text string | url string | crawl_date timestamp[ms] | label int64 | id string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Wichita Interim Police Chief Lemuel Moore plans to retire soon, a spokesperson for the Wichita Pollice Department said Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the City of Wichita said she cannot speak on personnel issues, but she confirmed the announcement.
In January, the City announced Moore would be the interim chief as of March 1, the day Chief Gordon Ramsay was leaving the department.
Moore said he had been thinking of retiring at the end of the year, but after he took the role, he was reconsidering that plan. He said that as a police chief, he could do a lot for the community and the department.
The City has been looking for a permanent police chief. In March, the Wichita City Council chose Public Sector Search & Consulting, Inc. to provide search services for the chief of police position. On Tuesday, the City provided this timeline of what still needs to be done regarding applicants:
- Early September
- Meet with review committee
- City Council engagement meetings
- Live community forum
- Executive team meetings
- Final Candidate Selection
- Late September
- Final approval
- Position offered and accepted
- Public announcement
In May, the WPD said that Moore’s life had been threatened. The threat warned Moore to leave Wichita, or he would die. Mayor Brandon Whipple and District 1 Council Member Brandon Johnson also received death threats over who will be the next leader of the WPD. Police said the threats were credible, and they have been investigating them.
Moore is a 30-year veteran of the Wichita Police Department and has served in a number of capacities during his career. He started as a beat officer in Patrol East and Patrol North before becoming a DARE and School Liaison Officer, according to WPD.
The WPD said he has also served as a detective in the Undercover Narcotic Section, Financial Crimes Unit and Exploited and Missing Child Unit. His time in the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain found him working in various capacities at Patrol South, Patrol West and the Law Enforcement Training Center. Moore has also served the community through his involvement on the Board of Directors for the Family Crisis Center. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/interim-police-chief-moore-announces-hes-retiring/ | 2022-08-23T18:40:27 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/interim-police-chief-moore-announces-hes-retiring/ |
GLEN ROSE, Texas — They say everything is bigger in Texas and that includes dinosaur tracks.
Over 113 million years ago, pre-historic dinosaurs roamed what is now the Glen Rose area in Texas and managed to leave fossilized tracks hidden beneath the Paluxy River. They were recently re-discovered by workers of the Dinosaur Valley State Park, as shown in videos and images posted to their Facebook page.
"The Paluxy River has pretty much gone dry this drought," said one park worker in a Facebook video post shared on Aug. 17. "What's cool about the river is what you'll find in the river. Sweep a little bit of the dirt and dust away and this is what you'll find... dinosaur tracks."
In the video, the worker points out how many tracks have three large claw marks, commonly belonging to the theropod dinosaur class, he said. This was confirmed in a 2012 study, which also said the river holds tracks from the sauropod class, too.
"These are normally underwater so you don't easily get to see these... well in shallow water, covered in dirt and silt," he said.
The park also shared several photos of volunteers cleaning out the long trail of prints as they worked on "dinosaur track mapping," which also consisted of measuring the tracks, the park commented in their posts.
It is likely the tracks were covered up again, however, due to heavy rainfall that passed through the Lone Star State.
"When it starts raining they will fill up with water and mud. Most likely we will not see them like this again for a very long time," the park said.
Dinosaur Valley State Park is located at 1629 Park Rd 59., Glen Rose, TX 76043, which is about an hour and a half drive northwest of Waco. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Also on KCENTV.com: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/large-dinosaur-tracks-unearthed-dried-up-texas-river/500-d59d5c65-a23c-42e5-9242-59ae56999221 | 2022-08-23T18:40:33 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/large-dinosaur-tracks-unearthed-dried-up-texas-river/500-d59d5c65-a23c-42e5-9242-59ae56999221 |
SAN ANTONIO — If you have a car and time to spare, you could be someone’s ride to live-saving care.
The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteers to drive patients to their appointments. The "Road to Recovery" program was put on pause in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure all patients get the care they need, the American Cancer Society plans to relaunch the program with the help of 14 volunteers.
Kaela Momtselidze is the Senior Manager for Cancer Support Strategic Partnerships with the American Cancer Society. She said transportation can often be one of the biggest barriers to a person’s treatment.
“They could be getting the best treatment that's available out there in the world,” Momtselidze said. “But if they don't have a ride to that treatment, then they're not going to be able to receive it and it won't work.”
Many people need daily or weekly cancer treatment, often over the course of several months.
“Cancer treatment is very long and there are multiple days involved, back and forth from home to the treatment facility,” Momtselidze said. “Friends and family can always jump in and help, but again, it's a lengthy treatment process and so sometimes they're not always available for every single appointment.”
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, Momtselidze said the Road to Recovery program is flexible. The rides go based off your availability. She said it’s also a rewarding way to give back to your community.
“This is a ride to treatment that could ultimately save their life,” Momtselidze said. “It's a great program to be involved with and we really could use some help.”
To learn more about Road to Recovery, click here >> https://www.cancer.org/drive. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/volunteers-need-to-drive-cancer-patients-to-their-appointments-american-cancer-society/273-9baba711-e021-4f73-8940-e8d12e099af3 | 2022-08-23T18:40:39 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/volunteers-need-to-drive-cancer-patients-to-their-appointments-american-cancer-society/273-9baba711-e021-4f73-8940-e8d12e099af3 |
BLACKFOOT — Former Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland accepted a plea deal Monday in which he will plead guilty to aggravated assault.
As part of the agreement, a charge of aggravated battery and exhibition of a deadly weapon will be dropped.
BLACKFOOT — Former Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland accepted a plea deal Monday in which he will plead guilty to aggravated assault.
As part of the agreement, a charge of aggravated battery and exhibition of a deadly weapon will be dropped.
In exchange, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office will recommend a sentence of probation and a jail sentence of 10 days that cannot be suspended. The deal does not state in what county Rowland would be incarcerated, but does state it will be scheduled at the discretion of that county’s sheriff.
Further terms of the plea agreement state Rowland will not oppose whatever sentence is recommended by the presentence investigator. The prosecution has agreed to not oppose an argument by the defense for withheld judgment.
The plea deal is binding, meaning that if the judge hands down a sentence outside the terms of the agreement, it would be grounds for Rowland to appeal the sentence. Aggravated assault is punishable with up to five years in prison.
The felony conviction means he won’t be able to run for Bingham County Sheriff in the future or own firearms. He would regain those rights if the charge were dismissed as part of a withheld judgment, however.
The case against Rowland was filed after he reportedly threatened a woman with a gun in November who was chaperoning a group of girls in a church program. The girls had reportedly approached Rowland’s house to leave a thank you card in the shape of a turkey for Rowland’s wife.
Rowland reportedly approached the victim’s car as she was driving away, pulled her out away from the car by her hair, pointed a gun at her head and told her he could kill her.
Rowland admitted guilt in a letter submitted to the court.
“I acted impulsively that night,” Rowland wrote in the letter. “I did not know who was in that car or what their intentions were when I stopped it. That is not an excuse — it’s a fact. It does not in any way assuage the guilt I feel or the gravity of my actions. I did this and I am sorry.”
Rowland wrote that he had just taken his dogs back inside when he heard knocking and his outer screen door being opened. He said he saw the turkey card, then grabbed a handgun and went outside.
Rowland said he saw a car leaving the cul-de-sac that he did not recognize. He waved the car down, and when the victim exited, he said he grabbed her by her hair and pointed the gun at her.
The letter states Rowland believed the victim was reaching for the center console, and that was why he pulled her out. He wrote that he let her go once he recognized her as someone from his church.
Rowland also wrote that the significance of the turkey card, “simply did not register in my mind.” Prosecutors have argued that because Rowland saw the card before confronting the victim, he should have recognized there was no threat intended.
The case against Rowland drew further controversy when charges were filed in December and a probable cause affidavit revealed he had told investigators he was uneasy because “drunk Indians” had come to his door before. The comments drew wide condemnation and several groups called on him to resign.
Rowland refused to resign until July, after changing attorneys. Jeff Gardner, who had been the office’s chief deputy, was appointed interim sheriff.
Rowland announced his resignation on July 25 with an effective date of Aug. 1, seven months after criminal charges were filed against him. As sheriff, Rowland made an annual salary of $88,904.04 , according to the Bingham County payroll office. Since Dec. 13, when he was first charged, until the time he resigned Rowland was paid $36,720.20, not including tax withholdings.
For his final seven months on the job Rowland had to surrender all of his guns to Idaho State Police, including a gun issued to him by Bingham County.
Sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 25 in Bingham County Court.
Sign up today for one of our great newsletters and get headlines right in your inbox every morning.
Sign up now!
Search the complete digital archives for all papers in the Pioneer News Group.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Thank you.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/former-idaho-sheriff-pleads-guilty-to-aggravated-assault/article_1f136110-2309-11ed-b587-4be353ee43b6.html | 2022-08-23T18:45:45 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/former-idaho-sheriff-pleads-guilty-to-aggravated-assault/article_1f136110-2309-11ed-b587-4be353ee43b6.html |
BOISE — Gov. Brad Little will call a special session of the Legislature on Sept. 1 to permanently cut income taxes for both individual and corporate filers, send every Idahoan who’s filed a state return a check for at least $300 in September to cope with inflation, and increase school funding permanently by $330 million a year plus $80 million for higher ed.
The governor’s bill also would place an advisory measure on the November ballot to ask Idahoans if they agree with the moves, and it would effectively repeal Reclaim Idaho’s school funding initiative, should voters pass it in November. That’s accomplished by setting the new income tax law changes to take effect Jan. 3 – two days after the initiative would take effect on Jan. 1.
The moves would spend the majority of Idaho’s huge budget surplus, while still leaving at least a $200 million projected surplus each year for the next five years. “The state of Idaho’s responsible, prudent budgeting has resulted in a record-breaking fiscal surplus, which equips the state to take action now to mitigate the harmful impacts of inflation,” Little said in a formal proclamation calling lawmakers back to town.
The governor announced the move in a press conference with legislative leaders at an East Boise convenience store and gas station, where he noted the impact of inflation both on Idahoans and on the state’s education system. He also announced that he’s lined up bipartisan majorities in the Legislature to co-sponsor his single bill during the special session – ensuring that it can clear the tax committees and pass both houses.
Among those joining him at the press conference was Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, in whose district it was held. "Democrats have been pushing for years to have a bigger investment in education," she said. "Our schools are desperate now."
"My Democratic colleagues and Reclaim Idaho pushed the need to the forefront and made it known," she said. "This gets it started."
Little said the bill would be the single largest investment in public education in the state's history.
His proposed bill, which is posted on the governor’s website here, would cut Idaho’s corporate income tax rate from the current 6% to 5.8%, and collapse Idaho’s current individual income tax brackets into a single flat tax rate of 5.8%. It also would exempt the first $2,500 of taxable income from the state income tax, which would mean everyone currently paying income taxes would see a cut.
Those permanent tax changes come to a total of $161.2 million a year permanently removed from the state’s revenue stream. The one-time rebates in September would be for 10% of state income taxes paid in 2020 or a minimum of $300 for individuals or $600 for a married couple filing jointly. Those carry a one-time cost of $500 million.
The increased school funding would come through a permanent transfer of state sales tax proceeds each year, starting at $410 million a year. That’s $330 million that would be directly transferred to the public school income fund, and then would increase by a 3% inflation factor each year thereafter; plus $80 million that would go to a new “in-demand careers” fund for higher education, including career-technical education and community colleges. The Legislature’s joint budget committee would decide how to allocate the funds when it writes the state budget.
The sales tax transfer portions of the bill, along with the one-time rebates, would take effect immediately upon signing by the governor.
House Speaker Scott Bedke, who along with Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder and Senate Tax Chairman Jim Rice of Caldwell joined Little for the announcement, said, "One of my main concerns with the way the initiative was drafted is it bypasses the Legislature and the appropriation process. This, of course, does not."
Little said, "Strong schools are central to continued strength of our economy, because they prepare a workforce ready to meet the needs of businesses today and tomorrow." He touted the plan for both investing in education and cutting taxes. "This is what Idaho's all about," he said.
Little’s move is somewhat reminiscent of then-Gov. Jim Risch’s move in 2006 to call an August special session to undercut a school funding initiative that looked very likely to pass. That year’s initiative would have raised the sales tax from 5% to 6% to increase public school funding. Risch pushed through legislation that August to instead raise the sales tax from 5% to 6% to provide property tax relief, while removing what was then schools’ basic property tax funding and setting up a state fund to partially offset the difference. With the sales tax already raised to 6%, the school funding initiative then failed the following November, with 45% support.
However, that move actually reduced funding for schools in Idaho, rather than increasing it, by removing their long-reliable property tax funding base. Over the years, that’s led to more and more supplemental property tax levies being passed by school district voters to fund basic school operations, erasing the property tax relief and leaving schools with widely varying funding levels that rely on continued local voter approval.
Little said his intention is for the new guaranteed sales tax transfers to increase funding for schools, but there’s no guarantee the Legislature won’t just reduce other state funding to schools to offset it. Little, who has made education his top issue since he first ran for governor in 2018, said, "By making it literally an earmark of sales tax that goes in, I think the level of surety is much higher," he said.
He said it's also consistent with the intent of the 1965 Idaho Legislature that first enacted Idaho's current sales tax, because it did so to increase funding for education.
Reclaim Idaho’s school funding initiative, which will be on the November ballot, would create a new top marginal tax rate of 10.925% for individuals who earn more than $250,000 a year, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, taxing just the income above those amounts at the higher rate. It also would raise the corporate income tax rate to 8%, the rate it was at from 1987 to 2000, before the recent spate of tax rate cuts. The measure would raise $323.5 million more a year for public schools, which would go directly to schools and be allocated by the state Board of Education, sidestepping the legislative budget process.
Little, asked by reporters how his proposal relates to the initiative, initially said flatly that it didn't. Pressed, he said, "The initiative raises taxes."
"This is obviously the simplest and easiest way to get it done," he said, "to get back money in the pockets of people who are suffering the ravages of inflation, and assure education funding increases going forward."
Bedke and Winder said they expect the special session to convene at 8 a.m. and run for just a single day; they're anticipating a joint hearing on the bill to allow time for public testimony into the afternoon if need be.
Said Bedke, "I'm optimistic that there'll be broad consensus." | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/idaho-gov-little-to-call-special-session-of-legislature-to-sign-tax-cut-bill-boost/article_545f63fe-2300-11ed-b44e-c7e77522d951.html | 2022-08-23T18:45:51 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/idaho-gov-little-to-call-special-session-of-legislature-to-sign-tax-cut-bill-boost/article_545f63fe-2300-11ed-b44e-c7e77522d951.html |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/victim-in-fatal-kuna-motorcycle-accident-identified/article_fa5dde16-22fb-11ed-bf6b-27df93a3869c.html | 2022-08-23T18:45:58 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/victim-in-fatal-kuna-motorcycle-accident-identified/article_fa5dde16-22fb-11ed-bf6b-27df93a3869c.html |
More than $37.4 million in Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds will be awarded to various organizations around the state, like Boys and Girls Clubs, to support learning recovery initiatives and programs as educators and students continue to confront the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp HAS announced more than $37.4 million in Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds will be awarded to various organizations around the state to support learning recovery initiatives and programs as educators and students continue to confront the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With input from parents, students, and educators alike from all across Georgia, we worked diligently to get our schools back open and return to in-person learning safely following the pandemic," Kemp said. "We know there is still more work to do when it comes to recovering from pandemic-driven learning loss in our classrooms. That's why I'm thankful to know that these additional funds -- on top of the historic investments we've made in K-12 education -- will both put students first and help set them on a renewed path of learning success."
The new allotment of GEER funds will go to various community and public organizations that directly impact Georgia's students, including:
The Georgia Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs: $12 million -- Following the overwhelming success of the Boys & Girls Club learning recovery efforts, Kemp is allotting a further $12 million toward these efforts. This is on top of the $15 million allotted in GEERs I funding to the Boys & Girls Club last year, which went to helping thousands of students throughout the state return to grade-level achievement standards.
Through that prior investment, the Boys & Girls Clubs provided more than 21,000 students with intensive academic enrichment and tutoring to get back on track after the learning disruptions caused by the pandemic. Among those who participated in the programs, more than 86% improved test scores in math and English language arts; 94% of fifth- to 12th-graders were on grade level for the 2021-22 school year, and 100% of high school seniors applied to trade school, military or postsecondary education institutions.
Georgia Alliance of YMCAs: $2 million -- Kemp is investing these funds in the YMCA's Learning Loss Program through Y facilities across the state, which will facilitate learning recovery in an engaging and student-centric approach that incorporates technology and E-games.
These funds will go toward:
▪ A learning loss startup program for 6 YMCAs, serving approximately 500 children, to better meet community needs;
▪ Learning loss materials for 11 YMCAs to serve approximately 11,000 children. Supplied items will include backpacks, tablets, teaching supplies, workbooks and toolkits;
▪ The Y has developed an E-sports program with an emphasis on learning loss. E-sports allows kids to become part of a team, provides peer-to-peer learning, and develops strong critical thinking skills. The E-Sports learning loss program startup will operate in six YMCAs and serve approximately 300 children.
Georgia Department of Education: $9.1 million -- Special Needs Teaching Resources (an estimated $6.5 million): Students with special needs were particularly impacted by the pandemic's disruptions to schooling, and they often require more services and resources to obtain a quality education. These funds will help teachers and paraprofessionals of special needs learners buy more materials to support improved school performance.
Special Needs Equipment Grant for Georgia's State Schools: $900,000 -- This grant will address equipment needs for Georgia's state schools that service the blind and deaf communities, including the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf, Georgia School for the Deaf, and Georgia Academy for the Blind. These funds will provide support for instructional technology and materials as educators prepare classrooms to better address pandemic-related learning loss in this special needs student population.
Hearing/Vision Loss for Infants and Elementary-aged Students: $1.7 million -- Infants and elementary school students in Georgia receive regular hearing and vision tests in public schools, but during the pandemic, these tests were discontinued. As a result, some of Georgia's students are struggling to keep up academically without the ability to hear or see their teachers and learning materials properly. There has been a 40% decrease in hearing and vision screenings for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries ages 0-18 over the past two years alone. These funds are being allotted for:
▪ Train and equip schools within the Okefenokee and Pioneer Regional Education Service Agencies for mass hearing and vision screenings;
▪ Improve diagnosis of hearing loss among infants who missed hearing and vision screenings during the pandemic.
Department of Early Care and Learning: up to $12 million -- As students and teachers continue to work hard to make up for any learning loss created by the pandemic's disruptions, Kemp is awarding up to $12 million for the Department of Early Care and Learning's (DECAL) Summer Transition Program that will be active in the summer of 2023.
DECAL offers two types of Summer Transition Programs that operate during the months of June and July. Each program offers high-quality instruction with a focus on language, literacy, and math and is designed to reduce the achievement gap. Of the two programs, one is designed specifically for students whose home language is Spanish. These funds will help ensure those just beginning their learning careers will not be impeded by the lingering academic disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Georgia Public Library Service: $2.3 million -- These funds will be allotted in the form of library grants, administered by the Georgia Public Library Service, to replenish the connectivity and remote learning devices in public libraries throughout the state. These funds will further connect students to academic resources that might not otherwise be available as they endeavor to accelerate learning achievement.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/geer-funds-to-address-covid-learning-loss-in-state/article_08e1a796-2307-11ed-b81b-c75d598e398a.html | 2022-08-23T18:49:23 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/geer-funds-to-address-covid-learning-loss-in-state/article_08e1a796-2307-11ed-b81b-c75d598e398a.html |
The Republic joins news organizations challenging Arizona law banning close-range recordings of police
Several news organizations, including The Arizona Republic, are joining the ACLU of Arizona to challenge a new state law banning close-range recordings of Arizona police.
House Bill 2319 was signed by Gov. Doug Ducey on July 6, making it illegal for Arizonans to record within 8 feet of law enforcement activity. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge, but only after being verbally warned and continuing to record anyway.
The law is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 24. Several news organizations and the ACLU of Arizona filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for Arizona on Tuesday alleging the new law violates the First and 14th amendments.
They also filed for a preliminary injunction to restrain Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Interim Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone from enforcing the new law once it goes into effect.
Among the plaintiffs were companies that own and operate The Republic, Fox 10 News, 12 News, ABC15, Arizona Mirror, Arizona's Family, KGUN, KOLD 13 News and Telemundo Arizona.
Nonprofits such as the Arizona broadcasters and newspapers associations, National Press Photographers Association and ACLU of Arizona also were listed as plaintiffs.
The law should not be enforced because it is "unconstitutional on its face, both as a content-based prohibition on First Amendment-protected activity and as an impermissibly vague criminal statute," the organizations say in the filing.
The law would "deter people wishing to exercise their First Amendment right to record video" of police to promote police accountability and protect themselves from arrest, the filing says. The law also may deter journalists from recording police, especially in fast-moving situations like protests, for fear of losing equipment, arrest or jail time for doing their jobs, the complaint states.
"If HB2319 becomes law, The Republic’s ability to report on issues and events that it would otherwise deem worthy of news coverage will be curtailed, adversely affecting our ability to bring news to readers," The Republic's Executive Editor Greg Burton wrote in a declaration to the court.
"Alternatively, in some instances, reporters may be directed to forego recording video entirely or stay further away from law enforcement activity than necessary to avoid the potential of arrest," Burton wrote. "Either way, their reporting will be less detailed because they will not be able to observe law enforcement activity closely."
First Amendment experts opposed bill prior to its signing
The bill was sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, a former detective at the Port Authority in New York. He wrote in an op-ed that the bill's intent was to protect officers from potential harm or distraction.
Kavanagh proposed a similar bill in 2016 while he served as a state senator but ultimately killed that bill himself because it was "mired in controversy," he said at the time.
This time, he said, changes were made to HB 2319 to address constitutional concerns. One of the biggest changes was reducing the bill's initial 15-foot restriction to 8 feet.
Still, many people, including First Amendment experts, opposed the bill up until its signing, stating it was unconstitutional at its core, lacked specificity and granted police too much discretion. The plaintiffs in Tuesday's court filings echoed similar sentiments.
They noted the importance of journalist and bystander recordings of police interactions to provide accurate depictions of events. Videos were instrumental in proving George Floyd's murder at the hands of police in 2020 as well as providing a better understanding and accurate depictions of the attacks on officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the request for the preliminary injunction stated.
"The First Amendment protects both the act of recording the public actions of public officials as well as the dissemination of those recordings, by the news media and members of the public," it continued. "Otherwise, an informed debate about the role of police in our society and how best to protect officers and the public they serve is more vulnerable to distortion and misinformation."
Reach criminal justice reporter at chelsea.curtis@arizonarepublic.com or at 480-262-1061. Follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/23/republic-others-challenge-arizona-law-banning-recordings-police/7867538001/ | 2022-08-23T18:51:56 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/23/republic-others-challenge-arizona-law-banning-recordings-police/7867538001/ |
Man fatally shot near at Phoenix apartment complex near 40th Street and McDowell Road
Angela Cordoba Perez
Arizona Republic
Phoenix police were investigating the homicide of a man who was found shot Tuesday morning near 40th Street and McDowell Road.
Officers responded to an apartment complex in the area and found the injured man, said Sgt. Brian Bower, a spokesperson with Phoenix police. The man, who hadn't been identified, was taken to a hospital where he died.
No suspects were seen by witnesses, according to Bower.
Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/08/23/man-fatally-shot-near-40th-street-and-mcdowell-road-phoenix/7874337001/ | 2022-08-23T18:52:02 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/08/23/man-fatally-shot-near-40th-street-and-mcdowell-road-phoenix/7874337001/ |
A Kendallville man was sentenced to 85 years in prison Tuesday for killing one person and badly injuring two others at a gas station in 2021.
Matthew Rodriguez, 24, pleaded guilty to all three charges -- one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder -- last month.
On June 27, 2021, Rodriguez used a pistol to shoot the three victims from behind following a brief encounter with one of them at the Gallops gas station on North Street in Kendallville, according to court documents.
One victim, Justin Smead, died from multiple gunshot wounds. The other two, Alyssa Jeffries and Blake Lewis, survived.
Afterward, Rodriguez’s sister, Anna Rodriguez, called Kendallville police to say he returned to her home “irate, crazy and insane” and told her he had shot three people. According to court documents, she told police she could see he was armed with a pistol.
His sister, along with local officers, were able to identify Rodriguez in security camera footage of the shooting.
Rodriguez was arrested in Ohio a few days later on June 30, 2021. Kendallville Police Chief Lance Waters told The Journal Gazette last year Rodriguez was taken into custody by the Ohio State Highway Patrol outside Athens, Ohio, and that a trooper saw the red Kia Forte Rodriguez was driving and remembered it was connected to a homicide case in Indiana.
Noble Superior Judge Steven Clouse accepted the plea agreement at a sentencing hearing Tuesday. Rodriguez will serve 45 years for murder and 20 years each for both attempted murder charges, Noble County Superior Court 1 Bailiff Kaitlyn Weber said Tuesday.
The sentences will be served consecutively, so Rodriguez will spend the next 85 years in prison minus 419 days credited for time already served in jail. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/courts/kendallville-man-sentenced-to-85-years-for-2021-gas-station-shooting/article_a64c29bc-230b-11ed-9ee1-7b14cbd44475.html | 2022-08-23T18:56:12 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/courts/kendallville-man-sentenced-to-85-years-for-2021-gas-station-shooting/article_a64c29bc-230b-11ed-9ee1-7b14cbd44475.html |
The lengthy transportation delays Fort Wayne Community Schools bus riders experienced last academic year seem to be in the rearview mirror.
Routing software and a ridership reset have contributed to more reliable service in the first nine days of school, Transportation Director Renee Dawson told the school board during a work session Monday.
"The vacancies have been drastically reduced," she said, explaining her team has cut the number of open routes from more than 20 last spring to one. "So, families are being able to count on our service, better count on our times."
Like other school districts, FWCS has felt the strain of bus driver shortages. This led to hours-long delays last academic year. When buses were extremely late, the district encouraged families to drive their children to school, if possible.
FWCS has about 115 buses on the road each morning. Monday, 20 buses were late by 15 minutes or less, Dawson said, and two buses were late between 15 and 30 minutes. She couldn't say whether factors like a train or traffic led to those later arrival times.
"Nonetheless, we're getting kids to school, and they're not losing that instructional time that we were seeing last year," Dawson said.
About 15,000 students are eligible for transportation. Previously, FWCS would roll over ridership from year to year and depend on parents or bus drivers to alert the transportation department about changes. This year, parents had to request busing for their child because Dawson wanted to know the true ridership so her team could develop more efficient routes.
About 10,500 students are riding the bus, she said.
Most students see the same bus driver in the morning and in the afternoon – something that didn't always happen last year, said Charles Cammack Jr., chief operations officer.
"Bus drivers are happier because they have the same kids 99% of the time," he said. "So, they can build those relationships."
The transportation department is better using its routing software to build routes, Dawson said, but the technology is imperfect because it doesn't know the city's roads or traffic patterns.
"We're able to tweak from there, and we're certainly still doing that," Dawson said, noting her department gets input from drivers. "It's not perfect. It's better."
FWCS continues to seek bus drivers. Dawson said the district would "be in really great shape" and able to enhance service to families if it had 25 additional drivers.
And Superintendent Mark Daniel said officials are studying other aspects of transportation, including the time between elementary, middle and high school routes and the shuttles for students in programs like Amp Lab at Electric Works. FWCS doesn't ever want to tell families it can't bus their students on a given day because, he said, "we know some of our kids won't find a way home or won't get to school." | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/schools/fort-wayne-community-schools-sees-improved-bus-service/article_23c41f58-22f8-11ed-9e8e-c7ba49b888a0.html | 2022-08-23T18:56:18 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/schools/fort-wayne-community-schools-sees-improved-bus-service/article_23c41f58-22f8-11ed-9e8e-c7ba49b888a0.html |
West Hamilton Road closure extended The Journal Gazette Aug 23, 2022 1 hr ago Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The closure of West Hamilton Road between Liberty Mills and Covington roads during crossover-pipe replacements has been extended until 5 p.m. Friday, the Allen County Highway Department said today. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Most Popular Carroll to honor memory of Owen Scheele during season Wells County prosecutor turns self in for investigation Fort Wayne man among 3 ISU students killed in Sunday crash Addison Wiley to remain in Huntington Longtime Northwest Allen County Schools board member to end tenure Stocks Market Data by TradingView | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/west-hamilton-road-closure-extended/article_28a5455c-2306-11ed-9f12-976e162f4117.html | 2022-08-23T18:56:24 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/west-hamilton-road-closure-extended/article_28a5455c-2306-11ed-9f12-976e162f4117.html |
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Pasco County deputies are asking for help finding a 15-year-old girl who hasn't been seen in days.
The sheriff's office says Ryli Snure was last seen around 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug 19., in the Evolutions Way area of New Port Richey
She is described as 5-foot-3 and around 160 pounds with faded red hair and brown eyes. Ryli was last wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and spandex shorts.
Anyone who knows where Ryli might be is asked to call the Pasco Sheriff’s Non-Emergency Line at 727-847-8102 and select option 7. You can also report tips online. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/pasco-missing-teen-ryli-snure/67-aca90d8b-4c11-4375-84fc-5f8b7a206af1 | 2022-08-23T18:58:18 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/pasco-missing-teen-ryli-snure/67-aca90d8b-4c11-4375-84fc-5f8b7a206af1 |
PALM COAST, Fla. – A North Carolina fugitive was arrested in Palm Coast Tuesday morning after fleeing from deputies and prompting a nine-hour manhunt, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said 22-year-old Taylor West, a man from Manteo, North Carolina, was wanted in his home state for violating his probation on drug trafficking charges, including opium and heroin trafficking, resisting arrest, and giving a false name to law enforcement. West was also wanted in Virginia for violation of probation on charges of fentanyl possession and controlled drug paraphernalia, deputies said.
[TRENDING: Win tickets to watch Artemis 1 rocket launch | Everything you need to know for Florida primary day | Video of man stabbing shark in head in New Smyrna stuns some. Here’s why it’s legal in Florida | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were pulling over a car just before midnight Monday evening near Seminole Woods Boulevard and Squash Blossom Trail, in which West was a passenger. During the stop, West took off on foot into the woods near the Integra Woods Apartments, deputies said.
The incident kicked off the nine-hour manhunt for West, whom law enforcement eventually caught at about 9 a.m., deputies said.
Deputies said that West was spotted several times during the hunt both in the woods and the nearby Integra Woods apartment complex, though he was able to evade deputies due to the thick vegetation in the area.
“I’m proud of how our deputies handled the search,” Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said. “It can get difficult and dangerous to go into heavily wooded areas or into an apartment complex at night to capture one person, but catching this poison peddler was worth the time and effort.”
West is held on no bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility based on the North Carolina warrant and is expected to be extradited back to his home state, Staly said.
According to deputies, the sheriff’s office also booked West for resisting arrest, and fleeing and eluding.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/23/north-carolina-fugitive-captured-after-9-hour-manhunt-flagler-deputies-say/ | 2022-08-23T18:58:47 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/23/north-carolina-fugitive-captured-after-9-hour-manhunt-flagler-deputies-say/ |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Former East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Athletic Director Scott Carter will receive monthly payments of his base pay until July 31, 2023, separation agreement documents obtained by News Channel 11 detail.
The installments include social security, retirement and insurance as well as a payout of Carter’s accrued vacation leave as of July 31, 2022. The document states Carter will not earn further vacation days or sick leave during the year-long period.
ETSU’s Chief Marketing and Communications officer, Jessica Vodden, told News Channel 11 in an email that Carter’s annual salary on which the severance pay will be based is $220,746.87.
The two daughters of the former athletic director have the option to receive a last-dollar scholarship for tuition and program service fees for one undergraduate degree at the university immediately after graduating high school, the separation agreement outlines.
“[ETSU] shall have no other financial obligations to Mr. Carter under any compensation or benefit plan, program, policy, contract, or tuition remission and Mr. Carter’s participation in University compensation and benefit plans, tuition remission, programs, practices, policies, contracts and tuition remission shall cease as of the resignation date, except that he shall have the right to continue in the state’s group health plan coverage until he secures other full-time employment with benefits or until the end of the Non-Employment Contract Payment Period, whichever occurs earlier,” the contract reads.
Carter’s resignation became effective the same day ETSU officials announced their intentions of firing then women’s basketball coach Simon Harris due to alleged Title IX violations. The situations, however, had “no connection,” according to acting Athletic Director Richard “Doc” Sander.
He had worked as the university’s athletic director since 2017. Sander, his predecessor, is continuing to work for the faculty pay he has been earning for his work in ETSU’s global sports management program, which is $86,567 annually.
Carter agreed to waive his right to make an appeal relating to the agreement, which can be terminated if the university learns that “Mr. Carter violated any law, rule, regulation, policy, or bylaw during his tenure…”
Carter also agreed to release the university from any potential liability he might pursue related to his employment there.
The contract became effective when ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland, University Counsel Mark Fulks and Carter signed the document on Aug. 17.
The full agreement is available below.
Carter Separation Agreement and Release by Mackenzie Moore on Scribd
ETSU noted in the agreement that it has not offered Carter any re-employment opportunities during his non-employment contract payment period. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/etsu-paying-former-athletic-director-for-full-year-after-resignation/ | 2022-08-23T18:59:52 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/etsu-paying-former-athletic-director-for-full-year-after-resignation/ |
A Tucson woman was sentenced to jail after she plead guilty to an organized retail theft scheme.
On Tuesday, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that Brittany Cannon was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by five years on probation, after she plead guilty to one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices and one count of organized retail theft.
Cannon was previously indicted in May 2021 and accused of participating in a organized retail theft ring that defrauded various Targets and Marshalls across Arizona, a news release from the Attorney General’s Office said. Cannon would take the merchandise without paying and resell them on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp.
When Cannon was found, she was in a vehicle with stolen items, the news release said.
The case was investigated by Oro Valley Police with help from Target Loss Prevention and police departments in Tucson, Marana, Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert and Scottsdale.
Jamie Donnelly covers breaking news for the Arizona Daily Star. Contact her via e-mail at jdonnelly@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tucson-woman-sentenced-to-prison-for-stealing-from-stores/article_58db7418-230a-11ed-b6b5-db7d75f3ecce.html | 2022-08-23T19:06:20 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tucson-woman-sentenced-to-prison-for-stealing-from-stores/article_58db7418-230a-11ed-b6b5-db7d75f3ecce.html |
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno says he is exploring the possibility of selling the franchise.
Moreno is a Tucson native who attended Rincon High School (Class of 1965) and the University of Arizona (Class of '73), serving in the Vietnam War in between. He was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, in part because of his successes as the Angels' owner.
Moreno purchased the Angels in 2003, a year after they won the World Series. He has spent aggressively on aging free agent stars like Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, but the club hasn't been back to the Fall Classic since he became owner.
Los Angeles is set to miss the postseason for the eighth straight year despite featuring AL MVPs Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to own the Angels for 20 seasons," Moreno said in a statement. “Although this difficult decision was entirely our choice and deserved a great deal of thoughtful consideration, my family and I have ultimately come to the conclusion that now is the time.”
People are also reading…
Moreno's announcement comes at a critical moment for the franchise, with Ohtani set to be a free agent after the 2024 season. Ohtani, a two-way sensation who left Japan and joined the Angels in 2018, has made it clear he wants to play for a contending team. If the franchise can't sign Ohtani to a long-term deal, it may decide to trade him before he has a chance to leave as a free agent.
Trout, a three-time MVP, is signed through the 2030 season on a $426.5 million, 12-year deal. He's appeared in just three postseason games with the Angels, all in 2014, despite having been the best player in baseball for most of the last decade.
The team has retained Galatioto Sports Partners as financial advisor for the process and said it will not have any additional comment.
Moreno, a Mexican-American born in Arizona, is the only non-white controlling owner in Major League Baseball. The Angels are the second MLB team currently for sale, joining the Washington Nationals. | https://tucson.com/sports/local/now-is-the-time-tucsons-arte-moreno-says-he-will-explore-sale-of-angels/article_b0185062-2313-11ed-be8b-ef839a31edcb.html | 2022-08-23T19:07:32 | 0 | https://tucson.com/sports/local/now-is-the-time-tucsons-arte-moreno-says-he-will-explore-sale-of-angels/article_b0185062-2313-11ed-be8b-ef839a31edcb.html |
VALPARAISO — A rape case against a 38-year-old Griffith man was changed to a confinement charge during a plea hearing Tuesday morning.
David Petersen appeared before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer and pleaded guilty to felony confinement in return for prosecutors dismissing rape and sexual battery charges, a court document shows.
The proposed agreement calls for a sentence of four years behind bars with the time suspended and the first nine months to be served on home detention with GPS monitoring, the document reads. Formal probation is to follow the home detention.
Petersen is to complete a domestic violence program and have no further contact with the alleged victim during his proposed sentence.
DeBoer took the proposal under consideration and set a hearing for Oct. 18 to decide whether to accept it and carry out sentencing.
The woman went to the hospital a couple of days after the alleged attack to be treated for injuries, police said. While records show she reported the sexual attack, she declined a forensic sexual assault exam at the time and declined to pursue charges with police.
She showed up June 8, 2019, at the Porter County Sheriff's Department and reported the alleged incident, police said.
The woman provided police with a 45-minute recorded conversation from two days following the alleged incident where she and Petersen discuss the alleged attack, according to charging information. Petersen reportedly told the woman his mother knows everything.
"She knows that I assaulted you on Monday night (March 25, 2019) in a horrible way ... that I regret it every hour of every day ... that you didn't deserve it," according to police.
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.
Defense attorney Mark Gruenhagen, who represents 38-year-old David Petersen, said he received an email from prosecutors Monday revealing the existence of the police videos. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/accused-pleads-guilty-in-porter-county-rape-case-home-detention-proposed/article_d939b649-2ab2-5f5e-8660-7580bb13745f.html | 2022-08-23T19:15:25 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/accused-pleads-guilty-in-porter-county-rape-case-home-detention-proposed/article_d939b649-2ab2-5f5e-8660-7580bb13745f.html |
HOBART — From comments received Monday, Hobartites don’t mind sharing a bus with Valparaiso riders, even for just a couple times a week.
The city of Hobart and Valparaiso Transit held a Community Center meeting to determine the amount of public interest in a new ChicaGo Dash line going through Hobart.
ChicaGo Dash is an express commuter bus service from downtown Valparaiso to downtown Chicago. The service utilizes 53-passenger coach buses.
“I’m really excited about this,” said resident Myra Cseke. “This could create a lot of job opportunities in Hobart.”
Cseke was among more than 30 people to offer comments and ask questions about the bus service, started in 2009 by former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas as an economic development tool.
Beth Shrader, director of planning and transit for the city of Valparaiso, explained that her community and Hobart had discussed the possibility of creating a new line in Hobart. Under consideration is a bus stop at Jubilee Church, 415 N. Hobart Rd. (Ind. 51), which is already on the ChicaGo Dash route.
“We’re looking to expand in Valparaiso,” Shrader said, adding, “It makes sense to make a stop in Hobart.”
Don Lorntzen, city of Valparaiso transit manager, explained that the bus service currently offers two stops in Valparaiso and three in the Chicago Loop. The service operates weekdays, five days a week.
COVID-19 has impacted ridership, Lorntzen noted, going from 1,600 riders to 570 riders a week.
Hobart is being considered, the transit manager said, because it’s on the current route and people have asked about the possibility.
The purpose of the meeting was for Hobart's input. Shrader said a Valparaiso Board of Public Works and Safety meeting on the issue produced little feedback from the Hobart side.
Hobart resident Michaelene Hojnicki, who works in the Sears Tower, said she chose the South Shore Line over ChicaGo Dash because she had to leave early to catch the Valparaiso bus and she found the early morning drive scary.
Pickups in Valparaiso are at 6, 6:30 and 7 a.m. from 270 Brown St. Stops in Chicago are at Franklin Street, LaSalle and Wacker, and Michigan and Randolph, across from Millennium Station. Pickup times are 4, 4:30 and 5 p.m.
Lorntzen said buses must maintain a strict schedule. If the service goes off its rotation, he explained, it’s considered a charter.
Ridership fees represent only 12% of ChicaGo Dash’s revenue, with other funding including the city of Valparaiso. Lorntzen said Valparaiso officials have not asked Hobart for funds for the proposed line.
“We want to expand the routes,” Lorntzen said. “We have the funding for it.”
Lorntzen added there is no set timeline for the proposed new line.
Some residents, including Penny Nunn and Betty Villareal, noted that while many commuters are working in Chicago, they wanted to use the service for leisure activities. Lorntzen replied that the bus service can accommodate them but they would have to find their own way to a specific destination.
Buses, Lorntzen said, are equipped with wifi and carry luggage and bicycles.
Other residents cited environmental impact and the potential for transport to Chicago airports. Some in the audience were ChicaGo Dash riders. Most said they would use the service 2-3 times a week.
Councilman Josh Huddlestun, D-2nd, reported many requests for the proposed service.
Mayor Brian Snedecor cited the possibility of residents of Lake Station and Portage also using the Hobart site.
"I appreciate Valpo for being willing to consider this,” the mayor said of the bus line.
Gallery: The Times Photos of the Week
Shoreline tour
Shoreline tour
Shoreline tour
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi conduct wild ricing experiment at Indiana Dunes
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi conduct wild ricing experiment at Indiana Dunes
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi conduct wild ricing experiment at Indiana Dunes
Chicago Air Show performers at the Gary/Chicago International Airport
Chicago Air Show performers at the Gary/Chicago International Airport
Chicago Air Show performers at the Gary/Chicago International Airport
Chicago Air Show performers at the Gary/Chicago International Airport
Chicago Air Show performers at the Gary/Chicago International Airport
Mayor Brian Snedecor said road project prices “have been skyrocketing,” and that’s caused the estimated cost of the overpass initiative to increase by about $1.2 million.
Hobart police officers rescued a woman and began CPR after responding about 8:10 p.m. to a report of multiple people struggling in the water, Cmdr. Simon Gresser said.
The True Cost of Washington Tour sponsored by Americans for Prosperity came to Luke Convenience Store & Gas Station on Tuesday afternoon rolling back regular gasoline from $3.99 per gallon to $2.38 per gallon.
A "Do Not Occupy" notice resulted in 11 families being immediately displaced because the building is considered a fire hazard, hazard to public health and it violates codes.
Don Lorntzen, city of Valparaiso transit manager, discusses the possibility of creating a ChicaGo Dash passenger bus stop in Hobart at a public meeting Monday at the Hobart Community Center. Joining him is Beth Shrader, director of planning and transit for Valparaiso. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hobart/hobart-comments-positive-on-dash-to-state-border/article_eaa7783e-3181-5a2d-a1ee-569d4d3689ba.html | 2022-08-23T19:15:31 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hobart/hobart-comments-positive-on-dash-to-state-border/article_eaa7783e-3181-5a2d-a1ee-569d4d3689ba.html |
Riders take off along West Street at Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday for the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run. Over 70 riders participated, riding from Crown Point to Hebron and Lowell in support of the Crown Point EMA.
Jeffrey D. Nicholls
Doug Drummond, of Crown Point, waits for the start of the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run near Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday morning. Over 70 riders participated riding from Crown Point to Hebron and Lowell supporting Crown Point EMA.
Jeffrey D. Nicholls, The Times
Steve Meece and Ryan Olson cook burgers at Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday after the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run.
Jeffrey D. Nicholls, The Times
Riders head to their motorcycles for the start of the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run at Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday morning.
Jeffrey D. Nicholls, The Times
Riders and spectators listen to local band Dirt Born after the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run at Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday.
CROWN POINT — Motorcycle engines were roaring once again Sunday at Bulldog Park for the eighth annual Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run.
More than 70 riders showed their support for those behind-the-scenes people who work to keep their community safe.
Crown Point Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 176 sponsored the run, with proceeds going to the city’s emergency management system.
FOP President Tom Widener said emergency management assists fire and police personnel with traffic control, storm watches, security details, and search-and-rescue operations.
“They help us a lot. They’re a godsend,” Widener said. “They free us up to do our police work.”
Starting and finishing from the downtown park, the 51-mile run went through Crown Point, Hebron, Lowell and Cedar Lake before returning. The benefit also featured a raffle, food vendors, silent auction, vendors and musical entertainment.
With participants gathering at the park, Rebecca Evans of Chesterton and Enchanted Rose Photography was shooting the event. She’s a regular at these events.
“It’s for the heroes of our towns, the police and military,” she said. “It’s our way of thanking them, of giving back.”
David Miller, a rider from Cedar Lake, noted, “We love these events. We come out every Saturday and Sunday, with sometimes multiple rides each day.”
He added, “We want to support these groups. If I’ve got it, they can have it.”
Several motorcycling groups participated, including Chopper Coppers, a group largely made up of law enforcement staff, family and friends. The group has two chapters, one in Crown Point and the other in Florida.
“We’re a first responder charity,” said Steve “Woody” Burton of Hobart, the local group’s president. “We try to help in any way we can.”
At a recent annual benefit, the group raised $16,000 for a trauma nurse.
Jeremy “Big Sexy” Hinrichsen of Merrillville, president of the Iron Pack Brotherhood, said his group raises funds for youth charities, including Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
“We do this to support our officers, for camaraderie, and for a common cause,” Hinrichsen said.
Crown Point’s FOP takes part in other charities, including Shop With A Cop, done in December in cooperation with the school system. Police helped 15 families and 21 children at the 2021 event.
Other charities were also represented at the ride. Fidelity National Title was promoting its Dog Days of Summer in support of local animal shelters and pet adoptions. Mission One Foundation, which supports first responders and veterans, assisted in escorting riders.
“We just came out to support them,” Mission One’s Johnny Boersma said.
Tony Papadopoulo, of Valparaiso, is preparing for the ninth annual motorcycle blessing at Ss. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Merrillville.
Papadopoulos said he participates in these rides “for one common goal, to create awareness of our hometown heroes, our fallen heroes. There’s a lot of people who respond to emergencies when nobody is looking, and they do this gladly.”
Gallery: The Times Photos of the Week
081422-nws-cowpie_1
081422-nws-cowpie_3
Schererville splash pad
Schererville splash pad
Morton at Hobart football scrimmage
081322-spt-fbh-low_14
081322-spt-fbh-low_3
Valparaiso football scrimmage
Valparaiso football scrimmage
Paper airplane contest
Paper airplane contest
Lake County Fair pedal pull competition
Lake County Fair pedal pull competition
4-H Costume Activity
4-H Costume Activity
70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system
Riders take off along West Street at Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday for the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run. Over 70 riders participated, riding from Crown Point to Hebron and Lowell in support of the Crown Point EMA.
Doug Drummond, of Crown Point, waits for the start of the Hometown Heroes Charity Motorcycle Run near Bulldog Park in Crown Point Sunday morning. Over 70 riders participated riding from Crown Point to Hebron and Lowell supporting Crown Point EMA. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/watch-now-motorcyclists-ride-to-support-crown-point-emergency-management/article_3c6141bf-dc2a-5dd9-973a-64f2f9b709de.html | 2022-08-23T19:15:38 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/watch-now-motorcyclists-ride-to-support-crown-point-emergency-management/article_3c6141bf-dc2a-5dd9-973a-64f2f9b709de.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. — A new report released by Downtown Portland Clean & Safe says that foot traffic in downtown Portland has increased in 2022 compared to 2021. Downtown Portland Clean & Safe helps maintain a 213-block area of Downtown Portland by providing cleaning services and security.
The report highlights pedestrians, both tourists and workers, within the 213-block area. It shows that foot traffic increased year over year from 2020 to 2022, but doesn't mention how it compares to 2019, the last non-pandemic year in Portland.
In 2020, states and cities across the country shut down amid the start of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Portland also experienced months of protests and riots in response to the George Floyd killing in Minnesota. In 2021, as vaccines became more widely available, cities and states began to lift restrictions and capacity limits, but that wasn't until summer and those restrictions only lasted a few weeks before being implemented again in Oregon and Washington.
The year 2022 started off with mask requirements and COVID-19 restrictions, but were eventually lifted in March. Slowly, the city has come back to life as more businesses began to require workers to return to the office. At the same time, a decrease in foot traffic also means that remote work has become more acceptable and feasible.
The report says that in 2022, downtown Portland saw a 64% increase in visitors compared to 2021 and an even larger increase than that of 2020.
The report measured visitors, both workers and visitors from March 1 to June 9 of 2022.
It also says that "in 2019, prior to the pandemic, pedestrian traffic was evenly distributed across each day of the week – with slight increases on Fridays. In 2022, while the traditional work week remains slower, there is an increase in foot traffic on Fridays and Saturdays, with Fridays being Downtown’s busiest day of the week."
The report also looked at Saturdays surrounding the Rose Festival, including Memorial Day, and found that "the number of people downtown was recorded at 71.4% of 2019 levels."
This report comes just a week after researchers at UC Berkeley looked at the rebound levels of 62 large cities across the United States. That report found Portland ranked near the bottom, with San Francisco and Cleveland having a slower recovery coming out of the pandemic.
The Downtown Clean & Safe report says that pedestrians downtown were usually steady during the day pre-COVID, but in 2022 visitation was at its highest from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The report says the group used data from Placer.ai to monitor traffic and visit trends. Clean & Safe in previous years had used a count-by-hand method at certain intersections, but has since expanded its pedestrian count research to look at the entire 213-block district. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/downtown-portland-clean-safe-foot-traffic-report/283-ae16a955-70ed-4e99-b17e-cedc4517ddcd | 2022-08-23T19:16:09 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/downtown-portland-clean-safe-foot-traffic-report/283-ae16a955-70ed-4e99-b17e-cedc4517ddcd |
GLEN ROSE, Texas — They say everything is bigger in Texas and that includes dinosaur tracks.
Over 113 million years ago, pre-historic dinosaurs roamed what is now the Glen Rose area in Texas and managed to leave fossilized tracks hidden beneath the Paluxy River. They were recently re-discovered by workers of the Dinosaur Valley State Park, as shown in videos and images posted to their Facebook page.
"The Paluxy River has pretty much gone dry this drought," said one park worker in a Facebook video post shared on Aug. 17. "What's cool about the river is what you'll find in the river. Sweep a little bit of the dirt and dust away and this is what you'll find... dinosaur tracks."
In the video, the worker points out how many tracks have three large claw marks, commonly belonging to the theropod dinosaur class, he said. This was confirmed in a 2012 study, which also said the river holds tracks from the sauropod class, too.
"These are normally underwater so you don't easily get to see these... well in shallow water, covered in dirt and silt," he said.
The park also shared several photos of volunteers cleaning out the long trail of prints as they worked on "dinosaur track mapping," which also consisted of measuring the tracks, the park commented in their posts.
It is likely the tracks were covered up again, however, due to heavy rainfall that passed through the Lone Star State.
"When it starts raining they will fill up with water and mud. Most likely we will not see them like this again for a very long time," the park said.
Dinosaur Valley State Park is located at 1629 Park Rd 59., Glen Rose, TX 76043, which is about an hour and a half drive northwest of Waco. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Also on KCENTV.com: | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/large-dinosaur-tracks-unearthed-dried-up-texas-river/500-d59d5c65-a23c-42e5-9242-59ae56999221 | 2022-08-23T19:16:44 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/large-dinosaur-tracks-unearthed-dried-up-texas-river/500-d59d5c65-a23c-42e5-9242-59ae56999221 |
DES MOINES, Iowa — The River Bend neighborhood in Des Moines is now home to a new free library, one filled with books written by Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) and telling stories about BIPOC.
The idea for the free library was thought of by co-founders of the Out of the Box Initiative Jake Sahr and Pascha Morgan.
"I would definitely say it was a labor of love," Morgan said.
Sahr and Morgan are friends who met just two years ago. They wanted to create the library to give people in the River Bend neighborhood, particularly children, a chance to read positive, honest stories about themselves.
"We want to present people's history and honor the history of people and show them the knowledge of themselves," Sahr said.
The library is named after Harriet Curley, the first Black school teacher hired by the Des Moines Public School District.
Books in the free library range from youth to adults. The hope for the library is to get more children interested in reading.
"It changes how they approach reading because now it's not reading to read, it's reading to get information, knowledge about something you're passionate about," Morgan said.
Sue Woody, director of Des Moines Public Libraries, said that space can be the first step in helping improve the literacy rates in Black and brown communities, especially in pivotal grades like third grade.
According to 2021 data from Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, Black and brown students in third grade were less proficient in reading compared to their white classmates.
Woody believes that students having access to the free library and seeing themselves in the books they're reading can help change the statistics in the statewide assessment.
"Every child needs to see themselves to identify with a story, to make them more interested in it," Woody said.
The structure that holds the books includes murals and other artwork, some done by kids in the area.
It also includes affirmations that the founders hope people who visit the library appreciate.
The structure is located at the corner of Forest Ave & 13th St in Des Moines and is opens 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Hours may vary. | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/free-library-des-moines-river-bend-bipoc-authors/524-1b423767-5d0c-4269-89bc-6dbc56d9293e | 2022-08-23T19:26:44 | 1 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/free-library-des-moines-river-bend-bipoc-authors/524-1b423767-5d0c-4269-89bc-6dbc56d9293e |
DALLAS — The McAllen church that went viral for its unauthorized production of "Hamilton" will pay damages for staging the musical.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the church's pastor apologized for the production "that infringed on the rights and copyrights of many."
"We will pay damages for our actions," the statement said.
The Door McAllen posted a full-length YouTube video of its Aug. 5 production of the show, which featured staging and costuming similar to the Broadway production.
The show also featured several script changes to include references to Christianity and Jesus.
After the video began to get attention online, outraged theatre fans tagged the show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the show on social media alerting them to the unauthorized production.
Lawyers for "Hamilton" contacted the church and allowed them to continue with the second performance, but prohibited photos and videos from being posted online.
The following morning, during his sermon, Pastor Roman Gutierrez thanked "Hamilton" for giving the church permission to produce the show, but that license was not given.
In its statement Tuesday, The Door McAllen admitted it "did not ask for, or receive, a license from the producers or creators of Hamilton to produce, stage, replicate or alter any part of Hamilton; nor did we seek prior permission to alter Lin-Manuel Miranda's work by changing the music, the lyrics, deleting songs, and adding dialogue."
Shane Marshall Brown, a spokesperson for "Hamilton," did not comment on how much The Door will pay in damages.
In a statement to WFAA on Tuesday, Brown said "'Hamilton' will be donating all damages paid by The Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church to the South Texas Equality Project."
"The South Texas Equality Project is a coalition of organizations that work to advocate for, celebrate, uplift, educate, and provide support to the LGBTQIA+ community of the Rio Grande Valley," Brown said.
Full statement from The Door McAllen:
"On behalf of The Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church, I would like to personally apologize to the creator of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the producers of Hamilton, and the numerous others who contributed their intellectual property to Hamilton, for staging an unauthorized production of Hamilton that infringed on the rights and copyrights of many.
The Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church did not ask for, or receive, a license from the producers or creators of Hamilton to produce, stage, replicate or alter any part of Hamilton; nor did we seek prior permission to alter Lin-Manuel Miranda's work by changing the music, the lyrics, deleting songs, and adding dialogue.
We respect the copyrights of Hamilton"s author and contributors.
These copyrights are protected by federal law. We acknowledge there are lawful avenues to obtain a license to stage properties which we did not pursue. And it is never permissible to alter an artistic work such as Hamilton without legal permission. I recognize as the Pastor of the church that I have an obligation and responsibility to follow the law and educate our community about these protocols. Our ministry will use this moment as a learning opportunity about protected artistic works and intellectual property.
On behalf of The Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church, we agree we will never stage the performance again and will destroy any and all video or sound recordings and images of the unauthorized performances or rehearsals, and request that all our members do the same. Lastly, we will pay damages for our actions." | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas-door-mcallen-texas-church-to-pay-damages-for-unauthorized-hamilton-production/287-70cc64a1-cccc-4b14-8749-6c3da0c3c5b6 | 2022-08-23T19:34:48 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas-door-mcallen-texas-church-to-pay-damages-for-unauthorized-hamilton-production/287-70cc64a1-cccc-4b14-8749-6c3da0c3c5b6 |
TABERG, N.Y. – Fire officials say no one was injured when flames broke out at a home in Taberg early Tuesday morning.
Fire crews arrived at the house on Taberg-Florence Road around 3:30 a.m. to find one side engulfed in flames. The family inside the home at the time was able to get out safely, however, the left side of the house was completely destroyed.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. | https://www.wktv.com/news/local/part-of-taberg-home-destroyed-by-fire-no-injuries-reported/article_2516570c-2304-11ed-a767-d3d294d900e5.html | 2022-08-23T19:41:58 | 1 | https://www.wktv.com/news/local/part-of-taberg-home-destroyed-by-fire-no-injuries-reported/article_2516570c-2304-11ed-a767-d3d294d900e5.html |
MARION, Va. (WJHL) — The U.S. Forest Service plans to make several repairs to the Creeper Trail in the coming months.
The Forest Service will spend $377,000 this fiscal year on Creeper Trail maintenance projects. The funds are part of the Great American Outdoors Act, which addresses maintenance backlogs at recreation facilities.
Partnering with Washington County, the Town of Damascus, and Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy, the Forest Service plans to replace trestles 30 and 31, improve parts of the trail impacted by erosion, and remove hazardous trees.
“We know how beloved the Virginia Creeper Trail is in local communities and beyond,” said Area Ranger Barry Garten. “These repairs will ensure that the trail can continue to provide a quality visitor experience.”
The Creeper Trail is a 34-mile rail-to-recreation trail located in Washington and Grayson counties. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/forest-service-plans-creeper-trail-repairs/ | 2022-08-23T19:47:55 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/forest-service-plans-creeper-trail-repairs/ |
Fishers, Indy to target Geist duck hunters. Tuesday vote authorizes police to respond
Fishers and Indianapolis are quacking down on scofflaw duck hunters at Geist Reservoir.
The cities have entered an agreement with Citizens Energy to enforce its prohibition against hunting at the reservoir, which the utility company owns.
The Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety passed a resolution Tuesday authorizing the police to kick hunters off Geist property and enforce their continued banishment.
Fishers city attorney Chris Greisl said rogue duck hunters have been a problem for years but nabbing them has been a “jurisdictional nightmare” because Geist overlaps several cities, including Indianapolis.
'Be a better host:'New Carmel alcohol-free bottle shop is a first for Indianapolis area
Citizens spokesman Dan Considine said it was time to “reassert the policy,” because the area is growing denser with homes and the danger of someone getting hit with a shotgun blast has increased.
“It’s a public safety issue,” he said. “We are being called by neighborhood associations who report seeing and hearing hunting on the reservoir. It’s not like when Geist was built in the 1940s and there were no houses around.”
There are more than 6,000 homes around the 1,900-acre reservoir, which spans Hamilton, Marion and Hancock counties and provides drinking water for the Indianapolis area.
Considine said there have been no reports of injuries but there has been reports of buckshot hitting houses.
He said some people who hunt there might assume hunting is legal because enforcement has been scant. Citizens plans an educational campaign timed to the start of duck hunting season Sept. 10 that will include posting more signs and notices on social media.
The campaign will include a reminder that hunting is also banned at Morse Reservoir in Northern Hamilton County, which Citizens also owns.
Violations of the hunting rule amount to a trespassing charge and Citizens can prohibit people who are caught from coming back on the property.
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/fishers/2022/08/23/fishers-indy-to-target-illegal-geist-duck-hunters-after-board-vote/65416371007/ | 2022-08-23T19:50:47 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/fishers/2022/08/23/fishers-indy-to-target-illegal-geist-duck-hunters-after-board-vote/65416371007/ |
MASON CITY, Iowa - A Mason City man who allegedly committed felony crimes in Cerro Gordo and Mower counties was arrested Monday night after he was seen by a deputy stealing beer from a convenience store.
Bradley Stansbury, 20, is accused of burglarizing the Casey’s on 19th St. in July. Authorities said he used a key to gain access after business hours and stole items.
Earlier this month, he was accused of felony fleeing and third-degree DWI in Mower County. | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/man-arrested-for-committing-felony-crimes-in-cerro-gordo-mower-counties/article_2e51d904-22f5-11ed-83aa-1fdf6ad930c1.html | 2022-08-23T19:52:00 | 0 | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/man-arrested-for-committing-felony-crimes-in-cerro-gordo-mower-counties/article_2e51d904-22f5-11ed-83aa-1fdf6ad930c1.html |
PINE ISLAND, Minn - A lengthy standoff over the weekend in Pine Island involved a man firing around 20 rounds with some striking an armored vehicle and a nearby residence.
Michael Molitor, 37, is facing charges of first-degree assault, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, terroristic threats and committing a crime while wearing a bulletproof vest.
Authorities said the situation began Saturday morning just before 11 a.m. when he threatened suicide by a cop and claimed he was holding someone named Alicia hostage.
UPDATE: The Goodhue County Sheriff's office has confirmed the suspect is in custody and ther…
Throughout the negotiation, Molitor was seen moving around the garage while drinking beer with an AR-15 attached to his upper body.
Additional armored vehicles were brought to the scene and at 6:10 p.m. a diversionary flash bang was deployed.
Shortly after, authorities deployed chemical rounds into the residence and a volley of gunfire erupted from the residence. One was toward an officer who was behind an armored vehicle and another struck the house behind the vehicle.
Around 20-22 rounds were fired to the front and rear of the residence.
A few minutes later, Molitor exited the residence and was eventually taken into custody. He claimed he shot at law enforcement because “they shot at him first.” | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/weekend-standoff-in-se-minnesota-involved-around-20-shots-fired/article_e1e3ef90-22ee-11ed-ab93-bfd44638f3bb.html | 2022-08-23T19:52:06 | 0 | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/weekend-standoff-in-se-minnesota-involved-around-20-shots-fired/article_e1e3ef90-22ee-11ed-ab93-bfd44638f3bb.html |
The Lancaster County Election Commissioner's Office mailed early vote request forms Monday to Lancaster County voters on the permanent early vote request list.
The postcard-size mail pieces are printed on yellow colored cardstock. Voters must complete and sign the application portion of the mailing and return it to receive a ballot by mail, according to Election Commissioner Dave Shively.
The postcards may be mailed or dropped in the drop box on the north side of the Election Office, 601 N. 46th St.
A scanned copy or a readable photo of the completed and signed form may also be emailed to the office at: earlyvote@lancaster.ne.gov
An early vote request form is also available on the Election Commissioner’s website at: lancaster.ne.gov/election.
Voters may also contact the Election Commissioner’s Office at 402-441-7311 and the office will mail a request form to them.
Voters who do not receive an early voting application postcard may also request an early vote ballot by submitting a letter to the Election Commissioner requesting that an early vote ballot be mailed to them. The letter must include their name, address and signature.
The first day the Election Office will mail early vote ballots is Oct. 3. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/lancaster-county-to-mail-early-vote-applications-to-voters-on-list/article_df7bdb85-26f1-5761-af53-a475773cdb08.html | 2022-08-23T19:55:24 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/lancaster-county-to-mail-early-vote-applications-to-voters-on-list/article_df7bdb85-26f1-5761-af53-a475773cdb08.html |
Jack Riggins will remain on the air at KLIN despite the controversy surrounding a since-deleted tweet of graphic images he made on the Nebraska Republican Party's Twitter account.
Riggins, the host of KLIN's evening radio program "Drive Time Lincoln," told the Journal Star on Tuesday he would remain host but confirmed he was no longer the interim communications director for the Nebraska GOP, a role he served in since last month's state convention.
He was set to return to the host's chair Tuesday after skipping Monday's show.
In his role with the Nebraska Republican Party, Riggins said he made the controversial post on the state party's official Twitter account Friday questioning curriculum in Nebraska schools. The tweet was in response to a post from Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, who criticized the Republican Party's stance against gambling.
People are also reading…
Kleeb described the Nebraska GOP as "fun haters, job killers and freedom crushers." In response, the Nebraska GOP tweeted: "Like fun haters against fellatio being taught to school age children? Well u are right!! We have principles and values, not 'everything goes' policies. Sorry to be sane."
The tweet included images pulled from the graphic book "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe that depicted oral sex and masturbation.
The Nebraska GOP later apologized for the tweet but said it "showcases the hard facts of what materials and books are in Nebraska schools." The original tweet was later deleted.
Riggins said he didn't regret the tweet, calling it "political strategy and gamesmanship," but understood that he was "too close to the story" to host Monday's broadcast on which Republican delegate and former U.S. Senate candidate Matt Innis made an appearance to address controversial books in Nebraska public schools.
"I stood by the truth that that type of material and that book is in schools" in Nebraska, Riggins said.
KLIN Operations Manager Steve King said the issue was between Riggins and the Nebraska GOP and said he would remain on air with no consequences. King said Riggins is "more of an independent contractor," but is technically an employee of the station.
"He's one of us as far as being on the air," he said. "It really wasn't an issue in regards to anything internal with KLIN."
King joined Sports Director Kaleb Henry to fill in for Riggins on Monday's broadcast.
Innis claimed "Gender Queer" was available at Norris Public Schools until a parent brought it to the district's attention at a board meeting in November 2021. Innis said then-Superintendent John Schwartz acknowledged the book was on shelves and said it would be removed.
Innis also said the book is available at Omaha Central High School.
"Gender Queer" does not appear on Norris' online library catalogue. The book is available at Buena Vista and Westview high schools, Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman Bridget Blevins said. A copy of the book was available at Central before being checked out in May and never returned.
OPS said in a statement books available on district shelves "reflect diverse characters in many ways, including ethnicity, immigration, socioeconomics, disabilities, divorce/blended families, foster care, LGBTQ family members, incarceration, death and more."
"These books are not required reading or part of our curriculum but are available for students to read independently," the statement continues.
The book is not available at Lincoln Public Schools.
Norris did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Kobabe's memoir -- which explores gender identity and sexuality from an LGBTQ perspective -- was first published in 2019 and has been frequently challenged in schools across the U.S. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/jack-riggins-will-remain-on-air-at-klin-following-gop-tweet-firestorm/article_357b370a-9993-570b-8a79-74cbd0e01e93.html | 2022-08-23T19:55:30 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/jack-riggins-will-remain-on-air-at-klin-following-gop-tweet-firestorm/article_357b370a-9993-570b-8a79-74cbd0e01e93.html |
Local disaster declarations have been declared in both Dallas and Tarrant counties after near-record rainfall led to flooding on Monday.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins issued a disaster declaration Monday night while Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley issued his declaration Tuesday morning.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport received 9.19 inches of rainfall from 3 p.m. Sunday through 3 p.m. Monday, the second highest official 24-hour precipitation total recorded in North Texas. The rain also made this August the second-wettest on record. The airport needs less than three-tenths of an inch before the end of the month to set a new record for the wettest August ever.
Whitley's local disaster declaration will be in effect for seven days unless it is extended by the Commissioners Court and is intended to assist in disaster recovery. By declaring a local disaster, it opens the path for possible financial assistance from state and federal sources.
If you have sustained damage due to the recent severe storms, visit damage.tdem.texas.gov and fill out the survey form. This survey will help state and local emergency management officials identify and gain an understanding of damages from the recent storms. Reporting damages to Emergency Management is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance agent and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday signed a disaster declaration for 23 counties impacted by Monday’s severe flooding that allows the state to exercise emergency disaster response powers. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/disaster-declared-in-tarrant-county-heres-how-to-report-storm-damage/3055078/ | 2022-08-23T19:56:51 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/disaster-declared-in-tarrant-county-heres-how-to-report-storm-damage/3055078/ |
Here’s an update of the COVID-19 numbers in the state.
New positive cases: 1,827
New deaths: 13
Total positive cases: 2,263,549
Total number of deaths: 31,378
Total vaccine doses administered: 14,192,647
Rate of transmission: 0.87
CASES BY COUNTY
Atlantic: 63,805 cases, 975 deaths, 381,725 doses administered
Cape May: 12,708 cases, 269 deaths, 134,700 doses administered
Cumberland: 37,944 cases, 585 deaths, 187,510 doses administered
Ocean: 153,885 cases, 2,901 deaths, 704,887 doses administered
People are also reading…
Source: N.J. Department of Health
Figures as of 3:30 p.m. Aug. 23 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-1-827-new-covid-19-cases-13-new-deaths/article_ab1c88ee-2318-11ed-b3f0-533cb62a7794.html | 2022-08-23T20:00:04 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-1-827-new-covid-19-cases-13-new-deaths/article_ab1c88ee-2318-11ed-b3f0-533cb62a7794.html |
This will be a historic season for the St. Joseph Academy football team.
Coach Paul Sacco announced this month that he will step down at the end of the season, although he does intend to coach again. Sacco, the winningest coach in South Jersey history, begins the season with a 352-71-5 record in 40 seasons.
“The kids have responded so well,” Sacco said. “We have a lot of kids who are typical St. Joe kids. They’re trying to make a little name for themselves, and they work. We’ve been in this spot before. The kids just have to get better every day.”
St. Joe graduated numerous standouts from last season’s team, which finished 9-3 and reached the state Non-Public B semifinals. Sacco said this year’s team reminds him of the Wildcats he coached early in his career.
With only 32 players, including freshmen, on the roster, St. Joe doesn’t have much depth. And at the time of this interview with Sacco, St. Joe also did not yet know where it would play its home games.
People are also reading…
“I think they’ll overachieve and do what they have to do,” Sacco said of the Wildcats.
Jimmy Mantuano steps in at quarterback this year. The senior saw time at running back last season.
“Jimmy is a throwback quarterback,” Mantuano said. “He does his best to get it done every day. He’s a great kid to be around. He’s upbeat. He keeps me upbeat.”
Ty Mercado, a 5-foot-7, 140-pound junior, leads the backfield.
“I can’t explain the effort he gives,” Sacco said. “He doesn’t care how big you are. He’s not the fastest. He knows his role. He does his job.”
Junior running backs Javien Swain and Jamaad Davis and sophomore Julius Townsel are all expected to contribute.
“They don’t have a lot of experience,” Sacco said, “but they’re going to make up for it with their work effort.”
Tyler Habersham-Agbemenu, a 6-foot-6, 340-pound junior, will lead the offensive and defensive lines.
“He’s a force to be reckoned with,” Sacco said.
DeMarion McCoy also will contribute on the offensive and defensive lines. He made 43 tackles, 15 for losses, at linebacker last season.
Trevin Delgozzo, an outstanding kicker who hit six field goals last season, also will play guard this season.
Sacco had high praise for senior tight end and linebacker Zach Cruet, a team captain.
“He blocks. He catches well,” Sacco said. “He’s a great leader.”
Swain and senior Richard Chandler lead the defense at linebacker. Swain made 44 tackles last season, and Chandler made 54, 12 of them for losses.
St. Joe faces a tough schedule. Four of its opponents — Winslow Township, Ocean City, Delsea Regional and Cedar Creek — reached South Jersey finals last season. The Wildcats also will face traditional rivals Holy Spirit and St. Augustine Prep.
‘I think it’s an exciting bunch of kids to coach,” Sacco said. “What we have to do is improve every week, stay upbeat. Nobody is picking us. We’re going to try to plug the right pieces in the puzzle and get the kids playing hard. Hopefully, some good things will come their way.” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/its-the-last-roundup-for-paul-sacco-as-st-joseph-coach/article_1a94fdd4-1a52-11ed-86cc-f7f3291ac6a0.html | 2022-08-23T20:00:17 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/its-the-last-roundup-for-paul-sacco-as-st-joseph-coach/article_1a94fdd4-1a52-11ed-86cc-f7f3291ac6a0.html |
What to Know
- Police are searching for a man they say was riding a bike when he collided with a pedestrian who was crossing a Manhattan street -- a crash that proved deadly.
- The preliminary investigation into the incident suggests that an unidentified bicyclist traveling northbound on 8th Avenue when he allegedly struck a 44-year-old man who was crossing West 22nd Street in the crosswalk on Aug. 11.
- EMS transported the pedestrian to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few days later on Aug. 16.
Police are searching for a man they say was riding a bike when he collided with a pedestrian who was crossing a Manhattan street -- a crash that proved deadly.
According to the NYPD, on Aug. 11 at around 6:38 p.m. officers responded to a report of a crash in the area of 8th Avenue and West 22 Street.
The preliminary investigation into the incident suggests that an unidentified bicyclist traveling northbound on 8th Avenue when he allegedly struck a 44-year-old man who was crossing West 22nd Street in the crosswalk.
The pedestrian and cyclist were both throw to the ground due to the impact. However, the unidentified cyclist re-mounted his bicycle and fled the location northbound on 8th Avenue to parts unknown.
EMS transported the pedestrian to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few days later on Aug. 16.
The cyclist is described as a man, about 25 years old, with brown wavy hair, a medium build and a tattoo on his right forearm. Police say he was last seen wearing a yellow shirt, tan shorts and a black bag at the time of the impact.
News
Authorities urge anyone with information to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pedestrian-dies-days-after-cyclist-crashes-into-him-while-crossing-nyc-street-cops/3835790/ | 2022-08-23T20:01:02 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pedestrian-dies-days-after-cyclist-crashes-into-him-while-crossing-nyc-street-cops/3835790/ |
BOISE, Idaho — The Assistance League of Boise (ALB) will provide clothing to nearly 3,400 students enrolled in Ada County schools, with a record $310,000 donation.
Each year, students are selected by Ada County school personnel and bussed to Operation School Bell, in Garden City, to shop for back-to-school necessities.
Over the last 30 years, the organization has provided new clothing to over 70,000 elementary students, ranging in age from kindergarteners to sixth-graders.
ALB has been working with school districts since 1990, giving new clothing to students and making them feel empowered going into the new school year.
Organizers with ALB began stocking the Operation School Bell "store" this June. They have worked rigorously to make sure students are prepared for the upcoming year with clothing they not only deserve, but need.
"Our goal at Operation School Bell is to provide clothing and personal care items to students in order to improve their self-confidence at school," Leslie Anderson, Operations School Bells chairperson said.
Students will be bussed to the store location on Sept. 1, and leave with a large bag of brand-new items that will bring some relief ahead of the academic year. Over the course of 54 days, an average of 60 students will pass through the store with an ALB volunteer to go shopping.
Every student will get two pairs of jeans or sweatpants, a winter coat, a sweatshirt, two t-shirts, six pairs of underwear, six pairs of socks, a personal care kit with toiletries, a new pair of shoes, a book of their choice and gloves and hats when available.
"Even during the height of the pandemic when students could not physically visit our store, we continued to supply students with clothing and serve every student that needed assistance, as identified by their counselors," Anderson said. "This year we are thrilled to have the students visit us in person again at Operation School Bell. It is a blessing to guide them in choosing the clothes they love and see those smiles that we've greatly missed!"
Operation School Bell is largely funded using donations from community members, private contributions, grants and proceeds from the sales at their thrift shop located in Garden City.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/assistance-league-of-boise-to-donate-300000-to-ada-county-students/277-b811a128-407c-4cd5-bf14-951ff126d696 | 2022-08-23T20:01:20 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/assistance-league-of-boise-to-donate-300000-to-ada-county-students/277-b811a128-407c-4cd5-bf14-951ff126d696 |
BLOOMINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint against Fiesta Ranchera for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, alleging the business failed to pay proper wages.
In a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, the labor department alleges that Nicholas and Cynthia Canchola, owners of all three Fiesta Ranchera restaurants in Bloomington, withheld or improperly compensated employees for overtime work from January 2020 until January 2022.
Nicholas Canchola told The Pantagraph that his out-of-state accountant failed to properly update the overtime rate for a handful of his employees.
"He did the old overtime rate," Canchola said. "Somehow he didn’t catch it when he was at the computer."
Representatives for the labor department could not immediately be reached for comment.
The department alleges that the restaurant owners "failed to pay their employees one-and-one-half times their regular rates" for hours worked over 40 in a single work week, as well as improperly calculating servers' tip pay into overtime pay.
Conchola said that the majority of his employees work less than 40 hours a week, and his accountant failed to notice the increase in minimum wage. "When the minimum wage went up, on the overtime, somehow he forgot to click the overtime (rate)," he said. "Because he saw that most of my employees don’t make overtime … he left the old overtime (rate)."
The complaint requests that the defendants cease violating several sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as provide "such other relief as may be necessary and appropriate."
Conchola said that the issue did not last the two-year "investigation period," that he acknowledged the discrepancy and resolved the issue. "It was like four or five employees at (around) $300 each … that was including the penalty."
Watch now: Salvation Army hosts block party in Bloomington
Watch Now: Salvation Army block party on Washington Street
The McLean County Health Department reported another 334 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 58,672 since the pandemic began. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/fiesa-ranchera-faces-federal-labor-complaint/article_264eafcc-2316-11ed-8550-9b2dd1d5694d.html | 2022-08-23T20:07:21 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/fiesa-ranchera-faces-federal-labor-complaint/article_264eafcc-2316-11ed-8550-9b2dd1d5694d.html |
NORMAL — Normal's electoral board took the first steps Monday toward deciding whether a question about overhauling Town Council elections will be placed on the November ballot.
More than 2,000 residents have signed a petition seeking to ask voters whether to replace the council's at-large form of government to one that is district based, similar to the ward system in Bloomington. Before the question is placed on the ballot, however, the electoral board must review a resident's objection to the petition.
"This hearing is a quasijudicial hearing, it's not legislative," said Mayor Chris Koos. "It's about whether the submitted petition is in proper order under the state statutes. It's not about merits of the referendum or whether the town should be divided into wards."
Over 30 residents attended Monday's hearing; most were supporters of the petition, which was filed earlier this month with about 2,200 signatures.
Normal resident Patrick Dullard filed the objection to the petition on Aug. 15. He said the state municipal law for redistricting only applies to villages and not incorporated towns, meaning the petition is invalid.
He also argues that the petition is lacking in signatures to reach the 5% threshold required by the state. It's unclear which signatures Dullard is arguing are not valid.
The signatures were collected by a mix of residents and political figures including town trustee Stan Nord, former mayoral candidate Marc Tiritilli, county board candidate Steve Harsh, former Republican state representative Jim Fisher and Krystle Able, who ran for county board as a Democrat but lost.
The electoral board, comprising Mayor Koos, City Clerk Angie Huonker, and Kevin McCarthy, who could not attend the meeting, recommended individual respondents for both parties.
Dullard will be the respondent representing the objection. Kathy Siracuse was first chosen as a representative for the petition but did not realize that there could not be multiple respondents.
"Somebody has to sign a piece of paper and because I signed it I became the person that they communicate with but in my case, it's not going to be possible," Siracuse said.
It was not clear who Siracuse or others would be recommending as additional respondents but the town's corporation counsel, Brian Day, was present to answer any questions from residents.
The Rev. Rochelle Patterson, pastor of God's Decision Outreach Ministry, said that she came to the meeting to hear more about what was going on with the petition.
"I wanted to ensure that I had a voice in some type of way ... because I know that unless you live in your town or live in a certain neighborhood, you would not really know how that neighborhood is," Patterson said. "So I wear this hood because I'm in the ’hood."
Patterson, who has lived in Normal for 22 years, said she has helped the community with programs such as Operation Hug and has acted as a go-to person whenever someone has an issue or a question that needs to be asked.
"What I do like about this town that I found out, is that we can all work together. It doesn't matter the color of your skin and how much money you have. None of that matters," Patterson said. "What matters is how we can be a part of each other's lives and how we can be effective."
Normal resident Alice Sheetz said although this is her first time taking part in government and she is not familiar with the legal language being used, she wants to be involved to help the town be equally represented by local demographics.
"The referendum is not political, as you can see on some of the signatures that we have obtained there were Democrats and Republicans. This is all about the citizens of Normal so that they can go to someone who can be accountable," Sheetz said. "I am also in the minority. I am an Asian American, I'm a Filipino American to be precise, and I would like to have representation for things that matter to me."
The hearing was recessed until 3 p.m. Aug. 29. The town has until Sept. 1 to file paperwork with the county to get the question on the November ballot. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/normal-electoral-board-moves-forward-with-rules-timeline-for-objection-on-voting-referendum/article_a8381cf2-225e-11ed-8a66-57e2eccffdf0.html | 2022-08-23T20:07:27 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/normal-electoral-board-moves-forward-with-rules-timeline-for-objection-on-voting-referendum/article_a8381cf2-225e-11ed-8a66-57e2eccffdf0.html |
CEDAR FALLS — Klaertje Kiyora Hesselink received the President’s Environmental Youth Award this summer.
The 2022 graduate of Cedar Falls High School developed a public service announcement that encourages the switch from incandescent to LED light bulbs. The radio PSA has reached thousands of listeners in the Cedar Valley and inspired her fellow students to begin planning for a community-wide LED conversion program.
Award recipients are announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
The seniors, now graduates, were recently recognized by Sen. Joni Ernst's office with an award for volunteering with LED Brighter Communities on projects and meeting other requirements.
Three Cedar Falls High School students were recently awarded Congressional Awards. Pictured, from left, are: Harrison Redfern, Klaertje Hesselink and Will Lynch. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/recent-cedar-falls-graduate-wins-2022-president-s-environmental-youth-award/article_87c4f378-cfe8-5e5a-a90a-7ae26ff2862e.html | 2022-08-23T20:12:47 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/recent-cedar-falls-graduate-wins-2022-president-s-environmental-youth-award/article_87c4f378-cfe8-5e5a-a90a-7ae26ff2862e.html |
CEDAR FALLS -- "'A Start in Life': Ruth Suckow's Most Famous Short Story" will be discussed by Dr. Julie Husband, University of Northern Iowa Professor of English, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Hearst Center for the Arts."
The program is free and open to the public.
Ruth Suckow lived and wrote in Cedar Falls in the 1930s and 1940s and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery. H. L. Mencken called her "unquestionably the most remarkable woman writing stories in the Republic." In 1934, Suckow was named "Iowa Woman of the Year," and, in 1978, she was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame.
Anyone wishing to receive a copy of the the short story to read in advance can contact Barbara Lounsberry at lounsberry@gmail.com .
Photos: Annual Meskwaki Powwow
Powwow 1
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Friendship Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER, Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 2
Veterans are honored during the grand entry of the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 3
Meskwaki Nation hand drummers perform during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 4
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 5
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 6
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 7
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 8
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 9
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Friendship Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 10
Visitors watch as Meskwaki tribe members perform the Friendship Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 11
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Swan Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 12
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Friendship Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 13
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 14
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 15
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 16
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
PowWow 17
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 18
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 19
Meskwaki tribe members dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 20
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Friendship Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 21
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Swan Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Powwow 22
Meskwaki tribe members perform the Swan Dance during the annual Meskwaki Powwow at the Meskwaki Powwow grounds near Tama on Saturday.
CHRIS ZOELLER Courier Staff Photographer
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/ruth-suckows-famous-short-story-topic-of-hearst-program-aug-27/article_3d2782c8-2ff6-5d3b-94f0-b66e13154cf1.html | 2022-08-23T20:12:53 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/ruth-suckows-famous-short-story-topic-of-hearst-program-aug-27/article_3d2782c8-2ff6-5d3b-94f0-b66e13154cf1.html |
CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. — The death of a 5-year-old girl last week has been ruled a homicide, police in Maryland announced Tuesday.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma and the manner was ruled a homicide, police said.
County police will investigate as the department investigates all homicides in the town of Capitol Heights. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/police-5-year-old-girls-death-ruled-a-homicide/2022/08/23/4bb41fa6-2319-11ed-a72f-1e7149072fbc_story.html | 2022-08-23T20:13:17 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/police-5-year-old-girls-death-ruled-a-homicide/2022/08/23/4bb41fa6-2319-11ed-a72f-1e7149072fbc_story.html |
A Kenosha Police Department officer is charged with felonies of second-degree sexual assault by a law enforcement officer and misconduct in public officer.
Joshua Timothy Sylvester, 27, was charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court and made his initial appearance Tuesday where Court Commissioner Loren Keating set a $15,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 1.
The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department is investigating the matter to avoid conflicts of interest.
On Aug. 22, a Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department detective was assigned a sexual assault investigation made against a Kenosha Police Department officer. The detective learned that a 34-year-old woman reported she was assaulted during an operating-while-intoxicated investigation by Sylvester on Aug. 18.
Investigating detectives were provided with the reports that Sylvester completed in reference the OWI investigation. Detectives learned that the call was initiated because a traffic crash in which the woman was found breathing but unconscious at the time. When Sylvester arrived on scene, according the complaint, the woman said that she did not know where she was or what had happened but that she was coming from a bar. The woman was then transported to Aurora Medical Center.
People are also reading…
Sylvester's report on the matter stated that while at the hospital the woman was acting up by yelling and swearing at nursing staff as they attempted to treat her. Sylvester's report also states a treating doctor asked if he could draw blood and obtain a CT scan but that the woman refused. As a result she had to stay in the hospital for four hours for observation, according to the complaint.
During this time, the woman alleges Sylvester sexually assaulted her while she was in the emergency room. When she arrived at the hospital, the woman said her clothing was removed and was placed in a hospital gown. While waiting to be released from the emergency department, the woman said Sylvester assaulted her.
She also reported that Sylvester took her cell phone and asked her how to get into it. Sylvester then allegedly sent intimate photos on the woman's phone to himself, according to the complaint.
The woman's allegations are supported by the body camera footage that was located in the Kenosha Police Department’s camera storage system, according to the complaint, even though Sylvester "had turned off the recording function of his body camera at times" with the woman.
Still, investigators were able to obtain full footage of the entire incident.
When interviewed by investigators, Sylvester reportedly admitted to sending photos from the woman's phone to himself. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/kenosha-police-officer-charged-with-sexual-assault-misconduct-in-office/article_53974ec2-2315-11ed-b1fe-9fe8eccd8e44.html | 2022-08-23T20:17:31 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/kenosha-police-officer-charged-with-sexual-assault-misconduct-in-office/article_53974ec2-2315-11ed-b1fe-9fe8eccd8e44.html |
Wisconsin Republican Gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels and Rep. Bryan Steil toured portions of Kenosha there were damaged during the historic Aug. 2020 unrest and then attended a roundtable discussion on the matter unrest Tuesday morning.
Michels and Steil, R-Janesville, were joined by Eric Toney, the Republican candidate for attorney general, and Pete Deates, Kenosha Police Union president, as they toured Downtown Kenosha and surveyed some of the damage caused during the protests that occurred two years ago this week.
The Aug. 23, 2022 police shooting of Jacob Blake set off three days of violent protests that caused millions of dollars of damage to portions of the city's Uptown and Downtown neighborhoods.
After the roughly 30 minute tour near the Kenosha County Courthouse, Michels, Steil and Toney attended a roundtable discussion at the Italian American Society, 2217 52nd St.
They decried Democratic Gov. Tony Ever's response to the days of looting, arson and violence and said they believe local law enforcement officials were ill-served by local Democratic politicians and those in Madison.
Among the local roundtable attendees were County Board Chair Gabe Nudo, County Board Vice Chair Erin Decker, Supervisor Zach Rodriguez, Kenosha County Sheriff candidate Sgt. David Zoerner and City Alderman David Mau. They spoke before a group of a few dozen attendees.
When asked how it felt to tour the damage Tuesday on the two-year anniversary of the unrest, Steil recalled a conversation he said he had with a woman who worked in a Downtown hospital and who called him when she couldn't find a safe way home during the week of violence. He said she called 911 for help but no officers were available at the time.
"That really struck me as to how significant the problem was here," Steil said.
"You look at all the images and you can see it, but when you talk to this woman who's a nurse trying to serve her community, and she felt so scared and unsafe that she couldn't go home to her children, and when she called for help there was no one there to answer the call. Walking with these police officers today and hearing their stories about working 20 hours a day, night after night wishing there were more resources coming in. They stepped up and did all they could. That's the memory that is seared into my mind about what played out."
Instead of working to diffuse the situation before it escalated to violence following the hours after the shooting of Blake, Steil also said he believes Evers offered "inflammatory statements."
"I think what we saw today is why that played out the way that it did," he said. "The first night we saw inflammatory statements by our governor. We saw a lack of resources provided to Kenosha. And we saw what played out and it can never happen again in the state of Wisconsin.
'Emotional scar'
Michels said he felt "the emotional scar" during his tour.
"You can fix buildings, you can rebuild businesses, but the fear that I still heard in peoples' voices today, the concern that they have that this could happen again, because they see no change in Madison. That's what November is all about. November is about change in Madison. November is about change of leadership," Michels said.
Michels said Kenosha residents, businesses owners and law enforcement officials should have confidence "that a governor will stand up and not allow this to happen again."
Michels said those committing violent crimes in Kenosha "knew that the governor would be soft on this situation and then when they saw them getting away with it on the first night they knew that the governor would be soft on the second day and the third day."
"This is not enough. If this is enough, you're disconnected. I accept the statement that he has made, is that he fielded all requests made through official channels. That sounds like something you'd get from the DMV if you failed to initial a form. This is a situation where a leader picks up the phone and calls people on the ground," he said. "It's a situation where you can simply turn on your TV and know that the resources provided were not enough."
In a statement Tuesday afternoon Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who is in a tough reelection fight with Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, said "the people of Kenosha are still suffering."
"On the second year anniversary of the Kenosha riots, the people of Kenosha are still suffering because of Governor Evers and Lieutenant Governor Barnes lack of leadership," the statement reads. "Lives were lost, people were seriously injured, and Kenosha suffered millions of dollars of property damage. The community is still rebuilding."
IN PHOTOS: Steil, Michels tour Downtown Kenosha on anniversary of unrest
At the core of Steen's campaign is the effort to decertify the 2020 election results in Wisconsin, something Donald Trump (who endorsed Steen) has continued calling for.
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, left, and Republican governor candidate Tim Michels, right, tour Downtown on Tuesday on the two-year anniversary of the unrest that took place in August 2020. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/watch-now-gov-candidate-michels-rep-steil-tour-kenosha-attend-discussion-on-2020-unrest/article_11bd55e0-230c-11ed-9466-1fe365ea0276.html | 2022-08-23T20:17:37 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/watch-now-gov-candidate-michels-rep-steil-tour-kenosha-attend-discussion-on-2020-unrest/article_11bd55e0-230c-11ed-9466-1fe365ea0276.html |
More than $37.4 million in Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds will be awarded to various organizations around the state, like Boys and Girls Clubs, to support learning recovery initiatives and programs as educators and students continue to confront the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp HAS announced more than $37.4 million in Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds will be awarded to various organizations around the state to support learning recovery initiatives and programs as educators and students continue to confront the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With input from parents, students, and educators alike from all across Georgia, we worked diligently to get our schools back open and return to in-person learning safely following the pandemic," Kemp said. "We know there is still more work to do when it comes to recovering from pandemic-driven learning loss in our classrooms. That's why I'm thankful to know that these additional funds -- on top of the historic investments we've made in K-12 education -- will both put students first and help set them on a renewed path of learning success."
The new allotment of GEER funds will go to various community and public organizations that directly impact Georgia's students, including:
The Georgia Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs: $12 million -- Following the overwhelming success of the Boys & Girls Club learning recovery efforts, Kemp is allotting a further $12 million toward these efforts. This is on top of the $15 million allotted in GEERs I funding to the Boys & Girls Club last year, which went to helping thousands of students throughout the state return to grade-level achievement standards.
Through that prior investment, the Boys & Girls Clubs provided more than 21,000 students with intensive academic enrichment and tutoring to get back on track after the learning disruptions caused by the pandemic. Among those who participated in the programs, more than 86% improved test scores in math and English language arts; 94% of fifth- to 12th-graders were on grade level for the 2021-22 school year, and 100% of high school seniors applied to trade school, military or postsecondary education institutions.
Georgia Alliance of YMCAs: $2 million -- Kemp is investing these funds in the YMCA's Learning Loss Program through Y facilities across the state, which will facilitate learning recovery in an engaging and student-centric approach that incorporates technology and E-games.
These funds will go toward:
▪ A learning loss startup program for 6 YMCAs, serving approximately 500 children, to better meet community needs;
▪ Learning loss materials for 11 YMCAs to serve approximately 11,000 children. Supplied items will include backpacks, tablets, teaching supplies, workbooks and toolkits;
▪ The Y has developed an E-sports program with an emphasis on learning loss. E-sports allows kids to become part of a team, provides peer-to-peer learning, and develops strong critical thinking skills. The E-Sports learning loss program startup will operate in six YMCAs and serve approximately 300 children.
Georgia Department of Education: $9.1 million -- Special Needs Teaching Resources (an estimated $6.5 million): Students with special needs were particularly impacted by the pandemic's disruptions to schooling, and they often require more services and resources to obtain a quality education. These funds will help teachers and paraprofessionals of special needs learners buy more materials to support improved school performance.
Special Needs Equipment Grant for Georgia's State Schools: $900,000 -- This grant will address equipment needs for Georgia's state schools that service the blind and deaf communities, including the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf, Georgia School for the Deaf, and Georgia Academy for the Blind. These funds will provide support for instructional technology and materials as educators prepare classrooms to better address pandemic-related learning loss in this special needs student population.
Hearing/Vision Loss for Infants and Elementary-aged Students: $1.7 million -- Infants and elementary school students in Georgia receive regular hearing and vision tests in public schools, but during the pandemic, these tests were discontinued. As a result, some of Georgia's students are struggling to keep up academically without the ability to hear or see their teachers and learning materials properly. There has been a 40% decrease in hearing and vision screenings for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries ages 0-18 over the past two years alone. These funds are being allotted for:
▪ Train and equip schools within the Okefenokee and Pioneer Regional Education Service Agencies for mass hearing and vision screenings;
▪ Improve diagnosis of hearing loss among infants who missed hearing and vision screenings during the pandemic.
Department of Early Care and Learning: up to $12 million -- As students and teachers continue to work hard to make up for any learning loss created by the pandemic's disruptions, Kemp is awarding up to $12 million for the Department of Early Care and Learning's (DECAL) Summer Transition Program that will be active in the summer of 2023.
DECAL offers two types of Summer Transition Programs that operate during the months of June and July. Each program offers high-quality instruction with a focus on language, literacy, and math and is designed to reduce the achievement gap. Of the two programs, one is designed specifically for students whose home language is Spanish. These funds will help ensure those just beginning their learning careers will not be impeded by the lingering academic disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Georgia Public Library Service: $2.3 million -- These funds will be allotted in the form of library grants, administered by the Georgia Public Library Service, to replenish the connectivity and remote learning devices in public libraries throughout the state. These funds will further connect students to academic resources that might not otherwise be available as they endeavor to accelerate learning achievement.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/governors-emergency-education-relief-funds-to-address-covid-learning-loss-in-georgia/article_08e1a796-2307-11ed-b81b-c75d598e398a.html | 2022-08-23T20:23:38 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/governors-emergency-education-relief-funds-to-address-covid-learning-loss-in-georgia/article_08e1a796-2307-11ed-b81b-c75d598e398a.html |
PHOENIX — A controversial Arizona law restricting how the public can film police faced its first legal challenge Tuesday with a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The group's Arizona chapter, joined by several Arizona news organizations, filed a petition in U.S. District Court. They argue the law goes against First Amendment freedoms.
“This law is a violation of a vital constitutional right and will severely thwart attempts to build police accountability. It must be struck down before it creates irreparable community harm,” the ACLU wrote in a statement on its blog.
Bystander cellphone videos are largely credited with revealing police misconduct — such as with the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers — and reshaping the conversation around police transparency. But some Arizona lawmakers say legislation is needed to limit people with cameras who deliberately impede officers.
The law, signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in July, makes it illegal to knowingly film police officers 8 feet (2.5 meters) or closer without an officer's permission. An officer can order someone to stop filming even if they are on private property recording with the owner’s consent if an officer finds they’re interfering or deems the area unsafe.
The penalty is a misdemeanor that would likely incur a fine without jail time.
It was crafted by Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh, a former police officer, who argued officers need to be able to do their job without interference. The law still allows people to record police activity from a safe distance, he said.
The original legislation was amended so it applies to certain types of police actions, including the questioning of suspects and encounters involving mental or behavioral health issues.
People who are the direct subject of police interaction are also exempted. They can film as long as they're not being arrested or searched. Someone in a car stopped by police or being questioned can also film the encounter. Kavanagh said these changes were made with input from the ACLU.
In similar cases, six of the nation's dozen U.S. appeals courts have ruled on the side of allowing people to record police without restriction. Less than a week after the Arizona law took effect, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled that a YouTube journalist and blogger's lawsuit against a suburban Denver police department could move forward. The blogger claimed an officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop.
The Phoenix Police Department, which oversees the nation’s fifth-largest city, has been criticized in recent years for its use of force, which disproportionately affects Black and Native American residents.
Reporters and photographers say this law will make it nearly impossible to do their job, especially at massive events like protests. The outlets that are also plaintiffs in the suit include Phoenix Newspapers Inc.; Gray Television; Scripps Media; KPNX-TV; Fox Television Stations; NBCUniversal Media; Arizona Broadcasters Association; States Newsroom; Arizona Newspapers Association; and the National Press Photographers Association.
“We fear that, rather than acting as a shield to ensure ‘officer safety,’ this law will serve as a sword to abridge the ‘clearly established’ First Amendment right to video record police officers performing their official duties in public,” Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, said in a statement.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/aclu-sues-over-arizona-law-limiting-filming-polic/75-ef60b41f-d819-4c7e-b2f4-2683018949cb | 2022-08-23T20:25:43 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/aclu-sues-over-arizona-law-limiting-filming-polic/75-ef60b41f-d819-4c7e-b2f4-2683018949cb |
PHOENIX — A so-called "First Amendment Auditor" who built a following on YouTube by provoking government workers throughout Arizona has been sentenced to five years of probation for unleashing a harassment campaign against the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
Chauncey Hollingberry, 35, pleaded guilty recently to one count of cyberstalking for posting videos on YouTube that targeted one of Mark Brnovich's employees and encouraging his followers to harass them.
The situation began in 2018 after a complaint was made against a video Hollingberry had uploaded involving the AG's office.
By this time, Hollingberry had accumulated several subscribers online for posting videos of himself conducting "audits" at various schools, police departments, and government buildings. The videos typically capture Hollingberry being told to stop filming inside a building, Hollingberry objecting, and him taunting annoyed security guards.
"Are you a snowflake? Don't melt on me snowflake," Hollingberry can be heard saying during a 2019 video recorded inside the Phoenix Veteran Affairs building.
Hollingberry's YouTube account is reflective of a social movement known as "First Amendment Auditing," which typically involves an individual testing their constitutional rights by filming themselves in public spaces. Some consider these rabble-rousers to be political activists, others accuse them of being confrontational agitators.
The videos that landed Hollingberry in federal court began with police body-worn camera footage depicting employees of the AG's office, public records show. The police were responding to a trespassing call involving the defendant.
After the body-camera footage was uploaded to YouTube, a complaint was made to take it down because it contained the private information of employees from the AG's office.
In retaliation, Hollingberry began targeting a specific female employee of the agency by posting videos -- one of them titled "War on the attorney general's office" -- that mentioned the woman by name. Court records show Hollingberry would ask his followers to help look up the woman's home address and send marijuana to her work office.
"I don't care how much money or time it take, I'm taking that bitch down," the defendant was transcribed as saying in one of his videos, according to court records.
Federal prosecutors say Hollingberry additionally sent several emails to AG's Office staff suggesting he had nude photos of the female employee and accusing her of being a drug addict.
The defendant filmed himself filling out public records requests to obtain the woman's work emails and threatened to sue her for filing the privacy complaint with YouTube.
"I do this all [expletive] day and I will [expletive] your life up if you keep doing this," the defendant was transcribed as saying in one of his videos.
As a result of the harassment, the victim had to have a security detail assigned to her and she limited her movements in public out of fear of running into the defendant, court records show.
Criminal charges were filed against Hollingberry in 2020 and he eventually pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking. He was sentenced last week to 60 months of probation after serving 26 months in pretrial detention.
While on probation, Hollingberry is prohibited from contacting the victim and his internet usage will be restricted.
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/first-amendment-auditor-probation-stalking-harassing-mark-brnovich/75-df4d07e3-1718-4c4b-92fe-27113533ad3a | 2022-08-23T20:25:49 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/first-amendment-auditor-probation-stalking-harassing-mark-brnovich/75-df4d07e3-1718-4c4b-92fe-27113533ad3a |
A Fort Worth police officer is under investigation after being accused of family violence late last year.
According to the Fort Worth Police Department, Azle Police obtained an arrest warrant for Fort Worth police officer Nickolas Honea on Monday related to an allegation of family violence dating back to Nov. 30. 2021.
Details of the allegation were not immediately available.
Fort Worth police said when they learned of Honea's involvement last fall the internal affairs unit immediately began an administrative investigation and placed the officer on restricted duty. Honea, FWPD said, was stripped of all police powers during the course of the ongoing criminal and administrative investigations.
Fort Worth police said Honea surrendered at the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. Jail records show Honea was charged with continuous family violence and was being held on a $20,000 bond. It's not clear if Honea has obtained an attorney.
In a statement Tuesday the Fort Worth Police Department said they hold their officers "to a high standard both on and off-duty and do not tolerate criminal misconduct or unethical behavior; therefore, a thorough investigation into the circumstances of these allegations is being conducted."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Honea is a 16-year veteran of the Fort Worth Police, the department said. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/fort-worth-officer-arrested-accused-of-family-violence-in-azle/3055150/ | 2022-08-23T20:27:16 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/fort-worth-officer-arrested-accused-of-family-violence-in-azle/3055150/ |
Skip to content
Main Navigation
Search
Search for:
Local
Weather
Responds
Investigations
Video
Sports
Entertainment
Newsletters
Live TV
Share
Close
Trending
Storm Damage Survey
Record Rainfall
Expired COVID Tests
MISD Cyberattack
Clear the Shelters
Expand
Local
The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/gov-abbott-signs-disaster-declaration-after-monday-rain-and-floods/3055148/ | 2022-08-23T20:27:23 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/gov-abbott-signs-disaster-declaration-after-monday-rain-and-floods/3055148/ |
Ronald McDonald wants you to catch ‘em all.
Fast food chain McDonald’s is launching a new Pokémon Happy Meal.
[TRENDING: Win tickets to watch Artemis 1 rocket launch | Everything you need to know for Florida primary day | Video of man stabbing shark in head in New Smyrna stuns some. Here’s why it’s legal in Florida | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Each meal will include what you need to play a match battle of the Pokémon trading card game. That includes four cards, an instruction sheet, a coin, a spinner and a card box.
If last year’s Pokémon Happy Meal is any indicator, it will be popular with kids and collectors alike.
That’s why McDonald’s is limiting the number of Happy Meals each customer can buy, and they’re only available through mid-September.
That gives you a few weeks to catch ‘em all and avoid overpaying on eBay later.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/23/mcdonalds-brings-back-its-pokemon-happy-meal/ | 2022-08-23T20:30:25 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/23/mcdonalds-brings-back-its-pokemon-happy-meal/ |
MIDLAND, Texas — The Museum of the Southwest will be hosting a photo exhibition of iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo called Frida Kahlo - Her Photos.
Kahlo's personal photo collection will be put on display for the first time in the state of Texas beginning Aug. 15 and ending Nov. 20.
The photo archive was locked in the bathroom of La Casa Azul and was only discovered in 2003. Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, the curator of this exhibition, selected 241 photos by 2009 to create the exhibit.
Frida Kahlo - Her Photos will allow viewers to get to see aspects of Kahlo's life they may have never known about such as her origins, roots and political tendencies.
You can see the exhibit with the purchase of entrance to the museum. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/museum-of-the-southwest-to-host-frida-kahlo-her-photos-exhibit/513-2c431a50-3021-4e8a-a543-46aba686cc1b | 2022-08-23T20:34:37 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/museum-of-the-southwest-to-host-frida-kahlo-her-photos-exhibit/513-2c431a50-3021-4e8a-a543-46aba686cc1b |
ODESSA, Texas — The third installment of Authors @ The Ector is set to be hosted at the Odessa Marriot Hotel and Convention Center. The event has been dubbed Literary Death Match.
Literary Death Match is set to be held on Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m..
Co-created by Adrian Todd Zuniga, Literary Death Match will feature four authors giving a humor-centric performance of one of their writings in a seven-minute span in front of a panel of three judges.
After each pair of readings, the judges will provide their own commentary on the performances before selecting the winning author to move to the finals.
Tickets are already on sale, and can be purchased by clicking or tapping here. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/third-installment-authors-at-the-ector-literary-death-match/513-e9e7e766-914b-4e6e-ae17-20b177caa7c5 | 2022-08-23T20:34:43 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/third-installment-authors-at-the-ector-literary-death-match/513-e9e7e766-914b-4e6e-ae17-20b177caa7c5 |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Monday was filled with flooded roadways and a whole bunch of rain from what the National Weather Service center in Fort Worth is calling a record-breaking rain event in Dallas-Fort Worth. The rain began Sunday night and continued for much of Monday in North Texas.
This rain event appears to be second to a rain event back on September 4-5 in 1932 when the area saw a 9.57″ 24-hour precipitation total. The center says, “We’ve broken several records at DFW Airport following the significant rain event over the past 24 hours. August 21st-22nd, 2022, is now the second wettest 24-hour period, coming in at 9.19″! That’s only 0.38″ shy of the #1 record. Daily records were also broken for 8/21 and 8/22.”
Fort Worth Fire Department also chimed in about the record rain on social media saying, “Record Breaking Rainfall on 8/21-8/22. 2nd greatest 24-hour rainfall in DFW with 9.19″of rain (@NWSFortWorth), 174 high water investigations/rescues, 500 calls for service. This is a day we won’t soon forget. Stay safe, #FortWorth.”
So, what’s going to be happening on Tuesday? NWS Fort Worth said, “The heaviest rainfall has moved well east of our area, but we’ll see scattered showers and a few storms develop across North and Central TX through this aftn. Additional rain could cause flooding in urban areas, otherwise mostly cloudy with highs in the 80s. #txwx#dfwwx“ | https://cw33.com/news/local/dfw-saw-a-record-breaking-rain-event-on-monday-nws-fort-worth-says/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:22 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/dfw-saw-a-record-breaking-rain-event-on-monday-nws-fort-worth-says/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Former Saturday Night Live performer, comedian and US Senator Al Franken will be awarded the Ernie Kovacs Award at this year’s Dallas VideoFest.
Former Sen. Franken is famously one of the two original writers on SNL and one of the show’s first performers, with his involvement dating all the way back to 1975. He has received 15 Emmy nominations and 5 awards for his producing and writing contributions to the show.
He also served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Minnesota.
Dallas VideoFest will celebrate Franken with the award. Following that, officials will screen the 2006 documentary AL FRANKEN: GOD SPOKE.
The festival will be on Sept. 22 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Texas Theatre. Admission is $40. VIP admission is $100 which includes a meet-and-greet reception with Al Franken.
For more information, including how to buy a ticket, click here. | https://cw33.com/news/local/former-us-senator-al-franken-to-be-awarded-ernie-kovacs-award-at-dallas-videofest-in-september/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:28 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/local/former-us-senator-al-franken-to-be-awarded-ernie-kovacs-award-at-dallas-videofest-in-september/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — In one of the cutest announcements possible, the City of Denton says the city’s animal shelter will be offering free pet adoptions on Saturday!
On Twitter, the city said, “Elvis the Pet Mayor wants YOU to know all pet adoptions are FREE this Saturday at @DentonAnimal! No appointment necessary, just show up from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and celebrate Clear the Shelter Day with us!”
The shelter’s Clear the Shelter Day is set for Saturday, August 27! “The shelter includes a vet clinic, care areas, and an adoption center. As a municipal shelter, we must accept all animals surrendered by Denton citizens, regardless of breed or condition. The shelter must also accept animals rescued as stray or abandoned, and those seized for abuse or neglect.” | https://cw33.com/news/local/free-pet-adoptions-at-the-city-of-denton-animal-shelter-on-saturday/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:34 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/local/free-pet-adoptions-at-the-city-of-denton-animal-shelter-on-saturday/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Rain sure was present in North Texas after being absent for quite some time from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday and it caused flooding region-wide.
NWS Fort Worth has shared the estimated rainfall amounts from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning. While it was much needed, the rain sure didn’t resist letting every drop possible fall on the region.
The center shared the estimated rainfall totals from August 21-22’s heavy rain event and the totals shown below are from NWS Fort Worth’s observation sites only:
The weather center said, “Shown in the graphic are some estimated total rainfall amounts from the August 21-22 heavy rain event. Some locations received less than an inch, and some areas of DFW received around 12-15 inches! These totals are from our observation sites only, so your specific location may have received more or less than what is shown. The regional estimated totals are from observation sites that are not maintained by NWS FWD, and are therefore subject to incomplete or erroneous data.” | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-much-rain-did-north-texas-see-from-sunday-to-tuesday-morning/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:41 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-much-rain-did-north-texas-see-from-sunday-to-tuesday-morning/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Legacy West in Plano is celebrating Black businesses for the month of August.
The North Texas shopping center has been hosting Black Business Month from Aug. 4 and will wrap up the month on Aug. 28.
“Celebrate Black Business Month here at Legacy West as we partner with local Black Businesses to host Pop-up shops every Friday-Sunday located in the Starbucks Reserve Breezeway,” as their website states.
Some of the featured vendors include:
- Creteation
- Hair by Akoni
- The Crowned Macaron
- Concrete Dream
- Sparkle Co.
- Pelindaba Lavender
- Design by Society
- Nu Standard
- Studio Nine Seven Two
- Eyllek Skincare
- Cicely’s Jazzy Art
- The Greater Good Apparel Co.
- Jackson The Brand
- Kid’in Around
- Aubri Jaiel Beauty
- House of Dasha
- Shop Mezai
- The Artistry of Essential Oils
- Confetti & Kindness
- And-Made by Hand
- Newton’s Sassy Sauce
- Charmaine Marshall
- Ezra Coffee Co.
- V.I.P. Lippy
- Tuffbaby’s Organic Essentials
- Customiced Designs
For more information, click here. | https://cw33.com/news/local/legacy-west-in-plano-hosting-black-business-month-until-aug-28/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:47 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/local/legacy-west-in-plano-hosting-black-business-month-until-aug-28/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — If you love music, here is the perfect idea to spend the night with somebody else (see what we did there?).
British pop group The 1975 is performing in North Texas this November. They will be performing at the Texas Trust CU Theater in Grand Prairie on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are now on sale, but you may want to get them early. To get your tickets, click here. | https://cw33.com/news/local/the-1975-is-performing-in-north-texas-this-november-here-are-all-the-details/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:53 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/the-1975-is-performing-in-north-texas-this-november-here-are-all-the-details/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — When a Dallas Cowboys legend calls upon the fanbase, they listen. When Cowboys legendary wide receiver Michael Irvin asks for the fanbase’s help, they run to attention.
We’ll see that come statement become true on Thursday at The Star in Frisco as Irvin asks Cowboys Nation to show up and show out to help take over ESPN’s First Take talk show with Stephen A. Smith.
The Cowboys tweeted, “#CowboysNation @michaelirvin88 NEEDS YOU to take over ESPN @FirstTake this Thursday at @thestarinfrisco! Help him show @stephenasmith what #DC4L is all about! The show is free & open to the public! For more information, visit bit.ly/3Arwk7B.”
On August 25, the legend that is Irving will be squaring off against the “biggest Cowboy hater in the world, Stephen A. Smith on First Take.” Later on, in the video posted to Twitter he said, “This is our time, we will show him, this is our house!” | https://cw33.com/news/local/watch-dallas-cowboys-legend-michael-irvin-asking-for-cowboys-nations-help-to-take-over-first-take-on-thursday/ | 2022-08-23T20:35:59 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/local/watch-dallas-cowboys-legend-michael-irvin-asking-for-cowboys-nations-help-to-take-over-first-take-on-thursday/ |
A federal Bureau of Indian Affairs lieutenant has been awarded the Congressional Badge of Bravery for his acts in saving an injured bus driver the day a road washed out on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, killing two other drivers.
Dexter Davis, 31, helped the bus driver escape the waters of the creek that washed away the road in July 2019. He and other officers were called to the site on BIA Road 3, known locally as the Kenel Road, where a 7-inch overnight rain scoured away a culvert and caused the road above to collapse.
Davis before the Tuesday ceremony at the federal courthouse in Bismarck assured his colleagues that he wasn’t a speech maker.
“I want to thank everybody for coming. I’m honored to be here and receive this award,” he said, then after a short pause added, “that’s about it.”
His speech of few words was anticipated by U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who presented the award.
People are also reading…
“This is a man of action,” Hoeven said.
Davis on July 9, 2019, removed his duty gear and entered the swift water carrying ropes and wearing a life vest. He stabilized the bus with a rope, forced his way in, put the life vest on the driver, and the two went back in the water. Other officers on the road pulled them to safety as the road continued to wash away. There were no passengers on the bus.
“There was no time to think,” Davis said. “The only thought that was running through my mind was how we’re going to get the guy off the bus.”
Two people died after driving into the chasm. The bus driver and one other person were injured and had to be rescued by emergency workers.
Christa Monette, Davis’ mother, said she wasn’t surprised to learn he’d been chose for recognition. As a four-year letter winner in three high school sports, Davis was quick on his feet and “knows how to assess a situation,” she said. “He was always good at that."
Davis joined the Marine Corps after high school and was honorably discharged in 2014. He became a tribal police officer on the Turtle Mountain Reservation before joining the BIA. He was stationed on Standing Rock from 2018-20. He’s now a BIA lieutenant on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.
Monette was among several family members and a number of federal officials on hand for the ceremony. She said her son has always been a helper, the big brother who watched over his younger brother and sister.
“I’m honored to be his mother,” she said.
Agency heads nominate officers for the recognition of acts that placed them at risk of injury or death. The Congressional Badge of Bravery is awarded by the U.S. attorney general. Congress enacted the law creating the badge in 2008. Davis is the first North Dakotan to receive the award, according to Cramer's office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hagler presented Davis with the Lifesaving Award from the Standing Rock BIA for his actions during at the washout. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/bia-officer-recognized-with-congressional-bravery-medal/article_76ecc280-2306-11ed-81e7-7bef7fa26dae.html | 2022-08-23T20:37:33 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/bia-officer-recognized-with-congressional-bravery-medal/article_76ecc280-2306-11ed-81e7-7bef7fa26dae.html |
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A journalist who ran an online local news program was shot to death Monday in southern Mexico, making him the 15th media worker killed so far this year nationwide.
Prosecutors in the southern state of Guerrero said Monday that Fredid Román was gunned down in the state capital, Chilpancingo.
Román’s program, “The Reality of Guerrero,” focused heavily on state-level politics. He also wrote a column.
Guerrero is a state where drug gangs, armed vigilantes and other groups regularly clash.
2022 has been one of the deadliest ever for journalists in Mexico, which is now considered the most dangerous country for reporters outside a war zone.
Prosecutors did not immediately offer any further details on the killing of Román, who local media said had previously published a newspaper under the same name and was shot inside his vehicle.
The killing comes just one week after independent journalist Juan Arjón López was found dead in the northern border state of Sonora. Prosecutors said he died from a blow to the head. His body was found in San Luis Rio Colorado, across the border from Yuma, Arizona.
That area has been hit by drug cartel violence in recent years. In March, volunteer searchers found 11 bodies in clandestine burial pits in a stretch of desert near a garbage dump in San Luis.
At the beginning of August, a journalist was among four people killed inside a beer shop in the central Mexico state of Guanajuato.
Authorities said it was unknown whether that attack was related to the journalist’s work, his role as representative of local businesses in the planning of an upcoming fair or something else.
While organized crime is often involved in journalist killings, small town officials or politicians with political or criminal motivations are often suspects as well. Journalists running small news outlets in Mexico’s interior are easy targets.
Jan-Albert Hootsen, the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, wrote after Arjón López’s killing that “although some arrests have been made in earlier cases of press killings this year, an ongoing climate of impunity continues to fuel these attacks.” | https://www.cbs42.com/local/journalist-killed-in-mexico-15th-to-die-so-far-this-year/ | 2022-08-23T20:43:17 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/local/journalist-killed-in-mexico-15th-to-die-so-far-this-year/ |
BERLIN (AP) — A man has died after falling from a peak in the Austrian Alps as he was trying to take a photo of a companion with whom he had reached the summit, police said Tuesday.
The 77-year-old German and his companion, a 63-year-old Spanish woman, hiked to the Greitspitze — a peak about 2,870 meters (9,400 feet) above sea level on the Austrian-Swiss border — on Sunday, police in Tyrol province said.
The man took a picture of the woman next to the cross marking the summit, then stepped back to take a photo from further away, they said in a statement. He lost his balance after apparently failing to notice that he was already close to the edge and fell down a roughly 60-meter (197-foot) rock face, sustaining fatal injuries.
Rescue services were alerted by a witness who was also at the summit at the time. The man’s body was recovered by a police helicopter. | https://www.cbs42.com/local/man-dies-in-fall-as-he-tries-to-takes-photo-on-alpine-summit/ | 2022-08-23T20:43:24 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/local/man-dies-in-fall-as-he-tries-to-takes-photo-on-alpine-summit/ |
A new chapter was starting for Mason City students as the school year began on Tuesday.
"(Students are) very excited about what's to come and trying to figure out what things are. They are trying to shape how they want this year to go," said Lincoln Intermediate Associate Principal Donte Todd. "It's just a lot of enthusiasm within the building and a lot of positive energy."
Local community members and teachers formed welcoming parities for the students as they walked in. Each student was given a round of applause and well wishes.
Streams of students hopped of their school bus and made their way inside with friends.
Some of the adults walked their students up to the school to see them off.
People are also reading…
"I told her to be kind, make new friends, and learn a lot," said Jenna Olson, who was dropping off her daughter Amelia Olson at Lincoln.
Amelia, who is in fifth grade, said she was excited to be at a new building and getting the chance to meet new people. Both Amelia and her mom were thrilled to see what the future holds.
"I just hope that all the kids have a good day today," said Jenna Olson.
Reyna Reindl was dropping off her fifth-grader, Jalen Reindl, to his first day of school at Lincoln. Jalen said he was looking forward to starting a new school year.
"I'm pretty excited and nervous, but mostly pretty excited. He's getting older and it's just emotional for me," said Reyna Reindl.
Most of the students who walked into Lincoln received a phrase from Todd before starting class.
"I have been telling a lot of them 'this is your year,'" said Todd.
At Roosevelt Elementary School, a few tears fell down the cheeks of some younger students, while some had big grins on their face. Adults would repeat motivating mantras to their kids as they walked them in.
A small number of the elementary teachers and administration held the doors open and greeted students.
Many of the elementary students were decked out in their best first day outfits or rocking graphic tees. Arlo Jordahl, who was entering kindergarten, picked out his outfit according to his mother Jen Reuter.
"(I told him) that it's okay to be nervous. Everybody around him is nervous and excited. They all feel the same way and after a couple days all the nerves will be gone and everybody will be happy," said Reuter.
Abby covers education and entertainment for the Globe Gazette. Follow her on Twitter at @MkayAbby. Email her at Abby.Koch@GlobeGazette.com | https://globegazette.com/news/local/this-is-your-year-mason-city-students-head-back-to-class/article_bc835e1a-ae42-5ab1-882a-60616b46c421.html | 2022-08-23T20:44:39 | 0 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/this-is-your-year-mason-city-students-head-back-to-class/article_bc835e1a-ae42-5ab1-882a-60616b46c421.html |
DADE CITY, Fla. — Seven people are suffering from various injuries after a car crash Tuesday afternoon in Dade City.
In a tweet, Pasco Fire Rescue sent out a traffic alert asking drivers to steer clear of U.S. 301 at Beth Street following a two-car crash.
Out of the seven people injured, the agency says two are listed as trauma alerts.
All southbound lanes of U.S. 301 at the intersection of Beth Street were shut down following immediately after the crash.
They have since reopened, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/dade-city-crash-us-301/67-c20e1cf0-5eaf-4d2d-a4e8-4070958e181f | 2022-08-23T20:48:36 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/dade-city-crash-us-301/67-c20e1cf0-5eaf-4d2d-a4e8-4070958e181f |
SARASOTA, Fla. — A driver is now at the hospital after crashing a car into a home's carport Tuesday afternoon in Sarasota.
According to the Sarasota County Fire Department, crews responded to a report of a car crash off of Webber Street. The call came in around 1:25 p.m.
Florida Highway Patrol says an SUV crashed into a carport at the residence, and the driver was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert.
No one was inside the house at the time of the crash, according to FHP.
There's an ongoing investigation into the crash. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/driver-trauma-alert-crash-house-sarasota/67-9a4231a4-b143-4b93-afff-c2656f4fc48c | 2022-08-23T20:48:42 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/driver-trauma-alert-crash-house-sarasota/67-9a4231a4-b143-4b93-afff-c2656f4fc48c |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Birmingham City Council will give the organizing committee of the World Games $5 million to help pay off shortfall from the weeklong event.
Following a lengthy discussion during their regular meeting, the council voted 7-2 to allocate the money from the city’s fund balance reserve.
Earlier this month, World Games CEO Nick Sellers reported that at the conclusion of the games, there was a $14 million deficit reported from the games. Among other reasons, Sellers pointed to a couple of vendors who pulled out at the last minute and less of a turnout due to a spike in COVID-19 cases during the games.
Originally budgeted at $75 million, the committee was ultimately able to hold the World Games in the city for $65 million. However, their revenue fell short $14 million.
Before the council voted on the matter, Sellers added that the group learned a lot through their work with the World Games that will be beneficial when the city hosts other large-scale events, such as the World Police and Fire Games in 2025.
“There was no playbook for doing this out of a global pandemic, but now we have one and it will make us better,” Sellers said.
Sellers added that when it comes to revenue, the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles was the only Olympic Games to actually make a profit.
District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott said that while she enjoyed the World Games and thought everyone had done a good job putting it together, she felt disrespected that the council was left in the dark about the shortfall.
“I guess my biggest concern is the fact that the city council, unless people knew something I didn’t know, were not informed of any problems until it was over,” Abbott said. “We didn’t receive any information and the thing that came to my mind is what did you know and when did you know it.”
Sellers responded that while the committee was confident it could get its operational costs underbudget, they did not foresee how few people both regionally and internationally would not be attending the games.
As Councilor Hunter Williams began to ask about what the group’s path forward would be if the council did not give them the $5 million, the council called a nearly one-hour executive session to discussion “pending litigation” before returning to discuss the matter further.
Some council members expressed their fears on what would happen if the group could not close the deficit and were forced to file for bankruptcy. Williams brought up how hard it was for the city to apply for grants and bonds following Jefferson County’s 2011 bankruptcy, which was the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time.
“That bankruptcy has cost this region not only economic development, but the community in exponential ways,” Williams said.
Prior to the council’s decision, Council President Wardine Alexander said it was important to consider every relationship as either being successful or an opportunity to learn.
“I want us to think hard on this opportunity to live and learn and make this truly an opportunity for a learning lesson as other events like this come before us,” Alexander said.
Councilor Clinton Woods was initially ready to bring a motion for the council to wait a week before making a decision. Ultimately, he chose not to do that, instead allowing for the city’s legal department rewrite parameters of the offer to stipulate additional commitments by the group to the council if they offered the money.
Following an hour-long recess to amend the wording of the motion, the council passed it 7-2. Williams and Woods were the two dissenting votes against the motion.
Mayor Randall Woodfin released the following statement after the council’s vote:
“The World Games 2022 was a success on many levels. We expect a strong economic impact when numbers are finalized. There are multiple economic development leads based on The World Games. You can’t put a dollar amount on the boost to civic pride and positive coverage of Birmingham worldwide due to the games.
“Let me stress, Birmingham benefitted greatly from this event. Taking the next steps to leverage the data and expertise from the Birmingham Organizing Committee while ensuring the Games and vendors close out on a positive note is critical to maintaining the momentum we have experienced in Birmingham.
“This event changed the funding model for The World Games. Previous events relied almost entirely on government funding. The 2022 World Games relied heavily on private funding. Funding by sponsors at the Birmingham games outpaced all other host cities combined.
“As a region, I urge our partners to join us.
“How we address the current challenges will determine how Birmingham performs on the regional, national and international stage for years to come.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-city-council-gives-5-million-to-world-games-committee-to-make-up-losses/ | 2022-08-23T20:48:45 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-city-council-gives-5-million-to-world-games-committee-to-make-up-losses/ |
Yeager not seeking reelection to WFISD School Board
Wichita Falls ISD At-large Trustee Elizabeth Yeager will not seek reelection to the School Board on Nov. 8.
Yeager declined to release a statement Tuesday about why she will not be on the ballot, saying her reasons for not running were personal.
More:Hood announces run for at-large seat on WFISD School Board
The last day to apply for a place on the ballot for WFISD School Board elections was Monday. Besides the seat currently held by Yeager, seats for districts 1, 3 and 5 are in the Nov. 8 election.
WFISD received an application for a place on the Nov. 8 ballot at the end of the day Monday, but local officials could not accept it because it was incomplete, according to the district.
The Times Record News requested a copy of the incomplete application on Tuesday.
More:Camp running for WFISD School Board
Since Yeager is bowing out of the race for the at-large seat, businessman Mark Hood and longtime educator Sandy Camp will face off for it.
Place 1 Trustee Bob Payton, a long-serving School Board member, has announced that he is not seeking reelection. WFISD parent and volunteer Susan Grisel is the sole candidate for Payton's seat.
More:Bursey running for reelection to School Board
Place 3 Trustee Mark Lukert, longtime educator and leadership mentor and trainer, is running unopposed to keep his seat for a second term.
Banker Jim Johnson is challenging Place 5 Trustee Tom Bursey, an Air Force retiree and volunteer, for his seat on the School Board. Bursey has been serving since July 2016.
More:Johnson files to run for Place 5 on WFISD School Board
Yeager is serving her second term as an at-large trustee. She has helped steer the district through bond issues to pay for building the two new high schools and recreational facilities to go with them, as well as the difficulties of the pandemic.
She has also been one of seven trustees at the helm during recent turbulent times marked by WFISD's financial challenges, enrollment loss and changes in top administration.
More:Payton not seeking reelection
Yeager defeated Grisel in November 2018 to win a second term, garnering 10,081 votes to Grisel's 7,117, according to a previous TRN story.
The School Board is made up of five trustees representing single-member districts and two at-large trustees. A map of the recently redrawn single-member districts is available at wfisd.net.
More:Grisel seeking seat on WFISD School Board
Here are some important dates for voters in Nov. 8 elections:
- The last day to register to vote in Nov. 8 elections is Oct. 9.
- Early voting in person will be from Oct. 24 through Nov. 4.
- The last day to apply for a ballot by mail is Oct. 28. The application must be received by then.
- Election Day is Nov. 8. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/at-large-wfisd-trustee-elizabeth-yeager-not-seeking-reelection/65414507007/ | 2022-08-23T20:51:09 | 0 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/at-large-wfisd-trustee-elizabeth-yeager-not-seeking-reelection/65414507007/ |
Cold Creamery opening in Wichita Falls
A treat awaits Wichita Falls ice cream fans at Cold Creamery.
The new rolled ice cream shop offers handcrafted creations in waffle tacos or in bowls to tempt everyone from small children to dedicated foodies.
Whether it's the toasted marshmallow goodness of smores, blue monster's combo of cookie tastiness or fruity pebbles' strawberry dream, there is something to suit your sweet tooth.
Co-owners Mike and Jacylin Odom, who met while serving in the Army National Guard, will work during the grand opening from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The shop at 2708 Southwest Parkway, Suite 168a, is closed Mondays and open noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The really awesome thing with smores is she actually toasts the marshmallow with a torch," Mike said. "You can really taste the toasted marshmallow in it."
His favorite is fruity pebbles. It does, indeed, feature the cereal Fruity Pebbles, whipped cream, strawberry syrup and strawberry Pocky with rolled ice cream.
Also known as Thai fried ice cream, rolled ice cream is created by pouring a liquid base onto a frozen pan that can go to temperatures as low as -20 degrees. It quickly freezes as it's mixed up.
"After it's all mixed, we flatten it out on the pan with our spatulas and give that a chance to freeze back up," Mike said.. "Then you take those spatulas, and you make rolls."
Cold Creamery will also offer milkshakes and floats. It's not lost on the Odoms that they're opening an ice cream place just as the summer's punishing temperatures have moderated.
But they hope that means people will be more likely to get out try them since they won't have to slog through extreme heat.
Mike and Jacylin have wanted to open a business in Wichita Falls a long time.
They finally figured out what kind of business after visiting Sweet Rolled Tacos in Belton, Texas. But they opted to found their own independently-owned shop instead of becoming part of a franchise.
They also wanted to work close to home, giving them more family time with son Jaxon, 8, and daughter Olivia, 5. The couple used to have jobs involving being away from home.
He was a truck driver, and she was a travel nurse for a couple of years. Her contracts during the pandemic took her to New York, Galveston, Arizona and other places.
“It was okay for the first year because the kids were virtual," Jacylin, who grew up in Bowie, said. "They didn't have to go to school."
When Mike, who is from Grand Prairie, was laid off from his job, they decided he could be a stay-at-home dad.
"I would travel with the kids," he said. "We drove all the way to New York to see her. The kids got to cross states."
They have lived in the Wichita Falls area almost 12 years and like the size and pace of the city. When their relationship became more serious, Mike moved to Wichita Falls to be closer to Jacylin while she attended college at Midwestern State University.
The Odoms are enthusiastic about being small business owners.
For one thing, it will give them the flexibility to have their kids at the shop in a space created just for them when they're not hanging out with one of their three aunts in Wichita Falls.
“There's a lot of hard work on both ends. She worked very hard with her travel nursing to get the money together to do something like this," Mike said. "I'm just the one who put it together for her.”
The couple did most of the fun, inviting decor themselves in Cold Creamery. Mike built small square tables for seating, for instance. Jacylin created the flower wall, just right for selfies, and playful wall art that says, "This is how we roll."
It will be the two of them running the shop for awhile, but they plan to eventually hire help and increase their offerings. The couple hopes later in the fall to feature cake pops, waffles on a stick and bubble waffles on the menu.
“We want to grow more than what we just are here," Mike said. "This is just kind of what we feel is our starting point.” | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/cold-creamery-ice-cream-shop-opens-in-wichita-falls/65411721007/ | 2022-08-23T20:51:15 | 1 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/cold-creamery-ice-cream-shop-opens-in-wichita-falls/65411721007/ |
Judy Diane McClimans
BUHL - Judy Diane McClimans was the fourth daughter born to Ace and Betty Lou (Haney) Harmon on October 28, 1955 in Monterey Park, CA . When Judy was very young, the family moved to Jackpot, NV and Judy attended first grade in the one-room schoolhouse in Contact, NV. When the school was built in Jackpot the next year, Judy and a handful of others were the first students to attend that school. Just before Judy's 8th grade year, her family moved to Buhl, ID where Judy was later a cheerleader/mascot at Buhl HS.
Coming from a musical family, Judy and her sisters worked up songs with harmonies while doing household chores and liked to surprise their parents with them when they got home from work. The family used car rides back and forth to grandma and grandpa Haney's house in Buhl to sing together, and Ace was known, on occasion, to show off his little girls' talents by having them sing in public. These musical roots ran deep and music was a hallmark of her life. For many years she sang in church and was part of the Singing Christmas Tree and the Magic Valley Jubilee.
When Judy was twenty, she met Lyle, who became the love of her life for the next forty-six years. Together they raised a family, traveled, camped, and enjoyed life with one another. Judy was a loving mother to her children, Jenna, Steve, and Matthew as well as her son-in-law, Mike and daughter-in-law, Stacy - always serving, advising, and spending time with them. She adored her four granddaughters, Grace, Allie, Stevie, and Maeve, and they adored her as well. They loved her silly side, her great sense of humor, and her attentiveness to them.
One of the gifts that Judy shared with others was hospitality. Judy loved to host events in her home for family and friends, and her home was often the gathering place for holidays and celebrations. One of her favorite sayings was "Everyone deserves a plate", and she loved serving people on beautiful dishes around a lovely table. These gatherings were full of laughter, good food, and music.
No doubt, Judy would say that the most important aspect of her life was her faith in Jesus. She was a beautiful woman of God who loved the Lord and others. Her family takes comfort in her faithfulness, believing she is in Heaven with her Savior and her loved ones who passed before her, especially her son, Steve, and her parents.
Judy is survived by her husband, Lyle, her children Jenna (Mike) Bailey, Matthew (Stacy) McClimans, her granddaughters, her sisters Sharyn Poggi, Kris Stone, and Carol Chriswell, her half-sister, Sandee Egbert, as well as many nieces and nephews whom she loved very much.
Services will be Saturday, August 27, 2022 at 3:00 at Rosenau's Funeral Home. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/judy-diane-mcclimans/article_ce19cea0-100c-530c-89ab-0db062ad8f9d.html | 2022-08-23T20:51:15 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/judy-diane-mcclimans/article_ce19cea0-100c-530c-89ab-0db062ad8f9d.html |
HHH will work around hotel construction
Visitors to the 2022 Hotter’ N Hell bicycle race will notice a big change from previous years. A large hotel is going up in a parking lot of the MPEC complex, epicenter of activity for much of the race.
“We lost 754 parking spots,” said Chip Filer, executive director of the event.
Filer said the reserved parking and the set up for law enforcement has been rearranged and a shuttle will go between the Bridwell Ag Center the Clymer Exhibit Hall to accommodate the lost space.
“We’re going to hire two tram systems to go out to parking lots around the city to pick folks up and bring them back to the exhibit hall,” Filer said.
He said event leaders have changed the two criterium courses.
“We moved the Sunday Criterium downtown on Ohio Avenue last year. That worked out just perfect, so that’s going back there again,” Filer said. “And we’ve moved the Friday night Criterium course over to Seventh, Eighth and Ninth streets.”
He said that move will leave Fifth and Sixth streets open for access to the downtown area on Friday, a perennial problem for the race. Signs will be in place to provide directions to people.
Filer said when construction of the hotel and conference center is done, about 450 previous parking spots will be gone permanently, but the new facilities will benefit the race, which traditionally has filled up all hotel rooms in town. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/hhh-will-work-around-hotel-construction/65409607007/ | 2022-08-23T20:51:21 | 1 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/hhh-will-work-around-hotel-construction/65409607007/ |
Limited amount of Monkeypox vaccines available at health district
The Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District announced Tuesday that they now have a limited number of Jynneos Monkeypox vaccines available.
The highest priority for vaccines will be for people who have confirmed or possible exposure to the virus.
Vaccine availability may be expanded to people 18 years of age or older who have a sexual partner who was diagnosed with Monkeypox within the last 14 days, or people who have multiple sexual partners in an area that is confirmed to have Monkeypox.
There has been one case of Monkeypox reported in the Wichita County so far.
In 2022, there has been 15,433 confirmed Monkeypox cases in the United States with 1,283 of those cases in Texas.
The Jynneos Monkeypox vaccine is licensed by the United States Food and Drug Administration for prevention of the infection.
If you have been exposed to the Monkeypox virus, please call the Immunization Clinic before entering the building. Their phone number is 940-761-6841.
For more information about Monkeypox, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/index.html. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/limited-amount-of-monkeypox-vaccines-available-at-health-district/65415771007/ | 2022-08-23T20:51:27 | 0 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/limited-amount-of-monkeypox-vaccines-available-at-health-district/65415771007/ |
Rehoboth beach swimmers, take note: High bacteria levels prompt another water advisory
A recreational water advisory is in place for a large section of Rehoboth Beach as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The affected stretch of beach is from Pennsylvania Avenue to Stockley Street, which extends north of the Henlopen Hotel and south several blocks past Funland.
DNREC issued the advisory after reporting high levels of an indicator bacteria known as Enterococci. These bacteria most likely come from wildlife feeding near the surf − such as shorebirds, marine mammals or other warm-blooded animals − or increased rainfall and waves, according to DNREC.
The beaches remain open during water advisories, but the state department advises swimmers to be cautious and know that there could be potentially harmful bacteria in the water.
DNREC routinely tests recreational waters during the summer, and the water advisory will be lifted when the indicator bacteria levels lower within the "recreational water limits."
PREVIOUS ADVISORY:Water advisory lifted late Friday issued for parts of Rehoboth, Bethany, Dewey Beach
This is the fifth recreational water advisory so far this summer. To compare, last summer saw five total water advisories between May 17 and Sept. 1, according to DNREC data.
Emily Lytle covers Sussex County from the inland towns to the beaches, with a focus on health-related issues. Got a story she should tell? Contact her at elytle@delmarvanow.com or 302-332-0370. Follow her on Twitter at @emily3lytle. | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/delaware-beaches-water-advisory-rehoboth-beach-bacteria-levels-dnrec-funland/65416645007/ | 2022-08-23T20:55:11 | 1 | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/23/delaware-beaches-water-advisory-rehoboth-beach-bacteria-levels-dnrec-funland/65416645007/ |
MOOSIC, Pa. — An 18-year-old faces aggravated assault charges after a deadly crash in Lackawanna County.
Police say Nolan Devine, of Moosic, passed other vehicles illegally on Springbrook Avenue in Moosic and collided head-on with another vehicle last week.
Officials say 69-year-old John Errigo, of Old Forge, died in the crash.
Want to see what was in news in 1983? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/18-year-old-charged-after-deadly-crash-nolan-devine-john-errigo-moosic-old-forge-wnep/523-6cdbcaef-8199-429e-b923-89190999cba8 | 2022-08-23T20:56:14 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/18-year-old-charged-after-deadly-crash-nolan-devine-john-errigo-moosic-old-forge-wnep/523-6cdbcaef-8199-429e-b923-89190999cba8 |
SCRANTON, Pa. — A business is in shambles after a vehicle crashed into it Monday night.
It happened around 11:30 p.m. at the tanning salon Bronze on Green Ridge Street in Scranton.
Police say two cars were involved.
One car pulled onto Green Ridge Street and was hit by a car coming down the street, and from the impact, that car also crashed into the front of the salon.
There were injuries but no word on the extent and no word if any charges will be filed in Scranton.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/car-crashes-into-business-in-scranton-lackawanna-county-bronze-green-ridge-street-tanning-salon/523-378bbbbf-05d6-47ae-b2e2-88be6183b7c6 | 2022-08-23T20:56:15 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/car-crashes-into-business-in-scranton-lackawanna-county-bronze-green-ridge-street-tanning-salon/523-378bbbbf-05d6-47ae-b2e2-88be6183b7c6 |
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Lycoming County District Attorney says a string of recent shootings in Williamsport is gang-related.
In the last six days, there have been three shootings across the city.
The DA says there are two gangs consisting of juveniles, and the violence is a result of gunfire between the groups.
The DA is asking for cooperation from parents and guardians of the juveniles involved as the investigation into last week's homicide continues.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/da-williamsport-shooting-gang-related-lycoming-county-district-attorney-police-gunfire-homicide-investigation/523-074be7f9-4c6c-4653-a990-791d6038a356 | 2022-08-23T20:56:17 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/da-williamsport-shooting-gang-related-lycoming-county-district-attorney-police-gunfire-homicide-investigation/523-074be7f9-4c6c-4653-a990-791d6038a356 |
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — There is a lot of water in the Mosquito Valley Reservoir — 21 million gallons, to be exact. This is one of two watersheds that belong to the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority.
"This is the lower reservoir where all of our sources can come and be mixed before they go to our treatment plant," explained Wendy Walter, a Williamsport Municipal Water Authority staff member.
"It's a big geographic area, so there's a lot of water draining into the system," said Edie Gair, DEP geologist.
It's been a dry summer in much of our area. While we are not in a drought, water can be a concern in some places.
"Some areas at different times in a summer like this would need to do some kind of a conservation measure as well where they ask residents to reduce the amount of water or reduce the types of activities that require water," said Kurtis Wagner, a specialist with the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association.
That is not the case here.
"We do have plenty of water, and people shouldn't be worried about conserving at this point," Walter said.
Officials say the facility has an abundant water supply thanks to good planning over the years.
"We have a very flexible supply that we can take from our different sources when we have to. During dry conditions, we try to maintain those levels so that we don't have to call for conservation," Walter added.
The Williamsport Municipal Water Authority provides drinking water to around 51,000 people — about half of Lycoming County.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/dry-summer-not-a-problem-for-williamsport-water-municipal-authority-environmental-protection-dep-rural-water-association-mosquito-valley-reservoir/523-fb409a54-7730-4626-8c35-61709d2643d6 | 2022-08-23T20:56:18 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/dry-summer-not-a-problem-for-williamsport-water-municipal-authority-environmental-protection-dep-rural-water-association-mosquito-valley-reservoir/523-fb409a54-7730-4626-8c35-61709d2643d6 |
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Little League umpires from all over the world are making some big calls on the national stage at the Little League World Series. But, umpires tell Newswatch 16 that this is not just an experience for the Little Leaguers.
"It is an incredible experience," Phil Levesque said. "I have been umpiring Little League baseball for over 30 years, and for it to culminate with this, it is incredibly rewarding."
"It is a huge deal for umpires," Bill Vikara said. "We love interacting with the families and kids. It's the pinnacle of what we do as youth umpires."
Phil Levesque started umpiring at the age of 13 in his home state of Maine. But Levesque is no stranger to central Pennsylvania. He graduated from Lycoming College in 2000.
"It has been great actually for my crew and for the umpires here because I get to take them around to some of my old spots and visit places. The community support has been great since I have known so many people here over the last few decades."
During his time at Lycoming College, Levesque taught at umpiring school in South Williamsport.
"I had the opportunity to teach at umpire school while I was at Lycoming because I had been umpiring for five or six years, so the folks here were kind enough to let me come over as a kid and teach some things. When teaching it, you get to learn it a lot better."
For Levesque and the other umpires, working the Little League World Series is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they do it as volunteers.
"We get paid in other ways," Vikara said. "We get paid with the smiles, the cheers, and everything else that we see on the field, so it is pretty great."
"It has been a great opportunity to make new friends, and that is really one of the best parts of Little League," Levesque added. "It is not just the baseball; it is the relationships and camaraderie that you build over the course of the years that has kept me at it for more than three decades." | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/lycoming-college-grad-returns-as-little-league-umpire-world-series-lamade-volunteer-stadium-south-williamsport/523-00b46c2c-e987-4250-99ad-587cb8e88617 | 2022-08-23T20:56:18 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/lycoming-college-grad-returns-as-little-league-umpire-world-series-lamade-volunteer-stadium-south-williamsport/523-00b46c2c-e987-4250-99ad-587cb8e88617 |
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — At the Little League World Series on Tuesday, Lamade Stadium was a sea of blue and red, and it was obvious who most of the fans were cheering for — the Pennsylvania team from Hollidaysburg.
"Everywhere we walk, somebody stops us and says, 'We are rooting for you,'" said Sandy McGough. "We probably see people we haven't seen in years at these games."
In this year's Little League World Series, The Mid-Atlantic region team is from Hollidaysburg, which is right outside Altoona. It's about a two-hour drive from South Williamsport, and lots of fans made the trip.
"It's like it's still not happening. I go back to work for a few days, and it's like snap back to reality, and then I come back here, and there's so much support from the community. It's crazy," Megan Dively said.
Mid-Atlantic fans feel like they have the home team advantage.
"We were in Connecticut, and we weren't, so here you see all these Mid-Atlantic t-shirts and everybody supporting us, and it's nice to be closer to home."
Speaking of those shirts – they sold out within the first few days of the tournament.
"It's absolutely incredible. You never would have thought Hollidaysburg would see this many people here. Just to come here and see this many people would come and support you here," Kyla Hatch said.
Mid-Atlantic fans say that no matter the game's outcome, they are excited to be here.
"Oh, it's beyond exciting," McGough said. "We come from a huge baseball family, so this is the ultimate." | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/this-is-the-ultimate-fans-of-pennsylvania-little-leaguers-enjoying-the-spotlight-world-series-lamade-volunteer-stadium-south-williamsport/523-ca6a51fa-7d86-48df-a10b-c34de37ed665 | 2022-08-23T20:56:34 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/this-is-the-ultimate-fans-of-pennsylvania-little-leaguers-enjoying-the-spotlight-world-series-lamade-volunteer-stadium-south-williamsport/523-ca6a51fa-7d86-48df-a10b-c34de37ed665 |
DELAWARE WATER GAP, Pa. — Some people looking to enjoy the trails throughout the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area are getting an unpleasant surprise when they return to their vehicles — broken windows and missing belongings.
"It's a shame that people are breaking into people's cars. It can really ruin someone's day and then make them feel very uncomfortable," said Nick Leraris from Kunkletown.
Park rangers believe they have a photo of the man who is breaking into vehicles at various park trailheads and stealing items, and making fraudulent purchases amounting to tens of thousands of dollars.
So far, eight vehicles have been targeted.
"We've been seeing it up and down from one end of the park to the other. We are also seeing that when credit cards are stolen, they are getting almost immediately used at retail stores in the Stroudsburg area all the way up to the Matamoras area, and so it's a wide swath," said Park Ranger Kathleen Sandt, a spokesperson for the National Park Service.
The Park Service says these are crimes of opportunity. The person is smashing the window, grabbing the belongings, and then taking off, leaving you to have to pick up all the pieces.
"People leaving things in their vehicles in plain sight," Sandt said. "You can look in the window and see there's a purse on the seat, other valuables on the seat."
The Park Service encourages people to bring their belongings with them on the trail, hide them somewhere in their vehicle, or just leave them at home.
Park rangers say they are doing everything they can to make sure this doesn't happen again.
"We roll through the parking lot and try to do it a couple of times during the weekend. Being the fact that they're moving all over the park, it's kind of hard to tell where their next targets going to be, so we have in some places, locations throughout the park, we've installed cameras. We're working with other agencies as well to get their help," said Law Enforcement Ranger Liz Winslow.
Anyone with information on these crimes or the man in this photo is asked to contact the National Park Service's investigative services branch.
To report a tip or share information:
CALL or TEXT the Tip Line: 888-653-0009
ONLINE: go.nps.gov/SubmitATip
EMAIL: nps_isb@nps.gov
EMERGENCY: Dial 9-1-1
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/park-service-investigating-thefts-inside-delaware-water-gap-national-recreation-area-vehicle-break-ins/523-538690bf-f0b2-42b3-a16d-33b282b01c38 | 2022-08-23T20:56:40 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/park-service-investigating-thefts-inside-delaware-water-gap-national-recreation-area-vehicle-break-ins/523-538690bf-f0b2-42b3-a16d-33b282b01c38 |
Adoptions of kittens and adolescent cats are resuming at Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control following a feline panleukopenia outbreak, officials said Tuesday.
The adoptions come after an observation period, testing and increased disinfecting at the shelter. Intake of cats and kittens is still being diverted until Sept. 1 until medical staff determine it's safe to resume normal intake operations.
Shelter staff have been testing and observe cats for symptoms and deep cleaning the shelter since the panleukopenia outbreak was announced Aug. 18. Cats and kittens currently available for adoption have not displayed symptoms and/or have tested negative for the deadly virus, officials said.
A small population of cats will remain unavailable for adoption the remainder of this week as they complete an observation period. Potential adopters can view all available cats and kittens. Adopters are still encouraged to monitor their new pets once at home as a precaution.
Feline panleukopenia, also known as the feline distemper or feline parvo, is a highly contagious virus that mostly affects unvaccinated kittens. Symptoms include fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea and death.
It is spread when a cat or kitten comes into contact with infected feces, vomit, nasal discharge and other bodily excretions. It does not affect people or other types of animals such as dogs.
Intake staff will continue to work with citizens needing to surrender cats and kittens to divert the intake of more animals to prevent further infections until Sept. 1. Citizens will be offered options to get cats vaccinated at the shelter then keep them at their home until the shelter is ready and able to take the cats or kittens.
Citizens bringing in stray cats or kittens will be offered the same service, vaccinations then the option to hold them in their homes to prevent further spread of the disease. FWACC is an open-access shelter, so if citizens do not wish to take the cats or kittens home, the shelter will take them in.
All community cats will continue to be vaccinated against feline panleukopenia before being returned to their colonies for the foreseeable future.
Feline panleukopenia is a preventable disease. Kittens can receive the first round of vaccines to prevent the deadly disease at 4 to 6 weeks and should receive boosters as recommended by a veterinarian. Adult cats should also be vaccinated to prevent illness.
The shelter is seeking the community's immediate help with donations to the Angel Fund to help cover the cost of the additional vaccines needed for community cats and tests to ensure the cats at the shelter are healthy and able to be adopted.
Those wishing to donate can help by either purchasing needed supplies via the shelter’s Amazon Wishlist or making monetary donations through the shelter’s website, https://www.cityoffortwayne.org/animal-care-and-control.html. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/fort-wayne-animal-care-control-resumes-cat-kitten-adoptions/article_66569172-22fb-11ed-aebe-6fa835ffede2.html | 2022-08-23T21:06:55 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/fort-wayne-animal-care-control-resumes-cat-kitten-adoptions/article_66569172-22fb-11ed-aebe-6fa835ffede2.html |
A 16-year-old girl who was shot around July 5 and not found for about 12 hours has died after more than a month.
Lebrisha Miangel Hobbs is the 18th homicide victim in Allen County this year.
Hobbs died Tuesday, according to an Allen County Coroner’s Office press release. The cause of death is a gunshot wound to the head, and the office officially ruled the manner of death homicide.
The 16-year-old girl accused of shooting her, Elaysha N. Underwood, was already charged as an adult with felony attempted murder and with a sentence enhancement of using a gun to commit the crime. Online court records show she was charged today with murder.
Underwood faced 20 to 40 years in prison for the attempted murder charge and another 20 years with the enhancement. Should the charges be upgraded to murder, she’ll face 45 to 65 years in prison and 20 for the enhancement.
Underwood told police she’d had a sexual relationship with Hobbs.
Police found Hobbs about 11 a.m. July 6 at 512 Piccadilly Circle near South Hanna and Lafayette streets. She went to the hospital and was in critical condition.
Records from Hobbs' phone revealed a conversation on Instagram between Hobbs and Underwood between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. the night before. Underwood told Hobbs she was going to her house. After arriving, Underwood became increasingly upset because Hobbs wouldn't let her in, court records said.
A female witness who was with Hobbs told police Hobbs went outside. The witness told police she heard a gunshot and assumed it was Underwood "shooting her gun." | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/girl-shot-july-6-dies-is-18th-homicide-victim-this-year-in-allen-county/article_9b79d454-2314-11ed-bab0-27d8df7c4586.html | 2022-08-23T21:07:01 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/girl-shot-july-6-dies-is-18th-homicide-victim-this-year-in-allen-county/article_9b79d454-2314-11ed-bab0-27d8df7c4586.html |
Two northeast Indiana universities today announced multi-millions in donations toward new facilities.
Huntington University announced a fundraising campaign started in 2014 yielded more than $56.6 million, $22 million more than expected, and the largest amount in the university's history.
Trine University is receiving a single $5 million donation toward its $40-million Fort Wayne campus being developed with Parkview Health.
Huntington's Step Forward campaign was designed to mark its 125th year this year. The university is starting an upcoming fund drive, Step Forward Foresters, officials announced.
Trine's donation from Rick and Vicki James adds to $2.5 million received earlier this month.
Get The Journal Gazette's free Schools & Education newsletter for coverage including board meetings, legislation, editorials and programs.
Since the fall of 2014, Huntington University has invested $7.9 million in capital projects, including:
- New occupational therapy labs ($75,000);
- Renovations at HU Arizona to create space for an entire OTD program location ($125,000);
- The reconfiguration of the Nursing Lab in Dowden Science Hall ($300,000);
- The Forest Glen renovations and new turf project ($1.3 million);
- The reimagination of the student center (known as the HUB) ($4.3 million);
- The construction of the Welcome Center as part of the Merillat Centre for the Arts ($800,000);
- The Ware Plant Science Production Facility addition to Dowden Science Hall ($500,000);
- The construction of the Don Strauss Animal Science Education Center ($1.2 million);
- The relocation and renovation of the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) ($100,000);
- The renovation of the RichLyn Library conference room and additional student study and seating locations throughout the Library ($100,000);
- The reconfiguration and upgrades to the RichLyn Library classroom ($50,000);
- The complete overhaul of the PLEX locker rooms ($100,000);
- Upgrades to the King Stadium press box and soccer field improvements ($100,000);
- The relocation and reconfiguration of the Institute for Christian Thought and Practice ($100,000);
- Restroom and student lounge updates for Loew-Brenn Hall ($100,000);
- The creation of the esports competition lab ($35,000);
- New campus sidewalks, fire pits and concrete replacement ($150,000);
- The expansion and upgrades to the Lake Sno-Tip piers ($75,000);
- The updates to the sand volleyball court and construction of the pavilion ($50,000);
- Roush Hall student lounge updates ($25,000);
- New campus signage ($100,000);
- The UB Launch renovation ($100,000). | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/schools/huntington-trine-announce-millions-in-donations/article_e2e8604a-22ff-11ed-98f0-6bd9abe79963.html | 2022-08-23T21:07:07 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/schools/huntington-trine-announce-millions-in-donations/article_e2e8604a-22ff-11ed-98f0-6bd9abe79963.html |
Rudy Garza is on track to be the next president and CEO of CPS Energy.
The city-owned utility’s board voted Tuesday to suspend its outside search for a new leader and begin negotiations with Garza, who has been serving as interim president and CEO since October.
Garza, 49, is set to become the utility’s permanent leader sometime this fall. He took over amid internal tumult 10 months ago and has since guided CPS through numerous challenges.
“The need for consistent leadership when you’re going through a transition or a transformation is very important,” said trustee Janie Gonzalez, who led the CEO search. “I want to work with a leader who is accessible to the community. Someone who’s willing to put in long hours to make themselves accessible, and really taking on some tough things we have to address.”
A key step to finalizing the hire is negotiating Garza’s compensation package.
He is currently paid $415,000 annually with no bonus. Garza has said previously CPS will need to increase the salary of whomever is selected.
Though CPS explored candidates beyond Garza for the CEO job, Gonzalez declined to say how far negotiations went with other applicants.
“There was a lot of information that was presented to us,” she said.
Earlier this year, Garza won approval for a rate increase from City Council, which gave CPS an injection of badly-needed cash. He also pushed forward a new version of the utility’s energy efficiency and conservation program as it faced criticism from some CPS trustees and council members who called to pause the initiative.
And Garza — a former city manager in Corpus Christi with a keen sense of public relations — has become a fixture at city meetings. He’s sought to work more closely with city officials after relations had chilled under his predecessor, Paula Gold-Williams. Garza meets with City Manager Erik Walsh every couple of weeks — meetings that didn’t take place when Gold-Williams was CEO.
“This is probably one of the most difficult periods of time that this organization has ever faced,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said, referring to the transition to cleaner power sources, a worker shortages that CPS has contended with, and extreme heat this summer that has driven utility bills to record highs.
“What I’ve seen is not only someone who has responded to those challenges, but also has helped to make sure that the city organization is a partner in that process.”
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates. | https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/Rudy-Garza-will-be-CPS-Energy-s-next-CEO-and-17392680.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:27 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/Rudy-Garza-will-be-CPS-Energy-s-next-CEO-and-17392680.php |
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
The opening statements Tuesday by opposing attorneys in the public corruption trial of former Bexar County Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela were dramatically different in tone, a contrast in legal strategies brought to the highly publicized case.
Vela is charged with two felony counts of tampering with evidence in connection with an Easter Sunday incident in 2018 in a West Side park, where she allegedly coerced a family into giving her hundreds of dollars in cash to reserve a pavilion in the park that they had already paid for.
Prosecutor Dawn McCraw told the jury the case was about “public corruption and a cover-up” but then spent some 30 minutes laying out a mountain of detail: constable cash logs, “security agreement” records, search warrant affidavits and subpoenas that left jurors and spectators looking befuddled.
Vela’s defense attorney, Jason Goss, a former Bexar County prosecutor himself, told the jury the case was about government entrapment, colluding cops and prosecutors, political recriminations and, just maybe, a simple misunderstanding about county park procedures.
“They baited the trap. They camouflaged it,” Goss said, pointing to the prosecution table. “They laid the trap but they didn’t get what they wanted.”
He then went on to suggest that McCraw was so friendly with the lead Texas Ranger investigator on the case that it might have appeared to be a conflict of interest to some and that seamy county politics permeated the case.
Testimony in the trial is continuing this afternoon in 226th District Court with the prosecution’s first witness, Texas Ranger investigator Bradley Freeman. The trial is expected to last into September.
bselcraig@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Constable-trial-park-shakedown-17392623.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:28 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Constable-trial-park-shakedown-17392623.php |
The San Antonio Regional Flood Planning Group submitted its draft regional flood plan proposal to the Texas Water Development Board this week, beginning the process to improve risk management, strengthen infrastructure and enhance emergency response and awareness for flooding in the San Antonio river basin.
The Texas Water Development Board, the state office in charge of water issues, assigned regional groups throughout Texas to provide a comprehensive flood plan based on the region’s river basin. In San Antonio’s region, various planning group members from a variety of parties — such as the City of San Antonio, The Nature Conservancy, Bandera River Authority and Ground Water District and the San Antonio River Authority — have met for discussion 18 times since 2020.
This draft plan will be followed by a public hearing at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 at the River Authority’s main offices. The final plan is due to the development board in January.
FLOOD INSURANCE: S.A.'s floodplain management efforts exceed the minimum federal requirements
Regional flood plans are a combination of existing and future flood condition risk, which is determined by hazard, exposure and vulnerability. After a thorough risk analysis and collecting information on natural and constructed infrastructure, the team found that 19,100 structures, 753 miles of roadway, 2,733 roadway crossings and 79.75 square miles of agricultural land are at a potential risk of flooding from a storm event that has a 1 percent chance of occurring.
That first number, however, is expected to increase in the future to nearly 27,000 structures in the region. Because of these risks, the flood planning group found that all flood mitigation projects, evaluation and strategies would cost just over $1 billion for 214 projects.
Once the Texas Water Development Board receives the final approval from all the regions, a final State Flood Plan will be adopted in 2024.
Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. elena.bruess@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Draft-of-future-flood-plan-for-San-Antonio-17392377.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:28 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Draft-of-future-flood-plan-for-San-Antonio-17392377.php |
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
In the heat of summer, construction worker Roberto Puente Garcia will drink about 10 or 15 bottles of water during a shift. Sometimes, the 71-year-old, along with his two co-workers, will finish a 40-pack between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Other times, it’s even more.
Today, Garcia has polished off four bottles by 11 a.m. He crushes the empties and sticks them in his work harness, a belt that weighs nearly 30 pounds if totally packed with construction gear. It’s 94 degrees, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. The high will be 103 degrees, but it most likely will feel even hotter.
He and co-worker Rigo Gotierrez are cementing a patio behind a customer’s home. The work is steady, and the men are meticulously careful, jamming wooden poles into the ground and drilling support beams before they even pour the liquid concrete. Garcia has worked for Cowboy Foundation and Construction since 1998, Gotierrez for 17 years. They are used to the labor and the sun and all the bottles of water, but this summer, the men know something is different.
It’s the heat.
As temperatures reached historic highs this summer and drought stretched for months, professions such as construction, farming and other outdoor labor worked in the unrelenting heat with little reprieve. Summer heat, while not uncommon in San Antonio, is worsening, according to climate experts, and long periods of high temperatures are on the horizon. With the increase in development and construction, even more workers may suffer the brutal weather.
This summer could be a hint of what is to come for the city and the health of its outdoor workers, and for some, this means heat and life in San Antonio is a required debate. For Garcia and Gotierrez, however, it’s a daily consideration. Questions like how much water to bring, what to wear and whether there will be shade run through their minds even after years of labor. No matter what, the heat is always there.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s hot,” Gotierrez said. “We’re going to work unless it rains.”
Heat on the horizon
Earlier this year, District 7 council member Ana Sandoval proposed that the city finally have a discussion on heat and construction jobs. She cited both San Antonio’s booming development and the future of the climate crisis as reasons to take action now. Record-high temperatures are not a one-time thing, Sandoval said. They will stretch on, past summer and into fall.
“We do have tremendously responsible employers and contractors here in San Antonio, but they haven’t dealt with this kind of heat we’re seeing now,” she said. “I think it’s important to come up with some recommendations and best practices for the city.”
The council member wants to see a meeting with construction workers and managers, occupational health experts and others to determine how the city can adapt. Ultimately, the final decision would be implemented for summers to come and — with luck — would decrease the number of heat illnesses and painful working conditions.
This summer, temperatures reached a heat index of 110 to 112 degrees on some days, which heated up sidewalks and other impervious cover and kept temperatures high throughout the night. For nearly 50 straight days, the heat topped 100 degrees. Now, in late August, the temperatures finally have dipped into the 90s. Fall, however, is still a while away.
Evelyn Gutierrez, administrative director of emergency services at Texas Vista Medical Center, said the team has seen a fair share of patients suffering from heat-related illnesses this summer from outdoor labor. People come into the unit feeling faint, suffering headaches or sweating profusely from heat exhaustion. In more extreme examples, people experience confusion or deliriousness, or they completely stop sweating, which means the patient has had a heat stroke.
In one case, a man working construction was brought in by his co-workers, drenched in sweat and passed out. During a break, the man took a nap in a more enclosed area of the construction site, and his team found him there an hour later, slumped over and confused.
“He was pretty much in a hot box,” Gutierrez said. “When we finally got to him, it was like he had jumped into the river to go swimming.”
In other circumstances, people will come to the hospital with dizziness or dehydration. Many people who are in the heat all day might not even notice the slow dip toward heat exhaustion because they feel like they are used to the heat, or take it lightly by drinking less water or working past breaks. Workers might think they’re acclimated to the heat after working in it every day, but that doesn’t mean your body isn’t in danger.
“Anatomically and psychologically, everybody’s body reacts the same way,” she said. “There is no such thing as an increased tolerance to heat when your body’s system reacts to it. You may think because you’re from the South, you’ll be better off. There’s no such thing.”
The employer’s role
In some cases, however, employers don’t provide workers everything they need to combat the heat. Sandoval said she’s heard of workers who won’t drink water because there aren’t bathrooms on-site, or there isn’t enough water for the workers to drink during a shift. For some workers, there aren’t many breaks, or there will be repercussions for taking a day off because of the heat.
Mike Lozano, the owner of Cowboy Foundation and Construction, said he does what he can to warn the workers every day about the heat. He’ll send them a message in the morning before the shift and understands when a worker needs to take a day off because of it.
Seniors or those with pre-existing conditions can be more susceptible to heat-related illnesses. The higher the temperature, the higher the risk.
For Lozano, he said it’d be nice if the city would help workers with proper clothing, such as long-sleeved, moisture-wicking shirts, hats and cooling clothes, and water. He already provides his workers clothing for extreme temperatures, he said, but because of the roughness of the construction work, it’d be nice if workers could get a discount for more clothing or the city could provide incentives to businesses to provide heat-resilient gear. Normally, construction workers wear face masks, hats, long-sleeved shirts and pants to shield themselves from the sun.
“A lot of my workers have been doing this for a long time,” Lozano said. “But this heat, it’s different. It’s not something that any of us are used to.”
Construction workers hired by the city get cooling clothes and face masks when they are out in the field, such as with the city’s five-year rolling infrastructure maintenance program to repair streets. The Public Works Department, which is in charge of construction projects like this, has safety guidelines for extreme weather, whether it be heat or cold, and it provides a relief station, water and energy drinks for the crew.
The construction manager tells the team to be watchful of one another and to report it if anyone passes out or looks ill.
“When you’re out there working, there’s not a lot of difference between 95 and 105. It’s hot, so you take precautions because you know the heat is coming,” said Paul Berry, public information officer for Public Works. “We’ll talk to our supervisors and say, ‘Hey, make sure your guys know to take care of themselves, take breaks, hydrate and make sure everything is set up.’”
Still, city workers have experienced heat-related illnesses on the job. Joel Elizondo, a worker with the infrastructure maintenance team, said a few years back someone on the job collapsed because of the heat. They raced back to him and helped him under a tree with some water to cool off. And this summer has felt even hotter, Elizondo said. The team just has to drink a lot of water and find shade when they can.
“All of this falls under climate adaptation,” Sandoval said. “Climate action is reducing greenhouse gasses or taking (those gasses) out of the atmosphere, but adaptation is how we function in a world that has got this unpredictable climate. To some extent, we can predict we’re going to have very hot summers, right? That’s not great news, but that’s something that’s predictable here. So, how do we prepare for that?”
For Garcia and Gotierrez, the decisions hit closer to home. Running out of water bottles, working at a site without shade, forgetting their hat or sunglasses can be everything for them. At this concrete job, at least there’s a back porch to sit and eat lunch.
Garcia’s wife packed him tacos today. She cooks at night because they have only one window unit at home and the kitchen is unbearable during the day this summer.
“There’s nothing we can do about the heat,” Garcia said. “So why worry? It’s our job.”
Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. elena.bruess@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/High-temperature-construction-workers-17392318.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:30 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/High-temperature-construction-workers-17392318.php |
BOISE — Boise Mayor Lauren McLean released an emailed statement Tuesday morning explaining the rationale behind a canceled reservation for far-right activist and gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy.
The statement said that a reservation at Cassia Park for Sept. 10 used a name other than Bundy’s.
“Upon discovering that this park reservation was made under a different name, the city canceled the reservation,” McLean’s statement reads. “I believe Mr. Bundy intentionally misrepresented the event on the reservation to skirt the special events process and requirements we have in place.”
The statement goes on to say, “Bundy and his associates have made a habit of harassing city employees, personally targeting doctors, and threatening judges and so many others in our community and consistently disregard established ways of ensuring public safety. The people of Boise have had enough of his threats and intimidation, and do not wish to welcome someone with Mr. Bundy’s track record into the heart of our community.”
The city defines a special event as “a gathering that requires extensive planning,” according to the city’s website. A permit is required for such events if they are expected to draw more than 1,000 people, or if they require “extraordinary resources including but not limited to alcohol compliance, security, emergency services, and road closures/traffic control.”
Applications for such an event have to be made at least 45 days prior to the event, the site says. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/boise-mayor-says-proposed-ammon-bundy-event-skirted-special-events-process/article_e4d0b296-230d-11ed-bcf7-033e8b372311.html | 2022-08-23T21:08:33 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/boise-mayor-says-proposed-ammon-bundy-event-skirted-special-events-process/article_e4d0b296-230d-11ed-bcf7-033e8b372311.html |
Three new fires started Monday afternoon in the Boise area. Fire crews were able to make progress on suppressing the fires despite hot and dry conditions in the region.
Here is a rundown of the fires and their status according to a news release from the Bureau of Land Management:
The Doubletapp Fire is located southeast of Boise, near Interstate 84 and Simco Road, covering approximately 710 acres. It is burned in dry grass and brush but active fire progression has stopped. Boise City Fire, Orchard Fire and Mountain Home Rural Fire Protection Association helped suppress the fire and had it contained by 8 p.m. Monday night. Fire crews continue to monitor the area. The fire was estimated to be controlled by 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to Chad Cline of the Bureau of Land Management.
The Bonny Fire is located at the intersection of Upper Blacks Creek Road and East Blacks Creek, south of Bonneville Point. The fire covered approximately 4 acres of land, burning in dry brush. Fire crews continue to clean up hotspots, but the fire is contained and was estimated to be controlled by 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The Neal Fire is located north of East Blacks Creek Road, northeast of Bonneville Point and covers 25 acres. Fire crews continue to secure the fire perimeter and estimated to have the fire controlled by noon, Tuesday, according to Cline.
The cause of each of these fires are under investigation. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/crews-working-to-control-new-fires-in-boise-area/article_48f3945c-2307-11ed-b10d-2fa10a9491f0.html | 2022-08-23T21:08:39 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/crews-working-to-control-new-fires-in-boise-area/article_48f3945c-2307-11ed-b10d-2fa10a9491f0.html |
New Braunfels Utilities customers with concerns about increasing electric bills can talk with utility officials at forums Wednesday.
NBU’s first forum will run from 9 until 11 a.m., and the second will be from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will be at the New Braunfels Civic and Convention Center on 375 S. Castel Ave. and will also be livestreamed at nbutexas.com/electric-forum.
Each forum will kick off with a presentation from NBU Chief Executive Officer Ian Taylor and then have breakout sessions where attendees can talk to NBU representatives about things like getting help with bills, conservation resources and more.
The average NBU customer is projected to pay about $240 on their electricity this month, Taylor told residents at an Aug. 8 council meeting.
Some customers are saying online that their bills have recently gone up $100 or more.
The NBU website says that rising bills are due to this summer’s heat wave, a 200 percent increase in natural gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that led to Texas exporting more natural gas than ever, and the fact that Texans are still paying for the increased cost of power during Winter Storm Uri.
The utility has waived its late fees through September, is offering flexible payment plans and extension for those who need it, and is not disconnecting people’s power due to non-payment, Taylor said. The New Braunfels Food Bank also manages a NBU Utility Bill Assistance Program.
Customers who have flooded recent public meetings with concerns about their electric bills have complained about the Power Cost Recovery Adjustment or PCRA charge that is shown on their bills. NBU’s website says that this is the portion of a customer’s bill that reflects the cost to buy energy from Texas electric grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Recently, the PCRA charge has been higher than the cost of power consumed for NBU customers. A petition on change.org to stop or reduce the PCRA charge has garnered 3,690 signatures.
megan.rodriguez@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/New-Braunfels-Texas-electric-rates-17392418.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:46 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/New-Braunfels-Texas-electric-rates-17392418.php |
A former Houston-area teacher was sentenced to only 60 days in jail earlier this month after she pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a teenage student for almost three years.
A TikTok video by truecrimecam detailing the case has received more than 1.1 million views.
The video's narrator begins the video by describing how 32-year-old Marka Bodine, who was a teacher in Tomball, Texas, began an inappropriate relationship with her former student, who was only 12 at the time.
Bodine asked for the student's number in 2018 so that they could play Fortnite. Soon after the boy turned 13, she began sexually abusing him and, at one point, moved to the same apartment complex as the victim, according to testimony during the woman's sentencing trial that the video shares. The abuse continued even after the family moved 45 minutes away, the video continues..
She continued to sexually abuse the child until right before his 16th birthday and was arrested in April 2021 after the student told authorities about the abuse.
After Bodine ended the relationship, the teen testified that he started to see the relationship was inappropriate.
On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio city leaders address crime in North Side forum
"Marka tried to silence him by saying he would never go to college and that he would go to jail, which is obviously not true," the TikToker says in the video.
Bodine was ordered to serve 60 days in jail and 10 years on probation. She will also have to register as a sex offender and write an apology letter to the victim, according to the Houston Chronicle. If Bodine successfully completes deferred adjudication, she will have no conviction on her record, the newspaper reported.
"Something like that should never be removed from her record," one person wrote in response to the TikTok video.
The punishment will be delayed one year to prevent separating Bodine from her now three-month-old child (the victim is not the father).
Bodine pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14 in May. The prosecution recommended 20 years in prison.
Bodine had no prior criminal history in Harris County and worked for Tomball Intermediate School for seven years, according to the Chronicle.
shepard.price@express-news.net | @shepardgprice | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/TikTok-Video-Marka-Bodine-sentence-17392025.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:53 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/TikTok-Video-Marka-Bodine-sentence-17392025.php |
A window at the Bexar County Democratic Party headquarters on the Northwest Side was shot out, officials said.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said the party’s chairman, Monica Ramirez Alcantara, notified him of the incident Tuesday and he dispatched a deputy to take a report at the headquarters in the 1800 block of Fredericksburg Road.
The sheriff said it was too early to comment on whether any suspects have been identified. Whoever is involved will be held accountable, he said.
“I'll be going over there to touch base … to find out, what do we have by way of evidence,” the sheriff said. “Certainly just want them to know that they're there safe and sound in their office.”
jbeltran@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Window-shot-Bexar-Democratic-Party-17393043.php | 2022-08-23T21:08:59 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Window-shot-Bexar-Democratic-Party-17393043.php |
The recent rain in San Antonio has caused many roads to become slick.
Wet pavement contributes to 1.2 million traffic accidents every year, according to AAA. And rain contributed to more than 44,000 crashes statewide last year, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
"The first rain after a long dry period can lead to added slipperiness on the roadways," Keith White, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels, said. "This happens a lot in California, where summers are always dry. A lot of stuff, including oil and grease from people's cars gradually collects over several months, and that leads to roads being more slippery."
On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio-area drought as seen from space
The amount of traffic on Texas roads, especially interstates, gradually leads to a buildup of substances that increase the slickness of roads during 6 to 8 weeks of rain-free weather, as South Central Texas recently experienced.
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, rain adds an extra level of danger when driving. Here are some of the agency's tips for driving in wet conditions.
- Make sure your tires have enough air pressure and tread, and check your windshield wipers to see if they need to be replaced. Unless necessary, avoid driving in heavy thunderstorms.
- Keep your headlights on, as rain makes it harder to see other drivers.
- Driving speeds should be reduced and following distances increased to 3 seconds on wet roads.
- If caught in a skid, ease off the gas pedal until traction is regained and turn the wheel in the direction of the skid.
- Go easy on the brake pedal and avoid sharp turns.
- According to NWS, just 6 inches of standing water is enough to hit the bottom of most vehicles, while 12 inches is enough to make a vehicle float. It is never safe to drive into flood waters.
shepard.price@express-news.net | @shepardgprice | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/safety-tips-driving-rain-San-Antonio-17391871.php | 2022-08-23T21:09:06 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/safety-tips-driving-rain-San-Antonio-17391871.php |
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Things To Do: Aug. 23 to Aug. 29
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival
Where: Litchfield
When: Thursday - Sunday
Where: Presque Isle
When: Thursday - Sunday
Meet Virginia Oliver
Where: Rockland Public Library
When: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
Automobilia and Collectibles Auction
Where: Owls Head Transportation Museum
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27
Fort Knox Paranormal Fair
Where: Prospect
When: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
36th Bowman Field Flying Club Fly-In
Where: Livermore Falls
When: Saturday and Sunday
Limestone Maine Renaissance Faire
Where: Albert Michaud Memorial Park
When: Saturday and Sunday
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28
Dam Jam Revival with The Mallett Brothers Band
Where: Denmark Arts Center
When: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207/207-maine-events/maine-things-to-do-crown-of-maine-balloon-fest-fort-knox-paranormal-fair-limestone-renaissance-fair-entertainment/97-fc592cb5-80ec-438c-9a9c-d264ef0f0836 | 2022-08-23T21:10:29 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207/207-maine-events/maine-things-to-do-crown-of-maine-balloon-fest-fort-knox-paranormal-fair-limestone-renaissance-fair-entertainment/97-fc592cb5-80ec-438c-9a9c-d264ef0f0836 |
The $2.5 million malicious prosecution and defamation lawsuit against Richmond-based Sugar Shack founder and CEO Ian Kelley is set to go to trial next week.
Originally filed in 2019 by Dustin Smith, who co-owned the chain’s now-shuttered Florida locations, the suit claims that Kelley maliciously prosecuted Smith and defamed his reputation by falsely having him arrested for embezzlement. The suit also includes Kelley's uncle, Michael Pinson.
The defendants sought to have the case dropped in June, but a judge dismissed that motion and the suit is now set for a three-day jury trial Aug. 29-31.
People are also reading…
The suit follows years of trouble and shuttered restaurants for the embattled Sugar Shack owner.
Last year, Kelley settled a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint with former employee Virginia Williams out of court. The suit charged that Kelley promoted Williams, then an 18-year-old part-time employee, to the position of store manager and used that promotion as leverage to start a sexual relationship with her.
The current lawsuit stems from a rift between the business partners that centered on Smith’s felony arrest in January 2019 after Kelley alleged he’d taken $5,000 from the company. Chesterfield County prosecutors withdrew the charge in March 2019.
Smith seeks damages for “pain and suffering, severe emotional distress and trauma, fear, apprehension, anguish, stress and anxiety, public ridicule, humiliation, embarrassment, indignity, damage to his reputation, lost wages and profits, costs, attorney’s fees and other out-of pocket expenses,” the suit said.
The lawsuit, filed by Charlottesville attorney Steven Biss, also seeks $350,000 in punitive damages, per defendant, and $20,000 in attorney’s fees. | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sugar-shack-2-5-million-defamation-suit-headed-to-trial/article_f57e8794-0f1a-56b6-bf8a-377cab54eb9d.html | 2022-08-23T21:11:29 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sugar-shack-2-5-million-defamation-suit-headed-to-trial/article_f57e8794-0f1a-56b6-bf8a-377cab54eb9d.html |
Man flees Warren police in stolen vehicle and injures officer during pursuit
An Okemos man faces over 40 years in felony charges after police say he hit a Warren police car, injuring the officer who was in pursuit.
Police say Samuel Wilbur, 31, of Okemos, fled from Warren officers when they were dispatched to 21432 Mac Arthur Blvd. at around 4 p.m. Saturday regarding a driver in a blue Jeep possibly having a medical emergency.
When officers arrived, police say Wilbur appeared to be under the influence of drugs and refused to exit the Jeep. Instead he fled through Warren neighborhood streets, later traveling westbound on Eight Mile Road.
During the chase, police say he struck the passenger side of the officer's car causing damage to both vehicles and injuring the officer from the impact.
Officers say the pursuit lasted about 20 minutes before Wilbur then crashed the Jeep in a residential area in Detroit and was taken into custody with no injuries.
Police say the Jeep was stolen from Lansing, and Wilbur was in possession of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl.
On Monday, the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office issued charges including assault with intent to do great bodily harm, fleeing a police officer, stealing a vehicle, resisting arrest and drug possession. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2022/08/23/man-flees-warren-police-and-injures-officer-during-pursuit/7875530001/ | 2022-08-23T21:27:24 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2022/08/23/man-flees-warren-police-and-injures-officer-during-pursuit/7875530001/ |
Tucked into the corner of an East Baltimore impound lot teeming with discarded lampposts and street signs, four Confederate-linked monuments have sat for five years since they were removed from public parks across the city in the middle of the night.
The large-scale exhibit, called Monuments, will open in the fall of 2023 and places contemporary art created by renowned Black artists alongside decommissioned Confederate statues removed from American cities after the 2015 killing of churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., by a white supremacist and the deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville in 2017.
Eric Holcomb, division chief of Baltimore’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, said city officials are excited about the exhibit planned by nonprofit LAXART curators Hamza Walker and Kara Walker, and Museum of Contemporary Art at Los Angeles curator Bennett Simpson.
“The interpretation of these monuments by this museum is actually going to be healthy and beneficial for the whole country, and it’s going to move us forward in terms of our conversation about race and conversations about history,” Holcomb said. “We believe the monuments are going in really good hands with really smart people.”
The city’s law office still needs to approve a loan agreement with the museum before the statues, some weighing seven to 14 tons, are loaded onto a truck and shipped to California. Baltimore is not paying any transportation costs, Holcomb said.
Then-Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) in 2017 ordered the four statues, which were installed from 1887 to 1948, to be taken down from their pedestals across the city “quickly and quietly,” she said at the time. They included the Lee-Jackson Monument located in Wyman Park Dell, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Mount Royal Avenue, the Confederate Women’s Monument on West University Parkway, and the Roger B. Taney Monument in Mount Vernon.
Taney was not a member of the Confederacy but the chief justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery in the lead-up to the Civil War.
The message the statues conveyed to Baltimore residents about slavery and the Civil War was wrong, Holcomb said, and the statues also posed a safety risk to people who threatened to pull them down.
The threat to remove statues of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in Charlottesville resulted in the Unite the Right rally in which a counterprotester was killed when a man drove into a crowd.
Five years after the Baltimore statues’ removal, the monuments in the city-owned lot off Pulaski Highway in the Pulaski Industrial Area are secured in a metal fence and Jersey barrier enclosure. An art conservator inspected the statues in 2021 and determined that each was in good condition, according to Monica Lewis, a city spokesperson.
The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, though, is still marked by red paint thrown on by protesters before it was removed.
Holcomb estimated that the city received 24 offers to use the monuments. The Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation asked each person or group how they planned to interpret the statues and most wanted to use them to positively convey the Lost Cause myth that the Civil War was an honorable fight over states’ rights rather than a war over slavery, and that Jackson and Lee were great soldiers, Holcomb said.
“I think we’re starting to understand that Lee and Jackson were actually traitors,” he said.
The Maryland division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers that opposed the removal of the statues in 2017, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation decided that LAXART was the best alternative use for the statues because it would help change the message of the monuments through artists’ interactions with them. The exhibit will feature educational talks, performances, activities and workshops by art historians, politicians, artists and activists. The contemporary art on display will feature existing and newly created paintings, sculptures, photographs and videos.
“A frequent argument against removing monuments from public space claims that doing so is ‘erasing history’; we intend to do quite the opposite by examining these objects in their entirety with historical depth and nuance,” Walker wrote in a description of the upcoming exhibit.
The exhibit will last a year or more. After that, it is unclear where the monuments will go.
Perhaps the exhibit will become successful and travel the country, Holcomb said, or maybe the bronze statues will be melted and recast to celebrate legendary Baltimoreans, as Mayor Brandon Scott proposed when he was a city council member. But for now, the Maryland Historical Trust, which has an easement on three of the four monuments, does not want the statues destroyed, Holcomb said.
Scott did not respond to a request for comment via a spokesperson.
— Baltimore Sun | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/five-years-after-removal-confederate-statues-may-go-to-la/2022/08/23/722fd330-1f6a-11ed-8d30-84c409e82eb3_story.html | 2022-08-23T21:31:21 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/five-years-after-removal-confederate-statues-may-go-to-la/2022/08/23/722fd330-1f6a-11ed-8d30-84c409e82eb3_story.html |
Construction on the last section of the Greensboro Urban Loop is a bit ahead of schedule and could open early next year, according to Aaron Moody, a spokesman for the N.C. Department of Transportation. Construction on the section from Lawndale Drive to U.S. 29 began in April 2018 and carries a $137.3 million price tag. "People are probably starting to see that it's looking like it's coming together," Moody said Tuesday. The section will complete a 49-mile beltway around the city for a total cost of roughly $504 million.
alert top story
WATCH NOW: Construction on the Greensboro Urban Loop
Related to this story
Drone footage shows ongoing construction on the final section of this beltway around the city. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/watch-now-construction-on-the-greensboro-urban-loop/article_c964be72-231b-11ed-9e20-9356610d1600.html | 2022-08-23T21:32:26 | 0 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/watch-now-construction-on-the-greensboro-urban-loop/article_c964be72-231b-11ed-9e20-9356610d1600.html |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)- Providence Academy has reached its maximum capacity of enrollment at 650 students with around 500 students on the waitlist.
“Five years ago, we started seeing an increase in enrollment with our increase in activities, athletics, arts – those types of things. Then COVID happened, and we weren’t quite sure what was going to happen with the education market,” said Head of School Ben Holland. “For the first time in 60-80 years, the education market got disrupted and people started seeing behind the curtains of what was happening in their child’s classroom.”
Fifty-five students were added this school year, and families continue to show interest.
“This is not just a bubble that or a sudden influx, but what we’re seeing is families fundamentally thinking different about education,” Holland said. “It’s been a healthy mix of people that are coming in from outside the area that already have those conservative Christian values that fit with our region, and they’re finding Providence Academy is a good fit for them. Then you’re having families that have lived here maybe for generations.”
The $8.5 million expansion project would allow for an additional 100-200 students to be enrolled, resulting in a student body of between 750-850. It adds 21 classrooms and a gym to its campus on Carroll Creek Road.
“We’re going to be having a gym, we’re going to be having a weight room, we’re going to be having some locker room facilities, and what it’s going to do, it’s going to allow us to have three classes for every grade from Pre-K through 12th,” said Mark Koscak, the Director of Development. “Down the road, we’re working toward a football team, we are going to be able to have an orchestra. We are growing into that now.”
Koscak also said the academy is working toward being able to offer more elective classes, as well as more AP courses.
The construction adds 37,648 square feet to the current 80,000 square foot facility.
220207 PA PRE 00 Packet Copy by Murry Lee on Scribd
“It’s going to help us get to a size where we can flourish and allow us to have a bigger footprint here at Providence and in the community in terms of our impact, and here’s enough demand where we’ll see a growth in other Christian schools,” Koscak said. “We will be starting to enroll students soon and letting those students know soon that they will have a spot next year and the same thing as far as recruiting teachers.”
School leaders are also excited about expanding the staff. Holland said Providence Academy may be seen by some educators as a perfect fit.
“The hiring pool for teachers right now for private Christian schools has never been better. The quality of applicants and the experience level of teachers looking for something different, a different career path or a different choice,” Holland said.
So far, the school has raised $7 million in a private campaign.
“About a year ago, Ben and I started going around to community leaders and just started asking them if they’re seeing the same thing we’re seeing in terms of this much greater demand for Christian education and an opportunity to get into Providence Academy,” Koscak said. “And did they see that that was going to be something that was continuing or what were their thoughts? And the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. In the public phase of our campaign, we’re going to the rest of our family and we’re asking everybody to help us to raise that last $1.5 million and help us to have a debt-free facility.”
Providence Academy is a tuition-based, Christian private school that requires families to apply for their children’s enrollment. Many families with children currently enrolled also have other children who are on the waitlist.
“Some of the siblings got in and some of the siblings are either doing homeschool or enrolled in the local public school, and they’re just waiting for that spot to open up,” Holland said. “We ask that they be involved in a local church and be aligned with the values of who we are as a school.”
You can apply, donate or find more information about Providence Academy on their website. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/8-5-million-expansion-in-the-works-for-providence-academy/ | 2022-08-23T21:41:06 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/8-5-million-expansion-in-the-works-for-providence-academy/ |
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Atlantic Cape Community College and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office are jointly hosting a career fair for prospective law enforcement employees on Sept. 22.
The fair will be held at the college's Cape May County campus, 341 Court House South Dennis Road, in Cape May Court House, Middle Township.
Attendees are encouraged to pre-register and bring multiple copies of their resume.
Information on the state's Civil Service Commission and exam will also be available at the fair, the Prosecutor's Office said in a news release on Tuesday.
The fair will provide one-on-one opportunities with job seekers and representatives from various police agencies in Cape May County. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-cape-plans-criminal-justice-career-fair-in-cape-may-county/article_c0496728-2327-11ed-94ab-4393a0302da5.html | 2022-08-23T21:44:08 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-cape-plans-criminal-justice-career-fair-in-cape-may-county/article_c0496728-2327-11ed-94ab-4393a0302da5.html |
TOMS RIVER — A Galloway Township man Monday pleaded guilty to supplying an Ocean County man with narcotics that caused his fatal overdose.
Shemar Jackson, 22, pleaded guilty to strict liability drug-induced death before Judge Lisa A. Puglisi in Ocean County Superior Court on Tuesday, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.
The state will recommend a seven-year prison term subject to minimum service statutes under the No Early Release Act, the Prosecutor's Office said.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 14.
Jackson admitted to providing heroin and fentanyl to a Toms River man that later overdosed.
People are also reading…
Toms River police were called to a home on Dec. 5, 2019, after the man, 24, was found unresponsive. Police said the man had already suffered a fatal overdose once they arrived, the Prosecutor's Office said.
Gathered information identified Jackson as the drugs' supplier, and that they were given to the man on Dec. 4, 2019.
Jackson was arrested on Jan. 23, 2020, at his home in Galloway township. He was taken to the Ocean County jail before being released, the Prosecutor's Office said. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/galloway-township-man-pleads-guilty-to-providing-drugs-in-fatal-overdose/article_eb1a835e-231a-11ed-9940-93d1c960638a.html | 2022-08-23T21:44:14 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/galloway-township-man-pleads-guilty-to-providing-drugs-in-fatal-overdose/article_eb1a835e-231a-11ed-9940-93d1c960638a.html |
FAIRFAX, Va. — Police in Virginia say their efforts to inform a school system about the arrest of a counselor on solicitation charges were thwarted by undeliverable emails.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and others criticized the school system after police in Chesterfield County, where Thornton was arrested, said they informed school administrators in Fairfax County at the time of the arrest in 2020.
Now, though, Chesterfield police say the emails they sent back in 2020 never went through. In a statement posted Tuesday on Facebook, Chesterfield County police Chief Jeffrey Katz said the email addresses his agency used had typos in them.
“I think it is important not to lose sight of the fact that our staff caught Thornton (twice),” Katz said. “We made good faith efforts (twice) to ensure he was appropriately dealt with by the criminal justice system and his employer.”
Thornton was arrested as part of an online sting when a police officer posing as a 17-year-old connected with Thornton over the internet.
Thornton was convicted earlier this year and received a suspended sentence, but was required to register as a sex offender.
Thornton’s profile on the registry lists him as self-employed. Katz, in his statement, said Thornton lied when he described his employment status that way.
The Department of Corrections says it is investigating Thornton’s post-conviction supervision and other aspects of its dealings with him.
Fairfax County Public Schools say Thornton was placed on leave in June when Chesterfield police called them to alert them to a second arrest in another online sting on charges of solicitation of prostitution and frequenting a bawdy place.
He was formally dismissed from his job earlier this month.
School system superintendent Michelle Reid said Friday in a letter to parents that the school system is looking to implement procedures to prevent similar issues going forward. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/police-effort-to-alert-school-about-arrest-was-unsuccessful/2022/08/23/70701f88-231f-11ed-a72f-1e7149072fbc_story.html | 2022-08-23T21:44:43 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/police-effort-to-alert-school-about-arrest-was-unsuccessful/2022/08/23/70701f88-231f-11ed-a72f-1e7149072fbc_story.html |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.