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Manitowoc school board members voted to give themselves key fobs to all district buildings. Here's what happens next.
MANITOWOC - Increased transparency.
That's what Manitowoc Public School District Board President Stacey Soeldner said a recent decision to grant key fobs to all school board members would accomplish.
The fobs would unlock doors to district buildings that are usually locked to all, except faculty and staff.
However, just more than a month after the board voted 5-2 during its July 12 meeting in favor of granting board members the fobs, board members still have not received those key fobs. The reason is a change in district policy is needed first.
The process to change district policy to allow the granting of the fobs to the school board members begins with the Buildings and Grounds Committee at a 4:30 p.m. meeting Thursday in the board room at the district office, 2902 Lindbergh Drive. The key fob issue is on the agenda for that meeting.
Board Vice President Collin Braunel indicated a separate policy for the key fobs should be created.
Soeldner told the Herald Times Reporter the fobs would create “simply another way for board members to be visible and accountable to the community.”
The decision to grant school board members the fobs will allow any current and future board members to gain access to any of the district’s buildings, through any of the entrances, not just the entrances that are monitored.
Board members would be granted the fobs after passing a background check.
During the July 12 meeting, citizens were split in their opinions about the employee-level access to school buildings for the board members.
Dayna Goetz, a parent in the district, said the board members are strangers to most of the district’s students and giving board members key fobs could make the students feel unsafe.
“I love that you desire to become involved in our classrooms … but I do question your use of an employee entrance,” she told the board.
Sulynn Moore, a Manitowoc resident, had a different opinion.
“These board members are in charge of the district … having to schedule access to a school by setting up an appointment tells me that there could be other things going on, like flagrant discipline problems, out-of-control classrooms, and perhaps things that the individual school’s administration doesn’t want exposed,” she said.
Moore also said she would support having cameras in the classroom to monitor any possible discipline issues.
Soeldner said safety is a key concern for the board.
“The board needs to make sure there are safety measures for all those who have key fobs and enter the building,” she said. “We will be looking at those as well as other safety concerns first at the committee level.”
The move to grant school board members key fobs is one of the first major moves made by the school board after an April 5 election ushered in three new school board members — Matthew Phipps, Matthew Spaulding and Tony Vlastelica, who replaced Lisa Johnston, Meredith Sauer and Dave Nickels.
After the April 5 election, the Republican Party of Wisconsin celebrated Manitowoc schools as now having a "fully conservative board" in an emailed statement to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Rory Linnane.
The Manitowoc district is operating with Interim Superintendent James Feil at the helm after former Superintendent Mark Holzman announced just days after the April 5 election that he was leaving the district to serve as superintendent of the School District of Janesville.
Aug. 30 will be the first day of school for all students in the 2022-2023 school year.
Contact Alisa Schafer at aschafer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer. | https://www.htrnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/manitowoc-school-board-gives-itself-key-fobs-all-district-buildings/10218548002/ | 2022-08-17T17:43:27 | 0 | https://www.htrnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/manitowoc-school-board-gives-itself-key-fobs-all-district-buildings/10218548002/ |
Former education department policy officer Megan Degenfelder defeated current Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder to take the GOP nomination for the state's top public school official.
She will go head-to-head with uncontested Democrat candidate Sergio Maldonado in the general election.
"I've been on the phone already this morning with my campaign manager working on how we reset and re-strategize," she said in a phone call Wednesday morning. "We won't take anything for granted because there is another election to be had in November, and I want to be accountable to voters and then make sure that we continue to carry that message across the state."
Degenfelder, currently the government and regulatory affairs manager for Morningstar Partners Oil & Gas, garnered over four times as many campaign donors compared to Schroeder. More than $23,000 worth of those donations came from political action committees, primarily those involved with natural resources industries.
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It was a close race; Degenfelder won 41% of the vote, while Schroeder captured 39% of the vote.
"Yesterday I was pretty calm, just knowing that that the end result will be what it will be and that we did everything that we could in this race," she said Wednesday morning.
"I think if I've learned anything in politics or elections. it's that you can never really predict how things are going to go, especially in a statewide campaign."
On Tuesday night, she leaned over a pair of laptops refreshing election results at a party with friends and family downtown.
"I'm gonna overthink it to death," Degenfelder said.
A group of about a dozen people — friends from grade school, family member — stayed at Degenfelder's election night party until "the bitter end" to see the results and learn that she had won the primary.
Here's a day on the campaign trail for Republican state superintendent of public instruction candidate Megan Degenfelder.
This year’s state superintendent race has garnered an unusual level of visibility, with former president Donald Trump backing the incumbent Schroeder, as well as big names like U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis and former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson, who recently received the presidential medal of freedom, putting their support behind Degenfelder.
But, she said, it's still been a "cordial campaign."
"It's so humbling ... I just am so honored by the support I've received," she said Tuesday night.
Education-related topics have become much more politicized in recent years. During the primary race for the state superintendent position, a lot of discussion focused around fears of critical race theory, an academic framework for examining how racism is embedded in U.S. institutions and society, and “gender ideology.” These topics have weaseled their way into politics across the board; the Legislature considered just this past session a couple bills meant to stamp out critical race theory in education (even though it’s not currently taught in public schools) and another that would have barred transgender students from competing on female sports teams.
Schroeder has been enthusiastic in denouncing what he describes as “social engineering” and encouraging Wyomingites to “push back” against “unhealthy cultural current.” He issued several scathing statements denouncing a federal nondiscrimination policy update meant to give LGBTQ students an avenue to file complaints if they’re discriminated based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in a Food and Nutrition Service program. He’s described transgender identity as a ploy to gain “celebrity status.”
Brian Schroeder has in some ways upended the role of state superintendent, fighting polarizing battles and garnering support from politicians like former president Donald Trump.
Degenfelder’s handling of these talking points has been more tempered.
“I’m 100% against critical race theory,” Degenfelder said after a recent forum in Casper. “But I also realize there’s a lot of other issues that matter, and so we’re going to take care of that and we’re not gonna focus on issues that aren’t as prevalent in Wyoming.”
Degenfelder has said that she plans to “empower parents as the number one voice in their children’s education.” She also wants to focus on building partnerships between industry and education.
Schroeder has said that he wanted to preserve “the purpose of education,” which is “to learn to think," and prioritize the role of parents in education.
"I'm deeply appreciative of his service to the state," Degenfelder said of Schroeder. "Anyone who's willing to step up and serve our state in that capacity is to be commended."
Degenfelder still has a long campaign road in front of her until the general elections in November; she already had plans to visit the state fair in Douglas on Wednesday.
"My husband's like, 'One day off, no?' I was like, 'No, we gotta go.'" | https://trib.com/news/local/education/degenfelder-defeats-schroeder-in-gop-schools-superintendent-race/article_412e67c0-1ce9-11ed-93b7-97a6f24a353b.html | 2022-08-17T17:43:53 | 1 | https://trib.com/news/local/education/degenfelder-defeats-schroeder-in-gop-schools-superintendent-race/article_412e67c0-1ce9-11ed-93b7-97a6f24a353b.html |
ALPENA, Mich. (WJRT) - Michigan State Police released video of the heroic rescue of a 10-year-old near drowning victim stuck in the current of a dam near Alpena.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the Four Mile Dam in Alpena Township around 5:40 p.m. Aug. 11 to help a swimmer in distress.
The 10-year-old boy was trapped in a strong current at the bottom of the dam and clinging to the structure.
Alpena County: 10-year-old boy rescued from rushing waters at Four Mile Dam in Alpena Township. https://t.co/SK9jt2dEGY pic.twitter.com/Fp29bN2v3D
— MSP Seventh District (@mspnorthernmi) August 17, 2022
A Michigan State Police trooper retrieved a ResQ Disc and personal flotation device from his patrol car when he arrived. The threw the disc to the child while an off-duty Wilson Township firefighter swam out to the child using the flotation device.
The firefighter, who was identified as Christopher Kinsey, grabbed a hold of the boy and brought him safely to shore. The boy was treated and released at the scene by Alpena Police Department paramedics before returning home. | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/trooper-off-duty-firefighter-rescue-10-year-old-swimming-near-dam/article_cf803858-1e3f-11ed-ba5c-f349c215e4f1.html | 2022-08-17T17:46:24 | 1 | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/trooper-off-duty-firefighter-rescue-10-year-old-swimming-near-dam/article_cf803858-1e3f-11ed-ba5c-f349c215e4f1.html |
GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – While crews were responding to one crash on Horse Creek Park Road, another crash occurred nearby, Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department (TVFD) officials said.
While on the scene of an overturned truck with fuel leaking from the tank, TVFD officials spun around to see another truck on its side with the grille of a minivan resting against its roof.
To retrieve the occupants of the second truck, crews stabilized the scene and the Jaws of Life were used to cut from the top of the vehicle’s windshield to its sunroof.
According to TVFD officials, the drivers of both trucks were transported from the scene via EMS without life-threatening injuries. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tusculum-vfd-responds-to-2nd-crash-at-scene-of-flipped-truck/ | 2022-08-17T17:47:09 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tusculum-vfd-responds-to-2nd-crash-at-scene-of-flipped-truck/ |
GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department (TVFD) crews responded to an unusual crash on Tuesday — a head-on collision between a combine corn harvester and a sedan.
According to a Facebook post from the department, the incident took place on East Andrew Johnson Highway Tuesday night. In images provided in the post, collecting spikes normally used to funnel stalks of produce into the machine can be seen narrowly glancing off the side of the vehicle and a large hole can be seen in the front windshield.
The combine harvester was traveling to a nearby field with a truck following behind it when the accident occurred, according to TVFD officials.
Officials with TVFD said the driver of the sedan was taken from the scene via EMS without life-threatening injuries. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tusculum-vfd-responds-to-head-on-combine-harvester-crash/ | 2022-08-17T17:47:15 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tusculum-vfd-responds-to-head-on-combine-harvester-crash/ |
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) – Virginia authorities are investigating a pedestrian death that occurred on Interstate 81 South Sunday morning.
According to a release from Virginia State Police (VSP), troopers responded to reports of a pedestrian walking along I-81 S near Mile Marker 1.1 around 3:50 a.m. on Sunday. The pedestrian, identified as Johnathan L. Chapman, 39, of Bristol, Virginia, was reportedly hit only minutes later.
Investigators said a 2006 Toyota Tacoma was traveling south along the interstate while Chapman was in the right lane, and couldn’t avoid hitting him. The driver of the vehicle was uninjured in the crash, according to VSP.
The crash remained under investigation as of Wednesday. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/vsp-investigating-pedestrian-death-on-i-81-s/ | 2022-08-17T17:47:21 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/vsp-investigating-pedestrian-death-on-i-81-s/ |
BUTLER COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — A fire that started in the early morning hours of Wednesday has caused damage to a mobile home.
According to a Facebook post by Butler County Fire District #3 (BCFD), the fire started around 1:41 a.m. in the 500 block of N. U.S. Highway 77 in Douglass.
BCFD #3 assisted BCFD #8 in the efforts to fight the fire.
Butler County dispatch said there were no injuries reported, and the amount of damage is currently unknown. An investigation is ongoing. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/mobile-home-in-butler-county-damaged-by-fire/ | 2022-08-17T17:55:19 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/mobile-home-in-butler-county-damaged-by-fire/ |
Tucson Electric Power customers will see renewed opportunities for energy savings after state regulators ordered the utility to redouble efforts to spend more than $12 million in unspent funds on energy-efficiency rebates and related programs.
TEP had sought to refund about $12.4 million it collected from customers through its “demand-side management” surcharge for the past two years but didn't spend, as COVID-19 restrictions limited customers’ energy-efficiency projects and some programs reached their budget caps.
But the Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday voted 3-2 to order TEP to come up with a plan to spend the money on energy-efficiency programs for home programs such as rebates for efficient heating and cooling systems; programs for multi-family housing; low-income household weatherization; and a new program for "advanced rooftop controls" for commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
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TEP had proposed refunding the $12.4 million in unused energy-efficiency funding with a one-time bill credit averaging about $16 for the typical home customer either in one month, or split over two months, with small-business customers seeing average credits of about $48.
The commission’s Utilities Division staff had recommended approving TEP’s proposed credit in one month.
But groups including the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Wildfire and the Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund said the funds should be used as intended.
At Tuesday’s ACC open meeting, SWEEP Arizona representative Caryn Potter noted that TEP in its own energy-efficiency program report estimates that every dollar spent on energy-efficiency programs delivers $5 in net benefits.
Commissioner Sandra Kennedy successfully pushed an amendment to force TEP to spend the as much of the unused funding before conclusion of the utility’s pending general rate case about a year from now.
Commission member Jim O’Connor tacked on an amendment adding the advanced rooftop controls program, which has been proposed by TEP as part of its pending rate case.
The advanced controls are retrofitted on existing commercial rooftop systems and save energy by allowing remote monitoring and control of things like fresh-air ventilation and fan speeds.
More than 30 states have adopted energy-efficiency standards, requiring utilities to curtail demand through programs including incentives for installation of efficient equipment ranging from discounted LED lightbulbs to high-efficiency HVAC units.
Arizona’s energy-efficiency standards, adopted in 2010, required utilities like TEP to achieve cumulative energy savings of 22% by 2020.
“Over the last couple of years, our customers have wrestled with financial challenges due to COVID-19,” TEP spokesman Joe Barrios said. “The pandemic has also had a negative impact on small businesses and commercial developments, which could participate in our commercial energy efficiency programs.”
During discussion on Tuesday, ACC Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson said she would support using the money for programs that would help lower customers’ costs in the near term amid the current record-high inflation.
TEP plans to file a budget for the the unused funds, tentatively agreeing to:
- Increase available rebate levels for its multi-family homes and existing homes programs up to 75% of project costs, from 50% now;
- Potentially increase the budget for energy-efficiency programs at schools by possibly waiving a cap on rebates of $150,000 per school district, and instead setting a $100,000 maximum rebate per campus;
- Increase the per-home spending cap for TEPs' Low-Income Weatherization Program to $10,000, from $6,000.
Marquez Peterson, a Tucson Republican, said she supported those changes aimed at helping consumer ratepayers, but the measure lost her support after language was added to give TEP some flexibility to spend some of the money on other programs.
The measure passed with the support of Democrat Commissioners Kennedy and Anna Tovar and O’Connor, a Scottsdale Republican. Marquez Peterson and Mesa Republican Justin Olson voted against the plan.
Diane Brown, executive director of Arizona PIRG, applauded the ACC's decision, noting that TEP ratepayers stand to benefit both in the near-term and over the long term as energy efficiency reduces the need for costly new power plants.
"By taking advantage of utility energy efficiency programs, TEP customers save money and save energy," she said. "However, even TEP customers that don't take advantage of the energy efficiency offerings benefit through the avoidance of costly capital expenditures that otherwise get passed onto consumers."
Barrios said while TEP has not proposed any new energy-efficiency programs, the utility is trying to make it easier for commercial customers to install improvements with a new “Fast Checkout” program, which eliminates the need to wait for rebate approvals when working with approved distributors.
“We hope that pandemic-related impacts on labor and customer confidence will diminish, encouraging our customers to participate in our energy efficiency programs,” Barrios added.
TEP recently filed for a rate increase that would boost home rates by an average of nearly 12%.
Contact senior reporter David Wichner at dwichner@tucson.com or 520-573-4181. On Twitter: @dwichner. On Facebook: Facebook.com/DailyStarBiz | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/tucson-electric-powers-energy-efficiency-programs-get-12m-boost/article_b9110286-fef1-11ec-b593-639a10dc6314.html | 2022-08-17T17:57:31 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/tucson-electric-powers-energy-efficiency-programs-get-12m-boost/article_b9110286-fef1-11ec-b593-639a10dc6314.html |
A 56-year-old man has died from injuries he suffered when he was hit by a vehicle on Aug. 7.
Tucson police said James Charles Ramsay died on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the hospital.
At about 5:30 a.m. Aug. 7, officers were sent to the 500 block of West Grant Road for a report of an unresponsive man on the side of the road. Officers found the man with significant injuries and there was bicycle nearby, police said. The man was taken to Banner-University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
No vehicle remained at the scene, police said.
Detectives determined Ramsay was riding his bike in the bicycle lane of westbound Grant, but it has not been determined if he was riding with or against traffic, police said.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives are searching for information about the hit-and-run vehicle. Anyone with information can call 88-CRIME.
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This is the 58th traffic fatality in Tucson this year, compared to 54 at this time in 2021, police said. There have been five bicyclists' deaths this year, the same number at this time last year. | https://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-police-bicyclist-dies-from-injuries-suffered-in-hit-and-run-crash/article_60748e6a-1e52-11ed-8f78-67448f7e190f.html | 2022-08-17T17:57:37 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-police-bicyclist-dies-from-injuries-suffered-in-hit-and-run-crash/article_60748e6a-1e52-11ed-8f78-67448f7e190f.html |
ORLANDO, Fla. – There’s going to be fun for the whole family at the Orange County Convention Center this weekend.
The 2022 Florida Kids and Family Expo, which runs Aug. 20-21, brings together more than 200 exhibitors centered around family services, products, and more from the Central Florida area.
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There are also many fun-filled activities planned to bring your family together for a day of discovery.
Throughout the day you can experience stage performances, a wrestling ring, sports zones, petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, live demonstrations, touch a truck and more.
And don’t forget the character meet and greets, which the expo said will include some of your favorites from “Star Wars.”
For those with younger children, there’s a baby zone focused on products for your baby, including samples.
For times and more information, visit mycentralfloridafamily.com.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/17/enjoy-day-of-discovery-at-florida-kids-and-family-expo/ | 2022-08-17T17:58:14 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/17/enjoy-day-of-discovery-at-florida-kids-and-family-expo/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – With the fall semester starting next week at University of Central Florida, officers on campus are getting trained on how to breach locked doors in case of an emergency by using a breaching kit.
Orange County firefighters brought out a team of instructors on Wednesday to show officers what to do in case of an active shooter situation.
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“Due to the current events in our country, it’s sad but we want to be prepared as much as possible if it happens here that way we can response appropriately,” Lt. Kevin Nazario with Orange County Fire Rescue said.
Making forced entry isn’t the only scenario we saw during the training but breaking a chain could also be challenging.
“We’re trying to up our game and make sure that we have more tools in the toolbox for our patrol officers to make sure they have the proper equipment here to make sure they get the job done,” Cpl. Gerard Flood with the UCF Police Department said.
Flood explained timing is everything when it comes to emergencies.
“Seconds count. We can’t have our officers being stagnated on the outside if they can’t get in there so we are going to give as many tools possible so they can get in there as quickly as possible,” he said.
UCF police have already received some breaching kits though every patrol officer should have a kit within the next month.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/17/ucf-police-say-this-new-tool-will-help-in-active-shooter-situations/ | 2022-08-17T17:58:20 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/17/ucf-police-say-this-new-tool-will-help-in-active-shooter-situations/ |
FORT SMITH, Ark. — According to Fort Smith police, a child died after being left in a hot car on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Police say around 2 p.m., officers were called to the scene and were there for about three hours. Police say an "undisclosed person" allegedly had to break the car window before taking the child to a nearby hospital. Later, the child was pronounced dead. The incident reportedly happened near a home on Boone Avenue.
5NEWS spoke with the National Weather Service and it confirmed the official temperature at the time was 100 degrees with a heat index of 104.
5NEWS also spoke with an adjunct professor of meteorology who specializes in the dynamics of how hot cars can get. He says the last pediatric vehicular heatstroke death in Arkansas was in Booneville in July 2020 with the current incident being the 19th in Arkansas since 1998. He also says an infant or small child's body cannot cool itself off like an adult's would, but that it heats up three to five times faster.
“In the first 10 minutes a car is closed up, the temperature rises by 19 degrees. So let's say on a 100-degree day or 100 plus degree day like it is in Fort Smith, today….you know you’re at about 120 degrees in 10 minutes," said Jan Null, San Jose State University Adjunct Professor of Meteorology.
Fort Smith police and the Crisis Intervention Unit responded to the hospital. 5NEWS has reached out to Fort Smith Police and has not heard back.
No other information has been released at this time.
We will update this article with more information as it becomes available. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/child-dies-fort-smith-hospital-hot-car/527-74c32547-d078-47e2-8ae9-5554bf1d9d20 | 2022-08-17T18:01:37 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/child-dies-fort-smith-hospital-hot-car/527-74c32547-d078-47e2-8ae9-5554bf1d9d20 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Before Tuesday’s Fayetteville City Council vote, there was plenty of public comment for and against adding more school resource officers (SROs) to Fayetteville Public Schools.
"They run to the gunfire," said Fayetteville Police Chief Mike Reynolds speaking about his officers. "They don’t hide. They will lay their lives down for you."
Reynolds pleaded with the Fayetteville City Council on Aug. 16 to make a budget adjustment to add more SROs to Fayetteville Schools for protection.
But Monique Jones, a parent to students in the school district, spoke against adding more officers in schools at the meeting.
"SROs impact Black and Brown children, especially with disabilities at a disproportional rate," Jones said.
Jones says what Reynolds is asking for will do more harm than good. The council voted on the proposed budget adjustment to add one school resource officer this year and two additional officers every year until every Fayetteville public school has a full-time officer on-site.
“So that they can come to school, be able to learn without worrying about what’s going to happen,” said John L. Colbert, the Fayetteville Public Schools superintendent.
He hopes to get an SRO at each middle school first, then at each elementary.
“This is a very small piece of safety and making sure all the kids are safe and comfortable at school,” he said.
Jones says she thinks it will do the opposite.
“My heart is heavy because I’m a mother of seven Black children, “Jones said. “My heart is heavy because I’m a [grand]mother of eight Black and mixed grandchildren and people continue to advocate for school resource officers in schools."
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/school-resource-officers-fayetteville-schools/527-9b081e51-d3b2-43c5-abb5-39ab4f9b4b2f | 2022-08-17T18:01:43 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/school-resource-officers-fayetteville-schools/527-9b081e51-d3b2-43c5-abb5-39ab4f9b4b2f |
PORTLAND, Ore. — The day after Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters fired all nine members of the state commission that oversees public defense, she said Tuesday that she was appointing four new commissioners and reappointing five commissioners from the previous group.
Walters had fired the commission members out of frustration that hundreds of defendants charged with crimes and who cannot afford an attorney have been unable to obtain public defenders to represent them.
“This change in leadership occurred quickly, and our work will commence as quickly,” Walters wrote in a letter Tuesday to the new commission. “These issues are too important to delay.”
Last week during a public hearing, Walters urged the commission to fire Steve Singer, the relatively new executive director of the Office of Public Defense Services.
Walters, a nonvoting member of the commission, has described Singer as untrustworthy, needlessly combative and slow to address the state’s public defense crisis. Others have defended Singer as reforming a long-broken system, while acknowledging he can be abrasive.
Despite Walters' calls for his removal last week, the commission deadlocked on the decision 4-4, with one member absent.
Minutes after Walters publicly named the new commission Tuesday, the Public Defense Services Commission announced it would hold an executive session Wednesday to meet with its attorneys and “to review and evaluate the job performance of the OPDS Executive Director.”
Walters has declined Oregon Public Broadcasting's interview requests.
“I think it was precisely because the commission refused to fire Steve Singer that the commission was fired,” now former Commissioner Mark Hardin, a retired attorney who voted against removing Singer, told OPB on Monday. “It’s hardly a leap.”
All four commissioners who voted to fire Singer were reappointed, along with one member, Alton Harvey Jr., who voted to keep Singer as head of the Office of Public Defense Services. All commissioners are volunteers.
Oregon’s public defender system is the only one in the county that relies entirely on contractors: Large nonprofit defense firms, smaller cooperating groups of private defense attorneys that contract for cases and independent attorneys who can take cases at will.
But some firms and private attorneys are periodically refusing to take new cases because of the workload. Poor pay rates and late payments from the state are also a disincentive. The American Bar Association found that Oregon has only 31% of the public defenders it needs.
Oregon’s unique public defender system has come under such strain that it is at the breaking point. Criminal defendants in Oregon who have gone without legal representation due to a shortage of public defenders filed a lawsuit in May that alleges the state is violating their constitutional right to legal counsel and a speedy trial.
Walters said “systemic change” is called for and that the commission must collaborate with Oregon’s executive and legislative branches and the public defense community “to create a better system for public defense providers.” | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/public-defense-commission-new-members/283-b0bfb41c-4389-46ae-8957-a9bb24a00047 | 2022-08-17T18:06:18 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/public-defense-commission-new-members/283-b0bfb41c-4389-46ae-8957-a9bb24a00047 |
Few will contest that housing, especially affordable housing, remains one of the greatest needs in Coos Bay.
To get a better look at the need and possible future development, the city has spend six months working with the Lane Council of Governments to create a 2022 Housing Needs Analysis.
Last week, Jacob Callister presented his finding with the Coos Bay Planning Commission. He will make the same presentation to the city council this week, and the council will considering accepting the study next month.
The biggest takeaway from the study is that there is enough available land in Coos Bay to build sufficient housing and the majority of housing expected in the next 20 years will be multi-family units.
Callister told the commission while Coos Bay has the land it needs for new housing, getting businesses to develop has been a struggle the city needs to address.
"Although we seem to come up with objective, analytical surpluses of developable land, it doesn't seem that land is developed,” he said. “So, there's definitely a need to look at why, despite the need, are we not seeing developments occur that address the housing need.
“This housing crisis has escalated over the years in your community. One of the things we determined staff needs to revisit is we have all this developable land, why isn't it developing. Every time you have a different dynamic, whether it's environment or cost constraints, you’re putting an obstacle in front of a developer. So we want to revisit some of these constraints."
As a major part of the study, Callister did a buildable lands inventory in Coos Bay.
According to a report from the city, the inventory looked at any land that could be used to build housing.
“Vacant parcels and parcels with the potential for infill or redevelopment for future multi-unit and other dwellings have been analyzed resulting in an informed projection of current and future housing needs and demand for developable land,” the report read. “There is sufficient buildable capacity and residential land use opportunity with existing zoning categories to accommodate Coos Bay’s projected housing needs, including consideration of affordability, for the next 20 years.”
The inventory showed there is currently 279 acres in Coos Bay that could be developed for residential properties. To determine that number, Callister looked at empty land, removed property that was sloped to much to build on, and determined how much was left.
The study estimates the city will see an increase of 1,336 residents over the next two years and an increase in housing from 7,633 units to 8,176
The study shows there is a need for all kinds of housing, but the greatest need is affordable homes and rentals.
“The analysis reveals that for current renters, the greatest demand is for units at the lower to middle end of the affordable rent level range,” the report read. “Rental demand is greater than supply at the lowest income level, indicating that the residents most likely to spend greater than 30% of their income on housing do not have adequate affordable options. In 2022, Coos Bay was designated a severely rent-burdened city—26.5% of renter households spend greater than 50% of their household income on gross rent. The analysis suggests that middle- to higher-income categories should have income-appropriate rental opportunities. “
While the lower-income residents are struggling to find rentals, those in the higher-income brackets are more likely to look for housing to purchase.
The deficit in housing also extends to ownership, again with the lower-income most impacted.
“The analysis determined that 543 new rental and ownership housing units are needed by 2042 to meet future demand,” the report read. “There will be a projected deficit in ownership units at nearly all lower price ranges and housing types. The greatest need for rental units will be at the lowest price points in the “middle housing” categories, but there is also some support for new, more expensive rental supply. “
While it is just a guess, the analysis shows that most development over the next two decades will be multi-housing. Callister reported 4% of the new units are projected to be single-family home, with 77% anticipated as ‘middle housing,’ which includes duplexes, triplexes and other housing up to five units. Larger multi-unit projects are anticipate to cover 19% of the new construction, primarily manufactured home parks.
Callister said study shows the city has the room and will likely get the development needed for its new housing needed over the nest 20 years.
“The analysis demonstrates that there is sufficient capacity to accommodate all projected new unit types to accommodate housing needs for the planning period,” the report read. “There is a projected need for 45.5 acres of new residential development (3.5 acres of lower density, 32.3 acres of medium density and 9.7 acres of higher density). Coos Bay’s residential buildable land capacity is 279 acres, leaving a surplus of approximately 233 acres. Additional consideration for the practical unlikelihood of needed affordable housing realizing on moderately sloped, expensive to develop, lands still result in a surplus of buildable lands of all types within Coos Bay’s UGB.” | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/coos-bay-preparing-new-housing-needs-analysis/article_4d2fe5cc-1c0c-11ed-8141-433f768e2dda.html | 2022-08-17T18:10:00 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/coos-bay-preparing-new-housing-needs-analysis/article_4d2fe5cc-1c0c-11ed-8141-433f768e2dda.html |
July 4, 1938 – August 12, 2022
Cremation rites have been held for Barbara Ann Church, 83, of Coos Bay, under the direction of Nelson's Bay Area Mortuary, Coos Bay.
Barbara was born July 4, 1938, at Puyallup, Washington, the daughter of Robert and Irene (Pettit) Woodward. Barbara was raised and educated in Puyallup and it was there she meet the love of her life, Robert Church while he was stationed at Ft. Lewis. They were married in 1960. After his service they moved to Coos Bay where they have since resided. Barbara was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was devoted to her family and enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren. She also enjoyed playing Bingo with her friends at the Eagles Lodge.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert “Bob” Church; a son Jeff Church; and her sister, Bev Helmka.
She is survived by her sons, Jerry and Jim Church of Coos Bay; 6 grandchildren; and 18 great grandchildren.
Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson's Bay Area Mortuary, 405 Elrod Ave., Coos Bay, Oregon 541/267-4216 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/barbara-ann-church/article_dc2e7a3a-1e3d-11ed-8e13-6b0815040bcd.html | 2022-08-17T18:10:06 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/barbara-ann-church/article_dc2e7a3a-1e3d-11ed-8e13-6b0815040bcd.html |
On August 10, at about 8:46 a.m., deputies were dispatched to a report of a burglary in progress at Hauser Dunes Storage, 68512 Highway 101 in North Bend. Upon arrival, deputies were told by employees that they had security camera footage of a male subject breaking into the storage units. The male suspect had gained access to the attic area and broke through the drywall on several other units.
Deputies requested a K9, and K9 Raven from the Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene to assist. Deputies were able to narrow down the unit the suspect was most likely in. After gaining access to that unit, K9 Raven was deployed and located the suspect attempting to hide under several blankets and clothing items. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/suspect-tracked-down-by-k9-officer/article_478b6320-1c0d-11ed-a51e-6fd203d95c54.html | 2022-08-17T18:10:12 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/suspect-tracked-down-by-k9-officer/article_478b6320-1c0d-11ed-a51e-6fd203d95c54.html |
A 59-year-old prison inmate died Monday at a Lincoln hospital.
Jack Talbitzer, who was incarcerated at the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln, was serving a one-year sentence on delivery and possession of a controlled substance charges out of Dodge County.
While the cause of death has not yet been determined, Talbitzer was being treated for a medical condition, according to a press release from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.
As is the case whenever an inmate dies in custody, a grand jury will conduct an investigation to review the death.
A Lincoln woman is being held on $500,000 bail after being charged with motor vehicle homicide in connection with a crash that led to the death of a Greenwood woman.
According to court records, in July 2021, he allegedly bought and procured fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards that had the CDC's seal on them. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/59-year-old-prison-inmate-dies-at-lincoln-hospital/article_d925ce6e-0675-5a2f-b7ba-11f21c939866.html | 2022-08-17T18:12:36 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/59-year-old-prison-inmate-dies-at-lincoln-hospital/article_d925ce6e-0675-5a2f-b7ba-11f21c939866.html |
A fire that caused $75,000 in damage to a central-Lincoln apartment building Friday afternoon was caused by an improperly discarded cigarette, according to city officials.
Lincoln Fire and Rescue Capt. Nancy Crist said inspectors determined the cigarette was the culprit in the blaze, which originated on a third-story balcony at 1615 Garfield St. at around 2 p.m. Friday.
The building, which had been home to 12 apartment units, is uninhabitable and was deemed by city inspectors to be a "dangerous structure," according to a housing complaint sent to the property owner.
The apartment's owners have until Sept. 16 to secure the proper permits to either demolish or repair the building.
Photos: Firefighters in action
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A firefighter backs off from the heat of the flames Sunday coming from the roof of Romantix, 921 O St. Fire crews responded to the adult novelty store blaze at about 9 a.m. and needed most of the afternoon to extinguish the flames. The building is described as a total loss, but no one was injured.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A massive plume of fire erupts in front of Lincoln firefighters Nick Thill (left) and Mark Sullivan moments after Sullivan ventilated the roof with the blade of his chainsaw at a working fire at 1717 A Street in Lincoln on Wednesday evening, April 6, 2011.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
With a fire hose at the ready, Lincoln firefighters look over the underside of a pickup truck which rolled over at the intersection of 16th and L Streets Monday afternoon, April 11, 2011. The scanner call mentioned there was leaking gasoline. One person was taken away on a stretcher to an ambulance.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Marie Yost (left) and Nancy Harter (right) watch from the median on O Street as Lincoln firefighters pour water on the smouldering remains of the Lincoln Public Schools adminstration building on Tuesday morning, May 31, 2011. Harter, who worked in the building for 11 years, said a supervisor contacted staff at 6 a.m. to let them know of the fire.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Heavy smoke envelopes the house fire at 236 S. 27th Street as Lincoln firefighters apply water to the attic fire on Tuesday afternoon, August 16, 2011.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Lincoln Firefighter Nancy Engelbrecht (right) attempts to comfort Shari Elder as Elder watches smoke pour from the apartment building where she lives on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at 27th and Randolph streets.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Protected against the 1600 degree temperatures emanating from the fire pit, Dorchester Vol. Fire Dept. firefighter Brant Pracheil tosses the Stars and Stripes into the flames on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, during a flag retirement ceremony at the Dorchester American Legion Post 264. A total of 1957 unserviceable flags from the communities of Dorchester, York, Fairmont, Lincoln, Wilber, Fairbury and Crete were retired from life during the ceremony.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
The Stars and Strips opens to the swirling wind from the ladder of Lincoln Fire & Rescue Truck 1 on Friday, March 31, 2017, during the bridge dedication ceremony for Staff Sgt. Patrick Hamburger at the Spirit of '76 Armory.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Surrounded by black smoke, a Lincoln Fire Department firefighter uses a pike pole to open the porch ceiling at the scene of a house fire on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, at 1800 Euclid Avenue.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Matt Barnard, with Beatrice Rural Fire District, uses a torch to spread flames during a prescribed burn of 45 acres of the prairie at Homestead National Monument of America on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Lincoln Fire and Rescue teams help Alex Lekai and his mother, not pictured, evacuate from her south bottoms home on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Cuddling her grandson's dog Milo, homeowner Deborah Ganz is consoled by a neighbor as she watches her garage burn on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in west Lincoln.
KRISTIN STREFF, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A Lincoln firefighter directs his hose on the roof of La Mexicana Market & Restaurant, 17th and P Streets, on Monday, April 13, 2015.
TED KIRK, Journal Star
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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-apartment-fire-caused-by-cigarette-building-deemed-dangerous-officials-say/article_5001945c-6f31-5a0b-a684-19e3d0b14034.html | 2022-08-17T18:12:42 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-apartment-fire-caused-by-cigarette-building-deemed-dangerous-officials-say/article_5001945c-6f31-5a0b-a684-19e3d0b14034.html |
Detroit Labor Day parade canceled for third time amid COVID rise, monkeypox concerns
Detroit's annual Labor Day parade down Michigan Avenue is canceled — again.
The parade was also called off in 2020 and 2021 out of COVID-19 concerns. This year's parade was supposed to take place Sept. 5 but is again canceled for health safety.
"For years we have marched through the Motor City in honor of those who fought for our hard-earned rights in the workplace," Metro-Detroit Central Labor Council President Daryl Newman said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "Still, out of an abundance of caution, given the rise in COVID cases and monkeypox, we have decided to put everyone’s safety first and cancel this year’s event.”
The move to cancel this year's parade comes after the state reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
The state added 23,165 cases and 103 deaths from COVID-19 for a 44% increase from last week, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
khall@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @bykaleahall | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/17/detroit-labor-day-parade-canceled-covid-monkeypox/10348911002/ | 2022-08-17T18:13:54 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/17/detroit-labor-day-parade-canceled-covid-monkeypox/10348911002/ |
New off-leash dog area opens at Stony Creek Metropark
A new "off-leash" dog area was announced by Huron-Clinton Metroparks on Wednesday.
Dogs now have an area in Stony Creek Metropark, located at 4300 Main Park Road in Shelby Township, to roam 3 acres of land without a leash.
"This desire from the community came out during our park 'Master Plan' processes a few years back where the public told us they were interested in having areas that they could bring their dogs off leash," said Danielle Mauter, the parks' marketing director.
Prior to the dogs' designated off-leash area, the 3 acres were grassy and filled with picnic tables. Now, the area is fenced in so dogs are able to explore the acres without a leash but are still confined for safety purposes.
"We have had a larger number of occurrences of visitors having their pets off-leash, which is against park rules, so it further signified to us that it was an important area to have an off-leash dog area," Mauter said.
The newly opened area provides separate areas for small dogs and larger dogs to run and play together. The project developed a 10-foot wide asphalt path from the parking lot to the bullpen entryway into the off-leash dog areas to make it accessible to all visitors. Additionally, there is a water bottle/pet bowl filling station, unisex portable toilet, parking lot improvements and three van accessible parking spaces.
Huron-Clinton Metroparks was awarded a grant of $50,000 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to support this project. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks added an additional $144,563 in matching funds from its capital fund, bringing the overall project cost to nearly $200,000.
“We are excited to welcome all the furry visitors to the space to experience it for themselves” Amy McMillan, the park's director, said in a press release Wednesday. “However, we do want to remind those furry visitors to train their humans on the proper pet etiquette when visiting other areas of the Metroparks."
What to know before you go
The off-leash dog area is located at Oak Grove picnic area in Stony Creek Metropark and is available for use during regular park hours.
Dogs are required to be on a leash when entering and exiting the off-leash dog area and in other areas and trails within the park. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/17/stony-creek-metropark-off-leash-dog-area-park/10347422002/ | 2022-08-17T18:14:00 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/17/stony-creek-metropark-off-leash-dog-area-park/10347422002/ |
West Nile virus found in Oakland County resident
State health officials announced on Wednesday the West Nile virus has been detected in a blood donation from an Oakland County resident.
The donor has experienced no symptoms of illness, state officials said. Routine screening for the virus in blood donations helps ensure the safety of the blood supply in Michigan and in the United States. Donations that test positive do not enter the blood supply, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
In a statement, Bagdasarian said mosquito season is not over and it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause a severe illness.
"Take precautions such as using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants when outdoors during times when mosquitoes are active," Bagdasarian said.
In 2021, the virus was detected in seven Michigan blood donors. It has been found in mosquitoes collected in Iosco, Arenac, Huron, Genesee and Kent counties as well as birds collected in Bay and Shiawassee counties, state officials said.
No other human cases have been reported to date.
jchambers@detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2022/08/17/west-nile-virus-oakland-county/10347326002/ | 2022-08-17T18:14:10 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2022/08/17/west-nile-virus-oakland-county/10347326002/ |
Indianapolis man sentenced in 'senseless' Detroit murder, robbery targeting gay men
Detroit — Most nights, Joshua Smelser's father replays his son's murder in his mind.
He can't get it out of his head.
Steven Smelser was the only one with access to the recordings from the home surveillance system that showed his 39-year-old son's final moments, he said during the Wednesday sentencing hearing for Diabolique Johnson, who was charged with killing his son.
Steven Smelser said he saw and heard everything the cameras picked up: All seven gunshots, the first of which came minutes before the latter six. Joshua Smelser's final words, asking Johnson to leave. Johnson shooting his son six times.
"His death left me with a constant hole in my heart I feel will never subside," Steven Smelser said. "He was a good man, and I was proud of him in so many ways."
Johnson, who is from Indianapolis, was sentenced Wednesday to 27 to 47 years in prison for killing Joshua Smelser in September 2020 in the 16800 block of Woodbine in Detroit and for the armed robbery of a 26-year-old man at a Dearborn hotel in the 24100 block of Michigan Avenue four days prior.
Prosecutors said Johnson targeted members of the LGBTQ community, using online dating applications to lure gay men to Metro Detroit motels and rob them.
Johnson pleaded guilty to the homicide and armed robbery, taking responsibility for his actions, said his attorney Sanford Schulman.
Schulman said while there was no way to justify the homicide, there was evidence that showed drug use may have led to Johnson's decision-making.
Johnson apologized during the hearing to both the Smelser family and his own family for the harm he caused.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox said in court the homicide and armed robbery were "a very senseless and unprovoked series of crimes perpetrated by Mr. Johnson against innocent individuals."
"I hope you had reminded, in one way or another, each and every day for the next 27 years at a minimum ... of the damage that you have inflicted on so many innocent people," Cox told Johnson.
Joshua Smelser’s sister, Sarah Simmons, said nothing will ever be normal for their family again.
“There’s nothing that can make this right,” Simmons said. “There’s no amount of penance that can make any of this right.”
This case was the first joint task between the Michigan Attorney General's Office's hate crimes unit and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, according to a 2021 AG press release.
kberg@detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2022/08/17/diabolique-johnson-sentencing-joshua-smelser-detroit-murder/10346618002/ | 2022-08-17T18:14:16 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2022/08/17/diabolique-johnson-sentencing-joshua-smelser-detroit-murder/10346618002/ |
BLOOMINGTON — Students at Cedar Ridge Elementary School were eager to start their first day of school Wednesday morning.
Many waited at the door, some were dropped off by parents, others arrived on the bus; some were smiling, while others were sad. The first day of school is always a mix of emotions, as it means summer is over and homework assignments are back.
Cedar Ridge Principal Heather Rogers and McLean County Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle were there to greet students, making sure each one received a warm welcome before helping them get where they needed to be.
"I'm so excited to have all the kiddos back at Cedar Ridge," Rogers said. "The first day of school is all those smiles, the staff is energized; I get to greet the students and get to know them better. Cedar Ridge has been my home for 10 years and it's nice to come home every fall."
Rogers said the school had a great turnout for their Back to School Night on Tuesday, when students, families and staff were able to get know each other better. Students also had the opportunity to participate in several activities such as getting their nails or hair done, while families were able to pickup necessary supplies for the school year.
Cedar Ridge recently received a Walking Path/STEAM Lab as a dedication from State Farm, Sunset Rotary, Daybreak Rotary, Cedar Ridge Rocket Boosters and Platinum Plumbing, which students will be able to make use of this year. The Walking Path/STEAM Lab is an interactive learning walk located just outside the school.
"There's a level of excitement in the air on the first day of school that I think is hard to replicate. There's just a different level of energy that comes in those first few days," Weikle said. "I'm excited about a more typical year for everyone and I can't wait to get in classrooms and see all the great learning that's going to take place by our students."
Weikle added that the first day means different things for different students. For some, it's their first day of kindergarten, first day at a new school or it's their last first day in Unit 5.
This will be the last year for fifth grade student Jayce Smith, who was all smiles heading into school.
"I feel good," Smith said. "I'm actually excited about school this year."
Kindergartner Jude Alexander said he is happy about the first day of school and is most looking forward to science class.
Rogers also offered some advice for students for the 2022-23 school year.
"Enjoy your learning; any K-5 student should have a love of learning to set the course for the future," Rogers said. "We want to provide a safe place for students to do that."
Rogers said Cedar Ridge's theme this year is "kindness grows here," and she looks forward to growing kindness and community.
Thursday will be District 87's first day of school; community members should watch out for buses, children walking to school, and be prepared for heavier traffic flow.
Photos: Efforts to combat food insecurity in Bloomington-Normal
Midwest Food Bank in Normal
Midwest Food Bank in Normal
Bread for Life Co-op
Bread for Life Co-op
Bread for Life Co-op
Bread for Life Co-op
Western Avenue Community Center
Western Avenue Community Center
West Bloomington Revitalization Project
Sunnyside Community Garden
Veggie Oasis
The Table
Veggie Oasis
Midwest Food Bank
Midwest Food Bank
Midwest Food Bank
Midwest Food Bank
Midwest Food Bank
Midwest Food Bank
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest
Contact Olivia Jacobs at 309-820-3352. Follow Olivia on Twitter: @olivia___jacobs | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/watch-now-plenty-of-smiles-energy-for-unit-5s-first-day-of-school/article_b2001a32-1e3a-11ed-a10e-3b3af9a67d2c.html | 2022-08-17T18:17:37 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/watch-now-plenty-of-smiles-energy-for-unit-5s-first-day-of-school/article_b2001a32-1e3a-11ed-a10e-3b3af9a67d2c.html |
BLOOMINGTON — Twin Cities residents are invited to The Salvation Army, 611 W. Washington St. in Bloomington, for a family-friendly block party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Christine Wilson from The Salvation Army said the event will include free food, live music and carnival games, such as toss the ball, corn hole and a duck pond. "It's just floating ducks in a baby pool; the kids pull (the ducks) and get a prize," she said.
In addition to hotdogs, popcorn, chips and pop, Wilson said she is trying to secure some sweets for the meal as well. "Still trying to source the cotton candy machine," she said, "because we feel very strongly about providing cotton candy."
Several organizations will attend, Wilson said, including Western Avenue Community Center, Mid Central Community Action, the Bloomington Public Library and the Bloomington Police Department.
"It's really an opportunity for the surrounding community to get to know The Salvation Army and what we have to offer," Wilson said.
"We've got these programs to send your kids to. We'll feed them and get them out of your hair a little," she added.
While she does expect nice weather on Saturday, Wilson said there is a contingency plan to hold the party inside their gym, which can still host their bouncy house.
"It's massive," she said. "It's probably 20 feet by 18 feet and 18 feet high. It's massive. Fits about 15 children at a time."
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Ryan Weaver, front left, and others stand for "The Star-Spangled Banner" before playing the Lafayette Aviators on Aug. 5.
Heartland Community College is getting ready for more construction as it begins a $17.5 million project for a new facility for manufacturing education, including electric vehicle programs. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/salvation-army-hosting-block-party-in-bloomington-saturday/article_cac8e380-1d9c-11ed-8ea5-c3e553462028.html | 2022-08-17T18:17:43 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/salvation-army-hosting-block-party-in-bloomington-saturday/article_cac8e380-1d9c-11ed-8ea5-c3e553462028.html |
A New York City electrical company that had contracts with multiple city authorities allegedly falsified payroll reports, hired unqualified non-union labor at a fraction of the prevailing wage and bribed investigators to cover up its tracks, the Manhattan district attorney's office said Wednesday.
The DA's office and the city Department of Investigation allege that Samco Electrical Corp., principals Silvano Travalja and Giovanna Travalja, and project foreman Zdravko Maglic beat workers out of $1.7 million in wages. They face a litany of charges, including first-degree grand larceny.
Samco had contracts with the School Construction Authority and NYCHA; those contracts required the union company to pay prevailing wages and some benefits.
From 2017 to 2021, Samco submitted reports certifying who worked and how much they were paid -- but prosecutors allege the reports were falsified, and that Samco instead hired non-union labor at $25-$50 an hour instead of the $110-$116/hour prevailing wage.
To cover their tracks, the DA's office said, the defendants gave workers fake ID cards that made it seem they were union employees. In addition, prosecutors allege that Maglic paid $4,000 in bribes in the spring of 2021 to an investigator from the School Construction Authority, who accepted them "as part of the continued investigation." | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nyc-housing-schools-contractor-indicted-in-1-7-million-theft-bribery-scheme-da/3828097/ | 2022-08-17T18:17:51 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nyc-housing-schools-contractor-indicted-in-1-7-million-theft-bribery-scheme-da/3828097/ |
A 28-year-old Brooklyn man faces a litany of charges for allegedly fleeing a traffic stop in Queens earlier this month and barreling into three pedestrians, including a mother and toddler she had been pushing in a stroller, prosecutors say.
Tyshawn Baldwin was arraigned Wednesday on a 17-count complaint charging him with assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful fleeing a police officer, endangering the welfare of a child, obstructing governmental administration and other vehicle-related offenses in the Aug. 10 incident that started at the intersection of Wyckoff Avenue and Decatur Street.
Court papers say Baldwin had been driving a 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat with loud exhaust and dark rear tinted windows when officers saw him proceed to the busy commercial intersection at George Street and park his vehicle. Cops activated their police lights and ordered Baldwin back in the car. They say he complied and handed over his documents.
A computer check revealed Baldwin's license had been suspended a week earlier, according to the criminal complaint, and cops told him to get out of the vehicle again. That's when prosecutors allege the Brooklyn man started the car, revved the engine and drove the Durango at a high rate of speed away from the cops -- and into the pedestrians. The mother and 2-year-old child who were hit were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.
The third victim, a 35-year-old man, suffered a more serious injury to his leg. There was no immediate update on his condition Wednesday.
Surveillance video obtained days after the collision showed the moment of impact. It sent the mother flying into the side of a nearby parked car and left another man with a nasty leg injury, as the driver allegedly took off from the Ridgewood intersection where he had been stopped by NYPD officers minutes earlier.
News
Baldwin is expected back in court later this week. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
"The complete disregard for public safety in this case is shameful," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement announcing the charges. "As alleged, the defendant was operating a vehicle with a suspended license when he struck and injured three pedestrians, including a young child – all while callously fleeing a traffic stop. Driving is a privilege and every single person who gets behind the wheel of a car bears an individual responsibility to drive safely."
Baldwin's attorney, Kenneth Belkin, says there's more to the story than the narrative shared by police and urged against a rush to judgment.
"I urge the public to keep an open mind with respect to this case and remember my client is still presumed innocent," Belkin said. "The only version of events out there is the NYPD's version of events and there's more to this story than that." | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-charged-in-alleged-nypd-fleeing-durango-crash-that-hurt-3-pedestrians/3828536/ | 2022-08-17T18:17:57 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-charged-in-alleged-nypd-fleeing-durango-crash-that-hurt-3-pedestrians/3828536/ |
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — There are 20 dogs in Clayton County that are in urgent need of adoption or rescue, according to their animal control center.
The center posted on its Facebook on Saturday that by 1 p.m. on Thursday, all 20 dogs must be adopted or rescued from the shelter. Clayton County's Animal Control center does euthanize animals "held in the shelter beyond 21 days" and under other medical, special circumstances.
Normal adoption fees for dogs are $95, which includes:
- $20 Adoption fee; DHPP shot, Bordetella shot and HW blood test
- $50 Spay or Neuter
- $15 Rabies vaccination
- $10 Microchip
Photo | Dogs that need homes in Clayton County; check their post for the animals' specific needs and temperament
People interested in adopting or rescuing should email one of the following staff members:
- rescue.coordinator@claytoncountyga.gov
- jodi.turnipseed@claytoncountyga.gov
- tunisha.billups@claytoncountyga.gov
- tiffany.phillips@claytoncountyga.gov
- james.townsend@claytoncountyga.gov
- regina.caufman@claytoncountyga.gov
Their adoption center is at 3199 Anvil Block Rd. in Ellenwood; according to the post, the hours of operation are as follows:
Mon - Fri: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sat: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sun: 9:00 am – 4:00pm (Open to rescue groups only. Appointment required)
Those looking to pledge to save a dog should know the center does not accept them. The animal control center said, "all pledges should be directed to the specific rescue group" that comes for the pet. More guidelines for rescue groups and more can be found on the post. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/20-dogs-euthanized-rescue-adoption-clayton-county-animal-shelter/85-1230e54e-2525-44a4-8700-6b2e394f7181 | 2022-08-17T18:18:52 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/20-dogs-euthanized-rescue-adoption-clayton-county-animal-shelter/85-1230e54e-2525-44a4-8700-6b2e394f7181 |
PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
A Missouri man has been indicted for allegedly threatening an elected official in Maricopa County last year as Republicans led a lengthy review of the county's ballots from the 2020 election.
Walter Lee Hoornstra, 50, is accused of threatening the Maricopa County Recorder's Office by warning an elected official he'd "never make it to your next little board meeting" if he didn't cooperate with the Arizona Senate's review of the county's ballots.
On May 19, 2021, Hoornstra allegedly left a voicemail on the elected official's personal cell phone that stated:
“So I see you’re for fair and competent elections, that’s what it says here on your homepage for your recorder position you’re trying to fly here. But you call things unhinged and insane lies when there’s a forensic audit going on. You need to check yourself. You need to do your [expletive] job right because other people from other states are watching your ass. You [expletive] renege on this deal or give them any more troubles, your ass will never make it to your next little board meeting.”
The message was left a couple of days after Maricopa County officials submitted a critical letter to Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, urging her to call off an audit of the county's ballots from the 2020 presidential election.
RELATED: 'Time to end this': Maricopa County's blistering letter urges Arizona Republicans to call off audit
"We implore you to recognize the obvious truth," the letter said. "Your 'auditors' are in way over their heads. They do not have the experience necessary to conduct an audit of an election. It is inevitable that they will arrive at questionable conclusions. It is time to end this."
Fann spearheaded a partisan-led review of the county's ballots after President Joe Biden narrowly beat Donald Trump, becoming the first Democratic candidate to win Maricopa County in 72 years.
The controversial, months-long review still determined Biden had defeated Trump in the county. But the review resulted in a contentious dispute between county and state officials over how Arizona conducts its elections.
County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, thanked the FBI for taking action on Hoornstra's alleged threats and said his office has been subjected to "plenty" of other threats.
"And yet, violent threats and actions continue to be normalized, or at least swept under the rug, by many 'leaders' in society," Richer wrote in a statement.
If convicted of his charges, Hoornstra could be sentenced to several years in prison.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12 News YouTube playlist here. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/missouri-man-indicted-threatening-maricopa-county-recorders-office-election-issues/75-36dcdcd8-90dd-4ac5-8208-b6cecd6714b3 | 2022-08-17T18:25:09 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/missouri-man-indicted-threatening-maricopa-county-recorders-office-election-issues/75-36dcdcd8-90dd-4ac5-8208-b6cecd6714b3 |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – West Virginia International Yeager Airport Wildlife Patrol Dog Hercules took a field trip to put his skills to use for the community.
Hercules and his handler, Chris Keyser, stopped by the soccer field at the Elk Elementary Center near Coonskin Park to help chase geese from the fields.
Airport officials say Hercules and Keyser go down to the field “every now and then” to run the geese away from the lawn where children play. Keyser filmed a video of Hercules at work on their latest visit.
CRW says this not only helps keep the fields from getting too messy from the geese that frequent the airport, but Hercules chases the birds in the opposite direction of the airport, helping to deter them from going in the direction of CRW.
Officials say this results in clear skies for the aircrafts to fly and a clean soccer field for the kids to play. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/crws-hercules-takes-a-field-trip/ | 2022-08-17T18:25:11 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/crws-hercules-takes-a-field-trip/ |
DADE CITY, Fla. — One person was seriously injured Wednesday afternoon in a crash involving a train and a truck in Dade City.
Pasco County Fire Rescue crews are on the scene of the crash on Old Lakeland Highway at Melrose Avenue.
Aerial video shows a green truck with the driver's door indented in the bushes surrounding the CSX train.
The intersection remains closed while firefighters respond.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/vehicle-vs-train-dade-city-pasco-county/67-ead67ea5-4e7a-42c1-9f4c-dfcde6b308af | 2022-08-17T18:25:11 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/vehicle-vs-train-dade-city-pasco-county/67-ead67ea5-4e7a-42c1-9f4c-dfcde6b308af |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK)—The recent flooding in Kanawha and Fayette counties in West Virginia has led the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) to issue a recreational use advisory for areas downstream of Mount Olive Correctional Center.
The advisory is in place because rainfall washed out at least 2.5 miles of the Kanawha Falls Public Service District’s (PSD) sewage system, which serves the correctional facility. This means that raw sewage has potentially run into the waters of the state.
The advisory is for 10 miles downstream, and it ranges from Mount Olive to the London Locks Dam. Residents are advised to avoid water recreation activities, including swimming, fishing, water skiing, and small-craft or outboard motor boat boating.
The state health department does not believe drinking water to be impacted at this time. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/flooding-leads-to-possible-raw-sewage-discharge-in-west-virginia-state-waters/ | 2022-08-17T18:25:11 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/flooding-leads-to-possible-raw-sewage-discharge-in-west-virginia-state-waters/ |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The Kanawha County Commission says they are purchasing supplies to help residents clean up from the flooding that hit eastern parts of the county Monday, Aug. 15.
According to the commission, $25,000 worth of clean up supplies are being delivered to the Malden Volunteer Fire Department Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire Department to be distributed. The fire departments will also accept additional supply donations from community members who want to help their neighbors recover from the flooding.
“We know that those affected by the flood need help with supplies to clean up. We needed to help provide these supplies. We are using locally owned businesses when we can to purchase these items. We are working with Malden Volunteer Fire Department and Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire Department to distribute these items. I am grateful to our First Responders who always step up to help our communities,” said Commission President Kent Carper.
The commission says both fire departments will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily to distribute and collect supplies.
Supplies being distributed and collected include trash bags, bleach, shovels, push brooms, mops, buckets, work gloves and disposable cleaning gloves and N95 masks.
Charleston, WV – The Kanawha County Commission is purchasing $25,000 of Flood Cleanup supplies for those affected by the August 15th flood. The supplies are being taken to the Malden Volunteer Fire Department and the Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire Department for distribution. Each Fire Department will also accept donations of additional supplies to distribute to community members who need supplies to help clean up flood debris. The Volunteer Fire Departments will be open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. to distribute and collect supplies.
According to Commissioner Lance Wheeler, the commission is also working with Mountaineer Food Bank to set up locations for residents affected by the flood who are in need of food. He says the first location will be set up Aug. 18 at the Judson Baptist Church on Campbells Creek.
Commissioner Ben Salango commented, “Our citizens affected by the flood are struggling to clean up their homes and property. In addition to providing debris removal services, we are also providing cleaning supplies to help with their efforts. It was important that we get these supplies out as quickly as possible. We also encourage people to donate, and Malden and Cedar Grove VFD will accept donations to help the community.”
Commissioner Lance Wheeler stated, “Not only are we helping with providing supplies for the cleanup, we know that food needs are another important issue. We are working with the Mountaineer Food Bank to set up locations to access food for the citizens affected by the flood. Their first location will be the Judson Baptist Church on Campbell’s Creek, and they will be set up tomorrow, August 18th.” | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/kanawha-county-commission-buys-25k-in-clean-up-supplies-after-flood/ | 2022-08-17T18:25:13 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/kanawha-county-commission-buys-25k-in-clean-up-supplies-after-flood/ |
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Aging on Wednesday announced the launch of a new investigative unit to help address financial exploitation cases that victimize older residents.
The Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST) is a four-person unit consisting of an analyst/supervisor, two analysts, and an attorney to assist the aging network for the next two years, the department said Wednesday in a press release.
The creation of FAST evolved from a pilot program that began with the hiring of David Aiello, a retired state trooper with expertise in financial exploitation investigations, who has served as a shared resource for the AAA network for the past two years, the department said.
The department said it has obtained $666,000 in federal grant funding to expand the capacity of this program for the next two years.
"Based on a sample of 22 cases where we exercised enhanced coordination and early intervention, nearly $3 million in assets were protected from further exploitation," said Secretary of Aging Robert Torres. "Given these results, we decided to expand this model and build more capacity to better support AAAs on these cases and get the justice that victims deserve."
"This FAST unit will be available to assist in both investigating and resolving financial exploitation cases. It will also work on building or strengthening relationships with law enforcement to achieve justice for older adult victims and to mitigate damages as quickly as possible."
Financial exploitation ranks in the top three types of elder abuse reported to the department, Torres said. It can take the form of property theft, misuse of income or assets, misuse of Power of Attorney; or scams of many types including medical, contractor, grandchild imposter emergencies, Social Security or IRS, fake charities, gift card scams, pension poaching and more.
“Utilizing specialty software, FAST analysts ‘follow the money’ to help field investigators, law enforcement and our own elder justice attorney determine what happened to elderly victims’ assets," said Aiello. "Our attorney, in turn, will fight to claw back stolen assets and hold perpetrators accountable."
The formation of the FAST investigative unit is an extension of PDA's ongoing work in protecting older adults and preventing financial exploitation, the department said.
The PDA conducted a study on the impact of financial exploitation of older Pennsylvanians as directed by Governor Tom Wolf's 2019 Executive Order on Protecting Vulnerable Populations. The study examined several hundred substantiated financial exploitation cases investigated by 10 local AAAs, covering 14 Pennsylvania counties. The average financial loss to each victim in the study was almost $40,000, totaling close to $12.5 million in the cases reviewed in the study alone.
The study recognized that many of these cases go unreported so the extent of losses due to financial exploitation is likely much higher, the PDA said.
"Among the many types of elder abuse being investigated by AAAs, financial exploitation cases require unique skills and training," said Steve Williamson, executive director of the Blair County Agency on Aging. "The FAST investigative unit gives the AAA network access to resources that enhance the work already being done by creating a mechanism to help older adults with the potential to recover lost assets."
In addition to FAST and Department of Aging protective services team members, Torres was joined by representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police, Office of the Attorney General, and the departments of Banking and Securities and Military and Veterans Affairs, each of whom shared their department’s efforts to combat financial exploitation in its many forms.
The Department of Aging recently unveiled a financial exploitation webpage that features information for older adults, caregivers and other aging professionals on warning signs, preventive measures, and an expandable menu of resources on key topics such as banking and finance, legal services and dementia.
Soon to come are short educational videos from experts explaining financial exploitation topics in everyday terms, PDA said.
The department also launched a new online elder abuse awareness training which is available to commonwealth employees, aging and human services workers throughout Pennsylvania’s aging network and the public. The training was developed to reach a broad audience and covers the four major types of abuse and how to recognize them; signs to watch for, the differences between mandatory and voluntary reporters of abuse, when and how to report, and more.
The training takes about 20 minutes to complete and is available on the PDA Learning Management System (LMS).
Anyone suspecting elder abuse should call the statewide reporting hotline at 1-800-490-8505, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/department-of-aging-fast-investigative-unit/521-a3df67d2-d368-4f67-8547-8b3d8065df89 | 2022-08-17T18:32:04 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/department-of-aging-fast-investigative-unit/521-a3df67d2-d368-4f67-8547-8b3d8065df89 |
In a joint agreement signed by both the prosecution and defense, Richmond Circuit Judge Claire G. Cardwell revoked a $15,000 bond that had been granted to Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 52, on Wednesday.
Monday’s hearing was scheduled after Richmond prosecutors appealed the bond granted by Richmond General District Court Judge David Hicks.
Had Cardwell upheld bond for the defendant, he likely would have remained in custody due to U.S. immigration authorities placing federal detainers on both defendants on July 6. During Monday’s hearing, Cardwell asked defense attorney Jose Aponte about the detainers, which Aponte confirmed.
Immigration Customs and Enforcement last week advised news outlets that both men are from Guatemala and were illegally residing in the U.S.
During Monday’s bond hearing, the revocation order signed by the judge set Aug. 3 as a preliminary hearing date for Alvarado-Dubon.
In a separate hearing Monday in Richmond General District Court-Manchester, the second defendant, Rolman Balcarcel Ac, 38, was arraigned during a brief proceeding via video feed from the Richmond City Justice Center. It was his first appearance in a Richmond courtroom since he was arrested in Albemarle County on July 5.
His preliminary hearing date is Aug. 3, which coincides with Alvarado-Dubon’s. Richmond attorney Samuel P. Simpson has been retained to represent Balcarcel Ac.
Both men are charged with possession of a firearm as a non-citizen and being illegally present in the U.S.
The person who tipped Richmond police identified Balcarcel as the person who was planning the shooting, according to a search warrant affidavit. The tipster further advised that Balcarcel, known to the tipster as “Chapin,” had connections to a gang called “Los Zetas.” Police said Zetas is a reference to the Zetas cartel that operates in Mexico and the U.S.
In court records made public Monday, Balcarcel told a Richmond magistrate that he has been living in Richmond for three or four months and resided in Denver for three years before that. He was employed doing electrical work and earned $1,100 weekly when working 40 hours a week.
Alvarado-Dubon has lived in the Richmond area for three years and worked full time in construction, according to court documents.
Balcarcel and Alvarado-Dubon were living in a house at 3112 Columbia St. in Richmond. During a search of the residence, police said they recovered two AR-15 semiautomatic assault-style rifles, a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and about 200 rounds of ammunition, police said.
Court records filed so far in the case, which include an affidavit used to obtain a search warrant for the suspects’ residence, makes no mention that Dogwood Dell was the intended target of the mass shooting, as police announced last week. After questions arose about the location, Richmond police late Friday issued a “supplemental release” in an effort to clarify.
In the release, police said that following the tip they said they received from a concerned citizen about a plot to conduct a mass shooting that targeted the city’s Fourth of July celebration, “the Richmond Police Department began an exhaustive investigation to determine its validity.”
Based on the initial information and subsequent investigation, investigators concluded that Dogwood Dell was the intended target, police said without elaboration.
“Over the course of the investigation, we believed it necessary to keep the information secure, not wanting to risk tipping off any suspects while also not desiring to incite fear in our residents,” said Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith in a statement. “I stand behind the thoroughness of this investigation and continue to be proud of the work that our officers did to thwart a plot that could have proven disastrous for Richmond.” | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-richmond-man-identified-as-victim-of-fatal-mosby-court-shooting/article_7f908362-fe89-550d-9399-4cf8f1177fde.html | 2022-08-17T18:33:32 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-richmond-man-identified-as-victim-of-fatal-mosby-court-shooting/article_7f908362-fe89-550d-9399-4cf8f1177fde.html |
Days after suffering life-threatening injuries in a crash that killed her friend, Natalie Rainer is beginning to recover.
In a media release sent before noon Wednesday, the Rainer family thanked first responders and medical personnel for saving her life. The family also shared their sympathy to the family of Jonah Holland, the 49-year-old woman who died in the crash early Saturday morning on Osborne Turnpike in Henrico County.
"I will have to live for Jonah," Rainer, 30, said shortly after regaining consciousness, according to her family.
"We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that Natalie is receiving from friends, family, and the Community. We are grateful for your prayers, kind words, and generous donations towards her care," the family said.
"Natalie is a strong and courageous person, with a gentle and selfless soul. She is persevering through her ordeal in the same way she approaches life and those around her ... powering through like the steepest of hill climbs. She faces a long and painful recovery."
The Rainer family said doctors on Monday had removed a breathing tube and suspended the administration of pain medication.
Authorities have charged Jeffrey Brooks, 18, of Richmond, with driving under the influence and manslaughter in connection to the crash. According to online court records, Brooks was arraigned in Henrico General District Court on Aug. 15, and is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 23.
"We have been both shocked and angered by the senseless, random, and avoidable suffering which has been inflicted on the lives of so many," the Rainer family said. "We struggle to hope that anything positive may come from this."
Zhykierra Guy was found fatally shot in an SUV not far from North Airport Drive in the early morning of Aug. 5. Guy lived in the area where she died, police said. | https://richmond.com/news/local/woman-injured-in-fatal-henrico-bicycle-crash-i-will-have-to-live-for-jonah/article_cd055cca-9aa9-5067-a50d-582b9cf6809e.html | 2022-08-17T18:33:38 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/woman-injured-in-fatal-henrico-bicycle-crash-i-will-have-to-live-for-jonah/article_cd055cca-9aa9-5067-a50d-582b9cf6809e.html |
The Hutchinson News' Pulitzer Prize goes on display at Reno County Museum
Not many are aware that The Hutchinson News was once awarded the Pulitzer Prize, which is often considered the highest award in journalism.
Perhaps more will soon.
The News this week placed its prize, a small cast gold-plated emblem, which for decades sat in a lighted chest-high case just inside the front entrance of its building, on long-term loan to the Reno County Museum.
The museum will display it, along with a few other items from The News, in a glass display case within the museum’s centrally located research library on its second floor, said Chief Curator David Reed.
There it will be more prominently displayed than it had been in The News lobby and can be seen by about 10,000 people a year who pass through the area, Reed said.
"Museum staff will be working on developing material to include in the display “to tell its story,” Reed said. However, he didn't know how quickly the full display would be ready.
“A lot of people, even young people, know what a Pulitzer is, but not many have seen one,” he said.
More:Looking back 150 years at the three men who helped established Hutchinson
How did the Hutchinson News get its Pulitzer?
The News received its Pulitzer Prize in 1965 in the category of Public Service after a four-year concurrent court case and editorial campaign on legislative reapportionment, contending the state's legislative seats were unfairly distributed.
The Pulitzer committee cited The News “For its courageous and constructive campaign… to bring about more equitable reapportionment of the Kansas Legislature, despite powerful opposition in its own community.”
More:Buildings that shaped Hutchinson's future, business, housing and transportation
The News received one of three Pulitzer's in Kansas
Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded annually since 1917 by Columbia University for the most outstanding accomplishments in the nation in journalism and the arts. But The News is one of only three newspapers in the state of Kansas to be awarded the prize over that 105 years.
Others were the Emporia Gazette, whose editor William Allen White won it twice for editorial writing, in 1923 and 1946, and Topeka Capital-Journal photographer Brian Lanker, recognized in 1973, for his photographic sequence on childbirth, “Moment of Life.”
The Kansas City Star has won eight Pulitzers, but it is published in Missouri.
More:Celebrate Hutchinson's 150th birthday at the mile-long block party downtown on Aug. 18
How the prize was won
Three executives at The News -- Editor and Publisher John P. Harris, Associate Publisher Peter MacDonald and Associate Editor John McCormally -- filed suit in Shawnee County District Court on Nov. 1, 1961, on behalf of The Hutchinson Publishing Company.
Also joining The News was Earnest W. Johnson, editor and publisher of the Olathe News.
Named in the suit were Secretary of State Paul R. Shanahan and county clerks in Reno, Shawnee, Johnson and Sedgwick counties, who oversee elections in their counties.
The lawsuit contended the legislature was not following the state constitution or Kansas statutes on reapportionment, which is the process of reassigning representation based on changes in population after every census, to ensure it is equal.
The legislature had the same number of members as today, with 40 in the Senate and 125 in the House.
The state constitution at the time called for reapportionment every five years, but the Senate had not changed in 14 years, with the process last occurring in 1947.
The Senate was divided at the time with 26% of the state's population controlling 21 seats, or a majority of the body.
While the House attempted reapportionment in 1959, it was the first time in a half-century, and the distribution was based on both population and geography, according to stories from the time.
All 105 counties had a House member, with the other 20 seats split geographically.
According to details in the suit, 13 counties split those 20 seats, resulting in wide disparities in representation.
In 1961, a majority of the House represented just 18% of the population.
More:Hutchinson residents can be part of the city's 150th birthday photo in downtown this month
Unpopular effort
In its ruling in favor of The News, the court noted Barton County had two Representatives for a population of 34,147 people, or one per 17,063 residents. Sedgwick County had five representatives, but with a population of 352,399, it averaged one per every 65,000 residents, a 380% disparity.
Reno County had two House seats, but the way they were assigned, one lawmaker represented 50,451 residents and the other just 9,518, or a ratio of 5 to 1.
Despite the obvious disparities, the efforts by The News were unpopular.
Most lawmakers were from small rural districts, so they were averse to shifting seats to more populous counties.
In the 1960s -- and up until the last decade -- The News had wide circulation in 39 counties in southwestern and south-central Kansas, the majority with relatively small populations.
So, its readers and many community leaders also opposed changes to reapportionment since they held substantially more power and sway than with seats based on near equal population.
Letters to the editor and editorials in other newspapers around the state regularly attacked The News for its effort. Copies of those letters and editorials were part of the submission by The News for the prize.
More Hutchinson news:A new Hutchinson city manager by Christmas? The council sets tentative timeline for hiring
Why the Puliter judges cited The Hutchinson News
The Pulitzer judges recognized The News for being among the first papers in the nation to seek change, even before a landmark Supreme Court case, Baker vs. Carr, was decided.
The News editors also sought the change through state courts rather than federal courts, a lengthier and more challenging process. The prize judges also noted the plaintiffs were politically non-partisan, with two registered Republicans and one a Democrat.
Initially, the suit also challenged the constitutionality of every county having a representative, noting Saline County, with 50,000 residents, and Stanton County, with 2,000, each had a single representative. But that issue was dropped as the suit progressed, according to an Associated Press report.
The court's findings
After a Shawnee County judge made a ruling in early 1962 that allowed the suit to progress, and the U.S. Supreme Court found unconstitutional a Tennessee law similar to the one in Kansas, which Harris and the group unsuccessfully attempted to join, the Kansas Senate did reapportion.
A clerical error, however, left the city of Leawood out of the statute, so when issuing a ruling in July 1962, Shawnee County District Judge Marion Beatty found both the House and Senate apportionments unconstitutional.
“On its face, the act offends fundamental concepts inherent in our Republican form of government and makes out a prima facia case of unequal representation so great that it repels any presumption there exists a fair approximation of what is required,” Judge Beatty wrote.
The court favored a system known as “the method of equal proportions,” distributing the 20 extra seats to the five largest counties, including Reno County, based on population.
The appellate court upheld Beatty's findings, and on March 1, 1965, the Kansas Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts.
Voters subsequently approved legislatively proposed changes to the Kansas constitution related to reapportionment in 1972, 1974 and 1988.
The 1974 amendment established that reapportionment to occur every 10 years, and the 1988 changes are the rules used today.
Voters, incidentally, approved four other constitutional amendments in 1972, including repealing the law prohibiting individuals involved in duels from serving office and repealing the law requiring a state census.
More Hutchinson news:Hutchinson teachers get ready for students: 'I'm going to give them challenges'
What the Pulitzer Prize looks like
According to the Pulitzer Prize website, the 2 ¾-inch tall, quarter-inch thick medal, made of silver with a 24-carat gold plate, is presented to the winning newspaper in a cherry-wood box with brass hardware.
The News' prize was set into a small cherry-wood stand with the words “The Hutchinson News,” “1964,” and “Pulitzer Prize” carved into the box.
One side of the medal displays the profile of Benjamin Franklin, considered the most celebrated newsman in American history. On the other side is a bare-chested printer at work.
Surrounding the printer are the words: "For disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper” for the year awarded.
Inscribed on the Franklin side of the medal is the winning news organization's name and the year of the award on the other. | https://www.hutchnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/hutchinson-news-pulitzer-prize-won-reno-county-museum/10247094002/ | 2022-08-17T18:35:06 | 0 | https://www.hutchnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/hutchinson-news-pulitzer-prize-won-reno-county-museum/10247094002/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — A former Indiana state senator has been sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme that illegally funneled about $40,000 from a casino company to his unsuccessful 2016 congressional campaign.
The federal investigation into contributions to Republican Brent Waltz’s campaign tied to a former casino executive led the Indiana Gaming Commission to force the company out of its lucrative ownership of projects for new casinos in Gary and Terre Haute.
Waltz, 48, of Greenwood, pleaded guilty in April to helping route about $40,000 in illegal contributions to his campaign and making false statements to the FBI.
(NOTE: The video in the player above is from an April 11 report on Waltz pleading guilty in this case.)
Federal prosecutors had requested the 10-month sentence. U.S. District Judge James Sweeney, who also ordered Waltz to pay a fine of $40,500, could have sentenced him to up to five years in prison on each charge.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled Wednesday afternoon for John Keeler, Waltz's co-defendant and a former top executive of Indianapolis-based Centaur Gaming.
An investigation into the donations made to Waltz's campaign uncovered a company that was reimbursing a group of people for their campaign contributions.
Keeler, a lawyer who was a Republican legislator for 16 years in the 1980s and 90s, pleaded guilty in April to filing a false tax return for claiming as a business expense $41,000 that the casino company paid to a political consultant who, prosecutors say, made the contributions through straw donors.
More than a dozen straw donors contributed $2,700 (maximum individual contribution allowed by law) and then allegedly were reimbursed by New Centaur, LLC or by Waltz, who issued checks to a company that then paid the donors.
There were also allegedly contributions from New Centaur directly to Waltz and his campaign adviser. Waltz is accused of knowing New Centaur was paying his campaign adviser.
When the FBI questioned Waltz, he lied to try to cover up the illegal activity. Court documents say false invoices were made in an unsuccessful effort to hide the money from New Centaur.
Federal prosecutors urged the judge to sentence Waltz and Keeler to at least 10 months in prison to discourage similar crimes by others. Prosecutors described both men as wealthy with successful careers.
“None of this was enough for either defendant,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing. “They wanted more, and they chose to commit crimes of opportunity — not economic necessity — to get what they wanted.”
The investigation into Keeler and Waltz also led the Indiana Gaming Commission to raise financial misconduct allegations against former Spectacle CEO Rod Ratcliff, who agreed to give up his state casino license, ending more than a decade as a heavyweight in Indiana’s gambling industry. Ratcliff has not been charged with any crime.
Ratcliff and Keeler were leaders of Centaur Gaming, which sold Indiana’s two horse track casinos in Anderson and Shelbyville to Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp. in 2018 for $1.7 billion. They led a group that then formed Spectacle Entertainment to buy the Gary casino operation. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/former-indiana-state-senator-darryl-brent-waltz-sentenced-campaign-finance-scheme/531-fafa8ba0-3ce8-4165-86e5-ed09a5630184 | 2022-08-17T18:47:42 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/former-indiana-state-senator-darryl-brent-waltz-sentenced-campaign-finance-scheme/531-fafa8ba0-3ce8-4165-86e5-ed09a5630184 |
INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD is asking for help locating a missing 39-year-old woman.
Rhia Perkinson was last seen on July 30 in the area of Rockville Road and I-465 on the west side of Indianapolis.
She is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 114 pounds. Perkinson has brown hair, and green eyes.
Detectives say they have reason to believe Perkinson may be in danger.
If you have information on her whereabouts, call 911, contact the IMPD Missing Persons Unit at 317-327-6160 or call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477 or (TIPS).
Amber Alert vs. Silver Alert: What's the difference?
There are specific standards a person's disappearance must meet in order for police to declare an Amber Alert or a Silver Alert.
Amber Alerts are for children under the age of 18 who are believed to have been abducted and in danger. Police also need to have information about a suspect and their car to issue an Amber Alert.
Silver Alerts are for missing and endangered adults or children. They are much more common for missing people. It was not until last year when the standards for Silver Alerts were expanded to include children.
In both situations, these alerts must be issued by police. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/impd-asking-for-help-locating-missing-woman-rhia-perkinson-indianapolis-indiana-rockville-road-last-seen/531-92680417-c82f-4a20-a57f-a7d538f6b67c | 2022-08-17T18:47:48 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/impd-asking-for-help-locating-missing-woman-rhia-perkinson-indianapolis-indiana-rockville-road-last-seen/531-92680417-c82f-4a20-a57f-a7d538f6b67c |
INDIANAPOLIS — It's impossible for photos to truly do the pickle pizza justice. Those subtle green undertones don't quite have the same visual aesthetic as classic pepperoni, after all.
It may not be the prettiest state fair snack in town, but fairgoers say when it comes to taste - pickle pizza is hard to beat.
Pickle pizza took home the top spot at the 2022 Taste of the Fair, and comes to us from Swains Concessions LLC. These are the same folks who graced us with pizza on a stick, and they first served pickle pizza 15 years ago.
It was an instant hit.
"I love it. It's weird to think you would want to come and have pickles over pepperoni and cheese, but I do it myself. Everybody loves it," Swain said.
If you doubted that generous slices of pickle really do taste best sprinkled atop pizza, consider it's competition. It beat out a boozy State Fair Mary topped with every deep friend snack imaginable, a Thin Mint milkshake, deep fried cheese, deep fried brownies and bison lettuce wraps. A flex.
Nationally, the pickle pizza is having a bit of a moment. An article celebrating the rise of pickle pizza ran in the Washington Post at the end of July. The New York Times ran a story celebrating the rise of all things pickle, in general, one day after that.
"That was really cool to see, it's exciting," Swain said.
I've personally experienced the pickle pizza twice now and am a devoted advocate, aspiring influencer of the pizza. It's crucial to note there's no tomato sauce on this, it's a cheesy dill blend. If you're hesitant to try it, remember it's similar to dunking breadsticks in ranch. Who among us hasn't tried that?
Fan though I may be of the pickle pizza, it wasn't the only food honored on Wednesday. The pretzel nacho bites took home second place in the 2022 Taste of the Fair competition, and the esquites, or Mexican corn in a cup, took home third place. Both were products of Wilson Concessions.
Swains Concessions were presented the prize by Miss Indiana State Fair Alyssa McKillip. You can grab a slice at their stand on the stretch of road between Celebration Park and the DNR building. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/pickle-pizza-takes-home-top-prize-at-indiana-state-fair/531-9e53b061-545e-4e11-831b-703a4f33272e | 2022-08-17T18:47:54 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/pickle-pizza-takes-home-top-prize-at-indiana-state-fair/531-9e53b061-545e-4e11-831b-703a4f33272e |
VALPARAISO — Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer told Porter resident Elon Howe Wednesday morning he is the "worst kind of monster."
While projecting an upstanding image to the community, Howe was secretly taking sexual advantage of an intellectually disabled family member and continues to show no remorse, the judge said.
"I don't think there's an unselfish bone in your body," DeBoer said before giving Howe a near-maximum prison sentence of 20 years on felony counts of rape and incest. "It's all about you."
The judge took the further step of labeling the 58-year-old a sexually violent predator, which means upon his release from prison, he is required to register as a sex offender for life and comply with stringent requirements.
Howe declined the opportunity to make a statement before sentencing, but Porter County Public Defender Mark Chargualaf argued that Howe's apparent lack of remorse is actually him exercising his right to remain silent and maintain his position for appeal.
The sexual abuse has taken away the "sweet" and "bubbly" personality of his victim and replaced it with a short temper and self harm, which has robbed her of most of the limited activities she had in life, Ryan said.
"It's a cruelty above and beyond imagination," she said.
A jury found Howe guilty last month on the two charges of sexually assaulting the family member three years ago.
Howe, who opted not to take the witness stand to testify on his own behalf during the trial, was seen on video tape by jurors telling a police investigator how he attempted to have sexual intercourse with the intellectually disabled family member.
While describing how the adult woman "liked attention," Howe took blame for his actions.
"I'm the bad person," he told Porter police Detective Sgt. Tawni Komisarcik during the July 29, 2019, interview.
Komisarcik had testified that her department was alerted to the accusations against Howe on July 10, 2019, and went to the local Fairhaven Baptist Church where the pastor told them a church member had been told of the abuse by the alleged victim.
The church member told police the alleged victim was helping out with day care at the church on July 7, 2019, when she mentioned she was Howe's "belated birthday present," court documents state. It was at that point that she described the sex acts and the pain they caused her.
"He stated that she (his wife) has not been giving him attention," police said of Howe. "Howe did not deny the allegations and said that he would try to be a better (family member)."
Komisarcik said the alleged victim's responses reminded her of a 5-year-old child.
DeBoer ruled earlier that the woman, who reportedly has an IQ of 48, which places her in the severely intellectually disabled range, was not competent to testify during the trial.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into the Porter County Jail
Porter/LaPorte County Courts and Social Justice Reporter
Bob is a 23-year veteran of The Times. He covers county government and courts in Porter County, federal courts, police news and regional issues. He also created the Vegan in the Region blog, is an Indiana University grad and lifelong region resident. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-hands-down-near-max-sentence-for-monster-in-porter-county-rape-incest-case/article_447cd12f-0349-5e55-b40f-77799d97fc00.html | 2022-08-17T18:51:22 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-hands-down-near-max-sentence-for-monster-in-porter-county-rape-incest-case/article_447cd12f-0349-5e55-b40f-77799d97fc00.html |
CROWN POINT — A man arrested last week in connection with allegations he rammed a Hobart home with a truck while several adults and two children were inside remained in custody Wednesday on four felony charges and one misdemeanor.
Anthony E. Sailors, 57, of Hobart, had not yet made an initial appearance on charges of attempted domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon, attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer, criminal recklessness, resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor attempted striking of a law enforcement animal.
Police subdued Sailors with a Taser after Sailors fought a K-9 and officers, Lake Criminal Court records state.
Hobart police were called about 3:20 p.m. to Sailors' estranged wife's home for a report of a vehicle running into a home.
Investigators later learned Sailors had been sending her threatening text messages before arriving at the home, police said.
Valpo man charged after found slumped over in vehicle with syringe in hand, Portage police say
Portage police say they came under attack and were injured after responding to large brawl
Teen molested, recorded after sneaking out during sleepover, Porter County police say
Taxpayer rebate checks finally headed to Hoosier homes
Man dead after losing control of vehicle on I-94, Porter County coroner says
Valparaiso begins design process for new Community Sports and Recreation Complex
2nd shooting in 3 nights at Hammond park
Man charged with murder in MLK Park shooting
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, Buona Beef, Rainbow Cone, Portillo's and Twisted Sugar coming
Whiting Empanada Fest coming to Lake Michigan lakefront
Gary drug dealer pleads guilty in murder of rival businessman
New Lincoln Kitchen brings a dozen ghost kitchen restaurants to Valpo
Motorcyclist flips the bird, prompting assault by intoxicated woman, police say
Region woman says she was sexually assaulted at home by stranger, police say
1 shot to death in Hammond; mayor shuts down basketball courts at MLK Park after 2nd shooting in 3 nights
A neighbor told police a man later identified as Sailors arrived in a pickup truck and began screaming. At one point, Sailors yelled, "I will kill everyone on the block. I don't care," court records allege.
Sailors backed the pickup into the street, revved the engine and struck his estranged wife's SUV, pushing it into a grassy area, documents state.
The neighbor told police Sailors backed up again, revved the truck's engine and rammed the house. His estranged wife later told police he struck an area in the living room where she normally sat.
After spinning the truck's tires as if he were trying to push farther into the house, Sailors got out of the truck, yelled and threatened people inside the house, and ran into the woods to the north of the residence, records state.
Family members told police three adults and two children were sitting in the living room when they heard a loud crash and one of the adults yelled they had to get out.
They went out a back door, called 911 and saw Sailors run toward the woods as police arrived, records state.
Officers called the K-9 to the scene and shouted a warning to Sailors, who yelled he would shoot the dog if it were released, according to court documents.
Police released the K-9, which found Sailors on the ground in the woods but did not initially engage him. Sailors began kicking at the dog, got on his feet when police arrived in the area and attempted to reach for an officer's gun, records state.
The officer punched Sailors in the face and took him to the ground. Sailors continued to struggle with officers as they took him into custody, records state.
The officer suffered injuries to his hand and wrist while taking Sailors down.
Sailors' bail was set at $65,000 surety or $6,500 cash.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Daniel Cooper
Age : 34
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206874
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - METHAMPHETAMINE D
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Darrion Robinson
Age : 25
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206829
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - < $750
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Lamont Bell
Age : 48
Residence: South Holland, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206828
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: INTIMIDATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Roberto Ruiz
Age : 42
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206861
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Dominique Bentley-Hannah
Age : 27
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206918
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Timothy Crawford
Age : 45
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206975
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: CONFINEMENT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jeff Henderson Jr.
Age : 40
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206947
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Charles Messer Jr.
Age : 36
Residence: Whiting, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206926
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Raymond Johnson II
Age : 25
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206972
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: HOMICIDE - MURDER (ATTEMPTED)
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Justin Smith
Age : 28
Residence: Valparaiso, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206915
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Eva Salazar
Age : 29
Residence: Sauk Village, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206844
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Nautica Wilkins
Age : 21
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206988
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: FALSE REPORTING - REPORT, CRIME, OR COMPLAINT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Samer Owaynat
Age : 22
Residence: Lincolnwood, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206954
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: CONFINEMENT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Damarcus Fisher
Age : 26
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206867
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: POINTING A FIREARM; CRIMINAL RECKLESSNESS - AGGRAVATED - W/DEADLY WEAPON (SOCIETY IS VICTIM)
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Skylar Boyd
Age : 18
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206826
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: ROBBERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Econyers Dunlap
Age : 26
Residence: Calumet Park, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206956
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Rashad Hickman
Age : 21
Residence: Lynwood, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206951
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD - FORGERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Alfonso Nieto
Age : 58
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206944
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - W/DEADLY WEAPON
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Tommy Talley Jr.
Age : 36
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206934
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - W/MODERATE BODILY INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Dakwon Johnson
Age : 26
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206989
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - MACHINE GUN - W/NO PERMIT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kadin Wilkins
Age : 20
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206839
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POSSESSION - STOLEN PROPERTY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Melissa Legacy
Age : 38
Residence: Waukegan, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206980
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Tracy Stevens Jr.
Age : 38
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206873
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jimmy Johnson
Age : 64
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206812
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG; POSSESS HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OR NEEDLE; THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - $750 TO $50,000
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Aaron Witt
Age : 39
Residence: Valparaiso, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206990
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - SIMPLE - < $750
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Taylor Brown
Age : 26
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206838
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: COMMON NUISANCE - VISITING - CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Cortez Dunlap
Age : 26
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206920
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: RESISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT - VEHICLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Brandon Janosz
Age : 31
Residence: Glenwood, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206929
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Walter Givens
Age : 57
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206876
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: OPERATING A VEHICLE AFTER DRIVING PRIVILEGES ARE SUSPENDED
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Eric Gamblin
Age : 28
Residence: Valparaiso, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206974
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jennifer Phillips
Age : 49
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206921
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD - FORGERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Matthew Oiler
Age : 35
Residence: Valparaiso, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206916
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Gerardo Bahena
Age : 37
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206877
Arrest Date: Aug. 7, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
June Chew
Age : 58
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206827
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST A PERSON < 14 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Maron Counce
Age : 32
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2207009
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - BY A FELON
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Johnny Hamilton
Age : 35
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206955
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kevin Johnston
Age : 43
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206928
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: OPERATE VEHICLE AFTER BEING HABITUAL TRAFFIC OFFENDER
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kenneth Manley
Age : 59
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206963
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - < $750
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Joshua Rebenack
Age : 44
Residence: Cedar Lake, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206941
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: HABITUAL TRAFFIC VIOLATOR - LIFETIME
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Alejandro Flores
Age : 25
Residence: Schererville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206948
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Larry Hocking
Age : 52
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206841
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD F6 ($750 - $50,000)
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Tomecko Johnson
Age : 46
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206998
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: HOMICIDE - MURDER
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kenneth Green
Age : 38
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206869
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Alfred Benavidez
Age : 61
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206881
Arrest Date: Aug. 7, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Jacob Herron
Age : 35
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206971
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - < $750
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Albert Cook II
Age : 40
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2207011
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - TOUCH W/NO INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Brandon Cruz
Age : 20
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2207006
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: ANIMAL OFFENSE- CRUELTY INTENTIONALLY BEATING AN ANIMAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Keon Reeves
Age : 21
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206957
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: RESISTING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Bradley Jervis
Age : 36
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206960
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - W/PRIOR CONVICTION; POSSESSION - METHAMPHETAMINE
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Daniel Sanchez
Age : 35
Residence: Lake Station, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206936
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: DEALING - METHAMPHETAMINE; POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Deiago Cain
Age : 32
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206976
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: ROBBERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Thomas Benavidez Jr.
Age : 65
Residence: St. Charles, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206880
Arrest Date: Aug. 7, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
James Daniels
Age : 29
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2207004
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Lawrence Keilman
Age : 50
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206843
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST A PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Michael Jones
Age : 61
Residence: St. John, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206878
Arrest Date: Aug. 7, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Charles Roy Sr.
Age : 33
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2207010
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Abrams
Age : 36
Residence: Whiting, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206922
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kyle Klemoff
Age : 24
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206919
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD - INSTITUTION - BANK/FINANCIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Darrick Gill
Age : 32
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206953
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Samantha Campbell
Age : 36
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206961
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Antonio Adams
Age : 44
Residence: Steger, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206848
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
George Thompson
Age : 23
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206978
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD - DECEPTION - IDENTITY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Justin Collins
Age : 35
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206872
Arrest Date: Aug. 6, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - METHAMPHETAMINE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Virgil Powell III
Age : 35
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206832
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESS HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OR NEEDLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Isabel Sellers
Age : 25
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206952
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: NEGLECT OF DEPENDANT/CHILD VIOLATIONS
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Grace Goggin
Age : 21
Residence: St. John, IN
Booking Number(s): 2207001
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Anthony Mendez
Age : 39
Residence: St. John, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206879
Arrest Date: Aug. 7, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Kriston Barbee
Age : 36
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206939
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESS HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OR NEEDLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Austin Merrick
Age : 22
Residence: Knox, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206923
Arrest Date: Aug. 8, 2022
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Demontay Cohns Jr.
Age : 30
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206983
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: POINTING A FIREARM
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Joshua Vargo
Age : 38
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2207007
Arrest Date: Aug. 10, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Justin Wippo
Age : 28
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206973
Arrest Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Cheri Terranova
Age : 32
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206786
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: NEGLECT OF DEPENDANT/CHILD VIOLATIONS
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Savanna Swiatkowski
Age : 28
Residence: Valparaiso, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206756
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Louis Upshaw
Age : 30
Residence: Columbus, OH
Booking Number(s): 2206789
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
DeShawn Wilson
Age : 18
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206777
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - FIREARM
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Armani Anderson
Age : 18
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206807
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: ROBBERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Tracy Bachelder
Age : 48
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206813
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG; POSSESS HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OR NEEDLE; ASSISTING A CRIMINAL
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Joseph Anguiano
Age : 44
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206814
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Jeffrey Barnes
Age : 60
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206810
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Jeffrey Broadway
Age : 55
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206798
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - MODERATE BODILY INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jakhari Brown
Age : 22
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206800
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD - FORGERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Chazmon Carney
Age : 32
Residence: South Holland, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206819
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Arthur Erb Jr.
Age : 52
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206811
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: RESISTING - ESCAPE; POSSESS HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OR NEEDLE
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Justin Heaviland
Age : 29
Residence: Valparaiso, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206816
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: RECKLESS DRIVING IN HIGHWAY WORK ZONE; OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony; Misdemeanor
E'Mon Ferguson
Age : 29
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206817
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: RESISTING - ESCAPE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Alex Pierce
Age : 29
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206818
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESS LEGEND DRUG OR PRECURSOR
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Ronell King
Age : 26
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206797
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - TOUCH W/NO INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Sharrond Powell
Age : 21
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206796
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Tiffany Watkins
Age : 41
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206823
Arrest Date: Aug. 5, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - SIMPLE - < $750
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Xavier Schlueb
Age : 22
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206808
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: ROBBERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Mary Trajkovich
Age : 47
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206809
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Stephen Thomas
Age : 56
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206759
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - STRANGULATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Melvin Sykes
Age : 42
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206769
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - BY A FELON
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Arthur Smith
Age : 45
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206787
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: FRAUD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Daquan Steele
Age : 21
Residence: Chicago Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206778
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: ROBBERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Steven Murphy
Age : 51
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206762
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - BY A SERIOUS VIOLENT FELON
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jeffrey Nelson
Age : 33
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206780
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Brian Merrill
Age : 36
Residence: Dolton, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206765
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Tkayla Mobley
Age : 18
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206784
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Joseph Marin
Age : 24
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206775
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Joshua King
Age : 31
Residence: Flossmoor, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206764
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - $750 TO $50,000
Highest Offense Class: Felony
David David III
Age : 27
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206774
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: INTIMIDATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Chamachia Dixon
Age : 32
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206788
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Brandon Feliciano
Age : 34
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206781
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE - POSSESSION - SCHEDULE I
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Gregory Harrison Jr.
Age : 25
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206767
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Antonio Avila
Age : 29
Residence: East Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2206763
Arrest Date: Aug. 3, 2022
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - HANDGUN - W/NO PERMIT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jason Bray
Age : 18
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2206790
Arrest Date: Aug. 4, 2022
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-rammed-house-while-children-were-inside-court-records-say/article_2b02190d-92e1-54ce-9728-a60d99ea6dba.html | 2022-08-17T18:51:28 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-rammed-house-while-children-were-inside-court-records-say/article_2b02190d-92e1-54ce-9728-a60d99ea6dba.html |
Manchester University
Rebecca Colbert of Chesterton has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences.
Colbert graduated from Manchester University in May 2022 with a degree in history.
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) has announced the 2021-22 MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
Those named to it include Joshua Hoogewerf of Crown Point, Angel Sanchez of Valparaiso, Mark Civanich of Valparaiso, Chloe Vruno of Cedar Lake, Connor Malmquist of Valparaiso, Rhett Gulotta of LaPorte, and Morgan Moslow of Highland.
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Riazuddin Mohammed, of Highland, a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Vancouver Campus, has graduated with a MAS in MADS6.
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Manchester University
Twenty Region residents have been named to the Spring Dean's List at Manchester University.
They include:
Danielle Collins of Lowell, majoring in elementary education
James Corgan of Hobart, majoring in psychology
Trent Delliquadri of Chesterton,majoring in business management
Audrianna Diaz of LaPorte, majoring in history
Kaitlyn Freel of LaPorte, majoring in early childhood and elementary education
Peyton Horn of Crown Point, majoring in exercise science & fitness and psychology
Natalie Kotlin of Lowell, majoring in chemistry
Oskar Matushek of Whiting, majoring in exercise science & fitness
Rayann Nowacki of Lake Station, majoring in exercise science & fitness
Alexis Quick of Valparaiso, majoring in marketing and business management
Blake Rentschler of Griffith, majoring in exercise science & fitness
Sieon Roberts of Hobart, majoring in instrumental music Education
Piper Spyrka of St. John, majoring in biology-chemistry
Zachary Thomas of Lowell, majoring in exercise science & fitness
Lyrics Thresh of LaPorte, majoring in psychology
Jimena Torres of LaPorte, majoring in psychology
Andrea Faith Vance of Portage, majoring in interdisciplinary
Diana Wilson of Portage, majoring in environmental studies | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/education-roundup/article_e3102536-b445-5021-848e-67eb7fbe5fef.html | 2022-08-17T18:51:34 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/education-roundup/article_e3102536-b445-5021-848e-67eb7fbe5fef.html |
CROWN POINT — Crown Point Planning Administrator Anthony Schlueter will be replacing Greg Falkowski as the city's chief of staff.
Mayor Peter Land made the announcement during a Wednesday morning Board of Public Works meeting. In a city news release, Land said Schlueter's experience in the planning department makes him "a perfect fit" for the chief of staff position.
Falkowski joined the city in 2014 as director of the Planning and Zoning Department. He became chief of staff under former Mayor David Uran in 2015.
Falkowski's departure comes as he joins the the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, where he will be the chief operating officer. Falkowski will reunite with Uran, who was hired as the president and CEO of the SSCVA in the spring.
“The most enjoyable part of working for the city of Crown Point was every employee, board member and council person had the best interests of the community in mind — they come in every day striving to make the community a better place to live, work and play,” Falkowski said in the city news release. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to work in the city and with each employee. Mayor Land has an excellent team behind him and will continue the positive momentum and progress in the city.”
Schlueter has been a Crown Point resident for 25 years. He became the planning administrator in 2015 and has served on the city’s Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission. During his tenure with the city, Schlueter has updated zoning and subdivision codes to industry standards, overseen an update to the city’s comprehensive plan and assisted the Plan Commission with creating design guidelines for business corridors within the city.
Schlueter is currently the executive secretary for the Plan Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Tree Board. He also is a member of the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and the Downtown Beverage License Review Committee.
“The city’s leadership has always worked well together promoting a sense of team. I plan to continue that legacy by supporting our employees and helping provide quality city services to the residents of Crown Point,” Schlueter said. “I look forward to working with Mayor Land and all the department heads to continue the progress and responsible growth the city has seen over the years.”
In the news release, Land reflected on Falkowski's time with the city.
“When I took the helm of the mayor’s office two months ago, Greg was an immense help. His knowledge on development in and around Crown Point has proven invaluable during this transition period,” Land said.
Throughout his seven years as chief of staff, Falkowski was a key player in the planning and implementation of several major projects, including the 109th Avenue Transportation and Safety Improvement Project, Bulldog Park, Legacy Fields at Center Ross Park, the Cal Ripken hitting barn and turf field improvements, downtown parking improvement and pedestrian safety work, the ongoing Sauerman Woods Park Drainage Improvement Project and the Veterans Memorial Trail.
Land said the selection process for the new planning administrator has begun and that he expects the position to be filled within the next few weeks.
Mayor Peter Land, left, announced that Anthony Schlueter, right, will be taking over as the city's chief of staff. Schlueter replaced Greg Falkowski who has accepted a position with the South Shore Convention and Visitor's Authority. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/crown-point/mayor-land-announces-new-chief-of-staff-for-crown-point/article_fd77a22d-3a98-52b0-9acc-4776e58477b9.html | 2022-08-17T18:51:41 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/crown-point/mayor-land-announces-new-chief-of-staff-for-crown-point/article_fd77a22d-3a98-52b0-9acc-4776e58477b9.html |
The city of Portage recently received the first of seven compressed natural gas trash trucks it is purchasing.
Provided
Mayor Sue Lynch and Street Superintendent Randy Reeder with the Green Fleet Member of the Year award given by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission at the recent Drive Clean Indiana Annual Conference and Expo in Michigan City.
PORTAGE — The city of Portage was recently recognized as the Green Fleet Member of the Year by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
Street Superintendent Randy Reeder accepted the award at the recent Drive Clean Indiana annual conference and expo in Michigan City.
“The city is seeking equipment that runs on alternative fuel such as natural gas,” Reeder said about why the city was recognized.
Last week the city received the first of seven new trash trucks that are operated on compressed natural gas rather than diesel fuel.
Reeder said the city pursued and received grants that are paying nearly 90% of the cost of the new trash fleet. The seven trucks cost about $2.2 million, but the city’s share was approximately $235,000. Funding came from a federal grant and the Volkswagen settlement funds.
“This has been a wonderful opportunity to get vehicles with federal dollars,” said Mayor Sue Lynch. “Our sanitation fleet has been woefully lacking and out of date. This will allow us to update our fleet at a minimal cost. With all those federal dollars out there, we must capitalize on these things.”
Lynch said she also believes it is important, especially "since we live in a non-attainment area, to do whatever can be done to improve the air quality for today's and future residents."
The remaining six trucks will be arriving through late spring 2023. Reeder said they are applying for a second round of the federal grant money to purchase 10 additional pieces of equipment, construct a fueling station at the street department facility and provide infrastructure.
Reeder said natural gas-powered vehicles are not only better for the environment but are more cost-effective for the city. Diesel fuel, he said, is running about $5.50 per gallon, while compressed natural gas’ equivalent cost is about $1.15 per gallon. Compressed natural gas is also a more abundant, stable fuel source than diesel, he said.
The specifications for the new compressed natural gas-powered trucks, including their bright green color, were developed by the sanitation department employees.
“The road to success is never traveled alone,” said Reeder, who thanked Lynch, the city of Hobart, Crowley Engineering, grant writer Ryan Lysak, Ozinga Energy and Best Equipment for their support and assistance in pursuing the grants and equipment.
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Hot air balloon
Eight-year-old Mark Marley of Crown Point looks out over the edge of the balloon gondola at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
Following their balloon ride, Lynn Flewelling, center, and her daughters, from left, Madison, 19, Kaitlin, 14, and Hannah, 17, watch as balloons are inflated at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
Eight-year-old Mark Marley of Crown Point looks out over the edge of the balloon gondola at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Hot air balloon
Fair goers take in the view from a hot-air balloon at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Up, up and away
Tony Surdlin adds some heat to his hot-air balloon at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Hot air balloon
Kevin and Danielle Brown, of Crown Point, and others take in the view from a hot air balloon at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Up, up and away
Balloons glow by the grandstand at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Hot air balloon
Balloons are fired up Wednesday at the Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Hot air balloon
Tony Surdlin, right, pilots a hot-air balloon as Mike and Kathy Diernfeld, of Estero, Florida, enjoy the view at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Up, up and away
Kelli Perez takes pictures of her daughters, Amora Davis and A'niylah Perez, inside a balloon at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
John J. Watkins, The Times
Hot air balloon
Following their balloon ride, Lynn Flewelling, center, and her daughters, from left, Madison, 19, Kaitlin, 14, and Hannah, 17, watch as balloons are inflated at Wednesday's Lake County Fair.
The Times Media Company is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Northwest Indiana, through local news, information, service initiatives and community partnerships.
The charging stations are being put in by a group of eight Indiana utilities, including NIPSCO, through a grant from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust.
Businesses, governments and other organizations looking to shrink their carbon footprint can check out the latest and greatest in sustainable vehicles at the upcoming Drive Clean Indiana Annual Conference & Expo.
Mayor Sue Lynch and Street Superintendent Randy Reeder with the Green Fleet Member of the Year award given by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission at the recent Drive Clean Indiana Annual Conference and Expo in Michigan City. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/portage-awarded-for-alternative-fuel-use/article_9f6bdb18-074d-5aab-afbe-ba9b2e55cc29.html | 2022-08-17T18:51:47 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/portage-awarded-for-alternative-fuel-use/article_9f6bdb18-074d-5aab-afbe-ba9b2e55cc29.html |
CALIFORNIA, USA — This story was originally published by CalMatters.
When California Republicans gathered in Anaheim this spring, attention focused on candidate speeches and endorsement battles as the party tries to win its first statewide race since 2006.
But a little-noticed, hour-long session in a small conference room at the Marriott could very well be more consequential for the state GOP this election.
The meeting focused on running for local school board seats, and it was led by Shawn Steel, a former party chairperson. Now, he’s one of the biggest evangelists for strengthening the GOP by recruiting new candidates and voters in what are, officially at least, nonpartisan races.
“When you’re a minority party, like Republicans in California … you have to think, ‘Well, what can we do as a party to make a big difference?’” Steel told CalMatters. “You see the schools are just in great freefall and chaos. Parents don’t want to send their kids there. So this is the time to get people that are otherwise angst-ridden, upset, powerless.”
In California, Democrats have long used school boards as a recruiting and training ground for political candidates — with help from teachers’ unions.
But while the state Democratic party isn’t amping up its school board efforts in 2022, the GOP is going in big with its “Parent Revolt” program — what party officials call their most tailored school board recruitment and training program ever. It includes virtual training sessions that detail how and where to run for office, plus tips for digital campaigns and going door-to-door.
The goal: To capitalize on COVID pandemic frustrations and concerns over “critical race theory” and other issues among parents of school-aged children — and win not only school board seats, but also, eventually, legislative and congressional races by re-engaging core Republican voters and attracting independents.
There are about 2,500 races for local school board seats in California in November — about half of the total 5,000 seats, according to the California School Boards Association. The filing deadline for candidates was Friday, though it was extended until today for seats held by incumbents not seeking reelection. While no statewide tally exists, of the nine seats up for election in the three largest school districts — Los Angeles, San Diego, and Fresno — three are open seats, where no incumbent is running.
The Republican Party would not disclose its goals for recruited candidates, other than as many as possible. It also wouldn’t say how much it is spending on its “Parent Revolt” effort.
“We recognized early that education is going to be a major motivating issue for many Californians this year,” said Ellie Hockenbury, spokesperson for the state GOP. “Whereas it is often the case that top-of-the-ticket races help turnout for down-ballot races, we also believe that local races could be just as big a motivator for many to drive turnout. Having strong candidates in school board races could help our slate of candidates at every level.”
One candidate is Sonja Shaw, who is running for a seat on the Chino Valley School Board in the Inland Empire.
Shaw, a parent of an eighth grader and a 10th grader, used to volunteer in the classroom, but says that during the pandemic, the school board became less accessible and less transparent about its decision-making. “When they closed down, parents were exited out of the school system,” she said.
Then the GOP provided a level of guidance on running a campaign that Shaw otherwise wouldn’t have had: “We were treading water, without knowing where we’re going,” she said.
These local races are hardly low-stakes: School board members around the state will be at the forefront of determining how federal funding is spent and addressing labor shortages, teacher pay and inequities in education exacerbated by the pandemic.
“I’m just trying — and the party is trying — to get the word out: There’s a whole lot of stuff going on in your backyard,” Steel said in an interview. “Don’t worry about the Ukraine, don’t worry about D.C. You can do something socially useful, and start showing up to your school board meetings.”
Will the strategy work? Some political consultants think it could be a smart way to go.
“It’s the one instance where the David really can defeat the Goliath — when David continues to be so arrogant,” said Sean Walsh, a GOP strategist.
But Rusty Hicks, chairperson of the California Democratic Party, said he sees some within the Republican Party using “this really challenging moment in our history” to further divide the state for political gain.
“Ultimately I think parents want the best education for their kids,” he told CalMatters. “And is banning books and punishing teachers and those kinds of activities – is that top of mind for parents? No, I don’t believe so.”
‘A logical outgrowth’
In California’s 2022 election, the big action on education isn’t in the statewide race for the superintendent of public instruction. That’s a departure from the last midterm election in 2018, when it was one of the state’s most hotly contested races.
With the help of teachers’ unions, Tony Thurmond narrowly defeated school choice advocate Marshall Tuck. The two — both Democrats in the nonpartisan race — spent $60 million combined. This year, there has been little challenge to Thurmond, who won 46% of the vote in the June 7 primary, just shy of the majority he needed to win outright without going to November.
His challenger on Nov. 8, Republican Lance Christensen, earned a top-two spot with only 12% of the vote. He has raised only about $55,000 so far, compared to nearly $1.7 million for Thurmond, who is also boosted by $2.3 million in independent expenditures on his behalf.
The GOP’s lack of attention on the superintendent race is a reflection of the party’s record statewide and the daunting odds of unseating a Democratic-backed incumbent, given the 2 to 1 Democratic advantage in voter registration.
Instead, Republicans have “become a party that focuses on presidential politics and local campaigns,” said Dan Schnur, a politics professor at UC Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine.
The focus on school board races, he said, “is a logical outgrowth of that strategy.”
Party officials, consultants and candidates of both parties say school choice is not at the forefront of the election this year for a number of reasons, including the pandemic, the shift of the issue to the local level, and the passage of Assembly Bill 1505 in 2019, which changed how publicly funded charter schools operate in California.
This year, the GOP is seeking to capitalize on the increased political engagement of parents — which started with COVID policies, but has carried over to national issues such as “critical race theory” and sex education.
“I think there’s a real demand that this power structure is challenged and overturned, and that’s what we’re seeing right now,” Steel said. “We don’t lead it. We don’t own it. But if we can help inspire people, particularly newcomers…”
The state party says it doesn’t give directly to school board candidates, but said its training provides non-monetary support. The April workshop and virtual event in July had at least 100 attendees each. The party has also conducted one-on-one sessions with prospective candidates.
Similar to its California Trailblazers program, which focuses on running for legislative seats, participants received a binder of information that includes not just deadlines and required forms, but also vendor options, website design tools and tips on how to make the most of campaign funds.
There’s also a website dedicated to the cause, plus emails sent out weekly from a rotation of Republican leaders: Steel, party Chairperson Jessica Millan Patterson, U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel, gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Brian Dahle, Christensen and Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon.
During the party’s July event, speakers didn’t dictate specific talking points. Instead, they encouraged participants to focus on the issues important to their community.
For Kelly Felton, a first-time candidate running for a Tustin Unified School District seat in Orange County, that issue was the “political narratives” being taught to her kids (one in 7th grade, and one who is in 10th), including critical race theory, sex education and the use of gender pronouns.
In June 2021, she began attending Tustin Unified school board meetings, where she said she joined many other angry parents. Feeling shut out, Felton decided to enter politics, and took part in the state GOP July training session, which she said taught her “the practicality of running.”
“It did inspire me to think that I can do it,” she said.
One point emphasized in the training sessions: It usually doesn’t cost a lot to run for school board.
The cost varies depending on the district size, according to Mari Barke, a member of the Orange County Board of Education and director of the California Policy Center’s project to recruit and train local elected officials.
Barke espouses the low-cost “walk to win” strategy by going door-to-door, but acknowledges that’s not always possible in large districts, rural areas or in gated communities. That’s where mailers come in handy, and they can cost anywhere from $10,000 in a smaller district to $40,000 in a large one.
For the GOP, that’s a more cost-effective way to win seats. The state party has said it wants to focus its limited resources on congressional races, rather than statewide legislative races.
Fueled by parents’ anger over pandemic school shutdowns, a record 50 school board members in California were the targets of recalls in 2021, according to EdSource. And three San Francisco school board members were recalled in February.
But according to Steel, running for school board in regular elections is a better use of time for candidates than recalls — which can be powerful at times, but are often short-sighted. “I like to say run or recruit. Don’t bitch to me anymore,” he said.
Hicks, the California Democratic Party leader, said the Republican party’s focus on local races is not surprising, given that the Democratic Party has largely targeted state and federal races for the last two decades.
“As a result, Republicans have been able to maintain some level of relevance on the local level,” he said.
Is Hicks worried?
“No, because at the end of the day while Republicans in California are trying to throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks — to keep people angry and to frankly, in my view, destroy a traditional free public education in California — Democrats have been focused on the most important things.”
That includes smaller class sizes and ensuring students have pathways to college and careers, Hicks said.
Schnur said that while education is an issue that Democrats believe belongs to them, the pandemic concerns could help the GOP.
“It’s more than likely that Republicans can reinforce their strengths in their regions of core support,” he said. “But it’s an open question whether they can expand beyond that base.”
Counter-messaging by Democrats
While the state Democratic Party doesn’t have a specific strategy focused on school boards, it is operating the California version of the Democrats’ national strategy called “Contest Every Race,” recruiting candidates to run for city council, school board and other local seats, with a focus on rural areas.
Hicks said the party looks to its county chapters to take the lead on local races. In Placer County, for example, the local Democratic Party is hosting phone bank events every Saturday.
In Contra Costa County, the local party responded to concerns from school board members who reported being harassed and threatened. It passed two resolutions, one supporting the pandemic measures taken by school board members and calling out “coordinated efforts by a ‘network of conservative groups with ties to major Republican donors and party-aligned think tanks’ to engage in culture war fights designed to intimidate school board members so they can be replaced by radical conservatives.”
A second resolution passed in November 2021 backed the district’s ethnic studies curriculum and criticized the effort to mislead parents into confusing critical race theory with ethnic studies.
To counter some of the anti-union messaging from GOP-recruited candidates, the California Teachers Association has spoken out in support of pro-union candidates, many of whom happen to be Democrats.
Hicks said that while there’s no formal partnership between the Democratic Party and the CTA, it makes sense that they’re often allied. “I think the Democratic Party is the party of working people,” he said. “I think that means not just workers on the job, but also ensuring that workers on the job get their kids a quality education.”
Lisa Gardiner, spokesperson for the 310,000-member California Teachers Association, said the union’s local chapters do endorse school board candidates, but not along partisan lines. She also disputed that teachers’ unions have too much influence over school boards, saying that “the real power resides in parents, educators, students and communities working together.”
“November’s school board elections are a critical opportunity for all of us to stand together to support racially and socially equitable schools, and the public education our students need to succeed,” she said in a statement.
Prospects for success
The state GOP isn’t alone in recruiting or training school board candidates who oppose critical race theory and vaccine mandates and take issue with school unions. Other organizations involved include Let Them Breathe, a group that advocates for more parental say, including against mask mandates; the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation; and churches, though as nonprofits, they’re not permitted to do more than provide information.
Some candidates who took part in the GOP sessions said they’ve taken part in training by other groups as well.
Morgan Polikoff, an associate professor at USC’s Rossier School of Education, said while there are legitimate concerns about how school boards handled the pandemic, partisan influence can sometimes turn toxic — and isn’t politically beneficial, either.
“What I would hope is that these efforts actually engage seriously with issues that matter to voters … and not on sort of manufactured stuff about transgender athletes, or pick a topic, that these culture wars that conservative candidates in other places are running on,” Polikoff said.
How likely are candidates to succeed?
Polikoff said that depends on how much candidates can stay on message with issues that matter to parents and voters. “In my view, the reason why the Republican Party has really struggled in California is the candidates are too extreme for where the majority of the state is,” he said.
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
Watch more from ABC10: Former California Democratic congressman arrested, charged with fraud | Top 10 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-republicans-local-school-board-races/103-743455b4-ecaf-45bf-92a9-2d0dc670a909 | 2022-08-17T18:55:11 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-republicans-local-school-board-races/103-743455b4-ecaf-45bf-92a9-2d0dc670a909 |
CENTRAL VALLEY, Calif. — This story was originally published by CalMatters.
Just before midnight on a recent Tuesday, Luna Lockhart, 25, jumped in the car with their roommate and drove three-and-a-half hours from Fresno to San Francisco.
Their destination: Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where more than 400 people were already waiting in line to get a monkeypox vaccine.
“They aren’t giving out monkeypox vaccines in Fresno,” Lockhart told CalMatters at the time. “We decided just to be proactive.”
The monkeypox outbreak has disproportionately impacted gay and bisexual men as well as transgender individuals, fueling comparison to the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and calls for a stronger public health response. The state prioritized sparse resources, including the monkeypox vaccine, for counties with the greatest number of cases — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alameda, and San Diego. But queer advocates in the Central Valley say when it comes to allocating monkeypox resources, they feel abandoned by state public health officials.
San Francisco has more doses per capita than any other county in the state. It has 27 per 1,000 residents compared to 4 in Los Angeles and 1 across all 19 Central Valley counties.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the resources do go to San Francisco and Los Angeles…We need to remember that there are LGBTQ people in every part of the state,” said Tracy City Councilmember Dan Tavares Arriola, the city’s first openly LGBTQ elected official.
Arriola testified last week during a special state Senate committee hearing on monkeypox. He told CalMatters he has spoken to numerous queer people in the Central Valley who, like Lockhart, have driven hours to get a vaccine.
“It’s frustrating, because the Central Valley always gets left behind,” Arriola said. He contracted monkeypox in late July and spent days trying to get treatment and a vaccine for his partner.
When Lockhart drove to San Francisco to get vaccinated, Fresno County, with 1 million residents, had only 20 vaccines to distribute. As a two-dose shot, that meant that only 10 people could be fully vaccinated. At the time, statewide there were fewer than 650 cases of monkeypox, but the outbreak has since ballooned to nearly 2,000 cases — a nearly threefold increase in the past two-and-a-half weeks. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and chair of the Senate Select Committee on Monkeypox, compared getting a vaccine appointment to “The Hunger Games,” with lines stretching around the block.
For people who don’t have the time, transportation or money to drive to another county, not being able to get a vaccine locally is “a very big problem,” said Walter Hewitt, a Fresno resident.
Hewitt, 23, has been trying to get a vaccine for weeks. He’s queer, which puts him in a higher-risk category, but he also works at a gym and is afraid he’ll get infected from touching contaminated equipment. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease and can be passed along by touching contaminated objects.
“It’s something that needs to be available for everyone,” Hewitt said.“Everyone should have a choice just like they did with the COVID vaccine to protect themselves.”
Sixteen days after Fresno County confirmed its first monkeypox case and 10 weeks after California reported its first case, Jennifer Cruz, executive director of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission LGBTQ+ Resource Center, said she had not gotten any information from the county health department about vaccinations or where to direct people with questions. Britni Lloyd, executive director at the MoPRIDE Center in Stanislaus County, said she receives calls about monkeypox every day. The county health department plans on opening a vaccine clinic at the MoPRIDE Center, but it hasn’t happened yet. Lloyd has started making her own waiting list of people to call once it does.
“Our health services agency seems anxious to get (vaccine) services rolling in our county, but there’s a lot of red tape,” Lloyd said, which was a common complaint from local officials during the Senate oversight hearing on monkeypox.
At a media briefing at the end of July, Fresno health officials said they were planning community meetings to get information about monkeypox to those who need it. Officials did not respond to a CalMatters request for information about vaccine clinics.
As of Aug. 11, Fresno and Stanislaus counties each had seven cases, according to state data.
Slowly, the Central Valley has gotten more vaccines as the federal government distributes supplies to each state. Fresno County’s vaccine allocation increased to 430 while Stanislaus’ increased to 282. Kern County, which also had seven cases as of Aug. 11 but received more than 800 initial doses, administered 200 at a recent vaccine site.
Still, the vaccine rollout has been slow and resources have been slim compared to urban areas. The California Department of Public Health has prioritized distribution of the extremely scarce vaccine primarily based on the number of cases in each county, which some say overlooks how much people travel throughout the state.
Case in point: Lockhart’s roommate has a boyfriend in San Francisco and travels back and forth frequently.
Tracy City Councilmember Arriola said most people in his city work in the Bay Area, where the infection is prevalent, but San Joaquin County initially received only 10 vaccines.
“That’s 86,000 people just in the city of Tracy who are in the Bay Area working to make a living and who are having the exact same contact each and every day,” Arriola said. The state has since allocated 712 doses to San Joaquin County as the federal government distributes more supplies.
Los Angeles and San Francisco counties have been the epicenters of the outbreak in California, with 670 and 516 recorded cases respectively. Those counties received tens of thousands of vaccines, setting up mass vaccination clinics in a matter of days — and they’ve also wielded outsized political power.
Sen. Wiener is among 10 lawmakers who submitted an $38 million emergency budget request to the state. All except one of those legislators represent districts in the Bay Area or surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego, which has the fourth-highest number of cases. The same is true of a letter sent by lawmakers to the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency requesting aid.
In Los Angeles, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon of Lakewood held a press conference with LGBTQ groups calling for more federal support and a stronger response to the monkeypox outbreak. San Francisco was the first local government to declare a state of emergency in response to monkeypox.
And while the efforts of urban activists have certainly helped direct resources to their communities and spurred conversations about stigma against the LGBTQ community, queer people in other places of the state say they need more help.
The day before the state issued stay-at-home orders to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cruz said many of the people her LGBTQ center serves hadn’t even heard of the virus and didn’t understand why the center was closing.
“In Fresno, you’re dealing with high poverty, which means people don’t necessarily have access to the news like the rest of us,” Cruz said. “They’re not watching the news on TV. They might have smartphones with poor data. People with free phones with poor data plans don’t spend a lot of their data on news sites.”
Instead, it’s up to community advocates to do the legwork to reach marginalized communities, she said, which is a problem when LGBTQ centers are few and far between.
“It feels like we’re several decades behind other parts of the state,” Arriola said. “And so that’s what’s frustrating about the allocation of resources related to (monkeypox), is that we’re still falling behind.”
State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said during the Senate hearing that as vaccine supply increases, the state health department will reassess how it’s distributing it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently told states to split each shot of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine into five doses in an effort to stretch inadequate supplies.
Experts say vaccines aren’t the be-all-end-all when it comes to stopping the outbreak. Health workers could contain monkeypox by identifying everyone who has been in close proximity to an infected person and doing precautionary testing and vaccination — a process known as contact tracing — but health departments frequently don’t have sufficient staff to do so.
“We’re still at a point where (contact tracing) would continue to be effective for monkeypox,” said Dr. Jason Andrews, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at Stanford Health. “But it requires systems and resources that we don’t have in place right now.”
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
Watch more from ABC10: Monkeypox Outbreak: Sacramento is latest California county to make emergency declaration | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/monkeypox-resources-california/103-a4248bde-40ef-4252-bede-15d4a47ecfd6 | 2022-08-17T18:55:17 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/monkeypox-resources-california/103-a4248bde-40ef-4252-bede-15d4a47ecfd6 |
Cantrell was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. She said in a video posted on Facebook she lost her sister 11 years ago to breast cancer.
“This is my second cancer diagnosis,” Cantrell said. “And it has really made me re-evaluate life and accelerate my plans beyond the work I love. I have loved living in Fairfield and serving as your police chief, and am profoundly thankful to the Fairfield City Council, City Staff, Police department staff and to the community that has welcomed and worked alongside me and my staff with open arms.”
Cantrell has been in law enforcement for more than 28 years. She was sworn in as Fairfield's first female police chief in October 2020.
Interim City Manager David Gassaway selected Captain Dan Marshall to be police chief once Cantrell retires.
Watch Cantrell's full video announcement on the Fairfield Police Department's Facebook page.
Fairfield Police Chief Deanna Cantrell Announces Plans to Retire by End of Year After More Than 28 Years in Law Enforcement
A breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year led Chief of Police Deanna Cantrell to announce her retirement earlier today. The announcement comes earlier than expected.
“This is my second cancer diagnosis,” Chief Cantrell said. “And it has really made me re-evaluate life and accelerate my plans beyond the work I love. I have loved living in Fairfield and serving as your police chief, and am profoundly thankful to the Fairfield City Council, City Staff, Police department staff and to the community that has welcomed and worked alongside me and my staff with open arms.” Chief Cantrell also extends her thanks to Stefan Chatwin, Fairfield’s previous city manager, for believing in her and giving her one of the greatest opportunities of her career.
Interim City Manager David Gassaway has selected Captain Dan Marshall to take the helm as police chief upon Chief Cantrell’s departure. Captain Marshall is “extremely excited, and humbled by the decision and will continue to learn from Chief Cantrell prior to becoming the chief later this year.”
For media inquiries, please contact Public Information Officer Jennifer Brantley at (707)428-7300 or jbrantley@fairfield.ca.gov. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fairfield/fairfield-police-chief-deanna-cantrell-retire-cancer/103-7f5df76e-e6c7-4fec-9baf-4fd477a7272e | 2022-08-17T18:55:23 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fairfield/fairfield-police-chief-deanna-cantrell-retire-cancer/103-7f5df76e-e6c7-4fec-9baf-4fd477a7272e |
PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — The Placer County District Attorney's Office is warning people about rainbow-colored fentanyl that may be marketed to minors.
“To be clear, all fentanyl purchased on the street is deadly, no matter the color, shape, size, or form,” said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire in a statement, “Yet we find this rainbow-colored substance is one of the many tools that dealers are using to make the poison appeal to our kids. Any form of narcotic that does not come from a doctor’s prescription could be lethal, but we want the community to know these multi-colored powders are one of the trends we are seeing in the fentanyl market.”
Rainbow-colored fentanyl is just as deadly as white or blue fentanyl, according to the Placer County District Attorney's Office. There has been a 450% increase in fentanyl deaths between 2018-2021 in Placer County, according to the district attorney's office.
According to the CDC, from April 2020 to April 2021, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States, which is an increase of around 28% from the same period the prior year.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 100x stronger than morphine, according to the CDC. Most of the recent cases of fentanyl overdoses are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl as opposed to pharmaceutical fentanyl.
Find more information about fentanyl at Placer County's website.
Watch more on ABC10: Interview | Parents of Placer County teen who died of fentanyl poisoning warn other families | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/roseville/placer-county-rainbow-fentanyl-one-pill-can-kill/103-ed728e77-3dc0-478e-84fd-88b7f75e5861 | 2022-08-17T18:55:29 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/roseville/placer-county-rainbow-fentanyl-one-pill-can-kill/103-ed728e77-3dc0-478e-84fd-88b7f75e5861 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Farmers and officials with the California Poultry Federation say their concerns are growing with the recent bird flu outbreak in Sacramento County.
It's the first H5N1 Bird Flu outbreak in California. According to CDC data, the outbreak was on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
The outbreak was in a flock of about 10 birds and they belonged to a backyard producer. The CDC qualifies them as non-poultry, but for the California Poultry Federation and those that make their livelihood off birds, concerns are at an all-time high.
Biosecurity for poultry farms is set at the highest level due to concerns over bird flu.
Ken Mitchell of Mitchell Farms is going so far as to not let mail and deliveries come onto his property. He's also hauling his own trash to make sure interaction is limited.
“Anybody entering the facility, the UPS driver, everything doesn’t go past the gate. Everything is dropped off so we can control what we can control,” said Mitchell.
The current outbreak has killed more than 40 million turkeys and chickens across the county. Bird flu viruses do not normally infect humans, but it can happen.
What he can’t control is wild birds flying overhead or his other concern -- bird flu appears in backyard chicken flocks and owners aren’t aware.
“It’s devastating because if you are under federal quarantine, nothing leaves the facility. You have to clean the facility, test for it, and you're under federal quarantine which could be four to seven months, which could mean me out of business,” said Mitchell.
Bill Mattos, the President of the California Poultry Federation, echoes the concerns of farmers: the threat of bird flu on top of existing productivity concerns. It’s not bird flu driving up the price of poultry but staffing shortages with productivity sitting around 85%.
“We can’t supply all of California with California grown -- we can only supply half the state right now,” said Mattos.
It’s also important to note this doesn't impact the food you're currently buying in stores, and there are no cases in commercial flocks in California right now.
Still, this impacts California the most because Californians consume more chicken, turkey, eggs than other state. On average, each Californian will eat 20 chickens a year, according to the California Poultry Federation.
Concern is only going to grow as wild birds migrate in fall back over California because bird flu cases are being seen in wild birds.
Due to the concern for bird flu, the Sacramento Zoo has moved its birds inside and drained the flamingo pool to not attract wild birds. Two ponds at William Regional Land Parks were also drained.
Watch more on ABC10: Bird flu concerns in Sacramento Land Park neighborhood leads to 2 ponds drained | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/first-bird-flu-case-in-california-and-sacramento/103-24eee0e9-5b40-49f8-89b0-cc06e66dcc5e | 2022-08-17T18:55:35 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/first-bird-flu-case-in-california-and-sacramento/103-24eee0e9-5b40-49f8-89b0-cc06e66dcc5e |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new strike team announced by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the California Military Department is hoping to boost the state's capacity to respond to emergencies including wildfires.
On Wednesday, Cal OES announced the creation of Team Blaze, an all-hazards fire-engine strike team operated by the state's military department.
According to officials with Cal OES, the strike team will be the first of its kind in the nation and will include multiple type four fire engines that will each have the capacity to carry a four-person crew.
The engines will be able to fit into tight areas, carry 300 gallons of water and attack fires more quickly, Cal OES said in a press release.
The goal of the new strike team is to help add to the state's fire and rescue mutual aid system, which includes an existing fleet of 270 fire engines that respond to incidents of all types.
“We have always valued the California Military Department’s partnership during times of need, especially during wildfires or other natural disasters," Cal OES Director Mark Ghilarducci said in a statement. "These new engines will not only add to their capabilities, but also help augment our state’s wildfire and rescue resources more broadly."
The addition of the all-hazards strike team complements the state military department's existing Task Force Rattlesnake, a hand crew program consisting of soldiers and airmen.
Task Force Rattlesnake cuts, clears and treats at-risk wildfire project areas in central and northern California.
The military department's firefighting program is maintained at their military bases.
Watch More from ABC10: Flex Alert issued for California to prevent possible blackouts | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/ca-military-department-operate-fire-strike-team/103-d9a03b4c-b18f-433e-8816-890eb69e72ab | 2022-08-17T18:55:41 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/ca-military-department-operate-fire-strike-team/103-d9a03b4c-b18f-433e-8816-890eb69e72ab |
PLEASANTVILLE — An Egg Harbor Township man suffered severe head injuries when his vehicle flipped over after hitting a parked pickup truck early Saturday morning.
Phillip Gonzalez, 25, struck the Toyota Tacoma while driving west on Ryon Avenue from Clematis Avenue about 4:25 a.m., police said Wednesday in a news release.
Gonzalez, the vehicle's sole occupant, was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus in Atlantic City.
Police said the parked Tacoma was registered to 47-year-old city man Juan Salinasgutierrez. The pickup sustained extensive damage to its rear driver's side, police said.
Police said alcohol was not a factor in the crash.
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Traffic violations have not been issued since the crash remains under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information can call Officer Michael Mabkhouti at 609-641-6100. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/car-overturns-after-hitting-parked-truck-in-pleasantville-driver-injured/article_6d1e25cc-1e43-11ed-9cbe-879b1bfd1ade.html | 2022-08-17T19:04:30 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/car-overturns-after-hitting-parked-truck-in-pleasantville-driver-injured/article_6d1e25cc-1e43-11ed-9cbe-879b1bfd1ade.html |
Toll revenue on the Atlantic City Expressway in July was 2% higher than last July, but airport passengers fell 4.8% compared to a year ago and airport parking fell 6%, according to the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
About 98,000 passengers used the airport last month, according to a report by SJTA Executive Director Stephen Dougherty to the board Wednesday morning.
June numbers were also down this year (74,248) compared to 2021 (81,645).
However, airport passenger numbers are still up year-to-date. As of June, total passenger numbers were 472,924 in 2022, compared with 389,672 in the first six months of 2021.
MULLICA TOWNSHIP — Toll-paying traffic on the Atlantic City Expressway is up 6.5% in the fir…
The only thing that increased at the airport was non-parking revenue, which is up 3.7% over last July to $634,000, Dougherty said.
Airport parking brought in $381,000 in July, 6% less than last July.
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Dougherty also said expressway facility projects continue to progress at all three maintenance yards, the Atlantic City connector, the new Pleasantville garage and more.
Planning and design are ongoing for the expressway widening project, which will create three lanes in each direction from milepost 31.6 in Winslow Township, Camden County, to the end of the expressway at milepost 44.2 in Washington Township, Gloucester County.
Funding for major expressway projects comes from toll increases that took effect in September 2020. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-city-expressway-toll-revenue-up-airport-passenger-numbers-down-over-last-july/article_e09ee528-1e3d-11ed-a103-e7197b898dee.html | 2022-08-17T19:04:36 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-city-expressway-toll-revenue-up-airport-passenger-numbers-down-over-last-july/article_e09ee528-1e3d-11ed-a103-e7197b898dee.html |
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — Jen DeLanzo became the township’s first female acting police captain Monday, the highest rank a woman has achieved in the department.
At the same time, Brian Murphy was promoted to lieutenant.
Both were sworn in at the Township Committee meeting, where police Chief Christopher Leusner described the promotions as setting the stage for a new generation of leadership in the department.
Leusner said promotions are bittersweet because they take place when long-serving officers retire. With many of the current officers lined up in the meeting room, Leusner cited some who recently retired and others who were set to retire soon.
“We’re going to be passing the torch to these younger officers,” he said.
He added he will sleep well knowing the department will remain in good hands.
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MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — Police Sgt. Mark Higginbottom knows most of the kids who have asked him fo…
“The quality of the people that we have in this department puts us in a really good position to take care of the people of Middle Township. I can tell you that these officers care about this community and they care about you,” Leusner said.
DeLanzo began her law enforcement career as a dispatcher in Wildwood before being hired as a police officer. Leusner said through her career she has been engaged with the community.
“The police trading card program was her idea. I get compliments for that all the time,” he said. The department prints up trading cards, similar to baseball cards, with photos of officers and information about them. They are used in community outreach.
Mayor Tim Donohue said DeLanzo is well known in the community.
“She never backs down. She’s always there when you need her,” he said.
Donohue said Murphy also exemplifies the high standards of the department.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — In a unanimous vote Monday, Township Committee approved the creation of th…
According to the Police Department’s website, DeLanzo graduated from the Cape May County Police Academy in 2000 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2020.
Murphy was the first person hired as a Class II officer when that program began in 2010, shortly after Leusner was named chief, he said.
“The first person to walk through the door for an interview was Brian, and I’ll tell you what, I knew that day that he had a very, very bright future,” Leusner said.
At the same meeting Monday, the committee unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the township to participate in alternate-route appointments for police officers, which allows people to enter the police academy without having first been hired by the Police Department.
Middle Township is a Civil Service department, Leusner said, which limited how the department could hire and from where. A change in the law last year allowed the department to hire trained officers from other departments.
“We hired last summer an officer from Camden city. We hired a couple of officers who put themselves through the academy,” Leusner said.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — At the center of Rio Grande stands a crossroads, the intersection of two m…
A change in the law that took effect in July limited hiring from other departments but still allowed departments to hire alternate route candidates and allow the department to hire an officer on a temporary basis. That officer would then have nine months to complete academy training before becoming a full-time officer.
The committee also approved hiring Kenzee Delgado as a temporary police officer. Delgado had worked as a Class II officer in the township.
“He does a really great job. Bilingual. Excellent reviews from the community in terms of how he handles himself,” Leusner said. Staffing has been an issue in several police departments this year.
Delgado’s salary will be $42,500. As acting captain, DeLanzo’s salary is $147,903, and Murphy will make $134,712 as a lieutenant. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/middle-township-police-department-promotes-first-female-acting-captain/article_590bc5a2-1e58-11ed-96a3-b381a55ad84e.html | 2022-08-17T19:06:30 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/middle-township-police-department-promotes-first-female-acting-captain/article_590bc5a2-1e58-11ed-96a3-b381a55ad84e.html |
Indiana 1 in Butler is closing for more than three months during sewer work, from Aug. 22 to early December, the Indiana Department of Transportation said today.
A detour uses Indiana 8, Interstate 69 and U.S. 6, the transportation department said in a statement. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana-1-portion-to-close-for-3-months/article_e40934f2-1e51-11ed-abf6-3766b8a3ae97.html | 2022-08-17T19:06:36 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana-1-portion-to-close-for-3-months/article_e40934f2-1e51-11ed-abf6-3766b8a3ae97.html |
Here’s an update of the COVID-19 numbers in the state.
New positive cases: 1,847
New deaths: 11
Total positive cases: 2,252,846
Total number of deaths: 31,326
Total vaccine doses administered: 14,181,942
Rate of transmission: 0.9
CASES BY COUNTY
Atlantic: 63,452 cases, 971 deaths, 381,482 doses administered
Cape May: 12,628 cases, 269 deaths, 134,687 doses administered
Cumberland: 37,672 cases, 583 deaths, 187,381 doses administered
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Ocean: 153,300 cases, 2,897 deaths, 704,626 doses administered
Source: N.J. Department of Health
Figures as of 1 p.m. Aug. 17 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-more-than-1-800-new-covid-19-cases-11-new-deaths/article_6a91746a-1e59-11ed-a3cc-8fa30fe33d8a.html | 2022-08-17T19:06:37 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-more-than-1-800-new-covid-19-cases-11-new-deaths/article_6a91746a-1e59-11ed-a3cc-8fa30fe33d8a.html |
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Two friends are showcasing not only their work but also the work of other artisans across the region through their new storefront, ‘The Crazy Daisies’.
The new shop brings unique T-shirt designs, jewelry, cups, and more to Blountville. The Crazy Daisies just opened on Highway 11-W. Co-Owners Megan Vittatoe and Chelsey Hopson couldn’t be more excited.
It started with work of their own, then an idea to open up shop. “We’re always nervous thinking is it going to do good? It everything going to pick up to where we can stay? It’s always in the back of our minds but like I told Chelsey, we just had to take the leap and if it was for us, then it’ll go, and if not, then we’ll know,” said Vittatoe.
In mid-July they found the space and decided to take their love of crafting and creation to the next level, even opening the opportunity up to others.
“We like the idea of having different small businesses from across the Tri-Cities. Instead of just featuring our T-shirts and cups, we wanted to branch out and add jewelry too but that’s not something we carry ourselves so we opened up to other small businesses and just featured the ones that don’t have a storefront or online sales and invited them in,” she said.
For Meagan and Chelsey, it’s more than just a storefront. “We don’t just want to push buy, buy and sell, sell, we actually want a friendly environment,” said Vittatoe.
Now open, they hope to have not only customers, but more artisans express interest in selling in their shop as well.
It’s located on 11-W, 2624, suite 1.
Vendors are urged to reach out through their website if they’re interested in selling crafts there. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/first-at-four/new-to-town-the-crazy-daisies/ | 2022-08-17T19:08:56 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/first-at-four/new-to-town-the-crazy-daisies/ |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Johnson City police are investigating a fatal crash on Interstate 26 early Wednesday morning.
According to a release from the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD), officers were called to the Carroll Creek Road overpass around 3:32 a.m. Police found a 2007 Porsche 911 heading west on the interstate had gone off the right side of the road.
The Porsche reportedly overturned multiple times and “partially ejected the driver,” according to the JCPD.
The driver died as a result of injuries from the crash.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the crash is being investigated by the JCPD’s Traffic Crash Reconstruction Team. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/jcpd-1-dead-after-i-26-crash-wednesday/ | 2022-08-17T19:09:02 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/jcpd-1-dead-after-i-26-crash-wednesday/ |
CHAMPAIGN — The Champaign Park District will kick off the Virginia Theatre's 2022-23 season with a free outdoor concert and ticketed movie screening on Sept. 17, featuring the film "Incident at Kickapoo Creek."
The concert will be on West Park Avenue in front of the theater from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by the film screening at 7 p.m. inside the theater, 203 W. Park Ave. in downtown Champaign.
A Q&A with filmmaker R.C. Raycraft will take place afterward, and an exhibit of period posters, articles, festival photographs and other memorabilia will be displayed in the theater’s eastern lobby.
The film documents the Woodstock-inspired music festival called the Incident at Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival, which a Central Illinois farmer produced on his McLean County property over Memorial Day weekend in 1970.
The festival drew as many as 60,000 attendees to Heyworth and was booked by University of Illinois student and Danville native Irving Azoff, who later become chairman and CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment and executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment.
The event featured some of the biggest musical acts of the era, including REO Speedwagon, B.B. King and Ted Nugent. The documentary captures glimpses of the performances along with shots of the weekend's events and their impact on the community.
The film was recut in 2020 with an additional 15 minutes of footage, and the Sept. 17 event in Champaign will be its national premiere, highlighting the festival's 50th anniversary.
Raycraft's other short film, "A Casual Conversation with the King," features an interview with B.B. King will precede the screening of "Incident at Kickapoo Creek."
The concert set for earlier that evening includes Ian Shepherd & Friends with six other local vocalists: Atrain, Kayla Brown, Ryan Byfield, Andrew Duncanson, Ryan Groff and Dawna Nelson. They will perform renditions of songs from the Incident at Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival.
Attendees must be 18 or older or be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. For more information on the film, visit www.kickapoocreekmovie.com.
General admission tickets for the movie and exhibit are $12 and on sale at the Virginia Theatre Box Office, online at www.thevirginia.org, or by phone at 217-356-9063.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Castle Theatre renovations
Pages from our past: C.U. Williams & Son Co. and the Castle Theatre
The old location
Picturesque Bloomington
WJBC on air at the Castle
Historic castle
Bloomington High School tour in April 2001
Bloomington High School tour in April 2001
Reviving the Castle in June 2001
Cleaning out the Castle
Cleaning out the Castle
Don't take a seat, Castle owner says
Cleaning the Castle
This man's Castle houses his dreams
Cleaning the Castle
Dream in progress
Castle Theater work continues in March 2002
Castle Theater work continues in March 2002
Architectural detail seen in March 2002
Stained glass light fixtures seen in March 2002
Original moldings are seen in July 2002
Rewiring marquee lights in July 2002
Continued restoration in July 2002
Castle lights shine once more
Road repairs on November 13, 2002
Painters in February 2003
New movie screen in April 2003
New movie screen in April 2003
New movie screen in April 2003
Foyer work in April 2003
Refinished architectural details seen in April 2003
Architectural detail
Restored light fixtures
Sofas and chairs
Theater balcony seats
Finished work in April 2003
Marquee is seen in April 2003
Job openings in 2003
Before renovations
After renovations
Opening night movie in May 2003
Opening night movie in May 2003
Exterior in December 6, 2005
The east side of the Castle Theater is seen in December 2005
Exterior in October 2009
New ownership in September 2011
Bagpipes at the Castle in May 2014
2014: Readers' Choice Best Live Music
View more galleries and slideshows
Contact Mateusz Janik at (309) 820-3234. Follow Mateusz on Twitter:@mjanik99
203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, (217) 356-9053, thevirginia.org
This historic theater, built in 1921, was recently renovated to bring it back to its original state, complete with velvet theater seats and original murals, gold leaf and pipe organ. | https://pantagraph.com/entertainment/local/champaign-to-host-incident-at-kickapoo-creek-film-screening-concert/article_0fc36d88-1e43-11ed-98e5-3b4a86052209.html | 2022-08-17T19:18:28 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/entertainment/local/champaign-to-host-incident-at-kickapoo-creek-film-screening-concert/article_0fc36d88-1e43-11ed-98e5-3b4a86052209.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A Pontiac woman is charged with burglary and possession of a stolen car.
A McLean County grand jury indicted Brenda K. Persico, 29, with burglary (Class 2 felony) and possession of a stolen or converted motor vehicle (Class 2 felony).
Court documents said Persico knowingly, and without authority, entered a building in Saybrook with the intent to commit theft and also that she possessed a Toyota motor vehicle knowing it had been stolen or converted.
Both incidents occurred on or about June 1, 2021, through July 5, 2021.
In a separate case, Persico was also charged with possession or methamphetamine of less than 5 grams (Class 3 felony) and possession of burglary tools (Class 4 felony).
She is being held in the McLean County jail in lieu of posting $8,035 to be released on bail.
An arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 9.
Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph
Aaron J. Zielinski
Aaron J. Zielinski, 28, of Plainfield, was sentenced to four years on probation for unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of methamphetamine. A charge of unlawful possession of meth with the intent to deliver was dismissed.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Aaron Parlier
Aaron M. Parlier , 40, was sentenced Jan. 14 to 450 years in prison after he was found guilty in a bench trial of 10 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor and 10 counts of child pornography production.
Ade A. McDaniel
Ade A. McDaniel , 40, of North Miami Beach, Florida, is charged with one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class 1 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Aikee Muhammad
Aikee Muhammad , 19, is charged with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and resisting a peace officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Albert F. Matheny
Albert F. Matheny , 35, of Bloomington, was sentenced Jan. 10 to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of less than five grams of methamphetamine.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Alexandria S. Macon
Macon
MCLEAN COUTNY JAIL
Alexis S. Williams
Alexis S. Williams, 24, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation. She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine. All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Alicia L. Rodriguez
Alicia L. Rodriguez, 19, of Bloomington, is charged with aggravated battery and domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Amari M. McNabb
Amari M. McNabb , 23, of Country Club Hills , was sentenced to 28 years in prison for murder and mob action for his involvement in the 2019 fatal shooting of Juan Nash, 25, in Bloomington. He was found guilty in a jury trial of those charges, but the jury found him not guilty of discharge of a firearm.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Amari S. Buchanon
Amari S. Buchanon, 25, of Normal, was sentenced to 16 days in jail. She earned credit for eight days served in jail. She pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm without a valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card. All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Andre D. Seals
Andre D. Seals , 37, of Champaign, is charged with aggravated battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Andrew L. Stanley
Andrew L. Stanley , 39, of Bloomington, was sentenced to four years on probation for one count of arson. He pleaded guilty to setting his home on fire while a woman and a teenage girl were inside. One count of aggravated arson was dismissed in a plea agreement.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Anthony R. Fairchild
Anthony R. Fairchild , 51, of Bloomington, is charged with one count each of burglary and theft.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Antonio R. Ross
Antonio R. Ross , 28, of Springfield, was sentenced March 24 to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of retail theft. All other charges were dismissed. He also was ordered to pay $7,305 in restitution. Ross earned credit for previously serving 239 days in jail.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Ashley R. Schneiderheinze
Ashley R. Schneiderheinze, 32, is charged with unlawful possession of:
15 to 100 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class X felony) 15 to 100 grams of cocaine (Class 1 felony) 15 to 100 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class X felony) 15 to 100 grams of meth (Class 1 felony) Less than 15 grams of alprazolam (Class 4 felony) Less than 15 grams of clonazepam (Class 4 felony) 30 to 100 grams of cannabis (Class A misdemeanor) She also is charged with two counts of permitting the unlawful use of a building.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Austin S. Waller
Austin S. Waller, 20, of Bloomington, is charged with one count of burglary at a Bloomington smoke shop. He is separately charged with three counts of burglary at the Corn Crib.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Billy J. Braswell
Billy J. Braswell , 39, of Wapella, is charged with three counts of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and four counts of methamphetamine possession.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brandon E. Reynolds
Brandon E. Reynolds, 35, of LeRoy, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation for a charge of grooming.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brandon E.J. Frieburg
Brandon E.J. Frieburg, 29, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 100 to 400 grams of meth with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of meth (Class X felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brandon J. Black
Brandon J. Black, 33, of Decatur, is charged with child pornography (Class X felony), attempt to produce child pornography (Class 3 felony), sexual exploitation of a child and grooming (Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brenden P. Cano
Brenden P. Cano , 23, of LeRoy, was sentenced to eight years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography production.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brennen M. Whiteside
Brennen M. Whiteside, 33, of Bloomington, is charged with one count each of vehicular invasion and aggravated battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brettais J. Lane
Brettais J. Lane, 30, of Bloomington, was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in a public park and ulawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brian D. Stewart
Brian D. Stewart, 48, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Caleb W. Collier
Caleb W. Collier, 20, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (Class 1 and 2 felonies). He is accused of possessing between 1 and 15 grams of cocaine and less than 1 gram of cocaine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Calvin E. Young
Calvin E. Young , 30, of Bloomington, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of cocaine.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Carlos L. Hogan
Carlos L. Hogan , 33, of Decatur, was sentenced to four years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of 30-500 grams of cannabis. All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Carrie Funk
Carrie Funk , 54, of Bloomington, is charged with one count of criminal neglect of an elderly person.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Cedric J. Haynes
Cedric J. Haynes , 21, of Bloomington, is charged with nine counts of unlawful delivery of less than 1 gram of cocaine, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Charles L. Bell
Charles L. Bell , 33, of Bloomington, is charged with aggravated battery (Class X felony), two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm (Class 1 felonies), aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (Class 2 felony), unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon (Class 2 felony), and violation of the Illinois Firearm Identification Card Act (Class 3 felony).
BLOOMINGTON POLICE
Chester Johnson
Chester Johnson, 69, of Chicago, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by felon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Christina D. Noonan
Christina D. Noonan , 42, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of controlled substance trafficking (Class X felonies), two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver charged as Class X felonies and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver as a Class 3 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Christina E. Dickey
Christina E. Dickey, 37, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 2 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Christopher A. Johnson
Christopher A. Johnson, 29, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 5 to 15 grams of meth (Class 2 felony), possession of less than 5 grams of meth (Class 3 felony) and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of a controlled substance (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Christopher Garza
Christopher O. Garza, 35, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 30 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Christopher L. Anderson
Christopher L. Anderson, 40, of Downs, was sentenced to 167 days in jail and 30 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Clinton A. Page
Clinton A. Page , 29, of Normal, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 24 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery of a peace officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Connor M. Mink
Connor M. Mink, 18, of Bloomington is charged with unlawful:
Possession of 5-15 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) Possession of less than 5 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class 2 felony) Possession of 5-15 grams of meth (Class 2 felony) Possession of less than 5 grams of meth (Class 3 felony) Possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) Possession of less than 1 gram of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 2 felony) Possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine (Class 4 felony) Possession of less than 15 grams of alprazolam (Class 4 felony) Possession of 30-500 grams of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 3 felony) Possession of 10-30 grams of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 4 felony)
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Cordaiz J. Jones
Cordaiz J. Jones, 35, was sentenced to 142 days in jail in June 2022 for aggravated battery to a peace officer. He was originally charged with two counts of aggravated battery (Class 2 felonies), stalking (Class 4 felony) and two counts of misdemeanor resisting a peace officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Corey B. Dowell
Corey B. Dowell , 24, of Bloomington, is charged with failure to report an accident or injury.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Corey K. Butler
Corey K. Butler , 19, of Champaign, is charged with possession of a stolen firearm and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Corey W. Elizondo
Corey W. Elizondo, 31, of Peoria, is charged with possession of a stolen or converted stolen vehicle and theft.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Courtney A. Boyd
Courtney A. Boyd, 27, of Normal, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Craig O. Harrington
Craig O. Harrington , 23, of Chicago, was sentenced to 30 months on probation after pleading guilty to one count of burglary.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Daniel Wilcox
Daniel Wilcox, 22, of New Concord, Kentucky, is charged with five counts each of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 felonies) and criminal sexual abuse, which are charged as Class A misdemeanors.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Darrius D. Robinson
Darrius D. Robinson , 29, of Normal, is charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Darrius J. Heard
Darrius J. Heard, 21, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was sentenced to six days in jail and 30 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
David L. Hendricks
David L. Hendricks, 44, of Clearwater, Florida, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (Class X felony), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 1 felony) and unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
David S. Fry
David S. Fry , 70, of Normal, is charged with 45 counts of child pornography. Sixteen of the charges are a Class 2 felony and 29 charges are a Class 3 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
David W. Kallal
David W. Kallal, 36, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class X felony), 5-15 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony), possession of 15-100 grams of meth (Class 1 felony), and possession of 5-15 grams of meth (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
David W. Kallal
David W. Kallal , 36, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Davis W. Hopkins
Davis W. Hopkins , 25, of Chenoa, is charged with one count of unlawful delivery of between 15 and 100 grams of methamphetamine, a Class X felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Demarcus J. Heidelberg
Demarcus J. Heidelberg, 24, of Belleville, is charged with unlawful possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) and unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Deon K. Moore
Deon K. Moore, 26, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Derail T. Riley
Derail T. Riley , 35, of Normal, is charged with one count of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, and five counts of Class 4 felony domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Destinee M. Nuckolls
Destinee M. Nuckolls, 23, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine and permitting unlawful use of a building.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Destiny D. Brown
Destiny D. Brown , 39, of Bloomington, is charged with three counts of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, three counts of methamphetamine possession and one count of methamphetamine delivery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dexter D. McCraney
Dexter D. McCraney , 38, of Normal, is charged with one count each of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Donna Osborne
Donna Osborne, 52, of Decatur, is charged with two counts of burglary (Class 2 felonies) and one count each of retail theft (Class 3 felony) and theft (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Donnell A. Taylor
Donnell A. Taylor , 29, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dontae D. Gilbert
Dontae D. Gilbert , 31, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 36 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated domestic battery-strangulation.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dontel D. Crowder
Dontel D. Crowder , 35, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, Class 2 felonies, and harboring a runaway, Class A misdemeanor.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Duane K. Martin
Duane K. Martin, 34, of Bloomington is charged with unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, three counts of unlawful delivery of 1-15 grams of cocaine and four counts of unlawful delivery of less than 1 gram of cocaine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dujuan L. Enos
Dujuan L. Enos, 48, of Normal, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of between 15 and 100 grams of fentanyl.
PROVIDED BY BLOOMINGTON POLICE
Edward L. Holmes
Edward L. Holmes , 50, of Bloomington, is charged with the following:
Controlled substance trafficking of between 400 and 900 grams of cocaine Unlawful possession of between 400 and 900 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver Controlled substance trafficking of between 100 and 400 grams of cocaine Unlawful possession of between 100 and 400 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver Methamphetamine trafficking of between 100 and 400 grams of a substance containing meth Unlawful possession of between 100 and 400 grams of meth with the intent to deliver Methamphetamine trafficking of between 15 and 100 grams of meth Unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of meth with the intent to deliver
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Elizabeth A. Johnson
Elizabeth A. Johnson, 40, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 5-15 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony), unlawful possession of 5-15 grams of meth (Class 2 felony), and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of meth (Class 3 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Emmitt A. Simmons
Emmitt A. Simmons, 21, of LeRoy, is charged with indecent solicitation of a child (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Enrique D. Sosa
Enrique D. Sosa, 55, of Spanish Fork, Utah, is charged with theft, financial institution fraud, wire fraud and two counts of computer fraud.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Eric E. Seymon
Eric E. Seymon , 19, of Bloomington, is charged with eight counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Fenwrick M. Bartholomew
Fenwrick M. Bartholomew , 51, of Normal, was sentenced to three years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Frankie L. Hutchinson
Frankie L. Hutchinson , 22, of Chicago, was sentenced to 60 days in jail, plus 30 months of probation, after pleading guilty July 2022 to illegal possession of stolen vehicle parts. He was previously charged with one count of aggravated unlawful possession of stolen vehicle parts, two counts of unlawful possession of stolen vehicle parts, two counts of aggravated fleeing a peace officer and two counts of criminal damage to property.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Franklin P. Roberts
Franklin P. Roberts, 50, of Bloomington, is charged with threatening a public official (Class 2 felony) and domestic battery (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Geno A. Borrego
Geno A. Borrego , 23, of Pontiac, is charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
George E. Wisehart
George E. Wisehart, 44, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of 5 to 15 grams of meth with the intent to deliver and two counts of meth possession.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Gordan D. Lessen
Gordan D. Lessen , 36, of Bloomington, is charged with one count of domestic battery as a subsequent offense, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Gregory A. Spence
Gregory A. Spence , 39, of Bartonville, is charged with three counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Hannah J. Jackson
Hannah J. Jackson , 21, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, unlawful possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of cocaine and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Hunter A.W. Williamson
Hunter A.W. Williamson, 23, of Heyworth, is charged with cannabis trafficking and unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class X felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Hunter C. Kellenberger
Hunter C. Kellenberger , 24, of Pekin, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine. A meth possession charge was dismissed.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Inez J. Gleghorn
Inez J. Gleghorn, 39, of Bloomington, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in connection to an April 2021 stabbing in Bloomington. Other battery charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jaccob L. Morris
Jaccob L. Morris , 20, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation after pleading guilty to burglary.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jacob S. Upton
Jacob S. Upton, 20, of Bloomington, is charged with one count of burglary.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jacob Z. Kemp
Jacob Z. Kemp , 32, is charged with three counts of aggravated battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jahda R. Davis
Jahda R. Davis, 20, of Normal, is charged with aggravated battery and resisting a peace officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jahni A. Lyons
Jahni A. Lyons , 19, of Bloomington, is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
BLOOMINGTON POLICE
Jalen A. Davis
Jalen A. Davis , 21, of Bloomington, is charged with six counts of child pornography possession (Class X felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jamakio D. Chapell
Jamakio D. Chapell , 28, of Montgomery, Alabama, is charged with four counts of Class 2 felony aggravated battery, misdemeanor resisting a peace officer and 11 traffic charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
James Canti
James Canti, 48, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of between 15 and 100 grams of heroin.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
James E. Chase
James E. Chase , 52, of Bloomington, is charged with three counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
James L. Fields
James L. Fields , 24, of Bloomington, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jaren K. Jackson-Coates
Jaren K. Jackson-Coates, 24, of Peoria, is charged with unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of cannabis.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jason M. Harris
Jason M. Harris , 33, of Bloomington, is charged with aggravated arson (Class X felony), residential arson (Class 1 felony) and two counts of arson (Class 2 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jason R. Roof
Jason R. Roof , 46, of Heyworth, was sentenced March 28 to five and a half years in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jason S. Russell
Jason S. Russell , 22, of Chicago, is charged with attempted possession or sale of stolen car parts, a Class 2 felony, and resisting a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor.
Provided by Bloomington Police
Javares L. Hudson
Javares L. Hudson , 21, of Bloomington, is charged in federal court with possession of a machine gun. He was initially charged in McLean County court with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon-machine gun parts. One charge is a Class X felony and the other is a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Javon T. Murff
Javon T. Murff, 19, of Normal, is charged with two counts aggravated discharge of a firearm (Class 1 felony), robbery (Class 2 felony), possession of a stolen firearm (Class 2 felony), two counts aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (Class 4 felony), two counts reckless discharge of a firearm (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jawarren L. Clements
Jawarren L. Clements, 25, of Peoria, is charged with unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of cannabis.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jaylin M. Caldwell
Jaylin M. Caldwell , 21, of Bloomington, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of 1-15 grams of cocaine. All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jerail M. Myrick
Jerail M. Myrick , 26, of Springfield, is charged with one count of unlawful delivery of less than 1 gram of cocaine, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jesse S. Duncan
Jesse S. Duncan, 28, of Bloomington, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property with a value of between $500 and $10,000.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jessica N. Huff
Jessica N. Huff, 35, of Peoria, was sentenced to seven years in prison. She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of 15 to 100 grams of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jodi M. Draper
Jodi M. Draper, 55, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jonathan A. Jamison
Jonathan A. Jamison , 44, of Normal, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jonathan Wiley
Jonathan Wiley , 30, of Chicago, is charged with attempted possession or sale of stolen car parts, a Class 2 felony, and resisting a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor.
Provided by Bloomington Police
Jonathon K. Campbell
Jonathan K. Campbell , 43, Jonathan K. Campbell, 43, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 48 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery causing bodily harm.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jonathon P. Keister
Jonathon P. Keister, 38, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 5-15 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony), unlawful possession of 5-15 grams of meth (Class 2 felony), and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of meth (Class 3 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jordan P. Gillespie
Jordan P. Gillespie , 27, of LeRoy, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for residential burglary and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jordyn H. Thornton
Jordyn H. Thornton , 22, of Bloomington, was convicted of first-degree murder in the Oct. 30, 2018, shooting death of Trevonte Kirkwood, 27, of Bloomington, in the 1300 block of North Oak Street in Bloomington.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Joseph L. McLeod
Joseph L. McLeod , 40, of Peoria, is charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of theft, and one count each of forgery and deceptive practices.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Joshua A. Lindsey
Joshua A. Lindsey, 33, of Bloomington, is charged with the following:
Two counts of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver (15 to 100 grams and 5 to 15 grams of meth) Two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (15 to 100 grams and 5 to 15 grams of MDMA) Two counts of unlawful possession of meth (15 to 100 grams and 5 to 15 grams of meth) Unlawful possession of a controlled substance (less than 15 grams of MDMA) Unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (amphetamine) Four counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (less than 15 grams of amphetamine, less than 15 grams of clonazepam, less than 15 grams of lorazepam, less than 15 grams of cocaine) Unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (30 to 500 grams) Unlawful possession of cannabis (30 to 500 grams)
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Joshua D. Rials
Joshua D. Rials , 28, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of armed violence, Class X felonies, four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and firearm ammunition by a convicted felon, Class 2 felonies. He was charged March 1 with two counts each of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and of firearm ammunition by a felon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Joshua K. Wilson
Joshua K. Wilson, 39, of Normal, was sentenced to 152 days in jail and 24 months on conditional discharge after pleading guilty to one count of domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Joshua V. Wilburn
Joshua V. Wilburn, 33, of Bloomington, is charged with burglary and retail theft.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Joshway C. Boens
Joshway C. Boens , 41, of Chicago, was sentenced to 143 days in jail and 30 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Juls T. Eutsey
Julian T. Eutsey, 21, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 24 months on probation. She pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Justin A. Atkinson
Justin A. Atkinson , 39, of Bloomington, was sentenced to one year in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful restraint.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Justin A. Leicht
Justin A. Leicht , 41, of Downs, is charged with three counts of burglary, Class 2 felonies.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kaveior K. Thomas
Kaveior K. Thomas, 32, of Normal, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (Class X felony), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 1 felony), two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and violation of the Illinois FOID Card Act (Class 3 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kavion J. Anderson
Kavion J. Anderson, 18, of Hazel Crest, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation. He earned credit for 197 days served in jail. Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular hijacking.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kayala D.C. Huff
Kayala D.C. Huff, 23, of Normal, is charged with aggravated battery, domestic battery and resisting a peace officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kelyi G. Kabongo
Kelyi G. Kabongo, 21, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession 5 to 15 grams of meth and less than 5 grams of meth with the intent to deliver, possession of 5 to 15 grams of meth and possession of less than 5 grams of meth.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kenneth R. McNairy
Kenneth R. McNairy, 32, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (Class X and Class 1 felonies), and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 1 and Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kent D. Johnson
Kent D. Johnson , 34, of Bloomington, is charged with aggravated domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kentre A. Jackson
Kentre A. Jackson, 26, of Ypsilanti, Mich., was sentenced to 30 months of conditional discharge. He was charged as of June 9, 2020, with unlawful possession of 500 to 2,000 grams of cannabis and unlawful possession of 500 to 2,000 grams of cannabis with the intent to deliver. The latter charge was dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kenyatta C. Chissell
Kenyatta C. Chissell, 40, of Bloomington, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of heroin.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kenyatta L. Tate
Kenyatta L. Tate , 46, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts each of unlawful possession of between 15-100 grams and 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class X and Class 1 felonies) and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 2 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kerrigan T. Spencer
Kerrigan T. Spencer, 18, of Normal, is charged with two counts of burglary.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kerry M. Huls
Kerry M. Huls, 47, of Bloomington is charged with unlawful delivery of 5 to 15 grams of meth, unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of meth, unlawful possession of 5 to 15 grams of meth, and unlawful possession of less than 5 grams of meth.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kevin C. Knight
Kevin C. Knight , 40, of Bloomington, is charged with one count of unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kimberlee A. Burton
Kimberlee A. Burton , 29, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of child endangerment, Class A misdemeanors.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kyle D. Kindred
Kyle D. Kindred , 23, of Shirley, is charged with cannabis trafficking, two counts of unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver and two counts of unlawful possession of cannabis.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Lanee R. Rich
Lanee R. Rich , 18, of Heyworth, is charged with two counts each of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Latele Y. Pinkston
Latele Y. Pinkston , 29, was sentenced to five years in prison. Pinkston pleaded guilty to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Latoya M. Jackson
Latoya M. Jackson , 31, of Bloomington, is charged with one count of possession of a stolen or converted motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Laycell D. Wright
Laycell D. Wright , 32, of Rantoul, is charged with unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of methamphetamine (Class 1 felony). He also is charged with unlawful possession of 100-500 grams of cannabis (Class 4 felony) and 30-100 grams of cannabis (Class A misdemeanor).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Lazaro Flores
Lazaro Flores , 34, of Streator, was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing death.
Logan T. Kendricks
Logan T. Kendricks , 35, was sentenced to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Lonnie L. Kimbrough
Lonnie L. Kimbrough , 36, of Peoria, was sentenced to 24 months on conditional discharge and four days in jail. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful cannabis possession.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Lorel M. Johnson
Lorel M. Johnson , 41, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated domestic battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Loren M. Jepsen
Loren M. Jepsen , 34, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of home invasion causing injury (Class X felony). All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Lorenzo Sims
Lorenzo Sims, 30, of Chicago, is charged with five counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 2 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Madison A. Knight
Madison A. Knight , 20, of Rutland, was sentenced to 120 days in jail and 30 months' probation for unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Malik A. Wilson
Malik A. Wilson, 23, of Chicago, is charged with two counts of attempted armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Mark A. Carter
Mark A. Carter, 35, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 1 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Mark A. Thrower
Mark A. Thrower, 40, of Vinton, Louisiana, is charged with:
Eight counts child pornography (Class X felonies) Two counts aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor (Class 2 felonies) Two counts grooming (Class 4 felonies) Indecent solicitation of a child (Class 3 felony) Traveling to meet a minor (Class 3 felony)
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Mason A. Artis
Mason A. Artis, 22, of Shirley, is charged with possession of a stolen license plate, unauthorized use of a license plate and three counts of theft. He is separately charged with unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver (Class X felony) and unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of meth (Class 1 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Matthew D. Nunley
Matthew D. Nunley , 33, of Eureka, was sentenced to four years in prison for one count of unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine. All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Matthew D. Stone
Matthew D. Stone , 22, of Normal, is charged with one count of aggravated battery, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Megan J. Duffy
Megan J. Duffy, 27, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 102 days in jail and 30 months on probation. She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of 5 to 15 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Melissa J. Piercy
Melissa J. Piercy , 38, of Normal, is charged with unlawful delivery of meth (Class 2 felony), unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class X felony) and unlawful possession of 5-15 grams of meth with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Meontay D. Wheeler
Meontay D. Wheeler , 23, of Bloomington, is charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and torture, a Class 1 felony, aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, and aggravated domestic battery involving strangulation, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Michael J. Owen
Michael J. Owen , 30, of Stanford, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of between 1 and 15 grams of cocaine. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Michael S. Parkerson
Michael S. Parkerson, 54, is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine (Class 2 felony) and possession of drug paraphernalia (Class A misdemeanor).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Michelle E. Mueller
Michelle E. Mueller , 32, of Normal, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation. She pleaded guilty to one count of burglary. All other charges were dismissed.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Mitchell A. Rogers
Mitchell A. Rogers , 37, of Peoria, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and two counts of unlawful possession of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Mohamed N. Thiam
Mohamed N. Thiam , 19, of Bloomington, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Nathaniel A. Butler
Nathaniel A. Butler , 20, of Bloomington was sentenced Jan. 4, 2022, to seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied building and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm without a valid firearm owners identification card.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Nayeon A. Teague
Nayeon A. Teague , 21, of Normal, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 30 months on probation. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Noel R. Castillo
Noel Ramirez-Castillo, 48, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful vehicular invasion, aggravated battery, theft, criminal damage to government supported property and resisting a peace officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Pedro A. Parra
Pedro A. Parra , 40, is charged with two counts of burglary, Class 2 and Class 3 felonies, and misdemeanor theft.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Penny S. Self
Penny S. Self , 59, of Ashland, is charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Quacy L. Webster
Quacy L. Webster , 43, of Bloomington, is charged with one count each of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 2 felony) and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Qwonterian V. Ivy
Qwonterian V. Ivy, 24, of Bloomington, was sentenced to four years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm at an occupied building.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Randy M. Turner
Randy M. Turner, 39, of Danville, is charged with two counts of disarming a peace officer, five counts of aggravated battery, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, attempted possession of a stolen motor vehicle, criminal damage to government supported property and driving under the influence of drugs.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Rebecca L. Gormley
Rebecca L. Gormley , 35, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Rebecca Y. Choi
Rebecca Y. Choi, 32, of Wheaton, is charged with unlawful possession of 1-15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony), possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine (Class 4 felony), possession of less than 15 grams of amphetamine (Class 4 felony), and possession of drug paraphernalia (Class A misdemeanor).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Rhiannan O. Keith
Rhiannan O. Keith, 23, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of 100 to 400 grams of meth with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of meth (Class X felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Rhonda L. Davis
Rhonda L. Davis , 41, of Bloomington, was sentenced to four days in jail and 30 months on probation. She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Richard L. Kletz
Kletz
MCLEAN COUTNY JAIL
Richard S. Bjorling
Richard S. Bjorling , 54, of Peoria Heights, was sentenced to seven years in prison for unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Ricky A. Smith
Ricky A. Smith , 30, 0f Urbana, is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (Class X felonies), unlawful possession of meth and possession of a controlled substance (Class 1 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Rochelle A. McCray
Rochelle A. McCray , 37, of Chicago, is charged with unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, a Class X felony; unlawful possession of between 1 and 15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, a Class 1 felony; unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony; unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine, a Class 4 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Ronnie Cannon
Ronnie Cannon, 43, of Chicago, is charged with possession of a stolen firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Roosevelt Williams
Roosevelt Williams, 43, of Bloomington, is charged with home invasion, criminal trespass to a residence and battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Ryan D. Triplett
Ryan D. Triplett , 27, of Decatur, is charged with aggravated domestic battery-strangulation, a Class 2 felony, and domestic battery as a subsequent offense felony, a Class 4 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Samuel Harris
Samuel Harris , 21, of Chicago, was sentenced to 22 days in jail and 30 months on probation after pleading guilty to one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Sarah E. Myers
Sarah E. Myers, 39, is charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony) after she knowingly made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature by spitting upon a correctional officer, court documents said.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Seth A. Kindred
Seth A. Kindred , 31, of Ellsworth, was sentenced March 30 to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Shanarra S. Spillers
Shanarra S. Spillers , 36, of Normal, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm (Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Shaquan D. Hosea
Shaquan D. Hosea , 26, of Bloomington, was sentenced July 13, 2022, to 68 days in jail and 30 months of probation after pleading guilty to residential burglary, a Class 1 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Stefan A. Mangina
Stefan A. Mangina , 32, is charged with three counts of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of meth with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Stephon T. Carter
Carter
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Steven M. Abdullah
Steven M. Abdullah , 31, of Heyworth, is charged with two counts of harassment of jurors, Class 2 felonies, 11 counts of communication with jurors, Class 4 felonies, and one count of attempted communication with a juror, a Class A misdemeanor.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Telly H. Arrington
Telly H. Arrington , 24, of Normal, is charged with four counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Terrance T. Jones
Terrance T. Jones, 34, of Chicago, is charged with armed robbery (Class X felony), aggravated battery causing great bodily harm (Class 3 felony), and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (Class 2 and 3 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Thomas E. Dolan
Thomas E. Dolan , 22, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of between 500 and 2,000 grams of cannabis with the intent to deliver, unlawful cannabis possession, battery and unlawful restraint.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Thomas J. Davis
Thomas J. Davis , 27, of Bloomington, was sentenced to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of 1-15 grams of cocaine. All other charges were dismissed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tommy L. Jumper
Tommy L. Jumper , 60, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 30 months on probation and 96 days in jail for one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson , 38, of Chicago, is charged with unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver, a Class X felony; unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony; unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, a Class 2 felony; unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a convicted felon, a Class 2 felony; unlawful possession of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Trevon J. Triplett
Triplett
MCLEAN COUTNY JAIL
Ty W. Johnson
Ty W. Johnson , 36, of Bloomington, is charged with criminal sexual assault, robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyler A. Guy
Tyler A. Guy , 25, of Towanda, is charged with one count of Class 2 felony aggravated battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyler C. Neely
Tyler C. Neely, 21, of Bloomington, is charged with four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm (Class X and Class 1 felonies), reckless discharge of a firearm (Class 4 felony) and methamphetamine possession (Class 3 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyler D. Vidmar
Tyler D. Vidmar , 23, of Clinton, is charged with one count of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyler S. Burns
Tyler S. Burns, 31, of Chenoa, was sentenced to 170 days in jail and 30 months probation. He earned credit for the 170 days previously served in jail. Burns pleaded guilty to one count of burglary.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyrone L. McKinney
Tyrone L. McKinney, 30, of Bloomington, was sentenced to eight years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of 1 to 15 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyson Brown
Tyson Brown is charged with burglary and forgery for attempting to cash a stolen check at CEFCU in Normal.
Provided by the McLean County Sheriff's Office
Wesley M. Noonan
Wesley M. Noonan , 48, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of controlled substance trafficking (Class X felonies), two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver charged as Class X felonies and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver as a Class 3 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
William M. McCuen
William M. McCuen , 33, of Atlanta, is charged with one count of unlawful delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 2 felony.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
William R. Carter
William R. Carter , 23, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexual assault, attempted residential arson and unlawful restraint.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Wilmer A. Marquez-Ayala
Wilmer A. Marquez-Ayala , 35, of Bloomington, is charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor family member (Class 2 felonies) and three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13 years old (Class X felonies).
BLOOMINGTON POLICE
Xavier M. Moreau
Xavier M. Moreau, 19, of Bloomington, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and violation of the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Zachary J. Williamson
Williamson
MCLEAN COUTNY JAIL
Cierra A. Hazlett
Cierra A. Hazlett, 26, is charged with unlawful possession of meth with the intent to deliver (Class X felony) as well as six other related charges across two separate cases.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Edin O. Portillo-Lopez
Edin O. Portillo-Lopez, 37, is charged with 30 counts each of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 felonies) and child pornography (Class 2 felony).
BLOOMINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
Matthew T. Huett
Matthew T. Huett, 40, was arrested Wednesday after multiple bills of indictments were signed by a McLean County grand jury. He was charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13 years old (Class X felonies) and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor family member (Class 2 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tyson S. Moore
Tyson S. Moore, 40, is charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony) after he knowingly made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature by pushing a corrections officer, court documents said.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jeremiah D. Bivens
Jeremiah D. Bivens, 47, is charged with aggravated domestic battery (Class 2 felony) and domestic battery as a subsequent offense (Class 4 felony) on Aug. 9.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Chemier M. Lewis-Sangster
Chemier M. Lewis-Sangster, 18, of Bloomington, is charged with three counts of armed violence, a class 3 felony, and one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a class 2 felony.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tye Z. Thomas
Tye Z. Thomas, 24, of Bloomington is charged with multiple counts related to drug possession, possession with the intent to sell, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Angela R. Oss
Angela R. Oss, 43, is charged with unlawful possession of more than one gram but less than 15 grams of cocaine (Class 1 felony) and unlawful delivery of cocaine (Class 2 felony).
MACON COUNTY JAIL
Tabu H. Triplett
Tabu H. Triplett, 53, is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of more than one gram of cocaine and two counts of unlawful delivery of less than one gram.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Izaiah N. Lemos
Izaiah N. Lemos, 18, is charged with two counts of armed violence for possessing a loaded firearm while in possession of and attempting to deliver cannabis and methamphetamine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/burglary-stolen-vehicle-charges-filed-against-pontiac-woman/article_f915b590-1d99-11ed-9590-1fd907119b80.html | 2022-08-17T19:18:41 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/burglary-stolen-vehicle-charges-filed-against-pontiac-woman/article_f915b590-1d99-11ed-9590-1fd907119b80.html |
BLOOMINGTON — For A Better Tomorrow, a local nonprofit, is seeking nominations for the 2022 Why I See You Service Awards.
The award recognizes community service and leadership in McLean County as part of FBT's mission to celebrate young adults' leadership skills and contributions to the community.
FBT will donate $250 toward a qualifying nonprofit organization in honor of each award winner.
McLean County youth ages 12-22 who are engaged in community service and leadership are eligible to be nominated and apply for the YICU award. Nominees should be youth who demonstrate a strong desire to become a better leader in all aspects of life, the ability to lead and inspire others, and possess a passion for serving others.
Applications are due Sept. 15 and may be filled out at forbettertomorrow.org/yicu. Nine winners will be recognized at an in-person ceremony on Nov. 13. Applicants can be nominated by a parent, teacher or mentor, or be self-nominated. All applicants must complete an application to be considered for the award.
Applicants are also being accepted to recognize a team, advocate and mentor involved in community service and leadership.
Heartland Community College is getting ready for more construction as it begins a $17.5 million project for a new facility for manufacturing education, including electric vehicle programs. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/for-a-better-tomorrow-of-bloomington-seeks-award-nominations/article_d7f2577e-1e48-11ed-aa35-970e2b293039.html | 2022-08-17T19:18:47 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/for-a-better-tomorrow-of-bloomington-seeks-award-nominations/article_d7f2577e-1e48-11ed-aa35-970e2b293039.html |
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — President Joe Biden is again planning to visit our area.
Pres. Biden will visit Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 30, according to the White House.
The president plans to give remarks on his Safer America Plan to reduce gun crime and save lives.
Details of the venue and time of the visit have not been released.
A planned visit by the president in July was called off when Biden tested positive for COVID-19.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/biden-again-plans-trip-to-wilkes-barre-president-joe-biden-safer-america-plan-gun-crime/523-6d2e94a0-f30a-432c-a256-bc70f379a37c | 2022-08-17T19:18:51 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/biden-again-plans-trip-to-wilkes-barre-president-joe-biden-safer-america-plan-gun-crime/523-6d2e94a0-f30a-432c-a256-bc70f379a37c |
Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel launches Use of Force Review Board to raise accountability
Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel announced today he is creating a Use of Force Review Board to provide additional oversight of high-profile cases, particularly shootings by officers.
The creation of the Use of Force Review Board has been in the works for months, Noel told Knox News in an exclusive interview. Noel, who assumed command of KPD on June 13, built a national reputation while he was a deputy superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department.
Noel's announcement was tied to the release today of KPD's internal investigation into the April 12, 2021, fatal shooting of 17-year-old Anthony Thompson Jr., who was killed in an encounter with four officers in a bathroom at Austin-East Magnet High School.
The investigation, reported exclusively this morning by Knox News, cleared the officers of wrongdoing, but revealed it took at least two minutes for an officer to render first aid to Thompson after he was shot, and minutes more before a school nurse with more advanced medical skills arrived to assist.
One of the Use of Force Review Board's first tasks will be an examination of the Thompson shooting death, Noel told Knox News.
What KPD's Use of Force Review Board will do
The board will act only as an after-action advisory board, used mostly in cases where someone is killed or seriously injured, Noel told Knox News.
It won’t replace the Police Advisory and Review Committee, the city's independent accountability board that reviews police actions but can only make policy recommendations, and is not intended to be a disciplinary body.
The Use of Force Review Board will be an internal police group that will look at what could have been done better, potentially leading to departmental policy changes.
“There are two processes you look at ... did the officers violate departmental policy? And then the next part is what can we learn from that incident to make sure our policies, our training (and) our tactics are in line with putting our officers in a position to handle these incidents in the best way possible,” he said.
Use of force review boards are becoming more common across the country as advocates call for more accountability among police officers because they are empowered to carry guns and kill. Often, review boards are required as part of a consent decree in U.S. Department of Justice efforts to reform struggling police departments. That was the case in New Orleans, where Noel led the police department's board.
Noel stressed the board will not review every KPD use of force incident, but rather in only the most serious cases. When complete, the reports will be public.
For instance, Knox News’ exclusive reporting on then-officer Joseph Roberts’ treatment of 19-year-old Trinity Clark in 2021 would not have gone before the board, Noel said.
In that case, Clark was wrestled to the ground and her top was ripped off as Roberts attempted to detain her after he said she tried to evade him. A Knox County judge, however, dismissed that charge and five others, calling the matter “disturbing.” Roberts later pleaded guilty to lying about the circumstances of a different traffic pursuit and is no longer a police officer.
More:'I want to see concrete change': Anthony Thompson Jr.'s mother on her family's tragic year
A separate Knox News report on the Clark case showed, by statute, KPD doesn’t have to provide use of force documentation to Knoxville's Police Advisory and Review Committee if there were no injuries, but spokesperson Scott Erland said at the time that KPD welcomed discussions about expanding the policy.
Noel said KPD’s process didn’t work properly in the Clark case. Multiple supervisors reviewed Roberts’ arrest video but failed to raise any red flags. Still, he maintained the Use of Force Review Board would not be an appropriate body to review a case like Clark's because it didn't rise to the level of use of force hat will be the focus of the new board.
Department leaders aren't sure, at least not yet, how many cases would have fallen under the purview of a Use of Force Review Board over the past few years, though Erland estimated it would be few.
“It likely won't be a huge number of cases because these will be thorough, in-depth reviews to make recommendations regarding policy, procedure and training,” Erland wrote in an email to Knox News.
The process of creating the board has taken months, and the department isn’t ready to roll it out completely. Noel and other department leaders are expected to travel to other cities, like New Orleans or Washington, D.C., where they can watch a review board in person. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/knoxville-police-chief-paul-noel-launches-use-force-review-board-raise-accountability/10172126002/ | 2022-08-17T19:21:46 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/knoxville-police-chief-paul-noel-launches-use-force-review-board-raise-accountability/10172126002/ |
TIFTON – Dr. Andrew Nackashi at South Georgia Surgical currently offers ventral, hiatal and inguinal hernia surgeries using the daVinci robot.
“Hernia surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures in the country,” Nackashi said. “About 1 in 10 Americans will have a hernia at some point in their lives, and the majority of people will need to have surgery to repair that hernia.”
A hernia occurs when an organ or some other tissue pushes through a natural tissue into an area where it doesn’t belong. They often create a noticeable lump that may be able to be pushed back in or may disappear when lying down. Hernias can be very painful and uncomfortable.
A type of hernia called hiatal hernia does not result in a visible bulge outside of the body, but it often results in symptoms like heartburn, indigestion, difficulty swallowing, frequent regurgitation and chest pain.
The daVinci robot is a device that assists doctors when performing a surgery, and there can be many benefits to a robotic assisted surgery.
“Surgeries we perform using the daVinci, including hernia surgeries, result in smaller incisions, less tissue damage and bleeding, and often have fewer complications,” Nackashi said. “They often result in faster healing as well, which means you can get back to your normal routine much faster.”
In addition to hernia surgeries, Nackashi also performs colon and gallbladder surgeries with the daVinci robot.
For more information, call South Georgia Surgical at (229) 382-9733.
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accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/southwell-offers-hernia-surgery-using-davinci-robot/article_27a49f04-1e5b-11ed-a692-836c77bcf05a.html | 2022-08-17T19:21:58 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/southwell-offers-hernia-surgery-using-davinci-robot/article_27a49f04-1e5b-11ed-a692-836c77bcf05a.html |
AUSTIN, Texas — Law enforcement agencies in Texas can now apply for Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) travel assistance, according to a Wednesday press release from Gov. Greg Abbott's office.
Agencies can also apply for the state's Bullet-Resistance Shield Grant Program for the fiscal year 2023.
In June, Texas transferred $105.5 million to support school safety and metals health initiatives. Included in that amount was $3 million for local law enforcement agencies to offset travel expenses for ALERRT training and $50 million for bullet-resistant shields.
"These new funds will give law enforcement officers expanded access to training for active shooter scenarios, as well as critical protective equipment. I encourage all eligible law enforcement agencies and local government entities to apply for this additional funding as we work together to keep all Texans safe," Abbott said in a statement.
ALERRT training aims to teach first responders effective strategies to respond to attacks, including school shootings. The training is provided by veteran first responders and has served more than 200,000 first responders across the U.S., according to Abbott's office.
In the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Abbott instructed the ALERRT programs to provide training to all school districts across Texas, prioritizing school-based law enforcement. Abbott's office said throughout the summer, ALERRT has trained more than 3,000 officers, delivered dozens of classes and is currently scheduling more than 100 classes in the coming months.
Abbott's office said that applications for ALERRT travel assistance are open to independent school districts, units of local government, institutions of higher education and other education institutions that operate law enforcement agencies. Applications for assistance may only be submitted after receiving confirmation of registration for an ALERRT course.
The deadline to submit and certify an application is Aug. 31, 2023.
Independent school districts, units of local government, the Texas Department of Public Safety and other education institutions that operate law enforcement agencies can also apply for grant funding to equip officers with bullet-resistant shields. The deadline to submit and certify an application for priority consideration is Sept. 16, 2022. Additional application periods may be opened as funding permits, according to the governor's office.
All officers provided with a grant-funded bullet-resistant shield must have either attended 16 hours of ALERRT training within the past 24 months or be committed to participate within the next 24 months.
Britny Eubank on social media: Twitter
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-alerrt-travel-assistance-bullet-resistant-shield-grant/269-3780d4a9-f423-4836-a341-312b8d2916a9 | 2022-08-17T19:24:11 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-alerrt-travel-assistance-bullet-resistant-shield-grant/269-3780d4a9-f423-4836-a341-312b8d2916a9 |
LEXINGTON, Texas — A water main break overnight has forced City of Lexington officials to enact a boil water notice for local customers.
As of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said water has been restored but the boil notice remains in effect for anyone receiving water from the City of Lexington.
There is currently no time estimate for when the problem will be fixed, but crews remain on site working "diligently" to restore water service.
Anyone with further questions is asked to call 979-540-8179.
Lexington residents are also currently under Stage 5 water restrictions.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/water-main-break-boil-notice-lexington/269-90786f85-9def-4b62-86bb-1b9cc779c44d | 2022-08-17T19:24:17 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/water-main-break-boil-notice-lexington/269-90786f85-9def-4b62-86bb-1b9cc779c44d |
SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Crews are battling a structure fire in Southlake Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
Southlake Department of Public Safety said the large fire was located in the 4000 block of TW King Road.
"It is imperative you avoid this area at all costs," the department tweeted.
Several streets are closed or in the process of being closed, DPS said:
- West Bob Jones
- Southfork Road
- T.W. King Road
- Edgemere Drive
- Indian Creek Drive
Carroll ISD said Walnut Grove Elementary was put into a "shelter in place" protocol. The school had an early dismissal at noon.
WFAA has a crew heading to the scene and will update this story once more details are released. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/stay-away-crews-battling-large-structure-fire-in-southlake/287-b68398ba-2258-43f2-a588-255ceefa12ec | 2022-08-17T19:28:15 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/stay-away-crews-battling-large-structure-fire-in-southlake/287-b68398ba-2258-43f2-a588-255ceefa12ec |
Southlake Police say a large fire has forced the closure of several roads on the city's northwest side and they're urging people to stay clear of the area at all costs.
Police tweeted Wednesday afternoon that a large fire had broken out along the 4000 block of T.W. King Road, not far from the intersection of White Chapel and Bob Jones Road and along the eastern Trophy Club city limits.
"It is imperative you avoid this area at all costs while our firefighters bravely head in," Southlake DPS said.
From Texas Sky Ranger, it appears the fire is at the DalDen Corporation, a bottle filling and chemical blending facility, and that it involves at least two buildings. It's not immediately clear what was being stored in the buildings.
The streets impacted by closures while first responders fight the fire are West Bob Jones, Southfork Road, T.W. King Road, Edgemere Drive and Indian Creek Drive.
The area is surrounded on all sides by homes to the west and south, none of which appear to be immediately threatened by fire. Thick, black smoke was seen coming from the buildings when Texas Sky Ranger arrived at about 2 p.m.
Police are asking people to stay away from the area so that emergency vehicles can move freely.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Sign up for our Breaking Newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/avoid-this-area-at-all-costs-large-fire-burning-in-southlake-roads-closed/3050719/ | 2022-08-17T19:28:45 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/avoid-this-area-at-all-costs-large-fire-burning-in-southlake-roads-closed/3050719/ |
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum has received a $300,000 grant from the Texas Instruments (TI) Foundation to support operating and programming plans in the coming years.
The three-year grant aims to help the museum further its mission of teaching Holocaust history, advancing human rights against prejudice, hatred and indifference and overall continuing to educate the North Texas community.
Executive Director of the TI Foundation, Andy Smith strongly believes in the museum's mission. "We believe this gift will impact thousands of lives every year as visitors to the museum are shaped by lessons of the past and inspired to stand up to hatred and bigotry in their own lives."
"So much has changed in the past few years, with upheavals of hate spreading around the globe at a frightening pace," said Mary Pat Higgins, president and CEO, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. "With so many people struggling to find reliable resources to learn about our shared human story and tools needed to help repair our world, this generous gift could not have come at a more critical time."
Higgins said the grant will go directly to filling the educational gap future generations can not afford to leave open.
The TI Foundation has been a strong supporter of the museum and its educational focus for years. In 2021, it awarded the museum $100,000 to support programs that targeted anti-Asian hate and bigotry. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-instruments-foundation-awards-300000-grant-to-dallas-holocaust-and-human-rights-museum/3050607/ | 2022-08-17T19:28:51 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-instruments-foundation-awards-300000-grant-to-dallas-holocaust-and-human-rights-museum/3050607/ |
OELWEIN — An Oelwein man has been arrested for allegedly running an unlicensed tattoo parlor.
Fayette County sheriff’s deputies arrested Skylar Joseph Buhr, 33, on Aug. 8 on a warrant for operating a tattoo parlor without a permit, a misdemeanor, and an unrelated charge of failure to pay child support.
According to court records, one of Buhr’s customers went to authorities in May after she was unable to get a refund for a tattoo where something was wrong with the ink he used.
The tattooing had been done at a home in the 800 block of Second Street N.E., and authorities allege Buhr didn’t have a tattoo permit from the Iowa Department of Public Health.
PHOTOS: Doggie Dip at The Falls 2022
PHOTOS: Doggie Dip at The Falls 2022
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
Dog days of summer
Dogs and their owners head for the water at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday to participate in the annual Doggie Dip.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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People and their pets plunged into the pool Monday at The Falls Aquatic Center during the Doggie Dip.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Happy scenes of pets and their people happened all over The Falls Aquatic Center Monday during the Doggie Dip.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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People and their pets plunged into the pool Monday at The Falls Aquatic Center during the Doggie Dip.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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This World War I flying ace made a stop at The Falls Aquatic Center Monday for the Doggie Dip.
Jeff Reinitz
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Photos from the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center in Cedar Falls on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Jeff Reinitz
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Furry friends filled the water Monday during the Doggie Dip at The Falls Aquatic Center.
Jeff Reinitz
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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/oelwein-man-arrested-for-tattooing-without-a-permit/article_250439f6-ec50-5462-9869-339f0ee60db6.html | 2022-08-17T19:30:51 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/oelwein-man-arrested-for-tattooing-without-a-permit/article_250439f6-ec50-5462-9869-339f0ee60db6.html |
CEDAR FALLS — The Falls Aquatic Center, 3025 S. Main St., closed the books on its season Sunday.
But on Monday, it was every pooch in the pool.
This delightful tradition serves as an unofficial end to summer.
Due to limited staffing, The Falls closed a week earlier than originally scheduled. To meet state staffing requirements, the aquatic center must have 16 lifeguards on staff per day. With seasonal employees departing for school activities and a worker shortage affecting the economy as a whole, The Falls had trouble maintaining its staffing.
But before they drained the pool, The Falls held the Doggie Dip on Monday night.
The aquatic center annually invites every interested dog in the Cedar Valley and pet owners into the pool to help close out summer for good.
Hundreds of dogs and their human companions packed the pool, playing with other dogs, leaping from the diving boards and sliding down the water slides.
The dogs were given free leash of the facility.
Originally, the Doggy Dip was scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 22. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-doggie-dip-takes-over-last-day-at-the-falls/article_8c878022-3d28-5bde-9a37-461282b17b33.html | 2022-08-17T19:30:57 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-doggie-dip-takes-over-last-day-at-the-falls/article_8c878022-3d28-5bde-9a37-461282b17b33.html |
SEATTLE — Editor's note: The above video on City Attorney Ann Davison expediting filing decision aired on Feb. 7. 2022.
The City Attorney's Office said in a report published Wednesday morning that it has reduced the time to file a criminal case to three days, down from an average of 129 days over the last five years.
City Attorney Ann Davison said in a release the median time to make a filing decision in criminal cases took over four months between 2017-2021. In less than one year as city attorney, Davison said her office has made a 98% reduction in filing time.
The improved efficiency in case filing time coincides with Davison's goal to eliminate a 5,000 case backlog by 2023.
In the latest report, the City Attorney's Office said it has made steady progress in easing the case backlog the department inherited late last year. Assistant City Prosecutors have made 900 case filing decisions on older cases since Davison's plan to address the mounting backlog took effect in February. Her plan to chip away at the case backlog involved making a decision within five business days to file charges or not in new cases.
Davison, who was elected to the position in November 2021, said these strides from the City Attorney's Office "improve justice for victims."
“I am so proud to highlight the incredible work of the dedicated Criminal Division staff in this report," Davison said. "Since taking office, I have been committed to re-centering victims in the public safety system in Seattle and the data in this report proves that we are making significant progress in delivering on this promise. Seattle residents, business owners and community members deserve a criminal justice system that works for them and prioritizes the safety of our communities. My office will continue to lead with data and transparency to ensure that we are making meaningful improvements to public safety in Seattle.”
The 50-page report said the immediate review of incoming reports has led to faster case filing and more victims participating in their cases. According to the report, 27% of domestic violence referrals declined in 2021 due to difficulty contacting victims, who may have lost interest in participating in cases after long delays. That rate has dropped to 8% in the second quarter of 2022, Davison said in the report.
The City Attorney's Office said it is filing "significantly more cases" compared to this time in 2021 because of improved efficiency. The criminal division has seen a 124% increase in cases filed and the case decline rate for new police criminal referrals has dropped at the same time. Davison said fewer declined cases mean fewer time prosecutors have to waste reviewing police reports where no action was taken.
Better reporting from the Seattle Police Department and the community has helped boost filing numbers, the office said. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/time-to-file-criminal-cases-seattle-now-3-days-down-from-128-days/281-6df4be4b-8d55-45d1-8eb9-899de572e082 | 2022-08-17T19:31:03 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/time-to-file-criminal-cases-seattle-now-3-days-down-from-128-days/281-6df4be4b-8d55-45d1-8eb9-899de572e082 |
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A man was arrested Wednesday over one month after a shooting that injured a 16-year-old at a movie theater in Kissimmee, according to the sheriff’s office.
Ellis Sixto Reyes, 19, faces several charges, including attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, shooting into an occupied conveyance, aggravated assault and possession of child pornography, investigators said.
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Deputies said they initially responded to the Regal Cinemas, located at 3232 N. John Young Parkway in Kissimmee, on July 2.
Upon arrival, detectives said they found a 16-year-old victim suffering from a gunshot wound.
Reyes was later identified by deputies and arrested over a month after the initial shooting, the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday.
Reyes is currently booked in Osceola County jail, where he is being held without bond.
No other information is available at this time. Check back here for updates.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/17/man-arrested-over-a-month-after-16-year-old-found-shot-at-kissimmee-movie-theater-deputies-say/ | 2022-08-17T19:31:22 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/17/man-arrested-over-a-month-after-16-year-old-found-shot-at-kissimmee-movie-theater-deputies-say/ |
SAN ANTONIO — Note: A previous version of this article had incorrect information on Miller's date of arrest.
A man accused of killing two people is now facing capital murder charges.
James Miller, 20, was wanted for the deaths of two, a 20-year-old man and a 14-year-old teenager who were killed in what county authorities said was a drug deal meetup that ended in gunfire back in 2020.
RELATED STORY: BCSO asking for help locating Capital Murder suspect
The shooting occurred on the 7300 block of Rubens Drive at just after 9 p.m. on December 17. Sheriff Javier Salazar said the incident was "probably a planned ambush."
“(The) mere fact that a 14-year-old was present during a drug deal…makes it more tragic,” said Sheriff Javier Salazar. “Very easily we could have been talking about four or five homicide victims as opposed to two.”
NEST security footage from a nearby home showed both the victim's car, as well as the suspect's car, arriving at the crime scene. The sound of gunshots is heard on the recorded video right before the suspect's vehicle is seen driving off.
A witness told police that she was friends with one of the deceased and had exchanged text messages with him that evening. He texted her that he was with Miller and another man.
Witnesses told police that Miller and another man fired shots into the car the two men were killed inside.
Miller is charged with capital murder, which is a felony. His bond has been set at $500,000.
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Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/capital-murder-suspect-whod-been-on-the-run-for-two-years-now-in-custody-san-antonio-texas-drugs-murder/273-4da98ab6-227b-4657-ac01-88d4dd276649 | 2022-08-17T19:31:29 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/capital-murder-suspect-whod-been-on-the-run-for-two-years-now-in-custody-san-antonio-texas-drugs-murder/273-4da98ab6-227b-4657-ac01-88d4dd276649 |
SAN ANTONIO — A Devine man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for a 2021 shooting that left two people dead.
Fernando Rojas, 39, pled guilty Tuesday to charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Rojas had been involved in an argument with three people outside a home in far southeast Bexar County on Aug. 6, 2021, evidence showed.
A witness told police Rojas was standing outside the property with an AR-15 when he was told to get off the property. Rojas walked away, then fired at the property owner, killing both Jonathan Fann and Sareena Bain, say police. Another person was injured. Rojas was arrested six days later in Las Vegas.
In exchange for his guilty plea, Rojas was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder and 20 years for the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
“This plea spares the families of these victims from ever having to face this gunman again. No dispute should end like this. I am thankful for the hard work our team did to bring justice to these families,” said Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office investigated the crime.
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Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas-man-sentenced-to-50-years-in-prison-for-deadly-shooting-that-killed-two-san-antonio-bexar-county-murder/273-c157b153-3bf9-43ec-800c-5d42afc77bbc | 2022-08-17T19:31:35 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas-man-sentenced-to-50-years-in-prison-for-deadly-shooting-that-killed-two-san-antonio-bexar-county-murder/273-c157b153-3bf9-43ec-800c-5d42afc77bbc |
HOUSTON — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is re-deploying a program to alert law enforcement of suspicious activity at schools as kids are heading back into the classroom.
It’s called iWatch Texas and it’s designed to provide law enforcement with quick tips to respond to danger.
It’s one way Gov. Abbott is responding to concerns about school safety as many are asking for more to be done.
A new PSA calling to attention features a Texas icon.
“I’m Chuck Norris. I love bringing bad guys to justice," the PSA starts.
Governor Abbott is pulling out all the stops to convince Texans that he’s responding to concerns of school safety.
“Law enforcement can’t stop the bad guys if they don’t know who they are,” Chuck Norris said in the 30-second video.
RELATED: These Houston-area school districts still haven't spent state's grant money for security upgrades
iWatch Texas, which was first launched in 2018, is a website, phone app and service that allows Texans to report suspicious activity to DPS.
“We’ve heard plenty of these words, what we need now in Texas are actions,” Sen. Roland Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez, a state senator and Democrat, who represents Uvalde, says the repurposed push for iWatch Texas is a distraction from the real issues at hand when it comes to school safety.
“Let’s be real clear our kids are no safer today in any school in Texas than we were on May 24th because Greg Abbott has refused to call a special session to raise an age limit from 18 to 21,” Gutierrez said.
Educators are also pushing back against the measure being promoted by a celebrity.
“Why do we need iWatch necessarily over 911?" asked Zeph Capo, the president of the American Federation of Teachers said. “ I mean frankly we already have an emergency system that is supposed to get directly to people.”
Abbott says “parents, teachers, and students deserve to feel safe and secure returning to school this fall.”
Something Senator Gutierrez says is not happening by resisting legislative changes on guns.
Locally, some schools already have a system in place to report suspicious activity.
Houston ISD utilizes the See Something Say Something app and has a 24-hour tip-line where students can make reports at 713-892-7777. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/texas/iwatch-texas-chuck-norris-psa/285-7762c249-cbb1-4204-9728-c23a79aad7b0 | 2022-08-17T19:34:51 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/texas/iwatch-texas-chuck-norris-psa/285-7762c249-cbb1-4204-9728-c23a79aad7b0 |
SANDUSKY, Ohio — A man and woman were arrested at Cedar Point on Sunday after four witnesses told Sandusky police they saw the couple engaged in sexual intercourse aboard one of the rides.
According to a police report, David Davis and Heather Johnston, both 32-years-old, were allegedly seen having sex while on the Cedar Point attraction Giant Wheel. The two were confronted by a Cedar Point police sergeant and security before the Sandusky Police Department was called.
The group of witnesses included two juveniles who were in the cart below the couple on the Ferris wheel.
The two initially denied any accusations. Johnston reported to officers that she had shorts on under her dress, dropped her cigarette pack out of them and when she picked them up Davis helped her.
Witnesses told police that they felt the cart shaking and saw the man and woman both expose themselves on the ride.
The couple later admitted that they were engaged in sexual intercourse.
Davis and Johnston were both arrested and transported to the Erie County Police Department where they were charged with a misdemeanor of the first degree. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/couple-arrested-after-allegedly-having-sex-on-ferris-wheel-at-cedar-point/530-a08bc013-4366-4316-a5d9-6b8aa3f11f76 | 2022-08-17T19:38:04 | 1 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/couple-arrested-after-allegedly-having-sex-on-ferris-wheel-at-cedar-point/530-a08bc013-4366-4316-a5d9-6b8aa3f11f76 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Before Tuesday’s Fayetteville City Council vote, there was plenty of public comment for and against adding more school resource officers (SROs) to Fayetteville Public Schools.
"They run to the gunfire," said Fayetteville Police Chief Mike Reynolds speaking about his officers. "They don’t hide. They will lay their lives down for you."
Reynolds pleaded with the Fayetteville City Council on Aug. 16 to make a budget adjustment to add more SROs to Fayetteville Schools for protection.
But Monique Jones, a parent to students in the school district, spoke against adding more officers in schools at the meeting.
"SROs impact Black and Brown children, especially with disabilities at a disproportional rate," Jones said.
Jones says what Reynolds is asking for will do more harm than good. The council voted on the proposed budget adjustment to add one school resource officer this year and two additional officers every year until every Fayetteville public school has a full-time officer on-site.
“So that they can come to school, be able to learn without worrying about what’s going to happen,” said John L. Colbert, the Fayetteville Public Schools superintendent.
He hopes to get an SRO at each middle school first, then at each elementary.
“This is a very small piece of safety and making sure all the kids are safe and comfortable at school,” he said.
Jones says she thinks it will do the opposite.
“My heart is heavy because I’m a mother of seven Black children, “Jones said. “My heart is heavy because I’m a [grand]mother of eight Black and mixed grandchildren and people continue to advocate for school resource officers in schools."
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/school-resource-officers-fayetteville-schools/527-9b081e51-d3b2-43c5-abb5-39ab4f9b4b2f | 2022-08-17T19:38:10 | 1 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/school-resource-officers-fayetteville-schools/527-9b081e51-d3b2-43c5-abb5-39ab4f9b4b2f |
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have had an accomplice.
A team of researchers, including one from the University of Arizona, have found evidence of a second large impact crater at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean that appears to be from the same time period, roughly 66 million years ago.
University of Arizona research scientist Veronica Bray said the newly discovered crater could have been made by the “little sister asteroid to Chicxulub,” the 6-mile-wide space rock that wiped out 75% of the Earth’s plant and animal species, including all non-avian dinosaurs.
Uisdean Nicholson, a geologist at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, found the crater by accident in 2020, during unrelated seismic exploration of the Atlantic seabed about 250 miles off the coast of Guinea in West Africa.
The crater is more than five miles wide and buried roughly 950 feet below the seabed.
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“I’ve interpreted lots of seismic data in my time but had never seen anything like this,” Nicholson said in a written statement. “It has particular features that point to an asteroid. It has a raised rim and a very prominent central uplift, which is consistent for large impact craters.”
He also found signs of a chaotic debris field extending away from the crater for more than 10 miles, suggesting material that was violently ejected by the impact and tossed around in the churning water.
Nicholson named the feature Nadir crater after a nearby underwater mountain.
He brought in Bray, fellow impact expert Sean Gulick from the University of Texas at Austin and research scientist Benedict Aduomahor from Heriot-Watt University to help analyze the discovery. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
Based on her computer simulations, Bray said the crater is consistent with an asteroid about a quarter of a mile wide crashing down in water some 2,500 feet deep.
The impact would have caused widespread devastation in its corner of the globe, vaporizing everything in the immediate area, triggering a magnitude-7 earthquake and generating a series of tsunamis hundreds of feet high, she said.
“If you were standing on the west coast of Africa, you would have seen the sea go out and the sand stretch for miles” before the first giant wave hit, Bray said.
She estimates the energy released by the strike was about 1,000 times greater than the January 2022 eruption and tsunami in the South Pacific island chain of Tonga or about 300,000 greater than the atomic blast that destroyed Hiroshima.
Nicholson has already applied for funding to drill into the seabed and confirm that what he found is an asteroid crater. Bray said that work is slated to happen in 2024 as part of another seismic investigation off the coast of Africa.
During the trip, researchers also hope to collect core samples containing rock melted by the asteroid impact, so they can use the material to determine the precise age of the crater, plus or minus about 11,000 years. “It’s the best style of dating that we have,” Bray said.
If the two impacts turn out to be separated by tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, it could point to a cluster of apocalyptic asteroid impacts that brought the Cretaceous period crashing to a halt.
But if the date of the Nadir sample matches up with the dinosaur-killing Chicxulub event, it would suggest that the smaller asteroid broke off from the larger one before they both slammed into the Earth roughly 3,400 miles apart.
Or, as Bray put it: “It's a chip off the old block.”
“This would have helped finish off the dinosaurs,” she said, before laughing at her use of the word “helped.” “As an impact modeler, I think of what’s good for the crater,” Bray said.
Not that Chicxulub needed any help.
When that asteroid slammed into what is now the western Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula, it blasted a crater 110 miles wide and 12 miles deep, launching debris into space and shrouding the planet in hot dust, ash and rocks that set fire to most of the world’s forests as they rained down from the sky.
It also produced “megatsunamis” nearly a mile high and a seismic event of magnitude-10 or greater that “would have left the Earth ringing like a bell for days,” Bray said.
The discovery of the Nadir crater is significant whether it’s directly linked to Chicxulub or not, said Gulick, the impact expert from the University of Texas.
“Despite four billion years of impactors hitting Earth, only 200 have been discovered,” he said in a written statement. “It is thus exciting news whenever a new potential impact is discovered, especially in the hard-to-explore marine environment.”
To date, fewer than 20 marine impact craters have been confirmed across the globe.
Bray said the sediment cores due to be collected from the Nadir site in 2024 could also help shed light on how life recovered from the cataclysm and how long that might have taken.
Bray joined the U of A’s world famous Lunar and Planetary Laboratory 13 years ago, after earning her doctorate degree in the United Kingdom.
In addition to her work as an impact modeler, Bray logs time as a spacecraft operations engineer, assisting with the Cassini mission to Saturn, the New Horizons mission to Pluto and NASA’s HiRISE camera, which is operated from the U of A campus as it circles the red planet onboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Work on the Nadir crater has been a nice change of pace.
“I’m usually out in the solar system,” Bray said. “It’s interesting to be doing terrestrial modeling.”
Collection: Read more on U of A research
University of Arizona astronomers have been involved with the Webb Space Telescope from the start, and even they were stunned by the first images.
New journal papers reveal how close a University of Arizona-led space mission came to sinking into the unexpectedly soft surface of the asteroid Bennu in 2020.
A team including scientists from the University of Arizona have revealed the first image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy.
NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope is in the home stretch of testing, with science observations expected to begin in July, astronomers said Monday.
The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory will oversee both efforts
University of Arizona scientist Jessica Tierney won the prestigious prize for her research on climate change in the distant past and the future.
For Star subscribers: Hoping to help close STEM achievement gaps, the University of Arizona's Colleen Kelley is producing a comic book series. It's called M.C. Detective Agency: Chemical Solutions Required.
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The University of Arizona team's discovery marks the first time the debris cloud from such a collision has been observed and measured.
A tiny native fish was reintroduced to the Santa Cruz River in Tucson on Wednesday, thanks to efforts to restore the river's flow using treated wastewater.
If the James Webb Space Telescope "were sitting here in Tucson, you could take a picture of a basketball in Albuquerque, New Mexico," a University of Arizona scientist said in describing its power.
By the time three-fourths of women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it’s in an advanced stage with a devastating prognosis.
Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@tucson.com or 573-4283. On Twitter: @RefriedBrean | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/u-of-a-researcher-helps-find-evidence-of-dinosaur-killing-asteroids-little-sister/article_e01c6f84-1ce0-11ed-9cdf-cbf69d970fe8.html | 2022-08-17T19:39:53 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/u-of-a-researcher-helps-find-evidence-of-dinosaur-killing-asteroids-little-sister/article_e01c6f84-1ce0-11ed-9cdf-cbf69d970fe8.html |
If you want to lock in your natural gas price for the winter, now's the time to do so. But keep in mind that you'll pay a lot more for the privilege than in past years.
Black Hills Energy opened enrollment Monday for its annual price option for residential customers, which allows them to pay a predetermined price for natural gas during the winter, offering them predictability during what can be a volatile time for prices.
It's not necessarily meant to save them money, and this year's price is considerably higher than it's been in the past.
The lock-in price this year is 88 cents per therm, about a 65% increase from last year's price and more than double the price in 2020. That appears to be the highest price for the program since 2009.
The price increase is largely due to an increase in natural gas prices, which currently are hovering around $8 per million British Thermal Units, compared with just over $4 per Btu at the same time last year.
"Natural gas prices have increased substantially over the past year-plus – doubling and even tripling from the historically low prices that we’ve become accustomed to the past 8-10 years,” Kevin Jarosz, Black Hills Energy’s vice president of operations in Nebraska, said in a news release.
Even though Lincoln had a mild winter last year, with a record low for snowfall, customers who chose the annual price option saved about $80 on average over the course of the year, said Black Hills spokeswoman Brandy Johnson.
Enrollment in the program is open until Oct. 7 or until 12,000 customers have enrolled – whichever comes first. The locked-in gas price will be in effect from Nov. 1-Oct. 31. Those who want to enroll can go to blackhillsenergy.com/annual-price-option or call 800-753-7509.
Airport Executive Director David Haring said he's already in negotiations with at least one airline and is "optimistic" an agreement could be signed as early as next month.
Over 35 years, Omaha's Tenaska Energy has grown into an $18 billion business. Co-founder Howard Hawks is stepping down as company chairman but will stay on the board.
Owner Mark Suleiman said he is working on adding bathrooms to the space above Barry's Bar and Grill and hopes to have them ready in time for the football season.
Ray Ward’s dream was to put his knowledge of soil health and fertility to work for farmers, but he had to convince them of the value and necessity of testing their soil. | https://journalstar.com/business/local/it-will-cost-you-a-lot-more-to-lock-in-natural-gas-price-this-year/article_5f7f4aee-f200-5ce0-b3fd-f93b4874e11e.html | 2022-08-17T19:41:53 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/business/local/it-will-cost-you-a-lot-more-to-lock-in-natural-gas-price-this-year/article_5f7f4aee-f200-5ce0-b3fd-f93b4874e11e.html |
A Nebraska man is accused of buying fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards.
A grand jury indicted Jason Olderbak, a 34-year-old Grand Island man, on Tuesday on a charge of fraudulent use of seals of the United States government.
According to court records, on July 30, 2021, he allegedly bought and procured fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards that had the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's seal on them.
It doesn't say how many he bought or how it was discovered.
And the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to provide any further information about the allegations.
His initial appearance has been set for Aug. 30.
Tom Casady's list of the 10 most infamous crimes in Lincoln history
Crimes of the times
This is simply one man’s perspective from the early 21st century (first written in 2010). I had to make a decision about crimes that occurred at locations that are inside the city today, but were outside our corporate limits at the time they occurred. I chose the latter.
Before beginning, though, I have to deal with three crimes that stand apart: the murders of three police officers in Lincoln. I’m not quite sure how to place them in a list. They all had huge impacts on the community, and on the police department in particular. Because these are my colleagues, I deal with them separately and in chronological order.
Patrolman Marion Francis Marshall
Shot in the shadow of the new Nebraska State Capital, Gov. Charles Bryan came to his aid and summoned additional help.
Lt. Frank Soukup
Marion Marshall was technically not a Lincoln police officer, so Lt. Soukup was actually the first Lincoln police officer killed on duty. One of his colleagues who was present at the motel and involved in the gunbattle, Paul Jacobsen, went on to enjoy a long career and command rank at LPD, influencing many young charges (like me) and leaving his mark on the culture of the agency.
Lt. Paul Whitehead
In the space of a few months, three LPD officers died in the line of duty. Frank Soukup had been murdered, and George Welter had died in a motorcycle crash. Paul Whitehead's partner, Paul Merritt, went on to command rank, and like Paul Jacobsen left an indelible mark at LPD and the community.
No. 1: Starkweather
The subject of several thinly disguised movie plots and a Springsteen album, the Starkweather murders are clearly the most infamous crime in Lincoln’s history — so far. One of the first mass murderers of the mass media age, six of Charles Starkweather’s 11 victims were killed inside the city of Lincoln, and the first was just on the outskirts of town. I didn’t live in Lincoln at the time, but my wife was a first-grader at Riley Elementary School and has vivid memories of the city gripped by fear in the days between the discovery of the Bartlett murders and Starkweather’s capture in Wyoming.
The case caused quite an uproar. There was intense criticism of the police department and sheriff’s office for not capturing Starkweather earlier in the week after the discovery of the Bartletts' bodies. Ultimately, Mayor Bennett Martin and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners retained a retired FBI agent, Harold G. Robinson, to investigate the performance of local law enforcement. His report essentially exonerated the local law officers and made a few vanilla recommendations for improving inter-agency communication and training.
Now I know that many readers are mumbling to themselves “how obvious.” Hold your horses, though. It’s not quite as obvious as you might think. I had two experiences that drove this fact home to me. The first was a visit by a small group of journalism students. Only one member of the class had any idea, and her idea was pretty vague. You need to remember that the Starkweather murders were in 1957 and 1958 — before the parents of many college students were even born.
The second experience was a visit by a Cub Scout den. I was giving the kids a tour of the police station one evening. We were in the front lobby waiting for everyone to arrive. As I entertained the boys, I told the moms and dads that they might enjoy looking in the corner of the Sheriff’s Office display case to see the contents of Starkweather’s wallet — discovered a couple of years ago locked up in the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office safe. After a few minutes, one of the confused fathers asked me who Starkweather was, and why it was significant.
No. 2: Lincoln National Bank
On the morning of Sept. 17, 1930, a dark blue Buick carrying six men pulled up in front of the Lincoln National Bank at the northwest corner of 12th and O streets. Five of the men entered the bank, while a sixth stood outside by the Buick, cradling a machine gun. Observing the unusual events, a passerby called the police. The officer who responded, Forrest Shappaugh, was casually instructed by the machine-gun-toting lookout to just keep going, which he wisely did. Returning with reinforcements, he found that the robbers had already made good on their getaway, netting $2.7 million in cash and negotiable securities.
Ultimately, three of the six suspects were arrested. Tommy O’Connor and Howard Lee were convicted and sentenced. Jack Britt was tried twice but not convicted by a hung jury. Gus Winkeler, a member of Al Capone’s gang, winged a deal with County Attorney Max Towle to avoid prosecution in exchange for orchestrating the recovery of $600,000 in bearer bonds. The following year, Winkeler was murdered in Chicago, the victim of a gangland slaying. The final two robbers were never identified.
The Lincoln National Bank robbery stood as the largest cash bank robbery in the United States for many decades. It precipitated major changes at the Lincoln Police Department. Chief Peter Johnstone was rapidly “retired” after the robbery, the department’s fleet was upgraded to add the first official patrol cars, the full force was armed and a shotgun squad was organized. Forty-four years later when I was hired at LPD, the echo of the Lincoln National Bank robbery was still evident in daily bank opening details, and in the Thomspon submachine guns and Reising rifles that detectives grabbed whenever the robbery alarm sounded at headquarters.
No. 3: The Last Posse
My first inkling about this crime came when I was the chief deputy sheriff. One of my interns, a young man named Ron Boden (who became a veteran deputy sheriff), had been doing some research on Lancaster County’s only known lynching, in 1884. I came across a reference in the biography of the sheriff at the time, Sam Melick, to the murder of the Nebraska Penitentiary warden and subsequent prison break. Melick had been appointed interim warden after the murder and instituted several reforms.
Several years later, a colleague, Sgt. Geoff Marti, loaned me a great book, Gale Christianson’s "Last Posse," that told the story of the 1912 prison break in gory, haunting and glorious detail.
To make a long story short, convict Shorty Gray and his co-conspirators shot and killed Warden James Delahunty, a deputy warden and a guard on Wednesday, March 13, 1912. They then made their break — right into the teeth of a brutal Nebraska spring blizzard. Over the course to the next few days, a posse pursued. During the pursuit, the escapees carjacked a young farmer with his team and wagon. As the posse closed in, a gunfight broke out and the hostage was shot and killed in the exchange, along with two of the three escapees.
There was plenty of anger among the locals in the Gretna-Springfield vicinity about the death of their native son, and a controversy raged over the law enforcement tactics that brought about his demise. Lancaster County Sheriff Gus Hyers was not unsullied by the inquiry, although it appears from my prospect a century later that the fog of war led to the tragedy.
Christianson, a professor of history at Indiana State University who died earlier this year, notes the following on the flyleaf:
“For anyone living west of the Mississippi in 1912, the biggest news that fateful year was a violent escape from the Nebraska state penitentiary planned and carried out by a trio of notorious robbers and safe blowers.”
Bigger news on half the continent than the sinking of the Titanic during the same year would certainly qualify this murder-escape as one of the most infamous Lincoln crimes in history.
No. 4: Rock Island wreck
The Aug. 10, 1894, wreck of a Rock Island train on the southwest outskirts of Lincoln was almost lost in the mist of time until it was resurrected in the public consciousness by author Joel Williams, who came across the story while conducting research for his historical novel, "Barrelhouse Boys."
The wreck was determined to be the result of sabotage to the tracks, perhaps an attempt to derail the train as a prelude to robbery. Eleven people died in the crash and ensuing fire, making this a mass murder, to be sure. G.W. Davis was arrested and convicted of the crime but later received a full pardon. The story was told in greater detail earlier this year by the Lincoln Journal Star.
A historical marker is along the Rock Island Trail in Wilderness Park, accessible only by foot or bike from the nearest trail access points about a half-mile away at Old Cheney Road on the north, or 14th Street on the south.
Here’s the big question that remains unanswered: Was there really significant evidence to prove that George Washington Davis committed the crime, or was he just a convenient scapegoat? The fact that he received a gubernatorial pardon 10 years later leads me to believe that the evidence must have been unusually weak. If he was railroaded, then my second question is this: who really pried loose the tracks with the 40-pound crowbar found at the scene?
No. 5: Commonwealth
On Nov. 1, 1983, the doors to Nebraska’s largest industrial savings and loan company were closed and Commonwealth was declared insolvent. The 6,700 depositors with $65 million at stake would never be fully compensated for their loss, ultimately receiving about 59 cents on the dollar for their deposits, which they all mistakenly believed were insured up to $30,000 through the Nebraska Depository Insurance Guaranty Corporation, which was essentially an insurance pool with assets of only $3 million.
The case dominated Nebraska news for months. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of three members of the prominent Lincoln family that owned the institution, the resignation of the director of the State Department of Banking and the impeachment of the Nebraska attorney general and the suspension of his license to practice law. State and federal litigation arising from the failure of Commonwealth drug on for years.
At the Lincoln Police Department, the Commonwealth failure led to the formation of a specialized white-collar crime detail, now known as the Technical Investigations Unit. At the time, municipal police departments in the United States had virtually no capacity for investigating financial crime and fraud of this magnitude, and we quickly became well known for our expertise in this area. The early experience served LPD very well in the ensuring years.
No. 6: Candice Harms
Candi Harms never came home from visiting her boyfriend on Sept. 22, 1992. Her parents reported her as a missing person the following morning, and her car was found abandoned in a cornfield north of Lincoln later in the day. Weeks went by before her remains were found southeast of Lincoln.
Scott Barney and Roger Bjorklund were convicted in her abduction and murder. Barney is in prison serving a life term. Bjorklund died in prison in 2001. Intense media attention surrounded the lengthy trial of Roger Bjorklund, for which a jury was brought in from Cheyenne County as an alternative to a change of venue. I have no doubt that the trial was a life-changing event for a group of good citizens from Sidney, who did their civic duty.
I was the Lancaster County sheriff at the time, involved both in the investigation and in the trial security. It was at about this time that the cellular telephone was becoming a consumer product, and I have often thought that this brutal crime probably spurred a lot of purchases. During my career, this is probably the second-most-prominent Lincoln crime in terms of the sheer volume of media coverage.
No. 7: Jon Simpson and Jacob Surber
A parent’s worst nightmare unfolded in September 1975 when these two boys, ages 12 and 13, failed to return from the Nebraska State Fair. The boys were the victims of abduction and murder. The case was similar to a string of other murders of young boys in the Midwest, and many thought that these cases were related -- the work of a serial killer. Although an arrest was made in the case here in Lincoln, the charges were eventually dismissed. William Guatney was released and has since died.
No. 8: John Sheedy
Saloon and gambling house owner John Sheedy was gunned down outside his home at 1211 P St. in January 1891. The case of Sheedy, prominent in Lincoln’s demiworld, became the talk of the town when his wife, Mary, and her alleged lover and accomplice, Monday McFarland, were arrested. Both were acquitted at trial. The Sheedy murder is chronicled in a great interactive multimedia website, Gilded Age Plains City, an online version that builds upon an article published in 2001 by Timothy Mahoney of the University of Nebraska.
No. 9: Patricia McGarry and Catherine Brooks
The bodies of these two friends were found in a Northeast Lincoln duplex in August 1977. Their murderer, Robert E. Williams, was the subject of a massive Midwest manhunt during the following week. Before his capture, he committed a third murder in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and raped, shot and left for dead a victim who survived in Minnesota. He is the last man to be executed in Nebraska, sent to the electric chair in 1997.
No. 10: Judge William M. Morning
District Court Judge William Morning was murdered in February 1924. He was shot on the bench by an unhappy litigant in a divorce case. His court reporter, Minor Bacon, was also shot, but a notebook in his breast pocket deflected the bullet and saved his life.
Many other crimes
Choosing Lincoln's 10 most infamous crimes was a challenge. Although the top two were easy, the picture quickly became clouded. We tend, of course, to forget our history rather quickly. Many of the crimes I felt were among the most significant are barely remembered today, if not completely forgotten.
Some readers will take issue with my list. In choosing 10, here are the others I considered, in no particular order. They are all murders:
-- Mary O'Shea
-- Nancy Parker
-- Charles Mulholland
-- Victoria Lamm and Janet Mesner
-- Martina McMenamin
-- Regina Bos (presumably murdered)
-- Patty Webb
-- Marianne Mitzner
I also thought about the five murder-suicides in which a mother or father killed multiple family members before taking their own life. Though tragic, these crimes did not command the same kind of attention as the others, perhaps because there was no lengthy investigation, no tantalizing whodunit, no stranger-killer, nor any of the details that come out in the coverage of a major trial. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/grand-island-man-indicted-for-buying-fake-covid-19-vaccination-record-cards/article_6465739e-a5bd-5fe0-9151-e7aca13d7467.html | 2022-08-17T19:41:59 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/grand-island-man-indicted-for-buying-fake-covid-19-vaccination-record-cards/article_6465739e-a5bd-5fe0-9151-e7aca13d7467.html |
The first red panda born at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in eight years is keeping herself scarce.
Betty, born June 4 to first-time mom Tian and father Liu, has access to the exhibit space, but has so far stayed in her behind-the-scenes nesting boxes, learning how to move and climb and develop her motor skills.
She’ll likely stay back there until later this fall, the zoo said Wednesday in its birth announcement.
The zoo’s staff had to get creative when building Betty’s first home. In the wild, red female pandas that give birth will use a series of tree hollows or crevices for nests, moving their cubs from place to place. So zookeepers built a half-dozen bamboo boxes and lined them with wood wool.
Red pandas are considered endangered, and the zoo participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ long-term species survival plan, which dictates the breeding and distribution of animals to try to keep their genetics diverse.
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium has named Dr. Luis Padilla as its next president and CEO. Padilla will replace Dennis Pate after Pate retires later this year. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/watch-now-red-panda-born-earlier-this-summer-at-lincoln-childrens-zoo/article_0172bec8-98f2-5f88-923c-f3325959fcc9.html | 2022-08-17T19:42:06 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/watch-now-red-panda-born-earlier-this-summer-at-lincoln-childrens-zoo/article_0172bec8-98f2-5f88-923c-f3325959fcc9.html |
Originally published Aug. 16 on KTVB.COM.
MERIDIAN — The Meridian fire and police departments held a joint demonstration regarding school bus safety on Tuesday.
The departments partnered with Cascade Student Transportation for their annual training day Tuesday morning to show bus drivers how rescue operations would be carried out in the event of an emergency.
"With the partnership, they've allowed us to train on some of their busses," Meridian Fire Department Division Chief of Training Jordan Reese said. "With the high-risk, low-frequency events, we don't get to train on a whole lot, but it's certainly something we need to be prepared for, so we're very thankful for the opportunity."
At the event, Reese discussed how the Meridian Fire Department is specifically preparing for the upcoming fall semester and training to keep kids safe.
"They train every day for this type of thing even though we don't have buses all the time. They're ready to respond to any number of events," Reese said. "While we never want these types of things to happen, we know that the possibility is there. So for us to get real-world experience on these types of vehicles is huge for us."
Crews used cutters, which are essentially very powerful giant scissors, to cut through the metal of the bus exterior and make a quick and efficient exit for occupants.
Roland Bak has been a bus driver for the last 15 years and also helps train drivers with Cascade Student Transportation. Bak said he was impressed while watching the training.
"They really did a fantastic job with how quick they were getting deployed and getting people in and out," Bak said.
The Meridian Police Department was also at the training to answer questions and remind the public about traffic laws, lights, and school zones, something that Bak said is greatly needed.
"The general public, they need to be more aware," Bak said. "Please, please be careful and obey the laws. When you see the lights on and the stop sign out, come to a stop. Be careful and watch for the students because it happens all the time, kids get hit because people don't pay attention."
In the unlikely case an emergency situation does happen, Reese said it is important for the public to stay calm and follow instructions from law enforcement.
"If something like this is to happen, bus accidents can become very chaotic environments," Reese said. "Especially as parents, we know that it's your precious cargo but we have a job to do, and the more you can give us space to do our job, the better outcome it's going to be."
More from KTVB: | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/school-bus-safety-demonstration-held-by-meridian-fire-police-departments/article_f341f68b-ef66-5a68-af32-ee98eb495e82.html | 2022-08-17T19:45:41 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/school-bus-safety-demonstration-held-by-meridian-fire-police-departments/article_f341f68b-ef66-5a68-af32-ee98eb495e82.html |
...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
9 PM MDT THIS EVENING...
* WHAT...Temperatures up to 105 expected.
* WHERE...Portions of southwest Idaho and northeast and
southeast Oregon.
* WHEN...From 3 PM this afternoon to 9 PM MDT this evening.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young
children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles
under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when
possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent
rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone
overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
&&
The Idaho Department of Health & Welfare headquarters in Boise.
BOISE — Since January of 2020, the nation has been under a public health emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic, and as a result, states have been forbidden from kicking people off of Medicaid because their income or other eligibility criteria changed.
Currently, 131,000 Idaho Medicaid recipients qualify for that “Medicaid protection,” meaning the state can’t force them to resubmit their proof of eligibility until the public health emergency lifts. However, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare doesn’t know how many of those recipients actually still qualify, and how many don’t.
Idaho qualified for an increased federal matching rate for its state-federal Medicaid program during the public health emergency; Medicaid pays for subsidized health care for low-income and disabled Idahoans. “But the caveat of that for Idaho was you can’t disenroll people,” said Shane Leach, administrator for the Division of Welfare at IDHW.
It’s actually possible that all of them still fall within the eligibility criteria, Leach said. “We really don’t know until we actually get a hold of them. My guess is it’s going to be a mixed bag.”
States across the country have been bracing for a big wave of re-evaluations of existing Medicaid patients once the emergency lifts, and the Idaho Board of Health and Welfare is set to receive a briefing on the process at its Thursday morning meeting. But Leach said the federal emergency declaration isn’t ending anytime soon.
“We don’t know when it’s going to end,” Leach told the Idaho Press. “It keeps coming, and they keep extending it for another 90 days.”
The last 90-day extension was on July 15, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That means the earliest possible date the national emergency declaration could end is Oct. 15.
“They’re supposed to actually let us know this week whether or not it’s going to end in October,” Leach said. “But the last two times, they didn’t come out and officially say it’s extended on that day. They promised us at least 60 days before they ended it they’d give us notice. … Everybody’s really confident that they’re going to extend it again, likely till the end of the year. But I don’t know. I’ve given up guessing.”
“We keep getting ready for it, we’re prepared, and then they come out and say they’re extending it for another three months,” he said.
Idaho has 420,000 people on Medicaid in all. Once the emergency ends, it will begin a process of re-evaluating the eligibility of the 131,000 people currently on protected status.
“A lot of states just actually stopped doing redeterminations altogether when the public health emergency came out,” Leach said. “We in Idaho never stopped. … We kept going on an annual basis.”
Idaho Medicaid recipients face a redetermination process every 12 months they’re on the subsidized federal-state health insurance program. “We check their income, family size, all those things, to see if anything’s changed and see if they’re still eligible or not,” Leach said. “We are still doing re-evaluations every month.”
But normally, if someone doesn’t respond to the request to re-qualify, they automatically get cut off. That hasn’t happened during the emergency. So the 131,000 figure represents those who haven’t responded. During the emergency, the only reasons people can be removed from Idaho’s Medicaid rolls are death, removal at their own request, or signing up for Medicaid in another state.
“If someone’s eligible, we want to make sure they remain eligible,” Leach said. “But we can only do so much. It’s kind of like we can lead the horse to water. If they don’t help us and give us what we need, they may close,” meaning their coverage could end.
Idaho does have 90-day retroactivity, meaning if someone is cut off from Medicaid in error, such as a change in contact information causing them to miss the redetermination notice, they can still get coverage if they request it or seek care within 90 days. “So there’s a little bit of a window there,” Leach said.
Outside of the emergency period, when recipients are found no longer eligible, they’re referred to the Your Health Idaho health insurance exchange to purchase health insurance, for which they may qualify for a tax credit. If they just don’t respond to a redetermination request, they’re cut off.
Idaho Health and Welfare spokesman Greg Stahl said there are currently 420,000 Idahoans on Medicaid.
Leach said once the emergency ends, the department will be overwhelmed with the sudden deluge of redeterminations. It’s planning to process them in groups of 25,000 to 30,000 a month.
“We’ll start contacting them at least 60 days before, letting them know what they have to do,” he said. “We’re going to send multiple notices.”
Leach said states across the country are in the same boat. “They’re calling it ‘the unwinding,’” he said.
Thursday’s briefing to the state Board of Health and Welfare doesn’t require any action; it’s just letting the board know what’s in store and the plans. “This is kind of our high-level plan of how we’re going to do the redetermination once it actually ends,” Leach said.
Betsy Z. Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing Group. Follow her on Twitter at @BetsyZRussell. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/the-unwinding-idaho-medicaid-must-recheck-eligibility-for-131k-people-when-u-s-emergency-ends/article_0e44d349-98ba-5f0f-9486-fffe370f3694.html | 2022-08-17T19:45:48 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/the-unwinding-idaho-medicaid-must-recheck-eligibility-for-131k-people-when-u-s-emergency-ends/article_0e44d349-98ba-5f0f-9486-fffe370f3694.html |
BELTON, Texas — A firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation and dehydration overnight after responding to a grass fire in Belton.
The fire was reported at 4347 Mulberry Dr. and burned two acres, fire crews told 6 News.
Crews aid no one was in the home at the time of the fire and no one was injured; only the firefighter had to be treated.
The firefighter is expected to be ok.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/belton-fire-burns-2-acres-overnight/500-7f2164e1-f443-4712-93bf-635b435c92be | 2022-08-17T19:45:54 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/belton-fire-burns-2-acres-overnight/500-7f2164e1-f443-4712-93bf-635b435c92be |
WACO, Texas — Midway ISD doesn't plan to offer free meals to all students this school year, unless if they qualify for free/reduced-price meals, according to a news release from the district.
In the release, the school district explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress authorized spending that allowed school districts like Midway to serve free meals to all students. However, those funds were not authorized to continue for 2022 to 2023.
"As a result, Midway ISD must return to charging for school meals and offering free and reduced-price meals based on student eligibility," the district said in the release.
Midway ISD said it started handing out the letter and applications to families with children in the district. They are encouraged to complete the application to see if their child qualifies.
"The application will determine a child’s eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and may assist in the determination of eligibility for other state or federal benefits," the district said.
Only one application needs to be completed per household, the district added. Applications can be submitted any time during the school year.
The school district will then notify parents/guardians if their child(ren) qualify. Parents/guardians can see if they qualify using this calculator by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Any applicant who does not receive a letter and feels they should can contact Janet Gourley, Food Service secretary at (254)761-5624 EXT 1500 or email janet.gourley@midwayisd.org.
Below, you'll find the criteria to see if your child(ren) qualify:
Income Eligibility
- Household income that is at or below the income eligibility levels
- Those individuals filling out the application will need to provide the following information:
- Names of all household members
- Amount, frequency and source of current income for each household member
- Last 4 digits of the Social Security number of the adult household member who signs the application or, if the adult does not have a social security number, check the box for
“No Social Security number”
- Signature of an adult household member attesting that the information provided is correct
Categorical or Automatic Eligibility
- Household receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
Program Participant Eligibility
- Child’s status as a foster child, homeless, runaway, migrant, or displaced by a declared disaster
- Child’s enrollment in Head Start or Even Start
Unexpected Circumstances
If a household member becomes unemployed or if the household size increases, the household should contact the school. Such changes may make the children of the household eligible for benefits if the household’s income falls at or below the attached current income eligibility guidelines.
Categorical or Program Participant Eligibility
Midway Independent School District is working with local agencies to identify all children who are categorically and program eligible. Midway ISD Food Service Department will notify the households of these children that they do not need to complete an application. Any household that does not receive a letter and feels it should, can contact Janet Gourley, Food Service secretary at (254)761-5624 EXT 1500 or email janet.gourley@midwayisd.org. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/midway-isd-ends-free-meals-for-all-students-unless-they-qualify-freereduced-price-meals/500-57a6e6f4-3008-494c-a26b-368964c7f230 | 2022-08-17T19:46:00 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/midway-isd-ends-free-meals-for-all-students-unless-they-qualify-freereduced-price-meals/500-57a6e6f4-3008-494c-a26b-368964c7f230 |
Rafael Castillo, convicted of murder for severing a woman’s hands with a machete and driving an ax into her skull after she argued with him in the house they shared with other methamphetamine users, was sentenced to 70 years in prison.
The jury took less than an hour to reach the sentence Wednesday. Castillo, 27, was not ordered to pay a fine and will receive credit for time served in jail.
On Tuesday, the jury took 65 minutes to find Castillo guilty in the gruesome slaying of Nicole Perry on Nov. 19, 2020. A public works crew found Perry’s body weeks later, dumped along W.W. White Road near Higdon Road. Witnesses told jurors they saw him use a machete to chop off her hands, which were never found.
To bolster arguments for a long sentence, prosecutors produced testimony from an expert witness regarding Castillo’s gang affiliation. Jurors also heard the defendant’s family and friends call Castillo a caring person with a sense of humor.
Anthony Rodriguez, an investigator with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, testified that Castillo is a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, based on witness statements and three tattoos on his back and hands.
Photos were displayed of a shirtless Castillo as the prosecution cycled through the tattoos. One was of a skull wearing a fedora with a clock in its mouth, its hands covering the Roman numerals X and III, the number corresponding with the 13th letter of the alphabet “M,” Rodriguez said.
The defense called one of Castillo’s sisters, Nohemi Martinez, 35. She said Castillo was born and raised in San Antonio and lived with his parents his entire life. The house was small and there wasn’t enough room for everyone, she said, recalling the times she would visit Castillo at the home when he was on house arrest.
Castillo has one child and was also taking care of two other children of whom he was not the biological father, according to testimony. He has been married twice, and is separated from his current wife.
Asked about drug usage and whether he was a member of the Mexican Mafia, Martinez — like three others who would also testify on his behalf — said she was unaware of Castillo’s involvement in either.
“We’re Christians, and at home we don’t do that,” she said, referring to Castillo’s drug use. She described a God fearing family, one that practiced Bible study daily and had kept Castillo in church and Bible school as he grew up.
On ExpressNews.com: ‘A sound I will never forget’: Fiancé describes hacking death
Sarai Robledo, a family friend who met Castillo through the church, described “Rafi” as a friendly man who liked jokes. During his time in house arrest with his parents, she would play loteria, a game similar to bingo, and socialize with him.
“I love the family and I love him like my own son,” Robledo said.
In closing arguments, defense attorney Matt Allen asked the jury to consider the testimony from family and friends, saying Castillo came from a supportive house.
“His family didn’t come to give excuses,” he said.
Castillo had been in a place where people used meth for days, the prolonged use of which can cause hallucinations, Allen said.
Prosecutor Jennifer McDaniel said that she usually asks the jury to deliberate by starting at the midway point of the five to 99 year sentence someone faces for murder, working up for horrific aspects of the case and down for any mitigating circumstances.
But there is nothing to mitigate Castillo’s case, McDaniel said. Besides the “awful” thing he did to Perry, he had even wronged his own family, who would have supported him with his substance abuse, she said.
“He has a good, kind family and he joined the Mexican Mafia,” McDaniel said. “There’s no one to blame but him.”
McDaniel grabbed a stack of photos of Perry’s body, which had been displayed during the trial, and said they were there for the jury to examine once more as they deliberated his sentence.
“Can any of us imagine a worse ending for anybody than that?” McDaniel asked of Perry’s fate.
After the sentence was read, a representative of the District Attorney’s Office read two victim impact statements submitted by Perry’s sister and family.
Perry’s sister wrote that there was a “special place in hell” for people who commit such slaughter, recounting the way her sister was killed.
“The incident will now and forever be on my mind until the day I take my last breath,” she wrote.
Her family wrote that Perry was attempting to reconnect with her oldest daughter when she was killed. She had been out of her life in recent years.
“Our prayer is that you will feel the heavy weight of remorse for your actions,” the family wrote. Castillo stood expressionless looking down at the ground as the statements were read.
jbeltran@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Jury-sentences-convicted-killer-in-Southeast-Side-17379994.php | 2022-08-17T19:52:10 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Jury-sentences-convicted-killer-in-Southeast-Side-17379994.php |
Scholars, historians and descendants’ groups will gather this weekend to remember the deadliest battle in Texas history, fought 209 years ago on Aug. 18, 1813.
A morning ceremony and half-day symposium, sponsored by the historical commissions of Atascosa and Medina counties, are set for Saturday in Leming, south of San Antonio, in an area where the battle may have occurred.
Martin Gonzales, chairman of the Atascosa County Historical Commission, said historians have come to acknowledge that first revolution in Texas against Spanish rule and its impact on the 1835-1836 revolution that resulted in Texas independence from Mexico. Although other battle anniversaries from 1836 are seared in the memory of many Texans, the bloodiest conflict ever recorded on Texas soil is often forgotten.
“It’s great that people are starting to recognize some of this history that’s, as of now, left out of textbooks,” Gonzales said.
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A short-lived republic broke away from Spain in April 1813, with an emerald green flag as its symbol. Local Tejanos, Anglos and Indigenous men made up a rebel force, known as the Republican Army of the North, and defeated Spanish royalists in the Battle of Rosillo on March 29, 1813. The rebels executed the governor and 13 other prisoners and returned to the village carrying their heads as battle trophies.
But the Spanish government sent an army with 1,830 men under Gen. Joaquín de Arredondo. About 1,400 rebel troops marched down to meet them. During a four-hour afternoon battle, more than 1,000 rebels and 55 royalists were killed, according to historical accounts.
The weeks that followed were horrific. Bodies of the dead rebels were left to decompose on the battlefield. The women and children in town were treated brutally, and any men suspected of aiding the rebels were executed.
The 1813 events had lingering effects on Tejanos in San Antonio, emboldening some to support the second revolution and reigniting fears for others who fled the town as Mexican Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna and his army marched north to reclaim the Alamo.
“Without the Battle of Medina, the 1836 revolution would’ve been absolutely different,” Gonzales said.
The 1813 battle also impacted a young Santa Anna, then a Spanish lieutenant, just 19 years old. Later, as president of Mexico, he would lead the poorly funded Texas campaign in 1836, starting with a siege and battle at the Alamo.
“Apart from learning from Arredondo what appeared to be the most effective way of destroying a Texan revolt, his involvement in the conflict resulted in his developing a personal attachment to the region,” biographer Will Fowler wrote in “Santa Anna of Mexico.”
“When the Texans revolted again, in 1835, he would personally take it upon himself to crush them,” Fowler added.
Saturday’s events will feature presentations on the San Antonio women of the period, French political and military influences on the revolution, and efforts to locate the main site of the battle. A 9 a.m. ceremony at the Atascosa County “Lonnie” Gillespie Memorial Annex, 25 E. Fifth Street in Leming, off U.S. 281 South, will be followed by the symposium from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Steve Tomka, an archaeologist and principal investigator in excavations at the Alamo, San Pedro Creek and other historic landmarks, said confirming a battle site is “a tough nut to crack,” especially since Medina was believed to be a moving engagement, with Spanish soldiers chasing rebels north toward town.
“Military sites, battle sites are really difficult because of the nature of the material remains and how far spread they are,” Tomka said.
shuddleston@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Left-out-of-textbooks-San-Antonio-17379739.php | 2022-08-17T19:52:16 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Left-out-of-textbooks-San-Antonio-17379739.php |
Rosario Neaves had achieved the good life.
She was a vibrant, single woman with a high-profile job, earning more than $230,000 a year. She could buy anything she wanted and traveled overseas, visiting Paris and Amsterdam. She was in great health, someone who enjoyed hiking, bicycling, kayaking and dancing. Her calendar was full.
Then it all collapsed.
The 42-year-old San Antonio woman became severely ill with Long COVID two and a half years ago, early in the pandemic. Since then, she’s made 16 emergency room visits and been hospitalized twice. She’s battled shortness of breath, pulse rates so high she feared a heart attack, an intolerance to heat and profound weakness that some days left her unable to get out of bed.
She resigned from her dream job as communications director for the city of San Jose in California and moved back home to San Antonio. She has been unemployed for the past two years.
Neaves eventually became unable to live alone because she was so sick and has slept on a couch at her sister’s apartment for the past year. She no longer drives a car. Social outings are infrequent. She takes 10 different medications, sees 19 medical specialists and has restricted her diet to about 15 food items.
One of the most devastating consequences of her illness occurred in June 2020 when she suffered a miscarriage. She had learned she was pregnant just two weeks before she lost her baby.
“It’s just been unimaginable,” Neaves said. “I would have never, ever thought that I would ever be in a situation like this that is so beyond my control.”
Birth during COVID: Separated by a window, this couple brings a child into the world
Long COVID, also known as post-COVID syndrome, is a new disease afflicting millions of Americans who were infected at some point by the coronavirus virus. Nobody knows the exact number, but estimates show more than 18 million to 27.5 million people nationwide suffer from the condition, according to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
The illness can impair many systems in a patient’s body, causing overwhelming fatigue, neurological problems, cognitive difficulties such as brain fog and memory loss, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. Some studies have found up to 200 symptoms. President Joe Biden’s administration released guidance last year stating that Long COVID can be a disability for some patients.
Long COVID can strike anyone, even those who had mild or asymptomatic COVID cases. It can sicken those who received all recommended vaccines and booster shots. Some patients, like Neaves, are “long haulers” who have battled their symptoms for two-and-a-half years.
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Neaves suffered for 18 months before she received a medical diagnosis. She’s encountered doctors and family members who didn’t believe she was sick. Some friendships she thought she could count on have faded.
She battled hopelessness, isolation and fear, but discovered a vast community of other Long COVID patients online and formed new friendships. She began taking a new medication in March that has brought some relief, though her health and strength haven’t been fully restored.
She’s started looking for an apartment where she can live by herself. She wants to work again. She dreams of a new future.
‘The peak of her life’
Neaves made the most of her time at home, earning a master’s degree in the social sciences with a concentration in sociology from the University of Chicago. She graduates Aug. 19. Her thesis focuses on women 29 to 45 years old who suffered from Long COVID symptoms for at least six months, including some whose symptoms were dismissed by doctors as psychological. She interviewed 15 women for her project.
Her journey has taken her to points so low that she didn’t want to go on living to triumphs that gave her a newfound sense of purpose to educate the world and ease others’ suffering.
But the turmoil she has endured since early 2020 remains with her. She’s been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“When I encountered COVID, I would say I was at the peak of my career, at the peak of my life,” Neaves said. “I worked really, really hard to get to that place. So to go from this peak ... to this pit of my life has just been dramatic in so many ways.”
Long COVID is still somewhat of a mystery. There is no official test to diagnose it. There is no treatment approved by the federal government. There is no cure.
INVESTIGATION: A broken system got worse: How COVID ravaged San Antonio’s South Side
The illness brings misery to those it afflicts. It can end careers and destroy relationships. It can leave people homeless, unable to pay rent or a mortgage. It can make a previously healthy person completely dependent on others for care.
“It’s almost like watching yourself die, but you’re still alive,” said one patient advocate, Emily Taylor, vice president of advocacy and engagement of the Solve ME/CFS Initiative, which includes the Long COVID Alliance.
“I’ve had patients who were on the verge of losing custody of their kids. I’ve had patients who were on the verge of losing their homes. I’ve had patients that have already lost their jobs or were inappropriately fired from their jobs because of their illness,” she said. “Desperation doesn’t even begin to cover it. Desperate is not a big enough word.”
In Taylor’s view, Long COVID seems to hit Type A personalities or high-performing individuals the hardest when it comes to quality of life. That was especially true for Neaves.
High achiever cut down
Neaves was raised in a family of modest means on San Antonio’s Southeast Side. She graduated from Brackenridge High School in 1997.
She was the first in her family to move away and go to college, which she started at 17 years old. She graduated from Boston University, a private school, in 2001 with a degree in mass communications.
She enjoyed a long career that included jobs in Boston, San Antonio, St. Louis and London before she was hired by the city of San Jose in late 2017. Her previous employers included FleishmanHillard, the city of San Antonio, oil refiner Tesoro and the San Antonio Housing Authority.
Her family saw her as “a rising star, doing big things,” said Neaves’ sister, Tomasita Neaves, 46, of San Antonio. “She was always different, goal-oriented ... (Anything) she sets her mind to, it’s going to get done.”
Landing the San Jose job was a high point for Neaves, one that more than doubled her salary overnight. “That was intended to be the pinnacle of my career,” she said. “And it definitely was. I had been leading up to that for the last 20 years.”
She was not only San Jose’s communications director, but also its emergency public information officer. It was an enormous responsibility that required her to be on the front lines of any public safety or health crisis — such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID: San Antonio man battling Long COVID featured in national ad
Neaves and her staff had already been working on an emergency response plan for COVID-19 when the first cases surfaced in San Jose.
“I remember specifically the day that I got the call that was like ‘It’s coming here — it’s arrived for us,’” Neaves said.
She supervised the city’s first COVID-related press conference in March 2020 to announce that four of San Jose’s firefighting personnel had been infected with the virus.
That briefing was held indoors at the airport. No one wore face masks.
“This was a time when we didn’t know that masking was essential,” Neaves said.
“Looking back at that now, I think ‘Oh my goodness’ — we had no idea. We were probably all being exposed,” she said. “So I believe I could have contracted it there or from any one of the other gatherings that we had related to updating the media on the pandemic.”
Still, Neaves doesn’t know exactly when or where she contracted the virus. She suspects she was asymptomatic She began feeling run down and exhausted in early 2020, around the time the first cases appeared in the United States.
By April of that year, her health had deteriorated. She experienced a type of fatigue she’d never felt.
“It felt like no matter how much sleep you get, you’re still not able to get through the day,” Neaves recalled. “And it was just too much ... No amount of coffee or anything like that could combat it.”
She endured shortness of breath and symptoms of a cold or a sinus infection that spring, which she reported to her primary care doctor. The breathing problems felt nothing like the moderate asthma she suffered before the pandemic. Nobody thought it was COVID.
One day in June 2020, after returning from a trip to Chicago, she woke up short of breath and dizzy. She nearly fainted when she climbed out of bed. She went to a hospital, but wasn’t offered a COVID test.
When she was tested more than two weeks later, the results were negative. But Neaves’ troubles weren’t over — they were just beginning.
TRACKER: San Antonio new cases, hospitalizations and more
That same month, Neaves suffered a miscarriage. She was eight weeks into her pregnancy. She believes she lost the baby because of her illness, which was still undiagnosed. The grief and memories still cause her to flinch.
The following month, she woke up one day feeling so weak she feared she would pass out. A strange tingling sensation burned through her thighs — something she had never experienced. An odd rash of white spots appeared on her elbow. She went to an emergency room.
Several more ER visits followed that summer when her heart rate soared to staggeringly high levels for no reason she could discern.
Doctors dismissed Neaves’ symptoms as anxiety or panic attacks. During one ER visit, they offered Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication. They gave her pamphlets explaining how to cope with panic attacks.
She underwent a series of heart tests. The results came back normal.
But her ailments continued. Neaves grew increasingly frustrated with doctors dismissing her concerns.
“I didn’t expect to encounter that,” she said. “I expected to be treated as a whole person, as a professional. I expected to be believed and validated. Instead, I was treated almost like in an inhumane way.
“I just couldn’t figure out, what is the best way to get these people to take me seriously? ... Do I need to dress better when I go to the hospital? Do I need to make sure my hair is done so I look more professional?
“I felt labeled as a woman. I felt labeled especially as a person of color. As somebody who’s sort of diminutive in size, I think you get treated a certain way.”
The disbelief that Long COVID patients encounter from some health care providers is “clearly a problem,” said Congressman Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat whose district includes San Antonio.
Doggett, who chairs a House health subcommittee that has heard testimony on Long COVID, expects the numbers of patients will only increase.
“So often, the worst symptoms are subjective,” he said. “Patients are often questioned significantly about whether their symptoms are real.”
Neaves later followed up with a doctor she met in the ER who suggested she might have “mild COVID” — another term used at the time for the chronic illness. She began to research the condition and became convinced he may be right.
But there was no official diagnosis, no treatment and certainly no cure.
In July 2020, she resigned from her job in San Jose. She had planned to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago that fall. She debated whether to move to Chicago or return home to San Antonio and conduct her studies online.
But with her health failing, she found that there was only one option. She went home.
In September 2020, Neaves started her graduate program. She hoped it would give her a new focus.
“My family especially, they said, ‘We think that you’re overthinking all of this,’” Neaves said of her health crisis. “‘It’s in your head. You need to just stop thinking about this so much and focusing on it. Keep living life.’”
She tried. She dove into her course work. She also began forming a new health care team, finding a primary care physician, cardiologist, allergist and other specialists.
Her episodes of high heart rates, shortness of breath, dizziness and near fainting continued repeatedly for many months. A San Antonio allergist diagnosed her with mast cell activation syndrome, a condition that many Long COVID patients suffer, which can cause breathing problems and anaphylaxis.
In 2021, COVID vaccines became available. Other COVID long-haulers debated online whether the shots helped. She decided to proceed.
But the vaccines made Neaves’ symptoms worse.
She developed a multitude of new food allergies. The list of foods she could safely eat narrowed considerably.
While she meticulously monitored her diet, she couldn’t control the high amounts of pollen and mold in the air that triggered new attacks, rendering her helpless. At some points, her throat would close to where she could barely breathe.
“These episodes of allergic reactions had been brought on by Long COVID and then even exacerbated by the vaccine,” Neaves said. “It seemed to cause this next wave or this relapse of the illness.”
The summer of 2021 was marked by heavy rains. The high mold counts dragged her further down to where she could barely function.
A week of relentless rain arrived. Neaves, living alone in her apartment in downtown San Antonio, was hardly showering because she couldn’t stand. She couldn’t tolerate heat or humidity. She didn’t have the strength to prepare her own meals. She told her mother she didn’t know if she’d survive the week.
It was Neaves’ lowest point. She couldn’t breathe. She felt as if she was drowning. Day after day brought endless physical suffering. Her dreams of a doctoral degree, owning a home, marriage and children were vanishing.
No hope was in sight. No help was coming.
“This is not life,” she recalled thinking. “And no one should have to endure this level of suffering and pain.”
She felt the distance from friends who had once been close and supportive. “Everybody was just kind of turning away from me,” she said. “And I think that it just made everything so much worse.”
Neaves — once a poised, confident, joyous and tenacious woman with big plans, someone eager to tackle any challenge — felt completely defeated, with no fight left to give.
“I remember talking to my sister and just saying, ‘I can’t keep doing this ... And if this is what life is going to be like, I can’t endure this any longer,’” Neaves recalled.
“This was like man versus nature. And nature was winning.”
One day that summer, she was alone in her apartment and found she couldn’t get up. Her body wouldn’t move, though she tried mightily. She called 911. An ambulance took her to Methodist Hospital.
She remained there for almost three weeks.
Dealing with skeptics
Neaves spent the first 10 days of her hospital stay in the neurological unit. A battery of tests ruled out multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and other diseases.
Doctors gave her heavy doses of steroids to reduce inflammation, fend off further episodes of paralysis and stop her throat from closing. A pulmonologist helped her manage her breathing problems. She went through physical rehabilitation exercises.
“It was the first time that I finally had gotten the type of health care and attention I think that I had needed over the last year and a half,” Neaves said. “I was finally able to get validation for what was going on.”
Her appearance and condition in the hospital shocked her family, particularly her sister.
“It wasn’t until she went into the hospital that I started to realize ‘Okay, there is something wrong with her,’” Tomasita Neaves recalled. “When I saw her having to get up out of the bed to walk and she could barely drag her legs, I was like, ‘Oh my God — you really are sick. We need to find out what it is.’”
Tomasita was the only family member to apologize for doubting Rosario’s health concerns.
“She was my sister,” Tomasita recalled tearfully. “That’s all it is at the end - ‘You’re my sister, and I’m going to fight for you ... So I have to do what I have to do for you and make sure that you come out of this.’”
After the hospital stay, Rosario could no longer live on her own. She moved into her sister’s two-bedroom apartment, where her sister’s boyfriend and his mother also live. She slept on the couch in the living room and kept her belongings in bags in corners of the apartment.
To this day, she doesn’t know what the other skeptics in her family think.
“I reached a point where it didn’t matter anymore,” Neaves said. “I stopped seeking their validation. When I started seeking the support of other long-haulers and of other medical professionals globally online, that did confirm what I was experiencing.”
The public has more sympathy for cancer patients than Long COVID patients due to a lack of understanding and because COVID-19 has become so politicized, said Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, professor and chair of UT Health San Antonio’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Verduzco-Gutierrez launched two post-COVID recovery clinics in San Antonio two years ago, one at UT Health and the other at University Health. She oversees both clinics. She also is one of Neaves’ doctors.
The lack of a medical test to quickly diagnose Long COVID also contributes to people’s doubts, she said.
“Sometimes people think, ‘Oh, it’s not real, it’s just mild, you just had a cold. You’re just depressed. You’re just anxious,’” Verduzco-Gutierrez said. “Long COVID — it’s real. This is a long-term public health issue that we’re going to be dealing with.”
The illness is so new that many physicians aren’t yet aware of it or aren’t well educated on how to recognize the signs, she said. Much of the research on Long COVID is still in progress.
After a long wait, Neaves became a patient at UT Health San Antonio’s Post-COVID-19 Recovery Clinic last summer.
Verduzco-Gutierrez officially diagnosed her with Long COVID; mast cell activation syndrome; and orthostatic intolerance — specifically, hyperadrenergic postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. The latter diagnosis is one form of a disorder commonly known as POTS, which causes low blood pressure, lightheaded sensations, a fast heart rate and sometimes fainting when a patient stands upright. POTS can show up in patients after viral infections, such as COVID-19.
The doctor also diagnosed Neaves with PTSD.
Verduzco-Gutierrez described Neaves’ overall case as severe. “It is 100 percent life changing,” she said.
For Neaves, accepting the illness and surrendering her role as the most successful family member able to provide for any financial need has been difficult.
She is calling on the federal government to do more to help Long COVID patients suffering through similar ordeals.
“We need fast and quality research about what’s going on with this disease,” Neaves said. “We do need to try aggressively to find a cure and treatment options. Because people cannot wait any longer.”
Neaves began to feel some relief in March when she started a new medication, a microdose of naltrexone. In small doses, the drug sometimes eases Long COVID patients’ inflammation and calms their immune systems, Verduzco-Gutierrez said.
Since then, Neaves has slowly rejoined the world, though her symptoms haven’t vanished entirely. She’s gone outside for short walks on days when the mold count wasn’t so high. She attended her family’s Easter celebration. She visited a shopping mall several times. She went to Austin to see one of her favorite bands, The Head and the Heart, in concert earlier this month.
One night, she went to The Cove with a friend and sat outside listening to live music. “I just reveled in every moment,” she said.
“It’s been wonderful. It makes me really happy. Just being outside and being able to see the stars and the clouds and the moon and flowers and birds — you know, I’ve just really missed life and nature,” Neaves said, her voice breaking with emotion.
Throughout this summer, she worked steadily on her thesis, for which she received an A. Her preceptor described her work as “a remarkable academic feat.” Neaves will receive her master’s degree from the University of Chicago this month.
“It is particularly impressive given the fact that Rosario herself was infected with COVID and has been dealing with the impact of ‘Long COVID,’ yet was able to stick with her thesis and successfully complete it and the (master of arts) program,” preceptor Julius L. Jones wrote in an Aug. 10 evaluation of Neaves’ work. “The final result of all of that hard work is an excellent thesis.”
Neaves’ family plans to throw her a party to celebrate her achievement.
Her completion of a graduate studies program during her illness shows her tenacity, others said.
It’s “nothing short of amazing to go through all this and still be able to continue and work on her master’s degree,” Verduzco-Gutierrez said.
“It’s incredible,” said Neaves’ niece, Jasmine Cerda, 28, of San Antonio.
Neaves has started to feel hopeful. She would like to find a job that allows her to work from home. She applied for disability benefits last month, but hopes that won’t stop her from pursuing another career.
“What I would like to do is be able to progress in my recovery to be well enough to work,” she said. “I hope that I have earned enough in my reputation to show that I am still going to be a skilled worker. I am not cognitively impaired, but I do have some physical challenges.”
Neaves has accepted that her chronic illness could shorten her lifespan, perhaps significantly. It’s also possible she could fully recover, she said.
She’s not sure if she will have children, but is still evaluating whether she’ll pursue a doctoral degree. She wants to get married and someday buy a house to call her own.
“I’m at a point where I now have a chance to have a life again,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be that exact person that I was before.”
“I’m trying to do whatever I can to ensure that I do have a quality of life ... I want to be in one place and just be at peace.”
pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: Peggy_OHare | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Long-COVID-battle-skeptics-symptoms-17379140.php | 2022-08-17T19:52:22 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Long-COVID-battle-skeptics-symptoms-17379140.php |
A single pink dildo and socks were among the few items that were left when thieves broke into the Sexology Institute in the King William neighborhood last month, stealing $58,000 worth of sex toys, lingerie, the cash register and “the world’s most extravagant vibrator.”
Early on June 30, three men pried open the lock of the adult entertainment store on St. Mary’s Street. The thieves, who have yet to be caught, returned on three separate occasions to fill trash bags full of merchandise into a black pickup truck. Hundreds of items were taken, including antique sex toys.
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“Oddly enough, they left the books,” said Jasper St. James, the store’s boutique manager. “I guess they didn’t want to invest in that kind of reading. It was right after Pride, so they left all of the Pride stuff.”
St. James added: “So they’re a little bit homophobic and a little bit illiterate.”
A video posted to the Sexology Institute’s Instagram account shows three men attempting to pry open the front door. The edited video cuts to later that morning, when a black truck can be seen pulling up to the store. Two men, including one wearing a White Sox jersey, casually walked into the store. Footage later shows two men emptying shelves, tossing dildos, vibrators and lube into black trash bags.
“We came into empty racks,” St. James said. “They took the world’s most extravagant vibrator and they were done.”
That’s the large, fully functioning vibrator encrusted with Swarovski crystals, a favorite of customers who visit the store and often take photos of it. The biggest losses were the lingerie pieces, some of which were exclusive to the Sexology Institute, St. James said.
Sexologist Melissa Jones started the Sexology Institute eight years ago because she felt that San Antonio lacked a safe space for people to explore their sexuality, St. James said. The boutique has an online store and moved from South Alamo Street to its King William store in 2016. In addition to sex toys, lingerie and other products, the Sexology Institute also provides sex coaching, sex therapy and education classes.
“It’s a welcoming place for everyone and the community has definitely been supportive of us,” St. James said.
Also on ExpressNews.com: How to take your own sexy lingerie boudoir photos
The break-in occurred just ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, typically a busy time for the store, St. James said. In addition to lost sales, St. James said the burglary also threw a wrench into the store’s first Friday market, a time when a myriad of vendors and artists sell their products in front of and near the store.
St. James said there was a raffle held on the first Friday of July and people also donated to the store.
"The community really just came out and supported and donated," St. James said. "It was just really nice to see the outpouring of support from San Antonio and outside of the country."
timothy.fanning@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/sex-toys-stolen-King-William-store-17376778.php | 2022-08-17T19:52:28 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/sex-toys-stolen-King-William-store-17376778.php |
A Costa Rica-bound United flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport had to divert to Washington's Dulles hub early Wednesday because of a "disruptive passenger," the airline says.
United flight 1080 was over North Carolina when it turned back toward Dulles. Metropolitan police and fire officials met the plane on the runway and it taxied to the gate, where more Metropolitan police and the FBI were waiting, the airline says.
Extra firefighters had to be brought in to help remove the "disruptive" passenger from a back door, it says. The person was removed from the plane on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital. The flight continued to San Jose after about an hour delay on the ground at Dulles, according to United.
No further details were immediately provided on the passenger, the passenger's behavior or potential charges in the case.
No injuries to other passengers or flight crew were reported. It wasn't clear how many people were on the flight at the time. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/disruptive-newark-passenger-pulled-from-back-door-of-united-flight-after-diversion/3828596/ | 2022-08-17T19:53:00 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/disruptive-newark-passenger-pulled-from-back-door-of-united-flight-after-diversion/3828596/ |
HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK)—The West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday the names of five new inductees.
The 2022 class is:
Tony Caridi. Voice of the Mountaineers, and a well-known sports voice on West Virginia airwaves, Cardidi has spent 20 years with West Virginia Radio Corporation. He joined WAJR-AM in Morgantown as a news anchor and served as sports director at MetroNews.
Dan Hollis. An award-winning professor and journalist, Hollis has served more than 20 years as a professor of journalism and mass communications at Marshall University in Huntington. Prior to teaching Hollis spent years as a video journalist and videographer.
Keith Bowman. Bowman serves as Chief Engineer at J104, WHAJ-FM in Bluefield.
Jay “Poppa Jay” Nunley. With over three decades in radio broadcasting, Nunley began his career in high school at WLHS in Logan. He has worked at Rock 105, WKLC-FM in St. Albans, and served as news director and general manager at WVOW-FM, the Voice of Logan.
Jeff “Jeffreys” Whitehead. With more than 40 years in broadcasting, Whitehead hosts the Morning Show and is operations manager at WQBE-FM in Charleston.
“They have demonstrated excellence in the field of broadcasting—in front of the cameras, on the mic or behind the scenes—many of them as lifelong careers, our goal is to cover all areas of the broadcasting field across the state,” said Tom Resler, the West Virginia Museum of Radio and Technology’s Hall of Fame committee chairman.
The induction ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at the Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington. It will be broadcast live at 7:00 p.m. over many radio stations across the state and live-streamed on 13 News’ Facebook page and the museum’s website. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/2022-west-virginia-broadcasting-hall-of-fame-inductees-announced/ | 2022-08-17T20:01:35 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/2022-west-virginia-broadcasting-hall-of-fame-inductees-announced/ |
HUDSON — A wildlife habitat workshop focused on a pollinator habitat at Lake Bloomington will take place Tuesday, Aug. 23.
In a press release from the City of Bloomington, nonprofit Pheasants Forever invited the public to an evening of free food and informational sessions with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the National Resources Conservation Service.
The event requires registration by 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18.
Brodie Eddington, a farm biologist for Pheasants Forever, said the event will teach people about pollinator habitat restoration and management.
"A lot of people are trying to pull a lot of crop ground and put in wildflowers and pollinators," he said.
Eddington said this is an opportunity to "pick the brain of a CPO (conservation police officer) about the rules and regulations."
"Right now, we're looking at pulled pork with a couple of sides," Eddington said.
Pheasants Forever is a nonprofit in Illinois that is "dedicated to the conservation of pheasants, quail and other wildlife," according to its website. The group works with farmers and "landowners interested in enrolling marginal cropland acres into quality wildlife habitat."
Annie's Eats serves fresh barbecue and handmade sides in Bloomington
Contact D. Jack Alkire at (309)820-3275.
RSVP for Wildlife Habitat Workshop
Contact Brodie Eddington, farm biologist, at : (309)452-3848, ext. 3
Or visit https://pfqf.myeventscenter.com/event/Mclean-County-Wildlife-Habitat-Workshop-66894 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/pollinator-habitat-wildlife-walk-planned-at-lake-bloomington/article_8b2a5200-1e4a-11ed-836f-83cfc5b30d3e.html | 2022-08-17T20:01:37 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/pollinator-habitat-wildlife-walk-planned-at-lake-bloomington/article_8b2a5200-1e4a-11ed-836f-83cfc5b30d3e.html |
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Anyone in Midland ready for cooler-than-normal temperatures and a chance of showers for at least the next week?
That is what the National Weather Service is reporting. And while the chance of 100-degree weather is not over, “it would be more difficult,” according to Devin Chehak, general forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Midland office.
The NWS showed the high temperature on Tuesday reached 88 degrees, which was the first high temperature less than 90 degrees in Midland since June 3. The forecast calls for highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s through at least Tuesday. Chehak said this week that short-term temperatures will stay below normal for this time of year as Midland gets into the extended forecast. He said in September there is the potential for temperatures to warm up above normal.
As far as 100-degree temperatures go, there have been 34 recorded this year at the NWS office at Midland International Airport. That total would rank tied for ninth for the most all-time in Midland. The NWS website shows 100-days are not rare in September (having happened every day but three) and that 100-degrees days have happened in Midland as late as Oct. 8.
Midlanders can also look forward to the chance of rain for at least the next week. The NWS reported 0.02 of an inch fell at Midland International on Tuesday and the forecast calls for a 40% chance on Thursday and Friday and a 30% chance on Saturday.
The NWS reports that 2.25 inches of precipitation have fallen through Aug. 16 of this year. That total is 6.25 inches below normal. Midland County has issued a burn ban for county residents, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows “exceptional drought” conditions covering most of the region (including Midland-Odessa), and the Keetch-Byram Drought Index scale shows Midland to be approaching 700 (694 on Wednesday).
The KBDI states a reading of 600-800 is “Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep-burning fires with extreme intensities can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels.”
“Everything is pointing to a raining period,” Chehak said. “Most days in next week have a chance of rainfall. Hopefully get some rain out of it. … The only caveat is it will be hit or miss.” | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/NWS-Midland-gets-break-from-dog-day-heat-17379742.php | 2022-08-17T20:08:13 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/NWS-Midland-gets-break-from-dog-day-heat-17379742.php |
TAMPA, Fla. — Visions of a regular water commute are becoming closer to reality for some people living around Tampa Bay.
Hillsborough County commissioners on Wednesday voted in favor of putting $252,000 toward engineering and planning assessments for the proposed ferry between southern Hillsborough County and MacDill Air Force Base.
Commissioners were already planning to allocate the money for this reason next quarter but because the engineering firm is working ahead of schedule, the money is needed now to continue the pace without pause.
During a presentation by Kimley-Horn, the engineering firm behind the project, a map overview of the project revealed the long-term plans for the Tampa Bay ferry.
Currently, the Cross Bay Ferry runs from downtown St. Petersburg to downtown Tampa on a seasonal basis from late fall to early spring. In October 2021, the ferry kicked off its fifth season by breaking a record with 2,182 passengers in an opening weekend.
At Wednesday's commissioner meeting, Dawn Dodge with Kimley-Horn said the ferry's popularity amounted in a reward saying, "In fact so successful that the community was awarded a federal grant for nearly $5 million to acquire nearly a 350-passenger vessel."
Plans to expand the ferry service are now underway with a goal of offering a commuter ferry between southern Hillsborough County and MacDill Air Force Base while also being part of the intercity service with stops in downtown St. Pete and Tampa.
Commissioner Mariella Smith said residents in Sun City Center were excited by the plans.
"They could then ride the ferry to St. Pete, to Tampa and back, nights and weekends for dinner, to see a show, a sporting event," Smith said.
Commissioner Harry Cohen pointed out that offering an alternate way for MacDill workers to get to work will alleviate traffic congestion all around South Tampa.
The firm presented the results of a recent survey to the board, noting the long commutes many MacDill AFB workers have from south Hillsborough County.
Board Chair Kimberly Overman noted the housing crisis is causing more families to live further and further away from the base, saying, "That is not OK. When it comes to our national security, looking at this and being able to address that we have a 500-family wait list for people who have orders to be here, that have to find housing that we don’t have."
The presentation included projected milestones for the project, which include having the new 350-passenger ferry in use between Tampa and St. Pete by March 2024. The ferry terminal in Gibsonton is expected to be completed by April 2025 and begin intercity service between Tampa and St. Petersburg. The MacDill AFB terminal and the start of commuter service are projected for June 2025.
Paying for the ferry has been a long debate with several agencies and local governments playing a role. In July, a new agreement was reached with Pinellas county paying a lower subsidy for ferry operation.
It's unclear exactly what would be funded by local taxpayers as opposed to grant money and federal and state programs.
Commissioner Ken Hagan continues to be against the commuter expansion.
"I fully support the intercity ferry service however I firmly believe the commuter ferry is not a transit project and will be a financial boondoggle that will remove very few vehicles from the road," Hagan said. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/ferry-project-macdill-hillsborough-county/67-0b316a3b-3a9c-415e-b47b-976c1486ecdb | 2022-08-17T20:09:42 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/ferry-project-macdill-hillsborough-county/67-0b316a3b-3a9c-415e-b47b-976c1486ecdb |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Firefighters rescued multiple pets from an apartment fire in Hillsboro’s Jackson School neighborhood on Wednesday morning, fire officials said.
Hillsboro Fire & Rescue told KOIN 6 crews were working a blaze at Jackson School Village Apartments off NE Autumn Rose and Harewood Way. HF&R tweeted the fire was limited to an apartment’s kitchen.
No one was reported hurt, but animals were taken to a veterinary clinic to be checked out.
Photos of the scene show a puppy being carried out of the building, along with a paramedic helping a pet.
It’s unclear how the fire started at this time. | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/firefighters-rescue-pets-from-apartment-blaze-in-hillsboro/ | 2022-08-17T20:11:54 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/firefighters-rescue-pets-from-apartment-blaze-in-hillsboro/ |
BOISE, Idaho —
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Since January of 2020, the nation has been under a public health emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic, and as a result, states have been forbidden from kicking people off of Medicaid because their income or other eligibility criteria changed.
Currently, 131,000 Idaho Medicaid recipients qualify for that “Medicaid protection,” meaning the state can’t force them to resubmit their proof of eligibility until the public health emergency lifts. However, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare doesn’t know how many of those recipients actually still qualify, and how many don’t.
Idaho qualified for an increased federal matching rate for its state-federal Medicaid program during the public health emergency; Medicaid pays for subsidized health care for low-income and disabled Idahoans. “But the caveat of that for Idaho was you can’t disenroll people,” said Shane Leach, administrator for the Division of Welfare at IDHW.
It’s actually possible that all of them still fall within the eligibility criteria, Leach said. “We really don’t know until we actually get a hold of them. My guess is it’s going to be a mixed bag.”
States across the country have been bracing for a big wave of re-evaluations of existing Medicaid patients once the emergency lifts, and the Idaho Board of Health and Welfare is set to receive a briefing on the process at its Thursday morning meeting. But Leach said the federal emergency declaration isn’t ending anytime soon.
“We don’t know when it’s going to end,” Leach told the Idaho Press. “It keeps coming, and they keep extending it for another 90 days.”
The last 90-day extension was on July 15, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That means the earliest possible date the national emergency declaration could end is Oct. 15.
“They’re supposed to actually let us know this week whether or not it’s going to end in October,” Leach said. “But the last two times, they didn’t come out and officially say it’s extended on that day. They promised us at least 60 days before they ended it they’d give us notice. … Everybody’s really confident that they’re going to extend it again, likely till the end of the year. But I don’t know. I’ve given up guessing.”
“We keep getting ready for it, we’re prepared, and then they come out and say they’re extending it for another three months,” he said.
Idaho has 420,000 people on Medicaid in all. Once the emergency ends, it will begin a process of re-evaluating the eligibility of the 131,000 people currently on protected status.
“A lot of states just actually stopped doing redeterminations altogether when the public health emergency came out,” Leach said. “We in Idaho never stopped. … We kept going on an annual basis.”
Idaho Medicaid recipients face a redetermination process every 12 months they’re on the subsidized federal-state health insurance program. “We check their income, family size, all those things, to see if anything’s changed and see if they’re still eligible or not,” Leach said. “We are still doing re-evaluations every month.”
But normally, if someone doesn’t respond to the request to re-qualify, they automatically get cut off. That hasn’t happened during the emergency. So the 131,000 figure represents those who haven’t responded. During the emergency, the only reasons people can be removed from Idaho’s Medicaid rolls are death, removal at their own request, or signing up for Medicaid in another state.
“If someone’s eligible, we want to make sure they remain eligible,” Leach said. “But we can only do so much. It’s kind of like we can lead the horse to water. If they don’t help us and give us what we need, they may close,” meaning their coverage could end.
Idaho does have 90-day retroactivity, meaning if someone is cut off from Medicaid in error, such as a change in contact information causing them to miss the redetermination notice, they can still get coverage if they request it or seek care within 90 days. “So there’s a little bit of a window there,” Leach said.
Outside of the emergency period, when recipients are found no longer eligible, they’re referred to the Your Health Idaho health insurance exchange to purchase health insurance, for which they may qualify for a tax credit. If they just don’t respond to a redetermination request, they’re cut off.
Idaho Health and Welfare spokesman Greg Stahl said there are currently 420,000 Idahoans on Medicaid.
Leach said once the emergency ends, the department will be overwhelmed with the sudden deluge of redeterminations. It’s planning to process them in groups of 25,000 to 30,000 a month.
“We’ll start contacting them at least 60 days before, letting them know what they have to do,” he said. “We’re going to send multiple notices.”
Leach said states across the country are in the same boat. “They’re calling it ‘the unwinding,’” he said.
Thursday’s briefing to the state Board of Health and Welfare doesn’t require any action; it’s just letting the board know what’s in store and the plans. “This is kind of our high-level plan of how we’re going to do the redetermination once it actually ends,” Leach said.
Betsy Z. Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing Group. Follow her on Twitter at @BetsyZRussell.
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
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See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/unwinding-idaho-medicaid-must-recheck-eligibility-for-131k-people-when-us-emergency-ends/277-c899c538-ce7e-43bf-98a6-3b468b968fc4 | 2022-08-17T20:24:22 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/unwinding-idaho-medicaid-must-recheck-eligibility-for-131k-people-when-us-emergency-ends/277-c899c538-ce7e-43bf-98a6-3b468b968fc4 |
GREENFIELD, Ind. — An up to $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest for an arson fire in Greenfield in late May.
Steve Kropacek, the Greenfield Fire Territory fire marshal, said a family was in a home in the 600 block of South State Street when it caught fire at around 12:35 a.m. on May 29.
The family made it out safe and firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, which was on the outside of the house toward the back.
In the days following the fire, the Greenfield Fire Territory asked the public to help by checking their home surveillance video or coming forward with any other information they have.
On June 1, GFT asked people living in the area to check their surveillance video from the evening of May 28 at 10 p.m. through the morning of May 29 at 12:30 a.m.
"Any information would be greatly appreciated, no matter how insignificant you think it is," GFT said in its post.
On Tuesday, GFT renewed its call for help and said a reward up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the person or people involved in this fire.
Anyone with information about the fire is being asked to call 1-800-382-4628 to remain anonymous or contact the fire marshal at Greenfield Fire Territory at 317-325-1505.
The reward is being provided by the Indiana Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators in cooperation with the Indiana State Fire Marshal and property insurance companies operating in Indiana. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/arson-investigation-greenfield-fire-territory-house-fire-may-29-2022/531-7019bd8b-4947-40f6-a850-195a8d3276d7 | 2022-08-17T20:25:50 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/arson-investigation-greenfield-fire-territory-house-fire-may-29-2022/531-7019bd8b-4947-40f6-a850-195a8d3276d7 |
East Canton administrator receives $1,500 bonus
EAST CANTON ‒ Village Administrator Ed Collins received a one-time bonus payment of $1,500 to compensate for additional work he handled earlier this year in coordinating the Police Department.
When Chief Derrick Blake and Sgt. Mitch Hershberger resigned, it created a leadership void in the department. During the period prior to the hiring of Thomas Hinerman as chief in May, Collins handled some administrative duties as interim safety director.
More from East CantonNew police chief
"Village Administrator Collins took on the role of village interim safety director," Mayor David Spencer said. "He did a lot of work for us beyond the normal scope of his job. He helped facilitate the scheduling in the absence of a chief."
Collins had been an officer with the Louisville Police Department.
"They asked me to step up to the plate because I have 30 years in law enforcement," Collins said. "I ran the department for two months. When the chief and sergeant left, a lot of the officers left. Basically I had to rebuild the department."
East Canton Village Council recently approved the $1,500 bonus payment to Collins. Collins' annual base salary is $45,760.
The village Police Department has three full-time officers, including the chief. The others members of the department are part-time.
The payment to Collins was for "long hours of what he did for the Police Department, keeping it up to snuff and organized," village Councilman Robert Buxton said. "We lost our chief and sergeant at the same time. His organizational skills came into play." | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/east-canton-gives-administrator-ed-collins-1500-bonus/65407368007/ | 2022-08-17T20:29:19 | 1 | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/2022/08/17/east-canton-gives-administrator-ed-collins-1500-bonus/65407368007/ |
Stark County Revolving Loan Fund, explained: How it works and who can apply for a loan
CANTON ‒ Stark County officials recently established a new loan program designed to help businesses grow.
The Stark County Port Authority voted earlier this month to create a countywide revolving loan fund. Businesses in Stark County can apply for loans of a minimum of $25,000 to help with the purchase of equipment and machinery, infrastructure, real estate and other purchases aimed at increasing productivity or adding and retaining jobs.
So what is a revolving loan fund? How does it work? What requirements do businesses need to meet to apply for a loan? Will the Hall of Fame Village be getting a loan? Here's what to know.
What is a revolving loan fund?
A revolving loan fund is a pool of money that replenishes itself by using repayments from old loans to issue new ones. It is typically geared toward small businesses, but some revolving loan funds focus on specific areas, such as environmental clean-up or the development of minority-owned businesses, according to the Council of Development Finance Agencies.
"As loans are repaid, those repayments we can then cycle back out into other loans," said Mike Naso, economic development services coordinator at the Stark Economic Development Board. "The hope is that we can assist local businesses."
The loans cannot be used on working capital, which includes expenses like wages, overhead and rent.
"We're focused on businesses that are looking to potentially increase their output, increase their operation, increase their productivity," Naso said.
Who can apply for a loan?
Stark County businesses can apply for a loan through the program. Projects must be located in the county, and applicants will be required to provide 10% equity based on the total cost of the project.
Applicants must pay a non-refundable application fee of $250 and provide current and three previous years' worth of financial statements. This includes a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement. They cannot be in receivership or bankruptcy and must be current on county, city, state and federal taxes.
Businesses must also be registered with the secretary of state to conduct business in Ohio.
Other conditions include:
- Must be up to date on any licenses needed to operate their business
- Submit articles of incorporation and organization
- Must have proof of general liability insurance and workers compensation insurance
Is the Hall of Fame Village getting a loan?
The Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Co. is expected to receive a $5 million loan through the revolving loan fund for infrastructure improvements as part of phase two of development at the Hall of Fame Village. The Stark Port Authority approved the loan on Monday, and the Stark County commissioners appropriated $5 million to the fund during the board's meeting on Wednesday.
It is a 6%, interest-only term loan. Mike Naso, economic development services coordinator at the Stark Economic Development Board, said the company will make quarterly payments of $75,000 on the loan, with the first payment coming Sept. 30 at a prorated rate.
The company's loan application says its total debt as of March 31 was about $104 million. Its annual sales were roughly $10.8 million for the period ending Dec. 31, 2021.
According to the current loan agreement, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. would default on a payment if it failed to make it within 10 days of its due date or failed to complete the phase two infrastructure improvements at the Hall of Fame Village by Dec. 31, 2024.
It is not the only loan the company is expected to receive for the project. Canton City Council voted earlier this month to loan $5 million for infrastructure improvements at the Hall of Fame Village providing the county also loan $5 million for that purpose. In addition, the company has already gotten a loan of $5 million from the Stark County Community Redevelopment Fund, which is funded by the George H. Deuble, Hoover, Stark Community and Timken foundations.
Phase two of the Hall of Fame Village development includes the on-campus hotel, waterpark, the Constellation Center for Excellence, Center for Performance, Play-Action Plaza and Fan Engagement Zone.
Stark officials have said the loan repayments coming from the Hall of Fame Village project will help fund the revolving loan program, allowing it to be utilized by other businesses in Stark County.
Do other communities have anything similar?
Naso said several of Stark's neighboring counties offer revolving loan funds, including Summit and Wayne. The Ohio Mid-Eastern Government Association Revolving Loan Fund includes Tuscarawas and Carroll counties, and the Valley Economic Development Partners Revolving Loan Fund serves Mahoning and Trumbull county businesses.
The cities of Ravenna and Kent have revolving loan funds, too.
"There's a number of different revolving loan funds in Northeast Ohio," he said.
Stark's revolving loan fund is overseen by the Stark County Port Authority's Board of Directors. The board is responsible for reviewing and approving loan applications.
What happens if a business defaults on a loan?
Any business that fails to make a payment will receive notices at 30 days and 45 days after the payment was due.
After 60 days, the port authority will evaluate the business's financial status and take one of the following actions:
- restructure the payment schedule in a way that is agreed upon by both parties
- provide forbearance, or an extension of the term of the loan
- inform the borrower they are in default and liquidate any collateral
What is the application process?
Stark County businesses can apply for loans with a fixed interest rate no lower than 4% or 75% of the prime rate. These loans will be amortized over seven years. The port authority's board of directors is able to negotiate terms and conditions for repayment.
The Stark County Port Authority Board of Directors and Stark County commissioners will receive updates regarding any outstanding loans at the end of each quarter.
To apply for a loan or learn more information, contact the Stark County Port Authority at (330) 453-5900.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn. | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2022/08/17/stark-county-revolving-loan-fund-aims-to-help-small-businesses/65399966007/ | 2022-08-17T20:29:25 | 0 | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2022/08/17/stark-county-revolving-loan-fund-aims-to-help-small-businesses/65399966007/ |
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