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The faded and weathered construction permits still taped to Houston resident Mal Moses’ front door are reminders of the difficulties he faced in trying to get his mold-infested walls and leaky roof repaired after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
But living in his neighborhood of Trinity-Houston Gardens has always been hard, Moses said. His family endured racial slurs and harassment as some of the first Black residents to move in during the late 1960s. When white residents left, he said, it seemed resources such as consistent trash collection or a properly working drainage system fled as well.
So after Harvey, Moses, 65, expected to be denied government help. And he certainly wasn’t surprised by federal officials’ conclusion this year that the state had discriminated against minorities, particularly Black residents, in how it distributed flood relief money from the hurricane.
“It was just another example (of discrimination) for me. ... I wasn’t shocked that it was being done because I experienced it firsthand growing up,” said Moses, who ultimately got help from local nonprofit West Street Recovery to repair his home.
Texas had faced a Friday deadline to enter into a voluntary agreement to address an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that in March found the state had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by causing there “to be disproportionately less funding available to benefit minority residents than was available to benefit white residents” in how it distributed more than $2 billion to fund flood mitigation projects after Harvey. That deadline passed without any resolution to the dispute.
The Texas General Land Office, or GLO, which is in charge of distributing the funding, says its actions were not unlawful.
In a letter sent Thursday to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he did not plan to force the GLO to enter into any agreement because HUD had not proven that the state agency had discriminated based on race or national origin.
“HUD should close this case without following through on the threats made in your letter, which would only slow funding for Texans who truly need disaster mitigation,” Abbott said.
HUD has threatened to refer the matter to the Justice Department for possible legal action.
“We are considering our options and have no further comment at this time,” HUD spokesman Michael Burns said in an email Friday.
The deadline passed amid the five-year anniversary of Harvey, which inundated the Houston area with torrential rain for days, flooding more than 150,000 homes and 300,000 vehicles. The storm, which first made landfall more than 200 miles (321 km) southwest of Houston near Corpus Christi on Aug. 25, 2017, killed 68 people and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage in Texas. Many residents still have not recovered.
In an April letter to HUD, the land office’s attorneys defended how the funds were awarded, saying of the 108 projects that received money, 59% served minority-majority populations and of the 1.5 million Texans benefiting from the projects, more than 1 million were Hispanic.
“HUD’s objections are politically motivated and are factually and legally baseless. GLO did not engage in discrimination,” the land office’s attorneys said.
Many Houston-area residents and officials were outraged when they learned the land office’s initial distribution of $1 billion didn’t include one cent for their hard-hit communities. Other cities with large minority populations also flooded by Harvey, including Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Port Arthur along the Texas Gulf Coast, also got no funding.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found the land office’s initial $1 billion distribution disproportionately flowed to inland counties with less damage than coastal communities that bore the brunt of Harvey.
Where the money was spent is “so clearly not where the harm was done and where the risk is for future disasters,” said Ben Martin, research director for Texas Housers, an Austin-based nonprofit that joined Houston group Northeast Action Collective in filing the initial complaint with HUD.
After bipartisan criticism of the lack of funding for the Houston area, the land office awarded $750 million to Harris County, home to the nation’s fourth-largest city, but still nothing for Houston.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday urged HUD to enforce its ruling against the state, saying the federal agency’s integrity “is on the line.”
Moses, who is part of the Northeast Action Collective, said that after Harvey, he had to live in his home, full of mold and dust, while it was repaired and as he underwent treatment for lung cancer. During the two-year repair process, his mother, who shared the house with him and adored it, had to live elsewhere.
She died four days after she was finally able to return in 2020.
While his house is in fairly good shape now, Moses said many of his neighbors are still struggling to fully restore their homes or recover financially from repairs they paid for themselves. They also worry if enough has been done to protect them from the next storm.
“I’m just holding on, holding on ... and I’m hoping that the (federal) government steps in ... and makes sure the money gets appropriated correctly,” Moses said. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/claims-of-flood-relief-discrimination-in-texas-hud-threatens-possible-legal-action/3058503/ | 2022-08-27T16:06:18 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/claims-of-flood-relief-discrimination-in-texas-hud-threatens-possible-legal-action/3058503/ |
DALLAS — A North Texas youth football coach shot and killed earlier this month will be laid to rest on Saturday.
Mike Hickmon was killed during an altercation at a youth football game in Lancaster on Aug. 14. Police named Yaqub Talib, the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, as a suspect on Sunday. Aug. 15. Yaqub Talib turned himself into police on that following Monday.
Since the shooting, Hickmon's family have also called for Aqib Talib to be arrested. Video obtained by WFAA show the brawl that led to the shooting, and witnesses have told WFAA that Aqib Talib started the fight.
WFAA has learned this video has been turned over to police and more witnesses were being interviewed. Aqib Talib’s lawyer told WFAA last week he is distraught over the shooting and sends condolences to the family. On Sunday, Aug. 21, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Aqib Talib was stepping away from his gig with Amazon's "Thursday Night Football" broadcast. According to Rapoport, Talib said he's stepping away "to spend time with family."
Meanwhile, Hickmon's death has led to community leaders demanding more safety measures at youth sporting events.
Community advocates and Hickmon’s family and friends say his life won’t be in vain and that they will demand justice but also changes that will make it safer for kids who just want to play ball.
Hickmon's funeral service will be held at noon at Concord Church, according to the Dallas Morning News.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/mike-hickman-football-shooting-funeral/287-9872fb13-d814-44f7-ad79-08e0275dbd5f | 2022-08-27T16:17:16 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/mike-hickman-football-shooting-funeral/287-9872fb13-d814-44f7-ad79-08e0275dbd5f |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Johnson City Parks and Rec hosted an inclusive field day at the Memorial Park Community Center on Saturday.
The event was designed to offer fun activities for people of all abilities.
Organizations such as Arc, Core Services, Com Care access Etsu and Special Olympics were in attendance and set up activities.
“There’s not a ton of things for individuals with disabilities to do so we really want to bring some inclusion to the area offering these activities for everybody of all abilities to come to. So, we’re really trying to do that here at Memorial Park and with Johnson City Parks and Rec,” said Rachel Malone, a recreation generalist with JC Parks and Rec.
While this is the first time the event was held organizers plan to make the field day an annual event. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/jc-parks-and-rec-host-inclusive-field-day/ | 2022-08-27T16:31:53 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/jc-parks-and-rec-host-inclusive-field-day/ |
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Fire Department responded to two fires on Saturday morning.
The first was a two-alarm structure fire around midnight at the 2000 block of W. Anderson Lane in North Austin. Two adjacent single-story commercial buildings were involved.
The second was an apartment fire on Douglas Street in southeast Austin.
That fire started in a water heater vent and was mostly limited to the outside of the building. No injuries were reported.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/saturday-morning-fires/269-7cf89fd7-6ebe-4793-b4c5-66cde1116518 | 2022-08-27T16:32:21 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/saturday-morning-fires/269-7cf89fd7-6ebe-4793-b4c5-66cde1116518 |
Local independent publishing company and bookstore Studio Moonfall, 5031 Seventh Ave., is celebrating its three-year anniversary this weekend with activities including an indie author "sneak peek" and a book festival.
Representatives with the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce and other guests gathered at the store for a ribbon cutting ceremony and refreshments, as well as grab a book during Free Book Friday. On Saturday there was an indie author “sneak peek” at the Kenosha HarborMarket.
On Sunday, in the parking lot across the street from Studio Moonfall, owner Donovan Scherer said they will be holding the first Kenosha Book Festival, which he plans to make an annual event.
Scherer said he considers this to be “year zero” for the festival as he learns more about hosting such events, but he considered it important to bring awareness about local authors to the community.
People are also reading…
“Why wouldn’t we have a book festival?” Scherer said. “People need to know about these local authors.”
More than 20 guest authors and over 6,000 used books will be at the festival, starting at 10 a.m. and going until 2 p.m. All used books will cost $1, or guests can bring a canned good for the Shalom Center and get a book as well.
Guest authors scheduled to appear include: Al Lytle, Aliyah Jackson, Bob Katzman, D. Lieber, Debbie Oas, Greta Kelly, Janette Hill, Joe Campolo, Kaitlyn Bolyard, Keith Robinson, Kyra Cheese, Marc McGowan, Meg Bonney, Michelle Novak, MP McDonald, Nolan Cochran, Sharon Angelici, Ties That Bind, Toi Blaiser and T.R. Nickel.
Scherer, a self-published author himself, began his business in 2009, selling at conventions and markets. Three years ago, he opened the physical shop, which focuses on local and self-published authors.
“I’m trying to bring in the best practices the big indie authors are doing to the local level,” Scherer said. “It gives me a nice base for going forward.”
More information about the festival can be found at KenoshaBookFestival.com. For more information on Studio Moonfall, go to Studiomoonfall.com. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-kenosha-bookstore-celebrates-three-years-hosts-book-festival-sunday/article_442e527e-2585-11ed-993b-8fd272c205b0.html | 2022-08-27T16:41:57 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-kenosha-bookstore-celebrates-three-years-hosts-book-festival-sunday/article_442e527e-2585-11ed-993b-8fd272c205b0.html |
TIFTON — Alan Kramer has been selected as the new assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
Amy Willis, acting provost and vice president for academic affairs at the college, said she expects Kramer to flourish in the role.
“Dr. Kramer has devoted the past 29 years of his career and life to ABAC and Tifton,” Willis said. “His motto for achieving success at ABAC continues to be collaboration and communication. Dr. Kramer and his team will build on old traditions and create new beginnings to keep ABAC great and moving forward."
Kramer had been serving as acting dean of students, expanding his previous role of assistant dean of students and director of athletics at ABAC. Willis said a search for a new director of athletics will begin soon.
“ABAC has been a blessing to me,” Kramer said. “It seems as if every seven or eight years, I have a chance to re-invent my role here, and I am looking forward to the challenge of this new position.”
Kramer’s new duties cover student clubs and organizations, Greek life, campus recreation, housing and residence life, student conduct, and much more.
“We have 60 clubs and organizations, and our goal right now is to get all these new freshmen involved,” Kramer said. “The first semester is critical for students to find their particular interests on campus. We want our students to connect with ABAC. Making a difference in these students’ lives is what we do.”
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Kramer completed his bachelor’s degree in exercise science with an emphasis on teaching and coaching at Truman State University. He received a master’s degree in education from Baylor University with an emphasis on health and human performance. In 2019, he completed his doctorate degree in higher education leadership from Valdosta State University.
Kramer was a volunteer assistant tennis coach at McLennan Community College when McLennan faced Coach Norman Hill’s ABAC Golden Stallions in the national tennis tournament in 1993. McLennan defeated ABAC on the way to a national title, but a chance contact with Hill provided Kramer with the incentive to apply for the women’s tennis coach’s job at ABAC.
Kramer got the nod as the new head coach of the Golden Fillies, and he began the fall quarter of 1993 as an instructor of physical education at ABAC. The rest is green-and-gold history.
A tenured assistant professor of health and physical education, Kramer became a highly accomplished coach. During his time at ABAC, he has coached both men’s and women’s tennis, rolling up 25 National Junior College Athletic Association Region XVII titles and three national runner-up finishes in the national tournament. He has coached seven individual national champions.
A past president of the NJCAA Men’s Tennis Coaches Association, Kramer has been inducted into the NJCAA Women’s Tennis Hall of Fame and has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Coach of the Year.
Kramer is a graduate of the University System of Georgia Executive Leadership Institute and the Georgia College Personnel Association’s Student Affairs Foundation Institute. At ABAC, he has received the Lanier Carson Administrative Leadership Award and has been named an honorary alumnus by the ABAC Alumni Association. He is also a three-time winner of the campus newspaper’s Pacesetter Award.
Kramer spent 22 years as director of athletics at ABAC and nine years as ABAC’s assistant dean of students. He has served as the advisor for the Student Government Association, the Greek Council, the Campus Activities Board, and the InterClub Council. Kramer is currently a deputy Title IX coordinator and a core member of ABAC’s Behavioral Intervention Team.
In the spring of 2022, Kramer heralded the addition of women’s and men’s cross country to the ABAC intercollegiate sports lineup, which also includes softball, tennis and soccer for women and baseball, golf and tennis for men.
Kramer’s appointment becomes effective immediately.
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Corbyn Lewis of Sylvester graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in Political Science with a Pre-Law concentration from the University of North Georgia.
Corbyn Lewis of Sylvester graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in Political Science with a Pre-Law concentration from the University of North Georgia.
DAHLONEGA -- For the summer 2022 semester, the University of North Georgia awarded almost 530 degrees and more than 40 certificates to graduates. Almost 300 graduates participated in the summer 2022 commencement ceremony held Aug. 5 at the Convocation Center on UNG's Dahlonega Campus.
Corbyn Lewis of Sylvester graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in Political Science with a Pre-Law concentration.
Positioned in the fastest-growing region of the state, the University of North Georgia comprises five campuses united by a single mission focused on academic excellence and academic and co-curricular programs that develop students into leaders for a diverse and global society.
The University of North Georgia is a University System of Georgia leadership institution and is The Military College of Georgia. With almost 19,000 students, the University of North Georgia is one of the state's largest public universities. The university offers more than 100 programs of study ranging from certificate and associate's degrees to doctoral programs.
Lee County student named to Troy University Provost's List
TROY, Ala. -- Troy University is honoring students who have been named to the Provost's List for the summer semester and Term 5 of the 2021/2022 academic year. Full-time undergraduate students who are registered for at least 12 semester hours and who have a grade-point average of at least 3.65 qualify for the Provost's List. The summer semester includes students at the Troy, Ala., campus. Term 5 includes students at Troy's campuses in Dothan, Phenix City and Montgomery, Ala., along with locations outside of Alabama and online.
Local students who made the list include Amanda Patterson of Leesburg.
Troy University is a public, historic, international university with 22,500 students and 154,000 alumni. Students choose Troy for its quality academic programs, reasonable costs and availability of financial aid, outstanding faculty, and flexible in-class and online class offerings. Students on the Troy, Ala. campus enjoy a traditional college experience, while adult students are the centers of attention at campuses in Dothan, Montgomery and Phenix City, Ala., as well as at locations around the world and online.
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TIFTON -- A popular Southeast-based coffee franchise, Ellianos Coffee, officially started serving customers in Tifton this week. The drive-thru coffee shop is located at 148 S. Virginia Ave.
The new location is under the ownership of Clifton and Julie Mathews, existing Ellianos franchisees and owners of the company's Cordele store.
"Julie and I could not be more excited to be part of the Tifton community," Clifton Mathews said. "We're now open and ready to serve Tifton the best cup of coffee around."
"We could not be more thrilled to see another location come to south Georgia," an Ellianos officials said of the now-opened location. "Our concept has already been well-received in the area, and we are confident that the Tifton community will fall in love with our high-quality products and excellent customer service."
The Ellianos menu boasts signature creations such as the Cookies and Cream Freezer, Tuscany Toffee Latte, or Venetian Vanilla Breve. Not forgetting non-coffee drinkers, Ellianos also offers fruit smoothies, flavored Red Bull Energy Drink concoctions called Red Bull Rushes, teas, and more. For those looking for something to eat with their morning cup of coffee or a midday snack, the popular coffee brand offers food items that include breakfast bowls with creamy grits, breakfast croissant sandwiches, cookies and much more.
Customers can follow Ellianos Coffee Tifton on Facebook and Instagram to receive updates on special promotions, and also follow Ellianos corporate on Facebook and Instagram.
Ellianos was founded in 2002 with the mission to serve "Italian quality at America's pace." Founders Scott and Pam Stewart have continued their work of expanding the franchise while making everyone feel like part of the family. The franchise is experiencing exponential growth but remains true to its core values and mission. There are currently 25 operating store locations, with more than 80 more in some stage of development.
In 2022, the Franchise Business Review named Ellianos a top franchise. In 2021, Entrepreneur Magazine named Ellianos on its top food franchise list. To learn more about Ellianos Coffee franchising opportunities, visit www.ellianos.com/franchising/.
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DALLAS — They first met at Christian Chapel Temple of Faith in Dallas, then a dark time drew Natalie Davis and Mary Mabry together.
“Miss Mary is my spiritual mother,” Davis said. “I lost my mother six years ago, and she stepped into that role.”
Mabry remembers when she learned Davis' mother had died.
“I just know the spirit of God spoke to me and told me go be with Natalie,” Mabry recalled. “I don’t drive, but I was determined I was gonna go – even if I had to take the bus.”
The guidance through grief Mabry provided felt like an answered prayer. And as the years passed, Davis continued to learn from her.
“She is a prayer warrior and she just has a beautiful heart. Always giving and always serving,” Davis said of Mabry. “That’s the spiritual gift that she has – to serve people.”
The woman with the beautiful heart also has a beautiful smile, Davis said. But Mabry is reluctant to show it because she can’t afford dentures.
Davis nominated Mary for a Little Wish and asked for help paying for dentures for Mabry.
On a Zoom call, Davis choked back tears as she surprised Mabry with the news.
“Your Little Wish from Sam Pack Auto Group is a $4,000 gift card to cover the cost of new dentures,” Davis revealed.
The wish seemed to come with divine timing.
“Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh,” Mabry said several times. “I had just declared to the Lord that I will have dentures. I just made that declaration unto the Lord in prayer – and look what’s happening.”
Just as Mabry answered Davis' prayers years before, now Davis is answering Mabry’s.
“I prayed about it because there were so many medical bills and I’m thinking, how is this going to happen? But, I believed it was going to happen and this morning it happened,” Mabry said. “My prayers have been answered. I can’t wait to smile.”
More Little Wishes: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/outreach/little-wishes/natalie-davis-mary-mabry-little-wishes-wfaa/287-39863bfa-c3e4-4a10-aaa5-b46e0aa8601f | 2022-08-27T16:54:22 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/outreach/little-wishes/natalie-davis-mary-mabry-little-wishes-wfaa/287-39863bfa-c3e4-4a10-aaa5-b46e0aa8601f |
Investing in employees benefits efficiency and ratepayers
When Delilah Walsh entered Las Cruces Utilities as its first assistant director in 2019, she knew she had joined a team with a solid foundation in operations that worked well for its customers. When she moved up to the director position in October 2020, Walsh knew then that she could trust employees at all levels — from deputy directors to field crew - allowing her to strengthen the processes at the administrative level.
As she moves on to a city manager and utility director position in Ketchikan, Alaska, at the end of September, Walsh feels confident that LCU is set up in ways that will directly benefit ratepayers. And, she did that with her team throughout a global pandemic.
“I've been very focused on staff development and making internal processes more efficient because I could rely on deputy directors to keep the operation side going,” she said. “Every employee has been dedicated to serving our customers, even with the last few years being more difficult than usual.”
Walsh explained that one of her first tasks was getting a hold of all the information that LCU collects, putting it all in one place, and going paperless. LCU created the Management of Information Systems program to do just that.
“We have so much data, from UtilityHawk to billing, to work orders from crew out in the field,” said Walsh. “It's the wave of evolution for the utilities to move beyond a paper-driven operation, which is cumbersome especially if staff needs the information ASAP out in the field.”
Another newer push will be to use hands-on technology, like drones at LCU, with one employee earning an FAA license for the task.
“If we can increase efficiency on the backend, then our productivity can increase, which lets us not request as much from ratepayers through rates,” said Walsh. “We don’t have to contract out if we can use existing technology to our advantage.”
She said that her background was focused on investigating how to do more with less, particularly in her former role as Socorro County Manager.
“I'm a big believer in investing in technology, but I’m more interested in investing in your employees,” said Walsh, who also supported the development of a staffing specialist who can ready hiring documentation for LCU that can be presented to the City of Las Cruces Human Resources Department more efficiently. She said, “If we can take some of that administrative process off the shoulders of supervisors who know what they’re looking for but don’t need the administrative burden of the process, that frees them up to be more involved with their program duties.”
Job listings now are more flexible for staff coming into LCU, that job duties may extend into different programs so that employees can be cross-trained and have the opportunity for growth.
“It gets us closer to the ‘One Utility’ concept that allows us to have a shared mindset of service,” said Walsh.
Another big project that was important to Walsh was keeping employees safe. She established a dedicated position that focused exclusively on safety.
“The safety officer position was essential to what I wanted at LCU for risk mitigation. It's so important not only for our employees, but it's a proactive way to ensure incidents can be prevented and tracked, and we can set a culture of safety throughout the entire department,” she said. “Different programs had different procedures when it came to safety. Now there's one person who can track all the procedures, ensure standardization, and be the point of contact if an employee sees something hazardous or has an idea to create a safer environment.”
Walsh was excited to introduce employees to the NM EDGE (New Mexico Education Designed to Generate Excellence in the Public Sector) program at New Mexico State University and worked to get in touch with them through in-person events once COVID rates decreased, like the Skills Rodeo, which allowed employees to strut their stuff on various equipment for a bit of fame and glory.
“More than anything, in the time that I’ve spent at LCU, I could see again and again that all of our employees are committed to their job and LCU,” said Walsh. “They are public servants to the core, and I’m better for having had time to be a part of their efforts.”
Walsh sees that the future is bright for LCU, even with upcoming transitions. “The energy transition efforts in natural gas will be a big change in operations,” said Walsh. “We can do more with renewable energy. Even without a transition plan, LCU has already been proactive about moving in that direction. We convert methane to power our treatment facility with our co-generators. We are supporting the City’s photovoltaic efforts. Decarbonizing is important, and LCU will be a huge part of that process.”
LCU – Your Utility Connection. Customer Central can be reached at 575-541-2111 from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. LCU provides clean, safe, and reliable services to Las Cruces residents and businesses. Learn more at las-cruces.org/180/Utilities. For emergencies, call Dispatch at 575-526-0500.
Others are reading: | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/08/27/investing-in-employees-benefits-efficiency-and-ratepayers/65458044007/ | 2022-08-27T17:03:11 | 0 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/08/27/investing-in-employees-benefits-efficiency-and-ratepayers/65458044007/ |
On the course for outdoor equity
“Hitting the ball!” exclaimed eight-year-old Marcello Perez when asked what his favorite part of the game was. It was fun for the whole family, but the benefits of this programming go way beyond the driving range. “Being able to coordinate something that so visibly impacted these kids made my heart happy,” commented Vanessa Mobley Knox, the 21st Century Family Engagement Coordinator with Ngage New Mexico. “I had the pleasure of witnessing these young people strengthening communication skills, learning leadership qualities, and making new friends in the process.”
21st Century Programming is designed to increase access to out-of-school time activities, and Vanessa does not lose time creating opportunities for Doña Ana County families. When word of increased funding for Outdoor Equity was received, Vanessa directly began researching sports and outdoor activities that are not easily accessible in our community. Her search was met with enthusiasm by Eli Eilers, Sonoma Ranch PGA Professional. “I’m about bringing the game of golf to people, and the work that Ngage does with bringing people together made this a perfect partnership” tells Eli. “We hoped to expose children to activities they may never have even thought of trying before,” adds Vanessa. Not long after, they had the blueprint for golf workshops with absolutely no cost barrier for families.
“Recruiting for the golf workshops was easy!” reported Vanessa. The community demand was so high that instead of one two-week workshop, they expanded to provide multiple workshops spanning over four months. Twenty-four families attended the golf workshops, where they learned the basics of golf, including course etiquette, proper methods of holding and swinging the club, sportsmanship, and other golf tips under the guidance of local professionals! Everything was free, and equipment was provided for all activities. Out of those 24 families, three of the young golfers continued to join the Jr. PGA League representing Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, and they were able to do so through a scholarship program, keeping the fun going for free. The format is a two-person scramble where they have a teammate who they have to strategize with. Eli remembered, “how cool it is to see their social skills improve over the course of the program.”
When Marcelo started the workshop, he kept to himself and never volunteered to be the leader of any activity. By the end of the tournament, he would confidently lead the team and encourage his teammates just to do their best. “I realized I’m a good swinger,” Marcello exclaimed. He was one among others that stood out to the instructors. They could see how much he enjoyed the game and wanted to ensure the process and resources for continuing on to the Jr. PGA League were clearly laid out for him and his parents.
The ripple of impact from establishing this program is far-reaching. Families had an opportunity to be outdoors together without the stress of trying to figure out how to pay for it. The workshops were set in the middle of the week after working hours, making them more accessible for working families. Some participants were surprised to learn that most universities have competitive golf teams that offer scholarship opportunities. The bonding so clearly ingrained throughout the process is a priceless souvenir. The social, emotional, cognitive, and leadership skills imprinted on these youth will undeniably benefit them as they grow. Eli shares, “golf is a lifelong sport, and bringing that to children and their families and seeing them grow is such a beautiful thing.”
If you would like to stay in the loop on the fantastic events going on in our community or you are interested in becoming a parent/caregiver voice or volunteering, follow/message our social media, https://www.facebook.com/groups/dacfamilyengagement.
Others are reading: | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/08/27/on-the-course-for-outdoor-equity/65419879007/ | 2022-08-27T17:03:17 | 1 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/08/27/on-the-course-for-outdoor-equity/65419879007/ |
UP! Coalition observes International Overdose Awareness Day
LAS CRUCES - Grief. Loss. Stigma. Guilt. Helplessness. These are only some of the emotions experienced by over 100,000 friends and family members last year due to the overwhelming increase of drug poisoning deaths in the nation.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States saw over 100,000 poisoning deaths in a 12-month period. About 104,000 poisoning deaths were reported from March 2021 to March 2022, but it's expected 109,000 deaths will be attributed once finalized.
Many states have seen increased drug poisoning deaths due to several factors, New Mexico included. According to the CDC, the leading poisoning deaths in the U.S. are due to opioids and synthetic opioids, with about 70,000 deaths attributed specifically to synthetic opioids like
According to the CDC, New Mexico has reported over 1,000 drug poisoning deaths from March 2021 to March 2022. Of those, 700 deaths were attributed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Fake pills have been driving drug-related deaths in both the U.S. and New Mexico. These fake pills contain illicit manufactured fentanyl which is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin.
Overdoses happen as a biological response top poisoning when the human body receives too much of a substance or mix of substances. Poisonings and overdoses can be intentional or accidental. People can overdose on illicit substances, alcohol, prescription medications, and many other substances.
There are several symptoms of an overdose. Overdoses can be fatal if individuals do not seek medical treatment right away. Symptoms can include slow/shallow breathing, loss of color, unresponsiveness, clammy hands, and gurgling sounds.
Communities and individuals can bring awareness to International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) on Wednesday, Aug. 31, by getting involved in educational events in their community, hosting candlelight vigils for victims, fundraisers, attending Narcan training, or commemorating someone directly affected by a death related to an overdose.
The Unified Prevention Coalition of Doña Ana County (UPC) works tirelessly to provide resources and outreach to the community to help prevent and reduce the risk of substance misuse among youth. UPC has been a yearly supporter of the bi-annual Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which occurs every October and April. The day is an opportunity for people to safely dispose of their unused or expired medication for free and currently scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24.
In addition, UPC hosts overdose and Naloxone trainings once a month to anyone in the community who would like to learn how to help someone experiencing an overdose.
It is important for us to remember that opioids and other painkillers should be stored safely and out of children’s reach, preferably in a secure and locked location.
UPC strongly advises keeping medication in a lock box in the home. If you are heading out of town, it is also encouraged to lock up your medication as a prevention strategy so that no one has access to your medicines but you.
For more information or inquire about UPC’s upcoming training calendar email upcoaltion@chi-phi.org.
Michelle Rincon is a Master of Public Health for the Unified Prevention Coalition.
Others are reading: | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/08/27/up-coalition-observes-international-overdose-awareness-day/65458049007/ | 2022-08-27T17:03:23 | 0 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/08/27/up-coalition-observes-international-overdose-awareness-day/65458049007/ |
Future wildfires could wipe out New Mexico forests and communities, scientists say
Drought and climate change will spark catastrophic fires unless forests are better managed — starting now.
NEW MEXICO - At 4:15 p.m. on April 6, a team of wildland firefighters stood on alert near a rocky ridge just northwest of Las Vegas. The spot in the valley was breathtaking, full of ponderosa pine and jagged stone outcroppings. Hermit’s Peak — a dramatic craggy mountain crest — loomed overhead.
The crew was standing guard over a prescribed fire when suddenly an order came over the radio, directing them to abandon their post and head downslope where embers had jumped outside the containment lines. In the minutes that followed, the winds shifted, the flames spread and all the fire engines ran out of water. At 4:50 p.m., U.S. Forest Service officials declared that the prescribed burn had become a wildfire.
In future retellings of New Mexico’s 2022 wildfire season, many will distill the story to this moment, the instant that the Forest Service lost control of the Hermit’s Peak Fire, which would later combine with yet another escaped prescribed fire to become the largest in state history.
But while the Forest Service lit the proverbial match on Hermit’s Peak, the fire’s true origins trace back to thousands of missteps over the centuries. From overgrazing and logging in the late 1800s to fire suppression in the decades since and inaction on climate change today, America’s institutions have contributed to the deterioration of forests across the West.
In New Mexico today, forests remain subject to political inaction and economic whims. The state has become a major contributor to climate change, thanks to a booming oil and gas industry, located principally in New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin, the highest greenhouse-gas producing oil region in the country. The state reaped more than $1.7 billion in oil and gas revenue in the first four months of 2022 alone. Revenue like this comes with a price: a per capita greenhouse gas production of about 70 percent more than the national average. And these record windfalls come at a time of increasingly severe wildfires, mass tree die-offs and the incineration of more than 1,000 structures, including hundreds of homes in the state this year.
“The bill has come due,” said Craig Allen, a leading researcher and ecology professor at the University of New Mexico. “We are now in the age of consequence.”
As bad as the wildfire season was this year, things are only projected to get worse. Under the status quo, scientists expect large swaths of New Mexico’s forests to die off in the next several decades, as drought and fire convert vast groves of ponderosa pine into shrubland, watersheds dwindle and wildland communities — many of which date back centuries — are consumed by fire.
Back in April, when another major blaze, the McBride Fire, destroyed 207 homes and killed two people in Ruidoso, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham visited the ravaged city and addressed residents. Her message contained a warning that this was just the beginning.
“For the first time in a long time, New Mexico looks like what we’ve seen play out on the West Coast,” she said. “And though I wish I could tell every New Mexican we’re gonna prevent every fire, that’s not true. We are going to do everything we can to keep people safe. This is going to happen all around the state and we have to be prepared.”
But while the projections are bleak, they aren’t preordained. Ecologists and government officials say interventions may stave off the worst. The only question is whether the government, the business sector and private landowners will act swiftly to protect what remains.
“We’re not going to be able to save all the forests from catastrophic fire, and unfortunately, we’re going to lose more homes,” said Zander Evans, executive director of Forest Stewards Guild, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Fe. “But even saving some is a worthwhile goal, and we know how to do that.”
A ‘man-made disaster’
On April 22, eight large wildfires were burning across New Mexico, their flames fanned by winds of up to 80 mph. That day, the Hermit’s Peak Fire exploded, moving north and colliding with the Calf Canyon Fire — which days earlier had emerged from smoldering embers left over from yet another Forest Service prescribed burn, one that was set back in January. And to the west, in yet another section of the Santa Fe National Forest, the winds fostered the growth of a newly detonated blaze near Los Alamos, soon to become the Cerro Pelado fire.
That night, from his home about three miles from where the Cerro Pelado fire started, Tom Swetnam sat on his deck watching a rolling column of flames barrel across the forest. Swetnam, a dendrochronologist — a scientist who studies tree rings — was no casual observer. Now retired, he’d spent decades as a researcher at the University of Arizona, piecing together the history of fire in the Jemez Mountains. While watching the flames break over the tree canopies and blacken the trunks, Swetnam realized this fire was a man-made disaster, unlike any he had studied from the past.
Historically speaking, fire in New Mexico hasn’t always killed pine forests. Swetnam’s studies of tree rings have found that fires typically burned in the Jemez about once every decade, dating back to the 14th century. But unlike the wall of flames he now watched from his deck, those centuries-old fires usually remained beneath the canopy.
“We are talking about low-severity, low-intensity fires, kind of like a wave of flame moving through the understory of these forests,” Swetnam said.
These blazes yielded ecological benefits — releasing nutrients in the soil, clearing out small trees and reducing competition among other plants for water and sunlight. In the old forests, ponderosa pines grew larger and hardier than they do today, adapting to survive small fires and tell the stories of those events through their tree rings centuries later.
That all began to change in the 1870s with the advent of the railroad, Swetnam said. The rails connected the Southwest to the national economy and triggered a boom in both sheep farming and logging. Herds of sheep consumed the grass that once fueled beneficial, low-intensity fires; logging removed the large fire-tolerant trees, reshaping the ecology of Western forests. And as the woodlands became commodified, white settlers began to see wildfires as major threats to assets like timber and forage rather than as an ecological necessity for a healthy forest.
This changing perspective came to a head in 1910, after a summer of devastating fires in Idaho, Montana and Washington, collectively known as the “Big Blowup.” Back in Washington D.C., politicians alarmed by the fire’s destruction delivered new authority and funding to the fledgling Forest Service to build up fire suppression efforts. The agency quickly created a workforce of firefighters and built a whole new infrastructure — roads, towers, alert systems — to enable crews to reach fires and quash them quickly. In the decades that followed, groves of young trees that would otherwise have been thinned by frequent small fires proliferated. The forests grew from wide, sun-filled woodlands into the densely packed stands of trees we know today.
The consequences came to roost decades later, in the late 1980s, when wildfires came roaring back — magnified now by sparks from passing cars, campfires and electric power lines.
For New Mexico, the reckoning came in May 2000, when the National Park Service lit a prescribed fire in Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos. Driven by high winds and bone-dry forests, the Cerro Grande fire, as it became known, was then the largest and most destructive in state history. That same summer, wildfires erupted across the entire country, burning some 7 million acres and causing more than $1 billion in damage. It was the worst fire season since 1910, when the Forest Service began its campaign to eliminate fire from the forests. And it was seen as a clarion call for the government and foresters to restore balance to the nation’s woodlands.
Additional disasters drove the point home: By 2002, in the grips of a punishing drought, three western states —California, Colorado, Arizona — witnessed their largest wildfires on record. Twenty-one firefighters died.
Overwhelming needs, underfunded efforts
The recurring devastation helped push the Healthy Forests Restoration Act through Congress in 2003. The bill created guidelines and fire-reduction incentives for at-risk areas; it also instructed communities to create strategies to deal with wildfire through Community Wildfire Protection Plans. These CWPPs are designed to coordinate emergency responses, identify forest resilience projects and expand prescribed burning and forest thinning programs — a labor-intensive process that is admittedly cumbersome for communities to tackle without help.
In the backdrop, the federal government conducted a review of the destructive Cerro Grande fire, analyzing what went wrong with the prescribed burn. Among the findings was this shocking detail: The agencies responsible for the fire lacked the expertise to authorize the burn. This revelation helped spur institutional research into fire behavior and ecology. In 2001, the Los Alamos National Laboratory — which suffered direct damage from the Cerro Grande fire — introduced efforts to model wildland fires. Across the country, there was broad consensus that forests needed regular thinning and preventive maintenance to avoid catastrophic fires.
Yet funding and critical resources stagnated. By 2012, foresters estimated that less than 10 percent of U.S. communities at risk for wildfire had created a CWPP. At the same time, chronic understaffing and underfunding within forestry agencies, along with logistical issues, limited the amount of thinning and prescribed burning being done.
New Mexico’s forests were particularly neglected, despite the fact that some of the largest, most destructive fires on record have occurred in this state. The Forest Service employs only seven silviculturists — forest scientists — along with six trainees to oversee the 7.9 million acres of land the agency manages in the state. These employees are the only ones authorized to order the prescriptions for thinning projects on agency land statewide.
In addition, state and local wildfire planning has not scaled up over the years. Each community at risk of wildfire should have its own CWPP to address a wide array of details, including things like evacuation routes and priority thinning areas, according to the state Forestry Division. But while there are 847 at-risk communities in New Mexico, the state only has 69 CWPPs on file. Most of these plans are broad, encompassing entire counties, rather than specific communities, as preferred.
And though New Mexico has the fifth most forested land of any state, it has one of the least-funded and least-staffed state Forestry Divisions in the country, with 72 full-time staff members. By comparison, Colorado and Georgia, which have comparable amounts of forest, have 120 and 191 full-time staff, respectively.
Laura McCarthy, New Mexico’s state forester, helped oversee the creation of yet another key part of forest management: the state’s Forest Action Plan in 2020. The plan — a federally mandated management document — says that nearly 5 million acres need treatment — thinning, prescribed burns or weed management — on a rotating cycle to create resilience to fire. That works out to 300,000 acres a year, a target that the state isn’t even close to reaching.
“It’s a lifetime of work,” McCarthy said. “We need to right-size our organization.”
New Mexico’s forest future
Today, fires that used to be considered unprecedented are considered the norm. Rising temperatures have created a domino effect, beginning with the fact that hot air holds more moisture than cold. As it pulls water from soil and trees, the heat stresses the trees, stunting their growth and leaving them vulnerable to disease, predators and death.
Insects like bark beetles love the warmer weather, which allows them to survive and reproduce for longer periods. During hot summers, they target weak, drought-stressed trees, killing them in enormous numbers. Hot air keeps pulling water from their lifeless husks and from live trees as well until they reach moisture contents similar to kiln-dried lumber. It is the perfect fuel for fire.
“The intensity has changed so much,” said James Biggs, a former wildland firefighter who now teaches fire ecology at New Mexico Highlands University. “You’re seeing a lot more structures burning down and it becomes harder and harder to fight these high-intensity fires.”
While frequent, low-intensity fires once played a rejuvenating role on forests, they now have the opposite effect. Species like ponderosa pine have adapted to drop their seeds after wildfires, but if the fire is too severe, trees aren’t always able to reestablish, studies show. Left unchecked, wildfires are expected to wipe out many of New Mexico’s pine forests, slowly converting them to open shrubland.
“You’re not gonna get trees reestablishing for hundreds of years, if ever, especially as the climate continues to warm,” Swetnam said. “It’s just an inhospitable landscape for trees.”
There is a glimmer of hope that more forest resilience work is on the way — work that can slow the downward spiral. Earlier this year, the Forest Service named the “Enchanted Circle,” a 1.5 million acre chunk of the Carson National Forest in Taos, Colfax and Mora Counties, as a priority landscape for wildfire resilience work; the agency designated $11.3 million over the next two years for work in that region. Both the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act — signed into law Aug. 16 — also provide infusions of cash into the nation’s forests, with a combined total of about $10 billion earmarked for forestry and wildfire risk reduction. These include grant programs to help at-risk states, communities and private landowners. The New Mexico Forestry Division has already laid plans to use some of that money to help communities develop CWPPs and better plans for fire prevention.
The potential for what this type of work could accomplish was on display back in April as Swetnam watched the Cerro Pelado fire sweep north toward Sierra de los Pinos, a neighborhood of about 200 houses. The community had already evacuated in preparation for the worst and, watching the flames, Swetnam thought it would surely come.
But as the fire approached the outskirts of Sierra de los Pinos, it reached a patch of forest that had recently been thinned. Swetnam watched in surprise as the smoke faded from black to gray, then white, and flames dropped from the treetops to the ground before moving east toward thicker fuels.
It’s now widely believed that forest thinning saved Sierra de los Pinos from ruin. According to Swetnam, what he saw from his deck is one of the best examples of what needs to be done to stop wildfires from consuming the entirety of New Mexico’s forests.
“Most of us understand that you can mitigate high-severity fire by fuel treatments,” Swetnam said. “But you know, it's very hard. It’s going to take decades.”
Searchlight New Mexico is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico. Read this story on Searchlight's website. | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/08/27/future-wildfires-could-wipe-out-new-mexico-forests-and-communities-scientists-say/65459074007/ | 2022-08-27T17:03:29 | 0 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/08/27/future-wildfires-could-wipe-out-new-mexico-forests-and-communities-scientists-say/65459074007/ |
Six to receive 2022 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Award
ALBUQUERQUE - The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government has chosen six New Mexicans as the recipients of its 2022 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Awards. The awards are annually presented to those New Mexicans who believe in government transparency at the state or local level – and who have made significant contributions to casting sunshine (transparency) in government operations in the state.
Dixon Award winners will be honored with a Dixon Award event set for Oct. 6, 2022 at the Albuquerque Marriott Hotel on Louisiana Boulevard in Albuquerque.
“For many years, FOG has honored those New Mexicans who believe that open government is good government,” Kathi Bearden, FOG president, said. “This year’s group acted on their beliefs instead of giving lip service to transparency and accountability. Their actions changed policies, procedures and allow everyone to participate in government.
The 2022 Dixon Recipients Are:
Byron Marshal, citizen
Byron’s nomination focused on his dogged citizen advocacy for the Hobbs City Commission to adopt video streaming and archiving of commission meetings – activism that began in 2015 and continues today. The city has repeatedly and proudly cited it as a means of government transparency and citizen engagement and in a March 2022, column entitled “City of Hobbs resilient in the face of COVID shutdowns,” Hobbs Mayor Cobb noted the streaming service would be reaching its sixth year. Not only the program’s inception, but its longevity, is thanks in large part to Marshal’s work to protect and strengthen open government. This is an interesting turnaround for the city as when Marshal first suggested the policy, it was met with resistance by the then-city manager and members of the city commission. His contribution to transparency and accountability extends to efforts regarding the city’s paid-time-off policy and employee cash payouts associated with the city’s new PTO policy. His persistent efforts have inspired many other Hobbs residents to inform and involve themselves in local government.
Thomas Grover, law
Albuquerque Attorney Thomas Grover has an extensive record as a litigator for individuals who have been unable to secure public records. His vast knowledge pertaining to the IPRA & OMA assists his clients in understanding their rights. "(IPRA) is my favorite four-letter word,” said Grover, who has successfully sued the cities, counties and others for noncompliance with the IPRA. His actions have resulted in changes in procedures by records custodians and public bodies, including the Albuquerque Police Department which now provides disciplinary records of investigation of officers. In 2019, Grover was the attorney when his client was awarded $40,000 in his lawsuit against the City of Espanola for withholding records and another client awarded $180,000 in a suit against APD. Grover also represented a retired Santa Fe Police lieutenant in her lawsuit against that agency. A district judge ordered the city to pay that plaintiff for failing to comply with a public records request.
Kathleen Hager, education
This recipient specifically used the law, the attorney general and advice from NMFOG to hold APS accountable. She has worked to enforce the public's right to review records, even when the records were held in part by a private organization acting on the public entity’s behalf. Through Ms. Hager's efforts, she was able to change how the state's largest school district handled employee promotions and raises – changing a system that was onerous and detrimental to individual employees. Before her questions about public records, the AFT union acted as a de facto human relations department for APS when looking at promotions and raises for non-teachers. Now, APS is handling its own process. Her career path has taken her from banking to work as a hospital Child Life Specialist at Dayton’s Children’s Hospital, as well as an intern at the Family Support Center at Andrews Air Force Base. She has worked at Carlos Rey Elementary and Desert Ridge Middle School and is now the school counselor at North Star Elementary School. This recipient is a member of the APS Counseling Leadership Committee and was named the 2018-19 APS Elementary School Counselor of the Year and the 2022-23 NM School Counselor of the Year.
Rep. Marian Matthews, government
Marian Matthews is a State Representative for House District 27. A staunch advocate for better government and transparency, she has become a tireless advocate to push back against CYFD’s cloak of secrecy and works to ensure this department becomes more transparent. In 2021, Rep. Matthews was critical in calling out CYFD for their failure to be forthcoming and transparent with the public, resulting in a scathing multi-page memo from the LFC identifying multiple systematic concerns about transparency and accessibility. Since her time assuming office in 2021, she has been honest, approachable, and direct in her dedication and commitment to shine light on this agency and hold this public entity accountable. She is a model legislator for leading with ethics. She continues to be a champion as she works to create an independent and autonomous office of the ombudsman, as well as amend public disclosure laws, and ensure that the confidentiality clause in the children’s code protects the children and families impacted by the department, and not the department itself. She began her career as a journalist and newspaper reporter in Springfield, MO, and then in Alamogordo, NM.
Greg Trapp, government
As the executive director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, Greg Trapp has worked vigorously to ensure equal access, accountability and transparency in the Commission and for other state agencies and boards.
Mr. Trapp was on the front lines at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, petitioning the Attorney General to ensure public access, including those with disabilities, to meetings, materials and records. He worked with the AG to develop that agency’s Open Government Division Advisory on how public bodies could comply with IPRA and OMA during the pandemic. He worked to draft language for procedures for his organization and other state agencies to make the process less cumbersome. His efforts were evident long before Covid. Mr. Trapp is considered a stickler for detail including adhering to all aspects of the OMA before, during and following meetings. He was worked to nudge other boards and agencies, including those on which he serves, to follow the law. His efforts include directing staff to build an electronic bulletin board that allows the public to receive emailed updates of legal notices, agendas and other meeting materials.
Vincent Rodriquez, media
Vincent Rodriguez is the leader of the pack when it comes to watchdog journalism in the KOAT TV 7 newsroom. He’s currently the digital media manager and previously was an assignment editor. He takes time daily to make sure the staff understands the power of an open records request and what is available just by asking. He created a system to track when IPRA’s are sent and the responses if any, they receive. In December 2021, when a child was shot and killed in Rio Rancho, the city refused to turn over documents. For months into 2022, the station told our viewers what we asked for and what was denied. When the city used the children’s code to deny documents, He helped to explain how the city was using the children’s code to justify not turning over documents. Eventually, the AG sided with KOAT and the station let the public know the city was reversing course based on our persistence. He instills in the newsroom knowledge about the law and makes sure other employees know it’s not just for the media it’s for citizens. If a New Mexican has a problem and they’re not getting answers, he walks them through how to get what they are afforded through sunshine laws. He is the person in the newsroom that questions everything and teaches others to question everything.
Others are reading: | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/08/27/six-to-receive-2022-william-s-dixon-first-amendment-freedom-award/65419861007/ | 2022-08-27T17:03:35 | 1 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/08/27/six-to-receive-2022-william-s-dixon-first-amendment-freedom-award/65419861007/ |
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach drone services company and the sole drone partner of the world’s largest retailer announced plans to expand its headquarters and create a research and training facility outside Petersburg, adding 655 new jobs.
The company will spend $7 million expanding its Newtown Road headquarters, which it says will create 510 new jobs.
DroneUp also plans to establish a new testing, training, research and development center for drone operators at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, creating 145 more new jobs. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-beach-drone-services-company-expanding/2022/08/27/42a00de4-2625-11ed-a72f-1e7149072fbc_story.html | 2022-08-27T17:09:41 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-beach-drone-services-company-expanding/2022/08/27/42a00de4-2625-11ed-a72f-1e7149072fbc_story.html |
Detroit police seek tips on man who shot at restaurant worker behind bulletproof glass
Detroit — Detroit police are seeking information about a man who shot at a restaurant worker after claiming his order was wrong.
On Aug. 13, a male suspect shot at a 42-year-old female Hollywood Coney Island employee working behind bulletproof glass at the counter, Detroit police said in a press release Saturday. No injuries were reported.
The suspect entered the restaurant in the 20200 block of Grand River Avenue around 10:12 p.m. After he ordered the food he became upset, produced a gun and fired at the employee, police said.
The suspect fled on foot and has not been caught.
The Detroit Police Department asks anyone with information about the aggravated assault or the suspect to call their 8th Precinct at 313-596-5840. If members of the community want to report information anonymously they can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up.
hmackay@detroitnews.com
@hmackayDN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/27/man-shot-worker-behind-bulletproof-glass-police-seek-tips/7917980001/ | 2022-08-27T17:18:23 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/27/man-shot-worker-behind-bulletproof-glass-police-seek-tips/7917980001/ |
Two dead in six-car pileup on I-94 in Detroit; police suspect one driver was impaired
Two people died in a six-car pileup on Interstate 94 in Detroit early Saturday, and Michigan State Police suspect the driver responsible was impaired.
The crash occurred on eastbound I-94 near Mount Elliott at about 2:25 a.m. The first car involved was a Ford Fusion, which crashed into the center median barrier after the driver lost control, Michigan State Police reported on Twitter.
The Ford Fusion was rear-ended by a Kia which came to rest on the right shoulder of I-94, while the Ford Fusion was shifted sideways, blocking the left lane of the interstate.
A man and a woman in the Fusion exited the car and stood outside. The driver of a Dodge Charger pulled up to help.
But the driver of a Jeep Liberty in the left lane hit both of the Fusion's occupants, who were pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
The Jeep Liberty came to a stop against the Ford Fusion. A black Kia SUV sideswiped the Fusion and the Charger before stopping against the right median wall, and the driver of a GMC SUV then rear-ended the Charger.
Police arrested the driver of the Jeep Liberty, who showed signs of impairment, and police are seeking a search warrant for a blood draw. The driver of the black Kia has been taken to a local hospital.
No other injuries were reported. Michigan State Police said an investigation into the crash will continue and a report will be submitted to the prosecutor's office upon completion.
hmackay@detroitnews.com
@hmackayDN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/27/six-car-94-crash-kills-two-police-suspect-one-driver-impaired/7918392001/ | 2022-08-27T17:18:29 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/27/six-car-94-crash-kills-two-police-suspect-one-driver-impaired/7918392001/ |
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Police say one person is dead and multiple people were injured following a two-vehicle crash in Harrisburg on Friday night.
Officers arrived at the scene on South Cameron and Shanois Streets on Aug. 26, around 10 p.m. and found one man dead and multiple injured people.
According to their preliminary investigation, police say two vehicles were traveling in opposite directions on Cameron Street when one veered into the oncoming lane and crashed into the other vehicle.
No word yet on the identity of the victim or the current condition of the injured.
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact the Harrisburg Police at 717-558-6900. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/dauphin-county/1-dead-multiple-people-injured-harrisburg-crash/521-90169fe4-99d1-47b3-bd7f-87a7657233d2 | 2022-08-27T17:29:04 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/dauphin-county/1-dead-multiple-people-injured-harrisburg-crash/521-90169fe4-99d1-47b3-bd7f-87a7657233d2 |
ARIZONA, USA — Grand Canyon National Park rangers have recovered the body of a 44-year-old man who fell to his death from the canyon rim on Friday afternoon.
Around 3:30 p.m., park rangers received the call that a visitor had fallen from the rim to the west of the Bright Angel Point Trail.
Rangers found that the man had fallen roughly 200 feet from the trail, and said that he was off-trail when he accidentally fell.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Currently, the National Park Service is investigating the fall alongside the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office.
While details are scarce at this time, park officials did say that the fall was accidental.
Rangers encourage visitors to stay aware of their surroundings and keep the following in mind:
- Stay on designated trails and walkways and always keep a safe distance of at least six feet (2 m) from the edge of the rim.
- In areas where there is a railing or fence, do not climb over the barrier.
- Keep an eye on all the people in your group, especially small children. Make sure that your travel companions have both feet firmly planted on pavement or developed trails.
- Know where the edge is. Watch foot placement and look for trip hazards.
- Do not run, jump, or perform physical stunts near the rim.
- Do not back up without first looking where you are going.
This is a developing story. Stay with 12News for more updates.
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/arizona/grand-canyon-visitor-fatal-200-foot-fall-august-2022/75-b5e863ab-4309-4fce-a05c-df3fbe50ac31 | 2022-08-27T17:33:36 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/grand-canyon-visitor-fatal-200-foot-fall-august-2022/75-b5e863ab-4309-4fce-a05c-df3fbe50ac31 |
MERRILLVILLE — The Merrillville Community School Corp. has been a delegate of the Geminus Head Start preschool program for the last three years, offering preschool classes to eligible families.
For the first time in its history, the school corporation has opened up preschool opportunities for all Ross Township families by launching its own preschool available to families with children who are 3 years old by Aug. 1, 2022.
“We want to give all children in Merrillville the opportunity for a high-quality preschool experience,” said Christine Waugh, director of early childhood and student support programs. “Preschool is so important to help prepare children for kindergarten.”
The Merrillville Community School Corp.'s preschool includes a total of seven classrooms offering options for full or half days and two or three days a week.
Classrooms are housed in three Merrillville elementary schools; follow the corporation calendar; feature developmentally appropriate furniture, curriculum and materials; and are structured with a play-based design. Children will learn school readiness skills, which will prepare them for kindergarten.
Families who are not eligible for Head Start will spend $4.40 per day for meals, but all books, materials and supplies are provided.
Merrillville Preschool is approved to accept vouchers from On My Way Pre-K, which awards grants to 4-year-olds from low-income families so that they may have access to a high-quality pre-K program the year before they begin kindergarten.
Merrillville Preschool will partner with the Merrillville High School Child Development course that prepares high school students hoping to earn a child development associate credential. MHS students will complete some of their field experience requirements in the Merrillville Preschool classrooms.
For more information, parents can call the Merrillville Schools preschool office at 219-756-5940.
PHOTOS: Silos at Sanders Farm breaks ground
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for The Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
Groundbreaking for the Silos at Sanders Farm industrial development
The Times Media Company is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Northwest Indiana, through local news, information, service initiatives and community partnerships.
Reading, math and physical education are just a few of the subject areas that will get an upgrade, thanks to this funding in the foundation’s 39th round of awards.
Meals will be offered weekdays only, and children must be present and eat their meals on site. Only one breakfast and one lunch are permitted per child per day.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and also from 3 to 6 p.m. May 11, at the Merrillville Community School Corporation Administration Center, 6701 Delaware St. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/merrillville/merrillville-schools-ring-the-bell-on-preschool/article_5eae88a6-b99f-51c7-8677-3db72b518636.html | 2022-08-27T17:35:44 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/merrillville/merrillville-schools-ring-the-bell-on-preschool/article_5eae88a6-b99f-51c7-8677-3db72b518636.html |
A Chesterfield County jury on Friday evening found a Rockville man guilty of killing of his girlfriend more than 25 years ago in an unusual, challenging case that was tried without the victim's body or a cause of death.
After deliberating about seven hours at the end of a week-long trial, jurors returned a guilty verdict in Chesterfield Circuit Court against John Harvey Howard, 63, in the disappearance and murder of his then-girlfriend, Linda Lunsford. She was a 38-year-old mother of five working at Walmart at the time.
A sentencing date was not set. Howard, who had been released on bond before the trial, was allowed to remain free pending sentencing. He has no prior criminal record, has been compliant with his release conditions and will remain living with a daughter in Arizona until sentencing.
Howard's conviction marks the third time in a little over six years that the Chesterfield Commonweath's Attorney's Office has succeeded in prosecuting men for killing their girlfriends in separate cases in 2016, 2017 and this year.
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The Howard case may have been more challenging due to the time that passed since the victim disappeared.
A no-body homicide case has two main hurdles: proving the victim is in fact deceased and proving the victim's death was the result of a homicide. Examination of a body usually provides significant direct evidence of a crime.
In cases where no body is recovered, there can be no autopsy, no photographs of injuries or clothes, among other things. Under those circumstances, prosecutors must present a large amount of circumstantial evidence, rather than the direct forensic evidence that jurors typically expect to see.
Chesterfield Commonwealth's Attorney Stacey Davenport and defense attorney Greg Sheldon both declined to comment on the trial and its outcome, citing a gag order barring them from commenting on the case until its conclusion. The order was imposed by Chesterfield Circuit Judge Lynn Brice in late March after concerns arose about pre-trial publicity stemming from a press release issued by Davenport about her trial preparations.
Aside from sentencing, one potentially significant issue in the case that remains to be decided is a defense motion to strike the evidence in the case. Before the jury began its deliberations, Howard's attorney asked Judge Brice to strike the prosecution's evidence on grounds that it is insufficient as a matter of law to sustain a conviction.
Brice did not immediately make a ruling, opting to take the motion under advisement. A hearing will be held on the matter.
Lunsford suddenly disappeared on Dec. 26, 1996, after she and Howard finished their shifts at the Walmart store just off Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield. Her Nissan Sentra was found in front of the Food Lion store in the Village Marketplace shopping center, just west of Walmart. Lunsford and Howard had a contentious on-and-off relationship.
After years of investigation, Howard was indicted May 17, 2021 on a first-degree murder charge and arrested the following day with help of the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Fugitive Task Force. At the time of his arrest, Howard was living in the 17500 block of Pouncey Tract Road in Hanover County. He was unemployed and had no assets to hire an attorney, aside from a $186 retirement check he receives monthly.
In Chesterfield's earlier no-body murder cases, prosecutors convinced a jury in April 2016 that there was enough evidence to convict Michael Anthony Edwards - the former boyfriend of Altria executive Leyla Namiranian - of her death, even though there was no direct forensic evidence tying him to the crime.
The victim's journal, which included entries on Namiranian's relationship with Edwards - along with a wealth of other circumstantial evidence - proved sufficient for jurors to convict Edwards of second-degree murder in her April 2021 disappearance and death. He received a 30-year prison term.
Nineteen months later, Dr. John E. Gibbs III, a former Sheltering Arms physician who made no effort to find his longtime girlfriend after she disappeared on June 7, 2014, was found guilty of her murder. An abundance of circumstantial evidence convinced jurors that Gibbs killed and hid the body of Zulman L. Pabon, then 26, who was a nurse at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital. He was sentenced to serve 50 years in prison. | https://richmond.com/news/local/chesterfield-jury-finds-man-guilty-of-1996-murder-of-his-girlfriend-whose-body-was-never/article_e1be2517-65e6-5015-963a-b9ccafbf3ed3.html | 2022-08-27T17:38:27 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/chesterfield-jury-finds-man-guilty-of-1996-murder-of-his-girlfriend-whose-body-was-never/article_e1be2517-65e6-5015-963a-b9ccafbf3ed3.html |
In March 2020, James River High School junior Irelyn Rogan didn't know if she should sign up for the SAT as schools abruptly closed because of the pandemic and classes shifted to being online and from home.
Having taken the PSAT and not received a score that reflected her grades, Rogan decided not sit for the standardized exam widely used in college admissions. Between the cost, stress and test anxiety, Rogan decided the best thing was to apply to colleges without a test score.
Now a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University studying elementary education, Rogan stands by her decision in opting out of college entrance exams.
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"I was in a very high-skill-levels center in high school so we [students] were really feeling the pressure from teachers, society and each other, honestly, to take the SAT," Rogan said. "But for myself I've never been good at standardized testing. It's never been my strong suit."
"Looking back now as a sophomore [in college], everyone whether they took the SAT or didn't take the SAT, we all got into college," Rogan said. "We're all doing fine."
While some colleges and universities had waived SAT and ACT requirements before the coronavirus pandemic, a growing number of institutions have followed suit during the pandemic.
In Virginia, 52 colleges and universities currently offer test-optional admissions, according to the nonprofit National Center for Fair & Open Testing. That number includes all 15 of the state’s four-year public institutions, as well as the University of Richmond and Virginia Union.
Critics of entrance exams say the tests are a racist academic barrier for Black, brown and low-income students while favoring wealthy, white students who can afford costly prep courses and can take the assessment repeatedly.
Seeing a lot of Virginia colleges and universities be test optional, is "amazing," Rogan said.
Removing the barrier of an entrance exam, Rogan said, means students who might not test well will not feel obligated to take the exam. It also will spare worry for low-income students who may not have the budget to pay for the SAT or test prep.
"I think it opens a new door for kids," Rogan said.
In 2013, Virginia Commonwealth University became concerned that standardized tests weren’t the best indicator of whether students succeed, so it dropped the requirement for some students. Applicants could request leaving the SAT off their applications, and if their grades were high enough, VCU allowed them to apply without reporting their scores.
The SAT and ACT are “not as helpful depending on the population,” said Tomikia LeGrande, VCU’s vice president for strategy, enrollment and student success.
Pauline Spencer, a senior theater major at VCU, considered taking the SAT in high school, even took a prep course, before deciding to not go through with it. Spencer, who is diagnosed with ADHD, said while she received A’s and B’s in high school, academics were not her sole focus.
The SAT, Spencer said, “is not an actual reflection of your ability. I’d rather have someone look at my whole body of work [including high school involvement and extracurriculars] rather than one day.”
“I’m glad that I had the option to even apply [without taking the SAT],” Spencer said. “If I had been hindered by a score I would not have been able to get in to college.”
The Midlothian High School graduate also didn’t care for the tradition and expectation of sitting for the exam, calling it outdated and restrictive, noting that not all students can afford to prepare for the SAT.
In 2020, after the pandemic hit, VCU went fully test-optional, since many testing events were canceled. Without the SAT, VCU gave greater weight to students’ grade-point average, how well they compared with their peers, how they performed in science and math, their grades in their junior and senior years, their extracurricular activities and their responses on essays.
Of the roughly 1,000 colleges nationwide that use the Common App - a universal undergraduate college admission application used by about 1,000 colleges - 95% of them were test optional in 2022, and 95% will remain so in 2023.
Some students chose to take the SAT anyway in hopes of bolstering their résumé.
About 30% of applicants sent in standardized test scores this past year, down from 84% before the pandemic.
While most colleges in Virginia paused the requirement during the past two years, elite colleges are considering bringing it back.
The University of Virginia won’t require the SAT for rising high school seniors applying for the Class of 2023, but it could resume requiring test scores in 2024.
The University of Richmond won’t require them for 2023 but hasn’t decided for 2024.
The College of William & Mary, which is in the third year of a pilot program experimenting with making tests optional, is conducting an analysis of the results.
The pandemic “served as a means for amplifying a conversation already underway” about the value of standardized testing, William & Mary said on its website.
“Given that, our plan will not be to simply remove the standardized test score requirement,” but rather “take it as an opportunity to engage in a three-year pilot study enabling us to truly assess the impact on our process and evaluate outcomes data for students enrolling at William & Mary.”
Going forward, colleges that aren’t flagships that don’t serve high-income students might not go back to requiring standardized tests, LeGrande said.
In the next 15 years, the number of high school graduates will decline nationwide as demographics shift. To maintain their enrollments, colleges will have to target first-generation students, Latino, Black and low-income populations – the same ones whose futures can’t be predicted by the SAT.
“I think the SAT and ACT are not necessarily the tool for admission for most institutions,” LeGrande said.
Christina Tillery, a school counselor at Highland Springs High School in eastern Henrico, said she has seen a decrease in students taking the SAT and ACTs since the onset of the pandemic.
As a counselor who works with many potential first-generation college students, Tillery said she sees test-optional admissions as a step in the right direction toward making higher education more accessible and equitable to all students.
“There’s so many concerns about how these tests exclude students from different backgrounds,” Tillery said.
It’s disheartening, Tillery said, to see students become discouraged from applying to college because they don’t expect to do well on standardized tests and therefore don’t expect to be accepted anywhere.
“To already see that hopelessness so early in the application stage hurts,” Tillery said. “These kids feel like this test is really going to make or break them in the college application process when it doesn't. It doesn't define who you are as a student and your work ethic and your willingness to learn.”
Tillery said she’s also seen a large increase in students and their parents inquiring about community colleges over the past few years.
Graduate school programs are also moving away from the entrance exam, known as the GRE.
As Rowan O’Hara, a VCU master’s student studying bioinformatics applies to Ph.D. programs, she has found fewer and fewer programs requiring the GRE. For example, when looking at schools, O’Hara discovered Harvard and Yale did not require the exam. (At both institutions the GRE is only required for selected graduate programs).
Only one school O’Hara looked at required the GRE, the University of Maryland Baltimore County. However, after emailing, O’Hara had the requirement waived on account of her master’s degree.
At a summer grad school fair, O’Hara recalled a resounding agreement from admissions officers that if a program required the GRE they said to not even apply because that requirement creates a barrier as to who can apply.
“I wouldn’t take it unless I had to,” O’Hara said.
Collection: Our 'Virginia from above' series
Every week, Times-Dispatch visual journalists take you to a unique location in our "Virginia from above" series.
Have an idea for our next drone feature? Email jwallaces@timesdispatch.com. | https://richmond.com/news/local/education/growing-number-of-virginia-colleges-waiving-sat-and-act-test-requirements/article_571bd02c-2ca2-52dd-9b8e-3c0656adf50e.html | 2022-08-27T17:38:33 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/education/growing-number-of-virginia-colleges-waiving-sat-and-act-test-requirements/article_571bd02c-2ca2-52dd-9b8e-3c0656adf50e.html |
Two drivers were killed in a chain-reaction crash early Saturday on Interstate 64 in Henrico County, according to Virginia State Police.
State Police are investigating reports that the drivers killed in the wreck might have been racing with two other vehicles at an excessive rate of speed.
Authorities said the crash happened at 12:59 a.m. Saturday on I-64 at the 196-mile marker.
A Jaguar heading west on I-64 struck a westbound Lexus. A westbound Honda Civic then struck the Jaguar.
The impact of that crash caused the Jaguar and Lexus to collide again. The Jaguar ran off the interstate and overturned into the woods.
The driver of the Jaguar, Rodney Fowler, 45, of Henrico died of his injuries at the scene.
The driver of the Honda, a 17-year-old male from New Kent County, also died of injuries at the scene. Police did not identify the name of the 17-year-old victim.
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The driver and passenger in the Lexus were transported to VCU Medical Center to treat non-life threatening injuries.
Authorities encouraged anyone with information about the incident i to contact State Police by calling #77 or 804-609-5656 or emailing questions@vsp.virginia.gov. | https://richmond.com/news/local/two-drivers-killed-in-chain-reaction-crash-on-i-64/article_2a34cf6e-cef9-5db1-93e5-e30c7e37fc2b.html | 2022-08-27T17:38:39 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/two-drivers-killed-in-chain-reaction-crash-on-i-64/article_2a34cf6e-cef9-5db1-93e5-e30c7e37fc2b.html |
Each week The Pantagraph profiles a different community member. Know someone we should talk to? Email roger.miller@lee.net.
Name: Donna Verda
Position: Manager of business development for Rader Family Farms in rural Normal
1. What is Rader Family Farms?
Rader Family Farms is a fourth-generation working farm that established an "agritainment" business in 2009. Since then, the Raders have been welcoming the community to the farm each season, allowing guests a unique opportunity to connect with and learn about agriculture while experiencing country living and life on a farm.
The Rader family continues to farm 2,800 acres of corn and soybeans through the Rader Bros. business. Rader Bros. is managed by brothers Arin and Adam Rader.
Our mission statement best answers “what is Rader Family Farms?”: “We harvest more than crops, we harvest memories. The Rader family strives to serve our community with a festive, yet educational and enjoyable fall experience, while giving all praise and glory to God for His beautiful creation and abundant harvest.”
The Raders plan to carry on the tradition of farming and agritourism for years to come and look forward to continuing growing the farmstead through the next generation of eight grandkids.
2. How did it get started and develop over time?
Lynn Rader was raised on this farm when it was a Guernsey dairy. His parents, Glenn and Margaret Rader, moved onto the farm when they married in 1945.
The family grew up milking cows and showing them in 4-H. In 1971 the cows were sold after Glenn Rader’s death. Lynn Rader took over the farm operation at the age of 24. Lynn changed it to a grain farm and always had sweet corn, which he sold at a corner stand at the farm on the honor system. Since then, Lynn and Linda have been grain farmers, their two sons now joining them. Lynn and Linda have three married children and eight grandchildren.
For over 30 years Lynn has grown and sold sweet corn in the summer and later added pumpkins and other produce in the fall.
In 2017 Lynn retired from the sweet corn business but continues to plant 30-plus acres of pumpkins, gourds and specialty fall produce each year to meet the demands of the agritainment business.
As farmers, the Raders realize that people enjoy and appreciate an opportunity to experience the farm and country life. The agritainment business began in 2009 and it allows guests a unique opportunity to connect with and learn about agriculture. The working farm now has a 10-acre corn maze, 50 unique activities for all ages, a coffee shop, bakery, retail shopping and six food venues to serve our guests each year.
The Rader family welcomes you to their farm!
3. What makes it special?
The philosophy behind Rader Family Farms is connecting the community to the farm through the influence of faith, family and fun while developing a relationship and emotional connection with our customers. It is the connections we form with others, and the different ways we collaborate with those people we have formed connections with, that have helped us grow our business each year and share our passion with others.
We are blessed with the opportunity to make our living off of the land, just as our ancestors did. Even though much continues to change over the past four generations, the philosophy remains the same and is based on hard work, wise decision-making and sharing values of a strong heritage based on agriculture and faith.
4. What events and activities do you have during the year, and when is the best time to visit?
During our fall season, which runs September-October, the Raders continue to add activities to keep their guests busy and teach them a little about farm life. The family has come up with unique ways to reinvent common agriculture-related items and activities throughout the farm.
There are more than 50 different activities at the farm, including two culvert pipes that were converted into a double barrel shoot slide and two large grain bins now affectionately known as “Corny Bins” where kids can play in a 2-foot sea of corn kernels.
Tractor tires are used to make a climbing tower, tree logs were turned into a horse with a saddle and an old oil barrel was turned into a critter cart ride for kids.
Old-fashioned water pumps are the force behind the duck pump races and an old hog feeder was turned into a pub table. There is also an old box truck that was painted with chalkboard paint so visitors can use sidewalk chalk to leave their mark at Rader Family Farms.
New this season is a low ropes course, rebuilt Little Village child-sized buildings, a new Konk-a-Crow game, a newly designed Trike Track and a new tractor pull game.
There is also a huge jumping pillow and an apple blaster that shoots apples up to 300 mph, just to name a few of our attractions.
Besides encouraging kids to use their imagination, the Raders also want to bring some educational components to the farm and as a result, they started planting trees from around Illinois, using a map which leads guests on a self-guided tour.
Another educational component at the farm is a crop circle that allows visitors to see crops up close. Sewing Seeds in Second is an exceptional program, which relies on business sponsor funding, that brings local second graders out to the farm to experience a learning tour about how a pizza grows on the farm.
Field trips also take place at the farm Wednesday through Friday during September and October. Rader Family Farms also offers group and corporate events, as well as a birthday party packages. For more about our activities and events at the farm, visit us at RaderFamilyFarms.com
5. What are plans for the farms’ future?
Each year, the Raders have reinvested back into the farm and have expanded their offerings to further enhance their guests’ experience, focusing on the tagline, “Harvesting memories just on the edge of Normal.”
The family is working on a five-year plan to build another big barn that would allow the operation to expand from just a September through October season to include gatherings and events for other seasons, including additional summer events, markets and Christmas.
Annual summer events now include Baby Animal Days, a Sunflower Days festival featuring more than 15 varieties of sunflowers and The Farmstead Fair pop-up vendor market featuring local artisans and a unique outdoor shopping experience. The Rader family continues to develop the farm for thousands of guests to make it their go-to destination each year. | https://pantagraph.com/business/local/5-questions-with-donna-verda-of-rader-family-farms/article_32ee8cc4-2420-11ed-9532-fbdc01513f04.html | 2022-08-27T17:41:27 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/business/local/5-questions-with-donna-verda-of-rader-family-farms/article_32ee8cc4-2420-11ed-9532-fbdc01513f04.html |
ATLANTA — One local voting rights group is raising awareness for Medicaid expansion to support black families living in rural Georgia.
Black Voters Matter will host several rallies and pop-up health clinics at five locations where rural hospitals have closed Sunday, August 28, 2022.
As of 2021, in the past decade, eight rural hospitals have shut down in Georgia; only Texas and Tennessee have had more closures, according to Kaiser Health News.
According to the Sheps Center's North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, rural hospitals that serve communities with large Black populations are more likely than rural hospitals overall to be financially distressed.
The program's research shows that rural hospitals that are financially distressed and serve areas with greater Black and/or Hispanic populations are more likely to close.
Medicaid expansion would help rural Georgia hospitals stay open.
Rural hospitals in states where Medicaid has been expanded are 62% less likely to close than rural hospitals in non-expansion states like Georgia.
Medicaid would allow revenue that would keep hospitals open.
The nonprofit plans to draw attention to the absence of strong policy supporting rural families as part of their "Healthcare is on the Ballot" campaign.
The clinics provided aim to call on state legislators to take action and expand Medicaid to ensure equitable access to healthcare and help close the gap in coverage for communities of color.
The rallies will be held in Calhoun, Hancock, Peach, Randolph and Stewart counties.
Pop-up clinics will include mobile vaccine testing, wellness checks, and CPR training, as well as Q&As with local community leaders.
For more information, click here. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/black-voters-matter-statewide-rallies-medicaid-expansion/85-ddad8c04-aea8-4bc1-96ed-a577d4488a73 | 2022-08-27T17:42:54 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/black-voters-matter-statewide-rallies-medicaid-expansion/85-ddad8c04-aea8-4bc1-96ed-a577d4488a73 |
Gas prices continued their decline this week with regular gas hitting $3.87 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. Gas prices have declined for more than 70 consecutive days since hitting a record high national average of $5.02 per gallon on June 14.
Experts continue to warn that gas prices, which are inextricably tied to crude oil prices, could rise again as the factors that contributed to oil market volatility for most of this year—Russia’s war, low refinery capacity—are still at play.
Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in Dallas, TX metro area using data from AAA. Gas prices are current as of Aug. 25, 2022. State gas tax data is from World Population Review. Connecticut and New York have temporarily suspended gas taxes to help consumers while the cost of gas has increased.
Dallas by the numbers
– Gas current price: $3.42
— Texas average: $3.41
— Texas gas tax: $0.20 per gallon (#42 highest among all states)
– Week change: -$0.06 (-1.8%)
– Year change: +$0.61 (+21.5%)
– Historical expensive gas price: $4.84 (6/16/22)
– Diesel current price: $4.64
– Week change: +$0.08 (+1.8%)
– Year change: +$1.75 (+60.2%)
– Historical expensive diesel price: $5.48 (6/20/22)
Metros with the most expensive gas
#1. San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA: $5.68
#2. Lihue (Kauai), HI: $5.67
#3. Kahului, HI: $5.51
Metros with the least expensive gas
#1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX: $3.10
#2. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX: $3.12
#3. Corpus Christi, TX: $3.17
States with the highest gas tax per gallon
#1. Pennsylvania: $0.59
#2. California: $0.53
#3. Washington: $0.52
States with the lowest gas tax per gallon
#1. Alaska: $0.0895
#2. Hawaii: $0.16
#3. Virginia: $0.162 | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-gas-prices-have-changed-in-dallas-in-the-last-week-15/ | 2022-08-27T17:54:15 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-gas-prices-have-changed-in-dallas-in-the-last-week-15/ |
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray said breaching the lower Snake River dams is not immediately feasible, but the state, region and nation must work to make implementation of the salmon-saving measure a future possibility.
Their much-anticipated report on the issue, released Thursday, says saving the fish is imperative and calls for investments in clean energy development and transportation infrastructure to replace the low-carbon electricity generated at the dams and the tug-and-barge system farmers rely on to get inland crops to West Coast ports.
“We must recognize that breaching the dams does in fact offer us the best chance at protecting endangered salmon and other iconic species that run through these waters. But the hydropower and economic benefits of the dams are significant, and breaching them before we have other systems in place to replace those benefits would be disastrous,” Inslee said in a prepared statement.
He told the Tribune that closing the gap is feasible and touted recent federal infrastructure and climate legislation as positive steps.
“First thing is we have to do all of this work, not just one part of it. It’s not just energy. It’s not just transportation. It’s not just access to irrigation. It’s all of these things,” he said. “And we have to have a comprehensive plan to replace them all. So what we propose is to engage all of our multiple tools in the toolbox to develop the plans and implementation policies to get those things done. It’s a lot of work and this is pushing the go button on that work.”
Murray said in a statement that the region needs to move with some speed. Both of them called on the federal government to lead the effort and to include input from states and tribes.
“Sustaining or replacing the benefits of the dams will require several urgent undertakings: we need to do a lot more to transition to clean and renewable energy sources, we have to invest in the region’s infrastructure to lower the cost of shipping goods to market, and we have to invest in water infrastructure and irrigation to support our producers in the face of a worsening climate crisis,” Murray said.
The report, much like its draft released in June, says replacing the services of the dams will cost between $10.3 billion and $27.2 billion at a minimum over the next 50 years. In the past three decades, the region has spent about $18 billion trying to save the fish with the dams in place. Much of that effort has focused on restoring inland spawning habitat and spilling water at Snake and Columbia river dams during the months juvenile fish are migrating to the ocean.
Breaching the four dams that turned the river between Lewiston and the Tri-Cities into slackwater and slowed the annual migration of salmon and steelhead has been debated for more than three decades. According to fisheries scientists, restoring the river would increase survival of juvenile and adult salmon. But it would also eliminate the generation of electricity at the dams, make tug-and-barge transportation between Lewiston and the Tri-Cities impossible, and reduce irrigation capacity near the Tri-Cities.
Last month, the Biden administration said in a draft report that climate change is a grave threat and the dams must be breached if Snake River salmon and steelhead runs are to be restored to levels that allow for the sustainable harvest of wild fish. The federal government and plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit over Snake River salmon and operation of the federal Columbia Hydropower System are in settlement talks that were recently extended for a year.
Key stakeholders from both sides of the salmon-versus-dams debate found positives in the report and the statements issued by Inslee and Murray.
Supporters of the dams were relieved that Inslee and Murray did not emphatically endorse dam removal. Kurt Miller, executive director of the Northwest River Partners said the nuanced position they took shows they listened to stakeholders like his members, who depend on hydropower produced at the many dams along the lower Snake and Columbia rivers.
“We have been saying the technology doesn’t exist yet to achieve the regions’ decarbonization requirement without the dams. I think their statement confirms that. It confirms they recognize that,” he said. “It sounds like they really listened to the experts on these issues and came away with what I think is a responsible answer that really we just can’t do it right now.”
Samuel N. Penney, chairperson of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, said the report goes in the right direction.
“We appreciate Senator Murray and Gov. Inslee’s recognition that salmon extinction is unacceptable, and that restoring the lower Snake River can be done in a way that not only addresses affected sectors but also ensures a better future for the Northwest,” he said in a statement.
Mitch Cutter, of the Idaho Conservation League at Boise, said recommendations made by Inslee and Murray, including their push for rapid development of renewable energy, a study of Washington’s transportation infrastructure and revamping regional salmon restoration funding by shifting authority away from the Bonneville Power Administration and toward states and tribes show they are committed to making dam breaching possible in the future. He said he does wish the recommendations came with a timeline that would make breaching possible by 2030.
“That sort of urgency was a little lacking from their recommendations,” he said. “That is something we are asking of them.”
Officials at the Ports of Lewiston and Clarkston were still studying the report Thursday and were not able to make immediate comments.
The recommendations of Inslee and Murray are available at bit.ly/3Kk6l5h and the full “Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Report” is available at bit.ly/3Cs6m5c. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/washington-governor-senator-praised-for-remarks-on-snake-river-dam-breaching/article_ffe32f2c-257a-11ed-9685-07a9cf604b39.html | 2022-08-27T18:17:51 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/washington-governor-senator-praised-for-remarks-on-snake-river-dam-breaching/article_ffe32f2c-257a-11ed-9685-07a9cf604b39.html |
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Bexar County Judge candidate Trish DeBerry took a swing at her opponent Peter Sakai with a challenge to more debates.
“I think the voters of Bexar County deserve a legitimate, robust debate with back and forth on critical issues to this county,” DeBerry said in an interview Friday. “We should be able to face off on any question that comes from the audience.”
DeBerry issued the challenge Thursday for what she called four additional “true debates” in each county precinct via her campaign’s Facebook page. At the same time, she alleged that Sakai’s staff asked for questions in advance, turning any off-the-cuff debates into more of a forum-like format.
The race for the judge’s seat had been relatively quiet until Thursday when the two exchanged letters via Facebook.
Sakai rejected DeBerry’s offer in his own letter, calling her challenge “highly duplicitous,” considering at least 14 debates and forums are already on their calendars through October. The San Antonio Real Estate Council is hosting a debate at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Petroleum Club, 8620 N. New Braunfels Ave., Suite 700. A District 2 Neighborhood Forum is planned for Sept. 17, and USAA is planning a forum on Sept. 20.
More debates are expected to be announced by other media outlets, organizations and neighborhood associations as the election draws near.
The winner of the Nov. 8 race will replace County Judge Nelson Wolff, who has served since 2001, and did not seek re-election.
Sakai, a Democrat known for his efforts spent elevating the local children’s court, said DeBerry was attempting to spread “misinformation” and that he has not and will never mandate questions in advance.
“We may not agree on the number and style of forums, but we must always agree not to spread disinformation,” Sakai said. “That kind of info in today’s world leads to chaos and distrust by the community.”
DeBerry, a Republican who served the county as Precinct 3 commissioner before stepping down for the run, called his response “arrogant” and said his refusal was tantamount to censorship for the voter.
“Considering we’ve had a seat with no change in 20 years, the opportunity for us to be able to face off against each other and answer (questions) is imperative,” she said.
“I’ll never be afraid to talk honestly about the important issues of community,” Sakai said, adding that his focus is on protecting the children and families of the community.
Sakai said he was offended by the comments DeBerry posted to her candidate profile on Facebook, where DeBerry said Sakai was “mansplaining” what voters care about.
DeBerry said she has been speaking with voters throughout the county and learning what issues are most important in each area, such as crime escalation and gentrification on the East Side and affordability and accessibility to healthcare on the South Side.
With the Nov. 8 general election 11 weeks out, Sakai said he hoped that this was not a sign of the campaign DeBerry is planning to run.
“I made a pledge during the primary to stay positive,” Sakai said, recalling his efforts to do so during the Democratic primary election with his then opponent Ina Minjarez. “I’m confident that’s what our community is looking for, to find solutions and fix the problems of the community and not engage in partisan and ideology of the current national politics.”
jbeltran@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Bexar-County-judge-candidates-DeBerry-Sakai-17402179.php | 2022-08-27T18:18:27 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Bexar-County-judge-candidates-DeBerry-Sakai-17402179.php |
I live in a home that was reportedly built in the 1920s by Prassel Lumber. When we bought the house in 2000, my husband and I were told it was referred to as “Prassel’s Castle.” I am applying for a grant to help defray the cost of repairing and restoring the windows and tile on the tower, but I need to fill in the details of the history of the house. I am not sure where to look for the information, and I was wondering if you would point me in the right direction. The house is in Alamo Heights on Cloverleaf Avenue, and I believe it was built in 1927 for a family named Crenshaw. I am wondering if the first owner’s last name began with a C, because the wrought-iron panels in the dining and living rooms have what looks like two C’s back to back. I’d appreciate any insights.
— Nora Walker, M.D.
Your house was a recurring character, and even took a starring role in the San Antonio Light’s real estate section for several months in 1927, when it appeared frequently in advertising and advertorials. Its exuberant street-facing personality — cylindrical tower, peaked roofs, different-height masses with crenellations and windows of many shapes and sizes — and overall Spanish/Moorish swag made the papers again and again. An ad in the Light, Feb. 6, 1927, announcing an upcoming open house there, promised “a rare treat for lovers of beautiful homes.”
The ad went on to describe some of its features. The exterior was stucco over Stone-Tile (tile over concrete); inside were a “beautiful marble entrance hall, large living room with fireplace and studio window, handsome dining room circular in form, breakfast room, kitchen, pantry, terrace, servants’ quarters, double garage, three bedrooms and two baths.” The house was staged by Stowers Furniture, including Persian rugs and maroon leather draperies. Buyers had the option of taking the house furnished or unfurnished. Landscaping was complete, with lawns, mature trees and flowering shrubs.
Yours was among the first of more than 20 houses built by Amye Bozarth, whose business slogan called them “Homes, not houses.” All those undertaken in her first years were high-end residences. She worked in partnership with F.L. Hillyer, whose company financed construction and sold building materials; and H.C. Thorman (discussed here May 14), developer of the Olmos Park neighborhoods where her first projects were sited.
By the end of 1928, Bozarth’s ads referred to her “building program” for $1 million in residential construction. It was a time when real estate was a white-hot industry in San Antonio. Commercial construction was raising the skyline with buildings such as the Smith-Young Tower (now Tower Life Building), Medical Arts Building (now Emily Morgan Hotel), Milam Building, Nix Hospital and the former Express-News building. At the same time, suburban developers were extending residential boundaries in every direction and at every price point. In the late 1920s, you could buy a modest house for under $1,000 or a mansion on a hilltop for as much as you liked and could pay.
Bozarth’s were true dream houses, at the high end of the market, located for scenic views and prevailing breezes. Often referred to as one of the city’s foremost female builders, she turned her gender to an advantage, noting in her advertorials that “it is logical to believe that a woman, the natural homemaker, is best equipped to plan a home.”
While she worked with leading architects, including Atlee B. Ayres, Robert H.H. Hugman and John M. Marriott, she added her own touches to their plans “in the interest of homey atmosphere.” That included kitchens with “every modern convenience known to modern home construction,” baths for every bedroom, front and back porches, balconies inside and out, butler’s pantries, hall closets for wraps, conservatories for flowers, billiard rooms, sunrooms or libraries if that’s what the owner wanted.
Bozarth’s houses also boasted state-of-the-art tech for their time — ventilation fans, kitchen exhaust fans, water softeners, service bells and other “mechanical servants.”
Despite her affinity for luxury, Bozarth hadn’t come from a wealthy background.
Born in 1884 in Denison to a Danish immigrant and his wife, Amye Johnson married George W. Bozarth at age 19. Widowed six years later, she couldn’t exactly go home again since her parents had divorced, remarried and relocated.
As Amye Bozarth, she turns up in the 1910 U.S. Census living with her mother, who kept a boarding house in Clovis, N.M., where Bozarth was working as a milliner. This was her first known profession, and it must have given her an eye for design as well as customer service skills. She then progressed from trimming hats at Foley’s department store in Houston in 1913 to a shop of her own in Dallas from 1914 through 1921. After an extensive trip to the Far East — Japan, China and Hong Kong, with a stop in the Philippines on her way back — she moved to San Antonio, where her sister Besse lived with her husband, an Army captain at Fort Sam Houston.
Bozarth first appears in the San Antonio city directories in 1924 — no occupation for the first few years, but she styles herself as “Mrs. Amye Bozarth (widow, G.W.),” and that’s the surname she kept during brief marriages to oil field worker Horace C. Thompson (1928-29) and purchasing agent S.R. McAlary (1929-30). Meanwhile, she was building her business identity. She made one of her model homes her residence as well as her office.
Known as the Amye Bozarth House, the mansion on Devine Road overlooked the Olmos Dam and future home of Olmos Basin Park. Designed by Ayres and completed in 1927, it also was in the Spanish style and had a tower on the street façade with circular stairs inside and a copper weathervane on top.
“Completely asymmetrical, the house meandered through a series of 40-degree angles, numerous changes of wall planes, lively with a great variety of sizes and shapes of openings,” writes Robert James Coote in “The Eclectic Odyssey of Atlee B. Ayres, Architect,” provided by the Texana/Genealogy Room of the San Antonio Public Library. “Unusual for Ayres, there were purely decorative conceits,” Coote observed, such as semicircular arches, stucco grilles, dark wood shutters and balconies with flower-pot holders; a two-story living room with false beams and a circular window with amber glass — “a charming series of pleasant surprises.”
At one point in 1928, Bozarth had seven residential projects in various stages of completion. But with the onset of the Great Depression, the market for opulent houses dwindled. The high-flying builder joined the real estate firm of Richey & Casey as an agent specializing in North Side properties.
After she married a fourth time, to engineer Earl Van Guyther, she added his last name to become Amy Bozarth Guyther professionally, and the couple went into the home-construction business together, building smaller, less- grand houses in Terrell Hills and the Woodlawn area.
Your house — advertised as “Designed and built by Amye Bozarth” — didn’t sell as fast as she probably needed it to, with several other projects in progress. First offered in February 1927, it hadn’t sold by July of that year, when it was advertised for sale by sealed bid, “a sensational opportunity to buy at your own price.”
Oilman George R. Eggleston; his wife, Ora; and their two daughters were the first family to live in the house, according to city directory listings. The Egglestons relocated to Houston in 1936, and attorney James W. Crenshaw and his wife, Eleanor, moved in the following year. The Crenshaws, who had no children, remained in the Cloverleaf house through his death in 1978.
As a solo practitioner who also headed investment and oil-royalty companies and married to a prominent clubwoman, Crenshaw and his wife might have taken to the idea of a double-C monogram at some time in their 40-plus years in the house. Its wrought-iron work was done by Theo. Voss, Artistic Scroll Metal Works Inc. (later Voss Metal Works), so the Chanel-like initials weren’t a maker’s mark.
Bozarth’s advertising always emphasized quality materials and workmanship.
Asked to contribute to an “Amye Bozarth Homes Special Section,” Dick Prassel of Prassel Sash and Door (later Prassel Lumber) wrote a letter noting that “she purchases only high-grade millwork and settles (pays) right now.”
If anything, Prassel said, “Mrs. Bozarth is building too well. I tried to get her to use lighter studs and joists, but she insists on best.”
historycolumn@yahoo.com | Twitter: @sahistorycolumn | Facebook: SanAntoniohistorycolumn | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-builder-woman-history-17402290.php | 2022-08-27T18:18:33 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-builder-woman-history-17402290.php |
Here’s an update of the COVID-19 numbers in the state.
New positive cases: 1,926
New deaths: 9
Total positive cases: 2,271,169
Total number of deaths: 31,427
Total vaccine doses administered: 14,198,824
Rate of transmission: 0.87
CASES BY COUNTY
Atlantic: 64,021 cases, 977 deaths, 381,797 doses administered
Cape May: 12,762 cases, 271 deaths, 134,716 doses administered
Cumberland: 38,125 cases, 588 deaths, 187,601 doses administered
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Ocean: 154,299 cases, 2,913 deaths, 704,979 doses administered
Source: N.J. Department of Health
Figures as of 1 p.m. Aug. 26 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-fewer-than-2-000-new-covid-19-cases-9-new-deaths/article_5ca4214c-25b4-11ed-b62b-27e4c5bf6805.html | 2022-08-27T18:47:24 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-fewer-than-2-000-new-covid-19-cases-9-new-deaths/article_5ca4214c-25b4-11ed-b62b-27e4c5bf6805.html |
The Press of Atlantic City is launching a new community newspaper in South Jersey.
In the first week of October, The Current of Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point will arrive in every mailbox in those communities. It will be a true hyperlocal publication, focused on government and business and what’s happening in local schools.
Since July, editor Delaney Crawford has been busy getting to know the communities by attending and reporting on its meetings and profiling its leaders.
To make this commitment to a true community newspaper, we need to change a few things.
The biggest change will be that, in order to create this new experience, we must end the publication of our six remaining weekly Currents and Gazettes in Atlantic and Cape May counties.
We don’t make this decision lightly: The Press has had a role in publishing the Currents/Gazettes since 1997.
People are also reading…
But in recent years, the weeklies have ceased being an independent news operation and instead have come to rely largely on press releases, submitted content and republished daily stories that originally appeared in The Press of Atlantic City.
Not surprisingly, the advertising support for these free weeklies has waned, as has their profitability. The signs have been clear for some time that something new is needed.
By refocusing our attention on a more hyper-local newspaper, one with its own staff and resources, we are building the next generation of sustainable local news. That next-gen newspaper will earn community support, become a “must read” publication and serve as a model that can be repeated again and again in other communities.
This new endeavor should not mean a reduction in our ability to report on community news. We have found new homes for much of the content that appeared previously in the Currents/Gazettes.
One such place will be in At The Shore, our weekly entertainment guide, which will expand its entertainment and events listings offerings. At The Shore can be found in news racks as free distribution, or delivered in Thursday’s edition of The Press of Atlantic City.
We are also expanding our coverage of local events through our Hometown section, which will now run seven days a week in The Press.
There is also The Press of Atlantic City.
Excuse the plug for a subscription to your local newspaper, but nobody covers South Jersey as deeply or as broadly as our newsroom does. Every day, our journalists are in the community, on the phones, attending meetings, reporting from the sidelines of high school sporting events and bringing back daily reports to you.
Because we live here, we understand what’s important, and we’re determined to cover the stories that matter most to you.
Thank you for your support. And look for updates in the coming days on where and how to get your information regarding your community news.
W.F. "Buzz" Keough is the executive editor of The Press of Atlantic City. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/were-launching-a-hyper-local-current-heres-why/article_cbc93b30-2554-11ed-b149-3f6e7fdc8bc0.html | 2022-08-27T18:47:30 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/were-launching-a-hyper-local-current-heres-why/article_cbc93b30-2554-11ed-b149-3f6e7fdc8bc0.html |
Andy Falletta ran 84 yards for a touchdown and threw a TD pass to lead the Southern Regional High School football team to a 28-0 season-opening win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on Friday night.
The Southern flex bone offense rushed for 414 yards.
Falletta carried four times for 92 yards and completed two of four passes for 40 yards. Dee Halm carried 11 times for 71 yards and a TD. Justin Silva scored on a 65-yard run, and Domenick Crisalli caught a TD pass.
Armando Sanchez led the Rams' defense with eight tackles, three of them for a loss.
Neshaminy, Pa. 21, Ocean City 0: Markus Barnett rushed for 274 yards and two touchdowns to lead Neshaminy in this Battle at the Beach game Friday night.
Barnett scored on runs of 10 and 18 yards. Jullian Hammond scored on a 31-yard run in the fourth quarter.
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Ocean City quarterback Riley Gunnels completed nine of 19 passes for 115 yards. Neshaminy sacked Gunnels eight times.
Ocean City (0-1) will next host rival Mainland Regional (1-0) at 6 p.m. Thursday. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/southern-regional-opens-season-with-shutout/article_d5daf040-262c-11ed-a8de-634437c71909.html | 2022-08-27T18:47:36 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/southern-regional-opens-season-with-shutout/article_d5daf040-262c-11ed-a8de-634437c71909.html |
PLANO, Texas — The Prosper community is now circling support for a 15-year-old high school student in intensive care after a sudden cheer accident earlier this week.
Per her family, Haylee Alexander was rushed to Medical City Plano after an accident in her competitive cheer gym Monday night.
Alexander's family told WFAA the teen suffered a traumatic brain injury.
On Friday night--friends, family, and the cheer community in North Texas held a prayer vigil outside Alexander's hospital room.
Many were wearing Alexander's favorite colors: pink and turquoise.
The family has embraced the hashtag #HayleeStrong and encourages anyone supporting their daughter's recovery to use it.
In just a few days, more than $25,000 has been raised for the family through T-shirt sales that read #HayleeStrong on the front.
The proceeds will go to helping the family pay for medical expenses.
If you'd like to purchase one, you can go here.
Mallory Roberts came to the vigil with her daughter Reagan.
The Roberts family lives a few houses down from Haylee and her family.
Roberts is close friends with Alexander's mother--while Reagan is close with Haylee herself.
"I take her to school every morning," Reagan Roberts said. "We're really close, and she's always there for you no matter what. This is all really shocking, and I almost don't believe it."
The two described Alexander as a 'cheerlebrity'--saying the teen achieved 2021 World Champion and Grand National Champion of Worlds with Cheer Athletics.
"This is every parent's nightmare," Mallory Roberts said. "To receive a phone call that your child has been hurt in a sport they're so passionate about -- it's difficult. This has been really difficult for us, and I know for her family as well."
"If you're in a room and it's dark -- she walks in, and it just lights up. She's so full of life," Roberts continued.
For much of the Prosper cheer community, Alexander's injury feels like Deja Vu.
In September last year, Makayla Noble became paralyzed in a tumbling accident.
She's overcome so many obstacles, though, and has regained function in her upper body.
Noble made sure to be at the vigil Friday night.
Family friend Tatum Curry said that it's emotional gathering outside of Alexander's hospital room. The teen's 16th birthday is coming up too.
But--she added that it's the right thing to do as her family faces a tough road ahead.
"Being so close to her tonight--and to her parents is the right thing to do," Curry said.
"We ask everyone--if you think about her, then pray. When you go to sleep? Pray. Say a prayer when you wake up. Say a prayer because prayers work." | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/prosper-community-rallying-behind-teen-icu-accident-cheer-practice/287-c51498b8-14fc-49e9-8135-ee3fd877444f | 2022-08-27T18:49:28 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/prosper-community-rallying-behind-teen-icu-accident-cheer-practice/287-c51498b8-14fc-49e9-8135-ee3fd877444f |
TOMBALL, Texas — Before Friday night's game between the Tomball Cougars and the Stratford Spartans, the school took some time to honor their former teammate.
The Tomball community honored former player Carson Collins, who was tragically killed over the summer by an escaped inmate.
His #5 jersey was presented to his parents with players and fans wearing 'Collins Strong' bracelets as well.
Carson was one of the five members of the Collins family that were killed by escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez. His grandfather Mark, along with his brothers Waylon, Hudson and cousin Bryson, were killed at a cabin next to the family ranch in Centerville.
Lopez escaped back in May after attacking a corrections officer and hijacking a prison bus in Leon County while being transported between prisons.
On June 2, authorities said Lopez killed the Collins family and stole their truck before making his way to a rural area near San Antonio. Lopez was then killed in a shootout.
“This is devastation,” said Chris Collins, the father of Waylon, Carson and Hudson back in June during a funeral service. “While we are hurting more than we could possibly imagine, we will be OK.”
Collins and other family members called the murder by Lopez an act of evil.
“Even that night before, we had all the information ... I looked up in my backyard, and I said, ‘God, tell me my babies are OK,’” Collins said. “Almost audibly, I could hear, ‘They’re OK. I’ve got them. They’re OK.’ No, it was not the ‘OK’ that a flesh-and-blood father wanted, but in that moment, I had the most supernatural peace that I’d ever had in my entire life.”
Family members said they were overwhelmed by the love shown to them from around the nation during their time of overwhelming loss. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/tomball-family-killed-by-gonzalo-lopez-honored/285-56ffeb0c-2b6a-4abf-a0c7-ad5e59727aae | 2022-08-27T18:49:34 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/tomball-family-killed-by-gonzalo-lopez-honored/285-56ffeb0c-2b6a-4abf-a0c7-ad5e59727aae |
Gas prices continued their decline this week with regular gas hitting $3.87 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. Gas prices have declined for more than 70 consecutive days since hitting a record high national average of $5.02 per gallon on June 14.
Experts continue to warn that gas prices, which are inextricably tied to crude oil prices, could rise again as the factors that contributed to oil market volatility for most of this year—Russia’s war, low refinery capacity—are still at play.
Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area using data from AAA. Gas prices are current as of Aug. 25, 2022. State gas tax data is from World Population Review. Connecticut and New York have temporarily suspended gas taxes to help consumers while the cost of gas has increased.
Fort Worth by the numbers
– Gas current price: $3.43
— Texas average: $3.41
— Texas gas tax: $0.20 per gallon (#42 highest among all states)
– Week change: -$0.05 (-1.4%)
– Year change: +$0.61 (+21.8%)
– Historical expensive gas price: $4.84 (6/16/22)
– Diesel current price: $4.62
– Week change: +$0.08 (+1.8%)
– Year change: +$1.73 (+59.7%)
– Historical expensive diesel price: $5.45 (6/20/22)
Metros with the most expensive gas
#1. San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA: $5.68
#2. Lihue (Kauai), HI: $5.67
#3. Kahului, HI: $5.51
Metros with the least expensive gas
#1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX: $3.10
#2. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX: $3.12
#3. Corpus Christi, TX: $3.17
States with the highest gas tax per gallon
#1. Pennsylvania: $0.59
#2. California: $0.53
#3. Washington: $0.52
States with the lowest gas tax per gallon
#1. Alaska: $0.0895
#2. Hawaii: $0.16
#3. Virginia: $0.162 | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-gas-prices-have-changed-in-fort-worth-in-the-last-week-15/ | 2022-08-27T18:50:25 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-gas-prices-have-changed-in-fort-worth-in-the-last-week-15/ |
ALBANY – Fellowship-trained cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. James Coman has joined Phoebe’s Heart & Vascular team, bringing a vast array of advanced procedures designed to specifically treat the electrical systems of the heart to southwest Georgia residents.
“Dr. Coman is a great addition to our already highly-trained heart and vascular team," Dr. Suresh Lakhanpal, the CEO of Phoebe Physicians, said in a news release. "With more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Coman’s expertise will help meet an important need in southwest Georgia. As we continue to grow our network of specialists, we remain focused on ensuring our patients have access to leading care right here, close to home.”
Coman said he is “looking forward to a long-term commitment to bring high-quality electrophysiology care to this area,” as he prepared to start his career at Phoebe
Coman is among only a handful of physicians in the state specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of rhythm disturbances. He brings extensive expertise in a vast array of procedures – from cutting-edge catheter-based ablation to device-based therapies designed specifically to treat the electrical system of the heart.
An engineer by training, Coman said electrophysiology is a natural transition given its focus on electrical systems in the heart.
“Cardiology is the study of the heart," he said. "Most people are familiar with the pump functions of the heart, but many do not know that the heart also works like a clock. It is this clock which I repair. I find it both challenging and rewarding every single day."
Coman completed dual fellowships in cardiology and electrophysiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his medical degree and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham after receiving his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Additionally, Coman obtained board certification in cardiac electrophysiology and continues to maintain that certification.
“Dr. Coman is passionate about his profession and it shows," Lakhanpal said. "Continually maintaining board certification in cardiac electrophysiology demonstrates his commitment to higher standards for top quality care in a rapidly evolving specialty."
Coman has collaborated on multiple publications and research projects, presented at national scientific sessions and participated in international lectures in Japan, Sweden and Denmark.
Prior to joining Phoebe Physicians, Coman worked at the Heart Rhythm Institute of Oklahoma in Tulsa.
“My roots are in Alabama, so this move brings me closer to my home and my family," he said. "In addition, I sought the quiet and calm that a smaller town brings. Life can become too busy and frantic in larger cities. We are already so pleased with the community here in Albany and the Phoebe Family has been most welcoming."
Phoebe’s Heart & Vascular program includes 18 specialists from cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons to a vascular surgeon and cardiac electrophysiologist. Coman is accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment, call Phoebe Electrophysiology at (229) 312-7790.
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One of two suspects wanted for breaking into multiple cars in the Ashley Riverside Apartment complex on Jackson Street was apprehended by Albany Police Department officers Friday.
ALBANY -- One of two suspects wanted for breaking into multiple cars in the Ashley Riverside Apartment complex on Jackson Street was apprehended by Albany Police Department officers Friday.
An official police report said offers responded to the 300 block of Jackson Street at around 3:30 a.m. Witnesses told officers that two male suspects were going through unlocked cars in the Ashley Riverside complex. While searching for suspects on foot, officers saw two males pulling on car door handles.
During an ensuing chase, one of the suspects was apprehended and identified as Montravious Darity. Darity already had warrants for entering auto and aggravated assault. The second suspect was not immediately identified, the report said.
Darity was charged with two counts of entering auto and three counts of obstruction of an officer. He was taken and booked in the Dougherty County Jail.
Anyone with information regarding the second suspect’s whereabouts or identity is encouraged to contact Crimestoppers at (229) 436-TIPS or the Albany Police Department at (229) 431-2100.
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KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK)—A 4-year-old boy was found after an Amber Alert was issued in the early hours of Saturday morning.
An alert sent by Kanawha County 911 just after midnight said that Carter Fulks was taken from his home on Brounland Rd. in the Alum Creek area by his mother, Sarah Hall. The alert said that Hall did not have custody of her son.
The Amber Alert was canceled around 4:00 a.m. after Kanawha County 911 says Carter Fulks was located by police.
This is a developing story, and we will provide updates as new information becomes available. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/4-year-old-boy-found-after-amber-alert-issued-in-kanawha-county/ | 2022-08-27T19:13:58 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/4-year-old-boy-found-after-amber-alert-issued-in-kanawha-county/ |
MEIGS COUNTY, OH (WOWK)—A person is dead after an explosion in the Scipio Township area of Meigs County.
The Meigs County Sheriff’s Office says that they began investigating the explosion of a homemade explosive device on Friday. They say that a person died from injuries sustained in the explosion.
They say that they are working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and that they executed a search warrant on Kingbury Road.
This investigation is ongoing, but the sheriff’s office says there is no danger to the public. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/person-dead-after-meigs-county-ohio-explosion/ | 2022-08-27T19:14:04 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/person-dead-after-meigs-county-ohio-explosion/ |
FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (WOWK)—A man is facing kidnapping charges after an incident in the Smithers area on Friday.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says that a woman came in wanting to make a complaint. They say she was visibly battered and in distress while she told them that her boyfriend held her against her will and beat and choked her for two days.
The sheriff’s office says the woman was able to escape after driving to the South Charleston area and getting her boyfriend to exit the car.
40-year-old Harold Richard-Daniel Tolbert, of Smithers, is charged with kidnapping, strangulation and domestic battery.
He is being held at the Southern Regional Jail until court proceedings. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/smithers-man-faces-kidnapping-strangulation-charges/ | 2022-08-27T19:14:10 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/smithers-man-faces-kidnapping-strangulation-charges/ |
LANSING, Mich. — Workers at a Chipotle store in Michigan have voted to unionize, becoming the first of the Mexican fast-food chain’s 3,000 locations to do so amid a broader unionization push across the country.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said workers at a Chipotle store in Lansing, Michigan, “voted overwhelmingly" Thursday to form a union with the Teamsters.
The workers “are forming a union to improve their work schedules, increase wages, and gain the respect from management that they’ve rightfully earned," the union said in a statement.
Newport Beach, California-based Chipotle said in a statement Friday it is “disappointed that the employees at our Lansing, MI restaurant chose to have a third party speak on their behalf because we continue to believe that working directly together is best for our employees.”
Laurie Schalow, the company's chief corporate affairs officer, added that Chipotle “is proud to offer our employees industry-leading benefits such as competitive wages, debt-free degrees, tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 per year, health benefits and quarterly bonuses for all employees."
The Lansing store's vote to unionize comes amid a broader unionization push across the country, with workers at Starbucks unionizing more than 180 U.S. stores since late last year, while Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York voted to unionize this spring.
In July, Chipotle closed a store in Augusta, Maine, that had been leading efforts to unionize the chain. That closure came after the store's employees filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in June asking to hold a union — the first of the company's stores to file such a petition, according to NLRB filings.
Scott Quenneville, the president of the Lansing-based Teamsters Local 243, which represents more than 4,000 workers across Michigan, said the Lansing Chipotle store's workers now “have a union they can be proud of, that knows how to get things done.”
“Chipotle pulled in revenue of $7.5 billion last year, and just as we’re seeing workers of all ages and backgrounds across the country take on these corporate giants, it’s so inspiring to see Chipotle workers stand up and demand more from a company that can clearly afford it,” he said in a statement.
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Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/michigan-chipotle-workers-unionize/69-0b834dac-5e05-4de3-adcd-7fbd7e7d58de | 2022-08-27T19:17:09 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/michigan-chipotle-workers-unionize/69-0b834dac-5e05-4de3-adcd-7fbd7e7d58de |
Chesterfield County Police are investigating the firing of gunshots Saturday afternoon at the New Life Outreach International Church.
There were no reports of injuries.
At about 12:21 p.m. off-duty officers were in the parking lot of the church at 1005 Turner Road, waiting to conduct a funeral escort, when they overheard several gunshots from within the building. They then investigated the scene and cleared the building.
A release from the department stated that “this appears to be an isolated incident and there are no known injuries to anyone attending the funeral service that police are currently aware of.”
The department will continue to investigate the incident and encouraged anyone with information to contact Chesterfield County Police Department at 804-748-1251.
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- Charlotte Rene Woods | https://richmond.com/news/local/chesterfield-police-investigate-shots-fired-at-church-no-injuries/article_28e35608-f1c7-5252-aa0c-4552db904200.html | 2022-08-27T19:19:48 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/chesterfield-police-investigate-shots-fired-at-church-no-injuries/article_28e35608-f1c7-5252-aa0c-4552db904200.html |
A Chesterfield County jury on Friday evening found a Rockville man guilty of killing of his girlfriend more than 25 years ago in an unusual, challenging case that was tried without the victim's body or a cause of death.
After deliberating about seven hours at the end of a week-long trial, jurors returned a guilty verdict in Chesterfield Circuit Court against John Harvey Howard, 63, in the disappearance and murder of his then-girlfriend, Linda Lunsford. She was a 38-year-old mother of five working at Walmart at the time.
A sentencing date was not set. Howard, who had been released on bond before the trial, was allowed to remain free pending sentencing. He has no prior criminal record, has been compliant with his release conditions and will remain living with a daughter in Arizona until sentencing.
Howard's conviction marks the third time in a little over six years that the Chesterfield Commonwealth's Attorney's Office has succeeded in prosecuting men for killing their girlfriends without bodies being found in separate cases in 2016, 2017 and this year.
The Howard case may have been more challenging due to the time that passed since the victim disappeared.
A no-body homicide case has two main hurdles: proving the victim is in fact deceased and proving the victim's death was the result of a homicide. Examination of a body usually provides significant direct evidence of a crime.
In cases where no body is recovered, there can be no autopsy, no photographs of injuries or clothes, among other things. Under those circumstances, prosecutors must present a large amount of circumstantial evidence, rather than the direct forensic evidence that jurors typically expect to see.
Chesterfield Commonwealth's Attorney Stacey Davenport and defense attorney Greg Sheldon both declined to comment on the trial and its outcome, citing a gag order barring them from commenting on the case until its conclusion. Chesterfield Circuit Judge Lynn Brice imposed the order in late March after concerns arose about pre-trial publicity stemming from a news release Davenport issued about her trial preparations.
Aside from sentencing, one potentially significant issue in the case that remains to be decided is a defense motion to strike the evidence in the case. Before the jury began its deliberations, Howard's attorney asked the judge to strike the prosecution's evidence on grounds that it is insufficient as a matter of law to sustain a conviction.
Brice did not immediately make a ruling, opting to take the motion under advisement. A hearing will be held on the matter.
Lunsford suddenly disappeared on Dec. 26, 1996, after she and Howard finished their shifts at the Walmart store just off Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield. Her Nissan Sentra was found in front of the Food Lion store in the Village Marketplace shopping center, just west of Walmart. Lunsford and Howard had a contentious on-and-off relationship.
After years of investigation, Howard was indicted May 17, 2021 on a first-degree murder charge and arrested the following day with help of the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Fugitive Task Force. At the time of his arrest, Howard was living in the 17500 block of Pouncey Tract Road in Hanover County. He was unemployed and had no assets to hire an attorney, aside from a $186 retirement check he receives monthly.
In Chesterfield's earlier no-body murder cases, prosecutors convinced a jury in April 2016 that there was enough evidence to convict Michael Anthony Edwards - the former boyfriend of Altria executive Leyla Namiranian - of her death, even though there was no direct forensic evidence tying him to the crime.
The victim's journal, which included entries on Namiranian's relationship with Edwards - along with a wealth of other circumstantial evidence - proved sufficient for jurors to convict Edwards of second-degree murder in her April 2012 disappearance and death. He received a 30-year prison term.
Nineteen months later, Dr. John E. Gibbs III, a former Sheltering Arms physician who made no effort to find his longtime girlfriend after she disappeared on June 7, 2014, was found guilty of her murder. An abundance of circumstantial evidence convinced jurors that Gibbs killed and hid the body of Zulman L. Pabon, then 26, who was a nurse at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital. He was sentenced to serve 50 years in prison.
Leslie Luck, shown in a drone photo taken Tuesday, is director of operations for the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation. “Historic Polegreen Church is known as the cradle of religious freedom,” Luck said of the Hanover County site. Samuel Davies, who inspired a young Patrick Henry, was Virginia’s first licensed non-Anglican minister there from 1748 to 1759. The original church structure was burned down during the Civil War, and the current white steel beam structure, designed by Carlton Abbott, was erected at the site. Other than the historical importance and symbolism for religious freedom, Historic Polegreen Church is a popular wedding venue and was made even more popular since guitarist Jason Mraz, a Mechanicsville native, was married here in 2015.
Visitors took in the views of the valley, about 1,000 feet below, and the mountains beyond at a scenic spot on Rockfish Gap Turnpike near Afton on July 31.
This drone photo was taken from the scenic overlook on Interstate 64.
Flying the drone is not allowed at nearby Shenandoah National Park; however, there are scenic overlooks, including McCormick Gap, Calf Mountain and Sawmill Run.
Visitors can also find three historical markers at the I-64 overlook: the Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District, the Flight of Richard C. duPont and the Rockfish Gap Meeting.
There are many beautiful spots in the Hampton Roads area for photographers, such as beaches, rivers and state and national parks. But there are not many places available for drone photography because of the many restricted airspaces due to military bases, airports, and state and national parks.
Gloucester Point in Gloucester County is one of the exceptions, with a popular public fishing pier, a small beach and views of the Coleman Memorial Bridge and Yorktown. With the right timing and cooperation from Mother Nature, visitors are rewarded with a beautiful sunset over the bridge and a view of Yorktown’s waterfront.
The Times-Dispatch covered Alvis Farms a few years ago when the Goochland County farm started the Sunflower Festival.
The imagery stayed with me, and I thought it would be a cool place to fly a drone and capture images of a 50-acre sunflower field. I learned that timing is crucial, as the flowers fully bloom for only a few weeks in the middle of summer.
I coordinated with Rachel Henley of Alvis Farms to find the best time to photograph them. Once I visited the field with a drone, showing perspective of the sunflower farm became the challenge, as again it is 50 acres brimming with sunflowers.
Hannah Molnar of Alvis Farms had a cow, Memphis, at the field as she and others were preparing for the opening of the festival.
I was able to capture Hannah and Memphis with the flowers in full bloom, with the drone showing the scale of the farm.
Leslie Luck, shown in a drone photo taken Tuesday, is director of operations for the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation. “Historic Polegreen Church is known as the cradle of religious freedom,” Luck said of the Hanover County site. Samuel Davies, who inspired a young Patrick Henry, was Virginia’s first licensed non-Anglican minister there from 1748 to 1759. The original church structure was burned down during the Civil War, and the current white steel beam structure, designed by Carlton Abbott, was erected at the site. Other than the historical importance and symbolism for religious freedom, Historic Polegreen Church is a popular wedding venue and was made even more popular since guitarist Jason Mraz, a Mechanicsville native, was married here in 2015.
Visitors took in the views of the valley, about 1,000 feet below, and the mountains beyond at a scenic spot on Rockfish Gap Turnpike near Afton on July 31.
This drone photo was taken from the scenic overlook on Interstate 64.
Flying the drone is not allowed at nearby Shenandoah National Park; however, there are scenic overlooks, including McCormick Gap, Calf Mountain and Sawmill Run.
Visitors can also find three historical markers at the I-64 overlook: the Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District, the Flight of Richard C. duPont and the Rockfish Gap Meeting.
There are many beautiful spots in the Hampton Roads area for photographers, such as beaches, rivers and state and national parks. But there are not many places available for drone photography because of the many restricted airspaces due to military bases, airports, and state and national parks.
Gloucester Point in Gloucester County is one of the exceptions, with a popular public fishing pier, a small beach and views of the Coleman Memorial Bridge and Yorktown. With the right timing and cooperation from Mother Nature, visitors are rewarded with a beautiful sunset over the bridge and a view of Yorktown’s waterfront.
The Times-Dispatch covered Alvis Farms a few years ago when the Goochland County farm started the Sunflower Festival.
The imagery stayed with me, and I thought it would be a cool place to fly a drone and capture images of a 50-acre sunflower field. I learned that timing is crucial, as the flowers fully bloom for only a few weeks in the middle of summer.
I coordinated with Rachel Henley of Alvis Farms to find the best time to photograph them. Once I visited the field with a drone, showing perspective of the sunflower farm became the challenge, as again it is 50 acres brimming with sunflowers.
Hannah Molnar of Alvis Farms had a cow, Memphis, at the field as she and others were preparing for the opening of the festival.
I was able to capture Hannah and Memphis with the flowers in full bloom, with the drone showing the scale of the farm.
The counselor flew under the radar and continued his employment with the state’s largest school division for 20 months after his first solicitation arrest. The Virginia Department of Corrections is opening an investigation regarding the incident, an official said.
A counselor for the state’s largest public school system kept his job for more than a year and a half after his arrest in Chesterfield on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
In response to a FOIA request from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, police released drafts of talking points and a news release. None of them mention Dogwood Dell amphitheater.
A 19-year-old Henrico County man was sentenced to serve eight years in prison last week in the shooting death of his 18-year-old girlfriend, whose body was found partially propped up against the back door of an apartment where they were temporarily staying. Whether the shooting was intentional or accidental was never resolved.
John H. Howard, 63, was convicted Friday in the 1996 disappearance and murder of his then-girlfriend, Linda Lunsford, a 38-year-old mother of five when she vanished. Her body was never found. The photo of Howard pictured above was taken after his arrest last year. | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/chesterfield-jury-finds-man-guilty-of-1996-murder-of-his-girlfriend/article_e1be2517-65e6-5015-963a-b9ccafbf3ed3.html | 2022-08-27T19:19:54 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/chesterfield-jury-finds-man-guilty-of-1996-murder-of-his-girlfriend/article_e1be2517-65e6-5015-963a-b9ccafbf3ed3.html |
Some parents from Uvalde started protesting outside the governor’s mansion in Austin on Saturday just before 6:00 a.m. to demand that Gov. Abbott take action toward gun safety.
This comes after the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde where an 18-year-old gunman killed two teachers and 19 children.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth ruled that the state law prohibiting most 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying a handgun outside the home violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms and cannot be enforced. He stayed the ruling from taking effect for 30 days.
The group marching will also include survivors from the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, where 10 Texans were killed.
For updates, visit our affiliate KXAN. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/march-for-our-lives-rally-uvalde-families-demand-raise-in-minimum-age-to-buy-ar-15s/3058531/ | 2022-08-27T19:21:29 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/march-for-our-lives-rally-uvalde-families-demand-raise-in-minimum-age-to-buy-ar-15s/3058531/ |
WASHINGTON — When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, it left Arizona officials, advocates and physicians with 120 years of conflicting abortion laws to untangle.
Two months later, things are still tangled.
“We have struggled to understand what is permissible by law,” said Dr. Jill Gibson, medical director for Planned Parenthood Arizona. “It’s antithetical to my ethical and moral obligations as a physician, which are to the patient.”
The first step toward clarity might have come on Aug. 19, when state officials and abortion-rights groups argued in Pima County Superior Court whether the state should enforce a 1901 law prohibiting abortions or a 2022 law allowing them up to 15 weeks.
But a decision in that case is not expected until late September. In the meantime, uncertainty about the state of the law has forced abortion providers like Planned Parenthood to “pause” the procedure.
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“We are not a group of lawbreakers,” Gibson said. “We are a group of individuals that have worked our entire lives to serve humanity. To suddenly be questioned in terms of criminality is extremely disheartening and, quite frankly, terrifying.”
To abortion opponents like the Center for Arizona Policy, however, there should be no conflict for physicians.
“Life is a human right,” said Cindy Dahlgren, a spokesperson for the center. “It has been shown over and over again that abortions take a human life. A separate and distinct human life.
“It has always been our position that if or when Roe is overturned, that Arizona pre-Roe law would go back into effect,” Dahlgren said.
That law is Arizona Revised Statute 13-3603, a 1901 law that made it a crime to perform an abortion or take any action on a pregnant woman “with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life.” It carried a prison sentence of two to five years.
A Pima County judge put the law on hold 50 years ago, after the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe decision that recognized a right to an abortion.
The injunction is still in place today, even though the high court this summer overturned Roe. It ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health that there is no constitutional right to an abortion and that states or Congress needs to decide what should be allowed.
In the meantime, Arizona has passed a number of laws regarding abortion – most recently this spring when Gov. Doug Ducey signed a measure allowing abortion until 15 weeks of pregnancy. That law, which will take effect in late September, would lower the restriction from the pre-Dobbs limit of about 24 weeks.
But Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced just days after Dobbs was handed down that the 1901 law, not the 2022 law, should be enforced in Arizona. And he went to court in Pima County to get the 1973 injunction of the territorial-era law lifted.
That put Planned Parenthood in the unusual position of arguing for later laws that allow but limit abortions, like the new 15-week law, during what Gibson called a “tense” hearing before Pima Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson.
The attorney general’s office argued that the law setting the 15-week limit did not repeal the 1901 ban.
“The Arizona Legislature has consistently re-affirmed our existing law prior to Roe v. Wade, most recently the legislation passed by lawmakers and signed by the government earlier this year,” said a statement from Brittni Thomason, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office.
But Planned Parenthood lawyer Sarah Mac Dougall argued that nearly 50 years of state law regulating abortion as a “legal, medical procedure” would be upended by the old law, causing confusion for patients, physicians and prosecutors.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover joined the case on the side of Planned Parenthood, saying in court filings that lifting the injunction “without the necessary modification to harmonize” the conflicting laws would lead to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of the law.
At a Planned Parenthood rally outside the courthouse Friday, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero led the crowd in chants of “si, se puede,” said Gibson, while Conover repeated her promise not to prosecute abortion providers in the county.
“She (Conover) really let the people of Tucson know that their county attorney supports them and was fighting for them,” said Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona.
But Dahlgren thinks the tide has been turning against abortion for some time.
“Arizonans value human life,” she said. “Women have been told for so long that abortions are the answer to unplanned pregnancies, but now they are starting to learn that they are not alone.”
Fonteno was reluctant to predict how Johnson might rule.
“We don’t have a crystal ball,” she said. “We will determine what our next step is and our strategy moving forward depending on what she (Johnson) comes out with in September.”
For Gibson, the fight “is everything.”
“The stakes could not be higher,” she said. “If abortion is outlawed, there is going to be suffering for pregnant people and their families.” | https://tucson.com/news/local/2-months-after-roe-reversal-abortion-picture-in-arizona-no-clearer/article_7fd575ce-258e-11ed-ae7b-d7e0eb96b71c.html | 2022-08-27T19:22:55 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/2-months-after-roe-reversal-abortion-picture-in-arizona-no-clearer/article_7fd575ce-258e-11ed-ae7b-d7e0eb96b71c.html |
Tucson police have arrested a man in connection to a homicide that happened back in April.
Detectives identified Tony Razo, 44, as the suspect in the death of Ronald Bonillas, 55. On Aug. 24, police found Razo at a residence in the 2600 block of South Eighth Avenue, near West 37th Street.
Razo was taken into custody and charged on suspicion of second-degree murder, police said.
On April 27, police received a 911 call reporting an unresponsive man in the front yard of a condemned house in the 4000 block of South Belmar Avenue, near West Lincoln Street. Upon arriving, officers found Bonillas and pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.
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/man-arrested-in-connection-to-april-homicide-tucson-police-say/article_07e7d902-261b-11ed-95ee-d7acbc51c2e5.html | 2022-08-27T19:23:01 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-arrested-in-connection-to-april-homicide-tucson-police-say/article_07e7d902-261b-11ed-95ee-d7acbc51c2e5.html |
The Coos Bay Downtown Association is proud to announce the Bay Area Fun Festival Parade which will be held on Saturday, September 17. Applications for the Fun Festival Parade are now available. The parade application fee is $15 per entry.
The Coos Bay Downtown Association promotion committee has selected for this year’s parade “Life is a Circus, Come Enjoy the Show” as its parade theme. Parade participants are encouraged to decorate their entries in keeping with the theme. Best decorated entries will be eligible for prizes.
Interested parade participants can fill out an application available on the Coos Bay Downtown Association or Fun Festival websites. (www.coosbaydowntown.org) or (http://bayareafunfestival.com)
The parade is Saturday, September 17, and will start at 1 p.m. from 4th and Golden and travel through Downtown Coos Bay. Check in starts at 10 a.m. and is located at the corner of 2nd and Golden. Entries must be checked in and in place by noon for judging. For additional information, call Holly at 541-266-9706.
The Coos Bay Downtown Association promotes Coos Bay as an attractive place to live, work, and visit by continually enhancing the quality life of the downtown area. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/bay-area-fun-festival-parade-set-sept-17/article_0322f29c-23f7-11ed-a849-4f26b7ea88fc.html | 2022-08-27T19:23:02 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/bay-area-fun-festival-parade-set-sept-17/article_0322f29c-23f7-11ed-a849-4f26b7ea88fc.html |
Fabi Hirsch Kruse had just started her private practice when she was asked to help one of her field's most famous patients.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had been shot during a 2011 "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson. One of her primary challenges: aphasia, a condition nearly 85% of the country has never heard of, according to the National Aphasia Association.
This summer's release of Giffords' documentary, "Won't Back Down," along with actor Bruce Willis' recent diagnosis, have brought more attention to this devastating condition affecting roughly 2 million Americans — and over 6,000 Pima County residents.
Aphasia is often brought on by a stroke or, as in Giffords' case, a brain injury. Other causes can include a brain tumor or infection. Kruse said they are now also seeing more cases related to brain degeneration, leading to a type called Primary Progressive Aphasia.
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Kruse, who earned her doctorate in speech and hearing sciences at the University of Arizona, said her interest in aphasia started when she was completing her master’s degree, and began working with a police officer who'd had a stroke.
"When I first started looking into speech therapy as a career, I thought I would work with children," she said. "I had never heard of aphasia, and didn't really even know that adults could have speech and language difficulties that require therapy."
Kruse remembers being struck that someone could lose such critical abilities: speaking, understanding language, reading, writing.
"I was touched both by the tragedy of aphasia, and the incredible determination people demonstrated in the face of it," she said. "I felt that if I could have any impact on making their lives better through my work, that was what I wanted to pursue."
'Friends of Aphasia'
Giffords has been living with aphasia for 11 years after a bullet damaged the left side of her brain, which is where language function is centered.
“Gabby is very unique,” Kruse said. “A gunshot wound to the head. Most don’t survive it.”
About four years ago, to help more people with these challenges, Kruse and Giffords started a nonprofit called Friends of Aphasia, located at 1011 N. Craycroft Road, Suite 301.
Early last week, Andy Ortiz, Christina Thomas and Rona Howard gathered there, with Kruse, for a group therapy session. Each of these Tucsonans developed aphasia after a stroke, and each have unique challenges when it comes to language and communication.
That's typical, Kruse says. Aphasia is different for everyone, and some find it easier to speak than to read or write, while others are the opposite. Sometimes, people mistakenly think people with aphasia have a cognitive challenge, or that they have been drinking or using drugs.
“The thing that’s really important to know is that it does not impact cognition,” Kruse said.
What it does impact is a person's ability to connect with others, and can lend itself strongly to social isolation and loneliness.
Support groups are critical for this reason, Kruse said. It's vital for people with aphasia to come together and work on things without feeling pressure.
"People want to do things so quickly," Kruse said of the public in general, "especially talking."
Yet while aphasia is very challenging, Kruse said people at her center share a lot of laughs and discuss many things: dating, finding new purpose in doing volunteer work, work woes.
During therapy, Kruse is constantly writing down what people say and then showing it back to the group. She does this for a number of reasons: some members have impaired auditory comprehension and it helps to have the spoken word paired with the written word.
Another reason, she said, is to help people follow a train of thought, and recall where the conversation is at if they lose their place. Lastly, it serves as a way to maintain a record of what was shared. That way, a group member can point to a word and resume the conversation if they've lost their place.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kruse started doing virtual programming with these methods, and just resumed in-person sessions a few months back. Those virtual programs have also kept going, with members tuning in from all over the country.
'Had to give that up'
During last week's session, Thomas shared how she'd like to visit her daughter in Germany but the stroke has left her nervous about flying, even though her neurologist said it's fine. In a few months, it will have been four years.
Thomas was initially told she would never walk or talk again, but she's proven that was wrong. Still, some things are no longer within grasp.
"For 30 years, I was an accountant and now I can't," she said, clearly but slowly. "It's hard. I had to give that up."
While Thomas communicates clearly at time during the session, other times she pauses for a long time, and sometimes the words didn't come to her at all.
Among the hardest words for many people with aphasia to say are functors, the little words we say over and over again including pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions.
Ortiz, who had a stroke two years ago, finds it most challenging to comprehend what's being said, especially if people are in a rush. One example: ordering in a restaurant. Questions from wait staff can be overwhelming, he said.
'We make it work'
When Howard had her stroke six years ago, she was 43 and running her own cleaning business.
She had to shut it down.
Howard uses an app called Speech Assistant on her phone to talk, and uses pre-programmed messages or writes new ones herself. In a recent Facebook post, she shared what it's been like to be a mother with aphasia raising a teenager.
"My daughter knows that when I'm typing something she sits down next to me and patiently waits for me to finish," she wrote. "We talk about everything until I'm sure she understands me. Sometimes we are both exhausted but we make it work."
Howard wrote that she can sometimes hear her daughter making her own doctor's appointment "because I can't talk on the phone."
"She is 18 years old now and just graduated high school," she said. "Aphasia just brought us closer. We have our own special language."
Contact reporter Patty Machelor at 806-7754 or pmachelor@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/speech-therapist-who-helped-giffords-offers-support-for-others-with-aphasia/article_fb7e5bac-1db2-11ed-9f96-334209b66b3b.html | 2022-08-27T19:23:07 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/speech-therapist-who-helped-giffords-offers-support-for-others-with-aphasia/article_fb7e5bac-1db2-11ed-9f96-334209b66b3b.html |
The City of North Bend is pleased to continue great events for youth within the North Bend School District boundaries. Students entering Kindergarten through 12th grades in the fall can participate in a number of activities that will provide engaging and enriching opportunities.
Learn how to fish on Tenmile Lakes with the experts.
All aboard for a trip like no other visiting the coastal past and present on the Museum Hop.
Find out more about the day in the life of the United States Coast Guard.
And travel the North Bend of the Coos Bay River for a stunning view of the shore and the McCullough Bridge from the water aboard the Betty Kay.
You can learn how to arrange flowers or play soccer through Epuerto Sports.
There is also Batting Cage practice time, ATV skills, and a trip to the Mahaffy Ranch Pumpkin Patch.
It is all free and all part of the adventures provided by the Summer Youth Enrichment Program sponsored by the City of North Bend. Hurry, events are filling fast. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/north-bend-summer-program-continues/article_1b826f24-23f8-11ed-83a0-27329a979ad8.html | 2022-08-27T19:23:08 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/north-bend-summer-program-continues/article_1b826f24-23f8-11ed-83a0-27329a979ad8.html |
For a number of hours Saturday, more than 100 community members who often feel marginalized were able to stand tall and proud during Pride in the Park.
The celebration of the LGBTQ community, hosted by Southern Oregon Coast Pride, gave many an opportunity to be among others who were like-minded, but it was also a chance for local organizations and businesses to reach out and offer support.
Sam Baugh, community engagement director with Advanced Health, said his organization chose to sponsor the event, despite being warned that protestors would target the organization. Despite the warnings, Baugh said he had no hesitation in joining Pride in the Park because Advanced Health works for all in the community.
"We like to sponsor these events, specifically because we believe everybody deserves to have the health benefits they need," Baugh said. "There's so much inequality around here. We're trying to build a regional equality council focused on marginalized communities."
Advanced Health works with the Oregon Health Plan to administer benefits to those in Coos and Curry counties who qualify for OHP coverage. The vast majority of those are low-income, and Baugh said they come in all races, genders and both straight and gay.
To make sure all its members and potential members know what healthcare is available, Advanced Health makes it a point to participate in events that attract people of different stripes.
"We'll absolutely always support this, anything that helps the population in general," Baugh said. "Some of the others we support is the HIV Alliance. We help take back needles. We sponsor meals for the homeless so everyone can have some quality of life."
Just across Boynton Park from the Advanced Health booth, Barbara Bush was standing by herself, offering a completely different type of help for the LGBTQ crowd.
Bush drove down from Medford to volunteers with the group Free Mom Hugs, offering a hug to anyone who wanted one.
"I'm an emergency room nurse, and I have learned how important a hug is and how people need a connection," Bush said. "We just don't touch anymore."
Free Mom Hugs was started as an LGBTQ ally group because too often children are alienated by their parents when they come out as gay. Bush joined five years ago and travels frequently just to offer hugs to anyone who needs it.
As people came up, Bush gave them a big hug, encouraging them to relax, breathe out and form a short connection.
"Mom hugs are safe hugs, mom hugs are warm hugs," Bush said. "If your mom hasn't hugged you in a while, come on by."
Marie Small also understands the importance of connecting with the LGBTQ population. As a counselor at Out of the Rainbow Counseling Solutions, Small works primarily with LGBTQ youth who are struggling with their mental health.
She and her partner opened Out of the Rainbow this year to meet a growing need in the community.
"Out of the Rainbow was a life goal of me and my spouse," Small explained. "We created a dream board and we made it happen. It's an LGBTQ clinic. We have free support groups."
In addition to therapy, they offer life coaching, organizational trainings and much more. And it has been a success.
"It's been bonkers," Small said. "We're very, very busy. We have a waiting list."
But Small said even with a waiting list, they wanted to attend Pride in the Park because they want to help the LGBTQ people in Coos Bay and North Bend.
"It's who we are," she said. "We're both LGBTQ and neuro-diverse. So we needed a place for us." | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/pride-in-the-park-offers-safe-space-for-many/article_9ea55a58-23fb-11ed-bb59-178f21d0cbe2.html | 2022-08-27T19:23:15 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/pride-in-the-park-offers-safe-space-for-many/article_9ea55a58-23fb-11ed-bb59-178f21d0cbe2.html |
Wichita Falls hosts 41st Hotter'N Hell ride
Staff reports
Another Hotter'N Hell 100 ride is in the books on Saturday, August 27. The 2022 race is the 41st annual event, which also includes multiple events throughout the weekend.
The ride is one of the largest and oldest century bike races in the country and regularly gathers more than 13,000 riders. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/27/wichita-falls-hosts-41st-hottern-hell-ride/65460031007/ | 2022-08-27T19:23:39 | 0 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/27/wichita-falls-hosts-41st-hottern-hell-ride/65460031007/ |
Tucson's TGA Premier Sports has new owners, and their names are familiar to fans of Arizona Wildcats and high school sports.
Former Arizona Wildcats softball star Alicia Hollowell Dunn and her husband Ryan Dunn, a former Catalina Foothills High School girls golf coach, purchased TGA of Tucson from owner Mike Owens in June.
There are two facets to TGA Premier Sports: summer camps and after-school enrichment programs. TGA started by introducing kids to sports like tennis and golf. Now, it teaches children team-based sports like flag football, ultimate frisbee, cheerleading, lacrosse and floor hockey.
TGA also teaches kids academics and life lessons. Children participate in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities that allow them to relate academic concepts to the sports that they’re playing. With it comes skills like perseverance and a positive mental attitude.
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“That's a lot of why I love this company, because of the curriculum that we offer, and how you can relate sports to life," said Alicia Hollowell Dunn, a former Wildcats pitcher who led the UA to a Women's College World Series championship in 2006 and spent two years as pitching coach. "You might not be good at something in sports, but if you work hard, you're going to get better at it with your perseverance. It’s the same thing in life: You might hit challenges or struggles, but you've got to keep grinding and working through to get past it and get through tough things in life."
Ryan and Alicia Dunn ran sport-specific and all-sports camps this summer in Oro Valley, Marana and in the foothills. During their all-sports camps, kids played different games every day, from flag football and ultimate frisbee to floor hockey and lacrosse. The three-hour sessions started at 8 a.m.
Coaches were hired by the Dunns, and equipment was provided to campers at no extra cost.
Tim Kennedy coached three week-long camps: one week of flag football and two weeks of the all-sports camp. He liked what he saw.
“Not only do they combine athletic instruction, but they also do team building and character development, which is a big thing," said Kennedy, a teacher at MCAT High School in Marana. "It’s (TGA’s philosophy), I would say (it's) cutting edge. For an enrichment program that combines athletics and character development, it's right on the mark."
When the school year began, TGA of Tucson shifted its focus to after-school programs.
These programs are offered in every Catalina Foothills elementary and middle schools, the Leman Academies at the Marana, Oro Valley and east Tucson locations and other private schools like Casas Christian School and Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School. The sports offered at each after-care program are dependent on the schools.
Coaches stay until 5 p.m. and bring all necessary equipment.
Alicia Hollowell Dunn says two types of students typically sign up for the after-school programs: Ones who want to try new sports and the ones who are already in aftercare and want to play.
Students participate in activities that exercise skills like leadership and teamwork while also gathering an understanding of their sports’ history, rules and etiquette.
Ryan and Alicia Dunn's passion for sports and child development is evident in their work at TGA of Tucson. They're athletes and coaches, yes. But they're also parents to two small children.
“We were all-in in buying it because we know how important sports are to kids," Alicia Hollowell Dunn said. "Especially nowadays, so many people are more standing on tablets and spending a lot of time on phones, and so just being as active as possible and having that the social interaction. Especially with everything that the country has gone through in the last couple of years, being able to get out and be active and be outside it’s been really, really important.” | https://tucson.com/sports/local/desire-to-coach-teach-kids-drew-ex-wildcats-ace-husband-to-tucson-training-franchise/article_b3173306-0d23-11ed-bcc7-5327cf7af2fc.html | 2022-08-27T19:24:03 | 1 | https://tucson.com/sports/local/desire-to-coach-teach-kids-drew-ex-wildcats-ace-husband-to-tucson-training-franchise/article_b3173306-0d23-11ed-bcc7-5327cf7af2fc.html |
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Emotions are running high in the Buffalo community as the news of Bills Rookie Punter Matt Araiza's alleged rape looms over the heads of Bills Mafia on the night of the team's final preseason game.
A hot button issue that attorney Lindy Korn advises Bills fans to respond to with caution.
“The community needs to step back, pause any judgment, and let the legal process provide facts and or evidence before you form an opinion."
Korn says rape is a criminal act that we are used to seeing prosecuted and now more victims are also bringing civil cases which she says makes the accountability more complete.
“I think there is so much judgment, you know, it's affecting our community, it's affecting the NFL, it's affecting a football team that the community dearly relates to, and it also affects every woman, every family, who has ever had to deal with rape," said Korn.
While it's still unknown how the Bills will handle these allegations, Mary Brennan-Taylor, Vice President of Programs for the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier, says whether Araiza is charged or not, these allegations can cause survivors to relive their own trauma.
“Listening to the sound bites of defense attorneys, or in the attorneys of the accused, saying it's all made up is triggering."
According to Brennan-Taylor one in three women and one in four men will be a victim of sexual assault at one point in their life. A statistic that can be especially triggering in a community like Buffalo where Bills news can be the center of attention.
“Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the country, because survivors think, who's going to believe me? Are they going to believe me against this, this powerful individual or institution?”
Nationally only 2-and-half percent of rape allegations are found to be false according to the Brennan-Taylor. She also says in times like this it's important to ask how we can support survivors.
“This is not your story to tell you, keep what somebody has told you, if they've had the courage to come forward to tell you, clearly you are a trusted person for them. And just let them know that you're there for them." | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/bills-community-araiza-reacts0bills-mafia-football-wny/71-32623b06-b182-4a3d-be14-14ae84b169f7 | 2022-08-27T19:28:58 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/bills-community-araiza-reacts0bills-mafia-football-wny/71-32623b06-b182-4a3d-be14-14ae84b169f7 |
CLA, also known as CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, has relocated its Schererville office.
The eighth largest accounting firm in the United States is expanding to a larger location in the office building at 833 W. Lincoln Highway in Schererville. The office, one of four CLA offices in the greater Chicagoland metropolitan area, is one floor down from its previous location in Schererville.
The phone and fax numbers will remain the same.
CLA’s Schererville office is one of four CLA locations in the Greater Chicagoland region. Its phone and fax numbers remain the same.
Joe Baez, managing principal of CLA’s Greater Chicagoland region, said CLA's team in Northwest Indiana has grown and needed more space.
“This move represents our continued commitment to the Northwest Indiana market,” said Baez. “We believe business leaders still want a local relationship with their advisers, but increasingly need access to the breadth of resources that a firm with a nationwide footprint and global connections can provide.”
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CLA employs more than 7,500 people at 121 locations across the United States.
For more information, visit CLAconnect.com. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/accounting-firm-relocates-expands-in-schererville/article_09778706-9aa9-5874-b0d5-eb75a509976d.html | 2022-08-27T19:37:01 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/accounting-firm-relocates-expands-in-schererville/article_09778706-9aa9-5874-b0d5-eb75a509976d.html |
The United Steelworkers union and Cleveland-Cliffs reached a tentative labor agreement after months of negotiation.
The two sides tentatively agreed to a four-year deal that must be ratified by steelworkers. It would cover 12,000 USW-represented steelworkers at Cleveland-Cliffs mills and mines like Burns Harbor Works, Indiana Harbor Works—East, Indiana Harbor Works—West, Riverdale, New Carlisle, Coatesville, Steelton, Conshohocken, Cleveland Works, Warren, Columbus, Weirton and Minorca.
“Our employees are the heart and soul of Cleveland-Cliffs," Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. "The USW is a partner and an ally, and we look forward to sharing in our future success together. This agreement allows us to do just that, while keeping our cost structure highly competitive.”
The USW said it improves base wages by 20% over current levels. The contract also requires no employee health care premiums and no changes to any cost sharing. It removes the requirement for spouses to elect other employer coverage, includes coverage for disposable insulin pumps for diabetics and provides coverage for eye exams and frames or lenses every 12 months regardless of whether there's a change in vision.
USW had just reported significant progress on a new contract to its members Friday night.
"Our bargaining over local issues, health care benefits and capital expenditure has resulted in important progress for our members in terms of working conditions and job security," USW said in an update to members shortly before the tentative pact was announced Saturday. "We remain engaged with Cliffs at the table over major economics. The company needs to limit its exposure to certain future costs associated with retiree benefits but recognizes that steelworkers deserve to retire with dignity."
The current contract expires in September. Steelworkers will get a chance to vote on the new collective bargaining agreement, the details of which should be mailed to them soon.
Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, employing more than 7,500 workers at its mills in East Chicago and Burns Harbor. It has been a mine operator since 1847 and then bought out two of its biggest customers, ArcelorMittal USA and AK Steel, at the end of 2020. It's now a vertically integrated steelmaker that mines raw materials, produces steel and handles downstream finishing, stamping, tooling and tubing.
It's the largest supplier to the American automotive industry with more than 27,000 total employees in North America.
Contract talks remain underway with U.S. Steel, which offered an 11% increase in pay over four years.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Parlor Doughuts, Domino's, Gyros Bar and Grill and Captain's Seafood opening
Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times since 2013 and blogs about craft beer, culture and the military.
The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker has initially offered an 11% pay increase over the next four years, less than the 14% union steelworkers agreed to during the last round of contract talks in 2018.
Giant dinosaurs have invaded the Harvest Tyme Family Farm, which is opening its Dino Tyme attraction Saturday. Visitors will be able to check out more than 20 dinosaurs and an erupting volcano from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 18.
The company, which has three other battery-cell manufacturing operations moving toward completion, is affiliated with General Motors and LG Energy Solution. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/usw-cleveland-cliffs-reach-tentative-labor-agreement/article_d4dcf5d5-cdf9-50bb-bcd9-fa267e9c24fa.html | 2022-08-27T19:37:07 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/usw-cleveland-cliffs-reach-tentative-labor-agreement/article_d4dcf5d5-cdf9-50bb-bcd9-fa267e9c24fa.html |
WINFIELD — Town officials are going forward with plans to construct a needed new public works building.
The Town Council has awarded a contract to Lintech Engineering for architectural, engineering and other services resulting in plans for a new public works building.
The amount approved by the Town Council is not to exceed $45,000.
The new public works building will include an 80-by-140 square-foot garage and workshop area and a 30-by-40 square-foot office area.
"We have nowhere to house all our vehicles to keep them out of the weather," Town Council President Gerald Stiener said.
The new public works building will be built at the site of the present small public works building, which is on 112th Avenue off Miami Street, Stiener said.
The new building will be heated and will be able to house up to 12 vehicles, including plows and tractors, Public Works Director Tony Clark said.
Stiener said the new building probably won't be constructed until next spring with financial arrangements still to be decided.
In other business, the Town Council approved the lease of a new police car and learned from Town Marshal Dan Ball that his department, which presently has seven full-time officers, will grow to nine by mid-year 2023.
One of the part-time officers is in training and is still undergoing a background check before becoming full-time, and another officer is headed to the academy by early next year.
Ball said his department has been busy this past month conducting lots of patrols in construction areas and parks.
His officers have also been busy assisting Lakes of the Four Seasons (LOFS) security, including a recent firearms issue, Ball said.
The council also learned from LOFS Fire Force Deputy Chief Kevin Heerema that his department will be adding some new volunteers by next month. Those volunteers, after working so many hours in-house, will be able to go on call due to a change in state laws.
"They (the volunteers) won't have to wait a year to serve," Heerema said.
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
Clerk-Treasurer Rick Anderson said bond issuances for the town occur every other year to fund projects such as roadwork and to buy additional vehicles. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/winfield/winfield-public-works-facility-planned/article_b7044c74-3656-5720-b45d-3af4c6e837a0.html | 2022-08-27T19:37:19 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/winfield/winfield-public-works-facility-planned/article_b7044c74-3656-5720-b45d-3af4c6e837a0.html |
TOMBALL, Texas — Before Friday night's game between the Tomball Cougars and the Stratford Spartans, the school took some time to honor their former teammate.
The Tomball community honored former player Carson Collins, who was tragically killed over the summer by an escaped inmate.
His #5 jersey was presented to his parents with players and fans wearing 'Collins Strong' bracelets as well.
Carson was one of the five members of the Collins family that were killed by escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez. His grandfather Mark, along with his brothers Waylon, Hudson and cousin Bryson, were killed at a cabin next to the family ranch in Centerville.
Lopez escaped back in May after attacking a corrections officer and hijacking a prison bus in Leon County while being transported between prisons.
On June 2, authorities said Lopez killed the Collins family and stole their truck before making his way to a rural area near San Antonio. Lopez was then killed in a shootout.
“This is devastation,” said Chris Collins, the father of Waylon, Carson and Hudson back in June during a funeral service. “While we are hurting more than we could possibly imagine, we will be OK.”
Collins and other family members called the murder by Lopez an act of evil.
“Even that night before, we had all the information ... I looked up in my backyard, and I said, ‘God, tell me my babies are OK,’” Collins said. “Almost audibly, I could hear, ‘They’re OK. I’ve got them. They’re OK.’ No, it was not the ‘OK’ that a flesh-and-blood father wanted, but in that moment, I had the most supernatural peace that I’d ever had in my entire life.”
Family members said they were overwhelmed by the love shown to them from around the nation during their time of overwhelming loss. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/tomball-family-killed-by-gonzalo-lopez-honored/285-56ffeb0c-2b6a-4abf-a0c7-ad5e59727aae | 2022-08-27T19:39:34 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/tomball-family-killed-by-gonzalo-lopez-honored/285-56ffeb0c-2b6a-4abf-a0c7-ad5e59727aae |
Gas prices have dropped below $4 for the first time since March amid stable crude oil prices near the end of the summer driving season.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $3.99, down 11 cents from last week. Drivers were paying $3.18 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.86, down five cents from last week. Drivers were paying $3.14 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
Analysts say easing oil prices have offset rising demand and tightened supplies, but they warn that hurricane season may bring storms that could disrupt oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impact large coastal refineries.
Copyright AP - Associated Press | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/gas-prices-drop-below-4-in-nj-for-first-time-since-march/3841326/ | 2022-08-27T19:45:14 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/gas-prices-drop-below-4-in-nj-for-first-time-since-march/3841326/ |
A dispute between two women turned deadly when one jumped behind the wheel of a car and plowed into a pair of innocent bystanders standing on a nearby street corner in Queens, police said.
The tragic scene unfolded Saturday morning around 7 a.m. in Far Rockaway. NYPD officials said the two women were engaged in a physical fight near Beach 201st Street.
Their fight escalated when one of the women, 27, climbed into a black sedan and jumped a curb in an attempt to strike the other woman, according to police. Instead, she slammed into two men standing on the corner of the street.
A 59-year-old man suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital. The man standing on the corner with him, a 37-year-old, had minor injuries to his back.
The driver took off in the car before abandoning it and fleeing on foot, police said. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/irate-driver-tries-to-mow-down-woman-after-fight-kills-bystander-instead-nypd/3841377/ | 2022-08-27T19:45:20 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/irate-driver-tries-to-mow-down-woman-after-fight-kills-bystander-instead-nypd/3841377/ |
GARDENDALE, Ala. (WIAT) — High school football is in full swing, but there are some new questions surrounding prayer before the games.
Earlier this year, the Jefferson County School Board banned school led prayers over the loud speakers; but a student led pre-game prayer was held over the PA system for all to hear at Gardendale High School’s first home game of the season.
Gardendale mayor Stan Hogeland, says in their community, prayer is simply expected before every football game.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation says school sponsored prayers over loud speakers at school functions led by faculty or staff is unconstitutional.
Back in June The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas high school coach who was fired after refusing to stop praying at the 50 yard line after games. In his opinion, Justice Neal Gorsuch says coach Joseph Kennedy was acting as private citizen.
FFRF Attorney Chris Line says school events should never coerce anyone to participate in religious acts like prayer. Line says public schools should be inclusive for everyone regardless of religion.
“It just shouldn’t be an environment where you’re gonna, you know, bring in some heated things like religion and really tie all that in to the school,” said Line. “Our public schools should be for everyone. Every student, regardless of your religion, if you’re non-religious, should feel welcome at the school and at school events.”
Following a complaint from the FFRF in April, Jefferson County Schools banned prayers led by school officials over loudspeakers before games.
When asked to comment on their current stance for this school year, Jefferson County Schools referred us back to their original statement from April, issued before the supreme court’s ruling.
They say the resolution was based on the board’s legal obligations, but they remain committed to respecting and protecting the religious rights of students in a school setting.
Mayor Hogeland says they have worked closely with Jefferson County Schools since their April ruling as prayer before football games is a tradition that is held near and dear to the community.
“We’re a faith based community,” said Hogeland. “Why is prayer important to anyone? In my eyes- now I know there is a few that do not agree, but it’s important to the community that I serve.”
A compromise has now been reached. Instead of faculty or staff, students will continue Gardendale High School’s tradition of prayer before each home football game.
“A lot of times I feel like I’m speaking for our community,” said Hogeland. “In Gardendale, Alabama we expect prayer before the football games. We just do.”
Hogeland says it pleases him greatly to keep their tradition of pre-game prayer alive as it is a part of who Gardendale is as a community. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/gardendale-high-school-moves-forward-with-student-led-pre-game-prayer-following-elimination-of-school-led-prayers-in-jefferson-county-schools/ | 2022-08-27T19:52:58 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/gardendale-high-school-moves-forward-with-student-led-pre-game-prayer-following-elimination-of-school-led-prayers-in-jefferson-county-schools/ |
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — CBS 8 is staying on top of a story centering on an eye-catching house in Oceanside that many neighbors are calling an eyesore, but even more serious concerns have surfaced.
While the paint job on the exterior of the Creekside Estates home is an eyesore for many neighbors, more serious concerns are mounting for the underage teens who are being allowed to stay there.
CBS 8 reached out to the San Diego city council member whose district includes the Oceanside house that's attracting so much attention. Not only for what's going on outside, but possibly inside as well.
"Top priority is what is happening behind closed doors from my perspective," said District 2 Council member Christopher Rodriguez.
Angelo Pamintuan is the renter behind the paint job on the front of the house, which he sees as art.
CBS 8 spoke with Pamintuan, who goes by "AP." He said that that he is turning the rental into a place of worship.
"I opened my house," Pamintuan said. "It's a home, it's a church, it's a home church."
A 'church for artists' which Pamintuan said he has opened to young people, as many as 20 at one time: many of them runaways, some of them underage.
"God spoke to me and said 'you got a whole freaking house.. let 'em stay there'!" he added. "I knew, I am not going to close my door to these kids."
This open house, though, has opened Pamintuan to accusations that the safety and welfare of the teens staying here are in danger.
When asked directly what he thinks of the accusations against him, he stated, "None of them are true." Not everyone is convinced, though.
While CBS 8 was interviewing Pamintuan, the mother of a child staying at the house showed up, attempting to bring her child home.
"He's a frickin' adult -- she's a minor," said the irate mother.
"I don't know what you do," she screamed at Pamintuan. "I don't need to talk to you about nothin'... All I know is that you are housing my daughter who should not be here!," she said.
Councilmember Christopher Rodriguez, a father of seven, said that he is committed to getting justice for all involved.
"It makes my blood boil, just the thought of it," Rodriguez said.
He added that an active investigation is underway by Oceanside police.
"I can ensure the public that they are doing everything possible to get into that house with all legal means to ensure that there's nothing going on behind closed doors and those children are not being exploited," Rodriguez said. "That is a top priority for the city of Oceanside and the police department."
Oceanside Police are urging anyone who sees any criminal activity connected with the house to contact them, so that they can take immediate action.
In the meantime, the home's owner and property manager have said that they also doing everything they can to have Pamintuan evicted from the house.
WATCH RELATED: Art or eyesore? Neighbors want the 'paint job' on the front of a North County home removed (Aug. 2022). | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/active-police-investigation-underway-into-oceanside-home/509-fd6f5095-1e56-4878-b992-5a7abdc12254 | 2022-08-27T20:02:44 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/active-police-investigation-underway-into-oceanside-home/509-fd6f5095-1e56-4878-b992-5a7abdc12254 |
ARIZONA, USA — Grand Canyon National Park rangers have recovered the body of a 44-year-old man who fell to his death from the canyon rim on Friday afternoon.
Around 3:30 p.m., park rangers received the call that a visitor had fallen from the rim to the west of the Bright Angel Point Trail.
Rangers found that the man had fallen roughly 200 feet from the trail, and said that he was off-trail when he accidentally fell.
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Currently, the National Park Service is investigating the fall alongside the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office.
While details are scarce at this time, park officials did say that the fall was accidental.
Rangers encourage visitors to stay aware of their surroundings and keep the following in mind:
- Stay on designated trails and walkways and always keep a safe distance of at least six feet (2 m) from the edge of the rim.
- In areas where there is a railing or fence, do not climb over the barrier.
- Keep an eye on all the people in your group, especially small children. Make sure that your travel companions have both feet firmly planted on pavement or developed trails.
- Know where the edge is. Watch foot placement and look for trip hazards.
- Do not run, jump, or perform physical stunts near the rim.
- Do not back up without first looking where you are going.
This is a developing story. Stay with 12News for more updates.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12 News YouTube playlist here. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/grand-canyon-visitor-fatal-200-foot-fall-august-2022/75-b5e863ab-4309-4fce-a05c-df3fbe50ac31 | 2022-08-27T20:02:50 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/grand-canyon-visitor-fatal-200-foot-fall-august-2022/75-b5e863ab-4309-4fce-a05c-df3fbe50ac31 |
BEDFORD, Ohio — Police are investigating after an employee at Hyundai of Bedford allegedly shot a customer during a "dispute" inside the dealership Friday afternoon.
After receiving multiple calls of an individual being shot at the dealership, officials found the male patron lying in the parking lot outside the building on Rockside Road just after 1:30 p.m.
First responders immediately attended to him and he was subsequently transported to MetroHealth Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his left upper leg. His exact condition is unknown at this time.
According to 911 calls, an employee and customer allegedly got into an altercation. The employee shot the customer after he allegedly reached for his waistband.
Authorities have not shared the employee's name or clarified if they have been arrested. A manager at the dealership secured the gun from the worker following the shooting.
Please stay with 3News for updates as they become available.
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- Cleveland police searching for missing 33-year-old woman | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/hyundai-of-bedford-employee-shoots-customer/95-4906ca4c-3422-4c31-9aa9-b0f1a40ac74c | 2022-08-27T20:02:56 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/hyundai-of-bedford-employee-shoots-customer/95-4906ca4c-3422-4c31-9aa9-b0f1a40ac74c |
ARIZONA, USA — A love potion for rats now has the hearts of Arizonans plagued with ridding themselves of the rodents, swooning.
“Think of it as rat birth control,” Courtney Ray with Arizona-based SenesTech said.
In 2016, the company developed ContraPest, a product that aimed at stopping the rapid reproduction of rats by as much as 90 percent.
“A lot of what you see on the market to control rats are convention methods. The problem with those tools is that they reduce the population but unless they get all the rats, you’re going to always have the survivors that can reproduce,” Ray said.
The product started with research into menopause at the University of Arizona. At one point it was known as “Mouseopause.”
The product which has undergone plenty of testing has received lots of love from the Environmental Protection Agency, which has declared ContraPest not harmful to humans or other animals.
With the ability to produce thousands of offspring a year, the product doesn’t kill rodents, just their ability to multiply.
The ability to humanely stop rats and rodents is an important aspect for Kim Meagher, founder of Wildhorse Animal Rescue in Gilbert.
“We believe all lives matter, and the poisons from many products can seriously hurt animals,” she said.
Meagher has been using the product since 2017 after she said rats and rodents were inundating her ranch.
“You know I know there’s birth control for horses, was there something for rodents,” she asked.
The bait comes in a container, which is then loaded onto a platform and then placed in a box, where the rodents can come to drink over and over again.
The company said the “milkshake for rats” tastes sweet and very attractive, and targets the reproductive system of both male and female rodents.
"Typically within 15 days the rats are completely infertile," Ray said.
The company has also developed an elevation station for roof rats, who typically wreak havoc in elevated areas, and are typically attracted by citrus and fruit trees.
Ray said rats are creatures of habit and will typically go wherever they can find a source of food.
She encourages homeowners not to make it easy for them.
"Roof rats are much more secretive and hidden. So you're less likely to know that you have a roof rat problem until it becomes a big problem," she said.
ContraPest is already being used in cities across America like San Francisco and Washington D.C.
The company said the product is a long-term solution that has to be used monthly in order to see the best results.
Meagher said after nearly a year her mischief of rats had disappeared for good.
Ray said the average cost for the product is around $30.00 for a monthly supply and is now more widely available to homeowners.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rat-birth-control-developed-arizona-company-after-menopause-study/75-67dbfe2f-4092-4719-bd34-45c16f0605bc | 2022-08-27T20:03:02 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rat-birth-control-developed-arizona-company-after-menopause-study/75-67dbfe2f-4092-4719-bd34-45c16f0605bc |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Officials with the Sacramento County Coroner's Office have identified the man killed during an attempted robbery-turned shooting near Sacramento's Capitol Casino Monday morning.
According to a news release from the Sacramento Police Department, officers responded to the 400-block of N 16th Street near the Capitol Casino for an armed robbery Monday morning.
The news release says a person at the scene confronted the alleged robber, who then shot them. Officers heard gunshots and found the suspect as he was trying to leave the scene.
The man who was shot died at the scene. Officials with the Sacramento County Coroner's Office have identified the man killed as Sean Bernal, 27, of Carmichael.
The suspect was taken to the hospital with ‘shortness of breath’ and investigators say he’ll be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail after being released.
The exact events leading up to the shooting are still under investigation, but police say it does not appear there are other suspects.
Watch More from ABC10: Closed Starbucks on Broadway signals growing problem in Sacramento | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sean-bernal-robbery-turned-shooting-casino/103-df0ce31e-f114-4f67-b00f-04949e44c64d | 2022-08-27T20:03:08 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sean-bernal-robbery-turned-shooting-casino/103-df0ce31e-f114-4f67-b00f-04949e44c64d |
STOCKTON, Calif. — A 28-year-old man has died after a Friday night shooting in south Stockton, officials with the Stockton Police Department said.
Around 8:30 p.m. Friday, police officers say they responded to the 900 block of Glendale Avenue after reports came in of a person shot.
Officers say that after arriving at the scene, not far from Van Buskirk Park, they found a 28-year-old man who had been shot. First responders attempted life-saving measures, but the man died at the scene, police say.
Homicide detectives responded to the scene and took over the investigation into the shooting which marked the city's 36th homicide case so far in 2022.
At the scene Friday night, investigators could be seen centering attention on a car parked within the crime scene perimeter.
Officials have not released information on a suspect or motive in the deadly shooting but are asking witnesses and those with information to come forward.
Information can be given to investigators by calling the police department at 209-937-8377 or Stockton Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600.
Crime Stoppers is offering anonymity and a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
STOCKTON CRIME IN CONTEXT
An increase in homicide cases in Stockton during the early months of 2022 came on the heels of a decline in 2021, where police reported fewer homicides ending the year with a total of 38 cases.
While that’s not the lowest number the department has dealt with in the past 12 years, it is below the annual average of 40 homicide cases per year since 1995.
In response to the rise in homicides, community groups held prayer vigils and outreach events meant to unite Stockton residents against violence.
Activists have called on the community to show up to such events and work with local organizations such as Advance Peace, Faith in the Valley, Lighthouse of the Valley and the Office of Violence Prevention to discourage crime and help impacted communities heal.
Click here for a map of crime statistics.
In an interview with ABC10 in March, Stockton City Manager Harry Black said the Stockton Police Department is trying to prevent more deaths by working more on intelligence gathering and cooperating with federal partners such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshall's Service.
The city is also working to improve its crime prevention, intervention and fighting strategy, Black said. Representatives with the city's Office of Violence Prevention are working to be more present in communities impacted by crime. The office's 'peacekeepers program' places mediators and mentors in high crime areas.
Watch the full interview: Stockton City Manager Harry Black talks recent crime in the city | Extended Interview
Watch More Stockton News from ABC10: Grieving husband, father in Stockton seeking justice for wife killed 1 year ago | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/friday-night-shooting-man-dead/103-73043067-4c62-45b7-9e22-8dfbd4fc9850 | 2022-08-27T20:03:14 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/friday-night-shooting-man-dead/103-73043067-4c62-45b7-9e22-8dfbd4fc9850 |
STOCKTON, Calif. — A teenager is recovering at a local hospital after being shot while stuck in crossfire just after midnight Saturday morning, officers with the Stockton Police Department said.
According to police, around 12:05 a.m. Saturday, a 17-year-old was in the 6200 block of Porterfield Court in Stockton when multiple people began shooting at each other.
The teen was shot while in the crossfire and taken to an area hospital shortly after, police say.
Officials have described the teen's injuries as non-life-threatening and do not have any information on a suspect.
The shooting followed an unrelated deadly shooting earlier in the night on the south side of town. Officers in Stockton also responded to a non-fatal stabbing Friday night in the 2800 block of Country Club Boulevard.
Those with information on any of the overnight crimes are asked to call police at 209-937-8377.
Watch More Stockton News from ABC10: Grieving husband, father in Stockton seeking justice for wife killed 1 year ago | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/teen-hurt-shot-in-crossfire/103-e1a7c21c-cfbc-4bdb-b0f5-0d0e9595762a | 2022-08-27T20:03:20 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/teen-hurt-shot-in-crossfire/103-e1a7c21c-cfbc-4bdb-b0f5-0d0e9595762a |
HARTFORD, Conn. — Two decades after her release from prison, Teresa Beatty feels she is still being punished.
When her mother died two years ago, the state of Connecticut put a lien on the Stamford home she and her siblings inherited. It said she owed $83,762 to cover the cost of her 2 1/2 year imprisonment for drug crimes.
Now, she's afraid she'll have to sell her home of 51 years, where she lives with two adult children, a grandchild and her disabled brother.
“I'm about to be homeless,” said Beatty, 58, who in March became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the state law that charges prisoners $249 a day for the cost of their incarceration. “I just don't think it's right, because I feel I already paid my debt to society. I just don't think it's fair for me to be paying twice.”
All but two states have so-called “pay-to-stay” laws that make prisoners pay for their time behind bars, though not every state actually pursues people for the money. Supporters say the collections are a legitimate way for states to recoup millions of taxpayer dollars spent on prisons and jails.
Critics say it's an unfair second penalty that hinders rehabilitation by putting former inmates in debt for life. Efforts have been underway in some places to scale back or eliminate such policies.
Two states — Illinois and New Hampshire — have repealed their laws since 2019.
Connecticut also overhauled its statue this year, keeping it in place only for the most serious crimes, such as murder, and exempting prisoners from having to pay the first $50,000 of their incarceration costs.
Under the revised law, about 98% of Connecticut inmates no longer have to pay any of the costs of their incarceration after they get out, said state Rep. Steve Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat and a sponsor of the repeal legislation.
The state retained its ability, though, to collect some prison debts already on the books before the law changed. It’s unclear whether the change in the law, made after Beatty sued, will be enough to keep her in her home. That will be decided in court.
Her lawyers have asked a federal judge to block the state from enforcing the law against anyone, saying it remains unfair even after the amendments.
Beatty acknowledges she was guilty of selling and possessing drugs, but said nobody told her when she went to jail that every day behind bars would cost her more than a night at a fine hotel.
“It just drags you back to despair,” said Beatty, who has had other brushes with the law over drug possession since her release from jail, but has also become a certified nursing assistant. “That's where I feel like I'm at. I feel like no hope. Where do I go? All of this work and it feels like I've done it in vain.”
Pay-to-stay laws were put into place in many areas during the tough-on-crime era of the 1980s and ’90s, said Brittany Friedman, an assistant professor of sociology at University of Southern California who is leading a study of the practice.
As prison populations ballooned, Friedman said, policymakers questioned how to pay for incarceration costs. “So, instead of raising taxes, the solution was to shift the cost burden from the state and the taxpayers onto the incarcerated.”
Laws vary from state to state. Many, like Connecticut, only go after inmates for the cost of incarceration if they come into money after leaving prison. A few, such as North Carolina, have laws on the books but almost never use them, Friedman said.
Connecticut’s partial repeal went into effect July 1. The state is projected to collect about $5.5 million less per year from ex-prisoners because of the change.
State Sen. John Kissel, the top Republican on the legislature's Judiciary Committee, said he opposed the repeal passed by the Democratic majority, but might support reforms like allowing inmates to pay off debt in installments.
Kissel said that while Beatty's situation tugs at one's heartstrings, “Everybody has issues.”
“The policy is to make one appreciate that your incarceration costs money,” he said. “The taxpayers footed the bill. They didn't do anything wrong. And knowing that one has to pay the state back a reasonable sum on a regular basis is not a bad policy.”
Connecticut used to collect prison debt by attaching an automatic lien to every inmate, claiming half of any financial windfall they might receive for up to 20 years after they are released from prison, said Dan Barrett, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. That included things like insurance settlements, inheritances and lottery winnings.
The state even collected money awarded to inmates in lawsuits over alleged abuse by prison guards.
Former Connecticut inmate Fred Hodges, who served more than 17 years in prison for killing a man while trying to retrieve his son’s stolen bicycle, came into $21,000 after his car was totaled in a 2009 traffic accident. The state claimed half of that, he said. After paying his lawyer, he was left with about $3,000.
“I have seven grandchildren and the money could have helped them. It could have helped me,” said Hodges, who works for a nonprofit that helps other inmates reenter society. “You’d be surprised at the effect it can have on you psychologically when they tell you you owe them $249 a day. I was locked up for 17 1/2 years. At $249 a day, how are you going to come up out of that?”
Beatty's lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, argues that the pay-to-stay seizures violate the excessive fines clause of the Constitution.
Da'ee McKnight, who works with Hodges as a coordinator for an organization called Family ReEntry, said the state took an insurance settlement from him, even though he served most of his sentence before the law was on the books.
“Here, I’m being penalized for something that I was not even made aware of at the time I was sentenced, because it did not even exist,” he said.
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Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/us-prison-stays-leave-ex-inmates-deep-in-debt/520-bb386b18-3a26-4bc9-ae83-b611fcb3bd0e | 2022-08-27T20:03:26 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/us-prison-stays-leave-ex-inmates-deep-in-debt/520-bb386b18-3a26-4bc9-ae83-b611fcb3bd0e |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The family of veteran U.S. Forest Service employee Kathy Shoopman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Sacramento County against PacifiCorp, an Oregon-based power utility company that attorneys say sparked the deadly McKinney Fire.
The fire, which burned west of Yreka killed four people including Shoopman.
Shoopman was at home in the small community of Klamath River when the fire started July 29, The Mail Tribune reported. The area was hard hit by the fire, with many homes burned.
“She had a home there that she’d stayed in for 50 years, and when she was asked to evacuate that first Friday night, she said she’d be more comfortable staying,” Klamath National Forest Supervisor Rachel Smith said during a firefighter briefing.
Shoopman was an employee with the agency since 1974, working at lookout stations, where people scan the landscape for wildfires. Her post since 1993 was the Buckhorn lookout, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) north of Klamath River.
“She was pretty much a legend in that community, named ‘lookout of the year’ in 2015,” Stokesberry said. “When Kathy called in a smoke, they knew it was spot-on."
Community members said she had been a school teacher before she started working for the U.S. Forest Service.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Friday is part of a lawsuit involving 55 other McKinney Fire survivors and victims' families.
Born in 1948, Shoopman was a gardener, talented artist and animal lover, Klamath National Forest officials said.
The claim for damages against the utility company alleges wrongful death, inverse condemnation, negligence, public and private nuisance, trespassing, violation of public utilities code 2106, violation of public utilities code 13007 and premises liability.
In response to a request for comment Saturday, a spokesperson for PacifiCorp said, "Per company policy, we don't discuss ongoing litigation."
Shoopman's family is being represented by the Fox Law firm, which provided a copy of the lawsuit's complaint.
“We share this sorrow with each and every one of you, and we know that individually, and as the supportive community that we are, we will find many ways to honor Kathy’s life and service and keep her spirit in all of our lives,” Forest Service officials said in a Facebook post announcing Shoopman's death.
Hundreds of people had posted comments on that post expressing condolences, sharing memories of Shoopman and thanking her and other fire personnel for their service.
The McKinney Fire, which burned more than 94 square miles (243 square kilometers), wiped out the scenic hamlet of Klamath River, where about 200 people lived. The flames reduced most of the homes and businesses to ash.
The fire was 95% contained as of Aug. 22.
Scientists have said climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
Across the American West, a 22-year megadrought deepened so much in 2021 that the region is now in the driest spell in at least 1,200 years.
Watch More from ABC10: Four killed in McKinney Fire identified | Top 10 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/family-forest-service-employee-suing-electric-company/103-8d4611d2-11a0-4355-856a-62709192f009 | 2022-08-27T20:03:32 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/family-forest-service-employee-suing-electric-company/103-8d4611d2-11a0-4355-856a-62709192f009 |
ATV rider killed in late-night crash in Coventry
Antonia Noori Farzan
The Providence Journal
COVENTRY — An ATV rider was killed in an overnight crash, according to police.
The crash took place on Cahoone Road, a rural area near the villages of Greene and Rice City, according to a statement from police.
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Police responded at around 3:42 a.m. and located a single ATV that had been involved in a crash. The operator was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Police said the name of the ATV operator is being withheld pending notification of family.
Police are continuing to investigate what caused the crash. | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/08/27/coventry-rhode-island-atv-rider-killed-crash-cahoone-road/7917870001/ | 2022-08-27T20:04:17 | 1 | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/08/27/coventry-rhode-island-atv-rider-killed-crash-cahoone-road/7917870001/ |
No jail for Phoenix police cop who double-dipped in 2nd job
PHOENIX — A Phoenix police officer who worked full time but fraudulently collected pay at a second job as an investigator for the state will avoid jail time.
The Office of the Arizona Attorney General announced Friday that 51-year-old Carl Ramirez was sentenced this week to 18 months of probation.
The sentence was part of an agreement that he pleads guilty to a felony count each of attempted fraud schemes and practices and of theft. A third charge of computer tampering has been dropped. Ramirez also had to give up his police officer certification and pay more than $7,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors say Ramirez began a new job in March 2020 as a senior investigator for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. However, he returned to duty as a Phoenix police officer five months later but still retained his current job.
Investigators say time cards and payroll records show there is no way Ramirez could have worked full-time at both jobs simultaneously. His in-person shifts as an officer overlapped with his teleworking shift. For seven weeks, Ramirez only worked full-time as an officer.
He was indicted in June 2021. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/08/27/no-jail-phoenix-police-cop-who-double-dipped-2nd-job/7919629001/ | 2022-08-27T20:10:56 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/08/27/no-jail-phoenix-police-cop-who-double-dipped-2nd-job/7919629001/ |
SPOKANE, Wash. — Firefighters are bringing in additional resources on Saturday in an effort to put out a wildfire burning in northwest Spokane.
The Palisades Fire has burned 41.5 acres according to Spokane County Fire District 10. Firefighters report they were able to hold the fire's growth overnight. No buildings have been lost in the fire.
As of 9 a.m. this morning, the fire is 0% contained. Crews are hoping to get containment today.
They worked through the night to keep flames from spreading and additional brush trucks will be brought in to help today.
Cooler temperatures and humidity are expected today, a welcome sight for crews. However, wind gusts are still a major concern as the fire continues to burn forest and timber.
The fire started Friday afternoon near Palisades Park in north Spokane and prompted several evacuations.
Level 3 evacuations are still in place as of 8 a.m. this morning for areas west of Government Way. Areas on the east side of Government Way have been downgraded to level 1 evacuation.
Here are the specific boundaries as of Saturday morning, according to the Spokane Regional Emergency Communications Center.
- Level 3 evacuation: north to North Houston Road, west to North Grove Road, south to West Greenwood Road, east to North Government Way.
- Level 1 evacuation: north to North Houston Road, south to River Ridge, west to Government Way, east to the Spokane River.
A Red Cross shelter has been opened at West Central Community Center at 1603 N Belt Street. The shelter opened at 8 p.m. on Friday, and pets are welcome.
DNR told KREM 2 that the fire is not burning toward any structures. It is moving northwest and crews said the biggest concern is the wind.
Crews with Fire District 10, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other resources are on their way to the scene of the fire at this time.
More than 80 firefighters are working today with 11 engines and two fire tenders. Thirteen aircrafts were on scene Friday evening with water drops taking place, but as of today there is no air support, according to DNR.
DNR is also asking people to stay away from the north side of Palisades Park, and out of the park in general for the next few days, specifically the area known as Rimrock Road.
According to the Spokane Fire Department, as of now, Government Way is reopened.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/brush-fire-burning-near-government-way-in-spokane/293-d3d05a33-8d5a-432d-90a8-7b6b98fbd249 | 2022-08-27T20:13:03 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/brush-fire-burning-near-government-way-in-spokane/293-d3d05a33-8d5a-432d-90a8-7b6b98fbd249 |
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Garden Spot Fire Rescue was called to battle a fire in East Earl Township just before 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
The initially one-alarm fire started in the warehouse side of a business on the 100 block of Teddy Drive.
The fire primarily burned along the roof of the building, eventually working its way up to two alarms. Several additional engines responded.
Crews were on scene for several hours establishing control and putting out hot spots.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/early-morning-fire-damages-lancaster-county-business-two-alarm/521-983d9654-32c3-4be9-ad2b-bbc53ee747ad | 2022-08-27T20:13:39 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/early-morning-fire-damages-lancaster-county-business-two-alarm/521-983d9654-32c3-4be9-ad2b-bbc53ee747ad |
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — Tony Berich enjoys his job.
Berich has served as Stockton University’s director of athletics and recreation for 13 months. He was named the interim athletic director last year and had the interim tag removed in July. Berich was the AD at Randolph College in Virginia for three years and at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg for 10. He also the assistant AD at Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University).
Overall, he arrived at Stockton with 24-plus years of experience in college athletics.
The 51-year-old resident of the Marmora section of Upper Township also coached the men’s golf teams at Pittsburgh-Greensburg and Philadelphia University, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration in 2003. Berich earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993.
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Q: What have you learned in your first 13 months at Stockton?
A: I learned that I love it here. It has been a great, great experience. I actually interviewed for the position when (previous AD) Kevin (McHugh) was hired five years ago. I was a finalist and came down for an interview, and they hired Kevin. I was fortunate to be involved when Kevin retired (last year). It's everything that I thought it would be. It has just been a great experience. The people here are great. The coaches we have here, the staff we have and athletics and student services have been tremendous. It is a really welcoming campus environment.
Q: Being an English major and having a master's in business administration, was college sports administration your original plan, or did the career find you?
A: It was. I have always been involved in sports. I played almost everything growing up. My father (Tom) was a high school football coach and a high school athletic director (at Newport High School in Pennsylvania). I always kind of tagged along with him. When I was little, there was nothing better for me than to go to football practices and field punts on the sideline as a 10-year-old. So, I always enjoyed being around that environment. Like I said, I've played football, I've played basketball, I've played golf, but I was never good enough to do it beyond the high school level. Regardless, it was what I always wanted to do. I went to the University of Pittsburgh, they didn't have a sports administration program. Now, a lot of institutions offer sports administration and sports management, but (Pittsburgh) didn't have that. So, I kind of had to pick a major, and I always enjoyed reading, so English was my chosen major. But I got involved (in sports admission) from there.
I had a good friend of mine who was a sports information director, and he got me involved with a job search, and I ended up with an internship at the University of Massachusetts Lowell; they are a Division I program. Ended up with an internship up there for a year, and that's kind of where I got my start.
The Stockton University women’s rowing team hosted two days of racing at its new home in Bri…
Q: The college sports landscape has gone through major changes in recent years — NIL (name, image, likeness), the transfer portal, conferences changing and others. How much of that affects Stockton?
A: The NIL really hasn't affected us a whole lot. Division III, it's a little bit tougher for our kids to get involved in something like that. Certainly the transfer portal we are seeing more and more of that now. That's something that, I think, is making it easier for kids to get their name out there. That is just a reality for us. The NCAA, it's definitely undergoing some changes, and I don't think it's done yet. I think it's going to be interesting to see where we are — the NCAA as an organization — in two years. I think, really, the Power 5 football schools are driving a lot, and it's going to have a trickle down effect on all the other institutions, you know Division II and III. I think that will definitely have a trickle down effect, in that regard.
Q: Has your time at Stockton been different from your previous AD experiences?
A: Well, it has been a tremendous experience. The last year has gone by so fast. (Stockton President) Dr. (Harvey) Kesselman, you couldn't ask or couldn't create a better president for athletics. I mean, he is so supportive of everything we do, and he has just been such a tremendous person for me and someone I have looked up to in a really short time. It's different in a sense that it's a state school. I have never worked in a state school before. I was at Randolph College in Virginia. They were a small, private school. I was at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg, similar to like a Rutgers-Newark or a Rutgers-Camden. They were a state-related school, but there wasn't as much oversight. Then I was at Philadelphia University, now Jefferson, for 10 years, and that was a private school, as well. So, this is really my first foray into a state school. So, that has probably been the biggest adjustment for me. There is some red tape that I have never dealt with before. But I certainly adjusted to it, and it's not an issue at all, but it just took a little adjusting to get to.
Q: How has Stockton been moving past the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: When I first got here last year, we were pretty conservative with it. We were. And, fortunately, the bulk of the COVID was at my previous institution I was at that I dealt with. Here, I kind of caught the tail end of it. By mid- to late fall, things started to level out nationwide. It was reflected here on campus. So, we were able to have a normal basketball season, normal track and field, baseball, softball. By that time, pretty much everything was good. Even in the fall, for the most part, everything was pretty good. We had a few games here and there canceled by other institutions because they maybe had too many COVID cases on their teams. But here, like I said, I caught the tail end of it. We were able to get back up and running and playing normal probably by October (2021), I felt like. We were seeing very, very little effects of COVID anymore. Certainly by the spring we were up and running. It looked like it did probably three or four years (ago).
The Christopher Newport University men’s basketball team plus Stockton University’s cold sho…
Q: Are you happy with how the Stockton teams have done, especially last season (both the men’s basketball and men's lacrosse teams made the NCAA Division III Tournament last year)?
A: Absolutely! I wanted to give myself a year to be here and kind of evaluate each program individually. Men's basketball had a great run. I think they return everybody this year, for the most part. So, they should be really, really good. I'd be surprised if they weren't in the top 10 nationally (in the) preseason (ranks). I think men's lacrosse had a great year. It's going to be a little different going into the new Coastal Lacrosse Conference. That is going to be a big change for coach (Kevin) Zulauf and his program, but they really, really played well in the NCAA Tournament last year down in Salisbury (the top-ranked team in the nation for some of the season that beat the Ospreys in the second round). I think they showed they can play with teams at that level. I think that is certainly a sign of things to come.
I thought (the) women's soccer (team, which went 15-6-3, made the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals and captured the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in 2021), with a couple bounces one way or the other, they could've made the NCAA Tournament last year. I thought (coach) Nick Juengert and his team did a really, really nice job, and I am looking for big things out of them this year. Men's soccer caught a little bit of a bad break last year. I think they had some injuries that really took some steam away from them, but I know coach (Greg) Ruttler is really, really excited about his program this year. Field hockey, I thought (coach) Sarah (Elleman) did a really, really nice job last year. And they are a young team, so I think they are going to turn a lot of heads this fall, too.
Across the board, I thought we had a really, really good year last year.
Q: Most Stockton teams compete in the NJAC. How would you assess the state of the conference?
A: That was one of the things that drew me to this job. Certainly five years ago and then coming in here. The NJAC is one of the top Division III conferences in the country. Without question. I felt like I came from one of the other ones, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The ODAC is a tremendous conference, as well. But I felt the competitive level they play at here is unparalleled across the country. I think last year we finished third in the overall standings in the NJAC, and that is something I think we can improve upon. I think we can get to that top two, but we are going to need a couple teams to hit on all cylinders. But still, I think if you say you're in the top three in one of the toughest conferences in the country, that is unbelievable. If you correlate that to Division I, like you're in the Big 10 and you're one of the top three programs in the Big 10 across the board, you're one of the top in the country. We were third last year (in the NJAC), so I think that illustrates we are one of the top programs in the country.
Q: While at Pittsburgh-Greensburg, you chaired the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Committee from 2014-16 and were voted Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Men’s Golf Coach of the Year in 2015. With a golf background, do you want Stockton men’s golf to move from a club sport to a sanctioned sport? Would you coach golf again, if so?
A: I think we are open to pretty much anything. The timing will have to be right for it. There are some other things that come into play. Title IX comes into play. If we add any type of male sports, we have to look where our ratio is for Title IX. As far as me, I'm done coaching. I did that for 10 years. It was very difficult to do everything required of an athletic director and also coach a team. I felt, like, at times my team wasn't getting what they deserved that other programs were getting where maybe they had a more dedicated coach to their program. It was tough. Maybe later in my life or at the end of my career I can go back to just being a golf coach. I would probably enjoy that, but right now I love being an athletic director. I can't imagine doing anything differently.
Stockton University senior Darren Wan broke his own school record Saturday at the NCAA Divis…
Q: Are there plans to add any NCAA programs – maybe men’s rowing, ice hockey, men’s tennis or swimming (Stockton does not have a men's and women's swimming teams, the others are just club sports).
A: We would certainly take a look at any of the programs down the road. I think maybe the most natural will be men's rowing to make varsity because I know they wouldn't be structured any differently financially. There are no financial implications to bring them up. If anything, it will help coach Joseph Maguire probably recruit kids to be on a varsity program as opposed to a club program. I think if any of them happen next, I think (men's) rowing will be the more natural to do it. But anything we can do to strengthen our athletic program, we would most certainly do and look at.
Q: Is there a scenario in which Stockton could ever start a football program?
A: Not that I ever heard, it hasn't been (a scenario). I've been at institutions with football, and it's certainly something that takes a ton of resources. I mean a lot, a lot of resources. I mean you're looking at probably at least half a dozen full-time positions, both coaching and administratively just to support football. That is something that, while it would be great, I just don't think it's feasible at this point in time.
Q: Stockton continues to expand its Atlantic City presence. Is there some role for the athletics department in the city? (The college is currently building a second residential facility in the resort).
A: I think maybe potentially in the future. I think it's tough for us right now because we have great, great facilities here on (the Galloway Township) campus with redoing (G. Larry James Stadium, which is under improvements now that should be done by the spring) and the track and redoing the (Pomona Road) turf field (which is complete). We invested a lot of resources in the facilities here on campus. I think it would be neat if we had some opportunities to play some events down there in the future, but I think right now we are going to focus on Galloway.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — Stockton University Director of Athletics and Recreation Anthony Berich …
Q: You were recently appointed to serve on the NCAA Division III Rowing Committee for the next two years. What do you expect your involvement to be? And is rowing a sport you oversaw at any of your previous stops?
A: I was on the national golf committee, so the way the NCAA structures it, it'll probably be very similar to that. I'll be a part of the national committee. We will select the field that goes onto the Division III championships. Once you do that, you help administrate those championships on site. So, I would assume it'll be very similar to what I did with the golf. And we did have rowing when I was at Philadelphia University, now Jefferson. We added rowing during my time there, so I had experience with it. I did know coach (Chris) O'Brien, who we are bringing in. He was the coach that was hired when I was there. So, I've known him for going on 20 years now. But I do have experience with rowing.
Q: Where do you see Stockton athletics in five years?
A: Hopefully, with a boatload of national championships. Like I said, I think we have some programs that are really on the rise and have a ton of potential. Hopefully, we continue to build on that. The commitment the university has made, in terms of facilities with the stadium and the turf field and the expansion here of the Sports Center illustrates where we can go from here. Hopefully, that will help us recruit even better and have more and more success. Once again, I think the teams in the NJAC that have success also have success at the national level. I think that is what our goal is, to have success at the national level.
Q: Would you like to add anything else about Stockton athletics?
A: It’s just an exciting time. Hopefully, everyone can come out and join us and see our teams. We get (our fall sports) kicked off (Thursday). So, come out and enjoy it. I promise you’ll have a great time. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/a-conversation-with-stockton-ad-tony-berich/article_6d5cff6e-231a-11ed-ae18-d70ed78821eb.html | 2022-08-27T20:18:41 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/a-conversation-with-stockton-ad-tony-berich/article_6d5cff6e-231a-11ed-ae18-d70ed78821eb.html |
Experts say rapid PCR technology being used to test for sexually transmitted infections in Pima and Cochise counties could be a solution to curbing climbing rates of several common pathogens.
Pima County is using rapid testing to help fight a statewide syphilis outbreak, in which the largest increases in cases are in women and newborns.
And in Cochise County, a large primary care provider is one of two organizations in the United States piloting new rapid testing technology to quickly diagnose chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis, three common STIs.
Syphilis cases surging in women
Pregnant women can pass syphilis to unborn children, and syphilis during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death.
Babies who survive can have irreversible damage to the skin, bones, joints, eyes, ears and brains, and untreated syphilis in adults can damage a person's brain, nerves, eye blood vessels, bones and more, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
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Timely testing and treatment can reduce negative health outcomes for mother and baby, the department stresses.
Since 2015, the yearly average of syphilis cases in women in the state has increased 449%, according to ADHS data.
Between 2016 and 2019, the number of babies born with syphilis doubled each year, and 10 of the 166 babies born with syphilis last year died.
As of May 31, 934 cases of syphilis have been diagnosed in the state, with 170 of those diagnosed in Pima County.
Syphilis and congenital syphilis rates are rising nationwide and causing concern among experts, especially considering that the disease is highly preventable, said Michael Lopez, HIV/STD program manager for the Pima County Health Department.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, officials in Pima County and beyond were seeing an increase in diagnosed STIs, with one thought being that the higher numbers were due to more people being tested, Lopez said.
New medications have also added to the boost in testing, he said. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medicine taken to prevent getting HIV, is highly effective when taken as prescribed, reducing the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%.
"With the advent of PrEP, more people have begun engaging in screening. Hopefully we're seeing a normalization in testing," Lopez said. "But we saw a decrease (in testing and rates) during COVID, because in our own jurisdiction and statewide, a lot of clinics had to slow down or minimize encounters."
In addition, people who felt they were at risk of contracting COVID by visiting a doctor or clinic also held off on testing for awhile, Lopez said. But once stay-at-home orders and other precautionary measures were lifted, health-care providers in Pima County began to see more people coming in for testing.
"We're seeing an increase (in STI rates) again, but I feel like for Tucson, we're staying within those kind of 'average' numbers. They're increasing, but they're still very similar to years' past," Lopez said. "But with syphilis and congenital syphilis, we're seeing an exception."
As recently as 2015, there were no reported cases of congenital syphilis in Pima County, but by 2017, three had been reported. By 2020, that number had risen to 27 and as of October 2021, the county health department recorded 25 cases of syphilis involving pregnancy.
Advantages of rapid testing
Lopez said the burden tends to fall on health-care providers to bring awareness to the importance of taking a complete sexual health history, while also taking a nonjudgmental approach that helps empower people to know their health status.
But he said everyone can play a part in destigmatizing testing and helping to get out the message that even if a person doesn't believe they're at risk for contracting an STI, there's always a risk if they're engaging in sexual activity.
At the county health department's three locations, providers are using a combination of rapid testing for syphilis and HIV and standard testing for other STIs.
The faster testing helps prevent missed treatment after contact is lost with a patient, which can easily occur during the standard 24 to 72 hours it takes to get back results from a standard test, Lopez said.
Factors such as homelessness and housing instability, as well as substance use issues, contribute to a higher risk of people being exposed to an STI and unable to test.
"In the case of our community disease investigators, when a client discloses a partner in a confidential respect, sometimes we can't find these people again," Lopez said.
Being unable to locate a person's partner or even the patient themselves after that first visit is more than a barrier to treatment, Lopez said. It's a roadblock. In many cases, he said, it's best to just treat for an STI, even if a provider is waiting for test results to come back.
"We're working with community partners to enhance our mobile outreach testing in areas where homeless people might utilize them," Lopez said. "I think that as a community, we need to be advocating for people to get tested and finding different means in terms of prevention and really trying to think outside of the box about where our outreach efforts need to be."
With a rapid syphilis or HIV test, a few drops of blood and 20 minutes will yield a preliminary result, Lopez said.
To combat rising syphilis cases, the health department has been engaging in a social media campaign and placing ads at bus shelters around Tucson.
"We can't just focus on one aspect. We have to see the full picture and focus on both prevention and care," Lopez said. "The messaging needs to be, 'If you're sexually active, incorporate testing as part of your sexual health routine.'"
Sexual Health Click Test
Chiricahua Community Health Centers Inc., Southeastern Arizona's largest primary care organization, is piloting the new rapid STI testing technology to quickly diagnose chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis.
Visby Medical's new PCR testing device uses self-collected vaginal swab samples to produce rapid, accurate results. After a sample is collected, the swab is inserted into the device, the provider presses a button and 30 minutes later will get a "positive" or "negative" result for each of the three pathogens, said Visby's chief medical officer, Dr. Gary Schoolnik.
The device — called the Sexual Health Click Test — is the size of a cell phone and the only thing it needs to run is electricity. When the test is complete, the single-use device can either be discarded or recycled back through Visby, Schoolnik said.
"The game-changing part of this is how rapid this is and that it can be done anywhere by anyone," he said. "These three pathogens have a significant impact on women's health, and two are the main cases of pelvic inflammatory disease (an infection of the reproductive system)."
Schoolnik, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford Medical School, said he thinks rapid PCR testing like Visby's will "transform" care and help curb the STI epidemic if it's widely used.
The device has been approved for point-of-care use at retail pharmacies, urgent care centers, emergency departments, OBGYN offices, student health centers and mobile vans, but for now, it's only being piloted in two locales.
In addition to use in all of Chiricahua Community Health Centers Inc.'s rural Arizona facilities, the devices are also being tested in an urban setting in Rhode Island, with mobile vans going out into areas with a high risk for STIs, Schoolnik said.
Since many people turn to emergency rooms and urgent care centers when they have concerns about their sexual health, Schoolnik hopes the Visby device will soon be used in those locations. He's also hoping to see them in pharmacies, as pharmacists now perform a variety of primary care duties, including vaccinations and more.
The device costs about $60, which can be reimbursed by most insurance, so Schoolnik said the hope is that the product is affordable for most patients.
Under-treatment and over-treatment of STIs are common in many settings that use standard testing, either due to loss of contact with a patient or overprescribing in cases where a provider fears they'll lose contact with the patient, he said. Rapid testing can prevent both, Schoolnik said, while also providing "a teachable moment."
Providers can talk about safe sex while a person is waiting for their test results and, when the 30 minutes are up, can move onto treatment options, testing for the person's partner or partners, and prevention of future STDs after having established that initial rapport, he said.
"Dialogue is important to changing behavior with people," Schoolnik said. "When you have a moment and you have a compassionate physician and a patient who's just learned what they have, it can really change the behavior as well as get the patient properly treated."
A 2015 study on the use of rapid testing in chlamydia and gonorrhea cases showed that the technology enabled faster treatment, reduced infectious periods and led to fewer infections and medical costs, according to a 2018 article in the International Journal of STDs and AIDS.
Game-changer for clinicians
In 2020, Cochise County reported 420 cases of chlamydia and 108 cases of gonorrhea, according to the state health department. Those numbers dropped slightly in 2021, to 403 and 91, respectively, and as of May 31, there were 156 cases of chlamydia and 24 cases of gonorrhea diagnosed in the county, ADHS data shows.
Untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women, which can lead to infertility and chronic pain. In men, untreated chlamydia can cause pain and swelling in the testicles.
Untreated gonorrhea can spread to the blood and cause disseminated gonococcal infection, which can be life-threatening, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2019, Arizona ranked 14th in the country in chlamydial infections and 16th in gonorrheal infections, the CDC says.
With rising STI rates across the state and along the U.S.-Mexico border, infection control has become a joint priority between officials in Cochise County and in Agua Prieta, Sonora.
Chiricahua Community Health Centers Inc. serves more than 30,000 patients each year through its 14 fixed-site medical clinics and seven mobile-medical and mobile-dental units. The nonprofit organization sees patients throughout the more than 6,200 miles of Cochise County.
For the first year of the pandemic, CCHCI provided most of its care through telehealth, causing the number of STI tests it was administering to drop. But CCHCI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Darlene Melk said with schools having returned to in-person and more patients returning for in-person visits, STI rates in the region are starting to pick back up.
Thanks to a grant from Visby Medical, CCHCI has received nearly 400 tests to date, with Melk saying the organization is in the process of evaluating if it can continue with Visby rapid testing after the grant ends.
"From a practical perspective, this is a marvelous project," Melk said. "But tests cost money and it's an investment up-front even if we're able to get insurance to reimburse."
As a federal qualifying health center, CCHCI has to treat all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. With many patients not having insurance, Melk said she and others are "very motivated to make this a sustainable test that we can offer to our patients in the future."
Melk called the Visby device a game-changer from a clinician's perspective. It allows providers to counsel and treat patients on the spot, she said, while not having to worry about losing touch with the patient or about additional exposure to partners while the patient is waiting for results.
She likened it to the early days of COVID-19 testing, when patients had to wait upwards of a week to get results. And when results finally did come, questions still remained about who had the person exposed and were they really following isolation protocols, Melk said.
With instant results, those concerns — which are similar when it comes to STIs — are no longer an issue, and the fast turnaround time cuts down on provider workload, Melk said.
"It doesn't matter where you're practicing as a clinician. There's so much added work on your staff and you to track down a patient when you get a positive result," she said. "It's really important that they know, but you can't always find them right away."
The reception from CCHCI patients was resoundingly positive, as well, Melk said.
"Patients loved the convenience of having the results right then and there. They were very pleased with the ease," she said, adding that innovations such as these show that people are starting to look at medicine through a public health lens. "Scientists are working like crazy in the background to make health care more accessible for everyone."
Contact Star reporter Caitlin Schmidt at 573-4191 or cschmidt@tucson.com. On Twitter: @caitlincschmidt | https://tucson.com/news/local/pima-cochise-counties-using-rapid-testing-to-curb-rising-sti-rates/article_16e56490-1763-11ed-aaaa-032fd33bcef1.html | 2022-08-27T20:52:48 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/pima-cochise-counties-using-rapid-testing-to-curb-rising-sti-rates/article_16e56490-1763-11ed-aaaa-032fd33bcef1.html |
On Saturday, people gathered in Richmond to peruse tents of over 30 Black-owned businesses, attend workshops and discussion panels and to dance. The occasion was the 19th annual Happily Natural Day and marked the festival's return to in-person gathering after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participating vendors at 5th District Mini Farm included merchants selling artwork, jewelry, and clothing along with natural beauty products and locally grown foods.
Some participating vendors in the event on Bainbridge Street are new small businesses within their first year or two of existence.
For Northside Grow, Linda Thompson-Morton and her husband Ryan have cultivated fresh produce with a mission to “bring healthy food options into Black and brown communities.”
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“We think about the food deserts," Thompson-Morton said, noting neighborhoods around Richmond with less ease of access to grocery stores.
She and her husband, Ryan Morton, launched their business in 2020, growing produce naturally on their property “without pesticides or chemicals.” They also harvest eggs from their chickens.
Colorful paintings, notebooks, coffee mugs adorned the table of another vendor tent — From the Core Art Studio.
“You name it, I make it,” said artist Lizzie Brown.
After seven years of working as an art educator in public and private school sectors, Brown decided to launch her studio in 2021.
Brown’s artwork often features people of color and words of affirmation.
“I like to portray us in a beautiful light of positivity, resilience and joy,” she said.
Celebrating Black people and culture inspired the festival’s founder, Duron Chavis, to create the Happily Natural Day festival in 2003.
More than providing a space for vendors, the festivals feature guest speaker panels and workshops. Themes have included urban agriculture, holistic health and wellness along with addressing social determinants of health. Topics this year included Black maternal health. The festival featured guest speakers and a martial arts demonstration.
Chavis, who said the festival has “grown up with him,” added that he has been an activist for many years.
“It's really been like an incubator for, you know, radical Black thought, and action and communities across the country,” Chavis said as he described similar festivals and gatherings across several states.
“I feel like it's great for us to be able to hold space in Richmond, Virginia and to have that type of convergence.” | https://richmond.com/news/local/happily-natural-day-celebrates-black-culture-and-health/article_57f32bee-0bbf-538d-a202-45e7f33d2dec.html | 2022-08-27T21:00:28 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/happily-natural-day-celebrates-black-culture-and-health/article_57f32bee-0bbf-538d-a202-45e7f33d2dec.html |
The Walmart Supercenter in Converse was evacuated Saturday afternoon after a shooting near the store, authorities said.
Eight suspects are in custody, including five juveniles and three adults. Authorities told media that there were no casualties.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the gunfire stemmed from a dispute that began elsewhere and continued at the Walmart at 8315 FM 78.
On ExpressNews.com: Woman arrested for randomly shooting at homes in far west Bexar County in a since-deleted Instagram video
The store was hurriedly evacuated, and some fleeing customers screamed that a gunman was on the loose, according to eyewitness accounts posted to social media.
“The danger is passed, and everyone who needed to be apprehended has been apprehended,” Salazar told the Express-News.
The Walmart closed temporarily, and the store entrance and the parking lot were blocked off with yellow crime-scene tape.
An Express-News staff member was on-site and captured video footage after evacuating the store.
Kathy Torres, a shopper who was at the store, said employees told customers "Get out of here. There's a shooting," as those inside quickly made their way into the parking lot.
Some took to social media to report hearing multiple shots in the area.
Just before 3 p.m., an ambulance arrived on scene but left shortly afterward.
This is a developing story and will be updated as details are confirmed. | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Converse-Walmart-evacuated-shooting-17402421.php | 2022-08-27T21:08:04 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Converse-Walmart-evacuated-shooting-17402421.php |
A Union Pacific train hit a male lying on the tracks Saturday morning, San Antonio police said.
Officers found his body underneath the train, according to a preliminary report. He has not been identified.
The San Antonio Police Department said Union Pacific contacted authorities to report a train had struck an individual shortly after 6 a.m. on the tracks adjacent to Saltillo Street, between South Trinity and South Navidad streets. today. | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Train-runs-over-male-lying-on-tracks-on-the-West-17402488.php | 2022-08-27T21:08:10 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Train-runs-over-male-lying-on-tracks-on-the-West-17402488.php |
A woman and child walking through the Bronx were caught up in a drive-by shooting Friday evening, with the former suffering a graze wound to her left cheek, police said.
The shooting took place around 6:30 p.m. in the Mount Eden section of the borough when a white BMW pulled up and two suspects inside opened fire.
Video shared by the NYPD shows the moment the car came to a stop and both men riding in the front of the vehicle stuck their guns through open windows and fired upon two unknown subjects.
Police said one of their bullets struck the 32-year-old woman in the face, but the child she was walking with was unharmed. She was said to be OK and refused medical attention.
The suspects, meanwhile, fled in the white car and were still being sought by police the next day. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/drive-by-nyc-shooting-grazes-woman-walking-with-young-kid-nypd/3841423/ | 2022-08-27T21:12:11 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/drive-by-nyc-shooting-grazes-woman-walking-with-young-kid-nypd/3841423/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark — The Little Rock Police Department has asked for the help of the public in locating a runaway teenager.
15-year-old Chris'Shun Bryles was last seen in Little Rock on Friday, August 26, 2022.
If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact Detective Dearing at (501) 404-3014, Detective Yetmar at (501) 371-4829, or the Little Rock Communications Center at (501) 371-4829. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missing-persons-reports/little-rock-police-search-runaway-teen/91-e87dfaf0-3b0b-4cab-aac7-b799132fca4b | 2022-08-27T21:14:43 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missing-persons-reports/little-rock-police-search-runaway-teen/91-e87dfaf0-3b0b-4cab-aac7-b799132fca4b |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fayetteville police are investigating after a reported shooting at the Washington County Fair Friday night.
According to Sgt. Tony Murphy with the Fayetteville Police Department, around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 26, police responded to the fairgrounds for reports of a shooting.
Once police were on the scene, they found one victim and began first aid efforts. The victim, whose identity is not known at this time, was taken to a nearby hospital. The extent of their injuries is unknown.
Murphy says their initial investigation leads police to believe this was not a random act of violence. The suspect has not been located at this time.
On Saturday morning, Fayetteville Police posted on Facebook asking anyone who took video or has any information regarding the shooting to contact the Fayetteville Police Department at (479) 587-3555 or to send them a message on social media.
Crowds of people were seen running towards the exits of the fairgrounds and vehicles were at a stand-still trying to leave.
Police ask that if you have video or any information regarding the shooting to contact the Fayetteville Police Department at (479) 587-3555 or send them a message on social media.
This is a developing story, we will provide more information as it becomes available.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/shooting-washington-county-fair/527-acdc20eb-b3c3-4c42-bff9-1072d03a2a67 | 2022-08-27T21:14:49 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/shooting-washington-county-fair/527-acdc20eb-b3c3-4c42-bff9-1072d03a2a67 |
James Bruski, left, and Tony VanSickle, owners of Smokie Boyz BBQ, of Bristol, work on grilling chicken thighs during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park.
SEAN KRAJACIC Kenosha News
The Kal Bergendahl Project plays during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park on Saturday.
SEAN KRAJACIC Kenosha News
The handmade smoker made by Chad Shortridge was on display smoking briskets during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park.
SEAN KRAJACIC Kenosha News
Chad Shortridge, owner of American Made BBQ checks on briskets in his handmade smoker during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park on Saturday.
PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Pleasant Prairie’s BBQ in the Park, a new event featuring brisket, beer, bands, and bingo, drew hundreds to Prairie Springs Park on Saturday.
The event continues Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the park outside of the RecPlex at 9900 Terwall Terrace. Admission is free.
The event included two dozen food and merchandise vendors. The smells of grilled and marinated chicken thighs and smoked seasoned brisket wafted through the crowd gathered on Saturday.
“We’re having a blast,” said Chad Shortridge, owner of Bristol-based American Made BBQ. He brought his large custom smoker to the event.
“I specialize in pork butt and whole hogs, but today I brought with us some pulled pork, baby back ribs and smoked sausage. I also have five briskets smoking for (Sunday’s) crowd,” he said. “It’s all good.”
Staff and volunteers with Bristol-based Smokie Boyz BBQ were busy selling marinated chicken thighs and brisket.
“Chicken thighs taste amazing when you do them right, much better than breast meat,” said grill master James Bruski. “We’re doing pretty good here. We have quite a following.”
BBQ in the Park is sponsored by the Pleasant Prairie Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Kenosha News, Wisconn Valley Media Group and Renewal by Andersen. Fifty percent of proceeds — specifically from the beer tent — will benefit Visit Pleasant Prairie by supporting parks within the village, including Prairie Springs Park, where the event is being held.
Wisconn Valley Media Marketing & Events Manager Kelly Wells said the event’s sponsors are trying to build a community festival in Pleasant Prairie. The village has not had a regular community festival in many years.
“There’s been a nice and steady crowd with lots of food vendors. People are happy and I’m seeing lots of plates of food being taken over to tables,” Wells said. “It’s a nice end of summer event. All our partners have been super accommodating and very easy to work with.”
The owner of the proposed cannabis dispensary on the border with Wisconsin said, to be honest, the value of the location is because he knows people will come across the border from Wisconsin, where they cannot buy marijuana legally. “I don’t want to pretend anything else.”
Two years ago today, with Kenosha already in the international spotlight following the shooting of Jacob Blake, two men were shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse. Here's a recollection of that night, from someone actually on the ground.
When a gunman shot and killed Racine Police Officer John Hetland three years ago, Gov. Tony Evers called Hetland a hero and ordered flags flown at half-staff statewide in a show of respect. But bills vetoed by the governor and other actions of his have led Hetlands' family to believe Evers' words were hollow. Hetland's parents are ripping the governor in a political advertisement that invokes their son's memory on behalf of Republicans trying to defeat Evers.
Police in the Waukesha County community of Muskego say a 17-year-old girl suffered a fatal head injury Sunday evening in a utility vehicle accident that occurred near the Racine County line.
James Bruski, left, and Tony VanSickle, owners of Smokie Boyz BBQ, of Bristol, work on grilling chicken thighs during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park.
The handmade smoker made by Chad Shortridge was on display smoking briskets during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park.
Chad Shortridge, owner of American Made BBQ checks on briskets in his handmade smoker during the Pleasant Prairie's BBQ in the Park event at Prairie Springs Park on Saturday. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-pleasant-prairie-s-bbq-in-the-park-draws-hundreds/article_e102b2ce-263a-11ed-89d9-eb921ecfb9ef.html | 2022-08-27T21:16:22 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-pleasant-prairie-s-bbq-in-the-park-draws-hundreds/article_e102b2ce-263a-11ed-89d9-eb921ecfb9ef.html |
Stormy weather delayed Coconino’s football scrimmage against Snowflake by about 30 minutes Friday at Cromer Stadium, but the Panthers caught lighting in a bottle a few times -- especially offensively -- in their long exhibition before the regular season begins.
The Panthers and Lobos each played six 10-play series of offense against defense, without a true score or special teams plays. It gave each squad -- which both reside in the 4A Conference -- a chance to work on their systems against a true opponent for the first time.
It was Coconino’s first preseason scrimmage in three years, having not played one in 2020 or 2021. Panthers coach Mike Lapsley said it was helpful for his team’s future.
Coach Lapsley speaks with the Panthers following the scrimmage pic.twitter.com/addLRs2Z91
— Eric Newman (@enewmanwrites) August 27, 2022
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“It’s really important that we get this stuff on film so we can critique ourselves, know what we need to do to make ourselves better and compete against a good team,” he said.
Coconino made noise immediately on offense. In just the third play from scrimmage, junior Ryker Patten took a handoff to the outside. He beat a defender to the sideline and scored from more than 50 yards out.
The next offensive drive saw junior quarterback Enoch Watson hit junior tight end Prayer Young-Blackgoat for a long touchdown reception up the middle of the field.
“You could say it was game-changing,” Watson said of the team’s major offensive plays, “but it was early on that we showed that ability. Ryker balls out and scores, Young-Blackgoat balls out and I just hit him.”
A highlight play here as Enoch Watson hits Prayer Young-Blackgoat for a long TD pic.twitter.com/egbyoxOKKg
— Eric Newman (@enewmanwrites) August 27, 2022
The moment was sweet after many long months of preparation.
“It feels phenomenal. It was great to be out here and see our team camaraderie getting better. And we showed what we can do,” Watson said.
Big plays were on display all night. Even in the second half of the scrimmage, when many of the backups got some snaps, the Panthers were moving the ball well.
Senior Jacob Clouse, a starter on defense and productive running back, played the backup quarterback role well. On back-to-back drives he threw long touchdown passes to senior Tyler Ragan.
The major gains, especially in the passing game, are a new wrinkle the Panthers could boast offensively.
“It’s definitely a change-up that we’ve had. I like the big plays like that, they’re fun. We’re definitely mixing it up this year,” Ragan said.
Defensively, Coconino made a few great plays, including some sacks, tackles for losses and fumble recoveries. But the unit dealt with a few more mishaps than the offense against a solid Snowflake offense.
Three different late hits were called against the Panthers. Two of them in the first half likely would have been grounds for ejection in the regular season. Still, there was a lot to take away positively from the scrimmage.
“Defensively we still need a lot of work, but it looked good. There was a lot of aggression, we just need to learn keys and get downhill to make things happen,” Ragan said.
“I think it was first-game jitters, and we just have got to work some kinks out. We just wanted to keep going, but we’re going to get better at that,” he added.
Neither unit played a perfect game. However, as the Panthers prepare for their home opener against 3A Blue Ridge on Friday, Sept. 9, Lapsley feels the team is in a solid spot.
“I didn’t expect perfection by any means. The flags happen, the mistakes happen, so it’s about how we respond to it. That positive stuff needs to happen, and I think we did a pretty good job of it,” he said. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/big-plays-on-display-in-coconinos-scrimmage-against-snowflake/article_5d10a398-25bf-11ed-8062-0bd889be118a.html | 2022-08-27T21:16:30 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/big-plays-on-display-in-coconinos-scrimmage-against-snowflake/article_5d10a398-25bf-11ed-8062-0bd889be118a.html |
DALLAS — Historic flooding came to North Texas on Monday, bringing down rain that came fast and with force, flooding homes, cars, businesses, roads and freeways.
The area saw nearly 10 inches of rain in just a 24-hour span, with Dallas and Fort Worth getting over nine inches of rain.
Roadways flooded on Monday, creating dangerous conditions for drivers.
Dramatic video captured the moments a Dallas Independent School District transportation team came across two children clinging to a tree amid high water conditions.
Tekendria Valentine shot the video and said the location was not a part of the driver's normal route.
Members of the Dallas ISD transportation team aboard the bus used seatbelts from the bus to pull the children to safety.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a disaster declaration for several counties, including Dallas, Tarrant, Kaufman and Ellis counties.
“What happened yesterday is the second worst rainstorm and flooding in Dallas since 1932,” Abbott said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Details about the bus rescue were limited. Check back for updates. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/video-captures-dramatic-rescue-in-high-water-involving-dallas-isd-team/287-6e860faa-085c-4349-aadc-3ed0e1c5f478 | 2022-08-27T21:18:58 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/video-captures-dramatic-rescue-in-high-water-involving-dallas-isd-team/287-6e860faa-085c-4349-aadc-3ed0e1c5f478 |
The Legacy Foundation has named a new president and CEO.
Kelly Anoe will serve as the sixth president and CEO of the Lake County foundation, which has awarded more than $60 million in grants and scholarships over the past 30 years.
Anoe succeeds Carolyn Saxton, who is retiring.
“On behalf of the board of directors, we are thrilled to appoint Kelly as the foundation’s newest president and CEO,” said Carey Yukich, who chairs the board. “This new chapter is an exciting time for the foundation. Kelly has been a valued colleague as we have worked to advance our vision of a more vibrant and inclusive Lake County.”
Anoe has worked in nonprofit direct services, development and leadership throughout her career. She earned a bachelor's degree and master's in business administration from Purdue University Northwest.
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A certified fundraising executive, Anoe joined the Legacy Foundation in 2014. Two years later, she was promoted to vice president.
She has been responsible for scholarships, grantmaking, community engagement, leadership and strategic initiatives.
“I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to lead Legacy Foundation,” Anoe said. “I look forward to continuing to work with the board and staff to help Legacy Foundation achieve its mission and grow its impact for all of Lake County.”
The Legacy Foundation manages more than $90 million in assets. It's overseen by a volunteer board with representatives from the businesses, nonprofit, public and education sectors.
For more information, visit www.legacyfdn.org. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/legacy-foundation-names-new-ceo/article_c5243c2d-bb03-563e-9731-9b2b71f1afa8.html | 2022-08-27T21:30:56 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/legacy-foundation-names-new-ceo/article_c5243c2d-bb03-563e-9731-9b2b71f1afa8.html |
A Centennial preview: A glimpse at Texas Tech's big 100th anniversary plans
With the kick-off to Texas Tech’s Centennial coming in less than 100 days away, the university this week announced its plans for celebrating the milestone in a 2023 packed with events around Lubbock, across the state and nation.
The celebrations will officially kick off on Dec. 2 at the Carol of Lights holiday lighting celebration on the Tech campus in Lubbock. However, a day before the kick-off, the Texas Tech Museum will open its Centennial Exhibit at 10 a.m. in Lubbock, with free admission.
Texas Tech was officially established on Feb. 10, 1923, and in the past 100 years Tech has grown and evolved into a system with more than 40,000 students across the state and around the world.
“In our first century, we have become a world-class, internationally recognized university,” Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec said in a centennial article from the university. “Our second century is an opportunity for us to elevate our thinking even further; to serve all who choose to pursue a college degree at Texas Tech, no matter where they come from; and to find creative solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges. We have the capacity to do all these things, and we will.”
As classes resume for the spring 2023 semester, the celebrations will continue on Jan. 16, with the MLK Day; Centennial Service Event in Lubbock.
This event serves as the first service event that is intertwined throughout the celebration’s events. The university has had a long legacy of service to the community, which will continue into the next chapter of its history.
Texas Tech Goin' Band marching in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Over the course of the celebrations, Texas Tech set a goal for the Red Raider community to complete at least 1 million hours of volunteerism and service.
“The message is clear: service has always been part of who we are at Texas Tech. And today, as we launch our centennial celebration, service to our many communities is still at the forefront of our identity,” reads a statement from Tech's Office of the President.
The next event after MLK Day will be another service event nationwide on Feb. 10. The Founders Day - Texas Tech Alumni Association National Volunteer Day coincides with the founding of the university in 1923 and also goes along with the Founders Day Centennial Illumination event in Lubbock.
Later in February, the celebrations will go down to Austin on Feb. 28 for Capitol Tech: A Texas Tech Centennial Celebration and on March 1 for Texas Tech Day at the State Capitol.
Celebrations will move to Houston for Boots & Bowties: A Texas Tech Centennial Celebration and Texas Tech Day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 10 and 11.
All events from Feb. 28 to March 11 require tickets or an RSVP to participate.
The celebration will briefly return to Lubbock on April 14 for Tech’s annual service event, Tech to Town.
Celebrations will head east again for the Stars at Night: A Texas Tech Centennial Celebration in Dallas. Tickets are required.
On Nov. 23, celebrations are headed to the Big Apple for Broadway to Broadway: A Texas Tech Centennial Celebration in New York City. On Nov. 24, tune in to see the Goin’ Band perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time.
Finally, the celebrations will wrap up back in Lubbock on Dec. 1 for the annual Carol of Lights.
More information about the centennial can be found at 100.ttu.edu. | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/27/a-centennial-preview-a-glimpse-at-texas-techs-big-100th-anniversary-plans/65460104007/ | 2022-08-27T21:30:58 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/27/a-centennial-preview-a-glimpse-at-texas-techs-big-100th-anniversary-plans/65460104007/ |
The United Steelworkers union and Cleveland-Cliffs reached a tentative labor agreement after months of negotiation.
The two sides tentatively agreed to a four-year deal that must be ratified by steelworkers. It would cover 12,000 USW-represented steelworkers at Cleveland-Cliffs mills and mines like Burns Harbor Works, Indiana Harbor Works—East, Indiana Harbor Works—West, Riverdale, New Carlisle, Coatesville, Steelton, Conshohocken, Cleveland Works, Warren, Columbus, Weirton and Minorca.
“Our employees are the heart and soul of Cleveland-Cliffs," Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. "The USW is a partner and an ally, and we look forward to sharing in our future success together. This agreement allows us to do just that, while keeping our cost structure highly competitive.”
The USW said it improves base wages by 20% over current levels. The contract also requires no employee health care premiums and no changes to any cost sharing. It removes the requirement for spouses to elect other employer coverage, includes coverage for disposable insulin pumps for diabetics and provides coverage for eye exams and frames or lenses every 12 months regardless of whether there's a change in vision.
USW had just reported significant progress on a new contract to its members Friday night.
"Our bargaining over local issues, health care benefits and capital expenditure has resulted in important progress for our members in terms of working conditions and job security," USW said in an update to members shortly before the tentative pact was announced Saturday. "We remain engaged with Cliffs at the table over major economics. The company needs to limit its exposure to certain future costs associated with retiree benefits but recognizes that steelworkers deserve to retire with dignity."
The current contract expires in September. Steelworkers will get a chance to vote on the new collective bargaining agreement, the details of which should be mailed to them soon.
Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, employing more than 7,500 workers at its mills in East Chicago and Burns Harbor. It has been a mine operator since 1847 and then bought out two of its biggest customers, ArcelorMittal USA and AK Steel, at the end of 2020. It's now a vertically integrated steelmaker that mines raw materials, produces steel and handles downstream finishing, stamping, tooling and tubing.
It's the largest supplier to the American automotive industry with more than 27,000 total employees in North America.
Contract talks remain underway with U.S. Steel, which offered an 11% increase in pay over four years.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Parlor Doughuts, Domino's, Gyros Bar and Grill and Captain's Seafood opening
Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times since 2013 and blogs about craft beer, culture and the military.
The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker has initially offered an 11% pay increase over the next four years, less than the 14% union steelworkers agreed to during the last round of contract talks in 2018.
Giant dinosaurs have invaded the Harvest Tyme Family Farm, which is opening its Dino Tyme attraction Saturday. Visitors will be able to check out more than 20 dinosaurs and an erupting volcano from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 18.
The company, which has three other battery-cell manufacturing operations moving toward completion, is affiliated with General Motors and LG Energy Solution. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/usw-cleveland-cliffs-reach-tentative-labor-agreement-that-includes-20-hike-in-base-pay/article_d4dcf5d5-cdf9-50bb-bcd9-fa267e9c24fa.html | 2022-08-27T21:31:03 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/usw-cleveland-cliffs-reach-tentative-labor-agreement-that-includes-20-hike-in-base-pay/article_d4dcf5d5-cdf9-50bb-bcd9-fa267e9c24fa.html |
HAMMOND — A 33-year-old woman died Thursday after the car she was driving veered off the road and struck a fence, police said.
Larissa Peterson, of Hammond, died at Franciscan Health hospital in Hammond after the crash about 2:20 p.m. in the 7500 block of Jackson Avenue, according to the Lake County coroner's office and Hammond police.
A 2-year-old child riding with Peterson in a 2013 Toyota Camry was not hurt in the crash, police Lt. Steve Kellogg said. Child Protective Services took custody of the girl, he said.
Witnesses told police that the Camry veered off the road and struck a fence and that no other vehicles were involved.
Peterson's cause and manner of death were blunt force trauma in an accident, a coroner's release said.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Andrew Vrana
Age : 40
Residence: Hammond
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Intimidation
Christopher Wright
Age : 43
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of methamphetamine
Consuella Folger
Age : 51
Residence: Hammond
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Resisting
Derrick Edwards
Age : 56
Residence: East Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Resisting
Donte Paulk
Age : 40
Residence: Lake Station
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Resisting
Glenn Keller
Age : 34
Residence: East Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Murder
Jakari Hyde
Age : 21
Residence: Morrow, Georgia
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Fraud
Jason Coleman
Age : 33
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of a weapon
Johnathan Thompson
Age : 33
Residence: Dolton, Illinois
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Laura Anne Dujmovich
Age : 33
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of methamphetamine
Lee Rogers
Age : 66
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Pointing a firearm
Travis Schirato
Age : 46
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of precursors
Andrew Stover
Age : 35
Residence: Steger, Illinois
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Anthony Manson
Age : 32
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Resisting
Anthony Townsell
Age : 29
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Antwain Sellars
Age : 26
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Invasion of privacy
Brittany Smith
Age : 30
Residence: Hammond
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Daniel Bajda
Age : 47
Residence: Crown Point
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Jomar Ramos Cajigas
Age : 22
Residence: Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Kalon Brandon
Age : 27
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Possession of a weapon
Leandre Nutull
Age : 36
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Burglary
Mia Martin
Age : 21
Residence: Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Theft
Michael Scott
Age : 63
Residence: Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Child molestation
Timothy Perkins
Age : 30
Residence: Crown Point
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Intimidation
Angel Berndt.jpg
Age : 29
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Barbara Rose
Age : 69
Residence: Portage
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Elijah Swelfer
Age :37
Residence: Merrillville
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Possession of a weapon by a felon
Emmanuel Ferguson
Age :31
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Paul Merriman
Age : 49
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Possession of a hypodermic syringe or needle
Steven Wallace
Age : 49
Residence: Flossmoor, Illinois
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Impersonation of a public servant
Tameka Jenkins
Age : 27
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Intimidation
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Get local news delivered to your inbox! | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/driver-died-after-veering-off-road-striking-fence-police-say/article_b129239f-5df7-5e93-8429-afa52f2a1676.html | 2022-08-27T21:31:09 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/driver-died-after-veering-off-road-striking-fence-police-say/article_b129239f-5df7-5e93-8429-afa52f2a1676.html |
One year after an eight-year-old girl was shot and killed by police in Sharon Hill, her family is desperately trying to keep her memory alive.
Fanta Bility was killed by police gunfire on Aug. 27, 2021, while three officers responded to a shooting outside a football game in Sharon Hill. The girl and her family were caught in what was initially investigated as crossfire between local police and suspects in a passing vehicle.
On Saturday, family and friends marched to the spot where she was shot one year prior.
"She should be here with us today, but unfortunately she's not around,” Fanta’s uncle Abu Bility told NBC10. “Say her name - Fanta Bility.”
Fanta’s death has since resulted in not only ongoing criminal and civil court cases, but also a public debate about police use of force over whether the officers acted recklessly in shooting the wrong target.
In January, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced manslaughter charges against three officers in Fanta's death. Murder charges against two young men initially charged with her death were withdrawn.
While the officers’ lawyers have asked the judge to dismiss both manslaughter charges, the judge has yet to make a ruling. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16.
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A few weeks after the shooting, Stollsteimer released more details that said it appeared "nearly certain" bullets from officers' handguns killed Fanta. Four other people were hurt during the shooting.
"It's not okay. This family is hurting,” Jackie Verilla, the mother of one of Fanta’s friends, told NBC10. “And I see mama out there and she's trying to smile and a piece of her soul is gone...this is my baby. same age."
Fanta’s mom says it’s “never been an easy time.”
Saturday’s march was meant to serve as a reminder that Fanta was just like any regular girl: she loved to dance and make TikTok videos, her uncle fondly recalls.
“One of the main things our family wanted everybody to know is know Fanta as a person,” Fanta’s cousin Siddiq Kamara told NBC10. “As a human." | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/family-honors-little-girl-1-year-after-fatal-delco-police-shooting/3346991/ | 2022-08-27T21:44:01 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/family-honors-little-girl-1-year-after-fatal-delco-police-shooting/3346991/ |
ATLANTIC CITY — Getting kids ready for the start of the upcoming school year can be stressful, especially for single parents like Agustina Javier who aren't working and have more than one child.
Javier, an Atlantic City resident, said there isn't much work around for people like her with chronic health issues, so maintaining a full-time job isn't easy.
Price increases on pretty much everything don't make staying afloat any easier for the family, but buying school supplies for her four kids is one less problem Javier faces, thanks to the Back to School Collective.
"This helps me a lot," said Javier. "It's a big help because it saves me money."
Javier said the event was good for the neighborhood.
"There are a lot of people in the area, including single mothers, who aren't working, and have health problems, so we're thankful for the help," said Javier.
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The Back to School Collective was held at O'Donnell Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Several community groups — Friends in Action Inc., the Hispanic Association of Atlantic County, Fellowship of Churches of Atlantic City and Vicinity, Ocean Inc. Community Action Partnership and others — passed out free school supplies, in addition to resources, for people looking for assistance
"When it comes to this time of year, parents get stressed out about school supplies," said Anthony Brower, the president and chief financial officer of Friends in Action Inc., which was one of the main organizers of the Back to School Collective.
Stockton University and Atlantic Cape Community College joined in to give out free goodies. Members of Atlantic City fire and police departments assisted volunteers however they could — helping pass out backpacks, school supplies or even starting up the grill to barbeque food for those in attendance.
Other partners included Atlantic City Electric, the Atlantic City Development Corporation and the jitney services that provided free rides to the event from all of the schools in the city.
"It was easier for organizations to join in on one collective instead of doing their own, so making the back to school giveaway bigger means the entire city would benefit," said Brower.
The free event had plenty of tiny kids with their big backpacks filled with free school supplies happily running around O'Donnell Park while parents gathered resources and information. The freshly cooked food, live entertainment, music and giveaways made for a fun day for everyone despite their back-to-school worries.
"The event is different because it's a collective," said Jessica Grullon, vice president of the Hispanic Association of Atlantic County. "We're working together to service all of the diverse populations in the area all at once."
Bert Lopez, president of the Hispanic Association, said the organization does its own back-to-school giveaway event every year and not just for the Latino community it represents, but for everyone in the community.
The HAAC also focuses on the youth and developing future leaders. It hosts youth summits and resource fairs and celebrates Hispanic Heritage month with cultural events, like its upcoming Latino Festival, and more.
Doing multiple, yearly backpack giveaways is just one of the many initiatives Friends in Action does to help the community. This year, organizations reached out to partner with Friends in Action to form a collective.
"Friends in Action has been doing it for a while, we've been doing it for a while, so it just made sense to partner up with them and other organizations," Lopez said.
Their back-to-school giveaways usually have at least 2,000 backpacks to give away to the estimated 400 kids they see each year in need of free school supplies. So partnering with other organizations was a great opportunity to expand the resources and services HAAC provides, Grullon said.
HAAC usually does their giveaways at O'Donnell Park since it's in the Chelsea neighborhood of the city, the center of the Latino, Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, and other diverse communities, said Grullon.
"It's good to have different non-profit organizations that speak different languages too, because we can help point people to others that can translate and provide assistance," said Grullon.
Roberto Oblea, a native to the city, said he didn't even know the Back to School Collective was happening until he passed by O'Donnell Park Saturday afternoon.
Oblea said there were a lot of people in the diverse neighborhood like himself that didn't know about the Back to School Collective.
At the Back to School Collective, Oblea was able to get information to connect them to assistance needed now and in the future.
"The people are very kind, they treat you good, and they're here to help," said Oblea, who was able to get school supplies for his four kids, despite not showing up with them.
Oblea works construction, but the days he works aren't consistent. With depression from the pandemic and everything being so expensive now, the single dad found relief at the Back to School Collective Saturday.
"This is what we needed," said Oblea.
It was Pedro and Katrina Martinez's first time at O'Donnell Park for a giveaway event, said Pedro Martinez. The couple, along with their three kids, decided to come out after seeing a sign for the Back to School Collective near their house, which is a block away from O'Donnell Park.
"This helps because now I don't have to buy backpacks," said Pedro Martinez, who noted prices for everything just keep going up. "A lot of people work hard, but this makes it easier for everyone." | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/local-organizations-team-up-for-back-to-school-collective-in-atlantic-city/article_dc449d02-262a-11ed-94be-ffd194c47851.html | 2022-08-27T21:49:59 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/local-organizations-team-up-for-back-to-school-collective-in-atlantic-city/article_dc449d02-262a-11ed-94be-ffd194c47851.html |
TONIGHT: Showers ending this evening. Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s and low 70s.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny in the morning becoming partly cloudy by lunchtime. Scattered showers and storms develop in the late morning and early afternoon. Highs approach 90°.
MONDAY/TUESDAY: Tropical moisture will remain in West Alabama Monday, but some mid-level dry air east of I-65 will limit rain coverage Monday in East Alabama. Still, any one spot could deal with a heavy downpour, but highest coverage of scattered storms Monday will be west of I-65. On Tuesday, rain coverage will be a bit more even as moisture content will be a bit more evenly spread and a weak cool-front pushes in from the north.
WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY: A cool front slowly pushes through Central Alabama through the day Wednesday. By lunchtime, that front will be ushering drier air in north of I-20, but a few scattered downpours will be possible through the second half of the day south of I-20. Thursday sees the drier air win out, leading to abundant sunshine and what appears to be a completely dry day.
FRIDAY & THE WEEKEND: Models diverge a bit on moisture return beyond Thursday, but as of now there’s enough support for moisture return to mention at least a few isolated showers and storms Friday into the start of the weekend. High temperatures will remain close to the 90° mark.
TROPICS: There are now three separate tropical disturbances the National Hurricane Center is monitoring for development.
- A surface trough moving into the Northwest Caribbean sea has a low chance, around 20%, of development into a tropical depression over the next 5 days.
- A broad tropical wave in the Central Atlantic is moving gradually west-northwestward towards the Leeward Islands. Ensemble model guidance has shown some support for this system organizing and strengthening over the next few days, and the NHC is now giving this system a 40% chance of development into a tropical depression over the next 5 days.
- A wave currently located over Africa will move into the Atlantic early next week. Some gradual development is possible next week. The NHC is giving this wave a 20% chance of development into a tropical depression over the next 5 days.
Storm Team 7 Day
Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team:
Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Ashley Gann, Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes and Meteorologist Alex Puckett | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/typical-summer-pattern-for-last-week-of-august/ | 2022-08-27T21:50:29 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/typical-summer-pattern-for-last-week-of-august/ |
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's smallest city, Huetter, was incorporated in 1905; it has been around for a long time, but may not be for much longer.
The 30-acre city, pronounced 'Hutter', is located in the Gem State's panhandle, between Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, and has a population of just 100 people.
"We all pronounce it the same way," Diana Witherspoon, a business owner in Huetter, said. "A lot of people say hooter, but hutter has always been the pronunciation."
There isn't a whole lot that goes on in a city as small as Huetter, according to Witherspoon.
"It's a really tiny bedroom community. Back in the 70s, it was kind of a burgeoning little town that was on the main highway, highway 10, before I-90 went through," Witherspoon said. "There was a sawmill and a bar, and a dance club, but after the freeway went through and the other towns around it started growing, the population really changed and it's now mostly rentals."
In fact, Witherspoon. does not live in Huetter. She owns apartment buildings in the area and a used car sales lot, called Big Dog. She said she sells one to two cars a month.
Of the nearly hundred residents in the city, only around five to eight people actually own the houses they live in, according to Witherspoon.
The city also lacks a current mayor after the last one moved away.
"The last mayor sold his house and moved away about three years ago," Witherspoon said. "So, there hasn't been a mayor or city council since."
Meaning there isn't anyone in charge of running the town.
"There aren't any services except for the water district, and I'm really not sure who's picking up the checks for that; it sort of runs itself," Witherspoon said. "We lost our water master probably 8 years ago."
On top of not having a current mayor or city council, the surrounding cities are also trying to annex the area. However, that has been a challenge without someone to oversee the exchange.
"We'd have to get buy in from a city council, which we don't have and we can't run for office, because we don't live here," Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon said they may need to recruit some of the retirees living in the area as a volunteer city council in order to get things done.
She believes it would be better for the city to get annexed because the water system is failing and almost all the residents are on a septic system. Not really ideal when the Spokane River is less than a quarter mile away.
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- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/huetter-idahos-smallest-city/277-9dd73d01-232a-4b0c-a634-16262ae8bbe6 | 2022-08-27T21:50:39 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/huetter-idahos-smallest-city/277-9dd73d01-232a-4b0c-a634-16262ae8bbe6 |
MIDLAND, Texas — Vicki Hurt is a Midland native who has been flying since the 70s.
"I think all our times in the air have been great, it just opens doors to go places you’ve never imagined," Hurt said.
This airpark in her hometown holds a special place in her heart.
"It’s fabulous, and I’ve watched so many people on this field learn and grow," Hurt said.
It is the place where she first learned how to fly.
"Interestingly enough, it started right here on this field and Basin Aviation was really quite new," Hurt said. "We were in a trailer house over here, and there was an ex-Vietnam helicopter pilot who was instructing at the time, and there were videos to watch at the trailer house. Then we were spending a good deal of time in the air. He was a great instructor and inspired my love of flying."
Now today, 40 years after she first took flight, she has inspired her children and grandchildren to follow in her footsteps.
"We’re definitely a flying family," Hurt said. "I love that there’s so many opportunities, and my own granddaughter is taking lessons here right now."
There's also another family member, we can't forget about, and that's 12-year-old Sunny. She's been Vicki's co-pilot since she was a baby.
"She has always been perfectly fine with it," Hurt said. "She just takes a little nap in the back seat. She has her own headset so the noise doesn’t bother her, but it’s been just perfect."
With Vicki flying in and out of the Midland Airpark almost every week for years, she just wants to continue seeing it grow and having a lasting impact on others. The same way it has on her and her family.
"I mostly hope people will come to understand what it has done for the community and what it can do and to enjoy it," Hurt said. "Hopefully people will come out and see what opportunities are here, and I think it’s been kind of a fenced-up place all these years and I’d like to see it more a part of the community." | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/midland-native-impacted-by-midland-airpark/513-bb9ca59e-c30d-4d81-8771-898a2eff5935 | 2022-08-27T22:03:08 | 1 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/midland-native-impacted-by-midland-airpark/513-bb9ca59e-c30d-4d81-8771-898a2eff5935 |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A local motorcycle memorial ride will be traveling through the Tri-Cities on Sunday, Aug. 28.
The ride is in place to honor past motorcycle riders who have lost their lives this year and for motorcycle awareness.
People traveling through the Johnson City, Bristol and Kingsport areas should be aware of possible heavy traffic due to the ride.
The memorial ride is set to leave at 12 p.m. from Wingdeer Park in Johnson City. For more information, visit the Tri-Cities Takeover event page. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/local-motorcycle-ride-to-take-place-on-sunday/ | 2022-08-27T22:07:03 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/local-motorcycle-ride-to-take-place-on-sunday/ |
PAXTON — A 38-year-old Crescent City man was killed in a two-car collision on Interstate 57 Saturday morning, police said.
According to a news release from the Illinois State Police, a 2017 Ford Escape driven by Ryan R. Rippe was traveling southbound near I-57 mile marker 262 in Ford County about 7:28 a.m.
A preliminary investigation indicated that Rippe failed to reduce speed and struck the rear of a semi-trailer. His vehicle then exited the roadway, passed through the center median and came to a rest facing south in the northbound left lane of I-57, police said.
The semi-trailer ended up facing southbound on the right shoulder of the roadway.
The Ford County coroner pronounced Rippe deceased on the scene. The driver of the semi-trailer was uninjured.
32 unsolved crimes in Illinois
December 23, 1975 - Carol Rofstad
Carol Rofstad, who was 21 when she was killed, lived in Normal, IL while attending Illinois State University. She was found beaten unconscious about noon December 23, 1975, outside her sorority house at 602 S. Fell Street. The suspected murder weapon, an 18-inch piece of railroad tie, was found nearby. Rofstad wasn't found until roughly 12 hours after the attack. She died Christmas Eve as a result of head injuries.
Two men, one of whom carried a club, were seen between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. on December 22, 1975. Both were white males and between the ages of 18 and 25.
At the time of the attack, most students had already left campus for the holiday break. Instead of returning to Elk Grove Village, though, Rofstad had stayed in the Twin Cities to work at a retail store. Money was found in her purse and there was no evidence of sexual assault. Two women, in the sorority house, neither saw nor heard anything unusual.
Anyone with information in this case can call the Normal Police Department at (309) 454-9526, or Crime Stoppers of McLean County at (309) 828-1111.
October 2,1976 - Unidentified Female
On October 2, 1976, a local farmer in unincorporated Seneca, IL, discovered the victim in a ditch along U.S. Route 6, 1/4 mile east of the LaSalle County line. The victim had died from a gun shot wound.
If anyone has any information, please contact Deputy Chief Coroner Brandon Johnson at The Grundy County Coroner's Office at 815-942-3792 or email: bjohnson@grundyco.org.
May 26, 1980 - Diana K. Smith
On May 26, 1980, Illinois State Police Investigations and the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office initiated a death investigation reference a white female (SMITH) found badly decomposed on the banks of the Rock River in Barstow, Illinois. Smith (Age 21) was last seen on May 20, 1980 leaving her house to go bowling in Rock Island.
Any persons associated with Smith, or who may have knowledge of her murder are encouraged to contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 2 Investigations at 815-632-4010, ext. 232.
March 30, 1984 - Lisa Ann Carnes
Lisa Carnes' body was found on March 30, 1984 in a field in rural Massac County near Macedonia Church Road and US Highway 45.
Anyone who has information that may be helpful in solving this crime is asked to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 7 Investigations at (618) 845-3740.
April 9, 1985 - Unidentified Male
On April 9, 1985, the Adams County Sheriff's Department was notified of the discovery of a deceased unidentified white male (approximately 20-30 years of age). The body was discovered by a private citizen. The body was located near an abandoned rock quarry on property rented by the Western IL Stone Company. This area is in the northwest portion of Adams County, IL (approximately 4 miles east of Meyer, IL) and is a rural area. The property was adjacent to County Road 0543E. Upon arrival officers of the ISP and Adams County Sheriff's Dept. observed the unidentified white male body which was partially covered. An autopsy was performed which concluded the cause of death was the result of multiple blunt trauma to the head and torso. The individual was found wearing "segefield" blue jeans, blue insulated underwear, gray socks (no shoes), a white printed t-shirt was located with the individual with the following printing "Captain Anderson's Restaurant Panama City Beach, FL." Investigators also noted a distinct tattoo on the victim's right forearm (a skeleton holding an inverted shotgun).
If anyone has any information regarding this case they can contact Illinois State Police, Zone 4 Investigations (217-285-2034) or the Adams County Sheriff's Department (217-227-2200).
May 20, 1986 - Kathleen A. Goebeler
On May 20, 1986, Illinois State Police (ISP) District 01 responded to an area of abandoned railroad tracks located on the south side of I-88, milepost 28.5, wherein a citizen had discovered the decomposed skeletal remains of a white female now identified as Kathleen A. Goebeler, DOB: 11-12-1956, 5'01", 105 pounds. Kathleen's maiden name is Johnson. Her last known address was Mckees Rocks, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kathleen was last seen between April 11th and 18th, 1986, in Mckees Rocks, Pennsylvania.
It is known that Goebeler would hitchhike as a means of transportation. Goebeler was known to have worked in strip clubs in the Pittsburgh, Pa. area, Atlantic City, New Jersey area and possibly the northwest West Virginia area.
Geographic information regarding the area wherein the female was found: I-88 is an east/west toll way which connects the Quad Cities with Chicago, Illinois (very rural in nature). This location was approximately 120 miles west of Chicago. At the time of death, I-88 was still Illinois Route 5, a four lane highway. The body was found approximately 45' south of the roadway across a barbed wire fence in a sparsely wooded area.
The photo included with this unsolved crime information is a reconstructed photo.
If you have any information please contact Illinois State Police, Zone 2 Investigations at 815-632-4012 or call Crimestoppers at 309/762-9500.
July 20, 1990 - Unidentified Female
On July 20, 1990, at 1:25 p.m., an unidentified, white female body, approximately 5'4"-5'6" tall and 120-130lbs. in weight, was found in a bean field approximately 40 feet north of Lebanon Road, 1/10th of a mile west of the Troy and O'Fallon Road in Jarvis Township, Collinsville, Illinois. The victim's death resulted from multiple cutting and stab wounds to the neck and torso; her fallopian tubes, uterus and ovaries were missing. Evidence of surgical removal could not be determined. No defensive wounds were found on the victim. The body appeared to have been placed at the site two to three days prior to discovery. An image of a heart shaped turquoise ring she was wearing at the time of her discovery is attached, as well as a photograph of a reconstructive sculpture and artist interpretive sketch of her possible appearance before death.
Anyone with any information regarding the identification of the unidentified victim is urged to contact Madison County Sheriff's Department at 618/692-0871 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
October 4, 1990 - Robin Renea Abrams
Robin Renea Abrams was reported missing on October 4, 1990. Abrams was last seen at approximately 4:00 PM, in the area of Goodenow Road, in Beecher, Illinois. At the time of her disappearance, Abrams was 28 years old and was believed to be wearing a black leather jacket, a white, long sleeved, knit pullover, black patent leather shoes and a gold pinky ring. Abrams was also possibly carrying a small, light beige, patterned clutch purse. Abrams was last seen driving a Red 1989 Dodge Daytona Hatchback that was later recovered in Harvey, Illinois.
Anyone having information concerning the disappearance of Robin Renea Abrams should contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 3 Investigations Section at 815-726-6377
August 23, 1992 - Tammy J. Zywicki
On August 23, 1992, Tammy J. Zywicki departed Evanston, Illinois, for college in Grinnell, Iowa, where she was expected to arrive that evening. Later that day, Zywicki's car was found by an Illinois State Trooper and ticketed as being abandoned. On August 24, 1992, the vehicle was towed by the Illinois State Police. On that same evening, Zywicki's mother contacted the Illinois State Police and advised them that her daughter had not arrived at college. On September 1, 1992, Zywicki's body was located along Interstate Highway 44 (I-44) in rural Lawrence County, Missouri, which is located between Springfield and Joplin, Missouri. She had been stabbed to death.
Zywicki was reportedly last seen with her car, a 1985 Pontiac T100 with New Jersey license plates, on Interstate 80 at mile marker 83 in LaSalle County, Illinois, between 3:10 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on August 23, 1992. It was also reported that a tractor/trailer was seen near Zywicki's vehicle during this time period. The driver of the tractor/trailer is described as a white male between 35 and 40 years of age, over six feet tall, with dark, bushy hair. Some of the victim's personal property is known to be missing, including a Cannon 35mm camera and a musical wrist watch with an umbrella on its face and it played a tune.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 3 Investigations at (815) 726-6377.
January 27, 1993 - Unidentified Female
On January 27, 1993, the head of a white female was found in a wooded area in the Wayne Fitzgerald State Park in Jefferson County, Illinois. Postmortem examination revealed the victim had approximately shoulder length reddish-brown hair.
Analysis by the University of Illinois, Anthropology Department indicated the victim's age ranged between 30 to 50 years. Unusual skeletal characteristics of the skull and upper front cervical vertebrae indicate the victim suffered from chronic spasmodic torticollis or wryneck, a condition which causes stress on the muscles which are responsible for maintaining upright head posture. Evidence of a healed traumatic lesion on the skull suggests this condition may have been preceded by head trauma; this would have resulted in the victim maintaining a leftward tilt of the head.
Anyone with any information that would help identify this unidentified victim is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 7 Investigations at 618-542-1137 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
June 29, 1993 - Keith L Brown
On Feb. 3, 1993, the wife of Keith L. Brown 34, of Buckner reported her husband was missing. Brown's blue 1989 Plymouth hatchback, (IL. Reg. KWA682) was located two days later in a remote area near Crab Orchard Lake in Williamson County. On June 29,1993, Brown's skeletal remains were found in a hay field near Crab Orchard Lake by a farmer. Brown had been shot several times.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 7 Investigations at (618)542-2171.
July 24, 1993 - Carmen Charneco
Carmen Charneco was found murdered on July 24, 1993 on Interstate 90 in Elgin, Illinois.
The Illinois State Police is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of Edwin Acevedo Rodriguez, Male/Hispanic, 12/18/72. Rodriguez is a wanted fugitive who fled the Elgin area in July 1993 and is wanted for questioning in the death of Carmen Charneco. Rodriguez should be considered armed and dangerous. Rodriguez has a history of drugs and weapons and has been identified as a member of the street gang “Maniac Latin Disciples." Warrants for Parole Violation, Public Peace/Damage to Property/Mob Action, and Unlawful Flight to Avoid Confinement, have been issued for Rodriguez. Before any law enforcement action is taken, agencies should confirm the status of the warrants. The Illinois State Police will coordinate extradition proceedings if Rodriguez is apprehended anywhere. Rodriguez has relatives in and has been sighted in Brooklyn, Bronx, New York, New York and the areas surrounding Aguada, Aguadilla Puerto Rico. He was also sighted in Hialeah, Florida. Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican male, approximately 5 feet, 3 - 5 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. When last seen, his weight was approximately 132-150 pounds, but this description is dated. Rodriguez has several tattoos including ones on his left and right thighs, right arm, forearm, and shoulder. The attached photograph shows Rodriguez as he looked in 1993. No more recent information is available.
Anyone having information concerning this case should contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 1 Investigations at 847-294-4314. Any request for a tip to be from an anonymous source will be honored.
August 5, 1994 - Sherry Lewis
On August 5, 1994, 30-year-old Sherry L. Lewis, a Decatur realtor, was found deceased in a Macon County residence that was for sale which she had an appointment to show.
Anyone with information regarding the Lewis murder should contact the Macon County Sheriff's Office at (217) 424-1337.
The family of Sherry Lewis is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder. Contact the Illinois State Police, Zone 5 Investigations at 815/844-1500 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
October 10, 1994 - Jeffery W. Archer
Illinois State Police, District Chicago Investigations is seeking assistance regarding the death of Jeffery W. Archer. He was last seen leaving his 1990 Plymouth Voyager, Illinois Registration TU5880 on October 10, 1994, at approximately 5:00 p.m. in the area of 6900 South Wolf Road, Indian Head Park, Illinois. His body was recovered on October 16, 1994, from the Sanitary Shipping Canal, one mile east of Routes 83 and 171.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact ISP Zone 1 Investigations at (847) 608-3200 to provide any additional information.
August 13, 1995 - Phil Christensen
Phillip Christensen was found deceased on August 13, 1995 on Stouffer Road in rural Sterling, IL. An autopsy revealed he died of gunshot wounds. Christensen was a life-long resident of the Sterling-Rock Falls area and known to frequent many of the bars in that area. Many of Christensen's associates were interviewed at the time of his murder and some may have more information to offer.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Phil Christensen is encouraged to contact the Illinois State police, Zone 2 Investigations at 815-632-4010, ext. 232.
November 1, 1995 - Shana M Jaros
The Illinois State Police, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nokomis Police Department are seeking assistance regarding the homicide of Shana Marie Jaros, of Nokomis, Illinois.
Just before 7:00 a.m., on November 1, 1995, Jaros' deceased body was discovered in her apartment of one week at 527 South Maple, Nokomis, Illinois. A neighbor reported she heard a scuffle in Jaros's apartment at approximately 4:46 a.m. on November 1, 1995. The neighbor did not observe anyone leaving the victim's apartment immediately thereafter.
Jaros received more than 50 stab-cutting wounds from just above her breasts to her neck. Death resulted from massive blood loss.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 217-324-2515, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-352-0136.
April 22, 1998 - Unidentified Male
On April 22, 1998, an unidentified male was found in a field near I-55 and Rt. 53 between the towns of Bolingbrook and Romeoville IL. He had been deceased for an estimated 2 to 5 years. He was wearing an extra large blue nylon Starter jacket, blue jeans and size 9 or 9 1/2 Nike shoes.
This person had a distinct overbite. Dental records are available for comparison. DNA profile has been established at the Illinois State Police Crime lab in Joliet IL, and is on file in CODIS.
The attached image is a facial/cranial reconstruction prepared by the FBI and is an approximation, not an exact replication, of the face and head.
Please contact Will County Coroner's Office at 815-727-8455.
April 25, 1998 - Jeremy "Chappy" Chappelear
On Saturday, April 25, 1998, at approximately 5:25 a.m., the body of 20-year- old Jeremy "Chappy" Chappelear was found on Buckeye Trail, 200 feet south of 4th Avenue, approximately 2.5 miles northeast of Donnellson, Illinois, by a fisherman en route to Coffeen Lake. Jeremy apparently died from being struck and/or run over by a vehicle.
Jeremy had last been seen around 2 a.m. (April 25, 1998) at a farmhouse party two miles away. Jeremy may have been making his 10-mile-walk home when killed.
If you have any information please contact Illinois State Police, Crash Reconstruction Unit at 618-542-1116, or Crime Stoppers 800/352-0136.
June 29, 1999 - Amy Warner
Amy Warner, a 23-year-old single mother of two, was killed June 29, 1999, in her home at 17 7th St. in Charleston, Illinois. No one has ever been charged with her stabbing death.
January 30, 2002 - Unidentified Female
On Wednesday, January 30, 2002, at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Illinois State Police responded to a complaint concerning the discovery of skeletal remains near mile marker 22 on Interstate 64. The complaint originated from workers of the Illinois Department of Transportation who were working in the vicinity and discovered the remains.
The skeletal remains were situated off the roadway on the east side of the Silver Creek overpass in rural Mascoutah, Illinois. At the direction of the St. Clair County Coroner’s office, the remains were transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital, East St. Louis, Illinois, where an autopsy was performed. The autopsy, performed by Dr. James Petterchak, revealed the following information: the deceased is believed to be an African-American female, approximately aged 20 to 30 years, with two rings on the left hand (one 14 ct. small gold band (size 7 1/4) and one costume style ring (size 6 ½) with a light blue colored tear shaped stone), wearing a black colored sleeveless one-piece Jason Matthews brand jumpsuit.
The autopsy could not determine the cause of the death and it is believed that the victim has been deceased for several months. Additional forensic examinations will be conducted to determine the identity of the woman.
Anyone with information concerning the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding her death are urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 618/346-3782, or Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
March 11, 2002 - Unidentified Female
On March 11, 2002, at approximately 1:57 p.m., the Illinois State Police responded to a complaint concerning the discovery of human skeletal remains near mile post 23 on Interstate 70 (eastbound) near Collinsville, Illinois. The complaint originated from workers of the Illinois Department of Transportation who were working in the vicinity and discovered the remains.
The remains were removed from the scene and transported to the Madison County Morgue in Edwardsville, Illinois, where an autopsy was conducted on March 12, 2002. The autopsy did not determine a cause of death, however further examination by forensic anthropologists revealed the following information: The skeletal remains are of a black female, approximately 5'1" to 5'6" in height (5'3" believed to the most accurate).
There is no estimate of weight, and the approximate age is between 24-30 years old. It is believed the remains have been at this location for approximately 4-6 months. The skeletal remains were almost completely intact and clad in a pair of gray colored Second Skins brand shorts (size: medium) with rhinestones and a red and white colored check flannel style Tommy Hilfiger button down man's style shirt (size: XL). In addition, a man's style "gold" nugget style ring with two glass stones was found with the remains. The ring originally held four stones in the setting. The ring was determined to be costume jewelry and is a size 7 1/4. Also found were two bracelets. The one bracelet is a metal hoop, approximately 3 inches in diameter, smooth on one side with a channel on the other side. A ring of black onyx beads on elastic string fits into the channel bracelet. The second bracelet is a combination of three separate bracelets. The second bracelet has numerous plastic beads (yellow, green, black, mauve, and brown) strung with thin elastic string that could be stretched. The three separate bracelets were gathered by a single, oval shaped metallic ring with a small hole at one end that appeared to be for the purpose of hanging a charm.
On June 18, 2002, the Illinois State Police released computer recreation images of a black female victim that was originally discovered on March 11, 2002. The images reflect how the victim may have looked prior to her death.
Anyone with information concerning the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding her death are urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 618/346-3782, or Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
March 28, 2002 - Unidentified Female
On Thursday, March 28, 2002, the Columbia Police Department along with the Major Case Squad began investigating the skeletal remains found on a creek bed on Route 3 near Gall Road in Columbia. Investigators located a green shirt with a large "M" and the word "Mavericks", in orange or yellow lettering, across the front of the shirt. The shirt also had two buttons at the top similar to a softball jersey. The shirt is an adult XL. Also at the scene were a pair of khaki colored size 3 "Chazzz Credentials" shorts.
A preliminary report by the Forensic Medical Investigator describes this person as a female, age 33 to 50, with African American ancestry, 5' 01" "give or take three inches", and believed to have children. The victim possibly had a scar across her forehead. Additional information will be available in the coming days.
The Medical Investigator believed the person has been deceased at least six months but no more than one year.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbia Police Department at 618-281-5151 or or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477).
October 1, 2002 - Unidentified Female
The Illinois State Police, in cooperation with the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office, is seeking any information that may help identify the skeletal remains of a black female, which were found in October 2002 near the Will/Kankakee County Line, near Route 45. This reconstruction was done by a forensic artist, based on the remains. The woman was approximately 30-40 years old at the time of death and stood around 5 foot 3 inches tall. She is thought to have died in 2001. (The hairstyle and length is only an estimate.)
If you can provide any information about the possible identity of this person, or the circumstances of her death, please contact Illinois State Police, Zone 3 Investigations at (815) 698-2672. All information will be treated as confidential upon request.
March 26, 2003 - Dalton Mesarchik
On March 26, 2003, seven-year-old Streator resident Dalton Mesarchik was reported missing from the front yard of his home. The following day, Dalton's body was located in the Vermillion River. An intense, multi jurisdictional investigation ensued. Agents from the Streator Police Department, Livingston County Sheriff's Department, and Illinois State Police interviewed dozens of people and followed up on hundreds of leads in an attempt to identify the person responsible for Dalton's murder. Physical evidence from Dalton's body and the body recovery site was sent to the ISP Crime Lab for processing. View the press release announcing the Dalton Mesarchik Task Force.
Anyone with information of Dalton’s murder, the hammer used in the murder, or the location where Dalton’s body was found may contact: Illinois State Police - Dalton Mesarchik Task Force by telephone at 1-815-844-1500 (ext.2321) or email at daltonm@isp.state.il.us
May 26, 2003 - Unidentified Male
On May 30, 2003, the Illinois State Police began investigating a homicide in Brooklyn, IL. The vehicle and the victim were abandoned since Monday, May 26, 2003.
Victim believed to be a male/Hispanic, 18-25 years old, between 5'11" and 6', weighing 200-230 lbs. Clothing victim was wearing was a light blue or light green and white striped button up shirt, black jeans, black cowboy boots, and a black belt with silver attachments that resemble Southwestern Indian style jewelry. Sizes of the clothing are available. The jewelry the victim was wearing appears to be a good quality gold bracelet with the letters "ONO" raised and studded in diamonds. There is a flower on each side of "ONO" consisting of eight petals that are diamonds surrounding a center diamond. The victim was also wearing what appears to be a good quality large man's gold ring with a cluster of six diamonds surrounding a center diamond. Victim was wearing a silver Casio brand watch with digital numbers. The unidentified victim has a tattoo on the back of his right shoulder. Victim was found in the trunk of a red 1988 Dodge Dynasty with Kansas temporary tag.
Anyone with information concerning the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding his death are urged to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at 618-346-3770 or call Crimestoppers at 1/800-371-TIPS(8477).
July 6, 2003 - Jone Knapton
On July 6, 2003, 47 year-old East Moline resident Jone Knapton was reported missing. Four days later, Jone's body was located in the Green River in rural Henry County. An intense, multi jurisdictional investigation ensued. Agents from the East Moline Police Department, Henry County Sheriff's Department, and Illinois State Police interviewed dozens of people and followed up on hundreds of leads in an attempt to identify the person responsible for Jone's murder.
Anyone having information concerning this case is urged to contact the Illinois State, Zone 2 Investigations at (309) 752-4915 or the Quad Cities Crime Stoppers: (309) 762-9500.
November 1, 2004 - LeAnne Taylor
LeAnne Taylor was last seen alive Thanksgiving weekend 2004. Her body was later found by IDOT workers on December 4, 2004, along Bypass 20 outside of Rockford, Illinois. A group of individuals familiar to Taylor have been identified. Some may be responsible for her death, or may have knowledge of her murder. Not all these individuals are associated with each other. The Illinois State Police is looking for people who knew Taylor and may have provided information in the past, but now have more to offer. Additionally, any individuals who did not come forward at the time of her death, but have information to offer, are encouraged to come forward now and speak with investigators.
Agents with the Illinois State Police, Zone 2 Investigations may be contacted at 815-632-4010, ext. 232.
January 6, 2005 - Unidentified Male
On January 6, 2005 at approximately 4 p.m., the body of a male white subject was recovered from the Illinois/Michigan Shipping Canal near Summit, Illinois. The subject is 5'9" in height, weighing 185 pounds between the ages of 50 and 60 years of age with balding brown hair and a mustache. At the time the subject was recovered, he was wearing a brown sweater, blue shirt, dark blue pants, a white t-shirt, and black size nine slip-on shoes. It is believed that the subject may have been homeless at the time.
Any person having information or questions are asked to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 1 Investigations at 847-294-4600. (Case # 05-10145DP)
April 5, 2007 - Barry Marcel Lowery
On Thursday, April 5, 2007 at approximately 5:20 a.m., Barry Marcel Lowery, was found shot to death inside his residence at 640 North 53rd Street in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Anyone with information about the murder of Lowery is asked to contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at (618) 346-3782 or St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers (www.stlrcs.org) at (866) 371-TIPS (8477). CrimeStoppers will pay up to $1000 for anonymous information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
January 28, 2008 - Mark Prasse
Northwest of Paris, Illinois and southwest of Chrisman, Illinois, was the site of the double homicide of Mark Prasse of Chrisman and Ryan Riddell of Villa Grove, who were found by police on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2008. Police suspect the two friends, both 32 at the time of their deaths, may have been victims of a targeted killing.
Story from jg-tc.com: https://jg-tc.com/news/double-murder-pair-apparently-shot-to-death-found-in-rural/article_1c1015a3-1e13-5e0f-809e-4d60dafae611.html
The double homicide is being investigated by the Illinois State Police’s crime scene services and investigations units, the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department and the Edgar County Coroner’s office. Anyone with information relative to the incident is asked to contact the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department at 465-4166.
Janury 28, 2008 - Ryan Riddell
Northwest of Paris, Illinois and southwest of Chrisman, Illinois, was the site of the double homicide of Mark Prasse of Chrisman and Ryan Riddell of Villa Grove, who were found by police on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2008. Police suspect the two friends, both 32 at the time of their deaths, may have been victims of a targeted killing.
Story from jg-tc.com: https://jg-tc.com/news/double-murder-pair-apparently-shot-to-death-found-in-rural/article_1c1015a3-1e13-5e0f-809e-4d60dafae611.html
The double homicide is being investigated by the Illinois State Police’s crime scene services and investigations units, the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department and the Edgar County Coroner’s office. Anyone with information relative to the incident is asked to contact the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department at 465-4166.
June 3, 2010 - Thomas Moore
On Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at approximately 10:40 p.m., Thomas D. Moore, an O'Fallon, IL resident, was found shot to death in the roadway in the 5700 Block of Portland Place in Washington Park, Illinois. Two black males were observed fleeing the scene in Moore's vehicle, which was found burned a short time later in Washington Park.
Anyone with information about Moore's murder should contact Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations at (618) 346-3759 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477). | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/1-killed-in-ford-county-i-57-crash/article_7348422e-264b-11ed-a3b7-cf78cc700dfd.html | 2022-08-27T22:15:15 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/1-killed-in-ford-county-i-57-crash/article_7348422e-264b-11ed-a3b7-cf78cc700dfd.html |
Pedestrian dies in late night Ocean City crash
The Ocean City Police Department is investigating a fatal pedestrian collision that occurred overnight Friday, Aug. 26, at about 11:56 p.m. in the area of 59th Street and Coastal Highway.
The pedestrian, Sophia Battisti, 21, of Reinholds, Pennsylvania, was crossing Coastal Highway from the east against the pedestrian signal, according to police. The vehicle that struck Battisti was traveling northbound on Coastal Highway at the time of the collision, per police. Lifesaving efforts were initiated by good Samaritans at the scene and Ocean City EMS.
Battisti was pronounced dead on the scene, according to police. The driver remained on the scene and alcohol was determined not to be a factor for the driver of the vehicle.
Northbound Coastal Highway traffic was rerouted to the alleyways in the 10 block of 58th Street for about four hours while officers processed the scene of the crash.
MORE:Be alert! Ocean City officials warn residents, tourists of pedestrians in roadway
MORE:Pedestrian dies after hit by truck crossing Route 50 bridge in Ocean City: Police
The Ocean City Traffic Safety Unit is handling the investigation. The Traffic Safety Unit is asking any individuals with information regarding this incident to contact PFC H. Miller at hmiller@oceancitymd.gov, to call the Tip Line at 410-520-5136, email crimetips@oceancitymd.gov or contact the police department directly at 410-723-6610. Reference case number 2022-00-4990. | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/27/ocean-city-pedestrian-struck-friday-coastal-highway-59th-maryland-md/65459927007/ | 2022-08-27T22:18:04 | 0 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/27/ocean-city-pedestrian-struck-friday-coastal-highway-59th-maryland-md/65459927007/ |
A Florida activist is raising money to send Texas schools “In God We Trust” signs — in Arabic.
The effort comes as schools across the state are posting signs with the national motto to comply with a law Texas Republicans passed last year in an attempt to enforce conservative, Christian values in public schools. Senate Bill 797, authored by Mineola Sen. Bryan Hughes, requires schools to display the posters in a “conspicuous place” if they are donated.
On Sunday, Chaz Stevens launched a GoFundMe campaign, “Messing with Texas,” to raise $10,000 for the posters with the motto in Arabic.
“We really could use your help in our quest to battle Texas’ latest law — ‘In God We Trust’ signs in public schools,” Stevens said in a tweet. “Our project will send hundreds of these posters across the Lone Star state.”
To read the rest of this story, visit our partners at the Dallas Morning News. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/florida-activist-wants-to-donate-arabic-in-god-we-trust-signs-to-texas-schools/3058570/ | 2022-08-27T22:19:36 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/florida-activist-wants-to-donate-arabic-in-god-we-trust-signs-to-texas-schools/3058570/ |
While the rest of the nation was posting a record increase in traffic fatalities in the first quarter of 2022, highway deaths in Arizona were falling by nearly a third, according to a recent report.
The report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 190 people died on Arizona roads in the first quarter of this year, a 31.4% drop from the 277 who were killed in the first three months of 2021.
That was the fourth-steepest percentage drop in the nation, trailing only the much-smaller populated states of Rhode Island, North Dakota and Montana. Nationwide, highway fatalities rose by 7% over the first quarter of 2021, from 8,935 to an estimated 9,560, as 29 states saw gains in the number of deaths.
The decrease in Arizona followed several years of a steadily climbing highway death toll.
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“I welcome any good news regarding our traffic numbers,” said Alberto Gutier, executive director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “I’m very surprised, but very happily surprised.”
Experts said the increase in deaths nationally could be the result of having more people on the roads post-pandemic, combined with higher speeds and more distracted and reckless drivers.
“The trend overall in the country is very concerning, and has been going on for awhile,” said Russ Rader, senior vice president of communications at the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.
“State by state, numbers may jump around, but nationally, the trend is unfortunately an increase and a rather sharp increase,” Rader said.
Gutier agrees that speeding, reckless driving and impaired driving are among the factors that have driven up deaths in Arizona.
“When you combine all of these factors, it’s a deadly combination,” he said.
But he thinks the return to normal traffic flows might be the reason Arizona numbers have decreased so far: With more people on the road commuting to work and school, he said, drivers may be taking fewer chances.
The first-quarter improvements have continued through 2022, according to the most recent numbers from Gutier’s office. It reported 398 traffic fatalities — including car, pedestrian and bike deaths — through July, compared to 700 through the same period in 2021.
But with Labor Day travel approaching, AAA expects more people on the road — and more challenges for drivers.
“Be prepared,” said John Treanor, the AAA spokesperson for Western states. “You may not have dealt with high-traffic situations. Your car may not have been on long road trips. Have a plan.”
Highway deaths nationally in the first quarter were the highest since 2002, according to the report. NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff said that while those numbers are “moving in the wrong direction,” the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law should help change the direction.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Arizona can expect to get approximately $5.3 billion over five years in federal highway formula funding for highways and bridges under that bill.
Gutier hopes traffic fatalities continue to trend downward for the rest of the year.
“We’re great. We’re a really great state,” he said. “Arizona is doing the best they can in traffic enforcement.” | https://tucson.com/news/local/arizona-traffic-fatalities-fell-sharply-as-deaths-nationally-spiked/article_7e35fba0-259b-11ed-9e54-3f0e2b5261ca.html | 2022-08-27T22:23:06 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/arizona-traffic-fatalities-fell-sharply-as-deaths-nationally-spiked/article_7e35fba0-259b-11ed-9e54-3f0e2b5261ca.html |
Most of the time, the job of "constable" may come to your mind only when you get to the bottom of an election ballot and realize there's another race to vote on.
If you're a conscientious voter, a moment of panic may ensue as you scour your memory for an inkling of what the position entails, let alone who the best candidate is.
That's the key problem with these antiquated constable positions: They are elected. That means anyone can win the quasi-law-enforcement job, regardless of background. And while they are theoretically accountable to voters, elections only happen every four years, and voters usually know little about the constables, who often run unopposed.
The outrageous and tragic death of Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay, who was shot and killed on Thursday while delivering an eviction order, was the latest in a series of incidents that show the need for deep change in the constables' offices. An apartment manager and a neighbor also died in the attack by the tenant, who killed himself.
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The Legislature should consider eliminating the elected positions altogether, or at minimum give the counties flexibility in how to select constables and cover their duties.
Consider that in recent years in Pima County:
• One constable, Oscar Vasquez, was suspended during his first term after complaints and incidents related to his driving, culminating in a complaint of public urination in a person's yard.
• Vasquez was nevertheless re-elected unopposed in 2020, then was suspended for six months in 2021 for refusing to serve an eviction or seek out alternatives in the case. He was asked to resign by the state Constable Ethics Standards and Training Board but did not.
• Constable George Camacho was fired as an employee of the constables office before running for the post in 2020. He won the primary election, then, heading into an uncontested general election in 2020, was served with a protective order and told not to possess a gun. Camacho denied any wrongdoing, won his election and is serving as constable now, though the county initially restricted where he could carry his duty weapon.
• When she died, Martinez-Garibay was under investigation for falsifying signatures to get on the 2022 ballot. She had also obtained a protective order against a political rival, which was overturned when he contested it.
In Maricopa County and around the state there have also been other serious incidents showing the weakness of the system for electing constables. Former state legislator Carl Seel won a seat, but he resigned in May after it was revealed he had failed to serve 80 orders of protection.
In 2020, a then-constable from Phoenix, Doug Middleton, was caught on video barging into a Russian-import store to collect a $3,400 judgment, bullying employees there and saying "I'm not in your country, I don’t play by your rules."
'The job has changed'
These are just some of the best-known, publicly documented incidents that have occurred in offices that generally operate out of the public eye, except for those who are receiving summonses, protection orders, eviction orders and similar legal documents.
Serving these documents is the fundamental role of the constables, and it is spelled out in the state laws, Title 22, that also establish the justices of the peace. These are the elected judges who preside over misdemeanor criminal cases and small-scale civil cases. In Pima County, their office, too, has been roiled by conflicts and allegations of incompetence or wrongdoing.
It is inherent, it seems, in these legal offices that are elected by voters. Because they derive their power from the voters, administrative oversight of them is limited and the office holders may feel accountable only at election time.
That might have been OK in previous years. It isn't anymore, as the demands on these jobs become more severe.
My neighbor Mary Dorgan knows all about it. She served more than 18 years as a constable before stepping down in 2019. Her father, Thomas Dorgan, was a constable, too, as was her brother Dan. Her father didn't even carry a gun, she said.
"My dad would go out with his bolo tie and his badge on his belt," she recalled Saturday. "The last year or two he had pepper spray on his key chain. I think it went off in his pocket and he said he wouldn't do that anymore."
"The job has evolved and changed," she added.
Guns, drugs and deep disrespect became common during her tenure.
"It became like, when you got your papers that day, 'What’s behind Door No. 1? What am I going to face that day?' "
County tries reforms
As societal problems have deepened, the selection and duties of the constables have stayed the same. They get relatively little training, nothing like a police academy, and their oversight is limited by the fact that they are elected.
The Board of Supervisors has the power to suspend but can't fire a constable, and the statewide Constable Ethics Standards and Training Board can put a constable on probation or recommend discipline to the board, but can't fire the constable either.
Pima County has been working on intermediary measures to improve training, standardize behavior and even establish uniform dress. Former Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier, working as an assistant county administrator, dug into the performance of the constables last year and recommended changes.
"The constables are a fractured group," Napier concluded in a Sept. 29, 2021 memo. "This both with respect to personal interaction, appearance and how they pursue their respective duties. They seem incapable of reaching full consensus on how to address many issues."
On the recommendation of former county administrator Chuck Huckelberry, last year the board eliminated one justice of the peace district, the districts that constables represent, to even out the workloads. He also recommended lowering the salary, now $67,000, for constables who don't serve enough legal papers.
Legislature should act
Former constable Kristen Randall, who resigned in January, was working with Huckelberry on training and performance issues before he was injured in a bicycle accident last year and forced to step down himself.
"We were working on developing a policy manual, but also working with risk management to look over the firearms policy. There wasn’t much of a policy at all," Randall said Saturday. "If the constables were to submit to just admitting there’s a problem and saying there needs to be changes and doing that voluntarily, it could probably be reformed, but in my experience, they’re unwilling to do that."
Randall was appointed to replace Dorgan when she retired. She was known as a rebel constable who instituted more social-service-style practices toward people receiving eviction orders, alongside fellow Constable Bennett Bernal. After Randall stepped down, Martinez-Garibay was appointed to replace her in March.
Dorgan thinks the old system is no longer tenable. Either constables should no longer be elected, she said, or one constable should be elected per county and allowed to hire certified law-enforcement officers as deputies, much like the sheriff.
"I don’t know if a civilian can really handle this job anymore," she said. "It’s evolved into a law enforcement job."
Without prejudging what went wrong Thursday, it's clear that in general constables could use more training and often more backup. They could also use more help from social workers or others who can help handle housing and family issues.
The county doesn't have the power to make too many changes on its own. The Legislature has that power and should use it. If it doesn't eliminate the constable jobs as elected positions altogether, which it should, then it should at least give the county governments more leeway to oversee constables, including the power to fire them.
The voters, when they get that ballot, often don't know enough about the candidates, or don't have enough choice, to pick a person qualified for the job. As Thursday's killing showed, the job is too risky these days to hire constables this way.
Contact opinion columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/tim-stellers-column-arizonas-constable-positions-desperately-need-reform/article_f66d6cb2-259f-11ed-8af4-b355fd88f73d.html | 2022-08-27T22:23:12 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/tim-stellers-column-arizonas-constable-positions-desperately-need-reform/article_f66d6cb2-259f-11ed-8af4-b355fd88f73d.html |
TWIN FALLS — A botanist was hiking in the Boise foothills this spring when she was stopped in her tracks. She saw a plant didn’t belong.
She discovered a patch of cogongrass, an invasive species never before found in the state. It was disheartening news in the constant battle against noxious weeds and invasive species — the global invasive species database lists cogongrass among the top 10 worst weeds in the world and has infested much of the southeastern U.S.
The grass grows quickly and threatens native plants.
The battle against the patch of weeds, estimated to be about 1/10 of an acre, is underway.
“I think we have the original infestation under control,” Adam Schroeder, director of Ada County Weed, Pest and Mosquito Abatement, said Tuesday.
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Turn the clock back nine years. A landowner near Castleford discovered the invasive plant purple starthistle growing in their field. Like the cogongrass episode this spring, it was the first time it was reported in the state. At first there were relatively few plants, but the next year numbers started to explode.
“We think it may have come up on a vehicle,” said Kali Sherrill, weed control superintendent in Twin Falls County, as it was found in an area where there is significant traffic from Nevada and California, where infestations are known to exist. The field near Castleford is still the only location in Idaho where the starthistle has been detected, and the area gets regular treatment.
“The seedbed is there, but we are making sure it doesn’t seed out again,” Sherrill said.
Schroeder's situation with cogongrass is a little dicier. While a single patch of cogongrass has been found in Idaho, Japanese blood grass, sometimes called Red Baron, is a subspecies of cogongrass and had been sold legally in some Idaho nurseries for years.
"It's a beautiful type of grass," Schroeder said, but it comes with a dark side. While sterile, blood grass can revert to its aggressive invasive form over time.
Idaho issued a temporary order this spring that designates cogongrass and blood grass noxious weeds. Schroeder said he has been working with several landowners who planted Japanese blood grass on their property. Sherrill said she is unaware of blood grass plantings in Twin Falls County, although admitting she has no way of knowing what homeowners have planted in their backyards.
Sherrill, who's been weed control superintendent for 20 years in Twin Falls County, counts the starthistle situation as a victory.
She doesn't have an easy task. Thousands of seeds blow, or are spread by humans and animals, root systems spread, and areas that seem to have been cleaned of noxious weeds see re-infestations.
“There have been some areas that we cleaned up and it looked so good,” Sherrill said, “and five or 10 years later you go back to check areas and you see they have some back.”
It shows how important it is for property owners to control weeds on their property, she said.
In fact, it’s the law.
“We can’t get to it all,” Sherrill said. Twin Falls County has 1.2 million acres and Sherrill has just two employees.
She welcomes landowners to call her if they need advice on fighting the weeds, or help in identifying them. While county weed control offices have authority to clamp down on property owners who ignore noxious weed problems, "I'd much rather work with them," she said.
And spraying and other treatment needs to be done regularly, she said.
"It's not a one-time thing," she said. There are many tools available for fighting noxious weeds, including biological control — bugs released into the wild that devour noxious weeds.
"The insects work, but aren't fast," Sherrill said. "It can take years, but some areas have been cleaned up nicely."
Various agencies at the local, state and federal levels also cooperate in the noxious weed battle.
Sherrill and other employees from the weed control office will be at the Ag Pavillion at the Twin Falls County Fair, where she encourages people to bring her photos of unidentified weeds, or the actual weed placed in a sealed bag. She encourages people to wear gloves when handling unidentified weeds, as some can irritate the skin.
"If you haven't seen it before, we can help you find out what it is and develop a plan for it," Schroeder said.
As designated by the Idaho Department of Agriculture, a plant is noxious when it is considered to be injurious to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, or property. Noxious weeds are generally spread by the dispersal of seeds, or other plant parts, by wind, water, animals, machinery and people. More than 60 plants have been designated as noxious weeds in Idaho.
They cost Idaho $300 million each year, the Department of Agriculture said. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/noxious-weeds-eat-away-at-idaho-landscape/article_98dc3d1e-2327-11ed-9dc5-576b2fdf124f.html | 2022-08-27T22:24:47 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/noxious-weeds-eat-away-at-idaho-landscape/article_98dc3d1e-2327-11ed-9dc5-576b2fdf124f.html |
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