A man saw a list of his town’s school lunch debt and paid the entire bill
One man in Jupiter, Florida, decided that he could make a difference in his town by paying off the lunch debt for every child in the system. It all started with a Facebook post.
Angie Vyas-Knight, administrator of the “Jupiter Mamas” Facebook group, told CNN she was disgusted by national news stories about children who couldn’t afford to buy lunch at school. She asked the Palm Beach county school board for her district’s stats.
To spread awareness, she shared the list of nine schools’ outstanding lunch debt of $944.34.
Weeks later, the list made its way to Jupiter real estate agent Andrew Levy.
Levy decided he wanted to do something about the list, and paid the balance for all 400 kids in full. He knew that the kids in debt would go without eating or simply get a cheese sandwich.
“I thought that’s crazy. Food is something you shouldn’t have to think about. Children shouldn’t learn hungry,” Levy told CNN affiliate WPEC.
But he isn’t stopping there.
“I’m going to do either a GoFundMe page or a fundraising page that can raise money every quarter, so lunch debt never accumulates so that children never have to worry about a hot meal and parents never have to worry about paying the bill,” he said.
Sharing his small spark of kindness started a fire with those who found out about his personal initiative. Over 200 people offered to help on his Facebook alone.
With their help, Levy can start to not only tackle the lunch debt of Jupiter but the greater debt of Palm Beach County.
A spokeswoman for the district told CNN that the total school lunch debt was around $50,000 for over 180,000 enrolled students.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
North Carolina assisted living facility workers accused of running dementia resident fight club
Three employees at a North Carolina assisted living facility were arrested after police said they ran a fight club with elderly residents with dementia battling it out against each other.
The women were accused in court documents of watching, filming and even encouraging a fight between a 70-year-old woman and a 73-year-old woman at the Danby House assisted living and memory-care facility in Winston-Salem, Fox 8 High Point and other local media reported.
Marilyn Latish McKey, 32, Tonacia Yvonne Tyson, 20, and Taneshia Deshawn Jordan, 26, were each charged with assaulting disabled persons, according to the reports.
Winston-Salem police announced their arrests Friday following an investigation into a June complaint of elder abuse at the facility.
“When you’re talking about someone who can’t take care of themselves, we’ve got to give specific attention to that,” Lt. Gregory Dorn told Fox 8.
Documents from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services show that during the filming of the fight one of the combatants was heard yelling “let go, help me, help me, let go” as McKey, Tyson, and Jordan continued to watch, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
According to the documents at some point one of the staffers told the resident to “stop screaming (expletive),” the paper reported.
Danby House said in a statement that McKey, Tyson, and Jordan were fired in June when managers were alerted to the situation.
“Additional staff training and a more rigorous vetting process for all new and existing employees at Danby House have been implemented,” the statement said.
via: https://www.foxnews.com/us/north-carolina-assisted-living-facility-dementia-fight-club
Photo Credit: Winston-Salem Police Department
Candidate for Sheriff in South Carolina Preemptively Releases Photo of Himself in Blackface
A Republican sheriff candidate in South Carolina is trying to own up to his “mistakes.” But critics say he’s missing a key component: an apology.
In a campaign ad posted Tuesday on Facebook, Craig Stivender, who is running for sheriff of Colleton County, South Carolina, lists off his perceived faults: a ticket for driving without a license, getting divorced and remarried, fender benders that were his fault and losing his temper at work.
But then he transitions to something a little more controversial. He went to a party dressed in blackface. And he included a photo of himself from that night in his campaign video..
He sets the scene: It was “about 10 years ago” and, as a young police officer at a Halloween party, he dressed up as Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, a notorious drug trafficker.
“I did it to disparage a criminal whose actions hurt our community and country. That was a different time,” he says in the advertisement of the party.
“Today we understand that type of costume is troubling to many. To those who may be upset, I understand your disappointment. But I value honesty, so I’m opening my campaign with transparency,” he added.
Just a ‘Halloween costume’
Stivender never actually says the word “blackface,” though he shows a photo of himself in costume. He also does not say that the costume might be perceived as racist. He also doesn’t say, “I’m sorry.”
Instead, the man who hopes to be sheriff said his revelations are a part of his attempts to be transparent and honest, saying, “I want to tell you at the start of my campaign some things that politicians would try to hide, things my opponents may try to use to tarnish my integrity.”
But critics weren’t so sure.
On Facebook, some pointed out the ad seemed to be merely a way to save himself from the political blowback that could have come in the future, rather than a genuine apology.
“There is a difference between announcing … just so your political opponents don’t out you and apologizing for having the wrong belief’s [sic] in the past,” Matt Christy wrote in the comments section under Stivener’s ad .
Others pointed out that 10 years ago was 2009 — blackface wasn’t the norm then, either.
“If my Grandparents knew in the 50s that it wasn’t a good look, there’s no excuse for you not to know in 2009, with all of this vast internet,” said K Lamont James.
“I supposed he missed the whole Ted Danson thing in 1993?” Marilyn Gerber wrote, referencing the actor’s scandal when he appeared at a comedic roast of Whoopi Goldberg, with whom he was in a relationship at the time, in blackface.
Some people did praise Stivender and the ad, though. Richard Bounds wrote, “Got my vote! I wish he’d run for the House of Representatives.” H Don Davis said, “Awesome message Craig! Wish you the best! You’ll make a excellent sheriff!”
CNN reached out to Stivender through email.
He said he was on a 24-hour shift at the police station, so couldn’t talk. But he did say he stood by his previous statements and the video.
Stivender told CNN affiliate WCSC that at the time he “had no idea what blackface was.”
“It just happened to be a Halloween costume for me.”
He told WCSC the photo was a mistake, but when asked if he apologized for the photo, he referred back to the video, saying it wasn’t his “intention to hurt anyone’s feelings or make fun of anyone.”
He repeated that it was just a Halloween costume.
Public figures in blackface
This isn’t the first time a public figure was seen wearing blackface. In South Carolina, a photo of Brant Tomlinson, then a candidate for Kershaw County Council, circled social media in 2018.
Tomlinson told CNN affiliate WACH that he and three other college students dressed up as characters from “Cool Runnings,” a movie about a Jamaican bobsled team, a decade ago. In a statement regarding the incident, he didn’t apologize, instead writing that the photo was spread by one of his political opponents in a “smear campaign” effort. He didn’t win the election.
More recently, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said this year that he dressed up in blackface to mimic Michael Jackson in a 1980s dance contest. Northam apologized for his actions and also made plans to dedicate himself to “healing that pain” of racial inequality.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also admitted to appearing in blackface at a party in 1980 during his years at the University of Virginia. He wrote that he accepts full responsibility for his conduct and that he had an “inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then.”
The problem with blackface
Blackface has a long and painful history. The most public version of it consisted of white actors who would darken their skin with makeup to look stereotypically “black.” Though the shows were meant to be funny to white audiences, they demeaned black people by reinforcing white notions of superiority and portraying black people using racist clichés and tropes — all while much of the entertainment industry remained unwilling to hire black professionals in front of, or behind, the camera.
Some people have argued that wearing blackface essentially equates another person’s race or ethnicity to a costume or a joke.
And given the history, which has been discussed widely in the era of social media, some say that the harm of the behavior exists regardless of whether a person says they intended to cause harm or not.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Stivender for Sheriff/Facebook
Man barges into church during wedding, shoots at bride and bishop
A gunman barged into a church in New Hampshire and opened fire, wounding a bride and the bishop before wedding guests tackled him, authorities said. Investigators want to know if the attack is related to another fatal shooting this month.
Dale Holloway, 37, was charged with first-degree assault after he allegedly opened fire at the New England Pentecostal Ministries in Pelham on Saturday.
The shooting left Claire McMullen, 60, hospitalized with arm injuries at a local hospital. The bishop, Stanley Choate, 75, was shot in the chest and hospitalized in serious condition, the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Mark Castiglione, 60, was struck in the head with an object and was treated and released from a local hospital, the release said.
McMullen and Castiglione are the bride and groom, CNN affiliate WHDH reported.
Wedding guests ‘gang-tackled him’
A 911 caller reported a man walked into the church and shot at the presiding bishop, the state attorney general’s office said.
Officers arrived at the church just after 10 a.m. Saturday, and found wedding guests had subdued the male suspect, Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark said at a news conference.
“From my understanding, they basically gang-tackled him,” he said.
Other wedding guests were treated for minor injuries and nobody was killed, Roark said. A handgun was recovered. Investigators are trying to determine whether the shooting is linked to a previous incident involving the groom’s son, Brandon Castiglione, who is accused of second-degree murder in the killing of pastor Luis Garcia this month. Garcia worked at the same church where Saturday’s shooting took place, and his body was found at a home in Londonderry on October 1, according to the affiliate.
Police say attack does not appear random
When asked if the shooting was related to Garcia’s killing, investigators said they are trying to determine whether there was a connection.
“We are certainly looking into that right now … whether there is in fact a clear connection between these two events that is something we’re trying to put together,” said Benjamin Agati, a senior assistant attorney general.
Roark told CNN affiliate WMUR that it does not appear to be a random attack. A memorial service was scheduled to be held for Garcia, 60, at the same venue after the wedding.
“It’s just surreal,” Donna Maciver told CNN affiliate WCVB. “Luis was shot, and now there’s a shooting at his church.”
A friend of the bishop injured in the shooting said he’s a pillar in the community. “A lot of people in the community look to Bishop Choate for leadership, especially African Americans,” Darius Mitchell told WCVB. ” You hear him preach and he definitely believes in God and God was looking out for him.”
The Pelham Police Department said it had provided active shooter training to members of the church within the past year.
Pelham is 40 miles north of Boston.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/10/13/man-barges-into-church-during-wedding-shoots-at-bride-and-bishop/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Man charged in sex sting after WALKING hundreds of miles to have sex with teen
INDIANAPOLIS — A 32-year-old faces federal charges alleging he walked hundreds of miles from central Indiana to Wisconsin to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
The Indianapolis Star cites a Department of Justice statement Friday as saying the person posing as a girl named “Kylee” was a sheriff’s deputy working with the FBI in a sting.
It says Tommy Lee Jenkins, of Whitestown, Indiana, began communicating online on Oct. 1, thinking Kylee lived 350 miles away with her mom in Neenah, Wisconsin.
After deciding to walk, he allegedly sent selfies and photos of exit signs to show he was getting closer. He was arrested in Winnebago County, Wisconsin.
He is charged with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, which carries a potential life sentence.
It wasn’t clear if Jenkins had a lawyer.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Fort Worth Cop Pulls An Amber Guyger And Kills Black Woman In Her Own Home
A white police officer killed an unarmed Black person who was only guilty of being home in Texas. Sound familiar?
This time the deadly shooting took place in Fort Worth early Saturday morning after an officer responded to a home because a concerned neighbor requested a wellness check. Atatiana Jefferson died about 2:30 a.m. local time, authorities said after reviewing the officer’s bodycam footage. The Fort Worth Police Department declined to identify the officer and would only describe him as “a white male who has been with the department since April of 2018.” He was placed on administrative leave, but there were no immediate reports of him being fired.
Jefferson was reportedly shot within four seconds of the officer issuing verbal commands to her.
The shooting came just about two weeks after a jury found former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger guilty of murder for giving the same type of lethal treatment to Botham Jean, who she shot in his own home after she purportedly confused his apartment for her own. The similarities between the two cases were striking and was the latest incident of a police officer in Texas being too quick on the draw in circumstances that didn’t require any gunplay at all.
Fort Worth is about 32 miles away from Dallas. Both cities have Black police chiefs.
Saturday morning’s shooting revived the issue of implicit racial bias within police departments.
“Ain’t no ‘perceived threat’ — unless it’s black folk,” local Pastor Michael Bell said Saturday. “Just our presence — we’re the threat.”
Not much information has been reported about Jefferson, who was 28 when she was killed. According to her Facebook and LinkedIn pages, she worked at and attended the historically Black college Xavier University of Lousiana.
If there was any solace to the situation, it was that Guyger’s conviction for a similarly egregious killing theoretically set a precedent for such cases. However, the offending officer was still on the Fort Worth Police Department payroll as of Saturday evening. And all of that was assuming the officer who killed Jefferson will ultimately be charged with murder. Guyger got off with a lenient sentence of 10 years.
The neighbor who called the non-emergency police number in Fort Worth said he only reached out to police because he found it curious that her lights were on and her door was open at such a late hour. James Smith said he was concerned because he said he knew Jefferson’s young nephew was there with her. But now, Smith said he regretted contacting law enforcement about Jefferson, who he called his friend.
“I’m shaken. I’m mad. I’m upset. And I feel it’s partly my fault,” Smith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “If I had never dialed the police department, she’d still be alive.”
Photo Credit: wfaa.com
Woman tells daughter’s murderer in court: ‘I hate you. I want to rip you limb from limb’
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jared Chance will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, after murdering and dismembering Ashley Young in 2018.
He learned his sentence Thursday after first hearing victim impact statements from members of Young’s family.
“Jared Chance I hate you,” said Kristine Young, Ashley’s mother, during her statement. “You had no right to take her from me – to take her from her family.”
Parts of Young’s body still haven’t been found. Finding her is a fight her family says they intend to keep up, according to WXMI.
“I believe you are evil,” Judge Trusock said before handing down the sentence of 100 to 200 years in prison. That’s far above the state guidelines for second-degree murder. “You are clearly a monster without any conscience whatsoever.”
Judge Trusock couldn’t sentence Chance to life without parole because his murder conviction was on a 2nd degree charge.
The judge explained that Chance will not be eligible for parole until he is 130 years old.
Chance’s parents are facing charges for allegedly helping their son cover up the killing.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Man once accused of putting toddler in oven now charged with pouring boiling water on 3-year-old
DELTONA, Fla. (WNCN) – A 3-year-old boy suffered severe burns after police said a 47-year-old man poured boiling water on his back, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Terry Man faces a charge of child abuse causing great bodily harm after being taken into custody on Thursday.
On Sept. 27, employees at the boy’s day care called deputies after seeing the burns on the boy’s back.
The sheriff’s office investigated and said May poured boiling water onto the child after the boy accidentally urinated on the floor.
May was previously charged with child abuse in 2018 in DeLand but was ultimately not prosecuted. He was accused of putting a 3-year-old in an oven, the sheriff’s office said.
The girl suffered extensive injuries, including cuts, swelling on her head, a 6-inch scar on her back, WKMG reported. The girl’s ear was burned likely from May putting her in the oven, according to a medical examiner.
May’s bond was set at $250,000 for his charge on Thursday.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Kansas 13-year-old girl who pointed finger gun at classmates charged with a felony
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A student has been charged with a felony following an incident at a Kansas middle school.
“If someone makes a direct threat to another person to do harm to another person, that is considered criminal threat and that would be a felony,” Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said.
Although Howe couldn’t speak to specifics in this case, he told WDAF what his office takes into account in these kinds of situations.
“Trust that there are a lot of people who do this all the time, making informed decisions based on all the facts,” Howe said.
Police arrested the 13-year-old girl on September 18 after investigators say she made a threat at Westridge Middle School with her finger.
Shawnee Mission School District spokesperson David Smith said there was no actual weapon found — it was a finger pointed like a gun.
Overland Park Police say the girl’s actions were confirmed by two other students. A school resource officer with the department made the arrest.
“In most instances, an individual with that kind of charge would be eligible for some kind of diversion plan,” Howe said. “It would be extremely difficult, almost impossible, under the current juvenile justice system to actually send them to the correctional facility for that type of behavior because it is such a low level offense, it would not meet the criteria needed.”
Howe couldn’t speak on the 13-year-old’s history, like if she had any prior offenses. He did say criminal history and public safety issues are considered when making a decision to file charges.
When asked if charging the teen with a felony seemed extreme, Howe referenced last year’s school shooting in Florida, which left 17 dead.
“I think law enforcement and schools understand that we need to address bad behavior,” Howe said. “Not be heavy-handed but at the same time, address that bad behavior and prevent it from getting worse.”
The Overland Park Police chief said that too often there are reports of violence in schools and inevitably questions about what should or should have been done to prevent the tragedy.
In Kansas, it’s illegal for a juvenile to possess a firearm, Howe said, but even in a school setting that is a misdemeanor. A threat constitutes a more serious criminal charge.
“It seems a little bit of an anomaly that you would think that having the actual gun that would be a more serious charge, but in fact it’s the actual threat,” Howe said. “And it’s something that maybe we need to look at with the legislature and reconcile that.”
Howe said the teen has a closed hearing at the Juvenile District Court within the next couple weeks.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/10/11/girl-13-charged-with-felony-for-finger-gun-threat-at-middle-school/
Photo Credit: nbcnews.com
NJ man charged for assaulting infant son, causing skull fracture
HACKENSACK, N.J. — A Paramus man is in custody for allegedly assaulting his infant son.
Avery Foote, 31, is charged with aggravated and assault and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrested following an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office after the infant was brought to Hackensack University Medical Center for what turned out to be a skull fracture, broken rib, broken wrist and retinal bleed, all of which were indicative of physical trauma.
The investigation determined Foote, the child’s biological father, intentionally caused the injuries, according to the prosecutor’s office. He was arrested and transported to Bergen County Jail.
The infant is still in the hospital in stable condition.
Photo Credit: Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office