Nude woman's death 'suspicious'; $1.2M after hit by grocery cart; FBI memories
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from the Midwest
- By TAMARA BROWNING The (Springfield) State Journal-Register
- Updated
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Lori Downing brought her own copy of a newly published book Sept. 21 to HSHS St. John's Children's Hospital to be signed by its author and her family, whom Downing sees as an inspiration.
The book is "A Different Beautiful: Discovering and Celebrating Beauty in Places You Never Expected" (Barbour Publishing Inc.), which chronicles Courtney Westlake's journey in seeing beauty beyond her 4-year-old daughter Brenna's severe genetic skin condition.
Downing's copy was signed by Westlake, 32; her son, Connor, 7; and Brenna, who signed with the letter "B." Her husband, Evan, 31, was also there.
"I've already read it. It's very inspiring," said Downing, who lives outside Mechanicsburg. "Courtney is a very good writer, and I follow her blog 'Blessed by Brenna.' It's very inspiring to read about their family. I know it's probably hard to share their family, but I think they're making a difference making people aware of the differences, and that Brenna is just a normal little child like everyone else."
Brenna, who has the rare skin condition called harlequin ichthyosis, spent six weeks in St. John's Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after her birth Dec. 19, 2011, and has been hospitalized and had surgery several more times since. She is the 2016-17 Illinois Champion Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
Brenna's condition causes her peeling skin to look red, giving the "appearance of a terrible sunburn over her entire body."
"I want to explain so many things to strangers -- that Brenna almost died when she was born, how much work it is every day to keep her skin comfortable, and most importantly, how she is just another child," Westlake writes in "A Different Beautiful."
"But as time goes on, I see what is much more important than public education about difference: educating Brenna about life, helping her to understand how God sees her and how He created her, and teaching her that her worth and her purpose are found only in God. I want the light of both of my children's differences to shine brightly."
Downing's children and Evan Westlake went to school together at Tri-City.
"I just think they have a lot of support from both sides of their family, and I think Brenna was put in the right family," Downing said.
In "A Different Beautiful," Westlake weaves stories about her early years and her experiences as a mother to show how God changed her thoughts and approach to life. She now puts her trust in God's strength and guidance.
Westlake's previous visions of what having a daughter would mean to her have changed, she wrote. She once pictured a daughter wearing cute little swimsuits, pink twirly dresses, having crushes on her brother's friends and teenage fights about too-tight clothing. She wondered if her daughter would be smart, athletic or popular.
"I became a different person on December 19, 2011. It didn't happen all at once, but that was the day that God firmly took hold of my heart and began to slowly mold and change me," Westlake writes. "That was the day that God gave me a choice about whether to embrace the gifts in this world, to embrace the perfect and unique differences that He placed into my life -- or whether to run toward resentment and bitterness.
"And it was not simply a matter of accepting my daughter as she was born and as God created her. No, He moved much deeper than a mother's unconditional love for her child. I felt Him challenge me, day after day, to tear down the preconceptions and the misconceptions of life as I knew it."
Having also written "That's How You Know," Westlake said her latest book has been doing well in sales since its release date Aug. 1. It's sold over 6,000 copies, she said.
The book signing in the lobby of the children's hospital was a way to celebrate the exciting things going on in the Westlake family, said Brandy Grove, major gift officer with HSHS St. John's Foundation.
"Today is just about celebrating Brenna and her family," Grove said. "We're so thankful for our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to have saved Brenna's life and our amazing caregivers... We're just really happy to support the Westlake family and Brenna in all their journeys and endeavors."
Westlake said that maintaining Brenna's health is a daily challenge.
"I feel like every day is putting trust in God's plan for her," she said, "and it's been amazing to see over the years how he's taken the struggles that we've had and used them for other good."
___
Source: The (Springfield) State Journal-Register, http://bit.ly/2cKCWTi
___
Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by The (Springfield) State Journal-Register.
- Updated
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — Members of college fraternities are on a roll — for good causes — between cities of the Upper Peninsula.
Tau Kappa Epsilon at Lake Superior State University is pushing a tub on wheels from Marquette's Northern Michigan University to Sault Ste. Marie. Fraternity members plan to leave Saturday and hope to reach their campus by Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, members of the TKE chapter at Michigan Technological University will be racing their own tub on the same day from Marquette to their home in Houghton.
Lake Superior State's chapter is raising money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Michigan Tech's TKE house is fundraising for the Copper Country Humane Society.
- Updated
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man from Mexico who has been deported several times faces charges accusing him of raping a child in Kansas.
Tomas Martinez-Maldonado is jailed in Geary County on $100,000 bond on a charge of raping a child under the age of 14 last month. Public defender Cole Hawver declined to comment Friday. The public defender's office was appointed to represent Martinez-Maldonado during his first appearance Thursday.
The Kansas Bureau of Information says he was taken into custody in late September in Missouri, where authorities alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE said Friday that Martinez-Maldonado has been deported back to Mexico 10 times since 2010. ICE also says he's a priority for deportation when his Kansas case is completed.
- Updated
LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say the nude body of a 30-year-old Columbus woman was found in a central Ohio cornfield in a case they're characterizing as a suspicious death.
The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette (http://ohne.ws/2dLwmgZ ) reports a passerby spotted the body about 20 feet from a road on Thursday afternoon in Pleasantville, roughly 25 miles southeast of Columbus.
Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said there was trauma to the body, but he didn't offer details. It's not clear how long the body was in the field before it was found.
Lt. Alex Lape says no personal belongings were found nearby the woman.
Her death remains under investigation.
___
Information from: Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com
- By JULIE CARR SMYTH AP Statehouse Correspondent
- Updated
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state's new medical marijuana advisory committee will include two members of a group that fought legalization, raising concerns among advocates about whether the panel will be stacked against them.
The 14-member panel's roster was set with final appointments this week. Its first meeting must be held within a month.
Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger named Marcie Seidel, executive director of the Drug Free Action Alliance, as one of his two appointees on Thursday. The assistant director at the alliance, Tony Coder, was named to the committee by Republican Gov. John Kasich. Seidel and Coder are designated to represent people involved in mental health treatment and alcohol- and drug-addiction treatment, respectively.
Rosenberger said the alliance has in-depth knowledge of medical marijuana laws and Seidel will bring "broad understanding" to the post.
Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, an offshoot of the group that pushed legalization of medical marijuana, said these positions weren't meant for opponents.
"Her only qualifications are that she really doesn't like medical marijuana," said Aaron Marshall, the group's spokesman. "We were hopeful that all the appointments would be made in good faith."
Coder said the alliance's primary concern as Ohio establishes its new medical marijuana program is patients.
"We want to ensure that patients whose doctors recommend marijuana have access to a safe product for their condition," he said in an email. "At the same time, we want to reiterate that this is a medical marijuana bill, and we want Ohio's program to be about patient health and safety rather than creating another big tobacco or another industry that is more concerned about profit than health."
He said he has spent 13 years and Seidel has spent 18 years in substance abuse prevention, which includes promotion of mental health wellness. He said they both intend to respect that medical marijuana is now law in Ohio.
Rounding out the advisory committee are:
— Pharmacists: Curtis Passafume Jr., a vice president of pharmacy services at Ohio Health, and Stephanie Abel, of the James Cancer Center;
— Physicians: Oncologist Jerry Mitchell Jr., of the Zagmesiter Cancer Center; and Amol Soin, a pain management expert at the Ohio Pain Clinic and Greene Memorial Hospital;
— Nurse: Nancy Walsh Mosca, a nurse and nurse educator from Mahoning County;
— Patient advocate: James "Ted" Bibart, a legislative analyst who's studied marijuana law at Benesch Attorneys at Law;
— Agriculture: Michael Hirsch, of Hirsch Fruit Farm in Ross County;
— Local law enforcement: Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart;
— Organized labor: Jason Kaseman, political director for the United Food & Commercial Workers;
— Employer: Michael Stanek, vice president of Hunt Imaging in Berea;
— Caregiver: Martin McCarthy Jr., a parent from Parma;
— Academic researcher: Gary Wenk, a professor of psychology, neuroscience and molecular virology at Ohio State University who's studied the effects of medical marijuana.
___
- By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
- Updated
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Leaders of Montana's Blackfeet Indian Reservation announced plans on Friday to establish a herd of bison on U.S. Forest Service land near Glacier National Park that tribal members consider sacred.
The tribe on Friday released a proclamation saying the bison, also known as buffalo, would be able to roam freely within the Badger-Two Medicine area.
The 130,000-acre area within the Lewis and Clark National Forest is located just east of the Blackfeet reservation and has been the focus of a long-running dispute over proposed oil and gas drilling. It's been designated by federal officials as a Traditional Cultural District of the Blackfeet under the National Historic Preservation Act.
The 89 bison the tribe would move into the Badger-Two Medicine area were relocated to the Blackfeet reservation from Elk Island National Park in Canada in May.
Bison played a central role in Blackfeet culture before the animals were wiped out in the late 1800s by commercial hunting.
Blackfeet chairman Harry Barnes said that when the Blackfeet ceded the Badger-Two Medicine to the government it retained treaty rights allowing its members to hunt, graze and conduct other activities on the land. He said those treaty rights allow it to bring in bison.
"We were always a buffalo people so we're trying to return some of that culturally-significant aspect of our culture," Barnes said. "This makes that designated area more complete both culturally and as an ecosystem."
Barnes told The Associated Press that tribal officials have held preliminary discussions with federal officials about the tribe's plans. Representatives of the Lewis and Clark Forest did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
It will be at least a year before the bison are moved, Barnes said. In the meantime tribal officials will work with the Forest Service to decide what part of the Badger-Two Medicine would be most appropriate for the animals.
The U.S. Interior Department earlier this year cancelled a 6,200-acre oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine, citing in part the area's spiritual significance to the Blackfeet as the site of the tribe's creation story. The company that owns the lease, Solenex LLC, has sued the government to overturn the cancellation.
Barnes said the bison relocation was unrelated to the legal dispute.
- Updated
CLINTON, Mich. (AP) — A 94-year-old woman has shared her memories of her work as a stenographer with the FBI back in the J. Edgar Hoover days.
The Detroit News (http://detne.ws/2dAsuxm ) reported that Jean Fisher was joined in her Clinton Township home by family members and David Gelios, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit office.
"This is such a thrill for me to come and spend a little time with you here today," Gelios told Fisher. "This is a privilege."
During Gelios' visit with Fisher he presented her with a coffee mug, baseball cap and T-shirt with the FBI's logo.
Fisher reminisced and said she still had the telegram the FBI sent to her in 1941, offering her a job as a stenographer. She took the position in Washington, D.C., where she earned about $1,400 annually.
"I took all kinds of reports, I typed them and I took shorthand," Fisher said. "Everyone was always so nice and we worked so hard."
She said she remembers working long hours and filling in as a secretary for J. Edgar Hoover, the bureau's first director.
"He was strict," Fisher said. "That's what I remember about him. And he was a good-looking guy."
Fisher lives with her daughter, Maureen Sinnamon, who said the family was always proud of Fisher's FBI career.
"We grew up with all of her stories," she said. "She's so proud of having worked for the FBI. She had other jobs, but that one is the highlight."
Fisher resigned in 1946 after having her third child.
___
Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/
- By MAX B. O'CONNELL Rapid City Journal
- Updated
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — After nearly a decade of giving grants and heaping on praise, the National Endowment for the Arts will give another gift to the First Peoples Fund with the return this weekend of recordings of Lakota songs and speeches made in the 1890s.
The late 19th century recordings were made on wax cylinders, and the 1940s recordings were made on acetate discs. They have been archived at the American Folk Life Center at the Library of Congress, and now two sets of digital copies, as well as field notes and translations, will be returned to the Lakota people.
The materials will be handed over at a ceremony by at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City during the Lakota Dakota Nakota Language Summit, billed as "Tuseca Tiospaye." The ceremony will see recordings of Lakota songs and speech accepted by representatives from Oglala Lakota College, the Rapid City Journal reported (http://bit.ly/2dzM6C8 ).
Giving added weight to the return of the recordings will be the presence of Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who will be in Rapid City for the repatriation of the recordings and also to attend the First Peoples Fund's Community Spirit Awards on Saturday.
"It's meaningful because we're giving back the originals, something that was theirs," Chu said. "We've digitized the audio at no cost to the Oglala Lakota, and we're really appreciative to be able to give them back."
That sentiment was echoed by Tawa Ducheneaux, an archivist at Oglala Lakota College.
"It's very important that federal agencies have recognized the value of partnering and collaborating with tribal nations to repatriate materials that have the most meaning by being able to be accessed locally," Ducheneaux said. "We feel it's fitting that this happen with an audience of language speakers, linguists and preservationists."
Chu said she is excited to be meeting with local Native Americans and to meet people involved with the First Peoples Fund.
"I'd known about the First Peoples Fund prior to being at the NEA," Chu said. "I'm very excited about going to visit them. It's been a grantee for a number of years, so it's great to be able to see firsthand the great work they're doing."
The endowment for the arts is an independent agency of the United States government that supports and funds important artistic projects across the country. Chu is the 11th chair, having taken the position in June 2014, and has a background of philanthropy, business, and arts administration, and is also a trained pianist.
The organization has supported the First Peoples Fund since 2007, awarding nine grants totaling $270,000 over nine years. This year it gave $60,000 to support the Community Spirit Awards ceremony and Rolling Rez workshops. Chu's attendance will mark the first time an endowment chairperson will be present for the awards.
"We're very appreciative of being invited and being able to participate," Chu said.
Chu added that part of the NEA's mission has been to be able to honor different traditions and heritage as it relates to arts and culture.
"That's very important to us, because that's what America's all about," Chu said. "The Community Spirit Awards are about the power that arts and culture has to honor tradition and heritage. That's very critical to who we are."
The Community Spirit Awards, which take place Saturday evening at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City, will honor seven Native American artists from across the country who selflessly weave their talents and knowledge into their communities.
Chu said she felt the awards were an important way to honor Native American artists that also shows the importance of art in a community.
"As far as I'm concerned, arts help people understand themselves, and that's what's happening here," Chu said. "From clothing to bead work to dancers, it's part of making Native cultures tangible and visible. It means that these artists are culture bearers, and this is an opportunity to shine light on them."
Chu, the awards recipients and other endowment representatives will tour Pine Ridge on Sunday morning, with a visit to the Oglala Lakota College Historical Center planned.
Chu said she looked forward to traveling to "this beautiful part of the country" and meeting new people, and that she viewed the arts as another vocabulary, something that transcended everyday conversation.
"The arts have an ability to bring us together, to show us that we're not forced to be alike, but that we can honor the ways we're different and celebrate it," Chu said.
___
Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
- Updated
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys for a couple accused of laundering drug money for a Mexican cartel at a small southwest Kansas bank say they have negotiated a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
A joint notice filed Friday by George and Agatha Enns of Meade notifies the court of their intention to change their pleas. Their attorneys say they have not yet gotten a copy of the plea agreement, but expect to set the case for a hearing to enter new pleas before the year ends.
The filing comes a day after former Plains State Bank President James Kirk Friend told the court he plans to change his plea. His change-of-plea hearing is Oct. 17.
Prosecutors contend Friend helped the couple launder more than $6.8 million between 2011 and 2014.
- Updated
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Lincoln high school student caused a panic by peering into a classroom wearing a clown mask.
The Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/2dzMVuF ) reports that seven students connected to the Thursday prank at Lincoln Southwest High School have been cited with disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor.
"They probably thought this was no big deal," Lincoln Police Capt. Don Scheinost said. "What some people think is a joke isn't always a joke to everybody."
A video taken of the masked student circulated on social media, disturbing other students and disrupting classes throughout the day. Scheinost said the incident also contributed to the hysteria about clowns' presence in the city and country in the weeks before Halloween.
Scheinost said none of the seven juveniles was arrested, but their cases have been referred to the Lancaster County Attorney's Office for prosecution.
Authorities say police have been called to look into numerous clown sightings that often involve weapons, though officials say none of those reports has been substantiated.
___
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
- Updated
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in a laundry chute at her home.
One of the victim's sisters says she hadn't heard from her in a few days so she went to check on her and that's when she found her body. Relatives identify the woman as 58-year-old Kaye Powell.
A neighbor, Monique Dickerson, tells WISN-TV (http://bit.ly/2cWVVfz ), she would often see Powell in her garden or with her pets. Dickerson says Powell was nice to everyone. Police say the woman's death is suspicious. Family members say investigators are looking into her death as a homicide.
___
Information from: WISN-TV, http://www.wisn.com
- Updated
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Missouri man has pleaded guilty in a $2.25 million conspiracy to make anabolic steroids and sell them online.
The U.S. attorney's office says 28-year-old Michael Peters, of Pelham, New Hampshire, also pleaded guilty Thursday to a conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He admitted through his plea that he and other conspirators operated an online company that sold steroids to customers throughout the U.S. They also sent about $200,000 in drug proceeds to China to purchase additional raw materials to manufacture steroids.
Peters' role included collecting money from customers, purchasing supplies, assisting in the steroid manufacturing process, handling online orders and shipping steroids to customers.
He faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison without parole. No sentencing date has been set.
- By TAMARA BROWNING The (Springfield) State Journal-Register
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Lori Downing brought her own copy of a newly published book Sept. 21 to HSHS St. John's Children's Hospital to be signed by its author and her family, whom Downing sees as an inspiration.
The book is "A Different Beautiful: Discovering and Celebrating Beauty in Places You Never Expected" (Barbour Publishing Inc.), which chronicles Courtney Westlake's journey in seeing beauty beyond her 4-year-old daughter Brenna's severe genetic skin condition.
Downing's copy was signed by Westlake, 32; her son, Connor, 7; and Brenna, who signed with the letter "B." Her husband, Evan, 31, was also there.
"I've already read it. It's very inspiring," said Downing, who lives outside Mechanicsburg. "Courtney is a very good writer, and I follow her blog 'Blessed by Brenna.' It's very inspiring to read about their family. I know it's probably hard to share their family, but I think they're making a difference making people aware of the differences, and that Brenna is just a normal little child like everyone else."
Brenna, who has the rare skin condition called harlequin ichthyosis, spent six weeks in St. John's Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after her birth Dec. 19, 2011, and has been hospitalized and had surgery several more times since. She is the 2016-17 Illinois Champion Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
Brenna's condition causes her peeling skin to look red, giving the "appearance of a terrible sunburn over her entire body."
"I want to explain so many things to strangers -- that Brenna almost died when she was born, how much work it is every day to keep her skin comfortable, and most importantly, how she is just another child," Westlake writes in "A Different Beautiful."
"But as time goes on, I see what is much more important than public education about difference: educating Brenna about life, helping her to understand how God sees her and how He created her, and teaching her that her worth and her purpose are found only in God. I want the light of both of my children's differences to shine brightly."
Downing's children and Evan Westlake went to school together at Tri-City.
"I just think they have a lot of support from both sides of their family, and I think Brenna was put in the right family," Downing said.
In "A Different Beautiful," Westlake weaves stories about her early years and her experiences as a mother to show how God changed her thoughts and approach to life. She now puts her trust in God's strength and guidance.
Westlake's previous visions of what having a daughter would mean to her have changed, she wrote. She once pictured a daughter wearing cute little swimsuits, pink twirly dresses, having crushes on her brother's friends and teenage fights about too-tight clothing. She wondered if her daughter would be smart, athletic or popular.
"I became a different person on December 19, 2011. It didn't happen all at once, but that was the day that God firmly took hold of my heart and began to slowly mold and change me," Westlake writes. "That was the day that God gave me a choice about whether to embrace the gifts in this world, to embrace the perfect and unique differences that He placed into my life -- or whether to run toward resentment and bitterness.
"And it was not simply a matter of accepting my daughter as she was born and as God created her. No, He moved much deeper than a mother's unconditional love for her child. I felt Him challenge me, day after day, to tear down the preconceptions and the misconceptions of life as I knew it."
Having also written "That's How You Know," Westlake said her latest book has been doing well in sales since its release date Aug. 1. It's sold over 6,000 copies, she said.
The book signing in the lobby of the children's hospital was a way to celebrate the exciting things going on in the Westlake family, said Brandy Grove, major gift officer with HSHS St. John's Foundation.
"Today is just about celebrating Brenna and her family," Grove said. "We're so thankful for our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to have saved Brenna's life and our amazing caregivers... We're just really happy to support the Westlake family and Brenna in all their journeys and endeavors."
Westlake said that maintaining Brenna's health is a daily challenge.
"I feel like every day is putting trust in God's plan for her," she said, "and it's been amazing to see over the years how he's taken the struggles that we've had and used them for other good."
___
Source: The (Springfield) State Journal-Register, http://bit.ly/2cKCWTi
___
Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by The (Springfield) State Journal-Register.
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — Members of college fraternities are on a roll — for good causes — between cities of the Upper Peninsula.
Tau Kappa Epsilon at Lake Superior State University is pushing a tub on wheels from Marquette's Northern Michigan University to Sault Ste. Marie. Fraternity members plan to leave Saturday and hope to reach their campus by Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, members of the TKE chapter at Michigan Technological University will be racing their own tub on the same day from Marquette to their home in Houghton.
Lake Superior State's chapter is raising money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Michigan Tech's TKE house is fundraising for the Copper Country Humane Society.
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man from Mexico who has been deported several times faces charges accusing him of raping a child in Kansas.
Tomas Martinez-Maldonado is jailed in Geary County on $100,000 bond on a charge of raping a child under the age of 14 last month. Public defender Cole Hawver declined to comment Friday. The public defender's office was appointed to represent Martinez-Maldonado during his first appearance Thursday.
The Kansas Bureau of Information says he was taken into custody in late September in Missouri, where authorities alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE said Friday that Martinez-Maldonado has been deported back to Mexico 10 times since 2010. ICE also says he's a priority for deportation when his Kansas case is completed.
LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say the nude body of a 30-year-old Columbus woman was found in a central Ohio cornfield in a case they're characterizing as a suspicious death.
The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette (http://ohne.ws/2dLwmgZ ) reports a passerby spotted the body about 20 feet from a road on Thursday afternoon in Pleasantville, roughly 25 miles southeast of Columbus.
Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said there was trauma to the body, but he didn't offer details. It's not clear how long the body was in the field before it was found.
Lt. Alex Lape says no personal belongings were found nearby the woman.
Her death remains under investigation.
___
Information from: Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com
- By JULIE CARR SMYTH AP Statehouse Correspondent
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state's new medical marijuana advisory committee will include two members of a group that fought legalization, raising concerns among advocates about whether the panel will be stacked against them.
The 14-member panel's roster was set with final appointments this week. Its first meeting must be held within a month.
Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger named Marcie Seidel, executive director of the Drug Free Action Alliance, as one of his two appointees on Thursday. The assistant director at the alliance, Tony Coder, was named to the committee by Republican Gov. John Kasich. Seidel and Coder are designated to represent people involved in mental health treatment and alcohol- and drug-addiction treatment, respectively.
Rosenberger said the alliance has in-depth knowledge of medical marijuana laws and Seidel will bring "broad understanding" to the post.
Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, an offshoot of the group that pushed legalization of medical marijuana, said these positions weren't meant for opponents.
"Her only qualifications are that she really doesn't like medical marijuana," said Aaron Marshall, the group's spokesman. "We were hopeful that all the appointments would be made in good faith."
Coder said the alliance's primary concern as Ohio establishes its new medical marijuana program is patients.
"We want to ensure that patients whose doctors recommend marijuana have access to a safe product for their condition," he said in an email. "At the same time, we want to reiterate that this is a medical marijuana bill, and we want Ohio's program to be about patient health and safety rather than creating another big tobacco or another industry that is more concerned about profit than health."
He said he has spent 13 years and Seidel has spent 18 years in substance abuse prevention, which includes promotion of mental health wellness. He said they both intend to respect that medical marijuana is now law in Ohio.
Rounding out the advisory committee are:
— Pharmacists: Curtis Passafume Jr., a vice president of pharmacy services at Ohio Health, and Stephanie Abel, of the James Cancer Center;
— Physicians: Oncologist Jerry Mitchell Jr., of the Zagmesiter Cancer Center; and Amol Soin, a pain management expert at the Ohio Pain Clinic and Greene Memorial Hospital;
— Nurse: Nancy Walsh Mosca, a nurse and nurse educator from Mahoning County;
— Patient advocate: James "Ted" Bibart, a legislative analyst who's studied marijuana law at Benesch Attorneys at Law;
— Agriculture: Michael Hirsch, of Hirsch Fruit Farm in Ross County;
— Local law enforcement: Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart;
— Organized labor: Jason Kaseman, political director for the United Food & Commercial Workers;
— Employer: Michael Stanek, vice president of Hunt Imaging in Berea;
— Caregiver: Martin McCarthy Jr., a parent from Parma;
— Academic researcher: Gary Wenk, a professor of psychology, neuroscience and molecular virology at Ohio State University who's studied the effects of medical marijuana.
___
- By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Leaders of Montana's Blackfeet Indian Reservation announced plans on Friday to establish a herd of bison on U.S. Forest Service land near Glacier National Park that tribal members consider sacred.
The tribe on Friday released a proclamation saying the bison, also known as buffalo, would be able to roam freely within the Badger-Two Medicine area.
The 130,000-acre area within the Lewis and Clark National Forest is located just east of the Blackfeet reservation and has been the focus of a long-running dispute over proposed oil and gas drilling. It's been designated by federal officials as a Traditional Cultural District of the Blackfeet under the National Historic Preservation Act.
The 89 bison the tribe would move into the Badger-Two Medicine area were relocated to the Blackfeet reservation from Elk Island National Park in Canada in May.
Bison played a central role in Blackfeet culture before the animals were wiped out in the late 1800s by commercial hunting.
Blackfeet chairman Harry Barnes said that when the Blackfeet ceded the Badger-Two Medicine to the government it retained treaty rights allowing its members to hunt, graze and conduct other activities on the land. He said those treaty rights allow it to bring in bison.
"We were always a buffalo people so we're trying to return some of that culturally-significant aspect of our culture," Barnes said. "This makes that designated area more complete both culturally and as an ecosystem."
Barnes told The Associated Press that tribal officials have held preliminary discussions with federal officials about the tribe's plans. Representatives of the Lewis and Clark Forest did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
It will be at least a year before the bison are moved, Barnes said. In the meantime tribal officials will work with the Forest Service to decide what part of the Badger-Two Medicine would be most appropriate for the animals.
The U.S. Interior Department earlier this year cancelled a 6,200-acre oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine, citing in part the area's spiritual significance to the Blackfeet as the site of the tribe's creation story. The company that owns the lease, Solenex LLC, has sued the government to overturn the cancellation.
Barnes said the bison relocation was unrelated to the legal dispute.
CLINTON, Mich. (AP) — A 94-year-old woman has shared her memories of her work as a stenographer with the FBI back in the J. Edgar Hoover days.
The Detroit News (http://detne.ws/2dAsuxm ) reported that Jean Fisher was joined in her Clinton Township home by family members and David Gelios, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit office.
"This is such a thrill for me to come and spend a little time with you here today," Gelios told Fisher. "This is a privilege."
During Gelios' visit with Fisher he presented her with a coffee mug, baseball cap and T-shirt with the FBI's logo.
Fisher reminisced and said she still had the telegram the FBI sent to her in 1941, offering her a job as a stenographer. She took the position in Washington, D.C., where she earned about $1,400 annually.
"I took all kinds of reports, I typed them and I took shorthand," Fisher said. "Everyone was always so nice and we worked so hard."
She said she remembers working long hours and filling in as a secretary for J. Edgar Hoover, the bureau's first director.
"He was strict," Fisher said. "That's what I remember about him. And he was a good-looking guy."
Fisher lives with her daughter, Maureen Sinnamon, who said the family was always proud of Fisher's FBI career.
"We grew up with all of her stories," she said. "She's so proud of having worked for the FBI. She had other jobs, but that one is the highlight."
Fisher resigned in 1946 after having her third child.
___
Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/
- By MAX B. O'CONNELL Rapid City Journal
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — After nearly a decade of giving grants and heaping on praise, the National Endowment for the Arts will give another gift to the First Peoples Fund with the return this weekend of recordings of Lakota songs and speeches made in the 1890s.
The late 19th century recordings were made on wax cylinders, and the 1940s recordings were made on acetate discs. They have been archived at the American Folk Life Center at the Library of Congress, and now two sets of digital copies, as well as field notes and translations, will be returned to the Lakota people.
The materials will be handed over at a ceremony by at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City during the Lakota Dakota Nakota Language Summit, billed as "Tuseca Tiospaye." The ceremony will see recordings of Lakota songs and speech accepted by representatives from Oglala Lakota College, the Rapid City Journal reported (http://bit.ly/2dzM6C8 ).
Giving added weight to the return of the recordings will be the presence of Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who will be in Rapid City for the repatriation of the recordings and also to attend the First Peoples Fund's Community Spirit Awards on Saturday.
"It's meaningful because we're giving back the originals, something that was theirs," Chu said. "We've digitized the audio at no cost to the Oglala Lakota, and we're really appreciative to be able to give them back."
That sentiment was echoed by Tawa Ducheneaux, an archivist at Oglala Lakota College.
"It's very important that federal agencies have recognized the value of partnering and collaborating with tribal nations to repatriate materials that have the most meaning by being able to be accessed locally," Ducheneaux said. "We feel it's fitting that this happen with an audience of language speakers, linguists and preservationists."
Chu said she is excited to be meeting with local Native Americans and to meet people involved with the First Peoples Fund.
"I'd known about the First Peoples Fund prior to being at the NEA," Chu said. "I'm very excited about going to visit them. It's been a grantee for a number of years, so it's great to be able to see firsthand the great work they're doing."
The endowment for the arts is an independent agency of the United States government that supports and funds important artistic projects across the country. Chu is the 11th chair, having taken the position in June 2014, and has a background of philanthropy, business, and arts administration, and is also a trained pianist.
The organization has supported the First Peoples Fund since 2007, awarding nine grants totaling $270,000 over nine years. This year it gave $60,000 to support the Community Spirit Awards ceremony and Rolling Rez workshops. Chu's attendance will mark the first time an endowment chairperson will be present for the awards.
"We're very appreciative of being invited and being able to participate," Chu said.
Chu added that part of the NEA's mission has been to be able to honor different traditions and heritage as it relates to arts and culture.
"That's very important to us, because that's what America's all about," Chu said. "The Community Spirit Awards are about the power that arts and culture has to honor tradition and heritage. That's very critical to who we are."
The Community Spirit Awards, which take place Saturday evening at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City, will honor seven Native American artists from across the country who selflessly weave their talents and knowledge into their communities.
Chu said she felt the awards were an important way to honor Native American artists that also shows the importance of art in a community.
"As far as I'm concerned, arts help people understand themselves, and that's what's happening here," Chu said. "From clothing to bead work to dancers, it's part of making Native cultures tangible and visible. It means that these artists are culture bearers, and this is an opportunity to shine light on them."
Chu, the awards recipients and other endowment representatives will tour Pine Ridge on Sunday morning, with a visit to the Oglala Lakota College Historical Center planned.
Chu said she looked forward to traveling to "this beautiful part of the country" and meeting new people, and that she viewed the arts as another vocabulary, something that transcended everyday conversation.
"The arts have an ability to bring us together, to show us that we're not forced to be alike, but that we can honor the ways we're different and celebrate it," Chu said.
___
Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys for a couple accused of laundering drug money for a Mexican cartel at a small southwest Kansas bank say they have negotiated a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
A joint notice filed Friday by George and Agatha Enns of Meade notifies the court of their intention to change their pleas. Their attorneys say they have not yet gotten a copy of the plea agreement, but expect to set the case for a hearing to enter new pleas before the year ends.
The filing comes a day after former Plains State Bank President James Kirk Friend told the court he plans to change his plea. His change-of-plea hearing is Oct. 17.
Prosecutors contend Friend helped the couple launder more than $6.8 million between 2011 and 2014.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Lincoln high school student caused a panic by peering into a classroom wearing a clown mask.
The Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/2dzMVuF ) reports that seven students connected to the Thursday prank at Lincoln Southwest High School have been cited with disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor.
"They probably thought this was no big deal," Lincoln Police Capt. Don Scheinost said. "What some people think is a joke isn't always a joke to everybody."
A video taken of the masked student circulated on social media, disturbing other students and disrupting classes throughout the day. Scheinost said the incident also contributed to the hysteria about clowns' presence in the city and country in the weeks before Halloween.
Scheinost said none of the seven juveniles was arrested, but their cases have been referred to the Lancaster County Attorney's Office for prosecution.
Authorities say police have been called to look into numerous clown sightings that often involve weapons, though officials say none of those reports has been substantiated.
___
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in a laundry chute at her home.
One of the victim's sisters says she hadn't heard from her in a few days so she went to check on her and that's when she found her body. Relatives identify the woman as 58-year-old Kaye Powell.
A neighbor, Monique Dickerson, tells WISN-TV (http://bit.ly/2cWVVfz ), she would often see Powell in her garden or with her pets. Dickerson says Powell was nice to everyone. Police say the woman's death is suspicious. Family members say investigators are looking into her death as a homicide.
___
Information from: WISN-TV, http://www.wisn.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Missouri man has pleaded guilty in a $2.25 million conspiracy to make anabolic steroids and sell them online.
The U.S. attorney's office says 28-year-old Michael Peters, of Pelham, New Hampshire, also pleaded guilty Thursday to a conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He admitted through his plea that he and other conspirators operated an online company that sold steroids to customers throughout the U.S. They also sent about $200,000 in drug proceeds to China to purchase additional raw materials to manufacture steroids.
Peters' role included collecting money from customers, purchasing supplies, assisting in the steroid manufacturing process, handling online orders and shipping steroids to customers.
He faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison without parole. No sentencing date has been set.
Most Popular
-
Arizona lawmaker seeks to jump-start I-11 construction
-
Former Arizona governor admitted to partaking in Peep jousting
-
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy -
Report: Sheriff Nanos improperly used position, resources in political foe's suspension
-
ICE agents pepper spray observers in South Tucson
