” Grigsby said.
Wright State says Sherwood has already led nearly $3.5 million in Department of Defense-funded projects. Continuing work with researchers at Wright-Patterson is a distinct goal.
“We’re hoping they’re able to bring some of their research here,” he said. “We are committed to partnering with them.”
In a sense, the teamwork has already started. It took efforts by Wright State, AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing (based at Wright-Patterson), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Ohio government to put scanner on the Fairborn campus.
Credit: Erin Pence
Credit: Erin Pence
Getting the scanner required $1.32 million from the Air Force of Scientific Research’s Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, $200,000 from the state and $258,643 from Wright State.
The DOD provided a grant for the scanner in 2020, with the device arriving on Wright State’s Fairborn campus in March this year.
About the Author
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https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/mri-scanner-will-spark-new-wright-state-air-force-collaboration/F7OZNXV33VG3XPT7SCLCUHWWFQ/
| 2022-05-13T09:52:46
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https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/mri-scanner-will-spark-new-wright-state-air-force-collaboration/F7OZNXV33VG3XPT7SCLCUHWWFQ/
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'The nurses have had it': Morton Hospital healthcare workers authorize three-day strike
TAUNTON — Nearly 400 registered nurses and healthcare professionals at Steward's Morton Hospital voted overwhelmingly to have a three-day strike if administrators refuse "to bargain over issues that currently affect their ability to deliver the best possible care to patients."
Massachusetts Nurses Association communications director David Schildmeier said the healthcare workers' strike authorization on May 11 empowers their union's negotiating committee to "achieve a fair settlement."
"The goal here is not to strike..," he said. "There was a 98% vote for the strike authorization. The nurses have had it."
An MNA summary states the strike authorization follows their filing of "federal unfair labor practice charges" against hospital officials on April 26.
State law requires healthcare unions in hospitals to give their administrators a 10-day notification of a pending strike.
Schildmeier said the union committee would authorize a strike to begin 10 days "after they determine it's necessary."
'Like the good old days':Raynham Park breaks ground on simulcasting sports betting facility
Concerns about substance abuse treatment unit
MNA bargaining unit vice-chairwoman Jen Roderiques stated hospital management has refused to negotiate about staffing a new 32-bed substance abuse treatment center.
"Staffing it incorrectly will lead to its failure," she stated. "We cannot afford that risk. Negotiating the staffing of MORCAP (Morton Comprehensive Addiction Program) is essential."
The substance abuse treatment unit opened on Nov. 16, 2021, and provides treatment for people struggling with the highest level of addiction to drugs or alcohol.
The MNA summary also states hospital officials refuse to negotiate about the impact of the medical center's recent disaffiliation with Compass Medical, a physician-owned group.
MNA alleges the hospital's disassociation with Compass Medical "has left hundreds of staff and dependents without access to primary care physicians and specialists."
Healthcare workers seek improved security
MNA bargaining unit chairwoman Jacqui Fitts stated her colleagues believe security at the hospital needs improvement.
"As part of contract talks, we have asked that the hospital hire additional security guards," she stated. "We have also proposed… improving lighting outside where patients and staff need to walk and park. These are very basic improvements that will go a long way in keeping patients and staff safe."
Fitts stated hospital management " refuses to discuss safety and security with us."
"It is a literal non-starter for them," she added.
The MNA summary states hospital executives have "categorically refused to discuss proposals to protect the staff's physical safety, amidst an increase in violence."
Parking issues?:Is downtown Taunton parking shortage a 'myth' or reality? Here's what we know
Healthcare workers' child safety concerns
Fitts stated children being treated in the emergency department don't have adequate security since hospital officials closed a pediatric emergency unit in 2013.
"We were told that children would never co-mingle with adult patients in the E.D, (and) that there would be distinct space and staff for pediatric E.D. patients," she stated. "That was an empty promise, and now our youngest patients languish in our E.D. alongside adult patients. What they witness in there is awful."
Hospital officials previously said they closed the pediatric emergency unit because of "low patient volume."
'Reasonable duration contract sought'
MNA bargaining unit vice-chairperson Cheryl Putra stated that competition among hospitals for staff is increasingly competitive, and Morton management insists on a five-year contract agreement "that's an unwise and unreasonable time frame."
"We must be able to renegotiate sooner than five years from now," she stated. "We cannot risk losing staff to other hospitals, which will gain a competitive edge over five years while we're locked out of renegotiating contract enhancements. That would cost us, valuable experienced staff."
Hospital management could not be reached for comment on May 12 about MNA's remarks.
Pitts stated, "there is no reason for the hospital to refuse to negotiate over basic and essential improvements."
"Management may think they are playing hardball, but they really are not listening to the people they count on," she stated. "Ultimately, management's decisions and their approach at the bargaining table will hurt a community that was already struggling. We see through them, and the community does too. It is time for management to do the right thing and to negotiate in good faith."
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https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/morton-hospital-nurses-taunton-authorize-three-day-strike/9751638002/
| 2022-05-13T09:52:54
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https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/morton-hospital-nurses-taunton-authorize-three-day-strike/9751638002/
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TUPELO • Ever felt that indistinguishable chill run up your spine? Some describe the feeling as the hair on the back of the neck standing up. Others might say they get a gut feeling, warning them that something just isn't right.
One Mississippi legend evokes those suspicions with just its name: Witch Dance.
The legend of the Witch Dance mile marker off of the Natchez Trace Parkway has long circulated throughout North Mississippi and all along the parkway.
For those unfamiliar with the Natchez Trace, the 444-mile stretch of road has been used by travelers for hundreds of years. The miles of Tennessee/Mississippi landscape span from Nashville to Natchez.
Witch Dance gets its moniker from a legend that insists local witches gathered at the site to perform rituals. As they danced, the grass beneath their feet died.
To this day, some say that there are patches of dead grass that will never again be verdant because of the supernatural creatures who once touched it.
According to Kathy Weiser from Legends of America, the storied past of Witch Dance began with the Hopewell Native Americans, which comprised different bands that eventually migrated north to form the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes.
Weiser wrote that the Hopewell people suffered under oppressive leadership in Mexico, prompting them to escape. With them, they carried the bones of their ancestors.
Those bones are said to have been buried at the foundation of the Bynum Mounds, located between the Mississippi town of Houston and mile marker 233.2 on the Natchez Trace, otherwise known as Witch Dance.
Explorers traversed the Natchez Trace as early as the mid-1700s, but the human history of the Trace dates back 10,000 years.
Dignitaries and drifters alike have journeyed along the Natchez Trace, including President Andrew Jackson at one point.
However, the Trace's clientele was also known to be that of murderers and robbers. Some of these vagrants included the infamous Harpe Brothers, recognized by many as America's first serial killers.
Micajah "Big" Harpe and Wiley "Little" Harpe roamed the Natchez Trace murdering, raping and wreaking havoc upon travelers in the late 1700s.
During the American Revolution, the Harpe Brothers, who were actually first cousins, fought alongside the British. Their intent, however, was purely to enact violence.
At one point, the homicidal "Big" Harpe visited Witch Dance along with a Native American guide. The guide warned him about the legend of the witches that once visited the area for rituals. Harpe supposedly mocked the legend and jumped on the dead spots of grass, taunting the witches to appear.
Although there was no immediate consequence for his irreverent actions, Harpe was later tracked down by a posse of bandits and decapitated upon returning to Kentucky.
His head was placed in a nearby tree. According to lore, a witch removed the skull, ground it into powder and used it in a healing potion for a sick relative.
As others along the Trace heard of this haunting tale, they swore that unidentifiable laughter originated from bushes and trees near Witch Dance.
Even after 220 years, the chilling legends of the Mississippi parcel continue to surround the spooky mile marker. Area locals will advise those traveling to avoid stopping at Witch Dance at night for fear of encountering supernatural forces. Many have claimed to hear cackling and other witchy noises once the sun sets.
However, as a Park Ranger for the Natchez Trace Parkway, Jane Farmer says that she's encountered nothing otherworldly while visiting Witch Dance.
"We do have people who are interested in it because of its name," Farmer said. "I personally haven't experienced anything supernatural there, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.”
Farmer said that she actually finds Witch Dance to be a calm area to picnic. The sinister legends might prevent some visitors from taking a gander through the area, but as far as Farmer is concerned, there's nothing scary about the trail.
"I have found it a very peaceful place to be," she said.
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/a-wicked-witch-dance-exploring-the-natchez-traces-most-mysterious-mile-marker/article_440800e6-13dd-5aa4-b834-2f0e8468ec10.html
| 2022-05-13T09:53:12
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/a-wicked-witch-dance-exploring-the-natchez-traces-most-mysterious-mile-marker/article_440800e6-13dd-5aa4-b834-2f0e8468ec10.html
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'An incredible recovery:' Mount Union theatre student shares journey after accident
ALLIANCE – She remembered the fall.
Addie Wisniewski woke for the first time in 34 days feeling disoriented. She heard voices and opened her eyes, but she could not see anything with her left eye. The accident had left her blind in one eye. She had sustained a traumatic brain injury, skull fracture, broken neck and brain bleeding.
"The doctors told my parents that I probably was not going to survive," the 21-year-old Mount Union junior said.
But Wisniewski persisted.
The music and theatre student, who uses a wheelchair, spent the next several months relearning to talk and swallow. She returned to the stage less than a year after the life-threatening fall and aspires to create a space where performers with and without disabilities can share their love for theatre.
More:Mount Union's 'Beau' a 'remarkable opportunity' for Stark theatergoers
Discovering a love for theatre
Wisniewski grew up in a family of athletes. Her mom played basketball and ran track, while her dad played baseball and golf. Her younger sister played basketball. Wisniewski tried a handful of organized sports as a kid.
Around age 10, she joined a baseball league for kids with disabilities. The league allowed for players to accrue an unlimited number of strikes. Wisniewski was at bat one day when she received a third strike. She was encouraged to keep going.
"No," the Medina native said.
Then, she rolled off the field.
"I got frustrated because I am very competitive and wanted to strike out and play the game correctly," Wisniewski said.
For a while, she struggled to find a hobby that suited her. But things changed after her neighbor and close friend performed in a school play.
Wisniewski had always loved to sing. Why not try theater? With her mom's encouragement, she signed up for her first musical in seventh grade. She was cast as a bird, fish and a "Who" in her middle school's production of the Dr. Seuss-inspired musical comedy "Seussical."
Wisniewski felt an immediate connection to the stage.
"I fell in love with it," she said. "It was incredible. It was like I could be someone else and tell a story, and people were looking at me because I was telling a story and not because I was different."
She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare genetic disorder that causes a person's bones to break easily. She adapts and translates movements in performances so she can tell the same stories.
Wisniewski started taking dance classes and voice lessons. The next few years took her and her family across Northeast Ohio's community theater scene. She performed in "Young Frankenstein" and "The Little Mermaid" at Akron's Weathervane Playhouse; "Be More Chill" at Broadview Heights Spotlights; and several productions at her high school.
"One year I did, like, five different productions. My parents would drive all around Northeast Ohio to various theaters so I could do it," Wisniewski said.
A Mount Union lecturer served as the music director of "Be More Chill." He was the person who introduced Wisniewski to the university.
"I chose Mount because I felt like I was able to be heard. It was less of a numbers type of thing and more personable. They wanted to know why I was here and why I wanted to do what I wanted to do," she said.
'She's really happy to advocate for herself'
Wisniewski graduated in 2019 from Highland High School in Medina County, and started attending Mount Union that fall. Her first year of college took an unexpected turn when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Wisniewski was involved in a university production of "Chicago" that was slated to open about a week after the March 2020 shutdowns occurred.
"(Being a college student) has definitely been interesting, especially as a music and theater person. Having music courses and other courses online was very difficult," she said.
Pandemic aside, Wisniewski said her time at Mount Union has been filled with personal growth. She has enjoyed forming relationships, she said, while also working on her craft.
Wisniewski's professors recognize her determination and enthusiasm.
"She's really happy to advocate for herself and let you know what she can do in addition to what she needs help with," said Sarah Russell, an assistant professor of costuming and makeup at Mount Union.
Russell has known Wisniewski since her first year at the university. She teaches costume design classes and works on productions at Mount Union. Before Wisniewski took Russell's costume technology course, the pair sat down to discuss the class.
Ryan Patterson, an assistant professor, technical director and facilities manager at Mount Union, said Wisniewski has a "magnetism" on stage that helps her to connect with an audience.
"It's a charisma that really shines," he said.
But as Wisniewski started to find her fit at Mount Union, another life-changing experience happened.
The accident and recovery
It was a freak accident.
On Jan. 10, 2021, Wisniewski fell off a curb and out of her wheelchair, sustaining multiple life-threatening injuries. She was rushed to the hospital by ambulance and placed on a ventilator.
She spent more than a month in a coma. Her family played music in the hospital room.
When Wisniewski woke, she was surprised at how much time had passed.
"I didn't realize how long I had been asleep," she said.
The recovery process was long and difficult. For the next month, she stayed in the hospital and relearned basic tasks such as speaking, swallowing and driving her wheelchair.
"Already living with my disability ... obviously this accident isn't what made me disabled, but it definitely added to everything. I'm just very thankful to be alive," Wisniewski said.
She checked out of the hospital March 10, but her recovery continued for many months. She wore a brace around her neck as her injuries healed, and went through various types of therapy.
"It was at the point where she was relearning how to feed herself, relearning how to use her vocal cords ... there were a lot of challenges there. We were not sure if she was going to be able to sing again," Russell said.
Wisniewski's first time performing after her accident was when she returned to Mount Union in the fall.
Despite a strenuous recovery, Wisniewski never gave up, Russell said.
One of Wisniewski's biggest challenges this year has been memorizing lines, but it has not discouraged her.
"She's like 'You know, the way I used to do it doesn't work anymore. I'm going to have to try a new tactic.' She never lets herself get depressed. She just faces challenges head-on," Russell said.
Wisniewski said the support of her family, along with the cards and prayers she received from members of the community, played an important part in her recovery.
Her first production after the accident was "A Christmas Carol" in November 2021. She played a caroler and had singing parts throughout the show.
"It was definitely incredible and emotional being able to do what I love again, especially after the odds were really stacked against me. To be able to do what I do again was the best feeling in the entire world," Wisniewski said.
What are Wisniewski's future plans?
Less than a year and a half after the accident, Wisniewski has mostly recovered.
She continues dealing with the effects of a traumatic brain injury, blindness in her left eye and post traumatic stress disorder. But she said she is "thankful" to be alive and doing what she loves.
"I've honestly made an incredible recovery. I don't really know how," Wisniewski said.
She has big plans for her future. She sat in the lobby of Mount Union's Giese Center for Performing Arts on a Friday afternoon in April, speaking enthusiastically about her goal to open a theater company for performers with and without disabilities.
"I think among the theater industry with performers, it's hard to find jobs. But it's also difficult as a person with a disability to find employment or people that are able to work with you. So I thought 'Why not just put them together and kind of create something that helps everyone?'" she said.
Wisniewski said she did not know of many people with disabilities in theater when she was growing up. She hopes to inspire others.
Her professors believe she has the tenacity to accomplish her goals.
"She's one of those people who just knows what she's going after and goes for it," Russell said.
Wisniewski will be in a production of "Hair" through the Millennial Theatre Project at Akron Civic Theatre this summer. She also plans to attend the 2022 Rollettes Experience, a multiple-day event that takes place every year in Los Angeles and features speakers, performers and coaches who understand what it is like to live with a disability.
The Rollettes is a wheelchair dance team based in California. The group was founded by one of Wisniewski's biggest inspirations, Chelsie Hill. Wisniewski works with the Rollettes as an ambassador, helping spread the word about the event and encouraging other women and girls get involved.
Wisniewski said it feels like she received "a second chance at life" by surviving the accident.
"I am not the same Addie that I once was," she wrote in an email. "But in many ways I am even stronger than the old Addie, and she was pretty tough."
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn.
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/alliance/2022/05/13/mount-union-theatre-student-addie-wisniewski-returns-stage-after-recovering-fall/9558058002/
| 2022-05-13T10:14:55
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/alliance/2022/05/13/mount-union-theatre-student-addie-wisniewski-returns-stage-after-recovering-fall/9558058002/
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'She deserves that normalcy in her life.' Miah gets her wheels
JACKSON TWP. – This summer, Miah McClure will turn Sweet 16.
On Tuesday, the Hoover High School freshman was gifted with her own set of wheels in the form of an adaptive tricycle for people with disabilities.
Outside of Cain Toyota-BMW, a small crowd of family, friends and well-wishers were on hand to see Miah's happy reaction as the tricycle, festooned with balloons, was presented. They cheered as she took her first ride.
An emotional Bre McClure, Miah's mom, said she was grateful, noting that Miah has long wished to join her brother on bike rides. Now that will be possible.
More:Students with high school companies preparing for Junior Achievement expo
"It's very overwhelming," she said. "Miah is going to be 16 in July. It will give her the ability to do whatever a kid does."
Miah's dad, Sam, said getting his daughter the tricycle was a personal goal.
"I started out the year on a mission," he said. "This will be her Sweet 16th birthday. I was determined that she would have wheels like other teenagers."
'They were looking for new opportunities to help people.'
The purple tricycle — Miah's favorite color — was made possible through a network of caring people, including Kate Detweiler, a family support specialist at Hoover High School and member of the Stark County Educational Service Center's CARE Team.
Detweiler said she went to work upon learning that Miah's family was trying to raise money to buy her an adaptive tricycle. Meanwhile, Detweiler had become a fan of Cain Toyota-BMW, where she had bought a minivan.
"I started following their Facebook page, where I learned they were looking for new opportunities to help people," she said.
Detweiler contacted company President Brian Cain, who said helping Miah was in keeping with the dealership's commitment to the community.
40 random acts of kindness
"Last year, we celebrated our 40th anniversary with 40 random acts of kindness," Cain said. "This year continues with 'Cain in the Community.' It's something we're proud of. We were very happy to be able to help Miah and her family."
The dealership's other community projects have included stocking the Jackson Township Fire Department's pantry, purchasing Nothing But Bundt cakes for teachers during Teachers Appreciation Week, paying for 50 families of special-needs children to attend an adaptive performance of the "Polar Express" at the Canton Players Guild, and supporting "buy local, give local" promotions.
Detweiler said she also contacted other businesses, including the North Canton Dairy Queen, where owners Kurt and Missy Warther hosted fundraisers, and the Sideliners, a booster club which handled the funds raised and committed to make up any shortfall of funds.
The $3,200 Rifton tricycle was customized for Miah by Motion Mobility & Design in North Canton. Owner Steve Williams noted that medical insurance generally doesn't cover the cost of the tricycles because they're considered recreation.
Williams said they customize six to 12 adaptive bikes a year. Miah's, he said, took about two months.
Bre McClure told the crowd that she was shocked when she learned about the effort to raise money for Miah's tricycle and who was involved.
"I didn't let myself get too excited," she recalled. "If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all."
'Her odds of survival were less than 30%.'
Miah was born on July 26, 2006.
"She was delivered six weeks premature but only spent eight short days in the NICU before she was cleared to go home with no complications noted and no special instructions needed," Bre McClure said.
"Much to both our surprise and the pediatrician’s, her development stayed on track for her true age rather than her adjusted age, which was what we were instructed to base it off of. What more could a parent ask for? We had a typically developing, healthy 9-month-old baby girl."
But on April 23, 2007, Miah experienced a near-drowning that left her fighting for her life. She was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at Akron Children's Hospital, where the family learned of the severity of Miah's condition.
"Due to the lack of oxygen and water retained on her brain, very little brain activity was detected," her mother said. "Her brain had began to swell to a point that her soft spot was raised and she had began to have mitochondrial seizures.
"Her odds of survival were less than 30% ... They told us she would never talk, she would never walk, she would be deaf and she would be blind."
Bre McClure said doctors advised the family to "pull the plug" and let her die.
"I was told to call my priest in to have her read her last rites, and let the family have time to say their goodbyes," she said.
But Miah fought to live.
"She made it through several nights as a matter of fact and made her way out of the PICU to a regular room that became our 'home' for the next month," Bre McClure said. "It was a sigh of relief the day her discharge papers came, but we were overwhelmed with all of the new instructions her care came with as well as all of new equipment needed for this care.
"Her diagnosis upon discharge was global anoxic brain injury, epilepsy and cerebral palsy with right-sided hemiplegia. There was not a single section of her brain that wasn’t damaged."
The next months and years were filled with caring for two children, and battling with insurance companies to cover the cost of Miah's specialized equipment, which in many cases were deemed as "luxuries."
"Over the years Miah has continued to defy the odds and prove those doctors wrong," Bre McClure said. "She has a love for music, singing, her beloved baby dolls and she idolizes her little 'big' brother, Joey. As parents, we do our best to make sure she gets to experience as much normalcy as possible, from having her participate in a ballet class, to enrolling her in gymnastics, to helping organize 'The Sparkle Effect' at her elementary school in order for her and fellow classmates to be able to cheer on the high school squad."
Fortune smiled on the McClures this week as their daughter took to her new wheels just like a teenage girl should.
"She's the toughest, most determined human I’ve ever met," her mother said. "And more than anyone else, she deserves that 'normalcy' in her life."
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/canton/2022/05/13/cain-toyota-bmw-donates-adaptive-tricycle-hoover-high-student-miah-mcclure-rifton/9558752002/
| 2022-05-13T10:15:01
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/canton/2022/05/13/cain-toyota-bmw-donates-adaptive-tricycle-hoover-high-student-miah-mcclure-rifton/9558752002/
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We've all heard of highway robbery, but perhaps airport robbery might be a more accurate term for what happened to many travelers at an New York City airport.
It started after one person complained on social media in summer 2021 after purchasing a beer at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal C that cost a whopping $27. Granted, it was a seasonal beer, but unless that season turns everything to gold, it was an astronomical price to pay for the beverage.
But that traveler wasn't the only person who was told to pay up for the pricey potent potable. According to a review by the Office of Inspector General, a total of 25 people were charged what the Port Authority called a "totally indefensible" amount of $23 or $27 for a beer, depending on size.
The review found that one vendor, OTG, violated street pricing policy by erroneously adding a surcharge to an already inflated base base price. That concessionaire later contacted all 25 people who had purchased the lavish lager and gave them a full refund, the Inspector General confirmed.
After the lengthy investigation, the Port Authority is now setting new pricing standards for all concessions at the three major NYC-area airports (JFK, Newark and LaGuardia). The 35-page policy caps prices for food and drinks at local, off-airport "street prices," plus a maximum surcharge of 10 percent.
"All airport customers should rightly expect that policies which limit the pricing of food and beverages at concessions will be followed and enforced," said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. "Nobody should have to fork over such an exorbitant amount for a beer. The Aviation Department’s new compliance and enforcement measures announced today make it crystal clear that all prices at concessions will be routinely monitored to ensure they are aligned with the regional marketplace. And all airport customers and concessionaires should expect tough pro-active enforcement going forward now that these revised standards are in place."
The new rules also require vendors to offer lower-priced food and beverage options to provide a wider range of value.
Port Authority also encouraged all travelers who suspect pricing violations at any of the three airports to report them via social media and tag the airport at which it is occurring.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/27-for-beer-port-authority-cracking-down-on-prices-at-nyc-area-airports/3686070/
| 2022-05-13T10:19:21
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/27-for-beer-port-authority-cracking-down-on-prices-at-nyc-area-airports/3686070/
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/teen-girl-killed-four-men-wounded-in-paterson-shooting/3685542/
| 2022-05-13T10:19:22
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/teen-girl-killed-four-men-wounded-in-paterson-shooting/3685542/
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Hattiesburg to host day to dispose of hazardous household items. Here's what you can bring
Right Way to Throw Away Day, scheduled for May 21, is an opportunity for Hattiesburg residents to dispose of items and materials that can't be thrown in the trash such as cleaners, transmission fluid and old electronics.
The throw away day helps prevent hazardous chemicals and products from ending up in the city's soil and water by placing them in the hands of people who know how to properly dispose of them.
From 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. May 21, people can dispose of the items at two locations:
- Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport, 29 Academy Drive, Hattiesburg
- Lamar County Multi-Purpose Center, 99 Central Industrial Row, Purvis
Additionally, at the Bobby L. Chain Airport location only, shredding services and prescription waste disposal will be available. This service will be first-come, first-served until the truck is full.
Eight free things to do in Hattiesburg:Museums, nature, art
Beignets to boutiques:What businesses opened in Hattiesburg in April?
What to bring
- Aerosols
- All-purpose cleaners
- Ammonia
- Anti-freeze
- Appliances
- Automobile cleaner
- Barbecue lighter fluid
- Batteries
- Brake fluid
- Chlorine bleach
- Detergents
- Disinfectants
- Drain opener
- Furniture polish
- Herbicides
- Insecticides
- Mothballs
- Motor oils
- Oil filters
- Oven cleaners
- Paint
- Paint thinner
- Pesticides
- Photographic development chemicals
- Pool chemicals
- Rodent poison
- Rubber cement
- Rug and upholstery cleaner
- Silver polish
- Tires
- Transmission fluid
- Turpentine
- Varnish
- Water sealer
- Wood finish
- Computers, laptops, keyboards and monitors
- Washers and dryers
- Fluorescent bulbs
- TVs, refrigerators and freezers
What not to bring
- Ammunition
- Explosives
- Medical waste
- Syringes
- Radioactive materials
- PCB’s
Contact the city of Hattiesburg with any questions at 601-545-4500.
Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.com or on Twitter.
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https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2022/05/12/right-way-throw-away-day-2022-what-you-can-bring/9748970002/
| 2022-05-13T10:32:26
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African American History Museum: Humble beginnings, how it got where it is today
Hattiesburg's African American History Museum began as a United Service Organizations center — a home away from home for service members in the 1940s.
This month, the site celebrates its 13th anniversary as a museum and decades of service to the community, including everything from providing a place for recreation to a place to preserve history.
"It served many different purposes," said Vanessa Molden, museum operations and education supervisor. "It was a community center. It was a library for the African Americans, Head Start classes were held here, but it became a museum in 2009."
Originally called the East Sixth Street USO, it was constructed in 1942 as part of a federally funded project that involved the construction of over 300 similar structures. These structures were built due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's desire to provide a place for military personnel to congregate and relax.
Molden said it was the only USO that was built for use by African Americans during the time.
"It served as a home away from home," Molden said. "They would come here to participate in wholesome activities.
More:Oak Park High gave Black students educational opportunities, friendships they will never forget
Previously:Hattiesburg philanthropist Oseola McCarty to have legacy preserved
"There were game nights, concerts, dances. Young ladies who were attending the Eureka School would come and serve as hostesses and help plan some of the events as well as just entertain and socialize with the soldiers while they were here."
Molden said there was also a darkroom where photos could be developed.
After East Sixth Street USO was decommissioned in 1946, it became a community center for African Americans. During its second life, it served as a library and school as well.
Eventually, however, it began to be used as a storage facility.
"During that time there was a group of citizens that became concerned about the condition of the building because it had began to deteriorate," Molden said. "So they devised a plan of use for the building, and that plan of use was to turn it into a museum honoring the sacrifice of African American soldiers."
In the late 1990s, the group of citizens convinced the city of Hattiesburg to use the building for housing a local collection of African American military history artifacts and memorabilia.
Community leader and activist, Iola Williams, led the charge by accepting a position as the city’s parks and recreation director in exchange for the use of the USO building.
Over the years artifacts were collected, organized and displayed. The growing collection attracted the attention of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission.
As a result, the African American Military History Museum Committee was established. The board successfully pursued National Historic Landmark Status and Mississippi Landmark Status.
Today, the museum welcomes thousands of visitors every year.
Though the true anniversary is May 23, the museum will celebrate its 13th anniversary on May 19 with an open house.
“To understand that our museum has paid tribute to African American servicemen and women for 13 years and that countless numbers of visitors have read their stories and better understand their contributions because of our efforts is very rewarding," said Latoya Norman, director of museums for the Hattiesburg Convention Commission.
The celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and guests are invited to stop by for a tour, light refreshments, games and door prizes.
"I always take great honor and pride in celebrating what we have here in Hattiesburg because it is a unique and historical building that has great historical significance and great significance to the Hattiesburg community as well as the African American Community," Molden said of the anniversary.
Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.com or on Twitter.
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https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2022/05/13/origin-hattiesburgs-african-american-history-museum/9734910002/
| 2022-05-13T10:32:32
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Palmer Township police are investigating a fatal crash in which a motorcycle ran into the rear of another vehicle on Route 248.
Police said the crash occurred Thursday night near the 25th Street Shopping Center. Route 248 was closed between Sales Street and Lawnherst Avenue while police investigated.
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No other information was available.
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| 2022-05-13T10:36:32
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Pilots, mariners and farmers know weather, because their lives and livelihood depend on the weather. In April Bandon cranberry farmers carefully monitor the weather because the cranberry vines in the bogs are beginning to bud, and most vulnerable to the cold.
Cloudy nights are farmer friendly because the temperature remains moderate. Of more concern are the cloudless nights, when the wind blows from the north and the temperature in the bogs drops below freezing. Those can be sleepless nights for Bandon cranberry farmers because they must go out to the bogs in the dark to check that the pumps are working, and sprinklers are dancing. The water applied at night freezes to insulate the sensitive new growth to ensure the budding berries are protected.
In April, the tender shoots start to grow and spread from the twiggy cranberry vines. There is vertical growth as the shoots and stems become more upright and the cranberry buds begin to form. These buds begin to swell. As the buds on the vines start to elevate and elongate, they enter the “roughneck” stage of development. Soon the budding ruff-necks will abandon their upward trajectory and begin to “hook,” that’s when the vines fold over and begin to bloom. The berry vines will progress from a pre-hook stage in April to full hooking in May. A blossom will form at the end of the stem that will hook over and hang down like an ornament from a Christmas tree. Inside this blossom is where the budding baby cranberry will develop, changing from white to green, on its way to maturity and a rich ruby red color come fall. But for this to happen, the cranberry blossoms, the flowers on the vines, must get pollinated to produce a berry. To spread the pollen, Bandon Cranberry farmers need bees.
The rebirth of cranberries along the southern Oregon coast every spring is a miracle of nature that would not occur without bees. The bees spread the pollen, which makes the cranberries come to life. Bees are most critical for peak cranberry production. Most farmers prefer the wild and free local Bandon bumble bees. They are the hardest working bees in the business and deserve credit for much of the pollination that occurs on Bandon cranberry bogs. They are the most productive bees, visiting over a thousand flowers a day, come rain or come shine. Augmenting the local bumble bees, to ensure widespread and prolific pollination, are imported honeybees. These bees come from Oregon beekeepers and are often imported from California. Some bees come to Bandon after working their magic in the Willamette Valley early in the spring. California honeybees can be fickle, fragile and are always overtaxed, so Bandon cranberry farmers will rent 1-2 beehives per acre to enhance pollination in May and June.
The berry business in Bandon has stopped contracting and is beginning to expand. New bogs are being planted in Bandon, Sixes and Langlois and new vines are being introduced to the area. Expectations for higher crop yields and higher berry prices are widespread. There is optimism in the air about cranberry farming because farmers and savvy investors are buying, building and expanding cranberry holdings along the southern Oregon coast. While inflation will lift food prices and cranberry prices, it has also raised fertilizer, energy prices and shipping costs. Along with higher costs for fertilizer, there are questions about future availability. Russia is the largest producer and exporter of fertilizer in the world, and they are no longer exporting to the West. The cost of exporting cranberries to Asia has quadrupled due to increased shipping costs. Bandon cranberry farmers will focus on domestic sales in 2022.
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/weather-key-as-bandon-cranberry-bogs-mature/article_ac09491a-d15e-11ec-af01-af9cabdc9a6e.html
| 2022-05-13T11:28:20
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/weather-key-as-bandon-cranberry-bogs-mature/article_ac09491a-d15e-11ec-af01-af9cabdc9a6e.html
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More than a decade after the disappearance of New Jersey escort Shannan Gilbert triggered a police investigation that exposed a much larger mystery, authorities in Suffolk County plan to share long-secret 911 calls in the Gilgo Beach case Friday.
It was her disappearance that led to the discovery of nearly a dozen other sets of remains, most of them Craigslist escorts who vanished, and while Suffolk officials have previously said they don't believe Gilbert's case is connected to the others, the families hope the 911 calls could shed some light on their outstanding mysteries.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison, a former NYPD top chief, has pledged more transparency in the ongoing unsolved investigation since his appointment in 2021. Families of the victims -- those who were discovered in burlap sacks on a desolate stretch of Ocean Parkway in 2010 amid the search for Gilbert -- have been waiting years for the release of 911 calls connected to Gilbert's case.
The delay involved a previous administration, though, Harrison had said earlier this year he would release the tapes provided they didn't interfere with the ongoing investigation. In the months since, Harrison, the fifth Suffolk police commissioner to oversee the investigation, has shared new video footage of Megan Waterman, one of the Craigslist escorts found dead on that remote stretch of Ocean Parkway in December 2010, and new background information on the so-called "Gilgo Four."
But the 911 tapes, which longtime Gilbert family attorney John Ray has sought to have released for more than a decade as her cause of death remains inconclusive, have been held. They're public release is expected Friday afternoon.
Gilbert, a 24-year-old escort, went missing at Oak Beach, a small residential community near Gilgo Beach, in May 2010 after meeting a client. Seven months later, in December of that year, the remains of Waterman and three other women were found in burlap sacks within a mile of each other on Ocean parkway.
All were Craigslist escorts. All had been strangled.
In April and May of 2011, the remains of six other individuals were also found.
Investigators haven’t been able to determine whether a lone serial killer or several suspects were involved, but they have said over the years they don't believe one person is responsible for all the deaths. No arrests have been made, and no suspects have ever been publicly named in any of the cases.
Gilbert's skeletal remains weren't found until December 2011. They were located in a marshy swamp by Oak Beach, where she may have fled as she was on the phone with 911. Her cause of death was inconclusive. Ray and Gilbert's mother, who died by the hand of another one of her daughters years ago, said she was murdered.
She had called 911 from Oak Beach and said someone was trying to kill her. That call lasted about 22 minutes. There were three other calls.
Harrison now says he'll release the tapes in the hopes that someone comes forward to help identify the killer who once taunted one of his victims' sisters on a call after her death — and is still at large.
The reward is now $50,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with tips about the victims or a potential suspect or suspects is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS (8477).
More Coverage
The 'Gilgo Four'
The so-called "Gilgo Four" -- Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costella -- were discovered during the search for Gilbert, from Jersey City. Her remains were found in a swampy marsh not far from away in 2011, 19 months after she disappeared.
Gilbert's cause of death has been disputed. But the Gilgo Four, officials say, were all murdered, possibly the work of a serial killer. No arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified. Commissioner Harrison is seeking to restore public faith in the long-unsolved investigation, which has been skewered over lacking transparency.
“As the Homicide Squad continues its tireless work on this investigation, we believe now is the right time to disseminate this previously unreleased information in hopes of eliciting tips from the public and providing greater transparency about the victims," Harrison said in sharing the information about the Gilgo Four on May 12.
While none of the details were particularly enlightening from an investigative perspective, they shed more light on the women behind Long Island's infamous case. Here are the latest details on the Gilgo Four as provided by Suffolk County:
Maureen Brainard-Barnes
Suffolk police said that Brainard-Barnes, believed to be the first victim among the "Gilgo Four," was a 25-year-old living in Norwich, Connecticut, when she went missing. They said it is believed she took an Amtrak train from New London to New York City on July, 6, 2007
She spent her time in the city working as a prostitute, advertising on Craigslist, Backpage and other sites under names like Juliana or Marie as she stayed at a Super 8 Motel on West 46th Street, between 5th and 6th avenues. Brainard-Barnes, who stood just under 5 feet tall, would travel to Manhattan to work for a few nights before going back home to Connecticut, according to investigators.
While in the city, she also stayed at a Red Roof Inn on West 32nd Street, the Carter Hotel on West 43rd Street and the Manhattan Hotel on 8th Avenue. Sometimes she would be with another woman — a friend who worked out of a different hotel room — and a man, who both women referred to as their cousin, police said. That man would provide a level of security for the two sex workers.
Brainard-Barnes traveled with the other woman to the city the weekend she went missing, but the woman went back home early. On July 9, she called a friend back in Connecticut just minutes before midnight, telling them she was going to meet someone outside of the motel, which was not what her typical operating procedure, according to Suffolk police.
Five days later, a friend reported Brainard-Barnes missing to police in Connecticut, and soon the NYPD took over the investigation. More than three years later, on Dec. 13, 2010, her body was found on the north side of Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach, during police's search for Gilbert, who had gone missing from Oak Beach.
Melissa Barthelemy
Barthelemy, 24, went missing on July 12, 2009 after she was last seen at her basement apartment on Underhill Avenue in the Unionport section of the Bronx, investigators said.
The 4-foot-10-inch tall escort advertised on Adult Friend Finder and other sites, often using aliases Chloe and "VerySexyChloe," and had the words "Blaze" and "Focus" on her back, along with letters on her chest, according to police.
Barthelemy, who was said to meet her clients at bars, restaurants and hotels on Manhattan's West Side, told a friend the night she went missing that she was going to meet a man and would be back in the morning. The friend knew Barthelemy was an escort, but didn't know any other details about the meetup that night.
After not hearing from her or being able to reach her for a few days, Barthelemy's mother reported her missing to the NYPD on July 18.
Cellphone records show that Barthelemy went from the Bronx to Manhattan, likely in a taxi, on the night of July 12. An investigation then revealed that her cellphone signal was picked up in the Long Island towns of Freeport, Massapequa and Lindenhurst.
Suffolk police said that Barthelemy's sister got a series of taunting phone calls from an individual using her cell after she went missing, and the calls are believed to have come from the killer. The calls were made from an area near the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, and near Penn Station.
Authorities looked into the areas, but were unable to establish any leads due to heavy car and foot traffic nearby.
Barthelemy's body was found almost a year and a half later, on Dec. 11, 2010. While she was the first victim found, police believe she was actually the second one killed, after Brainard-Barnes.
Megan Waterman
The 22-year-old Waterman, a resident of Scarborough, Maine, was a sex worker who also utilized the same websites as the other victims, according to police, using the names "Lexxy "and "Sexy Lexi." Her family watched her board a New York-bound bus in Maine, not knowing that would be the last time they would see her, with a man who may have been her pimp.
While she was known to stay at a variety of hotels and motels on Long Island, including the Extended Stay America in Bethpage, Waterman was staying at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge on June 6, 2010, an investigation found.
She left around 1:30 a.m. that day to meet a client, according to police — but told her pimp, who was in Brooklyn at the time, that she was going to a convenience store near the hotel.
Family reported her missing to police in Maine on June 8, after they said it was unlike her to not call and check in on her then-3-year-old daughter. The Scarborough police contacted the Suffolk Police Department to assist in the investigation, and her body was found on Dec. 13 later that year.
Investigators believe she was the third of the "Gilgo Four" victims. Her pimp was later arrested and convicted on interstate trafficking charges, spending three years in federal prison in Jan. 2013. However, there is no indication he had any knowledge or in any way participated in Waterman's death, police said.
In April 2022, Harrison released the last known surveillance video of Waterman, at the Holiday Inn Express in Happauge. The footage shows multiple angles from the lobby on June 4, 5 and 6 of that year. She was wearing a yellow sweater and is shown both arriving and leaving the hotel.
Harrison said investigators believe Waterman left the Holiday Inn the night of June 6, 2010, to meet her killer. He also shared an image of jewelry discovered on the remains of a toddler whose bones were recovered during the investigation (see below).
Amber Lynn Costello
The oldest of the "Gilgo Four" victims, Costello was 27 when she went missing in September 2010, having last been seen by acquaintances, the investigation has found.
She had multiple tattoos, including "Kaos" on her neck, a butterfly on her lower back and the name "Margeret" on her leg.
Costello, a heroin addict at the time, was living in West Babylon on Long Island with another woman and two men, each of whom was similarly addicted to drugs. In order to support their collective addictions, Costello and the other woman advertised as sex workers on Craigslist and Backpage; Costello used the names Carolina or Mia, police said.
She had moved to New York from Clearwater, Florida, and completed 28-day drug rehab, but police believe she had relapsed before going missing.
Sharing a cellphone with her roommates, Costello and the others would arrange dates with clients, doing both "in-calls" at the house and "out-calls" elsewhere. Police said that the roommates concocted a scam for the clients who came to the house, as after money had already been paid, one of the male roommates would say that Costello was his girlfriend, and the client would take off.
She was last seen leaving the home on America Avenue on Sept. 2, 2010, going to meet a client picking her up at the house. Costello didn't have a cellphone on her at the time, and was never reported missing.
On Dec. 13, during the same search for Gilbert, Costello's body was found on the north side of Ocean Parkway.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-secret-911-calls-from-missing-woman-tied-to-gilgo-beach-serial-killer-case-to-be-released-friday/3686091/
| 2022-05-13T11:50:44
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A stretch of Interstate 80 on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap has been a flashpoint for years over plans by the state’s transportation department to build a massive wall to prevent rocks from falling onto the road.
A long list of people and organizations hate that idea, from nature lovers who say the wall will spoil the natural beauty of the gap to safety advocates who contend the curving of the highway on the Warren County stretch poses a far greater danger to motorists than falling rocks.
Now, another problem has cropped up. A New Jersey Department of Transportation committee says a retaining wall that supports the highway for a quarter mile may be “subject to sudden failure.” According to the New Jersey Herald, the committee approved $5.5 million study to inspect the wall and determine how to fix its deterioration and cracks, which would cost an estimated $55 million.
The wall’s failure would endanger motorists and lead to the closing of the interstate, an entryway to the Poconos and a major Pennsylvania-to-New York commuting artery. For the Lehigh Valley, that means the potential for heavier traffic on a highway system already strained by truck traffic from the enormous growth of warehousing in the region — thought state and federal officials say that probably won’t be the case.
“This is talking about sending I-80 traffic down through the Lehigh Valley for years,” said Tara Mezzanotte of Knowlton Township. She is a founding member of the I-80 Rockfall Fence and Safety Concerns at the Delaware Water Gap Coalition, a citizen’s group demanding, among other things, an independent engineering study of the rockwall project.
Possible traffic diversion plans during the yearslong rock wall construction include sending eastbound I-80 traffic south on Route 33 to Interstate 78. Motorists would then head east to Route 287 in New Jersey and follow that road north back to I-80. Westbound traffic would be routed south on 287 to I-78 west, then north on 33 to I-80.
NJDOT says it is premature to offer many details about traffic or other aspects of the projects, because both are still in the design phase.
In response to emailed questions, NJDOT spokesman Stephen Schapiro said the retaining wall repair will likely begin before the rock wall construction but both projects will be coordinated as closely as possible to reduce cost and duration. Generally, the department tries to minimize traffic disruption by working overnight and leaving a lane open to let traffic through.
The part of the highway at issue, in Knowlton and Hardwick townships, is narrow and configured with an S-curve that make driving difficult, especially for tractor-trailers. It passes through a rock cut that nature has been grinding down since the highway was built at the base of Mount Tammany in the 1950s. As a result, rocks sometimes fall onto the road. More than two dozen rockfalls occurred between 2001 to 2017 and caused 14 crashes, one of them fatal.
NJDOT wants to solve that problem by building a 60-foot metal wall. Mezzanotte’s group says that’s a bad idea, not only because the wall would mar the beauty of the area but because the greater danger by far is the curvature of the road. A wall would only exacerbate that threat by eliminating the road shoulder, thus making the S curve even narrower.
NJDOT, however, has no plans to straighten the curve, Schapiro said in the email.
“As noted on the I-80 project website and presented during public outreach efforts, options that involve straightening the S-curve would result in significant adverse environmental impacts and are estimated to cost in excess of several hundred million dollars,” he said.
Because of Mezzanotte’s group, news about the coming changes to I-80 have spread far and wide and caught the attention of officials who fear the potential ripple effect on surrounding communities. Last year, state Rep. Rosemary Brown, who represents Monroe and Pike counties, suggested the money proposed for the project might be better spent on a proposed Pennsylvania-New Jersey commuter rail service, which would alleviate highway congestion.
U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, who represents the Lehigh Valley, and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey took their concerns about the rockwall to the Federal Highway Administration.
About $200 million in federal funds are earmarked for the project. In April of last year, Wild and Casey asked about the impacts on traffic, the environment and safety. FHA assured them that all potential effects were being studied under environmental assessments.
First Call
The agency said it expects no major traffic disruptions.
“The proposed project can be completed within the existing right of way with four lanes of traffic open (two lanes in each direction) for the most part,” the FHA said. “One exception will be blasting once a week (Monday through Thursday) that will close I-80 for about 15 minutes at a time during periods of low traffic volumes.”
Most other lane closures would potentially occur in the westbound direction, primarily overnight, FHA said. Apart from that, “the project would not affect traffic on I-80 or roads in the communities surrounding the project area.”
Mezzanotte is skeptical of all such assurances. She said the poor condition of the retaining wall has been common knowledge for a long time — residents took video of cracks and “erosion caves” in 2020 ― and she questions the idea of putting the weight and strain of all traffic on the outer lane of the highway during the projects.
“If you put that kind of language on a bridge,” she said — meaning NJDOT’s warning about sudden failure — “nobody would go over it.”
“Their messaging doesn’t match what our eyes have seen,” she added. “This is where the big push is going to be now. We’re screaming for an absolutely independent review.”
Morning Call reporter Daniel Patrick Sheehan can be reached at 610-820-6598 or dsheehan@mcall.com
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https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-interstate-80-rockfall-20220513-v6s2npcq3jek3eojzxayosv6x4-story.html
| 2022-05-13T12:07:39
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https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-interstate-80-rockfall-20220513-v6s2npcq3jek3eojzxayosv6x4-story.html
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Chad Wachter's great-great-grandfather had been a meat-cutter in Philadelphia as a teenager before he arrived in the frontier town of Bismarck in the 1880s.
Today the family is a foremost property and real estate developer in the capital city, with decades of commercial and recreational projects tied to the family name through land donated or sold at reduced cost: Bismarck Event Center, Kirkwood Mall, Pebble Creek Golf Course, Wachter Middle School, and Dorothy Moses and Solheim elementary schools, to name a few.
"We’ve just always believed that you can’t just make money in a community," Wachter said. "You have to give back to your community, and that’s something, that’s what we preach about in our family, the importance of being good stewards in our community, which means that you have to give back. And not just money, but you have to donate your time, too."
The family's land developments began in earnest in 1970 with the mall, but the family's history is closely entwined with Bismarck since the city's early years.
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Bismarck ancestor Gottlieb Charles Wachter established Wachter Dray and Transfer Co. in 1885 with a wagon and team of horses that grew to 50-60 teams, followed by a warehouse and storage, then coal- and ice-hauling operations.
The family entered farming and ranching in 1921, owning 28,800 acres north of Mandan across three counties until the 1980s.
The Wachters hauled debris away from the site of the previous state Capitol, which burned in 1930.
At one point, the family had 18 companies employing hundreds of people, including Dakota Sand & Gravel, House of Bottles liquor stores, trailer courts, apartments, warehouses, hardware stores, clothing stores, an office tower, bank and other outfits, said Lance Wachter, Chad's father.
"What I remember about it is I was involved in businesses in Bismarck, and I learned a lot from that," he said. "Just to try to read one of our financial statements was quite the chore."
The family farmed and ranched in what is now south Bismarck until the completion of the Garrison Dam in 1953 mitigated floods and made development a possibility, Lance said.
His father, Paul H. Wachter, led the development of Kirkwood Mall from 1967-70. The family also sold land for the Bismarck Civic Center, now the Event Center, at a reduced price.
"South Bismarck would not be what it is today if it wouldn’t be for the Event Center and for the Kirkwood Mall," Lance said.
Chad said, "I'm really proud of the mall and what it's become today."
Paul H. Wachter also was an inventor whose patents included a multipurpose spatula, exhaust pipes and a receptacle liner.
"He was a very visionary person," grandson Chad said.
These days, the Promontory Point and Silver Ranch housing developments in north Bismarck are major projects of the Wachter family.
Promontory Point in northwest Bismarck began 15-20 years ago with land the Wachters bought from Bill Clairmont. They subdivided it and began installing sewer and water utilities.
Silver Ranch in northeast Bismarck broke ground in 2019 as a 30-year project for 4,500 homes, with a goal of building about 150 homes a year.
The developments are where the city's growth is expected to be, Chad said.
"I really feel like the family has done a really good job at thinking generations ahead, and so that’s something I want to continue with my kids," he said. "And when you talk about the future of Bismarck, that’s definitely something that we’re talking about all the time."
One of his favorite acquisitions was the Big Boy restaurant in 2017 -- after joking with the owner as a teenager that he'd like to buy the Main Avenue mainstay someday.
"We didn't want to go and do anything major with it; wanted to preserve the history of it and the menu and the drinks and all that stuff," Chad said.
Twenty-four-year-old Derek Wachter has been shadowing his father and grandfather with "big shoes to fill." He has a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of North Dakota to apply to his family's business.
"From a very young age, going back to elementary school, I knew I wanted to step in one day and continue the family's legacy," he said.
Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.
"We’ve just always believed that you can’t just make money in a community," Wachter said. "You have to give back to your community, and that’s something, that’s what we preach about in our family, the importance of being good stewards in our community, which means that you have to give back. And not just money, but you have to donate your time, too."
-- Chad Wachter
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/prominent-bismarck-family-keeps-eye-to-future-in-decades-of-development/article_bf1e9410-b1d3-11ec-af9f-5f6a26f50646.html
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North Dakota’s capital city has grown since its founding in 1872 to become the second-largest city in the state. Thirty-three mayors have overseen the progression, starting when Edmund Hackett was appointed the first mayor in 1875, when the city was incorporated.
The four most recent former mayors recently reflected on the changes they’ve seen in the city they once led.
They touted Bismarck's growth through the years and said the community is a great place to live and raise a family. They cited the schools, safety and overall community as some of their favorite things about the city. The mayors also emphasized the growth Bismarck has seen in recent decades and the work they accomplished.
Marlan Haakenson, who served from 1986-90, said the southern part of Bismarck was developing at the beginning of his term, especially below the railroad tracks, and that part of town has grown dramatically since.
He said he was the first person who lived on the south side of town to be elected to the city commission, and he considered himself a mayor for the “common person.”
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He also worked to get the city its own flag, which used to be displayed outside the Bismarck Event Center. He has a small version of it in his home.
John Warford counted the 2011 Missouri River flood as one of his toughest challenges while leading the city. He held over 50 news conferences throughout the emergency, and worked to coordinate resources and state and federal assistance, he said.
He also led the city through some of its largest economic growth and development in history while mayor from 2002-14, he said. Bismarck became self-sustaining and was one of the only small metropolitan areas to not go into recession during the Great Recession in 2008, he said.
Warford is proud of how Bismarck became a destination for people to build a life.
“It’s good to have been a little part of that,” he said.
Mike Seminary also highlighted the city’s development as well as groups created during his tenure that are still working for the city today.
Seminary, who served from 2014-18, also touted the growth of Bismarck in recent years as one of the highlights of his tenure.
He cited the city’s infrastructure and special assessment task forces that were created during his term as a way for the city to manage growth responsibly.
He also credited the Gold Star Task Force that began under his tenure for laying the groundwork for the community response during the coronavirus pandemic. That task force brought together different aspects of government to deal with public health, homelessness and infrastructure. When the pandemic struck, those groups had already been having discussions, he said.
Bill Sorensen, who was mayor from 1990 to 2002, said instituting the city sales tax while he was leader was a success, though he thought it would be the end of his political career. At the time, Bismarck had many parcels that were exempt from property tax, which made it difficult to fund services, he said.
He added that for part of his term as mayor, Bismarck’s population actually declined. He said the city worked to bring jobs to the area and created the Renaissance Zone program. It's a tool for community redevelopment and economic investment that includes tax incentives to business and residential properties. The city went from 19 empty buildings downtown to two during that period.
Sorensen added that the city continues to grow and is a great place to live.
“The future looks bright for the capital city,” he said.
Reach Sam Nelson at 701-250-8264 or sam.nelson@bismarcktribune.com.
“The future looks bright for the capital city.”
-- Bill Sorensen
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Jason Tomanek is running out of wall space.
The assistant Bismarck city administrator has an extensive collection of historic photographs, postcards and other Bismarck souvenirs on display in his office.
“It starts with my love of Bismarck,” said Tomanek, a city native.
Now he is one of the people involved with planning Bismarck’s 150th anniversary celebration, and he’s drawing inspiration from items in his own office.
Former Community Development Director Carl Hokenstad has this take on Tomanek's collection: “It’s like a museum. I just love it."
The hobby started with Tomanek purchasing a few old Bismarck postcards from an antique shop to display in his office at Bismarck’s planning department.
When he moved into a larger office after becoming assistant city administrator in 2016, the hobby took off.
“Because I just had so many walls to cover,” Tomanek said.
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Today his desk is surrounded by black-and-white aerial photos of Bismarck, a banner from the city’s centennial in 1972, original watercolor paintings of historic Bismarck buildings and other framed photographs.
Tomanek also has collected a brick from every downtown Bismarck building taken down in the past 15 years.
“I can tell you where each brick came from. They’re all from a different building,” he said. “I don’t know why, these things are just interesting to me.”
Then there is what he calls his grandma collection -- old porcelain plates and other knickknacks that were once souvenirs from Bismarck.
Some of the porcelain items are stamped to indicate they were made for Bismarck stores, including the Webb Brothers Department Store that stood where Zimmerman’s Furniture is today.
“My grandmother collected plates. That’s why I think it’s kinda corny that I have these things, because I don’t think they’re very nice, but they’re from here,” he said.
Tomanek has acquired some items from people who have passed them on to him, including Hokenstad, who retired in 2019 after 41 years working for the city.
As Hokenstad was cleaning out his office, he brought historical or unique Bismarck items to Tomanek.
“He kind of was a depository,” Hokenstad said.
But the bulk of the collection comes from eBay. Tomanek searches the site daily, using different search terms for various spellings of Bismarck and North Dakota.
One eBay find is an old hand mirror with a picture of the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge on it. Tomanek said he was told the State Historical Society had seen something similar, but with a different picture and in inferior condition.
The mirror came to him from a seller in San Francisco, but the seller got it from an estate sale and didn’t know the story behind it.
“I love to think that somebody purchased that item at the rail depot when they were coming through town. Maybe it was a trinket for their child when they went back home if they were here on business,” Tomanek said. “I don’t know these stories, but I just know that it has ties to Bismarck, and that’s why I like it.”
Postcards are his favorite part of the collection. He now has about 230 unique postcards, some of which predate statehood in 1889 and are postmarked Dakota Territory. Many postcards show Bismarck streetscapes, the rail depot, the Capitol and various versions of the Patterson Hotel.
“I really like the ones that are written on,” Tomanek said. “They tell a story. It’s a report of their time in Bismarck.”
His collection from Bismarck’s centennial in 1972 has helped inspire ideas for the sesquicentennial planning in 2022. The city has adopted a logo created locally for use during the anniversary that will be widely used by the city, businesses and community members.
The logo is featured on limited edition sesquicentennial tokens the city has had produced. They will be available to people who purchase $15 reserved tickets to the activities at the Bismarck Event Center on May 14, as well as other events that are part of the celebration. In addition, the city is having 150th banners and flags produced for street lights downtown and for city buildings, as well as wooden nickels and other items that will be available to the public, Tomanek said.
A screen printing company is producing 150th souvenirs that will be available for purchase as well.
Tomanek only has a small area of his office wall where he could display additional items, but he’s eyeing some empty hallways in the City County Building.
“I’m no authoritarian on any of this stuff, I’m just a collector. An organized collector,” Tomanek said. “At some point it might be a problem.”
Reach Editor Amy Dalrymple at 701-250-8267 or amy.dalrymple@bismarcktribune.com.
“I love to think that somebody purchased that item at the rail depot when they were coming through town. Maybe it was a trinket for their child when they went back home if they were here on business. I don’t know these stories, but I just know that it has ties to Bismarck, and that’s why I like it.”
-- Jason Tomanek
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All around the capital city lie signs of the people who knew Bismarck as home long before its official establishment 150 years ago.
Visitors to Chief Looking’s Village above Pioneer Park in northwest Bismarck take in views over the Missouri River just as the Mandan Indians who lived there did in the mid-1500s.
A few miles north of the city is where one of the largest villages stood at what today is known as Double Ditch.
And south of the city of Mandan within Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, visitors can step inside replicas of earth lodges at the site known as On-A-Slant.
A historian of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation said as many as nine such villages existed in what today is the Bismarck-Mandan area near the confluence of the Heart and Missouri rivers.
“They lived along the river, among the trees,” said Calvin Grinnell, who has worked for MHA's tribal historic preservation office and has served as a historian in other capacities within North Dakota. “They were afforded some protection there.”
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Today, thousands of Native Americans from numerous tribes live in Bismarck and the surrounding area, including many from the MHA Nation.
The Mandan began settling villages in the present-day Bismarck area around 1500 amid a longstanding northward migration along the Missouri River, according to the Pulitzer Prize-winning book on Mandan history titled “Encounters at the Heart of the World” by Elizabeth A. Fenn.
Other tribes were in the region around that time, too. The Hidatsa formed earth lodge villages primarily to the north around present-day Stanton. The Arikara did the same farther south along the Grand River in present-day South Dakota.
The more nomadic Shoshone and Sioux tribes came to the area as well, sometimes fighting with the Mandan, at other times trading with them. Archaeologists in the 1960s uncovered a seashell at the site of a former earth lodge village at Huff in Morton County -- a shell normally found in the Pacific Northwest, according to Fenn’s book. The discovery signaled a vast trading network.
“This was a major hub,” said Grinnell, who added that tribes in the region often traded buffalo robes for other items not local to the area.
The tribes communicated with each other through sign language, he said.
The Mandan cultivated corn, squash, beans, sunflowers and other crops along the river near where they built villages.
Women built the earth lodges. Often, 10 to 15 people lived inside each structure, Grinnell said.
“In the Mandan villages, there was always a central shrine,” he said. “They called it the arc.”
A cedar post in the middle represented the Lone Man, whom Grinnell described as “the original man,” a central figure within Mandan spirituality.
Grinnell estimated that the population of the Mandan people in the region peaked around 15,000 before white settlers arrived.
Eventually the tribe moved farther north, in part because of smallpox. Tribal members had no natural immunity when the virus first hit the area in the 1700s.
“Seventy percent of them passed away because of smallpox,” Grinnell said.
The Arikara too moved north, and eventually joined with the Mandan and Hidatsa to form the Three Affiliated Tribes.
The earth lodge villages, meanwhile, “just fell into ruin,” Grinnell said.
Ongoing tribal presence
The MHA Nation has long maintained a presence in Bismarck, as have numerous other tribes.
Some of the modern history is bleak. Hundreds of children from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and other reservations in the Dakotas and surrounding states attended the federally run Bismarck Indian School from 1907-37. The site today is known as Fraine Barracks, headquarters of the North Dakota National Guard and the state Department of Emergency Services.
The school is among one of 350 Indian boarding schools that sought to strip Native American children of their Indigenous culture. The topic has garnered significant attention in recent years with the discovery of mass graves of children at several former schools in North America. The U.S. Interior Department has commissioned a report on the matter.
The five federally recognized tribes in North Dakota formed United Tribes Technical College in 1969, and the Bismarck campus offers numerous degree programs to Native American students.
MHA Chairman Mark Fox estimated that 1,500 tribal members live in Bismarck, making their presence in the capital city larger than the population of some of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation's own segments.
Upon taking office, he said, he heard complaints from tribal members living off the reservation that they felt displaced.
“They felt like you had to come back to the reservation and become a resident here to be able to enjoy the things the tribe had put into place,” he said.
He sought to address that issue, providing money distributions, assisted living expenses, insurance and home ownership programs for tribal members regardless of where they live. The tribe has opened the Sage Coulee Outreach and Wellness Facility and the Good Road Recovery Center in north Bismarck in recent years.
Tribal members might choose to leave the reservation for the capital city for work or education, Fox said.
“A lot of them have wanted to move away from the reservation but still be near home. The natural place is Bismarck-Mandan,” he said. “They’re away enjoying some of the things city life can offer, but they’re close enough to drive back in a day.”
Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com.
“A lot of them have wanted to move away from the reservation but still be near home. The natural place is Bismarck-Mandan. They’re away enjoying some of the things city life can offer, but they’re close enough to drive back in a day.”
-- Mark Fox
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Retiring Brevard health administrators Stahl reflects on four decades in public health
Maria Stahl's four decades in public health started and ended with the biggest medical crises of the times.
When she began as a public health nurse in the 1980s, HIV and AIDS was ravaging the country. Now, as the chief administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Brevard, Stahl is stepping down just as the United States is about to pass the 1 million death mark from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The last two years have been stressful," Stahl told FLORIDA TODAY, on her next-to-last day in office, with a wry smile.
It's not an expression of hers many may be familiar with.
Often, public health officials serve with little public recognition. But during the height of the pandemic, Stahl became a familiar, serious face, appearing regularly on county Facebook Live broadcasts, updating residents with COVID-19 data, encouraging people to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for face coverings, social distancing, hand hygiene and vaccines.
These were often difficult messages to sell.
Looking back on it, Stahl said that navigating the coronavirus pandemic was among the biggest challenges of her career because the nation was divided on everything from face masks to getting vaccinated.
In one key local action early in the pandemic, the Brevard County Policy Group, of which she was a member, voted 5-4 to close county beaches from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays through Sundays as a way to help curb the spread of COVID-19 — only to have their vote reversed the next day, after the majority of Brevard County Commission expressed opposition to that plan.
Stahl supported the beach closings.
"The 5-4 split doesn't surprise me," Stahl said in an interview with FLORIDA TODAY, on the day before her tenure as FDOH-Brevard administrator would end. "We are split as a country."
As head of the state department in Brevard, Stahl oversaw the 360 employees of the FDOH-Brevard at its offices in Melbourne, Titusville and Viera. She has worked at the agency since 1995, including as administrator since 2016.
Before that, Stahl worked at the Erie County Health Department and at Erie County Medical Center, both in Buffalo, New York, the city where she was born.
Stahl officially retired on Thursday, and Lake County's DOH administrator/health officer, Aaron Kissler, is temporarily filling the position while the state continues its search for Stahl's successor.
Brevard County Emergency Management Director John Scott — who appeared with Stahl on many of the COVID-19 Facebook Lives — said Stahl "has been a trusted and reliable partner during times of emergencies, whether it was during activations for hurricanes or for the COVID pandemic response. Brevard County Emergency Management has always had a good working relationship with FDOH-Brevard, and Maria has been one of the main driving forces behind that."
Trending higher:COVID-19 cases on Space Coast double since last Florida Health Department report
Stahl said she has been most proud of some of the things less visible to the general public she and her department have worked on. That includes various community partnership to address prenatal and infant care; working to decrease maternal and infant mortality; and securing funding to help start a Nurse-Family Partnership program in Brevard.
The board and staff of the Space Coast Health Foundation worked closely with Stahl and the FDOH-Brevard on numerous issues to improve the health of Brevard residents over the years. She was given a special recognition by the foundation's board at its April meeting.
“Maria served on the foundation’s first grant committee to a develop a process to assist uninsured women who were experiencing abnormal uterine bleeding," said Johnette Gindling, president and chief executive officer of the Space Coast Health Foundation.
“In addition, Maria served on the foundation’s Pickett Responsive Grant Committee and the Health Advisory Council," Gindling said. "Her service on these committees allowed for a collaborative approach to enhancing health for Brevard County residents.”
Stahl also has been an adjunct instructor since 2008 at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing.
One thing Stahl said she would like to see worked on further locally is finding ways to deal with the opioid crisis.
"There definitely needs to be more work in Brevard County on opioid prevention," Stahl said. "There is some money, but it is a lot for treatment. I think we have take it one step further — go into more prevention."
Stahl, who will be 65 in July, said her decision to retire at this time is a personal one that will allow her to spend with her family, as well as do more traveling within the United States and in Europe.
"I've truly enjoyed being part of the Department of Health," she said. "I've enjoyed working in Brevard County. I love Brevard County. I've been a resident here for 27 years, and I'm staying here."
Stahl came under media scrutiny at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, when it was reported that she had gone on a previously planned cruise, and had to self-isolate when she returned.
CDC guidelines change:New CDC COVID-19 guidelines ease need for wearing face masks in public in Brevard
Stahl was performing her regular duties remotely when she was returned from the cruise. She now says she believes the situation related to the cruise was unnecessarily blown out of proportion, noting that Brevard County had no reported COVID-19 cases at the time she took her cruise.
Stahl declined to get specifically into the politics surrounding the Florida Department of Health, or Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointment in September of Dr. Joseph Ladapo as surgeon general and head of the FDOH, an appointment that has divided the medical community.
Stahl said her office — like the counterparts in Florida's other 66 counties — takes direction from Tallahassee.
"We are 1/67 of the pie," Stahl said. "It's the governor's right to put the surgeon general in there that he feels comfortable with. We are a state agency, and we don't make policies (in Brevard). We follow policies" from the state DOH leadership in Tallahassee.
"Our legislators and our governor are the ones that make the laws, and the state agencies develop the procedures" to comply with the laws, Stahl said. "We don't make the policies. We enforce the policies."
Stahl was in the state's Deferred Retirement Option Program, but could have stayed in the job longer than now, under the program's rules. But Stahl said she let her boss in Tallahassee — the deputy secretary for county health systems — know in August of her plans to retire, and formally confirmed that in January.
Still, she is not surprised the job has not yet been filled, given past history.
"It's a pretty long process," Stahl said.
Stahl, for example, was promoted from nursing services director to administrator at FDOH-Brevard in November 2016, after the position was vacant for a year, following the November 2015 retirement of her predecessor, Dr. Heidar Heshmati. The FDOH administrator from Indian River County temporarily ran both Indian River and Brevard's FDOH operations during that time.
That was actually Heshmati's second retirement from the post. He initially retired in 2010, but later applied for his own vacancy and was rehired. (Stahl filled in as interim administrator from March to August 2010.)
Stahl said she has no plans to reseek her position in the future, as Heshmati did.
"You never say never," Stahl said when asked about that possibility. "But probably not."
Stahl said Kissler will work out of Brevard County part of the week and out of Lake County part of the week until Stahl's successor is in place. He did similar double-duty recently while there was a vacancy in the FDOH administrator post in Volusia County.
Stahl said she is not getting involved in the hiring process for her successor. The decision on that will be up to the surgeon general, with concurrence from the Brevard County Commission after the person is selected.
But Stahl has this initial advice for her successor: "The biggest thing is we live in a wonderful county, and we live in a county that has great community collaboration. So the first thing would be to definitely continue working with the community partners and community collaboration on all health and wellness initiatives."
Additionally, Stahl said the new Brevard health administrator should know that "we have wonderful employees. So get to learn and know each employee, and the great things that they do for our community."
Dr. Jeffrey Stalnaker, chief clinical officer at Health First Inc., Brevard's largest health care provider, said Stahl "has committed her life and career to improving the health and wellness of Brevard citizens for over 25 years — culminating in the recent COVID-19 pandemic."
On behalf of Health First, Stalnaker thanked Stahl "for her partnership and collaboration, and her shared vision for creating a stronger and healthier Brevard. While her leadership will be missed by many, we are pleased that she has strongly positioned the Department of Health in Brevard to continue its vital mission.”
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.
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Career steps
These were Maria Stahl's positions at the Florida Department of Health-Brevard:
2016-2022: Administrator/health officer
2010-2016: Nursing services director
2003-2010: Executive community health nursing director (and also was interim administrator from March to August 2010)
2000-2003: Assistant community health nursing director/school health coordinator
1998-2000: Senior community health nursing supervisor/school health coordinator
1997-1998: Nursing program specialist/tuberculosis program coordinator
1995-1997: Senior community health nurse
PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS
1982-1994: Public health nurse for the Erie County Health Department in Buffalo, New York
1979-1982: Team leader/staff nurse for the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York
ACADEMIC DEGREES
2014: Doctor of Nursing Practice, University of Central Florida
2008: Master of Science in Nursing, University of Central Florida
1979: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Buffalo
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DALLAS — Two people were killed and three others injured in a shooting in Deep Ellum early Friday morning, and everyone involved in the shooting has been taken into custody, police said.
The shooting happened in the 2800 block of Elm Street around 2 a.m. as clubs and bars were letting out for the night, executive assistant chief Albert Martinez said in a news conference.
Martinez said the incident happened as a crowd had gathered near a barbecue truck at Elm and Crowdus.
Police believe an interaction happened between about four people; shots were then immediately fired, Martinez said.
Five people were shot, and two were killed, according to preliminary information gathered by police at the scene.
Martinez said no suspects were at large, though it was unclear who were the shooters and the victims. No arrests had been announced, but Martinez said everyone involved in the shooting was in custody.
"We believe this incident is isolated here," Martinez said.
Martinez said the shooting was captured on surveillance video and that investigators will be reviewing the footage.
Israel Herrera, the police division chief over Deep Ellum, said investigators are still trying to figure out what started the initial interaction that led to the shooting. Herrera said officers were stationed in the area as part of their regular duties in Deep Ellum and that police responded to the shooting within seconds.
"You have incidents like this where people have no regard for other people's safety," Martinez said. "And they start shooting weapons and they don't care who's in the way."
Watch the full news conference here:
What witnesses saw and heard
Evelyn Logan, who works at the Logan's Original BBQ truck near the shooting, said she was taking orders when she heard five shots fired, and then heard another seven rounds.
Logan took cover under the truck. When the shooting ended, Logan could see shell casings and a weapon near her.
Glenn Logan, who also works at the barbecue stand, said there were "so many shots going on."
"Everyone ducked trying to get out of the way," Glenn Logan said. "It was crazy."
Deep Ellum safety
The shooting Friday came amid recent concerns over safety and crowds in the Deep Ellum area.
A shooting in April injured two people. Meanwhile, police and Deep Ellum Foundation leaders have taken proactive measures to keep the area safer, including cameras that view all areas of the entertainment district; a command center that includes security officers watching live cameras and also serves as a hub for police, code compliance and Dallas Fire-Rescue; and the re-launching of rideshare "flow zones" to help improve traffic and congestion.
This is a developing story. Check back for more information throughout the morning.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-shooting-2-killed-3-others-injured-in-deep-ellum-shooting-victims-early-friday-2800-elm-street/287-b306171b-ad25-4046-a773-c57a6b65acb6
| 2022-05-13T12:56:44
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FORT WORTH, Texas — It’s been five years.
“Sometimes it feels like it’s been five years,” Tracy Matheson said. “Sometimes, it feels like it’s been five days, and then sometimes it feels like 500 years.”
On April 10, 2017, Matheson got a phone call from her daughter’s boss. Molly Matheson hadn’t shown up for her shift at work.
“It was concerning,” Tracy Matheson said. “She was supposed to be there at [1 p.m.]. Molly was usually early.”
Matheson said she called a friend who lived across the street from her daughter's garage apartment in Fort Worth. The friend told her Molly’s car was parked outside. Tracy Matheson immediately got in her car and drove there.
The door was unlocked, so she went inside.
When Tracy Matheson didn’t see her daughter, she went around to the backyard to call her name and keep looking until she realized she hadn’t checked Molly’s bathroom.
“That’s where I found her body … on the floor of her shower,” Tracy Matheson told WFAA.
It’s a moment she said will be etched in her memory forever.
In March, almost five years after Molly was found, Reginald Kimbro pled guilty to raping and killing 22-year-old Molly Jane Matheson. His trial was scheduled for March 22 after being delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tracy Matheson and her family got the news just days before.
“I received word the Wednesday prior that he was willing to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for life with no parole and no appeals,” Matheson said. “This kind of resolution was really the best resolution … one we really hadn’t considered."
Kimbro also pled guilty to raping and killing 36-year-old Megan Getrum, who went missing from Plano just days after Molly Matheson was murdered. He also pled guilty to four other sexual assaults involving women in other Texas counties.
“There was an admission of guilt for all the cases,” Tracy Matheson said. “That was really important that everyone was included in that.”
Matheson said Kimbro and her daughter had been in a relationship in the past. She added that she’d even met him once when he came to her house.
After Molly’s and Megan’s death, Tracy Matheson started digging. She found a pattern. She found what WFAA discovered in 2019 during an investigation into multiple sexual assault accusations against Kimbro years before he murdered Molly that never resulted in an arrest.
Timeline Kimbro sexual assault investigation:
“When I kind of pieced all of that together, I was like ‘Wait, she could be alive had someone done their job. Had someone believed,’” Tracy Matheson said.
Tracy Matheson also researched and became an expert on how sexual assault is handled in the criminal justice system, which she called “broken,” as well as how victims are treated once they come forward with their stories.
“Sexual assault is treated very poorly within the system and beyond the system,” Tracy Matheson told WFAA. “We, as a community, as a society, do not support the victims of sexual assault the way that we should."
So, she got to work.
Matheson created Project Beloved to educate and advocate for victims of sexual assault. There are a number of initiatives the organization started, in addition to advocacy work.
The group has installed dozens of soft interview rooms in law enforcement offices across the country so survivors have a comfortable space to tell their stories, which is the first step in getting justice in prosecuting their attackers.
Project Beloved also creates bundles to gift to survivors who have to go through the process of getting tested for a rape kit. The bundles include clothes to change into and other comfort items.
There's also a scholarship for social work students at the University of Arkansas, where Molly attended before moving back to Ft. Worth.
“We’ve awarded six scholarships in the amount of $2,200 each in honor of her 22 years," Matheson said.
Over the years, Matheson said she's heard from survivors who've received a bundle and even law enforcement who've seen the difference in the victim interview process while using the soft interview rooms.
“It makes me feel good," Matheson said. "It's kind of a wink...maybe a wink from Molly that we're on the right track. That the work we're doing is mattering."
Kimbro's sentencing closed a chapter for Matheson and her family.
“I don’t live in that limbo state any longer, and that feels good," Matheson said. "That I don’t have to go to sleep at night and wonder what it’s going to be like...how is it going to end…you know that kind of thing. That’s really good.”
Now, she has more room to fully dive into her next chapter: fighting for the end of stories like Molly's.
Victim impact statements
On Tuesday, March 22, the families of victims gave impact statements. Dozens of people gathered in the courtroom, and an overflow courtroom, to hear what the victims and families had to say to Kimbro.
You can watch the impact statements on WFAA's YouTube page here:
“I honestly have nothing to say to you,” said David Matheson, Molly's father. “You don’t exist. You don’t occupy any space in my head. You never will. You are the definition of a coward.”
Tracy Matheson said she will "spend the rest of my days making sure that this battle is won," referring to the conversation about sexual assault and empowering the voices of victim's voices.
Diane Getrum, Megan’s mother, held up a picture of her daughter for the courtroom to see. She told stories of her daughter’s adventures and her missed opportunities and ended by telling Kimbro that her life is too short to spend any more time focusing on him.
"Our decision to accept your guilty plea, allowing you to avoid the death penalty, has absolutely nothing to do with mercy. You have done nothing to deserve that. Instead, it has everything to do with silencing your voice. No longer will you be able to sit behind the lie of innocence," Tracy Matheson told Kimbro as she looked him in the eyes. "The light – Molly’s brilliant, joy-filled, bright light – will shine over the darkness brought by your cowardly decisions. … Her light is the fuel for the revolution.”
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/molly-jane-matheson-fort-worth-rape-murder/287-7be4ab75-40be-4d09-94e7-33549782da0e
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Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
John Musick, airline pilot
John Musick, 83, a pilot who retired from United Airlines in 1998 after 34 years with the company, died April 18 at a hospital in Fairfax County, Va. The cause was respiratory failure, said a son, James Musick.
Mr. Musick, who lived in Oakton, Va., was born in Holston, Va. At United Airlines, he had been flight engineer, flight instructor and commercial pilot. He retired as a captain aboard a Boeing 747-400.
Duane Shank, writer, policy adviser
Duane Shank, 70, a former community organizer and anti-nuclear activist who from 1995 to 2014 was a writer and policy adviser to the social justice publication Sojourners, died April 20 at his home in Goshen, Ind. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said a daughter, Celeste Kennel-Shank.
Mr. Shank was born in Chambersburg, Pa. In a gesture of protest against the Vietnam War, he refused to register for the draft when he turned 18 in 1970 and was arrested. He served a night in jail and several years on probation, his family said. He lived in Washington from 1973 to 2015 before moving to Indiana.
Edward Willim III, NIH accountant
Edward Willim III, 89, an accountant who worked about 30 years for the National Institutes of Health before retiring in 1991, died March 20 at a nursing home in Herndon, Va. The cause was complications from covid-19, said his daughter Stephanie Willim-Ostmann.
Mr. Willim, a Herndon resident, was born in Newark, Del., and raised in Washington.
Zina Bleck, theater director
Zina Bleck, 60, a program analyst at the Federal Aviation Administration who helped promote community theater in Northern Virginia, directing and acting in dozens of plays and founding the Arlington theater company Zemfira Stage, died March 26 at her companion’s home in Hyattsville, Md. The cause was a cardiovascular disease, said her companion, Leonard Hughes.
Ms. Bleck was born in California and grew up in Los Angeles. After moving to the Washington area to work for Northrop Grumman, she joined local theater groups including the Reston Community Players. She was later the artistic director of Castaways Repertory Theatre in Woodbridge, and became known for discovering talented but inexperienced actors and casting them without regard to race, gender or disability.
“She took an Air Force colonel with no experience other than a small part in her ‘Camelot’ and cast him as the lead in ‘Godspell,’ and he was incredible,” said Hughes, a former Washington Post editor and theater reviewer. “She cast a blind woman as a lead in ‘The Producers,’ and she brought down the house.”
— From staff reports
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/community-deaths/2022/05/13/9c109452-d1f7-11ec-9999-54ff927c8249_story.html
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-shot-killed-in-crashed-suv/3238077/
| 2022-05-13T13:13:34
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-shot-killed-in-crashed-suv/3238077/
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A man was found gunned down in a crashed SUV overnight in the latest incident of a shooting where the victim was found dead in a vehicle in a Philadelphia neighborhood.
Police rushed to the 400 block of West Sedgley Avenue, near Venango Street, in North Philadelphia just after 11 p.m. Thursday initially for a car crash call, investigators said. They found a man slumped over in the driver's seat of a Volkswagen SUV that crashed into a fence.
Officers quickly realized the driver had been shot at least once in the head, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
The SUV had hopped a curb and crashed into the fence. There were multiple bullet holes in the passenger side and driver's side of the SUV, Small said.
The officers broke a window to get into the locked car, Small said. They scooped up the unresponsive man and rushed him to the hospital where he later died.
Police found evidence that at least six shots had been fired about 150 feet up the road. They also found a broken handgun.
A second person showed up at a local hospital a short time later, Small said. Police were working to figure out if that person was in some way involved in the Sedgley Avenue shooting.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Police gave no motive for the shooting.
This shooting comes on the heels of other recent deadly shootings of people in cars, including a man shot near a Philly park earlier this week and a man shot near a rec center back in March.
Entering Friday, at least 171 were killed in Philadelphia in 2022. That is down about 10% from the same date last year, which ended being the deadliest on record in the city.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-police-find-man-shot-to-death-in-crashed-suv/3238044/
| 2022-05-13T13:13:41
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-police-find-man-shot-to-death-in-crashed-suv/3238044/
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Black-Eyed Susan riverboat: Partial repairs OK'd to make it Snow Hill 'tourist attraction'
Snow Hill's Black-Eyed Susan riverboat will undergo partial repairs.
Town Council members voted 2-1 Tuesday night in favor of committing to repairs that would allow the stern-wheel paddleboat to stay in service at a reduced capacity while officials seek additional funding for a full restoration.
The move will preserve the boat's purpose "as a tourist attraction and economic driver for the Lower Eastern Shore," according to a Thursday news release from Town Manager Rick Pollitt.
The town purchased the riverboat in 2020 using a combination of grant money and loans from the county and state. The Black-Eyed Susan was then in year four of a five-year mandated U.S. Coast Guard inspection routine, the release explained.
Voyages started in August 2021 with Washington's Inc. as the operator responsible for catered cruises along the Pocomoke River.
The Black-Eyed Susan was then taken in February to Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk for an extensive inspection that revealed multiple issues with the hull, hydraulics system and paddlewheel frame, according to the release. Repairs were estimated at more than $600,000, a price tag outside the town budgetary means.
Background:As Snow Hill's new riverboat gets 'extensive delays,' town issues voyage deposit refunds
More:Shrimp are migrating to Maryland waters. Will they find balance in blue crab domain?
More:Virginia Shore residents may start getting new telephone area code
At the town's request, the Coast Guard also provided an option for the riverboat to be a floating, docked venue without river cruises, the release showed, at a cost of over $300,000.
Consultation with legal counsel determined it would also be expensive for the town to try to sell the Black-Eyed Susan on the open market. The sale would involve varying degrees of loan and grant obligations and have lingering effects for future grant opportunities, according to the release.
As the town explored its options, Washington's Inc. was released from the lease agreement because the boat was not sea-worthy as the contract required.
The mayor and Town Council held a special session on the Back-Eyed Susan, the release stated, and provided other opportunities at regularly-scheduled meetings for community members to offer their input, with support mixed.
The limited repairs council members voted Tuesday to commit to are expected to take about a month to complete.
"As Proprietress of Chanceford Hall, we are excited to have the Black-Eyed Susan return to her home on the Pocomoke River in Snow Hill. Seeing this vessel docked in our little town evokes momentous emotion and provides hope that Snow Hill will continue to prosper. As a unique attraction, the Black-Eyed Susan increases visitors to our area on the Eastern Shore and we believe that as it grows in popularity and recognition, it will continue to help introduce new people to the charm that Snow Hill has to offer,” Mayor Jennifer Jewell said in a statement.
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https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/05/13/snow-hill-repairs-black-eyed-susan-riverboat/9747056002/
| 2022-05-13T13:22:00
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https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/05/13/snow-hill-repairs-black-eyed-susan-riverboat/9747056002/
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A 24-year-old woman walking with her 4-year-old son was blindsided by a stranger who grabbed her hair from behind and dragged her and the boy to the ground before ripping a $6,500 chain from her neck in a daylight attack last week, cops say.
The mother and child were walking on Grand Concourse around 5:20 p.m. last Wednesday when the man sneaked up from behind, police said Friday as they shared details on the case in hopes of finding the person responsible.
Once the two were on the ground, the man grabbed the chain from the woman's neck, then sped off on a green moped. He was last seen moving southbound on Grand Concourse.
The victim and her son had some scratches to their hands and knees after the attack but didn't need medical attention at the scene, police said.
Authorities released surveillance footage of the attacker (above). Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-on-moped-blindsides-nyc-mom-young-son-in-violent-6500-chain-snatch-cops/3686411/
| 2022-05-13T13:22:01
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-on-moped-blindsides-nyc-mom-young-son-in-violent-6500-chain-snatch-cops/3686411/
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Cops are looking for three people who attacked a man in midtown Manhattan early Sunday morning -- first with BB guns and then, unusually enough, with mops and brooms.
Around 1 a.m. Sunday, a 39-year-old man was in the 100 block of West 37th Street when an SUV pulled up and its occupants, two men and a woman, opened fire with BB guns.
The victim was struck above the eye with a pellet and fled into a nearby pizza parlor.
The shooters gave chase into the slice joint, cops say, and began throwing brooms and mops at the victim. They missed, and the attackers then fled the shop and drove off.
The victim was treated at the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips on the Crime Stoppers website WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/midtown-bb-gun-drive-by-ends-with-flying-mops/3686272/
| 2022-05-13T13:22:09
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/midtown-bb-gun-drive-by-ends-with-flying-mops/3686272/
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Police are looking for a group of people who broke a door and barged into a New York City Raymour & Flanigan store and destroyed electronics and furniture, ultimately causing about $50,000 in damage, authorities say.
The suspects broke into the store on Exterior Avenue in the Bronx around 8:40 p.m. Sunday and unleashed their destructive tirade once inside, according to police.
No injuries were reported, but surveillance footage shows the damage was extensive. One suspect is seen at one point taking some kind of tool and trying to smash the camera as others continue destroying items in the store, video shows.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Copyright NBC New York
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-group-wreaks-50000-havoc-in-raymour-flanigan-store/3686286/
| 2022-05-13T13:22:16
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WARSAW, Poland — Tatiana Zhuravka shuffles out from room 702 to collect medicine to ease her weary nerves and fractured back. The 74-year-old arrived here in April, after spending a month and a half in her church basement while Russian troops bombed her city.
Up two floors in room 911, hairstylist Viktoriia Iordatii snips away at Irina Semenova’s hair, while their sons play together on the bed. Iordatii’s scissors and clippers are new, gifted to her by strangers that she and her son stayed with after crossing the border. Her old tools had to be left behind while fleeing her home.
On the fifth floor, six-year-old Vladik and seven-year-old Kiril lean out an open window.
“Slava Ukraini!” the two shout to the parking lot below.
Glory to Ukraine.
This is the Best Western Hotel Felix in Warsaw, where the rooms teem with life and the hallways serve as town squares. It’s the temporary home of 160 Ukrainian refugees, one of the many hotels, shelters and strangers’ houses across Europe enlisted to combat the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
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Rooms in this hotel are rented by a travel agency located 5,020 miles away, in Lincoln — a travel agency that transformed itself into a humanitarian aid organization overnight.
It is the makeshift headquarters of Operation Safe Harbor Ukraine, a Nebraska-founded project raising money and sending volunteers to help keep refugee families safe, housed and fed.
Volunteers — most from Nebraska — support the families in ways you can count. Fifty hotel rooms filled. 315 people housed in under two months. Two meals served daily. 21 plastic drawers filled with medicine. Nearly $300,000 raised so far.
But there are things here that can’t be quantified. The stories shared between mothers from opposite sides of the world. The secret handshakes and hugs exchanged by children who make these hallways their playground. Any small distraction from Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine — an invasion that has endangered and upended the lives of the people sheltering in this hotel.
“Nebraskans have huge hearts,” said Brian Wallingford, a volunteer from Lincoln who helped establish the hotel shelter. “We're known for helping your neighbor, whether you know your neighbor or not. Our neighbors just happen to be halfway across the world.”
When the violence in Ukraine began, Steve Glenn watched it unfurl through his TV in Nebraska. Millions of people were fleeing the country, most ending up in Poland.
The former Husker football player and Lincoln business owner felt compelled to help. He thought about writing a check. It didn’t feel like enough.
For 36 years, Glenn has negotiated hotel rates for companies and clients as the owner of Executive Travel. Why not do the same for Ukrainian refugee families?
Working his travel industry contacts, Glenn secured a discounted rate at the Best Western in Warsaw — 50 rooms, $50 a night.
Then Glenn handed his credit card to Wallingford.
“Get it booked,” he said to the eight-year employee. “We’re going to do this.”
With that, Wallingford and coworker Whitney Holcomb went from working in travel to international humanitarian aid.
For two weeks, Wallingford called every Polish organization and nonprofit he could find. He went online, posting on the Warsaw forum of Reddit.com: “I’m coming to rent a hotel for Ukrainians, anyone interested in helping?”
Seventeen people messaged him, people from as far away as the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. They wanted to help.
He found Warsaw locals willing to assist. Polish speakers who called around to restaurants, churches and nonprofits, explaining Operation Safe Harbor’s aims. People who pulled together lists of nearby grocery stores, pharmacies, hospitals and donation centers. Others who volunteered to help translate conversations at the hotel between English-speaking volunteers and Ukrainian families.
By April, Wallingford, Holcomb and Tamara Forbes stood in their newly-rented hotel in Warsaw, shaking hands and greeting the first 48 families.
The families’ paths to the Best Western varied widely. Some spent hours on buses and trains, not knowing their final destination when they boarded in Ukraine. Others walked dozens of miles to enter Poland on foot, or drove through other countries before finding shelter here.
All arrived having lost something. They left behind family members, pets, homes.
The Executive Travel volunteers spent their early days dashing to the pharmacy and carting families back and forth from the hospital. They made sandwiches out of the trunk of a rented car, knocking on all 50 hotel room doors to make sure every family got fed.
Room 118 — Lincolnite Wallingford’s room — became a makeshift corner store, with every possible surface, even his bed, piled high with toothbrushes, diapers, water bottles and donated clothes. At all hours of the day, families would knock.
Sometimes, they were in search of medicine or snacks.
Other times, they sought a shoulder to cry on.
“No one will ever know the heartbreak I feel for them,” said Wallingford, who returned to Warsaw a second time on Friday. “All they will ever know from me is love, safety, security and strength. During the day, everything was thrown into a box. And that box didn't open up until my door was shut and locked at night.”
Now, in early May, the hotel has fallen into something of a routine — breakfast in the morning, where families and volunteers greet each other in the hotel restaurant. Mothers going in and out of the newly installed laundry room on the eighth floor. Trips to Warsaw parks, zoos and museums.
There are no more late-night knocks on the door to room 118, Wallingford’s old room. An eighth-floor storage room is the new corner store, the hub of hotel activity.
Moments of chaos spring up daily. Volunteer doctors come to visit and the eighth floor hallway fills with families clamoring to be seen. A translation app misses the mark on what someone is trying to say, spitting out “cat for clothes rain” in English when someone asks for laundry detergent in Russian. Cooped-up children color on the hotel walls. They sometimes make noise too late into the night.
Life in the hotel can be messy and complicated. But what humanitarian crisis isn’t?
On the ninth floor, a white fluffy dog named Mia flits through the hall with a gaggle of kids trailing behind. The sound of a lone violin floats from room 908. Matvii Pakholkova refused to leave Kiev without his instrument. His father is now on the frontlines in Ukraine. If he were old enough, the 13-year-old would have stayed.
Katerina Oliinyk watches a Zoom class through her phone in room 623. Her teachers are still in Ukraine. Her classmates are scattered across the world. Downstairs in the hotel kitchen, her mother Olena washes dishes, saving up Polish zlotys so they can afford to leave and stay with friends in Croatia.
On the eighth floor, Mandy Haase-Thomas, a volunteer from Lincoln, uses a translation app on her phone to match a Ukrainian woman’s symptoms with the right medication. The drawers of donated over-the-counter drugs have labels with a mixed bag of languages — Polish, German, Arabic — that neither the volunteers nor the refugee families speak.
At the same time, Don Hutchens and Tara Knuth, also from Lincoln, help to hand out meals. Sasha Yurievna runs up with her phone: “Let me help you,” the translation app reads. The 14-year-old takes over, asking families in Russian how many meals they need and if they would like soup and fruit.
Every group since the original trio that traveled to Warsaw has brought something new to the world of the hotel, Wallingford said. One focused on finding a consistent food source. Another held talent shows and treated the women to hair and nail appointments, trying to bring a dose of humanity to this hotel and to the families’ lives.
“They made them feel like life was going back to normal,” Wallingford said. “That they can disappear from their worries for a minute and focus on themselves and feel happy again.”
In April, President Joe Biden announced that the United States would allow 100,000 Ukrainians into the country. Glenn has started lining up Lincoln businesses willing to host Ukrainian families and match them with jobs. But not every displaced Ukrainian is willing to travel so far from their homeland just yet.
He’s raised the money to keep the hotel shelter running through the end of June, and added 10 more rooms. He’d like to keep the hotel open to refugees through year’s end.
“What do we do in June? We can’t just put people out on the street. That’s not how we do things,” Glenn said. “But it seems like the more I worry, the more people respond with their generosity.”
On an evening in Warsaw, Haase-Thomas drinks tea from a hotel mug and eats pieces of chocolate off a napkin with Svitlana Pakholkova in room 908. In Kiev, Pakholkova loved to entertain. When she moves into a new Warsaw apartment at the end of May, she’ll bring with her a new serving platter. It’s a housewarming gift from Haase-Thomas.
Hutchens takes selfies with Kiril Yurievna — Hutchens wearing an “I Stand with Ukraine” pin on his University of Nebraska shirt, and Kiril wearing a matching Nebraska hat. Hutchens left his address with the 11-year-old, telling him to keep him posted on where he and his family end up.
As night falls outside room 920, Julia Deynega leans over Jonica Carlson’s hand. In 12 hours, Carlson will fly home to Lincoln. But right now, Deynega is giving her a manicure, in nail polish flecked with gold.
Deynega is the “queen of nails,” her husband tells Carlson over Facetime. He’s still in Ukraine, helping to shoot down missiles.
Mia the dog naps at their feet. The women in room 920 swap stories of their families, their pets.
Sitting on the bed, Diana, Julia’s daughter, plays a news alert out loud on her phone — eight killed by a missile strike in her hometown of Odesa. Eight dead, including a newborn baby.
Back home, hundreds of miles away, a war is still raging, no end in sight.
But in Warsaw, two women from opposite sides of the world, who only met a week ago, paint each other’s nails.
For a moment, things feel a little bit normal in a hotel that is anything but.
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/inside-the-hotel-rented-by-nebraskans-that-ukrainian-refugees-now-call-home/article_3dc3a5b1-8508-5c40-a617-d8001bf07edc.html
| 2022-05-13T13:24:53
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/inside-the-hotel-rented-by-nebraskans-that-ukrainian-refugees-now-call-home/article_3dc3a5b1-8508-5c40-a617-d8001bf07edc.html
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SHELTER VALLEY, Calif. — Digging deep into the dirt to stick posts and build 35 dog kennels near Shelter Valley, Calif. and 30 miles east of Julian.
Dog trainer Chris Jimenez, the owner and founder of K9 Connect, and his friends are trying to build the kennels quickly for the pups eager to get out of their dog carriers.
"Right now, we are making 8' x 8' x 8 feet high, so they have room to stretch their legs and all that," said Jimenez.
CBS 8 showed you last month, Jimenez in Ukraine since late February, working to get these police and military trained K-9's out of the war-torn area.
"We tried rationing out just how long we could survive there, and it was about two weeks of food that it would take to feed all of these dogs, so we made the decision that we got to go,” said Jimenez.
Through the help of his social media followers, Jimenez raised the 53,000 Euros to pay for a chartered plane for all the dogs to travel to California.
"The warzone aspect wasn't the difficult part. It was the logistics of traveling with 35 German Shepherds,” said Jimenez.
Landing at LAX last night, the dogs are ready to break free but need some TLC.
"Right now, the dogs need to go through some extensive rehab, they've been shoved in a car for hours and then shoved on a plane, and they were in bad condition when I showed up,” said Jimenez.
These German Shepherds ranging in age from 6 months to 7 years old are trained for explosive and narcotics detection and missing person searches.
Now, the find them each a home, Jimenez says it has to be the right fit and most likely, they'll go to police departments or with a government agency.
"It's a lengthy process because these dogs are so special, they just can't easily be adopted out,” said Jimenez.
WATCH RELATED: San Diego Humane Society returns from Poland after helping refugee pets (April 2022)
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/dog-trainer-rescues-35-german-shepherds-ukraine/509-1e1d7185-0951-44d0-a8d1-92835e525a00
| 2022-05-13T13:29:22
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FORT SMITH, Ark. — You could argue Julio Gomez was dealt a bad hand in life.
"When I was a little kid, no one believed in me," Gomez said. "I grew up thinking that I wasn’t worth nothing."
Poverty, abuse and crime make up the memories of his childhood. After going to jail three times, Gomez decided he needed to play his cards differently and it’s been more than two decades since his last run-in with the law. Today he’s a pastor at Iglesia Bautista Gozo de Mi Alma on Bluff Ave. in Fort Smith.
“I wasn’t planning to become a Christian or to become a pastor,” he said. “I just, I needed to stop doing drugs.”
Rough is the word Gomez uses to describe his upbringing in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
“I grew up without my dad or my mom,” he said. “I didn't [go] to school. I was abused when I was a little kid. I had to immigrate to a place that I'd never been before.”
He has nine brothers and three sisters, but four of them are dead. Instead of going to school, they learned about gangs and worked to make money to provide for their broken home.
“Since I remember, drugs and illegal stuff, it was around that family which I came into,” he explained.
He was 13 years old the first time he got in trouble with police after immigrating to Houston, Texas.
“I had to defend my mom from a man who was beating her, and he was choking her,” Gomez said.
He said he spent a year in juvenile detention. When he was 17, he married his wife Minerva.
“I didn’t stop what I was doing, so I brought her into my world,” he said.
Police arrested Gomez in 1994 for smuggling and again in 2000 on a marijuana charge.
“We got pulled over and, and they found the drugs, and we went to jail,” Gomez said. “This time it was different for me. In a way, it was humiliating. My wife was innocent, and no one wanted to believe that she was innocent because she was the one driving the car."
Gomez calls this moment his wake-up call. He started going to church, got baptized and a friend convinced him to share his testimony.
"I thought I was created to be a criminal, a gang member,” he said. “But I knew that I was created for something better than that. So that gave me a rush, like no other drug. I wanted to do it again. I said, man, this is great!”
Most of the community seems to embrace his transparency, but he knows some people will judge his story.
Here’s how he deals with adversity:
“The way that I deal with that mentality is not paying attention to them,” he said. “I know they will always be there. I know I can do nothing to change their mentality, but I can protect my mentality from their mentality.”
While he loves preaching to his congregation in Fort Smith, he says visiting inmates at the county jails every Friday is his most important work.
“Maybe they will listen to my story,” Gomez said. “Maybe they will appreciate what they have.”
He donates food to people in need and also has a Spanish radio station, 102.3 FM KGDA Radio Vida.
And if that wasn’t enough, he’s taking his message to another format—producing movies. Pastor Gomez is currently working on his fourth feature film called Labor Day.
Jessica Pliler is one of the actors who has loved getting to know Pastor Gomez over the past few months.
“Him telling his life stories and though so many things were set against him, he found a way to push through all of those and is still trying to help anybody that he can with no judgment or anything,” Plilar said.
Pastor Gomez wants everyone, including his cast and crew, to believe in themselves and go after their dreams. That’s what he’s doing with his second chance.
“I choose not to stay in my past,” Gomez said. “I'm gonna use my past to bring something positive out of it."
Labor Day is expected to be released on Sept. 5, 2022.
His wife Minerva Gomez has stayed by his side for more than 30 years. They have three kids together. They're all in their 20s now and say they are so proud of the person their dad has worked to become.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/former-gang-member-journey-to-becoming-pastor-filmmaker-in-fort-smith/527-f1e111f1-5c87-449a-b04c-51030e5f731e
| 2022-05-13T13:29:28
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North Canton pursues rental registration requirement for small landlords
NORTH CANTON — After nearly a decade of stops and starts, North Canton City is moving forward with a plan to require certain landlords to register their rental properties with the city.
Director of Administration Patrick DeOrio said during a council meeting this week that the registration will help protect the health and safety of residents by holding landlords accountable, while some council members said the registration would help the city ensure that all residents are paying appropriate local taxes.
"It's about the health, safety and welfare," DeOrio said. "It's incidental to me that we're going to find out about income tax. It's incidental to me that I'm going to find tenants that are running businesses out of these apartments. It's going to be incidental to me that the property values are increased."
Council voted 5-2 in favor of the second reading of the legislation. It would require property owners with eight or fewer units on their premises to apply for a renewable rental license from the city with a fee of $100 for single units, $150 for two units, $200 for three units and $50 per unit for owners with more than three units.
Prior to issuing a license, inspections would be required and would be carried out by SAFEBuilt, which the city already contracts with for various building permit and code enforcement services. Landlords can undergo up to three inspections to receive the license, with chances to remediate any violations between each inspection.
'The fees are nominal for crying out loud.'
The duration of the rental license — and thereby the need for repeat inspections — depends on the number of violations found during the inspection phase of the licensure process. For instance, property owners who are found to have fewer than two violations will receive a three-year license, while those with more than nine violations will be able to get only a six-month license.
"The fee is paid every time a landlord applies for, or renews, a license and the term of the license is based on the number of violations at the third inspection (if the property needs three inspections)," council Clerk Ben Young said. "The hope is that by giving landlords the opportunity to correct violations before they negatively impact the license term, most issues, especially minor ones, can be resolved quickly without any penalties."
Proponents of the legislation on council said the registration will help them to know how many rentals are in the city and where they're located, which could help them determine whether local taxes were being paid. The inspection data could help determine if there are certain needs in rentals that the city could help with, such as lead or asbestos abatement.
"I manage properties from my parents — they're getting up there in age — and I for one am totally fine with a little bit of extra scrutiny and a fee," Ward 1 Councilman Jamie McCleaster said. "I think it makes everybody safe. I think it proves that the quality of the house is there. I mean the fees nominal for crying out loud."
Realtors oppose registration, claim it is 'not needed'
In North Canton, about 35% of housing is renter occupied, accounting for nearly 2,600 units and with a median rent of $834. The other 65%, or 4,800 units, are owner-occupied, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Rental owners are currently required to file their properties with the county, but at-large council member Daryl Revoldt said few do, and even then the county only requires contact information about the property, not inspections. He said the council randomly selected 15 of the 100 North Canton rentals registered with the county and found that three of them had nuisances recorded in the last three years.
Kayla Atchison, governmental affairs director for Stark Trumbull Area Realtors, said her organization feels the legislation will discourage renters and discourage people from becoming landlords.
"Obviously it increases costs to landlords, and more likely than not that those costs are going to have to be shifted in order to make doing business, as in operating units, profitable,” Atchison said.
She said she would prefer to see the city stick to external inspections only and enforce current ordinances regarding noise complaints or other tenant-driven complaints to manage housing.
"If there's issues with the exterior, then there probably are issues within the interior," Atchison said.
Both the Realtors group and the two council members who voted against the proposal took issue with its limited scope in applying only to landlords with eight units or fewer. Council members John Orr and David Metheney both said they were supportive of rental registration overall, but would like to see it applied to all rental owners equally.
DeOrio said that at the current funding and staffing levels in the enforcement department, the city needs to start with the limited proposal before scaling up.
Rental registration protects tenants, advocates say
Rental registrations are not uncommon. Surrounding communities, including Akron and Youngstown, make use of them.
Community Legal Aid managing attorney Andrew Neuhauser said they’ve been useful to those communities in helping identify issues in the rental market for city governments and determine how to allocate resources.
He said that in Summit County, registration was required for landlords to receive CARES Act assistance, and landlords can't move forward with evictions unless their rentals are registered.
"We've never heard complaints from tenants that the inspection process is invading their privacy or anything like that," Neuhauser said. "In most situations, the inspections only happen if there is a complaint about the condition of the rental property."
Neuhauser said his organization, which helps low-income Ohioans access legal assistance, has fielded about 100 calls from North Canton since the start of 2021 for help with housing issues.
The ordinance will be read and voted on once more at council before it is approved.
Sam Zern can be reached at szern@cantonrep.com or 330-580-8322. You can also find her on Twitter at @sam_zern.
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/north-canton/2022/05/13/small-landlords-may-need-register-rentals-north-canton/9710469002/
| 2022-05-13T13:30:16
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Fire Department responded Friday morning to the Blue Diamond Factory in Sacramento for a small fire.
Around 2 a.m. firefighters responded to a fire in a dust collector and a holding bay. They will remain on the scene to make sure the fire is out. No injuries have been reported.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-blue-diamond-factory-fire/103-fbdccf7f-8dcb-4771-937a-1a3be6adc4ed
| 2022-05-13T13:30:42
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-blue-diamond-factory-fire/103-fbdccf7f-8dcb-4771-937a-1a3be6adc4ed
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Allentown still has nearly half of its $57 million in American Rescue Plan funding up for grabs, and Mayor Matt Tuerk has a new plan for how the city will use the money.
The city will create an $18 million “pool” for local businesses and nonprofits to apply for: $16 million of it will go to “negative economic impacts” and $2 million for public health initiatives.
That pool of money could go toward a broad variety of projects. But U.S. Treasury guidelines dictate that ARPA expenditures addressing public health or negative economic impacts should, in most cases, specifically address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city has already spent around $20 million on infrastructure and about $9 million on revenue replacement projects.
Here’s everything you need to know about the city’s plans to spend the relief dollars.
Plans have changed
Tuerk has made some changes to previously planned expenditures under former Mayor Ray O’Connell.
City Council in December approved a slew of capital expenditures requested by O’Connell, including storm sewer improvements, water main replacements and funding for a backup data center. Tuerk will not change the already approved items, but the city is changing the rest of the expenditures O’Connell planned.
O’Connell originally proposed setting aside $2.5 million for local nonprofits and planned to grant $1 million to the IronPigs minor league baseball team and $2 million to the Da Vinci Science Center.
After pushback from community activists who said not enough money was going toward grassroots nonprofits, O’Connell agreed to set aside $4 million for local nonprofits, $4.7 million in housing assistance, $3 million to tourism organizations and $3 million in assistance for small businesses.
Tuerk will grant businesses and nonprofits even more than that. But instead of breaking down exactly where the money will go, all businesses and nonprofits are eligible to apply from the same $18 million pool. The application process will mirror the process of applying for a state grant or grant though a congressperson or senator’s office.
The city is, however, scrapping a plan announced in October to explore a citywide broadband program. Allentown officials last year announced $6 million to begin a city-funded broadband program and planned to partner with Allentown-based Iota Communications to conduct a feasibility study.
Tuerk said that the October announcement was “premature” and that the city does not want to spend ARPA money on broadband because many other federally funded broadband programs already exist.
“It would be irresponsible for us to commit SLRF funds or ARPA funds that we could fund through many other means,” Tuerk said.
The city is still looking to do some revenue replacement projects, a catch-all term for city-funded improvements and initiatives, with the remaining approximately $10 million allotted to that purpose. The city already used some of it to fund a backup data center, roof replacements and a new fire academy building.
It’s considering more projects like city park improvements, repairs to the police academy building or a city-owned community building, Tuerk said.
The city has already spent its $20 million allotted to infrastructure projects, including water main and sanitary sewer line replacements, and does not plan to spend more on infrastructure at this point, Tuerk said.
Who can apply for ARPA funding?
Nonprofits and businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for money. Organizations will need to apply to the city with a detailed description of a potential project, how it would address negative COVID-19 impacts and a budget breakdown.
Projects can be broad, from addressing gun violence to tackling affordable housing to providing mental health services, but, for the most part, must address the negative impacts of COVID-19. They cannot be entirely unrelated to the pandemic — for example, an organization could not apply for funding for a standard workforce development program.
Projects will be evaluated on their need, consistency with eligible uses for the money, ability to result in quantifiable outcomes and the staff’s capacity to take on the project. The application rubric is available on the city’s website.
Though the possibilities for ARPA-funded projects are broad, Tuerk has some specifics in mind. He’s looking for proposals roughly between $100,000 and $1 million, and wants to see projects where the city is not the only entity providing funding, similar to some state or federal grant programs.
“We can’t be the sole funding source for these projects,” Tuerk said. “That’s the sort of project we’re looking for, something that has other money associated with it.”
He wants to see affordable housing projects because of the high demand for housing in the city and soaring rents in the region. The monthly price of a one-bedroom rental in Allentown skyrocketed to $1,837 this year, a 38% jump from this time last year.
ARPA money can be used for rehabilitating buildings or constructing affordable housing units, according to Tuerk.
“We know there’s a housing crisis across the Lehigh Valley and it’s acutely felt in the city of Allentown,” Tuerk said. “Projects that go to serve the needs of our community, particularly our communities most affected by COVID, are the most desirable ones, and those are myriad.”
Tuerk said a proposal from the Allentown Housing Authority is an example of the kind of project the city wants to see. The authority requested $2.7 million in ARPA money in February to help fund a $26 million renovation to the Little Lehigh public housing project, which was built in the early 1970s.
City Council delayed voting on the application because members thought there was not enough of a formal application process in place at the time.
Council also tabled an application from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for $1.5 million, which would go toward stadium improvements required by major league baseball, for the same reason.
The city is evaluating projects on a rolling basis, Tuerk said. A scoring committee of city employees will evaluate the projects via a rubric, and then pass its recommendation on to City Council, which will have the final vote.
Nonprofits or businesses interested in applying for funding can contact Tuerk’s Executive Secretary Connor Corpora at Connor.Corpora@allentownpa.gov. The city plans to begin advertising the application process on social media, Tuerk said.
Reactions to the plan
City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach still feels the process is not strategic enough. Rather than evaluating projects on a rolling basis, the city should have developed a specific, targeted strategy on how it will spend the extra money, she said.
“I don’t believe that it’s a best practice to piecemeal a budget together where the administration gets one proposal and another proposal, when we have no idea if the proposals will relate to each other, support one another,” Gerlach said. “I don’t think it’s wise to spend $1 million here, $2 million there, $5 million there without knowing what the full scope is and having a really comprehensive view.”
She wants to see the city take a targeted approach to address the needs of Allentownians most acutely affected by COVID. Research shows the pandemic exacerbated racial inequality in education, health care and economic status.
Tuerk said approving applications on a rolling basis affords the city increased flexibility. The city has until 2024 to allocate the funds and wants to begin funding projects as soon as possible, he said. He added that Vision 2030, a series of progressive policy proposals City Council approved in 2019, would act as a guiding plan for how the money could be spent.
“Councilperson Gerlach wanted to see a hard plan that had everything set in stone, and I think we are better off if we can be flexible,” Tuerk said.
City activists who lobbied the administration last year for more money to nonprofits and small businesses are pleased to see a larger sum set aside for that purpose.
Kim Schaffer, executive director of Community Bike Works, said her nonprofit “really appreciate[s] [Allentown’s] commitment to supporting local nonprofits who have been doing on-the-ground work to support kids and families who have been struggling.”
First Call
Dawn Godshall, director of Community Action Lehigh Valley (formerly the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley), hopes to partner with the city on affordable housing projects and a new community center for Allentown youth via American Rescue Plan money. But she wishes even more money would be available to nonprofits to fully fund projects.
“The mayor is taking this opportunity to change and fix a lot of things that need to be addressed for the city, and I understand that,” Godshall said. “I just feel like it gave a lot of nonprofits a little bit of false hope that there would be more available for things that we, as nonprofits, feel are important for the people in the community, not necessarily the aesthetics of the community.”
Justan Parker Fields, executive director of local nonprofit Change Now, was also glad to see an increase in the amount of funds available to community nonprofits. But he worried that allowing City Council to have the final say on ARPA funding could pose a conflict of interest. Several council members sit on nonprofit boards, work for nonprofits or are related to leaders of nonprofits.
“I think there’s too much conflict for City Council to make these decisions,” Parker Fields said. “I’m glad the funding’s there and I have a lot of faith in Mayor Tuerk’s administration, but I’m just a little concerned with City Council making the yay or nay vote on this.”
Council passed two ordinances in February intended to limit conflicts of interest related to ARPA funding. Council members are required to disclose any conversations they have with nonprofit leaders about American Rescue Plan money. Nonprofit leaders applying for American Rescue plan money are also prohibited from using the money to pay their own salaries or salaries of family members.
The city’s code of ethics prohibits elected officials from acting “in an official capacity on matters in which the employee or official has a private financial capacity, on matters in which the employee or official has a private financial interest clearly separate from that of the general public.”
Morning Call reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at 610-820-6681 and liweber@mcall.com.
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https://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-nws-allentown-american-rescue-plan-arpa-infrastructure-relief-nonprofit-20220513-x34dva2h7bfnjbjzxisewixfqa-story.html
| 2022-05-13T13:38:02
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https://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-nws-allentown-american-rescue-plan-arpa-infrastructure-relief-nonprofit-20220513-x34dva2h7bfnjbjzxisewixfqa-story.html
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Bismarck Historic Preservation Commission Chair Amy Sakariassen knows the importance of learning history outside of a textbook.
In past years the cultural resources specialist and North Dakota adviser for the National Trust for Historic Preservation has taken middle school students to Double Ditch Indian Village State Historic Site north of Bismarck.
“Sometimes if you take it out of the classroom and into the streets and the landscape, it makes history seem more pertinent,” she said.
Bismarck is about to take its 150-year history to the streets in a big way.
The city this weekend is launching a summer of celebration of its sesquicentennial with numerous events, beginning with the annual Band Night parade on Friday. This year's parade will include 25 school bands from around the state and 90 total participants, including the North Dakota National Guard's 188th Army Band out of Fargo, according to Eli Corbett, marketing director for organizer Eckroth Music.
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"This year is really interesting," he said. "It's Eckroth Music's 50th anniversary -- they were founded in 1972 -- and then this parade, we partnered with the city of Bismarck since it's their 150th. The Band Night parade is going to be kicking off those anniversary celebrations."
The parade starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Capitol. The route is south on North Sixth Street, west on East Avenue C, then up North Fourth Street to the Capitol. The parade dates to 1970, with Eckroth taking it over in 1992.
City officials during the parade will be handing out various informational items related to the 150th celebration, according to city spokeswoman Gloria David. They will include window clings and wooden nickels commemorating the anniversary; the latest issue of Bismarck Magazine, featuring "Hidden Hometown Heroes of History"; and a postcard with information about the weekend kickoff celebration, including QR codes people can use to access a complete schedule and get information on scavenger hunts.
Saturday -- considered to be "Founders Day" in Bismarck -- will see a slew of activities at the Event Center, including entertainment, exhibits, a barbecue and a high-tech scavenger hunt. There will be exhibits and showings of "Hometown History" films on both Saturday and Sunday. The weather should cooperate, with sunny skies and high temperatures in the 60s and 70s in the forecast.
"There is something for everyone," Event Center Director Charlie Jeske said. "We invite you to be a part of the celebration by attending events with your friends, family and neighbors.” More details are at https://bit.ly/3srY1bS.
The Tribune this weekend also is taking a look back at various parts of Bismarck's past, which is as broad as it is storied.
A special "Bismarck Looks Back" section in today's edition will include, among other things:
- a profile of a prominent family that has had a hand in decades of development
- the reflections of several former mayors
- an examination of the tribes that lived in the area before settlers arrived
- an exploration of the seedy side of frontier-era Bismarck
- a look at one city official's extensive collection of Bismarck memorabilia.
A story in Saturday's edition will detail how a small group of volunteers is tackling a big project -- breaking down the city's extensive history into a timeline.
And this weekend won't be the end of the 150th observance.
The Historic Preservation Commission has a few projects in the works that it's funding with federal grant money, according to Senior City Planner Will Hutchings.
The city has contracted with the Talking Trail mobile app tours company to install interpretive signs at 10 sites such as the Cathedral Area and Downtown historic districts. People can call a number or use a QR code to get prerecorded audio about the site. The signs should be in place by September.
The commission also is having brochures printed that people can take on walking tours of areas such as the historic districts. They'll be available at local sites and also distributed through the state Tourism Division at places such as highway rest areas.
"People really like walking maps; they like to do walking tours," Sakariassen said. "These are widely regarded as one of the most useful things for visitors and people in their own community."
The commission also plans to place banners around the city to highlight historical areas, and to create a traveling exhibit of city history to take to places such as libraries and school events -- "something that helps educate our residents about our history," Hutchings said.
That education starts this weekend, and officials hope people will take advantage. Without a historical context, some people "will never think that the community ever looked any different than it does now," Sakariassen said.
Reach News Editor Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.
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https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/history/bismarck/city-of-bismarck-tribune-launch-celebration-of-150th-anniversary/article_3ab0a61c-d0a7-11ec-9d4e-f7a955809ecb.html
| 2022-05-13T13:44:31
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ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Minnesota DNR confirmed Thursday that geese in Olmsted County were confirmed to have the Avian Flu.
"The DNR is not likely to do any additional testing and it can be expected that there may a few additional geese that pass over the coming months," the city said.
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https://www.kimt.com/news/local/avian-flu-confirmed-in-geese-tested-in-olmsted-county/article_dc9a4ffc-d2bc-11ec-a9fc-4f74ab797f2e.html
| 2022-05-13T14:08:50
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https://www.kimt.com/news/local/avian-flu-confirmed-in-geese-tested-in-olmsted-county/article_dc9a4ffc-d2bc-11ec-a9fc-4f74ab797f2e.html
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Brockton outlawed panhandling in 2019. Here's why City Council just repealed the ordinance
BROCKTON — Brockton City Council voted to remove a 2019 ordinance that outlawed panhandling in various public spaces, including busy streets, ATMs and public parks.
The purpose of the original ordinance, which passed in a unanimous 9-0 vote, was to limit the number of panhandlers around the downtown area. Anyone doing so within 25 feet of an ATM or a bank, for example, would be penalized with a fine up to $200.
"We have an issue with panhandling, especially at the mall," said City Councilor Shirley Asack of Ward 7, who chairs the ordinance committee.
The Council repealed the ordinance in light of a 2020 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that declared an anti-panhandling law in Fall River unconstitutional as it violates free speech. The ACLU of Massachusetts, who sued the City of Fall River for its panhandling law, said that the same ruling could apply to Brockton's ordinance.
Who's getting new stations?:What you need to know about the return of South Coast Rail
"We were told by the ruling of the general court that we needed to repeal it," Asack said.
The ACLU of Massachusetts had been advocating against the ordinance since it was passed in 2019. The decision to remove the ordinance in its entirety was passed to a third reading by hand vote on April 11, making it law, according to City Council meeting minutes from April 25.
“We applaud the City’s action in repealing this ordinance, which is in keeping with the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision from over a year ago reaffirming people’s free speech right to request personal charity in public spaces," said Jessica Lewis, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, in an email statement to The Enterprise. "We hope this signals the City’s commitment to respect and not burden this important right going forward.”
According to Asack, the initial ordinance was to increase public safety in the area, but was difficult for police to enforce as panhandlers could easily evade the areas before police arrived. Former Mayor of Brockton Bill Carpenter had called for more forceful enforcement of the old law to ensure "public safety."
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"What we're doing is cleaning up the city," Carpenter told The Enterprise in 2019.
Asack said there was little discussion prior to voting to repeal the law, as the Council was advised to do so by the general court following the lawsuit in Fall River. The ACLU had successfully sued the City of Cambridge over a similar law in 1997, and similar laws in Worcester and Lowell in 2015.
"That's what needed to be done, so that's what we did," Asack said of removing the ordinance.
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https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/brockton-city-council-repeals-ordinance-that-outlawed-panhandling-after-sjc-ruling-ma-fall-river/9744336002/
| 2022-05-13T14:32:01
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Amy Russo gets a wall-to-wall RI history lesson at a Colonial farmstead in Lincoln
Some of us live in towering apartment buildings, small studios or multifamily homes. John and Barbara Cullen live in a museum of sorts.
It’s a mustard-colored, two-story Colonial mansion surrounded by grassy fields and filled with antiques. Known as the Whipple-Cullen Farmstead, the house sits on Lincoln’s Old River Road, near an old limestone quarry that once excavated the same stone used in its construction.
Noteworthy is the cast of characters big and small that had a stake in the building’s ownership, many of whom were living pieces of local history.
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As John tells it, the story begins circa 1713, so long ago that Lincoln was still part of Smithfield. That’s when Eleazer Whipple, a veteran of King Philip’s War, built the home with son Job Whipple. At first glance, those names may not mean much, though John, who has taken a deep dive into their past, bills himself “an honorary Whipple” for his time spent researching.
Though, reader, you may note he is a Cullen, not a Whipple. We’ll get to that momentarily. Unsurprisingly, he is a former history major at Providence College.
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Job, having been part of the area’s iconic limestone industry, had a son, Stephen, who served in Rhode Island’s Colonial assembly on May 4, 1776, when it became the first colony to declare its independence from Great Britain. Job was also the great-grandson of Thomas Angell. According to The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, authored by genealogist John Osborne Austin and published in 1887, Angell was among a group that stayed with Roger Williams in 1636 in Seekonk, Massachusetts, shortly before Williams founded Providence.
In the late 1880s, John’s great-grandfather, an Irish immigrant also named John, acquired the farmstead, operating a family dairy there until 1940, his son Patrick going on to serve in Rhode Island’s state Senate in the 1930s. There you have John Jr.’s connection to this saga.
No, the house is not the site of any major historical events, though its ownership is dotted with individuals who were, in their own way. By 1991, after an application and an inspection, John convinced the National Register of Historical Places to recognize the building and issue it a plaque that is proudly displayed today.
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John and Barbara began advertising the bits of history on a pamphlet after they turned the farmstead into a bed and breakfast in 1993, a venture that lasted until 2005. Sometime before the couple closed up shop, a Dr. Charles Whipple Jr. of Edmond, Oklahoma, entered as a guest performing some research of his own.
Having descended from the early Whipples, Charles now oversees a massive Ancestry.com-style database of names and connections at Whipple.org.
If it proves anything, it’s that Rhode Island is smaller than you think.
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Providence Journal staff writer Amy Russo, a transplanted New Yorker, is looking for new ways to experience her adopted state. If you have suggestions for this column, email her at amrusso@providencejournal.com.
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/amys-rhode-colonial-whipple-cullen-farmstead-lincoln-ri-historical-events/7281310001/
| 2022-05-13T14:50:00
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Everything you need to know to help search for the HMS Gaspee
In 1772, merchant John Brown recruited men from a Providence tavern to silently row south on part of Narragansett Bay, board the British revenue schooner HMS Gaspee and set the custom's patrol boat on fire.
Now, 250 years later, marine archaeologist D.K. Abbass is recruiting volunteers from her Bristol laboratory to help search for the remains of the Gaspee, probably the most famous shipwreck in these waters.
Abbass is the principal investigator for the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project. The groups will lead a search this summer for whatever is left of the HMS Gaspee, which colonists burned on June 10, 1772, in protest of the British government's interference with trade in Narragansett Bay.
On Thursday afternoon, Abbass oversaw a group of three volunteers sifting through "dredge spoils" from a different shipwreck in Newport. The work is one of the types of tasks volunteers for the search for the Gaspee might do.
"I'm living a childhood fantasy of becoming an archaeologist," said Sheila Kramer, a retired Brown University administrative assistant. "This is getting into the real nitty gritty of archaeology. That's what it's about."
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Kramer talked about the thrill of finding artifacts such as buttons or clay pipes or even the remains of animals that had been carried on board a ship to be eaten by the crew.
"Those are the treasures," she said, "because it gives you a picture of their lives."
Dredge spoils are what gets caught when sediments from the bottom are vacuumed up and then screened. While investigators on-site will spot large artifacts, the volunteers are combing through the spoils for small items that might have been missed, but still could tell a big story.
Volunteers are called upon for a wide variety of tasks, from sorting dredge spoils to diving on shipwrecks.
How to join the search for HMS Gaspee
Members of the public can participate in the search for the wreck of the HMS Gaspee this summer in two ways: by observing the work when it is underway and by volunteering as a member of the team conducting the search.
250 years after colonists burned the Gaspee,no one has found the wreck. D.K. Abbass hopes to change that.
The first way is easy:
For three consecutive weeks in July, the public will be invited to the work site on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, subject to favorable weather. People don't need any special preparation. The schedule will be announced as the dates get closer.
The second way takes more of an effort:
Volunteering with the Marine Archaeology Project.
Volunteering requires two steps — three for divers, who have to get checked out for their diving qualifications.
Volunteers must join the organization, which costs $40 a year. Information is available on the group's website: www.rimap.org.
Then they must take a day-long introduction to marine archaeology class, found on the training menu under the "participate" tab on the website. The last class scheduled before the Gaspee investigation is May 22.
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/rhode-island-marine-archaeology-project-volunteers-shipwreck-hms-gaspee-search/9744427002/
| 2022-05-13T14:50:06
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LYNNWOOD, Wash. — A new study comparing the number of job openings in each state has ranked Washington last with a rate of 6% since the fourth quarter of 2021.
However, if it feels like you're still seeing a lot of "Help Wanted" signs, you are not alone. Experts say it is still an employee's market.
To break down why Washington is ranked last, labor economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman said it's not that there aren't jobs in Washington, but the growth rate compared to other states isn't as high.
"We have a lot of sectors, especially in urban Washington, that had a lot of stability kind of built in from early on," said Vance-Sherman, who works with the Employment Security Department.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Washington's leisure and hospitality industry lost 40% of its jobs in two months.
Nationally, the same industry had a job openings rate of 10.5%, which is still higher than Washington's roughly 6%.
"In Washington, we were buffered by having a very strong tech economy and a lot of workers that could do their jobs from home," said Vance-Sherman.
With an unemployment rate in Washington at 4.2%, officials in the North Sound say their businesses are struggling to find employees.
The city of Lynnwood is holding a job fair Thursday afternoon with 65 employers like Amazon, Nordstrom and the city itself, hiring for entry-level to middle management jobs.
The fair will be held at the Lynnwood Convention Center from 4-7 p.m. There will also be support for potential applicants looking for resume reviews or interview help.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-job-openings/281-29f24b03-dd13-4608-ac65-2ab946a15968
| 2022-05-13T14:53:07
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Fond du Lac foundation welcomes North Fond du Lac's Aaron Sadoff as new executive director
FOND DU LAC – A familiar face will find a new role next year as North Fond du Lac school leader Aaron Sadoff sets to transition as executive director of Fond du Lac Area Foundation.
Sadoff, superintendent of the School District of North Fond du Lac, will officially take on the role Jan. 1 after serving the school district for 13 years, according to a news release from the foundation.
The position opened after Joe Braun resigned at the end of last month, after 20 years with the foundation and four as executive director. He made this decision in favor of a different career opportunity that will give him more time for family and travel, he said in an April news release.
David Hornung, a foundation board member, stepped up to interim director during the search to replace Braun, and he will continue in the role for the rest of this year.
Sadoff is a Gulf War Veteran with a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Marian University alongside his superintendent license.
As superintendent for North Fond du Lac, he helped create the Oriole Nation Booster, which raises over $80,000 every year for students, contributing to academic, athletic, club, music and other art experiences.
During his time with the district, enrollment grew and a $29.5 million referendum funded a new elementary school and district-wide building updates. Sadoff also advocated for public influencing changes for the area and beyond and helped create a culture focused on people and the whole student, earning the Wisconsin State Superintendent of the Year award in 2019.
“We have a motto in North Fond du Lac: 'Working Together for the Success of All,'" Sadoff said in the release. "I look forward striving for this motto throughout the greater Fond du Lac community."
Formed in 1975 as a way to give back to the community, the Fond du Lac Area Foundation staffs six employees with more than 475 funds and more than $70 million in assets. Regional affiliates include the Oakfield Community Fund and Horicon Family of Funds, according to its website.
"(Sadoff's) track record of success, diverse range of personal and professional talents, and indomitable spirit make him the best fit for the organization’s continued success,” Hornung said.
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
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https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2022/05/11/aaron-sadoff-hired-fond-du-lac-area-foundation-executive-director/9729988002/
| 2022-05-13T14:55:57
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A flock of Bird scooters has landed in Fond du Lac. Here's what you need to know
FOND DU LAC – If you need a lift this summer, Fond du Lac is the latest city in the region to roll out rentable electric scooters.
The City Council approved an ordinance last month regulating the use and rental of electric scooters in Fond du Lac, and greenlit Bird Rides Inc. to bring 50 to 75 rentable scooters to the city as part of its app-based scooter sharing program.
The scooters launched Thursday, aiming to bring a flexible transportation option to city residents and visitors while replacing gas-powered car trips.
"Whether going to downtown or Lakeside Park, residents and visitors will now have a new way to get there,” City Manager Joe Moore said. “We expect the arrival of tThe scooters launched Thursday, aiming to bring a flexible transportation option to city residents and visitors while replacing gas-powered car trips.he scooters to bring economic impact to our city, with riders more likely to shop at local businesses.”
Customers can locate the nearest scooter through the Bird Rides Inc. app, rent it by the minute and leave it at their destination point, as there are no fixed locations where rides must begin and end.
The program brings no cost to the city, and a fleet manager with Bird will be responsible for charging the battery-powered scooters off-site and removing them from places that are not appropriate.
The scooters can be used anywhere in the city, whether a rider needs to get to Marian University on the east side or the industrial park on the southwest side.
However, riders must be over 18 years old, stay off the sidewalks and only ride with one person per scooter. They are also recommended to wear helmets.
First-time users can use the "warm-up" mode on the app to get used to the scooter before increasing speed, but the scooters are automatically set to a maximum speed of 15 mph.
Some areas of the city are off-limits, including the two downtown parking ramps, and the zones are enforced with a geofencing feature programmed in the scooters.
According to Community Development Director Dyann Benson, if a rider goes beyond the geofence boundary into an off-limits area, the scooters will get "really, really, so painfully slow that you just want to get back into the boundary so that you can go the appropriate speed limit," effectively annoying the user until they get out of the off-limits area, she said.
Additionally, the rider will be charged for that time and will not be able to terminate the ride.
For special events like Walleye Weekend or Fondue Fest, the city can work with Bird and alter the geofence temporarily so scooters cannot go into those areas during the events.
Though a fleet manager will monitor the scooters, riders need to park their scooters at proper locations so they are not in the street, in parking lanes or anywhere that blocks pedestrian traffic.
This is enforced through the app: Riders have to take a picture of where they left the scooter, and if it's not parked appropriately, the app will not let that user end their ride.
"Is it a perfect system? No, probably not, but certainly enough to be a detriment to those who think that they'll just throw things caddywhompus," Benson said.
The more you use the scooters, the more they learn
While the city is starting out with less than 100 scooters, the number might change in the future depending on ridership demands.
The scooters are seasonal and licensed, so they will be around until the weather starts getting cooler, then they will "nest" until next season, according to Benson.
If the city and riders have a good experience this year, then the license will continue into next year and the scooters will return. If they are not a good fit for Fond du Lac after all, then there won't be a need to reissue the license.
RELATED:Love 'em or hate 'em: Appleton residents air strong, colorful views of Bird electric scooters
The Bird system will learn about ridership demand, based on where rides are starting and ending, so more scooters could eventually be introduced to higher-demand areas, and the geofence could be adjusted to account for problem areas that arise.
The city did not go into this partnership lightly, community director says
According to Benson, Bird approached city officials late last summer to feel out the opportunity for e-scooters in Fond du Lac, and the process from there was slow and deliberate.
Several surrounding communities — Appleton, Green Bay, Beloit, Wauwatosa, Whitewater and Racine — already introduced the scooters to their residents, and they were surveyed on their experiences.
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The survey responses included in the April 13 City Council agenda showed mainly favorable reception to the Bird scooters.
Some challenges included getting residents used to the scooters and enforcing the regulations, but the communities also said Bird was responsive to concerns and helped them resolve those issues.
As for safety, Appleton reported four scooter accidents, Beloit reported nine scooter-related emergency room visits and Racine reported four accidents — one of which ended up with a hospital visit.
Instead of the city, Bird would be liable for accidents, and users get a liability waiver before their ride.
The Police Department has been a part of the conversation from the first step, and while Bird does everything it can on its end to make sure riders are being safe and appropriate, it can involve the department if repercussions are needed, Benson said.
For communities that found issues of underage riding, Bird implemented license-scanning in the app to check age. As for riding under the influence, the app has cognitive questions to determine potential impairment, Benson said.
Bird also provides social media tips for safe riding, which the city and the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership will share.
For more information on Bird scooters, visit bird.co.
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
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https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/bird-electric-scooters-bring-new-transportation-option-fond-du-lac/9733694002/
| 2022-05-13T14:56:03
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MARCY, N.Y. – A Rome woman was cited for driving too fast in a construction zone on Route 49 in Marcy Thursday morning leading to a collision with a Department of Transportation vehicle.
According to Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol, 75-year-old Suzanne Brayman did not move over for DOT vehicles working on the roadway and crashed into an impact attenuator attached to a dump truck that was partially parked in the driving lane. Brayman hit the rear corner with the front end of her minivan before coming to a rest.
The DOT was setting up an active construction zone and the vehicles had flashing amber lights on in addition to the signage that was displayed before entering the construction zone.
Brayman and her passenger were evaluated at the scene and no injuries were reported.
Brayman received citations for failure to use due care for a hazard vehicle and speed not reasonable and prudent.
Maciol says a total of 14 traffic citations were issued in construction zones throughout Operation Hard Hat for various violations including operating a motor vehicle while using a cell phone, failure to move over for emergency or hazard vehicles and speeding.
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/woman-cited-after-colliding-with-dot-construction-vehicle-on-route-49-in-marcy/article_e3e28968-d2c2-11ec-b844-efd30743309b.html
| 2022-05-13T14:56:09
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/woman-cited-after-colliding-with-dot-construction-vehicle-on-route-49-in-marcy/article_e3e28968-d2c2-11ec-b844-efd30743309b.html
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YELLOW SPRINGS — The historic-style Mills Park Hotel in downtown Yellow Springs has been purchased by an employee and his spouse.
Ryan Aubin, the marketing manager for the hotel since 2019, and his husband, Alex Price, have purchased the property and business for approximately $4.5 million.
Located at 321 Xenia Avenue, the hotel was built by developer Jim Hammond and his family, who have owned and operated the business since 2016. The southern-style hotel is the only hotel in the village, with 28 guest rooms and extended-stay suites, a conference room, and banquet hall that can hold up to 150 people.
“Yellow Springs is known for its hospitality and friendliness, and the hotel takes all of that to the next level,” Aubin said. “The very first thing that I learned from (the Hammonds) is we do whatever we need to make the guest experience memorable.”
The 31,000 square-foot hotel was designed after the 19th-century home of William Mills, an early Ohio settler who first came to Yellow Springs in 1827. While the original house no longer exists, Hammond “spared no expense” in creating a unique building that matched the village’s historic downtown, and even built some of the hotel’s furniture from ash trees that grew on Mills’ estate.
“By building Mills Park Hotel, my family created an extremely successful and much needed addition to Yellow Springs,” Hammond said. “From just an idea until now, Mills Park Hotel has been both a rewarding and challenging experience. After this nearly ten-year commitment it is time for us to move on.”
Room rates range from around $125 a night to between $165 and $425 for suites. The hotel’s peak season has expanded from April to the end of October to Valentine’s Day through Christmas, and the hotel is currently sold out through November on the weekends. The building also includes the popular southern-style Elie’s Restaurant, based on restaurants in North Carolina. During the pandemic, Elie’s would receive daily calls asking when the restaurant was going to reopen, Aubin said.
Demand has also been steadily on the rise in Yellow Springs, as clientele come to enjoy Clifton Gorge and Glen Helen, the village’s festivals and street fairs, and shows by Dave Chappelle.
“2021 was the strongest year the hotel ever had,” Aubin said. “And we’re seeing increased growth in 2022.”
Hammond said he chose Aubin and Price because he didn’t want Mills Park Hotel to fall to a corporation, saying he leaves the business in “very capable hands.”
“Mills Park Hotel will remain an incredible asset to the village, and will continue its award winning customer service for years to come. We are proud of the management and staff that helped to make it all possible,” Hammond said.
Aubin said being trusted with the hotel by the Hammonds was “wildly flattering and humbling.”
“Between Alex and I, until we signed on the dotted line, I was the one that thought ‘this is not going to happen because this stuff doesn’t happen to people like us,’ ” he said. “I went forward with it because I’m going to kick myself in 15 years if I didn’t at least try. My advice to people is, what’s the harm in trying? It’s only going to make you stronger.”
About the Author
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https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/historic-hotel-in-yellow-springs-has-new-owner/3UL5SWCV2JABDBOMPXJPIL64MM/
| 2022-05-13T15:08:41
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FORT WORTH, Texas — The best bull riders in the world have descended on Fort Worth. And they're bringing the party with them.
The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals makes its debut at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, the event's new home after years in Las Vegas and a one-time stop at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The PBR's Cowtown debut is going big, spread out across two weekends, beginning Friday, May 13, and wrapping up Sunday, May 22.
And a host of concerts and other festivities will be features along with the rodeo action.
Here's everything you need to know:
When is the PBR World Finals?
Here's the competition schedule, all at a Dickies Arena:
- Friday, May 13 - 6:45 PM CDT
- Saturday, May 14 - 6:45 PM CDT
- Sunday, May 15 - 1:45 PM CDT
- Thursday, May 19 - 7:45 PM CDT
- Friday, May 20 - 7:45 PM CDT
- Saturday, May 21 - 7:45 PM CDT
- Sunday, May 22 - 8:45 AM CDT
Who's competing in the PBR World Finals?
There will be plenty of local flair to the competition, with a strong contingent of Wise County-based riders competing in the World Finals, including last year's champion, Jose Vitor Leme, originally from Brazil.
Here's the full list:
- Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York)
- Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil)
- Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil)
- Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil)
- Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil)
- Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil)
- Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas)
Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) - Eli Vastbinder (Statesville, North Carolina)
- Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington)
- Chase Dougherty (Decatur, Texas)
- Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas)
- Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil)
- Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil)
- Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil)
- Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil)
- Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri)
- Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil)
- Clayton Sellars (Fruitland Park, Florida)
- Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil)
Dakota Louis (Browning, Montana) - Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia)
- Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah)
- Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona)
- Cody Teel (College Station, Texas)
- Matt Triplett (Canton, South Dakota)
- Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil)
- Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil)
- Marcelo Procopio Pereira (Rinopolis, Brazil)
Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil) - Brady Oleson (Blackfoot, Idaho)
- Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas)
- Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil)
- Alex Marcilio (Macaubal, Brazil)
- Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas)
When is the PBR World Finals on TV?
CBS Sports Network will carry each night of the PBR World Finals, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, May 13.
PBR World Finals tickets
Tickets through the PBR website are sold out this weekend, but a few remain for next weekend's action, starting at around $53 through Ticketmaster.
Concerts at PBR World Finals
The PBR World Finals Concert Series will feature several big names in country music:
Charley Crockett (Friday, May 13)
Travis Tritt (Thursday, May 19)
Leann Rimes (Friday, May 20)
Robert Earl Keen (Saturday, May 21)
Here's the schedule and how to buy tickets for each concert.
Where is Dickies Arena?
Dickies Arena, which opened in 2019, is located at 1911 Montgomery Street in the Will Rogers Memorial Center, where the annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is held.
While Dickies has hosted an array of events, from the NCAA tournament to professional lacrosse and concerts, the building was constructed with a primary purpose: Rodeo.
Bill Pickett Rodeo
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, which celebrates Black cowboys and cowgirls, is also being held during the PBR World Finals. The Bill Pickett runs Friday, May 13-14, June 18 and August 20 at the Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/pbr-world-finals-tv-schedule-concerts-dickies-arena-fort-worth-texas-rank-bulls-and-champion-cowboys-everything-you-need-to-know/287-c56e0cf4-76e3-4c73-9a16-5041a72a63d0
| 2022-05-13T15:19:18
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HELENA, Ala. (WIAT) — Live music, food and fun all coming back to the Helena for two days for the annual Helena’s Buck Creek Festival, which will take place Friday and Saturday at Buck Creek in Old Town Helena.
Last year, the festival had to be moved to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year, it returns back to its original month.
Organizers said over 20 food vendors and 70 regular vendors will be in attendance this year. There will also be some new music acts that will be performing on the Helena Amphitheatre stage.
“I know in the past we’ve had some of the same bands rolling in, past two years we’ve tried to change that lineup,” music coordinator Jason Pruitt said. “This year we have a lot of local and regional acts coming.”
The festival attracts nearly 5,000 visitors each year, helping businesses in Helena. Bert Davis, owner of Daysol Coffee, said the weekend event brings in about a month of business to shop but most of all this festival unifies the town.
“It gives the family something to come to,” Davis said. “It does a lot to really unify and gives them a sense of just feeling like enjoying this nice awesome summer weather.”
The festival has returned almost $300,000 to the town.
The festival will take place from 6-10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. Saturday.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/helena-buck-creek-festival-kicks-off-friday/
| 2022-05-13T15:26:49
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LONDON (AP) — It’s not just a trifle. It’s history.
A 31-year-old copywriter’s seven-layer lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle beat 5,000 desserts in a U.K.-wide competition to become the official pudding — or dessert, if you’re not British — of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Contest organizers hope people throughout Britain will serve Jemma Melvin’s sunshine bright, sweet and sour concoction topped with whipped cream and crumbled cookies at neighborhood parties and backyard teas as part of the June 2-5 celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne.
Melvin, who is from Southport in northwest England, said her creation was inspired by both her grandmothers and the queen.
“This particular trifle is a tribute to three women: it’s my Gran, my Nan and the queen herself,” she said. “My grandma taught me to bake, she taught me all the elements, everything from scratch. My Nan’s signature dish was always a trifle; we used to call her the queen of trifles. And the queen had lemon posset at her wedding.”
The contest was announced in January as Jubilee organizers sought to find a modern day counterpart to coronation chicken, the combination of cold poultry, mayonnaise and curry powder created for festivities on the day in 1953 when Elizabeth was crowned.
The winner was announced by the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles’s wife, on Thursday night in a nationally televised broadcast on the BBC.
Melvin’s trifle defeated four other finalists: a passionfruit and thyme frangipane tart; Queen Elizabeth sponge cake, including a layer of jam made with the monarch’s favorite Dubonnet wine; a rose falooda cake incorporating the flavors of a traditional Indian dessert; and a “four nations” pudding featuring ingredients from around the country.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/a-trifle-for-the-queen-uk-unveils-jubilee-pudding-winner/
| 2022-05-13T15:43:20
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/a-trifle-for-the-queen-uk-unveils-jubilee-pudding-winner/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Jesse Williams vowed not to be discouraged after leaked video and images of his onstage nude scene in the Broadway play “Take Me Out” were posted online.
“I’m not down about it. Our job is to go out there every night, no matter what,” Williams told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The leaked video and images prompted an outcry from the show’s producers and the union that represents actors and stage managers.
“I’m not really worrying about it. I can’t sweat that. We do need to keep advocating for ourselves. And it’s wonderful to see a community push back and make clear what we do stand for, what we don’t,” Williams said. “Consent is important, I thought. So, let’s keep that in mind universally.”
Williams is starring in a revival of Richard Greenberg’s exploration of what happens when a Major League Baseball superstar comes out as gay, tracing the way it unsettles the team and unleashes toxic prejudices. Williams earned a Tony Award nomination Monday for playing the superstar and the revival is up for a Tony as well.
While Broadway shows have a strict policy against recording anything onstage, Second Stage Theater, which is producing the revival, has added Yondr pouches to protect the actors, many of whom are naked in shower scenes. Audience members arriving at the theater are asked to put their phones into a locked pouch that is only opened at the end of the show. Producers said they would beef up security in the wake of the violation.
“Theater is a sacred space, and everybody doesn’t understand that. Everybody doesn’t necessarily respect or regard that in a way that maybe they should, or we’d like,” Williams said.
The leaked video is the latest incident in which the privacy or well-being of a performer was put in jeopardy, following Will Smith’s Oscar slap of Chris Rock and when Dave Chapelle was attacked by a man at the Hollywood Bowl.
One of Williams’ co-stars, Michael Oberholtzer, who also earned a Tony nomination on Monday, called the incident “very disappointing.”
“People feel like that they can say and do things because they pay for admission or because they are a subscription member or whatever the case may be, that certain behavior is permissible. But it’s not. It’s a violation of people’s consent,” Oberholtzer said.
Williams says he was approached to do the revival of the play while starring on the long-running medical drama, “Grey’s Anatomy,” but it wasn’t until after he read the script that he realized it included nudity.
“If somebody had just said it’s play with nudity, it would have been framed differently. But the nudity is honest. It makes sense. It’s not salacious. It serves the story. It puts the audience in an interesting position to relate to empathize with the characters,” Williams said.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/jesse-williams-addresses-leak-of-broadway-nude-scene/
| 2022-05-13T15:43:27
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/jesse-williams-addresses-leak-of-broadway-nude-scene/
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LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Friday, watching her beloved equines from the comfort of a Range Rover before walking to her box in her first public appearance in person in weeks.
The monarch sat in the front passenger seat and spoke to a small group through the window after pulling up to the parade ground near Windsor Castle, where she has spent much of the past two years. The queen seemed relaxed and smiled while dozens of photographers a few feet away tried to capture the moment.
The queen’s public appearances are being closely watched as Britain prepares to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years on the throne with four days of festivities June 2-5.
Elizabeth, 96, has curtailed her schedule in recent months as she recovered from COVID-19 and coped with unspecified difficulties in moving around.
On Tuesday, she asked Prince Charles to preside over the state opening of Parliament and deliver the Queen’s Speech, which lays out the government’s legislative program. The event is one of the queen’s most important public appearances, highlighting her constitutional role as head of state.
Buckingham Palace didn’t elaborate on what prompted the queen to delegate her role to Prince Charles, but she has experienced what the palace calls “episodic mobility problems″ in recent months. Elizabeth has used a cane during some recent public appearances, and Prince Andrew escorted the queen into Westminster Abbey during last month’s memorial service for her late husband, Prince Philip.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/queen-attends-horse-show-in-first-public-appearance-in-weeks/
| 2022-05-13T15:43:33
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/queen-attends-horse-show-in-first-public-appearance-in-weeks/
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VIENNA (AP) — Antisemitic incidents reached a record high in Austria last year, according to a report published Friday.
The statistics, compiled by the Jewish Community of Vienna, recorded 965 incidents in 2021 — the highest number since the organization began documenting them 20 years ago. That figure is an increase of 65% over the previous year, when there were 585 recorded incidents.
“The challenge of the rise of antisemitic incidents is a global phenomenon and we are working closely with all strands of society to combat the rise in antisemitic incidents,” said Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Community of Vienna.
Among the incidents reported in 2021 in the Alpine nation of 8.9 million, the majority — around 60% — were accounts of “abusive behavior,” including in-person and online comments and messages. The next largest category, which made up 27% of total incidents, were mass mailings and literature containing antisemitic messages and stereotypes.
About 1% of the total incidents involved assaults or attempted assaults, 2.5% involved threats, and 10% involved damage and desecration.
By far the largest proportion of incidents — 461, or 48% of the total incidents — could be attributed to people supporting right-wing, far-right and neo-Nazi movements. Approximately 15% came from left-wing individuals, and 11% came from Muslims. A quarter of the incidents could not be attributed to a particular demographic.
Most of the incidents included in the report involved long-recognized forms of antisemitism, such as Holocaust revisionism, Israel-related comments and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
However, coronavirus-related related antisemitism — such as comparing the treatment of people who refused to be vaccinated or to wear a mask to that of Jews under the Nazis — accounted for 28% of all recorded incidents in 2021.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/report-austria-sees-record-number-of-antisemitic-incidents/
| 2022-05-13T15:43:41
| 1
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/report-austria-sees-record-number-of-antisemitic-incidents/
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MILAN (AP) — Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra and its members’ folk-hip hop anthem to their war-torn nation is the oddsmaker’s favorite to win the Eurovision Song Contest, an event intended to celebrate diversity and promote friendship among nations.
Twenty-five bands are set to compete Saturday in the grand final of the annual songwriting contest. It’s taking place in northern Italy’s industrial city of Turin. Last year, 183 million people watched the televised competition.
For the Ukrainian community in Italy, Kalush Orchestra’s participation in such a hugely popular international event puts an important spotlight on Ukrainian culture while providing a platform to keep global attention focused on Russia’s invasion and war in Ukraine.
About 50 people created a flash mob when Kalush Orchestra appeared on an outdoor stage in Turin this week, amplifying international calls for help getting remaining civilians and fighters out of a steel plant that is the last Ukrainian holdout in the southern city of Mariupol.
“We see Eurovision as an international event where the presence of Ukraine and Ukrainian culture is very important,’’ said Zoia Stankovska, a Milan-based lawyer who helped organize the flash mob. “At the moment, Eurovision is also a place where our voice is being heard.’’
Kalush Orchestra’s Eurovision entry “Stefania” was written as the frontman’s tribute to his mother but has become an anthem to the motherland since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The song is a mashup of traditional Ukrainian folk music and contemporary hip hop elements — a trend in Ukrainian music especially since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea — and offers an especially strong message against Russia’s false assertion that Ukrainian culture is not unique, Stankovska said.
The band’s success is serving as a sort of morale booster for Ukrainians living in Italy, Stankovska said. “When you have such terrible things going on, to have some good news is something really helpful,″ she said.
Italy is hosting Eurovision this year because the Rome-based glam rock band Maneskin won last year’s contest. On the day after Russian invaded Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union said Russia would not be allowed an entry in the contest.
For Saturday’s final, 20 winners from the semifinals held on Tuesday and Thursday will join bands from the so-called big five of Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Britain.
While Kalush Orchestra is the sentimental favorite, receiving the most enthusiastic response from Wednesday’s open-air audience, the final decision is split between a professional jury and the viewing public.
Ukraine won twice before, in 2004 and 2016.
If Ukraine wins this year, Stockholm is offering to host next year’s event in case the war is still going on then.
“This is a way to continue to show support,” Stockholm Mayor Anna König Jerlmyr told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. “We want Ukraine to know that they are welcome to arrange the competition in Stockholm, if needed.”
____
Luca Bruno in Turin, Italy, and Jan Olsen in Copenhagen contributed.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/ukraine-band-favored-in-eurovision-song-contest-final/
| 2022-05-13T15:43:48
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/ukraine-band-favored-in-eurovision-song-contest-final/
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DALLAS (KDAF) — The heat is going to continue on Friday and into the weekend for North Texas, morning lows will be in the 60s, near 70 with afternoon highs ranging in the 90s. The weekend won’t quite get started before some law chances for rain across western North Texas.
“Another hot weekend is on tap for North and Central Texas. High temperatures will be in the 90s, with areas west of I-35 reaching 100 to 102 degrees on Sunday. Plenty of sunshine is expected with southerly winds between 10 to 20 mph,” NWS Fort Worth says.
As afternoon falls on Friday, storms will approach from the west and north; a storm or two could contain some damaging wind gusts and hail. “There is a slight chance of thunderstorms across the northwest half of the region Friday afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms are expected to develop along a dryline and a stationary front this afternoon, making their approach from the north and west.”
As evening comes, isolated storms will linger with damaging wind gusts remaining possible. As of 10 p.m. you can expect temps to range from 75-80. “Storms will diminish mid to late Friday evening as they move east. Some areas, however, may see a little bit of rain before storms dissipate. In addition, a few storms may contain damaging wind gusts and small hail before it is all said and done. Otherwise, another hot and breezy day can be expected.”
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https://cw33.com/news/local/a-look-at-friday-afternoon-evening-storm-chances-in-north-texas/
| 2022-05-13T15:48:04
| 0
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https://cw33.com/news/local/a-look-at-friday-afternoon-evening-storm-chances-in-north-texas/
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DALLAS (KDAF) — Dallas Film will be hosting the 16th Annual Dallas International Film Festival on Oct. 14-20 this year. Officials say film submissions are now open.
Festival screenings include narrative films, documentary features and short films from all over the world. This year, officials say there will be a focus on family films, films involving people with disabilities, veterans and sports-based content.
“DIFF2022 is a global adventure that boasts premiere screenings, nightly red carpets, daring documentaries, eye-opening short films, environmental film-making, nightly parties, filmmaker panels, award presentations, and an enhanced filmmaker hospitality program that includes city tours and a VIP Filmmakers Lounge where filmmakers, celebrities and our audience can all come together to discuss film,” officials said on filmfreeway.com.
Here are important deadlines for this festival:
- June 17 – Earlybird Deadline
- July 22 – Regular Deadline
- Aug. 12 – Late Deadline
- Aug. 31 – Final Deadline
- Sept. 8 – Notification Date
For more information, visit filmfreeway.com.
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https://cw33.com/news/local/early-submissions-for-dallas-international-film-festival-now-open/
| 2022-05-13T15:48:10
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https://cw33.com/news/local/early-submissions-for-dallas-international-film-festival-now-open/
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The Tunnel Fire did not “dramatically move the needle” on existing flood risk in the Timberline neighborhood according to the first round of data from flood modeling conducted by Coconino County.
Modeling does suggest some increased discharge from watersheds in the area, but it also shows that this increased discharge should be captured by preexisting flood mitigation put in place after the Schultz Fire of 2010. Coconino County plans to move forward with further modeling, post-fire restoration of flood mitigation structures, and home-by-home risk analysis. Nonetheless, some residents remain concerned that planned mitigation will be insufficient.
Following the Tunnel Fire, Coconino County contracted JE Fuller Hyrdology and Geomorphology to create FLO-2D models that simulated rainfall and flood activity on the watersheds impacted by the Tunnel Fire. These new models were built upon 2016 models that included watershed improvements put in after the Schultz Fire. The 2016 models included flood mitigations such as alluvial fans and channels, as well as soil and vegetation conditions.
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“Then what we did is overlay the Tunnel Fire burn on top of that and adjust those conditions per the Tunnel Fire burn severity,” said JE Fuller project manager Joe Loverich. By using the 2016 models as a starting point, Loverich explained that the preliminary results of the Tunnel Fire models are “conservative.” It’s likely that soil and vegetation conditions improved between 2016 and 2022.
What was added to the 2016 models was data based on the Tunnel Fire’s Soil Burn Severity (SBS) map, a resource produced by Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response teams. More severely burned soils tend to pose greater flood risk due to increased water repellency and decreased stabilization from vegetation. The SBS map for the Tunnel Fire evaluated almost 70% of the burned area to be “low” severity. A similar distribution was seen across the watersheds above the Timberline neighborhood.
“Most of the watershed was burned at either low severity or at moderate severity,” said deputy county manager Lucinda Andreani. “And importantly, the Tunnel Fire did not re-burn into very much of the steep slopes, whereas Schultz burned all the way to the top of the ridge.”
Given these factors, the FLO-2D modeling then simulated two inches of rainfall in 45 minutes — a storm comparable to those that contributed to the Museum Fire flooding in 2021. Under these conditions, the model showed that the Lennox/Wupatki Trails would see a 0% increase in discharge, the Peaceful/Kevin’s Way watershed would see a 6% increase in discharge, the Copeland watershed would see an 11% increase, the Campbell/Rope Arabian watershed would see a 35% increase, and the Brandis Way watershed would see a 45% increase.
An increase in discharge is not necessarily an increase in flooding, Andreani explained. The modeling also showed that these increases should be within the capacity of existing flood mitigation.
Take the channel meant to capture discharge from Brandis Way. This channel was “designed for a 405 cubic feet per second discharge,” Andreani said. “What we're expecting with this 45% increase is a 248 cubic foot per second discharge. When we looked at the flood model, all of the flooding was contained in the channel. It didn't affect any of the homes in the area.”
“Investments made on and off forest after the Schultz Fire are still serving the community extremely well by providing continuing, significant mitigation,” she added.
There are two affected watersheds that do not have preexisting mitigation: Peaceful/Kevin’s Way and Copeland. Mitigation following the Schultz Fire was elective and in some cases required homeowners to grant the county easements in order to construct channels. At the time that mitigation was being constructed, homeowners on these watersheds did not elect to have mitigation installed on their properties.
“Fortunately, the increase there isn't huge,” Andreani said.
Some preexisting mitigation has been affected by the Tunnel Fire, such as a “rundown structure” at the upper end of Brandis and terminal trench above Wupatki Trails. Andreani said the county is mobilizing to repair and restore mitigation structures affected by the fire, no matter what the modeling says.
“We're not just walking away,” Andreani said. “We're going to get things cleaned out, we're going to replace logs that burn with rock, and they will be returned to their original capacity. In a two-inch storm, that should be adequate to manage those flows.”
Some residents are unconvinced that the existing mitigation will be enough. Jonathan Archer of Brandis Way said during last year’s rain events, which in some cases exceeded the two-inch rainfall from the model, debris immediately clogged under the bridges crossing the county-installed drainage corridor.
“It shot that water 30 feet, clear over the road into my garage,” Archer said. He takes no reassurance from the early flood model results.
“[Debris] is going to get caught up in these washes,” he said. “I guarantee this is going to be a problem.”
Up the road on Brandis Way, Gary Sharpe expressed similar concerns. Like many residents is the area, he was impacted by the Schultz Fire flooding. Last year he witnessed clogging similar to that reported by Archer. In other places, he said water cut trenches through neighboring lots and skirted existing mitigation entirely.
“[The county] does all this modeling stuff, and so far it hasn't panned out,” Sharpe said. “You can do all the modeling that you want, but when something happens, and you're not prepared, we're in trouble.”
Sharpe can see the scar left by the Tunnel Fire from his yard and is worried what will happen in the rain.
“That’s pretty steep through there,” he said. “That slope is right in the burn scar. It’s going to come right down this hill.”
Sharpe said he would like to see greater involvement and cooperation between the county and his neighbors so that firsthand perspectives can be included in the calculation of flood mitigation. After living through the Schultz Fire and now the Tunnel Fire, he said normal procedures for flood and fire management may be outdated.
“The forest didn’t hardly have any time to heal after Schultz. It’s just one fire after another,” he said. “We know what comes next. It’s the flood. We need to get ahead of it before people get hurt. We need help now.”
Andreani said the county will continue to do modeling based on larger, three-inch storms. They also intend to do a “home-by-home” analysis to evaluate flood risk at a more precise level. In cases where risk is identified, the county will make contact with residents via mail.
If residents are concerned about the flood risk for their homes, they can request assessment by leaving contact information at the county call center at (928)-679-8525.
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https://azdailysun.com/news/local/early-models-suggest-tunnel-fire-has-not-steeply-increased-flood-risk/article_18dc8d6e-d186-11ec-b024-c7a9eb642df0.html
| 2022-05-13T15:49:28
| 1
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https://azdailysun.com/news/local/early-models-suggest-tunnel-fire-has-not-steeply-increased-flood-risk/article_18dc8d6e-d186-11ec-b024-c7a9eb642df0.html
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The Flagstaff Education Association (FEA) presented its request for formal recognition to the FUSD board at a work session before its May 10 meeting.
Representatives of the union had previously made public comment requesting consideration of the effort at the April 26 meeting and several members and other teachers came to the meeting following the work session to speak in favor of it.
FEA is already the district’s union; what they are trying to gain is formal recognition from the district through a district-wide employee vote.
“Our very strong goal is to get a recognition process into district policy by the end of the school year so that we can leave for the summer and know that next year, we can engage in that process," FEA president and Coconino High School (CHS) English teacher Derek Born said.
The recognition process for private employers is governed by the National Labor Relations Act, Born said. A petition signed by at least 30% of employees is needed to trigger a vote (conducted by the National Labor Relations Board) and, if the majority of staff vote in favor, employers are required to recognize the union.
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This act does not cover public employers, such as FUSD, so the right will need to be put into policy by FUSD’s board, part of FEA’s goal for this effort. The organization is asking the district to hold a vote among its employees as to whether the union should be allowed to represent them. It has been circulating a petition over the past few weeks, which has been signed by 68% of FUSD educators.
FUSD’s current system involves representatives elected by the staff, which usually includes FEA members.
The negotiations committee representatives was the subject of FEA action at the beginning of the school year. In August, the board proposed a change to its Meet and Confer Policy (Policy H) that would prohibit organization leaders, including FEA's, from serving in those roles. This was later changed in the version of the agreement approved by the board.
“Which is of course the exact opposite of what we’re pushing for,” Born said of the original proposed changes. “I think that was what really started to light the fire…If they can push for something that shocking and surprising to us with no advance warning, no offer to sit down and talk through whatever their issues were, we need to push in a more concerted and organized way, make sure staff voices are centered.”
What FEA proposed in Tuesday's work session would give the organization the ability to name people to the certified employee liaison and representative roles (one each for elementary, middle and high school, as well as licensed professionals) in the negotiations committee, which together totals one vote.
There are four votes total: one each for certified, classified, administrative and district employees.
“A union certified to represent employee group would then be free to appoint a liaison and negotiations representatives for that group. Employees would all be aware of what exactly they were voting for, prior to casting ballots," association representative and CHS English teacher Jim McDermott said of the changes.
The certified liaison and representative positions are all currently held by FEA members, with Born serving as the certified liaison.
This change “is not any kind of radical overhaul to the system itself; the association folks are already at those seats,” Born said.
“It’s more about letting … the educators in our district have what they’re asking for, which is the ability to make it formal and give that more public respect and recognition to the association, if the staff vote for it. To have the option to legitimize that voice and to make sure that everybody knows the employees voted for this and this isn’t just some outside entity. It’s about making sure people understand the value, that it’s fully recognized.”
One specific benefit Born mentioned in his presentation was last year’s salary negotiation. He said FEA’s involvement helped raise the increase from $1.48 million (a 2.5% raise for all employees) to a raise package of $2.92 million (5% for all employees), through meetings with AEA and going through the school’s finances more thoroughly.
“The fact is that there is no other voice within the compensation committee that is capable of changing the story for the good of all in this particular way,” he said. “And it has nothing to do with intelligence or competence. It's the organizational capacity and resources of our teachers union, built up over generations by the sacrifices of dues-paying members. ...It's all essential, everything works together, but it is no exaggeration to say that without AEA and FEA the raise for all employees would have been significantly smaller last year in particular.”
The presentations were broken up with questions from FUSD’s board. Member Christine Fredericks expressed concern that FEA having the ability to name members to the negotiations committee would prevent employees who are not members from having a voice.
“You’re asking that FEA be the only one at the table, closing the door on non-members who’d like to participate,” she said.
Born also said other successful unionization efforts contributed to them raising the issue at this time.
“Though we’re so low overall, we’re at a very historic low ebb of unionization, maybe we’re starting to see the reverse of that tide,” Borne said. “I guess watching their private sector sisters and brothers fight those battles and gain some at least initial victories was very inspiring and it made us double think our strategy and maybe push for it in a more public way.”
The board asked FEA to provide more details on how the new system would operate and how it would differ from the current method of representation, with policy examples from comparable districts.
The next discussion of this policy has not yet been set.
A recording of the work session can be found at vimeo.com/706804269.
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https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/flagstaff-education-association-requests-recognition-vote-from-fusd/article_4bce8a5a-d173-11ec-b95f-6745183181b6.html
| 2022-05-13T15:49:34
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https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/flagstaff-education-association-requests-recognition-vote-from-fusd/article_4bce8a5a-d173-11ec-b95f-6745183181b6.html
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