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TWIN FALLS — Joshua Molina, of Jerome was sentenced to life in prison Monday for first-degree murder and four counts of injury to a child.
The charges were related to the death of his girlfriend's daughter, 20-month-old Lyryk Jean Altom, in 2017.
Molina went before 5th Judicial District Judge Benjamin J. Cluff, who sentenced him to life in prison for the count of first-degree murder. He was found guilty on June 8.
Molina was charged in 2020 for the crimes. After two weeks in court, the jury found him guilty of injury to a child, but they could not come to a decision on the rest of the charges. The case resulted in a hung jury.
Molina also received a sentence of 10 years' prison for each of the first three counts of injury to a child, and six months for the fourth count. The sentences will run consecutively. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/molina-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-death-of-child/article_144ff0d4-28ba-11ed-99d1-ffac0ab2a856.html | 2022-08-31T03:05:41 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/molina-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-death-of-child/article_144ff0d4-28ba-11ed-99d1-ffac0ab2a856.html |
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Georgia State Patrol is investigating a crash in College Park Tuesday evening. Authorities responded to the crash at Old National Highway and Sullivan Road.
11Alive had a crew at the scene, where the crash appears to have involved multiple vehicles.
It's unclear at this time if any injures were reported. However, a witness said he saw a person fly out of the window of one of the cars.
"It's a very painful moment right here," he said. "I just pray for the families. This is a dangerous street."
GSP said its investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
Also download the 11Alive News app and sign up to receive alerts for the latest on this story and other breaking news in Atlanta and north Georgia. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/crash-old-national-highway-sullivan-road-college-park/85-e0787208-8081-48fb-81c7-a8c711be8591 | 2022-08-31T03:09:02 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/crash-old-national-highway-sullivan-road-college-park/85-e0787208-8081-48fb-81c7-a8c711be8591 |
ATLANTA — More mothers are dying during childbirth in Georgia than in any other state in the country. Black mothers are dying at higher rates across the state than any other race.
A hospital in north Georgia is hoping to figure out why. The hospital was just awarded a major grant, as the White House announces a $20 million investment this week to address the crisis nationwide.
The funds will help researchers study how women are treated before and after childbirth, and why the disparity here is so high.
"I think it's of vital importance. You know, we're seeing African American women are dying at a much higher rate than other races," said 11Alive medical expert Dr. Sujatha Reddy. "So it is so important to investigate, you know, what is the reason? What are the reasons?"
Reddy said it's critical that doctors have the tools they need to better treat people giving birth in our state. She thinks the $1 million awarded to the Medical Center Foundation in Gainesville will make a difference.
"I think we know that when a cause is highlighted, people say, 'Oh, my goodness, that's an important cause I need to contribute.' Or other agencies may see the need to contribute," she said.
The grant will give researchers the ability to dig into the data and find real solutions the whole state can put into practice.
"I don't think $1,000,000 is going to figure this out, but I think it shows that this is an important problem. We're starting to investigate. And as people see that, you know, this is something that we need to investigate and we need to actually devote funds, time and resources to," Reddy said.
11Alive has been investigating the maternal death rates for women in our state for years. Our multipart series Mothers Matter highlighted families whose experiences match this data and who are hopeful something in our state will change.
Reddy said this grant could be the first step.
See more on the 2018 Mothers Matter series here. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/georgia-hospital-grant-maternal-mortality/85-6181b6b6-5032-46a0-8d68-5753dc439b2b | 2022-08-31T03:09:09 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/georgia-hospital-grant-maternal-mortality/85-6181b6b6-5032-46a0-8d68-5753dc439b2b |
As the spread of coronavirus continues, here are the latest updates from Southern Arizona.
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Tuesday, March 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/updates-tucson-area-coronavirus-developments-aug-31-what-we-know/article_dc8e92ea-6561-11ea-9e87-17207f678ee6.html | 2022-08-31T03:10:08 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/updates-tucson-area-coronavirus-developments-aug-31-what-we-know/article_dc8e92ea-6561-11ea-9e87-17207f678ee6.html |
The editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Janice Stillman said that during the upcoming winter, half of the U.S. will feel like winter “never really arrives,” while the other will “deal with bone-chilling cold and loads of snow.”
The almanac’s prediction puts Ohio solidly in the middle of the latter category.
According to a release, while most of the Western parts of the country were predicted to see a “mild, wet” winter, the almanac is predicting a large band encompassing much of the Midwest and the East Coast will have a winter it describes as “Shivery & Snowy.”
The prediction includes potentially record-breaking cold and above-average snowfalls.
Unusual cold for the 2022-2023 winter will also include parts of the Deep South and Texas.
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/old-farmers-almanac-predicts-bone-chilling-snowy-winter/VHE5FKUY2JE5HHCVUVO7A6UQLA/ | 2022-08-31T03:12:44 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/old-farmers-almanac-predicts-bone-chilling-snowy-winter/VHE5FKUY2JE5HHCVUVO7A6UQLA/ |
SEATTLE — Community members in Seattle's Chinatown-International District are fighting back against what they call a "lack of transparency" within King County.
Some are saying they were left out of conversations about a homeless shelter expansion in SODO, the International District and Pioneer Square.
“We’re completely left in the dark," said business owner Tanya Woo. For those in the Chinese International District, it's history repeating itself.
“It feels like King County and the City of Seattle is engaged in this pattern of institutional racism that they may not be aware that they are engaging in and they need to know that it needs to stop,” Woo said.
She is a business owner and part of the Chinatown International District Community Watch.
She witnessed the struggle from the last three years.
“Anti-Asian hate," she said. "A lot of pandemic racism, crime, our businesses were seriously struggling.”
Add in the recent Sound Transit re-design plans that would displace five to nineteen businesses and take eleven years of construction. Woo said, “Our culture is very polite; we don’t like to make waves and so we get take advantage of.”
Woo and other community members found out last month about a major expansion of a homeless shelter near SODO, the Chinatown International District and Pioneer Square. The project had already passed through the King County council in May.
The shelter will house nearly 500 people, and provide space for RV's and a sobering center. The enhanced shelter project costs around $22 million to operate through a variety of funding sources.
“We have about five shelters in this district and we feel like we’re already overburdened," said Woo. She said it’s not the unhoused, but those that prey on them, citing drug dealers and sex workers.
Woo described the lack of input in this decision.
“We had one meeting which was the public safety council meeting and they claim that was their community outreach.”
According to that May council meeting, the King County Department of Community and Human Services met with the SODO BIA. Leo Flor is the director of the King County Department of Community and Human Services and explained that the expanded SODO Hub is part of a larger plan by King County Executive Dow Constantine to add 24/7 shelter with services to people experiencing homelessness in downtown Seattle, SODO and nearby neighborhoods.
The plan includes bringing shelter space, supportive services and behavioral health services together so people "can come in from living outside, stabilize and move forward on the path to permanent housing," the statement reads.
The project in SODO will expand onto the land next to an existing shelter where there is currently an encampment.
"The creation of this project's additional shelter will provide a resolution to the encampment," Flor said.
Without the project, the current shelter would have been forced to close, leaving 270 people without a place to go. Instead, the shelter is expanding, adding an additional 150 spaces.
Flor said the county connected with more than a dozen community groups before the lease for the space was sent to the county council, one meeting hosted by the SODO BIA and another hosted by the CID Public Safety Council. Flor said the King County Regional Homelessness Authority plans to hire a dedicated outreach person to work directly with community in the Chinese International District as part of the project.
Woo said she would have just liked a seat at the table when the decision was made.
“They can not make decisions for our community without our input,” she said.
The Chinatown International District is hosting their own informational meeting about the expansion. It will be on Sept. 8 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Hing Hay Park. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/seattle-homeless-shelter-expansion-chinatown-international-district/281-43c83068-0470-4343-8689-3d87a0f4ca09 | 2022-08-31T03:15:04 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/seattle-homeless-shelter-expansion-chinatown-international-district/281-43c83068-0470-4343-8689-3d87a0f4ca09 |
PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is warning of what is being called "rainbow fentanyl," after it was seized in Multnomah County, Oregon earlier in August.
The synthetic opioid dyed various colors could "easily be mistaken for candy," according to the sheriff's office. It comes in two forms, pill and pressed blocks, the latter which "resemble sidewalk chalk that children play with."
Deputy Carly Cappetto said the drug can look like Skittles and, "a single piece can be deadly."
"Not only are we concerned that children may mistake rainbow fentanyl as candy or a toy, but we're also worried that teenagers may be tempted to try the drug due to its playful coloring," the sheriff's office warned.
According to the sheriff's office, parents should keep an eye out for suspicious substances in public spaces, such as parks.
On Aug. 4, a 2-year-old boy ingested a fentanyl pill at Tacoma's Oakland Madrona Park. The boy's mother saw him put something in his mouth before he began acting lethargic. First responders administered Narcan and had to perform CPR to stabilize him before taking him to the hospital.
The warning from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office came the same day as the Drug Enforcement Administration warned that the brightly-colored fentanyl has made its way to the Pacific Northwest in "an attempt by drug cartels to target teens and young adults."
"They're getting smarter, so we need to get smarter with the way we work," Cappetto said.
A survey from the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drugs and Alcohol Institute revealed a stark increase in the intentional use of the deadly opioid fentanyl across the state.
Fentanyl, which took over from methamphetamine in 2020 as the drug most associated with overdoses in Washington state, is being linked to the increase in crime across the Puget Sound region.
That trend has resulted in Seattle police seizing nearly 650,000 fentanyl-based pills in 2021. Officers seized 63,000 fentanyl pills in 2020 and less than 200 in 2018.
Up in Snohomish County, officials have warned of a spike in overdoses and overdose deaths this year. Counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and fentanyl in powder and crystal form are largely to blame, followed by methamphetamine.
The region sees waves of different drugs on a yearly basis, according to Cappetto. Fentanyl is the latest, and strong than heroin and methamphetamine, Cappetto said.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that showed 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021. It marked a 15% increase from the previous record, set in 2020.
According to the CDC, signs of an overdose include:
- Small, constricted pupils
- Falling asleep or losing consciousness
- Slow, weak or no breathing
- Choking or gurgling sounds
- Limp body
- Cold or clammy skin
- Discolored skin (especially in lips and nails)
The CDC suggests anyone who thinks someone is overdosing should call 911 immediately, administer naloxone if available and stay with the person until help arrives. In Washington, anyone who calls for medical help during an overdose can't face drug possession charges under the state's good Samaritan law. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/pierce-county-rainbow-fentanyl-warning/281-eb1de240-43c4-472f-a931-198df25eef63 | 2022-08-31T03:15:10 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/pierce-county-rainbow-fentanyl-warning/281-eb1de240-43c4-472f-a931-198df25eef63 |
BOISE, Idaho — Thanks to a non-profit from Wisconsin, an Idaho family now has closure. Bruce’s Legacy found 47-year-old Jose Nunez on August 22, after he drowned in Lucky Peak.
“It's been a struggle,” said Nunez’s girlfriend, Sarah Gracia Mendoza. “It's been a long struggle.”
Gracia-Mendoza told KTVB, Nunez got off a boat at Lucky Peak to swim and never came back up. She says, he was missing for 22 days. The Ada County Sheriff's office searched for Nunez for days, but eventually suspended their efforts, which is when Gracia-Mendoza and Nunez’s loved ones started a GoFundMe page to raise money to bring Bruce's Legacy from Wisconsin to Boise to continue the search.
“We offer a service to families and departments that are looking for drowning victims,” said Founder of Bruce’s Legacy, Keith Cormican.
Bruce’s Legacy was created in honor of Cormican’s brother, Bruce.
“We utilize sonars that are four-foot-long torpedo type devices that are being towed about 15 feet off the bottom, and they translate a very amazing image to us on the boat,” Cormican said.
Bruce’s Legacy also has remote operated vehicle that can dive as deep as 1,600 feet into the water, grab a hold of victims and bring them to the surface.
“It was a hard area to search. There is a lot of variation in depth, which makes it pretty hard, lot of drop offs, a lot of rocky areas, rock walls, there were some trees there,” Cormican said.
After countless hours and days of searching, Bruce’s Legacy recovered Nunez on August 22. The same day, when Cormican’s brother Bruce passed away in a recovery operation as a firefighter 27 years ago.
“So that was pretty, pretty unique for us to have that recovery done on that day,” Cormican said. “I get the feeling that he does watch over us and what we're doing and, I don't know, it certainly happened on that day.”
Nunez’s loved ones now finding closure.
“My legs became weak. I could barely stand I started crying and I was just screaming and like I was just so excited, just exhausted from weeks and weeks of search” Gracia-Mendoza said.
“To help these people in their darkest moments of their lives, is very rewarding” Cormican said. “It truly is to get the hugs from them and that day, we got on the dock and, and Sarah came down and give us you know, get both of us the biggest hugs that you could ever imagine.”
He also revealed to KTVB, in the nine years he's been doing this, Bruce’s Legacy recovered 44 people, now including Nunez.
Gracia-Mendoza says, they want to thank Bruce's Legacy, all of the volunteers and everyone who donated to their GoFundMe page.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/bruces-legacy-recovered-jose-nunez-lucky-peak-reservoir/277-fd8b1343-1909-4ec7-8ee0-d14fb05319b0 | 2022-08-31T03:30:06 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/bruces-legacy-recovered-jose-nunez-lucky-peak-reservoir/277-fd8b1343-1909-4ec7-8ee0-d14fb05319b0 |
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — President Joe Biden landed at the Wilkes-Barre Scranton International airport Tuesday afternoon. A few moments later, his motorcade carried him to Wilkes University for an address at the Marts Center in front of a few hundred invited guests.
The president touted his 'Safer America Plan,' measures intended to combat gun violence.
"Both of your congressmen voted for it," Biden said. "It's based on a simple notion. When it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not defund the police, it's fund the police."
Just behind the president, a few rows back, sat Scranton resident Amber Viola, commander of Gouldsboro American Legion Post 274, not knowing how she and her daughter ended up so close to the stage.
"It was really great to be able to meet the president, and he really stayed so long after to shake everybody's hand and to take pictures," Viola said. "This was my daughter's second president that she got to meet, so it was really exciting, and it was really nice and kind of him to stay and really talk to people from his hometown."
Outside the venue, some disapproved of the president's visit and message.
"This is Joe Biden's supposed hometown that's why we are here," said Linda Touhsant of Milford. "We are just protesting him being here because he's hurt the country. The sad part is the media are not telling the truth, so half the country doesn't even know."
Viola said she supports the president's plan to improve policing. As she prepares to send her daughter to elementary school, safety is her primary concern.
"Honestly, I'm anxious, and I'm nervous about it because I think about her being at school and me not being able to protect her and be there," she said. "If something happens, you're kind of just waiting on the sidelines with everybody else."
Viola said she hopes the country can have an open dialogue to work toward a solution.
"We need to do this for our kids," Viola said. "We need to make our country safer, and we need to make NEPA safer."
The president's visit marks the start of a busy week in the political world, with Pennsylvania taking center stage. President Biden is coming back to the commonwealth twice in the next several days -- making stops in Philadelphia on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Labor Day.
Meanwhile, thousands are expected at a rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.
Want to see what was in news in 1983? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/residents-react-to-potus-visit-joe-biden-marts-center-amber-viola-gouldsboro-american-legion-wilkesbarre/523-30fb4943-b346-447b-9914-8e7ce8bc3a5a | 2022-08-31T03:31:34 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/residents-react-to-potus-visit-joe-biden-marts-center-amber-viola-gouldsboro-american-legion-wilkesbarre/523-30fb4943-b346-447b-9914-8e7ce8bc3a5a |
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — An injured Little Leaguer is headed home.
Easton Oliverson from Utah fell from his bunk earlier this month at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport.
But according to Geisinger, the 12-year-old is now well enough to head back home.
This video from Geisinger shows Oliverson leaving the hospital near Danville to continue his recovery in Utah with in-patient rehabilitation.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/injured-little-league-player-on-his-way-home-easton-oliverson-williamsport-lycoming-county-little-league-world-series/523-c3fdbdc1-1cc4-4a63-946c-72475da078fa | 2022-08-31T03:31:40 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lycoming-county/injured-little-league-player-on-his-way-home-easton-oliverson-williamsport-lycoming-county-little-league-world-series/523-c3fdbdc1-1cc4-4a63-946c-72475da078fa |
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — The Walk In Art Center hosted a grand opening Tuesday for its new Art Education Center.
The spot in Schuylkill Haven offers individual creative studios for artists to develop and exhibit their work.
Those creatively inclined can also attend classes and workshops for all skill levels.
"I think it's a lot of fun. They offer some nice classes, not only for kids, but for the adults too, um, but I know she was in the summer camps and really enjoyed them," said Stacie Cromyak, Port Carbon.
The first 50 kids at the grand opening got a free swag bag of art supplies, coupons, and snacks.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/new-art-education-center-in-schuylkill-haven-walk-in-art-center-stacie-cromyak-schuylkill-county/523-6fe594a7-73ec-4736-81ac-0fee4c7762d6 | 2022-08-31T03:31:47 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/new-art-education-center-in-schuylkill-haven-walk-in-art-center-stacie-cromyak-schuylkill-county/523-6fe594a7-73ec-4736-81ac-0fee4c7762d6 |
Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott makes huge donation to Junior Achievement of Eastern Shore
Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore has received $500,000 from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, who donated a total of $38.8 million to 26 JA operations throughout the country.
The donation received by JAES will go toward completion of the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center, a 25,000-square-food facility in the Oak Ridge Commons in Salisbury, which is expected to house more than 10,000 students a year when it opens in Fall 2023.
“We are eternally grateful to Mackenzie Scott for choosing us to be one of the 26 recipients of this extremely gracious gift,” said Jayme Hayes, president of JAES. “This donation will ensure the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center becomes a gleaming pillar of education on the Shore, giving our students the knowledge and resources to succeed in the global economy.”
Scott chose Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore as one of the 26 recipients thorough research into the organization’s operations and its mission. Last year, JAES reached nearly 12,500 students in seven counties: Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, Worcester and Accomack.
The Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center will also be the first of its kind on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, offering JA capstone programs such as JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. Both will allow students to interact with local businesses to discover how these organizations benefit them as consumers but also show the opportunities that await in their own backyard.
MORE:National Folk Festival launches with big Salisbury party: PHOTOS
MORE:UMES receives $20 million award, the largest single gift in its history, from MacKenzie Scott
“The Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center will continue JA’s mission of preparing young people for success,” Hayes said. “Because of the partnerships we’ve made with our local business community, regional leaders and more, Mackenzie Scott was able to see through her research what kind of impact this facility will have on our students. We’re so thankful she is able to share our vision!”
Scott’s $38.8 million is the largest gift from a single donor in the organization’s 103-year history. Junior Achievement USA will be using its portion of the gift to build network capacity and innovative new learning channels that will benefit all 102 JA operations across the country. | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/30/mackenzie-scott-donates-huge-philanthropic-gift-to-junior-achievement/65462318007/ | 2022-08-31T03:43:44 | 1 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/30/mackenzie-scott-donates-huge-philanthropic-gift-to-junior-achievement/65462318007/ |
Headed to Ocean City for Labor Day weekend? What you need to know before you visit
The kids are headed back to school but there's still one blowout weekend left in the summer beach season: Labor Day weekend. There are plenty of fall events in Ocean City to draw you back for an extended weekend, but there's nothing like savoring that one last breath of summer.
Grab your towel, sling your beach chair over your shoulder and topped off the cooler with ice. Here's everything you need to know to celebrate the holiday in Ocean City:
What's the weather forecast?
Coming off 90 degree days the previous weekend, Labor Day weekend will be slightly cooler but still offer warm beach days. Friday will bring sunny skies and a high of 77, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday and Sunday will be mostly sunny, with a high of 78 and 80, respectively.
Accuweather says sunny Friday with a high of 81. It will be and partly sunny Saturday with a high of 83. Sunday will bring intervals of clouds and sun with a high of 85. Monday will be partly sunny and humid with a chance of thunderstorms; high of 84.
The remainder of the week is forecast to be 81-84 degrees and mostly to partly sunny.
Labor Day weekend events
The family-friendly Sundaes in the Park will hold its final event of the season from 7 - 9 p.m. Sunday at Northside Park. Ice cream and beverage options are available for purchase. Controversy band Prince Tribute is scheduled to play a free show. Fireworks follow the show over the bay, weather permitting.
Explore the Art League of Ocean City, located at 502 94th St., with a free craft in the courtyard at 11 a.m. Saturday. Children must have adult supervision.
For live music, catch up with Roger Hillis' Delmarva Now column.
Want a beach bonfire?
For those interested in building a bonfire along the town's 10-mile stretch of sand, permits are required. For more information, including regulations, restrictions, and to apply for a permit online, visit www.ocbonfires.com.
ODITITES:Odd Ocean City houses: A castle, observatory and other curious ones to discover
What to expect at restaurants
For the past two years, many Ocean City businesses, both big and small, have struggled to recruit and retain seasonal employees. The town, which requires about 12,000 seasonal workers annually, is asking visitors to pack their patience this summer season.
Expect to see restaurants moving at a much slower pace this holiday weekend as severe labor shortages continue to disrupt the resort town. Many of the town's college student workers have already returned to school.
PEOPLE:Meet 'Captain Maryland,' a mallet-wielding and Old Bay-loving superhero
Guests may be faced with longer wait times, limited menus and shorter business hours. To combat this, vacationers might choose to cook at their rental property for breakfast, lunch or dinner, saving money and time.
Lifeguards on reduced staffing
Ocean City Beach Patrol continues to guard the beaches, but as lifeguards return to college or high school, lifeguard stands will be further spread apart.
At peak season this year, the Beach Patrol had 178 personnel, with 85 stands deployed between the Ocean City Inlet and the Delaware state line, according to the Ocean City Beach Patrol. In a typical year, staffing ranges from 180 to 200-plus with 91 stands deployed. The number of guards used for extra activities, like camps, were cut this year to keep more stands deployed.
As staffing dwindles in August and September, stands will continue to be placed further apart during Labor Day weekend and through the final day of lifeguards for the 2022 season, on Sept. 25. Weekday and weekend staffing varies. For a daily list of streets where lifeguards are stationed, visit town's website.
BEACH PATROL BEHIND THE SCENES:‘The greatest adventure’: On watch with lifeguards in Ocean City
Beach Patrol reminds beachgoers to keep their feet in the sand until the lifeguard is in the stand as swimming without a lifeguard puts you at high risk.
Sand and sun safety
When digging a hole, always make sure it is no deeper than the knees of the shortest person in your group.
Sand is unstable and can collapse at any given moment. If someone falls into a hole, they risk being trapped. Collapses have proven to be deadly, as sand weighs about 100 to 112 pounds per cubic foot.
DIGGING:Sand cave-ins can be deadly and happen anywhere. Here's what to know about them
Always remain diligent when walking on the beach, as some beachgoers will dig holes but forget to fill them in. Refilling holes is necessary for the safety of all.
And as you are enjoying those last rays of summer sun, don't forget your sunscreen. A beach umbrella and hat can also help avoid that lobster-red, aloe-craving burn.
BURN:How to take the sting out of a sunburn after a long day at the beach
Parking, bus and tram
Ocean City’s municipal buses traveling along Coastal Highway. Buses will arrive at their stops about every 15 minutes, from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. Bus service will not be available between the hours of 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Standard bus fare is $3 per person for a ride-all-day pass. Children 42 inches in height or under, senior resident bus pass holders and ADA Certified Disabled card holders may ride for free.
FUN GUIDE:A to Z guide to Eastern Shore lingo. Talk like a local on your Ocean City vacation
The Boardwalk tram service runs from noon to midnight daily. Tram fare is $4 per person, per boarding, for a one way ride up or down the Boardwalk.
Tram driver and conductor staffing remains limited, however, peak demand hours are mostly being met, according to Ocean City transit.
TRIMPER'S:This artist keeps Trimper's iconic 110-year-old carousel horses in motion
Metered parking is in effect throughout town. Paid parking is also available at the following locations: Inlet Lot, Street and Municipal Lot, and West Ocean City Park-n-Ride. For more information, visit the town's website.
Don't want summer to end?
Ocean City has plenty of events planned for fall:
- Wine on the Beach: Sept. 9-10
- OC BikeFest: Sept. 14-18
- Oceans Calling Festival: Sept. 30-Oct. 3
- Endless Summer Cruisin': Oct. 6-9
- Sunfest: Oct. 20-23
- Shore Craft Beer Fest: Oct. 29 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/30/ocean-city-md-labor-day-weekend-2022-beach-guide/65461560007/ | 2022-08-31T03:43:50 | 0 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/30/ocean-city-md-labor-day-weekend-2022-beach-guide/65461560007/ |
Snow Hill man sentenced to four life terms in child sex abuse case
A Snow Hill man was sentenced to four consecutive life terms plus 75 years on rape and sex abuse charges by a Worcester County court.
Cody Jolley, 32, of Snow Hill was convicted in May by a Worcester County jury on four counts of rape in the second degree, two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, sexual solicitation of a minor, two counts of sex offense in the third degree, attempted rape and two counts of sex offense in the fourth degree.
No parole eligibility
Judge William Jones of the Dorchester County Circuit Court presided over the case and imposed the sentence Aug. 25, ordering Jolley to serve a total of 105 years of active incarceration, with 60 of those years as a mandatory minimum sentence with no parole eligibility, according to a release from the Office of the Worcester County State’s Attorney.
If released, Jolley must register as a lifetime sex offender, have no contact with minor children, submit a DNA sample and will be monitored by special offender supervision.
The release said the charges stemmed from a complaint of sexual abuse made by a third-grade student and reported to the Worcester County Sheriff's Office in May 2021.
A forensic interview of the child was conducted by a social worker at the CRICKET Center, Worcester County’s Child Advocacy Center.
Jolley was arrested after further investigation showed he had abused the child for over a year.
FATAL CRASH:Pedestrian dies in late night Ocean City crash | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/30/snow-hill-man-sentenced-child-sex-abuse-case-cody-jolley-attempted-rape/65463930007/ | 2022-08-31T03:43:56 | 1 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2022/08/30/snow-hill-man-sentenced-child-sex-abuse-case-cody-jolley-attempted-rape/65463930007/ |
WICHITA, Ka.n (KSNW) — It’s not just restaurants and schools feeling the staffing pinch. Wichita’s largest industry is struggling to fill the void. Aviation companies, from plane builders to the airport, are still seeking employees following the pandemic.
Since the pandemic, staffing in some sectors of the aviation industry has yet to return to what it used to be. A job fair hosted by Eisenhower National Airport on Tuesday shed light on the staffing struggles that remain.
“I certainly don’t have too much experience about aviation or anything like that, but yeah, everyone has been friendly so far,” said Adrian Emanuel, who attended Tuesday’s job fair.
According to the Aerospace Industries Association, the pandemic grounded much of the aviation industry. It lost more than 87,000 workers and is still working on getting those workers back. A spokesperson for Bombardier said they currently have 200 openings in Wichita, and Eisenhower Airport is also looking to hire three more people.
“We’ve had a lot of vacancies that have directly impacted operations. So we want to make sure that we’re fully ramped up in advance of snow season for snow removal as well as some other critical functions,” said Jesse Romo, the director of airports for the Wichita Airport Authority.
This job fair provided an opportunity for the airport to find new employees and people like Unique Esquer an opportunity to find a new job.
“I want to just get my foot in the door, and that is fine with me. I can build from there,” said Esquer.
The same goes for Nicholas Thorp. He was in the medical field for years, and now he hopes an aviation career will soon take flight.
“It is always good if you can try to think outside of the box. Try to do something different because the expertise that you might bring might blend well with a company that is looking,” said Thorp.
More than 20 aviation-related companies were at the job fair Tuesday, and it was popular. So many people were waiting before doors opened that they decided to open the event early.
If you would like to apply to the openings at the airport, click here. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/eisenhower-airport-holds-job-fair-to-get-aviation-jobs-filled/ | 2022-08-31T03:44:30 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/eisenhower-airport-holds-job-fair-to-get-aviation-jobs-filled/ |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Cook Children's hospital system has a message for North Texas parents: "Please don't come to the emergency department for a simple COVID-19 test."
In a news release Tuesday, the Fort Worth-based hospital said it is currently seeing an increase in parents bringing their children with no symptoms to the emergency department and urgent care centers for a COVID-19 test.
According to the hospital, this is causing long wait times at all of its locations and "putting unnecessary strain on the health care system."
The message to parents comes as North Texas children get settled into the new school year and as the fall season approaches.
The hospital said the emergency department saw 614 patients on Monday, Aug. 29., which is nearly double the amount of patients typically seen in that department.
The hospital also saw 873 patients at its eight urgent care centers. About 23% of COVID-19 tests are coming back positive at those centers, according to the hospital.
Officials with Cook Children's are asking parents to keep their kids at home if they only need a test or have mild symptoms.
"We are seeing patient volumes equivalent to our worst winters, and it’s taking a toll on our staff," Kara Starnes, medical director of Cook Children’s Urgent Care, said in the news release.
"If your child tests positive for COVID at home, you can trust the test. You don’t need to have a health care provider confirm the results," Starnes added. "If a COVID test comes back negative, it’s safe to monitor minor symptoms at home and re-test in 48 hours."
The hospital said children should be taken to the emergency department for symptoms like: difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, blue coloring in face or lips, confusion or sudden change in mental status, and inability to wake up or stay awake.
Cook Children's reminded parents that free COVID-19 tests from the U.S. government are still available for order until Friday, Sept. 2.
"If your child needs emergency care treatment, our Emergency Department is here for you. That’s why we’re here," Natalie Carpenter, director of Emergency Services at Cook Children's, said in the news release. "But please don’t come to the emergency department for a simple COVID test." | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/cook-childrens-fort-worth-texas-increase-parents-kids-covid-19-tests/287-c56d76e2-e4c9-49c8-9491-7761f76328f4 | 2022-08-31T03:44:31 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/cook-childrens-fort-worth-texas-increase-parents-kids-covid-19-tests/287-c56d76e2-e4c9-49c8-9491-7761f76328f4 |
HESSTON, Kan. (KSNW) — Voters in Hesston passed the School Improvement Bond Issue by 10 votes on Tuesday.
In a vote of 790 to 780, the vote will issue a bond “in an amount not to exceed $33,475,000” to pay the costs of consolidating high school and middle school grade levels into one facility.
This consolidation will include a two-story addition for educational and support spaces, a new fine arts wing including an auditorium, a new gymnasium, and renovations to existing buildings.
The USD 460 website says the proposed bonds are estimated to require an additional $15.27 per month on a $150,000 residential property or $19.50 per month on a $200,000 residential property.
“While Hesston has always had a school system that our community can be proud of, we want to continue investing in our students and staff, and we believe this bond project reflects that investment,” The Hesston school website says.
Below is the full question that was presented to voters:
“Shall the following be adopted?
Shall Unified School District No. 460, Harvey County, Kansas (Hesston), issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $33,475,000, to pay the costs to: (a) construct, equip and furnish additions and make renovations to the existing Heston High School to consolidate high school and middle school grade levels into one facility, which shall include a new 2-story addition for educational and support spaces, a new Fine Arts wing including auditorium, a new Physical Education gymnasium, renovations to the existing building to include new classrooms and locker rooms, roofing and finishes, and improvements to HVAC and electrical infrastructure; (b) raze a portion of the existing high school building to create space for the new construction; (c) make all other necessary improvements appurtenant thereto (collectively the “Project”); and (d) pay costs of issuance and interest on said general obligation bonds of the District during construction of the Project; all pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 10 101 et seq., K.S.A. 25 2018(f), K.S.A. 72-5457, and K.S.A. 72 5458 et seq.?”
For more detail about the bond, visit the Hesston Schools Bond Information Facebook page or visit the school’s website. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/hesston-bond-issue-for-over-33-million-passes/ | 2022-08-31T03:44:36 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/hesston-bond-issue-for-over-33-million-passes/ |
MESQUITE, Texas — A Mesquite ISD teacher aide has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child, police said Tuesday.
Mesquite police said the school district informed the department on Monday, Aug. 29, about a possible improper relationship between an educator and a student at North Mesquite High School.
According to police, the allegations involved 22-year-old Bryan Garcia, who was employed by Mesquite ISD as a teacher aide.
Through an investigation, police said they discovered Garcia was communicating with students through phone apps during the spring 2022 semester.
Further details about the allegations were not released as the investigation continues.
Garcia was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 30.
Anyone who may have information on incidents involving Garcia is urged to call police at 972-285-6336. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/mesquite-isd-teacher-aide-arrested-charged-sexual-assault-of-child-indecency/287-476acae7-5d96-4e92-9f8a-05e62125359b | 2022-08-31T03:44:37 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/mesquite-isd-teacher-aide-arrested-charged-sexual-assault-of-child-indecency/287-476acae7-5d96-4e92-9f8a-05e62125359b |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A home in east Wichita was heavily damaged by a fire that broke out on Tuesday evening.
The Wichita Fire Department (WFD) says around 8:15 p.m., they received a report of a house fire in the 600 block of N. Battin St.
The crews arrived quickly and saw a “significant” amount of fire showing, which appeared to be the half-story roof of the house.
Firefighters entered the house and located the fire in a bedroom, and extinguished it. WFD says there was someone home at the time and was evaluated by emergency services. Their condition is unknown at this time.
KSN Photo
WFD says there is significant fire and water damage throughout the home.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. An investigation is ongoing. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/house-heavily-damaged-by-fire-in-east-wichita/ | 2022-08-31T03:44:42 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/house-heavily-damaged-by-fire-in-east-wichita/ |
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — Mesa Verde High School staff, students and community members celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony of its new sports stadium Tuesday.
The stadium is one of the school's signature projects and is funded by the district's bond program. Construction is expected to finish by Spring 2023.
The new stadium will include: a synthetic track and field, new bleachers, press box, concessions, restroom facilities, LED sports lighting and renovations to the existing parking lots and tennis courts. There will also be “much-needed exterior site improvements,” according to the school.
Former and current students and staff attended the event in support of the project.
“It will not just be a place to play games, matches and meets. It will be a place for students and families to make lasting memories. Having a meaningful place to meet in a facility they deserve," said Travis Miller, athletic director and Mesa Verde alumnus.
Watch more from ABC10: California Extreme Heat | Rocklin High moves up varsity football games amid heat | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/citrus-heights/citrus-heights-mesa-verde-high-sports-stadium/103-b222252a-8320-4c3e-a9e1-9b5d5f748ac3 | 2022-08-31T03:52:32 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/citrus-heights/citrus-heights-mesa-verde-high-sports-stadium/103-b222252a-8320-4c3e-a9e1-9b5d5f748ac3 |
STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stagg High School campus was temporarily locked down Tuesday afternoon after getting a report of a man near campus possibly with a weapon.
Stockton Unified School District's Department of Public Safety said there was a homeless man walking along the north side of Rosemary Street near the school, but despite a search, police couldn't find him. Police were also not able to determine whether he actually had a weapon from school security video.
Officials said they were told by a witness that the man appeared to have a weapon and a black trash bag while he was walking near the campus.
The lockdown happened just after 3 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes.
Additional security monitors were assigned to the school and district police officers are also on campus. The area has also seen additional fencing and patrols. District officials are working with the Stockton Police Department and said they are aware that there are a number of homeless people in the area.
“We will do everything in our power to keep our campuses safe and healthy to provide an optimal learning environment for our students. They deserve it,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Traci E. Miller.
The incident at Stagg High School follows months after the deadly stabbing of Alycia Reynaga in April and days after an incident where a homeless man hopped a fence at the campus' football and track field.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stagg-high-lockdown/103-2987a82c-8c04-4e68-9e85-86e1c6f840e4 | 2022-08-31T03:52:38 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stagg-high-lockdown/103-2987a82c-8c04-4e68-9e85-86e1c6f840e4 |
Three days after an innocent bystander was killed amid a police chase in Arlington, loved ones gathered to remember Hector “Tito” Ruiz.
A crowd, dressed in white, released balloons Tuesday evening for Ruiz and his best friend, Gabriel Flores, who is still recovering from the crash.
“Losing his friend and him being there, it’s going to be hard for him to recover from this. It’s going to be hard for him to recover from this loss,” said Flores’ sister-in-law Mayra Miranda.
Miranda said Flores and Ruiz had gone in search of a cake Saturday for Flores’ daughter’s 15th birthday.
They were at the intersection of New York Avenue and Arkansas lane when Arlington Police said a robbery suspect they were chasing hit the men’s car from behind, pushing them into the intersection where other drivers collided with them.
“They were just at the stoplight. They were just going to get the cake. That’s all they went to go do. They went to get the cake, and this person just ran into them and hurt my brother-in-law and killed this wonderful human being that should still be alive,” said Miranda.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Today, Flores, a husband and father of two, underwent surgery for a spinal injury.
Miranda said now, as Ruiz’s family makes plans to transport his body back to Mexico, and Flores’ figures out how they’ll get by while he’s recovering and unable to work, she’s questioning whether what happened Saturday could have been prevented.
“I just think this whole situation is so unfair and I just think it could’ve been handled in a different way,” said Miranda.
Arlington Police said Saturday’s chase began after officers attempted to make a traffic stop on a person of interest in several robberies.
They said the collision happened after a short pursuit.
According to police, the suspect was quickly arrested and transported to a nearby hospital.
As for the family, a GoFundMe page has been set up to cover medical expenses | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/loved-ones-remember-bystander-killed-in-arlington-police-chase/3060786/ | 2022-08-31T04:05:49 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/loved-ones-remember-bystander-killed-in-arlington-police-chase/3060786/ |
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Maricopa County deputies are asking for help to reunite a 10-year-old girl with her family.
The girl was found near McQueen Road and Hunt Highway in Chandler on Tuesday.
Police say she’s about 10 years old, 4 feet tall and 80 pounds.
If you know her parents or guardian, please call MCSO at 602-876-1011.
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How big is Maricopa County?:
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/valley-authorities-want-to-reunite-her-with-family/75-82a07688-8cc2-4067-97ef-9ed7929446ad | 2022-08-31T04:18:44 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/valley-authorities-want-to-reunite-her-with-family/75-82a07688-8cc2-4067-97ef-9ed7929446ad |
Man sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting, trying to murder estranged wife in Phoenix
A Maricopa County judge on Tuesday sentenced an Indiana man to life in prison for the 2018 rape and attempted murder of his estranged wife.
Shawn Terry Spink, 47, was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree sexual assault and 21 years for first-degree attempted murder by Judge Chuck Whitehead, according to the Maricopa County Superior Court.
Spink, court officials disclosed, was also sentenced on five other felonies: seven and a half years on each of two counts of kidnapping, seven and a half years on each of two counts of aggravated assault, two and a half years for a third count of aggravated assault and one and a half years for unlawful means of transportation.
Spink's sentences will be served concurrently, and release is possible after 25 years, according to the court.
A jury found Spink guilty of all charges on June 30 in the Sept. 15, 2018, incident where he attacked his estranged wife after surveilling her for several days and following her to Arizona, according to previous reporting from The Arizona Republic.
Spink sexually assaulted the woman at her north Phoenix apartment after forcing one of his used socks in her mouth, restraining her with zip ties, punching her and stabbing her below her eye with a dull pocket knife, according to charging documents. Spink had dragged the woman into her home after spraying her with the bug-killing aerosol Raid as she walked out of the apartment, according to court records.
Spink had been "studying to kill" the woman, he told his victim as he attacked her, adding it was "supposed to be a 10-minute job" before trying multiple times to suffocate her with trash bags from her home, court records state.
The woman pushed Spink off and removed the knife he had impaled her eyeball with. After the attack, he took her with him, according to charging documents.
The woman managed to flee Spink after convincing him to stop for food at a McDonald's where she jumped out of the car and ran into the crowded restaurant. Spink fled and was found hours later in the victim's vehicle in Black Canyon City with the knife he stabbed her with in his possession, court records show.
Spink had befriended the woman's neighbors, claiming he had just moved to the area and was using binoculars to study birds when he was actually watching his victim come and go, according to court documents.
Spink's defense attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.
Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on Twitter @jrgzztx.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/08/30/indiana-man-convicted-of-sexually-assaulting-and-attempted-murder-of-estranged-wife-in-phoenix/7944363001/ | 2022-08-31T04:18:49 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/08/30/indiana-man-convicted-of-sexually-assaulting-and-attempted-murder-of-estranged-wife-in-phoenix/7944363001/ |
NORMAL — Normal's electoral board ruled Tuesday in favor of an objection to a petition seeking a Nov. 8 referendum on how the Town Council is elected, but backers said they plan to appeal in court.
The council currently is elected at large, but a petition signed by more than 2,000 residents earlier in August calls for changing to a council based on districts similar to Bloomington's wards. The electoral board found it did not align with state law.
The board's members, Mayor Chris Koos, Town Clerk Angie Huonker and council member Kevin McCarthy, voted unanimously to uphold the objection filed by Normal resident Patrick Dullard on Aug. 15, according to town documents. The findings were based on two state laws.
The statutes, 65 ILCS 5/3.1-25-80 and 10 ILCS 5/28-1, authorize a referendum to divide a village into districts, but such a referendum is not allowed unless it is authorized by statute. The Town of Normal does not fall under the legal definition of a village, the board found.
David Shestokas, a former GOP candidate for Illinois attorney general from Orland Park acted as legal counsel for petition backer Kathy Siracuse and others. He told reporters after the ruling that the statutes apply to towns as well as villages because case law has found that the designations are synonymous.
He also said the Town of Normal is really a village, based on how it elects officers.
"There's only three kinds of municipalities that are recognized in the Illinois Municipal Code. One is city, one is incorporated town and the other is a village," Shestokas said. "Clearly Normal is not a city. ... In terms of what an incorporated town is, there's not a specific definition but there are specific duties if you are an incorporated town and actually there's only one incorporated town that actually exists in the state of Illinois."
Cicero, a suburb of Chicago, follows all the rules and definitions of an incorporated town and elects a town clerk, supervisor, collector, treasurer and a president, which Normal does not do, Shestokas said.
"And that has been a requirement for an unincorporated town to conduct its business properly and legally since 1985," he added.
The board overruled a second objection to the number of valid petition signatures because it failed to identify any specific signatures to challenge.
Dullard also argued petition pages circulated by nonresidents should be invalidated because nonresidents should not be allowed to influence the government in a community in which they do not reside, according to board documents.
Statute 10 ILCS 5/28-3 does not require circulators to be residents, and "to hold otherwise would be an unauthorized change or addition to the statute," the board found.
Another objection to the participation of the town clerk in checking the records made by Siracuse and others was overruled as a subject for debate.
For now, Shestokas said he and his clients will be filing an appeal to to the McLean Count Circuit Court, which is expected to be a "fairly expedited" procedure. They have five days to file the appeal.
"It's us, Ms. Siracuse, versus the electoral board and Mr. Dullard," he said. "I would be filling an appeal on her behalf ... and that's where we'll go from here."
In terms of compensation, he said he has not given anyone a bill for his services yet but the group is raising money to "defer some of those expenses."
The signatures collected were from a mix of residents and political figures, including town Trustee Stan Nord; former mayoral candidate Marc Tiritilli; McLean County Board candidate Steve Harsh; Jim Fisher, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for state representative; and Krystle Able, who is running as a Democrat for the County Board.
Backing a petition is a group of residents called "Citizens for a Better Normal," which has a fundraising page online but is not registered as a political action committee.
Week 1 Rewind: Check out all the Pantagraph's Friday night football coverage
There's coverage of Normal West, University High and Tri-Valley including stories, photos and videos, plus an area roundup and regional and state score lists.
West charges to victory in season opener.
U High trounces Lanphier.
Blake Regenold's three first-half scores got the Vikings rolling for a season-opening win.
Check out these games from the around the Bloomington-Normal area.
Check out all the final scores in from Friday night.
See photos from week 1 football action.
Want a score from outside the area? You can find it here. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/normal-electoral-board-rules-for-objection-on-council-referendum-respondents-plan-to-appeal/article_164d2dbe-28c6-11ed-a560-fb81f0e325bf.html | 2022-08-31T04:22:16 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/normal-electoral-board-rules-for-objection-on-council-referendum-respondents-plan-to-appeal/article_164d2dbe-28c6-11ed-a560-fb81f0e325bf.html |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — June Barrett, who founded the Crumley House brain injury rehabilitation center, has died.
The non-profit facility in Limestone was founded by Barrett in 1992.
About 11 years before it opened, Barrett’s daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury and it was through her recovery that Barrett found there is an opportunity to help others.
She was 85 years old. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/june-barrett-founder-of-crumley-house-dies-at-85/ | 2022-08-31T04:23:42 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/june-barrett-founder-of-crumley-house-dies-at-85/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — If you have an Airbnb or Vrbo property in Little Rock, you could have to pay more fees soon.
An ordinance on the city's agenda has stated new regulations on short-term properties that will begin if the board votes to approve it. The city said all of this is being done in the name of safety.
"There are other measures as far as safety inspections that need to be accounted for," said Jamie Collins, director of Little Rock's Planning and Development.
Right before the pandemic, the City of Little Rock saw an increase in short-term rentals— which are those that last less than 30 days, like Airbnb and Vrbo rentals.
The city wants to crack down on those properties mainly through license and inspection fees.
Some of the requirements would include:
- -Proof of homeowner’s fire, hazard, and liability insurance
- - Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
- -Fire extinguisher must be accessible
- -Annual inspection fee and renewal of business license
The annual inspection fee and renewal of the license will cost between $100 - $500, but the city plans to offer a grace period for existing properties that need to get up to these standards.
"If approved, it will be a six-month period that they are allowed to get up to speed and up to that level," explained Collins.
The city refers to that period as an "undue burden" and necessary for the renter's safety.
"If something does happen then they have those safety measures in place to at least help mitigate that, help them get out in an emergency, help them find the fire extinguishers in those types of scenarios," said Collins.
The Little Rock board of directors was supposed to hear the details of the ordinance at this week's meeting, but it has been deferred to September 20. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/little-rock-renters-could-see-increase-fees/91-94fa63fc-c3be-412f-97c3-7c8a023ad018 | 2022-08-31T04:26:19 | 1 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/little-rock-renters-could-see-increase-fees/91-94fa63fc-c3be-412f-97c3-7c8a023ad018 |
YORK, Pa. — A family in York has a new place to live thanks to Habitat For Humanity.
The home, located on Chestnut Street in York, is part of a 14-house renovation project at that location.
The property sat vacant for 10 years after a 2009 fire, until York Habitat created the Chestnut Street Revitalization Project and started building homes.
Neura Beriguete, the new homeowner, and Habitat officials were all emotional for the special day.
"I can't help but tear up because we've worked on this for so long. She can have her home with her family. It's just the best feeling in the world," said Natasha Kukorlo, the associate director for York's Habitat for Humanity.
Beriguete's is the fourth house completed from the project.
"My dreams have come true," she said.
On average, it takes around 4,000 volunteer hours to build one habitat home. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/fourth-home-completed-in-york-habitat-for-humanity-project-pennsylvania/521-0650fc94-8126-4150-a356-f0ef81620650 | 2022-08-31T04:28:38 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/fourth-home-completed-in-york-habitat-for-humanity-project-pennsylvania/521-0650fc94-8126-4150-a356-f0ef81620650 |
Ammonia leak at U.S. Ice Corp. in Detroit contained
Detroit — An ammonia leak at the U.S. Ice Corp. facility in Detroit was sealed around 10:30 p.m., fire officials said
No injuries were reported.
The leak was discovered around 9:30 p.m. and originated inside the U.S. Ice Corp.'s building, said Chief James Harris. The cause of the leak remained unknown and was under investigation.
"The situation has been mitigated. Detroit hazardous materials team did an awesome job. They sealed the leak," Harris said. "They made sure no civilians were injured, and no firefighters were injured."
U.S. Ice Corp. makes and delivers bagged and dry ice for commercial use. A representative from company did not immediately respond to a phone call for a request for comment Tuesday night.
Liquid ammonia is a refrigerant in the ice-making process, helping absorb heat until water freezes. The chemical has a pungent odor, which allows for leaks to be easily detected.
Ammonia can irritate and burn the mouth, skin, eyes and throat, and high-level exposures can impair breathing and cause death, according to the CDC.
hmackay@detroitnews.com
@hmackayDN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/31/ammonia-leak-eight-mile-u-s-ice-corporation-sealed/7946456001/ | 2022-08-31T04:28:46 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/08/31/ammonia-leak-eight-mile-u-s-ice-corporation-sealed/7946456001/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/nj-rental-assistance-program-helping-families-get-back-on-their-feet/3349628/ | 2022-08-31T04:32:44 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/nj-rental-assistance-program-helping-families-get-back-on-their-feet/3349628/ |
Two men reunited Tuesday after both battling life-threatening conditions at the same New Jersey hospital. Now, their message to others: keep on fighting.
“For both of them, the situations they were in were really dire. You don’t see survival rates being very high,” said advanced nurse clinician Jaclyn Patterson.
Erik and Frank are two "walking medical miracles" who returned to Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes in Camden, New Jersey on Tuesday to visit the doctors and nurses who saved their lives – and each other.
On New Year’s Eve of 2021, Erik was brought to the hospital after a massive heart attack that had taken a turn for the worse. He spent the next two and a half months hospitalized with bleeding in his airways, kidney failure, pneumonia, and time on and off life support.
Erik expressed his gratitude for the hard work from doctors and nurses, saying he “really appreciate[s] everything [they] did for us,” and that he "may have only been here two or three months of my life, but these guys really put their hearts and souls into getting me better."
The medical team at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes made the miracle happen, but Erik drew inspiration from his new friend Frank to keep on fighting.
Frank had suffered for weeks from potentially-fatal complications from COVID. After recovering, Frank returned to the hospital to visit his life-saving medical team while Erik was fighting for his life, and he gave him a pep talk to push through.
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“Look at me," Frank told him. "I was where you are a little while ago and here I am walking around talking like nothing happened."
Erik wants to pass it forward and do the same for others, because, he says, both him and Frank are living proof of miracles.
“If I had something to say to them… you can do it. You can come back. It’ll take work. It’ll hurt. You’ll sweat and may even cry, but you’ll get there,” said Erik. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/tale-of-two-miracles-men-reunite-after-fighting-for-their-lives-in-nj-hospital/3349609/ | 2022-08-31T04:32:50 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/tale-of-two-miracles-men-reunite-after-fighting-for-their-lives-in-nj-hospital/3349609/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Kids at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis got the chance to chat with astronauts on the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Dr. Kjell Lindgren is commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-4 mission. He is focused on studying changes in the immune system associated with age. But he took some time Tuesday to have fun chatting with some young Hoosiers.
One student named Kenlei asked Lindgren how the astronauts communicate with their friends and family.
"Kenlei, great question," Lindgren replied. "Back 25 years ago, the only way astronauts could talk with their families back on the ground was with amateur radio – with a ham radio. These days, we have a telephone system, voice over internet protocol, where I'm able to dial a cell phone through my laptop computer and I'm able to talk...call someone on their cell phone. It's absolutely amazing."
On the ISS, astronauts test technologies, perform science experiments and develop the skills needed to explore farther from Earth.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis has an exhibit on all of this, called "Beyond Spaceship Earth." The museum hopes that exhibit and conversations like the one Tuesday inspire the next generation of space lovers.
"The kids that were participating today, those are the kids that are going to be our future astronauts and engineers and we want them to get excited about space and get excited about STEM," said Becky Wolfe with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
Lindgren and NASA SpaceX Crew-4 arrived on the International Space Station in April. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana-students-chat-with-nasa-astronaut-on-international-space-station/531-e160cc7d-b833-4dd3-be9b-a3b75bcfadc6 | 2022-08-31T04:33:01 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana-students-chat-with-nasa-astronaut-on-international-space-station/531-e160cc7d-b833-4dd3-be9b-a3b75bcfadc6 |
PERU, Indiana — Few new details are emerging as Indiana State Police search a river near the home of Kegan Kline.
He's in jail on charges of child porn and exploitation.
He also admitted to creating the "anthony_shots" catfish profile which communicated with Libby German before the Delphi murders.
On Tuesday, ISP started a second week of searching the Wabash River under Peru's Kelly Avenue Bridge.
Divers are leaving markers tracking their progress, but won't say what they're looking for.
We do know Kline's home is just minutes from the search site and state police took took Kline out of jail just five days ago to meet with investigators.
We heard from witnesses watching the teams as they searched Tuesday.
"I saw them, they basically started on the south side, and it was about eight guys," said Dave Noonan. "They were all dressed in the exact same wetsuits,"
Kline has never been named a suspect in the Delphi murders and he has denied any involvement.
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- Donated van gives Carmel mother battling cancer new lease on life | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/state-police-search-river-near-home-of-man-who-created-anthonyshots-catfish-profile-isp-water-miami/531-690123b1-139e-4189-9989-a5c40c7c05d1 | 2022-08-31T04:33:07 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/state-police-search-river-near-home-of-man-who-created-anthonyshots-catfish-profile-isp-water-miami/531-690123b1-139e-4189-9989-a5c40c7c05d1 |
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police swarmed a northwest-side Motel 6 Tuesday evening and discovered a man who had been shot—and who may have been involved in an earlier shooting nearby, according to authorities.
SAPD officials tell KENS 5 the unidentified man could be seen on video firing a gun from the parking lot of another hotel nearby, towards a specific room. Police say no one was injured, but they're still investigating a possible motive.
They later dispatched to the Motel 6 near I-10 and Wurzbach after finding a vehicle there identical to the suspect's car from the earlier incident. The unidentified man, police say, walked out of his room bleeding from a gunshot wound to his chest. It's unclear, however, when he was shot, and by whom.
The man is expected to be OK, and police say others in his Motel 6 room were detained for questioning.
MORE LOCAL STORIES:
- Local embroidery shop owner has concerns over Migrant Resource Center. Here's how the city is responding.
- Proposed public transportation route connecting San Antonio and Austin aims to ease congestion on I-35
- San Antonio native Dennis Houston makes Cowboys 53-man roster
- Why your cup of coffee will cost you more
- San Antonio woman arrested for fatal hit and run crash back in January
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Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/san-antonio-shooting-sapd-police-investigation/273-62f2922b-03c7-48e4-bcee-3f03bbed5cce | 2022-08-31T04:33:11 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/san-antonio-shooting-sapd-police-investigation/273-62f2922b-03c7-48e4-bcee-3f03bbed5cce |
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Railroad Commission Tuesday set first-of-their-kind weatherization rules for natural gas suppliers, most responsible for the power grid's failure in Feb. 2021.
Under the guidance, natural gas facilities will have to prepare for extreme weather by Dec. 1.
"This rule is about preparation. It's about planning for the unknown," said Jim Wright, one of the state's two railroad commissioners.
Natural gas-fueled plants generate about one-third of Texas's electricity.
The new rules do not outline specific goals for weatherization or create a uniform standard suppliers must meet. Instead, state inspectors will decide on a case-by-case basis whether facilities are adequately prepared.
"I expect to see full compliance with these rules by 2023," said Ed Hirs, energy fellow at the University of Houston. "Of course, we won't know until we have a weather event. With any luck at all, this is going to get us through that."
Companies that do not pass inspection may be fined up to $1 million, though watchdogs worry stiff penalties will be rare.
"Repeat and deliberate attempts to avoid compliance... will not be taken lightly by the commission," Wright said. "It will result in referral to the attorney general."
It's not clear what penalty the attorney general could levy against a non-compliant company.
"We're going to have to see how the Railroad Commission decides to enforce the rule," Hirs said. "That's 12-18 months down the road."
The Texas Railroad Commission is comprised of three elected members who've all taken campaign donations from the corporations they're charged with regulating.
The legislature required power generators to weatherize equipment last year. Lawmakers held electricity producers to a higher standard than they did natural gas suppliers.
Tuesday's decision represents a final step toward correcting problems which led to rolling blackouts during Winter Storm Uri. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/natural-gas-suppliers-must-weatherize-by-december-railroad-commission-decides/273-13166793-e895-4e2c-bc4e-968edec37c7c | 2022-08-31T04:33:17 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/natural-gas-suppliers-must-weatherize-by-december-railroad-commission-decides/273-13166793-e895-4e2c-bc4e-968edec37c7c |
Greenville residents fight homes for addiction recovery but don't have leg to stand on
- A group home for people recovering from addiction has opened in the North Main area of Greenville.
- Another group home was considered in the same neighborhood, but there are currently no such plans.
- Residents who object to group homes in neighborhoods have little legal recourse, they've been told.
- The group home's operator says the program is valuable and honorable and could be a good neighbor.
Greenville residents upset about the opening of a group home for addiction recovery in the North Main Street area have been told there is very little they can do.
Neighbors expressed concerns about safety and more at a community meeting that followed the opening of a group home on Summit Drive this summer, and others grew concerned about potential plans for a second group home opening on North Park Drive.
Kyle Marsh, founder of Next Steps Today, a residential program that "empowers men to shatter the chains of addiction," helps operate the home on Summit Drive, and he said his program has elected not to operate on North Park Drive.
That decision was partly driven by the choice of tenants of the North Park house to remain.
But if any organization chose to open such a group home in a residential neighborhood in Greenville, like on North Park Drive, legally there's very little that could be done by residents who object. That's according to Greenville City Attorney Leigh Paoletti and Rivers Stillwell, a partner at the Nelson Mullins law firm, who answered questions at a community meeting held in the Sears Recreation Center on Park Avenue.
Previously:Donation powers an 'integrative approach' to mental health at Furman University
Read this:He was homeless for 17 years. Now, he's back on the Greenville streets with a new mission
The meeting was hosted by Greenville City Councilmember John Deworken, whose District 1 includes the North Main area, and at-large City Councilmember Dorothy Dowe. It was intended to provide legal information about group homes.
Stillwell said the federal Fair Housing Act includes protections from discrimination for persons with a disability who are dealing with addiction. The act’s definition of a disability includes mental or physical impairments that substantially limit major life activities, and mental or physical impairment may include conditions such as alcoholism and drug addiction.
While challenges have been mounted nationwide with cities trying to restrict group homes, including through zoning regulations, the Fair Housing Act has withstood them one after another, Stillwell said.
And upset residents have been forced to accept a group home's operation elsewhere in Greenville already.
Fair Housing Act bars Greenville from restriction of certain group homes
According to Paoletti, there was a situation with a home locating in Greenville's Stone Lake area for people recovering from addiction in 2018, and it was determined that the city could not prohibit that home's operation.
Like Stillwell and Paoletti, Marsh said digging into Fair Housing Act guidelines and case studies shows that group homes are actually encouraged in neighborhoods.
"It's a way of transition," he said. "These men need to feel a part of the community. So you either put them in a corner and isolate them and wonder why they’re not adapting into our society and doing well, or we can encourage them, bring them into the fold, teach them how to be noble citizens in our community, and entrench them in it so that they can succeed."
Still, in the case of a second home operating in the North Main area, Marsh said his organization has decided against it.
He said local residents and organizations need to work together to make lives better for people, neighborhoods and the wider Greenville community.
"If we stand beside them and we work with the community and they work with us instead of fighting us, it only helps both of us in the long run," he said. "There needs to be a come-together moment to where both can agree to disagree and work together."
Next Steps Today was formed by Marsh in 2018. By October 2021, the organization had three locations and was preparing to open a fourth one, he said in a YouTube presentation promoting Next Steps' work.
Citing federal law that protects individuals' sensitive health information, Marsh said he can't disclose much more about Next Steps' operations and homes, but he said there are men are living at the Summit Drive location "rebuilding their lives."
The house is set up for five or six people, Marsh said, but he did not disclose how many men are living there.
It caught local residents, even officials, by surprise.
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Federal law protects group homes in residential neighborhoods
Deworken said he was notified earlier this summer by Summit Drive residents about the group home locating on Summit Drive. That was the first he or city officials had heard about it because notification is not required, he said.
Deworken said his first thought was, "Well, that's silly. They're not going to be allowed to locate in a residential neighborhood."
He went to city staffers and attorneys for information, and the crux of what he heard was that federal law protects group homes' location in residential neighborhoods.
Summit Drive is a two-lane road lined with sidewalks two blocks away from the northern end of North Main Street. It's the home of several churches and Summit Drive Elementary School and an active artery for the neighborhood of mostly single-family homes.
During a community meeting in July, after the group home opened on Summit Drive, a resident suggested another group home could soon locate nearby on North Park Drive, Deworken said.
A second community meeting was held in August at the Sears shelter at McPherson Park, where residents expressed concerns about safety, congestion, transparency and regulation.
Alex Lilla owns the house that's being leased by Next Steps Today on Summit Drive, and he owns a house on North Park Drive, too. Like Marsh, Lilla told residents at the meeting in August that there are no plans to make the North Park Drive house a home for Next Steps Today, though Lilla said he'd be within his rights to do what he wants with the houses.
Lilla said he has a tenant in the North Park Drive house that has elected not to move at this time.
He also said Next Steps Today is an honorable organization that does admirable work.
Greenville zoning regulations allow group homes near other homes
More than 60 local residents were at the meeting.
One of them, Joe Farmer, said he’d been through a similar experience with a group home locating near his Dellwood community, less than a mile from Summit Drive. He asked how many group homes are enough for the area.
“Things tend to congregate with like things either because of zoning or habit,” he said.
In some established neighborhoods on the peripheries of streets, a doctor’s office or an attorney’s office might go in, Farmer said. Residents might think, it’s an attorney’s office, so it’s OK, Farmer said.
“Then more stuff comes, and all of a sudden it’s not residential anymore," he said. "It’s all office space."
North of Stone Avenue, where the intersection with North Main Street is anchored by businesses, the North Main area of Greenville is primarily filled with homes. It is mostly zoned R-6 for single-family residential use, according to Greenville's Zoning Values map.
That does not bar a house's operation as a group home, officials said.
And Marsh said recovery houses are "popping up left and right all over our area" because there’s a need.
"We can either work together or we can split hairs and be against each other, which is not the right way to do it," he said.
Greenville attorney Michael Coulter was at the community meeting in August, too. He said his daughter's property abuts the property in question and his family is very concerned.
“I hope that the city doesn't just say we’re going to not do anything because it can lose," he said.
More:Public librarians say they're struggling to serve patrons seeking shelter, mental health care
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Group homes are not run as a 'free-for-all,' Greenville attorney says
No home — whether it’s run as a group home or residential facility for people with disabilities, or whether it's a typical single-family home — can disregard city regulations, Paoletti said.
"There are requirements," she said. "It's not just a free-for-all."
What the Fair Housing Act covers is disability for those who are in recovery, she said. It specifically excludes active addiction from that definition, she said.
Thus, “if there are indications that there are problems with the home or if there's indication and evidence that the home is not being used as a residence for those living in recovery from addiction, we would consider that to be a zoning violation in saying, 'You're not protected by the Fair Housing Act by the way that this is operating,'” she told concerned residents at the meeting in August.
Beth Brotherton, spokesperson for Greenville city government, confirmed that distinction in an email. She said evidence that residents of the group home are not living in recovery from addiction could lead to the home's loss of protections provided by the Fair Housing Act.
"That would mean that the city could pursue a zoning violation as outlined in our code," Brotherton said. "Depending on the outcome of the zoning violation process, the group home may be required to stop operating."
Deworken told neighborhood residents at the meeting in August that if they see something illegal happening at the group home to call 911. If there are other concerns, “call me,” he said.
“There's no better eyes or ears on the back end of this than you all," Deworken said. "You're right there.”
Property owner defends Next Steps Today and supports program
Lilla said he understands neighborhood residents' concerns. He said he would have the same concerns if he didn’t know a lot about Next Steps Today's program and Marsh, its founder.
But, Lilla said, he knows a lot about the program, the men in it and Marsh, and he said, "It's something I'm sinking a lot of my time and money into because I believe in it."
Lilla lives nearby in another home in the North Main neighborhood.
He told residents at the meeting in August that they’re in the Main Street area of a large, growing city. In such an area, "you’re going to get people you probably don’t want as your neighbor. They’re already living in the area," he said.
“We live in an area where there are not HOAs, and we’re not in a gated community,” Lilla said. “It’s some of what comes with living where we live."
He said Marsh would be open to having neighbors tour the facility on Summit Drive to learn more and meet the people living there.
Marsh said he wants to work with the community and be a good neighbor. He said his organization provides an important service to Greenville.
"Transitional homes work," he said.
His organization's current goal is to build a facility that could hold up to 50 men so that they can be served in one location before reintegrating into the community. Where that facility would be located remains to be determined. | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/addiction-recovery-greenville-sc-residents-fight-group-home-have-little-legal-power/7832774001/ | 2022-08-31T04:34:38 | 0 | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/addiction-recovery-greenville-sc-residents-fight-group-home-have-little-legal-power/7832774001/ |
South Carolina House passes abortion ban, bill allows exceptions for rape and incest
After hours of deliberation and debate, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted Tuesday evening to pass an amended version of its near-total abortion ban.
The bill includes a blanket exception for the life of the mother and an exception for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest for up to 12 weeks.
Much of Tuesday's debate centered around proposed exceptions to the bill, which before today included only an exception for the life of the mother.
Representatives from both sides of the aisle proposed amendments ranging from language that would greatly expand access to abortion to amendments that called for charging people who perform abortions with felonies. At the end of Tuesday's meeting, only three amendments of the more than 20 that were heard ended up in the bill.
Previous coverage:Proposed SC abortion ban does not include exceptions for survivors of sexual assault
Related:SC Supreme Court temporarily blocks six-week abortion ban
Amendments create exceptions for rape and incest, mandate in-utero child support
The amendment to allow abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest for up to 12 weeks was added to the bill after a nearly two-hour recess in which Republicans met to build consensus ahead of the full House vote.
Before the recess, exceptions for rape and incest were proposed multiple times by various representatives but were struck down each time.
Rep. John McCravy, who has shepherded the bill through committee, previously stated during an ad-hoc committee meeting in July that including exceptions for rape and incest would be turning one tragedy into two.
When the rape and incest exception was first struck down early Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 25-75, Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, called out Democrats for playing a political game with proposed amendments.
In response, Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, called out Republicans in the chamber and said the amendments were not enough to stop harm from being done to the women of South Carolina.
"This is not our bill," Stavrinakis said. "If you don't like it, get your own house in order."
A second amendment added to the bill came from McCravy, R-Greenwood. The amendment removed three sentences from the bill that are also found in the state's current six-week abortion ban. McCravy said legal questions over those three sentences are at the center of the current state Supreme Court case determining the constitutionality of that law.
He said removing these sentences was a way to "clean up" the bill.
The final amendment added to the bill called for biological fathers to pay child support beginning at conception instead of birth, and it was proposed by Caskey. He said the amendment would be retroactive if the paternity of the child was ever questioned and needed to be tested.
From USA TODAY:Biden signs executive order supporting people traveling out of state for an abortion
Read this:Walmart will now cover abortion for employees when there are health risks, cases of rape
Democrats strategize, fail to secure big win
Democrats entered Tuesday's debate with a "strategy," said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter at a news conference during the House's recess.
Although she would not confirm explicitly what that strategy entailed, many Democrats voted against every proposed amendment put forth during the meeting. Essentially, the move acted as an attempt to call the bluff of Republican lawmakers who will face voters in November.
During the Democrats' news conference, many legislators stressed the importance of voting in the general election as a key part of the legislative process and a way to hold lawmakers accountable.
Rep. Chandra Dillard, a Democrat from Greenville, said there would be "mass destruction" if Democrats did show up to the polls in November.
When the House returned from recess, a first vote on the bill ended in its defeat. But after a call for reconsideration of the bill, a second vote was held in which the bill passed 67-38. The House will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, for a third reading and final vote before sending the bill to the Senate. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene after Labor Day.
– Tim Carlin covers county government, growth and development for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @timcarlin_, and get in touch with him at TCarlin@gannett.com. You can support his work by subscribing to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe. | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2022/08/30/abortion-ban-south-carolina-passed-house-includes-rape-incest-exceptions/7934976001/ | 2022-08-31T04:34:50 | 1 | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2022/08/30/abortion-ban-south-carolina-passed-house-includes-rape-incest-exceptions/7934976001/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/midland-isd-leader-named-lone-fort-worth-superintendent-finalist/3060818/ | 2022-08-31T04:40:41 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/midland-isd-leader-named-lone-fort-worth-superintendent-finalist/3060818/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-railroad-commission-implements-new-natural-gas-company-regulations/3060826/ | 2022-08-31T04:40:47 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-railroad-commission-implements-new-natural-gas-company-regulations/3060826/ |
ATLANTA — Family and friends are remembering a 7-year-old girl whose life was cut short. Little Ava Phillips was shot and killed during a family gathering at the Camden Vantage Apartments on Jackson Street Saturday night, according to Atlanta Police.
About 80 people gathered there Tuesday evening in her honor. Her father, Jonathan Phillips, said the pain is still there.
“Ain’t nothing gonna bring my baby back but you know it’s good to see the city showed up, showed support, gave support," he said.
Her family described her as a little girl who loved to be "the boss."
“She liked the window seat on the plane. She liked the front seat of the car. She liked to order first in the restaurant. That’s my baby girl. She was the boss man," he said. " She ran the show. Glad I got to do what I did with her. We did a lot of traveling, Cali and Mexico and things like that. I showed her a lot before she left. Seven is young but I showed her a lot."
His cousin, Djuana Stroud, had similar sentiments, saying Ava loved to be the boss of her three older brothers.
"She had a beautiful smile, beautiful girl, beautiful smile, beautiful life," Stroud said.
Pink and purple balloons were released in the air in honor of Ava. But the attendees would have rather seen them in the sky under less solemn circumstances.
"We shouldn't be out here for a baby," one man said. "We should be seeing our kids graduate, not burying them."
Vigil held for Ava Phillips
The police investigation into the shooting led officers to arrest the child's mother, Kameka Springfield, and charge her with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. However, the person facing a murder charge, DeShon Collins, is still at large. According to a warrant, Springfield assaulted Collins with a gun during a dispute. Police said Ava was shot in the head during the fight.
Outside of the murder charge, arrest warrants were also issued for Collins for cruelty towards children, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. It is unknown his relationship with Springfield.
“The only way I can describe is it’s just sad knowing that a little girl lost her life like that. Didn’t even have a chance," Stroud said.
An online fundraiser has been set up by the family.
"Stop the senseless violence man. Like, my baby died over some crazy stuff, crazy that really could have been avoided," Ava's dad said. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/vigil-ava-phillips-shooting-victim-atlanta/85-a9a7ced4-3a52-4aa6-b575-48763ee11377 | 2022-08-31T04:40:55 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/vigil-ava-phillips-shooting-victim-atlanta/85-a9a7ced4-3a52-4aa6-b575-48763ee11377 |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/local/triumph-in-tragedy-mavs-alum-shawn-bradley-healing-after-injury/3060832/ | 2022-08-31T04:57:57 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/local/triumph-in-tragedy-mavs-alum-shawn-bradley-healing-after-injury/3060832/ |
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A student at a Mitchell High School in New Port Richey saw another student carry what appeared to be a gun in their waistband on Tuesday, deputies say.
The incident was not reported until after the end of the day. Authorities later determined the student possibly brought an airsoft gun to the school, Pasco Sheriff's Office said in a tweet.
Deputies say they spoke with witnesses who described the firearm as an airsoft gun. They also talked to the student during a home visit.
There is reportedly no threat to the high school, and an increased law enforcement presence will be at the campus on Wednesday as a precaution.
"If you see a threat, call law enforcement as soon as possible," the sheriff's office said in the tweet.
Tips can be reported by contacting the Pasco Sheriff's Crime Tips at 1-800-706-2488. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/new-port-richey-mitchell-high-school-student-airsoft-gun/67-104f8869-7a12-44f9-8155-4d87afc676fe | 2022-08-31T05:00:21 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/new-port-richey-mitchell-high-school-student-airsoft-gun/67-104f8869-7a12-44f9-8155-4d87afc676fe |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — If you need a ride, you’re in luck! BRT, Birmingham Rapid Transit will be ready to roll in the magic city very soon.
The rapid transit system is almost ready to roll in Birmingham. It’s a new first of it’s kind in the state public transit system designed to help you get where to need to go at low cost and with little hiccups.
The city posted on Facebook Monday night saying the Birmingham express will be ready “soon”. It uses bus rapid transit technology, also known as BRT. City leaders said it’s a high-quality, reliable and cost-effective way for citizens and visitors to commute around the city and surrounding areas. The new system will connect the west side of town to the east with routes going from Woodlawn area all the way to the five points west community.
CBS 42’s Carly Laing talked with councilor Hunter Williams, he said this new system will be a game changer for many riders.
“We think that this will solve a lot of issues with our riders being able to depend and having that consistency and timing so that the ride is reliable enough to make it to a doctors appointment, to make it to work,” Williams said.
Williams said the new system was cost a total of about 60-million dollars. Williams said the system is still in the testing phase. He hopes to see it expand eastward to cover more areas of Birmingham. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-transit-system-set-to-start-rolling-soon-in-birmingham/ | 2022-08-31T05:03:25 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-transit-system-set-to-start-rolling-soon-in-birmingham/ |
Brandon M. Neely
Jan. 19, 1981 - Aug. 25, 2022
GARY, IN - Brandon M. Neely, 40, of Gary, IN passed away on Thursday August 25, 2022. Brandon was preceded in death by his parents, Michael and Victoria Neely. He is survived by his grandmother, Dolly Bussey; two siblings: Sarah (John) Lemon and Gregory Neely. He also leaves behind his daughter, Olivia; best friend, Tommy; two nieces; multiple other family members; and many friends. Brandon's family invite you to join them in a celebration of life on Sunday September 4th, 2022 between 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the American Legion located at 132 N Wiggs St. Griffith, IN. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/brandon-m-neely/article_3a2351dd-0f82-56e8-a5cc-fa8c9f5b6a2c.html | 2022-08-31T05:18:27 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/brandon-m-neely/article_3a2351dd-0f82-56e8-a5cc-fa8c9f5b6a2c.html |
Dennis L. Brooks
WINFIELD, IN - Dennis L. Brooks, age 68 of Winfield passed away on August 27, 2022. He was retired from Comcast where he worked for 36 years and in his retirement he worked at NWI Auto Parts.
Denny was preceded in death by his parents-Jean and Denton Brooks; father-in-law-George Vomish. He is survived by his loving wife of 41 years-Renee Brooks; sister-Nancy (Tod) Struzik; mother-in-law-Diane Vomish; niece and goddaughter-Samantha Struzik; bonus brother-Philip Schuyler.
Denny was such a great guy, always there to support his family and friends who love him and will miss him dearly. He was a lifelong St. Louis Cardinal fan who loved going to games to see them play. He also loved to travel with family and friends, especially to the Island of Maui. And we can't forget the great love he had for his many dogs- Jake, Nicki, Maggie, Jackson, Molly, Blue and Gracie.
Visitation will be held Saturday, September 3, 2022 from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the memorial service at 1:00 p.m. at BURNS FUNERAL HOME, 10101 Broadway, Crown Point, IN.www.burnsfuneral.com | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/dennis-l-brooks/article_ea1e5900-d4dc-5c7c-92f8-1ddee5334eaf.html | 2022-08-31T05:18:33 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/dennis-l-brooks/article_ea1e5900-d4dc-5c7c-92f8-1ddee5334eaf.html |
Florence Stefanovich
VALPARAISO, IN - Florence Stefanovich, age 94, passed away on August 28, 2022. A long-time resident of Valparaiso, she was born in Macedonia and immigrated as a young girl with her family to Gary, IN.
A graduate of Lew Wallace High School, Florence worked her entire career, 45 years, with the Lake Mortgage Company where she helped manage commercial lending.
Florence was a devoted daughter and caregiver to her father, Clement, who predeceased her as did her mother, Mary. Florence was also preceded in death by her brother, Steve (Rose) Stephan and brother Charles (Catherine) Stephan; as well as nephew, Jeffery Stephan.
Florence was an exceptionally loving and caring aunt to her nephews. She is survived by nephews: James Stephan of Schererville, Mark (Kimberly) Stephan of Carmel, Bill (Carol) Stephan of Carmel, and Bob (Rebecca) Stephan of Munster, as well as numerous grand nieces and nephews.
Florence was also cherished by the family of Ann and Theodore Rudman whom she considered extended family, and she was ever grateful to her kind neighbors for their generous assistance to her.
Florence was a devoted member of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church for over 75 years and the family requests donations be made to the church in lieu of flowers.
Funeral services will be held at CALUMET PARK FUNERAL CHAPEL in Merrillville on Friday, September 2, with a calling and services beginning at 10:00 a.m. followed by burial at Calumet Park Cemetery. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/florence-stefanovich/article_31f73483-7109-55f2-8fd4-5d6d83ef1c47.html | 2022-08-31T05:18:39 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/florence-stefanovich/article_31f73483-7109-55f2-8fd4-5d6d83ef1c47.html |
Glen D. Burke
CEDAR LAKE, IN - Glen D. Burke, age 71, of Cedar Lake passed away August 28, 2022. He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Cindy; children, Matt (Nola) Burke, Anthony Burke, and Katie (Brandon) Barks; grandchildren, Hayley, Harmoney, Kayla, Nathan, Addison, Beckham, Nora, and Myla; great-grandson, "Little Buddy" Lance. Glen was preceded in death by his father, Edward Burke; mother, Gertrude Burke; his brother, Wes Burke; and sister, AnnaMae Burke.
Friends may greet the family on Friday, September 2, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at BURDAN FUNERAL HOME, 12901 Wicker Ave. (corner of US 41 and 129th Ave.), Cedar Lake. A prayer service will take place at 6:45 p.m.
Glen was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He retired from the Public Works Department of the Town of Munster, and was a retired member of the Cedar Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Glen enjoyed fishing and hunting, and loved his dog, Molly. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/glen-d-burke/article_33e5a51b-d701-5515-8652-7843c57856b6.html | 2022-08-31T05:18:45 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/glen-d-burke/article_33e5a51b-d701-5515-8652-7843c57856b6.html |
John D. "Jack " Reidelbach, Sr.
Nov. 15, 1945 - Aug. 29, 2022
CROWN POINT, IN - John D. "Jack " Reidelbach, Sr., age 76, of Crown Point, IN, formerly of Hammond, IN, passed away on Monday, August 29, 2022.
Jack is survived by his three children: Jill (Jim) Basil, Joe Reidelbach, John (Melissa) Reidelbach, Jr.; eight grandchildren: Julia, Jacob, Bailey, Addy, Alex, Lucas, Josh and Madalyn; sister, Rosemary (George) Kanish; brother, Jerry (Lydia) Reidelbach; and his many good friends.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents Carl and Amy Reidelbach.
Jack was born and raised in Hammond, IN. He was a graduate of Hammond High School, Class of 1963 and earned his bachelor's degree from Purdue University Calumet. Jack retired from Honeywell in Lansing, IL with over 30 years of service. He was an avid Texas Hold Em poker player and played against some of the best in the world. Jack also loved golfing, traveling, volunteering for charitable causes, helping others in need and being a friend to anyone he met. Jack lived and loved life to the fullest.
Friends may visit with the family on Friday, September 2, 2022 at GEISEN FUNERAL, CREMATION & RECEPTION CENTER, 606 E. 113th Ave., Crown Point, IN 46307 from 2:00 PM until time of Celebration of Life Service at 5:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Jack's name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Visit Jack's online guestbook at www.GeisenFuneralHome.com 219-663-2500 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/john-jack-d-reidelbach-sr/article_6deca4ef-af86-5581-9940-c7cfb6621fbc.html | 2022-08-31T05:18:52 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/john-jack-d-reidelbach-sr/article_6deca4ef-af86-5581-9940-c7cfb6621fbc.html |
Jovanina Wilson
Oct. 11, 2003 - Aug. 26, 2022
CINCINNATI, OH -
Jovanina Wilson died Friday, August 26, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio after a nine month battle with a rare cancer. She was born October 11, 2003 to Marissa Ellis and Roy Wilson and her beloved older brother Isaac Wilson.
Her grandparents were Bee and Len Ellis and Roy and Florence Wilson, of Valparaiso.
Jovanina graduated this past June from Valparaiso High School. She was a member of the National Honor Society and the International Thespian Society.
She was a vivacious and gifted singer and actor. She started performing in plays and musicals at age eight with Premier Performance of Northwest Indiana, and the Chicago Street Theatre in Valparaiso. At VHS she was a four year member of the Drama Club and the Varsity Singers. In her senior year, she was the Singers' choreographer. She also took part in annual improv performances.
She appeared in countless musicals and plays during her short life, including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Matilda, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream The Lion King, Annie, Clue, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Coraline, and her final production, Ranked.
She had a powerfully strong work ethic and was known for memorizing all the parts in all the productions she was cast in. Her dream was to one day perform professionally on Broadway in New York City. The cancer forced her to miss her audition with the Julliard School and put an end to her pursuit of a theatrical college career.
She was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type, a rare and aggressive disease. She was treated primarily at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Cancer Center.
Her family wants to thank all the friends and family, neighbors, Drama Club members and Varsity Singers who made the trip to Cincinnati to visit Jovanina in her final weeks and for the stunning outpouring of love and support they've received from hundreds of Jova' friends and teachers; especially Drama Club teacher Colleen Peluso, Lisa Formosa-Parmigiano of the Chicago Street Theatre, her voice teacher Colleen Lovinello and improv instructor Matt McCann.
Special thanks go Jovanina's aunt and uncle Neenah Ellis and Noah Adams, and special family members Shayla and Jeb Bateman, who supported the family in the last weeks in Cincinnati.
A scholarship fund will soon be created to benefit young thespians in their pursuit of excellence.
When a friend heard of Jovanina's passing, she said: The night sky is one star brighter. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/jovanina-wilson/article_3b2ebac6-c10b-5fff-abc3-2a812457add5.html | 2022-08-31T05:18:58 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/jovanina-wilson/article_3b2ebac6-c10b-5fff-abc3-2a812457add5.html |
Karen Barreiro
HIGHLAND, IN - On July 21 of this year, life-long Highland resident and devoted member of Suburban Bible Church, Karen Barreiro (75) went home to be with her Lord and Savior.
Karen was a graduate of Highland High school & and Indiana University.
Karen is preceded in death by her parents, Orval and Mattie (VanGorp) Fleener; her beloved sister, Donna; and brother-in-law, James Stirling; and the father of her children, Albert Barreiro.
She is survived by her daughter Tracy (Nick) Ronsen; and son, Scott (Nicole) Barreiro; and her dear grandchildren, Elise and Wesley Barreiro and Josephine Ronsen.
In lieu of flowers, please make charitable donations to either, Hospice of the Calumet Area, or the National MS Society.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ChapelLawnFunerals.com for the Barreiro family. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/karen-barreiro/article_c3539a3c-1181-58f8-9990-2dd749ca1753.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:04 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/karen-barreiro/article_c3539a3c-1181-58f8-9990-2dd749ca1753.html |
Logan R. Ruiz
DYER, IN - Logan R. Ruiz, age 10, suddenly, late of Dyer, IN, passed away on Saturday, August 27, 2022. Cherished and loving son of Nicole C. Reveliotis and Adam Ruiz. Dearest brother of Jazmin E. Cruz, Adan C. Ruiz, Anthony A. Ruiz, and Christian Ruiz. Beloved grandson of Christopher and Maria Reveliotis and Rafael Ruiz. Visitation Thursday, September 1, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at SMITS FUNERAL HOME, 2121 Pleasant Springs Lane (Rt.30//Pleasant Springs Ln.), Dyer, IN. Visitation Friday, September 2, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of Logan's funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. directly at St. George Greek Orthodox Church 528 W. 77th Ave. Schererville, IN, with Rev. Demetrios Kounavis officiating. Interment Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery – Schererville, IN. For further information, please contact 219-322-7300 or visit our online obituary and guestbook at www.SMITSFH.com | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/logan-r-ruiz/article_d28fd39f-e961-553b-8254-59c99e328168.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:10 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/logan-r-ruiz/article_d28fd39f-e961-553b-8254-59c99e328168.html |
Mary Ann Galanis
ST. JOHN - Mary Ann Galanis, age 79, passed away on Saturday, August 27, 2022. She was born in Gary, IN, to the late John and Cleo (Pannos) Galanis.
Mary Ann taught at Merrillville High School.
She is survived by her sister Barbara (Nicholas) Kyros of Arlington Heights, IL and was preceded in death by her brother Michael (Suzanne) Galanis of Valparaiso. Mary Ann is also survived by nieces: Nicole, Stacy, Michelle and Rebecca.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at BURNS FUNERAL HOME, 10101 Broadway, Crown Point, IN. A Trisagion service will take place at 6:00 p.m. at BURNS FUNERAL HOME, Crown Point. Funeral service will be held on Thursday, September 1, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. directly at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 528 W. 77th Avenue, Schererville, IN. Interment Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Schererville, IN. www.burnsfuneral.com | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/mary-ann-galanis/article_4cba5c87-67aa-59e1-a2a7-8e18de0b8f64.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:16 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/mary-ann-galanis/article_4cba5c87-67aa-59e1-a2a7-8e18de0b8f64.html |
Mary Jeanette Johnston
May 5, 1938 - Aug. 28, 2022
VALPARAISO, IN - Mary Jeanette Johnston, 84, of Valparaiso passed away peacefully at home Sunday, August 28, 2022, one day after her 61st wedding anniversary. She was born May 5, 1938 in Blanford, IN to James & Mary (Gottardi) O'Neal and graduated from Indiana State University. Mary enjoyed gardening in the large yard that she and Paul tended under a canopy of mature white oak trees. Needlework allowed her to showcase a creative side and gave her indoor activity for winter.
On August 27, 1961 in Clinton, IN she married Paul Johnston who survives along with her sister, Rachel Ann Jones. She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Michael O'Neal.
Following cremation at ANGELCREST CREMATORY a private burial of her urn will take place at Adams Cemetery, Valparaiso. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/mary-jeanette-johnston/article_9fc20e48-5391-5b24-aa79-674bfd4b79ea.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:22 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/mary-jeanette-johnston/article_9fc20e48-5391-5b24-aa79-674bfd4b79ea.html |
Samuel J. McGlone III, "Sam"
LYNWOOD, IL - Samuel J. McGlone III, "Sam", age 82 of Lynwood, IL, went to his Heavenly home on August 26, 2022 after a short battle with cancer. Sam was a beloved family man and friend. Sam was born to Samuel and Marion McGlone on November 27, 1939 in Chicago, IL. Sam attended Chicago Vocational High School and then joined the U.S. Navy. Sam was an extremely hard-working, talented and skilled handyman who could fix and build anything. He owned "Sam's Building Repair and Maintenance" for 30 years.
Sam is preceded in death by his parents, Samuel and Marion McGlone; and father-in-law, Clarence Leensvaart. Sam is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years, Betty; his two daughters: Cindy (Karl) Freeberg of Superior, WI and Kim (Matt) MonteMayer of Munster, IN; his three grandchildren: Dominic MonteMayer, Mia MonteMayer, and Aaron Freeberg; brother, Rich (Joan) McGlone of Orland Park; mother-in-law, Florence Leensvaart of Lansing, IL,; and brother-in-law, Bill (Sherri) Leensvaart of Wheaton, IL.
A visitation will take place at Schroeder-Lauer Funeral Home, 3227 Ridge Rd in Lansing, IL on Friday, September 2 from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, September 3 at 10:30 AM. Sam will be laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Lansing, IL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sam's honor to Riley House, 600 Superior Ave., Munster, IN. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/samuel-sam-j-mcglone-iii/article_05bbca85-0577-553d-9361-5f5840049d01.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:29 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/samuel-sam-j-mcglone-iii/article_05bbca85-0577-553d-9361-5f5840049d01.html |
Aug. 26, 1966 – Aug. 25, 2022
HAMMOND, IN - Todd Victor Harbour, age 55, of Hammond IN, passed away suddenly from a heart attack, at his home, on Thursday, August 25, 2022.
As a child, Todd attended St. John the Baptist School, Whiting, IN, Grades 1 through 5. Grades 6 through 8, he attended LeMans Military Academy, Rolling Prairie, IN. Todd graduated in 1985 from George Rogers Clark High School.
In his early school years, Todd was a good athlete, playing baseball, basketball, football, and hockey (with his Dad and friends at Douglas [Pulaski] Park).[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]After high school, Todd tried various kinds of work from being a warehouse clerk at Sargent & Lundy Engineers in Chicago to becoming a union millwright, and other jobs in between. In 1999, Todd became a proud member of the United Steelworkers Union Local 1010.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Having been taught by his Dad and Grandpa Bill, Todd was an avid fisherman and hunter. When his Dad gave him his Grandpa Bill's fishing boat, motor, and trailer, Todd was so overjoyed, spending hours upon hours out in the garage restoring the boat to its original shine.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd's dream was to eventually spend more time with his Dad and Stepmom on their homestead in Winamac.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]On Wednesday, the day before Todd's death, he spent the entire day fishing Wolf Lake. Cat joined him after work and together they enjoyed a beautiful sunset. That night before retiring, Todd was on his knees, thanking his Heavenly Father "for such a great day" (even though, no fish were to be found).[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]He not only loved nature and the great outdoors, but was a lover of all creatures, great and small. The love and care he gave his dogs was wonderful to see: Adam, his Airedale, Buddy, his Doberman mix, The Big EZ and Lionel, his pit bulls.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd's kind and generous heart was nourished by his loving Mother. Todd was her only reason for living!!! [ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson with Cat and his biking buddies. [ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]His Granny Fox instilled in his heart a deep undying love for the Cubs! His Dad and Grandpa passed on to him their love of the Blackhawks. But how Todd ever became a Green Bay Packers' fanatic is a total mystery to his entire family.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd was a great fan of music, whether in the house, garage, in the truck, or on the bike. His favorite tunes would be blasting: Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZ Top, AC/DC, Joe Bonamassa, Van Morrison, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley and Led Zeppelin. [ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd will always be loved and missed by his many family members.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd was the only child of his loving parents, Victor W. (Kathi) Harbour and Judy (Vince) Berg.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Mourning Todd's unexpected death is his beloved fiancée, Catherine (Cat) Ferguson.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd was preceded in death by his loving maternal grandparents, Shade Lee and Irene Fox; his paternal grandparents, William (Grace) Harbour and Jane (Ralph) Horner; his uncles: Richard L. Fox, Charles A. Fox, and Patrick J. Fox; cousins, his beloved Susan M. Fox, Patrick V. Fox, Raymond Adams, and Tom Magrady.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Also grieving his loss are his aunts and uncles: Sally (late Andy), Judy (late Richard) Fox, Joan (Jerry) Raczak, Joseph (Linda) Fox, Alicia (Mark) Orr, Evelyn Fox-McKay, William (Jessica) Fox, and Mary Fox.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Mourning Todd's loss are his many cousins: Amy Ketchum Jennifer Simari, Chuck Fox, Lisa Sembach, Joe Fox, James Fox, Maria-Elena Netrosio, Gary Fox, Alice Fox, Brian Orr, Jasmine Fox, Adyn McKay, Susan Adams, David Adams, Mary O'Brien, Pat Magrady, Kathleen Roy, Peggy Fox, and Bobby Magrady.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Todd leaves behind many friends, too many to mention here.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]As Todd was an organ and tissue donor, in lieu of flowers, contributions to The Hope Foundation/Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor organization would be greatly appreciated. [ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya]Funeral Service Thursday, September 1, 2022, at 10 a.m. from the ANTHONY & DZIADOWICZ FUNERAL HOME, 4404 Cameron Avenue, Hammond, IN, (5 blocks W. of Calumet, 1 block N. of Gostlin), with Rev. Eduardo Malagon officiating. Burial at St. Joseph Cemetery, Hammond, IN. Visitation on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home.[ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya][ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya][ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya][ya%]
[cw31][cs0][f19][p10][s9.5][v11.5][ya][ya%]
[cw10][cs21] | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/todd-victor-harbour/article_bc8380ec-bd95-5af6-9f0c-e0520a404c57.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:35 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/todd-victor-harbour/article_bc8380ec-bd95-5af6-9f0c-e0520a404c57.html |
Wilbert “Herman” Nichols
March 10, 1929 - Aug. 28, 2022
KOUTS, IN - Wilbert "Herman" Nichols, 93 of Kouts, passed away Sunday, August 28, 2022. He was born March 10, 1929, in LaPorte to Carl and Hazel Nichols. Herman proudly served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He later made his career as a Sheet Metal Worker and Co-Owner of Kent Heating and Cooling for 40 years. Herman was also a member of the American Legion Post 301 in Kouts. He was a lifelong Cubs fan, and enjoyed fishing, especially in Canada. Herman will be remembered for his quirky personality, funny sense of humor, and generosity. He will be dearly missed.
On October 14, 1948 in LaPorte, he married Anna C. Deuitch, who preceded him in death in 2001. He is survived by their sons: Mark (Kris) Nichols of Kouts, and Robert Nichols of Valparaiso; grandchildren: Rachel Nichols, Ryan (Holly) Nichols, Hannah (Joey) Doku, Samuel Nichols, Amanda (John) Higgins, Beth (Joel) Phillips; and 10 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, and three siblings.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, September 1, 2022, from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the new location of KOSANKE FUNERAL HOME, 309 S. Main St., Kouts. A private funeral service will be held with burial following at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Kouts. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/wilbert-herman-nichols/article_641dea17-43c7-582a-a479-4a7977e0b170.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:41 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/wilbert-herman-nichols/article_641dea17-43c7-582a-a479-4a7977e0b170.html |
William "Bill" Luna
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX - William "Bill" Luna, 86, of Corpus Christi, TX, formerly of East Chicago, IN and Chicago, IL passed away on August 8, 2022.
Survived by sons: George (Trish), Thomas (Lisa) and Christopher (Gloria); grandchildren: Alexis, Kristen, Katelyn (Andrew) Javier, Jon, Noah, Angela, Josie; unofficial "son" Ricky Rodriquez; and sisters: Gloria (late Paul) Cavazos and Donna (late Earl) Harris. Preceded in death by parents and adoptive mother, Tomasa Garza.
Bill was an Adjunct Professor of Mexican History and Minority Studies at IUN. He served in the US Army's 2nd Airborne 505 Infantry, was in the Army Reserves, earned the status of Green Beret, Jumpmaster, and US Army's Golden Gloves Boxing Champion in 1958.
He was Founder of the "Museum of Mexican Culture and History", founder of Emilio De La Garza Post 508, East Chicago, IN, and Commander of the Hector Garcia AMVETS Post 326, Chicago, IL.
Bill co-hosted Chicago's Mexican Independence Day Parade on Channel 7 for years.
A Memorial Service will be held on Sept. 24, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Club Ki-Yowga Hall, 5220 Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago, IN. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/william-bill-luna/article_611a1295-0aaa-5e08-8338-39f526d4521e.html | 2022-08-31T05:19:47 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/william-bill-luna/article_611a1295-0aaa-5e08-8338-39f526d4521e.html |
MERIDIAN, Idaho — West Ada School District started the school year last week – and for some parents, it has been more than difficult getting their children on and off the bus.
Without any bus stops close by, Jen Chastain’s daughter is walking 1.4 miles home from school.
“She came home with blisters on her feet,” Chastain said.
Her daughter is walking 45 minutes home from school, which is 1.4 miles. Chastain said that is too far for an eight-year-old.
“I had to draw her a little map,” Chastain said. “She doesn’t have a cell phone. So, she’s pretty much just walking out there in the sun hoping she can make it home.”
Chastain said the past three years there has been a bus stop right in front of her house. That is no longer the case, and she does not know why.
West Ada’s current policy for “walk distance” to a bus stop is an eighth of a mile for grades 6 through 12 and a fourth of a mile for grades kindergarten through fifth.
This is different from the state’s “walk distance,” which is a mile and a half – but Chastain said the district is not following its own policy.
“When I spoke to the school, they just reverted back to this, the policy being that 1.5 miles is within the walk zone,” Chastain said. “And when I reminded them that the West Ada District walk zone specifications on the website said .4, she told me that she thought that wasn't true.”
Rebecca Lenack, Cascade Student Transportation spokesperson, confirmed these “walk distance” in an email.
She said there is no scenario when a child would have to walk further than either an eighth or a fourth of a mile, writing, “If there is not an established stop within these parameters, we will work to create a stop for those families that are 1) in the school boundary, and 2) not in the walk zone.”
When asked whether Cascade Student Transportation is receiving any parent concerns about the bus routes, Lenack avoided the question, writing, “We do have drivers for all our routes, but because of the increase in the ridership for this year, we plan to add routes very quickly.”
But as far as adding routes go, Chastain said she has not heard anything.
“What they're telling me, there will not be any additional bus stops,” Chastain said. “The bus stops are already routed, and they will not add any additional.”
Chastain said she is mainly frustrated with the lack of communication. So far, she has reached out her daughter’s school and Cascade Student Transportation but has not received any definitive answers about why her daughter is walking so far.
Greg Wilson, West Ada School District's chief communication officer, said he anticipates more routes will be added, but that it just takes a few weeks to iron out all of the busing issues since there are so many students riding the bus.
He said there are over 400 stops across 58 schools.
Chastain said the beginning of the school year is no excuse. As a single mom, she quit her full-time job and is outsourcing help so that her daughter does not have to walk 90 minutes a day.
And in her eyes, Chastain said she does not see the situation getting better any time soon.
“I’m kind of just at my wits end here,” she said.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/west-ada-school-district-bus-stop-issues/277-b3750912-3cd9-4a2e-8896-d00840572217 | 2022-08-31T05:24:04 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/west-ada-school-district-bus-stop-issues/277-b3750912-3cd9-4a2e-8896-d00840572217 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Discounted prices, car-share programs and at least one million more public charging stations are among the ways California will try to make electric cars easier to buy and drive as it phases out the sale of gas-powered cars.
But the state won't force automakers to participate in any equity programs designed to ensure people of all income levels can buy electric cars.
"This rule had the opportunity to really set the path for lower income households to have increased access and affordability (for) electric vehicles, but it missed the mark," said Roman Partida-Lopez, legal counsel for transportation equity with The Greenlining Institute.
Instead, car companies will get extra credit toward their sales quotas if they make cars available to car share or other programs aimed at disadvantaged Californians. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also pledged billions for programs aimed at getting used or new electric cars into the hands of low-income Californians.
The Stockton Mobility Collective is one example. Designed to increase transportation options in disadvantaged parts of the city, the collective will set up five to seven neighborhood charging stations with 30 electric cars people can rent out on an hourly or daily basis. The first cars and charging stations launched last week in an apartment complex. The program got $7.4 million from the state.
Car ownership in South Stockton is low, so interest in the program is high, said Christine Corrales, senior regional planner for the program. But its just the first step in what must be a major effort to make electric vehicles a realistic option for lower-income Californians.
"If the infrastructure is not available locally, it may be challenging to encourage people to adopt and switch over," she said. "That's something that we're trying to be proactive about."
The regulations passed by the California Air Resources Board last week say that 2035 the state will require automakers to sell only cars that run on electricity or hydrogen, though some can be plug-in hybrids that use gas and batteries. People will still be able to buy used cars that run on gas, and car companies will still sell some plug-in hybrids. Beyond questions of affordability and access, the state will need to overcome skepticism of people who think electric cars simply aren't for them.
"We've got to get past the elitism that's involved with owning an electric car," said Daniel Myatt, who brought an electric car in 2020 through the state's Clean Cars 4 All program, which he qualified for when he was out of work due to an illness.
Since 2015, more than 13,000 electric cars have been purchased through the program. It offers people up to $9,500 for people to trade in their gas cars for electric or hybrid models.
About 38% of the money spent on a separate rebate program has gone toward low-income or disadvantaged communities, and the state has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building charging stations in those neighborhoods. Today, though, there are just 80,000 public charging stations around the state, far short of the 1.2 million the state estimates it needs by 2030.
Under the new regulations, car makers can get extra credit toward their sales quotas if they participate in several equity programs.
Those programs include: Selling cars at a discount to car-share or other community programs; making sure cars that come off lease go to California dealers that participate in trade-in programs; or selling cars at a discounted price. To meet the third option, cars would have to cost less than $20,275 and light-duty trucks less than $26,670 to qualify for the extra credit. It only applies to model years 2026 through 2028, and there's no restriction on who those cars can be sold to.
Southern California EVen Access is using a $2.5 million state grant to install at least 120 chargers across a 12-county region, at apartment complexes and public places like library parking lots. Apartment complex owners can get $2,500 per charger installed on the property.
Overall, the state should do more public messaging about the programs that are available to buy electric vehicles so that all communities can enjoy the benefits of fewer cars that spew emissions and pollution, said Lujuana Medina, environmental initiatives manager for Los Angeles County. The state must also invest in a workforce that can support an electric transportation economy, she said.
"There will have to be some really progressive public purpose programs that help drive electric vehicle adoption and sales," she said.
Alicia Young of Santa Clara, California, was unsure when she first heard about the state's trade-in program. But she eventually pursued the deal, leaving behind her 2006 Nissan for a plug-in hybrid from Ford. It cost $9,000 after her trade-in value.
The car runs more smoothly and just as fast as any gas-powered car she's ever owned. She mostly runs it on battery charges, though she still fills the gas tank about once a month. The apartment complex where she lives with her mother does not have a car charger, so she often relies on charging stations at the grocery store or other public places.
She's shared information about the trade-in program with her colleagues at the senior retirement center where she works, but many of them seem mistrustful, she said. The state could speed adoption by having public messengers from a wide variety of backgrounds to help build trust in electric cars, she said.
"It's a little bit different at first, but that's normal with any new car," she said.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-electric-car-rule/103-2bcc5bba-75ae-4ab6-8c05-c111733d6f97 | 2022-08-31T05:28:05 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-electric-car-rule/103-2bcc5bba-75ae-4ab6-8c05-c111733d6f97 |
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County leaders praised two California lawmakers on Tuesday after they announced a pledge of $25 million toward servicing unhoused residents living along the American River Parkway.
Democratic Assemblymembers Kevin McCarty of Sacramento and Ken Cooley of Rancho Cordova said the money is aimed at sheltering Parkway unhoused residents to improve safety in the area.
Funding for this initiative stems from the California Budget Act of 2022.
The bill is eligible to be heard by the state legislature on Wednesday, and Cooley and McCarty said they have the support of the Governor's Office.
"This funding can help those living on the Parkway find shelter, and the services they need, as well as help restore the Parkway so that it can finally be recognized as one of the premier urban parks in the nation," said American River Parkway Foundation Executive Director Dianna Poggetto.
WATCH MORE: Sacramento County leaders to vote on ordinance to ban American River Parkway homeless encampments | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/25m-american-river-parkway/103-c13ae11c-c022-40c8-936a-50bb11a72015 | 2022-08-31T05:28:06 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/25m-american-river-parkway/103-c13ae11c-c022-40c8-936a-50bb11a72015 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In the span of just a few weeks, both Jamba Juice and Starbucks closed their doors at the shopping center off Broadway and 15th Street. Employees say the company cited safety concerns.
“Our community is just under siege, and the fact that companies like Starbucks and Jamba Juice (closed) - and I’m fully expecting Walgreens to follow suit- that’s a huge situation," said Stephanie Duncan, a Land Park advocate. "It’s bad enough for the mom-and-pop stores, but for these national corporations to not feel that it is safe to operate here is really concerning.”
Duncan says illicit drug use is a rampant problem in the area, and that it has been worsening for the past few years.
“I’ve been seeing people in the shopping center, either just passed out with drug needle caps around them or actively melting heroin in aluminum foil to smoke," she said, while providing photos taken Tuesday morning and last week.
When Starbucks shut down the location last week, ABC10 reached out to councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who expressed frustration with the challenges at the shopping plaza.
Valenzuela said her office is doing what it can and urged constituents to make detailed police reports for illegal activity. She also said animosity towards the city was misdirected since the county manages substance abuse treatment and mental health services.
“What I really want to say to people who are frustrated about what’s happening on this intersection is I really hope they’ll also call county supervisors," she told ABC10 Friday.
However, Duncan and the Land Park Community Association say they’re fed up.
“There’s a lot of finger-pointing, especially by Councilmember Valenzuela," Duncan said. "It’s just really sad to see people’s lives being destroyed by addiction, by untreated mental illness and we just need more help. Our businesses are suffering. Our community is suffering, and it’s just not okay. “
The group is speaking up to bring wider attention to the growing dangers along the corridor. They're urging local and state lawmakers to help stop illegal drug activity and help those suffering from addiction in the area who may also be experiencing homelessness.
The Sacramento Police Department said it encourages the community to report any criminal or suspicious activity to the department.
“We need everything documented so we can show, or the police can show that it is a huge problem in this area because unless it’s reported, it’s as if it never happened," Duncan said.
Meanwhile, city and county leaders say they are working on an agreement to scale up services. Valenzuela said her message remains unchanged - meaningful change can't come without strong partnerships between of both city, county and state agencies.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/broadway-land-park-drug-use/103-5be95815-e6ae-466c-b995-ae3cd2444e38 | 2022-08-31T05:28:08 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/broadway-land-park-drug-use/103-5be95815-e6ae-466c-b995-ae3cd2444e38 |
Maureen (Pritchard) Marolt
November 15, 1958-August 28, 2022
Maureen (Pritchard) Marolt, age 63, of Minneapolis, formerly of Britt, was called to the Lord on this day, August 28, 2022, after an on-and-off battle with cancer starting in June of 2017.
A Memorial Mass for Maureen Marolt will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, September 3, 2022 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 335 First Avenue South East in Britt, with Father Andrew Marr officiating.
Visitation will be held from 9:30 – 10:30 AM on Saturday, September 3, 2022 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Britt.
Maureen was born in Britt, Iowa on November 15, 1958 ('58 classic, as she would say!) to William and Vivian Pritchard. She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Tom Marolt, her father, mother, and six siblings, Laura Wermerskirchen, Renee (Jim) Diemer, John (Kathy) Pritchard, Sheila (Jerry) Finch, Joe (Pam) Pritchard, and Vivian Pritchard.
Maureen lived a full life – 30 years of that with her husband Tom. They were involved in just about everything – their condominium board, volunteer events at ARC of Minneapolis, Holy Family and the Basilica and anything to do with animals. Maureen was a 23 year employee of PetSmart and a constant companion to a wide variety of pets. You cannot think of Maureen without thinking of Mr. Orange, Checkers, Oreo, and of course, Marco, the cat of 900 lives!
Maureen graduated from Britt High School, Britt, Iowa, in 1977 and LOVED going to her class reunions! After high school she was fortunate to be enrolled in Opportunity Workshop (where she met Tom) and became involved in the world of special needs through ARC of Minneapolis. She continued to defy all odds and went on to live on her own.
Maureen lived for events – she loved her trip to Hawaii and was convinced she was headed back there after she ‘beat cancer'. She would let us know months ahead about the need for transportation to the Pritchard Christmas, her beloved class reunions, and of course, Hobo Days in Britt where she could be found milling around the ‘hobo jungle' reciting her poems with some of the other hobos.
The family has asked that you not have flowers delivered to either the funeral chapel or the church and that instead you make donations in Maureen's name to the organization that provide meals for Tom and Mo throughout their cancer treatments - Open Arms of Minnesota, 2500 Bloomington Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55404.
www.ewingfh.com Ewing Funeral Chapel 178 Center Street West Britt, Iowa, 50423 641-843-3839. | https://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/maureen-pritchard-marolt/article_06aa1ce5-34ba-581d-be95-1e6fb4b1299f.html | 2022-08-31T05:32:48 | 0 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/maureen-pritchard-marolt/article_06aa1ce5-34ba-581d-be95-1e6fb4b1299f.html |
Shirley A. Watermiller
August 28, 2022
Shirley A. Watermiller, 87, of Belmond, IA, died, Sunday, August 28, 2022, at the Iowa Specialty Hospital-Belmond, Funeral services will be Thursday, September 1, 2022, at 10:30 AM, at the Belmond United Methodist Church. Reverend David Boogerd will officiate. Burial will be in Belmond Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday at the church from 5-7 PM and will continue one hour prior to the funeral on Thursday. The funeral service will be live streamed on Andrews Funeral Homes Facebook page on Thursday at 10:30 AM, just LIKE the page to view. www.andrewsfuneralhomeandfloral.com 641-444-4474 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/shirley-a-watermiller/article_31645448-5209-589a-acc0-ee93c4cb3f8a.html | 2022-08-31T05:32:54 | 1 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/shirley-a-watermiller/article_31645448-5209-589a-acc0-ee93c4cb3f8a.html |
BEND, Ore. — A large crowd gathered at a park in Bend on Monday night for a vigil to remember the victims of Sunday's deadly shooting at Safeway.
Three people died, including the alleged shooter. The two victims, 84-year-old Glenn Edward Bennett and 66-year-old Donald Ray Surrett Jr., both lived in Bend. Bennett was a customer and Surrett was an unarmed employee, police said, who physically attacked the shooter to try to disarm him.
Central Oregon Moms Demand Action, a grassroots group that pushes for gun safety measures, organized Monday night's vigil at Drake Park. Families with children and people of all ages came together to honor Surrett and Bennett. There was a moment of silence for the victims and a choir sang on stage. Several speakers shared messages of strength and unity while condemning the shooting.
"I ask us tonight to refuse to believe that this must be normal," said Morgan Schmidt, the founder of Pandemic Partner.
Bend City Councilor Melanie Kebler attended the vigil and shared her reaction to the shooting.
"I'm still feeling anger. I'm so angry that this continues," said Kebler.
She went on to say that gun violence is not inevitable and that it can be preventable.
Another woman who attended the vigil shared her reaction to the shooting.
"It just stops everything and you feel confused and sad, and I think like everyone, we don't want this to happen in our town," Bend resident Meg Brookover told NBC News.
Police called Surrett a hero and said his actions may have saved shoppers at the store. Surrett previously served in the U.S. Army for two decades. He wasn't deployed to active combat zones, the Associated Press (AP) reported, but he was stationed in Germany three times and lived on military bases across the U.S. between 1975-1995.
Debora Jean Surrett, his ex-wife, spoke with the AP in a phone interview.
"They’re trained to be the first ones to go into war and the last ones to come home," she told the AP. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/bend/bend-safeway-shooting-vigil/283-9817d60f-3208-47c5-9fec-0f9105239dc9 | 2022-08-31T05:41:46 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/bend/bend-safeway-shooting-vigil/283-9817d60f-3208-47c5-9fec-0f9105239dc9 |
BEND, Ore. — The gunman in Sunday's shooting at a Safeway in Bend apparently fired more than 100 shots over the course of the attack, and had legally purchased all three of his firearms, according to a Tuesday news release from Bend police that includes additional details about the incident.
The suspect apparently fired into his own vehicle, a Ford pickup truck, in the parking lot of the Fox Hollow apartments before proceeding on foot into the parking lot of the nearby Forum shopping complex, police said.
He first fired shots in the parking lot, then entered the Safeway and shot and killed two people, previously identified as Bend residents Glenn Edward Bennett, 84, and Donald Ray Surrett Jr., 66, before apparently turning the gun on himself.
More than 100 shell casings have been recovered from the Safeway, the apartment complex and the shopping center parking lot, police said Tuesday, and investigators have not yet completed their search.
The suspect had an AR-15 rifle and two shotguns, all three of which he legally purchased himself, police said. No other weapons have been found.
Investigators also found 25 shotgun shells each in his apartment and truck, along with 150 rounds of 5.56 ammunition in the truck. The suspect had four 30-round magazines of ammunition for the AR-15 on him when he died, police said.
Police also confirmed the suspect worked at Safeway "for a short time," although the news release does not specify if he was still actively employed there.
Police previously said that Surrett was shot and killed while trying to disarm the shooter, and likely prevented further violence through his actions.
In the Tuesday news release, police said surveillance video shows that Surrett heard the gunshots and had time to flee, but instead moved a produce cart into position and hid behind it, then attacked the suspect with a produce knife when he was looking the other way.
The video also shows two community members re-entering the store to pull the injured Bennett out of the building. A previous news release said Bennett was treated at the scene and then transported to a hospital, but did not survive his injuries.
Law enforcement remained on scene at Safeway as of Tuesday evening, police said, but the investigation is expected to become limited to the store itself, allowing the parking lot to reopen.
A GoFundMe page was set up in Surrett's memory, and more than $50,000 has been donated so far. From fellow Safe Way employees around the country, to Bend residents, donations are pouring in. One post reads "such a tragedy... we enjoyed seeing his smile whenever we shopped and he was there. Shopping there will never be the same." Here is a link to the page. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/central-oregon/bend-safeway-shooter-obtained-firearms-legally/283-1c9005b3-a905-4fab-b180-b5d04a06aed4 | 2022-08-31T05:41:52 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/central-oregon/bend-safeway-shooter-obtained-firearms-legally/283-1c9005b3-a905-4fab-b180-b5d04a06aed4 |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Piece by piece and needle by needle, a group of volunteers work to pick up what’s left over from homeless camps in Southwest Portland.
"Get all the dirty needles and stuff off the streets," said Zoey Davis, a volunteer with We Heart Portland, a non-profit group that started in Seattle two years ago and has now expanded to clean Portland’s streets as well.
Davis was recently homeless, but is now in transitional housing thanks to the help she got from volunteers with the program.
"I stayed right over there," she said, pointed to the intersection of Southwest 15th Avenue and Burnside. "I had two houses over there. I had tents and other places around the community. It was cold in the winter and lots of dangerous activity."
Volunteer Patrick Burnite, who helped Davis get off the streets and into safe housing, said she wanted to come do the same for other homeless people, and she's helped the group to approach others.
"She comes out and does stuff like this and she’s trying to integrate herself back into society again," he said. "One day she said, 'OK, I’m ready to get out of here. I’m so done with this.'"
Davis is one of more than 150 people the non-profit has helped get off the streets since it started. The group has also cleaned up more than 700,000 pounds of trash and 20,000 needles.
"Everybody can have a hand in helping support somebody languishing on the streets," said founder Andrea Suarez. The non-profit now has hundreds of registered volunteers.
"I knew I could bend over and pick up trash and needles and put it into a trash bag. I knew I could take that action what I didn’t know is that I could also be a part of the solution to help our unhoused neighbors," she said.
"It gives them hope, someone to talk too," added Burnite.
That's a hope that people like Davis now give right back to the streets she once lived on.
"So the people around the community can be nice and safe," she said. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/we-heart-portland-works-pick-up-trash-get-homeless-residents-housing/283-31f4a002-5cb0-4ccf-b1c7-5502031b17d4 | 2022-08-31T05:41:58 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/we-heart-portland-works-pick-up-trash-get-homeless-residents-housing/283-31f4a002-5cb0-4ccf-b1c7-5502031b17d4 |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Thousands of Portland Public Schools students headed back to school on Tuesday, a day when temperatures hit 100 degrees, and more hot weather is on the way this week.
Most of the district's buildings are several decades old, and they don't have central air conditioning. That has some parents wondering, how does the district plan on handling the heat?
In an email to parents, PPS said the plan is to run every school's ventilation system between midnight and 6 a.m., when the weather is cooler, to circulate as much cold air as possible.
In the morning, custodial staff will open all "operable" windows where and when it's safe, and all HVAC and other portable cooling units will be running to continue to circulate cool air.
"We recognize the majority of our buildings are over 80 years old and do not have central air conditioning," the district wrote. "We ask for your patience and understanding as our community continues to cope with the impacts of climate change and this week's predicted heat."
PPS said there will be plenty of access to water, and water coolers will be brought to schools if deemed necessary.
The district said it's keeping a close eye on the forecast to potentially modify any school activities to limit the impacts of the heat.
For the latest weather forecast for the Portland metro area and Willamette Valley, click here. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-story/portland-schools-heat-plan/283-9b70e4e9-4cac-4163-a47c-0da2d7e141ae | 2022-08-31T05:42:04 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-story/portland-schools-heat-plan/283-9b70e4e9-4cac-4163-a47c-0da2d7e141ae |
MERLIN, Ore. — The fast-moving Rum Creek Fire, which started two weeks ago, had burned as much as 18 square miles (47 square kilometers) by Tuesday morning in a largely remote rural area in southern Oregon, according to fire officials.
On Tuesday night, fire officials held a meeting for the Rum Creek Fire to inform the community on what the fire is doing. The community heard from firefighters and law enforcement as they explained their efforts to control the spread of the fire.
Predicted hot temperatures was a main topic as the area has been lacking in moisture, according to officials.
"Since this fire started, we've seen fairly persistent hot, dry weather," said Dean Warner, a fire behavior analyst with Oregon Department of Forestry.
Temperatures are predicted to be high for the following days before moderating toward the end of the week, according to ODF.
Firefighters have continuously worked on containment lines around the fire to stabilize it and avoid it from coming downhill. About 1,300 firefighters are currently helping fight the fire, with additional firefighters coming in.
There has been tremendous amount of progress in the last 48 hours, according to operation chiefs.
"I will throw every piece of equipment we have and the ones we have waiting to protect your structures," said Scott Majors with the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office.
Evacuations are still in place in several unincorporated communities along the Rogue River. An additional small area south of the fire was labeled as a Level 1 "Be Ready" evacuation notice.
Various sections of the river are closed to recreation by federal officials because of the fire.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency Saturday as the fire quadrupled in size overnight. The emergency act allowed the state fire marshal to take command of suppression efforts.
The fire, which was started by lightning on Aug. 17, has destroyed several structures and resulted in the death Logan Taylor, a 25-year-old firefighter from Talent, Ore., after he was struck by a tree the next day. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/rum-creek-fire-southern-oregon-intensifies-updates/283-dff7b162-1731-4a8f-9580-43ee5ac53980 | 2022-08-31T05:42:10 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/rum-creek-fire-southern-oregon-intensifies-updates/283-dff7b162-1731-4a8f-9580-43ee5ac53980 |
Five educators from Midland Christian School have sued the City of Midland, the Midland Police Department and Detective Jennie Alonzo, following the grand jury’s decision to not indict in May.
The five had been charged in mid-February with failure to report a sexual assault with intent to conceal or abuse. The case is Jared Lee et al. v. City of Midland et al in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The five plaintiffs are former superintendent Jared Lee, former Principal Dana Ellis, former Assistant Principal Matthew Counts, former Athletic Director Greg McClendon and former head baseball coach Barry Russell.
The lawsuit states the defendants’ actions, both jointly and severally, deprived plaintiffs of their protected rights under the United States Constitution, federal law, and Texas state law.
Those include:
- False arrest in violation of fourth and 14th Amendments – that the plaintiffs had the right under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be secure in their persons, homes and property against unreasonable seizure and to not have a warrant issued for their arrests without probable cause. Also, the 14th Amendment also protects against the deprivation of liberty without due process of law.
- Initiation of criminal charges without probable cause and for an improper purpose in violation of Fourth and 14th Amendments.
Other counts covered supervisory liability, municipal liability, state law cause of action: false arrest and false imprisonment and finally malicious prosecution.
“This was one of the most egregious cases of irresponsible police action I’ve seen in decades of practicing law,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney Rusty Hardin in the press release. “This detective personally decided that these educational professionals were guilty, despite a complete lack of credible evidence and impeccable reputations. She then embarked on a course of conduct designed to ruin their careers.”
The lawsuit states that as a “proximate result of defendants’ actions, plaintiffs have suffered the deprivation of liberty, reputational harm, public humiliation, distress, pain, and suffering for which they are entitled to compensatory damages, including damages for mental and emotional distress.
“Additionally, defendants Alonzo, Rosemary Sharp, and Camilio Fonseca acted with malice and with intentional disregard for plaintiffs’ constitutional rights for which plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages. Such damages would assist in deterring and preventing similar conduct in the future.
In a press release, Hardin’s legal team states that the locker room incident – at the center of the alleged abuse -- happened in January 2022, when a “sophomore player poked a freshman player on the buttocks – over his clothes – with a bat. By the time the story reached the police department a week and a half later, the details had been embellished to the point that there was a claim the freshman had been sexually assaulted.”
The lawsuit, according to the press release, says at no time did any school official have reasonable cause to believe the freshman had been sexually assaulted. The freshman himself denied repeatedly that it was anything more than roughhousing in the locker room. When they were asked, all of the students involved gave the same version of the events, the release added.
“What happened here is that Midland Police had tunnel vision. They heard a false, unreliable report from a parent based on schoolhouse gossip and went with it,” Hardin said in the release.
The lawsuit accuses investigators of carrying out a false, biased and vindictive campaign against the plaintiffs, including arresting the five on school grounds and then “perp-walking” them in front of news cameras that the police arranged to be present, the press release stated.
The filing also accuses Alonzo of swearing to information she knew to be false in an arrest warrant affidavit, most seriously that the school knew of a sexual assault and failed to report it—which was not true.
Rusty Hardin is a prominent attorney based in Houston. Among his recent clients was NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson. | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/Former-MCS-officials-file-civil-rights-lawsuit-17408513.php | 2022-08-31T05:50:13 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/Former-MCS-officials-file-civil-rights-lawsuit-17408513.php |
Already a global energy powerhouse, the Permian Basin is proving to be an economic powerhouse as well.
A new economic impact report issued Tuesday by the Permian Strategic Partnership and The Perryman Group details the impact of a region that holds just 1.6% of the Texas population but provides 7.8% of the state’s private sector gross domestic product.
By 2050, the report finds, the Permian Basin’s national economic impact could range from $173 billion to $260 billion in US gross domestic product and from 738,580 to 1,030,935 jobs.
“It is both a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this important effort,” Economist Ray Perryman told the Reporter-Telegram by email about the project. “The Permian Basin is a key to the energy future of the world and will play a vital role in improving the lives and economic prospects of people around the globe. It is also a huge engine of business expansion and growth.”
He commended the partnership for its work detailing the region’s importance and in investing in and attracting investment in infrastructure the Permian Basin needs to grow and fulfill its potential as an economic engine.
“PSP is helping communicate this critical message across a broad spectrum and promoting the initiatives needed to assure the region realizes its full potential,” Perryman continued.
For example, the report found an additional $1 billion invested in Permian Basin road infrastructure would result in:
- 4,500 fewer fatalities and injuries
- 2.1 million fewer hours in traffic delays
- $1.5 billion in economic benefits from increased safety and fewer delays.
“The PSP is committed to providing current data about not only the Permian Basin’s impact on the Texas economy but also on the strategic role of our region in an ever-evolving geopolitical landscape,” said Tracee Bentley, president and CEO of the PSP in a statement. “Texas leaders have a historic opportunity to invest in the future of our state and country and keep energy abundant by investing in Permian Basin infrastructure.”
According to the new report, the Permian is currently responsible for:
- $11.8 billion in 2021 Texas tax collections
- 508,800 industry jobs in Texas
- $1.9 billion in 2022 mineral revenue contributions to the Texas Public University Fund.
- $3.58 billion to the Texas State Highway Fund in 2023e and $3.58 billion to the Texas Rainy-Day Fund in 2023; the highest amount ever recorded.
The New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin holds 6.3% of the state’s population but contributes up to 21.3% of the state’s gross domestic product.
It is currently responsible for:
- 110,900 jobs in New Mexico
- $3.8 billion in 2021 New Mexico tax collections | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/New-report-highlights-Permian-s-growth-as-17408552.php | 2022-08-31T05:50:19 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/New-report-highlights-Permian-s-growth-as-17408552.php |
The former Midland Christian officials involved in the lawsuit against the City of Midland and members of the Midland Police Department are seeking compensatory and punitive damages along with attorney fees and other costs.
The lawsuit states that as a “proximate result of defendants’ actions, plaintiffs have suffered the deprivation of liberty, reputational harm, public humiliation, distress, pain, and suffering for which they are entitled to compensatory damages, including damages for mental and emotional distress.”
It also states that “Additionally, defendants (Jennie) Alonzo, (Rosemary) Sharp, and (Camilio) Fonseca acted with malice and with intentional disregard for plaintiffs’ constitutional rights for which plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages. Such damages would assist in deterring and preventing similar conduct in the future.
The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Midland-Odessa Division, states the plaintiffs demand a jury trial. | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/What-the-former-MCS-officials-seek-17408529.php | 2022-08-31T05:50:25 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/What-the-former-MCS-officials-seek-17408529.php |
INDIANAPOLIS — An early morning shooting left one person critically injured early Wednesday morning.
Indianapolis Police said the incident happened in the 1400 block of Prospect Street, which is just east of Shelby Street.
Few details were immediately available, but a police department spokesperson said officers received a report of a shooting around 12:30 a.m. They found a person with an apparent gunshot wound.
The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
We're still working to learn whether IMPD has a suspect in the case, or if a motive for the shooting has been determined.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as new details become available.
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- You must be 21 to buy a can of whipped cream in New York | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/1-person-critical-after-prospect-street-shooting-impd-gun-violence/531-a043aff5-526b-424d-86b4-447f41fd41c5 | 2022-08-31T06:04:15 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/1-person-critical-after-prospect-street-shooting-impd-gun-violence/531-a043aff5-526b-424d-86b4-447f41fd41c5 |
NAMPA — As one of the Treasure Valley’s rapidly growing population centers, Nampa is working to define how it will look going forward — especially its downtown. As part of the city’s process for developing a new 10-year strategic plan, a number of groups met Monday to try to shape that longterm vision.
Meeting participants discussed whether the vision statement for the area adequately represents their ideal downtown, and a significant portion of the meeting centered on discussing each group’s responsibility for implementing the vision.
Meeting participants included representatives from the Nampa City Council, Downtown Nampa Community Association, the city’s Business Improvement District, and the city’s planning and zoning commission.
“This is an unprecedented meeting,” said Krista Gaona-Cortez, who works with the city’s economic development department. “We’ve never had all of these commissions and the city council in the same room at one time.”
Looking to the futureDiane and Phil Kushlan of Kushlan Associates, a Treasure Valley firm that provides planning services for local governments and nonprofits, are guiding the city’s strategic planning process.
Diane Kushlan presented a vision statement for the Downtown Nampa Action Plan that was generated with input from meeting participants, which read, “Downtown Nampa: A family-friendly and attractive destination for dining, commerce, entertainment, history, recreation, and the arts.”
The main statement was followed by bullets that read, “a gathering place for enrichment and celebration that is readily connected to the entire city,” “a cherished place of history that is the soul of the City of Nampa,” and, “a future transportation hub and residential neighborhood.”
When she asked participants to vote on their phones and rate the statement on a scale of “a strike” to “a home run,” 73% of participants said “it’s in the ballpark,” 15% said it was “a bunt in the infield,” and only 12% said it was “a home run.”
Councilman Victor Rodriguez said he felt the statement was just a bunt, noting that in the past 30 years “nothing has changed,” except for some good businesses coming in. He also said there is a disconnect because the city is not the only authority that manages what happens downtown.
“But I’m thinking if we have more meetings like we’re having today, the same vision would result in a positive issue or result,” he said.
Diane Kushlan also presented some suggestions for improving the downtown based on feedback she and Phil Kushlan had received, including increasing housing downtown, accessibility for non-motorized forms of travel, restoring historic buildings, such as the Pix theater, and celebrating the heritage they represent, and improving funding for the city’s main street program.
When asked to rate the suggestions on the same baseball scale, 52% of respondents said they were, “in the ballpark,” 29% said “a bunt to the infield,” and 19% said they were “a home run.” No participant volunteered to discuss their choice with the group.
Downtown entities respond
Honey Goodman, a manager for the nonprofit Downtown Nampa Community Association, presented some proposed changes to the vision statement from the association as well as the Business Improvement District, so that it read, “Downtown Nampa: A vibrant and attractive destination for dining, shopping, entertaining, business, history, and the arts. A gathering place for our community that celebrates our heritage and builds for the future.”
One change to the statement was taking out wording “family-friendly” because it means many things to different people, and can be politically charged, Goodman said.
Matthew Lind, board president of Nampa’s Business Improvement District, pointed to Caldwell’s Indian Creek Plaza as a prime example of why not to include the words “family-friendly.”
The area is thought of as family-friendly, yet there are still opportunities to buy alcohol there, he said.
The word “recreation” was also taken out because they did not feel it applied to the downtown area, Goodman said. Similarly, the group would remove the “future transportation hub” bullet.
“Because Nampa is so sprawled out, we cannot see how a transportation hub will fit into Downtown Nampa,” Goodman’s slide read.
The association also commented on edits to each section of the proposed improvements to downtown, adjusting wording to reflect their role, or lack thereof, in such improvements. For example, the association would support city efforts to increase housing in downtown, but the association would not play a large role in achieving that goal, Goodman said.
Taking action
Meeting participants and facilitators seemed to agree that despite the overlapping entities that oversee and guide happenings downtown, the Downtown Nampa Association should be the entity that champions the downtown vision.
“Having too many chiefs doesn’t work,” said Nampa City Councilman Dale Reynolds. “So I think letting the DNCA run with it, and then tell us what you need from the city. And if somebody doesn’t try something, it’ll never happen.”
Diane Kushlan said it will take all entities working together to make the vision a reality.
“You are the point group,” she said to the association representatives, “but you certainly can’t meet your objectives without the support and coordination and communication of all of those other groups.”
Marie Baker, an executive board member of the downtown association, agreed.
“The DNCA … can be the caster and champion, but it’s certainly going to take every organization in this room to make that happen,” Baker said. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/nampa-leaders-grapple-with-vision-for-downtown/article_d6264b20-28ad-11ed-a5fb-9fcdbdf2ee4f.html | 2022-08-31T06:14:25 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/nampa-leaders-grapple-with-vision-for-downtown/article_d6264b20-28ad-11ed-a5fb-9fcdbdf2ee4f.html |
Two women died in a house fire that tore through a New Jersey home, and now investigators are looking into how the flames may have started.
The now-gutted house at the top of a hill along Hamburg Turnpike in Bloomingdale went up in smoke after a huge fire around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to officials. The neighbors who live next door called 911 as the flames erupted.
"Flames were coming out of the back of the house, shooting up in the air. And then within another 10 minutes, flames were coming out the front of the house," said Elaine Bush, who lives in the home next door with her husband.
First responders closed down the turnpike as they hosed down the home, in an effort to contain the fire. Fire trucks from surrounding areas like Butler and Wayne also provided assistance in battling the inferno. One neighbor said that within 20 minutes, the fire was "50 feet wide and as tall as the trees."
The fire was brought under control within a couple hours. While the house is still standing, it was almost entirely destroyed, with two women later confirmed to have died in the blaze. Their identities have not yet been released.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/two-women-die-after-fire-rips-through-home-in-bloomingdale-new-jersey/3845364/ | 2022-08-31T06:39:59 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/two-women-die-after-fire-rips-through-home-in-bloomingdale-new-jersey/3845364/ |
New video shows a group of women that police said attacked a rideshare driver in the Bronx, pepper-spraying and punching him inside the vehicle.
The alleged incident occurred back on July 8 just before 5 a.m., near the corner of East 158th Street and Melrose Avenue in the Melrose section. According to police, the driver told the group of women that there were too many of them in the car, and that they would have to take another vehicle.
Investigators said that was when the women went after the 23-year-old driver, using the pepper-spray during the incident. They also took his cellphone before getting out of the car.
The driver is expected to recover.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/video-shows-driver-get-pepper-sprayed-punched-by-group-of-women-in-bronx-police/3845345/ | 2022-08-31T06:40:05 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/video-shows-driver-get-pepper-sprayed-punched-by-group-of-women-in-bronx-police/3845345/ |
Aug. 29, 1932—Aug. 18, 2022
RUPERT — Franziska Marianne “Frances” DalSoglio, an 89-year-old resident of Rupert, passed away Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, at Autumn Haven Assisted Living in Rupert.
Frances wrote her own obituary and it is as follows:
I was born Aug. 29, 1932, in the small town of Kolleschowitz, Sudentenland (now the Czech Republic). I came into the world and was welcomed by two wonderful parents, Adolf and Franziska Miller Semm. I have fond memories of my sister, Erika and brother, Adolf. We all had a happy life in Kolleschowitz, where we lived on a farm until the end of the Second World War. Shortly after, we moved to Germany.
I met LeRoy DalSoglio, my husband of 68 years, in 1953, while he was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, with the United States Army. We were married on Feb. 13, 1954, followed by the move to my new home in Rupert, Idaho.
Roy and I were blessed with four children whom I dearly love; Dale (Dorily) DalSoglio and Joe (Barb) DalSoglio both of Boise, Mike (Julie) DalSoglio of Helena, MT, and Sandra (Karl) Clayville of Rupert. Then came my wonderful grandchildren, Sara, Joey, Kristi, Tom, Heidi, Kyle, Lisa, Hannah, Brad, Curtis, and Greg, and our dear great-grandchildren.
While working at Minidoka County Schools as a cook for more than 30 years, my heart was touched by so many children that blessed me beyond my retirement years.
In addition to my children and grandchildren, I am survived by my loving husband, Leroy. I have gone to a better place to be with my Lord and Savior, and to live with my parents, parents-in-law, brother, sister, three nephews, and a grandson, Shane.
Flowers are pretty, but if you prefer or like, give to the living.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 26, 2022 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, located at 802 F St., in Rupert. The recitation of the rosary will precede the Mass beginning at 10:15 a.m. Burial will follow at Rupert Cemetery under the care of Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home of Burley.
A webcast will be available and maintained at rasmussenwilson.com. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/franiska-marianne-frances-dalsoglio/article_bacc1dde-86bb-5b3c-99b0-7975db73be0d.html | 2022-08-31T06:51:46 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/franiska-marianne-frances-dalsoglio/article_bacc1dde-86bb-5b3c-99b0-7975db73be0d.html |
March 21, 1941—Aug. 19, 2022
TWIN FALLS—George Ramon Baker passed away on August 19, 2022, in Twin Falls, Idaho, at age 81. He was a father, grandfather, brother, and friend.
He was born to Elmer John Baker and Melinda Bell (Frayer) Baker on March 21, 1941, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He was the sixth of ten children; Rosetta, Jessey, Marylee, Harvey, Betty, James (stillborn), Ethel, Olen, and Martha.
George was proud of his military service in the United States Army. He enlisted in the Army in 1960 and returned from overseas in 1962. He was especially proud when his grandchildren and son decided to serve their country as well. Granddaughter Kristina (Sibbett) Berry enlisted in 2003, and grandson Michael Sibbett enlisted in 2005, both in the United States Air Force. His son, Kelly, enlisted in the Idaho National Guard in 2006.
Dad held many jobs, from driving spud trucks to working at Del Monte to landing his final position at the City of Heyburn, from which he retired. He was an animal control officer. At the time of his retirement, he worked street duties with his friend, Ansen Park. You could always hear some ribbing and laughter surrounding the two friends.
His favorite pastime was going to Jackpot on Saturday nights and coming home mid-morning on Sundays. He made many friends along the way, especially at the blackjack tables. He loved fishing, camping, family barbecues, and his birthday.
He married Jean Tanfield, to which two children were born: David and Carol. They were later divorced. He married his second wife, K. Wilma McBride in 1965, to which five children were born: Debra, George, Jr., Donald, Ronald, and Duane. They were later divorced. He then married Debra Homer in 1985, to which Kelly was born. They were later divorced.
George is survived by his children: Debra (Jim) Sibbett and Kelly (Lana) Baker, both from Heyburn, David L. Baker of Twin Falls, Carol J. Baker Luna, of Newport, OR, George (Coreena) Baker, and Duane (Kathleen) Baker, both of Burley, Ronald Baker of Boise; his siblings: Olen (Janie) Baker of Belton, TX and Marylee Baker Johnson of Rogers, AR; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. George is also survived by many loving grandchildren including: Barry McCray (Alyssa Morgan) of Heyburn, Kristina (Tyler) Berry and Michael (Kayla) Sibbett, both of Las Vegas, NV, Sara, Kari, Bryan, and Amber Baker, all of Burley, Athena, Laila, Harlie, and Brantley Baker, of Heyburn, Jessica (Matt) Thrall and Tiffany Baker, both of Twin Falls, and Paulina Bowers of Yelm, WA. Many loving great-grandchildren will miss George: Dakota, Jayden, Ashlyn, Kaia, Masyn, Ariah, Nixxon, and Zander McCray, Wyatt and Easton Berry, Addalyn and Thomas Sibbett, Oakley and Asher Thrall, and Isaiah Burton.
George is preceded in death by his son, Donald Baker, parents Elmer John and Bell Baker, siblings; Rosetta (Cleo) Evans, Jessey (Leveta) Baker, Harvey (Betty) Baker, Betty (Arliss) Horton, James Baker (stillborn), Ethel Baker, Martha Baker Wilson. Nieces; Shirley Beaver, Roxanne Shope, Rosanna Obregon, ex-wives; Jean Tanfield and K. Wilma Baker.
The family would like to thank Harrison Hospice for caring for our loved one at Serenity Transitions.
A Celebration of George’s Life was held at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, August 28, 2022 at Morrison Funeral Home, 188 South Hwy 24 in Rupert. Military Honors followed the service at the Funeral Home. A viewing was held Saturday, August 27, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Morrison Funeral Home and from 10:00 until 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning prior to the services. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/george-ramon-baker/article_c5f28842-7796-55e1-a380-5657ce6ddcf9.html | 2022-08-31T06:51:52 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/george-ramon-baker/article_c5f28842-7796-55e1-a380-5657ce6ddcf9.html |
June 4, 1941—Aug. 15, 2022
RUPERT — Joseph Fowler, 81, of Rupert passed away Monday, August 15, 2022. I was born June 4, 1941 in Oakley, Idaho, the oldest of four children of Joseph Clinton Fowler and Alta (Anderson) Fowler Clark. I grew up in Rupert and was a 1959 graduate of Minico High School.
Following graduation I joined the U.S. Marine Corps. I excelled in Boot Camp, shooting high expert of the rifle range and was meritoriously promoted at its completion. Following military service I spent 4 years as a firefighter in California with the Division of Forestry. It tried a number of vocations over the years but enjoyed my 12-years as Sports Editor/Photographer for newspapers in Idaho and Alaska the most.
I also spent 3 years as Office Manager on Alaska’s North Slope during construction of the oil pipeline from 1974-77. My final 20 years of employment was spent as a retail automotive salesperson in the Mini-Cassia area before retiring. I enjoyed all aspects of the outdoors including hunting/fishing and just “seeing what I could see”. Living in Alaska I enjoyed moose hunting and fishing for “the big ones”. The outdoors served as my aspirin in life’s headaches. I loved animals and was able to earn the trust of most. For many, their survival depended on me. At one time or another I raised coyotes, hawks, deer, gamebirds, a raccoon, and several squirrels to name but few. I was however partial to domestic dog buddies Valley, Chico, and Linus. I took pride in my yard and the many flowers and pulling weeds with my love and companion Dolores.
I enjoyed simple things in life and just “being”. Taking long drives with Dolores, pulling weeds, and hauling rock from the mountains to enhance our yard. Perhaps the most unique experience I had was my involvement as newspaperman in the now famous Alaskan Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. A l,000-mile camping trip!! I was one of two writers to “cover” the running of the first two races in 1973-74. Flying in a bush plane I reported on all aspects of the unique races for three weeks “out on the trail”.
In 1970 I became a father when my daughter Stacey was born to my marriage. In 1993 I married my companion, best friend, and fishing partner Dolores (Davila) Fowler. With her came three grown stepsons John, Joel, and Jeremiah Baker. A fine catch for me!! I will miss this great lady who was a source of strength and happiness for me as we shared the adventures of life together.
I’lll be waiting “Lady” fishing pole in hand in the big fishing hole in the sky!! I was a lifelong member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Rupert.
I was preceded in death by my parents, a stepfather Harlan Clark, and a sister, Diane Sells. I am survived by my wife Dolores, my children John, Joel, Jeremiah, and Stacey and seven grandchildren.
A Gathering and Recitation of the Rosary will be held from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Rupert. The Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. also on Tuesday at the church. Urn burial will take place at the Rupert Cemetery following the Memorial Mass. Service arrangements are under the direction of Joel Heward Hansen Mortuary. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/joseph-fowler/article_2778de13-b8cf-5cdb-a27d-2422de43b452.html | 2022-08-31T06:51:58 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/joseph-fowler/article_2778de13-b8cf-5cdb-a27d-2422de43b452.html |
March 4, 1951 - Aug. 29, 2022
BUHL — Kurtland Perkins Matkin, 71, passed away Aug. 29, 2022 at the Evergreen Assisted Living in Buhl, Idaho. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at webbmortuary.com.
March 4, 1951 - Aug. 29, 2022
BUHL — Kurtland Perkins Matkin, 71, passed away Aug. 29, 2022 at the Evergreen Assisted Living in Buhl, Idaho. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at webbmortuary.com.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/kurtland-perkins-matkin/article_991ab4bb-a06e-53b7-9bd5-81c364448245.html | 2022-08-31T06:52:04 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/kurtland-perkins-matkin/article_991ab4bb-a06e-53b7-9bd5-81c364448245.html |
March 14, 2017- August 25, 2022
Squeak came into the world fast and furious on March 14, 2017. Born with a club foot, he had weekly castings for 8 weeks. Shortly after the castings were done on May 15, 2017, he was diagnosed with a rare fatal genetic disorder Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome.
After the initial shock of the diagnosis, we determined that we were going to choose JOY and give him the best life possible. He was able to eat on his own for 18 months which is a huge victory for Menkes boys. In November of 2018 after a rough aspiration pneumonia the decision to have a feeding tube was made. That decision bought us almost 4 years of hospital free life!!
The time that we were hospitalized was also the same time we were supposed to be on a family vacation to Disneyland. The wonderful staff at St Luke’s Magic Valley Women’s and Children’s Unit put together the best Disney party for our family! One of our fondest memories.
In February 2019 we went as a family to Disneyland. The memories will last us a lifetime. Squeak enjoyed many outings, his most favorite were summer nights spent swimming at Nat Soo Pah! He loved going on walks, spending time at the park and was always up for a road trip.
His favorite part of the day was when he could have his bath, the bubble tub mat was his favorite, and he always knew when it was time for a bath. His smile was always so big in the tub!
Anything he could do with his sister put a smile on his face. Their bond was indescribable and irreplaceable. One of her favorite memories was taking him to school for show and tell.
November 2021 was another special trip to Disneyland for Christmas. He loved it as much as his mama! The trip of a lifetime happened this past summer, meeting another Menkes family at the Oregon coast. The memories from this trip will last a lifetime and will be forever cherished.
Our sweet boy left this world as quick as he came. His wings were ready, but our hearts were not.
Squeak never could talk but he communicated with us thru his little “words, yelling” and those bright blue beautiful eyes.
He is survived by his parents, Collin and Jessica Armstrong, Biggest supporter, cheerleader, and most important—sister, Sadie, grandparents Dave and Joyce Scott, Christy and Stewart Mabey, and Clare and Rosa Armstrong, along with so many amazing friends and family.
The family would like to send our heartfelt thank you to Dr. Greg Jones, Dr. Fran Filloux, his nurses Lori, Virginia, Chandra, Julie, and Megan. As well as his physical therapist Mara.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, September 2, 2022, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3850 N. 3500 E. in Kimberly with a viewing from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Thursday, September 1, 2022 at White-Reynolds Funeral Chapel, 2466 Addison Ave E. in Twin Falls and from 1:00-1:45 p.m. at the church prior to the funeral. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park in Twin Falls.
Condolences may be left by visiting www.whitereynoldschapel.com. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/ridge-collin-armstrong-aka-squeak/article_0345da15-5573-5c0a-9f79-c9860c944c7f.html | 2022-08-31T06:52:11 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/ridge-collin-armstrong-aka-squeak/article_0345da15-5573-5c0a-9f79-c9860c944c7f.html |
Oct. 4, 1938—Aug. 24, 2022
JEROME — Ted Williamson, 83, of Jerome passed away peacefully on August 24, 2022, at his home after a long battle with COPD.
Born in Bottineau, North Dakota on Oct. 4, 1938, he was the son of the late Lauritz “Lewis” and Gina (Haugo) Williamson.
Ted had a quick-witted sense of humor and was no stranger to hard work. As a tween he was astute at fur trapping, year-round, in North Dakota to help his family. His jokes and pranks were fostered as a youngster.
He later lived on and worked a neighboring ranch. Ted joined the US Army and served a tour of duty in Korea.
He married and settled in Jerome in the mid ‘60s adding two sons to his family.
Ted learned the construction trades at Peter Kiewit and
Son’s Construction, Mining and Engineering Company. He divorced and later married Gloria Gay Williamson, settling in Wendell in 1974. With this union came her five children, ages 2-10, with his jokes and pranks almost a daily event in the new Williamson household.
He owned a successful business: Williamson Drilling and Blasting. In the mid 80’s, work took the family out
of Idaho for a number of years.
Ted was a proud member of the Teamster Union for the majority of his career.
He and Gay finally returned as empty nesters and settled in Jerome. Gay suffered a debilitating stroke after which Ted was her primary caregiver for a number of years. After her passing, he finally retired fully and spent his time with family.
Ted is sadly missed by his children: Tracy (Mitzy) Williamson of Wasilla, AK, Brian Williamson of Kennewick, WA, Tina (S. Michael) Karratti of Valley Springs, CA,
Roger Old Mouse of Busby, MT, Varmit (Gordon Greenfield) Burgess of Wendell, Stacy (Jeff) Martin of Roseville, CA and Lisa (Matt) Wareham of Waterville, WA. He was grandfather to: Ashley Jackson, Jamie Ransier, Terrance One Bear, Tynel Old Mouse, Ashli Davis, Amber Burgess, Derek Trowbridge, Kayla Larimore, Katie and Kaylani Martin and Olivia Wareham. He was great-grandfather to: Emma, Savannah, Rory, Ayaniv, Daniv, Arthur, Tynel, Cameron, Allie, Callie, R.J., Dalton, Vincent, Beau and Blaize.
He is survived by his brother Dan Williamson of Wendell; his nieces: Sheryl (Greg) Reyment of Mountain Home, Dani (Kevin) Hosack of Firth; and nephew Jim (Wendy) Williamson of Twin Falls.
Ted was predeceased by his brothers Leo Williamson and Junior Cox and sister-in-law Bonnie J. Williamson.
Viewing begins at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 with a service to follow at 11 a.m. at Demaray’s Jerome Memorial Chapel, 629 E. 3rd St., Jerome. Directly after the service, we will proceed to the Wendell Cemetery, 581 W. Main St., Wendell for Military Honors and interment. A Celebration of Life Luncheon will follow at the American Legion Hall across from the Cemetery at 45 N. Hagerman St., Wendell. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/theodore-gordon-williamson/article_5834b0d7-b64a-5a17-812d-3710dda2fc90.html | 2022-08-31T06:52:17 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/theodore-gordon-williamson/article_5834b0d7-b64a-5a17-812d-3710dda2fc90.html |
Dec. 6, 1930—Aug. 20, 2022
BURLEY — Theresa N. Rodriguez, 91, of Burley went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, August 20, 2022. Theresa was born in Los Angeles, CA on December 6, 1930 to the union of Antonio and Teresa Martinez.
Theresa is preceded by her husband Pastor Meliton Rodriguez, three brothers: Thomas, Miguel, Milton Martinez and a great-grandson, Giovanni Allen Munilla.
Theresa is survived by her children: Esther (Ernesto) Cardenas, Rebecca (John) Rodriguez, Andrew (Linda) Rodriguez, Deborah Rodriguez Shunk, and Sarah (Amos) Lopez. She is survived by her sisters: Rose Kinnart, and Rachel (Larry) Tamez; her brothers: Ruben Martinez, Sedro Martinez; and numerous grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m. Friday, September 2, 2022 at Hansen Mortuary. Viewing for family and friends will be held 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Puerta Al Cielo, 601 Elba Ave., Burley, Idaho. Services will conclude with burial at Riverside Cemetery under the direction of Joel Heward Hansen Mortuary. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/theresa-n-rodriguez/article_0114081d-061f-5849-b7e5-c45669a271e3.html | 2022-08-31T06:52:23 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/theresa-n-rodriguez/article_0114081d-061f-5849-b7e5-c45669a271e3.html |
CALIFORNIA, USA — California would be the first U.S. state to ban solitary confinement in private civil detention centers used for immigrants who are under threat of deportation, under a bill that advanced Tuesday.
But the measure carries a huge projected price tag by also including the state's prisons and jails, though supporters contest the cost estimates and say it could actually save money.
The most populous state would be the latest to restrict segregated confinement in prisons and jails, following in the footsteps of other states including Colorado and New York. A Yale Law School study last week estimated that at least 41,000 prisoners in the United States were held in isolation last year, half as many as in 2014.
The measures in other states did not cover immigration detention facilities.
California's proposal would bar solo confinement for more than 15 consecutive days or more than 45 days in a six-month period. It would ban it entirely for pregnant women, people with mental or physical disabilities, or if they are age 25 and younger or 60 and older.
Even while in segregation, facilities would be required to let people out of their cells for at least four hours a day for programs, not including time spent on housekeeping or a job.
The Senate approved the bill Monday, 23-12, and the Assembly sent it to Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday on a 41-16 vote.
Democratic Assemblyman Chris Holden patterned his bill on New York's law, but included private detention facilities, including those holding immigrants.
In California, more than 90% of immigrants facing potential deportation are held in for-profit detention facilities that would be affected by the bill, according to Immigrant Defense Advocates, one of the bill's co-sponsors.
Holden's office cited a lawsuit last year by a detainee who sued the for-profit operator of an immigration facility alleging that he was held in solitary for 15 months, and a 74-year-old Korean man who took his own life in 2020 after being held in solitary during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, his bill includes an exception for using isolation under certain circumstances to treat and protect against the spread of communicable disease.
California has for several years attempted to both regulate and outlaw privately operated centers in the state, though its attempt to ban them is being challenged in the courts.
Holden said his bill would align California with recommendations from both the National Commission on Correctional Health Care in 2016 and the United Nations General Assembly's ratification in 2015 of the Nelson Mandela Rules banning segregation longer than 15 days.
The California State Sheriffs' Association, whose members run the state's jails, said the bill's various restrictions would "practically eliminate any use of segregated confinement, including when such placement is necessary for the safety of the facility or individual inmates themselves."
The state corrections department calculated that complying would cost the state nearly $1.3 billion in one-time costs to expand exercise yards and programming space, and an additional $200 million a year for more correctional officers.
Holden's office by contrast says the bill could save the state $60 million to $300 million a year, citing a report from Immigrant Defense Advocates.
He contends that corrections officials could reuse existing space for education and job training as envisioned by his bill, instead of constructing costly new buildings to provide programs.
California already limited what once was widespread use of isolation wards in its state prisons under a 2015 legal settlement.
Before then, more than 1,500 inmates were often kept in solitary confinement, and more than 500 had been held in a special unit at notorious Pelican Bay State Prison for more than a decade. Attorneys representing inmates contend that corrections officials continue to violate that settlement, and a federal judge has kept the case open for continued oversight after finding the state was violating inmates' due process rights.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-solo-confinement-for-immigrants/103-591ca8dd-49ca-4dc2-aad7-033ed7ee189e | 2022-08-31T07:00:03 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-solo-confinement-for-immigrants/103-591ca8dd-49ca-4dc2-aad7-033ed7ee189e |
SAN DIEGO — The land that Jim Scala and his family have been ranching for three generations is parched and brown as far as he can see. The pond where his cattle used to drink is now a puddle, ringed with cracked mud.
In other years, water pumped from the Shasta River would have periodically flooded this land, keeping his pasture alive and pond full. But the state had ordered Scala and other ranchers and farmers in rural Siskiyou County to stop irrigating when the drought-plagued river dipped below a certain level.
With bills mounting from trucking in water and buying hay to replace dead pasture, and facing the prospect of selling half his herd, Scala and others made a decision to defy the state’s order.
“We said, ‘To hell with it,’” Scala said. “We’re starting the pumps.”
In a single day in mid-August, the Shasta River’s flows dropped by more than half and stayed there for a week, which could jeopardize the salmon and other fish that spawn there.
Klamath river tribes were outraged, and California water regulators sounded the alarm. The State Water Resources Control Board ordered the Shasta River Water Association, which serves roughly 110 farms and ranches in central Siskiyou County, to stop pumping. Fines would start at $500 per day but could rise to $10,000 after a 20-day waiting period or a hearing.
“The unlawful diversion sets a terrible precedent that irrigators can egregiously violate state water rights and impact listed and tribal trust species,” said Jim Simondet, Klamath branch chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division.
A week later, on Aug. 24, Scala and the other ranchers and growers turned the water pumps off.
“We accomplished what we set out to do,” said Rick Lemos, a fifth generation rancher who also is a board member of the rural water association. “We got relief for the cattle that were out of water and wading out in the mud and getting stuck.” He said one of his cows had died in the mud.
The weeklong standoff crystallized a warning from California water watchers: The state has limited power to speedily intervene in urgent conflicts over water, which are expected to flare across the state as drought squeezes water supplies for ranches, farms, tribes, cities and fish.
“This is about the Shasta and it’s about Klamath salmon and it’s about tribes in the Klamath. But this is really about: can the state protect its water supplies, or is it just going to be the Wild West? Is it going to be every cowboy for himself?” said Craig Tucker, a natural resources consultant for the Karuk Tribe, the second largest Native American tribe in California.
‘Farmers open the floodgates’
Scala is the president and Lemos sits on the board of the Shasta River Water Association, a private, non-profit water distributor that operates in the heart of Siskiyou County in the shadow of Mount Shasta.
In normal years, the water association pumps from the Shasta River from April to October, sending the water through a network of canals to irrigate roughly 3,400 acres.
The county, where locals have long chafed under Sacramento’s authority, was primed for simmering tensions over water to boil over.
“The dictatorial whims of (the) State Water Board has no authority to tell the people of Siskiyou county what to do with their property they own,” U.S. Congressman Doug LaMalfa, a Republican whose district includes the county, said in an emailed statement. “This violates our constitutional guarantee against unlawful seizure. I encourage anyone to stop ‘voluntarily complying’ with government looters.”
This has been the fourth driest year to date in a region where drought has been tightening its grip for years. Even in 2020, the local agricultural commissioner reported an increase in fallowed acres and limited irrigation that reduced yields. Wildfires have burned through rangeland and timber.
But agriculture, too, has taken its toll on water in the region — warming the Shasta River and degrading its water quality, according to the Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District.
These changes impact key spawning and rearing grounds for fall-run Chinook salmon and threatened Coho salmon. Other fish culturally important to tribes in the region, such as steelhead and Pacific lamprey, rely on the river as well.
Salmon runs have been declining for decades and few adult coho return every year, NOAA’s Simondet said. “Fish,” he said, “are not doing fine.”
The Shasta River empties into the larger Klamath — a small source of its flow but an outsized producer of its fish.
In Happy Camp along the Klamath River, about 75 miles east from the pumps that the ranchers turned on, Karuk Tribal Council Member Arron “Troy” Hockaday has been watching the river and its salmon populations change over his lifetime.
“(If) those fish are gone, our people suffer. Those fish don’t spawn, our people suffer. We live off that — it’s our culture,” said Hockaday, a fourth generation traditional fisherman.
Hockaday has been dipping handmade nets into the rapids at Somes Bar to catch salmon since he was a child, and worries that his grandson won’t be able to continue the tradition.
“There ain’t going to be no fish for him to fish. He’s never going to learn how to catch fish and be a Karuk Tribal fisherman.”
Seeing the salmon populations decline even as water continues to flow through irrigation canals “hurts. It hurts so bad to see that,” Hockaday said. “And then to put pain into my soul, into our family, into the river — the farmers open the floodgates on the Shasta River.”
From his vantage point, he said, “Nobody gets into trouble for it.”
‘Egregious and blatant disregard’ of emergency order
Last year, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted emergency regulations that allow state regulators to curtail water users in the region when summertime flows in the Shasta River drop below 50 cubic feet per second near Yreka.
The aim is to protect salmon and trout species, including steelhead, fall-run Chinook and threatened Coho salmon. But the limit is fiercely contested by area ranchers, who note that it’s higher than the average historic flows in August since 1933.
The Shasta River Water Association petitioned in early August to continue diverting water to fill stock ponds for approximately 5,000 cattle plus calves and other assorted animals, according to a copy of the petition the water board shared with CalMatters. The water board said the request was still under review.
Lemos said the ranchers couldn’t afford to wait.
“How long do they review it while the cows are dying of thirst?” Lemos said. “We didn’t just fly off the handle and say hey, we’re going to break the law and get into a big mess. We tried the other way first.”
In a letter dated Aug. 17, the water association notified state regulators that they planned to violate the curtailment that day.
“We were in a critical situation. We have cattle out of water… We have nowhere to move them. You can’t just get them in and sell them tomorrow,” Lemos said. “So that’s why we started diverting (water).”
The pumps rapidly sucked away river water, dropping flows by more than half in a day, state officials said.
“It’s an egregious and blatant disregard for the environment and for our regulations…We are really, really interested in taking some swift action because we do take this so seriously,” said Julé Rizzardo, permitting and enforcement branch manager for the water board’s division of water rights.
The board is still investigating and determining whether to seek fines.
It took only a day after flows began dropping for the agency to notify the water association that they had violated their curtailment and could face fines of up to $500 per day. But under state law, the ranchers had 20 days to respond and request a hearing.
Only after the 20 days are up or a hearing has occurred can the water board adopt a final cease and desist order and raise the fines to $10,000 a day. By then, fall-run Chinook salmon would have been migrating through the river.
“It’s really unfortunate that we have those limitations,” Rizzardo said.
Felicia Marcus, a visiting fellow at Stanford’s water in the west program and former chair of the California water board, was more blunt: “In theory the water board has a lot of authority to deal with illegal diversions. In practice, they have to do it blindfolded and with one hand tied behind their back.”
California water law experts have been pushing for the water board to be granted more power to act swiftly.
Jennifer Harder, a law professor at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law urged California lawmakers to consider granting state water regulators the authority to temporarily pause water diversions and stem the damage in emergencies, while still allowing due process. Similar efforts have failed in the past.
“The bottom line is, we live in a very different world than we lived in 20, 30, 40 years ago in terms of the immediacy of some of these threats,” Harder said.
After receiving the board’s notices, Scala, Lemos and the rest of the Shasta River Water Association kept pumping the river’s water for almost a week.
“Only regret I have is we didn’t start earlier,” Scala said on Aug. 24, with irrigation water running across his land. “We’re going to lose the crop anyway. We’re going to have to pay a fine, probably.”
But later that day, Lemos said they shut off the pumps; they had accomplished what they’d set out to do, he said.
“We were going to fill our stock ponds and get some stock water and get things where we could survive, and shut off,” Lemos said. “And that’s what we basically did.”
The 20-day period before fines escalate had also factored into their discussions, Lemos said. Considering the costs of hay, replanting desiccated pasture and selling off cows, he said, “at $500 a day, it would probably be worth it, I’ll be quite honest. It’d probably be more than affordable. At $10,000 a day, it wouldn’t be.”
Lemos estimates he’s bought around $50,000 worth of hay so far this year, with more on the way; Scala counts over $100,000 in hay costs between this year and last. Both are bracing to sell off large proportions of their herds to make it through the coming year – for Scala, it could be as much as half. And he doesn’t think the water even made it a third of the way across his field.
“I’ve been pretty depressed the last couple of days,” Scala said. “There’s no future. We don’t have water. Without water, we’re done. And we can’t sell the place. Who’s going to buy a place without water?”
Pumps turned off, but will the damage remain?
Hockaday of the Karuk tribe was relieved to see flows returning to the Shasta River, but hopes to see the ranchers and growers held accountable for diversions that the state water board says are illegal.
“It’s great that they turned off the pumps. But they knew they weren’t supposed to turn them on in the first place,” Hockaday said.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is still evaluating the damage that the pumping may have caused, Tina Bartlett, the department’s northern regional manager, said in a letter to the water board Friday.
But the department expects that the rapid reduction in flows could have put young salmon and trout species at risk by shrinking their habitat, increasing temperatures downstream and interfering with critical food production.
“It is likely that some perished,” wrote Bartlett, who added that the rapid dewatering also “does not bode well” for adult Chinook salmon migrating from the Pacific to their spawning grounds.
Lemos said he doubts that fish were harmed by the diversions. He expects warm summertime temperatures kept salmon species out of the lower reaches of the Shasta. “I wish you’d go down the canyon and look for some dead fish because you won’t find them,” Lemos said. “There was nothing harmed by our diversion at all.”
But Mike Belchik, a senior water policy analyst for the Yurok tribe, said the damage goes beyond salmon.
Fish species like lamprey that also are culturally important to the Yurok people are vulnerable to being stranded by a rapidly retreating water line, Belchik said. And reducing the river’s flows can cause long-term harm to the food web that can affect production for in the years to come.
“If you interrupt the food production in the summer, you don’t just get it back. It’s like removing the oxygen from a room for 20 minutes,” he said. “It’s lethal.”
Hockaday said land can be replanted and economies rebuilt; if a species of fish disappears from the river, it’s gone forever.
The ranchers who pumped the water “need to take care of his family. I understand that,” Hockaday said. But he wants to know when it’ll be the tribes’ turn to stop sacrificing so much.
“We gave up everything since the colonist people came here,” Hockaday said. “We’ve given our land, we’ve given our water, we’ve given our homeland. We gave everything up.” | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/ranchers-tribes-state-officials-clash-shasta-river-water/509-5c37a90d-533e-497a-984a-d1e0298d3619 | 2022-08-31T07:00:09 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/ranchers-tribes-state-officials-clash-shasta-river-water/509-5c37a90d-533e-497a-984a-d1e0298d3619 |
SAN DIEGO — When Kathie Moehlig’s 11-year-old son decided to transition in 2012, she says not one doctor in San Diego was willing to treat him. “When I called to make appointments, they kept telling me: ‘We don’t treat kids like that here,’” Moehlig said.
But she continued making calls, eventually breaking through at Rady Children’s Hospital. Her efforts drew attention from other families of transgender kids, many of whom began asking her for help.
She decided she “couldn’t just be a family friend,” so eight years ago she started TransFamily Support Services, a nonprofit that offers a multitude of services to hundreds of families of transgender individuals across the country, including support groups, assistance navigating the medical system, and — most recently — political advocacy.
Now, TransFamily Support Services is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 107, which would protect from prosecution patients who travel to California for what supporters call gender-affirming care and doctors who provide that care.
On Monday, the Assembly gave its final approval to the bill in a 60-19 vote. A Senate committee approved it today, and if the full Senate agrees in a concurrence vote expected on Wednesday, the bill heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
If signed, the bill would make California a refuge for minors seeking gender-affirming care, similar to how Assembly Bill 1666, which Newsom signed into law in June, made the state a refuge for those seeking abortions.
“It will send a very clear message that trans kids and their families, if they don’t feel safe in their state, they can come here and we’ll do everything in our power to protect them from prosecution,” state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and the bill’s author, told CalMatters.
A national wave
The bill, perhaps the highest profile of several LGBTQ-related proposals already on Newsom’s desk, responds to a recent wave of legislation: At least 40 bills in 20 states would restrict access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. These proposals vary from an Idaho bill to criminalize gender-affirming medical procedures to a Florida law banning their insurance coverage. In Texas, state social workers are reportedly rebelling — or even threatening to quit — rather than carry out an order by Gov. Greg Abbott to investigate parents who allow transgender health care.
Proponents of the bill say it is California’s responsibility to intervene.
“There are efforts all across the country…to go after trans kids and their families. California has a role to play in providing a safe, welcoming environment for trans kids and their families to get the care they need,” said Samuel Garrett-Pate, managing director of external affairs for Equality California, which supports the bill and says it’s the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights group.
SB 107 would:
- Prohibit law enforcement participation and the arrest or extradition of an individual for allowing a person to receive or provide gender-affirming care when that care is legal under California and federal law.
- Declare arrest warrants for individuals who allowed their child to receive gender affirming health care the lowest law enforcement priority.
- Ban the enforcement of another state’s law authorizing a state agency to remove a child from their parent or guardian because they allowed their child to receive gender-affirming care.
- Bar compliance with subpoenas seeking medical information related to gender-affirming care that interferes with a person’s right to allow a child to receive that care.
“As it stands, transgender youth and their parents in these states are under a constant threat of being reported by anyone around them, while foregoing life-saving treatment,” said Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and parent of a trans person, in presenting the bill on the Assembly floor on Monday. “In doing so, they are targeting our most vulnerable population — children — as well as their parents and doctors who support them.”
No one spoke against the bill on the Assembly floor.
Foes raise concerns
By leaning into the national debate around transgender issues, the bill has generated intense opposition.
Opponents say that children often misunderstand their gender identity and are likely to regret their decision to get irreversible treatments such as hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery.
“A lot of kids don’t quite comprehend the implications of taking puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and even some of the surgeries; don’t comprehend the long-term nature and the damaging effect it would have on their on their bodies when they were minors,” said Greg Burt, a spokesperson for the California Family Council.
Burt cited testimony from Chloe Cole before the Assembly Public Safety Committee on June 28.
“SB 107 is circumventing states’ laws and that have needed safeguards in place so my story’s not repeated. Children cannot consent,” said Cole, a 17-year-old from the Central Valley, who medically transitioned from age 13 to 15 with puberty blockers, male hormones and a mastectomy.
Given this, Burt said the religious nonprofit “would be against any kind of drugs or surgeries to try and match a person’s body to their feelings below the age of 18,” regardless of parental consent.
“We don’t let parents sterilize their kids, even if parents consent to it, and we think this is in the same category,” Burt said. “You can’t harm your child permanently, even if you believe the harm is somehow justified.”
Opponents also highlight a clause in the bill that they say could take custody rights away from an out-of-state parent who disagrees with the other on their child’s gender-affirming care.
Erin Friday, a San Francisco attorney and parent of a child who once wanted to transition, said that the clause “pits parents against parents” by allowing an out-of-state parent to refile for full medical custody of their child in California and eclipse the consent of the non-affirming parent.
“It makes it easier for the one parent who wants to harm their child to harm their child, and it’s an enticement for kids to run away. There’s no two ways about it,” she said.
Wiener’s office disputes that this is the bill’s intent.
“The point of the bill is not to remove kids from their parents’ custody — not when parents come here with their kids to prevent states like Texas from removing them from their custody,” he said.
Helping families, one at a time
As the political debate rages on, Moehlig and her staff of 10 continue their work, helping families across America figure out the best doctor and how to get insurance coverage, and providing support groups for people from elementary school to age 30. She says her group has assisted 3,000 families in its lifetime.
That work convinces her of the importance of the bill. She said it’s “ludicrous” for politicians to assert that they know better than the parents of transgender children and their doctors about what medical care and treatment is best.
As of now, every law that criminalizes gender-affirming care in other states has been delayed by legal challenges. Moehlig, however, said it’s only a matter of time before one of these bills becomes law.
And she’s already seeing the impact: She said she has multiple clients who have moved to California because of the laws in other states. One of her clients in Texas said his doctor canceled his female-to-male top surgery because they were no longer comfortable treating transgender youth.
“I think that protecting the rights of these parents to make these medical choices and get this treatment for these kids without having to worry about any of the ramifications of prosecutions is super important,” Moehlig said. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/will-california-become-refuge-for-transgender-health-care/509-26c61376-335f-4a04-9ef9-12ccdeb54b72 | 2022-08-31T07:00:15 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/will-california-become-refuge-for-transgender-health-care/509-26c61376-335f-4a04-9ef9-12ccdeb54b72 |
“I knew I couldn’t handle this. I cannot handle this. … I’ve hated every second of it.” Ex-Rangers player John Wetteland’s accuser testified in court Tuesday, along with other witnesses called by the state, about his allegedly accidental outcry of sexual abuse and the apparent toll it’s taken on his mental health. But the defense called the accuser a liar and entitled brat who was manipulated by a man who has it out for Wetteland.
The gallery of the 462nd District Court, presided by Judge Lee Ann Breading, was full Tuesday morning, and many in attendance were associated with or members of the Wetteland family.
To start the trial, Wetteland pleaded not guilty to all three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was first arrested in January 2019 after a relative alleged Wetteland sexually assaulted him on three instances in 2004, 2005 and 2006, when he was between the ages of 4 and 6.
Wetteland was a professional baseball player and coach. He coached baseball and was a Bible study teacher at Liberty Christian School in Argyle.
Opening statements
State prosecutor Lindsey Sheguit’s opening statement said the accuser, who is now 22 years old, viewed Wetteland as “larger than life” and his “whole world.” She referenced Wetteland’s career as a famous baseball player for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
The accuser loved Wetteland, she said, and as a kid, he wanted to spend as much time with Wetteland as possible. And Wetteland forced him to perform a sex act on him when he was 4, 5 and 6 years old, she said, when the two were in the man’s master bathroom together.
She said at the time, the boy didn’t know what was happening and thought it might be normal. He remembers the second time it hurt and he thought he might throw up, she said. And the third time, there was a rustle outside the bathroom door and Wetteland stopped.
Since the first incident, the boy regularly experienced incontinence, he self-harmed and he experienced suicidal ideation, Sheguit said.
Wetteland’s relative did not tell anyone about the incidents until he was 16, during an argument with someone named Chris, who was not a family member, Sheguit said. It was the first time he told anyone of the accusations. The prosecutor said that afterward, the incontinence and self-harming behaviors improved.
The boy never wanted law enforcement or anyone else involved, Sheguit said. He just wanted an apology from Wetteland. That apology never came, she said.
Two years later, Chris and one of his family members suggested he write a letter to explain it to other family members and gain closure, Sheguit said. The then-18-year-old used the family member’s computer to write it in Google Docs.
He was not aware, Sheguit said, that the computer was logged in and the document saved on his Argyle ISD Google account. Argyle ISD uses software called Gaggle that flags certain language used on a student’s Google account and notifies school personnel, who are mandated to report any reasonable suspicions of abuse.
This has led to an investigation and a trial that the accuser, Sheguit said, never asked for. He was interviewed and examined by several authorities and child advocates. His story remained consistent and he never recanted, she said.
Wetteland was arrested on Jan. 14, 2019, and later indicted on three charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The accuser is trying to start a life for himself in a different state, with a job and a stable romantic relationship, Sheguit said. Tuesday’s testimony would be scary to talk about even for an adult, she said.
But defense attorneys Derek Adame and Caroline Simone painted the alleged events in a different light.
“It’s a good story,” Adame said. “Too good to be true because it’s not true.”
Adame said the alleged victim is a performer. He was in theater and choir in school and is pursuing a performing arts career. Adame said the 22-year-old is easily manipulated, is a spoiled brat and tells stories to get what he wants.
Chris hates Wetteland, Adame said. He said Chris manipulated the accuser to gain control over the Wetteland family. Other witnesses claimed Chris was not planning to testify at the trial.
The alleged victim has a history of saying shocking lies to his family members, likes attention and grew up in the shadow of other family members, Adame said. Wetteland and the accuser were very close and it wasn’t until Chris came into their lives that the teen spoke of any sexual assault.
Adame said Wetteland and other families believe much of the accuser’s written and electronic correspondence with them was actually from Chris. He said Chris’ bullying and frustration over incontinence led the alleged victim to say whatever he could to get Chris to leave him alone.
The accuser doesn’t want to be here, Adame said, but “the wheels of justice keep turning” and as investigations ensued, Chris coached him to tell stories of Wetteland sexually assaulting him. He manipulated the teen to write the letter on his school Google account knowing it would flag the content-scanning system, Adame said.
The only people who believe him, Adame said, are not his family members, but the child safety professionals who are “trained to believe the accuser.”
For the most part, jurors remained expressionless throughout the trial. But at this statement, one juror raised her eyebrows, then shook her head.
Accuser’s testimony
He wanted an “I’m sorry,” from Wetteland and that would’ve done it, the accuser said during his testimony.
After introducing himself to the jury, he was asked to describe the bathroom of Wetteland’s home, where the alleged incidents took place, and how frequently Wetteland was around.
As a baseball coach for minor league teams and the Rangers, Wetteland was often gone for extended periods of time in the spring and fall, the accuser said. When Wetteland was around — typically around the winter holidays — the accuser said he wanted to spend as much time with Wetteland as he possibly could, and that meant being in the bathroom together.
“I don’t know how to say this politely …” the accuser said before describing the first alleged sexual assault, when he was 4.
Not every time the two spent in the bathroom together was sexual, he said. But at age 5, he alleged a similar incident took place. It again made him feel gross and hurt his jaw, he said, but he tried to rationalize it. He said he loved Wetteland and wasn’t sure what happened.
On the alleged third incident, he said the sexual assault ended because of a noise outside the bathroom. He said Wetteland said their time in the bathroom was over and taught the boy to “dry off with a towel like a baseball player.”
After the age of 6, he said there was not another sexual instance between them. When he got older, Wetteland became somewhat estranged, and he said he started to understand that what happened was wrong. He said he began self-harming, and he felt confused, then angry, and turned that anger on himself.
But the accuser said he still loved Wetteland and the estrangement was difficult for him. He tried to reach out to Wetteland multiple times, including for an apology, but did not receive one.
He had issues with incontinence from childhood until adolescence. He said he had trouble talking about what happened “but it’s the truth.”
When Chris moved into the accuser’s home, he was allegedly frustrated with the teenager’s incontinence. During one of these fights, the accuser — who was 16 at the time — said he blurted out that maybe it wouldn’t be happening if Wetteland hadn’t sexually abused him. He said the two stood there in silence for a moment. Internally, he was having a mental breakdown, he said, and then he ran away from that part of the home.
At some point, while Chris was living in the home, the accuser said he was going to commit suicide before Chris walked in. He said during cross-examination Chris was the only witness to this event.
He said he felt scared after that. He said he never thought he’d tell anyone of the sexual assault until he moved to another country or Wetteland was no longer living. After Chris told the accuser’s mother, there was a family discussion with the three along with the accuser’s younger sister.
The son would have many discussions with his mother, she would later testify. But he said he was still struggling with what happened two years later and said his mother and Chris suggested he write a letter to explain it to the rest of the family.
When the letter was flagged on his school Google account, he said he wasn’t mentally ready to talk about it and he still isn’t while sitting in the courtroom.
During cross-examination, Adame questioned the accuser about text messages he sent to Wetteland when he was a teenager and around the time he was writing the letter over winter break of his senior year of high school.
In the messages, Adame said the accuser told Wetteland how he identified with various sexualities and/or genders Adame said Wetteland believed the messages were weird, that they sounded like Chris and that Chris was manipulating him. The accuser said he doesn’t remember Wetteland saying that.
He said he was trying to come out to Wetteland through the messages and not face to face because of their estrangement. When the accuser went to further explain his identity, Adame objected and Judge Breading sustained the objection.
When Adame asked if his demeanor during the trial Tuesday was consistent with his behavior as an actor, he said no and that he had time to process and come to terms with the incidents, but is still nervous and scared.
Adame asked about his recurrent behavior of saying shocking things to his family members to get attention, and the 22-year-old said they were to make his family laugh, rather than for shock value.
Adame asked if Wetteland’s accuser recalled a conversation with the state attorneys in which he said he was scared and questioning his memory of the alleged incidents when he was a child. The accuser said he stopped questioning his memory earlier in the legal proceedings of the case.
Felony prosecutor Rachel Nichols asked the 22-year-old about his relationship with Chris. He said they no longer have a relationship, that Chris goes back and forth on whether he believes the accusations, and that he would not say something happened because Chris told him to.
His sister’s testimony
The accuser’s sister introduced herself, stating she is two years younger than him, making her roughly 2 to 4 years old at the time of the alleged sexual abuse.
She said Wetteland’s relationship with her and her brother was different from other members of the family. She said Wetteland’s estrangement from them was difficult, especially for her brother.
When Chris called her to a family meeting, she was 14 and didn’t know anything about the accusations, she said. Her brother only told her in vague terms what occurred, she said, and gave a more detailed description to the adults.
It was her understanding, she said, that her brother did not want to write the letter at first but that he later wanted to and Chris could not have pushed him to do it.
During cross-examination, when Simone mentioned the “shocking” statements that the accuser was known for in his family, his sister smiled and laughed lightly. She said her brother would not tell lies when he did this.
Nichols asked her to describe his demeanor when he made these statements as a child. She said she saw his face get focused before he said something off-topic and silly to make them laugh. She said this was his way of being part of the conversation and they were always good-spirited statements.
When asked if her brother would tell stories, she said yes. She said she could tell when he was lying because of his tone of voice and that she can easily tell when someone is lying. He would stutter, shift his eyes, and when prompted for more information, he would easily own up to the lie, she said.
The sister said she has never seen him exhibit such behavior when discussing the accusations against Wetteland and that he never changed his story. She said it’s her opinion that he is a truthful person.
His mother’s testimony
The accuser’s mother testified Tuesday and left the room in tears after discussing her son’s experiences.
After explaining her own relationship to John Wetteland, the state attorneys asked her to describe his relationship with the accuser. “Precious,” she said. They adored each other and viewed the other as if they hung the moon, she said, but that Wetteland was often traveling for work.
When her son made an outcry about the sexual assaults at age 16, she said she could not recall what his demeanor was like.
Regarding his behavior throughout childhood, she said her son was easy to potty-train around the age of 3. She said it was about two years after that, when he would have been around 5, that he started to experience incontinence.
She said she initially did not believe her son. But if she knew what she knew now about molestation, she said, she would have responded differently. She thought her son’s incontinence, stuttering and fear of the bathroom was “just little kid stuff,” she said, and that his self-harm was teenage angst. Now, she said, she knows poor mental health and molestation have physical markers.
His mother said after he brought up the abuse during the fight with Chris, his incontinence improved, but he was still struggling with the issue mentally. When asked if she called the police or Child Protective Services, she tearfully said no.
She said it was her and Chris’ idea to have him write the letter but they did not help him write it. When Adame asked if there was any consequence for writing the letter, she said she wasn’t going to let him go play paintball or something similar until he finished it. She said she did this not to be vindictive but because she thought it would benefit him.
When asked by Adame how many times they talked about the alleged incidents, she said many and “twelve hundred” times. She said her son never took back what he said or changed his story throughout all the conversations.
Seguit told the mother that Adame was suggesting she coached her son by asking how many conversations they had about the alleged incidents. She briefly sobbed and said no, she was trying to help her son work through the issue.
Child abuse professionals
The state called the accuser’s counselor from his high school in Argyle. Counselor Kathy Arendt, along with other central administrators at the school and Argyle ISD, received notification that the student’s letter written on his school Google account contained certain language.
The counselor explained that the system, Gaggle, is set up to alert administrators if a student types in a school email, Google file or other places language that is related to violence, abuse, sex, suicide, etc. She said the superintendent sets up the parameters for the language that gets flagged.
Arendt remembers being alerted about the letter and reading its contents concerning Wetteland, which said said were “horrifying.” She, as others who closely work with children, are mandated reporters — they must report any believed abuse — whether current or not — to CPS within 48 hours. She said she reported it and called the teen’s mother.
When Simone asked about the teen’s demeanor when she spoke with him about the incident, the counselor said he didn’t cry and he seemed like it was overwhelming for him.
The state also called the CPS investigator for the case. Kendra Luttrell, a former investigator for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said that while the accuser was a legal adult at the time of the investigation, his sister was 16 and they have to investigate for the safety of all children in proximity to the incident.
Luttrell said the siblings’ mother was cooperative, not shocked when the investigator spoke with her and was protective of her children. Wetteland did not want to speak to her, Luttrell said, and she informed him he doesn’t have to.
The investigator said the accuser told her specific statements of sexual assault, giving sensory details that she said help indicate the accuracy of a statement.
She said she did not find any red flags for coaching in the accuser’s statements.
During her separate interview, the 16-year-old sister made no outcry of Wetteland sexually assaulting her and the investigator said she ruled out any sexual abuse.
The accuser also participated in a voluntary exam by a sexual assault nurse examiner, Julie Mattson, who was called to testify. She explained how the examination works, and said they include getting a narrative history of the allegations so they can make a medical diagnosis or determine treatment for the person.
She said the accuser described the events of the assaults and said Wetteland told him not to tell anyone, that he had nightmares and that Wetteland had stood in his doorway at night, making him uncomfortable.
The last witness called the stand Tuesday was Kimberly Kunz, a forensic interviewer with the Children’s Advocacy Center for North Texas in Lewisville, where the accuser was interviewed.
Kunz said there were no signs of coaching in the accuser’s interview.
She explained how an accidental outcry of abuse is an outcry the victim did not intend to make and gave an example — a child writes down a description of abuse in a diary thinking no one will read it, but their mother finds the diary and alerts authorities. A purposeful outcry is when the child intends to make an outcry of abuse.
Based on the accuser’s account, she said it was an accidental outcry.
When asked about sensory details, Kunz said that “for going off the memory of a child, he gave me quite a few.” She said with trauma, the mind dissociates but the sensory aspect and what the body feels stays. She said the sensory details make an account real.
The interviewer described the accuser as calm, articulate, definitive. When asked if he got emotional, she said he did.
In his opening statement, Adame mentioned that during this interview, the accuser was wearing a shirt related to his school’s theater program. The defense lawyer claimed he was saying “I am an actor” with the shirt.
Adame asked if Kunz would call the accuser theatrical. She said he was not putting on a show, but that he was very descriptive and communicative and used bigger terminology.
She said a child’s involvement in theater does not mean she needs to be wary of their statements, as some in theater react differently and are withdrawn or communicative. Kunz said the teen’s enhanced vocabulary was not a red flag to her, nor was it a sign of coaching.
Adame asked if the accuser was angry at Wetteland and faulted him for other issues within the family, and Kunz said yes. When Nichols asked if it was unusual for a kid to be mad at their sexual abuser, Kunz said no.
Tuesday’s testimonies ended after the interviewer left the stand. The trial is expected to continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the 462nd District Court. | https://dentonrc.com/news/local/accuser-says-he-wanted-sex-assault-allegations-against-wetteland-to-stay-within-family/article_28c60da9-9b39-5865-9121-e390f527be78.html | 2022-08-31T07:02:50 | 0 | https://dentonrc.com/news/local/accuser-says-he-wanted-sex-assault-allegations-against-wetteland-to-stay-within-family/article_28c60da9-9b39-5865-9121-e390f527be78.html |
12 Southwood students arrested Tuesday. Here's what you need to know
Makenzie Boucher
Shreveport Times
Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested 12 Southwood High School students Tuesday afternoon after two gang-related fights broke out.
At approximately 12:58 p.m. the first fight broke out in the school's breezeway. The school recourse officer arrested eight boys, with the help of seven other deputies.
An hour later another fight broke out, arresting four girls. A innocent bystander was injured during the second fight and was taken to a nearby hospital.
The students were charged with disturbing the peace by fighting, and one was charged with battery.
More:Shooting_on_East_Kings_Highway-6308500bffeabb73e05c4a09_Aug_26_2022_5_07_14
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com. | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/08/30/12-southwood-students-arrested-tuesday/65464911007/ | 2022-08-31T07:15:52 | 0 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/08/30/12-southwood-students-arrested-tuesday/65464911007/ |
SEATTLE — New research from the University of Washington found restaurants that identified as "Black-owned" in 2020 saw decreases in visits compared to those without a label.
"In the long run, especially the last months of 2020 the black-owned businesses declined faster than those restaurants that revealed their ownership," said Bo Zhao, an associate professor of geography at the University of Washington, who led the study through his Humanistic GIS Lab.
In 2020 several companies began "Black-owned" labeling campaigns. They were designed to help customers support Black-owned businesses. However, the research released Monday by the University of Washington said there were statistically significant differences between Black-owned and “ownership-unreported” restaurants.
Zhao said his team looked at geographic information from 45 million cellphones in 20 cities. What they saw is most Black-owned restaurants saw an initial spike in business at the start of the labeling campaign, but data shows visits in many cities during the later months of 2020 declined faster at Black-owned labeled restaurants than locations where ownership wasn't reported.
New Orleans and Detroit showed the greatest declines, while New York showed the least. Seattle's graph showed several ups and downs, which Zhao said indicates the difference between the two is not significant enough to draw a conclusion.
Zhao wants the study to get the attention of tech companies that launched these labeling campaigns. He sees an opportunity for a tech company to think critically about how it supports the Black community.
"It can definitely be improved, be more helpful if we think more critically about the consequences and also inform the community of color about the consequences," said Zhao, "There's a lot of room to make improvements from the tech companies, but also everyone."
The study further discovered while a restaurant can choose not to select a label, it can still be labeled as "Black-owned" based on previous online reviews. Zhao said a complete opt-out isn't an option. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/uw-study-black-owned-restaurants-disproportionately-impacted-pandemic/281-6d4a9148-e59e-45ee-adb3-8715cea49e5e | 2022-08-31T07:58:51 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/uw-study-black-owned-restaurants-disproportionately-impacted-pandemic/281-6d4a9148-e59e-45ee-adb3-8715cea49e5e |
Want a pet? Gaston County shelter says come
People seeking a pet in Gaston County right now have plenty of options.
Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement says that the number of animals adopted from the shelter in recent years has dipped, and the shelter operates at capacity.
Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement had 1,273 animals adopted from the shelter in 2018, and the numbers of animals adopted from the shelter each year since then has been slightly lower, said Capt. Matt Hensley, who supervises the shelter.
In 2019, 1,098 animals were adopted; in 2020, when the shelter was closed because of the pandemic, 566 animals were adopted, and in 2021, there were 717 animals adopted. On Monday, to date, 405 animals had been adopted from the shelter, Hensley said, a trend that, if it continues, would put the shelter a little above the number from 2021.
"We strive to get as many animals out of here as possible, so we're hoping get back up there closer to the 2019 numbers," Hensley said. "Hopefully, we're on the rebound."
Hensley said that the problem isn't specific to Gaston County. A cat rescue from another state has stopped accepting cats from Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement because they're struggling to get them adopted.
"They have recently called and said that due to their high population and low adoption rates, they weren't going to be able to pull from us for a little while," Hensley said. "Everybody's having trouble moving animals and getting animals adopted. It's kind of across the board. It's a daily grind to try to move these animals out and find them placement."
An event on Saturday helped. Forty-six animals were adopted at Clear the Shelter, an annual event that is part of a nationwide adoption drive, Hensley said. As part of the event, adoption fees were waived.
"Events like this certainly help us out to clear out some space. But, you know, unfortunately in the shelter world, we find ourselves quickly filling back up," Hensley said. "We have placement coordinators at our shelter that work really hard to move animals out, so just as quickly as they're coming in, we're working really, really hard to move them out and to find placement for them, whether that's through adoptions through people in the community or finding rescues that will pull animals."
Of the 46 adopted on Saturday, five of those animals went as part of a foster to adopt program, while the other 41 — 22 cats and 19 dogs — were outright adoptions.
Hensley said he was grateful to the volunteers and vendors that helped make the event possible. He said that he wants to encourage those seeking a pet to adopt from the shelter.
"We have some really good animals here, lots of dogs and lots of cats that need good homes," Hensley said. "These animals need some good homes and some good love."
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here. | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/gaston-county-animal-care-and-enforcement-says-adoption-numbers-lower/7933043001/ | 2022-08-31T08:06:00 | 0 | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/gaston-county-animal-care-and-enforcement-says-adoption-numbers-lower/7933043001/ |
The NYPD is searching for a man who allegedly groped a 5-year-old girl inside a Brooklyn laundromat before exposing himself to her.
The disturbing incident occurred Tuesday around 11 a.m. at a laundromat at the intersection of Ralph Avenue and Farragut Road in Canarsie, according to police. The girl was with her mother when the stranger approached her, and forcibly grabbed the young girl's rear end.
The man then allegedly exposed himself to the girl, and told her not to say anything. He then left the laundromat.
The child was not physically hurt from the incident. An investigation is ongoing.
Police released images of the man (above) and ask anyone with information regarding the suspect to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-gropes-5-year-old-girl-exposes-himself-to-her-at-brooklyn-laundromat-police/3845349/ | 2022-08-31T08:11:16 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-gropes-5-year-old-girl-exposes-himself-to-her-at-brooklyn-laundromat-police/3845349/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Remnants of spray paint and broken windows serve as a frustrating reminder for some locals hit by vandals over the weekend. A custom mural above a Sellwood-Moreland business and a local church were among those hit.
One of the places severely hit was St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Southwest Portland, as many came in for Sunday worship, finding dozens of tags spray painted throughout the sanctuary, halls and even nursery rooms. Church pews were hit while walls were covered in expletives. Church members still want to know why they were targeted and who is responsible.
“It was just sort of an hour of finding another spot, another spot, another spot,” said Sarah Sanderson-Doughty. “Clearly they made their way through as much of the building as they could get access to.”
While they do not know who is responsible, the vandals also broke a few windows including a stained glass one in the chapel, along with smashing mugs and apples in common areas.
“One of our church leaders spent time Sunday morning walking around, taking pictures of every bit of damage he could find and he took 101 photos,” said Sanderson-Doughty.
Calling the weekend break-in a “senseless act of destruction,” church members have started the clean-up process but say they’re still reeling.
“It’s incredibly shaking. This is a safe space,” said Sanderson-Doughty, adding the church often serves those in need, well beyond their congregation.
Across the Willamette in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood, a custom mural created over the CA Butt building, paints a history of the creation of Willamette Falls and the region’s Indigenous roots — but this weekend, it was also hit by vandals.
“The next morning, I saw that they had been there, they knew the cameras were there and they were obviously avoiding them,” said John Keane, who co-owns the building and commissioned the mural.
Instead, the building’s owners spent much of the weekend scrubbing what they could off. They installed security cameras a few months ago due to consistent graffiti on the roof, and say it’s rampant in the community with nearby businesses and schools also often hit.
“It’s super frustrating and it’s really ramped up a lot over the last few years,” said Keane, who grew up in the neighborhood.
In the last year, Portland Police received more than 12,000 reports of vandalism, including more than a thousand last month. Earlier this year, Mayor Wheeler announced plans in the budget for graffiti clean-up, but the city is asking any new findings of graffiti to be reported immediately. | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/sw-portland-church-business-hit-by-vandals-in-senseless-act-of-destruction/ | 2022-08-31T08:20:13 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/sw-portland-church-business-hit-by-vandals-in-senseless-act-of-destruction/ |
AARP TaxAide will continue providing free tax preparation services to eastern Idaho residents this coming year.
Target clientele for the TaxAide program are those with low/moderate income and seniors with tax returns of a less complex nature, i.e., wages, retirement, dividends, interest, capital gains and self-employment. District savings from this service last year were on the order of $700,000 in the form of cost of preparation, identifying additional tax credits/deductions and from amended returns. These dollars remain in communities to enhance the well-being for all.
The average volunteer tax counselor has more than 10 years experience. AARP TaxAide provides training materials and software to remain current on tax law changes. Internal and external audits suggest AARP TaxAide approaches 99% accuracy, far higher than the accuracy of self-prepared returns.
AARP TaxAide has been unable to replenish retiring counselors due to COVID-19 restrictions during the past two years. Core tax training will be offered to new tax counselors this year, starting in November. There is a pressing need for new volunteers if AARP TaxAide is to continue providing this service. Rising costs for food, shelter and transportation have many of the target clientele financially strapped. Volunteers can make a difference, an AARP news release said.
Those able to spare a day during the week during cold weather months can contact AARP TaxAide at 208-528-8887.
While helpful, no prior tax training is necessary. Most tax counselors start out only knowing how to prepare their own tax returns using public domain software. AARP TaxAide provides one-on-one training until a volunteer becomes proficient. | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/aarp-taxaide-seeks-volunteers/article_c07772a2-255d-11ed-bfc7-b3b4b0694c41.html | 2022-08-31T08:22:55 | 0 | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/aarp-taxaide-seeks-volunteers/article_c07772a2-255d-11ed-bfc7-b3b4b0694c41.html |
DANVILLE, Pa. — An injured Little Leaguer is headed home.
Easton Oliverson from Utah fell from his bunk earlier this month at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport.
But according to Geisinger, the 12-year-old is now well enough to head back home.
A video from Geisinger shows Oliverson leaving the hospital near Danville to continue his recovery in Utah with in-patient rehabilitation.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/injured-little-league-player-on-his-way-home-easton-oliverson-geisinger-danville-little-league-world-series/523-c3fdbdc1-1cc4-4a63-946c-72475da078fa | 2022-08-31T08:49:22 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/injured-little-league-player-on-his-way-home-easton-oliverson-geisinger-danville-little-league-world-series/523-c3fdbdc1-1cc4-4a63-946c-72475da078fa |
CEDAR FALLS — The city is re-imagining its digital presence on mobile devices, tablets and computers.
A “revamped” app launched this summer. And a more user-friendly website now is expected to launch Thursday.
Expanding and improving its online services and website was one of the topics the Cedar Falls City Council spent significant time discussing in December when addressing its goals for fiscal year 2023.
Cory Hurless, a program manager for art, music and graphics in Austin, Texas, will meet virtually with the Art and Culture Board during a Wednesday public meeting.
Amanda Huisman, city communications specialist, said officials began in May the process of looking at what could be done to better its website with the public.
One way they’ve gone about accomplishing that is by looking at what other cities have offered.
The developer CivicPlus offers the city a free website upgrade every three years, said Huisman. The new app came at an additional cost, but that figure wasn’t immediately available.
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The app is free to download and will be easier to find in the app store because it no longer is being branded as “CedarFallsOnTheGo,” and can be found by inputting “Cedar Falls” or “citycf” into the appropriate search.
Several residents took issue with and formulated arguments against Navigator’s purported proposal and rationale for building the carbon pipeline.
Huisman said the app will provide a person with city updates, like changes to garbage pickup. It also has better access to the city’s events calendar.
Once launched, the website will be more user friendly because features and tools will be easier to find. The hope is it will load quicker on a mobile device because of the elimination of unnecessary features.
Huisman highlighted how the Cedar Falls Rec Center, along with other community spaces, will no longer offer just “informational” pages as part of the city’s website.
Instead, they’ll allow a person more easily and quickly to learn about and sign up for programs.
Focus was placed on the city’s electronic calendar, lending a user clearer and easier-to-understand details about city meetings and events.
The city is always evaluating how it can improve the experience of navigating the website, she said.
Huisman encourages people to sign up for email notifications to stay up to date on garbage pickups, pool scheduling changes and other city news.
“Our goal is to openly communicate with our citizens,” said Huisman. “With our future website and continuing notifications, we’ll be able to do that.”
In January, the council voted 5-2 to adopt a set of goals. One of its goals was to “continue to expand the city’s online services and website to take advantage of the prevalence of smartphones and other mobile devices in our community, while also ensuring that the less digitally advantaged can fully access city services.” | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cedar-falls-government-s-digital-rollout-includes-new-website-app/article_76b5cfdf-5415-56d6-a4ef-088f0e64818e.html | 2022-08-31T09:08:25 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cedar-falls-government-s-digital-rollout-includes-new-website-app/article_76b5cfdf-5415-56d6-a4ef-088f0e64818e.html |
The real Rachel Williams, a Knoxville native, sues Netflix over portrayal in 'Inventing Anna'
Knoxville native Rachel DeLoache Williams has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging the streaming giant defamed her in its dramatized series "Inventing Anna."
Williams claims in the suit the true-crime series significantly misrepresented her in its telling the story of serial con artist Anna Sorokin.
Williams, a former Vanity Fair photo editor, published an article about her time with Sorokin as well as a book called "My Friend Anna," selling the option rights to HBO.
Netflix's version of the story is based instead off a May 2018 New York magazine article, and the network paid Sorokin for the rights to her story, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Netflix made a deliberate decision for dramatic purposes to show Williams doing or saying things in the series which portray her as a greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic person," Williams' attorneys wrote in the suit, filed in Delaware federal court on Monday.
The suit alleges defamation and false light invasion of privacy and demands actual and presumed damages, as well as punitive damages, but does not ask for a specific amount. It also requests an injunction so Netflix doesn't make any make defamatory statements, and the removal of the statements from the series.
The suit enumerates multiple instances in which Williams is falsely portrayed, including key scenes in which she sponges off Sorokin and then abandons her in Morocco.
"In reality, she never did or said those things," the suit continues. "As a result of Netflix’s false portrayal of her as a vile and contemptible person, Williams was subjected to a torrent of online abuse (and) negative in-person interactions."
The "catastrophic damage" to Williams’ reputation was completely avoidable and the creators of the Netflix show could have invented a fictional character to provide a villain, Williams' attorneys argue. The defamatory statements in the series were made by Netflix with "actual malice, defined as knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for truth or falsity," the suit alleges. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/rachel-deloache-williams-inventing-anna-sues-netflix/7939265001/ | 2022-08-31T09:29:22 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/rachel-deloache-williams-inventing-anna-sues-netflix/7939265001/ |
BEDFORD, Va. – A Bedford man was sentenced to one year in prison for killing his friend after an argument last year.
Tyler Booth was sentenced on Tuesday, and will have three years of probation after his sentence is served. He was sentenced to five years with four suspended.
Booth entered a guilty plea back in April for killing 18-year-old Braeden Michael Bailey in July 2021.
The prosecutors said head trauma was the cause of death, after the two got into an argument. The defense said the two were friends and that Booth does feel responsible, but did not intend to kill. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/30/bedford-man-sentenced-to-one-year-in-prison-for-2021-homicide/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:08 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/30/bedford-man-sentenced-to-one-year-in-prison-for-2021-homicide/ |
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office is taking a major step to make sure students are safe.
Sheriff Mike Miller says their school resource officer [SRO] positions are filled, but thanks to a grant through Virginia’s Department of Criminal Justice Services, they can hire 14 more officers.
“We were very surprised,” said Miller.
That’s because the department applied for the positions, then was shocked to hear back within two weeks — and that all 14 jobs were approved.
“Did we expect to do it this quick? No,” said Miller.
He says the approval fulfills a goal to have an SRO in every school full-time.
“We need to make sure that we’re doing everything possible to protect all of our children,” said Miller.
Dr. Marc Bergin, Bedford County Public Schools superintendent, says SROs are currently assigned to the county’s six secondary schools, but they regularly patrol the other 14 sites — which allows law enforcement to be present in every school every day.
The grant ensures an SRO is assigned to a particular school.
“The more [an officer is] in a school, consistently every day, [they] recognize patterns and routines within that school; and you’re someone that we come to rely upon. You’re always visible, you’re always with us,” said Bergin.
Miller says that will also build trust with younger students.
“To have that relationship at an early age is a tremendous help and a tremendous asset to this whole county,” said Miller.
Grant funding would run out by 2027.
Bergin says school and county leaders will soon discuss ways on keeping SROs beyond that school year.
“We are committed to finding the funding solutions to keep these SRO officers in our schools indefinitely,” said Bergin. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/bedford-county-sheriffs-office-receives-grant-to-hire-14-more-school-resource-officers/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:14 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/bedford-county-sheriffs-office-receives-grant-to-hire-14-more-school-resource-officers/ |
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