Women sends nude pics to ex's son; vaccine of cat saliva, vodka; choose your pronoun
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from the Midwest.
- By LISA CORNWELL Associated Press
- Updated
CINCINNATI (AP) — A new pilot program launched by the state to help reduce Ohio's prison population will allow low-level felony offenders to remain in their communities under supervision without going to prison.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction announced Wednesday that Clinton County in southwestern Ohio is the program's first recipient of a $200,000 grant under the voluntary project. The money from the department's budget will pay for supervision services, incarceration in local detention centers, electronic monitoring, substance use monitoring and treatment and other services for low-level felony offenders kept at the local level.
"Our prison system is too big, often because we have a lot of truly nonviolent folks coming to prison," department Director Gary Mohr said.
Ohio currently has just under 51,000 inmates, or just below the record of 51,273 in 2008. Mohr said he is confident the program can help reduce those numbers and ensure that low-level offenders receive essential treatment at the community level. The program is aimed at people convicted of crimes such as drug possession or theft, and those convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses aren't eligible.
In 2015, more than 20 percent of all those entering the state's prisons — over 4,300 individuals — were sent there with one year or less to serve, and many of them had been sentenced for nonviolent offenses at the lowest felony level.
"For those short-time, nonviolent offenders, who are often drug-addicted, local communities can do a better job because they are able to supervise them directly," Mohr said.
Clinton County Common Pleas Judge Tim Rudduck agrees that people addicted to drugs have a health issue that needs to be resolved.
"It's not simply a matter of putting someone in prison and telling that person to stop using drugs," Rudduck said. "It takes time, patience and understanding of what that person is going through."
Nothing in the grant agreement prevents a judge from sending anyone to prison, and Rudduck says he knows there will be some offenders he can't help. While some grant money would be withheld when an offender qualifying for the new program does go to prison, Rudduck sees that as an economic incentive for judges and communities to deal with the problem locally.
But the executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association said that group doesn't like the idea of inducements not to send offenders to prison.
"If they want to pass out money without strings, we wouldn't object to that," John Murphy said.
He said judges should make decisions based on what an offender did, "not because they are afraid that budget or grant money will be docked."
But Mohr stresses that the voluntary program, which the state hopes to expand to other counties, gives judges greater ability to look at offenders and their circumstances and opportunities when making sentencing decisions.
- Updated
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — The owners of a dog on death row are asking a judge to order DNA tests to try to clear their pet in the death of another dog.
The Times Herald in Port Huron (http://bwne.ws/2dfT5Qk ) says a judge has ordered that Jeb, a Belgian Malinois, must be euthanized. But the newspaper says a hearing has been scheduled for Monday on a request for a DNA swab from the dog that died.
Vlad, a Pomeranian, was found dead on Aug. 24. Jeb lived next door to Vlad in St. Clair.
Ed Marshall, an attorney for Jeb's owners, says a DNA swab could determine whether Jeb truly was involved. Authorities say Vlad's injuries suggest he was picked up and shaken by a larger animal.
___
Information from: Times Herald, http://www.thetimesherald.com
- Updated
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Public Schools is reviewing hiring practices after a former teacher with convictions for peeping and prowling was accused of hiding a camera in a school bathroom.
Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday they learned of 41-year-old Elliott Nott's criminal background after he was charged last week with unauthorized videotaping and child pornography.
CPS spokesman Michael Passman says CPS is performing the review to make sure proper hiring protocols are being followed.
The Chicago Tribune reports (http://trib.in/2dqAV1c ) court records from New Hampshire and Illinois show Nott was convicted of a prowling charge while he was a college track coach and window peeping case in southern Illinois.
Defense attorney Mark Basile says Nott's arrest record was "not relevant" to the current case.
___
Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com
- Updated
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state can close persistently low-performing public schools in Detroit before next June, Michigan's attorney general said Wednesday in an opinion that conflicts with Gov. Rick Snyder's belief that no doors can be locked until 2019 under a bailout approved by lawmakers.
Frustrated Republicans in the Legislature asked for Schuette's opinion after Snyder's interpretation.
"The law is clear: Michigan parents and their children do not have to be stuck indefinitely in a failing school. ... If a child can't spell opportunity, they won't have opportunity," Schuette, a Republican, said in a statement.
The opinion, which is binding unless reversed by a court, said any school operated by the Detroit district that was on the list of lowest-achieving 5 percent of schools since the 2013-14 academic year can be closed.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for the Republican governor, said Snyder's staff "needs time to review (the opinion) once it is received."
"The governor is following the law in this matter and as additional opinions interpreting the law are presented, they will be carefully reviewed," Adler said in an email.
Michigan's latest list of low-performing schools has 124 schools, including 116 that are still open. Of those, 47 are in the Detroit district and 11 are Detroit schools being run by the Education Achievement Authority — a turnaround entity that Snyder created.
"We ... will need to closely and carefully review the opinion with counsel and determine our course of action," district spokeswoman Chrystal Wilson said.
In addition, Schuette's opinion clarifies that school closures are required in accordance with state law unless closure would result in an unreasonable hardship because there are insufficient other public school options. In the event of a closure, students will be re-assigned to another school.
Shoniqua Kemp, whose daughter is a sophomore at Osborn Evergreen Academy of Design and Alternative Energy, said she feels "disheartened." The school has been a low performer for three years, but she believes it deserves more time to rebound.
"As a parent, I feel like these fly-by-night decisions are being made, and our children's futures are never considered," Kemp told the Detroit Free Press.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and House Speaker Kevin Cotter had said the law's "plain language" authorized Detroit school closures by the end of this school year. In a statement Wednesday, Cotter welcomed the ruling.
"This opinion is also the right decision to put those students back on the path to success and address the crippling problem presented by the worst of the worst schools in the city," Cotter said.
- Updated
ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a woman sent nude photos of herself to the teenage son of a former boyfriend.
Online court records say 46-year-old Charlotte Klisares is charged with dissemination and exhibition of obscene material to minors. Online court records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
Court documents say the Altoona woman used Facebook in June to provide sexually graphic photos of herself and of herself and the 17-year-old boy's father, whom she had been dating off and on.
Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says the two had an unfriendly split and that each was alleging harassment by the other.
- Updated
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A civilian employee accused of setting a co-worker on fire at a health center at Kansas' Fort Leavenworth is facing an additional charge in a new federal indictment.
Grand jurors on Wednesday in Kansas City, Kansas, indicted 54-year-old Clifford Currie of Leavenworth with one count each of assault with intent to commit murder and of assault with a dangerous weapon.
The indictment replaces a complaint that charged Currie only with assault to commit murder.
Prosecutors allege Currie threw a flammable liquid on his female supervisor, lit her on fire and assaulted her with a straight edge razor and scissors. Authorities say another worker was injured when she tried to stop the assault before other hospital employees subdued Currie.
Messages left Wednesday with Currie's public defenders weren't immediately returned.
- Updated
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Students at the University of Michigan can designate a personal pronoun to be used by professors.
School officials say it's an effort to build inclusiveness on campus. The pronoun could be he, she, him, his or ze.
Pronouns registered online will pop up in class rosters. Provost Martha Pollack is telling faculty to check the rosters in a few weeks to give students time to designate one, although a registered pronoun is not required.
Pollack says correctly using someone's pronoun "is one of the most basic ways to show respect" for a student's identity. The policy was developed over the past year by a university pronoun committee.
- Updated
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — Disability rights organizations said the death of a Wisconsin teenager who was allowed to end treatment of her incurable disease was an injustice.
The Post-Crescent (http://post.cr/2drsMW4 ) reported that Jerika Bolen, 14, died Thursday at a Sheboygan Falls hospice center after drawing national attention for her decision to end a lifelong fight against spinal muscular atrophy type two. The disease left her mostly immobile and with severe, chronic pain.
Disability advocates questioned Jerika's care, claiming that severe pain isn't characteristic of the disease. New York advocate Dominick Evans said his questions came from personal experience. Evans has spinal muscular atrophy type 3 and said teens with disabilities easily lose a sense of their self-worth.
"Our society teaches us that disability is bad, that disability will kill you and that's a horribly oppressing thing for a teenager to hear," said Evans.
Evans was among those expressing concern for Jerika's emotional state and whether she was influenced by others.
Not Dead Yet, a New York-based anti-euthanasia organization, issued a statement after Jerika's death, criticizing the news coverage as "one-sided applause for her suicide."
The group joined with Disabled Parents Rights, NMD United and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to send a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in early August to asked that they investigate Jerikas's care.
Disability Rights Wisconsin sent a separate letter to Outagamie County child protection authorities.
The newspaper said both agencies declined to comment following Jerika's death.
Jerika's mother, Jen Bolen, defended her daughter's decision and said they did all they could to maintain Jerika's quality of life.
"My only words to anyone questioning this is that I love that girl with every cell in my being," Bolen said, "and no one in their right mind would let someone suffer like she was."
Jerika's decision to end her life attracted widespread attention, including on social media. More than a 1,000 people attended a prom thrown in her honor in July at a ballroom in Appleton as a last wish.
___
Information from: Post-Crescent Media, http://www.postcrescent.com
- Updated
WALTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 12-year-old driver has struck a convenience store worker with a pickup truck, knocking the 71-year-old employee through a plate glass window.
The Hutchinson News (http://bit.ly/2dkMsu7 ) reports that the employee was sent to a Wichita hospital with a possible leg fracture after being hit Tuesday while picking up trash outside the store in the small town of Walton.
The young driver reported hitting the gas instead of the brakes. She was taken to a different hospital to be assessed for possible injuries.
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Melissa Flavin said in an email that authorities aren't sure whether she'll face charges.
A licensed 16-year-old and unlicensed 17-year-old also were in the truck with the 12-year-old when the collision happened. The 16-year-old was ticketed for contributing to a child's misconduct.
___
Information from: The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, http://www.hutchnews.com
- Updated
BURLINGTON, Mich. (AP) — An antique fire engine has been returned to Galien nearly 100 years after it was first put in service.
The Battle Creek Enquirer (http://bcene.ws/2drlEJn ) reported that Galien Fire Department officials picked up the 1919 Chevrolet firetruck Tuesday from the Burlington Fire Department.
Galien used the firetruck from 1919 to 1942 and then sold it to Burlington for $250. Burlington used the firetruck for about six years before retiring it. Retired Burlington firefighter Leo Hughes has since kept the firetruck in working condition.
Burlington Mayor Bob Weaver, who also serves as a fire department captain, said the truck has been used in parades and on special occasions. It can still be driven, although its top speed is 28mph.
Weaver also said the firetruck almost didn't make its way back to Galien. The village considered donating the firetruck to the Gilmore Car Museum before they were approached by the Galien fire department.
"They didn't think it was still around," Weaver said. "It was their first truck and they came to the village meeting and we felt going to the original department would be the best thing."
Burlington donated the firetruck to Galien and will still be allowed to use it for special events. Burlington will have first rights to the truck if Galien decides to dispose of it.
"We donated it with the condition that we can use it and we have the first rights to it," Weaver said.
According to Weaver, Galien plans to restore the firetruck just in time for the 100th anniversary of its fire department.
___
Information from: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com
- Updated
IONIA, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a Michigan prison inmate has died after fighting with another prisoner and being shocked with a stun gun as guards broke up the fight.
Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz says in an email two prisoners were told to stop fighting Tuesday at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia but refused. He says a stun gun was used on both inmates and Dustin Szot of Muskegon died later in the day.
WZZM-TV reports Szot's family was contacted by an inmate who told them about the confrontation. One of his brothers Zack Coons tells the TV station that family members want a review of any video and audio.
An autopsy is planned to determine cause of death for the 24-year-old. The corrections department says state police are investigating.
- Updated
LINDSBORG, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Army National Guard is investigating after a private admitted to being involved when chalk messages, including some that were racially offensive, were written on the sidewalks of Bethany College.
The 19-year-old apologized to The Salina Journal for his involvement. He offered no details about what happened Sept. 3 at the college in the central Kansas town of Lindsborg. The private wasn't a student there but is involved in the new alternative right group Identity Evropa, which the Southern Poverty Law Center is studying.
Lindsborg Police Chief Tim Berggren says the messages aren't likely to result in charges.
But Kansas Adjutant General's Office spokeswoman Katie Horner says Guard policy doesn't allow participation in group activities that advocate supremacist or extremist doctrine. She says "appropriate, swift action" will be taken.
___
Information from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, http://www.salina.com
- Updated
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — An 11-year-old western Michigan boy is using art to draw attention to the effects of global warming and boost efforts to save polar bears.
Bryce Madder of Kent County's Ada Township held an event this week at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum to promote the nonprofit Polar Army. His effort includes a website where children can create and post artwork related to saving polar bears.
A broader goal of the effort, however, is to help educate children about the effects of global warming on the Arctic. And in a statement, he says: "My vision is to use art to change the world, and at the same time, inspire a new generation of leaders."
Bryce plans to bring his Polar Army presentation to schools, churches and other organizations.
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Online:
- Updated
FARMLAND, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana campground that's been operating for more than a century is closing its gates amid a state lawsuit.
State health officials are suing the Three Waters Campground in the Randolph County town of Farmland over alleged health and safety violations, including standing water that served as mosquito breeding sites.
Campground owner Richard Waters tells The (Muncie) Star Press (http://tspne.ws/2cAUxij ) that "state inspectors have run me out of business."
The campground near Muncie has been a recreation site along the White River for 115 years. The site includes a fishing pond, an office and about three dozen wooded camp sites.
State Department of Health spokesman Ken Severson says the department never ordered the campground to close. He says that decision was "made solely by the owner."
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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com
- Updated
MASSILLON, Ohio (AP) — Police in northeast Ohio say they're searching for the man who abducted a 9-year-old girl while posing as a police officer and sexually assaulted her.
Police say the child was walking home from the library Monday evening in Massillon (MAS'-ih-luhn) when a man purporting to be a police officer pulled up next to her in a pickup truck and told her she had been reported missing.
He wasn't wearing a police uniform and didn't show a badge.
Police say he then grabbed her, forced her into the truck, took her to a nearby location and sexually assaulted her. She later walked home.
The child has been hospitalized and remains in stable condition.
Police have released photos of a Ford-F-150 with skull stickers that may be involved in the case.
- Updated
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that its infant mortality rate decreased in 2015 to the state's lowest annual figure ever.
The state Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that there were 230 infant deaths last year for a mortality rate of 5.9 for every 1,000 live births.
The figure was 6.3 deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2014, when 246 infant deaths were reported. The department also said the figure last year was 28 percent lower than it was in 1996.
The state's rate also is slightly below the national figure of 6 deaths for every 1,000 live births.
KDHE Secretary Susan Mosier attributed the decline to ongoing work by more than 20 organizations to research and raise awareness about infant mortality.
- By LISA CORNWELL Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — A new pilot program launched by the state to help reduce Ohio's prison population will allow low-level felony offenders to remain in their communities under supervision without going to prison.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction announced Wednesday that Clinton County in southwestern Ohio is the program's first recipient of a $200,000 grant under the voluntary project. The money from the department's budget will pay for supervision services, incarceration in local detention centers, electronic monitoring, substance use monitoring and treatment and other services for low-level felony offenders kept at the local level.
"Our prison system is too big, often because we have a lot of truly nonviolent folks coming to prison," department Director Gary Mohr said.
Ohio currently has just under 51,000 inmates, or just below the record of 51,273 in 2008. Mohr said he is confident the program can help reduce those numbers and ensure that low-level offenders receive essential treatment at the community level. The program is aimed at people convicted of crimes such as drug possession or theft, and those convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses aren't eligible.
In 2015, more than 20 percent of all those entering the state's prisons — over 4,300 individuals — were sent there with one year or less to serve, and many of them had been sentenced for nonviolent offenses at the lowest felony level.
"For those short-time, nonviolent offenders, who are often drug-addicted, local communities can do a better job because they are able to supervise them directly," Mohr said.
Clinton County Common Pleas Judge Tim Rudduck agrees that people addicted to drugs have a health issue that needs to be resolved.
"It's not simply a matter of putting someone in prison and telling that person to stop using drugs," Rudduck said. "It takes time, patience and understanding of what that person is going through."
Nothing in the grant agreement prevents a judge from sending anyone to prison, and Rudduck says he knows there will be some offenders he can't help. While some grant money would be withheld when an offender qualifying for the new program does go to prison, Rudduck sees that as an economic incentive for judges and communities to deal with the problem locally.
But the executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association said that group doesn't like the idea of inducements not to send offenders to prison.
"If they want to pass out money without strings, we wouldn't object to that," John Murphy said.
He said judges should make decisions based on what an offender did, "not because they are afraid that budget or grant money will be docked."
But Mohr stresses that the voluntary program, which the state hopes to expand to other counties, gives judges greater ability to look at offenders and their circumstances and opportunities when making sentencing decisions.
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — The owners of a dog on death row are asking a judge to order DNA tests to try to clear their pet in the death of another dog.
The Times Herald in Port Huron (http://bwne.ws/2dfT5Qk ) says a judge has ordered that Jeb, a Belgian Malinois, must be euthanized. But the newspaper says a hearing has been scheduled for Monday on a request for a DNA swab from the dog that died.
Vlad, a Pomeranian, was found dead on Aug. 24. Jeb lived next door to Vlad in St. Clair.
Ed Marshall, an attorney for Jeb's owners, says a DNA swab could determine whether Jeb truly was involved. Authorities say Vlad's injuries suggest he was picked up and shaken by a larger animal.
___
Information from: Times Herald, http://www.thetimesherald.com
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Public Schools is reviewing hiring practices after a former teacher with convictions for peeping and prowling was accused of hiding a camera in a school bathroom.
Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday they learned of 41-year-old Elliott Nott's criminal background after he was charged last week with unauthorized videotaping and child pornography.
CPS spokesman Michael Passman says CPS is performing the review to make sure proper hiring protocols are being followed.
The Chicago Tribune reports (http://trib.in/2dqAV1c ) court records from New Hampshire and Illinois show Nott was convicted of a prowling charge while he was a college track coach and window peeping case in southern Illinois.
Defense attorney Mark Basile says Nott's arrest record was "not relevant" to the current case.
___
Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state can close persistently low-performing public schools in Detroit before next June, Michigan's attorney general said Wednesday in an opinion that conflicts with Gov. Rick Snyder's belief that no doors can be locked until 2019 under a bailout approved by lawmakers.
Frustrated Republicans in the Legislature asked for Schuette's opinion after Snyder's interpretation.
"The law is clear: Michigan parents and their children do not have to be stuck indefinitely in a failing school. ... If a child can't spell opportunity, they won't have opportunity," Schuette, a Republican, said in a statement.
The opinion, which is binding unless reversed by a court, said any school operated by the Detroit district that was on the list of lowest-achieving 5 percent of schools since the 2013-14 academic year can be closed.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for the Republican governor, said Snyder's staff "needs time to review (the opinion) once it is received."
"The governor is following the law in this matter and as additional opinions interpreting the law are presented, they will be carefully reviewed," Adler said in an email.
Michigan's latest list of low-performing schools has 124 schools, including 116 that are still open. Of those, 47 are in the Detroit district and 11 are Detroit schools being run by the Education Achievement Authority — a turnaround entity that Snyder created.
"We ... will need to closely and carefully review the opinion with counsel and determine our course of action," district spokeswoman Chrystal Wilson said.
In addition, Schuette's opinion clarifies that school closures are required in accordance with state law unless closure would result in an unreasonable hardship because there are insufficient other public school options. In the event of a closure, students will be re-assigned to another school.
Shoniqua Kemp, whose daughter is a sophomore at Osborn Evergreen Academy of Design and Alternative Energy, said she feels "disheartened." The school has been a low performer for three years, but she believes it deserves more time to rebound.
"As a parent, I feel like these fly-by-night decisions are being made, and our children's futures are never considered," Kemp told the Detroit Free Press.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and House Speaker Kevin Cotter had said the law's "plain language" authorized Detroit school closures by the end of this school year. In a statement Wednesday, Cotter welcomed the ruling.
"This opinion is also the right decision to put those students back on the path to success and address the crippling problem presented by the worst of the worst schools in the city," Cotter said.
ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a woman sent nude photos of herself to the teenage son of a former boyfriend.
Online court records say 46-year-old Charlotte Klisares is charged with dissemination and exhibition of obscene material to minors. Online court records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
Court documents say the Altoona woman used Facebook in June to provide sexually graphic photos of herself and of herself and the 17-year-old boy's father, whom she had been dating off and on.
Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says the two had an unfriendly split and that each was alleging harassment by the other.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A civilian employee accused of setting a co-worker on fire at a health center at Kansas' Fort Leavenworth is facing an additional charge in a new federal indictment.
Grand jurors on Wednesday in Kansas City, Kansas, indicted 54-year-old Clifford Currie of Leavenworth with one count each of assault with intent to commit murder and of assault with a dangerous weapon.
The indictment replaces a complaint that charged Currie only with assault to commit murder.
Prosecutors allege Currie threw a flammable liquid on his female supervisor, lit her on fire and assaulted her with a straight edge razor and scissors. Authorities say another worker was injured when she tried to stop the assault before other hospital employees subdued Currie.
Messages left Wednesday with Currie's public defenders weren't immediately returned.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Students at the University of Michigan can designate a personal pronoun to be used by professors.
School officials say it's an effort to build inclusiveness on campus. The pronoun could be he, she, him, his or ze.
Pronouns registered online will pop up in class rosters. Provost Martha Pollack is telling faculty to check the rosters in a few weeks to give students time to designate one, although a registered pronoun is not required.
Pollack says correctly using someone's pronoun "is one of the most basic ways to show respect" for a student's identity. The policy was developed over the past year by a university pronoun committee.
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — Disability rights organizations said the death of a Wisconsin teenager who was allowed to end treatment of her incurable disease was an injustice.
The Post-Crescent (http://post.cr/2drsMW4 ) reported that Jerika Bolen, 14, died Thursday at a Sheboygan Falls hospice center after drawing national attention for her decision to end a lifelong fight against spinal muscular atrophy type two. The disease left her mostly immobile and with severe, chronic pain.
Disability advocates questioned Jerika's care, claiming that severe pain isn't characteristic of the disease. New York advocate Dominick Evans said his questions came from personal experience. Evans has spinal muscular atrophy type 3 and said teens with disabilities easily lose a sense of their self-worth.
"Our society teaches us that disability is bad, that disability will kill you and that's a horribly oppressing thing for a teenager to hear," said Evans.
Evans was among those expressing concern for Jerika's emotional state and whether she was influenced by others.
Not Dead Yet, a New York-based anti-euthanasia organization, issued a statement after Jerika's death, criticizing the news coverage as "one-sided applause for her suicide."
The group joined with Disabled Parents Rights, NMD United and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to send a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in early August to asked that they investigate Jerikas's care.
Disability Rights Wisconsin sent a separate letter to Outagamie County child protection authorities.
The newspaper said both agencies declined to comment following Jerika's death.
Jerika's mother, Jen Bolen, defended her daughter's decision and said they did all they could to maintain Jerika's quality of life.
"My only words to anyone questioning this is that I love that girl with every cell in my being," Bolen said, "and no one in their right mind would let someone suffer like she was."
Jerika's decision to end her life attracted widespread attention, including on social media. More than a 1,000 people attended a prom thrown in her honor in July at a ballroom in Appleton as a last wish.
___
Information from: Post-Crescent Media, http://www.postcrescent.com
WALTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 12-year-old driver has struck a convenience store worker with a pickup truck, knocking the 71-year-old employee through a plate glass window.
The Hutchinson News (http://bit.ly/2dkMsu7 ) reports that the employee was sent to a Wichita hospital with a possible leg fracture after being hit Tuesday while picking up trash outside the store in the small town of Walton.
The young driver reported hitting the gas instead of the brakes. She was taken to a different hospital to be assessed for possible injuries.
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Melissa Flavin said in an email that authorities aren't sure whether she'll face charges.
A licensed 16-year-old and unlicensed 17-year-old also were in the truck with the 12-year-old when the collision happened. The 16-year-old was ticketed for contributing to a child's misconduct.
___
Information from: The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, http://www.hutchnews.com
BURLINGTON, Mich. (AP) — An antique fire engine has been returned to Galien nearly 100 years after it was first put in service.
The Battle Creek Enquirer (http://bcene.ws/2drlEJn ) reported that Galien Fire Department officials picked up the 1919 Chevrolet firetruck Tuesday from the Burlington Fire Department.
Galien used the firetruck from 1919 to 1942 and then sold it to Burlington for $250. Burlington used the firetruck for about six years before retiring it. Retired Burlington firefighter Leo Hughes has since kept the firetruck in working condition.
Burlington Mayor Bob Weaver, who also serves as a fire department captain, said the truck has been used in parades and on special occasions. It can still be driven, although its top speed is 28mph.
Weaver also said the firetruck almost didn't make its way back to Galien. The village considered donating the firetruck to the Gilmore Car Museum before they were approached by the Galien fire department.
"They didn't think it was still around," Weaver said. "It was their first truck and they came to the village meeting and we felt going to the original department would be the best thing."
Burlington donated the firetruck to Galien and will still be allowed to use it for special events. Burlington will have first rights to the truck if Galien decides to dispose of it.
"We donated it with the condition that we can use it and we have the first rights to it," Weaver said.
According to Weaver, Galien plans to restore the firetruck just in time for the 100th anniversary of its fire department.
___
Information from: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com
IONIA, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a Michigan prison inmate has died after fighting with another prisoner and being shocked with a stun gun as guards broke up the fight.
Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz says in an email two prisoners were told to stop fighting Tuesday at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia but refused. He says a stun gun was used on both inmates and Dustin Szot of Muskegon died later in the day.
WZZM-TV reports Szot's family was contacted by an inmate who told them about the confrontation. One of his brothers Zack Coons tells the TV station that family members want a review of any video and audio.
An autopsy is planned to determine cause of death for the 24-year-old. The corrections department says state police are investigating.
LINDSBORG, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Army National Guard is investigating after a private admitted to being involved when chalk messages, including some that were racially offensive, were written on the sidewalks of Bethany College.
The 19-year-old apologized to The Salina Journal for his involvement. He offered no details about what happened Sept. 3 at the college in the central Kansas town of Lindsborg. The private wasn't a student there but is involved in the new alternative right group Identity Evropa, which the Southern Poverty Law Center is studying.
Lindsborg Police Chief Tim Berggren says the messages aren't likely to result in charges.
But Kansas Adjutant General's Office spokeswoman Katie Horner says Guard policy doesn't allow participation in group activities that advocate supremacist or extremist doctrine. She says "appropriate, swift action" will be taken.
___
Information from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, http://www.salina.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — An 11-year-old western Michigan boy is using art to draw attention to the effects of global warming and boost efforts to save polar bears.
Bryce Madder of Kent County's Ada Township held an event this week at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum to promote the nonprofit Polar Army. His effort includes a website where children can create and post artwork related to saving polar bears.
A broader goal of the effort, however, is to help educate children about the effects of global warming on the Arctic. And in a statement, he says: "My vision is to use art to change the world, and at the same time, inspire a new generation of leaders."
Bryce plans to bring his Polar Army presentation to schools, churches and other organizations.
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Online:
FARMLAND, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana campground that's been operating for more than a century is closing its gates amid a state lawsuit.
State health officials are suing the Three Waters Campground in the Randolph County town of Farmland over alleged health and safety violations, including standing water that served as mosquito breeding sites.
Campground owner Richard Waters tells The (Muncie) Star Press (http://tspne.ws/2cAUxij ) that "state inspectors have run me out of business."
The campground near Muncie has been a recreation site along the White River for 115 years. The site includes a fishing pond, an office and about three dozen wooded camp sites.
State Department of Health spokesman Ken Severson says the department never ordered the campground to close. He says that decision was "made solely by the owner."
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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com
MASSILLON, Ohio (AP) — Police in northeast Ohio say they're searching for the man who abducted a 9-year-old girl while posing as a police officer and sexually assaulted her.
Police say the child was walking home from the library Monday evening in Massillon (MAS'-ih-luhn) when a man purporting to be a police officer pulled up next to her in a pickup truck and told her she had been reported missing.
He wasn't wearing a police uniform and didn't show a badge.
Police say he then grabbed her, forced her into the truck, took her to a nearby location and sexually assaulted her. She later walked home.
The child has been hospitalized and remains in stable condition.
Police have released photos of a Ford-F-150 with skull stickers that may be involved in the case.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that its infant mortality rate decreased in 2015 to the state's lowest annual figure ever.
The state Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that there were 230 infant deaths last year for a mortality rate of 5.9 for every 1,000 live births.
The figure was 6.3 deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2014, when 246 infant deaths were reported. The department also said the figure last year was 28 percent lower than it was in 1996.
The state's rate also is slightly below the national figure of 6 deaths for every 1,000 live births.
KDHE Secretary Susan Mosier attributed the decline to ongoing work by more than 20 organizations to research and raise awareness about infant mortality.
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